Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Ours was snowy and warm! We opened presents and then later that afternoon we went and saw Bedtime Stories. It's a really cute movie! Here are some pictures of the kids. Parker was throwing a fit...but what else is new! After that he was fine and the kids did a great job of taking turns opening up presents. Zach got a Spiderman computer and a police dress up uniform. Parker got Diego train set and Alivia got diapers and clothes! Mom and Dad got a new fridge that's not here yet. At one point after all was said and done, Zach was playing with Parker's toy, Parker was playing with Alivia's toy and Alivia was chewing on paper. Crazy day!

6 monther

Alivia is sadly 6 months old now. Seriously, where does the time go? She weighs 16 pounds exactly and is 25" long. She's in the 50th percentile for everything, so she's just normal. She is staring to scoot around everywhere and it's a job keeping little boys' little toys away from her. I am sad to report that she doesn't have any more hair and we still don't know if it will be red or not! She is really easy going and we love having her here!

There's 'snow' fun like sled fun

Because we got the first taste of winter this weekend, my kids had to pull out their winter gear and go sledding. We got a new sled at Costco (love that store) that is really light weight. I guess we're kinda lucky to have our own hill in our backyard. Alivia really didn't like being outside and I don't blame her! Parker went tobogganing down the hill without the sled and Zach couldn't get enough. He stayed out until his cheeks were rosey.

Now, if you read my sister's nasty comment in my last post, I do have some news. I am NOT pregnant, as I think she might have led some to believe. No,not for a long time. Anyway, I got a new calling at church. I am the new Young Women's president. I am really out of my comfort zone with this one. Although I love new challenges, this one is really overwhelming! I'm just glad that I have my mother-in-law and sister-in-law who also have callings in YW to help me. I told our bishop that he just threw me in head first without getting me feet wet! I am excited and nervous and overwhelmed and apprehensive, but I know it will all work out!

Christmas Tag

Okay, I know that I do a lot of tags, but I think they are fun. Here is a fun Christmas one. Come play along:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, who can beat a $15 after Christmas clearance!
3. When do you put up the tree? The day after Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime after New Year's
5. Do you like eggnog? Absolutely
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Barbie Dolls and all accessories
8. Easiest person to buy for? Zach
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes-our tree is done in nativities and I have ones in my curio cabinet
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Underwear
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story--that's a no brainer
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? In November
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pumpkin rolls
16. Lights on the tree? One billion white ones! My husband likes lights! They burn my eyes!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Mary Did You Know?
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Home
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We open pajamas on Christmas Eve and everything else on Christmas morning.
22. Favorite Christmas Tradition? Getting cereal on Christmas morning
23. Favorite ornament, theme or color? Gus made an ornament with his Dremel the first Christmas we had Zach. It's way cute.
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? Ham and twice baked potatoes.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new fridge

I now tag Jenn, Heidi, Becky, Jayne Ann, Melanie, Bonnie, Janet, Felicia and anyone else who wants to play!

Chicken's Heads

Do you ever feel like you are a chicken running around with your head cut off? No direction? A million things to do? I guess a beheaded chicken really wouldn't have much to do, but that's beside the point! We've been busy this weekend. Here's a run down. We had a great Thanksgiving at my parent's house. It was so good to see Jenn and her family! Here is a pic of me and my sisters and parents:

We came home and I did go shopping at 5:00 on Black Friday. I went to Wal-Mart to get a Leapster for Parker. I picked up a few extras. It really wasn't bad and I got what I wanted so that's a good thing. It wasn't as fun going by myself though. Then we decorated for Christmas. Gus has to have a lot of lights on our Christmas tree. I think we put on at least 1200 lights. When we were decorating I had to turn off the lights because it seriously was burning my eyes!!

Yesterday we had a little party for Parker because he is turning 3 on Tuesday!!! I can hardly believe it! What a little ham! He had a Diego birthday cake. He got his own Leapster (the one I sacrificed my sleep f0r). He also got lots of fun toys and clothes. Here's some pictures (notice the glowing tree in the background? Does it hurt your eyes too??)

This week my friend Stacey and I are doing some craft fairs. Thursday and Friday we will be at the hospital and Saturday we will be at Hawthorne Jr. High in Pocatello. If you are around, come and check us out! We also have our ward party on Friday and since I am Activities Chairman, I have to get that all put together. So, do you see what I am saying about chickens? Crazy madness!

