What a Cutie

Lately Levi has been really into playing house with the girls. (Brandon isn't to thrilled about this.) Levi will point to whoever he is playing with and say "Baby, or Mommy", meaning they are they baby or the mommy. He will then point to himself and say, "Me Daddy". Today at lunch he decided to play house with his grapes. He picked out a big grape and held it up and said ,"daddy", he set it down, he then held up a grape that was a little bit smaller then the first one and said, "mommy." He finished up with a little tiny grape, which he held up and said, "baby". Talk about adorable! Today Tori and Levi were upstairs playing in their bedroom, with the two little girls that I watch twice a week. As I was walking up the stairs I hear Levi say, "Hi. I Daddy". I walked down the hall to see what they were doing, and this is what I saw. (He is wearing Brandon's shoes). I thought this was so cute! He has such a vivid imagination and it is so much fun watching him and to see what games or activities he comes up with to play.

Is it ok to bribe?

On Sunday Tori had to give her first talk in church. I was a little nervous, because about a month ago she had to say the theme, and when she got up there she refused to say it, and I ended up having to say it, and I turned out saying the wrong months theme, and all the kids laughed, and yeah, you get the point. I was determined that we would not have a repeat of last time. Well, I didn't get off to a great start, because I totally forgot about the talk until Sunday morning. So I hurried and popped my "Tiny Talks For Kids" CD into the computer, and found a lesson that went along with the theme. I then showed it to Tori and explained that she was giving a talk in primary, and I would help her. We practiced it a few times. She started to get a little uneasy about the whole thing, so I told her that if she went up there and said her whole talk in the microphone without me having to say anything then the next day I would take her to the store and let her pick out any candy she wanted. Well, this got her excited, and she went on the practice it a few times perfectly. So we get to church, and all through sacrament meeting she acted a little strange. Her face was all flushed, she didn't want to color, and she just sat on Brandon's lap the whole time sucking her thumb. I would say she had a classic case of the butterflies. I began to get nervous. When it was time to go to class, her mood didn't change. I finally got her to sit with her class, but I had to sit next to her for a few minutes. In our primary they do the talks at the very end of Primary, so I told her I would be back to help her at the end. So I went on to my class, and then to Relief Society. I got so wrapped up in the lesson, that I totally forgot about her talk! I looked up at the clock, and noticed it was ten till 2, which is when she was supposed to be giving it. I let out a huge gasp, and hurried and ran out. I am sure everyone was wondering what my deal was. As I hurried down the hall, the primary secretary saw me, and could tell that I was panicked, so she told me that I didn't miss anything, and that they were just starting. When Tori saw me she was all smiles, and it seemed that her butterflies had gone away. When it came time for Tori to give her talk, I went up there with her, and held up the picture and whispered in her ear the first thing she needed to say. She said it so cutely into the microphone, but then, her nerves took over. She hunched down and said, "I don't want to do it". I quickly whispered in her ear, "Don't forget about your candy." This made her pop right up and say the next line. She got through a few more lines and then got nervous again and didn't want to go on. So again, I whisper "I guess you don't want a candy." She straightened right up and continued on. This went on through out the whole talk. At one point towards the end I was in such desperation, I whispered, "You can have the biggest candy you can find!". She got through the whole talk and said every line into the microphone. I was so proud. This brings me to my question. Is it OK to bribe? I say go for it! (Depending on the situation of course). It sure helped me out in this situation. Here is Tori with the candy she picked out, Sour Gummy Worms.

Binky Update

I just wanted to give a quick update on the Binky situation. As I stated in an earlier post, we decided it was time to take the Binky (or B) away from Levi. We have had several days full of tears, especially in the car. This is what usually happens in the car. We start out fine. A few minutes in the car I hear, "B?" from the back seat. This is followed by me saying, "you can't have your B right now Levi." A few seconds pass and again..."B?", followed by me saying "Levi where is your B?." He then says sadly, "bye, bye". A few more seconds pass, and I once again hear, "B?", followed by me saying, "Levi you are not getting your B until you have a nap." Things usually escalated from here. The rest of the car ride consists of "mama B!" , "No Levi."..."MAMA B!" (tears begin to flow). "Levi, I do not have your B. It is on your dresser, and you can have it when you have your nap." "MAAAMAAA B!" (sobs now are starting). You get the idea. Today we had sort of a breakthrough. I had to wake up Levi so that we could go get Alexis from school. I picked him up and carried him out to the car, all the while not even realizing that his Binky was still in his mouth. As I was buckling him in his seat. He suddenly took his Binky out of his mouth and surprisingly said "B!". He had realized that I forgot to ask him for it and freely handed it over. I felt so proud of him! I think we may make it through this after all.

