The Frehner Family

I'm often up at 2:30 a.m.

2011-08-17T02:27:00.000-07:00

Why? I'm not really sure. Lots of nights I work on pictures, sometimes (not often enough) I clean, other times I think I just enjoy having a little quiet time to do pretty much nothing. I'm kind of an insomniac. Tonight, my two youngest were sharing in my sleeplessness. I had the opportunity to volunteer for four hours tonight at the Cub Scout Day Camp (and yes, I realize all blessing from doing so are now cancelled because I'm announcing it to the world instead of serving quietly…working on that…see a few posts below…) Anywho…kids were at my mom's until Brad picked them up. Then they fell asleep on the way home, then they proceeded to take a three hour power nap at 6 p.m. Which means they were wide awake at 9:00 til little Roonie finally fell asleep at 1:06. Did I mention I herded cub scouts around and took pictures of 400 of them tonight?

Okay, no more griping. I have be insanely busy with pictures. Which is awesome! Love, love, love being able to get out of the house, have a little spending money and meet very cool people.

As for all the happenings of summer…we are enjoying it. I took two trips to Utah with the kids (by myself…) not because Brad doesn't enjoy "vacationing" in the fabulous state of Utah with his hot wife and 3 toddlers, but because he just got a new job. He is working at Station Casinos again.

Okay, here's the good part… some pictures.

Crap. I hate that I can't tell when I'm uploading pictures. Dominic loved participating in Sawyer's pack meeting while we were in Utah. He wanted to know when he was going to get to be in scouts. I'm sure the 50 foot slip 'n slide had NOTHING to do with it.
Me and the babes waiting to ride TRAX after going to Temple Square. Either Lori and I are the blondest people to to and figure out that dang thing, or it's not very user friendly…don't answer that.
Family reunion in Cedar! We loved swimming at the pool. By we, I mean Brad and the kids. Not sure how my suit didn't get packed. Brad wore them out in the pool, then I drove them to PG to hang with Lori and co. for a few days.
Thought with all the pictures I take of other people, I should try to squeeze in a few of my own kiddos. Love them. Seriously, looking at these guys makes me want to be a better person.
This stinker turn 2 in July! He cracks me up and when he doesn't have his dang "saaassy" in his mouth, the boy can carry on quite the conversation. My favorite thing as of late, is when he wants something from JAde or D and yells at them and says, "SHARE." Clear as a bell. Pretty darn funny.

5, Really?

2011-04-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

Dominic turned 5 today. Last night he had a "Mario and Luigi" party…yeah, no decorations for those. Nintendo apparently is pretty darn stingy with their copyrights…so I had to improvise. I just wish that I didn't have quite so many irons in the fire, as usual, and perhaps my improvisation skills would have been better!

However, he's 5, and although he loved his party, the tiny details that I get a little OCD about, mean little to D…he was just thrilled to pieces that his cousins and friends were there!

We ate pizza, had a "Yoshi Egg Hunt" and smacked the crap out of a piñata! And then had cake…yes, the cake.

I'm a little embarrassed to even blog about my stupidity of the Mario cake. Every other year I make a cake (6 hours making Elmo on his second birthday…check) or cupcakes (4 dozen worm cupcakes on his 3rd bday…check) (oh wait, those got obliterated by the cooler and I had to by nasty, greasy Food 4 Less ones…)

Anyway, I couldn't for the life of me find any Mario anything cake. I knew my time was super limited before the party…so I wanted to purchase his cake. Finally, after scouring the internet for ideas and going to every grocery store…a nice lady at Smith's came to my rescue. She could make a Mario cake. Done. All I had to do was buy the little figurines to go on top. She assured me I could find them at Toys 'R Us. Okay, no problem. The cake came to $25…not $3.00, like homemade cupcakes, but I'll take it.

So, Brad goes to get the little Mario guys to go on the cake…I knew they would be pricey. In my head I had $15 for some reason…$26.99! WTH!!!! I want stock in these plastic guys that couldn't cost more than 5 cents to make. (I think I might be the only one crazy/dumb enough to purchase them.)

So long story short…these five little plastic figurines cost more than a sheet cake that fed 50 people!

Other than that small oopsie, it was a great party…great day…for a great kid.

Tonight we celebrated by going to the park as a family and having some McDonald's. (DD requested spaghetti, but I had no sauce and was too beat to go to the store and then make dinner…Mom of the year right here.)

Brad showing the kids how to roll down the hill. I thought it was the coolest thing…so did the kids. Good thing they have one fun parent, right!

DD got a camera from Grandma and Grandpa Sheila (as he calls them). Makes my little heart happy to see him snapping away all day long.

A beautiful day

2011-02-15T21:31:00.000-08:00

Playing duck, duck…goose!

Serious snacking going on…

My boy needs a haircut…bad.

I remember when my sister's kids that are 15 months apart went through this phase where people thought they were twins. Hudson always seemed soo much smaller than my other kids…but he is catching up big time.

I have the kids do "races" every time we go to the park. It tires them out very nicely:) I join in on some of them too, but since I had my big camera today I sat out.

Trying to get five kids under five to get in the same picture is darn near impossible.

Cute girl in piggies:)

Roonie doing his "excited face." Pretty darn cute in person…the face and the kid:)

I love this picture:)

I know that in just a few short months doing anything outside will be completely unbearable. So when the temperature is PERFECT, like it was today, I try to take full advantage. Plus, I'm a firm believer in taking my kids out in the sunshine. It's good for them. It's good for me. I'm less cranky when I get an hour of pure detox time in it. Today, we went to Hailey Hendricks park by my mom and dad's house. No swings (plus for me because Dominic can't try to wedge his huge self into baby swings) but plenty of toddler play! We were the only ones there too!

On the way home we rocked the mini-van out to Taylor Swift. All five kids were be-bopping to the music. Then Dominic wanted to "rock out" to his primary music. So I turned on and Lukey and Dominic were belting out the words…so cute!

The perfect Saturday…

2011-02-13T23:49:00.000-08:00

I always have lofty visions of the perfect Saturday. It consists of perfect weather (we had it), going on an outing (yeah for the carousel!), getting pictures (got some!) and going out to eat (check!)

Love my little kiddos and their sweetness. Jade was scared to ride the carousel so Dominic held her hand the entire time. Such a good big brother. Poor Hudson crashed right before we got there. He has a nice nap while on the carousel. Then we went to eat at a little chicken place. We ate outside. It was a perfect day for me. :)

Getting my Martha on:)

2011-02-13T23:40:00.000-08:00

I've been in the crafty mood lately. I made these little goodies for Dominic's teachers for Valentine's day. He has two teacher and two assistants. Hope they enjoy the shabby-chic-homemade-look:)

They were super easy and cheap! The little blocks are left over from my Dad cutting me a billion at Christmas to make some ornaments for my Mom…the picture frames were on clearance at Target for $1.74 or something. I got the vinyl but still have a ton of that left.

Maybe someday I'll decorate my own house instead of just giving away everything cute I make!

All about me:)

2011-02-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

I am kind of digging this updating my blog thing. It's so much more substantial than facebook. Tonight I am going to write a little bit about myself. I went to an Enrichment meeting tonight and a very dear Sister gave a "fireside" type lesson. It was pretty cool…probably mostly because it counted as some alone time for me. (Love that my hubby knows that is an important thing and never gripes when I need it!)

Anyway…she is a marriage and family therapist. She is just interesting. She taught us this technique that gets both sides of your brain working together to cope, deal, etc. with situations. So, I struggle with Dominic in the morning, and I am going to try it to see if it helps.

It was also on self-esteem and self-worth, so I've decide to post about myself tonight:)

Okay, on to some ramblings about myself…

1. I love food. I just ate some red peppers and dip and it was just about the best thing I every put into my mouth. I enjoy cooking when I have a clean kitchen and hope to one day have a bigger kitchen with more counter space. But mostly, I love food. All types, everything. I love home cooked meals as well as eating out. Lately, I like to only go to dine sans children. Not that my kids are bad, just too much money and anxiety with the whole family.

I like healthy food and unhealthy food…I don't discriminate:) I would rather run ten miles than deny myself food or whole food groups for that matter. I don't think I would be a successful dieter. EVER. I try to develop the mantra of making better food choices…

2. I joke around about having adult ADD, but seriously, I think I have it. I like to bounce from project to project and keep things new and fresh. I start something and sometimes never finish, or finish right away. It's kind of a problem:)

3. I am perfectly happy being a wife and mother. I think it took working really hard for what seemed like many years to fully appreciate my divine role in life. I think if I would have gotten married and had kids first, before working full time I might have had a grass is greener attitude, but when I worked, my job was stressful to me. It was in sales. My "bosses" wanted to see performance and money. I worked with many wonderful people, but I also worked with people that were pretty slimy. There is not a day goes by that I don't sincerely thank Heavenly Father for being able to stay home with my kids. I still have dreams and border-line panic attacks about working.

4. I am fiercely loyal. I don't do well when people speak ill or find fault with people or ideas that I hold dear. That can be an admirable quality, but it's also caused me to get myself worked up over things that I should let go of. The closer the person or idea, the greater it affects me:)

(Speaking of fiercely loyal and work, today I was helping in DD's classroom and some girl comes in to take his yearbook make-up picture. I immediately was on edge because I knew they weren't printing their yearbook through the company I used to work for. I wanted to join the PTA just so I could take over and make a good looking yearbook and print it with Herff Jones… I've got problems, I know!)

5. I'm not a fan of negative people. I sometimes get physically ill because of contentious people.

6. I am not a morning person. My kids are all really good sleepers. I am so grateful for that.

7. I try to keep an eternal perspective on things. I am not always great at it, but I try.

8. Brad and I have a very different sense of humor. He has one, and I don't:)

9. I think Brad has character. I admire that so much in him. I used to be an avid listener to Dr. Laura. I really liked her show. At first I thought she was super harsh and almost rude to people. But the more I listened, the more I understood whet she was saying. She wanted people to develop character. Brad has that. It's being who you are no matter who is watching. It is not being worried about other people, but doing right because it's right and having those conviction no matter what. I love that Brad helps people because it's his personality. And he does so quietly. He is kind even if people are a little annoying. I'm pretty sure that's why he's my hubby, because I have a lot to learn in that department. He is calm, and I need that.

10. I like to shop. I could spend hours at Ross, Marshall's, Home Goods, Kohls, anywhere. Just looking. It's so relaxing to me. I love looking at things. I love it even more when I am with my sister(s) and/or sister-in-law(s). I don't even really have to buy stuff. I just love to shop.

11. I really wish I had someone I could call up during the day and hang out or be crazy with me and drag all our kids to Target to shop, or go to the park, or library or come over and craft, etc. I have friends, but I get too nervous to call people up to do dumb things spontaneously. I loved when my sister lived here and would call me to go to Kohls at 8:00 p.m. It is one of my fondest memories!

12. I used to and might still do have a little complex about being okay at a lot of things but not being really good and a few things…dumb and confusing, I know. I don't feel like elaborating right now…

13. I am trying to enjoy little moments more. Today, my sweet little Jade told me she wanted to be a mommy when she grows up. She wants five babies and to push them in a stroller…love it! Today Dominic and I were playing Super Mario Brothers, I kept overreacting and getting all ticked (jokingly) when I died…I think he was getting a kick out of it. And Hudson, love his cute little way he bobs his head to music and dances.

Okay…wrote enough about myself for a few years:) I'm sure many of my thoughts are pretty universal to mothers/women/sisters/girls. :)

Okay, to have my face this big scared me a little, so I moved the pic to the bottom of the post:)

2011-02-07T21:20:00.001-08:00

So I was reading some older blog posts of mine the other day and decided that if nothing else, I love reading about my kids and their cute little quirks and mannerisms at the time. With my Adult ADD I have a hard time focusing on one thing…so sometimes my scrapbooking is really great, and sometimes it seriously lacks:)

So update on the kiddos -

Dominic

For Chirstmas, DD got a Wii. Life hasn't quite been the same! He loves to play SuperMario Brothers. I thought he would never love anything as much as Diego…but it appears he has traded in Baby Jaguar and Rescue Pack for Mario and Luigi.

He is in the pre-k program at the school he is zoned for kindergarten. He has two really sweet, yet firm teachers that have been teaching for like 25 years. I have helped a few times and am extremely impressed with their structure and patience! The classroom runs like clockwork! They encourage imaginative play and everything is about vocabulary and the children communicating effectively with one another. I think it is pretty awesome. I can see tremendous growth in Dominic. It was pretty cool in his "parent-teacher conference" back in Dec. his teacher showed me examples of things he knew/wrote etc. in September vs. what he was doing now. It was wonderful to see the progress. I, of course, think he is one smart little guy, but it's nice to hear other people think he is smart too.

