Dear Sirri,

We had our first T-ball practice today and I came home with sore cheeks. You see, I had such a great time watching you play today, that I smiled so much and it actually made my cheeks hurt.

I was so proud to be your mom and coach today. You hustled when we asked you to hustle. You were so teachable and tried to practice new skills that we were teaching you. You called your teammates by their names when throwing them the ball. You threw the ball like a pro. You kept your eye on the ball. You stayed on your feet the whole practice. You ran the bases with lightning speed. You didn't complain that it was hot and you didn't ask when treat time was. (Not even once. And we all know you like treats!) You really tried your very hardest today. And most importantly you had fun.

I think this is going to be a great season and I'm so glad that we get to spend it together.

Goooooooo Green!

I love you.

Love,

Your Coach and Mom

Kendon's Update

Kendon had his doctor's appointment yesterday and check out these amazing results!


DRUM ROLL PLEASE...............................................................................

---------------Before: ----------- After:----------- Desirable Range:

Cholesterol --------211----------------151----------------- 120-200
VLDL -------------113---------------- 13 ------------------ 0.0-50
Triglycerides ------565--------------- 64------------------- 36-150

I know....I'm married to a total stud! A total stud who is going to be around a very long time because he is willing to do what it takes to take care of himself. And for that, I am thankful. I love you, Babe, and I'm so proud of you!

Kendon's been working his rear off. LITERALLY.

Recently Kendon had a physical. All his blood work came back great except that his triglycerides were high. Quite high. The doctor put him on a prescription and said to come back in a month.

Kendon and I decided that this was a good opportunity to start getting back to better health. We want to be healthier so that Kendon would be able to get off the medicine, to feel and look better and most importantly to be better role models for our kids.

Our first move in our game plan was to cut out most sugar and all white flours and pasta. Cutting out the white flour and pasta has not been too bad, but cutting out sugar has been difficult for me. Difficult. Kendon has been much stronger than I have. He has had very little sugar in the last four weeks.

We also added more exercise to our routine. I've always been a pretty faithful gym goer but I'm trying to add some running into my repertoire as well. It's tough but feels good. We have the goal of running a 5K together on the fourth of July. That will be a piece of cake for Kendon. In the last four weeks he has gone from being able to barely run 1/4 mile and now he can run THREE without stopping! The kids and I love to stand at the end of his runs and cheer him on to the finish line.

I have a goal of losing about 20 pounds. In the last 4 weeks I've accomplished about 6 of that. 14 more to go. OUCH. Kendon on the other hand has dropped 18 pounds so far and is looking A-MAZING! I couldn't be more proud, or attracted to him! He wore his suit to church last Sunday that he hasn't been able to wear in over two years and he was smokin' hot!

This has been really fun to do together. Kendon is such a great motivating force for me. When I want to eat sugar (which is frequently) I can just think about Kendon and know that he isn't so I won't!

We go back to see Gary (our doctor) on Tuesday and I can not wait to see the look on his face when Kendon gets on that scale. And it will be so interesting to see what his triglycerides have done in the last four weeks. I'm guessing they are going to be slipping right off the charts! Just like Kendon's pants! It's time to go shopping. He needs some skinny jeans!

Hot and Skinny!

Whack! Whack!

I DID IT!

and i'm thrilled
and happy
and can do it super fast
and only have to do it once a day
and will probably have short hair forever
and think it's spunky
and funky
and sassy
and me
and I don't have hair in my face
and I don't obsess about it all day
and I love it
and have no regrets

and I turned off the comments.
Because....I love it.

Sometimes dreams are meant to stay just that....DREAMS!

If you were to ask me, "what would your dream job be?" I would be quick with my answer. Besides the obvious, of being a mom (cause that's the correct answer, right?) I would easily tell you that I have three careers that I dream of frequently.

