Creche

The stake we live in puts on a holiday creche every year. I don't know what 'creche' translates to exactly but basically it is a whole lot of nativity scenes. The activity committee really tries to make this a missionary effort for our community. I didn't go last year but I took Kanayla this year and I was impressed! There was a children's room with nativities that the kids could touch and play with. Another room showed the Church's video of the the nativity. Another room was filled with absolutely gorgeous pictures of Christ. There was a live nativity outside. And lastly the cultural hall was filled with nativity scenes from around the world. I only took a picture of a few but all of the nativities were beautiful. The event really emphasized to me how central Christ is to the holiday season. That is easy to forget sometimes in the rush to buy presents and going to Christmas parties. Kanayla really enjoyed it too and has been asking for much less after being reminded that Christmas is celebrating Christ's birth not Santa Claus coming down the chimney! :)

First Words

Ivie is beginning to talk to us!! So far she says (on a consistent basis) yea, no, hi and Ivie! If you count WHEE as a word than that too! It is way cute! Even more exciting is that she is starting to speak on time whereas Xavien had a bit of delay in his speech. Here is a pic of the adorable one!

Projects

One thing that I am great at is starting a project. One that I am NOT so great at is finishing the project. At any given time I probably have at least 3 different projects going....what can I say? I am easily distracted. So when I do finish a project I am pretty excited. Here are a couple that I have finished in the past week (I only have about 10 more to go til Christmas.)



The first picture is of a temple necklace that I made for myself and my sister, Tiffany. Tiffany went to the temple for the first time over the weekend and I wanted to give her something special for the occasion. It is all white which makes it ok for the temple I think. At least no one said anything to us. I am really pleased with how it turned out!

The second picture is a scripture bag for Kanayla. It is a Christmas present so SHHH!! She is at the age that she wants to take scriptures of her own to church and this bag is big enough for scriptures plus colored pencils or whatever. Tiffany did the bag part while I added the ribbon, button and handle. I hope she likes it!

Either way it feels good to finish some of the projects up. If I can finish anymore I will let everyone know!

Birthday Boy

Xavien's birthday is this week! He is 3 yrs old! My sister's wedding reception and activities are taking place all weekend so we celebrated his birthday today! I didn't plan anything elaborate and I had to hurry the icing job on the cake because of time constraints. (You'll be able to see all the spots I missed on the pictures! :) ) Xavien loved everything though so the mistakes aren't important. He got a stuffed Curious George, some trains, and my grandmother made him a Spiderman quilt. He is already sleeping with the quilt. He is one special little boy! I love him so much!

Discouraged

Warning: This post contains rambles, venting and complaining.

So I am going through a rough patch. Kanayla loves school which is great except she is going through separation anxiety again. When she comes home from school she is an extremely clingy, emotional, tantrum throwing mess. It is frustrating me to no end. Xavien and Ivie are also going through various stages of the anxiety due to their ages and Kanayla's influence. I had no clue it was separation anxiety until the dr. pointed it out to me this morning. She is feeling overwhelmed which in turn makes me feel overwhelmed and out of sorts. The only problem is that no one can figure out what Kanayla is feeling overwhelmed about. It definitely isn't school, that is the only time she will voluntarily leave my or Matthew's side right now. I am the type of person that I NEED a more than average amount of sleep or I am not a pleasure to be around and I just don't function very well at all. For around 3 weeks now I am woken up at least twice a night by Kanayla or Xavien. Not good for functioning statis and it is showing. For the past few days my fuse has been incredibly short and I am almost more moody than Kanayla. I have been getting upset with everyone and really I want to stick my head in the sand, scream and then chant 'it has to get better soon!'. None of this is going to solve the overall problem though. How do you handle a 5yr old who suddenly wants to cling to you like a barnacle every hour of the day (I do mean EVERY hour....she wants to sleep with us, for me to play every single thing she is doing, to not cook or even go to the bathroom without her attendance). Then add the 3 and 1 yr old who are demanding some one on one time too. Honestly a baby I can handle, they are small enough that most tasks can be completed with the baby on your hip but I can not carry my forty pound daughter around on my hip! I am only 5 ft tall! She is just under 4 ft now. Kanayla would knock me over flat!