8 things tag

Before my tag, I just want to say that it is Tuesday and so far so good, knock on wood!! I'm feeling good and things seem normal. Soooo...my sil Bonnie tagged me with the fun tag. I love tags because you learn so much about people.

"8 things" tag

8 favorite TV shows:
1- Psych
2-Monk
3-Pushing Daisies
4-My Name is Earl
5-Hereos
6-Anything on HGTV
7-Phineas and Ferb (yes, I watch cartoons)
8-Law and Order SVU



8 things I did yesterday
1-Went to water aerobics
2-Started laundry (it's still not done)
3-Went to Wal-Mart
4-Fed the baby, fed the baby, fed the baby
5-Dropped off car at mechanic
6-Made dinner
7-Refused to eat at McDonald's
8-Took a shower

8 things I'm looking forward to
1-Thanksgiving (I get to see my entire Jones side family!!)
2-Christmas
3-Parker turning 3!!
4-Sleeping through the night
5-Ward Christmas party being over
6-Black Friday
7-Craft fair
8-My 30th b-day (just kidding, I'm doing my 29th over again)

8 things on my wish list
1-New fridge
2-New stove
3-New carpet
4-Dropping 30 pounds
5-My baby will start sleeping through the night
6- They will make Dr. Pepper an IV drip
7-Eventually buying a house around the IF area
8-Peace on Earth, Good will to men (I couldn't think of anything else)

And now I tag Heidi, Jayne Ann, Becky, Melanie, Jennifer and the others Bonnie already tagged! Have fun

Tuesdays

I have come to really dislike Tuesdays! It seems weird things happen. I got in a small accident on a Tuesday 2 months ago, I was sick with the stomach flu 2 weeks ago and today I am battling a bad bout of mastitis. Not very fun. Today my mind has been wandering in my hallucination state. I am so grateful for a lot of things! I know Thanksgiving is still awhile away, but I am so grateful for modern medicine. I could be dead if I wasn't on antibiotics! I don't want to be dead. I'm also so grateful for my wonderful husband who took over all the duties of mom and dad today. He is playing Monopoly Jr. with the boys. I know, he's starting them early! Gus loves Monopoly and has a collection! I'm also grateful for Egyptian cotton sheets because they make being in bed all day almost bearable! I know I'm rambling now, so I'll stop.

Kitchen

Okay Heidi, you are the most impatient person I know...scratch that, the 2nd most impatient person I know (I'm the first). After a long time of planning and saving our tax return money, we finally redid our kitchen. It was actually out of necessity since my old sink faucet eroded and started leaking. We didn't go all out, but we did replace the counter tops, sink, floor and cabinet doors that were costume built by my brother-in-law, Jory. We added counter space on the other side of the fridge and got rid of our light pergo that showed everything! Here are some before and after shots:

I had to do a close-up of the doors. They are wonderful. My most favorite thing about my kitchen now is my new sink. I love it. It is so roomy and wonderful. We want a new fridge and stove, but that will have to wait until we have the money to replace the old ones. Thanks to everyone who made this possible (mostly Gus and Jory and Heidi for painting!!)

Oh, and DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Halloween

I'm so glad it's over! As we sit here with our bowl overfilling with candy, our stomachs are aching (except the kids, they're bouncing off the walls from the sugar) I am breathing a sigh of relief. Zach and Parker were hunters this year and Alivia was their duck. I have to post this pic, just because I think it is so stinking funny. Zach just had to have one with him pretending to shoot the duck. What makes it funny is that Alivia totally looks like she is playing dead (the sun was just in her eyes)!

Gus was taking them around for trunk-or-treating at the church. A dentist was handing out little tubes of toothpaste. Parker looked in his bucket, saw it, took it out, handed it back to him and said "I don't want this!" Gus took it for him and snuck it back in this bucket. Parker took it out and kept trying to give it away. What a ham! I've decided that we worked a lot harder for our candy when I was little. All in all, it was a good Halloween, and we actually had decent weather for once!

