Back to School

WOW....I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted. So much has happened, and I could try and catch up, but I'm not sure I'll be able to remember it all, and do all of what has happened justice. Maybe I'll just move forward from here on out.

Starting with the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! I can't believe how nervous I was about the first day of school this year.  I'm not sure if it was the pregnancy hormones, or the fact that both Keegan and Camden were going to be at school this year, or what, but I was seriously freaking out! Which, to me at least, really didn't make that much sense, seeing as how Keegan was in preschool/Early Admission Kindergarten all last year, and I handled it just fine.  Maybe I'm just losing it. ;-)

Keegan started on Tuesday, the 4th, which seemed late in the year to me, seeing as how most other schools now seem to start before Labor Day, and then Camden started on Wednesday, the 5th.  Keegan starts school at 9:05 (which just sounds late), but Camden's preschool starts at 7:40 (but he only goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday for now), so we made the decision to just have the boys wake up at 6:30 every morning, regardless, that way they wouldn't get used to sleeping in on some days and then having a harder time waking up on the early days.  Needless to say, it's been a little bit of an adjustment for everyone involved and it makes for some L-O-N-G days.

AJ and I are a little hesitant about Keegan's class this year...we were hoping he would get a certain teacher at his school that his friend had had last year, but no such luck.  He's in a Kindergarten/First Grade combo class, and right now, AJ and I are just trying to keep an open mind about it.  I guess we'll see how we feel about it in a month or so.  It could either be a really good thing, or a really bad thing.  His teacher, however, seems really nice, and he seems to be doing just fine, so we are willing to give it a chance.

Our morning started out with a breakfast of french toast, because Keegan informed me that it is his favorite (and I was more than willing because it's one of my favorites, too).  Then we had a lot of time to just sort of hang out (because of the early wake-up and late start for Keegan).  He was all smiles when we got to school, and only started to look a little nervous right before we left, but by the time we went to pick him up he was back to being all smiles.  His favorite thing to do at school (at least at recess) are the monkey bars...seriously, if there are monkey bars anywhere near him, he will be on them in no time at all (blisters on his hands and all).

I was more than a little bit nervous for Camden, mostly because any "learning/education" that he's had up to this point has just been what I've done with him at home, and it's not been on any sort of regimented schedule.  He didn't seem to have any problem getting up and getting ready for his first day, and the only thing he seemed worried about was if the others kids would laugh at him.  It broke my heart that such a great little guy would be so worried about something like that.  I reassured him as best as I could, and by the time we got into his classroom, he was just fine.  He found the toys, and pretty much couldn't have cared less after that.  He was actually kind of annoyed when I tried to get him to take a few pictures.  Keegan and Hunter gave him hugs and loves, he got kisses from me, and he didn't look back. :)  When we picked him up, he was excited to see his brothers and I, but he seemed just fine.  Other than a little bit of tears at nap/rest time where he told his teacher that he missed his mom, he had a great day.  He even asked to come home and do some "homework" (which I happily obliged him with in the form of a couple of worksheets!).  Somehow, I have a feeling that he will be just fine...again, I have a feeling that I'll have a harder time then he will with this "separation" (Hunter on the other hand was LOVING all the one-on-one time with just Mommy, and informed me that he wanted to go to Mission Bay, Sea World and the Zoo with me).

Conversations on the way home from school

On our way home from picking Keegan up from Kindergarten today, I overheard the following conversation taking place in the back of the van:

Keegan: "Camden, it's not nice to play tricks on people. Remember when we were watching He-Man the last day (which is the way he says yesterday), and the guy came on at the end and told us that it's not nice to trick people. So, we shouldn't trick people. And Jesus wouldn't want us to trick people. So I'm following Jesus' instructions, and because you tricked me, you are following Satan's instructions."

I happened to look in my rearview mirror at the point to see Camden's reaction, and he looked so sad, so I asked him what was wrong and he told me that he was bad, because he had been following Satan's instructions when he tricked Keegan. So then we had to have the talk about how he had told Keegan that he was sorry for trying to trick him, which is what Jesus would have wanted him to do (because he had repented) and that he was actually listening to Jesus' instructions too.

Guess some things are sinking in between Primary and reading scriptures each night as a family, and of course, from watching He-Man (which, can I just say, I think it's awesome that my boys love the shows that AJ and I used to watch as kids!).

Man, I love these boys!

