Sunday, December 26, 2010

Roiled Splotten

Yesterday the kids got a lot of Christmas loot. Connor was playing with one of his many toys and said "Mom, are we roiled splotten?" I asked what and he said "You know, like we got a lot of stuff?" I said "Oh, you mean spoiled rotten?" And he said "Yeah, roiled splotten." He kept insisting that it was roiled splotten. Kaytlynn got an outdoor market and Connor came to shop. Kaytlynn insists that she is the customer, not the cashier. So Connor "bought" almost all the food at the market and Kaytlynn got really mad and said he was going to buy all her stuff. He said "I'm sorry! But I have a whole family to feed." Funny kids. It was a good Christmas. I know we do spoil the kids rotten, but while I think they learn good life lessons when they do without something and when they have to work, I also think to myself 'why not?' They really are only little once and hopefully I won't look back and wish that I had done this differently. I don't think I will.

On a side note, mom took Josh to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point for his birthday. They rode in Cami's little Mazda Miata. Josh told me it was really bumpy and his cheeks kept bouncing up and down. So cute!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Santas little helper

2 days ago Josh was sitting on the couch whining about something. Kaytlynn came over and was standing right in front of him, staring at him. She said, to nobody in particular-"He is being whiny." Then she opened her little notebook she was carrying and scribbled with her pencil and said "Josh is being whiny." then closed her book and continued to stand and stare seriously at him. He just stopped whining and stared back, then continued whining. It made me laugh so hard!

We got an Elf on the Shelf book. It comes with this little elf that you name and each morning the elf is hiding in a new place. The elf watches everything and reports back to Santa every night. You can't touch the elf or he will lose his magic. You can talk to him but he can't talk back. So we read the story and then the kids went to look for him. He was in an easy spot, on the piano. Kaytlynn found him first. They agreed his name was Mark. Then we went online and registered him and Santa sent a message to the kids. Even if you don't get this book, this website is really neat. It seems 3-D. It is elfontheshelf.com It has recipes for reindeer food and pictures to color and games. Kaytlynn kept going over and sitting on the piano bench and just staring at Mark. I told her she could tell Mark what she wanted for Christmas and Mark would go tell Santa when they were sleeping and if she was good, she would get it for Christmas. She got all shy and looked away. Connor came over and yelled at Mark "I want a scooter!" Kaytlynn was still looking away from Mark and said in a shy, quiet voice "I want a scooter, too." Every time we would leave the room, Kaytlynn would run into the front room to see if Mark was gone. We took Josh to school and when we came back I said it looked like Mark moved a little bit. I wondered if Mark played the piano while we were gone. Connor and Kaytlynn liked that idea and jumped on board. Josh just kept saying that Mark was not real, and how could he fly back to the North Pole if he didn't have wings. I think I was about Josh's age when I learned the secret about Santa. Wonder how long it will last with him. This may be the last year for him! Sad.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Josh's Christmas wish list


I love trying to dechiper what kids cute handwriting says. I also realize that so many words are spelled weird. I think that kids have it right. It should be spelled how it sounds!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Last night

Last night I went and got my hair and makeup done at the school and my mom came to watch the kids and Brad and I went to his company Christmas party. It was a nice dinner at a nice place in South Jordan and then we had a white elephant gift exchange. It was fun. Brad got a Snap on knife and flashlight set so he was pretty happy about that! He loves knives. Then we had some time so we went to see 127 Hours. I hear some stories and become fascinated by them. This happened in May 2003, so right in between Bahrain and Scotland. I remember hearing about it, but didn't think about it much. Then the movie came out and I've totally been looking stuff up on the internet and was just fascinated and really wanted to see the movie. So we finally went and saw it and it lived up to my expectations. It answered a lot of the questions I had. I think they could have added his family members side of things. That would have been interesting, too. It is so amazing what our bodies can handle. And sometimes they just give out for no reason. So this guy, Aron Ralston, his arm got stuck by a boulder. He was stuck out there for 5 days with hardly any food or water. He chipped away at the rock to try to get his arm out, but that wasn't working. Finally he broke his arm and cut it off with a dull pocket knife. Then he still had to climb out of the slot canyon and walk for 8 miles before he found someone. That's just crazy! I wonder if I would do the same thing. Honestly, if I didn't have kids I don't think I would. But if I had my kids, who really rely on me and need me, then maybe I would do it. Me and Brad really are the center of their universe and I think they'd be kinda messed up if that changed while they are so young and innocent and need me. I just don't know. I tend to like to take the easy way out. I can't stand constant pain. But I think I would try it for my kids, but if they weren't around, I probably would just die there. Anyway.......my mom is really good at doing projects with the kids and teaching them new things when she watches them. She really spends quality learning time with them instead of just sitting there while they play. She's taught them how to do housework and cook and all of that. Last time she came, she taught the kids about the world. She taught them how to say "Hello" in different languages. I don't know the spellings, but my kids now know that Chinese is "Nee-how", French is "bonjour", German is "Gutentag", Spanish is "Hola" and they learned Scottish is "Gooday mate." We corrected them so now they know that's Australia. So the project for the night was to make cookies and frost them and take them to the neighbors. So they frosted the cookies and took some next door. The kids sang Jingle Bells. Then they went to the assisted living place across the street. Kaytlynn said "You know, we went to your paycheck." I always say I need to go across the street and get my paycheck, so I guess Kaytlynn thinks that is what that place is called. They talked with a couple of the grandmas over there. There are actually some great great grandmas over there. Crazy! So I thought that was cute what my mom did. When we came home Elijah was sleeping on the couch with Kaytlynns dress up tinker bell skirt on. That kid LOVES dressing up. I thought about buying him a bunch of dress up clothes for Christmas, but no, I won't. I saved this post, so last night was Josh's 1st grade program. He did a dancing part. He danced to "Sail Away" by Enya. I would have expected him to just kind of shuffle around, but he actually danced and didn't stop the whole time he was up there. So proud. It was cute. Connor wanted to take pictures, so I told him he could walk up a little further and get some pictures. He came back and showed me what he took. There was one of Josh's nose and a whole bunch really close up. Nice! I'll have to have Connor be the cameraman again because for some reason I don't think I could get away with that.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Sleep

