Twice Thankful

This year we had two Thanksgivings! The first was with my family on Thanksgiving day. There was a lot of great food and company, but we were so busy there, I forgot to take pictures! Hopefully Tanya will put some up. I know she took a few. We wish we could have stayed a while longer to enjoy everyone's company, but there was no time to waste as Chad's side of the family was coming in. We left my parents house and got to have Tory, Jon and their two cute girls stay at our house. The next morning we all went down to Laguna Niguel Regional Park to take family pictures. They are all over those things. My side hasn't taken a family picture since I was in 8th grade! Anyways, when we were done went straight for urgent care with Brooklyn, who was feeling pretty nasty. She ended up having bronciolitis. Poor baby! After the doctor, we headed right to Tawnya's house and arrived to see this:


Best idea ever! Chad's side has a lot of young kids. I think we had about ten kids between 6 months and 14 years. I think Tawnya just used that as an excuse though. We had to justify getting a big toys for the grown ups to play in!

*Tawnya vs. Scott (Seh won, but Trevor pinning Scott down might explain it)


*Cute Emma...she would get to the end and say "we're all winners!"

*Brooklyn grabbing the camera and being pretty content for being sick.

*Micah lived in the bounce house and was dripping with sweat!

*Shelby was an honorary Trotter for the day. Chad was a one of the fastest in the course. Now he is sore!


We had races galore and I even joined in on the action. Wayne decided he wanted to race me. I thought I would show this 12 year old that I was still pretty agile. The race started and I dove through the hole. Well, my arms dove, my head hit a bar and snapped my neck back. I am still sore! Yes, I lost.

*Me throwing my beaten body down the slide.

*Tory eating it down the slide. I love this picture!

*An action shot of the boys!


We had a great dinner with a ton of food and when we decided to go home, the party wasn't over. We had some of the family come by and play Rock Band and hang out. It was so fun. I think the best part was that a few unnamed relatives had had a few too many. Can we say tequila? I was told how awesome I was over and over again. It was hilarious!

Tory and Jon hung out with us another day and we went out to play at the Spectrum. Brooklyn was pooped after all that fun!

*Did you know they make you sit your baby down next to you on the ferris wheel? I was trying to keep her up right the whole time!

We will miss you all. Thanks for such a great time!

Ever wonder what it would be like to see an ancient prophet mocked and rejected?

I think it might have looked something like this. I don't mean to blaspheme by relating an economic analyst to someone chosen by God to call the masses to repentance, but as I watched this video I couldn't help but be struck by the insane parallels between this guy's astounding accuracy and his listeners' laughter and scorn. He warned them! Explicitly! Specifically! Repeatedly! They did not listen. And look what happened!

"Oh Lot, it's not that bad."

"Lehi, you must be a laugh riot at a party."

"Noah, you don't know what you're talking about."

Bonus points for the dude at the 8:30 mark for a straight up B-I-N-G-O of horrible predictions and recommendations. Charles Payne, redeem your prize at the door!

Lots of little things

First off, Happy Birthday to me! Thanks to everyone who called or texted me. That was sweet of you to think of me! I celebrated on Saturday with a sushi lunch with the parents (Chad can't stand it) and then met up with the rest of the family at the Cheesecake Factory for dessert that night. It was a long wait and this is what the kids were doing to kill time:

Micah chose to hide amongst the chairs...

...while Brooklyn used them as teethers!
Anyways, we had fun, too bad I forgot to take pictures of the actual party. I guess it is a sign that we had a good time! I was spoiled with all my nice presents. My mom has ruined me for life by buying me Hudson jeans. Now I will have an expensive habit I can't afford, but I love them! I am glad I celebrated Saturday because Sunday was crazy. I decided to sleep in. I handed the kids off to Chad and tried to sleep only to end up having nightmares. I awoke to Brooklyn screaming at around 8:30 and tried to tune it out. No go, I got a phone call from my sister-in-law with some sort of urgency (I still have no clue what happened). I start to worry about that, since I am great at worrying. As I get off the phone, Chad informs me that BOTH of our sweet kids celebrated my birthday with their own fireworks AKA blown out diapers. So within 20 minutes of waking up I was rinsing poop out of pajamas and stressed. No worries, it all got better from there, but man, of all days!
Speaking of poop, (how sad is it that I can start a conversation like that?) Micah used the potty and went number two for the very first time! We have had a race car sitting up on the light fixture in the bathroom for about two months now as a prize to get him to use the potty. He finally did it! He loves the car and I hope this is the beginning of the end of diapers for Micah. We will have to wait and see. I think I will give underwear a shot tomorrow and see how it goes. If you need me I will be at home!