He loves to play with his cousin Lukey. Yesterday we went to Sara and Mike's for dinner. Luke wasn't home yet. Dominic sat looking out the window watching for Luke. He often saves treats and things he gets to share them with Luke.

He also has this neat little bond with Hudson. He is very protective and good to him. I hope that is always the case and they are always super close.

Dominic has also gotten in habit of wanting to share his testimony of fast Sunday. I am in that place where I am torn because I want it to be appropriate, but I also want him to have confidence and always have the desire to share his testimony. So we are 2 for 2 so far in 2011…which means I go up there with him, which means I bear my testimony too. So I suppose he is gently pushing me to be a better person.

Jade

Jade is one funny little girl! First of all, she is completely girly-girl! In fact, I just went through her clothes today and got rid of almost everything that wasn't dress. She loves dresses and that's what she wants to wear. Every. Single. Day. Not just dresses, fancy ones that spin and twirl like Taylor Swift. Speaking of Taylor Swift, she has a nit of an obsession with her too. Loves her music and knows all the words to pretty much every song. She also loves make-up. She asks me to put it on her every day when I'm doing mine. She isn't satisfied just just some shimmer on her cheeks either. She wants mascara and eyeshadow and base. Oh my…did I mention she's 3! I love that when I tell her she is cute or beautiful she giggles and says, "I know." I hope she always thinks she is beautiful. The world would have a lot less problems if more girls believed they were beautiful:)

Jade has shown an interest in the computer. She loves to get on PBSkids and NickJr. She likes to play with barbies and babies and loves to play outside too. She got a kitchen for Christmas and likes playing house with it.

She is a very verbal kid! I can't remember when she didn't talk! But a while ago she started talking in this "baby voice." It was driving me nuts! I can't even explain it, but it was like another language. Then one day I heard her talking to Brad. They were both talking like that. It kind of cracked me up and made me furious all at the same time. Now we all say "Dadoos" as kind of a joke. Funny enough, when we were all joking around about it instead of me getting angry with her, she stopped doing the "baby voice." Isn't that how parenting goes? The things you think are SUCH A BIG DEAL at the time turn out to be nothing.

Jade also loves to help clean if she's helping me. Leaving her alone to clean something up in her room, not as much. But supervised, she can be a huge help. She was loading the washer for me today, wiping down chairs and putting away clothes. I'll take all the help I can get, thank you:)

We love our little Jade. It is such a different experience her being a girl. She is definitely more emotional. When Jade gets in trouble, I can just spat her on the bum, not even hard, and she loses it. Whereas Dominic can seriously gets spanked until my hand is throbbing and laugh. Proof that you have to tailor your discipline to each child.

Hudson

Okay, what can I say about this little guy and his infectious smile and laugh? He is talking up storm. I'm sure what he says isn't clear to everyone, but to me, the toddler whisperer, it is pretty darn clear:) I have to say, the funniest is when he farts, laughs and says "far-t" TMI, I know, but pretty stinkin' funny:)

He eats all the time. He loves foods. All kinds of food. Today he ate an entire pumello. What's a pumello you ask? It's a big grapefruit looking thing only not as sour, more sweet. He loves them. I can't section them off fast enough. He also loves his chocolate milk. There are days when I think it might be cheaper and more convenient to have a dairy cow in my backyard. I don't think I noticed the increase in food that much with just two kids, but three seems like I am at the store every other day replacing the staples…milk, bread and eggs:)

Hudson has got this nickname, "Roonie." It started as Buster, then Buster-roonie, now affectionately shorten to just Roonie.

He loves music. The other day when he woke up he has two pacifiers in his hands and was singing, "Sa-she, sa-she, na, na, na." It was pretty cute. He love to dance and bob his big ol head to any music.

They poor little guy went from having like 4 teeth to every single tooth coming in at the same time! His little gums are so swollen right now in the back. I feel bad for him because he will take my finger and stick it in his mouth and try to bite as hard as he can.

He still has his cute little dimples…he is daring and has no fear. He falls down, cries, and gets back up and is trying to climb something again! He is the "climber" in nursery. He is always on top of the tables. I have to put all my chairs on top of the table or he is climbing up on it every chance he gets!

Okay, that should do it for some documentation:) As for me and Brad… we are loving having Brad home more often since he passed all of his CPA exams! We are very excited that HUGE weight has been lifted off our shoulders! His bosses are signing off on his hours and his stuff goes before the board in March. YEAH! We are hoping for some new opportunities soon.

He has been able to relax somewhat, watch a little TV, spend time with me and the kids, go to FHE, and work out again. He also managed to beat Super Mario Brothers after one week. Dominic was so proud:)

Me, I have been attempting to keep our house cleaner. I have been trying to dedicate every Monday to laundry. I usually do every speck of laundry and whatever else I can get done. Today it was steam mopping floors and cleaning the kids' drawers out. My house is by no means clean, but much better than it has been.

I also have been busy with photography stuff. This past fall was super busy, but we are super grateful because we were able to have extra Christmas money. I love it. I also love crafting in general. I got a sewing machine for my birthday and finally took it out of the box on Saturday! I made Jade a little dress. I am excited to learn more and take on more projects!

Fun Halloween banner

2010-10-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

I made this cute little Halloween banner the other night. It was so simple.

Cut some tags from my cricut, used some paper fan things left over from Hudson's b-day party, cut out letters from my cricut on the super cute glitter paper from Target. Hung over my "spooky" fireplace. (The thing really is spooky in more ways than one…) That's it.

15 months already?

2010-10-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Buster is 15 months old today! He is turning into a little stinker too. A dang cute stinker with his big 'ol dimples and gorgeous blue eyes. He is really moving. He looks pretty funny walking on those twiggy legs of his, but he is getting more and more comfortable doing it everyday. But being in no hurry to walk has not stopped him from climbing on things. He climbs on everything. Most are dangerous, the rocks, the "lunchroom" table, chairs in nursery, etc. He thinks it is especially funny to climb on things, look for my and wave his finger up at down (like he is saying, naughty, naughty, naughty.)

In the last couple of days he has taken to chucking things as hard as he can. Tonight it was water bottles. Earlier at the library, it was books. Sure hope he is going to use his amazing skills as a baseball player or something:)

He loves balls. I mean seriously, the kid would be happy with a room filled with balls. I have found him a several times laying under the changing table surrounded by his bouncy balls. Do I have a picture of it, no.

He loves the bath, he loves to eat and he is finally starting to become a good sleeper. He loves his brother and sister. He waves to everyone and says something that sounds like bye-bye to me. He is such a sweetheart.

And with his continued love of food, he is chunkin' up and and just might grow into that dome of his;) Love. This. Kid.

Today's edition of gratitude

2010-10-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

Two posts in a row: WORLD RECORD!

Today I was grateful for naps. (Although I wish I could count myself as one of the nappies…)

Jade was having a rough day. She had a meltdown at my friend Janine's, she had a poo and pee accident resulting in two cold showers. She was basically a mess. So after the second cold shower, to bed she went. Nestled in her crib with her "pacifier blanket" and pillow sweet sleep brought peace to the house and peace to my little girl having a rough day. She woke up refreshed and in a much better mood. I was too.

General Conference

2010-10-03T23:10:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by the talks given today and yesterday by our great church leaders. I look forward to rereading them in the Ensign online so I can fill in the gaps I missed taking Jade to the potty, making sippy cups, cleaning up, etc.

In a world with so much turmoil and sadness, immorality and filth, political opposition, greed, pride and selfishness, how comforting it is to listen to men and women who radiate and preach such hope, love and comfort. It gives me hope that there are good people all over who want a good world for their children to grow up in, and that makes me happy.

It's like the most t.v. I've watched in a long time:)

I was especially happy to see Dominic listen to a few talks while filling out his little word bingo card from primary. He carefully listened and check marked gospel words during a few talks. (Hey, he's 4…a three-talk attention span is nothing short of a miracle in my book!)

Well I want to be more grateful. Too many times I catch myself wishing, wanting and aspiring for more. That is okay sometimes. but I also recognized that I need to be grateful for the present. So I am going to strive to be grateful. And unlike my normal ADD self that has a tendency to do a million things at once…that's it. I am going to be more grateful. I think that alone will help many more things fall into place. And since everyone has basically left blogging for facebook…I'm pretty sure I can post my gratefulness as I please:)

And I'm going to list, because that's how I roll:

1. I am grateful for the gospel. It's a scary thing in life to not have a foundation. One that answers all the important questions. I have that. I know who I am, where I came from and where I am going.

2. I am grateful for my family. With every rear I wipe, and cry I quiet, I know I am needed and loved. I have a loving, compassionate, funny-as-heck husband that treats me well and loves and provides for our children. I know that he is working towards our eternal marriage just as much as I am. And that feels good.

Okay…those are the big ones for tonight. The two that are always mentioned in my prayers. There are many more, obvious ones. And some not so obvious. But here's to being grateful! I hope if you are reading this…you will find some things to be more grateful for…

It's getting hot in here…

2010-08-07T22:59:00.001-07:00

So we took a trip to Utah to attend Sawyer's baptism and hang with our cousins. We had as much fun as could be packed into a few days with 7 children and two adults… (two adults who happen to be sisters that have no qualms about spending 5 hours at various TJ Maxx stores)We went to this super fun children's museum in Salt Lake. It was perfectly geared toward my children. If I lived in Utah, I would have a season pass! There was this cute little "town" that the kids could have stayed at all day long. This is Stockton and Jade reporting the weather on a green screen. Jade kept mimicking Stockton…it was cute.
They had a real life "Flight for Life" helicopter and heli-pad on the roof. Dominic was in Heaven. He waited patiently to be able to "fly" the chopper. I think at one point he really thought it was going to take off!
Even Hudders was enjoying the play kitchen with all the food. He was so cute standing up and grabbing everything in the little playhouse!
Annika and Hudson - Annika was quite the Miss Helpful babysitter during our stay. She was quick to help me watch the kids…especially Hudson!
These two girls had so much fun rocking out to "California Gurls" and playing dress up!

Hudder wudder turns one

2010-07-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

One year ago I was recovering from my third c-section in three years…and our family was blessed with Hudson. (Although we didn't have a definite name for him just yet…)

Hudson Boyd was born at 7:54 a.m. and weighed 7 lbs 10 oz. He was a really good baby. He has been the smallest of my three kids…he only weighed 16 lbs last week at the doctor. He army crawls all over the place (just like Dominic.) Only he uses both arms, not just one. He has the most amazing smile and little dimples that light up his whole face.

Dominic and Jade can really get this kid giggling.

He loves to eat… and although he is small, he shovels food in like a pro. He can eat two packets of instant oatmeal, bananas, chocolate milk, nurse, and like candy too. If he doesn't want something, he pulls it right out of his mouth and throws it on the floor!

He is a mama's boy, and a daddy's too. He loves to be held, but recently loves to crawl everywhere. He even wants to stand, but his little legs are seriously…little! They look like twigs trying to support all 16 pounds of him.

Hudson loves balls! He will furiously crawl to one and say what sounds like "ba, ba ba!" It is by far his favorite thing to play with. He will wrap his little body around the whole ball and then slap it with his hands. So dang cute.

We seriously can't get enough of this guy. Happy birthday to him!

Happy Birthday America!

2010-07-04T23:41:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July. It's my favorite holiday. I have a thing for red, white and blue decorations. I love patriotic music and I love to sit and watch fireworks. I don't know if this ever actually happened, but I have this vision of me as a kid watching fireworks in Boulder City and the fireworks exploding over my head and thinking that it was going to land on me! Aw…such sweet memories:) I was reminded of that memory and wonder tonight when Dominic exclaimed, "The fireworks are landing in my mouth and I can taste them!" He was pretty jazzed about the whole thing…and that makes me happy!

Tonight we celebrated at Brad's sister's house. We had perfect seats for the Henderson festivities! The kids had a great time waving their little American flags and playing with their sparklers. As with every get together we had waaay too much food, all good.

I am so grateful for this wonderful country we live in. I am grateful that I get to see and appreciate my kids' little faces in their happy moments.

