The Curly Headed Bealers

The Bottomless Pit

2011-09-08T09:31:00.000-04:00

I have been reading Parenting Illustrated with Crappy Pictures. It is the funniest.thing.ever! She just blogs about her daily life with her 4 and 2 year old boys. She did a post about the contents of her purse before and after kids and it reminded me of this....

This is all of the stuff I had in my diaper bag at one time. As I was taking everything out it just seemed like a bottomless pit! Stuff kept coming out. I no longer have that diaper bag. And I can't even remember what I had in my purse before children. I know one day there won't be a need to carry all of this stuff as the kids get older. But there is one thing I don't think I will ever be without....

WIPES!!!! Those things are amazing. :)

So, if you are ever having a bad day with the kids, just go check out her site and have yourself a good laugh, and know that you are not alone. (even though you may be outnumbered!)

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-29T10:44:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of the aftermath of hurricane Irene.

In the above picture you can see 3 of our trees that fell. On the right are 2 trees that were about 10 feet from the side our our house. The top of the tree that goes straight to the left is against the neighbors house. It hit another tree on it's way down and that one is leaning against the neighbor's house. All you can see of the 3rd tree is the root ball. It fell across the road.

Here is the third tree as it blocked the road.

Here is the neighbor's yard. This tree tore up the water line to their house which is why the hole is so full of water. I found their shutoff valve and closed it so it would stop flooding the yard. This tree also fell across the road, blocking it completely.

This is the neighbors house with our tree against it and another leaning on it.

The root ball of the third tree with M standing in front for perspective.

We were very blessed that none of the trees fell on our house and that we were only without power for about 24 hours. The eye of the storm passed by around 8 or 9 pm Saturday night about 60 miles to our south east.

Dinner Conversation

2011-05-11T10:35:00.000-04:00

We had spaghetti last night for dinner and here are a couple of things we heard:

Milaya: I don't want to eat it.
Brock: Sorry, too bad, so sad. (mom and dad laugh)
Brock: What? That's what you two say!

A little later

Hayden: Whoa that's a big one! With his eyebrows raised (meaning the big bite on his spoon)
Family: laughing
Hayden: doh, I broke it! (his food fell off of his spoon onto his plate)

These kids are funny somtimes. :)

I love them.

Calling All Superhero's!

2011-05-10T22:13:00.002-04:00

Yes, this is way overdue, but I had a minute or two and thought...post. JUST DO IT!

So, Brock's birthday was in March and we did it at the end of Feb because I had a client due and I didn't want to miss his party! He wanted a Superhero themed party. I tried once again to make a cake that I saw online. Well, now I can't find the link to it anymore. Maybe that isn't such a bad thing ;) Anyway, here is how mine turned out.

I didn't realize that you didn't have to put the fondant in the fridge. When I did, it dried it out pretty good. Again, lesson learned.

So anyway on to the fun stuff. B had some of his little friends over and we had one of my hubby's friends be the "bad guy". He came in dressed in black and threw "bombs" (black water balloons) at the kids to defuse by stepping on them. They also got to decorate their own superhero mask and take it home. Somehow, I didn't get any pictures of them doing that. :(

Some of the kids weren't too sure what to do. It was so loud with the popping and kids yelling, but it was hilarious. Thanks George.

After we ate cake, we went outside and the kids sprayed their "spider webs" (silly string) on the bad guy and chased him around the yard.

This one was right before Brock sprayed me and the camera. Silly boy.

Carl knocking the bad guy (A.K.A. Dad) down.

He was so excited to open his presents and to find all the good stuff he got. Thanks to all. :) Over all, I think we had some pretty happy superheros on our hands!

P.S. Pictures of the decorations coming soon. Gotta get them off of my phone! ;)

Resolution and Randomness

2011-02-06T00:35:00.000-05:00

Does anyone still make new years resolutions and keep them? I have never been one to do that, but I do want to be better about keeping up with my blogs. I have a family one and a crafty one. I need to start another one for my Doula stuff, but I keep thinking of the upkeep of that too and that seems overwhelming sometimes. I sometimes forget about the blogs because I post things to Facebook that everyone ~~is addicted to~~ posts too!

So, it is February already and a lot has happened. I had a birth at the beginning of January. Went great. Mom and baby are doing well. I had a birthday, went on a date with my hubby to an Italian place for lunch. SOOO GOOD! I could eat there every day if my budget allowed. Got a new calling at church to teach in Primary with Brian. Met with more clients. Went to a Hypnobirthing class. Then proceeded to catch the flu and have it pass to everyone in my family but one. That was one expensive week! We spent $350 just on Tamiflu. It helped and is continuing to help. I got it first then two days later Brock and Brian. Two days after that, Hayden. Then two days after that, Hali! CRAZY! I am so glad that Milaya hasn't gotten it. I hope that she doesn't. It is really frustrating to have sick kids and be sick yourself. Oh well, I know...suck it up!

Anywho, we are all getting better. So I am just going to put up some random pics of the past few months. I will probably do a separate post for Christmas pics.

Yes, he is in the dryer. What possessed them to do that I have no idea. At least they can't reach the button to turn it on.

His usual craziness.

I don't remember why I put the skirt on him, but it was funny to see Brian's reaction to it! Hmmm...maybe that is why I did it! ;) I wore that skirt when I was like 5. He isn't quite two. Sad.

Isn't he just the cutest!

I know...random. I had the windows open and kept hearing things. Looked out the back porch window and saw this. DANG SQUIRRELS! They crawl across the screened in porch all of the time!

Again...isn't he just the cutest!

His new eyebrow trick.

Drop your sword!

I love my chicken...gotta have my chicken!

Milaya helping clean up the leaves in the yard. She was so excited to use the blower.

Cheese!

