Train Ride

On Saturday we went to Boulder City to ride the Southern Nevada Railroad. I had read on a friends blog about the train, so I thought we would copy her and go give it a try. We went with my "cousin" (aunt's step daughter), Heather, her husband Todd, and their 2 year old Tanner. It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time.

Here is one of our few family pictures. (You can't see it in the picture, but thanks for the Sparkle and Shine t-shirt Grandma Barb. Clara (and Mommy) loved it. She had the perfect pants to go with it.)

I have mentioned in a previous post that Thomas is going through a phase where he doesn't want his picture taken. This is where he stood while Steve, Clara and I tried to get another family picture outside by the train.

The volunteers dressed up in the old time train costumes. I thought the short one in this picture kind of looks like President Hinckley.

The side we sat on had a really nice view. I was surprised, I was expecting just a bunch of dirt and rocks, but the scenery was really pretty. You forget how beautiful the desert can be.

Recent conversation I want to cry about

Thomas: Mom, do you have another baby in your tummy?

Me: No, Thomas.

Thomas: Does Daddy?

Me: No, Daddies don't have babies.

Thomas: Let me see your tummy.

I lift up my shirt to show off my war wounds from two pregnancies that have left my stomach looking like a road map because of the amount of stretch marks.

Thomas: Oh Mom, your tummy is all smashed up. What happened? Your belly button looks funny. Why does it look like that?...

He continued to go on and on and obsess over my mangled midsection until I changed the subject - and told him I would never feed him again if he ever said anything like that again.

So much to blog, so little time

It's been a few days since I have been able to sit down and add to our blog. This week has just gone by so fast. What am I saying, this month has gone by way too fast. Clara is asleep and Thomas is watching Mickey Mouse for quiet time, so I finally have time to sit down with the laptop and pour my heart out.

The last couple of nights Steve has been getting home around 5:30. It has been wonderful. He recently switched jobs. When he was working physical therapy he wasn't getting home until 8:30. Now that he is working in insurance, he has been able to be more flexible with his hours.

Steve decided that with all the extra time he has had, he would work on our backyard that has been neglected all winter. He has been out there the past couple of nights weeding, raking, and fertilizing the dead grass.

Now I don't want to brag, but take a look at the weed he pulled. This thing was huge. I guess it is nothing to be proud of, but it was massive.

Thomas has been helping him get everything clean. Last night he went out there in his diaper and car shoes. I probably should have put his clothes on him, but I figured he would be easier to clean up without clothes on once he was done playing. When I went out there to check on him he was walking around with the rake. I couldn't resist taking a picture of him.

Maybe he's not our child afterall...

The other main event happening in our house is...drum roll please... Clara has learned to roll over. Steve and I are really surprised that she is doing it this early. Thomas didn't roll over until he was almost 5 months old. She is doing it a month earlier than him.

What I love is Thomas in the background. He hasn't been too impressed that she can roll over. He won't be impressed until she is able to do a somersault as you can see from the video. He keeps on asking me to put her on the floor so he can teach her.

The Gardens with the Gardners

Tonight we went to the Belagio Gardens for Family Home Evening with the Gardner Family. Here are just a few shots of the fun we had.

One of the few family photos we have with Thomas looking at the camera. He is gong through a phase right now where he doesn't want his picture taken. He better grow out of it soon.

Amy, Me, and Clara.
Amy and I have been best friends for over 17 years now.
It is so funny to hear Thomas talk to her. He calls her "Friend Amy" because he has an Aunt Amy and a Mommy Amy. I think the poor kid thinks half the women in this world are named Amy.

3/5 of the kids - Thomas, Emma, and Archer

(I don't know why we didn't stick Ridge and Clara in there.)

They have a green house with live butterflies. It was really impressive.

Thomas and Clara. Thomas did not want to pose for this picture. Amy is pretty much holding him down for me (and holding Clara up). That's a true friend for you!

See what I mean about Thomas not looking at the camera! He does this on purpose, he is such a little stinker sometimes.

Conversations with Thomas

Thomas always seems to come up with some pretty funny comments . This afternoon we were driving home from Costco (the best place in the world) and we were talking about everything we were seeing on the drive. We were lucky enough to pass a couple of people riding horses on one of the rural roads we live by.

Me: Oh Thomas, look out the window.

Thomas: What Mom..... ohhhhhhhh!

Me: Those are some real cowboys!

Thomas: No, Mom. Those are just horsies and people.

I guess he knew that I was trying to make it more exciting than it really was.

Then tonight, we were having dinner with our friends, Rob and Amy Gardner. Amy was talking to Thomas and this was part of the conversation.

Amy: Thomas, did the Easter Bunny bring Clara an Easter basket?
Thomas: No, she just gets milk.

