Just One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days where you wonder, "Why was I in such a hurry to have children?" Today was one of those days for me. After weeks of stressing about the Christmas Enrichment, getting my Christmas cards out on time, wrapping presents and getting all our families gifts mailed out, I had finally got most of it done. Enrichment went well last night (at least I think it did). I managed to get all 65 of my handmade Christmas cards out and I at least finished making our Christmas gifts for family and friends. I thought today was going to be a day of relaxation and a chance to do some fun stuff with the kids. It started off great, Jason let me sleep in till 9:30 (I don't think I've slept that late in about 4 years). I also got a nice little surprise from Charlie as well. This morning while I was feeding him his cereal I noticed he had some white stuff in his mouth. Of course like any mother I start trying to dig it out of his mouth. It was at this point I realized it wasn't going to come out because it was his very first two teeth. That's right, my little man has cut both of his bottom front teeth. He has been so good that I didn't even know he was teething. I was so excited, so of course I called just about everyone I knew to share the news. I love how it never gets old experiencing all your children's firsts.
After breakfast I got to look at houses on-line (one of my favorite things to do). I was researching homes in Virgina (Jason got a job offer there). It was so much fun. Then it was off to take a nap. Let me just say that I love my hubby for letting me take the "day" off (Jason works nights, so he's home during the day). It was after this glorious nap that the trouble began. Have any of you ladies out there ever notice that nothing ever goes wrong with the kids or the house while your husband is home? It always goes down the toilet when he's "conveniently" at work. I digress; the girls and I get up from our naps and I sit them down with a snack and a short video. I go to clean up the kitchen so I can cook dinner later. I hear Emma start crying in the living room, I shout to Faith to leave her sister alone (I just naturally assume Faith is once again tormenting her sister). Faith answers back that she's not doing anything to Emma. I of course don't believe her. I walk into the living room ready to make some heads roll and what do I see, but poor little Emma covered in throw-up as well as her much loved blankie (I felt extra jerky at this point for yelling at Faith). I go to get a wipe to clean up her hands and face when she throws up again. This time it misses her blankie and lands on my freshly washed carpet. I run back over to her, pick her (always keep them facing out that way you won't be covered in it too) and make a break for the bathroom. In the process of turning her around she throws up again and it hits more of my carpet as well as the couch. I then say a few choice words as I am running her down the hallway. I guess her body wasn't happy with just placing its contents in my living room, it decided it needed to occupy the hallway as well. We finally made it to the bathroom and into the tub. Then Faith wants to get into the bath with her sister. Fine with me, now I can hurry up and clean the bright purplish and red vomit out of my carpet. Oh, wait Charlie is due to eat in like five minutes....nope spoke too soon he wants to eat now. I'll clean the carpet first then feed him. I'm scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing, still scrubbing. The phone is ringing. I hear too much splashing from the tub, I'd better go check. I walk into the bathroom. I yell "GOD BLESS AMERICA". Why is this bathroom floor covered in water? The girls so sweetly say, "I don't know." Ok, clean up the floor, then finish the living room then feed Charlie. I finally finish both floors and am on my way to get Charlie when the girls decided they want out of the tub "RIGHT NOW!!!" Ok, get them out real quick. Now finally I can get to Charlie. He's so happy to see me. He has been waiting so patiently. We walk into the kitchen and I see the clock, it is now after 6 pm. Charlie should have eaten two hours before and the girls should be eating right now. AHHHHHHH!!!!
I tell you all this to get back to my original point. Today was one of those days where there was just not enough me to go around. The two hours this all took place in seriously felt like 20 minutes. After the kids were in bed and I sat reflecting on all of this, I remembered a time where no one depended on me to feed them or change them. I remembered how nice it was to be able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.
Now its 2 am and I have checked on all three of my beautiful angles. Its at this point that I realize that as crazy as it can be, it is all worth it. The joy they bring to my life far out weighs the stress. Besides one day I'll be able to have that freedom I had before children. For now I will relish these crazy family daze.


Here is my little man eating Gerber fruit puffs for the first time. I can't believe how fast he is growing up.


