Computer Crazed

I have come to the conclusion that I am computer crazed. I lost the connection between my bluetooth keyboard and my computer this afternoon. I just about had heart failure over it. I could not even type the password to get into my system, then, I couldn't type to chat with online support. The worst part is I couldn't send emails or add new posts to my blog!!! I am definitely hooked to my computer. It is like my lifeline to the world outside my house. It is about the only way I communicate with most of my friends, and some family members. I seriously thought I was going to have a panic attack!! But, I got it fixed and life can go on as normal.

Sekoya's first t-ball game was tonight. It was cold, windy, and rainy but we still played. I really hope she enjoys this, because I don't know how much I do. It is really hard to watch the unorganized, no rules ballgame. I guess they have to start somewhere. Then we went to the new pizza parlor in Monroe. Yes, we actually have a few eating establishments now. It was pretty good, other than fighting my kids to stay at the table. At least we were the only ones in there so they couldn't bother anybody else. Oh.. I can't believe I almost forgot this. Sekoya and her little team mates have declared themselves the Pink Hippos. I don't know why- our shirts are bright pink, but our team name is Curtis Farms. But when we were handing out the shirts to the girls one of them exclaimed that we were the Pink Hippos so that is what they all say!

A friend came over tonight to use my computer and printer (while I was figuring out my keyboard problem). It was my girls' bedtime so I put Katera to bed and told Sekoya to get her teeth brushed. She did that and then I told her to pick a story and get in bed and I would be right there when I finished up. After about 10 minutes I finally went back upstairs and there she waited-snuggled in bed with a story. And I only asked her once!!! My heart just swelled! I was so happy that she did what I asked and was being so quiet and patient. I love it when my kids mind- and that doesn't happen very often. If any of you know Sekoya you know what a big milestone this is and how thrilled I was. I just can't quit rambling on about it! She is becoming such a big girl and growing up so much.

What it means to be a Mom

With mother's day this weekend the Tuesday Tell All was on being a mother. After the two rough days that I have had (Katera teething) I'm not sure I am in the right frame of mind to be doing this post. I will try to put all that aside and focus on the good!

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.

It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking

around outside your body."
~Elizabeth Stone

First experience as a Mom

Well, my first experience was holding my newborn baby girl right after delivery and thinking "Now what???" It was reality finally hitting me what a big responsibility it was to be a Mommy. I was a very frazzled new mom. I thought since I had waited so long to have a baby and held and tended so many nieces and nephews I had it all figured out. (there's that mistake) I just knew I was going to be the best mom ever and not make any of those silly mistakes that you see others do. But I did, and still do!! I remember the first days after bringing home my sweet baby girl how soothing it was to just hold her and cuddle her all the time. Sekoya has been such a cuddle bug since the beginning of her life. She even smiled at only a few days old. It is just so amazing that these little babies grew inside of me and I created them! (with some help from above)

Best Mom advice

Wow, I still feel like such a novice in this MOM title I don't know if I have any advice that everyone hasn't heard already. I guess that might be my advice- Don't get too comfortable and think you have it all figured out because when you do . . . . it all changes. Every day is a new adventure with kids and you never know what it will bring. I have learned this the hard way with Sekoya and I am trying to do it differently from now on. I am such a control freak and like to have things all figured out and going my way. It just doesn't happen that way with kids- at least mine. So if you don't have any expectations then you won't get upset or disappointed.

Things I learned from my Mom

Just to name a few. . . .

Be a friend as well as a parent, Love unconditionally, Be supportive, Trust your kids to do the right thing, Let them make mistakes and learn from them

How to cook and keep a clean house, To grocery shop you have to go up and down every isle, You need a new outfit for every occasion

Why I love being a Mom

I know that there is always somebody who looks up to me and admires me

They love me no matter what, even after I have just yelled at them

To hear a sincere "I love you" out of the clear blue

Slobbery kisses and squeezie, squeezies

To know that I am their everything, and they are mine

It makes me try constantly to be the example they can follow

It has brought me closer to my Heavenly Father like nothing else could

I have two excuses for a dirty house and not being showered by noon

Holidays are much more fun when you see their faces light up

It gives my life so much more fulfillment than I could ever imagine anything else could- even with all the not so lovely moments.

