Mellow days

Well, we had a pretty mellow weekend. Friday was a boys day. Chad had been wanting to take Micah to see Wall-E since the day he saw the first trailer for it. So Friday rolled around and they were off. I thought it was really cute that they got to do some male bonding. Chad liked the movie. Micah did too, but wasn't necessarily the best movie watching companion. Oh well!


Saturday we ran errands, did chores and got a nice surprise at the end of the day. Ashley (my sister) decided to drop by and play with Micah for a while. I got so much done! Chad and I did some more chores, yard work and got a small project done (pictures to come). Then when my mom was going to come by and pick her up, the whole family was in the car and my dad decided we all needed to go to the Cheesecake Factory! Yum!


Sunday I went with my dad to see my uncle Pat. He suffered a massive stroke back in September and has gone from a nearly vegetative state to being able to move the left side of his body, talking with a little bit of a stutter and learning to write again with his left hand. He has made HUGE progress and we are hoping he can go home soon. I took Brooklyn and she showed him her big grin!

By the way,I know there are a lot of readers on here (mom, Ash, etc.) Let me tell you how to comment. Scroll down to the bottom of the blog entry and click on "Quick Thoughts." You can log in if you have a Google account and leave your comment. If you don't have an account, click on Anonymous and write your comment, but don't forget your name!

I love my mom!

My mom has every Wednesday off and she always makes time for me and the kids. We usually end up going out for lunch, which she won't let me pay for and finds some way to spoil us. This week we went out to Mustard Cafe in Gateway Center, which I thought was great. Very much like Nordstom's Cafe. Then we headed out to Target. With Brooklyn being colicky and needing me to hold her all the time, my mom decided I needed a sling, so she got me this very cute one!



It worked like a charm and I was able to even get vacuuming done as she slept in the sling. She also got Micah a ton of blocks to play with even though he was being a stinker. I am so lucky to have a mom that is so fun and generous. She is one of my best friends. If any of you know her, you know how great she is. What I love most is that she is great to my kids. I never had doting grandparents, so I am glad that both my parents and Chad's parents just spoil the crud out of them. They have no idea how lucky and loved they are. Anyways, I am just feeling loved!

P.S. The picture at the top made me think of this. Although I am totally not into tattoos, I always thought I would be accepting of a mom tattoo on my son. A permanent sign of his love for me might not be received by a long lecture!

Naughty boy!

Weekend fun

Earlier this week I took the kids to Cherry on Top and as we pulled in we saw this giant red thing! Shelby being the candy monster she is recognized him from a mile away. They were parading him around and giving away candy to announce the opening of Powell's Sweet Shoppe. So on Saturday I grabbed Chad and we headed over thinking it would be fun for Micah to pick out a treat. Well, we didn't even need to make it into the front door for Micah to fall in love...with a tuk tuk that is! He wanted to drive it and when we told him he couldn't drive, he buckled himself in the back for a ride.



Saturday night we had friends over. It is so nice to be able to spend time with adults, but also have the kids together playing. It always amazes me how well they all get along!

Sunday we rushed over to Wy and Jack's b-day party. It was fun and Micah left there a sweaty tired mess. Then we went to the old Marina Hills Ward to visit and let them see Brooklyn. I wanted to make it through sacrament meeting, but Micah was exhausted from the party and we went home. He fell asleep in the car! Anyways, that evening we went to my parents and it was still HOT, so Micah wanted to go swimming. He stripped himslef naked, but had to wait inside while my mom changed into her swim suit. What did he do to kill the time? Stood in front of everyone and posed butt naked. He particularly liked sticking his booty out and tilting his head to the side with a huge smile. I wish I had my camera on me. He is becoming more and more like his dad! He swam for a while, but the session ended when he puked in the pool. Way to clear out a party! Well, as we were leaving he said his goodbyes and even told me goodbye. I said "hey wait, I'm coming with you." I headed to the door and put my shoes on and he says "no you can't is too dangerous." What the heck? Where does he get this stuff? He is such a fun kid! As for Brooklyn, she has had problems with her tummy. I feel so bad for her because you can tell it hurts. Everyone wants to hold her and play with her, but she just cries. I wanted to show you all how sweet she can be. This is a video of her smiling. I love her cute little toothless grin!

Looking for...

...a good hair dresser. My girl (Chels) isn't going to be around for a while and I need it done before Brooklyn is blessed. Does anyone know a reasonable one nearby? I just need highlights!

Great stuff!

