Christmas 2010

This Christmas was spent in Pasadena California at my cousin Kim's house (it is also Diana's home). There were 22 adults and four children. We spent Thursday moving the trailer to Pasadena. I didn't even have to pack!

Friday was spent at the zoo with my sisters seeing the new Elephants of Asia exhibit. That night Santa came to visit for Christmas Eve. The boys and June loved seeing Santa. He even got caught under the mistletoe by my Granny!

Wesley was not too happy to sit on his lap, but he did enjoy dancing and clapping in front of him while the other kids told Santa what they wanted for Christmas.

Christmas morning started a little later than expected thanks to the boys sleeping in until 7:30am. I guess somehow Santa knew what I wished for as well.

That night I was the Dizzy Solitaire champion for the first time ever thanks to Jeanine being prego and passing out asleep on the couch while the rest of us were playing. She usually stomps all over the rest of us! Johnny had taken a long afternoon nap so he manned the boys while I played. It was a perfect Christmas afternoon. One of my favorite gifts was my new digital camera. Johnny is excited about his new tools. The boys now have more toys than can reasonably fit in our trailer.

We didn't have Christmas dinner until Sunday afternoon9. It was really amazing. In my family we always wear nice clothes and eat on fine china. My Granny has an amazing silver goblet set and antique napkin rings I just love. She is an antique dealer so this is how it was every year at her house. No paper plates or plastic silver wear. This year we had a whole roast, a honey baked ham, and a fried turkey. Amazing! The women usually make most the meal and the men do the clean up. One of my favorite parts is listening to all the men sing songs like "What do you do with a drunkin' sailor?" while washing dishes.

Monday was full moving the trailer back to Ontario and finding/buying Johnny's final Christmas gift. Last year I wrapped an IOU. This year he got the real thing! We picked out a 2006 Ford F250 4X4 Crew Cab 6.0L Super Duty. I love the leather heated seats and the backing sensors. We didn't really want 4x4 or the lift, but it was what we found in the one day Johnny took off work to buy a truck. Overall we both love it! Johnny is kind of in a state of denial that he finally has a truck again. It has been almost 3 years since we sold his little Dodge. Congratulations babe, you have worked hard for it! Enjoy it!

We needed to be able to pull our trailer without borrowing someone else's truck. Also, now that Johnny has been moved to a work location further from here he needed a car. It was too far to ride a bike. We have not been able to find a place out there to move our trailer so we decided to stay put and Johnny will drive 30 minutes each way. Not too bad for now.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Trailer Question

One week of constant rain + living in a travel trailer + using space heaters = MOLD on every window = GROSS!!

Lysol is my new best friend. Luckily this time there are no gushing leaks!

On the Move

We are moving again. We are hooking up our home sweet home on wheels and moving out closer to Pasadena, CA off the 605 freeway. Johnny is being switched to another show-up yard, but is still contracted to the same company. I knew it was coming because he will become "HOT" near the end of February or beginning of March (Stop, I know what you are thinking, "he has been hot for a long time." Yes but that is not what I am talking about silly people). Becoming hot means he will join the big boys working with high voltage lines (600 volts and up I think). It also means he is a 4th step (out of 7 steps total) and he gets a 5% raise. Yeah on all accounts (except the higher voltage which of course is much more dangerous). Back to my point, he has been on a street light crew but will now be on a line crew to get the experience he needs. The new yard is bigger with more crews and longer hours. Thanks to the rain I have not seen him much this week. He worked 10-14 hours every day as well as Saturday and Sunday. Actually he is still working Sunday...he started at 6am and is still on stand by which means he will get home some time in the AM hours. He will have a mandatory 8 hour rest period some time tomorrow then back to work. Poor guy assures me he is now dry and warm. Apparently his rain gear is only meant to keep most of the water out, but does not keep him dry.

I have mixed feelings about the move of course. The place we are staying is pretty cheap for space rent. The closer to LA the more expensive. Plus, I don't want to have to buy another car until we are ready to get Johnny his diesel truck. Until then he is on his electric bike and we need to be close enough that he can get to work in a reasonable amount of time (in the rain I drive him or he takes the car). However, I do love the preschool the boys have been attending and our current ward. All of that goes away every time we move. Starting over is always hard and my pathetic feelings of "I am a loser with no friends to hang out with" begin over again. But, this is what I signed up for and it is a means to an end. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I secretly dream of moving back to Arizona to find my dream house with a basement, a power flush toilet, instant never ending hot water so I can shower and shave my legs at the same time, doors instead of curtains on the bedrooms, and a big yard where my boys can go outside to play and run. Wow that felt good to get out of my head! Until then, bring it on. Maybe we will be in this area long enough for me to find a good doctor and hospital for our next addition.