Things I NEVER did until I became a Mom

Pack the whole house when leaving town for the weekend, keep hand sanitizer in every place imaginable, change my clothes 2-sometimes 3- times a day, get the theme song to Dora stuck in my head, stay up until midnight just to get the floors swept or laundry done, know more about Handy Manny than the current presidential candidates, Hannah Montanna is my favorite singer,

Weeding and Planting

We spent Friday afternoon and half the day on Saturday working on our yards. We went and picked out flowers on Friday. Then went home and weeded all our flower beds. We had neglected them really bad last summer/fall and we paid for it. They were so full of grass it took forever to get them all clear. Jason worked on them until dark. Sekoya and I had to go to a t-ball practice. Saturday morning we woke up and planted all the flowers we bought. We had only intended on planting the front yard to add some curb appeal and hopefully attract more buyers. The amount of flowers we bought completely filled the front yard and then half the back yard. I guess that is a good thing. But we hadn't weeded the back yard yet and it looked as bad as the front. So we weeded and planted at the same time. We were completely pooped by noon. None of us even got ready until 1:00 so that is why the girls have such crazy, frizzy hair in the pictures. While Jason and I planted Sekoya played with a worm I found. She planted flowers for about ten minutes, but that was it. She kept trying to get Katera to hold it, but she wasn't going to have that at all. Then when she got bored of that she played with the neighbor kids.

T-ball is really going to be interesting. Sekoya is great at throwing the ball and not too bad at catching. But when we stuck her in an actual game situation it was a different story. She does not get the concept that it is a team sport and all the girls are supposed to be playing together. Instead they all fight for the ball when it comes out to the field. Sekoya would throw a big fit when she didn't get it and throw her mit on the ground. Or she would just spin in circles not paying any attention to the ball that was zooming off the bat and going to hit her in the head. Maybe she should stick to cheer leading, not much thinking needed for that!!

Have you ever held a humming bird?

I know what you're thinking. . . 'Nobody can hold a humming bird.' Well, Jason has!! He took the girls outside to play this cold afternoon.

OK hold on a minute...it is May first and it snowed today! That is just ridiculous! Hello Heavenly Father/Mother Nature it's supposed to be spring or did you forget?

So, back to the humming bird. Jason took the girls outside and when they went out in the garage there was a humming bird flying around like crazy. Jason said it kept hitting the walls and the window. It was like totally confused! It couldn't find it's way out. After a few minutes of this frantic flying it landed on our garage floor. It just looked like a leaf if you didn't know what you were looking at. I couldn't believe how small it was. So he walked slowly up to it and it didn't move. Then he bent down and picked it up!! Amazing, huh? We walked out of the garage and he just held it on his hand. He said he could feel the little heart beat a million miles an hour. It just sat on his hand for about 5 minutes. Sekoya and Katera were totally in awe. So was I to tell you the truth. Sekoya said she wanted to hold it. Jason picked it up and just set it on her hand when it took off an flew away. It was a cool experience. A little bit better than JaLee's encounter with the animal world!! :)

I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight. I thought the girls would eat it--wrong! It was Mexican Chicken Penne. It's way easy. Jason and I loved it. It was a great change of pace from our normal, everyday, bland meals that please the kids. Katera surprised me though. I thought she would just eat up the noodles and chicken, but she liked the black beans that Jason and I garnished ours with. That is all she ate for dinner- black beans. Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try it out:

Mexican Chicken Penne

16 oz cooked/drained penne pasta
2 cups cooked/cubed chicken
1 1/4 cup salsa con queso
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
chopped green onions
tomato
black beans-rinsed and drained

Mix the salsa dip, milk, and salt. Add chicken. Then add cooked pasta and toss to coat. Serve the pasta/chicken to picky eaters. Serve adults garnished with onions, tomato, and black beans.
Yummy!!!

CRAZY Day

I had pretty busy day today. Busy for me may not sound very busy to others, but when I am used to just me and my girls with not much going on--this one was crazy!!



But I am too tired to write about it so i'll do it tomorrow!!


Ok- so I have a free moment while Sekoya is at school and Katera is napping. Yesterday I got three big quotes from work. So I worked on those most of the morning then rushed the kids through lunch so we could walk Sekoya to school. After our walk we were home for a few minutes before Cortney, Whitney, Logan, & Riley came to visit. The kids ran and played in the basement and then went outside for as long as they could stand the wind. The house was a complete disaster!! I am not used to extra kids running and messing up my house so I was a bit frazzled. Not to mention that I haven't been able to get to my vacuuming yet and my mopped floors now need to be mopped again. AGGGHHHHHH!!!! Right after Cort and Whitney left I had a friend and her three kids over for dinner. The yard maintenence guy showed up at the same time to fix a sprinkler and talk about spraying the yard for weeds and bugs. We managed to get through dinner pretty easily. The kids got to play for about 1/2 hour when a guy called and wanted to come see the house. So I kind-of kicked my friend and her kids out so I could pick up a little before the guy got here. It was a mad dash to clean up a day of 7 kids' messes in about 20 minutes. I did that and got both girls bathed before he showed up. As soon as he left I put both girls to bed and finally had some time to do some more work. I worked on my quotes until 9:30 pm. I had finally had enough and put it away for another day.

