Meet Gizmo

Gizmo had an itch.
He tried to scratch.
But he could not reach the itchy patch.
The itch, it tickled.
The itch was ouchy.
It made Gizmo feel very grouchy.
It itched him when he tried to eat.
It itched him when he went to sleep.
It itched him when the snow was snowy.
It itched him when the wind was blowy(like today).
It itched him when the rain was wet.
It itched him when the sun had set.
It made him frown.
It made him roar.
It made him rub his head upon the floor....

Gizmo has an ear infection again. This is what our crazy pooch does to show us he itches!!

2008 Easter

This year for Easter weekend, we had our traditional trip down to Grandpa and Grandma Hallidays' in Blanding.

Chuck E Cheese's

At the end of March, we went to Chuck E Cheese's for McKay's 6th birthday. Every kid loves the rides here, right??
WRONG!! Maddie was fine as long as the rides were NOT moving. But, the second you put the coins in and push "Start," she was done!
Even with Camry holding her for "moral support" she still freaked out as soon as the rides started moving.

She did find something that she did like...the "Step on the Spider" game. Camry was more than happy to play this with her. (And don't think that we did not have to physically remove her from the game when another child wanted a turn.)
The Snickers cake was a big hit for all, OF COURSE!! Thanks for inviting us, McKay!!

Maddie's 18 Month Pictures

I just barely downloaded these, so I thought I would share. She was very stingy with her smiles this day, so the photographer had her work cut out for her!!

"Child of MINE"

You know how you see some of your least positive traits in your children?? Well, I remember when I was little, my mom punished me by sending me to bed without dinner and a bath. I remember that I carried on for hours (or at least what seemed like it to all involved) because I "couldn't" go to bed dirty. I think my mom finally gave in and let me bathe because she hoped to get some peace for the night.Well, this is Maddie today. I was in a hurry to leave to pick up the boys from pre-school and didn't want to waste the time to find both of her shoes. We only had one pink crock for our trip. What a nightmare!! She cried the whole ten minutes there and back about her "shoe-sies." I even tried giving her my flip-flops to make her happy!! I fear there is worse to come....

Project for the Day:

Before:After:
Not sure if I love it...which is never a good thing....I have been known to "re-do" a project many, many times until it is perfect. I think it is A LOT better, but pretty RED. What do you think??

Count Your Many Blessings...

Today at church, we had phenomenal speakers. The first was a young man that we have seen grow up in the past four years. He is going into the MTC to begin his mission. We are SO proud of him! Then, our concluding speaker was a man who has had many trials in his life. He lost a nephew who was two years old to a brain tumor. Later, he lost his nine-year-old daughter to a brain tumor. And even later, as he was preparing to send another daughter out on a mission, she started having bad headaches. The day before she was to report into the MTC, she had an MRI which confirmed a fourth of her brain was invaded by tumors. She has since passed away. This brother went on and on about lessons that he has learned in his life. Then, at the end, as he is bearing his testimony, he tells us that he too has a brain tumor and has been given 6 to 18 months to live. He had just been to a disciplinary council in his stake, and was heartbroken by what he had had to witness. He instructed us to "treasure our spouses" and to "not be consumed by getting things of the world." He said that "...it is amazing, every thing that he had ever worked for in his life, he has given away" because it is not as important as his family and the Gospel.

After being incredibly touched by this, I have been pondering the many blessings in my life. I truly have A LOT to be grateful for!! I have a friend that I am going to see tomorrow morning who's husband is suffering from kidney failure right now. I have another friend who took years to get pregnant, finally got pregnant, gave birth to a completely healthy child, and within two hours of his birth, he started having breathing complications and passed away.... It's not to say that I haven't had trials in my life....but, right now, in this second, I am really grateful that the trials that I have been called to bear seem minimal compared to others'.

Girls' Afternoon Out!!

Camry is the best baby-sitter ever!! She is always more than happy (and willing) to watch her beast of a cousin Maddie. For payment this time, we went to the movie "Penelope." We loved it!! It is such a cute movie with a great main theme: "You have to love and accept yourself as you are." We had a great time and got good tummy-aches from eating TOO much popcorn!

Happy March 28th!

For those of you that may not know this: I LOVE THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY!! Jeff had lunch up in Salt Lake City across from it, and decided to bring me home a surprise: The sad thing was, I wasn't expecting anything....he put it in the refrigerator and tried to wait for me to find it. Before he left for the Jazz game that night, he had to ask, "Did you like you're surprise?" Huh? He had to tell me to go look in the fridge.
Well, I LOVED it!! What a Sweetie!!

The Human "Pack Rat"

This is Kaleb's top drawer in his dresser. I have told him numerable times that it's sole purpose is for clothes....more specifically: socks, underwear, ties, and belts. Can you see any of the above mentioned items in this drawer?? Kaleb likes to keep his "treasures" of the day in here. They have included (but, are not limited to): tags to new clothes, rocks, toy boxes(without the toy inside), junk mail that has been thrown away, etc. I clean out this drawer every other week while he is at school...I usually have a hefty bag of garbage from it. And don't think that I don't provide other areas for him to stash his "treasures." He has three baskets in his closet filled to the rim!

