Home again, home again!

Each time we go to AZ, we're usually more than ready to get back home to CA. This time, it was different. Matt & I find ourselves counting down the months (just 5 more!) until we move back to AZ! We've enjoyed living in Southern California, with all it has to offer. We've made lifelong friends here and become our own family unit. But we're ready to be back among the familiar, back with our family. We've felt like such outsiders being the only ones away from home. We don't get to be involved in all the little things- birthdays, cabin trips, Sunday dinners. We're eagerly awaiting the day that we can say "Sayonara" to California and move back to Arizona, our home. Arizona will always be home to us!

It's unreal that Matt is finished with his third year of optometry school!!! It seems like just yesterday we were moving to California, starting out as first years. Matt just had his first day of his LAST year of school today. I can't believe we're already starting rotations!! YIPPEE!!!! We're almost done!! :)

A bittersweet time

Gavin is 16.5 months old now and in the last couple months, he's REALLY become attached to nursing. I honestly haven't minded it, but I know that the end has to begin sometime. Matt has been bugging me about weaning Gavin since Gav would basically walk up to me, pull at my shirt and want to nurse. He was still nursing about 5-6 times a day. Since we were going on this trip, I figured none other would be the perfect time to start weaning him. We were really so busy each day that I didn't really have time to nurse him right after naptimes like usual. So I guess it just started without me even realizing it, but I became ok with that.

Now we're down to 2 (sometimes 3) nursing sessions a day, in the morning when he wakes- sometimes twice, depending on how early he wakes the first time and whether or not he'll go back to sleep- and in the evening just before bedtime. At this point, I'm really emotional about the whole thing. Sometimes I think I'm ready to be done, to be free, but other times, I'm not. I love breastfeeding my babies and hate to see this relationship end each time. It's such a special time between me and my babies! I breastfed Brooklyn and Blake until they were 18 months old as well. Matt and I have set a goal for Gavin to be completely weaned by the time he's 18 months old. We'll get through it ok, I know we will. *sigh*

Our first stitches!!

You know, I'd actually been wondering when our first experience would come when a child of ours would need stitches! And guess who got that honor???? Nobody else, but BLAKE!!!

Friday (5/25), Matt and I were back in the bedroom at his parents' house, finishing packing up the last of our things so we could go stay at my parents' house for the remainder of our trip. Brooklyn and Blake were in the family room, throwing their blankets up in the air and catching them/letting them land on their heads. They were giggling and having a good time, plus they were keeping themselves busy while we packed. Next thing we know, there is a "SMACK!" and Blake starts crying. I told Matt he'd better go check since that sounded like an "I'm hurt" cry. Sure enough, Matt calls out, "I think we're going to need our first stitches!" Blake had gashed his forehead open on the fireplace hearth!! I got a washcloth to hold on his wound while Matt found some gauze to tape to his forehead. I called my mom and asked if we could drop the other two kids off while we took Blake to Urgent Care. I came back to help Matt and caught a glimpse of Blake's gash and I started to feel like I was going to pass out! I've never been good with large amounts of blood, especially when it's coming from your own child!! I went an laid down until we headed out the door.

I dropped Matt and Blake of at the Urgent Care, which was just down the road, and as soon as I drove off to take Brooklyn and Gavin to my mom's, Brooklyn says, "I love Blake SO much!" Awwwhhhh! Another heart-melting moment!! I assured her that Blakey would be just fine and the doctors would fix his owie. I came back to the Urgent Care and we waited about an hour before being seen. They said he'd definitely need stitches since the would was so deep. A very nice, young physician's assistant did the job and Blake was a trooper!! Daddy stayed by him the entire time, but Mommy had to sit back where I couldn't see what they were doing, for fear I might REALLY pass out!! Blake ended up getting three stitches and ended up with a bunch of Spiderman stickers as a reward for being so good! :)

All in all, Blake hasn't really been fazed at all by his accident. We'll take him to the pediatrician in the next couple days to have the stitches removed. He'll have a pretty nice scar to show from it!!

Next stop ~ Mesa, AZ!!

