thought for the day....

Do what ya gotta do. Don't worry about what "the world" thinks. Love your family. Enjoy your hobbies. Life isnt intended to only be endured. Take antidepressants when you need to. Eat a cupcake when you want to. Learn to be content. That is all.

It's Kinda A Big Deal....

Little Joey ate string cheese today. I nearly cried. He started chewing today for the first time, so I put a few bits of cheese on his tray and he gobbled them right up. Until, well, today, he couldn't even eat meat baby food because it choked him so bad. But, all of a sudden, he started chewing and swallowing really well. I took picture, I recorded a video, I called my mom, and I screamed (with joy) to Danny. I have bragged about it to every person I have seen. Horray for Joey!!

CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was going to be all awesome and do a post a day with our daily Christmas crafts/baking/projects/fun. But, alas, my 2nd computer died. Virus. Deleted the hard drive. Gone. So, I am borrowing my grandmothers computer and going to do a compact pre-Christmas blog.

We have made a Christmas count-down thingy, made all sorts of cookies and candies, decorated gingerbread men with the missionaries, watched movies, watched the 1st pres devo, made ornaments, and lots of other stuff. This is my most favorite time of the year. I love my family and the excuses we have to get together and do fun stuff. Yay for Christmas!!!

Well, nerds, my computer is now out of battery....pictures to come later!

Fun with Aunt Marlee

The Kirkster loves his Aunt Marlee. She managed to get him to take some cute pictures with her on her webcam...lucky. I have laughed, a lot.

I need a book to read....

Any suggestions?

No romance and nothing that will make me cry happy or sad tears.

I'm going to watch Harry Potter tonight....

I have not been this excited in a long time.

Hooray for a babysitter willing to watch my crazy 2! We love Camille!!

Proud moment

So, I made some shoes for the baby man, and they turned out to look like......

SHOES! Yay! They are kind of sloppy (I got confused by the instructions) but I am super proud of them! I ran and showed them to my dad as soon as I finished them, cause, you know how men love crafty things. ha He was still impressed. You can bet I'll be making a lot more of these cute things!

And now some pictures of the cutest boys I know!

bummer

I really want to go shopping today. All my sisters live too far away. Boo.

:-)

I'm baaaccckkkk

So, I have taken a temporary hiatus from most all internet things....for sanity reasons. I am out to create a more mentally health me. Starting this whole thing off, Danny and I started with a "lent" of our own Mormon variety. Danny was to give up soft drinks and me, facebook.....he lasted 3 days, I'm still holding out for Nov 9, my 40 day mark. Yea. It's great. My brain was falling apart, for more than one reason, so this was a step in a much needed new direction for me....plus, I met back up with my old friend, Lexapro, thank you heaven. So, I am smiling and happy and I think I might just make it from day to day! Yay! So, what have we been up to? Not much. haha. Actually we've been doing a lot of festive things- caramel apples, pumpkin carving, treak or treating, and so forth. It has been great. I'll post pictures later. Plus, all that other stuff, work, dishes, legos, and more doctors visits. Little Joey is making a lot of progress- starting to sit up, working on trying to crawl. He goes in for more tests in the next couple of months, but we are hoping for more good news. Kirky is just a 2 year old, both good and bad. He loves to help me out. However, tantrums are too frequent....it took me 45 minutes to talk him into wearing his Halloween costume. And by "talking him into" I mean trying to hold him down and dress him as he kicked and screamed. Fun. But he loved it in the end. Me and Dan are just hanging out- keeping it real. At the moment I am listening to Danny and James play Halo and talk about their GWAM. "It's 6 on 6. The elite vs the spartans. It's like......" (insert James ADD space out moment here) "Did you loose your train of thought"-Danny "Oh, uh, Yea. It's the hobbit version of Halo."-James Nerdy conversation continues. Yea, I just got threatened. "If you are writing about us....we are going to rip your face off." There is a lot of love in the room.

Hooray!!!

We got Joey's chromosome test back yesterday and....NORMAL!!! yay! It looks like he is just a weirdo with tense muscles. Physical therapy is going well AND he is rolling all the way over on both sides. Also, he is FINALLY eatting baby food, I am determined to fatten him up! I am a very happy mommy!
On a side note, we are watching Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. The part with Jonah Hill is by far the funniest part of the movie- ITT- Intent to Touch! ha

I would love to punch some people....

Especially stupid preachers.....

