Mommy Brody Date

Spencer and Cheslie wanted to earn extra money this summer (age 12 & 9), so they opened up a babysitting service Tuesday afternoons from 1-4pm. It's just $2 per child, per house. WORTH IT!!! They don't care what you do, sleep, read, watch tv, or take one kid on a date. I think I have done all the the above. This is the first time I left Hunter and Chelsie was SO happy.

I took Braden to see a movie and then came back, dropped him off, fed Hunter and then took Brody on a date. We headed to Dairy Queen for fries and ice cream. 

This little boy LOVED it.

 What a goofball!

After our treat time, we headed to the park and played for an hour.

It's hard as a parent of 3 to spend good time with each child. I've heard multiple things. It's not about the amount of time, but the quality. I have said it before, but I will say it again. I disagree with this comment. It's all about quantity and quality. 

I think these little moments, although not long or high in quality, mean more to my son then huge extravagant things i could do with him. The more time I spend with my children, the more quality time presents itself.

I have struggled the most with this little man, but I am finding that he is quite smart, funny, and endearing. Not to say that he is perfect, because we are both far from it. But I LOVE HIM!!

Thanks George's for making my time as a mother more meaning and manageable.

Making Cookies

My girls camp leader (Sister Thornley) always made us a large amounts of Monster Cookies for girls camp. It allowed us to snack all week on sugary, buttery, chocolatey goodness. I have decided if I am ever involved in Girls Camp then I would make them. I did this for my girls in Logan and I couldn't help but do it for my girls here. I had 2 little helpers.

1 dozen eggs, 3 pounds of peanut butter, 2 pounds brown sugar, and loads of M&M's/Chocolate chips, we have our dough.

You use 1/4 cup to scoop make the cookies.

I made over 90 cookies. We snacked on a few, but mostly, my girls snacked on them at camp (post to come).

After all out hard work, we popped some popcorn, put in a good movie and snuggled. I have the best little "helpers" ever.

Rice Cereal and Rolling

Guess who started rice cereal? That's right, my 4 month old chunky monkey. I took him to the doctor 2 weeks ago and his stats are finally on the chart, 99%.

She said that the research states they should gradually start solid foods at 4 months old. Include everything in their diet (except pure honey) and sugars. Start with rice cereal until he has mastered eating, then let him go.

He was interested in his first bite, but since has devoured everything we put near his mouth.

He LOVES to eat. 

The same day we gave him food, he rolled over. I love being a stay at home mom, I was able to witness this little feat.

Ta-da!

He's getting so big. And yes, I still absolutely adore him.

Picnic in the Car

Two Saturday's ago we needed to mix things up. We were mostly stuck around the house because of Brody. We decided to branch away and head down to the river. It's pretty close, so we figured if Brody was doing poorly, we could just come home. Temperature was supposed to be around 80 degrees, so we got in our swimsuits, packed a lunch and headed out.

About half way down there the rain came. This wasn't just a drizzle, it was a powerful rain. Every rain drop sounded like a rock falling on the windshield. We were already almost there. We had hoped it would clear up. Nope, we got there and the rain fell. What else is there to do except for having a picnic in the car.

Blake had already removed a seat to make room for rocks (post to come), so we just layed out the blanket and sat in back.

Braden happily declared, "I have never had a picnic in the car before."

We turned on some fun kids music while we ate and danced the morning away.

Some of us slept.

 Until the party really began.

Look at his little swimsuit. You can see all his rolls.

Blake needed to use the restroom so he decided to brave the weather. After a couple of minutes, Braden decided he wanted to brave the weather. By that time, the rain had stopped.

Then Brody discovered the water.

We couldn't help but throw rocks into the water. I think it's some kind of little boy rule. If there is water, throw stuff into it.

Ok, maybe it's a male rule too because Blake was in there too.

