Swim Lessons 2011

We took from Gin Manning again this summer and once again, the kids all learned a ton.  Cannon started this year and loves it all, including the diving board.  Brigham is starting to real swim.  The girls are rock stars.  They are so good.  Swim lessons take over our collective lives for a couple of weeks, but they sure are worth it!

Thanks, Miss Gin!

MiniCheer at Bear River

We headed over to Tremonton today for the girls to go to Mini Cheer Camp with Katelyn. They went last year with Whitney and loved it, so we were excited to go back over this year.
We got there right in the nick of time, dropped off the girls, and headed to King's to get a new collar and leash for Charlie because, of course, I forgot his in our flurry out the door this morning.
After that, we headed to Christie's and visited (Brooke, Christie, and I) till it was time to watch the performance. We all got ready to leave and I couldn't find my keys....ANYWHERE!!! They were gone and I couldn't think of a single place I hadn't looked. I ended up throwing the kids in Whitney's car and running over, but we were too late and missed watching the girls. Grrrrrr!! Thankfully my aunt Sheri videotaped them, so hopefully I'll get to see it at some point.
We enjoyed watching Katelyn cheer and got some fun pictures of the girls with her.










Hannah (my youngest cousin), Lily, Paisley (my cousin Brooke's daughter), and Chloe with Katelyn.
After the camp, we got in our swimsuits and played in Christie's pool all afternoon (after a quick Arctic Circle lunch). I think the kids were in there for a good 3 or 4 hours and I was with them for a lot of that. Cannon and Brigham went down the slide and off the diving board probably 30 times each. It was so fun and a good workout for me to tread water and taxi them back and forth to the side of the pool. Good thing, too, because I had too many candies and cookies while we were visiting. I even got to meet a new friend... Hi Courtney! :)
I sure love the family I'm a part of and that we all get along and have so much fun together.
Thank you, Christie, for having us all over!!!

Oh, PS, Lindsay (my cousin) find my keys.....where??? In. My. Purse. Seriously.

-From the ol' iPhone

Parenting Secret #73

The best way to get children to play with toys is to ask them to clean them up.

The Universe -- It Mocks Me

Chloe woke up completely dry this morning -- the Potty Pager is working!
Cannon woke up completely dry this morning!  He has been accident free and completely independent with the potty for several days.

I was feeling really great about this Pull-Up-less, Diaper-less, Poop and Potty-less life I was about to start.....

Enter:  UNIVERSE.

We've been slowly trying to expand Charlie's freedom in the house the last couple of days.  This morning he pooped on the floor twice.

And, Cannon had some diarrhea this morning.

Ah, yes, Universe, you win THIS time, but not forever (I hope).

Fantastic FHE with the Days

We had a really fun night with Craig, Trudy, and Nate a couple of weeks ago -- we went to the Willows Mini-Golf Course for Family Home Evening.  We had pizza, salad, and a fun lesson from Craig before heading over to the course.

Isn't Nate cute?  He loves girls more than any boy I've hung out with in a long time.  He's in withdrawals with all of our stake at girl's camp!

These were the boys' pictures from Craig's FHE lesson about the canary with the grey on its feathers.



We had so much fun on the golf course.  Craig and Trudy stayed with the boys and helped them while Stanton and I, Nate, and the girls played ahead.  I ended up being back with the boys most of the time, which was highly entertaining.

This boy is positively edible.

Speaking of edible....Oh My Goodness.

And what shall we call this girl?  Hmmm...

A fun night for everyone.  Thanks so much, Day family!  We LOVE you.

Flooding on 600 West

On our date Friday night, we went over to 600 W to see the flooding that's been happening. It was crazy. It wasn't just standing water---there was water flowing over the road - the flooding is pretty intense.






You can't even see where the banks end and the road starts. In fact, this is an area that usually doesn't have any water at all. The bridge where the water is usually contained is a good 150 yards away from the furthest point of the flooding.

The water rushing through in some places (these pics are at the river walk behind Elements restaurant) is quite impressive. It's swift water for sure.






In this next picture you can see where they've attempted to sand bag to salvage a walking trail-- and that the sandbags are completely submerged.






Our area of the valley has been completely unaffected by the flooding, but wow- in these isolated areas it is a serious issue.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a wonderful Sweet 16 x 2 today.  (Thanks, Shauntae, for the fun title!).  Along with a generous helping of Facebook messages, emails, phone calls, and cards, this was my birthday celebration rundown.... 

Stanton and I went to dinner with our friends, the Westfalls, at Elements last night.  It was so great, as always.  We also drove around to see the flooding on the West side of the Valley.  I took a bunch of pictures of it with my phone....I will do a separate post about it, but WOW.  It was eye opening.


