It's the Little Things

"Enjoy the little things in life for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things"

Gosh... sometimes life can just be down right difficult.

I think I am stuck in some type to ugh-ness mood. Maybe it is the weather. Maybe it is just work stuff. Or maybe I am just getting old... I have no idea, but it happens sometimes.

Today was a good family day though. Just a day to relax and enjoy. I spent a lot of time thinking. Often times when I am having a blah day, it helps for me to think about all the Little Things in my life that make me happy. And guess what? There sure are plenty of "Little Things" I simply let myself forget about because they are so little and simple. So.... I thought I would share my "little things" from the past few days.

~Chocolate Ice Cream with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough~
~All my boys dressed up in their handsome ties with good smells~
~Stockton's Banana Bread~
~New Hair color~
~Not so good sportsmanship "COW PIE"~
~G's need for a hug....still~
~Having a helper when I am folding laundry~
~Dancing to cheesy love songs~
~Spontaneous movie night~
~A warning but no ticket~
~A little guy in my arms.... fast asleep~
~A friend who understands~
~Jason Mraz songs~
~A Special someone who helps makes school lunches~
~Sweet little kisses all throughout the day~
~A hug from a BIG kid who is just happy I bought some of his favorite snacks... and me who is just so happy that he even notices those things~
~My boys~
~Being a mom~

I have a pretty great life!!!

What are some little things in your life?

Dirty Mouth

What do you do when one of your kids starts saying dirty words?

You might not agree with my punishment.... "if you have a dirty mouth, it needs cleaning."

Zander has been in the situation before. A few years ago Zander kept saying "stupid" all the time. The soap cleaning seemed to work because he won't use that word anymore. I am not sure what happened to his sweetly clean mouth, but at the dinner table last night, Zander started up with someawful words. Well.... it was actually one bad work, but it was a real bad word. I told him he was going to have to get his mouth cleaned out with soap. He didn't like this idea.

I didn't put a lot of soap in his mouth.... actually, hardly any. I knew that just a little was enough for him because he dislikes it so much. After a few minutes, and after he had gotten most of the clean soap out of his mouth, I came into the bathroom to ask him to brush his teeth and get ready for bed.

"Please go away from me Mom! I do not like you right now!" I granted him his wishes and left him alone to do his bedtime routine. He climbed into bed and I came in to tuck him him. I told him I still loved him and I was sad he said naughty words. I told him I didn't like cleaning his dirty mouth.

"You just don't make me happy sometimes." came is reply.

It was times for prayers. This was Zander's prayer for the night.

"Heavenly Father. Please help me to love my mom. I really need to love her soon.... like really soon. Please help me. I don't want to say bad words anymore. Amen"

I am not sure if I should have laughed or not. Zander is such a little character. I absolutely love everything about him..... even the bad words.

Guess who came for a visit?

I got to meet my new niece, Kayla, for the first time.

Isn't she beautiful?

The boys taught sweet little Ari and Alayna the funness of sword fighting!

We took the girls swimming while Pat and Ang went on a date. I had the best time ever hanging out with them. I can't believe how fast they are growing up.

We had a great time! I wish we could hang out with the Jaramillo Clan more often.

Love Day!

I love.... Love...... LOVE Valentines Day! Ok, who are we kidding I LOVE all holidays, but Valentine's Day is one of my favorites.

This year we were plenty busy, as usual.

This was my favorite picture I took this year. Each of the boys made special Valentine's for each other. This is Gar and Stocks showing their love for each other. Stockton gave Gar a "clean your room" coupon.... which Garrett LOVED! Gman gave Stocks a package of his favorite candy, Sweet Tarts, and a personal little, hand written Valentine that read....

Be happy because it's Valentine's Day today! I love you Stockton!
From, Garrett
(oh my goodness! TOO CUTE!!)

It was my favorite part of the day.... seeing the boys make Valentine's for each other and being so excited to give and receive.

A Valentine's tradition is making cupcakes. Here is my second favorite picture. I love this tradition.

We made homemade Valentine card this year. Zander was the only one prepared with the fun dips. Conner, Stocks, and Gar all came up with their own ideas. I thought they turned out fabulous! We even made "Extra Special" ones for the people we care most about.

And here was my favorite Valentine this year from one of my most favorite loves in my life.

For Conner's homemade family Valentines, he made coupons for each member of the family. Here is mine....

ONE WEEK OF LAUNDRY! Conner must really love me!

He even looks semi excited to be doing it!!

To the man I never expected....

.... to love so much!

Are you going to Drill?

"Are you going to give me a shot?"
"What are you doing?" "What is that?" "Are you going to give me a shot?"
"What are you doing?" "Is this going to hurt?" "Is this going to tickle?" "Why do I have to wear that?" "What does that do?" "Are you almost done?" "What is that?" "Does that hurt?" "Does that tickle too?" "I feel like a fish." "That isn't funny!" "What are you doing?" "What is that?"

Zander had his first trip to the dentist!!! Thanks goodness he didn't have any cavities.... he would have never made it through the drilling or even the shot. He kept asking a million questions. He was stressed the entire time he was in the dental chair.... white knuckles and all. The dental assistant was great with him. She actually LOVED him and kept saying "You are the cutest kid ever!" She laughed constantly.... as did I.

