The sweetest things in life...

What's the verdict?

2010-03-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

I get jury summons frequently...at least once a year! Maybe that's normal. All I know is that I get them way more often than Ryan. It could be because I am always trying to get out of it and I am on a list somewhere to "try again later". Anyhow, I saw my sister say somewhere something about jury duty and one of her friends said that she always gets out of it for the same simple reason...she is a stay-at-home mom. DUH! I have gotten pretty lucky (cancelled) or have come up with really good reasons, like being a nursing mother. Ok, same as staying home, but it sounds even more necessary!

I seriously have a target on me somewhere because I just got not ONE, but TWO jury summons! One for the US district court and one for our local court. One April 23, and one starting May 1. REALLY? I don't think I will have a hard time getting out of it after talking to the local court lady. That one is only one day, and when I told her I thought the other one was for a week, she said it could go as long as a year and a half! NO STINKIN' WAY!

So just wondering, this is my first time ever summoned for the District court. Has anyone else ever got a summons for that one too...or this close together? Or am I just lucky?

"A star is born"...so says his Dad!`

2010-02-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

CARSON'S STATS:

AGE: 6 (7, IN MARCH)

HEIGHT: 4' 1"

WEIGHT: 55 POUNDS

POSITION: ALL, BUT HIS FAVORITE
IS RUNNING BACK ("BECAUSE YOU
GET TO RUN A LOT")

In his first ever pass as a quarterback, Carson threw a dart to his
teammate, Isaiah, who scampered into the end zone for a 35 yard score.
League sources say that might be a record for the 5-6 year old flag
football league since they play on a 40 yard field! Carson took a
sweep to the left side to complete the two point conversion. He also
reversed fields later in the game on a critical third and long, adding
20 yards to his rushing total. Dad was quite proud of these feats and
has already sent film to Bronco Mendenhall.

(***Mom was taping while babysitting, so that is the excuse for the poor video. You can expect many more low-quality home videos of Carson's football days to be posted later.)

Carson had his second game two weeks later and followed up his debut with a sustained touchdown drive in his only turn at quarterback. The drive included a clutch 3rd down pass. His two completions on three attempts for a touchdown lead the league by a long shot. I think he might have more completions than the rest of the league combined! As you can imagine, most yards in this league are gained on the ground. Carson also got into the action on defense making a tackle (flag pull) behind the line of scrimmage and by blowing up another critical play late in the game. What a stud!

Maybe obsessed?

2010-02-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

Any time I look away, Deegan is on the Wii. When I mentioned previously that my kids love Super Mario Bros., I don't think that Deegan had really had any time to play this game on his own. He sneaks and plays forever...sun up to sun down if I let him! Routinely, I walk up the stairs and he has the volume turned down all the way (FYI Deegan: the remotes still makes sounds!) and as soon as he sees or hears me, he runs and turns off the tv and turns to just stare at me with the remote right there in his hand. I may not be a genius, but I am not stupid!

He's been grounded from the Wii for his disobedience and...let's call them "reactions" to my pleadings. I have hidden the remotes in my room and finally had to put them at the top of my closet. Shockingly, he was able to climb and get them down anyway, so I changed the location in my closet thinking that without anything to climb on I had beaten him at his own game. Let's just say that unless I can lock this stuff behind closed doors or duct tape it to the ceiling, nothing will stop him!

He dumped out my rubbermaids and made his own stairs right up to the stash! He is very clever and I am learning EVERY day that he is smarter than any of us have given him credit for! It's a good thing this kiddo is a cute one!

Super Mario Bros. Wii

2010-01-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

Last night, Kaeleigh had the activity day for FHE. She kept asking if we could do her activity and we kept trying to get her to "stick to the schedule".

Finally, Ryan had to put Ashlyn and Deegan to bed because they tend to expire before the older two. So Ryan snuck away and I told Kaeleigh she could start her activity. I should have known...Super Mario Bros!

We stayed up until 10:15 (ON A SCHOOL NIGHT!) playing. I had been telling my kids stories about the good ole days when I used to play this game. Last night, I finally showed them my "skills" and they were amazed, to say the least!

Ryan came out to see what all the commotion was. We actually woke him up and he broke up the party. I knew it was probably getting late, but kept thinking he would come back from the bedtime routine and he fell asleep. We promised to stop to have family prayer and Kaeleigh, Carson, and I just had the giggles so bad we had to wait for prayer! I felt like a 10 year old! It felt good!

As I listened to Carson's prayers, he said, "I'm thankful that Mom got to play Wii with us and that she SAVED OUR LIVES!" I guess he doesn't realize that I am trying to save his life every day, just not in a video game. I thought it was cute though!

I think this game is fun, but now I know why my kids were getting so frustrated with each other. As good as I (used to be) think I still am, I was sabotaged by my little ones several times as they threw turtles at me, pushed me off a cliff, jumped on my head, and left me behind to die! I kept trying to tell them that you are supposed to get the coins and all the secret stuff and go down pipes...Carson just wants to run through as fast as possible. So every time I would collect coins, he'd run ahead and kill me off. At least I could come back in a bubble...until they decided to pop me right out into the lava or the hole of death! At least I have something that I can teach them now. I was feeling like Ryan got to teach them everything hard...like math! I think this may rank right up there on difficulty, depending on who you ask. (Don't tell Ryan, but I think they value my Mario skills to math-at least right now in life!)

Mom and Dad Vehar's Christmas gift

2009-12-25T09:11:00.000-08:00

For all of Ryan's siblings, I wanted to post this video so that you can all feel like you were here as they received their gift. As far as I am convinced, they loved it. Well done everyone, and we hope you are having a very merry Christmas morning and have a terrific remainder of your day!

We miss you all and wish we were all together. Here's to a summer reunion...just not in Phoenix!!!!

Christmas greetings

2009-12-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

Am I the only one that puts off pictures for that PERFECT CHRISTMAS CARD PHOTO until about November...just so that the kids don't change too much between picture take and delivery time? Maybe I started this bad, horrible, procrastinating, NEVER. GOING. TO. HAPPEN. habit as my kids came closer together. It seems we've had babies for a long time in this family and everyone knows that 2 minutes later, a baby looks much different. They never stop growing and living farther from family and friends, I always think I am going to get them their most up-to-date look.

Well, since Halloween, we have had nothing but fat lips, goose egged foreheads and black eyes! I know my Mom always just took the picture because with seven kids, there is never NOTHING wrong. Problem being, it was always me that had something wrong in all the pictures. With my VonWillabrands, I always had a bruises or a black eye (Luckily, I think I avoided having two at the same time!)

Some pictures I had chapped lips down to my chin or a bad haircut (self-inflicted, oh wait...that was Amy! Just kidding.) Regardless...you get my point! So looking at all the pictures I HATE. SO. MUCH(!!!), how am I supposed to do the same thing to my children of VonWillabrands heritage? I can't...or wait! Maybe I can because of PHOTOSHOP! I have located someone good enough to work my troubled family, but not till Christmas Eve morning...therefore, our card could be really late this year, or REEEEEAAALLLY early for next year.

For now, here's one of the kids and we hope that all of you are enjoying your Christmas season thus far. We are grateful for all our loved ones and terrific friends who love and support us. Here is Kaeleigh's elementary school chorus wishing YOU a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The incredible, EDIBLE (by DEEGAN) egg:

2009-12-08T17:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Eggnog, and scrambled eggs-with salt and pepper. Deegan REEEAAALLY likes you!

After nearly 4 hours at the allergist Monday morning, Deegan is free and clear of his egg allergy. He is still allergic to peanuts, but the Dr. is really hopeful that we are seeing good progress. We started by scrambling an egg in the microwave at the Dr.'s office and the nurse brought in maybe the amount of a teaspoon. She rubbed around the "pricker" in the egg to be poked on his forearm, and he had the scrambled egg rubbed on the outside and inside of his lips. Then he was supposed to chew it and spit it out. He got a little excited and ate some...immediately requesting more, with salt and pepper, PLEASE!

He got his wish (thankfully Mommy brought s&p from home since remembering this test last year). He started slow and worked his way to a larger portion every 15 minutes. He was just as amazing a little boy as I could have asked him to be. It's a good thing he's been desiring eggs for the last couple months. He just kept begging for more. When we were done, Deegan said, "I need more eggs."

What better way to celebrate than with a yummy cup of eggnog? Deegan's response..."MMMM! THAT. IS. GOOOOOD!" Our family has decided that Deegan must next try Cream Puffs, Angel Food cake, French Toast, omlettes, fried eggs, fried egg sandwiches, deviled eggs, and who knows what else! This is such a relief to our little man. He has not been able to eat ranch dressing, most salad dressings, mayo, miracle whip and on and on the list went! Not anymore. This makes our family so excited for Deegan. Even if he never outgrows peanuts, I feel like his world just got so much bigger! Looking at this list of food makes me realized that all those tears every time we told him "No" were really because he was honestly being tortured. Welcome to our world little guy-You're going to LOVE it!

Ancestors

2009-07-19T21:09:00.001-07:00

Our family was talking about Family History tonight. We were trying to help our children understand what an ancestor is. Kaeleigh was sure it was only those who came before us, but they had to have passed away to be considered an "ancestor".

Kaeleigh and Carson have to debate on just about everything now days and we busted up when Carson fought back with this comment:

"No, Kaeleigh! Ancestors means....AND WE HAD ANOTHER SISTER (and sisters)!" Guess that means that Ashlyn is our first ancestor in Carson's book. Thank goodness she made it to our family. Better late, than never.

When it's reunion time

2009-07-07T16:02:00.000-07:00

My kids heard this song from the primary children's song collection and they said we should make sure that we sing that song at our reunion because it would be a good song for a reunion---Really? They are very bright! (:

We head out tomorrow for this exciting adventure. I can't really remember how old I was last time we did this, but it seems like I must have been no older than middle school. Crazy! Back then, there were only 8 adults and 14 kids...TIMES HAVE CHANGED!!! This year, we will be packing in (literally) 25 1/2 (that's for you Trev!) adults and 19 kids right inside my parents house! This year, instead of no responsibility and just playing with the cousins, swimming in the pool and playing tennis all day we will have to work a little harder to feed kids, life guard pools and make sure everyone else is having fun. Don't worry...there's fun to be had by the adults too. Maybe our family doesn't want to know what crazies we have turned into. Won't they be lucky to see the grown ups we've become! Thankfully, the more boring one of us planned the activities so we won't have blue dart competitions and who knows what else?

Luckily we don't all have to sleep at Mom and Dad's, but none the less, it could be interesting!

I can't wait to see everyone. I will have to remember to take pictures for sure. Wish us luck...mostly my Mom and Dad though-what troopers!

TO potty train, or NOT to potty train?

2009-07-01T23:56:00.000-07:00

I have exactly 6 days until I leave for CA with the kids for a reunion. My carpet cleaner is scheduled during our vacation and he'll have my carpets sparkling for me upon my arrival home...man, I love that guy.

Ashlyn will potty in the toilet if I put her there, but won't tell me when she needs to go. She will poo in the toilet, but same as above! She stays dry at night about 90% of the time. She is thrilled for anyone who she sees use the potty, so what do I do? She does tell me she needs to potty when she wants to get out of something like church and naps(...smart girl!) but if I take her, it's nothing. It's more like I am the one being trained to take her at the right time, so how do I make the switch to her being the one trained?

She's been in underwear and she's been allowed to run naked for 10 minute intervals...but today she had 3 accidents. I wasn't completely on top of it. I haven't done this in a while and got distracted and totally forgot she was in underwear. So, if I keep a close eye on her, is it worth it? My mother would tell me to wait until after we go to CA because she won't want accidents on her carpet, plus there is the 5 hour drive. Would 6 days of underwear (with princesses) confuse her if we suddenly switched to pull-ups (with princesses) a week later?

Help! Remind me what works for this age. She is very bright. She communicates well and can undress and re-dress with the best of them. Consider her Houdini! The only thing she can't really do is get on the potty by herself without scaring me to death. I got her a stool and that kind of helps but she hasn't mastered the turning around after crawling on.

Happy Birthday Ashlyn!

2009-06-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that 2 years ago I was snoozing through labor. I had just experienced my one and only Epidural and it worked just textbook! Literally, I slept right up until they HAD to wake me up as to not let her just fall off the table. Such nice nurses looking out for my babe.

Well, I haven't snoozed much in the last two years...that may have been the best sleep I've had to date in the time since Ashlyn's arrival. Would I change it? No.

My (our) sweet little Ashlyn has been the most fun of all four of our "babies", only because everyone in our little family enjoys her and she loves to ham it up for anyone giving her the time of day. She brings our family closer together as everyone wants a piece of this girl! She is a talkative, determined and hilarious little girl. Quite the firecracker when it comes to her will. If she wants something, look out, because if you don't help her, she will do it on her own. She loves to snuggle...the only problem is that she doesn't like to snuggle Mom and have to share her snuggles with anyone that is named Deegan. It's one of those sports things like "on the court/off the court" When Mom isn't involved, these two have quite the relationship. Definitely, everyone is under Ashlyn's spell around this place.

This little girl is just that... a girly, girl. It's all about the necklaces, shoes, chapstick, and dresses for her. Though lately, she would prefer to just run around in her swimsuit all day. Pair that with someone's shoes that are WAY too big and she's a happy camper!

Ashlyn likes to eat bananas, applesauce (which she always calls "ass". I don't know how she came up with that!) She really doesn't have a favorite when it comes to food. She's basically a Hoover. Anything in sight is for the taking. Her favorite is gum, by far...any flavor. Okay, that or maybe Bunny milk (chocolate milk).

Ashlyn likes to swim...in the pool or bathtub. She is a water baby. She likes the slip and slide, hose, fountain and has even discovered the bathroom sink. Now, instead of washing her hands all the time, she sticks her head under the water and "does her hair". Imagine what a beautiful princess she looks like.