So I am feeling like a bad mom. I love my kids, they know that I love them. I just don't know what to do!

Halloween costumes

These pictures are real lousy. Our excuse is that none of the kids wanted to stand still and then after one pic the camera battery decided to die. Kanayla was a fairy princess and designed her own costume. Xavien was a train driver (engineer) and Ivie was a monkey. I am pretty proud of myself though because for all three costumes I spent a total of $11.50...pretty good I think.

Fun Run

Kanayla's school had a fundraiser today called "Fun Run." Each class ran on the track for 20 minutes trying to run as many laps as they could. Earlier in the month the kids were supposed to get donations for their run...kinda like a 5k. It really encourages healthy behavior for the kids! Kanayla was very excited for the run. When I arrived to the school to watch Kanayla's class, Xavien wanted to run too. He ran 5 laps with her kindergarten class and would have gone more except time ran out. The pictures are pretty self explanatory. The last picture is Xavien's reaction to be told he couldn't run anymore.

Birthday Bash

My birthday was earlier this week. I like to make special cakes for birthdays. I planned to make one for myself since Matthew usually teases me a bit about my cakes and I didn't think he would make one. The cakes take some time and time isn't always a luxury around here. So for my birthday, Matthew and the kids sent me out of the house for a couple hours so they could make my cake. (They wanted it to be a surprise!) This jack-o-lantern cake was the result of their efforts! I was so impressed!! It was a great birthday!

Museum Day

Kanayla had a teacher work day today so we went with the Museum of Life and Science. It is a great museum and that is very interactive for kids so no matter how many times you go there is still plenty to play with and do. A bunch of us from the ward met at the museum so the kids had playmates to see everything with. While it is exhausting to go on these outings....for some odd reason I always end up going at a time that infringes on naptime and that equates Xavien throwing fits and Xavien's temper tantrums not only exhaust me mentally but physically too, the trips are worth it. At least that is what I tell myself.

There was a great playground that the kids had a ball climbing around and playing in the sandbox.

We also went to a butterfly house and saw a bunch of butterflies being released. There were too many people there to see the actual release but I did get a pic of one of the butterflies on a flower.



The coolest thing was a sound room....if you stood on the sound board (which covered about half the room) it made different sounds to go along with your movement! It was incredibly loud but a lot of fun! Kanayla covered her ears the entire time while Xavien and Ivie ran all over the board.

I'm not sure if I could go to the museum every week but every once in a while is a lot of fun! Right now, however, I think that this bear has the right idea... its time for everyone to take a nap!

Boys Caught Napping

Xavien and Matthew fell asleep on the couch together the other day. This is a very unusual occurrence because Xavien is usually up and running all day long. I thought it was cute though and had to get evidence.

Soccer

One of the things we started with Kanayla when she started Kindergarten is soccer. I really want my kids to all be involved in a sport and so far soccer is what she has shown the most interest in. Right now Kanayla is in an instructional league....more like lessons where the kids learn basic skills and then scrimmage at the end of the lesson. We want to sign her up for a team in the spring and hopefully this will teach her more control with kicks etc. Kanayla is loving it! She is one of the biggest in her class (which is weird cause she is average size really) and Matthew reports that she is getting alot better.

I'm planning some for Xav and Ivie soon so I'll post some pics of them then....right now they are being neglected in blog world. :)

From the peanut gallery

I have been having a hard time getting Kanayla to eat any of her lunch at school recently. I've been a bit concerned about it because she wants to eat a cup of applesauce in the morning, a cup of fruit at snack, no lunch and then she eats dinner. I didn't think she was getting enough food. So I've been stressing how important it is that she eats her lunch. A few days ago she came home and said, "At lunch today my brain told me you would be impressed if I ate all my food. Are you impressed?" Not sure how a brain can talk but whatever works!!

Xav is no longer a momma's boy. Sniff Sniff For whatever reason he wakes me up 2-3 times a night for probably the last 4 months. Lately, though, when I put him back to bed he tells me "Not momma. Daddy!! Daddy!" Perfectly fine with me! Let Matthew lose the sleep! :)

I have been trying to talk more with Xavien to improve his speech. He LOVES trains and cars so I figured those would be good ways to get him to talk more. I was trying to get Xavien to tell me why he likes trains so much....fast, wheels, sounds etc. Xavien looks up at me and says "No mom, trains pretty!" I would have never thought about trains being pretty before, it must be a boy thing.

