Comparing myself

So who doesn't love chocolate? There is a new exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies all about chocolate and how it's made. It just makes me hungry thinking about it. Kandie has to have some fun while Myra is in school, right? But then I get the other side of how Myra wants to come too. It can be hard. But most days Kandie and I keep secrets of all the fun things we do, because we both know it will upset Myra. I don't know it how it will work out when Velma starts talking...but I still have some time to think through that. We also LOVE to go to Myra's little kindergarten event. She has art gallery's , concerts, and I also get to volunteer and help whenever I want. Our soon to happen adventure will be to go to a one of her classmates farm. We were supposed to go a while back, but it was raining so they cancelled it. Hopefully though we will get to go on Thursday :) I'll come and take lots of pics, with of course Kandie, and Velma. Can't leave those two behind. So fun to watch her progress in school and see her read as well. It just shocks me how much Myra has learned this school year. She went from only writing her name and of course all of our names, to reading in a couple months!!! Pretty amazing stuff. It feels like it hasn't been easy getting her to do these things , but I just have to remember to take a step back and look at how much she has progressed. Velma is a handful sometimes. ok most of the time :) She has a very interesting personality, wants her own way, gets her own way and cries even when she gets her own way. I read somewhere that if you have a tough baby then they are a good toddler...if that is true please become a toddler soon. She wants to grow up fast, doesn't care for crawling much, but she'll do it if she has to. She mainly gets around by walking! Never in my life did I expect a 9 month old to walk. Being a mom with three kids isn't as bad as everyone keeps telling me. Its just a way of life and you get used to it and don't think much of it until people ask how I do it. At Myra's school, a couple of the moms complain about having to take their kids shopping and that they can get shopping done in 20 minutes without them...I don't know if I'm really good at shopping or if I am better at life ;)--haha but I can shop with 3 kids and be out of there in 20 tops. But then I look back and see that you just adapt to what you have, whether it be 1 kid, 3 or even 6 kids, you adapt and become pro at your circumstances. Also everyone is good at different things. I can't sew very well... I still do it but I'm not a pro. I've seen mothers of 5 make beautiful quilts, dresses and stuffed animals. And it makes me think holy cow I suck. But then I have to take a step back and see how far I've come and the things I can do.

I guess what I am trying to say is be happy with who you are, what you have, and the things you can do.

So I'm settling in

So we moved again, and as we have moved into a 'swap' area, we have found that both our girls are allergic to something. We have no idea what it is yet, but I don't let the kids go outside without bug spray. Kandie's face obviously swelled up, and Myra got bit on the anckle. I did not get a picture of that, but it was just as swollen as Kandie's face. We have discovered that we have friendly neighbors as well. They invited us to bbq with them the day we moved in, so that was fun! It is great to be next to young, friendly families. Needless to say, we are super excited to be in a cheaper and bigger place as we get ready to start another phase in our lives. With Myra getting ready for kindergarten and Kandie ready for preschool, we are pretty stoked around this house.

Confidence and Excitement

Here is a little picture update since I know I am a slacker. I don't know what it is. I used to be so excited about keeping a blog and having it updated for everyone, but I just am not as excited as I used to be. I don't know if it's because I know I have things I need to do now or if I was just lazy when I started our blog up, but whatever it was, I hope that the motivation comes back. Lately I have been procrastinating a lot. This last week was Spring Break, and I seriously did nothing. I just felt tired,watched movies, and slept. Now I feel a little guilty for taking the week off from everything. Oh well right? things will come picking back up next week when I am forced to do work. I have also been getting excited as I have been getting letters inviting me to graduate and stuff of that nature. It is fun to hear that you are going to graduate soon. This Spring I will finally graduate--May 4th. Yahoo!!! One more fun story that has boosted my confidence. Today as I was grocery shopping, the cashier asked how old I was. I was a little nervous when I answered and thought that maybe I picked up something with alcohol in it and was ready to have her take it out of my purchases whatever it was. But instead, she just commented on how I look like I am still in High School. She was wondering how my age worked out with a older girl with me (I had Myra shopping with me). I have never been told that I look like I am in high school. NEVER!!! I usually get the comment that I look like someone's professor in college. So that boosted my confidence a little bit. It makes me feel young again. I just wish my body felt and looked the way I did in High School.

