Now appearing in Haws Definition

Global Warming Proof

2012-02-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

Proof that global warming exists: I have flowers growing in my yard. It is February. I guess if I can't have snow to cover up the mess that is my yard, I'll have to settle for flowers, right?

The Band

2011-12-25T22:51:00.000-08:00

Noah got a drum set for Christmas from Santa. He and Grace decided to form a band where he plays drums and she sings and plays piano. Sadly due to artistic differences they have broken up.

Daniel's Blessing...2 months late

2011-12-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

I have been looking through photos for my annual photobook that I give my mom for Christmas and found the pictures of Daniel's blessing. Since I haven't blogged in over a month, here's a treat for all my loyal followers. I blame it all on facebook.

Clean

2011-11-08T20:15:00.000-08:00

Baptism Day

Baptism

2011-11-08T19:57:00.000-08:00

My sweet 8 year old Grace got baptized on October 8th. It was wonderful to have friends and family come to support her awesome decision. We are so proud of her! I am especially grateful to my parents and my in-laws for coming and helping out so much with food, family, cleaning, Grace's dress, and tons more...and especially to the grandpa's for their wonderful talks. (Most especially to Bryce for coming despite having heart surgery a few days before flying out here from Ohio!) We love you very much and I hope Grace remembers and treasures her special day.

Halloween

2011-11-08T19:53:00.001-08:00

If you want to see my halloween costumes, look two posts down, since I tried to post it last week and just updated the old post it posted my update BEFORE my last post. Could I write POST anymore times?
post script: yes, I can.
post post script: see, I did it again.

Taking Advantage

2011-11-03T17:23:00.000-07:00

I think my kids are taking advantage of my distracted brain by asking if they can do or have something when I'm thinking of 10 other things. At random intervals throughout the day I'll see them doing something or eating something I know I wouldn't normally allow, but I vaguely remember saying, "fine" or "whatever" or "yes" to whatever they are doing while I'm changing a diaper and listening to a crying baby or screaming child, or breaking up a fight, or thinking of what to make for dinner, or whatever else is on my mind.
Then I tiredly rub my temples and sigh and think, one day I'll be able to use my brain again, right?

Halloween

2011-11-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

I tried to post these a week ago, but Blogger isn't letting me post pictures very well. In fact, it won't let me post the individual shots of the kids for whatever reason. But here are the group shots. We had a great Halloween and are still eating our way through the candy...I think Trevor and I are eating more than our fair share, to be honest, but don't tell my kids:)
Our costumes are: Trevor-Gru, Me-Potato chips, Grace-Athena (the goddess), Noah-Echo Echo (from Ben10), Peter-Minion from Despicable Me, Daniel-Vector (also despicable me):

Today's Lesson

2011-10-19T22:51:00.001-07:00

I took my kids to the park this afternoon to play, and was having fun watching them play in the sand and on the swings. Then this kid came by and started throwing sand at them and stole the bucket they were using to haul sand for their sand castle. At first I tried to let the kids sort it out themselves and they asked him politely to stop but he wouldn't. Peter actually joined in and threw sand at another girl as she went down the slide and it got in her eye. Of course, I ran over there, had him apologize, and told him why we don't throw sand. This other little boy did not stop, even though I was LOUDLY saying, "we don't throw sand". Finally I was fed up and I went over to him and asked him to stop throwing sand. He didn't. I admit my tone got less than friendly and while I didn't yell, I did raise my voice a bit. Another little girl was playing with my kids and her mom saw what was going on, too.
Here is the lesson I learned. While I was getting ticked off at a 5 year old, the other mom was trying to befriend him and ask him questions like his name and where did he go to school, etc. If I had tried to be nice to him instead of getting mad at him, would he have stopped throwing sand and started joining in the fun? Probably.
p.s. where were his parents, you might ask? He lived across the street from the park so his parents (I assume) were inside the house. Not supervising him. (Apparently I haven't totally learned my lesson today because I'm still a little mad at the parents)

Angry Birds

2011-10-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

We had a ton of family in town last weekend for Grace's baptism and Daniel's baby blessing (more posts to come!) However, one of my favorite things about the weekend was having my kids teach OWF (Grandpa) how to play Angry Birds on the iPad. Talk about becoming as a little child, right? LOVE it!

Freebies 2 Deals

2011-09-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

www.freebies2deals.com is one of my favorite new websites...I check it every day for deals and free stuff (I'm super cheap, and especially like free stuff). My favorite deal was $1 for a brand new game of operation from Target after using a coupon and price-matching. Sweet!

Grace

2011-09-25T19:16:00.001-07:00

Grace turned 8 and Natalie took some super awesome pics of her. For whatever reason blogger will only let me upload one. Boo. Enjoy the one, and I'll try again tomorrow:

Awww, Aren't We Cute?

2011-09-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

I think if I put a dress on Daniel he would look just like me on my blessing day. Trev and I were pretty cute babies, don't you think?

Daniel

2011-09-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks Nat, you're the best. Love the pics of our new little guy:

Welcome Home Daniel!

2011-09-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

Daniel Trevor Haws 7 lbs 8 oz. 20 inches came home today!

Idle Threats

2011-08-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

Apparently my threat-making skills are lacking. I told the boys if they didn't clean up their toys and I had to do it, I would put them in time-out for a week.
Noah said, "Good, because I hate those toys anyway".
When I threatened to take away dessert he ran downstairs to clean it up.
Sigh.