From the doctors office

As an update....we are still sick! Kanayla's nasty cold turned out to be the croup virus. It seems like whenever one of the kids comes down with something it HAS to make the rounds to everyone else in the family...except Matthew. Not fair at all! He rarely ever gets sick. Seriously, I think I have had 6 sinus infections since I gave birth to Ivie 18 months ago. It is ridiculous! It does not matter how many hand sanitizers we go through...hand soap, Kleenexes, cans of Lysol, vitamins etc, all the kids will get sick and then I will get sick and it ALWAYS turns into a sinus infection. I have to tell you... I HATE being sick. Being sick turns me into the comatose zombie person who then feels guilty because my kids are sick too so I need to take care of them while all I want to do is vegetate and get better. The house becomes a toxic waste dump because no one has the energy to clean up much less cook. It is an all-around bad situation. Not to mention that my kids are cuddlers when they don't feel good, so we all just end of sharing the germs over and over and over again.

This is are first experience with croup. Let me tell you it is a scary virus! Ivie had to receive the steriod shot to help her breathe. Xavien has scared me and Matthew to death the last 2 nights with his fevers and breathing issues. We have tried the humidifiers, humid hot shower mist and the cold air theories. If anyone has any other ideas let me know please!!

School Bugs

We have officially been in school for 2 weeks now! Kanayla is loving it! I am discovering new friends in the ward with playdates for Xavien and Ivie. Lots of great new things.

Of course a monkey wrench has to occur. Kanayla caught a nasty cold that has you lose your voice too. Not fun :( It has kept us fairly housebound for the past few days. She seems to be over the worst of it but I am still thinking about keeping her home tomorrow.

Kanayla received one of the weekly awards this week as well. The reward was taking a stuffed Curious George home for a weekend sleepover. Xavien has fallen in love with the George! Seriously I have NEVER seen him get so worked up over a toy before and we have had several fits about cars and trains. Matthew and I are considering getting him one for his birthday but is that rewarding bad behavior? Xavien has probably spent more time in time out this weekend than ever too....all because he wants the Curious George. Whoever thought Curious George would be such a hot commodity?

Kindergarten!!!!

We officially have a Kindergartner!!! Kanayla has survived the testing and has been assigned a teacher. Kanayla loves being a Hawk (the school mascot). She is so happy to go to school and comes home telling me about all the friends she has made. I am adjusting well to her being gone during the day. The house is SO quiet!! Xavien cried when we dropped her off the first day of school. But overall everyone is adjusting well!

7 years

Yep, it is true! Today is Matthew and my 7 year anniversary! It is hard to believe that it has already been 7 years. Time truly does fly by.....

I won't get too sappy or anything but I wanted to share how blessed I am to have married Matthew. I can not imagine anyone more supportive, loving and understanding of me. He is a wonderful provider, an excellent father and an even better husband! I couldn't have gotten a better eternal companion! I love you babe and I know we will have many more wonderful years to come!

Answered Prayers

Last month the starter in our van died, so, we replaced it and everything was fine until a week ago. Once again the van started having issues 1 out of 3 times we would try to start it. Needless to say the van is once again visiting the shop on Friday. Yesterday I had to run to the grocery store with the kids for dinner stuff. The van had trouble starting.....Kanayla offered to say a prayer. Ta-da! The van starts! Yipee!!!

This may seem silly but Kanayla was so impressed that her prayer was answered right away! All she could talk about for the rest of the day was that Jesus does listen to prayers. Her faith is very inspiring and it is instances like this that makes me think of the scripture about 'becoming as a little child.' It is so true!

Don't Let Your Kids Play With Kanayla

I really love to play rough with my kids. To be honest, one of the main reasons I wanted kids of my own was so that I could "rough-house" without parents getting angry with me. I love playing with kids, but I like the kids to have a good time, and kids love to wrestle and "play" fight. Growing up I had many-a-stern-look from parents when I got the kids too riled up. Now that I have kids of my own, its open season, I'll do as I please. I guess another title to this entry could be, "Don't Let Matt Play With Your Kids." Whatever, your kids, do as you please; my kids, I'll do as I please.

