Pinwheels

I taught Tom's preschool today, it's my turn for the next two weeks. We were learning about wind and I found this idea to make pinwheels. I was surprised how much they loved playing with them. They were very easy to make, but my version might be a little dangerous if the kids aren't careful - I used a straight pin to keep the four corners of the paper together and then pushed it through to the eraser part of a pencil. I only pushed the pin so that it didn't poke through the other side of the eraser, but if the kids push on the straight pin they could poke themselve - but none of the kids did, so far no pokes, just lots of fun.

Swimming plan number two

Since they found out on Saturday that it is still a little too cold outside for swimming, they opted for my bathtub and their swim gear as the swimming place of choice.
Tom didn't do up his life vest. I guess he is wearing it more for looks than for safety reasons.
Charlie on the other hand is ready for anything. His vest is snapped up and his goggles are on (crooked as they may be). That's my kind of swimming - in nice warm tub temperature water rather than freezing cold water outside where the wind is also bringing on the chill.

Resourceful Children

For the past week or two the boys have been bugging me about getting out their swimming pool and blowing it up so they can play in the water. I keep telling them that it really isn't warm enough yet. Saturday I don't even know if they bothered to ask, as the took it upon them selves to drag the pool out from it's storage spot in the garage, drag it outside, find the tool to blow air into the pool and then got my keys to the car so they could plug the air blower into the power source. I had to come help them at that point, because the cord to the blower is short and I needed to back the car out of the garage so the pool could sit by the car in order to blow it up. I then let them finish what they had started on their own.

Becca in the car while the boys blow up their swimming pool.

My children are very independent and when they are doing a good job of something on their own I don't like to interfere. On the other hand, when they are being too resourceful (ie. doing something potentially dangerous, or too messy) I do interfere and don't allow them to do it on their own. I had to help them with the end part of getting the bottom layer of the pool blown up, but over all they did a great job. Charlie even got the hose out of the garage, hooked it up to the spigot and then filled the pool up.
Tom was hiding under the pool while Charlie was blowing it up.
After they got it filled with water and had been in it just a minute or two Charlie came in the house and asked if he could put the pool in the garage. When I asked him why he said because it was too cold outside. - Ahh! so mother was right - it really isn't warm enough yet. I explained that out in the sunshine would be warmer than in the garage in the shade so they made do for a while longer and toughed it out.

Spring

I love beautiful flowers. I wish my yard was full of them. I took these pictures downtown. When I lived in Salt Lake I lived with a lady who had lots of flowers planted all over her yard. Spring was my favorite when all of her bulb flowers would blossom - tulips and all those kinds of flowers. I do have one rose bush planted. I have an area to the side of my house that I would love to make into my secret garden someday. I don't know if the heat of St. George is really ideal for most flowers, but I'll find the ones that do work.

Resaons to be Happy today

I'm happy today for the sunshine - that is definitely one reason I love living in St. George - so many sunny days.

I'm happy that I feel good today - yesterday I felt very blah and just not myself, it's nice to be back to myself today.

I'm happy for a wonderful husband. He took it upon himself to tend to our neglected kitchen. I hadn't done dishes for a few days. He asked me if I made stew in the crockpot tonight just because it was the only clean dish left. Hah, hah. Anyway, now my kitchen is sparkling clean thanks to my husband.

I'm happy today that I made a menu (something I haven't done for weeks) and I went shopping and then came home and cut up all the vegetables for the veggie tray, so the kids can snack on that and not look for sugary things to eat. As long as there is "carrot sauce" (ranch) the kids love eating veggies.

I'm happy today that I took the kids to the dinosaur museum. We pass by it quite often and they are always asking to go, but I make excuses. Tom cornered me today and I promised that I would take him after Charlie got home from preschool, he wasn't very happy about that, he wanted to go "now". Charlie took his notebook so he could "take notes", during the intro video he was busy drawing pictures, I guess that was his notes. After buzzing through the museum I tried to herd my kids quickly past the gift shop, but they had to stop and look and touch everything, despite my warnings not to touch anything. They wanted everything - I told them they would have to save their own money and come back a different time to buy. Charlie asked how much a particular item was - $18 - his face fell, he knew that was a lot of money for him. Then he cheered up and started thinking of different chores he could do to earn money. Later he asked me if he earned money for picking up his room earlier that day, he wasn't happy when the answer was no - we only earn money for extra chores, not for things that need to get done daily.

I'm happy today for kids who love to learn. Charlie is really into writing his letters and trying to figure out how to spell words. In the past he has written a bunch of letters in a row"sfltsid" and then asks me what that spells. Now he asks me how to spell specific words. I help him sound it out and he usually figures it out on his own. He loves to make lists of words that he knows, "bat, cat, charlie, tom, mom, dad". Today he wrote each of the letters in the alphabet in order and then asked me, how do you spell, "now I know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me". Kids are so cute.