The morning was spent with my beautiful kiddos and with a great 3.78 mile run with a faster time than I think I've ever had.  I did it in 34 minutes.  I was stoked!  It felt awesome to start off my birthday with such a cool accomplishment.

We worked on housework, etc. and then the kids and I hopped in the van and drove to Tremonton for a wedding shower for my cousin Nate's fiancee.  That was about the best way I could have spent my birthday ----with all my Rose aunts and cousins.  It was SO great.  And yay for Nate and Shelby!

So, we came home and I got to serious work cleaning up the house.  I cleaned the bathrooms, swept and mopped the kitchen, and vacuumed (yep, that's serious housecleaning for me.).  The kids FINALLY put their laundry away after me telling them, nay, GUILTING them into giving it to me for a birthday present.
Stanton had been working like crazy in the yard all day and went to get a few more things he needed.  In the meantime, Janet & Kiki came over with a super fun flat iron (black and white polka dots with pink plates!) and happy birthday wishes.  Stanton drove up while we were on the porch with....not yard stuff!!  He had flowers, a gift from Deseret Book, angel food cake, whipped cream, and strawberries.  I was so surprised and thrilled!

We enjoyed a quick dinner, cake, and some family time and then Stanton went over to his parents' house to take care of his grandma while his parents were out to dinner.  We are so lucky to have our grandmas close by and that we can help take care of them.

I got Cannon to bed at his request and then let the older 3 play outside till about 8:30.  I got a little more housework done and then got them to bed.  They had so much fun outside and I loved watching them.  I am so blessed to be mother to these beautiful children and wife to such a good man.

I got my wish and have been able to update the blog tonight.

Such a great birthday!

And, seriously, is Brigham not adorable in his glasses??!!!

Visiting Grandma J

I got a wild hair on Wednesday morning and decided to pack up the kiddos and visit my parents. My Grandma J has been staying with them while recovering from a pretty aggressive gall bladder surgery and I really wanted to get up there to see her. We had a break from swim lessons and didn't have to be back until Thursday afternoon (for swim lessons, of course...), so we threw a few things in the car and headed up. Oh, I am SO glad we did! Thanks, Mom, for having us last minute. :)

We got up in time to visit with Grandma J for a bit before she went to her "Beauty Operator" (LOVE) for a perm. She was gone for a few hours and the kids found plenty to entertain themselves...

Dress up, sandbox, toys, fruit snacks, candy. It was great. And that picture of Lily makes me a little sweaty. I don't believe she'll ever be that old. Ever. I will not allow it.

We spent the evening eating, visiting and dozing off. The kids were good little sleepers AFTER I threatened them that we we would be packing up and leaving the next time I heard a sound from them. Thank goodness they believed me because I did NOT want to follow through on that threat!

Next morning we hung out and lazed around...the kids played outside, my mom made a delicious breakfast, and I enjoyed some time with my grams. She is recovering pretty well, but is just so much more frail than she was before the surgery. All 4 of our grandmas have taken a pretty sharp turn into old age over the last few years and it makes my heart sad. I really sort of thought they'd just live and live well forever. Anyway, it was nice to spend some quality time with my gram.

The girls LOVED playing Badminton with my momma. They boys were loving the outside toys and Chloe had to spend some time in her favorite tree.

Chloe took this pic of the three of us. I love it and since I look like my mom and she looks like her mom, I get a fun glimpse 30 and 55 years down the road. I think I can handle it! They're some beautiful women - inside and out.

Love these pictures of Lily Virginia and her Great-Grandma Virginia.

I tried to get a good pic with Grandma and the kids --- haha. Well, I got A picture of grandma and the kids....and that's good enough for me. And hi, Mom in the Mirror! My grandma has a really spunky fun personality and I do think that came out in these photos even though she was more weak and frail than usual.

One last photo. I love this portrait of my Grandma J. She is a strong, confident, Christ-like woman. I love her and truly want to be just like her.

We topped off the trip with a lunch and root beer ice cream at Rupe's and a lovely speeding ticket in Inkom. I'll let Chloe's journal entry tell you about that experience....

Ahhahahahaha!!!! I am SO in love with that picture I can't even stand it.

Bear Lake Adventures

Last weekend we threw the kids in the motorhome and drove through the canyon to Bear Lake.  The river through the canyon was CRAZY full and looked in places like it might flow right on to the road.  It was cool to see the really rapidly rushing water flowing through the canyon -- and I have decided we won't be camping anywhere near there this summer.  Too dangerous!

Anyway, on the way over to Bear Lake, we decided to take the kids to Pickleville Playhouse to see their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  It was a really impromptu decision and we wondered how Cannon would do since it didn't start until 8:00 pm...we are SO glad we did, though.  It was SO fun and dear Cannon was completely mesmerized.  He stood and watched, danced, and raised his hat in a whoop and holler throughout the entire show.  It was so dang fun to watch....
The production was top notch, as well.  The cast was great, the dancing terrific, and just all around fantastic.  We are SO glad we went.  Oh, and that we got raspberry shakes at LaBeau's before, too.  Yum!

