How do I get my baby to sleep through the night?

Well we finally did it!
We got Fenix to sleep through the night.
We put her to bed at eight and she sleeps until about seven AM.
Sometimes she sleeps even later than that :D
Now after a few days of having a good nights sleep, I think I have caught up.
I am no longer groaning when my boys wake-up because I have been waking up before them :D
Sleep, its a wonderful blessing :D
I can't seem to stop smiling because I am so well rested ;D

So how did we do it? Some may wonder, well:
I am a huge believer in the "just let em cry it out" method.
It worked with Bear, it worked with Lyon, and now it has worked with Fenix :D

If you aren't familiar with how to use this method, well I'll tell you :D
First you must decide that tonight is the night.
Get yourself mentaly prepared because if you are anything like me you will run through fire to get to your crying baby. So prepare yourself to be going against all the motherly instincs that tell you to go get your poor crying baby.
Second it really helps to have someone with you to support you through this "ordeal" And to go in to comfort the baby when it comes time to do so. I will not go in to comfort my baby when she has been crying for a long time because:
A- I will not be able to resist the urge to pick her up
and
B- She will smell food nearby (my boobs=milk) and go into a frenzy wanting it.
So I send in my dearest Phil (husband) to pat her back and let her know that she is not alone, she is loved, but needs to go to sleep.

So this is how the night should go:
First baby should be awake, then-
Go through a getting ready for bed routine whatever it might be. Bath, diaper, jammies, snuggles, kisses, hugs, goodnights.
Then put your baby in their bed.(Baby should still be awake when they are put in their bed)
Say good night and leave the room, close the door.
Baby may cry, let him/her.
Baby may also go right to sleep if so great.
Now you have two options, you can either go to sleep yourself or put in a movie to help distract you from the crying that may carry on for hours. Yes hours. That first night count on 4 hours of crying, I'm serious, well sort of, if you count on it being that long you will be pleasantly relieved when it only lasts an hour or so. (letting baby cry it out helps the baby learn to self soothe) If your baby is still crying after say 2 hours send your support person in, (in my case my husband) That person may pat baby's back and speak calmly that the baby is loved and not alone then leave the room, without picking up the baby. (It is very important that whoever goes into the baby's room does not turn on the light!!!)
It is also important that you not be in the same room as the baby, so if you cohabit the same room you should plan to sleep on the couch for a few nights till the baby is sleeping through the night.
Once the baby falls asleep you can go in and make sure he/she is in a good position, for breathing, and for comfort, (you know make sure His/her legs aren't sticking out of crib bars at odd angles [if there is a possibility of this happening you may want to peek in at the baby to be sure that is not the case]. But try not to move baby unless absolutely necessary. Also make sure baby is covered with blanket, if necessary, for baby not to be cold)
Now that the baby is asleep you have two options, you can go to sleep or watch another movie. Baby will probably start to cry again in not to long or baby may sleep the rest of the night, be prepared for either scenario. If the baby wakes again and starts to cry again, let her/him! Only go in after an hour or even two and if sending in support person remind them not to pick up the baby, if going in yourself remember not to pick up the baby. Just speak calm soft words of love and then leave. (do not turn on the light!!!)
You may have to repeat this process several times, especially the first night.
The next night could be just as hard or slightly easier.
The night after that should be better as long as you have staid strong in not getting baby out of their bed.
This process could take a week, don't be discouraged just keep at it. If after a week baby is still screaming for hours, well I don't know what to tell you. My babies were sleeping through the night after 3-4 nights.
Sometimes there can be a setback like if baby gets sick or if you travel and then you will sometimes need to go through this again. Do not attempt this while on vacation or while baby is sick.

I waited to do this until my baby could sit up on her own and crawl around a bit, it made me feel like if she were uncomfortable she would be able to move around enough to get comfortable. But I also know that some people choose to do this with very young babies, that just wasn't for me. Its up to you just be sure that your baby can breath at all times.

Should you choose to follow my example that is great, let me know if you have any questions. Should you succeed I would love to hear about it. If you have another method that works or worked for you I'd also like to hear about it :D

Happy sleeping!

