HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, CASEY!

It's been a fun filled day for Casey and the rest of us. Casey has been looking forward to his b'day for so long. The count down has been on for a while now. :D Of course I decorated with streamers and balloons for him to wake up to. It's a tradition around here for sure. His request was for me to make big cookies with M&M's in them to bring into his class for his big day. I did and the cookies were big. I should have taken a picture but of course wasn't thinking blog at the time. Casey took them to school today and shared them with his class. (The student teacher in his class told me they were really good.:D)

Tonight was the school's open house and so we had to celebrate around that but it all worked out great. Casey picked McDonald's for dinner on our way to the school so the kids enjoyed Chicken McNuggets. :D His first choice was for dad to bring home Klondike's pizza but time was an issue with the open house so McDonald's was it. It was short and sweet and then we moved on to the school. Casey just loves the student teacher in his class. It is so funny. She is really cute. Casey knows how to pick 'em. :D The classroom was so cute and full of fun things to look at. I wanted to be back in first grade again. :D I especially loved how the kids art work and different things throughout the year was bound into a big book for us to take home. It makes it much easier to save. The kids each have a box to put their favorite things in here at home. Mitty's class was fun too. The boys have had a really good year! I just found out that Casey's teacher will be teaching Kindergarten next year. I gave her a nudge and a wink. I can only hope Emily gets her. A bunch of Casey's friends younger siblings are starting kindergarten. It should be a fun year next year as well. Mitty's Kindergarten teacher is teaching 3rd grade so he has a chance for her again too. I love it.








Here are pics from dinner....




After Open House we celebrated by getting dessert at Yogurt Creations. Casey was in heaven making his masterpiece! On our way home, he had to have the window down and this is what the camera caught....very cute. He loves to put his two fingers up to say hi to anyone. Very funny kid!! He's got to be cool :D





I think he had a good day. His big bowling party will be next Saturday. He is so excited for it! One of Casey's friends mom told me that they wouldn't be able to make it and so she wants to take her son and Casey out for ice cream. How sweet is that. She said that they don't like to miss b'day parties. Casey can't wait to say the least.

Casey is such a fun boy. He keeps all of us on our toes. He loves to tease yet he can be tender with each child and parent. I love to watch him take such good care of his younger sisters. He really does watch over them. He was screaming and flicking something off of Ellie today outside. She had picked up a bee that they were all looking at. Casey said that he pulled out the stinger and the bee was dying but no signs of a sting on Ms. Ellie Jayne. She is tough as nails with all of her older siblings. He definitely keeps us on our game. He is a sweet boy! He is extremely observant and knows everything that is going on around him. He is so excited to be 7! A compliment to Casey and myself tonight was that his teacher wishes there were more Casey's around. His teachers at school and at church love him and say he is just the best. I'm glad he keeps his game playing and teasing for here at home. He is the best and is going to be a great young man! He knows how to step up and do the right thing. Way to go boy! I love Caser boy and hope that he has a great year. Happy B'day buddy!

New Kick....No Sugar/Emily's Kindergarten Round Up

I'm on to something else again. I have been trying to up my protein and have found some different foods that are just hitting the spot for me. Chile Lime Chicken Burgers from Trader Joes and Cowboy Caviar (black eye peas, tomatoes, gr. onions, cilantro, avocado, tabasco, red wine vinegar, garlic(optional), jalapeno (optional but good), red peppers (optional but good) are doing it for me. Yesterday I was definitely in the mood to try an experiment and take out the sugars in my daily eating. I'm not going too extreme but I am cutting out all desserts, crackers, white breads, pretzels, etc(mainly the white flour stuff). No added sugars also. I am allowing myself to have a Pria Mint Chocolate Chip Nutrition bar during the day if I need a little chocolate :D. Those taste like Girl Scout Cookie thin mints. I can do that. At 2 points a bar I am doing well!! I figure it is better for me than cookies or any other dessert. So yesterday was my first day on it and I didn't feel hungry at anytime. I am so proud of myself for sticking to it. I am trying to see how it makes a difference in how I feel and if I can cut down on the night sweats by cutting out the sugars. I have had trouble in the past with Hypoglycemia and know that by how I eat makes a difference in how I feel. I'll report back in a week on this.