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T20:53:00.000-05:00

Hayden wishes y'all a Happy New Year!

To play or not to play?

2010-12-19T21:26:00.000-05:00

Photograph by Milaya Bealer on my Droid phone

As I was reading a blog that I look at quite a bit lately, I saw this post by Miss Mustard Seed about Raising Creative Children. Brian and I have been trying to get Milaya to practice her piano and enjoy doing it. She HATES to practice. Throws a fit every time we say it is time to practice. She is really good and can even play some things by ear, but she gets so frustrated. Then we get frustrated with her because she is being too hard on herself. She is good. Why can't she see that? We tell her that, her teacher tells her that. I just hope that as a parent I haven't failed in teaching her that she doesn't have to be perfect. So hence the reference to Miss Mustard Seed. I think that she did WAY too much. Her parents must have been COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED! But she did have a good point that her parents wanted her to try different things. She didn't have to be good at them, they just wanted her to try. That is all that we want for Milaya.

She begged to let me let her take ballet when she was younger...I did. Then she wanted to quit halfway through the year saying she was "bored". So I got tired of the throwing fits and whining, so I let her quit. Then last year she BEGGED me to let her play the piano. We enrolled her in lessons and she was cruising through the books doing really well. Then after one year she wanted to quit. We didn't let her. Now we are going through the same thing of not wanting to practice, crying at the piano, sulking and wasting her practice time, begging me to let her quit. We have tried setting a specific time for her to practice and that hasn't worked. We have tried to reward her with money if she practices. That didn't/isn't working. She really wants an Ipod or mp3 player and we have discussed that as a reward at the end of the year. Something to be working towards. That doesn't seem to be working either. We have asked her why she wants to quit and we get the same answer....it's boring.

WHY DO KIDS NOT UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE TO LEARN THE BASICS BEFORE YOU GET TO THE FUN STUFF?!?!?

I mean, ~~I want to ring her little neck,~~ I love her so much, but geez louise! I remember taking piano when I was young so I called my mom the other day and asked her if I ever did that. She said sometimes. I remember not liking to practice. Now I wish I would have practiced. I wish I would have stuck with it. I can sit down and pick things out, but I can't play well. I chose another path. Dance. She said that I never complained about going to dance class. I never felt that way. I loved it. One day I hope to find out what that one thing is for her so she can start to develop her talents that I know she has.

Brian even asked his mom (since she teaches piano) of what to do. I think that she had some great suggestions on what to try next. At this point I am willing to try anything to just get her to practice and try. Here are some things that she suggested.

*Is she getting too many songs to practice?

*Is there something bothering her about the lessons or learning to play?

*Maybe we need to let her take a break and revisit the issue when she is older.

* play through their songs 3 times each every day.

*have them play one song each day 3 X then the next day play another song 3 times. ( The trick is is have them practice a little every day for short periods of time so that it establishes a routine.

Can I just say that I LOVE MY MOTHER IN LAW! She said some things that made complete sense. Hopefully we can try these things and it will make a difference. Like she said too...I just want them to have a love of playing the piano and an appreciation of music.

That is all that I wish for you sweetheart. I love you.

But the question is still there...to ~~make her~~ play or not to play?

This is Milaya playing "Fur Elise" by ear. After hearing me play it. She has also figured out part of the theme song to Harry Potter.

Stay Tuned!

2010-09-30T15:12:00.003-04:00

So, we haven't been on here in a while. There is lots to tell and show. I had a birth at the beginning of July, left for vacation at the end of July. We traveled across the country to CO to a family reunion and then down to Texas to visit my family. We didn't get back until around Aug 25th. Yes, it was a long vacation, but the kids did pretty good in the car. There was a sweet Lady in our ward that just dropped off bags of "things to do" for each of the kids. They loved it! Brian couldn't stay the whole time, so he came home on the 11th of Aug. So we missed him most of the month. My mom drove back with me and the kids and stayed for two weeks. We were glad to have her here with us.

While we were in CO we:
* went to the Zoo
* went shooting
*went swimming
* tried to get 39 people to smile and look at the camera at the same time
*had a birthday/40th anniversary party
*played with lots of cousins

All in about 4 days!

Texas was a little more laid back, no planned activities. Although we did go to a museum in Orange. So my next posts will be in parts otherwise it will be one HUGE post. Plus, it will probably take me forever to get it done!

So....stay tuned for more pics and thoughts from the Curly Headed Bealers!

Hayden's First Birthday

2010-05-31T21:02:00.010-04:00

Today is Hayden's first birthday. We invited a bunch of friends over to help us celebrate with ice cream and cake. Mandy went all out and created a barn yard cake, complete with barn, silo, pond, pigs, chicks, and cows.

Taking a bite of the cow's marshmallow nose.

Happy 1st Birthday Hayden

Snow Fun

2010-01-31T20:53:00.009-05:00

We got some snow on Friday and the kids were so excited to go and play in it! I even went out and played in it (which I normally don't do!) We broke out the sand toys and used them in the snow! I got some saucer/sleds for the kids, but I had no idea where we were going to use them. So we found the next best thing...the ditch! Hey it worked...they had fun. There were so many pics that we took, it is always so hard to decide which ones to use...therefore, there are lots on this post!

Milaya drew a smiley face for dad on his car.

Brock shoveling snow on people.
Me and Milaya about to slide. It was so funny because it wasn't that deep, but you went down and then went back up backwards in the ditch.
1. Pick a spot

2. prepare for take-off

3. Weeeee....

Yes, I am only a head taller than my 8 year old.

One of the times we found Hali in the snow. The next one is what we found when she got out of the snow.

She kept saying, "my bum is freezing!" Now we know why! She had ice all down her pants, poor baby!

Bad attempt to do a self portrait of all of us!

Our picnic table on the side of our house.

