Trick or Treat!

Harry Potter & Minnie coming away from one of the houses, very happy! It was a lot of fun Trick-or-Treating with these kids this year, because they were really into it, and sooo excited!

Our first stop was next door, at the Landlord's. They love to see our kids all dressed up. They always have to get their picture taken, and walk away with yummy sugar-free treats. Art used to work at the Dentist's office!!!

I didn't show a picture of Tay just alone, being Minnie. Here she is at our Ward Carnival.

This was the closest Jake and I got to dressing up this year. He's wearing Rohne's Harry Potter hat. We didn't have much time, or energy, to find costumes. I sooo couldn't fit into mine from last year, darn-it.

Our cute, little lion baby. My good friend, Rachel, gave me this costume for Tristan to wear. It was so cute. Thanks, Rach!!

He endured Trick-or-Treating very well, just chillin' in the jogging stroller. Yes, the paci is purple. This is actually a new development, him taking a pacifier. Like, within the last week. He has never taken one before. Can't say it helps a whole lot, with the grouchiness, because he doesn't love it yet. But, we'll keep tryin'!

After going around our neighborhood, we headed over to Jake's parent's ward to the Trunk-or-Treat. We quickly realized that house to house was way better. It was so dark, you couldn't really see, or interact with anyone, and our poor, timid children kept getting mowed over by older kids, with pillowcases. It actually made me quite annoyed!! I mean, where were their parents? The kids got a big stash of candy, that we really don't need in our house. I had a friend who actually traded in her kids's Halloween candy for cold, hard, cash. I tried that with ours, and it didn't really work. I think I will just throw it away in a couple days, and tell them we ate it all. I've done that before. Jake and I are starting our hard-core diet/workout plan. I need to get rid of this baby weight!!!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins

So, these are in reverse order, but, what the hey! This past week, we went to the Pumpkin Patch, and then we carved our pumpkin. You have to document these events, right?

The kids pretended to help me gut the pumpkin, but, I pretty much did the whole thing myself. They were too grossed out. Silly kids. I saved the seeds, and roasted them afterwards. They would have been really good, if I wouldn't have drenched them in salt. I'm still chewing on them though. . .

Can you tell they didn't like the slimeyness? Tay was actually a lot braver than Rohne, which surprised me. Yes, Tay is wearing her Halloween costume, Minnie Mouse. She got it from Grandma on Tuesday, and has been wearing it ever since. She even asked me if she could wear it to bed.

Jake picked up the stomach flu on Monday, and struggled with it all week. He didn't feel very good in this picture, but, was still a good sport, and did most of the carving. After this, he had to lay down for a long time. We only got one pumpkin this year, for all of us. The kids didn't really mind, and it took a lot less time.

Tristan just watched from the Johnny Jumper. He can't really jump yet, but, he likes to sit and watch us.

Here's the annual family Pumpkin patch photo. This was our 3rd year going with Jeremy and Monique, to Jubilee Farms. We had a good time, and it wasn't as cold as it looks. Just muddy, muddy, muddy. It didn't sprinkle on us once!

Handsome hubby, cute kids.

Cousins are the best!!!

Me, Monique, and Tristan riding on the wagon that took us to the patch.

Here's Jer, and the rest of the gang. Check out Collin in the backpack. He is such a chubby, cute, crazy-haired boy. So fun to be around, because he smiles all day long!!!

I love my Boys

Although I adore my girly girly girly girl Tay, I just wanted to show how much I love my 2 boys.

Tristan is growing, and changing so fast. His 2 bottom teeth are in, and he is usually a slobbery mess, and tries to chew on everything his little hands can handle. His favorite things are my fingers, but, it's just starting to hurt too bad! Those things are sharp. He is still a terrible sleeper, and now waking up every 3 hours at night, like a newborn. I was blaming it on his teeth, and then ear infection, but, I'm thinkin' it's just becoming a habit. I am going to have to sleep train him soon, or I'm never going to feel normal again. Any advice on that front is greatly appreciated. I was too much of a wimp to do it with my other 2 kids.

Look at those cute, little toesies!

Rohne cannot take a picture, lately, without sticking out his tongue, or making a face. Here he is dressed as Harry Potter for our Ward Halloween Carnival. His favorite movies are Lord of the Rings, Labyrinth, and Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia. He is his father's child. I have tried to put my foot down, because he is only 3 for heaven's sake. But, it's an argument I just can't win. He is still a terror at home, and spends a lot of the day on the stairs in Time Out. I see glimpses of my sweet boy, sometimes, though. Usually when Tay is at preschool, and it's just me, and the boys. He has so much personality, and is growing up, and maturing every day. He sure makes me laugh!