First, I would love to be on Broadway. Unfortunately, I live in Idaho, not New York and more importantly, I don't sing. I should rephrase that. I don't sing well. I love to sing and do quite frequently. My kids have been known to even tell me to please stop. So, this dream is one that I know is not exactly achievable and I'm okay with that. I'll just continue stupidly grinning all the way through Hairspray and Grease and Annie and any other movie that has more singing than talking and know in my heart that I could do that. Really I could. With some voice lessons perhaps!I'll stick to community theater.
This is me as Lily St. Regis in Annie. 2002
This year I am in Seussical the Musical and will be playing Mrs. Mayor.

My next dream job is to be an EFY speaker. I would absolutely love that. I enjoy speaking in front of crowds and think being able to teach and inspire the youth would be such a special opportunity. Kendon doesn't get this at all. Most people don't. Just today we were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting next week and I eagerly said, "sure." Kendon on the other hand tried to get out of it since we only spoke about three months ago. (He did say yes of course, he'd just rather not!) Many people get an adrenaline rush from roller coasters (they make me cry) or fast motorcycles or watching an action movie. Me, I get a rush from speaking in front of groups. This dream, I know I could do. I've just never been asked. And probably won't. But that's okay. I guess I'll just keep saying yes to speaking in sacrament meeting and call it good.

My last dream job would be to own my own bakery that made fancy schmancy cakes and cupcakes. I LOVE decorating cakes and have done many for my own kids, family kids and neighborhood kids. Lots of kid's cakes. And they are all really cute and the recipients love them. That is the joy of making a cake for a kiddo. They are easily pleased. Well, this week I had the chance to make two adult cakes. And that is where my dreams came crashing down. Ask me to create a princess or mermaid or tractor or swimming pool out of cake, no problem! Ask me to make something that actually has to be pretty! Uhto!!!! Not as easy. I had no idea. I really thought I could do it. I had beautiful visions in my head, they just didn't quite recreate in cake. So, there goes dream number three. All crumbled up and smothered in frosting.

Kiddo cakes. Noone cares if they are lumpy or crumbly and the more frosting the better.

Adult cakes on the other hand.....
YIKES!

I guess you really can't have your cake and eat it too!

The Solution

I've been really wanting to get that last post off the top of my blog for a while now. Well, ever since the moment I wrote it two weeks ago, in fact. That evening was definitely not my proudest moment.

So, here are some of my thoughts on parenting and my bedtime solution.

The morning after my melt down, or smack down, which is probably the more fitting term, I was reading my scriptures and was studying about patience. (Patience. Hmmm. Fitting don't you think? Ya, I thought so too.) I just really felt like I needed a reminder of the mother that I can and should be. All the scriptures talked about being meek and humble and gentle. All the things that I was NOT the night before.

As I continued my search for guidance and strength in being patient, I came upon these verses:

"But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence and with great patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst." Alma 32:41-42

As I read these verses that morning I read them with a different understanding than I have before. As I read them I imagined my children as the tress that I am to be nourishing. I saw bedtime in particular as an opportunity to feed and nourish these little saplings of mine so that one day they will grow into mighty strong trees whose fruit is sweet above sweet and precious above precious and who will bring me such great joy that I feel full. I saw bedtime as more than just a time of day but as one more opportunity to teach my children important life skills. Bedtime can be an opportunity to teach my children about patience even when we are tired. Bedtime is a chance to teach my children about prayer and being grateful. Bedtime is a chance to teach my children ways to cope and deal with frustrations in an appropriate manner. Bedtime can be a chance to teach my kids that sometimes we have to do things we don't want to. Bedtime can be a time to nourish and feed my little trees.

So, in an effort to make bedtime a time filled with less stress and full of more teaching and nourishing moments, I needed a plan. Last year, when we were having similar struggles I came up with the "sand art jars" plan. For every night that the kids went to bed well, they were able to put a scoop of colored sand in a jar. We did this until the jars were full and going to bed well was a habit. This worked like a charm and I needed something similar.

So, this time we have been making bead necklaces. Every night that the kids go to bed well they get to add a bead to their necklace. It has worked fabulously. In the last two weeks we have only had one night where the kids didn't get their beads. It is so nice. Even Meg stays in her bed and we have talked to Sirri and Connor about the influence their good example is having on her. I feel like bedtime is not a fight anymore, I can use the time to teach my kids valuable lessons, and everyone goes to sleep with peace in their hearts.
Being parents can be so tough and much of the time I wonder what kind of fruit my poor little trees will produce some day, but I am so thankful for a Heavenly Father who will help lead and guide us in this journey if we will but take the time to ask for his help and study his word.