Boy or Girl?

I went for my prenatal checkup yesterday and the doctor did and ultrasound (first time seeing this baby - now I know that there really is a baby in there, I always wonder and seeing it on the monitor makes it real more than just seeing my tummy get bigger) and the baby's feet were in the way and we did not find out what it was. (this is not a picture of my ultrasound, just one from the internet).

I thought I would take a poll as to people's predictions - boy or girl?

I'll tell you my vote after some of you share yours. In two weeks I get another ultrasound and hopefully we'll find out.

Although being pregnant and having a baby is always exciting, somehow number four just isn't the same as baby number one or even baby number two. By the time you get to baby number four you know what you are getting yourself into and you have the reality of three other children, whereas baby number one got your undivided attention.

The other day I was having a tough day and my kids seemed so uncooperative and I thought of a neighbor lady who always seems calm and composed with her four children and I thought to myself, "well maybe by the time I get to baby number four I'll learn to be more calm" then I realized I am pregnant with number four, "crap, well, maybe by the time I get to number 5".
It just comes at you so fast. I just had baby three a year and a bit ago and pretty soon I'll have four. When I started having children I always thought that four seemed like a good amount of kids for a family. Now I'm at number four and I'm not sure - maybe 5. Of course on days when all is mayhem I wonder at the three that I already have and wonder why I think I would want more. Then on others days, when we are all cuddled up together, laughing and having fun, I love the joy of it all, these precious little ones that are mine for just a short while.

Love my balloon

Charlie bought this balloon yesterday. He chose it and took it to the cashier and paid for it. Before we went into the store Charlie showed me a handful of change and said he was going to buy something. I didn't think he would have enough to buy anything. After he bought the balloon he said, "See mom, I told you I had enough".
One balloon and three kids is not a good ratio. The boys had fun with it for awhile, but Becca won out in the end and once she got a hold of it she would not let go, almost quite literally. I went to the Temple last night and my sister Debbie put the kids to bed. When I got home and peeked in on Becca, she was asleep, but she still had the ribbon of the balloon tightly in her hand, she was not going to chance having it taken away.

Another bunny

Charlie's preschool teacher had the same idea as Tom's. Now we have two bunnies hopping around our house.

The boys have been earning easter eggs, candy filled of course. I call them service eggs and when they do something nice they earn an egg. After they eat the candy ( I want them to earn a lot of eggs, but not get too sick on candy, so I only put four jelly beans in each one) they put the empty egg in the basket so we can see it fill up and see how much kindness we have been sharing.

I'm hoping this will help me to find more of the kind things that they do and not get so wrapped up in how much they aren't kind or aren't quick to obey - it's too easy to let the negative overwhelm the positive.

New Decor

The candle is my big splurge. Buying name brand candles isn't cheap, although this is the candle of the month that was on sale -yea!, but I've discovered that this is definitely one area where it pays to spend a little more. I've bought cheaper candles and some are okay, but if you want true room permeating smell Salt City is the way to go. I had this candle burning all afternoon and my whole house smelled so good. This is a new scent called "Spa Tropic" and it is so springy and fresh, I think this will be the first candle I will burn to the bottom, and probably in record time, it's so yummy I just want to burn it all the time.

I went to Roberts Craft today to find a craft to make for Easter, but they didn't have anything, so I bought the pre-made blocks. I love the spring colors. I wish the lettering was a little darker, it's hard to read, but still they are fun. I love gerber daisies and thought they would be another nice touch of spring. I usually only decorate for halloween and Christmas, but I would like to branch out and be more seasonal. I've always enjoyed decor for other holidays and a change of scenery in my home, it's more of an issue of money and storage.

Handsome Boys

My handsome little men. I rarely comb Charlie's hair (because he won't let me), but it looks so good when I do. Tom's hair is usually poofy no matter what I do.
Tom's little face is so sweet.
I had to take a ton a pictures before I got one of Charlie with a nice smile, he kept wanting to do goofy faces, but I wanted a handsome picture of him - it's been awhile since I've taken a good picture of him.

The older Tom and Charlie get the better friends they become. They didn't use to play together too much, but they are becoming inseperable - where one goes there goes the other. It's fun to listen to them interact with each other. Charlie definitely plays the big brother role and likes to show Tom how to do things, and how to do things the right way if he doesn't like the way Tom is doing something. The past two days they have been wearing matching outfits. They only have one outfit that matches, so it's been the same outfit for two days. Actually most of yesterday Tom was wearing a different shirt and was upset because he couldn't find "his like Char".

