Christmastime!

I love Christmas time. And it has been so fun this year with the girls! They are old enough to enjoy the lights and the tree and the music. We put up our tree shortly after Thanksgiving. The girls helped me put the ornaments on the tree while I took them out of the packaging. After a while I looked over and the bottom two branches of the tree were completely covered with ornaments and the rest was bare. It was so cute!

The Monday after we put up the tree we had a family home evening about the real meaning of Christmas. Now Kira talks about how it is Jesus's birthday soon and she thinks all the presents are for Jesus. She keeps asking me when Jesus is going to come and open his presents. She has even suggested we make a cake for Him. I wish I was more creative and could find a way to make it more Christ oriented. The girls are just so sweet about it! I hate for them to lose that.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoy the season!

Is there a baby in your tummy?

I didn't tell the girls about my being pregnant at first. Since Brandon is still trying to get over the shock I thought I would wait a bit. But on Sunday, Kira came up to me and asked if I had a baby in my tummy. Well, at that point, I figured it was time to tell them. They are so cute about it. They keep asking me if the baby is crying in my tummy and if the baby has any clothes on (they think it is funny that the baby in naked!). And Kira is scared that they are going to rip my tummy open to get the baby out (how do you explain how a baby comes out to your 3 & 4 year olds??!?!). They are both convinced it is a girl. I keep trying to explain that it could be a boy or a "he" but they tell me, "no, it's a girl." I guess we will see!

Kamber's latest stubborness is not saying her prayers. Most of the time she just refuses. It has gotten so that at every meal prayer, when I say "Okay, let's say a prayer," Kira just starts in immediately because we all know Kamber won't say it. Tonight, however, she decided that she would say her prayers, but only if Kira helped her say them. Okay, talk about the cutest thing! Kira is telling Kamber what to say in her prayer and she says "Thank you for the baby in Mommy's tummy." I just couldn't help but smile. What little sweeties! I hope they stay this sweet after the baby is born.

And then there were three. . .

Okay, so I guess we have an announcement to make. Number three is on the way. And no, this was not planned. This wasn't even an "oops!", this is a "How in the world did that happen?" So, we are a little shocked. But I am excited and I already look pregnant! I don't know how people keep it a secret for months! I am only about 7 or 8 weeks along and look pregnant! Blah! Okay, but I have to remember that the reason I look bigger than others early is because I don't get sick-- so I guess it's really a blessing, right?

Brandon Gone!

Well, it is interesting being a "single mom" during the week. I think the thing I hate the most about it is shopping on Saturdays. Brandon comes home late on Friday night and then we have to get up on Saturday and end up shopping most of the day. It is crazy! Everything is so busy! Then we get up on Sunday, go to church and then Brandon leaves again. He is just not really getting a break at all. I hope next week with the Thanksgiving break he will have a little time to relax. During the week I get to stay at home! While this sounds hard, and at times it is, it has helped me to refocus on my home-- oraganizing it, cleaning it, etc. I also seem to have more time to spend with the girls. And really I enjoy being in our home. So, all in all, I think the time will go fast and we will all survive just fine!

Ward Family

I can't believe how much everyone cares about us! I feel like we are kind of anti-social-- people invite us to do things and we find excuses. But I can not believe how everyone is bending over backwards to help us while Brandon is gone. I have people offering their cars, my visiting teachers bringing over meals, our hometeacher (who is the elder's quorum president and expecting twins any day!) has called to check on us, and even the bishop (who was just put in a few weeks ago!) has called. I didn't know that so many people cared about us! What a blessing!

The Little Things. . .

Kira and Kamber playing their "Ride in the car game". I watched them play this for hours last night! And they just recently discovered Play-doh. That also lasted for hours.

My fifth grade teacher's name was Mrs. Chambers and, interestingly enough, she was also one of my dad's elementary school teachers. That Christmas, she gave each of her students a bookmark. Each was hand picked individually for the student. My bookmark had the picture of a little girl with a puppy and the words "How Wonderful the Little Things in Life can Be!" I loved the saying and sort of adopted it as my motto. I tried to enjoy the little things in life. But then I grew up. And somewhere along the way, I started to get too busy doing the things I thought I HAD to do and forgetting the little things. I feel like I am really bad at that now that I am a Mom. I spend too much time telling my girls what they shouldn't be doing instead of enjoying their sweet little spirits that are growing up faster than I can believe.

