For the Love of a Minute...

Okay here are a couple Easter Posts... better late than never, right?

Spanish Fork has an annual East Egg Hunt at the sports park... it was set to start at 9 AM on Saturday morning (the day before Easter)... We arrived at 9:01 and had missed the entire thing - don't ask me how we showed up late, I could've sworn we left in plenty of time. It still boggles my brain, but we missed it nonetheless...As we hopped out of the car we heard the bell ring and everyone started racing for eggs. by the time we walked to the field it was done. What a horrible mother I am...

HOWEVER they were making an announcement that if you didn't get any eggs come to the front table and get some... so I took Tate, Kyndi and Oaklee to get some eggs. Tate and Kyndi got loaded up on Jolly Ranchers (we're talking like 50 of them each) (which they shared with Tyson and Morrissa I am sure...) and Oaklee got a bunch of eggs handed to her personally by a princess. Yes, you read that right, Miss Spanish Fork (crown, dress and all) gave her some eggs and that made her whole day!! Who needs a hunt when they get handed treats just for asking?! I think we'll do it that way every year!!

Moe-ssa

Morrissa turned 12 on the 10th. I'm a bit delayed in her post due to the blog going private, but here it is..

She is a big 6th grader right now, all ready for 7th grade!

She's playing softball this year and so far I think she enjoys it. I think she was hoping to be on her friend's team and it didn't work out that way so she doesn't seem as enthused about it, but we're still in the practice mode - once games start up maybe she'll seem more into it.

Moe-ssa (that's what Oaklee calls her) is always at her friends' houses. If a weekend comes that we actually ddon't allow her to go to a sleepover or some big girls night out thingy-ma-bopper she gets all sorts of upset -> I think sometimes she thinks she lives at Addie's, Nikol's, or Jessies's!!

Morrissa is a good mom. Yes, you read that right. Good mom. She has the baby's up most mornings while she is getting ready for school - she gets them breakfast for me before I'm even awake half the time! When Oaklee cries in the night - alot of times lately she just crawls into bed with Morrissa to sleep and Morrissa lets her. She's also great at fixing lunches for her dad and babysitting when I have to be working or schooling or whatever. She also does grest at making sure Oaklee and Kyndi get bathed every night when I'm not around. She's great! I think we'll keep her!

We love you Morrissa! Happy Birthday (a wee bit late)

Lysol, Really?

Kamron just walked in the door from work and took off his boots to reveal a not so lovely aroma. He took his socks off, put them in the laundry basket and then proceeded to spray his feet with Lysol!! What?!! Just one of the many reasons I love that man!!

Tie Breaker

So in our house we have 3 boys and 3 girls... this new baby is the gender-tie-breaker. The boys all want a boy and the girls all want a girl (technically Oaklee wants a princess baby and Dayton is oblivious to the whole thing but once baby is here I'm sure he'll have a serious obsession with it no matter the gender)

So... I've felt all along thsat this baby is a girl. I've made far more baby girl blankets than baby boy ones... and everything I've purchased so far is more girl themed than boy... Now, let us recall that when I was pregnant with Tate I bought way more girl clothes than boy... I knew at the time that he was a boy - but I couldn't resist... baby clothes are so stinkin cute!!

Anywho - I also have struggled bigtime with this pregnancy - I feel it is kicking my buttox far more than any other ever has... (add in job and school and two toddlers and maybe we can see why...) But I had decided if this was a girl then I am done having kids, but if it is a boy then I wanna try once more for a girl... then that changed, I decided for a few days that either gender would be my last... then it became 'if it's a boy I'll still try again but not for a while'...

Onto the big ultrasound we go... (on Tate's birthday which he thought was awesome for him)

I've had many ultrasounds done in my time, and loved them all - but this one was different somehow. Perhaps it was that the technology of this particular machine was far better than past times, but to me it was just far more emotional. I loved it.

