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Today Lizzy hurt her toe and got a bandaid. She started asking about blood. So I pulled out the "Body" book from Usborne =D and showed her what blood looked like up close, and how it goes to all parts of your body to keep your body healthy. When it was time to go to bed, she started her prayer saying, "Dear Heavenly Father:  Thank you for my blood."

When I was little I remember thinking that blood was bad. So when my mom got an ouchie on her arm I tried to squeeze out all the blood in her body. That was when I first found out that blood is good. =)

***

On Saturday we were all eating lunch together. We asked Lizzy what her name was. She also said what our names were. We asked her what her phone number was - she is working on that one. Then she surprised us by asking, "What's your email?"

Morgan and I about died!

***

Jordan's halloween costume was Lightning McQueen. Morgan and I had a great time making it. =)  While we were walking Lizzy to preschool, our neighbor Boyd waved to us and commented on Jordan's costume. Jordan responded by yelling across the street to tell him about the mouth and wheels! This is remarkable because 1. Jordan doesn't talk much. 2. He rarely acknowledges people when they first talk to him. 3. When he does talk to other people it is usually quiet. This costume was so exciting to him that he went out of his comfort zone in several ways. =)

Actually Jordan has been doing fabulous with his talking! He says sentences all the time now. When he started preschool in August he hardly ever said sentences. And he talks aloud when he is playing with his toys/cars. Yay Jordan!

Lizzy was a ladybug again.

Don't Worry

Morgan was reading a book to Lizzy and I hear her yell from the other room:
"Daddy this story is NOT about Nephi!"

***

The kids are in the bathroom washing their hands. I hear Lizzy explaining to Jordan:
"Germs don't like water."

***

Earlier today I was trying to explain to Lizzy that we needed to HURRY UP and get ready because she was going to be late for preschool. I was getting Jordan and myself ready. Lizzy just had to get her shoes on but she was refusing to go get her shoes.  I told her to look at the clock. When the big hand goes all the way down then preschool was suppose to start. A few minutes later she was still fussing about her shoes. So I told her to look at the clock. She said dramatically, "Oh NO! The hand is down! Preschool is going to start!" And she ran out of the room to finally get her shoes on. Jordan was still in the room with me and could sense the urgency of the situation. He said, "Don't... worry... will go... back… up."

=)

Dentist

The pediatrician keeps asking me about the kids' dentist visits. I didn't really believe her, or Jessie, or the parenting books, that little kids need to go to the dentist. So when I went in for my cleaning I found out that sure enough, kids visit the dentist as early as 2 or 3 years old.

So we took Lizzy, 5, and Jordan, 3, to the dentist today. I could not believe that they did so well! Jordan watched Lizzy go first and then he had his turn while Morgan and I watched. Jordan was at first startled by the big moving chair but they both liked it. They both kept turning their heads to talk to the dentist and assistant. Lizzy told them stories about Peppa Pig and Jordan commented on the colors of their latex gloves. Jordan liked the big bright light and was worried when the assistant turned it off. Lizzy flinched rather violently whenever Mr. Thirsty went in to her mouth. Lizzy didn't enjoy the polishing. It's my least favorite part, too. She was laughing that nervous laugh… the same one that she laughs during the beginning scary part of Monster's Inc. Ha…. Ha… Ha…. ha….. ha….  They both loved their brightly colored tooth brushes, of course, and that made the whole trip worth it.

Thank You for Princesses

Lizzy went to Krista's birthday party. Lizzy gave Krista a doll for her birthday. Krista's mom told Lizzy, "We really like dolls in this house." Lizzy replied, saying, "In my house, my mommy really likes babies."

At church Lizzy's primary teacher was teaching about how mommies and daddies love their kids. For example, your mommy doesn't want you to get sick, so that's why she doesn't let you eat all your Halloween candy in one night. Lizzy responded, "My mommy eats some of my candy because she loves me and doesn't want me to get sick."

At church Lizzy said the prayer in the big primary room. We heard from several adult friends that she did a great job on her prayer. She included a line true to her nature, "Thank you for princesses."

