Andie & Brady Quotes Oct-Dec 2010

Driving in the car for a sleepover at Gma's house-
A: Where's the moon?
Me: Well it's really cloudy tonight so I don't think you'll be able to see it.
A: Well that's just great! It's my first time to have a sleepover and now it's ruined!

Giving me her order for the Mexican food place- A: I want a cheese taco with blackamole

A: Sanasauresrex, he's a carnivore. (during dinosaur talk)

A: Hey mom, where did you get this peanut butter pizza? (referring to the peanut brittle)

A: Mom, I can hear my nails growing.

Thinking that she can read the receipt-
A: This says baaaaaad news.
Me: Oh really? what does bad news mean?
A: Well it's not good news!

Saying the family prayer before bed-
B: Thank your for my pirate room. Thank you for pirate beds...Amen!

A few days after I decided we would go to a real pumpkin patch as opposed to the fake carnie one by our house. We were driving home and passed by the fake patch-
A: Boy, sure does look like those kids are having a fun time at the pumpkin patch tonight!
Me: Yeah. It's cause they have cool parents!

His answer to, "does aunt Lindsay have a boy baby or a girl baby in her tummy-
B: A boy baby, a boy baby went up the water spout... 

Talking about his whale tattoo on his arm that had sparkles on it-
B: Oh no, where did the sprinkles go on my whale?
He pauses a minute to ponder this
B: I guess they blewed away, sometimes that happens.

Talking to himself in the car-
B: Sorry monkeys, you can't go in my ears!

 A: I am going to tell Santa that I want a hang glider for Christmas!

B: What are those? (pointing to my hair)
Me: My bangs.
B: Oh. Bang, bang, bang.

Andie and Brady talking in the backseat of the car-
B: Hey Andie are you a pirate?
A: No
B: Oh, well I am a pirate. This is our pirate car and it says arr Brady Jack Sparrow!

A: I'm hungry
Me: you had breakfast, you had a snack and a cup of juice, what more could you possibly need?
A: I need a pomegranate!

Andie put a xbox headphone on-
A: Hello this is your captain speaking
JJ does the same thing a few minutes later: welcome to McDonald's can I take your order?

A: Brady guns aren't heavy...well maybe to ants.

B: I want to go home and see a superhero
Cam: Oh really, who's a superhero?
B leans in and whispers: Choppy, he is superhero Choppy.

Me: Whoever cleans the most in your room gets a brownie. (Brady runs to his room to clean)
A: Ummm, I'm fine. Who made the brownies?
Me: I did
A jumps up: I'm going to clean the most!!!

Mean Mom

Today Cameron and I took little Brady to get his hair cut. We have been growing it out for a year now and I thought it would be a good idea to cut it off and start over again. I wanted to see him all cleaned up for a while and for the fast approaching holidays. He wasn't happy at the barber to see his "football" hair falling to the ground in a mess all around him. He was silent during the entire process. I just thought it was because he was tired and confused because it is so unlike him to have nothing to say. After his nap it was very clear that he wasn't silent because he was tired, it was because he was very upset.

 Pictures taken last week of Brady with his "Tom Brady" hair

 Picture today of the, not so found of, "Batman" hair

 Maybe I cut it because I miss this little guy?!

Over the course of the last year he has become very attached to his hair, in fact he has been calling himself Tom Brady ever since he saw that they had the same name AND haircut, thus the evolved term "football" hair. Everywhere we would go people would comment about his hair, nothing ever bad, thank goodness because I am pretty sure Brady would have tackled them. "Oh my, he has the most beautiful hair coloring!" "oh how cute, he looks like a little surfer boy," "the long hair is adorable on him," you know, stuff like that. Brady loved to look at his silly hair in the mirror after his morning showers and with a big cheesy grin would say, "oooooh, look at Tom Brady's hair! HAHAHA!" To say he liked his hair would be a gross understatement, he adored it, he appreciated it, he enjoyed it, he was found of it...the kid LOVED his hair. Now, I have to admit, none of this occurred to me until this afternoon. When we got home I laid him down for his nap. Brady slept for several hours which was heaven for mommy, but when he woke up he was in panic. I went to his room to get him and he was laying on the floor touching his hair crying, "I want Brady hair, I want Brady hair back. I don't like batman hair anymore..." Oh yeah the reason I took him to get the haircut in the first place was because a few nights ago he had asked for a batman haircut. We continued to talk about it over the next several days before I finally took him in this morning. BAD IDEA. I picked him up and calmed him down and we went into the other room to change his diaper. Once he stood up, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he once again touched his hair and started to cry. I FELT HORRIBLE. I put him down and explained that it would grow back and I was sorry, he ran over to Andie, gently and loathingly grabbed her hair and cried, "I want Andie's hair..." I thought my little heart was gonna break. I sat on the floor and held him while he cried. I hadn't realized what an attachment this child had made to his hair, it had become a part of him and his little personality, and I took it away from him. He is that tomato plant that's in shock right now because we cut too much too fast. He has gotten better throughout the day, later he touched his hair and said, "what's this?" to which I replied, "it's your new haircut!" he said, "oh yeah." and I reminded him that soon it would all grow back to Tom Brady hair.
SO YEAH, I AM PRETTY MUCH THE WORST MOM EVER!!!