*Please also note that I am not a pediatrician, nor do I have any other degrees as far as child development goes I simply am an experienced mother who has had great success with this method. And no its not abusive. Its parent abuse to have to wake-up to a crying baby every hour. I'm just sayin...

And Bear says...

"My old thinkin brain is great, it remembers everything!"

:D

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

While we are on the subject of books, let me tell you about one of my absolute FAVORITES.

About 6 years ago, I was working at a Quizno's, and I made very good friends with one of my coworkers. One day she was reading a book as she walked into work. When she took her break she read her book. When her break was over she groaned because she didn't want to put down her book. I swear if she could have managed to do the dishes while reading that book, she would have. She got to talking to me about it, going on and on about how good this book was and how she was glued to it every chance she got. So, due to her exitement over it, I asked if I could borrow it when she was done.
She lent it to me and it wasn't long before I was hooked. I could not put that book down.
I would leave early from my house in the morning just so I could sit in my car and read it before I had to go in to work. Then I read that book as I walked into work, I read it on my break, if I could have managed to do the dishes while reading that book, I would have.

I became the characters, their thoughts became mine, and when they did something that I would not have done, I cringed, crying out to them in exasperation and waited to see what would happen.

I was in a constant state of "what is going to happen next?"

I loved every minute of it.


So I finished the book, I cried at the end, and I didn't want it to be over (that wasn't why I cried though, it was a very tearjerking ending). I wanted to read it again right then, to start over and journey through it. I refrained from doing so and brought the book back to my friend only to find her nose stuck inside another book. The journey was not over yet ;)

In case you didn't catch from the post title what book I am talking about:

Daughter of the forest is the name of that book that I could not put down.

Juliet Marillier is the author.

My last name should have been, Lovestoread.....

I love to read.

Plain as that.

Generally I prefer the entertaining novels to the intellectual literary masterpieces.

Every now and then I think that I really ought to read some of the classics:

Moby Dick

A tale of two city's

The spirit of St. Louis

(I can't think of anymore right now)

I feel like I must be missing something.

And honestly don't you think I am?

Those books are hailed for a reason and I am missing out.

I think I am going to make a list of books that must be read this year.

I think I'll need help coming up with one soooooo......

Please leave a comment with a suggestion for my list of books to read this year.

(NOT TWILIGHT!!!) I already read those ;D

But anything enlightening, intelligent, and interesting.

When I have a list I will post it and at the end of the year if I have read them all......

You can tell me that I am awesome :)

I could totally handle it...

If he knew me better he would tell me I could handle having hundreds of children without any problem at all.

As it is he gives me a skeptical look and says,

"I don't think you could handle having anymore hon."

Wow does that make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

(I am being sarcastic in case you didn't notice)

I love my children and would certainly welcome anymore babies, were I to miraculously conceive another, were my husband to say, "okay lets do it" (have another baby that is :) Lol!

Truth be told I want another baby, and another, and another, and another. But I think that has more to do with my being a young fertile woman than it has to do with actually wanting to have more children. I am happy with our family the way it is. Our family could be complete and be great the way we are.

But when he says I couldn't do it, when he implies that I would lose my mind, well that just awakens the stubborn, determined, wild woman inside me that wants to PROVE that I can do it and I can to it better than anyone else!!!

Your walking on thin ice, very thin ice.

And no, I am not pregnant.

(This picture taken June 2009)

Whats on my mind?

I am sitting here in bed watching Leno on TV, wandering around from blog to blog (really is there a technical term for that or should I just make up my own word?) And as I sit here with many techno-gagets to keep my mind busy the only thing I can do is bask in memories.

Here is an example of my train of thought:

My honeymoon, in California. Phil stops at a Target so I can run in, before the store closes, and buy something essential for keeping this trip a honeymoon. I hustle to the personal products, grab my one item, rush back to the front of the store and get in line to checkout. There are a couple people in front of me. The man directly in front of me has an assortment of cat toys on the conveyor belt ready to be purchased when his turn comes. For reasons I do not understand he looks at me and tells me I can go in front of him. I smile and thank him. I pass by him and hand over my one item to be rung up. The man who let me cut in front of him scoffs and says something to the effect of, "I let you go ahead of me so you could buy those!!!"