Suprisingly, having Brandon in Yerington has helped me to remember "the little things." I have spent more time watching them play and enjoy being with them instead of cooking a fancy meal (by fancy, I mean anything that doesn't come out of the freezer! ;0) ) or worrying about if all the laundry is done or the house clean for when Brandon comes home. I guess you could say that I have found part of the "silver lining" to having our hubby & Daddy away from home.

So, just a reminder-- enjoy the little things in life! Especially your little ones who grow up way too fast!!!

Why?

Kira is in the question phase of life, which can be very cute, but if you are the one required to answer all the "why" questions, you will quickly realize it is a very difficult task. Tonight we were reading stories and every time I turned the page it was,

(Kira)"Why is the froggy sad?"

(Mom) "Well, he is not really sad. He is kind of mad, blah, blah, etc."

(Kira) "Well, how come?"

(Mom) "Ummm, just cause."

Now, this is hard enough with just your regular kids book, but then I started reading a Dr. Seuss book and the questions became REALLY hard! Can you imagine trying to explain the pictures in a Dr. Seuss book? And even some of the character's names? Crazy!

Halloween!

Yeah! Halloween! Okay, so I have to brag a little bit here-- I have the cutest kids ever! Aren't they adorable? It's too bad that Kira spent the entire ward party screaming and crying because she was scared. But they still look cute!

Talking again!

Yeah! Kamber finally decided to talk to us again. It is very exciting! I love to hear her little voice and the things she has to say.

The ER

We had our very first E.R. experience this week. Kamber woke up in the night with croup. She was coughing and couldn't breath. Brandon kind of freaked out because he had just finished learning about croup in his class and it can be fatal if you are not careful. But it all worked out okay. And she seems to be fine now. I will just be very happy when we finally are over all this sickness! We have all passed around sicknesses for the last month.

Venting

Okay, I need to vent, just for a moment. In the primary I am over the nursery. Of course this is not the best calling in the world, especially since we have rather large nurseries. But I can not believe how whiny all my nursery leaders are!!! Every time I see them, "I'm going to talk to the bishop-- I need to be released. I have been in for 6 months now. . ." Like somehow there is a set time when you are in a calling. Do they think we just have people waiting in the wings to take over the day they decide they don't want the calling anymore? Don't they realize that the primary president has to call new people, then the bishopric has to talk to them and then they have to sustain them before they can take over? We are talking a minimum of 3 weeks from the time they decide they don't want their calling anymore. I mean, come on people!!!! Ahhhhh! Okay, I am done now.

Stubborn!!!

Okay, so Kamber is about the most stubborn person I have ever met! She was sick last week and so, with a sore throat, medicine and a fever, she didn't talk much, if at all. Well, since she has gotten better, she has decided it is a fun game to not talk to Mom or Dad at all. So, for the last week, she has not spoken one word to Brandon or I. I keep trying to bribe her. . . I won't give you any milk unless you ask Mommy. . . or, if you want to go to the park with me and Kira, you have to say please. . .that type of thing, but to no avail. She refuses to speak one word to me! What amazing willpower! Oh my, I can just picture life in about 10 years! Heaven help us!

Book Review

For any of you out there that enjoy reading Pride and Prejudice, there is a new set of books out from the perspective of Fitzwilliam Darcy that are really good! It is a set of three books, An Assembly Such as This, These Three Remain, and Duty and Desire. They are by Pamela Aidan. I am really enjoying them. I hope they end as good as they have begun!

Growing Up

So, you know that your little one is growing up when they use the bathroom in the middle of the night all by themselves. I am not sure why, but everytime I hear Bug do this, I am just amazed. The fact that she realizes she needs to go potty in the middle of the night, gets herself up and goes into the bathroom is just. . . wow! What a great little kid! And a big one!

Double Sick!

Okay, so I jinxed myself with that last post! The next morning Kira and I came down with Kamber's sickness. Apparently she had some type of illness before she got the ear infection. Oh, yuck! It was a terrible sickness and I am so very glad it is over, or at least almost. Hopefully we can keep healthy for the next little while!

Sick!

