enough already!

this my friends, is a boy. I know you all know this~ but come on, the general public obviously has little to NO faith in me at all. They actually think that I would dress my so called "daughter" in skate tees & jeans everyday? Blues, browns, whites, blacks, greens & jeans...you get the picture. That is all HE wears. What kind of mother would I be to dress a sweet little girl like a transgender? that's borderline abuse. Everywhere we go, every day, all day, any place at all, my innocent little BOY gets called a {she, her, daughter, girl, sister, pretty, etc}...poor kid! I know he doesn't notice it...YET! 99.9 % of the time I do not correct them unless its more than 3 times in one minute. And of course I am NOT cutting his hair off. It just wouldn't look like Kosty any other way. So forget it folks! I guess the next option would be getting BOY tattooed across his forehead. Hmmm, maybe...
Well, anyways, he is sure is ALL BOY for always getting called a girl. He loves to wrestle & play any sport at all, he loves to play with ninja turtles, tech decks, motorcycles, cars, he loves to "fight!" & he is always making the cutest sound effects, I love that! He loves riding his bike, scooter, skateboard & quad. Sometimes when he rides his quad he stands up, yes he is a daredevil. Either that or he lays all the way back like he's just too cool to sit up straight. He cracks us up!

okay, maybe he does look like Madison's twin...but he likes her, & that's a good sign!!

and okay, okay...maybe I get it. Looking at this picture I can maybe see the resemblance! So, I guess I won't hold it against 'em...for now.

Reunited at last...

I know this is the millionth post you have seen about the passing of our prophet...but I really want/need it in my journal, sorry but here's another. When I heard the news I definitely felt that empty pit in the bottom of my stomach. But it was very brief, as I started thinking about him reuniting with his sweet wife. I can only imagine what a beautiful and whole feeling that would be. Anyone who has heard him speak could just feel of his incredible love for Marjorie. How hard it must have been on him when she passed.

Gordon B. Hinckley has been prophet most of my life. My testimony has never been one of those that just dawned on me in one particular instant. Much of my life after my parents divorced, when I needed it the most, we were not active. But as time went on and my testimony started to grow, the fact that the LDS church is the only church on the earth today with a Prophet that receives revelation from our Lord...was all I needed to know. I honestly cannot think of anything more comforting in these troubled times. The fact that we will always be guided by a Prophet of the Lord, comforts me beyond words can express. That just "clicked" with me along with everything else about the gospel, and slowly but surely my testimony became one of my own... one I was sure of, proud of & grateful for. It just makes sense. I feel so blessed to have heard his words at Conferences for all these many years. He truly was called of God, and I often wondered to myself, how anyone & everyone who came in contact with him could possibly NOT know it, or feel it. It was evident through and through. He truly radiated pure goodness. What a charming, witty, righteous, and humble man he was. He amazed me & I feel blessed to have known Gordon B. Hinckley as my prophet.

Vonda, (Bishop's wife) had this quote on her blog & I had to borrow it, since it gave me the biggest chills I've ever had & still does...

"You were generals in the war of Heaven, and one day when you are in the Spirit World, you will be enthralled by those you are associated with. You will ask someone in which time period they lived and you might hear, 'I was with Moses when he parted the Red Sea,' or 'I helped build the pyramids,' or 'I fought with Captain Moroni.' And as you are standing there in amazement, someone will turn to you and ask you which of the Prophets' time you lived in. And when you say, 'Gordon B. Hinckley,' a hush will fall over every hall and corridor of Heaven, and all in attendance will bow at your presence. YOU were held back six thousand years because YOU were the most talented, most obedient, most courageous, and most righteous."

--Elder Boyd K. Packer

you're seriously missing out

that is all I can say to whoever has not hopped on the Pioneer Woman's blog...(click on the link) or get to her through my links on the right. (don't confuse her recipe blog with her regular blog, she has 2 blogs) This lady is freakin hilarious. I so look forward to her posts. They never fail to make me laugh out loud. And ok, maybe I am a teency bit envious of her oh-so-romantic love story, "From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels," of how she met her handsome hunk of a cowboy husband (she posts in chapters & it took me almost a whole day of neglecting my family to catch up on, but so worth it!) This woman is an amazing photographer, a mom of 4 beauties, an incredibly intriguing writer, she's freakin hilarious as I mentioned, she lives on a ranch with cows & wild mustangs, & gorgeous scenery, she is head-over-heels in love with her husband (of 12 years) and I think it's so adorable... and she can seriously cook. I love her recipe blog, (under my recipes links) she goes the extra mile by posting pics of every ingredient & step along the way, it's IDIOT-PROOF, all of her recipes are simple & delicious, I have tried a few, so I can say that. Did I mention she is extremely talented & freakin funny too. Make sure you read her recent post about "6 plaguing questions," its so sums up why I am hooked. Its no wonder she has a gazillion readers & sometimes more than 500 comments. Yes, I said 500. I think I love her. And so will you.

