Life as it Happens...or maybe a little delayed!

Learning

2012-01-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

Brooke taught me a great lesson this morning while we were making her lunch. Here is how it went,
"Mom ____ and ____ were making fun of me last time because I have peanut butter on my pancakes. They said its really gross and made faces."
Me:" What did you say?" But without letting her answer and kind of in a sarcastic voice I retorted with "Did you tell them that things they might eat are really gross?"
Brooke, "No, but it hurt my feelings."
Me, in a bit of a frustrated/mother hen protective voice, "Well, next time you tell them that " (but i didn't get to finish), because Brooke quickly cut me off with, "Mom, that's not what Jesus would do."
I stopped dead in my tracks- silently saying a prayer of gratitude that I have a daughter with such a kind heart that is teaching me so much about life.
And then said, "You're right. Maybe next time you could just tell them that it hurts your feeling when they make fun of you."

Another lost tooth

2011-11-20T21:11:00.001-08:00

YouTube Video

Brooke's first two lost teeth were very anti-climatic. The first one she lost when we were walking out of the church one evening last march after practicing the piano. All of the sudden she turned around and said, "my tooth fell out." The next one came out while she was jumping on the trampoline at MaKenzie's house in UT this last summer. So it was a fun evening of pulling out teeth tonight. I think it helped that she had already lost a few, because she was excited about it instead of being scared. Here is the video. It was really fun!

tidbits

2011-10-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

It seems lately that we have been up to a lot of things and nothing at the same time. How does that work? Here are few snippets of what we have been doing:

Ben SURPRISED me and stole me away for dinner and a night in Capitola. It was so great! We caught up on our anniversary binder that we hadn't done in July.

The weather was unbelievable so I pulled Brooke out of school early and headed to the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous. 78 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, a slight breeze so you weren't too hot. September and October seem to be the best beach days, why can't we start school in November around here...enjoy the sunshine that didn't show up until August it seems.

I have been watching my sister-in-laws five kids for a few days. Wow, its a lot of kids.

Ben and I crashed my in-laws ward party and learned a little ballroom dancing. It was so fun. Kind of takes you back to college days.

I went to Vegas for a foot zoning conference. Always so much information. You feel like your head is exploding.

We got to hang out with Ryan when he came into town. It was only a few hours, but it is always so good to see old friends.

We went camping to Henry Cowell Park in Santa Cruz mountains. It was fun to hang out with my volleyball teammates outside of the court.

The kids and I are taking advantage of early out Wednesdays and trying to go somewhere fun on those days. We have gone to some water parks in pleasanton and dublin. The children's discovery museum. swimming and the beach.

The girls started gymnastics. They absolutely love it. And I love this gym, much better than the one we went to last year.

It finally feels like we are in a good routine with schedules. Brooke loves her teacher and Livy is in heaven in Joy School. And Jackson, well he is another story. Absolutely perfect angel baby turned terrible toddler. I guess he is making up for lost time.

Cool House

2011-09-23T15:20:00.000-07:00

Ben's co-worker gave us a window air conditioning unit. It has been on now for about 8 minutes and it is literally changing the atmosphere around here...not just the air. Hallelujah!

Annual Boardwalk Trip

2011-09-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

We did our annual summer boardwalk trip with all of our friends two nights before school started. As usual, it was a blast! We walked on every ride-because a lot of the kids had already started school, so it was pretty empty. This year Laurel and I went early and went to the beach before the cheap rides at 5. it was the most beautiful day we have had at the beach in a LONG time. We saw so many dolphins about 20 yard off the shore, thousands of birds, and tons of seals. It was a great day and a very fun evening. Can't wait to go again next summer.

Getting things done...

2011-09-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last week I just couldn't get out of the funk of feeling depressed about my to do list. I was having a little bit (okay a lot bit) of anxiety about stupid things...like a to do list. Sometimes as a mom you just feel like you are a hamster running on the wheel. Running as fast as you can and getting no where. That is really what i felt like with my list of things i have been wanting to get done on our house. And the more I tried to check things off, like organize the closet, finish the girls room, get carpet, etc., the more things unraveled. The house became a tornado. No matter how many times i told myself that things were going to get messier before they would get truly organized, I just could not keep from getting frustrated. Even though I know that it takes so much more time to get things done with three little kids running around, I kept questioning myself, "Why can't I just finish things on my list?" or "Why does this simple thing have to take so long?"

And then it hit me. After a long week of feeling depressed about running on this wheel. I just laughed. It was when we were trying to get to the park. I dropped Brooke off at school, then came back to try to get the breakfast dished cleaned before we left. While clearing the dishes, Livy tried to get a bowl of cereal and spilled the entire box all over the freshly swept floor. After it was picked up and i talked her out of the cereal and I went back to getting dishes cleared (not even washed) she got the milk out and tried to pour a sippy cup, whtch most of it missed the cup and spilled, so i was cleaning that up. I packed a few snacks got Jackson changed and dressed. I decided I had enough time i was going to try to walk around the lake before the park...when i went to put the stroller in the car, the wheel was flat. Even though i was frustrated, I just shrugged it off and told myself I wouldn't have had time anyway. When I went back inside, Jackson had pooped, so i had to change another diaper. Then I couldn't find my phone. We finally got outside and opened the van doors and realized the car seats were still in the front seat from transporting furniture for the girls room that was still not done (the main thing that was getting me a little depressed about the to do list). I get the car seats in the mazda, since I know we still have to pick up some more furniture and didn't want to have to put the seats back in and then take them out again. I put the kids in the car- forget that i don't have any water. Go get water. Get back to the car and realize Livy doesn't have shoes on. Go find her shoes. Finally get in the car (after throwing in the towel and deciding to leave the dishes, otherwise i would never get out the door) and remember I didn't pack a diaper. Go back in the house and snag a diaper and extra wipes (thankfully, because they came in very handy at the park) and get in the car. Only to find out we are totally out of gas and I need to get gas on the way. At this point I am like 20 minutes late for when I said I was going to be there. Good thing I didn't try to walk around the lake before getting to the park. As I was driving there I started laughing out loud. It was a good wake up call to me of all the little details that happen to get anywhere. It took me 45 minutes to get out the door to go to the park. And i didn't even pack a lunch. Why should I be discouraged about not getting ALL the things on my to-do list done in a week or two, when in reality it takes an hour to get out the door for a small outing.

Sometimes we forget about what it is like to try to do thing with kids around, even when we are in the thick of it. The house finally got cleaned up, the shelves have stayed organized, and even though the girls room still isn't totally finished i am taking my to do list a little lighter and trying not to get frustrated with my family just to get some things checked off a list.

The Entitlement Trap

2011-09-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

So I pre-ordered the book "The Entitlement Trap", hoping I would have won one of the prizes for pre-ordering :), but mainly because I had read some of it while we were at Bear Lake and loved it. Sure, i might be a little bit bias, but i really do think Rick and Linda have really great ideas on parenting.
So it came today and I have read throught the first chapter and a half, and it has really got me thinking. Of course it has gotten me thinking a ton about parenting and the little things I am doing with my little kids that is already breeding them for entitlement and how I want to change them and try to do better. Over the past week or two i have been thinking about teaching my kids responsibility. And it has been conflicting in my mind: being really strict about taking care of things vs. not putting too much amphasis on the material things. I have been trying to figure out how i want to handle it. Like the most recent things I have been thinking about is taking care of things in the house, especially furniture. I want my kids to respect things and show that by taking care of them, but I also really like it when they do imaginative play and use the couch pillows for landing pads, and our couches are very well worn, to put it lightly, so i don't want to make a big deal about keeping them pristine. But on the other hand I want my kids to know that furniture is very expensive and needs to be taken care of. That is really simple example of some of the things that have been swimming in my head about teaching respect, but not wanting to put too much of an emphasis on the importants of "things" in general.
But the main thing I have been thinking about while reading just these few pages thus far in the book is the theories of teaching p.e that were so ingrained in my head from my classes when i was getting my master's degree. In a nutshell, it was taught over and over again that it is SO IMPORTANT for kids to have a good experience in physical activity, i.e. P.E classes. So as a teacher you needed to be sure kids liked P.E. Now some professors taught you to praise kids, and really give them positive affirmations. Other professors taught you to make the kids work really hard with fun activities for physical education, but be sure the kids were always moving and working and, hopefully, sweating. And while reading this book, I keep relating the ladder to parenting. Every class i taught, and team I coached, that I made work extremely hard, almost to the point of over-exhaustion, came out on top. The students and the athletes that tried hard and stretched themselves loved it and achieved so much.
I need to remember this in parenting. I wasn't always the nicest teacher, or the most friendly coach, but by golly my kids (volleyball players and students) learned a lot and loved it. (Although, they didn't love it all that much when I made them sweat before they had another class to go to right afterwards, or my teams didn't love it when they were having to fulfill their consequences of a lot of dive lines.) But by the end of the semester, or the end of the season, they loved it. And more importantly they respected me and believed in themselves.

And that is what I want for my own children.

So I may not be the "nicest" mom along the way, or the mom that always gives praises and flowers at any trivial effort. But hopefully through the years, as I implement some of my coaching philosophies into my parenting, my kids will come out on top. Meaning they will believe in themselves, they will know that hard work brings joy and setting goals and accomplishing them, even when they are hard, stretches us and makes us strong.
And they won't feel entitled to every little thing.

Yep, I hope someday I will be as good of a parent, as I was a coach.

Joy School

2011-09-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

Today was Livia's first day of Joy School. We did a very low key pre-school last year with Nathan and Lizzy Beck when Melissa still lived here, but this was her official day of Joy School. I wanted to take pictures, she was so excited about it for the past two weeks. And then the true Livy came out. We were getting ready to go, 15 minutes early just to be sure, and her real colors came flying out. She didn't want to go, she was screaming and kicking on the floor. Nothing could console her. I had to get ben to carry her out to the car, and even then she hung on to him wiht a death grip adn wouldn't get in the car seat. Thankfully, Ben talked her into getting in the car. And I go t her there, of course 10 minutes late. She had to sit on my lap for a while, but after about 10 minutes with Jessica's awesome distraction techniques and kindness, she was happy as a clam amidst the kids. As I left i thought how much better I handled this than in the past. I feel like i really know Livy better these days. She acts very fun and outgoing, but deep down she is scared. Its not that she doesn't want to do things, but she is much more nervous. She is also shy in front of people. Unlike Brooke, who likes to put on a "show" that she is shy, Livy really is shy and does not want the attention. As I thought about this coming home (excited to get my house clean with only one child in tow), I want to really remember how important it is to really dig deep into your kids behavior. Finding out who they really are makes it so much easier to process the situation and keep control. Not that it is easy, but today I felt glad inside that I could really understand Livy, instead of getting mad and frustrated with her actions.
I know she will love Joy School, and hopefully i can get a good picture of her on thursday morning and just act like it was her first, and happy, day.

First Day of School

2011-08-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

This year was definitely a better experience of the first day of school. It was so great to be at ourcommunity school with all of Brooke's friends. Although she was a bit nervous, she was also super excited. Maddie and Allison are both in her class. Ben came with me this year and it was so fun to walk to school as a family. I was able to hold back the tears just a little bit. They started to come and then I saw some friends and was able to hold back the flow. We all mingled at the playground for a few minutes talking and laughing and then on our way home someone decided to go to breakfast. It was so fun. So we dropped the kids off and then went to breakfast. Definitely a tradition for the years to come.
I know Brooke will love her teacher this year. (She was a teacher when i was there. Although i never had her.) She described herself to the kids as strict and silly today. Brooke said she is so nice. We are excited for this year! I can't believe she is in first grade.

Haircut

2011-08-26T08:08:00.001-07:00

Jackson got a haircut late last night by my sister. It is really short. Brooke woke up and was so excited about his haircut. She said, "Mom, now that Jackson has a haircut we have more places to kiss him (meaning all over his forehead)." I chuckled out loud. And then she quickly added, "And besides that, he is super cute!"
Man, I love these kids. I wish i could write down every cute thing they say or do throughout the day that just melts my heart.

