January 12 of 12 -2013

So here we are at the beginning of the new year.  It started off as motivating and inspiring.  Some of the motivation is still there and some is not. It's life folks.  January 12 landed on a Saturday this year.

01. Lucas goofing around.  Rolling on the ground.

02. Grace sitting on top of the table coloring. She colors not only her paper but also the table. She dressed herself too.  Found the skirt and put it on.  It's inside out and backwards.  Look at her hair! It's so long and always in her face unless I put it back in a ponytail on top of her head.  She refuses to get her hair done sometimes.  I have to chase her down or just wait till she is strapped in her car seat.  Then she'll let me.

03. We had Saturday morning chores.  Kids helped a lot. We got the house looking somewhat decent.

04. Grace sleeping on the couch. She sleeps great there. Especially when she is sick and starts coughing.  One day earlier in the week she coughed so hard during nap time she threw-up.  It was all over her bed, but not on her at all. Very gross when I found it.  Thus, sleeping on the couch is much nicer. 

05. The dog. He drives me nuts. Just sitting by the back door waiting for someone to take him in the alley to play fetch.  Can you say "Buyers Remorse" when it comes to this dog.  Seriously.

06.  Me. I have so many wrinkles appearing.  I blame the weather.  But, probably not enough water and the weather combo is why so many little lines are appearing.  age.  what can I say?

07. We went to Red Robin at the mall across from Jon's office.  It's our favorite family restaurant.  After we ate I ran some errands at the mall while Jon took the kids to his office since they have been wanting to see it.  It was a very cold day and hot chocolate was a yummy treat they had when they got there.

08.  Lucas wanted to take a picture of us on the couch.  Jon and I snuck in a little kiss.  Haha.  The boys totally were grossed out and started yelling at us.  So fun to tease. 

09. David playing army guys.  He loves to set all his guys up and then him and I battle it out.  He always wins.  But, I'm a good loser. :)

10. ME.  Again.  Pregnant. 31 weeks. 

11. David and Grace sitting in my bed enjoying a t.v. show.  Love it when my kids are nice to each other.  Although, the boys are very nice to Gracie.

12. Weekly Chore Charts.  I finally got organized enough to make these for the boys.  It's working like a charm so far.  Some of the things that they have to do each day in order for them to get their allowance on Saturday are: reading scriptures, individual prayer, family prayer, Family Home Evening, homework, reading, exercise, bath/shower, cub scout stuff/faith in God, daily chore, and then Saturday chore.  Each child has different requirements and then they all have the same of some.  It really is helping us as a family make sure we do the things we need to.  Plus, it keeps me on track. 

David's B-day Party

This is a sample of the fun we had prepping and celebrating David's birthday. His birthday is 2 days before Christmas so it gets kind of hectic finding the time and energy in making a cake and having a birthday party.  But we did it!

David loves Sponge Bob.  I made this cake for him last year, but he wanted it again.  This year he kept asking me if he could help frost it.  At first I didn't want him too, but then I got thinking and realized it's his cake and if he doesn't care if it's perfect why should I care.  So I let him at it.  It was so fun and entertaining for us all.  It was mainly a family party so him licking his fingers and all that was not a big concern for me.  I just didn't eat that part:)

Lucas and Micah, with the help of Jon, made pretzel chocolate treats that were super good.  And we let Lucas light the candles on the cake.  Overall it was a successful birthday.  At least I think so.

David turns 5!

Can you see his excitement! Our David is 5.  His birthday is right before Christmas.  He is such a bundle of fun. We gave him the kinect Xbox game-Star Wars and this was his reaction.  Funny thing about this is that he was very excited to get it, but didn't want to play it.  He just wanted to watch his brothers play.  He was completely content just watching.  

What can I say about David?  I'd say that 95% of the time he is the happiest, sweetest boy.  The other 5% of the time he is stubborn and let's just say don't tick him off.  You could say he kind of has a temper . . . don't know where he got that from? :) ummm. . . no comment.  He is by far the toughest 5 year old I have ever known.  Is not afraid of anyone and will just take care of them if they tick him off.  I have a feeling I will be in the principles office more than once with this kid once real school begins.  Just ask Lucas and he'll tell you that David has a great right hook.  I always feel bad for Micah and Lucas.  They hold back for the most part and show some restraint.  