He probably thought me some slutty teenager. :( I would have thought the same thing.

But.

I was young (19) and newly wed and on my honeymoon for crying out loud!!! I had no intentions of getting pregnant while on my honeymoon!! My husband was waiting for me out in the car!!! So yes it may have seemed ridiculous at first glance, but looks can be deceiving.

Now that memory fades and a new memory fills my head:

I'm at a restaurant with Phil, one of his brothers, and his brothers friend. I am very pregnant and I have Bear and Aiden with us. Bear is two, Aiden is two. To those around us at the restaurant this must have looked a little odd. Bear and Aiden are clearly not twins, but they act like brothers in the way they poke and tease each other. Bear could be Phil's son, but Aiden clearly is not. And what of the baby in my belly, as I sit there and have lunch with three men.

I know I would have been wondering what was going on. Don't get me wrong, I am not a judging, critical, mean, type of person I just would have thought it looked odd.

(For those of you who don't know, Bear is my oldest son, Aiden is my sisters son and I used to watch him everyday while my sister went to work. I watched Aiden from the time he was a tiny baby till my family moved too far away for it to be practical for me to tend him anymore we miss him. So Bear and Aiden were buddy brothers by day and cousins by night. In the story I was pregnant with Lyon. And both Bear and Lyon are Phil's children. I have no idea why we went to lunch with Phil's brother and his friend.)

So again looks can definitely be deceiving.

I will have to remember that the next time I go to judge someone, won't I.

PS-this is kind of a weird post, oh well.....

What are ya, CHICKEN? Bawk, bawk!

I don't like chicken very much.

Never have, probably never will.

I am ok with this, but sometimes I get frustrated.

It seems every food I look at has chicken in it.

Its like the cinnamon of meats, except I like cinnamon and I don't like chicken

and usually when I don't like what I am trying and I say whats in this, the answer is, chicken.

(If you don't get the cinnamon/chicken comparison then you haven't seen every episode of Seinfeld at least a half dozen times like I have, Lol!)

Seriously though, anytime I see a recipe that is cheap, diet friendly, or easy, it almost always has chicken in it.

Somewhere out there, there is a blog that has to do with food storage and recipes to make with the food storage foods that you buy with coupons saving you a bundle of money. Sorry I don't recall the name of the blog because when I investigated it a bit I found that every single recipe suggestion was chicken something, YUCK!!! BLEH!!!

So I didn't follow the blog.

(actually you had to pay to be a member and why would I do that for chicken recipes)

I don't know why exactly, I think part of it is due to the fact that there will inevitably be something in a bite of chicken that is either chewy fat, bloody vein, or piece of bone and I just can't handle that, it just grosses me out. Plus I do not like to touch raw meat.

I have been oh so very blessed to have married a man who inexplicably does not like chicken either. I love that man so much. Phil, thanks for not liking chicken it sure has made dinners ten thousand times easier on me.

PS-I am sorry I don't make you enough beef :/

read me write

Dear computer (my computer not Phil's),

I miss you.

I wish I knew how to get rid of a malicious program running in the background, but I don't.

And I am sorry.

Yours truly,

Rose

Avoid the very appearance...

First let me say, I am not an idiot.

At least I don't think so.

This past week I have been hit by the awfulness that can be found through the world wide web.

Hit hard.

At the beginning of the week I was on the phone with my Mom.

Our conversation was trivial, about how things are going and what's new and exciting.

My Mom mentioned a book she wanted to read and I mentioned another one that was very good by the same author that she would probably like. She said that she thought she had heard that it was being made into a movie. I hadn't heard that and so being me I immediately went to google it. My thoughts were completely innocent as I typed in the title of the book and then clicked onto youtube to see what I thought was a trailer. Usually when you click to see a youtube video it pulls up and starts to play. I paused it before it really started and scrolled down to read the comments, fortunately, because it was NOT what I thought it was!!!