And now comes the aftermath of playing in the snow!!!

Hali was so cold and miserable when she came in. She warmed up with some hot chocolate though.

Rosy little cheeks!

Calendar

2010-01-03T13:27:00.002-05:00

I recently went to a Heritage Makers party, which is an online/digital scrapbooking company. They have tons of papers, embellishments and things that you can choose to put on your pages. It was a little overwhelming at first, but once I figured out how to use it, it was so fun. I never thought that I would be into the digital scrapbooking, but it was fun. I still like the hands on stuff too. So anyway, here is my project that I did for Brian's parents and then the second one is for my parents. They are pretty much the same, with a few minor changes. Brian's family is quite a bit bigger than mine!

Bealer Family
http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectId=1175968&productId=31&projectSponsor=392057

Welch Family
http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectId=1182946&productId=31&projectSponsor=392057

Can his eyes be any bigger?

2009-11-13T14:15:00.001-05:00

I just love this picture of him, even though he isn't smiling, I love how big his eyes are. That is the comment we get all of the time about him. (We got that with Hali too...and he favors Hali the most)

More to come later...

Our House

2009-10-13T11:39:00.006-04:00

So I am finally getting to put some pics of the house. We are just renting it, but when I first came out here to look at houses the one I wanted looked just like this one. But it had a HUGE fenced in back yard that would have been perfect, but the owner's father stepped in and was being a little unreasonable so needless to say, we didn't get the house. But this house is in the same neighborhood, same layout, nice and quiet culdesac. It is 1768 sf, with 4 br, 2 ba, 1 car garage. It has a cute screened in porch on the back. There isn't much of a back yard, but we have a little side yard and the front yard. The kids like to ride their bikes in the driveway and down the street. I love the privacy and the fact that I don't have neighbors below or above us!!!! WHOOO HOOOO! So all the noise that is made is ours. That I can handle...sometimes. ;) It obviously isn't my dream home, but it works for us now and is great. I am very grateful to have it be our home. And the price isn't too bad either.

My cute red door...needs to be repainted, but that isn't our job and they are stingy. ;) And it wouldn't be my door if it didn't have my "Texan Spoken Here" sign. That is how people say they know it is my house! Thanks Mom and Dad.

This is the view from the main street as you are driving up to the house. We are on the corner of two streets. The bus stops right here so I LOVE IT!

This is the end of our property line.

Facing house on the left.

Front yard, lots of shade and squirrels eating pine cones on the porch!

Left side of house. I took the picture crooked, the house isn't that crooked! There was a little blue truck in my way.

Living room from front door by stairs.

Other corner of living room looking up the stairs. The ceiling goes all the way up.

Looking down hallway from the top of the stairs.

Looking down at the LR from top of stairs. (and my cute husband)

Hallway from LR to the bathroom, MBR, laundry room.

Bad days...good day

2009-10-03T21:32:00.012-04:00

Do you ever have those days where all you feel like you do is yell at your kids and say no, or get out of that, etc...? Well that seems like my whole week this week. I don't know if it is from the kids being tired from school, or me being too tired. Although it is probably a little bit of both. So anyway, I just realized this post was getting too long telling the story so I deleted it and am trying something else...

Here it goes...

you ready???

1 :24 pm Ask husband if we should go out and do something as a family. Sure

3:04 What do you want to do? Not sure

Movie? $10.50 Adult $8 kid
Whoa

3:30 pm, boys down for a nap, mom finally getting in the shower...

4:10 Kids home from school running crazy, fighting, screaming, crying...

Mom about to pull her hair out.

5:44 Husband calls...stranded on I-64 at about Jefferson. Come get me. Crap. (realize that it really isn't his fault, but still CRAP)

Getting kids/self ready about to walk out door...

husband calls...don't come get me someone from other office can bring me home.

Now what to do about dinner??? Response - whatever you want to do. Not the answer I was looking for.

6 something... Take 4 kids to Blockbuster and try to get them to all agree on movies.

Mom: You-hold her hand, DON'T run, DON'T let go. You-right here. If I hear ANY whining, arguing, etc, we are out of there and NO movies, GOT IT?! Good. OK strap baby to me...1,2,3,4...let's go. Lock car and proceed to store. (people thinking this lady is crazy! Four kids!) Get inside, pick some movies, get 3D glasses. Waiting in line...STOP TOUCHING STUFF!!! Finally back to the car.

Husband texts: I'm home.
Mom texts: Be ready to walk out of the door when I get home.
Get home, go in to get sweaters for kids just in case. Husband tells me that he really wants to drive back down to get his car tonight (with a friend)! He wants to leave in an hour.
Ruins the plans I had for dinner. So pull into the garage, not happy, get everyone out. Call Chili's and order dinner.

Leave kids at home with dad, go pick up dinner...get to the car...they forgot my drink...go back in get drink..drive home.

Unload dinner...they forgot my dinner! Call Chili's (trying to be as calm as possible...don't know if it worked) They say you can come back and get it if it isn't inconvenient. What? I just drove 20 min to pick it up and back...why didn't you make sure you put everything in there in the first place. They offer gift certificates and my dinner for free. First of all... I already paid for the dinner...it isn't free. Second got two $5 gift certificates. That can maybe get a desert and a drink. I know, at least I got something. Hush. I am venting here!

Have husband go get it.
7 something...Feed screaming baby and hungry kids.

Husband gets home...I eat, he leaves to go get his car.

8 pm Let kids watch other movie (Coraline...DON'T recommend it) Why did I do that????

10 pm finally get kids in bed.

