Christmas 2012

We took the kids on the "car express" a couple nights before Christmas.  They found magic golden tickets in their beds when it was bed time and were told that they had to go that night.  We loaded them in the car with treats and jammies and dropped off Luke at Auntie Dede's b/c kids have to be over 1 year old for this adventure (no ticket in Luke's crib).  We drove around looking at Christmas lights and eating treats while listening to Christmas music! It was so fun.  The kids fell asleep on the way home, they were "SOOOOOO tired."  (At 7:45pm :)  They definitely enjoyed this special night.

Christmas morning..... Breanna got a puppy that she can "walk" around with a leash.  It also barks and moves.  Luke was terrified of it at first, then learned he could push it over and now he does that and laughs.  Ethan and Breanna got remote control monster trucks from Santa Claus.  Ethan's is black and Breanna's is red, so they can tell them apart.  Breanna was thrilled, saying, "Santa even knew our favorite colors!"  Luke is also scared of the trucks.  Luke got a stuffed puppy from us and a huge thing of "milk" (formula) from Santa, b/c that's all he asked for this year :)

 Sitting there trying to figure out why all these items were zooming around the house.

We really enjoyed having my parents there for Christmas morning.  I somehow didn't manage to capture any pics of Rob or myself, but we were there orchestrating the whole thing!  Rob got me an awesome coat and snowpants, they are nike and the cutest/most fashionable/warm coat and snowpants I've ever owned.  I've used them 3 times already taking the kids sledding.  Rob got a few cool workout shirts, a sweatshirt and sweatpants from nike he really wanted.  We had a really yummy breakfast, french toast, eggs, bacon and piticia (brought by my parents).  Dinner was roast, potatoes and green beans.  Rob cooked everything!  He's my Christmas present with all that cooking!  2012 was a great year.  This Christmas was so enjoyable, not carrying 35 extra pounds around like last year.  Luke's b-day is 3 days after Christmas, so yesterday he turned one!  I will post about that soon.

We had a miracle on Christmas.  We took the kids sledding and went to a steeper hill b/c the snow was fresh and so soft that the sleds were really slow.  The kids had a blast.  There is a pavillion at the bottom of the hill so I had the kids pointed away from it.  Rob had just gone home to get rope so we could make a contraption to pull the sleds back up the hill.  Breanna went down the hill head-first on her sled and somehow had turned toward the pavillion. I was holding Luke and watched as she headed straight for a cement pole, I screamed but couldn't do anything, she was going too fast.  She corrected just a tiny bit and then hit into the pole.  It was a loud smack and I waited for her response as I went down the hill holding Luke.  She didn't do anything for a second then held her head and started screaming.  I was terrified.  I went and held her and put Luke next to me (and he started crying).  I saw no blood, but worried that I hadn't seen where she hit yet.  I yelled for Rob b/c I saw him coming.  He carried her home.  Somehow she managed to hit on the side of her head right by her ear.  This is the miracle b/c she was headed for it straight on the front of her head.  She got a big goose egg, and brusing under the ear, a "rug burn" type burn on her ear that quickly turned into blood bruising.  She screamed and cried, but 15 minutes later was okay.  We had her take it easy for quite some time with an ice pack and tylenol and laying on the couch.  She hit hard enough she should have had a concussion, split open her head or broken something. 
I was terrified that we were going to be in the hospital that day when I watched her smack her head into a cement pole.  I am so grateful that she's okay and really was hurt very little compared to what it could have been.  Apparently how she adjusted right at the end was the perfect angle to protect her. 

That sums up our Christmas, besides the typical Christmas movies we also watched that evening! Merry Christmas!

Look who got stuck

Luke decided to empty all the toys and the bins off a shelf the other day.  During the process, he got stuck.........

Pretty hilarious!

Halloween 2012

My crew getting ready to go trick or treating...

 We have one SCARY ghost .....

 One FIERCE lion.....

 And one CHAMPION football player.....

 Off to the first house (we left right as the sun was setting)

 Yes.....I put jammies under my kids costumes.  Kept them warm and didn't have to change them for bedtime that night :)

 Such a pretty and warm Halloween night

 It was a great night!

Fall Festival

This was at our ward fall festival.  Had lots of fun.  There was a chili cookoff, cornbread and pie cookoff.  At the end there was pie eating contests (which Breanna participated in :) My dad came and so did my sister Michelle, visiting from CA, with her kiddos Pax and Caleb....these are pictures from that our Bishop took, so I don't have any of our guests, but I love these pics!