Okay, I know, 2 posts in a day. I really have other things to do, but I'm not doing them!! Here is an ABC tag the my lovely sis Heidi tagged me with:

A-Attached or Single? Attached and happily married
B-Best Friend? Gus
C-Cake or Pie? Cake all the way, not a fan of pie crust
D-Day of Choice? Sunday, I really don't worry about doing anything but being with my family
E-Essential Item? Dr. Pepper, my baby's still not sleeping through the night
F-Favorite Color? Blue
G-Gummy Bears or Worms? Worms, it's cool biting off their little heads/or rear ends however you look at it!!
H-Hometown? Rigby
I-Indulgences? Ben & Jerry's Phish Food Ice Cream
J-January or July? January, it's my b-day
K-Kids? 3 little munchkins
L-Life Is Incomplete Without? My fam
M-Marriage Date? May 3, 2001
N-Number of Siblings? 3 sisters
O-Oranges or Apples? Apples
P-Phobias or Fears? I am afraid of mice and going blind!
Q-Quotes? "Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured" -Gordon B. Hinckley
R-Reason to Smile? Hearing what comes out of my boy's mouths
S-Season? Fall
T-Tag 5 People? Bonnie, Felicia, Becky, Melanie, Janet (and Jenn, but Heidi already tagged you)
U-Unknown Fact? I can't bake- I always screw up cookies and things like that. Alton Brown once said that baking is a science and everything has to be perfect. I hate science!!
V-Very Favorite Store? Anywhere, if I have money
W-Worst Habit? Never finishing laundry, it's always in a basket
X-X-Ray or Ultrasound? X-Ray. Ultrasound means your probably pregnant and that is something I don't want to go back to!!
Y-Your Favorite Food? Fried halibut-fresh (my mouth is watering at the moment)
Z-Zodiac? Capricorn

Soccer Season

I as thought about what to post, I realized that I had not posted any pictures of Zach playing soccer. His team was the Green Three-Headed Dragons. Sounds totally like 6 and 7 years made that name up! There were quite a few kids on this team this year. They actually learned how to play positions and weren't all running for the ball. It was great fun to watch.

Last week we were really busy. I am the activities chairman so I have to plan and prepare our ward party with my committee. We had dinner and a carnival. The kids loved it. Gus and Parker were also sick with some stomach stuff, so that wasn't fun. Tonight we are carving pumpkins. It just seems Halloween should be over by now!! It is not one of my favorite holidays. Teaching ruined it for me!

Bald babies and Bowling balls

Alivia had her 4 month check up on Monday. Yes, Heidi, I know what you are thinking. I am behind on posting. Anyway, she weighs 15 lbs and 1 oz. She is almost 27 inches which makes her in the 90th percentile for height. We have no idea where that came from. She is so fun and developing her own little personality. And yes, she still is very much bald. I love bows and headbands to solve that problem. I have to admit that she has been my easiest baby. But, I guess she was my hardest pregnancy, so it all works out--for now anyway! We love you Livvy!

On Saturday we went out with our friends Spencer and Melanie and went bowling. I really am not good at bowling, but we had fun anyway. I beat Zach by only 2 pins--that tells you how good I am! I love watching the kids bowl because their ball slowly makes it to the end and slowly knocks over pins! I love the picture of Parker and his tighty whities showing!

Busy, busy

Okay, sorry that I haven't posted for a while. Last week was extremly busy! My sil Felicia arranged that we paint the inside of my in-laws house for their Christmas present. It's hard to know what to get them, so we all jumped at the chance. We put in money and time and painted their living room, kitchen, and dining room. Gus and I went out Monday and Tuesday and helped take down wallpaper and wash walls. Then everyone came on Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday to paint. Sometimes it was chaos, especially with up to 20 kids there at one time! Anyway, it turned out so good! It was a lot of work, but it was all worth it. I am so lucky to say that I have awesome in-laws and love spending time with them! View some pictures here.

Gus

Gus had his 29th birthday on Saturday. I know..he is so old! Here is a top ten list of things that we love about Gus: (with help from Zach and Parker)

10- His sense of humor

9- His wallet (Parker's answer)

8- How he teaches the gospel. (Zach)

7- How he plays with us. (Zach & Parker)

6- He is a handy man (although plumbing is not his forte)

5- He loves to shop! (We fight about who gets to go out the day after Thanksgiving!)

4- He cleans my house and does laundry.

3- He always looks at the glass half full.

2- He tries new things.

1- He always puts his family first.

We love you, Gus!!

We got to spend the weekend in Island Park for his birthday. It was so beautiful there. My parents, in-laws, and sisters all got to be there with us. We had so much fun riding 4 wheelers and little dirt bikes. We also went to Big Springs and on a picnic at Red Rock. Thanks everyone for a fun time!!

She can't grow up!!

