And, She's Not Always Sweet...

Last night, Grace told me, "You are a poor mother."

We don't ever use the word "poor" in our house, so I asked her what she meant.

She tilted her head to the side and said:

"It means 'bad.'  Like, you are a 'bad' mother."

***

I was kinda torn between being insulted and pride over her word usage.

(And don't worry... 5 minutes later she randomly hugged me and proclaimed me to be the "best mother ever."  She's fickle like that).

;)

My Sweet Girl

This sweet thing was watching me last night, while I was rubbing the sides of my head, as I held her in the chair before bringing her to bed.

She asked me what was wrong.

I told her I had a lot of things to do, that it was already 8:00, I was completely worn out from the day, and it was going to be a long night.

And she said, "Then let me stay up with you and help you do them, sweetie."

(If you know how possessive Grace is with her sleep, then you know what a huge deal it was for her to say that).

My tension headache melted away right then and there as I hugged my sweet girl.

I don't know how I ever got so lucky that I get to be the mama to raise her.

But, I sure am glad that I am.

Donuts for A's

Krispy Kreme gives out a FREE donut for every "A" on kids' report cards... Adam and Grace got their 2nd quarter report cards today and begged us to go!

(When we told them we weren't eating out anymore, Adam was quick to make sure that our goal didn't include "free meals"... he was a little worried about not getting his Book It! pizza from Pizza Hut every month.)

;)

Between the two of them, they got 8 free donuts!

Which (luckily) they were happy to share with Josh.

We had a fun night celebrating their success at school!

Way to go, Adam and Grace!


*By the way, the spelling of "donut" is really bothering me.  I can't decide whether to go with "doughnut" or "donut."  Is their a proper way to spell it?  Anyone?

Teeth Cleaning... Check!

I took Josh and Grace over to the dentist today, while Mike and Adam worked (more) on his Pinewood Derby car.

It was Josh's first time, and he did absolutely wonderful!

(Except for when he bit the dentist).

He opened his mouth, let them clean/fluoride/floss/examine his teeth, and didn't cry or fight at all.  I guess he must have thought she was done, though, because he closed his mouth on her finger, as she was pulling it out.

(Sorry Dr. Laurie!)

I have been talking to him for weeks about the appointment.  It got to the point that he would run up to me and say, "Dentist, brush teeth, balloon!"  He was pretty darn excited about going and getting the balloon that Adam and Grace always come home with.

They both have healthy teeth with NO cavities!  Grace got a perfect A+ on her "tooth report card" and Josh got a B+ (I think he had a little plaque).

Adam already had his appointment, and didn't have any cavities either.

Yay!  Yay!  Yay!

And we got some new suggestions for Grace's serious aversion to toothpaste.  She insanely hates all toothpaste.  Dr. Laurie told us to brush them dry for 2 minutes and then quickly brush with toothpaste... we tried it tonight and it worked great!  

Yay for not having her gag/throw up while I brush her teeth!

;)

3 Hours in a Wal-Mart

On Wednesday, Grace accidentally left her car door open for 4 hours unnoticed.

(BTW, how bad is one's car if one lives a scary neighborhood and leaves a car door completely open for 4 hours and no one steals it?).

That night, when I was leaving to go work out, I found it open and the car dead.

So, Mike called a friend, who came over and jump-started it.

(Scary neighborhood = scary neighbors who won't jump our car)

He drove it to AutoZone, who said that the battery was fine.

The next morning, though, it was dead again.

(Repeat that above scenario 2 more times).

Mike fixed a broken wire in our brakes, and that seemed to solve the problem.  The kids had today off of school (and Mike had to work), so we decided to have some fun without him.  ;)  We decided on a picnic lunch at the park, park time, and the library.  As we got in the car to leave, it started very slowly.  I wasn't sure what that meant, or what we should do.  Adam suggested we pray, so we did.  Afterward, I really felt like I should go to Wal-Mart and have it tested again, but since it had already been tested 3 times and passed, I didn't want to go there.

That feeling didn't go away, though, so we went.

They tested it, and even though it's only 6 months old, it completely failed.

They told us it would take an hour to fix it.

It ended up taking almost three.

Which led to three very happy children who got to look at toys and fish for a LONG time.

The battery was replaced completely for free... they didn't even charge me tax.  I was so very happy about that (or delirious from chasing a toddler around a store for 3 hours), that I bought two things that I have never, ever bought before:

Two things that also made for very happy kids.

Our car is running great now, and I am so thankful.

As much as I hate the little trials that always seem to come our way, I am always grateful for the opportunities it gives me to pray with my children and teach them about listening to the Holy Ghost and about how much Heavenly Father loves us.

My Right-Hand Man

Adam and I, well, we butt heads.

A lot.

If there is something to be argued about, he will try to argue about it.

(And at some point during the day, I will forget to keep my cool and say, "I love you too much to argue with you" and argue back).

But, when I need him, he always has my back.

***

On Saturday, I took the three of them shopping.

Josh was insane.

So, when I realized I had gone shopping completely un-prepared, I grabbed a package of cookies, opened them, and gave a few to him.

(Yeah, there are about 10 things wrong with what I did, I know.  But, I did buy the empty box.)

