LeBarons

1st Piano Lessons

2012-01-26T14:51:00.001-08:00

My kids love the rain!

Today was a BIG day for Porter. Not only did he have preschool, but he had his FIRST PIANO LESSON!

My cute friend Jill is going to teach Porter piano lessons and she is amazing and amazing with kids! Porter had a fantastic lesson and is already wanting to work on his workbook pages.

How cute is this?!

Let me just tell you about how fantastic Jill is. Not only is she teaching these piano lessons but she also taught a few of us a Barre Class this morning while all our little rug rats ran around her house. I'm so blessed to have such incredible friends!

Shutting Down the Deal Site

2012-01-26T12:43:00.000-08:00

Just an FYI, I've shut down my deal site, Simple Mom Solutions. (i know it's weird to just obliterate the .com address, but I have an addictive personality and I know that if I don't take it off I will slowly find myself going back to it and that is something I don't want to do even if it did make some money:) But I've had requests from some of my friends for access to the recipes and the content so you can access that here: http://dealsyouwant.blogspot.com/

A New Year

2012-01-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

As one of my most MAJOR New Years Resolutions, I am going to try to be more interactive with my kiddos. And well, I'm a planner so I do better if I plan. So we are doing theme days. . . Here's a little glimpse. We will have to see how long I can keep this up, but Porter loves the anticipation.

ANGRY BIRDS DAY
Complete with an Angry Birds Preschool Pack,
Angry Birds the Game and the Iphone App Game
oh, and the Pizza

BAKERY DAY WITH A NEW APRON
ok, so we "baked" Rice Krispy Treats at 10 am
but we were out of some necessary ingredients
Next on the docket is Cars and Dinosaurs

My main Resolution this year is Time Management. With this I hope to be a better mom and get more organized and get more accomplished. Another resolutions? Getting Jack sleeping through the night. We are also trying to focus on reading the Book of Mormon with our kiddos (well Porter) and so far it is going quite well. Who knew I would actually learn more from reading the Book of Mormon with Porter than I have on my own?

Self Expression

2012-01-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

We fully believe in individuality and self expression around here!

Crazy Days!

2012-01-15T14:14:00.000-08:00

My how time flies! Life has been nothing short of CRAZY around here. This past week was a whirlwind of Tom and I switching off back and forth each night with the kiddos. He leaves for school at 7:30 am, then goes straight to work for 9 hours (ten starting next week as we begin busy season, boo!). This week I had Relief Society stuff 3 different and he had Young Men's as well which meant we essentially inhabit the same house but have no time to spend together and I can tell this Busy Season stuff is going to be hard on all of us. I'm struggling to work out balancing my time as it seems to have gotten all jumbled up and more complicated. I am use to working at night when Tom gets home and after the kiddos go to bed. But this week I found I had NO time at night because of Relief Society obligations and a naughty little boy whose medicine was discontinued which meant sleep was non-existent (more on that later) and I struggled to work with 2 kiddos whom I would much rather spend time with. But, I guess it's time for me to pick myself back up and face reality because this is it! But I am super grateful for what I do have:

Porter learned about Bakeries this week at school so we have been busy baking things in the kitchen this week:
Bread, Cookies, More Bread, Muffins and more! (in case you can't tell, that is a baker's hat)

Oh in Jack news, we had started him on prevacid which was working great until they discontinued making the generic form. He had started waking up only once! That is huge! Well, we couldn't afford the full price name brand prevacid and our insurance won't cover it so we have now been for a month without it and waking up 5 times a night screaming again! But. . . the silver lining is that my awesome Doctor talked to a special pharmacy that will take the generic adult form of prevacid and create a children's dosage. So here's to sleep, hopefully its coming our way soon.

Beans or Apples

2011-12-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

Porter never ceases to crack me up. He is incredibly clever and the way his mind works astounds me. I also have to laugh when I see things I have said or done be repeated by him, even if they aren't in the same context at all. We are closing Mr. Sandless due to a lot of reasons, but anyways, we have been making preparations to close and one of which is taking all the decals off the car to sell it. Tonight Porter informed all of us that we need to call one final meeting for Mr. Sandless and insisted he bring his notebook to take notes. He said that we needed to talk about selling the car and his idea is to put it up for sale online for $55,000. Tom questioned the price and Porter stated that if we can't sell it, we will trade it. When asked what we would trade it for, without missing a beat, Porter replied that we would trade it for beans. . . or apples. What a ruthless business mind this child is developing. Ahh, and I can see myself with the notebook needing to take notes. Having kids definitely keeps you laughing. I feel like Tom and I go to bed each night laughing at all that has taken place during the day and I'm grateful for the joy of children in my life!

Come They Told Me. . .

2011-12-28T15:23:00.000-08:00

Porter's newest obsession is the Little Drummer Boy. We've been listening to the Josh Groban Christmas album in the car and all I can play is that song. So it was fitting that this year he requested to participate in our Nativity as the Little Drummer Boy.

He was a little crestfallen when he found that there is actually no real account of this boy in the scriptures so I quickly added the entrance of the drummer boy onto the end of the presentation. Please note the drum because this was the most important part!

Christmas, as always, was fabulous this year. I tried to keep it more low key and less stressful (especially because I have been fighting for 2 weeks and what my grandpa is now treating me for: mycoplasma aka walking pneumonia) Our Christmas festivities began on the 23rd with a LeBaron Christmas Eve party. We had a fabulous dinner and a great program.

Christmas Eve then happened with Porter serenading the Boucher family with his rendition of the Little Drummer Boy, a screening of Arthur Christmas (which is darling, totally loved it) and then the Christmas Eve festivities at my mom's house. And lucky for us, the elves came and brought pajamas!


Porter and Jack with their new towels- Mickey Mouse and Captain America

Elmo and Cap too excited to stand still for a picture

Christmas Morning was nothing short of magical in our house. We tried to keep things simple with the whole something you want, something you need . . .

SANTA CAME!!

Porter got Dinosaur Train, Legos, Clothes and Books

Jack got Mickey Mouse and Sesame Street

Unfortunately, the English grandparents and Uncle Justin didn't get the memo. . .

Leap Pad, Cars Car, Grocery Cart and a Toy Story "Castle" gave my kids everything they wanted and needed and more!

St. Nick

2011-12-18T20:46:00.000-08:00

Porter: I kinda think I need some winter dress-ups. All my dress ups are mostly Halloween and super hero.
Me: So what kind of dress up?
Porter: Maybe a Santa Suit?
Me: Well, maybe we could get you a Santa hat.
Porter: And some red and white fabric to make a coat to make me look like St. Nick?
Me: We will see.

We head to Walmart to pick up a few things and pass the lingerie section. I'm sure you can all imagine what he saw, the sexy santa suit of course.

Porter: Wait mom, maybe we could just get that costume for me to dress up like St. Nick?

I just smile not wanting to inform him of the actual nature of this costume and hurrily move on to the next aisle.

Porter I love your love of dress ups and how your mind works and your innocence! I wish kids could stay this way forever!

The Haps

2011-12-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

We've been keeping ourselves busy this month with

THE WARD CHRISTMAS PARTY

(i was in charge of the decorations and Tommy was roped in to being my assistant with the ladder as well as the MC for the night. He has informed me that I am not allowed to have any leadership role in another Christmas Party since he's been suckered into helping me with the last two, but as we all know in the church, that isn't how it works)

CHRISTMAS COOKIES

I turned around to find Jack eating a whole ball of dough!

GINGERBREAD HOUSES

A QUICK IMPROMPTU BIRTHDAY FOR PORTER

(it was planned fast and executed fast and I may have taken one picture which I can't find at the moment)

A VISIT TO LIBERTY PARK TO VIEW THE LIVE NATIVITY

Porter was absolutely captivated with this! I love it when you see the true meaning of Christmas be the thing that really catches the attention of a child. You can't take pictures so I've got nothing to show. But it was COLD so if you go be sure to bundle!

We've had work parties, friend parties and more! Plus, I was released from the Relief Society presidency just to get called back in with a new President. Looks like some more years of Weeknight Meetings (maybe one day my calling won't involve planning meetings for Young Women's, Scouts, the Ward, or the Relief Society, or maybe someone is trying to really help me learn how to be good at this and so far with all of these I haven't quite mastered it yet?) But I feel blessed to have this calling and am learning and growing so much from it. It is very humbling to be able to witness the trials and heartache and financial troubles of so many you would have never even realized and even more humbling to be able to serve them.

Merry Last Week of Christmas!

A Magical Trip

2011-12-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

How many adults does it take to take two children to Disneyland?

Did you know it takes 7? The parents, 2 grandparents, 2 uncles, and an adopted uncle who lives in California.

I don't want to brag, but it was probably the ABSOLUTE BEST trip to Disneyland I have ever had. Disneyland at Christmas is indescribable and the cooler air means few crowds, which means happy boys who would be unbearable if lines were longer than 20 minutes. Here are a few fun pictures from our trip. Tom and I both had cameras and tag teamed the picture taking so bear with me because there may be post number 2!

We spent our first day in California (after a 6am flight, yikes) in Huntington Beach with my cousin Elyse. Porter loved the beach. Jack, not so much. The water is freezing but the weather was fairly warm.

On Sunday we enjoyed a laid back morning, a visit to the Newport Temple and Sacrament Meeting. Then, it was off to Disneyland. (ok I know not the most righteous thing to do but we did go to church and we had limited time) We walked in on the Holiday Parade and Porter couldn't be more excited. All the the characters were decked out in their Holiday wear and Porter couldn't believe he could see all his favorite characters. With the crazy winds, it was a bit colder in the park than I had anticipated and I confess I didn't pack exactly right.

While Porter is my safe, dare I say sissy, of a child, Jack is my thrill seeker just like his mama. The child is so tall he could go on a lot of the rides. My 1 year old did in fact go on the Matterhorn and actually enjoyed it. The ride operators kept pushing his fluffy hair down to be sure he was tall enough and indeed he was.

Porter had a fantastic December 5th and EVERYONE wished him a very happy birthday because he got to wear a giant button that said it was his birthday. This darling Bullseye was his Birthday Present and is perfect for Woody and Jess to ride on.

Porter's Favorite Ride: Buzz Lightyear and Winnie the Pooh (both of which we went on 4 times each!)

Porter had a special birthday guest come with us to Disneyland-Ryan Boucher(his adopted uncle)

Jack's Favorite Ride: Small World

The kid stood up and danced and clapped and couldn't get enough of it! And it was quite a darling Christmas transformation and rather than hearing the same song throughout, they had different Christmas songs going as well and all the countries are decked out for Christmas.

We lucked out on the character sightings and managed to snag most characters right as they came out and didn't have to wait to see them at all! Notice the awkward way in which Porter touches the characters. He loved to actually feel their faces.

And here is the most magical part: IT SNOWS ON MAINSTREET! Look at the castle! I guess I couldn't ask for a better way to kick off Christmas. Now on to the spiritual celebrations!

Oh, and the most enjoyable part of the vacation for me? Jack SLEPT every night, all night long and took naps in the stroller everyday! I thought maybe something had clicked but he jumped right back into his routine last night. So. . . I may just consider moving to California and going to Disneyland everyday!

Here's how my kiddos looked every night, and our nights at the park ended at 6 or 7pm!

Happy Birthday My Blue Eyed Boy!

2011-12-08T20:04:00.000-08:00

Porter turned 4. I have a 4 year old. How do I have a 4 year old?

Porter is such a joy in my life and I couldn't ask for a better first born.

He has the most inquisitive mind and keeps me on my toes. He has an incredible testimony and teaches me something new everyday. He absolutely LOVES preschool and primary and it about kills him if he ever has to miss. Everything is magical to him and his zest for life is infectious. He loves learning and is currently enjoying rhyming games, workbook pages, and loves finding out what letter words start with. I honestly can't keep up with him. He can be the sweetest boy in the world and about makes me cry when he tells me how beautiful I am, or how happy he is, or how much he LOVES everything.

FAVORITES:

Song: Praise to the Man (seriously)

Color: Green (blue is a close second)

TV Show: Dinosaur Train

Food: Pizza although he is on a healthy kick lately and likes to ask if things are healthy before he eats them .

Book: The Book of Mormon (according to him) Five Little Monkeys (according to me)

He loves Super Heros, Toy Story, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Legos and Dinosaurs.

Although you wouldn't think December is the most ideal month to celebrate your birthday, Porter probably loves Christmas more than any child I have ever seen. He loves decorating and parties and baking and could play with the nativity set everyday of the year. He has such a tender love for Jesus and although he enjoys presents, he truly already understands the the true meaning of Christmas.

I feel privileged beyond belief that I have been blessed with this child and although there are times when he can be a challenge I wouldn't trade it for the world. It is truly an amazing thing being a mother!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

Like any "NORMAL" American Family, we kicked off the Thanksgiving Festivities at Wheeler Farm checking out the turkeys with our friends the Jacksons. Ok, so it is a bit morbid and Porter happens to now be terrified of turkeys, but we did have fun.

Minie, Porter, Jack and Poppy

We had Thanksgiving at my mom's house this year and Porter and I had a lot of fun getting the kid's table ready. We made Mayflower boats filled with candy and pilgrim hats with crayons to color the coloring pages.

Porter and Sadie getting prepped for the meal

Jack and MacKay getting ready for "loves"
Who can resist Jack, right?

Sade, MacKay, Josh and Porter

Jack may not have been that interested in the main course, but he sure did love the Banana Cream Pie!

Now on to the fun part. . . Cutting Down the Christmas Tree!

We opted for a much easier route this year. Rather than driving a ways, we headed down to Alpine to the Beck Family Farm to cut down our Christmas tree. And let me say, it was still a fabulously fun experience.

Porter with his first love, the Cupcake (or just the frosting)

Porter, Tommy, Jack and Trent getting ready for the hunt

Jack was in HEAVEN running through the tree farm

After our Christmas tree hunt, we headed to Pizza Pie Cafe for a delicious lunch and on to Cabela's, Utah's Indoor Zoo, for some free kid entertainment. Yep, after our pre-Thanksgiving Turkey visit, cutting down our own Christmas tree, and an afternoon at Cabela's you may be wondering just what type of classy people we are, but that's how we celebrate in our family. It's ok, you can be jealous!

What Do You Do When You Are a Boy in a Neighborhood Full of Girls?

2011-11-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you are one of the only boys in a neighborhood full of girls?

Attend a Lalaloopsy Pancake and "Tea" Party of course!

My good friend Michelle hosted just such a party and all the attendees were asked to bring their Lalaloopsy Dolls. In the absence of said doll we opted for Woody instead.

Luckily, Michelle provided gifts for each of the attendees and this was Porters:

Patch Treasurechest
(you have to admit he is kinda cute)

Porter and Jillian pre-pancake opening their gifts

Just Chillin' with Hallie under the table

Thanks Michelle for such a fun activity to do on our day off school!

With Thanksgiving approaching, I have to say that although I wish so bad for a House with a Yard and a garage and I never thought we would still be here in our townhome, I wouldn't trade the friends I have made here. We have so much fun together: craft night, date night, girls movie night, and play dates during the day. They are all so creative and supportive and so much fun to be around. I am thankful for my FRIENDS!

Disneyland Ice

2011-11-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

Sadly, the Best Picture I took

We took Porter to Disney on Ice, or as Porter calls it Disneyland Ice, Friday afternoon. Yes we, as in me, Tom, my mom and my brother Justin. Apparently that is how many adults it takes to take one child. But none of us wanted to miss out on witnessing Porter's delight. And I can't blame them. Porter loved every minute of it! He is at that wonderful age when everything is real and magical and you don't question how, you just believe. I LOVE THIS AGE! He sat there with his bowl of popcorn clapping and cheering and singing. And you've gotta hand it to Disney, they know how to do it! My favorite part was when he saw the Seven Dwarfs came out. He flailed his hands in the air and cheered and then abruptly stopped. In the split second that the dwarfs came out Porter had astutely noted that there were only 6. I've never met a child so observant.

Family Pictures

2011-11-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

We had these taken a few weeks ago by my friend Brooke. This is a first for me because we haven't had our Family pictures done, like ever. Just usually the boys. But I think they are pretty dang cute:

This is Halloween!

2011-11-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

Man alive, Halloween is a crazy quick whirlwind of parties and then it is gone! But it definitely can be said that my kids partied their little hearts out.

