Rolling Problem!

Am I the only one out there that has problems getting to a few specific things? I push them off until the last possible second, but I am not sure why. I am the kind of person that buys a lot of things in advance. I buy milk by the gallons, cereal - I have cupboards full of it, toothpaste - a two year supply, even batteries of every size are conveniently stored away for that toy that invariably needs them. BUT for some reason toilet paper is the arch enemy. I play this silly little game, which goes like this. Last new roll surfaces out of the basement and is put in the bath cupboard and I think, I should go buy some. Then it gets put on the rod and I think, I need to get some. Next we check all the bath cupboards in the house to get any spare rolls to fill our empty rod and I think, gee, we need some really soon. Do I go to the store yet? NO, of course not, the situation isn't dire enough. Next we start playing the shifting game. You know, the one where you take the roll from the least used bathroom and shift it to the high traffic one. And then pretty soon you realize that there is a line up for that bathroom because it holds the last remaining roll of paper. I got so bad this last time that Kayla and Neeley started strategizing how we were going to make it if that last coveted roll ran out. Neeley visualized the person parking it on the potty while I ran to Walmart to replenish our supply!

I know, it is crazy isn't it. I hate to admit it but I do the same with diapers. I rob every last place: the car, the diaper bag, the church bag before I decide it is time for a trip to the store. I think it all has something to do with not wanting to drag 4 kids into Sam's club or maybe I just don't like feeling like I am flushing my money down the drain.

Pulling Teeth!

Neeley's last visit to the dentist revealed that she is a bit crowded. She has lost 3 teeth on the bottom, only two have grown in but no more space is left. So the remedy was to pull 3 teeth on the bottom to give her some temporary room. In addition to that they put a small spacer in between her back molars to create a little more room there so they could place a bracket around the back teeth and attach a bar between them. The spacer bar will span her bottom teeth on the inside.

They put Neeley to sleep for the procedure which was a new experience for me as a mother. It was a little scary and a bit funny too.

Waiting for the pill to take effect, Neeley rested in a bean bag. She started to get really funny!


Then they gave her the laughing gas. She was concerned but not really with it.

I had to prove to her that she got a shot and didn't even know it. The weird part was seeing her with her eyes open but not really awake.

Neeley was excited to see her little tooth fairy box full of her teeth and to find out that they pulled 3 and not just the 2 they had planned on. Then she promptly forgot and started crying, asking when they were going to pull her teeth. She was full of mixed emotions as she came to.


When she was with it a little more they sent us on our way. Just as we pulled out into traffic, Neeley started throwing up all over the car. When we finally made it home, she felt better getting into fresh cloths, but proceeded to throw up at least 10 more times before holding anything down. I am glad she was such a good sport about it all. Maybe the special tooth fairy visit that gave her $15 towards the swing set she is saving to buy helped a bit! Let's hope our appointment today to get the spacer bar in goes a bit more smoothly!

Off The Sauce!

Sing to the tune of the Chili's Baby Back Ribs commercial jingle:
I want my body back, body back, body back,
B-a-b-y, my body back
You're off the sauce!

We have been singing a new tune around our house lately! When I took Kate in for her 6 month well check appointment we found out that she is not gaining enough weight. She went from being in 7% for weight down to below 0%. Doc says she looks healthy and checks out normal but thinks that my milk might not be rich enough due to the restricted diet I am on for her milk allergy. He said I should nurse her and then follow it up with some special formula. By the time you add cereal into the mix that is just way to many steps for this mama! I tried it for a few days and she took so well to the bottle that I decided it was time to have my body back for good! So as of this week, Kate is officially off the sauce!!

This posses some pros and cons for me however. (All selfish thinking of course!) Now that I am not nursing I can eat milk, butter and all the other good things I have abandoned for six months. Part of me is excited to really be able to get aggressive with weight loss now, but part of me is scared to death that I don't have a reason not to eat it all now. I had become quit accustomed to only being able to eat Jr. Mints and Oreos as treats and have gotten good at limiting my supply of them. Now everything is calling my name, like that hot fudge sundae I devoured the first night I got a chance to. So, today was my last little fling eating those things I have so longed for the past 6 months. Now tomorrow, it is back to business! I guess if I did it for that long, I can keep on keep'n on. With a few added changes of course!
And Kate, she is happy as a lark! I think she has even added a little pudge to those cheeks this week! Maybe she can move past being 12 pounds!

the BOM

We have been working on reading the Book of Mormon with the girls lately. I want them to learn how important it is to read every day and learn about the inspiration we can gain from it. They have loved it! We never forget a day because they won't let us, thank goodness! I have been telling them all along that when we finished reading it through the first time that we would have a party, so they kept looking ahead to see how many pages were left. Well, we finally reached our goal so we called all the grandparents and invited them over to celebrate for family home evening. Although we read the full version too, this was a celebration of reading the cartoon version all the way through. To me, at this age, any success with the Book of Mormon is important!

We had a special dinner to celebrate what we have read about:

Broccoli = Sacred grove of trees.

Pork Chops= Golden Plates

Fruit Salad = Lehi's Fruit of the tree

Scones = piled up to make Lehi's altar of scones

Onion balls = Liahona

Lime Ricky's = King Limhi's grape escape drink

Dessert = Tower of Babel

The girls loved helping me cut up the strawberries for our dessert! At dinner Kate enjoyed being our centerpiece!After dinner the girls and Dad sang a little program.

Then they were showered with congratulatory gifts from all of their grandparents! What a great experience! I hope they will always remember how important this sacred book is!

Recipe for the Liahona:

1 vidalia onion per person

1 beef bullion cube per onion

butter

heavy aluminum foil

Peel the onion completely. Then cut the top part off, leaving the root part in tact. Cut two slits along the top crossway being careful not to chop the onion in half. Hollow out a small cavity in top. Put the bullion cube in the cavity and slip a pat of butter between each of the four slits. Then wrap in foil being careful to make it large enough to catch all the drippings in the foil. Bake for 2 hours at 300 or until onion is tender. You can also grill these on low heat. To serve, place the foil ball in a bowl and open it up. It is kind of like french onion soup.

Sounds a little crazy but it really is soooo yummy and easy too. I used yellow onions last time and they work too, but they are just not as sweet.

Tickled!

Today we got some family pictures taken. I know it seems like that is all we have done lately is take pictures. Life just seems to be passing so quickly I want to remember every moment. These snippets of time seem to give me the illusion that I can stay in this moment forever!

Our photographer is my very talented 12 year old niece. I don't know what I am more tickled about: these adorable family pictures or my nieces success as a photographer! If you ask me, she really has talent! All this for just $7, what more could we ask for???? She was so professional and came prepared with everything including cute little things to make our girls smile their best! Way to go Lex and Big Sissy Photography!! She is available for bookings if anyone is interested!

Sneak Peak!

What happens when you mix a camera, 12 year old talent and a cute suspect?

Beautiful Pictures!!!!

This is just a sneak peak of what is to come of Kate's recent photo shoot with my niece Lexie! She has started her own photography business called: Big Sissy Photography. She has true talent and is a bargain too! We can't wait to get our family pictures done with her on Saturday!

Pretty in Pink

Saturday Morning Work Out!

One of our goals for this year is to teach the girls more about taking care of themselves with exercise and healthy eating.  A few Saturdays ago, Jer decided to get them away from Saturday morning cartoons with some stretches.  It was so cute to see them all join in the fun.  Next on the agenda- cutting out some sugar!!