Andie & Brady Quotes Sept. 2010

A: "Mom, did you get me a drink
Me: "I did."
A: "Good, I was counting on ya!"

"When I was a Disney character I put on a Woody costume and ate the hay cause that's what cowboys do." -A

"I was a little bit angry that I didn't get to see the tigers but it's ok, I'm only upset about it now." -A after we left the zoo early do to the extreme heat.

A: "When I go back to Madagascar with Clayton can I bring my dog?"
Cam: "I think they might eat your dog hun."
A: "This cute guy? Noooooooooo!"

A: "I'm gonna stay this tall forever."
Jaden: "Why?"
A: "cause my mom wants me to"
Jaden: "but why?"
A: "my mom says I can't grow up."

"Daddy, when Andie was a little boy did she's pays football?" -B

Brady spotted Jessie and Woody at Disneyland, "there are my cousins!!!"

A: "Hey mom, what letter starts with Popsicle?" she runs to me out of breath
Me: "P"
A: "ok, p p p p...." and runs back

Little girl at church talking and having a brain fart: "want.....want....want..."
B: "Want what?! Gosh!"

A: "Brady let's go in our room, close the door so you can scream in the dark and I'll laugh"

Brady watching Sunday football: "wow, there's me and daddy....oh, he tackled me!"

B: "I am a baby football player, not a big guy one."

B: "Crunch, crunch, did you hear mom? that's what the apple chips say."

A: "I want a snack. I want the slippery cheese. You know the cheese that's on top of the Brie cheese? I want it. In my tummy."

"My balls, they came. They are my friends!" -Brady when the balls he was playing with rolled back to him
___________________________________________

Probably the funniest comment from Andie to date:
"Do you remember when my tiger was dying and we had to take him back to the zoo?"
Wha?!? That came out of nowhere and Cam and I erupted in laughter.

I'm a Slacker

I do realize that I am have been quite a slacker at blogging lately, but all that is about to change. I don't ever post because we don't have Internet in our new house...yet. I scheduled an appointment this afternoon to get everything all hooked up on Monday so after that I will have no more excuses not to post. Who knows, after that you might even get some pictures!!!

Growing Girl

I can't believe how big my Andie is getting! She's not even 4 and already has almost outgrown her car seat. Last week we were at the store checking out the boosters. I noticed while at Target that they are getting smart, they have a place to measure your child and then have all the seats categorized for you. What a time saver!
I couldn't help but look at the new infant seats they have out. Andie had the kind that has the base, hers was identical to the cosco car seat base. Someone gave us a different brand car seat but with this base you can use ANY designer brand infant seat. Whoever thought of the base was a genius and deserves to be a millionaire! I loved it, and it made my life so much easier especially the second time around!
When she outgrew the infant seat, I went out and got her yet another Cosco brand seat. I got the convertible Alpha Omega Elite because it can be used all the way through the booster stage and it was the highest rated with Consumer Reports that year. Yay, money saved...or so I thought. Turns out I have tall kids, really tall. My little Andie is just about too tall for the convertible car seat hence the booster shopping. Once we get the new booster purchased all that'll be left will be to add a DVD player with two screens to the back seats!

I Wanna Be a Food Blogger Too!

