The Hansen Family: Andy, Mandy, Naomi, Sabian, Adora

Lego table is up again!

2010-10-20T06:18:00.003-06:00

Look me up on Facebook

2010-07-19T11:48:00.002-06:00

To all my friends who have noticed my blog entries dwindling, it's because I've found facebook. Perhaps someday I will come back to blogger, but for now it is easier to share on facebook. I must admit blogger did come in handy today when I realized I'd lost some old photos and it was easy to look it up on blogger to resave it to my computer.

Spud Day 2009

2009-09-19T21:40:00.002-06:00

Andy didn't get back from Germany on time to do the cotton candy for spud day, so I learned very quickly out of necessity. I found out I am actually pretty good at it. This year we were wildly successful, especially since it was our first time and we had a few competitors. Most of the time we were selling as fast as I could make it. I was there for over 8 hours without a break. My parents helped out all day too and I even recruited some of my cousins, my uncle, and my grandma to pitch in some help from time to time. I couldn't have done it without the help from my family and it reminds me how truly blessed I am to have such a wonderful caring family so close to home.

10 year anniversary

2009-08-19T14:06:00.005-06:00

This year for our 10 year wedding anniversary we went to Horseshoe Bend, Idaho to experience zip-lining and to ride the train. We had a great time. I liked zip-lining from tree top to tree top and across the canyon. Andy enjoyed his scenic train ride. The man behind Andy is the magician. I loved the tricks when he made animals appear. He even did a special trick for us for our 10 year anniversary, which I must say was rather impressive. It was a card trick where I picked any card and he made it pop up from the deck when placed in a goblet. What amazed me most was that I had picked the 10 of clubs to signify another 10 years of good luck. He knew I would pull out that card, but I was careful to pull out a card that was hidden in the middle of the deck. I saw the top two, and knew the ace of spades was on top and the 2nd card was red. I don't have any idea how he did it, but I was impressed. He autographed that card for us.

Las Vegas pics, better late than never.

2009-07-20T08:25:00.007-06:00

Patience

2009-07-01T16:13:00.005-06:00

I think I know why Adora is so good at puzzles. It came from her baby blessing. With Naomi, Andy blessed her with the ability to make friends easily. Oops. Now we have a child who won't stop talking, has trouble paying attention in school, and has to be separated from the other girls in her class. :) At least she has friends. Sabian is the typical pesky brother like any boy should be. Andy had foresight into what Adora would really need to cope with her older brother and sister. He blessed her with patience. She started doing puzzles very early, at 15 months, to give her something to do while Naomi and Sabian did gymnastics. She took far more interest in them than Sabian ever did. She's also my child that enjoys books the most. She can sit in my lap while I read through a full story. She also sits and reads to her baby doll. Granted, she can still throw a tantrum like any toddler, but all in all I think that baby blessing did her some good.

Naomi is determined to get one of her creations published in Lego Brickmaster Magazine. Just in case that doesn't work out, I published it here for the world to see. I like this one.

I'm still alive

2009-06-13T21:39:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I waited 2 months to post anything. My husband and I went to Vegas last week and saw "V the Ultimate Variety show" where Fast Wally can play Fur Elise on the keyboard with his juggling balls. That was fun. We also went to the Las Vegas and St. George Temples. That brings my total to 8 different Temples. If you count just visiting, I've been to 12, but I only count if I'd been through an endowment session. I still think Idaho Falls is the coolest.

While we were gone, it was stormy in Idaho. Actually it's been stormy for 3 weeks with no end in sight. My parents watched my kids while we were gone. My dad brought up a flashlight in case the power went out. Sabian spotted it, then went around turning out all the lights, and told my dad "See Grandpa, it's dark, but it's okay, I've got a flashlight." I had to laugh when he told me that. That's my boy. :)

Adora has two phrases that are just too cute to resist. "Brush a teeth?" and "Read a book?" You have to hear her say them, it's so adorable, I usually stop what I'm doing to go read to her.

Happy Birthday to ME

2009-04-09T22:36:00.002-06:00

I took the kids to the Easter Egg Hunt at my work today. They all filled their buckets to the brim, without any help. Sabian won 2 big prizes. Adora got the last egg. When all the other kids decided they had all been found, Adora was crawling under the eaves to reach the last egg.

After the egg hunt we all came back to my house for my birthday party. Hooray!

Andy gave me wii fit for my birthday. We all had fun playing on it. My mom made me a fun wrap around skirt. My brother Robby even made me an apple pie! Naomi made my german chocolate birthday cake with only a little guidance from my mom. Robby and Steven say they have something else for me too, but they left it home, so I am to remain in suspense until it is delivered to me. Oh, well, I like surprises. I'm feeling the love. I don't see why anyone dreads birthdays. Time passes reguardless, but birthdays to me are a time when I am reminded people love me and they are glad I'm still around.