Jack's favorite part? Hoarding candy wherever he can find it. His preferred method of consuming said candy? Well, if mom isn't looking, he loves to suck on the wrapper and suck in all the chocolate. DISGUSTING!

In the course of 6 days, my kiddos attended 2 trunk or treats at which Porter guessed the correct amount of candy in a bowl and added more to our candy hoard, trick-or-treating at Daddy's work at which Tom guessed the correct amount of candy in a bowl and won the candy to again add to our stash, movie tickets and pizza for his department, the English Family Party, the LeBaron Family Party, trick-or-treating at my mom's work and finally Trick-or-Treating itself. Yes, it can be said we did every possible Halloween celebration we could get our hands on. And let it be said, trick-or-treating at work is so much more efficient, my kids only lasted like 4 houses on Halloween because they had to walk much further than 2 feet to get to the next pile of candy (mind you we live in connected townhomes so the actual walk is still not realistic, they'd never make it in the real world)

Porter celebrated Halloween on Saturday night with two of his favorite people, my cousins, Josh and McKay. Yes, McKay is indeed a Hamburger, cause who wouldn't want to be such a delicious inanimate object?

In English family tradition, the Halloween Pinata, because we don't think kids get enough candy as it is. Here's Jack tacking a whack.

And my possibly slightly athletically challenged Porter. He definitely makes up for that in brains!

And onto the LeBaron celebration! How cute are my nieces and nephews I ask you?

And then the accident occurred. My niece Caroline ran inside to inform me that Porter had fallen off the swing. I'm thinking he's fine until I get outside and the poor child is sobbing and covering his mouth. He removed his hand to uncover a mouth full of blood and a HUGE swollen nose. The picture doesn't quite do it justice. We can only assume he fell off the swing on his face?

After an otterpop, a Fresca and an episode of Avengers, he had recovered just in

time for donuts on a string.

It definitely looked broken at first and we all know how children hate icing things so it sat

bloody and swollen.

Now on to Halloween!

Captain America aka Steven Rogers aka Porter's Favorite Super Hero

Now, mind you. Originally Jack was suppose to be Thor but wouldn't wear the cape or helmet. We tried just a superhero with a Batman cape and finally Porter's old Winnie the Pooh costume without success. After just about giving up, my friend Michelle informed me she had an Incredibles costume that would work. How fitting actually since Jack began his life as Jack Jack attack and whose temper rivals that of the fire baby!

I just absolutely love this picture. That is Porter's best friend Jillian. How adorable is Jack right in stride?

Now you may be wondering how Porter's nose is doing?

Well let's just say I was worried I would be receiving a call from Preschool Tuesday wondering what happened. I'm trying to convince him he is turning into the Hulk as the swollen side is turning a ripe blue/green. Oh my poor boy, at least it doesn't hurt. But if we thought the kid snored before, wait until he almost breaks his nose!

And the weeks has just continued to feel a bit like this. Jack has carried on his costume's persona as I pulled him out of the full tub fully clothed after I decided the tub would be a good idea because I couldn't keep him out of the kitchen sink. Later that day I was canning my chicken (hooray, it was a success!) and my dad got home from his new job (another hooray for him having a job!) in his new clothes and Jack puked all over him and now I have been sick all day today and nauseous throwing up mommy doesn't mesh well with a 3 year old that needs constant stimulation and a baby who is completely hyperactive.

Here's to a more calming rest of this week!

Fall

2011-10-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

I love FALL! I love the brisk air, I love that the Holidays are approaching, I love Gardner Village and the witches, and I love Halloween! And all of that is magnified times ten since I've had kiddos of my own. Everything is so exciting to them, I sometimes wish I could face life with the same outlook they do. How much better the world would look and even things as silly as dancing around at Gardner Village would seem magical. Here's a little glimpse of how we have been celebrating Fall!

Doing the Monster Mash (don't worry, they are the only ones dancing in the entire place)
Porter has been dancing for a week straight singing, "Dance Like It's Halloween!"

Porter, Bo and Moses

The Smile that makes it hard for you to stay mad even when he is naughty!

Porter, like his dad, loves to cook. He's helping Nanny make treats.
Who can resist when he asks, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Oh the Pumpkin Patch, one of our favorite traditions. It's funny how you pick one and
it just becomes the one you always go to no matter what. We've run into my friend Jenna who lives
in Lehi for 3 years straight I believe at this pumpkin patch on this random day.

Jack's favorite person in the entire world (quite possibly even more favorite than daddy) is Papa!
Seriously, all this boy needs is his Papa to hold him and everything becomes right with the world.

Who wouldn't want to ride in the wheelbarrow?

This pumpkin is perfect to carve a Super Hero On!

Somehow I missed getting an actual picture of Porter in his costume so far. Here he is doing donuts on a string. He only made it through 3 bites and stopped, luckily because he looked like he was going to puke. Now, on to 2 more parties, my mom's trick or treat at her office and Halloween itself. A detox will be in order on November 1st!

Birthday Breakfast

2011-10-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

So we actually have been celebrating Halloween around here but my camera cord is MIA so I cannot get the photos off the camera! For now, I will leave you with this terrible quality picture from so needing to be retired iphone (first generation jailbroken iphone on t-mobile network here folks, you only wish you were so vintage!) This is the amazing Birthday Breakfast in Bed Tom made me this morning. Note the presentation. Seriously have I ever dressed a plate with cilantro? No, the answer is no. Those little circle things were amazing egg, vegetable, laughing cow cheese pop-overs of delicious goodness. It was a great birthday! After breakfast in bed I took Porter to preschool and then hung out with my kids for the day. My mom took us for frozen yogurt in the afternoon and sat in car with the kids while I ran in and did a little coupon magic at Smiths for super cheap diapers (i know I must be sick when I actually enjoy doing something like that on my birthday) and spent the evening with Jack while Tommy was at school (Porter went to play with Justin and Trent, yes play is the correct term even though they are 23 and 31). And one day I will find my cord to post real pictures.

Sorry. . . Late Update

2011-10-21T06:55:00.000-07:00

So, in case I forgot to update since the last post. . . The MRI came back NORMAL. HUGE sigh of relief. His head is just, well, BIG. I'm so grateful that we don't have to put this little guy through surgery. The sleep battle rages on, but what doesn't kill ya makes you stronger, right? And who doesn't like waking up at 5:30 every morning? On the up side, at least my days are super long so I am able to accomplish a lot. (or at least I seem to think so) Heck, I'm done exercising and dressed for the day by the time most of my friends are even awake. That's a good thing right? I may look like death and my baggy eyes have seen better days, but there are much harder things in life than this. (in case you didn't realize I'm saying this more for my benefit than yours) So thanks for your prayers, Jack's big head is just fine!

And the Giant Head Saga Continues!

2011-10-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

So Jack had his 18 month check up today (slightly late), and we are now scheduled for a CT Scan on Monday. His head is still measuring totally off the charts and veering slightly off the curve and the doctor wants to make sure nothing is wrong. He may have extra fluid in his head that could possibly be causing headaches which might explain his crabbiness and trouble sleeping for more than 3 hours at a time. Unfortunately if this is indeed true, then this may call for a shunt. Oh the joys! Well, keep Jack in your prayers! So thankful for Tom's job and good insurance!

Jack at 12:00 am

Jennifer Conference

2011-10-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

The anticipation for "Jennifer Conference" was huge for Porter this past week. Is that weird for a 3 year old? We talked about it all week and I prepared a bunch of activities for him to do during conference and he could hardly wait! Saturday morning he asked me if he needed to wear a tie to watch. Here was one of his favorite activities:

His Prophet and Apostle Chain.

We colored each apostle when they spoke and he was so happy when they were all colored and put together he carried it everywhere! Oh my child! I went into conference thinking that if I put together a bunch of activities for him to do then I could listen more intently. Maybe I got a little to into it? Instead I was heavily engaged in helping him build a tent and construct King Benjamin's tower, coloring the apostles and playing the "did you hear that word" game. We had jars of candy labeled with words like spirit, scripture, etc. and every time he heard that word he got a treat! Wow, it got a bit out of control, I guess I should have been more careful with my word selection. But we even had Jack pretending to listen for candy so that is success in my book!

We had a wonderful conference weekend full of delicious food and all the uplifting messages Conference brings.

Grateful

2011-09-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I don't think I express my gratitude as much as I should and this week I am definitely grateful. I'm grateful for a husband who works hard to support his family and loves them more than life itself. I'm grateful for two sweet little boys that make my life feel so fulfilled and teach me so much. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to stay home with them and witness every part of their growing up. I'm grateful for supportive parents who have always been there for me. I'm grateful for a church calling that helps keep my life in perspective and gives me the opportunity to serve others. Once you are in the Relief Society Presidency I think it becomes very hard for you to ever feel sorry for yourself as there is always someone who has a greater need or a more difficult trial. I'm grateful for answered prayers, even when you wish the Lord's timeline was the same as your own. It is quite a remarkable thing when your finances are slightly more healthy than they were before a job loss. I'm grateful for great friends who accept me for who I am and are always sure to step in when they can see I need help or just someone to listen. I'm grateful to be a member of such an incredible church that gives me so much hope and direction in my life. I'm grateful for a dog to help me feel safe when my husband is out of town. And right now, I'm especially grateful for Tom's new job that he started this week. What an incredible blessing this was for our family. And while I know there are many who are unemployed for much longer than we have been, almost 6 months has felt like an eternity and I'm grateful we survived.

Porter

2011-09-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Porter is quite an exceptional child, I must say, although I am his mother which warrants bragging rights, right? On Sunday he gave his 3rd talk in Primary since January. The week before in church was magical as he got to fill in for someone to give the scripture and prayer and then his name was chosen for the talk And to top it off, he got to somehow help lead the primary in singing "Praise to the Man", which in case you didn't know, is his all time FAVORITE song. Whose kid is this? Seriously? He gave a talk about about Ammon who "cut off their arms" and did quite well at memorizing it I must say, especially for a 3 year old.

Cousins Roasting Marshmallows

LeBaron Family Night at the Sundance Cabin

Porter has fooled me into thinking that I must be this incredibly spiritual mother as he often chooses his bed time stories to be about scripture stories and is constantly asking doctrinal questions that I sometimes feel totally inadequate to answer. Last night we joined some of the LeBarons up at the Sundance Cabin. To me, spending time with family and having a nice family prayer counted as Family Night right? (especially since Tommy is training in California for his new job) Well, to Porter it did not. We spent half the car ride home yesterday crying because we didn't get to do our usual FHE with a lesson from our book and song. Yes, I said CRYING! I finally got him to settle down with the story of King Benjamin which he had been begging to hear for a few days now. Again I ask, whose child is this? Here is one of Porter's more poignant observations to date:

As a precursor, We had a lesson on ways to serve others and one of the ways we came up with was to be a good listener.

Porter: Mom, why isn't Jillian (his school mate and one of his best friends) listening to me? That's not being good at service.
Me: Well, people don't always have to listen to everything you say. Sometimes people choose not to listen.
Porter: Like Satan, he wasn't a good listener?
Me: Well yes, since Satan doesn't choose the right I guess that would make him bad at listening.
Porter: Who else isn't a good listener and doesn't choose the right?
Me: I guess people that don't want to follow God's Plan are not good listeners.
Porter: Oh, so like Traitors and Tyrants, right? ("Praise to the Man")

I feel grateful for such a sweet boy that keeps me spiritually in check by being the prayer and FHE police. At least it keeps me doing what I am suppose to.

Did I Mention I LOVE Coupons?

2011-09-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was just one of those days. I feel like I accomplished a lot and really met my goals and I LOVE THOSE DAYS! Spending time with my kids, exercising, FHE, and some super awesome shopping trips with incredible savings. Since I'm not really doing much on my deal blog anymore, I had to share this somewhere. And more importantly, I want to remind myself how valuable couponing is even when I am not forced to do it for survival. I don't usually tell people what I spend on things, but again, this is for my own memory since I know I will get early onset Alzheimers and have already been informed by my husband that I will placed in a home if I forget who they are. No folks, there will be no romantic Notebook reenactment where he comes to tell me our Love Story, quite the opposite!

I got an email for a FREE photobook that I'm doing a scrapbook for Porter for 2010. That brings me up to date with scrapbooking and you can't beat FREE!

Here's my Rite Aid Score:
3 Pkgs. Huggies= 26.97
4 Pkgs. Scott Bath Tissue (12 Giant Rolls Each)=31.96
1 Pkg. Scott Paper Towel (8 Rolls)= 7.99
2 Pkg. Kotex=7.00
=73.92
After Coupons and +UP Rewards (meaning I have $20 in Rite Aid +Up Rewards to use next time)
$20.42!

Groceries
1 Package Premium Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs and Hot Dog Buns, 1 Package Idahoan Potatoes, 4 Pounds Grapes, Milk, 3-4 PacksYogart, Treats for FHE, 1 Bag Tortilla Chips, 1 Package Wheat Tortillas, 1 Package Rice Cakes, Cinnamon Crackers for Cubbers, Tomatoes, Cilantro, Onions, Potatoes, Peppers

Total after coupons and price match $22.00 (hooray! that's all I had to spend on groceries for the week thanks to Tommy's new found love of making bread since we needed bread and pita bread for meals this week)

Captain America Giant Action Figure on Clearance $10.00 (regularly $30!!)

1 U-Build-It Monopoly
1 Super Hero Squad Chutes and Ladders
1 Cars Memory Game
1 Disney Princess Chutes and Ladders
=52.00
After Coupons, Clearance and Promotions
$16.99!!

So essentially I snagged $225 worth of stuff I will actually use for $70.00!! And knocked off some Christmas Presents, a Scrapbook on my To-Do List, my Weekly Groceries and Stocked Up on Toilet Paper and Diapers. I know so many of you fight the coupons, but seriously the coupon high is AWESOME!

The End of Summer and Big News!

2011-09-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's been a whirlwind the last few weeks in the LeBaron household. I left for Las Vegas August 22-24 for a Convention for Shabby Apple. It was a quick trip and I felt guilty leaving my baby who had had surgery just a few days before, but he fared well (however, he may have almost killed everyone who got near due to the HORRID bad breath which is a side effect of the surgery, thankfully that is cleared up now!) Lucky for me, Mary is not only my sister in law, but she works with me so we got to have a little retreat!

BEAR LAKE

August 26-28- Our friends the Jackson's and the Sach's headed up for a quick trip to Bear Lake to watch Ben compete in his Tri there. We just tagged on for the ride, but it was BEAUTIFUL up there and my kids were in heaven playing with kids outside all day and especially riding the 4 wheeler and Barbie jeep! Hopefully they will still consider going on trips with us after they had to survive Jack sleepless nights. Luckily things may be improving on that front.

LAKE POWELL

August 31-September 4- Tommy and Porter headed down to Lake Powell with the boys on Wednesday and my mom and I joined Thursday after dropping Jack off at my Aunt Jenny's. Bless her for always being so willing to take him. Hopefully this was our last time having to leave him as he is a crazy Comanche. The weather was BEAUTIFULLY PERFECT. The best I have experienced in Lake Powell in years. Not deathly hot, decently cool nights, and Friday the water was absolutely perfect all day long! And I finally got back in the water and wakeboarded after a long hiatus. And Porter tried surfing with Tommy once again. He is in Heaven in Lake Powell and has already started counting the days when we will go back next year.

Porter and Tommy Surfing

Tom and Alan Repelling

Porter Living it Up with the Boucher Girls!

Flag Boy

Words Cannot Begin to Express-Classic Carl is the Best Description

A Lake Powell Bath Sans Swimsuit

1st DAY OF SCHOOL

September 8th- Porter started his first real day of Preschool at Oakwood Elementary with Mrs. Jennifer and Mrs. Natalie and his best friend Jillian Sachs. He is so happy and excited. And talk about a nice brand spanking new school and new playground! I'm sure without a doubt that he will thrive here and it provides a nice little break for me to devote my full attention to Jack. One of the best things about preschool is that it totally wastes Porter. He went to an orientation on Tuesday and slept literally 13 hours that night! (this is HUGE In our house!) I'm so excited for him to have a structured learning environment that I'm sure can and will give him so much more than I could with our preschool co-op. Although I feel the co-op did help him adjust flawlessly to being dropped off and listening and following directions and getting along with others. Porter's feminine side has already shown itself when he found himself playing in the kitchen with all the girls the first day. But don't worry, the Avenger's backpack keeps him in check!

