Well I just went through my blog list and got mad at "some people" who haven't posted in a few weeks, then realized I am one of those people. There really isn't a whole lot to brag about lately, but I've always got interesting stories don't I? I'll share a few about each of us.

• ROB- you know that handsome guy that I am married to is a champ. He puts up with a whole lot from me, and mind you it doesn't go unappreciated. Well recently a friend of mine had a big screen TV GIVEN to them. Yeah, the picture was pretty shaky and her husband can fix just about anything so they took it. Well her husband is crazy busy right now, and the TV was in her kitchen so she asked if we wanted it. Um, yeah, let me think about that. So we took it off their hands, took it to the TV repair shop, and $65 later we are the proud owners of a 50" big screen. We are very excited, and just in time for bowl season too!
• KRISTEN: One of the things that Rob puts up with is my beautiful voice. You know you sound pretty good when the radio is up real loud, but in the privacy of your own home you can really belt it and it doesn't matter how you sound. Mind you, I am one who loves the holidays, so lately it has been Christmas music filling our home. Sometimes from the radio, but usually from my own set of pipes. Two nights ago Rob informed me that he thought I should quit my career and join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Did I catch some sarcasm in his voice? I think so. You know it's bad when Coop comes up to me and says in his cute little boy voice, "No, no, Mommy. No singin'." If I don't stop he actually starts to cry.
• ABBY: Well as much as I love this little girl, she might actually be the death of me. I haven't played the role of Cassey lately (or Casey, as some of you refer to me as). Although her new idea is wanting to move downstairs. We'll just see about that.
• COOPER: This little guy thinks he is hilarious, and to be honest so do I. However, this is one for the books. I am one that loves velcro on diapers, but I think Coopy is sometimes a little to active for his own good. A couple of weeks ago, one morning when I had Andra's kids as a matter of fact, Cooper came into the kitchen and I could "smell him" if you will. Mind you I change poopy diapers multiple times a day so, as much as it isn't the highlight, it isn't to big a deal. This time however, as I was following him back to his room I saw that there was poop all over his jammies and his right leg looked extra thick. That's right folks, his diaper had fallen off just in time for him to poop in his jammies. That was a fun one to clean up. Put that my list of things that will make me literally dry heave. The funniest part about this story is that I innocently asked Rob to get Coop dressed and ready for the day this morning, and the same thing happened again. It's a lot funnier when it doesn't happen to you.
• SHELBY: This little girl, I'm sorry, but is the cutest thing you've ever seen. If she is hungry or tired she gets cranky (a little like myself), other than that she's such a trooper. Abby sometimes thinks that she is a little more durable that she really is. In fact as I type this I have had to stop multiple times to get Abby to ease up. She likes to pull Shelby's legs out from under her while she crawls. Yeah, she's likes to test me to my limits.

Well those are all I have for now, hopefully these will make up for my lack of keeping up with my regular postings. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well we finally made it. This past fall Missy and I were talking about how Ellen turns 60 this year. Yes, I know, she will always be a spring chick to all of us, but sure enough, she is there. So Missy and I thought, we are the greatest daughters in the world. How better to show our mother that than to take her on a weekend getaway to Vegas, maybe hit a few strip clubs, you know the routine. Well we decided to go and see Mama Mia. It worked out really well too. Ellen, Missy, Tammy, Christy, and I all made the trip. We were so sad that Nat couldn't come, but it was to expensive to fly in from No. Cali. Anywho it was a very fun trip filled with shopping, eating, reading, and of course the show.

Here is a pic of us at our own private booth at PF Chang's. It was pretty yummy, as I'm sure you all know.

A few highlights of the trip include the MASSIVE storm that we had to leave early friday morning to escape, dinner the cheesecake factory, shopping at some new (at least new to me) outlets down there, dinner at PF Changs, some young buck at Ballagio trying to strip for us, and Spice Girls concert being at the same hotel and on the same night as our show. Very exciting, I know. Well overall it was a fun trip, and the show is fantastic!

Cute kids

So I watched Andra's kids today. I've watched them a couple of times while she goes to school. It's a peice of cake really, they're easy going kids and they just play with my kids the whole time, plus Abby thinks she is the babysitter. Anywho, most of you haven't seen Andra's kids for a while, if ever with Truman, so I though I'd share these pics with you. Abby was at preschool so she didn't get in the pics.

Cooper and Sole really just play and hang out most of the time. Truman just follows them around doing random things. It's pretty cute

You might be thinking, or maybe not, why isn't Shelby in the picture with Truman? Well each time I tried to get that he would attack her. In a cute way though. He just really wanted to hug her, or lay on top of her, or swap binkis with her, whatever. Who cares if it's RSV season right?