Kittens 11 days old

2009-03-29T13:43:00.004-06:00

They sure grow fast. I'm surprised by how big they are already

Their eyes are open!

Dog Scouts

2009-03-29T13:30:00.004-06:00

Check out the Dog Scouts. This site has lots of fun information. There is even an article describing how to teach your dog to paint. I like the scent discrimination games. I think teaching the dog to find my kids will be useful. I've been on a "learning about dogs" kick ever since I saw a bloodhound track a baby that was inside a car and found her 20 miles away. That bloodhound knew which highway exit the would be thief had taken. Amazing. Then I learn of dogs that can smell cancer. Now that is awesome.
In a National Geographic show titled 'Dog Genius', an untrained juvenile bloodhound successfully tracked the suspect from a staged shooting who fled by vehicle through the city of Long Beach, CA by using nothing more than the scent from a bullet casing. In the experiment, the suspect was allowed to travel anywhere within a 3 mile radius. The dog was able to easily track the suspect through busy intersections, along a major highway, past numerous hot dogs placed on the ground as a diversion, and finished by singling out the correct person on a crowded beach.

Seven kittens born today!

2009-03-18T20:43:00.005-06:00

Our cat with her seven kittens only hours old.
Here is the firstborn.

Here is the runt.

My cat went into labor at 3pm, in the middle of my dining room floor. I had to have the kids to Gymnastics at 3:30. Figures. I try to encourage her to have her kittens in the bathtub before
I left and although I hurried to drop them off and get back home, alas, I was too late. She was having her first kitten in the middle of my hallway on my white carpet. Figures. I was able to get a towel under her just as the second came out, then I scooped them all up and put them in the bathtub, where she was content to stay. She always did like sleeping in the bathtub. I'm not cruel, I did give her plenty of padding and towels this time and the tub was safer from the kids. She finished just after supper. The second to the last was huge, but the last one was a runt. I hope the runt makes it. Naomi loves the kittens, but she wouldn't stay while they were being born. Her response was "Ewww." Adora watched the first one born then lost interest. Sabian on the other hand I had to drag away. He thought the whole thing was awesome. When I was ready to reclaim my shower, I tried to move them out, but mama cat would have nothing to do with that, she wanted them right back in the tub. Oh, well. I tried. I'll have to use Andy's tub.

Muskrat anyone?

2009-03-17T20:48:00.002-06:00

I was surprised to see the offering left for me on my front porch yesterday morning. I had no idea what it was. My dog is a good mouser and has made a habit of leaving mice on the porch, perhaps as a gift, perhaps simply to show us she earns her keep. This large rodent was no mouse. It was much bigger than a rat. My husband guessed a chinchilla or prairie dog, but the tail discounted that theory. The tail looked more like a possum, but the face didn't. After we both went to work and discussed what we thought we saw in the pitch black at 5 am, we thought we'd look up the muskrat. Definite match. I'd never seen one before, or if I had, I would have thought it a small beaver in the distance. I never thought my dog would be the first to find one for me. Wikipedia says trappers found their fur to be warm and of good quality and their meat tastes like rabbit or duck. Not a bad offering if we'd known what to do with it. Andy was happy it was not still there when we got home so he wouldn't have to deal with it. It did make for an interesting morning though.

Adora the unstoppable

2009-03-16T20:56:00.004-06:00

Adora had a big day Saturday. I tried the potty training in a day method, but didn't get the full day without distractions, and though she has some trouble getting her pants pulled back up, she is doing very well. She tells me when she has to go if she needs help. I'm impressed for a 20 month old. She also learned to roller skate Saturday night. She only fell down once when she got excited over seeing grandma. She was willing to learn, started slow and improved in one night. She was having so much fun. She would look up at me and giggle as we skated together. She wanted to go out into the rink again and again. If only my back didn't ache from holding hands with a toddler, I think we would have kept skating non-stop. Sabian had fun too, but he never really tried. He didn't move his feet so much as letting us drag him, or he'd jump so we are suspending him. This method may have been fun when he had help, but when we left the rink, he'd try to go it on his own and biffed it several times. He had to take off his skates. Naomi was a railing dweller. She went around and around while holding onto the outside rail. She occasionally came out with us, but wasn't as happy about it. She learned to hold a pose while I pulled her around. We all had fun and got a good workout. Speaking of a workout, Andy has been going to the gym for 2-3 hours a day this last week. I think he is addicted. Just look at him.

