Blanket/Raincoat/Snuggie

It is sports season at our house. Three girls on three different soccer teams + one boy on a baseball team with his dad as the assistant coach = UGH! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to watch their games. I love to watch them have fun (and don't tell them, but I seem to enjoy it even more if they win). The only problem is the COLD! I think we only sat through three warm baseball games last spring. Soccer usually seemed a little warmer, just windier.

We were at a store picking up baseball hoodies for the team, when I saw this giant blanket/raincoat/snuggie thing. I told Jared I would never be caught dead in it. UGLY! It is a blanket thing with a hood that is used as a poncho with pockets on the inside to keep your hands warm too. Just use your imagination as to how ridiculous this thing is. Tonight, I am seriously considering making the purchase. I have three games to sit through in the next four days, all with highs in the forties. My toes are still trying to defrost from the five o'clock game tonight.

Would my family sit by me? Or would they try to steal it from me? I could probably use it forever. Does it come in pink? Or at least a feminine color? Decisions, decisions. What is your opinion?

Just Waiting

So here I am, sitting here waiting for DCFS to come knocking on my door. It is a joke around here that when Jared is out of town our children get injured. Everyone thinks I beat them. NOT TRUE!!!!! I have proof: when Lizzie got a huge goose egg on her head, the neighbor's brother dropped her. I was inside. When Ainsley sprained her arm, her and Emily were wrestling. Lizzie's friend's dad was at our house picking up his daughter. When Ainsley broke her hand by falling down the stairs, I was sitting at the kitchen table. Ainsley's four year old friend was right with her. Tonight, when Tyler fell out of our tree and broke his arm, I was in my van driving to pick up a friend. See, I did not cause any of these injuries. Jared has been around for some other injuries, but he blames me for these also. RUDE!!!!

Funny story about tonight.....Sunday, some friends reminded me to be nice to my kids since Jared would be leaving. Today, when they came over and I was not home, they told another friend that I was probably at the doctor with Ainsley for an injury since Jared was out of town. Thirty minutes later Tyler fell!!! I think DCFS should be called on my friends for cursing me with these things!

Anyway, if you feel the need to turn me in, let me know so I can start documenting who was around when my children were injured!

Cell Phones

I have had a cheap pay as you go cell phone for years. We have literally had the same number for about ten years now. Recently, because of school events, we felt it was time for Em to move past her own pay as you go emergency cell phone, to a real plan. You know, the kind that comes with a monthly bill. The kind that gives you unlimited texts. The kind that you can chose a "free" cool phone to go with it. My kids were always embarrassed by the dinosaur cell phone that we used. I did lots of research before signing a plan. Which company, how many minutes, all that kind of stuff. Then I ran out of minutes, and Emily was asking for a cell phone for her birthday. I broke down and signed the papers. You know, the ones that say I owe them money every month for the next MANY years. At the time, the add a line feature was on sale. A no brainer really. Add Lizzie a phone now for the same price it would cost to add her a phone in a year when she goes to junior high. Plus that guaranteed that when Tyler needed a phone some day his would be cheaper too. We were planning for the future! :)

Because this was a surprise for Emily, I picked out the three "free" cool phones. She wanted a touch screen, but I didn't know what I wanted. I picked out two touch screens, and a slide phone. Then I could try a a touch and a slide to see which I liked better. I fell in love with the touch. I could text because it had a full keyboard! (Lizzie has the slide, and loves to use it occasionally) "No, we don't need the insurance." If the girls ruin or lose their phones we still have the dinosaur that they can use. It would be their own fault, right?

Fast forward four months. I took my pants off and carried them right to the wash. I never check pockets. I have never had a reason too. Until, ten minutes later when I remembered my phone was in my pocket. I fished it out of the wash and stuck it in rice. We left it there for days (after I removed my SIM card) I had to use the dinosaur. It was horrible. I am not talented enough to use that number pad for texting. So slow. I am an old dog who does not like new tricks. The dinosaur just wasn't my new "free" cool phone. But, I told myself I needed to live with the consequences like my girls would have. After about 72 hours of this however, I was done. I am a mom dangit, and if I can justify an expense, I deserve it, right? I searched on line and in a few stores (one salesperson told me that at least I have a clean phone. That was not funny), and finally found a new touch screen phone that I could justify buying. The way I look at it, I did my three girls a favor. Emily and Lizzie won't have to buy themselves a new phone if they lose theirs; they can use the dinosaur. And Ainsley got a new CLEAN pretend phone!