Ethan's bed

I wanted this for memories when the kids get older.  Two nights ago when putting Ethan to bed I was in awe of the amount of things in his bed.  I asked him if he wanted them moved, he said no, he likes them there.  It includes the following:

- His special blankie
- Flashlight
- Swimming goggles
- His money bank (empty)
- All of his money (coins) scattered across his bed.  He sleeps on them.
- A magazine from the mail that has halloween costumes in them. (I tried to throw it away the other day and was caught and it got returned to his bed.
- His newest truck from a garage sale.
- At least one of his toy guns
- A football book from the library (he gets 2 every time we go)
- One or two more toys to "play" with during the night.


All of these things are very special to him.  I figured he was uncomfortable, but apparently this is what make his bed wonderful :)

Conversation

Today I overheard Breanna asking Ethan to play with her (some type of made up game, I'm not sure which one).

He said no.

Then, she proceeded to tell him in a low voice, "If you don't play with me then I will put your blankie in the mouse trap."


Too bad she got caught, but wow is all I can say.  This girl is so kind and loving to her brothers 90% of the time, but I definitely heard the fiesty side come out of her today.

I tried really hard not to laugh.

I know Ethan will get her back someday.

Halloween Activities

Rob had the kids make some awesome sugar cookies a couple nights ago for a family activity.  I don't like sugar cookies, but these were really yummy.  He got the recipe off of Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog.  We will definitely repeat this recipe.  He said that Ethan had so many sprinkles that he couldn't lift his off the plate without an avalanche.  (I had to leave early for a YW activity). Also, notice in the top pic that we are definitely rolling in the money right now :) Pretend money that is!  It was a fun activity!

10 days left!

Update on the no spending month.  We have spent a total of $387.55 in 20 days.  We leave in 10 days for our cruise.  We have to keep our spending under $112.45 in the next 10 days to meet our goal.

This is great b/c we had some special things happen this past week.  We had a family event that we attended and brought food for, so that was extra food.  We also had some wonderful friends from Hawaii come and visit us for 3 days.  We made meals for both families (5 in each family) for 3 days and still have spent the $387.55.

A couple of the splurges were:

$4.00 at McDonalds for ice cream cones for the kids and Rob - everyone worked really hard to clean the condo when we left and they deserved a treat!  Breanna mopped the floor, Ethan vaccuumed, they picked up and helped with the baby on the drive.

$15.00 for Chipotle on the way up to the mountains.  So yummy and helped us all be happy and endure the extremely crowded roads and extra long drive.

$7.00 for Deantonio's - Rob got a calzone and this was the one argument we had.  I said no, he wanted it badly, so I eventually gave in and felt bad b/c he works so hard for our family and the money we do have. 

We have spent $50 in gas for the family travelling around and also short trips around our house.

We also spent plenty of money at grocery stores.....but were able to feed lots of people yummy food and not need to go out to eat.

So far I have learned that our biggest problem is eating out.  We love to eat out.  Even if it's cheap it quickly adds up.  Also it's cheap, but it only lasts one meal versus spending that in a grocery store where it can be a couple meals or the whole family for the same price.

Do you think we can make it til the 15th?

I do!

All about my Dad

This was info filled out by Breanna for her Dad for father's day:


My Dad's name is : Rob

He is 33 years old

His favorite food is : Spaghetti

His favorite thing to do is : Play with me.

My favorite thing to do with my dad is : Play with me

When my Dad goes to work he does: Tortillas

Week 1 update

We are doing really well so far, our grand total for the first week was...... $92.92. 


This is because we got more groceries for the week and spent $19.42 (almost $20!!) on necessities like toilet paper, etc.

This $92.92 includes Rob eating out at Wendy's for $4.50 and Chipotle for $7.63.  This actually made me kinda mad at first b/c he is not committing 100% to this like I feel like I am.....then I thought about it more.

Rob usually buys something EVERYDAY while working on the route.  To have only bought 2 items the entire week is actually a huge success.  Yes, it's not perfection, but it's pretty darn close!  Especially b/c I didn't behave perfectly this week with the garage sales, and I guarantee I am going to spend $5 on garage sales this weekend.

But, that is under the average that we need to spend each week to make our goal!!! Very exciting and a successful first week.

We have some things coming up though, so we REALLY need to be careful.  We have a family event on Saturday that we need to buy food for.  Also, we have friends coming to visit over Labor day weekend, so if we can get through this whole month with our "mini vacation" included that would be amazing.

One last thing....I have an almost empty tank of gas....so I'm thinking I'll put in $20 to start off week #2 and see how long it can last us!