I love to cook. I love to think that I am good at cooking, and my husband and family are nice enough to agree. I get great joy in researching and recreating some of my restaurant favorites. On more than one occasion, I have done better than the famous dish. I could watch the Food Network all day long if I didn't have other responsibilities like, taking care of kids, cleaning, making meals, and being a devoted wife. When we lived in Utah I was able to cook A LOT. We made (almost)every single meal from scratch. I am not a huge fan of premade food and I try very hard to avoid it, in fact, on lazy days I often kick myself for not having a frozen dinner that I can just throw in the oven. When I was cooking all the time I got good at it, really good. We would have friends come over several times a week to share meals with us, because seriously, who can cook for just 2 people? They loved the food too.
If I am being honest my fist love is baking, but in the last year or two, cooking has become almost as fun. Since moving to San Diego I haven't been cooking nearly as much as I would like. You know as well as I do that cooking meals from scratch gets pretty pricey pretty quick. I love when I am watching someone chef on tv and they say something along the lines of, "a home cooked meal doesn't have to cost a fortune," I want to smack them. Unless the meal is made up of the bare essentials, it is going to cost a good $20-$40 and that times 7 is between $140-$280 a week, just for dinner! If you are anything like me, your bare essentials includes but isn't limited to, some meat or chicken in the freezer, several boxes of almost gone cereal, 20 gallons of milk in the fridge, an onion that I never got to, 15 cans of assorted foods/veggies, 10 pounds of flour and sugar, 3 bags of white rice, pasta, a few sauces, vanilla, dried basil, seasoning salt, pepper, soy sauce, 1 too many bottles of ketchup, 13 packages of hotdogs, some bread in the freezer, shredded cheese, and a half dozen eggs. I am sure you are looking at my list going, "what the?!?" I have kids, cereal is the meal of choice hot dogs are a close runner up and milk/crystal light is all they drink. I don't think that I actually know how to shop and keep my kitchen stocked with essentials. One day I will master this too.
As of late, I have become totally enthralled with food blogs. Oh my gosh, these self taught, stay at home Mommy and Daddy chefs are amazing. Where do they find the time, energy and money to make these elaborate dinners? Not only that, the chefs and their families are always rail thin! The dishes that some of these people come up with are ridiculously imaginative but what is even more impressive to me are their pictures of their dishes! Are these people closet professional photographers too? I mean, really! I try, I want to be creative, where is my gene? I guess the people who are born chefs are also born food photographers.
The day I figure out how to photograph my food creations is the day I will start a food blog. Not necessarily of recipes I have come up with, but recipes I researched, tried and succeeded with.

Confession Time

Not me, YOU!!!

I just came across this comment from a post in June. I have no idea who it is, pretty sure that's the point, but I would LOVE to find out. Come on "Vinnie", who are you? I want to say thank you for the good laugh!
-Amber


"Vinnie said...
Yo Amber, dis here is Vinnie. You prolly no some1 named Vinnie so its like we no each other alreddy. I saw your plee for help and I hope Im not to late. I would be happe to watch your little kidlins for youse. I have been gainfully employed by the State of Utah for what was expected to be 15 years, but was only 12 for good behavyur. I was such a dedicated workur that I lived where I worked. I learned how to make many things out of things that you wouldnt expect to be able to make things out of, so Im kinda like Macguyver. I lived and worked near Thanksgivin Point, which all da kidlins love, so I really no how to entertain da kids. I learned a lot while working for the State of Utah, like its just plane wrong wrong wrong to sell or traid your kids for drugs. And its even wrong to lone your kids for drugs, altho I gotta admit that I dont really understand why becuz your gonna come back for them as soon as you get your money outta da ATM. Anyway I no these things now so do not worry, I wont do any of these things no mor. Trust me. Lemme no if you still need help. Vinnie"

Andie and Brady Quotes

Sorry it's been a while since I posted quotes from Andie. Since Brady is talking up a storm he gets quite a few good ones out too. I don't always remember to write them down, but I finally realized that I could put them on my phone, which I always have with me, and now I finally have enough that I can make a full post of them.
------------------------
In the car driving to Disneyland around nap time and Brady was falling asleep, "Brady you are not tired, we are going to Disneyland mister!" -Andie

Talking about when Kate, Lauren and Molly were in town, "Yeah, we played sleeping bag roller coaster. It was really really funny and I was laughin' like crazy!" -Andie

Andie: "Mom, you have have big boobies?"
Me: "Yes."
Andie: "Well Daddy has short ones."

