Santa and the Carousel

Bailey’s first ride on a carousel.She loved it. When the horse started moving she got a little uneasy, but quickly got over it and enjoyed it.

  

Bubba loved it as always…

Bailey would have nothing to do with Santa unless we were sitting with her.

Getting Ready for Christmas

We have our house all decorated for Christmas. Well, at least as decorated as it will be this year with a 1-year old who wants to climb on everything, and pull anything down! It makes for some interesting days here. Anyway, the house looks pretty and festive. We decorated the tree after Bailey went to bed. Shortly after she woke up the next morning, we moved all of the lower decorations to the top half of the tree. Notice the gate in the background of the picture… That gate was surrounding the tree, and she still managed to get ornaments off. I must say, her face was very proud and priceless when she walked into my room hold 4 bulb ornaments in her hands. It’s a good thing she is cute.

Today I decided to do some holiday baking. The kids were all to willing to help me, and extremely anxious! We made hot chocolate stirers (spoons dipped in chocolate and then candy canes or marshmallows), cookies and hot chocolate.

 

As I was finishing up cleaning the kitchen, the kids were very quiet. As much as I wanted to just relish the moment, I thought I should check on them. I was pleased to find this. They were playing so well together. It made me smile!

Missed the boat this year

Well, it wasn’t for a lack of things to be grateful for. It was more for a lack of time to sit down every day and take the time to blog. However, I am extremely for so many things, always. A few of them would be…

Bailey Murphy Mize

This little girl of mine is a wee bit Crazy! But I love her to pieces. She is so full of life, love, laughter and sunshine. She absolutely loves her Daddy. Whenever he walks in the door from work, she can hardly contain her excitement. She is becoming very girly and loves to carry her purse all over the house and talk on her “cell phone”. While she is a happy baby, she is also very quick to flip when she doesn’t get her way. While I shouldn’t laugh at her when she does it, it cracks me up when she pitches her fits. She is so dramatic! She is quite the mischeivious little bug. But I can’t imagine how different our family would be without. We definitely hit the baby jackpot with Tucker and Bailey!

1-Year Anniversary

If you know me well, then you will have a hard time believing what 1-year anniversary I am celebrating. Well, believe it or not…

That’s right… I have not had a caffeinated soda, more specifically Diet Coke, for 1 whole year! INSANE!

I have turned my attentions to…

 

I didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter. After getting released from the hospital with my clots, a week later I was diagnosed with vertigo when I went back into the ER after having terrible dizzy spells and nausea. Accompanying that shortly after was terrible ringing of the ears. I went and saw an E.N.T. specialist and he diagnosed me with meniers. My brother Mike had a severe case of meniers. So severe that he had to have a surgery that was very invasive. His Dr. told him that he should stop drinking caffeine and that would stop the symptoms. Because mine wasn’t as severe I didn’t think it would affect me in the same way. Well, on November 28th, 2011 I had a quite a bit of soda but didn’t think much of it. The next day, I dropped Tucker off at pre-school and wasn’t feeling well. I had to go in and get my blood checked for my coumadin, so I called and they were able to get me in earlier in the day. I had Bailey with me and when I got to the hospital I went right in to use the restroom. My stomach was kind of upset but I didn’t think too much of it. When I went to the check in desk I gave her my information, and then I remember calmly asking the nurse if she would watch Bailey for me because I needed to go throw up. She was very helpful and I ran to the bathroom and got sick a few times. It was awful. The staff was AMAZING though! As soon as I came out of the bathroom there were nurses there to help me to a room in the back, they were taking care of Bailey, and made sure that I was as comfortable as they could make me. They were great. Once I got my blood checked and they got me some juice, I started to get better. Once I was feeling well enough they helped me out to the car so I could go home. Looking back, I should have been more honest with them and should have had David come and get me. Heavenly Father was definitely with me as I was driving home from the Hospital. I called David and told him that he needed to pick Tucker up from Pre-school and I was too sick to take care of the kids. So David had to come home and take care of the kids all day while I was laying in bed sick as could be. That day was the final draw. I couldn’t do that to David anymore and I couldn’t compromise my ability to take care of my children anymore. So, I decided that I would stop. The next day my Mom was flying into town and I was worried that I would get a headache driving up to the airport to get her. Well, I think Heavenly Father knew that I had been through enough, and he knew that I was ready to quit caffeine, because I have not had a withdraw headache once since quitting caffeine. It is amazing to me because I had tried so many times before. But I am grateful that Heavenly Father made it easy for me. In addition to being healthier for me, it is easier on the pocket book because I rarely get soda when eating out since I don’t like non-diet soda.  So now caffeine and alcohol are on the same page in my book. I avoid them on equal levels.

Tucker’s Birthday and Thanksgiving

This guy LOVES being 4!