Some fun before getting shakes.  Lily's dirty bum was cracking me up.

Great night at Pickleville.  We love this place.  I snapped a contra-banned picture right at the end of the show-- I know I shouldn't have, but dang, I just didn't want to forget what a great show it was!  Oh, and I didn't get a picture of it, but we went through the cast line at the end because Lily wanted to say hi to one of the cast members who was in the Christmas show and this one.  The girl was SO sweet with Lily and even noticed her haircut.  It was delightful to see Lily with her.  I hope our cute kids have an opportunity to perform with Pickleville in their teenage years.  It's such an amazing group of people.

So, after the show ended we got the kids in their jammies and laying in their beds and drove to an RV park in St. Charles on the Idaho side of the lake.  The kids were all sound asleep by the time we got there, as was little Charlie who had patiently stayed in his kennel while we were at the show. 
We had a great night's sleep and woke up to a beautiful morning.  We had pancakes and eggs and enjoyed the little playground at the park.  Chloe had a great tie running around with Charlie, too, which he thoroughly enjoyed.  It was a fun night and morning.

Don't they look adorable all perfectly lined up at that picnic table?!

After cleaning up breakfast, we took a drive around the entire lake.  It was SO full (someone told me it is at 10,000% of normal capacity this year....CRAZY!), but just beautiful.  Briggy had to wear his eye patch for the drive and he was really bummed that he couldn't see much.  We noticed, though, that his eye is definitely getting stronger - he saw some things that he hadn't been able to see before...so progress!!
We stopped at a little drive off to test the waters at the lake.  We didn't bring swimsuits, but that didn't stop anyone...nor did the freezing cold water.  They went from wading to their ankles to completely soaked within a half hour.  It was such a delightful time. 

 There was rock skipping...

 Rock chucking......
Puddle jumping......

N

 Nearly drowning......seriously......

and good, clean, freezing fun...

We showered the kiddos in the RV's outdoor shower and threw them back in their jammies...with no underwear.  :)  I didn't pack extra clothes.  haha.  Poor kids.  :)


It was a great little trip...short, fun, and we were back to our house by Saturday afternoon to get some things done around the house. 

I am loving spending this time with our kids on these fun little trips.

Wants vs. Needs

What I want to do:

1. Update the blog.
2. Go on a trip with just Stanton & I.


What I need to do:

1. Dishes.
2. Laundry.
3. Exercise.
4. Clean up the house.

Blah.

Recommended

Read this this morning and I would highly recommend you do, too.

Little Kids, Little Problems

And another one.  I need to implement this...STAT.

The 15-Minute Makeover

Beat.

All the craziness of the past week is catching up to me.  I'm exhausted and emotionally drained.  But just like the hill I ran past the temple today during the kids' swim lessons, I have to conquer this and move forward...and there are always more hills to climb and more strength from Heaven to do it.
Where does the achy knee fit into the analogy?
Good night.

Adding Insult to Injury...

The day after Brigham's eye appointment, he and the other kids were playing roudily in the basement after dinner.  Stanton and I were both upstairs doing other things when we heard a door slam and then Brigham crying one of those "something is really wrong" cries.  Sure enough, he had a huge gash right through his right eyebrow.  Yep, the same eye that he can't see from.
I'm going to show you a gruesome, though blurry, picture.  Sorry.

It was definitely going to need stitches.  We were trying to decide between Instacare ($40, but the docs might not do a good job sewing it up and leave a scar) and the ER ($250, but the docs are really experienced with stitches and would do a really good job sewing him up).  In the end, Stanton decided he would do it.  He ran to the OR and, with permission (he would want me to clarify), got the size of suture thread and needle he needed. 
It's here that I will interject that I was pretty mad at him when he came home and told me his plan---I think I said something like, "Wasn't the whole point that we wanted someone who had a ton of experience to stitch this so he wouldn't have a scar???!!!  Wasn't that why you wanted to go to the ER???"  And I think Stanton said something like, "What do you think I do all day, Julie???  I use sutures in the mouth all the time!!!"  I think the argument was more stress related than what we were actually arguing about.  That's usually the case, isn't it?