Once again, he is his father's child. Check out the hand in his pants. Why do boys do this?

I overheard him talking on his play phone the other day, and his conversation went like this:

Sigh. . . . "Yeah, I'm having a rough day." Sigh, Sigh, Sigh. . . "My sister's being crazy." Sigh, Sigh. . . "And, I feel just terrible!"

I just had to take a picture of his undies on backwords, with his cute little bum cheeks hanging out. What a silly dude!

It's Emily's Birthday today! She turns the big "30"

Feel free to call/email her a happy birthday!!

There are lots of things I can say about emily, but the one thing that sums it up is that she is... Practically Perfect in Every Way.

I love you Em!

I hope you have a happy day.

Jake

"Don't you Know?"

Taylee has lots of dresses. I mean, a closet full of dresses. My mother, and sisters can attest to this. She really likes them, and that is about all she wears. So, I usually buy them when I see them on sale. Plus, she seems to not outgrow them as fast as other clothes, so they last a little longer. Anyways, for the past 2 days, she has been looking for a certain dress.
In her own words: "Ya know, Mom, the pink one, with no sleeves, and friggles on on it? "
Me: "No, I don't know what friggles are, Sweets."
Her: In a more exasperated tone. "Mom, how can you not know friggles? It's only my most favoritest dress!!" (She has at least 5 favoritest dresses)
Well, let's hope that this friggles dress shows up soon. Or I will be forever left wondering what they are.

In other news, Mr. Baby Boy has been very fussy lately. I just attributed it to the fact that he was teething, and at 3 months, to say the least!! This morning, I could not get him to stop crying, and he is usually quite easy to soothe. Just pick him up, and carry him. This was not working, and he was crying a very painful cry. Then, his nose started bleeding, which was very scarey. I've never had a baby's nose bleed. I consider myself to be quite good at picking up baby's signals. And, I've dealt with about every sickness imaginable after raising Rohne. But, I was stumped, and very nervous. I called the Dr., and she rushed me right in. Of course, once we got there, he was sleeping peacefully in his carseat, and he actually smiled at the Dr. He started screaming once again, as she checked his ears, only to find out that he had an infection in BOTH!!! I felt like such a bad mom, not picking up on it. Poor kid could care less about his teeth. His ears hurt way worse. Let's hope the antibiotics work fast, and I can get some sleep tonight. . . .

Okay, Okay, Blogging Break Over. Have ya missed me?

So, I took a little blogging break. After my much too personal confession on my last post, I thought it best to take a little breather from the blogging world. It has been quite therapeutic, and now, I'm ready to jump back in. Thank you all for the kind words, and advice. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

Be prepared for total picture overload!! I'd like to document some of the things we have done lately, and it's best said through pictures. Here it goes starting with the least recent.

A few weeks ago, we "Did the Puyallup." It's the huge Western Washington State Fair they have out here. We get free tickets every year from Jake's generous Aunt. Jake seemed to be busy every Saturday it was going on, and evenings were too hard since he never got home until after 7 p.m., so I thought we may have to skip it this year. However, the last Saturday, my in-laws called and graciously offered to accompany me, and my 3 kids to the fair, since they hadn't gone yet. Tay and Rohne loved it, and we spent WAY too much money on rides which last a minute. Tristan, on the other hand, cried most of the day. Thank you Dan & Sharon! I really wanted my kids to be able to go, and have fun. Our summer turned out to be so drab because we had a baby, and all.

Here they are on the Dragon Roller Coaster. They're smiling now, but, by the end, Tay was screaming in fear. Rohne just laughed at her. She didn't do that one again that day. . . .

Just the kids being goofy one morning

My parents took an extended vacation, and traveled up the California/Oregon coast. They made a stop here in Seattle, and stayed for 2 days. It was so great to have them here. We made sushi, went out to eat, relaxed, and visited the Salmon Hatchery. They have a Salmon Days Festival here every year, but, we skipped the festival, and the crowds, and just saw the fish a day early. My kids loved it, and I realized they are getting to the age when the Aquarium and Zoo just might be worth the money.

The fish were sooo big!

They were quite mesmermized.

Us, and my cute mom and dad.
After visiting me, my parents were headed to Utah, and Idaho to visit the rest of my siblings.