Too Many Santas!

Yesterday was Jaxon's preschool party and today was Daniel's. Santa is everywhere. Daniel asked me if it was the same "real Santa" as was at the ward party. Plus they got a call from Santa (aka my Dad) yesterday. The call actually went much better than any of their Santa sightings.

The preschool parties are fun, but actually very ridiculous. Of course I love hearing my kids sing Christmas songs to me, but making ham and green beans by 9am for 3-5 year olds and their parents who just ate breakfast makes no sense. All the kids want is the junk food. I was able to get Jaxon to dress up for his party, but Daniel refused to wear "church clothes."

In Daniel's class I guess the parent's were supposed to bring a wrapped present for Santa to give the child. Somehow I missed the memo and the teacher told me "well we only sent the notice home like 4 times and posted it on the door." Well excuse me, all of his gifts are wrapped and under the tree at my parent's house. AND if Jaxon's Santa from the party yesterday didn't give presents to the kids then why is this Santa doing it today...it is the same preschool and the same Santa impersonator.

We came up with a present just time time thank goodness. I don't want Daniel to think Santa forgot about him. I am trying to get my kids to stop asking for everything in the world, but all of these Santas are perpetuating my problem.

I was never really bothered by all of the materialism before, but now it bugs me. I sound like a Grinch, I know. Bah humbug. Sorry.

I love Christmas and talking about the birth of Christ. I love teaching my children about the Nativity and the symbolism of Christmas. How do I help their little minds make sense of it all? Santa is fun, but not real. Jesus Christ is the reason for our celebrations. I want my kids to love Him and celebrate His life and mission as much as I do. Merry Christmas.

9 Years & Counting

9 Years! I can't believe it. I feel so old. Yesterday was nothing out of the ordinary or amazing, but for some reason it felt special curling up in Johnny's arms to go to sleep. I love him even more now than I did 9 years ago, which I didn't think was possible. Love grows and changes in ways you don't expect. Things that used to bother me don't seem to matter any more. I wonder if it still bothers Johnny how I leave the refrigerator open while I use something before putting it back? He has not mentioned it in years, but it used to really bug him. I used to hate how he would put the toilet paper on the roll coming from the bottom instead of over the top. After a while I decided just to be glad he put the roll on the dispenser. Johnny is amazing! He folds clothes and puts them away, gives the kids baths every night and sings them to sleep most nights. He never shys away from leading our family in scripture reading or family home evening activities. He tells me I am the boss all the time but he is not afraid to tell me what he wants (which most often is "a smile on your face.").

We have had hard years when he was unemployed and I had to go back to work, but Johnny is the first to say we need to go to the temple and serve more to be blessed. And we have been, many times more than we thought possible. I still think he is sexy and I love to see him in a tool belt! He tells me I am beautiful and how much he loves me every day. Johnny is the love of my life and I would not be complete without him. I look forward to our future together.

Peace

Wesley always likes to pull stuff over his head. Somehow he got a hold of Jaxon's Knight costume pants from Halloween (I swear I have cleaned out my car since Halloween) then fell promptly asleep. It was so adorable. Of course his right shoe and sock were off. He never keeps them on for more than two seconds. For some reason he never takes off the left...maybe its a sign he is right handed.

Awesome GF Info & Magazine

I just found this magazine and website and so far I am very excited. I will of course have to tweek the recipes for Jaxon but it is great to have some new ideas.

http://www.livingwithout.com/

After Lego Land we hit up the Ward Christmas party. It was great timing because the boys all slept in the car on the way there and I didn't have to cook! Bonus!

Daniel was so excited to see the "real Santa" at the party.

Wesley was not so excited. It had been a long day and when I suddenly handed him to a large hairy stranger he had a melt down.

Then last night we went to Thoroughbred lane in Ranch Coucamonga to walk the neighborhood of lights and meet the Grinch. Daniel had a hard time being convinced this was the good Grinch from the end of the movie, not the mean one from the beginning. All of the lights were amazing but it was a few miles walk there and back. Wesley would not keep his shoes or socks on to save his life. We were lucky to make it home with all of them due to the number of times they were thrown in the gutter.

Jaxon picked up a little girlfriend named Grace (the daughter of someone in our new ward) on the way and held her hand for over two hours. Near the end they had a little couples spat, but made up pretty quick and ended the night with Jaxon kissing her on the cheek. It was so cute but scared me to death! He is 3!

One very exciting moment for me was when a lady at the cookie and hot coco tent tried to let Jaxon pick off the tray he told her he couldn't because he was allergic. I was so proud. What 3 year old refuses a tray of cookies held in their face? So sad but great at the same time.