11:30 Text husband...How's it going? Chillin waiting for epoxy to dry before he can drive it.
Finally go to bed with cell phone in hand (just in case)

Next day 8 something am... find out car is at Blooms and needs to go get it. Get up, get kids dressed, fed and in car. Go get car. Go get papers (gotta get my coupons!), come home, pull in driveway realize need cash, go back out get cash, come home. Play outside, save a praying mantis (is that what this is?) from a spiderweb. (Isn't he cute?)

Try to convince Hali she can't keep him as a pet.

Husband says friends(and the whole family) on the way to help. Great. House a MESS. Stay calm. Have lunch with everyone, total MADHOUSE! Give a massage. She really needed it., and it was ok with me.

Invited to a friends house at 7 while boys are at conference. late bedtime the day before, still up at normal time (that ticks me off!) no naps for two year old today, not a good combo. Still going to try and go.

5 or 6 ish. Friends leave...clean house. Feed baby. Kids whining, falling off bikes, filthy...make all of them come inside...more whining, send one to take a shower.

7 pm Ok NOT going. Husband leaves to go to conference. Which is a good thing I know.

Call my Mom, vent. (much like I am doing now!) She makes me feel better. Kids eating cereal for dinner. I don't care. Making myself some coconut brownies. Can't multitask when stressed ...didn't read directions and make them too cake like, dangit! I hate it when they are like that! And I just used all of my coconut oil.

Bathe two other kids...say prayers...GET IN BED!!!! And STAY in bed! Oh and I love you. Go to feed baby again...realize...did I give ALL of the kids lovies? Go back to girls room (still nursing) kiss one kid, she's out... walk over to the other, she's out. First kid wakes up, I go back to say goodnight and I love you and I am sorry for being so cranky, and yelling a lot...Her response...

That's ok Mom, you still are the best Mom ever. I love you.

Totally makes it worth it. Good day. (yes, I am crying right now, deal with it) Would probably do it all again... in fact will probably do it all again tomorrow!

I'm tired.

Ok, and the fonts are not doing what I tell them to, and I am too tired to try and fix it. Sorry.

Swimming Lessons

2009-08-16T20:07:00.004-04:00

The girls had swimming lessons for 4 weeks in a row Monday - Thursday! Those were some long days since they had classes at different times. They were back to back though, with a 15 min. break in between. They had fun and Milaya made some great progress. She is really good at the backstroke and getting better at going under the water without holding her nose. She is better at that than mom is! Hali is gaining more confidence in the water, but still won't stick her whole face in the water yet. She is like her mom! Sorry Grammie and Papa! I am totally "payin' for my raisin' ". Brock also had two weeks of a Mommy and Me class. (So that was a total of 6 weeks of swim classes!!!! Let's just say that the people at the YMCA know us very well now.) I didn't get any pictures of that because I was in the water, oops. He had fun, but wanted to do his own thing. Stubborn little punk! Oh well, what can you expect from a two year old boy!

Milaya floating obviously.

The girls in between classes.

Hali's hair is getting really long.

My cute little Hali Belly

This one is dark, I realized that you didn't really need the flash. It was an indoor pool and it worked better to not have the flash on. I didn't realize that until after Hali was out of the pool on her last day of classes.

Anyway, they enjoyed their classes and did a great job.

Breastfeeding - It Rocks!

2009-08-01T16:43:00.010-04:00

August 1st-7th is World Breastfeeding Week (http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/) and I thought that I would add my two cents in and say that breastfeeding is such a wonderful thing! There has been tons of controversy over whether or not it is "obscene" to breastfeed in public or to show pictures of it in your Facebook profile...the list could go on and on. There is a protest on facebook right now to let them know how people feel about it and that it isn't obscene. The Mothers International Lactation Campaign has a post in FB to explain more about what it is about.

They are incouraging people...whether they be nursing mom's or not... to post a photogragh, drawing, sculpture, or even a pic of animals nursing on their profile and change their status to 'Hey FB, breastfeeding is not obscene'. They have some pics on the link that depict nursing moms and they are so sweet. I wasn't able to nurse as long as some of these mom's but sometimes I wish I could have. Mother's milk is so good for babies. I don't know why people don't realize that. I know there are certain sircumstances where women can't do it for medical reasons. I know women that have just simply chosen not to do it (and they aren't bad moms!). It is a personal choice and each of us has that right to choose. But I do think that nursing mom's need support, especially if it is your first. And those that choose not to. Some women feel guilty for choosing not to nurse their babies. I am not one to judge them. I have fed all of my babies formula at one time or another. Nursing is and can be a wonderful experience. It takes practice and lots of PATIENCE sometimes. You just have to stick with it. It is challenging and also rewarding to know that I am supplying my baby's food. I know exactly what it is in it. No fillers, no synthetic stuff. Just pure mom's milk (with a hint of chocolate in it!).

Nuff said...and speaking of breastfeeding...my little one is calling my name ;)

This is just an interesting picture that I found and loved. (Maybe it comes from the Massage Therapist point of view) I just thought that it was kind of cool. I love how you can still see the baby looking up at the mother and you can see the mother smiling. AWESOME! (tears coming to my eyes)

Learning to talk

2009-07-31T22:08:00.003-04:00

Here is Hayden trying to talk to me. Or rather me annoying him again, and trying to get him to talk. He was pretty tolerant and dealing with it very well ;) He is just too cute not to do this video, so here it is.

Now wasn't that the CUTEST little baby you ever saw cooing?!?! I think so!

6 Weeks Already

2009-07-14T21:42:00.009-04:00

Yes, the kids are in bed finally(well 3 out of the 4) and I am finally getting to post some pictures. (I will get to my birth story soon for those that are interested) Man, I didn't realize how much busier 4 is than 3, but we are managing. A new baby, new house, swimming lessons, kids going in all different directions. I am sure that we will get into the rhythm of it right? Right?

It is hard to believe that we went from this...

To this...

To this... in just 6 weeks!