They actually talked my kids and I into tagging along. It was a little crazy squishing into my dad's pick-up, and I am surprised that they put up with us for a 14 hour long drive to Utah. But, it was great, and a good bonding time for all of us.

We made a pit stop in Boise, and stayed the night at a Hotel. The kids had a blast swimming in the Hotel pool, and lounging in the hot tub with Grandma, while Tristan and I packed up the room.

We stayed at my brother, Ben's house in West Weber, while they worked on their new house in Syracuse. My mom and I watched their 4 boys the whole time, so they could get some stuff done. It was a little outta control, and I learned pretty fast, once again, why I am sooo done having children!! Ben & Heidi raise chickens, that are mainly pets. Rohne had a blast chasing them around, and catching them. As you can see, they don't mind being handled, and held. Even Tay warmed up to them about an hour before we had to leave.

Saturday, we headed up to Idaho to my sister, Holly's house. While there, we had a little Family Reunion. It was actually the first time in about 3 years that all of my siblings have gotten together. It was too bad that Jake wasn't there. It's funny now that our family has expanded so much, our get togethers are mainly centered around chasing around the 11 grandchildren. Every time we were all in the same room, my mother would start crying. It was so awesome to be together, if only for a short time.

Here are the kids playing General Conference Bingo on Sunday. I think this lasted 1 whole talk, before they lost interest. It was a good idea, though.

The 2 youngest grandsons. Tristan, and Bryan's little baby, Payton. it was not too hard to fall right in love with that smiley, happy boy. These 2 are about 3 1/2 months apart, but, Tristan already weighs as much as Payton.

Attempting to get a picture with all of the grandkids. There are 10 boys, the oldest 7 years old, and then my girly Taylee. We are still waiting for another girl cousin. Maybe Natali or Whitney. We took some more of all of us, and just siblings, etc. with my mom's nice camera. She is in the process of downloading, editing, and sending them to us.

Although I was planning on ending my vacation with my parents in Ekalaka, I decided to stay in Idaho Falls with my sister. I just couldn't tear myself away from my sisters, and my kids were having so much fun with their cousins. I stayed all week, until Jake came and got me yesterday. It was a good time, but, we were all glad to be home, and sleeping in our own beds.

Holly's youngest, Cameron. He is quite the character, and is always getting into some sort of mischief. How can you not love that face, though?

Tay, and Zack enjoying some cereal.

Tay and Cameron watching cartoons on Holly's bed. I didn't get many pictures while we were there, but, we had such a good time. Thanks for letting us come and disrupt your routine, and mess up your house, Hol. We love you guys!!!

I have gone back and forth on whether to put Tay in preschool this year or not. I have a hard time paying someone to teach my child for me. She was on a couple waiting lists for preschools, and when I was gone, a good friend called, and said that there was room in their preschool, because someone was moving. It turned out to be the same one as her cousin, Samantha, and friend, Sydney, whom we did Home School with last year. Her first day was today, and she loved it. I'm still not 100% committed, because it is really hard getting 3 kids ready to head out the door by 8:30 AM, and the drive is at least 20 minutes. She had a really good time, and the teacher was great. So, I think we'll try to stick it out.

Our biggest news Yet:

My barely 3 month old baby got his first tooth. I was so shocked, and had no idea it was even coming up. He was chewing on my finger, and I felt it. He has been a little fussy, and not sleeping well, but, none of this is new, because he is still so little. How could this happen?

Sunday Salad

Yesterday I made pot roast, potatoes and gravy, and Sunday Salad for dinner. This is my ultimate comfort meal, and it tasted really really good. There was a lot of salad left over. Jake isn't a huge fan of it, and although Taylee likes it, she doesn't eat very much. Today, I finished it off. All of it. In one setting. That is 1 carton of cool whip, 1 carton of cottage cheese, one box of jello, and one can of mandarin oranges. I ate it all. And, I liked it.

I'm tired, and no matter what I do, I can't get my baby to sleep better, even during the day. I miss my sisters, and my mom. I hate my body, and these post-pregnancy pounds, especially my "Grandma Belly" (as my friend, Janell calls it). I need a hobby, but, I can't remember what I used to like to do. I need a friend. Someone else to talk to, besides my cute kids, but, don't know how to get one. So, I sit here, sick to my stomach, watching Sense & Sensibility, while my baby cries in the bouncer, and my children scream at each other upstairs in the playroom. I am counting down the hours until Jake gets home, and DWTS starts tonight. Is it baby blues, or am I just pathetic? I can't decide. . . . Thank goodness for Sunday Salad.