Anyway, long story short: always check pants pockets when you put things in the wash!

White Sox and the Bees

Last week, Tyler's baseball team had the opportunity to join the Salt Lake Bees for their Field of Dreams. It was ADORABLE! (I know adorable is probably not the right word to describe a bunch of 8 and 9 year old boys, but from a mom's standpoint it was adorable)

My cousin Eric works for the Bees and he helped Jared set this all up for Tyler's team.

The boys all showed up in uniform and got to go on the field for some pregame activities.

They got the chance to meet some real baseball players.

The boys got to go play catch with a whole bunch of bubble gum.

The boys got to line up before the national anthem. They then ran up to say their name and position into a microphone.

They ran to their postion and the Bees players were announced as they ran to their postions. It brought tears to my eyes to watch those little boys stand next to someone they admire while our national anthem was played. AWESOME!

(Unfortunately, we didn't get a good picture of this part.)

When the game began, Eric took the boys for a tour of the stadium. Meanwhile, all us fans got to enjoy the baseball game. It was only fitting that it was a cold rainy night; every one of Tyler's games this year has been played on a cold rainy night. YUCK!

After the tour, the boys caught foul balls, chatted with the relief pitchers, got autographs from Bumble the Bee, and had a great time.

The team has struggled to get a win this season, but not for lack of trying. They still have lots of fun practicing and playing together. I think this event will be a hightlight for the season.

GO WHITE SOX!!

I LOVE this little boy who LOVES baseball!

Choice of Shoes

This story is about my child who loves shoes. Any kind of shoes. Flip-flops, sandals, ballet flats, running shoes, etc. She will often change her shoes three times a day. When she broke her ankle in January she cried daily about her shoe options. She had one pair of tennis shoes that would fit over her lovely brace. It was a fight to get her to wear the same pair of shoes every day for five weeks. We bought two new pairs of shoes (for after the brace) to use as bribery to wear the same shoes everyday.

This is the same girl who talked about playing soccer for three months straight. When does soccer start? When will I sign her up? Who will her coach be? What color of shirt will she get to wear? Etc, etc, etc.... When she finally got to start soccer she stayed in her uniform for 24 hours straight; each time she wore it. She loved playing in both games and the one practice she got to enjoy.


These are the PINK soccer cleats that I found on clearance and bought for my darling daughter's two soccer games and one soccer practice. She practically did back flips when I brought these home. What mom couldn't resist these for her five year old soccer player?


That same child who loves shoes, loves soccer, and has pink cleats now gets to wear this on her leg for three weeks since she broke her other ankle last week.
Luckily, she still has one foot that she can accessorize with random shoes, three or four times a day. And no, she did not break her ankle at soccer, just while running around at home.
And that's why we call her Crazy Jane!

Will She Make It?

After having such a fun year as seventh grade representative, Emily decided to run for eighth grade rep for next year. Elections are today, and she is NERVOUS!!!! She had to make a few posters and a video. Posters were easy, the video stressed me out. Oh, we also had only 36 hours notice about the video. Factor in piano, baseball, school and sleep'; and I had 6 hours left to devote to making a campaign video. She knew what she wanted to do, but it was up to me to figure out how to make the camera, computer, and editing program all work together. After downloading several programs to make everything compatible we got it to work!

The next day, when the videos were to be shown to the school, Emily's didn't work. Luckily, several other students videos didn't work either, so they were shown again the next day.

When I asked Em what the students who didn't know how to make a video did, she replied to me that a teacher was staying after school with a video camera to record people making a campaign speech. WHAT?!? Six hours of my time when she could have just stayed after school for a little bit? Oh well, I do have to admit her video turned out pretty cute.

As an update for Emily. She is officially a cell phone carrying teenager. Where did the years go?

Good luck today Emily!

Since typing this post the election results were tallied.....and.....

SHE MADE IT!

Wiggle Bikes

I just wanted to let all my wiggle biking pals know something.......my friend Rachel was at the Sandy Costco today. She said they had red plasma cars for $38.99. That is a GREAT deal! Summer fun or Christmas in advance..... Holler if you need a Costco membership to use!