Okay, so the photo isn't him. But he really is working out 2-3 hours each day. He signed up for the warrior leader training for the national guard so he could get promoted to a sargent and make more money. He wants to be sure he'll pass his fitness test. Hey, whatever motivates you, it's all good. :)

Happy President's Day!

2009-02-16T13:33:00.003-07:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted. I thought for sure I wrote about my new year's party. I stayed up until 0300 playing nintendo wii bowling. I became a pro and got a bowling ball with stars on it :) My family came over and helped me put a puzzle together too. My dad is addicted to the bowling too, that's why we stayed up so late. (For those of you who don't know, I don't do well with staying up late. May have something to do with my wanting to be in bed before 8pm since I wake up at 4am most mornings. Staying up late once a year is a bit of a feat for me.)

Valentine's day was good for me. I got chocolates, that always lifts my spirits, even though I know I have to take it easy with them. Naomi went to her first "friend" birthday party and had a great time. I worked for a few hours on the medicare hall which was fun because I got to meet new people.

We finished our playroom last month. Here are some pictures taken after painting. The floor is green, the ceiling is yellow, the walls are yellow and blue. There is also a blackboard for chalk drawings and a magnet board on the opposite wall. We got excited when we found magnetic paint and chalkboard paint. We now have colorful foam squares to pad the floor. It's fun.

Had a bad day

2008-12-01T19:38:00.002-07:00

I'm not complaining, it still beats any day suffering from kidney stones, but I'm amazed so much could happen in one day. I had to go to an inservice at work today so I was going to pick Naomi up at school so I could get there on time, but when I got there I realized I'd forgotten to call the school and Naomi had already gotten on the bus. I went back home and fortunately my dad was able to take my kids and wait for Naomi. I had some errands to run too, but I put them off until after the meeting. As I drove towards town, something got in my eye making it difficult to see. As I tried to fix my eye I passed a cop. Apparently I hadn't been watching my speed too well as I was fixing my eye. Fortunatly he just gave me a warning. The inservice at work only lasted 20 minutes, meaning not long enough to pay for the gas to get into town and back. I went to the gymnastic building afterwards to pay my bill. The sign said open, so I hopped out of the van, leaving it running, grabbed my unlock button and locked the door. The gym was closed. I went back to the van, but what I thought was my unlock button was only the clip-on keychain; the button had fallen off. I looked longingly at my cell phone in the front seat. I then ran to the gas station (wearing high heeled boots) to use the pay phone. I called my husband, but he didn't have a spare key with him, so he had to come get me. I then had to drive home for the key, back to town to the gym to get my van, then back to Andy's work to wait for him to get off, then back to the gym to get his car. Andy then went into town to do some shopping while I went home to get dinner started and wait for the kids. After getting groceries, Andy called me on the way home. I had to load up the kids in the truck and come get him. His car broke down. After towing the car back home I sat to reflect on my day. I got to drive all of our vehicles in one day. I was thankful we were all home safe. Andy was never stranded alone thanks to the abundance of friendly country folk stopping to see if he was okay. My parents kept good watch over my kids for the first half of my troubles. I didn't get a speeding ticket to add to the expense. None of my vehicles ran out of gas. I had food on my table when I got home (only needed re-heating). Most importantly, I wasn't in any pain. Seems even a bad day can turn into a good one for reflecting on all the good things in life to be grateful for.

Halloweeen 2008

2008-11-04T11:03:00.001-07:00

Hide and seek

2008-10-29T06:34:00.003-06:00

While Naomi and Sabian were playing hide and seek, Adora quickly caught on to the idea. If she could hold still a bit longer, she may actually be good at it. She does know how to have fun.

Naomi's missing her two front teeth

2008-10-19T15:05:00.003-06:00

The first one she lost a couple of weeks ago, and the last one on wednesday. I don't know why, but it makes me laugh. :) The bottom two haven't fully grown in so the gap is exaggerated :) Does anyone know why teeth fall out at such random times? Her cousin that was born on the same day has already lost and grown all his teeth and Naomi has only lost 4. Go figure.

Sabian the Artist

2008-10-19T14:57:00.002-06:00

I didn't get pictures of the rest of his artwork because it took me awhile to calm down and think about it. He colored himself, his baby sister Adora, and her crib, and her walls, and inside Naomi's playroom. Naomi was feverishly cleaning the walls while I bathed Adora. After that, I took a mugshot of the criminal. He was fully clothed, but that didn't stop him from coloring his belly. I found the washable marker and disposed of it and had him finished cleaning his mess. Aparently that wasn't good enough because he awoke early the next morning (between 4am and 6am) to go do it again, this time with permanent markers. Ahhh, the joys of parenting!!!