So I ran out of Ambien on Monday. I get a refill today. On Sunday I got to sleep for awhile in the morning, then hung out with the family, then slept from 8:30 to 10:30. I went to work Sunday night at 11, worked for 8 hours, went straight to the post office and worked for 11 hours, came home and did some stuff. I got in bed at 8 and couldn't sleep. I finally kind of dozed off after 9, but it was not good sleep!! I was up at 10:30 and went back to work at 11. Worked for 8 hours, came home and took care of the kids. Tried to rest, but just couldn't. I became a walking zombie. I was laying in bed and think I finally went to sleep around 5 and got up for work at 2:30! It was good sleep, too, thank goodness!! So yay for 9 hours of good sleep. So I was up for about 43 hours before my body finally let me get a good sleep. Yeah, I'd rather use the Ambien, thanks!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I miss my cousins

I have been missing my cousins more than usual lately. I have a lot of time to think while I'm delivering the mail, and I have been thinking about them a lot. I wonder what would be going on. I'm sure they would both be married with little rug-rats and hopefully living here so our kids could play together. And we could play together! We'd all get together at grandmas house and our kids would play "Don't Eat Pete!" with grandma. I think Tanya would have the oldest kid. I think she would have gotten married before me and probably had a sweet, quiet, shy little girl first. Tanya was so sweet and always concerned about others. She would have made a good mom. Austin would rough house with Jarom and the boys. There was always a lot of laughing when we got together. And card playing. And toilet papering. Austin and I had some deep talks and he always had theories about things. Some of them made me laugh. I watched a muppet meep video and it totally made me think of Austin. He loved the muppets! And not just when he was a kid. We went and watched "Muppets in Space" at the theatre with Autumn in 1999. Austin also made a bunch of funny videos with his friends. In one of them, they had a tire roll through every scene. That was just his sense of humor :) He also told me about how many times he almost crashed in Alaska because they didn't salt the roads so they were all icy. And he laughed when kids threw rocks at him on his mission. He was such a silly kid! We went rock climbing and he made me do a trust jump so he could prove that the rope had me and I wouldn't fall. It took me forever to let go of the rock and jump. He was just yelling at me to jump and telling me that he wouldn't let me down until I jumped. We did some night rock climbing which was so much fun. He used to hike up in the mountains and eat the bugs! When I was staying with my aunt and uncle for a summer, he told me to only do housework when they were watching so they thought I was helping out a lot. He said to be sure to vacuum while my uncle was watching tv, so he'd be sure not to miss seeing me clean. He convinced me to plant my face in our combination graduation and eagle scout cake. He really got his face in his corner of the cake. He was smart because he got a lot bigger piece that way. When I moved to Scotland and married Brad, Austin wrote a letter to Brad and warned Brad not to stir my ice cream when I told him not to, because I would pour it on his head. I guess in Idaho one time Austin was being a pest and kept stirring my ice cream and I told him if he kept doing that I would pour it on his head, and that odd child wanted me to do that, so he kept stirring, and I poured! I was in Utah with Josh visiting and Austin decided that Josh's first word should be "Austin", so he just kept repeating his name in Josh's ear over and over again. Josh probably thought he was crazy! And it didn't work. When Austin died and I was at their house, I looked on his shelf in the bathroom mirror, and there was a picture in there of me and him. It is now on my cabinet shelf in the bathroom. There are some awesome pictures of Autumn and Austin singing together. Not serious singing, but funny singing. I wasn't even there, but I could just imagine. The pictures are so cute. I think they were singing primary songs. They were the best cousins ever!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Kaytlynn is such a manly girly girl

We went and saw "Tangled" at the theatre yesterday. It was really cute, but too much for Brad. He cringed every time there was a musical number and said the movie was definitely a mother daughter movie. There was hardly anyone there (Pretty normal for a Sunday at the theatre in Spanish Fork) and there was a guy there with his two boys. Anyway, I sat next to Kaytlynn. She just loved it. She still doesn't know quite how to behave at the movies. She was talking a lot. That mouth just needs to be going. She was saying "Ohh, I like her dress. Oh, I like her hair, but it's too long." Then she was talking about her Whoppers, describing how they are chocolate on the outside and crunchy on the inside. She told me "they are like candy" and "Daddy doesn't like them and Josh doesn't like them and Connor likes them but he doesn't want any right now because he's eating his popcorn. Mommy likes them and I like them." Then she'd do her little giggle. She kept offering me more and when I would say no thanks, she would try to look at my mouth and at my cheeks to see if I was done with what I was eating. Then she would ask me if I was done or if I was still eating the last ones and if I wanted more.