After about 30 minutes of clouds, the sun peeked through and then it got hot. Our good friends The Bell's showed up and we played. These two absolutely love each other. Evelyn is 10 days younger than Brody. The suit each other very well.

Braden and Dexter spent their time building a river and dam. It was fun to see them work together to build something pretty cool.

After a little snack and nap, this little boy was happy to play outside.

A fun video of us in the car. Overall, we were out of the house for 6 hours. The boys came home completely exhausted and we have to be happy about that. You can expect more posts about lazy days by the river. Simple, cheap and easy fun!

Goodbye Mema

Shout out to the best mom in the world. Blake and I couldn't have done it without you. We laugh when you say you wished you could have been more helpful. I LOVE the fact that you don't always ask me what you can do. You just see what needs to get done and execute it. You don't know how helpful that is in and of itself.

My boys adore you. I love how you kindly, but firmly put Braden in his place. You do it in such a perfect way as to not lecture or yell and he responds to that.

At times it didn't seem like it, but you did capture this little boys heart. He asked about you for days after you left. And I know he appreciated all the Barney movies you got him (mom and dad didn't) and all the other goodies you showered him with. I hope he doesn't expect this every time.

And this little dude is just starting to understand how cool Mema is.

We love you mom, thanks for spending the week with us.

Final Recovery

The worst part of the whole day are the nights. Brody would go to sleep really well, but then wake up with a completely dry and sore throat. There was nothing we could do except head downstairs to watch Barney or take him on long early morning drives. He would stay awake for the whole drive. I think it just distracted him.

I thought for sure we would hang around the house, but no, Brody was all about getting out. Braden had a Primary activity, so the whole family headed to the park to help clean. Brody loved collecting the trash.

Braden loved finding trash in unique (and dangerous) places.

It was a whole family and friends event. Brody felt like he was so important. Can you see the huge gloves he is wearing? He loved them.

By the time we got done with trash, he was done. He didn't want to stay for the games, so mema stayed with Braden. That afternoon Brody got restless again. By this point he hadn't eaten anything for a day and hardly had anything to drink. He wanted to get out of the house, so my mom threw him in the car and he came home with this.

Yes, a spray bottle. My mom is so smart and creative. Brody thought this was the coolest thing. This is how he drank his water the rest of the week. He didn't go anywhere without it. Thanks mom.

There was no drama about Brody. When he hurt he hurt and when he felt good, he was happy. His main food staple was Totino's pizza. He didn't get any of the cold sweat stuff I bought for him. Yes, that means that the rest of us ate all the ice cream, Popsicles, pudding, etc. It really only took Brody 8 days to get back to normal. We would take it. We have notice a HUGE difference in his language. He had a hard time hearing before, therefore he wouldn't pronounce his letters correctly. Now he is wanting to repeat everything to say it correctly. 8 days of misery is worth a lifetime of clear speech and comfort for our little man.

Recovery Day 4: The Farm

Our friends who own a farm went out of town. They asked if anyone wanted to do farm chores for a day. Why not? The George's let us tag along with them. My thinking was I would leave Brody home to snuggle with my mom and take Hunter and Braden. Braden had no desire to go, he wanted to stay home with Mema.

Brody, on the other hand, wanted to go so bad, so I took the younger boys. Chelsie loved somewhat holding Hunter.

And Brody.

We got to feed the goats and chicken and bunnies and dogs and horses and pigs. Someone may or may not have let all the goats in the chicken coop. Those suckers are heard to keep away from the chickens.

Merilee holding Braden while I try and get the goats away from the chickens.

Brody loves animals and was excited to see them all. The goats made him a little nervous because they were so aggressive (not mean, but very in your face). He also loved the horses and thought the pigs stunk, which they did.

After the farm we met my mom and Shopko and did some shopping. The boys got to pick out some toys and then we ended up at McDonalds. At this point, we allowed Brody to eat and drink whatever he wanted. He wasn't doing so well with either of them. I was glad my mom was here to help.