Charlie is also sitting up on his own. Hopefully he'll be crawling by the first of the year. He has started getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth.


He's so cute.


Faith loves her little brother so much. She is so good with him. I know one day she will make a great mom.


The kids got their very first nativity set. It was a gift from Nana and Papa, Thank you. They love it.


My little Emma. I love her little dimples. She loved playing with the nativity set.


Even Charlie wanted to play with it, which means he....


put it right in his mouth to chew on it.

Ummmmm

So Jason read my post about 7 things about myself and brought to my attention that maybe saying "I would cut my child's tongue out", if they ate gum off the ground could be taken the wrong way. I obviously wouldn't do that. I would however be scrubbing their tongue with the strongest soap possible and then do it all over again just to be sure. I'm sure most of you know I was kidding, but just in case.

Christams Spirit

It's my favorite time of year again, Christmas. I love putting all the decorations up and listening to the Christmas music. For some reason everything just seems to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside this time of year. Tonight especially brought me great joy. This is the first year the girls were old enough to help with the tree decorating. The look of wonder and excitement on their faces as they looked at the beautifully lit tree, melted my heart. I think at times we all forget the true joy of Christmas, but those of us with small children get a chance once more to see Christmas through a child's perspective. I thought this year I would do something fun for the girls, so I bought 24 candy canes to place on the tree. Starting Dec 1 they will get to remove one candy cane every night till Christmas Eve. They are so excited. Tonight we decided to put them on the tree (which really means I got tired of them bugging me about it). I turned on the Christmas music (you gotta have a little Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" playing while you decorate) and let the girls go at it. I noticed they weren't really spreading them out, so I would move them to a better location after they put them on. They didn't like my micro-managing, so I stopped doing it. Of course I should have known that when you let a 4 year old and a two year decorate you don't necessarily share the same vision. Most of the candy canes ended up in the same area at the bottom of the tree. So tonight the "decorating fairy" might just show up to rearrange them. I look forward to the rest of the season and sharing some of my favorite things with the girls, like watching "White Christmas" & "Sound of Music", dancing to Christmas music, drinking hot coco and baking cookies. And hopefully making some new traditions as well. Next step is to get the lights up. This is of course Jason's least favorite part of Christmas (he's afraid of heights). Then our house will be perfect and we can relax till we have to take everything down. Do you think it's tacky to leave it up all year?:)


They are so beautiful. I am very blessed to have such wonderful girls.



I love this little man. Bath time is now his favorite time.



I love his new hat. I makes him even more yummy.

Little Know Facts...Well, at least they WERE!!!

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) – Mocha Odyssey

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) - Mint Chip Snickerdoodle

3. YOUR “FLY GIRL” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) - KWoo


4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) – Pink Dolphin


5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) - Marie Sacramento


6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - WooKe


7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) - The Black Dr. Pepper

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) - Leo Earl


9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)- Rapture Snickers

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) - Jean Vasserot



7 Things you might not know about me:
1. When I cook and Jason's not home, I like to pretend I am taping a cooking show for the food network. I don't just play it out in my head I actually talk out loud and pretend there is a camera on the other side of the counter. I even make stupid cooking jokes for the "audience". Jason just recently found out that I do this and he almost wet himself laughing.

2. I have a very serious phobia of needles. I can't watch people getting stuck with one even on T.V. I know it's really just a piece of plastic the slides into the syringe part, but just the site of it makes me want to pass out. When they gave me my IV when I was having Charlie I nearly passed out. I HATE NEEDLES!!! That is why I won't get an epidural.

3. When I was very young I used to pick gum off the street or sidewalk and eat it. I know that it is gross, actually its beyond gross, but I rationalized it to myself (you know, God made dirt and dirt don't hurt). My mom freaked when she caught me doing it one time. I loved it though. I would cut out my child's tongue if they ever did that :0)

4. Jason and I met on a blind date in high school. He was a junior and I was a senior (yeah I like them young). I was going to find an excuse not to go, but ended up going anyway. I'm so glad I did. He was (and still his) HOT, HOT, HOT!!! He is a wonderful man and I am so blessed to be his wife. We stayed up all night talking the first night we met. He's the only guy I have ever know who likes to talk as much as me. I love him!!!!