Why? Because I Am An Idiot

2011-08-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

Why did I leave the a/c off while I drove to Costco in 97 degree heat with Grace whilst 8 months pregnant? (of course I hit almost every red light, too...stinkin' karma)
Becaus I am an idiot, and because I didn't want to listen to Grace whine the whole time about not having the windows down.

Pool Party

2011-08-12T18:09:00.001-07:00

Grace had a pool party for her 8th birthday so I made her a swimming pool birthday cake, complete with diving board and swimmers. It was a lot of fun to make and Grace loved it:

Summertime Fun

2011-08-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

We decided a good way to water out side lawn (no sprinkler system) was to turn on a toy sprinkler and let the kids run through it so we keep the kids entertained while we water. Here are some pics (even Trevor got in on the fun):

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2011-08-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Grace was blocking the entrance to the front room today and the boys were climbing over her to get in and out. The following conversation ensued:
Grace: I'm not a jungle gym! (I wonder where she's heard that one before)
Me: Then get out of the doorway.
Grace: I'm just trying to have some fun this summer!
***dramatic tearful exit to the couch***

5 minutes later...

Grace: Mom, can I have a popsicle?

The Desert Wave

2011-07-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to go to Price for the 4th of July this year and hang out with my parents and my brother. My kids think Price has the best fireworks ever (although I think they must have forgotten Disneyland). After a hard day of shoving a refrigerator up a narrow flight of stairs (twice) we celebrated by going to the Desert Wave pool the next day. The kids had a great time, and so did Trevor and I (although I think Trevor had more fun than I did). He officially is more fun than I am, and I'm okay with it.

Pete Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

2011-07-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Peter turned 3 this year and in true Alisa fashion I put off doing anything until it was pretty last minute. He wanted a Little Einstein's party, but Cars2 came out right around his birthday and he changed his mind. Sooooo, he got a 3 shaped racing track birthday cake complete with Cars candles. We also saw Cars2 at the drive-in and had cousins/friends over for cake and ice cream. Peter was pretty excited about having a birthday and kept saying, "Mom, say Happy Birthday to me" so I would say "Happy Birthday, Peter!" and he would say, "Thanks, Mom!" So cute. He is a sweetheart with a smile of gold which he uses every time he gets into trouble (which is often). We are super lucky to have him in our family!

Uncles

2011-07-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

All of my brothers came to Salt Lake for Benjamin(my nephew)'s baby blessing. The kids paused briefly to take pictures with them (except Lindsay because he's lame and left before I thought of it):

How Many Months Ago Was Easter?

2011-07-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, we did celebrate Easter...in April. I think. It was a long time ago, I know. The Easter Bunny brought them all new Webkinz and some snazzy Sunday clothes. We had a great time together and had a pretty fun easter egg hung on the Saturday before Easter. I think I videotaped the Easter egg hunt, which means you'll probably never see it. I can't get blogger to take my videos. Whatevs. Enjoy the pics.

Get Ready

2011-07-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

Let's face it, I've been a lazy blogger, particularly regarding picture posting. I decided today to finally upload my pictures onto the computer so I have no more excuses now. Get ready for a barrage of picture-filled really old posts.
Grace was the bullfrog in the 2nd grade play at her school. She was really funny and did a great job. Her teacher, Ms. Clinton was in charge of the play and was a fantastic director (and teacher). Grace had a ton of fun working on the play, and wants to keep acting.

Argumentative

2011-07-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

Peter: Can I wear these boots?
Me: I don't think they fit anymore and they are winter boots.
Peter: Please?
Me: Fine
Peter: I can't get this on
Me: It's too small for you, your feet grew
Peter: Uh-uh
Me: They don't fit, Peter
Peter: Yes they do....Stop moving feet! Ow! Oh! I did it by myself.
Me: Peter your shorts are on backwards.
Peter: No they aren't.

Trevor says they learn how to argue from me, but I disagree.

Dirty Looks

2011-07-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

I am babysitting for a friend while she goes to the doctor this morning so I had 6 kids with me at the park. Then I decided to run to the grocery store to pick up a few things. With 6 kids. I maybe should have thought about it more, but they were surprisingly good (for 6 kids in a grocery store). I have to admit, though, I got several sets of dirty looks as I walked around with my 6 kids and a very large pregnant belly. I suppose they all could have been mine...if I had had 3 sets of twins...
I'm also pretty sure when I go to Costco with my brother and my kids people think we are married. Which is weird. Especially when he has his baby with him and I have my large pregnant belly (extra dirty looks those days).

The Olden Days

2011-07-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some papers and I struck gold when I found my parent's wedding invitation. I know the scan isn't super, but look how cute they are! I especially love the top hat my dad is holding, AND my mom made her own wedding dress, which is hard to see, but trust me, it's pretty gorgeous. No wonder I turned out so great with parents like this:

Tired

2011-07-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Last night Peter fell asleep on the way home from Price, so we put him on our bed when we got home. Trevor and I heard him crying a bit so I went in to check on him...only to find an empty bed.
He had crawled into the dirty laundry basket and fell back asleep. Sadly, my hysterical laughter woke him up.