Any who, just thought I'd share the friendly moment:D

12' snowman

Thank heavens for husbands who are like, or are, little boys in a man's body. Today with all the snow the kids were ecstatic to build a snowman with Rob. He needed to work this morning so when he got home the kids were jumping off the walls. They had already gone out for the usual 10 minutes of playtime that they do every morning after it snows. It takes 15 minutes to get all there gear on, they last 10 outside, then they get sent to the bathroom to "derobe" and throw there wet stuff in the tub. Needless to say, when he got home at noon he was right back outside, almost immediately. Heres the play-by-play.

Yeah, the ball on bottom is huge and the second ball that he made was just as big, luckily he didn't throw his back out or get a hernia trying to lift it. So he chopped it in half and went peice by peice.

...yeah that didn't work, so he then proceded to make it into what he likes to call a rameumptom (check you local Topical Guide for that one), the kids thought it was great.

After that they just started packing snow on and I kept taking picture after picture until finally he told me to put the camera away because it wasn't even close to being done. At this point it was over 6' tall.

Shelby and I played on the floor for a while, but she sure liked to watch them play, she wanted to be out with them!

At one point I looked out the window and saw this...

and this...

Finally this!!!

Oh, no,but then this.

And now this is in my front yard. They love it anyway!

What have you cleaned up in the last 13 days?

Well you know I'm a bit of a competitive nut, so here's the challenge: if you can top this list of things I've recently cleaned up then you are my all time hero of heroes.

1. Nov. 14 12:30 am-Disneyland hotel, Cooper throws up all over his bed. Change that out. Sleeps through the night
2. Nov. 14 numerous times throughout the day, Coop continues to lose it.
3. Nov 16 5:30 pm-SLC international airport, we thought Coop was just dehydrated in California and was still recovering, he loses it again while we wait for my brother right by baggage claim. Luckily we were hidden enough that we were able to take care of business without a scene.
4. Nov 16 7:00 pm-We arrive home from our fun filled trip to find that before we had left Abby apparently found the switch in the fridge and turned the whole thing off. Did you know that if the fridge gets turned off then the freezer will be turned off too? Yeah, me neither, but now we both know, don't we. Three full garbage bags full of food including a full bag of chicken (literally we had used one peace out of it) from Sam's Club, a full bag of corn and green beans, both from Sam's. Along with multiple little things like Mayo, left overs, bananas in the freezer for a future batch of banana bread (which actually melted, it you can beleive that) sauces (although ketchup interestingly enough does not have to be refrigerated, lucky us), you know the little things in your fridge-all gone. I'd been meaning to clean out the fridge here soon, no time like the present. This could be looked at as a blessing right?
5. Now there is a bit of a break here that I don't know the specifics of what I have cleaned up but being the mom of 3, I'm sure that could make an interesting list in and of itself.
6. Nov 25 Shelby throws up at church. I don't mean spit up, I mean she lost most of the six oz bottle she just drank all of the floor. Luckily she was playing on the floor at the time, plus we were on the back row so we didn't have to be too incogneto.
7. Between yesterday and today she has thrown up a few more times plus had a few lovely blowouts, one giving me the opportunity to take apart her car seat and wash that pad, been needed to do that one too. What a blessing!
8. Tonight Abby starts complaining about her tummy hurting and we were like, blah, blah, blah...hey, she's 4, she thinks TUMS taste good and is regularly trying to get her hands on some. We blow it off. I go in and lay down with her and she says she has to go potty, about 30 seconds later I hear some splashing on the tile floor, if you will, and I'll leave it at that. Just know this, my experience in the last 2 weeks has taught me that the older they get, the grosser it is to clean up after them. A small tip: if you breathe into you sleave during the process, it lessens the smell considerable. Also having your cute husband spraying Febreeze above you during the process is a big help.

In conclusion, thanks heavens for:

1. cleaning ladies who, although don't speak english, do come through with supplies when needed
2. Febreeze
3. Clorox and Lysol disinfecting wipes
4. And last but not least, washing machines

Top that list and I'll buy you lunch, I could use a break!

