Endings and Beginnings

I've been entertaining the idea of blogging again and now that life has simmered a bit, I think I'll indulge. It's been a long while since I last posted, apparently over a year. Sometimes you just want to keep things private. But instead of seeing this as a public space, I think I'll try viewing it as a journal of sorts. Afterall, once you put something out into cyberspace it is pretty much there forever.

So, things that have happened over the last year and a half:

1. Surgery
2. Pregnancy and birth of my daughter
3. Continuing toward my college degree
4. Putting my oldest son in public school and homeschooling my younger sons
5. Joining the PTA board at my son's school
6. The last births I've attended as a doula...meaning a doula-ing hiatus for at least several years to come
7.The passing of my grampa

Whew! What big events those all are in a relatively short amount of time! I'll post more about those things that may or may not come in the order listed above. There are also so many good things to come! A few of those include:

* Braxton's 8th birthday and baptism
*Planning our next family vacation
*Family stuff

Oh! And now that I've found the USB thing we use for cellphone pictures, I can post pictures! Woohoo!

September

We'll start at the end of August....

*Paul, our boys, and I were sealed together for all time and eternity on our 7th wedding anniversary (and my birthday) at the Salt Lake Temple. It was so beautiful. I am full of gratitude and love for those who came to support our sealing. It was neat too, as my cousin and his wife were married later that week so Paul and I had a chance to see a temple marriage so soon after our own. Absolutely wonderful.

*Kade started speech therapy. He's been going twice a week since the end of August and his speech has improved dramatically already. Not only is he doing well during sessiosn, but he's spontaneously using the correct letter sounds at home too!

And throughout September...

*Trent's vocabulary has just soared! He says at least 40 words, with new words added daily. At 17 months he folds his arms for prayers, eats well with a spoon and fork, drinks from a regular cup all by himself, kicks a ball, walks well, tries to run, enjoys "reading", throws paper airplanes, loves to pretend and dress-up, always says "thanks" after receiving something, says "amen" after bedtime prayers, loves feeding the ducks and chickens, thinks showers are the best thing in the world, poops regularly in the potty, and lots more. Yes, he is still a breastfed babe!

*Kade is trying out riding Braxton's two wheeler bike and actually stays on by himself for a moment or two! He is so amazing. Kade started school at a private preschool (yes, we are still homeschoolers!) so that he can make friends with some other kids his age. He loves it there. His teacher was a homeschooling mom herself and has taught preschool for over 20 years. Every day that I pick him up he is just so excited from the time he spent at school. When I ask him what did he do that morning he says, "I played with toys, I ate a yummy snack, I sang some songs, Read some books.....it was so much fun!!"

*Braxton's reading and math skills have really taken off. He enjoys reading the children's versions of The Book of Mormon, Old Testament, New Testament, and then of course Dr. Seuss, Arthur series, and anything that has anything to do with the ocean. His new favorite obsession though is paper airplanes. All day long he is working on those engineering skills as he designs and formats new plane ideas.

*We ate our rooster. Yes. It's true. And I don't advise anyone to eat a 1 year old bird. It was awful. Not only was the slaughtering horrific, but the taste was just terrible. Whiskey enjoyed it though.

*We acquired two new ducks, after finding out the three remaining ducks were all boys. Boo. So now we have two egg layers that we are waiting on to lay eggs. And since we don't want to just feed lots of male ducks, we gave away 2 of the 3 males. I would like to believe that they are now living happily together in a nice yard, enjoying shade and a lovely pool of water, but I think the lady who picked them up was licking her lips too much for that to happen. I have a feeling she ate orange sauce today.

*We went to the Utah State Fair and had a fantastic time. We don't do the rides or much of the expensive food. Instead we enjoy seeing the animals, the crafts, and watching the various magic shows. And the Ice Cream Festival. Oh yes, my friends, an ICE CREAM FESTIVAL. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I think this about sums up the last month and a half. I can't believe the year is 3/4 of the way over already. Now we are getting ready for Halloween, Braxton's 6th(!!!) birthday, Puerrrrrto Rrrrriico(!!), and then the holidays. Whew! That's exhausting just thinking about it. Oh, and I found a snail in the washer today. It came from Kade's pocket. I remembered after pulling the gooey-shelled creature from the penny catcher that Kade had put a snail in his pocket while we were on a walk the other day. Good times.

What's New?