I've decided that Alivia can't ever grow up. Partly because I love babies and partly because if she stays a baby, then I won't ever have to be pregnant again to get another baby! Anyway, Livvy started rolling over. The boys absolutely love watching her do it. It's like a novelty toy that does tricks!! Here's some pics:

We love her so much and glad that she is part of our family!

Premiers

Okay, it's premier time on TV! Starting Monday, my DVR is full of shows to record! I am so excited. Gus and I watch our shows after the kids go to bed. They are coming just in time since Monk and Psych are done 'til January. Here are some of our faves:

Heroes had such a short-lived season last year because of the writer's strike. Hailey was the one who got us hooked on this show. It's great, and I am so excited about the new season!

This is our new favorite show. You really have to be in the white-trash frame of mind to watch it. For anyone who watches it regularly--I laugh every time I hear "Time After Time" and think of when Randy sang it in Spanish: "Spanish, spanish, spa-an-nish". I just about peed my pants!

I love watching this show because it gives me some motivation. I need all I can get right now! I love seeing people change for the better and there are some really good tips. I have to admit that I like the drama that come with it too!

Those are our favorites. We are also wanted to watch Pushing Daisies and Knight Rider. Do you have any shows that you think we should see?

Alaska

Gus got to go up and spend last week fishing in Alaska with his dad. I guess it was his early b-day present! It was 10 years ago that he last went with his dad and that is when we met. Time flies. He was feeling pretty bad for leaving us for a week, but I absolutely LOVE fish. Then he was nervous that he wouldn't end up with any, but they came back with about 100 pounds of fish each. We have some halibut, some rockfish, and lots of salmon. I am sooooooo excited! If anyone has any great recipes for fish, please let me know. Gus hooked lots of shark and that is what the boys thought he was bringing back! We really missed him last week and sure are glad that he is back!

Fruits

Okay, here are some "fruits" of my day.

Fruit of my labor:

In order to make room in my freezer for some fresh Alaskan fish (story to follow later) I had to empty out a 5-gallon bucket of frozen raspberries. My wonderful father had frozen these for me 2 summers ago. I had every intention of making jam then, but just forgot. Anyway, I made 6 batches of jam and there it is (minus the 2 that I gave to Laura). I don't want to put it back in my freezer because of the fish thing, so I guess I will start taking bids!!

Fruit of the Loom:

We went to Fred Meyer's the other day and bought official big boy underwear for Parker. He picked out Diego and Cars underwear (surprise, surprise). Here he is modeling it. Zach had to be in the picture too! He is about 80%-ish potty trained. We still have to use a Pull-up for naps and bedtime and it is always a battle to get him to go poop. Don't they have the cutest little Blad-bums??

Tender moments

Today before church we were in the kitchen. We've got the really nasty 1:00 church. The boys were all dressed up in their suits and ties for church and I was making dessert (yes, I cooked a Sunday dinner complete with a really yummy lemon cheesecake). Anyway, I heard Zach tell Parker to lay down on the floor. He did and then Zach placed his hands on Parker's head and said "By the authority I bless you that you will do good in school. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." I was trying so hard not to laugh. I don't know if that is sacrilegious or anything, but it was so cute. When Zach started school this year, Gus gave him a father's blessing. He blessed him that he would do well in school and learn what he needs to. I am so thankful that my husband is a worthy priesthood holder and honors it. I told Gus that he is a great role model! I love my boys!

Reality

My sis Heidi tagged anyone who read her post to take pictures of their REALITY. Since I am an avid blogger now, I will accept this challenge! Well here is mine: (I really debated whether I wanted to post this pic of Parker)

I censored it for family viewing. My REALITY is that I hate potty training enough that I just let him run around outside naked! At least he is not peeing in his diaper. It even got bad enough that he was playing outside tonight with only his Pull-up on! Yes, in front of neighbors who drove by thinking that we are total white trash!! I finally did make him put clothes on when I finished nursing and dinner and everything else!! But the thing is that I let him outside in front of people like that!

My other REALITY is my room. I cannot keep the area around the TV clean:

This area is such a catch all and I am so embarrassed by it. I just don't do anything about it because no one can see it unless they enter my room and look behind them! My REALITY is that we have too much junk!!

I now tag anyone who reads this to post their REALITY. We are only human after all!!