Yesterday, Emily had her Kindergarten Round Up. She was so excited and did really well. It was me who was having a hard time with how they set this whole process up. The pressure was high as if the poor child was in a job interview. I had done this before with Casey and I don't remember feeling so disturbed by the process. For one, I was treated like a 5 year old by the school nurse. She was asking me if I had a dr.appt. set up for Emily to have her immunizations. I said I was aware that she needs them by the start of school and that we would get to our dr. for that. The nurse replied with, "You know school starts on August 25th." I said I was aware of the start date and that she would be immunized before she comes. I am familiar with the process." Oh boy, the nurse kept on with more and I just had to keep my mouth closed and say uh huh. The nurse told me of other parents who couldn't get in to see their dr. until September. Well, maybe they don't have the same dr. that I do and if that is the case I can see one of the others in his office. It just kills me how they treat you sometime. Another teacher had an interview with Emily sitting at a desk( she on one side and the teacher on the other...facing each other). Emily would back her head up when the teacher would move her face closer to Emily. I understood how Emily felt. She was invading her space a bit. It bugged me that they ask, "What does your daddy do?" Todd didn't like that one either. Emily stared at her like uh, uh, uh, ...Stuff was her answer. Then, what does your mommy do? Emily replied with, "she works." I just felt that if these teachers had asked all of the questions that they wanted answers for with the two of them out on a playground or in a more comfortable setting for a 4/5 year old they would have actually received answers. A few other kids after Emily acted the same way. 3 of the 5 year olds that I listened to didn't know their b'days or how old their siblings were. The whole event was comical to say the least. I was not so impressed. I have loved the school and the teachers that my kids have had but this just seemed a bit much for me and I can only imagine for the child. Emily didn't say anything about it except that she liked it. Good, I'm glad.

Also, on Saturday Mitty took off Emily's training wheels and wanted to help her learn how to ride her bike. I had no idea she would be riding all by herself within 20 minutes. She loves it and it is so cute to see her pedal her heart out. I will have to get a video of her riding.

This post has been sitting here since yesterday or maybe even Monday. I have been busy around here lately. Mitch has his big project due on Friday and so we have been working on that this week. It is so hard to work with a child one on one when you have 3 others that are awake and roaming. It has almost been impossible to help him after school when every one is home and in full swing. Someone needs me constantly! Anyway, we did a bunch of it yesterday while Ellie napped.

I am looking forward to the long weekend. A much needed break!

Happy 33rd B'day to Me...Yesterday!

Well, why does 33 sound so dreadful. Nothing about it sounds upbeat and light. Oh well, I better enjoy my young years because before I know it they will be gone for sure.

The day was just ok. I don't know what my deal was....I didn't leave the house except to pick up the kids from school. I spent most of my time on the phone with my mom and sisters who had nice b'day wishes for me. Casey wondered why there weren't any streamers or balloons up for me. I said, you better check with dad. I always put up streamers and balloons for their b'days.

I tried to enjoy the day by not having to slave around the house. Todd picked up Taco Rico for dinner which is always good. I wasn't in the mood to take the whole group out to dinner. The kids had me make a white cake with chocolate frosting. I definitely ate way too many sweets yesterday. I was sweating all through the night because of it. I was very good today and have only had a bite of frosting. Anyway, Casey said to me before dinner yesterday, "Mom, your b'day hasn't been very fun. All we did was clean up and make a cake." I kind of felt the same way. After the cake and ice cream Casey said, oh this is the best b'day. He is so funny! It was nice but nothing special. I hate that. Thanks mom for the treat. I just got it in the mail today. I will find something fun for me to do with it.....a massage :D. The last time I had someone do a massage on me was 10 years ago. It was Shiatsu and I hated it. I was bruised all over. I want the swedish massage.

