Trying New Foods

Yesterday, Jake and I went to the store. As soon as we got to the produce section, we saw something interesting. It sort of looked like a pomegranate that had a bad hair day. We were looking at them when someone who works in the produce section came up to talk to us. He said they'd cut up one the day before to try it, and it looked like a pale kiwi on the inside and tasted pretty bland, kind of like an apple or pear.

I'm ALL for new foods, so we bought two. (Mostly because I really wanted Cameron to see this funny fruit.) Jake marched through the store talking about our dragon fruit.

Today I cut it up to eat it for lunch. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan. It's REALLY bland, and would probably be best if put into a fruit salad where it can look pretty, because that's what it does best....look pretty.

Just For Fun

I'm doing a photo challenge for the month. It gives a different object/time/thing to photograph each day. I have SUCH a hard time taking pictures, so I figure that I should at least TRY to improve.

Today's topic was "front door." I have one of those!! :)

Here's my attempts. (And yes, it's all just for fun!)

What? A Video???

Yup, I'm attempting to share more of my life with you all.

This was our little adventure tonight: Steve wanted the boys to try Jack in the Box's new shake flavor.....bacon. YUP! Bacon, as in "meat!" It's pretty tasty if you ask me....but just ask my boys:

And the second part....

Yes, we're evil. Thanks for asking.

I Really SHOULD Make my Blog a Priority....

I have a lot to say most days, but I forget it when I get on the computer and I play my time away. *hee hee*

Anyway, a few weeks ago the boys got hair cuts. Cam got a cool mo-hawk because the school had crazy hair day (not allowing hair paint, so what ELSE could we do with a little boy's hair??)

He LOVED it and Jake kept asking for the same thing....even though his hair was too short. Maybe this summer sometime we'll have matchy-matchy boys.

Cam tried to teach Jake the "cool" finger thing so he could look like Cam, but he couldn't figure out why we were making him put up his fingers, so we gave up.

*hee hee*

Spoiled Much??

Our tax refund this year has been a HUGE blessing. We've spent probably more than we should have, but BOY are we having fun!

We upgraded our computer. The last one had Vista on it, and Vista was sucking up most of the memory. Our dedicated computer man told us to not put any more money into that machine. He told us he'd build us a decent machine that would knock the socks off our current model, so we planned to buy a new computer from him with our refund.

The day the refund came, Steve was SO ready to go and get that new machine. I told him it wasn't MY priority, but he wanted to go anyway. The guys set us up with a new machine that had so many gizmos and do-dads that we were excited to get it. They even installed a card reader (how did I EVER live without one before now?) and an extra Ethernet hook-up. (Do you like my computer jargon? Yeah, I'm so knowledgeable....*guffaw*)

We had a few problems with it, but those fantastic computer dudes fixed us up VERY quickly and without too many complaints. (The last trip in, I asked if they were tired of seeing us...)

Part of the reason we got the new Ethernet extension was so we could finally hook up our Wii to the Internet. Steve got so frustrated trying to make it work. He finally gave up and contacted our Internet provider and got a wireless router. (I had no idea he'd done this until it showed up today....)

We are now playing old-school games on our Wii, watching a free trial of Netflix (no longer old-school with movies) and having a good old time.

The boys are in heaven, but I have to remind them that these things aren't required in life, they're extras....

....now that I've blogged, I'm off to play more Bomberman!!

Spending Quality Time With Family

Cameron has always loved playing board games, card games or any game with us. He BEGS constantly for a game to be played. On Saturday I played Sorry with him and Jake. (Okay, so Jake just messed up the board and picked up random cards...but HE thought he was playing.) They had such a blast. I was slightly annoyed....

Yesterday after we had a wonderful Stake Conference (seriously, it was SO good. I even got to sit by the cool kids of the stake!) Cameron asked if we could take a game with us to Grandma's house. Every Sunday we go to my mom and dad's house for Sunday dinner and some visiting time. For the last few weeks, Cameron has dug out my mom's Uno game and played it until it was time to go home. It's been fun, and I figured he could, as long as he was good.

