I SO deserve the Mother Of The Year Award...

Yeah, that's my 17-month-old, eating bananas with... a screwdriver! So, since I put him in the chair, I should have noticed that he was playing with a potentially deadly weapon, right? No, I only noticed when I saw him not eating with his fingers! (you should have seen the protest when I took it away!)
I am trying to teach my nearly 4 year old daughter about dressing modestly... Clearly not working, as her favorite outfit du jour is this, a dress up from 2 Christmases ago. Awww, my little hussy!

I got to watch Bo the other day, and Brody wanted to hold him so bad. Bo clearly does not enjoy it, but Brody loves lovin on little babies! He's so sweet... until the blood-curdeling screams when you take the baby out of his arms!

How can you not love a face like that? Especially when he's just eaten all of my eye-liner. This kid is seriously into EVERYTHING!

Here's my little dude, and his little bum-bum! He was trying to bring this stroller up the stairs when it got caught in his diaper and me being the mean mommy I am, I grabbed the camera before assisting him! I LOVE this picture!

I was loading pictures from my camera to computer, and saw all these pictures from the last few weeks that may prompt someone to call CPS on me! Obviously, after each funny moment captured on camera, I corrected the situation, and returned my sweet children to safety...

HOW MANY HALLOWEEN PARTIES CAN THERE BE?!?

Brody, Ava, Ruby and Sadie at the Pumkin patch for Ava's preschool fieldtrip.
Minnie and Mickey

Are they not the cutest?

His ears squeek, too!

I know, it's blurry, but it's the only one I got showing that I actually dressed up!

Seriously, we had so many Halloween celebrations this year, that I feel a little less guilty about spending way too much $$$ on my kids' costumes! They got some really good use out ot them. First we had our neighbors, the Phelp's party. It was really cute... All the adults man a booth for the kids, mine had so much fun. Then we had our ward Trunk-or-Treat, then Ava had her party at school, then we had my dad's company Halloween parade, then actual Halloween. IS that 5? And Brent and Emily didn't even have their annual Halloween bash this year. That would have made 6! Seriously, I am all halloweened out! Putting on their costumes 5 times? Insane! Although, it was really cute when Brody figured out that he didn't have to eat each piece of candy as he got it, there would be more at the next door, and he was runnin. I really think he might just be the cutest little man ever!

WiReD!

I give a pretty good pedicure. I have been doing it for fun for friends for a while, but just recently decided it would be fun to offer it to anyone. For $20, I will do salt(or sugar) scrub, callous remover, massage, cuticle therapy, any design you want(rhinestones included). Since usually it ends up being like $40 bucks when you go get a pedi, I decided that I would help people save money, and offer my services for pretty cheap(I think). If you're interested, drop me a line.

So, I was watching Grey's Anatomy tonight, and I got out my kids trunk-or-treat candy, and had a little binge, and now it is nearly 3 am, and I am wired! I have been pretty good about limiting the sugar lately, so I think my body has no idea what to do with it! I am soooo tired, and I can't sleep! Help!

I want to throw up.

If you are wondering why I can't keep up on housework, here's why...

I go to get dressed, come back and there is my smiling boy, in the pantry, eating cereal with a full container of Italian Bread crumbs spilled everywhere! I guess we won't be having chicken parmesan any time soon!
And I turn for 2 seconds, and where is the bottom rack of the dishwasher? On the floor you say? That's a great place for it, Brody. Thanks for the help. Finding the silverware rack took a little bit longer! Punk!
This new skill was just aquired this afternoon. Now he can empty more than just the bottom 2 drawers!
And I had to include this... She is totally asleep, chin propped up and everything! How can that be comfortable? By the way, that is MY cinderella costume she's wearing.
So last night I was on the computer, and Brody came in to destroy the room (this is his pattern, follow me around and destroy all in his path). Well before I could stop him he picked up my external hard-drive and dropped it. It made a funny noise, and now my computer doesn't see it. No big deal, except ALL MY PICTURES AND DATA ARE ON IT, AND NO WHERE ELSE!!! I am praying that there is some way to retrieve the data. I would be so sad if all the pictures from the last 5 years were lost forever! Little punk. He is so into everything right now, it's making me nuts!

