NOT mother of the year

Little blurry, but super cute!

Jay is frequently falling lately. He always stumbles over his own feet walking and will biff it on his face. I swear, he has a bloody lip or mouth once and sometimes twice a day. It is just the age, I know, but what the heck??? All kids trip and fall when learning how to pick up the talent of walking, but Jay is extreme. He is a bright, curious little boy, but man, he is bloody and skinned up all the time lately....yikes. Nobody call CPS!

So here is why I am NOT the mother of the year....Jay just woke up from his afternoon nap and I put him in his booster seat (attached to a kitchen chair), set it in the middle of the kitchen because he also has the habit of throwing food, and gave him some goldfish crackers and a cut up cheese stick for a little snack. I left the room for about two minutes (chasing Betsy out of something...again!) and all the sudden I hear a loud crash and a bloody murder scream coming from the kitchen. I run in there to find Jay, still strapped into his booster, the booster still strapped safely to the chair, tray attached, and the chair on its side, on the tile floor. Yeah....ouch!

So it has been about 15 minutes since the fall, and Jay is up playing again... just like normal. I am super grateful he didn't crack his head open, break his arm, get a concussion, or something. He, of course, had a bloody mouth, again, because he was chewing fishy crackers when it happened. So, obviously he is big enough now to shift his own weight to tip a kitchen chair over. We will now be putting him safely AT the table, and tossing the tray completely. Lesson learned.

Poor little guy.... Boy, do I have a story for David when he gets home.........

Ironic laundry

I have been thoroughly enjoying the wonderfully warm weather today (72 degrees!!!). I have a touch of sunburn (which is inevitable...since I am fair skinned and red headed...) and a happier, more peaceful feeling then I have had in a long time. I love what sunshine and warmth does for my psyche.

I have done lots of laundry and hung out all the clothes on the line in the backyard, to dry in this sunshine. I watered both the front and back lawns, and sprayed some of those blossoming weeds with weed killer, AND treated the entire house with some bug spray stuff. I love getting ready for spring and summer.... it makes me smile just thinking about it. =)

The kids have had a blast today, playing in the backyard, getting dirty in the sandbox, and building a "fort" out of Davids' sawhorses that are back there. Lunch was served on a blanket on the back lawn, and we all had a good time having a picnic.

There is definitely a sense of irony though.... all my laundry I have done today is long sleeved, jeans, sweaters, etc. It just feels weird to be hanging blanket sleepers out to dry on such a glorious day. I keep crossing my fingers that the weather will stay this nice, and not turn back to winter again =)!

Spring is spring-ing!

The wind is picking up, the weather is getting warmer, and my weeds are sprouting in my back and side yard!! (who'd a-thought I would love weeds so much?!) No buds on the tree yet, but anytime now.... I LOVE warmth, I love the heat, I love everything about short sleeves, flip flops and sunshine -minus the sunburns!

Snowflake does have rather strange weather spikes, so I fear that this is just a small treat and temptation, and we are still in for another month or two of winter.... BUT, what if is isn't??!!?? I would love the chance to be outside more then inside again. I hate being cooped up, I hate having to bundle the kids up to go outside, I HATE cold!

One of my favorite things to do is to lay outside in nice soft grass, in the shade of a tree, with a light breeze and....well, I am dreaming again. =) The time is coming, the time is now, dumb ol' winter, will you please go NOW?!?

DOG PILE!

This is how the kids spent their Saturday morning!

Make-up blogging

I was tagged a week or so ago. So here goes nothin'. This one came from a friend in my ward, it is 48 random questions.....

