Mounteasers

Sleep

2012-02-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Sleep: : the natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored

Everybody needs sleep. Not everybody may wants it (like Cameron). But many people do (like me). Its an odd though, that the body turns on and off duringthe times that it needs sleep. Sydney used to function off of 4-8 hours a nights (when pre-schoolers need 11+) and she would be fine all day. She was like the energizer bunny that kept on going and going and...you get the picture. But now that she is getting 11+ hours a night, she seems to be needing naps during the day. What the freak? Shouldn't "the powers of the body be restored" during those 11 hours? Why does she need more time...and 3+ hours at that!? The more sleep she gets the more sleep she wants...but I guess I can say the same for myself. When I get more than 10 hours (which happens very rarely) I drag all day. Shouldn't I be more energetic than ever? I don't understand, but I do know that I like to suspend consciousness as often as possible and if that means dragging all day, I'll take it.

Sydney doesn't take naps when I want her to, but when she is tired, she gets naked, finds her blankie and hides somewhere. Usually it is in my closet. Today she hid here:

CHANGES

2012-02-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about Sydney this week and when I sat down to write this post, 2 Pacs "Changes" came to mind. I am not really sure why I was even thinking about this song considering I don't even like rap, and, that it's a song about racism, drugs, and violence. But, I have always loved this song for its overall message of HOPE or more, the hope in having hope (if that even makes sense). In order to change the terrible problems in our society we must work together. This is a common theme that I have felt in my life recently. Over the last month since starting Sydney on the GFCF diet, and the methyl B-12, I have already seen such changes. Aside from her change however, I too have seen the love of my neighbors, family, friends, and even strangers come to my aid and work together to make this change. It really has been a miracle for me to witness everything that has happened. (Don't worry, I am not about to bear my testimony, but believe me, if my testimony of my Heavenly Father was at all wavering before, be assured that it is as steady and strong as ever. I cannot pretend that the Lords hand has not been a part of the events that have transpired in the last month. Its as simple as that. And the odd thing about it all is that I never once questioned "why me" or lost faith. Truly, that is strange for me, but maybe its my faith that made the difference. Who knows, but I do know that I have never felt so supported and loved by my Father in heaven. And that folks, has made it all worth it.)

So, in speaking about Syd's changes, I thought it time to give an update on her improvements:

-Sydney is consistently speaking in longer sentences (6-9 words at a time)

-She has not been spinning around nearly as much as she used to. In fact, come to think of it, I can't even remember the last time she was spinning (probably a couple days ago when we turned the music on)

-Sydney has started "reading" books to mommy and daddy. A month ago she would flip through the pages making sounds every now and again. Now she will pick up a book and tell you what is happening on each page. She even will ask, "what is he doing mommy?" (meaning that she is aware of something happening and she wants participation from me...that is huge), then she will say, "he's riding a bike huh mommy?"

-Sydney is playing with her toys more appropriately. It took a while for her to play "house" with her baby dolls. And still she often needs encouragement from me. But, recently I have found her by herself talking to her dolls. Just yesterday she built a castle out of blocks and layed her princess down on a pretend bed that she made. This has been a VERY (or as Sydney says it, "berry berry") huge improvement.

-Sydney is consistently doing hand motions and participating when needed. She will do the dance motions to dance songs, and in school she now raises her hand (though she still wont talk much) and does the motions to the songs there. Again, over a month ago you would need to really work with her to do an kind of hand motion, but now she needs no intervention and will start right up when necessary.

-Sydney has slept 11+ hours for the last 5 days! 5 DAYS! 11+ HOURS! Dr. Miller is my hero (as stated in my last post)You need to understand what a miracle this is. Cameron and I even talked about being able to go on trips now that we know we have something to help her sleep. I am so relieved! Every vacation, every camping trip will forever be different (channeling 2 Pac)"...and thats just the way it is...things'll never be the same..."

-Sydney can sometimes recall the events of the day (something she never did). I can ask her about her day and she can converse with me consistently (though it is limited). A couple days ago she told me she painted a log, and played outside on the slide. Sure enough she had painted a rock (I always have to ask the next day to see if she really is recalling events or just saying things.) She also can recall people, such as her friend Mackenzie. Today she told me about her friend and when leaving school waved and said, "bye friends" something I nor she have ever said.

-Sydney has started really using her imagination. When she eats lunch she will take a bite and then ask, "mommy what does this look like?". "It's a lion, rawr" and she will make it run on her plate. In the last two days she has done this with EVERY bite of her lunch sandwich changing up the animals with each bite (without any intervention on my part). This has probably been the most exciting thing that I have seen yet, and it just started 3 days ago! She is starting to pretend play and that is HUGE!

-Tonight Sydney went to sleep without her sensory blanket! She didn't even ask for it! We are working on her sensory integration stuff and this is so big. She usually can't even think about sleep unless her blanket is touching some skin (usually her naked body). Hurray! On weekend Syd and Dylan like to have sleepovers, but she always needs her "soft blankie"...not this time!: (Notice the blanket on the floor next to her bed)

So that is it for now, I am sure there are more things to note that I am just forgetting, but these are the biggies. Pretty much she is improving upon the improvements of three weeks ago, and have added a few more in there (namely sleep and imagination!) Now that I am sleeping, I feel like a new person, and I have so much more energy, hope and faith to devote to Syd. It is EXCITING!

In the words of 2 Pac:
"Come on come on
That's just the way it is
Things'll never be the same
That's just the way it is
aww yeah"

THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Methyl-B12

2012-02-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

Look what arrived in the mail today! Sydney had her first injection of Methyl-B12 this morning. I guess I am getting ready for my nursing career a bit earlier than I had planned. Cross your fingers and pray for improvement...

Moms Arm Wrestling 2012

2012-02-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

We had our yearly MILF arm wrestling contest this last sat night at the Ally Cat. It was so fun! But, get this, (and this is by no means meant to hurt any feelings for those who planned the event), but I just found out that the charity event that this benefits is the rape crisis center in town. Am I the only person that finds something terribly wrong with this? I don't really like what MILF stands for, but it is kinda funny and its gets people out to have a good time (and participate in something positive and a bit out of the ordinary). But really...MILF's Benefit for Rape Crisis? That feels like a headline I would see on Jay Leno's Late Night Show. This is terribly offensive, and so much so that I can't say anything about it without making the event planner feel humiliated. So, what do you do? (whatever your answer is...I am not doing it!)

Moving on. This year was much different that last. To keep it short, let me just tell you that a friend of mine, Janet (who is a lesbian), turned to me about halfway through the competition and said, "well you know what you have learned from this don't you?", "that if you stand a chance next year, you are going to have to sleep with a lot more women!" HA! It really was lesbian central, and I have to say, they were all ripped! They were so freaking strong! The last 5 standing were ridiculous! I didn't stand a chance, but that didn't stop Cameron from buying a t-shirt with my face on it and telling everyone that I was runner up last year. He was cute an supportive, and loved bragging about his now weakling of a wife. I went out in the second round to the woman who I beat in the first round last year. Ugh! She is a beast though. Trucker turned yoga teacher... I was screwed from the start.

Here is the design on the shirt. Its a picture of the finals last year with Johnna and myself. I am the one on the left:

The Table:

Cams favorite co workers:

Dr Miller=My Hero

2012-01-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

Wow. I do not think I have had such a rough patch since Sydney was weening off her meds 10 months ago. Since getting her "diagnosis", things have been a little crazy around here. The diet continues to be working, in fact, the days when we don't see much verbal response from her I later find out was/is due to a slip in the diet. So, we are keeping up with the GF/CF diet even though it is impossible to find all of the ingredients needed to bake any one item. I have been blogging, searching, and creating a lot of different recipes so that we has a family can do this together, I now just need to find where to buy the food. It has been going OK and I am getting more used to the idea of the diet (I dont know if Cameron can say the same).We have found that it is hard to just feed Sydney one thing and the family different which has been a challenge. She wants what we are having, so this has come at the expense of some of our favorite foods. Just yesterday Cameron sat down at the table with his pizza and without thinking pulled out the ranch dressing. I immediately forced him outta the room but not without Syd seeing it first and crying for her ranch. Poor girl. If we want to sit as a family at dinner time, we have to give up some things. Cheese and Ranch are going to be the biggies.

Since starting the diet, Syds sleep has been EVERYWHERE. She has never been a great sleeper. Not even a good sleeper, but now its just ridiculous. In the past she could go 5 sometimes even 10 days between early morning wake up calls at 3 am. Now its nearly everyday and she wake ups anywhere between 1-5am. It is really strange. In an attempt to stay sane, Cameron and I agreed to finally try some kind of sleep medicine. I know its not great for young kids, but neither is not sleeping! So, we went to the pediatrician who finally decided to believe me, but still said there was nothing he could prescribe since she has a seizure disorder and since so many meds lower the threshold for more seizure activity. It sucked. I once again found myself in a dr.s office with nothing. No help, no guidance, and just a "I understand your frustration but there isn't anything we can do" response. I was SO mad! And this time I made myself known. You can imagine it; astrong willed, extremely emotional, worried, and sleep deprived Britney raising hell saying, "Now that you believe me you are telling me that you can't help me!?" and "I can't take no for an answer right now... there is no way I am leaving this office with nothing". I was pissed! And I was TIRED! And I was loud and sobbing at the same time...its a funny picture to imagine...and even funnier one to see I am sure. (I am an ugly crier for sure.) My dr. at that point decided to go and speak to the other dr.s in the building and even paged one that was out and came back with something that could possibly help. The melatonin which we have tried and not had success with but this time he tripled the dose! There really isn't much they could do aside from that, and I understand that, but I still needed help..something that would work. That night knowing that we couldn't do much more of Syds sleep stuff, Cameron called a friend of his, Dr. Miller, (who is a pediatric specialist in town) and left a message on his personal phone.

Sunday night, we got a call back from this Dr. who called on his night off and talked about Syd for nearly an hour on the phone. What a guy! He told us about some new therapies and got us an appt with him 2 days later. Today is that day. I had a wonderful 2 hour visit with him where he quickly affirmed what I was thinking, "before anything else, we need to takle this sleep problem". YES! "Whos to tell if its the sleep alone causing her brain to stop functioning?"

Along with this, he confirmed my feelings about Syds "diagnosis". "She is really right on the line right now" he said. "Some would say she is on the spectrum while others would say shes not." There really is no test that will say one way or another. This is why it has been so difficult for dr's to daignose and see specific tendencies as autistic. It is comforting though because it means she is higher functioning if at all. We both agreed to treat her as if she is in fact on the spectrum, since exta treatment couldn't hurt, and we are going ahead with Menthyl b-12 injections once every three days. I start Friday! EEK! I am excited about this new treatment as it is a vitamin not a medicine and it has proven to help a lot of people. Dr. Miller alone has an 80 percent success rate with it. Sydney oddly enough, fits the criteria for to a T. (Higher functioning with specific delays in speech) It sounds like it was custom made for her! :) (Hows that for optimism!?)

So that is it for now. Dr. Miller turned out to be the just the person that we needed in our lives right now. I am so lucky that Cameron knows him and has a personal /professional relationship with him. It has really helped get us in quickly and he had more of a vested interest since Cameron is a fellow employee. He was so respectful, kind and honest and he is someone who will work with us, not against us. It was refreshing! I AM SO EXCITED to see what we together can do for Syd!

Anyway, I can't wait to see what the future brings. If anyone has any yummy GFCF foods or recipes to share, I would love them. Apparently I am gonna be on this diet for quite a while. (At least 2 years! AKKKK!)

I also want to thank you all for your support at this time. It has meant a lot to us, and even if I can't respond to your emails and things now, just know that they are EXTREMELY appreciated. It takes a village to raise a child and I am more aware of that now more than ever.

First Crush

2012-01-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

Dylan came off the school bus saying, "Mom, look in m backpack!"
I pulled this out:

Dylan: Mommy (pointing to the picture), this one is Mckenna and this one is me. I looked at her eyes today and they are really brown.
Mom: Wow Dylan. You must really like her.
Dylan: Yup
Mom: I didn't know you knew how to draw a persons profile. How did you learn how to do that?
Dylan: Well I see a lot of kissing!
Dylan: Mommy do you want to know how we became friends?
Mom: Yes!
Dylan: I whispered in her ear like this (as he leans in to whisper) and said, I wanna marry you when I grow up. and then we were always friends after that.

