Happy New Year.

I can't believe another year has pass. Remember when you were young and the year seemed to last forever. As part of the new year many of us set resolutions. But how many of us keep them? That's the real question. As for me I don't really set any big particular goals. I just set mini ones as I go along.
I could always use more spirituality in my life. So that one is a no-brainer.
My biggest goal for this next year would begin in April after the baby is born. I want to loose the baby weight and be able to get back to my running as soon as possible. I have a 5k. I'd like to do the first of June. And then a 1/2 marathon in August if I can swing it. Guess that would be my biggest goal for the year.
Now everyone that reads this, post a comment of your resolutions. I'd love to hear what everyone's goals are.
If you look under my kiddo's pictures you can read their resolutions for the new year.

12 Days of Christmas

Our family was chosen by some other wonderful person/family to be their target for a 12 days of Christmas. Every night we received a cute note and a little treat that went along with the theme. I just thought I would post it for you all to read and get inspired from, for next year. Thanks to whom ever chose us. Our family enjoyed every night of it.

On The First Day of Christmas, your true love gave to you a partridge in a pear tree.... Now in the song, it's partridge and pear- when I looked, my trees were all bare. So I ran to the store at a hurried pace. Pears they had plenty, but no birds in the place! (pears)
Each night we'll bring something please don't watch for us coming. If you catch us too soon, it will spoil the fun that's coming!
The song that we sing twelve days in a row won't get tiresome with treats from friends you know.
But to keep up the mystery and the fun, you won't know who we are until we're all done.

On the second day of Christmas your true love gave to you-two turtle doves...
Did you know two turtle doves are extremely hard to find? So here are Turtles'n Dove- The chocolate candy kind. (Dove Chocolates)

On the third day of Christmas, your true love gave to you- three french hens...
Now hens are chickens if they are french, or not! Here is chicken noodle soup to heat in the pot! (chicken noodle soup)

On the fourth day of Christmas, your true love gave to you- four calling birds...
The calling birds have all flown away. They're visiting the south to see the view. Instead of a call, they left these few things, some pencils and paper their gift to you! (notebook and pen)

On the fifth day of Christmas, your true love gave to you- five golden rings...
Only five golden rings? There really are more of gold pineapple rings I got from the store. (can of pineapple)

On the sixth day of Christmas, your true love gave to you- six geese a laying...
You really don't want messy geese all over the house do you? How about some of the eggs they left behind. (6 Easter eggs filled with candy)

On the seventh day of Christmas, your true love gave to you- seven swans a swimming..
On this day of Christmas how nice it would be if seven swans a swimming your family could see. The pond was quite empty since the swans have gone south, we only found goldfish to put in your mouth! (goldfish crackers)

On the eighth day of Christmas your true love gave to you- eight maids a milking...
The maids were all milking, milk foaming like suds, and then they all vanished just leaving "milk duds"

On the ninth day of Christmas, your true love gave to you, nine ladies dancing...
Here some canes used by the ladies to help them walk home after they were out dancing all night. (candy canes)

One the tenth day of Christmas your true love gave to you, ten lords-a-leapin...
Ten lords a leaping would be an awesome gift, but they got stuck while jumping through a white snowdrift. We had to be content, you see, to watch the popcorn fly. So we've added a sweet topping to it for you try. (caramel popcorn)

On the eleventh day of Christmas, your true love gave to you- eleven pipers piping...
Those eleven pipers piping reminds us of our plumber, to leave him on the doorstep would be a real bummer. Now make your water piping hot, and fill your cups with care. We're giving you some hot chocolate we know you'll love to share. (hot cocoa)

We simply can't believe this game is almost through. We've simply had a jolly time bringing these gifts to you. With only one more night, don't you wish you knew, just exactly who we are and why we're doing this to you?

On the twelfth day of Christmas, your true love gave to you- twelve drummers drumming...
Christmas Eve has arrived and on this our last night. One dozen drummers would be a grand sight. But the noise of their drums would hurt your head. So eat all these cookies we bring you instead. (cookies in a tin)

And we wish you a joyous Noel. We know that hoping our names we will tell. But our name stays a secret. We just cannot share it wouldn't be right. No it wouldn't. So there! Merry Christmas.

The Lost Tooth

Here is how we loose teeth around here. The run down of tonight's events.

