Thursday, October 30, 2008

Daddy quit squishing me!


This was taken at about 5am. Emma came and crawled in bed with us at about 2:30 in the morning. She is a little oven. Immediately when I got up she scooted over and snuggled with daddy. Brad is used to leaning on me like that when he sleeps. I am not sure if he knew it was Emma or not, but I definitely couldn't pass up the opportunity to get this shot. So stinkin cute.
-Tamara-

Feeding the ducks


Carter has been telling is babysitter NO for the past few days. Well every day when we drive home he wants to stop and feed the ducks. So I made a deal with him. I said if he was a good boy at daycare I would get some bread and we could stop and feed the ducks on the way home. Well you better believe that the first thing he told me when I picked him up the other day was how good of a boy he was all day. So we stopped and fed the ducks. Now he asks everyday when we can feed the ducks again.
-Tamara-

The pumpkin patch



I couldn't get one of them together because Emma would not stand still. Two weeks ago we went to a pumpkin patch in Maricopa. The kids each got to pick out their own pumpkins. They had so much fun. Emma kept trying to pick out this huge pumpkin.
-Tamara-

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Pumkins


Yes folks that is correct, Emma is not wearing any pants. However that is not supposed to be the focal point of the picture. Look at our awesome pumpkins. We carved them last night. Carter's is the spider and Emma's is the bat. Pretty cool huh?.
-Tamara-

Monday, October 20, 2008

I almost died today....................

Ok, well not really, but it was a very scary situation for about a minute. I was driving to work this morning and one of the tires on Cort's car blew out. So it starts rattling, and I make my way to the side of the road. I then call my friend at work to come help me change it. He get's completely done changing it when I realize that the other front tire is also done. It has become so bald that I can literally see the inside of the tire. Sacry right? Anyway, so I apologize for making him drive all the way out to me, laying on the freeway and getting dirty, but I am not about to go anywhere. So I call roadside assistance and they say, yep he will be there in an hour. Really, really an hour. The dealership was like .2 miles up the road. Never-the-less I waited. Thank goodness my magazines came this weekend, and I had something to read. So I call my other friend to come pick me up not knowing that the driver would have taken me to work. The driver loads up the car, my friend calls and says that he will be there in 2 minutes. The driver says, ok let's go. I said oh, its ok I have a friend coming. He said, well I can't just leave you hear, what if you get ran over? Thanks for that image. I said, well I can't call my friend who is 1 minute away and tell him nevermind, so he stands there and waits. Question, if I were to potentially get run over, is he going to throw himself in between me and the car? Otherwise, it is pretty pointless that he is there. Anyway, we wait, and it is the longest 2 minutes ever, probably because it was like 10. So I had to try and make small talk with this man. He proceeded to tell me that he is very suprised that the tire did not damage the car, or that I did not get in an accident. Look buddy, I am already not having a great morning, is it really necessary for you to keep telling me the many ways I could have died this morning? I mean really. Well good news, everything is good, the car is fixed and I am not dead.
-Tamara-

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Good, The Bad, and the Undecided