Weighted Blanket a Success!

2012-01-21T06:02:00.000-08:00

Look what we made! After a long day of sewing, hoses, and funnels, we finally finished Sydney's weighted blanket. I think we filled something like 190 squares. It feels like a blanket with lots of mini bean bags sewn together. Its kind of cool actually. My amazing mother in law helped me all day yesterday to complete this. It definitely was a labor of love if you ask me. It took a while, but it was actually really fun to do and a bit comical at times as we were trying to figure it out along the way. I will say this (and I have said it before), there aren't many people that love to be with their mother in law for hours on end...but Elaine rocks, and I am NOT one of those people. She is one of my closest friends, and I am so lucky to have her in my life. Thanks Elaine for everything!

Here is Syd right after she opened her new present:

This is the back (you can see the squares better)

Here she is the next morning. Notice her old blankie on the floor. SCORE! She loves her new blanket and now drags this 7 lbs thing everywhere. I hope it holds up!

Check out the shiner Sydney came home with from school yesterday. It's a rug burn! OUCH!

"BE CAREFUL!"

Sydney's Story

2012-01-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, we have been through a lot with our darling Sydney over the last 3 years. Her behaviors and learning delays were always chalked up to be caused by her seizure disorder that she has had since 9 months. I have always felt that there was something else wrong, but we could never quite pinpoint it. Her strange behaviors were always concerning to me, especially her wake up calls at 1, 2, or 3 am. Her sleep habits alone cause me to nearly go insane, but it was the rejection and responses from the doctors that made it worse. They blamed me for not being "strict enough" with her sleep schedule. For not being "hard enough" on my child. "Just keep at it" they said, "she will come around", "just keep a routine". I felt worthless. I felt inadequate. I felt like the worst mother in the world. Why could I not get my child to go back to sleep after waking at 2 am? It didn't make sense to me or the doctors, so yes, I blamed myself...for the last 3 years! It wasn't until about 4 months ago that I really started to believe that I wasn't the one to blame. There was a problem, and I wasn't going to pretend that it wasn't there anymore. So rather than continue to take Sydney to doctors, I became a researcher. I would spend those early mornings researching on the internet possible explanations as to why she did things the way that she did. I came up with a few hypothesis, a couple that didn't pan out (sleep apnea, migraines, etc.). But, over the few months my husband and I really started seeing things in Sydney that could put her on "the spectrum". We thought maybe PDD-NOS. I called her therapist Cami, about 6 weeks ago and told her my concerns and how I truly did not believe that this was all "just a delay". Once again, she reassured me that Sydney was not autistic, nor did she have these "tendencies", she was just "delayed a bit".

Four weeks later after more research, I was convinced that Sydney had Sensory Integration or Processing Disorder which was to blame for keeping her awake at night. She has always been very sensitive to light, she screams when she has her socks put on wrong, she sleeps naked with her "soft blanket" on her, she is very sensitive to touch and hated being cuddled as a baby, etc. There were/are many signs of this, so I called a local OT who specialized in this disorder to set up an evaluation. While talking to her on the phone she asked, "does she sleep on the floor?" "YES!" I said(feeling validated), "will she sleep in her bed even if you put her there?" "No, she moves to the floor". She continued to ask questions that began to make sense, questions that I now knew fit Sydney to a T for SPD. Sydney has a sensory issue, which is why she likes to lay on the cold couch or kitchen floor when she wakes in the middle of the night, which is why she cries when the lights turn on, etc. The therapist quickly told me that Sydney obviously had sensory issues and that I should put her in OT. That day, I called Cami again at school to talk more about this. During this phone call Cami told me, "we can't help Sydney for the sensory things because it doesn't affect her learning, but I have been wanting to call you to talk about doing another evaluation, this time for autism". My jaw dropped. "after you pointed it out to me Mrs Mount, I have begun seeing the autistic tendencies that you were speaking about, and I really want to get her evaluated again soon, how is next week?"

After hanging up the phone I immediately researched autism. This was the first time that I allowed myself to really research anything about the subject. I read about the gluten free/casein free diet and how it has helped many children with Autism. Four days later Sydney had another early morning, this time at 1 am. So, here I was researching. Again. That morning we started Sydney on the Casein free diet. I just wanted to try it. I have read that allergies and food sensitivities are different so I thought, maybe she does just have a sensitivity to milk, why not eliminate it and see? While dropping Sydney off that morning (Wednesday) I asked her teacher if Sydney still wasn't talking in class. She told me, "she will tell me when she has to use the bathroom and that's about it". After 4 months Sydney still was not speaking in class.

SO. LISTEN TO THIS.

Three days later after starting the casein free diet, I picked Sydney up from school (Friday) and her teacher tells me (without knowing about the diet), "she has not stopped talking all day". WOW! We went home and Sydney sang three songs that I had NEVER heard before. She identified 2 letters (H and O), which again she has NEVER done, and she had her first conversation ever with me. I asked her what she did at school that day (which usually is responded with a blank stare and a grunt or two), and she replied, "I played with Daniel." What else? "I read books". What else? "I played in the gym". The tears began to stream as I was listening to my baby girl recall events of the day, something she had never done before. Something that was only just beginning.

We immediately took Syd off Gluten and the results are undeniable. What Cameron and I have witnessed in the last 8 days are nothing short of a miracle. I have been brought to tears at least once a day, (and Cameron too!) What seems to be a huge development to us, probably wouldn't be noticeable to someone who has not lived with Syd, but let me give you a few examples of these remarkable changes:

1. These conversations have continued. Today after being picked up from school and asked about her day said, "I played outside","I played on the slide", and "I read Humpty Dumpty". She recalled a specific book! DETAILS!
2. A couple days ago we were downstairs and I gave Sydney a task; to get her underwear out of the laundry pile. She stopped looking and went over to play guitar with Cameron and after about 3 minutes went back to the task saying, "I need to find my underpants". There was no redirection...she just did it! This has happened a couple of times.
3. Her sentences are longer, and its as if she is actually thinking before speaking now. She walked into Grandmas today and said, "I wonder where Grandma is...maybe shes upstairs". She knows wonder? And maybe? Who knew!?
4. At the dinner table the other night she began using her hands while we were singing songs. She was mimicking our hand movements (something she rarely ever does). She did 5 songs in a row with more excitement and accuracy than I have ever seen. (usually she will sit and just stare during these songs). This one even made Cameron a bit teary.

There are so many things that we are seeing on a daily basis. It is amazing. Yes we probably are seeing some things that have been there all along, just because we are looking, but I guarantee that this diet is doing something. Her teacher said again yesterday, "I have never seen her talk like this". It is wonderful. It makes sense that diet effects our bodies, I just hate that it took me so long to see these "intolerance's.

Sydney was evaluated on Tuesday with the autistic specialist and was unofficially diagnosed with some form of autism. The social integration and epilepsy are believed to all be part of the autism. So now what? My heart sank, the tears ran, and the therapist just apologized again and again for not seeing it sooner. "We are very upfront to parents when we see signs, I just always thought these things were caused by the seizures" she said. Who can blame her? Everyone has felt the same. Everyone but me. Now I have a bit of validation, but who cares? There wasn't a sigh or relief, just pain and worry. I am just so upset worried for my daughter and her future. I just can't believe it. Truly, I still am in denial. It is one thing to THINK something, but it is an entirely different thing when you KNOW and have proof of something. The news hit me pretty hard. I still wonder when I will come to grips with it.

For now I am just doing everything I can to control the situation and keep my mind from getting too depressed. I don't want to dwell over this because really, Sydney is still the same old sweet Sydney. Nothing has changed. But there is something so daunting about the word Autism. Its so harsh. Its so real. There is too much uncertainty that comes along with it. I immediately went out and bought a mini trampoline (I read it helps), I decided to enlist the help of my mother in law to make a special weighted blanket, and I have been gung ho with this crazy diet. I don't know what is harder, making the food, or driving around the city looking for the nasty stuff. It took me about 3 hours the first day just reading labels, which of course, again, had me in tears. Luckily I met a sweet lady who helped me along the way (she told me that she instantly knew I was crying over ingredients as she had been in that same position 10 years prior). It was comforting and a bit humorous, I felt pretty ridiculous. But really, YOU try doing a food search (but don't try walmart!) There are few foods out there that dont contain both milk and gluten. I had no idea! This diet is so dang hard to follow, and so time consuming, but I am doing it and doing it right. Sydney is worth it even if it turns out to all me a hoax. I have to try it. I have to try something! I am keeping busy and keeping my spirits up and when I find a good recipe (like the banana oat bars, it makes my day!) I have faith, probably more now than ever before, and that is strange for me. I know that it will work out, I am just worried about figuring out the kinks along the way.

I hope that we will continue to see more improvements, and that I will see this as a blessing and not a curse. It is good to finally have answers. Its sucks to have these particular answers, but now we can help Sydney in the best possible way and that has to account for something right? Had the word autism never come out of Cami's mouth, I never would have even considered this crazy diet. There is a positive right? Lets keep em comin!

(Oh and did I mention that during all of this (this week), Macey had bronchitis, and Cameron started teaching early morning seminary? Life is awesome.

Christmas Vacation

2012-01-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

19 days that the kids were out of school for Christmas Vacation. Just thinking about it gives me hives

1 amazing neighbor named Gracie moved in next door and plays with Dylan outside EVERYDAY. She is a life saver! She is 11, but she loves Dylan, and loves having someone to play with everyday. They get off the bus together, run to their homes to get a snack and drop off bags, and then they are outside until dark. I love it! He is such a big boy!

2 is for the amount of swings that Dylan and Gracie built together. They found a tire in the woods and made a tire swing hanging from our front deck. They later decided to hang a swing from our back deck and I must say, it is pretty awesome. Even I enjoy playing on it!

4 is for the amount of times that Dylan reappeared during in his magic trick:

and also for the number of times I found Sydney asleep on my closet floor. (Anything to help her go to sleep, but can she quit hiding!?)

We enjoyed celebrating the New Year with a bunch of friends at Lisa Anderson's home. The kids all stayed up past midnight (thanks to the naps we forced that day) and they were great! It was super fun! I am excited to see what 2012 brings to our family!

I am so glad break is over, but we sure had a lot fun!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

I know this post should have come before the New Years one, but I am a bit slow with pics and the new format on blogger. Sorry.

This was our favorite Christmas yet! This was our first year ever doing Christmasalone at home. It was so nice! I love having extended family around duringthe holidays, but it is so nice to be able to stay at home and go at your ownpace, do your own traditions, and wake up in your own beds. It was wonderful! The other reason why this turned out to beour favorite year to date, is the fact that it was on a Sunday and we hadchurch services to remember the day of our Saviors birth. We thought it might be kind of frustrating inthe morning with the kids having them stop opening their gifts to go to church,but it turned out to be perfect, and it was a beautiful service. The kids didn’t mind one bit, and it allowedthem to remember the real reason as to why we celebrate Christmas. I wish this holiday fell on a Sunday everyyear.

Getting ready for Christmas with a ghetto gingerbread house. Come on...its pretty rockin. The kids were home, it was cold outside, and in my pantry lay a brand new box of graham crackers and a bin of halloween candy. SCORE!

Check out the pile of nerds. Sydney was more a fan of dumping rather than spreading.

This pic is more for the wall of awesome art that my kids made throughout the month. I LOVE having this art display. (If you check out the bell to the left it only has 2 more rings on it till Christmas!)

Christmas Eve and Grandma and Grandpa's house: dinner, gift exchange, and a white elephant gift exchange. It was super fun! I LOVE living close to family…it makes holidays so much more fun and meaningful. My nieces and nephews are awesome…when they aren’t piling on top of each other ;)

Two pees in a pod. Casey and Dylan could not be any cuter together.

Watching the Christmas story was a lot easier on the kids than listening to it being read aloud. It is a lot quieter and I think they definitely got more out of it.

The kids sang the "12 sayings of Grandpa" to him that night. My favorite: "why's the fence around the cemetery?" and "platter!"