Go us! (Yes, I am my own personal cheerleader....someone has got to do it right?)

Day 2

Today we went to Sprouts to get the fruits and veggies we needed for the week.  I spent $13.47, which I was really happy about.  This will hopefully last for the whole week for us.  I only bought fruits and veggies on sale.  No extras....a lot of times we get yogurt covered pretzels, nuts, pirate's booty, drinks, etc....that aren't necessarily on sale.

I got 3 bananas, 7 apples, a bag of clementines, 2 tomatoes, 2 bags of carrots, 4 potatoes, 1 cantelope, and 1 bag of grapes. 

We already have lettuce, avocadoes, cilantro, broccoli, one onion and celery to start off the month. 
The nice cashier gave Breanna and Ethan each a fruit strip thing after I bought the groceries for free, so they got a treat, without even asking for one :)  She was really nice and this is the 2nd time she's done this with my kids.  Last time was when I was 9 month preggo with Luke she gave them each a chocolate milk for free.  Really cool.

I did something I shouldn't have and went to some garage sales on the way home.  I wasn't planning on it but I did and I wasn't going to post about this, but I had $5 in cash and decided I could spend that and no more (even though I was thinking of ways to go get cash as I saw the garage sales).

I did well! I only spent $3 and I'm really happy about my purchases. I got Luke a toy like this for $2, which usually the cheapest you can find is like $25 or something like that.  I also got Breanna some sparkly/girly tennis shoes (big for later) for $1, which she has wanted for a long time and cost at least $15 in the stores new.  So, definitely not necessities but happy with my purchases and the fact that I didn't go too crazy! 

Total spent this month: $16.47.....now to try not to spend over the weekend!

Day 1 of our "No spend month"

I saw this idea to do a "No spend month" on pinterest.  So, the timing is perfect.....one month exactly from today we are boarding a week long cruise.  What a perfect ending and reward to a "No spend month," right???

Here's the link to the blog:

http://smallnotebook.org/2012/07/01/no-spend-month-start-here/


So we aren't going to use our credit cards for the month.  We will only pay our bills (mortgage, utilities, health/car/life insurance, etc.)  and then we still need to decide on a set amount of cash for "everything else" for the month.

This way we pay for our gas, food, and anything else out of this set amount and cannot go over.  Obviously we will pay for the gas in Rob's truck and too and from work out of our "bills" b/c those are non-negotiable.

Usually our grocery budget for the month is about $500.  So I was thinking to have the whole budget for EVERYTHING be $500 for the month.  Basically that means we don't eat out at all.  We don't buy anything extra or unnecessary, only the things we need for the month for $500.  I already have enough formula for the month, so that is kinda cheating b/c I will have to spend extra on it next month, but I think it will be a really good experiment for us to CURB OUR SPENDING :)

"No Spend Month is a chance to take a break from buying stuff. It’s like boot camp for your budget, but it’s not actually about the money. Personally, I like the opportunity to practice self discipline and to really appreciate what we have.

What’s amazing is how much free time you discover when you stop looking for the next thing you can buy that might improve your home, appearance, and productivity.

In past years we’ve found ways to save money that have impacted us ever since."

I am excited to see how this affects our family.

The first thing that I noticed was that Rob left his credit cards at our house this morning, and debit card, so that he can't spend today at work! Great job Rob!

I am putting this on my blog to give us some accountability.  Hopefully it will help us to be successful with the project.

Ethan

For my own journal....these are messages that a couple ladies in my ward wrote on facebook yesterday about our awesome son Ethan.

"Brooke! I have to tell you what a rockstar Ethan is in nursery. He is right there with us participating when we have singing time and always volunteers to say the prayer. He did it all by himself on Sun and started right off with thanking HF for his primary teacher. We all wanted to cry it was so sweet!!
Anyway, he is so winning. :)" (This is from the primary chorister, who comes in to sing with the kids during nursery at church).

 

 

" I should also add he was so sweet to Judd last week when he was crying. He kept bringing him cars because it was making him happy. What a super loving boy you've got!" (This is from a mom in our ward who's little guy is new in nursery).

 

 

The bathroom

Shout out to my sister Michelle

When I saw this I just CRACKED up b/c it reminds me of so many conversations that I've had with my sister.  She has 2 little ones and lives in California.  I have 3 little ones and live here in Colorado.  You can imagine our conversations on the phone sometimes are something a bit like this......( the right side "with kids").  Love you michelle :)

Apartment

We are renting out our basement apartment again.  We have had quite a few viewings, but are being picky about who rents it.....