Better late than never

I love getting everyone's Christmas cards in the mail each year. I hang them up on the wall and am reminded of all the people that I love and miss on a daily basis. Usually, I'm just not really good about sending out ones of our own. But, believe it or not, I actually got Christmas cards ordered this year! Guess that's what happens when you have a code for for 50 free photo cards (thank you Pampers Gifts to Grow and Shutterfly). Anyway, check out the posts below to get a sneak preview for those of you that I'm sure are just anxiously awaiting them! ;-)

Photo Card

World Of Joy Christmas

Create beautiful photo Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

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Photo Card

Mod Merry Ornaments Christmas

Customize your Christmas cards this year at Shutterfly.com.

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A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Originally, we weren't going to do costumes this year.  And then AJ decided we should, so I spent the better parts of three nights not sleeping and putting together the boys costumes.  Keegan insisted on being Obi-Wan Kenobi, Camden had to be Luke Skywalker and we were originally going to make Hunter an Ewok, but by day three of sewing my brain was fried and he ended up just being a little Padawan (that's a Jedi Apprentice to all you non-Star Wars obsessed people). :)
Overall, not bad...and the boys loved them which I guess is the most important thing of all.  Next year, we're buying them from the store, I swear. ;)

Brothers

Hunter, courtesy of both his brothers at this point (I'm pretty sure they were both taking this one but it might have just been Keegan).

Camden, as seen through Keegan's eyes (and the camera lens). I'm amazed at how great this picture is. And this is such a typical Camden pose...I couldn't have planned the shot any better.

Keegan, courtesy of his brother Camden. For a 4 1/2 year old and an almost 3 year old, I really do think this are pretty good pictures. I guess I should let the boys play with the camera more often...I'd probably have a whole lot more photos of all of them.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I will be the first to admit that I do not have a green thumb. I tend to kill any plant that crosses my path. Thankfully, I married someone who is VERY handy in many aspects of life, but especially in cultivating a garden. We planted super late last year, so our garden wasn't spectacular, although we did get quite the bumper crop of zucchini, which resulted in many, many loaves of zucchini bread, which we are still enjoying today. This year, we planned ahead and planted much earlier in the season, and AJ did a lot of research on soils and the right mixture to have, etc. and he worked really hard to get everything just right, and it has totally paid off.

We currently have 3 planter boxes full of growing things (AJ made 2 of the planter boxes a couple of years ago out of the railroad ties we already had in the yard and some bricks. See, I told you he was handy to have around!). Our pumpkin has almost completely taken over the garden box it was planted in, but we are super excited, because these are supposed to be the really big pumpkins! We're hoping to have a whole family of jack-o-lanterns come October. There's also asparagus and banana peppers planted in the same box, but the pumpkin is kind of taking over, as you can see.

The next box has our corn, carrots, radishes and something else that I'm forgetting (squash or zucchini, I believe). Our corn is pretty small this year, and we really don't know if we'll get anything but it's fun to watch it grow.

And then there is our last planter box...this was our original garden, and as you can see we have expanded it somewhat, but the plants are all growing magnificently. We have three kinds of tomatoes: roma, beef and cherry (which is pretty funny seeing as how AJ and I can't stand tomatoes for the most part). Then we have sugar peas and snap peas, green, yellow, red and orange bell peppers, more banana peppers and squash and strawberries. Sp far the only ones enjoying our strawberries are the slugs that get to them before we can pick them, but we are hoping to prevent that from happening in the near future.

We didn't get it planted this year, but our 4th planter box will hopefully be an herb garden next year full of mint, basil, oregano, cilantro, chives and who knows what else. I'm really excited to see if I can actually keep things alive and thriving enough to have my own herbs to use.

Our garden has also been an all-you-can-eat diner for the local skunks (thanks to the plentiful grubs found in the soil), and they were digging up the soil and displacing all of our seeds (we had some cantaloupe planted and more squash that ended up not making it thanks to the little stinkers) so AJ managed to fabricate an electric fence that we turned on at night to keep them from getting into the two main planter boxes and it has worked FANTASTICALLY!! Granted, I haven't liked the skunk smell that gets left behind when they get a "little" electric zap, but after three or four times, they haven't returned, and our garden is thriving!!

Now we just have to take care of those slugs...:)

And So It Begins...

I wasn't able to sign Keegan or Camden up for their gymnastics classes this time around, because they canceled the ones that were on the only days that worked with our schedule, and then we missed signing Keegan up for T-Ball this season (I know, I know...I'm a horrible parent). To be honest, I had no idea when baseball sign-ups were, seeing as how this if the first time EVER that I have even had to think about something like this, but apparently opening weekend was this past weekend, which means that sign-ups were probably weeks, maybe even months, ago. AJ was pretty disappointed, and I have to admit, at first so was I (but just a teensy bit).