So I took both kids on a red-eye flight to Grandma and Grandpa's in Florida. OH MY GOSH! Let's just say that the ONLY way I got through THAT was with butt-loads of help (what is a butt load?). So we're going to talk about the people that made our endless night possible. Person(s) #1: We'll call these people "The Jumpstart". Jake and Mandy let me hang at their house all weekend in SLC and then at 10pm Monday, Jake gave me a ride in 'his' Porsche to the airport. He then unloaded my bags and helped me wheel EVERYTHING in. Let me define 'everything'. 2 kids in PJ's, 1 double stroller, 2 50 lb suitcases, 1 loaded purse, 1 child's backpack, 1 enormous diaper bag, 2 carseats, and a dvd player. Obviously we will be labeling "the Jumpstart" folk: Good. On to "The Checker". So this lady sees me struggle bringing everything up to the desk and she cooly refers me to the auto-check machine. So I load the kids up and go there. It, of course, does not have my ticket listed since we changed the dates. She grudgingly walks over to help. I have to then load everything back to her counter. She finds my ticket (could have done that in the first place) and makes me lift the bags for weigh in. She watches impatiently while I switch the luggage lbs and chase very excited running children. Gives me my ticket with NO directions to speak of and sends me off. She's getting a Bad label. I had no idea where to go, but being a smart girl, I figure it out. Then we meet "Gate Checker." Not only does she pull me aside to help out, she offers to find us a row to ourselves even though Quincy was a lap infant with no assigned seat. Definitely Good. Then there's "Angel Attendant." As I struggle before the plane door to collapse the double stroller and placate my children, a gem of a lady comes to hold Quincy and help me carry my truckload. She brought me my carseat when Quincy fell asleep. She ignored the seatbelt rules when Avery was sleeping on my lap. She did not make me set on the outside despite regulation. She tried to get me a cart after the flight AND she carried half my stuff through the airport as far as she could. Very Very Good. As I left the plane with the AA, she asked if we could page a golf-carty thing for me. The "Dumb Gate Attendant" said not at this time in the morning. But not two minutes later I see a couple from my flight cruising by on one. She's Bad. As I struggled through the HUGE Atlanta airport, I of course got lost and an older black man, "Janitor Dave", helped my find my way AND helped me carry my stuff. Then as I sat waiting at my gate for the hour and a half before the next flight with my two sleeping children on my chest, he revisited me with blankets and said he likes to do one good deed a day. He's very Good too. I sat there paralyzed by my children, desperate to adjust when a sweet older "Lonely Lady" came by to chat. She had been stuck at the airport for 12 hours and had 12 to go! Poor thing missed her flight because she thought she had to recheck her bags during the layover. But she helped me put Quincy in her car seat so I could move and we chatted away some of her long wait. She's a "Good" lil' lady. But soon enough I had to pee. As I looked at Avery sleeping on the chair and Quincy in her seat next to the stroller, as well as the other car seat, stroller, and bags, I had no idea how to pull this off. So I went to the gate desk and met "Pompous B". I don't need to interpret. She didn't look up until it was obvious I wasn't going away. Then she said she couldn't help me for 5 minutes. Definitely Bad. So I waited and went back. Here's where we meet our first Undecided. I go back to the desk and "Big Black Bear" asks what I need. I ask him if I can leave my things (and kids) in someone's care to use the restroom. He says it's not allowed. I ask what I'm to do. He repeats that its not allowed. I repeat my side. He snaps, "Well don't tell ME anything." Later as I'm boarding he looks at my load and knowing I'd have to carry it down stairs and outside to the puddle jumper, he halfheartedly suggests getting me an elevator or something. See? "Undecided". Back to bathroom situation, I ask "Nice Old Couple" if they can keep an eye on the kids, and they agree. No big. They're Good. Then another Dave, "Hardhat Dave" helps me carry my stuff onto the plane, down some stairs, outside, and in the rain. He also helped me after the flight all the way to baggage claim. Another Good Dave. The hopper plane was so small that the seating was 2 by 2. Quincy was sleeping in her carseat, so I put her opposite of me. Avery was in my arms in and out of sleep. "Conflicted Attendant" comes along. "Face her carseat the other direction." "Is that seat approved?" "She can't sit by herself. You'll have to leave your son there buckled and sit by the baby." There would be no take off until I complied so I left a sobbing Avery buckled in a row all by himself while I sat next to an oblivious Quincy. In a moment of reconsideration, she asked the pilot for an exception and allowed Avery to sit on my lap next to Quincy. She later said, "if I could" put Avery in his seat for landing that would be good. I didn't. We have met our second "Undecided." Then comes the last life savers of the day. We'll call them "Mom and Dad." Dad picks me up and lets me promptly go to sleep while he skips work and watches the kids. He didn't bother me until I woke up. Then Mom came home and let me sleep some more! I couldn't have asked for anything better! Hallelujah for all those "Goods!" I think I dealt with more Goods than Bad or Un's. So that's a little boost for humanity. Like the Titanic (except not), my day became a test of characters and the Goods pulled through! Although the trip was LONG and ROUGH, it was doable only because of the little helpers. A fabulous reminder for me to be a "Good".


Monday, October 13, 2008

So...........

Here I am sitting here on my couch watching my children jump from couch to table and from table to couch and all I can think is I wonder if that would be fun for me. To be small, without a care in the world except bed time. My kids hate bed time. Anyway, they are amused by the simplest things. I have purchased hundreds of dollars worth of toys for my children, and are they playing with them? No, they are jumping off of couches. It's amazing isn't it? How are lives have become so material, we even make our children that way. We can't go one commercial break without Carter finding at least 5 things he wants for Christmas. Guns here, cars there, even blendi pens, blendi pens, yeah right like that is going to happen. I still haven't painted over the artwork on the bathroom wall. It doesn't matter because they would lose interest after a week anyway. There is one thing however that they have not lost interest in, quite possibly the best thing we have ever purchased, HOTWHEELS. Can I just tell you that keeps Carter, if not Emma as well, busy for hours on end. I don't know what it is about those little cars, but you better believe I will continue to purchase them. Heck, if I get the right track, they even amuse my big kid (Brad :)). Well that's all for today folks, hope you have enjoyed the reading.
-Tamara-