Grandpa dogpile! "Not the camera!"

Look at these sweet girls together. Maddie is such a good friend to her cousin!

Shoot, we didn't get any of Dylan opening his rad Darth Vader alarm clock. I think daddy was a bit jealous!

The boys...they are SO OLD! This is one of their last Christmas's at home before their missions. Wow...that is insane!

Dylan made some great clay magnets for grandma and grandpa.

The girls got some great musical books that they are obsessed with at the moment. Also, check out the rad PJ's! Thanks Uncle Timmy! Dylan LOVES Finn from the Cars movie, and of course the girls are in love with princesses. Great job Westies!

Christmas Morning:

Obscene? Yes! Worth it? Heck yes!

Syd got some things for her kitchen! The kids like to play "Grocery Store" and "Restaurant" together. (ALL THREE OF THEM!) Two people are the customers and the thrid is the cash register or cook. I love watching them play together.

Dylan got lots of legos stuff this year. e also made daddy a light saber pen for work. Saweet!

Pardon my morning puffy face, but aren't these kids the sweetest?

Yes this is a cardboard box that I decided to turn into a puppet theater at 10 pm 2 nights before Christmas. It turned out great huh!? I went through my craft closet and whalah! A work of art! The kids LOVE it and use it everyday!

We woke Macey up about 30 minutes after the kids to get her ready for church. Shes a cuddle bug in the mornings

She opened her stocking before church. Pop tarts! YUMM!

Santa Baby

Syd's baby and me dress up set...Thanks grandma Minnie! She is in LOVE with princess Tiana...she wore this dress all morning.

Aunt Karen sent the greatest books for the kids! We haven't gone one night without reading a story out of every book that she sent. The Bersnstein Bears, and Little Critter books are classics. I love them...and my kids are totally learning from the messages in them. Thanks Aunt Karen! Dylan and I are going to start the Boxcar books this week once school gets back in!

Grammer and Grandpa sent 3 huge boxes of my childhood stuff. It could not have been more fun to go through those. Here are some of the favorites:

Teddy Ruxpin and Grubby with 8 books and cassette tapes. Sydney is obsessed with these guys, and occasionally tries to ride Grubby. I can't believe they still work, and I can't believe they are in my living room! SO FUN!

DRESS UP!

Dylan had fun with the wigs. This wig in particular was on the ground after we had cleaned up and Sydney started crying and freaking out screaming, "Marely's hair, oh no, Marleys hair!" Poor girl thought it had all fallen off our dog.

I could not have been more stoked when we pulled these out of the boxes. This was my space girl costume as a kid. Syd rocks it well! Dylan of course loves the dragon too. My mom made these for us kids. Aren't they awesome!?

Here are some pics that we took throughout the day:

Sydney's lined up her friends in a meet and greet and started introducing them all to each other

These princesses I got at a consignment store for 3 bucks each! They are perfect for syd's little tea party. She wakes up to a tea party and goes to sleep to a tea party (I'm not kidding...at this very moment she has the tea set at the bottom of her feet in bed (since she sleeps on the floor)

Santa brought Dylan the only thing he really wanted! A jeep battery for his broken down jeep! The excitement when he opened that gift was amazing....BEST...VALIDATOR...EVER! The kids live for that thing. They can all ride together!

Its the hill to the polar express!

And last but definitely not least:

This blanket marks out ten year anniversary together. My mother who suffers with MS designed this and made it all. The fabrics are from the tables of our wedding. We had theme tables and these were the tablecloths. Let me see if I can remember the tables: First date, kids, Shakespeare, Broadway, kids, DP (our high school), cow, candy, Simpsons, Temple (wedding), volleyball, NY, and our proposal table. Each table had goodies, and things on it that represented both of us. It was a wedding that displayed our love for each other and each others interests. It was a fun idea, and definitely represented our personalities well. We don't ever take ourselves too seriously, and we have a LOT of fun! I love you mom for doing this. I LOVE it and know that it will be an heirloom in our family for generations. It is truly amazing!!!

This blanket above is what made my Christmas! The love and time that went into that is beyond me and I was in awe of it. On top of this, Cameron gave me a Kindle Fire! I love it! And by love I mean, LOVE! I am a bit obsessed with it and have read 3 books in the last 6 days. I was definitely spoiled this year. A blanket, some jewelry, shoes, and heirloom, and a kindle...wow. I am one lucky girl!

It was a fabulous Christmas with lots of gifts, food, and smiling faces. I can't wait another 365 days till we can do it again. In the meantime, I have 2 upcoming birthday parties to prepare for. UGH!

Happy New Years! 2012-2022

2012-01-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years!

I am fast approaching my 30s and am a bit freaked out aboutit. Birthdays have NEVER bothered me,but for some reason this one has gotten my patties all in a bunch. I have heard a lot of great things and not sogreat (mostly having to do with weight) things. So I have decided that this New Years I would like to make resolutionsfor my 30’s. My top 5 resolutions before I reach 40 are:

1. Consistently average 6+ hours a night (hopefully 8) Thiswould be an amazing change from the last 6 years. This would help with the darkcircles under my eyes, allow my brain to function more properly (in order toaccomplish #2), and aid in helping my tolerance and patience levels.

2. As a result tohaving all three kids enter school, I am planning on going back to school toget my nursing license. This is superexciting for me to think about, I just have to make sure that I do it and notget lazy about it. It truly is a dreamof mine to be an advocate for women in the birthing rooms of a hospital. Ever since delivering my first child, I KNEWthat this is what I truly wanted to do.

3. Find a job that I love that with allow me to be both amother and employee. My vision is towork a few nights a week and sleep when the kids are in school allowing me tobe there for them every day! I know thatthis can be accomplished (since the night shifts are usually the mostavailable), again though, I need to NOT be lazy about it and DO IT! Thinking about working again makes my heartflutter just a tad. I have alwaysenjoyed working and contributing to the family, but I never wanted to put mykids in daycare or nanny care to do it. So, once they are in school, all systems are a go!

4. Lose ten lbs and get in shape or, at least stay where Iam as of right now. I hear thatmetabolism starts to slow in the 30’s so I am determined to start eating rightand making sure that as mine slows, I don’t see the difference in my “body fat”(as Dylan would say). Losing weight isn’t as important as feelingbetter and being in shape either. I ambeginning to see the sag in my body, (in more places that I would like) and Iwould love to tighten it all up.

5. Get fixed. This body here is off limits for bearing anymore children, and I plan on making that permanent

in the near future. Sorry to all of you who think that I am “kidding”but this factory is closed!

I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT MY 30’S BRING! HELP ME REMEMBER AND REACH MY GOALS!

&!$%

2012-01-01T18:29:00.000-08:00

Yes we are Mormon, but we too are people. And as people wesometimes on occasion let our mouths fly. I usually do it when I get hurt…it’sjust an instinct. Should I mention ithas happened twice on two separate occasions at church events? (A church volleyball game where I came downon my ankle, and softball game where I got clocked in the back with a ball. Painful?Yes. Hilarious? Oh yes. Embarrassing? Maybe had the people not known me, but I am one that doesn’t reallyapologize for that sort of thing…so it was fine) Anyway, in the last two days these eventshave happened which has caused us to really sit down and decide to crack downon our potty mouths:

1. I wascooking over the stove and the grease popped up and got my arm. I immediatelyyelled "shit" while all three of my kids were sitting behind me atthe dinner table ready for their meal to be served. Great! They alllooked a bit shocked as to what just happened then Macey (my 19 month old)quickly and loudly says "shit" and then started laughing. It waspriceless. It still makes me chuckle just seeing her face as she said it.

2. Yesterdayon the way a New Years Eve Party, Dylan says in the back seat, "what thehell is that?" I immediately turn to Cameron who is driving with alook of, "did he really just say that?" Cameron kinda made a face butdidn't say anything (apparently praying that Dylan wouldn’t say what he wasabout to say). I preceded to then ask Dylan where he had heard thatsaying and thinking it was from school or the bus and he says, "I heard ittoday on the game daddy was playing, but don't worry, I am sorry, I know it's abad word. Are you mad at me mommy?" I answer, "No Dylan, it'snot you I am mad at” glaring at Cameron who knew from the beginning that he wasin the dog house. He just started laughing. What a punk! Ugh...I tell you, those video games are NOGOOD! We have a deal that he can't play them while the kids are awake...BUT…Itook a nap yesterday…

I clearly don'tpretend to be one of those people who have it all together. I think it isunhealthy and the cause of many insecurities in our culture (especially ourreligious one). But I would like to think that that those people whoseem to have their perfect little lives with their perfect little childrensometimes let their mouths fly, and sometimes, just sometimes find the humor init. Oh what I would pay to see one of these perfect little women justspout out some profanities…both for their sake and mine.

Just say NO (to holiday treats)

2011-12-24T13:06:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: I AM NOT PREGNANT

Dylan: Mommy, what just happened to you? It looks like you put a pillow in your stomach.
Me: That's not a pillow D.
Dylan: I guess it just a lot of body fat.

Merry Christmas to you too Dylan!

Spreading Christmas Cheer

2011-12-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

If anyone feels the need to spread a little more Christmas cheer this holiday season, donations are being accepted on behalf of my friend Jackie Peterson (sister of Kattie Mount). Here is her story (it was in the Utah news this past week). She is a walking medical miracle. She had three things wrong with her heart and gave birth to a healthy child (apparently with her condition she should not have survived). It was kind of a fluke that they even found something wrong with her heart when she went to the Dr. thinking she had the flu. Crazy. Her medical bills are high now and will continue to skyrocket throughout the coming months/years (especially if she will have to undergo a heart transplant). I can't imagine how had is is to go through all of this, and with a brand new baby that she can't even hold or nurse. its awful. Her spirits have been high and she is remaining optimistic but she could benefit from all the support she can get. Even just a little bit will go a long way!

We love you Jackie!

http://m.heraldextra.com/news/local/south/springville/springville-mom-thankful-for-support-after-open-heart-surgery/article_a5d9af6d-2476-52ec-a685-1935f1023175.html?_ft_qid=5687930709213057046&_ft_mf_story_key=10150442239039891&_ft_filter=live&_ft_interface=m_touch&_ft_c=m

Las Vegas Part 3-The Las Vegas MS Bike Challenge

2011-12-19T19:57:00.000-08:00

There were three reasons as to why we decided to come together in Las Vegas for a family reunion this November. 1. My dad turned 60 this year. 2: There was a Las Vegas MS bike challenge that our family could participate in (especially my mom) 3. Tim just took a job at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health heading up the new Multiple Sclerosis department. We wanted to participate in the ride along with my mom and support him in this amazing new job that he has worked so incredibly hard to get. Both tim and my mom have been somewhat of the poster children for MS recently being front page of their new awareness campaign on the internet and in the NY Times.

So here is the main event of the weekend: Tim, Angela and I rode the first bit then met up with everyone else to walk/ride beside my mom as she rode the last 5 miles to the finish line.

In perfect West fashion, we blew a tire of my moms bike within the first 5 minutes. Thanks to a good Samaritan who lived across the street, we were up and running in no time.

First of all, what a man to do all three children on his own while letting his wifey peddle all morning. Second of all, he didn't complain, not even once! and 3rd...hes pretty cute isn't he? I LOVE HIM! These kids were zonked!

Here is the finish line, and the building that Tim works in. Pretty fancy eh?

We did it!

Amir, emily and Aliya. I love this family pic.

Syd waved us all in as we rode in. Sweety. "U happy?"

It was a great day and I was so glad to be a part of it. I have always wanted my kids to see their Grammer cross that finish line and this year, they were able to do that. What an amazing memory. I love you momma!

Las Vegas Part 2

2011-12-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

Some Random pics of the week:

Did I mention how grateful I was to COCO for coming this weekend? She drove my moms bike to Vegas, kept my husband happy, added great conversation, was SO much fun, and was so cute with all of the kids. I kind of want her to be my new sister wife. Maybe if she weren't Cameron's sister I would think about it...Ewwww. I love you CoC!

Free rides on the Merry Go Round? Yes please!

Tims yard couldn't be more awesome. A pool, Jacuzzi and play structure=happy children (and happy mommies)

Tim might very well be related to Wolverine.

