The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain

Derek served his mission in Madrid Spain. He loved it and really hasn't stopped talking about how cool Spain was since he returned home 10 years ago. So when his mission president organized a reunion in Madrid Derek was thrilled and I was excited to see all the places he talks about so often. Here is a little summary of some of the things we did and saw.

We spent most of the time in Madrid. I loved Retiro Park with the lake and shade and funky statues. It's the best place to eat a Magnum Bar (if you have been to Europe you know what I'm talking about).

These are pictures of the Post office that looks like a castle, Us at the Prado Museum, downtown doing some shopping, Sunday Church with President Shallenburger's family and the Linton's (mission buddy of Derek's), Derek outside one of the pisos he lived in and the Madrid symbol-a bear eating berries out of tree (don't ask me why).
It was fun getting to know the other couples. I was worried that it would be a bunch of missionaries swapping stories in spanish the whole trip but it wasn't like that at all. I really like the other wives and enjoyed the time we were together as a group. We had a good balance of group time and time alone to explore and be together.

Pres. Shallenburger chartered a couple bus trips for us which was a great way to travel to some of the near by cities. This is Toledo. It is high on a hill with lots of windy little streets to walk around. There is a castle there and a cathedral of course. "Holy Toledo" it was a cool little place.

Then we bussed over to Consuegra, The windmills of La Mancha. Yes, these are the very windmills that good ol' Don Quixote tried to battle. This was one of my favorite sites.

Derek was in Madrid when the Temple was dedicated and he got to be part of the event. It was really fun for him to see it again. It is a beautiful building that is amazing inside. I loved being there.

The next bus trip was to Segovia. It is famous for it's Roman aqua duct. It is just amazing that something build so long ago is still standing. It is so tall and runs 2 miles long. I could never do that math it took to build such a thing.

Segovia also has an amazing castle with a mote and everying. The mote was empty but still quite a site. Apparently they modeled the castle at Disney World after it. Many movies have been filmed there. In fact on the plane ride home we recognized this castle.

We also caught a bull fight once back in Madrid. It was kinda cool. I really thought I would hate it, but it was interesting to figure out. We saw 5 different bulls fight and 2 others get washed up. We were the only ones rooting for the bulls....they never won.

These are a few random pictures of tiny cars, the great walled city of Avila, the Plaza Mayor in Salamanca and Derek's favorite lunch- ham.

When it was time to leave we were ready to go home. The day before I was starting to have a tummy ache so we went back to the hotel to nap. I woke up not feeling much better. Then we called home and talked to cooper who had slept through most of our calls home. And just hearing his little voice made me happy. It wasn't until we hung up that I realized that my tummy ache had gone way. I was just home sick for my little boys.

We brought back presents. Some Lladro for us. They made a beautiful Christus for the church which we don't have a safe place for at the moment, but some day we will be glad we have it. And stuffed bulls aka Ferdinand, and puzzles and soccer jerseys for the boys.

We got home to a sparkling clean house with cut flowers at the kitchen sink and fresh sheets to slide right into. My mom took great care of the boys and they had so much fun with her. She really is an wonderful grandma to our boys. I know that she worked hard over here too. These little guys know how to keep you on your toes. So I thank Dad and Derek's parents for helping out when they could too. We could never have gone on such a great trip with out all of you. Thank you thank you thank you!

Adios

Yep, this is a bug band-aided to my head.

And I miss it already.

Derek and I are headed to Spain today and we'll be gone for 11 days. And I am sad to leave the kiddos at home.

So, my adorable parents will be the ones getting bugs stuck to their head and all the hugs and kisses they can stand while they are here watching the boys for us. Aren't they wonderful!

Adios amigos.

We don't do it for the money

(Thought I would throw in one of the few pictures I have with both the boys and me. Man, I need to take more of these or they are never gonna remember me young-ish (smile))

Happy Mothers Day! According to this article we got a raise this year. Whoooweee!

This year, a stay-at-home mom performing the 10 most popular "mom-job functions" does the work equivalent of a $122,732 salary, up 5 percent over last year's calculations.