I can't believe how much he has grown and yet how little he still is. And how grateful I am that my Heavenly Father sent this beautiful little boy to us to raise and teach. It is amazing to look down at him and see the changes, and how he is starting to recognize people, coo and smile. I look at him and think how wonderful it is to have him in our family and how peaceful he looks when nursing and asleep in my arms. Then I hear water splashing and one of the girls saying 'eww, gross!' and find Brock rinsing out his toothbrush in the toilet(which promptly went in the garbage!!!), or some other crazy thing happening in our house, and realize that I have to snap back to reality. But at least I can have a few sweet moments, even if they are just moments.

More pictures of the little one

2009-06-03T20:29:00.010-04:00

Brock was the first to see the new baby. He was woken up when I went into his room for a few things, like diapers. He wouldn't go back to sleep on his own, so I got him up. He was up for more than an hour before finally falling back asleep on the couch with me next to him.

Milaya was next. She had woken up when Mandy's labor started, so she was expecting to see a baby when she woke in the morning.

Hali was last, but she was the most surprised. She kept looking at Mom, then the baby, then back to Mom.

I went to storage and got the bassinet, car seat, and swing. Brock found the swing a great place to sit and watch TV. We found him later, face down and asleep.

And finally a few other pictures of just Hayden.

Today's your birthday, shout hurray!

2009-05-31T20:36:00.005-04:00

Early this morning we welcomed our new baby boy into our family.

Hayden Sawyer
Born 5/31/2009 1:15 AM
7 lbs. 6 oz.
20 in. Head to Heel

Both Mom and baby are doing well.

P.S. Ignore the widget to the right ;)

The Belly

2009-05-20T23:37:00.003-04:00

Here is a pic of my big belly at 34 weeks. Rub the Buddha! Anyway, we haven't been so good at it this time and M always wants to take the picture.

Nice tan line, I know. Sorry.

Brock: The Drummer

2009-05-18T16:28:00.005-04:00

Last Sunday, much to Mandy's chagrin, Brock was drumming on the church bench during sacrament meeting. He must have picked it up when we played Rock Band several weeks ago. Here he is using a pack of t.p. and pencils (unsharpened) for drums and sticks.

Educated Birth

2009-05-07T09:33:00.002-04:00

I know y'all probably want pictures and those will come. I just found this video on a friends facebook profile and wanted to post it. It is about 7 minutes long, but take the time to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC0UZShzIHw

Birth Movie Screening Event

2009-03-30T08:29:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine asked me to put this on my blog. I think it is an amazing opportunity for people in the community to be a little more educated on the subject of "birth" and how society views "birth", and your options. I have seen The Business of Being Born and clips of Orgasmic Birth. They are both eye opening to those who have no idea about the birthing system in hospitals or what birth can really be and is. Not ALL hospitals are bad, but they do have a protocol that they do have to follow. Women just need to be aware of what they are and find the right place to birth for them. This post is mainly for those Utah readers that look at my blog. But you can rent The Business of Being Born from blockbuster. I am not sure about the other ones. If you can't make the viewing of all three that might be an option.

This a major event including the screening of three amazing childbirth films: Orgasmic Birth, The Business of Being Born, and Pregnant in America, and the producer of Orgasmic Birth will be at the screening as well!

Date: June 13, 2009
Location: Towne Cinema Theaters in American Fork, UT
Cost: $25
What: Screening of Orgasmic Birth, Pregnant in America, The Business of Being Born, Special Guest Speaker, Debra Pascali-Bonaro
Email: moviescreening@rawmelissa.com if you have questions

For more information or to order your ticket you can send an email to the email address listed above, or please visit my friends doula trainer, Melissa's blog. Feel free to distribute information about this on your own blog, email your friends, and tell everyone you know about this amazing event! We are trying to get the word out to as many people as possible.

HSM2!!

2009-03-27T11:21:00.003-04:00

We went out on a little girls night out last week. I took the girls to see High School Musical 2 at a local middle school. One of my young women was in it. The girls were so excited. Hali kept asking me where Sharpay was every time she wasn't on stage. And every time the curtains closed she would ask me, " is it over?". Milaya was pretty quiet during the whole thing. I think they both enjoyed it. It was definitely a middle school production, but the girls didn't care. They got to see HSM2!!!!!! I did have to tell them that is wasn't going to be the real Gabriella and Troy though. I did't want to get there and they say, that isn't Troy!

I love you girls!

It's a BOY!

2009-03-17T10:46:00.002-04:00

I guess some people still don't know but... we are having another BOY! We are very excited. I think Brian is the most excited now because it is a boy. Everything has worked out. I always wanted two girls and two boys, so I consider myself pretty lucky. We had the ultrasound and got to find out what he was, but we have to go back for another one. My fluid was a little low, so they told me to up my fluids and come back in a month to do another US. They didn't get a chance to see everything clearly because of the fluid and he was laying transverse. As far as they could see everything looked fine though. They just didn't get good pics/measurements of him. So after the next scan I will post some pics from it.

Now, if I could just get that home birth that I want...it is a work in progress...but we are almost there. Wish us luck! Today is the day for it! ;)

Brock Turns 2!!

2009-03-04T21:03:00.005-05:00

Here are some pics from Brock's 2nd Birthday on Sunday. We just did a little party with us. The girls were so excited about his birthday and he couldn't have cared less. Although when you told him it was his birthday, he said yeah, whoo hoo! It was pretty cute.

This cake is Brian's creation by the way. He was helping me out and decided to decorate it. I am grateful that he did, and I am not making fun of what he did, I just don't want it to end up on Cake Wrecks! No offense Brian, I do love you! Milaya wanted the cupcakes to have his name written on them too. So this is how it turned out.

Saying "cheese"

I love Hali's eyes! And Brock's little smile. "fire" Whoo hoo!