Watch out world here I come

What more to say...Since July of 2012 we have: Finished updating our yard Finished up 2 more semesters of school- I took summer classes Myra started preschool and loves it tremendously Started updating the inside of the house Started my LAST semester of school--this semester I received a letter from the President of MSU to congratulate me on my 4.0 GPA.Yes it made me feel smart. It is good to get that sometimes, when the person holding me back from my smartness is ME...:) The ward boundaries were changed so we are in a different ward now--I however received the same calling--ward pianist- It helps force me into learning new pieces and better my understanding and appreciation for music School seems to be a big part of my life right now. I have even considered getting a Masters program...I think I am a little crazy, but the research and projects I have been working on have helped me gain an appreciation for studying what I want to study. The project I am working on this semester would work great for a thesis! I would post some recent pictures but we lost our camera. When I realized that it was gone, I backtracked to a museum, and a restaurant, but neither of them had any good news for me. I feel like we have a bunch of memories erased. Another great achievement I have accomplished is the feeling that I don't have to weigh myself anymore. I have come to the idea that I am dissatisfied and hard on myself when I weigh myself, partly because I compare my weight to other women. After the 3 moves in one year, I got tired of pulling everything out, and I haven't pulled out the scale. I have found that it is nice to not know how much I weigh. I know I have lost weight by comparing past pictures to present pictures, but I do not care how much I have lost. It is nice to just see and feel the difference in weight loss. To become more comfortable with my body size and shape is more appreciable, for me, when I don't have know how much I am 'supposed' to weigh. I also lost interest in comparing myself to other women, especially on campus. As I realize that not every woman on campus has had 3 children. So when people are comparing each others weight and they ask how much I weigh I can honestly say I have no clue. Last time I weighed myself was after I had Kandie and I was about 200 lbs. If that is what I weigh now, then it is my muscle baby!!! Between working on the yard during the summer and now the house, I can say that when I flex I can actually see some of the muscle instead of just flab. It is such a wonderful feeling to not care about my weight, and yet I feel comfortable with it as well. As you can see, life is great. I have become more confident in my abilities, even if I was kicked in the head by a horse in my youth...I feel strong and not afraid to express my opinion and feelings on things. AND boy do I love it. I think this is what it feels to be an adult. Finally after getting married, having 2 kids, and almost graduating college, I have my own opinion and confidence to express them. Watch out world here I come...

Family Pictures

We are still alive!!! Things have been busy but who isn't busy right? These last of couple of weeks we have had some fun with Mason's family coming down to visit. For the fourth of July uncle Monte, uncle Michael, and cousin Zackary and Nikolas,came down. We watched fireworks, went swimming, and finished some more of our fence. We just had Aunt Karey, uncle Lindsay, and cousins, Neisha and Dylan down this weekend. We went through Yellowstone and took some fabulous photos. As Myra called it, "lets go to the park and see the animals". Lindsay is an amazing photographer its great to see his perception of things through the lens. This morning Myra woke up and asked who was coming to visit today. It was great to see some family and do things we normally wouldn't do. Lindsay also took some family photos of us before we headed off to church. I have been able to do things with the girls this month which has been fun, most days! The mornings usually start with Myra asking me, "so where are we going today?" I then reply "I don't know, what do you want to do today?" Myra: "Hmmm...Lets go see the dinosaurs (Museum of the Rockies) then go shopping, and swimming". Okay maybe we repeat ourselves often at this house, but it is still fun. I went through Yellowstone park for the first time. And I think I will go again since Myra loved it so much! She keeps asking me if we could go to the park with the animals. Kandie, I have noticed, gets car sick along the way. she cries for a while and then whamoooh stinky mess to clean up. I need to remember to carry a bowl with us or something to catch the puke in because I hate watching helplessly. I did get some advice from my sister Lindi, who has a car sick boy of her own, she said that she has him hum a song until he doesn't feel queezy anymore. We will definitely try that too.

May already?

Okay so what its May...we hear everyone say that life is busy. We'll I can now testify that that is true :). I finished up spring semester the beginning of May, and luckily passed everything with A's and B's. Now I have started with some online summer classes. It is a very new thing to me this is my first time taking online classes so we will see how it ends up. Myra has been talking up a storm lately. I had to start writing down all of the funny things she says lately. It is unbelievable what that girl remembers. Yesterday at church she saw that bishop and said, "Hey I give that guy the mail" referring to our tithing envelope. Everyone time we pass certain restaurants she says, "that is where we eat with Paka and Gramma". And the last time we ate there was like 6 months ago. She is getting so excited to go to school. Kandie discovered her own language. She makes sure that you know that too in her own way. Kandie has even started pretending that she is a puppy. I was a little impressed the first time I noticed her crawling around and barking like a dog. Its a sight to see. We planted our garden recently. Myra had a ball doing that. She even goes out there and eats the stems from onions.

