It's Christmas Time!

Well, the Christmas decos have been out for a day now. Kenna has already broken one ornament, tried to eat 2 others, and pulled a stocking down and got a great big purple bruise on her cheek from the stocking hanger. 'Tis the season! As long as she doesn't try to chew on the lights....
We had a great Thanksgiving. We got to see a lot of friends and family, which is always so fun. The longer we're down here, the more we miss being closer to home. I must say, however, that a 5 hour drive with two little ones is like a suicide mission. My ear drums are permanently scarred. Last time we went up to Logan, I drove and Jacob spent the whole time going back and forth from the front seat trying to calm the tide of wailing girlies in the back seat. I just smiled the whole time. It was a bit of a break for me. Needless to say, he drove both ways this time. He's not so dumb. Do you remember when you used to fight someone to ride shotgun? Well, we race to see who gets to drive. Unfortunately for me, he was a track star in high school so I end up in the passenger seat. I'm happy to report we made it home safely though, and in one piece. I've decided making the trip to Logan is like giving birth. Over time you forget how difficult it is, so you try it again. Then when you are right in the middle of it you remember why you don't do it very often. Ha! I'm sure I will soon forget and be anxious to come home soon.

I'm it

I guess I've been tagged. Now I have to think of 6 interesting things about me. 6? Are you kidding? I'm definitely not that interesting. I'll have to think hard about this one.

1- My favorite vacation was my college grad trip to Boston with a cousin. We did the Freedom Trail in Boston, went to Concord, Walden Pond, the Norman Rockwell museum, drove into upstate New York, did the Mayflower thing in Plymouth, ferried over to Martha's Vineyard, and saw some amazing early century mansions in Newport. And, I got as close to Harvard as I will ever get. The spirit back there is amazing with all the American history. I would love to go back someday.
2- Worst pet peeve is when people take out their gum to eat or something, then put it back in later. One time in high school a friend put his gum on my newly opened can of lemonade. It made me sick and I had to throw the whole thing away. Yuck!
3- I LOVE coupons. Pretty much I just love getting a steal of a deal. Last year right after Thanksgiving Smith's did a double coupon deal. I was tending for a lady who was the biggest coupon nutzo I ever have seen, and it was coupon heaven. I got over $300 worth of stuff for $30. I am looking forward to this weekend and hope they will do the double coupon again. I've been saving up my coupons. Saving money is addicting!
4- My girls just woke up- stay tuned for the rest-

Smart mom

Mom's just have to be creative. By the time I pulled into the grocery store this afternoon, Allie was pretty ticked off and hungry. I didn't want to have to go all the way to the back of the store to the bathroom and unpack the kids just for some water. So we headed over to the deli. One ounce of water from the fountain drinks (many thanks to the lemonade for sharing), two and a half ounces of hot water from the coffee maker, throw in the formula and BINGO! Bottle is ready, baby is happy. Am I smart or what? We headed over to the little table and chairs and let Allie fill up. It's nice to have a few tricks up my sleeve. Ya, pretty much I get my inspiration in life by figuring out ways to make a grocery trip a success. Another great success today was Christmas shopping at the dollar store. That is one of the great things about a 2-year-old: you can do a large part of their Christmas shopping at the dollar store! To make it even better, you can do it when they're with you! Kenna loved the little toy horse, but she's already forgotten about it and will love it again Christmas morning. Isn't that great? That's called Christmas on a budget, my friends. I admit, I even got Jacob a little something while I was there, too. Yep, it was a very inspiring day. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! I am so blessed to have so many wonderful associations. To all you who read this, know that I am so grateful for your friendship and love.

Another Week

Not much new is going on around here this week. I do have to say my husband was so wonderful yesterday! He was just a little Mr. Mom. As he reads this over my shoulder he is laughing saying, "Honey, erase that. It's not the image cowboys want!" Ha! How funny is he? What a greay guy. He'll just LOVE to know I wrote all that.

Well, Allie has had a rough few days. For anyone who doesn't know, my little Allie has a milk protein allergy. She pretty much screamed for the first 6 1/2 weeks of her life until we got her on a really specialized formula that has the protein completely broken down into amino acids. The past few weeks I thought she was starting to do a little better with sleeping and such, but the past few days she seems to have taken a few steps back. I'm not sure if some of the formula still had some chunks of protein in it that got through and bothered her little system or what. Poor little thing. It is sure frustrating at times, especially when she is so inconsistent. Somedays I feel like I spend the majority of my time in the rocking chair with her. The hardest part is that the mom in me still feels like there is more that needs to be done, I just can't find the right doctor to help me out with it. I am actually hoping to get her in to a homeopathic doctor this week. I'll keep you updated. I sure love the little cuss, though.

Last night Kenna was "trying" to go to sleep and I could hear her back in her bedroom just talking to herself. I started laughing in the hallway and then she started laughing back at me, it was so fun. So of course I had to go in and see her. She said, "snuggle mommy?" So I jumped in bed with her and we snuggled for a bit. It was a great little relief after Allie's crying session. I am quite sure I have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Even if one of my blessings has a great set of lungs.