And then, while perusing the internet late at night, I thought I would be proactive and check out when I could sign him up for some of the other sports that he is now finally old enough to participate in. I might have missed soccer signups (at least through the rec centers, it seems, but maybe not through AYSO), and we aren't pushing any of the kids to play football, and the boys don't seem to have a ton of interest in playing basketball...so I thought we were out of luck, and then I remembered a sport that someone had mentioned to us about 6 months ago, that is perfect for Keegan.

Enter
We have officially signed Keegan up to play water polo (or at least the non-contact version that introduces the sport to the kids) and now my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3:30 - 4:30 are no longer my own (although it's not like they ever really were...but it's even less so now). At least I get to spend the time hanging out by a pool, which is never a bad thing, right?

2011 Challenge #3

So here's the thing...I vaguely remember that at one point in my life I was actually thin. For anyone that has only known me in the past few years, they will probably find that statement really hard to believe, but I swear, that at one point in my life I actually looked good (ok, fine, pretty decent), and I really did fit into the size 2 jeans that are currently residing (read: collecting dust) at the bottom of my closet.

If you don't believe me, here's the proof:

See, my stomach was actually flat, my arms weren't flabby, and I didn't have a "muffin-top" that hung over the top of my jeans, and there was no double chin (and I was actually tan...but that's a whole other issue). Having 3 kids in a 3 1/2 year time frame (and gaining way more weight than I should have with Keegan and then not losing all of it before I had Camden and not being good about exercising before/during/after/ever) changed all of that (meaning my once thin body) for the worse.

However, this year is the year that I am changing that (beacause really, I am the only one who is to blame here and I am the only one who can change it...there is no magical weight-loss fairy who can zap me with her wand and magically give me back my 21-year-old body again, but oh if only there was one!). When I finally reach my goal, I will actually be able to look at myself in the mirror and recognize the person that is looking back at me. And believe me...actually losing the weight is going to be a daily challenge/struggle, but it's one that I am definitely up for (because honestly the almost daily query of when my next one is due, and if this one is actually a girl is getting a little old people).

So, here's to the new year...and a new, and thinner, me.

Now, who wants to tell me what's worked for them? :)

2011 Challenge #2

In keeping with challenging myself, I promised myself that I would try new things. I'm not great at sewing, by any means, but I try. I've just realized that I'm not a patient person when it comes to sewing, but I'm working on improving that.

I've made some blankets, and some things for the boys and even a few things for myself, but I wanted to try and make a quilt for a good friend of ours who works with AJ and who just recently had their first baby, a little girl. Only having boys so far, I was in love with all the pinks that I got to work with to make this quilt. It's a really simple pattern, and I just did a straight-line quilting on it (no stippling or any other pattern for me just yet), but I love the final result. Hopefully the recipients were just as happy with it.

It went together fairly quickly, and I only had to unpick a few rows toward the end when my impatience got the best of me (lesson learned, seriously). My fingers have never been so numb as they were after hand sewing the binding on, but I'm pretty proud of what I accomplished and think that it looks pretty decent (not that I'm trying to toot my own horn...I just want to make sure I remember how I felt about the whole process years down the road).

Now I just need to get working on quilt #2 so I don't lose my momentum...maybe, someday I'll get good enough that I can sell them and turn it into a little bit of a side business. :)

Bring It On 2011

So, I know that January is halfway over, and I realize that I'm a little late with posting about resolutions, but better late than never, right?

I've decided that 2011 is going to be the year for stepping outside of my comfort zone. I'm trying to find that balance in life of who I am as a wife and a mother and as me. Sometimes I feel like the "me" part gets lost in all of the other stuff. That's not to say that I don't love being a wife and a mom, because I do. I LOVE this time in my life right now, but I don't want to wake up in 20 years and wonder who is staring back at me in the mirror, you know?

I didn't really make a lot of resolutions for the new year...I really just sort of made one really big one. I've resolved to challenge myself daily, whether it's to try new things, to not be afraid or to stop making excuses.

With that being said, my first challenge of the year came from my sister, Val. A while ago, last year, we had talked about running a 5K together. No big deal...just 3.1 miles. Easy, peasy, right? Except that we never managed to sign up for one and do it together and life got in the way and just kept right on going. And then came the challenge for this year...forget the 5K and let's go for a 1/2 marathon. That's right...13.1 miles. Further than I have ever run in my life at one time (and sometimes further than I have ever run in a week, and sometimes a month). I'm not a runner...I don't love it. It's hard to do and it's brutal to me and my body (and to be honest, my mind at times because it really gives me too much time to think and that's not always a good thing). For whatever inexplicable reason, I said "OK" and she held me to it...and we signed up for the SLC 1/2 Marathon on April 16th. And then we got Cynthia to sign up and run it with us and hang out with us in our insanity. Why? Because this is the year of no excuses. Of challenging myself every day (and trying to stick to any sort of training program with 3 kids is a daily challenge).

