Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Spring Break-Dinosaur Museum

On Tuesday of Spring Break, I met my mom in Mesa and we took the kids to the Natural History Museum-or as Ridge would put it, the Dinosaur Museum. I remember going here as a kid.

We walked in and the kids were so excited just seeing the bones. Mind you, it was an elephant and not a dinosaur, but they loved it the same. Brecklynn cracked me up. She was so excited the whole time. She kept hitting herself when she would look or point at a dinosaur and she loved looking at everything.









This was the dinosaur Ridge had been waiting for. He loves triceratops and t-rex.



At one point in the museum they do a history portion and have little jail cells for the kids to go into. At first the kids were afraid to go in, but then they loved going in and shutting me out.


I have to say, the highlight of the whole thing though was this tiny tube for them to play in. Such a simple thing, but they couldn't get over it.



They had this old western movie that you could 'be apart' of and of course my kids were all over it. Cambree and Ridge loved making faces in it. Even Brecklynn loved it.


My mom bought the three kids (Ridge), a dinosaur figurine pack and Ridge was in heaven. He couldn't stop talking about it and telling everyone about his new dinosaurs. My mom kept the kids for a couple days and said that he would come up over and over again and thank her for the dinosaurs. Even now, he sleeps with the whole bag in his bed.


Thanks mom for the special day and going with us to the museum, and of course taking my kids for a couple days. My kids love being with their grandparents!!

Spring Break Zoo!

During Spring Break, my parents took the kids to the zoo. I guess it was really busy with tons of schools there but the kids still seemed to have a lot of fun.




Saturday, March 12, 2011

Just an overall update on kids. Its been awhile!

Life is starting to finally gain some normalcy and we are feeling more settled in our new home. Its weird to have so much space and even better, more time to enjoy our family. There is definitely still things to get done and we still have some large projects to tackle but we don't have the stress and pressure like before. The kids love having the space to run and play. They love their play room and they entertain themselves for hours downstairs.


I haven't done a kid update in so long and I am constantly thinking about some of the things they do and how I don't want to forget them, so I wanted to take some time to document those little things.

These pics are from when my sisters Chelsie and Jarica came down last weekend and Chelsie 'generously' allowed my kids to put on her makeup. Ridge was taking it all a bit too seriously :)


Brecklynn not getting her way


So here's some updates.

Brecklynn has grown up so much these past couple of weeks. I swear she's gone from a baby to a little kid overnight. She transitioned to a big girl bed upon moving here in the new house and did it without any problems. In fact she loves her big girl bed.

She is speaking a lot more. She FINALLY says Cambree's name but it sounds like 'me me'. Ridge- well he says Ridge is Tesia. We're still working on that one. She says 'yes' 'no', 'blanky', 'mom', 'dad', 'Little', bye, hello, nigh nigh (night), eyes, teef (teeth), baby, ball, and a lot more. She still says uh uh for a lot so we are still working on that but she's coming a long.

She loves her sister and brother. In fact, she loves them a lot more than I think they want her to. She wants to be with them playing and they are constantly complaining about her.

She loves to watch me and also put on make-up every day. She loves to get her hair done and loves for you to tell her how pretty she looks. She also loves to brush her teeth. She insists on standing on a stool and just repeatedly running her brush under the water and brushing her teeth.

She loves baths and showers and could stay in all day if she was allowed.

We call her bi-polar right now just because she is SO opionated and so cranky at times. You'll ask her if she wants something and she'll say yes and just as you're giving it to her she freaks out. She is great at throwing fits. They are really funny to watch right now.

She LOVES puzzles and could spend hours doing the same one. She also loves to color. A little too much in fact. Amazingly she holds a writing utensil better than most of my preschoolers. She's a natural.

She's a little dare devil. Lately she loves to dive off the arm of our couch with Ridge and Cambree. She will completely fall on her face and get right back up again and go again.

She is so independent. She doesn't let you help with much. Even putting on her shoes (which is also an obsession of hers). She makes a mess out of EVERYTHING she eats lately which is frustrating but I know its a phase.