A friend of mine was taking Emily home from school today and so I only had Ellie from 9-3:00. The weather was so warm that I thought it was perfect to push Ellie in the jogger and so I did a 5.5 mile jog. Oh boy did it kick my rumpus seatus. Treadmill running and outdoor running are extremely different. The hills were a bit much for me and so I walked those but ran the rest. We met up with Todd for lunch and I had a great meal. It was a veggie sandwich (avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms and lettuce on foccacia bread) and a salad. Ellie is so easy. She is so pleasant to take with us to lunch.

Todd is at a meeting tonight and so I better go to get this crew into bed. They are getting a bit restless.

Happy Mother's Day...the next day :D

Mother's day was a really nice day yesterday. It was even nicer that Todd didn't have meetings and was able to help with so much of the morning run around. I seemed to be working more yesterday morning to make sure that the sisters I visit teach had a bag of cookies for me to give them for Mother's Day and that the boys that I teach were able to give their moms a bag of cookies.
It all worked out since I had Todd home tending to the kids wants.

I heard Emily telling Aunt Nancy on the phone yesterday morning, "Mom, doesn't even eat breakfast." I had to laugh. I'm sure Nancy asked if they made me breakfast. I never eat cereal or Todd's fried eggs/hash brown breakfasts and so according to Emily I don't even eat breakfast.

I had a great fruit smoothie breakfast with toast. That is more my style. :D

Here are my pictures from Mother's Day. You can see how I remembered the picture of me with the kids once they were ready to be in bed. Oh well, does it really matter? No! Casey was so excited to give me his gift. It is the towel with his handprints on it as flowers. I love it! I want one with all of the kids hands on it as a flower. Cute idea from school. Mitch made me a salt design that is really pretty. Later in the day he asked, "Mom, what does salt have to do with anything for Mother's Day?" To be honest, I was wondering myself. He liked Casey's gift better than his salt design. Emily planted me a little flower at school on Thursday and so did Ellie in nursery. Very cute and I love it all. Todd gave me the flowers and a very nice card. His comment was I got you one of "your" cards. I'm a little more sappy and he is very humorous when it comes to card giving. I know he meant what it said. Thanks!! I picked the menu for dinner and it was New Mexico style enchiladas that I was raised on. I have had them since I can remember. My mom and Grandma and I'm sure many before them have made them forever. They are good every time. It's a taste I never get tired of. I'm not sure it was such a success with the kids but they picked through it and loved the egg on top. I made a fresh pot of pinto beans that cooked literally all day long. It was very tasty. The dinner could have been a bit more restful but Ellie seemed to be over tired and not wanting to sit with anyone other than me and moving all over my lap. I ate in a rush but it was good!

While I was making my bedtime rounds and laying in each child's bed, Casey was getting the coupon book he made me so that I could redeem one hug and one kiss when I got to his bed. It was very cute. I gave him a kiss on his cheek and he said, Mom, on the lips." So sorry Casey! He loves that I lay down in his bed with him. He thanked me in his Mother's Day card for telling him jokes in bed at night. He said I was special because I give him treats before bed, say good bye to him before school, and always hug him. That makes me feel so good. I am glad that he notices the good things that I do with him. Once the kids went to bed, Todd rubbed my back and neck while I sat there in our quiet house and it was just what the doctor ordered to end the nice day.





This is why I love being a mom to these 4 children. Aren't they just so cute? :D Of course, I think so!!!







It has been so fun watching each child grow and develop into their own person. It is definitely trying at times but so worth every hard time. There are more fun times and cute little things that I notice than hard times thus far. :D I can only hope and pray that my children will continue to have a love for their Savior and an understanding of the gospel as we teach them the principles. Oh boy do I ever understand what my mom meant when she would say she just wants to see all of her children happy. That is such an important thing to a mother/parents. I want them to have a love for the gospel and to serve others. I want them to enjoy the blessings that I enjoy every day for choosing the right. I love my children and really find joy in trying to teach them what is right. It is so great when you hear your child talking about what you taught him/her a few days ago with a sibling. My heart cheers for them. I want my children to understand the scriptures as best as they are capable of understanding at their young ages. Kids surprise me at how much they really know or are capable of. We have really enjoyed the Book of Mormon for LDS families. It helps the kids to know the big words and has a glossary of other words in the back. It is highly recommended for every Latter Day Saint family. What am I saying?? It's for me too! I love all of the explaining it does.