Xan- Mom, I lost my tooth
Dawson- Yeah, I hurt him and his tooth came out.
Xan- The Tooth Fairy will come tonight. But I can't find my tooth. It's lost in my room.
Dawson- Say thanks Xander, I helped your tooth come out.
Xander- But you hurt me to do it.
Dawson- But you'll get money for it.
Xander- We need to find it.

After about 15 minutes the tooth was found. The boys were looking for it and then they realized it was white. They were looking at all the black fuzz and lint on the floor.

Oh, the way kids think.

Have you ever sat back and wondered what things mean to kids as opposed to us adults that say the things. It's funny how we think we're perfectly clear in our meanings,but with children the words can have a completely different meaning.
Case in point; This morning I was in the hallway listening to Xander and Mackenzie as they got ready for school. In the mornings the kids brush their teeth at my sink (mainly so I can make sure it gets done) and Kenz always goes first while Xander lays in my bed.
Xander hops in the bed so excited that he gets to wait while kenz still brushes. Kenzie then says to him, in a very un-nice tone "Well, I hope you know you only get to lay there for less than 3 minutes."
I interrupted her and said, Kenz that was very 'snotty'. Why would you say that? She looked at me very confused and said, "What do you mean, I don't have any snot."
So my daughter got a lesson in what being a 'snot' meant.
I used one of those 'Golden Rule' turn it around ideas.
How would she feel if it was her that hopped in the bed and Xander said, what she did to him, to her. It worked she knew exactly what I meant and that it wasn't a nice thing to say. It was more the 'snotty' tone in which it was said that lead to the whole discussion.
But, never the less a lesson was learned and hopefully it will do some good.

Dawson's thoughts.

Here are just 2 of Dawson's cute little things he said to me the other day. Hope you all enjoy.

First one was while I was doing my make-up.

DJ- mom what are you doing?
Me-putting on my make-up.
DJ- oh, why does "eyescara" make your eye hair black?


Second was while sitting on the couch next to me.

He was sitting there all slouched down and his pajama shirt was up, showing his tummy. I reached over and tickled his side and then patted his belly. He giggled and went right back to ignoring me, so I did it again.
Then I stuck my finger in his belly button and said what is this? He looks at me and giggles. And answers, my belly button. I said, where did you get a belly button from?
He looks at it and replies, "Santa Claus".
Who knew Santa delivered belly buttons too.
Imagine opening that one on Christmas morning.

Baby update.

I had my doc appt today. Everything went great. I am 22 weeks along and have a due date of April 22nd. However, I'm measuring 5 days ahead. So that puts it at April 17th. Which is 22 weeks. He didn't officially change my date but, I usually get induced a week early and that will be the 15th. I can live with that.
It was my official sonogram with my doc. We already knew it was a boy because a friend of mine does sonograms and let us in on the news early. The little stinker was face planted in my placenta so we couldn't get a good profile picture. But, we saw the other end and it is definitely still a boy! We weren't surprised that he was showing the "goods." My boys are known for streakin'.
The cutest thing was when he had his hands up by his face and stretched out his fingers. He has Keith hands. And then he balled them up and rubbed his eyes. It was so cool to see him being so active and real-like. Not some foreign alien thing growing inside of me.
When his hands were up by his face, he had a fist on either side of his cheeks and the doc commented that he'll be a trumpet player. I said, no with his 2 older brothers he'll be a boxer! Those that know them, am I right or what.
Once again I was in awe of this little baby that will be joining our family. I can't believe Heavenly Father chose to give us another one. I thought we screwed the 3 we have up enough that we were done for sure done. Guess that shows that even Heavenly Father has a sense of humor.
Well, little one we look forward to your arrival and hope you continue to grow and develop well.
And stop kicking me so hard!

Oh Xander!

As we decorated the Christmas tree today, Xander said one of the best things ever. He was explaining to Kenzie and Dawson that if you're not good then you won't get any presents, just underwear.

Scentsy

Hey everyone, I am putting a scentsy order in this week. If you need any holiday scents or if there is someone on your list that would love the wonderful smell and look of scentsy give me a call. Remember these are 'wickless' candles. They are warmed with a safe 25 watt bulb. The wax never gets hot enough to burn you or your little ones.
And because they're wickless you can leave them going even when you're out and know you're house won't burn down but will still smell delectable when you get home.
Give me a call or email if you're interested.
Thanks everyone and Happy Holidays.

Keri- 801-360-3534 or keri_liz86@hotmail.com
or
www.scentsy.com/kerikeith

Kenzie and gymnastics.