First good snow

2008-10-13T15:55:00.001-06:00

This photo was taken yesterday. (That is the courtyard at my work)

Before I go to bed...

2008-09-30T23:05:00.002-06:00

Working overtime sure burns me out quicker, but my energy was rejuvenated frequently today when I'd think, "Gymnastics start tomorrow!" We are going to put Naomi and Sabian in a class at the same time and I'm taking every Wednesday off so I can watch them. I will only have to worry about watching Adora and smiling and waving at Naomi and Sabian. It may not always be total bliss, but the anticipation of something fun and new keeps me alive.

Icebike

2008-09-24T20:43:00.002-06:00

I come home from work and see my husband was looking at the Icebike home page. I know he is addicted to riding his bike and rides in the snow if the roads are dry, but I think he is starting to cross the threshold of delerium. You may think cycling to work saves money on fuel, but I assure you every dollar saved is spent on cycling gear so he can look and feel great. It's all about staying in shape and loving it. Please feel free to leave your comments.

Time to read!

2008-09-06T22:18:00.004-06:00

I read Naomi two bedtime stories and she read the 3rd one to me with very little help. I am so proud of her. Ever since Naomi started kindergarten, I've realized what a difficult language English really is. Why do we even have the letter C when K or S would work just fine? Why do the letters bdpq all look the same only turned just right? Why do we have so many different ways to write the same letter or number? And why does giraffe start with the letter G instead of J? Despite all these crazy things we all have to learn, our children learn to read anyhow. First grade is very fast paced, but the rewards are worth it. Three cheers for Naomi! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

Yard Work

2008-09-06T22:09:00.002-06:00

Today I pulled weeds from everywhere, gathered them up and stuffed them in garbage bags. I watered my plants. I picked up the yard. I pulled the nasty disintegrating carpet off our front stairs. I sweeped off the patio and sidewalks. We made a run to the dump to get rid of extra garbage. After spending all day working in the yard, I feel I have finally accomplished something outside. However, I still have inside the house to worry about too, and I didn't even get to play this weekend. I can now see the advantage of owning an apartment. Less work to do, more time to play. Until now, I had never thought of any positive aspects of apartment life, but it is suddenly appealing. I even thought of moving into the camping trailer and parking it at my parent's house or something. Has anyone else had similar thoughts?

Potty train in one day! Why is this new to me?

2008-08-26T12:33:00.003-06:00

Check out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/25057426#25057426 for a quick video of Booty Camp, one woman's idea following ideas from this book. This inspired me to try something similar, and it seems to work. I've read the book and believe this is the best method. Check out "Toilet Training in Less Than A Day" by Nathan H. Azrin, PH.D. and Richard M. Foxx, PH.D. Sabian goes potty by himself now, thanks to Grandma's help while we were on vacation. I plan to try out this "new" method with Adora in a few months, and am optimistic. Adora can already use the potty with assistance when prompted, but I would not consider her to be "trained" by any means. This book has been around since 1974, so why am I only hearing about it just now? I've heard some of the techniques discussed on Dr. Phil, but was never told about this book. The author's study involved a range of children from 20 months to 4 years old and all cases were successful, most in less than 5 hours. This book wasn't in my library, but I bought it off ebay for less than $7.

Naomi is a First Grader!

2008-08-19T21:42:00.004-06:00

Naomi loves her new school and is very excited. Yes, she already started. School started August 14th, which may be early to some, but it is so worth it cause we get spud harvest off. That's right, 2 weeks at the end of September and first of October, a time when no one else gets a vacation. I went to Disneyland at the end of September once; there were no lines. Imagine a theme park vacation with school age children and not having to wait in lines for more than 5 minutes and not having to make up school work upon getting back home. I know you're all jealous. :) The house next door to me is for sale if anyone is interested. I like first grade because now she can ride the bus both ways to my grandparents house too. Going to school all day makes it easier to find babysitters. I used to think kids learned to read in 1st grade, but now they start in kindergarten and fine tune their skills in first grade. Naomi only wants to learn to read so she can understand and play more video games. Go figure.

2008-08-09T15:52:00.002-06:00

Check this out! Pooh bear rap! (I had to give a link cause I can't see how to post from youtube anymore)

Euromotion - Get Serious

2008-07-06T08:36:00.001-06:00

For some reason this just makes me laugh. I especially like the kid in the supermarket with a dumbfounded look on his face. Obviously it is his first time being confronted by strange people singing in his face at the supermarket.

We just can't have nice things!