She has been picking her nose and eating whatever she picks lately. The more we tell her it's gross and disgusting, the more she looks straight at us and does it again. In the movie theatre she decided to try her ears. She told me "Mom, I picked my ear wax and ate it, but I didn't like it." Thank goodness! That reminds me of high school when an 18 year old in our ward was engaged to this guy. He was sitting next to her at church and was digging around in his ear, then pulled it out and nudged his fiancee and made her look at his findings on his finger. I really couldn't believe she was going to throw away her single youth for that guy. I'm not sure if she did or not.

Anyway, Kaytlynn farted, fluffed, passed gas, had wind--whatever you want to call it--and of course had to say loudly that she farted and it stunk and laugh. She describes her farts as smelling like somebody pooped in their pants. If she smells something out in public, she is not afraid to describe it. The other night it was "Mom, it stinks out there. It smells like horse poop." So this kid reminds me of an adolescent boy in some ways. She is a very windy child. But then she is so girly in other ways, like loving the movie. I kept looking over at her and she would be feeling her hair, twisting it around her hand. She would start trying to sing the song that Rapunzel was singing. She critiques almost all girls she sees saying whether she likes their hair or not. Her moods swing like crazy. At one minute she is laughing and talking, and at the next she is screaming "NNOOOOOO!" if you don't read her mind. I just have to ignore her when she's like that. She will often stomp off crying into her room and slam the door. Anyway, it's a nail biter to think of what she will be like as a teenager.

Josh got some awesome gifts for his birthday. One of them was nerf guns. We now have enough for the whole family. Brad got the one that holds 6 of the little suction cup bullets--what the heck! Everyone else got guns that held 3 or 4 bullets. We played a nerf gun version of capture the flag. We'd turn off the lights and tip toe around the dark house, hiding behind walls and chairs, then start shooting when we saw someone on the other team. It was a lot of fun. All of the boys were totally sweating. Kaytlynn had a little fit when something didn't go her way and decided she wasn't going to play, but agreed to let us use her as a decoy. She went prancing up the stairs with her gun and almost made it to the base before Brad realized what she was doing and shot her. There were suction cup bullets everywhere when we were done. Sticking to the ceiling, the walls, and windows. I think back to when we played "witches and warlocks" in the dark house as kids. That is what good memories are made of and that's what I was thinking as we were playing--'We're making memories.' There's this guy, Nate, that works at the post office. He always has something witty to say as he's leaving to do his route. One morning as he was leaving, he said "Cara. There is about 3 inches of new snow out there and the fun is for the taking. Let's go out and make some postal memories!"

Sunday, December 5, 2010

SO grateful!

I've been wanting to write this for a long time. I just feel like I never have the time to write everything that I think about this subject. I'm just going to write everything as I think it, so there will be no rhyme or reason.

I am so grateful that my Crohns disease is not bad. I got it when I was 10 and I've had some bad times with it, but I haven't been on medication for 7 years, and my health is great!! So many people with Crohns are in and out of the hospital and so sick they have to have surgeries and can't lead a normal active life. The biggest thing my Crohns has stopped me from doing is being a river raft guide. I was able to go on one river raft trip and was able to guide and learn what I needed to learn, but I couldn't do the rest of the weekend trips. I am so lucky this disease has not stopped me from doing much in my life.

I am so grateful to have my kids. Even though they drive me nuts and they are SOOOO hard--the hardest job I've ever had, I am so lucky. Even though they make me crazy every day, they also make me laugh every day. I love seeing Josh and Connor learning to read and Kaytlynn learning to write her name. Even though they have extremely picky eating habits, they are very healthy. None of them have had any major health problems, and for that we are so lucky and I am so thankful. I see so many people now--just everywhere--that are aching to have babies and can't, and so many families who have kids with major health problems or with kids who have died. I can't even stand the thought of that and don't know what I'd do, so I just think about it, hope nothing changes in our family, and feel these huge feelings of gratitude.

I am so grateful for my husband. I honestly think I would shrivel up into a ball in the corner and die without him. Or at least be sent to the Utah State Hospital. For those of you who don't know, that is the place for mental health here. I have major shortcomings and where I can't do something, he takes over and makes sure it gets done. He is amazing. He cooks, he cleans, he helps with homework, he works, he puts the kids to bed every night, picks them up and drops them off at the babysitters, fixes things in the house, cleans up my laptop and scans it for viruses, makes me food to take with me to work, and he takes the kids out everywhere now by himself. He wouldn't take the kids to do anything before while I was at work or sleeping, and he decided to change that, and he did! He takes them to the store, to play laser tag, ice skating, Jumpin' Jacks, basketball games, Disney on Ice--you name it, he will take them. He was also an awesome coach for Josh's soccer team. He works really hard and is spending most of his free time trying to get extra income so I don't have to work as much. I was just thinking about yesterday. I worked all night and came home and slept until 2:30 while Brad took care of the kids and cleaned the house. I got up and took a shower and Brad had all the kids ready to go to Josh's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheeses. He dug around and found a "7" birthday candle, and he called my mom to make sure I had invited her, because I said I couldn't remember if I had invited her or not. We went to Chuck E. Cheeses and he got all the tokens and separated them out for all the kids and made sure they were stocked up all night. He gathered the kids up when it was time for cake and presents, then he got everyone their cake and cups of water, then brought gifts over and handed them to Josh. At the end of the party, he helped my mom find jumper cables and get her car started. We came home and my Dad and Julie came over. My dad and Brad went to pick up some Chinese food, then he got everyone around the table and got dishes out for everybody and water so we could eat around the table together. Then he did all the dishes and I'm sure he did more cleaning and laundry while I took an hour nap before work. Then he went to the store and bought some food just for me, and made a sandwich for me to take to work while I was getting ready. He fills my water bottle and makes sure I have food every night before work. When I work all day at the post office, he gets the kids all ready, drops Josh off at school, drops the other two off at the babysitters, then goes to work all day. He comes home, picks up the kids, gets them started on their homework, makes dinner, and makes sure I have food when I get home. Then he gets the kids to bed while I sleep before work. I complained to him about always having to help the kids with their homework, and he changed that, and now he helps them, too. He is also a food storage fanatic. He is doing everything he can to be prepared and keep us all safe if something happens. He has plans of things we can trade and how long our food will last (He thinks we've got about a years worth.) if something happens. He enjoys reading post apoctalyptic books and getting ideas from those of how to survive :) When we go on a short, easy hike, he has a big heavy, sweaty backpack full of solar blankets and first aid stuff and a compass and knife and sweaters and lots of water. That cracks me up :) So yes, I am so grateful for my husband, his health, and his job. I am so lucky.

