CAUSE THAT'S HOW I ROLL

This is about nothing in particular. I think my life is pretty normal, pretty easy. There are things in it that make me smile like no other though. I always wonder what people think about Christian and I. I don't think we're like most ordinary couples.... if there is such a thing. But when I compare us to his siblings who are married... we are very different from them. For example.... the BANTER. We are constantly trying to one up each other. I remember when we were dating and I thought Christian's jokes were always so corny. But the longer he's been married to me, the funnier he's gotten. I don't take responsibility for this... ok maybe a little of it.

WARNING: MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR SOME READERS :)

The other day Christian came home from work and went to the grocery store with Kalea after dinner. When he got home he put away the food and was about to go to bed. I asked him to put the dishes away before he went to bed. Here's what I got:

Christian: I mean, it's not like I've been home all day!

Kristy: I know, but it'd be nice if you'd help me with the house work every once in awhile.

Christian: That's fine, but it's the WAY you ask me, it's your tone.

Kristy: Well, I apologize for my tone.

Christian: I don't accept if it doesn't include sex.

Kristy: Good, cause I didn't mean it anyway!

( I THINK I WON THAT ROUND)

HERE'S ROUND 2:

Christian: Hey, do you know where my Aquafresh Whitening Trays are?

Kristy: Ummm... probably in a landfill somewhere.

Christian: You threw them away?!

Kristy: Yeah, you haven't used them in like a YEAR! But you can use my Crest Whitestrips if you want to.

Christian: OH you mean the ones that you haven't used in like a year!

(touche) I think he won that round.

I've also discovered recently that I DO NOT like Cheerwine. It's been popping up around me lately, so I thought alright I'll try it. NASTY STUFF. It tastes like watered down Cherry Coke with a hint of Cough Syrup. I can't handle it. It's disgusting. You can have your Cheerwine.

Mia likes to tell me that I'm her bwest bwend. It's very sweet. She also tells me I'm a princess. When she's mad at me, she tells me that I AM NOT A PRINCESS. ouch!

Kalea likes to come up to me and say, "Mommy, I'm going to tell you the truth." And then she continues by tattling on her sister. I think she's trying to decipher the difference between a lie and a true statement.

I also love that Landen is incapable of smiling with opening up his mouth. It is so adorable. He reminds me of a muppet baby. I told Christian that and he said, "what's a muppet baby." I swear, you think he grew up in the stone age.

Lastly, I made my mom cry. Not a teenager slam a door in your face cry either. I made her proud.... and she cried. I invited a guy to church and bore my testimony to him. I think it hit her all at once that I'm not the same person that I used to be and she was very overwhelmed by that. Which made me feel good. I try really hard to be a good person now days. I want to be the kind of person that when my kids grow up they can say... MY MOM ROCKS!

NOT A FAN

it is quite beautiful though

I don't like the snow. There, I said it. I've never really like it. When we lived in Florida for 7 1/2 years, we obviously had 70 degree winters. Then we moved here and it would snow MAYBE once a year. I think I've played in it ONCE the 14 years I've lived here. I'm not a fan. That being said, here are some pictures. It seems Mia has taken after her Mother in the "I HATE SNOW" area. She would get all bundled up with Kalea and then just stand at the window to watch. Kalea really loved it. She had a bit of a melt down when she fell in the snow twice with bare hands. Christian loved it too, it was like watching a big kid out there.

kalea and christian's snow angels

sliding down the snow filled slide

kcs and chs

don't let her grin fool you, she didn't want to be outside

this is one of my favorite pictures. christian made mia do a snow angel. she was NOT happy

GRATIFACATION

Things that make me feel Gratified:

There are many things that gratify me right now. Like my newborn (5 months is still newborn right?) falling asleep in my arms while i play computer games.

Sleeping children. Obedient children. Happy Children.

A happy husband. There's a saying, "If the mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Same goes for the daddy.

My church calling. I teach the Valiant 6 year old class. They're a handful, but there's nothing more gratifying to know that they listen have learned something important from you and the teachings of the church.

Good friends that you can be YOURSELF around. Sometimes it's hard to find people you're 100% comfortable around.