2008-06-25T19:46:00.003-06:00

If any of you have listened to Jeff Foxworthy you will understand. My mischievious 2 year old boy first stepped on our laptop computer as a way to reach the things on top of the fridge (which were only put up there so he couldn't reach them). That is how the screen cracked and we can't hardly see through the wooly willy effect, especially the very important upper right corner. That is why we moved the computer downstairs to hook it up to the plasma HDTV we got for Christmas. Unfortunately he discovered he could pluck keys off while no one was watching.

Only 4 letters (AQOL) and 3 numbers (129) remain. Typing is much slower now. I really hate typing in passwords when it shows asterisks in place of what you type because I'm really not sure if I'm getting it right. Although I memorized the placement of the letters, the keys don't feel the same when you are only pushing on rubber nubs.

Siblings

2008-06-04T15:00:00.002-06:00

Sabian must not be having a good day. I have heard only two things come out of his mouth, the first being a high pitched annoyed scream, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" (which grates at my nerves and makes me want to tape his mouth shut). The other choice phrase he has been saying all day is "Naomi did it!" Sabian is merely upset he can't have his way all the time. Such is life. Were it not for the whining, I might actually pity him.
On a funnier note, Adora played a joke on her daddy. Adora is a child who hates to have her nose wiped and always turns her head when she sees a tissue coming and more often than not needs restrained to accomplish the task. Andy said he was surprised the other day when she actually held still and let him wipe her nose. He then looked at her and Adora stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at him then smiled as if to say "there, that will show you." Adora is so much fun. She can now walk a few steps between open arms. May 29th she decided to try walking. My parents had fun with her and showed me her new trick as soon as I got home from work. Her enthusiam was funny. I always figured she could walk if she tried, but until now, she had no desire, after all, she could crawl fast enough to get into all sorts of trouble. I think the motivating factor was the warm weather. Now that she was wearing shorts, the carpet felt rough on her knees and crawling was less fun. On the grass she walks like a stink bug on her hands and feet with her butt up in the air. I'll try to get a picture one of these times, it really is quite comical.

Kidney Stones!

2008-05-28T15:57:00.003-06:00

I never thought I'd be excited to find out I had kidney stones, but after almost 3 years of suffering it was such a relief to finally find out why! I'd really like to go back to the G.I. doctor and demand my money back. I knew he was wrong (told me it was IBS and to eat more fiber and I'd be fine), I even told him so. Probably why he referred me to his Nurse Practitioner (who listened better). For those of you who didn't know because I hate to complain, I've been suffering from crippling pain, nausea, and vomiting that comes and goes. I've unintentionally lost 20 pounds due to my inability to eat food and keep it in my stomach, not a diet plan I would recommend. I weigh 128 and should be 140. I have felt weak for a long time and haven't been able to do much about it. I was beginning to think there was no cure and I would forever be useless. I've had many expensive and painful test trying to find out my problem only to leave me poor, hopeless, and still in pain. (oh, and my stomach empties slowly, only cost $1200 and 2 days away from my baby due to radioactivity to find that out). Then FINALLY on May 16th the pain and vomiting wouldn't stop and 2 nurses had to swoop in and save me, finishing my job so I could go to the E.R. (bless you Cliff and Heather). At the E.R. this time I had a CAT scan which found 2 large stones along with smaller ones trying to pass. Not only did I finally get a diagnosis, but I also got respect and compassion from my husband who as you can imagine was also at his wits end having to do everything alone every time I got sick. Amazingly I was fine the next day and made Andy run a 5K on his B-day even though he tried to quit so he could be with me (he really does like to race but now the end was near he finally had the strength to be supportive). I had appointments with the urologist on Monday and Wednesday, Thursday I had lithotripsy where they TRIED to break up the stones with ultrasonic waves, but it didn't work well on my hard old stones. Usually it takes 400 hits to break them to dust, but after 3,400 hits (the max allowed) they were only reduced (and my back felt like a punching bag). Next morning at 2am enter pain and nausea that woke me and only got worse. By 9am I was in the worst pain in all my life, and I couldn't stop vomiting. My mom rescued me and took me back to the doctor and Andy took the kids camping (he still kept in touch). Apparently my still too large stones were unsuccessfully trying to come out. After 3 injections for the pain and nausea I was able to stand it long enough to make it to surgery that evening where the doctor removed my stones and placed a stent (think hollow straw) to help things drain right until I heal. I am so relieved it is almost over. Thank you all for your prayers. And bless Dr. Cannon for finally fixing me even though he had to stay late on memorial weekend to take care of me. He is a good soul, I can tell he really cares. Thus ends my story. I could go on longer, but I won't. Anyway, I will try to update more soon. Now you know why my posts were so sporradic, it's not just the kids.

