A Kendra Conversation:

"Good night Kendra, see you when the sun comes up"
"Mommy lay on pillow"
"No, I'm going to my own bed"
"No Mama, I wanna hold you"
"Good night Kendra"
"Mama?"
"What?"
"Kendra gonna cry"

She's 2 and already threatening me......where does she come up with this stuff?

Had meself a Happy Halloween mate!

I have 15 minutes to officially wish my blogger friends a HAPPY HALLOWEEN. Hope everyone had a good time, we sure did! It's been a long night so excuse me while I go get me some booty 'ey?

Picture Practice

I was just practicing for Kendra's 2 year old picturs. I decided I didn't really like the outfit but this picture is so stinkin' cute I had to share!

To all the the stupid parents out there!

Warning: You may not want to read this because it's pretty much just a rant session by ME. I might say things that seem a bit negative & will probably use a lot of parenthesis. Just letting you know.

Today we went to McDonalds. A really fancy McDonalds (Lehi) with a playground that makes music when you play on the toys (not important but cool). The entire time, not one freakin' parent was paying attention to their kids. In less than five minutes of being there, I watched a kid poor his juice box down the baby slide, another one grabbing the little kids from behind and pulling them down, hitting, pushing, screaming, budging, stomping on fingers, tripping & the list goes on. Not ONE kid stopped to apologize (seriously) & not ONE parent stepped in to correct their horrible behavior (seriouslyyyy).

I was HORRIFIED & not to mention EMBARRASSED.

They had 2 areas. One for everybody & one for 3yrs old & under. There's a sign stating the age rule but there were 6 boys (at least 10 years old) playing in there, jumping over babies, accidentally kicking & stepping on them & once again.....not one apology or one parent intervened. I know it's not some congress-passed law that 3 and under should play there but what are we teaching our kids? That it's okay to follow the rules sometimes, or my personal favorite "well everyone else's kids are doing it"........grrrrr.

WAKE UP!

We are raising self-entitled, helpless, indulged, spoiled brats! We're failing our kids. I probably sound like a raving lunatic but I'm okay with that. I have one major goal in life & that is to raise kids that are loving, happy & compassionate to those less fortunate. I'm sure most people want that too but it won't happen if we just let things go, ignore it or keep saying YES. I mean heaven forbid that our kids feel disappointed, mad, embarrassed, sad or jealous.....sounds like LIFE to me, it ain't no fantasy (love that song BTW). Nobody is perfect (except me) but just make an effort, it's not that hard. Pull your head out, call your kids on their $hit & do the RIGHT thing.

The only thing I regret about this post is that it won't reach the people that need to hear it the most. So if you know a stupid parent (we all do) mention my blog in passing or better yet, hand them a business card with my blog address on it & a direct link to this post. Oh, the hate mail I would get, better fix my comments setting {cackle cackle}.

Hello

Yes, this is another story about Kendra. She seems to consume my life thus consuming my blog.

Anywho - today after her nap of like 20 minutes {growl} she comes trotting down the stairs. I said "HELLO KENDRA" & she casually replied "NI HAO" which translates to HELLO in mandarine chinese. Thanks to Kai-Lan we (me & miss) frequently discuss her feelings & the feelings of others too.

What a hoot!

NieNie Blog

Looks like "one" of my favorite bloggers is going to be on Oprah tomorrow. Yep, Stephanie Neilsen (aka NieNie) & I'm super excited about it so if you know who I'm talking about you should tune in & if you don't then I suggest you click on my sidebar and check her blog out because it's AWESOME like me!!

ENJOY.

HAPPY THOUGHTS

Uncle Russell & Aunt Steph gave Kendra this butterfly dress up for her birthday. That same night, around ten o'clock, we let her try it on. As we admired our beautiful little butterfly, she clunked around in her fancy high heels, showing off to anyone who would watch. She kept checking out her wings and telling us "I FLY", which we thought was even cuter but she wasn't kidding. She ran to the door & begged us to let er go outside so she could fly. As she walked out the front door, she continued to watch her wings but nothing was happening. It was like we were watching Curious George. Just as she was about to give up, Grandma came to the rescue. She flew K all around the yard until they were both dizzy. Kendra wanted "MORE, MORE" & she knew exactly what to do. She ran back into the house & called for PAPA. Of course he came running & out they went, PRINCESS MARLE & her KNIGHT IN SHINING.....ummm.....CAMO?? As you can tell from the pictures, Kendra was on cloud 9 & I'm pretty sure Grandpa was too!


That next morning, Kendra slept in until 10:15. I was a little worried but I think my dad got it right when he said, "well, flying is exhausting!"

Kendra turns 2

Kendra is 2, can you believe it? We celebrated ELMO style with family & friends. The gourmet menu included mac-n-cheese, chicken nuggets & pizza. We played a game of ring-a-round the rosie, did a bit of fishing & finished with a piniata. She opened her presents & got oodles of toys. We ended the party with an ELMO cake made by Aunt Nettie (send me some pics sis) & some extra playtime with the cousins. If Kendra could talk, she would probably say, "this was the best day of my life."

The Birthday Girl

My newest little nephew, Weston!

