The Gardners

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

I had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend. Friday night Todd and Evan went on their first father's and son's camping trip and had a blast. All day saturday we worked out in the yard getting a small garden planted. The kids had a blast playing in their kiddie pool in the shade. That evening we grilled hamburgers, stuffed jalepenos, corn-on-the-cob, and watermelon. It was a beautiful day too!

Today Todd woke up just before 6 and made me a special breakfast in bed (something he has never done for me before). He made and "adult" grilled cheese sandwich that he had heard about from someone at work. Since he had never made it before, he got up extra early so he could figure it out. It was so sweet! He even made a little menu with checkmarks and had the kids bring it in to me (of course he had the preferred meal choice starred and frist on the list). It was adorable and made the day so special.

All in all, this has been the best Mother's Day I have ever had. I absolutely am in LOVE with being a mother!

Easter Pictures

2011-05-05T13:21:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures the week after Easter since I worked Easter sunday. We spent a whole 10 minutes at the temple with the wind blowing my hair in front of my face. I prayed I got some good pictures and I was very pleased.

I wish, I wish

2011-05-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

I think most of the comments I make about this house start with those two words. Today I want to make my house mine by throwing paint on the walls and getting more decorations up. Then I decide on colors and realized EVERYTHING clashes with the horrid green carpet. I wish.... I could replace this carpet!

I'm caught in the place where I want all the fix-ups done at once, and there isn't enough money to do even one of them. All in time, I know!

Wish We Had Our Garden

2011-05-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

So the last post told of sprinklers not being fixed, which now are Yay! I've realized the reality of how much lawn we have when I did the first mowing... with a push lawn mower. Holy cow! All I can say is that I better lose some weight this summer!

We took the kids to the temple grounds this morning to take some pictures of them in their Easter clothes. I love that my kids pretend to be royalty and the temple is so special to them. Evan is always saying things about "when I get married in the temple..."

So, with the last post I said I hope the sprinklers would be fixed soon, and now they are! With that said, the next post should have our garden going. I can wish, right?

We did get our playset put back up. Now our yard looks like our yard, and the kids are really happy. As we were digging through stuff, both of the kids found their life jackets and wore them around all day. Evan even added his bike helmet. It's pretty bad when the parents put together the playset, and the kids play on it wearing bike helmets and life jackets. Don't they trust us?

Hello Again

2011-04-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

I don't blog much these days. Since we bought a house and sold one in the past few weeks, our time has been scarce and stress has prevailed at our house. The selling of our house was sad and we were angry about how the appraisal turned out, but the young couple who bought it love it and they are adorable. That being said, our new house is great. We have a lot of kinks to work out before we can get our grass greener and the house less green, but it will all take some time. We just have to be patient!

Our kids have been so good with all the stress surrounding them. They are loving the house too. It's hard to believe that Evan is nearly done with kindergarten. He has done so well this year. The thing that excites him the most is that he can now pick up any book and read it to us. We are incredibly proud of how well he is doing. He has picked up naughty words and behaviors from school though and willingly shares them with Madi. Grr!

Madilyn is all drama and emotions. A girl, right? She speaks so much better than Evan did at this age. I love watching her talk because her eyes are SO expressive! She is always the little shadow following me around the house all day. I just wish the kid would stop getting sick all the time. I swear her sicknesses come from her sucking her fingers. How in the world do I get her to stop?

Someday we will have all of our boxes unpacked, and the house more organized. Between both of us working full-time and trying to get the sprinkler system in the yard fixed, there hasn't been a lot of time for putting things in their rightful places. I was just glad to get pictures up on the wall. We still have a lot to do, but we are glad we decided to make the move and be out of our 2 bed/ 1 bath and into a 3 bed/ 2 bath with an acre of land. Plus, Central has been great!

Thoughts on Being a Nurse

2011-01-23T12:37:00.000-08:00

Being a nurse is hard, especially when I have kids to care for at home and feel guilty for workig full-time. I would stay at home if I could. Some days are really hard at work--draining stress, difficult patients, or the all-too-common bickering amongst fellow staff members. Then you couple all that with the terrible economy and the news of no raises and the loss of hospital income. Grrr... sometimes I wonder why I wanted to be a nurse in the first place.

This week I floated to the medical-surgical floor on a particularly busy day. I think we turned over half the census with new patients... some of them so time-consuming! The one thing that makes me sad about what I saw that day was the after-math of the lifestyle changes some of the patients were experiencing. Thank you work of wisdom! I came home tired, sad, and so glad that I get to work in OB.

In stark contrast, the next two days I spent a lot of time with a labor induction of a sweet family who was so appreciative of my care. They thanked me many times over for the care I rendered. Then the icing on the cake... 16 minutes before the end of my shift after two days of an agonizing induction for this young lady, her baby made its presence. I love birthday parties! Life is such an amazing miracle! Every time I help with a delivery, feeligs of amazement consume me. This partifular family made me feel like a million dollars with the appreciation they showed me.

Yes, I am happy that I chose to be a nurse. Thank you to all those who thank their nurses!

6 Days until 6 years old

2011-01-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how quickly my little Evan is growing up. Starting school seems to be the point where your kid becomes "BIG." Talking back, making friends, and making me SO SO proud! Evan has been such a joy and blessing to us since the day he was born. Something about his chocolate brown eyes and gorgeous smile just sucks me in, and he has the sweetest personality to go along with to good looks! I feel like the luckiest mom in the world to get to claim this little man.

So what are we doing for the special little man? We are taking him to the Arizona Museum of Natural History so he can see the dinosaurs. It's going to be a fun day celebrating with this man dinosaur style!

12 more days until Christmas

2010-12-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas season is fun this year. Evan is finally old enough to really be into it and has hit us with loads of questions! But, he is still gullable, and that is twice as much fun! Madilyn is really excited too.

This past months has been filled with sickness, sewing, work, karate, and lots of time with the kids outside.

We have nearly finished the porch on the back of the house. Now it just needs a little more paint and some rain sealing on the roof. Wohoo! We thought we'd have to wait until next summer to enjoy it, but the weather has been so nice that we are already loving it!

I promise to one day learn to post more pictures. I post them all on facebook though, so I don't see the need to do both.

I hope your house is as excited about Christmas as mine is!

I can't believe it's almost November

2010-10-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

It seems like this year in particular has gone by so quickly. Todd and I are both working full-time and he is still going to school full-time online. Because of this, we just don't have much spare time. My only hope is that at some point, we will start enjoying our time more. It feels like the time we have with our two beautiful children is quickly slipping away. Working full-time at with my kids so young just breaks my heart. Although I wouldn't want to stay at home all the time, full-time is just so hard! The only consolation is that our kids love their babysitter and really enjoy and look forward to the days they spend there. They are such good kids too!

Evan started karate in July, and it has kept us quite busy, but he LOVES it! We love watching him too. It makes me proud to watch him gain so much confidence from it. He is really good at it too! In a few weeks he will be participating in his first belt exam to get his yellow belt. He is so excited! He starting to get really interested in being strong and beating bad guys.

For Halloween this year, Evan was Batman and Madilyn was a princess. They had so much fun at the trunk-or-treat and then we went to a few houses afterward so they could knock on a few doors. Evan asked about Halloween constantly for over a month, so we are waiting to mention Christmas to him.

We bought land last year hoping to build a house on it in a few years. I wish we would have waited a little longer. We were trying to move back to St. Johns for awhile, but have since decided to stay here in the Gila Valley. With the economy the way it is, the houses near where our land is are not selling, and we are afraind to build since Todd is not finished with school and working his dream job. We also have bills we need to pay off, but because we are putting such a huge chunk of money toward our land, we aren't getting anything paid off. So, we decided to put our land back up for sale. I am praying that we get it sold quickly! It is so sad to let go of a dream. The land is 1.7 acres of horse property way out away from busy streets (like the college street we live on now) and is backed by BLM land. It has a GORGEOUS view of Mt. Graham and the surrounding smaller mountains. We really fell in love with it. I hope someone else does too. There is just no way that we can afford to build a house on it in the next year, and we HAVE to move into a bigger house sooner than the 4 years we have left to pay on it.

