What I am dealing with!!

There are two things I don't deal well with and I am dealing with BOTH right now!

1.  Potty Training!  I HATE IT!  Diapers are so convenient!  You don't have to know where EVERY potty is in EVERY store.  Yes, they are stinky and eventually, once the child gets the hang of it, the potty is easier.  I just hate the in between time.  I hate the fact that with Kaci we have a deadline. We are going on a cruise in March and she cannot swim or go to any of the classes unless she is potty trained.  And when I say trained, it means they won't wipe butts, help put clothes on or remind a child that they haven't gone to the potty for awhile.  I have been slowly trying for a couple of months now and I have gotten her to sit on the potty but nothing has happened yet. SHE IS A VERY STUBBORN CHILD!  (I wonder who she gets that from?) Sunday I decided, since we have 1:00 church, to let her run around naked for a couple of hours after her bath.  She sat on the potty many times to no avail.  Later, she came to me and said "My dresser is wet."  WHAT?  She had climbed onto her dresser and peed.  Now, tell me that that is easier than sitting on the potty.  I have princess toys that she gets if she goes in the potty and she even tells me that she gets her jasmine toy if she goes on the potty but she still doesn't go.  I am almost out of diapers and I have decided to not buy anymore.  Miserable for me but if that is what it takes.  I will get pullups for her to sleep in but I am anti pullup during the day, although I may cave when I have to take the kids somewhere.  

2.  I am a GRUMPY person when I don't get enough sleep.  It is kind of a Gardner thing as my brothers and sisters are the same way.  We can stay up and play Rook til 3 in the morning but ask us to get up at 6 am and hear the grumbles begin.  Jackson is playing basketball for his school and a couple of times a week he has early morning practices.  Which means he has to get up at six, eat breakfast and be ready for school and practice by 6:30. Luckily, he has a friend we carpool with but we still have to drive half of the time.  I was up early enough to watch my neighbor leave for early morning seminary and thought, only 1 1/2 more years and he will have to be up at 5:30.  (Kaylee even earlier than that so she can do her hair and makeup.)  The other kids have to be up by 7 so even after he leaves its not like I can completely go back to sleep. Jason and I were supposed to switch mornings and today he did get up with Jackson but then came and started getting ready to go to work.  (We don't have a door to our bathroom which was a BIG mistake when we bought this house, especially when he used to teach early morning seminary!)  When I have to wake up for something in the morning, I don't sleep well because I am so afraid that I am going to sleep through the alarm plus Jason woke me up 3 times (half asleep) saying it was time to wake up Jackson.  (12:15, 2:43 and 5:17 to be exact!)  So, in a nutshell, if I seem crabby I probably am.  Our diet coke bill will probably double over the next 6 weeks and Jason is paying someone to build a door in our bedroom or waiting until 7 to shower.  Thank goodness the season is over the last week in Feb. 

Skiing with Dad

Finally, the snow subsided and it wasn't below zero.  The mountains got HAMMERED over Christmas break so Jason and the kids only got 1 ski day but it was a great one.  Tonz of snow and a beautiful day and not too crowded, (except for I-70 on the way home!)  The kids did great for their first time out this year.  What a fun activity for the kids to do with their dad!!

Kaylee
Jackson
Riding up to the top
Down at the bottom!!

Ice Skating with Uncle Ryan

Uncle Ryan is totally on a ice skating hockey kick so he decided to take all of the kids ice skating while Bec and I shopped.  What a good man he is.  ( Of course, Jason wasn't very happy as it left me alone in the mall with his credit card and not Ryans!) The kids had an absolute blast and keep talking about going back. Kaci was on the sidelines watching and really wanted to go but we went to see the princesses at the Disney store instead.

Here are the skaters.
Our friend Al walked by and the kids convinced him to skate with them. What a cool kid!
     Kaylee got really good by the end of the skate.
Jackson loved going around and was trying to do tricks by the end.
Chase was determined to go around without using the side rail!
       Here are Marian and Jackson trying not to fall.
Thanks for a fun time at the skate rink, Uncle Ryan!!!

Kaci turns 3!!

Kaci had a fun day on her birthday.  We went to Chuck-e-Cheese to celebrate the big day!  Ryan, Becca and their family joined us there.  Kaci loved playing the games but mostly enjoyed the rides.  It drives the kids mad because you don't win tickets on the rides but we told them that it was her birthday and she could do what she wanted!!

She loved this game and could play it without tokens which made the other kids happy!
She enjoyed opening presents and scored with a lot of princess stuff!!
Here is her cinderella cake with her cinderella candle.
If you ask Kaci how old she is she says "Cinderella, Belle, Snow White"  We tell she is three and she says no "Cinderella, Belle, Snow White"   For whatever reason, she thinks that we are asking her what she wants. She sang "A Whole New World" during the announcements at church today and was not very happy when we had to tell her that right now in church was not the time to sing.  Is it crazy that today was her last day in nursery?  She is so fun to have around and we love having her in our home!  Happy Birthday Kaci!!

Does this seem weird or is it just me?

Kaci wanted a Cinderella cake and I was being lazy so I ordered one from Albertsons. Now they are really barbie cakes that the lady said that she would make her look like cinderella. She actually did a petty good job but Jason and I chuckled as we pulled the cake out of the box.  She had used frosting to "dress" the barbie instead of clothes.  That's fine except she must of ran out because the barbie was completely bare in the back.  Then, of course, the joke became that no one could lick the frosting off of the doll.  Several of the kids REALLY wanted to lick the frosting off the doll it just seemed too weird!!

Kaylee's Choir Concert

Kaylee had her choir concert a few days ago and as usual she did a great job.  She is in the back middle if you can't find her.  I love her choir teacher.  She picks fun songs and the kids love singing.  The first three songs are all part of the same song  - Jingle Bell Nutcracker --  the song takes Jingle Bells and has the kids sing them to different tunes of the Nutcracker. 

The other song I put on here is the Hot Chocolate song.  Kaylee really liked this one!  Good job Kaylee!  Your concert was a lot of fun to watch!!

The deal of all deals

We received a call from Jason's boss.  When he saw the caller id he wasn't very excited about answering it especially since it was Saturday.  She called to let us know about this Croc Warehouse sale.  Now most of you know that my family is a lover of Crocs.  Several people have Crocs on their Christmas list, so Jason and I decided to head down (about 30 minutes away) to have a look.  I was pretty skeptical and I HATE to dig but as we pulled into the crowded lot and saw people coming out with GARBAGE BAGS full of Crocs that the deals must be pretty good. HOLY COW!  Crocs were $5 or $10 depending on the style.  Sunglasses were $10 and some guy told Jason that they retail for $100.  Jibbitz were 4 for a $1 and they had tons of princesses and HS musical kind.  They even had some BYU jibbitz.  Jason got a pair of Ohio State Flip FLops. Jason dug threw a box for 15 minutes and come up with a pair of Yankees Crocs for Jackson.  I hate digging but I was digging in every box for my kids.  We found TONZ for Kaylee as she is a Womens 7 and they had boxes and boxes of stuff for her.  We even put 3 pair back that we had grabbed for her because we found so many.  I only found one pair of flip flops but the drive was totally worth it.  We got 10 pairs of Crocs, 2 sunglasses and 20 Jibbitz for $100.  The sale was crazy and it was SO crowded but in the end we totally scored.  

P.S.  Ryan -- I even bought you a pair of Avalanche Jibbitz.  Is that worth a Diet Coke while you are here?