The 10 jobs we are getting credit for are : laundry machine operator, janitor, van driver, housekeeper, computer operator, cook, daycare center teacher, facilities manager, psychologist, and chief executive officer (I think personal chef should be on the list too).

So there you have it girls, keep up the good work.

Cooper is 2

For Cooper's little family birthday party we did it up with a bubble theme. We had clear balloons, bubble wrap, bubble gum, bubble wands....

Bubble blowers going in the front yard and the back yard


We had a yummy dinner with all of Cooper's favorites. Grilled lime chicken skewers, cilantro lime rice and salad (okay he's not a salad fan but it was yummy too).


He had fun opening the presents that Corbin didn't get to first
We topped things off with a bubble ice cream cake, hold the cake. I made layers of homemade strawberry and lemon sorbet with coconut cream filling.
He sang along with everyone and blew out the candle all by himself

He had a fun night.

As he drifted off to sleep I would hear him singing "appy e-ay ooo ooo, appy e-ay ooo ooo, ooo ooper appy e-ay ooo ooo"

One more successful birthday down.

Newest Addiction

Cooper loves playing Hide and Seek and he is really good at it. He counts, if eee eee eee counts as counting. He says "here I come" and he is really good at spotting the hiders. He is also good at hiding, he sits still and waits to be found, most of the time.

He has also proven that he knows what seek means. When he can't find something that he is looking for, usually his binky, he says "I go seek" then in a soft high voice says "where are you, where are you binky". It is really cute.

This is his latest favorite hiding place, the play kitchen. He just fits (and he has a squirt bottle to get anyone who dares find him (smile).

Laugh

This is my new motto.

If you know Derek than you might think that we laugh over here all day long. Well, Derek is a funny guy but he isn't home all day long....but I am....with the kids....and I need to remember to laugh.

Since I bought this little reminder It has come in handy like when:

Someone drew a spider man web all over a wall in red marker (while I was on the computer)

Someone spilled a bag of popcorn kernels in the kitchen (while I was visiting with mom)

Someone covered the back window in muddy hand smears (while I was busy with wedding flowers)

Someone got into my new jar of expensive face cream (while I was on the phone)

Seeing the word laugh reminds that I don't have to get mad. And it also reminds me that when I'm the one that is starting to go crazy it's usually because I'm not paying attention to the boys. Every one is happier when mom is laughing and playing with the kids and not when she's mad that she is cleaning up a mess that was made while she was on the phone.

So there ya go. I'm going to remember to laugh...especially when "things" happen that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't left the kids to keep themselves busy.

Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny came to our house last night. As usual the boys got new ties and this year he left new books to bring in our Sunday bag and a couple Book of Mormon videos, oh and some of candy too.
Corbin woke up a little after 6 am. It was not very light outside yet when he found his basket.

Cooper slept in a little! Last year I decided that I wanted to start a new tradition. So this is the first year that they boys had new "Easter" pajamas to sleep in Saturday night. This way they woke up looking cute for pictures. I look everywhere and couldn't find cute jammies. So this year I made them, but I don't plan on making that part of the tradition.

Last Sunday we did an early egg hunt at my parents house while Makayla and Micah were in town. The kids had a lot of fun together. And we miss them now.

Even though Easter baskets and egg hunts are fun we know that real reason we celebrate Easter is Christ. He died for us and was resurrected and we know that we will be too. What a gift, to live forever as a family.

Happy Easter.

Thursdays

I love Thursdays.

Corbin doesn't have school on Fridays which means on Thursday:

I don't have to pack his lunch and snack (ahh I love that)... I also don't have to worry that he really get to bed right on time (he can always sleep in a little)....I don't have to set my alarm (oh that is a great feeling)... We can skip baths if we want (no teachers around to judge)... I don't have to know where his shoes are before I go to sleep (if you don't know where they are on a school night, we're in for trouble in the morning)... and I can go to bed late (now that one I'm just fooling myself on), I do go to bed much too late on Thursday because I feel so free, we still have early risers around here so I end up getting less sleep...but I don't care, I love Thursdays.

Friday

I bet my fridge is cuter than your fridge today.

I'm crazy doing flowers for 2 weddings this weekend, one today one tomorrow. By Sunday the house will be empty of pretty pink flowers. So sad. I like it when our home smells like a flower shop. But I'm sure that Derek and the kids will be happy to have me back a little less stressed.