Movie Time

I love this picture of my mom and the kids watching a movie together. =)

Racing

Yesterday while Jordan and I were waiting for the bus to arrive to take him to preschool Jordan was running around outside. He would stand in one spot and say, "Ready, set, go!" and walk/run around the driveway, go in circles around the mailbox, walk a little bit on the neighbor's grass… Then he would stop, put up his arms and say, "I WIN!"

While running around, Jordan looked up and noticed, what seemed like for the first time, the address numbers above the garage door. He pointed at them excitedly and said, "ABC's!" Then after a moment he recited, "6, 1, 4, 8!" Those are not actually the numbers, but he was pretty confident with his recitation.  =)

From Emily

From my missionary sister Emily who is serving across the street from where we live. =) 

"Eva!! I met a guy who served really close to Cococabamba!"

No thanks.

If we offer something to the kids, Jordan usually says, "NO!" It sounds really rude so we are trying to teach him to say, "No, thank you."

Today Morgan was trying to fix a computer. He had his tool box out. Once he closed it up, Jordan took the tool box and started walking away with it. Morgan said, "Jordan, bring the tools back!"
Jordan responds, "No, thank you."

He is such a polite little thief.

Shopping List

Lizzy brings me a couple small pieces of paper that she has cut out.

Lizzy: Mom, can you write down what we need to buy at the store?

Me: Sure, Lizzy.

Lizzy: Can you do it now? (I'm practicing the piano.)

Me: Sure, Lizzy. (I stop, turn to the size, and take the pen.)

Lizzy: Well, can you write "ice cream?"

BAD Guys

Recently we've had a few talks with Lizzy about how peeing on the floor is unacceptable.  Yesterday she came up to me and confirmed:

"BAD guys want us to pee on the floor."

Big and Squishy

Lizzy: Jordan is getting so big and squishy!

Strawberry Sandwich

When our kids need a warning to tell them to change what they are doing, we say, "uh oh!" Then they know to make a choice or a time-out will soon follow. We learned that from Love and Logic.

Today Lizzy kept talking about a strawberry sandwich. She was going on and on and on about it. I guess she got Morgan to commit to helping her because suddenly we heard Lizzy say:

"Uh oh! You're not getting up to help me!"

Megamind

I really enjoy this movie! I laugh and laugh throughout the whole thing, even after we've seen it probably… 100 times. =) The kids were in our room watching Megamind one day, and I started to fall asleep. The kids left the room so it was just me and the movie. Even though I was trying to sleep, I could still hear the movie. I couldn't fall asleep because I kept LAUGHING at what I was hearing. My favorite character is the fish, Minion. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

BBQ

WE GOT A Barbecue!!  For Memorial Day!

We have a natural gas outlet in our back yard, but it's all rusty and it looks like it's never been used. So we could have fixed that up and bought a gas grill, but we decided it would be much better to start smaller, cost wise, especially since we've never done bbq.

So we went to Home Depot and spent 19.99 for a little bbq!! And we got some charcoal.

So Morgan and I had to figure this out since we've never done bbq by ourselves. I remember my mom doing bbq all the time.  Since Memorial Day we've done it twice and now we are pros. =) The kids call the bbq "the hot thing."

Anyways the point of my post is that I wanted to let you know the results of my "experiment." We had veggie burgers and regular hamburgers side by side on the grill.  The conclusion and bad news for our vegetarian efforts is:

Hamburgers taste much better than veggie burgers. By far.

Mailing PRO

I am a PRO at mailing stuff! I'm so glad for paypal making it easy. And I'm so glad the mail man will pick up my packages. And I'm so glad for my printer that will print the labels. HP Envy 100 has been a fabulous printer/scanner.

Tickle!

Jordan and Lizzy were sitting on the edge of our bed watching Sesame Street Follow That Bird. I was getting ready to take a picture of them from the back because they looked so cute sitting next to each other being still.