Auntie Em had the great idea to have a Mexican Thanksgiving. She brought a pinata and we had yummy cafe rio dinner!

Get it Aliya! Look at that intensity!

Auntie Coco is the BEST!

Happy (early) Thanksgiving!

The Johnson family is here! (We grew up vacationing with Jay and Debbie Johnson and their kids. they were able to come and visit us while we were all together. It was a wonderful suprise!

Movie time= Adult time. (The West siblings took some time to go out together while the inlaws looked after the babes...or took naps themselves.)

There is nothing better than seeing a daddy smile this big with his kid/s. LOVE IT!

The Kids are waiting at the door for everyone to arrive.

Three pees in a pod.

The Boys

Dog Pile (is Sydney breathing?)

Bye Grammer. Till we meet again.

After saying goodbye to the family, I surprised Cameron with a trip the the Pinball Hall of Fame in LV. He was in nerd heaven. this picture says it all:

The crazy troll behind the table was rad. He could not have played a more perfect part carting around his headband light and mumbling to kick us out when it was closing time.

It couldn't have been more fitting to bring Timmy with us. He and Cams posse played together in High School.

Quite possibly the WORST game ever. Bad Cats. The song might have actually been worse than the game, "Meow, meow, meow, meow".

Family Pictures!!

We had to try it: (1 crying and only one smiling...sounds about right.)

Awww hugs. "You wanna kiss Mace?"

Festivus for the rest of us!

2011-12-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost here! We love partaking in all of the festivities...

Lots of Ho! Ho! Ho!'s

Sugar cookies (and caramel apples) for our teachers and friends. YUM! (MESS!)

Christmas parties with awkward sleigh rides, a live nativity (including a Llama Llama, sheep and a donkey), and crazy hair

School performances
Sydney is in the far left corner. She didn't sing a word and nearly cried on stage. To be fair, there were a lot of people and I think she was pretty overwhelmed. I totally get it. On the first day of their class practicing the singing, the teacher told me that she had a really hard day because of the change in routine (and that they would need to prepare her better next time). Surprise. Her routine is SO important...it will be interesting to see how she adapts with age.

Dylan was cast as the lead in his class Christmas play this year. He was SANTA! Can you believe it!? Ok I guess you can, but still, its amazing to me how calm and comfortable he is speaking in front of crowds. He is a MOUNT for sure. What a great talent! Every kid in the play had 1 to 4 lines and Dylan had about 12. Not only did he remember them all, but he said his lines loud and in a deep Santa voice. It was so cute. I was so proud!

Christmas movie viewings (Charlie Browns Christmas,Mickey an Minnie Christmas, and Home Alone...(Dylan LOVED this one))

Santa Visits
A new family tradition
Our ELF on a shelf was delivered to our fireplace one morning with a bow and letter from Santa. The kids love him and named him ELFIE. Everyday he finds a new place to hide and make a mess. Some of our favorite hiding spots include a toilet paper mess on the Christmas tree, a green toilet with one elfie using the potty, a lego mess, etc. The kids love this tradition, (and so do mommy and daddy as they get to see the kids faces light up everyday).

Go to sleep you little baby...

2011-12-06T00:32:00.000-08:00

Syd's Sleepcapades

Not so funny story:

Sydney and Dylan were both in bed. I went into Macey'sroom for about 10 minutes to out her to bed. When I came out, Sydney's door was open and she was nowhere to be found. I ran up and down the stairs screaming her room throughout the house, and nothing. I couldn't find her anywhere. I ran outside screaming her name thinking she might have gone out looking for Marely (our dog) who had gotten out earlier. I ran to the top of the driveway looking through the trees and what not then ran back in the house turning on every light in every room. I finally found her in the corner of the living room, with books and a blanket topped on her. By the time I found her I was in super panic mode and had tears streaming down my face. Horrifying. I took the blanket off here obviosuly, but you can see how I would have missed her right?

This is a picture on a day that she had woken up at 3 am and wouldn't go back to sleep unless she was on the couch. I fell asleep on the ground beside her and woke up to this:

Freedom

2011-12-05T12:20:00.001-08:00

I realized today that I have always been pregnant when I had a 18month old. So if I went along with the timing and had another one I would be like two months pregnant right now. YUCK! Hallelujah for being free! Its such a great feeling! Don't get me wrong, I loved the experiences that I had with each child, and I am so blessed to have been able to have kids, I am just so happy to be past that stage. Yay....I love my little family of 5! And I love not having any babies around, (I wondered if I would ever feel that).

"Nearial"

2011-12-03T14:03:00.000-08:00

Look at this little raggamuffin. She reminds me of a Rugrat. Her hair is always a mess (thanks to her ripping and losing nearly every clip I put in her hair), food all over her face, and a fat lip. Love it.

I have always been amazed at how children develop, but Macey has taken this awe to a whole new level. I can't believe how fast she is developing her language. She is 19 months and already speaking in two words phrases! It freaks me out. I know this probably is common for many of you, but not for me! Dylan if any of you remember, didn't say a word until he turned two and then, well, he never stopped talking. Sydney has taken her sweet time with language, with good reason. But Macey holy cow, it doesn't stop. I know it has nothing to do with how smart she will be, and I know kids all develop at their own rate, but I really am just amazed that a 19 month old can say and understand nearly everything.

For example:

-Yesterday Macey hit me on accident and after seeing that I was hurt she said, "ine sorry" and came and gave me a kiss.

-While watching a show with the kids she turned (at an appropriate time) before the kids started laughing and said, "thats funny".

-At the dinner table every night when we say its time for a prayer, she folds her arms and says "heanly fadder" (for Heavenly Father).

-If you give her something she will say, "thank you Daddy" (or whoever gave it to her).

-If you ask her where something is and she doesn't know she actually says, "idon know"

-she tells you is she wants to walk or run, "ina run" or "ina walk"

-Ok and just now she is in front of me saying "nearial, nearial" over and over again and I say, "but you just had some" and she just looked at me with a sad face and said, "please". I mean come on...I still have to say to my other kids, "what are the magic words?" if I want them to say please. I am still wowing over this.

Seriously? 19 months? How do they learn to understand language before potty training? or before being able to chew their food? It is crazy to me!

Some cute pronunciation ones are :

Cereal =nearial

blankie= nankie

ball=beeball

Peek-a-boo= beebo

yes= a short quick no (a no is a screeching no!)

I am sure there are more I just cant think of them right now.

Anyway, that is it. I am continually amazed at what these little kids and brains are capable of. It's awesome!

West Family Reunion 2011

2011-11-23T20:27:00.000-08:00

We almost did it! For the first time ever we had ALL of the grand kids together...under one roof! We all met at the West's in Las Vegas for the MS bike event to celebrate my mom riding of course, and Tim at his new job as director heading up the new MS center/clinic at the Lou Ruvo Center. We almost had everybody in attendance, but Linds wasn't able to make it after all.

We had a fabulous weekend! Coco (my rockin sister in law), and Jay and Debbie Johnson (childhood friends of ours) also came for the event. It was so great...best family gathering ever in my book. Here is a quick recap:

First plane ride as a family of 5. (I think Cameron had a harder time than I did...if only he didn't move his arm once the baby had fallen asleep.) Ask us about is Dylan was terrified after watching his cousins play a video game apparently of "bad guys" hijacking a plane and shooting it up. Great! Notice the hand holding (what you don't see are the tears welling up in his eyes). Poor kid.

We made it! First things first, Dylan had to take out his body book (and every single foldout included) and show his cousins.

Next on the agenda was the headstand competition: Ouch!

Audrey is HUGE! How is my kid the shortest boy in the family We went to the Springs Preserve which was awesome. Who knew Vegas had such a neat place

for kids? it felt like a Childrens museum...only bigger!

Macey Latched onto Cameron pretty quick once we arrived in Vegas. She doesn't see him a whole lot since he works so much, so she took advantage of his time off, and I LIKED it. Look here how she is holding onto him. so sweet...I don't think she left his side all weekend.

"The Scoop On Poop" If there ever was an exhibit made for little boys...this is it! Dylan still talks about the dung beetles and the giant elephant poop.

Sydney found these statues and immediately ran to go hold the hand of this man. Could her heart be any sweeter?

Macey and Me.

The West kids bought my kids welcome presents...

could these glow in the dark masks

be any cooler?

Lots more to come...I will continue to update this as I find time. Sorry the format is strange...i am not sure why it is doing this! UGH!

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-11-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

Halloween came and went! Here are a few of this years photos. I do not have any pics of the actual trick-or-treating though it was quite cute to see Macey follow her siblings in running after the candy. The kids were great, and the night was great as usual!

Dylan designed both pumkinds this year with the new handy roller pick- as i have named it. Its an awesome tool that they now sell with the simple carving kit at the grocery store. Dylan just rolled out the design and we cut. He felt like a rock star. Didn't they turn out great? One is a bat, and the other is jsut a funny face.

I had to post this pic for my family. Dylan has always hated the idea of digging out the goop in the pumpkin but we told him he had to try it this year. He came up with this on his own: (if this isn't Spransy in action...I don't know what is! Don't think I don't use plastic bags in my winter boots!)

Oh and for Dylan's Kindergarten an anti-Halloween parent made their opinion known and the class was only allowed to dress up as scarecrows...without hay (because of allergies). Awesome. We got creative: (the beanie was a last minute addition due to the frigid morning air...it's not straw hat...but it's warm!)

Sarcasm? Yes please.

2011-11-07T11:20:00.001-08:00

Having just another sarcastic and bitter type of day. Anyone care to join in this pity party?

Loneliness

2011-11-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

Definition of Loneliness:

4: producing a feeling of bleakness or desolation

This isn’t the most common definition for loneliness, but it is fitting for my situation. I have great friends and family and people that care, I just don’t have anyone who is in my shoes, with me, to understand just how hard life is at this moment. Life definitely feels bleak and desolate. A tad draumatic? Maybe. The way that I feel? Absolutely.

I had a little breakdown last week with Cameron and the one word that I kept going back to was loneliness. I feel so alone these days in coping and dealing with Sydney and her “issues”. I am full of anxiety (as my fingers would show bloodied and battered by my constant biting along with my lips that are disgusting and puffy). I am sick from lack of sleep (due to both girls) and I am at a loss of what to do. How to help. I have Cameron yes, but he sees the tantrums very seldom compared to that of my typical day. When I speak to people about Syds sleeping issues, her tantrums, etc, it is very common to hear, “well that doesn't happen for me”, or “that is just so strange, I don’t get it, she is such a sweet little girl”. Yes she is sweet, but there is so much more to her that nobody else sees. I know everyone’s heart is in the right place, and anyone would help if they knew how, but they don’t. It is impossible to help if you can’t understand the situation. George Orwell put it well in his book 1984 when he wrote, “Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.” Lack of understanding = loneliness to me. I am not even just talking about other people’s understanding, but also mine own. I can’t understand what is going on with Syd so I can’t even help myself. I can’t figure out what is going on with my child…does anyone understand how completely awful that feeling is to a mother? I am sick of this feeling and I wish more than anything that it could change. 3 years in this is getting quite old. Not to mention that the loneliness turns into pity and self deprecation for bad mothering. I am over it.

We took Sydney into the hostpital for more tests a few weeks back for concerns about her seizures returning. We thought she was having absent seizures as her teachers pointed out. We are unsure at this time what the “episodes” were, but for now we are not putting her back on meds until we see more activity. Along with these tests we received a call from her therapist and teachers at school who are very discouraged at her progress. We have decided to look further into autism which all of her Dr’s have said they had no concerns over, but again…they are not in my shoes and see what I see. I have been researching every day, calling teachers, therapists, and friends asking for advice, but when all is said and done, it is on me. IT IS ON ME. Talk about responsibility! Talk about feeling alone.

We know that Syd does not meet criteria for Autism or Asperger’s in their most common form, but Cameron is pretty sure she has PDDNOS. It a very high functioning form of Autism but with autistic tendencies such as speech problems, sleep problems, tantrums, etc. As has been pointed out by a few professionals, because of how high functioning she is, getting “labeled” might actually hinder her at this point. They assured us that even if she did have this diagnosis, there is nothing else that we can do that we aren’t already doing…so that is actually comforting. That’s something. She is and has been (for about 2 years now) getting extra help through different therapists, so at least I know that I have done everything in my power to help her with outside therapists and such.