We lived to tell the tale

Well I know you've all been dying to see my Disneyland pics, but first I'll fill you in on some of the more exciting points. Good ole Bob takes us to the airport, we get to the terminal unload our gear and I turn to Rob with a panic look on my face and ask, "where's the Dora backpack?"...the Dora backpack, mind you, had all of our Itinerary, maps, ID for the kids, etc. PLUS coloring books, picture books, all kinds of entertainment for the kids on the plane...Rob looks back at me with fear in his eyes and replies, "I didn't get it". This was the beginning of mommy's potty mouth. There were a few more occasions that it happened as well, I'll try not to include those moments. We got on the plane OK and still had our DVD player to keep the kids quiet. First night we went to the beach and the peir. There was a seal there barking at the people fishing and they would throw him fish. It was really fun. Day 2 was Disneyland. I can't describe the excitement from Abby all day. Coop had fun too. We did all the usual Disneyland stuff. Abby and I got to wait in line for an hour to meet some princesses, then we got to go dance with them. She was in heaven. The show there at night right now is called Fantasmic, it was awesome. That night, about midnight Coop wakes up and throws up all over his bed. Yeah, this could be interesting. Abby sleeps through the whole thing, we toss her onto our bed, change there sheets and pray it was just something he ate. He sleeps through the rest of the night, but first thing the next morning it's throw up city. Abby and Daddy go to California adventure while Coop and I snuggle in bed, watch TV, and luckily for me, play Bejeweled on Rob's palm pilot. By noon I'm out of blankets, sheets, pillowcases, everything. The cleaning ladies didn't speak any english but once I got it communicated that Coop was sick, they were very helpful with more supplies. Rob came back to switch me about 2:00 at which point Coop was holding some cheerios and water down. I then took Abby back to California Adventure for some fun. Rob calls about 4:30 and Coop was bouncing off the walls. We think he was just dehydrated. How bad of a mom/nurse am I? DUH? So we finished the night strong. Thursday was our last day of play and here is my advise, squeeze in a day of rest, if you will, during a park hopper trip. The kids were so tired and worn out by this point, things were a little difficult. Luckily there were some places at Disneyland we hadn't yet seen, so distraction still worked. Plus dancing with the stars was there that night, so that was fun. Then Friday we came home, and for those of you interested Tommy Lee was on our flight and I stood right next to him in line for about 15 second, I know, I'll be signing autographs for those who want them. Overall it was an awesome trip, I'm glad I took Coop, and although I really missed Shelbs, I'm glad she stay home. Abby got to meet all of the princesses except Snow White, and we met all the characters including 3 different Mickeys. I took about 80 pictures so I'll only give you a few classics.

Being dead isn't all that bad

Nothing too exciting has happened lately, so I haven't really had anything to write about. I will however share a bit from my life just so that you know I haven't forgotted about my blog. So Abby and I have an ongoing pretend game that happens almost everyday. Basically it's playing house. Abby is the mom, Coop and Shelbs are her kids and I am the babysitter. So she'll come in when I doing random things-working on the computer, doing the dishes, cleaning up, whatever- and she will have her purse on her shoulder, sometimes with sunglasses on, maybe her cell phone out. She will procede to give me babysitting instructions (ie when to feed Shelby next, or change her next, or her nap schedule. She also of course fills me in on Coop's daily routine). Then she tells me where she is going...work, the store, a meeting, on a date with her boyfriend/husband, depending on the day, Josh Williams, who conveniently enough is her cousin (hey, she's 4, she doesn't quite know that some things are against the law for a reason). Anywho, she usually doesn't refer to me by any specific name, and I haven't thought anything about it. Well the other day she refered to me as Casey. I said, "Oh, is that my name? Where's your mom?""Oh, she died", she replies casually. Yeah, apparently I don't mean a whole lot to my 4 year old, and she just kills me off whenever she feels like it. Should this worry me?
Anywho we're off to Disneyland on Monday until Friday so be excited for fun pictures next time. Have a fun week.

Happy Halloween

So this is a classic way to be able to brag about how cute my kids were last night, and I'm gonna take advantage of it. If she isn't the cutest darn elephant out there, who is? Thanks to Andra in letting me borrow the costume.

My little Elmo was going to be a green monster but I couldn't talk him into it after he saw this costume that was Abby's two years ago. Elmo is adorable though, so I can't complain.

Abby had her heart set on a witch all year so luckily when we went to our favorite halloween store (AKA Missy's house) they had a cute one. She put it on at 8:00 am and didn't take it of until bedtime, plus she got to wear it again today to school. Lucky her.

This one is of Rob on Monday "carving" pumkins (look closely and you can see his drill). The kids wanted Mickey Mouse pumkins this year, so Rob busted out one of his drill bits that he uses to drill big holes through your framing to put pipe through and gave the kids Mickey Mouse in about two minutes.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but they turned out really cute.

Unfortunately Rob was in bed all afternoon and night with a bad cold so I was on my own for trick or treating. Thank heavens for sisters who don't live in neighborhoods as scary as mine:D Hope you all had fun last night too!