This little trip to the dentist reminds me often of Zander's gigantic personality. He is hillarious most of the time and I can't help but laugh at all the crazy things he does and says.

Here is another Zander moment.....

In the mornings he is so cold and so tired. I find him laying in front of the fire place often.... warming up and trying to wake up. Every time I ask him why in the world he is laying in front of the fire, he says....

"It is the only I can wake up Mom!"

Front Row - BYU

Garrett and Stocks got a special surprise....

Grandma and Grandpa Dean took them to a BYU Basketball game. The best part was they had front row tickets! (LUCKY!)

Stocks took some pretty great pictures!

And to end the perfect night.... Stocks caught a BYU t-shirt in one of t-shirt throws.

I was jealous.... still am! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Dean!

Somebody loves us!

I know.... random picture.... right? It is just proof that my sister Brooke and my brother-in-law Rick love Niel and I.

Niel and I ended up sick... with sore throats and stuffy noises.... sneezing and coughing with lots of sinus pressure. Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty.

There came a knock at the door. Niel was sleeping and I was wrapped up in a blanket. I wasn't going to answer the door because I was wearing my PJ's, no make-up, crazy bed hair, and I am sure I didn't smell all that great either. I decided to peek out the door. I noticed Rick's car sitting in the drive-way. I decided I better see what was going on. I opened the door to Rick standing there with a bunch of stuff in his hands. He began handing me things with explanations.

"Here are some immune boosters. You both need to take 6 a day. Two pills.... three times a day. Here are some vitamin C and other vitamins. Just take 2 because for me, I get a stomach ache if I take more than that. Here is some mail that Brooke has been meaning to get to you. Included is a card from Ang with a picture of Kayla you will probably like. Brooke said you needed this hair stuff, so here you go. Sorry you aren't feeling well. We hope you get better soon!"

WoW! I really feel loved! It was nice of Brooke and Rick to come up with some remedies to help us get feeling better. Such a sweet surprise.... and we are feeling better all ready. Thanks Rick and Brooke!

The Smile belongs to...

....Garrett!

Gar is so much fun to take pictures of. One day I will have to post "The Many Faces of G!"

Here he is with a fat lip. Playing basketball can be dangerous at times!!

Gar LOVES to have Rocky sleep in his room. I walked into this the other day. Garrett knows Rocky isn't suppose to be in his bed.... so instead, he climbed down into Rocky's bed!!

Silly!

Gar gets away with so much stuff because of his smile. Seriously! When he gets in trouble all he has to do is say, "Sorry Mom!" And follow it up with his sweet smile... I simply melt. I know, I know... it is bad parenting, but you just try it. I promise you will fall for it too!

Guess Who This Is?

This is a very old collage I put together about 7 years ago. The colors are faded.... the print isn't that great.... but the cute little face in each of these pictures is priceless.

He is the sunshine that brightens my days.... 7 years ago and every day single day!

Who do you think this cute little smile belongs to?

Buttermilk at it's Best

These pancakes are ALWAYS a big hit at our house!

3 cups of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of white sugar
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of buttermilk
1/2 cup of milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup of butter

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. in a separate bow, beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs and melted butter. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it's just blended together. Do not over stir! Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.



These delicious buttermilk pancake are part of our Valentines tradition. I use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut the pancakes into a heart. We serve them with strawberry syrup, pink milk, bacon and eggs. DELIGHTFUL!

Lucky!

"In Football there are no limits to my power!"

Conner is a great kid!

Responsible. Determined.
Diligent. Confident. Strong.
Thoughtful. Inspiring. Honest.

He does what is asked of him better than most adults I know. I can count on him without even a second thought or wonder.

I don't know how I got so lucky! He is out shoveling the walks, including the next door neighbors walks, while the rest of us are snug in the house.

Tonight he was playing a basketball game and became extremely frustrated with himself because he missed some shots. If Conner isn't doing his best ALL the time he is completely frustrated (not sure if this is a good quality or not). But it is his determination that makes him so good at the things he does. He just won't settle for mediocre. He wants to be the best.... at everything.

I am in BIG Trouble!

Stocky went be to bed very upset the other night. This was the nice note he felt me in front of his door. It reads:

Good night! Don't come in

This is very surprising for Stocky because he is such a sweet, gentle, forgiving child. I even felt bad for what happened after I found this when I came into his room to tuck him in.

Earlier that evening Stockton realized he had lost $10. The thing was, Niel and I knew he had lost his precious $10 two weeks earlier. Niel had found the money laying on the floor. Stockton is such a free spirit and so carefree he leaves stuff all over the house quit often. Of course this $10 was worth far more value to him than his church shoes or pad of paper. I thought it would be a great opportunity to teach Stockton a lesson. When Niel found the money I told him to keep it.

I thought for sure Stockton had completely forgotten he even had misplaced the money because it took him so long to ask about it. But when he did, and when I told him the money had been long spent, he was so sad. Stockton felt like this was so unjust and that if he had found $10 laying around he would have announced to the household and not kept the money for himself. While I completely agree with his logic, I also agree with mine that he can't leave things hanging around the house.

Needless to say I didn't give him his money back. Hence the reason for the note!

Not sure if he learned any type of lesson other than he has a really mean mom who likes to take money.

What do you think? Should I have given him his $10 back?