Mycah Starts Preschool

I have never really considered puting any of my kids in preschool because it is just SO DANG EXPENSIVE.  I mean $100 or more for 2 to 3........ 2 1/2 hour days....crazy.  Anyway this year had to be the exception.  Mycah needed preschool.  She has a February birthday and I have no plans to hold her back, so I felt she could really use a head start. Now for the MIRACLE!  This amazing Mom (Katie Klaussen) found a preschool in Kuna that is only.........$35 a month!!  Are you kidding me? Miracle.  And Mrs. Hardy has an amazing curriculum and schedule for these kids.  I am so excited for Mycah!  Today was her first day and she is so excited that she gets to go to school.

Meet the teacher Day.  They made these little buses and drove to school.  She showed them around and talked about what they would be doing in preschool.

1st day of school.  It may not look like it, but Mycah was really happy and excited to be there.  She just objected to getting her picture taken.

Finally, some sort of a grin.

1st Ponytails

Someone (who will remain "un-named") has been complaining about their cute cheeky daughter's super-oober-messy thin wispy hair looking a little untamed.  Now I can't blame this "someone", because it really looks horrible, but what do you do with a little 1year old who was not blessed with very much hair?  I finally gave an attempt at ponytails.  Of course they were out and everywhere a 1/2 hour later when she went down for a nap.  But here they are in all their glory.  Maybe in a few months there might be a little more to work with. :)

Dejah's Birthday Party

Dejah's request this year was to have a birthday party with friends.  Most everyone came to join in the "salon" fun.  They started the party by making Tie-dye shirts.  Then we ate TONS of pizza.  Next was the Birthday part.  That cake was a homemade German Chocolate Cake.....Dejah's request.  After presents, the girls all painted their nails and then played for a bit.  Dejah loved her party!

Here are the Tie-Dye shirts.  I think they turned out AWSOME!!  Too bad I didn't have more white shirts to do because I had tons of leftover dye.

7 Years Ago

Seven years ago Alex and I were living in Laramie Wyoming.  I was having my first baby girl.  I had no family nearby.  I had made a few friends, but essentially I was pretty alone.  It was such an exciting and scary time.  About two weeks before her due date I had woke up to what I was guessing was a loss of the Mucous Plug.  I called my Mom to tell her and she thought that was a good enough indication that our baby was on her way.  I didn't really know because it wasn't like I was having crazy contractions or anything.  Either way my parents decided to take the Long drive to Laramie that day.  The same day, I had a Dr. appointment.  She told me I was dilated to a 3 and I was 75% effaced.  She asked me if I would like to have the membranes stripped.  And suggested that it could make me start having contractions.  It really took me off guard!  Ouch!  However, almost immediately I started having contractions.   Of course I didn't think much of it.  That evening some girlfriends came over to my apartment to give me a pedicure.  It was so sweet.  During that evening of fun the contractions were a bit more intense.  I was pretty sure she would be coming sometime the next day.  I took a Tylenol PM in hopes I might get some sleep.  Boy was I wrong!  I ended up going into the hospital with pretty painful contractions.  They admitted me and then told me that I needed to wait until I was dilated to a 5 before they would give me the epidural.  That was a rough few hours.  I finally reached a 5 and got the relief I was desperately needing.  My parents arrived sometime in the night or early morning.  I don't really remember exactly.  My epidural was wearing off and it was time to have her.  August 26th, 7 years ago, Dejah Beal was born!  Our sweet baby girl! 

What a blessing she has been in our lives.  Dejah is the happiest kid I know.  She is so full of life!  She is my biggest helper and does it with little complaint.  Her favorite thing in the world is playing with friends.  She will be best friends with any kid that wants to play with her.  I remember when she was just 1 1/2 she would point out our apartment window at the little boy her age who lived across from us and say "Cashe" "Cashe", because all she wanted to do was play.  Looking back she was an early "talker".  Holy cow, she could completely communicate just over one year old.  It blows my mind now.  Anyway, I am so grateful she is my #1.  I really think there is a special bond with a Mom and her first born.  We had a great few years as just us.  I her with all my heart.  Happy Birthday Dejah! 

"Boise!!!" "State!!!"

Saturday evening there were a few families from the Ward going to the Boise State Scrimmage.  It is a free event and I thought to myself.  "Perfect family outing!"  Our kids will probably never get to go to a "real" game, so why not.  Believe it or not, parking was a bit crazy.  We couldn't walk a stroller because we would basically have to leave it at the bottom level.  So our big group with a million kids walked.  I'm sure anyone who saw us would have easily predicted it was a group of Mormons.  It was quite the site.  We get there and the side they had open was pretty much full.  We had to make our way all the way up to the top corner.  I'm gonna be honest, in the hour we were there I only watched 2 plays. Our kids were done.  They didn't appreciate the sitting down I guess ;)  Overall we had a pretty good time.  Here are the pics.