It's hard to believe that Kenz's gymnastics meets will be ending this weekend. She has done so great. Her skills have improved, her confidence has improved,and it all reflects in her outstanding scores. I will post all her scores in another blog when she finishes this last meet. Then you all can see for yourselves.
She is very talented and still says she's going to the Olympics some day. Hey, I say if that's her goal then shoot for the stars sweet heart!
We have been very blessed to be able to afford her gymnastic classes. I do trade 4 days a week with one of my best friend Emma. So it's a win-win for me. I earn enough in trade vouchers to pay for all of her monthly tuition plus I get to hang with Emma more. All I have to do is tear down the gymnastic equipment on Tues, Thurs, Fri, and Sat. It takes about 15 mins. So it's well worth the drive and voucher. The huge plus is that when it's a full gym tear down. That means every piece of equipment must get put away and it takes about 50 mins. I am the Supervisor on Friday and Saturday so I earn double the vouchers. Woo Hoo! Any extra vouchers can be saved and applied on months we run short on trade days due to Holidays. Or they can be applied to the competition season. Happy Day!
Good luck Kenzie. We are so proud of you!

It's a miracle.

What is? No Ty still hasn't found a job. Yes were still living on love. Doesn't pay the bills though. But, the miracle is that Dawson let me buzz his hair. He told me I couldn't do it because he wanted long hair. Not shoulder length. Just skater long. Well, he came in from playing out in the snow and when he took his stocking cap off his head was itchy. (Not cause of lice) because his hair was long and sweaty. I asked him if I could buzz it and he told me OK. But he only wanted it short for this many days and held up 5 fingers. Agreed. In 5 days it will have grown a tiny tiny bit. So therefore, I did not lie to my child.
That's justification at it's best!
And now he sports a clean, even, buzz cut. He actually laughed when he saw all the white, blond hair on the floor. He said, "Wow, that's a lot of hair."

Crack!!!

Here's just a little something that Dawson told me the other day. It was very funny.
He was wearing a pair of PJ's that fell down a little in the back. Just enough to show the tip of his little plumber's crack. I reached over and gave it a little tickle while saying, "I see your baby crack."
He then turned and said to me,
"Now your finger smells like crack cause I just tooted."
What?!! It was so funny. Guess that will teach me to tickle his crack.

Non-Believer!

So, in my last post I said that anyone that didn't believe my story about the Bishop could ask him. It turns out someone did. I know because we ran into him at Walmart and he said, "Keri I heard you wrote something about me on your blog." I started laughing and said, Yes I did. We laughed about again and I just told him, Hey at least we know you love your wife and it's completely natural. He agreed and laughed as he walked away.
Guess, I'm not in too much trouble. I still have all my callings and Temple recommend. And a very honest relationship with the bishop.

What not to say to the Bishop.

Here is a true story that happened last night. It is all true and can be confirmed if you have enough guts to ask the bishop. Or just take my word for it because I'm the one that said it.

The bishop pulls up next to me while I'm out delivering things for our ward Halloween Party. He asks me if I have stuff for his wife because she's leaving. I give him a bad of taco soup ingredients and think we're good.
He then asks if I'm dressing up for the party. I tell him no I don't have anything. He pauses and said, well if I'm dressing up you should too. I said, OK I'll dress up as the bishop. Or better yet I'll be the RS. Pres. He laughed, and said, well I have a costume and let me tell you, Jana (his wife)thinks the bishop looks pretty hot! And then he laughs at his own joke.
Without missing a beat I say, "Ahh the bishop's getting lucky tonight."
He just starts laughing and I think I turned as red as he did.
I got back in my car where Tyler and the kids were waiting and told Ty what I had just said to bishop. He looked at me and starts laughing. He said, "Well, guess the bishop knows the real you." Hey, I'm just keeping it real.
Truthfully it was hilarious.

School Days.

Well the time has finally arrived. School is back in session and 2 kids are out of the house from 8-2:15. The heavens have opened up and smiled down upon me. Now It's just me and Dawson. Oh and still Tyler. :)
Xander met his new teacher Mrs. Ovarrd. She seems really nice and knows how to help students that might need a little extra encouragement sitting still and focusing. I am very excited for him to be able to continue mastering these skills. He is very excited to be back at school too. He loved recess. No brainer there. And his other big thing was being able to eat lunch in the lunch room with his friends.
I asked him how his first day went and he said, "good, but we have to sit at our desks alot." That was funny to me.
Kenzie's teacher is Mrs. Waschman. She seemed very nice. Kenz didn't say much about the first day. She just said, "it was fine." Not like her to not say much. She was excited to know about 8 kids in her class. It always helps to know other kids.
As for me and Dawson being home. We will be hanging out together. And going on our morning walk with Emma soon. She has to wait until she's no longer out numbered. Kindergarten starts next week for Tanner and then Mitchell her 4yr old will start pre-school. Then we're off!
Also, I will go shopping with only one child. I will make only one kid lunch. I will stay in my pj's as long as I wish. I love school!