Little Drummer Boy

Sunday while I was making dinner Cooper decided to do some drumming after Corbin. I think It was his first time doing this. It was loud and darling. He was having so much fun making noise.

(Notice the one sock on one sock off...)

Here is the cutest part. When he was done he put the pots back in the cupboard all by himself, in the right order even. Now, I did not teach him this, he just knew that was where the pots belonged even though it was Corbin who got everything out. What a little honey, I tell ya.

Two Boxes

Today is Corbin's Valentines Day Party at school. He is very excited.

I wasn't surprised that he picked out a box of Spiderman valentines.

And it was his own idea to get a box of Tinkerbell cards for Delani, the only little girl in the class. Apparently, "Girls no don't like spiderman Mom. Girls like Delani like girl Tinkerbells".

What a little sweetie, already knowing what will make a girl happy.

Things I want to remember that I'll forget if I don't write down somewhere....

I just needed to move this from the side into a post so that I can move it over to Blurb. It's funny looking at this little list of milestones and mini events. The boys seem so much older already and these are just from last year. My goodness how they grow.

8-24-08 Cooper has started giving Corbin goodnight kisses.

8-12-08 Corbin found me because he "needed kisses". How sweet.

8-10-08 Cooper has a new survival word, "don't". Usually uses it with Corbin.

8-08-08 Corbin grabbed a box of gauze and read the back, "good for ouwie fingers tha got stuck in ek el ator"

7-27-08 Cooper said "goodnight" to daddy as I was taking him off to bed. Add it to the list of new words.

7-25-08 Corbin has started to answer questions with, "because". And he drew his first person this week. I think I will frame it.

7-23-08 Tonight Corbin got stuck in the washing machine.

7-21-08 In the dinner prayer Corbin blessed the roller coasters that they will be safe and the toys at Target that he will get them for his birthday.

7-20-08 Corbin gave his first talk in Primary today about being a missionary. He did a great job and felt really good after.

7-15-08 Cooper is now a Daddy's Boy. Derek can't leave the room with out Cooper crying after him.

7-9-08 Cooper says "hot" and then blows on his food.

7-1-08 Cooper is officially walking more than crawling. At 14 months we have a Walker!

6-28-08 Corbin was playing with his whale and a dog stuffed animals. I asked him what their names were. He said that the whale was Shannon Mommy and the dog was Derek.

6-27-08 Corbin kept his clothes on all day. No "Naked Boy".

6-25-08 Cooper can walk all the way down the hall! And today he fed himself with a fork for the first time.

6-17-08 Now that school is out Corbin and I have a new routine. After Derek leaves for work we stay outside and play. Cooper is already asleep so he has me all to himself it's very fun.

6-16-08 I took the boys to the pool today with out Derek. We did meet friends there which helped keep Corbin entertained. It's nice to know I can do it on my own.

6-9-08 Cooper and I played ring around the rosie for the first time tonight. He loved it.

6-1-08 This morning Corbin wanted to slow dance with me to "I love to see the temple" at the end he wanted to kiss. What a cutie.

5-31-08 Cooper is 13 months tomorrow. The words that he says already are: Hi, That (dat), Dog (dog da), Dada, Mama, Done (duh) and Uh oh. He also will try to copy some words that I say to him.

5-29-08 Corbin tried to make his own strawberry milk today by pouring water right into the container with the powder mix. He thought it was "delicious".

5-24-08 Cooper points and says "dat" when he wants something out of reach. He has also been doing the signs for "more" and "all done" very consistently.

5-17-08 Cooper got up to standing position today with out holding on to anything for support!

5-16-08 Cooper took 3 steps today. He just may learn to walk after all.

5-10-08 Corbin's new phrase he is trying out is "that's ridiculous". He has also just started saying 4 word sentences, all the speech therapy is working!

5-3-08 Cooper is trying to count. He says something like ah, na, eee. He started today as we were playing roll the ball on the floor.

4-26-08 Cooper had his first Popsicle. He held the stick and ate almost the whole thing. The last of it melted. He loved it.