I am thankful for my friends and family. What would I do without them? I am surrounded by people who would do anything for me. I have old, wonderful friends who still keep in touch even though we haven't seen eachother in years. I have friends that stop me from going crazy. I have family who is there when I need them and who I know we could turn to if we ever needed anything. So many people don't have their parents or siblings to help them or even just to talk to.

I am grateful for my jobs. For the most part, I love them and they are what makes it possible for us to live the life we live. We are able to buy the things we need and also do the things we want. We are able to give our kids a good life with lots of different experiences. There are so many people without jobs right now, and I feel very, very lucky to not only have a job, but for it to be one I love, and for it to pay enough money. We are lucky that Brad has a job that he loves.

I am so grateful for my health in all areas. If anything were to happen, I couldn't work at the post office. I need the use of my arms, legs, eyes, ears, fingers, back knees--everything. It all has to be in good working condition. I am lucky that I am able to work this job and hope that never changes.

I am grateful for our house. I love our house. We won it in the bid by $60. Best $60 we ever spent. It has everything we need and it is in the perfect spot. It is close to the schools, the parks, the parades, and pretty much every store we need. It is close to the freeway. It is the perfect size for us and we have great neighbors. We haven't had to do any major or expensive work. It is perfect for our family.

I am grateful for central heating. Every time I walk in the door from the freezing cold, usually holding a freezing little girl, and I am hit by that warm wall of air, I am just so incredibly thankful!

I am grateful for our cars. They have gotten us to and from wherever we needed. We have not had any major repairs and they have done their jobs just how they are supposed to. I am so glad that we were in the position to be able to get a minivan when Kaytlynn was born, and get an all wheel drive when Brads job moved to Bluffdale and he has to travel in the snow to work. We are so lucky to have our cars!

I am grateful for happy pills. When you have something to help you from screaming at the kids and not being able to stop yourself, this is good. This will help my kids to remember a happy mom, not a screaming one. I am also thankful for happy pills for him. He sure can be a grump without them! I am also thankful for Ambien. Without it I could not get good sleep that would allow for me to be a mom and work all my jobs. I would be a walking zombie. Someone who wants to sleep, but just can't. I would not be able to function, so thank you Ambien!

There is so much more I am grateful for. Sometimes I get down and look around and see people who have more money than I do and don't have to work. People that don't have to stress about money or health problems. People who don't have kids to strap them down. People who are living the life I used to live, full of travel and fun and excitement. When I focus on what I do have I realize I have SO MUCH!! I am SO LUCKY, SO GRATEFUL, and SO THANKFUL. (Thankful and grateful may mean the same thing, but whatever.) Thank you to everybody who is a part of my wonderful life! I love you!!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

"I See Sam"

Connor brought home his first take home book today, "I See Sam". He did really well at reading it, but I don't know how much was guessing. It's so fun when the kids start really reading. There was a "blizzard" today. Brad came home from work early and Connors wrestling was canceled. The news said to stock up on neccesities--flashlights and blankets--and said to just stay at home unless it was absolutely neccesary to go out. I went to bed around 5 p.m. and woke up around 10 p.m. I must have just slept through the whole thing. There was some snow on the ground, but not a ton. It must have passed by Spanish Fork without a lot of damage. So much for the big storm. I guess it was a lot worse in other parts of Utah....

The kids are off of school for Thanksgiving break today. Kaytlynn had a Thanksgiving "feast" on Monday in pre-school. The only thing she told me about it is they had pizza. Funny. They celebrated Josh's birthday in his class yesterday. I made up little gift bags for his class. I went to the dollar store and spent $40! Amazing how fast it can add up. I love that store. :) Just a thought for you--I am so grateful every time I walk in our door from the cold into our warm house. We are so lucky to have central heating that we can turn as high as we want! I am usually carrying a cold kid and I just can't help but say "We are so lucky to have a nice warm house!" every time we come in the door. Happy Day!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Wow

In 4 days my baby will be 7! That is so crazy! On Friday night the kids were using me as their own human jungle gym and Josh and Kaytlynn fell on the floor and there were 2 little teeth on the floor. Perfect timing for the song "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" Apparently that song is an American thing, because Brad has never heard it. They were Josh's 2 top middle teeth. The dentist told him at the last appointment that he needed to wiggle them in his spare time so they would come out and make room for his adult teeth. Josh has been scared and wouldn't wiggle them. There was some blood and Josh cried, but I think he was mostly just shocked. He got a slurpee to numb his mouth and that made him happy. He also got $10 from the tooth fairy! I know! I guess the value of teeth is rising, even in this economy.