I am happy to announce that Christmas shopping for the kids is done. We did a very thorough shopping trip at Target tonight while my mom watched the kids. We got some really neat things for them that I think they will like and my stress level is going down as a result, which brings me to my next idea....who is up for a wrapping party? I was thinking we could get together wrap presents, have hot cocoa, listen to Christmas music or put on a Christmas movie. It's not all about the kids, right?

Attn: Single Ladies

It's started already!

I remember way back in the day when you talk about "One day when I have kids..." Well, I would always say I wanted to have a boy first so that he would protect his younger siblings and be intimidating to any boys that came around. Well I got my boy and now I have my girl. Micah didn't seem to care for her too much at the beginning, but suddenly he is starting to show me signs that he really is looking out for her. Here are some of the things he has said that just melts my heart. We were getting ready to leave and he turns to me and says, "Mommy, get Bwookwin!" I guess he didn't want me to forget. In the car he noticed she didn't have a top on and said "Bwookwin needs a shirt." It has just gotten better from there. Yesterday in the car, he said between giggles, "Mommy, she loves me." I looked back to see him laying his head in her lap as she was pulling on his hair. Today as we were leaving he said to me very seriously, "Mommy, I fink Bwookwin is my best friend." Just a minute later he says, "Bwookwin is a lil bit sweet." Oh I love this little boy of mine. Believe me, he can be the biggest pain in the butt, but he is also so sweet and loves to be loved and give it too!

P.S. Chad is trying to convince me not to go private, but rather to restrict comments. I might take that route for now. If I have another problem with negative comments, then I will go private. Who needs more negativity in their lives, right?

Going private

OK, I have decided to go private. I thought having my blog public would be fine. I hoped maybe someone out there could relate to me or get a laugh out of my blog, but I just received a comment from an anonymous reader that made me boil over. This person decided to tell me off on my last blog. It was something along the lines of how selfish I am to want my body back and I should always put the kids first. He or she finished with telling me to stop having kids. Needless to say, I am seeing red! It is obvious to me that this person doesn't have kids or the thought wouldn't even come to mind. Yes, I realize I should be the bigger person and let it side off my back, but it hurts, I won't lie. I have enough issues as it is being a busy parent to two tiny kids, overcoming the baby blues and just managing life in general. I didn't need this to bring me down. Well, I have deleted the comment, but have decided to go private to prevent this from happening in the future. If you would like to continue reading my blog, please send me your e-mail address and I will make sure that you will be able to get on and read it. If this anonymous reader is reading right now, I want you to know that having children is very hard and all of your preconceived notions go out the window when they actually come. All the parenting advice in the world won't make you parent of the year. Yes, the children always come first, but it is important to take care of yourself in order to take care of others. If you always put yourself last, it will take a toll. As for not having more kids, I wasn't planning on it, I don't need more stress or the judgment of people like yourself looming over me. I am not perfect and I never will be, but I do have feelings and you hurt me deeply by accusing me of being a selfish parent when I feel like parenting is my life and I want to succeed at it so badly. Good luck to you when you have your own children. You will need it in the crazy world and don't feel like you are being selfish when you take a vacation away from the kids or choose to spend some money getting yourself something nice. With all the hard work you will be putting into taking care of your kids, you will have earned it!

I think the time has come!

It must be time to wean this little girl of mine. I have done a pretty good job, but now that she has teeth, I have nicknamed her Jaws. She is a biter! The worst part is that she thinks it is funny. I start to scream and she gets this big grin in her face. I have tried flicking her cheek when she does it to get her to stop, but it doesn't phase her. One time I did it pretty hard and she started to cry, so I just felt like crap. Nothing like making a baby cry to boost the self-esteem right? So I have conflicting feelings about it. I will be happy to have my body back to myself again and let these things shrink a bit. They are heavy and hurting my back. I am not looking forward to spending money on formula. It is so expensive! I am excited that this opens me up to being away from her a little more though. I can have a girls day out without kids! I was even thinking about taking a part-time job to do something fun for me. Making a little extra cash on the side would be so helpful. On the other hand, I remember what it was like to wean Micah and he wasn't really a nursing baby the way she is. I don't know how it will go as far as my body goes (clogged ducts or mastitis) or how she will take it. She enjoys a bottle, but she will let me know that she wants to nurse too, so we will have to take this step by step!

P.S. I had a picture of a real shark on here earlier, but it was freaking me out, so I switched to a cartoon. I think it is a little friendlier looking!

Wow again?