As I told you in a previous post, we found out the gender, wrote it on a paper and wrapped it up for Tate to open as a birthday present... the kids all gathered around (Morrissa was at a sleepover so she was on the phone) ... Tate opened the wrapping then untied the ribbon around the scroll, then unrolled it to reveal...Girl. I am so thrilled. Don't get me wrong - I would have equally loved a boy baby but this girl gives me crazy closure in a way and I am thrilled about it. It's bittersweet but I do still feel this is my last one... we'll see in a few years if that changes... but for now I will enjoy every moment of this baby squirming around... and every other moment that comes with it.

And for the record, yes, she has a name, but I'm thinking that will remain a secret until she is born... Sidenote: Kamron chose the name and I LOVE it!!

I know Ultrasound pictures are all kinda creepy-ish or weird, but I hafta post this one because it is by far the cutest one I have ever seen. (Perhaps I'm a little biased)

This is her legs tucked under her and her bum in the air. I love it.

(Here mom, I'll help you... two little feet on the left side of the screen, long white line is her shin, then it bends at the knee and goes up to her bum in the air.)

Tater - Bacon

Happy Birthday to Tate!! He turned 8 years old on the 8th and he said "this is the best day of my life!" Cute.

Tate is crazy brainy. - He is in the 2nd grade and while his classmates are busy trying to pass off addition and subtraction facts, he has passed off all his multiplication without anyone even teaching it to him. His smarts frighten me a bit... Maybe I should let him do my statistics homework for me!!

Tate is a very gracious and loving kid - he is always thankful for everything and loves to make everyone happy.

He is playing soccer again this year - he's had one game so far but I was not able to attend - so once I do, pictures will be taken and a post will be posted. (Let's just say for now, he's VERY good at being goalie...more on that later)

Tate is getting baptized on the first of May and he is thrilled to tell anyone who will listen. Pretty cute.

His favorite part of his birthday was that Kamron and I had the big Ultrasound that night... we found out the gender and then I wrote it on a piece of paper and wrapped it in a present for him to open and read to everyone. It was pretty fun for him. He thinks that made his day even more special.

Tate is all around awesome. We love him!! (oh, and Dayton's new word? "Tate!") Happy Birthday kiddo!!

Here's the scoop..

Hello all - I really hate to do this to you - but I'm gonna make my blog private. Sorry - but there are a few creepies reading my blog and I just can't have that. So... email me at stefaniepete@gmail.com and I will be happy to send you an invite. Thank you for your understanding!! (And Granny, don't worry, my mom will help you out with this...)
...Once I get it private I have all kinds of fun things to post... Easter, funny things... Baby news... Birthday kids and pics... Fun stuff - send me your emails!! The sooner the better!!!
THANKS!!!

Blogging Extraordinaire

Hello – I realize I am horribly behind on my blogging. Here is a plethora for you to read…. Scroll all the way down – there are a ton. Enjoy. Now I’ve gotta get to writing my ethical review of The Green Mile for my Ethics class. Everyone have a delightful day (or night or whatever it is you wanna have)!!!!

Oh Dear...

Oaklee is right now in the bathroom (on the toilet) saying “You come out of there poo-poos!”

I'm Warning You Now... I'm gonna be Far Too Busy...

Spring Semester is rapidly coming to a close. My last day of finals is like the 28th of April or something similar to that… Summer semester starts shortly thereafter on the 5th of May. I had a few dilemmas I was dealing with… this baby is due the end of August-ish. However, not one of my children has been full term – in fact they’ve all made their appearance at least 3 weeks early… so I’m looking at early August sometime… which throws it smack dab at summer finals time and also way too close to fall semester (which begins the end of August) – I can’t exactly take maternity leave from school… it just doesn’t work that way… So the decision has been made… (and brace yourself for my 500% insanity) I am taking 18 credit hours (6 classes) all within a 6 week block. That means my classes go from May 5th to June 23rd. Two of my classes are the entire semester – but the other 4 will by crunched into a six week period. Yikes. Why am I doing this to myself? I have a death wish I suppose… no, it just seems it’ll be far easier to completely stress myself out for 6 weeks straight and then have the rest of the summer to just be with my children and enjoy life, and prepare for this new baby.. So with that said, my birthday is the 24th of June – if I am still alive for the 1st anniversary of my 29th birthday – then it will be a success!! (Just as a side note – if any of you are expecting a blog entry from me in that 6 week time frame – you better change your expectations right now) … Also – along with this, I am quitting my job at The Mart. I’ve been displeased with that job for far too long – it’s causing me far more stress than needed, and with the forthcoming semester there is no way I can continue to do it all. So I am happy to report – I put in my 4 weeks’ notice – and what was my manager’s reaction to my “I’m letting you know I am quitting” ?? “Oh, Good!!” What?!?!?!?!? I think she knows I’m wearing myself way too thin. I think she’s happy for me – but she threw me off guard for a second. I am thrilled for my upcoming stresses and delightfulnesses! Wish me luck! If you call me on my birthday and I answer the phone, take that as a sign that I have survived it.
(Oh, PS I forgot to mention – after I accomplish this summer semester chaos, I only have 11 classes left… that means 4 in the fall, 4 in the spring and 3 next summer and I am done!!!! WOOOHOO!!!!!) (Then bring on Grad school…)