It makes me tired just thinking about it!!!! I'm glad it is over, but I have another busy day today- potluck lunch at the church, Sekoya to school, more work, gymnastics and Makayla's birthday. I like my quiet, nothing going on days!!!

Perms

I took the girls to the beauty shop today to get perms. I was just planning on doing Sekoya, but I figured I might as well do Katera while we were there and Grandma Sindy had time. Sekoya was great!! This is the first perm that she has had that she hasn't thrown a fit about either the perm rods or rinsing her hair in the sink. Katera, on the other hand, was a different story. She squirmed and squealed the whole time Grandma was wrapping the rods, then she cried when we had to rinse her hair. She was so glad to get them out. But they both turned out so cute. Hopefully it will be easier for me in the mornings doing their hair!

We put Sekoya's training wheels back on her bike this weekend. We took them off last fall and have tried and tried to get her to ride without them. She won't even really attempt it. I have gotten her on it and ran with her, but she forbids me to let go. If she even thinks I am letting go, which I didn't, she panics and puts her feet on the ground. So today it was like she had found a whole new freedom. She rode her bike up and down the sidewalk. Then when I gave her permission to go to a friend's house she wanted to ride her bike there too. I let her since it was only a block away. It was funny to see her riding home pedaling her little legs as fast as they would go and beeping her little horn. She loves to be independant!

Today was a nerve racking day as we waited for Grandpa Don to get out of heart surgery. I'm sure it was longer for all of his kids waiting right in the hospital. But he came through surgery great and we just got word a few minutes ago that he had finally come out of the anesthesia and was doing well. Sekoya was very relieved when I told her the good news. She has been so worried about him since we found out he had to have surgery. She loves her great grandparents so much!! I don't think any of us were ready to say good bye to him yet and thankfully we don't have to! Thank goodness for great surgeons, our faith, and the power of prayer! We love you Grandpa Don!!!

"Mommy, you just watch"

That is what Sekoya told me after I tried to play catch with our softball mits. I have signed her up for t-ball this summer so we bought her a little mit and pink ball. She has been doing great playing catch with Jason. He kind-of aims the ball to go right to her mit so she can be successful at catching it. I try to aim, but I admit my aim is not as good as Jason's. So it is my fault that she can't catch the ball. I don't do it right and I am not good enough- according to her. I have been playing softball since I was about six and pitched in highschool for three years, but I guess that isn't enough experience for her. I told her that she needed to let me help her because Daddy isn't home all the time. Her response to that was "Well he's here today!" So I got benched while Jason played with her. She is getting really good at throwing and can throw pretty good distances already. Hopefully she'll have fun playing t-ball and that will encourage her to try some more sports. (and forget cheerleading??)

It was a really warm day today so after we played catch we went to some friends' house- Weston and Tina Mitchell- for a BBQ. It was fun to just sit outside and let the kids play (with the occasional squabble). I love summers when it's easy to get together with friends for BBQ's and stuff like that. We need to do more of it. Thanks for a fun night guys!!

Portraits by JaLee

WOW!!!!!!

All I can say is I have the cutest girls ever and the most talented sister-in-law!!! Sekoya and Katera were not in the mood to do pictures today- Katera is teething and it was a little chilly. But JaLee still managed to get these cute pictures. I still haven't seen the rest, but I know there are some more good ones.

In the first one Katera is comforting Sekoya because she was crying about being cold.

This was the only smile we got out of her I think. She was playing peek-a-boo through my legs. What a girl. You can totally see her personality!!

Hometown Favorites

Well, living in a small town some of these categories don't have many options, but we do have our favorites that you just can't get anywhere else!!

Favorite Place To:
grab lunch- JR Munchies-good burgers
go for Date night- dinner at Steve's Steakhouse
pick up some creative goodies- Cocomotive
keep the kids busy- Grandma's house or the city park
get wet- backyard sprinklers, the city pool, or the canal
buy a treat- Ideal Dairy
shop for fun- no where- small town remember
get some fresh air- Fishlake
splurge- Christensen's
drive for a weekend away- St. George

You're an eighties child if ...

• You had a crush on one of the New Kids on the Block members. I think mine was Jordan
  
• You wanted to be on StarSearch.
  
• You ever uttered the word "Radical!"
  
• You wore jelly shoes and jelly bracelets
  
• You thought "Ghostbusters" was by far the coolest movie
  
• You remember watching shows like "Punky Brewster" , "Webster", "You Can't Do That On Television" , "Wild&Crazy Kids" and "Double Dare"
  
• You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off. Or even when he had those freaky eyes in "Thriller" at the end of the video.
  
• You wore a banana clip in your hair, a side ponytail, or one of those slap on wrist bands at some point during your youth.
  