Listen

I have learned as a mom that you need to listen to that little voice in your head. When it tells you to go check on one of the kids, go.

This is what I found when I listened. I was finishing up feeding Clara and I told Thomas to go and try to use the bathroom. He ran in there and I could hear him messing around. I put Clara down and walked over to where I could see inside the bathroom. I am so glad my camera was just a few feet away. I didn't say anything to him and just started to take some pictures.

He actually went to the bathroom standing like this. I am so glad he has good aim!

I am working on my Adobe Photoshop skills. Sorry for the messy bum-cover.

Harley and Thomas

Thomas Loves his cousin, Harley. I was uploading the pictures and found these 2 pictures of them. I hadn't realized I had gotten them because it was so sunny out and I couldn't see my LCD screen. These are definitely keepers!

Happy Easter

Yesterday we had our ward Easter Egg Hunt. We had been "talking it up" to Thomas for the past couple of days. We wanted him to be really excited about it. We told him that he needed to run and get as many eggs as he could. We also teased him and told him to push the other kids over to get the eggs. Luckily, we have a really sweet boy and he didn't take our advice.



When we got to the park, everyone was standing at one side of the grass waiting for more people to show up so they could start. Steve and I were getting all the stuff out of the car and Thomas was hugging all of his cousins that are in our ward. The next thing we know, Thomas had decided to start the hunt early and was already running and getting the eggs. Steve had to chase him down and get him to dump out the eggs. I guess we had him a little too excited. Needless to say, when the hunt started all of our training paid off. He actually did quite well and collected a nice amount of eggs.

Love

Last night, I was hammered (see previous post). I was so tired and ready to go to bed by 7:00. My wonderful husband had called on his way home from work and asked if I wanted him to bring home dinner...let me think, yes. Steve then walked in the door with dinner and said that someone in the ward had called and he needed to go give a blessing. Bed was going to have to wait.

While I was waiting for Steve to get home, Thomas was playing upstairs in his room. He called for me and asked if I would come upstairs to see something. I walked upstairs and he was standing at the top waiting for me. He told me that he had made something for me to make me happy. I guess it was obvious I was tired.

He had made a large train track with his train set and was so excited to show it off. It went from the middle of his room into the middle of the hallway. He was so proud of it ( I should have taken a picture, what kind of blogger am I?). I laid in the hallway and we played for a while.

While laying there my nose started to run. I asked him if he would get get me some tissue. He willingly ran down the hallway and returned with a kleenex. I went to reach for it and he ran up to my face and proceeded to place the tissue on my nose and say ..."Blow."

What a great kid!

Snot, Boogers, and Mucus, Oh My!

Wednesday night we put Thomas to bed around 7:30. He was tired and cranky so everyone was ready to let him get some sleep. Steve and I watched some TV, and then I went to bed. I was laying in bed and could hear the joyful sounds of Thomas breathing through his snot. I knew where this was heading, so I went into his room to get him and give him a breathing treatment. If anybody else deals with nebulizers and breathing treatments, you know you are committing yourself to a couple of sleepless hours because of the side effects of the steroids. We gave him the treatment, watched a couple of his shows and had a late night snack. Around 1:00am he was ready for bed, so off he went.

I went into our room to go to sleep and could hear that #2, Clara, was a little snotty. I figured, I am up now so why not stay up. I got her up and gave her a breathing treatment as well. She had RSV when she was 3 weeks old, so we are very aware of her lungs and breathing issues. After the treatment I nursed her and then sat up with her until 2:30. FINALLY - everyone was asleep so I could go to bed. I thought for sure I would be able to sleep in because Thomas had been up during the night.

Wrong. He was up by 6:50 and ready for the day. He didn't feel well, but still played around the house. I was a wreck. Needless to say I spent the day in my pj's wiping snot, changing diapers, and giving breathing treatments.

And I loved every minute of it!

So here is my question for those of you who want to comment. WHY is it that kids don't start getting really sick until night?

Discuss...

Now your thinking...

I saw this posted on someone's blog, so I had to post it on my own. What a crack up. In case you can't read what is under the picture, this is what it says...

After the birth of a child there's always the temptation to say

"Yes it's cute, but what can it do?" Until recently the answer was

simply "lie there and cry," but now babies can be put on the payroll

so to speak, almost as soon as they're born.

Just dress your young one in Baby Mops and set him or her

down on any hard wood or the floor that needs cleaning. You may at

first need to get things started by calling the infant from across the room,

but pretty soon they'll be doing it all by themselves.

There's no child exploitation involved. The kid is doing what he does

best anyway, crawling. But with Baby Mops he's also learning the

responsibility and a healthy work ethic.

Maybe they have group discounts. Anyone want to order?

