Sugar and Spice...

...makes everything nice, right? Well, according to the day I had yesterday, that would be the optimistic way to put it :). Let's just say it was a day full of many ups and downs and I am glad it is over. Here is my summary:

Sugar: Wade and Seth playing nicely (and quietly) in the backyard.
Spice: As most moms know: quiet=mischief and in my case they were squirting each other, all of their shoes and the doorway of the kitchen with the hose. (Oh, P.S. It was only 7:30am at this point!)

Sugar: Going to the gym

Spice: Reading a highly anticipated article about one of my dearest friends and upon finishing it thinking it was totally lame (What?! Britney doesn't know me?!) :)

Sugar: Finding time to take a shower before taking Wade to school.
Spice: Coming out of the shower only to find that the boys went back into the backyard and were playing with the hose AGAIN!

Sugar: Finally getting a 15,000 mile routine maintenance done on my car (hey, I am only 3,500 miles behind.)

Spice: Finding out an oil change, a couple of filter changes and fluid checks costs $175--ouch!


Sugar: Talking to a friend on the phone
Spice: My kids taking FULL advantage of the fact that I was on the phone for longer than 30 seconds (do your kids do that?)

Sugar: It started to rain outside (I love the rain!)
Spice: Wade is TERRIFIED of the rain and wind

Sugar: Going to look at a new car we intended on buying
Spice: Driving all the way to CAMELBACK and 16th STREET (which is FAR for those of you who don't live in Phoenix), in traffic, only to discover it wouldn't fit all 3 car seats (oh, the beauty of having 3 kids ages 4 and under!)

Sugar: Eating dinner at Cafe Rio followed by, my fave, DQ for a delicious frozen treat.

Spice: Wade fed his ice cream to Trent (without me knowing) and Trent threw it all up. Just for the record, I am one of those crazy mom's who doesn't let her kids eat anything sweet until they are a year, so if anyone is counting, Trent still should have had 9 months before this endeavor. (This picture does not do justice to the amount of chocolate that was thrown up on Trent's face)
Sugar: Peace of mind that Trent will not have to wear a helmet
Spice: an unexpected $390 bill from the physical therapist (don't they make "crazy, paranoid mom" insurance?)

So, to say in the least, it wasn't the best day. There were a few highlights that didn't have anything hard attached to them though:
*Uninterrupted time with my family as we drove in the car and at dinner

*I got my "hooter hider" in the mail (which is the COOLEST nursing cover--loving it already!)
*Wade got another award for showing responsibility in school (way to go!)

*ordered my capes from Erin (go to plumpearapple.com for details)
*and best of all, was singing "You Are My Sunshine" to my sweet baby boy as he drifted off into dream land (I am head over heels for this little guy!) and meaning every word :).

Mile Markers

As you know, Wade has been in school for a few weeks now. He, absolutely, loves it (so do I!) His teacher is wonderful and has created a neat system implemented in her classroom called "mile markers."

If the kids are good they get to move their name one mile marker. Every so often, along the path, there is a reward. I didn't know about this program until my friend, Lalani, told me what it was (her son is in Wade's class.) Wade isn't a big talker about what he does in school. Each day, when I ask how his day was, he responds with an, "I don't know." (I can already see how the teenage years are going to go... :).)

Jackson (Lalani's son) is quite the opposite, so he has been telling his mom about the "mile markers" everyday. Apparently, Wade is ahead of the entire class and this past Friday, he got to choose a pencil for his reward! This is the second reward he has gotten, the first was the privilege of painting (when he brought his painting home a week or so ago, I thought everyone got to paint!)

On top of the pencil, he received a "Character Counts" certificate recognizing him for being responsible! We are so excited for Wade! He is pretty pumped up too and we continue to work on his communication skills :)!

As I mentioned, we are just loving school! Also, on Friday, was an "Ice Cream Social." All the students and their families met at the school cafeteria to make ice cream sundaes, dance to some music and visit with friends. My entire family had a great time. Matt had to carry Seth out kicking and screaming because he was having so much fun!

Speaking of mile markers, my little Trent is 3 MONTHS OLD!!! I CANNOT believe it! Time is flying and this sweet baby is growing too fast. Since there is no well check at 3 months, my guess is that he weighs about 14lbs. He has grown out of all his newborn clothes and is now wearing 6 month stuff :(.