I am going to throw some pics up here and attempt to update…

2010-06-29T12:09:00.001-07:00

Jaders got her ears pierced back in May. She has been asking for quite some time. Brad returned from a week in Laughlin and decided to take her. She was brave and only cried for a minute. Then she went around telling everyone it was "just a little pinch!" We love this girl and her determined little personality. In fact, I wish I had a video camera so I could capture her latest "moves." She's been dancing around singing this song she made up that says, "I'm a rock and roll girrrrl!" TOO. DANG. CUTE!

It's dang hot here. Hotter and hotter every year it seems, even though I've lived here for almost 27 years… We have to find ways to beat the heat and not just stay home and rack up a $400 power bill. So water parks are usually our good cheap fun. This particular park is nice because my kids are the only ones there, like ever. (Everyone else probably has their own swimming pool!) Most of the time it's pretty hard to juggle three kids and my camera, but I am getting better at it.
We also did a session of swimming lessons. These two are attached at the hip. Swimming lessons were so much better with Lukey by Dominic's side! Although I'm ready for a little bit of a challenge. Ring around the rosies is great and all, but I think Dominic would benefit from actually learning how to swim…we will work on that:)
And recently, Brad's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! We all chipped in got them tickets to the Lion King and a room at Mandalay Bay. Then the next evening, all the kids and their spouses went to dinner at the Wynn buffet. Brad's brothers and their families drove up from Bakersfield to kind of "surprise" Wendy and Glade, but no secret is safe when Wendy is concerned! It was a fun weekend with family… and what a great accomplishment to have seven children married in the temple and 22 grandkids sealed together!

Birthday Boy

2010-04-14T00:09:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little late, but on Monday Dominic turned 4. Seriously, threw me for a little loop. We sang to him on Sunday in primary, and I ain't gonna lie, choked me up a bit. I mean, not to sound sappy, but this guy made me a mother. He is smart, handsome, funny and we love him to pieces. He keeps me on my toes…my tip toes!

He has always been my little OC-D BIG. TIME. He remembers EVERYTHING. I can't get ANYTHING past him. And he is constantly confirming things. It's enough to drive me nuts on a daily basis! He is sweet and watches out for his little brother and sister and cousins. Just tonight he was playing and one of his toys fell out of his pocket and onto Hudson's head. He immediately burst into tears because he felt so bad for Hudders. Today he went to the doctor for his well check and ended up getting 4 shots. The nurse gave him two suckers for being so brave. He put the extra sucker in his pocket and told me he was saving it for Lukey. (Sidenote: He later was caught licking the sucker and told me he was just tasting it for Lukey and he would wrap it back up…I told him to go ahead and finish it off…)

We celebrated by having a Diego party for him. His wonderful mother took zero pictures at the party, so when Grandma Sheila gives me hers, I will post some. He received lots of Diego toys, Buzz toys, clothes, DVDs, etc. that he has been playing with nonstop since yesterday.

He is just slightly obsessed with all things Diego…He recently told me that he wasn't going to wear this shirt I bought him with a monkey on it because "monkeys get humans dirty." He wanted the Easter bunny to bring him stilts so he could climb through tall grass. He wishes his rescue pack turned into a hang-glider. He wishes that his stuffed baby jaguar could really talk and his Diego Halloween costume has to sometimes "disappear" for a few days to get washed. Heck he even has Jade convinced that she wants to be Alicia. Master manipulator.

We love this kid. I love his imagination, quirks and funny little D-isms. I can't remember what it was like to not have him in our life. It certainly wasn't as entertaining!

Dominic's real birth day!

Coming home from the hospital.

First smiles:)

Cute kid with the big head!

Easter bunny

Love you DD!

Egg-cellent times

2010-03-30T23:11:00.000-07:00

The kids enjoyed an egg hunt today at the park. Dominic was especially impressed with his pail and shovel that I picked up for him at the dollar store. I love this age when simple things can make my kids so happy and excited.

I am also digging this gorgeous weather. I could do without the windy and weepy eyes, but other than that, I am not complaining!

Swimming lessons part 2

2010-03-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

Dominic just completed another session of swimming lessons. He was in the preschool class this time. Thank you City of Henderson for coming to your sense and bringing the preschool class back. He had a boy teacher this time named David. He LOVED lessons. I think he liked having a boy teacher and wanted to do a good job for him. By the second lesson he was putting his head under water and getting more brave about the water in general.

He wanted some goggles to wear to lessons. One night, Sara and I were at Kohl's. So I picked up a pair of goggles for him. They were kids sized and Speedo brand - pretty nice eyewear. I got them home and poor D looked like he was Asian. They were too small. I had to take them back and exchange them for ADULT goggles. The adult one fit perfectly. That kid has one large cranium.

This is why some of my pictures aren't the best. Try taking pics with this one trying hop in the water every two seconds!

Simple things

2010-03-22T23:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I get little glimpses into my kids' minds and most of the time they totally crack me up.

Today Dominic is changing his clothes for the tenth time while I am taking some pictures of Hudders trying to crawl. D is OBSESSED with wearing swim suits because, hello, it's warm outside and somehow by putting in a swimsuit (and lifejacket and goggles) he thinks it's summer…anyways, he says, "don't take a picture of me, I have my bra on." I am like, "what?" He says, "you know, you can see my bum, crotch and boobs, that's a bra. " I have no idea where that came from.

On a more holy note, yesterday at church, my friend and second counselor got Dominic a Book of Mormon with his name engraved on it. To say that he loves it and treats it like it's gold is the understatement of the year. So last night he tells Brad that he wants to read it when we are getting ready to read the scriptures. Only he really thinks in is smart little head that he is going to open this book and just be able to read. And then the meltdown happens. Because, he can't read. He bawls all through reading the scriptures because he feels bad because he can't read his scriptures. It about broke my heart and made me want to order that "So your baby can read" informercial thing…very sad.

Fast forward tonight. He decides he is going to read along with Brad tonight in his scriptures. So tonight he sits on his bed and proceeds to "read." In his "reading" he recaps his sunbeam lesson from yesterday about being kind to animals, says that President Monson is the prophet. Just basically "reads' everything his little mind can think of about church. Then closes his scriptures and declares that he can now read and it really isn't all that hard, and he finished before Daddy.

But wait…there's more.

Onto Jade aka Cheech. So I let me kids pick out something from the dollar store today because they "cleaned" their room. (Jade really didn't help all that much according to Dominic, but she did pick up three dolls after being threatened to miss out on the dollar store shopping fun, so I called it good.) So we arrive at the Dollar Tree and dodge wide eyes and multiple, "Wow you got your hands full" comments (really people if I had a nickel for every time someone used that line on me, I could own the Dollar Tree - all billion of them.)

Jade has her eyes set on a "barbie." She carries the thing all around the store. Talks to it, trys to take it out of the package, etc. Until, she sees a huge package of "slickerish" as DD calls it. She drops the barbie like a bad date and picks the Red Vines. And if at any time I questioned my lack of DNA in Jade, that act of thinking with her stomach affirmed that she's my girl! What two year old picks Red Vines over a barbie? My Jade, and that's why I love her:)

Jade enjoying her "slickerish"

Even somewhat "skilled" photographers can have a hard time capturing a two year old trying to share her "slickerish"

P.S. In case you were wondering, Brad passed his test…they waited a month to post it, but he passed. 2 down, 2 to go. It was back to the books tonight.

And look at this little guy. He is following in his brother's footsteps or headsize…I think that's a 12 months hat that won't fit on his big 'ol dome. However, we were outside, and my kids are pastey.

And I think he might crawl someday on this dirty floor…ignore the ugly carpet and the popcorn specs…I would say the kids just crushed it into the carpet today…but I would be lying.

What's up?

2010-02-18T23:49:00.000-08:00

With me…nothing much. Just the same 'ol. same 'ol. Housework, feeding kids, playing with kids, screaming at kids, reading with kids, paying bills, church stuff, making dinner, REPEAT…like a thousand times over. Love the little buggers:) We have been spending LOTS of time together because Brad has been buried in GLEIM CPA CPA review books (very expensive GLEIM CPA review books, might I add) I am contemplating using the pages and wall papering the computer room when he passes…or just building a huge bonfire and burning the dang things…decisions, decisions…but he took another test today, and for one short little weekend, he is going to be all ours…shared with work, church, etc., but we will take it!

ANYWAYS, I have been doing a lot of this lately into the wee hours of the morning… and in case you are too lazy to click on that hyperlink…

There you go. I am tweeking away, wanting these two to be deliriously happy with their photos. (Sidenote: not very difficult to shoot GORGEOUS people, just saying.)

Ran into a lady in my ward tonight who I love and respect very much. I was borderline complaining about my small-one-bathroom-no-dishwasher-abode-kind-of-feeling-sorry-for-myself-because-my-house-is-old. She was nice enough to tell me that she wished her grown kids would have had to share more space when they were growing up and be around each other more in a smaller house. She reminded me that being poor and having small children and going crazy was normal and a huge blessing. Thanks, it's good to be reminded of that once in a while.

What was I complaining about again? :)

Happy Birthday Jade!

2010-01-16T19:44:00.001-08:00

I am writing this post a day late (and I'm supposed to be writing my talk to speak in sacrament meeting tomorrow!) Yesterday Jaders turned 2. So cliché, but time goes too fast with these little ones! Jade is the little princess in our house. She has her dad wrapped around her finger, two brothers that adore her, a mom that cracks up at everything she does and says, and an extended family that thinks she is the cutest thing ever:) She is super sassy, but such a sweetie. She is quick to say she is sorry and even quicker to tell you no when she doesn't want to do something. I'll update more when she has her well check next week. We celebrated this week by having TWO parties for her. One on Wednesday night with most of the Byington cousins and the other on Friday with the Frehner cousins. She got lots of cute clothes and adorable dolls. It was like Christmas for Jade all over agin:) (Dominic is already planning his birthday party and all the decorations he wants for it!)

We love Jade so much!

Six months

2010-01-07T01:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's 1:51 a.m. and yes, I am still up. (Thanks to walking 5 miles at 8:00 p.m. and a Diet Dr. Pepper after…) Tomorrow, actually today, Hudders will be six months old! Gosh, probably the quickest six months of my life. This little guy is so dang cute! He is definitely my smallest kid…but he eats all time! He has started to take interest in people food, baby food… not so much. He has the most beautiful blue eyes and cutest dimples. He, like my other two, is hard to get a good laugh out of, but tonight I was smooching on his chin and ear and really got him giggling. He is a great baby, but got a little spoiled after being in the hospital in October. I now feed him or pick him up anytime he makes a peep. (Try having one of your kids in the hospital and see if you don't do the same thing!)

He likes his Bumbo chair Grandma and Grandpa got him for Christmas. He is comfortably in 3-6 month clothes, but still wears some 0-3 months too. He sleeps quite a bit too, but is so spoiled about that - must be held, rocked, sang to, etc.

He loves Dominic and Jade. Both of them can get him laughing. Brad has recently acquired the magic touch and does just the right amount of power patting to get him to sleep.

He loves his toys and likes to roll over. When he doesn't have a sassy in his mouth, he has his fists in there! As soon as his socks come off, his feet go in his mouth too. This little guy has been such a blessing in our lives. We love him and can't wait to see him continue to grow!

Oh yeah, and check out his RED hair. Too cute:)

Brad's clones

2009-11-14T23:38:00.001-08:00

Okay, I found some pictures at my mother in law's tonight that confirm in my mind my children's DNA make-up: Brad. Especially this latest child:)

Brad at 15 months - I see a little Jade in the face.

Brad at 4 years old - Dominic gives this look quite often!

Can you say Hudson on the last three?

My little runtlet

2009-11-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

*Photos by Felicia Gray

Hudson hit the four month mark on November 7! He is a wonderful addition to our home. He is seriously such a good baby. He loves to be held and talked to. He loooves Dominic and tolerates Jade :) No, really, he loves all kids and watches them all the time. He has discovered his hands and sticks them in his mouth if he doesn't have a pacifier in it already. He sleeps well, eats well and is just a really good natured kid. His hair is still red too! He looks so much like Brad to me. I just keep making them closer to being exact DNA replicas of Brad, it's crazy!

We love this little guy to pieces. I love his adorable dimples, his cheeky babbling and skinny little legs:) He was a whopping 10 pounds 4 ounces at his check up yesterday! And 23 inches long. Dr. Sirsy said he is a little on the small side, but that it was okay since his head was good sized. He said the rest of his body would catch up. We got the okay to start rice cereal. We will be doning that as soon as mom can get to the store:)

A girl up the street is starting a photo business and kindly offered to take Hudson's pics to add to her portfolio. I normally take my own pictures, but she is super nice and obviously talented. All the pictures were taken by her, Felicia Gray. She did a wonderful job and turned them around super fast! I like to see how other photographers work too. It was fun for me to watch her in action.