Well..hmmm...lots. Shall we start individually?  Youngest goes first...

Trent - He is 16 months old now and has all of his teeth. He can say many things, but usually only in front of me. Sometimes to Paul. But here's the short list, "mama", "dada", "no", "pee", "ew", "what's that?", "who's that?", "woof", "meow", "need", "hi", "boo", "water", "tree", "one, two, three". Trent loves tickling, growling, using different voices to be different "characters", like Batman, and just loves doing whatever the Big Boys are doing. Oh! And he's walking. Yes, folks, that's right. On August 17th Trent walked from one end of the house to other all by himself!  And yes, he is still happily breastfed. :)

Kade - Has a vocabularly that is growing a mile a minute. He will also be starting speech therapy next month, so that everyone can understand his hundreds of new words. During his evaluation we found out just how smart he is and let's just say he can comprehend the same as those who are twice his age. Which reminds me, Kade is 3 1/2 next month. He is a pro-tricycle rider and I think he's ready for a big boy bike with training wheels. He loves to draw (just look at the walls!) and is doing great at tracing his name and numbers. He can recite our address and has an amazing imagination. Kade is my superhero.

Braxton - He is 5 3/4. And if you say anything else you are going to hear about it. He reads well and does simple math well. Braxton loves riding his scooter, flying paper airplanes, and has a current interest in origami. He has lost his bottom front baby teeth and the adult teeth are almost all the way in. It seems as though Braxton has lost his interest in Bionicles, which is big, since for about a year or more he would only eat, sleep, and breath Bionicles.

Paul and Kimberly - I suppose the biggest new change in our life though would be spiritual. Since the end of May, Paul, the boys, and I have been going to church together. Yes, it's true. My path down the wiccan road has come to an end. I am proud to announce that I have found my way back to "the church". I am a Latter Day Saint and very, very happy. Paul and I were recently endowed. That in and of itself was wonderful. And quickly arriving, on our 7th wedding anniversary and my 25th birthday, Paul and I will be sealed to one another and our children to become an eternal family. Our lives have become filled with happiness, hope, love, and peace. Choosing to live by the gospel has truly been a blessing to our home.

While putting on eyeshadow this morning:

"Mom, that eye make-up sure makes you look stylish. You are so beautiful. And gorgeous!" - Braxton

Braxton has always been so good at making me feel good about myself. I remember when he was 18 months old and we were on vacation in Florida, we had walked past a model doing a photo shoot at this historical building and I watched for a moment, totally taken back by her beauty. Walking away from her I felt so ugly. And then my sweet toddler looks up at me from his stroller and says, "Mama, you are so pretty."

Year of Commitments: January - April Review

We stuck to our limit of tv time pretty well in January and have been better off for it. Since then we've had the tv on much less and are finding more activities to do together. There is a lot more creativity going on in the games my boys play. And lots more animated voice character changes too.

February was overall pretty successful. If you don't know what February's commitment I have one word to refresh your memory: giggity. Although I will admit that February's activity hasn't made an impact in these following months.

March involved eating A LOT of oatmeal, eggs, toast, and muffins. I have been cooking more (Dr. Seuess eggs...mmmmmmm) but the boys still love cold cereal and fruit and frequently prefer that over a big breakfast.

April wasn't as successful as one would hope, but I did try various other hairstyles so that I wasn't only wearing a ponytail. I have considered wearing make-up, but some days it just doesn't feel worth it.

May is to make my bed daily and I will confess that so far that's only happened 2 out of the 9 days we are into the month. I should hide my face in shame, but instead I'll keep my chin up as tomorrow is a new day.

Owl Mama: Live Feed

It's pretty neat. You can watch the mama owl as she awaits the hatching of her little owlets.

Molly and McGee

Mega Update

I know, I know, it's been a month since I last blogged. So here is what has happened in our lives over the last month:

Trent - has become so very fast at crawling, pulls up to stand on EVERYTHING, asks "what's that?"and "who's that?" all day long, says "wuv", "mama", "dada", "yes", and mimics a whole lot more.

Kade - turned 3!! My sweet babe has turned into quite the monster, but so goes with the territory of a having a three year old. The day before his actual birthday we took him to the dinosaur museum with our family and my younger sister's family and they got to make some awesome fossil moldings. The 3 year olds made raptor claws and the 5 year old made a T-Rex tooth. The rest of the night and all the next day Kade refused to part with his "Happy Burtday Rapper Claw". On his birthday he was ever so satisfied when he opened an overwhelming amount of train gifts (thanks, family!!) and has been in love ever since.