The house we live in now is too small for our family of four, and there is no way we can fit another child in it if and when we have one. We haven't decided to rent or sell our house yet. So many decisions!

Maybe It's Time to Start Again

2010-09-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted a blog. Partly because I got a new camera and can't find a place that makes it easy to downsize my pictures so they'll load to blogger. Any suggestions?

My neighbor and dear friend died from cancer last night. She fought off breast cancer and then was hit with neuroendocrine cancer which spread throughout her entire body. She was in a lot of pain at the end, but even last thursday when I was able to say my last goodbyes, she was alert and taking visitors. It has been the hardest two weeks I've ever dealt with emotionally. I have been holding my kids more over the past months and spending as much qaulity time as I can. It really opened my eyes to the precious things in life to see my nieghbor dealing with this terrible disease. She was so strong.

Glena taught me so many things. When we first moved here, I didn't have any friends and I was miserable. She was the best neighbor and we quickly became friends, as did our children. Her kids are 4, 5, and 8. Glena helped me with my sewing. She was so goofy and fun in the was she interacted with her kids. I was always wondering what game she would think up next to entertain her adorable children.

I think about her kids and hurt for them. I only hope I can do enough to help them through this time. Kids are resilient, thank goodness, but the loss of such an amazing mother is going to be so hard for them! Another friend and I are putting together a book for her kids that will be filled with memories, stories, and pictures from her friends (her family has on from the family). Do any of you know of a good place to publish such a book in a hardbound book for a decent price?

I feel angels around her home right now and feel such a peace. She was one of those friends that if you knew her and were her friend, you felt like a celebrity because everyone who know her loves her. I have been so lucky to have her in my life, and in my kids' lives. I have a sweet last memory of our last visit a few days ago, and that will carry me through the next few months.

I promise to post more if I can find a good place to shrink my pictures, because I have TONS to share. Until then, please say a prayer of comfort for her family.

One step closer....

2010-04-23T14:43:00.001-07:00

to a finished yard!

Before:

After:

Now we just need to add the edging rocks around the grass!

Now you know what I do for exercise: haul gravel!

Two years old!

2010-04-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

Still my little redhead!

Madilyn is still in the 98th percentile for hieght and weight (34.4 pounds and 3 feet 1 inch tall). I hope that sometime soon she will slow down! Poor girl is going to be a giant!

We have enjoyed Madilyn so much. Her little personality is SO much fun! Yes, she is two in all of it's glory, but she is just so precious!

I know

2010-04-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

I am so bad at keeping my blog updated. It seems like our lives are a continuous round of the same things happening over and over again. We are still enjoying this cooler weather by spending most of our spare time working in the yard. It has been a great workout for us, and it's looking really great.

Our kids keep us so busy and always make us smile. Evan is registered for kindergarten next year. It's amazing that he is old enough to attend school. To me, he is still too little to be in school. He is so excited to ride the bus!

Madilyn is always a charmer with her painted on smile and fiery personality to match her hair. She has been talking a lot more and is so bossy.

It makes me so proud to see my kids loving eachother and playing together.

Todd just finished his first semester of his bachelor's program in computers. Three more to go! It is so hard for him to work full-time, go to school full-time, and find time to spend with the family. He is juggling it all really well I think.

Other than that, our lives are just filled with typlical life.

Weekend at the Ranch

2010-03-28T19:45:00.001-07:00

Madilyn is two!

2010-03-28T19:39:00.001-07:00

Madilyn's birthday isn't until the 31st, but we celebrated it this weekend with family at Todd's Grandpa's ranch. Here are a few cute photos of the birthday girl. We sure enjoy having this happy little red-head in our family. I could watch this girl for hours and never get bored. She is so cute and funny! If she's not mad, she has an adorable grin painted across her face all the time.

Flyin' kites

2010-03-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

What we do for fun!

2010-03-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

Todd and I decided that instead of spending money on crazy stuff for our anniversary, that we would fence in our yard instead. Living on a college street is really scary with little kids. Our yard was fenced along he back, but not on the sides of the house. So we had our first chain-link experience. Now our kids have a nice, safe place to play.

Spring

2010-03-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

The two weeks of nice spring weather that Arizona gets is here, and although my blog might miss me, my yard is looking great. I will post pictures later!

So much love

2010-02-16T11:25:00.003-08:00

I know I don't write a whole lot on my blog, because I just love to share pictures of the cuteness that surrounds me. I have great kids, and even though my camera is really crappy, they are still so cute!

I have so many reasons to love these adorable little kids. They make me so happy every day. I have had a lot of fun conversing with Evan since he now understands so much. He has been telling the funniest stories! Madilyn is getting a little more hair, and we are having fun with it. They are really liking each other more, but with that comes more fighting. We just keep trying to get them to love each other more, and reminding ourselves that this is just a phase.

Todd and I had a great weekend. We were able to have his parents and older sister and her family over on Saturday for steak and visiting. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have such an amazing husband! We are looking forward to celebrating our 7th anniversary in a few weeks.

Aunt Brindi

2010-01-31T14:58:00.000-08:00

This weekend I took the kids down to see Aunt Brindi/ Uncle Brandon and Grandma and Grandpa Shreeve. Todd was working, so we made the trip alone. Despite having to take the back streets around to Superior, we finally made it!

We did a little shopping, took the kids to a really fun park, and spend an evening visiting and making yummy food.

Wahoo!

2010-01-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

Evan has been pretty scared of a lot of things since he was a baby. He doesn't like to swing high or go fast down slides. He even cries on the carousel! Well, we finally found SOMETHING boyish he isn't afraid of...

We bought a sled and took it up on Mt Graham yesterday. I sent him down this nice little hill and hoped he might somehow miss the big rock that was a little to the left, but it apparently is a sled magnet. I was so suprised that when he hit it, instead of crashing and breaking something like I feared he would, he ramped over the thing and caught air. That was it, he was hooked! He loved it over and over and I indulged it because nothing is better than his smile and that awesome laugh!

Todd bad I couldn't find the camera before we left!

Evan turns 5!

2010-01-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it?!! I can't. He's still obsessed with Transoformers again this year, but we had a fun time with the theme, and Evan has a HUGE collection of them now (including the original cartoons since the movies are not for kids at all).

Evan is such a good kid and we are so proud of him! The things he comes up with amaze us all the time. He told his Grandma that he wanted to be a Daddy when he grows up so he can be momma's sweetheart. That always melts me when he says things like that. I love this age when he is so in love with his Mommy.

Today I asked him if he like his sister and he said "Of course I do." I aksed why he is so mean to her if he loves her. He said "We're kids. It's gonna happen."

Our first project this year

2010-01-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

...turned out awesome so far! We love the results, even though we were without a sink for a week! We still have to buy all new racks/towels/and such, but we have to spread out the purchasing of them. I'll post a picture when it is completely finished. For now, we still have to touch up on paint and re-attach all the cupboard doors once we find our drill (it is sadly lost in the pile of our storage room).

We started off with laminate and ugly white cupboards.

Here we are in the middle of the project.

We are so excited to finish it all up!

Indie and curls

2010-01-04T07:49:00.001-08:00

I love having both a boy and a girl in my house. Madilyn's red hair delights me, and Evan is so much a boy, that you can't not love every bit of him. So from the girl that is such a girl, and the boy who is, well, a boy comes:

Little Orphan Annie (as named by Evan and complements of two more hours to prepare for church)

Indiana Jones (thank you Uncle James and Aunt Kathy)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T19:23:00.001-08:00

We had an amazing Christmas at home this year. We celebrated two days early due to work, but the kids loved it, and so did we. We opened gifts in the morning, ate a nice breakfast, then headed up to Mt. Graham to enjoy the beautiful snow. Enjoy the pictures!