Corbin's new phrase is "I'm gonna go talk to Daddy" or Jeff or Grandpa. What a cute little conversation starter.

4-23-08 It was a few minutes past Coopers naptime. He stopped playing, found a pacifier and crawled over to my lap to lay his head down. What a sweet boy no crying, he just got comfy on his own.

4-18-08 Corbin-"Look mom dirty hands, I get baptized in the water....(he goes in the kitchen to wash his hands)..."see. Mommy, clean now, baptized".

4-15-08 The last couple days when I do something for Corbin that makes him happy, spread a blanket on the lawn so we can eat popsicles or find the bubbles hidden in the cupboard...Corbin's response is "Wow, great job Mommy". First of all it’s like a real sentence which is big for him, and second, it does make me feel good. What a cutie.

4-9-08 This morning I was walking Corbin out to the bus like I do every morning. But this time, half way down, he said "Mommy Stop". He wanted to walk the rest of the way by himself. He's a big boy.

4-8-08 Last week Corbin put me in time out. I went peacefully hoping to set a good example. He closed the door and counted to "30" and then I was free to go. He gave me a hug and said "say sorry". So even if he doesn't love this part of our routine, at least I know, he knows the routine.

4-8-08 Cooper took his first step today. Just one little step from standing to me. It's the first time he has even tried to move his foot while standing on his own.

Lost and Found

I'm very embarrassed about this but here is goes....

These shoes were lost. I looked for 3 days wondering where they could be. I looked under beds, in the cars, outside, in the laundry baskets, in all the closets, but nothing.

As I thought back to when Corbin had worn them last the only thing I could remember was the Burger King playland

....but no....

...we couldn't have left them there....

...No... I would have noticed if I loaded him in the car without shoes right....

After day 4, I got out the phone book, looked up the number, and timidly asked if any shoes had been left behind that week.

Sure enough, they had our blue plaid slip on's.

I wonder how many moms before me have pulled up to the drive thru speaker and said no, they didn't want to order anything today, just here to pick up our shoes?

Maybe We Are Normal After All

The other night I was talking to a friend on the phone and I hung up feeling like maybe we do have normal kids after all instead of feeling like we are extra struggling over here.

I often feel like "everyone else" has "regular" kids and I was given an extraordinary challenge. I thought I was the only one who was trying to figure out how in the world you are supposed to get kid "A" to time out and stay there while trying to care for kid "B" that was just hurt by kid "A".

I thought time out worked for everyone elses kids, why don't they work for my mine, I figured I must be doing them wrong...but what in the world do you instead. Time out is good for cooling off (sometimes), but it sure doesn't work for teaching rules over here. If it did we wouldn't still be saying "Don't touch the TV".

Once I decided to try something new and take a car away from Corbin every time he said The S Words, yes I mean {cover your kids ears} Stupid and Shut Up. But he didn't like the idea of his cars being split up in their "time out". So he got his car case and one by one said The S Word and then handed me a car "there you go mom". Once all his cars were back together he was content, even though he didn't get them back for days. Okay.... so he didn't quite get it.

I'm sure that on hard days I will still be feeling pretty alone. It takes a lot of energy to be consistent with your kids corrections/discipline. And when your tired it doesn't really matter if you know other moms have hard days too, all I care about is "when will this day end". But it is nice, when I'm feeling rational to know that all us moms have challenges.

I do know that as moms we are entitled to revelation about our children, and I know that I have been blessed in many ways to know what my kids need. But it can't all come at once, right, there is just too much for us to figure out. So I just keep praying and little by little I know that inspiration and comfort will come to help me. And I know that sometimes it can even be a phone call with a friend that makes me feel less alone.

Tip of the Week (not that I'm making this a weekly occurance)

My sister, Rebecca, casually mentioned something the other day that has changed my life. Well, at least the life of my left overs.

-re-crock-pot-

Ta da.....there it is. Sounds simple right..... You are all probably already doing this. But this was magic for me.

I had been planning on a roast for Sunday dinner and using the left overs a couple days later as taquitos.

So what do you do?.....recrockpot.

I tossed my leftovers into the crock pot a few hours before dinner with some broth and viola...juicy, tender, re seasoned shredded beef.