Born to Run

2011-07-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

As I huff and puff just to walk up the stairs at my house I fondly remember when I could run (not well, mind you, but run nonetheless). I probably am romanticizing running because I also vaguely remember how painful and bleh-y it was. My sweet sister in law got me the book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall for my birthday and I am 15 chapters in. I really am enjoying it so far, but my favorite quotes so far have resonated with my personal philosophy on running: "It's not that I'm even all that crazy about running. If I totaled all th emiles I'd ever run, half were aching drudgery." and "I didn't love running, but I wanted to."
So if you feel so inclined you should read it. It's pretty cool so far. You can thank me with expensive gifts.

A Walk in the Country

2011-07-04T16:40:00.000-07:00

I took Barkley on a walk with Peter at my parent's house this morning and this is what Pete said, "Hey Mom look, poop!" and "More poop!" and "MOO!" (to the horses)

Bored

2011-06-25T14:47:00.001-07:00

Can't some of my friends start posting to their blogs so I have something to do today? Boo.

Random thought: Why are there so many teenagers at my OB appointments? It makes me so sad.

p.s. why are cookies the only thing that sound good to eat?

Peter tried to entertain me by locking himself in the downstairs bathroom and screaming hysterically while I took the doorknob off...but now that he's out and I replaced the doorknob I'm back to nothing to do.

Funny

2011-06-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

Peter loves Little Einsteins and one of his favorite episodes is about the three pigs and what he calls the "Big, Fat Wolf"

***

Noah keeps coming up with hilarious things to ask me questions about...for example he asked me the other day, "Why do you and your brothers and your mom all have brown hair and your dad doesn't?" (My dad's hair is fairly white). Bwahahaha.

To All the Father's I Know

2011-06-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

I am so lucky to have such great father's in my life. Of course, my own father is the best, and has taught me so much...my husband, Trevor, who is amazing (seriously, way more fun than I am and I'm surprised my kids even like me compared to him)...my father-in-law...and my brothers (and brothers-in-law) who are all great dads (except Nathan, but we don't need to rub it in, right? ha ha) Happy Father's Day!

Guess What...

2011-06-16T09:57:00.000-07:00

...isn't my favorite thing to do on my birthday?
Walk into the bathroom to find water all over the floor, only to find that it is because one of your children (to remain nameless since "It wasn't me!" rang throughout the house) stuffed a fist-sized ball of toilet paper in the toilet after they went #2.
On the plus side, now my bathroom floor, which was getting pretty gross, is now clean.
p.s. white tile in a bathroom is a terrible idea. terrible.

Overheard

2011-06-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

Noah and his friend were having trouble deciding what to play and it was getting a bit heated. They took some time apart and during their "break" I heard the friend say to Peter, "Pete, do you think we should play ZIP, which is a boring game, or Mario guys?" Talk about your loaded question:)

A Clean Sweep

2011-06-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Imagine a laundry basket full of junk. Then imagine a plastic crate full of junk. Then imagine you have distributed said junk all over the floor, in the closet, under the bed, shoved in nooks and crannies, etc. all over Grace's bedroom. That is what I saw this morning when I decided to help Grace clean her room. I have been telling her to clean her room for months and she keeps telling me she "likes it that way". I must have been blocking out the enormity of the mess because my brain almost exploded when I realized the full extent. I just spent about 2 hours cleaning and organizing (all the while Grace kept saying, 'oh so that's where that was' and 'I remember that!'). Sheesh. I told her if it ever got that dirty again I would strangle her. I'm pretty sure it was an idle threat...

This picture is from my nephew's baby blessing. I just wanted to show a picture of the culprit.

Progress?

2011-06-09T13:00:00.001-07:00

Peter was doing great today at no accidents in his underpants (including a drive to Grantsville) when he spilled rootbeer all over his lap. Sigh.

Parenting Success

2011-06-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

I taught Barkley, our dog, to shake. This is an actual feat because of how dumb he is. p.s. I'm counting it as a parenting success because he's kind of like a not-so-bright child...that lives outside.

The Swordfight

2011-06-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

My nephews were over this morning and were having a play swordfight. Crew was using an orange plastic machete and Ral was using a plastic scalpel from the kids' doctor kit. Hi-larious.

Memorial Day-Animal Extravaganza

2011-06-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry, Dad and Mom for this belated post about our super fun weekend in Price. We had a very fun and relaxing weekend at my parent's house which included a game afternoon (with milk and way too many cookies), s'mores, fishing for the kids, petting the lambs and goats (on loan), and good 'ol hanging out. Enjoy the pictures (my kids got to name the lambs and chose fuzzball, chocolate, and 'the hulk'--for the one with a green stripe on his forehead):

Talented

2011-06-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

I went to Grace's school talent show/bbq tonight. Grace's group (dancing to 'Party in the USA' by Miley Cyrus) was 2nd to last. It was 1 1/2 hours long. I am now very tired of telling Peter 'no, we can't leave. Grace hasn't gone yet'.
On the upside, she did a great job.

p.s. Peter pooped in the potty today. It was glorious. I have no problem admitting that poop is glorious. As long as it is in the potty and not in underpants (which it has been for the last couple days).

p.p.s. little boy underwear is the cutest. seriously. especially if it has superheroes on it.

p.p.p.s. I hate potty training. always have, always will. do not ask me for potty training advice. I am terrible at it, and am not afraid to admit it. If anyone wants to take my children and potty train them, I will let them (as long as they give them back).

