The Eve Eve

Today we headed over to Aunt Kathleen's house to do gingerbread houses. Boots and Av mainly just ate candy, but Natalie loved doing her house, then eating it. Kat and I also had fun doing our mansions! They are time consuming, but something about making your own is super fun! And bonus for me, I didn't like any of the candy used, so my munching was a minimum!
My camera, of course, died right after I took a picture of boots with his house. Notice the half eaten tree.
The little babes are getting adorable. Today they were making each other laugh and giggle. They will be trouble but right now I will enjoy their sweetness.


Later tonight we went caroling to a few widows in our ward, and I know they loved it. jingle bells and Rudolph were the song picks from the kids, but I would have preferred something more Christ-like. The whole point of us going out was to get into the real spirit of Christmas, and Santa and reindeer defeat that purpose.
I was struggling feeling in the spirit, and we needed to get out and do a little something for some people we love! Needless to say, I am now in full swing. Service has been the focus for me this week, and I am feeling so happy. Presents are wrapped, cookies already sent out, MOST Christmas cards out, and as I type Santa is putting together something special.

We got a fabulous cookie bouquet today in the mail from Nana and Grandad and so dessert was yum-o! Here was my place, hot chocolate, cookie, and my dc. MMMM winning combination! Although my new favorite drink is no longer Diet Coke, it has been replaced with... drum roll... vanilla coke zero. This is so strange, as I usually really dislike the taste of coke. But it is sooo good!

So Merry Christmas Eve, eve. Tomorrow will be filled with love and goodness and I cant wait to start a few little traditions of our own.

I'm thinking sleeping all in the same room, dinner out on Christmas Eve, and we will see what else comes from it!

side note, we took booters back to the pediatric orthopedic surgeon today and was re examined after a medication he has been on for a few weeks. We are going to do 2 more weeks of this medicine and then go off and see how it effects him. He has been walking more normal, but yesterday he was limping around really bad all day so that worries me again. Sitting in the Doctors office though, made me rethink having more kids. I know they are all young and with me 24/7 but it was a nut house. I dont know how I was able to concentrate on the Doctor while I was a jungle gym, and when I tell them to stop something in a setting like that, it is like they hear "jump higher, run faster, be a little more crazy!" AHHH! I dislike going anywhere with those 3 alone.

back it up

A few weeks ago, my parents came into town for Courtney's baby blessing. They were here for 3 days, which was totally dreamy. I love having them come and visit, they really should just move here!! haha

Anyway, fun weekend with Nana and Grandad and a beautiful baby blessing from Brian.

I tell ya, My dad and Boots have a special something going on. They are a match made in heaven those two, and I love it. I am so grateful for their friendship already!

I still have some more posts to catch up on, but I feel like I have no time. I remember there being times people say that about blogging and I always have said "there is always time to blog!" but really I am so busy and tired that there really ISN'T time to blog.

So upcoming is Hawaii~!! FINALLY! Oh and new Family pictures....I will try to get to that tomorrow since then there will be Christmas right there!

Speaking of, does anyone else have the issue of too much fun stuff for the kiddos? Man, I just keep getting things thinking that they will just LOVE this or that. first of all, this isn't saving anything for next year, and second of all... they aren't being nice enough to get them all! I actually took one of Natalie's biggest things back. There will come another time for it I guess! But I am so excited for Christmas. I was feeling a little blue and down about not being with my family and not ever seeing Brian like I would like. Well we have been trying some extra Christmas spirit things, like service, caroling, wrapping, Miracle on 34th, and tomorrow is gingerbread and more caroling. It IS working to get me in the spirit of Christmas though. The only think missing now is my Miller Family. :(

I just want to top this post off with these 3 gems. The 3 cousins back in October, Courtney about a month old here. She slept through the entire shoot, and Haley (blue shirt) started to cry through it all and Courtney just layed there limp. She is totally known for her 3.5 short months as being the sleeper. She still sleeps almost every time she eats.

The Next picture is about month later, in November, around thanksgiving. These 3 are going to be trouble!!