I tried it again this week. I turned left over baked chicken into -recrokpotted- shredded chicken tacos. (I'm sure there are applications that go beyond Mexican left overs, but my brain hasn't gotten there yet (smile).

No more dry boring left over meat over here baby. We recockpot!

Edward Cullen Has the Make'ns of a Great Hubby...

HERE is a link that my mom posted. It's an article that uses Edward Cullen as a map for what women are looking for in a man.

It's interesting.

If your interested, go on; click the link, I know you want to (smile).

Chocolate Crinkles

We just discovered Chocolate Crinkles!

Santa Corbin (which is how Corbin now refers to himself when he wants a cookie, because you always leave cookies out when Santa comes) wanted no bake cookies the other day. I wasn't in the mood so I pulled out my good ol' Betty Crocker cookbook to find a chocolate cookie.

These were a big hit over here. They tasted a lot like brownies, which is awesome. I have yet to make a batch of brownies that comes out edible with our diet restrictions around here. So we thought these were really fun. I may even try making them in a 8x8 pan and see how they do as a bar cookie.

Anyway, here is the recipe if you're interested:

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 t. vanilla

4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

4 eggs

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1c. powdered sugar

Mix sugar, oil, vanilla, and chocolate. Then mix in eggs one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill at least 3 hours.

Heat oven to 350º. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar: roll around to coat. Shape into balls. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake until almost no indentation remains when touched. 10 to 12 min.

My Notes:

***I couldn't let my dough chill because of the egg replacer I use, so I used shortening instead of oil (thinking that would make the dough firmer with out chilling)

***1 square of unsweetended chocolate equals 3T. of unsweetened cocoa powder + 1T. shortening (or oil)

***I also just used my cookie scoop and then rolled the dough in the powder sugar. I didn't worry about making perfect balls.

So there you go. A cookie with Santa Corbin's seal of approval!

Already Late...

I don't even have any pictures from this year yet! So I thought I would add

the Christmas morning shot.

It has already been 2009 for over a week... and my Christmas stuff is still up. It's gone way past the point of fresh and festive, we have now hit droopy and depressing.

Not being able to put it away is making me a little crazy and I feel like everything around me is out of sorts.

However; I will look on the bright side.

I am lucky to have a husband with a job. (even though it's the reason he hasn't had time to get the Christmas tubs out of the garage for me).

I am lucky to have 2 boys. (even though it's why the ornaments on the trees aren't where they started and some of the branches are extra droopy)

I am lucky we had lots of family in town for the holidays (even thought it's why I'm still trying to catch up on the laundry)

I am lucky to have live in a time when medicine is so effective (Cooper had his first ear infection which is another reason why I'm a little behind in my life)

I feel blessed to hope for baby #3. {not to be confused with being chosen for baby #3... this is not an announcement, we are still not approved yet}. (even though it's totally stressing me out because I want to get all the paper work done this month and I haven't had much time to sit at the computer)

So even though 2009 and I have started out a little rocky, I have high hopes for us. I think this is going to be a great year.

Ho Ho Ho

Merry Christmas!

This year Corbin wants a bike, train tracks and a roller coaster. We'll see how Santa scores. When I asked Cooper what he wanted he said, "a daaaaaaa and a baaaabeeee". So I'm guessing he'll be happy with what ever he gets this year. To read more about Cooper our Little Christmas Baby click here.

So Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night sleep...

a girl can dream can't she

Cuddles

I'm weak.

I try to be really consistent with Corbin's bedtime routine. Part of that is laying with him for two songs even when he asks for five,(he likes to have music on while he sleeps, right now it's the soundtrack to Somewhere in Time, nice classical sounding stuff...I'm holding my breath to hear what it turns into when he's a teenager eek).

Any way...I walk out his door even when he wants me to stay longer, I have already fought, and won, the habit of him needing us next to him to fall asleep I can't afford to give in. Now 2 songs is all he gets. Well, sometimes 3 if I lose track.

Tonight I was doing the dishes after laying with him, as I usually do, when he came out of his room. This too is part of the routine at least once a night. This time instead of being ready to fight sleep, he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and said "Mama, I need more cuddles".

And with those 5 little words I was his for two more songs.