She loves princesses, dancing, jumping on the trampoline and singing any song...especially if it is from a princess classic. Favorites are "So this is love" (Cinderella), "I know you" (Sleeping Beauty), Sunbeam, Twinkle Twinkle little star, and really anything you throw at her. Right now she sings "gotta get that Boom, Boom, Boom..." and "move over, move over"...from a library book with all the ducks on the tub and the blue one says...know what song I am talking about?

Favorite game? Ring around the rosies..."Ashlyn, Ashlyn, we all fall down." (Our family may never play it the right way ever again.)

Ashlyn is a smarty-pants. She can already count to 10 and every once in a while she will throw in an 11. She is desiring to wear panties and asked to poo in the toilet yesterday and was successful. I don't know that I am ready to visit every public restroom yet with her, yet I like the idea of no more nasty diapers. I am thinking I will let her continue to make requests at her own pace. A lot of times she will just say she needs to potty and we make unnecessary trips to the restroom. It's all practice I guess.

We hope she will have a happy birthday this Saturday. Sadly, we will be so busy that it is good she doesn't know any better. But either way, she's totally worth celebrating. We love you Ashlyn!

Childrens' view of relationships...uh-oh!

2009-05-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got the whole house clean just in time for the doorbell to ring. It was my cute little neighbor girls. I invited them to jump on the tramp with the kids and they were all having a ton of fun. They got to eat little mini pizzas made on English muffins. The chocolate chip cookies were just about done as the fun began.

So I slip outside to check on the kids...I walk up behind them to hear my Kaeleigh and the rest of the kids talking out their play situation. Carson was supposed to pretend he was married to one of the girls and then the "ewwe's" came. So they compromised...

J-"It's ok...they can be separated!"

A-"No, they'll be divorced."

Kaeleigh-"Yeah-She never loved him...she just loved his money!"

Maybe we have a little work to do. Let's just say I was a little surprised to hear this out of Kaeleigh's mouth. I hope she only got these ideas from the good 'ole media. I promise I am not just married to Ryan for his money...he'd need a whole lot more for that to be the case!

Last week of school!

2009-05-18T23:05:00.000-07:00

This may be one of the craziest weeks of my life. Why do we insist on filling up every minute? I love every single thing I have this week whether it be helping out with school, helping friends, being involved with my kids. Did I mention that the bug guy even gets to come back? Gotta love that! We get to go to California this weekend and I must say that the only sad (for me) thing is that my not-so-little Kindergartner is "graduating". The funny thing is that Deegan is having a "graduation" from preschool as well! I am trying to figure out how they figure he is graduating when he is supposed to come back next year...and he has 2 full more school years until he can start Kindergarten himself! Aren't we a funny people? At least he will enjoy treats and a party and it doesn't matter what or what "not" for.

I am feeling like my Mom a little as I mentally mark off each day until Kaeleigh's last day of 4th grade or Carson is no longer a kindergartner. It's a very pathetic way of torturing myself. Somehow, Kaeleigh really will be the top dog at school next year...a 5th grader! Uhhg! Ryan has been working on her pinewood derby car and he is stressing on getting it right! Why? Because "next year will be her last year in activity days doing the derby race." What? As much fun as Ryan has making fun of me, he does it a little too. Maybe I am rubbing off on him. However, I am depressed this week that somehow my little ones are turning into "big" ones.

...and my baby is turning 2 in 3 weeks! I am going to go cry myself to sleep now!

Life is TOO busy!!!

2009-05-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

Obviously I can't keep up on too many things at once, and this "little project" is one that always hits the brakes first. Kind of sad seeing as I give Ryan the "it's basically my journal" excuse every time he needs me and I need "just a couple more minutes" on this thing. Oh well...sooner or later I'll be more like super woman and I will get everything done.

I feel like updating on my family, just because it's been forever. Ryan and I have been working hard getting things done around the house and yard as much as possible before the heat comes...oh yeah, that already came, so we're working through the heat like the pros! Ryan has been keeping busy with church and work duties and planning parts of scout camp. Unbelievably, he still finds time to keep the kids entertained when he gets home from work. Luckily, the sun stays up longer this time of year, so that kind of helps give him more time. Unfortunately, that also means that my kids have missed their bedtime every day for over 2 weeks.

Kaeleigh is counting down every day until she can rub in my face that she is a 5th grader. Carson has caught on and he likes to remind me that he won't be a kindergartner anymore. Haven't they figured out how to freeze time yet? Well, we have 2 weeks left of school now and I feel it will be very bittersweet. I would like to do a "Summer of surprises" jar for my kids. I want to do more than sit on the couch watching every re-run of Hannah Montana and whatever else my kids will veg out to. I know it is hot here but that won't stop us from frequenting the pool. So, in this jar, I would like to have enough to draw at least 2 days a week a surprise (previously approved by yours truly) that is as close to free as possible. I thought of things like :

a slush run to Sonic (Large for $1, every hour, every day...the kids can share! That makes it almost free)

a trip to the library

red box rental

swimming

water gun fight

slip and slide

camp out in the loft, forts included (we could spend part of the day building the fort)

trip to the dollar store. The challenge will be leaving spending no more than $4 plus tax!

Scavenger hunt at Target. I don't know what we will be looking for other than someone else's air conditioning.

I think we will make it educational and go play the alphabet game one day too. Maybe we will hit Wal*Mart for that one.

Thanks to all of my children's good grades, we will go bowling, chuck E. cheese, peter piper pizza...anyone know where else I can take those glorious report cards? Isn't it great having more than one kid in school? Too bad Deegan didn't get a report card in preschool.

Anyone else have any good ideas? I beg you to pass them on. I had my first "rough" day today. I made the mistake of trying to plant some pumpkins and watermelons (seeds...doubt they will work, but it sounded interesting...I will show you why later) at high noon. I don't think I cooled back down until after 7pm. I know something is wrong with me because I get hot and worked up just watching my kids run around in the house. I think their body heat is working my air conditioning hard. I don't think I can make it this summer with all 4 kids leaving the doors wide open every time they pass one...they don't even have to go outside. I get drafts of 120+ degrees flowing in from my garage that Ashlyn and Deegan have claimed as their personal playground. They always leave the door stop down, so who knows what that is costing me in addition to my sanity. Well, as you see, I am already losing it just preparing for it, so really...give me ideas how to make it, and a special request that October/November will come very fast this year!

Mother's Day picture spoiler...Ryan just bought me 2 things I have been begging for for YEARS...I will show you one later, but for now here is one:

It's scorpion season and so far we are at #4...since the end of March. After a week of battling ants inside the house and having them all over outside and myself in tears every time we find one of these critters...Ryan has succumbed to the pest control sales man. I am so glad that guy came to my house when Ryan was weak! It doesn't happen all that often. Yeah for me though. He said they guarantee against these evil creatures! That's right, I called them evil. I know Heavenly Father created them, but even my children question Him on this one!

Really though, thank you to my sweetheart...I feel a very happy weekend coming on! Yeah!

Still waiting for Wisdom...

2009-04-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

So they told me that the "usual" time of eruption for wisdom teeth is about 18 years old...the so called years of wisdom. Well, mine were impacted! Getting them removed must count as cheating because I haven't gained any new found wisdom. I was hopeful, but oh well.

I can give my bit of "wisdom" to those ever facing wisdom teeth removal in the future...

~plan on a non-chew diet for several days. I am on day 5 and still can't chew down, let alone open my mouth too big still. I can barely fit a spoon in my mouth dang it. What tastes good? J-ello (make it from the box. Eating it cold feels better than the room temp stuff!). Pudding, again...cold. Yogurt, a large chocolate Frosty from Wendy's or a slush from Sonic. If you are nauseous, don't do a cream slush because dairy will be harder on the tummy. Smoothies galore and maybe tonight I will finally get my pina colada. Make sure to use a spoon and no straws for a week! (Dry sockets-yuck!)
~talking still hurts! Don't answer the phone...unless it's Mom, of course. Keep conversations short.
~Don't yell at your kids...totally not worth it! (This is a good plug to get wisdom teeth out before having a family!)
~If you do have kids, send them away! Every noise pains my ears and made me nauseous.
~Watch run ins with elbows and heads to the cheek area...like moth to a flame I tell ya'!
~Keep up on the pain meds until you are SURE you can handle none. It's like having a baby...once you realize you are in pain, then you have to wait for it to kick in. No fun!

Here's to waiting to get rid of the chipmunk cheeks still. At least my lips aren't totally lop-sided anymore. Good thing that wasn't permanent.

I miss good food and uneventful snuggles (see above) from my kids. I miss being able to rub my lips together to smear my chapstick between my lips. I miss being able to kiss my kiddos (Ryan will kiss my anyway-what a guy!) I miss being able to bend over without the blood rushing to my face.

The good news is, it should be over very soon! Thanks to all who helped my family and especially Ryan for staying home and taking care of me and to Kaeleigh who makes the cutest ice packs a Mom could ever get! I should have taken a picture of them, but really, I was way out of it! I promise they were cute...all wrapped up in paper towels, held together with heart stickers with the happy face and googly eyes and all. She would make a great nurse. Love to my family...for sure. They deserve to have me back.

Note to self...

2009-04-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

"Remember to at least read comments if I am not in blogging mood...that doesn't mean everyone else took a break too!"

So to all those still salivating for a yummy cake as last posted. It's totally simple:

Bake a chocolate cake (this one was Devils food. That's what my mom always used. Next time I am trying the Triple chocolate fudge.)

I used dental floss to slide right through the middle of each circle layer, making 4 layers.

For the frosting, use 3/4 of the box of chocolate frosting mix and whip it into a pint of whipping cream....you know how to make whipping cream, right? (stiff peaks)

Start frosting each layer and then cover entire cake. Then comes the part where I messed up...the remaining frosting mix gets "a little water at a time" as my Mom says. She said to add a teaspoon at a time. Ryan says I can't ever do anything without "cranking" it first. He was right. I got frustrated and just went for it and added too much water making it too runny. Then we tried this again with my Mom and I made her stop the water too early and it was too thick! Oh well. It will taste good...promise! Just be patient and remember you can always add more water, but you can't take it out. It is supposed to drip down the sides...stopping somewhere before the puddles. Then for an added treat, I just used the potato peeler to shave the long edge of a Hershey bar.

Ah, the memories...

2009-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

I am sure there are many pictures like this one from my childhood. I couldn't resist a second generation re-take. The only difference is the lack of black eyes, bruises and I was a lot fatter than Ashlyn...REALLY! People don't believe me when I tell them I was a fatty, so I will have to document that later (my Mom hates it when I say I used to be "fat", but we will let the unbiased decide. For the record, Ryan has seen the photos and agrees with ME!)

I wanted to make a cake for a friend's birthday and just couldn't decide on the right cake. I didn't want to do an easy-peasy original, cause I just love Katie! After looking through all my cookbooks of favorites, I remembered THE CAKE that Mom used to make for our b-days growing up. When I called her for the recipe/instructions, she said she hadn't made it for years because she hasn't been able to find chocolate frosting mix in over 10 years. Well, I knew I had seen it somewhere! Don't you hate it when you've seen something but can't remember where? Well, I ran out to 3 different stores until I found it. I think the reason I took note of this mix was because it is for those of us families with allergies. I'll tell you what...I haven't tasted this cake yet (remember...it's Katie's cake~) but, if I find that it turns out resurrecting the infamous cake of old, then the nearly $4 box is well worth it! Here's the box, Mom:

Dear Mom...I didn't do you justice. Good thing this was practice. I added too much water to the glaze and my children thank me because they got to "snitch" the glaze from the puddles on the paper towel that saved my refrigerator shelf.

I am considering which cake recipe to put up for auction at a scout fundraiser. To make it "fancier", I added chocolate curls on top. I don't know what I think. This will sound funny, but the chocolate curls are the wrong color brown to me. What do you think? By the way, there are four layers of yummy goodness inside this little beauty! Maybe Katie will cut it open and I can snap a photo(:

Ps...thank you cherrybrook kitchen for making frosting mix for my favorite birthday cake from my childhood and for looking out for my son. I will buy your mix often! (found it at WalMart...the big one, not the neighborhood market.)

Deegan's "SHOW" and "TELL":

2009-02-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Deegan has been very excited about HIS own "baby bi-oh-lin" since I got mine for Christmas. He has always been over-the-top-obsessed with LITTLE EINSTEINS and I sware to you he can pick out any melody that they have ever featured on that show...he has them all memorized! He has been able to name instruments and pick them out of a song on the radio (yeah, I love to drive around listening to classical music! It calms me and the kiddos.) Anyway, I started to consider whether or not he would really be able to take lessons yet, and Ryan and I decided to give it a go...My (OUR) teacher is affordable, and I was able to pick this violin up on e-bay for a whoppin' $25.50...I got it for $10.50, but my s/h was $15. Still a good deal! Supposedly, it is a $500 violin, so we are VERY careful with it because who knows if I could replace it for that cost later? Anyway, he has wanted to take his baby violin everywhere we go, so we arranged to take it to school for show and tell. He starts lessons on Tuesday, so cut the beginner some slack...he'll get better-promise!

I showed Deegan a bunch of you-tubes of 3 year-olds playing violin and he just kept saying "Me too! Me too!", so we figure he really wants to do it, plus we have all his Dr.'s saying no contact sports, so if this is going to be his "thing", why not get started? I'll keep you posted on his progress.

(Notice Ashlyn's feet? I think she's made of rubber...)

One of T.H.O.S.E. kind of days

2009-02-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

Every Sunday is different not having Ryan sit with our family because of his church calling, but today...THIS is how I felt too, Ashlyn. She sure did look darling in her new dress and shoes though. Now-off for my theraputic Sunday nap. (She sure didn't want her picture taken...that's unusual, oh well.)