Peter the Ninja

2011-05-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Peter told me today he wanted to be a ninja so he needed a ninja outfit. I told him to go get one and he said, 'oh no! I need my ninja hat!'
He came back wearing this hat and started doing his best ninja moves. I should definitely not cross him or I'll get a swift ninja kick while I'm not looking.

What I Did Last Night

2011-05-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

The Scene: The downstairs bathroom; midnight; I am holding Peter while Trevor attempts to cut his hair with the clippers.

Peter: OWWWWW! AAAAAHHHHHHH! OOOWWWWWWW! (How else do you type "screaming at the top of his lungs")
Trevor: Peter hold still and it will only take a minute
Peter: OWWW!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! NOOOOO!
Trevor: If you stop screaming I'll give you some licorice when we're done.
Peter: NOOOO! AAAAAAHHHHHH!
Alisa: My arms hurt from holding him while he's screaming and trying to kick me.
Peter: OWWW!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! I DON'T WANT MY HAIR CUT!!!!
Trevor: You're all done.
Peter: Gentle sobbing.
Alisa: Go take a shower to wash off all the hair.
Peter: NOOOOOO! I DON'T WANT A SHOWER!!!! AAAAHHHHHH!
*** after shower ***
Peter: Where's my licorice?

I swear we don't abuse him, so if you were near my house at midnight last night, that's what was REALLY happening.

Tighten Up

2011-05-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

After watching the Black Keys video for 'Tighten Up' Peter said, "I think we'd better watch that again."
He's pretty much the coolest 2 year old I know.

Best Mom Ever...And The Graduate

2011-05-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

I spent roughly 2 hours today rooting through one metric ton of legos to find all the pieces to rebuild a helicopter and a space police ship for the boys. I still didn't find all the pieces, and made do with the wrong colors occasionally, but Pete and Noah could not have been happier. I was happy when I got to shove the remaining legos back into the bin. I now officially loathe legos.
Also, Noah graduated from preschool today! He was so cute and VERY excited. He kept asking if it was time to go to graduation. He already misses school, though, which I think is a good thing. I can't believe he's starting kindergarten in the fall! Here's a pic of my super important guy:
(he decided to wear sweat-ups since it was a very special day and wanted to wear a special outfit)

Date Night

2011-05-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest (honesty isn't bragging, right?) I'm looking pretty hot today (both literally and figuratively--I'm in trouble with this pregnancy already, ugh). It's amazing how good you can look when you actually spend time styling your hair instead of just going with the good 'ol standby "ponytail".
Why all this extra effort, you ask? I have a date. With my very handsome husband of what will be 9 years next week. I love you very much, Trevor! Thank you for 9 awesome years. And thanks mom and dad for babysitting (and sorry about beginning a sentence with a preposition).
Also, to prove Trevor had hair when we got married, here's a picture:

or two:

A Tip for Husbands

2011-05-11T11:55:00.001-07:00

Never tell your wife, "I have to talk to you about something, but I can't talk right now. It's not good."
If you don't have time to talk, don't mention it at all unless you want your wife's brain to implode. Are you fired? (although if you were, you would probably have all the time in the world to talk about it) Are you dying? Did you get a sliver? Is there a terrorist threat at work? Did they run out of plastic forks and knives so you didn't eat the lunch I packed you? Really the possibilities are endless. So do your wife a favor and let her lead her sublime wifely life, oblivious of the possible threat of nuclear war until you have time to discuss it.

The Name Game

2011-05-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

Grace informed me this morning that she is the only kid in her class with a one-syllable name. She seemed disconcerted. I then mentioned that she is also the only person in our family with a one-syllable name which made her downright upset. She proceeded to go through the rest of our middle names to see if any of them were one syllable, and to her relief, Trevor's middle name, Jeff, is one syllable. Phew. Disaster averted.

***

Later on, Peter was playing Wii sports boxing (that kid is seriously technologically advanced for a 2 year old) and as he was about to punch out his opponent, he turned it off and said, that game is boring.

***

As we were reading The Book of Mormon the other day we were talking about faith (because we are super spiritual) and Noah said, 'so faith is when you believe in something that's true?' ...melt my heart...yes! Love that kid.

***

I wasn't sure if I should post this last bit because it smacks of "bragging" which is not allowed in our house, but I'm going to anyway. After being mocked by my friends for having a "girl crush" on a certain super cool girl named Catie who is not only beautiful but talented in many ways I found out this weekend that someone has a "girl crush" on me and thinks that I am super cool and wishes they could be my friend. Take that, mockers (you know who you are)!

Confession

2011-05-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

I love easy cheese...you know, the kind in a can? I also really like that cheese that comes in the crackers and cheese handisnacks. I also love really delicious cheeses like Havarti and Bleu cheese, but my guilty cheese pleasure is that processed junk with crackers. I wish I was eating more right now (I mean some...yeah, some).

I'm Getting a Little Old

2011-05-04T09:45:00.000-07:00

My Wii Age on Wii Sports is 51. That's pretty sad. I think part of the problem is that Peter turned the tv off while I was playing one of the games and the other is that I am terrible at hitting home runs on Wii Sports baseball. I guess I'll never amount to much.