So how was your week?

2009-10-23T22:47:00.001-07:00

This week was quite possibly one of the worst and most stressful in my life! It all started Sunday with Brad feeling a little under the weather. After ward council, he decided to go home and take some Theraflu and rest. I took Hudson to church and went to the primary program. Brad's condition continued to get worse so he called in sick to work on Monday. He never calls in sick. (Dominic gets up and throws up a few times Monday morning.) He couldn't get an appointment with our family doctor, so I convinced him to go to Urgent Care. He came back a few hours later with a diagnoses of bronchitis, but they also suspected an pneumonia so they tested him for that. Tuesday morning comes along, I get up and I am not feeling that great. I am feeling sick to my stomach at first, then I start feeling like I felt three years ago when I was having gall bladder attacks…except I no longer have a gall bladder. I go from bad to worse and insist on Brad taking me to the emergency room. So he does. His dad comes to watch the kids and he and I head over to Rose de Lima (I am so sick, I don't even get dressed, I just stammer into the car in my night gown.)

I get back to the ER and over the course of a few hours determine that I probably have a kidney stone and order a cat scan. I get the cat scan and then get wheeled back to the ER. About an hour or so later, a get the most horrific pain in my life. I am on the bed pleading for help. I am whimpering that I can't breathe. I feel like I'm going to black out any second because of the pain. A very nice nurse comes over to my little corner of the ER and yells at me and tells me to stop saying that I can't breathe, because if I an say that I can't breathe, then I can. She pushes the guard rail up and says, "there, now you won't fall off the bed."

Finally my nurse, who is actually nice comes and gives me a shot of pain medicine. It goes straight to my head and makes me kind of loopy. But I can still feel the pain so she gives me another shot. Finally, I feel better.

They discharge me, but tell me I have to see a doctor soon because I have a kidney stone that is 3 mm and might not pass on its own. GREAT.

So we go home. My sweet sister comes and gets my kids for me because I'm pretty out of it and still in some pain. Then my mom and dad take my kids for the night so I can get some rest. They even take Hudson because I can't nurse him on all the pain medicine. Besides, my mom watch Dominic when he was only six weeks and I had to have my gall bladder removed.

So my mom calls my the next morning early. She said Hudson is running a fever and he didn't really eat anything the night before. told her to bring him over so I could nurse him. She does. Also, Dominic is looking a little sick and running a fever. They get to my house and we call the doctor to get an appointment as soon as the doctor's office opens. My mom and dad take all the kids to the pediatrician. One hour later my mom and dad call me to tell me that they need to take Hudson to the emergency room.

Brad and I rush over there to meet them. As soon as we get there, my Dad and Brad give Hudson a blessing. The doctor in the pediatric er tells me that he is positive for Influenza A. She also says that most likely it is H1N1 too. I am freaking out to say the least. She then tells me that there is nothing they can do for it because he is so young. So they attempt to put an IV in him to rehydrate him. They have almost poked him in every vein possible. Finally, they get a NICU nurse to come down to get the IV started and draw his blood for some tests.

I keep nursing him when he makes a peep in hopes of helping him in some small way. So the doctor decides that he needs to be admitted. So we wait for a room.

Meanwhile, Brad gets us both an appointment with our primary physician. We are there for two hours. He gives Brad a couple of shots, tests him for H1N1 and puts him on Tamaflu because he believes he has the flu, not bronchitis.

He tells me to take all this medicine and that I might have to have surgery to remove my kidney stone. I could have just started bawling in his office…oh yeah, Idid. He told me to go see a uroligist the next day. I left determined not to take anything until my baby was out of the hospital.

I return to the hospital with Hudson and bring my mom some food - she hasn't eaten anything, it's 5:00 p.m. We wait some more hours, finally at around 8:30 they have a pediatric room for Hudson. We go there and get settled. (By this time my pediatrician has called in Tamaflu for my other two kids to start taking. Brad goes and gets the medicine and takes it to my Dad who is watching Dominic and Jade. ) I am also now worried about them too. I ask my mom to go home to help my Dad watch the other two. I stay the night with Hudson.

Hudson and I are attempting to get some sleep at the hospital when the nurse comes in at 2:00 a.m. and tells me that there are contaminates in his blood work and that they need to do a spinal tap. Again, I have a break down. The doctor comes in to explain the procedure. It's basically like and epidural, only instead of adding fluid, they are removing fluid. He asks me if I will be upset watching them do it…I say yes, it's probably best if I don't see it done. So they take him out. About thirty minutes later the doctor comes back and tells me that he thinks everything is okay, but he won't know for sure until the next day.

Hudson and I sleep on and off for the next little bit.

Thursday morning Hudson is looking better. I get an appointment with the urologist. My mom comes to watch Hudson while Brad take me to the doctor. Thankfully the doctor tells me that he thinks I have passed my kidney stones and I don't need to take any medicine!

I go back to the hospital and the doctor checks Hudson out. He is maintaining his body temperature and looking tons better. She says he can go home! We got home about 8:00 last night! My other kids stayed with grandma and grandpa until about 4:00 today so we weren't crossing germs.

We are all home now and somewhat healthy:) Yippy! I went to Target tonight and stocked up on hand sanitizer and Lysol. I am so grateful for everyone that helped us this week. I don't know what I would have done without my mom and dad watching my kids for me and helping us. I know others would have and did help too, we appreciate it so much. We are also thankful for a good, smart pediatrician and last but not least, priesthood blessings and Heavenly Father for helping Hudson to make a speedy recovery:)

Family reunion

2009-10-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had the biannual Slack family reunion. (That is Brad's mom's side of the family.) It was held on Saturday at the park in Logandale. We started early with pictures for the Frehners taken by me. We ate, played and had an action to raise money for the next reunion. It was really fun. I enjoy getting to know Brad's extended family better. There are so many of them! I know Brad's Grandma Slack is pleased that her kids still get together and spend time with one another. It is also one of the few times that all of Brad's brothers and sisters are able to get together with their families.

I love being part of a big family both my own and my in-laws.

Such a Jade face

2009-10-13T01:56:00.001-07:00

Kid update

2009-09-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

Hudson

Hudson had his two month well check on Wednesday. He weighed 10 pounds and was 23 inches long. Long and skinny basically! Everything was good except for that shot thing. You would think by the third kid it wouldn't be that bad…but it was still just kills me to see my little guy get poked in his skinny little leg! (Three times!)

Hudson is a great baby. He sleeps well, eats well and poops well. What more could you ask for? He rarely cries. He sleeps until about 5:00 am, nurses and then goes back to sleep until 9:00 - pretty darn good in my opinion! He loves to go in the sling and snuggle against me. He also likes his swing and overhead toys.

Jade

Where has my sweet baby gone? Jade has turned into a little sassy pants! She is talking up a storm. She can say everything. She is starting to talk in pretty complete sentences. Her favorite things to say at the moment are "Stop it, DD!" "Play pretty hair, Mama" (that means she wants to play with my hair, ALL THE TIME.) "Ouwee, bum" (she needs her diaper changed) "Hudsun mowth go" (Where did Hudson's mouth go because she just can't imagine anyone Not wanting to suck a pacifier!)

She has such determination when she walks. She was pretty petite for a while, but know she is really growing into a sassy toddler. I love her little walk with her "booty" that she does. She loves Taylor Swift and will sit and watch her videos on the computer for hours, if I would let her:) Sometimes it's hard to get after her because she has such spunk and sass and sometimes it's just so darn cute! But believe me, with her new "personality" shining through she has had her first tastes of time outs and "spanks" on the hand.

She is still super cuddly and will say she is "sowry" if she is being mean.

Dominic

Dominic is a super big brother. He is the one that can usually get the biggest grins out of Hudson. He is very good with both Jade and Hudson. However, he can still be found with both of their pacifiers quite often. We have tried EVERYTHING to rid him of this habit. Some things will work for a while, but nothing has broken him of his love for the binky.

In fact, sometimes around four o' clock it will be kind of quiet. I will notice and investigate. Dominic will be passed out dead asleep with a binky in his mouth.

He is quite the character! He is very responsible though too. He has started helping me do the dishes while Jade naps. He scoots a chair right next to me a rinses the dishes off and puts them in the strainer. Then, I let him dry the forks and spoons and organize them in the drawer. For a kid as OCD as Dominic, this is pretty much Heaven:) And me, I'll take any help I can get when it comes to housework!

It looks like he may have the Frehner baseball gene too. He loves to throw things. Not out of anger or rage, just to chuck things…really hard. I, unfortunately don't share his love and most of the time he gets a nice long time out to think about it!

Lots of people told me that three would throw me over the edge, and somedays it does! But I love my kids and their cute little developing personalities. I just pray everyday that I can keep my sanity and have patience. They do crack me up and I wish they weren't growing up quite so fast!

Move over Michael Phelps

2009-09-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

Dominic didn't get into the pre-K program at Gordon McCaw this year so I asked him which rec center program he would like to do. He picked swimming lessons. It made me happy because I loved to swim and always like to revisit my glory days as a lifeguard.

He started swimming lessons a few weeks ago and today was his last lesson. I think he was the smallest and youngest kid in his class. He isn't scarred of the water, but he also doesn't really like the idea of putting his head under water or floating on his back just yet. He did very well and liked it, which is most important. Jade also liked swimming lessons. I spent most of my time trying to take pictures and save Jade from joining in a class with all her clothes on.

Dominic had a really sweet girl named Maria as his teacher. She was very good with the kids and super nice. I had to laugh because there was this guy (a dad) talking to her today after lessons and he was laying it on pretty thick. He was borderline flirting with her and telling her how wonderful she was and great she was with kids and her expressions were magical in his MC Hammer pants and wife beater. I could tell she wanted to say "enough creep-o" but she politely stood there and thanked him and then scurried off into the guard room. Moral of the story: even after being gone from the pool for a long time…some things never change:)

Hudson's blessing

2009-09-09T14:02:00.001-07:00

Sunday was a special day for our family. Brad blessed Hudson in our ward. We had a little luncheon after at our house. Hudson's blessing was sweet and simple. We had the suppoert of many family members and friends in the circle including Grandpa Glade, Grandpa Parley, Uncle Matt, Uncle Mike, Uncle Chris, Uncle Jarvus, Bishop Brwester and Max. I am so grateful Brad holds the priesthood and has been able to give all of our children blessings.

I was also glad I was able to get a little smile out of Hudson in his cute little blessing outfit.

2009-08-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Happy 27th birthday to the best husband:) Love you tons. (And here is a little proof that all my children are clones of their Dad)

Wish I could do this more often…

2009-08-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

I love to scrapbook. I like to scrapbook traditionally as well as my newer found love of digital scrapbooking. Now that Hudson is out and I have another little one to document milestones I figured I had better get crackin' on it! While Jade is taking a nap, I whipped these up in photoshop. I already sent them to Costco to get printed too. They are super simple, but I did interview Dominic and all his answers are his own. It's pretty funny to listen to three year olds:)

Dominic also started swimming lessons today so I'll be posting some pictures of that when I can get more action shots.

Frehner happenings

2009-08-10T00:43:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed an eventful weekend with lots of fun with cousins! Corey and Katie and kids visited from Bakersfield. We had lots of fun playing on the water slide at Mike and Sara's. Dominic discovered he could jump off the top of the slide and go flying down. Okay the kid freaks out when water gets in his eyes when he is taking a bath, but he didn't seem to mind getting drenched by the water slide!

Dominic enjoying the water slide.

Emma and Madi holding their newest cousin, Hudson.

Emma, Madi and Jade relaxing in the pool.

Emma headed into the pool.

Madison - doesn't she look like she could be on a commercial for the water slide?

Jaders enjoying the kiddy pool.

Triple trouble! Kevin, Dominic and Luke.

Dominic getting some serious air on the water slide.

Hudson's announcements

2009-08-05T22:58:00.003-07:00

Just some little announcements to welcome our sweet baby Hudson.

More pictures of Hudson

2009-07-19T00:48:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post some more pictures of Hudson. He is such a good baby. I'm really lucky with me babies, they have all been super good newborns thus far. He sleeps good, eats well, hardly ever cries and is sooo cute:) When my kiddos hit 18 months…that's a different story (as I'm discovering with Jade!) While still sooo cute, they can be kind of crazy!