Anyway, I am not really sure why I decided to write this tonight. A good friend of mine wrote me the other night about how she appreciated my honesty on my blog and how it helped her through her trials. Maybe I write because of her, and because of anyone else out there that might feel this terrible loneliness. Maybe it’s just selfish and that I just needed to ask for just a little more understanding from people. I don’t know. I do know that one NEVER knows what another person is going through. You never know how purely exposed their emotions are. How TIRED, Overwhelmed, or inadequate they feel. You can’t judge…because you can’t understand. You also cannot help half the time (even though you might think you can), but, you CAN try to be a bit more understanding. You can try and just be supportive and show more love. I do want advice, I do want ideas, but I don’t want it in the form of judgment and ridicule for what I have and have not done. I am not saying that anyone is actually doing this, I am just saying that in the fragile state that I know I have been in for months, a lot of the advice that I am getting just makes me more confused because it’s coming from people who don’t understand. Those who think they do, who think they are experts on the matter. They know what they think they know but not actually what is going on…so its more confusing. I can’t explain, I just am lonely and tired of being in this place. I want answers…but I don’t see a lot of change happening in that department. In Sydney’s case it just takes time to find out anything. And time is all that I have. It’s the indefinite time that makes me feel so desolate and bleak.

Sydney, I love you. I wish that I could understand what is going on inside of that little head of yours so that I could help you and unleash this little (big) person that is inside. I wish that I could understand you, and your thoughts. I hope and pray that you do not feel this same lonliness that I feel. In time you will be able to express yourself. I truly believe that. But for now, I promise to do my best to be more understanding of you and your needs and be more patient with this “space of time” that we are in. I love you forever baby girl!

My mom's a pizza

2011-10-31T19:46:00.001-07:00

Cameron and I are having a debate about punctuation at this very moment. I have never understood the Happy birthday, Mom comma placement. If the sentence is Happy Birthday Mom! WHY A COMMA? I don't like it and I don't get it. Judge me cause I am stupid and hate English grammar, but come on, isn't a comma excessive? We don't need to break up a three word sentence and especially one that has an exclamation point. Right? Cameron gave me the example of the following: Mom, I made you a pizza. And: I made you a pizza, mom. I get it in both of these examples but somehow he is turning this whole conversation into me wanting to make my mom into a pizza. WTF? English is lame, I am moving to Spain.

HERE WE COME TO SAVE THE DAY!

2011-10-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

We had our yearly Fall Festival last night and the Mounts showed up in head to tow hero garb. We were on official business to save the day.

Bummer...Cams tie and my glasses were already off. You get the idea though.

My kids ROCK!

Super Girl couldn't have had a more handsome Clark Kent.

Dunuhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuh Dunuhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuh Bat girl!

(Yes that is my bathing suit skirt, Bob the Builder belt and Incredible's glasses from D's dress up, and gloves from high school Prom. Pathetic? Yes. Awesome? Heck yes!)

Dylan had a full on fight with his superhero buddies. It was all fun and games until one of the kids flattened him out. "But I was so tough mommy, it hurt so bad but I didn't even cry. I am gonna have a bruise though, a really big one".

Don't think the Bat girls left without an impromptu dance party in the parking lot. The trunks were open, the candy was gone, the strobe lights were on, and the music was bumpin'. Rock it Syd!

Boo at the Zoo!

2011-10-23T17:13:00.001-07:00

Boo at the Atlanta Zoo!

We went with our good friends the Anderson's and thier son's Jack and Max. It was such a great day!

Dylan immediately went all grins when he saw Curious George. He absolutely LOVES CG. He is allowed one 20 minute show a day when he gets off the bus, and without fail, EVERY day (rerun or not), he chooses Curious George. He also gets to pick out one library book at school once a week, and again, he is always coming home with CG books. He is obsessed! I was SO happy when I saw him near the corn maze. Thanks Zoo people!

Spooky train ride. Don't forget to say "boo!!"

Best Buds. Jack the bat and Dylan the Dragon. When Dylan was deciding what he wanted to be for Boo at the Zoo, he said, "I want to be the Dragon because then Jack will be the knight and he will kill me." (Cute that he was thinking ahead since Jack was a knight the last time they all were dressed up for the parade...great memory Dylan...a little gruesome though:)

Sydney found a new best friend in Melissa. I couldn't have been happier (and more grateful). Cameron was working (as usual) so I was going to take three kids out on my own. Luckily Missy decided to come and help. I owe her one!

Dylan's second love: Star Wars. Look at that face.

I thought Grandma would appreciate this one. He is taking care of his tail so that it doesn't rip or get dirty! Love!

Made it

2011-10-14T10:22:00.001-07:00

Look what I made! Since I have been trapped at home for the last month recovering from medical crap, I decided to do some home improvement projects. Let me just say, I am in LOVE with my sister in laws Cricut. I think I am not going to give it back...EVER. Also, I can't take credit for any of these ideas asI am obsessed with the website pinterest.com. It's more of an addiction really. It has so many great ideas, (and recipes)!

I made my red wall in the kitchen a kids art area. What do you think? I need honest opinions here on the red. I can't really get rid of the red since I don;t have the cream house paint...so...tell me what I can do.

I made a Family Home Evening board...finally! I have been wanting one for a while now, but I didn't have all of my kids names until now. Isn't it great? I kind of hate those generic ones that are all in your face spelling FHE all big. I thought this was more subtle and kid friendly (plus I am in love with those knobs):

Soccer 2011

2011-10-13T16:49:00.001-07:00

This fall Dylan wanted to play soccer (not baseball), and boy is he great! I can't believe the difference one year makes. He is the second best player on his team, scoring between 2-4 goals every game. Here is the problem, Dylan likes to push (when nobody is looking...its more of a hip check more than anything else)...he thinks its a trick to the game. So, when a kid pushes back with his hands, he gets angry. In fact, he gets so angry that he yells and stops playing. It's a problem. The worst though is that he leaves every game now crying that people push and he "never wants to ever play soccer again". The last game, this bigger kid was on him because he kept scoring and at one point picked up the ball and threw it at Dylan's face. He was only about a foot away from him so it hurt pretty bad. I got all Jerry Springer at the parent in the stands...you should have seen me :) So, since this game, Dylan absolutely hates soccer. He hates sports. He said he doesn't ever want to play anything that involves touching. So, swimming it is! He is so athletic, I can't just give up on it can I? Eh...hopefully he will like band or drama...as long as he has something right?

GOAL!

My little Mace Face. She loves going to the fields to kick around.

The girls like to sit/stand on the bench with DD. Way to support. (Notice Syds french braids...I am getting better :)

Mrs. Independent

2011-10-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

Look at my little Mrs Farrah Fawcett. She is 18 months already! Here is some new stuff on Macey:

-She has a ton of words...more than any of my other kids at this age. Probably because she has older siblings. We were driving yesterday and she pointed out the bus! Crazy.

-She LIVES on the kitchen table. Obnoxious? yes. Dangerous? yes. But she sits still when she is up there...usually...and it gives me enough time to do the dishes without her hanging at my feet. WIN!

-She poops when her diaper is off. Nearly EVERYTIME if we don't remember to put it on real quick. Most kids pee when they get out of the bath or take off their diaper due to the wind or cold, but not Mace...she likes to drop turds all over the floor and then proceed to walk in them and track them all over the house. It's so fun!

-She sings! To the Beatles: The "Pleeeeeee---eeeeeeeeeeee-ase love me do" part. Also, in the safety kids song, when the kids talks about screaming she screams every time. Its hilarious. She has her fingers in her mouth and the boy says, "we yell" her fingers come out and she yells very quiet...its super cute"

-Macey loves dog food. Mostly just dumping it out...again and again.

-Oh she called out "DD" today in the bathroom! She knows all of our names; mommy, daddy, mamey (macey), Ali, mamma and mampa (grandma and grandpa), but not DD or CC yet Until today!

-She likes to be tickled and says in a squeely voice while pinching my arms, "teekle teekle". Fun but ouch.

-Oh, and today she came walking out of her room funny, like she had to use the bathroom. So I asked her, "do you need to go potty?" to which she responded, "yeah" and ran and climbed up onto the big toilet. She had already gone in her diaper, but still...wow. She gets it! And I LIKE IT!

Some TMI for a rainy day

2011-10-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

I was a medical anomaly this month. Seriously.

Lets start it off with a bouncy ball size cyst that I woke up to in my nether regions about 3 weeks ago. It was crazy and painful...but alas, I dealt with it the best way I know how. Yes, I popped it, luckily the day before I took a class at the gym that incoorporated spinning into it (if that wasn't luck then I don't know what is!). Wow, it was NASTY! Ok, yes this is a little TMI, but it makes my story all the better. Once I took care of this situation, then came more fun. About 4 days later I woke up with a bug bite on my arm. It felt pretty painful, but it was just a bug bite, no biggie right? Wrong. Everyday for about 5 days it I woke up to find it getting bigger and nastier than the day before. I finally went to Jason after I had to skip going to my softball game due to the fact that I couldn't bend my arm...he gave me some antibiotics to take care of the infection. About 5 days later, my arm swelling had gone down in the sense that it was now swelling up and not out. I had a baseball size lump on my upper arm. I went to Jason's once again and he had to lance it open and drain it. Lidocaine and all. MORE PUSS! It was awesomely disgusting. Ok, so about 3 days after this I break out into a head to toe rash. I was certain it was pityriasis rosea (since I have had it before), but I went and checked with the dr. just to be safe. Pityriasis rosea was the diagnosis. I had the HERALD PATCH! Ok, so this should have been comforting when again for the next three days I was waking up to crazy rash everywhere, including my face, scalp and even the soles of my feet. I finally decided to go to a dermatologist one morning after waking up to puffy ears and lips...I was a little concerned that it was getting worse (my breathing was even affected). To my surprise the dr. said, "you are severely allergic to the antibiotic that you are on". DUH! "You could have died over the weekend" were her exact words. Awesome. Ok so I thought this was it, I had been through a whirlwind of medical crap for over half of the month...but nope. Lets throw in one more thing for the fun of it. I woke up two days ago at 3 am to a dream about acidic food in the ocean and there I was, throwing up. Again and again. 15 times total in 4 hours. It was AWFUL! I have NEVER thrown up like that before. It was super painful and sadly, I don't think I will ever have ice cream again. Holy cow, talk about the flu!

Anyway, so there has been my month in a nut shell. It has been horrible. All of this and we are still awaiting Syds EEG results, and Macey nearly had to get stitches in her mouth (her two teeth went through her lip when she fell into the entertainment center last week). Dude...hit me while I am down why don't ya!?

Here is a pic of my legs the day after I started taking steroids for my rash...I was head to toe in this stuff.

Camp Jellystone

2011-09-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

We had our FIRST EVER camping trip last weekend! I know I know, what sounds fun about taking a baby camping? That is the exact question that none of us asked ourselves as the groupon popped up and we had only hours to buy. A deals a deal right? It actually worked out ok...for us. We went with two other families, the Andersons and the Snow's. That brought the total to 3 babies, and 4 kids (3-5 years)! Intense. The first night Jeremy A. had to drive home at 3 am with their baby Max who would NOT sleep. Poor guy. He came back in the morning for the days activities, but his family left that night, understandably. The Snows left too so that they could make it to church on Sunday...those righteous folk! Cameron and I however debated staying. We were tired and though Macey slept ok, it wasn't great and Cam had a headache. So, Cameron went home with the girls and left me alone with Dylan. It was awesome! Dylan and I started the fire together, made tin foil dinners and banana boats, and stayed up late reading books and doing shadow puppets in the tent. It was so much fun! I love spending time one on one with my kids, especially my boy. He is so much fun at this age!

So the place that we went was Yogi Bears Jellystone Park/Camp. It wasn't real camping but it was fun and had its perks. It was perfect for kids. The kids brought their bikes and rode, they had a few animals, a train, a mine to pan for gold, 2 parks, and a super fun pool. To top it off, the weekend we went they had a city festival with bouncy houses, a parade, etc. It made for a good time!