Whoops Again!

Today, instead of Emily being up and ready REALLY early, she slept in. After a rush to get ready, she luckily made it to school on time. The poor kid just can't seem to get it right!

Whoops!

This morning/last night, Emily's alarm clock goes off. She gets up and showers. She does her hair and make-up. She brings all her school stuff upstairs and fixes her breakfast. By this time she is starting to wonder why Jared and I aren't getting up yet. Halfway through eating her breakfast she looks at one of the FOUR clocks in the kitchen, and sees that the time is 12:05, not 7:05 like she thought it was. She comes in and wakes me up to verify that it really is midnight, not morning. Luckily, she was able to go back to bed and sleep in a little, since she already had her hair done.
What a dork!

Mom of the Year

I am such a nice mom. Yesterday I told my kiddos to get all their stuff done so we could go ICE SKATING that night. They happily finished homework and chores and even helped make dinner. Emily had invited some friends to meet us there. Of course this wasn't done by phone, only Facebook. We bundle ourselves up and head to the Olympic Oval just around the corner. When we pull into the parking lot we notice some big buses so I send Emily and Lizzie in to make sure it is public skate night. I was quickly surrounded by more giant chartered buses, so I had to move the van. The girls come out and are searching all over for me through the crowds of adults streaming off the buses. They get back in the van and announce there is no public skating tonight. They informed me that they had asked the employee just inside the door holding a tray of drinks and greeting all the masses of people. When I asked Lizzie if she had asked the guy for a drink, she replied, "No, the drinks were green with olives, I think they were a little suspicious." Luckily, my sweet kids weren't too mad at me when we came home and watched American Idol instead. I do feel bad for Emily's friends who went to the oval, only to be turned away also because we couldn't call them because we don't have their phone numbers, only the Facebook info. Why have people's phone numbers if you don't have a phone to call them is her reason for this. I keep repeating to myself: "I will live through three teenage girls!"
The moral of the story: before you invite friends and promise your kids things, make sure the venue is open!

GROSS!

Last time I grocery shopped, the fridge was pretty bare, so I decided it would be a great time to clean the fridge. You know, take everything out to wash the shelves, plus clean up the spilled sticky substance at the back of the fridge. This Monday I had put some frozen chicken with some water into a large Ziploc to defrost. Dinner plans changed, and we didn't eat the chicken until Wednesday. I went to get the chicken/water/bag out of the back of the fridge and realized the bag had leaked, ALL over the backs of each shelf. Gross chicken water all over the spillproof shelves, AND the bottoms of any containers that happened to be on those shelves. I got to clean all the shelves again, plus clean all the containers that had soaked in chicken water. Not only that, but I got to mop the floor because the gross chicken water spilled while I was cleaning it up. Yea for me to get to do all this!
On the bright side, at least I hadn't been grocery shopping since the first cleaning, so the fridge shelves were getting pretty bare so there weren't too many containers to clean or food to throw away.

GROSS!!!

Continued Tradition

I can remember having a tooth fairy pillow that my mom made me. It was pink and had a little pocket for me to leave my tooth in, and the tooth fairy to leave some coins in. I loved having that special pillow. I was always worried for my friends who just put their tooth under their pillow. How could the tooth fairy find it? What if you were a wiggly sleeper and your tooth fell on the floor?

When we discovered Emily's first loose tooth we made a big deal about finding just the right fabric to make a tooth fairy pillow. Hers had to be pink Barbie fabric shaped like a heart. Man I struggled to sew the lace into a heart shaped pillow. She was six when the dentist had to help her with her first TWO teeth on the same day.

Lizzie's tooth fairy pillow HAD to be sparkly blue shaped like a diamond. Her first tooth came out when she was six. Two days later she made Jared sit with her until he had the other tooth out. It took 45 minutes of pulling and twisting. She was so insistent about it coming out that night.


Tyler's teeth don't like to come out. He was seven years old when his first tooth finally came out. It took quite some time for the other tooth to come out. He still has only lost five teeth. I think we have years until he can get braces. Of course, his pillow had to be BYU!

When Ainsley knocked out her first tooth 1 1/2 years ago, I debated about what to do for a tooth fairy pillow. I would have only had a few hours to shop and sew. Jared had just had surgery, so I was a little stressed to begin with. Plus, she would probably pick some baby fabric, and then we would be stuck with that forever. I opted to wait till she was a little older for her pillow.