I got some cute shots with each of the kids next to Hudson, maybe sometime I can get a shot with all three of them in the picture…stay tuned!

Welcome Hudson Boyd Frehner

2009-07-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well I we have been home for a few days and adjusting to life with three kids! (Although I haven't had to adjust much since our wonderful family have been taking Dominic and Jade left and right, THANK YOU!)

Hudson made his way into the world on Tuesday, July 7 at 10:07 a.m. He was quite the little stinker and didn't want to come out without the use of forceps and the vacuum! (I know, I've never heard of that on a c-section either.)

I wasn't a huge fan of the actual c-section. In fact I pretty much screamed like I was in labor the whole time, but I wasn't. He was stuck and having big men jump on top of your stomach to try to get your kid to come out is not fun. And turns out, even with huge amounts of drugs, is rather painful!

Recovery however, is going well. He is the cutest thing. At first Brad kept telling me that he looked just like Dominic. But then I thought he looked more like Jade. But as the days progress, he has his own little look about him. I've discovered he has the cutest little dimple, possibly dimples. I can't wait for him to smile to see them better.

Jade and Dominic are adjusting well and enjoying all the extra attention from Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunts and Uncles and Cousins! They feel like little superstars:) Dominic is a natural with the baby. He can hold him and he is really good about getting me diapers, wipes, binkies, etc. Jade on the other hand, doesn't know her own strength! We have to watch her because most of the time she yells bay-bee and tries to "cuddle" him, aka smother the crap out of him!

I feel bad because I can't pick her up, and she doesn't get that.

One more week

2009-06-30T00:30:00.000-07:00

So pretend like this woman is Brad in the picture. This is about what I feel like right now. HUGE and HOT! But, only one more week! Yippy. Went to the doctor today, nothing. No dilating, no contractions, nothing but tired, hot and inability to move!

That's okay, because next Tuesday, July 7th at 9:30 a.m. this baby is coming out.

He might not have a name yet, but I can retire the Pepcid, watch my stomach slowly return to the deflated balloon state, and enjoy a cute little newborn. Again I say, Yippy!

We go fishing in the dark

2009-06-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Last night for family home evening we went to the park in Boulder City to go fishing and have a BBQ! The kids all had a blast just holding the rods. Dominic told me they were not called fishing poles, they were fishing rods. That led us to a discussion on synonyms. Oh my. What am I going to do with this kid.

(No fish were harmed nor caught during this expedition!)

I love these kids

2009-06-09T23:38:00.000-07:00

They might tell you otherwise since I think I yelled at Dominic like 14 times today and he tells me on a regular basis, "you're rude, Mommy." Thanks. He has been a fabulous helper lately by "cleaning" his room. He usually piles everything into the closet, but when you first walk in, the room is SPOTLESS. He is so sweet when Brad's out of town and asks everyday if his Daddy is coming home today. He has taken an interest in the days of the week and time. He is always asking what time it is. No matter what I say, he says, "No, it's 4:00." Due to his fascination with the days of the week, I've been explaining when certain things take place - Sunday = church, Monday = family home evening, Friday = Daddy comes home, etc. He always wants to know if it's Friday:) And just so I can remember this someday, another question he asks me at least 25 times a day is, "Mom, is junk a bad word?" No, Dominic, junk is not a bad word. "Mom, is sh$* a bad word?" Yes, Dominic, don't say that word. It's really bad. What am I going to do with this kid?

But seriously, I was looking at some of these pictures and cracking up. Jade is developing this little personality that is changing everyday. She says "no" pretty sassy and can communicate her wants and needs pretty clearly. She is repeating everything and "talking" up a storm. She can name tons of family members including Madi, Chloe, Abbey, Al, D-D, Mommy, Daddy, Sara, Mike, etc.

She also like to eat crayons and has discovered coloring, most of the time it is on the wall or floor. She likes to tease Dominic, but is so sweet and if anyone is hurt she gives them loves and pats their back. She also loves baby dolls. She carries them around, puts blankets on them and yells, "bay-bees!" She covers her whole face over the dolls and kisses it. I better watch out with the new baby. I can only imagine her excitement.

Me, well, what can you say about being 35 weeks prego in the summer? It is miserable. I am doing my best trying to clean and eat my way through the next month. Can you guess which one I have pretty much mastered? Let's just say that Dr. Juarez has pointed out my stellar ability to pack on the pounds a few times!

Taking tons of pictures

2009-05-14T01:52:00.000-07:00

So I've been taking tons of pictures the last couple of days, mainly of other people and their children:) Tonight I took my niece, Samantha's pictures for her birthday invitations. She is, of course, super cute and a total poser in front of the camera! Here are a couple of shots. The cutest was when Sydney and Jade started playing dress up with Sam's headbands!

This is what we do for fun

2009-05-04T17:39:00.000-07:00

A vacation…finally!

2009-04-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Brad and the kids at the aquarium.

One of the few pictures you'll see of me:)

All of the kids: Stockton, Jade, Annika, Dominic, Sawyer and Sophie

We headed down to Carlsbad, CA on Thursday with the kids and my sister Lori's family. This was our first "family" vacation to a real spot besides Utah! (Well, okay, we went to San Diego when Dominic was a baby, so our 2nd family vacation).
We got to Carlsbad around 2:00 in the afternoon. It was too early to check into our hotel, so we decided to get a treat at the mall super close to our hotel. It was a pretty cool outlet mall. After exploring a little bit, we used our Aquarium tickets to check things out at the Legoland Aquarium. It was cool. Dominic was excited to be with his cousins and look at all the fish, sharks and rays. He even got to pet starfish and hermit crabs.
We ended the day with some Mexican food randomly found with the assistance of the GPS!
On Friday we loaded up and headed up the street to LEGOLAND. Now, I've heard some mixed reviews about the place. But for my kids, it was great. Dominic totally loved riding rollercoasters and seeing all the characters built out of legos. It was a beautiful day weather wise and they even had a little water park area to cool off a bit. Super fun! My sister said it was more crowded than usual. So we didn't ride a few of the rides. I did not ride hardly any rides because of obvious reasons. So Jade and I people watched most of the day!
We went got back, we ventured into the hotel's pool. Again, Dominic was in Heaven! He loved swimming. Jade even liked it too.
On Saturday, we went to a strawberry field and the kids got to pick their own strawberries. For a bunch of city kiddos, it was pretty darn cool. Dominic really liked picking and eating the berries.
On the way home we stopped at Tom's Farms in Corona. It was kind of a tourist trap, but we ate some good food and the kids got to pet these little mini goats. I left my camera in the car, so sorry, no pictures.
We had tons of fun with the Stevens clan. I wish we could go on more little vacations like this more often! This might be it for a little while with the new baby, CPA exams and audit season starting up!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

My sweet little DD

2009-04-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, our sweet little Dominic made his debut into the world! After being a few days overdue the doctor decided to induce me. We went in around 11:00 p.m. on April 11. I was induced and actually got to a four. I thought I was in a lot of pain, so I got an epidural around 2:00 a.m. I was also given two Ambien to get some good sleep to prepare me for the upcoming delivery (sometime the next afternoon.)
I was feeling pretty good. Next thing I remember is the nurses coming in telling me I was going to need a c-section because my baby's heart rate was dropping too low. I was so out of it that they could have told me they were going to chop off my arm and I would have been okay with it! That was at 6:00 a.m. Dominic was born at 6:43 a.m. The cord was wrapped around his neck and he had a bowel movement. He weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz.
We seriously love this little guy. He was such a good baby. At about 18 months he started to get a little wild and crazy. He has just continued to blossom into an inquisitive and talkative boy. I always joke about him having OCD - but most of the time I'm not joking! He likes to have certain things his way. He loves to play with his cousins. He talks about them and asks about each one frequently. Which I think is impressive because he has over thirty first cousins!
He is a very good big brother and lets everyone know that he is the brother. He is a good helper around the house. He is almost potty trained! Yippee! He knows his colors, can sing the ABCs, loves Taylor Swift. His favorite songs are I love to see the Temple and I am a child of God.
I could write a book about all the funny stuff he does. The most important thing is that we seriously love this kid and couldn't imagine what joy and happiness even was until he came into our lives. Happy birthday Dominic!

Cute little bug!

2009-04-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday is Dominic's birthday party. I am hoping we don't get rained out! We have some awesome plans for his bug party. Here are a few shots of this cute little guy that I can't believe is turning three on Sunday!

Back from Utah

2009-04-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

We got back from visiting Joey and Lori and their families on Tuesday. I was hoping it was going to be a two for one trip. Annika was getting baptized and Joey and Brittney's baby being born - not quite yet on that one. That little bugger is still cooking! I feel for poor Brittney!
We had fun going to Annika's birthday party, her baptism, shopping and just visiting with everyone.
Sophie and Jade were so cute together. They were hugging each other all the time.
Utah has the best scrapbook stores and I totally had to refrain from going nuts-o in the stores:)
We love to visit Utah even if it was snowing in March!

Wanna Craft with us?

2009-03-18T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hey, anyone is invited to come to our house and make these super cute wreaths on Friday, March 20, at 12:00. You'll need some card board or foam board, easter grass, about 45 plastic eggs, ribbon, glue gun and glue sticks. Go to tipjunky.blogspot.com for complete instructions. They turned out super cute and Dominic totally helped with both of them. Let me know if you want to come over and be crafty. I have a big lunchroom table that seats lots of people!

Fun things we've been up too

2009-03-09T23:53:00.000-07:00

Once in a while I get it right…

2009-03-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

So I have been on a quest to de-junk my whole house. Call it nesting, call it wanting to see the floor, bot have the health district called on me, whatever. So today I cleaned the kitchen. I've been cranking out laundry like nobody's business and have decided to tackle Dominic and Jade's bedroom. I have successfully bagged up three bags of baby girl clothes - ones that aren't worth holding on to in case of another girl. And then I remembered this…

I bought Dominic a a whole slew of clothes at the end of the summer! He has about six outfits that I paid less than $20 for! Yippee! There were also a couple of Carter's outfits for Jade that were $1.18 or something like that - which is actually expensive for her because I get all her stuff for free. Yeah for me:)

Warning: Please don't read on if you don't like stories about toddler poop.

2009-02-25T10:41:00.001-08:00

Okay, the only thing saving me from beating my son is this blog! We have been potty training this week. My most dreaded parental experience thus far. Dominic has been doing fabulous going pee. In fact, he hasn't peed his pants one time. The other day he had to go poop. So while I was on the computer, he took his underwear off and put a diaper on and pooped in it. I guess I should be grateful he was smart enough to put a diaper on, but CLEARLY he gets that he has to go.

Today, I was giving Dominic and Jade a bath. I got Jade out and was getting her dressed. I can see the bathtub from their door - I do not have a habit of leaving my two year old to bath himself (just in case CPS is reading this!)

He came in and told me, in his matter-of-fact voice, "I pooped in the tub." Now it was too gross to make up, though I was wishing he was fibbing.

No such luck. Do you know how gross it is to clean poo out of a bathtub? Not just little infant-got -so-relaxed-I-let-myself-go poo. MAN POOP! Brad might as well took a dump in there! Okay, sorry, super gross. Still in the venting stage!

Well one can of comet later, so lysol, magic eraser and an entire tank of scalding hot water later, I'm pretty sure the fecal matter has left the premises. P.S. Remember that I am pregnant and blind and deaf - so my sense of smell is especially functional right now. Just thought I'd add that!

Thank me now for not taking or posting any pictures!

It's a…BOY!

2009-02-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

We went for our 20 week ultrasound this morning and found out our little peanut #3 is a boy! We are very excited. More importantly, everything looked good. I start getting nervous a few weeks before ultrasounds, afraid something is going to be wrong with the baby.

We got lots of great pictures of the little guy. All of his major organs were functioning properly. Dominic has already proved he is an awesome big brother and I'm sure Jaders will be a sweet big sis! I like NEVER take pictures of myself pregers - I'm always the one behind the camera! But Brad took a few this morning of me and soon-to-be big sister, Jade. So this is what 20 weeks prego with baby #3 looks like. (Okay, just to put it in perspective, Brittney looks smaller than me and she is like almost due!) I'm thinking I will have to bust out the maternity clothes any day now.