A Little Put Out

2011-04-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

I recently came to the realization that due to years of not shutting the bathroom door to pee (to prevent a meltdown by one of my children), I have become a little perturbed when other people are at my house and I have to go. Silly as it may seem, shutting the door before I squat has become an inconvenience to me. It's a symptom of motherhood, I suppose, and hopefully by the time this baby is old enough to be disturbed by me NOT shutting the door I will have grown out of it.

Fine, I Can Be Wrong Once

2011-04-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Despite all my previous success in predicting baby gender, and all my inclinations to the contrary, baby #4 is a boy! I can't believe it. I really thought it was going to be a girl, and I'm not sure I've processed it yet. We are all very happy that this cutie is healthy and has all the right parts. Congrats to us!

The Sweetest Words Ever Spoken to Me

2011-04-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

"Alisa would you like me to take your kids to the store so you can take a nap?" Hallelujah! Of course! My mom knows me too well.

***

p.s. Peter keeps walking around my parents house yelling, "Kitty Cat! Where are you?" I can't imagine why it would hide from my 2 1/2 year old.

Price, UT

2011-04-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Price, UT is not the bustling metropolis you might imagine...but it does have its good points. Yesterday while driving around I saw a sign that said, "Cinco de Mayo, May 7th" bwahahahaha!
Plus my kids play outside without supervision and get along with each other which is some kind of miracle. Plus my mom likes doing stuff with them like dyeing easter eggs, making cupcakes and taking them to the dinosaur museum. Gotta love spring break!

Help

2011-04-16T08:12:00.001-07:00

If I dreamt last night that I was running, does that count as my cardio workout for today?

Compliment or Insult?

2011-04-12T15:30:00.001-07:00

Noah was watching me put makeup on the other day and he said, "why are you putting that powder stuff on your face?" I said, "It's makeup" He said, "you don't look any different after you put it on." Should I be complimented or insulted? At least he's honest, right?

Spring Soccer

2011-04-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Noah started soccer a few weeks ago and he is loving it! He is way more excited each week than last year and he has scored a goal each week so far. Luckily he gets to be on the same team as his buddies Lexi and Drew so that adds to his fun and Grace and Pete get to play with Maddie while they "watch". Here are a few quick pics, I'll try to take some better action shots as the season goes on.

Motherhood Fail

2011-04-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

I was looking back at some friend's old blogpost when I arrived at this post: http://bitnerfamily.blogspot.com/2010/05/motherhood-fail.html You should go and read it. You will laugh. The picture alone is worth looking at. Seriously, the picture alone is worthy of a "write your own caption" contest. Hilarious. And I'm saying that out of love, because I am a mom who has "failed" equally many times.

Noah's Question of the Day

2011-04-04T19:12:00.001-07:00

Overheard while using the computer tonight: "Grace, what if a real person got stuck in the toilet?"

Kilimanjaro

2011-04-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

Two of my brothers and my Dad hiked Mount Kilimanjaro a few weeks ago and I got to take a peek at some of the photos. It was pretty amazing...and it made me a little jealous although the safari pictures were my favorite and I'm not sad I missed the actual hiking part. They flew through Dubai (which my Dad described as "Vegas on Steroids") and took a pic with the world's tallest building. Enjoy! I'll think about posting some safari pictures, but there were a lot, so I may not.

Today's Question of the Day

2011-04-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Is it worth it to sort through crud you just vacuumed up from under your couch to get the lego pieces you accidentally sucked up? Or should it just be too bad for your kids that they left them out? After having chosen to sort through the crud, I would say the second...because that crud is really gross. I'm too stinking nice for my own good.

Question of the Day

2011-03-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

How come no one is calling or emailing me asking if they can give me large sums of money for no particular reason? All I get is calls from people like TruGreen persistently (and repeatedly) asking for money for things I don't really care about (like my lawn) and from the U asking for donations. boo.

Random Notes

2011-03-29T11:06:00.001-07:00

In case you aren't friends with Trevor on facebook, I had to scoop a dead rat into a grocery bag with a shovel and throw it in the garbage so Barkley would stop playing with it.

Peter thinks the words to his favorite nursery song are "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeep"

Yesterday when we dropped Noah off at school Peter asked, "when time pick up Noah?" I said, "in two hours, do you miss Noah already?" Peter replied, "Yes...actually...no."

Sweat Up Sundays

2011-03-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

We got the kids some warm-ups at Costco awhile back and Noah really embraced them the most of all three kids. In fact, since laundry day is Monday he always wears them on Tuesdays. Well, after several months, the pants are turning into floods so we got him a new pair of warm-ups, although he calls them sweat ups. We let him keep wearing his old pair of sweat ups on Sunday since Trevor wears his warm up pants Sundays after his meetings most weeks. Thus, the dawn of "Sweat Up Sundays" began a few weeks ago. Today Pete even got in on the action, although Trevor didn't (much to Noah's chagrin). Here are the boys sweatin' it up (and playing some angry birds:

In non-sweat up news, I love this picture although it's not a great photo, the subject is precious to me. It's Trevor and the boys playing legos together. They had a pretty serious battle of bad guys vs. good guys. I love seeing all my boys playing nicely together. P.S. Noah is wearing his new sweat ups in this picture...it must have been a Tuesday:)

Madness

2011-03-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

(disclaimer: usually my kids are really good and I try not to complain but I think the obnoxious things they do stand out more so if I sound a little complainy on the blog, just think of it as my way to vent on the occasional crazy days)

This is the argument my kids had in the car today:

Grace:Noah do you pinky promise not to say the pledge of allegiance when you see an American flag?

