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1/4/2010 Christmas and a new additionHurray for the Best Christmas Ever. This year Santa delivered a very special Christmas gift under our tree. A Dog! Man it’s fun having kids. Maddy for some time has been asking for a dog and finally we decided it was the right time. (I had run out of the excuses like you got a brother, you got a sister instead, you have a cat :) ) We went twice to a shelter here in so cal and the second time Maddy and the rest of the family fell in love with a cute little brown and white aussie mix. Maddy was able to take the dog out and play with her. It was love at first play. So mom and Dad left Santa a little note that Maddy really loved this certain dog and if she was good that her parents were ok if Santa wanted to bring her a dog. Before we left the shelter she even named the dog Pearl. So cute. I guess my kids had a very good year because Christmas morning just as asked Santa had left Pearl in a big box under our tree. She’s a great dog. She is super lovey and very much a licker. Very gentle and affectionate. She’s still kind of a puppy but shouldn’t grow much bigger. She loves all the attention and loves from the kids. I have to admit I have really been loving the dog as well. We are all still in the honeymoon phase with the dog and the chew count is still amazingly at 0. I laugh as I write this because before we got her I had an idea of what kind of dog owner I would be and certain things the dog would absolutely not be permitted to do. (I know this feels like déjà vu. Like when I thought I knew how parenting would be before I had kids and what my kids would absolutely not do….….and I see how well that turned out. :) Yeah the dog already slept in my bed 1 night :( has ridden in my car and is now thinking she is an indoor dog.) None of which I had planned on. I guess it’s a good thing she’s so sweet and has those puppy dog eyes perfected. Aside from the dog the other biggest hits this Christmas were probably cars, dolls, a camera and picture of the kids. Sorry for the hundred pictures guess I got carried away. It was Pearl’s first Christmas though wasn’t it? :)
Attempts at Thanksgiving pix with a baby awakened from her nap.Yikes! Had to settle for pix with the paci. Christmas break begins! The girls in their most peaceful state Best seat at the parade of lights Dean’s interpretation to please get a picture of the 3 of them.
Lady Liberty Just what I wanted Christmas morning with our newest addition Yep… she’s a licker. Spirit fingers. It’s a cars overload. Santa also brought Pearl some new toys resorted to crawling through the wreckage My favorite gift Even Chantel wanted to walk the dog Christmas morning Christmas night celebrating with family Sadly the best pix I could get of this busy body Always wiling to say cheese Loving the baby and accessories Pearl getting comfy for movie night Logan in heaven with tons of new Pixar cars What a pampered Dog 11/20/2009 We missed youAs if I didn’t already have heaps of respect for single mothers everywhere. This past week I had the slightest glimpse into that realm and have decided I’m a little too weak for this. In short it’s Friday and I’m exhausted! Hurry home honey! If this was your plan to make me appreciate allll you do it worked! Dean left on Sunday and I think after a nice long Sunday nap things were going well. It hit me on Monday morning though (as Dean takes maddy or Maddy and Logan to school in the morning) Almost like it suddenly dawned on me out of nowhere. Yikes it’s after 7 and i need to get all of us ready to drop of Maddy. So here is a few of our activities this week that you missed. The beach, the park, the zoo, the outlets, toys r us :) and everything in between. Yeah, we had to go on lots of outings for mom’s sanity. Just so that those precious children got to see their dad with every beautiful hair on their heads. :) We had some very fun moments and then those that I was definitely ready to pummel them. (like it’s some internal instinct to kick it up a notch when Dad is gone?) And now today I am crazy enough to try and get the kids pictures taken to top off the week. But grandma is here today which always seems to make the impossible possible. :) Through it all I did come out of this week much more appreciative of my husband, grateful for his limited travel, and even more in awe of single mothers. (or women with seriously deadbeat hubbys as well.