Just in case you were wondering if I was just getting fatter…

2009-02-12T00:15:00.000-08:00

I am. But mostly because I'm pregnant. I realized at my ward's park group today that some people are now looking at my belly and speculating as to whether I am preggo or not. I am. I an no longer hide behind my baggy clothes! I am about 18 weeks. We find out next Thursday if it's a boy or girl. I know, I know, I am crazy for having three under three point five. Believe me, I've had 18 weeks to think about that:) But I figure, hey, the Lord doesn't give you things you can't handle, right? Plus, putting away your baby junk and getting it out every couple of years is way too much work. Just have them so close together that you never have to put anything away!

We upgraded to a lovely Dodge Grand Caravan last week so we should be set for at least five - I'm joking, totally joking. A girl can only get hacked open so many times:)

Fast, cheap and easy

2009-02-03T16:54:00.000-08:00

I love meals that are fast, cheap and easy. (That is usually a stop at the drive thru for me…)
I am trying to be better about cooking dinner because I don't want to weigh 400 pounds and I am finally regaining a little energy in the second trimester. So tonight I made lasagna. I have tried freezer Costco lasagna and I'm just not a fan. My version is cheap, fast, easy and has a vegetable in it. (Sometimes rare in my house.)
Here's the recipe if you want to make it for your family.

1 package lasagna noodles (I've even used the whole wheat ones and they are good.)

1 lb. ground beef - cooked (ground turkey or sausage would work too)

1 jar spaghetti sauce -(I buy the cheap Walmart brand with chunky vegetables)

1 package frozen or 1 bag fresh spinach

1 bag parm. shredded cheese

1 small container of ricotta cheese

2 eggs

Cook lasagna noodles, brown hamburger at the same time - season with salt pepper, garlic, onion etc.

Mix ricotta, parm and eggs together,

(If you use frozen spinach cook it now too) If you use fresh spinach tear about two cups up and add it to the cheese mixture)

Assemble the lasagna as follows:

Noodles, meat, sauce, cheese mixture, spinach, noodles, meat, sauce, cheese mixture, spinach, noodles, little sauce to top it off, little white cheese to top it off.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Fast, cheap and easy:)

Kids say some pretty cute stuff

2009-01-28T23:31:00.000-08:00

So Brad's been out of town this week. Dominic gets that he's at work for a long time. So today he ask after saying the prayer, "Momma, where does Heavenly Father live?" I said, "He lives up in the sky in Heaven." He says, "No, he's out of town at work."

Dominic had clearly heard Brad call me babe quite a bit. He cracks me up because he gets in these spurts where he calls me babe all the time. Last night he was sitting on my lap looking at facebook pictures and he kept telling me, "We already looked at those, babe." He pretty much called me "babe" the whole rest of the night.

Shots from the party!

2009-01-22T15:10:00.000-08:00

We had Jaders little birthday party on Saturday (I'm using the word "little" loosely.) She got so many super cute clothes and toys from everyone. Once again, I do not have to buy my daughter a thing and she will look absolutely adorable for the next several months! I love that it has been so warm so I can put some of the cute things on her right now!
We had sandwiches, chips and baked beans followed by some pink cupcakes that spelled out Happy Birthday Jade. Jade was quite the lady and didn't even get cupcake all over the place. She just wanted me to feed it to her. I made a DVD of pictures and songs of her from birth to present that we all watched like 20 times that night.
She had a well check on Tuesday with Dr. Sirsy and weighed in at 18lbs.! (Guess we'll wait a few months to turn her car seat around.) The doctor said she was definitely petite, but normal.

I know I've nursed kids but…

2009-01-19T22:39:00.000-08:00

Just try to imagine what it feels like when you are at the computer checking blogs in your jammies and your two year old is sitting on your lap. He slips off the chair and grabs the only thing that's sagging low enough for him to reach. Yes, it's what you are thinking. Ouch is all I can say.
I was nearly in tears. He did comfort me by telling me, "It's alright sweetie, don't cry." Okay, I think I might possibly be getting some feeling back - I suppose all will be well:)

Can you believe this cutie is 1 year old?

2009-01-15T12:23:00.001-08:00

Happy birthday to our sweet little girl, Jade Genevieve Frehner! One year ago I was getting my guts cut open to bring this little one into the world - it's all about sacrifices, right? I was the first c-section scheduled that day. After removing some excessive scar tissue and pulling and tugging, Dr. Juarez pulled out this beautiful 7 lb. 8 oz. girl with tons of hair!
Jade is such a little doll. She has always been a good baby. She has two teeth on the bottom, but that doesn't stop her from eating everything in sight! She loves animals and her brother, Dominic. She laughs and giggles and loves that she has so many girl cousins that make a fuss over her. She always looks cute, and I hardly ever have to buy her clothes thanks to Aunt Lori and Aunt Corey. We just can't say enough about our little Jaders and how much we are blessed to have her in our family. Happy Birthday! Stay tuned for pictures of the festivities!

Does anyone know a good physical therapist?

2009-01-14T08:31:00.000-08:00

Okay my wrist has been killing me for two days now. It totally hurts and feels like it is going to give out anytime I lift anything. It is my non-dominant hand…but I was noticing how much I use my right hand yesterday and I've come to the conclusion that I basically only write and eat with my left hand. The pain starts at my pinky and extends down my forearm a bit. Any advice or doctors in the house? Maybe one of my four brother in laws that are pts could help a girl out!

Happy birthday Jaders!

2009-01-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

These are going out in the mail tomorrow, but if you'd like a sneak peek…

I'm back!

2008-12-28T19:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I've been in a blogging rut. Mainly just busy, aren't we all? We had a trip to Reno for Brad's Christmas party and a trip to Bakersfield right before Christmas. We had a fun little Christmas. I didn't wrap a single present and didn't deliver a single goodie basket to people I made them for - a told Brad I was apathetic, he said, take the "a" off, you're just pathetic! Probably, but oh well. I'll try better next year. However, no holiday would be complete without plenty of family parties and food. I am so grateful that Brad had the week off leading up to Christmas, it was so nice and I wish he didn't have to go back! Well, ore posts to come soon, enjoy the pictures!

Home again, home again

2008-12-01T23:04:00.000-08:00

We returned from a super fun week in Utah visiting the Stevens crew (and Joe and Brit too.) We ate, shopped, ate and shopped basically all week long! We even squeezed in some family pictures. The men and various children went to a Jazz game while the women, shopped, of course.
The cousins got to experience Christmas early with their annual gift exchange. We thought it would be a nice preview to Christmas. This is kind of choppy, but it's late, I just got done grocery shopping and I'm tired, but I am also sick of looking at the same ol' thing on my blog. Here are some pics. Enjoy!

I hope I'm not jinxing myself

2008-11-17T21:48:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give a shout out to my little man, D. He has been doing a fabulous job of going pee pee on the potty. So far, no number two. But when he does, he is going to go to Chuck E. Cheese and score some Elmo bath soap that he picked out at Target tonight. Here's to hoping I am on my last case of size 5 diapers for a while:)

Here's why Macs rock

2008-11-10T22:43:00.003-08:00

So, anyone who know me knows I have a thing for Macs. (This new one is the the third one I have purchased.) I had two laptops, that I loved and this new iMac, well, I looooovveeee. Here's my plug for Macs: they rock. They are so easy to use, they have wonderful programs, sweet graphics. I have all the standard "microsoft" programs- word, excell, powerpoint, plus I have all the Mac based ones that are a million times better.
Anyways, this is why I love them the most, I can make cool things that include pictures of my kids.

27 happy years

2008-11-09T22:36:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I celebrated my 27th birthday! I am feeling old:) Not really, but I have reflected a bit on the last few years and how much my life has changed in just the last few. All changes for the better, of course.
I celebrated by stuffing my face at Black Angus with Brad, Dominic, Jade and my parents. I also got to go to the mall yesterday with my little family and bought Dominic some new clothes - one of my favorite things to do, push the big old double stroller around, get a pretzel, mingle with the million other Saturday shoppers, heaven, plus Brad appeased me by going with me, that was my favorite part.

Now for the really big deal…my wonderful husband is not a fan of shopping (see above). So, he tries to cover all major holidays in one fail swoop. This year he got me a new computer! It is beautiful. I seriously drool whenever I see it in the computer room.
I'm set for my b-day, Christmas, anniversary and valentine's day - probably for the next five years or so:)
I love, love, loved my birthday this year. Thanks to all that made it special!
P.S. Did you know that my first grade teacher still sends my a birthday card every year? We have the same birthday. She rocks:)

Okay, I caved

2008-11-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

After going to Costco yesterday, I decided my kids looked too dang cute not to dress up and go to a few neighbors houses. I loaded to little ones into the double stroller and made my way out the door (Brad stayed behind to study and pass out candy.) I went across the street to Bob's house to visit with Bob and Arleen. - Great neighbors! Then I made my way to some more ward members' houses. We stopped by Corey's grandma's house and she was kind enough to give my kiddos apples. It was a nice change. Then I saw some friends from the ward and they let me tag along with them - the Strattons, Calkins and Hendricksons and Anica and Andrea. We ended up spending like two hours trick or treating! It was really fun. Dominic "got it." He was saying trick or treat to everyone and the other kids were helping him. It was very sweet. We went home and had some visits from Grandma and Grandpa, Missy and Lilo and Stich, Melinda, Sam and Sidney and the Ashcrofts with their cute little girls (they used to live next door to us.)
And the end of trick or treating, Dominic was tired and eating his apple! Thanks Sister Williams:)

Final Halloween post because I'm not dressing up my kids one more time!

2008-10-30T00:37:00.000-07:00

I've decided to spare you all anymore Halloween posts! Because, while Buzz and the Ladybug are cute, I getting a little sick of getting kids in and out of costumes and picking up after discarded accessories and being upset over Dominic's ripped Buzz costume! (Hello, now I can't sell it on e-bay!)
Anyway, Saturday night, Brad's sweet Aunt Glora hosted her annual Halloween party. She is pretty awesome. She invites us all over, feeds us and entertains our kiddos. How cool is she? Very. Plus, we get to hang out an catch up with all of Brad's Henderson cousins. I'm just excited that I think I now know all the cousins between Wendy's sisters from Henderson (there are still several more siblings with more kids, grandkids, etc. that I don't even pretend to think that I've mastered names or connections!)

Tonight we had our ward trunk or treat. It was fun. Dominic really came out of his shell (what shell? you ask - he still gets shy around people at church believe it or not) We ate some yummy soup and rolls, then proceeded to the parking lot filled with generous Desert Rose ward members itching to give out FULL SIZE CANDY BARS! When I was a kid we were lucky to hit like one house that was giving out the big ones. My kids walked away with at least three in one parking lot! Not one piece of janky candy was to be found!

Slightly random, I watched Sidney yesterday and between two babies crying and a toddler trying to make himself chocolate milk in a "baby sippy" (a bottle) I managed to snap a few pictures of our newest cousin. Since Melinda is not a blogger, I'll do my part to past her cute little face all over the blog-o-sphere!

More Halloween Festivities!

2008-10-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

I went with Mike and Sara to their ward trunk or treat with the kiddos tonight. It was really fun. I told Sara I think I have a better time dressing my kids up than they like to be dressed up!
I was so excited to put D and Jade in their costumes. Dominic, because he makes a dang cute Buzz Lightyear (with an even cuter "to infinity and P - yond!") and that adorable little Buzz, Woody, Jesse trio walking around! AKA D, Luke and Madi. Jade, because I had this vision for her costume and about $6.00 later was able execute it. She is the cutest little ladybug I've ever seen!
Growing up, I don't think I ever had a store bought costume. My mom made my costumes until I was in third grade, then I started making my own! I remember being a butterfly, princess and genie - all handmade by my mom. Then one year I was a punk rocker, and the best was when I was a clown in 5th grade. I stapled a hula hoop to a baby-doll style shirt. It was pretty clever if I do say so myself:) Am I the next Martha Stewart? Probably not. But I do have fun tinkering with things:)

Cute little pumpkins

2008-10-23T01:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. Despite the itchy hay and rotten pumpkins, a fun time was had by all!

