My new ride

I guess I'm a great mom, cuz look at what my kids got me for Mother's Day! Ha. I have to laugh because what kind of person first choses to have kids then makes them give them presents for being their mom. I wont go any further into the complicated thoughts I get, but I will tell you that I love my new ride. I think the best thing is that Taj has asked me to go on bike rides with him, him on his bike and me on mine, three times already. Such a sweetie. I LOVE being a mom and am blown away at how blessed I am to have such beautiful and sweet children. Motherhood rocks.

"Life's a garden. Dig it!"

I'm sure you can guess what the tub looked like after we were done with him.

Here are a few pictures from around the house. I know it's probably a little obsessive to take pictures of flowers. I guess I'm just a little excited that it's warm enough for these beautiful creations to grow.

Roll with the punches... or the poopies

This cute little sundress is a result of a classic Mommy situation. We went out to the mall, I know I said I was done with the mall, but when in need of a new dress you do certain things.... So we just got to the mall. Micah and Taj went straight for the escalator, so I got the stroller ready for Eden. As I am putting her into the stroller I noticed something yellow on my arm-not my shirt luckily. Then I noticed something yellow all down her pants. Then I noticed the smell. Eden had what's called in the biz, "a blowout." When this happens at home, no problem. I wasn't at home. I realized that the backup outfit in my bag was a 0-3 month p.j. thing that hasn't fit since Christmas. Luckily I was at the mall. Instead of taking myself shopping we went shopping for Eden. Once we got her and my arm all cleaned up it was my turn. I wonder if she'll use tricks like this when she's older.

p.s: The Gap has some really great stuff right now.

Talent

My husband has a little talent.
He calls these "Eden" and "Taj". Someday.

The good news is....

that the zoo is still the bomb (are the kids still saying that?). We drug ourselves to SLC last saturday and we're so glad we did. It was a beautiful day and Taj was super excited about all the animals, unlike last time.

The Hogle Zoo has a train too, which made Taj's lifetime.

Can't you just see the excitement on their faces? They were in heaven. Ha. The kids really did have fun. Promise. Oh, and those aren't ghosts on that big elephant up there. It's me and Eden. That huge elephant is awesome. It snores, and sneezes, and spuirts water. Taj was a little scared of it, which is why he's not in the picture.

And Happy Earth Day, Earth. I finally did a couple of things I've been meaning to do: signed up at greendimes.com and am putting an end to junk mail and getting a few trees planted. Not sure if it works yet, but Ellen (from t.v. said it will). I also got some reusable grocery bags. I hate-HATE my collection of plastic grocery bags, and can't bring myself to just through them out, so I bought my own reusable ones. Yeah, Earth!

Growing Up!

My kids are growing up, and I love it! Don't get me wrong, new babies are wonderful, amazing, soft, cuddly, and just plain adorable. I just don't see growing up as a sad thing like some moms do. I love love love the fact that Taj and Micah plan outings together like golfing. It's not just taking his boy along either, it's doing stuff together now. It's the best! Eden has had a big week too. She is sitting up for minutes at a time on her own and cut her first tooth! I swear her sense of humor has grown up this week also. She's getting into peekaboo like never before. She's getting the whole object permanence thing, which makes going out of the room to use the bathroom for two seconds much easier. I love that the kids are growing up!

Bryce Canyon Rocks!

Every once and a while we have to get a change of scenery. Last week was one of those times, so when Friday came around we packed up and headed south to Bryce Canyon. That place is amazing.







With the little ones in tow we only took on a few scenic points and one hike. We saw some wildlife, and saw some breathtaking views. We felt like we were in a different world. Heavenly Father is so creative.

We feel like we're doing something right when Taj tells us how beautiful it is and that he likes to hike. (He was in the pack 90 percent of the hike, so of coarse he likes to hike :) The kids are great travelers, and that's a good thing since we definitely like to get out.

"Check Your Shoes For Souvenirs"

We left the house one afternoon not knowing what we were going to do, but knew that if we didn't leave then we never would. We found ourselves at "Farm Country" at Thanksgiving point, and had a great time.