Its a bummer that we didn't have two nights with everyone, but that first night was great staying up late around the campfire with such great friends. We will definitely do it again sometime...when the babies get a bit older.

Three for the books!

2011-09-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

This summer has not allowed for a lot of down time, hence the lack of posts. But, there are a few stories that are worth remembering:

1. 1. Dylan's favorite cousin Charlotte came to visit this summer. These two are inseparable, and always getting into trouble. Last summer I walked in on them upstairs in Alison's closet, lights off, faces covered in chocolate, and about 30 candy wrappers on the floor. Clearly, they had found Alison's secret candy stash. That was nothing though compared to this: We came home one night from who knows where and Coco had been babysitting. To preface it, downstairs next to a picture of our wedding proposal I have a jar of dried roses that have been there for 11 years. 11! They are the roses that Cameron proposed to me with; 3o red, and 2 whites. So anyway, Coco was upstairs watching Macey (I think), when she decided to go check on the kids downstairs. Apparently she had walked in on a wedding ceremony between the 2 kids. There was a white wedding dress, veil , the works. And what better thing to walk down the isle on, than crushed rose petals? Yup. No joke. Luckily they didn’t crush all of the roses, but still…11 years! My favorite part of this story though I didn’t hear until later. It was at this wedding that Dylan had his first kiss. Yup! Kissing cousins. Nothing like growing up in the south!

2. 2. Sydney is AMAZING when it comes to music. She doesn’t have a whole lot of language, but when it comes to songs that she has only heard but once, she can practically sing all of the verses. Every now and again Cameron and I will hear something new and turn to each other in awe. This last week it was a lady gaga song, Marry the night. One of which I have only heard once. We turned to each other and asked, “where did she hear that song? Have you played it recently?” To which we both responded, “nope, I hate that song”. She has an amazing memory when it comes to music. I am thinking this girls is going to be do well with studying as long as she has music on…Cameron was the same way. Somehow things just stick and they can remember certain facts depending on the song that they studied with. Pretty awesome. I still love how she will randomly pull out Justin Beibs, Baby baby, song. I don’t even own that song, let alone listen to the radio…ever. She heard it at the pool once and it has stuck with her forever. Cute huh!?

3. 3. Garments. I am not sure how I tell this story, since it is somewhat of a private and sacred subject but I will do my best. As member of the LDS religion we wear undergarments that signify covenants that we have made to our Heavenly Father. Dylan recently decided that he wanted to look more like his mommy and daddy and so began begging for garments. It was so funny and random. He would cry about it randomly when he was getting dressed. It was kind of strange. We tried to explain the covenants to him and how he will get to wear them when he is older, but to no avail, he kept on pushing. I decided to go and get him some boxer briefs in hopes that he would get over it and move on. It worked! He now refuses to wear anything but these, which can I just say, are the cutest things on little boys. They make him look like a little man. I love it. He is getting so big! Anyway, as we were out buying some cool Star Wars ones when he shouts from a distance, “I found some garment tops! I have to have these!” He came running over with some undershirts and now, even on the hottest 98 degree days, he must wear an undershirt. What an odd little boy, and so observant for a 5 year old!

Schools Days

2011-09-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Dylan is officially a kinder-gardener! He was so excited, you can hardly tell. :)

Dylan's favorite friend from last year, Autumn, happened to be in his class this year.

He is such a big boy!

Sydney started school too! She is in a 3-4 class with her good friend Daniel Gibson 3 days a week. I never thought I would send my baby to pre-prek, but I have been told by many people, (including 3 of her therapists), that she needs to be in a school type program with other kids. I was sad at first to let her go, but I can already tell that it is going to be VERY good for her. Her therapist from last year even goes to her school to work with her there. Its great! Just yesterday (only 4 school days after starting), her teacher came up to me after class and said, "she didn't stop talking ALL day." Yay, I hope her language keeps on growing and improving!

Dragon Con Parade 2011

2011-09-06T11:24:00.003-07:00

We finally made it to the Dragon Con parade this year, and I promise, we will not EVER miss it again. It was hands down, the greatest parade I have ever been to, and I am from California! :) It was SO entertaining, especially because of how stoked our kids were. It almost felt like Christmas in the sense that we couldn't get enough of seeing the kids faces light up. Dylan went as none other than Darth Vader and every now and again we could catch a glimpse, (through the side of his mask), of his smile spreading from ear to ear. I would have paid big bucks to see that...it was so dang cute! He was the star of our block as he stood up and battled anyone who walked by with his light saber. We even had CNN news come and take some pics.http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/03/the-2011-dragoncon-parade/

picture number 4:

Sydney went as batgirl, and Macey as superman (girl). These are the costumes that we chose this years for this Halloween. Our family is going as super heroes! Since the parade, Sydney has not wanted to wear anything other than her "bad guy" costume. Hilarious. I have become one of those parents that takes her kid to the grocery store in a full head to toe batman costume. Rad. She does me proud!

Whenever Dylan saw someone of his "kind" he raised up his light saber with pride, as if to say, "I am with you, see me"

Supergirl found her daddy

"The heat, my gosh the heat!" (we had to disrobe Macey before she passed out from heat stroke)

I swear Chewy wasn't 15 feet in the movie. What gives?

At last! Is it bad that my 5 year olds idol is Darth Vader? Humm....

Aunti Em and Aliya Visit

2011-09-05T19:21:00.001-07:00

Auntie Em and cousin Aliya came for a visit last month. We had a lot of fun just hanging around town and catching up. It was so much fun to watch the kids play together.

Aliya is getting so big! What a cutie she is, look at this face:

We fed the ducks at the lake

We celebrated Aliya's 2nd birthday

We went to the lake

We had lots of daddy time!

We went to Jumpin Joeys. It was Aliya's first time.

The kids LOVED the jumpy houses, but not as much as this helicopter.

They swam A LOT! Here they were cold, wet and loving their yummy smoothies.

We had a great visit with Emily and Aliya. It is always so much fun when they come to visit. I don't know who enjoys it more, me or the kids :). I love my Sista!

Endless Summer

2011-09-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

Lake Time

Dylan has become quite the climber. And on those tiny branches...so scary!

Slip-Sliding days never end. I love these kids!

This was the first time I really wished we didn't have a dog. Not only did she barf three times on the couch, but it wasn't until I got up to clean it that I found I was sitting in a pile of it.

Dress up is the new "thing" in our house these days. I don't think there is EVER a day where the HULK isn't pulled out. Don't you love how these kids accessorize thier costumes?

My little Macey Jane just keeps growing!

Dylan woke up with a tick in his ear. YUCK! Thanks Marley. I am SO glad that I have a Dr. in the family who would get it out for me! Thanks Jason (or Jason's nurse for that matter:)
Conntry at last! Here I am at the Rascal Flatts concert with the Mount girls, Thanks Ali and Heidi for a fantastic night! I'm not really sure what the Lional Richie encore was all about, but it made for a few laughs. Pretty sweet stage effects.

Cancun 2011

2011-08-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

For our ten year anniversary, Cameron and I took a trip to Cancun without the kids. This was the first time ever leaving the kids (aside from leaving Dylan at 20 months when we went to Savannah and he broke his arm upon our arrival). It was amazing! I found myself repeating the words that Cameron said on our honeymoon, (after weeks of dealing with bridezilla,) "I am actually having a lot of fun!" It took about a day, but we soon adjusted to life without kids, and although we did miss them, it was AWESOME! I LOVE CANCUN! Aside from the destination itself, Cameron and I needed that time to reconnect after the year that we have had. I am so grateful to those that made it happen. Thank you MOUNTS!!!!!

Day 1:

We arrived in Cancun, got our rental car, and drove to our rockin hotel. Here is out balcony overlooking the lagoon...check out our bathtub!

We then proceeded to go and find food at the local Walmart. When stopping at a local hole in the wall joint for dinner, we noticed a bit of commotion a few blocks away and decided to check it out. Yes, we found a local televised boxing match that was about to begin. Somehow (because we were Americans) we were seated in the VIP seats under the awning. Awesome. The only way this night could have gone better was if it had been Mexican wrestling...but alas, we can't have it all now can we...but apparently Cameron can:

The tranny on the left was my favorite.

Day 2:

Chichen Itza! This is now one of the New Seven World Wonders of the World. It was awesome and everything I imagined it would be. Not many people know this but I am kind of a pyramid freak. I love them and am so fascinated by them. I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Egypt (and although Cameron took me there for our 4 year anniversary http://www.anniversaryinn.com/fifth-south/room/18-mysteries-of-egypt ) I imagine the site of the real thing would absolutely bring me to tears, not that the cobra shower head didn't have that same affect :) When my brother came back from his mission in Guatemala (when I was a young teenager), I remember his bringing home a little Mayan temple (pyramid). I immediately wanted to see it for myself. I have always talked about seeing these Mayan pyramids, and I bought a book on them several years ago, but I never thought I would go because of the many travelling issues I would face in the poorer countries that struggle with transportation and sanitation. Ladies and Gentleman, when I found out that they were some in Cancun, I just about flipped! Cameron surprised me with this, and made it happen. I LOVE that man!

On the way there we made a stop and a couple locations:

"Vallalodid" or "Valladolid" or "Vollalladid" I am not sure what it was called, I think it varies depending on who you ask, Cameron or myeslf, but it was a beautiful little city on the way to the ruins where we stopped and had lunch. This was the church across the street from where we ate.

We finally arrived at our desination: And I had printed up everything there was to kn

Imagine being sacrificed and thrown into this cenote. No thanks! It is pretty though!
The Famous Mayan Ball court. "Each end has a raised "temple" area. A whisper from end can be heard clearly at the other end 500 feet away and through the length and breath of the court. The sound waves are unaffected by wind direction or time of day/night. Archaeologists engaged in the reconstruction noted that the sound transmission became stronger and clearer as they proceeded. In 1931 Leopold Stokowski spent 4 days at the site to determine the acoustic principals that could be applied to an open-air concert theater he was designing. Stokowski failed to learn the secret. To this day it has not been explained."

This is the backside of Chichen Itza that has not been restored yet. I love that they kept it this way to show the wear of it. Is this not incredible?

Check out the huge iguana that Cameron decided to chase. These guys were everywhere. When we went snorkeling I think I saw at least 10 of them scurrying around on the ground between the water and the hotel rocks.

On the way home we decided to cool off at one of the local cenote (a sinkhole with exposed rocky edges containing groundwater. Many are connected through underwater tunnels) Gran Cenote:

There are something like 82 miles of underwater caves here. It owould have been awesome to Scuba,

The bat cave

Day 3: Sleep, sleep, read books, and sleep. Oh and we went snorkeling too. We hung out all afternoon by the beach and pool and were in heaven. The water in Cancun was unlike any water I have been in. It was gorgeous! I might make some people mad by saying this, but I preferred it to Hawaii's. I could see my toes from standing position it was so clear! GOR-GEOUS!

Every night after 10pm we would go walking on the beach and find at least 5-10 huge turtles coming up on shore to bury their eggs. It was amazing. We did not take pictures (for fear of scaring them off) but we did take this which is our hotels designated area for keeping the eggs after burial. A worker will dig up the eggs every night and put them here for safe keeping until they hatch.

Day 4: There are about 5 historical Mayan sites to choose from in/near Cancun. Coba was the second one that we decided to go to for its lush location (in the middle of the jungle), and because people are still allowed to climb the temple. I think this is probably the first and last pyramid that I will ever "legally" be allowed to climb. It was well worth the 3 hour drive! We rented bicycles to tour the ancient city on our own.

Taxi please

Planking

After coba we wanted to checkout Punta Laguna Monkey Reserve to see some wild monkeys and repel into a cenote.

This was a much smaller cenote than I was expecting, and I have to admit, going in first was not the smartest decision. They had told me that there was a generator that would turn lights on in the cave, but as I was repelling down let me assure you, there were no lights, and I was alone in the dark, about to go into water that who knows what lives in. I was freaked out especially as I got to the bottom and a man grabbed me (purposely spooking me) to get me out of my harness. JERK!