This week Kamber came down with her first ear infection. She is so good when she is sick! She never complains. And she is so lovey-dovey when she has a fever. She can hardly move, but she will still try very hard to smile at you. I hate trying to decide whether or not to take my kids to the doctor. It always stresses me out. I suppose I should just go, especially since our insurance will cover it, but it is always a hassle. And I am not really for just giving them medicine everytime they sneeze. Anyway, it has been an interesting week. One good thing about ear infections is that they are not contagious, so I only have one sick kid to deal with. Yahoo!

Brandon AKA Cranky

Okay, so this one is the hardest for me. First of all, I do not have a current picture other than the bike picture shown below. Brandon does not do well in front of a camera. And yes, Lacey, he is very thin, although VERY muscular. I have offered to exchange metabolisms with him for some time now, but for some reason he does not seem to want mine! Brandon has 1 year and 1 month left of PA school. In one month he starts his rotations. The first is in a little podunk town called Yerrington about 6 hours away. He is excited about this because it will only be him with the doctor and he will learn lots. I am not sure how I feel about losing my husband for 3 months (yes, three!) and also my car (and yes, we only have one!). I guess we see it as a sacrifice for the betterment of our family. Plus it will limit my ability to spend the money that we don't have. So, I guess there are hidden blessings, right? Brandon studies endlessly. He is not really like Evan, he really studies all day, every day (and night). The only exception is for his bike rides and church. He does very well in his classes because of his diligence. And it works for our family because he does study at home, so he is available when needed. (And don't tell him I said this, but it is easier on me when he is busy so I don't have to hear his opinion on everything I do wrong! ;0) ) Brandon loves his little girls with all his heart! Sometimes I am almost jealous! He is a little high strung and doesn't always smile, unless he is playing with his girls. He teaches in the Elders Quorum and does his hometeaching regularly. I am glad he is ours!

A child's perspective on nudity-

Just a cute little joke that made me smile!

Our family was driving in the car when we noticed that there was a girl standing up in the convertible in front of us and she was stark naked! Still trying to recover from the shock, we heard our five-year-old pipe up from the backseat "Hey Mom, she's not wearing her seatbelt!"

Mommy, AKA Leisel, Cranky

Okay, so this is me. Kind of boring really. I am a stay at home mom. I am finally starting to enjoy cooking (sometimes) and I manage to keep the house fairly clean (although I don't think it is up to Brandon's standards). I love to sew and crochet and sometimes I think I let my hobbies take over my priorities. I like to read and I like to be a mom. I wish I could say that I absolutely love it, but I don't think it has come as naturally to me as it does to some moms. But I love my little girlies and wish I had a few more! I like to shop and spend the money that we don't have and I also like to sell things on eBay. I try and exercise regularly and I am really, really trying to cut down on my chocolate intake. Right now I am in the Primary presidency. My first job when I was put in a few weeks ago was to write the primary program. Wow! Talk about jumping in with both feet! But it is a fun calling and I work with some really great people. I enjoy Las Vegas, but it is REALLY hot in the summer. The fall time is absolutely fabulous! But it is a big, busy city with lots of crime. I think we might be ready for a little smaller area. And I would really like to get out of the apartment living. I am tired of sharing walls and floors with others. Plus, a yard would be fun with the girls. I am not very good at taking them to the park, and it seems a yard would solve that. Okay, so I think that is it!

Baby, AKA Kamber

(Well, I should probably switch that now. Baby one day started to tell me, "I not Baby, I Kamber!") I am Kamber and I am 2. I love chocolate! I like to sit on the potty when mommy gives me candy. My favorite breakfast food is chocolate pop-tarts. While Bug loves her grandmas, I am a Papa's girl. I know what I want and when I want it. When I don't get what I want, I make sure everybody knows. Mommy says I am very stubborn, like my daddy. Mommy says it is a good thing that I am so cute. I love the Backyardigans and I am learning all the songs. I don't talk too much, unless I really want something. Then everybody hears me. My teachers at church always ask mommy if I ever talk. I am a very good little sister to Bug. I always play the way she wants to. And I always go to get her things when she tells me to. I am not scared of many things and I like to tell Bug when she is scared of something, "I not scared of it." Sometimes I wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Then I am grouchy all morning. But most of the time I am happy.