Here are some random pictures of the kids in the last couple of weeks. We were up at the Stanford Mall a couple of weeks ago and the flowers are just beautiful. The kids enjoyed ice cream and running around. It's an outdoor mall for those who didn't know.





I have so much appreciation for my own mother now that I am one myself. I appreciate everything that was done in my behalf. Thanks mom for helping me to be the mom that I am today. I try hard with my own kids and I hope they will grow up and thank me because it is hard work all across the board to be a mom. I love being a mom and playing that role. I hope I can show my children that more with a better attitude. I can't call myself a failure in something until I completely stop trying. IT is the best to hear your kids talking with another sibling about something we have tried to teach them. With prayer, I know that any mom can make it through this life. If we realize and understand that our hard times and challenges are to make us stronger than it makes it a lot easier to manage the rough spots. I hope every mother understands her divine worth and role here on this earth and in the eternities. I have been reading many books about this subject and just finished the book called Motherhood. (Thanks Mom!!) Brigham Young is so black and white....I love it! He's right and the truth hurts sometimes. I am truly grateful for the gospel in my life. I am blessed to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Thanks Mom for living the gospel in our home. Thanks for taking me to church every Sunday. All of your hard work was all worth it....as a mother I can appreciate it now.:D

I hope every mother had a wonderful day yesterday!

Here are some random pictures lately. My mom wanted to see a picture of Emily's toes after we painted them. Emily requested different colors for each foot. I remember doing that. :D





Ahhh...the weekend. I really love the weekends. The boys had a game this morning at 11:00 and it was great. They played really well. The weather has been really nice.. shorts, skirts, and most importantly flip flops.

Ellie took a big nap this afternoon (3 hours) and so Todd and I worked on our budget/bills together. I really love doing it together. I love that we can be on the same page and have the same goals. It's great and I feel truly blessed to have a good husband.

I've been trying to find some bedding for Emily and Ellie's new beds. It is much harder than I thought. I want it to be right and look right with the style of beds. It's driving me crazy. I am on my 3rd try of bringing something home and hoping to love it on the beds. This will be tough for me since it takes so long to decide on something that I just love. Emily loves her new bed and Ellie's is just waiting for her to get a bit bigger. She likes to lay in it now but I wouldn't even try leaving her in it all night. I'm not that stupid! :D

The boys love their bunk beds and oh how much space it freed up in their room. I love it and so do they. They have done really well keeping their beds made. It's a bit tough to change sheets.

I tried a new chore list this week and it seems to have worked really well. I give the kids like 1 or maybe 2 jobs a day. Whoever is in charge of emptying all of the trash cans helps with dishes one day, one child vacuums the house, and another cleans the bathroom. Each child is in charge of making their own bed and putting their own clothes away each day. I do most of the cleaning on Monday and Friday or Saturday since those are my "free" days home. The kids were enthusiastic about completing their chores each day. It was nice. I was able to sit down and spend more time with them in a picked up house. It was nice. Then on the weekend we reward them with an outing. They picked getting slurpee's at 7-11 and got a few new baseballs. We'll see if works next week. I love how the kids will do their chores. I let them pick when they do them. It can be before school or after school but it has to be completed before dinner time. They usually pick to do them right after their snack after school. Great is all I can say. I really try to emphasize that a family is a team and we can all work together to make the load light. So far my kids do really well at helping around the house. I love it and appreciate them very much.

I think this post has been sitting here for 3 days now. I can't seem to finish and get it posted....

Yesterday, the kids and I played baseball out in the front yard. It is really fun. It's great because Ellie is so good that she just stays right with us or sits in an extra car seat that we have sitting in the garage facing out and watches us. It's pretty cute. She knows right where her spot is. :D She will mosey around the yard and throw us a few balls

Last night we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with getting some Mexican food. We love any excuse for some mexican food. :D I better get to some things before the kids wake up....oh well, too late.