{Gratitude Day 20}

I am grateful for my mom. I feel so lucky to have a mom that I actually like. I know some girls that don't get along with their moms and that is so sad to me. My mom and I sure had our moments when I was growing up. I remember kinda hating her (what a snot I was)! I am amazed that she still likes me after all I put her through growing up. I remember it wasn't until I was 18 and went away to college that we really started to get along and become friends. Now I couldn't imagine my life without her. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't call her 10 times a day like I do.....or if I couldn't vent to her and know that she will ALWAYS listen to me as long as I need her to.....or if I couldn't ask her advice when I need it (or to be a wall that I bounce things off of).....or if she wasn't around to love and spoil and love and spoil my kids! I know how lucky I am to have all of that....because I know most people don't. Anyone that has met my mom has always told me what a great Mom I have. She never complains.....she is never mad....she never loses her patience....she never puts herself above others (even though she should more often)! She is one of the most loving, caring, giving, and understanding person I know!

And today, I am feeling especially grateful to my mom after she drove an hour to my house this morning to babysit my kids from 7:30 am to 5 pm. She took the kids to Target to pick out a special toy.....she took them to McDonald's (their favorite), she finished some final details on my Christmas decorations and wrapped EVERY Christmas present that I needed wrapped! I am grateful.

And I am not sure where she gets her talents from. She may not know the first thing about scrapbooking and she may be the one person in the family that has been known to burn or destroy something that she is baking.....but there is noone else that I know that can decorate a house like she can, that can throw a party like she can, that can entertain a guest like she can, that can wrap a gift like she can, or that can make anyone and everyone feel important like she can. And for all of those things, I am grateful. I see her talents coming out in me little by little by little as the years go on. Or maybe it is because I am finally paying attention. Oh how I wish I would've paid attention years ago when she was teaching me how to sew. Or when she would tell me all the names of the flowers when we would pass them by. The list goes on and on of things that I am sure went in one ear and out the other....and now I wish I would've paid attention to learn some of her great talents. She is constantly telling me I need to learn how to do these things because when she is long gone, I will be on my own and won't be able to rely on her for little things like wrapping my presents or sewing on a button for me, or decorating my house for me. I better take advantage of this time I have to learn all that I can from her....and hopefully, if I do, one day Zoe will look at me with the same admiration that I look at my own mom with. For that, I will be grateful!

{Gratitude Day 19}

Today I am so grateful for my home. I am grateful to be home after being gone for 9 days. I love being gone and then coming back to my very own bed....especially when I have brand new pillows to sleep on! For the past 9 days, I have shared a bed with Zoe for 4 of the nights, shared a queen size bed with Jeremiah (and sometimes Zoe who snuck in in the middle of the night) for 5 of the nights, and shared a room with both kids for 9 of the nights! So you can imagine how happy I was last night when I was home for the first night to sleep in my nice and cozy King size bed....with only the hubby!! :)

I love how cozy my house feels at Christmastime. I really wish that I could leave my Christmas decorations up year around! I love all the extras that fill in my nooks and crannies that are missing something! I love the crisp, cold air that I feel inside the house when it is a cool winter day outside. I love getting into my freezing cold bed and pulling the covers all the way up to my chin. I love waking up and being cold. I love that smell that permeats this time of year.

I am such a homebody. I love to be at home. I can often be found with my jammies on at 5 pm!! I love to get out of the house at least once every day, but there is nothing better than being home. I get this from my mom. And it's funny to see how this has been passed on to my nephew Carter who is the same way. Ayden is also a home body....he loves his house!

My favorite time of day is the evening when the kids have gone to sleep and I can sit on the couch, put my feet up and enjoy being home!! Home sweet home!!! :)

{Gratitude Day 18}

I've missed a few days of gratitude....maybe I will make up for them before the end of the month becuase I have definitely had things to be grateful for....just have been to busy to write them down. This weekend I was grateful for family. I love my family. I feel lucky to have such a great family that is so close. I love that we all live relatively close to each other that allows us to get together often on weekends. I love that my kids have cousins that they love and look forward each time they see them. This weekend we went to La Quinta to celebrate a birthday for my sis in law, Cara......



