Kristen's 9th Birthday!

If I'm remembering right, my very first post was of Kristen's 8th birthday--a year ago! So happy 1st anniversary to me. :)

Kristen had a great 9th birthday! After school, we ALL had a blast playing the High School Musical Wii game!!

She chose spaghetti, garlic bread, and beans for her birthday dinner. We didn't eat until 6:45! Poor girl--she had to wait to open any gifts until after we ate. Jon didn't get home until after 6 and then I was so busy "singing" that I was late getting dinner. Oops!

She got the American Girl doll (Felicity) that she's been wanting for 2 years now (with accessories and an extra outfit), a Hannah Montana stationary set, headbands, a bag/purses/hat from Grandma Watkins, money from her other grandmas, earrings and a necklace, and a Webkinz turtle that she named Speckle. I tried to capture her face when she realized it was the doll, but it's the video camera that really caught it good! Unfortunately, we can't find the cord so we can transfer it onto here.I attempted to make a Tamagotchi cake for her--I am not really artistic, but I think it turned out okay. She wanted bubblegum ice cream and I looked in a couple of stores with no luck--it's been clearanced out, so cookie dough it was.All in all, she had a great day! Thanks for all of the emails, cards, and gifts!

Excitement!

I remember as a kid having a hard time sleeping the night before my birthday and the night before Christmas. It was something about the excitement. In a way, I wish I could bottle that up and use it on Kristen EVERY morning!

Today is Kristen's 9th birthday! Usually, I ask her to get her pajamas on and she gets distracted. I ask her to brush her teeth and she goes off playing. I ask her to get reading so she can read her 30 minutes before bed and she starts playing or goes on a hunt for a book she wants to read that lasts 30 minutes. It takes FOREVER to get her to go to sleep. Then....we pay for it the next morning. I cannot get her out of bed. I turn on her light; I try tickling her; I try dragging her out of bed. She just drags and drags.

Last night was different. She got home from her dance class and immediately got ready for bed. She still had a hard time actually getting to sleep, but she was up and in our room at 6:30 am, normal time for waking for her is 7:45 (if I'm lucky), asking if she could open her presents yet. The answer? No! I made her eat breakfast and get all ready. She got to open 2 presents this morning and will open the rest tonight. Just in case anyone's wondering....she got a new outfit and a High School Musical Wii game. I'm hoping that will keep her entertained after school so she won't bug me every 5 minutes to open more gifts. :)

Arrow of Light

Kendall got his arrow of light award in scouting last Wednesday night. I guess it's the highest award a cub scout can get. The pictures aren't the best, but my camera died before I could get some good ones. I sure am proud of him!!

Jenna Has A Beaver!

First of all, let me just say that I LOVE to hear some of the things that come out of kids' mouths! It's healthy to laugh and some of these things are so funny, that you just can't help laughing. I just love it. If any of you have any good kid sayings, send them my way.

So....Jenna woke up this morning and said (just like she does every morning), "I had a good morning, Mom." Translation: "I had a good sleep" and "good morning" combined. Then she said (as she does almost every day, which means I have no idea when to believe her or not), "I don't feel any good." She kept telling me her tummy and throat felt sick. I finally got around to checking her temperature around noon and I was surprised that she had a fever--about 101 degrees. I said, "Wow! You have a fever, Jenna." A few minutes later, we were getting Jarren ready for school and she said, "Mom, I have a beaver." I couldn't help but laugh. How rude of me! I have no idea what's wrong--she won't let me look down her throat. I know there's a lot going around right now--viruses, strep, etc. I worry a little about strep because #1-her throat is sore. #2-her tummy hurts. #3-she has a fever. We'll see what tomorrow brings I guess.

Just a side note--Kendall got his arrow of light award last night. I'll write another post about that later.

Little Stinker...

For some reason, I'm very hesitant to make this post. I think it's something to do with the fact that I want to be a perfectionist at some things and I feel like a failure when I'm not.

As you all know, I started potty training Jenna 11 days ago. The first couple were really frustrating! But then it clicked. She hasn't had an accident for 5 days now, except for when she poops/has a bowel movement/messes/whatever you want to call it. She will NOT do that in the toilet, but goes and hides and messes her pants. She's perfect the other way--even waking up dry almost every time in the morning. So....I guess she's about 90% potty trained.Here's the story behind the picture: Jenna LOVES the Backyardigans. Tyrone, the moose, is her very favorite character (does the love of moose run in the family?). We kept telling her if she didn't go in her diapers anymore, we'd buy her a Tyrone doll. It wasn't working, so I bought one off eBay. When it got here, I thought, "I'll put it up on top of the cupboard above the toilet so she can see it every time she goes and maybe it will work as a visual reward--she can see what she's missing out on." BAD IDEA!!! She screamed and screamed and screamed. So I got another bright idea: I gave it to her and told her if she went in her pants, I'd put it back up high until she went in the potty again. That's all it took--after that, the ONLY accidents are the messy ones. And she loses Tyrone when she does it, but the next time she goes potty, she gets it back. Now I'm wondering if I should keep it up there until she messes in the toilet--it's just not happening--AT ALL! Even treats won't work for Little Miss Sweet Tooth--shocking, I know.

Technically.....

Technically it really is still winter. And today I believe it, although we've had some very nice days very recently.

Yesterday we went to visit my parents for my dad's birthday and the kids were all running around outside in the nice 40+ degree sunshine. The kids were all helping Grandpa open his presents and my mom kept commenting on how she was getting the Christmas spirit. I guess Mother Nature heard and made today look like Christmas--we have about 3 inches of snow and it's still coming down heavy. My parents had more than that much this morning. Did my mom jinx us with her wish for Christmas?!

Like I said, it's still winter.....technically....

Off-Track Fun

The kids have been taking an off-track bowling class. They have really enjoyed it a lot! Lucky for them, they are taking it with a couple of neighbors who are also off-track. Jenna sure wishes she could do it. They go to the bowling alley, get 1/2 hour of instruction and then get to bowl for an hour. After that, they take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese's for a slice of pizza and a drink and they get some tokens to play some of them games. After this week, it's back to school.Have I ever mentioned that I HATE potty-training??? Well...just in case the message didn't get across the first several times, I HATE it!!! Last Saturday night, Jenna went by herself a few times. I asked her in church if she wanted to go and she did. But then the struggle began. Sometimes she'll go by herself; sometimes she won't. Sometimes she'll go when I mention it; sometimes she won't. I get sooo frustrated! She was going about 50+% of the time for 2 days and now she's being stubborn and won't. I just keep thinking, "This is the last time I'll ever have to do this EVER! I can do it!" I give her magnets to play with and give her a treat if she goes. It just depends on her mood I guess.I noticed on Sunday that we have some crocus peeking up through the brown. YAY!! Today is over 70 degrees, but VERY windy. I am ready for spring!!