So Josh is in 1st grade and doing well. His teacher loves having him in her class because he is so precise at following all the rules. He is such a rule oriented kid. He is a very picky eater, so when I am making his lunch I know he will not eat anything that he doesn't specifically ask for. He just throws it away, so I only give him what he wants. Here is what his lunch usually consists of. An apple juice box, 2 fruit rollups--unrolled and in a snack bag. If I don't do this, he says he can't open it and throws it away. 1 Nacho Cheese Dorito, 2 pieces of apple--red, unpeeled, each piece 1/8th of the apple. If I try to trick him and cut the pieces any bigger, he only eats half of the piece of apple. I recently dropped Connor off at school and Josh was the only kid on the playground. I thought maybe he had ditched class to play, but he was just the first one done with lunch and wanted to play on the monkey bars. I asked him before what he does at recess and he said "um, the monkey bars or something. I do what I want." I look every time I pass the school to see if I can see him and I finally did. He was chasing and being chased by other kids. Takes after his mom. I think I started that chasing thing in kindergarten and it lasted through 3rd grade. I remember one time in the 3rd grade, I ran so hard that the next morning my legs hurt so bad and I could barely walk. Another time a boy, Manuel (weird the things your brain remembers. I can remember this, but can't remember the names of the people I work with.) was chasing me and I kept looking behind me and he was catching up. I think he was a guy that would tackle me and not be careful, so I yelled my brothers name as loud as I could, and there Jarom was in seconds like a superhero. He immediately saw what was happening and went and tackled Manuel. What a good brother.

So I'll give you all one guess on what Josh wants to do for his birthday. Yep, Chuck E. Cheeses AGAIN. I told him he could ice skate or have his birthday at the gym or Jumpin Jacks. But no, it's always Chuck E. Cheeses.

By the way, my blogs are probably going to be a lot more often, long, and random because I have not written in journals for sooooo long, and I know I'll regret not having written something down at this busy time while the kids are young and cute and time-consuming. I got my blog made into a book, so I do have something.

Okay, so Josh is playing basketball and he loves it. He's so cute when someone throws the ball and he stops for a second, then jumps all around with excitement and pumps his fist in the air when they get a basket. Connor is in wrestling and was having a lot of fun and really looking forward to it until the matches started. He usually gets pinned right away and then complains that his neck hurts. He gave it a shot though. Connor also decided to quit gymnastics. I'm sad because it would have been really fun to see him get really good and then do stunts out snowboarding. I think he just gets tired after school and all the activities he does. Next we will try piano. I can't remember which kids said they wanted to do piano lessons, but my dad and stepmom sent down the piano, so we've gotta take advantage!

And Kaytlynn, oh Kaytlynn. She is as stubborn and hard-headed as they come. I think I will give up ever trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to do right now, because she will win. She still gets naked when she's mad and can't figure out anything else to do. She said she didn't want to go to school and I asked why not. She took all her clothes off and said "I just want to stay home and be naked! Hmf!" She loves having "pitnits" and gets out blankets multiple times a day, spreads them out on the floor in the front room (and gets very angry if the blanket is not perfectly smooth), then climbs up in the pantry and gets things like 3 cans of tomato soup, a box of macaroni and cheese, crackers, honey, fruit snacks.....she fills up her tea pot with water and we have a tea party picnic. Another thing she says when she gets mad is "I'm not doind to have a pitnit with you! Hmf!" (Arms folded) "I have to have my own pitnit and you have to have your own pitnit." She also says "I'm not your sister anymore!" when she gets mad. Hm. I'm not your sister anymore, dad is good, mom is not, I'm not doind to play with you anymore, and I'm mad! And lets not forget "You're mean!" and "I hate you!" Oh, the joys. She can be very sweet too, but not too often. She has this signature Kaytlynn move where she licks you and then kisses you. Sometimes she'll run to the door and give me hugs and a lick and a kiss on the cheek when I'm going somewhere. That's nice. She also has filler conversation, because the girl loves to talk. She tells me-"Mom, you need to go take a shower because your hair is messy, and nobody wants to see that." Or "let me go change because I'n wearing pajamees and nobody wants to see that" Okay, enough writing for today.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Connor Loves Girls #2

As I posted a long time ago--Connor loves girls. http://bradandcara.blogspot.com/2009/09/connor-loves-girls.html . When he started pre-school, they had a fire drill and the kids were walking back to their classroom. I saw all the kids in Connors class walking single file back to the room and Connor was the last one, holding a girls hand. He knew exactly how many girls were in his class, but hadn't the faintest idea of how many boys there were. He had a long time girlfriend, Braylee, and by the end of the school year he had 2 girlfriends, Braylee and Daisy. Daisy's dad didn't seem too thrilled about this.

So Connor started wrestling last week. They were in a big room at the high school learning wrestling moves. There were 86 kindergarten to 2nd graders and out of those 86, there was one girl. At the end of the practice they were playing two separate games of "Sharks and Minnows" In each game there were 3 sharks. The minnows would crawl to the other side of the room, trying not to get slammed down to the floor by the sharks. If one of the sharks got you, you would become a shark. I think Connor had a clear plan in his head from the beginning. As he was crawling across the room, he headed straight to one of the sharks and got slammed down, so he became a shark. As they started the next round, he made a beeline halfway across the room to the other game that was being played, headed straight for that little pony-tailed girl and slammed her down.