Naomi Gym Jazz Videos

2008-04-29T11:02:00.007-06:00

Naomi had her first show off day at gym jazz on saturday, so I thought now would be a good time to show some videos from her gym class. The man in the first video is a U.S. champion gymnast who teaches a class at Naomi' gym. There is also a woman who is a world champion, though I haven't seen her yet, Andy has. Naomi likes her gymnastics. Naomi also did uneven bars, balance beam, and trampoline on show off day, but my camera battery died. I spent most of the day chasing Sabian around anyway. At least her grandmas got to watch her.

Family pictures 2008

2008-04-25T16:50:00.008-06:00

We did a super family theme this year, which I thought was a lot of fun. My decision was mostly made by a fatigued mind that said I could get all the clothes cheap and easy since superman stuff is everywhere. Every year we get pictures, most of the money is spent on new clothes. This year it was a quick one stop shop at walmart for everyone except Sabian who found Jammies at the mall.

Why is it so impossible to get a family photo with every kid looking at the camera and smiling?

After the third time of not listening, we had to give up on telling Naomi to put her feet back down. As an afterthought, perhaps we should have had her take her shoes off so we didn't have to stare at the bottom of her shoe.

Rexburg Temple

2008-03-06T14:58:00.001-07:00

I forgot to publish this photo back in January when we went to the open house.

Adora is so sweet

2008-03-06T14:47:00.003-07:00

Those baby blue eyes and those two little teeth keep making me smile.

Sabian loves duplos

2008-03-06T14:37:00.003-07:00

He seems content to build all day. The last tower I helped him build when he became frustrated that his single depth creations were less than sturdy. He can stay entertained for hours with those blocks, and I can be entertained just watching him. He has great determination.

GYM Jazz

2008-02-27T05:45:00.003-07:00

We signed Naomi up for a combination of Gymnastics and Dance in one class. I was impressed with her tumbling and her work on the uneven bars. She still has a lot to learn, but she did very well for a first day, her instructor even said so. Naomi said her teacher kept asking if she'd done this before, to which she replied "I've seen it on T.V." Naomi continued to talk about gymnastics for the rest of the evening, partially because she was so excited and proud of herself, and partly I think because she loves saying the word 'gymnastics.'

German Pancakes

2008-02-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

I've never seen it rise quite like this. Andy made it.

Snow Day

2008-02-09T15:36:00.000-07:00

Andy stayed home from Guard this weekend due to bad roads. He pulled 2 trucks out by our house yesterday evening and 2 more cars out at 2am while checking out the road conditions.

You can see how high the plow has buried us in from all the drifts. Our neighbors wouldn't have access to their driveway at all if Andy hadn't plowed him out.

Here's our backyard. We used to have a swingset in the corner. You can see the drift going over the top of our neighbor's portion of the 6 foot high fence.

Snow plow

2008-02-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

We finally broke down and got a plow. I was snowed out yesterday and couldn't even get into my driveway. Luckily a neighbor with a tractor helped me get in. Here is some pics of Andy and Sabian.

Adora steps up

2008-02-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

Does this count as pulling herself up? She may not be completely standing, but she did use the step stool to get up on her feet.

My little inchworm

2008-01-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! Now Adora can really move. She's pretty fast too. She enjoys moving around on the floor. Now I have sufficient motivation to keep the floors picked up and vacuumed at all times. I watched her move from the living room to the dining room and back again all on her own. She seemed pretty proud of herself.

Andy loves Legos

2008-01-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a clip of Andy playing with the new lego set he got for Christmas. Sabian and Adora enjoyed helping too (if you can call it help).

Short clip of Adora moving. I wouldn't quite call it crawling yet. She usually looks more like that 80s dance move "the worm,"

7 year old sings National Anthem - Anthony Gargiula

2008-01-06T14:40:00.001-07:00

Miracle at daycare

2007-12-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

What to my wondering eyes did appear was twenty small children napping quite near. HOW DO THEY DO THAT!!! It's like a freak of nature. I can't even get my toddler to nap by himself, but if you add one other toddler to play with, he'll never get to sleep. Yet there they all were napping peacefully on the floor in one room. Wow. I ask how they do that and she says "It works quite well." I see that it works, but how? She also tells me Sabian was one of the first to fall asleep and napped easily. My Sabian? I want to know where they hide the magic wand.