He was fine, sat in the car, stopped throwing carrots, and I got some shopping done.

And then he started to gag a little.

All 3 of my kids have insanely sensitive gag reflexes; if they cough/gag/choke/don't like the texture of the food at all, they throw up.

So, cold/allergy season is always a blast around here.

Anyways, I should have been prepared for Josh starting to throw up, right there in the snack aisle.

But, I wasn't.

I threw my hand in front of his mouth to catch it, and asked Adam to get into my purse and hand me wipes continuously, until I asked him to stop.

He did.

Then I took off Josh's sweatshirt (with all of the grossness on it) and asked Adam to go get a bag from a cashier for it and the nasty wipes.

He did.

And when he was all cleaned up, and my groceries were paid for (who am I to waste a shopping trip over a little up-chuck?), we went out to the car.

He helped load the groceries in the car, and when I was buckling Grace and Josh in, he returned the cart for me, without being asked.

And then he came home, and un-loaded all of the groceries on his own, while I gave Josh a bath.

All without complaint.

***

Adam is my right-hand man, my get-it-done guy, and my resident paper airplane expert.

So, he may argue every single day about going to bed, doing his chores, eating what I've prepared for dinner and finishing his homework.

But, I know when it comes down to it, he is there for me, no questions asked.

Love you, sunshine!

P.S.  On this particular shopping trip, he found a $20 bill on the ground, and immediately asked where customer service was to turn it in... didn't even think about keeping it.  I love him so much!

New Year, New Primary

It's a new year in Primary!

Adam is a Valiant this year.  Man alive!  I can't believe he is a Valiant.

Wasn't he just a Sunbeam?

Josh is in his last year of nursery.

And Grace is a CTR 5 this year:

I am still serving as the Primary president (which means I've got more to learn, I think ;) ) and our theme this year is "Choose the Right."  I am loving it!  What an incredible theme, right?  I am so excited for this year.

I love all of our Primary kids so stinkin' ridiculously much, but these three are my favorites.  ;)

Let's Play... What's in My Vacuum Today

A year and a half ago or so, we played "What's in My Washer Today."

It was so fun, I decided to play it again with y'all.

Vacuum-style this time.

***

My vacuum hasn't been working so hot lately.

I emptied it, washed the filter, nothing helped.

And then while I was sitting staring at it this morning, I saw Josh nonchalantly walk over, unplug the hose, drop his leftover sandwich in, and walk away.

I told Mike, who took it all apart, and found the culprits.

Any guesses?

....

....

All of this was clogging it up:

Good grief!

Maybe I need to start a regular feature on here titled, "What's in My Appliance Today."

Or watch my kids better.

One of those things.

;)

Thirsty Much?

Apparently Josh was feeling a little extra thirsty today.

A thirst that just  one cup of apple juice with just  one straw, couldn't satisfy.

In the Buff

This is how I find Josh whenever I go and check on him lately in bed.

Be that at 1:00 in the morning, or at 7:00 in the morning.

I check before I go to bed, and he's naked, so I put a diaper back on him.

And then I find him this way again in the morning.

I think some inside out pajamas (or some duct tape around the diaper) are going to be in order around here soon...

On the West Side

Last night, Adam chipped the cap off of his front tooth, when he bit a piece of paper.

Seriously!

Luckily, we were able to get him into the dentist first thing this morning.  His dentist office is on the other side of town (about 20 miles away), but we LOVE Dr. Laurie, so we willingly travel.  Anyways, we decided to make a day of it, and play over there..

Normally, we probably would have grabbed a burger or something after the appointment, but because of our no eating out thang, we packed some peanut butter, honey, bread, apples, and water.

Which we made and ate in the parking lot of the dentist office, because his appointment took forever, and the kids were starving.

Tacky, no?

They did a check-up and cleaning while he was there (all 3 were due for them in December, but it got too crazy), and capped his tooth off again.

Several hours (and lunch in the parking lot) later, we headed to our favorite park in Summerlin.

We all had a great time playing!

Afterward, while Josh napped in the car with Mike, we went to the "humongous" library on the west side that the kids love.  I love that it's been 3 years since we lived over there, and the librarians still remember us.

25 books later (we have a book problem), we came home and played some more.

I love when Mike has a day off that the kids have off, too, and we get to spend it together!

High Heel Love

Josh insisted on trompin' around in Grace's dress-up princess high heels today.

He loves them.

I love how cute his chunky legs look in them and that he was holding trucks (and throwing trucks, of course, he is Josh) while he was running in his "choes".

Aunt Kayty's Visit

The kids' super-cute, super-fun, and super-pink-haired, Aunt Kayty, visited us!  She came on Monday and will leave early tomorrow.

We have had so much fun talking, laughing, watching movies, and playing with her!

Adam thought (for some reason) that she was leaving this afternoon, so he tried faking sick big time, just to stay home and play with her.  When he found out that she was leaving tomorrow, he quickly recovered and went to school, and was very relieved when she came with me to pick them up from school.

I am always so glad when my sister comes to visit!  We have so much fun together!

(And she is still my BFF, even if she has gone to the dark side and loves Star Wars {gag!}).

;)