Since this injury happened right after dinner, the kitchen was a mess and the kids weren't in bed yet.  So, we cleared off a space on the bar for Stanton to work and I got the other 3 to bed.  I came back upstairs and Stanton was working on numbing Brigham.  It was such a big wound that he was having to stick him in a TON of places.  Sweet Brigham was trying so hard not to whine.  We finally decided it would be much better for him if he was sedated, so Stanton did that.  After about 15 minutes, Brig was nice and loopy, so we (he) got back to work.  This time, every stick that had made him wince before made him giggle.  It was hilarious and tragic at the same time. 
Stanton did a really great job suturing him - he ended up with 8 stitches in blue (one of his favorite colors, so he was happy about that).  While Stanton was working and Brigham was loopy, he was saying really funny things.  A few I remember:  "Where are we?"  "Whoa, look at those lights."  "Mom, you have 3 eyes." "Heh heh heheheh." 
It took Stanton a good 45 minutes or so to finish up and then another couple of hours for Brigham to fully recover from the sedation.  I laid on the couch with him until about 10:00 and did a really great job supervising him.....by falling asleep.  I'm such a great mom...

He ended up sleeping with us that night and, surprisingly, didn't grow the extra arms and legs that my kids seem to have when they sleep in my bed. 
He woke up with a bit of a headache, but has really done great and looks like a real pirate now with his eye patch and gnarly stitches.  :)

I do have to say, I had one of those out of body experiences while we were getting Brig stitched up.  I was looking at Stanton and I -- him sewing his son's head shut with a needle (a really cool, tiny, hooked needle) and me, holding Brigham's arms and watching every stitch with total captivation -- I couldn't help but realize what a couple weirdos we are.  Who does this?  We do.

Here's hoping for a reprieve from the drama for a bit.....

Stress, Relief, and Everything In Between....

I had plans for Tuesday.  They were that we weren't going to do anything besides take Charlie to the groomer at noon and vet at 3:00.  Sounds like a great plan, right?  Well, life had other plans....as it usually does.

Chloe told me that morning that she wanted to talk to the Dr. about stopping wetting the bed.  That reminded me that I had missed Brigham's well-child appointment and needed to reschedule it.  So... I called and they, miraculously, had a cancellation and were able to get both kids in at 2:00 (they're scheduled 3 months out on well-child visits, so this really was a miracle).

Sooo, we cancelled Charlie's vet appointment and worked like mad to get the house cleaned up (disaster!) so we could get out the door for his grooming appointment.  By 11:00, the house was decently clean and I was sick of task-mastering, so we got in the car and went to visit Stanton's Grandma Barbara and send a care package to my Grandma J (who has been in the hospital).  We had a great time visiting G Barb -- we don't do it enough.  After the post office, we raced to Charlie's groomer, dropped him off, and headed to Chick-Fil-A for their "Receipt Day" promotion (you buy whatever you want, it prints on a blue receipt, you take that receipt back any time in the next 15 days and get exactly the same meal for free).  I was excited...and apparently every other person in Cache Valley was, too.  Haha.  It was SO busy.  So busy.  So busy.  But, well, we had committed, so we waited in line for 20 minutes, squished ourselves next to some nice people at a table, and enjoyed our lunch and play time.

We had about 40 minutes between lunch and the kids' doctor appointments, so we ran to get Lily's hair cut while we were out.  They boys were dang mad that they weren't getting their hair cut, too.