Almost 30... minus one

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN! We love you so much!! Hope you had a great day cooking a great dinner and putting the kids to bed!! haha Really though he is the cook around here and we had our friends over for a little party and needed good food, so obviously he cooked! (btw, the ribs were divine hun) And truly he is best at putting the rug rats to bed, even though booters took HOURS to go to sleep tonight.
December is flying, I have been meaning to blog so so many times this week and then something came up and then something else came up and so on... which is why I think I found my first one of these:ACK! A grey hair. I had seen something glittering right behind my bangs for a little while now but thought it was just the angle I was looking. Yesterday I decided to investigate. My nightmare came true, I have a grey hair. I never thought I would be one to care about stuff like this but very honestly, it freaked/freaks me out. DE STRESS JENI, no more grey hairs allowed!

So what have we been doing? Baking, playing, dancing, singing, wrapping, and shopping. So basically a lot of fun things, just so busy that I forgot to have much fun doing it all!

So first off, we bought some cans of snow. Sounds classy doesn't it?! Well when you live in Texas and your husband can go play golf in shorts on December 18th and your kids can play in the backyard for over an hour in just their underwear, classy again I know, spray snow in a can is pretty awesome.

When will I ever be able to get a picture of the 3 of them together that is actually a framable keeper? Not for a LOOOONG time I am guessing! Still gotta love those busy busy munchins.

So then I baked. Baking really isn't the same without my momma around to talk/sing/play with, but it was still semi fun to have the help of 4 little hands. One of my favorite holiday treats is whipped shortbread. I look forward to it being around every year. This year though, I think I whipped it a little too long if that is possible. When I took them off the cookies sheet it was a crumbly pile of goodness for me to chow down one. But no cookies!So I move on to #2. Chocolate crinkles. These turned out just fine, and boots can back me up on this one.... one of these cookies is not like the others:

And last, Sweet Natalie has started a 2.5 hours 2 days a week dance class and she is in heaven. a dozen little girls her age, in tutus, all into the same things she is? AHHHH it is awesome. Tap, Ballet, storytime, craft time, and tumbling. It is radical. We are on break for the holidays but Natalie is loving it, and watching her show me a few moves cracks me up! I cant wait to see her do more as she learns the routines!

I am falling asleep but wanted to get this entry up before the start of this week. I am really looking forward to this week, since we will be having Christmas here in Texas for the first time in our marriage. I know the kids will like it being in our own house, and there is something exciting about having our own stuff, but I cant lie... I am super sad that I am not with my family. I miss them so very much and just am having a kinda hard time being away from them. Ah, I guess I'll get over it, but in the meantime, I will pout about it!

The Day has come

We sang the 12 days of Christmas to Natalie last night, She hated it. She said "That isn't a song cause you just singing over and over!" 12 days left though. Time flies. I cant believe it is almost half through Dec, and almost 2011! I remember when the 2000's seemed sooo futuristic! haha

So as I have talked about before, I am married to a scrooge. WELL I got him to put up lights, actually technically Justin got him to do it, but they went up and I couldn't be happier about it. The kids were so excited (I mean c'mon now Natalie has a "fancy" house). So Brian and Justin names it Christmas Lights Day. And what better excuse to get a cookie cake than that?!
Last night we did our annual Rawlins Gingerbread night. We did cookies this year instead of Houses. Natalie was ticked but a lot less work for me! Boots and Av just enjoyed a table full of candy, and since everyone was side tracked making cookies, they were in heaven shoveling it in!

Q- WAKE UP! She is the sleepiest little thing. You would think that she is 3 months old now, all the sleepiness would wear off. You would be wrong. When she is awake she is darling, but when she is asleep... YUMMY!

I have decided that there is no terrible age, like not just ONE terrible age. All ages have a time and a tantrum associated with them. Terrible Twos is no longer the phrase, it is terrible whatever age you are phase. Boots has been having screaming fits and tantrums and sassing me a lot. He is 2. Natalie is 4 and she has an opinion on everything. Especially her clothes. If I pick out her clothes and they aren't a tutu, cozy dress, pink, leggings, etc she gets so angry. She hates jeans, she hates most pants, she hates shirts that aren't pink or sparkly. She has a lot of cute clothes though and so when I try to put her in them she screams and throws a fit, followed by "IM NOT FANCY!" I am trying to work with her on the fact that she can be fancy with accessories, not just clothes.

She also can get very jealous, especially when it comes to boots getting a treat, and she doesn't. Natalie came into the kitchen the other day all muffed that boots had something that she didn't. "What does Boots have?!"(whine whine whine) I could tell from the way she asked that it was probably candy, or at least she thought. A second later boots came walking in with the most sour disgusted look on his face and his mouth open saying "yucky! yucky!" After a little questioning and smelling, we discovered it was indeed a moms worst nightmare for food, Poop. It was sick. He had found a little poop pellet(I don't know what it was there) in the toy room and popped it in. Natalie's jealousy quickly faded. And that was the best boots has ever been with brushing his teeth, he wanted that taste OUT!