Then I noticed that Jordan was scooting closer and closer to Lizzy. I said, "Jordan wants to snuggle Lizzy!" Then Lizzy and Jordan look at each other in surprise, and Jordan whipes out his TICKLE HANDS! Apparently he didn't want to snuggle Lizzy, he was getting ready to TICKLE HER! So then Jordan chased Lizzy around for a few minutes with his TICKLE HANDS. It was a houseful of giggles and little running feet.

I love how they get to the edge of the bed, push their feet out and drop to their bums, then slide off the bed.

We'll see

Me: Will you eat a banana?
Lizzy and Jordan: No!
Me: Oh you will not? Well, we shall see.

I cut up a banana into little slices, put it on a monkey plate, go into the living room and sit in the middle of the floor to eat "my banana."

The kids immediately flock to me and start eating up "my banana."

Wipes

Jordan's latest prayer:

Mumble mumble mumble mumble thanks wipes mumble mumble mumble amen.

Well, I'm thankful for wipes, too, actually. =)

Full Name

Me: Lizzy, what is your full name?

Lizzy:  Elizabeth Princess Clements

Handicap Picture

I will never again look at this sign the same.

As we were walking toward our car we passed a handicap parking spot.

Lizzy: Mommy! Look at this!

Me: Wow, Lizzy, what is it? It is a man?

Lizzy: Yeah. He's going potty.

Pull-Apart bread

Did I tell you about this one that I found on Pinterest? Made it twice so far. Yum!

Bed Time

We had play group at my house one week. The kids all went into Lizzy's room and laid on the floor, playing "bed time."

My friend Aimee: Can we play that game later, too?

Here are Lizzy and Jordan playing that game at a different time:

Emmie got married!

Emmie got married! YAY!

Pledge

Lizzy: I pledge a wee gence to the flag of the nighted states of the merica.

Jewelry holder

As a lia sophia advisor I received some awesome incentives in March: free jewelry to use as prizes and booking incentives! So I made this pretty jewelry holder to display some of those pieces. It's so much prettier than the ones I've seen in stores! =D

So sweet

Isn't this such a sweet little boy sleeping so soundly in his… 

Oh wait a minute. This isn't his bed. 

Noisy

After we put the kids to bed Morgan and I were talking in our bedroom. Lizzy gets up and comes in our room. She says:

"Mommy and Daddy. You are being too loud. You've got to be quiet so I can get some sleep!"

Later she came in and said, "Outside is too noisy. I can't sleep."  So we said a prayer so that Jesus would tell the dogs to be quiet. hehe. It worked.

Syrup

Jordan came into the bedroom to wake me up this morning. He had with him a large bottle of syrup and a cup. He wanted a drink. Thank HEAVEN it wasn't open and he couldn't open it. I told him we have to eat that with pancakes. So he went out and came back with the box of Bisquick. Oh no. He left again and brought in an EGG from the top shelf of the fridge. I finally got up at that point. He is still TWO.

Some old little funny things that I never published.

Lizzy says to Morgan putting a crayon in his mouth: Don't eat that. 

I put my bread on the table so I could peel my hard boiled egg on my plate. Lizzy looks at it and says, "no table. plate." 

I gave Jordan a banana with the peel so that perhaps he could hold it better. A minute later Lizzy was making a really disgusted look at Jordan. Jordan had started chewing on the banana peel. 

2/3

Lizzy looks at Jordan who is sitting in the high chair and asks, "Do you want animal crackers? okay." And she turns around and heads to the cupboard. She opens the cupboard, looks back at him and asks, "apple sauce? Okay." Then she takes a can of apple sauce out and asks me to open it. 

Your-postpartum-life-things-well-tell-you-that-no-one-else-will

This was such a good article that I wanted to make so many comments on it! It made me remember experiences and I wanted to tell stories. Where better to do that than here, on my blog, in the middle of the night when I can't sleep (reminiscent of pregnancy). Most of you that read this blog have had children. So you'll enjoy it cuz you went through it. Here we go:

http://www.pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/articles/937239/your-postpartum-life-things-well-tell-you-that-no-one-else-will

LEARN WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY AFTER GIVING BIRTH AT PREGNANCY & BABY, INCLUDING DAY-BY-DAY EXPECTATIONS AND INFORMATION ON PERI BOTTLES, SITZ BATHS, AND MORE.

