Boring Weekend...

Sometimes I wish my life was boring, but it's not we always have 300 things going on. Here are some highlights from our weekend...
Friday morning we woke up to find that our car was missing (again) So we called the cops! they found it and called us back within a few hours (WAHHOO) and so my Mother-in-law (my hero) and I drove ALL THE WAY DOWN TO AUBURN to pick it up...and it wouldn't start- so 3 1/2 hours later the AAA guy (my other hero) towed it back to the Swifts house until we figure out what to do...??????
Then the kids and I came back home and made Easter cookies (like we had planned) and dyed Eggs and I tried to make these really yummy looking Bunny Buns from the friend. I made a double batch and they didn't rise- so I had to throw the WHOLE thing away- so frustrating!

Saturday Morning was much more fun! We woke up early and got cute for Caleb's Court of Honor!!! He was given his Eagle!!

Malachi got to sit in the "Eagle's Nest" and he got all scouted up!

The Court of honor was really fun but we didn't even get to stay for refreshments because we had to RUN to our ward Easter party! It was Great they had an Easter egg hunt and a carnival and a relay race and yummy lunch!!

After that we went home and took some Much needed naps then we went back over to the Swifts for some EASTER FUN and dinner....There were a few different Easter egg hunts and all the Swift family spoiled our kids with tons of treats and presents! It was great to hang out with all of the family! Malachi mostly played outside with all the kids!! What a beautiful day!

On Sunday we woke up early and the Easter bunny had hidden all the eggs we colored and some plastic eggs with candy inside them- and their were some Easter baskets hidden with stuffed animals!!! The kids got new slippers in their baskets and we watched our new Veggie tale Easter movie!!
I tried to re-make the Bunny Buns again and this time they were great! Super Yummy! You should save the recipe for next year!

Then we went to church and OF COURSE learned all about Easter and had lots of special musical numbers. The Primary kids went up on the stage and he stood up there- but didn't sing! Oh well!

Then after church we went to Auntie Manda's house for a yummy dinner (We eat a lot) Apparently I didn't take any pictures, but we had a lovely time and the kids kept hiding and finding the empty Easter eggs!! It's so fun to have so much family around to play with!!

How much fun can we have in one weekend???

"Daddy make it"

So we have always wanted a play set for our back yard, and we knew we could find a cheap one on craiglist, BUT you have to be FAST and have a truck and figure out how to take it apart and put it back together...

So last Fall we got this play set at Costco (ON SALE!!) and the best part is they deliver it to your house and give you instructions on how to put it together.... We waited until spring to set it up... The funniest part is that we set it up in our "veggie garden"- we tried to plant stuff last year and we are just NOT gardeners, So we decided we would Grow FUN and buy veggies at the store!!

So our DADDY (I love that!!) started putting it together- I am glad he was doing it because it looked really complicated to me!

They didn't know what he was making at first and just kept saying "Daddy make it" and I would ask "what??" and they would say "I don't know"

It took a long time to build but I am really glad we have it...its like having a Park in our back yard!! Come over and play with us!
They LOVE it and never want to come inside!

I am excited to go to garage sales this summer so we can find other fun stuff for the kids to play with..I really want to find a Tubby- sandbox!! -Can you see the two bouncy horses behind the swing set- we have a regular Radio flyer one and a Pink princess one, they spend lots of time racing on those horseys!!

Kinda fun news!!

So I have to exciting things to share... 1. I called our social worker and as of April 6th they are Both LEGALY FREE!! So this means the Birth mom and Dad have NO rights and CANNOT come after them- we were Really NOT worried about this before, but now its not even an issue!! 2. He (as I told you) is doing really well! He has some speach delay and has been on an IEP (individual Education Plan) to help him- like Special ed. SO....a "normal 4 year old" will test inbetween 85-100 on their test for speach. At his last school he tested at a 51 (no so good but, deffinatly needs help) So he has been living with us for 2 1/2 months and got re-tested and scored an 81!!!! 4 points below normal!!! He has one more year of pre-school and he might be able to start kindergarden without any IEP!! WAHOOO!!!!

If I were Rich!

So when I have to Budget-Seriously Budget I start fantasizing about how things would be different If we were rich. I daydream about HUGE houses and really nice cars... I have even drawn out a house plan for IF we ever get to build my dream house!!

So my post today is about what little things I would do if we were suddenly RICH!! REALLY RICH!! I am going to skip over all the typical stuff- Buy new house, buy new cars, buy close family or friends new House/car and give lots to Charity!! This list if for all the OTHER stuff....

1. I would buy name brand! I generally don't mind buying off brand or store brand stuff- I have tested and tried and I know which ones are good and which ones are NOT! But there are SOME things that just CANNOT compare to the name brand- Charmin Toilet paper, Tide detergent, Kraft Macaroni and cheese!! Sometimes I would love to go into a grocery store and not be adding in my head as I go....