Just had to share these...

2009-12-10T20:09:00.000-08:00

Yeah, weird background, I know. We were out visiting our land and the kids wanted to sit together on the back of the car. They are incredibly cute too.

Evan was so excited for his Christmas party at preschool today. He is grown up so much in the past 6 months. Madilyn has too--she's talking so much now! I am so blessed to have the family that I do.

Christmas begins Gardner style...

2009-12-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

... with adorable faces glowing from the lights of the tree.

Dream of a new home...

2009-12-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

We recently purchased 1.7 acres of horse property in Pima, and hope to build there someday when it's payed off. We love the views, and after living on a busy street directly across from a college football stadium, we are so in love with the peace and quiet there. We go out at least once a week to walk around the land, rock hunt with the kids, and dream about the possibilities of the future. We are incredibly excited to build our dream home here someday.

My lovely sisters

2009-12-07T20:02:00.001-08:00

Annalee

Brindi

Adorable piggies

2009-12-07T19:57:00.000-08:00

I love Madilyn's red hair and have been so inpatient waiting for her to get more of it. Then I'd have to style it! She is so fun though!

Beanies and Bows

2009-11-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

Any of you who love the beanie Madilyn wore for family pictures should check out my friend's blog. Not only does she handmake these cuties and sell them for dirt cheap, she also makes bows and tutus. Madilyn is a regular customer.

http://lilcutiehairbows.blogspot.com/

Family shots

2009-11-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

Thank you again Rachel for these gorgeous pictures!

The lighting in this picture is so breathtaking.

More shots

2009-11-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Evan--almost 5 years

2009-11-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Love this face, it is so Evan.

I love the fall colors!

I love his smile! It always melts me!

Family pictures

2009-11-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

My friend Rachel took some amazing pictures of our family last weekend. I was able to add a couple of Madilyn in the previous post, but am unable to get anymore to download, so I will try again tomorrow. If you have me as a friend on facebook, you can view them there.

Rachel is amazing! This was her first family photo shoot ever, and I am excited to share these with you. Thank you Rachel for the beautiful pictures!

Madilyn--19 months

2009-11-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

My friend, Erica, made this beautiful beanie for Madilyn. Thank you! It was a struggle keeping it on her head for the pictures... hence the hand in the picture!

I love, love, love this photo! Pretty girl!

Halloween 2009!

2009-11-06T13:31:00.001-08:00

This year Evan chose to be Bumblebee from Transformers, and Madilyn was a giraffe (one of Evan's previous costumes). They were adorable and had so much fun!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Shreeve for spending the weekend with us. We have so much fun!

We have them too!

2009-10-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

It seems like I have heard a lot about the Lord's "tender mercies" lately, and, we have them too! We have been struggling, but we have been blessed. I want to cry as I write this, because I'm not sure I'm ready to give up this family time we have had together--difficult or not.

Someone paid for Madilyn's ear surgery anonymously. I cannot tell that person enough how much that hs helped us. It seems like the past 8 months hit us all at once, and that gift was huge--it was A LOT of money. Thank you, thank you!

Todd got accepted into a bachelor's program with financial aid and a scolarship to help. He has applied for so many computer positions and never even got interviewed for most because he only has an AAS degree. We felt like going to back to school is vital for Todd to get the job he desires.

Funny how it works though, because the same week we got our anonymous gift and found out Todd got his scholarship, a possible job opportunity pops up at a place Todd has worked before.

More than likely Todd will start work on Monday. Gosh, that is such a huge blessing to have him working again! But work and school? Well, we are just going to have to take it one day at a time.

Our prayers are definately asnwered in the Lord's own time. I thank him for that!

What he'd to do play the Wii

2009-10-22T06:26:00.001-07:00

A few days ago, Evan had been playing the Wii for hours, and when asked to put it away, he threw a tantrum. Our rule is, that if he puts up a fight when we ask him to put the Wii away, that he will not be able to play the next day. Evan only gets to play when Madilyn is napping.
So yesterday, he was banned from playing the Wii as punishment.

Evan asked once in the morning if we could put Madilyn to bed so he could play. We reminded him that he didn't get to play because of how he acted the day before. At lunch we were getting ready to eat and Evan said "We need to fold arms (say a prayer). " Todd told Evan thank you for reminding us. Evan then asked to say it, which is something he has NEVER done before. We were excited!

Then he said "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the food. Please bless it. Please bless that I can play a game while Madilyn sleeps. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." We couldn't believe it! The smart little stinker! How could we not laugh?

Needless to say, Todd played a game with him, but he did NOT get to play the Wii.

Graham County Fair

2009-10-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

We decided to take Evan to the fair on saturday, and his face tells you how much he loved it! Okay, we had fun too!

Daddy's Little Cowboy!

He hate the airlplanes, and wouldn't even look at us!

He LOVED the cars though. I don't know who this cute kid is that's riding with Evan. They had fun together though!

Isn't that the BEST smile in the world?

Sassy Little Shoes

2009-10-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have had so much fun with the sewing machine I got for Christmas last year and have fallen in love with making baby shoes. I am thinking of trying to sell these, so tell me what you think!

Happy flower shoes:

This particlar pair is sized 3 3/4 inces. I am guessing a size 3-6 months? they are elastic around the top and padded with fleece in the top and bottom. They are black with red and green flowers and a red inner lining.

Brown with pink and green:

These measure just under 5 inches (12-18 months?) They have an adjustable velcro strap on top and are lined with pink flannel that is so soft!

Boots :

This is the first pair of boots I've made, but I am excited about all the possiblities of them. I am going to try to find some wool to put around the top as well as all sorts of colors of mismatched buttons. I'm not too sure if a flower would go well on them.

This particular pair measures 4 inches (3-6 months?). They are made of brown corduroy and line with ivory flannel. The bottoms are padded.

Happy red flower shoes:

These little cuties are black with red and green flowers and a red inner lining. They are also lined with padding on top and bottom for extra warmth and comfort. They measure 4 1/4 inches (6-9 months?)

Embellished Brown:

It's hard to describe this fabric. It is thick and fuzzy, but isn't fleece or corduroy, just cute! The flowers are brown. One layer has brown dots and the upper layer has green around the middle and are attached with a blue button.

I can make these without embelishments. I have thought about making solid colored shoes and then making interchangeable bows or flowers to go on them.

I guess my main question to all of you that have little girls is, how much should I charge for these? How much would you spend for a pair of handmade shoes?

Madilyn Gets Tubes

2009-10-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Madilyn has had an ear infection nearly every month since January. Along with them came a very unhappy little girl who cried so much! She also had horrible balance and wasn't speaking much. She was able to have tubes placed in her ears a few weeks ago, and is doing so much better!

Here are some pictures of her waiting to get them in:

She always loves to play with my stethescope.

The whole thing took less than 15 months and then they brought me my sleepy, and incredibly limp little girl. It was kinda sacry that se was so limp. It went well though, and so far, so good.

Sew Much Fun!

2009-09-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

I got this adorable shirt at Target, but couldn't find anything to go with it, so I decided to make my own skirt. It was really easy!

It's a little too long for Madilyn, but it makes a nice long winter skirt and will last her for awhile. It is an embroidered corduroy fabric.
I also have started making baby booties again. I will add flowers and bows to them as well. It seems like everything I make is brown, but I am so into brown right now. The favorite pair I made were actually black and red, but I gave them to a nurse at work for her newborn before I got pictures. Dang it!

This is the first pair of boots I've made, and I reall excited to make more. I will add some wool to the top and maybe buttons or flowers. I know, brown again. I'll post more pictures as I make more pairs. I have a lot of cute fabric to work with, and I may start selling them.