We also had a visit from my Grandma Dee and some other relatives that we haven't seen in a long time. My grandma has cancer and this was probably the last time we will see her, so it was good that the kids got to see who "Grandma Dee" was!

I didn't get many pictures this weekend, but couldn't pass up the chance for this one when I saw it. My parents set up a couple tables in the garage for the kids to be able to play games and do puzzles since there were about 10 kids there including all our visitors. Around 10 pm when the kids were settling to their beds and the adults were migrating inside, I found my dad in the garage.....sitting in a chair....watching 20 year old VHS videos of my brother playing high school basketball. Yeah, sounds boring to me too.....no wonder he was FAST ASLEEP in this chair. I commented about how sad it must be to be an old person that can fall asleep at any given moment in any position! HA....nice one Dad! :)

I'm grateful that the kids had a crazy wild weekend with cousins and that they went to bed WAY past their bedtime last night and missed out on a lot of sleep! I am grateful because it allowed us to start bedtime at 6:30 pm tonight....kids were asleep by 7 pm! And Jer and I are right behind them since our wake up call at 3:30 am tomorrow morn will come way too fast....wish me luck flying by myself with 2 kids to Utah at 6 am tomorrow morn!! :)

{tHanKsgiVinG feAst}

Today at school, Ayden's class had a Thanksgiving "feast" to celebrate turkey day next week! They combined with 2 other classes and it was so cute to see this huge, long table of 3 and 4 year olds enjoying their lunch! They were so well behaved.



In fact, every time I seem to peek in Ayden's classroom when I pick him up each afternoon, I notice that he always appears to be on his best behavior! I guess that is a good thing, but it kind of surprises me that he can be so focused and calm when I see the wild side of him most of the time! I love it though! I wish I could spy more often....if only I could be a fly on the wall to see how he REALLY behaves when I am not watching!!

I love these next 3 pictures becuase this is exactly what I am talking about! His face and his eyes tell it all....he is SO ENGAGED in what his teacher is doing! At this point, she was reading all the kids a book about Thanksgiving while the food was being served onto plates for each kid.

Here they are saying a prayer before they eat their lunches.....

Ayden is always so sweet to think of Zoe when we come to his classroom. When they were getting ready to sit down at the tables, Ayden said, "Come on Zoe, you can sit with me" as he took her by the hand. It was so sweet, but I whispered to him that Zoe probably couldn't eat with him because there probably wasn't enough food for the brothers and sisters. He said, "That's ok Mommy, I will share all of my lunch with her." How sweet! Why can't they be like this ALL the time?!?!? He then went over to his teacher and asked her if Zoe could eat lunch with them! It was Zoe's lucky day! :)

This girl is SO READY for school herself! She fits right in with them. People are always making comments to me about how tall she is! She really does wish that she was old enough to go to school.....we are counting down! When it was time for me and Zoe to leave, she got so sad!

My silly little turkey.....

Happy "early" Thanksgiving!!!!

{Gratitude Day 17}

I am grateful that my kids are lucky enough to have this guy in their life.....



For any area that Jeremiah is lacking in his life, he makes up for it tenfold in his role as "Daddy"!! I am not sure how he does it....I often watch him with the kids and try to learn where he gets his patience from. He is seriously one of the MOST patient people I know when it comes to dealing with the kids. Maybe it is because he is pretty much a kid himself, but he can sit for hours building things with blocks or Trios, he can ride bikes around in circles a hundred times in a row, he can sit through an episode of Dora or Phineas and Ferb and actually enjoy it, he can teach the kids something new (like how to swim) and not get frustrated that they just don't get it! I don't get it....not sure how he does it....but I wish I had half the patience he had!

Tonight, he and Ayden sat for at least an hour building this fire station out of Trios that Ayden just received as a late birthday present from a friend. Ayden had his undivided attention for an entire hour....they were both totally into building this thing and then playing with it after!



One of my favorite things about Jeremiah is that he is the BEST story teller. At the drop of a hat, he can whip out a forever long story that includes Ayden and Zoe's favorite characters and keeps them entertained forever! Often, when we are driving home in the car from somewhere at bedtime, the kids will ask him to tell them a story. Within minutes, they are both sound asleep....maybe that means he is a bad storyteller! HA!! Just kidding! It means that he is the best at putting the kids to sleep. Every since the kids were newborn babies, Jeremiah has been in charge of the bedtime routine and reading stories! He is the BEST dad. Ayden and Zoe are lucky. And I know when they get older....and especially when they become parents themselves, they will be able to look back on the years of their childhood and realize how lucky they were to have a dad that is so involved in their lives! I know they will.