Joey Update and More Ramblings

-Ok, here's what is going on with the Joey man, so far. We went last week to the Genetics people and she looked him over top to bottom. Not one part of him went untouched or unexamined. When then started the first round of tests- a bone survey, blood work, and chromosome test. The bone survey came back saying that his bone density was low. But, the other 2 results will be back at the earliest next week. Last Wed the physical therapy people came and evaluated him. He isn't as far behind as I thought, only 20%. However, they thought he was too stiff and his fine motor skills aren't as developed as they wanted, so we are going to start PT in the next week or so. Then, on Thursday, we went back to Memphis for more tests- renal ultrasound and MRI of his back. They had to put my sweet boy to sleep for the MRI, and I wasn't too fond of that, but it all went well. We will have results from that back Monday or Tuesday. We are hoping for good results, so we'll see.

-I hate 9-11. I'm not un-American or anything like that. But....I can only watch those towers burning and hear those news reports so many times. Yes, it happened. Yes, it was awful. Yes, I am appreciative for those that sacrificed and feel sorrow for those that were lost. But, it is going to do nobody any good, especially me, to dwell on it all day. The end.

-I have a cold. I don't get sick a whole lot, but boy, I have had it this week. Blah. No medicines help, so I am just trying to tough it out. Now, my baby boy is sneezing and runny, so I'm sure he'll be down tomorrow.

-My 2 year old would rather wear a diaper than Toy Story Pull Ups...what the heck?

-As always, I love my little brood. We all had a sick day yesterday. We all layed around and watched movies, ate our meals on the couches, and let the house get messy. I was so sickly that I didn't care. It was the best day I've had in a while. Love those boys!!

Love This!

I have a thing about my house smelling good. It upsets me when I walk in the door and it smells like diapers or the garbage, yuck. I LOVE febreeze, especially the apple mango tango kind. BUT, that sucker is $5 and it lasts like 2 or 3 weeks, and I am very cheap. So, I made my own.
"recipe" 1-
Pour 1/2 to a full lid of your favorite fabric softener into a clean spray bottle. Fill to the top with water. Shake. Spray.
"recipe" 2-
Disolve 1 tbls of baking soda into 2 cups of warm water. Add 1/4 c fabric softener. Put into spray bottle.
Yay! My house smells fantastic.

I'm Trying To Be Frugal, But.....

Parent's Choice, why you gotta put hearts on all your diapers?
That could really destroy a little boy's ego.

Brain Dead, Lazy Day

I have done nothing of great importance today.
My biggest accomplishment-
Hitting a Home Run on Wii Sports.
Like a boss.

Christmas!!!

I know, it is just September, but I am already getting excited about a few things. Kirks Christmas shopping is already finished. Yay! Joey, well, I'm not sure what to get him. I told Danny we should just get some of Kirks old toys out of storage that he never played with and re-gift them to Joey. I am on a super strict, super low budget this year, so, everybody is getting home made things. I think I am more excited about this than if I were buying everything. I have a rough idea on what everybody is getting, and, I must say, I have some pretty dang great ideas. Sometimes, home made things don't go over as well as store bought ones. But, if I make you something, there is your sign that I care enough about you to put effort into something rather than just grabbing something random off the WalMart shelf. So, family, be prepared for a hand made Christmas. Well, my 2 year old is naked, so I should go do something about that.

Only Danny....

Me: "Is the battery dead in that watch?"
Danny: "Yea."
Me: "Then why are you still wearing it?"
Danny: "To remind me to get a new battery."

Young Again

I love talking to my grandmothers' at night, hearing there bedtime, scratchy voices. When I hear them talk, I remember being young and spending so many nights with them. Especially my Mammaw B. When I hear her "bedtime" voice, I am suddenly 7. Freshly clean, the scent of Zest soap on my skin. Long, wavy, half dried hair wetting the back of one of my pappaws huge white tshirts that I wore as pajamas. Full from a helping of cornbread and milk. Sitting in the floor watching Mammaw make me a pallet out of old, home made quilts in the floor next to her bed. Laying down, Pappaw would say "Night, Irene." I never understood, but I always loved it. I would get settled in my pallet and listen to the crickets and howling beagles out the open window. I knew that as soon as my grandmother woke up at the EARLY hour of 530 or 6, I would smell the scent of bacon and eggs; butter and 'lasses would be waiting for me. I would plan the next day in my head: Make mud pies for Pappaw outside, feed the dogs, throw rocks in the creek, watch a few cartoons, and eat lunch of either peas and other vegis or peanut butter and banana sandwich on home made bread. My biggest worry: Mom might come pick me up before my adventures were complete. Things were so much easier then. I think back to those beautiful times, and it actually makes me cry. The innocence is gone now. Nothing is quite so simple. I now have worries and fears outside of my realm of cartoons and mud pies. Sometimes I think that is just what I need. Forget therapy and antidepressants. I think I might just want my Pappaw to tell me "Night, Irene" and know that everything is ok in the world, cause I can still hear the crickets out the open window.