I swear nothing else was in his view or his mind except getting to that girl. Josh was watching with me and was like-"What the? Where is Connor going? What's he doin'? He's on the wrong side." I said "I think he's headed for that little girl." And he was. It was so funny. I so wish I had it on camera. Instead you will all have to settle for my first try at paint. Not my proudest moment as a mother, but pretty darn close :)

P.S. I went and helped at Connors class Halloween party and a mom there told me that she asked her daughter who the cutest boy in class was, and she said Connor and Micah. Hahahahaha!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Kickboxing

You all know that I work nights, so I'm usually pretty tired in the morning by the time I get Josh off to school and feed all the kids. I have a kickboxing class that I go to on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-10. Most the time I'm tired and really not motivated to go. I wouldn't really even mind going to kickboxing, it's the fact that I have to come home and take a shower instead of a nap. It's at a church and all the kids go and play and dodge their moms punches and kicks. So I really didn't want to go yesterday morning. I asked who wanted to go, hoping the kids would say they didn't want to and make the decision for me. Connor wanted to go and Kaytlynn didn't, so the choice was up to me. Connor told me-"Mom, kickboxing is exercise and when we don't exercise our bodies get all mushy and floppy." I asked him if he was concerned about me being mushy and floppy and he was. Connor is just full of fun facts and stories, so he continued on about how if we are sitting or lying down, we are not exercising. He told me he learned this on Sid the Science Kid. When he said our bodies get mushy, Kaytlynn thought he said our bummies get mushy. I said yes, that was true too. Connor said-"Oh, I didn't learn that on Sid the Science Kid" Then he added on his own fun facts that came straight from his little brain. He said our cheeks would get floppy and hang down like a dogs. So after we dropped Josh off at school and did some errands, I pulled into our driveway, and Connor says "Mom! Kickboxing!" I tried to make excuses and he said "You need your kickboxing shoes? Well, run into the house and get them and let's go!" That was all the motivation I needed. Kaytlynn has also been a motivator to get me to kickboxing. I really need that. Funny kids.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Springville Dairy Queen

I like Dairy Queen. It's pretty good, but in the last 4 years we have tried unsuccessfully to get food three times at the Dairy Queen in Springville by WalMart. The first time we went to get food, we waited at the speaker where they take the order for a few minutes and nobody came. I figured maybe they just had one person there taking the orders and maybe this person was taking a potty break. Nobody ever came. We drove to the window and waited a couple minutes and nobody came, then went back to the speaker and to the window and still saw nobody. This was not at an unusual time of day. It was in the afternoon sometime. The second time one of the kids just had to have a drink after our shopping trip to WalMart. Dairy Queen was right there and there was nobody in line at the drivethrough. So we tried again. The same thing happened again! So we went to Wendy's. The third time, we waited for probably about 30 seconds at the speaker before someone came. They said to order when we were ready, so we ordered. Nobody was there. There were a few "hello?"s from me and finally someone came back and took my order. Then I drove through and was waiting at the window and nobody ever came! I did not see a soul inside. We waited probably 5 minutes because I thought maybe they were short staffed and the one who took my order had to go and cook the food and just didn't bother coming to the window to tell me. Finally I just left. Glad I didn't pay for it! So my friend was telling me about how she ordered something at the Dairy Queen drivethrough and there were 3 teenage boys with long unbrushed hair and goatees throwing trash at eachother. Like bowls with melted ice cream. She waited awhile at the speaker and finally someone took her order. When she went to the window, there was one of the boys with melted ice cream on his shirt and hair working there. So she just left. Good decision on her part. I have been totally stumped about my visits there. I think the only thing it could be is there is only one person running the whole restaurant who has uncontrollable diarrhea every day. In which case, I don't think it's a good idea to eat there anyway.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Schedules

Okay, Josh will be going to school M, T, Th, F at 8:30 until 2:45. W is 8:30 to 2:00. Connor is going to school M, T, Th, F from 12:00 until 2:45. W is 11:45 to 2:00. Kaytlynn is going to school M and W from 9 to 11:20. Connor has gymnastics T and Th from 3:45 to 5, and Connor and Josh have soccer games T and Th either at 5:30 or 6:15. Just had to write that out. I am still working 60+ hours a week, and Brad is still working full time in Bluffdale. I will be amazed if I never forget a drop off or pick up time. Thank goodness Kaytlynn quit dance and Josh quit gymnastics! And thank goodness I don't have more kids!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

I haven't posted anything for awhile. My kids are growing so fast. We were at the park the other day and there is a little "general store" Kaytlynn said we were the customers. When we all started telling her what we wanted, she wagged her little finger at us and said "One at a time." I can't believe she is going to be 4! She will be in pre-school, Connor in kindergarten, and Josh in 1st grade. Some days I will be at the school 5 different times to drop off and pick up! I've gotta find a carpool. It will be nice when they can walk to school. Adults have to drop off and pick up until 1st grade, I think. Then they can walk! We are lucky because it only takes 6 minutes to walk to the school. Josh and Connor are in gymnastics and will be starting soccer again next week. Josh will do Little Hoopsters in October. Kaytlynn hasn't been doing dance because they switched teachers and she said she doesn't like her new teacher. She is such a punk!