The rules may get broken when Jeremiah is in charge. The house may be a disaster when I am not around. The kids may get to stay up later than they really should. They may get to watch shows that I don't love them to watch (aka Spongebob). And the house may get turned upside down when I am not around (oops....did I already say that?!?!?). BUT....he is there for them. He is involved. He does A LOT. And I am very grateful.

{dEcOrAtiOnS......cHecK}

It may have been almost 80 degrees today. My kids may have worn shorts and flip flops today. We might still be a week away from Thanksgiving. But this morning we cranked up the Christmas music and decorated the entire house for Christmas! The kids were so so excited and we had Jeremiah get the bins down and out of the garage last night. Ayden woke up bright and early this morning and said he dreamed about our Christmas decorations. So we were at it this morning by 6:30 am! I loved having little helpers this year. While Ayden and I ran upstairs to look at pictures on the computer of our decorations last year, Zoe stayed downstairs and "guarded" the decorations so nobody would come take them (per Ayden's directions)! They were in heaven! When it was time to take Ayden to school, pretty much all that was left was to put the tree up and decorate it. Ayden ordered me before he left for school that I better have it all finished before he got home from school. I couldn't disappoint!! :)

(Notice the few random toys that the kids put under the tree.....they can't wait to see real presents there)!!

I love when the house has Christmas decorations....it feels so nice and cozy! I have NEVER once been this eager to put the decorations up....and never have this early! But like I said before, I am really in the spirit this year! Now that the decorations are up, I just need to finish up my shopping and a couple other projects I am working on.....then I will be able to relax the month of December away as I listen to Christmas music, enjoy my decorated house and bake, bake, and bake some more! I can't wait!!

{Gratitude Day 16}

Sweet and simple......I am grateful for reading this tonight on this blog that I read even though I don't know this person. Jeremiah likes to make fun of me for all the blogs I read of people that I don't know.

I love this advice....for me personally, this couldn't have come at a better time. Maybe it is the crazy week that I am having that is making me feel very overwhelmed....or the fact that my OCD self is trying to get Christmas completely ready here before I leave for Utah this Sunday.....there are decorations to put up, shopping to finish, gifts to wrap, packing to do, and planning, planning and planning that my overtired brain can't forget about! I hate that feeling when you are stretched so thin that you don't feel like you do anything good. I seem to feel like that often. I'm sure I am not the only one and this is good advice for us young Mom's that feel this way.

Here's what I want to tell my younger self, and all of you who may be experiencing the same struggles I did:

1. Whether you have one child, or two, or five, remember that their are times and seasons of your life, where you are "allowed" to step back and just survive day to day without adding more to your plate.

2. Be confident in having the knowledge that only you and you alone can decide when your family can handle any extra committments.

3. Learn to say no without guilt. Offer to do what you can do easily...that means with no stress.

4. Don't compare yourself with others. What one person seems to handle with ease (notice the "seems" part), is maybe not what you can handle. We all have different talents, and we all have different stresses and thresholds. We also all have different support systems behind the scenes.

5. Be kind to yourself and in spite of what the world tells us all today, do not underestimate how much work it is to be a mom, just by itself, without all the extra things we feel pressured to do today.

{Gratitude Day 15}

Today was one of those easy days to be grateful...and let's be honest....some days it is hard to think of something to be grateful for. I woke up grateful when I got to get an early run in and out of the way at 6 am since the kids spent the night at Grandma Brenda's last night. Today was my work day.....I was grateful for so many things today and I noticed myself looking at things a little differently throughout my entire day. As I drove for a total of 200 miles throughout Orange County, I was grateful that our car averaged 53 miles to the gallon the entire trip.

I was grateful for this view....it never gets old to drive along PCH......the sky seemed to be a little brighter blue and the sun seemed to shine a little brighter....



As I saw Mom's with their little ones when I stopped in at city offices, I couldn't help but smile and think about my own cute little ones. I missed them like crazy today. I always miss them when they are away. Why is it that we can't wait for a break and then when we get it, we can't wait to get them back?!?! I am grateful for my time with them and that I DO get to spend so much time with them.

