Silent Night, Yeah, Right!

He is so sweet. Such a great baby too! He is always happy and smiling and giggling. Mom bought this onesie for him at Walmart. It is so true! He has started sleeping 3 hours at a time at night. So that's been nice for me. I don't mind. I know he'll grow up so fast. And, getting a good night's sleep means that I don't have a baby anymore.

Just Stuff

I just feel like journaling today. I don't have any one thing to post or blog about. Just a lot of little stuff.
Mom and Dona are still here. It's so nice to have family to visit with. It's like a warm feeling to know your famliy is around. Kind of like snuggling up in a warm blanket on a cold winter night. Then, drinking a mug of hot chocolate. There is something so important and precious as home and family. We probably take it too much for granted.
Madison and Porter have had so much fun with their cousins even though they are alot older. Scott is really patient and good with them. It makes you feel so happy as a Mom when other kids are good to your kids. It hurts when it is the opposite and children are mean to them. It makes me so sad.
My tooth is killing me! Fortunately for me, my Visiting Teaching partner's husband is in dental school at UNLV. I am going to try to get in with him. Our insurance doesn't kick in until January. I know if I wait, I'll have a bigger problem on my hands...er, uh in my mouth. We had our visiting teaching get-to-gether in the park yesterday. It was fun getting out--without kids--and visiting with the women.
I am so sad we are going to have to move in a couple of months. Just when I am starting to get to know everyone. This will be the third place we have lived in since moving back to Las Vegas. We have lived in NINE places since the twins were born. This will be their 10th home. I wish we could just settle. We finally were ready to stay in a place and then the circumstances changed that we couldn't help. The home we are renting is going into foreclosure.
I am thankful for our home, our health, and Brant. Brant has been the pillar of our family. He is working so hard to provide for us. I can't believe he works as much as he does; gets overtime; takes welding classes; does crane testing; and is getting as much driving practice in as he can so that he can get his Class A CDL. (He already has a Class B and has the Class A permit.) On top of all of that, he came yesterday and took all THREE kids and insisted that I take a nap. He also brought me flowers. I know he's so tired and yet he still tries to help me out. I am thankful for him.

The small things are the big things

I have not had time to blog I have been so busy the last couple of days. I am actually happy-tired and that is the best feeling in the world. I think when you're tired 'cause you're so busy and having fun it's awesome.
My Mom, my sister Dona, and three of her children: Ashley, Lynsey, and Scott have been here for a national dog competition. They are going to end up being here for about a week. It is so fun, because we don't do anything of great importance. Actually, we sit around and talk and visit which is really fun. And, everything else is just everyday stuff.
We have been doing things that we used to do as kids. Like eat tuna on club crackers. My Mom HAS to have Best Foods. Which is of course, is what I buy too. We have also been drinking Coca-Cola alot. I thought I was over that and had kicked the habit. It shows you what happens when your drinking buddies show up. I couldn't say no. We made dinner together. I have a Kung Pao Chicken recipe that I love. That was fun too. Although Dona's youngest, Scott, is 3 years older than my twins, they have still had alot of fun playing together. We worked on cleaning and organizing my garage. I de-junked alot of stuff they are going to take. Cleansing feels so good. I also got to run to the store with Mom and Dona while Ashley and Linsey watched my kids. It is such a sweet feeling to up and leave with no kids.
When they get back from competition today, we are going to make Navajo Tacos. That's an old-time favorite too. We grew up right next to the Navajo Reservation. I was lucky enough to have Annie, a dear friend to our family, teach me how to make authentic fry bread. It's so good.
I cherish these memories we are making so much. It has been fun just to have them here in my day-to-day life. So we haven't done anything special. I guess that's why the saying is, "It's the small things in life that matter. Because sometimes the small things are the BIG things."