Horrified I quickly closed out of it and mentioned to my Mom that this was not what I thought it was! Anyway our conversation lead away from what I was so grateful I hadn't watched and on to other things and the moment was forgotten. We finished the phone call and I went on with my day. Later I went to work on my computer and was having problems getting the internet to work, I couldn't figure it out and just left it alone. In the midst of making dinner and waiting for Phil to get home the problem was forgotten. Later after dinner Phil went to do some work on my computer and was all,

"What?"

and I was all,

"Oh yeah, I don't know what is wrong, will you fix it for me?"

and then he was all,

"Hmmmm,"

trying to figure it out and finding it was something nasty, he went along trying to fix it.

Then it came to me just what had happened, so annoyed at my idocity, I explained to him what had happened with the conversation I had with my Mom and then the search for the book and the finding the youtube video...

He, upon hearing the title of the book, was all,

"Honey!!!"

He knew exactly what had pulled up.

He being wiser than I, rolled his eyes and went on with trying to fix the problem.

So lesson learned, be very, very careful what you click on in the future.

P.S. We still haven't gotten my computer working :( I am writing this post on Phil's awesome computer not mine). Its a sad thing, but going a few days or weeks (cross my fingers we can get it working again) without facebook, twitter, and blogs is a good thing to do once in a while :D

Taking myself on a date

Yes you read that right.
I am taking MYSELF on a date.
Girls night out is great, very rejuvenating, great to visit laugh and have fun.
Date night with the husband is nice, good, a little stressful sometimes actually, I spend most of my time worrying about my kids and the babysitter, but still worth doing.
So although these two kinds of "dates" are good to do once in a while, I decided that the best thing I can do for myself right now is take myself out on a date.
Me, Myself, and I.
Why?
Well, if I go out alone:

I get to be a little bit selfish for a minute.
I get to choose where to go and for how long.
I get to listen to my music and sing along without any complaints.
I don't have to ask anyone where they want to go to eat, I get to choose.
I can go to a movie, I can go dink around at the mall, I can go to the library and read or browse, and nobody will bother me, I don't have to make conversation, I don't have to go home worrying that I stayed too long, or said something dorky.
Nope its just ME MYSELF AND I.
And I love it :D

So,tonight, dinner and a movie?
Don't mind if I do.

:D

"Ahhhhhh, there's a monster!!!!"

The lastest game the kids play is:

Ahhhhhhh, there's a MONSTER!!!!!

We had a family party not too long ago. The kids needed entertainment, somebody mentioned monsters, so for the better part of the party Bear and Lyon (along with the other kids their age) pretended there was a monster behind a locked door that they couldn't open.

Here they are looking at the locked door, some of them start to run away before the screaming

of "Ahhhhhh, there is a monster!" starts.

This was a little nook that they hid from "the monster" in.

(Yes, that is Lyon in his football jersey holding his red football)

Here they are peeking around the corner.

It is very entertaining to watch :D

Today I spent a half hour playing

Ahhhhh, there is a snow monster outside!!!

With Bear and Lyon here at home.

We laughed and then yelled "Ahhhhhhhh!!!"

Who would have thought it would be so fun :D

And Lyon says...

It was one of those moments you see on tv.
I told Lyon to go get his brother for dinner.
He was sitting at the table and yelled,
"Bear come'n eat dinner"

I thought well gee I could have done that, and I could have done it louder :D

Post it note Tuesday

Soda Pop and Scissors

This is how Bear and Lyon opened some soda cans that they snuck into.
First they tried the little metal dealie (I have no idea what it is)
Then when that didn't work they used the scissors. Check out the top of that soda can!
I came out of my room one morning to find them drinking these soda's
Bear's response to my perplexed expression was:

"I opened them with your scissors, but I was really really super blamo careful,"

Well as long as he was careful, lol!
Okay, I'll give them credit for ingenuity.
And the fact that it made me smile :D

And Bear says...

"So Mom, can I paint now? I'm gonna paint a picture for you and its gonna say Rose."