Lego Land - 3rd times the charm!

We finally made it to Lego Land on Saturday! After our first attempt failing due to the flu and our second due to a 90% chance of rain we finally made it and it was awesome!

My parents joined us for a beautiful day. The best part about Lego Land is that all of the rides are geared toward younger children so there were not many we had to skip due to age and height restrictions.

I do have to say my Dad and I rocked the Fire Fighter challenge against Johnny, Daniel, and Jaxon. I'll admit is was not exactly an even match-up. Jaxon loved the only water ride that was open. Daniel would not go anywhere near it due to the possibility of getting wet.

Poor Wesley was only big enough to go on the boat tour, but he had a great time running around and digging in the Dinosaur zone while others rode the rides. With so many adults we were able to rotate sitting out with him. Even Jaxon did well on the roller coasters and I have a feeling they will be begging me to take them to Magic Mountain when they are a little older.

NOW, if you made it through this post and all the cute pictures of my awesome boys here is the best part...we have some free tickets for anyone who would like them. My parents have two adult tickets good for one day at Lego Land until 12/31/10. AND Johnny and I have two free adult tickets good for one day 01/01/11-03/31/11. Email me if you want to claim them.

Christmas Stocking #2

After I finished baby June's stocking my mom started dropping not so subtle hints that her current stocking (which was made by her daughters back in the early 90s with leftover material and glue) was not really up to current standards. So, I decided to make her one too this year.

Merry Christmas Mom. I hope you don't read my blog until after you notice I made the switch over the fireplace.

House for Rent

Our house for Mesa will be available for rent January 1st. Our amazing friends the Kleyns took advantage of the housing market and got a killer deal on their new home. So, that leaves us needing to find new renters. If you know of anyone send them our way.

Frozen Peas

I must have missed the memo to get frozen peas at the store tonight. I just looked up from blogging to see Johnny asleep on the couch in thermals with the closest thing he could find to frozen peas. Let me know how those fish sticks work for icing your knee babe!

Christmas Stocking

When I was little my Granny hand made Christmas stockings for each of her grandchildren. I have loved and enjoyed my stocking every year for almost 3 decades. I have now made one for each of my boys. This year I made one for June. In honor of her birth while Diana was living on the beach in Goa India I made her this stocking.

Each stocking takes a long time, but I enjoy having a project to complete. This one was by far the most detailed. The umbrella was killer. Now I get to look forward to next year when I make one for both Jeanine's new baby and our new baby.

Confirming the Rumors

Yes, my older sister Jeanine is prego. I am so excited. They announced the good news while we were playing scrabble a few weeks ago. The first word was HAVING and the second was BABY! I totally missed it. She is due the beginning of July. Some of my first thoughts were "I am so glad it is her and not me."

I had been feeling frumpy and well, overall not great. After Jeanine's announcement I decided I needed to take action and fix the things that were bothering me. First, I went to the eye doctor for contacts so I would stop getting headaches from squinting all the time. Second, I joined Curves. I am now exercising at least 4 times a week and eating better. Next, I scheduled an appointment to get an IUD. I figured if we are not wanting to get pregnant for another 3 years then I need long term prevention. The only problem is that our terrible LineCo insurance doesn't cover ANY birth control. We saved up to pay the $800 cash to get the IUD. Long term it was actually going to be cheaper than paying for the pill every month. I felt like I had hit the jack pot when I found out about a program in California that would cover the IUD for me since my insurance didn't. Imagine my disappointment when I was told they could not put it in at that office and I would have to go to a different location. No problem, I would make the next appointment. Too bad despite all my exercising and being proactive my pants were not fitting. I was feeling even more frumpy and wanting to sleep all the time.

Before my IUD appointment I had a crazy nightmare that I was pregnant. I woke up feeling like I was falling and screaming NOOOOOO! My oldest just turned 5 last week AND more importantly, we live in a travel trailer moving all the time. 4 kids in a trailer is not on my list of things to do before I die. On a fluke I bought a 99 cent store pregnancy test to calm my fears.

I am 11 weeks pregnant. I am still reeling that we managed to get pregnant back in September despite still nursing Wesley and using birth control. I never even had a cycle! Hulse baby #4 is due June 22. I am actually due 10 days before my older sister.

Just to make this a little easier here are the answers to all of the questions I have been getting.

1. Yes, I cried for 3 days. I had no idea I was pregnant until I found out at almost 9 weeks!

2. Am I happy? It is a baby! Of course I am happy to have a baby.

3. No, I did not tell Johnny right away. I had to get all of my crying out first. Johnny's reaction: "At least we got the trailer with 4 bunk beds in the back."