Sweet Tooth

Brandon has had a bit of a sweet tooth lately. A few days ago he made divinity (yummy). Then last night, he decided to make a cake. Alexis and Tori wanted to help. (Levi was more interested in playing with his train) Here they are getting started. Baking a cake would not be complete without licking the beaters! Levi was interested in helping with this part. =) Brandon had to get another beater out and dip it in the batter so they could all have one.
And if that wasn't enough sugar already, Brandon decided they needed to lick the bowl too.
I decided to join in and help by making the frosting.
Here is Brandon cutting the finished product. It was delicious! Our kids were only bouncing off the walls for a few hours from the sugar high.

"Bye Bye B"

We took Levi to have his speech evaluated, because we were concerned that he wasn't speaking as much as we thought he should be. We found out that he does have a speech delay, and a speech therapist is going to be coming to our home to do some speech therapy with him, starting in a few weeks. Although they didn't tell us that him using a binky is the cause of his delay in speech, we decided that it certainly wasn't helping the matter. So for the past week we have been preparing Levi for his Binky to go "bye bye" Yesterday we told him that he only can have his binky at nap time and bedtime. He was fine with this and happily put his binky on his dresser. When it came time for bed he ran and got it and hopped into bed. This morning when he got up, it took a little bit of coaxing, but he finally put it on his dresser and went about his business. Wow! This is going to be easier then I thought......wrong! I loaded the kids in the car to take Alexis to school, and Tori to preschool. We got halfway there when I heard from the back seat.."B?" Which is what he calls his binky. I should have known this would happen since the car is one place he always wants his binky. Needless to say it was not a fun car ride. He cried and cried the whole time. When we got home he was still sobbing, so we cuddled for a little while, and then I distracted him by turning on a cartoon. After a few minutes he was happy again. But I am here to tell you. It took every fiber of my being to not give into this face:

Lesson Learned

Helpful piece of knowledge: If you have a leaky faucet, or running toilet, your water bill will be 10 times what it normally is. Example: normal water bill:$50. Water bill with a leaky toilet or running faucet :$500.

Thing I am grateful for this week:

A forgiving landlord.
(He pays the water bill)

Bunk Bed Tent

Today I had a little luncheon with my sister and our good friends Karly and Brittny. It was so much fun. While we were eating the kids wandered upstairs and other then a few little crashes, we didn't hear from them. Alexis then came down to tell us to come up and see what they had made. It was a tent! Notice the blankets they used? They are the ones that I made them for Christmas. I am glad they came in handy for something! Well as the day went on the tent eventually was demolished. Tonight after they had their bath I let them play for a little bit before bedtime. I went in there to get them to bed, and I saw that the tent was once again back up. I heard some giggles coming from inside so I opened it up, and look at the little cuties staring back at me!
I of course had to go grab my camera and then make them reenact the whole thing, so I could take pictures. I am so glad that they always have so much fun playing together. When I was growing up, I remember making some of these same tents on Me and Cindy's bunk bed. They would stay up for quite a while. I even remember pinning some of the blankets to the ceiling so they would stay. I am glad that my kids are making some of the same fun memories that I have.