Update

2009-09-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

So, the doctor confirmend it is in fact a reaction to the immunization, and cellulitis. So, we started her on benadryl and will start antibiotics tomorrow if it doesn't get any better. At least now we have it documented so she will no longer need to get this immunization anymore.

Obvious Immunization Reaction

2009-09-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

Look at how swollen her arm is!

We are taking Madilyn to the doctor in a few minutes to have her arm evaluated. I'll update later, but this is from the DTaP immunization she got yesterday. Scary!

So Sad

2009-09-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

That is how Madilyn is today. She had 3 shots at her 18-month checkup and she is so dramatic about it. Although, I have never had her or Evan act like this after shots, so I am a little worried. I'll just keep an eye on her. There is nothing worse than holding down your screaming child while someone hurts them with your consent. I feel evil, but I wouldn't have it any other way--I am all for immunizations.

Madilyn is still big. At 18 months:

Madilyn:

35 inches (99%tile)
29lbs 6 oz (93%tile)
head 19 1/4 in

Evan at 20 months:

33.25 inches (81%tile)
33 lbs (99%tile)
head 19 3/4 in

Madilyn is so tall!

Evan:

Oh so rare

2009-09-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

A moment of toleration. I sure hope these come more frequently!

Hooray, it's Fall

2009-09-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

...now I wish it would start FEELING like fall.

I haven't blogged for awhile. I just didn't want to.

The past month has been busy and frustrating. I have had a lot of difficult days at work with special patient situations. We have also been stressed about finding a job for Todd still. Although, we are FINALLY getting unemployment, and that is a HUGE blessing.

Madilyn has had 5 or 6, maybe more, ear infections since January. Consequently, we took her to a specialist today, and she will be getting tubes in her ears sometime in the near future. She has been horrible since she had her first infection--just grouchy most of the time. Plus, she has the worste balance in the world and is not talking much yet. I really hope the tubes help her.

Other that the kids keeping us busy, we haven't been doing much. Both of us have been reading books and I have started making baby boots and slippers again--I'll post some pictures of them later. I enjoy making them, so I will probably start trying to sell them for a little extra money, but mostly for fun.

We are so excteid for all the fun that is wrapped up in the next few months... and especially excited to be able to go for long walks again as a family without dying in the heat.

Ah, Siblings

2009-08-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Todd brought the kids to visit me at work today. Evan was so excited that there was a baby at the nurse's station. I asked him if he wanted me to bring the baby home with me, and he said "Okay, but Madilyn has to stay here." For all of you that think I am lying when I say my kids hate each other, now you know I wasn't lying!

School Time Again!

2009-08-20T11:28:00.001-07:00

I love this time of year. I remember being so excited on the first day of school to get to see all my friends again and show off all my new clothes. Living next to the college, I also am reminded of how fun each semester of college was.

Evan started preschool again this year and I am hoping it helps him a lot. Evan is still having a really hard time with his speech. We had him evaluated three times to go to the free pre-school here to get help, but each time he was just above the cut-off and is barely normal for his age. It makes me sick because he really does need help. I am sure praying that this preschool will help him.

Here he is on the first day of school:

Every time I sit down to play the piano, I am attacked by the kids. I thought I would get a few pictures of them having fun:

A friend of mine lost her husband yesterday to lupus. I have been deep in thought and so saddened for her. How greatful I am for eternal marriages and the gift of a comforter. I cannot even begin to comprehend the pain she is going through right now. He was so young! It makes me hold my family a little thighter at night and not want to comlain about my trials.

We Made It!

2009-08-20T11:04:00.001-07:00

I still hold fast to saying that I don't like to travel. We did have a great time though and it was so nice to not have to take the kids with us. The kids were thankfully very good for their grandparents, and happy to see us when we came home. We are so lame that we were more excited to come home than we were to leave. I guess we don't get away from our kids enough.

We only had 2 1/2 days to see Washington, so we had time to take 200+ pictures and get a glance at most of the things. There is WAY too much to do there! I'll share a few of my favorite photos and won't tell you all that we did. Like anyone cares!

Washington monument (we got shots of this thing from every angle... it just is so cool to see)

We also have a million shots of the U.S. capitol. The building is absoutely breath-taking. And, I am a sucker for old architecture.

Arlington National Cemetery. I had no idea how huge this place is! The mood there was so special. This was one of my favorites of the trip

The Tomb of the unknown, Arlington National Cemetery. We got to watch the changing of the guard, and it left me speechless.

In front of the White House

The White House

We were so hot and sweaty, but we did capture a few good shots

The U.S. Capitol

We loved to see all the old buildings--there were so many amazing ones. I have never seen so many people that didn't speak English. There were a lot of homeless there too. Riding the subway for the first time was fun, and it was way convenient and inexpesive.

As much fun as it was though, I know that I belong in Arizona now. I felt so out of place there!

The best part of the trip was the conference of course. Another nurse from the hospital here and I went to an external fetal monitoring conferece. Our speaker was so good and I loved her Chicago accent. We learned a lot.

We have spent the last couple of days getting the laundry done and house cleaned. It is so good to be home!

I Never Make Up My Mind

2009-08-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

There are so many times throughout the week that I whine about having kids and just wanting some quiet time wthout them to get stuff done around the house. Now, we are heading off tomorrow so I can go to a fetal monitoring conference in Maryland, and I am so sad to leave! I have to keep telling myself that Todd and I NEED this. We have been under so much stress with him being layed off and unable to find work. Plus, he's been off since february, and still is fighting for unemployment.

So we are off on a trip we can't afford, but that has already been mostly paid for (except for food, of course). We get to spend two days in Washington, D.C. after the conference... for a total of 6 days and nights away from the kids with a 5-hour plane trip over and back. Eek! I miss my kids already and have been trying to spoil them all day.

Expect lots of pictures. We leave tomorrow and will be back the following Monday.

I don't update this enough, but we have TONS of stuff going on that I don't write about because it's too stressful and there are no resolutions to them. I always like to write about things after the fact so that I don't look like an idiot when I get the real results.

So off we go hoping for a safe trip and well-behaved children who enjoy the time with their wonderful grandparents.

Pioneer Days

2009-07-27T17:18:00.001-07:00

We finally made it up to St. Johns for the Pioneer Days celebration. The kids were so good and we had a blast. I got to spend a lot of time with my friend Rachel Platt whom I had not seen for at least 8 years. We both have redheads too!

We spent a lot of time playing cards and visiting with family. The kids loved playing outside and all the kids that were there. The only thing we missed was the monsoon. Where in the world is the rain?

With Grandma and Grandpa Martineau

Rachel and I ( I love this girl!)

Madilyn at the parade

This is too precious not to share!

The kiddos with the twin goats the day they were born

Is this not so cute?

Madilyn with Grandpa Martineau

THE END

Today I Was a Bad Mother

2009-07-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

I had to read the #5 scripture in relief society today. Madilyn was being a butt, as she usually is when she's NOT sleeping during her naptime (she also figured out how to make spit bubbles and farting noises with her lips today during sacrament meeting). The joys!

I was desperately trying to keep her happy and had already crawled twice around the people I was sitting with to get her. So, I did the bad mom thing... I let her wander around the room. I got quite a kick out of all the smiles that followed her. I secretly enjoyed it while at the same time wondering how many of the ladies in the relief society were thinking I was a bad mom.

I keep telling myself... 2 1/2 months, yes only 2 1/2 months until nursery!

Until then, I do love my kid, and I may just be a bad mother. Sorry ladies!

Another update

2009-07-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

I have been so tired lately. Sorry for not updating more.

We have been busy working on projects around the house. This past weekend we were able to do something fun though. We spent the weekend camping with family in the White Mountains. The rain and cool weather were wonderful! Enjoy the pictures!