What happens when I watch infomercials

2007-12-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

Usually when I watch infomercials I scoff at how they make some cumbersome new gadget seem like something everyone would use and love, yet today I found something I have been waiting for. Kodak Easyshare – Revolutionary Inkjet Printing System for Fantastic Photos and Prints. I have an HP all-in-one printer, which is the very printer they compare theirs too. I don't use it for all my photos because I know the ink is not permanent, I've seen the photo completely erased by a little humidity. I only use it for printing quick photos to show off or for Naomi when she wants to scrapbook with me, yet still, I have to replace the expensive cartriges. That's why I still order my prints from sam's club, but that takes time, so I've got thousands of photos stuck on my computer waiting to be developed when I have time and money. This Kodak printer uses pigments which are as permanent as the lab photos, they compare pigments to the pictographs on cave walls. They also use less and cost less. Looks like a win-win situation. Too bad I didn't find this printer before buying the HP last spring. Maybe I'll get this for Christmas or my birthday.

Procrastination is costly.

2007-12-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Andy knew he needed a bow-tie for his national guard dinner. He knew this over a month ago. Did he order it a month ago? No. He ordered it 5 days before he had to leave. The good news is it only cost $2 on the Army website. The bad news is it didn't get here on time. So what did he do? He went to Dillard and bought one for $30. Let that be a lesson to you. Do you think he learned anything? I can only hope, but I doubt it. I think procrastination is in our blood.

CatGenie - The World's Only Self-Flushing, Self Washing Cat Box

2007-12-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

Check this out : CatGenie - The World's Only Self-Flushing, Self Washing Cat Box That is the only way to do litter boxes! At least when the kids get into it thinking it's a sand box, it won't be quite as disgusting.

I've got the cutest kids!

2007-12-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

Now Open

2007-11-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays from 6pm to 8pm, from now until new year, we will be opening our home to share our train display and hot chocolate!

Duplo

2007-11-02T22:14:00.001-06:00

Here is Naomi's latest duplo creation. She has it on her dresser, says she wants to save it forever. :) I think her daddy's "don't touch my legos" mentality is rubbing off on her.

Sleep!

2007-11-02T22:10:00.000-06:00

Adora slept through the night last night for the first time! Andy put her in the baby swing around 8pm I think and I got home from work around 11pm. She looked so peaceful I decided to let her stay there and turned on the baby monitor. She was still sleeping when I woke up at 6am. She was hungry when she woke up though :) I finally felt rested. Time to sing praises! :)

Sleeping

2007-10-08T14:49:00.000-06:00

Did you know children can fall asleep faster than I can say the alphabet backwards? I've watched Adora go from staring at me to her eyes rolling in the back of her head sleeping with her eyes open, but I figured that was where the "sleeping like a baby" phrase came from. She falls asleep fast and sleeps through unimaginable things like demolition derbies. Amazingly enough, Sabian falls asleep quickly too. Must be the result of using up all that toddler strength energy. He hasn't been sleeping lately, I think partly due to his abandonment issues resulting from inconsistency with daycares, so I've had to stay with him until he falls asleep. I watch him and it rarely takes more than 5 minutes, he's usually in a deep sleep snoring in less than 2. I wonder if he could teach me that trick so I can take speedy power naps.

Funny story on ebay

2007-10-08T14:03:00.000-06:00

If you haven't checked out the rantings of the mother of 6 who listed pokemon cards on ebay, follow the link before it expires; I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair. You need to read some of the additional comments in the questions section, she maxed out on responses.

Listen to your wife

2007-10-08T09:39:00.000-06:00

Naomi knows when to throw in some attitude and it makes me laugh. I was downstairs with the kids waiting for Andy to come down to watch a movie with us. Sabian climbed in my lap with his blanket and wanted his sippy cup. I asked Naomi to call up the stairs for Daddy to bring it down with him. When she did, his reply was,"Tell mama to get it herself!" Rather than parroting that back to me she immediately retorted,"Don't you want to listen to your WIFE!!!" I just busted up laughing, she sure told him. His next reply was "I can't find any" after which I realized Sabian must have been listening to our conversation as he bolted up the stairs to show Daddy which drawer the sippy cups were kept in. Now he was out of excuses. I love my kids.

Andy's train 2006

2007-10-02T21:32:00.000-06:00

This was the best picture I could find of Andy's Christmas garden last year. You can barely see the O scale train behind the scene.