Fair Fun

We went to the famous Eastern Idaho State Fair on Monday. It had just rained and it was wet and muddy, but the same ol' fair! We went through and saw the animals first. Parker didn't even want to get out of the stroller. He was mad because the guy at the gate gave him a stamp on his hand and he did not like that! Then we met up with Mom, Dad, Holly, Kris, and Kaiden and did the best thing at the fair--EAT! I love going with a lot of people then you can taste all different kinds of food and not eat the whole thing. We had foot long corn dogs, hamburgers, scone bites, tiger ears, funnel cakes, cotton candy, lemonade, carmel apples and my favorite--cinnamon glazed almonds. That sounds like a lot of food that is not good for me, but I only tasted from others (except that foot long corn dog was all mine) and it only comes once a year!

6 Quirks

I've been tagged by my friend Becky to post 6 quirks about myself. I asked Gus last night to help me think of some and he wouldn't shut up, just kidding. Here are some things that you may or may not know about me.

1- I HATE my feet being touched and I hate people's feet touching me (not too much cuddling going on in my bed!) I think it all stems back to my big sis popping my toes when I was little. Yes Jen, I am blaming this one on you!

2- I have to have things symmetrical. From pictures on my wall to things on my counter, they all have to be balanced. I even tell people that 3 kids are good because it is symmetrical. One in the middle with one on each side!

3- My kitchen has to be clean before I go to bed. This one is from my mom. I was kinda bad at this when I was pregnant, but it has gotten better. I can't sleep knowing my kitchen is dirty.

4- I put salt on my ham fried rice. Yes, we can say so-di-um, but it is so much better than soy sauce and so tasty! Try it some time.

5- Everything of mine is one the right. I didn't realize this until I got married, but I am very 'right'. Haha. If you look at our bed, I sleep on the right. If you look at our closets, mine is on the right. My stuff is in the right side of the medicine cabinet. I pack things in the right side of a suitcase. Weird, huh?

6- I love the smell of dirt and even craved it when I was pregnant with Alivia. I love when they plow fields and I can smell the wet dirt. I think this goes back to my childhood when I did a little more than make mud pies!


Okay, now I tag Heidi, Jen, Holly(who needs her own blog), Bonnie, Melanie M., Lois, Janet, Laura, Darlyn, Felicia, Hailey and Elaine!

How to get help at Wal-mart

From my experience today, here is a sure fire way to get employees to help a customer for a 5:1 ration.

1. Get a quart of paint--apple red to match my kitchen for touch up.
2. Have lady mix it, dry it and tap on the lid.
3. Put in cart in the child seat because it is empty (children are with dad at home, yea!)
4. Do some more shopping in fabric section.
5. Get some material cut.
6. Put material in cart and start to push.
7. Watch as the red paint slides through the leg hole of the child seat and watch it fall to the floor, spilling all of its contents as it lands upside down.
8. Silently curse under your breath and tell the lady it spilled.
9. Have lady call in help over the page system so everyone in Wal-Mart knows that there is a major spill in fabrics.
10. Blush with embarrassment as 5 employees quickly gather around to help. Help clean up the globs of paint.

Guaranteed to get employees around you in 3 minutes or less! Welcome to Wal-Mart!!!

Summer

Since our summer is finally winding down (and it has been a very busy one), I thought it would be fun to show our summer in pictures. So, here you go, the Gus Blad family summer in 30 seconds (give or take a few).

Zach's First Day

Okay, Heidi, here is a new post. So demanding! Have you noticed that since we've been blogging we haven't talked on the phone as much? We are turning into introverts and won't know how to communicate with people face to face!



Anyway, Zach started school today. Yesterday was the first day in the district, but Kindergartners had orientation. Zach was supposed to be going to Tendoy, but there were too many kids and so they had the overflow go to an afternoon session at Syringa. I honestly don't know how Zach was part of that overflow, but oh well. This district is messed up. Laura works at Syringa and pulled some strings to get us into a morning class. I am so glad she did! His teacher is Mrs. Swan and seems really cool.

We took him over today and when we left, Parker was crying. He wanted Zach to come with us. It was kinda hard leaving my oldest in the hands of strangers. I kept worrying about him. Would he find good friends? Would he be alone? Who would he play with? I shouldn't have worried because when we picked him up, he was saying good bye to his buddies in his class. He's just like Gus! I signed up for PTA and was put in charge of Teacher Appreciation. If anyone has ideas, let me know! I think it will be a good year for Zach and give me the chance to be involved in school again!