The beach Getting in some reading The seagull chase A delish sandy snack Is this seriously November? Maybe if I make this face mom will stop taking pix Let the wish list begin My baby with her baby Monkeys checking out the monkeys What’s keeping me up at night The park Peek a boo Beautiful Koi 4 going on???? Dinner + entertainment
Peace at last
11/11/2009 HalloweenHalloween 2009……. Ariel, Buzz Light year and a very busy ladybug. Thought I would finally get on and post some pictures of all the Halloween festivities. I think Halloween on Saturday meant twice as many activities. On Friday the kids had their school parades and parties and then off to trick or treat on Linden to all the little shops.Then Saturday was the church trunk or treat and more trick or treating in the neighborhood. Not to mention finding time to fit in a few pumpkin patches here and there .As of recently I am realizing that getting a good picture of 3 kids is near impossible. Trying to get them all to smile, look the same way, and the biggest challenge is to get Chantel to sit still. She is soooo busy. I have pretty much relinquished the idea of being able to get a good pix of Chantel for the next year. 90 percent of them are of her backside or her sprinting to put her face into the camera. Oy. Oh well these are some pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes and a few pumpkin patches we went to.
Making them laugh to sit still Ariel Buzz Lightyear and the ladybug Chantel providing the real entertainment Trying to escape Wagon ride at the Pumpkin Patch Cinderella's pumpkin Terrified after the corn maze Just her size Take 1 Take 2 Grabbin a Pumpkin At least all looking in the same direction My little Ladybug Loved the big tush grrrrrr Waiting for her Daddy Logan's school parade Guess Tink and Ariel were pretty popular 10/3/2009 School begins againToday I find myself trying to decide what’s more crazy. Summertime, with lots of free time and running all over the place playing and entertaining the kids or once the school year starts and then all the craziness of school schedules and activities start up. Hmmm….. having this sinking feeling that’s just how life is going to continue with 3 kids. That just maybe it has nothing to do with the seasons. Yikes. Maybe I’ll stick with thinking any second now life is going to slow down again. Oh wait, we have the holidays coming up and the last 3 months of the year always seem to fly by. So maybe no luck with that one. Anyhow craziness aside this year has been exciting with Maddy starting 1st grade and Logan back at preschool. Sureal for me to think back a year ago right as Maddy was just starting Kindergarten. So many changes, such an exciting time, just days until our little one made her debut. What a difference a year makes. They grow so much. They both are lucky enough this year to once again have great teachers and are really enjoying school. Logan is continually asking when he can start kindergarten so he can be big like Maddy. I'm in denial that it's only a year away. The biggest change this year has been Maddy in first grade. First grade is the real deal..Somehow it seems like real school. I’m sure that sounds funny but it seems like they are really hitting the big time now. Sitting at their own desks, the teacher is teaching right at 8 on the dot,homework is due each day, a longer school day, the half a second goodbye to mom starting on day one as she ran in the door, there’s more work, structure and expectations in school. You know real school. :) It was kind of funny when Maddy was telling me about her first day. Talking about this fun thing and that exciting thing and who she saw, and at the end she let out an exhausted sigh and said, and mom it was a really long day. Lol. Logan is back at the same preschool he was at last year with the same teachers that he and I both adore. The other day he told me he wants to go to his school everyday and he wants to stay as long as Maddy stays. Ha-ha. So he is enjoying school as well. He just can’t seem to decide if he wants to go to his school everyday or just wants to go straight to kindergarten to be big like Maddy. We have also been busy with soccer starting, ( which I can’t even contain my enthusiasm over how cute kids playing soccer are) And then to have your own kids playing a sport you loved… I can’t help but smile. And no not in any trying to relive my past kind of way. :) So the kids are doing that and we just finished the primary program and Maddy’s school jog a thon. We also managed to fit in 3 birthdays. Maddy, Chantel and I’s birthday’s are all within a 2 week span. Also in the mix is me trying to keep the mornings as stress free as possible. Thanks to a saint of a husband for taking the kids to school it has been pretty good.( Although I think Maddy secretly likes the frazzled mornings because then she gets cafeteria lunch which she loves. So with a deep breath, a lot of smiles, and a little craziness it looks like the new school year is well underway! School Jog-a-thon with a little help from Logan Daddy getting a huge hug Ouch my neck hurts already Wild!