Scentsy

Hey this is just a quick little note to let all the 'Scentsy' lovers out there know that all 'Scentsy' is on sale this month. They're getting rid of a few warmers and discontinuing some scents in order to make room in the new cataloge for new warmers and scents. If you want to order anything just let me know.

Stop being so honest, Dawson!

I have to share the conversation Dawson had with his Aunt Jessica one morning while we were staying with them in Idaho. Please Jess, forgive me and still love me.

DJ- Did you have stinky cheese?
Jess- No. What cheese?
DJ- In your mouth.
Jess- I don't have any cheese. Do you want some?
DJ- Then what's that smell?
Jess- I don't know. I don't smell anything.
DJ- It's the stinky cheese in your mouth.

Apparently, Jess still had morning breath while talking to Dawson.

Kids say!

This story might have a bit too much info in it for you but is very funny. So continue reading at your own risk!
One day I had just gotten out if the shower and I was putting lotion on my legs. I do this before I get dressed because lets face it, it's easier to lotion your legs without clothes on. Well in the process, Dawson comes in my room and looks at me. He then says "mom, you have a big crack!" I looked and him and said, what. He said, "you have a mommy sized crack and I have a little kid butt crack."
OK leave my room and don't come back.
As if I needed to be told my butt was big. Let alone the crack!
Thank you Dawson for the self esteem boost.

Surpise!

So Tyler and I have reached our 10 yr anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long. Sometimes it feels like forever and other times he does something that makes me fall in love with him all over again.
Tyler surprised me with a night out. He basically said,"don't make any plans for Friday." Alright, no plans were made by me. He arranged for a babysitter and told me to be ready by 5. He didn't give me any other details or hints or clues. Because he knows me so well, he knew this would drive me crazy. It's like putting a wrapped present in front of me and telling me don't open it.
Friday finally came so I asked a few questions about our destination. What do I need to wear? This is one a girl always needs to know. How late are we going to be? Do I need to feed the kids first? What are we doing? He answered all the questions but the last.
As we were driving along, the traffic started getting heavy and slowing down alot! Ty said, "I don't think we should stop and eat somewhere or we'll be late." Oh, and what are we going to be late for? No answer, just his mischievous smile and dimpled cheeks. That's all I got for quite awhile. Then as we got closer, he said I could guess if I hadn't figured it out already. It turns out all those cars and trucks were heading to the same destination we were.
Tyler had managed to get us tickets to the George Strait concert. How??? Heaven only knows. I was in complete shock. Tyler and country do not belong in the same sentence unless dislikes is between them. He truly thought of me on this one. I have loved King George since I was 14ish. I swore I'd marry him some day. And let me tell you, he is just as handsome now as he was back then. Our seats were awesome. We were about 14 rows from the stage. I could see the whiteness of his crooked, country smile. And the sweat on his aged, rugged, forehead. Oh heaven! And he delivered a rockin' concert. Ty even enjoyed it.
One of the funniest is parts were all the drunk cowboys around us and watching their confidence grow on "liquid courage". There were some brothers (literal not racial) behind us and they thought they were a gift from above to girls. The more beer the louder they got and more confident. Soon they had some girl by there seats and she knocked over a huge cup a beer. These suckers (beer not boys) cost $9.00. It dumped all over the ground. Wait, I take that back. It dumped all over my feet! It tipped and ran under my seat all over my flip flopped feet. My toes were soaked. They had no clue it happened until I said, "hey your beer just spilled all over my feet." The guy looked down and said to the girl, look what you did, then round 2. She knocked over his other one. I was now wearing $18.00 worth of beer on feet.
She left and the guy kept apologizing about it. I said, "it's OK. I can ring my pant legs and flip flops out into your cup if you want some back." Tyler just started laughing. He couldn't believe I said that. But anyone who knows me, can!
Later that evening he came back with 2 more beers and I turned around and said,"Ya gonna hold onto those a little better?" He started laughing. Good, I didn't want to push my luck with a drunk cowboy!
Ty and I had a great night. It will be a memory that will last forever.
This is where I could get all mushy and tell everyone how thankful I am to be married to such a wonderful man. And that I'm glad he's my best friend and thank him for all he does for me and his family. But, you don't want to hear all that. And I know he knows it.
So thank you Tyler for loving me and for putting up with me for the past 10 years.
I love you.