On Tucker’s birthday we flew down to California to spend Thanksgiving with my brothers BJ and Mike, and their families. But, before we headed to Cali we went to breakfast at the Donut Café. We love Donuts…

Tucker was SO excited to get to go on an airplane on his birthday. As we were boarding I asked if he could say Hi to the pilots. They were more than happy to oblige. They even did one better…

Despite the fact that there was no HUGE celebration on Tucker birthday, he had a great day. It didn’t hurt that he knew we were going to celebrate with his cousins in California too. On Wednesday, we went bowling with our family in California. We all had so much fun.

In addition to celebrating Tucker’s birthday, we had a blast with our family that week. Tucker had SO much fun with his cousins, and I had SO much fun meeting my new nephew Jackson. Of course I fell in love with him right away. We had a great week with family. I was a nerd and didn’t take a ton of pictures, or any really. But the few I got are pretty cute!

This is just after we got to my brothers house. I finally got to meet this handsome nephew, Jackson Bryan. He is DANG cute!  

Tucker and his Buddy Sam. They had so much fun!

Tucker and Cali Lynn walking down to the park. Too cute!

Daily Grateful–Tucker Mosby Mize

I am absolutely in love with my little boy. How on earth did he grow so fast. Let’s take a short trip down memory lane shall we…

Tucker will always be my little Bubba. Even when he is grown up and has a wife and kids of his own, he will be my little Bubba! The moment he was born, I felt such a connection with my little man. Both of my children are extremely special to me, but Tucker made me a Mommy for the first time. Every morning I wake up to his sweet face asking me if he can watch cartoons, or telling me has to go potty, and every once in awhile a sweet hug all from my little man. Tucker brings such a sweet spirit into our home. I don’t know a kid who gives better hugs or BIG kisses. I love when I come home from somewhere and Tucker runs up to give me a hug. What’s even better is when I come in from the other room and I get a running hug. He is such a loving little boy, and I just can’t get enough of him. He is growing up to be such a good boy, and handsome young man. I love getting good reports from his school teacher and his primary teacher. People always have such good things to say about him. I love hearing what a helper he is, and how much he has grown in the last year. I can’t believe that he is 4-years old already. The last 4-years have been exciting, trying, eventful, and the best 4 years of my life…all thanks to my little Bubba!

Daily Grateful-Good Manners

Alright, just a fair forewarning, I am about to toot my own horn a bit. You’ve been warned.

I have worked so hard with Tucker to teach him good manners. It makes me so happy when people tell me how polite he is. David and I both worked hard to teach him when to say “Thank You”, “Please”, “You’re Welcome”, “Sorry”, etc. etc. etc. Tucker has mastered it and does a great job of being polite. Granted, he is only 3 (almost 4) years old, so he isn’t perfect at it. But, I love that he does so well at it. I love even more that he is such a good example to Bailey with his manners. Bailey has started to “Thank You” in her own way. She always watches what he does and tries to copy him. She has started folding her arms at dinner time, and I think it is mostly because of him. I love my perfect-to-me, polite little angel babies!

 

Daily Grateful-The Gym

Oh, how grateful I am for the gym! Not only does it allow me to work out and get is shape, but it allows my kids to go, run, play and get their energy out while I am not having to clean up after them. I am trying really hard to get in better shape since having Tucker and Bailey. So far I have lost 33 pounds since March. I have another 37 to go before I am where I would ideally like to be. My goal is to be there by my birthday, May 19th. Since I will be 32 I think it is high time that I am looking as good as I did at 25.  Let’s be honest, I have had 2 kids via c-section. My body will never look as good as it did when I was 25, but I can at least weigh the same amount. However, without the gym I just don’t know how that would happen. So I am grateful that there is a place for me to go and release any pent up frustration on the treadmill, or dance the calories away, or pretend I know what I am doing in the weight room. The gym is literally my home away from home, because pretty much if I’m not home… I’m there!

Daily Grateful-Family Time

I absolutely love spending time with my family. While I love going and doing things with them, my favorite is times like this…

Sunday evening when Bailey woke up from her nap, she was cuddling with David and I on our bed. Not too long after Bailey was cuddled up next to me, Tucker came and snuggled up next to Daddy. It was the best thing ever! I love it when the kids actually cuddle with us on our bed. Usually it consists of Tucker jumping around and David and I trying to keep Bailey from walking off the edge of the bed. I love when we are all together and just spending time with each other. I am reminded every day that my kids are growing so fast, so I treasure moments where I can just enjoy them in the moment that we are in. While I don’t want them to grow up at all, I can’t wait for the time that we can all sit around and look at these old pictures and remember these fun times.

