Will the real Elizabeth Please stand up, please stand up

Alright folks. What the heck is wrong with me? I have been a moody hormonal mess lately. Okay, not thaaaaat bad, BUT I am in desperate need of a vacation away from the kiddos. I am happy to say my mother is coming tomorrow to visit me and it will be SO GREAT. The last few weeks have just seemed to be so stressful and I feel like things I normally handle well are just almost unbearable. IE- the kids all trying to get my attention at the same time for different reasons and I feel like screaming cause I cannot handle all of their different needs at the same time and they don't understand why not.

I want to be the best mom I can possibly be. I am up every day racing against the clock to get a million things done for and with my kids. Every single thing I clean up gets immedietly messed up by someone and I sometimes feel like why do I even bother to clean it in the first place? And then theres the fact that the whole ten minutes I actually sat down today I had not one, but two kids on my lap even though the laptop was in my lap.

You know you need a break when you get to close the door when going to the bathroom and that feels like a vacation in and of itself.

Sorry to vent. I was finally feeling a little space tonight as the two older boys were in the bath and I was making Kyler's bed up with clean sheets (did I mention today was "clean all the sheets" day in my house, therefore like 8 loads of laundry on top of all the other cleaning I did?) when keaton was trying to help me and tripped over a sheet as I was picking it up- he fell into the dresser and split his lip open--resulting in a fat lip, lots of tears, and BLOOD all over the newly washed sheets. It about pushed me over the edge.

Oh don't worry my friends. I need a good vent now and then and then I bounce back to my usually happy self. My mom coming will be the exact break I need. We have every day planned with a few fun things and we are planning a girls night out, just the two of us. I am SO EXCITED! So next time I post, lets hope this slump is over and I am refreshed and renewed!

The Cutest, Greatest thing in the whole stinking world!

So if you know me, and if your reading my blog, you SHOULD :), then you know that I am big time when it comes to working out. I work out typically 5 days a week, one of those days twice (aerobics in the morning, speed walking with some friends at night or zumba, both of which arent as hard as my other workouts and more fun to me). Sooo. I love to work out. I just love it. My whole day goes better if I work out, its helped me to lose weight and maintain my new weight, and it has helped meto just feel better about myself. Naturally, my kids pick up on this. Keaton comes with me to the workouts I do at the church. Brayden comes to some, but when I work out at home, my kids see it.

A few weeks ago when the kids had a few days off of school, all three boys came with me to aerobics at the church. To my surprise, Kyler told me he wanted to do aerobics with me. I told him that would be great! I was even more surprised and even shocked when he did absolutely everything we ladies did (obviously as his little body could) whether it was push-ups or jumping jacks. It was so cute and sweet.

Soooo, today, Kyler says to me "Mom, are you going to go and work out today?" to which I replied that I was going to try but had a really busy day and probably wouldn't. Kyler then asks me, "Mom, can I work out even if you don't?" Of course you can son! I try to talk to my kids as often as I can about being healthy and making healthy choices with what they eat AND with the activities they choose, etc. I just LOVE seeing them starting to make some of these choices for themselves, without me telling them to! It's so awesome!

So here they are, from neck rolls in warm ups to jumping jacks in the cardio portion of Jillian Michaels' workout video, I am impressed!

Now I think my next job is explaining what the ladies in the workout video are wearing...I think they are young enough that it hasn't really crossed their mind that they are scantily clad...buuuuutttt, I want them to learn at a young age what is modest and immodest, etc.

Anyhow, SOOOOO cute are these boys of mine!

Parties!

I LOVE throwing parties. I do. Whether it's a baby shower, a boutique, hosting, whatever, I love it! I don't have or want to spend the money on tons of decorations, but I like to do what I can. But most importantly, the house must be spotless (everywhere, even if everyone stays in one room the whole night) AND the FOOD had better be good! If you have food, people stay longer. it's just true. They make their rounds looking at everything, mingling, then they get some food and mingle some more. So I had a boutique at my house the other day and it was so much fun. I had lots of different vendors, some of which did very well (which meant some great free stuff for me!) and some didn't do so well but got some experience. I did decent selling some wipes cases and I just had a blast the whole night.

