Tyler is 6

We started off the day with cinnamon buns/rolls, depending on which country you're reading this from. After school we went to Toys R us and he spent the money Grandma West gave him on this totally awesome car thingy. I was surprised he picked it because it seems like all the boys care about these days is Legos. But sometimes I think he's into Legos because his brothers are, but really he might prefer a "little boy toy," like this. Easy peasy cake. Got the edible topper off ebay. I love those things, and more importantly, the boys love them. I forgot to put prizes in the cake, but fortunately they forgot about them too! He was so excited about the Moon Sand he got.

Here he is playing with it, and you can see his lego-piece pinata. Love those things. I whipped it up in about 5 minutes. He's such an adorable little boy. He is most comfortable at home; he never wants to go play at a friend's house. He'd rather stay home than go to school. He is quiet. He can play for hours by himself, you can forget he's even there. But don't be deceived! That doesn't mean he is easy-going and complacent. He has strong opinions, and he won't let things go until the wrong against him has been righted. Or until mom flips her lid and makes him go to time-out because she sick of the crying, complaining and carrying on. Whichever comes first.

And now he's 6. I wish he was still 5. I wanted him to stay 5 forever. Some days it feels like it's all slipping away too fast, like trying to hold water in your hands.

*sigh*

Noisy Girl

According to the boys it's hilarious. It's just a little clip of the silly noises she makes. It's pretty cute. If you like little gremlins.

New Trick

It's always fun when babies learn new things. I'm not really thrilled about this one, though.

Sometimes we find it on her nose, which looks really funny. Often it's over her eyes which, oddly enough, doesn't really bother her that much. Usually she just leaves it alone. But someday she might refuse to keep headbands on at all.

Calvin and Hobbes snowmen

I love Calvin and Hobbes. I always have. I even found a Calvin and Hobbes font, and I would have used it on this blog, but I don't know how. His snowmen are awesome. And since it actually feels like winter now, I thought I'd post some for your reading pleasure.

I've always wanted to recreate one of his twisted winter scenes, but the problem is I hate making snowmen, so I never have. But apparently other people have:

Why can't I have a normal baby?!

Years ago I was at a meeting, stake conference, I think, and I was standing in the back of the room with my fussy baby Tyler. There was a baby girl laying on the floor on a blanket not too far away. To my utter astonishment, she arched her back so that only the back of her head and her feet were touching the floor, and scooted over to me. I thought it was the craziest thing ever! I figured she was the only baby in the world that had figured out how to get around that way.
Wrong. Another baby, this time closer to home is headed that direction. It might be hard to see in the picture, but her back and bum aren't touching the floor at all. We have a nurse that comes once a month to make sure Allie is developing properly, and when she saw that, she told me we need to stop her from doing it because if she figures out she can get around that way she won't crawl, and it will wear the hair off her head, and she could even get calluses. Weird!
Now I'm afraid to put her on the floor. She spends a lot of time on her tummy (mad), or in her exersaucer. She doesn't want to roll over, she wants to walk instead of crawl, and now this. Such a funny girl!

Photo Editing

I discovered picnik.com awhile ago for editing pictures. A lot of things you could do for free, like cropping and fixing red-eye. They have awesome tools too, though, that weren't free. And while it wasn't expensive, we're on a tight budget (4 more months, 4 more months . . . ) and I couldn't justify it, especially since I got Photoshop Elements for Christmas. But apparently picnik is "moving to Google," whatever that means, and they're giving everyone access to all the awesomeness for free until April. So this is what I've been doing all day.
You can give people a sunless tan and mascara, or add color to eyes:Brighten eyes and whiten teeth:Make a dark crummy photo look much better. I used photoshop and paint to get rid of the date and the sun glare, but everything else was picnik. I've been having fun. I wish more things would move to Google and be free. Like maybe an appliance store. I need a new washing machine. Maybe RC Willey will move to Google soon.

Girls night out at last

I just had the best Friday night.