Her name is Fenix, F-E-N-I-X

My daughter is a screamer.
She screams about everything.
As I write this post she is sitting on the floor behind me pulling on the garbage can bag and is so thoroughly entertained by it that every five or ten seconds she lets out a high pitched happy scream of delight :D In the time it took me to type the last sentence she has moved on, she has crawled past the garbage can to get the baseball that Lyon left on the kitchen floor. She has picked it up and is trying to shove it into her mouth and she is so thoroughly entertained that every five or ten seconds she lets out a high pitched happy scream of delight :D Now in the time it took me to type the last two sentences she has moved on from the baseball and has now crawled to the side of my fridge where I cannot see her, but I can hear her pulling on the bag to the recycling can, oh she knocked it over and now she is crying :( Now I am holding her and she is so thoroughly entertained by the computer, but I won't let her get to it so every five or ten seconds she lets out a high pitched scream of frustration.
Yes my daughter is definitely a screamer. :D

(I should probably mention that I think it is completely adorable, lol!)

And Bear says...

"Mom I'm glad your name is not bad girl, because then you would be bad"

"I can rest when I die"

Hard work we're all capable of it.
At least I like to think so.

Last week I was reading a blog post (you can read it here)
The woman who wrote it talks about "love messages" she gets from her husband, it was a great post. The thing that has been sticking with me since I read it is, she says that her husband works so hard and just keeps going and going saying, "he can rest when he dies"

Well I like that, a lot. I think that is going to be my new motto,
"I can rest when I die"
In the morning when I do NOT want to get up because I am so so tired I can say to myself
I can rest when I die
When I don't feel like cleaning the house I can say to myself
I can rest when I die
When I am feeling too lazy to do something worthwhile I can say to myself
I can rest when I die

Or maybe, so I am not constantly telling my children that I am going to die, I can say:
I can rest LATER :D
Yeah I like that.

Cracking! Crap!

There is a crack in my linoleum!
A CRACK!!!
CRAP!!!

Right now it is just a teeny tiny little crack
but do you know what teeny tiny little cracks can turn into?
I know what you are thinking
If you had stone tiles this wouldn't have happened
No if I had stone floors it would be one of my kids heads (probably Lyon's) that had the crack
Or one of no wait all of my dishes that were shattered.
I love having linoleum floors, I really do.
I know that at first glance it looks like genuine tile floor even though its not.
I know that it looks pretty good, even though its not the ideal flooring choice.
I know that when my kids fall down on it it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it would were it stone.
I know that when I drop things on it it won't break what I drop and what I drop won't break it.
I know that we can slide chairs easily across it.
I know that we don't scratch the crap out of it by sliding chairs across it like we would if it were wood.
I know that it works great for bouncing basketballs.
I know that it is very easy to clean, especially with my Shark steam floor mop ;)

I also know that it has a crack in it.
Which scares me greatly due to what happened to the linoleum floor that covered the kitchen and dinning room floors of the house that I grew up in. Picture a huge hole exposing the particle board that is underneath most linoleum floors. I don't have a picture so use your imagination.
Of course that floor was extremely abused by the heavy foodstorage buckets that we had constantly sliding across it. My floor now is not abused in that manner so I am crossing my fingers that the crack stays a crack. If it turns into a huge hole we will replace it with hardwood. That is the plan anyway.
;D

And the letter goes out to...