WHY???

I have had to pause and reflect upon the age old question as to why God made boys the way He did. What exactly do I mean? Well, we now the old rhyme that says what little boys are made of. Snails, pails, and puppy dog tails. Something like that. But my question is, why were they made with the ability to pee outside?
I must confess it really comes in handy on road trips or while camping. But seriously, not in my front yard or the neighbor's yard, or into the window well.
I apologize now for the several times in the past and for several future times that my poor neighbors have and will witness one of my sons "lubricating" on the lawn.

Summer Gymnastics

Today we started the new gymnastics summer schedule. Welcome to 7:30am. That means Mackenzie and I are even earlier risers. I have to get her up by 6:40am so we can rush out the door by 7:05-7:10 and then down to the Legacy Center by 7:30.
The good news is, that I can work out for 2 hrs while Kenz is in class. If I have to be up and go down there, might as well get a good workout in. Also Kenz is done by 9:30 so she can play the whole rest of the day! She likes that part.

Goldfish Story

My sister blogged about a story that happened while we were visiting her in Idaho. She however, got a few of the details mixed up and confused. I think her version was a little soggy!
Here is the story.
We were sitting in church and her daughter Trinity was eating goldfish crackers. She decided she would share a goldfish with her 4 month old brother.
In went the goldfish! I was holding Ivan at the time and my sis and I laughed a little at his face and his reaction to the foreign object in his mouth. I decided to save my nephew's life and pulled the goldfish out before it could get lodged in his throat.
OK. so maybe I exaggerated a little. But this next part is all true.
After I pulled the De-cheesed goldfish out (it was even extreme cheese) I placed it on the lid to the container holding the fish. My sister looked at me like I was crazy, while I was wiping my fingers off from being in a drooling baby's mouth and covered in cheesy slime. She then preceded to pick up the goldfish cracker and pop it into her mouth. She ate it.
That grossed me out! She thought my reaction was hilarious.
She didn't think it was a big deal. I'm sorry but, eating a recycled goldfish cracker is nasty. It's like saying,"hey son, I wanted plain goldfish, could you suck all the cheese off these and then give them back to me?" It's as bad as saying,"this gum is too hard, could you chew it to soften it for me" Gross!
The sad thing is her husband didn't think it was a big deal. But I've seen some of the stuff he's put in to his mouth. And we won't go there!
OK. now it's up to you. Would you ever eat a goldfish that's been in your kids mouth?

Easter, a little late,but I blogged!

Easter was a blast this year. My family were all here because of Mackenzie's Baptism. It was so nice to have my mom and dad. My sister Melissa her husband Curtis and their kids Trinity and Ivan. And my baby brother Daniel and his cute wife Jessica. We started out our day with church as usual on Sunday's. :)
I had to leave church early with a sick little Dawson. I brought him home, took his temp and it was 103. I gave him some meds and soon the fever broke and he was good to go. That's my boy! But, you'll notice in a pic below Dawson not in it. That's because he was passed out until the fever broke. After church the other's came home and we ate. We had ham and corn and potatoes and other stuff. Yummy!
After dinner/lunch we had all the kids go outside for an Easter egg hunt. That sneaky bunny came and hid Easter eggs all over the yard while we were eating. How clever was that! Eggs were everywhere. The Easter Bunny even hid big special eggs for each kid. I explained to the kids that the pink egg was Trinity's, yellow-Kenzie's, blue-Xander's, and green-Dawson's. Well, I must have not been as clear as I thought because Dawson would only pick up the green eggs. He would pass by every other color until he found a green one. It was too cute. He only picked up other colored eggs once he realized there was candy inside them too.
We had a wonderful time. The kids of course had a blast and I just loved having my family around.
Below are some pictures. Enjoy!












Happy Easter!