My first year at Ricks College I had awesome roommates. (I had really awesome roommates my second year too, but this particular post isn't about those ones). And after we graduated I slowly lost contact with all of them, which I was really sad about because some of my best memories were made with them.

We went shopping one day and Brooke was supposed to buy new shoes. Instead she bought a pet turtle and all his supplies. To pick a name we put letters in a hat and pulled them out, and that's how he got the name Yptaget.

We did a somersault every night so that when we were old ladies we'd still be able to do one. I must have missed a day because I can't anymore.

We stayed up way too late almost every night talking and laughing and eating good food.

We helped eachother through hard times. We loved eachother so much!

And I thought they were lost forever, but tonight after 14 years we were reunited! It was so great to see them again. We ate good food, laughed and talked. Only we talked about our kids and husbands instead of boys and classes.

I love them just as much.

Sick house

We have sickness at our house. Tummy aches for a few of us, and colds for us all. And Tyler has croup. Poor little guy was up at 3:00 am coughing, or should I say "barking." He had it a couple years ago, and was having such a hard time breathing I took him to the emergency room. He did not want to be there, and kept saying "I want to go home." So the next night when he woke up crying and coughing I told him if he didn't calm down we'd have to go back to the hospital. It worked. He calmed himself down enough so he could breathe again. So that's what I told him last night, but he said "I want to go there." Because his chest and throat hurt so much he wanted something to help him. I felt so bad. But he made it through, after sitting in a steamy bathroom for ten minutes.
Everyone advised us to keep Allie home, not to take her out because she could easily get sick. But I knew that really it wouldn't matter because most of our sickness comes home with the boys from school anyway. And that's exactly what happened. So in a way I'm glad I didn't lock her away because I would have been really frustrated if I had, only to have her get sick anyway.
Poor sad girl. She has a horrible diaper rash, a fever and a runny nose. I don't expect to get much sleep tonight.
Didn't I knock on that wood??

I didn't forget. We've just had computer issues, and more importantly I ran out of ideas. I stayed up late last night to put a little video clip on here, only I couldn't find the wire thingy to connect the video camera to the computer. So then I had to delve into our very much hated "wire box" to search for it. We hate it so much because it looks a lot like that basketball-sized knot Clark Griswald finds in his christmas lights on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. So then I had to organize said wire box, which is lovely now. If I were a serious blogger I would have taken a before and after picture, then covered the box in fabric. :)
And I didn't even find the wire because apparently it doesn't exist. So instead I had to order an adapter thing on ebay, and it's coming from China, so it may be awhile. But at least it was only 99 cents, plus free shipping.

See? Out of ideas.
But I did come across some really awesome old video clips that Jared's brother took. I will post one now, and think of something good for tomorrow.
This is Jason, with Tyler, Joey and their cousin Ashleigh in the background. It's pretty lousy quality, but oh my gosh, so cute! I hardly remember them this little.

Hemangiomas

A few weeks after Allie was born I noticed a red mark on her forehead. It looked like her skin had been pinched and there were broken capillaries under the skin. I figured she had scratched herself, or they'd done something at the hospital. You can see it here, it's a light red spot.But it never went away. And when she was being discharged from the hospital the doctor told me it was called a hemangioma, that it was just a bunch of extra blood vessels that build up sometimes, that it was normal and harmless, and would most likely be gone by the time she was 5. Though she did say it might get huge. And with a smile she said if it bothers me, just stick a bow over it. Well, it didn't get huge, and I know because I made the mistake of googling it, and saw what amounts to a horror show. But it did get much bigger. And I did take the advise of the doctor of sticking a bow on it.

This is what it looks like now. I do keep it covered because it's not very attractive and I want people to look at her cute face. It's also kind of awkward, because people are too polite to mention it, but you know they're thinking "What the heck?" and kids ask about it, but I don't know how to explain it to them. Words like "hemangioma," "blood vessels," and even "birth mark" don't mean anything to them.