8 THINGS: (I've been tagged...)

2009-02-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

Here are the Rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six '8' items
3) Let each person know by leaving them a comment

8 FAVORITE TV SHOWS
1-American Idol (yeah, I've been hooked since season 1. Ryan made fun of me and I missed a bunch of season 2. I hated that I missed so much and found my way back in time for the finale. I wish they had two seasons a year! I hate waiting so long between them.)
2-The Office
3-Dancing with the stars
4-Even Stevens. An old Disney channel show. Ryan and I loved watching it before Kaeleigh was old enough to understand it. Great laughs! (BACON!)
5-Everyone loves Raymond (re-runs are AWESOME!)
6-Extreme home makeover...when I get to watch it
7-Monk...was raised watching Matlock and Murder She Wrote...this is a hilarious murder mystery show!
8-Wipe Out!
We (Ryan and I) really don't watch a lot of tv "SHOWS". Ryan watches a lot of sports, and I don't have time to sit in front of the tv, but I never miss #'s 1-3!)

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY
1-Took care of sick kids
2-Talked to Amy on the phone
3-Went to Lowe's
4-Took a drive with Ryan (he stayed home sick)
5-Practiced my violin
6-Played trains with Carson and Deegan
7 & 8-Clean, Clean and Cleaned the house again.

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO
1-No more diapers!!!
2-School being out so I can sleep in, I hope!
3-The new temple in Phoenix
4-A bigger car that the kids don't fight about the back seat (I hope Ryan reads this!!!)
5-A clean house
6-Valentine's Day
7-My family not being sick anymore
8-Faylor Family Reunion...July 10-12th!!! (I promise I will send announcements soon, but save the date!)

8 FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
1-EASY...CARRABBAS, HANDS DOWN!
2-The old spaghetti factory...who doesn't love FREE dessert and milk with your dinner?
3-Olive Garden
4-Ruth's Chris Steak House...only been there once, but HOLY ....(good thing we had a $100 gift card. We still had to pay about $13. I am sure we won't ever go back unless Ryan is feeling CRAZY later in life. Right now, he's pretty sane, so bye-bye Ruth's Chris! The best $10 broccoli (single serving) I ever paid for!)
5-We loved Bobby McGee's, but they are a BBQ Grill type of place now and no more performers...so sad!
6-In-n-Out

I can't really think of anymore. We must not eat out enough (kidding!)
8 THINGS ON MY WISH-LIST
(ooh! let me think...)
1-The bigger car. Right now, I want a Toyota Sequoia, but I have my eye on a little piece of eye candy called a Lexus IS. I told Ryan he can drive the kids and have the Pathfinder. Compromise, right?
2-Granite countertops
3-Double ovens
4-Ashlyn to potty train herself
5-Deegan to not have accidents in the potty training arena
6-Unfinished projects in my house to magically finish on their own
7-A beautiful master bed and bath that NO KIDS ARE ALLOWED IN!
8-Peace and quiet. Kids have been home from school all week, Ashlyn's sick AND teething. Too much crying and fighting for this Mom.
8 PEOPLE I TAG
I am not tagging anyone only because Ashlyn is STILL crying and the kids are hungry...gotta go.

Introducing...Kaeleigh, Student of the month

2009-02-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

(K-getting her award...those are her chorus peep behind her)

That's right! She would probably start this by saying, "FINALLY!" Either way, we are proud of her for her accomplishment. She sure is a very bright girl. Mrs. Mahoney moved her up in math and is considering moving her up again. I am not at all ashamed to admit that she gets the smarts in this department from Ryan. I can't compete with his wicked math skills-I've never tried. I couldn't beat him with a calculator and it's getting to be the same way with Miss Kaeleigh. I already have to get the refresher course from Kaeleigh so that I can figure out how to help her with math and by the time she has taught me how to do "the problem" she has solved the problem. Easy enough? I will say that I sure am looking forward to Ryan's shift change in March so that he will be home in time to help with some homework.

Kaeleigh was very cute at the assembly, of course. She always shows school spirit. It is a competition at the kids' school to get the SPIRIT STICK each month by wearing something school colored...shirt, hair ties, bracelets, etc. Mrs. Mahoney is such a cool teacher...she shopped Oriental trading and has found teal wigs, beaded necklaces, pom poms, etc. Mrs. Mahoney's class has won back to back months, but they lost the stick (politics!) so Mrs. M. is stepping up her game! Now, that's school spirit! Go Thunderbirds!!!

(top:)Kaeleigh and Mrs. M. (bottom:) Kaeleigh and her principal

After the assembly we got to have doughnuts and juice with Kaeleigh

In 4th and 5th grade, the students choose the student of the month, so we know she must be loved by her peers. Way to go Kaeleigh...we love you too!

Oh Ashlyn!!!

2009-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

So, Ryan and I have been going back and forth a little bit about Ashlyn's "size". We keep using the word "diet", very lightly, wondering if we ought to be more careful of what our mini hoover eats. Obviously we wouldn't put her on a real diet. I just need to feed her the right foods. She doesn't suffer at all for loss of food. She scrounges all day long. I am thinking about counting how many times in one day she makes her one-word request to "EAT". So I googled her weight percentile today. I got my number back and she is in the "healthy" 87th%.

Taking that info...I decided that maybe I shouldn't cave every time she asked for a cookie, marshmallow or fruit snack today. I tried to opt for more healthy snacks like apple sauce or carrot sticks-seriously. I cannot even recall how many times exactly, but she literally asked to eat ALL day today. So, this is what I found...

Ashlyn was seriously eating the corn bread mix by the handful. Totally gross, I know. She obviously can get into the pantry now, so I will be locking it full time. She literally ALWAYS has food in her hand or mouth. Half the time I never even know where she found it. I did catch her opening the fridge the other day. Isn't it nice having advanced children?

It seems that she is a cute little trouble maker. The other night, Ryan was so cute helping give baths and he took Ashlyn out first and we got her in her pj's. Ryan apparently didn't know what happens with Ashlyn if you don't let the water out. I usually take her out last...

Kaeleigh's 10!!!

2009-01-15T13:55:00.001-08:00

Kaeleigh's favorite meal right now is Chinese Haystacks...or Hawaiian Haystacks (whatever your family calls them.) We think she likes this meal because of the fancy tray that spins, plus we let her help prepare it, which she thinks is cool. So this was her birthday meal.

She wanted Chocolate Molten Lava Cake for her special day. She sure does have an appreciation for most things "grown up". I think gone are the days of 9x13 sheet cakes with pink frosting and sprinkles on top for her. Honestly, these are my favorite though, so I will gladly provide them every birthday if that is what she wants. The only problem is that, as you can see in the picture, I gave up after 8 candles. The candles kept sinking in due to the center of the cake being hot and runny....MMM!

I couldn't resist putting the "blowing out" picture.

She was serious when she said she could eat the whole thing! I am glad she loved it!

This is Kaeliegh's reaction to Daddy's present...maybe not what he was hoping for, but it should be a fun night regardless. Ryan and I gave Kaeleigh two tickets to the High School Musical on Ice tour. We get to go (she and Mom) next Wednesday. I guess they really are growing up when they stop jumping up and down over HSM! So sad!

I thought I would do a little something special for Kaeleigh and list 10 of my favorite things about her for her big "double-digit" b-day:

1. Kaeleigh is the most tender-hearted person I know! She is always concerned about others feelings and puts them before her own...although we are trying to include her brothers in that "always" statement still. It would be easier if she feel like mothering them all the time.

2. She is the best big sister that Ashlyn could have ever asked for! Ashlyn totally loves Kaeleigh and follows her around and Kaeleigh wouldn't have it any other way. Kaeleigh loves to let Ashlyn sleep in bed with her and have sleep-overs, loves to dress her for the day, help feed her, and change "non-poopies". What a great helper! She treats the boys very well too, she is just working on the oil and water effect of brother/sister relationships. I think that most of the time she is very good to them too.

3. One of my absolute favorite things about her is that she has always known right from wrong. Kaeleigh will try and punish herself if she feels she has misbehaved. She has tried to ground herself for life on a couple occasions. She repeatedly sends herself to her room. She is very hard on herself for things that Ryan and I consider "life", like an accidental collision during more wild playtimes and someone ends up getting hurt. She could learn to relax just a little.

4. Kaeleigh loves the scriptures! She knows the Book of Mormon and Bible so well that she puts me to shame. I want to be as good as her and be able to put them in chronological order as easily as she does and know the names of all the persons like she does.

5. Kaeleigh is a brilliant child. She excels in spelling and math and the rest of her subjects in school. She will accept nothing less than a 100% on spelling tests...she used to get so upset if she got a 104% (highest is 105!) I had to explain the extra credit thing many times, but she wants to be perfect!

6. Kaeleigh is super forgiving! I am embarrassed to say that I hurt my daughter's feelings probably all too often, but she always comes and gives me a hug and we make up. She never holds grudges and is willing to forget anyone's offenses towards her.

7. She has always been more mature than her years in ways. I can talk to Kaeleigh about things and trust her that she will not repeat them. She understands that some "topics" are of sensitive nature and she is honored to be trusted with "information".

8. Kaeleigh loves to try new things!

9. Kaeleigh is stylishly modest. She is very creative in her wardrobe and willing to work with items to make them work according to her own standards. She hasn't worn a pair of shorts (not bermudas...finally, I got her to wear those last summer!) since she was about 4. She used to only wear capris...that was the "shortest" it got for her. She thought shorts were immodest! She wouldn't be caught dead in a tank top...it's so nice that she holds herself to these standards and I hope she holds on to them as she approaches her teen years all too soon.

10. Kaeleigh is a great 1st child. She is an example not only to our other children, but to Ryan and I also. I learn so much from her every day. I want to be more like her in ways...I so don't want to be 10 again though! I couldn't have chosen a better child too lead the way for our family. Her siblings look up to her and want to be just like her. She is absolutely the most beautiful girl I know, inside and out.

We love you Kaeleigh...Happy Double-digits!

Deegan is home and well

2009-01-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Before: with his new "friends" and After: vegging out to Sponge Bob.

What a day! Deegan never went back to sleep until we were about 10 minutes away from the hospital. It turned out OK that he stayed awake. He never had any problems not eating. I made him some lemon jello and that was quite a treat for him. Ashlyn didn't seem to mind it either.

I got Deegan there and I settled in to wait 2 hours and next thing I knew, they were flying through the process. The admitting lady gave Deegan 2 stuffed animals and when the next nurse met him, she gave him one too. They all thought Deegan was adorable.

When the surgeon came in to talk to me, I pointed out a "bump" that only can be seen when Deegan laughs or sits up. It was fingerprint size, about an inch above the belly button, but barely noticeable. Turns out he had an epigastric hernia as well. So, we got two for the price of one and were able to add on to our surgery...Lucky Deegan!

Deegan was given Versed to help him become loopy enough to prep for surgery. I tried to give it to him myself, but he got a taste of it and that started the war! 2 nurses and myself held Deegan down while the other nurse tried to squirt the Versed into his mouth. Let's just say that Deegan does not trust any liquid medications now. He actually spit it straight up like a geyser right into the unsuspecting nurse’s glasses and all over her face (the one who gave him a stuffed animal and thought he was so cute!) Plugging his nose didn't work and nothing else would either. They said he is a fighter and very strong...really? He seemed to respond how was expected to the drug so it seems he got enough.

He was funny as they wheeled him down the hall to the O.R. and he kept raising both hands in the air and squealing like he was on a roller coaster.

They were able to take him back 30 minutes early, so Ryan came over from work and we waited together. It took about an hour. When they called us back to see him it was really hard for me. He looked swollen in the eyes and lips. His lips were actually crooked to me. He wasn't out of the anesthesia yet and I was surprised to see a nurse restraining my little man. He was thrashing all over the bed, just a little at a time. He would throw a punch or kick a leg, or his head would fly at the bed rail. He looked like he was possessed and he'd go from laying to a full on sit-up and then he would fall back down. The nurse said she was just trying to keep him safe. She was very good and patient with him.

We decided that maybe if Ryan or I held Deegan, snuggled in his “off-get” (soft blanket), that he would respond better. The weird thing was that every time we would touch him or talked to him, or there was a loud noise, he would start going crazy again. It was very hard for even Ryan to hold him, so they gave him more Demerol and Versed to slow his “coming to”. He crashed in Ryan’s arms and snored for about 30 minutes. Finally, we got a more gentle awakening. He still wasn’t himself as he didn’t care for a Popsicle or juice. That was all he had to do and he could go home.

Well, he kept fighting the juice thing and wanted to go home and have his IV taken out but refused the juice and Popsicle. He stood up on the bed and his upper incision started to bleed. This was 15 minutes before we were supposed to go home at 3:45pm. The anesthesiologist ended up turning his car around and came back to the hospital and the hematology office sent someone over too. We had to wait until 6pm before all felt he was safe to go home. He wants nothing to do with his pain medication because it is liquid.

It is the next morning now. We made it through the night and Deegan is well. He wants to snuggle nonstop which is just fine by me. I am tired from yesterday and didn’t sleep all that well. Deegan doesn’t want me to close my eyes though, so he is on my lap as I type the rest of this.

Thanks for all the prayers and concern for Deegan. Thanks to "Pops" for coming to the hospital to be with Deegan too. We love Pops! Deegan is doing great and even responded that he is feeling “better” when I gave him the choice of hurt or better. Yeah!

Surgery Day

2009-01-05T04:30:00.000-08:00

So, I was reminded that things you dread come much quicker than things you just can't wait for. Christmas never comes fast enough for little ones and this surgery is banging my door down, so to speak. All in all, I am ready to just be done and move on for Deegan's sake.

Today's surgery will be at 2pm, so if you remember, say a prayer for us. Mostly, I am only anxious for myself because of nerves. Deegan will have no clue until they will come at him with a little needle and he doesn't have any idea what will happen after that.

