"REAL" work....

So I thought I would teach my kids the meaning of "real" work.  You know the kind I did as a kid.  The kind I am thankful my dad taught me as a kid....AS MUCH AS I HATED IT THEN...we knew how to work.  Really work.  We would get up and have to rake our entire yard...(dad...I still don't understand this, why didn't we just mow the leaves again??) and we also had a dog, an apricot and apple tree that we had to clean up after...which wouldn't have been so bad except for all the squirrels...they would take ONE bite and then chuck it on the ground...and try another...and another...and another...as IF the next would taste better or something...!!  I remember it would make my dad SO MAD!!  But seriously...it made us mad too when we had to pick up these NASTY rotting fruit from the ground....so gross...especially as a kid...

RIGHT....kids....that's what we were talking about...MY kids...teaching them work...!!

Well, we have a pretty huge yard, and we have a couple PRETTY huge trees that hang over into our yard...which in the summer we are thankful for.  These trees however in the fall drop these big brown seed pods ALL OVER THE YARD.   Last year Brian decided to just mow them up....BAD IDEA.  He was allergic to them, and had some serious eye and nasal problems for WEEKS.  Sooo....this year...we have basically neglected them hoping that the backyard fairy would magically come clean it all up...oh ya...and all the dog poop too...!!  HE NEVER CAME.  ( I say he...cause I think a girl fairy woulda come...girls have much more intuition you know...)

Well, I got all "motivated" one day and decided to get the kids all pepped up and let them clean it up.  Even if it took them hours....I remember being out in the yard working from morning till it got dark....they could handle it right??  Well, I did give them incentive.  I told them they could earn a dollar per black trash bag that was filled.  They were ready to go...mom doesn't offer money...well...hardly ever...!  I was going to just let them pick it up one by one...but then I got raking...and raking...and raked several piles for them to work on. 

 I even picked up a trashcan full of poop.  While I was out there, they were VERY productive.  Once my back hurt so much I could cry, I told them that I had to go in, but that they needed to keep working and hurry to get it done to surprise daddy when he got home. 

Their work habits are not so good I'm afraid.  Oakley was the best....filling twice the bags that Carter did.  Parker was just plain useless...he did fill one bag, and then came in for a nap...(there were consequences for not working too).   I had to keep going out there and hassling them because they would be jumping on the trampoline...or playing on the swing set...they just couldn't focus. 

Eventually, Brian came home...and he basically saw numerous piles of pods all over the yard.  I was so BUMBED.  I had such high hopes that the kids would just work, and get it done.   Luckily Brian was just impressed that ANYONE went out there in the first place to work on the yard....and he decided to go out and help them finish.  Luckily he didn't have a problem cause they weren't being ground into the air for him to breathe...and the kids DID help him.

SO, the moral of the story is:  If you want your kids to work...you have to make it a family affair...at least at my kids ages.  Or maybe you just have to invest in shock collars with remotes so every time they stop you can zing em'...

Heartfelt and Fabulous...

We had a seriously action packed Valentines!!  I wish I could say it was serene, romantic, maybe even a bit sexy...but hey, with the lives we live...what can you expect??  I can say however that it was fun!! 

I really wanted to be involved at the kids school...cause I NEVER am...so I put together some little treats and took them.  I had to make FOUR different trips to THREE different parties, at TWO different schools...but hey, I did it!!  I also made a little "something something" for their teachers...

(heart-shaped poptarts)

That night we went to Brian's brother's house for a couples night of "LOVE".  They had some tables beautifully decorated and did a sweet formal "sit-down" dinner.  After dining we all played the Newly Wed Game...Brian and I were SURE we would win it...cause we played it once...and did....

This time...not so much.  Not only did we lose...we lost MISERABLY...!!  We decided that it just meant that we weren't "Newly Weds" any more, we had graduated to "Better Weds"  (HA!!)

Finally we finished up the night with a super white elephant gift exchange...!!  The theme was "LoVe"...I thought this could be really bad...or really funny...I prefer the "really funny" end of the white elephant exchange (go figure)...some of the gifts were massage oils, candles, a GIANT teddy bear holding a big heart, spin the bottle (married style...ooo la la), sugar daddy boxers with sugar daddy candy....and more...Brian and I brought just a couple simple gifts.  One was the BIGGEST pair (like...way huge...) of SEX-AY lacy panties I could find surrounded by a whole bunch of heart shaped DOVE chocolate...!!!  I thought it would be easy to find the darn things...but I had to finally go to a "special" store to locate them....the other gift we brought was this:

HAHAHA!!!  Yes, these ARE wearable, and YES I DID make them, and YES I will take orders for these MOST comfortable slippers...hehehe...I did put a pair of "real" slippers with them...I think these have GOT to be WAY more comfortable...and absorbant...haha

So that was Thursday....