Loves

2011-08-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Even though today my body felt like a tone of bricks (it just might be the aftermath of camping for 9 days, being a single mom for most of that time, Ben leaving 12 hours after we got home and i got to clean up all of the camping stuff, the 95 degree weather with no air conditioning, and my body feeling like it is detoxing from all the YUMMY foods we ate over the entire week....to name a few), there were some really bright spots.
Like,
Livy telling me she loves me at least once every hour and giving me a hug or rubbing my back.
Me sitting still for half an hour and letting Livy "braid" my hair. She is really into braiding these days.
All three kids planning a hug attack and then running up to me while i was doing dishes and squeezing my legs all at the same time and saying "I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!" And Jackson just screaming and smiling.
Going to the pool to cool off.
Having Nana stop by just to say hello.
Holding and cuddling Jackson for about 20 minutes before the girls woke up. And watching him dance and try to jump to sesame street music.
Listening to the kids squeal with delight while jumping on the trampoline (even if there was some bickering to go along with it.)
Jackson trying to mimic the words i say (finally). It is so fun seeing his personality come out after being such a quiet, mellow kid. Even if it is a lot of screaming to accompany it.
Having my little sister come over for a little bit and talking to her about life.
Soaking in my kids...even when i am tired.

Annoying Me

2011-08-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Brooke and I were singing a nursery rhyme/song while playing on the carpet. And Livy screams out, "Stop singing. Its ignoring me!"

Brooke and I started laughing and, of course, it made Livy more mad.

Cupcakes and Friends

2011-07-02T07:44:00.001-07:00

2011-06-26T22:58:00.001-07:00

YouTube Video

Location:Blogging woes

Love these pictures....

2011-06-26T22:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken the time to learn how to really "edit" pictures. And i don't know if i ever will. It is just too time consuming for me. I just want to take pictures of my kids and have them in some sort of book. But these are some of my most favorite pictures from the last week that i think look great, even without editing.

Ashleys iPad

2011-06-26T22:34:00.001-07:00

Gotta love Photo Booth!!!

more summer pictures

2011-06-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

2011-06-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

First Weeks of Summer

2011-06-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Jody and Michelle and me. I'm so glad we got to see them.
rock climbing. Brooke really did have a good time, although it doesn't look like it in the picture.
Loving the frozen yogurt. Too bad the air was broken inteh store and it was blistering hot.

Livy is fearless. Except at actual swim lessons where i have to run after her to put her in the pool.
Ben is always the fun guy in the pool
I'm so glad these three got to at least go to school together the last month.
Jumping for joy for summer
Last Day of School
We have had a fun filled summer already and it has been less than two weeks. Monday evening we had a wiffle ball game with some friends in the church parking lot to kick off summer with a fun FHE. Tuesday was Brooke's last day of school. My old coach called and we met up with him and his family at the park and had a picnic and then got frozen yogurt. It was so fun to see Brooke be such good friends with Kaja right off the bat. And it was especially awesome to catch up with Jody and Michelle. They were such an integral part of my growing years at college. Jody shaped a lot of who I am through volleyball practices and competitions and work (I worked for him in the summers and then was hired as his assistant my first year out of college.) he challenged me in every aspect of life. And his wife is just amazing. She is one of the main reasons I aspired to get a master's degree. So it was such a blast to see them. And see Jody in a father role. He is so good with his son. We met up again on Wednesday and went rock climbing and to lunch. Again brooke and kaja were best buds right off the bat.
We went swimming again. It is so awesome to have such good friends that you can just call to go swimming with!

Thursday was beach day! Man I love the beach especially rio del mar with lots of friends because my heart is overwhelmed with joyful memories that brought so many families together when we were growing up. As a kid, Tuesday's were beach day. No matter what, if it was Tuesday we were at the beach with about six other families. And I still have such a lasting bond with those friends. So I love the beach. It also makes me feel like such a good mom because my kids are outside in the fresh air all day long. There is minimum whining, lots of playing and socializing and lots of time for me to hold my kids wrapped in towels an watch the waves together or find sand crabs or build sand castles...I love it.
Friday we had a fun day at home with Calvin and little forrest. We watched them all weekend. Saturday was graduation parties, farmers market, biking in the church parking lot and keeping five kids happy and then stake conference and dinner with friends after.
Sunday we got to have ben's cousin Kate and her husband Kyle for dinner. It always so fun to have family over. Kate taught me piano when we were at BYU and she took my volleyball class. So it was especially fun to catch up,
Monday was the waterpark with friends. And I got up enough guts to take all five kids. They had so much fun. But it made me feel for all those people with twins. Man alive, it is hard. Jackson and little Forrest are only 3 weeks apart and they kept me on my toes. And then dinner at the pool and swimming with the McCoys.
Tuesday was swim lessons and a swim party with dinner at the pool again. It was SO hot. When we left sour house at 4 in the afternoon, the temperature in our house was 90 degrees. Wowzers.
Wednesday was a fun baby shower here at the house, so the day was spent cleaning and decorating. Thankfully my neighbor took Livy and Brooke to the dollar movie with her and her girls and I was able to get a ton done, so it wasn't as stressful as it has been in the past trying to get the house ready. It was such a fun evening, we had it outside on the patio! It again showed me how incredibly supportive and loving our ward is. People are so generous and truly care for one another. And the older women and the young moms mingle, it truly doesn't matter your age, we all get along.
Thursday we had a BLAST at cull canyon. Kate and Haley came with us. It was treat to have older kids to help lug everything to and from the car. And everyone had a great time. We went to the Minor league giants game that evening as well. There were four families that all sat together. The kids absolutely loved it. It was so much fun. And they had a great fireworks show after. Although we paid for the late night the next day with lots of whining, but it was well worth it.
Friday was a low key day at home and Saturday was just perfect with lots of chores and getting things done around the house. A bike ride and park outing with ben and the girls and then an afternoon and evening on a date! Love those kind of weekends.

It has definitely been a great summer already This week is already planned with lots of fun things from swim lessons to the beach and lots of packing to get ready for our trips. I love summer!

LIttle things...

2011-06-25T11:23:00.001-07:00

I just love watching the three kids "run an errand" for me. Like this morning, returning a plate to a neighbor, i just watched from the doorway as Brooke was the little mother hen guiding waddling Jackson to the otherside of the street making sure he was well taken care of. And Livy, and all her spunk, skipping an djumping alongside. For some reason lately, i always watch the kids do things outside trying to soak up all those memories and remember how cute it is when they all play together.

Double Trouble

2011-06-21T09:35:00.000-07:00

We got to watch Amber and JT's kids - Calvin and Forrest - this past weekend. It is so fun to watch Jackson and Little Forrest tromp around together. They get super excited to see each other, start squealing, and then run off to cause trouble. It's awesome! They are only 3 weeks apart, and it seems like they have their own little lingo like twins.

Anyways, here's a video from a few months back when we were celebrating Jackson 1st birthday. Gotta love these little guys!

Just for Punka

2011-06-20T08:05:00.001-07:00

Punka,

Happy Father's Day! We love you and can't wait to see you in exactly two weeks! Here are some fun little videos to wish you a Happy Father's Day!

Love you DAD!

Little Loves

2011-06-08T16:17:00.001-07:00

Jackson:
-absolutely loves getting his blanket wrapped around his shoulders and snuggling.
-loves watching Leap Frog letter Factory. Lately when he wakes up he goes immediately to the TV and wants you to turn it on.
-loves drawing chalk.
-loves getting oil rubbed on his feet and put in his ear. (at first i thought maybe he was getting an ear infection because he kept pointing to the eye dropper and then to his ear, then i realized he just liked it)
-loves playing with babies and pushing baby strollers.
-loves his Daddy! Definitely a daddy's boy.

Livia:
-loves, loves, loves riding her two wheeler. (She asks at least 10 times a day, can you play outside with me, which means: can we go ride bikes together in the backyard.)
-loves all bugs. Her and Jackson are always going in the front yard to find rolly-pollies, ants and spiders. She usually names the ants Annie. And, as of yesterday, ants are her favorite bug right now becasue they don't tickle when they crawl all over you.
-loves trying to pick up any kid/baby that is smaller than her.
-loves "writing" letters and coloring, and especially loves it when she can show Brooke that she has done something just like her.
-absolutely loves her gymnastics class.
-loves to be held. A typical conversation is, "Livy, why are you crying." answered, "I dust want someone to hold me!"
-loves to end every sentence with "wight, mom." translated: right, mom.

Brooke:
-loves school.
-loves to read.
-loves holding Jackson, even if Jackson doesn't really want her to hold him.
-loves to wear hats. And she looks absolutely adorable in all of them, too.
-loves to be complimented on how well she is doing things.
-loves to have her back scratched when going to bed. (A definite Eyre trait.)
-loves helping me cut vegetables, even if she doesn't like to eat them yet.

Riding a Bike

2011-06-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

Livy is riding a bike today! She just picked up one o the small bikes at my mom's house and asked my mom to come watch her play and she stated riding the bike! We have been trying to get her to ride the srider bike around for months and she didn't want anything to do with it. So we returned it to my mom's a week ago, and now she is riding! 3 and a half and riding a two wheeler! Awesome!

Brooke's Dance Recital

2011-06-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

It was a fun weekend of dance recitals. Brooke and Emma were in the same class, along with Nia. They performed a cute dance to the music "The Codfish Ball". Miss Gentry was her teacher this year. She has been there for over 40 years. She got sick at teh end of the year and was unable to come to classes and the recital at the end. She was still teaching dance at 88 years old.
It is always fun to watch Brooke at her dance recitals. It brings back memories of the excitement for dance recitals and getting all dressed up with the glitter and glitz.

Sayings

2011-06-05T20:31:00.001-07:00

Brooke had been laying in her bed this evening to go to sleep for over half an hour when she came out and told us we forgot to finish her Star of the Week poster. So glad she remembered. It could have been a very hard morning tomorrow had she not reminded us. I got a big kick out of her when she said to us, "A TV show? that's something you watch on TV, right?" We had to give her a few examples of things she watches at my moms to jog her memory. It made me realize how sheltered she is without having regular television to watch.

My favorite saying from Livy the last few weeks is when she gets a little frustrated with something Brooke does, or when Brooke corrects her on her c's sounding like t's, she responds, "I just have a little pwoblem with my talking, Bwook!" It is so cute. I kind of hope she never grows out of it. Ahh i love that girl, but she sure has a mind of her own.

Jackson tried to say three words today. Drink: kaka. Mama. And poop: bub. Wow three in one day! It makes me so happy. I didn't think he could get any cuter, but man he is so dang cute and every day i feel like i want to squeeze his unbelievably squishy cheeks even more.

Gualala Anticipation

2011-05-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

I love that our whole family gets so giddy about Gualala. It is so much fun to anticipate. Thankfully, i am not stressed a bit about getting ready for the trip. I am always just so giddy. It is like butterflies in your tummy all the time. We talk about all we are going to do there at dinner every night for two weeks leading up to it, it seams. Brooke shares all her fun memories and we talk about all the friends she will get to play with there. Gualala is just part of who i am. It is such a huge part of where i learned important things in life, like HARD WORK (jessica, kim and I have lots of fun memories scrubbing huge stainless steal pots in the spicket by the road)and how to have fun, and bonding times with family. Some of my earliest memories are roasting marshmallows around the fire gate Grandma Smith had with Heidi and Micah, and often times waking up with marshmallows stuck in our hair. Or playing cards in Aunt Holly's motorhome, finding banana slugs in the fern forest, collecting crabs at point arena and getting "lost" from the campsite, but always finding our way back to the christmas lights Grandma Smith made sure to hang at her site, just for that reason. Or earning money picking up trash just so we could buy more candy from Grandma Smith's store. Man, the list goes on for miles and miles.

But i just wanted to write down and remember the giddyness that fills our home for the weeks leading up to this awesome weekend! I also love it so much because it makes me think about Grandma all the time and all the memories that are woven into my heart because of her diligence in making this a family tradition. For some reason i feel her presence and love just a bit more about this time of year.

Our family is so blessed because of this fun tradition. Its going to be another fun memorial weekend! Cold, but always fun!

Croc-a-Gator

2011-05-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

Livy was happy this morning, VERY HAPPY. She fell asleep at 4 pm last night, didn't wake up for dinner, and slept through the night. So she had a lot of energy.

As I was leaving for work, she ran out the door and said "See you later, Croc-a-gator!"

Love that Livy!

2011-05-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

I tried to get some cute mother's day pictures in front of our neighbors "weeds". The wild flowers grow totally over his walkway leading up to his front door. He says its to keep solicitors out. They really are beautiful. Too bad we were too rushed before church to get some great shots.

Being a kid

2011-05-09T21:20:00.000-07:00

Last night when I was putting the girls to sleep, i was sitting in the chair in their room and Brooke asked, "Mom, will i ever be a child again?" A little puzzled at what she was asking, I responded, "No, you will never be a kid again once you grow up."
Brooke, "I am glad it is going slow then. I really like being a kid."
Me, "I really like you being a kid too, Brooke."

It made me ponder again how fast the time goes and how much i am enjoying (but want to enjoy even more) these young ages. It also made me smile so big thinking about how much this girl loves life. She has always had such a joy and passion for everything in life. Man, I love this girl!