The hardest part today probably will be that he can't eat past 6am. He came to our room at 4am and we (Deegan and I) jumped out of bed and headed to the kitchen. He had a bowl of oatmeal and then we watched Little Einsteins for a bit. Then at 5, Ashlyn decided to join us...who knew we were having a party this morning. So, I pulled out the griddle and we made some pancakes. I will be feeding him right up until the last minute as I can't bear the fight I can imagine my later morning turning into. I prayed fervently last night that this fasting thing for Deegan would go smoothly and I am so thankful that Deegan woke up at 4 instead of my planned 5:30. This way, he ate more and he will take an early nap and sleep instead of starve. I know Heavenly Father is always aware of me and my family. I know he always knows better and that he helped me see a better way at 4am rather than me and my beloved heating blanket having to part bitter ways on a grumpier term. Who doesn't love waking up to happy kids anyway?

Deegan will be able to have clear liquids until 11am, so maybe if he wakes up starving we will take a field trip to the store and buy some Popsicles to fool him into thinking he is eating.

I'll update after his surgery. Thanks for all who have been so kind to offer help with the other kiddos, meals, prayers and blessings with this. We have the best family and friends!

Sickness and Losses for our Anniversary

2008-12-22T03:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess after the 10 year mark, the rest of anniversaries start to not look as shiny even if you dress them up! Good thing we aren't supposed to "judge a book by it's cover" and "it's what's on the inside that counts"!

We travelled to Vegas for the BYUvs.Arizona match up in the Las Vegas Bowl. I will have to check my camera when I have time later (it' just after 4:30am). My camera battery died Friday Night at the Fremont Experience and I forgot my charger. Oh well.

Kaeleigh was in the half time show for her fourth consecutive year. She absolutely loves doing this. I tried to protest celebrating my (our) anniversary at the football game, but it was Kaeleigh and Carson's vote of going, along with Ryan of course, that outnumbered me. So, our 11 year mark will go down in history as an embarrassing loss to the Wild Cats. Good thing it's "just a game".

Before we left, Carson missed a day of school because he had a fever and a cough (Wed pm into Thurs am). Thurs he never moved off the couch, but come Friday morning he had no more fever for about 24 hours but the cough was still there. He seemed more back to normal, other than the cough, so we decided it was just one of his yucky asthma sounding coughs. Carson just wasn't himself this whole trip. He is usually the one running out in front of cars in parking lots (ok, he and Deegan both...someone has to lead the way) and we are always telling him to slow down, settle down, etc. He was always 10 ft behind anywhere we went and we had a hard time getting him to move anywhere.

After Kaeleigh's on-field practice Saturday morning, Ryan took Carson down on the field, girls included, to play a little football. Sadly, Carson didn't show any excitement. He didn't try very hard to catch the football and would kind of wander to the ball.

Saturday night came and Carson seemed a bit more himself. He nominated himself to be the rescuer of any dropped items in the bleachers. He climbed up and down underneath the bleachers and that was the most alive he seemed the whole trip. He was still coughing, but I had noted the night before that he didn't cough all night. By now, I had decided he was forcing his coughs to add a little drama, the way little kids do. Well, maybe it was the cold that did him in. We decided not to travel home through the night because we just didn't feel right about it. By Sunday morning, Carson was really lagging. His fever came back on the road home. His coughing was really bad and he kept sounding like he was going to throw up. He gets really carsick, so I gave him a Dramamine thinking that he wouldn't cough in his sleep and it would keep the car clean! That was sometime around noon, maybe a little before.

Carson slept about 90% of the rest of the day. We got home and he still had a fever so immediately, I checked his temperature. 104.7!!! (Mother disclaimer: I knew he was hot and I did try to be the good mom that brought the thermometer on vacation, but Carson "shot" the plastic cover off and we never found it. It doesn't work without it.)

I took him straight to the Dr.'s office. When the nurse checked him, he was fiery hot and she read 99.9 on the thermometer that was exactly like mine...just prettier! I said "NO WAY!". I made her check the other ear and it read 105! She tried to defend herself and said that ears always read differently (duh!). The stupid lady marked him with the 99.9 temp on his stats because she was convinced that if he was really 105 then he would be having febrile seizures. His oxygen levels were only 92, so they called the Dr. immediately. She came in and looked at him and the first thing she said was, "he's really hot. What's his temp?" I perked right up and told her that her wonderful nurse said he didn't have a fever (never mind the bright red cheeks and the fact I had to carry a lifeless, 50lb. child into her little room) and that temps are always different in each ear and that her fantastic nurse said there is no way that the 105 could be right when it was that far off from 99.9. She glared at the nurse and said, "What was his temperature when you took it?" The nurse started guessing..."it said 100." The Dr. grabbed her paper and confronted her as to why it said 99.9 and said, "take it again!" Guess what...104 in the 99.9 ear, and still 105 in the other. PRIDE!!!

Anyway, they took him straight to get a breathing treatment. All in all, Carson got 2 treatments of Albuterol, one including oxygen. He got a steroid shot in the arm, an antibiotic in the hiney and they did a blood draw on him to look for bacteria in his blood. My DRAMA CHILD never made a peep. Usually it would have taken 2 nurses and myself to restrain him, but he just laid there like he was dead! When they did the blood draw, the nurse warned me that she had only done it 2 times before and needed this 3rd to be passed off and another nurse would be right beside her to "take over" if needed. Well, she failed in my book! The lady took over only after the other nurse dug around in his arm, pulling out and pushing in several times. Carson didn't make a sound. The hand I held started shaking really bad at one point and I nearly started to cry, but didn't want to scare him. I couldn't believe that just because a kid is too sick to complain that they would KEEP GOING like he was a dead body!

They had taken a chest x-ray that showed he has slight pneumonia. I will take him back tonight. They considered admitting him to the hospital, but because his breathing improved to 94-95 and his fever lowered to 102.5, they let me take him home to do breathing treatments every 4 hours and rotate the Tylenol and Motrin...that's why I am awake!

We are grateful to have him home where he is comfortable. I sure hope his oxygen levels are good when I take him back today so that he can stay home. It would break my heart if he was in a hospital for Christmas! The Dr. thinks his pneumonia was just starting on our trip home and that's why he got the fever.

In all this, Carson was a champ! He is so adorable and who wouldn't want to be that kids nurse? He of course had a couple Carsonisms in all of it...He could barely keep his eyes open, but I could tell something was stressing him from giving in and told him it was ok if he wanted to shut his eyes, I would be there and I would keep him safe. He just said, very seriously, "ok Mom, just let me know when my Popsicle gets here", and instantly he was back asleep!

The other one was after his shot in the rear, I was worried he had had enough, and I asked, "Carson, are you ok?" and he said, "yeah Mom, I just need someone to pull up my pants." He was still on his tummy, which he didn't budge until 20 minutes later when they made him, but fact is, his pants were already up! They had given him Lidacain (I think that is what it was) mixed in the anti-biotic to numb him since it would be thicker.

Anyway, sorry for the long post! It was a crazy weekend, but still to my sweetheart...I love you, and thank you for this crazy life we live together! Here's to MANY MORE. There isn't anyone I would rather do it with. And thanks for taking a shift with Carson so I could sleep!!!

(By the way...in a couple hours, I will be off with Deegan to the PHX Children's Hospital to do his trial DDAVP (IV) and more blood work. I will only be there about 2-3 hours! I am going to be able to draw my children's blood myself if we keep this up. Love to you all, and Merry Christmas!)

Deegan

2008-12-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

Monday, January 5th at 2pm. That is Deegan's scheduled time for surgery. I will let you know if something changes.

I met with the hemotologist yesterday and they want to do further testing and an IV challenge of DDAVP. They can do both at the same time. The first thing they said when we started talking was NO CONTACT SPORTS! No football or wrestling especially...poor Ryan. I asked the DR. if he could be the kicker and she just laughed at me. We will have to worry about that later.

Deegan update

2008-12-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

I got a call from Deegan's pediatrician yesterday confirming he indeed has VonWillabrand's. This is just a bleeding disorder that is a cousin to hemophilia. That, of course, sounds very scary, but really it is not that bad. In simple English, it means that he is a bleeder and a bruiser. Since he will be having surgery, they will most likely just want to give him a drug called Desmopresin(DDAVP). At least that is what they give me when I have babies to just make sure that I will clot faster and it reduces the risk of hemorrhaging. All will go well, I am sure. Please just pray that I will be able to stomach all this. I am hoping he won't have some gross incision that I have to clean and get all grossed out as it heals. Ask my mom, I can barely handle circumcisions and umbilical cords!

Deegan's big "HURT"

2008-12-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

We discovered last night that our sweet boy has a hernia in his groin. Last night it made its first appearance that we ever noticed, about the size of a walnut, but smaller than a golf ball. My first thought was that it was a tumor or a HUGE cyst. I have never seen a hernia before and I don't ever want to again. Our pediatrics office had the "on-call nurse" party until midnight, so luckily, I got a phone call back directly from a Dr.

We got Deegan in today and his Dr. said most definitely it is a hernia and recommends surgery. So, being the queasy mom I am...just her describing how to "maneuver" it back in -if it were to show itself again- I was gasping and covering my mouth, totally shaking my head so I could block out what she was saying. I had to make her stop describing the maneuver and told her RYAN would figure it out! Luckily right then, Deegan told me he had to go potty, so thanks to him, we avoided the rest of that conversation!

I did decide that if Deegan is going to have surgery, then it is time we finally figure out if he does/doesn't have my blood disorder (VonWillabrand's). We drove straight to the lab from the Dr. office for his blood draw...I even watched this time, but it was more the "Mama protecting her cub" kind of thing. No one was going to hurt my baby! How I wished I could have just offered my arm, instead of having to do that to him-that's saying a lot, considering I hate needles. I felt like such a bad mom restraining and lying to him. Of course Mommy's have to tell them that things like that are OK...THEY SO AREN'T! I am just glad that we will get this excitement done and over. Thankfully, they have already talked about checking his other side while in there to avoid another episode.

HELP!

2008-11-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

How do I fix this? My Halloween post is remembering something from an autosave once upon a time and I have a huge space in my post! Keep going when you look at the post. There is MORE (sorry, lots to catch up on) below.

Halloween...FINALLY!

2008-11-13T13:53:00.000-08:00

OK, so I know that I am the last person on earth to post pictures of Halloween. Most of us are already moving on to the more favorite holidays, but I MUST show off our 5th child...in costume speak, that is. Not that I had any intentions of showing up my children in their costumes...I just wanted to add to their costumes in some miraculous way of keeping two young children happy and contained for 2 nights of lots of walking (Trunk or Treat, and trick or treating).

I got the idea of the train in the middle of the night one night. I was planning on Deegan being an engineer...playing on his obsession for trains, and HATE of Halloween dress-up. (The kid hates putting costumes on...every year!) I thought if I did something he liked, then he would cooperate. The problem was that I had no costume for him. I got so lucky! I stopped at the 1st children's consignment store on my list and found Deegan's Osh Kosh overalls, NEW...WITH TAGS, but for only $7! I had already bought his bandanna the night before and was bummed that I could only find a two-pack...Blessing in disguise...So, as I was doing the happy dance all the way to the register I saw a little dress peeking at me from a rack. Lo and behold, ASHLYN'S SIZE!!! "Match made in heaven!", I thought to myself-OK, really I said, "NO WAY!", out loud! "Seriously, Tommy Hilfiger for only $5.50?", the conversation in my head went on..."Totally my new favorite store!" How could this place not totally make the top of my list when it totally saved the day?

So, this all took place the day before the trunk or treat. I had my mind set on the wagon-turned-train idea before, but now...game on! I ended up using foam board, like you find next to the poster board. Those weren't big enough, so I headed to Michael's thinking that they would just give me a box. Nothing in life is free people...but I could buy their wonderfully over sized foam board that they use to back their framings with! Sold! I started at 9pm and next thing I knew, it was 2am! I wasn't even tired, but I knew I would pay for it the next couple days if I didn't head to bed. The next day I MADLY taped, painted...even spray painted Ryan's wonderful PVC frame that held the thing up (better for the outcome of pictures, I was certain! Certifiably insane, I know! I totally got carried away with this project...I even made a smoke stack that smokes with dry ice. Those are the things that it takes to wrangle Deegan and Ashlyn all night!) Needless to say, it all payed off. Neither Deegan or Ashlyn complained once either night. Deegan rode proudly blowing his whistle, of course! Now, I may need my children to offer rides for a quarter around the neighborhood to recoup some cost!

Some more cute pictures...*Deegan had a Halloween party at school. The first two are from that. *3*Carson, on Halloween night (Kaeleigh trick or treated with a friend, so we have no pictures of her (sad!) *4* We didn't carve pumpkins this year...very overlooked with the whole train thing, so luckily I found these tattoo things at the last minute. *5*Ashlyn doing traditional Vehar stunt work, and last *6* and my highlight of Halloween...(deserves it's own paragraph...)

I admit I was ready to BLOW and at the end of my rope trying to get kiddos ready, when the door bell rang! My first reaction was more anger as I was beside myself that the neighbors thought it would be ok to start trick or treating already! I went to the door and found a delivery guy with these cute flowers from a best friend, Angie Ashton...all the way from Utah! She always catches me somehow when I am about to fall. Thankfully to my kiddos benefit, it was perfect timing as Mommy was able to find a smile for the rest of the night! Thanks Angie! Told you they were cute!!!

Wrap up on the T-Ball season

2008-11-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

So this is a couple weeks behind, but that will be the case for the next couple posts seeing as I just figured out the pictures deal. First up...T-Ball. Now that it is over, we look back and think we enjoyed it. What a commitment! Who knew that Tball had practices twice a week, plus games on Saturdays...then, Ryan was asked to be an assistant coach on top of that. All in all, what a great first experience for Carson. The coach asked Ryan if Carson could come up to the next level with his son...he had NO IDEA that Carson was only 5! Carson is not technically old enough to play in the next level. What a complement to Carson. He really played well, and we are very proud of him!

New look...

2008-11-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging for a while...seems I am the last one to find a new background for the new season. Since I am the last one to Fall, I figure I will get a head start on Christmas. It is my favorite...I have been listening to Christmas music since before Halloween, so I may as well set my background too before all the good ones are taken.