******On the road again!!******

My mom drove with us from UT to AZ on Sunday. Again, the kids did really well and thankfully, they napped for a good portion of the trip. By the time Matt joined us on Wednesday, I was missing him soooooooooooooooooooooooo badly!!! Not only was it hard to not have him around to help out with the kids, I just plain missed him! We talked plenty of times on the phone, though, so that helped a little. He did outstanding on his finals!!! I joked with him that it must have been all the peace and quiet he had at home plus all those good meals he ate! ;)

While we were in AZ, we had to back out of the house we were building in Queen Creek. :( They were just building it WAY too fast and there wasn't a chance that we could afford our rent here and a mortgage payment there for even a couple months of overlap. So our big, beautiful house is no longer ours. We debated what we should do and ultimately decided to start over and build a MUCH smaller home (by over 1200 sq ft!) and live it in temporarily while we buy some real furniture and save up for the bigger home. This new home is still in the same community with the same builder. That way, we were able to transfer the earnest money that we had put down on the bigger home, over to the smaller home. Thank goodness we didn't lose that chunk of change!!

Here's a picture of our "dirt!" LOL!

Here's what the house will look like-While we were home in AZ, I also got my hair cut and highlighted! It's been 1 1/2 years since I've had either done!!!!!! Even though she only took 3-4 inches off, I love the way it feels and I just love having some color back in it! I got some long layers in the back and some shorter layers near my face. Now I just need to figure out how to keep it cute looking! :)

There are some other momentous things that happened during our trip, but those deserve their own blog entry! ;)

First stop on our vacation ~ Cedar City, UT!

Matt couldn't come with us for the first part of the trip because he had finals to take. So my little sis, Brittney (or Burtney, as the kids call her) flew out here from St. George to drive with me back to UT. We left on Wednesday morning and we stopped in Barstow at the Old Navy outlet. Whoop, whoop!! I literally could have spent HOURS in there!!!! Cheap prices from wall to wall! I walked out of there without doing too much damage. ;) We continued on through Vegas and met my mom in St. George (she'd flown up the day before). I dropped my sis of at her house and my mom drove with us to Cedar. The kids were pretty good, thanks to the portable DVD player and a good aunt! The drive seemed to go a lot quicker than it really did, too!

When we got to my grandma's house, the first thing the kids did was play in the gutter out front! My siblings and I used to float things down the gutter when we were little! :) My mom had to hold onto Gavin as he leaned over the curb, otherwise he would have fallen in!! Brooklyn instantly warmed up to great-grandpa and had him reading her a book just minutes after we walked through the door!

Thursday, I took the kids across the street to Canyon Park, another place of fond childhood memories for me! They played on the playground equipment for awhile before we headed down to the little creek. We rolled up our pants and stuck our toes into the chilly water. Gavin, oh Gavin!! The kid was throwing the biggest tantrum because I wouldn't let go of him! Apparently he thought he could just walk in the creek by himself. Blake sat on the little sidewalk bridge and was kicking his feet like a maniac! He proceeded to soak himself thoroughly!Both Brooklyn and Blake just had a really good time playing in the water. We tossed sticks in the water and caught them before they floated under the bridge. It made me so excited to see MY kids doing the same things that I did when I was a kid! :)Becky and Taylor also came up to Utah and on Saturday, they took Brooklyn with them to St. George to pick up Brittney for our cousin's wedding reception later that evening. While Gavin was napping, I took Blake back to the park and let him play in the creek again. It was so cute, watching him pick rocks up with his toes and toss them back into the water! When we returned back to grandma's house, he kept asking, "Where's Brooklyn?" and then he said, "Brooklyn's my best friend!" Awhhhhh! Talk about making my mommy heart melt!!! She was back shortly thereafter and they were back to fighting like cats and dogs soon enough! ;) My cousin's wedding reception was beautiful. It was so good to see cousins and family members I haven't seen in YEARS!!

We also took a FOUR GENERATION picture again with Brooklyn, me, my mom and her mom. Last time we did this, Brooklyn was 6 months old and I'm glad we got the chance to do it again! Here are both pics, as a comparison-

August 2003

May 2007

I'm really glad I got the opportunity to take the kids with me to Utah to see my grandparents. I'm sad that Matt couldn't be there with us. My grandparents are both getting older and it's harder for them to be up and moving around. I don't know when the day will come that they aren't here with us anymore, so I'm glad I got to see them again.

Ok, end of this one, on to the next part of our trip! :)

I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!

12 days, 3 looooong car drives with the kids, and we're back to CA safe and sound! :) I'll probably be making a bunch of blog entries over the next couple days, all about our trip, since it's all too much to put into one entry. Be sure to check back for all the excitement!!!