Just for Nanna

2011-05-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Nanna,
Happy Mother's Day! Since you can't be with us, we made some quick videos to tell you how much we love you! Can't wait to dote on you next year back in sunny California!!!

We love you Mom! Hugs and kisses from Fremont to Toronto!

hiding toys

2011-05-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ben and Brooke used to play a little game with Jackson where they would hide toys in their hand and then drop it down the front of his shirt. He LOVES it! And often times he comes up to me with a small toy and grins and laughs and puts it down the front of his shirt. Well this morning when he was getting in the bath, we found 6 pet shops in the legs of his sleepers. He had been hiding toys. I guess he was playing the game by himself. It was so funny!

Learning

2011-05-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

There are a few very poignant lessons i feel like i have learned the last few years and i don't want to forget them:

Love more, criticize and judge less. (even the smallest points of criticism vocalized breeds ill feeling and frustration)
There are "incurable" people. And I don't want to be one of those. (that was coined in a book I read a little while ago. And since then i have realized over and over again that the author was right, people like to have an excuse for things-and not "curing" themselves emotionally, spiritually and/or physically will always give them an excuse. whether it is for their performance in life, their health, their relationships, their job, or whatever it is-its a crutch to lean on if life is hard. So sometimes it is easier to be "incurable".)
Give people the benefit of the doubt. (maybe some people are "incurable" and need an excuse, but others really are trying. 9 times out of 10 we don't know the full stories-or the story from two different view points. so give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe their dog really did die, or maybe they are struggling emotionally and you just don't know it.)
The most important role in life for me is to be a good mother. (i have always known this deep down, but with each year I realize it more and more.)
Its important to be your own kind of good mother. (everyone mother's differently, and you are you're own kind of good mother. I need to keep my eyes on what is important to me in raising my kids.)
People that criticize others and how they mother are people you don't want approval of anyway, so brush it off, ignore it, and keep deliberately trying to be the best you can.
Laugh and have fun. (we all need a little more laughing in our lives.)
When you've had a bad day, turn on music really loud and dance with your kids. (its hard to cry or be mad or be frustrated when you are dancing with your kids-even if you are a horrible dancer.)
'Real Mother's' like to help each other out. (this term was again coined in an article i read a little while ago- mom's really want to help each other out. I really believe that is why i had such a great childhood, because my mom and her friends relied on each other to help each other out and in doing that they developed binding relationships that strengthened all their families.)
Be happy for others. (i think it is so important to be happy for other's successes, accomplishments, exciting news, etc. when we are genuinely happy and excited for others, we have no room to be jealous or comparative.)
Embrace all types of people. (my dad used to say, "If we were all the same, it would be a boring world")
Surround yourself with people that inspire you to be better, not people that bring you (or others) down.
And while you are surrounding yourself with people that inspire you to be better, don't compare your weaknesses to their strengths. You are your own person. (this is something i have learned over and over the past year, it is so sad when people constantly look at other's strengths and then tell themselves that they aren't as good. )
Rely on the gift of the Atonement in every aspect of your life!
Be grateful for every little thing.
Like the very cliche saying says: Live, Love, Laugh (it might be overused and little bit annoying by now, but it really is true.)

Coming home from HK

2011-04-21T18:22:00.001-07:00

Noah and I are chilling at the airport about to hop on flights home from HK. We had an awesome trip, but can't wait to get home to the fams! Here are a few pics.

Waiting for the double decker bus at midnight when we arrived.

View from our hotel.

Nice name for the smoking floor!

Playing hoops with the local kids.

Crazy tall buildings everywhere.

Getting our tailor made suits!

Enough said!

On top of Victoria Peak.

Hong Kong temple. Our session was in Mandarin.

Crazy hats from the biggest night market ever!

Three wolf moon.

Missing the Fam

2011-04-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

I had a business trip to San Diego the past two days and am so excited to get back to Ashley and the kiddos! It's crazy how much you realize your love for family when you are away from them!

I can't wait to see Jackson lift both arms over his head and coming running at me! He is really into wrestling lately and will just randomly come up to me or Ash and try to push us over. It's fun to see him play with Brooke and Liv - I'm so glad our kids get along so well. I hope we can keep that closeness for life!

See you soon guys!!! Time to hop on the plane!

Shadow Cliffs

2011-03-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

It was 80 degrees today!! Spring is here!! Or should I say almost summer. Although it seems it has been raining forever, the hills are my very favorite color! Unbelievably fluorescent green! Driving back through the canyon it is so lush and beautiful!

With the beautiful weather we headed to Shadow Cliffs with some friends. Thankfully Ben was working from home today, so he took Brooke to school (and on a daddy date to lunch before dropping her off so she wouldn't feel so bad) and Jackson and Livy and I headed to pleasanton. It was so fun. I know my body had been craving that sunshine. I was so bummed though when i realized i had forgotten my camera. Livy and the twins (Tatum and Kale) were all three in striped swim suits about the same color and they looked so adorable running around together and burying each other in the sand. Jessica and I commented so much about how we used to do that together at Rio Del Mar. Even though Jackson was a bit grouchy and actually hated the sand it was still a perfect day. I hope i can remember all those kids running around with no one on the "beach" playing so hard and smiling so much and Jake and Jackson fighting (grunting) over the water bottle and Annie, Jessica and I just soaking in the sun and good conversation! Can't wait for summer (and spring break!).

The Dentist

2011-03-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

Livy went to the dentist for the first time today. I guess I should say, I tried to take her to the dentist. Totally opposite to Brooke's first time, Livy freaked out before we had even gotten into the hygienist's room. There was no calming her down. After about 15 minutes of screaming and kicking I walked out of there with Livy kicking in one arm and Jackson on the other hip and told them i would call another time and reschedule. I was proud of myself that I didn't get ruffled. I didn't even get mad inside. Usually I would have been fuming...but I think it was because I totally expected that reaction. And Livy never disappoints when it comes to screaming and wailing.

Brooke is way excited to go to the dentist on Friday, so i might try and take Livy with me just so she can see that it isn't that bad. But who knows, she might start screaming even before we get in the waiting room since she knows where it is now.

Fun FHE

2011-03-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Although tonight wasn't one of our best FHE's, we have had some fun one's the last couple of weeks. One being a fun s'mores night with our fire pit my parent's got us for Christmas. It was a lot of fun!

Livy day

2011-03-27T08:58:00.001-07:00

Livy Day

2011-03-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Emma, Brooke and Tyler came home from Emma's house and surprised Livy with a super cute bag with fur on it, pictures they had colored, two lollipops, a bakugan card, and a plastic spider and declared it a LIVY DAY! In true Livy fashion, Livy hid behind the door and let out these crying screams. Until they finally pulled out the lollipops she ate one, then she was so happy. It was so cute and nice of them.

This morning when Ben saw the pictures and and "purse" on the table (he has been gone all weekend at a Conference) he asked why the picture said Livy Day?

As I was about to tell him about it, Brooke piped up and said, "It was Livy day yesterday. We let Livy play with us all day. So now it is Livy day on Saturdays." (Yesterday she is explained it to me as: Livy can play with us on saturdays, but Emma and Tyler and me get to play alone on the other days.)

Ben said, "That is so nice. Who's idea was that?"

Brooke, "Emma's. It was so nice of her. I almost started to cry at her house when she told me."

Ben, "Cry because you were happy?" Brooke, "Yeah."

Ben, "Did Livy like it?"

Brooke, kind of smirking, "No, she cried."

Ben, "You cried because you were happy for Livy day, and Livy cried becasue she was sad for Livy day....did she like it after you showed her the presents?"

Brooke, "No, not until we showed her the lollipops inside."

Moral: Livy hates a lot of attention, but loves candy.

Mother Hen

2011-03-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Livia is totally wanting to be the Mother Hen with Jackson. I think she is sick of being bossed around by Brooke, sometimes Calvin, Tyler and Emma. So she is taking out on Jackson. And he usually likes it. I am trying to capture the little moments of the day. And like I have said before, Livia's favorite thing is to play 'family' and spread out lots of blankets to lay down on or layer on top of jackson. Although, sometimes Jackson cries about it, they really do have a great time together. (except of course when Livy is trying to MAKE him smile.)

Little things

2011-03-21T15:15:00.001-07:00

Little things I am desperately trying to chizle into my memory, that I feel like are escaping me:

Jackson dragging a blanket around draped around his shoulders. He especially likes a blanket in the mornings. Like this morning when I walked in from exercising he ran up to me in wiht a huge smile dragging a little blanket, half way wrapped around one shoulder and then said, "u. u." and pointed to the blanket.

Livy loving to play family. Always needing 500 little blankets laid on the floor for a bed. (I have to remember to pack up most of the baby blankets so i don't have to keep folding them 10 times a day-literally.)

Livy crying every hour for a band-aid for her finger nails because she won't stop biting her nails. There is nothing left of them.

How much brooke loves to play with me.

How brooke and livy fight to sit on the "corner" stool to watch me make pancakes in the morning.

What we've been up to...

2011-03-18T22:35:00.003-07:00

I am still retarded when it comes to posting pictures. I don't know how to put them in the order i want and I can't seem to figure out how to get the size I want. But i am happy that I am actually posting pictures. (A special thanks to Ben for setting up our fixed computer for my birthday gift!)

February was gone in a flash, and March is half over. I know we did a lot of fun things, but i can't seem to remember them long enough to write them down. So i thought i would just remind myself with some of the daily things. So here is a basic overview of the last month in pictures. What we have been up to- in a nutshell.

Lots of playing. And Livy loves to "put Jackson to bed" with lots of blankets. It is their favorite game. Or I should say, it is her favorite game and he goes along with it, and happily (at least for the first 5 or 10 minutes.)

Waiting for Pancakes at breakfast. Jackson will only sit at the counter in the mornings with the girls. He definitely wants to be the big boy now.

Showing us how happy he is to be sitting at the counter!

Roller skating/blading. Donna gave us some old roller skates and Livy begs to put them on at least once a day. She falls all over the place and gets right back up and says, "I'm fine mom." with a big smile.

More crafting. And yes, this is normal for Livy-she loves to be shirtless.

Art day. Friday is art day.

A familiar face these days. Actually in the last few days, she now says "do a funny face, mom" and then she sticks out her tongue. I think she has finally caught on that she isn't supposed to stick her tongue out at me, but still wants to, so she turns it into a funny "game". She is one smart cookie.

Character day at school. Brooke was Junie B. Jones in the book Dumb Bunny. She was a very cute bunny!!

Crazy hair day at school. She came up with the idea all on her own! Definitely a girl that knows what she wants. I thought it was cute rather than crazy.

Always loads of laundry.

And the snow. Brooke still asks if we will live in the snow someday.

(I smile and think-hopefully not.)

Sledding in Arnold

2011-03-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

We love the snow! Grateful it is only 2 hours away, but also grateful we don't actually live in it (although brooke wishes she did). For Presidents Day we headed to Arnold for the day with the Skubals. It was so much fun! The weather was perfect and there was SOOO much snow. We were bummed our usual sledding place-cottage springs- was so abundantly covered in snow that we had to go back down the road a bit to find a sledding place.

This is how Livy looked at least 50% of the time. You never know what you are going to get with her. Pure happiness and cuteness or all out screaming. Keeps us on our toes.

Dan looks like he is closing his eyes.

Can you tell this girl loves it!! She didn't cry once, even when she got snow down her shirt.

Jackson was a tired champ-a champ nonetheless.

There's a smile. Proof that she did have fun, at least for a little bit.

Sleep over!

2011-03-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

We get to have Emma and Tyler for two days and we wanted to make it fun. So ben set up his big screen for work and we watched Wendy Wu- Homecoming Kung-fu, or something like that. It was a Disney show on netflix. The kids LOVED it. Emma declared it was the "best time (she) had watching a movie." Tyler was so excited because "now I know so many more king-fu moves." They practiced kung fu moves for an hour after the movie was over. It was so funny!

And I really think i should put Brooke in Karate. She loves it!

Ball

2011-03-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

Jackson said his FIRST WORD today. He is exactly one week shy of 18 months old. I pointed to the ball he was trying to get while we were sitting on the floor in his room. He went over and picked it up and said "Bal". It was so cute, and I was so happy. Deep down i have been a little worried that he isn't saying words yet. But he was so clear and cute about it. Oh man, i love that little boy. It was so fun to play this morning. After I got home from exercising, we had about 45 minutes before brooke and livy woke up. It was so fun to play together and have some one on one time with him.

Jackson, you are the cutest!

Little Loves

2011-03-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

Jackson's Loves:

Getting on the kids table and throwing everything off.