Madilyn enjoying the hammock:

Cousins Timothy, William, and Madilyn feeling the rain:

Evan called our car "Bumble Bee" all weekend and was so happy when Daddy let him help drive "Bumble Bee" on the dirt roads:

Our handsome little cowboy pushing his cousin Kaylana in the wheelbarrow:

Who couldn't love this face?

The meadows had hundreds of pretty flowers:

Always the stud!

Yes, we did survive the tents, and quite well I must say! We slept well on the nights it wasn't raining and our kids are now seasoned campers! Hooray!

They Are Just So Cute!

2009-06-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

This is Evan's Halloween costume from his FIRST halloween! Crazy kid found it and had it on when I came home from work the other day.
This pretty girl wants to play the Wii. Look at all the hair she's getting!
I love that she can go curly without putting any crud in her hair, just scrunch it when it's wet. It curls on the ends no matter what I do. I wish I had curly hair!
Evan and I put bird seed outside the other day and got to watch this cute quail family enjoy it.
Evan watched the birds from the window for at least 45 minutes.

I am so lucky...

2009-05-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today was a miserable day. I had to spend the day cleaning, which is horrible with kids. Todd took Evan to Duncan to help his dad fix computers. Madilyn was being evil as is any child who is getting molars. Then came Evan's t-ball game. He wasn't listening and it was HOT. I took my rings off and put them on my leg so I could lather Madilyn with sunblock. Then jumped up a few minutes later to help Evan get back on the field. Before I knew it, we were getting up to leave and I realized my rings weren't on, and I vaguely remember taking them off for the sunblock before all the crazy chasing of kids. Crap! I was so sick to my stomach!

There was another game right after ours so we coldn't comb the grass with all the people around. We decided to go home and come back later. I was in tears. Now I am one of those people who still loves to browse through wedding rings all the time, and thought it would be nice to upgrade at some point. Not now. Losing the thing just about killed me. I don't want another ring... I want THAT one! Todd had to go home teaching, so when the game ended, we had about 10 minutes to look. There were some awesome people who stayed to help too. We looked and looked and I found my wedding ring faced down buried way in the grass. Is that luck or what?!! I have never felt so relieved and so stupid in my life!

Look What We Did!

2009-05-15T16:50:00.001-07:00

We are so excited to have a backyard. We put in all the grass today along with the tree and shrubs. It was a TON of work! I am now exremely sunburned.

Evan's first day of t-ball practice

2009-05-15T16:44:00.001-07:00

Evan had his first practice with his team, the Cubs, on Wednesday. So cute! The other players on his team except for three have all played before, so he has a lot to learn to catch up. It's going to be awesome for him though! He had so much fun.

Most of the practice he spent either pulling out a wedgie (!!?!!) or picking weeds out of the grass. Great, we have an out-fielder---a professional one at that!

Evan

2009-05-12T10:05:00.001-07:00

Our little guy is growing up so fast and saying the cutest things lately! Last week he inherited some fish from a nurse I work with. Can you tell he is in love?

I finally got around to giving him a haircut this morning and had to take some pictures. He is always so adorable with a fresh haircut. It makes him look so much older to have short hair. Doesn't he look like a big boy?

He made me feel like a million dollars on mother's day. When I finished getting ready for church, I came out of the bathroom and he said "Are you really a princess?!!" Later that day he came up and whispered: "Shh! I really love you Momma

Evan and I used to be the best of friends until my pregnancy sickness hit with Madilyn. He has been so angry with me for the past two years until recently. All of a sudden we are best friends again, and I am loving it. I used to get irritated with the late night dreams and crying that involoved me getting out of bed to comfort him. I guess being at work so much softens me up or something. Now I look forward to lying next to him on his bed and rubbing his back and telling him how much I love him. I won't have many years to do this with him, and this time is so priceless.

I took him to his first primary acitivity last Saturday and I was so proud of him. He kept running over to tell me he loved me. There was a group of four boys his age who were running around being loud and mean to eachother. Evan didn't join them. I want him to be popular, but I don't want him part of the bullying crowd. He is such a good kid!

Last night we were talking a little bit about Jesus. I asked Evan how it made him feel to talk about him. Evan said "It makes me feel really sad." When I asked why, he answered "Because my Jesus died." He always says "My Jesus," So sweet. I am grateful to have such a sweet little man who is so touched by things of the Spirit.

Ahhh

2009-05-10T15:31:00.000-07:00

Isn't it wonderful to be a mother? It was the most wonderful thing today to watch my little man stand up with the primary kids in relief society to sing a mother's day song. When Evan gets shy, he "put up his defenses." So, instead of sining, he held his invisible sword with both hands in front of face and glared around the room with occasional smiles flashed at me when our eyes met. I felt like a kid looking for him among the children and waving to get his attention. I was so rpoud! Now, hopefully next year he'll be brave enough to sing.

Tons of Photos!

2009-05-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

My awesome cousin Zane took these amazing pictures of us this last week.

He lives in Mesa, so we met halfway in Globe. Who's have thought Globe had such cool places? Their downtown district has some awesome places to take pictures. Enjoy, 'cause I had to share tons out of the 75 he took!

This crumbled wall was so out of the way, but it is beautiful isn't it?

Pictures

2009-05-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

New Wall Decor

2009-05-02T20:56:00.001-07:00

We painted our family room in January and still haven't found time to get it decorated. I had this made at etsy.com just for our house and we are so excited about how well it turned out!

Here are our kiddos enjoying the beautiful weather.

We had my cousin Zane take some family pictures this week. Notice the new picture on the page. I will add more later, 'cause there are so many awesome ones!

Madi stats

2009-04-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to getting Madilyn's 12-month check-up (now that she is nearly 13 months). Better late that never.

She and Evan are nearly the same size at this age:

Weight: 26lbs 2 oz (96%tile)

Height: 32 inches (99th %tile)

Head: 19 inches

Evan was:

Weight: 25lbs 12 oz

Height: 32 1/4 inches

Head: 19 in ches

It's not fair that both of my kids will be taller than me. I guess I knew it was coming!

Club 33

2009-04-18T20:54:00.001-07:00

We also spent a day at Disneyland. I had no idea that Todd have never been there! The guy who rented us his beach house also had a membership to Club 33. You should look up all the info about that place! Needless to say there are about 400 members of this club who spend way too much money for rights to be able to eat at this hidden 5-star restaraunt inside Disneyland. Any member can make a reservation for friends/ family.

At the guest information desk they confirm that you have a reservation, and then you get complimentary tickets to the park and a map to get to the "secret" door. If you don't eat there, then the person with the membership gets charged for the tickets. Needless to say, the meals cost just barely less than the tickets to the park, and I had no idea about all this until we got there. If I had known more about the place, I would have taken more pictures and looked around some more. I won't go into more detail about it, but I feel pretty lucky that we got to go there!

There was a couple looking at the door while we were waiting to get in and I asked if they needed to get by. The guy said "Yeah, wouldn't that be nice!?" Holy cow, I guess we were so lucky! The desk person inside told us that she hears people telling all sorts of stories aboput the place outside the door. She even had a man sing the whole song "Supercali....etc" thinking that that would get him it. Can you believe she couldn't let him in? Reservations by a MEMBER only. Way cool!

It was beautiful there and the food was so so good! Look at these desserts:

We had an absolute blast on this trip and were so greatful Todd's parents were able to watch Evan and Madilyn for us! It was so hard to be away, and now we CANNOT WAIT to take Evan to Disneyland!

We are so incredily grateful that we were invited on this trip and we had a blast being with James and Kathy!

Laguna Beach

2009-04-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

We are so in love with the ocean now, and for good reasons. It's so beautiful there! Despite the hair frizz, haha.

These were taken on Laguna Beach during one of our morning walks:

Todd, Cassandra, Kathy, and James at Newport Beach:

The second night we were there, it was really windy and about 3 feet of the beach was cut away while we were sleeping. We could hear the Coast Guard helicopters flying all over during the evening. We had no idea that the ocean could do so much during one night!