Also we just had the most amazing blessing in our lives right now. For months GSK has told us that Christian will NOT be receiving any sort of raise of promotion. It was very hard on our family. We had planned Landen around a pay increase that we never received. So after many pennies being pinched and lots of luxuries that we have gone without, Christian has gotten some great news. The Company decided to give Christian and amazing promotion. We feel so unbelievably blessed for him to have received this promotion especially during times like these. When most people are losing jobs and companies are failing, we know if you put your trust in the Lord and follow his commandments that you will truly be blessed. Sometimes I sit back and wonder "why do I deserve to be so happy and so blessed?" It's a hard thing sometimes to just say "thank you" without being completely overwhelmed and humbled by this type of experience. We have always kind of struggled in the money department. It's always been more important for us to have a happy healthy family rather then STUFF. The Lord knows the desires of your heart and the needs of your family. I have a strong testimony that you will be blessed if you are obedient and faithful.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER

I found this picture from when I was about 4 or 5 years old. It reminds me someone.... hmmm.

I'M A VERY IMPORTANT PERSON

I am: a little bit A.D.D. Christian has to constantly aske me if I'm still listening. Usually I'm not.
I know: how to play the piano. I just don't do it very often... but I'm actually pretty good.
I won: everything. I'm a winner.
I want: a bigger house. We're already outgrowing our cramped space.
I have: 3 awesome little rugrats.
I hate: when Christian doesn't help me clean... grrrrr.
I miss: my brothers :(
I feel: pretty crappy. I think I have the flu minus the fever. Not fun.
I hear: my girls playing and Rascal Flatts.
I smell: pretty gross. I haven't showered yet today.
I crave: Dr. Pepper. It's my weakness.
I search: for information on schools for Kalea.
I love: my family. If everyone on the planet exploded except for my family... I'd be ok with that... hahaha
I care: about my hair. It's the only thing that I has to be perfect on my body. weird, i know.
I always: sleep whenever I can.
I believe: in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
I sing: horribly. I was much better when I was younger. Christian can sing me under the table.
I write: almost never. I don't really like to write. Except on my blog... which is actually typing.
I lose: almost everything. I'm not very competitive and so I don't usually try very hard. Drives Christian crazy.
I win: Guitar Hero. I'm smokin hot at Guitar Hero.
I never: lose my temper. Hahaha. I'm so funny
I listen: to all kinds of music. I LOVE almost every kind except for heavy metal and Gothic weird stuff.
I am scared: of strangers around my children. I watch way too many shows about child abductions. It makes me paranoid.
I need: to do sit ups. I'm flabby.
I am happy: about my life and my marriage.
I tag: Brit Alo, Lisa Larson, and Brittney Nelson

MILESTONES

So .....

I'm sick and and very dizzy. Hopefully this post makes sense. But I'm not making any promises. I'm proud to say that I am the new owner of a very potty trained almost 3 year old. That's right... Mia has retired her diapers for a porcelain throne and she is doing wonderfully. Mia was ready about 6 months ago to be potty trained but is UNBELIEVABLY stubborn. That's what you get when you mix Christian and I. So when she started making me change her diaper literally after every pee and poop that she did... I got a little fed up. She was a little hesitant to poop in the potty. A long time ago, she pooped in the potty, looked down and said, "I'm scared of the turtle." And never wanted to do it again. So when we were potty training all last week she would go and hide in the toy room and close the door. I always knew that she was going in there to have a bowel movement. So I would go in there and drag her to the bathroom. The first few times she wasn't very thrilled with me, but now she's doing wonderfully. After every trip to the bathroom, we do a song a dance and make a huge deal out of it. She also gets rewarded with M&M's. YEAH for only changing one set of diapers now!!

Landen eats solids and loves it! My little chunky monkey is eating like a champ. He's not exactly on the small side so we try to limit the solid in take by once a day. He absolutely loves it and knows what's coming as soon as the bib goes on. I do have to say the he is much more alert when nursing also. It's quite frustrating when I'm trying to get him to nurse an all he wants to do is look around and see what his sister's are doing. Landen has also rolled over a couple of times. Not on a regular basis, but the other day I put him on his back and when I came back downstairs he was on his stomach. He is still the absolute most perfect baby ever! He has a smile that melts me. And if you look close enough to his right cheek you can see a little dimple when he smiles. Just like his dad. It's the same dimple that made me melt when Christian and I were dating. Awwww.