Drawing. (love how he holds the crayons, pen or pencil)

his binky. (Ben has been playing the "trick" of pulling his binky out of his ear. So now when you say, "Jackson, where's your binky?" He points to his ear and smiles. It is SO cute!)

toothbrushes.

pancakes and cereal.

books.

dancing.

wrestling.

little forrest. (at least when he isn't taking his food or hitting him.)

Livy's loves:

laying on the couch and asking to watch a movie and have a sippy cup of milk. (whenever she starts to have a huge melt down, that is what she says through the tears. "Tan I have a dippy dup a meilk and lay on da touch. Please, mom?")

Hide and seek.

roller skates. Pink ones from Donna.

playgrounds.

calvin.

playing with brooke.

helping me in the kitchen (she has to be sitting right on the counter and right next to me.)

carrying jackson to where she wants him or trying to "help" him.

painting and coloring.

boppy and dwamma. (my parent's)

hitting people. (not one of my love's or her siblings)

being first at everything.

singing.

sitting on the corner seat at the counter.

Brooke's loves:

Having a "towel robe" on after her bath. (It is just a regular terry cloth robe, but she loves it.)

READING!

school.

writing notes.

riding her scooter.

hiking.

having daddy talks at night.

trying to have "inside" jokes with the parents about what Livy and Jackson are doing.

being first at everything.

piano lessons.

music.

family hikes.

going to grandma's house.

getting to stay up later than her brother and sister.

noodles.

one-on-one attention.

sitting at the corner seat at the counter.

doing homework.

playing with friends.

Standing Up

2011-03-06T07:20:00.001-08:00

As i was preparing for my Sunday School lesson and trying to make sure i could apply the scripture to the kids everyday life, i thought of this experience i had just this last week.

A friend sent out an email informing us of one of the books that will be going to the School Board to be voted on for AP english class. The book is titled Angels in America Part 1: The Millenium Approaches. I am grateful she is so diligent in keeping many of us informed on the things that are happening. The book is absolutely totally repulsive and offensive in language and content. If you really are interested on how incredibly horrible this is you can check it out here. I couldn't even get through two pages of the book because of the language. And this is what a teacher wants to have our teenagers filling their minds with. So I wrote a letter and I got responses within two days.

I am studying Matthew 5 to teach to my kids today at church, it really jumped out at me with this experience that it is so important that we don't hide our light. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt 5:14-16). There are other people who are trying to share their light and we need to support and help them. By standing up for things we are being a light. It was just such a good reminder that we are to share what we know to be right.

This is the letter I wrote:

To All FUSD School Board Members,

As an English major in my undergraduate studies, I have read many books. I have been exposed to good literature and horrible literature. I think it is extremely important that we use good literature to teach our children. It is appalling to me that the book Angels in America Part One: The Millenium Approaches is even being considered as a text for our teenagers to read and learn from. There are many great books that can teach lessons without having to read such foul and distasteful language. The language is offensive, vulgar and totally inappropriate for anyone, let alone teenagers. As a former student, employee and coach, and now a parent in the Fremont Unified School district, I am so disappointed that anyone would see this piece of literature fit for our students. My athletes weren't allowed to say things in the gym that were even half as offensive as the writings in this book. I am extremely disheartened, outraged and in total shock that we would consider exposing our children to the type of conduct and language that is promoted in this text. In a society that is heavily lacking in respect and morals, it would be very unwise to expose our teens to the behavior, events and language that are celebrated in this book. We should be looking for literature that will teach our teens values and respect. We should not be wasting our teens time with books about "soap opera" affairs and alternative lifestyles, they can see that on TV. I am confident that there are plenty of other books that can teach our teens about the effects of AIDS and promiscuous lifestyles without being so distasteful in language and moral values.

Before you vote to approve this book, I would expect that you will ask yourself, and the teacher lobbying for this book, what the goal and purpose of exposing our teens to this book is. From the few pages I have read, and from the overview i have studied (because I was so offended by the language in the text that I couldn't make myself read it in its entirety), I am totally stumped as to the reason this book is being given to teenagers to read.

Please vote NO on approving the book Angels in America Part One: The Millenium Approaches . It is important that we fill our teens minds with good literature that will inspire them to be better. With the school work that is already expected of our children and the minimum extra time they have, it is imperative that we choose good literature and resources for them to read that will elevate their goals and influence them to be the best person they can be and this book does not do that.

Regards,

Ashley Eyre

Former Washington High School Volleyball Coach

And within 48 hours i got some great responses from the Board members, one in particular. Here are a few parts to it:

Thank you for taking the time to compose such a detailed e-mail regarding Angels in America.

I agree that we have to do all we can to reinforce positive character traits and we have to make sure that the religious beliefs of all are not subject to ridicule or hate.

The teacher who put this book forward for Board approval has stated in public that one of her favorite quotes is 'All literature is sexual'. While I disagree with the statement and believe she has every right to her beliefs, it does provide possible insight into motivation. That said, the content of this book (and the second book of this series), is full of hate and loathing aimed at more than one religious belief.

If this book had Muslims replacing Mormons and their religious beliefs held to attack, it would probably not have ever made it to the Board's consideration. That makes for a simple analysis related to the degree of the offensive nature of the work.

The content about God, the angels' activities in heaven and earth, the placing of real people in fictional settings and the general tone of the work is certainly grounds for reflection, but it hardly meets the requirements we want to have our high school children exposed to as required reading.

It is always comforting when we know there are others who support us. As i am sure this board member was happy to know there are others out there that are concerned about the things our children our subjected to.

*Post edit-And if you live in the area, you should let your voice be heard as well. Write a letter to the board, or attend the board meeting.

Bird

2011-03-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning up the art project in the backyard, friday is art day at our house. So i was going in and out from the backyard and th escreen was left open. I was walking back in with my hands full of paints and garbage and i hear a really high pitch chirp. At first i thought there was a bird right above me on the roof. Then i hear this thunk, thunk, thunk-flap, chirp. I turn to the right and there is a bird in our house crashing against the corner window trying to get out. I quickly put everything down and tried to think what to do. I grabbed a couch pillow like i was going to shew it out, but decided against it. I opened the slider as wide as it could go and moved the key board that th ebird kept getting stuck between and kept thinking what to do. Should i grab a bucket and lid and try to catch it and take it out, do i shew it out. I had a few thoughts that the bird would just eventually die and then we would get it out, i thought of trying to get seeds and making a trail to the open door.....thankfully in the 1 minute that i tried to think of what to do the bird bashed its body into the window a bunch more times and then found its way out. WHEW.

It was a bit funny because i was just outside painting with the kids and admiring what an absolutely beautiful day it was and how many birds were out. And then i realized they were "in".

It was a fun event and i am grateful it resolved itself so quickly.

Favorite things

2011-03-03T18:16:00.001-08:00

A few of Jackson's favorite things right now are:

pushing the stools around to the counter by the sink.

pushing the little chairs to make a line and block the entry way to the kitchen.

CEREAL. Dry or with milk. He even loves to just carry around the box.

closing drawers. Often time Livy leaves the kids dishes drawer open, and jackson always walks over to close it.

sitting on his changing table and putting on socks and shoes.

bobbing his head to music.

slides and swings!

climbing.

drawing.

smiling.

eating.

loving and cuddling.

BOOKS!

the wiggles

blankets wrapped around him.

getting chased.

Verbal Snapshots

2011-03-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

Lately I feel like I am taking in the little moments, trying desperately to store them in my memory to recall when all the kids are gone. I am realizing the statement "time flies" and really trying to change my perspective. Not grumbling as much trying to get kids in and out of car seats, but reminding myself that Brooke is already out of a car seat and how fast the time went. Or laughing instead of screaming when i am cleaning up spilled milk again or changing another diaper. Because the time really is whizzing by. Sometimes it almost feels like it is being stolen away from me.

So i am really trying to take a few moments and engrave things on my brain, hoping those things that I can't get a picture of will be chiseled into my bones, never to be forgotten.

Things like Brooke and Livy walking/skipping hand in hand to church. Livy in her pale purple dress and braid and ribbon. Brooke in all white and french braids with a bright blue ribbon she insisted on wearing. (And although i fought it a bit, it did look cute.)

-Brooke talking and singing to herself in the toy room as she plays her way into a dreamland of pet shops or Polly pockets or building towers. While Livy kind of "copies" her and dances around singing the little mermaid really loud. And Brooke not minding one bit.

-Livy jumping for joy, literally, when i tell her we can go to the "mamayuchi" park (she use to call it the Lucy park). She jumped up on one leg and threw her hands in the air, almost as if she was doing a lay up and kept shouting "yes" and "hooray, we get to go to the mamayuchi park".

-watching Livy, Brooke and Jackson play so happily together on the spinning cups. Brooke in her role as the gentle big sister (this time, sometimes she likes to be the bossy big sister or the bothered big sister, but lately it has been very gentle) trying to coax Livy to do what she wants her to do without making Livy yell at her and all the while including Jackson. It was such a great day at the park, i felt like i really played with them so much. And it was so much fun!

-Hearing Jackson and Livy play together in the toy room or wander around the house together pushing baby strollers. With an occasional scream because Jackson wants a specific toy Livy has-and then hearing Livy try to reason with him and finally give in and just give him the toy.

-Listening to Brooke read and sound out words.

-Watching Brooke and Livy's face light up when they realize they get to play hide and seek with the Archibalds.

-Seeing the pure joy, thankfulness, and relief on Brooke's face when i tell her i did her job for her.

-Remembering the feeling of how exhausted you are when you realize you still need to do the dishes and put the kids to bed.

-Brooke laughing and giving a kind of questioned look when Livy, out of the blue, says something really funny.

-the laughter and the screaming and Jackson trying to get on top of the pile as Ben tickles and wrestles the girls (while i am usually in the background saying, please stop screaming.)

I can't believe it.

2011-02-28T21:48:00.000-08:00

But I did it. I always said, i would never buy them. They would never look good on me. It just wasn't my style. And again i learn: Never say never, you will always eat your words.

I bought a pair of skinny jeans.

I still don't think they look good on me plain. But they look way better with my boots than my other jeans did.

And I just couldn't pass trying them when they were only $4.98. Yup. 75% off on the target clearance rack. I really am SOOOOOO cheap when it comes to clothes. (last year i bought a swim suit at old navy for 3 1/2 cents. yes cents, not dollars.) So when i saw the sign i decided to rush past to see if there was anything my size. I found a pair of boot cut jeans and threw them in the cart and was starting to whiz off again when i saw the skinny jeans in my size. I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a try. For 5 bucks it might be worth it.

And i think i like them. Never thought i'd say that.

A little taste of Hawaii

2011-02-16T22:53:00.001-08:00

I know, I wish i was (still) there, too...

It was the worst of times....it was the best of times...

2011-02-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

Well it started out as a great Valentine's Day morning. Brooke was a little disappointed on Sunday night that we didn't have more decorations (note to self=that girl likes parties and decorations.) So as soon as I got up on monday morning, Livy and I cut out lots of hearts and wrote notes on them for the family and taped them all over the cabinets. I even found some small gifts from the "present" box in the closet and wrapped them. It was great. I was glad i felt like i did a little something. And we had a great morning, playing games and talking.

Then it was time to get ready and choose a Valentine's outfit. And so it turned out to be yet another fiasco with picking out clothes for Brooke. It is just so hard to handle sometimes. She can't stand ANY seams, nothing fits right. no matter what type of leggings they are, they itch. One time she wears a pair of pants, and then when you suggest them again (because she loved them the last time), she goes into hysterics because they itch her somewhere, or they fit funny here, or it doesn't look right. I got so frustrated yesterday, that I got out the scissors and cut off the ruffles on the bottom of her leggings. That didn't help. Actually that was probably the worst thing i could do. Because, "THAT WAS THE PRETTY PART!!!" Even though that was the part that was bothering her. And since there was NOTHING else she would wear, I just cut them off. Boy, oh boy, that girl gets me worked up. I really need to learn how to deal with this better. AHHH. After I finally threw my hands in the air about it, she went back into her room and found some pink pants to wear under her red polka dot skirt with a pink shirt. It was great for Valentine's day. And i just had to wonder why she couldn't have chosen those from the beginning and been happy with it, or at least for the third outfit...then we wouldn't have had to go through all six outfits and still be upset about it.

Luckily by the time we were finished playing on the playground for 5 minutes before her classroom door opened, we were both happy (actually Brooke was happy before she left for school. I was the one that still needed to let off some steam.). I kissed her goodbye (I am so glad she still likes to be kissed on the lips), and we had a little whisper chat and said tomorrow would be better about clothes.

