Our craziness

I feel like our life is going so fast & I try to figure out why we are so busy but haven't put my finger on it just yet. I finally get a moment to post because Chris & Jaden are taking my brother to Burley to meet his wife...yay. Not yay that he's leaving us, yay that I have a small break (wait, I still have Landon & he just happens to be crying.)

First I should mention after months & months of waiting that Landon finally has not just a tooth but 3 teeth. I tried really hard to capture them on camera but for some reason any time your figures go near their mouths they think they're supposed to chew on them. AND the crawing is soooooo close. He goes in full circles but hates his tummy & I think that is what is holding him back. I'm thinking I should be enjoying this because I don't have any baby gates up yet & I have two full sets of stairs to monitor. It will be a challenge.




If you remember I posted curtains I made a couple of months ago. Well I didn't really like them & they've been bothering me. I think that I was just excited that I actually was able to sew them. I did another take & I think they look much better...the picture not so much. Too much light from the windows. I have been on this HUGE kick lately of trying to reuse, not be wasteful, thrifty, ect. So don't worry about the wasted fabric...I have some ideas. My minds just ticking away.

And speaking of my mind. I really have worried about continuing to use my mind. I don't want to lose skills that I worked so hard to get. For a good number of years I worked really hard at my career (60+ hours a week, pre-kids) & I want to make sure my minds keeps thinking (besides sewing projects & what to make for dinner). I decided to take a tax class & then do taxes one or two nights a week during the tax season. If anyone wants me to do their tax return for $20 let me know. I can do 5 for this price but have to know RIGHT NOW!!!

AND we've finally narrowed down Jaden's Halloween costume. That boy likes something one minute & not the next so it wasn't an easy task. He's going to be a lego. I'm still making the costume but so far so CUTE. I was going to different websites to see what Jaden liked & finally I went to one that had homemade ideas & the lego is the only one that he liked. This was after we had bought him items to be MAX from Max & Ruby. He loved them for like a week & now has zero interest. Anyone want some overalls.

And last of all...we were just "Boo-ed" twice within 5 minutes of each other so I didn't have time to put our sign out. The odd thing was that the second one had nothing on the plate. I did takes a few minutes to get to the door so I'm not sure if a cat or dog ate them but I was looking around to see if someone was playing a joke. NOW I have to BOO 6 houses.

Mini Van Mamma

So you'll all laugh & love that I am now a mini van mamma! Yes I know, I declared that I'd never be one. Last week Chris's car showed some serious signs that it wouldn't be with us much longer. The plan was always that my car would be a hand-me-down to Chris thus the need for me to get a new one. We looked at SUV's...we really did. Chris didn't want anything to do with a mini van & told me if we purchased one we'd be back in a week getting a different car because I'd hate it. The crazy thing is at the end of the day the mini van is the one that we felt good about & ended up driving home. I wrote my brother on a mission a letter today & told him that I hope it didn't mean triplets were in our future. I'd like to think that I'm just getting to be a simpler person & less worldly:)

Anyone feel like no matter how hard they try their house is never clean. I've discovered that in order to cook dinner that I have to let Landon create a mess on the kitchen floor. Today I've tried to do a bunch of things so that my hubby thinks I'm a good homemaker:):):) Speaking of what Hubby's think I was talking about how beautiful my sisters were (not in a jealous way, I love them & am happy for their beauty...I'm really not a jealous person) & he informed me that I was more beautiful & tried to find flaws in my sisters. Sorry my BEAUTIFUL sisters...Jenna, now you know where the joke came from that Chris & I were laughing about. I won't share it with the blogging community. So here's to spending our days cleaning, cooking, & taking care of our kiddos!!! One day we'll all be perfect.

Singing Fiasco

So I've done really well to get out of singing in a ward choir or evening singing period...I know, I'm hiding my talent in the sand:) When we moved into my new ward the 2nd week I had someone come & tell me that they heard that I sing & wanted me to be in the ward choir. Then they brought me over a goodie bag & informed me they had lined up a babysitter for me during choir practice & that we'd only practice for 30 minutes. I knew I couldn't get out of it but I was really angry at Chris because I'm thinking that he's told on me. In our ward is a guy that I attended high school with & it clicked so I went & asked & he's the one that told & he proudly told me he did. So I've been attending but missed a couple of practices so today when they said that we were singing I didn't go up since I didn't know the song. Chris was taking Jaden to the bathroom. The choir director came to the mike & started talking about the song & how it was really difficult & that the Choir President called this morning from Florida because she was worried & to just make sure Sister Murphy was there & that everyone would be fine. Then she turned & looked at me & said "someone come & take her baby so that she can sing.' I rushed to the stand muttering to those next to me that I didn't know the song. So we come to the ending & no one is singing because no one knows it. I can't find the note so I made up the ending....ah!!!! I'm really worried that everyones expectations have now been set too high since our whole ward now knows that I sing. I'm already singing a solo next Sunday & how that came to be is a story of its own.

taking a moment

I don't really like messes & try to do activities that avoid messes. I decided that I need to do more to teach Jaden new things & it may just require us to make messes. So for the first time EVER we made sugar cookies. Jaden got to help me mix the dough, roll it out, cut it out, cook it, frost them, sprinkle them, eat them, & take them to his little friends. He had so much fun & even though I had lots of flour & dough to clean off the counter and floor I had fun too. He was so excited to take a plate to two of his little friends & he proudly carried their plates to the doors.