So, to those 13.1 miles, I say "bring it on". I will conquer you, and I will survive it (and maybe even run another one depending on how this one goes). Why not, right?

'Tis the Season

The boys and I have been trying to stay busy while AJ has been gone on his latest trip. We decided to go and see the lights at the temple on Monday night for our FHE, and while they aren't even remotely close to the lights at Temple Square, the boys and I fully enjoyed seeing the lights on the temple grounds (with the added bonus being that I was walking around in sandals still, and the boys only needed sweatshirts...definitely wouldn't have happened if we had been at Temple Square!)

These three little boys are the best gifts that I have ever been given. They are such a joy and delight in my life. I love the laughter and energy that they bring into our home. It's amazing to me, in looking at all of them in that picture, how alike they all are and yet how you can still see their own individuality as well. Camden loved the nativity sets (there are two...I didn't get pictures of one of them), and he had to make sure that he petted each and every animal before we could leave. As we were driving up to the temple, Keegan asked me if AJ and I were going to get married there again. I guess he hasn't quite fully grasped the concept of eternal marriage just yet, but at least he knows that the temple is where his mom and dad were married, and that is where he will be married as well once he is older. Then he wanted to know if I had thanked everyone who was at the temple the day I got married, and wanted to know if I had made sure I gave loves and blew kisses before I left the temple after getting married (he's very into making sure I say "thank you" for everything...I guess I must be over stressing the need to have manners with the boys). He cracks me up. I really should start carrying around a tape recorder with me to capture all the things that he says, and the way that he says them.

Halfway There...

I can't believe that Hunter is already 6 months old. It does not seem possible to me. It seems like you wait forever for them to be born, and then in the blink of an eye they aren't little babies anymore. He is so different from Keegan and Camden, and it some ways that has made things easier and in some ways it has been harder. He is definitely my linebacker of the bunch...he weighs more at 6 months than Keegan did at nine months and Camden did at a year. He is my little chunky-monkey and I love it! What can I say, the kid likes to eat. When I was finally ready to start him on solids (he was ready at about 5 months, I held out until he turned 6 months) he was practically grabbing the spoon out of my hand and trying to help me get it into his mouth. Now, as soon as I sit him in his seat and he sees me mixing up his cereal his legs and arms start moving every which way and he doesn't stop until he is full. I'm still only feeding him once a day with cereal and fruits, but my pediatrician gave me the go ahead to start feeding him all varieties of food, and said I could bump it up to more than just once a day (personally I think Hunter paid him off to say that, but I can't prove it). I'm trying to make him his baby food (like I did with Camden) so we'll see if I can keep up with his demand once he starts eating solids more than once a day.

Hunter is rolling EVERYWHERE...although he has learned that rolling onto the kitchen floor isn't nearly as soft as staying on the carpet. He's sitting up on his own, most of the time, although he prefers to be on his back and belly because he can roll anywhere he wants, and he just started army crawling a few days ago. I have a feeling that Keegan and Camden will be learning very quickly that if they don't want Hunter to have a certain toy than they are going to have to pick it up and keep it out of his reach. He got his first tooth the day after Thanksgiving, and I have a feeling a second one is about to join it. Thankfully, he's been a pretty easy teether. His first one finally cut through during his afternoon nap and he didn't even make a peep.

Some of Hunter's Favorite things at 6 months:

1. His brothers - he thinks that Keegan and Camden are there solely for his entertainment and his entertainment alone. Keegan, especially (and Keegan loves having an adoring audience). His face lights up when he sees them and no matter where he is, if he hears his brothers he stops what he is doing and looks for them.

2. Hunter loves when Keegan "helps" him roll over. They do this almost every night after their bath. Hunter is usually on the floor on his back while I help Camden get dressed, and Keegan will go up to him and use his head to push against Hunter's side to "help" him roll over. They both end up laughing the whole time. I really should get video because the description does not do it justice.

3. His toes...he tries to get them in his mouth at every possible chance.

4. Scratching at things to see what noise it will make. He does this all the time...when I'm burping him, when he's sitting on someones lap, on the floor, anywhere. He especially loves the office chair and the sound it makes.

5. Being carried. Hunter does NOT like the stroller...mostly because he really doesn't get to spend that much time in it (or at least he didn't until recently). At 20 pounds, however, he's just way too heavy for me to carry everywhere, so he is learning to tolerate the stroller, and Keegan is learning to not be in it anymore (I think he likes the freedom).