Livy, Jackson and I then went quickly to the store and then headed home to make muffins. (I decided muffins would be an easier task than cut out cookies for this Valentine's Day). And it was such a great time. Livy helped happily the entire time! And Jackson waddled around the island doing laps and jabbering. I kept thinking about what a stark contrast it was from the morning episode.

And i learned a great lesson, again. No matter how mad you are, take a few minutes and the storm will calm, and life will be great again. And someday, I am going to laugh at myself that I just started cutting off the lace on brooke's pants-but for now, i am still a little bugged at myself for getting that frustrated.

Welcome home...

2011-02-13T15:23:00.000-08:00

We got back late last night. Jackson and Livy both ended up in our bed, both kicking and turning the entire night. Jackson was up at 6:30 (thankfully not his usual 5:30) and I was groggy from the time change and the lack of sleep.

Before 8:30 when Ben and Brooke woke up we had made pancakes, played hide and seek, read books and had two tantrums from Livy. Jackson at 4 pancakes and two huge bowls of cereal. And then another pancake with Ben while I was in the shower. Brooke had a meltdown about clothes, again. We scrambled to get a talk ready for primary. And that produced another meltdown because she wanted to draw a thousand pictures to hold up during her talk. I realized she had been wearing her church shoes to school and they were totally destroyed. So i was scrambling to find her old church sandals. Livy cried about her dress after I ironed it, and it was the one she had picked out to wear. Ben was still feeling horrible (he came down with a really bad sore throat the last day in hawaii). Jackson was tired and cranky, it was nap time, but with 11:00 church, naps are just all over the place. Thankfully everyone started to calm down about 10:40 and by 10:45 we were ready to walk out the door. I realized as we were walking to church that I totally forgot to put on ANY make-up and for a moment i thought i didn't have a slip on. When i realized i had a slip on, i decided not to worry about the make-up and just be grateful that we were on time to church and no one was crying at that point.

Welcome home. Its good to be back to real life.

Sayings..

2011-02-04T11:56:00.000-08:00

Brooke loves the monkey bars. I mean LOVES them. And that means Livy does, too. Livy is pretty amazing at it. She can go all the way across the little ones by herself. Brooke was showing Ben her blisters one time and Ben said, "Why don't you take a break from the monkey bars for a little bit, Brooke. And then they can heal." Brooke in response, "Dad, when I see the monkey bars, I just can't stop looking at them. It's like I have to go do them!" What a gal!

Livy: "Mom, You're going to Owie!" ....looking a little shocked that it didn't come out right and then said, "Oi." I just smiled and said yes and then started laughing. She was trying to say Hawaii.

When we were having Mommy talk last night, i was talking to Brooke about all her friends at school. I asked her if Aryanna had any brothers and sisters. Her response, "WAY!" and that was it. Ben and I just started laughing. I guess that means yes, a lot....

Jackson loves to act like he is eating his book and then looks at you and smiles. And then does it again and starts laughing.

Brooke and Livy always start running about like crazy right before bed (well, they are either running around like crazies, or crying- really loud- about something). The other night they were running around teasing each other. And they made up a game called the kissing monster. It was so funny to watch them try to kiss each others legs and feet to tag.

Brooke's Love

2011-02-03T21:41:00.000-08:00

It is so fun to watch your children express love. Kids are naturally so good at it!

Ash and I are getting ready for a trip. Brooke snuck into my office and drew these, leaving them on my desk.

Melted my heart!

VACATION

2011-02-03T21:35:00.001-08:00

Only a little more time and we will be here!

As excited as i am, I am also a little sad because I am going to miss my kids so much. But Brooke said to me today, "Mom, I know you will really miss us. And we'll miss you, too. But we are really excited and we are going to have so much fun." And I know they will. It is so great to have such awesome family and friends. They will be very well taken care of. But it still is hard to leave them.

Little things...

2011-01-31T09:46:00.000-08:00

I have picked up the dish towel off the floor 12 times this morning (and it is only 9am). And I started counting after I had already picked it up probably 10 times before that.

Jackson has snuggled up to me at least 15 times already this morning. I love how his chubby cheeks fit right into my neck.

Brooke has changed outfits four times, declaring every time that nothing fits her right, everything bothers her, and she can't find anything to wear. (can you say- PICKY.) I now have true empathy for how my mom dealt with Krystal and her indecisions and pickyness (don't know if that is a word) with clothes every morning thru elementary school. Wow, it wears on you.

Livy has asked at least ten times for a sippy cup of milk. (We are trying to get rid of the sippy cup...it is way too expensive with rice milk.)

I wish i could really capture Livy's high pitched-cute voice on camera. Because right now, most of teh time I feel like it is ear piercing and makes me go crazy, but lots of time it is cute too.

Brooke takes such good care of her siblings, and it such a good sport to put up with the tormenting from Livy-lou.

I am so glad Brooke has Maddy to play with in the morning....have I mentioned how i totally don't like PM kindergarten......

Motherhood is an adventure.

Passed!

2011-01-31T09:45:00.000-08:00

Yay, Amber, Annie and I passed our big exam! We are official Foot Zonologists. Montana was great. Beautiful. Too bad we were in Lectures and tests all day and evening so we didn't get to do any sledding. It was great.

Hawaii, here we come!

2011-01-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

We are so excited we get to spend next week in Hawaii with these cool kids!

Untitled from charity eyre on Vimeo.

If you want to see more of these two and their amazing talents, click here

Videos for Nana and Punka!

2011-01-16T21:28:00.000-08:00

Hedy and Chris here are some videos for you to see the kids. We'll have to get one of Livy. We miss you guys. Only 6 more months!

Just a taste.....

2011-01-15T22:20:00.000-08:00

And I especially Love....

2011-01-15T15:23:00.000-08:00

My amazing husband who bought me an awesome camera for a new year's gift (since we had decided earlier we weren't buying Christmas gifts....he found a way to get around that)!

This is the first picture I took with the new camera. Jackson at 5:40am (yes, a normal wake-up time these days.)

So now I have to figure out how to use this awesome thing! I am so excited to actually start capturing some moments of my kids!

I love....

2011-01-14T14:06:00.000-08:00

I love that Livia and Sonja went straight to playing in the mud when they asked if they could play outside (even if Livy was wearing a white shirt, new at that.)

I love that Livy has two cousins that live close that are her age.

I love that Jackson LOVES books. Thomas the Tank Engine flap book is the highly requested one these days. Don't know where it came from, but glad we have it. (I think I owe the thanks to Jonna....)

I love that Ben loves his job.

I love that Brooke likes to tell me everything that happens at school...as long as I don't ask. She will usually open up the next morning and tell me everything.

I love that my exam for zoning is a week away (well that is a love-hate relationship. Love that it will be over soon, hate that I have SOOOO much studying to do.)

I love our neighborhood (i know i say that a lot, but really, I do....love, love, love it!)

I love that I get to workout in the mornings with great ladies. Even if I only got three hours of sleep with a crying baby the night before, hey, I was going to be tired anyway. At least this way, I am tired and exercised.

I love my new washer and dryer (new to me, that is)

I love that my kids have such an amazing relationship with their grandparents. (Nana and Punka, you are missed dearly.)

Life is good! No, Life is Great.

Girls Talk Too Much

2011-01-10T20:09:00.001-08:00

Tonight we had a great idea to break in our outdoor fire pit (Christmas gift from Ashley's parents) by doing smore's for Family Home Evening. As I was lighting the fire and getting everything ready, Brooke was bombarding me with questions. "What is that for? Why are you doing that? When can we start? Where is mom? How come she is inside?"

Finally I think she saw my frustration, and she simply said "Dad, its like on Peter Pan when he says 'Girls talk too much!'"

That put a smile on my face.

And, lo....

2010-12-22T18:17:00.001-08:00

Tonight when we were reading scriptures at dinner (we usually do it at breakfast, but it has been a little bit off schedule during the break.), Ben decided to read the Christmas story in Luke. (Right now we are currently reading in Alma, which Livy calls Elmo. It is quite cute). As Ben started reading the first words of Luke 2:9- Brooke chimed in and recited almost the entire next 3 verses without any help.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. (10) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Ben and I just watched in amazement and smiling. Brooke was giddy that we were so excited. And then at the end she said, "And that's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown." We all laughed. But deep down i almost wanted to cry because of all the things she can memorize and remember i am so glad she remembers those words so well, and i hope that they will always stick with her! Then she said, "That's what the Linus button says." I bought the Charlie Brown book at wal-mart two weeks ago and it is a favorite! (And deep down i was giddy that Brooke's teacher showed the movie Charlie Brown's Christmas at school last week-because obviously it does have the true meaning of Christmas in it!)

Christmas Cards

2010-12-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

Why do Christmas card have to be such a task in our family. It seems every year some new obstacle happens to get them out. And every year i try to fix it so that it is easier the next year. Like last year I bought christmas letterhead right after christmas so it was done adn we had it. And I even put it in our christmas boxes so it was easy to find when it was time to print them. But of course, the letterhead didn't fit our letter. Then when i finally got to another store to get letterhead, they only had a few of the right sized envelopes, so i had to go to another store to get envelopes. And then when i finally go to print them, the totally ready and completed Christmas letter that was finished three days ago, just waiting to be printed, was deleted off Ben's computer. (when it backed up online, it tripled everything and ben cleared things out....and one thing happened to be our letter.) I just kept thinking, ARE YOU KIDDING ME! So not only am i always scrabbling to get them off before Christmas Eve, but i always run into some really frustrating obstacles.

But on a happy note, Ben entered ALL of our addresses into excel this year-so that will be super easy to update and print off of next year. And while i was 'venting' a bit and getting my frustrations out on this little blog post ben found one of the letters we had printed on the "last years clearance stationary that didn't work this year" in the recycle bin, so now i just have to re-type and not remember everything! Hallelujah, what a blessing. And it isn't even Christmas Eve and I am sending the cards off.

The Nutcracker

2010-12-19T13:52:00.000-08:00

We went to the Nutcracker last night at Temple Hill. It was so awesome! Brooke loved it! Livy fell asleep halfway through the second half, but enjoyed it up until that point. The admission was free, and the show was absolutely AMAZING! It was so fun to see all the girls at the intermission twirling around on their toes and sashaying to and fro all around the lobby and outside. I'm so glad we got to go. And the Temple looked beautiful with all the lights. When we drove up there it was pouring rain and you couldn't even see the spires on the top of the Temple from the parking lot when we pulled in. But when we were leaving it was crystal clear. You could see all the way to San Fransisco and all the bridges. I highly recommend going up to the Oakland Temple, even if you aren't LDS, to see the Nativity and the Lights and there is a Reflections Exhibit in the Visitors Center that is supposed to be amazing. I just love the feeling on the Temple grounds, especially at Christmas.

Christmas Music

2010-12-19T13:05:00.000-08:00

I have been spoiled growing up to have been in such a musically talented ward. (You would've thought by now it would have rubbed off on me, but sadly, no. Thankfully i have Ben to help our kids be musically talented). And especially at Christmas time, it has been such a treat! And today was no exception. Music at Christmas magnifies the Spirit so much. I am so thankful to people that put in the time and energy to always make the Sunday before Christmas so amazing. I was sitting in Sacrament meeting overflowing with with joy and peace. The music was so powerful. My friend Katie wrote the most beautiful Christmas song and 8 women sang it a cappella today. And the children's chorus was so good. And Robert Elliott's O'Holy Night was just incredible. But amidst the joy I also felt a twinge of sadness. Sadness that i hadn't invited everyone of my friends to bask in this amazing Spirit felt by music. Sad that the few i had invited weren't able to make it. But the joy and wonderment from the amazing songs definitely won out over that twinge of sadness.

Last Saturday we had an amazing ward Christmas Party as well. And again the talent was awesome. And it just makes me so grateful for people like Katie that put in the time to organize and plan such wonderful programs that magnify the feeling of the Christmas Spirit to the umpteenth power. Thank you Katie for sharing your talent and time. And thank you Carrie for having a children's chorus! It was awesome.

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. And beautiful music helps me feel the power of His birth and his death deep in my soul.

Star of the Week

2010-12-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

Brookelyn was chosen Star of the Week this past week. What a Gal!

I'd like to say (and think) it's because she is this spectacular student. Well rounded in every way. Helpful, kind, attentive, and respectful 1oo % of the time. And she probably is, at school. But then I learned that they were assigned which week they got to be star of the week. But i can still think what i want to about why she got it!