A cutie Pie

I'm a week late in my post for my 8 month old. I may be in denial. I love to hold him so close & tickle his little neck. I took pictures of him just in his diaper so that I could capture all his little features...he's changing so fast. As I lay him down to bed I snuggle and kiss and love my little baby. If time could just stop. It's amazing how a little one can change your family. With Jaden I felt like we were young & inexperienced. When we added Landon to our family I all the sudden felt like a family & that we were complete (we do plan at least another one.) I'm so grateful that Jaden loves him too...I have yet to see any jealousy. If Landon is playing with one of Jaden's toys Jaden goes & gets Landons one of his toys before he takes it away. He cares about his little brother.

Speaking of Jaden. He met with a Speach pathologist today & she asked why they would have referred him. She didn't say too much about it but I got the impression that she has no concerns about Jadens pronunciation & said that boys are slower then girls & that it's nothing to worry about. Jaden is so very SMART despite the fact that he thinks everyone is a boy & that he is 1 year old. They'll call me for an official meeting after all his testing is done but I'm thinking that there is no concerns. Today in his testing they showed him pictures & he had to say what they were. She held up a picture of a green flag & he said GOLF. She laughed & asked me if we were golfers. I told her that we golf in our backyard with Jaden & a green flag marks the hole. Sometimes his knowledge & desire for more can drive me crazy. He got his hands on a screw driver & removed EVERY battery in all his toys. PLUS we are now missing the backs to some of them. I've now HID all the batteries & none of his toys get any until he's over this phase. He keeps me hopping.

These boys are cuties!!! I was telling Chris the other day that I hope they still stay close to their mommy after they are old & married. Hopefully they'll marry girls that love our FAMILY so that we can spend lots of time together & makes lots of memories.

Traditions

On Friday afternoon we decided last minute to take a trip to Utah. A couple of hours later we hit the road to arrive just in time to put the kids to bed. We went so that we could spend some time with Chris's family...his mom flew in & originally was going to come to Idaho. So after a quick weekend we ended up bringing my niece & nephew home with us. It was a fun ride home with four little ones in a mini van (we borrowed Jenna's.) We hit snow, listened to all four (landon included) in a hollering match, & fighting over books & toys.

When we got home my amazing parents brought us dinner & a special surprise for Chris. First off my parents are the most generous people that I know. I have six siblings & they work so hard to do & give to all of us. As Jenna said on her blog at Fathers Day's, Spring Cleaning for my parents means cleaning out their pockets & giving it to their children. It's the small things that they give that means so much & this was one of them. Chris special surprise was a tradition that my dad shared with him. My dad originally was going to do this with Chris on Saturday morning but he so kindly waited since we left to Utah unexpectedly. He gave Chris his first gun...Chris has never hunted. My dad has given each of his sons their first gun when they went on their first hunting trip as did his dad to him. My dad wanted to share this with Chris. He loves Chris so much & is such a good example & such a wonderful father figure. Now on a different note, I'm hoping they don't catch ANYTHING. I just can't bring myself to eat the meat...last year they gave their elk away to a family that needed the meat. We'll see what this year holds for them. In the picture you can see the grandsons (Jaden & Easton) scoping it out. Maybe their future holds a gun too.

The fruits of our labor

My mom & I canned today. YUM!!! We did apple pie filling & applesauce. I've never really canned before so I was excited to try it. We plan to do some more on Monday & I'm hoping to hide some mashed up carrots in the Mondays batch for Jaden who recently has taken a disliking to veggies. Kids, what do ya do???



I've had a couple people ask how I'm doing my digital pages. I use Photoshop elements....it's the simplest photoshop there is & I love it. I like to do my pages really simple so it's served it's purpose. I purchased it at Walmart for $60 or $70 so it's affordable & soooooo much cheaper then REAL scrapbooking. I've been uploading my pages into a shutterfly photobook. There are tons of companies out there that do these & I don't think that shutterfly is the cheapest but I prepaid for 4 books for $80 (20 pages each). I plan to do 1 book for each child a year. Jaden's book right now is about 30 pages & Landons 24 pages so I do have to pay $.99 per page that I've went over. If you compare that to the price of binders, covers, scrapbook paper, & embellishments it's a steal. PLUS there is no mess...I love it. I should mention I'm doing the 8X8 books & not 12x12. It's more of a storybook size and I liked that better. I hope this helps! AND if you don't want to do your own pages there are tons of companies (shutterfly included) that have premade ones that you just add & drop your pictures & writing. It's a timesaver; I'm doing one for my brother on a mission & I love it except there are some limitations with font selections & backgrounds.

a family style weekend...