Kandie also has a new trick of jumping in the dryer.

Kandie's big Honker teethe. She loves to smile all the time

What can I say...WOW life is really busy right now. School has started up for me in the beginning of January. Mason has been home watching the kiddos while I try learn. The girls are growing like all kids do. Kandie is a busy body. She is constantly getting into things and able to stand up on her own. I am afraid she will be walking soon. Myra is getting better at communicating and going on the potty. I will have to update pics later, But I thought that I would give a little update.

We Survived!!!

Christmas this year was Fun. Myra enjoyed her Kitchen for sure and Kandie loved chewing on the wrapping paper. It can't get any better than that! We also survived our trip to California. It was a pleasant and warm time. We surprised Mason's sister Kim & Chris in Auburn, CA(We celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve) and had a good visit with them. Kandie had a blast playing with her 2nd cousin Lili.





We went to the Beach and the Monterey Aquarium with Karey & Lindsay and the twins. Myra had so much fun playing with Neisha & Dylan. Later we met up with Monte & Charlene and her kids for New years. We played outside on the swings, in the play houses, and got some pool in. Myra was good at it!!! You could tell she really missed Monte, and Monte missed her. :) It was fun to meet Charlene and her family

Getting Settled

So we have moved and are getting settled in. I am getting excited for Christmas and don't want to unpack until I get the Christmas tree up and all the Christmas stuff out. Funny!!! I know I have to get all the boxes out of the way first, but can't get motivated. So I cleaned out a spot and we are getting the tree today hopefully. It is hard to find a place that can drill a hole in the middle of the tree trunk for our tree stand. There is one place we haven't tried yet so hopefully this place can do it.
Kandie has decided to sleep in longer and not wake up as many times in this new place. I love it. I think at the other place the heater wasn't that good in her room because it was always freezing cold in her room so I had to pile blankets on her. Kandie is also starting to crawl...backwards. This morning I was making breakfast and she made her way into the kitchen, under the table and got stuck up against the refrigerator. She was pretty mad that she couldn't move. My favorite is when she gets herself stuck under the couch. She reminds me of dear Grandma Louis. "Bob, BOB..." Instead she just kinda screams..."Aaah...Aaahh, AAAHHH..." Its cracks me up!

Myra has been sleeping anywhere. she fell asleep on Tigger in the baby tub...

Myra also found a package of gum and decided that she needed the whole package of gum. She was having a hard time chewing...

So we went to the Ward Christmas Party to see Santa...

Myra wasn't a fan of him...

It's Official

So we have been debating on moving again because this place is kinda scary that we are living at right now. We found a place just down the street that is about the same amount, which is nice.
Reason's for Leaving:
First someone stole a hubcap from one of our car tires. Then they stole a lug nut as well from our car after I had replaced them. I think maybe they had tried to steal them before because I had to get all of the lug nuts replaced because they were all stripped but that could have been anyone...next Kandie was fussing one morning. It was pretty bad I must admit, she was crying for 30 minutes and some neighbor came pounding on our door to tell me to make my baby stop crying. Ya that made me feel good inside... Let's just face I don't care about the neighbor it makes me want to let Kandie cry some more because they party all the time all night long, but I don't want to replace anything else on our car. We've already spent $120 to replace all the lug nuts and and extra $30 for the hubcap. This other place has a garage so I won't have to check on the car every time I wake up to feed Kandie and it has a washer and dryer in the apartment that I won't have to share or get quarters to pay for it. Yipee!!! Lets face it I am excited!!!

Hopefully we will be able to move in before December. Our move out date is officially December 5th but I think we'll be able to move out the last week of this month. Hooray!!!

Here's some updated pics on the girls:

Grandma Shaffer got us some new dresses


KD let me use her chair for her if I take good care of it



We had fun painting our faces. Myra even painted mine. Good Halloween clearance sales!!!

