Matchy Matchy

Eden and I got matching skirts for Christmas from Peter's Mom and we love them! We took these pictures a while ago and I had forgotten about them.

Dallin also got a new suit and so he matches Daddy too.

We Will Miss You!

Yesterday we found out that we will be losing one of our favorite therapists. Amber loves our kids and they love her. She has been with us from the beginning and has helped Dallin so very much. We lost our other long time therapist Christina a few months ago as well. Amber has seen me, my house, and my parenting at its worst and never passed judgment. This is a blessinge because it is not easy to have people in your house every day month after month. She has been a great friend to our family and makes all of our children feel special. Amber's hard work and dedication to Dallin have made such a significant difference in his life, which makes me choke up to think about. He is her little man. This will be a great loss for Dallin, but hopefully he will be able to adjust to Amber's replacement.






The best part is the very special relationship that Dallin and Amber share. I know he will never forget her. We Love our sweet Amber!!!

Dollar Store Fun

I love getting excited about little things, it makes life fun. I got some dollar store finds that I really liked and I am practicing with pictures all the time now so here you go.
I love to mark up books with pen and highlights so here is a simple pen with highlighter on the end. I was pleasantly suprised that I really liked how the pen writes too. 10 for a buck isn't bad either. I would have used these to death in my college days. I just think it is so smart!

These pancake molds were 3 for a dollar. They are the perfect size for little ones and my kids were wild for them. The kids thought I was a totally cool Mom for making these :)

Funny Family

(Every once in a while as my family communicates through email we get a little carried away and feed off of each other. The last couple of days have been pretty funny. I found myself checking my email a lot just to see what someone else has to say. So I copied and pasted this string of emails because it is just a fun family dynamic. It started with my little sis confirming reservations for our upcoming family reunion and just got carried away from there.)

Reservations are made!!!! August.....
-cami

Nicely done! I am sooooo looking forward to this. Camie is my favorite for the rest of the day! Unless someone else wins the lottery.
-pop(my dad)
(side note: I have to interject here that he spelled Cami wrong, so I'm not really sure if that cancels out the favorite of the day thing-cil)

ummm, I won the lottery.
-elizabeth

NO WAY !!! I totally won the lottery too!!! Can you believe it? On the same day!!
-laurel

The thing I really love about you two fibbers is that you still want to be my favorite.
;) pop

The really amazing thing is that I won without even playing. That deserves favorite title for a really long time.
-elizabeth

I won 10,000 A WEEK for life according to readers digest....so there....
of course i still have to go through another drawing and buy a lot of magazines and stuff.
thats okay tho i need a lot of stuff.
-mom

Papa, I would never lie to you. You can trust me. Not only did I plan the reunion location, but I really did win the lottery!!! I promise to build a house for you and mom AND buy you both brand new cadillac's.
-cami

I really don't believe any of you. But actually, I kept coming across these numbers in my life all the time over and over again until I finally played them and won 100 million dollars! Sorry, but the numbers are cursed so I gave it all away just before I got stranded on a mystical island. Don't worry though I came back. But now I am going again...and I gained 300 pounds....
-cilla (we all watch Lost)

wait a minute????why does this seem fam...........oh ya
-mom

lololololololololololololololololololololololololololpausebreathepauselolololololololololololololololololol
-laurel

HA HA! Cilla got fat!! How's the dharma peanut butter?
-cami

(I love my family, you guys are the best! And for posting this, I want to be your favorite Pop.)

Steam Roller

Dallin needed a little extra encouragement at school so I told him if he was really good at school he could earn a sticker for his sticker chart and when he filled up all 10 spots, He could get a steam roller! He had been wanting one really badly for a month or more. So he worked really hard and last week he finally earned his steam roller. Good job Dallin, you are such a good boy and I love you for how hard you work!

Chub

I am not really one to show a baby bum, but can you blame me? He is so cute and chubby!


I also wanted to document that Carter took his first steps yesterday, February 21st. He stood up between Peter and I and took 1 step a couple of times and then 2 steps. I don't think he will be running around too soon, but he can sure climb our stairs in no time at all!