Carson's first field trip

2008-11-12T16:13:00.000-08:00

Carson's class had a field trip to the Stuffington Bear Factory (like Build-a-Bear) to finish their unit on bears. I wasn't able to go, but my girlfriend was and so I was able to post some pictures from my email...thanks Julie!

Carson waiting to stuff his bear.
(Notice he chose a BLUE bear.
This boy does everything for his
Cougars!!)

Stuffing and Fluffing

This is Carson and his friend
with their matching bears.

Carson's class

Figuring out the RIGHT traditions...

2008-11-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

So my great friend, Sommer, posted a "fun" recipe on her blog about making Dinner in a pumpkin. It wasn't even photo-worthy by the time I got done with it. (That is if my pictures would magically show up here anyway!) It smelled and tasted good...the only problem was that even after 1 and a half hours, my rice never softened? Is this a normal problem, because I have another recipe using uncooked rice and it bakes in the oven...but my rice never softens. People, there is something really wrong with crunchy rice!!! By the time I gave up, my pumpkin was falling apart and half the original size and my house smelt like squash! So I have decided that this recipe will not be a Halloween tradition. I am liking an idea of Costco Pizza that my other good friend Trea told me about! Seriously, with all the "getting ready" to trick or treat...who has time to make, let alone EAT dinner anyway? (I would just like to say that I am looking forward to next Halloween being on a Saturday so that Ryan will have...I mean, GET to help me dress four fabulous "whatevers". I now know why my mom hated Halloween. It is a tough gig on us moms!)

What did we do that worked as a great tradition? We toasted our pumpkin seeds and had pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and made THE BEST CIDER IN THE WORLD! We got to stay up late and play ZARAHEMLA with our buddies the Hochhalters. If you're planning on eating, you better have help! Right? Thanks for the fun, "Hokey Pokies" ! (...as my kids like to call you!)

Try these cookies....easy, and mmm! Great especially for kiddos with egg allergies! Finally they can eat raw cookie dough!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies:
1 small can (soup can size) Libby's pumpkin
1 spice cake mix
milk chocolate chips (I use about 3/4 of the bag)

Bake @ 375 for 10 minutes.

Hot Cran-apple cider:
2 qt. apple cider
1 1/2 qt. cranberry juice
1/4 C. brown sugar
4 3 inch sticks cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1 tsp. whole allspice
1 lemon, thinly sliced

Heat all ingredients together. Let simmer 15 minutes until flavors are blended. Remove spices and lemon slices. Serve. ***The newer crock pots have a "warm" on the settings. I set it in there on warm, and it is just the perfect temperature when you want to finally serve it.)

(***Play with this recipe!!!)
~I love to use an orange instead of a lemon.
~Apple juice works if you don't have cider.
~Last night, I didn't have Cranberry juice, so I opened the freezer and pulled out a frozen concentrate of Apple-Raspberry juice. I used half the can, (that's all that was in there left over from smoothies!) and filled it with water 1 1/2x and used a lemon.

Halloween SPOILER...

2008-10-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

I still haven't been shown (not discounting the possibility, I am just not savvy enough to figure it out on my own) how to upload pictures, and I am dying to share all my cute events! I just can't resist a LEAK about Halloween costumes though!

Kaeleigh has designed her own costume this year. The only thing she had to purchase was some tights for $2.50! Those are my favorite costumes. I couldn't help but have to buy her the cauldron for trick or treating...just $1! She wins for the cutest, cheapest costume-and she will look darling! She calls her masterpiece a "DIVA WITCH".

Carson is going to be a PIRATE..."AAARRGH"! He was a pirate last year, and he wanted to be one again....meaning, I had to go get him the one thing that would have made his costume perfect last year...A PARROT. No, it doesn't talk-that would have been awesome, and would have cost a whole lot more too! I found him a hook for one of his hands and was "deciding" on it in the store, but when I got home it was in my bag, so apparently I decided without knowing. Good thing it was only $2. It's the little things that add up though and that is the reason I was hesitating...oh well. At least he'll be cute!

Now for my favorite...I will have not 1, but 2, little TRAIN ENGINEERS. Let's keep it short and just say that it was meant to be seeing as I just happened upon Ashlyn's matching dress....just wait for pictures (I hope...fingers crossed!) I don't know what I am more excited for...the cute outfits, or the sweet ride I am creating for my munchkins. All I know is that it better be good!

For a good cause

2008-10-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Last night we were able to put door hangers on our neighbors doors for Prop 102 for Family Night. We have felt that it is important for our children to feel involved in the effort of trying to preserve marriage. They were so cute riding their scooters and doing good work. They didn't complain as we walked to 98 homes. When we were done, the kids had us pile our hands like they do at Carson's t-ball games and cheer "YES on 102!" We took the kids to the park before heading home for our root beer floats. We talked to them about how some day they may look back and be excited that they were a part of such an important moment in history.

As important as this is, I am growing weary of all the animosity that comes with elections. I am feeling all the yuck of Prop 8 in CA since I have family there, and then prop 102 here. Then there is the whole McCain/Obama crud that I just can't wait until it is over. Thank goodness for a DVR. At least I don't have to watch the ads on TV.

Life goes on

2008-10-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

We are still alive! I have been missing keeping up on my blog reading and posting. Our computer crashed and we actually ended up having to buy a new one. We are now owners of a nifty little lap top. We are so behind the rest of the world when it comes to technology! Prepare yourself for some major posting...if I can figure the photo download thing out on the new toy. We have had a busy little while and have enjoyed some really fun stuff with the family. It's late and I need to be able to get the kiddos ready for church in the morning, so sometime soon, look for some cute photos! Can I just say real quick that if you haven't seen HSM3 yet, it's a must see...better than 1 AND 2! Kaeleigh was ready to see it again at the next showing...we did frozen yogurt instead~

Deegan started Preschool

2008-10-16T15:19:00.001-07:00

We officially ended fall break by heading back to school Monday. Deegan got to go too! He endured his first week of preschool. He cried when Mommy left every day, but enjoyed his activities eventually...he got to race worms his first week of school! He will go M-Th, for 3 hours. He will be working very hard on his speech and social behaviors. (Yeah for Mom and Deegan!)

Deegan started his day just as always...with his best friends, the Little Einsteins!

Practicing a little independence...helping Ashlyn.

What does Ashlyn think about having alone time with Mom?

Traditions

2008-10-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

My sister, Jenny, got me thinking more about something I have really been thinking about lately. It is great to have fun and play around with the kids. I hope they will look back on their childhood and remember feelings they had (hopefully only the good ones), but I want them to have good memories of things or events...traditions!

My mother made the best cinnamon rolls growing up. I remember any time it snowed (rare in Apple Valley, CA) Mom would make cinnamon rolls. Well, living in Phoenix, AZ...we do it when it rains...still rare, but Monsoon season works me every year! It really should be classified to winter rain, but how can you tell a child "no" when they use the "tradition" card on you?

Saturday was a beautiful day. Our high was 83 degrees and overcast all day with a beautiful breeze. Wouldn't you know that Kaeleigh caught all those 20 sprinkles that dropped from the sky and mandated the cinnamon roll tradition. I had been craving them, so I was happy to oblige.

Here are some of the traditions we had when I was growing up:

~We would go out to Bob's Big Boy on the FIRST RAINY MONDAY NIGHT of the SEASON for FHE.

~Getting ice cream at Thrifty's on the Saturday of General Conference. (We didn't get it on TV where we lived and HAD to go to the church bldg. We got a scoop for every session on Saturday we went to...bribery!)

~Going on "TURNS" with Grandma and Grandpa Larkin (spending a couple days with them without parents...usually alone unless we wanted to bring a sibling. We NEVER forgot whose TURN it was!)

(some holiday traditions...)
~Making Halloween pumpkin cookies with Grandma Faylor...with candy corn faces.

~Every Christmas season, the girl cousins would help decorate Grandma and Grandpa Faylor's christmas tree (w/ Gma) while the boy cousins would hang the lights outside (w/ Gpa)!

~Driving to Christmas lights in Chino and walking through the neighborhood filled with lights.

~Christmas caroling and delivering cinnamon rolls to family friends!!!

~Christmas eve...Faylor family togetherness. Dinner (potato casserole...mmm!), re-enacting the nativity (w/ costumes...fighting every year over who got to be Mary) and singing for Santa to come. He'd always bring us a gift and a candy cane every Christmas eve.

Now, for my family...I'm sure we Vehar's have more than these few, but I am struggling to think of them! The only few that jump out at me are:

~the first day of school we take our kids out to dinner (used to be ice cream, but Deegan can't do that now...PEANUTS!)

~We take our kids every summer to BYU. We buy them a new shirt at the BYU bookstore and walk the campus ("to familiarize them", as Ryan says). We take them with Greg Vehar (Ryan's Dad's cousin) through Legacy Hall and the kids love taking the tour year after year all the way through the locker room and exercise facility. They then get to play football in the Indoor Practice Facility. After that, we daringly risk Deegan's life at the BYU creamery. We started taking turns with someone sitting outside with Deegan...YES IT IS WORTH IT!

So, do me a favor and share with me...what are some of your favorite traditions...from growing up or some you do now with your kids...not necessarily holiday traditions only. I would like to find some really good ones to start with my family. It just doesn't seem like we have enough.

Carson, the artist

2008-10-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

So I am recognizing a "phase" that I wasn't sure until now that there really must be such a thing. Kaeleigh went through it as well. I don't know what to call it, but it's when your kindergartner figures out how to draw any and everything. Carson goes through about 10-20 sheets of paper in a day! Whether it is making paper airplanes, drawing and cutting out swords and bow and arrows, or coloring dinosaurs, etc, Carson is always busy creating his newest design. Now he even illustrates his jokes on paper as he's telling the joke (which takes longer).

I posted about Carson's dedication to his Mommy...he is going to be the best hubby! Here's my latest favorite picture: I asked Carson the "who and what's" of the picture. He says it is a picture of he and I. I noticed the little squares and asked what they were-PRESENTS from Carson to Mom, of course (bow included!) I asked what was in the presents...he said, "one has a candy hearts in it and the other one has jewelry." I guarantee you Ryan had nothing to do with this...what a thoughtful little guy! Ryan saw how excited I got over the picture and had to comment that if only it were that easy...that he could just draw me whatever I wanted or he thought of then he could save money!

Check out those stars! I spent an evening practicing those with Carson and now they make a cameo in every picture.

What happens in Vegas...

2008-10-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

...doesn't always have to stay in Vegas! So, my pictures aren't working, so I am posting my sister Jenny's post (her pictures turned out better too). Cheating, I know! Why re-do something that doesn't need re-doing? Anyhow, I thought her post was cute... Thanks Jen! (It's not copyrighted, hopefully...don't sue me, please!!!)

After spending all day at Disneyland with the kiddos, it was time for a girl's weekend. We left the next day and headed to...Las Vegas! Now don't get the wrong idea, we went to a Time Out For Women!!

We got there early in hopes that we could get good seats. (no assigned seats) Shannon was the only one that had been to one of these before, and warned us that these cute Mormon women can get pretty vicious when it comes to getting the seats they want. She told us that when the doors opened, we needed to be ready to run! No joke, we had to sprint!! Sounds so lame, I know, but I wasn't about to waste the time we had waited to be in the front of the line to let some crazy ladies out run me and take a better seat! Maybe that's just my competitive side coming out..it was kind of fun though!

Here we are waiting outside the Cashman Center...

The first night we were entertained by Jason Deere and his band. He wrote all the music for the "Joseph" and "Trek" albums. They were great, and even nicer in person. We were able to talk with them, take pictures, and they were signing every ones CD's.

With Jason...

Then we headed off to the Stratosphere, where they have a great 50's restaurant called Roxy's Diner where the waiters entertain you while you eat. We've made it a tradition to go when we are in Vegas.

The next day we woke up very early, trying to get at the front of the line again, and despite being there much later than we planned, we were still able to get great seats. We we entertained by Hilary Weeks. She is amazing. I thinks she should leave her music gig and become a stand up comic, she really is so hilarious!! We were also lucky to have Virginia Hinckley Pierce speak to us too. One of the ladies that were supposed to speak was sick, so she filled in. Kind of ironic, this conference was originally scheduled for February, but was rescheduled due to the passing of the Prophet. She was great and so friendly.

Even though the conference was canceled in Feb, we still went to Vegas since we had already booked our stay. We all laughed as Shannon devoured as many peanut butter treats as she could. (Her son is allergic to peanuts) Well, shortly after that trip we discovered that Porter has the same allergy, and I have since realized her torture. I must say that after months of no peanut paraphernalia in the house, the highlight of the trip, for me at least, was to have as many of these as I could.....

Isn't she cute? I just love my sisters and mom! We really do have so much fun together...especially when we can let our hair down and just be us, with no kiddos. I had a ton of fun with you gals...Jenny, someday you will figure out how to show your emotions with tears like the rest of us. Just don't keep laughing at us when we are in the middle of a "moment"!

Addition to our family!!!

2008-09-30T09:29:00.001-07:00

Last night, Ryan and I finally decided that our family wasn't complete. Yes, you read that right! Not so much in the way your face is showing the shock...or humor of reading that simple sentence though.

All you with picky little eaters will appreciate that our family has been lacking. Our children have been pulled to the dark side long enough, and we have finally won! We purchased our LONG WAITED for Vita-mix last night from our favorite Costco store.

We knew the road show was back and had already decided we wanted one, but truly we went with the intent to work on our food storage for FHE. Well, first stop just had to be the vita-mix man...after a wholesome pizza dinner at the food court, of course!