Kalea is going to school in the fall. *Deep Breaths, Kristy* This has been a very hard thing for me to accept. A couple of times I have talked to my mom about it and have almost had a panic attack. What makes it even more suckier is that she is districted to go to a school out in Knightdale when we have one less then 1/2 a mile from our house that is Brand Spankin New. So I have been actively looking into Charter schools and maybe even putting in a request for a transfer if she has to go to public school. It's not that I think she's too good for Public school (even though she is). It's more that I want to give he the absolute BEST opportunity that she can get. I guess my biggest concern for Kalea is the loss of her innocence in school. We all know that it's inevitable. I'm just not ready for her to come home with stories that will make me cringe. I want her to be my sweet, innocent, shy Kalea forever. School will inevitably take that away from her/us. *Just Breath* I'll be ok... don't worry. But if you see me with a shaved head and a baseball bat to somebody's car.... just know I had a Brittney-esque melt down.

Christian stayed home from work today. Mostly because he overslept but he decided to take this opportunity to go the doctor to get his shoulder checked out. It's been bothering him quite a bit for about 2 months now. He's stubborn so it took him 2 months to get his butt into a doctor's office even though I nagged him daily to do so. It turns out he has a torn rotator cuff. They gave him a list of exercises to hopefully help with this injury. If it hasn't improved then we'll have to go to Plan B which hopefully doesn't include surgery.

Life is good. We are VERY blessed and are so grateful to be a part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love seeing my children learn and grow. I love being a mother and a wife to my perfect little family. I seriously could not ask for anything more. I am undeniably happy with my life and all that are a part of it. I have a strong testimony of family and the importance of it. I could not imagine my life without it.

LOSING MY MARBLES

One of Tinkerbell's friends

Kalea playing dress up at Marbles

They don't get it from me... they get it from their daddy.

I'm pretty sure he's too young for slides, dad.

To the Rescue!

I loved having Luke and Brit in town. We did so many fun things with them and their family. We thought it would be fun to take all the kids to Marbles Museum for their last day here. It was tons of fun to watch the kids play pretend. Mia had a hard time adjusting til the very end, of course. But Noa and Kalea jumped right in and had a blast. I think a family favorite was the Pirate Ship. Mia constantly got stuck on the ladders so I went up and saved the day. There were a bunch of older boys being bossy but Kalea and Noa held their own.

And can I just say that I have a new best friend... well, next to Christian that is. Brit and I had such a fun time together. We went and got massages, had lunch, went shopping, and cracked on everyone and everything in sight. I swear we were separated at birth... but would be really gross since she's married to my brother. My favorite memory of the entire trip is Sarah. When my mom was pregnant with Luke, she thought she was having a girl. So she made this peach blanket that she's held onto all these years. Well, my mom dug it out and gave it to Luke... who's name was supposed to be Sarah. Brit and I had a field day with that. Ahhh... makes me laugh just thinking of my big sister, Sarah. Love you!! I really wish Luke and Brit lived closer. It would be so much fun. But good news!! Luke had an interview with the Social Security department in Raleigh. They seemed to really like him and if there's a job openning, hopefully they'll keep him in mind. Keep your fingers crossed!

So Luke and his family came out this year for Christmas. I can honestly say it was *ALMOST* a perfect Christmas... we were just missing Lane. However we did get a chance to talk to him on Christmas Day. He definitely sounds like a missionary! It's crazy to think that he'll be home in September. I'm sure it'll fly by! Anyways... so Kalea and Mia had a great time playing with Noa. I do have to say that we had to break up a quite a few fights between Mia and Noa. But they got along for the most part. We had so much fun while they were here.

I was pretty excited when litt Miss Isca took to me quickly. She even let me hold her the first day they were here. Isca has the sweetest little personality. I absolutely adore her. And I may have to say that Noa is HILARIOUS and doesn't even know it. I constantly would ask him "Where's my hug?" and he would say, "I don't know. I lost it." Then I told him he better find it. And if he gave me a hug I would be his best friend. To which he replied, " I already have a best friend. My dad." Smart kid. Little does he know that I'm WAAYYY cooler then his dad. He'll figure it out some day. My mom made a great dinner on Christmas day. We all really enjoyed it!

CHRISTMAS, COUSINS AND CHAOS

CHRISTMAS EVE:

Christian and the kids built a reindeer. And yes, we occassionly let them play with power tools.

Later on we went to my parents house to spend time with my brother, Luke and his family... but we'll get to that later.

CHRISTMAS DAY:

Santa delivered! And so did the Grandparents. Christian and I have quickly learned that we don't have to spend a fortune on Christmas because our parents do :) However, the girls did have an awesome Christmas morning. And then afterwards we packed up and headed over to the Simpson house for a Christmas feast and tons of cousin fun!