Tribute to Thomas

We went to a "Playdate with Thomas" at Toys R Us yesterday which caused me to reflect on this subject. Thomas the Train has practically become a member of our family.



Dallin was the first one to become obsessed. We started buying wooden train tracks when he was about 2 and a half. They are a bit expensive, but I must say the most money we have ever gotten out of a toy for use. He has loved them to pieces, literally over the last 3 years. Trains are a daily experience at our house. I think he was just beginning to lose interest, but with Tanner gaining interest, it is back in full force. Here is an example of a recent "building" that he made.



Dallin is, as many know really amazing at building tracks. He cannot not be restrained by a train table.



This is one of my all time favorites (above and below). I love the freeway overpass as well as the long tracks, and apartment complex(Eden's added touch).



Dallin often builds levels of the tracks and will use whatever is on hand at the moment to elevate it. Here he used blocks. He uses duplos a lot too.



Tanner manifests his obsession of trains in a different way. He is happy to let Dallin be the builder and play with the results. He is way more into the different Thomas characters. He knows all their names, carries them around in a bucket wherever we go, visits the website, watches any movie he can get his hands on, or plays our Thomas board games. He lives and breaths Thomas, Percy, James, Diesel 10, Lady, Edward and Gordon to name a few. I have even learned them all now.



We totally fell for the "playdate" trap at the store. We were lured in to buying some new train characters. Dallin had saved about 10 dollars in money to spend and Tanner and Eden each got one too(Way too expensive)! Here are a our older ones. You can tell how loved they are, the paint is half gone and the blue one in the back is missing half of its car.



The shiny new additions.



As you can see, Thomas is a really big part of our lives :)

Update

I did an update about each of the kids recently, but I haven't done one for Peter or myself so I will go first.


Cilla: I am 5 weeks into my semester at school and loving it to death! I go to intermediate photography and then to beginning digital imaging(photoshop). I can't believe how much there is to know, the more I learn the more overwhelming it is, but I just can't get enough of it. I love that I can go to school and just focus on one thing that I enjoy. It makes me wish I could redo all of my BYU classes one at a time and soak it all in. I like talking to the other students and learn as much from them as I do the teacher. I wish that I could always be learning something.


I was released from my calling a couple of weeks ago as a relief society teacher. This makes me pretty sad because as I have prepared the lessons from the Joseph Smith manual, I have learned so much from studying. Reading to prepare a lesson is so different than reading just for myself. My love and admiration for Joseph Smith has grown, and so has my testimony. I love Relief Society and I have grown a lot from being in a teaching position. So on to my new calling...Enrichment Leader! Yikes...Yikes. Our previous leader was the best I have ever seen so I have big shoes to fill. I am excited and scared, but I hope that I will learn and grow as much as I did as a teacher. It will be fun.


I have been pretty faithful about going to the gym for the last several months and it has really paid off. Aside from losing baby weight, I have so much more energy, and have been overall so much more healthy. In fact, I have not been sick at all this whole winter, even when the rest of the family is and that has never happened before. I do a variety of workouts to keep myself interested, but lifting weights definitely makes the biggest difference. I love that my body is not squishy anymore. Building muscle is so important for keeping a high metabolism. If I don't get to do anything else, I will lift because cardio may help for that day but lifting gives long lasting results. I am really just back to my normal size, not super thin, but so much stronger. I feel like I am 20 instead of 29. Of course the cardio endurance really helps all of that too. In addition to the fun classes that I have written about before I have been doing a boot camp put on the by personal trainers and a group lifting class. I very rarely use any machines, but I don't mind doing them if I have to. I gave up dieting completely and just try to make small changes like, stop eating when I am full, don't eat late at night, no fast food, and just try to eat nutritious balanced meals.