Free Breakfast at Chick-Fil-A

Porter and Jillian

Lining Up Outside. Checkout the Avengers backpack!

AND FINALLY THE BEST NEWS OF ALL. . .

AFTER 5 MONTHS

TOM GOT A JOB!

He will start working with Ernst and Young at the end of this month. No more paying our own insurance and me working like a crazy woman and not having money to buy clothes or the food I want and most important no more STRESS! Thanks for your prayers, it was a long 5 MONTHS, but surprisingly we survived incredibly well with a small amount of savings still intact! Here's to saving, budgeting, working odd-jobs, letting Ruth Ann and Becky feed us every once and a while and planning ahead!

Happy Anniversary!

2011-08-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

Although it has only been 6 years, it seems like we have been through a lot! Two boys, one naughty dog, Germany, Thailand, Yearly Trips to Lake Powell, 2 Job Losses, and more, life is one crazy adventure. I'm grateful for such an amazing husband who works so hard to support his family. It's quite a comforting thought to know that no matter how bad it gets and how long Tom will be without work, I know we will be okay. He is the best dad any boy could ever ask for, just ask Porter. He is never afraid to give up something he is working on to spend time with his boys from playing pirates and finding treasure to having a jam session on their guitars to making cookies for family night. He takes on more than his share of duties around the house, including breakfast and bath time and has lately become quite an amazing chef. I'm smelling homemade cinnamon swirl bread as we speak. Yes, although at times it is quite intimidating knowing that my husband is a far better cook than me, it does make for some incredible dinners (I do have to keep him in check with the grocery budget though) My mother has always told me that I had to marry Tom because no one else understands me like he does and no one else could really handle all my moods and oddities. And to be honest, it is true!

I love you Tommy!

This is how we spent our anniversary: at Primary Children's for Jack's surgery. But if it brings him to start sleeping, it may make for a happy anniversary after all. (despite being jobless and having to figure out how to pay for the surgery!) But I'm just trying to tell myself things usually work out.

Jack Pre-Surgery

Jack After the Versed- Total Punch Drunk Happy waiting for Surgery. This stuff is AWESOME!! I only had my phone but I wish I had had a video camera. He is CRAZY!

Poor Baby after surgery. It literally took him and hour and a half to come out of his anethesia. When the nurse handed him to me she had been wrestling him because in his total sleep mode he was thrashing around trying to pull out his iv and she informed me that he is crazy strong! So sad!

The Car Ride Home. Yes that is a bottle filled with Apple Juice. While most kids take blankets and stuffed animals as their familiar comfort item, Jack's only comfort is his "ma". He has slept most of the day with a few bursts of energy where he goes crazy monkey on us jumping on the couch until he basically passes out. But the worst should be behind us, now we just wait until the scabs fall off! Here's to loratab!

Hmm, Maybe they Are More Alike Then We Think?

2011-08-11T13:56:00.000-07:00

Remember This?

Porter at Walmart

Jack Today at Target

Well, at least they sleep during the day right?

Summer

2011-08-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Learning How to Play the SuperHero Squad Game

(with no idea how to use a mouse)

Don't worry, I have every intention of keeping my child from becoming a gamer.

Swimming on Saturday with Nanny and Papa, Finch, Tillie, Isabel, Tiago and Jim. Jack is slowly starting to enjoy the water and Porter has become quite the fish. Now we just need to get this kid in some swimming lessons while he is still fearless in the water.

Water fights have become a Saturday ritual at my parents house and everyone gets in on the fun! Porter tends to cry every time he gets hit, but thinks he should have free reign to get anyone else wet. But by far the biggest ninny is my dad who goes and hides inside the house.

A Style All His Own

2011-08-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

It certainly can be said, this kid's got a style all his own! He marches to the beat of his own drum and totally own's it. Just take a look at Porter's many looks through the years!

THOR the Yard Worker

Sweet Shades!

The Pirate Cowboy

The Dapper Boat Driver

"CAP"

Batman

I'll Let This One Speak for itself!

The Bowler Hat Guy!

I Tried to Explain this was a girl's cowboy hat, but he insisted on wearing it.

I AM IRON MAN

Firefighter Papa Meil

Yep, there's the Bowler Hat AGAIN (obviously his hat of choice)

And well, this just sums it up right here!

There have been moments where even I have felt a little embarrassed of this child's lack of fashion sense and love of UGLY hats. But I love that he is either completely unaware how unique his choices are or he is not afraid to be himself.

I'm hoping it's the latter and I hope he never changes!

Can We Just Take A Second to Recognize this Man's AWESOMENESS! And other ramblings from a sleep deprived mom

2011-07-29T20:08:00.000-07:00

When Tom and I were first married, he had woke me up sleep talking exclaiming," I'm Awesome, I got the Job!" And the next day he did! Unfortunately, no I am not blogging about the fact that he got a job, although we are anxiously waiting in hopes that a call does come Monday from Ernst and Young (cross your fingers for us!). Rather, I am blogging about Tom's awesomeness in other areas of our life. Last week on his way home from church (he had to take his own car because he was singing in Sacrament) his driver side window fell down into the door (we won't discuss that the reason his window was down was because the ac is broken, one thing at a time!)! Well, car repairs do not have any room in an unemployed budget, but lucky for me my husband is awesome! After viewing a few youtube videos, he ordered a part off of Amazon for $40 as opposed to the $100's we'd pay to have someone do it for us and proceeded to remove the door from his car and take it apart. Yes, he removed his car door! I should have taken a picture. Well, the part came today and he has already fixed it!

I must say that in our society I think handy-men with crafting and building skills are grossly undervalued! Where would everyone live without the home builders? And what furniture would they have and, well, you get the idea. But when there is a natural disaster and we have to make shelter and find and cook food, I know we will be taken care of (especially with that assault rifle we have)Tommy can fix or build basically ANYTHING! From building decks, installing cabinets and wood flooring, building shelves, to fixing cars, he is a jack of all trades!

On another note, we may have found the cause for this little boy's lack of sleep: DRUM ROLL PLEASE! A children's version of Sleep Apnea. After meeting with the ENT today, we are going to have tubes put in because even when he doesn't have an active ear infection, he has a cesspool in his ear of gross brown fluid! Makes sense why he is super irritable all the time and why he has trouble sleeping. But even more, he has swollen adenoids. So what happens is he falls asleep and as soon as he reaches his REM sleep his muscles relax and his mouth closes. Well, swollen adenoids make it so he can't breath very well through his nose, so he wakes with a start and this happens throughout the night. I would cry all night too if this was happening to me! And to top it off, it has caused him to have some "temporary" hearing loss too. So sign us up for surgery! Then hopefully this boy can get some REM sleep! And hopefully we have finally found the ANSWER I have been searching for for the past year!

The last few nights have been really depressing for me. Aside from the fact that so far we have no job and the anxiety and stress is building, I just felt like by now Jack would have grown out of whatever it was that was causing this problem, and that I would finally get some sleep because waking up every 2 hours is not working for me! Sometimes I think no one realizes that when I say my baby doesn't sleep I'm exaggerating and that they can relate. But honestly and truthfully he doesn't sleep and some how Tom and I have figured out how to function from day to day on 4 hours tops with mornings that begin at 5 am. My patience is at an all time low and I hate that I get pushed to the edge so easily with my boys! I've been praying that we would find the answer to this and bless this doctor I think we have. Although the surgery is another story. Sad sad sad, is all I have to say.

Here's What Happens When You Think You Don't Need A Nap

2011-07-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

In the past month Porter has become quite accustomed to having naps like this. Usually he ends up laying on my diaper bag, but Tom got smart this time and brought a blanket. I may not have been great at schedules with my kids, but it can certainly be said that they are portable sleepers!

HAPPY SUNDAY!

2011-07-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Jack- 15 Months

2011-07-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

This little boy is simply scrumptious and irresistible, which is lucky because he is NAUGHTY! He is starting to talk like crazy now. Most of it is still gibberish, but here are his favorite words:

Shoe

NO!

Mama

Papa (for my dad)

Ma (that means bottle)

Door

Che Che (don't know what this means but he says it all the time)

Baby

His favorite activity was just discovered today. He loves to climb up on our tall kitchen table and grab on to the chandelier and swing. I'd have taken a picture if I hadn't feared for both his safety and my chandelier! He is constantly climbing on everything and I honestly cannot turn my back for 1 second without him getting into something. I about had a heart attack up at Park City when I found him on the deck having pushed a chair over to the railing and was going to attempt to climb onto the roof. And he had only been out there for like 3 seconds.

He loves bath time, running away from me, peek-a-boo and tormenting his older brother and his dog. He also loves finding baby dolls and dragging them around and giving them kisses. He is crazy and cuddly, which means he stops to give you multiple hugs, but then quickly goes back to whatever he was doing. He also loves our almost daily Taylor Swift dance party thanks to Porter's obsession with Taylor Swift songs.

His favorite food? Dog Food and Legos! Sick but he honestly tries to eat both on a daily basis. Actually I have yet to find something this child doesn't like but his very favorite would have to be pasta. He loves to eat which is such a change from Porter. Oftentimes I eat dinner with Jack and Porter and then Tom comes home from school and Jack will have a second portion with Tom.

The sleep is getting better, it is usually not until 4 am that he wakes up! I guess I need to be grateful for this considering what it could be. We took him in about 2 weeks ago for a consult for tubes for his ears, but the doctor decided to wait. Hopefully the last round of antibiotics which came in the form of shots because the previous two rounds that month couldn't kick the ear infections, finally relieved the child from a chronic ear infection.

I am in love with this baby boy and can't believe how big he is. He keeps me on my toes every day but leaves a smile on my face by the end.

Summer So Far-In Pictures

2011-07-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

Bear with me, but my picture procrastination sometimes leads to picture overload. Despite some of the more unfortunate events in our life, namely no job yet, we have had quite an enjoyable summer: from Zoo visits, cousin playdates, park playtime to soccer games (more on that later) cabin campouts and family reunions.

Here's what we've been up to:

ZOO-RASSIC PARK

at Hogle Zoo with Tils

Tommy and Jack on the Carousel

T-Rex, Jack and Mana

(Jack was incredibly fascinated with this, Porter was terrified!)

WHEELER FARM

My Highschool Friends-

Love These Girls and the Friendship we Still Have

Crazy that we all have (or will soon have) kids!

Whitney, Laura, Ang, Me and Sheena

Porter Driving the Tractor in his Jessie Hat

Yep, we still love Hats!

On Our Way to

LAGOON!

Jack and Finch driving.

My anxiety level was high for fear this crazy 1 year old who can unlock doors and

climb on anything would crawl right out!

Porter, Tommy and Bentley

Porter and Mommy on Dinosaur Drop

The LeBaron Cousins competing in a rousing game of Water Blaster,

all soaked from Rattlesnake Rapids.

The LeBaron Crew at LAGOON

THE SUNDANCE CABIN

STEWART FALLS HIKE

Jess, Porter, Maddie, Evie, Luci

The Falls- Yep that's SNOW!

We didn't even make it too the top because it was slippery and icy and I couldn't help Porter without falling myself. We did come down part of it on our bums (on purpose). Jack didn't appreciate the spray and cold air up there!

We also spent the weekend before the 4th up in Park City with my extended family. I didn't snag very good pictures, but here's our car on the way home! Porter played to his hearts content: legos, coloring, tie dying shirts, water balloons and swimming. Jack is tired because he played and didn't sleep at all at night.

We had a lot of fun crammed into the condo playing games and eating as well an enjoying beautiful long walks along the awesome Park City trails.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

We headed to the Bouchers for a Hot Dog's Around the World BBQ

We enjoyed delicious hot dogs (yes even I who hasn't consumed a hot dog since I was 10) with unique flavor combinations from around the world: Thai, Swedish, German, American, Mexican and more.

This little boy was in HEAVEN!

Jack enjoying his hot dog just before an unfortunate tumble down the rock stairs and a face plant leaving a nice cut on his nose and some road rash. Still a miracle we haven't had stitches!

We then headed over to enjoy the Holladay City Fireworks. It was a great show, but was super long. My kids both fell asleep half way through. We had a wonderful 4th of July and found it quite difficult to face reality the next day.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

Despite the dreary weather, we had a wonderful Father's Day! It started with me waking up to play with Jack at 5 so Tommy could keep sleeping. However, I can't complain because that meant Jack slept through all of sacrament which is an incredible blessing! Porter loves any kind of celebration so we have been making decorations for the last week including a tie banner and these cute cards:

Our menu was fabulous if I do say so myself. It included onion and blue cheese stuffed burgers with sauteed mushrooms. Delish! We had a great berry salad with poppy seed dressing, pineapple and corn on the cob since it is my dad's favorite! And finally the dessert: Maple Bacon Cupcakes and 2 kinds of homemade icecream: Cinnamon (which btw is AMAZING!!!) and Peanut Butter. As you can imagine we all probably gained 5 pounds just today, but sometimes the splurge is worth it. Tomorrow feels like a detox is coming on!

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing father in my life. I have always been a daddy's girl so my father holds a very special place in my heart. We have a unique bond and look out for each other. I try to keep him in line with his diabetes and he gives me advice about almost everything. He has always played an important role in my life and even in the lives of my friends. "Papa English" as he is fondly called took the time to learn the names of everyone of my friends and all about their lives and truly looked out for them as a second father. (I even remember him having to discreetly buy sanitary supplies for one of my friends on Concert Choir Tour when she was in desperate need of them, and that is saying a lot!!) He is great with kids (which must explain why at least 15 years of his church life have been spent in Primary and another 10 spent in Young Men's) and it has been great to see what a great grandpa he is. My boys love him to pieces and I would venture to guess that Papa is Porter's best friend. It has been really hard to see my dad have to close his business, but the silver lining for me is that I got to have my dad back. For the past couple of years he was working so hard he could barely pay attention to anything else. And now he has time to talk and go on walks and enjoy life with me and my boys. I love my dad. He is a great example to me of hard work and determination. He taught me how to save money and budget things. He shares my love for lists and organization and order. (although we both obviously must do it wrong or else we wouldn't have to keep organizing again and again) My dad has a positive outlook on life, despite the many trials he has faced and his testimony doesn't seem to waver. I love my dad and feel blessed to be raised by such a great man.

And in honor of Father's Day I cannot forget to express my gratitude to Tommy. He is an INCREDIBLE Father! If I had to choose one word to describe Tom it would be patient. He has exceptional patience and with kids like ours that is hard to come by. He will drop anything to play with his boys and they love him for it. He plays legos and superheros for hours on end, takes Porter to the hardware store with him every chance they get, and in case you didn't know, Tom is an awesome story teller. I use to think that my boys seemed to prefer Tom over me because he was more of the novelty as he was gone so much of the time. Since he has been out of work I have realized that is not the reason. They still prefer him over me! I feel blessed to have a worthy priesthood holder be the head of our family and am so grateful for the influence and example Tom is setting for our children in all aspects of his life. He is a hard worker and has a positive outlook on life. He never says no to helping people, even though sometimes I wish he would! He fulfills his calling and is ready to substitute for any one at church, even when he realizes after he said yes that it was the chastity lesson or when he had to speak in sacrament and sub Gospel Doctrine in the same day! His example, I'm sure, will help set a precedent with his children of the importance of service help influence their testimoney. I feel blessed to have such an incredible man raising our children and couldn't ask for anyone better!

Lake Powell, Captain America and Praise to the Man

2011-06-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived Lake Powell! I was hesitant to leave Jack with anyone considering his sleep habits and craziness, but if anyone could do it I knew my Aunt Jenny could and would! She said he did quite well, he is completely crazy and must have a death-wish the way he climbs things, and had some rough nights. But he obviously loved it. I mean, who wouldn't love being an 8 year olds personal Baby Alive? To be doted on and entertained by 5 kids isn't such a bad deal. When we went to pick him up, he would have chosen to stay with my Uncle John had I let him.