The kid was a SAINT!

After dinner was cleaned up and the table cleaned, we set up the game and played. Jake gave up after a while and Steve took over for him. Cameron won the first game VERY quickly, and the rest of us played until we were done. Then Cam BEGGED to play again. We set it up, and one of my brothers took Steve's place. Soon, my brother had something to do, so my OTHER brother took over for him. Who knew that someone could get SO vindictive playing Sorry. Pretty soon we'd say, "Ooh, Sorry.....bwahahahahaha..." My mom would say, "That didn't sound so 'Sorry' to me." We would laugh.

In the end, I decided that games CAN be fun with your kids.

Doing Things WITH My Boys

A few weeks ago, when I had that fantastic Relief Society lesson about strengthening our families, someone mentioned doing things with your children. They said that it will take more time if you involve the little ones, but you won't regret the memories made or the times you have. Tonight, I did just that.

My latest love is Papa Murphy's cookie dough. I took Jacob with me to pick up pizza earlier this week, and he "helped" me out by grabbing TWO containers of cookie dough. I didn't see a huge problem with it, so I got it, for a special treat later this week. Tonight, the boys and I cracked out the dough and worked together.

I gave the boys the dough, and they "rolled" it into balls. Jake was SO pleased with himself. Cameron was a great help, because he really DID know what he was doing and showed Jake what to do. Every few minutes Jake would call out to dad (who was just in the living room), "DAD! We's makin' COOKIE dough!!" It was way cute.

Finally, they helped me put them in the oven and were thrilled when it was done.

The best part? The boys are proud of something they did with their mom, and it was something easy.

Baby steps, but I'm going to keep trying. :)

Just Dance

You remember my post about that party we went to? The one where we played Just Dance? Well, now we OWN both games. *giggle* We're so excited about it, and so are the boys. Yesterday, as soon as they could, they played it with their dad. Let's just say it was SUPER cute to see Jake try (and totally NOT use the controller) and feel a slight bounce to the apartment.

Oh, what fun!

Merry Christmas all!

Partying Continues....

This time it was an adult only party. Steve and I had a blast. We did a white elephant gift exchange, and Steve's first gift (since you could steal from others, and we didn't end up with the first gifts) was a digital keychain with pictures on it from this website. It was disgustingly hilarious.

Then after we had talked, exchanged gifts and ate we played Just Dance 2. I LOVED this game. I was laughing SO hard when Steve was dancing to "Hey Ya." He can really wiggle that booty!

I wished we could have stayed longer, but we didn't want to drive Grandma and Grandpa too crazy watching the two little boys.

It was so much fun! (By the way, I did NOT take these pictures, since I'm in them...They are from my friend, Mattsmom. She did a GREAT job with the pictures!)

The Elf Family

Thanks to a friend, I'm sharing this. (The boys and I played with it over and over last week, giggling away....) Enjoy!

He Sees You When You're Sleeping....He Knows When You're Awake....

Yesterday, Santa sent each of my boys an email about their status on his list.

He told both boys that they've been good, but they can improve. He encouraged Cameron to be nice to his brother, and then he encouraged Jake to listen to his parents.

Santa is such a great guy (and motivator for positive behavior)....but I think some boys in my house have forgotten their message from Santa. Maybe I should email him and let him know what's going on.

Mornings are just hard on us. No one really WANTS to wake up (except, maybe Jacob...but only if it's on HIS terms) and then the grumpies come out.

This morning, for example, Jake woke up happily and took a bath. Baths are his FAVORITE thing in the world. Usually he flops onto his belly and says, "Mom, I fwimming! I FWIMMING!" I've yet to convince him that you can't really swim in a bathtub. Anyway, after Jake's bath, it's Cameron's turn. I called to Cameron, nicely (I promise) and told him that it was his turn. He called back, "I don't WANNA wake up, I don't WANNA go to school!"