Beach house

2009-04-18T20:06:00.001-07:00

We had what we considered to be a second honey-moon and it was a blast! Todd's brother James and his wife Kathy invited us to go to California with them for a few days. We left on Sunday morning and got back Wednesday at 8 PM. It is now Saturday and I have to work thursday through sunday. I am exhausted and way behind on posting!

The trip was amazing though. James found a little beach house right on Laguna Beach. It was absolutely perfect. Waking up to the sound of the ocean is in-describable. My favorite part of the trip was the morning walks Todd and I took along the beach. We tried finding cool shells for Evan and made an attempt to capture some crabs. No luck there.

Here are some pictures of the place where we stayed:

This is the view from the balcony

Here we are getting attacked by a wave. This was Todd's first view of the ocean:

Cuties!

2009-04-18T19:59:00.001-07:00

Easter weekend was a little crazy. Madilyn was sick, and we didn't get a lot of pictures. Saturday we did an Easter egg hunt with the cousins. Madilyn had fallen and hit her cheek on a rocking horse, so she had a nice black eye by the time Sunday rolled around. I will attempt to get better pictures when I have the time.

This is the dress that I spent weeks making for Madilyn. I was so pleased with it and am excited to make more!

Stupid insurance

2009-04-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

We just changed insurance since Todd is now unemployed and we are now getting insurance through my job. Our insurance stinks! I got an antibiotic for Madilyn's ear infection and the dang stuff cost me $30 after insurance. From Wal-Mart!!! Ri-dic-u-lous! Todd took her to the doctor yesterday because she woke up with a fever of 100.6 and I was at work. At first I told him just to wait and see if it hung on, but decided he should just take her in since this was her first fever. The doctor said one of her ears was a little red and presribed her medicine. The pharmacy wouldn't fill it because they said the dose was wrong, and since Todd didn't pick it up until after office hours, we didn't get it last night. She still had a fever all night so I called first thing to nag the office about it.

So, we got teh medicine on our way to Duncan so Evan could see his cousins and Todd a couple from his mission. I was cleaning Madilyn's face while we were getting gas and noticed her tonsils were swollen and had HUGE white spots on them. Great! Todd says he doesn't even think they looked at her throat. Double great! So, I called again and asked if the $30 antibiotic I got will also cover strep throat. Of course not! Luckily, Evan had amoxicillin from an ear infection he had in December (he wouldn't take it so we ended up having to give his a shot in the rear instead). So now I get to decide whether to treat the ear or the strep. Because neither antibiotic covers both. What the heck!

Then second whammo. Todd had a prescription to fill for a sleeping pill he has to take before he goes for his sleep study (he has sleep apnea). Since we changed insurances after the prescription was written, we now have to wait a week for the pharmacy to call the doctor and the doctor to call the insurance to tell them it really is needed. Stupid! I just figure it's a dang good thing it wasn't insulin or a blood pressure medicine, or something else along that line. Since when does a prescription from a doctor not prove the need for a medication? Another reason why I never want to be a doctor.

Okay, I'm off the soapbox now.

We are going to Cali. on Sunday without the kids to spend some time with Todd's brother and his wife and to take Todd to the ocean for the FIRST time. We are way excited. The next post should be full of tons of pictures.

Happy Easter everyone!

Summer here we come!

2009-04-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

We finnally had a warm day without wind (is it possible?!?). So, we decided to set up the pool in celebration. The kids hated it. Haha. They had a blast!

Easter project

2009-04-03T19:41:00.001-07:00

I couldn't find an Easter dress I like for Madilyn. They either cost too much, or didn't have any sleeves. It's too hot for sweaters in AZ! So, I decided to use the sewing machine that Todd got me for Christmas. This is my first dress ever (the only other thing I've sewn was a quilt I made in a quilting class in college). I have had so much fun! I love my maching, and am proud that it has turned out so great. I had my nieghbor show me how to put the sleeves together, but I did all the sewing myself. So, so fun. This is a newfound hobbie for me and I can't wait to make more!

I added the underlayer and bows to the pattern for a little more bling and fullness.

I absolutely love the ruffle along the edges of the neckline, and they were actually very easy to do.

The best part? My friend Erica is going to make me bows for her hair to match! Hooray! I am so excited!

Happy 1st!

2009-04-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hair finally!

2009-04-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

We are finally to pigtail stage, and I am so in love with how cute she looks!

A Little Face-lift

2009-04-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

I have been such a slacker about blogging... and we have been doing tons of stuff!

I'll do more than one post I guess.

We really really want a backyard for our kids to play in. Ours is currently dirt and weeds. Since we can't afford to water our whole property, we decided to cut out about half the grass in our front yard. Todd sprayed the unwanted grass and we are not so patiently waiting for it to die. Sounds morbid I know. We are way excited though!

We also plan to turn our current carport into a 3rd bedroom to our little cave. So, we needed a new walkway in anticipation of this far-away dream. Thus the following project:

We had a blast working on this together and we're pretty proud of ourselves!

They're all mine!

2009-03-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

My favorite of the photos.

He never takes a good picure anymore, but look at those beautiful eyes!

Evan wears a cape almost everywhere we go. Seriously, such a fun little boy. I should have gotten a picture of his boy legs (all covered in bruises and cuts).

We would sometimes give Madilyn this look when we were getting after her. Now she does it to us to make us laugh. It's so adorable how proud she gets when we do laugh. She has the cutest personality which always amazes us!

Madilyn enjoying her cereal and a laugh from Mom.

What a hottie! He'll hate me for this one!

So pretty! It us fun to be able to do her hair for church. It doesn't last for long and she sure fights it!

Another attempt at getting a good picture of Evan.

This is how Madilyn travels. Notice she is only wearing on sock. At some point she also had shoes on.

Getting down to business

2009-03-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

Todd was getting after Madilyn this morning for something and Evan had to get in the middle of it as usual. Todd told him: "Evan, it's not your business. Stay out if it!" To which Evan replied: "No, it's not a business! It's a house!"

We about died. I don't think he even knows what a business is! Gosh he is getting good at talking back!

Awe

2009-03-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

I sat looking at Evan tonight as he and his Daddy exchanged silly faces after I scared him with his "snake." It was actually a fake string of pearls that used to be my necklace from choir... which he broke, of course. Suddenly I was just amazed. Amazed that I was a PARENT. Looking at MY kid. That I made that beautiful little person. I feel so inadequate most of the time. He is so strong-willed. Besides, I am still a kid right? I sure feel like one. I don't know if anyone ever feels old enough to raise children because it is the hardest thing ever, ever, ever. This is all I know though... I only get once chance to do it right.

I am greatful for the chance!

I must be crazy

2009-03-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend in St. Johns visiting family. The only downside was that our extra day of visiting was spent at the urgent care in Show Low because Madilyn got an ear infection and swollen tonsils.

The reason for this post though... I was reading the title of the last post and realized that I will probably laugh at myself in later years for thinking our marriage is seasoned. We are still so young. I bet we won't really be seasoned until we have been married as long as we were single.

No matter what though, I just love being married!

Finally Seasoned

2009-03-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

March 8th is our 6th anniversary. We feel like an old married couple now! Just kidding. Honestly though, I feel like we have really become "seasoned" this year and we are more in love than ever.

We started off the year with an addition to the family. Every time a child is added, it sure changes the dynamics! It is so fun to have a mini Todd and a mini me. We love watching eachother be parents. It is awesome to look at our children and be so amazed that we made them.

Todd was working PM shifts and I felt like I was going insane trying to get a new baby and a 3-year-old off to bed by myself. Then Todd started a job in Morenci that required two hours of commuting time every day. I work every other weekend. So, he'd come home eat, and then we would get the kids to bed so he could get up at 4:30 for work. We had every other weekend together and that was it. We kinda felt like roommates I guess. Saying hi in passing.