Love the swings The super squeeze hug First day of first grade What she calls her fiesta skirt My chew toy Male bonding :) I'm Six! Chantel's wow face More pictures mom? Dean and Dean jr. 8/17/2009 Only half a yearOk so it’s only been about 6 months since I blogged. Not too bad right? How much happens in half a year with 3 kids? Burdean celebrated his 33rd birthday in may, and in June we celebrated 8 years of wedded bliss. Maybe a little more bliss on my end then on yours honey. Thanks for putting up with me for 8 years and pretending that you are loving every minute though. :) Dean has been very busy at work lately with some big changes that have been made. Last month he spent a week in New Jersey to begin managing an office there as well. But hey we aren’t actually moving to New jersey so no complaints here. :) He has also been busy with his calling, rec softball, volleyball, and enjoying lots of summer hanging out with the family. Maddy is almost a first grader. (As she likes to often remind me) She absolutely loved her first year of school and her sweet teacher Mrs. Riggs. I even cried my eyes out on her last day of school. I guess a lot of feelings of overwhelming gratitude for a fantastic teacher, all she did for Maddy, and proud of our little one for how much she grew and accomplished this year(Funny enough I was pretty strong on the first day).So for now she is living it up and loving the summer weather. The girl could spend hours outside trying to catch insects. And her favorite of course are the butterflies. The other day she caught a monarch butterfly. My heart sank for the poor little unsuspecting creature that’s probably traumatized. She did however let it go after taking some time to study it intently. She has also been busy riding her bike(now that there are no training wheels she loves it) and with reaching her goal of reading 100 books this summer. She’s been enjoying lots of time with family her favorite cousins and lots of late bedtimes that unfortunately are coming to a screeching halt . Logan turned 4 last month. I can’t believe my little man is already 4. I have to laugh at how much Logan is still Logan. Every year I am just waiting for him to turn into this completely wild boy. But not quite yet. Maybe he’s waiting till he’s a teenager. For now he’s easygoing, and just a lot of fun to be around. He has been going with the flow this summer. Still loving his cars, and now finally loving to ride his bike as well.(and has finally conceded that the barney rubble style is not faster than pedaling)He spends lots of time outdoors as well, playing baseball with Maddy and trying to get into some occasional mischief with the garden hose. He has really been happy to have his little playmate out of school for the summer.He will be back at preschool next week and is very excited to see his teachers and all the kids again. Chantel is growing so fast. I can’t begin to describe how much she has changed in half a year. In only a few short weeks she will be one. I love this age and seeing their little personalities really come out. This girl puts absolutely everything in her mouth. She has a special liking for remotes, keys, cords, paper, Logan's cars, and outlet plugs if I’d let her. She also loves to eat sand. Either handfuls of it or face planting into the sand to eat it that way.(it’s kind of funny unless you end up changing that diaper.) So basically she would like to bite everything I would rather her not. Her favorite song is twinkle twinkle little star. Still calms her instantly. The last few months she has been a fantastic sleeper. Super easy to go down for naps and bedtime and has been sleeping about 12 hours at night which mom has been waiting for. She loves to clap and already has a funny little sense of humor when she is getting into things (like trying to unplug the vacuum) she knows she in not supposed to. Her first words are still debatable but I guess it was dada. Which she still says more often then mama. My new favorite thing she does is her clapping. I love this little girl so much. She has been a very fun baby that has brought us tremendous joy. She has a very sweet little bond with her sister and brother. Maddy makes her laugh a lot and Logan is very sweet and loving with her. I often find myself laughing at how totally entertained she is by them. Dropped in the middle of the 3 ring circus. And then there is me. I have been faring pretty well this summer. My first summer with 3 kids. I must say I was quite unsure how it was going to go down with me having all 3 home everyday. I envisioned the worst with them hanging from the ceiling and surprisingly it has been a lot of fun. There for sure have been days where I would like to pull my hair out or it seems as though the house is not quiet for 5 minutes to hear myself think. For the most part though the kids have had fun and spend a lot of time with family which makes me more happy than anything. We went beach camping a few week ago, and last week we had a great time