They Love my Glasses

Pregnancy Moment in a Major Way

Sunday morning I headed to work. I almost always take the Suburban to work – but this time I was driving the car. When I arrived this is the actual conversation I had with myself before locking my car: “I’m in the car today - that mean I can actually lock the doors! Since I can lock the doors, that means I’m okay to leave my keys in here – cuz if I lock the doors then no one can get in and drive off.” So I consciously left my keys in the car, locked the doors and got out. I never even saw the error in my ways until I was heading out to my car at the end of the day and realized – “Wait a second if I locked my keys inside my car, that means I can’t get in and drive away either!” Duh! I blame the pregnancy! (and the mouse in my room)

Mouse in the House

So I awoke a couple nights ago from some crazy dream about kids that were in my 4th grade class, and now they were married and trying to sell me cookies… but as odd as that dream may be, that is beside the point… When I awoke I heard a ‘scratch scratch scratch’. What on earth? And then again, ‘Scratch Scratch Scratch’ Is that a blasted mouse in my room? The longer I laid there the more I realized it was in fact a mouse I was hearing – and not only that, I also realized that Kamron had eaten Carl’s Jr that night and left the paper sack on my side of the bed on the floor, and that was most definitely what I was hearing the mouse scratching at. I’m thinking to myself “That brat left food in that bag and now the mouse is trying to get at it!” “Grrrr” In the darkness of my room I grabbed my cell phone as a source of light and looked down at the floor… the bag was nowhere to be found! “That blasted mouse dragged that bag under my bed and now it’s gonna torture me the rest of the night!!” Wanting so baldy to rid my room of that disgusting mouse and yet not really wanting a face to face encounter with said mouse, I started kicking at the side of my bed trying to scare him away. No such luck. I started picking things up off my night stand and throwing them at the general direction of under the bed… still no luck – the ‘Scratch Scratch Scratch’ continued!! I was so tired! It was 3 AM by now after all! I tried to just put a pillow over my head so as not to hear the blasted critter so maybe I could get back to sleep… didn’t work. Come on you stupid mouse! You are disgusting and absurd and you do not belong in my house – especially in my bedroom!!! Finally after roughly 2 hours of mouse-infested lack of sleep, I drifted back into slumber. When I woke up to my alarm Sunday morning what did I hear? ‘Scratch Scratch Scratch’ – Turns out that blasted mouse was nothing but my curtain blowing in the breeze against my school notebook. And the sack? It was still there under a blanket that had fallen from my bed. What a night!

Pink Eyed Monster

My poor Oaklee contracted pink eye Sunday. Not fun for her. And even worse – when I put the special pink eye drops in her eyes she had an allergic reaction and her eye swelled shut. Poor girl. I took her in today to get a new one – but in the meantime she sat with me all day yesterday and today with a warm washcloth on her eyes to soothe her. Anytime it got cooled off she’d say “Mom make it toasty again” Too cute!!
On a side note – Oaklee is obsessed with monsters – in her mind there are monsters everywhere. Her new thing is saying “I love monsters” “Do you love monsters?” All day long. She’s so stinkin cute and I love her squeaky little voice!!