6. His snuggles (blanket). No matter how asleep he might be when I lay him down for his nap, 99% of the time he will kick his feet up in the air until I put his blanket on him, then roll to the side and pull it up to his face and then stick his thumb in his mouth (yeah, he's my thumbsucker...although it's not all of the time, so I don't think we'll have a hard time breaking him of the habit). He loves having a soft blanket (or stuffed animal in a pinch) against his face when he first goes to sleep. It's so cute.

7. The sounds he can make with his tongue (he loves to click it against the roof of his mouth) and the sound of his voice. I love his little babbling as well.

Happy Halloween

My little cast of characters....


Hunter, the ferocious(ly drooly) lion


Camden, the ever reluctant superhero (he does not like dress-up of any kind...apparently AJ was the same way when he was little...you would have thought we were torturing the kid when we put on his costume...although he was just fine once it was all the way on)

and Keegan...the only one who willingly put on his costume (even though it's a very generic, homemade version of a spiderman costume...because to be honest, I wasn't going for spiderman, I was just going for generic superhero but he insisted the he was going to be spiderman, hence the very late addition of a spider to his costume and the wrong color "boots").

I swear that I will never make another costume again...these just about did me in (although I think I remember telling myself the same thing last year too, which obviously didn't stick). Hunter's was the only one I really had no part in. It's Camden's costume from two years ago...and it was lovingly made by my mom (although I did provide the fabric and do the ribbon mane). I don't know how she did it making costumes for all of us kids growing up. Maybe it's because I'm such an impatient sewer (something I'm working on)...or maybe I was just tired and mad at myself for putting this off until the last minute (kind of like last years pirate costumes), but dragging 3 kids to the fabric store was just something I couldn't get excited about, so I kept putting it off in the hopes that I would have a chance to go on my own, and it never happened and I ended up with all 3 of them at the store with me anyway...a week before Halloween, with about 30 of my closest "friends", all doing the same last minute costume sewing that I was. I guess, in the end, all that matters, though is that they got done, and my boys had costumes and they seemed to be just fine with them.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Keegan and Camden's jack-o-lantern's that they helped their daddy carve.

Conversations With a 3-year-old

I had the best exchange with Keegan tonight. It went a little like this.

K: Mom, what you doing?
Me: Making some cookies.
K:Oh. Cookies for me?
Me: For all of us.
K: My have one now?
Me:Not yet, bud, they still have to bake. You can have one after you finish your soup (corn chowder) and have a bath.
K: Oh. My not want any more soup. My all fulled up to here (as he does the sign for "full").
Me: Oh, you're all filled up, huh?
K: Well, my not all filled up yet (he so knew that I was going to say that he must be too full for cookies if he was too full for more soup...it's like he's inside my head or something. Or maybe we just have that conversation a lot because he always seems to have room for treats but never room for his regular food). My still have some room for my cookie. See, right here on my side (as he shows me the exact spot on his side where he still has a little room left). This where my cookie go. My just have no more room for soup.

To be fair, he had already eaten most of his soup and his sandwich, so it's not like he was just going to have cookies for dinner, so he probably was "all fulled up". You gotta love the kid, and his reasoning though. He so takes after me. Even at the age of three he knows that there is always room for some dessert.

Super Boys to the Rescue

Keegan has been asking me to make him a super hero cape for quite some time, and I had found a free pattern online (so great, I know, right? I love that it's reversible...and free) but I've kind of been putting it off, because I really don't feel all that confident in my sewing abilities. I finally bit the bullet a few weeks back and made a cape for Keegan and then another for Camden. The fact that Keegan has worn it for some portion of the day, everyday since it has been finished definitely made the effort worth it. Camden is still a little hesitant to put his on (which shouldn't surprise me seeing as how he cried for about 20 min. the other day when we dressed him up in his pirate costume from last year to go trick-or-treating at Sea World) but I'm hoping that eventually he will warm up to the idea of wearing it.

All in all, they didn't turn out too bad. It's a little long, but that just means he can grow into it. I've never embroidered anything on before, and you can tell when you give it more than just a cursory glance, but Keegan is totally happy with his (especially since it was made in the colors that he wanted it to be), and it's something that I made for him...and I love that he runs up and down the hall and all over our backyard using his "superpowers" to rescue and protect people. Now I just have to convince him that a generic superhero costume will be good enough for Halloween rather than the Spiderman one that he seems to want. It might take more superpowers than I currently have at my disposal to accomplish that task! :)