Because David is so small people would never think that he is so tough.  He is probably the most athletic 5 year old I've ever seen as well.  He is super fast and coordinated.  He loves soccer and can play for hours if he has the chance.  

Other loves include playing Army guys, Star War legos, Star War action figures, coloring, playing with his friends especially the neighborhood kids.  He loves to ride his bike and play any sport.  His favorite food is bacon cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets.  He also loves cookies, oreos are his fav.  

His dislikes: Being told no (I think all kids have this same dislike).  Being put in time-out.  He will never admit that he likes school and constantly tells me how much he dislikes it.  But, once he's there he is so happy and confident so I don't buy into his whole "I hate school" drama.  He says the toys at school are lame.  I can only imagine.  Don't know what will happen when he goes to Kindergarten next year.  He'll really be upset...

His biggest fear are the sewer drains in our neighborhood.  I should take a picture of them.  They are quite scary since there is no barrier in front of them.  A kid could seriously fall into one and be gone. I can sympathize with his fear.  

We are so blessed to have David be part of our family.  It is fun to watch him grow, learn and develop into a confident well rounded individual.  His whole face lights up when he smiles and nothing can make me happier when I look at him and know he is "my David," full of love and spunk.    

December 12 of 12

The last 12 of 12 of the year.  December 12th was on a Wednesday this year.

01. This is Micah standing in front of the school library.  After school we went to the school book fair.

02. My dinner. It's not healthy but so yummy.  Pancakes with crispy edges because they were cooked in oil.  Then smothered in peanut butter and syrup.  Totally not healthy.  But one of my favorites and they are the best when I am pregnant since I have no guilt eating them. :)

03. Gracie patting my belly.  I'm 26 weeks pregnant.

04. This is what the leaves look like in December in San Diego. Yep, it looks and feels like Fall. I don't mind since bundling up kids is no fun in the winter time.

05. Before bed Micah asked Grace for a hug.  She loves giving hugs. 

06. Walking home from school.  Grace demanded to push the stroller home. Oh, and this is the same stroller we had in New York.  It is old and squeaks.  I don't usually use it, but Grace saw it in the garage so we took it.

07. Gracie looking at the tree and destroying the ornaments. She has destroyed more ornaments than any of the boys ever did. I don't mind too much since we didn't put too many on.

08. Before bed while I was getting the pajamas for the boys Grace pulled out David's underwear and wanted to wear it. This is her running around the house in them. 

09.  Walking home from school. This picture is more of the boys up in front talking and getting along.  Notice how only Lucas has a jacket on. Yep, it's December.

10. For Cub Scouts the previous Friday we made graham cracker houses using old Halloween candy.  It was awesome. We used up all the candy and the boys had so much fun.

11.  Jon trying to leave for work in the morning. David and Gracie hanging on to his legs and Jon pretending to be a monster. They were laughing so hard.  

12. Every morning before Jon leaves to work Gracie wants Jon to give her a kiss on the forehead.  If she doesn't get this then she gets very sad. 

So that is the end of 2012 12 of 12 challenge.  It was a fun challenge. It really showed how much my days are like groundhog day and how the weather here doesn't change much.  But kids change and I enjoyed the process of documenting at least one day out of the month.  If I didn't do this I don't think I would have blogged all year.  So I am so happy and thankful that I did this.  I will continue this for the new year as well. 

November 12 of 12

Monday November 12, 2012

I'm only a month late. But, I did have the pictures taken on time and the collage done last week.  Here is the day in review.

01. I organized the junk drawers.  I put most the stuff in closed containers so Grace and the boys can't just open the drawers and empty them whenever they want to.  We never baby-proofed the cupboards and there are days when I wish we had since Grace gets into everything and then scatters it all over the house.  It makes the house kind of messy.

02. Lucas and Micah watching Minecraft videos on the computer.  They got this game taken away from them for a couple of months because of the many fights it would cause.  Since we gave it back to them they have done much better.  I think they fear that we'll take it away again.  It's still not on the computer just on the ipad and iphone.