5. I hate closing my eyes in the shower. I have watched one too many horror movies where a girl is washing her hair in the shower and there is a ghost or some crazy killer guy staring at her and she has no idea till she opens her eyes. Then its too late. I know that only happens in the movies, but I can't help it, my imagination runs wild.

6. I used to be addicted to biting my nails. I would bite them off then chew on it till I got it into a million little pieces and then I would spit it out. I found it very relaxing. This is part of the reason I wear acrylic over them now. It's the only way I don't bite my nails. Just talking about it makes me want to bite them.

7. I love to drive around town and go look at houses. I love to walk around inside new subdivisions and houses that are for sale. It is very relaxing for me. I love the smell of a new home with it's new carpet and fresh paint. I love to imagine how I would set it up and what colors I would use. It's so much fun.

Well, that's me in an nutshell. I hope you all will still love me in the morning, but if not, I still have my hubby and children. I would love to tag some people, but everyone I know who has a blog has already been tagged. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and have much to be thankful for.

Yeah, we're freaks!

I got this idea from Hannah's Blog (Thanks Hannah)

Some things you might not know about our family:

Kelly

I hate veggies. When I eat them I have to eat them like they are pills (I only chew them a little before I wash them down with milk).

I love to organize my cupboards. I also make a list on the door so we know what is in there.

I used to work at a pizza place (in high school) and my hands smelled like garlic and onions for a year.

I have a freakishly great sense of smell (Jason says it's my super power).

I also love to pop zits (mine or Jason's doesn't matter).

My left ear is much lower than my right (now you'll be looking next time we see each other).

When I start a new book I have to read the last 3-5 pages before I read the rest.

Jason



Jason can't stand feeding babies jar food. He seariously freaks out about the mess they make.

Jason can't leave food on his plate. If there is food there he has to eat it (I am trying to break him of this habit).

Jason has only cleaned the bathroom six times since we have been married (we've been married about 7 years).

Jason can't sit through a movie without talking through most of it (like the people in the movie can hear him, duh).

Jason has to have the bed sheets covering his shoulders or he can't fall asleep.


Faith


She always has to have the last word.

She is obsesive about washing her hands and brushing her teeth (she brushes her teeth about 4-5 times a day)

She can move her scalp back and forth.

She likes to pick the bottom of her feet.



Emma

When she is nervous she puts her finger up her nose.

She freaks out when water is poured over her face.

She sucks the last three fingers on her right hand while rubbing her blanket across her nose to fall asleep at night.


Charlie

He can get half his foot in his mouth (not kidding, literaly half his foot).

If he gives you "kisses" beware he will slip you the tounge (he loves to stick his tounge out period).

He grunts instead of laughs when you tickle him.

And the Calling is......

Jason and I had a meeting with the Bishop yesterday morning. I have been called to be the Relief Society 2nd Counselor. I am excited, but definitely scared. I will miss teaching in Primary, but obviously the Lord has other plans for me. Jason also received a new calling. He is now the Elders Quorum 2nd Counselor. He will only be teaching the Gospel Principles class for about another week or two. I know he will miss teaching, but now we can go to the Gospel Doctrine class together.

On a lighter note; can someone please explain to me why kids need a doll that really wets and soils their diaper. Faith saw a commercial the other day for this doll that you feed real food and she really wets and soils her diaper. What stupid person thought that up? Obviously someone who doesn't have children. I went online to research this "thing" and found out the doll costs like $50.00. HELLO, MCFLY. Who spends that kind of money on a doll that is just going to end up in the pile of other dolls they don't really play with anymore. In case that's not bad enough, then you have to buy the food on a regular basis and you have to buy it diapers. I DON'T THINK SO!!!! I already hate buying diapers for my real children, I'm definitely not about to buy them for a doll. I would love to smack the person who thought up this idea, it was probably a man:) Just thought I would leave that for you to ponder.