Mommy Days

The kids for the most part are potty-trained. They only wear diapers for nap time and when they go to bed at night. Which is why I was so baffled that Madison would decide to take her skirt, underwear, and shirt off--and then go and pee on my bed. She is like one of Mom's poodles that pees on your stuff when she gets mad at you. Yesterday, she did a lot of things that did not make me happy. But she also made me laugh several times. I don't know where she picks up half the stuff she does, but it was very cute.
She was sitting in my black office chair with a small, red, paperback Book of Mormon. I said, "Madison what are you doing?" She said, "I'm reading my scriptures, Mom." (Like Duh, what does it look like.) I was thinking, maybe she could do that for the rest of the day. But I guess she only reads a couple of minutes a day.
Because we live with their cousins Aundra and Jantzen, there are often squabbles between the four of them. I usually approach it non-chalant and try to find out what happened before hugging or sending anyone to timeout. So I hear Porter crying and all four of them are in the loft. As I'm coming over, I see Madison standing next to Porter putting her arm around his shoulder and then rubbing her hand up and down his back. She is quietly leaning into him and saying, "What happened? Are you okay? What happened?" When he is still crying and not answering her she says, "It's going to be okay." I was laughing because she was doing exactly what I do. I showed up and said, "Okay, Little Mama, I've got it from here." She said, "I not a Little Mama." Then she bounced away.
I had to wash their sheets because their diapers leaked. When I was back upstairs with the bedding, Porter was pulling the mattress off of the bed. Madison, "Porter don't do that." Then exasperated, she said, "You are making me so sad."
I'm not sure if yesterday was so rough because I was up with the kids all night and as a result was tired, impatient and cranky. So maybe the incidents seemed worse than they were. Porter gave me a very hard time at nap time. He woke up Madison twice. Then she woke up Lane and by then Porter was fast asleep. This whole scenario took about an hour and a half. I was hoping to get a nap with them. But, no luck.
I am so thankful for my husband who came home from a full day of work and said, "Don't worry, I'll take it from here. You go get some rest." I went to bed at 6:30 p.m.

Quote

"Yesterday's failures are today's seeds that must be diligently planted to be able to abundantly harvest tomorrow's success." --Unknown Author

Isn't great to know that our failures are the very thing that will help us to be successful? You can learn more about a person by learning what they have failed at in life, than knowing what they have succeeded at. I think we get so caught up in trying to have it all or live up to our own expectations we don't give due respect to the refiner's fire that builds our character.

A Day At the Park...

...and a half day to get there. My mother-in-law and I decided to start taking the kids to the park once a week. The catch--we were going to walk to the park. It happens to be a couple of miles away. I'm not sure on the exact miles, but I AM going to find out. We were just going to take my kids, but then Geneva needed a babysitter Wednesday morning, so we took Jantzen and Cambry. We had a mini-caravan going. We've been walking every night for about 30 minutes so we thought we would be up for it. But, it was a challenge. I am overweight, but my MIL is so skinny. She's works out all of the time and even lifts weights a couple times a week. I have a good role model.
It was a lot of fun and an adventure. I kept telling myself, "At least I'm not a pioneer trekking across the plains. I only have to do this for a couple of hours. Not all day every day."
The kids had a blast although I think they thought we were kind of slow in moving. If the weather is still good, we will probably do it again next week. I just wish I would have lost 5 lbs from it. It felt like I worked that much off.
My Mom and sister are coming on Friday for some dog show beauty contest or something. They compete nationally so it's pretty big. I am so excited to have family come. I love having company. My kids are excited too--because I've been talking to them about their arrival all week. They say, "Mimi (that's grandma) and Aunt Dona come. They sleep in my room! I clean my room. They bring dogs." They transposed a little of the information yesterday and Madison said, "Aunt Dona come to clean my room!" I thought, now that sounds good. Madison also wanted to call Aunt Dona yesterday. I'm not sure if she was excited about the dogs or her coming to clean her room.
Lane is moving about on the floor a little more. He's still a wobbly sitter. He's not as advanced as Porter was. He's more at Madison's pace. He is sure a happy baby.
We have started our temple prep class. It was really good although nothing special about the content. Granted, it's great stuff. I said that wrong. It's good stuff, just plain and simple truths. I think it was more of the feeling of the Spirit with the group of people. There are some great people in our group. It is always exciting to be a part of progressing and watching others progress as well.
I had a dream last night. In it I could jump REALLY high. I showed Vicki and Ron. They were impressed. There was also a turtle that died. Brant had started playing computer games again. I looked up "jump" and "turtle" at www.dreammoods.com It said that jump meant needing to taking a risk. And, that turtles indicate slow progress. I'll have to think about that.

I think I can, I think I can...

I walked 5 miles today pushing 3 kids in a stroller. Wow! I can't believe Haley and Travis ran a marathon. They are overachievers! I have a lot of respect for runners and athletes. All of the things, which I am not. I'm just trying to get rid of this extra weight that seems to think we are best friends. I tried to outrun it today--but sadly it stayed with me. I'll post pictures of the park later. I'm too tired to do anything else.

David and Goliath

I read a story in one of Dr. Phil's books. It has been something that has been on my mind this past week because it is about your perspective. He says that when the townspeople saw Goliath they said, "He's so big, we can't defeat him." When David saw Goliath, he said, "He's so big I can't miss him!" I have applied this to my "Goliaths" this week. I am realizing there is so much power in how we look at something. Is my problem so big I don't believe I can defeat, or is the problem so big there's no way I can miss it?