Dear Dr. Sorenson and Dental Hygienists,

I am grateful to you for fixing the hole in Bear's tooth. I hope you understand why it is that I stopped you from your vice-like-neck-breaking-hold you had on Bear so I could talk to him. I saw that he was completely panicked and could not let him see me standing idly by as he was, in his opinion, tortured. You see I am his mother, I am responsible for making sure that he is not treated in such a way as to scar him for life. I understand that you are just doing your job and that I brought Bear to you to have it done. However I do not feel that it is in our best interest to try to get work done under less than ideal circumstances. That is why I used up precious time of yours to do my job. I know that it may have seemed pointless for me to sit and explain and reason with my child while there was work to be done. However in case you didn't notice he held perfectly still for you after I calmly spoke to him (and even tried to bribe him which didn't work at all by the way) I am grateful you let me take the time to do so.
I want you to know that after we left I asked Bear why he was able to hold so still when moments before he had adamantly refused; you know what he said,
"Because you told me to"
I think talking to him was the right thing for me to do. I was firm and calm, rather than mean and forceful (although I did force him) I also think it was the right thing for me to hold his legs down instead of one of the hygienists; I showed him that I was calm and loving and that I was there to "support" him. I really think it helped so thank you for allowing me to do so. I held myself together and didn't breakdown and start bawling that I wanted to go home (even though that was what I felt like doing)
Dr. Sorenson thank you for being a pediatric dentist. Hygienists, thank you for being pediatric hygienists :D I can't imagine what made you decide to take on such a challenging career, but it is appreciated as I am sure that your paycheck will show you. I mean we do pay our bill and all ;)

Sincerely yours,
(the woman who talked her son into getting his filling without freaking out)
Rose :D

And Bear says...

I said to Bear:
I like your outfit :)
He replied:
Its not an outfit they're clooooothes.

TV

These are the warning signs:
-when they wake-up in the morning the first thing they ask is to watch TV.
-when we eat breakfast they ask me to please keep the TV on.
-when I turn off the TV to say the blessing on the food they all but have an emotional breakdown
-when I turn off the TV because I say "Enough!!!" they say "ok" only to beg me minutes later to turn it on.
-when they are watching TV they go into a trance and there is no getting through to them.
-when I don't turn it on they start to negotiate "we can watch one of your shows Mom, just turn the TV on".

Really they want to have it on so badly they are willing to let me watch one of my boring Mommy shows!

I really hate to admit it but my children are totally and completely addicted to TV. It must stop, it really must stop now! I know I brought this upon us I am willing to admit to that. So now I can stop it, right? Oh it is so much easier said than done isn't it? :(
It all started with me being pregnant with Sissy Fenix, I was so sick and tired all I wanted to do was lay on the couch and moan all day. With two rowdy boys I knew that would never happen because for entertainment they liked to jump on me. So I did what anyone in my position would do, I said, "Hey guys how about if we watch some shows?!"
So we did for 9 months we watched shows.
I kept telling myself that once the baby came we would stop watching so much TV. And now seven months after my baby came we are still watching TV!
Its become easier to have the TV babysit them while I tend to this and that.
But at what price?
At what price :(

And Bear says...

"Are you thinking what I am thinking Mom?"
short pause...
"That maybe there's hundred of treasures under our house!!!?"

Yes Bear that was exactly what I was thinking, Lol!!!

Not so solid gold...

When I was little there was a lamp post out in front of my home.
In the winter when it would snow at night the only way you could tell it was snowing
was by peaking out the front window where the light shone from the lamp.
There was always something breathtaking about watching the snow fall outside at night.
The lamppost made the snow and surrounding area golden and beautiful.

Now I am grown up and I have a new home.
But we have been fortunate enough to live in a home with a lamppost out front.
So in the winter time when it snows
we enjoy that same golden light showing us the snow falling.

The toilet story

So you do remember that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry drops his girlfriends toothbrush in the toilet and then fishes it out only to find that while he washed the germs off his hands the girlfriend grabs the toothbrush and starts to brush her teeth with it. Jerry doesn't have the nerve to tell her about it and subsequently finds he cannot bring himself to kiss her toilet germ infested mouth.