Daily Grateful-Good Friends (California Edition)

I have always held my girl friends very dear to my heart. Because I didn’t have any sisters growing up, my girl friends always had to fill that roll for me. The Lord has blessed me with some of the best girlfriends that I could ask for. To name a few…

Amber (Orchard) Morrell – Oh how I love my little Amber. We were quite the odd couple. I was am so tall and she is so short. But, it didn’t bother us. We met at church when we were very young. There was a bit of a rivalry at first, but then, somehow, we became the best of friends. Just as we graduated 8th grade, Amber’s family moved a couple of towns over to Granite Bay. I was worried that it would make it harder for she and I to maintain our friendship, but it probably strengthened it more. I used to go to stay the night at her house, and not come home for a week. Her family was a second family to me. To this day, Amber and I can go months without seeing or talking to each other, and then pick right back up as soon as we see each other as if we hadn’t missed a day. I really do live my little Amber!

Lisa Dent – Lisa and I met probably long before my first real memory of her. We grew up in the same stake and our older brothers went to school together. But, my first memory is at a basketball game for 2 of our brothers, we were bored so our Mom’s let us go and play on some random mats in the corner. Lame, I know. Then I remember during Volleyball tryouts for our Freshmen year of high school, she showed up a week late, and as soon as she got there I thought to myself, “That sucks, she is a week late, but I know she is going to make the team because she is good.” Ha! Ha! Ha! I am lame! But, even with that, we still seemed to find a common ground and an appreciation for each other. Lisa has truly been a great friend to me. I always look forward to the times that I get to see her, especially because they are few and far between. But, I always know that I can count on her. Shortly after I got released from the hospital, I was having a very down day. So I text Lisa and told her that I needed a Lisa fix. She was living in Washington at the time, so she simply responded with, “I can come down this weekend.” It meant the world to me and I will forever appreciate it.

Amie Ryan – Oh, how words can not even describe the love that I have for Amie Ryan. We didn’t truly become friends until we were in the Singles Ward together. There is just a love that I have for Amie that cannot even be described. Much like Amber, Amie and I can go months without seeing each other, and then act as if a day never passed. The only difference is, the first thing Amie and I say to each other is, “What’s the dirt! Fill me in!” Ha! Ha! Ha!

Lisa (Nicholson) Jarvis – Lisa and I kind of, inadvertently, traded places when I moved here to Oregon. I fell in love with a boy from Oregon, and she fell in love with a boy from California. So we bonded over preparing each other for our big life changes. Lisa is an amazing person, and I wish that we still loved close to each other. Especially because I know that Lisa, Amie and I could have some MAJOR fun together! Despite our difference in taste of Colleges, Lisa is a Duck fan and I am a Beaver fan, I still do love her, and I CANNOT wait to see her little girl very soon!

Seana (Garber) Aivaz – Seriously, I love this chick. I don’t even know how we became such good friends. We met on our mission when we were put as companions. We fought almost every night. But, it was truly one of those things where you don’t know how great what you have is, until you don’t have it anymore. When I was transferred to another area on the Island, we were aching to be back together as companions after the first week or so. We may had fought a lot, but we also had great times together. I was transferred to Guam, and for a few months we weren’t on the Island together. But you better believe I was at the airport when she was transferred to Guam. My last night in the mission, I think our President knew what good friends Seana and I were because he loaded up one of the sisters apartments, and then allowed Seana and I to stay by ourselves in her apartment. We had so much fun reminiscing about Pohnpei and our great times there. I was sad to leave her, but we knew that we would be best friends and would know each other for the rest of our lives. And, this far we are. I was in her wedding, and if she wasn’t so dang pregnant when I got married, she would have been in mine. We may live states apart, but thanks to modern technology and social media we are able to still keep in great contact with each other.

Tucker’s Birthday Party

Tucker and his best friend both have a birthday in November. So, we decided to do a joint birthday party for them. We had a big party down at the gym that we belong to, and it was so much fun. We really didn’t have to do much of anything other than send out invitations, get a cake, make some party favors and then show up and watch the kids have fun. We had a great turnout, and all of the kids had so much fun! Here are some pictures of the day…

Daily Grateful-Being a Mommy

Ever since I was a little girl, all I wanted was to have kids and be a Mommy. Before David and I were even dating officially, I made sure that he knew that I wanted to be a stay at home Mom once I have kids. We agreed that I would work until I had kids, and then my full time job would be a stay-at-home Mommy. I couldn’t ask for a better job. I love that I am able to be with my children for all of their firsts, and all of their fun moments. Nothing makes me happier than to be able to witness my children doing something for the first time. Or to be with them when they figure something out. I love seeing them learn and doing all that I can to help them grow. Don’t get me wrong, I do have days when I would rather be lying on a beach in the sun, or working at a regular 9-5 job. But, at the end of the day when I get the greatest hugs and kisses from Tucker and Bailey, nothing is better than that. I love my babies!