We flew in to the Dr. appointment right on time and then the real fun began.....Brigham was first.  Deon, our friend and the MA, weighed him, measured him, etc. and everything looked great.  Then we did the eye chart test.  His left eye was great, but when we covered it to test the right eye....well, it was shocking.  He couldn't see anything.  I'm talking from the 2nd or 3rd line down, he couldn't make out a single shape.  Deon and I looked at each other with that, "What?" look and got him in to see Dr. McKenna.
The kids were pretty hammered by the time the doc came in (see the busy morning above) and they were not being the quiet, well-behaved children I keep hoping they might be one day in the Dr. office.  So, Dr. McKenna came in, we talked about the eye exam and then he got to work checking Brig's ears, eyes, etc.  He called me over to look in Brigham's eyes -- the left eye dilated great when the light was shined in it, showing a nice red color when looking through the light thingy.  The right eye, however, was yellow....either it wasn't dilating or there was something in the way...either way, you couldn't see to the back of the eye.  My mind started reeling...here we go again.  Dr. McKenna seemed pretty concerned about it, too, and had his staff call Dr. Hammond, the opthamologist we see.  I became even more concerned when they got us in at 5:00 that day to check things out.
To top things off, Brigham was behind on his immunizations (that's my fault -- in the midst of all the other dr. appointments he has had, I had completely neglected his well-child visits...since he was 2!  I didn't even know he hadn't been in for them) and had to get 5 that day.  A couple of them were the really painful ones (tetanus, etc.), too.  Bless that boy's heart...he was so brave.  Yes, he cried, but he didn't whine one bit.
After Brigham's turn, we talked with Dr. McKenna about Chloe's bedwetting.  He didn't really tell us anything new, but since it was Chloe who wanted to quit, he suggested we look into the "Potty Pager" for her.  (We have since received it and after 2 nights with it, Chloe is doing really well.  She used to potty multiple times while sleeping - I know this because I used to wake her up to go and she'd still wake up wet.  She's now waking up once with the pager and then is dry in the morning.  It's a cool product.  I'm hoping by the end of summer she'll be able to stay dry at night).  She was very excited about this new thing to try.
By the time we left the office, I was feeling really deflated and worn out.  It was 3:00ish, everyone was exhausted, we hadn't picked up Charlie yet, and I had no idea how I was going to get dinner for everyone when Brigham's next appointment was at 5:00.  On top of all of that, I was really concerned about Brigham's eye.  We have been down the path of major health concerns before and I couldn't help but worry that there was something serious going on.  I called Stanton and we talked for a bit about it...We are usually pretty level-headed when it comes to stuff like this, but he and I both had concerns that there was a retinoblastoma or other tumor there in his eye.  It just seemed like all the pieces added up to that.
Well, we ran and picked up Charlie, got home, and I tried to find a sitter for the kids.  It seemed like everyone I can usually get pretty easily was unavailable and I was starting to feel pretty sorry for myself.  And I was so worried that I had to change my shirt because I had sweated out of the first one...some people are nervous eaters....me?  a nervous sweater.  Pretty classy, I know.
Well, I finally thought to text my dear friend Shaynna and she rescued me.  She took Chloe, Lily, and Cannon for me while we had the appointment.
Stanton cancelled his last few patients so he could meet me at Brigham's appointment.  The eye exam they did in Dr. Hammond's office confirmed the same thing -- he couldn't see a thing out of that right eye.  When the Dr. came in (whom we know well and are sort of related to), he assured us that he's seen at least 50,000 patients and had only seen one with a retinoblastoma.  Stanton and I have dealt with much crazier odds than those (his heart defect is 1 in 1 million), so, unfortunately, we weren't really comforted by that.  BUT, our fears were unfounded....once they put the dilating drops in, his eye opened right up and you could see right back to the back of the eye.  RELIEF!!!  He was having a problem dilating at the pediatrician's office and that caused the yellow reflection.
No eye cancer, thank the heavens above, but an eye with 20/80 far-sighted vision.  It was basically bad enough that his brain had just stopped using his right eye to see, which explains why Brigham has never complained about his eyesight.
The doctor has hopes that we can really improve Brig's eyesight by giving that right eye some exercise, so he is wearing a patch 2 hours a day now.  He will also be getting glasses with about half the prescription he really needs so the right eye will continue to have to work, but have a little relief and be able to see a bit better.
After the scenarios we were playing out in our minds, can I just say what a HUGE relief it was that the "only" thing we have to deal with for Brig is poor eyesight...and that that can be remedied and maybe completely fixed with the patches?  We were saying many prayers of thanks that Brigham did not have to deal with another major health crisis.
Stanton took Brigham and picked up the other kids from Shaynna's (she ended up having them till almost 7:00 pm....thank you, Shaynna!!) and I ran to the store to get his eye patches and pick up dinner.  We had Little Caesars (for the kids) and Panda Express (for us).  It's times like these that I am SO grateful there are food options all around me.  Seriously -- the thought of having to go home and make something for dinner when it was really close to the kids' bedtime was really overwhelming and I'm really glad I didn't have to.
Sweet Brigham was so exhausted by the time he got home -- all of us were.  It was definitely one of those "well, we're real parents today" days.  And we all slept soundly that night.

Brigham has done really well with his patch.  He was super excited to be a pirate until he actually got the patch on and realized he was a pirate who couldn't see anything.  I've been drawing different things on his patches each day (so far we've had skull & crossbones, Jake (from the Neverland Pirates show on Disney), Skully (from the same show), and something else I can't remember.  We try to put it on early in the day so he can get it over with.  Every day it seems like his eye gets a little stronger and I just have to say what a perfect little boy he has been in spite of being frustrated about not being able to see.
We love this little boy.  He is a treasure.

Just Trying to Remember...

***This was a post I found in my drafts this morning...I hadn't ever published it.  I actually thought it would post at the date I wrote it, but it showed up here...which now means I don't know when it was written.  Oh, wait, it says UEA, so it was probably October of 2010?  Sounds about right.


Chloe is really excelling in piano.  She is doing really well with practice, although it challenges my patience regularly.  She'll be through her first set of piano books by the end of the month and is learning sharps and flats right now.  I'm remembering so much as I supervise her each week.

Lily has been super grumpy lately.  I sure hope it passes soon

Cannon has also been grumpy and in to EVERYTHING!!!  It's like he's 18 months old again.  He opens and empties cupboards, squeezes out bottles of lotion, and hits and yells at me when he doesn't get his way.  I am thankful that this happens only about 20% of the time and the other 80% he's still my little sweetheart.  The 20% sometimes overshadows the 80%, though, I will admit.