Well here is my story and don't worry there are no pictures I think your imagination will suffice:

Picture if you will an ice cold Saturday afternoon. Phil is in the living room working on some real estate business, Bear is watching TV, I am in the kitchen, and Lyon is somewhere being very quiet. Lyon had said that he needed to go to the bathroom and being potty trained I told him to go, he knows how to do so by himself. After a while I start to wonder what is taking him so long; so I go to check. I expect to find him in his room playing quietly as has often been the case, but as I walked from the kitchen through the living room and approached the bathroom I could here water sloshing.
Oh No!
I round the corner and am hit with a foul aroma.
Then I see Lyon.
He is leaning over the toilet sloshing the toilet water around.
It gets worse.
As I approach him I notice the water in the toilet is a sickly orangish brown.
Then Lyon notices me standing there.
He pulls his hands out of the toilet and sets not one toothbrush, but two on the counter.
"Oh the humanity!"
I am horrified.
He had been trying to clean the toilet with the toothbrushes.
Why he didn't flush the toilet first I will never know.
After finding him in this state I told him to throw the toothbrushes in the garbage; he did.
I then told him to get into the bathtub; he did.
I then covered him in soap and told him to wash while I cleaned; he did.
I got our fabulous life saving steam cleaner and set it up to steam clean all that darned poo.
It was everywhere :{
No worries though I got it all cleaned up and sanitized.
While I cleaned/sanitized Lyon washed and I kept thinking:

What if I hadn't come to check on him when I did?
What if he finished cleaning the toilet flushed it and then put the toothbrushes back in the drawer?
What if later that night my kids brushed their teeth with those toothbrushes.
I don't think it would have occurred to Lyon to tell anyone that they had been in the toilet.

The thoughts made me nauseous.
I guess new toothbrushes are on the list this week.

And Bear says...

"Mom, does Bob the builder annoy you out?"

Snow people, SNOW!!!

Snow family :D

Or should I say
Little snow family
One of these day's we will make life size snow people.
With only one child interested in being in the snow that long
I don't think it will happen for a while.

And Lyon says...

Lyon: Mom, what is dis?
Mom: A candy cane.
Lyon: Ooh! Dis my favorite :)

A little later:

Lyon: Oh, I don't like dis. Dis too spicy. Dis spicy, spicy, spicy.

Lyon cracks me up :D

He found a brownie on the worktable and started eating it. He comes up to me and he says all furrowed brows and scrunched up face and mad like:
"Mom, dis good!"

And Bear says...

While at a family Christmas party we were playing BINGO.
One of Phil's uncles kept teasing the kids.
He kept saying things like: B-12, B-17, B-20, you know to mess them up.
So Bear say's to the Uncle: "B-Quiet!"

This is what happens...

when Lyon is left untended in his room....


For a reason I can't remember I sent Lyon to his room for quiet time.
After a bit I heard him clunking around so I went to peek in on him.
There he sat under a pile of blankets pillows and stuffed animals.
Singing Metro Stations Kelsey.

"swim the ocean you, oh oh whoa oh, Sissy"

He just repeats that part over and over :)

And Bear Says...

"I am never going to be shy again"

He runs off then turns back around and comes back to me and says:
"I think"

Lyon cracks me up...

If a picture says a thousand words what do you think this one says?

And Lyon says...

He saw me pouring some spaghetti into a pot.
He said in a very babyish voice:
"Yes I like it, its my favorite!" :D

Check it out...

How many of you have set a resolution that has to do with money?
Well....
This week BLOOM is all about budgeting ;D
If nothing else its a good reminder, so go check it out.

Common sense of smell

So I was cooking breakfast this morning.
Hash browns ;D
I waited to smell that they needed to be flipped.
Yep, that's right I rely on my sense of smell.
I waited and waited, couldn't smell that well known smell that tells me when they are ready. I finally went to check on them, they were burning!
I quickly flipped them, they would be okay to eat.
So then I got to thinking this had happened the last several times I have made hash browns. What the heck! My mind started to run wild. Why can't I smell, what is going on, I have been struggling to remember things, I've had headaches, I can't find things?!!!! Oh my gosh it must be a brain tumor, I start hyperventilating.
Then I remember that I have had a cold for the past few weeks. I also have a baby that wakes me up every hour, no exaggeration, EVERY HOUR!!!
DUH!!!
That is why I can't smell, I have a stuffy nose.
DUH!!!
That is why my brain isn't working I am too sleep deprived.

Common Sense ;)

Happy New Year!!!!!!

May this year be
Stacked with surprises
Filled with fun
Lacking loneliness
Eager with excitement
Willingly wonderful
Grand and Great
:D