But the highlight of my night was when one of my friends from high school, who now lives an hour away from me, came and we saw each other for the first time in over 10 years!!

It was so nice of her to make the trip and it was so great to visit with her. Don't you just love making the connections on facebook and blogging?! I do! Now we realize we need to get together more often!!! ;)

Our House

These are called silly bands.

In our house, I consider them both a blessing and a curse. If you have a school aged child, you already know and sympathize with me on the issue of these darn things! Every morning, I wake up hearing my kids whispering in the bathroom. I come in to find Brayden sitting in his underwear (usually) and kyler in his pj's, and all their silly bands are spread out in front of them and they are trading. Trading snakes for pirates, dragons for swords, etc. This is not the bad side or "cursed" side of these items. Not only have these been banned from the kids wearing them to school for kids constantly trading during class...but my kids have traded other things with neighbors for more silly bands. One day Brayden came in our garage, got out one of Cortney's tools and offered it to someone for a silly band. They took it! (Luckily once we figured it out, we got it all staightened out and got our tool back). But our kids have offered basketballs and other misc. items in exchange for these bands. Now, having boys, I don't really care seeing 100 bands on their arms, but its a battle when they are not allowed to wear them. Like at church or school. kyler wants to keep them in his pocket and put them on the second he gets out of either. NOT going to happen son! So it's a battle. SIGH. There are worse things in life, I know. I am just venting.

Now on the second topic of venting, I will title this "The most expensive kid in the world."

You think I am joking?

This pup cost us a whopping $350,000 just for his entrance into the world and following NICU stay. I am not making this up folks. He was THAT expensive. Of course, having great insurance and a husband who works for the insurance company and therefore knows what fees are truly legit to charge us helps. We didn't pay $350K out of pocket. But this kid continues to be our most expensive. Not just medically. With heart issues and future surgery, we will be well spent. And there is the fact that he has had stitches already. BUT

pushing all that aside. This kids happens to do things sometimes that end up costing us yet even more money. Like throwing a rock through a window? YUP. That would be it.
Do I say it is from the peer pressure of other kids telling him to do this and he is only 4? NO! He knows better. I am sure there are a combination of reasons for this beahvior. And he is now grounded for the entire week. And the crazy part is, there were kids with him and he was having a great time (at a friends house, I was not there) So WHY did he make this choice that will cost us yet again more money? I do not know. It did not break the window, thank heavens. But it scratched it and needs to be fixed. That kid. Seriously! SERIOUSLY! I just need to get into the mind of this kid and figure out how his brain operates so I know what triggers him to want to do these certain things! Until then, I am just trying not to think about the next time he does something that will cost us a fortune. SIGH.

$8 getting my craft on

I am having some typing/posting pics issues. So you get to see the picture first...then the explaination...

So one of my awe-inspiring crafty neighbors (restlessrisa.blogspot.com) made some cool pillows for her front porch. She did a step by step tutorial on her blog of the pillows with cool halloween pictures on the front, etc. I have been so busy lately that I did not take it to that level, but recently did find some basic small pillows at IKEA for $1.50 each. I bought 4 in hopes of covering them and putting them on my front porch bench as well. It took me a few weeks after I bought the pillows and the fabric and now I wish I had not waited so long cause it literally only took me about 5 minutes per pillow AND it ended up costing me about $8 total to make them. The fabric was kinda pricey, but I had a 40% off coupon and only bought a yard, so hence the cheap price, including the pillows. And now look at how cute my porch looks! The black pillow in the middle I already had sitting in a closet. I think I put it to good use!

