While You Were Out...

Have you ever seen the show While You Were Out? If you haven't then here's a brief overview of the show... a homeowner sneakily sends his or her spouse, parent or roommate out of town for a couple of days as While You Were Out brings in a designer and two handypersons to work around the clock to create a new look for the person's room. At the end they bring in the person for the big surprise transformation and the homeowner announces, "Look what happened While You Were Out!" WELL, my friend Amy Lopez, her daughter Kinsey's 14th birthday was this weekend. Kinsey is the one who always babysits for us and the kids LOVE her. So Amy had me come over on Friday morning about 10:30 a.m. after Kinsey had left for school. She was going to a friend's house after school and was sleeping over. We started working on her bedroom. Here is a picture of her bedroom before we started.

We were changing from bright green to yellow so to start we had to prime the walls. Then while the primer was drying we worked fast and furious on all kinds of projects. Amy had already sewn some of the pillows, had found the most beautiful bedspread and curtains at a garage sale, and then we painted accessories. Then back to the room to paint the yell0w on most of the walls and then white on one wall as a base for our yellow and white stripes. While the white was drying we were putting up the curtain rod and doing all the other odds and ends. Then we striped the wall and we couldn't wait to put it all together! In fact I'm sure we could have left it to dry till morning, but I couldn't get myself to leave until I saw a few accessories in there. After we got a few accessories in there then we couldn't wait to see the painting tape removed, as soon as we removed the tape then we wanted to see the bedding in there. So one thing led to another and the room was almost all put together by the time I left at 2:30 a.m.!!!!! Amy just had to hang the pictures on the walls! It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fun! Amy even took footage and we acted like it was an episode of While You Were Out!

I forgot to mention one of the funniest things that happened. We were juggling kids all day until our husbands got home to rescue them from the craziness. Everything was going pretty smooth. Amy's daughter Kennedy and Emma helped with our 2 babies, and after Luke and Carver got home from school they just entertained themselves. We thought they were staying out of trouble UNTIL we were downstairs working on some painting projects of accessories in the garage. We heard Luke and Carver's little voices yelling to Carver's friend from the upstairs bedroom window, Kinsey's upstairs bedroom where trays of white primer were laying around!!!!! We didn't think anything of it until I went up a few minutes later to start painting the yellow on the walls. I walk in to find a little spot of white on the carpet. I was about to go tell the boys not to come in the room anymore because they must have stepped in the primer and then tracked it onto the carpet...little did I know it was much worse then just stepping on some of the primer. They had decided that they wanted to help paint and so they grabbed a roller and rolled the primer on the top of Kinsey's wood dresser!!!!!!! And then they did a few rolls right across the screen on the screen window!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I panicked! I ran to Carver's room and immediately asked if they had done it. Luke quickly fessed up! He has been lying so much lately and we have really been after him and so he knew it would just be better to get it out on the table right then and there! I was proud of him for the honesty but LIVID that he had caused such mischief! Luckily we scrubbed the top of the dresser with baby wipes and so it really wasn't noticeable. As for the screen...very noticeable! We're lucky they didn't do more damage! They were punished by having to clean up all the toys that had been drug out all day as we were frantically trying to keep babies and kids entertained. :) Pretty funny! :) I was so shocked and I was trying so fervently to get it clean that I didn't think to stop and take a picture of the damage.

Kinsey came home Saturday afternoon and I ran over there for the "reveal". She was so surprised and excited! It turned out so dang cute! I got home and my house seemed so blah and it made me want to do something fun to my house! :) Except for one thing...I don't have any energy to do something so ambitious! It will have to wait until I get my second wind! (which could take months lol)

Funny things kids say

I wish I could remember all the things the kids say during the day. I know all day I am laughing to myself or smiling at something that was said and then I try to remember, but the day ends and I can't remember what I laughed or smiled at! But here are a couple that I remembered today...

As Emma was getting ready to go to the beach I told her I would like her to wear her water wings at the pool at the condo because I would not be there to keep an eye on her. She said, in kind of a sad voice, "Mom I lost my powers", I asked her which powers and she replied "my powers to swim". It has been a while since we've been swimming and she thinks she lost "the power" to do it. :) It just sounded so funny.

Yesterday Luke's little friend Manuveraj, who's family is from India, came over after school to play. Luke is so cute with Manuveraj, or Raj as we call him. Luke tries to answer all of Raj's millions of why questions. As we were getting out of the car Luke leaned over to Gavin and said "Give me a kiss Gavers". And Gavin gave him a little kiss. Luke told Raj that we just taught Gavin how to kiss and Raj says "Ewwww, why?" Luke replied "So he will know how when he grows up and gets married." So there you have it...training for marriage starts when you first learn how to kiss at age 16 months! :) CUTE!

Busy, Busy Week!!!

What a crazy week! I am so relieved that tomorrow is FRIDAY! It's weird because I don't even work outside the home and yet the weekend is still priceless! I think it's because I know I get my husband back and we are a family on the weekend! :) This week was a lot of late nights and fun things going on. Monday we had a friend from our ward who's parents are out of the country for a couple of months over for dinner...then Matt took Luke and Emma to the movie Speed Racers. Luke has been dying to see it and we finally found a night that worked. Although they didn't get home until almost 11:00 p.m. on a SCHOOL NIGHT! Yikes. But they all loved the movie. Gavin was very wild that day and so I stayed home instead of going to the movie with them and standing out in the lobby.