I can't help but love these

So Veronica put a "tag" blog up and I love these things. I'm sure that some of you are so bored with them but I have fun answering the questions, and have fun reading all of your answers. You all must join in the fun

1. Three biggest fears? My first is for sure the dark. Yes, total pansy when it comes to the dark. I can sleep in the dark now but, get a little spooked going down into my dark basement. You just never know what serial killer is hiding in the dark.(On a side note I would like to add in that Libby's little sister, Missy, just stopped by on a scavenger hunt for Deer Hunt. She is so Libby it's rediculous. She was even cheating, Lib, you'd be proud) Second scary movies. Now you might say, "That doesn't count, we are all scared of them". No, no, you don't understand, I am terrified of them. I have a photographic memory when it comes to them and I can terrify myself at will without even wanting to. Third, I'm not a big fan of people who don't pay attention when they drive. Some of you can testify to the anger that I will exibit during these moments. This is all due to the rollover incident.
2. When was the last time you danced? Today when Abby and I got our Polar Express CD in the mail. We popped it in and Abby, Cooper, and I danced to "Hot Chocolate".
3. Do you creep on stranger's blogs? Let's put it this way, Dawn, on my bloggin buddies, I don't even know her last name, let alone know her or talked to her. She is just hilarious and I want to share her humor.
4. If you could go back to any age for a day what age would it be? I really loved high school. We had so much fun doing such random things.
5. Are you a good liar? Sometimes, depends on the pressure.
6. Do you judge someone when you can tell they've had elective cosmetic surgery? Sometimes people take it to the extreme, and that's just rediculous. But maybe some day I will have a nip or a tuck... let's be honest, we all know my boobs have been way too big for way too long. Three kids later...it ain't pretty:D
7. If you have children, what's one thing that you always told yourself you'd never do when you had kids? If you don't have kids, whats one thing you say you'll never do? This is a good question. I don't think I left too much out. I now understand why I see kids at the store with crazy hair. Sometimes Abby gets to do her hair when we don't have much to do and then we'll decide to go out and I sometimes don't have the heart to change it. She is just so proud of the job she has done. Don't judge parents with young girls with crazy hair!
8. What's something that totally grosses you out? I'm a nurse for crying out loud, it takes a lot. Pass
9. Do you delete forwards without reading them? Depending on how big it is. I usually only read the readables. Sometime I look at the pictures, depending on who it is from.
10. Do you ever lie to get out of obligations? Not necessarily lie, but I do use the kids as excuses when needed.
11. Consider your body weight and your yearly income at their present states. Would you rather be 200 pounds heavier and $200,000 richer or stay at your present state? For sure present state. I'm happy, healthy, and poor (will not really poor, but more money will be nice someday)
12. When was the last time you bought a pair of shoes and what were they? Flip flops this past summer. I wear mine out every year and always need a new pair the next.
13. The Olympics, take 'em or leave 'em? Totally take 'em. Even though some/most of the athletes are probably on roids, they are still incredible to watch. I can't imagine being an athlete for a living! It gets me excited just talking about it. I love to watch the swimming stuff, skiing stuff, of course the gymnasts are amazing. I could go on and on!
14. What's your favorite accent? I love a man with an Australian accent. It doesn't get much better than that.
15. What's your favorite scent? Rob still has the same cologne that he wore when we first started dating. He, obviously, rarely wears it, but when he does, ooohhweee. I also love the smell of rain.
16. Gum or breath mints? You know I really like both but I always have gum on hand, it just lasts longer.
17. If you could look like any celebrity, who would it be? Probably Julia Roberts or Jennifer Garner. Rob likes big smiles (have you seen my smile?)
18. If you had the chance of looking like said celebrity in exchange for your thumbs would you do it? No, I like my thumbs
19. Do you religiously wear sunscrean? No, do I put it on my kids? No, are we gonna get skin cancer? Hope not!
20. Do you generally trust people/their motives or doubt people/their motives? Trust, usually to a fault. I can be very naive sometimes.
21. Would you describe yourself as a complicated person or is what you see is what you get? Totally the latter, again sometimes to a fault. I will usually say it how it is.
22. Do you watch what you eat? Not really. I usually eat what sounds good, PB&J or PB&H...decisions, decisions
23. Do you watch what other people eat? Absolutely, and if I want it I ask for it, unless my kids beat me to the punch then I share theirs.
24. Do you judge other people on how they raise their kids? I try not to cause I know that there are all different kinds of circumstances, but come on, pay attention, don't let your kids bug other people. That's a peave of mine.
25. Do you judge people who dress poorly? Again, I try not to. Plus sometimes I feel like that is me.
26. Do you judge people who are homely? No
27. Do you judge people who are overweight? It has been my experience that people who are over weight are usually hilarious and fun to be around. So I try not to no.
28. Your interest in politics: high, medium, low, obsolete? I want to say medium, this whole Referendum 1 has gotten me a little riled up.
29. Favorite song of all time? Lots, right now I'm really liking the Keri Underwood, "I'll Stand By You".
30. Acoustic or electric? Acoustic for sure
31. If you were a hermit would you shave? Absolutely not, I rarely do now:)
32. If you could shave your head without you sig. other throwing a fit would you? Probably not, still tempting though isn't it?
33. What was you least favorite age? Elementary was kind of tough, I wanted to be a boy for crying out loud. Some definate learning experiences there.
34. How many times do you check you e-mail? I try to at least once a day, it doesn't always happen though
35. Are you in a tiff with anyone right now? I hope not

OK that's it, I know it was a long one. Now you're up to answer and post!