I have to admit, doing things like these with Cameron, remind me of why I married him. We LOVE to have fun together and explore new things. I love being RISKY with him. I am too competitive to let him show me up and do something without me. So together we conquer it all. Case in point: I went into the tunnel first scared but being the brave woman that he knows (or thinks he knows) that I am

*Examples:

When we go out to the lake and he does a new trick off the pontoon boat, or a friends diving board I can't just let him show me up, so I have to do that same trick or come up with something better. Many times I am terrified to try it, but he doesn't know that (and will continue to not know that since he rarely reads this)

-on our honeymoon we were walking a trail and found a water fall. He proceeded to tell me someone should cliff jump. I being the rational one said "no way, that is too dangerous" and seconds later he is in the air...myself in turn, following.

-In Portugal he would walk to practice everyday, so in turn, I had to put my fear away and do the same without complaint (even if there were men doing their "thing" along the way)

-Single track mountain biking and not letting him get faster than myself even with three bee stings. Jeremy didn't quite make it down in one piece. Sorry bro.

-During our European adventure: Camping on the side of a castle, in the rain, in the mud, etc. Sleeping on our packs so not to get stolen (as if that would have stopped and burglers). Walking into who knows where exploring who knows what. Hitchhiking, breaking pieces off of the Berlin wall, walking into the middle of Nazi riots... The list here goes on and on...

-Karaoke! I hated karaoke for the longest time, and then one day, I realized, wait, I can't NOT do this if he is gonna do it. Our lives haven't been the same since. :)

There are many more, some inappropriate to share over the interwebs, but one day this competitiveness between the two of us is going to get someone hurt or arrested. And one day, he will realize that I truly am a fraidy cat and only put on this tougher than crap persona. Until then...bring it!

Day 5: We beached it up, ate good food, shopped, and karaoke-ed!

I don't remember what this place was called but they served an appetizer with tuna in avacado that was to die for.
At the end of the night our hotel set up Karaoke outside by the pool. Of course Cameron had to do his thing and I joined him in doing the Grease duo. Wow, that was a sight. It was fun, and interesteing considering we were two of about 6 tourists who spoke English at the place. Cameron of course surprised the crowd when he sang Shakira in Espanol. It was quite impressive.

Day 6: Whale sharks!

We swam with the Whale sharks! IT WAS INCREDIBLE!! Coolest thing I have ever done. We had an underwater camera so we will upload pics if any of those turnout. This was the perfect activity for our last day in paradise.

This trip was amazing and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect soul mate to share it with. Here is to many more years with my sweetness!

Bloggin with Beyonce

2011-07-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

Here is to my new favorite Blog. You wont regret checking it out :)

http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/

this one is good too:

http://thebloggess.com/2011/07/would-you-like-to-buy-a-monkey/

2011 Mount Family Reunion

2011-07-13T12:39:00.001-07:00

The Mount family Reunion is officially over. We were all together this last month for the first time in 4 years! Here is our attempt at Family pics...we all know how well that usually works out:

this one is my absolute favorite:

Happy Anniversary Cameron! 10 years!

2011-06-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

We made it ten years! I can't believe it has been this long, wow, I am OLD! We are planning a trip to Cancun in a month, without the kids! I can NOT wait! As for yesterday though, we went out to dinner, came home and made chocolate peanut butter fondue and enjoyed a night in. Perfection! Here was our ongoing conversation on Facebook though...pretty fun! It was so hard to pick just 10!

Cameron D Mountposted toBritney West Mount
‎10 years ago Britney West Mount and I tied the knot, and my life was changed forever. What follows will be 10 memories (in no particular order) that I am glad we have together.

18 hours ago · · · See Friendship · Remove Tag

You, Micah Murphy Tingen, Linda O'Brien Radon and 2 others like this.
- Cameron D Mount ‎1) Green Day concert in 2005 when you were pregnant with Dylan. We rocked hard, you covered your stomach 'cause you were worried it would cause prenatal deafness, and then we spent the night in some Egyptian Suite at the Anniversary Inn. Good times!
  18 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount ‎1) dodging the federales in Mexico in Jonos truck...and guarding our stuff with "our lives"
  18 hours ago · · 1 person
- Cameron D Mount ‎2) Me losing the train tickets 2 weeks into our European backpacking trip, and you not biting my head off. Amazing!
  17 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount ‎2) You losing the train tickets, and us miraculously finding them. Now THAT was amazing!
  17 hours ago ·
- Cameron D Mount ‎3) Tornado rips through our neighborhood, you hulkishly charge into the basement bedroom, pull the 90 lb. memory foam mattress off the bed, and cover our little family in the bathtub. You hoisted it with the strength of many men that night...
  17 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount Ok now this is just embarrassing! 3) Rollerblading through the streets of LA trying not to kill ourselves and thinking we were "cool"
  17 hours ago · · 1 person
- Cameron D Mount Our bravery in agreeing to move to Portugal for a year to play pro volleyball in a very strange land. You were brave enough to wear buns, walk past the pervert at the castle, and heat our apartment with a toaster oven when I was out of town. Awesome.
  17 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount Don't forget, bond with your coaches who didn't speak english, in a dark cellar in the middle of who knows where whilst you slept like a baby in your hotel room. 4) My most embarrassing moment EVER! Flying home from Ireland...
  17 hours ago · · 1 person
- Cameron D Mount BONG, BONG, BONG!!! 5) Your weird job in LA resulting in us taking some clothes back to Teri Hatcher. "I loved your work on Seinfeld, Ms. Hatcher, it was spectacular."
  17 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount ‎5) Hitchhiking and pulling up a tent next to a castle in Italy. Note, this was not the night we slept in a puddle of water where you forced me to go search for help at 3 am, alone, in Florence. I still love you.
  50 minutes ago · Like
  16 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount ‎6) The births of our three children. Perfection. (aside from the pain, hallucinations, and worry of course) We make good kids!
  16 hours ago ·
- Cameron D Mount ‎6) The births of our children was one as well. I would say that you dealt remarkably well with the insects crawling on your legs and feed during Sydney's labor, and that you were quite the athlete during all three labors.
  16 hours ago ·
- Cameron D Mount ‎7) Your willingness to move to Colorado Springs days after our honeymoon so I could try out for the WUGs. Also, your (perhaps concerningly quick) willingness to take off your wedding ring while you worked at that diner to make us some play money. :)
  16 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount ‎7) Playing Dr Mario through the wee hours of the morning for months and months (with our other soul mates). Wow, we were pathetic! I wanna play. Right. Now. (I will still kick your trash!)
  16 hours ago · · 1 person
- Britney West Mount ‎8) Seeing your face when we walked into The Cavern in Liverpool, England. Priceless.
  15 hours ago ·
- Cameron D Mount ‎9) Any time I am fortunate enough to make you laugh really hard. (and every time I kick your trash in Dr. Mario.)
  15 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount You skipped 8.
  14 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount ‎9) Experiencing the Osborne lights with you at disneyworld. Incredible. That place truly is magical.
  13 hours ago ·
- Cameron D Mount ‎8) Foam Party, London. Freaking hilarious.
  10 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount Crap I forgot that one. 9 revisited) Snowboarding our first time in the Swiss alps, sleeping in that whitey tightys Parisian flat, hiking the "disneyland castle" in germany, sleeping in a castle in Bacharach, palm Sunday at the Vatican 10 rows back....I think our backpacking trip needs to just be summed up into just one big memory..."can't get no, satisfaction".
  9 hours ago ·
- Cameron D Mount ‎10) Jumping off the balcony onto a huge pile of mattresses in the Times Square Marriott in the middle of the night (technically this was before we were married, but still memorable.)
  9 hours ago ·
- Britney West Mount ‎10) Sneaking into luxery hotel pools and hot tubs and making up stories of ourselves and how we met.

I Made it

2011-06-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

If anyone knows me, they know that I am not one to sit around without a project. They also know that I LOVE change, (I love moving rooms around and trying out new things), and that I am SUPER cheap (I am a BIG fan of spray paint!). I love art and would buy a ton if I had the money, but instead I have to make my own rather than buy the store bought crap that is so generic. Oh how I wish that I were an artist...

Here are some of my latest:

I printed silhouettes onto old newspapers from Portugal. I didn't use the main articles about Cameron of course, but if you look closely, there are a few that talk about his team, and the volleyball club that he played for. I thought it was such a nice touch!

I copied this print idea off line, only, I used ghetto tools to make it. It turned out great and looks good on my shelves.

I just made this for fathers day, it is a map of the subway trains in NYC. Cameron served his mission in NY and so I thought he might like this. I had a whole night planned with NY pizza, cheesecake, the works... then found out he had to work. Booo. I did end up giving this to him today though. He loved it! (and I didn't have to tell him what it was...wahoo!)

Most of my projects are based on particular room that I am trying to "fix". I have so many neat things but they don't often go together. I get a lot of hand me downs from family and friends, (thank goodness) and sometimes I have to reinvent a particular item so that it fits my decor. So...here are some of the things I have done:

Sydney's room:

I think Heidi (my sister in law) furnished this entire room (even down to the bedskirt and comforter)...all but the things hanging on the walls. What would I do without hand me downs? Thanks Heidi (and Olivia for you old room!)

I made this Sunshine sign...it was the first song she ever learned how to sing. Check out these cute wall stickers that I found at the dollar store while getting frames for Dylan's room. It was a buck for something like 30! Love that place!

Fresh coat of paint on the vanity (it was off white), new drawer knob, and I reupholstered the bench. I loved this fabric!

A girl needs her bows and flowers! (And I need my ribbons! Where would I be without my ribbons?)

I used the ribbons on the curtains as well as on the frames (thrift store) in the room...so cheap and so cute!

Here is what it looks like all pulled together. Isn't this bed AMAZING? I loved it from the moment I first saw it in my nieces room. Gorgeous! I can't believe that Heidi gave this to me. It made my year. It sounds ubber lame, but seriously, it is the bed I always dreamed of having as a little girl. I think I still dream of canopy beds (only my husband is too long to to fit in one). I am not gonna lie, there are days when I get overwhelmed, and this is where I go to just lay. It makes me so happy!

I think I am finally done with her room...all but the curtains. I love them, but one of them shrank when I washed it (like 8 inches!) So I need to figure something out...maybe sew in some of the chair fabric on both curtains. Any ideas? I don't want to buy or make new ones!)

Dylan's room:

I didn't really do a whole lot here, but I want to show off Dylan's new Star Wars room. We didn't change the paint or bed at all...just picked a theme and went with it. I went through Cameron's old boxes of his Star Wars stuff in the attic, and boy was I stoked! He had such fun stuff to decorate with. Dylan is in LOVE with Star Wars and I thought it would be so fun for Cameron and him to enjoy this room together. Just as Syds room is "my" dream room, Dylans room is now Cameron's ;) Gotta love it.

What is a Star Wars room without a vintage poster?

Here are some patches and I just happened to have these frames in the attic. Win! Also, Look at his old books, and the little micro-machine type action figures (I had a funny graduation tassel frame that I held onto...it worked great!)Dude, he had a pez collection, and vintage card collection.

Lithographs! He had about 80 to choose from, and I spray painted some ghetto dollar store frames.

Fun!

And the answer is....

2011-06-19T11:04:00.001-07:00

Straight.

So I have noticed lately that Dylan will start to follow me around when he knows I am about to get changed in the morning or at night. I try practicing modesty in our home since he is 5 now, but I have to admit, this is VERY difficult for me. I can't shower without the door open while the kids are all up, and I can't really get dressed with the door closed unless Cameron is home. So with that said, Dylan knows that he has to leave my room when I am changing.

Yesterday as I was going into my room to take my swim suit off, Dylan ran in and stood at the doorway to watch me.

Me: Dylan why do you like to watch me get dressed?

Dylan: (shyly) Because I like it

Me: What do you like about it?

Dylan: I don't know. I just wish everybody in the whole world didn't wear clothes.

Me. Why is that? Do you like seeing people naked?

Dylan: Yes. But not so much boys. I like looking at naked girls.

THERE IT IS!