Brooklyn has had problems with gas leaving her a bit cranky. At first, I thought it was my fault. I found out that I was eating some foods that were considered nursing no-no's. I eliminated chocolate (which for me is a huge sacrifice), garlic, cabbage, beans and broccoli and I have reduced my dairy too. All this and she still had gas! She was upset all through the day. If she wasn't nursing, she was fussing. Last night she was hurting. You could tell from her cry that it was worse than usual. Luckily, my parents dropped by to say hi and my dad and Chad took off for Walgreen's to pick up gripe water. I had heard about it from my neighbor whose kid had tummy problems. It is a natural extract that pulls the bubbles in their stomach to the top and relieves their gas fast. Anyways, when the guys came back, we gave her the gripe water, which smells like black licorice and she loved it! Ten minutes later, this squirmy little fussy thing was totally relaxed and dozing off. The best part was that she only woke up once last night. That was a first! Needless to say I was a little lop-sided in the morning from nursing on one side! I am totally happy with this product and would recommend it to anyone who is having problems with a gassy baby.

I am also loving Trader Joe's Banana Waffles. They are so yummy! I toast them up in the morning and slice bananas and strawberries on the top with some maple syrup. As a bonus, they are wheat free and gluten free. I didn't know this until I brought them home and I became a bit weary. I thought it might taste "health foodish." You know I am not into punishing myself for the sake of health. It doesn't give you any clue that it is good for you! I love them.





Another fun treat...Cherry Coke, but only out of the fountain. For some reason drinking it out a can makes my stomach hurt. I am not much of a soda drinker to begin with, but for some reason I really like this stuff! It has also become a bit of a challenge to find Cherry Coke out of the fountain. So far, I know that Paradise Cafe in the mall has it and a place in RSM (a deli type place with great sandwiches) both have it. Occasionally, you can find it at hole in the wall Mexican joints. Yum!

Quotes from Micah:

At church after a special musical number, Micah stands on the pew to applaud loudly followed by, "That was amazing!"

At my parents house after being in the spa and creating his own bubbles, he jumps out only to continue and saying, "I farting, I farting...it's just like poops!"

On the way to Shelby's graduation with Brooklyn screaming in the car, he looks at her and says, "Uhg, Bwookwin, you are OK, just be quiet!"

1 Month Old!

I can't believe it! It feels like we just got home from the hospital last week, but Brooklyn is already a month old. We are having fun with her. She is starting to smile and I love it when it is a big opened mouth grin. She is trying to scoot around. If we hold her or put her on the ground, she will kick her feet against us to push up and then gets really frustrated when nothing happens! She is also trying to roll over, but only gets half way. I'm not really excited to see her trying to grow up so fast, but that is the mommy in me wanting her to enjoy being a baby. Brooklyn also loves watching people, so you can sit and talk to her and she will watch you intensely. It is pretty funny. Micah loves her and wants to know where she is all the time and gives her kisses. I am such a lucky mom! I also wanted to add in pictures of her bedhead. Yes, at a month old she has enough hair to look funny first thing in the morning. Can you believe it?

Great deals!

On the news today they shared some great websites to save money. First, bradsdeals.com. They even have printable coupons along the side. Check them out. They have a deal for a 99 cent large pizza from Papa John's. They also have a coupon for diapers.com on top of getting the diapers for 17 cents each and these are Pampers! The second website was retailmenot.com. When you go on the website you can type in a retail website and coupon codes will pop up that you can use on that site for free shopping or a percentage off! Well, I guess you all know how I will be spending my fiscal stimulus. Thanks Uncle Sam!

I love him!

So I decided to take the kids to the mall today. I got them all strapped in and packed all my necessities and we headed off. Brooklyn was asleep when we left, so luckily the child that normally screams from point A to point B was peacefully quiet. On the way there, I would occasionally say "Micah, I love you!." He would respond by saying "I luh you, mommy." By the third time I said "Micah I love you," he finally said "Mommy, be quiet, baby sister is sleeping." I thought it was so funny. He is such a sweety and really loves her even if she brings down his normally loud activity a couple of notches. What a great big brother she has!

This is from the other day when I gave him snacks and he disappeared. I found him out back sitting on the grass by himself, so I snuck up behind him and snapped it. He loves being outdoors.