I was grateful for Jeremiah's job today. As I was driving down the street, I saw a man standing on the corner with a sign. He was wearing jeans and a baseball hat.....he looked clean and like a regular guy. He was holding a sign that said, "Father of 2, Out of Work, Selling Water". There was a table next to him with a cooler on it and a bunch of packs of bottled water next to him. Seeing him made me realize how grateful I am for Jeremiah's job. I am grateful that he has a good job that allows me to only work 1 day a week, while still paying our bills. These are some crazy times and I remember all too well how stressful that was when Jeremiah was out of work for about a month right before we moved to Cali. We are lucky!

When I got home today, my birthday present from Jeremiah was in the mail....just a little late, but that's ok! I was so excited. He got me a necklace that I have really wanted.....thought it was so cute! I love it and love that I get to wear an "A" and a "Z"!! :) You can check it out here!

And to top off this day of gratitude, we had a fun Family Night....talked to the kids about gratitude and what they were grateful for. And Zoe got to read us her FAVORITE book....Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Thankful. This is her favorite book of all time and we read it every single night when she goes to bed. She pretty much has the whole book memorized now and we wanted to get it captured on video. ***Don't be distracted by Zoe picking her nose halfway through and don't mind the fact that she gives me her booger and instead of getting up to get a tissue, I kept it on my finger (which you can see in the video....it was a HUGE booger) until she was finished reading!! GROSS!! But the joys of being a Mommy!!!***

{Gratitude Day 14}

I am grateful for this song that we've been singing in Young Women's lately. The girls have been singing it lots lately to get ready for YW in Excellence this week. It's so inspiring for me to look at these young girls that are growing up at such a hard time when so many evil things are bombarding them every day. I am grateful that I am not a teenager right now. It was hard enough to be a teenager back in the day when I was a teenager. And it terrifies me to think of my kids being teenagers and how bad things will be by then! That's why I totally admire the Young Women at church....they are so strong. They know exactly what they want and they are not afraid to stand up for what they believe. I guess it is songs like this that help you to be strong when you feel like you are the only one doing the right thing. I can't wait to see these girls singing this in front of everyone this week at Young Women's in Excellence....I'm sure it will be hard to keep a dry eye!

{Gratitude Day 13}

Today I am grateful that my wonderful hubby let me go off all by myself to do some Christmas shopping this afternoon while he entertained the kids. And I am grateful that every store I entered was playing Christmas music. I am SO in the Christmas Spirit already! I don't remember feeling like this about Christmas so early, but I am really really really excited this year! I think it's because my kids are getting older and they are ALREADY excited about it too! And it is so fun shopping for them this year because they are old enough to know exactly what they want for Christmas and ask for it! I remember in years past just trying to guess what they would like! This year, FOR SURE, I know that they will be VERY happy with everything they get!! And lastly, for today, I am grateful that I am all done shopping for the kids!! WOOHOO!!! That has to be an all time record of mine....done Christmas shopping for the kids by November 13th. My plan is to be done with everyone before Thanksgiving!! My only concern is that I am going to keep finding things I want to get them and will end up spending more!!

{Gratitude Day 12}

Today I am grateful for Zoe. A couple days ago, I wrote about Ayden and a special bond that he and I shared since he was our first baby. I have a special bond with Zoe that I wasn't able to share with Ayden. I am so grateful that I was able to be there in the delI ivery room for Zoe's birth. It was an amazing experience to be one of the few people that saw her take her first breath. On my blog, this is what I wrote:

"I was THRILLED when Lydia asked me to be in the room when she had the baby! I was so sad that I missed Ayden's birth since he was born by C-section...I had a fear that I would never get the chance to see this, so I was so happy!! It was an amazing experience and I will never forget the moment she finally came out and let out her first cry...I will cherish that moment FOREVER!! She was beautiful and I fell in love right away! "

I know how lucky I am to have been in that room. It is something I will always remember. Zoe was such a beautiful baby. I love having a daughter. I love having a little someone that I can "re-live" my childhood through. I love watching Zoe play with dolls and princesses and barbies. I love seeing her play with things that I used to play with when I was little....Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, Cabbage Patch Kids....it is so much fun to do girly things with her. One of our favorite things to do is get our nails done together! And Zoe loves shopping already! It's so fun to have her do girly things like that with me!