Once the medical experts have had their say, it's time for another kind of expert -- a real mom. Abbi Perets is a journalist and the mother of three -- and she's exclusively here on Pregnancy & Baby to give you some advice about pregnancy, birth, parenting and more.

Abbi Perets

Wake up call
When you imagine the birth of your baby, we know that you have good intentions. You envision that magical moment when you gently rouse your partner from sleep. "It's time," you whisper - except in your fantasy, you look like Jennifer Aniston did when her character went to have her baby on the season finale of Friends. I actually did whisper to him with both babies. "Morgan. Are you awake?" "No." But I didn't look like Jennifer Aniston. I was in my pjs and feeling worse than ever. You know, 9 months pregnant, water just broke… you are at your worst. And you still look like Jennifer Aniston at the end of your fantasy, when you grip your partner's hand, smile at the doctors and nurses in the sterile room, and push your baby out into the world. The fantasy probably ends there.

We think that's sweet.

Actually I thought I would be dying in pain of contractions. Thank goodness that wasn't my experience. And yay for epidurals. I got the free ticket into the hospital TWICE - water breaking. (Don't hate me please.) Yet I did have Braxton Hicks contractions starting really early around 5 months in both pregnancies. 

We also think you might benefit from a small taste of reality, and since we have had a few children already, here we offer some practical postpartum advice that eventually you will appreciate.

Trust us. 

It is scary how we really know NOTHING until it really happens. I'm glad there is so much to read up on. I read a ton beforehand. Not much surprised me, but there were still too many unknowns for me to be comfortable. Very uncomfortable. 

One hour after Baby's birth 
An hour after you give birth, you'll probably be ready to take your first postpartum trip to the potty. (Yes, you now have to call it a "potty" until your baby turns 27.) Yup. It's called the potty. All the time. No matter who is using it. The fear you will feel at this moment will make your labor anxiety seem positively trivial. You may even beg the nurses to please let you just keep the catheter forever. Oh my I was so looking forward to that catheter the second time around!! I didn't know to appreciate it the first time. The second pregnancy I was looking FORWARD to having that catheter for months! I probably mentioned it to Morgan several times. Poor husband. I can't emphasize how much I was looking forward to that catheter! I would not have to get up to go "potty" every 45 minutes anymore!!! I could just stay in bed! Why does the bladder have to be RIGHT UNDER the uterus?! I know there's not many other places to put it but God, you are omnipotent and omnipresent I'm sure you could have figured out some other arrangement. 

But eventually, what goes in must come out -- and you are going to have to haul your floppy body off the bed and into the bathroom. Hate that part. There you will be given a small plastic bottle. Quite possibly, no one will explain what this mysterious bottle is for, because that would indicate a level of caring and helpfulness that people will seldom show you, now that you are A Mom and no longer a Pregnant Person.

Well, we're here to tell you: it's actually a "peri bottle," and you are supposed to fill it with warm water and spray it on your nether regions while and after you pee. Yup. Cold water is not pleasant. If you gotta stand there and wait for the water to get warm then it's worth it. This means you can't fill it up ready for the next time you use it. =( It will be too cold by then. 

Do not stop reading.

This is so important, regardless of how ridiculous you think it sounds. If you try to pee without doing this, you will wish you were dead. And if you think you are going to actually wipe yourself after you pee, then you are a sick, sick woman, and we do not want to be friends with you anymore. Haha. Sarcastic humor! 

Be sure to take your peri bottle home from the hospital with you. You'll need it for about a week. Maybe more.