Runaway

Monday was a fabulous day off, Jer was home all day & we were "moving some stuff around" in the garage, (not technically cleaning it out like we should have) when Brayden walked out and announced he was ready to say goodbye to his training wheels. We were more than happy, and Jer took them off right away. Of course I went inside to get the camera, what else. Next thing I know, he is totally riding this bike with Jer running full speed along side of him!! I didn't expect it to happen so fast! Jer was such a proud Dad & it was so awesome to see the look on Brayden's face. He was so PROUD of himself, GIDDY, and grinning ear to ear. I guess he was more than ready & we probably should have taken them off a while ago!
That afternoon, Kosty went down for a nap & I took the glorious opportunity of going grocery shopping with ZERO kiddos in tow. When I got home, Jer told me that while he was in the shower, Brayden took off on his bike and his sister Mindy had seen him. So Jer went looking for him and found him at the park with some friends. He got a major "talking to" by his Dad and then again by me when I found out what happened. I guess the new found freedom he has been feeling without his training wheels has gone straight to his head. I thought he had learned his lesson, well apparently not...

The next day, I was making dinner & I told the kids that we could go out front to ride bikes while dinner was in the oven. I opened up the garage & then was trying to get shoes for Kosty that were nowhere to be found. So finally we both had shoes on & called for Brayden. Silence. Went out front. No where in sight. NOT AGAIN, I tell myself. I hop on the bike with Kosty and go around the corner, hoping he would be right there. Nope. I am yelling his name at the top of my lungs. The whole neighborhood was eerily empty. I went toward his friend Alex's house who he had went to the first time this happened, no sign. Went to the park, no kids. Maybe he looped around & is back at the house, I thought. Wrong. So at this point I am starting to panic, I can feel the lump in my throat & tears welling up in my eyes, thinking I am going to have to call every neighbor & the police next. One last look at the end of my street, I see a couple boys his age playing. I start to feel better. Then I am racking my brain thinking what was he wearing, it was a white shirt. Neither of these boys are wearing white, I can see that from a distance. Oh boy. Then I look at The Young's driveway & there is his bike. It was such a relief & angry feeling all at the same time. I literally wanted to spank his butt up to the moon, but I also wanted to squeeze him. And 2 days in a row, are you kidding me?? It's so not like him. This is my "obedient" child? Oh boy.

Anyways, of course Jamie had tried to call me, but I was on the hunt. He got an even bigger 'talking to' this time & he had big tears rolling down his cheeks the whole time. I grounded him from his bike, friends, video/computer games today. I am so grateful it turned out okay, thanks to my neighbors Lori & Jamie for looking out for him! Another sad part was that after I found him, he said, "I don't think Heavenly Father's prayers work, because I pray every night to choose the right & I just keep choosing the wrong." That led us to another discussion, & I could tell he really felt bad. Hopefully that was the LAST time. It really got me thinking about when he is a teenager~ what if he comes home late from curfew, or just the fact of him driving by himself, I am so not ready for that! I guess this is the part where I should say sorry Mom and Dad! Now I know how it feels, not good at all!

that's HOT

So I was looking at a magazine at Jer's parents house, & it says, "78% of men think that an ice cream sundae is the hottest thing a girl can order on a date." Huh? Exactly what I was thinking. What a useless, random, weird, inaccurate fact. I mean who ever would compile such an odd survey... who really cares... what men are thinking about this... & most of them came up with the same answer!? Disbelief and confusion, I tell ya. I decide to throw this at Jer just so I can confirm the oddity I am experiencing. I say, "Jer, what's the hottest thing a girl can order on a date?" He says, "Huh? like, spicy?" I love the innocence... but, no. His MOM chimes in, "no, like a turn on!!" Eeeeek!!!!! Coming from my Mother in law. He says, "Hmmm. Maybe a Sundae? yeah, an Ice Cream Sundae."