Oddly enough Natalie has always had something strange going on with poop. When she was smaller, she would play in it, or get into it. Then when potty training she hated going in the toilet for the longest time, and now she loves her privacy when going and forces me out of the bathroom. Anyway, today I was changing Courtney and Natalie got curious. "Where does poop come from Momma?" I then had to explain it all to her and while explaining a used a little example "The other day, you know how boots poop was green? It was from all the gum he had eaten." She thought about this for a minute and then said back to me "So if I eat lots and lots of Orange stuffes will my poop be orange?" It makes sense doesn't it? Anyway she was so funny, at least she didn't ask where babies come from. I am not ready for that talk.

And last thing about Natalie, this morning at breakfast she was drinking some hot chocolate and eating some toast. I was telling her one of my favorite things to do when I was younger, and still now is to dip my toast into my hot chocolate, (soldiers and hot chocolate.) She looked a little baffled and then got a big smile on her face. She asked me if I was sure it was ok, and I said of course. I was curious as to why she was acting so funny at that idea... until... She picked her foot up and dipped her TOES in her hot chocolate. She had a huge smile across her face and it took me a sec to realize she thought I had said I like to dip my toes in hot chocolate, not toast. haha She cracks me up all day long!

And what am I grateful for the last few days?

Saturday - peer pressure in a good way, otherwise my lights wouldn't have gone up

Sunday - A lobby at church, I wouldn't not have made it in the chapel for the full 1:15 by myself with the 3. They were horrible.

Monday - that we are able to put as many trash bags in our trash bin as we can fit, we are not limited to two like some people I know! I would die of trash build up.

Spoiler

I thought about it a while ago but finally decided that I am a pushover. I give in way too much and therefore my children are spoiled. I fill their heads with empty consequences, not all the time, but lots of time. The sad part is is that I make the bad things too lofty and most of the time, I let them continue doing it because of 2 things. 1. either it makes my life easier or 2. I want to do it too. For example; "Natalie stop doing that or we aren't going to go see Santa." BACKFIRE. She didn't stop, but yes we did go and see Santa anyway. "BOOTS, if you get out of bed and do that one more time, I am taking away your blanky" I never take it away, because that would mean REALLY not falling asleep. I need to work on that because it is becoming very clear that they think, or they know, they can walk all over me. I am just having a tough time finding consequences that will work for all of us!

So yes, we went and saw Santa. Natalie was very hesitant about it. She doesn't like seeing him in the mall, it is obvious that he creeps her out. She gets immediately shy and silent. Well we went to "safety town" which is like a mini person town at a huge fire department here. The kids had a ton of fun doing fun free things. face painting, letters to Santa, coloring, lots of candy canes, tattoos(tatoons as my kids call them), and of course sitting on Santa's knee. So when it was our turn, I couldn't get her to sit on his knee but I will take the stand beside. And she actually told him what she wanted too. Boots apparently wants a tractor... thanks for wrecking my whole "rig what you ask for" theory kid. And then there was Courtney who almost made a Christmas disaster. She had a grip so tight on Santa's beard, it almost came off mid picture. We almost wrecked Christmas for everyone. haha But the kids had a lot of fun.

Also, as you can tell from these pictures, it is impossible to get a picture of my kids a. looking and b. smiling. Like the hardest thing to do ever. The whole "I have a spider on my head" thing doesn't seem to work anymore and when you ask for a smile, they immediately look off and do the corniest smile. When we are out at things, these are the best I can get.

Courty on the other hand is the smiliest of the bunch for pictures. That girls loves the camera, and her momma! I feel a special bond with her already. She is such an angel in our home. Every time boots See's her he lays down beside her and just gently pets her head. He loves her, and all babies for that matter. And Natalie just wants to be a mom really. She wants to do and help with everything I do with baby Q. I love all the help I get, but really it doesn't make life easier. Their help actually just slows me down and frustrates me. See? I need to just chill out and let it happen. Let life happen. Let my kids laugh (although some of you know how obnoxious that can get), let them make a big mess and not clean it up right away, or let them just empty a whole bottle of soap int he sink. Really, life would be so much more fun if I wasn't so stiff! Ill work on that!