Noah: Sure. I pinky promise 10,000 times.

***Grace sees an American flag***

Grace: (in a whisper) I'm glad you didn't see that.

Noah: What?

Grace: I don't want to tell you.

Noah: Pretty please?

Grace: An American flag.

Noah: I pledge allegiance...etc.

Grace: Noah! you pinky promised!

***Grace steals Noah's super valuable paper Burger King crown; Noah tries to get it back and it rips; Noah starts to cry; I start getting mad (yelling); Grace starts crying uncontrollably; we have a "discussion" about why this is the dumbest argument ever and why pinky promises are not contractually obligatory and the kids lose dessert***

Lego Beatles

2011-03-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

A few saturdays ago Trevor and the kids created a band made entirely of legos and named them the Lego Beatles. They videotaped it with the Flip video but since they don't move it wasn't super exciting (except to listen to everyone yell at Peter to stop getting in the shot and trying to touch things). I thought they were pretty clever, especially the "drum kit" that Trevor created.

See, Mom, I'm Done!

2011-03-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

Peter likes to hide while he poops and I walked in on him accidentally today mid-business. I left and when he came out I said, "Are you done pooping?" he turned around (to show me his back) and said, "see mom, i'm done pooping." I guess being a mom comes with x-ray vision.

p.s. since none of my friends have been blogging or commenting on my blog lately I have come up with three solutions:
1) come up with something to do with my time besides check for comments on my blog.
2) think of a way to positively motivate my friends to blog more.
3) get new friends.

#3 seems easiest so sorry people, if you don't start posting more and/or commenting on my hilariously witty posts, you're out.

Disney on Ice...or How to Kill Your Husband

2011-03-11T21:41:00.000-08:00

Trevor got us tickets for Disney on Ice tonight but since Grace had a birthday party I took Noah's best bud Tate to round out our foursome. I thought it was pretty fun, I love watching ice skating (no, seriously) and the kids had a good time, especially since they were supplied with lots of snacks and glow sticks.

Tate kept trying to guess who was coming next and he says he was right, but it was so loud while he was talking that I have no idea what he was saying. I think something about 'my dad....loves....utes' may have slipped out:)

Trevor came and sat by us for the last half hour since he was in such a great mood after the Jazz loss to MINNESOTA. Boo. I think all the skating and loud disney music really cheered him up. He looked like he was considering jumping onto the ice from our suite. No, seriously.

Luckily the night is over and we can go to bed...oh wait, Peter took a nap today and is wide awake at 10:45 pm. goody.

Worst Dream Ever

2011-03-10T08:07:00.000-08:00

It is a fact that during pregnancy I have crazy dreams. While pregnant with Peter I dreamt that Barack Obama and Sarah Palin tried to campaign during a fast and testimony meeting (which I was presiding over) and I was quite put out and started yelling at them to leave.

Last night I dreamt Trevor and the kids and I were at a Black Keys concert and were shmoozing with the band and had great seats...then I had to go to the bathroom which was located outside the concert venue at a park super far away. When I finally got there none of the doors would close and there was a couple arguing in the bathroom. When I finished and got back to the concert I had to slide down a group of concert-goers to get to my seats and I couldn't find Trevor. I finally sat down super far away when Grace came to get me and show me our seats...which were by some super old people and not nearly as close as our original seats. Plus I ran into Noah playing with some "ruffians" and was quite disappointed in him. I woke up thinking, I wish I had at least heard some cool songs. How sad.

Things Kids Say

2011-03-10T08:05:00.000-08:00

After a race (to touch the front door) Noah told me, "I'm gold, Pete's silver, and you're BROND". ha ha.
***
Yesterday Grace got her benchmark math test back from her teacher (this is a placement test to measure which math level she should be in) she snatched it from me and said, "awww, only 93%!"...what a disappointment:)
***
Last night I had to go pick up Trevor from work and I took Pete with me in the hopes that he would fall asleep. What actually happened was he pouted the whole way home because he thought he was going to a Jazz game and he wasn't.

World's Worst Invention

2011-03-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

I saw this at the Dollar Store today:
Seriously, Spam isn't gross enough in a can? You have to package it in "convenient" single portions? Gross. I nearly threw up in my mouth.

I'm an Aunt! (again)

2011-03-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

Isn't my newest nephew Benjamin the sweetest! He's super cute and as an added bonus has the Christensen toe, which will surely aid him in life's adventures. Congrats to Andrew and Kelly the new mom and dad!

Good One, Noah

2011-02-25T09:35:00.001-08:00

Noah has come up with some pretty funny words lately. For example, he suggested we name the baby "oval face" of course he quickly decided that would be a better nickname for the dog.
Today while we were hanging out Noah coined the term "underchocolate" which refers to certain bodily functions my more delicate friends might not find amusing.

Well That Explains It

2011-02-24T08:14:00.000-08:00

In case you've all been wondering why I look so slovenly all the time lately and I rarely leave my house (or shower before noon)...I am pregnant! yay! Four is a nice even number, I think, so we are stopping here. Unfortunately my due date is September 11th, but if history holds the baby will be born at least a few days before that. Feel free to congratulate me now.

Utah Rules

2011-02-21T12:34:00.001-08:00

I just shoveled my driveway...while wearing flip flops. I love Utah weather almost as much as I love flip flops.