with the whole family at a beach house. I also have been pretty surprised how well Maddy and Logan have gotten along. They are absolute angels with Chantel so that is the hugest relief but I wondered if sooo much more time together would be a constant battle. While they definitely have their days and moments where I feel like I am the boxing referee breaking up fights they really have spent most of the summer by each others side playing together from morning to night. The summer has also included lots of late bedtimes and more naps then they took all year. So I am thinking that maybe the trick is to prepare for the worst and then you’ll be very pleasantly surprised. Collectively the last 6 months has mostly been about family. Getting used to a family of five and getting to know and love our little Chantel. I think with each child comes new changes, challenges, and more joy. We were finding our groove as a family. Getting used to new routines and ways of doing things. Each person being important and valued in this new dynamic. Mom still busy trying to tackle her biggest challenge-the always present laundry. So as summer winds down we are getting ready for a new season and a new chapter to begin. Although I’m not quite sure I’m really ready to let summer go I suppose we’ll continue to love all the fresh strawberries, our beach trips, and enjoy my favorite season while it’s still around because in a week it’s back to school! Yikes! Mastering the clap Still our food connoisseur pigtails turned horns Leaving a trail in the sand Last day of Kindergarten with Mrs. Riggs playing with Logan’s hat Mom’s least favorite chore of the summer :( Ready to hang ten The summer of “family naps” Accident prone Our Chantey My little helper Our favorite place Lovin on her blankie Enjoying summer weather 2/23/2009 A few new pixThought I would just post a few new pictures. We've spent the past month slowly passing this sick bug around to each other. I suppose it would've been to fortunate to have everyone sick at once. I think we're all finally healthy again though. At the moment I'm in the middle of waging a losing battle against the ants in the kitchen and thinking about sleep training Chantel. I need to reread a few things before I start though. Any helpful advice on sleep training? Or how to keep your 3 year old in bed anytime after 5 AM? Maybe it's Logan in need of sleep training these days. The last few weeks he has decided that anytime after 5 is fair game to get out of bed and start the day with a bang. Glad you have such a zest for life Logan but would it be too much to ask for all that energy and joy to start after 7?
Using the sick excuse to catch some zzz's All smiles in the bumbo. Thanks Es.
Logan letting Chantel pinch his face Rockin the apron Sisterly love How did she grow so fast? 2/2/2009 losing itOkay I've conceded. I've finally come to the realization that I'm absolutely losing my mind! Is this what happens when you have kids? They deplete all your brain cells? This third child has taken the short supply I had left. There's a quote that used to hang at my mom's house that read,"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most." My sentiments exactly. In only a weeks span I had thought of some pretty stupid things I 'd done. This week I did a load of laundry without soap. I found a freshly washed disposable diaper in the dryer. I stepped away from the stove to grab Chantel and burned caramel popcorn. While reciting to myself the things I needed to grab before walking out the door I put deodorant on the outside of my black shirt. With car seat in one hand and keys in the other I rushed to the front door repeatedly clicking my keyless remote. After a few frustrating tries I finally realized why the front door was not opening. :) Once in the house I had 10 minutes to grab a few things and head out to pick up Maddy. In those 10 minutes I lost my keys. One of Logan's bedtime pull ups somehow made it through the washer (actually twice).....And yes I'm starting to realize I have laundry issues. I think I've burned more dinners in the last few months then in the last few years. To top it off the other day might have been one of the dumbest things I've ever done. After pressing the ignite button on the BBQ a second time I decided to stick my face over the grill to see why it hadn't started . Uh luckily I only singed off my eyelashes....At the moment my keys have been lost for 2 weeks and search and rescue is about to throw in the towel. I am desperately hoping that there's some miracle cure to stop this process. I'm going to have Alzheimer's in my 30's. Or maybe once the kids are grown and out of the house you get those brain cells back and that's how you become wise. Or at least seem wise to the rest of us. Yes, I think I'm going to hold out hope for that one and we'll see how it goes in about 18 years. Little man in a suit on his first day of Primary Getting in as many fingers as possible Dad and Maddy say cheese My favorite color! Thanks Lauren!