Somehow I've been able to control the kids to just hit me. They hit each other, but nothing out of the ordinary and they rarely hit their mother. But, you never know when they might snap and break out some Chuck Liddell on someone else. That's where the warning in the title comes from, its just best to be cautious around Kanayla...I've taught her well. Below is a video of a regular, everyday activity of Kanayla beating up her daddy. Normally Xavien gets involved as well, but he was really enjoying his sippy cup. Notice how Kristina tells Kanayla enough, and the girl continues her onslaught, to another degree. I just realized that Kristina didn't really tell her to stop again, she must have enjoyed seeing her husband get beat up.

Recap

So...it has been a little bit. Sorry about that! Mom-cation was great, need it again and Matthew is a prince among men for letting me get a break. We had a moving scare (it still may happen but not for another month or two). Isn't that sad that the most notice I have had before a move was 1 month?
In recap of the past few weeks.....

• Matthew has had a couple business trips down to Atlanta so I have been visiting with my Mom.
  
• Kanayla is getting ready to start school. She has learned to wash her own hair but we are still working out how to use a hairdryer.
  
• Xavien has now learned his ABC's while Ivie has learned the art of climbing on chairs, out of tubs, on couches, on toilets, on beds etc etc. I am going to be in big trouble when she figures out how to climb out of her crib. Xavien also has a tendency to injure himself in some hilarious ways. I am still trying to figure out if it is a boy trait or a Xavien trait!
  
• I have managed to injure myself... I bruised my palms (silly story) and then had to have a toenail removed because whenever I walked I was putting 'trauma' on it. Weird and painful!!!

But I promise to do better at posting! Here is Kanayla with a cousin during a somewhat recent visit.

Mom-cation

One of the perks about working for the church is that Matthew gets a vacation day on Pioneer Day. This year he decided that I should take a couple days and go somewhere (just me) to get a break from everything and everyone! YEA!!! So now the problem is that I have no problem going down the street holing up in a hotel room and reading for 2 days straight ( I know, I'm pathetic :)) but to justify the expense of a hotel room I feel like I need to do 'something'. Any ideas.....

Interview with a 5 yr old

For this week's entry we interviewed Kanayla. It was a cool experience with a few expected answers and a few unexpected answers as well.

• What is your favorite color? -- Red

• What is your favorite thing to do? -- coloring in coloring books

• What is your favorite thing to do with Mom? -- getting hugs and kisses

• with Dad? -- WRESTLING

• with X. and I.? -- I like to help them play cars and trains.

• If you could have any animal for a pet what would it be? A cat but if I could turn into an animal I want to be a dog.

• If you could live anywhere where would you live? China because I like it.

• What is your favorite scripture story? I like reading about Jesus blessing the little kids.

• What is your favorite music? Jonas Brothers, my favorite song is "We got the Party." My favorite primary song is "I am a Child of God."

• What do you want to be when you grow up? A gardener and shopping at the store

• Are you excited to start school? Yes, I want to paint and ride the school bus.

• What if Mommy and Daddy won't let you ride the school bus yet? Then I'll cry because the bus drives and is fun.

• What is your favorite sport? Soccer

• Why is it important to listen to Mom and Dad? Because it is good and because it makes you happy and Mommy and Daddy love me.

• Favorite book: Dora and the Mermaid Rescue

• Favorite Movie: Meet the Robinson's

• TV Show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

I hope that you guys like the insight into Kanayla's mind!

Explanation of Blog Title

***This posting is rated PG-13***

Well first of all, you have to get what the title is "saying". It's just another way to say that a person is not so bright. There are many creative ways to say this, I'll list a few:

"A photographic memory but with the lens cover glued on."

"Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming."

"It's hard to believe that he beat 1,000,000 other sperm to the egg."

"Some drink from the fountain of knowledge;..... he only gargled."

If you don't laugh at these phrases, please, move on to some other postings and stop wasting your time.