Barkley

2011-02-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

Is there some award for having the dumbest dog on the planet? Barkley kept eating his plastic food and water bowls so my mom gave me some metal pans she had laying around. Barkley is afraid of them. AFRAID. He refuses to eat out of them. Of course, if I put his food on the ground he eats just fine.
So we switched the food pan and he seemed okay...until he got neutered and is now wearing the cone of shame. I'm pretty sure the cone touched the new metal bowl and it terrorized him and he won't eat out of his bowl anymore. Seriously stupid. Ugh.
Anyone want a 6 month old idiot dog who has all his shots and is neutered? I'll give him to you cheap.

The Mexican Tooth Fairy

2011-02-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

Grace lost a tooth last night and of course the tooth fairy came to visit. Unfortunately for Grace the tooth fairy left 3 quarters and a mexican coin under her pillow. I told Grace I would trade her a quarter for her mexican coin but she wanted to keep it for some reason. Some kid in Mexico is probably wondering why he got a quarter (or celebrating? what's the exchange rate now?)

We'll Miss You

2011-02-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

Trevor's grandpa passed away this week. We will all miss Papa Haws very much! He was the sweetest man ever and we all love him!

Help Wanted

2011-02-04T10:21:00.003-08:00

Who wants to come clean my house before my in-laws get here tomorrow? I'll pay you in jelly beans.

Notes on the Day

2011-01-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

My kids have been quietly coloring at the table since we got home from school (about 50 minutes ago) what?! No fighting? This is some kind of miracle.

Peter keeps coming in the office and asking me to take the paper off all his crayons. That kid does not like crayon labels.

Last night I was putting a bandaid on my foot and Peter saw me. He decided he had an owie and so I told him I would give him a bandaid (they were his wolverine bandaids from Grandma at Christmas). I asked him where his owie was and he thought for a minute and was looking all over his arms and said, "I know owie" (which means I don't know where my owie is) so I just randomly placed one on his arm and he was happy as a clam.

Noah/Mario Turns 5

2011-01-24T13:45:00.001-08:00

Noah turned 5 last week (gasp!) and decided on a Mario themed party. I made Mario (or Luigi) hats for all the kids and Grace and Annie dressed as Princess Peach and Daisy. We had a lot of fun and it was a crazy 2 hours with 15 kids, but we had a blast. We love you Noah and hope you had a great day!

MVA

2011-01-11T10:59:00.000-08:00

...stands for Most Valuable Appliance. So far in 2011 my most important appliance has been my hairdryer because my stupid pipes have frozen twice. The first time was on New Year's Day which upon discovering I burst into tears...not ANOTHER problem with this stupid house! However, after some good counseling by a few neighbors and my trusty dad I fixed the problem. It happened again today and I knew just what to do to fix it and luckily we didn't have any pipes burst. Stupid pipes. If I didn't need them I'd punch them right in the face.

A Delicious Turn Off

2011-01-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

There is nothing more delicious than Roasted Garlic Triscuits with PepperJack Cheese...it is slightly off putting (breath wise) though, so eat with caution.

Resolutions

2011-01-04T12:38:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for the new year was to be more patient with my kids (which I so far am failing at). When I wrote it down and told everyone Noah said, "Yeah and be nicer to your kids". Zing!

***

The best thing about Netflix so far: Inspector Gadget cartoons. Sweet!

Jr. Jazz

2010-12-31T14:03:00.000-08:00

Grace joined Jr. Jazz this year, and although I don't have pictures yet, I will post some later. I was at a coaches meeting with the kids awhile back and at the end Noah said to me, "Who's going to be Grace's coach?" I said, "Daddy is" to which Noah replied, "Daddy can't be Grace's coach. He doesn't know basketball".

Mega Fort

2010-12-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

Since it's Andrew's birthday...I mean New Year's Eve...We didn't have much to do today. I haven't left the house since Sunday except to feed the dog and check the mail, which frankly is okay with me.
First we had a dance party in the laundry room, then Noah and Trevor decided to build a fort. Trevor wasn't content with a wimpy one blanket fort and turned our whole family room into MEGAFORT. It was pretty awesome. I made a snack for everyone (and Noah called me "servant" while I was passing it out) and they watched a movie on our new iPad (yep, we're fancy). p.s. Peter is dancing in the bottom picture, not screaming out in pain.

Pumping Iron

2010-12-31T13:34:00.000-08:00

For Trevor's birthday he cancelled his gym membership and got a weight bench so he can workout at home full time. Peter was the most excited about the weight bench and kept asking me (repeatedly) when I was going to "Fix...weight....bench" When I finally put it together he was the first to test it out:

Grace and the Piano

2010-12-31T13:31:00.000-08:00

Grace had a piano recital in December again this year. She played "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", and "Together We Can" (which is a song she wrote for Reflections).
Why I didn't take a picture of her alone, I do not know. She did a very nice job (although she could have practiced more...) and we are proud of her for developing her talents.