The only real difficulty that I have been having lately is I guess sort of an autism depression. Living with autism is such a roller coaster. There have been times when Dallin is doing so well that I begin think that everything is smooth sailing. But then there comes some regression and it always leaves me broken hearted. Its just 2 steps forward 1 back. As a mom this requires endless patience, creativity because what works great one day won't the next, and energy. Motivation is the key with Dallin so I am always trying to keep it high, but it is not easy. Lately I have been emotionally tired, but despite my weaknesses, I am always amazed by this wonderful boy. He is such a sweetheart. I know he is a gift from Heavenly Father and the scriptures that has been in my mind is "where much is given, much is required." I think this applies to all parents.


Other than that, I am just enjoying being a homemaker and mother more than anything.


So on to Peter: Peter has been working in the office at Berg Electric as and estimator for the past several months. He really enjoys it and has earned the respect of his bosses. Last month he finished his electrical apprenticeship hours after 4 long years. Yay Peter!


Peter has also been doing a great job with the Deacons at church. He has such a way of reaching the boys and they just love him. He is very involved at every activity and spends a lot of time with the Duty to God program. Every time I talk to people who work around him at church they go on and on about how great he is with the youth.


When Peter comes home he immediately switches into daddy mode. The kids love him to pieces and scream and jump for joy at his arrival. He often takes the kids for walks or bike rides around our neighborhood. He is also really good at jumping in and helping with the kids needs. This guy is never afraid of a diaper or a hungry child so he gives me relief when I need it.

Peter likes to go play church basketball a couple of nights a week as well as run when he can. He will also practice his guitar after the kids are in bed quite a bit.

Just Woke Up

Love Love LOVE this boy! Carter can officially stand on his own for about 10 seconds(he doesn't know he is doing it though).

The Other White Meat

I have discovered a way to enjoy 3 totally different dinners in a row with very little effort at all. We gave up fast food and eating out about a month ago, so fast home cooked meals are a must around here.

I love making pork loin roasts. They usually come in a package with 3 small roasts and are very affordable. This is where I start.

Sunday: In the morning put 2 pork roasts(1 is enough for dinner and one is for tomorrow)in the Crock pot. I season it with Montreal steak seasoning. Fill the rest of the pot with large pieces of potato, onion and carrot. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8. After dinner, save the second roast and about 2 cups of veggies.

Monday: Shred the second roast and mix with barbecue sauce to make pulled pork. Heat and serve on hamburger buns.

Tuesday: Make a simple cheesy potato and ham soup. Instead of boiling potatoes, use the flavorful left over veggies mashed up. I always keep cubed ham in my freezer so I just toss a cup of that in. Serve with sourdough bread or bread bowls. This only takes about 10 minutes.

Good home cooked meals in no time at all. I am sure there are tons of combinations, but I just like how these are all different. I was thinking maybe next time I will make 3 roasts and have a fourth night with enchilladas.

The Funnies

As I was working in the kitchen I overheard this in the next room:


Eden: "Daddy, you are so funny."

Peter: (loud enough so I could hear)"I am glad someone thinks I am funny"...."Does this mean I have 4 year old humor?"


Alright, I vow to be a better wife and laugh at your really really funny jokes more often.
P.S. This did make me laugh!

Loves

"I love you very much! I want to keep you forever and ever..."
I guess I must have said that to Dallin enough times that now he says it to me too. It makes my heart do flip flops.

"Hugs...Kisses...Nosies...Butterfly Kisses..."
That is the goodnight routine that Eden and I have. She never forgets one part. I think we started doing that about a year ago. She is my sweetheart.

Happy Valentines Day!

To My Little Valentines...




Candy Necklaces

Dallin's First Talk

This was so cute so I just had to put it on. He did such a good job. It is pretty mangled even though I laminated it with packing tape!

Wow

I saw something tonight that I have never quite seen before. I have seen my babies spit up on people a lot, don't get me wrong. Especially Peter because he bounces them around and puts pressure on their tummy when he plays. But tonight we were sitting on the couch and Peter was holding Carter just hanging out. Carter was standing and facing Peter and all of the sudden Carter just coughed and at the same time spit up! It just sprayed all over poor Peters face. It was like a shower. Oh these are the moments to live for.