A few weeks ago we discovered Ainsley's first loose teeth and began the hunt for just the right fabric. Ainsley's HAD to be pink sparkly, but it could be shaped like a circle. (I talked her out of the heart shape.) Last Saturday morning she showed me her teeth and I was able to pull the first one. The next day the second tooth came out. Two teeth in two days and she is five!

I love their tooth fairy pillows! And just think, they have been used 47 times, with only 33 to go!

Quick Wit

Tyler has the quickest wit of any of my children.

Yesterday Ainsley and I were talking about what we should do for the day. He instantly piped up and told us we should clean his room and make his bed.

He is always coming up with comments like this.

He is only eight.....do you think he'll get better at this as he grows?

Anniversary?

We are "celebrating" our third anniversary of Jared being so sick and in the hospital for so long. I try not to reflect on this time of our lives very often because it makes me so sick to my stomach to relive those days. Maybe if I journal all the good points I can focus on them instead. We did learn so much during this time, and we were blessed with too many blessings to count. Just to name a few blessings:

Countless friends and family who took our kids for hours at a time.

Friends who cleaned for me: my microwave, my laundry, my table, etc....

Friends and family who came at the drop of a hat to give Jared and myself blessings.

The uncountable number of visitors who cheered us both up even when we didn't feel like being cheerful.

The Dotsons, Bowens, Bakers, and our Moms; the people who called or visited Jared AND myself EVERYDAY for the 21 days, plus when we got home.

The nurse who hugged me while I was sobbing with Jared sitting on the toilet watching and crying.

A candle light dinner on our anniversary, the day Jared got home from the hospital....the best anniversary gift ever!

An employer who not only worked with Jared being out of work for so long, but saved a promotion for him when he got back to work.

My four kids who gave Jared inspiration to live even when he didn't think he could or would.

Two wonderful doctors who made the right decisions at the right time.



We have learned:

To never take our health for granted.

Health insurance is necessary

More about the health care profession than we want to know.

Everyone should have 30 grams of fiber a day.

Subway bread really stinks when you smell it constantly in the elevator.

Kids are very adaptable to constant change.

Thank you to EVERYONE who helped us at this time!

Dumb Cat

Let me start this post by stating that I firmly believe my family benefits from having a cat. However, sometimes I hate that dumb cat. Yesterday the tip of his tail got stuck in the heavy door to the garage and a big tuft of fur and a little skin came off. No big deal, right? I called the vet. Of course they said I should bring him in, but when I asked what they would do, she couldn't answer me. She suggested that maybe Herbie would need pain pills. I love the cat and all, but I was not about to spend $60 so he could feel a little loopy. At the time he was running around and there was no blood involved. We opted to lock him in his room so he could stay quiet for the evening. When I went to let him out at 9:30 last night, you would think there had been a murder in that room. The carpet had several large blood spots. Evidently, he keeps licking the wound so it can't scab over. (Sorry for all the gross details!) Jared, Emily and I scrubbed the carpet, but we still can't get all the stains up. The cat spent the night in his carrier, and when I let him out this morning to pee, his tail is still bleeding. UGH! Now we have an appointment with a different vet this afternoon. I hate to think what the grand total of this minor injury will be.....does anyone know of a good carpet cleaner?

On a funnier note, the cat had an adventure this fall that we are now able to laugh about. I had backed out of the garage and was driving away. I usually check to make sure the garage door is closing. When I did, I could see the cat hanging from his neck and scratching like crazy from the top of the closed garage door. (He had jumped on the van and onto the top of the open garage door. When it started closing he panicked and did NOT jump down. This is not the first time this has happened. Like I said, dumb cat.) I frantically pushed the button to open the garage and pulled back into the driveway. I went running to catch the cat, but couldn't find him. Emily and I searched, but couldn't find him. We even climbed on the van to look on top of the garage door. I figured he jumped down while I wasn't looking. Oh well, he will come out of hiding in a little while, right? Wrong. Three hours later we still hadn't seen the cat. The kids started searching in his normal hiding places. After several minutes, they were all crying. We were sure he had hid somewhere and died. Jared was searching in the garage and found him in a tiny alcove up high next to the garage door. He was curled up as far back as he could get. We told the kids to stay in the house while we got him down. We had to be not so gentle to grab him and get him down. He was hissing and growling like crazy. We were sure he had several broken bones. Jared laid him on a blanket and rubbed him all over to check his bones. Then the dumb cat got up and walked away. HE WAS FINE!
Like I said, my family benefits from having a pet. The benefit of that adventure was they knew Heavenly Father answered their prayers.