Spelling test

Alexis accomplished something wonderful this week. Her first ever 100% on a spelling test! What better way to celebrate then going out for ice cream!
She studied so hard, and we are so proud of her. =)

Deceptively Delicious

I have discovered something brilliant. Why didn't I think of this? It is a cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious" It is written by Jerry Seinfield's wife, Jessica. She, like myself was dealing with children who refused to eat vegetables. Finally one day while pureeing squash for her baby and making mac n cheese for the rest of the family she decided at the spur of the moment to slip in some of the pureed squash into the mac n cheese. She nervously fed her children dinner, and they didn't even notice! They ate it all up without one complaint. This was where she came up with the idea for "Deceptively Delicious" In the book there are instructions for several different vegetable purees, and fruit ones as well. Then there are several different yummy recipes that include the purees. All of which are healthy and kid friendly. So your family is still getting the healthy vegetables and fruits. I am so excited to try this out. I have been really trying to feed my kids healthier foods, but they only like a few vegetables. Anyone who knows Brandon knows he is not a fan of vegetables either, so we will see if it works for him too. I will let you know how it turns out. I just wanted to tell anyone who has struggled with picky eaters that there is still hope!

Sorry Mom and Dad

I felt bad after finishing my last post that I didn't incude any pictures of my Mom and Dad. How rude of me! After all, if it wasn't for their example and the loving way they raised us we wouldn't have the close relationships we do with eachother =)

Happy Birthday Cindy

Cindy is always so good about doing a blog on someones Birthday about them, so I couldn't let her Birthday go by without posting one about her. I first want to thank her for all of the pictures. (I stole them off her facebook haha) Cindy is such a wonderful sister, aunt and friend. This is just a tribute to her. She is such an important part of our family and although she live in Utah the closeness that we share just grows stronger. I know I speak for all of us siblings and my parents, when I say we are so lucky to have her in our family and we love her so much. It is because of Cindy that I have such a strong testimony of prayer. I truly admire her for the strength that she has shown. She is such an example to me. Here are some pictures in no particular order that show what a wonderful Aunt and Sister she is.

I wish these two pictures didn't turn out so small, because they are so cute!


We are so happy that she found AJ. It is so great to see her so happy and to have AJ in our family. (I don't know why it is so small lol)

As soon as our kids met AJ they loved him. =)

You can tell how much Cindy loves her nieces and nephews and how much they love her. Happy Birthday Cindy!! We Love you and Miss you!

Levi's Big Boy Bed

So we decided to set up the toddler bed for Levi. When we were setting it up he was really excited that it was actually his bed! Then we told him that he got to sleep in that bed now at night time. Well that changed his whole perspective. He didn't want anything to do with that. So I was a little nervous when it became time for him to go to bed. I got him all ready for bed, and then he slowly climbed up into it. As you can tell in the first two pictures he looks quite nervous. I was nervous as well. So we did our nightly routine of turning on the lamp, turning on his songs to listen to, putting all of his blankets on and saying prayers. I slowly began to walk out thinking he was going to come jumping off and running after me.
But he didn't. This is him when I went to check on him about a half hour later.
He still is adjusting though. For example. He doesn't quite understand that he can actually climb out of it by himself. When he woke up I heard him crying in his room, so I went in there and he was standing straight up on top of it reaching for me. That is what he always used to do in his crib. It was so cute =). It was sad to put the crib away. But exciting to enter a whole new stage with him.

Recall

I just found this posted on another person's blog and I thought I would pass it along:

Helpful Info....
I like to pass on important info, I do second guess when it comes by email but it is still very important.
Subject: Medication Recall List]All drugs containing PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE are being recalled.STOP TAKING anything containing this ingredient. It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain )among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting useof medication. Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone ( even children ) seek alternativemedicine.The following medications contain Phenylpropanolamine: Acutrim Diet Gum Appetite SuppressantAcutrim Plus Dietary SupplementsAcutrim Maximum Strength Appetite ControlAlka-Seltzer Plus Children's Cold Medicine EffervescentAlka-Seltzer Plus Cold medicine (cherry or or ange) Alka-Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine OriginalAlka-Seltzer Plus Cold &Cough Medicine EffervescentAlka-Seltzer Plus Cold &Flu MedicineAlka-Seltzer Plus Cold &Sinus EffervescentAlka Seltzer Plus Night-Time Cold Medicine BC Allergy Sinus Cold PowderBC Sinus Cold PowderComtrex Flu Therapy &Fever Relief Day &Night Contac 12-Hour Cold CapsulesContac 12 Hour CapletsCoricidin D Cold, Flu &SinusDexatrim Caffeine Free Dexatrim Extended DurationDexatrim GelcapsDexatrim Vitamin C/Caffeine F ree Dimetapp Cold &Allergy Chewable TabletsDimetapp Cold & a! m p;Cough Liqui -GelsDimetapp DM Cold &Cough Elixir Dimetapp ElixirDimetapp 4 Hour L iquid GelsDimetapp 4 Hour TabletsDimetapp 12 Hour Extentabs Tablets Naldecon DX Pediatric DropsPermathene Mega-16Robitussin CFTavist-D 12 Hour Relief of Sinus &Nasal Congestion Triaminic DM Cough ReliefTriaminic Expectorant Chest &HeadTriaminic Syrup Cold & Allergy Triaminic Triaminicol Cold &Cough I just found out and called the 800# on the containerfor Triaminic and they informed me that they are voluntarily recalling the following medicines because of a certain ingredient that is causing strokes and seizures in ch ildren : Orange 3D Cold &Allergy Cherry (Pink) 3D Cold &Cough Berry3D Cough Relief Yellow 3D ExpectorantThey are asking you to cal l them at 800-548-3708 withthe lot number on the box so they can send you postage for you to send it back to them, and they will also issue you a refund. If you know of anyone else with small children, PLEASE PASS THIS ON. THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF!DO PASS ALONG TO ALL ON YOUR MAILING LIST so people are informed. They can then pass it along to their families.To confirm these findings please take time to check the following: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/ppa/ PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR CHILDREN IN CASE THEY GIVE IT TO THEIR CHILDREN OR TO FRIENDS WHO HAVE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN

Nose Plug

So I recently realized something. I plug my nose without realizing it. Now I am sure you are thinking, what is she talking about. I am not talking about plugging it with my fingers, but just holding my breath as if I am plugging my nose. A few weeks ago, I was changing Levi's diaper, and Brandon walked in and asked me something, When I answered him he told me that I was talking like I had my nose plugged. I then realized that I was totally holding my breath through my nose without even realizing it. Then tonight, poor little Tori, has the stomach flu =(. Well she didn't make it to the bathroom on time and threw up all over our bedroom floor. As I was scrubbing the floor, Brandon walked in and immediately gagged as if he was going to throw up. I was like, "what?" considering the fact that I was the one cleaning it up, and I hadn't even gagged once! I then realized that I had been holding my breath through my nose this whole time, and had never even smelled anything! I thought this was funny. I am sure that I picked up this habit sometime within the past 6 years that I have been changing diapers and cleaning up gross things. It comes in quite handy though, and I totally recommend it. Actually I just realized that as I am typing this I am totally holding my breath. I guess just thinking about it makes me do it! LoL

What a Sweetheart

I just had to write down a little story about how sweet Alexis was today. She spent the night at a friends house, but this morning I got a phone call from her friend's mom saying that Alexis was complaining of a bad stomach ache and sore throat. I hurried over and got her. By the time I got her home she was fine (I think she was a little homesick), but I started to feel really sick. My whole body is sore, my head hurts, and I just feel very fluish. Well I was laying on my bed and I must have looked pretty bad, because Alexis came over and asked me if I was ok. I told her that I was just feeling a little sick. She then proceeded to go get me her new blanket and spread it out all over me. After that she told me that she would go and make lunch for Levi, Tori and her. She then went downstairs and made Levi and Tori peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and top ramen.(Don't worry, in the microwave not on the stove). About 15 minutes later I heard Levi crying and I heard Alexis running up the stairs very fast. (she wanted to tell me her side of the story before Levi could get to me, lol) Anyways, she said that Levi was upset because he wanted another fruit snack, but she already had given him and Tori both a package. I started to get up, and she put her hand on me and said, "Mom, don't you worry, I will take care of it.". Isn't that so sweet! I did end up getting up, but I was so touched at how sweet Alexis was, and how much she wanted to take care of me and make me feel better, even though she was the one that started out the day feeling sick.