Her hair cracks us up. She has none compared to Cambree at this age.

Ridge-oh Ridge. This kid is ALL boy. In some ways I hope this next kid isn't a boy just because he is so boy all by himself that I doubt he could compete with any other sibling. We still constantly get comments on his hair. People are always asking if he paints his hair or uses shoe polish on his hair etc.

Him and Cambree are obsessed with cars right now and lining them up and moving them in lines all over. They are also obsessed with playing pretend as 'Curtis' and 'Chantel' and having a baby doll together.

His vocabulary cracks us up. He still say Thank you like "Sank you", or he'll say "no sanks". We want to correct him but we also love it so much I don't want him to stop.

He is loving preschool and getting better at his basic skills. He loves having the kids here and loves all his little friends.

I struggle with him a lot lately with just being whiney and crying over everything. I've been told that its just like Curtis was as a kid (he hates that I say that :) but its true. Ridge can cry at the drop of a hat over absolutely nothing and it drives me crazy. He's got the saddest lip that he can put out on command and its just pathetic. I am hoping this again is just a phase and he'll grow out of it soon. He's cute for the most part and he's lucky he's so cute when it comes to these frustrating moments :)

Brecklynn and him continue to have a strong and cute bond. Every morning they have to give each other a huge hug and they love to tackle each other to the ground. They rarely ever fight and share so well together. I love to watch this little relationship grow.


Cambree.

Its weird for me to sit here and think how old Cambree really is. She is turning 5 at the end of May and going to Kindergarden this fall. I have a 5 year old! Kind of creeps me out in a way. I swear she is a teenager though, in that little body.

She is such a dancer. Her moves are so funny to watch. I don't know where she gets them from. She's going through, what I hope is just a phase, but has a hard time being nice to Brecklynn. She hates her being around and doesn't like to share anything with her. Don't get me wrong, there are moments when Cambree can't get enough of her, but more often then not, she can't stand her and even told my MIL and SIL this week that she wants her in the garbage.

She is such a helper and is excited about the new house and chores etc. I hope it keeps up over the next couple weeks. We'll see :)

For the past year or so, Cambree has insisted on growing out her hair but recently its become quite a chore every morning to do it. She screams and cries at everything. Well Wednesday night I was speaking to her and convinced her to cut her hair. I called my SIL Connie immediately and set it up to get done the next morning before she would change her mind. I LOVE it. I miss her hair being short.
I need to get a better picture and I'll try to get that today but this gives you an idea. This is her at our pajama day in preschool.


I am still trying to grasp the fact that we have yet one more kid on the way very soon. These 3 definitely keep me busy and entertained enough that who knows what one more will do but I am also excited to see what this new one will add to this trios relationships.

Monday, March 7, 2011

FINALLY a house before and after shot-lots of pics

Its been forever since I've posted. We are in the house and officially moved last weekend. I still can't believe we are in this house. Its truly a dream. Curtis and I are constantly pinching ourselves as to whether this is real or not.

For fun, I took a few pics of the old house just before we moved just to show where we are coming from and where we are now.

Our tiny laundry room/pantry/coat closet


Kitchen



Living Room

Our tiny one bathroom

Master bedroom
Another angle of Master

Kids bedroom

Another shot of kids bedroom

Now to where we are now. No we aren't all done but this just shows the difference.

Ridge's room


The girls' room. On the top white plaque I am putting a vinyl saying "sisters" and yes Brecklynn's name broke so I have to do another one.


Our huge basement/playroom. Yes the kids are spoiled. My Aunt Teddie got rid of this house as we were moving so we inherited it and its great. Its solid wood and the kids love it.

This is going down our stairs.

My preschool room. I look official :)


Our living room


So that is obviously not all the house but my battery died and have no clue where the charger is :) But will post the rest later. So we are loving the new house. We can entertain and have people over and not feel cramped and embarrassed by the lack of space.

Oasis Field Trip

For our Spring Field Trip, we took the kids to Oasis. Fortunately it is where Tesia works so we had the ultimate hook-up. The kids had a blast and it was short and sweet. They got to tour the facility and then make a hot dog and snow cone.