Oh the many fun hours with tape! Our little chunk 1/6/2009 Christmas And a New YearYou mean 2008 is over? Guess I should put up pictures of the last month so I can eventually move on to the New year. :) December was super busy this year. It seems like there was something going on almost everyday. There were Christmas parties, school parties, Christmas programs, get together's, decorating the tree, making gingerbread houses, lots of shopping, baking and lots and lots of excuses to get together with family.We even decided to start 2 new traditions. The parade of lights at the harbor and ding dong ditching goodies. We went to the parade of lights with my parents where all the boats in the harbor are decorated in lights and then they have fireworks after. Very fun. Before Christmas the kids and I were baking some treats to deliver to a few families and I thought maybe it'd be fun for them to leave the goodies, ring the bell and run. I am laughing just thinking of it. The kids loved it. Maddy wanted to be SO fast. It was hilarious. She loved the thrill so much that we let her do it again the next night. Christmas Eve and Christmas night were spent in the joyful company of family. Christmas morning was spent at our house with the kids. Can't think of anything better than the look on little children's faces on Christmas morning. Happiness & pure excitement. Wish they woke up like that every morning. :) After all the excitement of the month, lots of great memories made with family and friends, and way too many late nights, we decided to get away for a few days. We went to St. George for a few days where my parents have a house for some R & R. The kids even got to play in the snow. (And yes those are pretty redneck toboggan's) After going to 8 different stores with no luck Dean bought plastic containers. Thanks again honey for the pep talk about how this was building character as I watch the other kids with real sleds go by. Haha.Yes it was pretty funny. Although we had a great time I think one of my favorite moments was on the way home. I had taken Chantel out of the car for 10 minutes to feed her and then put her back. She didn't really want to go back in her car seat yet. She was crying and I heard Madelyn talking to her and calming her down. A few minutes later the backseat was quiet (which obviously prompted me wonder if they were all still breathing) When I turned around I saw that Madelyn and Chantel were asleep. As I went to cover up Chantel I could see that the girls were still holding hands. Definitely one of life's tender moments. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and are a little more on top of getting into the New Year than I am. :) Only pictures with Santa this year. Sorry kids!
Gingerbread houses. Yummm! After Maddy's Kindergarten Christmas program Pretty cute reindeer Parade of Lights
watching the boats was pretty exhausting Cousins Logan's Christmas party Chantel and her cousin Mackenzie
Christmas Eve Frosted cookies anyone?
Christmas morning Teaching her little sis to color A day in the snow with our sweet sleds :) Not so much a fan of the cold :) Bubble Bath Loving sisters 12/2/2008 Giving ThanksTis the season. Ah. Sometimes I wish we could just do November and December all year round. I love this season. A time to remember all our blessings and give thanks for all that we have. People are (usually) joyful, happy, and nice. A time to shop, eat good food, do service for others, and most importantly remember the reason for the season. Yes, I love this season. Although I probably couldn't do it all yearlong because I would miss spring, summer and a little more summer.This Thanksgiving as I looked around at our family, and the chaos of all the little kids running around, I couldn't help but be grateful for all my blessings. I am sure each of us could fill volumes with the things we are grateful for. Our families, our friends, our faith, the gift of life and freedom, and all the experiences we have had along our journey here. I am very grateful to know so many good people who have had a positive influence on my life even when they have not known it. I am grateful for the little everyday things as well. Like super hot showers, Sunday walks with the family, children's laughter, a good song, and a good DP :) I had been thinking a lot about the gratitude I have for my family with our new little addition, but had an experience this past week that has made me all the more grateful for each on of them. Last week I lost Logan. Not to be over dramatic but probably the worst 5 minutes of my life. My family was at the mall having all 9 grand kids picture taken. Yes we are CRAZY! From 18 years to 2 months. After the pictures were taken I was talking to my sister Tammy