"Well that could be an idea mom, I'm glad you're thinkin' again!"-Andie

Andie was holding Brady in a chock hold and telling me what happened, "Brady's slerber camed out his mouth all by itself!" -Andie trying to say slobber

"Mom, Brady just squeezed my bone." -Andie talking about her arm

Andie was playing with a laundry basket and came limping in the room, "Ow ow, I was sailing the boat and I hurt my toe! Can you believe that boat?!"

While I was brushing A's hair she grabbed my necklace and in the exact voice as Capt. Jack Sparrow said, "Where did you get this?"

"Help me put on my swimmin' soup Momma." -Brady talking about his suit

"Mom, I need to go find wild animals outside!" I laughed hard at the urgency in her voice. "No no no, there's craaaaazy animals out there!" -Andie

Brady: "Can I have some gum please?"
Whitney: "What'd you say Brady?"
Brady: "My name is PRINCE CHARMING!!!"
(he's obsessed with Shrek 3)

I was fixing my skirt and Brady said to me, "Put your wiener down mom!"

"Girls have a crotch AND a butt, boys, they have a wieners."-Brady
(what can I say, he's a boy and loves potty talk, don't judge me!)

Yay, Pictures!

My cute boy!


Me and Brady at Cameron's cousins wedding.



Being cute


Brady was playing baseball with a flower pot on his head, he cracks me up!


Eating his birthday cupcake.


They were playing so well this day, and cracking each other up!


Andie enjoying Brady's birthday cupcakes!


Grandma and Grandpa got her a gun and holster too!


Brady running around being a cowboy with his new gun and holster.


He got a gun! That's the only thing he asked for. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!


Happy 2nd birthday Brady! Grandpa holding Brady up so he could see his cake. I asked him the week before what kind of cake he wanted, he saw a picture of a golf course made out of cupcakes and told me that was it. This is the first time I have ever been creative in decorating cupcakes. He was so happy with it, which of course made me happy! It was fun and I just might have to try it again.


This is the only picture I have from my birthday, happy 25th to me! (that's Andie hugging me)


I can't even stand how cute he is in this picture! Don't you just wanna squeeze those cheeks??


My sweet little perfect child got into my bronzer and got it EVERYWHERE, here she is smiling through the tears. Not pictured is the the brand new, not even been worn for a hour, white shirt that she had on and ruined. Anyone who knows me, knows that I can't stand stains on clothes, much less, a ruined brand new shirt! She was in serious trouble that day.

Andie dressed herself this day, and struck a pose. She wears these rain boots all the time. So cute!

As you can see we have been keeping busy lately. The kids, of course, have been keeping my plenty busy with messes. Andie and Brady have started to play really well together, right this minute they are playing pogs, remember those?! Me and Brady celebrated our birthday's last week. We are all doing really well, and enjoying the summer together as a family. I promise to write a real post soon...until then, these pictures will have to do!

Toy Story 3

Anyone who knows my children or has spent any amount of time with them knows that they are obsessed with Toy Story. Anything Toy Story is sacred according to them and all toy story stuffed toys must be accounted for before bed at night. Myself and Cameron also enjoy Toy Story so we don't mind the obsession, it has expanded their imaginations beyond anything I could have ever thought up. Andie was Jessie for Halloween, she also had the Toy Story theme for her 3rd birthday party. She wears Toy Story underwear (which are boys), she has a boys Toy Story shirt that is only to be worn for bedtime. They both have matching Toy Story pj's which they request to wear almost nightly. Andie doesn't go anywhere without Jessie and Woody and Brady usually brings up the rear with Buzz Lightyear in tow. We have just about every kind of toy with the Toy Story characters on it including a scooter with the matching helmet. It's actually all very ridiculous now that I put it in print!
While we were in Utah, we were able to go see Toy Story 3 with some cousins and aunts. I was really worried because the last time I attempted a movie with Andie was Madagascar and she wouldn't even walk into the theater because she didn't like the dark mixed with the loud sounds. I had to take her back to the ticket booth and get my money back with a $6 bucket of popcorn as a souvenir in hand. Brady doesn't like to sit still for any amount of time even for his favorite movie, so it was going to be a very new experience for them both.
The movie started and the familiar characters graced the screen and my kids were hooked. They shared a seat (the theater was packed) and ate popcorn until it came out of their ears. They laughed their heads off when appropriate and freaked when Buzz, Jessie, or Woody wasn't on screen.
To say they loved it would be an understatement. Cameron and I even loved it. It was every bit as good as the first two and in my opinion even better. The movie was funny, very funny. I laughed out loud! I would totally recommend it to anyone who wanted to see it no matter what your age is. They both ask all the time to go back to the movies and see Jessie and Woody again (Buzz is implied), and I am just as excited as them to add it to our movie collection.