Mackenzie's Baptism

I can't believe my baby turned 8. Not only that, I can't believe it took me a month, almost 2, to blog about it. Ha ha ha. I guess if I had blogged right away, I wouldn't be true to myself. So here's to being me!
Mackenzie turned 8 on April 9th. And she was baptized on April,11th. She got to have her own special day which meant, we could plan everything. I left it all up to her. She chose her songs. Opening song was 'Called to Serve' and the closing song was 'When Jesus Christ was Baptized'. Aunt Shannon played the piano and Aunt Stephanie conducted. She asked her Grandma Bruderer to say the opening prayer and her Grandma Perry to give the closing. For the special musical number Kenzie asked her Grandpa Bruderer to play his flute. Grandpa played 'Love at Home'. She wanted her Aunt Missy to give the talk on Baptism and she had her me give the talk on the Holy Ghost.
Tyler baptised her and confirmed her member of the church.
We were so blessed to have family and friends with us that special day. Thank you to everyone who drove so far, helped with the lunch, and supported Mackenzie on her big day.
Just on a side note, I thought I'd share this;
I think the funniest thing she said to me was,

"Do I have to hold my breath under water the whole time daddy says the baptism prayer?"




Mackenzie on her baptism day. We are so proud of you!

Mackenzie and Daddy

Mackenzie's Baptism cake. Made by Aunt Missy. It was delicious!

A miracle!

So, no Ty hasn't found a job yet but, For the first time this school season Tyler took Kenzie to school. She got herself up and ready. And just as I was about to get moving, Tyler came upstairs and said he would take her to school. Whattttt!!! OK.
So I laid back down and was lazy until 8:15. I couldn't believe it. I stayed in bed until after 8. Go me. It felt wonderful.
That feeling didn't last too long because then it was time to get Xander ready and off to school.And I had to get ready so I could help in his class at 10.
After that I went for a nice walk/run with my friend Becky. That was wonderful. It just feels good to be outside and moving. Ahhh the warmth of the sun.
And tomorrow Tyler gets to be mister mom again because I'm going on Kenzie's field trip to the zoo. Good luck hon!

The up's and down's of life.

So for those of you that don't know, Tyler got laid off last Tuesday. He called me and gave me the heads up so when he showed up at home I wouldn't wonder what was going on. He did get an awesome severance package. And that will help. Plus full benefits with the package. We are now just kinda in the process of wondering what the future will hold. As long as we're together that's all that matters to me.
I have found some benefits to him being home. I can go running without pushing a stroller. He has fixed the kids bikes and got them going. He lets me take off and do my shopping without kids. And he makes killer chocolate chip pancakes. They are delicious! And he has even worked out with me. He might not do that to often though. He was quite sore the next day.
I think he might go a little stir crazy soon. He's not use to being around all the schedules and running around. I have a routine and now he's part of it. So I use him. If your here then I'm taking advantage of it. Right! That's where the running without a stroller comes in. He gets to keep Dawson while I go.
He might want to find another job quick before, I really take advantage of him being here! I still have a honey-do list he hasn't touched.:)

Wicked Good Time.

Last night Tyler and I went to "Wicked". Ty had bought me tickets for Christmas and I finally got to use them. So worth the wait!!! We started are date with dinner at Olive Garden. Yummy! What else can I say about that. Then we headed to SL. for the show. The show itself was soooo good. That's an understatement. It rocked. I like it better than Les Mis and Phantom AND Miss Saigon.
I laughed out loud,quiet hard at times and sat on the edge of my seat in awe with these characters and the music and effects. It was a wonderful production.
For those who don't know what it's about, here is a brief blurp. It basically starts where "Wizard of Oz" ends with all the people of Oz turning to 'Glinda the good' to confirm that the 'Wicked Witch' was dead. And then they ask her were you guys friends? And the musical picks up from there. We find out why she was green, what her schooling was like, what made her wicked, and that she and Glinda were best-friends. It was full of twists and turns and parts that made ya sit back and go "huh, that makes sense." And parts that made you cheer and love the "Wicked" witch.
It was full of humor and one-liners that could give the sassiest person a run for the money. The music-wonderful, the songs-memorable and sing along worthy. The cast-perfectly cast. Glinda by far my fav! And the costumes- I'm gonna get a"Glinda" dress and crown. And float around on a bubble. Cause what girl wouldn't want to do that?!
Thanks Ty for the wonderful Christmas present and I look forward to next years, "Lion King"

Scissors!!!

