The week in review

This was a pretty good week :)

We found out that Grayson is allergic to peanuts so hopefully we can get his eczema under control.

Davis and Leah went to the dentist and were great! There was a time when Leah would freak out and cry but now she loves it. Davis has always loved the dentist. Dr Galea was so impressed with him he couldn't stop complementing him after the visit. My kids just love getting new toothbrushes and cheapy toys :)

Last night we took the kids to eat at Macayos and found out that Leah's a borderline Mexican :) She chose to forgo her fork and eat her beans and rice with chips - which is, to me, the equivalent of eating Chinese food with chopsticks :)

Grayson has perfected what I like to call his "Mowgli" crawl. I think the tile's hard on his knees.

In this picture he's just crawled out of his pants :)

The weather is perfect!!!

The kids and I went out in the back yard in our swimsuits and played in the sun, it was marvelous!!!

My Poor Baby!

Grayson had blood drawn yesterday and I'm sure it was more traumatic for me than for him! He's having some blood tests done to see if there is anything more we can do to help his eczema. I'm pretty impressed with our pediatrician because she's the one who recommended the tests when most say to just put a prescription steroid cream on it. I don't do this because then the inflammation just moves somewhere else and they develop other problems like asthma or celiac. That's one theory anyway. The sunshine helps it too so I'm anxiously awaiting Summer when we can play outside in our bathing suits and let the sun warm our skin. Ahhhhh, I can feel it now :)

When did I lose my mind!?!

I was being brave and I took all of my kids plus Izzy to the grocery store today. In the store they were great! Only one person had commented "You've got your hands full" and I attributed it to them behaving so great nobody noticed my herd of children in tow. As we were leaving I was patting my self on the back thinking I'd done a pretty good job reigning in the troops, and had adverted several crises with quick thinking and spot-on negotiating. "Yeah, I'm pretty good" I was thinking to myself. I had started to rain and so I quickly helped each child into their seats and ran around to my door before I was completely soaked. I THEN DROVE AWAY FROM THE STORE LEAVING THE GROCERIES IN THE CART IN THE RAIN!!! My head hurts when I think about it. It wasn't too long later that I noticed they weren't in the van and turned around to retrieve them, but I was seriously embarrassed. It's been a while since I've felt this inept. There was an Albertson's worker outside when I pulled up and before I could say anything she asked me if I was looking for my cart. I must have looked as mortified as I felt.

Seriously, when did I lose my mind!?!

Davis keeps me on my toes :)

A few days ago Davis drew on his face with a "washable" marker (that did NOT come off easily!) and I guess we didn't properly discipline him because I was reading my neighbor's daughter Izzy a book when up walks Davis looking like this:

He said all proudly, "I have a mustache".

He didn't want me to take a picture until I offered him 50 cents but then he wouldn't stand still.

Happy Valentine's Day

From the Mouth of Babes

My favorite thing to document is the funny things kids say. Sometimes we refer to them as the quote of the day :)


On Saturday (the day of my triathlon):
All of my children have good lungs which they prove by crying at a decibel only dogs can hear :) Bill had baby Gray while I was at the rec center and after Gray's nap Bill tried to set him down to play with Cash. As Grayson protested by screaming his head off Cash, while plugging his ears, said "I think Leah taught him how to cry."

On Monday for Family Home Evening:
We were playing a board game Jeff's mom made. One of the squares says "Tell someone nearby you love them" so Davis turns to me and says "I love them." :)

Words that rhyme with truck:
Leah and I have been working on rhyming words. She's getting pretty good so awhile ago she wanted to show her dad. Jeff, either not thinking or being funny, said "Name words that rhyme with truck". To which she did, even the one starting with F! She didn't know she'd say something bad so we just ignored it. I did realize that my kids don't really hear swear words enough to repeat them and have to be "informed" about them. To them the f-bomb is really just a word that rhymes with truck, oh to be young again :)

