Tyler's birthday

We had Tyler's favorite dinner, alfredo with garlic bread, and had cake and ice cream. Grandma and Grandpa Swanson came over and gave him money. He is planning what he is going to spend it on. It was a quiet birthday night but good. The only thing Tyler wanted to do was play video games with dad.




When I asked Tyler what he wanted for his birthday he would always say, "I don't know". Then finally he told me he wanted this remote controlled spider. So, that's what he got. We also gave him a big color pad with marker's and a bug house.




Tyler's class had a play of "Jack and the Beanstalk". He was so excited to have us come and see him. He was on the sound crew and is the one in the red hat.

school kit

I got this really cute school kit by Becky Higgins. On Creating Keepsakes website they have a link to "kit of the month". It is new at the beginning of each month and once they are gone, they're gone. It changes every month and it's by different scrapbookers. Well, this kit I bought the first day and I got four of them, one for each of my kids. It lasts their entire school years or you could use them for yourself. This kit sold out in six hours! I was lucky enough to get them but they will come back on sale I think this summer. They are about $36/kit and include everything you need plus sheet protectors. I had a lot of fun putting Tyler's together and it only took me 20minutes for four pages. I thought some people might be interested in seeing it so I posted below:









It has this really cool pocket where you can store all the paper's, certificate's, etc.



Tyler got spotlighted today in Primary because it's his seventh birthday this week! I can't believe it. Time flies. They gave him this, I thought it was so cute. It really hit me that as a mother it is my job to help him understand that he is a child of God. I have to admit, I wasn't that excited to go to church today. Eric was sleeping since he got home around six am so I got four kids ready and to church by 10.(I don't dare go to sacrament by myself) I am so glad that I went. Our lesson in Relief Society was from a talk from conference. It was by Sister Beck and it was about "mother's who know". It really hit home to me that I need to do a better job of making them feel special and know what a treasure they are to me.

complaints, complaints

It is just one of those days. I just feel the need to vent. Eric came home from break last night with a fever of 101. He ended up calling in but I fell asleep before he did. I woke up at 3am, surprised that Eric was in bed with me but he was on fire! I fell back asleep, then at 4 Kenadie just started screaming that there was a spider on her. I turned on the lights and she said, "it ran under the bed." Then I realized it was a bad dream so I just put her in our bed. About 30min later Kylie decided to join us. So there was Eric, me, Kylie, Kenadie, and a large dog all in a queen size bed. Several times after that I tried to get comfortable and even went to the end of the bed but nothing worked. Then began getting kids ready for school and for the day. I was doing pretty good until Eric went to work. Since he had called in sick for part of his shift they told him he needed to make it up later in the week. The problem is that he has to work 12 hour shifts for the rest of the week and then he has mandatory overtime next week. Fun for me. I decided to try and make a good meal for dinner. After I already had the hamburger on the stove and water boiling I realized I didn't have enough lasagna noodles. So we had to run to the store. Now I'm getting a little annoyed. As soon as we get back the neighbor boy came to play with Tyler. That's fine, he's like one of my own. But, he had been over the previous three nights. So I made them go to his house and play. I just couldn't handle wild boys tonight. I then fed my kids dinner and big surprise, they wouldn't eat it. For some reason, I'm the only person in my house that likes lasagna. So I ran to the store, spent awhile making dinner, and now I have a whole casserole dish of it. I felt really gross for some reason and jumped in the shower. I usually don't shower when my kids are awake but I thought it might help me feel better. (plus the hair on my legs is an inch long) Well, I was about two minutes into my shower and the door starts opening. "kenny hit me", "Where is the orange soda?" "when are you going to be done?", "what are you doing?", oh boy. Then I try to get dressed in my closet and the girls thought it was so funny to try and see me naked. Brave souls. Anyway, so it's not even seven yet and my kids are in pj's and I'm exhausted. I did so good yesterday. I cleaned the whole house, cleaned some blinds, did about six loads of laundry, worked for a little bit, put some leather stuff on my couches, paid bills, washed some windows, etc, etc. And today the whole house is messy again. So what's a girl to do when she's sick of life? Scrapbook. It always helps calm me. Hopefully after the kids are in bed, if I don't pass out. Sorry about all the whining but I hope it helps my mental state!

Our Trip To Grand Junction, Colorado

We decided to make the long drive to visit Eric's mom and brother. We actually made pretty good time and made it in six hours with a one hour break to eat. Nobody puked or had an accident all the way down! Yeah! After we spent an hour at Grandma's she had to go to work so we ate and then went to the hotel. When we stay at a hotel Eric has to sleep in one bed and me in the other. Easton then sleeps in playpen and then we split up the kids. The girl's did not want to go to bed and kept getting up and down. I thought Eric was going to commit murder but finally they went to sleep.

On Sunday all of the kids stayed at Grandma's so Eric and I could go on a date. We ate at a Mexican place and then went to the mall. They have a cool mall that is connected to Target. I found some good deals at the Gap Outlet but of course, it was for the kids. After that we all had a nap. It was much needed after a night of little sleep.

One of our traditions that we usually do is go bowling. Tyler had been asking to go for awhile so it only made sense to all go. Chris and Reyna came too. Eric beat everyone but we all had a good time.




After bowling we all went to Olive Garden. We have never taken our kids to a place that nice but they did pretty well. We had yummy italian food and stuffed ourselves silly! We then went over to Chris and Reyna's to hang out for awhile. The kids watched a movie and they all looked so cute on the floor. They took right away to Reyna and even Easton would let her hold him. He kept climbing on her back and standing up, what a funny kid.