Braxton - had his first piano performance and did fantastic! Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star never sounded more beautiful. We are taking break from taekwondo for a little while and really focusing on the music. He is just thriving and really enjoys it.

Paul - turned 27!! Yep, his birthday is the day after Kade's. We had a very romantic date and enjoyed getting fancied up for our dinner reservations at The Roof (courtesy of my most recent client, thank you!!). The food was excellent, the music wonderful, and I can't tell you how nice it was to spend a few hours just enjoying one another's company. Paul had also been busy making a toy room downstairs! We are leaving the walls unfinished for now so that the kids can express their artistic urges freely and the floor made up of the mats one would find in a karate studio. It's awesome having a living room again!

Myself -exactly one month ago I attended a client for the first time in a year. My goodness, it was a beautiful birth. And my amazing friend, Megan, watched my boys for me overnight. I'm so thankful to have Megan as such a close friend. She is the best! And since then I have been putting together birthday plans and playing host as we get through all the birthday-ness. And woohoo for mail packages containing uteruses, pelvises, placentas, and more! Oh..and I have read The Best Birth (DON'T READ!), The Blue Cotton Gown (READ!), A Pea In A Pod (READ!), Homebirth in the Hospital (READ!), and Real Birth (READ!) along with the first two books in The Hunger Games. And if you haven't read those, stop whatever it is you are doing right this moment and read them!!

Together we have planted our starts and as of this evening we have about 45 yellow tomatos sproutlings. The boys love to go down and look every morning and night for new sprouts. We are still patiently waiting for our chickens to provide us with a bounty of eggs but have faith it'll happen soon. Lastly, we are learning Italian as a family. The boys are such sponges and are soaking it all up!

Ciao!

a little bit of everything

Gah. I am good at the taking of pictures, but not so good at the posting of pictures. Sooo...one of these days I'll do another mass picture post.

In other news, Trent is a crawler! For one whole week he's been making his way about the house and everyday he's getting farther and faster. And let me tell you, crawling on hardwood floors is NOT easy. No, no, my friends. But he has figured out a system of crawl-scooting that gets him where he wants to go.

Kade is my counter. He's taken to counting everything lately. Well, up to 15 and then he starts over. I think math skills are definitely a stronger suit for him. And his speech and vocabulary is getting so good! I am so proud of the progress he has made in the last 6 months. It was only about last August when he really started saying more than about 10-30 words (including the "words" only I could understand). He's now speaking in long sentences and understandable to everyone about 75% of the time.

Braxton has be learning the piano and is now in formal lessons (woohoo for ksl!!). After Day 1 he seems to be really enjoying them and I think this is going to be a great thing. He's also getting better at handwriting and practicing by writing letters to family members and soon to be writing to his first pen pals. So watch your mail!

In less than a month Kade will turn 3 years old and we are all so excited for his birthday. On the third birthday is when we do a friend party as well as the regular family party. We're planning on going to the dinosaur museum...woohooo!!! So while I am getting his two party details taken care of I'm also preparing for Trent's 1st birthday. Can you believe it? I know I can't. My deliously squishy tiny babe is about to become a toddler. Where, oh where, does the time go?

Hmm...any more updates? Oh! We are now learning about sharks. In our recent studies I have learned the names of all the fins...do you know them? If you didn't they are the dorsal fin, second dorsal, the caudal, the anal, the pelvic, and the pectoral. And sharks have a vertebrae, but their spine is the only bone in their body. The rest is made up of cartilege. Bet ya didn't know that, did ya?

Wishing all a belated Blessed Imbolc

Yesterday was Imbolc. It is a day that belongs to the celtic goddess Brighid (pronounced Breed). She is over home and hearth, poetry, healing, and fire. She is often viewed as a triple goddess and held in the highest honors of Goddesses and Gods.

Imbolc represents the time of the Wheel of Year when the first signs of Spring are upon us. The ice is thinning, the snow is melting, and the days are starting to feel a bit warmer. It won't be too long before the first flowers, like the daffodils, make their grand appearance to remind us that the cold and quiet of the winter doesn't last forever. Soon we'll be turning over the soil in our gardens to prepare for our first planting time.