I'm in the business of misery, let's take it from the top

I competed in my first triathlon on Saturday. Well, to say I competed is kind of an overstatement since I was nearly last, but I did finish and that's an accomplishment right!?! I had a great experience and I hope to do more in the future, preferably outdoors. This one was up in Idaho and since it's winter it was indoors. The stationary bike can be pretty boring but I decided to do an indoor triathlon to save myself from having to invest in a bike. I completed the 1/2 mile swim, 10 mile bike and a 4 mile run in 1:46:51. I really feel like I could have done better time wise but I'm just proud of myself for trying something new and finishing. My favorite part was that I could share this experience with my sister. She's done triathlons before and she didn't care what her time was so she was able to hang back with me and encourage me to finish. She was really great!
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. Amber's husband Bill had Grayson and Amber's two kids while we competed (my older two kids stayed in Vegas since I was only going to be gone two days). It's hard juggling three kids, especially their differing nap times, so Bill didn't make it down to the rec center to take any pictures. That's okay since I was really sweaty, red-faced and frizzy-haired :)

The title is a line from Paramore's song "Misery Business". The next line is "She's got a body like an hourglass that's tickin' like a clock." When I started training I wanted a body like an hourglass so this song quickly became my favorite to run to :) I love Paramore. They play upbeat punk rock filled will teenage angst so they appeal to the side of me that loved high school :) And their lead singer dyes her hair bright colors, what more could I ask for!?! If anyone needs songs to get them motivated to exercise just ask, I've got lots :)

Why I Blog

I don't think it's a secret but it's official... I'm in love with blogging! I've never been good at journaling but I do think it's important to document your life... so now I have my blog. It's journaling complete with pictures! For some reason I feel compelled to list all of the reason why I love blogging so, here we go:
- I take pictures of things I never would have before and upload them to the computer almost instantly. Pictures used to sit on our camera forever, so long I'd forget they existed and uploading them was a walk down memory lane.
- I enjoy writing about my experiences as a mom and I hope my children will one day read my words and know how much I love them. I'm not prepared for the day when my children don't want to sleep in our bed, hold my hand, sit on my lap while we both laugh at Toy Story 2, but when that day comes hopefully they'll be able to read how much I enjoyed it while it lasted.
- Our friends and extended family can read this blog and get a glimpse of our life. Not just sporadic e-mails or all encompassing Christmas letters, a regular account of what's happening in our day.
- Friends, family, strangers who stumble upon my blog will know ME. I feel like this life is about sharing. I find people of all different backgrounds facinating and I consider everyone my friend. I know how much I appreciate other people sharing their life with me through their blog and I'd like to reciprocate :)
- I love reading other people's blogs and draw inspiration from them. This is one of the greatest things about the internet (usually I'm a minimalist when it comes to technology. I feel a lot of people let the computer, TV, video games, movies, and most things escapist in nature pull them away from their relationships with people). I feel like blogging moms everywhere can appreciate each other and lend a helping "tip" when needed like never before.
- Blogging helps me keep perspective. An article I recently read sums it up nicely: "I go thorough my day in 'compose post' mode, where I'm actively selecting words to describe my children- their beauty, their quirkiness, their inner lives- and that process helps me to see them, to be mindful of who they are." It helps me appreciate their quirkiness when I can share it with others and we can laugh together.
- Who doesn't love a nice healthy dose of self expression!?! I love how I can put anything I want on my blog. I had a friend say recently of her blog "I'm not going to apologize for who I am". Good point, me neither :)

My kids are now in love with all things crocheted

Yesterday morning Leah was proudly wearing her beanie so Davis asked if I could make him "a hat". They really don't take that long so I quickly whipped him up one...it did take me longer than usual though because I had to convince Davis to stop "helping" me :) As I was finishing Leah said, "You're giving me an idea" and ran to her room. She quickly returned with Chickie and wanted me to "yarn" him a nest :) Once I finished that she found another bird she referred to as "Chickie's Mom" and wanted a nest for her. So, now our family of birds are safely in their nests :)

Cutie Pie :)

Just for fun I crocheted Leah and her Care Bear matching beanies. Keri will be so proud :)