Starring William!!!

sick and tired

Bill Cosby has a bit about his mom always being "sick and tired". He says the worst beatin' he ever got was when his mom said "I'm sick" and he said, "and tired". So Every time I say those words I think of Cosby gettin' a beatin'.

We have been battling pink eye, soar throats, coughs, and all that kind of yuck for over two weeks now and I am just plain old "sick and tired" of it!

To top it off, I lost my voice this morning and parenting a 3 yr old and 19 month old when no one can hear you is proving to be a bit of a challenge. I'm looking forward to nap time and Daddy coming home!

Everybody just better get everything out of there systems in the next 2 weeks because no one is allowed to be sick for Robert's surgery. (As if I can control that HA HA!) =)

Smarty Pants

Today for story time at the library they read If You Give a Pig a Pancake using a flannel board. Each kid was given a piece to put on the board at the appropriate time in the story. I was a little nervous when William was handed a piece, not sure if he would give it up when it was his turn. But I think I underestimated the little guy. When they got to his part he jumped up and put his piece on all by himself without any promptings at all! He was grinning ear to ear with pride! Not bad for a kid who just turned 19 months this week!

Robert's News

We finally had an appointment with the neurosurgeon today for Robert's tethered spinal cord. First of all let me say that going to a children's hospital is a humbling experience. Seeing so many kids in wheelchairs and such makes you think your challenges aren't so bad.

Back to Robert's news. He will be having surgery to release the tethered cord on February 16. We were told the surgery should last about 2 hours and to expect a 3 day hospital stay. This is shorter than we thought so we are feeling pretty good about things. The hopes are that this surgery will take care of his walking and potty problems. It is not a guaranteed fix so we will be praying very hard the next 3 weeks that the surgery goes well and takes care of things. I will be one happy momma when I no longer have to watch my baby hurting.

We realized after we got home that the day of his surgery is also the 5 year anniversary of the day we learned of Davie's anencephaly. (Also known by us as D-Day, or diagnosis day.) This could prove to be an emotional day!

Just as a side note we will be fasting this Sunday for him.

Say What?

I have heard "passing gas" called many things, but Robert came up with a new one.

He "poop burped"

Oh, it's fun having boys!

Look out Krispy Kreme!

After watching Alton Brown make doughnuts on Good Eats we decided to give it a try. And YUUUMMY!!! Who needs Krispy Kreme!!!

David and I were able to go the temple this morning and I just have to say that I LOVE the temple! I have felt so calm, peaceful and absolutely in love with my family all day! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and amazing kids!



Thank you Lehndorfers for taking care of our babies so we could go!

Fun in San Diego

We spent last weekend with family in San Diego. My sister and their family were using a friends beach house and let us crash with them. We arrived Sunday night and thought a nice stroll along the beach would be nice.

Anna, Alli, Lahna, Madi-They were FREEZING!

Robert was wet from head to toe (Thank you Madi for carrying him home!)

Grandma and Grandpa Force

Madison and Robert

Austin and Robert

Grandma and William

So much for a "stroll" along the beach. As you can see they didn't pay much attention to our "don't go in past your knees" rule! Oh well, it sure was fun!

San Diego Zoo

We had a blast at the San Diego Zoo! Some of our favorite moments were:
-the sky tram
-the polar bears
-orangutans and chimps
-pooping rhinos
-William trying to ride the sheep in the petting zoo

Moms Are Great!

Every mom should see this!!!

A Little Baker

Anna made snickerdoodles all by herself yesterday. They must have been pretty yummy because they are all gone!

Robert Singing!!!

Ever since Robert was a wee little thing he has not cared for singing. It is just within the last 6 months or so that he has quit screaming and covering his ears during FHE. With that said, you can fully appreciate what an amazing thing this is!

Minor Setback

Robert had a check-up for his eyes today. He has been doing very well and we have been gradually decreasing his patch time, but he didn't do so hot today. Now we're back up to 5 hrs/day. They told us this may happen , but it is hard not to feel discouraged. Sometimes I feel like we will be patching forever. For those of you who don't know, Robert has strabismus and amblyopia (or a crossed, lazy eye!) I guess I should just be grateful that as of yet he does not need surgery on it.

Chopsticks

Yesterday David reminded me of a funny thing that happened a few nights ago. I had made yakisoba and fried rice for dinner and while trying to teach the girls how to use chopsticks I mentioned that I lived in Japan for a while when I was a kid. Lahna's eyes got big, her jaw dropped and she cried out, "We're part Japanese?"

Boy Trouble

First grade and already having "boy problems". Some boys on the bus and at school have been teasing our little LouLou. I told her that maybe they think she's cute. She responded with a "yuck, the only boys I like are in my family."

Good. Let's keep it that way! But really, look at this face, who wouldn't think she's cute!

My Little Man

Robert was having a rough night. His tummy hurt, his legs hurt, and his back hurt. So we were sitting in the rocking chair singing Jingle Bells (the only song he will allow you to sing to him) when he tried to tell me something. After a few attempts at translating I told him I didn't understand.

He sighed and said to me, "you don't know anything!"

Then after the briefest pause he quietly said, "you know you love me"

I do love that little man.

Crazy Absurd!

Thrift stores may stop selling children’s clothing

If you want to read something that will make you say, "HUH?" click above.

What a Sweetie!

This morning Robert brought me a hand held mirror and told me to look in it, which I did. Then he says, "see, you're pretty."

Awww, so sweet. Then again he wasn't wearing his glasses. Hmmm.

Sunbeam!

Today was Robert's first day in primary as a sunbeam. I had to sit with him most the time to keep him under control and at one point I told him, "This is opening exercises and then you'll go with your new teacher to class."

He jumps up and starts touching his toes and says "These are my exercises"

It was a good laugh at first, but trying to convince him that we didn't actually exercise in opening exercises didn't go over very well. I can't wait to see what next week brings!

ewwww GROSS!!!

I was drinking a glass of milk when it felt like I had a sliver of glass stuck in the inside of my lip. I pulled it out and realized it was a BUG!!!! I threw it on the table and the whole family screamed! It was the strangest and grossest thing to happen in 2009!

Happy New Year!

We stayed home and partied with the kids to bring in the new year. We played games, watched movies and and ate way to much junk. It was a fun night.

Here are a few highlights from 2008 in no particular order:

-Payed off the van. No more car payments!
-Spent 2 weeks in Utah with family and friends!
-Celebrated 10 years of marriage with a weekend getaway to LA!
-Watched William transition from baby to toddler.
-Took a trip to Disneyland, the happiest and most exhausting place on earth!
-Put sod in the backyard!
-Enjoyed our first major snowstorm in the desert.
-Enjoyed the passing of prop 8
-After 6 years of rabbit ears, FINALLY getting satellite TV

All in all it was a pretty quiet year, just the way we like em! Here's to a happy 2009!

Santa Ana Zoo

A couple of days ago we were feeling a little cabin fever so headed to the Santa Ana Zoo. It's a quaint little zoo, but we still had a good time. The highlights were Robert and William petting a goat and seeing a tarantula the size of a dinner plate.