One of my best friends is coming to visit in 2 days and we will go to the Grand Canyon. Brad has his work river rafting trip coming up which he is excited about, and the Demolition Derby is soon! :) We also have a few Scots coming to visit, so that should be fun. Lots of working......Work hard, play hard. That's a good motto.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Connors 5th birthday BBQ

I don't know how many people actually read this, but I wanted to post that we are having a BBQ for Connor's 5th birthday on Sunday, June 27th from 5-8 p.m., and it would be great to see anybody who can make it! It will be at the Spanish Fork reservoir at the pavilion. 2931 S Spanish Oaks Dr. You get off of I-15 at the Hwy 6 Price/Manti exit. Go up highway 6 for a few miles and turn right on powerhouse road. Turn left on Spanish Oaks Dr and go all the way up the hill, past the reservoir, and there is parking by the pavilion. There is a playground and if you would like to swim, be sure to bring your water and beach gear. Call me with any questions: 801-859-5937. We're excited!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Update

Okay, here's an update on the Bradley family. Josh graduated from kindergarten yesterday. They had a program, sang, got a diploma and graduation picture, and then had a BBQ. So cute. The day before was Connors pre-school program. They sang. Also so cute! In 4 months I will have a 1st grader, a kindergartener, and a pre-schooler. Kaytlynn had her dance recital. My mom helped out. She had to carry Kaytlynn out onto the stage and then Kaytlynn wouldn't dance. She put her arm up and I thought-'Yay, she's finally going to dance', but she just put her arm up to throw her stuffed animal prop across the stage. When a little girl went and picked it up and tried to find the owner, Kaytlynn refused to take it back. Kaytlynn is finally pretty much potty trained, so we haven't had to buy diapers for weeks--yay! 6 and a half years of diapers is long enough. For awhile there were three different sizes because we had 3 under the age of 3. We won't miss those diapers! Josh finished soccer and has started T-ball and loves both of them. Connor will be starting T-ball soon and is having his gymnastics program next week, before he moves on to the Shooting Stars gymnastics class. Connor is all ready for kindergarten. Josh knows how to read and write now--crazy! And he is totally the oldest kid. He kind of bosses the other 2 around, but he is very helpful--and very observant! Kaytlynn is all kinds of trouble. When she is mad, she takes her clothes off. She was mad at Joshs kindergarten graduation, so she turned her shirt around. Makes me laugh. Despite the recital, she loves dance and told me-"Mom, I just want to dance all day." Brad is still plugging away at SEO.com, and doing his workout stuff. He and Connor went to Scotland in March and had a lot of fun. And I am trying to balance 5 peoples schedules and 5 jobs! I started working for the census, which has actually been a lot of fun. Then I am still doing nightwatch at two places, delivering mail, and working every once in awhile as the activities person at the assisted living place. Life is good and we are lucky to have such great family and friends, jobs that we love, fun healthy kids, and a house that we love in a city that we love! :)

Monday, May 10, 2010

corn dog chicken bleu

Connor asked me for some corn dog chicken bleu the other day. Chicken cordon bleu--heehee. And Kaytlynn always wants to wear her peejam-ees. We went to the zoo the other day and Connor had an Australian accent and was saying things like "That king snake is gigantic!" He's been watching too much Steve!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Gymnastics and snowboarding

Connors gymnastic teacher thought he was doing really well for his age, so she had the competitive gymnastics teacher come and take a look at him, and they gave him an invitation to join the boys competitive gymnastics class for 4 to 6 year olds. Connor is 4, so I was a proud mom! If he doesn't like it, though, we'll put him back in the class that he loves. He also did so well snowboarding last time we went! I thought I'd have to keep only one foot strapped in so I could help him up, but I ended up having to strap both my feet in because I couldn't keep up with only one foot strapped in. His teacher said that he has more muscle than most kids his age, so the gymnastics and snowboarding must be complimenting eachother well!

Friday, March 19, 2010

St. Patricks Day

St. Patricks Day is so fun when you have kids in school. Josh made a leprechaun trap for his class. He was very conscientious (sp?) about making sure the ladder leading up to the trap was small enough for the leprechaun to jump from rung to rung, then we had to make tiny little steps so he could get up to the pot of gold (Chuck E. Cheeses tokens) at the end of the rainbow, and he made sure to hide the thumb tack and string behind the wood pole so that the leprechaun couldn't see it and know it was a trap. I will have to post a picture of it. It was cute. So the kids set up their traps all over the classroom, then went on a leprechaun hunt. When they got back 4 leprechauns had been in their classroom! There were green leprechaun footprints (they got into the paint, I guess) all over the floor and the desks. And they left chocolate gold coins and jelly beans for the kids. But none of the traps caught them, they were too sneaky and fast. Josh was looking forward to this for weeks and made us take his trap to school early. Connor was in Scotland for St. Patricks Day, but his class made wands with rainbow streamers, then went on a leprechaun hunt. While they were gone, one of the teachers was throwing chairs and papers around, like the leprechaun had come in and made a huge mess. Just so cute! I would love to get into each one of the kids heads and see exactly where their imaginations are taking them. So fun!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

I think all kids do it at least once.