As for us, you may wonder why we would possibly go to Lake Powell when we don't have a job? Well, the truth is, my parents have awesome friends! The Redd's let us stay on their house boat and fed us who can pass up a trip like that? Porter was in heaven as well. With 16 adults who take turns entertaining him, who wouldn't? The day we got down there Haven Redd (age 8) promptly asked me where Porter was in his dinosaur learning. Hmm, um well, he's not. She then informed me that she quite conveniently had the Dinosaur Encyclopedia with her so she could further his dinosaur education. And that she did. She would sit across from Porter on a stool with her legs basically trapping him in and read to him verbatim out of the Encyclopedia! He would start to show a painful look of boredom on his face after a few sentences and then would start singing, "Praise to the Man" (more on that later). But still he would sit. It cracked me up to watch, but every once and a while I would need to intervene to save him. His favorite activity? Paddle Boating to find pirate treasure in what he named "Masagna Cove". Some change buried in a plastic cup made the perfect treasure! Oh how I love his sense of adventure and awesome imagination!

The water was FREEZING in Powell, which is to be expected at this time of year, but the weather was a welcome 80 plus degrees during the day and I ate it up! The first few nights were beautiful down there sleeping on top of the house boat, the perfect temperature to sleep under the stars. However, Saturday night was MISERABLE! I have never seen a wind storm down in Powell like that. Alan sat up all night being sure that our anchors were secure to the rocks, the boys got up more than once to re-tie the ski boat to the houseboat, pillows were flying, sand was blowing, everyone was fighting to sleep, and Porter, he was fast asleep and had no idea! We are taking 30 mph winds people! It shouldn't surprise me when the child can sleep just about anywhere. Case in point:

However, even Jack has managed to fall asleep in quite odd places. I guess that is what you get for not sleeping at night and being crazy during the day! He has done this on a few occasions where he will be crying as he pathetically crawls across the floor (yes he can walk) and all of a sudden, mid cry, he basically passes out. Is that normal?

Well, back to Powell, it was fun and a welcome break, and nice to not have to face the reality that is mine for now. And as you can see, we totally slacked and didn't take one picture. Remind me why Tommy has such an awesome camera again?

No news on the job front for Tommy and me being crazy busy with work, Relief Society, and mommy. The one upside to Tom being home? He makes awesome pancakes and waffles and feeds the boys every morning.

And now let me introduce you to Captain America, whom we refer to as Cap and who Porter will inform you is really Steve Rogers. This boy loves his comic book heroes! Unfortunately his mommy is not allowing her 3 year old to see all the new movies coming out that he is dying to see: Thor, Captain America, X-Men, no matter how many stickers he earns on his chart.

Thank you Justin for getting him hooked!

As for "Praise to the Man"? Porter is learning that song in Primary and has taken it upon himself to learn the entire thing. A few nights ago Porter asked Tom to tell him the story of "King Shalleck". Tom was so confused until Porter further explained that King Shalleck killed Joseph Smith. WHAT? To make a long story short, Porter was referring to this song, "Praise to the Man" and King Shalleck isn't a King at all, but rather the phrase, "kings shall extol him and nations revere." As for killing Joseph Smith, well, we have now corrected that. We sit for hours on end watching youtube videos of the Tab Choir singing it as Porter mouths the words and he is now obsessed with the "Hero Prophet" Joseph Smith and wants to know all about him. How cute is he?

Updates

2011-05-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

There have been a lack of posts, but you know how life gets right? We haven't been up to much except me working a bunch and Tommy doing odd jobs and looking for a real job, squeezing in some playing time in between. Did I mention I'm in the Relief Society now which adds just a bit more to my plate than I feel I can sometimes handle, but the Lord knows what he is doing when he prompts a call, right? If for no other reason than for me to realize that I need to be more grateful because there is someone who always has it worse than me. Well, to update with my boys:

Ohh the Naughtiness!

Jack has become quite the handful these days. He climbs on EVERYTHING and has quite an amazing ability to balance! Our tall kitchen table is a favorite of his, as is the Handy Manny Tool Bench. He doesn't really enjoy toys, he just enjoys getting into trouble and always turns back right before he does it and squeals just to know you are watching. You CANNOT turn your back on him for five seconds without him getting into trouble. Case in point: yesterday I was at my mom's house while Tommy went and did IFLY (present from his birthday). The kids were getting stir crazy so I thought it would be fun to set up Jack's Sand and Water table on the deck. I decided it best to fill it with warmer water from the sink so I was going back and forth a few times with a bucket. Well, although Porter was really into the table, Jack was not and immediately bee-lined it for the stairs.

Have you ever experienced that SLOW MOTION horror when something bad happens and there is nothing you can do about it? I was a split second too late on grabbing him and down he tumbled. Somersaulting first and landing on his neck and then down to the bottom not forgetting to smack his head upon arrival. I saw it coming. . . I was trying to grab him. . . But it was too late and I was helpless. I watched in HORROR as he fell and hurried down to gather him up. But don't worry, it gets worse. Guess what that child landed in? Dog Poo! Yes, you read right, POO! He was covered, I was covered and then my mom coming to help was covered. Well, it is an amazing thing how resilient children are. He bawled and I washed him off in the tub, but a few seconds later he was fine. I continued to be that CRAZY mom, continually checking his pupils and being sure he didn't manifest any signs of a concussion, but to be honest, I don't even see a bruise or bump on him today.

Trent and Jack taking a Sunday Nap

Oh the joys of motherhood right? You feel guilty for not giving them attention and then you try to play and end up covered in poop! But I love my boys and I love being a mom, so I guess that is life right?

Porter is a whole different breed of child than Jack. He is self entertaining, LOVES toys and is a tad bit more obedient. He keeps me on my toes and has me laughing out loud a lot. Sometimes I think Tom and I don't realize how much he hears and much he knows of what is going on. My dad was on a business call and was upset with someone and my mom came in to the room trying to figure out what my dad was talking about and Porter, without even looking up from his Lego's, explained the entire conversation almost verbatim, not even missing a beat! It seems we spend a lot of time at my parents house lately, and to be honest right now we do! Tom's air conditioning in his car is shot so I need to drop him off at my mom's sometimes if he has a Mr. Sandless job to help Trent with so we try to save gas and I just stay there until he is finished. Plus I guess for me it makes me feel a little less guilty that I have so much work right now if I have other people and other things to entertain them as well, like a yard even!

Not much else has been going on lately, just trying to keep our heads above water. Oh, and in case you are wondering? Remember the New Year's Goal to get more sleep? It isn't happening because someone still doesn't sleep. We are even trying essential oils and massage. He is pretty lucky he is so dang cute! Keep Tommy in your prayers to find a job! Maybe one day I'll find where I put Jack's 1 year old pictures and post them!

Simple Mom Solutions

2011-05-10T12:03:00.001-07:00

I am posting this mainly for my friend Christina who was upset with me last week for just finding this out. (okay, and it is also a shameless plug, but it's my blog right?) In case you didn't already know, I have a deal site that posts deals, coupons, amazon deals, diaper deals, Rite Aid shopping lists and coupon matchups, menu plans with recipes, shopping lists, and price estimates, and other money saving and frugal living tips. I don't post every free sample and useless deal on my site, it is usually stuff that I need and want. Apparently none of my crafting friends didn't know I did this. Well, here ya go girls, I do! And I also teach coupon classes. If you are interested I would be happy to teach you. I like to keep groups small so you get all your questions answered. Stop on over here, if you are interested. And right now I'm having a giveaway for a $50 Mixbook Photobook Certificate. This just happens to be my favorite photobook site! Go here to enter, all you have to do is become a Follower! I will be doing a Favorite Things Friday with giveaways every Friday of things I love! So there is my shameless plug, I promise I won't self promote anymore! :)

"It Takes Faith. . ."

2011-05-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

I've been MIA for a while lately (or so my friends say) but life has been a bit crazy and I feel like I have been a bit of a spectator to my own life. We've been in a scramble since Tommy is now out of work. I've taken more hours at work to help with money which means late nights and early mornings so I don't have to work when I'm spending time with my kids (so far we have had not luck in qualifying for government health care, so glad I pay into a system that rarely benefits me and seems to help those it shouldn't, don't worry, I won't go into a political discourse right now I promise) I've been helping my dad clear out his business and files, and I'm now in the Relief Society Presidency which seems to have way more obligations than scouts :)

To be honest, I have felt a little picked on lately, as nothing seems to be going right. I took Jack to the doctor who seems to be a bit concerned with the size of Jack's head. While others tell me not to worry, it is hard not to when your doctor keeps re-measuring it and begins talking of a possible shunt due to excess fluid in his skull. By the end of the week I was emotionally exhausted with everything and felt quite bitter that we had to clean the church on Saturday. Luckily I have a child who tries to keep things in perspective for me when he starts lecturing me on how important it is to clean Jesus' church and reminds me that it is ok that daddy lost his job because he has money in his bank.

At my Relief Society Presidency Meeting, my President shared this quote which I absolutely love and has brought a lot of comfort to me. The Lord manages to teach and comfort us in so many ways and I can't help but think that this sister was prompted to share this with me:

“It takes faith—unseeing faith—for young people to proceed immediately with their family responsibilities in the face of financial uncertainties. It takes faith for the young woman to bear her family instead of accepting employment, especially when schooling for the young husband is to be finished. It takes faith to observe the Sabbath when ‘time and a half’ can be had working, when sales can be made, when merchandise can be sold. It takes a great faith to pay tithes when funds are scarce and demands are great. It takes faith to fast and have family prayers and to observe the Word of Wisdom. It takes faith to do ward teaching, stake missionary work, and other service, when sacrifice is required. It takes faith to fill foreign missions. But know this—that all these are of the planting, while faithful devout families, spiritual security, peace, and eternal life are the harvests.
“Remember that Abraham, Moses, Elijah, and others could not see clearly the end from the beginning. They also walked by faith and without sight. Remember again that no gates were open; Laban was not drunk; and no earthly hope was justified at the moment Nephi exercised his faith and set out finally to get the plates. No asbestos clothes or other ordinary protective devices were in the fiery furnace to protect the three Hebrews from death; there were no leather nor metal muzzles for the mouths of the lions when Daniel was locked in the den.

“Remember that there were no clouds in the sky nor any hydrometer in his hand when Elijah promised an immediate break in the long extended drouth; though Joshua may have witnessed the miracle of the Red Sea, yet how could he by mortal means perceive that the flooding Jordan would back up for the exact time needed for the crossing, and then flow on its way to the Dead Sea.

“Remember that there were no clouds in the sky, no evidence of rain, and no precedent for the deluge when Noah builded the ark according to commandment. There was no ram in the thicket when Isaac and his father left for Moriah for the sacrifice. Remember there were no towns and cities, no farms and gardens, no homes and storehouses, no blossoming desert in Utah when the persecuted pioneers crossed the plains. And remember that there were no heavenly beings in Palmyra, on the Susquehanna or on Cumorah when the soul-hungry Joseph slipped quietly into the Grove, knelt in prayer on the river bank, and climbed the slopes of the sacred hill.

“But know this: that undaunted faith can stop the mouths of lions, make ineffective the fiery flames, make dry corridors through beds of rivers and seas. Unwavering faith can protect against deluge, terminate drouths, heal the sick, and bring heavenly manifestations. Indomitable faith can help us live the commandments and thereby bring blessings unnumbered with peace, perfection, and exaltation in the kingdom of God” (Spencer W. Kimball, in Conference Report, Oct. 1952, 50–51).

Happy Birthday Jack!

2011-04-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

That's right, my baby boy turned one. Crazy that a year has flown by but what a CRAZY year it has been. This little boy has kept me on my toes from the second he was born. He is full of personality to say the least. Porter was such an even tempered easy going child, but Jack, well let's just say he is completely the opposite! He is, shall we say, a bit bi-polar but he certainly is such a fun-loving joyful kid when he is on the upswing. It has been quite a year of sleepless nights which we still haven't overcome but how can you resist this smile?

He has just started walking and can take just a few steps before he gives up because he can crawl faster than any other baby. He says two words. One is Mama (yes I'm loving that!) and the other is Ama. Let me explain. When I first taught Porter the clean up song a few years ago, he translated clean up into Ama. ("Ama, ama, everybody everywhere. . . ") So for some reason Jack has picked up on this and now sweetly sings Ama, Ama. So dang cute!

We celebrated his birthday with a Mickey Mouse Party. The cake:

Note for all you mothers, don't have your one year old's cake have black frosting on it. I didn't expect him to dig into it as much as he did because Porter hated his cake, but Jack LOVED it! Needless to say we had to throw him into the bath before the party could continue.

He wasn't sure about it right at first. I put a little in his mouth and then he started to get into it.

And dug deeper.

He thought it was hilarious.

And this was the end result!

The opening of present was a bit overwhelming. This present was my favorite. Haven wrote Jack a card and on the back she has constructed a lesson on symmetry. I love how kids think!

Jack is such a joy to have in our family. He adds quite a new dynamic. He loves to wrestle with anyone but especially Porter whom he beats up on a daily basis. Pillow fighting is his favorite activity. I need to get a video because I have never seen a kid laugh so hard, especially because he is getting bombarded with pillows at his face. Apparently this is the funniest thing in the world!

I think it is indescribable the joy you experience being a mother. I love my boys and wouldn't trade it for the world! I am blessed that although right now I do need to work because of some uncertainty, I am grateful that it allows me to still be home with my children. I cannot imagine working a full time job and consider myself lucky that my main job is to raise my children.

And the Battle Rages On

2011-03-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Did I mention we have mice? Yes mice,as in the plural. We have now caught around 10 and I am writing this while sitting at my mom's house because I saw my second one this morning. I am writing this more as a venting and coping exercise more than anything I warn you. Now let's backtrack for a moment. I am an over-reactor and an anxiety ridden freak who does get swallowed up in the false info on the internet when I start to stress over something. When we found our first mouse, I told Tommy if we find one we will find at least 10. My mom and Tommy assured me that it was probably just one or two and when we found the entrance point we would be done with them. Now although I am not happy about being right, maybe my over-reactions should sometimes be taken more seriously.

Tommy has dealt with all the rest and it had been about a week since we had seen really any or any signs of them. At first I felt disgusting because maybe my house wasn't clean, but once the mice enter they can breed fast! 21 Gestational cycle to be more precise and from what I can tell they can start breeding soon after they are born. So even if the mice entered my house a month ago there could be more! Upon sighting, I packed up the kids and headed to my mom's house. They are in one centralized location in our house it appears but I don't really like the thought of my children playing around areas where mice have been or could be. Almost everything in my cupboard is now in plastic containers and I have just about lost my appetite. I vacuum my house EVERYDAY, in every nook and cranny and underneath couches. I sweep the kitchen no less than 5 times a day and continually spray lysol everywhere. Everytime I walk downstairs I hesitate and slowly turn the corner for fear that I will see another one.

The exterminators are coming tomorrow. I called a number yesterday but after one company charges $39-$50 per mouse removed and the people at Orkin told me no less than 5 times that mice lay eggs, I decided on BEELINE Pest Control, so here's hoping. While on the phone with the orkin tech, I even hesistated for a moment in my elementary knowledge that mammals don't lay eggs and even double check the internet just to be sure I hadn't completely lost my mind. I mean it was supposedly a trained animal control technician. But indeed, Mice are mammals and therefore do not lay eggs. The Orkin tech kept telling me that I would need to have their services for a year because even though we may catch the live ones their eggs will be left in the walls to hatch. Um, WRONG! Although the thought of a mice infestation makes my stomach churn, I do believe (and hope and pray) that we will soon be rid of them. After which will require another thorough cleaning of every cupboard, pantry, drawer, and baseboard in my entire house.

Jack Jack

2011-03-08T20:58:00.000-08:00

Jack has become a WILD comanchie! He is seriously out of control! He NEVER stops moving. He is hands down the fastest crawler I have ever seen and could go forever. He continually bounces up and down. He is also a climber. He can climb just about anything. The latest accomplishment? My bed. Now Porter is not safe anywhere. Today, after learning his Articles of Faith, he was being "attacked" by Jack, he said, "Jack, you will be punished for your own sins and not for Adam's transgressions."

Jack loves to pillow fight and wrestle and thinks it is the funniest thing he has ever done! Who knew getting hit in the face with a pillow was so funny? Sometimes he gets laughing so hard I think he is going to stop breathing. He can definitely take Porter in a fight and usually does. Oftentimes when we are at the grocery store Jack rides in front and Porter will sometimes ride in the front. Without even turning his head, Jack will reach his hand around and pull Porter's hair while he is still smiling at me.