This Crazy Thing Called.....

I start this post with a whole new respect for my parents. We all need to take a moment to thank our parents who did so much for us. Today as I talked to my Father on the phone I could hear the sound of joy in his laughter as both Faith and Emma proceeded to have meltdowns. Now while this in itself is not a big surprise ( all kids have those days), but you wouldn't know that just a few minutes before they were playing happily together. It is the curse of the phone. It never fails, no matter how happy your kids are, once you get on that phone they need a drink, or someone hit the other, or they are STARVING!!! Either way it's always something. There is a ray of light in this, it is that one day they too will have children of there own and I will be able to laugh with joy.

October was a month filled with excitement. Jason, the kids, and I all went to the Temple to be sealed on October 27. It was a very spiritual experience for Jason and I. Jason and I were both teary-eyed, especially when the kids came in. The girls looked like angels and seemed to almost float into the room. Charlie was as handsome as ever (just like his Daddy). At one point during the ceremony Faith (in her most angelic voice) asks if we are going to heaven. I could have just eaten her up. After that I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. The joy of knowing our family is sealed together for time and all eternity is not fully expressed in words. After the ceremony we had a little reception with all of our friends. It was so wonderful. I only wish our families could have been there as well. We really loved sharing our day with close friends.

The day prior to our Sealing we attended the Ward Fall Festival. What a great time we had. The kids got to wear their costumes to this event. It was also a Chili Cook-Off. I entered my chili and received the Third Place Prize. It was a fun evening filled with chili (and later with gas), candy, cake, and costumes. Jason and I also made a graveyard cake for the event. Using fondant is not as easy as it looks on TV. It was a wonderful evening. The day after our Sealing was Faith's 4th Birthday (by the way she acts you would think she was turning 30). We did a family dinner at our house (her party was going to be the following week). Then came every child's second favorite holiday, Halloween. When else can you dress up in ridiculously expensive costumes, knock on someone's door and get candy? The only thing better than that is getting presents from some fat guy in a red suit in exchange for some cookies that your Mom made (Christmas). Life is so hard when you're a kid, huh? The kids made out pretty well. We still don't have a lot of trick-or-treaters around here, but we sure had enough people handing out candy. The girls were on a sugar rush most of the night. Which I blame on their Father. For those of us who know Jason best, you would think that Jason would be the "only one piece of candy tonight" guy. Well, we were WRONG!!!! He thought it would be a good idea to let the kids have some of their candy while they were walking around the neighborhood. He said to me, "They were doing so good walking and saying trick-or-treat, that I thought they had earned some candy." OK, first off isn't the treat for all that walking and knocking the BIG HUGE FREAKING BUCKET OF CANDY!!! I forgot to mention he told me this after they came home and had already eaten about three piece of candy. Jason was on duty the rest of the night. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time:)
I have come to the conclusion that Jason and I love to cause our own misery. So just two short days (kids were still on a sugar high from Halloween) after Halloween we had Faith's birthday party. It was a Dora themed party. We had Dora plates, cups, table cloth, pinata, cake and movie at this thing (which explains why that night I had nightmares about Dora, I'm being serious). I spent pretty much all day doing her cake. I took me three hours to frost it, but it was well worth it for the look on Faith's face when she saw it. The girls had a great time making bracelets and eating pizza. After pizza we did the pinata. I didn't know that four year old were so violent. Poor Dora didn't stand a chance; it was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen. They didn't scramble for the candy like I thought they would (yes, more candy, like they needed it). They sure ate it fast though. Then we played "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". The kids had a lot of fun doing that too (I was just praying they weren't going to throw up from being spun around too much). The kids decided that it was time for more sugar after the games, so cake it was. We asked Faith where she wanted us to hack into Dora first and without skipping a beat she says, "I want Dora's stinky feet". So stinky feet it was for Faith. We did some serious damage to Dora. There wasn't much cake left (luckily Jason took what was left to work). Faith got some wonderful toys that she so nicely shared with her guests (all the candy must have made her sick because she almost never wants to share something new). Jason and I were exhausted by the end of the party, not to mention our house was in shambles, but all in all a great party.
Now onto big news, Jason has officially hit what we now call as "The Hunt". He is now close enough to getting out that he can apply for jobs. He has applied to 50 so far and has received several responses already. We are getting so excited. It will be very different not being in the Army. Our whole marriage and family life has been spent in the Army, but it will be a welcome change. I can't wait to see where the Lord puts us.
Charlie and Emma are doing great as well. Emma's speech is growing in leaps and bounds. She loves to act just like her big sister. She is a beautiful and caring little girl (when she's not throwing one of her world renowned fits). Emma loves going to ballet with her sister and is learning a lot. She is going to steal the show at her recital. Charlie is the most beautiful little boy. He is so happy and just a joy to have in our lives. He loves playing with his sisters and especially their toys (they don't like that as much). I am anxious for him to start crawling. I say that now.....
We are very blessed to have each other.