What is it with kids and scissors? I thought I had learned my lesson from Kenzie and Xander. Obviously not. As I discovered Dawson with a pair. The damage, however was not discovered until later.
Dawson must be my smart child. (At least some of time.) He's at least smart enough not to cut his own hair. (He gets that from his mom who was smart enough not to cut her own hair.When she had a willing sister, and her hair.)He did however cut my curtains!
I sat on the couch and looked over at the window because something caught my eye. The sun was shining through odd slits in the curtain. I went to investigate and about died! DAWSON!!!! Yep, the stinker had cut slit after slit down my living room curtain.
Then I went up stairs to find him and soon discovered he had ventured into my room and made a few cuts and then into his room. His curtain, sad to say looks like fringe on a hippie's vest.
I remained calm and talked to him about scissors and that cutting my curtains was a big no-no! Then I calmly left the room and decided it was time for daddy to come home. Mommy was done!

Oh the Innocence.

Just a quick funny thing Kenzie said over the weekend as we were driving home from a shopping trip. She said, "I wish we had like a thousand dollars. Then we'd live in a castle."
Tyler and I both started laughing and I said no Kenz, If we had a thousand dollars we'd live in the house we're in for one month.
It was just so sweet of her to think a thousand dollars could buy a castle.
Remember being little and wishing we could buy stuff with rocks. We would be rich because the driveway was a rock driveway. Oh to be young again!

3 trips to the doctor in 1 week.

OK so here is a quick post to update some of you on our resent activities. The first doc appt. was for Dawson. I picked him up from my friend Jayanne's house after she called me and said he was having a break down because I left him after a pres.mtg. When I got there he started screaming and saying his ear hurt. I looked in it and all I could see was some sand from their sandbox. So I told him I would clean it when we got home. Once I attempted to stick a q-tip in there he lost it. He was screaming and pulling his ear and pressing against it. OK. this is not normal. So I called the doc. and they were able to get him right in. So Jayanne kept Xander for me and Kenzie, Dawson and I zipped into the doc. I had given him some Children's Tylenol before we left and by the time we got to the doc. Dawson was running around like a new kid. I told the doc. there better be something wrong with him since I came all the way down here.
Doctor Hafen took one look in his ear and said yep, there's something nasty going on in there. What he said next came to a surprise to me. As he was typing the info into his computer he said, "wow, he's a healthy kid." "He hasn't been in to see me for exactly 2 years." Really! I guess Dawson was allowed to have an ear infection if he hasn't been sick in 2 years.

Our next visit was for Xander. Not because he had an ear infection or a yucky cough. But, because he had a bead stuck up his nose. Why Xander? We tried forcefully blowing it out. We tried pressure flushing it with water. Tyler even tried grabbing it with tweezers. No luck, so off to the doctor we went.
The nurse that takes us into room and starts putting stuff into computer knew why we were there and she says to Xander, (while trying to keep her composure)"So Xander, what did you do today?" He said, I played with my toys, and watched cartoons. And played Transformers. She said, but why are you here to see me? He looked at her and smiled and then said, oh yeah I stuck a bead up nose. She lost it right then. She laughed and laughed. I laughed. Xander laughed. And she said is it far up there? He said, yeah. She said, is it clear up to China? Xander said, No it's up my nose.
She thanked Xander for making her day and for making her laugh so hard tears came out of her eyes. Then she left the room and I could hear her and the other nurse laughing in the hall. It really was that entertaining.
The doctor then came in and carefully stuck a long metal thing into Xander's nose and scooped the bead out. After it was removed Xander said, "that feels much better"
I jokingly asked Xander if he wanted to keep it so he could give it back to Kenzie so she could fix her necklace. He almost did.

Our third visit was for my other boy. Tyler woke up with a nasty cough and a head ache. And he had chills all over his body and was dizzy. So he made an appt. and off he went to doc. A few meds later and now he's all better.

I still can't believe we saw our doc 3 times with-in a week and before that, we hadn't been in, in over a year. and for Dawson it had been 2. Craziness. And not to mention 3 co-pays. Ouch!