Can I lick the candle?!!

No, but you can lick the cake...

And the table...

and your cupcake.

I didn't have any birthday wrapping paper, so I just turned Christmas wrapping paper inside out and let the girls be part of the celebration by decorating his wrapping paper.

Why the planets, I don't know.

Brock in his new shirt and pants playing with his new football. Hut hut!

Rub the Budda

2009-03-04T20:55:00.003-05:00

Ok, these are for all of those people that are really wanting to see my belly. This is the first and only picture that we have taken of it. I am 24 weeks in this picture. We just haven't gotten around to remembering to take one. I guess by the fourth one, you don't have time to remember that you are pregnant sometimes! We are just as excited about this one as all of the other ones, it just feels different somehow. I will post more tomorrow after we find out what we are having.

Milaya took one of these and then Brian did the other.

I don't like this angle, it makes me look bigger!!!

I know...I am behind

2009-02-23T10:35:00.003-05:00

No pics at the moment, but I was letting people know that we are still alive. I haven't had any energy or time to get to posting pics. I have to re-size them before I put them on here. I just wanted to put some funny things that Hali has said over the past couple weeks. I need to start writing them down because I forget! But here are a few that I did manage to write down.

#1
Hali (at the dinner table no less!): Eggs make you have stinky farts!
Mom and everyone else: LOL!!!!!!!!! I have no idea where that came from, we weren't even eating eggs at the time!

#2
Hali (talking with Dad): "Hey daddy, did you know, on your tongue, you have little taste bugs"
Dad: "Taste bugs"
Hali: YEAH!
Dad: You mean there are little tiny bugs on your tongue?
Hali: Yeah, they taste things.

#3
Hali: Look Mom, I made a "fork" (she was building with some blocks, making a FORT)
Mom: That's a cool fork. Good job. Then I tried to explain that it was fort, and she insisted that it was a fork.

She says funny stuff all of the time and of course I can't always write it down! I am trying to get better though!

For now that is all I have time for. And no, we still haven't found out what we are having. We find out the first week of March. I will post that when we find out! ;) It seems to be taking FOREVER!

Ultrasound pictures of the "little nugget"

2008-12-13T16:03:00.005-05:00

Mandy will be surprised that I hacked into her blog and made myself an author. It's only fair, she's an author on my original blog.

The ultrasound occured this past Wednesday. Everything looked good and we have a healthy baby. The baby actually is measuring 1 week bigger than Mandy's original due date. That's a first, usually they've measured small.

My Passion

2008-11-20T10:32:00.006-05:00

I watched the Today Show this morning on Doula's asking if they are helpful or not. The segment didn't lean either way to me, but I don't think that the segment was long enough to present it well or give enough information. I did agree that you have to meet and interview a doula to find the right one for you. Not all personalities fit together. You can go to DONA.org to find out the requirements of a Doula and also find doula's in your area. They also have the article from the Today show on there too. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/27808452/

The segment did mention some doula's being trained by nurses or midwives, and some being trained by people that have just been a doula. I want to state that there are SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS to become a trainer and a doula. It just isn't someone saying..."oh I think I will teach people how to be a doula" and they go out and do it. They are to be certified through DONA if they are to train other doula's that want to be certified. I was trained by a midwife/doula Kristi Ridd-Young who currently teaches and is the President at the Midwives College of Utah. I LOVE HER by the way! She was also my doula at my last birth.

While it is true that we can't and DON'T do anything clinical we are educated enough to know what the hospital procedures are and what the tests are. We are there to be an advocate for the mother AND father to help them have the most positive, gentle birth experience possible. We educate our clients to be an advocate for themselves too. To ask questions and to fully understand what the doctors and nurses are doing. To ask if it is completely necessary to have this procedure done. Women know their bodies, our bodies are meant to have babies. We just teach the mothers how to work with their bodies through labor. Not to be stuck in the bed, lying down and not having the option to help themselves and to work with the contractions. Which inhibits the process and can slow things down. When the nurses/dr see this they want to give you pit (pitocin) which makes the contractions stronger, then in turn making the pain sometimes unbearable, leading to epidurals which again slow things down, so they give you more pit, then the baby goes into fetal distress that sends you into a downward spiral of medical interventions that are sometimes unnecessary and can lead to C-sections. There are some instances when medical intervention is necessary so plan for that by talking to your doctor/midwife, study and be prepared for anything. Every labor/delivery is different. While childbirth isn't completely painless, doula's are the pain medication in a way. We are trained to know what the body is going through and help the mother with position changes, counter pressure, pressure points, and other methods of pain management. We not only help the mother, we help keep the father involved. Father's don't like to see their wives in pain, they are nervous and don't know what to do sometimes. We help them be a part of the process and make it a positive experience for him also.

I could go on and on about this subject. I just think that it takes one doula that has her own agenda to ruin it for the rest of us. Like the hospital in VA that has banned all doula's. I would be so sad to live in that area. We are in VA right now and women don't have a whole lot of choices for Dr's out here. There are two Dr's offices here where I am at. There are NO midwives here. The closest one is a little over an hour away. If we could educate people and get rid of all the fear that surrounds labor and birth; and let mothers know that there are other options for them to consider, more women would have more positive birth experiences.

I have had friends that have had one child with an epidural and one without(not by choice, but she went to fast). She told me that she liked the recovery process much more when she didn't have the epidural. I have had clients that have had it both ways and they say they will never get an epidural again. So for them, it must have made a difference to have that extra support person there. I can tell you from my own experience that I will never deliver another baby without a doula present. I had my first with a doula, my second without(didn't get on the ball fast enough). Even though I was a trained doula and I have been through it before, and had my husband there, I still felt like I needed that extra help. So for my third, as soon as I found out I was pregnant I called my doula trainer and asked her to be my doula. Just having her in the room although she might not have been doing anything was a comfort to me. I know I was much more relaxed and calm, knowing that if I needed her she was right there.