This boy keeps me on my toes as he is constantly getting into one thing after another and the worst part is that he knows he is naughty and squeals in delight. But however naughty, he is irresistible. He knows how to be coy and flash his cute smile to everyone. I now have a favorite checker at Rite Aid who never gives me an issue with anything now because she is so smitten with him. It is amazing to see the differences in my two children. Oh, and in case you are wondering? No, his sleeping is still HORRIBLE!

He isn't quite walking but can balance FOREVER!

Porter's First Talk & The Articles of Faith

2011-03-05T06:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, forgive me for a second for my proud parent moment. Apparently he has an incredible ability to memorize. (not so good with numbers, did you know eleventeen is a number?) Does anyone else notice when he says name of Jesus Christ that he closes one eye like he is saying a prayer? And I totally love it when the King says "NO!"

He is learning the Articles of Faith right now. They get to pass them off in Primary. He's done two. Here are the first three. Love this little boy!

Sometimes You Have to Laugh

2011-02-23T20:15:00.000-08:00

Do you ever feel like if you stepped back from your life for a moment that you would find that you live in a comedy? At the risk of becoming a social pariah, let me share with you my week so far. To think it is only Wednesday almost makes me cry.

So I decided to organize my pantry, something I have done not too long ago. The first three shelves looked great and I was moving on to the next one that has first aid supplies and electronics. Well, it also has corn and rice bags as well to use as heating pads. Well, I noticed there were pieces of corn on the opposite side of the bags. What the. . .? So I pulled out the boxes and the corn was spread all over the back of the shelf. Weird. And then I saw little black flecks and some were smeared. I knew what this meant. SICK! (let me just say that I used that bag no less than 1 month ago so this hasn't been going on for too long. So I cleaned all that up and moved to floor. I pulled on box out and saw what looked like black string. Although I knew that it wouldn't be that simple and when I started to move the box the black string disappeared. I grabbed the kids and drove to my mom's and told Tom that I would not return until the mouse was caught. My mom informed me how impossibly that probably was to think he would be able to just go home and get it.

Well, he caught the mouse by throwing a sticky trap at it! Seriously, my husband is awesome. Then caught another one. So I came home and slept the night thinking maybe the problem was solved. The next morning I sent Tommy down again to see if we had caught anymore. One more in the same place as the other two, so I grabbed some clothes and went to my mom's to hide out again. Tom came home from work that day to find two more had been caught. So he stayed home from class and went on a tirade. Well, we discovered that there was an electrical cord going in to the house with quite a large opening that the mice could easily get in to our house and then climb out the vent. He caulked it up and since then we have not seen any signs.

Just to give you an idea, they can fit through the tiny vent above, SICK!!

I took the boys down to Provo today to see Josh and McKay and guess what? My car died, Porter pooped his pants and I missed my work meeting. Then I headed back to my mom's house to have dinner until Tom came home to be sure there were no more mice before I came home. I refuse to be the one to dispose of them! I am that ninny stereotypical house wife, who would have thought? But then in the middle of cooking chicken the power went out. My mom drove up the street to see two boys being arrested after having crashed into a power line while under the influence I am guessing due to the cuffs. But seriously?

Some days you have to laugh just to keep from crying.

What We're Up To

2011-02-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Since I'm never good at updating, I present an update of the past month through pictures:

Jack never gives up on the baby gate. He has an entire floor to explore but he stands at the gate and cries as if he is in prison. He has totally mastered going up the stairs, but we don't get the going down so the gate stays for now. And what is he looking at? Yes, Miko taunts him at the top of the stairs.

And sometimes makes things worse by blatantly teasing him right next to the gate.

We spent a day at Discovery Gateway. Porter absolutely love the Grocery Store and the Post Office. However, the majority of our time was spent with the ball tubes and the paper airplane simulator where an odd 13ish year old boy informed us of the variety of different ways to fold a paper air plane.

Out of a complete loss of ideas on how to entertain my 3 year old, we have started a Letter of the Day game. Yesterday was S for Superhero Day. We had to stay in costume all day (even Jack, although for some reason I don't have his picture) and everything we did and ate had to be related to Superheros.

But despite the dreary weather, we managed to make it through a depressing January quite happily.

Porter's newest obsession is Bible Scripture Stories, courtesy of "Follow the Prophet", which by the way is an extremely confusing song that is impossible for me to remember. Not to mention I have realized how much I don't know about all the details of Bible stories and with a child that is continually asking why, I often find myself at a loss. His favorite story for the moment is Daniel, however he is completely fascinated by the story of Enoch. He has informed me that it would be a great idea if we all were righteous like Enoch so we don't have to die but can just go straight to heaven. Wouldn't that be a great idea indeed!

Happy 27th Birthday Tommy!

2011-02-05T05:22:00.000-08:00

Today is Tommy's 27th Birthday and in perfect mormon mommy blog fashion, please indulge me as I tell you how much I love him and why he is such a great husband and father.

-Tommy has amazing patience. He is always so calm and collected, which is such a great balance to an anxiety ridden perfectionist.

-He is an AMAZING father. His little boys can't get enough of him. He is awesome at playing guys with Porter (which apparently, Porter has informed me that I am not), he is a great story teller, and is always willing to man one of the kids at all times, but most especially at night.

-He is such a hard worker and manages to get so much accomplished each day. It can't be easy to wake up at 6 to be sure he has enough time to eat breakfast with porter before he leaves for Ogden at 7, comes home at 5 to head to school or later to a Young Men's activity, and gets home with just enough time to put Porter to bed with a story. (he does usually fall asleep and doesn't wander into bed until 10 or 11. But man he is a busy guy but keeps a positive attitude about it all. And even manages to pull off running the Wasatch Back (pictured above).

-He is an INCREDIBLE cook. Have you guys ever tried Tommy's cooking? He is a master at the grill and can cook an amazing piece of meat, he makes homemade waffles every weekend (even trying recipes with yeast), and is great at making homemade bread. You just wish you were in his Early Morning Mission Prep Group on Sunday because even though it is at 7am, he gets up early enough to make a homemade breakfast treat.

-He is a great Handy Man. He can figure anything out and knows how to build just about anything: decks, shelves, beds, floors, doors, cabinets, and more. He can fix toilets, solve flooding problems, change oil, and do almost anything else you can think of. It is quite nice to have a handyman around.

-He has an awesome sense of humor and can always make me laugh, even when I am crying.

-He has a wonderful testimony and understanding of the gospel. He is doing an awesome job teaching out children the gospel and its principles. Porter already knows by heart tons of bible stories and can recite the 1st Article of Faith to you.

There are a million other reasons why I love Tom, but I'll refrain from going on for now. I am grateful to have such an Incredible Husband.

Happy Birthday Tommy!

Big Baby Attacks and Too Many Questions

2011-01-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

Not much is going on lately around here but working and playing "Tato Heads" and "Joker Castle". My OCD child doesn't really like to switch things up too much which makes some days seem a little like 'Groundhog Day'. Who would have thought that a potato could bring such joy to a child? I try to add new scenarios, some of which he embraces, but you can always tell he doesn't like to get thrown off and gives a kind of courtesy laugh with uncertainty in his voice. I guess that's the way you break OCD right? The latest scenario? Big Baby Attacks!

And boy does he ever! Jack has become crazy, hyper, out of control wild child. Who knew a 9 month old could be so crazy? It is exhausting but comical at the same time. Jack's days consist of speed crawling, continuously trying to climb the stairs as fast as he can as he squeals in naughty delight, climbing on EVERYTHING, happily kicking his chubby legs together as he is placed in the highchair to eat yet another meal that he can't hardly wait for, racing me to the dog food (throwing up in my mouth right now as I know there has been at least one time that I didn't get there in time), and nuzzling his face into every blanket, sheet, and article of clothing he can get his hands on. He is crazy and can apparently live on limited amounts of sleep as this morning began at 5 am when I finally gave up trying to put him back to sleep and laid on his floor working while he happily played. I'll post a video of him speed crawling and squealing because he knows he is being naughty.

Porter's curious questions are non-stop all day long. Today's questions? What is growing up? What's college? Where is an attic? What is a dump? What is trash? (all inspired by our latest obsession, Toy Story 3) The questions I am still at a loss of how to answer for him because apparently my answers have not satisfied him: Why did Jesus have to die? Who killed him? Why did he come back to life? Why did Heavenly Father send Jesus to Earth to die? I realize the more I try to explain the more confused he gets. The other day he was watching a show with Justin and was asking tons of questions after which he stated, "I'm asking too many questions." On another note with Porter, I believe we may have mastered the Potty Training in full. Ask me in two weeks to see if it has stuck.

My New Calling

2011-01-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

Well folks, you are looking at the new Cub Scouts Den Mother for the Bears. Yes that is right, my new calling is scouts. Isn't that a man's job? I don't even know how to tie a knot. I'm in charge of the colorguard this month for Pack Meeting. Never done it in my life. And I get to go to cub country. While I would like to believe I was meant for this calling, I think really I was the only one that would say yes. Apparently this is a hard calling to fill in our ward. I don't have the faintest idea why :) I'm sure Porter will be in heaven! Oh, and since most of you have never or probably won't ever have the wonderful chance of getting this calling, yes I do indeed get to wear the yellow cubscout shirt. I know you are all so jealous of me right now!

Oh, and on those resolutions? So far, I have crafted, played and exercised. As for the sleeping, not so much. If any mother out there has any suggestions, I'm open. Over the past couple of months I've tried the 'Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child', the "progressive waiting" according to the Ferber method, the cry-it-out method, not allowing him to take longer than half hour naps during the day (this one isn't hard because he rarely sleeps longer than that most days), early bed-times, late bed-times, a very strict bedtime routine, and even co-sleeping on the really hard nights. I am at a loss and so far so is my doctor. The only thing I think is that it is TEMPER, but something has got to give. Any suggestions are welcome, PLEASE!

2011

2011-01-06T21:26:00.000-08:00

Although most people aren't for resolutions because they are usually broken, I look at it more as a way to re-focus. Even if I'm not perfect, I would like to work on being the person I want to be. With that said, here are my 2011 goals:

SLEEP- I know to most of you this may seem odd, but at our house we average about 4-5 hours on a good night. Jack has a HORRIBLE temper and wakes up screaming. I've taken him to the doctor to be sure nothing is wrong and we can't figure it out. He screams for hours, I've even recorded it for the doctor to ask him advice. Combine that with Porter's bowl movement problem which usually creeps up at around 1am and it makes for a great night!

PLAY WITH MY BOYS- Sometimes I take being a mom for granted. Porter has a wonderful imagination and entertaining him can be exhausting. Today alone I have been a nurse, a patient, a princess trapped in a castle, a pirate, and a house cleaner dancing around singing "almost there!" Although I got virtually nothing else accomplished, I feel fulfilled and wouldn't have rather spent my day any other way.

CRAFT- I attend craft night with my friends once a week. It's late after the kids go to bed. For the past few months I have either worked or just sat and enjoyed the company. I would like to get back to crafting. Here are just a few of the projects I have been considering:

ATTEND THE TEMPLE ONCE A MONTH: This gets tricky with a baby that even his grandma's get weary of after a few hours and a husband that goes to school at night, but we all know how important this is.

EXERCISE AND EAT BETTER: Believe it or not, I have slacked off on the healthy lifestyle. When I was pregnant with Jack I developed some bad eating habits of pretzel m&m's, hamburgers, and diet coke (before then I had steered clear of these vices basically since junior high) and although they are fine in moderation, I've been consuming too many of them. I need to get back to my P90x but finding time is the challenge. It might have to be during afternoon naps.

Well, there you have it. Basic goals that I hope I can work on. Oh, and also to track and budget my grocery bill. I won't tell you my goal, but I think with my rite aid savings I might just be able to do it!

DECEMBER AND CHRISTMAS IN PICTURES

2010-12-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

December was a wonderfully busy month for us and we enjoyed every minute of it! Let's start with the annual cutting of the Christmas tree.

Setting up the Tree in Porter's Room

Next came Porter's 3rd Birthday. We kept it simple inviting grandparents, and my cousins Josh, Mackay, and Sadie to yes, McDonald's. But kid should get to choose where to have his party and this was Porter's choice.

Next came sitting on Santa's Lap

(maybe I'm wrong, but most kids this age cry on Santa's lap right?)

Christmas is by far now my favorite time of year because nothing can top the magic of Christmas to children! We started with Tangled. Darling show, made me cry. Tom just looked over at me and shook his head. Next, we had a few hours of down time until we headed to my Uncle Scott's house for Christmas. A very interesting Christmas indeed. As long as I can remember we have had London Broil, baked potatoes, salad, rolls and Flaming Christmas Pudding. Well, this year we mixed it up with Scott's wife Maralyn bringing in her tradition of Chinese Food mixed with some of our food. It looked a little Chinese Gourmet-ish but was actually pretty good.

We acted out the traditional nativity but this year we were a little short on kids so we had to recruit some adults to join. Porter was a Wise Man and insisted that we bring Jesus every present we could find. And although he was a little large, Jack was Baby Jesus. Asleep the whole time!

We headed home to deliver our sub-for santa gift for a family out in West Valley. Porter contributed to the donation by using one of his dollars to buy a spider man gift for the four year old boy. He was so proud to hand his dollar bill to the cashier. It was darling. This year was extremely humbling because the children didn't even ask for toys because what they really needed was clothes and food. My toiletry stock from Rite Aid came in quite handy as I did have about a buzzillion toothpastes, deodorant, and shampoo and conditioner to donate too.

And finally, we went to check to see if the Elves came. And sure enough, they visited and brought Porter Woody jammies and Jack Buzz Lighyear jammies. And then sent the boys to bed while we did some wrapping. It was put on hold when Porter had a wonderful accident in his bed and I had to run up and change the sheets, wash his underwear and handwash and dry the woody jammies because he still insisted on wearing them.

Christmas morning was perfect. Porter got everything he possibly wanted and more! Luckily he was polite and said thanks after every gift. Last year we weren't in our house so we spent Christmas Eve at my parents house. Well, my family couldn't bear to think of us enjoying Porter and Jack Christmas morning without them so they came to our house at 7 am to watch the show. After we showered, we headed to my mom's for one more present from Santa and a ton of gifts from my family. So spoiled when you have the only grandchildren! And finally, we headed to the LeBaron's for food and cousin time.

My Boys Christmas Morning

The Iron Man Helmet from Uncle Justin

Luckily Santa Brought the Much Anticipated Dragon Castle to Manna's House!

Christmas Thoughts

2010-12-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas has been wonderful and I am sad to see it end. We have had such a wonderful and magical Christmas which will most certainly need to be documented on my blog with photos, but for now, I just want to write my feelings about this Christmas down. Picture documentary later.

We have done so many fun things this Christmas, but most of all I have loved teaching Porter the True Meaning of Christmas and the story of Jesus' birth. He certainly was spoiled (that being the understatement of the world) but I am so happy that he is starting to understand at this young age why we celebrate Christmas and the joy one feels in giving gifts. One of my favorite moments this Christmas was during our Nativity Reenactment. Porter chose to be a Wiseman this year because he wanted to be the one to bring the gifts to the Baby Jesus. We gave him "gold" to bring and he walked in an put the present down and then walked around the room insisting that we needed to find more presents for Jesus. I love my sweet little boy!

For my mom, this Christmas has been quite an emotional one. My favorite gift I received this year was a clock and the explanation and testimony she gave with it. I wanted to be sure to keep this so I am going to write down parts of the letter to be sure I always remember the message. Take from it what you will, but for me it means so much. If it isn't obvious, clearly I have been having doubts on my abilities as a parent and knowing the best ways to raise my boys. As well as balancing work, church, family, a husband that is always gone, etc. I am grateful to my mom for always knowing exactly what I need to hear. Here is most of the letter for memory's sake.

"This idea was a product of my continual reflection from October Conference in a talk by Elder Christofferson entitled "Reflections on a Consecrated Life". In it he states, 'Life offers us two precious gifts--one is time, the other freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will...Everyday, every hour, every minute of your span of mortal years must sometime be accounted for.' This thought has kept ringing in my ears. Often the choices we make in this life aren't between good and bad but between better and best..

Elder Christofferson goes on to state that one of the elements of a consecrated life is work. 'All work is sacred,' he states. 'God designed this life to require almost constant work. How we manage that in our lives is the key. Work is required and when we are working we should give our very best. If it is important to do, it is important to do well and the time we work should reflect our integrity. But you also have the work in your family. Control your time; make the best use of it.' Don't be jealous of what others have, even in ease and comfort.