• You pegged and rolled up the bottoms of your splatter painted jeans.
  
• You had slouch socks, and puff painted your own shirt at least once.
  
• You owned a doll with 'Xavier Roberts' signed on it's butt.
  
• You knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout."
  
• You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off."
  
• You can remember watching Full House and Saved by the Bell for endless hours!
  
• You have seen at least 10 episodes of Fraggle Rock.
  
• You yearned to be a member of The Babysitters Club, and tried to start a club of your own.
  
• You sat on your back porch, playing with your "My Little Pony" , "Rainbow Brite" , and "Strawberry Shortcake" dolls
  
• You hold a special place in your heart for "Back to the Future."
  
• You know where to go if you "wanna go where everybody knows your name."
  
• You know what "sike" and "not!" mean
  
• You fell victim to 80's fashion : big hair, crimped, combed over to the side, big hoop earrings, and possibly the worst:you wore spandex pants.
  
• You wanted to be a Goonie, or Elliot from E.T.
  
• You owned an extensive collection of Cabbage Patch Kids and trolls.
  
• You knew "The Artist" when he was humbly called "Prince."
  
• You ever wore flourescent -neon if you will clothing....
  
• You could breakdance, or wished you could.
  
• You know who He-Man and She-Ra are.
  
• You know all the words to "Ice Ice Baby".
  
• You remember MC hammer well- don't forget the MC Hammer pants!
  
• You can still sing the rap to "Fresh Prince of Belair". -still do every time I hear it.
  
• You own any cassettes.
  
• You were led to believe that in the year 2000 we'd all be living on the moon.
  
• Pizza Hut was the coolest place to hang.
  
• Poltergeist freaked you out.
  
• You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the ONLY female smurf.
  
• You totally LOVED Barbie's cooler, punkier counterpart, "Jem" and her "Rockers"
  
• You wanted to have an alien like Alf living in your house.
  
• You wore biker shorts underneath a short skirt and felt stylish.
  
• You wore tights under shorts and felt stylish.
  
• You layered your multi-colored slouch socks, and added suspenders to make your outfit complete.
  
• You ever had a Swatch Watch.
  
• You actually spent countless hours trying to perfect the care-bear stare.
  
• You had a crush on one of the Coreys
  
• Partying "like it's 1999" seemed SO far away!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
• You ever owned or wanted any of the NKOTB action figures or dolls.
  
• You remember when Deborah Gibson was "Debbie" Gibson
  
  

Wow!! That just gave me a lot of flashbacks!! All of those pertain to me at sometime in my life! If I can find any pictures I'll post them later!

No and Mine

Wahooo!!!! Katera is actually starting to say more words. Maybe we won't need to have her evaluated by the health department. I was swinging her on the swingset out back and after about 10 minutes- and me starting to get nautious watching her - I asked if she was ready to get out. She responded with a cute little "no" instead of her usual "uh-uh". Another time she had something in her hands and hugged it to her as she said "nine", which means mine. I know those aren't two words most mothers really want to hear from their 18 month old, but at this point any word is great to hear out of her mouth.

Today was gymnastics for Sekoya. I dropped her off and then ran a couple of errands. When I was dropping her off I started to walk with her into the school. She said "Stay there!! I can do it myself!" After gymnastics we always go to dinner. We have been to McDonalds, Little Ceasars, the Dairy, and tonight was Pizza Hut. Grandma Sindy came with us last week and this week. It is fun to have her come with us so we get her undivided attention.

We walked Sekoya to school yesterday and on the way back Katera stood up in the bike stroller and was giggling as the breeze blew through her hair. I don't know if she felt like she was flying or what, but she loved it and just kept turning around and grinning at me. When we got home she refused to go inside so we walked around our house and the neighbors. She kept finding birds in the trees and pointing at them. She loves to watch for birds out the windows.

I haven't had any work phone calls all week! It has acutally been really nice not to get interrrupted when I am reading a book to my girls or playing with them. It almost makes me think twice about this working from home situation. Everyone always says how great it is for me to work from home and that I don't have to take my kids to the babysitter. But it definitely has it's drawbacks. Since I am at home my girls think I should be at their beckon call whenever they need something and don't understand that Mommy sometimes has to lock them out of the office to make a phone call. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just go to work at an office one day of the week and let someone else keep the kids. Then I could focus all of my attention on work when I am there and all of my attention on my kids when I am home. I don't know what I'll do. Probably just keep doing what I'm doing and try to manage my time better.