The fabric is nice and heavy duty (which is why it was a little pricey) but I will get more years use out of it that way I think! AND me neighbor commented that these are definetly cute for year round if I want, not just for Halloween...as long as I lose the webbing and skeleton head of course! ;)

Fall Fun

So we were invited Wednesday night to go through a corn maze and haunted house at a place waaaaayyyyy too far away for us to ever go again...but there were some contributing factors to that. Our kids fought almost the whole way there (40 mins). When we got there, we found out the haunted house didn't open for an hour an a half (which would have been at 8:15 when we were hoping to be at least on our way back, if not home by then). So that was a bummer. Aint no way we were waiting! But, we were there and went through the corn maze. And it WAS free. And the kids did have fun. I don't mean to be "debbie downer" about it, it just wasn't worth the drive I'm afriad. But I got some cute pictures!! ;)

I think Keaton loved not being in a stroller and being able to run his guts out. It was pretty cold already, so I put hats on the littles, but Kyler didn't want to wear his. And Kyler got cold, so wasn't in the best mood. But he still had fun.

Cortney hid and jumped out and scared everyone. Not really, cause they kinda knew he was hiding. But it was really cute!

My cutie Keaton! He LOVES wearing hats.

Brayden had a weak bladder. Don't worry, nothing on the corn folks. GREAT thing about having boys.

Keaton kept saying "cheese" over and over again for me to take his picture. He also kept finding places to hide, but I was right there with him and saw him so it was all good.

All in all, it was a fun time at the maze...but as I said before, I don't think we will do it again unless it is muuuuch closer. ;)

Duuuuuuuude.

This dude has been giving me all sorts of trouble lately.

I was thinking to myself a month ago how good and sweet and wonderful he still has been for me (since by 18 months, my other kids had already turned into monsters;)) Sooooo...I am guessing it just took Keaton a little longer to get there. He still is SO much better than my other kids were by the age, however, he is really turning into terrible two. Brayden doesn't help either.

Picture this: I am taking a shower. Okay, don't picture that part. Picture yourself taking a shower... You see a naked little body run across the bathroom laughing hysterically. He is so fast that is a blurr and you double take the make sure you are actually seeing him NAKED. yup. Not even a diaper. Courtesy of Brayden of course. He undressed Keaton, took off his diaper and was chasing him through the house while I was taking a shower. Nice.

I get out of the shower and get him dressed. Then I go downstairs and clean up pee from the carpet. Gee thanks boys. So that wasn't necessarily Keaton being super naughty because his brother did the dirty work- HOWEVER, Keaton throws the biggest tantrums ever for just about everything now.

Now, the good news is that I have learned from my mistakes of the last two boys and know now to ignore the tantrums, not give in, etc. This is helpful and already Keaton is learning that he can't get his way just for throwing a fit. but it doesn't make the fit any more pleasant to deal with. I think what has bummed me out more than anything is that he has decided to cut off literally an entire hour from his naps. Now, I WAS spoiled with his 3 hour naps every day. So 2 hours is still a great nap, but I was just so used to the three hours. And with the shortage in nap time, he is taking longer to fall asleep as well. So he is going down later and later and then sleeping later than he used to even with the less hour and therefore isn't ready for the bed at 8 with the other boys. Instead he chills with Cort and me for another hour. I DO NOT LIKE THAT ONE BIT. I want him to go to bed with his brothers.

So do I wake him up from his naps? I just don't know what to do, but I am thinking this can't last too long cause 9pm is too late for his little tushy to be in bed!

So there you go, thats my gripe for today. ;)

Happy Happy Birthday to my sweey hubby! XOXOXOXO

Surprise!

Wow, what an amazing weekend I ended up happening. Friday night Cortney and I went out for our Anniversary. Cortney pretty much planned everything. But LITTLE did I know what Cortney had in store for me. We made plans, things got changed around a lot, but in the end, his parents came over to watch the kids at our house and put them to bed so we could stay out late. Soo nice!

