Random December thoughts,happenings, and traditions

The month of December always seems to makes me reflect more on others and puts into prospective the things that really matter most to me. I TRY to keep the same feelings year round but they seem to fade away as the months go by. I LOVE my kids. They are amazing. Are they perfect? No....after all they have me as there Mother and teacher poor things. But I do LOVE them. I tend to feel sorry for myself sometimes because we are still living with my in-laws. I love them and appreciate them letting us stay as long as we have, but mostly I just worry and feel bad for my kids. I fell sad that they don't have a cute little house with there own rooms where we can just sit and enjoy each other. But I'm always amazed that when we stop thinking of ourselves and our own challenges we realize how much we have. One of my cousins used to work for a preschool that the state offers to low income families. She still has some connections there and asked all the cousins if we would be willing to help this year with a Sub for Santa. I was so excited to do this and to have my kids be part of it. I told Brighton that there was a little boy about Landon's age who's parents didn't have enough money to get him some Christmas presents this year. My eyes were watery when I asked if he thought we could help them by buying some gifts for him. He could tell I was emotional and put his little arms around me and said "Yes, Marc lets help them. I took the boys with me to help pick out the gifts. Of coarse they wanted to keep the toys until I reminded them of the little boy who needed them. It really wasn't much a few toys and some clothes but it touched me. Mostly because I realize that I could go almost any day of the week and buy the same things for my kids who really don't need anything. I'm so glad for little reminders like this in my life and I hope that we can make this a yearly family tradition.

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is putting up the Tree. Our Tree's are in the storage shed along with all our ornaments. But I was able to get to our kids tree. It's not large or elegant but it is beautiful to me because two cute little stinkers decorated it all by them selves. They wanted Blue lights because that's Brighton's favorite color and the used the ornaments that they get to pick each year to decorate it.

They loved all the snow we got last week and got all bundled up just for 15 minuets of playing in it.

Landon was so excited on his birthday. I can't believe how aware he was of what was happening.
He wanted a "Ball" party and a Football cake(cupcakes). He has been talking about his ball party sense September. He loved having his cousins there and eating his cake.

We went to the lights at Temple Square and the boys kept asking where the "square" was. Halle was with us but snug inside her car seat.

One of my EARLIEST childhood memories is going to see the lights at Temple Square. We have a family picture similar to this one of us with my whole family. I would have been 3 1/2 at the time and I remember so much about it. I vividly remember standing in front of the Nativity and listening to the CHRISTmas story being told. I also remember going to Crown burger after for dinner where we saw President Monson.

My sister and her husband came with us which was really fun. The kids love having them around. We hope they will come with us for years to come.

I hope that my kids will have the same type of memories of Christmas as I do. But mostly I hope they learn the true spirit and reason for the season, to give to others and that there was one who gave the ultimate gift...... his life and that was our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Happy Birthday to my sweet little Landon!

Here are a few things I love about him:

*He thinks he is BIG! When asked how old he is, he say "i'm 3" even though he's only 2.

* He loves to play ball especially Golf. He was very specific that he wanted to be a golfer for Halloween.

*He is finally starting to come out of his shell socially and doesn't cry when people talk to or look at him anymore.

*He listens and follows instruction very well.

*He tells me when Brighton is being naughty. He will say "Marc, Brighty is saying bad words." But then he usually repeats to me what the bad word was.

*He is very tender hearted and gets sad if he thinks he has hurt or disappointed someone.

*He loves his siblings....well actually he idolizes Brighton and is so soft him Halle.

* He is the worlds messiest eater, he hardly gets and food in his mouth!

We love you Lanny and are so glad your part of our Family!

She's one month old....already

I can't believe she is already a month old. November was a very busy month and December has been somewhat the same and I feel like she will be one before we know it. I am trying to enjoy this new baby stage that seems to go so quickly. She really has been such an easy baby and it's probably a good thing because her brothers are VERY busy. We love her so much and are enjoying kissing her chubby little cheeks! Thanks again to my brother-in-law who took these pictures. He had never taken a newborns pictures before and it wasn't easy sense the boys were knocking over all his equipment. I had to promise him I will give his wife free haircuts for life if he will occasionally take pictures of the kids for me. They turned out Beautiful.