Gonna Put This To Rest

When I first wrote out this post, it was simply because I had been thinking about a lot of things.  I was in the thought that I should write them down.  Mostly for journal sake.  My kids.  A friend that was on my mind.  Anyway.  I sat.  I typed.  One thought to the next.  Thought number 3?  Well apparently I must have said something wrong because all of a sudden NOW I'm a horrible insensitive person who doesn't understand working moms.  So let me be SPECIFIC.  I DO NOT have ANYTHING against working moms!  I can't even imagine how much more difficult your job must be.  I do feel it is important for a Mom to be at home, but I COMPLETELY understand that is not always possible.  I think nothing less of you for working.  You are a Mother and that in it self is hard. 

Thought number 3.  Let me be SPECIFIC. I feel it is unfair to the children to have to go to daycare because the parents have decided that an expensive lifestyle is more important. If you are a Mom who works full time because of uncontrollable circumstances, or  You are a Mom who works at home, or you work while your kids are at school....ect. ect. ec.....the list goes on..... I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU.

With that being said.  Here is my post. I am putting it back.  I just felt like I needed to remove it to check it over and make sure I didn't say something I didn't mean.  Apparently I've hurt some feelings and that was absolutely NOT my intentions.  I love all my working mommy friends and family.  I'm not even trying to pass judgment on anyone. I just want my kids to know where I stand in the future.

I've had a lot of thoughts lately.  So this post may be all over the place, feel free just to skip it all together, or you may go ahead and torture yourself with my babbling.


First thought, Motherhood.  Such a unique experience (yet not right, since there are millions of mothers out there).  Honestly, how did our Mom's do it so well?....And, without all this wonderful technology?? Gag!  I was reading the blog of one of my friends who is going through a little spell of difficulty right now with the "stay at home mom thing".  She has four boys age 6 and under.  She often feels lonely and in a bit of a rut. There is so much more to this story, but I just thought I should share some of my thoughts on this matter.  First off, I FEEL where she is coming from.  My typical day consists of waking up much earlier than I EVER want.  I drag my feet to the kitchen where I do the daily routine of filling sippy cups with chocolate milk.  The TV is immediately turned on, because there is just no way I can handle energetic children that early.  After that I feed the baby, then I feed the kids, and if I can remember...I feed myself.  Usually I get distracted by an awful smell coming from Logan's direction, followed by another one coming from Lexi's.  Beds need made, kids need dressed, breakfast cleaned up, laundry going, Lexi nap, and then before I know it...the kids are hungry again!  11:30 Lunch (and most of the time I'm still in my PJ's and Still haven't had breakfast).  I really don't want to type out my typical boring day.  The point is, I'm pretty sure that it is completely normal for a stay at home Mom to be bored, lonely, overwhelmed, and completely content with letting the TV run all day.  So to you stay-at-home Mommies that struggle with all these things... I HEAR YOU.  You are NOT alone.  I am really dreading the upcoming school year because to me it means cold weather and being stuck in the house day after day while my biggest helper is gone at school.  Anyway...

“It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, even some failure is normal. If you have a good, miserable day once in a while—or several in a row—stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out. There is great purpose in our struggle in life.” Elder Boyd K. Packer

Second Thought, Feminism/Neutralism, whatever you want to call it.  I was watching one of my favorite shows the other day, "So You Think You Can Dance".  I've been watching for several years now and I've been pretty disappointed this year.  Not sure I love the choreographers.  And not sure I love 1/2 the dancers they cast.  Don't get me wrong, the dance skills are amazing!  But I've been noticing a "trend" that I don't like.  My favorite dancers are the women who dance like a true GIRL.  Long flowing hair, even a cute short girly cut.  Elegance, Grace and Finesse even some Sexy in there. And the guy who is Strong, well built and exciting to watch cuz he is a GUY! And Wow can he move!  I understand completely that the whole world does not view things the way I do.  I'm pretty conservative.  My religious beliefs are basic and traditional.  However, why do people feel the need to take away the value of a Woman by making it seem so horrible to be a "lady"?  Give her a mow-hawk and call her a "warrior princess".  Why must it be so Horrible if she isn't successful in the workplace.  And for the Man.  Why is it so horrible for him to be a "Head" of a family? And why does that have to look like he is Domineering?  Now you may wonder what does this have to do with So You Think You Can Dance?  So many of the dances portrayed were how powerful the Woman is.  Or the Man cheated on her.  Or the Man is trying to overpower the woman.  But the Woman was strong, and didn't need the Man. Stuff Stuff Stuff.  The two girls left in the finals were truly amazing dancers.  Its just that I was SO not into the image of the "warrior princess", boy hair cut...mow-hawk look.  Which leads me to my next thought.