Also, dispense with any preconceptions you may have about peeing in the shower; it's not a bad way to go, at least for the very first time you go. Peeing in the shower brings up so many funny reactions. Some people are appalled. Some people say, "What? I do that every day." hehehe I won't tell you what side I'm on but I think it's funny that there are such strong reactions. =)  And while you're at it, you may as well go ahead and drop all your other preconceptions about People Who Do Things Differently, because, my little chickadee, you are about to learn the great lesson of If It Works and No One Dies, It's OK. Yes! You got it! Some funny quote on pinterest paraphrased: "Other moms make homemade scented bath soaps and make their own furniture. I say success if I showered and kept the kids alive."  YES!!! 

(Skip a bunch here…)

Put on a plate about five of the soft wipes you use on your precious baby's bottom and microwave them for about 10 seconds. They will be hot, and they'll have time to cool before you need them, but be careful. Take them into the bathroom with you... (If you are still in the hospital and cannot convince the nurses to microwave your wipes, simply run them under very hot water before you start.) Haha! Convince the nurses! Poor whoever-had-to-do-that.

(Skip a bunch here…)

By now, you are probably at home, and you are possibly beginning to feel like maybe you will live, and maybe you will even figure this mom thing out sometime in the next 27 years or so. Now's a good time for us to point out that, if you are still hurting a lot, and your health care professional says you're doing well, you may want to ask if a small glass of wine is OK. (We did not say you should get yourself snookered, and we do not recommend this as a daily remedy. Ibuprofen or acetaminophen might be a helpful alternative, but it could be said that neither one of these two is quite as much fun.) There are times when this is so tempting. High school was N.O.T.H.I.N.G comparatively. At BYU, of course, there was zero temptation. But as a mom? Of two? THAT is where the appeal starts to show up. Yet I *still* value my temple recommend more than this so I've still never tasted alcohol. 

It gets better every day 
We don't expect you to memorize -- or even believe -- everything we tell you, but we hope you will at least save this article and refer to it when you need it. And remember: we are always here for you, and frankly, we are glad that you don't look like Jennifer Aniston. Oh thank you. 

We think you are even prettier.

 

=)

Where do babies come from?

Me: Samantha's mommy is having a baby!

Lizzy: Huh?

Me: Her tummy is getting big. The baby is growing in her tummy! Did you know that?

Lizzy: (Pause to think about this. Concerned look forms on her face.)

Lizzy: (Finally answers) That's yucky.



Haha. That's only the beginning, sweetie!

Pinterest Organize

After reading several blogs and tips I found through Pinterest, I was so excited to get some organizing done in my house!!! 

This one gal had a drawer like the ones you see below with only a couple utensils in it! They were so easy to find and no digging to find them was needed! 

I took out that silverware container and cleaned it. =) Now it shines!

I especially LOVE that the top silverware drawer has only silverware, potato and orange peelers and a can opener. Easy to find. Each has its own space. No sliding. Always there where you want it. And easy to put away. 

Of course the problem with the "utensil/gadget drawer" is that there is TOO MUCH IN THERE. So I took out the stuff we don't use and left enough space for each utensil to sit happily on its own. 

One tip I found was to use non-slip liner thingy in your drawers so the utensils don't fly all over the place. So instead of one large sliding blob of almost unidentifiable-because-of-bulk utensils, now we have a handful of items used most often on a non-slip liner. =) The rest of the utensils are stuffed behind the silverware. Occasionally I suppose I will have to go back there and dig something out. In the mean time, no more digging. Yay!

No more STUFFING my utensils into the drawer and PUSHING things around so the drawer will CLOSE. That is a pet peeve of mine. I hate when there is no room to put something away. ARGHHHH!!!

I went to the DOLLAR STORE and bought several clear boxes with lids. I came home and printed out some words and packing-taped them to the boxes. Now our "medicine" cabinet is so much better!! Before we had some baskets and they were somewhat organized. But there was a lot of digging involved to find anything.

A couple of the boxes (Rags, Wash Rags) are open because rags go in and out of there very often.

Morgan asked me if I meant to spell it "First Aide."  Haha! I've been spelling it wrong my entire life!