She was so excited to color her poster and fill in all the information! And what was even better is that she got to "present" her poster on wednesday. Just as I walked into the classroom. Ot was impecable timing. Couldn't have been more perfect. i volunteer on wednesday's in her class and thankfully I got there about 10 minutes early and just happen to see her. It was so great. She got to be up front on a big chair with her poster while the other kids were on the rug. She talked about everything on the poster and then everyone got to answer questions or make comments. And boy, oh boy, did she eat this up. If you can picture this...since i didn't have my camera (but who am i kidding, i never have my camera). She is sitting there on the chair with her legs crossed. This grin of pure joy. She was so proud to be able to be in charge. She got to remind the kids that if they wanted to make a comment they needed to raise their hands and she would call on them. It was hilarious! So great! She ate up all the compliments. They all said how they loved her drawings and colorings. And she just beamed. Her love language is definitely words of affirmation and physical touch. Man, i wish i had had a video camera. But i am just really grateful, i happened to be there to see it! Brooke, you are AWESOME!

I also got to teach Brookelyn's class PE. It was so much fun. I actually got to put into practice some of the great things i learned at BYU! We played some great tag games and then did lots of jumping and skipping over hula hoops. It was great. I loved it when the kids kept saying to each other, "That was so fun!" or "I loved the Cookie Monster game. Can we do that again?" I just kept them moving and smiling for 25 minutes and now they all love me! It really showed me again, that kids like to be physically active. And they all need more of it!

Then i got to teach the cub scouts volleyball that same day! Wow, that Master's degree in Sports Pedagogy came in handy. :). It was so funny to see the boys get so into it and competitive! I loved it.

It was a fun Wednesday! I am so grateful I get to be in Brooke's class and see her environment once a week. I am still trying to think of ways to be able to be in her class in first grade too....any ideas!

'Tis the Season

2010-12-05T14:13:00.000-08:00

A Christ Centered Christmas. I think it is in the back of every one's minds every year. And every year i come up with a new idea or two on how I can bring Christ into the spirit of Christmas a little more. I feel it is commonplace now to hear the complaint about how Christmas is "glitzy" and more commercialized every year and our society always focuses on the getting and wanting more than the giving and loving. And yes that is a bit true, and i am a culprit of that complaint as well (especially when I think about Christmas decor being sold and advertised even before Halloween) But the past few days I have been thinking about the "Spirit of Christmas". There is a spirit of Christmas everywhere, even amongst the materialism and commercialization of it all. And that means that deep down people are more conscious of being kinder and nicer, people are recognizing the difference of this time of year. Because we celebrate the birth of Christ at this time, His love is felt by all even if they don't know that that is what it is.

Loved this little video clip. Click here for more video and ideas for a Christ centered Christmas.

Favorite Sayings Today

2010-12-03T08:11:00.000-08:00

Me: "Brooke let me put some oil on your feet. There are some people who have been sick lately, so i want to make sure you don't get sick." (We usually put them on at night before bed, so she isn't used to it in the morning.)

Brooke's Response as I am rubbing oil on her feet."Mom, it is like a war between the bad germs and the oils." (i smile and chuckle inside) "So if i don't get sick, mom, that means the oils won."

It was very cute!

Livy squinting her really big smile and gritting her teeth and flexing really hard and she says, "LOOK AT MY KNUCKLES MOM!" I had to laugh so hard. Especially since she was only in her underwear while she was doing it. So now we refer to our muscles as our knuckles.

My mom was helping Livy in the bathroom. She kept asking Livy if she was finished. Livy sat there closing her eyes really tightly and not answering. Finally after a few times of asking, Livy responds, "Dwama (grandma), I'm hiding from you."

.... i so wish i would just come straight to the computer and jot down their funny sayings because there are lots of them throughout the day. And lots of times it is those moments that I am the most happy, enjoying the really fun moments of motherhood.

Another great saying I got from my friend at our Learning Circle. "I am happy everyday. I'm not happy every minute of the day. But I am happy everyday." Motherhood makes me happy everyday. And most minutes I am happy, but the moments when kids say funny things, it is not just happy-it's hilarious!

First hair cut

2010-11-21T21:56:00.000-08:00

Jackson got his first hair cut today. (at 14 months) He loved it. Pretty much the total opposite reaction than livys experience. He is so darn cute. I didnt think he could get any cuter. But he did! (pictures courtesy of ben's iphone-gotta love that phone!)

Thankful Tree

2010-11-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

Last night for Family Night we did our annual Thankful Tree. It is always a huge hit with Brooke. She loved writing things on the leaves and Livy especially loved gluing everything on...even if she did use the entire glue stick for three leaves, it was a joy. Brooke kept saying, "Mom, I just love this! I am so thankful for...." It is a great feeling to think that she enjoyed something so much that it might actually be sinking in.

Last night we also gave the girls awards. I am trying to do things to recognize the little things and praise my kids more. So Brooke got the Superstar Award! She was ecstatic. It was for her determination in making sure the toy room was clean and her room was picked up. And then even looking for other jobs to do. I love it when she gets in those helpful moods and says, "Mom, is there anything I can do to help you?" Love it!

Livy got the Princess Award for being so happy yesterday. She was very quick to say thank you for everything. And then saying "That was good manners, huh Mom."

Ben has been doing such an awesome job of being organized enough to remind me and talk about the FHE lesson on Sunday afternoon. Rather than scrambling to think about something on Monday evening. He is even so awesome that he has been planning the lessons lately! It is AWESOME to say the least!

But when we still have those times that we are scrambling I like to think of Elder Bednars words from a few conferences back.

Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile. Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts such as “He’s touching me!” “Make him stop looking at me!” “Mom, he’s breathing my air!” Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking. And with active, rambunctious boys, family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification. At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected.

Today if you could ask our adult sons what they remember about family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening, I believe I know how they would answer. They likely would not identify a particular prayer or a specific instance of scripture study or an especially meaningful family home evening lesson as the defining moment in their spiritual development. What they would say they remember is that as a family we were consistent. (More Diligent and Concerned at Home. October 2009. click here)

Today I am thankful that we planned a Family Night Lesson that was so fun for the kids!

Music and Moods

2010-11-15T08:58:00.000-08:00

Music helps moods. Music changes moods. I love that my girls can change their cranky/dramatic mood into cheery, goofy, fun girls by pushing the play button on the cd player (yes we still live in the dark ages and have a cd player). I love that Livy sticks out her tongue and moves her shoulders and hands. I love how Brooke tries all different moves. Even trying the "cabbage patch kid", or " the running man", or "the roger rabbit". You can't help but smile and have fun! Or I love it when their heads and shoulders bob or their legs move to "their beat" when they are sitting and coloring when fun music comes on.

I am grateful for fun music this morning!

I am also grateful for beautiful little children. even if they are a bit whiny and crabby when they wake up sometimes.

I'm grateful its Monday and we get to do Family Home Evening tonight and focus on more things that we are thankful for! I'm glad i get to teach my kids more specifically about the gift of gratitude!

Do you like Fremont....

2010-11-13T12:16:00.000-08:00

What is better than 7 kids having a dance party in your kitchen/family room for an hour in the midst of eating lunch? Muddy kids running in and out of the house, playing "farm" in the mudhole in the backyard? Marble towers in the toy room and tag around the entire house, in the neighbors yard who is trying to mow his lawn and behind the shed and side yards?

Sure, i haven't gotten one thing on my to do list done. But I swept the floor, and cleaned up the books amidst the dance party. I reminisced how much fun it is to be a kid. And Ben and I had so much fun dancing with the kids!

And so when people ask me sometimes, Do you really like fremont? I am a little bit taken back. I like fremont. I like it because we live in an awesome neighborhood with lots of kids. We have incredible friends. We still go to Husky football games together. We play at the church parking lot (it is kind of like Parkmont park was, when I was a kid). We had movie night on the lawn with a big white sheet and projector with 6 families from our neighborhood on thursday. We have a lot of fun!!

So yes, i love fremont because my little life for my kids now, is how I remember childhood. Playing at each other's houses, playing in the yard with friends in the neighborhood, and lots of good friends that feel like family!

Life is good!

Dear Utah,

2010-11-12T22:49:00.001-08:00

I hate you.

You take my dearest friends. I need them here in California.

Just in the last few months you stole Candice, then Stephanie and Melanie. And now Melissa.

I was so thankful when Melissa moved into the ward, because I knew we would raise our kids together and be such good friends. The kind of friends who could call each other in an instant to help when we were in a lurch. The kind of friends who are up to going to do anything without having to plan it days in advance. The kind of friends that had the same goals in mind: being good moms, being good friends and having fun while doing it.

And I was even more grateful because I knew she liked California, so we just knew they would stick around. And what was even better is that we had history together. And lets face it, history makes friendships run really deep, really fast. Those roots make it so strong.

And so Utah, I hate you even more because you will have another piece of my heart two states away from this too expensive place called the bay area.

Not Very Fondly,

Ashley

Intentions....

2010-11-12T22:22:00.000-08:00

"The Road to Hell is Paved with good intentions."

I don't know where that quote came from, but every time I plan on doing something and then it falls through, I kind of give myself a little feel good talk and think, well at least I had good intentions. And then that quote creeps into my mind. And sometimes it makes me more motivated and others times I shrug my shoulders and say, "Well, I guess I know where I am going."

This week was one of those weeks I had great intentions. I intended to update this blog, since I don't keep any other journals lately. You know, update it all the way back to our summer break. With pictures and all. But then Ben's computer was stolen. (along with the window being smashed in, his projector and iPad and entire computer bag stolen and then his bag on fire in the next city over. Business cards spilled out with Ben's name and info and him getting called by the cops and accused of doing it...it is a great story, he will have to post about later) And that is where all of our pictures are stored. So he tried to upload the pictures from the online back-up (thankfully Ben was a genius and actually did that a few months back), this computer crashed...so i got discouraged and haven't even attempted to try to update this old blog here because I don't have the pictures. But, hey, I had good intentions.

I also had good intentions of making some great memories with the kids since Brooke had two days off. I thought and thought about what we should do. The tech museum (i had some discounted tickets), the beach, the tide-pools, biking in San Fran, just something really fun to get out of the sometimes-monotonous feeling routine of school. Well it proved to be all thoughts. All we did was go to the park. Which is always really fun, but my grand intentions ended up being just that, intentions.

I have some great things in store for tomorrow, and unless I make a list and narrow specifics down as to what I really want to get done, tomorrow again will pass by with just intentions instead of anything actually getting done.

And hopefully next week, I will record some of the things we have been up to.....or actually finish some of the trillions of posts I have in my draft box....and maybe they won't be just intentions.

Holiday Boutique

2010-11-05T15:38:00.001-07:00

We are having a Holiday Boutique tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 6th, at my house! There will be designer hand-made crafts, blown glass, unique gifts, skin care baskets, candles, make-up, baby things and accessories and more. So stop on by! 10:30am-2:30pm

Sunrise

2010-11-04T08:04:00.001-07:00

Brooke got up early this morning and helped me get the garbage cans out to the street. She loved helping (And i am glad she was there because we were racing to get them out to the curb in time.) We noticed the sun just coming up and the sky and clouds were just beautiful. So instead of rushing off to get showered before the other kids woke up and start the laundry. We got a blanket and a beach chair and I sat on the front porch holding her while watching the sky change brilliant colors. We talked about sunrises and sunsets, horizons, the sun and the earth and colors. It was so peaceful and joyful. It was a great teaching moment for the way the earth rotates, it was a great "mommy date", and it was a great time to reflect how much joy we find in the little things.

Thanks for waking up early with me today, Brooke.

Dance Party

2010-11-03T10:29:00.001-07:00

Dance Party

Dance Parties lighten the mood. Especially at 8am, when everyone is a bit cranky and hasn't gotten enough sleep!!! We've been out of the habit for a while, but we definitely need to start doing them daily again. I'm on the lookout for a new mix of songs. Party in the USA is getting a little old after 8 million times. Any suggestions for good dance songs....

Happy Birthday Livia!!

2010-10-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

The top three things I love about Livia!

1. I love how she dances! She did it so much while we were at Disneyland with all the music playing everywhere. And it is even better when she sings along. That girl loves to sing and dance! And rock back and forth on her feet! It is so cute.

2. I love how she talks. Her L's are a w sound, like Disneywand. Her C's are a t sound. She even has this high pitched voice that is so dang cute! I have been trying to catch it on video more. Sometimes I close my eyes and listen to a sentence and try to engrave it on my mind hoping I can replay it later in life. It is so precious!

3. I love her sayings. Her new favorite is "I wove it, mom!" or "I don't wove it." And my other favorite saying from the week is when she puts on her tiger mask for Halloween, she says "Rar! Did I stare you, Mom? You were stared!" I love it!