CLARIFICATION

I now realize that you probably all think that I am crazy putting my 2 year old on the top bunk. For the record Coop is on bottom, Abby is on top. Coop does like to climb up and play on Abby's bed and he has now mastered climbing down the ladder. Please don't think I'm crazy enough to trust little Coopy up top

BUNK BEDS

So last week Cooper called Rob and I in to his room to show us a new trick. When we got there he was riding the rail to his crib. Very talented. Needless to say that was his last night in his crib like a horse. The next day I got on trusty ol' KSL.com and found some bunk beds and they experienced their first night in bunks. Of course the pictures won't download to my computer so we'll have to look at those later. But I'll just let you know how things are going. Night 1: Coop can't quite figure out how to get down off the top bunk. We have to go in there multiple times to get him down before bedtime has even arrived. It takes the kids until 10:00 to wind down and fall asleep. Night 2: Rob has a b-ball game and my neighbor comes over to hang out while they "sleep". Well shortly after we leave the kids come out and get sent back to bed, but end up snuggling in Coop's bed together. Night 3:Amazingly uneventful. Night 4: I hear a thud and Coop crying at about 12:30. I put him back to bed and we're good from there. Last night I get up to go to perform my ritual with Shelby where she spits out her binki at 2:00 and I get to go put it back in. I check on the kids and Cooper is asleep in a pile of books over by the bookshelf. Needless to say, he hasn't quite gotten the hang of things yet. We'll see what happens

I'm a loser

So I was looking at some blogs yesterday and saw that some of you have listed some of your favorite sites that you go to. I decided that would be a fun little addition to my site so I started creating a list...um yeah I look at blogs, look a houses, or shop online for fun. KSL.com is also a little addiction of mine. However I'm too ashamed to publish this all out in the open for all to see so I'm admitting it just between us and then I'll be done with it. I would like to say that I have some inspirational place to link you to that would make you think, "Wow, that Kristen Jolley is one gal that really has it together." (I really encourage any of you to use the word gal, by the way). Unfortunatly I don't but I will tell you some of the fun things I do when I'm at these sites. I like to go to utahrealestate.com. This is a link to Utah's MLS (real estate's main site for agents). I sometimes will type in a rediculous price for a house, and look through the tours just to get ideas on decor and layout. Now do I do anything with these ideas? No, but the ideas are there none-the-less. That's all for now.

Cousin Stacy

Well I know I have mentioned her before, but I'm really bragging this time. My cousin Stacy, the founding editor for a big fancy scrapbook magazine, had an interview with a Parenting type magazine. I have readded her link to my page and want you all to check it out. The link will take you to her blog and there is a link on there to take you to the interview. She is fantastic and hilarious. She is an absolutely incredible mother, and person for that matter. And she is one of those people who is so down to earth and near perfect, but also so blessed and gifted that you might want to hate her, but there is no way that you could even come close. Anyway check out her blog and her stories.

Can anyone say Kelly Kapowski

So in the medical profession we have the HIPPA law that makes it so I can't talk about my patients and my mom also has some rule that makes it so that she can't talk about her students. But plumbers have no such laws, so, I would just like to share with you all that Rob did a job for Kelly Kapowski's (Tiffany Theissan) mother-in-law. For those of you Saved By the Bell buffs out there like myself, you can understand I'm sure how cool that is for me to spill. I guess she married some trauma surgeon in California who is a Morgan native whose mom now lives in Layton. Isn't it a small world.

PS I wanted to find picture of her from her SBTB days but I was too lazy to look very hard, I'm sure you can picture the big bangs and everthing if you try hard enough.

4 year olds and scissors

No, don't worry Abby didn't cut her hair. However not 10 days ago we (she and I went shopping together) bought her a but little, yellow velor outfit from Mervyn's. It was one of those comfy outfits to just lounge in. She wore it the first day that we bought it and again yesterday after church and today to tumbling. After we put Coop down for a nap we were coloring and cutting out projects. I got on the computer to work for a little bit and lo and behold, somehow her scissors found the bum of her pants. She did a good job of hiding it for a while but soon enough she felt too guilty and told me what happened. Of course the scissors got thrown away (OK I just hid them from her) and the pants too (again just hidden in my dresser, hopefully grandma can be a seemstress miracle worker). She has been crying on and off for about an hour now, whenever she thinks of those poor pants. "But mom, they were old" she says. Yeah, a woppin' 9 days old, I need a mommy timeout.