So we had another busy weekend! Friday I did a lot of running around town and setting up at the house for Saturday. Then Saturday came and we had a crazy fun day. I did some cleaning and then once the kids were down I made some bows. I am thinking about making them and selling them for a while and maybe some tutus too! I will get a picture of them soon and put them up. Then we ran out and headed to the beach to have the kids pictures taken and Amy did an amazing job. Getting both kids to cooperate or smile at the same time was difficult, but you have to see them. You can check them out on her blog. Go to my Blog Roll and click on Brady Clan to see my cute kids! Thanks Amy you are SO talented! We ran home soon after and had a little shin dig (what is that supposed to mean anyways). We had some friends come by with their kids and eat pasta chat. It was so fun and although the kids had multiple meltdowns, they get along really well and it was fun for all. I even had fun looking for Ali's orthotic. I think that one will be a running joke! By the way, if you are wondering, Ali's "missing" orthotic was waiting for her at home the whole time. She somehow wore only one and didn't notice. So funny! Anyways, we must have partied too hard because we all woke up sick. Chad and I had sore throats, Micah had a cough and Brooklyn was the green snot nosed monster. We stayed home all day and then my family came by to eat dinner since we still had a ton of pasta left over. Now we are winding down and taking a breather before Thanksgiving when things will get crazy all over again! If anyone wants some pasta, please let me know. I still have a huge bag of spahgetti sitting in the fridge and I have had enough!

6 Months!

I can't believe a half a year has gone by already! Brooklyn is six months old today. I still feel like I am getting used to having her around and claiming baby weight! Well, she has definitely been my challenge, but I have found as time has gone on that I am enjoying her more. My high-maintenance girl needs attention all the time, so I find myself holding her most of the day. It is only when she is sleeping or watching baby einstein that I can put her down! She does have the sweetest giggle though. Her smile is adorable. How can you look at that and not smile? She is a cuddle bug and I love watching her discover the simple things, like today when she was waving her hand in her own face and smiling. It was so cute! She is so close to crawling, but seem frustrated with it. I am afraid she might want to try for walking first! Ahh! She loves to be out and about. That is when she is most content. Actually, people think I am making up all of the stories of how difficult she is when I have her out because she is so happy outside. Believe me, she is already a diva! I wonder what she will be like as she gets older. What her interests will be and how she will interact with her brother. I look forward to seeing her personality develop. If she is anything like her brother, I am sure we will be thoroughly entertained!

Redefined

Man, with a title like that, I wish this post was about my body. Oh well! No, this one is all about Micah redefining words for us. Here is the latest: geek. This is what I picture when I hear geek:

This is what Micah has told us a geek is:

This is not a geek:

For some reason, geeks are only the front part of the semi and it has to have a flat front. That is a geek. If it has a nose/hood on the front, it is not a geek. If it is hauling something he will call it a big truck until he sees the front and then he will call it a geek if it has the flat front. I haven't the faintest idea why or how he got the work geek for it, but we think it is funny!

Etc.

Here are some of the random things going on here at the Trotter house. First, this is us enjoying a moment of peace and quiet in the house. It is not a very common occurrence!

This is how much Micah likes his Trix...we don't buy them often!

My new hair cut. I always feel dumb taking pictures of myself, but who else was going to take it?

Brooklyn is trying to crawl now. She will get up on her hands and knees then reach for something. She gets so frustrated with herself when she doesn't go anywhere.

By the way, it took me about ten shots before I could get her to look at me. She hates the flash on the camera and would look away as soon as I called her name or she saw the red eye light. I finally just turned the flash off!

My handsome Micah. He likes to steal Brooklyn's toys. I think he likes that it is so easy for him. Like, yeah mom, I can stack those...no problem!

I love bows and flowers in a little girls hair. I just love how feminine it looks. I have been buying all her bow and got sick of it and decided to try making them myself. I ran across this website http://bowdesigns.50webs.com/banners.html and gave it a shot. A lot of their bows are cheesy, but the boutique and pinwheel are cute!

One of the many projects I just checked off my list. This was a gold mirror that my mom had hanging in her guest bathroom until they did a reno on it. I took it and spray painted it black. Now I have this cool retro mirror to put up. I figure when the retro thing goes out, I can still keep it and put it up during Halloween as a spooky mirror. I love it!

Gone Baby Gone!

I guess it is true, the more kids you have the shorter your hair gets! About a foot of hair is gone and I am in love/shock with my new do. Funny enough, very few people noticed my hair cut. Seriously, it is a drastic cut and only about five people noticed! I will work on putting up a picture so you can see it. It is so nice to have it out of my face and not have it yanked out!

Moments of Micah

Micah is so funny at this age. He is saying funny things all the time, but the best part is that he is so sincere.

While sitting at the bar eating popcorn to me, "I like you buddy." My response..."I like you too buddy!"