4. And since number 3 kind of falls under the #2 , I love her hugs. She often times will run up and throw her arms around me and squeeze my neck so hard! Its heaven!

Livy is three today! And she has been so excited about it for weeks leading up to her birthday. I think it had something to do with the fact that we went to disneyland this last week for her birthday! (We had to squeeze in one last trip while she was still free, since the rest of us have passes, and I have always wanted to go to Disneyland at Halloween! So we packed it in!) And she would be over the moon about it being her birthday today, but she woke up not feeling well. It was our primary program at church and we had two friends coming, so Ben and I decided we would take the kids to Sacrament and then bring Livy and Jackson home (Jackson had thrown up earlier in the morning. I thought it was because he had eaten too much...that kid chows. But now i think it is a bug.) Luckily i had taken Livy out to the Foyer because she wanted a drink of water. And I just held her out there, while our friends sat in there by themselves. I was feeling like a horrible "host". But thankfully i stayed out there and was near the bathroom, because she threw-up all over me. I bee-lined it to the restroom where she puked some more, i'll spare the details. So i stripped her down and cleaned everything up (which is not an easy task with soap and paper towels, I think the floor is still a little sudsy, but better soap than other liquid.) I walked home with her and held her on the couch.

A pretty yucky birthday if you ask me. Thankfully we celebrated a little in Disneyland though.

Happy Birthday Livy!

Won the Lottery

2010-10-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

That's right! Front row tickets on Broadway for In The Heights with Jordan Sparks!

New York - A little taste

2010-10-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

We are loving our trip in New York City! Here's a little taste of what we've been up to...more to come later.

The food here is amazing!!! Here is a local Indian Food place that was crazy good.

The highlight so far was a little trip to the top of the city in a secret building known only by the Eyre boys! Noah got us in, led us up an elevator, then took us past a secret door into the heating vents area, up some stairs, up some crazy outdoor ladders, and to a breathtaking view of Manhattan. Don't believe me? Check this out!

Will post more of our adventures later...stay tuned!

Whirlwind of a Day

2010-10-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

5:50AM Jackson wakes up ready for the day

6:00AM Finally settle on the fact that he is not going back to sleep

6-6:30 play and cuddle with J. crawl, play catch, laugh, try to feed him breakfast

6:30-6:45 start cutting tomatoes to make Bruschetta for dinner tonight (have to use the tomatoes before I leave.)

6:45 Quickly shower while Ben can watch Jackson before he leaves

7:00 Ben leaves for work-Start making salad dressing for dinner-finish bruschetta, start making a smoothie and keep J happy. He didn't get enough sleep.

7:20 Jackson wakes up Livy by crawling in her room and laughing. She didn't get enough sleep.

7:30 Feed Jackson and Livy oatmeal.

7:45 Read books to Livy and Jackson

8:00 Get Livy dressed and try to put jackson down for a nap...no luck.

8:30 Try to pick up the house a little bit (it was so clean when we woke up and i am trying to keep it somewhat put together for company coming tonight.)

8:45 Finally finish making the smoothie, brush livy's hair, Brooke wakes up, a little bit on the cranky side because Livy and jackson woke her up by being really loud in the hallway.

9:00 nurse jackson and put him down for a nap

9:10 get Brooke some Breakfast that she will eat (I had already made her oatmeal, but she wouldn't eat it, because it was a different kind than I usually buy)

9:15 Kimberly comes over so I can zone her

9:20-11 Zone Kimberly with a few mishaps in between- Eliza and Livy dump half the bottle of elmers glue out on teh table, Livy totally gouched her finger with the scissors (there is a pretty big hole in her right pointer finger, yikes.) lots of crying and laughing from the kids. Thankfully Jackson slept through it and baby rachel was an angel, otherwise it could have been a very HARD hour and a half.

11:05-11:25 the usual scrambling to get shoes on, mouths fed, lunch packed and out the door so Brooke isn't late. Brooke had to change her shirt three times (she is really picky when it comes to how her clothes "feel") we had to tie and untie her shoe three times to fix her "sock"....that is the norm, and I really try to pad in extra time every morning and it always seems to go like this.

11:25 Wake Jackson up

11:32 Finally walk out the door to get Brooke to school

11:40 drop Brooke off at school.Livy goes down the slide a few times and insists that Jackson goes too, i finally give-in and we have a bit of a mishap with feet and arms getting stuck under kids, and lots of crying for both. Lovely.

11:55 10 minutes late for a Chiropractor appointment with two kids in tow again. Just as i lie down on the table to get adjusted, Livy informs me she needs to go to the bathroom. Get the key-take her potty. Come back and get adjusted while jackson pulls at my hair, livy hangs on the doorknob and opens and closes the door to the room. And Jackson still didn't get enough sleep. He is extra cranky today.

12:25 Go to the grocery store. Hurry through the isles, get everything I need in 25 minutes! That is a record. But still not quick enough for a perfect trip. The last 5 minutes and the whole time at the register Jackson had to be bounced and held and loved, and livy wants more treats. And her finger is hurting.

12:55 Stop at Bank and deposit checks

1:05 get home- only 5 minutes behind my goal time- unload groceries, try to feed Jackson some lunch.

1:30 try to put jackson and Livy down for naps...no luck on either one. So we read a few books and played in the toy room instead. Of course livy wanted to play marbles, so i was trying to play with her and keep jackson from eating them at the same time.

2:00 start getting nervous that I won't be able to finish dinner and clean up from this mornings art projects and get Brooke on time.

2:10 turn on wiggles for Jackson and Livy. Make two lasagnas (one nut, one regular) and try to give the kids some attention in between.

2:42 Leave to pick up Brooke. Livy falls asleep within 1 minute in the car

2:59 Park in the teacher's parking lot (Brooke always reminds me that this is a no-no.) Leave Livy in the van with the windows down.-don't worry I can see the van the entire time. The parking lot is right in front of brooke's room. There is only a fence in between-if you can call it a fence. Grab jackson

3:05 start home to race cleaning up the mess of a kitchen from my scramble to get dinner ready.

Leave livy in the car sleeping with the doors open. Jackson still didn't fall asleep.

3:45 Pack Brooke and jackson back in the car. Drop all the kids off at Donna's.

4:00 go to Volleyball Practice

5:40 Race and pick up the kids at Donna's

5:59 get home just in time for friends to come over for dinner at 6. I am so glad ben got home and put the Lasagna's in

Thankfully everyone was a little late. it bought me a little time

6:40 Enjoy a fun dinner with old friends outside on the patio. Meeting new friends (Nick's wife, Teal.) Telling stories, laughing and just having fun enjoying each other. Nick played the guitar and sang for the kids, and even played hide and seek with them.

9:45 finally get the kids in bed after a fun evening. Write on my blog and get motivated to pack for our trip to New York tomorrow!

It was a jam-packed day. But thankfully I have been implementing my mind organization for mom's, and I actually didn't feel stressed at all. I even felt like I got to enjoy my kids during the journey instead of being frustrated with them. It was a crazy day, but it was a great day!

10:08PM finish my blog post. sigh of relief that I actually recorded something

Playground fun

2010-10-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Ben got home early today. So I decided to make it a "mommy date" and pick Brooke up from school and run some errands with her. After school she asked if we could stay and play on the first graders playground. We sat down on the wood boundaries and she finished her snack. Then she started climbing on the jungle gym. And she turned around and said "Come on, Mom." So, instead of reading through her papers in her backpack. I climbed up to the top and swung around jumped off, and just plain-played with Brooke. It was so fun! I realized, i haven't done that stuff in so long. We played tic-tac-toe, we played hopscotch, we climbed some more. And then, just before we were going to leave, Brooke wanted to go on the monkey bars. So we headed to the other side of the playground. There were two boys sitting on top. Before we even got there the one boy (Olesis) said to me-"Look at me. I bet you can't get up here." I kind of ignored him at first, because I didn't think he would be talking to me...then he said it a few more times. And said in a very haughty (but playful) voice, "Look at how I can get up here." Brooke just looked at me and then started climbing up on top of the bars. After about the fourth time he said it, I thought-Come on, Ashley. You better be that cool mom. So I said, "Watch this." (And i could see brooke starting to smile) and i pulled myself on top of the monkey bars, without using the steps, and sat on top. He chuckled a bit and then said, "Wow." Then the other little boy said, "oh, yeah, watch this." And he hung upside down. So i hung upside down and stayed there for a bit, then I put my hands on the ground and went into a handstand (they were short monkey bars for 1st graders.) and got off that way. The boys and brooke were very impressed. I told brooke we had to go and I said goodbye to the boys. Brooke and I went over and did hopscotch one more time. Then we started walking toward the other playground to get out the gate. THe second little boy (i never got his name) walks up next to me and says, "Wanna race." I smiled and looked at Brooke and she smiled. Then i said back to the boy, "Sure. Ready set go." I ran side by side with him, then sped up at teh end (he was pretty fast for a first grader.) I touched the fence first. And said "Beat ya" And he said, "Wow. You are fast!" Brooke and I waived goodbye. And I held brooke's hand out the gate and to the car. I could tell that she thought i was a "cool" mom at that moment.

We then went to Michael's and she picked out a craft. I think she thought it was a pretty good mommy date. I thought it was awesome! It was so fun to climb and swing on a playground again. I definitely need to do it more often with her! It was also fun to show up some little boys!

Canning

2010-09-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

I feel very domestic. In the past few weeks I have canned for the first time. It was actually a lot of fun. I canned tomatoes, twice. I tried to can salsa in the pressure canner. That one didn't turn out quite well. I made and canned applesauce and we are canning peaches later this week.

I feel very "domestic".

Thanks Jonna for all your help and advice. Its great to have neighbors that lend you all the cool tools to can and give you their old jars and even come over at 9 o'clock at night to help you with your applesauce, because you have no idea what in the heck you are doing!

And by the way, the applesauce turned out awesome!

Power of Moms

2010-09-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Ben surprised me and arranged for my friend and I to go to a retreat. A retreat all about being a great mom. Ben's cousin Saren started this website a while ago. It has been on my side bar for almost two years now, so if you have never clicked on it, I highly suggest it. Or just click here.

I learned so many great things to implement so I don't feel so overwhelmed, so tired, so "naggy", so inconsistent!! I learned about different love languages for my kids, tips for making our family economy and family legal system better. I met so many great moms that are just like me. Just like me, in that they are trying to be the best mother and wife they can be while enjoying it all.

Melissa and I had so much fun. Although there wasn't much relaxing around the pool and strolling on the beach, it was so rejuvenating!

This is where we stayed! Just the scenery was invigorating!

Some of the conference topics were:

Taking Care of the Person Inside the Mom

Finding the Time

Picking your Priorities

Family Systems

Love Languages

Mind Organizations for Moms

We are excited to start a learning circle every month with mothers here. A learning circle is just a group of moms getting together once a month and discussing an article about different aspects of motherhood. I know I emailed some of you awesome mothers about this a few months back, but if you are interested in participating in a learning circle leave a comment.

Thanks so much Ben for arranging everything! You are the BEST!

Vivid Memories

2010-09-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

As of late I feel like I have enjoyed a little more the journey of motherhood. I think it has to do a little with Livy coming out of the "two's" stage. Sure, there are still tantrums and lots of screaming and drama. But i have really been able to soak in the little moments. Like today, going to the chiropractor. I couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear listening to their little conversation on coloring together and sharing a coloring book without fighting. It wasn't like they said anything hilarious, but they were so cute describing pictures to each other, showing each other hiding places on the way out to the car, getting excited about sitting next to each other in the car. It was great. Or little moments of listening to Brooke and Livy build towers together in the toy room, while trying to figure out ways not to let Jackson knock them down. I am continuously thinking, I need to go write that down. Or, I need to remember those conversations and joy in their voices. But when I sit down and rack my brain I can't remember the words, but I just feel the joy from those little moments.

I wish i could put a recording in my head of how cute Livy's little voice is. All of a sudden she has started talking like a little adolescent in her 2 year old accent.

I am enjoying Brooke's love for drawing and writing. (Even if it means stacks and stacks of papers that we can't throw away. And markers all over Livy-she has to do everything brooke does.) She just loves to sound out letters and write names and draw pictures.

Jackson is starting to copy everything you do . He loves to raise his hands in the air and shout for joy and he just started saying "dadda" (although he has no clue what it means). And of course, he is still our smiley little guy.

The last few weeks I have felt more joy in these little moments, constantly wishing I could bottle up the sounds and mental pictures to save. Hoping that I can open the jar and listen to and watch those moments when these little kids leave for jr. high or college. I find myself trying to engrave the tiny moments in my mind, hoping that I will find some of those images as vivid memories in future years.

