Tyler's first day of school

OK, so it isn't his actual first day of school. It is the second week of school but the FIRST DAY riding his bike to and from school. He rode with some of our neighbors who also ride their bikes. It is his first time going to school without his mommy driving him. He was pretty excited about it too. I, however, have been a "nervous Nelly" all day long because I didn't know if he made it or not. Maybe tomorrow I'll be one of those moms who secretly follows him to make sure he makes it there safely. That's totally normal right?

I may be a bad mom...

..but only to one of my kids. I did not take any photos of Tyler's first day of school for 2nd grade. I did, however, happen to snap a couple of photos of Jacob's first day of preschool. He got into the free preschool at Tyler's elementary school nearby. Can't beat that right? I have two free hours every single day.

The first photo is blurry.

Jake found his name-tag and was thrilled it was a blue sail boat.

I went to tell him goodbye, but he wouldn't acknowledge me. He was too busy playing with the clay. I don't think this boy will have any troubles adjusting to life at school.

Lily told me I should take her picture too. To me she looks like she is saying "what are we going to do now that Jakey's gone mom?" You can also tell Jake is in afternoon Preschool because Lily's hair is already falling out by mid-day.

Pictures of August

I didn't take many photos, but here is what i have of our visitors. We went to the Hollywood Connection in West Valley. We had a lot of fun together.Lily on the carousel

Jake on roller skates

Tyler LOVED skating. He stopped to talk to me and he said "Mom! I went all the way around the rink and I only fell SEVEN times!" I was laughing so hard.

Randy, Cenny, Qatar, Lisa and Paige (plus two random boys) all doing the chicken dance. Randy won the competition. He's bringing sexy back one booty shake at a time. :)

LilJake and aunt Lisa on the carousel

Lily with aunt Paige helping her out

Tyler on his noble steed

Cenny on the bumper cars.
Videos of the awesome dance/skate competition. So funny.

Publish Post

Busy August

Whew. I have been so busy this month and it has slipped past me so fast. Randy's parents came to visit on their way back to Minnesota on the 3rd of August. They dropped off our niece Cenneidigh who is 11 years old. She stayed with us helping take care of lily, and playing with the boys while waiting for her parents to arrive in a couple of weeks. Then, about a week after she arrived, Randy's sisters Paige and Amanda came to stay. Amanda stayed for the weekend and then headed to Boise where she will be going to grad school. Paige hung out and helped take care of the kids while Randy and I attended Education Week for a couple of days (It was AWESOME!). My sister Michelle also helped watch my kids. Thank you to both of you! Also thank you to my cousin Nate and his wife Stephanie for letting us crash at their house so we didn't have to drive far to get to BYU. Stephanie has to be the BEST hostess ever! I wish we could have spent more time with them.

On the 19Th, Lisa, Randy's oldest sister (Cenneidigh's mom) came with her husband and their other 4 kids to stay with us. Their oldest son Gunnar is going to be going to BYU so they were dropping him off at college. Yep, we had 8 extra people staying at our house. I didn't know how it was possible, but somehow we made it work squeezing 13 people into our tiny house. It was fun to have them. It is interesting to see the dynamics of a family with mostly teenagers compared to my little family. Mine aren't going to grow up are they?

On the 23rd, Tyler started school. He is in the second grade. I'm a bad mom, well, (preoccupied mom anyway) because I didn't take any photos of the occasion. Paige flew back to Missouri on the 23rd as well and Lisa's family left on morning of the 25Th. Jacob also started pre-school on the 25Th and I did take photos, so I will post them later.

So that is our August in a nutshell. Yes, it was busy, but it was also a lot of fun. My favorite thing was sitting around the table chatting with my sister-in-laws. They are each so different, but I like them all. I can say that when Paige and Amanda were visiting, we found ourselves still in our pajamas by noon because we didn't stop talking long enough to actually get ready for the day. Lisa had things planned for most of the days they were here. the boys went hiking on Mt. timpanogos, we attended the service day at the church and quilted and made scarves, we went to the Hollywood connection and enjoyed skating, roller coasters, mini golf, etc. It was a lot of fun to have them around. I loved sitting on Sunday afternoon talking with Randy, Lisa and David in the yard. That is, until I found out that Jacob had been watching Lord of the Rings with all the older kids and was terrified of what he saw. Poor thing. I also LOVED playing Boggle with Lisa and David. They are freaking awesome and kick my butt, but I still had a good time. I sure hope that they come again to stay. We had some great times. If I were to describe it in one word I would say it was "balls." :)

Oh, for those of you wondering, I am feeling a little bit better lately. I'm still sick, but I have longer bouts without feeling so awful. It was nice to have visitors to do the chores that set me into dry heaving fits. Such as dishes, and dirty diapers. You guys are the best!!

Lily Says...

I have been thinking to myself that I should post this story, but for some reason I keep putting it off. It happened a few months ago, but I think it is worth remembering because it was so funny to me.
Lily had been playing outside with her brothers and all the neighbor kids. It was time for bed so I dragged her (probably kicking and screaming as usual) into the house. I laid her on the changing table and I changed her and put her in her pajamas. When I said 'OK Lils, are you ready for bed?" she holds up both of her hands (that are in fists) and says "What I do with these mom?" I hadn't noticed her hands balled up into fists till then and I say "What do you have?" she says "Pully Pully's" and opens her hands to reveal about four or five "roly polys'" (potato bugs) in both hands.
Of course I was shocked and I laughingly said "yeah...let's keep the bugs outside please." Crazy girl.

12 Weeks

I am finally 12 weeks pregnant today. I have been waiting and waiting for my first trimester to pass. Mostly because it has been all kinds of awful. I have a hope, a tiny sliver of hope that my morning sickness will pass. Even if it just got slightly better I would be so grateful.

All my days are spent tying my hardest to get something done and failing. Trying to clean, trying to make meals, trying to avoid letting my children sit and watch Netflix all day long, and failing.

I do, however, succeed at taking a nap every afternoon whether I intend to or not. If I shut my eyes for a second, I am fast asleep, even dreaming.

I have to apologize to the women who have told me in the past how awful being pregnant is because they are so sick. I honestly didn't believe you. I thought you were just whiny and must complain about everything. How could you not appreciate that miracle and make it sound like the most horrible experience in the world? I thought that being pregnant was fun and exciting. You are actually making another human being for crying out loud!! It is amazing and wonderful and there is nothing like it. Now I understand though. It can make your stomach feel like you have the flu every single day for weeks and weeks. I understand that it can truly make you wonder whether or not you made the right decision to have another child. It can have your kids telling everyone they come in contact with "my mom has a baby in her tummy and it makes her too sick to do anything." It can have your son asking you "Are you even happy about this baby Mom?" It makes you disappointed to know that in spite of all your efforts, you can't get ahead. you can't have a clean house, you can't have clean children and you can't work for a moment without feeling like you are going to vomit. I'm so sorry for judging those women. I had no idea that it could actually be this terrible for some people. I'm sorry.

Alright, I've learned my lesson. Can I feel better now?