I warned everyone

Everyone always comments on how much hair our little Clara Jane has. It's fun to see everyones' reaction the first time they see her because it's the same reaction we had in the hospital. I have told people that I was going to try and put it in sponge rollers to see what they would do.

Yesterday I was at The Walmart (said with a southern twang) and I found the sponge rollers I had been dreaming about. Jackpot! I bought them and brought them home to give them a try. After all, us stay at home moms have all the time in the world, because...what DO we do all day. At first I had her in her bumbo chair sitting in front of me. I had a cup of water and a rat tail comb and started to try to "set" her hair. Well, she didn't like sitting and not facing me, so I waited until she was asleep and laid her on my knees and did it then. She slept through the whole spa experience. She is just like me, I always want to fall asleep when I get my hair done.

I then placed her in her swing and let the curlers do their magic!

Isn't she cute! Can you believe I didn't pose her for this picture, she is a natural. I think she kind of looks like this...

Anywho... It was so much fun. I don't know how often I will do it because I just don't have time to sit around playing beauty parlor, I need to be blogging.

On a side note, Thomas was quite excited about the rollers too. He had to see how they worked, and how they were put together. This is what our little engineer did. We can thank Grandpa Chuck for that gene.

Such a charmer

trying keep the snot in

Today has been one of those lazy, non-stressful days. All of us were up, dressed, fed and out of the house by 9:15. I had a haircut and the kids were going to Grandma's to play. When I went to pick up Thomas, he was dripping with snot. My Mom has a mulberry tree in her yard and it is in full bloom. Poor kid has the same allergies as Steve and I. I ended up giving him a some benadryl and he was asleep within 30 minutes of getting home. He has been pretty cranky lately and it finally dawned on me that it is because of his allergies (I am a little slow sometimes). I guess we are just going to have to tread through this. I love the spring, but hate the pollen.

In other news....

After his nap, I was up in his room playing with him. I had brought a scrapbook into his room to show him something. While we were flipping through the pages he saw my old kindergarten class picture.

him: Mom, what's that?
me: That's my old school picture.
him: Oh, that's nice. (pronounced as nnnnn-iiiii-cccccc-eeee)
me: Do you know which one I am?

He studied the picture for about 10 seconds and then pointed TO ME! I was really surprised.

me: Your right!
him: Oh Mom, your hair was so beautiful!

What a charmer. It also made me feel bad that I cut off all my hair in college. Oh well, what can you do? There is no way I am growing it out, I look horrible with long hair.

I am so glad we don't have to wear the knee-highs anymore.

I love the tie around the neck! I was so trendy.

Kids are sleeping, I'm wasting time

Hey Ladies,

Take the test, and let me know who you are. I was really bummed that I wasn't Elizabeth Bennett, my most favorite character in the whole wide world.

Take the Quiz here!
You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

I'm actually not sure about this. Anybody who knows me knows I am not discreet!

Don't you wish we could still wear bonnets. It sure would save a lot of time on hair in the morning!

A New Career

I've written before about our budding chef, but he is now beginning to broaden his horizons. He is practicing to be a VITA-MIX demonstrator for Costco. Last night he was playing with my blender and went through a whole demonstration on making apple juice. He used the Butthead game ball as his apple and went on to make some fantastic apple juice. He is actually a great salesperson and I am considering taking him to the VITA-MIX headquarters to see if they can use him as a fill-in.

Great New Product

Clara has been a little concerned about her figure lately, so I purchased the newest item in the SPANX line of body slimmers for her. She thinks it's FABULOUS!

Anyone up for a game of Butthead?

Right before Christmas, I was reading one of the blogs I enjoy reading (http://mom2my6pack.blogger.com/) and she had a list of "Top 10 Worst Christmas Presents." Butthead, is a game that comes with three fuzzy balls and two hats covered with Velcro-like strips. When you throw a ball at someone's head (wearing the Butthead hat), there is a good chance it will stick in place once it hits. I couldn't imagine why this game was on a list of worst Chirstmas Presents! When I saw it listed, I knew I had to have it. Steve is the MASTER of finding crazy Christmas gifts, so I had to get it for him in retaliation for all the gag gifts of the past (maybe that will be a blog entry someday). After seaching the web, I finally found one and bought it for Steve for Christmas. Believe it or not, Steve and Thomas play quite a bit. When Steve gets home from work, the two of them go upstairs and goof off for about 30 minutes while I take a break. I tried to get a picture of Steve with the hat on, but he said if I did he would post a rather unflattering picture on the blog. Since Thomas and him look so much alike, I posted 2 of Thomas and you will just have to pretend one picture is Steve wearing the hat.