Conference was fabulous & it's nice to just slow down & reflect & not run in a million directions on a Saturday.

Listening to the speakers can be difficult with two little ones but just having it on in our home brings a more reverent spirit.

I worked with Jaden on who the Prophet was. He kept insisting that President Monson was School...I was kind of confused. I didn't let him get off my lap until he understood that he was the Prophet, or no longer thought he was school?. I told him that it is who he prays for everyone night. I hope these moments make a small impact on a young mind.

We did take a moment between the Saturday Sessions to go to a pumpkin patch to let Jaden pick out a pumpkin. He started out with some really large pumpkins & settled on a really small one when he realized how heavy they were. We do think he is too young to carve it this year so we plan to just display it on a bench in our front yard. Jaden has other plans & partially buried it in the backyard. We'll see if it ends up in front.



FUNNY MOMENT!!! Yesterday morning I woke up because my yard is ugly & driving me crazy. I needed a moment without kids to dig in the dirt & get something done before conference. I was working in the backyard (chris was at the gym with the kids) & I hear a boy crying really loud. I at first assume that it's a neighbor boy so I ignore it for a while. After awhile I figure I better see what's going on so I go to the front yard to find a little boy from a couple streets over stalled in his motorized car. It was raining slightly and he was very unhappy. All he could do was cry for his dad & wasn't able to tell me where he lived. I asked him if I could push him home. Keep in mind I'm covered in mud. He doesn't say a word the whole time & I only know we're at his house because he pushed on the breaks so that I couldn't push him anymore. I was quite the sight!!!

How to workout even harder

At home we only have CNN. Not a great station for a conservative person so I get excited when I go to the gym & Fox News is on.

This evening we went to the gym & fox news was on...this determined where I would start my workout so that I could watch CONSERVATIVE news. Since I usually don't carry headphones I get to squint my eyes & read the captions that are always behind. As I'm 20 minutes into my workout I started seeing clippings of the O'Reilly show that was going to come up. Anyone catch it???? It was an exposive argument begin Barney Frank & Bill O'Reilly. Each commercial break they keep saying that it's coming so I push on as my legs are burning. I don't want to miss this. FINALLY...I'm ready to faint as that portion of the show comes up. Holy moly!!! Now I do think that Bill was a little tough & I don't think that Barney Frank is totally responsible for the collapse of our economy but I had to give Bill credit. He was passionate in getting Barney to take some credit for what has happened. I had to laugh as all that Barney could do was talk about Bill's show & his borish style. Admitting mistakes is probably the hardest thing to do but Barney BLAMED everyone else. Not impressive in my book. It was a crazy clip so look it up...it will pump you up. It pumped me up & I continued on the machine for 5 more minutes following the interview because my blood was pumping from the argument. I'll probably pay the price tomorrow.

AND the Debate. WOW!!!!! I saw the Palin that I saw in her convention speech. My confidence is coming back. I found Biden to be kind of boring & some of his answers weren't simple enough for my mind. Or as Palin called him O'Biden...anyone catch that. Chris & I chuckled. So hopefully the O'Biden ticket has been slowed down. Drill BABY Drill!!!!

Future President of the United States

This title may be confusing but I went to a rally yesterday for Jim Risch (running for a US Senate Seat) & guess who came!!! DRUM ROLL....Mitt Romney. I admit that is actually the reason that I went.

We actually didn't know about it & Chris was driving to an appointment & heard about the rally on the radio. He quickly called me since he knows I'm obsessed with politics. Since the late notice we had two options; I go by myself or we take the kids. Chris really didn't care to go but I kind of wanted Jaden to see it thus the whole family went.

I want to get more involved & be aware aware of issues & candidates even on a local level although most of my attention is on a national level. It was so fun to listen to the speeches (they were short which was surprising but nice). Mitt was perfect of course. I really wanted to run Jaden up to him for a photo op but it was getting late & I didn't want to be obnoxious. That picture would have been worth a lot when Mitt wins & yes, he will win in the future:)

Remember to catch the VP debate tonight. I'm very nervous for Palin...I think nerves are interfering with her abilities. It's funny but having a women running I often compare how I'd be feeling; sounds strange I know. I bet last night she was lying in bed with her husband with nervous ramblings & possible tears for the debate tonight. I'd imagine she continues to question her decision & whether it was best for her family. She probably has moments of 100% confidence & other moments of feeling 100% overwelmed. I know that those are the emotions I would be experiencing if I were in her shoes. BUT you'll never catch them admit it:) We are definately living history at this moment...hopefully we'll be able to look back on it as a time America grew, not a time of hardship.