Simones New Pictures

Simone just got her one year old pictures done, and I think they turned out so cute! She was totally scared of the lights last time, and wasn't cooperative at all. We still got some good ones, but I think these ones show her cute smile.

She wouldn't let go of the Elise's lil Webkinz Pug. So we just let her hold it so she'd be happy. She loves that little dog (his name is Noble, isn't that cute?). So she got her very own Webkinz Pug for Valentine's Day since she was monopolizing Noble. She carries it around everywhere, and if you touch it, she'll come after you.

The white dress in the third picture is a dress that Simone's Great-Great Grandma made. We were very excited to get it for Christmas from Grandma. Thank you! We knew it would be hard to see on the white background, but I love how it turned out.

Thanks Steph for doing the pictures for us! We love them.

Mater Saves the Day!

I was driving the other day when a very surprising snowstorm hit fast and hard. It was so windy, I could barely see the tail lights of the car ahead of me at times. I followed the cars ahead of me and ended up going off the opposite side of the road than I thought I was. I didn't want to try to get out because I didn't know exactly where I was and there was a ditch fairly close.

Anyway, I ended up being stuck in the blizzard for 7.5 hours! Miles kept worrying about the car tipping over. But overall the kids thought it was a bit of an adventure. Thank goodness I'd just gone shopping and bought some water and granola bars. I also have a bad habit of waiting until the last ounce of gas to refill my tank. Fortunately we had a quarter tank when we got stranded. We watched a DVD, and the kids went to sleep at around 8 pm. The boy that carpools with us was so cute. He kept reassuring Miles and telling him that Tuh Mater from the Cars movie was coming to rescue us. All the roads were closed, so it was hard for anyone else to get through to us.

It was so nice to have my little Blackberry Pearl. Jared sent me some links, and I called my sister and at least got to have something to occupy the time. Phone, internet, DVD's, heat, water, food. That's about all I need anyway!

Someone had informed me that highway patrol was coming to help tow all of us out, but that turned out to be incorrect. I called dispatch and the dispatch lady screamed that highway patrol doesn't care if you are trapped in a blizzard. They have more important things to worry about. So anyway I called AAA and they sent a tow truck out. 4 hours later, it arrived! I've never been so happy to see those flashing lights. The driver was so persistant in getting to us. We were the first ones able to make it out. I was so relieved to get home! On the drive home the roads weren't even very bad. It was just a couple of stretches with lots of wind that really had problems. But the closures stranded lots of people. And there were tons that slept in their cars.

Miles keeps talking about how "Tow" Mater saved us. He was asleep when the tow truck finally made it, but he's been playing with his little Mater truck and pulling around the doll minivan with it. It is pretty funny. Everytime we go in the car now, he gets a little nervous though. Funny kid.

Miles is Three

He was very excited for his birthday. He got a new train set from Nana and Papa, lots of cool stops for his trainset, and a Buzz Lightyear that he is a little disappointed about. He told me he wanted "Zurg." I had no idea what that was, but I understood something about Buzz Lightyear, so I got his a super cool Buzz. He was a little disappointed and keeps trying to give it away so he can get Zurg. I should have asked a kid what Zurg was, Monet knew exactly what he was talking about.

It's Jesus!

So my baby is ONE! We celebrated her birthday by going sledding with our friends Ashlee and Trevor. Their baby Renee's birthday is just the day after Simone's, so we had a little party. Simone absolutely loves snow, so sledding was just perfect. She loves to stick her face in the snow and eat it. We are not quite sure why she likes that, it looks really cold! But she's always liked the snow, regardless of how freezing everyone else is.

Jared's family has a fun tradition of giving all the kids their very own chocolate birthday cake on their first birthday and having all the family gather around and watch the babies eat it, fling it, and make a big mess. So even though we already had cake, we had to have another!

Simone loved the cake. Her chocolate frosting covered face earned her the nickname "Jesus" by her older sisters. So here she is in all her chocolate covered glory.

Ahh, Sweet Success

Miles is finally potty trained! I say finally, but really he isn't even quite three yet, which for boys is about average I guess. He has been perfect for about two weeks. I started running low on diapers, so we just went for it. He was ready, and he is even staying dry all night!

He was doing pretty well back in November, so we went to Wal-mart and I just put undies on him. I took him straight to the bathroom right when we got there. Well, as I was about to check out, I looked down at him and his pants were completely soaked, as were all the groceries in the cart.

What do you do when your kid pees on your groceries? Put them on the conveyor belt? Hand them to the cashier? It is a very tricky situation. The produce bags had beads of pee all over them. I decided to just get some kleenex and wipe them off as much as possible then just go through the line. Ewww. But what do you do?

This put the potty training on hold for a bit. *I* was the one who was clearly not ready! Diapers were just so much easier. I had a similar experience with Monet. But with her she was standing next to me when diarrhea started pouring out of her shorts and pooling on the tile next to the checker. I actually left Elise with the checker, ran Monet into the restroom, and had to somehow get the diarrhea soaked clothing off of her but keep her from being naked--it was a challenge. But us moms, we can do anything!

