Happy Birthday Kaela!

Our little girl is 8 years old today. I remember how excited we were to finally be having a girl after 3 boys. She brings so much love and excitement into our family. She definetly teaches the boys what its like to have to live with a girl. Kaela is one tough little cookie, I guess you'd have to be living with 5 brothers. She doesn't put up with anything from them! I love that she is strong and independent but is also sensitive and loves to be girly. She teaches me to be more compassionate and take time to listen to her. She is a great big sister, and loves that she is no longer the only girl. Happy Birthday Kaela, we love you!

Remembering my Dad

Three years ago today my dad passed away after a long and very courageous battle with cancer. Although the pain of losing him has subsided, I still miss him more than ever. Life is never quite the same when someone you love is gone, especially when they hold such a big piece of your heart. My dad was such an incredible person, he seemed to have the answer to everything and I miss being able to ask for his advice. He loved being a grandpa, or Papa as the kids called him. Darrin & Kyle have great memories of him, but my little kids will never know him. I hope I can keep his memory alive for them and be able to share with them just how much he loved them. I don't want to be sad today, I want to be grateful for the time we did have because I know that we will be together again. I love you dad!

Is he your son?

This is not a vent, I am not a venter (at least I don't think I am!) This is more of an observation, or a "Here's your sign moment". I spent all day yesterday with Darrin at an appointment with his hand doctor, he is having surgery to repair the cartilage that was torn when he broke his wrist. Anyway, the nurse talking to us turned to me and asked if he was my son. Obviously we don't look alike but come on, who else would I take to the doctor, my brother, my nephew, the neighbor boy? It is not offensive just to me a really unnecessary question. The funny thing is that our differences are never an issue until somebody else points it out. All it takes is a questioning look and I know what they are thinking. Yes he is mine and I am proud of it. Maybe that should be my quick comeback next time. Another thing happened at Kohls the other day. I was having a conversation with the cashier and he made the comment that I didn't look old enough to have a 15 year old son. I think this is supposed to be taken as a compliment, but I only think it works if you are like in your 50's. How old did he think I was? I know I don't look 21, then I would definitely not be old enough to have a 15 year old. I assured him I was old enough, in fact I was old enough to have 7 kids! Just to ease your curiosity-because I know you are-I was 18 (3 weeks shy of 19) when I had Darrin at a tiny little hospital in Hawaii with my mom and dad by my side. It was most definitely the happiest and scariest day of my life! I am so proud of my son, he is such an incredible person. He is smart, extremely athletic, and super cute. I know he may have to face some challenges in this life that I have never had to, but I hope most people will take the time to know him for who he is. So yes, he is my son.

Snow Day!

Saturday we took a day trip with the Bailey's to play in the snow. We have never taken the kids to the snow before so they were all super excited. I think we went to every Goodwill in a 50 mile radius looking for snow gear and boots and were actually pretty lucky with what we found. Randy's sister had a lot of snow stuff too so we were all outfitted for the cold. We found a great place just outside of Payson with tons of snow and a great hill for sledding. We spent close to 4 hours sledding, building snowmen and just having fun. It was great to watch all the kids play in the snow. Trevor would hike his little body up the hill and then just start running down, fall, get up and run some more, fall again and repeat until he made it down the side of the mountain. Ryan was so proud of the ramp he made, Darrin did a good job catching air off of it too. Kaela and Kyle built their first snowmen and even I made my brave self sled down the hill, I haven't laughed that hard in awhile! Logan thought everything was "Awesome!" and spent his time playing chicken with everyone sledding down the hill. Randy was not quite so brave, but we did enjoy his hot chocolate. Besides dealing with car sickness (sorry B's we owe you!) it was a great day, with great friends and I know the kids will remember this for a long time. We are already looking forward to next year!

Definetly not an Expert

You would think by now I would have it all figured out. Or I guess I think I should since I do have like a million kids. Whatever you do, don't ask me for advice because really I have no idea what I am doing! I have been trying to potty train my son since last summer, this should be old hat by now since he is the 6th one! I don't know why some kids are more stubborn than others but let's just say I am so glad I only have one left to go. I think I can finally say he's got it figured out, we are at least staying dry all day. It is so cute to see him all of a sudden making a beeline for the bathroom and taking care of business all by himself. One milestone down, one to go. Why won't my baby sleep through the night?! She is 10 months old for pete's sake! (who is Pete anyway?) All of my kids have been great sleepers, nice long naps, sleep all night by 4 months, so nice! I don't know what her deal is, except that she is a momma's girl. I should feel needed but I don't, I'm really over it. I keep thinking it won't last forever, she is my last baby and I do enjoy it but I really, really want to sleep. I am a much happier mommy when I sleep. I checked out at least 10 different books at the library on how to make this happen. I was surprised none of them suggested tranquilizers, not one! Anyway, one did seem to make some sense and I have been following it pretty closely, nothing weird just timing of naps and bedtime. Last night she finally slept 8 full hours, woke up for a bottle and slept 4 more. Yeah! Ironically it was the worst night of sleep for me in a long time, I am too used to waking up every 3 hours! I really hope this works and she will be sleeping (like a baby!) very soon.

CouponSense

Some of you may have heard me talk about CouponSense before but I just have to share how much I love this program. If you're not familiar, it is an online coupon system that basically makes couponing so much easier. It matches the store sales with coupons so you get the most for your money. Of course you could do it on your own, but I never would. The deals the last few weeks have been amazing! My pantry is bursting, both of my fridges and freezers are full and even my laundry room is being used to store food. I hardly buy anything over $1 and quite often you can get things for free. I don't get anything for sharing this info, just wanted to pass along what I think is a great deal. Check it out at couponsense.com