1 Day it snowed

We had one day of snow recently. It came and went in one day but the kids were so excited and happy that they kept buggin me to go play in it. We don't have full on winter gear so I just layered and then knew they would come in when they got real wet. So much laundry in so little time. For every crazy fun day kids have in the snow or at Disneyland they just don't know how much energy it takes for the mom to facilitate that.

Baseball

Dallin has baseball practice on Wednesdays,Fridays, and Sundays. It is by far the most boring sport to watch. I am already loosing my mind

While he practices the other kids are busy moving old pieces of lumber to make bridges.

Oh to be able to walk across a two by four and not bust it in half.

Its official she is a brat!

Olivia was having problems at school. She didn't want to write her name, or sit still during story time, and she would stomp her feet and refuse to go to music class. One day she locked herself in the bathroom and would not come out. After talking with the teacher she thought it was possible she couldn't see very well and maybe thats why she was showing a lack of interest in school. She went to months of physical therapy and was still walking on her toes. The therapist mentioned that some times kids walk that way due to lack of depth perception. It felt sooooo nice to have a solution for why she was being so difficult. So I made the appointment with the eye doctor and browsed the shelves for cute little glasses for her cute little face. When all was said and done the doctor (who had a real hard time getting her to cooperate) said her eyes are fine she is just being a brat. I asked him to write that on one of his prescription pads but he just gave me a look and Olivia a lolly pop. I am glad I took her in and got a clean bill of health though cause I needed that to fall back on when I put a whammy zammy world of hurt on her terrible three year old butt. I started with going away from Super Nanny's recommendation of one min per year of age in time out to having the amount of minutes match the offense. If she bit her brother it would be like 6 min instead of three. Embarrassing mom by acting up at school is like 45 min in time out (or something like that) but you get the picture. And then I told her that if she didn't start walking flat on her feet and not on her toes (after hundreds of dollars in copays) then she had to go to the doctor and he would cut her feet off. Scary Yes!!! Duh.... thats why those kind of things work. She has been walking perfectly for a whole week! I love her to death and I know this is just a phase. So for now I just enjoy her cuteness while I watch her sleep and then I go into mean mom mode as soon as she wakes up and starts arguing with me about what color of bowl she wants her cereal in. I WILL WIN every time!

Baseball

Baseball season is in. And we had a little bit of a parenting disagreement. To sum it up in 25 words or less Andrew got screwed. Sports has always been a "hot topic" in our marriage. His family dabbled a little into a few things but they were no where near as competitive or driven as my family was. The problem with that is they don't understand how much harder the competitive athlete trains and dedicates themselves. My dad has always said if you do it then do it right and give 100%. That being said I wouldn't sign my kid up for piano and not care if they didn't put in the time to practice. I would not sign my kid up for baseball and not give him the proper glove. Andrew's argument was that he is only 7 and it doesn't make a difference to how he plays. (plus his glove was cheaper=accountant) But my father would rather drop dead then have him not completely dedicated to the game. And if that means having the right equipment then we must get a genuine leather glove. Andrew got all mad at me in the store and told me to butt out and let him buy the glove for HIS son!(um.. I was prego for nine months and breast fed your just the sperm donor). I secretly bought the right glove and was oiling it and wrapping it with a ball in the middle to break it in and have it perfect for his first practice.
When Andrew found out he didn't yell or rage or get that upset. Though I know inside he HATES that I went above him.
Do I feel bad about it? No. He has other positive things in his life to look to. Andrew is very very smart and he is very good at his career. He constantly gets bonuses and awards for being a good manager and coach to his staff. Plus when Basketball season comes around I will gladly take a back seat. But with Football and Baseball I have to draw the line somewhere. I will allow him in the stands to cheer on his son or buy the Gatorade. No more non sense. I pitty the FOO!

I have never been so injured

Uncle Jed came to town for a couple of days and it just so happened that Aunt Becka was coming to visit too. There is something about my family. Only when we are together do we engage in the kind of things only our family thinks is fun. But we had soooooo much fun and this indoor jumping place. Its was sooooo much fun. Seriously! We played with the kids and then we made up this obstacle course and timed ourselves on who could do it faster. I got so banged up. My elbow is all swollen and my knees have rug burn. Then we played hide and go seek. Jed kept being "IT" but you got to hide well homie or you get found first!


A picture of Addie sitting out with an ouch. (for the record she has set up house on the injured reserve list) (high maintenance)

Nolan was cracking me up cause he kept laughing the more he got thrown around.

Olive Garden

Pictures compliments of Dallin. The flash kept going off in the car. I thought I was being pulled over.

Derek and Uncle John. He can say John real well. (I should hope so though its not the hardest name to pronounce)

I feel like we all go through this phase where we never act serious in pictures and then realize around the age of 27 its not THAT cool.

I just WUV UM!

Addie gave me heart shaped dough Necklace and this card. I enjoy Valentines so much more as mom cause you get cute things from your kids and you don't have to worry about if the guy you have a crush on is going to give you something.

This is the bag she decorated. You can tell less is more with her. Simple but CUTE!

Olivia's class decorated shoe boxes to hold all their candy ect.. You would not believe how hard it is to wrap a shoe box so it can open.

She also made a cute collage heart that said what she LUVs this Valentines. Notice I got trumped by tea parties. (I take a picture of these things cause I throw them away asap but I still want the memory)

We Heart Aunt Net

Valentines packages arrived today from Aunt Annette

Derek would not let his new Thomas toys leave his side.

Just looking hot here in my new Valentines shirt!

the girls were home from preschool and opened their packages first

Chores!

I hated doing chores as a kid. I felt like my mom was in the slave labor business. She always made us work like dogs and then was never thankful. I have always had my kids clean up their own rooms or pick up their toys when they are done playing but never added to that for fear of being like my mom. One day out of the blue Addie just emptied the dishwasher for me. And all she wanted in return was candy! I was shocked at how she knew where things went. The other day was cold and rainy and the kids were running around and jumping on beds and wrestling. I was loosing my mind so I told them we were going to do chores. It was great cause it channeled their energy and I was pleased to have less to do myself after they went to bed.
Derek wanted in on the action. But he is a fire ball and I didn't have the patience to supervise him. Addie is really loving with him so she volunteered to help him put away the silverware. It was so cute when he would say good job after each spoon was placed in its spot. I promised to blog about it cause the kids want their dad to see how they are helping (he is in busy season and gone all the time)

Dallin's Chore

He washes the dishes and puts them in the dishwasher. He is very willing and positive about it. Though I can tell he is grossed out by touching wet food chunks. But guess what buddy we all are! He is also the only kid in the family that can make his bed to meet my standards. I just love him!

Addie's Chore

Adelaide is built like her father and her Nana Weeks. She is very skinny and bony. I usually don't notice until we put her in her dance tights and I see that she is trying to balance on toothpicks for legs. Some times she will complain that her jeans are hurting her because her hip bones stick out so far the top of her pants rest on them and rub at her skin. The best job for that kind of body is crawling under beds and pulling out the lost toys, sippy cups, ect...

Olivia's Chore

Olivia is "VERY SPECIAL" right now. Meaning she is going through the terrible threes. My older two kids went through a phase at this age too. Its like they are grumpy old men with no patience. You can't let them sleep too much or too little. You have to feed them right on time. You can't ask them the wrong question or imply that they are grumpy. But no matter what you do they still are impossible to work with. So I had to come up with something simple and easy. Usually my counter tops are cluttered with the items that need to be recycled and can't go into the garbage can. Her job is to walk out anything that is needing to be recycled and put it in the bin. Its very helpful for me and she gets to feel like she is doing as much as the other kids.