Sunday Afternoon Photo Shoot

Look at those curls!!

ELMO??? Not a fan!!!

My husband is cruel.

This day is awesome because...

1. Right now, it is 88 degrees and the humidity is only at 45%
2. Me and my mom took the kiddos to the park. Kirk has cabin fever, so this was great for him. We let him play for almost an hour and had to drag him away literally kicking and screaming.
3. I found a Slinky Dog on sale at Walmart for $7. Christmas shopping for Kirk is nearly finished.
4. Danny and Kirk are outside playing baseball right now. When Joey wakes up, he is going in the stoller and we are going for a walk. Before Kirk came along, Danny and I would walk for atleast an hour everyday. Then Kirk came and he was too little or it was too hot or too cold or too rainy outside. But we are going at it hard core this fall. Get ready.
5. I am helping a buddy of mine sale car decals on ebay for some extra pocket change. This is good, seeing as that my pockets are currently empty.
6. I slept until 7:30 this morning. If I was up that early a year ago, I would have been seriously P.O.ed. But, my littlest one wakes up between 5:30 and 6:30 nowadays. So, 7:30 was a very welcome treat.

YAY FOR GOOD DAYS!!!

Walking in Memphis

My sister leaves for college tomorrow, so we spent all day yesterday in Memphis playing and having lots of fun. We started off at the Peabody hotel. We were about 30 seconds late to see the ducks marching in, but we still got to see them swimming around in the fountain. Kirk thought that was too cool. Next, after driving around lost for 30 minutes, we went to the childrens museum. Too. Much. Fun. We were there for 2.5 hours. They have all kinds of cool things to do there, as you can see. I think Marlee had more fun than Kirk did. After that, on to the mall. Then, of course, Target. Who can go to Memphis without going to Target???? It was a fantastic day. We were gone from 8am to 9pm. And, surprisingly, no major meltdowns on either of my kids part.



Construction Workers


Fishing

At the peabody

Dancing, his favorite part ha

Sweet things.....

First of all, I have a new favorite peach cobbler recipe. Here it is, it's thin and kind of crispy on top.
Ingredients:
1 (29oz) can of peaches
2 tbls butter, melted
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1 tbls cornstarch
1/2 cup of water

1 c milk
1 c sugar
1 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 c butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

-preheat oven to 350
-In a large bowl, peaches with juice, melted butter, pinch of cinnamon, pinch of nutmeg. Dissolve cornstarch in water. Add to peach mixture. Set aside.
-In another bowl, combine milk, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until smooth.
-Melt butter in 9x13 in pan. Pour batter over butter. Spoon peach mixture over batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.
-Bake for about 1 hour, until knife comes out clean.

Second...Keebler Fudge Shoope Coconut Dreams....they taste just like the girl scout Caramel Delights...or Somoas....that's what they are called right? Either way......YUM!

I love this man....

ahh....webcam fun...ha

I love to see the temple.....

We had to opportunity to spend the evening with Camilla before she left on her trek to Idaho. What a great night and a sweet lady volunteered to take a lot of pictures for us....unfortunately, it was about 1000 degrees outside so we all look not so great, but, it was a WONDERFUL time.

How many times can you call poison control without DHS coming and taking your kids away?

My 2 year old is an investigator. "What's this?" "What does it do?" "What does it taste like?" So far, he's drank a bottle of gas drops, eatten half a bottle of teething tablets, and a nexium pill. Besides the pill at my moms house, he's had to climb up and open the bottles himself. Oh the joys of having a toddler.

P.S.
I don't have a spell checker on this computer, so be prepared for my spelling to be even worse than before.....

We're a family!

The Williams Family

(minus Mark, Kim, and Allie)

Do you know how hard it is to get 16 people to look at the camera at the same time? Pretty good shot, though, huh?

Joey Report

For those of you who don't know, this is what is going on with baby Joey. I took him in to the Dr. a week or so ago and mentioned to her that he was really stiff all the time and he can't turn his head to the right easily. She was somewhat concerned and had another dr. come in and check him out. That guy said he had some "genetic anomalies" (stiffness, tuft of hair on his back, small jaw, wierd belly buttom, etc) so, we are heading to LeBonheur August 30th to see some genetics people. Our doctor said that the anomalies don't add up to anything and they may just be random things but he justs wants to make sure that there isn't a pattern to them that could lead to something later in life. We are also heading to meet with some people next Friday to assess his stiffness. There is a slight chance that it could be a neuro-muscular problem, but either way, we are going to start physical therapy with him so that he doesn't fall behind in crawling and walking. So, if you want to throw up a prayer or two, that would be ok with us. Also, if you do that, include Danny. He is looking for a more stable job situation. Yea, thanks!