And of course my gratitute moment;

Thursday I was very thankful for my calling. It brings me such peace, although it can feel crazy, it brings me peace.

Today I am thankful for my cozy hoodie. mmmm not dressing up makes my day 100x better!

Newteristing

That is my new word for New and Interesting together. That is what this week has been for me and booters. First we had his MRI for his foot. He was stoked in the waiting room.

It was hard to let him go "under" though. I laid him on the MRI table and they put the gas mask on him. He was just screaming and crying underneath and squeezing my hands tight. Slowly his hands loosened and then his eyes went dead. Oh I just wanted to cry. It is hard to watch a child go through stuff like that, even though I know it wasn't hurting him. It made me think of when I was in the hospital when I was young for my appendix. My mom must have died.
Anyway, so he was under for an hour and a half with me waiting in the waiting room. Since he went under mad, he woke up MAD! He took a good 45 min to stop yelling and screaming when he woke up from it.

After he woke up we jumped in the car and headed straight to Houston for my tooth issues. After a quick drive, the next morning we enjoyed some Shipleys with our friends (thanks Jaq and Josh) and off to the dentist (endodontist) I went. He was super nice and funny. I was rolling the entire visit. I got another root canal and hopefully this one will fix it for good. If not, surgery may be the answer. This is good news to me, since he doesn't think I will have to lose my tooth over it. phew! As soon as that was over we headed home.

Today the kids both had their teeth done too! They both had their very first dental visits. I couldn't get a picture of Natalie since she was going bazurk-o! She was so terrified. Boots really loved the moving magic chair though! Good news, they both have good bites, good spacing, and good teeth.
We decided to have a little fun with dinner tonight and do personal pizzas. The kids loved it, especially the mushrooms. I have strange kids I have decided. They both LOVE things like mushrooms, onions, lettuce, peppers, and really any fruit or veggie.

So Boots keeps up laughing all day long. I wish I could record him all day every day. Frist of all, not so funny, he fell off the high 6 foot bunk bed the other day. Luckily he landed on his bed and only slightly bit his lip. SCARY. But more that being crazy is the way he talks and the things he talks about. He thinks everything is "really super yummy!" and when he needs to go the bathroom he tells us that his "pee is ready!"

I'm telling you, these kids are special little spirits! I love them so much more with every single day! What a blessed mom I am!

What have I been thankful for this week?

Monday - modern technology and medicine that helps us feel good.

Tuesday - Wide shoulders on roads, to stop for a potty break

Today - A cozy warm bed with a good pillow.

Drama Drama Drama

Ever Since Boots came into our lives, I have been waiting for the day that we have to take him to the ER. He runs so fast, jumps from things so high, and is just so stinking curious that I am shocked we don't live half our time in the ER.
Well last week, on Thursday, it was morning and I was feeding Courtney on the couch. Brian was fixing to leave for work. Boots walked over to the stockings hanging so calm and nicely on the mantle. He pulls a stalking, for who knows what reason. The stocking pulls down the heavy metal stocking holder letter "E" and BAM it hits him right on the head. Seconds passed, then all of a sudden I hear his blood curdling scream. He had a HUGE dent in his head and it was immediately obvious that he had a very deep laceration in his head.
We debated who would take him to the ER, and Brian and him quickly left the house to go get it all checked out.
An hour and a half later they came home with a smiling little boy with glue on his wound. A stitch or 2 would have been so much easier though, seeing as how during his nap a few hours later, he picked at it or did something to it that made it pop open and bleed some more.
I called the Pediatrician and she told me to come in for some steri strips. So there you have it, our first ER visit and something that will leave a little scar on his forehead forever. Sorry it isn't a cooler story kiddo!
I especially love this picture because he has his classic bed head. I LOVE his bed head. He has it everyday without fail.
So while we were in there I thought we would check out his foot. So 2 weeks ago we were in the Dr. and she took blood because we thought he may have an infection in his foot. Well, the blood work came back fine, so I waited. then the limping was worse and all the time, so I brought him back in. Xrays later, nothing was there. So now we are referred over to get an MRI. Tomorrow is that big day. He has to get put under anesthesia, which I am terrified of for him. But I know everything will turn out fine, I just want to figure out what is wrong with his leg, or foot, whatever it ends up being.
Anyway, with all the leg drama, he has managed to stay super happy and loving. He makes us smile and laugh every day!