At $3.50 per person, two and under free, they'll be seeing al ot of us this summer.

the big 6 MO's

I love
this little
girl!!!

I wish it felt more like spring; cleaning

Part One:

A few days after the Easter candy overload, while I was feeling particularly gross, I caught myself offering Taj "Easy Cheese" and crackers as a snack. I had a moment of self disgust. I remembered a recent negotiation I had with Taj that went something like, "You need one more bite of your chicken nugget before you can have french fries." As if the chicken nuggets were a better option. What and who had I become? Me, the ex-vegetarian that still insists that a salad is a full meal, and thinks that the raisins in raisin bran is a little too sugary for breakfast. I had hit rock bottom.

I took that moment in time as my wake up call. I've had a few of those moment in my life where something had to give. In this instance it was my eating habits, which directly effect the eating habits of my family, and the state of the organization in my house. I'm proud to say that since that moment I've begun a cleansing process. I've been eating way better... fewer Easter treats, and have done a major overhaul on the toys. They were accumulating way faster than I had places for them. They now all have homes which Taj has been happily returning them to after playing with. I know it's a long way back up, but I also know that I can't use my six month old as an excuse anymore. Rather, I need to use my children as part of my motivation.

Part Two:

Whenever I try to eat better, I become obsessed with food and cooking. New neighbors: I need to make cookies. In laws just back from a two day trip: invite them over for dinner. Saturday morning: make banana bread like my Dad used to. You get the idea. I don't think it's a bad thing. It shows that I am being more conscious about what is going into my body. I know that banana bread is not necessarily healthy, but it's not that bad either. It's one of my comfort foods. Please try this recipe and enjoy the comfort and wonder of good homemade love, I mean food.

Best Banana Bread

1 C. shortening or butter

2 C. Sugar (1 white, 1 brown)

4 C. flour (1/2 whole wheat, 1/4 wheat germ, or just reg. works fine as well)

2 tsp. baking soda

12 banana's (mashed well)

2-3 eggs

2/4 C. walnuts (optional)

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. salt

*Cream sugar, shortening and eggs first

* Bake at 325 degrees for 55 minutes or until done

Ways to have fun...

We woke up to a what the crap surprise snow storm this morning. I am grateful for kids today because while I'm nursing Eden I hear Taj saying, "It snowed! We have snow boots and our snow clothes!" He's bursting and ready to go out and play. I instantly felt a little less depressed about the lingering winter and went out to play with Taj. Bless his heart.

Taj loves to bowl. At least he used to. Lindsay and I planned an awesome outing to the bowling ally for Taj and Bennet. The boys enjoyed bowling for a total of about one minute and spent the rest of the time running around in the cute tiny bowling shoes. Meanwhile Lindsay bowled for the kids and tried not to look too bad next to the 5 and 8 year olds practicing for their bowling league. What the?

Not much to say, and yet so much to say

Do you ever stop and realize how quickly time flys and feel like there's not anything really significant to say about the time that is now gone? I feel like that a lot, yet there are always lots of seemingly insignificant things that occur. It's the kind of stuff that happens that if someone were to ask what you've been up to, you wouldn't really mention them, but they were kind of special.
So here are a few of the little things I might not have mentioned, but decided to anyway.
-We went for a walk to "the Duck Pond". On the way Taj and Eden got a hold of each other and melted my heart. When we got to the pond there really weren't any ducks. We threw bread anyway, and two ducks found us. Yippy!
-Eden has found her feet! Is there anything cuter than a baby playing with their feet?
-We love to get out. Here's us living it up at a park just up the street from us. We like it because Micah and Taj can get back to our house on the skateboard without pushing since it's all downhill on the way back. And isn't Eden so grown up now?

-Taj has been taking some awesome monster naps. Love growth spurts.

- I have managed to figure out how to get both kids bathed and in bed all by myself. I've only had to do it on my own a few times until this week when I've had to do it three nights in a row. I feel like a real mom of two now.

-Eden doesn't really like peas, but I found out that I kind of like them, and I really like the color.