We sat through his demo which started with a smoothie (banana, pineapple, cantaloupe-with seeds(the seeds have the healthiest nutrients in them of all fruit), orange-including the white stuff, carrot, cabbage, strawberries-stems and leaves included, grapes, and who knows what else...) which was tasty. Next he made us celery cabbage sorbet (celery, cabbage, lemon, little bit of frozen juice concentrate, ice, honey and some protein powder). He took the lid off, turned it upside down and it didn't move a bit. All less than a minute-kid you not! It was also a hit with the kiddos. Then he proceeded to make us tortilla soup(the base had tomato, carrot, celery, red pepper w/ seeds, seasoning mix and cheese (for creaminess) and honestly, by now Deegan was being true to form, and I was distracted hoping that Ryan would just continue to enjoy his sales pitch enough to not change his mind! So, I don't know what else was in the base) including rice, black beans, corn and tortillas. The soup was so yummy...you should have seen the steam coming out of the blender when the lid came off! I was so full, but seriously, the soup was made in less than 4 minutes and to think how long we waited for our pizza and it wasn't even that good for our bodies-tasted great though. So not only were we sold before we even got there, but the demo man sold my hubby who only had lovingly agreed to it because he got sick of me begging for one for the last 8 years. A good friend of ours made him a smoothie a couple months back and she had him pretty baited for me, but the demo man closed the deal for me last night! Thanks demo-man, I owe you! And thanks Ryan for finally getting around to my b-day present (that's how you make your b-day last a little longer folks, we're still celebrating!)

So now, our family will enjoy our daily allowance of fruits and veggies, and we might even succeed at the 5-a-day challenge our know it all dietitians tell us about. Not only that, but this blender will also serve as my wheat grinder. It will make my bread dough from grinding whole wheat to kneading the dough. All I need do then is dump it in a pan and bake! Yeah for me and all that partake of our yumminess. We may need to start a BYOF&V policy (bring your own fruits and veggies...ha ha!)

If you are a nerd like me, you can watch the videos of them doing demos on vitamix.com...truly amazing!

I've Been Tagged

2008-09-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Lengthy, but I thought a good history opportunity. I never journal anything down about MY life, so maybe for once I will see if there is anything noteworthy of my boring life.

There needs to be 5 answers for each question. So here it goes:

What was I doing 10 years ago?

1. Newly wed...9 months into this gig!

2. 5 months Pregnant with Kaeleigh.

3. Getting settled into our first apartment

4. Watching our first home get built

5. Working at a conference call center

What are 5 things on my To-Do list today?

1. Watch Kaeleigh sing in her first Chorus performance at the school assembly

2. Babysit the co-op kids

3. Watch Carson's swim lesson

4. Clean the house

5. Enjoy my family...yeah for weekends!

What are my 5 favorite snacks?

1. Chocolate...any and all (the meltier, the better)

2. Cookies

3. yogurt nutri-grain bars

4. Dark chocolate chex mix

5. yogurt

What 5 things would I do if I was a millionaire? (I will make a Ryan's list, and then I will make my list...opposites attract!)

Ryan's list:

1. Pay off our house.

2. Put money away for retirement

3. Put money into children's IRA's and college funds...probaby their "marriage and mission match" accounts too.

4. Help pay for a couple missions

5. Take his cute little wife somewhere special

My list:

1. Buy a different house...nothing wrong with this one, but wouldn't it be fun?

2. Major shopping sprees where I come home and am not allowed to get lectured for my frivolous ways.

3. Buy a non-mom-car for me that isn't allowed to have car seats in it...EVER! No cheerios, no spilled milk, no pencil drawings on the ceiling, no broken cup holders that "someone" stepped on, no missing visors that saved my child's life when "he" was falling to his death out of the car. One that the check engine light isn't always on...one that doesn't always tell me something is wrong with my tire pressure...one that the gas gauge actually works so I don't have to set the good ole' TRIP A every time I gas up...one that the windshield wipers actually work. I promise I'm not totally ungrateful. If you look at my car from the outside, it's a pretty piece of machinery...when it's freshly car washed.

4. Go on a nice vacation with the family...probably get the kids the passes to Disneyland finally that you have to be a millionaire to purchase in the first place.

5. Go to Europe with just Ryan and I.

5 Places I have lived:

1. Ontario, CA (until 1985 or 1986?)

2. Apple Valley, CA (until Sept. 1997)

3. Spanish Fork, UT (while engaged, Sept. 1997-December 1997)

4. "Denver", CO (Broomfield, Westminster, and Thornton CO) (December 1997-April 2000)

5. Avondale (April 2000-May 2004)/Goodyear, AZ (June 2004-present) ***thanks to Ryan's parents for letting us crash their place until our house was done...I still owe them, big time!

5 Jobs I have had: (I'll just list all of them...there's not that many)

1. My first work experience was for Colleen King. I did whatever she needed me to around the house and for her business she owned. I would put all the itty-bitty micro chips together and sodder(sp?) the pieces together for computers or something like that. I would help her Christmas shop and wrap presents. I would help her with her holiday baking and really anything she wanted or needed. This was my all-time favorite job! She struggled with her health during my high school years, and she knew she was helping me earn money for all the Choir tours and costumes, etc., as much as I was helping her. I really thought of it more as a friendship than an employee/boss relationship. She was kind of like a second mom, really. Really-a very nice lady!

2. Sister King's daughter had a short stint with some kind of gaming magazine. I stuffed magazines and playing cards into the plastic bags like The Friend and the Ensign magazines come in and then sealed them. Those were some crazy nights...not a care in the world and goofing off and getting paid for it!

3.. I placed the gold fountain nozzles for the fountain for the King Fahd Airport in Saudi Arabia. This was for WET design...the guys who do Bellagio and they are doing the Volcano on the strip as well. I should be clear that I did this out of a warehouse in Apple Valley, CA...not in Saudi Arabia.

4. I worked as a hostess of the mostess (couldn't resist! Sorry) at the Red Pepper Restaurant. Can I just say that since they went out of business, I have yet to find a Mexican restaurant anything close...do people not make Flautas with flour tortillas? Every time I ask for a Flauta, I get a taquito! Ryan has insisted that I am not allowed to tell the waiters how to make them anymore when I order. It's a good thing I like taquitos, but in the resurrection, Pepe will be the first to offer me his yummy Flautas!

5. I worked for John Hulterstom, CPA!!! That was a nice job. Great hours for the single adult schedule! I actually learned a lot about computers while working there, and the ladies I worked with were total sweethearts! I answered the phones and typed quarterly reports, filed, data entry, mailed lots of tax stuff...made lots of appts. for tax returns and always looked forward to April 15th! It really should be a mandatory holiday on April 16th for these professionals. They really earn it.

6. I worked 2 full-time jobs while Ryan and I were engaged, living in Utah. I was a secretary for the Utah county emissions office by day, and by night, I was a stocker at Macey's grocery store.

7. I worked at Frontier-Confertech: I was an operator and conference moderator. I led the question and answer sessions of all the quarterly reports and whatever-the-reason conference calls. I had fun at this job. I worked this one in CO after getting married. Strange people and nice ones. This was really my first experience out in the "REAL" world. Some of the people that would call in for the calls were total jerks. It was my first and only time dealing with people who thought they had status. I missed the memo that said my world was suppose to revolve around them. The scary thing is that they didn't get the memo about the kind of people that they were trusting their ever important phone calls too...whenever I am on hold for a call center employee, it makes me laugh to relax and imagine what they're workplace is like, and I can imagine all the drama...SO HIGH SCHOOL!

8. I worked from home for a company called DEIS (don't remember what it stands for-data entry something or other) I typed medical claims so they could send bills. I just plugged in the date, names, addresses, Doctor and a code. Totally thoughtless and easy. I did this for a couple years until Carson was born. I didn't want to give up the money, but didn't want to do it either. When I was on maternity leave, I got a phone call saying I was laid off (they lost the contract). We celebrated by going out to dinner!

9. Full-time mom to 4...no holidays, breaks or sick days...but the best, most rewarding job I have had.

The 5 people I tag are:

1. Sommer

2. Adrienne

3. Beckaroo...you know who!!!!

4. Tiffany

5. Dana

More words for Ashlyn (14 1/2 months)

2008-09-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

So I haven't really kept up on my wee one's list of words. I am ready to add quite a few to "the list".

Duck, go, dog, owee, Mommy (different from "Mom"-totally different word!), Please, thank you (...our personal favorite-it really is the cutest word she has and also the most used...other than "mine"), pop, papa (grandpa) eye, mine, more, yes, and Dad. Does E.I.E.I.O. count as a word?...add that to the previous list (Mom, milk, yeah!, no, hi, baby, ball, and yep...she still knows POOP!) and would you believe it, we just may have a wonder child on our hands. That's 23 (counting eieio, which could score some bonus...) I bet if I consulted Ryan, he would think of something I missed. This babe is a repeating sponge. I love that she copies us. She would be great at Simon says...until Simon didn't "say", that is.

Thanks to Ashlyn for making Mommy and Daddy's lives a little easier "after the storm". Probably not the nicest way to label a time of our lives, but the boys will understand later when they hear stories when they are older. If that doesn't work, I am sure they will have little boys just like themselves and THEN they will understand. I should start writing my apology letters to their future wives. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love and adore my boys. They, like other little boys, are just a little different than the female species.

Look at my HAIR! (Slowly, but surely...)

2008-09-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

Today, (ok, yesterday, Sunday...I'm always a day or so late posting-) after two chocolate cookies...the soft ones, loaded with not only chocolate chips, but white chocolate chips as well, Mommy was able to trick Ashlyn into her first ponytail! I can't stand the ponytails on babies when they stick straight up. I, of course, decided this after doing it to my first baby girl, Kaeleigh. What was I thinking? I gave her the double ones...and all it looked like was devil horns! So, now that I have a few tricks up my sleeve, and more years under my belt with girl hair...look how much cuter:

(Que the music...) "It's the most wonderful time of the year"-KICK OFF!

2008-09-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Ryan can finally relax...Cougar football is back!

Every preparation in place...including our new DirectTv, installed in the nick of time, and we are ready to roll! Of course, nothing is ever how we imagine, and so our first Cougar Central party happened to be a partial bummer. Due to our beautiful monsoon weather, our satellite went out (only on a few channels, the Mtn. just had to be one of them) after the game started, so the fans ended up watching the Utah game instead. We're just grateful they all still call us friends after such a let down. Thank goodness we had such yummy food to save the day. The tech guy is scheduled to come fix the satellite to ensure this will not damper another football moment.

We have to thank Ted Finch, who spent his b-day (at the time, I swear I didn't know it or I would have made someone else do it!) outside, braving the storm to try and adjust the satellite into place. Poor guy got soaked...happy birthday man! Only the Vehar's give the best gifts. This is after he already spent an hour of his morning fixing it before the game started. (We lost the channel Friday night, so there was warning disaster may strike.)

Regardless of the semi-disaster (depending on how big a Y fan you are) we still had fun, as mentioned. The kids and Mommy even got excited for the big game and decided to put the cute little Y cookie cutter to use. My great friend Angie Ashton has the most fantastic sugar cookie recipe, so thanks to her for the delicious treats! The cookies were a hit. Maybe a tradition in the making...

The kids helped decorate Cougar Central...The boys were so excited to offer up their bedroom decorations. We had their Cosmo pillows and bedspreads, football beanbag, and you can't have a party without Cosmo (providing the fight song for us...)! We may have to do this every game: The kids even made their own "flags" and welcome signs...another good use of the cookie cutter. Ryan should be a proud cougar father!

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

All in a days work...or year and a half (however you want to look at it)

2008-08-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

So, I have been telling my family our good news, and for all the requests, here are pictures of our FINALLY-done entertainment center. (All but the crown molding at the top) Good things come to those who wait. (While we are on commercials...10 points to whoever can remember this one!)

What do you think about the red paint? I painted the pantry the same red since I had (some) leftover (not enough though, so I still had to buy another quart). Ryan isn't sure about the pantry. He thinks he wants me to paint it back. He's going to have to live with it first. We have too many unfinished projects to jump right back on this one. Personally, I just think it is anti-red season. It doesn't go well with his whole Cougar-Central sales pitch to his friends for watching the games at our house. Maybe I'll have to snap a picture of that too. He just says it's too much red. This picture makes the red look a lot brighter than it really is. It is called Bordeaux, by Olympic paint at Lowe's if you get a chance to go. It is a deeper wine color than the picture shows.

Carson meets Tigers...good thing, or bad thing?

2008-08-27T15:38:00.000-07:00

We have laughed for many years at the funnies that Carson gives us...I wish that I had written them all down. Some were down right classics, so, here's to the future. Now you can laugh with us!!!

We always have TOO MANY boxes of cereal. It's a mix of laziness, and not being able to pass on a good deal. We get the best grocery deals in Arizona...just in case you didn't know that. We get cereal for $1.00-1.50 on a regular basis. That's great, so long as the kids are willing to eat it. The sugar cereals aren't a problem, but Ryan and I always feel like we ought to offer healthier choices when possible. So Ryan found the new Frosted Flakes Gold (the energy one.) He bought a nice stash for $1.50 each. They are pretty crunchy. That is my only complaint (at least they don't get soggy right away). They taste just like the original. Well, Carson wasn't so sold.

Being the good mom that I am, I told Carson about the old commercials that they used to play when I was his age. Know the one??? "Frosted Flakes...Brings out the TIGER in you!" I told him if he ate my cereal, he would turn into a tiger...kind of. I told him that he would be strong and able to run fast, just like a tiger. There's no problem getting him to eat the cereal now. Now, that's all he wants so he can be a fast baseball player! Well, now it's all about tigers...tiger everything:

This is Carson's first attempt at writing a full sentence....awe-remember the independence that kindergartners find when they (think they) can finally write something. Lucky for him, I am experienced now and I can read this stuff.

Dir Dad I hp sf (tiger drawing) Dad sf Hid!
(Interpretation:) "Dear Dad, I hope you're safe from TIGERS. Dad, be safe. Hide!"

So, I admired him, of course and had a proud mommy moment...until Dad found THIS:

Yep! It's a little bigger than a square foot of my wall in size, right at the top of my stairs. Lovely, isn't it. After he got sent to bed, I did sneak in and tell him I thought he was a very creative artist. You gotta admire the stripes and tail. I guess Dad didn't know that Mom must have really sold Carson on the Frosted Flakes...poor kid.