Third, I believe that women are strong. But I don't believe what the world is teaching that they need to prove it by being a career woman.  I do understand the necessity to make extra income when needed. Or even  if the job doesn't conflict with her first priority to her children.  I believe that a Husband and Father should be the Provider to the family.  All other Hobbies and Interests that require his wife to work should be seriously toned down so that she can be home with those precious spirits who need their mothers guidance, direction, and life lessons.  When two people decide to get married, it means setting aside personal interests for a bigger cause.  The woman will give up a lot of her individuality as she quits the workplace.  She has fewer friends and opportunities to spend shopping and doing as she pleases.  The Man also loses time on the golf course, or in the basketball court, and also doing as he pleases.  Does this mean giving up those things completely?  No, just cut Way back.  Living on one income is very difficult and requires great sacrifice.  Hobbies, Toys, Extras for the kids are much harder to have.  Each parent has to take a separate role with one purpose in mind which in turn can create amazing success in their marriage and family.  I don't share my feelings on this often because I'm afraid to offend.  Alex and I have been married almost 8 and a 1/2 years.  By no means are we the example.  We definitely live pay check to pay check.  I sometimes wonder if it will always be like this.  Regardless, in our 8 1/2 years Alex got a Bachelor and a Masters Degree all while be the SOLE supporter and provider to our family.  Currently he works two jobs at a time, and takes a third during the summer while he isn't teaching.  Even with Church assignments we somehow manage spending time as a family doing fun things with the kids.  I have such strong feelings about this, and find myself keeping my opinion on this matter to myself because I know there are many people that have both parents working many hours BECAUSE the Husband can't seem to cut back on his expensive hobbies, or the wife can't give up her need to buy things, and in turn some other person is raising their kids.  If you live this way please understand I have no intentions to offend you.  But I feel like I've seen the difference it can make in the lives of the kids.

(If I had to write down all my imperfections....It Would be a NOVEL, a Series, and and Library full, so remember these are just my thoughts)


FOURTH.  Over time I have developed such a bad eating habit.  The worse part is that I LOVE to eat junk food before bed.  It is just super relaxing for me to get all the kids to bed then pop myself a small bag of popcorn, bake a few cookies and have a glass of chocolate milk with it.  MMMM.  Then I cozy down and watch some TV.  I go in different spurts with what I eat.  If I am full from dinner then I usually don't do this.  However, I usually always end up eating a really late lunch, which makes me skip dinner all together...then I snack before bed.  So I've been thinking if I want to get myself in shape, this habit is the first one that needs to go.  Boooh :(

FIFTH, I'm pretty sure my "opinions" could offend some people.  Seriously not my intentions.  I know everyone has their own thoughts and opinions on life and how it should be lived.  But sometimes I feel my Blog is a bit boring.  I don't share my thoughts often, and I just have so many.  Hey guess what, give me a year, they may just change, but isn't that what growth is?  So for now, these are my thoughts, be prepared for more in the future. 

Did I Offend You?

Its official!  Blogging SUCKS!  I love that I can write and share a little about my life experience, but EVERY SINGLE TIME I want to share some "deep thoughts" or "feelings" on a certain subject.....I get attacked by the offended!  People!  Do I NOT have the right to SHARE my opinions openly?  EVERY SINGLE person in this world has an opinion on SOMETHING.  We are all unique and THAT is what makes life so interesting.  Just because I feel it is important for a Mother to be home with her children, and express that on MY BLOG.... DOES NOT ( I repeat) DOES NOT mean that I feel that Mom's who work are horrible mothers!  I UNDERSTAND when it is unavoidable and necessary!  I understand that there are circumstances that require a Mom to work.  If you are a working Mom, fine.  That's the way it is.  Obviously I know NOTHING as to why it is that way for you.  I REPEAT AGAIN, that it DOES NOT mean that I think you are a horrible MOM!  When I express my opinion openly, it doesn't mean I expect everyone to agree with me!  How boring would that be?  However, it is not fair for me to be judged as an insensitive and judgmental person!  I am NOT good with words.  Writing a blog post is a challenge for me.  I don't always have the ability to say things the best way.  When I was sharing my Opinion about working Moms, I was pretty specific about the ones who work to support expensive hobbies and lifestyles!  NOT targeting the ones who work out of complete necessity.  I have removed the Post. Not sure when I'll do that again.