So I got myself fancied up. We left for dinner and had the BEST time. You know how when you had been married for a long time and sometimes don't have a lot to talk about over dinner? Well sometimes that happens, and its fine. But we had the best conversations and had a truly great time. Afterwards we headed to Park City to check out a few shops to buy Cortney a birthday present (his b-day is this wednesday). After a little shopping, Cortney suggested we get ice cream at an ice cream place just outside of Park City, about 20 minutes up the hill. I must admit, I was a little surprised because Cortney likes ice cream, but not that much! I was happy though. My kind of date, you know?! So we drove down the main street where this ice cream shop is supposed to be and can't find it. Cortney swings into the parking lot of a hotel and says "i'm going to go in and ask for directions." Okay, I am thinking. WOW, is also what I am thinking because it typically takes Cortney being lost for a lot longer than 5 minutes to ask for directions. This is when he opens the car door and says, "So I found out where the ice cream shop is, and we also have a room here tonight." I was in SHOCK! Serious shock. I mean, technically our Hawaii trip was our 10 year Anniversary present, so I figured dinner was more than enough on the actual day. Then Cortney tells me that he knew more than any present, sleeping in would be what I really wanted. And he knew I would sleep in best with no sound from the kids! He is awesome! It was awesome. We went to the hot tub, cause, yes, Cortney had packed my swim suit, toothbrush, makeup, clothes and even my birth control pills I take every night. He thought of everything! And did it all without me figuring it out (which on a side note: He packed me some kind of ugly clothes because he said he didn't want me to go to wear something and find it missing!) Ha ha., smart thinking! We had a great relaxing night and a great relaxing morning....minus the sleeping in part...now for that story.

I slept with my cell phone on in case his parents needed to get ahold of us and so at 7:30, my phone rings. It's my next door neighbor. Hmmm, whats going on. I answer the phone. Now, she obviously had no idea that I was away at a hotel and tells me that my older boys were at her house really worried and upset because they woke up and couldn't find us anywhere in the house. Our bed was made. Then they went to the garage and Cortney's car was gone. AND so they got in my car, clicked the garage clicker to get out and headed to the neighbors for safe keeping. WOW. I tell her that my in-laws should be at my house and she tells me their car is gone. I KNEW that my kids wouldn't have been left alone. So I called my house phone and my mother in law answered. She tells me that she was int he guest room with keaton keeping him quiet from waking up the other boys. I told her about the boys and she couldn't believe it! My father in law had apparently gone home late to sleep upright in his special chair that helps his back, so his car was gone, which may have also freaked out the kids.

Now, let me tell you, this story is not to talk bad about my in-laws. They do an excellent job every time they watch our kids. I just think it is HILARIOUS. Cortney and I laid in bed, laughing at both the fact of what happened, and laughing because there was no way we could go back to sleep. We had a breat breakfast, took one last trip to the hot tub while we still could, and headed home. And on another side note, can I tell you how great it is to have neighbors that we can trust and that my kids can trust?! It's great!

So my husband is awesome. I felt totally refreshed all Saturday. And I am happy to report I have been married 10 years to a great guy! Thanks again hon- you are the best!

Potty Mouth

I have NEVER had a foul mouth. I don't have any desire to swear and I am completely content with myself and the language I use. But something I DID say the other day to a driver who literally almost killed me with my three children in the car is "stupid jerk." It came out in the heat of the moment NOT for him almost hitting us because accidents happen and I was so relieved we weren't hit- it was the fact that this MAN actually looked upset with ME when I was in the right driving straight along my merry way obeying the driving laws. He gave me a look that made me respond with "stupid jerk."

WRONG THING TO DO WITH KYLER AND BRAYDENS EARS LISTENING.