Help!

Hello my following peeps! I DO realize that this is somewhat ghetto of me, but I need a small favor. If anyone that I actually know on a first name basis (not just some random reader, although I do love you too), is able to watch my kids this Friday from about 9:30 to noon I would LOVE you forever! We are going to a wedding at the Salt Lake temple and I didn't think about the fact that they can't go with us until today, DUH! If anyone is able to help us out please email me at ambercasper@gmail.com, leave a comment on here, or call me if you have my number.
I am so lame!
Thanks a bunch, Amber

FIRE!!!

Cameron's sister Lindsay is in town, and as always, we are having a great time together. This week we went to Disneyland, of course, and the kids had so much fun being all together. Molly, Lindsay's youngest, is obsessed with Princess Aurora. Grandma and Grandpa promised that this visit we would find her for Molly and she could meet her and get her picture with her. The only way to ensure we would find that sinking princess was to go and have lunch at Ariel's Grotto in California Adventure. Surprisingly the food was good, it better be for how much it costs, and the kids got to see the princesses. Andie confirmed that yes, indeed, she is a tomboy. She DOES NOT like Disney princesses! She cried when they came out because she was worried they were going to come and see her. I promised that we would not have to go and meet them, but even then Andie held onto me for dear life. The whole time we were eating she just wanted to go see her "pals" Buzz and Woody. I have been asked if I am worried that she seems to like boys things more than girls. The child wears boy Toy Story underwear for crying out loud. My response to it is, no, I am not worried. The way I see it, I don't have to buy different things for Brady and to me that's smart spending. She also enjoys doing her make up with me and wearing dresses so she has some girl in her.

We stayed in a hotel that night in anticipation for a second day at Disney. I know I have mentioned this before, but Andie LOVES to stay in hotels, I mean LOVES! She asks a few times a week if we are going to stay in a hotel somewhere or another. The kids, especially Brady, ran between the two hotel rooms as if they had just been let out of their cage for the first time in a week. Around 10 o'clock, half the kids were sleeping and the adults were winding down getting ready to go to sleep as well. Everyone was in their rooms and I decided to go and get some ice before going to bed. The ice machine was directly across from our room so I closed the door on Andie and Brady, my key in my pocket, and filled up the bucket. In the 30 seconds it took to fill that bucket up, Andie and Brady had gotten out of the room, ran to where I was and before I could even realize they were out in the hall with me, Brady lowered from being on his tiptoes and the fire alarm sounded!

OH MY FREAKING HELL, THE CHILD JUST PULLED THE FIRE ALARM, IN OUR HOTEL!!! The lights were rolling and the calm voice coming through the loud speaker..."There has been report of a fire, please locate the nearest stairwell calmly, do not use the elevator..." over and over again. I could have crawled in a hole and died. I ran back into the room, Andie and Brady in tow, yelled to Cameron to call the front desk and let them know it was a false alarm. As I walked into Lindsay's room I see her on the phone and she was asking the front desk, "hi, the fire alarm is going off, is there...?" Apparently before she could even finish the girl at the front desk said, "the fire alarm is going off? are you freaking kidding me?!?" and hung up on her. As I threw my now scared and crying children into bed and threatened them with their lives if they moved, there was a knock on the door. Bill and Karen all dressed to go outside asked what they could do to help us with the kids. I had to tell them it was nothing just Brady and at this point we could hear the firetrucks blaring down the street out of our window! Talk about embarrassment! I could have died! That's Brady for you, into everything and doing exactly what he shouldn't do. He sure keeps me on my toes.

I am looking forward to more adventures this week. With all these kids something else very exciting is bound to happen.

Catch Up!

Andie with a "Braves" Mickey

Brady in his new alien shirt. I tried to get a blend in picture, but he was too tired.


Waiting in line with Grandpa Bill for Buzz Lightyear


Andie and Mary Poppins. Brady was so smitten he couldn't pose for a picture with her.