That's better


All she needed was her shoes. That's my girl. Emms loves shoes. She will wear any shoes she can find. Hers, Carter's, Daddy's, mom's even Cortney's. She is building up quite the little selection.
-Tamara-

Sunday, October 12, 2008

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

Miss Emma loves the waterslide. But for some reason it always takes her a minute to warm up to it. This was taken at her 2nd birthday party. She kept saying that she didn't want to go down. Finally nana put her at the top and helped her go down. She sat at the bottom of that waterslide for about 5 minutes pouting and crying. And guess what she did next, yep that's right got right back up there and went down again. This time by herself.
-Tamara-

Muscles


This is one in a series of about nine photos of Carter showing us his muscles. He tells us all the time he wants to be a fighter fighter (firefighter). Well he certainly has his calendar pose down.
-Tamara-

Spiderman



Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever

a spider can. Those of you who know my children know that they are nuts. Running, jumping, climing on anything and everything. I can't believe we have only had one trip to the hospital over the years (and that was for trying to get off of a chair). This was at Emma's second birthday party. Carter kept jumping off the top of the waterslide. At one point I think he almost missed it entirely. Anyway, this is jut more proof that my children are fearless.


-Tamara-

Friday, October 10, 2008

Kids say the darndest things

We all know those pesky Shane Co. commercials. Well we were driving home the other day and one came on. At the end of the commercial Carter said, right along with the announcer, "And online at Shane Co.com." I thought it was the cutest thing.
-Tamara

Avery just learned about his "private parts." He pulled down his pants and showed Grandma his goodies and said, "Grandma, these are my private parts." The three year old dialect made that sentence priceless!
-Summer

We've all said it: "If you want to have dessert you need to eat your veggies." "If you want to go play, you need to clean your room." Well I never thought I'd hear it come out of my childs mouth. The other day Carter and Emma were playing with hotwheels. Cater gave Emma the little track and he took the big one. Emma kept trying to play on the big one. I heard Carter say, "Emma do you want to play with my cars?" She said "YES" He said, "then you need to use the little one." I couldn't help but laugh, I guess he really is listening when I talk huh?
-Tamara-

Yes folks that's right my little Emms is ghetto. She was playing with Cortney (for those of you who don't know him, he is our roommate) the other day and these 4 little words that came out of her mouth kept me laughing for about 5 minutes. She said, and I quote "I am not buggin"
-Tamara-


Well folks it finally happened. My sweet little Emma turned. We were driving to soccer last Friday night and the kids were in the back enjoying their happy meals. We were all listening to music and Brad started singing. Out of no where Emma, through a mouth full of chicken nugget said Daddy.............Shut up. Now in our house that is a naughty word, but we couldn't help but laugh a little at her. Carter then shortly reminded her that it was a "bad word say." That is what he calls it. We promptly reminded her that she cannot say things like that and I told her it was a naughty word. She said "I not naughty." I explained that she was not but the word was. I am sure it isn't the last time we will hear that come out of her mouth, but the first time is always a shock.
-Tamara-

Well I said Carter was smart and funny. This is a perfect example: About a month ago I was upstairs putting laundry away and Carter was downstairs playing. He yelled "mom I want to watch Wall-E." I started to walk downstairs and he was like "mooooooooooommmmmmmmmm" I said "Carter patience is a vurtue." He said "I kow what it is, I just don't have any." I almost fell down the stairs I was laughing so hard.
-Tamara-

My kids are getting sassier by the day. We had just gone to the grocery store and I got the kids a pack of chapstick becasue they are always using mine. Well Emma was playing with hers and she kept rolling it all the way up. Carter started yelling that she couldn't do that becasue it was going to break. I said "Carter, stop yelling and your sister, it is her chapstick, if she breaks it, it is her problem." So about 5 minutes later she dropped it on the floor of the Van while we were driving and she said, "my chaspick". Carter said "well, it's your problem." I guess it is time to start watching how I word things around my kids huh?
-Tamara

So Carter is just about the darn funniest kid I have ever met. The other day he found a car that apparently he had lost. He was like "Mom, I found my car, man I haven't seen this in ages!". Ages, he is 4. I actually think he is a 30yr old trapped in a 4yr olds body.
-Tamara-