I told him that wasn't an option, unless he was sick.

Then he stomped into the bathroom....completely grumpy and upset. He took his bath, forgetting to wash certain areas, but that's nothing new. Then once I was convinced he was done, I found him some clothes in my laundry-pile of a bedroom, and he got out of the tub.

He did not like the pants I found for him.

He did not like the shirt.

He didn't want to get dressed. He had melted down. He was done.

I was done as well. Time to truly implement the Total Transformation program. First step: (for me) calm down. Don't take his tantrum personally...treat this like it's business, because it is.

Second step: (for me.....again) what can I take from his menu, that he really LOVES to do, that I can take away from him, to get him to behave better? How long will his punishment last? What does he have to do to get it back?

"Cameron, you cannot watch TV for 10 minutes until you can talk nicely." (Yeah, that will work, VERY nicely!)

Cameron, screaming at me from his bedroom, tells me that he doesn't like that. That ten minutes is too hard, and too long.

Third step: (yet again, for me) don't take it personally....don't take it personally.....don't take it personally......

Step 3.5: make him WANT to behave well. Maybe 10 minutes is too long? No, not really, and I REALLY need him to be nice to me and Jake. We need to make him REALLY want to be good. Push up the time limit to 30 minutes.

"Cameron, since you don't like 10 minutes, now you owe me 30 minutes. Once you've been nice and kind for 30 minutes, you can watch tv. But now that you have 30 minutes, you will completely miss your favorite morning show."

More wailing comes from the bedroom.

Step four: State the consequences, the required behavior and walk away.

"Cameron, you know that you need to behave for 30 minutes. Once you do that, you can watch tv." Grab the laundry that needs washed, and go downstairs.

You know, it worked!! One peaceful half-hour later, the tv is on, the boys are happily coloring and getting along.

I am beginning to wonder if I have more pull than Santa Claus.....

How To Entertain Your Two and Nearly Ten Year Old Children

I spent the day with a good friend today. I introduced her to the best ice cream EVER (which I was surprised they don't already have in Las Vegas). Talked with her for HOURS about what kinds of things I can do to help out my sweet Cameron (she's an AMAZING special ed teacher....like, I wish she was OUR teacher, that's how amazing she is!) Getting all sorts of ideas from the kinds of books and programs to try (Bob books...we're going to find you!) and discussing the fun things that she does with her preschool kids. (Ocean-scenes and counting with goldfish crackers....Jake is ready for YOU!)

Then as we were finishing up our visit, she asked about dollar stores. I pointed her to one of my favorites, and OH MY GOODNESS, it was a good thing that it was payday today.

I found some super cute mini-lanterns that BOTH of my boys are loving. I also grabbed them some little plastic trucks (they're open, but sitting on the couch...) and my favorite things: GIANT bowls (for salads) flip flops (can't beat $1), and pens, envelopes and a new egg slicer. My boys are enthralled by the stuff I got. Cam's bummed that I didn't get him some flip flops (didn't know his size, and he was at the Learning Center, so I couldn't just measure his feet...) but the boys are happy and well entertained for VERY cheap!

I love dollar stores! :)

My Late Night Companion....

Yup...just me and the birthday balloon....

At least it's getting some exercise by moving around the living room. (My fan in the window is blowing it across the ceiling...it makes a soft scraping noise....it freaked me out before I figured out what it was...)

Ressurection Time? I Think So...Free For All Friday is back!

I've been pretty bad at blogging lately. I think the lure of Facebook and other things has kept me from updating my blog or telling my stories here. It's almost easier to type up a simple status update rather than the whole story on my blog. So I have a solution: Free for all Friday is back.
For those who don't know: If you want to ask me a question – and anything goes – here’s your chance. You can ask about whatever you wish, no holds barred. I’ll either answer honestly, or I’ll tell you that I won’t answer.