He still loves to be held, but is so busy taking in everything around him. He coo's and babbles a lot, sucks on his little hands and drools a lot. He is very easy going and just a joy to have around.

He also has a new trick:

As he lays on his back, he will pick up his legs and drop/swing them to the side so it turns his body the other direction. He also doesn't mind tummy time too much, which is always a relief.

Speaking of tummy time, I have been a crazy person about Trent's head. Let me explain. Seth (as most of you know) had to wear a helmet when he was 6 months until 9 months because his head was extremely flat on one side because he favored that side of his head when he was laying down. (This pic is of Seth--I am telling you my boys are TRIPLETS!)

From the day Trent was born, I have been watching him to make sure he wasn't favoring one side of his head over another. Well, he was. I talked to our pediatrician about it and, together, we decided to send Trent to physical therapy. We have been to 2 sessions and I feel a little silly going because his head isn't that flat and deep down I know he doesn't have to go, but...I just wanted to be sure.

I don't think we will be going back, but I am thankful for a pediatrician who listen to the needs of her patients (and their crazy mom's :)!) Before I know it, this little guy will be sitting on his own. AAAHHHH, it is going too fast!

More Goodbyes

Even though we live away from where we grew up and our families (with the exception of Jess and Ben of course), we have still been blessed with lots of visits, which are always a lot of fun! My dad and Paula came into town this past weekend so Matt could do some dental work for Paula (and an unplanned quick fix on my dad.)

In addition to the dental work, we were able to spend lots of time hanging out and visiting. The boys LOVE their Ampa and know they are in for lots of fun when he is around.


We made our traditional trip to "Peter Piper", had some much needed help entertaining during sacremeent meeting and played at home.

Jess and I also had the opportunity to go to dinner with my dad and Paula, which was a lot of fun. It is fun and rewarding to see how happy my dad is and I enjoy getting to know Paula better each time we see them. Our little Trent is also particuarlly fond of Paula :)--he loves to be held by her!

Their trip was too fast--they always are! We wished we had more time with them, but are thankful for what we got!

We said another sad goodbye, yesterday. Our friends, Scott and Bekah, are off to dental school in Michigan. Although we are REALLY excited and happy for them, it will be weird to have them gone. Matt grew up with Scott and they have lived in AZ for 4 years so they are like family to us.

We will miss you guys and seeing that little, Reagan grow and change! Good luck, you will be great!

Finally, the last "goodbye" I said this week was to Seth--just to joy school for 2 hours, 2 times a week though! Some of my friends in the ward, with kids the same age, have gotten together and formed a "joy school."

It is the perfect scenario for Seth's age because he is too young for real preschool, but old enough to need more than playing at home all day with mom. His "class" has 8 little kids and each mom takes a week where we teach them.

I did this with Wade and it was so great! I am excited to do it again and thrilled the first week was a success--Seth loves it!

My "Manny"

My "Manny" (defined as a male nanny) left this morning to blissfully backpack through Europe and join my little sis, Julie (his wife), on her cruise ship adventure. My manny was none other than Uncle John Wright and we already miss him so much.

John has been staying with us for the past three weeks and was the GREATEST blessing I could have asked for. He was, seriously, my nanny (for free!) and I could not have paid for a better helper!

Each day began with my knock on John's room to wake him so I could leave Trent (and sometimes Wade, Seth and any friends that were over) with him while I scooted off to the gym and ran a few errands before I had to be home to feed Trent again--how great is that :)!

While at home, I was able to accomplish much more then usual because John was there to help out. He made lunches, played games, watched and sang along with "Playhouse Disney" and did whatever else I asked of him.
He would also accompany me to my various favorite stores, you know: Target, Costco, etc and entertained the boys so I could get all my shopping done or lift the heavy items (ie: water bottles at Costco--aren't those SOOO heavy?!)

Not only was he a huge help, but a lot of fun to hang around with. I feel like I was able to really get to know him better then I have in the past since he and Ju have only been married 3 years and have always lived away in Vegas. My boys miss him too. They keep asking about him and wondering when he will be back.

We wish him well on his adventure and hope he brings Ju home with him. We love them both very much. In the meantime, we are trying to get back to normal and function without our one-of-a-kind "manny" :).