Stanton got a new calling at church.  He's the Elders Quorum President.  This is his 4th or 5th time.  I think 4th.  He's doing great.

Brigham moved to the afternoon preschool class.  It's been such a good move -- he and Lily can play all morning and then leave for school at the same time.  And Cannon goes down for a nap at the same time, so hooray!  I get 2 hours of quiet 3 days a week.  It's amazing.

Everyone is liking school.  It's good to be in the routine and I have found that I actually quite savor the days we have off -- like UEA this weekend.  In the past couple of years, I've always dreaded them, but we're in a better phase of life right now and those vacation days are a lot of fun.

I've been sewing lately.  That's thanks to my sisters with whom I spent a day in Idaho last weekend sewing and crafting.  Lori taught me how to make some cute twirly skirts for the girls and I've had fun making several variations on them the last few days.  Actually, nights.  They've been late nights.  Also, I finished the top for my denim quilt (8+ years of saving jeans).  I'm trying to decide whether to tie it or have it machine quilted by someone.

Father and Son Campout/Girls' Night/Night from H*%^!

***This was from early May...another unpublished draft I found...

Well, here's a great story for you...

Friday night we had a fun taste of what lies ahead for our little family.  Stanton took the boys up to the Father and Son Campout, along with Charlie (dog's name is officially changed).  The girls and I drove up to help Stanton park the camper and then headed out to Angie's for dinner.  It was a fun night even though Lily still wasn't feeling at the top of her game.
The girls and I got home and I painted their nails -- they really liked their polka dot and striped nails.  Our night was looking pretty much perfect until Stanton called and needed an extension cord. Not bad, but not what we were hoping for.  :)  We ran to Walmart and then to the campsite.  I got the girls to bed when we got home and thought I'd get caught up on my DVR -- I had a lot of shows to watch!  Well, Stanton called about an hour into them and requested that I come and get the dog.  He was way overstimulated by everything at the campout and was going crazy.  So, I checked on the girls and ran up to the campsite for the 3rd time.  I brought Charlie home and got him fed and bathroomed then headed back downstairs to finish my DVR marathon.  At about midnight I got a call from Stanton that Cannon was awake and not going back to sleep and could I please come get him?
Back to the campsite it went!
I got home only to find Lily upstairs sobbing and covered in vomit.  She had thrown up in her bed and to add to the trauma, no grown up was home when she came upstairs!  Needless to say, she was a wreck.
I got Cannon to bed and then tended to Lil.  She slept in my bathroom the rest of the night.

Haha.  Yeah, not the best night of my life.  But we survived and life goes on.

Dear Kids....

“If something should happen…If you are reading this, something indeed has happened…,” she wrote, winking at us even in death. “Please don’t you all fight over my things. Just take what you want and throw the rest away…”

Source

I mean it.  Those are words to live, er die, by.

Love, Mom

Just Reflecting...

Pathetic

More Signs of Growing Up

At dinner last night, the girls asked me what my favorite food was.  I answered them honestly, that I love so many different foods that I can't really choose a favorite.  That wasn't good enough for them, so they asked me what my favorite food was in several different categories.  Next thing I knew, Chloe had a paper out and was writing them down.
Later, as we were doing the dishes, Stanton noticed that it wasn't just a list of my favorite foods...it was a plan.

Aren't they sweet??!!!

Toothless!!

Our little LilyLove lost her first tooth!  Hooray!!!!

It was getting really wiggly and sore on Sunday evening and so I grabbed the needle nose pliers and Stanton pulled it right on his way out the door to Stake Priesthood Meeting.  Lily was a combination of shocked, horrified, and thrilled.  It all happened so quickly, nobody knew quite what to think.

You might already know that Chloe, who is 14 months older, hasn't lost any teeth yet.  It's been on every Christmas and Birthday wish list for the last year and a half.  She's known that Lily's tooth was looser for a few weeks now and, in theory, was okay with it.  Seeing it actually come to fruition, though, was really hard on her.  She had some tears (but no temper tantrums) and tried SO hard to be excited for Lily. 
Lily was laugh-crying, Chloe was laugh-crying, I was laugh-crying, I was real crying.....it was an emotional few minutes.

Chloe wanted to call her friend Bethany and tell her about the tooth.  She was so cute on the phone and actually sounded very excited and happy for Lil.