Zoe and I are a lot alike. She has such a spunky little personality. She can throw a tantrum with the best of them and she knows exactly what to do to get her way. She knows what she wants and she is not willing to settle for anything less. She is stubborn. She is strong willed. My parents laugh often because they have "been there, done that" with me and my mom says her wish has come true that I would have a child that was just like me so I can see what I put them through! HA!



But at the same time, she has such a fun personality. She is such a sweet sweet girl. She has the sweetest voice and says the sweetest things. I love having conversations with her. She is the best story teller. She is so smart. She already recognizes so many letters and knows what sounds they make. I bet she is going to pick up on reading right along with Ayden! :) She is such a lover....she already has a motherly instinct that I see come out of her when she plays with her babies. She has so much love and adoration for her brother....and she learns so much from him.



I know that as Zoe grows older, our bond will be stronger and stronger. And I hope that I will be lucky enough to have the relationship with her that I have with my own Mom.

{oVerNigHteR}

Since the kids were all out of school for Veterans Day, we decided to plan a cousin's overnighter to Grammy and Grandpa's house in La Quinta! Ayden and Zoe were so excited to see their cousins (as always) and were looking forward to it all week.

Within minutes of being there, Cooper (the leader), sat all the kids down outside and had a "planning meeting". He gave them 2 choices.....1. go swimming and 2. go digging in the dirt behind the houses. As you can see....this was an INTENSE meeting!! :)

My mom, Cara and I were eating lunch at the table and I walked over to listen in on the meeting and this is the look that I got from everyone.....so serious!!!

Zoe and Crew......these two could be twins!!

Cute boy....love this little guy! :)

First on the agenda.....a La Quinta favorite is searching for golf balls that have landed in the backyard and the hill leading down to the golf course right behind the house....

Three little monkeys.....

And then there were two.....

This is one of the reasons Ayden loves Cooper....he is so good to him!! Throwing him in the air......

And a mini swimming lesson....

Crew and Cooper....

Ayden did a lot of jumping! It had been months since we had been swimming. I was worried he would forget everything he learned in the summer, but I was wrong....he picked right up where he left off....he was off and swimming!!

Piggy back rides....

Grammy and her little babies....

A lady at the pool saw me bundling all the kids in their towels and she offered to take a pic of us all. She thought all 5 of these little ones were my kids!! Ahhhh......NO THANK YOU!!! :) Even though they really could be as far as their looks and their ages.....a 10 year old, a 8 year old, a 4 year old, and 2 year old TWINS!! How do people with 5 kids do it???

And after a VERY long day, the boys ended up crashing in Grammy's room.....Ayden and Carter on the floor in their sleeping bags and Cooper in the background on the couch! It was a long day.....and a short night!! 6 am came around too fast this morning and with all of them in the same room, the whole house was up at 6 am!! :)

{Gratitude Day 11}

I am grateful that it is mid-November and my kids got to swim today. We are having an overnighter in La Quinta with the Grammy, the cousins, and Auntie Cara since all the kids had school off today for Veterans Day. We are having lots of fun. Ayden and Zoe both went to bed tonight without stories (which never happens), but they were so exhausted from their crazy day playing and running with cousins. This is one of my favorite times of year....when it is a nice 75-80 degree day during the day.....warm enough to swim....but then cools off enough at night that you have to REALLY bundle up if you go out after the sun sets. I love living in Cali on days like this!

{Gratitude Day 10}

Today I am grateful that 25 years ago today, my dad got a job in Cali and my family picked up and moved all the way across the United States! I was only 7 years old....in 2nd grade. And I remember how hard it was to move and start a new school and have no friends. But now that I look back, I am so grateful for that. I can't imagine how different my life would be if I had never moved to Cali. I for sure wouldn't be married to Jeremiah....and I wouldn't have Ayden and Zoe. And who knows what else about my life would be different. What a huge leap of faith my parents had to take leaving behind all their family to start their own adventure. I know now....with 2 kids of my own....how hard that must have been! But it all worked out....and I am grateful. Also couldn't imagine myself living in a snowy state for the past 25 years!!