It is really nice to have only one in diapers. The new challenge is getting Miles to stay on the toilet so I can wipe him. We tried to explain that if he touched his poop, he might get worms in his bottom. Well, that worked for a little while. Jared bought some fishing worms last year when he took the girls fishing, and Miles loved to look at them in their little box in the fridge. So I am sure that visual stuck. But he still doesn't seem to care too much about getting stinky poop on his hands, maybe we need to go buy some more worms.

Anyone remember this really exciting day? Miles decided that poop made a great artistic medium. What better way to make mommy squeal. We had to start putting him to sleep in these little sleep sacks to limit the access to his diaper because it became quite the frustrating habit, especially for my poor babysitter!

Check out the hand in this one!

The sleep sack (and his favorite stick he used to beat up the walls)

In this last one, his legs are totally covered. This was the age when we just started documenting all the crazy things this little guy would think up. Laugh or cry moments. My life is filled with them!

Looking Forward to in 2008

So I am very excited for a full year of not being pregnant or postpartum! Yay! I caught a little virus and felt mildly nauseated a couple weeks ago and it just reinforced how happy I am not to have to go through morning sickness ever again. I love my kids, but I really could do without being pregnant. It is nice to be able to plan the next year's races and not have to think about whether or not I'll be able to do them.

So I caught the New Year's spirit this week and started looking ahead to what I wanted to do this year, and where I want to focus my attention. Here are some things I am really looking forward to:

1. In June I am running the Wasatch Back Relay with 12 great friends (which is probably the most exciting part). I love sharing the race experience with friends. It is just such an adrenaline rush. This race runs from Logan to Park City, and covers 178 miles. My three legs are about 14 miles total, but the last leg has an 8% incline for 4 miles. This race is going to push me out of my comfort zone. I found a route near my house in November that is about the same distance and elevation gain and ran/walked up it. It was incredibly hard--I have a lot of work to do! But it is fun to have a new challenge. I am really looking forward to it. One of my favorite things about running is facing something that looks so difficult, and then that great feeling of accomplishment after you've conquered it. I think I've learned a lot of great lessons about life through running. One of the things that always amazes me is how much ground you can cover in a relatively short time by just putting one foot in front of the other and consistently moving. I love to look back at the canyon behind me when I am almost home and see just how far I've gone!

2. I am also going to try for St. George Marathon again. I've registered three times already in 2003, 2005, and 2007 and never been chosen in the lottery. So I am hoping the fourth time is the charm! I have heard it is a beautiful marathon. I loved Chicago with all the huge crowds cheering endlessly throughout the race. But St. George is nice and close and a great race by all accounts.

3. Another skill I want to learn is photography. I took a mini class this summer and it was so helpful! I learned how to use the manual settings on my digital camera. It was pretty cool. I'd love to learn more so I can take beautiful pictures of my kids. I also want to learn Photoshop so I can edit the pictures and do cool things with digital scrapbooking.

4. The last thing I want to do is to learn 24 new raw and vegan recipes. It is always nice to have more healthy options. Jared and I took a raw cooking class a couple years ago and learned some easy and delicious healthy staples. We especially loved the coconut chocolate smoothie, and the green smoothies. We need some new ideas and flavors. We like eating meat, and I am not giving up cooked food (no way :) ) but I like having the variety. If anything, we eat too much meat and need to cut back. In order to do that we need some new ideas.

I am excited for 2008! Jared loves doing goals, and I have over a hundred things I wrote down a few years ago. I've crossed lots of big ones off the list in the last couple years, but these are four things I want to focus on for 2008.

Apparently I am not known for my cooking!

I was scanning in some of the kids artwork today and I came across this from Elise's schoolwork from last year. I thought it was pretty funny. The leader for the sentence was somewhat suggestive, I think most kids would have been thinking of food their mom makes. But not Elise. Apparently I make great rules and berry shakes and sometimes, if they are lucky, those shakes even have stevia (sweetener made from plant leaves). That's okay with me, I've never been a baker. I hate baking. In fact, Jared made our neighbor gifts this year. I constructed a doll sized manger with the power tools while he was in the kitchen making oreo truffles. It was great.

The Best Thing About Being a Mom

I have been thinking a lot about this lately. My life is full of mundane tasks. It is mostly cleaning up messes and driving kids around. But I love it--maybe not so much the cleaning and wiping bottoms parts, but the comic relief that comes at just the right moments. I get this constant barrage of hilarious little comments to keep me going and help me see the fun side of this mom business.

I was thinking the other day that I need to start writing everything down. But as I went through the morning, I found myself making mental notes about every five minutes. Those funny little moments just never stop with Miles around. Two year olds are good for making you laugh (or cry). Miles wakes up and puts on his "packpack" and asks, "Can I go to school with Elise and Monet, I have a packpack on?" Apparently his little mind just sees all the kids wearing their backpacks on the way to school, and he thinks that is the key. He REALLY wants to go to school. Even after my explaining that he can't go until he is five, he says, "but, but I have a packpack though!" At the store, he sits in the grocery cart, takes off his shoes, and plays with them like puppets. He makes conversations for them. It is so funny to listen to who he is imagining his shoes are, and what they are saying. Then, as we get home, he starts in on his potty mouth. This is all new for him. He started coming up with words like "poo poo head" a few weeks ago, and he has been encouraged by Monet's bursts of laughter when he uses those words. So we are working on it. Although I must admit it isn't easy even for me to restrain my laughter when he sings things like "Shake your PEAnut!" (I've learned that the source of this phrase is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse--why any kids' show would teach a song that sounds like "shake your penis" is beyond me.) When he says words he knows he isn't supposed to he gets to sit on the step. And sometimes he'll say to me, "I SO mad at you Mommy!" In a very defiant, and angry way--which makes me laugh again.