Saydi: Soccer Diva

2008-10-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

I took some pictures of Miss Saydi in all her diva-ness yesterday. I think this about sums it up, not hard to take pictures of cute kids:)

Sister Bear is 9 months! DD is 2 1/2

2008-10-20T13:41:00.001-07:00

Jade and Dominic just got back from their well checks. D is 2.5 years and Sis is 9 months. Both are totally normal, says Dr. Sirsy:)
Jade is in the 25% for height and weight. She was 16 pounds 12 ounces. (After I had to correct the "new girl" weighing her, informing her that Jade wasn't 10 pounds 6 ounces) It must take a genius to read those doctor's scales!
Dominic weighed 31 pounds. The doc said that was good. He was glad to see him putting a little meat on his bones. I'm pretty sure 27 pounds of that is in his head. I guess a big head means a big brain:)
Both are doing really well. Jade got a flu shot and DD got a Hep A shot and a flu shot. He kept saying that he was "braff" (brave).
I'm going to write some fun things about them so when I get caught up on scrapbooking, I can go back and read this:)

Dominic at 2 1/2:
Nicknames: D, DD, DD boy, sweetpea, babe, stink
Dominic is talking so much now. He likes to ask questions and repeats pretty much everything. Lately, he has made some friends at church from going to park day on Wednesdays. He comes home and asks me who everyone's mammas are and daddys are. For example, "What's Corbin's mamma's name, Mamma?" Me: Alisa. DD: "A-Leesa?" Me: "Yes" (2 seconds later repeat, repeat, repeat!)
He likes books. His favorite at the moment is "Itchy, Itchy Chicken Pox" It's a book that Sam left over here when Melinda was having Sydney. He has the whole thing memorized.
We've been trying to tell him little stories from the Book of Mormon before he goes to bed. He likes to hear about Nephi. He loves primary songs. Yeserday was the primary program, I had to sit in the front row to help the kids with pctures nad singing and such. Dominic came and sat by me for most of it. He was singing the songs at the top of his lungs. It was cute and embarrassing.
He is obsessed with president Ukdorf (sp.) He knows that he "fies air-pains." He is notorious for snathcing sis' pacifier and hiding with it. He loves to build and make caves with blankets.
He likes to help me clean (I LOVE THAT and appreciate that more that he knows!)
And I've already talked about his little OCD tendencies...

Okay, onto Jade...
Nicknames: Jaders, Sissy, Sister Bear, Chi Chi, Chi Chi bear, Jadie Cakes,
Jade is so sweet. She is always content. She sleeps in her crib, she eats well, she loves her bath, I am so grateful for this little angel. She loves her cousins. Especially her girl cousins! She gets a big grin on her face anytime she sees one of them. She also loves her brother. She has this spastic little giggle that she gets when D plays with her.
She is starting to wave (again, pretty spastically). She loves to watch this nursery rhyme DVD we have. She is super mobile - she's been crawling and scooting since she was five months. Now she pulls herself up onto everything. She has the tinest little petite feet - if they were bigger she would probably be walking!
I love her hair! She can wear it in ponies and piggies. I have tons of headbands for her, but it doesn't quite tame the mane!
Her first tooth popped through on Friday. She loves people food and baby food and nursing. She is seriously a happy kid.
She says "da-da" and lots of baby jibber jabber.
She is not a fan of the car seat, at first, she does this back arch thing and looks so sad. I've started to put her in the seats in carts at stores and she looovvves it.

Okay, I novel, I know. Just needed to get someof these Jade and Disms in before they flee my scattered brain:)

DD and OCD on a whole new level

2008-10-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

Lately, Dominic had taken the OCDness to a whole new level. He has always appreciated order in his life. But recently, it has trickled into his play and food. I about died laughing when I was cleaning up the living room and I noticed he was especially quiet. He was eating chicken noodle soup. I looked over and he was doing this…

So what is he doing you ask? I asked him the same question. He said, "I make train, like Bob the Builder." He proceeded to line up his noodles for a good 45 minutes.

Once upon a time

2008-10-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

there was a girl who worked all the time. She just returned home from teaching a workshop in Arizona. A sweet boy came to pick her up after a long weekend of teaching lots and lots of students how to make yearbooks. She was so tired and it was really late. The boy kept asking her if she wanted to get something to eat. She said no. (So rare for this girl that usually loves to eat.) He kept pestering her to eat, to get ice cream or something. She kept telling him no, she wanted to go home and go to sleep. He kept driving, but not to her house. He kept asking questions and finally, he asked her to marry him. And five years ago today, she said yes.

This is the oldest digital I have of me and my hubby. It was our first married Christmas together in 2004.

Here are a few things I should be doing right now.

2008-09-28T00:49:00.000-07:00

Blogging is not one of them. But in true Mandy fashion, I am having a major adult ADD moment.
I should be…
1. Getting my kids' clothing ready for church in less than 12 hours
2. Getting the "pennies by the inch" drive information ready for church tomorrow
3. Packing the diaper bag for church
4. Getting the program stuff ready for church tomorrow
5. Making sure I have something clean to wear for tomorrow (it is Sunday afterall)
6. Sleeping…sleeping sounds good right now (notice the time)

Brad has meeting in the morning so I get two little ones ready plus me. I actually make it almost on time when I have my act together the night before. "Saturday is a special day" keeps popping into my mind. Purhaps I should take heed:)

Fruits of my labors…

2008-09-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

Tonight I witnessed my son clean his room in his pure OCD fashoin for about 30 minutes straight (pretty impressive attention span for a two year old.) He sang "keen-up, keen-up" the whole time. He arranged his bins and lined them up and put all of his toys in them. Then he put all of his clothes in the hamper. I sat there and watched him. I kept telling him how happy he was making me. Then, he said, "My house all keen!" "That make me happy!" Boy, did it make me happy. It's nice when theyh copy something good that you do! I love this little guy and how busy he is all the time. I hope to witness many more episodes of him cleaning up!

Earlier today we went to the park with Kerri and Christian. D and Christian were so funny. They both were a little leery of the lurking birds scrounging for scraps of lunch. However, by the time we were getting ready to leave, both of them were throwing fries into the air saying, "come eat birds!"
Here are some pics of the cuties.

How about a 3:00 pick me up?

2008-09-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

Well if you know me, you know I love a tasty treat from good 'ol Sonic. I would encourage all of you to stop by and grab yourself a jr. banana split. I did just that this afternoon during my "3:00 slump." It was totally yummy! It comes in this cute little boat-dish thing with a perfect banana, cherry, scoop of vanilla, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, pinapple and whipped cream. It was pure Heaven:) (Sonic, make my commission check out to Mandy Frehner…)

Crazy 8s

2008-09-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

8 Tv shows I love to watch:
1. Jon & Kate Plus Eight
2. What Not to Wear
3. The Secret Life...
4. Iron Chef America
5. Food Network Challenge
6. Deal or No Deal
7. The Cosby Show
8. Everybody Loves Raymond

8 Favorite Restaurants:
Capri
Chevy's
Don Antonios
Lucilles
Totos
The Greek place in the mall
Painted Pony
Rainbow Club

8 things that happened yesterday:
I made waffles and omlets for dinner
I scrubbed my floor
I did a million dishes by hand
I had Diet Coke with Vanilla from Sonic
I had a primary meeting
I talked to my sister Lori
I talked to my sister Melinda
I lost track of how many poopy diapers I changed:)

8 things I look forward to:
A REAL family vacation
Brad finishing school in December
Watching Dominic & Jade open Christmas presents
Cooler weather
A new house sometime
When my kids go to bed at night
Going on dates with my husband
Having more kids (down the road)

8 things I love about fall:
New fall clothes for me and the kids
Cooler weather
Making soup
Baking stuff
Going on walks at night
Taking Dominic to the pumpkin patch
Homemade rootbeer
Getting Halloween costumes for D and Jade

8 things on my wish list:
To make good decisions parenting my kids
A new laptop
A clean house
My kids to grow up and be strong in the gospel
Organization
Family vacation
To build a dream home someday
To win the Megabucks (that one is for Brad, I'm a giver!)

Sportin' my new do…

2008-09-04T23:08:00.000-07:00

This is mainly for my sis, Lori who can't see me because she lives in freakin' Utah! I'm now a brunette!

Five little less known facts about me...

2008-09-03T23:18:00.000-07:00

1. I got my hair done tonight by my life long friend, Marie. It is the darkest it's ever been, and could quite possibly be my natural haircolor. I don't know because starting at about age 11 I meet the wonderful world of haircolor. The rest is just roots:) Maybe I'll post some pics of the new do tomorrow.
2. I loathe doing the dishes. I think it is cruel that I don't have a dishwasher, hence most of the time you come to my house, there are a pile of dirty dishes. (Just think how your dishes would stack up if you didn't have a dishwasher!)
3. I am totally blind and pretty much deaf. Many of you remember me with large coke bottles. Thank goodness for contacts. They allowed me to break free from ages 4-14, "Mandy, the ugly years." Fortunately, (or unfortunatly) my remaining senses are keen.
4. I can honestly say I am pretty darn happy. I have a good husband, great kids, I like all my immediate family members (even some of my extended family members too!) I have tolerable in-laws, okay, pretty awesome in-laws, lifelong friends and food on my table. Of course, I could use a dishwasher and some power outlets in my bathrrom, but, for the most part, I am happy:)
5. I yearn to be organized and have a clean house. It is a constant battle to keep my house above getting the health district called on me! (I'm serious!) I think I might be a hoarder... Any suggestions?

Now that you know these five little fun facts about me, post five fun little facts about you. (This is a tag.)

If you build it, we will come...

2008-09-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

So anyone who knows Brad, knows that one of his favorite places to eat is Fuddruckers. It was his last meal before going on a mission, we go there everytime we go to Utah, ate there in San Diego for the Frehner fam reunion, my husband LOVES this place. He has been diligently checking the website, hoping and wishing they would build one somewhere within a hundred mile radius of us. (He even looked into the price of purchasing a franchise - we didn't have the extra $500,000 laying around, bummer)But, recently Fudds has made its way to Las Vegas. So today we made the 20 mile trek to Summerlin to sample some good ol' Fuddruckers burgers.
No visit to Fudds would be complete without their shakes. For those of you who have never been, they are yummy and they bring you the excess shake in a tin glass so you can enjoy all million calories of the sweet treat in pure ice cream utopia.
I think it's safe to say the Frehners will be back again shortly:)

Cradle Robber

2008-08-27T23:43:00.000-07:00

Happy 26th Birthday to my wonderful, handsome husband, Bradley. Brad truns the big 2-6 in about fifteen minutes. So as a tribute to my main man, here are 26 little things I love about Brad, in no particular order…

1. His ability to remain calm in any situation. (When he worked at the bank, a 90 woman was flipping him the bird and yelling at him and it didn't even phase him.)
2. How dang smart he is.
3. His ability to turn everything into a joke
4. He makes me laugh…really hard…all the time
5. When he talks to Dominic and Jade and plays with them - it is the best
6. When he listens to rap music…and sings every word
7. When he makes fun of me
8. When he speaks Spanish
9. The millions of handwritten letters I have from him
10. The witty cards he buys me for every holiday
11. He loves to go out to eat
12. He isn't obsessed with sports or video games
13. He has the strongest testimony of any person I know
14. He serves others and forgets about it
15. He works so hard for his family
16. He is a goal setter
17. He is oober organized
18. He knows when I'm at my breaking point
19. He doesn't let me get too serious
20. He asks me if his clothes match
21. He appreciates an occasional trip to Kohls or Ross (let me stress occasional)
22. He quizes me on 107.5 songs
23. He thinks he knows more country songs than me
24. He always brings home treats for me and the kiddos
25. He lets me have control most of the time
26. He is the best husband and dad in the world!

We love you so much! Happy Birthday:)

It all started with a Sonic Blast…

2008-08-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

So, I have been failing as a mother with Jade in that the girl is 7 months old and has never really eaten a lot of solid food. I thought for sure I was going to be one of those people nursing my kid until they were in kindergarten the way she was not liking food, and me not being super persistent with it. (Okay, I wouldn't really nurse her until then all of you people thinking I'm some wacked out granola mama.)
But, the other day I decided to give her some of my yummy fried ice cream blast from Sonic (thanks to the extra calories I burn nursing, I think I'm entitled to eat one like every day!) (heaven forbid I actually like loose weight from nursing…anyway…)
Jaders was pawing at it like she wanted to eat some. So I gave her some…and she liked it!
So tonight I busted the spoon and squash out and low and behold, she ate food! Amazing isn't it? She looks a little crazy in these pictures, her hair gets a little crazy when I take it out of whatever apparatus is taming it!

Stevens family photo shoot

2008-08-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

Dominc, Jade and I went to Utah last week to spend sometime with Lori, Earl, the kids and Joey and Brittney. (Although due to busy, busy work schedules, I didn't get to see a whole lot of Joe and Brit)
We had so much fun shopping, going to the zoo, going to Parade of Homes and shopping. Lori and I also concocted this photo project for her living room wall. I think it turned out pretty cool. Here are some shots from her super cute family.
I had tons of fun doing it!