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I know that my first name Valerie was inspired by one of my moms friends in high school. His name was Val.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Um, probably about a week ago.... but I don't remember why or what for.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? If I try to be neat, it looks pretty good.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I am not much of a meat sandwich person, would much rather have a PB n' J. But if I have to answer, I like tuna....does that even count?
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes, five little monkeys.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Um, I guess.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? No, never!!! (Um, yeah, all the time).
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope, I got them taken out Christmas Break when I was 12 years old. Merry Christmas, huh?!?!
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Yes, I would love to, but I have kids now, so it will probably never happen.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Gag if you want, but I love oatmeal, with brown sugar. It's what I grew up on.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, but that means I have to un-tie them right before I put them back on.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?? Any kind, as long as it isn't chunky. I don't like chunky or crunchy ice cream. Ice cream should be smooth and creamy.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Probably their hair.
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My teeth, can't wait to get braces again!
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My family.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST? Anyone that wants to.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans and tennis shoes.
20. FAVORITE SOUNDS: I love the sound of rain, and of course the sound of bedtime... =)
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Nothing. Background noise of the kids' playing together...nicely, suprisingly!
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Red.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Goes right along with #20. I love the smell of rain on concrete.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My hubby =)
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes, and I would love to get to know you better.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I enjoy watching baseball.
27. HAIR COLOR? I would love to say blond still, but it is more red now... oh well ={
28. EYE COLOR? Blah-ish blue.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Mexican.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Definitely happy endings.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Italian Job.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Pink. Its last years 4th of July shirt from Wal-Mart.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Glorious, wonderful, fabulous SUMMER!!!
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs from most, kisses from my man. =)
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I don't know.
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I don't know
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I am not much of a reader unless I find a dang good book, so right now the only book I am currently reading is The Book of Mormon.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Nothing. It is solid black with a silly wrist pad thingy built-in.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Biggest Loser, baby. I LOVE that show. And tonight I am watching Lost... I swear, I am addicted to both shows.
43. ROLLING STONES OR THE BEATLES? Probably the Beatles, but I really don't know???
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? I lived in D.C. for a summer after high school. Also been in Alaska recently... I'm no good at distances. What is farther away???
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Nothing worth bragging about, but I love to play the piano and sing.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Salt Lake City, U-tard....No offense.
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Anyone that does this tag.
48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER? At Eastern Arizona College. David was my home teacher....

wHaT kEePs Me BuSy.....

.....and a little bit CrAzY too!=)

Some cute and random pictures

I noticed that I haven't posted a lot of pictures lately, so here are a few---

Jay; playing with his blocks
Betsy; getting ready to go play in the snow last week. Isn't she beautiful?!?!
Where Jay ended up during FHE a couple weeks ago. Daring little guy, huh? (Looks like he might just need one of those diapers!) =)

My new 'do. Lovin' it short.


Here is the empty cabinet in the kitchen. Jay loves playing IN it. Aubrey is playing "peek-a-boo" with him. He and Aubrey were laughing so hard at each other..... very cute. =)

Happy Valentines Day!!

Our cutest Valentine girls!

Mother

My kids are home... and dang, I missed them. It was funny for me, because I spent nearly 5 days away from my babies, and enjoyed the quiet, enjoyed the freedom, and yet I felt empty and lonely when I sat long enough to think about it.

I realized this last five days that I now know what my purpose in life is at this stage. I am meant to be a mother. It felt really good to have a break, but felt even better to see five beautiful smiling faces grinning at me this morning when I saw them for the first time. I feel like I have a purpose, and a reason to be here, now, and it is to raise my five sweet kids. I sure love those crazy little monkeys!

While the kids are away....

1. The parents PLAY

and

2. The parents rest

All the kids are in Mesa, and have been since Friday night. We have definitely enjoyed the peace and quiet, and got to do things that we normally wouldn't even think of doing with five little rascals around.