Andie holding and putting to sleep her newest cousin Parker Lively.

Man, I am really getting bad at blogging. I have missed it. We have been keeping busy down here and having lots of fun. The week of May 24th Cameron drove me and the kids up to Bakersfield where my sister Whitney lives. Her and I took a road trip with all our kids up to Nevada City where my parents and the most of our other siblings were camping. We spent 4 days camping in the freezing cold rain, in tents! After the second night of rain, our tent was dripping so bad it was starting to flood. Our sweet dad was able to rent us a camper for the next two nights, what a great dad! Besides the rain, we had a lot of fun. There were games, naps, into town adventures, and lots of food...what else is there to do while camping and it's raining but eat?! I don't know either. We were finally able to meet my newest nephew Parker. He is such a doll and holding him made me want another baby, until my kids starting screaming and fighting, then I was 100% over it. For Andie, it was love at first sight. She just couldn't get enough of that baby. Every time he would come into the room Andie would sit on the couch and put her arms out for him, she learned how to burp him and even got him to fall asleep! It was so nice to see everyone and spend long overdue time together.
When we got home Cameron's family was in town for their semi annual Disneyland trip. We went up for a day and half and had a great time. The kids got to see lots of characters and do all their favorite rides, Andie even got to sleep at a hotel, which is her favorite Disney thing to do cause it means there is another day in store.
Tomorrow is Colin's high school graduation and Lindsay and her girls are coming into town for it. Of course we will be doing another Disney run before summer crowds kick into full gear. She'll be here for a while and we are all going to take a road trip up to Utah for Cameron's cousin Asher's wedding in the Salt Lake Temple. We are so excited to get back up to Utah. Andie has a small list of places we have to visit while there which includes, going to the waterfalls, a trip to Cabella's, and visiting the petting zoo in Thanksgiving Point. We are looking forward to seeing the whole family and visiting with all our friends we left behind.
I will try to keep up better with my posting, and I am working on taking more pictures so I can put them up when I do post.

I've Got Pirates, Do You?

We have 2 pirates in our house these days, occasionally 3 when I play along. The kids have taken a serious liking to the Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (PC). They are obsessed, and watch it 2 sometimes 3 times a day. I know I know, some of you are saying, "but that's too scary for them!" I thought the same thing at first but they watched it and loved it and they haven't stopped watching it since.

A few weeks ago Cameron and I were brainstorming what other movies have pirates in them, and surprisingly there aren't too many. I saw Swiss Family Robinson (SFR) at Costco last week for $7 and snagged it. Andie is in love. She thinks that's the greatest movie these days. Interesting thing is when Cameron was little he watch the SFR all day long. I am so sick of Pirates of the Caribbean that Swiss Family Robinson has been a welcome change, I am sure Cameron would agree.

When we aren't watching one of the two Pirate movies, we are sword fighting with scarves tied around our heads, making pirate hats out of newspaper, or speaking like pirates and placing "arr" and "matey" into every sentence. Andie and I have been discussing, at great length, Brady's pirate birthday party. She is so excited and is positive this is going to be for her, what a sad day it will be when she realizes we are celebrating the birth of, gasps, BRADY. He is more obsessed than Andie which is pretty hard to believe, but he makes such a cute pirate.

Tears

Sunday I cried. I was getting dressed and had my outfit planned right down to the jewelry. I had thought the night before how I could still wear my broken necklace, which is my favorite. I was so excited because I went to Target last week and found two dresses that were originally $50 and I got them for $9 a piece and the necklace was going to give it that extra amount of ump to make me look great. Brady started freaking out and asked for help, when I went to help him I saw that he had my favorite necklace and he broke it to the point where it couldn't be saved.

Now I have to tell you, I had a small meltdown when he broke it the first time, but I took a minute to breath and realized it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. But this time, I was so upset. I stared at myself in the mirror as I finished up my make-up and the more I thought about it, the more upset I became. You see, that was the necklace I got for Brady's blessing day. We didn't have much money so when I found it, it was exactly what I was looking for and at a great price, I was so thrilled. On the day of his blessing, I wore a red dress, brown patent leather heels and the perfectly matching brown beaded necklace. I got a million compliments on it.