Venting

So Micah is closing in on three now and still isn't potty trained. I wanted to have him trained before Brooklyn was born, but I was way to sick to do it. I spent most of the pregnancy on my back sick as a dog. I tried, but I ended up just laying on the floor of the bathroom. Anyways, I was told to let him go naked because it is the fastest way. Well, I decided that I would do that today. I just put a shirt on him and told him to go play. Lucky me, I have a modest kid who freaked out and threw a fit wanting his pants on. I told him we didn't need pants and we went in the backyard with snacks and juice. I brought the potty close to the back door so he could get to it quickly. He sat on in for a minute and then ran back to his room to throw another fit and cried for pants. Finally I said he could wear pants and put in the Once Upon a Potty video. After it was over I told him we were going to the potty. He refused. I told him if I got to three and he wasn't on the potty I would take his pants away (that sounds so weird). I got to three and took his pants away and he freaked out again. I left him in his room and came back a few minutes later. I told him he could wear big boy pants (real underwear instead of Pull-ups) but that he can't go potty in them. I left to tend to Brooklyn who has a cold and won't let me put her down without screaming. A few minutes later Micah runs in saying he is wet. Yes, he had peed on the floor in his room. I got a rag and told him he had to help clean it up. He helped and of course off come the wet underwear and here comes another freak out session for pants. Ahhh!!! I finally had had enough. I put a Pull-up on him and I am officially saying screw it. I called Chad and told him he is now in charge of potty training. I can't do it with a nursing infant and a stubborn toddler. I think the thing that makes it so frustrating for me is knowing how smart he is. I know he knows better and he just doesn't want to do it. To top it off, Brooklyn won't give me more than five minutes alone! I am just about to lose it! If anyone has an advice I am willing to take it. If there was such a thing as a potty training boot camp, I would totally sign him up!

Good news!

I was getting dressed and decided to try on the old jeans. These would be jeans that fit previous to the pregnancy...well, they fit! Admittedly, I do have a bit of a muffin top. It is not bad though, so for now I will just wear loose tops with them. I was afraid that it would be forever until I would fit in them again since I have a huge appetite right now. I am nursing and I guess that makes you have the appetite of an athlete. I feel like I eat all the time and it isn't always healthy (but I do try). Well, I am excited they fit and I should give myself a little more time until I can really be hard on myself. I just had my girl a little over three weeks ago, right? I can't wait until I get the OK from the doctor to exercise again. I need it, but I just don't know how I will fit it in. Anyone want to watch my kids?

Not much here...

This little chunk looks like her mommy!

The first picture I have gotten of the two of them together. She looks like a frog here, but I love it! I am a lucky mommy!

Trying to eat her bracelet.

Stretching after a long nap.

Sleeping...what she is best at!

So there isn't much going on here, just day to day life. Micah did tell us he needed to go potty the other night and went #2 for the first time in the potty. However, he told us when he was half done, so as he ran down the hall to the potty, a couple poops landed on the carpet. Yuck, but we were so excited for him. Hopefully he will be fully potty trained soon. I can't say that I have been vigilant in any way though. I spend a lot of my day nursing, so every moment I have when I don't have an infant attached to me, I am trying to get other things done. I guess I am taking the lazy parents way out. Just keep changing diapers until they train themselves. Just kidding. I am planning on getting around to it soon. It is just difficult to do. Anyone want to do it for me? As for Brooklyn, she is getting to be a little more interactive. She smiles and I know others may think it is just gas, I know she is smiling back at us. She also loves to watch her big brother. If he is around, her eyes will follow him around the room. We also discovered that she loves to be bounced on her back and sit upright just to see what is going on. Well, I guess that is all for now. Maybe this week will be more exciting than last!

My Perfect Day

I was just day dreaming about my perfect day. Here is how it would go. Kid free all day long because as much as l love my kids, my days are always all about them! First I would want to start off the day with a good workout.

Then a trip to the spa would be great for a nice long massage.


A manicure and pedicure to feel polished.


Hair cut, colored and styled.


Makeup done professionally.


A nice dinner of sushi.


Followed by a slow walk on the beach with the hubby at sunset. Ahhh....now doesn't that sound nice? Who wants to join me? Any thing you would add to the perfect day?
P.S. Did I mention part of that perfect day would include not having to pay for it all?

Safest City in the US?

I came home today to two cop cars in front of my house. I of course go inside asking Chad what the heck is going on. Come to find out that our next door neighbors had their house broken into over the weekend while they were out of town! Usually we don't spend much time at home on the weekend, so we didn't notice anything. Here is the strange part: the guy cut his hair there, went to the bathroom (and clogged it), opened the mail, but took nothing other than some cash. Sounds like a druggy to me. Well, Chad said that he didn't want to tell me because he thinks I am paranoid as it is. If you call someone that locks up their house and car paranoid, then that is me. Chad seems to trust any and everyone. He doesn't lock up a thing and never suspects anything will ever happen. I have had my car broken into before, so I know how it feels. Anyways, yes, I am a little more paranoid now that this "incident" has occurred next door. I will make sure to double check the locks each night and when I leave the house. The problem is that one of my back doors basically looks like a freezer door in a grocery store and the other back doors are all glass too with no screens. Maybe we should look into an alarm system or maybe a big dog. Yikes!