Friday afternoon my parents showed up, said a quick hello, got a rundown of our usual schedule around here, and loaded up my babies into our van, and drove straight back to Mesa. David was feeling pretty good so we decided to try out a new restaurant in town called Planet Pasta. We actually went INSIDE! That is something that never happens. If we eat out, we either go through some place with a drive-thru or to Sonic, where they are all buckled down and can't get away. So we had a leisurely, quiet dinner and wandered around Movie Gallery for a few minutes, decided that there were no good movies out that we wanted to see, and headed home. Even though the kids were away, we still hit the sack pretty early, and I slept terribly.... must have been missing my kids. =)

On Saturday, I called The Cutting Edge salon in town, made an appointment and went in to finally get my hair cut. It was getting WAY to long, almost always pulled up in a ponytail, and looking pretty scary. That is always a good sign to me that I need a haircut! Got it cut pretty short, but I love my hair short and so does David, so it works out great. After the haircut, we went over to Davids' aunts house, and visited with Deon for a while. She is wonderful, and we all love her!

Saturday evening we used our season tickets, and went to BYU's Living Legends. What a great performance! It was so nice to be able to focus on the stage, and not worry about keeping the kids quiet and/or still! What a wonderful night it was!

Sunday I slept in. I mean, really slept in. In this house EVERYONE is up and going between 6-7 am. BUT, I slept til 9 am on Sunday, and wow, I had forgotten what it is like to lay in bed until I wanted to get up. We leisurely got ready, had plenty of time, and still ended up at church nearly 15 minutes early..... unheard of! It was such a treat to sit and listen to Sacrament Meeting. I read a few chapters in the Book of Mormon, FELT the spirit, and felt renewed.... also unheard of. Primary was surprisingly quiet, the kids were super well-behaved. It made me wonder if it is MY kids that are the loud ones!! I don't think so, but it was a little ironic. Yikes.

Monday was actually a pretty busy morning. We headed up to Show Low early for a 'continuation of coverage' interview for our health insurance (we love AHCCCS!). And also made a quick trip to WalMart for a good shopping trip. We only had one cart, no kids, and two able adults. We made it through WalMart in less then an hour.... yet again, unheard of!

Today we were planning on making the drive to Mesa to pick up the kids, but the roads are closed from all the snow we have gotten in the last 12 hours. No more then 2-3 inches here, but they are reporting 14-18 inches on the rim. So, we have yet one more day and night to get things done, nap, and sleep soundly at night.

I have completed some projects these last few days. I got all the bedding changed, washed, mattresses vacuumed and flipped, and beds wiped down and disinfected. It was a long time coming, and it feels good to know that it is done! I also washed all their winter coats, since they were not needing to wear them in Mesa, and they were not being used all the time here. I FINALLY cleaned, mopped, scrubbed and sealed the grout in our family bathroom. (only two years later!) What a difference a toothbrush and some elbow grease makes on a bathroom floor =). I also have tackled the office area. The office has pretty much been the catch-all for anything and everything we either don't want to deal with at the moment or that didn't have a 'home'. I am pretty good at clearing the floor and stacking piles, but it has been since we moved in that things have been cleared out, de-cluttered, and DI'd out of my life. We have quite a few bags to take to Mesa tomorrow, full of DI stuff. Ahh, it feels so good to get rid of stuff! Still a work in progress, but it is looking so much better then I ever remember.

It sure has been a nice break, and I feel very lucky and blessed to have parents that are willing to take on such a job! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Now let's hurry and pray that the roads are open and clear tomorrow..... I am missing my babies!!

Looking Forward

The surgery went good, David did great, and he is now resting quietly in the bedroom. I am so glad that things went well, and that he is home comfortably sleeping. I admit that I was more nervous then he was, and the wait to hear how things were going back behind those big metal doors felt like an eternity. I tried to kill time watching TV and reading magazines, but I can't remember a thing I read or watched. It was such a relief to see him be wheeled back into the room where I was waiting (aka... pacing).


Well, enough about me!!! Here is my tough guy.......

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Yeah, he doesn't even know about that second picture. He was still asleep.... The big "mustache mask" on his face is to catch the blood/drainage from his nose (sorry, TMI, too much info!=) ). He gets to wear that for at least 24 hours or so. He goes back to the doctor on Friday to remove some gauze packing in his nose, and scheduale another cat scan. Then we should know if we need to go back for a second round or not. Hopefully not.