Thankfully, the kids went right to bed the second night. Grandma came to the hotel and we swam. The kids love to swim anytime,anywhere.






I just had to take a pic of this! What a cute bum, literally.



Grandma wanted to celebrate Tyler's birthday since it's next week. He got a spongebob game and a hot wheel's car thing. He picked out his cake and got the biggest piece ever! Easton looked so cute eating with his tray. About five minutes later he spilled it all over the floor! That's kids for you.




Eric went out to the garage and came back wearing this! For some reason, he thought it was the greatest thing in the world. He even wanted to take it home with us but luckily it is his brother's halloween costume.

A Fun Weekend

We just got back from Grand Junction, Colorado for 3 days. We had so much fun and I promise to post pics tomorrow. We I checked the mail I found a letter from the school for registering Kylie for Kindergarten already! I can't believe I'll have two kids in school! I'm getting old! I also had a big box for me when we got home of the scrapbooking school kits from Becky Higgins. I will have to post pics when I get some pages done. Well, it's time to put kids to bed and I have to get up early for work. Ta!

Winter Fun

We went over to Danet's house today (former daycare provider) and had a fun snow day. The kids went to her for many years, in fact Tyler went since he was eight weeks old. They have friends there and miss them so we decided to plan a get together. She had made a couple of snow hills in her backyard and the kids all went sledding. Easton looked so funny in his snowsuit! We don't have one his size so we borrowed one of Danet's and it's for a girl. He looked so funny! The kids had so much fun.

Tagged

Thanks to Crystal I got tagged! Here are some things that some may not know about me:

1-I love watching fighting. Eric and I started watching the UFC a few years ago and got hooked! We frequently get pay per views and love to watch it. We even started watching a show that is local and went to a live fight in SLC for our anniversary one year! We would love to go to Vegas one of these days and see one of the big shows. I love it when someone get's knocked out, is bleeding everywhere, etc. Chuck Liddell is sooo cute!
2-I need my alone time. I am just the type of person that likes to be alone. Don't get me wrong, I love to be with my family and friends. Even if it's just 15minutes I just need that time to relax. When I had Tyler it was a huge adjustment for me to have to take care of something 24/7. I couldn't just do what I wanted, when I wanted. The more kids I had the more I needed just a little bit of time each day just to unwind. I am a much happier person then.
3-I love reality shows. This drives Eric crazy because I will watch anything. Even the most lame shows like "Rock of Love" or "Real world". I love American Idol, Biggest Loser, Ultimate Fighter, True Life, The First 48, House Hunter's, Wife Swap, Supernanny, (do you get the picture?)
4-I always want a clean, perfect house. Now, this doesn't always happen especially with four kids under six! I just can't relax until it's clean! Some days I just have to let it go but then other days I clean for four or five hours. I'm not as good at deep cleaning and find it really hard to find the time. That is something that I need to work on.
5-Some people may not know that Eric and I met when we were 15. My best friend in high school had a class with him and liked him. One day she introduced us and we started flirting. This continued when we had track together and before we knew it we started dating. I remember just staring at him from a distance and thinking how hot he was!
6-I am a beach girl/warm weather person. I love anything to do with sand, water, and warm weather. Whenever we plan a vacation I always want to go somewhere warm. My idea of a perfect time is laying on the beach, hearing the waves crash in the background, and reading a book. Eric and I have talked about moving somewhere else but we just can't leave our jobs, we love our neighborhood, and move away from our families.
7-Most everyone knows that I love to scrapbook. But most people don't know that I have dreams about it. If I could do anything instead of nursing, I would love to work at Creating Keepsakes or own my own scrapbook store. I'm not very creative though and I mostly just scraplift.
8-I hate, hate, hate to speak in public. A small group and I'm fine but a large group and I just dread it. I hated giving oral reports in school and my heart would just race. If I'm in a big crowd of people I don't want any attention on me and I get embarrased easily. If I'm in a smaller group of people I don't mind speaking up. A lot of people when they first meet me think I'm really quiet. But once I get to know you I can't shut up!

My Valentine

This is what I came to when I got off work yesterday! They are so beautiful and smell so good! Even though Eric had to work valentine's night he wrote me a nice card. What a good guy.








My husband is truly the love of my life. We are a perfect match for each other and get along so well. We help balance each other out. Anyone that know's Eric thinks he is just a great guy. He does everything. He wipes bum's, cleans the house, works hard, and fixes things. He is so good with the kids and is the more fun parent. He wrestles not only with our kids but the neighbor kids. He is funny and makes me laugh everyday. He left his job of ten years to help give us better health insurance and not have daycare anymore. He works 12 hour shifts late into the night just so I can work during the day. He is always, well most of the time, willing to let me go on vacation with my mom or scrapaway for three days or out for a night with my best friend. He supports me in everyway possible. I love him!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's 55th birthday(I hope she doesn't mind me saying so) She is a great mom and has inspired me in so many ways. I remember being very little and peeking over the counter in the kitchen to watch her cook. I loved sitting on the toliet in her bathroom and watching her put on her makeup, brush her teeth, etc. She has always been responsible/dependable.

She has taught me many things just by her example. To name a few:
she has taught me to be frugal and never buy anything unless it's on sale
that education is very important
to take pride in a clean house no matter the size
to do fun things and travel
to set boundaries with kids and discipline

I am thankful for her being a good grandma and always remembering the kids birthdays. She watches the kids so we can go out on a date and our wonderful trip to Hawaii. She is generous and cooks Sunday dinner's for us. Thank you mom for being you!