Every time I wear that necklace I get asked where I bought it, and every time I wear that necklace I remember Brady's blessing day. I remember the family members who were able to be there for it. Lindsay's last minute flight to make it, Seth driving from the Bay area to be there, and Karen's early morning flight. I remember all my family and friends from childhood coming from all over the Sacramento area to be there to hear my little brother Clayton speak before he left on his 2 year mission to Madagascar. I remember that was the day my sweet niece Eva was blessed as well. I remember we sat in the overflow because the chapel was so packed with people (thanks to Clayton speaking), and Andie was putting up a terrible fight because she didn't want to sit still. I remember during Brady's blessing, feeling the sweet spirit so strong. I remember after the blessing and during Clayton's talk, Andie took Brady's bottle of breast milk I had pumped that morning and swigged it down. We sat in that overflow trying desperately to suppress our laughter as she announced how yummy brother's bottle was. When I wear that necklace I remember everything about that wonderful day as if it were yesterday.

As I stared at myself in the mirror and thought about the real reason I was upset by this broken necklace, tears began to flow freely. How could I be crying over something so silly? I admit, Brady has broken quite a few of my things in that last week and it was probably the straw that broke the camels back, but there I was, a cryer by no means, crying over a $10 necklace. I will miss that necklace, but I still have a reminder of that special day. I see that reminder first thing in the morning when I wake up and is the last person I see before going to bed at night. The little reminder is begging for itsy bitsy spider ten times a day, and wondering where his softy (blanket) went, and asks a million times an hour if I have seen his binky. That reminder kisses me so sweetly when pronouncing "love you mama". No necklace could replace my little reminder, my sweet little Brady. How I love my baby boy. He makes me laugh all day long. He loves his sister, she is his best friend. His favorite thing is to snuggle on the couch with Daddy. I am grateful for my little reminder, I LOVE YOU BRADY!

Shaving Cream

Every morning when I am in the bathroom trying to get ready there is Brady, falling at my feet throwing a tantrum because he has lost my undivided attention. I used to get so frustrated and stop to hold him. Sometimes I would sit him up on the counter and give him a toothbrush with the water on so he could "brush" his teeth. A few weeks ago I realized that I need that 15 minutes of alone time and Brady gets my attention all day long, it's not going to kill him. I usually leave the door open and sometimes the kids just leave me alone and go play but the other 80% of the time when the tantrums happen, I gently usher him (and occasionally Andie) out the door close it behind him, and lock it. Of course he continues his fit out in the hallway which is fine, I have my space and I know he isn't going anywhere until that door opens. Today was like most, he was having an absolute cow that I would not stop doing my hair to hold him. Out the door he went, in the most loving way possible, and the fit continued in the hall. When the door finally opened there he was, a tube of shaving cream in hand, and cream running down his pudgy little arms. I picked him up and he squealed with delight, I washed him up in the sink and sent him on his way. I walked into my room and there it was...THE MESS OF THE DAY! He had taken that very expensive tube of shaving cream and squeezed it all over the carpet. I just shook my head and repeated "why, why, why??? It's not even 10 in the morning and I have a major mess to clean up!" The mess was relatively minor, but I know the day is still young and there are more messes to be had.

**While typing this, Andie has spilled water on the floor and dropped chips. She is dancing all over the wet chips, oh joy!

Shampoo

I have decided to start a new daily topic on my blog, "Mess of the Day". What do you think? I can't begin to tell you about the outrageous messes my children make on a daily basis that I get to clean up! For the most part, I tend to get the major messes up for all to read but that is just because I need to vent. So for your entertainment and so you can see that your children really could do worse things, I will post ALL of our daily adventures in mess making. I must say that most of the time I end up laughing after the fact but there are a few that haven't YET made it to the "now that I think about it, it's pretty funny" list. Since these things didn't happen in your house, I am sure you will, even on just a small scale, find it humorous.

HAS YET TO MAKE IT TO THE HA HA FUNNY LIST:
1. Industrial sized bottle of shampoo emptied onto the carpet and all over furniture
2. Elmer's school glue smeared and dried onto Grandpa's vizio flat screen and TV stand
3. Andie's "poo fest" in the family room and all over the flat screen
4. The Jello packets sprinkled all over the freshly cleaned "poo fest" spots in the family room
5. Every. single. key. lovingly ripped from Cameron's brand new work laptop
6. Almost an entire 5 gallon jug of Sparklets water drained onto the kitchen floor

I would LOVE to tell you that I "sometimes fabricate" my stories so they are more entertaining for blogging purposes, but unfortunately, my children are really THAT destructive!
It would be a terrible understatement to say that my children keep me busy, they actually keep me exhausted! I am so grateful that I have been given the opportunity to be their mom and all the adventures they create. To have them here with us makes all the frustration and cleaning worth it! Until the next mess...