As I was zipping up Brooklyn's blanket sleeper, "Is Brooklyn a race car driver?"

Heading into the mall, "Can we get some Old McDonalds?"

Eating Trix, "Mmm, mm, mm, that's delicioso!"

After discussing an upcoming nap time, "No, I can't nap. I waked up already."

Did I mention he also talks about his blanket like it is one of his best friends? "Where did blankie go? He has to go bed with me."

There are times when he can be such a pain in the butt and he always seems to wait until I get to two before listening to me, but I just adore him. He is a lot of fun!

Photos: Some new, some old

Hello again! This is Chad with some more photos.


Something you don't see every day. We were driving home from Church when we came across a corner of "No on 8" sign-wavers. Suddenly this clearly outspoken dude rolls up with a homemade Yes on 8mobile. What you might not be able to see is the boombox in the bed of the truck which was blaring the usual Yes on 8 commercials at the "No on 8" sign-wavers as well as the rest of the community he drove past. More power to him, I guess.

Luki's Halloween costume. Perfect.

Micah's Halloween haul. I have no idea how to regulate the amount of candy he eats without having it all get chalky and dried up from sitting so long. Kind of makes you rethink the whole Halloween thing.

Brooklyn's other Mommy, Ashley, holding her up. The insane wedgie should serve as proof that she really is my daughter.

Micah looking dapper in his Halloween costume.

One day Micah decided he wanted to see what it was like to be a box of cereal. Here he is, trying to fit in with his new-found soulmates.

Why 8?

Let me begin this one by tell you that I am not a bigot and I don't hate gay people since that is what people are assuming when you say Yes on 8. I actually have gay family members who I love dearly. That being said I am voting yes on 8. Here are a couple reasons why:
1. I am a Christian and I don't want to say one thing and do another. God has told us that homosexuality is not OK. He has also told us to love our neighbor. So, in short, love the sinner, not the sin. We must love them, but should not give our stamp of approval on the behavior.
2. If Prop 8 doesn't pass, churches will loose their tax exemption status. This means that the soup kitchens, homeless shelters and charitable programs they run will not be able to help as many people because some of that money will have to go towards taxes.
3. Marriage and homosexuality will have to be taught in schools if Prop 8 doesn't pass. When health and sex education come up, the teachers will have to discuss it. It is in their legislature. It was never taught to us because it was just assumed that people were married.
4. It is not eliminating rights to anyone. Their is equality between gay and straight couples, but their is a difference. Just as I have the same rights as a black man, 8 year old or 80 year old. We are different though because I cannot benefit from the United Negro College Fund, enroll in second grade or in AARP. We are just different and that is something we have to come to accept.
5. If Prop 8 doesn't pass, it could open up a can of worms. Who is to say that other groups wouldn't want to redefine marriage as something else. The polygamists many want to be able to be recognized as a valid marriage or the age of consent will change. Doesn't this leave us open to major moral issues?
I could go on with more reasons, but those are in the forefront of my mind. As for the president, I don't care much for either. We have a system set up that doesn't allow for any radical changes made by one person. The whole checks and balances things is good, but tends to make the president a bit of a puppet. Oh well, I hope things get better from here. As for your thoughts, feel free to leave a comment if you would like, but please be respectful. These are my thoughts and opinions. Lucky for both of us we have the rights to voice them in this great country. Please remember that as you exercise your right to vote today!

hAlLOwEeN

Halloween was crazy and fun! I am in a moms group and we have two imports, one from Australia and another from South Africa and it was the first time I realized that Halloween was only celebrated in the US. Trying to explain what we do for Halloween to someone from another country makes it sound really weird. Well, we all dress up as something else and go door to door asking for candy. Don't forget to carve your pumpkins! Why? I don't know. We just do!

Anyways, we met up with Emma and Heidi or should I say Alice and Piglet, to trick or treat. We always have fun with them! Shelby and Cody paired up too and made a HAUL! My favorite moment of the night had to be when I took them to my mom's neighbor. I just happened to catch her as she was about to leave for a carnival. When Micah said Trick or Treat, she got all flustered because she hadn't gotten candy. She ran inside the house and came back with a ball of cash. Micah got $4, which he thought was the greatest thing ever. He called it his million dollars!

OK, I know you already saw the kids dressed up, but its my blog, so I can do what I want!

Micah and Emma, the only picture I got of them since they were in a hurry to trick or treat!

Shelby as a Blueberry girl and Cody the werewolf.

Yesterday, we went to my friend Kristina's wedding. She looked amazing and she had thought of every detail to make it perfect. She even had Happy Meals for all the kids and a goody bag with crayons and Pez. Can you tell she was a nanny? It was so cute!