And aren't sleeping kiddos just so sweet?!?!?
Even when they're all sprawled out in funky positions and on the floor. (MEG! who goes to bed much better on the floor for some reason. Oh well. I'm not questioning it. It works!)

WWF

I'm pretty sure I missed my calling in life. As much as I want to be the good mommy and all, and I try, I really do, sometimes I just fail. Miserably.

Last night was one of those nights.

It was last night that I realized I would have fared much better in life and maybe even have made millions by now if only I had joined the WWF! And I'm not talking about the World Wildlife Fund. I'm talking the wrestling association, here.

You see, we have been having a rough time with bed time. Again. You might recall this same trial about one year ago when we moved the kiddos into one room. That was a tough transition. I get it. And we got over it. Phew.

But, now, Meg is no longer in her crib, much to my chagrin. I'd keep her there until Kindergarten if it were up to me. But, since she started bailing over board, it wasn't really up to me. So, we put her in a big girl bed.

Two words to describe how it is going:

It's NOT.
(Does a contraction still count as one word?)

Three words.

SHE IS NAUGHTY.

Six Words:

Sirri and Connor are following suite.

This whole last week has been pretty rotten. I've pulled out all my best techniques and nothing is working.

Last night was especially bad. The kids were teasing and taunting me (yes, I was being taunted by a four and five year old.) They would come running out of their room, see me, go giggling back to bed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

I tried to ignore. Ignore. Ignore.

That was a failure. Failure. Failure.

And before I knew it my inner WWF self came raging out.

I went screeching into their room, grabbed Connor by his pajamas and literally THREW him into his bed. Please take note, Connor sleeps on the TOP bunk. And I threw him clear over the top rail. My own child. I threw him. THREW HIM. THREW HIM!

I'm pretty sure I could compete with the big girls in the ring!

And then, to top it off as my children all stared at me in unbelief and probably frozen in fear (maybe they were just amazed at my strength! ha.) I had a few choice words to say. Including, but not limited to, "You are going to be so sad in the morning..." "Don't you dare get out of this bed one more time...." "If you think I'm upset right now..."

They eventually did go to bed. I did a little (okay a lot of) repenting. And I have come up with a plan that we are going to try. I'll let you know how it goes.

In the mean time, I've been coming up with a few ideas for my wrestling name....

Red Hot.

Fire Cracker.

Hot Tamale.

Just to name a few.

Oh, yeah? You wanna piece of this?!?!?!?!

April Month in Review

April started out with beautiful weather which was so fabulous for our Community Easter Egg Hunt. Two of my friends began this hunt three years ago and it has grown so fast that I and a few other friends pitched in to help this year. It was LOTS of fun stuffing HUNDREDS of eggs and asking businesses for donations. (Okay, that part was OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE, but I did it anyway, and people were so generous!) We had a great turnout and the kids all had a great time and scored BIG! And forewarning for next year...no one try to touch Meg's candy! Woowee!

We started a new tradition this year by asking the Easter Bunny to come to our house AFTER church from now on. We didn't want to uninvite him all together, but do want the kids to remember the true meaning of Easter. So, the bunny was obedient mostly. He did stop by with orange rolls for breakfast, a book about Jesus to take to church and a note saying that he'd be back. The kids weren't disappointed at all and it worked out really nicely. We had a fun family egg hunt in the yard when we came home from church.

I am so thankful for the Easter Season. I just love spring. It is such a great time for renewal and fresh starts. I am so thankful for the Lord Jesus Christ and the sacrifices He made for my family and me. I hope that I can always rely on His atoning sacrifice in my life.

The weather has been very April-ish. Meaning we have had some GREAT days and some YUCKY days. On the great days (And even on some not so great days) Kendon has been a busy bee. He has been working the garden so it will be all ready for planting time. He tinned the shed roof so it won't leak any longer. He built me a strawberry box (yipppeeee). And he built us a fire pit.