Just Monday Morning Stuff

We had a really fun weekend. Nothing too exciting, just lots of little odds and ends.

* HALLOWEEN NIGHT WAS a lot of fun for the twins. Brant and I were just plain tired by Friday night. Their cousins were getting dressed up and getting ready to go trick-or-treating. So, obviously, they wanted to get their costumes on. We told them they could get their costumes on, but it was their turn to give candy. We did not want to go out and hoped this ruse would work. We know next year it will not. They were actually very excited about the doorbell ringing constantly. Just answering the door is fun for them. They were taking turns passing out candy. Then they would wave their little hands and say, "Goodbye! Happy Halloween!" It was so cute. Brant and I were laying on the couch ready for bed--at 8 p.m. Their uncle, Kendall, came home and realized we weren't taking them out. He was not impressed with our lack of parenting in teaching our children the "ways of Halloween." We were laughing about what bad parents we were, but we didn't care. We were tired. He volunteered to take them out and they were thrilled. I told him he could have half of everything they collected. As far as us being losers, I mean tired, tired, parents. I just want to say on our behalf that I have been up for the last 4 nights at 3:30 a.m. because of one or all 3 of my kids. Brant gets up every morning at 4:30 a.m. to get ready for work. So 8 p.m. is really late for us.

* SATURDAY WAS A great day for me! Brant did not have to work. It is one of the few Saturdays that he was not working. He usually picks up all of the overtime he can. This weekend he had off. Although I still got up at 3:30 a.m., I got a break. He took the twins to Walmart to do all of the Christmas shopping. I know we do it a little early, but I hate to shop. Brant loves buying gifts and I love getting things done early. Plus, we really weren't spending very much this year so it's not like there was that much to get. He was also able to ask them which toys they like better because he figured they'll forget about them in a couple of months. I have to say holidays are so much more fun with kids. I hated them when I was single, and now I know why. Kids make it great. I designed our family Christmas card last month--and am now awaiting the trip to Grandma and Grandpas in November to get our pictures taken. We're a little excited about the kids experiencing the holidays. I just want to get all of the tasks out of the way, so we can enjoy it without the rush. So gifts are done, cards are almost done, and all that will be left is fun.

* SUNDAY WAS DAYLIGHT savings so we gained an extra hour. Which surprisingly, made us late to church. We are usually on-time or early. Porter woke up at 3 a.m. I don't know what's going on with him. But, he also woke up Madison and she was not very happy about it. So by 10 a.m. Madison put herself down for a nap. Lane fell asleep and I didn't want to wake Madison up so we waited until she was done sleeping and then left for church. She was actually very happy and much better for Nursery. Brant and I were able to attend a temple prep class. We are very excited about it. We have to go to eight classes and will be finished in December. However, the classes are scheduled for Tuesday nights at 8 pm. That's like midnight for us--but we are still going to go.

* AND NOW MONDAY morning, it's 4:45 a.m. and only Lane is awake. I'm so glad the twins are sleeping. Maybe it was the week long of Halloween parties that kept them from falling asleep or staying asleep. I guess until the next big holiday, we'll have a break. I hope! They were killing me with their middle-of-the night waking. Brant's back at work and we won't see much of him until January. He's going to be working alot of overtime and still is taking welding and crane classes. I honestly can't believe how much we do now that we have kids. We used come home tired from work everyday and "pampered" ourselves when we both had jobs. Our old selves would be very impressed with our new selves. But, we would also laugh and feel sorry for ourselves. Our new selves would tell our old selves that it was all worth it. The baggy eyes, the lack of sleep, no money--it all matters little when some little person wraps their arms around you and says, "I love you Mommy." ADDENDUM: The twins woke up at 4:56--not too bad considering it would be almost 6 a.m. if there wasn't daylight savings this weekend. Maybe we'll get back on track. They crawled into Lane's crib to hang out with him when they woke up. (That's the pic.)

* OTHER SMALL THINGS that happened include: Lane cut his first bottom tooth yesterday. I am concerned about the welfare of his main feeding aparatus now that he has teeth. It could be very dangerous. I lost a part of my back tooth. I'm left with a jagged, sharp edge that cuts my tongue! I have been chewing gum to let gum buffer the sharpness. It will be about 2 months before we get dental insurance. I am actually thankful for this tooth as it is not so easy to eat. I am thinking this will be a good weight loss plan for me. There is always a silver lining.