Yard work and Picnic

Today was finally a decent enough day to start on our spring yard work. Jason made repairs to our wonderful fence, ran the sprinkler sytem through a test run, and tried to replace a doorknob. Tried- because Katera got into the parts and had them so mixed up he couldn't get it together right. While he was doing that I started raking out all the dead plants and weeds from our flower beds. We are going to rent a tiller and power rake this weekend to do some more work-maybe even get some flowers planted. In the middle of all of our work I made grilled cheese sandwiches that we ate outside. Sekoya loves to have picnics. She always wants to have a picnic, rain or shine. Both girls just love being outside especially if we are going to be out there with them.

Not much action on our house. We really thought we had some buyers last week and kind-of got our hopes up too high. They decided not to go with our house so we have been pretty bummed all week. It makes it really hard to want to put any money into our house when we hopefully aren't going to be in it much longer. But I guess we still have to be happy while we are here.

As I was tucking Sekoya into bed tonight she asked me when she was going to get a step-mother and if she would be nice. After I got done chuckling I explained to her that for her to have a step-mother I would have to die or Daddy would have to get rid of me. I would have to be gone forever. I asked her if she wanted that and she shook her head no very vigorously. I don't know what even brought that thought into her mind.

Cousins

We had a visit from Heather and family this last week. I hadn't seen her new baby-Karli- yet so it was fun to have them here. We had Shelby and Lexi spend the night on Thursday. What a silly bunch of girls they were. I tried to put Katera to bed, but she could hear the girls laughing and playing and she knew she was missing out. So she cried and carried on until 10 pm when the girls finally quieted down and fell asleep. I ended up having to put her in bed with me to get her to relax enough to fall asleep. The big girls watched Alvin and the Chipmunks, ate popcorn, and jumped around on the cushions I had made a bed out of. They were up bright and early at 7 am. After breakfast and brushing of four heads of hair they went outside and played. They were so excited when Shelby caught a butterfly and needed a jar to put it in. Then she caught two more. They had a blast in the backyard. It was really nice for me to have some girls for Sekoya to play with. Then we went to town and they played at Grandma Sindy's while I got my nails done. After that we changed into swimsuits and went swimming at the Comfort Inn. The city pool is closed to the public on Fridays! Then back to Grandma's for dinner and then home to bed!! What a long, busy day. I know my girls were glad to see their beds! Jason made it home from LA just in time to have dinner with us.

100 things about me

I am doing this one more for my posterity than for anybody else to read.... so if this bores you I really don't care!!