Because now they have called ME a stupid jerk. Me! Oh what have I taught them! Every time my kids have said this (and yes, it has been on several different occasions for each of them), I have to explain what I had said was wrong and that they are never to repeat those words again. Then theres the big long speach about being respectful to me, talking nicely, etc, etc. So after the 2nd time, it's time outs and threating of washing the mouth out with soap. Oh how I wish I could take back what I said. I mean, did I actually feel better after saying it through the window to someone who didn't even know I said it? Well, maybe. BUT my kids were in the car. And now I am regretting it. Oh sigh, lesson learned. Lesson learned.

~10 Years Baby~

Today my hubby and I have been married for 10 years. It was 10 years ago today that we started our life together, and who knew it would be such an amazing life! Since next week is also my husbands birthday, this is going to be a combined Happy Anniversary/Happy Birthday Post to my hubs!

Thank you for being such a fun and exciting father to our 3 crazy boys (and thank you for giving them the gene that makes them that way!)

Thanks for taking the time to show our kids the things you love and share your love with them.
Thank you for being a great husband to me and going out of you way to take me to Hawaii!!

Thank you for not going golfing when I have asked you to and not complaining about it either! (and for the record, it has NOT been very much! ;))
Thanks for being silly with the kids AND with me. You are so much fun to be around.

Thank you for letting me stay home with our kids. Thank you for working so hard to support our family.

Thank you for just being you. I am so glad that we found each other on this earth so we can be together forever.

Happy Anniversary and Happy early Birthday. XOXOXO Love you, Liz

Lost in the Shuffle

Somehow these pictures got lost in the shuffle of my other ones, therefore I did not post about this right after it happened. I am so glad I just saw them!

Sooooo...Do you think he desperately wanted to hear what me and some girl friends were talking about so late at night??

Perhaps he thought one of my friends was super cute and wanted to get a closer look?
It was so cute to discover him asleep halfway down the stairs late one night while I had some gal friends over a few weeks ago. (Cort was out of town) Sooo sweet!!

Long Week

It has been a long week folks. Starting with Monday. Kyler woke up sick with a fever. He threw up once first thing Monday morning, but I truly believe it was because his fever was high and his head hurt so bad it made him throw up. So for three days he ran a fever. Kyler is my kids who gets sick for only one day. his fevers are always high (like 103.5 is normal for him) and he is super sweet when he is sick. He just sleeps all day long. But this time it was a lot harder. He was sweet, but Brayden did his best to annoy him. And even Keaton would take Kylers blanket and run away laughing. Little stink!

So I have been doing a lot of this:

I don't typically watch Oprah faithfully. I am more of a here and there recording her show when I know what it's about in advance. But this year I decided to record it and watch it while I am doing the dishes and cleaning, etc. And can I tell you how much I love Oprah! It is her final season and I am loving every show!

So this week, I did a lot of cleaning up. A lot of hanging around the house. I couldn't take Kyler anywhere, so it was blah, blah. AAANNND, remember those headaches I was getting. Well, since I went to my doc, he checked my thyroid and guess what? It was off, again. My doc suspected that was the cause of my headaches and since he changed my dose, I have not had ANY headaches! It's wonderful!

But in the meantime, I am not so sure my dose is exactly right, I think its too low now because I am SO TIRED all the time. I am having trouble making it through the day without a nap and even when I am working out, I am having trouble making it through my normal cardio stuff.

But on that same note, at night I seem to have a little more energy than in the mornings so I have been going walking/jogging with some ladies in the neighborhood and it has been great. I LOVE It!

So now I am sick too. With a cold. UG. And I haven't felt like blogging cause I am blah. But I will tell you this.

Mark your calendars for the ULTIMATE Girls Night Out! October 19th, Tuesday night, 6:30-9:00pm. My house. Purses, Jewlery, Scarves, Hats- the latest and greatest in fashion! Plus my wipey cases, plus scentsy clearance, plus Much MORE. So plan it and COME.

More later. Here's to a better day tomorrow (better as in me feeling better!)!