We went for a walk afterward and Lily told pretty much every person she saw about her tooth.  She even knocked on our neighbor's (Marion) door to show him her tooth. 
Chloe got frustrated and yelled at Lily about how much she was talking about it, so we had to stop and have a little discussion about how Chloe needed to understand that this is a really exciting thing for Lily and she can't help but talk about it and that Lily needed to understand that Chloe has been waiting for a long time for a loose tooth and that this was hard for her and so could YOU PLEASE JUST BOTH TRY TO BE SENSITIVE TO ONE ANOTHER???!!!!  They actually did and we ended up having one of the neatest nights we've had, as far as family love goes.

WARNING
:::::SPOILER ALERT:::::::
IF YOU HAVE KIDS READING WITH YOU, YOU MIGHT WANT TO STOP HERE.
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
Okay, it's your fault if you're still here.

A few weeks ago, Chloe came to me and told me a secret.  "Mom, I know that you are the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy and it doesn't bother me."  I was surprised she knew so much, but really, I'm okay with her knowing about everyone but Santa...Please not Santa....NOT YET.
So, last night on our walk, Chloe quietly asked me if she could be the Tooth Fairy for Lily that night.  I quickly agreed.  What a great way to think about Lily instead of herself...and get the reward of staying up a little late, too, which always makes her feel grown up.

Lily got all dolled up for bed (seriously...she even asked me, "Do I look cute enough for the Tooth Fairy to come?"), put her note and her tooth under her pillow, and went to sleep.
Chloe got out some paper and went to work on a note for Lily.  She wrote it in swirly cute handwriting and colored a cute picture of Lily and the Tooth Fairy.  It took her over an hour, but was so thoughtful and cute.  I got her a dollar bill and then Stanton and I took Charlie for a walk while Chloe finished up.  Our walk took a while and when we got home, Chloe was in her jammies reading a book.  She had taken the note and money downstairs, checked to make sure Lil was asleep, and traded out her note and tooth for the note and money.  She was so pleased with the whole situation and honestly, we were SO proud of her maturity in the whole situation.  It was a tremendous step forward for Chloe, and an experience that, I think, has already built character in her.  We need those trials to become better people.  She rose to the trial and really made the best of it.

Lily's letter says:
Dear tooth fary, My Dad poled
my tooh out
I want to know if I (can) keep
my tooth
To:  The tooth fairy
From:  Lily
[Picture of a tooth]
(PS)
I changed my mind
You can take my
tooth.

(Our neighbor, Trudy, convinced Lil that the Tooth Fairy wouldn't leave money unless she could take the tooth with her...THANK YOU, TRUDY!!!)  Lily had already written her note before that conversation, so she added a PS to the bottom.  LOVE.

The Tooth Fairy's note says,
Hi Lily.  It's me, The
Tooth Fary.  I've
heard you lost
a tooth.  How's Summer
break?  I Hope you'll
injoy your money.
[Picture of the Tooth Fairy and Lily]
Love The Tooth
Fary

 

Lily woke up this morning so excited about her note, money, and visit from the Tooth Fairy.  

I'm so proud of both of my girls.  They are really maturing and learning great life lessons.  I love them!!!

Way to go, LIL!!!!!!!!!!

First Sprinkler Run of the Summer!

Stanton got the sprinklers up and running Saturday night and the kids could not have been more thrilled.

Or nekked.

Doing the Potty Dance

Cannon is so Awesome,

Cannon is so Cool,

Cannon's Gonna Graduate from Potty Training School!

We've had our ups and downs over the last 6 days and I know we're done completely done yet, but this little mister

 

has become a potty training Rock Star!


He struggled over Friday and Saturday some and on Sunday morning I was nearing a mental breakdown, but I prayed for help and Mr. Cannon turned a corner.  He made it through church without an accident and came home ready to conquer the potty.  And he woke up dry this morning!  For me, that's always a sign that they're nearing potty training completion.  I am so excited for Cannon and, frankly, for myself, too.  No more diapers!!!!!!!  I don't hate diapers, but I am loving not having to buy them, change them, smell them, all of it!  It will be a great summer not having to remember swim diapers.  I'm so happy!