You can buy your own set at http://www.stupid.com/

I'm not Asian

I can usually cook just about anything I have a recipe for. I enjoy cooking and I enjoy trying to make things that I see on cooking shows. I was watching a show called "Just Cook This" on Discovery Health the other day and this guy made fried rice. I thought it looked pretty easy and decided to make it last night. I followed most of the instructions. He said that to make fried rice you needed to use day old rice. Well, I didn't have day old rice so I made rice yesterday morning and left it in the refrigerator all afternoon. I thought that would be sufficient enough. I also followed a recipe to make my own Chinese BBQ pork. You had to marinate the pork in soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, honey, green onion and red food coloring.

I marinated the pork and then cooked it. I then added the rice and everything else. As you can see we had mushy RED pork fried rice last night. The guy was right, you do need to make sure the rice is day old. I should have know that when he said, "now this is the very important part of making fried rice." It was pretty bad. Steve is a really good husband. He ate it and even said "what's wrong with it?" when I started to say it was nasty.

The worst part about it is this is what it did to my kitchen. I should have added a picture of my floor, there was rice all over the place. I spent about an hour in there cleaning up. Oh well, next time we'll just do take out.

Baby Signs

Clara LOVES to play with her hands. She sucks on them, plays with her fingers, and she plays with the fabric from her outfits with her hands. The other day, Thomas and I were playing with her and Thomas said, "Look Mom, Clara knows sign language." I thought it was pretty cute and knew I had to journal it, I just had to find the right picture to go with it. When I was going through the photos I took of Clara, I found this one. I thought it was perfect, looks like she really does know sign language.

Clara's Celebrity Look-A-Likes

Today I was taking some pictures of Clara (will post later tonight) and a few of the pictures reminded me of some celebrities.

If any of you know Steve very well, you know he does a wicked Chris Farley impression. While I was taking the pictures, one of Clara's pictures reminded me of him (Chris Farley and Steve doing a Chris Farley imprssion).

Clara is the one on the left....just in case

As you can see in the pictures of our daughter, she has got quite the head of hair on her. You never know how it is going to go. Sometimes it sticks up, other times it lays on her head. When it is down and not sticking up all over the place she reminds me of Julie Andrews. What do you think?

I wish I would have been able to get Clara to pose like that, maybe when she has better

hand control we will try it again.

Clara Laughing

It's here at last, Clara's laugh. She has been giggling over the past week or so, but I was able to get her to belly laugh today, I guess it is more like a squeal. Sorry about the video being horizontal at first.

PAUSE THE MUSIC PLAYER BEFORE YOU PRESS PLAY.

Brownies, The Breakfast of Champions

There have been a few times when I see characteristics of myself in Thomas. He is an exact replica of his father, but I am finding more and more that he has the same habits and quirks that I do. It is probably becuase we spend all day together. One of my bad habits is eating cookies, cake, or anything sweet in the morning. I prefer my morning "sneak" to be chocolate. I enjoy the nice pick me up the caffine gives me. I have been trying to kick this habit and have actually been doing pretty well.

This morning, we all woke up and were upstairs. I went into Clara's room to nurse her and he came in with me. We like to sit and look out the window while I feed her. It has been so beautiful here lately. All the trees are blossoming and we love counting how many popcorn trees we see. After about 5 minutes he was done with this activity and decided to make his way downstairs by himself.

After I finished feeding her I went downstairs. As soon as I came down, I saw the chair pulled over to the stove. I knew exactly what he was into. I had made brownies for Steve's EQ meeting last night and Thomas had found the leftovers.

I did not doctor any of these pictures, this is exactly what I found. As you can see, he left the knife in the pan but he was kind enough to cover the brownies back up with the plastic wrap after he was finished cutting his own piece. I have taught him well, we don't like things to dry out around here.

I have no idea how big of a brownie he cut himself. He has a pretty big chunk in his hands, who knows how long he had been eating it or how much he had. I couldn't get mad at him, I just had to laugh. The best part was when he said, "Mom, I got myself a brownie." I think he was expecting me to be proud of him that he was able to get his own breakfast.

Mom, get your biolin

One of the things Thomas and I do every Tuesday morning is watch Jon and Kate Plus 8. He calls it the baby show. I am surprised how much he enjoys the show and how quiet he is during it. He is truly interested in what all those little kids are doing. Steve thinks I am crazy because I love the show and talk about the family like they live next door. I love to watch it with Thomas because we get a chance to sit and cuddle and actually watch something that is not animated.

This past episode was about the twins learning how to play instruments. Kate, the mom, took out her violin and showed it to all the kids. I then told Thomas that I use to play the violin and that I had one too. He wanted to see it. He kept on saying "Mom, can you get your biolin?" I actually used it as a bribe and told him I would get it out after he went potty on the toilet and got dressed. He did exactly that and was dressed within minutes. I went and got out my violin and showed him how I played it. He was so excited and wanted to give it a try. As you can see, he was a little mixed up on the propper placement of the instrument, but he sure did try.