Waiting for the rest of the class to arrive


In the freezer




Friday, February 11, 2011

Pregnancy Reflections

I know you're shocked-this isn't a post about the house. Quite frankly I need a mental and emotional break from the entire thing. So the next big thing on my plate is well of course being pregnant.


Most know this is my last pregnancy. I know I have had a ton of people say I'll change my mind later. However I am SURE I am done. I know I will probably get baby hungry and miss having a small baby but I can only feasibly handle 4 kids :) So with that, I have been pondering on the fact that this is my last pregnancy and all the things that go a long with that and wanted to record some thoughts about pregnancy in general just for fun to reflect on later.

I have been very blessed being pregnant. I have never had any serious problems being pregnant. Same with my deliveries- I've been very lucky to never have any issues and I hope to keep that streak going with this last one. That being said, I am one of the 'unusual' in that I don't enjoy pregnancy. I don't like being pregnant and all that goes with it. Its just not something I can say I look forward to.

For the most part I never notice myself that I am pregnant until my 6 month or so. Then my body really starts to scream 'I'm Pregnant'!! I always show extremely early. In fact, here I am in my 27th week and getting flooded with comments that 'Wow you look like you could go any day'. Then I pleasantly have to explain I still have 3 months. I just 'love' that part about pregnancy :)

I hate being out of breathe. It makes me feel so out of shape. I get up and walk around my house and clean for about an hour and I feel like I just ran a marathon. Sleep is so hard at this stage of pregnancy. I can NEVER get comfortable. I am either too hot, or my body just can't get into the right position to be happy.

Ever since being pregnant with Ridge, I have had issues with my back when I'm pregnant. I feel so dumb cause I get to a point where I look like the typical waddling pregnant girl when I get up. My hips and back go out when I sit down and the first couple steps I take upon getting up really hurt and I look really funny until they sink back into place.

Bending down is so fun. I forget and forget and forget that I have a huge belly and will try to do a drop pick-up and I am quickly reminded of this thing attached to me. Curtis loves to watch me put on my shoes or sweep up with the dust pan or even put on my pants trying to balance. Along with that I will forget that I have a huge belly when I am close to anything. I cannot tell you how many times I have bumped into someone with my belly or into a wall because I have forgotten I have a huge belly to take into account.

You know that 'glow' you're supposed to get when you're pregnant. I don't think I ever get that 'glow'. Like I said, I don't like pregnancy and the way I look pregnant. I have always envied those cute little girls with their cute little bellies (you know who you are). It cracks me up when I am talking to a fellow pregnant momma and they mention how they feel like a whale. I have to laugh inside because I am usually twice their belly size. Most girls grow out of their shirts in their last month. I am struggling now. I have no shirts at all. So getting dressed and feeling cute pregnant is quite a feat. It drives Curtis crazy how I will change my clothes a couple times on Sundays getting ready. I wish we could get a pardon to wear pjs to church when you get to this point :).

But besides all those things, I am going to miss a few things with pregnancy. The biggest thing I will is the little movements you get to feel. Definitely a special bond that I treasure. Sure it hurts at times and does keep me up at night but this is a sensation I will miss in years to come. Pregnancy is a wonderful thing that has given me 3 absolutely wonderful kids and I am excited to see how this last child comes and what it brings to our little family.

So only 3 more months and then this final pregnancy will be over. Mixed emotions but overrall I am excited about the next chapter in my life as well as the next chapter in our family's as we all grow old and move through the next stages of life together.


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Tile is done!!

We are almost there!! Yesterday the tile was officially finished.

Here's the master bath with the walk-in shower.

Inside our shower.
This is the master bath sinks that I didn't take a picture of earlier

This is the powder bath. Yes that is paint chips all the way around from the tape.

This is downstairs in the kids bath-


So now we are left with a really really really dirty house that I have the joy of cleaning :) But hopefully it won't be too bad. We're close. We'll see how close though this weekend.