1. I don't like forwarded joke emails- I don't mind the inspirational ones
2. One of my pet peeves is a dirty kitchen floor so that you are stepping on grit every time you walk on it.
3. Another pet peeve is when people don't drive the speed limit, especially Jason
4. I enjoy most outdoor activities- camping, 4 wheeling, hiking, water skiing, snow skiing, etc.
5. My favorite time of the year is late spring when the temperatures haven't quite gotten too hot and there is definitely no chance of snow.
6. I don't like holidays- any of them. There is too much anticipation and commercialization and they are almost always a let down once they get here. Not to mention all the work they are to prepare for.
7. I am a blunt and to the point person and I don't usually hold back when I have an opinion
8. I prefer to be by myself or with my husband and kids. I don't enjoy big crowds and lots of people/action
9. I don't believe in men's chores and women's chores. Just household chores that everyone can pitch in and help with. (men can do bathrooms and women can mow the lawn)
10. I love tomatoes and avacodos. I can eat either of them with just a little bit of salt.
11. I like to watch my kids play when they don't know I am watching them. It's fun to hear the little conversations they have and pretend.
12. Wow 100 things is a lot. I don't think I am that interesting!!
13. I don't like to cook, mostly because my kids won't eat what I make so what is the point
14. I like bright, fun colors
15. I got married when I was 17 to the love of my life. (my girls- don't think you get to do that)
16. I like to shop by myself. I don't like to have girlfriends or any one else with me.
17. I am an internet junkie. I like to surf blogs, diagnose my kids ilnesses, shop, and keep up on the world.
18. I spend way more money on clothes and toys for my kids than on myself.
19. I would like to travel with Jason once our kids are all raised.
20. I want to take our kids to Hawaii when they are all big enough to sit still for an 8 hour flight.
21. I like to eat something sweet after every meal, and a few in between! Preferrably chocolate.
22. I like Coke on ice from McDonald's. I am very picky about my Coke!
23. I like to play games with a small group of friends.
24. I love to read, mostly LDS suspense novels. My horizons have been broadened a bit thanks to other blogger's suggestions.
25. I have never had stitches and only one broken bone when I was about three.
26. I have wrecked a truck and Honda 90 motorcycle. No major injuries in either
27. I really dislike kids games- mostly because Sekoya is such a poor sport right now.
28. I don't shave my legs every day. I know that is probably gross to some of you, but what's the point when nobody sees them?
29. I believe in routines and structure with my kids when it comes to meals, naps, and bedtimes. 30. I am not a very good neighbor. I am always too wrapped up in what my family and I are doing to reach out and see if anybody else needs something.
31. I don't like being told I can't do something- it makes me more determined to do it.
32. I always wanted to grow up and be a lawyer, until I realized that you had to defend the bad guys too.
33. I am a licensed property and casualty insurance agent and work from home
34. I can wiggle my ears without touching them.
35. My favorite movies are romantic comedies and suspense- not the thriller kind
36. I absolutely love Jason's grandparents and am so glad that I can call them mine too.
37. I love to cuddle up in a blanket with Jason or my girls
38. I like to have pedicures and get rid of my scratchy feet
39. If I could have my mom do my hair every day I would
40. I really despise hunting and how much time and money it consumes!
41. Two of my all-time favorite movies are Dirty Dancing and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
42. I don't have a middle name and did not give either of my girls a middle name
43. I am not a "wimpy" girl scared by mice and spiders
44. I would love to own horses, but wouldn't want to take care of them
45. I like to be "in charge" and in control of everything- so does Jason so we butt heads quite often
46. I do not agree with the 'old fashioned ways' of waiting on your husband
47. I love the way my house feels after I have swept, mopped, and vacuumed the floors.
48. I played sports all growing up- softball, basketball, and volleyball- and loved it.
49. I would be happy to be about 5-6 months pregnant all the time
50. I don't get morning sickness while I am pregnant
51. I type about 75 words per minute
52. I took piano lessons until I was about 15
53. I wish my mom would not have let me quit taking piano lessons (I'm sure she would say "I told you so")
54. I would like to have my own piano and have my kids take lessons (someday I will have one)
55. I am not a parnoid person and don't worry much about anything
56. I have a habit of biting the inside of my cheeks and lips
57. My favorite food is breakfast food and I like to eat it even for dinner
58. I like most kinds of music- it just depends on what mood I am in.
59. I get pollen allergies in the spring and summer
60. I had my first "boyfriend" in preschool
61. I have traveled to Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, Jamaica, and Cayman Islands
62. I love to scuba dive and swim with the tropical fish
63. I had my first perm at about 6 months old
64. I like to eat ramen noodles raw and crunchy
65. I dated 4 guys at one time in high school
66. Jason took me to my Jr. prom
67. I have only lived in three towns since I've been married- Richfield, St. George, Monroe
68. I have worked in 6 different places since I've been married.
69. I have watched 'Days of our Lives' since I was in middle school. I just gave it up this week.
70. I don't really like to shop, I know what I want and I go to the store and get it. I don't like to look and search.
71. I am not a very organized person. I have organized clutter!
72. I prefer email to talking on the phone
73. I have very strange dreams
74. If I get woke up from a deep sleep I act very weird and say weird things.
75. I like to sit outside at dusk and watch the sky change to night and listen to the crickets
76. I'm not very tolerant of other people's children
77. I have cold feet all the time- I think it's poor circulation
78. I like climbing into bed with clean, crisp sheets
79. I don't keep a spotless house, but presentable.
80. I love Jason's crooked smile
81. I sluffed classes all the time in High School and my mom would cover for me
82. I was a peer tutor in first grade
83. I peed my pants twice in elementary school.
84. I peed the bed until I was about 7
85. My mom was always more of a friend than a mother growing up
86. I have always been pretty healthy. I only go to the doctor for my yearly exams and maybe once more a year
87. While I was growing up we used to swim in the canal even though my parents told me not to
88. I was obsessed with Michael Jordan from age 12-16. I had posters all over my room and would buy all the shirts and anything else that had to do with him.
89. I went on the school sponsored Washington D.C. trip in 8th grade.
90. I regret how I treated my mom when I was a teenager.
91. I don't remember half the people that were in my grade in school
92. I have always had a lot of confidence and don't feel inferior to anybody
93. I am the finance person in our household. I pay the bills, balance the checkbook, and try to maintain a budget.
94. It doesn't gross me out to eat my kids unfinished food or to wipe their yucky noses with my bare fingers. Just my own kids though, I wouldn't do that with anyone elses.
95. I have always wanted jet black hair
96. I am not hip and up to date with the latest trends and styles- that costs too much money!
97. If I were to have any type of cosmetic surgery it would be a tummy tuck and liposuction. I don't care about the size of my chest.
98. I carved a boy's name into my leg with a pocket knife when I was in middle school. I know how stupid that was now!
99. I had my first kiss when I was in 8th grade- Jake Staples (or Jacob Freeborn, whatever he goes by)
100. I have never been ice skating

Wow!! That was hard to think of 100 things. It only took me about 5 days!