A recap of November

I thought sense November is almost over and I would try to recap the events of this month which has been somewhat of a blur. I have hardly left the house, or gotten out of my P.J.'s which has had it's pro's and con's but mostly I fell really blessed to be able to stay home with my kids and not have to rust to be somewhere every morning. Halle has been an angel baby for the most part but I think we should consider changing her name to Patients because she has been incredibly patient while her brothers have been giving her lots of "Love". The boys latest thing is to close there eyes in pictures, that is if we can get them to look at the camera at all. They think it is hilarious.

My baby sister got married! And to a wonderful guy. She looked beautiful, and the whole day ended up being really nice. I had the pleasure of doing her hair which is always fun for me sense I don't have time to do much hair these days. Here is a link to some of the pictures from that day. http://www.lindsaykayphotography.blogspot.com/ I am not in any of the temple pictures I was in the mothers room cleaning regurgitated breast milk from my nylons but I promise I was there.

We had a good Thanksgiving, actually we had two. My mother-in-law always plans her dinner so that we are able to go to both my parents and her's which is nice but sometimes makes for a long day. The boys love seeing all the cousins and enjoy playing with them.

And Sean has had several interviews with different companies this month and is going in for a third interview with one of them on Tuesday, it has been very encouraging for him to finally have some companies show interest in hiring him but we know it could still take some time before he finds the right job of him.

She's here!

Halle Kate

The torture begins

Actually she has been here for about a week and a half now but we came home from the Hospital to two very sick older brothers, fevers, coughing, running noses, and lets not forget the vomiting. It's taken us until now to get back to "normal". But other then all the sickness things are going well. She is a very good baby, she sleeps alot and doesn't cry much. All my kids have been good babies, it's once they are mobile and can talk that they keep me busy. I ended up having her 2 days early, which I was not prepared for. I had my entire day planned out, and had a very long to do list so when I started having contractions at 6:00 am I keep telling myself to go back to sleep and they would just go away! When I finally opened my eyes and timed them, they were 4 minuets apart so I figured I better get up and going. I was determined to stay home until I could no longer stand myself. By 8:40 I was really to go to the Hospital. By the time I got there my contractions were about 1 min. apart. They took me right up stairs and didn't even admit me. Once I got to the room, I was having hard contractions every 45 seconds and I was dilated to a 7. Luckily my water had not broken yet so I was still able to have an epidural. (I love you, you wonderful, wonderful man with your magic needle.) That was as close as I will ever get to having a natural birth. My water broke shortly after that and the nurse informed me that the baby had swallowed some fluid and was in distress. She called my Doctor and told him to hurry. He ran in sat down and at 10:39 she was born. She didn't cry for what seemed like forever because she had to have the fluid suctioned from her airway and nose. But when she finally did I felt relieved. She was 7lbs. 5ounces, and 20 inches long. She has lots of dark hair and a cute little round face. We are so glad to have her and we are looking forward to what her little personality will bring to our family.

Going Private

I've actually been meaning to do this for a long time and I guess now is as good of time as any. So if you would like to continue to read about out families extremely fascinating lives please leave me you email. If you don't want to leave your email for all the world to see, you can email me at cosmokramerrules@gmail.com . If your someone who just pops in from time to time and never leaves a comment I really don't mind just let me know if you would like to continue to do so. Thanks, I hope to make the change before the baby.