I believe we often learn the gospel with music and two lines from two different songs keep coming to my mind. 'I Walk by Faith'. I know that as we lean on our Heavenly Father, He will direct us in making choices about our lives and the time we spend. The other song is from the Forgotten Carols. 'All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of. . .couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given. I've been given what I need.' You are the parents to two wonderful little boys. They have been given to you for a reason. You are the parents that are right for them. Be grateful for the opportunity to raise them and lean on Heavenly Father for guidance. He has given you what you need.

Use your time to make the best choices. Elder Chirstofferson says, 'men are that they might have joy-a joy that includes a fullness of life, a life dedicated to service, to love and harmony in the home, and the fruits of' honest toil.' I believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it is the only place to find the answers we need."

Merry Christmas. I hope all of you had as wonderful a Christmas as we had!
'

Catch Up Now, Pictures Later

2010-12-12T19:51:00.000-08:00

And...sigh. I was released today from no longer in existence calling of Activities Coordinator after the crazy Christmas Party last night. Props to all you out there who've served in this calling longer than 6 months :) Most of the time is is a great calling because you don't have much to do, but when the party approaches, you go into full swing. And the stress case that I am doesn't handle it so well and it is hard to have kids when you are in charge so my mom was lucky enough to take them from 2-9:30 on Saturday. Gotta love close family. (Ironic, however, that I didn't have my family there at the Ward Family Christmas Party) For the most part, it went off without a hitch, although there was a disagreement on how many salads to put out at a time in which I lost and we almost ran out of salad before the last people were served. (well, and the fact that like 3 people that were suppose to bring salad didn't show, nice)

I cannot believe Christmas is already in full swing! Crazy how time gets away from you! I have so much catching up to do with pictures that will have to happen later this week but I know if I don't post now I will have no motivation to do it. Cutting Down Christmas Trees, Porter's Birthday, Sitting on Santa's Lap, Gingerbread Cookies, Decorating and More Decorating and if Porter had his way we would decorate everyday.

Christmas is so fun this year with all the anticipation. It feels nice to have had all my shopping for my boys done before Thanksgiving but there is a part of me that is sad that I'm done just because it is so fun. I think we have played with and probably lost pieces to about 8 different nativity sets, but Porter is obsessed with the Christmas Story. He will go to Sunbeams in January, but the older nursery has been going into Sharing Time just to get them ready. He came home singing "shepherds quietly" over and over and as of now I'm still not quite sure what Primary song that could have come from but he won't stop singing. I love having a child at this age and their anticipation and excitement of the season. Porter is insisting we make Jesus a cake for his Birthday because everyone should have a birthday cake. He would also like to get him a toy. Anyone do a tradition celebrating Jesus' birthday that they might want to offer up?

Happy Birthday My Blue Eyed Boy!

2010-12-05T21:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday my sweet little boy! Porter turned 3! How does that happen? How do I have a 3 year old I ask you? But for Porter's and my sake I thought I would document this little piece of history.
Porter, you are the sweetest little boy and have brought so much joy to my life! Your curiosity and inquisitiveness bring a new adventure everyday. You have such a zest for life that is contagious and you make motherhood a joy. I love playing with you, and hearing you sing, and watching and listening to your wild imagination. I love your snuggles and kisses and hugs. Currently these are your favorites:
-Iron Man (and all Marvel Comic Characters thanks to your uncle Justin, and you do in fact know every identity of every super hero and the name of their girlfriends also thanks to your uncle Justin),
-Pirates and your new Pirate Ship,
-Preschool with Brayden and Bo,
-Nursery (which I've already broken your heart by informing you that starting January you will now be a Sunbeam),
-campouts with Papa Carl,
-having story time with Daddy,
-Peanut Butter Sandwiches (two every morning at 10 am for what we call second breakfast)
-McDonald's hamburger and "two-fries",
-helping me cook and clean while singing "Almost There!",
-anything and everything Disney but for now mostly Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty and the Seven Dwarfs, -doing legos with Justin,
- and most of all, CHRISTMAS with all the decorations and the nativities and the story of Jesus' Birth when he receives gold, frankenstein and more!

We love you little boy and are so happy to have you in our lives.

My Blog

2010-11-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I started a deal blog to answer the requests of many of my friends asking me how I find my deals, how I save money and how I shop at Rite Aid. I started posting a few ideas and deals I found. (I subscribe to a lot of stores and deal site email blasts) It was just a little experiment into giving a few ideas but I didn't think really much of it. (google analytics tells me differently) I have been SHOCKED at the amount of emails I have received and visitors I have had. So at this point, I guess I'll keep going. If you didn't know, the blog is:
www.dealsyouwant.blogspot.com
Check it out and email me if you are looking for a deal on something in particular.

Pictures coming shortly of cutting down our christmas tree and in case you didn't know, my little boy turns 3 on Sunday!

i LOVE my BOYS!

2010-11-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I think I take for granted how wonderful my life is and how blessed I am. This is for my own sentimental journaling. I love my boys! Not a day goes by that they don't make me laugh. At times, it is difficult to be a mother and have patience with every naughty thing they do (ie: Porter scratching the heck out of Jack's face right before we left for church!) But I love the days when we get to cuddle up on my bed and read a story to them before nap time. And I love, even if just for a minute, when they are both sleeping and I just get to lay there with them and watch how innocent and adorable they are. I love when I do find them laughing together. Jack thinks Porter is the funniest person he has ever seen and it makes me happy to know that one day they will be the best of friends! I love being a mom and with days like today when the power was out I realize how sometimes I lose sight of what is most important and how much I just enjoy sitting with my boys with nothing else to entertain us but, well. . . us!

I love Porter's enthusiasm for life! Everything is so exciting and fun to him. His new favorite? Each day we get to get out one Christmas decoration. Yesterday was a tiny nativity set and so as part of our Thankful Family Home Evening we talked about how thankful we were for Jesus and the Christmas Story. He loves to tell me it a billion times a day. Did you know that the Wise Men (who did in fact build their house upon a rock!) brought Jesus gold and frankenstein. We now carry the nativity around in a ziploc bag and I'm sure we will loose every piece of it, but well worth it. He loves to help cook and clean, read stories, play the "what letter does it start with" game and hide and go seek (even if he doesn't get it), and he absolutely loves nursery and preschool. We love this little boy! (oh and potty training is just about there!)

Jack is trying my patience a bit right now, but I love this little boy. I love him while I'm giving him a bath at 4 am because it is the only way to calm him down. I love his chunky little body and his smiley face! He is irresistable and he knows it. He started crawling now and since it took him so long, he is quickly advancing to pulling himself up on things. Here we go!

One of Those Days

2010-11-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

So. . . apparently, Jack is like his dad and is allergic to penicillin. I tried to take a picture with my phone, but it just doesn't quite do it justice. We went to the doctor Friday to see if we could figure out why Jack was waking up every two hours at night and never napping longer than 20 minutes. The diagnosis was reflux but he also had a small ear infection so we started him on antibiotics. He said big kids (23 lbs.) often have a hard time with reflux. We gave him maalox for the first two nights and it worked like a charm 10 + hours. But then we started him on Zantac which started us back to 2 hours a night. So. . . we are going to try Prevacid and see if it is less irritable on his stomach. But, back to the matter at hand. He woke up this morning with a rash. It wasn't much so I thought maybe it was just an irritation to laundry detergent or something, but as the day went on his whole body was covered in hives and his back was almost completely red. After seeing Tommy a few months ago with his allergic reaction to penicillin, I knew what had happened. $25 later I found that he was indeed allergic to penicillin. Awesome, poor guy looks pretty pathetic but hopefully all his problems are solved now and his ear infection is gone.

But, I had dropped Porter off at my parents house when I took Jack. As I was going inside to pick him up, I noticed the door to our Mr. Sandless truck was slightly ajar. I looked inside to find that the stereo system had been stolen and the whole front end had been ransacked. Awesome!

Luckily we've reached the end of the day and a package of pretzel M&M's and a Diet Coke is just what the doctor ordered to help wind down. Pray that we have a nice restful night and that Jack will sleep for longer than two hours (that is worse than a newborn!)

We Survived!

2010-11-11T20:03:00.001-08:00

We are home after being in Provo for four days watching my Aunt Jenny's 5 kids! So. . . maybe I"m not cut out to have that many kids, or maybe having 4 kids 3 and under is challenging! Actually, truth be told, it wasn't too bad, and Porter was in heaven. The hardest parts? Jack waking up every 2 hours day and night (this has been ongoing for the past month plus, we went to the doctor today so hopefully putting him back on acid reflux meds will do the trick!? Here's hoping!) having to give Porter an enema because he had not had a movement in a LONG time, making breakfast and dinner for 6 kids who all want something at the same time, convincing my 12 year old cousin that as a past History Teacher I was more than qualified to assist her with her history homework (if not more so than her mother whom she would secretly call to ask for help), figuring out how to pick up 3 kids from school with four car seats in a 7 passenger van, dealing with piano practicing for hours on end, getting my work done for Shabby Apple and completing a 1.5 hour conference call with 4 kiddos, and not losing my patience with such lack of sleep!

The kids were fabulously behaved for the most part. Bed time was the best. All kids in bed at 8:30 with flashlights that they use to read a book and then lights out (even the 3 year olds) I only hope my kids can be as well trained as that!

I admire all you mothers out there who handle a plethora of children so unbelievably well. I only hope that I can be as good as you when I have more! Jenn, you are awesome and have taught your kids well!

PS: Mags had her baby: 4 lbs 10 oz teeny itty bitty (especially for someone with almost 9 pound babies!), keep them in your prayers!

Our October

2010-11-02T21:02:00.001-07:00

I absolutely love fall! And not just because of my birthday, although that was an enjoyable event too. I got a Cricut Machine and I am soo excited to start crafting. Now if I can only find the time. But back to Fall. It is by far my favorite season and having kids has made this month even more fun. Unfortunately, after more than a week of Halloween Parties and festivities, Porter has come to expect something every night and doesn't understand why we aren't still dressing up!

I love this costume!

The Pumpkin Patch

The First of many Halloween Parties. In case you can't tell, as many people seemed to need clarification: I am Wendy, Jack is Peter Pan, Porter is Captain Hook and Tommy is the Crocodile. No Jack is not Robin Hood and I am not Bo Peep. Come on people, honestly! He was so insistent on this that after going to every thrift store as well as Walmart and Target, I gave up and had to make my own nightgown. His assignments extended far beyond our little family as my dad was Mr. Smee, my mom, Tiger Lily, Trent as Michael, and Miko as "Poor Nana". Unfortunately, I don't yet have the picture of that, but hopefully I can get it from someone else.

Porter loved carving pumpkins, although he didn't really like the guts! Later on in the week, of course Justin had to use his art skills to carve an awesome Captain Hook Pumpkin.

Violet, Noah and Jack. This was right before Jack realized that Noah's costume was so soft and began to nuzzle his face into it. As you can tell, Noah didn't appreciate it so much.

The Grandkids with Nanny and Grandma Adams. I failed as a mom by forgetting the majority of Porter's costume. Luckily, Nanny saved the day with this Price Phillip costume that even matched the hat!

We had a very Happy Halloween, but I am Halloweened Out!

Pictures!

2010-10-25T13:36:00.001-07:00

We had pictures taken a few weeks ago. Porter was not the most cooperative, Jack was all smiles, and here are the results. I love my little boys and you have to admit they are pretty dang cute!

Jack is so white in this picture you can't see the shirt underneath. A little photoshopping might have to fix that bare chested look!

The Question of the Day

2010-10-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Porter posed the following question on the way to Gymboree: "If Sneezy sneezes, and Happy is Happy, and Grumpy is mad, and Sleepy sleeps, what does Bashful do?" The kid cracks me up, seriously who thinks about that? I proceeded to explain that he was shy, but that didn't work for him so we ended on the fact that he doesn't talk much.
Porter is loving Halloween this year. I so wish we were in DisneyLand right now because he is all about Disney Villans and is totally into the Captain Hook costume and doesn't want to take it off. At least I am getting my moneys worth. After a brief search for a Wendy costume, I decided to make one which my mom helped me polish off today, so we are ready for Halloween at the LeBaron house. Here is just a glimpse of what is to come . . .

My Husband is Awesome!

2010-10-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

So my husband is pretty much awesome. I wish I had pictures of the awesome shelves he made or the amazing dinner we just enjoyed that he prepared, but instead I guess I'll just tell you all. He is awesome! He can pull 6 miles out without exercising for a month, build anything (if only he had the time), survive on minimum sleep and wake up at the crack of dawn to go to work and then school and not get home until 10 at night and still have the patience to take care of Porter when he wanders in at 3 am. He is an awesome cook and loves doing it. Who doesn't love a man who can cook? He can figure anything out and loves to research everything. And despite how busy he is, he always manages to be the on-hand handy man to help anybody solve any problem they have. Ok, enough of that, here are a few catching up pictures:

Here is my little boy exhausted after a week of potty training (yes he sure did have an accident at Nanny's this day, as soon as I heard the door to the playroom slam I knew it was over as that is usually his choice of pooping places) In the words of Candace Flynn (if you don't know how that is, don't worry about it): "Sick of it! Totally sick of it. Sick! of! It!" We still have not mastered this aspect of potty training so basically I have to deal with dirty pants every other day! Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated!

We've been making lots of Halloween treats lately. As you can see from the pictures above (this photo is taken when I came down stairs looking for Porter after a shower) Porter loves frosting as he bites or licks the tops of the cupcakes off and puts them back.

In other news, we did in fact survive last weekend which unfortunately was the weekend everything was going on. We did the homeshow for Mr. Sandless starting Friday. Tom and I took the Friday evening shift ending at 10pm. I went the next morning with Trent until 1 while my mom watched the kids because Tom was helping his dad with a special project, after which I ran home to get to a baby shower for my visiting teaching partner. We then had to be at the Stake at 4 with a pot of chili and rolls to set up for The Stake Activity that I was partly in charge of. It went over fairly well. At the last second I had to enlist Trent to be the entertainment as everyone else bombed. Luckily I have a talented brother who can perform on the fly! The night was a pretty huge success with the exception of the Sumo Wrestling injury (the activity I was in charge of) as one of the Sumo Wrestlers fell out of the ring and landed on a little girl who now may have a broken arm. Of course there were the old ladies who then proceeded to criticize whoever it was that set it up there and why they weren't more careful (they being me!) We then had to clean up from the Home Show and by Sunday evening we were exhausted! So glad its over!

Being a Mom is Exhausting!

2010-10-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

By the end of the day I feel like I have run a marathon. I give props to all you mom's of more than two children because mine are exhausting. Between potty training, Shabby Apple, preschool, gymboree, Mr. Sandless, the big stake activity this weekend, and the everyday mom stuff, and trying to fit in mom time, I feel like there are not enough hours in the day. At least children provide some comic relief! Porter is a chatter box that never quits, even in his sleep! Yesterday he rudely pointed to the woman passing by us in the aisle and said, "you stinking cod fish!" It was all I could do not to laugh, but don't worry, I did inform him that this was inappropriate. And today while at Walmart, he insisted on talking to the checker. Here's how the conversation went: "Hey lady, I watched Sleeping Beauty today. And do you know the name of the evil mean witch lady? Her name is Maleficent. And do you know what she does? She says, 'touch the spindle touch it I say' and Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger on the spinning wheel and dies! And then she turns into a scary dragon. Did you know that lady?" The checker just looked at him blankly, obviously not understanding a word he said.
The kid seriously cracks me up, although sometimes I wish we could just have quiet time for like 30 seconds. We're happy to report we have almost completely crossed the potty training hurdle. He has only had two accidents in the last almost 2 weeks, however, both of those were number two because he adamantly refuses to go in the toilet! Any thoughts from you experienced mothers out there? He has also picked up the horrible habit of coming into our room every night and wanting to sleep with us. The other night I rolled over to find Porter between us. I asked Tom when he brought Porter into our bed and he informed me that he didn't. Porter had climbed into our bed and nestled in between us and slept there for I don't know how long.
Jack, on the other hand, has given me little grief the last little bit except for the spitting up. I love that little chunker!
Pictures will eventually make it back on to this blog, I just haven't completely recovered my Mac yet so my iphoto isn't up to date.