Bug, AKA Kira

I am a big girl now, I'm 4!!! I like to go to my "school class" and learn about numbers and letters. I love to play with my little sister. We play doggie all the time. And I make a very good impression of a horse whinnie. Everything is my favorite lately-- all the books at story time are my favorite, all of my pajamas are my favorite, every movie is my favorite (well, you get the idea!). I love juice and cantaloupe. I am afraid of lots of things, but I am most afraid of float toys in the water that are unattended (they might float away!), balloons (they might float away, too!) and the Rainforest Cafe' (it's just scary!). Oh, and those big blow-up yard decorations they have at Wal-Mart around the holidays- terrifying! I scream and cry every time my mom makes go by them. I like to ask my mom lots and lots of questions every day, but I don't like to talk to anybody else. My teachers at church and school always ask my mom if I talk at home, because I am so quiet in class. I am a very good girl, I like to mind my mom and I am sure to tell my mom if Kamber does anything she is not supposed to. I always wake up in the morning with a smile on my face.

Yummy New Recipes!

Okay, so I have a couple of new yummy recipes I wanted to share. This one is super easy, but very tasty: http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=recipe&m=recipe/knet_recipe_display&u1=keyword&u2=chicken%20soy&u3=**1*57&wf=9&recipe_id=107263. The next one is actually a slow cooker meal. I had to go out and buy a slow-cooker, as I had never used one before, but it was worth it! And it was a real husband-pleaser as well! http://www.kraftfoods.com/main.aspx?s=recipe&m=recipe/knet_recipe_display&u1=keyword&u2=slow-cooker%20bbq%20pork&u3=**1*5&wf=9&recipe_id=107282. If anyone has any yummy slow-cooker meals, please share them!

Brandon's New Hobby

In case any of you are wondering what Brandon does with the few minutes he is not studying during the week, here you go-- He goes for an hour and a half bike ride and then spends the rest of the day doing this:

In case you can't see the detail, he cleans every inch of his bike with Q-tips. He goes through most of a box in one cleaning. Okay, enough teasing! While this truly is the case, I really don't mind. It is good that he has a hobby, and if you are going to have a hobby, how can you go wrong with biking?

Check out my Slide Show!

Coupon Clipping!

So, one of my new hobbies is coupon clipping. A few months ago, it got to the point where we were spending SOOO much money on groceries that we just couldn't afford it. So instead of eating mac & cheese for every meal, I started to learn about coupon clipping and price matching. It is really cool so I thought I would share with everyone! You can actually buy coupons online at www.thecouponclippers.com or ebay, if you want a lot of one coupon. Then, you look through all the grocery ads that come in the mail, write down all the sale prices that are lower than what you normally pay, then when you shop tell your checker that you have price-matchs for those items and they will mark down the price for you to the sale price at any other store! I don't know if all grocery stores price match or just Wal-Mart, but it works great! I wait until the items are on sale AND I have a coupon and then I stock up. In addition to saving us tons of money, I also now have some food storage, which I didn't have before. It is also kinda fun to see how much money you can save. Oh, and there are free coupons at www.coupons.com. Okay, so here is one example, just so you can see how cool this is. This week Smith's has Pop-Tarts on sale for $1 a piece. At Wal-Mart I pay $1.87 per box. I also have a coupon for $.50 off per box, so I will be paying $.50 per box and saving $1.37 per box!!!! Amazing!

Well, Steph, I finally got a blog created just for you! Okay, so it's not really for you, but I probably wouldn't be doing one if you hadn't suggested it. I am calling it Bug & Baby for obvious reasons. The pictures were taken this summer in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Kira received her first hair cut (other than a trim) and it makes her look so old! I can't believe how fast the time flies! I guess we are just having too much fun! Okay, so maybe not all the time. . .

Potty Training!

Okay, so when I was potty training Kira, I kept asking everyone what they did that worked. No one could give me a straight answer. . . and now I know why! Every kid is so very different. With Kira, she was scared to death of peeing in the toilet. Once we overcame her fears, she was almost perfect at sitting on the potty. Kamber is a completely different story!!! She only goes on the potty when it is convenient for her or when she wants some candy (potty treats). How do I overcome that? Crazy kid! I keep telling Brandon that she is his child (exactly like him as a kid!) and that HE should potty train her, but well, life doesn't seem to work that way. I guess we will get it eventually. . . wish me luck!