From the Mouth of Oaklee

Oaklee’s latest statement to me: “There’s a baby in yours belly. Don’t worry, I won’t squish it”

Pictures to Post

“I love horsies!!” The new horsie ride at Walmart…

This is what time out looks like at my house when Oaklee steals Dayton’s toy and he hauls off and smacks her across the face. The tears are not because she was injured or he was upset about his toy – they were just severely displeased in the idea that I would actually make them sit there as a punishment.

This is Dayton’s “Angry face” He was being super ornery one day and I said – is that your angry face? He thought that was funny. So now if I say “Where’s your ornery face?” This is the face he shows me.

And this is Oaklee’s true 100% grouchy face.

Oaks eating a super sour candy (She wanted to eat it, I swear!!)

Dayton’s favorite pastime – hanging out with the boys playing video games

Dayton's Phrases

Dayton now talks in phrases instead of just words.
“Oh man!”
“I did it!”
"Oh hey" (okay)

“Ow Know” (I don’t know)
“All” (that means his food or drink is all gone)
“Uh Etcha”(You betcha)
He also has added "nope" to his vocabulary which is far cuter than his ornery "no!"

Tate's Mom Date

Every wednesday is mom-date-day. Each week it's a different kids' turn...
Tate lucked out – he chose to spend his last mom date at the mall getting ice cream – and there just happened to be vendor-guy there with a trampoline bungee jumper thing-a-ma-bopper – and he approached me and offered Tate a free try on it. Tate was thrilled – he got right up there, got all hooked up – jumped a couple times, suddenly noticed each jump made him go a little higher and suddenly he chickened out. He wanted off. Too scary!! I talked him through it and he stayed on – and in the end he enjoyed it – but at the time he was all sorts of freaked out. Pretty cute and totally funny!!

Mohawk Mayhem

Every year in the springtime Kamron decides it gets too hot having hair on his head, and he shaves it off. I hate this time of year. I love his hair. At the end of summer he’ll let it grow out continuously until spring, so it gets a little long and it’s curly at the ends. I love it. I love his hair. I hate his baldness. He is well aware of this. He recently warned me that the time was rapidly coming for him to shave his head. I begged and pleaded for him not to do it. I made crazy-silly threats and begged with all my might… I had a teeny-tiny glimmer of hope in me that he wouldn’t do it… last week I was away all day at a babyshower and spending time with my sister (see previous post)… When I arrived home, I walked in the door to the goofy grin of my husband’s face, and this monstrosity:

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Gross gross gross!!! What a creature!! He thought it was hilarious and he did at all for reaction sake – and quickly shaved the rest later… but it sure taught me quick – there are worse things than his bald head!! (What a brat!) (I love him)

Time With Sharli

Last weekend I took my girls and Dayton up to Bountiful to my cousin’s baby shower. It was a good time. Afterwards I hung out with my sister Sharli for a wee bit (Who is abandoning me and moving to Spain for 6 weeks btw…) We had a delightful time – but my favorite moment with her came at the end of the day, Sharli was sitting in the back seat with my kidlets and Oaklee suddenly started crying and holding her tongue. Sharli says “Oaklee, what’s wrong? Did you bite your tongue? Are you okay?...” This continued for a brief moment, we were approaching my mom’s house, and sharli got up close to try to investigate the reason for her tears when suddenly Oaklee projectiled across the vehicle at her. She puked everywhere – and I can honestly say I have never seen Sharli move so fast in her life! Hilarious! Fortunate for Sharli it only got a few spots on her pants and shoes. Oaklee however was covered head to toe and so was her carseat and the seat in front of her and the seat next to her… poor girl. I took her in my mom’s house and got her all cleaned up – we stole some of Samantha’s clothes to put her in, and found an old pot in the basement to use as a puke-pot for the drive home. Oaklee was thrilled with the puke pot. She wanted it on her lap the whole hour-long drive home. Fortunately for her and her car-sick little tummy, she fell asleep before she had a chance to use the pot.

Raggedy Raggedy

I’ve made a plethora of rag quilts as of lately – wow. I’m worn out on them. My new project? Rag-quilt placemats. My gramma called me the other day and requested a set of 12 done in the rag quilt style. I’m excited! I’ll post pictures when they are done – I really hope she likes them!!