I know you are all eagerly awaiting Lindsay's next post, but one from the stranded husband will have to suffice. Lindsay and the kids went to Utah and are now in Arizona while I've been lucky enough to be taking my LAST FINALS!!!!! She has been having a blast with family this past week. She says she misses me, but I think part of it is the help with changing diapers and chasing down our little angels. j/k







Here are a few of the gourmet dinner items I made from scratch since I had to fend for myself. The Barney's did invite me over for a normal dinner to break up the monotony of my nutritious diet.

GO SUNS!!!

Eek! What a close call! I'd pretty much given up on the Suns, but they pulled through and beat the Spurs, tying up the series, 2-2. It seems as though things are getting a little bit physical in basketball! Straight up body check by Horry to Steve Nash!!! Sheesh! Hopefully going back to Phoenix will be a morale booster for the Suns!

Mother's Day 2007

For the most part, it's been a nice, relaxing day. I had to speak in church today on the topic of mothers. A bishopric member asked me like two months ago if I'd speak on Mothers Day. Last night, Matt made some comment like, "Don't you have a talk tomorrow?" I just gasped. I totally forgot!!!! I stayed up til after midnight working on it. I think it went really well and I only got a *little* emotional at the beginning. I held my composure for the rest of my talk. The brother that spoke after me mentioned something about how unfair it was to ask a mother to speak on Mother's Day, then a lady stopped me after church and said, "Really, how unfair is it when you get to sit up on the stand by yourself, without kids nagging you all through Sacrament meeting?!??!?" ;) Today was also the first time that I had kids old enough to sing with the Primary from the stand! I'm sure I would have been a blubbering mess had I actually been able to see Brooklyn and Blake's sweet faces, but I just got glimpses of the back of their heads. ;) I also had to teach my Primary lesson, of course. I just had four girls today, so it was pretty good.

My Mother's Day gift was getting a pedicure on Friday (with Jennie!) before we had the banquet. It's always nice to get a moment to yourself with a little pampering to boot! Brooklyn and Blake made little cards in their Primary class with their handprint on the front with a poem inside. The Primary presidency also took pictures of all the Primary kids and put together these cute magnet frames with the pictures inside. I can't wait to hang them on my fridge! :)

Today was a good day. I got to spend time with Matt & and the kids, which is most important, didn't have to cook and I got a smidge of time to relax, although a mother never really, truly gets a day off. I'm thankful to my dear mother, for the great example that she has been and is to me. I love you mom! Happy Mother's Day to all my friends as well!! I'm also thankful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me the experience and joys of motherhood, for trusting me to be a steward of his precious spirits. I love my children SO much, each one of them!!!

Of course I had to take my annual Mother's Day pics with the kids!

Bon Voyage & Mr. Fertile

Last night we attended the third year class banquet, which was a dinner cruise! We cruised around a harbor in Newport Beach for four hours and it was a nice evening out. The Barneys, Poulters and Lundells were there too. Dinner was served and then there was dancing, which we didn't participate in ;), and LOTS of people getting wasted. Drunk people are so funny!

A couple of the class officers were in charge of the "Gag Awards," which were presented like Academy Awards! There were nominees for each categories and then one winner, who was presented with some prize correlating with their award. Matt won The Most Fertile!!!!!!! And his prize was a box of Miracle Gro!!!!!! LOL! Everyone kept congratulating ME on being Mrs. Fertile, since of course, I did ALL the work! :D Well, I guess he helped a little bit. ;)


At the end, Matt gave a little speech as the third year class president. He has really done a great job this year, through the good and bad. I'm just glad he's not doing it again next year! It'll be nice for him not to have that responsibility and that he'll be home with us more often. There was a hilarious video that a friend put together of Craig and Weston doing crazy things down at the school "after hours." I laughed so hard I was crying! Part of it was probably that I was sooooooo tired already, but seriously, it was funny.

I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time last night. Some, maybe a little more than they should have! THREE years of optometry school down, just ONE more left to go!! Matt can't wait to start his rotations at the end of May!

I broke down

Tuesday and Wednesday I just HAD to turn on the A/C!! I'm so spoiled, coming from AZ where central A/C is commonplace. Here in Southern California, it is not. This rumor that SoCal weather is beautiful all the time??? Um, no. It can get downright HOT here!!! Mix that with the humidity and it pretty much sucks! All we have is a little wall unit A/C in the family room that can't possibly cool our whole apartment. The large window in our family room faces west, so we get all the afternoon sun blaring in. It gets to a point that in the evening, it's much cooler outside while we're still sweltering inside! We have ceiling fans AND oscillating fans in every room, but when it gets so hot in our apartment during the day, the fans do nothing but push around the hot air. It's so disgusting getting into bed at night, just lying there, sweating. Ewwww! Not to mention it's almost deathly hot trying to blow dry my hair after I shower! Six more months, six more months, six more months............