Although it is still petty chaotic around here, and i never finish all that I set out to do, I am enjoying it none the less. It really is a journey. And I am learning that sometimes we are better travelers than other times. And for now, while I feel like I am a good traveler, I want to remember it!

Food Inc.

2010-09-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Can you say gross. Ben and I watched the first half of the movie Food, Inc. last night. WOW! I mean, i knew there were a lot of added chemicals and things in our food, but wowzers. Its no wonder we have so many health problems and ailments. I highly recommend watching it just for the information, but beware, it makes you really think about things that are in our food. Especially meat. As I laid there trying to fall asleep last night, i kept thinking i wanted to throw up. And i kept thinking about how much I wanted to change to make sure my children aren't affected by all the chemicals and hormones. If you want something to make you think, watch it! Our family has been trying to change our eating habits for the past 2 years, and it is a journey. A few steps forward, one step back. But watching this makes me want to be more committed to making changes that really are beneficial.

I'm a little nervous about what the next half of the movie will make me think about!

Watch it and let me know what you think.

Post edit: Ben and I just finished watching the rest of Food Inc. I loved it! I highly recommend it.

Big girl

2010-09-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

I forgot to add one of my favorite quotes from last week on the last post. After Brooke's first day of kindergarten, we headed over to the pool with all the kids. It was so hot last week! There was a boy there that was probably 3rd or 4th grade. They were all playing games and as Brooke explained it she was on Markus' team. But the other boy wanted to change teams....and told us the long version of the story and then i just had to laugh so hard inside when she said, "And mom, can you believe it. He pointed to me and said, I want that little girl on my team. (and VERY matter-of-factly) I am not a little girl. I am in Kindergarten."

It was so cute!

Little Moments

2010-09-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

Jackson isn't much of a talker. In fact I was a bit worried about his development a while back, but he babbles off and on now. But, I really want to engrave on my memory his smile and fast, loud breathing and how he starts kicking his legs that makes his whole body rock when he gets excited about something. Like when he is sitting in the high chair, and I pull out another food item he likes. Or last night when I was holding him while we were trying to get everyone in bed and I walked in the bathroom to get something and he did his little excitement dance with legs kicking and I realized he wanted to brush his teeth. As soon as I picked up the toothpaste his whole body was rocking from his legs kicking that I almost dropped him.

Livy has been practicing her manners all the time. It is so cute! She ALWAYS says thank you mom. Like yesterday at the labor day picnic, I got her a new hot dog because the other one fell on teh ground. As soon as I handed it to her, she said "dant you, mom." Or when i got her a drink at Calvin's birthday party yesterday, she immediately said, "That was so nice of you mom." And it is so cute when it is for small things. When I opened the door for her the other day, as she walked in she said, "dant you for opening the door for me, mom." Or "dant you for detting me milk, mom." It is so cute.

Another cute face of hers I never want to forget is how she cocks her head to the side and squints really hard and holds out her hand to the side and says something like, "don't you think, mom." Or "dants a good idea huh, mom."

I really love when Livy does her intense really loud "hu" in the back of the car while sitting in the car seat if she seems to think we forgot something, or if jackson is getting into something he isn't supposed to (like her towers she was building.)

I want to remember how when Livy gets really excited, especially about little things, like a cupcake or going to the park, she does her really loud "hu" and smiles and squints her eyes and shakes her hands a little with excitement. (I have to get that one on video. It is priceless.)

I hope i remember how persistent Livy is in asking every, every, every day at least 25 times. "You want to play mobbles wid me?" or "Mom, you want to play block wid me?"

I also want to remember how Livy calls any other women or girl that she doesn't really know "that Momma." For example, when Charity was here for a little while and she hadn't figured out her name yet she would say, "Dat Momma will play beads wid me, mom."

Kindergarten

2010-09-01T13:18:00.001-07:00

Today was Brooke's first day of kindergarten. I cried. I didn't think i would. But when i got to the car, the tears all came. Actually I started to tear up when I was walking to the street to get to the car and then Livy threw herself on the ground and cried because she was too hot to walk she said. So the crying emotions stopped and i thought I would be okay. But as soon as I put jackson and livy in the car I started to cry. I think it's totally normal. I know she will do great. She was ready to go, although I am thinking some of the sadness/hesitation is because of the STUPID lottery and Brooke didn't get in to Parkmont. I try not to think about the fact that other kids are playing with all the furniture in the kindergarten rooms that my dad built, or the fact that my grandpa donated the land, or that my dad remodeled and built them three different libraries. But those thoughts are kind of always there. And I know its not the end of world that Brooke is at a different school than her friends, or that I have to drive her to a school out of our neighborhood, when I could walk her to parkmont. But it still hurts to think about it sometimes.

I know Brooke will do Awesome and Ms. Du, her teacher, seems great. She is from Taiwan, so I know her and Ben will have a lot to talk about. Maloney is a much smaller school and I think we will like it. When Brooke walked into the classroom it was the first time I have seen her really apprehensive and a little nervous. She has always been so excited about school. We went to the meet and greet yesterday to meet Ms. Du and some of the kids and I showed Brooke where she would sit, and we colored a little bit. But she still didn't seem really comfortable. I think that was the hardest part for me. We pumped her up about Maloney and tried really hard to not to talk about how stupid it was that she didn't get into parkmont when she was around. She will do great!

We tried to think of some fun traditions for the beginning of school. Ben gave Brooke a father's blessing on Monday night for part of family home evening. That brought back a lot of memories from when I was a child. We thought of going out to dinner, or making a cake and having a party. I knew Brooke was excited about her clothes grandma had gotten her, so we decided to do a "fashion show. Well after lots of tears, we did a little one. And then had ice cream sundays. I think that tradition will be better next year. And I am thinking some of the tears and frustrations the last two nights are just Brooke being nervous and not knowing how to explain it.

I know this will be a great year for Brooke! I am so glad she has a good teacher! And who knows, maybe we will like Maloney better than Parkmont!

Portland and Washington

2010-08-30T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well, these were supposed to go at the end. But what better way to start a post than with this handsome little man!

I decided last minute to go with my parents to Portland/Washington for the weekend for a family reunion/Auntie Edie's 90th birthday and to hang out with Jason and Courtney. I am SOOOO glad I did! It was so great. i took jackson with me and we had a great time. it was only a little over 48 hours, but we packed a lot in. I was actually supposed to come home sunday evening, but we were having such a great time, my mom changed my flight and I cam home monday morning.

We got in late friday night. So we spent saturday hanging out in the morning at Jason and Courtneys. They are the best hosts. I should say everyone else was hanging out. I slept all morning. Jackson didn't sleep at all the first night, so at 7am my mom took him for me and I got to sleep for 3 hours. It was heavenly! Then we headed down to Vancouver to the Farmers Market! We finally made it there after a few stops to some shops that were going out of business. One was a high end baby store! The ergo carrier was less than what I was trying to pay on craigslist and it was brand new!! I love good deals. The Market was very fun. Great food and lots of fun vendors to walk around and look at. The guys met up with us there after doing guy stuff (shooting). And we went to dinner at Joes Crab Shack right on the columbian river. It was beautiful. We sat outside and admired the setting and all the boats! And enjoyed YUMMY CRAB!

Sunday we headed to Lake Oswego after Sacrament Meeting to go to Auntie Edie's party! She looked beautiful! She is the most upbeat, positive, happy person. I think i have seen Auntie Edie probably 12 times my whole life, but she makes you feel like you have been best friends for life. She is one of those people that makes you feel so important. She remembers everything about you and is always so happy to see you! I hope I can be as amazing as her and look as good as her when I am 90. She is definitely the glue that keeps the family together. It was great to see my dad get together with his cousins who he hasn't see since he was a kid. I got to meet some relatives I had never met. And it was so fun to get caught up with the Norris girls. We had some fun vacations with them as a family when we were young. After the party, we stopped by Bryn and Sue's in Portland and met their new little girl Beatrice. It is always good to see family. I am so grateful my grandma smith and grandma hester instilled the importance of family into all of us from the very beginning.

We headed back to the Bodily's for some awesome food! (Sounds funny to write "the bodily's" when it isn't my parents. Jason and Taylor are the only boys with the last name bodily in our family. And Jason is about to have his fourth, and final, girl. So the pressure is on for Taylor and Carly to have a boy so this branch of the family tree doesn't totally die!) We had halibut and salmon from the alaska trip. It was so good!

Courtney was so great to take pictures of Jackson in her studio that evening.

Here are some of my favorite. She is amazing.

Ben was awesome, as always, at home. He even taught my sunday school class for me and the house was clean when I got home. What a guy! It was a great trip and I am so glad I got to go. Thanks Mom!

Beach Boardwalk

2010-08-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

We Won!!

2010-08-21T14:18:00.001-07:00

We are over the moon excited about our winnings!! We won the "basket" (which is more like an entire table) of fruits and vegetables and goodies at the fremont farmers market today!
We loved the farmers market before, and now we love it even more! For anyone that hasn't been there, it is on the street between Taco Bell and the train station on fremont blvd, until 1pm every saturday. My girls love the "outing". They sometimes have a band playing. They have great kettle corn (which was also included in the winnings) and awesome cheesecake brownies- the girls get to split one brownie and eat it on the lawn and then snack on the great strawberries. But best of all, ALL of their produce is way cheaper than the grocery store, grown locally, pretty much all organic...and even better is that they have samples of all of it out on the tables. So my kids will try all kinds of different fruits and then we can buy what we like. I highly recommend it!
Check out all the great stuff! courtesy of ben's iphon and blogger app.

(Thanks Ben for making friends with Neil!)

Pictures

2010-08-19T13:31:00.001-07:00

I have been really horrible about getting pictures of Livy and Jackson. But I am determined to be better about it. One night when Ben was gone last week, I was getting into bed and I started looking at all the framed pictures on my dresser. The ones of Livy are when she was 6 or 7 months old. I started really looking at her and trying to remember her at that age. And I felt like I couldn't. Thankfully I have a great friend, Donna. She is so amazing with my kids. (Again, one of the many benefits of coaching. Meeting awesome people.) When Livy was young, she watched Brooke and Livy a lot. Her and her girls watched them for 9 days when we went on a cruise. And she took lots of pictures of them. I am so thankful. Because that night when I felt like I couldn't really remember livy, I went to the family room and I pulled out two small albums that Donna had given me. They were all the pictures she had taken of my girls. I loved it.
But it also made me think about my ability to keep a "journal" or "baby book" of my kids. So I am more determined to get regular pictures-even if they aren't that great and put them in an album. It is not going to be a beautiful scrapbooked album. Just an album that I can slide an 8x10 into and put the date and age of my kids. That is something I can do.
So I started today. I went and got pictures at JCPenney (love the 3.99 coupons and free sitting fee). It was such an enjoyable experience compared to 10 months ago with just livy and jackson. Last time we went Livy cried the whole time and we didn't get one picture. Jackson (he was only 6 weeks old) as always was a champ, not crying, but no smiling either. This time the kids did great, for the first round of all three of them together. But, the photographer didn't get one good picture of all three of them...but I didn't care. At least I have an 8x10 to put in that album. Brooke and Jackson were awesome, but Livy wouldn't do any of her just by herself. But she has some pretty cute "cheesy" smiles when it was all three kids. I'm patting myself on the back for getting them all there. They all looked adorable. And I am not worrying about the fact that there isn't one of them all looking and smiling. (Instead I ordered one small picture of all three of them and I am going to put it together and write...this is real life. We rarely get all of them being good at the same time.)

Music to My Ears

2010-08-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah! Jackson is really BABBLING. I know it doesn't sound like much, but i am really grateful that he has started making some sort of sounds besides rasberries and crying and a few mmmmms here and there. Deep down I always knew he would be fine, but sometimes i still worried. And he started crawling last week and stands on his own for about 10 seconds. Hooray!

Livy

2010-08-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

Livy is getting REALLY, REALLY cute. We are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel with her crying antics and lots of tantrums. They still happen, a lot, but not quite as frequent.

Some of my favorite sayings from her lately are-

"Mom, you ont to play mobbles wit me?" She asks at least 4 times an hour. And I am trying really hard to do it at least twice a day.

"Mom, yook at my iding pace." translation: Mom, look at my hiding place.

"I win."

"Book (and sometimes it is more like: Ook), yook at me. Yook at ME!"

"I want a tippy tup." (Sippy cup) And then she laughed at herself and said, "I talded it a tippy tup." (But she always calls it a tippy tup.)

She looks so, so, so adorable with her hair cut! It even makes her tantrums look even cuter. I'll have to post pictures sometime.