In the past 2 days we have been asked by 2 different families if they could move in that same day, but don't have enough money to cover the rent and deposit.  Just enough for rent...........

Wow! Seriously? We're not renting it out for charity.  It is to HELP our family by paying some of our mortgage. 

Don't worry I'm not really that mean.  I did get emotionally upset when considering that these people had no where else to go (that's what they told us), but I think they were just trying to scam us into moving in for the first month's rent and then staying there until we could evict them.

I luckily talked to Rob, then we talked to our parents and then prayed about it.  I also had a pit in my stomach when the first woman was asking about it, but as soon as I told them that they could move in if they could qualify through the background/criminal check and PAY for everything then they could move in.....they disappeared from communication.

We have some more viewings this week, hopefully they'll go better :)

Wishing

I want to go back here!

Lately

Life has been super busy.

- Rob has more and more going on with the route, because sales are increasing with our added store (Sam's Club) it is getting harder to get all the deliveries that are constantly needed.  We have 8 grocery stores now rather than 7.  He has someone work with him on Mondays and Wednesdays so he can do a crazy amount of deliveries, but we just hired someone else to work Tuesdays and Thursdays with him.  It's either this or split the route (which is what they want us to do, but we're trying to hold on to it with just adding employees).
-I am doing the route saturday and sundays so Rob watches the kiddos those mornings we "switch" roles for the weekend.
-I just finished an anatomy and physiology course, the first one, and got an "A"!! I went to class Mondays and Wednesdays from 3-8pm and Rob again took care of the kids.  It's at the Denver School of Nursing for my prerequisites.  I am going to take the 2nd class of A&P starting in the beginning of July and finishing in September.  Then I will take off a quarter to finish my Nutrition class (online) that I have failed to finish and I need to get it done by December.  Then I will have only one class left of prerequisites, Microbiology, maybe will take it in January, we'll see. I am not sure when I will go ahead with the full-time nursing program, but I'm trying to get all the prerequisites done so that I can be ready and apply to different programs.
-Am teaching the Miamaids at church (14 and 15 year old girls) so now have that on sundays along with presidency meetings and weekly activities.
-I wonder what kept me busy before having luke?
-Of course during all this we had just added a baby, so we've adjusted to life with 3 kiddos now.  It took me a good 3 months to even want to leave the house with all of them by myself.  Every weekend Rob would take us "out" somewhere and that really helped me survive the first 3 months.  I also feel like it's so much easier lately to just play in the backyard or go on a walk near home b/c now we're dealing with feedings and naps, which Ethan had gotten old enough that it didn't matter about naptime, we could just go and do without much struggle.

Breanna
-Such a great big sister, she is AMAZING.  She knows SO much about Luke.  She even tells me what to try if Luke is crying.  "check his diaper mom....maybe he just wants to be held....maybe he want to have his bottle....maybe he wants to jump in his jumperoo."
-Has become quite "brave" lately in the water.  Actually tries to swim.  Puts her head under and loves her goggles.
-Always a great playmate to Ethan.
-Loves to tease Ethan though and push his buttons
-Reading like a champ
-Such a great girl, but definitely has her moods
-Wants to be around me and misses me lately
-Can read the clock and tell time pretty well (digital)
-Learned how to make chicken nuggets in the microwave (daddy taught her) and toast a waffle
-Loves treats


Ethan
-A maniac
-So brave, scary brave
-Full of energy
-Finally starting to take interest more in Luke, will clap his hand really loudly in front of Luke's face to "help" him stop crying
-A great eater, will try almost anything
-Pretty much never naps- very rare
-Loves playing
-Walks around outside on the rocks and gets prickers in his feet and keeps doing it over and over and over.
-Loves playing with the toys in the garage, especially taking EVERY toy out and not putting them back, but lines them up nicely.
-Screams at the top of his lungs lately when kids tease him or don't listen to him
-Getting pretty good at listening to what I ask of him

Luke
-Quite spoiled, LOVES being held
-pretty darn good sleeper, sleeps most nights from 7:30 til 6:30 in the morning with one feeding.
-takes about 3 naps per day, usually an hour long per nap and only 15-20 min. cat naps if out and about.
-eating baby cereal like crazy, wants to be at the table eating whenever we're eating.
-loves the johnny jump up (in the doorway jumper thing)
-loves baths and pretty fond of the pool.
-doesn't like entertaining himself, doesn't know what to do with himself if i ever take him alone in the car :)
-smiles a lot
-loves breanna so much
-kinda loves ethan, kinda scared of him too


Okay that's the update for now :)

Don't worry I didn't do this to Ethan...