So light the fireplace and a few candles while the Earth and our souls shake off some of that winter freeze and welcome the coming light!!

For a little more about Imbolc history check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbolc

Getting Caught Up...I love it!

So it's been a little while since I posted and lots and lots has gone on. Braxton got his orange belt in taekwondo and couldn't be prouder. I love it! He's very much into behaving as and maintaining "a black belt attitude". Kade is officially a daytime potty user! He's been so for a couple of weeks now and doing FABULOUS. Even at naps! So for now he just wears a diaper at night. Again, I love it! Trent is scooting around on his bum and rolling to get from where he needs to go. He's learned how to play peek-a-boo and says random words that I swear sound like sentences. I love it!

Potty Training: Day Three!

Oh my goodness, I am so very happy with the way this has went the past three days! By the end of the day Kade has been telling me he needs to go pee BEFORE he does it! And he even went poop, well, not in the potty, but he told me as soon as he did it and wanted to sit on the potty (he did it ON a pair of pants on the floor in the living room). And it wasn't explosive! Woohoo!! And his skin looks so good now. No more blisters!!

I think the plan is to just keep doing what we are doing. We are even going out and about and as long as I am taking him frequently (before leaving one place and upon arriving at the next and a few times in between) he's able to keep his pants dry. Maybe next week I'll be able to officially say he's out of diapers! (Well, for during daytime and naps, anyway.)

I'm so very, very, very proud of Kade. My big boy!!

Potty Training: Day Two

Today went fabulous! Only one miss and the rest of the time all potty-ness. No poop yet still, but I imagine tomorrow there will be. We shall see how that goes. I am only hoping there isn't a massive eruption or explosion of feces that covers everything within a 5 ft. radius of where he is standing/sitting when it happens. Thinking all the good pooping-in-the-potty thoughts I have.

Again, I am so very proud of Kade!

January: No tv in the mornings except for on the weekends: Week Two

The month is halfway over and we are doing great! Some days are harder than others, especially if Trent had an active night meaning I am utterly exhausted in the morning, but we are doing good. It's funny how this weekend the boys aren't even that excited for their 2 hours of Qubo like they used to be. They'd rather be reading books, playing trains, or helping create something new with the sewing machine.

Potty Training: Day One

Today we started Day One of the three days of potty training. We'll see where we are at on Day Three if Kade is actually ready, or if his poor skin got a much needed healing time. See, I know Kade isn't really ready for potty training as he doesn't tell me when he has to go, he wakes up sopping wet and could sit in it for a long while (longer though if in disposables), I strongly doubt he recognizes the urge to go pee or poop until the moment it's about to happen, and he can't go more than 30 minutes without needing to pee. Although in his defense he can get his pants down by himself and can get himself to the toilet by himself...just not ON the toilet. So why start potty training? Because his poor skin is so sensitive and needs a break from needing bum cream on all the time.

Now, how did he do today? GREAT! He went on the toilet many times today...I think no less than 13ish times. He had one miss and that was when we were at the optometrist. Yes, we even left the house to go to taekwondo, optometrist, pay a bill, and then over to Gramma's House. Only one miss, and wasn't even all the way wet to the pants, just enough to wet his underwear. We have yet to ever experience a poop on the potty, and for that I am nervous, but we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Today, I am so proud! Go Kade!

Our Discoveries of the Day

*Goat milk is delicious!

*Kade is no longer afraid of goats and thinks they happen to be silly.

*Braxton's intense memory does indeed crossover into the world of music and piano playing.

*Trent likes spinach.

*Kade enjoys taekwondo.

*Mommy CAN learn to sew!

*Tomato and Carrot soup is quite delicious.

*Brothers really are best friends.

Two New Teeth, Two Loose Teeth

Today I can see that Trent is growing his last two front teeth before working on the molars and Braxton's bottom two teeth are loose! Holy moly! I wonder how long it will take before they start falling out...I'm guessing until about June. I'm really glad Kade is done with any teething for the time being since the idea of 3 boys with new teeth popping up doesn't sound like my idea of a good time....