And also the headbands are really adorable.

She also has a little one on her right eyelid, one behind her ear, and one on her back. They can be treated with lasers or steroid shots, but since they are usually harmless, they are just left alone. The only concern is if they are in a bad spot, like on the lip or eyelid and interfere with vision or eating. Apparently one day they will just start shrinking, and in a matter of a couple weeks they'll be gone forever, and often the skin looks as if nothing was ever there.

I like baldies, but I admit I can't wait till she has hair to cover it up.

"I'm Adorable anyway!"

This is an old picture, but I like it. And no, she doesn't sleep with that stuff, I'm not an idiot. It was just for the picture.
I think it's safe to say that she's really sleeping through the night. (Knock on wood).

There were just so many reasons for her not to before. First, she was so little and pitiful and fragile. Then she got sick. It was just a little congestion, but she couldn't breathe, so obviously she couldn't sleep. Then my milk supply was dwindling, and she wouldn't take a bottle, so I fed her at every opportunity, even 3:00 am. Then she was starving, so again I fed her as much as possible. Now the stars have aligned. Don't get me wrong, she's been sleeping good, I shouldn't complain. And she's been sleeping through the night off and on, but this time it feel like it's going to stick. It feels so awesome to wake up in the morning after being in bed all night, not being woken up by the baby at unholy hours.

It's been nice.

Knock on wood again, for good measure.

Trying food

I think I've decided to only give her vegetables for the first year or 2, so she has no choice but to like them. I'm only kidding about that. Kind of. I'm actually a little bit serious. I'm just sick of picky eaters. So far she has tried carrots, an obvious choice. She liked them raw, wasn't so happy when she bit off a chunk of the steamed variety and gagged on it.Loves real green beans. Hates baby food green beans. Can't say I blame her. She has also tried broccoli, sweet potatoes, bananas, mangos and peas. So far it seems her favorite is red bell peppers. Weird, right? I never would have thought of giving this to a baby, but my sister suggested it, and it was a hit. Obviously I'm doing something different than the regular purees. It's called Baby-led weaning, and you just give them regular food. At first they really just chew on it, play with it, get the flavor and texture, but don't really eat much until they're older. I love the idea! My sister did it with her daughter, and she is a great eater. I wanted to do something completely different with Allie because the old fashioned way didn't turn out so great with my boys. Plus I HATE spoon feeding. Hate it. So far she has only been interested in a few things, mostly chucked food on the floor, and frustrated me. Because I want her to hurry it up. But that's not the idea, and I'm learning patience. It is encouraging to me that she really has enjoyed these few things, even though she hasn't eaten much. And she looks so stinkin' cute munching on real food.

Look what I can do

Cute little girlLook mom, no hands! And with a little help from mom . . .

It's funny how she's trying so hard, but that dang arm is in the way.

(Sound track courtesy of Tyler).

Never Again!

Am I a little slow? Dense? PR? Have I learned nothing in 10 years of raising children?
Never have Silly Putty in the house! never never never never never. This poor T-shirt wasn't the only victim, either. There's a fleece blanket that will never be the same, and a little pair of pants with this stuff stuck to the butt. Grr! Now I have to go google how to get it out. And I can't even blame Santa, because I was the one that gave it to them for Christmas.