IN BETTER NEWS... My parents came in for the weekend and now they are gone. Of course Dad took all the good pictures for the weekend on his camera and I forgot to get them, so this one will have to tide us all over.
They came in for Courtneys baby blessing, which was wonderful. Brian did a beautiful job and Courtney was a dream. We had most of the family there, Susan Kevin and Grandma were missed, and even some friends came. She looked beautiful! Again, pictures to come.
But we had a fun weekend, but the best thing about it was food. It is always about food! We had some tasty treats. AND we had a girls day yesterday where we brought Natalie to Tangled. Such a cute movie. we loved it. Natalie loved it a lot, but I think I loved it even more. I cried, of course, but it was worth it! We did have a battle going to the movie though. I dressed her and she put up a fuss and a tantrum because it wasn't all pink, and then because Fancy Nancy doesn't wear things like that. It took a lot to convince her that Fancy Nancy does wear this kind of stuff, she just accessorizes!!
Mom and Dad, we loved having you here so much, you are already missed a ton!
I cant believe this girl is almost 3 months old. Time flies and she is a beauty. She reminds me so much of Natalie at this age too.

So now wish me and boots luck tomorrow, his MRI (that I will need luck with) and also I am having a dentist look at my front tooth, that may need to be pulled... that will be classy. Anyway, will keep posted on that event as well.

And not to forget my thanks,'

Thursday - good health insurance.

Friday - FOGO DE CHOA... I could be thankful for that place for months.

Saturday - babysitters that deal with pee in pants. poor girl! Part of the job I guess!

Today - The Testimony that I have.

Overload

I am super overwhelmed. I think I am having some anxiety about my life right now.

So the little stuff of every day right? Entertaining, feeding, and caring for 3 kiddos. This doesn't stress me out, I love it. My job rocks. potty time, time outs, accidents, temper tantrums... you know, the routine stuff.

Then there is the seasonal things. I am trying to get everything ready for Christmas. I have gone home to Calgary and spent it with my family every year since we have been married, 5 years, and this year we decided to stay here. I have always put up decorations and bought presents, but there is something about it that is freaking me out. The house is decorated all except a very key element. The outside lights. I have always wanted these done, and now that the kids are older, I know they would love them. ENTER scrooge, Brian hates decorations for some reason. And so he also hates being in charge of anything, including outdoor lights. So I bought some under the assumption that he would JUST DO IT for me. When I got home he told me that I better figure out a way to attach them. So then he thought maybe a staple gun, and he goes and buys it at the store. "Ah" I think "Finally, he is going to get this done!" WRONG! He came in yesterday and asked when I am going to get these lights put up. And even saying stuff like "I cant believe you would let your wife up that high on a ladder and the roof!" didn't even do anything to effect his decision. All I can say is that I am glad my Dad is coming in to town tomorrow for the weekend, I can tell you right now he WILL NOT have me be up on the roof!
That AND trying to figure all of our gifts out. I dont know why it is getting so hard for me.

So the anxiety starts...

I know that all sounds ridiculous, and it is, but my heart is literally skipping beats and racing in my chest every time I think about it.

THEN I start to think about my mouth. I had a pain below my nose this summer and thought I would have my dentist check it out. Abscess, so I got a root canal. The root canal was unsuccessful and the pain is WAY worse now, eating and smiling kill me. So I know the next step, which is an implant etc is in the VERY near future. As in next few weeks future. Well my dentist lives in Canada, my passport is expired, and it just doesn't make sense for me to go up there to get all of these procedures done. So I have been on the hunt here and it is just stressing me out.

*heart racing again*

To top it all off, I went out today in a hunt for an advent calendar... Ikea was sold out and walmart didn't get any in this year. WHAT?! Crazy right? That's what I think. Now I want to make one of my own, which just adds to my craft to do list that has been sitting on my desk for 2 months (beside my passport papers to get our passports up to date).

Basically... Mom can you just come see me tomorrow? Thanks! See you soon!!

OHHH YA, THANKFUL STUFF...
MONDAY - That someone else did the dishes and not me. (and i didn't even have to ask)
TUESDAY - easy dinners to make out of cans and seasonings. CHILI!
TODAY- Showers that are hot, after 3 days of none (by choice, gross I know)

BRIAN MONDAY- John Grisham and the Rainmaker
BRIAN TUESDAY- Texas Legends ( season ticket holders)
BRIAN TODAY- Justin and Andrea, because they are just awesome friends!