What a sweetie...

One night at Family Home Evening we were playing with play-doh and Trey made me this cute little yellow rose. I kept it and it dried. Clara was playing with it a few days later and broke it. I was sad. :-{

Yesterday I was feeding Atticus and Jonas comes to me with a grin on his face and he presented this to me:

What a sweetie! When I was done feeding Atticus Jonas told to me to go look in the Kitchen. When I did I found this message written in play-doh:
Our conversation that followed:

Me: How did you know it was almost Mother's Day?

Jonas: I kept reading signs all over town and I started to get worried.

Me: Worried about what?

Jonas: I didn't want Mother's Day to pass so I thought I should just hurry and do something for you so I didn't miss it.

He's on his way to being as romantic and thoughtful as his papa!

Worst mom award!

And the award for worst mom for the month of April goes to... drum roll please... ME! Let's break it down:

Every Wednesday is early out. That means Jonas is supposed to get picked up from school at 1:15 instead of 2:45. This does not mean that you are supposed to wait for a phone call from his teacher telling you Jonas is in her classroom and she's wondering if you are on your way! I forgot not once, but twice this month.

When you pick your kid up from school you are supposed to wait until they are in the vehicle and safely buckled in their seat before you drive off. What you don't want to do is get so involved with the conversation you are having on your cell phone about your friend's husband who was at church and has NEVER been before and what was he doing there... So involved that you think you opened the automatic sliding door for your son and you think he is securely fastened so you start to drive off. And then you hear yelling and screaming and crying at the top of his little lungs and you hear a loud thud at the back of the van and realize, gulp, he's not in the car! You look back and see him with his tear streaked face running after you and the thud you heard was him throwing his backpack at the car. Can you imagine?! And parents EVERYWHERE are staring at ME, the horrible mom. And what do I do? I start to laugh. Hysterically. It's a weakness I have. When I get news that someone dies I sometimes laugh. Absolutely horrible, I know. I cry so often that sometimes I just have to laugh.

Jonas was supposed to bring snacks to school this month. Guess what? I forgot!! Surprise, surprise.

Clara was supposed to have a field trip this month. The bus left at 8:00. Guess what? We were late and she missed her field trip!

The house payment is due on the 15th of every month. Guess what day I realized I hadn't payed it? The 20th. Not good.

Clara has soccer practice at 5:30 every Monday and Wednesday. On Monday she was supposed to have pictures. At 5:30. The whole team. Guess what time we got there? 5:50. The pictures were over.

So now you should all feel GREAT about your parenting skills! :-}

I really need a vacation. Desperately!

The icing on the cake- On the last day of the month I was supposed to teach a jewelry making class to about 30 ladies. I get to the church, set up all my stuff, the ladies all get there and then I realize I am the biggest space cadet on the planet! I forgot one of the most essential elements of making a bracelet! The crimp bead! This is the bead that holds the bracelet together so that the beads don't all fall off. BEAUTIFUL. Just BEAUTIFUL. A perfect end to my perfect month.

Yee-Haw Cowboy!

I just planned a surprise 18th B-day Shindig for Preston. The theme was "Wild West" and we had lots of fun! We played Steal the Cowboy Hat, (like steal the flag, but everyone was riding stick horses and trying to steal the other teams cowboy hat), Barrel Races, Shoot Out (the team who knocked down the most tin cans with pine cones in one minute won), Horse Races, Spittoon Races, Western Scenes with sidewalk chalk, and Sculpting Depictions of Cowboy Life.

Preston barrel racing. Barb made BBQ beef sandwiches, baked beans, frog-eye salad, chips and lemonade for dinner. YUM!
Here's the horse cake I made. He's eating a bucket of apples.
Jonas lovin' every minute of the party. During one of the Steal the Hat games he stole the Red teams hat for the win! He was beaming from ear to ear!
Red team Rules! Um, except we lost to the Blue team. Darn!
Howdy Pardner! Trey and I in the cardboard cut outs my friend made. What a fun night!

Wise beyond his years...

The other day Jonas told me he doesn't like to watch the news because they never solve the problems they always just talk about the problems.  Amen, brother!  I must be getting old because all I listen to on the radio anymore is NPR(National Public Radio) and AM talk stations.  I get so fired up these days about what is happening around the world and especially in the good ol' US of A.  I never used to care about politics and am ashamed to admit that last year was my FIRST time to vote- ever!  I'm tired of talking about the problems, I want to do something about them.  How do you get involved?  Any advice?

