Visiting Grandma Ada

Last month, we took a weekend trip to Cedar City for a niece's blessing, and we were able to visit Kent's grandma while we were there. She is 90 years old now and lives in an assisted living home, and sher short term memory is starting to fade, so visits with her are kinda funny and sad all at the same time. Tyse did much better this time than last with how many times she asked how old he was (I already told you twice- I am FOUR!), but it was really fun to see her get excited time after time when we told her the same stories about Ollie and the other boys, and each time she picked up a picture of Ollie it was if she hadn't seen it before, and she would just ooh and ahh over it again and again. We got there at meal time (we ALWAYS seem to get there at meal time), and she loves the opportunity to show the boys off to the other residents, and it is amazing how a little child just livens the place up- they all laugh and talk to them and love watching the boys run around and play. The residents are fun to listen to- immediately their talk turns to their families and memories of when they were young. It's nice to go somewhere that we conjure up happy memories instead of having people run for the exits when they see us coming in our double wide (stroller, that is).
Anyway, she doesn't have many toys in her room, but she did have 2- 5# dumbbells that the boys had a great time with and we got some great pictures of them playing together.

It is sad to think she won't be in this life with us for too much longer, so we are trying to make memories with her and our boys before she is gone in hopes that at least Tyse will remember what a great woman she is!

A Visit from Grandpa

A couple weeks ago we were surprised when Grandpa Bart came to visit for a few days! It was great to see him! The boys love having him around because he loves to chase them and play baseball for hours on end, and I loved having him because we don't ever get to see him and I needed a little nudge from a proven green thumb to get our garden and yard going for the spring. He let the boys help him plant 4 tomatoes and some radishes in our garden, helped me plan out what else to grow in the garden as well as a few flower beds, and then also helped me choose and plant some shrubs and flowers for the front of our house. I am amazed at how much these little plants have added to the appearance of our home! WOW!
It has started a little fire in me of wanting to beautify our yard and so now Kent is hard at work changing the shape of one of our flower beds, finding more dirt to fill it with so it will sit up higher than the rest of the yard. He has also dug some lilies out of my mom's yard and we transplanted them here, and then moved some flowers around to make some space, and we are finally getting around to planting some bulbs and hopefully it isn't too hot for them already! We are still in the planning stages of our patio, and I can't wait to get it in so we can eat outside eventually!

Tagged..

I've been tagged. This is an easy one to do, so if you get tagged, please share!

Six things about me...
1. I really would LOVE to be organized, but it frustrates me that it won't STAY organized the way I had it, so I just don't really try very hard at this point. I don't usually like to do things unless they are perfect and will stay that way. Sad, but true... hence why I don't have a completed scrapbook, a completed recipe card box, an organized coupon box, and the list goes on and on....poor kent!

2. I always swore I only wanted boy children. I guess when you wish something you may get it- now that a little girl would be fun, I think I cursed myself! I may be stuck with spiders, wrestling, hot runners, and weiners (Tyse loves this word right now- "do you know that some hotdogs are called wieners?" that is a daily conversation!)


3.I LOVE the Cosby Show. I will watch reruns over and over (everyday at 2 and 2:30- naptime! Yay for me!) and even apply the show in my daily life. Where is the logic of Claire and Cliff, for example, when, say, a 4 year old who will remain nameless, disappears from out of the church building during play group, while conning 2 other sweet boys to come along- when their mothers have no idea where they have disappeared to? Or how about when an 18 month old boy grabs a cute little girl by the hood and pulls her off his bike? There has to be an episode about on of those things!

4. I am learning that I have the desire for a green thumb. Right now it is a bit on the yellow side of green, but we are really trying this year to have a garden and we planted some bushes and a bunch of flowers and things in our yard. I always took this for granted because my dad was so good at keeping our yard looking good. Now I know how much work (and how expensive) a nice looking yard is!

5. I am a coupon junkie! I LOVE looking at sale ads, finding a deal, pricing things out, cutting coupons, etc. When combined with the organization issue, however, it is pretty ugly- if it didn't save us tons of money, Kent would outlaw all coupons from ever entering our house. An example of my obsession for deals? One of the highlights of our girls weekend out was finding Tyse pajamas for the summer- something I have been looking for for a while- and getting him 7 sets for less than $20!

6. I love to wear jewelry, but never spend money on it. How sad is that? I have been looking for the perfect pair of earrings for a couple years now, but haven't found them yet- hence, I am never wearing earrings. I would love to create a more sophisticated wardrobe and look a little nicer, but I am cheap and lazy. Hence - my apperance today.

Tag to Lora, Kristi, Amber Peterson (both of you), and Ashley

Tyse has some new best friends...

For mothers day, Tyse got new friends. Not that there was anything wrong with the old ones, but you know how 4 year olds are...
He wanted to catch some spiders that he saw crawling around outside. I gave him a jar and a gardening shovel and sent him on his hunt. He returned a short time later with 3 little brown spiders in his jar, some rocks, sticks, and grass. Not a bad little habitat!
It was then time for his quiet time, so he asked if he could take them upstairs and show them his room. I put a lid on it and we punched some holes and up he went (willingly, for the first time in months!). He was upstairs all of 20 minutes before he was back down telling me that he was ready to let them go. 3 less spiders in my house? GREAT! He started out the back door, and then turned around and told me, "but mom, they are my best friends. I am REALLY REALLY going to miss them!" Nonetheless, he went out and dumped them, and then returned inside to tell me "I miss them already!" I guess we have gone through our next pet stage. At least it was short lived.

Breast Cancer Fundraiser

I am just letting everyone know around that I am having a Pampered Chef breast cancer fundraiser at my house next saturday, May 17th, from 11-1. May is Help Whip Cancer month and we offer PINK items that aren't available at any other time! Come check them out, check out a catalog, and let someone else make you lunch!

If you don't live nearby or aren't able to come that day, let me know and I can either get you a catalog or you can look at it online- www.pamperedchef.com and let me know if I can help you!

Geography... of spiritual matters?

SO I am sitting here just keeping tyse busy so I can keep up with my blogging, and just answering "yup" to almost anything he said. He is coloring a crown that he got at primary on sunday and talking about Jesus and Satan. Anyway, I heard him say something about it and I "yup'd" him again, then it registered what he said...
"Mom, where does satan live? I think maybe in South Dakota."
Hmmm........

Starting so great and ending so... not so great!

So we were having a great week... how did it go so wrong? Well, it's not that bad- really. But man-we were on a good roll!
In a 24 hour period, all these great things happen... Ollie sleeps 7 hours straight through the night, Tyse actually tells me where he is going when he leaves the house, and even comes back to tell me when he and his friends are going to a different house (a mini-miracle at our house- I am ALWAYS tracking him down), and Emitt goes both #1 and #2 in the potty. WOW! What a day! I don't remember the last time that many great things happened in one day-

But by sunday (a mere 4 days later), Ollie was only sleeping 45 minutes at a time, Tyse was disappearing left and right, and leaving the doors and gate open so Emitt escapes as well, and Emitt is having severe diaper blow outs while Tyse is pooping his pants for the first time in months! Sheesh! That's what I get for being so excited for our progress, I guess!

Maybe we can make back the progress we made in the next couple weeks or so!
On a better note, we finally figured out Ollie and his eating preferences, so the sleep is definitely better! that helps most other ailments not count for quite as much, and Kent and the neighbor installed lights under my counter tops, in my pantry, and in my laundry room! We can finally see!