Ready....Set.......GO!!!

Answers

Jewelle said...
What is the funniest thing the boys have done this week?

Jewelle:

Jake's is easy to remember....I might have to come back when I think of Cam's.

On Tuesday night, we were at my parents' house. It was my mom's birthday, and I had bought her some obnoxious things: a funny card (she said it wasn't as funny as I thought though), a cake, and a balloon. The balloon was a hit....for Jake. He would NOT leave the thing alone.

After playing with it for a while, he found a water balloon, uninflated. He took it to my dad and asked him to blow it up. My dad began blowing it up.

Now, imagine if you can: Jake, standing next to my dad's recliner, watching intently while another balloon is inflated. My dad, turning a little purple in the face, because, well, water balloons aren't MEANT to be blown up. And finally, my dad's black Pomeranian, LuLu...innocently lying in his lap.

Suddenly, the balloon popped. LuLu took off, running. Jake jumped backward....and my dad started laughing. My younger brother began chasing the dog, trying to comfort her, and Jake was in AWE of the loud noise.

At this point, the rest of us are busting a gut because LuLu's reaction was SO funny. Soon, Jake begins throwing blankets around, swinging his head back and forth....HE'S LOOKING FOR THE BALLOON!! Oh, my gosh! We are laughing even HARDER now....

Oh, it was SO funny! Jake never DID find the balloon.

Happy Mothers' Day!

A funny and a serious looks at being a mom. I hope you enjoy it.

When Your Hut's On Fire

A little note from me, I don't know why I've not been up to writing personal blog posts lately, but I got this email from my aunt, and I KNEW I had to share it. Maybe sometime this week I'll post something personal....maybe.....

******************************************************

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do
this to me?'
Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.
The Moral of This Story: It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering.
Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground.
It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

Wordless Wednesday

*snicker*

My boys make me laugh, and usually I forget what they've said and don't share, but I should share the few things they've said lately.

The other day I turned on Jake's favorite show. Yes, I let my 19 month old child watch TV.... Anyway, he usually calls out the name of it "Fesh Beat!" (It's called the Fresh Beat Band...cute show, even I can tolerate it!) Anyway, the other day I turned it on and asked him, "Jake, look what's on!?" He promptly responded "'NANA!" (They sing a song about bananas...even to the point of spelling it...he's OBVIOUSLY paying attention to their songs! If you go to that link, click on the Fresh Beat girl, then the song is #6.)

Jake has also gotten verbal in his demands for food. I got him a kids' meal from Wendy's the other day and the whole car ride he insisted on his "chips." When I told him that it was "french fries" he changed his tune and began chanting, "FENCH FIES!! FENCH FIES!!!" Oh, and if you really want to see cute, ask him what he's supposed to say when he wants something. You will get the HIGHEST pitched "PWEASE!" SO fast!

We have a new Wendy's restaurant in town. I happened to drive past it yesterday with Cameron in the car. The dang restaurant went up SO fast I didn't notice it was even THERE until last week sometime. So I pointed it out to Mr. Cameron. He said, "Mom, you know what?"

I asked, "No, what?"

"Just LOOKING at that Wendy's is making my tummy growl."

Good try, son, but you're NOT getting Wendy's!

And just for good measure, Cameron has gotten sneaky in his old age. A few weeks ago, he woke up early, and finding nothing better to do (since we hide all the goodies and hide the remote control and turn on a password on the computer...yeah, we make it HARD to entertain yourself before we're awake...) he took some random pictures of himself. I wondered why the new batteries in my camera were dead after 2 days. NOW I know. Funny boys!

Free Entertainment

School has been out since yesterday, and Cam was beginning to get "bored." Thankfully, the city workers (who have been tearing up our alley where we have our garage) have been working with their big trucks and back-hoes. He's been in HEAVEN watching them all day. I don't think I've heard him say ONCE today that he was "bored."

He even got Jake to watch with him.

It was a VERY good day! :)