Happy belated St Patty’s Day!!

Baby Boxer Man

Dayton loves to be in the basement with the boxing gloves and the punching bag – these pictures are like 4 or 5 weeks old – maybe more, but let’s face it, I am WAY behind on blogging… so enjoy it when you can get it…

Crafty

Where in the World?

It's true. I have been neglecting you lately. Why? Too busy. It's not school keeping me so busy, nor is it work or my plethora of children or my pregnancy or Kamron... it's not even the television occupying my time. What on earth could is possibly be then? Well, I'll tell you. This:

Those are blankets and burp cloths my friends. All hand crafted by yours truly. Truth is I always wanted a rag quilt for my babies and I secretly hoped that someone would get me one. No such luck. Then my fabulous younger sister Sharli (not to be confused with Samantha who is equally fabulous) taught me how to make them!!! Woot! (That was for you Sam) Turns out she got a sewing machine for Christmas and her mother-in-law is now teaching her how to use it by making a rag quilt. I am so thrilled!! However, there is one issue... I'm addicted. I couldn't stop at just one... I made a girl one and then a boy one (Cuz who knows which gender this new baby will be...) and then I made another boy one for my cousin, and now I've also ventured into making rag-quilt burp cloths and diaper changing pads... It's a sickness really. And I still have enough fabric left over to make roughly 3 more blankets and 20+ burp cloths and such. Yikes. I even scare myself. Anywho - I've done all this in the past 3 weeks... and congrats to Sharli who just finished her first one yesterday (Or maybe it was the day before..)

Latest Things to Escape Oaklee's Mouth...

Mom guess what? Last night I had a big drink in my belly

Mom your bed is so bouncy!

Mom, you're a total freak show!

Bubba dum bubba dum in a jish

Like a Battlefield like a battlefield like a battlefield! (Sung at the top of her lungs while dancing on a chair)

Mom, I love your body.

Just call me Watermelon

Warning: TMI

I'm really sorry, but this short story deserves documentation:

So I was at my OBGYN appt last week... And we all know the loveliness that can go on there... There I was in all my glory wearing nothing but a sheet, and the fire alarm goes off! Suddenly my head is swarming with thoughts "Is this for real?" "Should I get dressed?" "Are they gonna tell me if I need to evacuate?" "Is it an emergency and I'm gonna hafta run out in this sheet?" ...Finally the dr poked her head in and said, we have to evacuate, how fast can you get dressed? Phew! I've never dressed so fast in my life! In hindsight however, I should have just donned the gown, toga-style. It would have made for a much better story for everyone involved!!

Enough Said

This is the new shirt Dayton got today. In case you can not clearly read it, here is the actual shirt itself (in white):

I put it on him and set him loose. Morrissa saw it and said, "What a cute shirt Dayton!" Tate read it out loud and Tyson caught on. They all seemed pretty thrilled except Oaklee who was overly upset that she didn't get a new shirt - so I took her to my closet and put one of mine on her:

Now she feels much better about the whole situation!

I will now answer 2 of your questions you are all dying to ask:

1 - September 2nd

2 - Yes, we know what causes it.

Have a good day!

I Have a Major Disease

I was feeling a bit under the weather a couple days ago - Kyndi offered to give me a check-up to make sure I'm okay. She put on her special x-ray dr. goggles and said, "Yep, you have Big Mom-itis!" Not just mom-itis but Big mom-itis?! Wow, that's bad!

Movies

Kyndi's favorite movies: Annie, Enchanted, Snow White, Wizard of Oz (She always invites me to watch Annie with her, cuz it's my "favorite")

Oaklee's favorite: Enchanted. Hands down. She'd watch Enchanted non-stop if I'd let her. And it's hilarious cuz if I sit down to watch it with her she gives me the play by play so that I am quite certain that I know every detail of what is taking place.

Oh, and for the record, Kyndi's favorite animal is a flamingo. No idea where that comes from.

An Exact Portrait of Me

Kyndi drew this picture of me last week at preschool. Looks just like me don't you think?