03. David eating Life cereal for breakfast.  It's his favorite.

04 and 05.  Gracie playing peek-a-boo with David's Spongebob hat.  She is so funny and entertains herself pretty well.  

06.  I drove around our neighborhood area to find a place to shoot our family photos.  This picture is actually not the place we chose. 

07.  I made a Thanksgiving tree with leaves on it.  As a family we sat down and listed off things we were thankful for.  It was  a nice way to show and talk to our kids about being grateful for the things we have in this life.  

08.  Our dog. Sometimes I put the crust of Lucas' peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the ground.  This dog is so weird.  Every time I do it he just stares at the bread for 5 minutes and and sniffs it.  Sometimes he doesn't even eat it. 

09.  David running. He is just a cute kid.  I can't get enough of his smile.

10.  Grace sitting in her car seat.  She just woke up and was still in a daze.  

11. Micah relaxing in the evening before bed playing a game on the iphone. 

12. Gracie playing with her dolls.  She loves her baby dolls and will sing to them and rock them.  She has a glow worm doll in her arms in this picture singing with it and rocking it.  She is very cute and loves babies. 

Halloween 2012

The Fairy Princess, The Lumberjack, The Zombie Soccer player, and Captain America.

Dancing Zombie Soccer Player during the school parade.

David as the Army man during the school parade. At night he became Captain America.

The boys hauled in 22 pounds of candy total this year. Jon, Lucas and Micah trick-or-treated for 2 hours while Grace, David and I came home after an hour and handed out candy.  It was a fun night.

Random thoughts...

I'm tired. I don't really want to sit here and post anything. I started to post my 12 of 12 for the month of November. Yeah, I'm almost a month late. No surprise here.  That is just me. Always late. Micah keeps telling me to change our clocks so they tell the right time.  I tell him I can't.  If I did then we'd never make it to school, practices, church, or anything else on time.  Some clocks are 10 minutes fast, some are 5 and some are just a few minutes.  I have no idea which clock is right. If I want to find out then I use my phone.  How's that for some tidbit of info? Not that exciting, I know.
So looking through some photos I still never posted Halloween pics.  We have some good ones too.  Maybe I will at the end of this.  I'm 25ish weeks pregnant.  I lost track.  Can't really remember what week I'm in.  Just know that the baby will be here mid March.  No name ideas so far. Sometimes I wake-up thinking about it. I don't know if I should stay with Bible names or not.  Their are not a lot of girl Bible names that I really like.  We'll see. This baby might just be siding with me since I'm the only one in the family not named in the scriptures.  I have to have someone on my side:) j/k
It's Christmas time.  I still haven't bought any gifts.  Probably should start.  The kids aren't asking for anything of greatness.  Unless, you consider nerf guns, army guys, and basic lego pieces of worth.  Lucas has asked for some soccer stuff.  But, again no huge gift.
I don't know what else to say.  I guess that is all I've got. Did I mention I'm hungry and tired.  Should probably go eat something. I know I have lots to do.  Like clean the counters and floor since I have cub scouts here at the house today.  Plus, I need to get my Christmas cards addressed and mailed. Things to do, things to do.  Think of you, think of you. (that was written on a hallmark card 15 years ago that I have never gotten out of my mind.) I'm weird. My boys think that being called weird is offensive. I don't mind :)  

Thankful Nov. Challenge

It's November! That means I always commit to blogging once a day to say one thing I'm thankful for. It also means I fail at this challenge every year. But, who cares?!!  It's the thought that counts.

Today I'm thankful that October is over. It was a hard, difficult month and it just needed to END!  Thankfully it did. Often during the month I caught myself saying "and this too shall pass."  Yet, the next day or week something else difficult or challenging would occur. But, we made it. Yeah!!  I could list all the things that happened, but will not do so in this post. Maybe in another one. I probably should write it down for the purpose of reminding myself that life gets hard, yet if we keep going eventually it'll get better.  That is where hope and faith needs to come into play. And somehow it always does. . . if you let it.