Otoscope

All you Home Executives out there know that there are so many job descriptions that describe the many hats we wear. Ones I often use are:

Personal Chef

Housekeeper

Interior Designer

Memory Preservervationist

Teacher

Negotiater

Professional Organizer

Nutritionist

Disciplinarian

Girlfriend

Therapist (in my case)

Cheer Leader/Coach

Fashion Coordinator

Student

Chauffeur...Just to name a few.

Then there is the Nurse definition. This is a big one. We diagnose, medicate, evaluate and nurse children back to health all the time. So this was one of the best ideas I had heard in a long time.




I was talking with a girl I visit teach who has a little girl with some health problems and I was complaining about how every time I think my kids have and ear infection I have to take them to the doctor just to find out or worse I don't realize that they have one until they have a 104 temp. Then she told me that she just went online and bought an Otoscope so that she can know for sure what is going on in there! She also bought a stethoscope and a good ear thermometer. Think about when you take your sick child to the doctor, those are the first things they use to check them out right? It just never occurred to me to have my own since they don't really sell them readily. I am not saying this should replace the doctor, but you can at least know if they are sick enough to really need to go. I can't believe I never just got one of these handy dandy little things when my oldest was going through 2 years of chronic ear infections and tubes. I bought this one on Amazon for around 10 dollars and prices go up from there, but this works great. It even came with a little booklet with pictures of what your ears look like in there and different problems. It also has a tongue depressor for checking the throat. I will definitely be getting the other equipment too. With a stethoscope I will be able to better judge when a cold has turned into Bronchitis or Croup, etc. Being new to seeing the inner ear, I must say however it is pretty nasty, even healthy ones. I have a growing collection of medical books and my medical drawers are filled with small equipment, natural remedies and over the counter meds , but I love being able evaluate and treat my children at home as much as possible. Then of course we go to the doctor.

*If you are interested I noticed that Walmart now carries an otoscope for about $15, which is new because it wasn't there when I was looking to get one.

A Rose is a Rose

I have been way too lazy about posting pictures lately. This is a shot of Eden's birthday roses from a couple of weeks ago. I don't know why, but I really haven't been taking as many pictures and videos as I usually do. Bad, bad, bad Cilla. I will do better! I have been working on my 2008 blog book, reading the potty training book among other projects and chasing monkeys around all day so I guess I can't be too hard on myself.

Caught

I don't know why, but even though I know I have a lot of socks, I just can't seem to figure out why my drawer is scarce lately. Yesterday, being laundry day, I was particularly low with only a few unmatched socks. I NEVER do this, but I was in a hurry so I grabbed a pink sock with lips all over it and a blue sock with butterflies. It was kinda weird for me but I was putting on tennis shoes so I thought, oh well! I sat on the top of our stairs to put on my socks and shoes just as Eden was walking up the stairs. We had some sort of conversation that I can't remember and then she said "Mom, you can't find any matching socks?" By that time, I had already put it out of my mind so she caught me off guard. I guess I couldn't sneak that one past a four year old girl who is really into coordinating and matching all of her clothes.

A Few Fun Things

I was so bad about taking pictures last week, but there were some noteworthy events. Saturday morning we took the kids to a "Boot Camp" Primary activity. They had a great time going to different stations and Peter and I ran the Basic Training station. We made the kids do some exercise drills like push ups and pull ups and told them they should exercise every day to keep their body strong. Then we gave them some spiritual exercises that they should do every day to keep their spiritual body strong (prayer, scriptures, family prayer). Dallin's favorite thing was the gunny sack races. Eden's favorite thing was the cupcakes and water in the mess hall at the end.

Then Saturday afternoon we went to a birthday party for a kid in Eden's primary class, but all of our kids were invited. They had a fun pinata experience, making picture frames, and decorating little cars with stickers. It was fun to hang out with so many people from church.

As if that wasn't a full enough day, we decided since it was such a beautiful day that we would pile the kids in the wagon and walk to the park about a mile away. Walks and going to the park are two of their favorite things. By the time we got home, we were totally beat.