2. I would Buy Emma and Scott a house! I know this seems like I am breaking my own rule- But this is TOTALLY different. I would MOVE Emma's Family to Washington!! Buy them a BIG house with-in a 15 to 20 minute radius and pay it off, and Electricity and utilities...So that Scott could quit his job and find a new one-one that may not pay as well, but with no Mortgage that would be fine! Great Idea right?

3. We would have a baby! We were going to do IVF, we decided not to...but one of the most SCARY things is that you are going to invest $12,000-$13,000 into something and you might get back a baby OR you might get back NOTHING!! So if I were rich I would at least try...

4. I would hire a Photographer! I am not a very good picture taker- and even when I remember to get my camera out I only get pictures of the kids, Bruce and Malachi, none of ME! So I would love to have a Photographer come out twice a month and follow us around and get pictures of us doing the fun stuff- going to the zoo, playing at the fair.

5.I would get braces- or maybe I would just take all my teeth out and get verniers....

6. I would have a BEAUTIFULLY landscaped yard! I LOVE large yards with lots of fragrant flowers and rockery and water features, but I hate to garden- we are lucky if we get our lawn mowed. So I would hire a landscaper to bring in Mature lilacs, hydrangeas, wisterias, Cherry blossoms and mums and make the yard look amazing- then I would have a yard boy (preferably cute) to keep it up!

7. I would wear brand new socks every day! I love the feeling of new socks and I hate trying to find the matches to old socks (where do they all go???) I would buy new socks and wear a pair for one day and then get rid of them!

8. I would go to Counseling! I am the first to admit that I have lots of issues, So I would LOVE to have a Counselor to figure all those issues out. Malachi and I could work on our marriage, I could learn more about the kids and how to better help them develop and I could work through my own personal issues with anger and my weight!!

9.I Would go on LOTS of Vacations! Not big expensive Vacations...but I would love to be able to fly to Idaho (if Emma still lived there) twice a year!! Or Fly up to Alaska to visit family and friends!! Or over to Utah and visit Family!

10. I would go back to school! It would be really cool to take some night classes. I would love to learn more about Biology, Geography and all the other sciences (maybe a LITTLE Chemistry) So What would you do if you were RICH?????

SO GREAT!!

People are always asking "How are you guys doing??" and I never REALLY know what to say... We are adjusting- having 2 kids (instantly) is WAY different than being a carefree couple. So we are learning lots and really getting a rythem and daily routine going. There are bad, stressful days and there are wonderful days- such is life with a 3 and 4 year old! But I am thrilled to report that both of the kids seem to be blossoming!! I am SO EXCITED!! When He first got here he didn't know his ABC's at all and tried to do puzzles and basicly smashed random peices together...Now he can sing his ABC's (the J&N still give him a little trouble) but the best part is that he knows what sounds they make and he is starting to write them!! Yesterday he was playing with letters on our fridge and he said ALL their names and sounds!!! WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT!! He can do puzzles ALL BY HIMSELF!! The other day he did a whole puzzle book -6 puzzles!! He is chatty and seems to be well ajusted. He is learning new things every day! He walks around singing "Follow the Prohet" (from Primary) -its strange to think that a year ago the social workers thought he was deaf because he didn't talk for 3 months! SHE is doing great too!! She is using her words more to express what she wants and seems to be really excited about going to school and having friends there. She is not wearing pull-ups to bed anymore!! She is starting to become more independent- when she first got here she was attached at my hip, which was fine with me, but I am happy that she can find things to do that she enjoys! She can get dressed by herself and (the best thing) she can buckle herself into her carseat!! I am excited to see what progress she makes now that she is at school!! If I didn't already know that they were ment to be in our family this would show me!! I am so happy they are doing so well! I hope I can help them continue to progress!

Gas Prices

So as I am sure ALL of you have noticed Gas prices are CRAZY!! I looked On-line for "cheap" gas and the lowest they found in 20 miles of me was 3.75! We are on a budget and although I am trying to limit my driving, eventually we need gas! So at Albertsons you get $0.05 back for every $50 you spend...so I have been accumulating (with WIC too) and we had $0.25 off per gallon- wich put us around $3.64 per gallon-which isn't the best, but is better than a stick in the eye. So both our Van and the Honda were out of gas- oh and the lawn mower too.....So we took both cars and our gas can to Albertsons (about 2 blocks away) to get our discount. We looked insain with our cars parked all catty-wompus so that the hose would reach both cars! At Albertsons you can only get 20 gallons so we put around 9 gallon in each car and 2 in our gas can- when we got our recipt we saw that we only saved $5! Oh well $5 is $5, we got to strech out gas budget any way we can!

Feeding the ducks!

I tried to make some dinner rolls- they did not turn out....then I was talking to my grandma and she was telling me how fun it is for kis to go feed old bread to the ducks! What a great idea? So I thought we would try it...there is somthing so romantic about a warm afternoon, sitting by the pond, lightly tossing chuncks of bread into the water and the ducks glidding over to get it.

yesterday I was watching a 4 year old boy and a 2 year old girl- So all 5 of us went to Wapato park to feed the ducks, there were no ducks....