* MY COUSIN'S FUNERAL was this weekend. He died of colon cancer. He was so young to me. I don't remember him being old. I was so surprised to realize that he was 50. I remember the last time I saw him was in Page not more than 2 years ago. He was with his daughters and stopped by my Dad's house. He was in perfect health. I would have never guessed. My cousin, Kayla, wrote a great post about it on www.http://thelegacylady.typepad.com/the_legacy_lady_online/2008/10/colonoscopy---got-yours-yet.html Death always reminds us how short our time on earth is. And, that hopefully our lives will be a tribute to our families. Jim's certainly was. He was a good person, father, son, cousin, etc. Kayla wrote a wonderful tribute to him. I can't say it much better than she did.

Cutest Baby Boy in the World!

You found him--Lane Hibbard--the cutest boy! I think he is so cute because he is always so happy. He literally giggles all of the time. I can't wait to see what he does when he gets older. He looks alot like Vicki's (my sister) baby pictures. I was playing around in Photoshop trying to get a rounded photo with feathered edges. I finally figured it out. I'm working on the layout for my family Christmas card so I wanted to figure it out before it's too late.

My Little Goblins

Toddler Fun Time

I was having a rough weekend as a “single mom.” Brant was in St. George for work and I had to do the Trunk or Treat thing all by myself. I’m not young enough to keep up with 2 two-year olds and a baby. I just don’t have it in me. So, they really wore me out. I miss Brant for things like that. He seems to have boundless energy when it comes to taking the kids out. I totally feel for single Mom’s and Bishops wives. I can’t imagine having the kids without support. It’s so hard.

Anyway, on Sunday I was dreading going to church with 3 kids as Brant was still gone. Rhonda, my MIL, was still sick so I knew I would have to do the whole thing by myself. After the night before, I was not looking forward to it. Madison, sensing my despair, schemed to create a legitimate episode that would allow me to stay home with the kids. It speaks to hear innately intuitive nature and extreme thoughtfulness. She decided to find my one, yes I only have one, bottle of nail polish. Then she painted her whole left arm with with pink polish. She also decided that my leather office chair would look better as a pink chair. Unfortunately, there was only enough polish to do most of the seat.

She also got it on the carpet, bean bags, an end table, the couch, and I'm sure some other things I haven't yet discovered. But, thanks to Madison, I was cleaning up nail polish instead of getting us all off to church. After getting them all down for a nap, I decided to crawl into bed and take a nap myself. I am not kidding--45 seconds after I sighed and crawled into bed under the covers--Brant walks in. It's like total chaos up until he comes home. And, I know he wonders why I am also so tired when life is so calm when he comes home. Murphy's Law.

Some good political banter in my inbox

BAILOUT PROGRAM IN EASY TO UNDERSTAND ENGLISH
Young Chuck, moved to Texas and bought a Donkey from a farmer for $100.00.
The farmer agreed to deliver the Donkey the next day. The next day he drove up and said, 'Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the donkey died.' Chuck replied, 'Well, then just give me my money back.' The farmer said, 'Can't do that. I went and spent it already.' Chuck said, 'Ok, then, just bring me the dead donkey.' The farmer asked, 'What ya gonna do with him? Chuck said, 'I'm going to raffle him off.' The farmer said, 'You can't raffle off a dead donkey!' Chuck said, 'Sure I can, Watch me.. I just won't tell anybody he's dead.' A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, 'What happened with that dead donkey?' Chuck said, 'I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $898.00.' The farmer said, 'Didn't anyone complain? Chuck said, 'Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back.' Chuck now works for the government as a top advisor on the bailout plan.

Trunk or Treat

Trunk or treat was a lot of fun, but a lot of work! Brant ended up having to go to St. George so he said goodbye to us as we left. The kids loved what they called "Candy Day." They figured out the "Trick or Treat" very fast. One guy said, "Looks like they had some influence on their costumes." And another said, "Your costume deserves a little extra candy." They won the pre-Primary award for best twin costume. Ha, ha. They were the only twins, but they got a bucket of candy for their costumes. I wish Brant could have come. He would have loved it, but I got lots of pictures for him.

Saturday is a special day

Porter found a new place to keep his binky. I told him he needs to quit losing them if he wants to use them. He decided that his underwear was the perfect place to keep it near and warm.
I was feeding Lane and he said, "Lane you eating? You eating Mommy?"
Tonight is the ward Trunk-or-Treat. The kids are so excited. They are calling it "Candy Day." We'll see how it goes. I have to make chili for it tonight. I hope Brant gets off work in time to help.
Brant has been working so much! But I am so proud of him. He is getting all of the over time he can. He is also taking a welding class, crane training, and working on getting a CDL. He just passed his CDL permit exam last week and now only has to pass the driving part. I am glad he is getting so much done, but I don't see him alot some days. I miss the Saturdays that he is off and takes the kids to the park.