{Gratitude Day 9}

Today I am grateful for Ayden. I love that kid. There is something very special about him. I am not sure if we have a special bond because he was my first baby.....our little miracle baby that came in and changed our lives in so many good ways 4 years ago....after so many years of heartache and longing to be a Mom. Or maybe he is just a special kid because he has one of the most amazing personalities I have ever seen. He is so so sweet. He is genuine. He loves people. He is happy. He is honest. He is a lover. He is so happy. He is smart. He is sensitive. He wants to be friends with everyone. He is outgoing. He is so so happy. He is a good kid.

When he does anything wrong or does something that disappoints Jeremiah and I, he wants to apologize right away. And he is so genuine about it. He really doesn't want to hurt anybody's feelings. He doesn't want to make people sad. He just wants to be friends with everyone. And he wants everyone to be as happy as he is!

If someone, anyone, a stranger, a family member, a teacher, a friend....has told me that Ayden is a happy kid, a thousand people have told me that. It is true....he BEAMS happiness! People have told us this since he was a tiny tiny baby that just learned how to smile.

He loves to be the center of attention. He loves to "perform" and have people watch him and laugh at him! He is not shy AT ALL!! I love hearing all the stories that his teacher, Ms. Linda, tells me every day after school. I really am going to start writing them down because she has the sweetest things to say about him. The other day, she told me that she wishes she could see him in 20 years....just to see how he turned out and who he is. Aww...how sweet!!

If there is one and only one reason that I was put on this earth....and that was to raise a happy kid.....then I would be content with how my life is turning out. I couldn't really ask for Ayden to be a happier kid. He loves life. And I learn from him every day how to be happier!

I love having conversations with him. He is so inquisitive and really wants to know WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY......and WHY.....and WHY.....and WHY......about EVERYTHING!!! I love his eagerness to learn. He loves to learn new things....he soaks it up like a sponge. And he will talk to anyone and everyone. As long as you have a heartbeat, he will talk to you. We have had many talks about "stranger danger" cuz he doesn't think that anyone will harm him. Today we were at Target doing Christmas shopping for my nephews. We were waiting in line....our things were up on the counter. Ayden nonchalantly said to the lady in front of us and the lady working the register, "These things right here are for my cousins. They are in my family. These are their Christmas gifts." It was cute....but how random that he felt the need to tell them that. Bless his little heart, but sometimes I just need to break it to him that people just really don't care. Luckily both ladies laughed and said, "oh he is so cute". So he smiled.....his mission was accomplished....they thought he was cute. I think that is what makes him so happy. He knows he is cute. And he just wants everyone around him to acknowledge it.

And I really love that he still sleeps with his green blankie and lion EVERY SINGLE NIGHT!!! If we go in his room in the middle of the night, he is usually hugging both of them. I wish I could remember who gave us that lion. It was a gift at one of my shower's before Ayden was born. And I can't remember where the green blanket came from.....but he loves them both! The other day, he said he wanted to take both of those things with him to college like Andy (Toy Story 3)....he didn't want them to be stuck in a box in the attic!! :)

{-BIG-}

My kids are big. They got a lot bigger today. Or maybe it was yesterday. Or the day before. I am not sure when it happened, but I feel like it happened overnight!! I have been realizing lately that I have TWO BIG KIDS!! Nothing about them is babyish anymore. Nothing. Really. Everyone is always talking about how sad they are when their babies grow up and aren't so "babyish" anymore. I feel that a little, especially since there probably won't be any more babies in this house, but when your kids are big....and can communicate....and are funny....I think that is an even better time!

I love that my kids say things every day that make me laugh at them and laugh with them. They are funny. I love that they can play all by themselves. And also entertain each other for as long as they can before a fight breaks out. A few days ago, I realized they were big as I walked behind them when we were walking Ayden to his classroom....they were both walking ahead of me, one carrying a Dora umbrella and one carrying a Superman umbrella.....all by themselves. I caught myself getting rained on myself as I forgot my OWN umbrella. I am not used to being able to cover myself in the rain....I usually have 1 or 2 kids in my arms as I run and duck for cover in a rainstorm. Not today. Cuz I have big kids now.