(I'm especially fond of the pigtails and the 3rd leg) Please note the grass, sky and sunshine

Bedtime Visitor

A few nights ago I was making the "tuck-in" rounds. I started in the girls' room, tucked Oaklee and Kyndi in and told all 3 goodnight, then moved on to Tate's room where Tyson is currently sleeping as well (because the basement creeps him out). Tucked Tate in all tight like a mummy and said goodnight to them. Went to my room to get Dayton (which is where I had left him) but he wasn't in there. Soon I heard massive giggling coming from Oaklee... I walked in there to find this:

Vacuumed Hair Anyone??

Any of you ever get to experience the joys of the vacuum hose sucking up your hair (or arm or belly..etc..) when you were little? My kids got this experience the other day. I was vacuuming the edges of the hallway with the hose and Kyndi and Dayton kept taunting me and running... I decided to show them a trick... I stuck the hose near Kyndi's head and let it vacuum up her hair. Hilarious! They loved it! So much in fat that Oaklee (who is deathly terrified of vacuums) came running to join in. There's also a fancy trick you can try... Put the end of the hose on your face so that it's half on your cheek and half on your mouth and then proceed to open and shut your mouth. It makes a hideous monstrous noise that even Morrissa was cracking up over.

A few days later I was using the shop vac in the kitchen and Dayton wanted to try using it so I handed him the hose - he immediately went for the girls' hair!

(Oh and PS Oaklee is no longer afraid of the vacuum)

Master Chef

Apparently Dayton thinks he's a great helper when I am cooking. He and Oaklee often fight over who gets to sit on the counter next to me whilst I cook... Today, Dayton even got to "help". He held the measuring cup so well in fact that he refused to let me have it to dump in the pot!!

Princess Fiona?

(Minus the green skin and Ogre body)

Kyndi wanted to do her hair today, all by herself. We had no where important to be so I said Go ahead!! She was in the bathroom a good twenty minutes before emrging with this delightful harido. She was so proud of herself! She said, "I want Morrissa to think you did it and not me"

More on Dayton's Language

Dayton's knows more words these days, but to most people you'd think he was just babbling. I however, am wih him all day everyday and I now recognize some of his words

Moh - Remote Control

Muh - More

Buh-buh - Bye bye

Baa-baa - Baby

Bah-Bah - Sippy, or drink

Uh uh - No (He can be really bratty sometimes)

Oh-oh - anytime he drops something

Neenuh Neenuh (When he's being a booger-head)

And of course Bah! Which is his favorite word - (ball) that's all he ever wants or talks about around here. (He's obsessed)

He says Mom, Mommy and Mama really well, but do not confuse this with "Maw" which is the word he uses for everything else that he doesn't yet speak the words for!

He knows everybody's name in the family - he doesn't say any of them (Except mom) but if you ask where each person is, he'll point to them. He also knows who spongebob is, and Pyper (our bird).

Faces

Ever since Oaks was little, if she wanted something I'd say, "let me see if you're beautiful", to which she would respond with a smile. So cute. Now with Dayton I'll say, "Let me see your nice face" and he totally cheeses it! Love it! (Yes, that's a sparkly headband on his noggin)

Here's Oaklee's beautifulness:

Snuggle Butts

Look at these cute little snuggle butts!!

No chance of getting them both to look at the camera at the same time... (And look at the Bratski in the middle picture)

Mad Dancing Skills

Every week it is a different kids turn to have a "mom date". This usually involves going to get a treat and go look around the dollar store or something... Last week it was Tate's turn. He asked if we could just stay home and play Disney Dance Revolution together. What a blast! He hadn't played it yet. As we were playing he said, "If I use my Hip Hop Skills, I do better" Hilarious!! He has some good moves! (Although I somehow never caught my favorite one on camera)

This looks like a leprechaun move to me!!
(Please either avoid looking at the clutter of boxes piled behind him, or else note that they are my DI boxes that I continously forget to take to the drop off. Also, yes, there is a bottle of apple juice on my floor (I was thirsty) and I think in a picture or two you may see some unfolded laundry. I DESPISE laundry, so it may eventually get folded and put away)

Tate decided to snap a few pictures of my mad dance skills as well.

Jonathan - this one is for you, since you think this is the only way I know how to dance.