Last month, his Cub Scout troop focused on conservation and recycling, most specifically: "Reduce, Re-Use, and Recycle." For pack meeting, they made "Recycle-bots." Yep, you guessed it!! Robots made out of garbage!! What is Cub Scouts trying to do to me??

Okay, he is really cute....and I'm sure he will reside on the top of Kaleb's dresser for many years to come. But, do you think it has been easy for Kaleb to watch me throw away "perfectly good things" since? Also, his troop made "vases" to hold flowers....I was lucky enough to get two....

If you look close enough, you will notice that these flowers have seen better days....they have been on my counter-top for over a month. Every time I would try to throw them out, I was told that they are still alive because the flowers are still moist. Thankfully, I have moved them to the top of my closet to dry out so that I can "make something with them." I will keep you posted....

Our Little Dragon Tests Again!!

On Saturday, April 12th, Garet had a belt advancement test in Tae Kwon Do.

In this picture, Garet is at "attention" as he recites Fire Safety rules, Listening Skills, No-choke rules, and Tae Kwon Do creeds. He is also asked various questions like: Mom's name, Dad's name, phone number, address, etc.

This is his "kick" form. I love the rolling of the hips!! At the end, he has to do a Stranger Danger test. We pretended Master Augustine was trying to kidnap Garet (by picking him up). Garet got to poke him in the eyes to protect himself!

When he is all done, he gets to break a board--an indication that he has passed. The Little Dragons had to do a roll and then an axe kick to break their boards....Garet had a little problem with his roll....

I always love how the little kids forget to bow when they are getting their broken boards from Master Augustine...they are anxious to get their prize!! Garet always favors us with a big "cheese" when he is done!! Good job, Bud!!

Kaleb's 9th Birthday!!

On Saturday, April 12th, Kaleb turned nine. (It's amazing how time flies!!) He had a "Friend Party" at Jump On It on Friday afternoon. Jump On It is an indoor facility that is full of trampolines and blow-up toys...every 9 year-old's fantasy!! He got to bring along four friends and had a "bouncin'" good time:

We got there a little early, so the boys waited impatiently by the door.

Kaleb showing us some air!

Okay, we were NOT impressed with the safety measures taken by the Jump On It facility. There were no Refs, Monitors, or anything of the sort present in any way , shape, or form. Luckily, we had these signs posted on a wall!

Kaleb's Birthday cake. It was a tough decision this year, but as soon as he started thinking that this tank could possibly be a transformer...the decision got easier!!

As soon as we were done singing to him, he pulled the tank off of the cake and took it to the sink to wash it and check it out...It IS a transformer!!

He got a CD alarm clock, a basketball hoop, a basketball, a football, a rocket launcher, some Cd's, the BEE movie, a Bionacle, a Tamagotchi, a jump rope, a Lego guy, a cool guy with lots of pieces that we can't remember the name of him (thanks Cory, Jacci & Sophie:-)), and some money! Notice how we have naked children in the picture...Is any party complete without some shirt-less boys??

Monday night, we went out to dinner at the Mayan to celebrate his birthday with the family.

Garet pointed out all of his odd shaped chips.

Overall, another great birthday!! Happy Birthday, Bud!! We are so LUCKY to have you in our family!!

a warm fuzzy....thought for the day...

Friends...
Friends are like butt cheeks.
Crap might separate them,
But they always come back together!

(sorry---couldn't resist--was laughing too hard from this one!!)

Inside My Purse:

Thanks for the tag, Heather! Here goes:

1. Puff's Kleenex
2. Wet Wipes---Life saver with kids!!
3. A day planner that I got from my hair lady....it has only been used once to put my next hair appointment...that was six weeks ago...don't think it has left the purse dungeon since.
4. My wallet, bulging at the seams....
5. A receipt from Maddie's ear doctor appointment two weeks ago....in garbage now.
6. My camera case...always have a camera in the purse....especially with kids!
7. Two checks written from Autumn at least a month ago.
8. Huggies coupons...always forget that I have them...will remain in purse dungeon until at least two months after they expire....
9. Two packs, yes TWO PACKS of gum. Usually it is in my car. I stuck them in my purse so "Not Me" wouldn't eat it all in one day...really surprised that it is still there!
10. Yummy smelling lotion from the hotel in Hawaii. Gonna be sad when it is gone...should have gotten a couple more....
11. Cheapest chap-stick in the world...got it from the dollar store...never again!!
12. Hair tie around said cheap chap-stick.
13. Cover Girl lip gloss.
14. Keys...check out my cute turtle souvenir from Hawaii--LOVE IT!!
15. Pink Razor...can't live without it!!
16. Spider-man lead pencil...Hey, I have boys!!
These are all inside my nifty little bag that came with my purse:
17. Advil case with whatever pain reliever that I have gotten the last time I ran out...I change pain relievers every time I run out...don't want to get too used to something so it doesn't work for me next time....
18. Equate brand contact re-wetting drops.
19. 1 band aid.
20. Cheap Wal-mart brand lotion that I hate and never use.
21. Nail file (board...had to throw away my file at the airport)
22. Nail clippers (guess these aren't considered weapons anymore??)
23. Hand Sanitizer....need to get the spray so I am more consistent with it.
24. Floss...a must have!
25. My inhaler.