6 MONTHS

2010-09-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

So I have definitely neglected the photo department lately, but I will make up for it next week when Jack will have his 6 month photo shoot which I am totally excited for. Tomorrow I'll add some pictures. But Jackson is officially 6 months old and here are his stats:
20.5 lbs. (92%)
28.75" (99%)
and Head: 18.6" (folks, that is over the 100%!)

He is a crazy ball of energy and would love nothing more that to be standing upright and bouncing. He is a pro at rolling over and can scoot backwards quite well. When he tries to crawl forward he ends up swimming by kicking his legs and smacking his hands against the floor. He is still a MAJOR puker so he is not getting better with age. He loves to bounce in the johnny jumper which usually results in a lot of projectile puke. He has started on baby food but doesn't care much for it and after about half a jar he is done. He is in love with Porter and thinks everything he does is hilarious. He is such a giggler but still is totally bi-polar to the extreme. His little laugh is my favorite thing. He has sprouted two bottom front teeth and is apparently working on the next set. He loves his walker and could play in it for hours. His all time favorite thing in the entire world is PAPER. Yes, he loves how it looks, sounds, and would love to taste it as well. We love our little butterball and cannot believe it has already been 6 months. As for the statistics above, I now have to go buy a completely new wardrobe because instead of being 3 months off season of Porter, he is more like 6 months different. The child is wearing 12-18 month clothes now!

On the Porter Potty Training front: 3 days, no accidents, and finally after a bit of worry, a movement. We are quite happy on this front. Although, this child has most definitely inherited my childhood temper tantrums and after reading a few child rearing books, I am still at a loss of how to handle it. Unfortunately for me, the tantrum is usually directed at me and always at least once during the tantrum he informs me that he doesn't like me and wants me to go away. It's been tough to develop a thicker skin and not take it so personally because 10 minutes later he will be telling me how much he loves me but I do have to admit it has made me cry a time or two. How my mom handled this and how I survived childhood are still a mystery to me.

The Mac Died

2010-09-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well, for all you mac users, just in case you were wondering, when your computer screen goes blank and then the screen flashes with a folder with a question mark in it, that basically means your hard drive is shot! Lucky for me I had just recently transferred all my photos to my external hard drive. Unlucky for me, I had spent a few hours photoshopping some pictures for work and spent hours on a letter to Porter that I have been writing him about his life, both gone! Hopefully they can possibly be recovered but so far Trent has had no luck. Oh yeah, another lucky for me, Trent is a Mac genius! So luckily the mac itself will still be of use to me. He happened to have an extra mac hard drive lying around (who has that?) and has installed it into my computer and reinstalled everything (even a pirated copy of photoshop as I no longer have my discs, yikes!). And all it cost me? A pizza! I guess I must jinx things like when I dreamt that Tom would loose his job. I was just saying that my mac was probably going to die soon and that there was no way I would be able to replace it. And of course, the next week it was gone! Sad day, but at least there is an upside, right?

On a different note, Porter has successfully completed day one of Operation Potty Training with a 5 for 5 record and no accidents! We even went to the grocery store and visited my mom's house. He is now in bed so here we go!!

Catching Up Again

2010-09-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

Our "Rocket Ship"

Hanging Out with Josh and McKay

Pony Rides at Thanksgiving Point (yes as a pirate)

HAPPY BABY

As a side note, let me just tell you what a bad morning sounds like. The boys both had horrible nights last night as Porter has developed this new awful habit of wandering into our room at all hours of the night because he wants his daddy and he knows he doesn't get very much time with him. So already I was out of sorts from 3 nights of this. I then proceeded to take the garbage out. I have had to start locking the kids in the house so that Porter doesn't wander after me. Well as luck would have it the keys in my hand snagged on to the garbage bag as I threw it in the dumpster. Yes, I indeed had to jump into the dumpster (freshley showered and dressed) to get them out. I then proceeded to take the kids to the dog park so Miko could run around. Well, lucky us, the black dog was there that inappropriately mounts dogs so we didn't get to go in. We came home to the next door neighbors having their carpets cleaned which for some reason the company sounds like a jack hammer which continued for some time! (they were here last night too! For the love!) But we survived the morning and now the kids are napping on my bed next to me while I award myself with a quick break from working. So never mind the morning, its been a good day!

Lessons

2010-09-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

I hate being humbled by your children. Last week I took Porter to the park. He is in this pirate phase right now and insists that he wear his pirate hat, patch, and belt everywhere and he runs around screaming argh! When we pulled up to the park, I recommended that he take his hat off because it is kind of weird. He said to me quite matter of factly, "It's ok to be weird mommy. It's not a big deal!"

Last week we were at my mom's house and she was watching my brother's dog for him. He was being quite overbearing and needy (he is a golden) and so she finally let him out to run around. He never leaves the yard. About an hour later she realized we hadn't let Dodger back in. We called for him and looked all around the yard but there was no trace whatsoever. She jumped in her car to go look for him while Porter and I stood at the window on the look out. I asked Porter if he remembered what his books told him about losing things. He told me we should pray about it. We said a prayer and immediately looked up to see Dodger bounding up the stairs towards us. (thank you for the perfect teaching moment for a 2 year old that needs immediate results!) I tried to call my mom to tell her but she wasn't answering her phone. Porter proceeded to inform me that we needed to pray to find "mana" and immediately said a prayer, "Heavenly Father, please find mana and bless her to get home safe and be ok; name of Jesus Christ amen." I love that little boy!

Our Summer

2010-08-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

Since I have been severely slacking in the blogging, bare with me as I present a chronicle of our summer. We have been beyond busy with family, friends, work and activities, so here goes nothing!

The LeBaron Cabin

June-Tommy's Ragnar Race

Tommy and Porter at the Finish Line

July 3rd- The Oakley Rodeo with Carrie, Joseph, the kidlets, Bobby and the Smiths.
July 24th: Hiking Dog Lake and the Rocket ShipDog Lake

Porter's Buzz Lightyear Rocket Ship
"Pat Pat Pat, 1-2-3 Blast Off!

August 4th- August 8th-Lake PowellFailed at taking hardly any pictures!

August 10-August 14th San Antonio, Texas

My parents and I took the boys down to my cousin Hayley's wedding. Lucky for us, Texas was having a heat wave. Can I just say I hate humidity which unfortunately limits me to like two states I can live in in the US!The TemplePorter's Dance Partner Jamie-Lynn (his second cousin) Porter had a ball with his second cousins at my Aunt Wendy's House. He cried everytime we had to leave.Rocking Out with Grandma English
(yes they did have glow sticks for the dancing! I didn't let Porter wear a hat and half way through the night he decided he needed a pirate hat made out of a napkin)

Sea WorldHappy Boy Despite the Heat
Feeding the "Dolflins"The Alamo

And finally, this was our kids at the end of Sacrament a few weeks ago. As you can see, we have exhausted ourselves! You wouldn't know that this is a picture of a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 month old!

The 4 Month Mark

2010-08-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

This is a belated post which I forgot to post bc I was waiting to put up pictures, but clearly I didn't. I'll post tonight with pictures from our trips.

Jack is 4 months old going on a year. Here are his stats:
Weight: 17.65lbs. 93%
Height: 26.5 in. 93 %
Head: 98%
At least he is proportional, right?
He is pretty dang cute, a bit demanding and it is hard to resist smooching him every five seconds. He loves to talk, grab at everything, watch Porter play, splash in the tub, swim (when it's warm enough), walk in the walker, pull everything towards his mouth, and flash the cheesiest smiles that will melt your heart! Oh, and did I mention he is a spitting machine? I just got slimed (again!)

These two boys are keeping me pretty busy but I am loving having both of them around. Bath time is my favorite! Although Porter has been completely disturbed lately because he thinks there is something wrong with his fingers when he has been in the water for too long. (pruny fingers)

3 Months! (okay a little more but better late than never, right?)

2010-07-11T09:55:00.001-07:00

So he looks a bit older than three months, but who doesn't love a chunker right? (I would estimate somewhere in the 15-16 pound area, yes you read that right) Nine plus hours the past two nights has made me love him even more! (a great testament against co-sleeping:)) He is growing so fast and getting so old. He loves: swimming, eating his hands, staring at his feet, looking at himself in the mirror, standing up (with our help of course) and as of yesterday, rolling over. Jack is a bit bi polar! He is usually super happy now, but when he is sad, he is SAD. And his mood can change in the blink of an eye. And as I've said before, this boy is a SPITTER! My brothers refuse to hold him because they are sick of changing their shirts and I must confess most of the time I just let him be in a diaper and nothing more because I HATE laundry. We are lovin' this little boy. Okay, and we still love this little boy too! Notice the new buzz cut!

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

2010-07-08T13:59:00.001-07:00

Well we are back in our house. We are grateful to the LeBaron's for letting us crash for a year. We didn't save as much money as we had hoped, but we did manage to invest in a business, go to Disneyworld, meet our $7,000 deductible and then some plus co-pays and prescriptions, not to mention Miko's recent visit to the vet on account of a split paw pad due to a sharp object found in the park, replace the tires on my car, and above all and the main reason for renting our house, wait out the looming job loss we thought Tom would have, but luckily avoided (although we did have to float a pay check for a while here and there). So I have to tell myself in that respect most of that wouldn't have been possible had it not been for the move. So I count my blessings and thank Neil and Ruth Ann for allowing us to stay afloat!
Life is good! The move went smoothly (thanks to all who gave up your Saturday morning to help us!) and I must say it is much easier to unpack when you already know where everything goes. And thankfully our renters were clean people that kept our house in tip top shape! (We did have one minor setback with them having our water and gas shut off, but we should be good to go now) Jack has his own room now which means better sleep for all of us! It's nice to be back in our ward bounaries and closer to our friends which means craft nights and girl's nights for me! And Porter will be around more kids his own age which means more fun for him.
Despite the move, we have had an enjoyable 4th of July. Thanks to Bobbi and Sherm and Joe and Carrie for inviting us to the Oakley Rodeo on Friday, Porter was in heaven! Pictures to come when I get on top of my life:)
The rest of the weekend involved unpacking and getting settled and an Ikea run. But it was a nice weekend and hopefully our lives will be less hectic.

HAPPY BABY

2010-06-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Here is Jack at the chiropractor today. I think he hates it, don't you? He has been a joy lately, however, his spitting up is killing me! He is what doctors would call, for the most part, a "happy spitter". Unfortunately for me, I'm getting to the point that not only do I have to pack two extra outfits for him when we go out, but I'm having to start bringing myself a shirt too! Oh the joys of motherhood!

I'm a Believer

2010-06-16T07:07:00.000-07:00

I love my baby boy but he was quite a challenge for me. He screamed and fussed and was never really happy. He ate every two hours and the longest stretch of sleep we got at night was 3 hours. Between that and his reflux, I was at my wits end. After an entire day of crying (every moment he was awake) I decided to take the recommendation of a woman in my mom's ward. She told us her daughter had taken their baby to the chiropractor and he was able to basically change the whole demeanor of the baby. The belief is this. When babies come down the birth canal, their bodies are ravaged and thrown out of alignment. He believes that lots of their crying comes from the pain their bodies are in as a result of this. I took Jack in to the chiropractor last Wednesday and I'm here to tell you I'm a believer. He did some slight adjustments with a small tool he has especially for infants. That night Jack slept for 8 hours!! I thought maybe it was a fluke, but the shortest time he has slept at night now is 5 hours. He is so much happier, cries so much less and he is actually enjoyable when he is awake. I know what you're thinking, this sounds ridiculous, but I'm here to tell you, whatever he did worked for Jack and even the sleep I get at night now is worth the money spent at the Chiropractor. I'll post pictures of this happy boy later but right now I'm enjoying him too much!

Jackson's Blessing

2010-06-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

Jackson was blessed on Sunday. Tom gave a beautiful blessing to our adorable baby boy and surprisingly Jackson didn't cry! (very out of the ordinary for him, poor kid!) We're grateful to have so much family so close to support us and to all be worthy priesthood holders to take part in this special day!
I kinda feel like maybe I missed my calling in life. . . Child Photographer? I'm just sayin' I don't think you could get cuter pictures than the two above!

BEST DAY EVER!

2010-06-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

We just happened to be outside in the front yard last night and as fate would have it, guess who drove past our house? None other than the ICE CREAM MAN! (didn't even know those existed anymore!) And we know how much this little boy loves ice cream! Another one of Porter's best days ever!

LAKE POWELL

2010-06-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Lake Powell this past weekend. We went down with my family, the Bouchers and the Redds and stayed on the Redd's houseboat. Porter absolutely loved every second of it and it broke his heart to leave. I was a bit worried about him keeping his life jacket on, but I guess just like clothes and hats, once it was on it never came off. He called it his swim vest and it was hard for me to get him to take it off for bed. He loved riding in the boat, playing in the sand, having ice cream (I found out later that one of the ice cream trips involved Porter eating 32 oz. of ice cream!), going on pirate ship adventures in the paddle boat and more riding in the boat. I think Porter got more boat time than anyone else! I love my little boy's zest for life. The first day while he was enjoying his first of many ice creams he informed us that it was the "Best Day Ever!" Everything is exciting to him and it is so fun to see him experience new things. Jack on the other hand didn't love Lake Powell so much. He wasn't horrible, but he decided that if he was going to have to be there that in return he should get to eat every 2 HOURS! And he sure did, even at night, which was not so fun for me. But we gotta give him credit he is only two months old! We love him anyways! But we did have a great time. The water was a bit cold, but it was nice and warm weather (after the first day)Jack Loving the Swing atop the House BoatPirate Ship Adventures with Mana and Chun (Becky and Trent)More Pirate Ship Adventures!
Haven reading to Porter

Bonding Time with Ryan While Watching Porter's Favorite (Robin Hood)

The Joys of Motherhood (surprised I didn't have a kinked neck after this!)

Oh and Jack's stats at two months, he is definitely taking after his brother. What can I say? I grow em big!:
Length: 23.75 (80%)
Weight: 13.65 lbs. (90%!)
Head: 92% (a definite LeBaron!)

My Boys

2010-05-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

Jack is 2 Months Old!

This is my favorite time of day, pure bliss I tell you!
Porter's had another bout of Tonsilitis which means for not so fun nights and unfortunately means he will probably have to have his tonsils out. (curse those tonsils and my genes that made them weak I guess because everyone in my family had theirs out at quite a young age so I'm guessing it must be somehow genetically related)
Life is Good! We are heading to Lake Powell next week so wish us luck!

Life

2010-05-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

Life has calmed down a bit for us, and let me tell you the older I get the more I am lovin the slower, quiet days. I've started working again, although after training someone to take my position I am lucky enough to do it all from home now.
My sweet little boys are growing up too fast! Every night when I get them ready for bed I can't help but wish life could slow down. I love laying on my bed snuggling both of them while reading Porter a story. He loves to remind me that I "have two boys, Porter and Jack!" Jack is starting to have some super cute facial expressions and giving us some sweet smiles. Just like his brother he is growing like a weed! I've already hauled out 3-6 and even some 9 month clothes of Porter's. Why are my kids such giants?It amazes me how different my boys have been so far. Jack is not nearly the sleeper Porter was. He is so squirmy and has a hard time calming down. He has the constant need to be held and eats like clockwork, except at night (we are slowly getting to the four hour stretch!) He loves bath time and you can see his whole body relax when he feels the water. He loves the sound of the blow dryer and loves being held in what looks like an uncomfortably odd position sitting upright with his neck bending back so he can see the lights. Please tell me there is a seat that holds him in that position?? I love this little boy but he is growing up way too fast!
Here are a few pics of what we have been up to lately. Porter loves his cousins!

The Zoo with Nanny, Tills and Finch
Cousin PlaydateCabin Clean-Up

He Cracks Me Up!

2010-05-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Porter was cracking me up, here are just a few tidbits that made me laugh:

Porter ran to me today wearing sunglasses and holding a flashlight.
Porter: "Mommy, will you turn on my slashlight?"
Me: "Sure, what are you going to do with it?"
Porter: "Going to find the woozle wizard. You coming?"
Me: "Ok"
We walk out to the front room where we see this snowman figurine.
Porter: "Look, there's the Woozle Wizard!"
Me: "Oh no!"
Porter: "It's okay mommy, I got you. It's not real it's just a toy."
I love this little boy's imagination!