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year. I made Myra's costume and we had Kandie dress up in Myra's old costume. I was a pig and Mason a Rooster. When Myra saw us in our animal outfits she changed her mind and wanted to be a pig with us so we changed her outfit and she was a pig with me. Good thing her outfit fit her from last year. We went to a couple of houses and decided to go home early because every time we got candy from a house Myra would cry because she couldn't have any right then. So...I'm sure you can just imagine the frustration.
We went home and watched Switched at Birth...Kathy and Darin got us hooked. There are only 10 episodes so it won't take us long to finish. As a matter of fact I think we only have 3 episodes left and we started Saturday night. FUNSTUFF!!!

I'm makin' cheese

What a Weekend

This weekend, my dear grandma Lois passed: She lived to be 90 years old, lived a fulfilling life. She was a school teacher, mother, grandmother, missionary, and was known for her service. Such a great example to me and others in her life.



Daniel Busick, still young in life, yet having a significant influence on those who knew him, just graduated from high school, was in a freak accident on his way to Utah this weekend. He remains in a coma with his family by his side. The Busick family is in our prayers and thoughts. We love them and hope the best for them.



I feel a little overwhelmed right now, if I can just remember the Lord is the Gardener here, he knows what is best for all of us however difficult it may seem.

On a much happier note, our good friends the Elgueda's welcomed another healthy girl into their lives, Elsie Jane. We are thrilled for them and can't wait to see them all again soon!

A hard day at work

Myra has been potty training that is why she has no pants on. But she has been pretty cute lately. I can't stop myself from laughing when she get's frustrated. She tells me not to touch the TV or tells me she'll be right back. In the process of her saying this she is waving her hand in front of her like off from Dora the Explorer when they tell Swiper not to swipe. Is it bad that I laugh at her?
The other day she helped me vacuum, I think she has been wanting to do that for a while but was scarred of the noise. She finally built herself up and can now vacuum our floor. Need to train them while they're young right? She also has loved getting into my jewelry box and wearing my necklaces. I need to put that up higher even though I thought that my dresser was higher. That is okay though.

Yesterday I noticed she was quiet so I went looking for her and found her on the bathroom sink putting eyeliner in between her eyes, blush on her cheeks and whatever else she could get her hands onto. I am just glad I don't wear lipstick... She also had her rubber bands on her thumb cutting off the circulation, so her thumb was dark purple by the time I got them all off.
She is learning so fast and is always trying to do things that I do (including putting eyeliner in between my eyes...jk) I better whip into shape and start doing the right things because I know I have a little girl always watching me.

Rock Star

I was taking picture of Kandie and she automatically did this. I was beginning to wonder if she was doing it to impress her aunts Kathy and Karey because those are the only people I know that do this a lot. Hum...

Blessings in our lives

Potty training has been going better. Myra hasn't had any accident for 4 days now. She is so funny. When she has to go she runs into the bathroom. When she is finished she comes out yelling "Mommy I went potty potty potty!!!" She get's so excited.
I have been able to see some of the blessings in our lives. So we have been searching and searching for a house to get. We have probably put in almost 50 offers on houses and we finally got accepted to one. Well we went and took a look at it and after 2 hours of looking and talking about it we both talked ourselves out of it. The numbers weren't adding up and it just wasn't a good house. Mason had met with a different lender and found out that the price range we have is actually a lot lower than what other lender's had said. So I am really glad that we didn't get accepted to any other house because it would have been a mess to deal with once we found out our actual price range. So it has actually been a blessing to not get a house yet.
Updates with Kandie and Myra: They are both growing up so fast. Kandie is almost sitting up, I have noticed Myra is getting taller because a lot of her dresses are above her knees. They are so cute together. Kandie just loves Myra to death. She is always laughing at her, even when Myra is in trouble. It is kinda hard to be serious though while Kandie is laughing at Myra, but I don't mind too much ;)

Potty Training

We have started potty training this week. So far not too many accidents. Her accidents are getting closer and closer to the bathroom. First she realized that she had to go and dribbled all the way to the bathroom. And a couple of times she has made to the bathroom but as she is climbing on the step stool to get on the toilet she pees on the stool right before she gets it in the toilet. I have found that Myra can hold in her pee for a really long time. And if she doesn't have to go she won't try. But when she has to go she runs as fast as she can to the bathroom. I think I'm making some headway here. Thanks to some advice from my sister in law Jess I was able to convince Myra that poo and pee go in the potty. I think she has now realized that I am right ;) and its just a matter of getting to the toilet in time.