Always a Show

Well, a week ago my friend Jayanne came to pick up her little boy Colby from playing over. He and Xander had a blast together. As she was leaving Dawson went out side and made an attempt to pee in the snow. I caught him and he announced to every one that he had to go potty. Kenzie took him up stairs so I could say good-bye.
In the mean time, he goes in the potty but, couldn't get himself redressed. He brings me down his pants, but no pull-up. So I send him back up to get it. As I'm walking out with Jayanne to her car, Colby and Xander take off running around. Then I hear this little voice from in the house screaming "mommy, mommy." I look up and there in the window is Dawson saying HI. He then proceeds to climb up on the window- sill and stand on it. And that's when I realized my son is now standing there in all his naked glory for me and Jayanne and any other passer by to see. He waves and screams and wiggles his man-hood for the entire neighborhood to witness.
Oh to be so free.
As Jayanne leaves, I apologize to her for my young son's exposer. She just laughs and says, "There's always a show at the Keith's house."
Thanks Jayanne for thinking it was as funny as it really was. And for allowing Colby to come back the next week.

Dawson Thought

I had to share this cute thing Dawson said the other day.
We were driving in the car and Dawson said look mom the snow has sparkles. It was sooo pretty. I enjoyed seeing the sparkles too. Dawson then got very upset when he saw tracks in the snow. He said, "who made those tracks in the snow, that's not very nice to ruin the sparkles."

Now one last very cute thing he is doing right now.
He is standing on a stool (aka potty chair) behind a TV tray singing 'It's my Turn, it's my turn. It's always my turn on earth.' Guess where he learned that song-
Yep, Kenzie. He might have a few words wrong, but it's too cute.

Biggest Loser.

A bunch of us are competing in our own version of the Biggest Loser. We started this Monday and it goes until April 12th. Basically we all put in $25.00 and gave my friend Tiffanie are starting weights. Then we weigh in every week and report our new lower number to Tiff. She will then calculate our % loss and e-mail the results weekly. It's an honor thing so hopefully everyone is honest and does their best.
I am really excited to be part of this not only for cash prize. The winner recieves 70% of the pot and 2nd place gets 20%, 3rd place 10%. Not too shabby to walk away pounds lighter and $300.00 richer. Personally this might just be the kick in the butt I need to reach my goal. If anything, it will sure be fun.

Wooo Hooo!!!

Dawson has done it again. Today he used the potty 2x's. He went when he got up and I was getting him dressed. And he said he had to go on the way home from taking Tyler to work and he held it again until we made it home. Dude peed forever, but he did it!! He did attempt a third time, however he sat there and then informed me his private was empty. No prob, we'll get it next time.
The end of diapers is in sight.

I'm Allergic.

So this morning I had a great time with Xander. He insisted on wearing his Storm Trooper costume to school. I told him no he had to wear school clothes. He threw a huge fit so I told him fine, if he was going to act this way then I was throwing the costume away. He quickly got dressed and agreed that he would wear it after school.
Then, he needed to brush his teeth. And he told me that he wasn't going to brush them good because I wouldn't let him wear his Storm Trooper. I said, that's fine, and when you go to the dentist and he says you have a cavity that needs to be filled it's not my fault. And when the dentist has to drill the inside of your tooth because it's so rotted away, it's not my fault again because you chose not to brush good. But, if it will make you feel better you can wear your Storm Trooper costume to the dentist.
Then came breakfast. I made blueberry muffins. What a good mom right. I asked Xander if he wanted a muffin. He said, I hate blueberry muffins. I'm allergic to them.
Oh really. Yes, and I'm allergic to strawberries, and peanuts. Oh and cherries. But, not scrambled eggs, and that's what I want for breakfast.
These are the days that honestly just made me smile. I wasn't mad, I was very humored by it all. He such a stinker, but I love him.

Way to Go Dawson!

Here's just a happy moment from Dawson. We were on our way to pick up Tyler from work when Xander said he had to go to the bathroom. I asked him if he could hold it until daddy's work. He said ok. We arrived at Ty's work and because you need a ID. card to get in I couldn't open the doors. So I told Xander to just pee out the van door. Or go out side and pee in the snow and turn it yellow. He opted for colored snow. He was so excited to pee outside in the snow. He must be a boy.
Well, Dawson then says "I have to pee in the snow." Well, I was not about to unload him, strip him down (cause he was in his sleeper) take his daiper off and have him butt-naked outside in the snow, just to hear."My private is empty." So being the good mom I ignored it and Ty came out and we left. As we pulled into the Ranches, Dawson agin said, "Oh gosh, I have to pee." He repeated this several times. So I told him to hold until we got home and he could go sit on the big potty.
Well, we made it home and Tyler took him up stairs and sure enough he went potty. He actually held it. I don't know if he really had to go at Ty's work or if he just wanted out. But, when we got home his diaper was still dry. So he might have held it from Ty's work all the way home. That would explain the 'OH gosh'.