Today, just after I scrubbed applesauce off of at least ten spots on the floor, Miles goes and opens yet another little cup of applesauce and drips it across the whole floor. But when I pointed it out, he says to me very seriously, I SO sorry Mommy" and goes to help me clean it up.

I get the best hugs from my kids. It is so nice to have these four little ones who just live to hear me tell them how much I love them. A few months ago, Monet and I went to dinner. She said to me after just a few minutes of talking, "This is the best mommy-daughter date ever!" For now, they are hanging on my every word. They are so easy to please. I often feel overwhelmed by the work it takes to keep up with everything that having four kids entails, but it is so rewarding. I got a little frame this summer that says "And this is our joy" on it. It is just so true. There is nothing that brings us more joy than our children.

Sweet Little Monet

This past summer, we started listening to Wicked a lot. As I listened, I wanted to know more about the story. So we went home and found a synopsis of the musical on Wikipedia, and read it to the girls. Monet was so sympathetic to Elphaba. She'd always tell me that if Elphaba went to her school, she'd be her friend, etc. She talked about Elphaba all the time. She was even Elphaba for Halloween. Here is a picture she drew of Elphaba. We have about ten just like this. Many with papers taped together that are about three feet long.

The kids watched the newer Grinch a few weeks ago. I was cleaning up and getting Simone to bed when I sat down to watch the end with them. I was commenting a bit, trying to instill in them the true meaning of Christmas and the moral message behind it. Monet started filling me in on what had happened and she started to get very emotional as she explained how the Grinch was just trying to give a present to his teacher, but all the kids were laughing at him and that is why he doesn't like Christmas. I didn't even quite understand the synopsis, because at that point she was totally crying. Later that night as Jared was tucking them in, she was relaying the story to him and soon she was gulping tears and feeling sad for the Grinch again.

I think it is pretty cute to have a child who openly weeps for compassion. I started getting teary the other day while reading them a story, and I was totally embarrassed. Somehow crying, even in front of my kids, is just humiliating for me. But Monet is just a little sweetie. She doesn't hold anything back. During the summer, I was trying to get the girls to open up a little with adults, especially their relatives. I explained that it makes people feel really good when you are friendly and smiley when you see them. If you don't talk to them or you look away, they might think you don't like them or you aren't happy to see them. Monet has really taken that to heart. She felt really sad that people might think she doesn't like them. I'm just glad she has been able to open up.

I've been tagged- 5 things you may not know about me

I was tagged by my sister Michelle a couple weeks ago, and am supposed to come up with five little known things about me. I've been mulling it over a bit, and I have to admit it is kinda hard for me to come up with anything that my friends don't already know about me. I am an open book! But I'll give this a try.

1. I have a great long term memory. I remember things from when I was one. I remember when Bekah was born and how I felt. I remember Michelle giving me some water color paints for my third birthday. At age two and three waking up in the night and being scared in my room, and going into my parents bed. How it felt when I got the courage up to walk in the dark across the hall to find their bedroom door locked. I remember a lot!

2. One of my favorite movies is Rocky. I love that show and watch it a few times a year. I was so excited when the new Rocky came out--it didn't compare to the first, but it was entertaining.

3. The Olympics make me kinda sad. There are so many people who just have their dreams crushed. What they do is amazing regardless of whether they win the gold of course, but the expressions of the ones who don't win are kinda tragic.

4. I am really talented at both the pogo stick (one time got over 600 jumps in a row) and the stilts. I can go up and down stairs on both.

5. I have a bit of a hippy streak when it comes to health, childbirth, etc, and it has rubbed off on Jared. I think it is due to my mom. We were raised on 20 lb whole wheat and honey birthday cakes, and had virtually no sugar, white anything, or artificial ingredients in our home when I was young. As a kid, I had vivid dreams of eating Doritos chips and remember thinking to myself that when I grew up, I was going to fill my pantry with soda and Oreos like some of my lucky friends. Now I really see the gift that I was given and I've grown to appreciate the influence mom had on me. I like healthy food, the only vegetable I really hate is Okra. I am pretty sure I'd even like that if it was cooked right. My kids asked if they could join Jared and I in 100 days of no sugar last year, and it was awesome to see how the parental influence is passed down through generations. Jared is now more into health foods than I am, and has been inspiring me when I get off track. I love it!

I am supposed to tag people now (this whole blogging thing is a little new to me, can you tell?). So Chelon, Kelli, Kristen, Lisa, and Ang, you guys are it.