St. George weekend

Jason had a SCI banquet in St. George so I decided to go and play in the sunshine!! Right when we got there my little sis, Kacey, was taking her boys to an indoor play place called Jumping Jacks. It had about 8-10 inflatable bounce houses and slides for the kids to run and play on. The floor was soft foam also. Sekoya had a blast!! She wouldn't slow down for even two seconds for me to get a picture. It took Katera a few minutes to warm up- she was tired from the ride down and no nap. Once she finally figured out that she wasn't going to get hurt she had a lot of fun too. It was funny to watch her try and jump. She never got her feet off the ground. She had fun trying to keep up with the kids. Here she is holding hands with Tallen .

After that we hung out with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Don. Sekoya was so excited to see them. She hasn't seen them since our trip in January. The girls played out back--Sekoya in the apricot tree and Katera in the dirt. We love visiting with them. They are always so happy to see us and are so loving and patient with our rambunctious kids. I am so glad to have grandparents that love us so much- and we love them!!





We hung out at the hotel a little bit. We played in the pool and hot tub. Sekoya likes the hot tub better than the pool. It isn't any hotter than the baths that I run for them so I don't worry about her. Katera did much better on this trip--no throwing up and she slept pretty good.

Jason spent most of the weekend helping and preparing for the banquet. So we didn't see him other than the short time we spent at the Rosenbruch museum checking out the animals. Katera was completely in awe over all the animals. She kept ooohing and aaahing and making the sounds of the animals that she knew. I kind-of caught her wrinkled nose bear growl with Jason.

They have a touch and feel room where the kids can touch a few of the animals and play hunter. Katera loved this bobcat and kept petting it. She didn't really like the bear-she was scared. Sekoya wasn't scared to pose for a picture though. Sekoya found a little friend and they played in the clubhouse like they were little adventurers.






















I attempted to go out to eat by myself with my two girls. We got our name on the waiting list at Chili's, but we never even got seated. Katera was being such a brat and wouldn't stay by me. When I tried to keep her on my lap she just cried and wiggled. I kept getting looks from other people waiting like "you've got to be kidding". And I was kidding myself to think that I could manage those two in a restaurant by myself. So we left and ended up eating Target deli food. It was gross and none of us even finished our dinner. I went back to the hotel, got my girls to sleep and put a movie in the portable DVD player with headphones. I watched Kite Runner. It was subtitled for 3/4 of the movie-- it was all in Arabic or some other Islamic language. I don't know that I would recommend it to anybody, but I had to watch to the end to see what happened.

This is our ride home. Katera traveled much better home this trip. Sekoya finally fell asleep the last 30 minutes of the ride. They had a busy weekend.

18 month check up

Katera had her 18 month check up yesterday. She is healthy and growing- little by little. She only weighs 22.2 lbs and is 31.5 in tall. That puts her in the 50% in height and 25% in weight. The doctor isn't worried about her being small because that has been her trend since she was born. We are getting a little concerned about her not talking. Well, she talks and jabbers, but it is definitely her own language. They are going to send someone from public health to evaluate her and see if we need to start some therapy with her. I just want to make sure and take care of it before she gets too old and it becomes a big problem for her in life.

We love our little "Care Bear"!! She is developing quite the attitude. I think that has something to do with watching and copying her big sister. She knows how to communicate what she wants by pointing to something and then to herself. She is very good at saying "uh uh" when she means no. She does say mama (so sweet), night-night, hieee, all gone, uh oh, and more. I can tell when she tries to say other words, but they come out sounding like jibberish. She has become more of a cuddler, especially with Jason. When he is home you can find him with his girls under each of his arms watching cartoons. She likes to have me hold her and hum when it is naptime or bedtime. While I am humming she rubs my arms and hums with me. She is always right under my feet no matter what I am doing. She is great at helping me empty the dishwasher. She always wants to be helping- cook, clean, dishes, etc. She is going to be my super helper girl.

changed background

Yahoo!! As you can see I figured out how to change my background. With the help of some easier to use backgrounds. Check out the link http://cutestblogontheblock.blogspot.com

Livin' on the Edge

If you could do something dangerous just once, with no risk, what would it be??

That is a hard one for me because I am NOT an adrenaline junky. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground and I hate that stomach in your throat feeling. I don't like roller coasters or other fast rides. I don't really have any phobias, but I don't really like to try new things.

I have done a lot of things that people consider 'dangerous' or 'scary': repelling, scuba diving, white water rafting, cliff diving, para sailing, jungle traversing, surfing, and any outdoor activity with my husband.

After searching the internet to see what is out there... I would have to say shark diving.