On Sunday, Dallin gave his very first talk in Primary! I think I was a lot more excited about it than he was. I wrote his talk in extra large font in Word and imported lots of pictures so that he could read it himself. He practiced a bunch beforehand and he did a great job. Eden also gave her first scripture and prayer and did a wonderful job as well. I was a proud mommy :)

Sunday afternoon Peter decided to take Dallin and Eden for a bike ride. He took them over to the high school where there is lots of paved basketball courts and let them ride around. Peter decided to take Dallin's training wheels off and give him a little lesson in bike riding. It turned out that no lesson was necessary. Dallin just took off and never fell or needed instruction, he just did it! I guess he must have been ready for that. He even just naturally knew to put his food down when he stopped. I am a little sad that I missed that. I not too surprised though, Dallin has always picked up on gross motor stuff quickly and Peter had raised his training wheels up a tiny bit to make it harder a while back, which turned out to be all the practice he needed. He is really excited that he can ride with no training wheels like his cousin Spencer now.

It's GONE!!!

That is what Eden hysterically said in a half yell, half scream the other day. I seriously thought she was going to hyperventalate. Please let me explain...

She was recently introduced to gum, a very very rare thing at our house. I think I had given the kids a half piece each in the store because I didn't have any other treats to thank them for their patience. On the way home in the car, Tanner swallowed his and I explained to them that we don't swallow gum because it is not good for you and you are only supposed to chew it and spit it out when you are all done. I think that must have freaked Eden out a little bit.

I went to run another errand a couple of days ago and it was Eden's turn to go with me. Once again she got a piece of gum which she was very careful not to swallow. When we got home peter was feeding the kids and Eden went ahead an joined them and then went off to play with Dallin. A couple of minutes later she came running to me in all out panic yelling, "It's gone! It's gone!" Once I realized what had happened I had to try so hard not to laugh at her because she was so serious. I asked her if she swallowed it and she said no. I asked her if she threw it in the garbage and she said no again. She didn't want to believe that she had swallowed it. She just kept yelling "It's gone!" and runnig around like a mad woman! At that point Peter and I couldn't stop ourselves from laughing anymore.

Finally I asked her if she would like another piece. She chewed it for a couple of minutes and then told me she was all done and put it in the garbage. She said "I didn't swallow it this time." in a very relieved tone. All was right in the world again.

You Make Me Laugh

I gave Tanner some Teddy Grahams today to snack on. I was sitting on the floor in the living room with a bunch of cook books making a grocery list while he sat next to me. I looked over and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Tanner was putting a graham in between his toes and then bending his leg to his mouth, taking it out with his teeth and eating it! Ha Ha! So gross and funny. Hey, I am one of those moms that chalks it up to building immunity when my kids expose themselves to germs. Especially when it is too late to stop them.

Blurb is Back

FYI - you can slurp Blogger books at http://www.blurb.com/ again! Thank goodness, now I am off to work on my 2008 book. You can now upgrade to a heavier paper and print your cover directly on your book instead of dust cover as well.

Thoughts from a 5 Year Old

Dallin has been saying some interesting things that I wanted to write down.



He is really into pirates lately so Peter really wanted to rent Goonies for our movie night. It was pretty intense for the kids but Dallin was really into it. When the Goonies went under the restaurant into the tunnel, Dallin said "I want to go under our house too!" We explained that we don't have tunnels under our house. Then when the bats attacked them, I quickly explained to my tense little Eden that it was just pretend, not real. Dallin loudly exclaimed "I want to go there with REAL bats!!!". Peter was right, this movie was a winner. Peter is now planning to take Dallin to the Ape Caves in Oregon at our earliest convenience.



On our way to church today we passed an apartment complex that is under construction. We pass it a lot and he always watches and comments on any new developments. So as we were driving by and he saw that one was primed for painting he said "I want to build BIG buildings some day!" Who knows, maybe he will end up being a 4th generation Electrician.



Finally, we were on our way home and Dallin asked me if I had a baby in my tummy yet. What the??? I told him I don't but asked him if he thinks that I should? He said yes. I asked him if it should be in a long time and he said "no, it should be really soon." He is cute, I know he really would like that.



He reveals what is in that little head of his more and more all the time, it is so fun to hear.