Pictures

I just quickly wanted to tell anyone who likes the pictures of my boys that my very soon to be brother in-law took them. He did a great job and he is really good with children. He actually owns his own company and does mostly commercial photography and media. He is just starting to do alittle still photography on the side. So he's not just some random guy with a great camera. He has a website check it out if you are interested www.danielmoench.com

Sisters Crib

The crib and bedding are finally finished! For some reason I get these "visions" of what I want things to look like in my head and my "visions" are generally larger then my ability and my wallet. I wanted a White crib and not just any white crib but a very girly, very spindly, very feminine, vintage looking one and for under $250. Is that so much to ask for? So I sold my boys crib which I loved but it was a big, boyish, black, sleigh crib and did not fit into my "vision". Then I searched everywhere for this extremely darling but cheap crib and guess what? They don't exist. I could buy a cheap one or I could pay anywhere from $600-$1000 dollars to get what I really wanted - Yeah right. So we went with plan B which was to refinish my crib. The very one I slept in when I was a baby. So we got some paint that matches her dresser, some wood glue to fix a few wiggly spindles and spent an intire day trying to figure out the paint sprayer and this is the result:

You will have to use your imagination and pretend it's in a beautiful nursery with soft yellow walls, not crammed in the corner of mine and Sean room(we currently do not have a nursery) and that there is not a birdhouse wall paper border on the wall. Again we live with the in laws, and therefore do not get to choose the Decor. Also picture some cute little things hanging on the wall and sheer white curtain panels.
The bumper pads turned out really cute and so did the quilt. I payed Sew'n'Save $60 + the cost of fabric to quilt and bind it which was a great deal and I huge time saver. It's yellow with tiny sage green polka-dots.

The bed skirt has a cute little pink ruffle along the bottom that my older sister did for me. And finally a picture of Sean putting the crib back together. He is so sweet to go along with my crazy "visions" even when he ends up doing most of the work. I am happy with how everything turned out and I'm so excited to have my little girl here soon. The boys both made a big deal out of the crib and said how cute it was and they only asked a few times if they could get in it.

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My little Brighty turned 4 this week. To me four is the toddler/big boy dividing line. This was the first year he totally understood what was going on. After his party was over he said, lets do it again tomorrow! He got lots of fun gifts and has been playing with everything the last few days.

He had so much fun with all his cousins and we are glad everyone could come.

He insisted on having a Sponge Bob party and I really tried to get him to pick something else, but he wouldn't.

Before everyone got there he was so excited he could not stop jumping up and down.
He got to take a poster to pre school of pictures of his favorite things and explain it to his class. I was worried he would get in front of everyone and show off and not explain the pictures, but I was VERY surprised when he told exactly what each picture was.
We made little treats for all his class, which wasn't easy because they have several food allergy's in his class, so we went decided to go with Playdough.

Here are just a few things I love about Brighton.

* He loves everyone, he doesn't care how old you are, what color your skin is, what you look like, he just really likes everyone and will play with and talk to anybody.

*He has a great sense of humor. He catches sarcasm and laughs at jokes, even if they not very funny.

*He has a great imagination and uses it everyday. He can turn any random object into a game.

* He loves to snuggle.

*He is tender hearted and can sense when someone is felling sad or hurt.

* He would eat Lucky Charms for ever meal if I would allow it.

* He loves his family especially his little brother.

Baby Talk

I just wanted to quickly post some of the cute, and funny things that my sweet little Landon says. Yes I know these are the types of things that are usually only cute to the parents but oh well. Brighton was a late talker and still has a hard time slowing down long enough to have a real conversation with anyone but I remember changing Landon's diaper when he was just a tiny baby and how he would look right at you mouth and watch exactly how your mouth would move when you said each word. In the grand skeem of things does it really matter or mean that one child is smarter then another because of how early they talk? NO, I think it just has alot to do with there different personalities and it has made communication easier, but mostly it's just cute.
So here are some of Landon's funny sayings.