My sister-in-law Annie called me this morning to tell me about her sweet little Callin's near drowning the other day. He is just 2 weeks younger than Brody. SO blessed that he is ok. Makes me hold my little terroizer a little closer, and just be glad that he is here to torment me! I'll pick up his messes forever!

Let's make it a birth-week!!

So I have been trying to forget about my birthdays the last couple of years because I keep getting older, and it is just not a happy thing for me. But last Wednesday was my birthday, and I am officially 29 :( Luckily a few people made it really fun for me. With Zach's schedule, I don't get to go do fun things very much, and so any excuse to party was welcome! Wednesday I went to lunch with 2 of the best sister-in-laws anyone could ask for. Then Friday I went to dinner with a bunch of girlfriends and then to a movie. It was a blast! I love getting together with girls, it is just so fun. The movie we saw was so funny, too! I haven't belly-laughed like that in a theater in a long time! We stayed out way too late, but it was worth it! Then Saturday morning I went to brunch with some more friends. SOOO good! Seriously, the best gift ever was just to be with fun people and talk and laugh. So for all of you who made it so fun for me, thanks, and I LOVE YOU SO MUCH IT'S RETARDED!!! I guess you had to be there...

Awwww...

Ava crashed here one day, and when Brody noticed her he couldn't resist climbing up for a snuggle. He is such a lover!
My poor little man! He grabbed my flat iron and got blisters on all his little fingers! I felt sooooo bad. This picture doesn't show nearly how bad it was. Poor kid!
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? I am going to try to remember that when Ava comes up to me with 2 sparkly shoes on the wrong feet, 2 different clip on earings, 8 tangled necklaces (tied into her hair, no less), a big plastic ring, and a cell phone, and says, "look, Mommy! I'm a Mommy!" If this is what I look like, I need some help!
There is a theme! She passes out here quite often, and I love it!

My super talented Brother-In-Law!!!

My Brother-in-law, Brent Slade was asked to open for the country Group, Lady Antebellum on Thursday, Sept. 11. His band Slade did an AWESOME job, and I was seriously impressed with how professional they sounded! And does he not look like a rock star!? Check out his website www.brentslade.blogspot.com

Seeing Lady Antebellum was a nice bonus! I didn't know much about them before the show, just 1 song I had heard on the radio. But let's be honest, I am usually driving around listening to primary music, so I don't even know what's going on out there in the music world anymore. But after seeing them live, I am sold! They were awesome! You know how some people sound great on the radio and then not so great live? Well not them! There are 2 main singers who kind of share lead singing, and they do some great duets! I am a sucker for a good duet:) And I sort of developed a crush on Charles... I fell in love with his voice! But seriously, they are awesome, and I am glad I got to go.
Me, Charles, Ali, Aimee and Emily after the show.
I had such a good time that I only care a little bit that I look like I weigh 300 lbs in this picture! Dave Heywood(isn't he cute?), Mark and Jami Baker, Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and me!

Check out this clip, i don't think the sound it that great, cuz I took it with my amatuer camera, but he really did a great job!

Crazy week & What My Kids Do When I'm Not Looking!!

So I am at my friend Angie's house and we're just hangin out talking when we realize it's been a while since we heard from Ava and Kai. Further investigation found them in the bathroom with the door locked... When we finally got the door open, this is what we found. Ava and Kai with an ENTIRE BOTTLE OF HANDSOAP IN THEIR HAIR!!!!! Crazy kids, and Ava's hair was super-dry for like a week after that!
I walked into my family room to see Ava watching TV like this.... Nuff said.
Should I be worried that my son likes to put on 30 necklaces all the time?
I hear the water running in the bathroom, and after it being too long for hand-washing, this is what I found.
Ava begged me for these glitter-glue pens at Target. When we got home, she couldn't wait to use them, I get done putting groceries away, and look! Every ounce of glitter pen is on 1 peice of paper!!! It's a good thing they came from the $1 bin!