Funny Faces!

Well, this one is not so funny....


....But these are!!!



Little Kirk...what a contrast to his normal big headedness.

Best. Invention. Ever.

Ok, so maybe I live under a rock or something and these things have been around forever, but either way, they are awesome. I accidently got "kids size" ice cream cones. They are perfect. The pictures are kinda horrible, but they are like 2 inches tall, perfect for my 2 year old! Yay inventor of these awesome dealios!

Potty Train!!!!! Urggg!!!!!

Ok, sooo, like I said before, Kirk is taking his diaper off all the time. I tried to potty train him, for about 6 hours....He would scream any time I would take him to the bathroom. He wet in his undies twice and I just do not have the mental capacity to clean that up all day, so he went back in to a diaper. (Now, we just put them on backwards...harder to take off..) So, today we are eating lunch and he says "Go potty, Mommy! Go potty!" So I jerk him out of his seat and take him down the hall...and he starts screaming. He then runs away, goes in the corner, and poops in his diaper. He comes back to the table and I ask him "Kirk, are you scared of the potty?" He says "Um-hmm. Scared of the potty." Me-"Why are you scared of the potty?" Kirk-"Monsters." Me-"Monsters Where?" Kirk-"Monsters in 'ere. Monsters in the potty." Evidently, Danny, in an effort to scare him out of the bathroom when he was much younger, told him that there were monsters in the potty. Thus, thwarting my potty training efforts. Great.

The Start of a Great Day....?

Danny opened the door to Kirk's room this morning. The first words out of his mouth: "Daddy, I pooped in the bed!" He has figured out how to take his diaper off and did it all day yesterday and, evidently, last night. Now, what do I do about that? Urg.

Funnest Night Ever!!

Ben and James spent the night with us last night. After the kiddos went to bed, we played Loaded Questions, again, the funnest game ever. We all laughed till we cried. However, poor, abused, James was not very good at this game. I think he still had fun though. "I swear, if you slander me......"

Joey's Blessing Day

What a wonderful day for baby Joey. Our family gathered together at church to witness his blessing. Aunt Amanda made him THE cutest blessing suit, including a little baby bow tie. Danny was able to give him a blessing, I always thing they are so special. Afterwards, the Williams and Wilson families met up at our house for some grubbage....meatball subs, pasta salad, cornbread salad, potato salad, chocolate strawberry desert, and fruit pizza.Yummy!!! It was a fantastic day with fantastic people.

I steal things from my sisters blog...

Best Movie Ever

So true....

JULY 23rd

Ok, so, yesterday was a fantastic day. It was our five year anniversary. 5 YEARS?? Yep, that's right. We are old. Time for a mushy moment. There is really just one person I my life that I feel completely comfortable around. One person who I can go have a good time with, look horrible around, have an emotional breakdown to, be completely elated with, and feel ok just sitting beside. That is Danny. I don't have to be fake. I don't have to try. I just get to be. That is why I love being married. That is why I feel lucky to be married to Danny. The End. Mushy part over. We really did nothing huge to celebrate. The night before we went to Inception. Which is, yes, the best movie ever made. We had a nice breakfast together and played Call of Duty while the boys napped. Then the real fun happened. Almost every year our Anniversary falls on the day our ward celebrates Pioner Day. We headed out to this cute little place called Ray's Place. It's where they have line dancing classes during the week. Is has all kinds of old farm equipment hanging from the walls and ceilings and huge deer like creatures mounted everywhere. Really fun place. We eat (potluck....hot dogs...and summer salads)!! Then, we dance. Line Dance. So fun. It lasted from 6:30-9 and I think I held Joey for maybe 10 minutes the whole time. We have a lot of nice ladies that snatch him up the second they get the chance. The reason this was so fun....last year, Kirk freaked out....the big deer, the loud music...freaked out. This year, he immediately ran off with his friends and played Skee Ball until time to eat, then when it came time to dance, he was right out there in the middle. It was actually pretty cute. You had the group of line dancers in one area then a big group of kids, all 6 and under, dancing in another area. It was a pretty fantastic time.

Yes, he is the only boy dancing, but he was also only 1 of 3 boys there.....

dreams

Last night I had a dream I met Milo Ventimiglia on a cruise. We started hanging out and he introduced me to his dad, Sylvester Stalone. So, of course, I am having a Rocky marathon today. Number 2 is my favorite. Yo, Adrian. I did it! Tears me up everytime.