Well about 3 or 4 years ago, my family had gotten together in Provo, Utah while a bunch of us were still going to school. When my family gets together we love to have discussions about anything. I believe at this particular time we were having a sort of serious discussion and we were brainstorming ideas and when I brainstorm I say some pretty off the wall things. I don't recall what I said, but I'm sure it was stupid, and in my family you are sure to be reminded by others of your stupidity. My brother Philip has some classic sayings to confirm your stupidity, and at this time he said to me, "the wheel is turning, but the hamster is dead." So I'm just making sure everyone knows the hamster is still dead. To conclude this post I'd like to share a video my oldest brother introduced to us a few years ago. There is no animal cruelty in this video, but make sure you are not eating anything when you watch it, it could come out of your nose.

Hamster on a Wheel

Growing Pains.....

Ivie has had an interesting couple of weeks. She has managed to grow 2 inches and now bumps into everything because she isn't used to the added height. Ivie is walking into all the tables and desks etc. Her other development is cutting her first molar. This has been a traumatic experience...Ivie is my first child to get the sniffles and mild fever that sometimes comes with a new tooth. She is cranky, tired, and refuses to eat! :( Today I thought a bath would help calm her (she's my waterbaby!) We were running the water, I had just finished taking off her clothes and diaper and had turned around to throw the dirty diaper away. When I spun back around Ivie was looking up at me with huge tears in her eyes and a puddle of pee on the floor! She looked down and the floor and just started screaming. I wish I took a picture because she looked so sad and miserable and cute. Hopefully this growth spurt will end soon....

FHE board

Granted this is bragging, but I am very pleased and proud of Matthew and my latest project!! We made a Family Home Evening assignment board for our family. It took us a long to make it (we would work a little on it and then get caught up in other things) but the end result is great!!! The kids love it because they each have something special to represent them. I love it because it is definitely 'me' and it helps all of us be more excited for FHE. Tell me what you think!

Soccer Players in the Making

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Matthew enjoyed watching the EuroCup on TV this year (VIVA ESPANA!!! (edit by Matthew))....and Xavien was paying attention! Like all little boys, Xavien enjoys balls but ever since he saw soccer being played on TV it has become one of his favorite activities. Xavien runs around the house kicking the ball and trying to tackle anyone who happens to play soccer with him. Quite cute! To encourage his foray into sports, I took the kids out to a little patch of grass outside the building to kick the soccer ball around in real grass. They LOVED it!! We had to avoid all the dog poopies though! (People should really clean up after their pets. Seriously, I have curious toddlers here! No need to deal with dog poopies too! )

Since the mission was a success my next assignment is to find a soccer field or good substitute within walking distance...or get people to clean up after their pets!

Weekend getaway

This weekend Matthew and I gave the kids to my parents and we got a night away!! Yippee!! We went out to eat and to a movie Friday night....a real luxury for us! And Saturday we drove to the Hiddenite mine just outside of Statesville. Hiddenite is a gem that is only found in NC---it looks kinda like an emerald. We did not know what to expect from the mine but it was a lot of fun! Matthew and I chose to go creekin and sluicing. The creek was cold and surprisingly there were not any bugs! Matthew thinks we found more interesting rocks during the creekin which consisted of digging in the water and then shaking the pan to get rid of the sand and dirt and see what stones you came up with. The only problem was that we don't know enough about rocks to really recognize what we found:( The sluicing was easier on the body (no achy backs or knees) ....you sat down with a bucket of dirt and do the same thing as creekin in a waterway. We came away content, excited and very dirty!

Here are some pictures from our day away, I don't have any pictures of the kids with my parents because we had the camera! From all Kanayla has to say though, it sounds like the kids had a blast with their grandparents! Thanks again Mom and Dad for giving us a breather! And the next time we go to Hiddenite we are going to know more about rocks!

The grand Indoors!

So we spend a lot of time indoors....sometimes it is pure laziness but mostly it is because we are still in an apartment and therefore have no access to a convenient yard. I can't say that the kids seem to miss a yard all that much though.....they spend all of their time running around and jumping all over our couches!! Xavien and Kanayla are obessed with music. One of their favorite activities is to turn itunes on and dance around to music....mostly running laps around our kitchen. Ivie has tried to join in the fun but she gets run over by her siblings. Ivie has got to work on her speed and Xavien and Kanaya need to watch where they are going. Still it is hilarious to watch the kids get their groove on! :) The other favorite indoor activity is Couch Gymnastics. I have tried for years to get Kanayla to stop jumping off the arms of the couch but it hasn't worked yet. They do leaps, they do somersaults, they pull and push each other---all while laughing their eyes out. Only rarely do the couch gymnastics end in injury. Well I am glad they can entertain each other!