I had a totally crazy week last week that I am still recovering from... My mom and I decided to go to Utah to visit some family we haven't seen in a while, and for a little R&R. I got NONE of the R&R. Traveling with 2 small children is never a treat, but they were actually pretty good the whole time. We stayed at a different relative's house every night (my aunt's idea of a good time), so I had to load and unload the car twice a day. Super Fun! Did you catch the sarcasm? So I was basically a zombie getting hardly any sleep. But I did get to see some cousins I haven't seen in a while, so it was cool.

I took the kids to the Hogle Zoo and I have to say, it totally trumps the Phoenix Zoo! All the animals were so close! It was fun, and Brody said "isaraff", translation, "It's a giraffe!" We also went to this awesome children's museum called the Gateway Discovery Museum. We sat and talked for hours while the kids played! They were so totally engrossed with all the fun stuff to do they never even came over to where we were sitting. I totally recommend it.

I also started reading "The Host" while I was there, and LOVED IT!

2 Major dampers on the fun were that I forgot to take any pictures, BUMMER! And then Friday night, I was looking for my wallet, and it was nowhere to be found! We looked everywhere and I am still hoping someone will find it. Yeah, so my ID, my ss card, all my credit cards, my temple recommend, library card, insurance card, luckily only $10 cash, everything, GONE! I was totally freaking out because I knew I could not get on a plane without ID, so I called the TSA and I had to go thru special bomb-sniffing screening, and they went through everything in my bag, but eventually let me on. I was so relieved! I have never been so scared of not being able to get home! At least I wasn't out of the country. Now I am just going through the hassle of replacing everything I lost. No fun. But at least I got home!

Long overdue!

Ok, so blogging has been brushed aside as I have been super busy with too many other things, but I'm back! And thanks to Sally, I now know how to make my blog cute. I don't know how all of you have time to sit and figure out all these fun things, but I don't, so I need clear directions, and now I think I might be able to change it up a bit. Sally even changed the name of my blog for fun.. Sheri Talks Smack... Ha ha, but I guess it's true. I am a whiner and complainer, so I'll leave it there for a while!

My girls...

Cat and me waiting to surprise Janeice for her 29th birthday!! Are we really that old?! NOPE, SHE IS!!! ( I still have 3 good months before I enter the last year of my 20's) ARG!
GC, Cat and me.
Is that not the funnest cake ever?
Lizzy, Cat and Me(& Brody!) Last December during not-so-happy times...
Me, Lizzy, Cat and Lindsey leaving for our 10 year reunion...

So I grew up with 4 brothers and NO SISTERS! (Luckily I married a guy with some pretty fantastic sisters, so that helps) But I have really always felt like I was missing out on something. Don't get me wrong, brothers are great, but who's gonna tell you you need your lip waxed, or yes, those jeans do make your butt look big? I think only a sister can do that without hurting your feelings. I am always jealous when I watch my friends with their sisters, there is just something about that bond that I definitely lack. But how lucky am I to know that I do have these great girls who know all the worst things about me, and still love me anyway? I love my friends! Sometimes we go a really long time without talking because life just gets busy, and we've all headed different ways, but when we do talk, it's like no time has gone by since the last time we talked. We've all been through hard times, some harder than others, and it is the most comforting thing to know that I have them, even if I can't call them sisters, they are still "my girls". Thanks for being the best friends any girl could ask for!

(Not pictured are 2 of my other favorite people in the world, Angie and Sarah, and I just realized I have no pictures with either of them!)

4 Steps!!!!!

So fun! So I was at the mall with my mom and dad, my brother and SIL, playin with the kids in the play-place. Brody was holding onto the bench and he turned around and took 2 steps toward me before falling over! That was his first attempt ever!!!! Then suddenly he could take 4 steps!? I seriously thought it would be another couple of months before this mellow boy would be interested in walking! But I guess he decided he was a big boy, and now it's time to show Mommy! Way to go Bro! And I am sorry, but is he not the cutest kid you've ever seen?!

Down in the RP...