And when I got back from dropping Ayden off, I carried Zoe to bed because she fell asleep in the car on the way home. As I walked in the house and by the open bathroom door, I looked in the mirror and had to do a double take.....who was I holding??? I couldn't believe how big Zoe looked as her limp, sleepy body hung down my body with her head on my shoulders and her feet almost touching my knees! Wow. She has gotten BIG! I laid her down in her big pink puffy coat and watched her for a minute. She looked so BIG!!



And today, when Zoe walked out of her room "all dressed and ready to go", I noticed that her cute little pants were quite a bit too short to wear and still be cute! HA!! She is quickly outgrowing everything and we are moving rapidly into 4T clothing for her! WOW. Big. Girl.

We are often reminded that Ayden is getting much bigger too. It is not uncommon for him to wake in the middle of the night complaining of leg pain, like he did the other night. Poor guy! I do not remember having growing pains when I was little, but I'm sure we all have! A heating pad seems to do the trick. I guess there is no denying he REALLY is getting BIG if his body aches!



And as you can see from the pictures above, my kids don't really need beds. They have floor beds. Pretty much every night, they sleep on the floor. Ayden often gets tucked into his own bed and when I check on him later, he is sound asleep on the floor....on his floor bed.

Zoe, on the other hand, hasn't slept in her bed in weeks....maybe even months! She has been on the floor for a while....won't even get into her cute little bed. She starts out on the floor....ends up on the floor....takes naps on the floor!!

She loves to sleep on her buddy Oscar....we got Oscar from our little friends, Maddie and Makenna, next door. As you can see....Zoe loves Oscar!!



But the floor in Zoe's room almost isn't even good enough anymore....now she has started to move herself out of her room and night by night, she inches farther and farther into the hallway. She is pretty much sleeping in the hallway these days! Silly kid!

{yOu kNow yOu LiVe in SoCaL.....}

.....when every time you get in the car, your 2 year old and 4 year old start to panic and plead with you not to go on the freeway because they don't like traffic. Not sure when this started or where they got this from, but they are both TERRIFIED of traffic (especially Zoe). Every time we get in the car, they tell me that they don't want to go in traffic....it doesn't matter where we are going! Even when we are going 4 or 5 miles away to Church or Ayden's school, Zoe freaks out! And when we get close to the freeway, they really start to panic and the entire time we are on the freeway, I have to hear about it! So funny....only in Southern Cali!!! :)

{Gratitude Day 8}

Today I am grateful that I get to have the BEST job on earth! I love having a job that I only have to do one day a week....it's just enough to get me out of the house for a break, but not too much time to be away from my kids! I love my job!

And I am SO GRATEFUL for these ladies.....



Without them, I would NOT be able to work my one day a week stress free! I would be so worried to leave my kids with someone else all the time. They are so lucky that they have their Grandma's living so close by. I never had that growing up....and I think it is so important! Not only is it important for the kids to be with their grandparents, but I love to see the grandparents with the kids! :) Thank you Mom and Brenda for being the BEST babysitters the kids have ever had! They love you to pieces!!

I also love my 2nd job....my job as Mommy and wife! It is great to have a "real" job that technically allows me to be a "stay-at-home-mom" at the same time! I love that I get to snuggle in my bed every morning with Zoe who comes in at 6 am. I love that I get to eat breakfast every morning with my kiddos. I love that I get to take Ayden to school every day....and pick him up. I love that I get to hear all about his day for the first 5 minutes after I pick him up. I love that Zoe and I get to have "girl time" every day from 12:30 to 4 pm while Ayden is at school! I love that I get to clean up their messes, wipe their bums, give them baths, clean up their messes, break up their fights, wipe their tears, clean up their messes, and love and snuggle them.....ALL day EVERY day! Because if I wasn't here to do that, someone else would be!

{Gratitude Day 7}

Today I am grateful because Christmas is in the air!! It is only 6 short weeks away and I am excited for it this year. Today we had our first day all week where there was a crisp chill in the air....it felt good!

I have already been doing some Christmas shopping.....pretty much know what we are getting everyone and have gotten a lot done so far! My goal is to have everything done by Thanksgiving!

My kids know exactly what they want.....thanks to the commercials on TV, our many trips to Target, and the catalogs they get in the mail where they have circled and circled what they want. They have made their lists and we will be emailing Santa soon!