Last, but not least, check out my CUTE purse:

I saw it in the airport store when we were waiting for our flight back from Hawaii that was eventually cancelled...Low and behold, there was a LE Sport Sac store at the Hilton the airline sent us to....I think it was fate....Jeff wasn't too happy with my splurge, but he indulged me...as he always does:-)!!

Tag--you're it: Jacci, Rochelle, & Tanya

Compare to....

Okay, we' ve all seen them....the off-name brand of an item/food/medicine/etc. right beside the name brand item on a shelf for sometimes half the price. Me, I am a constant cheap-skate...I always have to try the off-name brand at least once...okay, maybe many times...until they are proven less than par with the name-brand....Here are a couple of memorable attempts to be cheap:

I thought I was being "oh-so-thrifty," until Autumn was helping me fold laundry one day and asked me why all of my under garments, socks, shirts, etc. were gray instead of white.

Again..."oh-so-thrifty" until I finally used a name-brand one and realized what pain I was putting myself through for a mere 23 cents.

Did you know that you can actually damage your hair by over-coloring it with inferior products? I do now!! It dries your hair out every time you use one of these products...and if you don't get the color just right and try it again a couple of weeks later.....really bad!!

I tried the Costco version of these one time and was surprised at how my child always smelled like pee....Unfortunately, back then, I was too shy to return my opened package, so we suffered through the whole, gigantic box.



I used to always trust the off-name brand of these until I had Maddie. Tylenol works better for her than Motrin, so I always have to stock up for when illness strikes. I thought they were the same, but every time I give her an off-name version she throws up gagging to swallow it. And no, this is not a once in a while thing....I have bought way too many bottles of the cheap stuff thinking "this time will be different."


And, finally, what brought me to write this post. I always buy the off-name brand of lasagna. This week, I decided to splurge the 97 cents and buy the Stauffer's brand. Both of my boys wolfed theirs' down had seconds, Maddie cleaned her plate, and Jeff kept asking, "Why is this sooooo much better than usual??"



I would like to say that by now, I've learned my lesson..... But, I know the next time I go to Wal-mart for something new, I'll be trying to save my pennies as usual. (This is not to say that ALL "compare to" items are evil and bad...but, some are just not as great as the real thing.)

From the Mouth of Experts:

May 2008 Reader's Digest "Ask Laskas" Column:

Q: My husband is a world-class procrastinator. If I ask him to do something around the house, he delays so long, he forgets about it. He doesn't take any responsibility for the bills or the kids; everything is left up to me. If I get upset, he says I'm just overreacting. If I try to explain to him how important it is to me that he complete a certain project, I'm nagging. What can I do to get him to move?
More Than Half My Share

A: Dear More,
So Mr. Lazy has tuned you out. And your nag routine is going nowhere. This problem is much bigger than a division of labor. His passive-aggressive act is a way of saying "I'm sick of you, sweetheart." Any nagging on your part is communicating the same. Having translated, I must now recommend professional intervention. To resuscitate this relationship, get some counselling. You two need to speak the same language.


OH CRAP!!!

Basketball 2008

In January and February, Kaleb played basketball this year at the Legacy Center (Lehi's athletic center). After his first game he said: "Mom, basketball is a lot harder than it looks, but it is fun!"

(He is black #12 in these pictures)

Even though the games were every Wednesday night from 8 to 9pm, we enjoyed watching him learn how to play. The boys played 'man-on-man' defense, and they knew who their 'man' was on the opposing team because they wore matching colored wrist bands. Kaleb enjoyed making his 'man' run every which way....it was a fun game for him. Another time, someone passed him the ball close to the basket..he was star-struck and held the ball for several moments(literally) before he chose to throw the ball behind him instead of at the hoop. We had a couple of good chuckles each time we watched! We look forward to watching him again next year!!

FYI:

Regardless of my attempt at bribery, No, my toilets did not miraculously remain pee-free this week!!
I am hoping to update and catch up on all that's been missing on our blog this week...keep checking!!

Boys!......RRRRRR!!

Okay, today I had the not-so-fun job of cleaning the bathrooms. To put it mildly, I am always amazed at what my boys can do to their toilet when they go potty when half asleep, today was no exception....actually, they really outdid themselves this time. I had to spray Clorox Cleanup under the water tank, in all of the crevices, and all surrounding walls and baseboards...not to mention the floors. After I finished the monumental task of cleaning their toilet, I asked both boys to come up so I could have a little heart-to-heart with them. I have come to the desperate point of offering them money to keep the toilets pee-free this week. At the conclusion of my little shpeell, Kaleb asks, "Mom, is it only this toilet that counts?" RRRRRRRRRRR!!