This is the reason I choose to labor and deliver as safely and naturally as I can...

For PaPa

2008-11-08T16:18:00.006-05:00

This post is just for my dad (PaPa). He always chews or has a toothpic in his mouth after he eats. When I saw Brock doing this I had to get some pics. He was using them to eat his vienna sausages like Hali.

Pumkins & Halloween

2008-11-08T15:42:00.006-05:00

These are the pumpkins that the kids did and mine is on the right that I did at a YW activity.

Kids having fun decorating/carving with Dad.

Cute kiddos in costumes. Look at my dragon's wings!

Little Orphan Annie

Catherine and Milaya

This was at Milaya's school parade.

Yes, I dressed up to support my YW. I am a gypsy, made from an old high school dance costume. At least part of it still fit after three kids!

Trunk or Treat! Dad was a hiker.

My cute boys! His shirt says "Boo's Your Daddy?" Too cute.

Birthday Girl

2008-11-08T15:19:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that she is 7 already!!

She wanted a cookie cake this year instead of a real cake.

Hali, Catherine, Milaya, Brock, Chloe, Kelly, Kendall, Jordan.

Her new earrings that you really can't see very well.

I love Hali's face in this picture.

Yearbook Me Baby!

2008-10-08T14:23:00.004-04:00

Just for fun and I was bored!

This one looks like my Ma-Maw I think.(2nd one above)

This one looks like my mom in high school (the long straight hair) She had hair to her waist!

If my hair was straight, I might have it this short, but definitely NOT blonde!

Cheesy, Sticky Boy

2008-09-26T21:04:00.005-04:00

We were eating pancakes the other night and Brock got a little sticky. He started putting his hand on his face and discovered that he could do this...

This is what Brock does when we get the camera out now. I love this stage!

Cheeeese!

Best Friends

2008-09-22T22:05:00.003-04:00

I just thought that I would put some pictures up of my friends from Utah. I have been wanting to do it for a while, but I haven't done it until now. I recently started a facebook profile, and found some old friends from high school and I thought how grateful I am for friends. I haven't made any out here like these girls yet. So as a tribute to all of my friends from when we lived in Utah...I miss you. I miss girls night out too!

Becky & Me

Melissa, Me, Marie(also known as "The Wives Club")

Michelle & Me

Update on Ike

2008-09-20T22:14:00.002-04:00

My parents are back home. They lost some shingles on the roof, but other than that the house is fine. I did talk to my best friend from Bridge City and she said that her parents had 1-3 feet of water in their house. Her aunt had 5 feet. Please remember them in your prayers as they try to recover from the devastation of Ike. Thanks.

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-14T18:41:00.004-04:00

Hey y'all-I don't have any pics of my family's houses, but we have had word that they are ok. We also have had word that there has been no water damage to our homes, just maybe some cosmetic stuff to fix. My family is still out of town and don't know when the power will be back on or when they will be let in. Some other places in Orange are really bad. Bridge City is pretty bad too. I am putting in some links to KOGT.com and the Orange Police Dept.. They have pics of some of the damage. This is a tv station that has been streaming online. KFDM Check them out if you want to see. Thank you to all that have said prayers and have been thinking of my family. I will post more later when we have more to update.

Rock Star Milaya

2008-09-10T17:09:00.003-04:00

Milaya wanted me to post this video of her singing to Taylor Swift. My aspiring little rock star!

First Grade

2008-09-06T15:56:00.002-04:00

This is Milaya's first day of FIRST GRADE!! No more kindergarten!! My baby is growing up!

I keep telling her if she keeps growing the way she is she will be taller than me by the time she is 9!

She had to have her hair straight for the first day of school, so being the awsome mom that I am, I did it for her. (the night before of course!) Look how long it is getting. I am so proud of you Milaya. Good luck in school. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Zoo, Zoo, at the Zoo

2008-09-06T14:49:00.008-04:00

We took the kids to the Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk the last weekend before school started. Hali was a little scared of the bears getting her. She thought that they would just be wondering around I guess. There were no bears. It is a pretty small zoo.

Hali feeding the goats. Milaya didn't want to be part of it. Brock did help too I just didn't get a picture of him.

Emerald Tree Boa. Sorry Mom, but I do like snakes.

Poisonous blue frogs

Monkey that would come up to the window, I wasn't ready for him, but you have to be quick!

Lions that you can't really see unless you zoom in.

I love the way giraffe's eat from the ground.

Eating at the not so cheap cafe.

Kids playing in the fountains in the front courtyard of the zoo. In their clothes.

This is one of our favorite shows. It is a zoo song. We tried to sign all of the animals that we saw.

Update

2008-09-04T12:13:00.002-04:00

My parents/family are all ok. They lucked out and didn't have any damage to property or self. Thank you to all who had them in your prayers and thoughts.

Froggie

2008-09-02T16:51:00.004-04:00

I found some frogs outside our apartment and thought that I would show one to Brock. He had fun with it.

I went to put the baby one back outside and found this one nearby.

Peachy Keen

2008-09-02T16:16:00.005-04:00

Ok, so this time we went peach picking. I love all of the fruit out here! The kids all love picking them off the tree and helping. And it is addicting, once you start picking you can't stop! I had plenty, but I just wanted to keep going because they looked and smelled so good.

It was sad to see all of the peaches on the ground getting ruined. It was hard not stepping all over them too.

Eden being just like Milaya and bending down so I could take a picture.

Brock "helping" by dropping them in the bad. Yes, we had quite a few bruised ones.

Action shot of Brock. He always wants to see what is on the camera and doesn't be still for very long to get them taken.