Jared and school

Oops, I forgot all about this thing yesterday. Put it on my tab, mom.
Ah, this journey we call life. 3 1/2 years ago we took a hard look at our lives (with a heavy focus on finances) and where we were headed, and we didn't like what we saw. We had a great little townhome, and we loved every square inch of it. The mortgage was pretty cheap, and yet we just couldn't make ends meet. It was a little depressing. If we couldn't even afford that tiny house, then what? Were we going to live in a 2 bedroom apartment for the rest of our lives? Jared looked for another job, but we soon decided that a drastic change would be more appropriate. Thus began our most recent adventure. We decided Jared would go back to school and become a nurse. We sold our house, and moved into a crappy little 2 bedroom apartment. I still hate that place, even a year after moving out. It broke my heart to leave our house, and our friends, and the ward we loved. I cried off and on for 2 weeks. Both of us had to work hard at not getting depressed. But we did have an exciting future! . . . at least we hoped we did. Things didn't go as smoothly as we had planned. The plan was to go to BYU Idaho, but that did not work out since he couldn't get accepted. Finally, much later than we ever hoped, he got accepted to UVU in Orem, and it has been really great.
Jared headed back to school today, for his final semester! "4 more months" is my new mantra. You can do anything for 4 months. It feels like he's been going to school for a decade at least! He's sick to death of studying, and we're at the end of our savings. But we're almost there!
But I admit we are worried about what comes after. Will he be able to find a job? Will we have to move to some random place? Some random place where you have to watch out for scorpions or killer bees? Who knows.
Perhaps it will be another adventure in this journey we call life.

Banana Bread

I have been thinking about banana bread because, long story short, I went grocery shopping and came home with 20 bananas. And I'm happy about that because I like bananas, especially with Rice Krispies, and I LOVE banana bread. Recently someone gave us some that was dry and flavorless, and I didn't know that not everyone has a great banana bread recipe. I'm pretty fond of mine because it tastes so good, it's easy, and it only requires 2 bananas. So I thought I'd share.

Banana Bread
2 C. flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 ¼ C. sugar
Add:
1/3 C. shortening (or butter)
1 C. mashed bananas (2 large)
¼ C. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat 2 minutes. Add 2 large eggs. Beat 3 minutes. Bake in 2 small greased loaf tins at 350 for 35 minutes. I don't know if it's my oven or my baking tins, but I always have to cook it quite a bit longer. Like 45 or 50 mins. So cook it until a toothpick comes out clean, like a cake.

Jason

Too bad I'm running out of ideas for this blog already. You might starting hating it because it's so BORING.

Today my thoughts are on my middle son, Jason, pictured below.

He's a handsome fellow. He has bright blue eyes and and a winning smile. He has a great personality, and he is well-liked at school. He makes his brothers laugh a lot with his silliness. He is an extremely picky eater, and he is underweight because of it. He eats toast every day for breakfast, except when I make him have a pancake (no syrup, cinnamon and sugar on top), and a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. And he rarely eats supper, unless it's pizza. Or sometimes chicken.

He is in grade 1, and he is having a hard time learning how to read. In a way it annoys me because I have been trying to teach him how to read since he was 4 years old. But mostly it worries me. School is hard for a kid that can't read very well, and kids spend a lot of time at school, which all adds up to a hard life. So far he has had a great attitude, even though he has to go to school an hour earlier than his brothers, and he has to spend about twice as long on his homework as they do. He doesn't complain very much, he just does what he has to do. And his teacher is fantastic! She genuinely cares about him, and likes him, too. And what's not to like? He's a great kid. I sure do love this boy. And I worry about him.

Back on track

I took Allie back to the doctor to have her weighed. It looks like she's back on track! She is just over 11 pounds now, and doing great. I am still nursing her, but I give her 2 or 3 ounces of formula after each feeding. She is much happier, and so am I.

I got these little jeans for Allie and finally they fit. She's worn them for the last 2 days. Aren't they adorable? And the poor girl has to freeze in this outfit because I can't get enough of it.
Just kidding, she doesn't wear it much, only when the house is warm. I really do like it. Thanks Auntie Betty! (That's another post to come, too).
But really this has been an awesome winter, hasn't it? I don't even care that there was no white Christmas. Brown is just fine with me. On New Years day I saw someone wearing flip flops, and it wasn't a crazy-wear-shorts-all-year-long sort of person. It was actually appropriate footwear. Maybe Jared should get a job in Hawaii. No snow there!

Cute or ugly?

I saw this on Etsy and thought it was adorable. Is it? Or is it ugly? Because someday I'm going to make one.