I was driving through downtown Brea today and there were "Happy Holidays" signs all over and Christmas decorations and wreaths....it was all so pretty and festive!

I am ready to start baking....ready to get my decorations out....and really ready to start listening to Christmas music! So excited that Christmas will be here before we know it!!

{Gratitude Day 6}

I am grateful for my kids and the fact that they keep life simple and teach me to "not sweat the small stuff"! There are so many times they do something and I overreact and they make me realize that I am being ridiculous! I love that they are so innocent and say whatever is on their minds....no matter how silly or dumb it may be!

Tonight, while I was mopping my floor and had a sink full of dirty water, Ayden came running to me and said his soccer pictures were drowning! I feared what he was talking about and sure enough when I walked to the kitchen, I found his soccer picture submerged in filthy water! Sad!! I pulled it out and found that he had written his name with pen all over the pictures! Sad again! I told him to get upstairs....that was my way of cooling off....I was not happy! He got to the top of the stairs, turned around and said, "Mommy, can I come down and apologize to you. It was an accident and I am very sorry that I did that." Sweet boy.....I was overreacting about a silly picture!! Love him!



Zoe made us laugh today when she announced she had to go potty. She lifted up her skirt and started pulling down her undies......one pair, two pairs, three pairs......oh my heck!! How many undies did she have on?? Yep....7 pairs of undies that she wore all day today and at church! That made me laugh hard!



She also was funny when she went and got dressed for church today. When it took me forever to find what I was wearing and didn't like any of my clothes, she showed up looking like this.....



"I'm ready for church Mommy!!" I wish I didn't care what I looked like and just wore what I wanted to or what felt good! HA! (even though there is no way that I would've let her out of the house like this) :)

Having kids is the best. It sure gets annoying cleaning up all day after them (Zoe peed on the floor in the bathroom twice in the past 24 hours for no reason), listening to them whine all day (about anything, everything, and nothing), and having them not listen to what you say(too many times to name)! But really.....what would I do without them. Life would be so sad and so lonely! And for that, I am grateful that they bring craziness to my life.....all the while teaching me to not sweat the small stuff!

{Gratitude Day 5}

Today I am so grateful that my little guy gets to go to preschool EVERY day! He is literally learning SO MUCH and every day that he comes home, I am amazed at what he knows that he didn't know when he left! This year has been much different than last year....he has grown by leaps and bounds! I love hearing what his teacher has to say about him! She tells me the funniest stories...and also so many sweet things about the person he is. I can tell that she truely loves him and it makes me look back on my years of teaching and realize that when I spoke to parents about their child how much that meant to them. There's nothing sweeter than having someone else tell you what a sweet person your child is! I love that....and I am grateful that I get to hear those things about my special boy!

This week Ayden made "gratitude turkeys" in class and when I came to pick him up today, I had to take my camera to take a picture of the turkey he made.



You probably can't read it, but his turkey says.....

"I'm thankful for my mom, dad and for Christmas. Also for my Transformers."

I love this....my heart melted when I read it! I love that his teacher wrote EXACTLY the words that came out of his mouth! I could totally see Ayden saying this out loud.....even though he may have said that he was grateful for his Transformers before Mom & Dad!! HA! Thank you Ms. Linda for putting Mom & Dad first to make us feel special!! :)

I love this sweet and sassy girl that at 2 years old already has a great sense of style! She is a girly girl through and through....it comes so natural to her to be this way! She is very independent and for a while now she has insisted on putting her own clothes on....with NO HELP at all! But just this week, she has started PICKING OUT what she is going to wear all by herself to. She goes into her closet and drawers and picks out an outfit (a skirt almost every day this week) and gets dressed to come show me. She then announces what she is wearing....today it was "Look Mommy....I have my purple shirt with my black ruffle skirt today" as she shook her hips back and forth to show off her skirt. And who ever made up the rule that you can't wear rain boots in 90 degree weather?? Well Zoe thinks differently and if she wants to wear her rain boots in 90 degree weather then she is going to wear her rain boots in 90 degree weather!! And I must admit....she did look pretty darn cute! I love her cute style. And I am so grateful to have a girly girl....I have the best of both worlds....a girly girl in Zoe and a true boy in Ayden.....I AM BLESSED!!