This could be the worst picture ever…

2008-08-02T02:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I was sorting through some photos on my external hard drive when I can across this. Normally, I try to pick like the cutest pictures of my kids and slap them up on my blog, I almost died laughing at this picture of me, Brad and Dominic (Dominic is the only one that looks even half way cute…)
I can't wait to show this to Dominic when he's a teenager and say, "see what childbirth did to me!"
P.S. Notice the IV bruises on my hand? Nasty! Here's to everyone's crappy photos…please tell me I'm not the only one that takes them!

Life's little changes

2008-07-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

We've had many little changes in our household recently that have impacted our little world. First of all, Brad just finished his first week as an accountant at a CPA firm in Las Vegas! He is enjoying his job so far, and I'm enjoying taking his suits to the dry cleaners on a regular basis. (Not really, but he does look pretty handsome in them) I am grateful for everything he does for our family. He is still chugging away at his Masters classes too and will be done in December if all goes well. Then he will turn his efforts to the CPA exam. I'm looking forward to the day that my husband can come home from work and just be home and not study (I'm sure I'm not alone on that one!) (I don't know what will be left of the blogging world when all of our husbands are just home.)
I think the next change that is rocking my world a bit is Jaders crawling! She is so stinkin' cute! She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth and then makes a nose dive for something. I just hate that she can get little pieces of junk in her mouth - I think it is a nightmare for every mother of a crawler!
Next, a got a new church calling - the primary president. I was called about two months ago and I'm just now numbing from the shock. We had our first activity on Saturday - the pioneer day breakfast for the whole ward. It went well and I'm just glad it is done and over with. Things have gone pretty smoothly. I love the little kids and I am working with some really talented people. It certainly just goes to show that when you're comfortable, the Lord has a way of shaking things up a bit!

Our beautiful new cousin!

2008-07-22T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sydney Olivia Smith was born this morning at 8:06 a.m. via c-section. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Samantha has been staying with us while her mom recovers. She is super excited for her new sister. Here are some pics of the little one.

Jade is 6 months!

2008-07-17T00:14:00.000-07:00

Jade hit the six month mark on the 15th. I had a "well" check scheduled today that turned out to be a sick appointment! She hasn't been sleeping well the past few nights…okay she hasn't been sleeping at all! (Which makes for a grumpy mama might I add.) Turns out the poor girl has a double ear infection. After a big o bottle of amoxicillian, hopefully she'll be ear infection free next doctor's visit in two weeks. (I couldn't bear to make her suffer through shots today!)

Jade's six month stats: 16 pounds, 24 inches (average on weight, a little short on height)
Accomplishments: she can crawl/scoot (I, know, why is it always the people (like me) with crap on their floor constantly that have kids that crawl before six months!)
she just discovered her feet!
she loves Dominic!
she isn't into any food whatsoever - just nursing, a lot (which happens to be my exercise regimine at the moment)
she has the cutest laugh and really gets going when you tickle her ribs or neck
makes the "lip face" often - which I'm pretty sure she gets from me. (I always tuck my lips in when I'm concentrating)
(The last picture shows this face!

We love, love, love our little Jade.

Memories

2008-07-16T00:31:00.001-07:00

Memories...:)
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

Dinner this week…

2008-07-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

So I am always trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I have found that I spend the least amount of money and actually follow through with dinner when I have a plan for all my meals for the week. I often feel like I get into a cooking rut and make the same 'ol things over and over. So, I am going to try ot blog my weekly meal plan in hopes that my bloggin buddies will do the same and I can get some variety in meals! So here goes…

Monday - FHE (my wonderful mom cooks for all of us - how lucky are we? One less day I have to plan for. She made Sloppy Joes with corn on the cob)

Tuesday - Brats with chips and fruit
Brad grilled the brats, opened the bag of BBQ kettle chips from Fresh 'n Easy, washed grapes, etc. for fruit

Wednesday - Lori's chicken Vodoo Salad (had great reviews from Corey, can't wait to make it.)
Check out Lori & Earl's blog for the recipe

Thursday - Sweet & sour meatballs (never have tried it, but they sound good)
Go to sugardoodle.net/melsrecipes

Friday - Hula stir fry (again, a first time meal, I'll let you know the out come)
Go to sugardoodle.net/melsrecipes

Saturday - Navajo tacos (Sara's concoction, last time I made them -yum!)
Basically, a twist on traditional tacos. Instead of using shells, make scones from Rhodes rolls. I top with some homemade guac., salsa and sour cream. We scarffed them down last time.

Sunday - Day of rest! Dinner at Brad's mom. I usually try to bring dessert.

Okay, now everyone post your meal plan so I have something to cook next week!
(I've already done the Taco Bell, McDonald's and Wendy's plan for the past month while Brad's had classes at UNLV!)

Okay, I know it's late…

2008-07-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

But who in the heck would dress their kids like this?
I found these lavish outfits while searching for some cute hairbow ideas for Jade. Each of these concoctions are like $200. I suppose they are marketed to people who have more dollars than sense or just like their kids to look like a freak show! How obnoxious!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-07-05T00:31:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July!
I love the 4th of July. Today was a fun day. We hosted a BBQ at our house with Matt, Heidi and family, Sara, Mike and family, Grandma and Grandpa Frehner and Grandma and Grandpa Byington. I wish we had a bigger eating area because everyone was trying to balance their paper plate on couch cushions and their laps:)
We had a feast of brats, hot dogs for the kiddos, carne asada from the Mexican meat market (yummy), pasta salad, macaroni salad, potato salad, grilled corn on the cob and my amazing fruit trays that I got for $1.00 at Food 4 Less.
After grubbing on food we walked to Water Street for the City of Henderson fireworks show. It was good ten minutes of beautiful fireworks. After that, we watched our neighbor's illegal fireworks, hoping the roman candles wouldn't land on our roof anf torch our house. Finally, the "men" (Brad, Matt and Mike) lit our humble collection of pyrotechnics! I think the boys enjoyed the fireworks more than the kiddos!
We had a very fun day. We are grateful to live in a country where we have so many freedoms. In a time where people can be so negative about the country we live in, I am so thankful that our Heavenly Father preserved this nation to be the place where the gospel could be restored. We take so many things for granted, we are very lucky to be able to raise our little family and be so blessed. God bless the USA. We love America!

Powdered doughnuts…

2008-07-02T21:57:00.001-07:00

Everyone has heard the saying "a picture's worth a thousand words" the question in my house is, how many of those thousand are four letter words? Do you know what's wrong with the world today? In my days of growing up, if my parents walked in and caught me like this they would have kicked my butt, not busted out a camera and started taking pictures! (That could be the reason that this has been the scene four times in my house in the last week.) The first time, I took pictures, he has been scolded everytime after:)
This little guy has discovered a fascination with baby powder. You think I would have chucked it all the first time. Apparently I like to be tortured! Today while I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the bathroom, Dominic (who I thought was watching "Bob the Builder" was turning his room into a snow covered delight, again.) I was trying to clean my house because I had a primary meeting at my house tonight. Of course, Dominic takes no nap today, makes three messes in the time it takes for me to clean up one mess, wakes up Jade, whines, spills liquid on just mopped floors, drags out every toy he owns, manages to make his room look like a tornado just hit it. Needless to say, he has successfully pushed every one of my buttons today!
Okay, so after just typing that I feel really guilty. He did do some sweet things today. When I found my little powdered doughnut perched on the changing table sprinkling baby powder all over, he said (when he saw me) "I made Mama sad." He also was helping me "clean" at one point by wiping the chairs with Lysol wipes. He really is a sweet boy, even if he does make incredible messes.
(Why do I feel like I need some Prozac right now?)

Weekend wrap up

2008-06-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

We were going to have a pretty typical weekend at the Frehner household that usually involves going out to eat at some point and Brad studying…a lot.
On Friday, we had our first primary activity for my new calling. We had a teacher appreciation ice cream social for the teachers at the park. I bought way too much ice cream and we were well represented by the bishopric and primary presidency…the teachers, not so much. Oh well, it was still fun.
On Saturday, a rarity. Brad and I went to lunch by ourselves to Sushi Twister (not my pick, but it was really good.) It was so nice to go out with Brad sans kids. I told him previously that it wasn't that rewarding to go out trying to wrestle/nurse/console, etc. children. Luckily Grandma Wendy watched the little ones so Brad and I could have some adult conversation mainly about whether or not to take a new job with an accounting firm.
It looks like Brad is going to accept the job. So a pretty normal weekend turned out to be quite eventful!
Oh, p.s. then Brad watched the kids so I could get a pedicure. I was so grateful- thank you, thank you, thank you:) I'm a better mom for it with cute toes.

Here's one of D…

2008-06-25T00:20:00.000-07:00

I just did a page for Dominic.

New pages of Jade

2008-06-24T23:03:00.001-07:00

Here are some new pages of Jade! (I do scrapbook my son too, I just haven't done very many digital ones of him.)

Laundry is clean

2008-06-22T00:21:00.001-07:00

Just to let everyone know. I purchased some real laundry detergent at Walmart tonight. Now our clothes will once again be clean and smell good.

Serious blond moment

2008-06-20T10:17:00.000-07:00

So for the past few weeks I've been using this really good smelling laundry detergent becuase Brad was not satisfied with the old Costco million loads for ten dollars bucket of soap.
I have been using Gain Apple Mango Tango detergent. I even bought the dryer sheets to make our clothes smell especially nice. Putting in my first load of laundry in a few days (since I caught up on every article of clothing earlier this week) I thought, how clever am I that I got the loads on the dryer sheets to match the degtergent so I would runout at the same time! (I'm a nerd, I know) Low and behold, I discover that I have been washing all my clothes in liquid fabric softener for the past three weeks! So, while my clothes smell amazing, they are not really clean. I apologize to anyone that has been near us and our extra soft dirty clothes the past few weeks!

Jade keeps growing…

2008-06-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

Just a little update on sweet little Jade. She is almost five months old. She weighed 12 lbs. 4 oz. at ther four month check up. She is super sweet and loves Dominic. She rolls over, tries to scoot, constantly has her little hands in her mouth and giggles this cute little laugh when you ticke her. She also has recently started sleeping through the night! Yippee for me. I love to put cute outfits on her and hairbows in her "Elvis bangs" (It's the only way to tame them right now!

Fun in Utah

2008-05-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Utah visiting Lori and Earl and the cousins! Dominic was very helpful in preparing for the trip. We were getting ready to leave and he decided that "Sissy hold snacks" so he piled up all the snacks around her bouncer seat. I love how the huge Gatorade made it dangling by her head!
On Saturday, we went to the farm at Thanksgiving Point. Dominic liked the animals, but he was most excited to ride the ponies. He got to ride them twice. It was pretty cool. There were all sorts of animals - cows, pigs, horses, peacocks, goats, everything imaginable on the farm. The little baby calves kept licking Sophie, it was so cute. Dominic wasn't into petting the animals that much.

Frehner Family Fun!

2008-05-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Brad finished his first year of grad school earlier this week by taking his last final exam! Yippee! So for three whole weeks we have him home at night and not in the back room glued to the computer or text books! We are getting in all the fun and excitement we can before he returns to being the school slave that he is.
On Friday we went to the water park at Mission Hills. It was so nice to spend some time together as a family. Dominic loved the water, of course.

Up to my eyeballs in laundry

2008-05-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have this mystery I have yet to solve in my humble 4.5 years of marriage. How does my house get so messy? I mean, I'm a clean person. I do housework like a madwoman at various hours of the day (I do my best cleaning at about 10:00 p.m.)
Well, I've discovered why I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry lately. There are three perpetrators. 1. Brad - He has clothes for work, play, working out and church (I've attempted to combine the work and church wardrobes without much luck). The common denominator, no matter what, they end up on the floor.
2. Jade - The poor girl spits up so much that no outfit lasts more than a couple of hours, even with a bib, burp rag, etc. We use receiving blankets for burp rags! I gues she is just prepping me for when she is in junior high and needs a new outfit everyday:)
3. And finally, you guessed it, Dominic. He really likes to dress himself. He likes to wear sweaters, mismatched pjs, anything Elmo, anything with a moving, loud thing on it (helicopter - "choppa, chop" airplane, jeep (which he thinks is "Pappa's Rhino")
Last night, he thought he would sample something from his Dad's designer collection!
P.S. I had to throw in Dominic's amazing ability to stcik three pacifiers in his mouth and Jade…because she's cute!