Thank yo so much for your hard work, Kendon. I'm sure there is some calendar I can nominate you for. You definitely deserve a shot at being Mr. April!!!!!!

The kids could not be happier with the pit. It will be put to MUCH use this summer. Can you only imagine how many marshmallows will be roasted in that pit?!?!?!?!

Connor learned how to ride his bike this month without training wheels! He actually could do it on his first try!!!! That is one talented kid. He is getting better every day and if the weather would just stay nice long enough, I know he'd have it perfected right quick!

I'll have to get a good video of him riding. All the ones I have include me, the crazy mother screaming like a banshee because I am so excited! We have all witnessed that once, and that was enough!!

Sirri had a really super kindergarten program. It was a Patriotic theme and was absolutely DARLING! Kendon took some footage. I'll have to get him to help me post it on here. I just love America songs and cute kids and the combination is almost too much! The kids did so great and Sirri is a natural on stage!

After the performance Sirri and I went on a date with Brooke and Jaci. These girls were on a MAJOR sugar high and were crazy wild! There were really only college kids occupying the place by the time the rowdy ensued and they seemed entertained by the whooligans so Jaci and I just sat back and giggled! (I know-such great control we have!) Sirri even had enough gusto to suck her ice cream through a straw!

Speaking of being on stage....Sirri and Connor and I tried out to be in Seussical the Musical! A neighboring town does a play every year for the 24h of July and I was in it 6 years ago when they put on Annie. I was Lily Saint Regis, the floozy girlfriend to Rooster, and had so much fun singing and dancing on tables that I have wanted to do it ever since. So, this is the year! I have been cast as Mrs. Mayor (As in the wife to Mr. Mayor from Horton Hears a Who) and the kids will be Whos!!! Is Sirri not the perfect Who, or what? I'm super excited. I just hope my singing solos aren't long. I really don't sing. Uh, oh! (Let me re-phrase that....I love to sing, just don't do it well!)
Like I mentioned, the weather has been sporadic. So, one day when I was really needing it to be spring-ier than it was, I brought spring inside. I just love having fresh flowers in my house. Why have I not been doing this for years?!!?!? Well, it is going to be my new splurge! (HINT: If there happened to be a certain someone who lives with me that ever had reason to make me happy, some fresh flowers would work! And they are actually cheap at Alberstons!)

I also love the grass that I planted in some old vases. Connor has been fascinated as well to watch the roots grow in the glass jar! (Thanks for the inspiration, Ilene!)

Sirri has been into having her hair done, lately. Her hair is always done (for school at least) but now, she WANTS it done! That is a nice development. She loves to have it curled, "like Kennedy!" It seems like her hair is getting a bit thicker these days so now I need to learn some new dos besides just piggies. Kendon says it is hard for him to look at Sirri when her hair is all curled up like that. "She is way to cute and looks like she is 12!" (I think he's exaggerating about the 12 part, just a bit!)
Meg is SURE two, these days. She knows what she wants and when she doesn't get it, watch out. She thinks that she is as big as Sirri and Connor and tries to do everything they do. Including, NOT take a nap. Sorry Meg. Not gonna happen. That girl can also throw a fit. Yet, she can be so sweet in an instant. (Reminds me of someone I know! SIRRI!) Oh, and did I ever mention that her full first sentence was, "I not want to." Yep.

On the other hand, Meg is so sweet. If you get hurt or are sad she is so empathetic. She talks in the sweetest, high pitched voice and says, "you owie? you sad?" It melts you instantly.

Meg has also learned to dress herself. And she does a darn good job. She can even do her own shoes and socks. Very nice.

The other day I was pushing the FOUR AMIGOS on the swing and suddenly I realized just how big they are. (Including very heavy all together!) It seems that just yesterday they were our little babies. Now they are almost finished with kindergarten and riding bikes and wanting to call each other on the phone and shooting air soft guns. These four kiddos have basically grown up darn near siblings and are such great little buddies. I hope that it stays that way. If they have to get bigger, they might as well do it together!