It has been an adventure and hopefully I can keep staying positive and true to my word.

Museum of the Rockies

Lot's has happened this last week. Things have been busy. First I have been doing a lot of sewing projects. I was able to sew Myra a shirt, Kandie a dress, and I sewed some hole in Mason's pockets for his insulin pump. I think that one was actually the hardest. But all in all they all turned out okay. This is the shirt I made Myra.
We went to the Rockies Museum to see the frog exhibits. Myra was stoked to see some frogs. She called it the froggy house. Also in the museum was a play area of Yellowstone park. Myra was scared of the Geyser when it went up.
Also Mason and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary. Its hard to believe that we have been together that long. They have been so fun together and I have enjoyed every day. Mason came home with some flowers which made my day. For dinner we went to the park and had a picnic. I had made chicken wraps so they were easy to finger foods. That way we could let Myra run and play and get some time to talk just with each other since Kandie does extremely well sitting in her car seat and being quiet. It was a fun day.
And again Myra has some cute things she has been saying lately:

Me: Myra are those cool toys
Myra: No...they are HOT!!!
"oh no mommy don do dat"
She likes to sing songs now:
Happy Birthday to you...Happy birthday to you...Kandie happy birthday...
Go diego go diego go diego
evwybody evwybody be a cat...la la la...
Her prayers are getting cuter every day. We finally got a recording of it so I will post that sometime.

Everywhere else but where I would like it...

I use Myra as a patient to test for diabetes at a diabetes research center. Good start huh? They mailed me a package to get a blood sample from Myra. It has been sitting on the shelf for a couple of weeks so I decided to take it down so I could see it and when I am in the mood to make her cry I will get the sample. In this package is a kit on how to take a blood sample, a needle thing that you push so it will poke your finger, a numbing thing, some band-aides, and a tube to put the sample in. Well Myra found them. There were 2 needle things because you can only set it off once...so Myra set off one but somehow didn't poke her finger. She thought it was cool and played with the broken one for a while.

Explanation for why she thinks this is cool: Whenever Mason pokes his finger to test his blood sugars Myra is usually right there beside him because she wants her fingers poked too. Mason pretends to poke her finger and then pokes his.

Okay back to the story...well she found the other poker, grabbed that and actually poked herself. I heard her crying from a different room and when I came in she was wiping her bloody finger on the table trying to get the blood off. Now I figured that since she poked it, all I had to do now was put some blood in the little tube and have it be over with. So I tried...I first put Kandie down in her bumbo seat in front of the crime scene and tended to Myra. Because she had wiped her finger so many times on the table I couldn't see where she actually poked herself so I am squeezing her finger to get some more blood out and she is screaming and because she is screaming Kandie starts to cry as well. I figured it was about time for me to cry too since everyone else was right? Now this was at 6:00 in the morning when she did this just to give you a idea of what I am feeling at this moment. I couldn't get any blood in the tube. You would think this would be easy but it wasn't. It was as if the tube had been bathed in oil because nothing was going in that tube. It would just run down the sides and on top of that try holding a screaming 2 year old, a tube and a finger. They just don't blend well together...So I just gave up and put a band-aide on it.

In the end my house looked like a murder scene. In all the panic we happened to get blood all over the walls, the table, up my arms, on both our clothes, and somehow on the bumbo seat...everywhere else but the tube...

A couple of Myra stories

Here is a little update of Kandie and how big she is getting. I have been saying she is 3 1/2 months but realized that it is actually almost September which means she is almost 5 months. Wow how time goes by...

I went out to change the laundry. Myra was sitting in her chair and when I came back this is what I saw...

Every time I want to leave the house Myra has to grab as many toys as her arms can carry. So this is her getting ready to go to her friend Abigail...It was cute at first. But after a while she started getting smarter. She is now trying to make me carry a bunch of toys too!!!

Myra has a couple of cute little things she has been saying lately:
"Wow...Cute pants Kandie"
"Okay okay I'm commin" she says this when I am asking her to come hold my hand as we cross the street or when I use my serious voice
"don't touch tv...I beat you" I hope you can guess where she learned this one...
"mmmm...I don' know"
"Ohhhh Mannn" from Dora the Explora (Swiper)

She also says the prayer now it goes something like this:
"Heavenly Father...Food...daddy work, mommy work, Kandie work, mumbling...good girl...mumbling...AMEN"