Paints, Father's Day and Parks

We have been busy the past few days!! On Saturday our stake had a softball tournament. Matthew was in charge of planning it and playing in it. I took the kids and played at the playground for a while. Ivie got to experience the baby swings and even though the pics do not show it...she was laughing. Xavien kept climbing up the playground and equipment and then refusing to slide down the slide. Silly boy! Still I wish I could find a decent park closer to us....


On Father's Day, Kanayla woke up Matthew with a card that she wrote saying "I love you Daddy!" She made it all by herself and was extremely proud of herself. I have been blessed to have a wonderful Father and husband in my life. I am very appreciative to all that Matthew and Dad do for me and the kids. Thanks you guys!

Today, I found a recipe for some puffy paint. All you do is mix equal parts of flour and salt. Add water and coloring and ta-da you have paint. You put the paint in squeeze bottles and the kids had a ball. Here is some examples of their artwork. Xavien's looks like the Jackson Pollock while Kanayla tried to make images with her paint! They loved the paint so I will have to let them paint with this more often. We will have to see how long the paint in the bottle lasts until it dries out. My kids are little artists!

Children's Museum

Wow...uhh we haven't added anything in a LONG time. Gotta do better. The new goal is to add something once a week so we will see how it goes.

This past week I took the kids to the Marbles Children's Museum in downtown Raleigh. That was an experience! Their favorite section was the "Around Town" which up about half of one side of the museum. They have gates to keep the children in but it is HUGE! There were speed boats to play on, a fire truck, a bus, a postal car with parcels to load and unload, a barn, a kitchen with a mini grocery center not to mention the wall of trains. Seriously, how do they expect parents with multiply children to keep track of all the kids with that much to see and play with? Kanayla loved the kitchen, Xavien wanted to stay with the trains and Ivie was so excited to see everything that she could actually climb all over that she went everywhere. I am exhausted.....

WV trip

Last week I was visiting Knoxville, TN and Charleston, WV. I really enjoyed the scenic drive. I'm always amazed at how beautiful West Virginia is, always. When you come up from the south on I77 and drive through the East River tunnel and then, WHAM!!!! WV makes you forget about the beauty you thought you saw in Virginia. When there's snow, there's always twice as much in WV then VA, and it just looks better on the trees. Seriously, a blanket of snow on the leafless trees that cover the rolling hills is amazing, and its not even the best time to visit if you want beauty. Which reminds me, whenever you see photos of fall foliage throughout the US, they almost never show anything from WV...are you kidding me. Yeah the New England region has some great colors, but WV has got those colors, plus an already beautiful landscape of rolling Appalachian hills. C'mon, its West Virginia, almost heaven, what beats that. John Denver wrote a song about it, only Colorado is on the same playing field, but John Denver never wrote anything about it being like heaven...although I have seen it raining fire in the sky over Denver and that is picturesque. Well, here's a picture of a rainbow after the weather cleared up while I was driving.

sickness

The weather is finally warming up! Thank goodness!!! Maybe now we will no longer have to fight through the rotovirus and monster colds that my kids seem to catch every other week. It seems like every time one child gets sick the other 2 catch it and then finally I succumb too! Xavien is the one getting sick all the time right now....nursery is not a good combination with that boy.

Hair

Well it was that time again, cut Xavien's hair. Always an adventure because you can't keep him still. Half the time you wonder if its better to leave it alone, but I can't stand long hair on boys. Few boys can pull it off, and my son is not one of them...plus I like to make his "Nana" mad at me for doing it . So I basically had to sit on the poor boy for about 10 minutes and shave his hair off. Kristina pouted that he looked like his daddy, is that a bad thing? I topped off all that torture by giving the kid a bath, he's scared of the water, so that too was a load of fun. Here are some updated pictures of our lovely children. As you can tell, our daughters have been "blessed", or more correctly, "cursed" with their fathers hair.