My wonderful mother-in-law watched my kids very early this morning, got Nathan off to school, and was so sweet after we got home. The love of a mother is amazing. We love her so much for all she does for us and our kids! My mom is showing up Friday afternoon to truck my kids to Mesa for a few days, and for that I am awfully grateful. I think this recovery time will be a little longer then we had hoped. I will be going down to Mesa next Tuesday or Wednesday to pick them up and have a short visit. YEAH!!

Although Davids surgery wasn't life threatening, I felt conflicted in "looking forward" to things. I am so blessed to have had everything work out well, and have a few days alone at home to baby my hubby, and then a day or two in Mesa to visit with my family.

Looking forward to life is looking better every minute. =)

Updates of our life....

Just a little update of last week....

Last Tuesday I went to a Relief Society activity at the church and crammed into the kitchen to watch and learn how to make bread, and eat yummy soups and breads too! I have always wanted to be the type that makes her own bread, and I have failed up to now. I grew up on homemade 100% whole wheat bread, made with love by my mom. It would be nice to do that for my kids. I have never made bread, if you don't count banana bread. =) So, I found a great, EASY recipe, that I don't need a fancy Bosch or anything strange to make it, so I am going to give it a try. I have yet to, so we shall see how determined I am on this one.

David got called and happily volunteered to go camping with the Young Men in our ward. He is not even in Young Men's anymore! He sure loves the boys in this ward... So, Friday afternoon he took off camping with our friend Bridger, his son Saxon and the young men. BUT, every last one of them backed out and didn't end up going! So Bridger and Saxon, and David and Nathan decided to go anyway, since they were packed and prepared already. So they had a good time Klondiking with two young boys (3 and 6) for a father and son type trip. It worked out okay, because David has been promising Nathan a camp out for at least a month now. It was COLD!! But they took a little heater, lots of wool blankets, drank lots of hot chocolate, and stayed toasty warm.

Speaking of Nathan, he is pretty bummed already to have lost his best friend up the street. They just moved to St. Johns, and I don't know what Nathan is going to do without Jace around. And neither am I! They were attached at the hip practically, and sure got along well, and I am going to miss Megan terrible too! Good people, that is for sure.

I have spent today recovering from the weekend, doing a general house clean, and enjoying the kids as they are OUTSIDE today in the nice weather, playing with the neighborhood girls. I love nice days, and it makes me terribly im-patient for spring to come, and then glorious summer! I love the heat, and can't wait for it to come again.

We have a pretty busy week coming up. David has decided to do something about his nose. For those of you that don't know.... David has not been able to breath through his nose, for as long as he can remember. So, on Wednesday morning he is going in for a pretty big surgery, to remove the over-sized polyps that have blocked his nasal passages for the last 20 years or so. He is excited, I am excited, and we are both a little nervous too. =} Hopefully as a result, he will be able to breath clearly, finally be able to smell, stop snoring so loudly, and his sleep apnea will diminish greatly. It is not a clear 100% fix, but we hope it will help him out a lot.

And in other big-ish news, because Davids down time will be quite a while, my mom and dad have graciously offered to take the kids (yes, all of them) to Mesa for a few days! I will need to be a pretty diligent nurse for the first 3-5 days of Davids recovery, so having the kids out from underfoot, and in a warmer, fun place like grandmas is great! I am honestly looking forward to a few days to myself too! I already have a list about a mile long of things I want to get done while the house is generally quiet next week. We shall see how good of a patient David is, and how much work I will actually get done around here. I might just enjoy a nap or two, or ten! =)

So there is a update, too long yes, but anywho.... I will blog again after Wednesday, and put a picture up of David, post-surgery....It should be good! Please pray for David, that his surgery will go well, and his recovery too!