4. Yes, Johnny laughed at me and we are both in shock.

5. Yes, my sisters, parents, and friends have all laughed at me. I am glad you think this is funny!

6. Of course I want a girl, but I will not be sad if its another boy.

7. No, it is not twins, I already had an ultrasound to make sure.

8. Yes, we plan on living in the trailer with 4 kids and finishing Johnny's apprenticeship before moving back to AZ. Johnny's foreman at work told him to send me back to AZ with the kids and visit a few times a year because 4 kids in a trailer will be crazy. I now understand why that man has been married 7 times!

9. Yes, my oldest will only be 5 and not even in kindergarten yet when our 4th baby is born.

Don't worry, I know you are all laughing that crazy "I am glad it is her and not me" type laugh right now. I understand. I would be too if it were not me.

I know that this happened for a reason. I know that the Lord's timing is better than my own. I know the Lord has a sense of humor and He knows what I can handle better than I do. So, here is to #4. Bring it on!

Change of plans - again!

We have been planning to go to Lego Land for a few months now. The original plan was to go last weekend with our friends from Arizona. Too bad their son broke his leg and they had to cancel, but we still planned on going. That is until I got the flu. My boys all had it the week before, so I shouldn't have been surprised when I started feeling sick. I was really upset to push back Lego Land since we told Daniel it was in place of a birthday party. Then this weekend with a 70%+ chance of rain all day we cancelled again. I was frustrated at first, but then realized what was really happening.

The first weekend Lego Land was replaced with the Pasadena Children's Museum, Kidspace. Johnny had never been there with the boys so he was able to have a fun day out with them. This weekend we replaced Lego Land with The Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. So, due to unforseen circumstances we have now had two fun family Saturday activities instead of one, and we are still planning on hitting up Lego Land in December (due to non refundable tickets that expire by the end of the year)! Bonus.

The Discovery Science Center was a blast. We were not even able to get to the outdoor activities due to the rain, but we will be going back thanks to our new membership. Love you Mom & Dad and I love early Christmas presents! One of the things the boys liked best was the hockey exhibit. They enjoyed practicing hitting pucks and being the goalie.

Daniel blocked a few pucks, but was a little gun shy of the machine spitting them out.

Jaxon was not afraid and even growled at the machine before unleashing a karate move in its general direction. Then he squatted down and let the pucks zoom over his head.

The boys were very well behaved the entire day! Wesley even loved wondering and having us chase him down. We had a great time together and I am looking forward to Lego Land more and more every time the trip is pushed back. I am sure they will have fun Christmas stuff to entertain us in December! Anyone want to join us?

Burned

Johnny was super dad tonight while I went to have a free Mark Kay facial with a few friends. He took all three boys to Red Robin insisting that "We will be fine! They have bottomless fries" as if this was somehow the answer to all of life's important problems. Surprisingly they all returned happy and full.

Too bad after they got home there was a little accident. Before I went to my outing I started a crock pot full of little smokies for our ward party this evening. Wesley was just able to stretch and reach the cord. He pulled the bubbling pot down on himself before Johnny could reach him.

Johnny was quickly able to get it off, but it still burned his face. He was wearing long pants and a sweater so it didn't burn anywhere else on his body. Thanks to Johnny's quick reaction, a cold compress, aloe vera gel, and most importantly a blessing the redness and swelling were gone within three hours. Wesley seemed to be more upset about the cold compress on his face than the actual burn.

After the initial crying he could have cared less and went about his merry little way climbing on everything and digging through my utensil drawers. We are just so glad it was not worse.

Using the belt!

I am sure many people think my children need the belt, but Johnny and I have never felt that will teach them the correct way to act...until now.

We were out to dinner with my parent's the other night when Daniel and Jaxon reached the point of no return. They would not just stay in their seats! It had been a REALLY long day. During the middle of the night the carbon monoxide detector started beeping. Apparently one of the boys turned the propane stove on. It was on for at least 6 hours. Before bed my eyes were burning but I obviously didn't put two and two together. We are lucky to be alive! The next morning we discovered a leaking window. After a few weeks of rain there was lots of mold under one of the benches in our trailer.

By the time we moved out of our trailer, took the trailer back to the manufacturer for repairs, and moved back to Hemet with my parents I was no longer willing to play my boy's little games. We were in a restrauant and I had finally had enough. I told Johnny and my dad to take off their belts.

Daniel and Jaxon were not too happy with the outcome, but they stayed in their seats and I was a much happier mommy! Before we left I had to remind my dad not to get up until I returned his belt!

Judge if you wish! It was a very effective solution.