Then came the big layoff. Yeah, it is hard, but it has been such an incredible blessing. We now have 4 days together every week! I LOVE it. We have caught up on so many of the projects we could never get to, and we are able to double up on the kids. Todd is an amazing father with so much patience. The kids adore him.

Just in the past few weeks Todd and I say the same thing at the same time and finish eachother's sentences. I honestly feel like I've fallen in love with him all over again. I am incredibly lucky. I don't think I'm going to let him go back to work either ;0)

We are spending the weekend with family so that the kids can see their grandparents. I love my family, and I am so greatful for the eternal bas that my Todd and I started with 6 years ago in the Mesa temple. My decision to marry Todd was inspired and I spent many many weeks fasting when we were dating. He is absolutely perfect for me. I am astonished with how well we comlement one another. I am greatful for a loving heavenly father who let me know that this was who I should be with. I will be blessed for eternity because of this man, and so will our precious children

I love you so much Todd!

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

2009-02-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

....Evan sang this all morning, so we indulged him. This was his first time flying a kite, and his face says it all.

Despite the wind, we had a blast!

Had to add a picture of Madilyn. These are her post-bath curls that we are hoping become permanent.

Hmmm...

2009-02-24T12:44:00.001-08:00

We wanted something to do outside today because it is so darn nice outside. Let me tell you, we came up with a really great landscape plan for our property. Out came the measuring tape and soon everything was marked out, including where the grass would be (as marked by a hose). We got all excited and came inside to grab a quick lunch before heading to the landscape store to price everything out. Then reality set in....

Last night one kid or the other was up all night! We are exhausted. You would think that after 4 months of being in the same room, that the kids would be used to eachother by now. The conclusion: the kids cannot sleep in the same room. The problem: our house has only two rooms. Madilyn already spent 6 months in the dining room.

We are also spending a ton of money on getting our food storage together, and now we have run out of room and need to build shelves. So, after all the dreaming and excitement over the yard, we decided the following:

1. We have to get our food storage done first
2. We HAVE to make our carport into a third bedroom because that is the only way we can afford to add on (we have to have sleep!)
3. Then maybe, just maybe, we can have a yard for the kids to play in.

It's so irritating to never have enough to go around. I guess I shouldn't have burst the bubble because we were having so much fun. However, I don't want to get so far into the landscaping that we lose sight of the things we need to do first.

I guess EAC's grass will have to handle our constant footsteps for another year.

Sad.

Ahhh.... Arizona!

2009-02-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

Today we layed in the green grass and soaked up the warm sun, kicked a soccer ball, and played dogpile on Daddy. This time of year has THE most PERFECT weather! In a few weeks I am sure it will be HOT, but nothing can beat the feeling of warmth and light on my skin. And the best part? BARE FEET!

What Can I Say?

2009-02-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

I guess things haven't necessarily been very easy around here. Todd is at home and feels he should be at work, while I am at work feeling like I should be at home. It is not comforting to be working against natural instincts. I have been able to get some extra hours this week. This lessens the financial worry, but I am so drained. I do my best to keep Todd really busy on my days off so he doesn't get insanely bored. I think instead that I overwork him, poor guy! I think we will get used to this. Todd is finishing his very last class to get his associates and is doing it through indenpendent study since it wasn't offered this semester. It's good for him to get that completed without worrying about getting up early for work in the morning.

Evan and Madilyn have days where they sort of like eachother, and days when they definately do not. Having them in the same room has created less sleep for all of us, but that seems to be getting better. I think being away from them makes me a little more patient with it because I feel like they are so much bigger every time I come home from a long shift. I put them to bed at night, and go to work when they are asleep, then I come home, have about an hour and half with them and start the whole routine over. Somehow seeing how quickly they grow up makes me glad that they are still little enough to keep me up at night. I have the job that I do because I love babies, and mine are getting so big.

Complaining doesn't do any good, because we are incredibly lucky, but this is a hard transition. This time will pass, and probably too quickly, so we are finding ways to enjoy it. The time we have together has been so wonderful. My kids have their Daddy home with them, and that, for him, is I think is the best part of all of this. These kids have missed their Daddy, and so have I.

The first day of winter...

2009-02-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

...just kidding. But seriously, this is the coldest day so far I think. We went to bed expecting thunderstorms today and woke up to this:

The last time he really got to spend any time in soft snow was about two years ago and he hated it... cried the whole time when he kept falling down. He is so totally into the snowball thing and has a pretty good arm!

This is Evan's very first snowman! Not to shabby. Notice the stubby arms he chose!

It is the best way to get out of mopping ever! As you can tell, Evan's not too sad about it either. We had so much fun!

I had all sorts of things planned for today, but instead we are making sugar cookies and canning butter.

We LOVE these days!

Things to be grateful for

2009-02-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

This has been a very productive day. We have been working on painting our living room for weeks and finally finished it up today. We are also trying to lose some weight together and I have actually worked out for the past 4 out of 5 days. Which makes me feel great. I don't know what it is about working out. Even though I haven't lost anything yet, just doing it makes me feel like I look better. Maybe I'm mental, but it is a mental thing.

My sink is empty and clean, my counter are clean, and the best part: both kids are quiet... so they must be sleeping. Yay!

The best part about the past few days is having my husband home with me even if it is because he got laid off. I have really missed him. We were prepared for this and we have prepared for it well I think, which makes me feel okay about it. I also have an excitement for the future. The Lord prepare us ahead of time so that I was able to get a full-time position, and I know that he has better plans for Todd. I am incredibly grateful that we are going to be able to keep our home and pay our bills. It won't be easy, but we'll make it. We have a loving father in heaven who gave instruction through prophets for women to get their educations for this very reason, and I am glad I heeded that, and am able to provide enough for our family.

I am grateful for big sales on meat at Safeway. Tomorrow I get to jar 20 pounds of hamburger and chicken with my mother-in-law while the kids get to play with their grandparents... who said food storage was torture? It is something to look forward to, and we get to enjoy spending time with family.

Mostly I am grateful to know that I can pray each night and that those prayers are heard and answered. It is amazing how the Lord forever is aware of our needs and that things always end up right in the end when we do our part.

2009-02-01T13:50:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we finally had the time to go play in the snow on Mt. Graham. Evan loved it! He loved sliding down the hills and was very brave about it. Madilyn did everything in her power to touch the snow and then ended up doing a face plan which she did not enjoy at all.

Here are a few cute pictures:

What we do with time off

2009-01-30T15:32:00.000-08:00

Todd took a few days off work, so I took advantage of it to have him help me clean out the rooms in our house. We've only finished the laundry/storage room, but it made a HUGE difference and now our food storage is more organized. Hooray!

Cookies

2009-01-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

We were having a very rough day today, so we made cookies! Yum!

How did my kid learn this?!?!!

2009-01-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

A conversation that took place this morning between Evan and I:

"Where's the baby Momma?"

"She's right here Evan."

"Oh. Did the doctor get her out?"

"Yes Evan, the doctor got her out."

"Did you push?"

"Yup, I pushed."

"Did you cry?"

"No Evan, I didn't cry. I had an epidural."

"Oh."

I don't know how he knew that women push babies out! Guess his mother is an OB nurse.

The greatest joy!

2009-01-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

This was a long, long weekend of work. Twelve hour shifts can be horrible when you're busy, but absolutely unbearable when they're slow. Wow. I wanted to go to church with my family so badly today. Coming home was wonderful though. I came in the door to hear cheers from Evan as he ran up with arms out to give me a huge hug. Madilyn (who just learned to crawl a week and half ago) saw me, let out a little squeal and crawled over as fast as she could (it was quite cute to see all the effort). It is so nice to be loved and to have such beautiful things to come home to.... and the best part? Todd had dinner ready. Hooray for my wonderful husband!!