January: No TV except on the weekend mornings: Week One

When I first told my boys that Monday thru Friday the tv wasn't getting turned on I was recieved with looks of shock, anger, and even some tears (this includes Paul). PBS is all we ever watch and I know my Braxton and Kade have really missed Dinosaur Train, but we've been surviving. We did cave once when we went to Blockbuster to buy Up because it was on sale and Paul let the boys watch some of it that evening. But we were all together watching, so that's gotta count for something, right? Anyway, so last weekend I told my boys to pick out 5 activities to do from my big art book and we would do one a day. We haven't been great about that part...we've only done two...BUT we have been doing other things, so that's ok too. We've made giant clocks and Kwanzaa masks and the other days we have done things like going to the dinosaur museum (new members! woohoo!), planning and putting together a dessert party, going to the library, karate class, and more. There has been way more coloring going on, which has been great. And more cursive practice. It's amazing how much easier it is to learn writing in cursive than it is in print.

I am planning a visit to the Great Salt Lake next week (weather permitting) and probably going back to the aqaurium. Our dinosaur reading and researching is continuing on, but I think the boys are ready to add in trains. About half the day is spent putting together the tracks and racing the trains around. There is an awesome train museum in both Ogden and Toole and I think it's time we paid a visit.

Feeling Wingy(less)

Last night we decided it was finally time to let the chickens be out and about during the daytime (while the our very curious boxers stay inside) so before we opened the door for free roaming, we headed to the store to pick up some scissors so we could clip their flying wings (totally painless and harmless!!). Figuring we'd just hit the closest store to us, we picked Wal-mart. If you ever decide to have chickens and need to clip their wings I don't suggest going to the craft department at Wal-mart where the cranky old lady with poofy gray hair sits with a menacing stare that dares you to ask for any type of assistance for if you do may the Universe come and save you from the secret CIA moves she secretly practices on her breaks just in case someone like you happens to ask a question that she just might consider one of the most stupid questions on the face of this earth...or she might try to eat your kids. Anyway, we did dare to ask (and thank Goddess she didn't pull out the CIA moves or eat my kids, but we both know she was thinking about it) if she might happen to know which pair of scissors one should use when preparing to clip the tips of chicken feathers. She thought we were joking. After assuring her that we were indeed not joking and wanted to clip feathers she told us to go "that farm store". Yes, we know we should have gone to the farm store but we had guests who were soon coming to visit and upon their visit were planning on feasting on Oreo pies, fresh raspberries and a bit Jell-O topped with whipped cream, and orange smoothies made with non-chlorinated water as of the guests who were coming there happened to be a chlorine allergy among them and we didn't have any of the ice cubes made with the non-chlorinated water or any of the desserts made yet...we the ingredients for those up on that same shopping trip....so we didn't have time to go "the farm store". Sooooooo......while cranky old lady with poofy gray hair walked away deciding whether or not to call security on the hooligans with chickens, we picked out a grand pair of scissors (and the rest of our goodies) and headed home to clip, mix, whip, and refrigerate.

Oh...and the chickens did quite well. I think they enjoyed Kade crooning softly to them, "Don't worry little chickens, me-me keep you safe."

For more backyard chicken info check out http://www.backyardchickens.com/

Woozles, Dragons, and Igloos..Oh My!

Today was a day of:

Woozles

dragons

igloos

caribou

trains

roaring

Masiakasaurases

Today was a good day.

A Year of Commitments

At the end of every year millions of people consider what new years resolutions they would like to make. We all know what tops what is likely 90% of those lists: weight loss and financial freedom. And we all know how long those resolutions last. By February those resolutionists are paying for their Big Macs and oversized Starbucks with those handy dandy Visa cards.

For some, that may be ok. But I am taking a stand in my own life and rather than making a resolution to better my life, I'm making the commitment. One commitment for each month so that by the end of 2010 a whole new lifestyle has emerged. Hopefully, it's one for the better.

January - No tv on Mondays-Friday. Only 2 hours on the weekends for the boys and one movie on Saturday or Sunday allowed for Paul and I.

February - Sex everyday. Whether or not I am in the mood.

March - Hot breakfast everymorning; NO microwave.

April - Do hair and make-up everyday (the amount of make-up isn't important).

May - Make bed everyday.

June - Get outside to play for no less than 1 hour.

July - No fast food.

August - Put all the laundry away every day.

September - Floss daily.

October - Put aside one item daily to be donated at the end of the month.

November - Write one thing I am thankful for everyday on a post-it note and post around the door, fridge, bathroom mirror, etc.

December - Find one food to make a new recipe with every day.

By putting this out there I hope it will make for some accountability as I continue the everlasting journey to become a better wife, mother, and woman. Here we go!