and my sister-in -law Stefanie about who was going to take the kids for ice cream and who was going home. Maddy, Logan and their cousin Kaleigh were all playing pretty close to us. All of a sudden I didn't see Logan anymore. Maddy said something about he is gone. (We were at the JC penny's in the mall) I walk around the corner and figure he must be right there. He isn't. I start to call for him. Nothing. We walk a little further to the elevator and the bathrooms. I start to feel that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that I can't even begin to describe. Somewhat like the feeling when Logan hit his head only times 10. I check the bathrooms and Maddy says something about Logan maybe going on the elevator. We start calling for him and asking anyone in the area if they have seen him. Tammy stays with the kids and Stefanie heads through the store to look for him. I take the longest elevator ride up to the 2nd floor and ask a worker if she has seen a little boy. She gets on her walkie talkie and a minute or so later I hear Tammy yelling they had found him. Once I got off the elevator I gave him a huge hug and started crying.I was pretty shaken up. When I told him he'd really scared me he responded in a very sad voice, "I was looking for the transformer cars." I didn't know weather I wanted to hug and kiss him forever,to ring his neck or both. He was not frightened or looking for me, just sad he couldn't find those cars.I am so grateful that Tammy and Stef were there. Thank you a million. The only thing that made the whole frightening experience a little easier was not being there alone. Having your help and support. I love you guys. It was a pretty emotional night. Maddy asked me several times why my eyes were watering. And just as my sister knew I would, I broke down crying on the way home and then again when I got home and told Dean the story about how I must be the worst mother ever. As unfortunate as the experience was I have a new gratitude for my family and my little ones. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving,is giving their loved ones a few extra hugs and kisses and is enjoying this wonderful season of thanks. One of Dad's favorite past times Such hams
Thanksgiving feast at Maddy's school Maddy and her BFF cousin Kaleigh
Thanks for the adorable outfit Karli! Too cute.
Bug (or snail) hunting 11/3/2008 HalloweenJust thought I'd post a few pictures of the kids for Halloween. Tinkerbell, the race car driver, and the pumpkin. It was a very good Halloween. Really a great week. Last weekend we were able to have some of our favorite people come and stay the weekend with us. We love seeing Chris and Karli. The time is always too short but it was great fun hanging out with them and getting to know their adorable little Kai. Logan is still talking about how cute she is. Later in the week we took the kids to the pumpkin patch and on Friday Logan and Maddy had Halloween parades and parties at school. We went trick or treating down linden(a street leading to the beach here) with all the little shops handing out candy. It's really cute. After we had our fill of candy we had dinner with friends and came home to crash. Logan was on such a sugar high he didn't fall asleep until almost 10pm. Unfortunately, I now have either less hands or less memory so I didn't get too many pictures of the kids. I have been kicking myself for not taking more pictures over the last few months. Oh well, maybe I'll do better with the upcoming holidays.Now I just need to throw away the Halloween candy so I don't continue to eat it all.(Although the kids are really helping me out with that.) Yesterday Dean and I decided to attempt a rare nap. When we awoke the kids had eaten almost all of Logan's Halloween candy. His very helpful big sister climbed up and got his bucket out of the cupboard. They were hand over fisting the candy. I think they ate enough candy to last them until next Halloween. Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Chantel's first Halloween Two looking terrified and one mad after corn maze?
The biggest pumpkins they could find
We love you guys! Maddy's Kindergarten class And you thought in never rained in Cali Our little Pumpkin Calling it a day(with candy still in Logan's mouth)
A beautiful halloween sunset
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) Now hurry up and get home! We love you, miss you, and Mama’s got her bags packed for a day of R&R. 
While I probably could just say busy, I think at some time I may want to flip back through this journal and have a slight recollection of what was happening. So I suppose I will just highlight a little bit of what each of us has done this summer. 
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