The end result of our peach pickin'...Peach cobbler!! (from scratch!) I had never made it from scratch before. My Ma-Maw has the best recipe for it so that is what I used. It calls for "some nutmeg" and a "pinch of salt" and stuff like that. I wish I could have learned to cook from her and my Mom more. Her mother owned a Cafe' in Orange a long time ago.

Ooooo... still hot and bubbly. It was so tasty!

Hurricane Gustav

2008-08-30T20:34:00.003-04:00

As you probably know, Hurricane Gustav is hitting the Gulf right about now. My parents and most of my family are on the Gulf Coast(Orange, TX to be exact). Luckily everyone has made plans to be somewhere else when it hits. I would just like to say to all of the readers or anyone who happens to come across my blog to keep them and their homes in your prayers and thoughts. I know homes and the things in them are just "things". But they are my family's. It would be devastating for them to try and start over. My parents have been in the same house for over 30 yrs. I grew up in that house. I love my home. I love my family. I also have friends that are in Texas and more family/friends in Louisiana. I just hope and pray that everything will be ok for them when they return. It also bugs me that the weather channel is so worried about New Orleans, that is all fine and dandy, but what about the other people down there. They haven't said anything about the Texas coast or even closer to the border. I actually heard a weatherman say that "he HOPES it moves west so it doesn't hit New Orleans". I DON'T! (I wouldn't wish it on anyone.) I can understand how devastating it will be for New Orleans, but once again no one remembers anything about Hurricane Rita that hit my parents/family either. It is all about Katrina. Again, I understand it wasn't AS bad as Katrina, but there were still families left without homes, etc. And now here it goes again. So anyway, that is just my little vent session. To all of those in South East Texas I am thinking of you and praying for you! God bless Texas.

Inspiration for the name

2008-08-18T15:12:00.002-04:00

Here is why I named our website what I did. I love when they get out of the pool or tub with hair like this. Makes me kind of jealous that mine won't do that anymore.

Don't you just want to pull one and say "boing"!?

Water in a bucket

2008-08-18T15:06:00.003-04:00

Ok technically it isn't a bucket, but they had fun just the same. I didn't feel like taking all of them to the pool by myself so I just dumped their toys out and put water in the rubbermaid containers. I gave them water bottles to squirt each other and they just ended up sitting in the tub and pouring the water out. Fun times in our communal back yard. I can't wait to have my own back yard. Yes, I know it has its advantages and disadvantages, but it would be ours!

Before & After

2008-08-03T22:00:00.007-04:00

Here are some pics of Hali and I waiting for her surgery.

She got to wear this really bright yellow set of scrubs for the surgery. They wouldn't let us keep them though. She did get to keep the socks.

Her having fun blowing bubbles while we wait.

Here is her wrist before the surgery. It doesn't look that big in the picture, but it was getting bigger.

She got to change into her surgery clothes in the Snow White room.

This was the time that they took us back to change her and wait for the doctor to get there for the surgery at 7:30 am.

This is my Tiny Miny getting to ride in a wagon to the front doors of the hospital a little while after her procedure. I don't think she knows what is going on. But she is holding on to Lucy the dinosaur that G'ma and G'Pa Massey (adopted grandparents in UT) gave her. She got to take Lucy back with her for the surgery.

The doctor had her wear this sling for 10 days. It lasted in the sling for about 2 days. Then she got tired of it and it was hurting her neck. We took the sling off but had to keep it in the cast the whole time. She got it off of Friday the 1st.

And here is the incision. It is bigger than I thought that it would be. She is doing well and we just have it wrapped up in an ace bandage now. We are scheduled to go back to the doctor on the 18th to look at it again. I drove 2 hours to get to his office for him to take a pair of scissors and cut her cast off and put a band-aid on it. I could have done that at home. That took about 5 minutes to see him. And then I had to face traffic again on the way back. That took about and hour and a half. I am really contemplating not going back on the 18th, but we will see.

2008-07-29T14:06:00.007-04:00

We were just goofing off one day listening to some music and Brock started dancing. Pretty cute boy I must say. And then we have Milaya wanting to be in the spotlight too, with her tribute to egyptian dancing and chickens I guess. I couldn't tell. She has such long arms and legs. I love Hali's laugh too.

Bluberry Pie

2008-07-29T11:37:00.005-04:00

We went blueberry picking last week and this is what we got. Brian wanted a blueberry pie and I wanted blueberry muffins. We settled on pie. We didn't have enough to do both. It turned out really good. You mix it all up and then freeze it in the pie plate. Then you put it in the crust and bake it. It was yummy!

Before...after

One of the cute little bushes.

Brock was having a good time picking them. We told him to only pick the blue ones and he did!

Hali picked the big one, the other one was about like all of the other ones.

Just chillin' waiting for the ferry.

Just a pic of the clouds from the ferry, they were pretty low it felt like and dark.

Milaya

2008-07-25T12:40:00.002-04:00

Milaya loves to dress up and wear lipstick. So on days that we don't go anywhere I let her wear my earrings and put on some sample lipstick that I got from Avon. She loves it. If fact she is watching me write this and asking to wear lipstick today! Silly girl. I love you Milaya!

Summer Time

2008-07-25T10:45:00.000-04:00

I don't remember if she was sulking or didn't feel good.

I wonder what will happen if I put my hand over this hole?

Oh, I get water in my face!

Hmm... lets try a finger.

Water baby

Mackenzie

2008-07-25T09:56:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of Michelle & Bryce's daughter Mackenzie. They have waited a long time to get her and I am so happy for them. Although Crickett(dog) doesn't seem to be too excited. Congratulations, we love you!

Welcome

2008-07-24T15:23:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our new blog just for the family. I decided to keep my other blog just for scrapbooking and crafty stuff. So stay tuned for pics.