Matchy Match

2008-08-20T08:03:00.001-07:00

Kaeleigh LOVES to match...match clothes, colors, toes...whatever you can match! She's been this way since birth. She used to match her beverage to her clothes! I guess she's getting better at finding new ways to accomodate her fetish. I think her "matching" is cute. She is and always has been pretty good at fashion. She was never the kid with a purple skirt and a pink top with yellow socks and red ponytails...No! Not Kaeleigh!

I can picture her taking her family to church in all matching clothes like you do for Christmas and Easter...EVERY SUNDAY! Kaeleigh loves to pick out everyones clothes every Saturday night for church. It takes her so long to decide on something because it has to match just perfect...not just her outfit, but she has to get her outfit as close as possible to matching Ashlyn's. It is pretty impressive to see how creative she can get sometimes, mixing up outfits in ways I would have never thought of.

Carson's the man!

2008-08-18T20:33:00.001-07:00

I'll just say it plain and simple...Carson is a Lady's man! Without much training or direction, Carson just has natural instincts on how a female should be treated. He has always had his attention drawn to the "married" ladies...mostly his teachers. He has always had crushes on the PRETTY ones. He has a good eye for the lookers! Carson, after only two weeks of school, has found a gal-pal. His teacher has already addressed me about he and she (I won't mention any names in case her dad has a gun!) holding hands in class and hugging...ALL DAY!

Carson definitely knows how to win a girl's heart. Ever since I can remember, Carson has brought me flowers. Usually weeds (the pretty ones) or some kind of little flower from a neighbors yard. A little while ago, I noticed that Ryan must have started feeling like Carson was making him look bad, and Ryan was bringing home more flowers than usual. Trust me, it wasn't often, but 4 times a year is great compared to only when I had a baby...that would have only been 4 times in nearly 10 years, so his average is well improving.

The other night, Ryan got home from CO and noticed that I had bought some flowers (finally) for the planter on the wall out front. He said to Carson (as they were heading out to buy a baseball glove at Walmart...later post) "Hey, Mom bought herself some flowers!" To that, Carson responded in astonishment..."DAD! Mom's should NEVER have to buy themselves flowers!" Well, guess who ended up bringing home flowers! Carson picked these ones out. I love it when he picks flowers out because he always buys the happiest looking ones...ones that I would never buy myself. I always go for the more traditional beauties, but my new favorites are definitely any from my boys. Carson's favorite color is orange, by the way. How cute!
Photo by Kaeleigh~age 9

Ashlyn's Life...UNSENCORED!/Mom is always right!

2008-08-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

Okay...I couldn't decide on the right title for this post. The first title of this post is a warning label! As a mother, we see this kind of stuff on a daily basis, but I NEVER want to relive any of my children's scary moments...EVER, especially the ones where they feel any sort of pain.

So, may I start off by saying that all you who know my total disdain for balloons...yeah, it just got bigger. Maybe somewhere in my childhood I had a bad experience with them, but they cause me parenting nightmares, so maybe it wasn't a childhood thing, but I reserve the right to alter my opinions now that I am aware of the effects they have on children. They are hypnotic or something. I seriously beg that if you like me at all...I have absolutely banned any and all balloons from my home. I cannot fake accepting them any longer. (I knew it was bad when I took my kids to Enrichment last night and the kids brought a bunch home and at the church my stomach was already tying up in knots!)

Reasons why I hate them...just in case you think I am joking in the slightest:

The kids fight over them

They get caught in my ceiling fans

The kids let go of them and I repeatedly have to stop what I am doing to retrieve them from the ceiling

If I can't retrieve it they cry and then when it finally comes down on its own, they cry more because its now broken and won't float anymore!

The kids won't let me put it on their wrists (mostly when they are young...they learn finally) and they let go and lose them, completely ruining any fun we were having because of the crying and embarrassing attention their public melt down is drawing to us.

I can't see out my windows when I drive

Again, the kids fight over them...it's not fair that one has a balloon and not anyone else! (Forget that the kid just had a tooth or 2 pulled!)

The screechy noise they make when you stretch or rub them

Noise of the children increases x1000! (I don't mind laughter, but the ear piercing screams, the running around like wild animals...balloons bring out the beast in me.

So, have I made myself clear? I am sure given more time that I could come up with more reasons to not like them. Parties are so boring around here! Anyway, Grandma is allergic to them...thankfully for me, at least I have a valid excuse for not allowing them in my home. This has not worked consistently yet, but it will definitely start getting better used.

So the outcome of my allowing balloons in the home last night started innocently as everything always does. I ran and got my camera because my darling little Ashlyn was having her first experience with them. As she played longer, she started warming up vocally. Even my baby has the balloon behavior instinct. Dang it! She was pretty cute though.

So my disclaimer for this video is my mother's saying (which can't possibly be original at all...wonder who really said it first. They should have copyrighted it) "IT'S ALWAYS FUN UNTIL SOMEONE GETS HURT"...this is where the "mom's always right" part of the post title comes in:

I want you all to know that I thought about not putting this video on here. While I was taping the video, I was living in the moment...at least the first 8 seconds of it, thinking this would be cute to share since our family doesn't really get to see Ashlyn's love for life like we do...that was about how long it took until her crash with fate...we call him Deegan. May I add that Deegan got hurt too and that they are both ok. It didn't take long to calm her down because believe it or not, she still wanted to play with those stupid things. This was an accident, and they do happen. I wish I could erase the last couple seconds of the video off because she was so funny before the crash...does anyone know how to do that if you took the video on the digital camera? Let me know so that Ashlyn doesn't hate this video forever. It was Ryan's vote to share the daily truths of Ashlyn's life with you. He said you would all appreciate what she lives with on a daily basis. She is going to be one tough cookie...I am thinking Powder Puff already. She should be pretty good by then.

Ashlyn's 1st fat lip...doesn't she look lovely? No sign of anything this morning...a perfect beauty. I had to keep pretending like I was going to give her the Binky to get an after picture...that's why she was crying, not from the pain...promise! She ended up thinking it was a fun little game. (she's pretty attached to her Binky- can you tell?)

First day of school

2008-08-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

On the way to school...Yeah for everyone!

Had to drop them at the curb, but saw Kaeleigh in the hall

Lunch with Carson and Gabby(that is the Principle at the table)

Traditionally we have gone to Cold Stone on the first day,
but because of Deegan's allergies we have to adjust. Mommy
didn't feel like making dinner and since Monday's and Tuesday's
kids eat free at Fridays...Mommy got her way and this year we
went out to eat instead.

I have wanted to feed the ducks all summer long with the kids
but it has been too hot, or it wasn't the right time. We finally
went for family night after eating at T.G.I.Fridays. The kids had
a ton of fun. There were so many ducks! At first we couldn't get
any to come, but never fear...word spreads fast. The kids liked
hearing about when I was little and we would go feed the ducks
with Grandma and Grandpa Larkin and they especially liked
hearing about the mean geese at Canyon Lake that would nip
at your fingers!

Just in case all the pictures made it look like it was smooth
sailing at the lake...keep in mind we have a 1 and 2 year old...
this is what it was really like the whole time. Ryan kept saving
Ashlyn as he patiently let me take pictures and I hung on to
Deegan for dear life or let Ryan have a couple turns. Overall it
was fun, but definitely only an activity for multiple adults!

I just had to add this! Carson started sobbing when I
showed up to pick him up the first day of school. He said
I came too fast and that he was going to ride the bus. Well,
he got his way the next morning. He was so excited that
he wouldn't even wait for me to take a picture.

School Days are here again

2008-08-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

Does it seem like summers just get shorter and shorter every year? It's kind of like when you get older it seems like it was just Christmas and it's already Christmas again. Really, the holidays just get commercialized to heck...I saw Halloween stuff at Target yesterday. Serious! As we get older, I think we just get so busy that there is never enough time. Well, my wish list of summer activities never even made it on paper this summer, so really we just winged it! It wasn't horrible this way this year, but next year there will be a written list that maybe gets started as soon as now. We'll just add to it as we get ideas.

We survived Carson's first day (and then some) of Kindergarten. He has been waiting for this day for as long as he could remember! Finally, his life-long dream of riding a bus has finally come to pass. It wasn't as good as he thought it was going to be. Oh well. At least he is still willing to ride it. Carson's teacher is very nice and he enjoys her. From Carson's perspective, it sounds like he is really going to need to learn to follow instructions and listen better (Not a newsflash for Mom). He was bummed on the first day because (Carson's words:) "Someone told me I wasn't allowed to play in the house on the computer thing that goes click, click, click (interpretation: keyboard), and I told him I was. He said we were only allowed to do puzzles. Mom, he was right and I was wrong! My teacher said so!" Carson was devastated over this. How could it be that he had been wrong? It's like he realized that this was possibly wasn't the first time...that this had happened before. He had the look in his eyes like you mean Kaeleigh was right all those times she said I was wrong? Poor guy! He had to figure it out sooner or later. He has turned out to be my forgetful school child. After only 3 days, he has left his lunchbox at school twice and left his take home folder as well once. It only gets better from here I guess. It's a good thing he has those charming eyes! He'll woo his teacher yet!

Kaeleigh has a fantastic teacher...love her already. She has a baby boy that was born a month before Ashlyn. I may have seen 2 other kiddos of hers at back to school...it was kind of crazy. But, I just kept thinking to myself, "Good! She knows how it really is." I am not making excuses, but my kids have already missed the bus once and it has been crazy trying to change to a double duty school schedule. I had a hard enough time getting just Kaeleigh out the door for four years! Wish me luck.

Anyway, Kaeleigh's teacher is fun and cute. She stands outside with a huge squirt bottle and sprays all the kids as they walk by. It's not easy to stay cool outside here. The other day Kaeleigh came home and said that Mrs. Mahoney knows Hannah Montana. I looked at her like....mmm, hmmm. Right! She said, "No, really! Someone did something at school (assuming not good) and Mrs. Mahoney started singing Nobodies Perfect." Let's just say Kaeleigh has a new respect for this woman now.

Well, as for the younger two and myself, we are definitely enjoying the peace and quiet around here. Neither Deegan nor Ashlyn can speak well enough to fight yet. It's bliss at its best! I still get 2 naps from Ashlyn a day and Deegan takes his afternoon nap at the same time as Ashlyn so believe it or not...brace yourself...my house has been clean for 3 days straight with beds made and all! Holy cow! I don't want to leave my house because it just feels so good...until about 3:15 when the backpacks and shoes get strung across the floor and papers bombard my home. Oh well...there's always tomorrow. At least I get a couple hours every day. We will be making a schedule over the weekend to correct our imperfections of the first week of school. Maybe that will help.

Thanks to all who have been so curious as to how Carson handled the big change. He really did well. Other than being super tired when he gets home, he is loving every minute of being a big kid. He was sad the other night because he admitted that he has a hard time at school because he misses me and doesn't get to snuggle me anymore...no fear...that will be on the new schedule! I never thought I would be the schedule type, but as I get wiser with age, I must say...Three cheers for schedules!

10 days of long summer days and fun nights

2008-07-31T10:19:00.000-07:00

I got to take our four kiddos to California to see family about a week ago and keep thinking I better hurry and post it before it gets trumped by back to school stuff! My kids are exhausted from all the fun and sun. We swam nearly every day...nice to get a few days off. (It's hard to watch that many kids around water) Grandma was so generous and every night she would indulge the kids by honoring their requests for dessert. I have to admit, I didn't mind. I have such a stinkin' sweet tooth! We got ice cream, ice cream with cones, s'mores, rice krispy treats, some caramel shortbread brownie bars that Gma Larkin made, and we couldn't help but go for the gusto and make the Pillsbury Caramel brownies that Grandma used to show up with when she'd visit. It was a pretty funny sight to see the adults (used to be Faylor kids) sit and pick right out of the pan. Pulling a pan of these out of the refrigerator is like moths to a flame. I almost forgot that we even got birthday cake...thanks Porter! So I just had a moment to read this and realized I better hit the gym hard starting Monday. There may be calories hiding out in my body still.

Some of our favorite activities this trip were:

Just hanging out with family and talking (always a favorite!)
Playing Scum and Spoons
Huddling around the oscillating fan to stay cool
sleepovers at the Heywoods' house (thanks Mike and Amy!)
Swimming: Doing head stands and somersaults in the pool with Aubree and watching Bryan teach Amy "special" dives...life guard dives (how to jump into the water without your head going under-Amy has great form. Maybe it's not too late for her to make the diving team for the Olympics.), the correct way to do a belly flop, and cannon balls.
More swimming: crazy, made up games like "let's throw the aqua skimmers and try to hit each other in the face and no one's allowed to dodge the skimmers".
duck... duck... goose(!) (Dad...picking multiple geese and no one realizing)
Red light, Green light
What time is it Mr. Fox? and Freeze tag
Three legged races with the adults only. (Too bad none of the kids took pictures. Use your imagination I guess)
Dessert EVERY night!!!!! Yummm.
Our late night run to Nubi's with Mom, Dad, Amy, Shannon, Kaeleigh and Aubree
Water fights
Our Friday night camp out with tents in the backyard, s'mores included (Listening to Mike was priceless...he had "100 kids" in his tent and couldn't go to sleep, poor guy! Who knew Faylor's could reproduce so fast? It's hard when you have the coolest tent Mike. Naturally the kids are going to choose your tent...sorry!)
The winner...Brent riding Deegan's scooter at inappropriate speeds and doing what we told every child NOT to do and watching him fly over the handle bars of a kiddie scooter to pay the price
No wait...the real winner...watching Brent re-enact his near-death flight for everyone in slow motion! Thanks for the laughs and good times Brent.

Mike and Amy put together a slide show to music with a lot of the great pictures. Here's the link:

To see a fun slide show CLICK HERE

How do we not gain 10 pounds every time we go to Grandma and Grandpa's

2008-07-31T09:53:00.000-07:00

We Faylors' don't mess around when it comes
time to make s'mores! We HAVE to do it when
we are together...good thing we don't have to
leave the backyard. We camped every summer
growing up, so this brings back good memories.
There were 11 grandkids present this night and
8 adults. (Some adults were rather childish this
night, but I'm pretty sure I finally got my numbers
straight.)