Along with this, he has recently told me that he likes wearing dresses because of how it feels on his legs. We started buying him some silky basketball shorts and wallah! He is almost off of dresses! He loves his bball shorts and now sadly, will not wear anything else. He also will now differentiate between the girl and boy clothes and laugh saying, "I can't believe I am wearing a girl dress and nail polish...that is such a funny girl thing". It might be bad to say, but I am glad that he and I are now aware of his gender stuff. I don't feel like I have to be so sensitive about it now...does that make sense?

Another new Dylan thing is his sassiness. And I mean SASSY! He was trying to say something to me yesterday and I couldn't understand him.

Dylan: You know the words that I am saying, I know you understand me.

Me: I am sorry Dylan, I know the words that you are saying, but I do not understand the question.

Dylan: Why mommy, am I mumbling?

Ha! I turned around and couldn't help but laugh (I made sure Dylan didn't see), then I quickly put him in a time out. Can you believe that!? He even knew what he was saying was not sassy because he wouldn't even look at me after he said it. Humph! I have never EVER said this in my life...where did he get that from? I later asked him when recounting the story to Cameron and he told me that he heard it on Tangled, the movie. Great. Thanks Disney.

Lucky Aunt Britney

2011-06-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

I have the cutest nieces and nephews ever! I have always known this, but living so close to many of them makes it easy to be reminded of this fact. They are all so sweet!

Here are just a few reasons of why I love these kids so much: (I have many more nieces and nephews, but these are just the ones I live closest to and see on a regular basis)

Livvy and Maddie: When Dylan is crying and throwing a fit, often times I will look over and see one of these girls whispering something in his ear. I never know what they are saying, but somehow it always manages to calm Dylan down.

Logan: He is such a great Cousin to Dylan. He will play Star Wars for hours with him and put up with him for the most part. It's fun seeing him act as a big older brother.

Madison: She is my gal! She is so old now, and so beautiful. She is so much fun to talk to and chat with about every day things. She is so talented too...She is Shar in the making. She also helps me a lot with my kiddos...kudos to her!

Jordan, Conner, and Andrew: Let me just say, tubing out here on the lake would be a complete bore if we didn't have these teenage boys. We have SO much fun together. (Probably a little too much fun...I think they are going to be the death of me out on that lake.) Aside from making my arms bleed they too are hilarious! Love them!

So with all of this said, here are three letters that I got from the Mount kids on my birthday. I hope they don't mind me sharing but I just had to journal these. They are so great!

Maddie's:

Jordan's: (yes that says dear oldie) :)

Olivia's:

Logan came up to me the next day too and said, "did you see my message in your card? I called you Britstar." He was so proud that he came up with that. It was so sweet.

Who wouldn't love these kids?

Kids.

2011-06-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

MACEY:

She is growing too fast and I don't like it! I recently posted about her obsession over the toilet. It has not stopped. I still find shoes, hair bows, and really, all manner of things in there throughout the day. I had to take a pic the last time I saw her doing it.

She has found the trash can:

She is still on the table 95% of the day. We move the chairs away from the table and yet she still manages to get up. Frustrating! She has also started throwing tantrums lately where she lays out on the floor screaming (usually after we take her off the table). It was cute the first few times she did it.

She is a quick learner, and she has a way with figuring things out. I found her doing this the other day: (If you can't tell, that is her bottle that she has found a new way to drink from)

SYDNEY: Is doing great. I have no new pictures, but she has started a speech program at the college in town and I have come to believe that that is another major reason why we were supposed to move here. The program is amazing! She is doing well and is on her way to where she needs to be.

DYLAN: He is such a boy! I don't know when there isn't ever a huge cut or bruise on Dylan's body. Here is his recent "accident". He was walking to his room...face on the ground trying to be funny. After about ten seconds he stood up and started crying of a rug burn. Genius.

STORY OF THE MONTH:

If any of you know me, you know that I rarely shower. By rare I mean, NEVER. I think the pool has become my rinsing basin. And shaving? I can't even talk about it. It is all just too hard with kids. Judge me, I don't care, you are NOT in my shoes :) So, I was going out yesterday with some friends and thought I should shower while I had all of the kids in their rooms for quiet time. I heard the phone ring a few times but couldn't get it obviously...so the kids came out to answer it...and play with it. A few minutes later, as I stepped out of the shower, and I heard a knock at my door. Dylan runs up screaming, "there's a policeman at the door, there is a policeman at the door!" I seriously put on my robe, and go to answer it realizing what my kids had done while they were playing with the phone. Awesome. To top it off, Dylan comes running down the stairs to see the policeman and when I look down at him (at the same time the officer does) we both see blood dripping down his nose (from the scab he had just picked on his face). I was horrified! "Yes officer, everything here is fine".

Happy Birthday Britstar!

2011-06-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

I turned 29 yesterday and Cameron was so sweet as to let me celebrate all weekend.

FRIDAY: We took Dylan to Six Flags for the day while the girls stayed with grandma and grandpa. It was awesome. There were no lines, and Dylan was open to try everything, including his first loopty loop. The first time he went on this loopty ride he was terrified, but wanted to go again immediately after. Halfway through his second time he yelled, "ok mommy, I don't want another loop". I felt bad since there was nothing I could do, and at the end of the ride he yelled, "I am NOT doing that again!" Then said, "but I was was really brave wasn't I mommy?" YES he was. I was so impressed with his willingness to try new things and the way that he kept his fear in check. He didn't scream or cry, he just had the saddest scared-est face that I have ever seen. It was so sad, but he just kept on begging to do more. At one point Cameron and I were in line for the brand new ride Dare Devil Dive, (Dylan is 3 inches too short for it), and when we got to the front of the line a boy (shorter than Dylan) walked off the ride smiling. Dylan immediately wanted to try it. I was a bit hesitant but after assessing it's safety, we gave in, and he did it. I couldn't believe it! He is 5!

Here is the before his first loopty loop:

Here is the during: (we are in the middle. I kept one hand up as to assure Dylan that we were perfectly safe and that it was "FUN", and one hand on his leg so that he knew I was there...I was a bit freaked out, I'n not gonna lie).

Here we are at the Rapidss ride...at the end of the ride we heard some screaming from one side of the boat. The chicks were freaking out at the stowaway that we had on board. Look at how big this frog was.

Dylan loved the bumber cars but managed to stay in the same place the entire time...only spinning around and around. He couldn't figure out how to drive right. Afterards he was asking, "how do people get to college if they don't drive?...I don't think I am going to drive in a very long time...I wasn't very good at it"

Here I am trying Superman. Awesome ride! I have to say though, it kinda sucked going alone. I was terrified...especially at the acraphobia ride. Those rides were not meant to be ridden alone...FREAKY!

Midway through the day after we had been on nearly every ride at least once, we went to the water park that is in the back of the park. It has 6 big water slides, and it was perfect for Dylan since he didn't have to be a great swimmer to go down. It was so fun to watch Dylan experience another first for the day. As a mother, I don't think there is a greater joy than watching your kids experience something awesome for the first time. I won't forget the sheer joy upon Dylan's face as he came out the bottom of that water slide, and gave me a high five after his first loopty loop. He was so proud. I was so proud. I hope I get to take all of my kids on dates such as these throughout their lives.

SAT: cameron worked but came home and put the kids to bed and cleaned my house while I went out grocery shopping. Not glamorous, but super helpful...which is what mommies like!

SUN: Woke up to my favorite fruit crepe breakfast then I came home from church and napped for 5 hours! Then, I woke up to a yummy dinner, and went to Ali's for birthday games with the family. All of my GA family was there...perfection. I even got a few fun gifts too :) My favorite though was the video that Cameron and Dylan made for me. A-Mazing! Also, the letters from my nieces and nephews were a huge highlight...Can I just say I have the best nieces and nephews ever! (Post incoming on this topic).

MON: After work Cameron took me out to dinner with some friends.

Can I just say, I MARRIED RIGHT! I am one LUCKY lady!

Britney 2.0

2011-05-30T19:40:00.001-07:00

I wore this dress when I was about 3 years old, and now my daughter gets to wear it too. She looks like a little Alice in wonderland. Could she look any different from me though? I mean really!

Beach Babies

2011-05-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here which means every post for the next few months will more than likely involve water. Water at the beach, the lake, the pool, the slip-n-slide, or our little wading pool on the deck. We are all about water during summer in Georgia. For Cameron's birthday we decided to have our first beach day of the season. Here is our first day at the beach at Lake Tara.

Water baby

The beach was having a huge summer beach party on the day that we went. It involved a volleyball tourney (which cameron joined...his best birthday gift ever), a hula hoop contest, and a watermelon eating contest. The kids loved it! Here are Logan and Dylan going to town on their watermelons. Logan ate about 4 1/2 and Dylan at almost 2. Logan ended up in the bathroom, and Dylan looked like this:

Yankees out.

2011-05-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

Dylan finally finished out his first baseball season with the Yankees. We all are so happy! Dylan enjoyed it, but he was bored by it for the most part. I can't tell you how many times I had to yell from the sidelines to stop playing in the dirt, to put his glove on, and to run in and out of the dugout. (If you read my previous baseball post, you will understand how frustrating this was for me). I am telling you, this kid is so preoccupied by everything else around him. I need to get him in some science classes or something. Its hilarious! We finished out the season but decided we will wait another few years to try playing again. Dylan needs to work on his coordination and having a longer attention span. I think both of those will come with age, (hopefully). For now he wants to stick to soccer.

Here is his team at the end of the year banquet sporting their medals. (They get so excited over those!)

Sisters

2011-05-20T10:42:00.001-07:00

G-mama got these jammies for the girls on their birthday. I love them, and I LOVE my girls!

Could these two look any less alike?

Macey, although my easiest baby, is into EVERYTHING! If I turn around for a second she is on top of the table, eating the dog food, and more recently throwing anything and everything in the toilet. (I never had a kid that did this...maybe because I was able to keep the bathroom door closed since I didn't have a 5 year old). Last week on a few different occasions, I found a sweater, my necklace, uno card, princess shoe, and a headband in the toilet. The worst part, is that on a couple occasions the toilet had not been flushed and yes, it was number 2. NASTY! At one point I heard Dylan say, "ughh mom, Macey put something in the toilet again!" only to run in and see Dylan peeing on the object in question. Wonderful!

Macey is so quick and quiet when she moves too. When it comes to the toilet she is a little ninja! The other day she pushed to door open (while Cameron was going) and threw a toy in real quick mid stream. Hilarious!

Here is Macey getting into Syd yogurt that was left on the table. I walked in after using the bathroom to find this...it only take 2 minutes to make a complete mess!

With three kids there are a lot more messes, (obviously since I can't be in three places at once). You have food messes, potty messes, toy messes, pen messes (yes, our first on the wall), toilet messes, bathtub messes (splashing and flooding), dirty skid-marked underwear on the floor messes, etc. I walk into a room 20 minutes after it has been cleaned and there is always some sort of surprise waiting for me in store. It is absurd! But it is my family, and I have to laugh and find joy in the little things, right? Just don't come over to my house and say I didn't warn you!

School Days

2011-05-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Dylan had his last day of school on yesterday. *SIGH* . The girls and I went to visit during lunch and were able to help Dylan say goodbye to his teachers and his class. He is really going to miss school (I don't think he is aware of that fact yet), but today he has already said at least 4 times, "I'm bored". Yup, and it's the first day of summer! Help me!

Dylan had fun showing Syd the ropes. He got up and walked her to the carpet and had her sit right nest to him. It was sweet...here he is trying to teach her how to cross her legs and "sit right".

Dylan had great teachers this year that he LOVED. Mrs Joyce and Mrs. Shea were wonderful. He (and I) were so lucky that he was put into their class. We will miss them!

Sydney also had her last day of her school speech program yesterday. They had a pool/water party. They usually only have about 5 kids, but they combined all of the classes together so it was a bit crowded.

We love Syd's teachers, but will luckily be able to work with them again next year! they ctually go to her preschool twice a week and work with her individually there.

I am dreading summer, but excited for what it means for our family. Next year Dylan will be in kindergarten, Syndey will be in a 2 or 3 day program which will really help her speech, and I will have time all alone with my Macey girl. I can't wait! Until then, I have to just plow through this summer with lots of activities and FUN! Wish me luck! ( I am going to need it!)