First tooth...again

You know after I'd been through it twice already, plus even thinking a couple of weeks ago that Shelby was almost 6 months old and her first tooth would come soon, you'd think that I would have realized immediately that Shelby acting the way she has been acting, that I would have known what to look for. For those of you first timers, here are a couple of key signs...no longer sleeping through the night (that she did only about a handful of times anyway), runny nose, extra fussy, drooly, and chewy. Sometimes they get fevers, but mine never did. Now Shelby did not go through the last three, she's always, chewy and drooly, but not too fussy. I would just like this post to admit that I feel like an idiot that I have to relearn this every time. Maybe next time I will get it right.

Thank you Dude

So we are teaching Cooper how to say prayers and, you know how it goes, you say something, he repeats it and so forth. Coop will repeat most of the words but usually leaves some out. Well today we were blessing the food and we opened the prayer and I said, "Thank you for this food" and Coop said, "Thank you Dude". Now of course he doesn't say his f's so dude really is food, but it was still really cute. You know that one made heavenly father laugh, hope it made you laugh, too.

NOW & THEN

This was on TV yesterday morning and Abby thought it was fantastic. What is really funny is that I haven't seen it in years but the people that we portrayed back then, some of us still portray now. Take for instance me and my character, Roberta, the Christina Ricci/Rosie O'Donell character...hated her boobs, could beat up boys, though also liked kissing them on the sly, liked playing sports, and she becomes an OB where I of course became an RN. Plus she still lives in her hometown, where I couldn't live closer to my parents unless I lived in there basement. This movie is totally a classic and I love that Abby liked it too.

My Fantasy

You know as I go through each day it can seem like a repeat of the previous day with small variations throughout. Cooper is usually the first to awake between 6:30 and 7:30 (I love it when he makes is that long) followed shortly by his sisters because, let's face it, he's two and isn't exactly familiar with stealth mode yet. I have turned into one of those moms who adores morning cartoons so that I can actually have time to wake up. When everyone is awake we go through the daily argument about what will be for breakfast. If the kids had it their way we would have cereal 3 meals a day 7 days a week. Yes, they did inherit that trait from their mother. But I try to make them something healthy while letting them "snack" on some cereal in a cup. Our daily activities range from the library, park, Abby's preschool, tumbling, play group, Treehouse museum, ect. We usually are home for lunch and Cooper goes down for a nap aroung 1ish. Some days even, like today for instance, Abby is a BEAR and takes a nap too. THIS IS MY SANITY! Don't get me wrong I love my children, but I do love my breaks as well. This is when the house is quiet (except for me clicking the mouse or folding clothes or cleaning up...whatever) and I get time to myself. At these moments I sometimes drift off into this fantasy of sleeping in late (isn't it funny how late used to be 11 or 12 and now it has turned in 9ish) waking up, just because my body decided it was time to wake up. I look over and Rob is missing. I can hear him in the kitchen (mind you this kitchen is a fabulous kitchen that I dream about in my dream home. Let's just say is has room for more that one person to move around unlike the kitchen I have now) and he is making a wonderful meal. I tend to lean toward the time of year being winter so that when I finish my meal prepared by my own personal chef I go into the great room with a cup of hot cocoa, with marshmallows, and sit in a big schmumfy chair and read the newspaper, front to back without interruption. At this point I am able to go shower, ALONE, without having to sneak off so the kids won't hear. The funny part is that is as far as I have made it in this fantasy of mine because I'm usually interupted at this point. For those of you who may think that this fantasy is rediculous, call me in about 2 years and recheck that, and for those of you who have fantasies of your own, I would love to hear them, and remember, this is a family show.

Number 19

Well it's official, I'm a soccer mom. We have been going to the cousins games and I asked her if she wanted to play and amazingly enough she actually said yes. I was quite surprised, I thought tumbling would be all she would ever want to do. Anyway, so Abby had her first "game" today. I use that term very loosely because it was crazy and chaotic and so much fun. It's not all that easy coralling 4 year old girls into playing the simple game of soccer. Here's the days diary entry:

12:30-arrive at Friendship park with much enthusiasm and family in tow. They said to be there at 12:30 to get our uniforms and then meet on the field. We of course are right on time (I know I was pretty shocked too) and get our unies ("purple, but mom I thought you said we would be pink";"I know I said that honey, I thought you would be pink but purple is such a cool color too"; "oh, yeah, that's right"). "Do you want a ball too, they're only $10?" (I think to myself, crap I should have got a stupid ball at Walmart for $5 when we were the getting guards and cleats, that ended up being to big.) "yeah, we'll take a ball, Rob where's your wallet?"