My Monkeys

I saw these pjs at Gap Outlet and just couldn't pass them up!!! :) Here are my three, freshly bathed monkeys!!

PUMP it UP!

Jennie, Trenda and I took our kids to Pump it Up this morning! They have days set aside that kids under 6 can come in for an hour and a half and play in these ginormous inflatable play things! All three of my kids had an fabulous time! :) I asked Brooklyn and Blake what their favorite part was and the both agreed that the "big honkin'" slide was the best! If Gavin could speak, I'm sure he would also have to agree! I took Gavin with me and we went down that slide at least three times and each time, he squealed with delight!

Cade, Brooklyn and Blake climbing the "honkin'" slide!

Down come Brooklyn and Blake!

Brooklyn and Cade climbing in the obstacle course

Gavin with his favorite red ball in the basketball bounce house
Blake shoots, he SCORES!!!

Boys will be boys!

I put a brand new stinkin' cute shirt from Old Navy on Blake after we showered and cleaned up from swimming. He looks all surfer dude preppy in that and his cargo shorts!! :) Then daddy picked up lunch for us and it took Blake all of about 10 minutes to get a huge 'ole stain on his new shirt. *sigh* I guess it's a good thing I'm doing laundry today!

***Edited to add:

- 1st time through the wash- Pretreated stains with Shout, stains still there. Now treating with an OxyClean paste.

Beating the heat

We took our first trip to the swimming pool for the year!! :) A friend invited us up to their apartment pool and the whole gang was there, at least 6 mommies and 14 kiddos. It's supposed to be in the mid 90s today so it was nice and refreshing to go for a swim.

Brooklyn and Blake had no reservations about getting in the pool this year. They did great, kicking themselves around with their floaties! Matt really wants to try to have them do some swimming on their own this summer. But I can't risk that when I'm by myself with all three kids. I can't wait until we're back in AZ and can sign them up for swimming lessons!!!






Gavin was absolutely FEARLESS!!! He would have just preferred to swim by himself if he could! He didn't like being in the floaty for very long and when I was
holding him, he just wanted to go, go, go!
I had him "jump" in from the side a few times.
What a little fish!

Brooklyn and Blake kept telling me how much fun they had swimming. Hopefully it'll become a weekly thing! Thanks for inviting us, Michelle! :)

Wanted: A Clean Brother

This evening, I was on the phone with Matt's sister and near the end of our conversation, I heard Gavin start to cry like he does when one of his siblings is torturing him. I hung up the phone and Gavin was walking toward me. I noticed that his hair was wet and there were water drops on his shirt. I was thinking, 'Did I leave the water squirt bottle down?' and then I smelled it- cleaning product!!! I ran to where Blake was and sure enough, he was holding the Lysol kitchen antibacterical cleaner, the stuff I use to clean my stove and kitchen counter tops!!!!! I grabbed Blake, gave him a spank on the bum and immediately put him in his room. Then I rushed Gavin to the bathroom, stripped off his clothes and diaper and started the tub to clean him off. Since Gavin wasn't screaming or anything, I figured Blake had managed to miss Gavin's eyes, THANK HEAVENS!!! Gavin was totally unaffected by the whole ordeal, except for the drama of getting him out of the tub! LOL!

I had a stern talk with Blake after he was done with his time out. I told him that while it was Mommy's fault for leaving the cleaning stuff down where he could reach it, he was NEVER to squirt anything at anyone, unless he asked Mommy or Daddy first. Again, thank goodness a crisis was averted. By a millimeter!!!!

You know you take too many pictures of your kids when....

.... your almost 16 month old babe says, "Cheese!" when he sees the camera coming!! LOL!!

Gavin has conquered....

... the TABLE!!

Ever since this kid was young, he has loved to climb. At 10 months old, he climbed up onto a toy bin and tried to climb on the window ledge in our family room. By 11 months old, he'd figured how to climb onto our couches. I had to teach him how to slide down backward on his belly to avoid any potential nose dives.

He finally decided that he needed to move onto bigger and better things, I guess! It didn't take him long to figure out how to climb up on the chairs and get up onto the table. Gavin gets ticked if the chairs are pushed all the way in because he can't squeeze through! Haha! We have carpeting in the dining area so he hasn't quite figured out how to pull the chairs out, but I'm sure that's coming next now that I've put it down in writing!