Porter grabbed the toothpaste from my mom's room as she was unpacking. (unfortunately I was at work for this)
Becky: "Porter go put that toothpaste away!"
Porter throws the toothpaste into her suitcase, closes it and sits on it. Then he runs away.
Porter then comes back in search of the toothpaste.
Porter: "Oh no, where did the toothpaste go?" (Becky had put it away)
Becky: "I don't know, what happened to it?"
Porter: "I so sorry manna, Randal took it. He so naughty!"
Um, are we beginning to have an imaginary friend? Perhaps a mean guy to blame naughty stuff on? I guess it would make sense he would choose Randall from Monster's Inc. since he is a bad guy.

Porter and I outside playing on the swingset.
Porter: "Mommy, I want to go in that swing."
Me: "What color is it?"
Porter: "Red. I such your smart boy!"

Me sitting down to change Porter's diaper:
Me: Porter I don't like changing your diaper.
Porter: "I so sorry mommy, I need to get potty trained?"

One Month

2010-05-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

What a month it has been. From pink eye and toncilitis, to infections and reflux, to a flood and a bed bug scare, this has been quite a crazy four weeks for our little family. We are pretty much on a first name basis with the pharmacist and have been there twice a week for every week we have been home but I think we are finally all better. Finally at this month mark I feel like I can breath a sigh of relief. It is actually quite humorous when I think about it, rather a comedy of errors. Nothing serious but enough to put a mom with baby blues over the edge.
Now on to Jackson at 1 month. He has grown into a chunk. He is now 10.5 lbs, gaining a pound a week! We are out of most of our 0-3 clothes. He is like night and day compared to Porter as a baby. He has chosen to take his longest sleeping stretch during the day. I find him at 2am staring at the ceiling and wonder how long he has been awake for. He doesn't enjoy shopping or being in his baby seat for too long. His reflux has made him a bit fussy, especially about an hour after he eats. Hopefully his meds will help him with that. I'll wake up in the middle of the night panicked because I hear him gagging and coughing and almost choking on his spit up. He would choose to spend his entire day sleeping on my chest and wants to always be held. (which most of the time I love) We're hoping that getting me a sling will help solve that problem. He has a very expressive face and loves to stare at your face. His favorite thing and something I can always count on to soothe him is bath time. He is such a darling little boy and we love him.
I would love to post some pictures of my cute little boy, but my dumb camera just dumped all of them so I won't.

His Life is a Disney Movie

2010-04-22T20:05:00.001-07:00

Up until a few months ago, Porter had never seen a movie and certainly couldn't last through one. Around his birthday we introduced him to Cars and he loved it, well the first part anyways, once they got to Radiator Springs we usually lost him. His love for hats led Tom's dad to bring home a Monster's Inc hard hat and Tom introduced Porter to that show which he loves. This past week my poor sad boy has been sick and the only thing he wanted was to was watch movies. With his incredible memory, I have realized Porter is basically living life pretending he is in a Disney movie. Like his dad, he can see a show once and remember almost every part, character and song. When he is in the tub he is "Going Down the Bayou" with Princess and the Frog. Every room and closet he goes into he then informs us, "no monsters in here!" from Monsters Inc. I was cleaning the house yesterday and he offered to help by bringing the fluffy duster in to me. As he brushed it along the baseboards he started singing, "Almost There!" from Princess and the Frog when she is cleaning the restaurant. All cookies are just like Kanga makes. All fish are friends with Nemo. And every person is now labeled as a mean guy or a nice guy. Now don't get me wrong, I don't just plop my child down in front of the tv all day. Usually movies are reserved for special time with daddy when we get to eat popcorn, but being sick allows for a little indulgence, right? It just cracks me up to see how this little guys brain works. I could listen to him play with his guys for hours, he has such an imagination. But the thing that amazes me is his memory skills. I love being a mom and I love my little guy!

Jackson's 3rd Week

2010-04-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late in posting week three, but better late than never for the journaling. The picture above demonstrates exactly how I feel. Crazy how the time flies. Jackson is becoming quite the eater, thinking he needs to eat closer and closer together, which makes for fun nights! He is definitely filling out his clothes and he is awake a lot more. (even if that is at 2am when I fing him staring wide eyed at the cieling. I love his facial expressions; he is quite the smiler especially when he enters his milk coma after he eats. And unfortunately, he is a spit up baby which I am not use to and I constantly find myself forgetting which leaves me changing my clothes quite a bit. He is also becoming quite famous for the mid diaper change poop and sometimes pee which is not so fun at 3 am! But its all part of the package. I had forgotten how much I love to snuggle new babies and he has already decided he would prefer to be held so it works out great, except when Porter is throwing a fit or doing something naighty. That proves challenging. Surprisingly, Porter is quite careful with him. Either he wants to hold him on his lap and panics when he cries, or he is totally oblivious to his existence. However we did go to the Zoo and Porter insisted that I just leave Jack there. I was worried this stage would be difficult adjusting to two but so far we are faring well. (I'm sure once jack is mobile it will be quite a different story) And I must say this week hasn't been fun so far when your two year old is running a fever of 104 and you are trying to keep the newborn away from it. (especially when your living quarters are limited from a flood:) But I think we are in the clear and everyone has made it through alive and well! We are loving every bit of having a new baby and feel blessed to have him in our lives.

2 WEEKS

2010-04-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Well, we've crossed the two week mark without too much difficulty but a little exhaustion. We had some minor set backs and a couple more visits to both our doctors and the pharmacy, but I think both Jackson and I are finally on the mend. It is crazy to me how fast he is growing! I guess you just forget. He is such a sweet little thing that sleeps most of the time. We had some rough nights at first, but now he is doing 3 hour stretches which give me some decent sleep. I feel like a terrible mom lately because with being so sick and wanting to snuggle a brand new baby all day long, I find I may possibly be neglecting my other child. I think that is the most challenging thing for me right now is figuring out the balance and making sure Porter still feels loved and gets enough attention.

Porter is adjusting surprisingly well to having his whole world changed. When Jack cries, he tries to be helpful, sometimes to my dismay, by looking for things to make him happy: binkies, bottles, toys, etc. He doesn't quite understand that it is going to be quite sometime before Jack can actually play with him. The other night for FHE, we were coloring pictures of Jesus, and Porter ran into the room and said, "It's color time Jack Jack!" (Oh, to clarify, Jackson has earned the nickname of Jack Jack from Porter. There is a Pixar Short on the Incredibles called "Jack Jack Attack" where the baby sitter calls the mom about Jack Jack. Porter loves to reinact this scene but sadly for now Jackson is known in our house as Jack Jack) He also got his Mack truck and Lightening McQueen cars and brought them in asking Jackson if he wanted to play cars. There is a little jealousy when I am holding Jack and Porter feels that I should hold him as well. And like clock work, Porter turns into a naughty hellion at 5:00 on the button every night. Can't explain it but he goes into destruction mode at this time.
Now, you tell me, do you think my children look alike? These pictures are not the best comparisons but still, tell me they don't look alike!

Hospital Pictures

2010-04-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

So these are from a photoshoot they did in the hospital. Don't mind the giant writing across the pics, we haven't decided which ones we want yet:

Easter and Week One

2010-04-04T19:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we have made it through week one after a couple of minor set backs. After a couple days on the bilibed,(and a few visits to the Hospital and the Pediatrician) we are in the clear zone for the jaundice. Jack is gaining back the pound he lost in the hospital and now is on medication for an infection in the diaper area. I won't go into detail but it looks painful. I've had a couple of minor setbacks this week as well with infections and such. I will also spare everyone the details of those but hopefully the worst is over. Porter is still slowly adjusting to the idea that now he is not the reigning spoiled child. Sometimes he loves Jack and asks him if he wants to play cars and other times he isn't so fond of him like when his place in bed next to dad in the mornings is now occupied by someone else. It's definitely an adjustment, but he's coming around.
We had a great Easter. Porter was thrilled to get to play with lots of cousins and family and was spoiled with treats from the Easter bunny.

The weekend has flown by and we are sad that Tommy has to be back at work again tomorrow and reality will set it for good.

Home and the BiliBed

2010-03-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

So we are home and easing ourselves back into reality. This recovery seems a lot harder to me. Every part of my body hurts and I can't seem to find anywhere comfortable to sit. (gotta love stitches!) But I'm happy to be home and be with all my boys. This task of being a mommy to two seems a bit daunting and Porter terrifies me still, but here we go! Luckily Tommy gets to be home with us today and tomorrow. We left the hospital Sunday and were told Jack had jaundice and needed to be tested again today. We took him back to IMC to get his blood taken and then headed to the Pediatrician. Well, not such great news, he has lost quite a bit of weight, has elevated jaundice and a little heart murmur. We are now supplementing to help with the weight issue and have rented one of these lovely devices to help with the jaundice:
It is a bilibed and bili-blanket. Poor little guy is instructed to be on this thing 24/7 except for feedings when we get to take the blanket pad out and have him lay on it. Breaks my heart not to be able to just cuddle him since he is just this small for such a short time. Porter hates the machine and wanted the mean guy that brought it to leave. Hopefully it will be done in the next 48 hours, but until then, gotta love life! I am definitely not looking forward to tonight as I keep having to adjust the thing every 10 minutes as Jack tries to wriggle his way out.
Backing up, let me just evaluate my stay at IMC for you. I absolutely loved the labor and delivery portion of IMC. The nurse was fabulous and attentive and things went so well. I, however, didn't enjoy the rest of my stay at the hospital. We were taken to our room and then sat there for almost 2 hours before we saw a nurse to let us do the bath for Jack and give me some meds. And that is how I felt the whole time. It seemed like "the nurses were always in the middle of switching shifts" and anything I needed took almost an hour! But we are happy it is over and now our little family is home!

Jackson Reese LeBaron

2010-03-27T05:58:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to welcome Jackson Reese LeBaron to our little
family. He was born March 26th at 5:16 p.m. weighing 8lbs. 7oz.
and measuring 21" long. He and his mother are doing very well, Dad is extremely excited, and Porter still hasn't made up his mind. As of last night I think Porter likes him.

On Tuesday Jess went to the doctor and he told her that she would have to be induced later in the week. He said it would probably be on Saturday or Sunday but she begged him to do it earlier. He said the earliest it could be would have to be Friday but we would have to call on Thursday to set it up. Thursday night Jess called the hospital and the pretty much said you are third in line so we will get to you when we can. We called Friday morning and they told us we would have to wait still. Jess had given up hope but at about 10:30 a.m. the called and said we could come down. They got us into a room and started the pitocin and then we just waited. It was sort of an up and down run, but just before 5 my mom was going to go get me a drink when the nurse came in to see how Jess was feeling. My mom said she'd better stay here if the nurse was going to check her, so the nurse checked and said oh wow! you're ready to start pushing. The doctor came in and after about 5-6 rounds of pushing the baby came out. He did have the cord wrapped around his neck again, but fortunately not as tightly as Porter did. Everything went really well from there and we are so happy to have little Jack here at last.

I was telling a friend that when we just had Porter I could not imagine how I would be able to share that love or divide it with a second child, but as soon as I had this little boy in my arms it was so incredible to feel that same amount of love immediately include both of my children and not wax or wane for one or the other. Many thanks to family and friends for the love and support and thanks to the great staff at IMC.

More Waiting

2010-03-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I am scheduled for my induction today, but who knows when? I called last night to clarify a time frame and they said I had to wait until they call me today. If I haven't heard by 10 am then I am suppose to call the hospital so. . . The realist in me says we'll see if it really happens today because I wouldn't be surprised if they said I had to wait. I'm third on the list for inductions today so if other people went into labor last night or there are other emergencies I get bumped because mine is a voluntary induction. (although I don't totally agree because the doctor said because of how big my last one was he doesn't want to go over but . . .) We'll keep you posted!

The Vote

2010-03-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, you knew it was coming. I certainly could not keep my political thoughts to myself after the vote tonight. Here is a brief glimpse into my feelings about this bill.

Let me get this straight......we're trying to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also is exempt from it and hasn't read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke. What the heck could possibly go wrong?

First, I am just gonna say it, I think it is the beginning of the end. Pack your bags folks because we are on fast track to socialism. Can anyone say sign of the times and constitution hanging by a thread? No one has a right to force people to pay for health care and then fine them for not doing it. That is forced consumerism and completely socialistic. Second, it is not the government's responsibility to provide ANYTHING! The government's role in all of this should have been protection: ie. reform of insurance companies and the like, not the creation of their own system. Third, if the reform they are trying to make happen is so great, why are they having to resort to all these desperate and dishonest measures to get it passed? Does that not raise any red flags to even the supporters? Forth, I pay for my insurance and although it may not be great, I'm satisfied with it. I don't expect free healthcare. I think I should pay for it. Insurance doesn't and shouldn't mean free healthcare it should be a way to keep those who have large bills not get smashed under them. It is INSURANCE to help out when we have something big. It is still going to cost me a pretty penny to have this baby, but it was my decision to have a baby and I don't think the rest of you should pay for me to have it. (I won't even touch the abortion thing right now because an executive order can be revoked by the President at any time, and since we know Obama is great at living up to his word I'm glad so many votes came from that order and trusted him)

It isn't that I don't want to help people out, I just think that there are other ways of doing it. And just like most government programs, the majority of the people this will help out are the lazy people who think government owes them something and that they shouldn't have to pay for anything. More than half of the American population was against this bill so I'm glad to see our representatives doing their jobs!

The Truth Hurts

2010-03-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

My doctor obviously doesn't know my body because I'm still stuck here waiting. I sent Tom to church today without me because besides the fact that I don't have any clothes left to fit over my GIANT belly, I'm exhausted and nauseated and anyone who has had a baby I'm sure can sympathize. Well, this is a picture Tom took on his phone of Porter after sacrament ended. (the result of afternoon church with NO nap) We were also informed that he fell asleep during movie time at nursery and proceeded to walk around only half awake after that. My poor child needs his nap and it occurs at usually 11:30 or 12 everday. (our church is at 12:30)Today when we were getting Porter ready for church Tom told him he was so skinny. Porter then walked up to Miko and told her she was so skinny. I told Tom he needed to teach Porter to tell me that. Instead Porter said, "no mommy's so FAT!" Oh the truth hurts!

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

2010-03-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

Went to the doctor today and he said he would be surprised if I made it to Tuesday without having this little boy. But, if not, we can schedule an induction anytime after that. So we keep waiting. Porter can sense that change is coming because he has become so clingy and never wants me to leave his side. He also informed me that he doesn't want the baby in my tummy to come out and that he doesn't like him. There you have it, it will be some fun adjustment for the next little while. Wish us luck!

The Guy on the Box

2010-03-03T19:57:00.000-08:00

Porter and Tom have special father son time every morning, regardless of the time, where they eat breakfast together. Mind you, Tom works in Ogden and sometimes leaves for work at 6:30 but Porter inherently knows that Tom is getting ready to leave and even when he is not quite awake he always says, "Daddy, eat cereals with me?" So cute, no one could resist. Up to about two weeks ago, Porter had never had cereal for breakfast because he is a huge fan of pancakes, but he wanted to have a go at Tom's cereal, which happened to be Cinnamon Toast Crunch. This has become so habitual to Porter that he thinks that is what he and Tom do whenever he is getting ready to go anywhere. Well, yesterday we got into trouble because Tom had a protein shake for breakfast and we were out of Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Oh the horror of not doing it the same! He kept asking where the guy on the box was, turns out this is what he was referring to:
Needless to say, we have since gone and gotten another box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (accept no subsitutes) and all is well with the world. However, the 6 am cereal dates are taking their toll on me.

Short Trip to Vegas

2010-03-02T19:36:00.001-08:00

Tom had a convention in Las Vegas this weekend (along with my mom and Justin for Mr. Sandless) so we decided to tag along. I made my dad come with to help me with Porter while they were at meetings, so it was just us three walking around the strip. It was a short trip, but a nice change of scenery while I'm counting down the days. I can finally say the baby is coming this month (well unless he follows in Porter's footsteps and decides to make a late appearance). Porter loved hanging out with Papa in Vegas. His favorite spots were the Pirate Ships in front of Treasure Island and the Lion at MGM Grand. And yes, in case you were wondering, he did wear his bowler hat the entire time. I think it is becoming his security object, as well as his prop to sing and dance with. Needless to say, everyone got a kick out of it.

Looking at the Pirate Ships at Treasure Island