12:35-Into our trusty minivan while Rob has Coop and Shelb at the park and change into our uni. These socks are HUGE, they would fit me. I totally fold them over twice. Lace up them cleats, she's as cute as a button. Let's take a picture, crap where's the camera, at home on the table along with the water bottle.

12:40-Well we're ready for gametime. Only 20 minutes to go. "Abs, let's go kick the new ball"; "no I want to go play at the park with Cooper"; "whatever".

12:45-"Rob run home and get the camera and the water bottle"

1:00-OK it's finally game time. 50 4 year old girls stretching out trying not to draw too much attention to themselves, and parents watching with pride.

1:30-After a 1/2 hour of basic drills that were kind of a joke, it's game time. "No Abby you're purple you need to kick the ball to that goal"; "I'm thirsty"; "We'll drink later, go get the ball" she sneaks around me as I'm trying to coach the other girls and gets her water bottle, next time I see her she is running down the field with her water bottle in tow. I steal it from her and give it back to Rob.

2:00-Times up, time to go. Some girl on the other team scored like 6 goals, she's a natural. Meanwhile Abby along with 4 or 5 other girls could have cared less what just happened. Nobody cared if they won or lossed. Abby was extatic to be out there and as long as she's happy, I'm happy.

New Buddies

I'd just like to point out that I added some new buddies to my list and also deleted my cousin Stacy because her link wouldn't work although for you scrapbook junkies, she is the scrapbook queen. She is the editor for some big fancy magazine and goes all over the world speaking at conventions and such. She is awesome. One that I added I really don't know this lady but was e-mailed her link to a Ebay auction that she had. I was laughing so hard I had to stop reading and calm myself down before I could continue. Please read her blog regularly, she's HILARIOUS! That's all for tonight

Motherhood

I have a good friend who had previously decided that she was not going to have kids and then found out that she was pregnant. To this friend I wanted to share some of the pros and cons of motherhood and if any of you have more to list please feel free to do so

Pro-the first time you get to hold you little baby

Con-when sleep deprivation kicks in and you lose you mind

Pro-seeing your big tough husband become a daddy

Con-2,3,4,5,6 am feedings. Get a lazy boy in that baby's room and get comfortable.

Pro-Their first smile (even if it is just gas)

Con-teething

Pro-when they finally say momma even though they have been saying dada for weeks

Con-Anytime they get sick. It's horrible to know that there is nothing that you can do but snuggle them.

Pro-When they learn to say "I wuv you!"

Con-When they learn the word "NO!"

Pro-first steps

Con-first skinned knees

Pro-finally not having to buy diapers

Con-potty training

Pro-when they become a big brother or sister

Con-protecting the new baby from their curious siblings

Pro-first day of school:D

Con-first day of school :(
I could go on and on, but I won't, just know Linds, that in the end the pros will always out weigh the cons.

Our Family Pictures

Well I finally have cute updated pictures of all of my kids. I always said that I wouldn't be one of those moms that let there babies go too long without getting there pictures taken. I did really well with Abby. Birth, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months, 2, and 3 years. Cooper I didn't do so well. I think I had 2 months,6 months, and 1 year. Now Shelby, yeah, well I blinked and she turned 5 months old. I have tons of snap shots of all of them, just not professional. Well now I do. Thanks to my good friend Veronica, who by the way is "in the business" now, I have a plethera of pictures of my cute family. If you want to see more click here http://picasaweb.google.com/ReeveGirls/JolleyFamilyPhotos?authkey=tLUxh5zkDxs .

Mattell

When I started this blogging thing I wanted to try do a post every couple of days. I always think of things I could put in here, but just never get around to it. Well today the nurse in me is making me make this post today. When I was at the pediatrician last week we were told to go to Mattell.com and see if we had any toys on the list of recalls. Apparently they had been using a type of paint with too much lead in it. So I'm making all of you (who have kids old enough to care) go to Mattell.com and check the list because if you have any then you need to call your MD and see if they want blood drawn. Of course if you want my opinion, here's what I did. I checked the list, found that I did actually have a toy on there, threw the toy away, and called it good. I decided that I hadn't seen the kids play with it enough lately and if there was a problem that they would have shown symptoms by now. Call me a bad mom. But that was my philosophy.