I really loved the underwater world of scuba diving. I would like to get certified so I can go any time and on deep dives. In shark diving they put you in a shark cage like you see on discovery channel and put you into shark infested waters. If you take the risk factor out of that I think it sounds amazing. I would love to be that close to a shark and have the comfort of knowing it can't hurt you.

Jason---- add yours too. He told me it is sky diving.

Moving????

For those of you who haven't heard -- we are thinking about selling our house in Monroe to move into town-Richfield. If you know of any potential buyers send them our way!! We always knew that we would move to Richfield eventually. I just thought it would be a few more years down the road. But no, my wonderful and scheming husband threw me for a loop when he said he drove by a house in town that he would like. So that got my wheels turning about how much easier it would be to live in town. Now we are checking with a realtor to see what our house could sell for and doing the money crunching to see if we could afford the one in Richfield. It seems like we always make a major life change every 2-3 years. Whether it is a job change or house change it always comes in that time frame. I would LOVE to live in town to be closer to grocery shopping, kids city sponsered activities, dentists and doctors, and FAMILY. It seems like we haven't seen much more of the family than we did when we lived in St. George. And we are only 10 miles away! We would be sacrificing a little land, but I think I could handle a smaller yard. Mowing the lawn might only take one hour instead of two! It all depends on our house selling and for what price!! I'll keep you posted!

Hypopesis

According to Sekoya a "hypopesis" (hypothesis) is- when you put clues together and make a guess. We were in her toy room yesterday putting together a puzzle and she turned to Jason and asked him what his hypopesis was for where a piece goes. She heard that on an episode of Magic School Bus.

She had her dental exam and cleaning today. She was very brave and didn't even wiggle much. the dental hygienists were so amazed at how she behaved and she even let them do all the x-rays. She learned all about sugar bugs and how they make holes in your teeth if you don't brush good. They painted her teeth so she could see if she had sugar bugs (plaque) and she only had a little bit on her eye teeth. She was cavity free!!! Yeah!!!!!

Conference weekend

Other than we didn't watch one minute of Conference. Bad, Bad!! It's really hard when you have little ones distracting you. I know that isn't a very good excuse, but that's all I've got!

Saturday I spent half the day scrapbooking at Cortney's store. Jason met me in town later in the afternoon to take the girls to see Nim's Island. Only 30 minutes into the movie I left to take Katera to Grandma Sindy. She was way to busy for the movie. We loved the movie. At one point we needed a refill on our drink and popcorn. Usually Sekoya is very eager to be big and go do it herself. But she wouldn't take her eyes off the screen as she said "NO, you go do it." Then Jason went with all the guys to the priesthood session--see at least one of us got edified! I took the girls home to eat and get ready for bed. I left them with a babysitter and went to Kirk and Maridon's to have our Lake Powell planning pow wow. We are so excited for our summer vacation!

Sunday was back to town again to cut hair and go to dinner at Kirk and Maridon's. Brent, Joan and family were on their way home from conference and stopped for dinner. We take every chance we get to see the out of town family. It doesn't happen very often.

Gymnastics & Fun with balloons

I signed Sekoya up for the six week gymnastics class that the city offers. We had her in gymnastics last summer with one of the local gyms and she loved it. Yesterday was her first class. She is not the most coordinated kid, but hopefully this class will help. She just loves any kind of structured class. She especially loves this one because it lets her jump, climb, and do all the acrobatics that I don't allow in the house.

I bought some of the punch balloons this week and they have provided lots of entertainment. Katera just loves to swing them both around. Sekoya likes to punch us in the face with it, which is OK a couple of times.

Kid's Tag

Here are Sekoya's responses to the incomplete sentences....

You can lead a horse to water but. . . . . . . . . . you have to pull on it's leash.

Give me liberty or give me. . . . . . . . . . . . .a horse.

Many hands make. . . . . . . . . . . . four?

Too many cooks. . . . . . . . . . for too many bellies.

A penny saved is. . . . . . . . . . . a quarter?

An apple a day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . for an empty tummy.

Beauty is. . . . . . . . . . . . . polish. (nail polish)

I'm so hungry I could. . . . . . . . . . .eat everything in sight.

There's no place like. . . . . . . . . . . .home. (she has seen the Wizard of Oz a few times)

If you can't stand the heat. . . . . . . . . . . .get a water bottle.

The only thing we have to fear is . . . . . . . . . . a tiger.

Money doesn't grow on . . . . . . . . . trees. ( I think that was just the most logical answer)

You can't teach and old dog. . . . . . . . . . . to fetch.

Better late than. . . . . . . . . . .far.

When it rains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . get an umbrella.

April showers bring. . . . . . . . . . happiness.

This was really fun. She kept looking at Jason and I wondering if she was giving the right answers. We just kept telling her that what ever she said was the right answer. It's fun to see how her little mind works. Kids are great!!