Cricketing

So I do this thing. Matt probably thinks it's annoying. When I'm trying to fall asleep, I rub my feet together in a kind of rotating motion. I don't know why I do it, I just do! Matt calls it cricketing. LOL! Sometimes, I even cricket Matt too! :D The funny thing is that Gavin does the EXACT same thing!!!! When I went in to check on him before bed last night, Gavin was laying on his tummy, his feet were crossed at the ankles and he was cricketing his feet! I just had to laugh to myself! Ahhh.

Miserable mess!!

Brooklyn and Blake have been sneezy, sniffly, snotty messes the past two days! Brooklyn carries around a handful of tissues with her and even took some to bed with her last night!! It's been kinda windy today, so I'm not sure if the wind is stirring up the dust and triggering allergies or if this is the beginnings of colds. I'm hoping it's not the latter! *fingers crossed*

Speaking of allergies, I really, REALLY need to get Blake in to be allergy tested. We're having issues with his super loose stools (TMI!) again. His allergy shiners are also becoming more prominent again. Awhile back we were trying a dairy elimination diet and I wasn't so sure that it changed anything, although it's kinda hard to eliminate ALL dairy. I'd rather just have him tested to see what exactly we need to stay away from. Note to self: make a ped appointment on Monday.

My turn!!

I was tagged by Jess, so here goes!

1. Comics or novels? Novels! I'm on a roll with reading right now!
2. Neat or slob? I'm not super neat, but not a total slob. How's that?? :)
3. Chocolate or peanut butter? Chocolate!
4. Cold or Hot? I like snuggling up in blankets on the couch, but I don't like cold weather (i.e. below 50 degrees - can't stand snow)
5. Talk or sleep? Depends with who! ;)
6. Being told you're loved, having time spent with you, getting a present, having something done for you, being touched. Which describes your greatest need? Time spent with me
7. Which is your least favorite season? Spring (I thought this said FAVORITE season!!! oops!)
8. Do you like your photo being taken? If it turns out well, yes!
9. Have you ever blabbed a secret when you said you wouldn't? Probably
10. Who do you think has the most interesting life in your social (blog) group? Um....???
11. Do you ever fantasize about having a different life? Not a different life, just my life in the future
12. Have you ever had to start your life all over again? No
13. What are the three most important things to look for in a relationship? Trust, respect and humor
14. Words, tone and delivery, or body language: Which do you absorb first? Which is the most important? Absorb body language first, tone and delivery is most important
15. Are you a good communicator? I think so, Matt might say otherwise!
16. Do you think you talk too much? Sometimes, yes
17. Can you handle the truth? I have a hard time taking criticism
18. How often do you cry? A lot more now that I'm a mom! Little things just send me over the edge!
19. What sound annoys you the most? Teeth grinding (Matt!!)
20. Where did your pet get its name? Don't have a pet, but I'd love to name a dog Bentley
21. Would you rather be single, dating, engaged or married? Married, for sure!! I'm glad I'm past the dating phase!
22. Significance, self-worth, security. Which is more important? Self-worth
23. If you could have one super hero power, what would it be? I'd make a duplicate of myself so one of me could clean the house and the other could play with the kids!
24. Do you think you are a good driver? YES!
25. Why do you go to work? Because I love being a mom!! (most days...)
26. Who was your favorite teacher? What's your favorite subject? Mr. Green, my band director. He died a few years back and I miss him. My favorite subject was either Anatomy & Physiology or Humanities.
27. Who's survey would you most like to see? Jennie -- TAG!! And don't pretend like you didn't see this! ;)

Late night visitor

I seem to have a little person coming to visit me several times during the night. That little person is Brooklyn. Last night, she came in twice- once at 1:00am and once at 3:00am- telling me she needed help putting her blankets back on. The girl LOVES to have her FOUR blankets piled on her every night! But it seems as though she's not competent in putting her blankets back on herself in the middle of the night and she must come wake me out of my peaceful slumber to do so. I feel like I have a newborn baby again!!! Grrr! We went to bed after midnight because I had to do a load of Gs so we would have clean ones this morning. Then Brooklyn comes in at 1am and 3am, then Gavin is up just before 6am, so I nurse him and put him back to bed. Then he's back up at 7:30am for good!! Matt claims he was up two times because one of the kids cried out. I must have been out cold because I didn't hear that nor did I feel him get out of bed. Is it too much to ask for a night of uninterrupted sleep??!?!? I don't function well unless I get my good eight to nine hours of sleep! ;)