Oh, fair New Mexico! I love, I love you so!

My dad's b-day was on Monday so we had the fam over for dinner.  All of them (Dad, Barb, Reed, Kaitlin, Preston, Paige) plus our family of six in our little house.  It was crowded, but fun!  Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking and didn't get any pics of the party or of the dinner.  This is the prep work though:

Grandma Livvy taught Nora and I how to make Fry Bread for Navajo Tacos.  Taco bout good!  I love recipes that are passed down.  It makes the food taste richer and yummier.
Dang!  I wish I had pics of the meal.  Oooh, I wish you all could taste them.  Cindy made delicioso beans for Sunday dinner so we ate those on top of the Fry Bread with all the usual fixins.  We had a little left over so the next morning I made huevos rancheros.  Navajo Tacos and huevos rancheros?  Can't get much more New Mexican than that!  I want more!

Hippity Hop

Grandpa and Grandma gave the kids these bouncy balls for Easter and they bounced around and around.....and around on them!
They were having a great time, bouncing and laughing and the adults were enjoying watching them.
Except for Trey, he just had to get in on the action.  He kept sticking his foot out, trying to kick their balls out from under them.  Real nice, I know.  And mature too. :-}
When he finally succeeded I thought there would be tears, luckily the kids only laughed.  Funny.  Real funny, babe.
Now this is funny!  Grandpa Dewey has a little song he sings to our babies and it makes them laugh hysterically every time.  I think it's the tongue action that gets them going.  Gun-gung went the little green frog one day!  

After we left Trey's parents we went to mine for our "Resurrection Eggs" Easter tradition.   I hide plastic eggs around the house that have items in them relating to the Easter Story.  The kids find them and we open them up and talk about Jesus' Resurrection.  Here is a link for something similar, if anyone is interested.  The one we do is a little different, but you get the picture.  My kids love it.  You can also google "Resurrection Eggs" for more ideas.

FIFTY and still FABULOUS!

My mom celebrated her 50th B-day this week so the kids and I went up to Durango and took her out to lunch.  We had a lot of fun, but I have a confession.  I ordered the special of the day and the board said it was $6.99.  I thought, sweet, what a deal!  When our waiter brought me the check it said my meal cost $12.99.  When I asked him about it he said, "Oops, the board is wrong."  What?!  A six dollar difference?!  I asked if I could get my meal for what it said on the board since that was the WHOLE REASON I ORDERED IT.  He said, nope, sorry.  I'm such a penny pincher these days so instead of leaving him a $6.00 tip, I pocketed it.  Sorry dude.  I would also like to say, Sorry mom, I know you taught me better :-}! Oh, and sorry to my Trey Daug because he is a really generous tipper even if we have horrible service!  After I left I felt bad because it wasn't his fault and he was a good waiter, I was just annoyed.   
Jonas sippin' his root beer my MOM bought on her b-day because I just wanted to get water for my kids.  Wow, I am so cheap!  I really feel bad now.
Clara just chillin' waiting for our food to come.
We went to the park after lunch and played for awhile.  It was a gorgeous day!
Atticus' first time in a park swing.  He absolutely LOVED it!

My wonderful day:

I open the fridge and think, Hmm, what shall I make the fam for breakfast?  I see the eggs, bacon and OJ Grandpa Livvy brought over the day before and BINGO that's what we have.

Trey takes Jonas to school and I get the little ones ready and we head over to my MOPS(Mothers of Preschoolers) meeting.  They take my girls for two hours and do crafts with them while I have ME time.  I get a facial, get my makeup done, get my hair cut, and get a soft hands treatment.  Oh, and they feed me yummy food.  All for 5 bucks! I donated an Old & New World bracelet for the drawing and got lots of compliments on it as well as on my new hair cut and my "cute as a button baby boy".  Yippee! When I get my girls from the nursery Clara says to me, "Thanks for taking us there mom, it was lots of fun!"  I love gratitude in my children.

We go home, I feed baby Atticus, snuggle, kiss and make him laugh and then put him down for a nap.  I feed the girls leftovers (fettucine alfredo), which can't get any easier than that and I put them down for naps while I do a little blogging, jewelry making and clean the kitchen.