Easter

Easter is my favorite holiday. Its got the food, the family, the excitement, but not all the fuss of Christmas and not as stuffy as Thanksgiving. It's the best. This year seemed really early to me, and I was not complaining. I did some research and it turns out that this was the earliest Easter celebrated since 1818, and it wont be this early again until 2160. Pretty neat-o. I couldn't help myself and dressed the kido's like easter eggs and really went overboard on the junk food. Guess what game we played about 700 times today.... easter egg hunt! I know it sounds crazy but it really can be just as exciting after the twentieth time- just ask Taj.

Bragadocious

So, Taj is a genius. I'm not too sure about what's appropriate for his age when it comes to smarts, but this kid is definitely the smartest kid in the world (I'm a mom). He found this movie at the library and really wanted to borrow it. I humored him thinking he wouldn't really like it, but I was sooooooo wrong. He loves it! Anytime we would let him watch a movie he would choose this one and before we knew it Taj was reciting the whole movie. No big deal until we noticed the other day that he was pointing to the letters on the dryer saying what they were, "h. e. a. v. y. d.u.t.y. What these words say?" Whoa! Later that same day he sees the letters on a car in the parking lot, "L. A.N.D." Holy moly. This kid is learning to read all on his own. Turns out he can spell and recognize his own name and mom and dad and eden. Nerd alert. Just kidding. I'm obviously a little proud.

Hooray!

Today there are three things I am really happy about.

1. Girl Scout Cookies are back!!!! My loving husband hooked me up with a supply of Thin Mints and Samoas. They are one of the things to like about Utah (they are pretty hard to get in HI).

2. "Flight of the Concords" are on their way!! Micah and I are huge fans of the show and put it on the top of our Netflix list back in November. I just got the good news that we're finally getting our turn!

3. Got the kids out of the house! I love going for walks, especially to the nearby stream and bridge featured in the pic.s. As you can see, Taj also really enjoys it, but Eden is still "warming up" to it.

Buddies

Micah has been taking Taj for rides on the skateboard since before Taj could walk. I still get a little nervous, but love to see them share activities like that. Skateboarding is one more thing that only Dad does with Taj, and is therefore very special.

When we moved into this new house about 6 of the neighborhood Mom's knew of me as the Mom that let her little guy go on the skateboard, and told me that they thought Micah must be a big brother taking the little brother skateboarding without their mothers permission. Oh no, it's the Dad, and Mom didn't have much choice in the matter, but truly loves it.

A Day at the Mall

While wasting time at the mall this afternoon Micah and I came to some realizations. First we realized that we kind of hate the mall. Surrounded by people dressed in the latest fashions, shopping for newer things they have to have so they can come back to mall and shop for more new things. Yuck. It has a way of making a person feel bad for wearing jeans that are starting to tear and for not getting around to brushing their hair.
Next, we realized that we are getting old. Seriously, old. When a high school kid greeted us at Zumiez we asked each other if we are allowed to go into stores like that anymore. When a sales person referred to Micah as "Boss," we decided that no, we are not allowed to go into stores like that anymore. Passing more trendy and flirty high school kids it dawned on us that we have joined the group of adults that take their kids to the mall to shop and our lives flashed before our eyes. How long until Taj has an opinion about what he wears and Eden is begging us for new shoes she has to have, or worse, they don't want to be seen with us at the mall.
I think the most profound realization that came from that trip to the mall was that we really really need to try harder to find things to do on a Friday afternoon.

Ouch!

Torture

About a week ago we had some great weather. When that happens in Utah after a long winter people get really excited and put on their shorts, do some yard work, and shop for swim suits. We got a little caught up in this excitement I guess because we finally put together the trampoline we got for Christmas. Taj and Micah played on it for hours, and I even got on with Eden in the Baby Bjorn.

The next day it snowed.

Now we have to tell Taj that it's too cold to jump on the trampoline about 6 times a day. We've sucked it up a few times and got on with all our winter gear. The rest of the time it's sitting out there looking at us through our kitchen windows torturing us. When is the warm weather going to come to stay?

FHE

Here's the parenting problem this week. FHE. I think I've exhausted my three ideas. I love the expression on Taj's face when we try to explain things like the golden plates. I feel like I've done something right when he stands on top of things and says he's the angel Moroni. Any ideas out there? We need help. Thanks in advance.