Tuesday was another late night...it was Luke's talent show. Poor Matt, there was a Court of Honor for one of our Young Men getting his Eagle and they needed Matt to present it to him. So he went to that and then tried his hardest to rush to Luke's performance, although he forgot one small detail...they held it at the high school and not the elementary and so he missed it by about 15 minutes. I was just relieved that he came when he did because Gavin was at his limit. He did enjoy all the music and was dancing in the aisle for most of the numbers, but the talent show had 39 acts in it and it was getting a little long. Luke was ADORABLE! And he loved performing. They had all the kids that participated get back up on the stage at the end to do the Macarena. It was very cute. They also had a surprise act and a bunch of the teachers, the assistant principal and the principal did a dance at the end. Very fun for the kids.

Wednesday Matt left town and we had Luke's football party at none other then CHUCK E. CHEESE (yikes!) The kids had a blast and it was fun to say thanks one more time to his awesome coaches. Coach Andre is a P.E. teacher at one of the local elementary schools and he was great with the kids. The other coach was the grandpa to one of the little boys and to this day I still don't know his name other then "Coach Grandpa". He was VERY cute with the boys.

Luke is very proud of his certificate and trophy!

Here's some of his teammates...Ian (on the left), Jordan (in the green shirt), and Christian.

Coach Andre handing Luke the beloved certificate and trophy!

Today must have been friend day! Emma went to the beach with my friend and her little girl. My friend was going to meet her mother-in-law and some of her family and she wanted Emma to go to play with her little girl because there were no children at the condo they were going to. It felt soooooo weird to have just Gavin hanging out with me! So I went shopping all day and spent some of my mother's day money! It was a joy! Then after school Luke went swimming with his friend and I had to go to teach dance. Our dance recital is coming up on May 31st and I am stressfully trying to get all 5 of my numbers cleaned up and ready. So there you go, one busy week. And then to finish it off, tonight after a crazy night of teaching dance, running back to take the babysitter home, and grabbing dinner, I was rushing around trying to get kids to bed. Emma was sitting in her bed reading books, Luke was in the bathtub and I was trying to get Gavin in bed so I could concentrate on the other two without Mischief getting into things! So I get him in his pajamas and I turn around to throw his diaper away and he makes a beeline for the bathroom and before I could even run after him I hear Luke laughing in the bathtub and I walk in and there is Gavin in his pajamas in the bathtub with Luke !!!!! That little stinker! He thought he was so funny too!

He is really doing some funny things. The babysitter told me that tonight every time he did a number in his diaper he would take of his pants. At one point he even took off his diaper too! Almost like he was trying to tell her that he needed a diaper change! Maybe we will potty train early?! :)

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I love Mother's Day...it's the one time of year that I get to SLEEP IN!!! And not only sleep in, but I awake to the smell of bacon and eggs! Mmmm my favorite! Yes I am the lucky girl that is married to a wonderful man who pampers me on mother's day! After a delicious breakfast I got to open my presents. Luke made me the cutest card, a pot with paper flowers, and a little paper picture frame with a picture he drew of me on one side and Matt on the other side. I never realized what a treasure homemade children gifts would be! The kids also got me a bike helmet (mine is a little too colorful to wear during my triathlons...I want to look slick and speedy :) lol). Then Matt got me a mixer! Matt stuck a metal spoon in mine a while back and did a number on the beaters...now I have to hold the beaters in while it is going or they fall out and make a loud scary noise! So now I have a beautiful new Kitchen Aid! THANK YOU HONEY! I am very excited! Although I'm afraid it will make me want to make cookies more and that is the last thing I need to be eating!

Then tonight Matt made a delicious dinner! It was mediterranian scallops/mushroom/artichoke pasta! Very good...in fact the kids and I voted that we think Matt should cook for now on :).

Then tonight we sat and watched our family videos. It was weird to see how much the kids have changed in just a short amount of time!

Happy mother's day to all the mothers I know and love! Especially my own mom who I love soooooo much and want to be like someday! Everytime I am teaching my kids or talking with them I try to think of what you would do in the same situation...how you would love me through situations instead of pushing me away. I love you MOM!

Beach Bums...

Today we FINALLY had a free weekend with no games, scouts, church meetings, and whatever else we are involved in and so we escaped to the beach! It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast! Gavin wasn't too sure about the water at first, but after a while he would crack up and giggle everytime the waves would come in. Luke and Emma were very busy collecting sea shells and they even caught a little crab. What a great Saturday!

Can you say SPONGE...

Gavin is learning so much so fast! Everything he sees the kids do or say he tries to copy! If I ask him to go get a diaper and wipes he will go and get either a diaper or the changing pad or something to do with diaper and wipes. After his bath I always sing Rock-a-bye Baby and after I finish he will sing his own little version. If you ask him for a kiss he will come running over and give you the most tender kiss! So he is understanding everything we are talking about these days. Well this morning Luke started playing video games and Gavin went over and got the second controller and looked at how Luke was laying down to play and he laid down just like him! How cute! He is following his big brother's lead! And Luke and Emma are so cute with him. Luke even let Gavin play the video game today...of course Luke's guy beat him because Gavin's just sat there and he would scream if the kids tried to help him with his controller! :)

Talent Show here we come...

Luke is in his school talent show on Tuesday May 13th and today was the dress rehearsal. He is doing a partner dance with a little girl from his class named Jurnie. She is also in my dance class and she was in his preschool class last year. She saw him dance last year in the dance recital and wanted to do it with him for their talent show. At first he said no, but then when they sent home the paper work and he realized it was for his school then he finally agreed to it. Although he has fought with me everytime he has to practice! They look so darn cute and Luke is quite the performer, during practice he acts silly and acts like he doesn't want to do it and then you get him on stage and he is rockin!