Busy Little Bees

Well, it has been crazy here. Where do I start? The kids are getting bigger and bigger everyday. I can't believe how fast time seems to fly. The last time I wrote Charlie was only about two weeks old. Now he is six months. So much has happened since my last post. Faith had her very first ballet recital in May, and in true post-partum fashion I cried like a baby when she came out on stage. After the crying stopped I was laugh so hard I nearly started crying again. A stage full of three year olds is a very funny thing to see.

In July as you all know we got to go home (thanks Mom and Dad W.). What an experience that was. I will spare you the details and suffice it to say that pretty much everything that could go wrong did. And of course Jason had to tempt fate by saying, "It couldn't get any worse." He was wrong. On the last leg of our trip Faith had a terrible nightmare and Jason put her in his lap to calm her down. Well, she was so scared about waking up on the plane and not knowing where she was that she went to the bathroom all over Jason. Did I mention we didn't have a change of clothes for either one of them. And the icing on the cake, the airline lost our luggage. Once we got to Mom and Dad W's house we started to feel better. We had a wonderful trip home and the girls especially loved camping with Nana and Papa, as well as swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's. The trip was well worth the trouble. One of the many highlights for Jason and I was getting to see the Sacarmento Temple. Even if your not LDS you should check it out. What a beautiful building.

In August we had many wonderful things happening. Sean and his girlfriend Liz (she's a keeper Sean)came out to see us. It was wonderful to get some time to get to know Liz. The girls loved seeing Sean and Liz. Faith was very protective of her Uncle Sean and didn't much care for Liz sitting too close to him or doing much of anything with him. Emma just adored Liz. The best part of all was that the kids were so busy wanting to be with Sean and Liz we kind of got a little break. When are you guys coming again? Then Emma celebrated her second birthday. I can't believe she is two. We had a little party at the house. She loved the giant cupcakes I made. Note to self, don't give a bunch of kids giant chocolate cupcakes with a ton of frosting on them. Can we say "Sugar Rush". The kids we bouncing off the walls till about midnight (we had her party around dinner time). Obviously my Mommy Brain was out of order that day.

The girls started dance class last month. They are about the cutest little things. Faith is doing both Ballet and Tap. Emma is doing Ballet. This year Faith is much more outgoing in class. I'm glad she broke out of her shell. I never had to worry about that with Emma. The first day of class she made a run for the classroom with out even a glance back at me. She really is fearless. She just shines in her class. They both are learing a lot. It is so cute to see them dance together. I can't wait till this years recital.

Charlie is really growing fast. He is now on baby food. He LOVES it. So far his favorite food is Sweet Potatoes. He has just been such a wonderful baby. He hardly ever cries. He is so mellow. What a joy he is in our lives. He loves to play with his sisters (which for him means pulling their hair). I think he'll be the peace maker of the family.

The most exciting thing happening this year though is our Family Sealing next month. We are so EXCITED. The comfort of knowing that our family will be together for time and all eternity is so wonderful. I will post pictures of after the ceremony and of the reception.