We had sooo much fun in Rocky Point this last week. The kids were just is heaven, Brody ate lots of sand, it was great! I wish we could live at the beach! Half the time I didn't even know where Ava was, she would just run off with her cousins playing the day away. Then the night came and all the kids would sleep, and us big kids would stay up late playing and talking. SO great. Zach (aka Critter Catcher) caught a baby sting ray, and a pretty big crab. He kept them for a while showing all the kids on the beach, then let them go. Fun was had by all, aside from Emily and Calie's near drowning/flashing everyone on the beach experience, which I am sure will be a story to be told over and over for years to come! See next post for more pics....

Continued....

the huge crab...
Ava in her "beach" dress...
Chip face...
the "triplets"...
...and their bums...

Things that bug me!!!!

Ok, so any of you mom's who nursed their babies totally know what I am talkin about! My friend sent this to me and I about died! SOOO TRUE! Thank heaven for push-up bras and plastic surgery! Ha ha!


Anyway, I was just posting a comment on my friend's blog, and I had to type in the stupid string of letters where it says "This blog does not allow anonymous comments." And I thought, "How dumb is this? Seriously, any idiot can type the string of letters in front of them, it wouldn't matter whether they knew you or were a chester! Does it really make these comments any more secure? NO!" It is just something to waste my time and bug me! SO I thought I would be a whiner and make a list of the things bugging me... In no particular order.... dum da da dum...


1. Saggy boobs! It's a sick joke that is being played on my body!


2. Dumb letter strings!


3. Having a husband who works graveyards. So he's gone at night, which is a bummer, but then he is basically gone the next day, too, to sleep. No fun for the "single" mom! But I guess we are lucky he has a job, right?


4. Girls whose stomachs are flat 2 weeks after they have a baby!


5. keeping my kids quiet during the day so my husband can sleep. It's hard! They are little and they have outbursts! Oh, yeah, and I can never vacuum! Someone is always sleeping when I have time to do it!


6. Laundry. There are like a millions steps to laundry! It NEVER ENDS! first, you gather it, then you sort it, then you put it in the washer, then the dryer, then you fold it, then you put it away... OK so that was only 6 steps, but I have ADHD, how am I supposed to do all that!


7. Trying to clean while my kids are around. It is a waste of my energy. As soon as I pick something up to put it away, it is the most interesting thing is the house and has to come back out.


8. Grocery shopping. Again with the million steps! First you have to figure out what you need, then you load the kids up and go, then you load the kids into the cart, then you go through the store to find everything you need (and if you shop at the same Walmart I do, they are ALWAYS out of the most important thing on your list), load the groceries on the checkout, then load them back into your cart, then load them into your car, then take them from the car to the house, then put them away! Wheww! That is a workout, and I have ADHD all over again!


9. When I am waiting to turn left and I slightly inch forward, and the person who is turning right coming toward me freaks out and stops, NOW WE BOTH CAN'T GO! you have the right of way, JUST GO!

10. I don't get to go to the movies very often, so I'll rent all the movies I never got to go to. Well, there will be a funny movie preview, it's PG-13, so i rent it, and the UNRATED VERSION shows up. I did not pay attention to this and this movie is supposed to be PG-13, and suddenly I am watching porn! What the heck!? And you can't even get the theater version! SO ANNOYING! A movie that would have totally been funny without all the nekedness, ruined!

11. When other people's kids' poop on me(It happened today!). My own kids poop is gross enough, but for some reason, someone else's kid is a million times worse!

12. When we are getting ready for church and my husband wanders in wondering why I am not ready! Hello! I have to get 3 people ready and pack a bag of things and treats to keep 2 of them occupied for 3 hours, all while he gets 1 person ready. Getting the kiddos ready is not what bugs me, it's the "why aren't you ready yet?" BECAUSE I DIDN'T GET ANY HELP!

13. So I told Zach he was getting a little bit of a gut. Rude of me, I know. But he starts working out more and cuts back a little on the MT DEW. Only has some when he works all night. In 2 weeks he's lost 10 lbs and looks great... I totally diet and go nuts working out, and my boobs shrivel up and die, but my butt is still the size of Texas (and that is being rude to TX)! Why is life so unfair?!