Uncle Nate

2010-12-31T13:28:00.000-08:00

My kids are lucky enough to have TWO Uncle Nate's but when Uncle Nate Haws visits, I forget to take pictures (much like I forgot to take any of my kids with my parents on Christmas morning. Yep, I'm lame).
But my kids especially love playing with Uncle Nate (mostly because he's fun and brings them candy). Here are a few shots:

Spa Day

2010-12-28T14:00:00.001-08:00

Grace and Noah decided to treat me to a "spa day" yesterday. It was a big surprise and I wasn't allowed in my room for awhile. When I was allowed in, I had to close my eyes and then open them to see pillows and a blanket laid out on my bed for me to lay on and get a massage. Grace and Noah took turns using the hand massager and doing the karate chop move on my back...which only hurt a little bit until Peter decided to join them. He only kneeled on my hair once, though:)

Then Grace brought out a freezing cold wet washcloth to massage my feet with. It was nice, but quite cold, and then Peter dumped some water on my feet...which Grace cleaned up.

After that Grace brushed and styled my hair (Peter tried to brush a little too, but it was more like an attack than brushing).

Noah and Grace said I could take a nap (it was 5 pm at this point) but not until I turned on a movie and set up the footbath for them.

*after dinner Noah said to me, 'Mom! you forgot to take your nap! You can take one now if you want.' I let them watch a movie downstairs while I watched glee upstairs instead.

I really do have the sweetest kids around. I'm pretty lucky they think of doing nice things like that for me for no reason other than to be sweet!

There's a Smell...

2010-12-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

My neighbor kids were over watching a movie this afternoon and this is one of the conversations we had:
Him: I smell something
Me: Does it smell like poop? (always a concern at my house)
Him: No
Me: Well is it a good smell or a bad smell?
Him: I don't think it smells like anything bad.

Uh...okay? Hopefully no one else comes to my house and smells anything. Ever.

Why I Love Caryn

2010-12-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

She makes me laugh and isn't afraid to be silly in public places...and then let me take pictures of her. ha ha. I'm giggling while I type. Love you, Caryn!

Gotta Love Grandpas (I Mean OWFs)

2010-12-15T09:49:00.000-08:00

I love seeing my kids with their grandparents, it warms my heart. I don't remember ever being super close with my grandparents when I was a kid, mostly because we lived pretty far away, but even Trevor's parents are so loving and fun with the kids it seems like they are closer. I stumbled across this picture today while sorting through some old stuff. It is my dad spoiling (of course) Peter with m&m's.

Extreme

2010-12-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

I discovered in months past that 101.9 on the radio in Salt Lake plays crappy 80s and 90s era music that I grew up with and I frequently hear awesomely-bad songs (a lot of bel-biv-devoe and some vanilla ice, even!). Recently I have heard a lot of "Extreme" specifically 'More Than Words' and 'Hole-Hearted'.
Admit it, you started singing the chorus after you read that part.
I used to own two of their CDs (I know you're thinking, they had two albums?!) and they have mysteriously disappeared. I checked iTunes and I am unwilling to pay $10 for the whole album when I really only want two songs. Sigh. Now you know what to get me for Christmas!
I was singing (quite loudly) in the car tonight and Trevor was extremely uncomfortable/embarassed, but I'm not ashamed of my Extreme love. Sing it loud and sing it proud, baby!

14 Hours Later...

2010-12-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken BEFORE we made 300+ coconut chocolates. Raleigh kept asking, where is uncle Trev going to sleep?
14 Hours
10 lbs of chocolate
1 lb of pretzels
50 cinnamon bears
116 marshmallows
and
1,459 hand dipped chocolates
and Natalie and I are only semi-exhausted.
How is this possible?
We're just getting that good.
If you're not on my chocolates list, be sad...very sad.
If you are...they're coming!
yay!

Grace the Spelling Ace

2010-12-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

Grace won 2nd place in the school 1st-3rd grade spelling bee today. It was awesome! We are so proud of her. If I get off my can and upload the video of her spelling, I'll post it.

A Sad Story

2010-12-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

On NPR yesterday I heard a story about how fewer people are getting married now because divorce is so expensive (In fact one anecdote from a lady stated that she would have gotten divorced years ago if holding a lawyer on retainer wasn't $3000 each). I think I'll stop eating food because I might get a food borne illness. I'm also not going to have any furniture because it may break one day or get dirty or I may stop liking the color.

They also mentioned that some people aren't getting married because if they are "single" and living with their boy/girlfriend and kids they qualify for more grants/financial aid/WIC/discounted childcare.

I think this is sending a great message to our kids. Hey, son/daughter, it's okay to have kids out of wedlock, as long as it saves you some money. Plus, if your relationship doesn't work out you won't have to worry about pesky lawyers fees you can just go your separate ways.

Ugh.

Luckily for me I am happily married and trying to show my kids the value of a loving home where marriage comes first.

I Love Browsing

2010-12-04T14:59:00.000-08:00

I was browsing through my old pictures looking for something for Andrew when I came across this gem:
I totally forgot I had taken this picture of this guy (yes, guy) at the Top of Utah Half Marathon. I took it quite sneakily, but I doubt he would have minded if I just asked him flat out about it, since obviously he was trying to blend in.
Thought the running girls would enjoy it especially!

Am I A Bad Example or Just A Bad Parent?

2010-12-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

This morning when Noah was changing his clothes, he took his dirty pants/undies off and started dancing around naked from the bottom down. It took a lot of convincing to get him to get dressed. Then later Peter got the bottom of his pants wet from walking in snow and took them off (and refused to put them back on until they were dry).

I swear I am not teaching them this by example, so what's the deal?

p.s. my condolences to Shelby for getting a dog...at least hers is house-broken.