Lexi at One Year

So last night I had just finished bathing my three older kids, and decided that Lexi should get a little turn by herself in the tub.  There are some downsides to being the number four baby in the family.  Less Mommy time.  (Mostly because the two year demands most of it).  If you are hungry, sit in your high chair and feed yourself.  And no fun bath time.  At lest not very often.  Anyway, I drained the kids yucky water and re-filled it just for her.  In she went.  All by herself.  All the splashing and moving around a baby deserves.  And she was LOVING it.

My little Lexi is such a sweet baby.  I really can't believe she is already one.  She is so tiny and petite.  Those cheeks outweigh the rest of her body.  She has brown eyes and thin wispy hair that curls around the back of her ears.  Her ears are totally mismatched.  The one on the right is smashed at the top corner and it sticks out further than the left.  She still hasn't cut ANY teeth.  In Utero she got some of my Mommy hormones and came out with a little "rack".  On top of that she also got a herniated umbilical chord, so she will probably have an "outie".  She is crawling all over the place and getting more confidence pulling herself up, but she will not even try to take steps without someone holding both of her hands.  She sleeps great.  She LOVES whole milk so much more than that icky formula and will down a bottle pretty quickly now.  I just have to say with all her little "imperfections", she is absolutely Perfect in Every Way!  I love her to bits!  I am so blessed to have her and I am loving every minute.

Doebey Boy

Oh Logan, where to begin.  Such a huge range of emotions when I think of my little boy.  He is seriously my biggest handful.  I would have to say all my girls combined are easier than just Logan by himself.  No joke.  He demands more attention, and he is EVERYWHERE.  I finally had to put those door knob things on the doors to outside and the pantry.  I also had to put a fridge lock on the kitchen refrigerator.  This boy can punch a mean scream when he doesn't get what he wants.  He'll even do it just to tick me off.  He knows I hate the screaming.  His worst feature of all....He is a walking Latrine!  No Mom should have to change diapers like that!

Now for the things I Love!  He can be such a sweet boy who loves to cuddle.  He is the biggest sweetie to his baby sister Lexi.  He won't call her Lexi though.  He calls her "Baby".  And he is so good at playing with her.  Logan can talk, but he is picky about his words and won't EVER repeat what you tell him to.  Half the time you just have to try to understand his language.  Anyway, what do you do when your little boy grows out of his Jammies???  Just give him his sister's!  Yep!  And did I mention???.....HE LOVES THE PINK ONES WITH THE HEARTS!  Lol!!  I love it!

My Baby Lexi is ONE!

Saturday, August 13 my little baby Lexi turned One Year Old!  It seems like not too long ago when I got the surprise that she would be joining our family, then shortly after I was just doing anything I could to get her out of my belly.  Here she is now, the big number ONE!  Wow how time flies! 

We celebrated her big day by taking all the kids to PoJo's.  I had a Groupon that needed used, so it was a fun cheap day :)

I thought the bumper cars were the BEST!  However I wish Logan could have joined in, he would have loved it!

Logan loved the little bowling!

After PO Jo's we came home and sang happy birthday and she got a couple toys and clothes!  Of course after that, all she wanted to play with was here daddy ;)

Here was my little baby just one year ago.

And here she is now!  Love you Lexi!  You have been a true joy in our family.  I can't wait to see what the years will bring!

Michael Buble'

For my birthday, my Mom gave me a ticket to the Michael Buble' concert.  Also included was dinner to PF Changs!  Yummy!  We went with a Friend from her work and Her son.  Anyway, dinner was Deeeelish, and the concert was So Fun and surprisingly a little crazy! Michael told dirty jokes, which was so surprising to me.  Other than those he was Hilarious! There was a drunk lady to our right...in the middle row who was crazy wild and seriously tried to get security to let her go up on the stage.  A lady in front of us came alone and Facebooked the WHOLE CONCERT!  There was a couple behind us who liked to kiss a lot.  And can I just say.... HELLO MINISKIRTS!  They must be the new thing cuz there were a TON!  I'm tellin ya, I'd be afraid to see what happens with a little gust of wind!  We were row 7 on the left and it was amazing being that close.  Here are a few shots from the night. Thanks Mom and Dad!