There were howeve Seagulls! Tons of them, swarming and snaching(finding Nemo...MINE!)...not quite the enchaning afternoon I had in mind, but the kids loved it! oh well! I think I will try to find a park with DUCKS next time!

Parade

We went to the Daffodil Parade today! It was SO fun! I have lived in this area my whole life and never been! So Malachi and I and our kids went and we met Manda, Jerm, Audrey, Buggie, Natalie, Granny, Grandpa and Grandma and Grandpa Swift too! We all wore Yellow to match....but you cant really tell because it was so cold most of the time we had our coats on!

Oh and Uncle Caleb was IN the parade, and he was really embarassed when his whole crazy yellow family was screaming when his band marched by!!

The kids loved all the floats and princesses and music...it was lots of fun!!

Spring Cleaning..

So I have got the Spring cleaning bug! I have been going through my whole house pulling everything out of the drawers and closets, getting rid of anything I have not thought about for 6 months- my garage is FULL of crap we are getting rid of!! So as I have been cleaning I am realizing that although I do NOT consider myself a pack-rat there are a few things that I am just not sure when is the RIGHT time to get rid of....For example- Do you throw away your old phone book when the new one arrives? I just recycled 6 old phone books....AND What about old prescription medications or expired over the counter medications- I have a TON! We had one that was Malachi's before we got married...I guess we always thought we would keep it "just in case"....."just in case" what? Why are we keeping it??? So I put them all in a ziplock and am going to get rid of them! Great I sound like the crazy phone book lady with a baggie full of pills! Do you do this too? Are there some things that you are NOT going to use, but you keep it "Just in case"??

Blogging Marathon and Mailman crush

So I have been lacking in my blogging (have you noticed?) and so there are several posts in a row to update you on our very non-eventful life. You will be all caught up! Happy reading.... I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom! I love hanging out with my kids. I love not having to go to work. I love being able to set my own time-table. But your day has a different rhythm, I hope this brings a smile to your face.... I have a very large window in the front of my house, and the mail normally comes at the same time every day, and it just so happens that I normally see the mailman coming, and so I normally wait until he puts it into my box, then I go and retrieve it. So I have a regular mailman- he is a very nice older gentleman (similar to picture above) and we have on occasion made small talk. So the other day I was in the kitchen and the mail truck pulled up...and it was NOT my mail man but a MUCH younger very attractive man- I don't know what it is about a man in uniform, but I got all flustered....Now I find myself looking to the mail and wondering if my regular mail man is on vacation or if this new Hot-mailman is my new one....Isn't that Pathetic??? The highlight of my day is when the mail comes??? Life as a Stay-at-home mom...can anyone relate?

March Goals!

So here is my March update (I know you were all sitting on pins and needles waiting for it) My goal was to keep in my grocery budget $300....I did okay I ended up spending $310 and that was mostly due to me spending extra on sugar-free and low fat foods for my diet! So my goal for my weight loss was to loose 20 lbs- I did NOT reach it but I did loose 16 lbs- so I am happy with that and I will have to just keep working on it!

Random thought- So I am not very good at taking pictures when Ido not have a blog to display them on...that is not good! So if anyone has cute pictures of my kids- please share them with me so I have them too!

Sick day!

Last Friday Malachi woke up around 5 and started throwing up, he decided to stay home from work and I was SO glad he did. 30 minutes later I started throwing up and then the kids did too....It was TERRIBLE! I could not even get out of bed! I have no idea if it was food poisoning or a flu bug...just to be safe we threw away our leftovers....whatever it was I hope it never comes back! Glad we are all feeling better!

First day of school!

So She had her first day of school on Monday- rode the bus and everything! She seemed to love it and was not scared at all!

Big kid bed

picture from October

You thought I was going to talk about the kid's beds huh???

So we have been married (almost) 4 years now and when we got married we bought a really nice mattress- I love our bed! When we moved into our house (3 years ago) we bought a canopy frame that I really like....But our bedding has been a Hodge-podge of odds and ends.... I've bought mis-matched sheets at ROSS and we have used a combination of twin sized blankets and queen comforters- we mostly have slept with separate blankets. So I made the bed spread (in October) and then for Christmas Emma made me a sheet set with a matching bed skirt (my bed sits 2 feet off the ground) and pillow cases that match (we sleep with 4 pillows- most sheet sets come with 2 so we are always mis-matched) ....THEN about 2 weeks ago (when Emma was in town) the Bound (sp?) my blanket....SO NOW I have a complete bed set!!!And it all matches!! WAHOO! Our bedroom looks like adults sleep in it!

Zoo

So we bought a season pass to the Zoo and I have wanted to go really bad, but it has been SO rainy...So a few days ago I watched the weather forcast and it said today (friday) was going to be pretty dry, So I planned to go, when I woke up this morning I found that it was RAINING...but not too bad so we decided to go anyway- we were there an hour and were soaked...I think we will go a different day instead!