*At the dinner table:"Pass the Pickles Please."
* Driving in the car: "hey Marce, my nose is raining." He ment to say running, but Brighton though this was hilarious, he laughed so hard and repeats this story over,and over.
*Leaving Grandma and Grandpa's house one evening: "Oh, it's dark in the night."
* At bed time:"I'm coldy, I want to get under the covers."
* We have been reading alot of Halloween books and the other day he said, "I'm scared of Halloween." Then later that same day he said, "i'll say Trick or Treat, give me candy."
* I accidentally bought a different flavor of juice box then I normally buy, he looked at the box and said,"I don't like that kind, just Brighty likes that kind.
*We were shopping and I said we need to find shoes for Megan's wedding and he said,"in the temple!"

I can think of several others but I will stop the torture. I really do love this little guy and everything his fun personality adds to our family.

Inspired

I have to admit I have had a long week, the boys have been sick, I have been extremely tired and frustrated with not being able to finish up some projects I'd like to have done before the baby gets here, and two job prospects that looked really promising for Sean didn't end up working out. I had intentions of getting on the computer and venting on blogger. Then I browsed through some post of friends and I realized we are all facing our own challenges, but it's how we chose to face them that makes the difference. Some people are facing things that I could never in a million years imagine going through. My problems are really very small compared to most. So thank you to people who continue to inspire me, through your positive attitude and out look on life. My only hope is that I can do the same thing for someone else.

How long can this last?

These two little guys are the Best Buddies. Of coarse they have there normal brotherly squabbles over trains and blocks but for the most part they play so cute together. Landon has always adored and wanted to be big just like his brother. And Brighton has always looked out for and made sure to include his baby brother. Brighton asks me every 2o minuets during Landon's nap if he can go in and wake him up yet. And the first thing Landon says in the morning is, "where's Brighty." I just love to sit and watch them play together and listen to them talk to each other as they act out what ever it is they are imagining. But I can't help but think to myself, HOW LONG CAN THIS LAST? I HOPE it's always this way but I KNOW that might not be the case, so for now I am enjoying this.......

Happy Birthday to....

SEAN!

I just wanted to wish my husband a Happy 32nd Birthday. I have to laugh when I think back to when we got married, because I remember thinking @ the time that he was so old. He was 23 and turned 24 a few weeks after our wedding. :) Yes this means we just had our 8th wedding Anniversary last month which I didn't ever blog. Whoops. Anyhow, Happy Birthday to Sean, you are a wonderful Father and Husband, a hard worker, a avid Outdoors Man, and a fairly decent Golfer! We love you.

Brighton's First Day of Preschool!

Miss Mary's class room

It was a bitter/sweet experience for me this morning. Brighton was so excited and I know he needs this socially but it's hard to see your kids grow up. I enjoy having my kids home with me and I will probably always think of them as babies. We like to take it slow in the mornings and snuggle so getting all of us ready and out the door by 9:00 was alittle crazy. He was not nervous at all, in fact he walked in like he owned the place got a book and sat down next to a girl and asked her what her name was.

When I picked him up, his teacher was laughing and said he had just gone potty and said "Miss Mary that sure is alot of poop" when she went in to help him.I was very brave and didn't start crying until I got back to the car. It will be nice to get some arron's done with only one child in tow, at least for 9 more weeks. Landon was a little lonely, he kept looking over at Brite's car seat and saying "where Brighty go?" I think it will be good for all of us, it will just take some getting used to. I will be sure to post all the Family Secrets he will share with his teacher over the next several months.

Snakes,Carseat tent and bye bye baby clothes

Last week marked one year sense my uncle passed away. I just kept thinking about my own Dad and how much I Cherish that time he is able to spend with his Grandkids. He found this baby Snake when he was mowing the lawn and helped the boys hold it and look at it.

The carseat tent is finished. I am happy with how it turned out and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Although it's just a square so I think pretty much anybody could make one.

I got the instructions from a local fabric store called sew and save and made a few of my own adaptions mostly by mistake. Just don't look to closely at it.

But I guess it will keep the snow off her so it serves it's purpose.

And I have almost gotten rid of all the boys baby clothes on Ebay. I didn't want to have to hang on to them just in case I ever have another boy and I've been replacing them with some fun baby girl stuff.