I almost forgot, I have started home schooling Faith. She misses the age cut off for the state funded Pre-K by one month. So I had been searching for a private Pre-K program and came to the conclusion that I could pay some one a small fortune to teach her three days a week or I could do it for a fraction of the cost. She really is doing well. She picks things up quickly when she is listening. She will do the state funded Pre-K program next year. I know she will love it.

And lastly, Jason is offically six months out from terminal leave. Which means he is only eight months out from being completely done with the Army. We have enjoyed our time in the Army, but we are ready to take our life down a new path. It would be great to put down roots somewhere. We are hoping he will be able to find a job here so that we can stay. Please keep him in your prayers. Bottom line though, God's will be done. He will send us where we are needed. On that note I bid you good night. We love you all.

P.S.
please ignore the date stamps on the photos. Our camera was having a brain fart.

HE'S HERE!!!!!!

Charles Matthew Woodward is finally here!!!! He was born on March 21, 2007 at 1206 pm. He weighed in at 7 pounds and 6 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. He has blonde
hairand beautiful blue eyes (hopefully he'll keep them both and look like his daddy). My water broke at about 3:30 that morning. We arrived at the hospital at around 4:30. I thought for sure this was going to be just like when I had Faith, my water had broken and I wasn't having any contractions. Well, things don't always go as you think they will. Once we finally got into a room they hooked me to all the monitors and checked me; I was at 5 cm. I was thinking this was going to be a breeze. HA, HA, HA!!!!! The first detour in my plan was that they made me have an IV. Everyone knows how much I hate needles. Lucky for me the nurse was really good and I didn't pass out. Just as I was patting myself on the back for not acting like a totally baby I had my first contraction. It wasn't as bad as the ones with Emma, but it was plenty to get my attention. I was starting to get excited and scared. I figured we'd be having this baby in about an hour. Well two hours go by and they come and check me again. I'm now at 7 (still not bad). Let me just stop right here and say that I have a ton of respect for women who are in labour for long periods of time. I know two hours isn't very long, but with no pain killers and contractions coming every 5 minutes it feels like forever. This time I have to admit that I broke down and took some IV pain meds. They gave me a little morphine. It help take the edge off the pain and let me relax a little. What they didn't tell me was that it only lasts two hours. So about another two hours go by and I tell Jason that either the morphine is wearing off or my contracts are getting really strong, because I was hurtin'. Well it turns out that both were true. That was a little two for one special I didn't want. On the bright side, they checked me again and I was at 9. They nurse starts telling me that if I want an epidural I can still get one. I thought no way with only 1 cm to go we are almost done. I'll have this kid out in the next 30 min. Once again, I know NOTHING!!!!! I was at 9 cm for another two hours. The reason, Charlie was sunny side up. Which means his head was pressing on my spine and slowing down his progress. So they went in and tried to turn him around (that really hurts in case you were wondering). He was not going to be moved. So they decide they are going to start me on some petosen to help me dialate the rest of the way. No sooner had the nurse hooked it up and leave the room(we're talking a few minutes max)did I have to push. So of course everyone runs back into the room. And sure enough it was time. Charlie decided he was ready. Unfortunatly in his excitement to meet his Mommy and Daddy he forgot to turn all the way around. He came out facing sideways. That doesn't mean much as far as his head is concered, but is sure makes those shoulders a pain (litterally) to get out. The first thing he heard upon entering the world was "GET HIM OUT OF ME". Despite those not so nice words he loves to cuddle with his Mommy. I forgot how much I loved a little baby sleeping on me.
The girls are in love with there little brother. Especially Faith. She loves to rub his head and talk to him. Emma mostly finds it fasinating that there is someone smaller than her. I know Charlie is going to be well loved by the girls. Jason and I are adjusting to life with a new born again. Yesterday (Friday) was our first day home, and we started off with an all nighter. I got to bed around 4:30 this morning. It can only get better from here. Luckily for us Pam is here helping us with the girls and Jason is on leave.
It hasn't really hit us yet that we have three children, but I'm sure it will. They are so beautiful (I might be a little biased). We have so many blessings in our lives to be thankful for, but for me the biggest blessing is my family. I hope you all are well and have a Happy Easter.