The man in charge...Uncle "Trebor" (Trevor)

Rice Krispy BALLS...more can help this way. We

had lots of help!

Every time these girls, Emily and Ashlyn, got near

food, Emily just had to feed Ashlyn. It actually

strengthened their bond as you can imagine...at

least Ashlyn's love for Emily is stronger.

This is what happens when you let a 2 year old

feed a 1 year old an ice cream cone. Everyone has

these kind of pictures...I know, but I couldn't resist!

Aubree and Kaeleigh's sleepover breakfast.

Good thing we don't always get ready-whip on

our pancakes!

How often do you catch your kids happy enough

to squish up for a photo-op? Too bad Ashlyn was

off sleeping.

some of my favorite plants:

2008-07-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

So this is definitely one of my favorites!
It is one of our two gardenia trees. This is by far
my most favorite smelling flower. Maybe that
makes me weird. They have been here about 2-3
months, and they have done great! I am still getting buds
on them and they continue to flower in this summer heat.
They get full shade and once a month, I water them by mixing
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon of water.
I haven't done this since I added the hearts and flowers
to the pot, so I am hoping they can take the
vinegar treatment as well.

Parry's Penstemon: During the winter to late Spring
these will get pink trumpet-like flowers up the spikes.
(Which the hummingbirds are attracted to...yeah!)
We planted these behind the new wall in the front. My
nursery guy is trying to convince me that I can water
these until established and then just quit watering them
all together. They are native here in Arizona. That just
doesn't sound possible because they are so pretty...my
pictures do none of these justice! These are about a month
and a half old...maybe 2 months.

This is a CHOCOLATE MINT herb...can you
say "mmm"? Every time it gets wet (hello, it's
by a fountain...) it smells delicious! My salesman
at our favorite nursery (Elgin-props!) had this
idea to tuck a couple of these through the back
to get the sent and fill in the dirt area. These aren't
even a week old. Admittedly, I didn't get these
from our nursery though...these are from Lowe's.

These are hearts and flowers. They are succulents,
so I am trying to learn more on how to nurture these.
Believe it or not, I think I need to not water much...
that seems to be the theme here is quit watering so
much...I am drowning my plants.

I have these in the front and back where I get shade
in the later hours (hotter hours) of the day. They are
just beautiful. I think they just look happy. I have
put these in the pots that house our gardenia trees.
My hopes is that they will droop over the pots and add
to the lush green feeling in there.

More yard stuff...

2008-07-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

So I haven't claimed to be good at this blogging thing yet. I don't know how to get things where I want and all and my pictures aren't in any particular order. I would've put the one of the house first, which is the order I posted. So I learned today to do my pictures in the reverse order of how I actually want it to look on my blog...is this correct, or is there something I missed?

Anyway, the empty pot on the column will get flowers as soon as this weekend possibly. I am still looking for just the right thing (that won't die) for our yard. Any suggestions are welcome. I want it to be colorful and have stuff that can droop over the edge of the bowl...heat tolerant is a must. This is full Arizona sun, and the cement bowl will retain a lot of heat. I don't want my babies suffering and scorching to death. I will also show you some of my favorite things that I have planted so far. I say I, but I should add that without Ryan and his expertise on drip systems, I would have no plants. He has been there every step of the way. It is I that disappears in the more challenging, hotter times.

Yard pictures

2008-07-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

So I finally am able to upload my pictures so I can post pictures for all of you that are interested. We are loving the yard, so we hope you like it too. I will be the first to say that doing things yourself totally stink most of the time. It takes longer, it's messier (there's no one to watch your kids, so the house gets dirty as well as your project area-HATE that!) it's still expensive and it can be very trying on relationships. Ryan and I are finally aware of which projects we can both do together and we find enjoyment on many projects together now. If you would've asked me about projects involving the two of us when we were "young marrieds", you wouldn't have thought we'd last this long! Well, we're still going strong, and we're still doing projects. I've just learned which ones to stay well out of range for....good thing we never tried wall paper together. That could get nasty! Painting is hard enough!! Well, if you've ever done anything on your own, you know what I mean when I say it is so rewarding in the end...when it turns out right, that is, otherwise...trouble in paradise! Good thing Ryan always does a good job and he's also aware of which jobs we need to hire out...that's the trick folks.

Baby steps...

2008-07-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

So naturally, I bet by the title you all thought this would be something cute about my little Ashlyn. Sorry to disappoint! If you know much about me, I have a couple babies. I have projects, plants, children...whatever I can take care of. Right now, I am nurturing all of my newborn plants in hopes they won't fry a miserable death from this painful heat.

Ryan and I started our (near) dream yard about a year ago. I say near, but if we really do everything on the plan, I don't know what else would be left to do. Of course money doesn't grow on trees...at least not in Arizona-maybe we're the wrong zone? So we have chosen to "phase" our yard to make it more affordable and less painful on the budget. We bit off A LOT about this time last year. We are working our way, corner to corner, around the backyard. So we started with the corner closest to the house where the BBQ will be. (You have to be able to feed yourself when you work this hard...kidding!) Next we will finish up the kids' trampoline area...I am thinking that sounds "holly, jolly"...but that's just me. Ryan gives the green lights around here and I just wait for the signal! So, maybe we will have to wait a little longer than my ideal timing. A couple more summers then we will do the pool and then the last corner would be a nice fireplace/sitting area. It sounds like a lot, I know. Ryan is a big do-it-yourself-er, so this may not get done until Kaeleigh needs it done for her wedding reception!!! So for now, it has been the BBQ and the front yard. Only one side of the front yard can be done before "the pool" though, so just when we will think we are done...(that's how it always works!) we will finish up the other side of the front yard.

So, the wall on the East side of the yard got done first. Our wall got stoned yesterday. What a relief! We have been told that our wall looks like a prison wall and all it needs is barbed wire, and who knows what else has been said about it. I'm sure the neighbors thought it would never get done...BUT, (big but...) they are thrilled at what they get to look at now! We turned the front area by the entry into a nice water feature. The neighbors can hear it across the street and they have said that they actually feel cooler when it is on. We are more than grateful to have this beast of a project completed...ON TO THE NEXT ONE!!!

I will post some pictures tomorrow of the front yard. It's dark, so it can't happen today. Sorry...I bet most of you won't even get to this for a couple days anyway. That's OK. We have a similar wall in the back. It is much smaller. The idea is that we can sit on the walls when people are over for extra seating. Our street is a pretty happening place when the weather is cooler. All the neighbors come out and talk and the 20+ kids come out and play. It will be nice to have somewhere to sit instead of standing around in the street! Ryan is working like crazy trying to get the BBQ done in time for my birthday. We'll see. I will put up pictures as we go.

A new family picture...well, new...er

2008-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! I finally figured out how to put a picture in that didn't overtake my whole blog. For most of you, that comes easy, but for me; I can't even remember how many tries it has taken me. This picture was taken in California this past March. My sister's sister-in-law took the picture....Thanks Shawna! We laughed when we (ok, I) finally figured out how to save the files from the cd only 2 days ago (thanks Mike!). I can finally run to Costco and print my beloved pictures...only, none of our kids look the same anymore. Don't you hate it when that happens? I will have to add some updated pictures of our wee ones here for you. Ashlyn's hair is really coming in, and we just gave Carson a new SCHOOL haircut...holy cow! (Give me a week-of course I will have to post his first day of school!) It's a good thing we took this picture of Kaeleigh when we did. It may be the last time we see her with all her teeth for a while. Shortly after, she got 3 teeth pulled and now she is sporting a very stylish palate expander, until Christmas time possibly. Deegan looks the most similar to his picture. His personality is what has changed the most. They say pictures say a 1,000 words...that's more than Deegan can say by far, but he is getting there. With words has come a whole new sense of pride and confidence. We love just about all his words...except for his favorite..."NO!"

A new word for Ashlyn...

2008-07-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

So, we are in CA for a week! I could do a whole post about our crazy road trip that should have been 5 hours and ended up being 6 and 1/2, but I will spare you... and myself! I think it sums it best to say that our poor, sweet daughter Ashlyn's new word is "OUT"! The poor thing was in hysterics by the end, and I turned and asked her if she wanted out (of her seat) and she just started shaking her head yes with those eyes like the cat, Puss in Boots, from Shrek. Well, the other kids thought it was hilarious, so with all the laughter going on around her, she decided to change from crying to giggles. Imagine "peek-a-boo"...all I had to say was "out" and she thought I was some stand up comedian! We did this for probably the last 15 minutes of our drive. Don't kids have a way of making you feel like you're the coolest thing to man?! In this case, laughter was definitely the best medicine!

Ashlyn's words

2008-07-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

After having two speech-delayed boys, back to back, it has been so exciting to have a little girl that is ready to make her mark in this world. Already Ashlyn is starting to talk. I want to start making a list of her words, so allow me:

Mom, milk, yeah!, no, hi, baby, ball, and the best of all...POOP!

Not too bad for a girl only 1 year and 3 weeks old...YEAH ASHLYN!!!

Confessions and passionate kisses

2008-07-09T01:26:00.000-07:00

So first, I guess I must confess to some of you that I have a touch of insomnia. Don't worry, I think someday I will outgrow it. My problem tonight is that so far, both of my boys have visited me. Ryan wanted to sleep with Kaeleigh tonight. We agreed that she needed one of us tonight. Ryan has been very busy with his calling lately and work, and we think Kaeleigh is feeling a little lonely. I was kind of looking forward to sprawling in the king size bed, sleeping diagonally or whatever I wanted. First, there was Deegan...an hour after listening to the routine "ows!" of his horrible eczema, and me scratching (gently) he went back to his own room when I got up and used the bathroom. He must have woken Carson. Carson paid me a visit right after. These are my snuggle bugs. There is no king size in pint size! They are like velcro! Guess what...I love it!

So as I lay awake, I realize that all I keep thinking about is this blog. I confess that I have been a lurker to many a blog. So this is not completely new...just my actually "owning" a blog is. I thought to myself what would I write next...and of course I must tell you something about my sweet children! I have complete bragging rights on this page!

I feel so loved every day and every night. I have a family of the BEST KISSERS! First there is my darling little Ashlyn. She absolutely loves kisses. Sometimes they are wet ones...OK, most of the time they are! But, when she figures out how to put her lips together to press them to mine, or my cheek, it is so perfectly my favorite! She may be my "earliest kisser" of the four kiddos.

Deegan...people should line up for kisses from this boy! I don't know how to say it without fully doing him justice. Have you ever had a child that was so hard and you craved affection back just to know that they loved you and felt like not everything was war? Deegan has been a VERY hard child, and thankfully, he is coming out of that. My favorite moment is bedtime with him...not the nap time, but night time when it is dark. He always snuggles to the wall side of his bed and points to the other half and says "Mom's 'bot!" He 99% of the time convinces me to stay a little longer as he has found my weakness. As I lay there, he does sneak attack kisses. If I close my eyes, he (always sneakily) kisses my nose, then my forehead, my cheeks, my chin...then he starts kissing the wall, the bed, his pillow, etc. as he is giggling through all this. But in all the silliness, whenever he kisses me at this game, he is the most delicate, tender child. His kisses are soft and gentle, unlike the rest of his day of blazing fast craziness. This is the moment that I love. I should add that he has figured out that he loves to kiss Ashlyn's hairy head. I want to take a picture every time I catch him, but he stops every time I pull out the camera.

Let's not forget my Carson. Carson loves his hugs and kisses at bedtime. He probably sneaks in nearly 5 of each every night. I get all the way to the door and he calls me back for "just one more". It's a set kind of thing. You can't do one without the other. If you only do one, then you have to start over. He is the one who started this kissing thing with Deegan. I am sure, as they share a room, Deegan has watched this go on probably every night of his life that he can remember. Carson gives Ryan such hard time if he tries to put Carson to sleep. Carson is devastated if he can't get his Mom hug and kiss! There was a time that Ryan nearly banned me from being gone at bedtime I think.

Then there is my Kaeleigh. Kaeleigh may not admit it to you, but she loves my kisses. She is not too old for them yet. I don't get many from her, but I love to give them to her. (She's more of a hugger.) I love to kiss her soft cheeks, and especially her forehead right after she takes a shower and her hair smells so good from the conditioner! She is my first child. It all started with her! Kaeleigh was our only child for over four years. With every kiss to her, I think of how grateful I am for her. She is my rock solid child. She was born "choosing the right". She puts so much pressure on herself to be good and I sense that she is frustrated right now. It is not easy being the oldest when the little ones are so much smaller. She is practically my little mama. I know we ask a lot of her, and we are trying to remember to let her be a child. She is going through orthodontic work right now and she has been a trooper. I am constantly impressed by the example she is to me. I want nothing more than for her to be happy...same goes for the rest of my kids. I just wish that with every kiss I give them I could somehow "suck out" their pains and frustrations. I wish it were magic like that.

Well of course Ryan may be offended if I didn't include him in my list of good kissers...Ryan KNOWS he is the best kisser...at least that's what he tells me! Just kidding babe! Ryan is the best at everything though. I have to give him that.

Well, I think I will give the sleep thing a try again. Who knows, maybe now I can stop thinking about this blog. Probably not...I'll just think of something else. Lucky reader, you!

Here we go...

2008-07-08T16:49:00.000-07:00

So I am just about the last person on this earth to have a blog! Too many of my friends and family have recommended it...everyone but Ryan. He will learn to love it too. I finally decided that this is a better way to share our lives with family and friends. We tried the monthly update with our Faylor family, and if they expect that of me still...sure, but it seems so hard to keep track of a whole month's adventures when you have six in your family. My emails ran on forever, so this way, they can look at us whenever they want and our friends can too. Here's to a fun, new hobby! I see this is very addicting!