Tom is at the "let's explore everything" stage and is constantly getting into things that he should not. Sometimes Charlie will alert me to the situation, but sometimes he doesn't and I sure wish he would. Yesterday Tom decided that his plastic car needed some gas. Pretending wasn't good enough and he found the gas can in the garage and proceeded to pour some in. He did this while in the garage and then proceeded out to the driveway where he added some more. I knew the kids were outside playing, but when I had checked on them a few minutes before everything was okey-dokey. Then Charlie came in to get something and he smelled funny. I recognized the smell as gas and asked why he smelled like gas. Thankfully he fessed up right away and said that "Tom did it". I went outside to investigate and found puddles of gas. I was taking in all in stride until I saw Becca over by one of the puddles. I quickly grabbed her and herded the kids in the house. I threw away Tom and Becca's clothes because I don't think the gas smell will ever fully wash out. Children are too quick to get in trouble.

Tom bunny

Today in Tom's preschool class they made these cute hats. I hurried Tom home as quick as I could so I could take a picture before the hat got ruined. As I was pulling the camera out of the closet I heard him say he ripped his hat, I wasn't quick enough. Luckily tape fixed it quite nicely and I was able to preserve the memory of my cute bunny.

Taysom Clan

Monday was my mother-in-law, Susan's, birthday and everyone was there except my husband Jeremy. Ironic thing is that he is the one that called and arranged everything, but then got held up at work until it was over. Susan has 6 boys and they all live in St. George. It's fun when we have get togethers and the cousins get to play together.
(I'm on the second row with sun glasses holding Becca, Tom and Charlie are somewhere on the top row, with only eyes showing)

Rub a dub dub

Rub a dub dub 3 kids in a tub.
Mostly for convenience sake I bathe all three kids at the same time, but also because as soon as I get one in the tub they all come running. I really should at least bathe them in my tub, because it is twice the size, but I don't like the mess in my bathroom so this will have to do.
I couldn't resist taking this picture. I was sure that they were going to move before I could get back with my camera, but they didn't. To me what makes this picture so sweet is little Becca in between her two big brothers. I don't know why they were all sitting that direction, but it made for the perfect photo op.

Kid Update

This afternoon Charlie and I had a nice afternoon together while Becca and Tom went on a car ride with Jeremy. I asked Charlie if he knew why I loved him so much and he said, "Ya, because I'm cute." I said, you sure are, and you are such a good helper and a wonderful big brother. He had the biggest grin on his face.











Tom and Charlie had a sleepover in Pine Valley with grandma and grandpa Taysom this weekend. They had a great time and I find that I always enjoy my kids a little more after a short period of separation, especially one where they had a good fun time and are in a good mood when they come back home.

Becca is such a cutie. She is so sweet and loving. Becca is 16 months old now. She has learned how to fold her arms for prayer - it is so precious to watch such a small child fold her arms and she cocks her head to the side. She is also quite the little helper. She loves to help pick things up and put them away. The other day I was doing dishes and she wandered over and picked up the silverware and was trying to reach the drawer to put them away. The front of the drawer is missing, so she was able to stand on her tip toes and and shove them into the drawer. How cute is that. Then she started taking the plates out one by one and handing them to me. Obviously she has been watching when I have the boys help.

Tom can be a sweet child, but it seems that lately he is more into being obstinate. The other day he was being so stubborn and I asked him if he knew what stubborn was. He shook his head yes, but wouldn't say any words as to indicate he truly did understand. I threw out a few adjectives and he still nodded. He is getting a little better at not being quite so stubborn, but for the most part if Tom doesn't want to do something that I want him to do it is no use fighting or trying to force it because Tom does not back down and won't do it until he is good and ready. I have learned to back off real quick and not force things and usually he will comply faster. It's particularly frustrating when I'm in a hurry and need him to get his socks on or get dressed or whatever - if I push him too much all is lost - he has trained me real good, I just wish I could figure out how to train him.

Eating spaghetti

Becca loves spaghetti. I used to give her the noodles without sauce, but once she found out about sauce she refuses to eat it without the sauce. I don't understand why kids have to smear it everywhere (eyes, forehead, etc) but at least she didn't get it in her hair this time.

Smelling flowers

I love the face Becca makes when she smells something. These flowers are on the dining room table - Becca's favorite place to be. She is always climbing up on the table and I don't even bother to get her down because she just climbs right back up. She'll spend 20 or 30 minutes on the table, and not even for the flowers, I only put them there yesterday and she's been table climbing for weeks now. The flowers are my valentine gift from Jeremy. They are tulips that just bloomed last week. They've come to the end of life and I need to throw them away, but Becca still enjoys smelling them.