Happy Birhtday Aunt C

Aunt C's Birthday happens to land on Father's Day so we thought that we would pay tribute to her a little early. Poor Aunt C has to share her B-day with everyone. Father's Day often falls on or around her B-day, and Sweet E's B-day is the day after Aunt C's! June is a busy month with all the celebrations we have going on.

I remember 2 birthdays ago she said that she had the "worst" birthday ever! And you know what it was all my fault! I was VERY pregnant with Sweet E and had gone to my Dr. appointment earlier in the day. At my appointment the Dr. was SHOCKED at how big the baby seemed....she said "we need to get her out...how about tomorrow?" My Dr. sent me across the street to get an ultra-sound to see what she would be dealing with in the morning. She said if the baby looked big we would have to do a C-section because of all the problems I had with Mr.C. So we went and had the ultra-sound and the tech was flabbergasted at how big Sweet E was! They were telling me that she was well over 10 pounds, but that they could be off by a pound or two. Needless to say I was stressed. Our Dr. had given us her cell phone number to call her when we got out, by the time I was composed enough to call her she had already found out that she should have taken Sweet E out the week before. Anyway, I was sure we were headed for a C-section, however my Dr. shocked me and told me it was my choice. She listed all of the risks of both....and told me to call her in the next 30 minutes with my decision. By this point we had been at the Dr. for a few hours, Mimi (my mom) was watching Mr.C and had called us to tell us that everyone was going to Texas Roadhouse for Aunt C's B-day. She told us to meet everyone there. When we got to the restaurant I could hardly focus, I was in tears I did not know what to do....I just wanted the Dr. to tell me what I needed to do. Needless to say I was not very good company! In the end we just decided to be induced....but I was SCARED!! So that is how I ruined her B-day two years ago...now if Sweet E would have just cooperated and came on her B-day we could have made it one of her most memorable B-days....oh well I tried!

We love Aunt C. She is always so nice and generous to the kiddos. She has a big heart. Growing up we were not always the best of friends. She would wear my clothes....and on picture day to make things worse....how could you ever wear that outfit again when you knew your little sister would be wearing it for all to see in the yearbook??? We shared a room for most of the time growing up, we had fun, we laughed, we stayed up way too late. In elementary school we were polar opposite....she loved getting up early....I hated it! She would wake up and be ready screaming at me that we were going to be late if we did not leave just that second. It got so bad that I started sleeping with my clothes and shoes on....until my Aunt Jill caught me! One day I had forgotten my lunch and was going to run home to get it, Aunt C was worried I would be late so she told me to take hers....I remember being shocked at her generosity...but I could not leave her without a lunch so I ran home....but I always remembered that moment. In high school we became closer. I would often eat lunch with her....well except for the year that Big B was at school and I ate lunch with him (wink, wink). I have always appreciated her and her example to me. She wants to make people happy! She is such a good teacher to her little first graders...I wish she could just teach Mr. C all the way through elementary school! It would save me a lot of grief! Anyway...Aunt C has a lot of great attributes! We love her and hope that she has a FABULOUS B-day! I will try not to ruin it for you this year!! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT C!! Thanks for being such a great aunt and sister!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Rain Rain Go Away!!
Don't You Know it is SWIMMING DAY!!

Mr. C- "Mommy we can't go swimming it is raining" (tears in his eyes)
Me- "Maybe it will be gone by the time it is swimming lessons"
Mr.C- "It won't, it won't.....it will never"

The kiddos are super sad that it is cloudy and rainy on their "swimming day". They go to lessons M, T, and F. So they have been waiting extra patiently for today! I hope that the storm will pass and they will be able to go....if not I will have two little bummed out swimmers. On swimming days they can hardly stand to keep their regular clothes on. I typically find Mr.C in his swimsuit several times during the day and have to make him change back into his regular clothes. Sweet E can't put her swimsuit on herself so she resorts to carrying hers around all day with her towel.

When I was trying to explain to Sweet E that it was raining I pointed out that she could hear it hitting the skylight. She stopped and listened intently for a minute, when she finally heard it she got a TERRIFIED look on her face.....and now she refuses to go into any room that has a skylight! She is afraid the rain is going to get in! I keep telling her the rain is outside....so she keeps walking around the house saying "rain outside". Poor kiddo....I guess I should not have pointed it out....especially given the fact that she is scared of the shower! What are we going to do when Monsoon season hits....that is when the real rain comes!!

Sleepy Times With Sweet E

Sweet E made the transition to a "big girl" bed a few weeks ago. She had become afraid of sleeping in her crib after she had been sick one night and threw up in her crib. She would always cry, "me frow up me frow up" when we tried to lay her down at night. So it was time to make a change....even though I did not want it to happen yet....I wanted to still pretend she was a baby. So that brings us to the big girl bed....since we live in tight quarters Mr.C and Sweet E share a room. It is a tricky balance....Mr. C is afraid of the dark, and Sweet E can't sleep without it completely dark. However different their sleeping needs they have one need that remains the same....they need their daddy to sing and play the guitar to them. Big B likes the trade, he gets to spend some time practicing his skills while he lulls his children to sleep. However, with summer the kiddos have gotten to stay up later....mainly due to the fact that the sun is still up at the time they used to go to bed. So Sweet E has been having a rough time working out her schedule. She has been taking longer later naps, and thus does not want to go to bed at night.