Maybe you had to be there, but his mom, sister & I were laughing uncontrollably. Now you know what to order on your next date night, ladies. Woo-ee!

Happy Happy Birthday Jenna Dear...

I was going to scan some really scary pictures from way back in the day, but I decided to be kind for your birthday. Your welcome. That, and I was just too lazy to scan them. I've known Jenna for 10+ years. She's been around so long were more like sisters. Some things I love about this girl~ She's real & level headed. You get what you see with her. She's very honest. She's the most organized person I know, besides her mom. She can balance a check book like nobody's business. She is a major planner. Always, always thinking ahead. Actually her brain never stops going. It makes me tired. We are opposite in many ways! She asks a lot of questions, which she gets a hard time for, but its actually a very good thing. It makes people feel like she is interested & she can carry on a conversation. She gives the best advice. She is the only person I know that sleeps flat on her back & never moves, not even budges. I think its the weirdest thing ever. She has the most flawless skin ever and of course she is known for her gorgeous hair too. My brother always had a crush on her, he likes the 'exotic' looking girls, he says. She snuck out of school every single day with me (junior yr) in the trunk of my copper taurus, when I had a half day & she didn't, she just made her own half day. She once talked me into buying a pair of Wranglers. Yikes, it was not pretty. She can be pretty convincing. Its been a memorable 10 years! Happy Birthday Jenna!

and p.s. why do I have a thousand pictures of you and Brayden but not one with Kosty? Play favorites much? :) I know he can be intimidating.

Holy Heidi's!

Pardon my amazement, but I have gone from never knowing a single "Heidi" to now knowing FOUR all in one year. Crazy, I feel like Heidi's are taking over the world. And nice knowing you all Heidi A, Heidi S, Heidi S, and Heidi T by the way :) Wow. That's all.

For FREE or Trade:

I guess we were sent Kosty as our humble wake-up call. Here we were (immaturely, but optimistically) thinking we were pretty decent at this whole parenting thing & had one angelic child, so we went ahead dreaming & planning for a BIG family. Then we got Kosty.

His latest stunts include/ but not limited to the following:

- Demanding his Elmo fork or Bee Movie spoon for every meal, refusing to eat otherwise, meaning I am washing those dang 2 utensils all day.

- Requesting snacks and meals that I ever so nicely prepare for him & he never even TOUCHES.

- As earlier mentioned, taking over our family room TV with Harry Potter or his other fave, Monster House ALL DAY LONG, forcing the rest of us into my bedroom if we even think we might want to watch something else, which usually doesn't sit well with the King, as he demands one of us right in there with him.

- Deciding that he likes to wash his own cereal bowls in the BATHROOM sink, dumping all excess soggy Kix and Cheerios in it. That is really fun to scoop out.

- Strapping him in his car seat & him lurching his chest forward like a psycho in a straight jacket & screaming, "TIGHT!!!!!!!!" even though its probably unsafely TOO loose.

- Running into his room and SLAMMING the door as hard as possible if he knows he did something wrong, or if he gets his feelings hurt.

- Dumping cups and cups full of water out of the bathtub until the bathroom is flooded, and so am I.

- Going to any store and him saying, "I don yike it, Michaels." (fill in the blank)

- Insisting on sitting on the counter right next to me when I cook, as he throws every utensil, pot, ingredient, paper, etc on the floor. (me telling him if he does it again he will go to time out, he smiles right at me with a sweet smile & hurls next item)

- Getting out of Time-Out, him saying "Niiiiccceee" in the sweetest voice you ever heard while he pets my hair, me falling for it, & then him deciding to pull another fast one.

- Him destroying his dinner by either:
a. putting every piece of food in his drink
b. turning his plate upside down
c. throwing it all on the floor

- Speaking of dinner, the other night we were eating, he took a drink & then leaned forward towards me (I sit across from him) with the cutest smile & then spit a mouthful of cold water right on my face & plate.

- After being rocked to sleep while he was sick (trying to be a comforting mom) now he screams, "ONE MO ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (one more rock in the chair) for at least an hour during bed & nap.

- Trying to get him dressed in the morning, him refusing to wear ANYTHING ("DON YIKE IT!!") I pick out, me giving up & then him choosing summer clothing/and or a tad too small clothing.

-unrolling all the toilet paper rolls & sometimes putting it all in the toilet too.