Another cool trick I have learned is to use duct tape to cover an ugly box. Pretty boxes are soooo expensive. So I tried the duct tape method. And here is the result. Not too bad I don't think. However, the 2 duct tapes that I purchased were $5 each. A bit steep for me. Yet if you cover several free cardboard boxes then that would be worth the price. 

Pinterest Peach Coffee Cake

I've been searching Pinterest lately and I've found a couple AMAZING recipes. Wow. First one I tried was this Peach Coffee Cake: http://pinterest.com/pin/171840542004063916/ Amazing how MY pictures, below look a lot like the pinterest picture!

And French Toast Bake: http://pinterest.com/pin/171840542003860982/ I had a similar recipe using real French bread but I like this one better. yum!

And Cauliflower Cheesy Bread Sticks: http://pinterest.com/pin/171840542004056858/ LOVE THIS ONE. WOW. Makes my mouth WATER. 

Oh, and none of these are Forks Over Knives appropriate. =/

Nevertheless it has been fun to get into the kitchen and have some FUN.

Math

Today I picked up Lizzy from preschool and her teacher had something cool to report. While Lizzy does fine in all her subjects, she excels in math. =) This is the first time we've heard this.

So while we were walking home I decided to check on these math skills.

Me: Lizzy, what is one plus one?

Lizzy: Huh?

Me: (Hmm. let's try something different.) If you have 1 apple, and then you get one more apple, how many do you have?

Lizzy: Uh, (thinking…) six?

I'm still chuckling about it. I'm not sure what kind of math a four year old does, but apparently not that kind. haha!

Beer

Morgan: Lizzy, do you want to pray tonight? Remember the steps?

Lizzy: I don't do the steps. Big girls don't do that.

Me: Okay just pray then. Start with "Heavenly Father."
(We say this because she makes up other stuff to say first. 0.o)

Lizzy: Mumble mumble mumble mumble mumble cake mumble amen.

Me: Did you pray for cake?

Lizzy: Yeah. And for beer.

Count

Jordan woke up one morning while I still sleeping. He came in and crawled into bed right next to me so that his face was right in front of my face. I opened my eyes and saw that his eyes were closed. He was sleeping with me. =)

After a minute he started talking to himself while his eyes were closed. "Five. Six. Seven. Nine. Count. Two. Three. Four. Seven. Eight. Count. Four. Five. Seven. Eight. Nine. Count."

After a minute of this he started opening up his fingers one at a time as if counting on his fingers. He continued this until he realized I was watching him and smiling. =)

Emmie and Josh

Lizzy: Are Emmie and Josh married yet?

She's excited. =) Yay for Emmie and Josh! Only 1 month left!

Eyebrows

Once we were stuck at a red light. This was one of those left turn lights that only let a few cars go before turning red again. So I pulled out my tweezers and started working on my eyebrows. Lizzy was a bit worried by this.

Lizzy: Mommy, you've got to DRIVE!

Brownies

Me: Sorry, Lizzy, we don't have any brownies.

Lizzy: I have a good idea! (She puts her arms up into the air like she's announcing something really special.) Let's get in the car, go to the store, and BUY some brownies!

Just don't talk.

Lizzy: I love you mommy. I love you so much.
(She is playing with Jordan's dinosaur stickers. She is not talking to me. But I can't resist.)

Me: I love you too, Lizzy!

Lizzy: What? But… but… No!

Me: But I do, Lizzy. I love you so much!

Lizzy: But… But… No mommy. You don't.

Me: But I love you, Lizzy. And YOU love mommy!

Lizzy: No mommy. I don't. Just be quiet, mommy. Just don't talk. Don't talk, mommy.

(So she continues playing. No more interrupting from me. =) )

Sandwich

Lizzy: Mommy, can you get me bread and mayonnaise and mustard and food to make a sandwich?

So I pull out a pre-made sandwich.

Lizzy: No mommy I want to make the sandwich!

So I put the pre-made sandwich away and get out the essential ingredients.

Later:

Lizzy: Mommy look! I made a sandwich all by myself! Mommy! Look!