I wake the troops up and we walk to Jonas' school to pick him up.  He stayed on Green today, which means he was a good boy and he runs to me and gives me a hug.

When we get home I load the troops in the car and we go over to my friend Ruth's house for an Easter Party.  The kids dye easter eggs and make cute little animals out of egg shells (I wanted to take a picture of Clara's pig, but of course she broke it on the way home) and we eat yummy food.  Chocolate dipped strawberries and Veggies with hummus dip.  Two of my all time favorites!!!

We get home and my friend Kamela comes to get Jonas for soccer.  Carpooling is the way to go.  I look in the fridge and think, hmm, what's for dinner?  I look in the cabinets and think, dang, slim pickin's.  I go back to the fridge and think, uh? um? bacon and eggs again?  And then my phone rings.  It's my mother-in-law.  She's calling to invite us out to eat with them.  Their treat!  Oh heavenly days saved by the bell!

My Trey daug pulls up to house just as it's time for me to go get the boys from soccer practice so instead of me loading the three little ones into the car, he just goes and gets them for me.  I love when he's not at school and he can help me out! He comes home, we go to dinner and I have yummy Teriyaki grilled Ahi Tuna for dinner.  Lots of laughter at dinner with Trey's grandma Laurie and her brother and fam plus our fam and Dewey and Cindy.

We get home, I put the kids to beddy bye, do a load of laundry, kiss my hubby good-night and my sweet dreams begin of a perfect day.  The sweet dreams ended at 12:30 am to the sounds of Jonas throwing up.  

Another day has begun...

Yesterday was the Easter Egg hunt at the Church park.  Jonas and Clara were so cute to help Nora find eggs and made sure that she had one of every color.

So, Nora might be my least favorite in the family right now (come on, you know you have favorites at times), but she sure can be cute.   IF she's doing something She wants to do, WHEN She wants to do it and HOW She wants to do it (a nap and a full tummy are helpful too!).  Typical two year old, it's all about HER .  I wish sometimes it could be all about ME again.  Sometimes I throw a fit like a two year old.  A nap and a full tummy are helpful in making me happy as well.  Hmmm...
Notice the bangs plastered to her forehead and the after-nap pigtails?  I am so over the days of 1st baby syndrome- cute matching outfits everyday, baths everyday, hair done everyday, balanced meals every meal of everyday, etc.  Her bangs are plastered to her head because she had pancakes for breakfast and I noticed it as we were leaving, but you know what? 

I don't care anymore!   

I admit that after having four children I now succumb to Mac n' Cheese and Spaghetti O's on occasion, my children do NOT have baths everyday, I'm OKAY with mis-matched outfits (especially when they put it on themselves and I didn't have to dress them), and Sundays are usually the ONLY day of the week when they all have their hair done on the same day.  
P.S.  It doesn't mean I LOVE them any less! :-}

Family Update

Catch up is the story of my life.  The biggest news is that we are now moving to Henderson, Nevada instead of Utah to go to Pharmacy school!  We are excited, sad, nervous, happy, anxious...  Other news:

Trey:  Very busy with school and finishing up his classes at San Juan College.  Newest hobby- reloading ammunition.  He has a little station set up in our garage and the kids LOVE to "help" him out there!  I LOVE it too because I can clean the kitchen after dinner in peace. :-)

Meshan:  Busy packing boxes for our move- so not LOVING it!  I've also been working on some changes for Old & New World Jewelry and business is going great- I am LOVIN' that.

Jonas:  Busy with school and soccer.  He LOVES to read and does so any chance he gets.  Even when he's supposed to be asleep in bed.  I'll walk by his room and see him holding the book close to his face, straining to read it in the dark.  I LOVE it!

Clara:  Busy with school and soccer.  She LOVES to pray.  She always wants to be the one to pray.  Every single time.  Always.  She says really great heartfelt ones too and they're usually long.  Really long sometimes.  But I LOVE it!

Nora:  Busy with being a two-turning-three-in-one-month year old.  She LOVES to be naughty.  Every chance she gets.  She destroys things all day long.  I don't like her antics, but I LOVE her!

Atticus:  Busy being the baby of the family.  He is changing way too fast.  With each child I have they seem to grow up faster each time.   He LOVES to sit in his Bumbo on the dinner table while we eat.  He always wants to be right where the action is.  I LOVE him, he is such a joy!

Can you feel the love baby?