Baby Woes

2009-01-20T20:06:00.000-08:00

My little baby is growing up too fast. She started crawling a few days ago, and is now getting into the bathroom. Oh the joys! She has also really gotten into "talking".... and loudly. It's cute, but can be very annoying when trying to watch a movie or have a conversation with an adult. At the doctor's office today whenever anyone talked to her she would just make farting noises at them with her tongue and lips and then flash her gorgeous smile. Man she is a stinker!

She is 31 inches (99.8%) and 24 pounds 7 ounces (96%) at 9 months. Because she has been teething, I failed to equate her fussiness to a bad ear infection. After 10 days of amoxicillin, she now has two ear infections and a stronger antibiotic. However, she doesn't even complain. She is her normal self. I am just waiting for her to become a difficult child, and I am loving the heck out of all these "angel" months. Can't she just stay little forever?

Railroad Park

2009-01-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

I apologize now for all the pictures in this post, but this was a really neat place and we had blast!

We had a great weekend in the Valley with Grandma and Grandpa Shreeve and Uncle Brandon and Aunt Brindi. We spent Saturday at the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale, AZ. Although smaller than I thought it would be, it was every little boy's dream park.

This is looking down the hallway inside the above train's passenger car. I couldn't belive how small the rooms are compared to the movies that make them look huge! This train car was the president's car. Wow! I have a lot of pictures of the rooms, but there are too many. The woodwork and mouldings in this place are amazing! We have never seen such tiny toilets!

The Whole Family!

We all got to ride on this tiny little steam engine around the park and through a tunnel.

Evan was very afraid of the carousel, but he loved this train ride and had to toot his train whistle every time the conductor tooted his. So cute!

The best part about this park was how inexpensive it was to have so much fun. Park admission is free. The train ride is $2 per person. The carousel and train tour are $1 a person (kids are free for the tour). Not pictured is the carousel, playground, mini train towns that are amazing!, shops, and lookout towers, and other buildings. I would recommend this place to anyone who wants a cheap family adventure!

After the park, the grandparents graciously took the kids so we could go watch a movie. It was a much needed break from the kids. Although Seven Pounds is a VERY sad movie, and I wouldn't recommend seeing it in the theatre.

With all the Thomas the Train tracks and engines, our house is looking like Grand Central station! Evan is in heaven!

Looking back...

2009-01-13T20:09:00.000-08:00

Four

Three

Two

One

January 12, 2005

4 years old!

2009-01-13T12:24:00.000-08:00

Evan had a fun birthday. We wanted a train-themed party, but ended up with a train cake and spiderman decorations because wal-mart sucks. It was fun though!

We had Grandma and Grandpa Gardner and our friend John over for subs and cake. Evan got clothes and his eye-popping Incredible Hulk shirt from Grandma and Grandpa. His reaction was seriously so cute! From John he got a Star Wars dart gun. From Grandma Martineau he got a really fun plan-car launcher that Evan is having fun taking away from Madilyn. From Mom and Dad he got the Tag reading system and some books, and some Thomas the train accessories.

Evan's favorite part was the balloons of course. He LOVES balloons, and apparently, so does Madilyn!

We are heading to the Valley this weekend so we can take Evan to the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale. We are so excited!

Lucky Me!

2009-01-07T19:56:00.001-08:00

Four years ago today Todd and I were anxiously awaiting the birth of our first child. Today was my due date. He was late by 5 days, so you'll have to wait at least that long to see pictures of the celebration. I have the most wonderful children and love being a mother and especially a wife.

Enjoy the photos!

THE best part of being a mother!

Big Brother

Big Mess!

A few changes

2009-01-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

I am like most other girls in that I get tired of my house from time to time and want to make changes. We haven't done much to our house to make it ours since we bought it 2.5 years ago. We finally bought our first set of couches and dcided to repaint the living room. It is only halfway done, with no decorations on the wall yet. I am so excited to get to work on the rest of the house.

Our family has the same cough/ cold thing that everyone has and we are so exhausted. We have also been weaning Madilyn onto formula since I have to go back to work full-time for awhile (which I hate). She is having SUCH a hard time. The similas makes her incredibly gassy and our little angel is so miserable, so now we have her switched to isomil. What a nightmare!

We were way excited to not have to get up for 9 AM church today. Going at 11 is going to be so nice for us! It was Evan's first week as a sunbeam. I am so looking forward to seeing him in his first program at the end of the year! He is growing up so fast! I was a little worried because he was horrible during sacrament meeting, but his teachers said he was wonderful and kept telling all the other kids "shhh!" What a cutey.

Evan's "story"

2008-12-30T20:03:00.000-08:00

Evan has an earache and will NOT take his antibiotics. We tried mixing it in ice cream, soda, juice, milk... anything we could think of. He knew it had medicine in it and would make himself throw it up. It took both of us to hold him down with puke everywhere. Lovely visual, I know.

So, I had to take him to the doctor's office yesterday to get a shot instead.

Today Evan told a wonderful story. He was looking at the mL markings on Madilyn's bottle and, pretending they were words, told her this story:

"Evan sick. Go to doctor. Get ouchie in my bunnos. Come home. Sit down all day. Bunnos hurt. The end."

How adorable is that? It's a sad story, but it was so cute to hear him telling a story about an experience. The kids amazes me every day.

Christmas Pictures!

2008-12-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox greeting

A Restless Christmas

2008-12-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

Our family had a great week in Duncan spending time with Todd's family. With all four kids home with their spouses and 7 grandkids, my in-laws had quite the housefull! We are lucky enough to live close enough that we could sleep in our own beds at night... or so we thought. Evan had so much fun playing outside but kept dashing outside without a coat on. So we spent the whole weekend up with him coughing. Thursday night he started having fevers from an ear infection. Getting him to take antibiotics is impossible! He makes himself throw up any medication we give him, so tomorrow I get to take him into the clinic to get a shot of rocephin. It is so not fun! Madilyn also has a horrible cough and now has two teeth, with 4 more on the way!

However, we had a wonderful time visiting with our family. The best part about Christmas was getting to open presents with just our little family of four on Christmas morning. We got up before the kids on Christmas day and got ready so we could head to Duncan after our gifts were opened. Evan has been so excited for Christmas this year and suprisingly, Madilyn was the one we had to keep pulling away from the presents! Madilyn got lots of little toys and some books, but her favorite present were the bows on the packages! Evan's favorite gifts were his bike, bike helmet, and superman cape he got from his grandma. We could not pry the bike helmet off his head all day on Christmas because he likes it so much. I got lots of cute pictures of him with his helmet and cape on. He's our little super hero in training!

This year Todd and I have been so worried about our food storage. We voiced this worry, and much to the men's dismay, we all focused our Christmas on food storage. We women spent Christmas day with my mother-in-law, Shellie, learning to can meats and butter. Wow! It's a long day and a lot of supervision, but it really is not too difficult! Then Friday we sent the men to do some dry canning. We also received a canner from Todd's parents. I am excited to have some tools to work with!

Todd and I decided not to buy anything for each other this year so we could spend the money on food. However, I ended up with a sewing machine and he a sound system to go along with the apple TV and new TV that was given to us by our good friend John. We were so spoiled!

We had a wonderful suprise Friday when the forecasted rained turned into snow. Not too much, but enough to just enjoy! We didn't even get an inch, but it was all white and glittery in our yard for a few hours on Saturday... just long enough for me to get some good pictures. Unfortunately, I am at work typing this right now, so I will post holiday pictures tomorrow after I've had some time to go through them all.

Todd went shooting on Saturday with the guys and they also hiked around a little spring while we women sat at home and watched the younger kids. Todd's brother James and his new wife Kathy took the four older neices and nephew to Morenci to go bowling and get ice cream. Evan was so excited because he is so in love with his Aunt Kathy.

Despite the sickness and lack of sleep, we really did enjoy this Christmas because we were able to spend some time with family. I only wish we lived close enough to be able to spend time with all our families.

Look for pictures tomorrow!