Lego Train

2007-09-30T19:40:00.001-06:00

Sabian is obsessed with trains right now, so I decided to let Andy set up his train table early to display his Lego train for Halloween. He'll still do his regular winter scene with his O scale train for Christmas. He gets pretty excited about his Christmas Garden. He also plans to do a layout for his HO and N scale trains too. Yes, that means I will have no space left in my front room. At least it keeps Andy and the kids happy. The neighbors say they can see it too from the highway. Someday Andy hopes to consume the house with his trains and have a display like Mr. Sanda's house by the airport. If he can match Joel Sanda, then Andy will open his house to the public too. He's a long way from that. Here's a picture of his Lego train. It is surrounded by his Bionicle creations. He's trying to win more tracks off of ebay to finish it.
On a side note, we started full force potty training with Sabian on Friday and he is doing very well. He's successful about 90% of the time. Now we've just got to conquer the elusive no. 2. I'm open to suggestions.

Massive Train Layout - MTH Trains lionel atlas huge american

2007-09-24T08:39:00.001-06:00

Sabian's new favorite video.

Adora rolls over

2007-09-19T14:52:00.000-06:00

Spud Day

2007-09-19T11:12:00.000-06:00

Spud Day is always fun. Andy and Steven Ran in the Spud Run, Andy did a 5k and Steven did a 10k. Steven came in 3rd over all, and won a first place medal for his age division. Andy rode his bike in the parade with Sabian riding behind him and Naomi rode her own bike beside him and did really well. We enjoyed the free baked pototoes, watched a magic show on the free stage, then met some star wars characters. Then we waited in line 4ever to get some frogs for Naomi. We then decided it was too hot, so we bought the movie Eragon and came home to watch it. Then we went to the demolition derby, but were too late to get seats, so we had to sit way up front and dodge the mud that was flung by the tires, making it a more interactive experience.

Adora's smile

2007-09-19T11:09:00.000-06:00

Demolition Derby

2007-09-19T10:51:00.000-06:00

We took Sabian to the demolition derby on Saturday and he loved it. I don't know if he's ever watched anything so intently. I took the kids to my parents house on Tuesday morning and my mom called to ask me if I'd taken Sabian to the demolition derby. "How did you know?" I asked as I thought of the mud flung on us I thought perhaps I missed a spot when I bathed him. She tells me she's noticed a dramatic change in his play behavior. He used to peacefully drive his toy trucks all around the room saying "vroom, vroom." Now he must always have at least 2 cars and continually crashes them into each other. Boys will be boys I suppose.

Sabian is 2

2007-09-04T08:48:00.000-06:00

We went camping at Stoddard for Sabian's Birthday. He had lots of fun pushing his dump truck around the campground and hauling leaves or water. As soon as he figured out it was his birthday, he ran to the camping trailer and came out with the candles and an ice cream scoop. He knows what birthdays are about. He got a dutch oven dinner of barbecue chicken, potatoes, and blackberry cobbler. We all had a great time.

He loved playing with his new trains on his new playmat. He loves anything to do with trucks or trains.

Adora's First Studio Session

2007-08-31T08:26:00.000-06:00

Adora had her picture taken on 8-27-07. Here she is, exactly 2 months old. Even though she was in an elaborate (not comfortable) dress, every photo was adorable. She never even fussed once, seemed rather intrigued by the whole affair.

Baby's growing

2007-08-27T13:29:00.000-06:00

I took Adora to the Doctor on Friday to be weighed and she was 9 lbs 13 1/2 oz. How do babies grow so fast? Sabian will be 2 yr old on Friday. Naomi's in kindergarten and loving it. I let Naomi and Sabian go to Grandma Kathy's for the weekend and I'd swear Sabian grew up a little more while he was gone. I'm sure he's already planning for the day he gets to drive a real car.

Duathlon

2007-07-29T11:57:00.000-06:00

Andy and Steven participated in the persuit of excellence duathlon yesterday. Steven ran 5k (in less than 20 minutes!) then Andy rode his bike for 25k then Steven ran the last 5k. I had fun watching and cheering them on. Here are some photos.

Keveren Reunion

2007-07-23T11:44:00.000-06:00

We all had fun at the reunion this year. Andy enjoyed cooking (just not all the extra work preparing). Swimming at Downata was fun for all. Most kids enjoyed playing in the sand around the volleyball court. Sabian loved the playground although the slide got the better of him on several occasions.

Pancake Art

2007-07-17T09:01:00.000-06:00

This morning at breakfast I left Naomi alone with the stack of pancakes and told her to fix up her own plate while I cooked the rest. When I came back to the table, this is what she'd made. Who knew breakfast could spark such creativity. I hereby declare that pancake art is excluded from the "don't play with your food" rule.

2007-07-16T20:36:00.000-06:00

heres my stuff

New Blog

2007-07-16T07:31:00.000-06:00

I'm feeling like the only person in the world without some sort of web page, so I created this blog. Mostly I just want to share my photos, after all, my kids are cuter than your kids. :)