Can you hold me please?

I am having a hard time.  I had surgery last Wednesday for an umbilical hernia.  The surgery went well and I am feeling great.  The hard thing.  I can't pick up my baby or his big sister.  It is driving me insane. I can't hold them for 1 whole month. Supremo is in Michigan. My branch family has been wonderful in helping me everyday and sometimes night, especially with T-bug.  I am so thankful to them.  Only 3 more weeks to go.  Then I can hold them again.

T-bug isn't so little anymore.  He's sitting up and talking all the time.

The Diva trying to wink.

Chief plugged our bathtub with a dishrag.  We had to improvise on Sunday morning to get the little ones ready for church.

Chillin' like a villian!

Just after her hair cut.  So many less snarls.

It got really quiet one day.  Too quiet.  The Diva decided that she wanted to do her own makeup.  Fabulous.

I am so thankful that my little T-bug has been willing to go to others and has even stayed the night at friend's homes.  We have been so blessed.

So Many Things

There has been so much going on in the months of January and February (Did you know that February is the most misspelled month?) we almost couldn't keep up.  

The Noodle celebrated his 9th birthday.  I can't believe he will be in double digits next year.  He is growing up way too fast.

His birthday was sort of a bummer to start out with this year.  We were in Denver which should have been fun, but on the way home, Supremo and I got to chatting and missed the exit we needed.  A 4 hour drive turned out to be a 7 hour drive.  We will pay more attention next time.  Only 2 of his birthday presents were actually at our house.  Well, they weren't even at the house.  They got delivered to the neighbors.  So he didn't get any wrapping paper.  He also didn't get a cake until the next day.  What a bummer.  Noodle didn't seem to mind too much.  He becoming such a wonderful young man.  I just adore this boy.

For school we have been learning about Venus.  It has lots of volcanos on it and is really hot.  We made a small volcano to see how lava would flow.  It's in the back of the next photo.  We are so enjoying home school.

Our friend gave us a 'command center' that she wasn't using.  T-Bug really enjoys it.  He loves that he can stand up in it.

He is 5 months old now.  I can't believe he is going on 6 in a couple weeks.  He loves to do sit ups.  I don't know if you can tell in the photo, but he lifts his head and his feet all the time.

At a basketball game the Diva's hair took on a whole new dimension.  STATIC!

Such a cute little boy.

Chief was in need of a hair cut.  He didn't want hair like the Diva's.  Here is his mohawk.

He hates getting hair in his eyes, so as soon as the sides and back were taken care of, we used swim goggles.  It seemed to work!

This little guy's hair is out of control!

Back Story

Lots of good stories have a back story to them.  This story is going to begin with one.
10 years ago I was working at Anderson Lumber.  I had woke up late and wasn't able to get showered before I left.  It was summer and I made it to work in a pair of warm up pants and a white t-shirt.  Things were going along just fine and then I took my lunch break.  I had my usual Bayside Bagel sandwich (I miss those sandwiches) and a pink drink.  I was up in the lunch room by myself.  Whenever I took a swig of my drink I shook it before I drank it.  Just to make sure all the flavors were mixed just right.  Well, on this particular day.  I forgot to completely screw the cap back on and I had pink drink all over my white shirt.  Awesome!  I had a fleece jacket that I put on for the rest of the work day.  Did I mention it was summer?  I think it was in the high 90's that day.  Guess who walked in and said hi to me. (Wearing shorts and a t shirt.)  Yup, Brad Pitt.  Okay, not really.  It was the first time the Supremo came into the store and talked to me.  Talk about feeling like a yucky.

Anyway, fast forward to last night.  It was a quick dinner of pizza and salad.  We had to get to flag football at 5 and then to tumbling after. (This only happens once a week.)  There is this famous salad dressing around here called Dorothy Lynch and we decided to try it.  The Diva and I poured a little in a bowl for a test and then I put it back in the fridge.  YUMMO!!  We really liked it.  So when we sat down to dinner I pulled it out of the fridge and gave it a good shake!  Just like 10 years ago, the cap wasn't screwed on all the way.  The kids just laughed their heads off.  Thank goodness for dogs.  Graham took care of the mess on the floor, so I only had to wipe up after him.  Enjoy the aftermath!

America!

We love America in this house.  We say the pledge in front of our huge flag every day!  (It's on a wall in the Noodle's room.)  As a mom you always wonder if anything you are trying to teach your children is actually sinking in.  Then the moment comes along that makes you think that maybe you are doing ok.

My All American Girl!!!

Rice

The 8th was the official day that T-Bug had his first bite of rice cereal.  We are still working on it, but he is doing much better than the first day.  Enjoy!

Better luck next time mom.

Arrr Matey

For the first time ever, I let the Chief have a birthday party.  He decided to have a pirate theme.  We had a lot of fun.  The boys went on a treasure hunt, complete with a sword fight for the treasure.  Lots of fun games.  Our good friend made these beautiful cupcakes.  They turned out so awesome.  I am so impressed with her cupcake talents.

 Chief loved it so much he wants to do it again next year.  I had fun, but I think I may make him wait another 7 years for another one.  I am still pooped.

The Capitan and his crew, just after winning the sword fight.

Spectacular, Spectacular

I love Christmas.  Especially Christmas music.  I start to listen to it the day after Thanksgiving.  Only because Supremo won't allow me to listen to it any sooner.  This year the kids and I put up the Christmas decor.  It was a very stressful day.  I think I may wait for some older help next year.

Noodle decided that we needed a train around the tree, so he went to work putting up the Geo Trax.

We got snow a few days before Christmas, but it melted by Sunday.  We haven't had much snow this year.  I hear it is unusual for this area, but I sort of like it!

Christmas eve pajamas.  I think the Noodle's smile is the same in both photos.  Same with the Chief's.

Christmas day was a great day.  The kids were up before 5, but we made them go back to bed until 7.  They got to go through their stockings and open 1 present.  Then it was time to go to church.  The kids were great waiting until after church to get down to business.  I played a piano solo in church.  It has been 7 years since my last piano solo in front of a large group.  Usually I am so nervous that my hands and fingers shake.  Let me tell you... it didn't happen this time!  This time I was so nervous that my leg playing the pedal shook so violently that I about got the giggles because it was out of control.  I kept going and made it through the whole song without so much as a snort from holding the giggles in.  Whew.  We got home and had lunch.  Then we got to open presents.  The kids had so much fun!

We got wonderful gifts from many family members. One of our favorite gifts came from Aunt Joni and Uncle Rocky.  See for yourselves!

How thankful I am for the Savior at this wonderful time.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!