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Victoria. The best John Mayer Song Ever. (weird pictures with it, sorry)

:-)

Boosts To Our Parental Self-Esteems

Two things happened today that made us feel like we might be accomplishing something as parents. One very tender moment, and the other not so much.
1. We are trying to let Joey self-soothe and get to sleep on his own. This means crying himself to sleep most of the time (don't worry, it only lasts for about 5 or 10 minutes.) So, we go in every 4 minutes or so to check on him. When Danny peeked in he motioned me over. I looked to see Kirk leaning over the bassinet and singing "Go To Sleep, My Little Buckaroo". This is kind of a big deal, cause I wasn't sure how much Kirk liked Joey. He's been having some jealousy issues lately, acting out when Joey is getting attention. So, to know that Kirk wanted to comfort means that maybe things are going to be ok.

2. Amanda knows about this, Danny loves doing magic tricks. Specifically making cards dissappear. Kirk has finally shown interest in this and Danny couldn't be more thrilled. Here's a little clip of Danny the Magic and his exuberant audience.

PS After this, Kirk attempted to actually eat the card.

More gas humor...

I'm overhearing my lovely husband tell Kirk a bedtime story. So far I've overheard these for tidbits.
"And Kirk said "I tooted!""
"Woody said 'There's a fart in my boot!""
"Buzz said "That stinks, to infinity and beyond!""
"And they all passed out from the stench and fell fast asleep. The end."

Sweet dreams, Kirk.

I wonder who taught him this?

My dear, sweet, angelic 2 year old and I had this small conversation today.

Kirk: "Mommy!!! Ya hear that?"
Me: "No, Kirk. What was it?"
Kirk: (spoken in a voice that sounds like Fat Albert) "I tooted!!!!!"

What a wonderful male role model my sons must have.

Goals

I am quite the goal oriented gal. However, my goals are usually slightly outlandish. Like my goals for the rest of the year. They include:
-Lose 20lbs
-Potty train Kirk
-Get Joey to sleep through the night (hopefully sooner than later)
They might be kinda hard, but I honestly believe I can get them all done. I already have the treadmill going, we have a small stock of Buzz Lightyear briefs, and well, I think Joey loves me enough to sleep all night, don't you?

PS
I also, apparently, need to learn how to spell.

Random Thoughts...

1. Day 6 on the treadmill....am I thin yet?

2. On a similar note, I will never get thin if people don't stop giving me tamales, cheesecake, and KFC.

3. Today, I locked myself in my grandmothers new car. I could not get out for 5 LONG minutes.

4. When I finally unlocked the door, I set the car alarm off and couldn't get it off for 5 more LONG minutes.

5. I am totally comfortable with who I am. I am just uncomfortable with the fact that other people are uncomfortable with it. I don't like being a disappointment, but I can see it in their eyes, for several reasons. I hate it that people think I sold myself short because I didn't go to school for a bizzillion years. I understand that money is essential, and learning for that matter. But it is not the main thing. I would NEVER EVER trade my kids for the biggest house or the nicest car. I am not being lazy nor does my husband force me to be a housewife. I am doing what makes me happy, people should get over that.

6. My best friend has decided to leave me. For college. This is hard for more than one reason (see number 5.)

7. Today my running mix included Blink 182, Steppenwolf, and Power Line.

8. I am watching a rerun of SNL hosted by Steve Carrell. Brillant.

9. My husband left his cell phone at home today. Panic ensued.

10. I am so glad that my husband takes care of us as he does. I am also glad that I have 2 very great little boys. They make my world go round.

THANK YOU.

Camping In

I really wanted to go camping this year, but I am sort of horrified of being outside at night (frogs, snakes, crazy neighbors, etc). So, we did like I used to do when I was little and camped inside. We got a tent, that was WAY to big to fit in our living room, we made inside smores, and watched a Buzz Lightyear movie. It was pretty great!

Dannys Bag...

He told me that mine looked like a purse, so I tried to make this one look "manly"...ha

PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF WAS THE BIGGEST MOVIE DISAPPOINTMENT I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED

However, we went to see Kung Fu Panda at the summer kids movies and it was still excellent.

Scripture Case!!

I needed a scripture case, so I made one. It's not perfect, but it is mine. I am proud. Not in a way that's like "Hey, look at me. Look how awesome I am." It's more like "Hey, look at me. I did something and didn't fail completely!" I am making one for Danny, too. More pictures to come!