Way to go Allie!

Allie slept the whole night last night! YEAH! I woke up at 5:30 to go check on her, and she kept sleeping until a little after 7. I could have done cartwheels! I should actually try one to see if my body is even capable anymore. Another great sleep achievement in our house is that Kenna is now sleeping in her big girl bed. A few months ago we tried to get her to sleep in it, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Sunday night we decided to give it another shot. We put on her new princess sheets and kept telling her what a lucky girl she was to get to sleep in her big girl bed. Jacob took her in and gave her a big pep talk and she fell asleep with no tears! Way to go Daddy! The next day we moved all her toys and books into her room and she just thought it was great. I am loving that my front room is staying a lot cleaner!

So the first time I ever saw The Man From Snowy River was on my 3rd date with Jacob. I was way too involved in sitting next to Jacob and that our legs were touching to even remember the storyline. Now I think I can probably quote a good chunk of the movie. Thanks to daddy, Kenna has discovered this beloved classic. For the past few days we have to watch the last 20 or so minutes of the movie where they are on the big horse chase. She just stands there mesmerized. I never thought I would have to moderate the time a 2-year-old spends watching The Man From Snowy River. She says, "watch horses?" This morning we were watching and when one of the riders fell off the horse she got a concerned look on her face and said, "Oh no! Bucked off! Goodness sakes, cowboy." Sometimes I just have to laugh at the phrases she comes up with. She is all cowgirl-- definitely Jacob's daughter! Jacob said we should get her a whip for Christmas. The crazy thing is I think she would love it. Saddle up cowgirl!

Adventurous Halloween

This week has gone by so fast! Monday and Tuesday we spent in Midway at a conference with Jacob's work. It was a nice little getaway. Grandma Shelly took Allie while she was at Steph's in Salt Lake, so we had a bit of a break. I missed the little cuss, though. It's been a while since Kenna and I have had some time alone together, so it was fun. She has to give hugs and kisses to everything. The flowers, the cow doorstop, herself in the mirror, all sorts of crazy things. The resort had a carousel we took Kenna on and she cried and held onto Jacob the whole time while I took the pictures and laughed. What a mean mom.


I've decided that a trip to WalMart is always adventurous. Take for example, yesterday. By the time I had the girls fed, their diapers changed, and in their carseats, I was already exhausted. That should have been my first clue. By the time I got to WalMart, Kenna was asleep. I was hoping she would sleep in the cart, but no such luck. By the time I got into the store, Allie was screaming and was beyond binkie help. So I pulled in by the pharmacy where it was less crowded and tried to sooth the little screamer. Guess who everyone was looking at? Yep, me. To make it even better, Kenna wasn't sleeping so I tried to take her out of the cart basket and into the seat. She sure didn't like that, so now I had two screaming children in the middle of WalMart. Now everyone was really looking at me. So, you ask, what did I do? I stood there laughing! It was either that or start to cry. So there I stood next to the laxatives laughing while my two children screamed. Fortunately Kenna was bribed with some treats and Allie decided her binkie was alright. I am so happy to say that by the time I left WalMart, I had two good Samaritans who had helped me along the way-- both were mom's who knew exactly what I was going through. Thank goodness for fellow moms! We made it back from WalMart just in time to get Kenna in her little Lion outfit and go down to the church to trunk-or-treat. I drew some whiskers on her cheeks and she looked so stinkin' cute! She had a little plastic pumpkin to carry her treats in and she was extremely protective of her pumpkin the rest of the night. Too funny. As you can see, I've figured out (sort of) the picture thing. I didn't want them all going down in a row, but it takes too long to load them so they can just stay as-is. At least there's pictures!

Multitasking

It is sure funny what we think about mom's before we are one. For example, don't we think we will NEVER let our children run around in a diaper, especially outside where they can actually be seen? Or do we think we will ever be standing in the middle of the street talking to the dogcatcher in our pajama pants, holding a baby in one arm, and holding the hand of your diaper-only child with scraggly just-woke-up-hair in the other? Probably not! But did we ever think life would be so gosh darn entertaining? How could we ever know! Yep, that was the adventure this morning. I'm sure I looked like I belonged on an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies. Then to make it even better, I had to chase the pumpkin. Let me explain. Jacob brought me home a pumpkin a few nights ago and I was sick of Kenna rolling it all over the kitchen floor, so I stuck it outside on the front porch. Well, while engaged in conversation with the dogcatcher (who was getting rid of the neighbors pack of wild animals) Kenna managed to push the pumpkin off the front porch. As she stood there in her diaper proudly watching, it rolled right down the cement stairs off the porch, then right on down the cement stairs of the walkway coming up to my porch, hopped the curb, and proceeded to roll down the street. So off I went, baby in one arm, chasing the pumpkin. Who knew pumpkins were so athletic? I am proud to say I caught the pumpkin, and placed it back in it's humble abode on the front porch- all the while carrying the baby and talking on the phone. Now THAT is multitasking.