Josh ran into our bedroom yesterday and told me that Connor and Kaytlynn were cutting their hair. So I ran to the bathroom, and found this:




Now they look like this:


Saturday, February 27, 2010

My little dancer




Kaytlynn has been copying the cheerleaders and gymnasts at Connors gymnastics class for awhile now. She copied a figure skater on tv. And she copies me at my kickboxing class. She is really good at seeing other people do things and copying it. So I decided it was time for dance classes. I asked her if she wanted to do dance class and she said yes, that would be fun. The day before I signed her up I asked again and she said "NO!!" so we just did a trial class on Wednesday. I didn't know if she would really like it and do great, or if she would be a little bum and cry and scream and not let me go, so it was a nice surprise when she went right in and did all the dance moves as well as the girls who have been in class for awhile. She really liked it and is excited to go again. She's really growing up!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Connor likes snowboarding better than skiing.




Connor had his first snowboarding lesson up at Brighton. His little snowboard was so cute! We have got to find one to buy somewhere. He seemed to do well. He fell a lot, just like every normal human learning to snowboard, but he took it like a champ. His teacher liked him because he didn't whine, he just kept saying "I want to do it myself." I thought he'd conk out on the way home, but he was up all day. I think the tired hit him last night, though. He was whining and crying a lot. I asked him if he liked skiing or snowboarding better (I really, really was not trying to push him towards liking snowboarding better, I swear!) and he said he liked snowboarding. So until next time, here's some videos and pictures! And by the way, I'm so proud!!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

But I still like you.

Connor told me "Mom, sometimes at night your breath really steents (stinks). But I still like you. I just turn away lite this..." as he turns his head. Well, maybe if you would sleep in your own bed..........Little punk!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

There is no greater compliment than one that is given about your child

I've been getting compliments on my kids lately and it feels so good. We got the basketball compliment to Josh at McDonalds. I had a lady tell me at kickboxing that Kaytlynn was soooo cute, that she just had the perfect little face. Then I had a lady that helps out in Josh's class tell me that he was just so cute. She said she goes home to her husband and tells him about how cute Josh is, that she just wants to take him home with his cute little personality and his freckles. The best compliments you can get are the ones about your kids. Compliments about me are nice, too, but just don't quite compare!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

I'm a widdle fodder

Kaytlynn said one day: "Mom's a stunt and I'n a widdle fodder." It sounded like Mom's a skunk and I'm a little father. It was really moms a skunk and I'm a little farter. It's so true. Well, maybe not the first part, but the second part for sure. And Kaytlynn is getting to the point where they aren't stinkless farts. They can be stinky! Poor kid got bad genes.

It's still fresh!

We went to Chuck E. Cheeses for a birthday party last week. Near the end Josh said he was thirsty so I said we'd get a refill on his drink on our way out. Connor said "I found one mom! It's still fresh." He ran off before I could stop him and came back with somebodies drink. It was either Coke or Root Beer. I was a little bit mortified. I imagined somebody would be missing their drink off their table. I asked him to show me where he got it, and luckily he took me to one of the games. Somebody had left it there. Connor got a lesson in not taking things that aren't his, and he is still healthy!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

My son the basketball player

We went to McDonalds yesterday to let the kids play for awhile (2 1/2 hours). There is a basketball hoop there and Josh loves to throw the balls in for long periods of time. My mom took them in December and said he must have shot the ball 150 times and got a basket half the time. Josh is a little shorty. He's 6 years old, 44 inches tall and weighs 37 pounds. This is a regular sized hoop. So today he had a cheering section. This adorable couple (probably in their 70's with matching white hair) and the adults and kids with them all cheered every time Josh got a basket and were saying "Ohhhhh, so close!" when he missed. When I walked past, the lady stopped me and said "Your son has a real gift! He is amazing! He has an extraordinary future ahead of him. I told him that when he is in Junior High and High School to make sure that he plays basketball." There was more praise. Who knows, maybe we have another John Stockton on our hands. I told her I've wanted to get a hoop in the backyard and she said "Oh, do it! Do it!" We have RV parking on the side of our house and no RV (or boat, darnit) to take up the space. I've wanted to get a real basket put in since we moved in 3 1/2 years ago. I think I'll look for hoops tonight and start digging a hole tomorrow :) It is so nice to hear people cheering your kid on! All the praise made me feel so good. Parents must love going to games and hearing other people cheer their kids on. Ooh, gotta go sign Josh up for soccer. He said he wanted to play, so maybe he'll actually go this year!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Connor skiing

We took Connor for his first ski lesson on January 3rd. I took him skiing/snowboarding last year (3 years old and still in diapers), but I didn't put him in a lesson and I just couldn't bear to let him go, so I was holding onto his jacket the entire time while he just wanted to go down the mountain. So I decided that this year he would have a ski lesson. It went really well and he loved it, but now he wants to try snowboarding. So that's next!


Josh didn't want to go skiing because he says it's dangerous. And Kaytlynn would probably just cry the whole time. We'll probably take her next year.

monster trucks



I took Connor to the monster truck show on Saturday. It was just me and Connor because it is too loud for Josh, and Kaytlynn is still a pain at these things, so why waste the money and make it hard on myself? It was a lot of fun. Connor loves monster trucks. He got to ride on one! This kid has now ridden on a monster truck, an elephant, and a camel. Three things I have never been on!

socksy pants

I've been looking for thermals for awhile in Connors size so he can wear them when he goes skiing or snowboarding and haven't found any small enough. So I found some brown thick tights and got those. When I gave them to him, he went to try them on and came back to me and said "mo-om, these aren't socks. They're socksy pants." Or was it pantsy socks? Shoot, I can't remember!