Friday, Brian and I decided to go out on a date just "us"...so he took me to Red Lobster (our fav) and we shared a dish, and then ended the night with a romantic movie...Sherlock Holmes...(you had to know Brian wouldn't put THAT much money into a chick flick...) (Dang...) (We loved the movie though...)

Saturday, one of the youth in the ward asked if we wanted to go to a fundraiser dinner they were putting on, so we did.  It was super nice.  They decorated the whole basement of a church, and had their orchestra and choir serenading us as we ate.  All the students were dressed formally in Tuxes and served us.  It was really neat, and I did enjoy it for the most part...but call me weird, I felt kinda awkward!!  I am just not a "serious" type of girl, and when we walked in, they asked us if Brian wanted to buy me a rose...I just grabbed his arm and kept him walking...I don't know why "stuff like that" makes me so weird...anyways...I just have a hard time acting prim or proper...I am just not classy like that I guess...!!

Sunday...THE BIG V-DAY...We did NOTHING.  WHICH WAS TOTALLY FINE!!

THE END

What's in a name...??

The weeks are going by quickly...It seems like I just posted pictures from being 26 weeks...now I am already 30!!  Wow...!!  It's funny how it can feel like it is taking for-e-ver, and yet it is approaching so fast.  By the way...I love my photographer...Oakley...she does a great job, and I can just be myself with her...!! ;)

We STILL don't have a name picked out.  I like Romy Lin, Brian likes Camry, and we also like Berkeley and Bentley.  What do you like??  Doesn't mean I will pick it, but it is always fun to hear what everyone thinks...OH, and if you tell me you hate it...that's fine too...!!  After we named Blazer it was funny how people would STILL tell us how much they didn't like the name...TOO LATE...but we love it, and it fits his personality to a "T". 

So that's an interesting question...did we create this extreme crazy of a kid (of whom we love to death by the way...don't get me wrong!!!) by giving him such a bold name??  If we name our daughter Berkeley...will she be so smart and ace college??  If we name her Bentley...will she be financially set or spoiled for life??  I definately don't know the answer, but I do know that Carter fits his name...he cares about how he looks, and likes to "match".  Oakley is very athletic prone, and seems to pick up quickly on things!!  Parker is the "class clown."  He makes us all laugh!!  And Blazer, well, we already talked about that...or you can just check out my previous post for more in depth detail....

BY THE WAY...he struck again...found a bead...and the bead found his nostril...seiously kid!!

Tongue twisters are easy compared to this guy...

The tales of a twenty-two-month-old terror who tries terrifyingly to test me to my tightly twisted end....

This is Blazer.

Blazer is SOOOOOO cute.

and naughty.

Once upon a time, he got into the kitty litter, and threw it all over the bathroom, kitchen, family room, and couches..."clumps and all". 

Mommy cried.

One day, he got into the toilet and thought he would plunge it.  This doesn't work when you don't know what you are doing.  BUT it WILL get water and "toilet juice" all over your clean floors and carpet. 

He is also a master at disassembling things, such as the holder for said plunger.   Mommy found this in many pieces. 

Once, he wanted to color with his brothers and sisters.  Mommy thought wash-able markers were a "good idea".

Mommy forgot who she was dealing with...

When you are almost two, you learn new and exciting things, such as getting in and out of the tub.  Naked and wet is always best, so as you can soak the carpets all the way through to the floorboards.

That is unless you have a brother or sister showering who didn't shut the door.  THEN, you can go ahead and jump in fully clothed...cause you ROLL LIKE THAT...

Then there was the time when you decided you were too big for sippy cups.  You have dumped plenty of milk, juice and what-have-you on the floor this last week.

Did I mention that ALL of this has occurred in just the last week??

Yep all that...Oh, and can't forget about the time when we came home and he didn't want to get out of the car.  So I grabbed the mail and came in...I left the door open of course, so he could "come in too."  Parker said he would get him for me.  I realized after opening one piece of mail that it seemed awfully quiet.  I went out front and yelled for the boys...hmmm...silence.  I walked out to the sidewalk to see my neighbor in a full sprint after both boys who were already crossing the busy intersection to the park.   I went into a sprint...or the closest thing to it for a seven month pregnant mom.

I should win an award for almost killing my kids.

I have AWESOME neighbors!!  Who HAPPENED to be checking the mail at the very moment my "Almost-two-year-old" decided to live life on the edge..

Yep, just another day at the Lords House...

with this guy...!!