14. I always get behind the person at Walmart who is price-matching EVERYTHING in her cart! Seriously, warn me! I'll go wait in the other of the only 2 lines open.

Ok, so there are lots more things that bug me but I think I have been a whiner long enough... really, life is good, and I don't have anything real to complain about.

Marble Canyon

Last weekend I went to St George for Uncle Rusty's funeral with my parents and my kids (Zach had to work as always). The kids were a little sick of the car so we had to stop a few times to give them a break. We stopped and walked across the old bridge at Marble Canyon and the kids LOVED IT! Brody couldn't get enough of holding onto the side and the wind blowing in his face. He also loved looking 700 ft down at the little Colorado river, which made me a little naseated! There were people rafting down there and Ava was mad at them that they didn't bring her in their boat!

Last Week's Fairy Tale Ballet

Last Friday the girls danced to a Little Mermaid song. Ava is getting quite good, too. I am actually surprised at her ability to follow the choreography. To me, there is nothing cuter than a bunch of little girls dancing and loving it! Her new favorite word is arabesque. WHAT?! Ava is 2nd from the right in the white tu-tu.

Diarrhea cha cha cha...

Having sick kids is oh so fun! Brody has been throwing up and has diarrhea and I seriously feel like all I have been doing is cleaning up poop and barf... Being a mom is so fun sometimes! I really wanted to go out with the girls tonight, but it appears my destiny is a little messier tonight... Bummer. I am sure you have all been there!

Brody walking(sort of)

Brody has stayed a "baby" a lot longer than Ava did. It is so funny to me that he is just not motivated to try crawling... So when he actually tried to push his walking toy all by himself, I got so excited that I had to tape it, and please disregard my lovely baby-talk voice. I was very excited. He is getting to the point where he can communicate what he wants now, he points and grunts at things. And he talks a lot of baby talk, which is really funny. His fovorite thing is to play in the sand with his favorite rake(which he carries everywhere). He is such a sweet kid and gives the best hugs! I am so lucky he was sent to me! Now, if he would just sleep past 6 am, we'd be sooo happy!

Happy Birthday to the Best Grammie in the Whole Wide World!!

Ava is so excited to wish you a happy birthday, Grammie, that she is helping me with this post! (I use the term helping very loosley!) We miss you so much and hope you have a wonderful day. We wish we could come all the way to Africa to help you celebrate! We love you!

Ballet Photo

Pretty Princesses waiting for their performance!
From left, Taylen, Ruby and Ava(who's tu-tu is entirely too high!)

Fairy Tale Ballet

Ava started her first dance class called Fairy Tale Ballet. Every week they learn a new dance about a new Princess Fairy Tale and it is so cute! They get to dress up and dance... What little girl would not be in heaven!? Her two favorite friends, Ruby and Taylen are in her class. Taylen is the tiny one(far left) singing and doing her own thing, Ava is next to her, then another little girl, then Ruby in purple. Ruby is quite the dancer, I might add. Her little sister Sadie just had to join in there at the end. Poor thing just wanted to dance with the big girls! Click on the link to watch the performance. Sorry, I can't get it to show up here because it is video from Carrie(who was prepared anad had her camera when I forgot mine!)http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc241/carriearchibald/?action=view&current=MOV04057.flv

School's Out for-EVER!

Annie, Me, Brody, Zach and Aimee

Do you like Zach's pretty flower? He was kind of considered the prankster of his class, and there was a girl who always wore a huge flower in her hair for clinicals and she got in touble for it, so Zach decided to wear one to the pinning ceremony...

Her hair caught fire during the pledge!

We couldn't get a good pic of all of us....

Ok, so it's not out forever, but for this particular degree, it is finished! I am sure this video will be so fun for all of you to watch. Really, it's for Zach's parents in Africa, because they really wished they could see this. I think they are almost as proud of Zach as I am. When the students came walking in, it was all I could do to not ball like a baby! It's been a long road and I am just sooo happy that this leg of it is done. It will be so nice to have Zach around more, and not have him so stressed and busy all the time. We are so proud of him!