Ode to Coop

Well my little boy had his second birthday and I've had so much fun with him so far. He is my little comedian. He is a boy through and through. He loves Cars and we watch it daily, sometimes multiple times. He loves trucks and trains and tractors and bikes and dirt and balls and on and on and on. Oh, yeah, and occassionally you might find him in a Cinderella dress that he likes to wear when Abby plays dress up. He loves to walk around the house with his train saying, "chugga, chugga, chugga", he never throws in a "choo, choo", but it is darn cute. He will sometimes bring one of his smaller trucks to the breakfast table and he will "load" a peice of waffle or egg or whatever onto the bed and take it for a ride around the table to see the scenery before he eats it. This can make for long meals but it makes eating fun and he eats every last bite. He loves his sisters so much. He follows Abby around like a puppy. He will play just about anything she wants him to and just loves being included. He loves to play with Shelby though sometimes isn't all that good at it. He can get pretty rough. But her face lights up when he is trying (until she gets injured).

I love my little boy so much. He brings adventure to everyday.

Milestones

Well we have been reaching a few milestone around here lately. Shelby rolled over a few weeks ago, which Abby and Cooper didn't know why I was cheering for Shelb but thought it must be something good and joined in the excitement.







And I'm not sure for how long but she is also sitting up on the her own. This picture of it is kind of funny because her dress covers her legs and it looks like she doesn't have any.




As for the other two, tonight Abby is going to her first big girl slumber party. It is at her Grandma Bobbi's (Rob's mom) and she is pumped. She gets to go down with the other older girl cousins and I think they are going to have some sort of a princess night. Barb goes all out for these things and they have a blast. So I'm excited for her.



Then there's my little Coop doggy dog. He turns 2 tomarrow. He is my little man. He won't sit still for the camera too long so I had to put in this other pic from Bear Lake with his big boy cousins because he's a big boy now.

I'm one of those moms that gets so excited for the milestones and doesn't look back. On the other hand when I fold up Shelby's little clothes that she grows out of, it's crazy to think that I may not have another little girl that small again. But then things happen like Abby's sleepover and it helps the nostalgia fade and I'm OK with it. We'll see what happens though when it's my last baby and last set of milestones.

Family Reunions

This past month we had a reunion month. Rob's family, his mom's side, got together at Cherry Hill, which I have never been. Rob didn't think that it was worth the money that we paid, but the kids had a blast, and after I left and took Shelby to Missy's house, I had fun too. I have to admit that Abby is already pretty daring. I don't think that I would have done some of those slides when I was only 4.

Cooper had fun in the lazy river but hit the wall before it was time to go.

And of course we had the family pic, but Coop was sleeping and Shelby was gone so you get 3 out of 5.

The other family reunion was for my family. It wasn't really a family reunion so much as a family vacation. We went up to Bear Lake for the first time since we were all little and had a blast.

...can you say Bone Thugs in Harmony...

...who needs an ATV when you have a cool pink and blue bike...

Shelby was not so hot on sleeping in a tent, but she sure looked cute all bundled up!

Abby and I got some bug while we were there, which brings me to the moral of this post...always keep Pepto in your camping gear. Thank heavens for sisters who aren't afrain to spen $4 on a small bottle of Pepto. She had a blast at the beach and on the boat.

Overall it was a good trip, other than not sleeping because of Shelby and our "bug" issues. Anyone remember the trip we took to Jenni's condo up there? Getting fried and hiding from Nicole on the deck is all I can remember. That was a fun trip, too. My next post won't be so long, I promise.

It's about time

Well I've finally followed through with the blog that I created months ago but never posted anything. In fact it took a while for me to remember my blog address. So here we are finally. Rob totally makes fun of me for doing this but I want somewhere to show off my cute kids too. I think he just doesn't like the work blog to be honest. So I'm sure everyone is interested in stories from the mother of three so I'll share one now. Please feel free to close me out if you are not interested. So on Thursday night we had a softball game and we usually just take a babysitter with us. Well when we got there we found out we played until we lost, how unfortunate for our babysitter, but she said that she could stay as long as we needed her. For the record we did not win a whole lot of games this season so we did not think it we be a long night. After we won game 1 we sent the kids home with Megan (the babysitter of the year) and stayed thinking we'd lose the second game. After we won game 3, talking with Megan regularly throughout, we started game 4 when I got a phone call, Cooper had just thrown up everywhere. Mind you we are out at Weber County Fair grounds with no car, my mom is out of town, and my sister's child just had 4 teeth pulled, I had nowhere to turn. I apologized about a million times and basically told here to do what she needed to do to survive and I would be home as soon as I could. Luckily we lost that game (the championship game, mind you) and we got home about 10:30. I gave Megan $30 and few more apologies, dumped so corn starch on the throw up, threw in a load of laundry while Rob moved both kids into our bed where he slept with them, and was in Sofa City by 11:15. (anyone catch that reference?)
Cooper's fine now, apparently he got it out of his system, but now Abby's down and out. The moral of the story, Corn Starch makes throw-up vacuumable after an overnight soak, use the tube though so the the throw up doesn't get ground into the carpet. I'll try not to make all of my motherly advise so graphic.