New calling

At church I have a new calling.....I think it's been a month now, but I am Mia Maid Advisor, which is the 14-15 year old girls at church. I have taught only one lesson so far b/c of different combined meetings and Mother's Day.

I am teaching again on Sunday.  The lesson is

The Purpose of Covenants and Ordinances..

I really like this handout that was  Shared by Megan Curtis on Sugardoodle.net. 

I started reading a talk called,"The Power of Covenants," By Todd D. Christofferson that I believe I will use in the lesson. I am trying to figure out how to make this lesson more 14 and 15 year old appropriate?  Also trying to figure out any real life stories/examples to share.  I really liked this story in the beginning of the talk....

On August 15, 2007, Peru suffered a massive earthquake that all but destroyed the coastal cities of Pisco and Chincha. Like many other Church leaders and members, Wenceslao Conde, the president of the Balconcito Branch of the Church in Chincha, immediately set about helping others whose homes were damaged.

Four days after the earthquake, Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy was in Chincha helping to coordinate the Church’s relief efforts there and met President Conde. As they talked about the destruction that had occurred and what was being done to help the victims, President Conde’s wife, Pamela, approached carrying one of her small children. Elder Nash asked Sister Conde how her children were. With a smile, she replied that through the goodness of God they were all safe and well. He asked about the Condes’ home.

“It’s gone,” she said simply.

“What about your belongings?” he inquired.

“Everything was buried in the rubble of our home,” Sister Conde replied.

“And yet,” Elder Nash noted, “you are smiling as we talk.”

“Yes,” she said, “I have prayed and I am at peace. We have all we need. We have each other, we have our children, we are sealed in the temple, we have this marvelous Church, and we have the Lord. We can build again with the Lord’s help.”

This tender demonstration of faith and spiritual strength is repeated in the lives of Saints across the world in many different settings. It is a simple illustration of a profound power that is much needed in our day and that will become increasingly crucial in days ahead. We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can lift others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations.....

....What is the source of such moral and spiritual power, and how do we obtain it? The source is God. Our access to that power is through our covenants with Him. A covenant is an agreement between God and man, an accord whose terms are set by God (see Bible Dictionary, “Covenant,” 651). In these divine agreements, God binds Himself to sustain, sanctify, and exalt us in return for our commitment to serve Him and keep His commandments.

Library

Getting out of the house is done a lot less now that we have 3 children.  I have always been a go somewhere at least once a day kind of mom.  I don't like being "stuck" at the house.  We would go to the park, library, store, walks, etc.

Now it is just easier to stay home play inside or outside in the back yard or go on a little walk/bike ride near the house! That way, when the kids (usually the baby) get antsy, grumpy, screamy, etc....we are at home or close to home :)

We are still spending a lot of time outdoors to get their energy out, but the one thing that has fallen by the wayside is the library.  I would go weekly with the kids before, sometimes two times a week.  Now, every couple to every 3 weeks is how it's been going.  And I think we've made it to story time twice since the baby was born 4 1/2 months ago.

But, we still get books/cds/dvds from the library to keep up with the reading/entertainment at the house!

We went the other day and I try to let the kids choose most of the books, of course steering them towards age appropriate ones and now for Breanna, books that she can practice reading.

Ethan saw the row of new books when we walked in the children's section, raced over and grabbed a book.

"Mom, mom, let's get this shooter one!" he excitedly requested.

I looked at the cover, which had a military man (army) on the front holding a gun and dressed in fatigues.  I thought, hmmm, probably not "age appropriate."

Then.....I read the cover, "The Take Down of Osama Bin Laden."

After that, I convinced him to go find 2 new books in the football section :) Fun times :)

familia

I love these guys :)

For all you mommas out there :)

4 months old

Luke:

Stats:
Weight 15 lbs 9 oz -60th percentile
Height 24 3/4 inches - 50th percentile
Head 17.5 cm - 95th percentile

The boy has a big head :)

Annie

My parents took Breanna to go see the play Annie on Wednesday!  She loved it.  We had prepped her the day before by having her watch the movie Annie for the first time.  She says it's now her favorite movie.  She told me that she wanted to choose the dress she was going to wear and I was a bit worried....but she chose a red dress.  She said she wanted to wear it so that she could be like Annie :)  It was cute.  The first pic is of before the play, couldn't get her to smile (at least she's not crying).  The other pic is at the play and Grammie and Grampy worked their magic and got a smile out of her!

Related

Just trying to see if these two look related at all :)