Jared Jr.

My daughter Ainsley added Jared Jr. to her name this weekend. In her short five years she has managed to:

*Jump off the bunkbed ladder and break her wrist

*Trip on the back stairs and knock out a tooth

*Trip onto carpet and sprain her arm.

*Fall down the stairs while climbing up them and break her hand

And last (hopefully)

*Slip on ice and break her ankle this weekend.

In the almost 13 years that I have been a mom, the only other big injuries that have occurred to the other THREE kids are:

*one sprained ankle

*one set of stitches

*one broken arm

It is a good thing we love Ainsley so much. Sometimes being so full of life is not a safe thing!

Random Thoughts

First of all, I would like to sincerely apologize for my complete lack of posting. I will think of things to blog about, but then never get around to it. Call it lazy, call it lack of confidence, call it whatever.

I hate when others don't blog (myself included), and I hate to see my name in the over one month category of other people's blogs.

So I can move up in the post list I will give you some of my random thoughts:

* Going back to school/work after Christmas break is a drag.

*We painted and redecorated Lizzie and Ainsley's room this week. They now have a purple and blue room to match their new comforters. They rearranged the furniture and it looks so cute!

*Ainsley has her first (and second) loose tooth. I hope they come out before her top tooth starts to come in....it would be such a cute smile.

*Tyler has passed up Emily in his knowledge of the Wii. I think I am raising a gamer. He prefers to play Indiana Jones Lego over doing about anything.

*Lizzie got bangs cut in her hair just before Christmas. Believe it or not, she didn't read that much over the break.

*Emily saved up her money and bought herself a Nintendo DS just before Christmas. I had to drive all over town, but we found it in her signature color- lime green. It is a good thing we finally found it...I had heard from Santa he was making her DS games, what a yucky Christmas morning that would have been.

*I caved and let Emily read the first three Twilight books. She finished them in less than three days. It will be awhile before I let her read the last one.

*We went ice skating over the break. Ainsley skated the whole lap two times without holding on to anything!

*Jared had the week after Christmas off. We went to Hardware Ranch, hosted a New Years party, and painted the girls room.

*"Did you know" became a new term in our house.

*Cheap white bookshelves are hard to find.

*I would like it to snow, a lot.

*Ainsley saw a tow truck picking up a dead car in front of our house. She asked if it was a repo. Evidently my kids watch too much of the white trash show Operation Repo.

*I spent some time on facebook with Emily, I still don't like it.

*I threw out or gave away about 400 pounds of junk from the girl's room this week. What a wonderful feeling!

*We forgot to put out the trash cans the day after Christmas. UGH!

*I'm pregnant!

* Just kidding, I wanted to see who actually read all this!

Maybe this week I will change from a Christmas background!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

My sweet little boy was cleaning up my newspapers last weekend. He excitedly came running upstairs for scissors, and then quickly walked back downstairs. A few minutes later he came running in to show me a picture of some turkey cupcakes he had seen in the coupons, and please could we make them. The picture sat on the fridge for 10 days. Finally, they had to be made today or be outdated. Luckily when we started this adventure, we were able to find enough stuff to make our turkeys look somewhat normal. Tyler graciously let Ainsley and Aubry help him make his treat. After much licking of hands (and much hand washing) we have a whole gaggle or herd of turkeys!

I just love that cute little boy!

As you prepare for your feast tomorrow, I hope you take time to realize all you have to be grateful for. I am so blessed, and grateful to my Heavenly Father for all that He has given me, even those darn trials that seem to be so yucky at the time they come!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Family Pics

We had the funnest family pictures taken on Saturday! A friend in our ward loves photography....and it shows in her pictures. She has posted a few on her blog. http://glimpsesjmphoto.blogspot.com

I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures!

Thanks Jamie for making this such a fun experience!

Soccer

Yea Silverbacks!

UNDEFEATED!!!!!!!

I can't wait till spring to see how you do again!!!!