Tonight Big B played the kiddos the list of songs and Mr.C was out. When he looked over at Sweet E she had tucked all of her dollies into her bed and was sitting up and smiled, "one more song daddy?" Sweet E has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, so of course he gave into her request. However, an hour later Sweet E is in the bathroom. When she won't go to bed she gets put in the bathroom, in the dark, with the door open....she sits on the closed toilet until she is ready to go to bed. As I mentioned before our house is tiny....so there really is no where else to put her that is "boring". Some nights she will sit in there for nearly an hour (I go check on her every few minutes and ask her if she is ready for bed). Tonight however, I was working on some stuff in my room and I hear a sweet little voice coming from the bathroom...."one more song." I went in to check on her and she said, "go night night, one more song." So I went and got Big B and told him that she wanted one more song and then she would go to bed. So he once again obliged. He took her into her room, tucked her in, and sang his special song to her. It was quiet....the door began to shut....then out of the darkened room came "me going to frow up". Thank goodness she has not honed her brother's skills of throwing up on demand. A quick, "you are fine" and she closed her eyes and drifted off to dream land. It would not be so bad.....if it were not for the fact that Mr. C wakes up so early....if the sun is up, he is up! No wonder I always feel so tired!

We Will Miss You!

Big B's little brother (well he is technically taller) got home from serving in the Russia, St. Petersburg Mission a few months ago. In between all of his vacations to visit family he has been chilling at his parent's house here in town. The kids LOVE having Uncle M to play with! He leaves today to start a new adventure in his life, in another state. Mr. C and Sweet E are going to be heartbroken! But we wish Uncle M the best of luck in his pursuit of Mrs. Right and an education! We LOVE you Uncle M! WE WILL MISS YOU!!

*** In the above picture Uncle M is taking the kiddos on a wild and crazy ride on Grandma Jo's "Motorcycle"

Little Fish

Mr. C and Sweet E have been going to Aunt C, and Uncle D's pool 3 days a week to have lessons. Sweet E has made some progress....but the most EXCITING news is Mr.C started to swim on his own today! He has been ready for awhile, just not brave enough. If you know him....I am sure that, that is hard to believe but it is true, he has been terrified to swim without Uncle D's arm or a flotation device. So HIP HIP HOORAY!!! Thank You Uncle D and Aunt C for being so patient, and loving my kiddos enough to sacrifice your time to help them learn how to swim. This momma is VERY VERY GRATEFUL!! And the kiddos LOVE the time they get to spend with you....first thing everyday they ask if it is a "swimming day"! You guys are the BEST!

Under Attack

Tonight when we returned from our outing Big B noticed that someone had left a plate of goodies on our doorstep. He was quickly disappointed to notice that the note on top was addressed to me. He handed me the plate and went about unloading the kiddos from the car. I went into the house eager to find out who the plate of goodies was from. As I was undoing the card I felt something crawling on me, I ignored it and continued with the card..."we want to thank you for all you"....OUCH!! Something bit me I looked down and there was a handful of ants crawling on my hand! I placed the plate down to try to get the ants off before my hand was devoured, only to realize that the plate was swarming with ants that were now making a bee line to my kitchen! I grabbed a paper towel and started smashing the little monsters but I quickly realized I was outnumbered....so I ran the plate to Big B outside and continued to squish and destroy! Big B is outside trying to see if any of the yummy mint brownies that were on the plate can be saved...I guess a little extra protein never hurts (GAG!!). I still am having the creepy sensation that bugs are crawling on me....even though they are not....I hate that! Oh well, the thought was nice. See I told you there is a rhyme and reason for my blog being called 98 percent chaos.

PS. On a side note the card was from the Primary President of our old ward...the funny part was my name was spelled differently on the outside and inside of the card....and neither were right! We lived in our last ward nearly 8 years and only a handful of people ever learned how to say my name right! Even after being told a million times.....I don't mind....but it drove Big B and my mom nuts!! I used to joke that I never really got called to any of my callings because the person's name that was called for the position was obviously not me! I wonder if my new ward will have the same problem??

Change Is In The Air

So we went to our super secret stake meeting yesterday....to confirm if all the rumors were true....and a few were. Luckily the rumor that tithing was going up to 20 percent...was WRONG, or the rumor that the Prophet was going to make his winter home in our lovely warm desert was WRONG! However, it was true that they were chopping all the wards and stakes up in town. We are now is a new ward, and a new stake. It is the third ward and second stake we have been in and we have NEVER moved! Changes were being put in place to make way for a new stake in our area. So for this week our little family is part of the biggest stake in the church, with 8,000 members!! We will get split up next week at another special meeting....who knows maybe by next week we will be in yet another stake and ward!

We are moving wards with a good chunk of our old ward, so we are not totally starting over. But we will be at a new building. It was a little bittersweet since we are leaving the building that we have gone to since we were newlyweds, and the building where we blessed our two little babes. We were comfortable in our old ward, we enjoyed our callings, and Big B was finally getting to know everyone's names (he is not good with names). I guess we will see what the Lord has in store for us next. I just pray for a VERY patient and loving teacher for Mr.C.

We have been praying for a change.....we were hoping it would be an employment change, or a housing change, or some super nifty future change....however we will take this change for now and continue to trust in the Lord.