-when he is annoyed at me for no apparant reason, he will look at me and say, "Go Away!" I don't even know how he ever heard something so dang mean! Waaaaa! :(

Its really a good thing he is so cute or I would have dumped off a long time ago! Brayden has picked up on it too & calls himself Nephi and Kosty Lemuel! We really do love our Kosty, maybe he is the little fireball we needed in this family. Or maybe it is teaching me to be extremely grateful for my next kid, who I KNOW will be, HAS to be...A PERFECT ANGEL. (right?)

how I spent my weekend...

All I can think of when I see that face is POOR BABY! Every mom knows when your kid gets "the look" they are really sick. The life is literally sucked out of their eyes! He started with a cough on Friday and it got worse & then he got a high fever that even Tylenol didn't budge. He was so cute though when he would say, "I siiiiick..... I cough" in the saddest little voice. He was up from 12-5:30ish AM on Friday night, then Saturday he couldn't take a nap & when I gave him a bath at 5:30 that evening, he literally fell asleep in it, sitting up. Saddest thing. Then when I got him out, he said, "I cowd...I freezine.." then he didn't sleep again that night. It was heartbreaking because HE wanted to sleep so desperately, but in between hacking, he just couldn't get there. He just kept saying, "crib" over & over. I tried Vicks, Dimetapp, humidifier & constant breathing treatments. To no avail. The good news is I got much"froggying" (snuggling) time with him, I was in seventh heaven. Luckily, on Sunday his fever went down & he took a 5.5 hour nap! I think things are on the mend..I really hope so. It was all a very horrifying wake up call, that I am not ready for another baby! I NEED SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!

Onto better things. Brayden gave me this cute card that he made out of the blue. It says something like, "Dear Mama, I hope you have a good Valentine's Day on Valentine's." I am so proud of him that he is starting to really write & sound things out! I got him some Valentines for his class at the grocery store. He was so eager to get started. As I watched him today, I knew I should journal it because I want him to know one day how adorable & special it was watching him carefully select each card for each particular kid in his class. He would say things like, "Riley likes Superman & Spiderman but maybe he will like this Incredibles one." "Mama, which one is better for girls? Nemo, or Ratatouille?" He was so thoughtful in trying to match appropriate Valentines for each of his little classmates. It was one of those moments that I just sat & stared, wanting to literally freeze time. I got so sad to think I would not remember that exact moment someday. Oh great here come the tears again. His precious little hands, his sweet disposition, his eagerness to please, and his ability to be so excited over the small things in life. He gets so happy over lists, calendars & chore charts. I'm not kidding, but I LOVE that. He was THRILLED to get those done & would not wait another minute...I know Valentine's Day is still a month away. I don't know why I keep getting so emotional whenever I jot these things down. I just love him so much.

Lately I have been so impressed by his example & obedience & faith. He has been getting down on his knees to pray, multiple & random times throughout the day. He prayed "for mama to have a good lunch day with Nana, and for me to have fun fishing with Dada." He is the first to pray when he (or I) lose something or if Jer has a headache or when Kosty was sick. Last night he accidentally took a sip from a cup that Kosty had drank from & when we told him, he immediately got down on his knees & prayed that he wouldn't get sick. In front of his Aunt & Uncle too. We are reading in the Book of Mormon stories (pictures with every verse!) & he always says he wants to be like Nephi. We explained about the iron rod in the picture & he noticed the people in the distance, not holding on, & he said, "I want to hold onto the rod." Last night we were talking and he asked me how much money he had in his piggy bank. I told him around 7 dollars. Then he said, "What is your most favorite thing ever from the store that you really, really want in your whole life?" I said, "hmmm. I'm not sure, why?" and he said, "I can't tell you..." He has been requesting a chore chart with allowance, and he said, "can you please make a chart with pictures & coins. Like if I clean my room I get one penny." I told he would get more than a penny but I would have to think about a good system for all the little chores & allowance, and that I better get a lot of change too. He said, "Well if you don't have any monies to give me than you can just use some of mine."

p.s. If anyone has any good allowance system, let me know, I really don't know the best way to do it.

Family pics 2007

I wasn't going to post all these, but my brilliant friend (mandy) reminded me that I want them in my Blurb book to have forever when I get it done! Kristyn McBride took them and she has some serious camera skills & she was ever-so-patient with my perfect, still, smile-on-command children (NOT!) but they do look that way thanks to her!

Sorry for the length!