To My Kids

Dear Andie and Brady,
Why must you continually drive your Mommy crazy? Brady, everyday you seem to be more busy than the last, I can't keep up with you, please give me a break soon. Andie, what in the world is up with the new high pitched scream for no reason at all? It hurts my ears. The water that comes in giant jugs and is PAID for every month is not for your entertainment. How many more times do I have to talk to you about it before you no longer play in it? I am getting really tired of mopping the kitchen floor, soaking up the water from the carpet, and then washing the towels just so I can clean up a new mess 3 hours later. Seriously, the watering hole game is getting old. Brady, I just bought new toothpaste yesterday, today you squeezed the entire tube out all over the bathroom. If you weren't so cute I would have beat you. Children please understand that I can not afford to buy you Jamba Juice everyday, Brady quit throwing a fit for it, it will not fix the situation. Andie, everything does not belong to you, please let your brother have a toy every once in a while I am tired of the screaming. Andie, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop embarrassing me in public restrooms! Yes I know they stink sometimes, so does everyone else in there, you don't need to announce it (although, you wouldn't have to use them if you would just pee before we left the house). And no, a few weeks ago my panties didn't get an owie or need a bandaid they just needed for you to shut your mouth and not go on about it for 5 minutes! Brady, thank you for emptying A SECOND tube of toothpaste today...maybe now Daddy knows why I ask him to keep the bathroom doors shut and maybe he will even practice it.
Brady thank you for being a cuddle bug, I love holding you early in the morning, kissing your chubby hands and smelling your hair. Promise me you will always look up at me with those big green eyes and say, "momma, love you!" it's the best. Andie thank you for being my best girlfriend and always up for a shopping trip. The conversations we have in the car are priceless and I love spending time with you. You promised you would always stay 3 and I am going to hold you to it. You guys are the funniest two kids and you keep us laughing constantly. Thank you for loving eachother so much, I hope you grow up to be best friends.
Thank you for being my kids, I love you two so very much. You certainly keep me on my toes, and eventhough you drive me absolutly nuts I cherish every moment I have with you! I love you Andie and Brady!
Love Always, Mommy

Cake Box Cookies

Last night I went to a friends house and we did some baking. She found a cookie mix for funfetti cookies that taste exactly like the cake and they were so delish! I brought some home and everyone asked that I make them again. I could not find the cookie mix so I decided to try it with the actually funfetti cake mix instead and they turned out beautifully! I am so excited to try it with other kinds of cake mixes.

Here is the recipe:

Cake Box Cookies

1 Cake mix of your choice

1 Stick of butter; slightly melted

1 Egg

Pre heat oven to 350.

Mix well together, I found it works best to mix it together with your hands. Scoop out the dough on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 mins or until the bottoms are slightly brown. The packaging suggested frosting but the cookies are rich and delicious by themselves. Prep time: about 5 minutes.

New Year

Every New Years I make the same number one goal, TO LOSE WEIGHT, and every year I don't follow through. This year as I was pondering my goals before Christmas I decided that my excuse of being overweight because I had kids is no longer acceptable, I mean c'mon, Brady is 18 months! I started dieting and exercising the week before the new year and it was so much better than waiting to start. I have lost 2 lbs this week and I am looking forward to losing lots more. I am really committed this time and it feels great! I hope to make 2010 the best year yet!

Some of My 2010 Goals

1. Lose weight

2. Get out of the house and take the kids to do more activities.

3. Enjoy and look forward to going to church.

4. Have more date nights with my husband.

5. Take a family trip somewhere that isn't visiting other family (sorry guys).

6. Be more understanding of others.

7. Read more

8. Learn how to make greeting cards (something I have been wanting to do forever).

9. Go to the temple more often

10. Potty train Brady

Andie started Primary today, oh my gosh, she was so good and she loved it. She is already talking about going back next week. Brady went into Nursery today for the first time. He doesn't officially start until next week but I brought him in to get a feel for it. When I took him out he cried, "my kids, my kids!" I am really looking forward to enjoying church next week for the first time in 3 years!