Some highlights and lowlights of the past week of potty training:
*Day One he had a minimum of 8 accidents and just as I was considering turning back, my friend Stacy gave me that Lightning McQueen potty chair there -- it made it so Cannon could just sit on the potty and watch a movie till he went.  It really helped him make the connection that, OH!, my potty is supposed to go in the bowl!  Oh!!!  
Stacy saved my sanity that day.  
*By the end of Day One, he actually told me twice that he needed to go potty - once when he was playing outside.  It was enough motivation for me to keep going on Day Two.
*Days 2 and 3 (Wednesday and Thursday) were decent.  A few accidents, but mostly success, although he still had to sit on the potty chair for most of the day.
*Day Four was not as great, but he and I were both happily distracted by our great visit from Kyle and Angie's family.  He wasn't awful, but he did have a few accidents.
*Day 5 (Saturday) was good and bad.  He made it through a movie at the theatre (Kung Fu Panda 2...AWESOME) without an accident, but he had more than a few because he was playing outside and didn't stop to potty.
*Day 6 (Sunday), Sunday morning I was a MESS.  Cannon started the morning by wetting his pants and I was stressing hugely about church.  I didn't want to put him in a pull-up and send him a mixed signal, but staying home wasn't an option, as I had been asked to sing in Relief Society and Stanton has duties during the meetings.  I was a wreck, and by the time Stanton got home from his meetings, I was pretty much in tears.  I went and prayed for strength and when I came out, Cannon said, "Oh, I needoo got potty!!!"  I ran him to the big toilet, and he pottied right away.  He was SOOOO excited and I was too!
We made it through Sacrament Meeting and I took him to the bathroom before Nursery.  He didn't go, so I took him into Nursery and told his teachers that he was potty training and that I would be back in a half hour to take him to the bathroom.  They looked at me with fear in their eyes and I walked out of the room.  Aren't I a great mom?!  I came back in an hour (again, great mom, I know!) and he hadn't had an accident.  I took him to the bathroom and he went right away.  YES!
The rest of the day was fantastic.  He told us when he needed to go and was accident free all evening.
*Day 7 (today) -- he woke up dry!  So far, so good.


*I've used more Nature's Miracle Odor Neutralizer on Cannon's potty messes than Charlie's.
*The potty chair Stacy gave me leaks like crazy.  I don't know if it's the chubbiness of Cannon's bum or what, but it does NOT contain his urine.  Not. At. All. 
I grinned and bore it the first few days and just cleaned up the messes it left behind because at least he was sitting on the potty and going, but when he got back on this morning and the potty went pretty much EVERYWHERE but the bowl, I made an executive decision and got rid of the chair.  He'll be using the toilet from here on out.
*He's eaten more fruit snacks over the last seven days than he has in his entire life combined.
*Did I mention the poopy underwear?  Hopefully that one's over, too.  It seems to be.


Here are a few of my Facebook status updates of the Potty Training variety:

Potty Training's first casualty:
My iPhone 4.
What on earth was I thinking letting him watch a movie while he was on the toilet??!!!
The phone is now spending a 24 hour vacation in a bowl of rice. Here's hoping she comes back to life!

 

Ah, the irony. I'm chuckling as I type this....Cannon finally pottied in the potty chair instead of on the floor (thank you, Stacy Bowen Benson for the chair!) and as we got up to answer the door, the seat stuck to his bum and the potty spilled on the carpet. Hahaha!!! The floor wins again!

 

Phone seems to have survived!

 

Got interrupted half way through by Cannon pottying all over the leather recliner. :) Ah, potty training.....
Anyway, great workout. Ripped in 30 has some pretty intense workouts and I love that they're short...obviously I can't commit more than 30 mins when boy is having accidents after 15! :)

 

 

My phone did survive, thank goodness.  And so did the recliner.  And the floor.  And my sanity.  I'm a terrible potty trainer, just ask Chloe.  But, I seem to gain a little more patience with every child and little Cannon only got one melt down from his mother.  And a spank to go with it.  He hasn't been spanked really at all in his little life (again, Dear Chloe, I AM SORRY!!!!!!!!!!  I was a horrible mother to you in your preschool years.  I'm so sorry and I'm trying every day to make up for it) and so it really shocked him.  But that was Sunday morning (how's that for keeping the Sabbath Day holy?) and I think it actually might have helped him get back into the right mindset (ie:  I need to come inside and potty instead of wetting my pants on the trampoline).  Anyway, I'm really bad at potty training, but I think I did okay with Cannon.  And seriously, I'm pretty impressed that he's picked it up so well in just a week.  What a great boy.

Cannon is so awesome, 

Cannon is so cool, 

Cannon's gonna graduate from potty training school!

OH YEAH! 

Keepin' it Real

I have a confession.  I cropped one of the pictures in that last post.  It didn't do much good, but it hid at least some of the truth about my house.  So, I'm making penance and showing you the whole picture.

Here's the cropped guy:

 I mean, you still see a lot of the clutter in the house, but seriously, I HID A LOT of it with that crop job.

See:::::::

Does it give you anxiety just looking at it?  But guess what?  That's just what our life looks like most of the time.  Deal.  (I'm saying that to myself, by the way...)  And why is my house so BROWN???  Holy cow.  I need a color intervention. I'll be honest, though, it's probably not going to happen any time soon.

So, there you go -- real life.  It happens.  It's beautiful in its own anxiety causing, clutter-ridden way.

Oh, and here's another confession:  I'm a total dipwad.

I mean, I actually posed that way.

Ah, it feels good to get all this off my chest.  Thanks.  :)