Panguitch Lake

July 2009

While Nick was in Casper Wyoming, K & me stayed in Milford. We haden't seen him for a month or more so I planned a surpise weekend to Panguitch Lake, one of our favorite places to go. To make a complicated story short, we knew these awesome people I called Grandma & Grandpa but weren't really blood relation. They've both passed away now but their children are so sweet & generous to let us stay at their family cabin still. As a little girl we spent almost every summer there for at least a week or so & then when I married Nick we had our honeymoon there (well not officially but that's a whole different post). Anyway, our 7th year anniversary was coming up so, like I said, I planned a weekend for us. I packed all our fishing stuff, planned out a menu & rented a pontoon boat. It seemed perfect......but then we ran out of firewood in the middle of the night, our pontoon boat was a piece of crap, rain & wind ruined our fishing day & Kendra cried for an hour cuz she wanted to go swimming & even tried to jump off the boat. It didn't turn out perfect like I had planned but we still had fun.

1st tantrum of many

Vintage Aluminum Cups: these things keep your drink ice cold & everything tastes better in them.....not even joking!

2nd tantrum & counting

Check out the seats.....yikes!

Mrs. Multi-Tasking enjoying a tantrum free moment

What a Trophy

Something I'd rather not forget.

Conversation between me & my little LOVEY.....

3am Kendra wakes up a little fussy so I put her in bed with us. I was just about asleep again when I hear............
Kendra - "mama?"
Me - "whaty"
Kendra - "I wanna cookie"
Me - "umm....no"
Kendra - "mama?"
Me - "whaty"
Kendra - "I wanna cookie"
Me - "no, close your eyes and go to sleep"
Kendra with her eyes closed - "mama, peas?"

I thought about getting her one especially since she asked so nicely BUT I was sooooo tired. She finally went to sleep......cookieless & all!

Popsicle Socks

we LOVE otter pops. Kendra eats them three at a time.
Papa created POPSICLE SOCKS. They keep your hands from freezing. GENIUS!!

Poor Nick

This last Friday, Nick had a stomach ache that turned out to be appendicitis. He got to the ER around 3am, got his first pain killer at 8am, and finally went into surgery at 12:30pm. During surgery, his general forman called his cell phone & left a message explaining that he was laid off (no kidding). Then the night he got home, Kendra got the flu.....bad! He helped me as much as he could & I made sure we washed hands & sanitized everything we could. Well, it didn't work and Nick got it the next day. I can't imagine how awful it felt to puke his guts out with a new incision but he didn't complain once. I was feeling left out (hey I like attention) so I came down with it about 45 minutes after Nick. We recovered for a day & then packed our crap & got the hell out of dodge. Now we're headed down south for some family time & excited for a little vacation.

Kendra decorated Daddies feet at the hospital.............whatever keeps her busy.

My 2 sick babies.

Motherhood

I consider myself a pretty good mom. Since the day Kendra was born, I found motherhood to be easy. I loved getting up at night. I loved nursing her. I loved changing her. Things that some mom's might find frustrating or difficult, I found to be simple. Things were easy, she was easy. Now she's not! I've been a crappy mom lately. I've been so focused on all the negative things that it's trully consumed my whole attitude. I've been really worried about what "everyone" thinks about me as a mom. The other day I started a fight with Nick in the car & when I looked back at Kendra she was staring out the window & sucking her thumb. Kendra DOES NOT suck her thumb. It broke my heart. My sweet girl was nervous & confused because of me. Not the proudest moment in my life but a lesson that I definitely needed. The next day I tried harder, and the next day and the next day. It's only been a few days and Kendra is a new little person. Tonight when I put her to bed she wouldn't stop playings so I turned my back to her. I heard her say "Mama, Back?" and a few seconds later her tiny fingers were tickling my back.......
....i needed that.

Kendra, what are you doing?

I heard the bathroom door shut & wondered what she was up to now. When I opened the door this is what I found & she said "pitty toes". She was giving herself a pedicure just like mama does. Too cute considering that I really do sit on the toilet while she bathes & give myself a pedicure.

Then like any kodak moment, she stops what she's doing to admire her handy work & then continues on about her business.

sPicE giRL

plan (plan) noun
a scheme or program for making, doing, or arranging something; project, design, schedule, etc.



filch (filc̸h) transitive verb
to steal (usually something small or petty); pilfer


by·stander (bī′stan′dər) noun
a person who stands near but does not participate; mere onlooker


aban·doned (ə ban′dənd) adjective
given up; forsaken; deserted

ac·com·plice (ə käm′plis) noun
a person (or furry monster) who knowingly participates with another in an unlawful act; partner in crime

Big Girl Bed...check!

We got home yesterday & realized there is NO more room in our humble abode so I made an executive decision to put away the pack-n-play. Kendra has slept in that thing since she was born & I wasn't sure if she would go for it BUT she did it. Nap time was trickier today & I had to put her back in it about four times but she finally went to sleep..............HOORAY!! Hopefully this isn't beginners luck & she'll stick with it.

Now for the potty training! All you experienced potty training people I need your best advice. So far, Kendra loves to talk about the potty. She loves to take her diaper off, use her stool to climb up on the potty and sit there for a few seconds. She would do this a hundred times if I let her BUT she will not pee. I don't want her to hate it so I don't push it but I really think she could do it if I could get her to actually pee & realize what she's doing. Comments please?

Snowbird 2009

The view off our balcony. 10th Floor.

Every year the Schofield family goes to Snowbird for their vacation. The past two years we haven't been able to make it due to bed rest in '07 & being too far away in '08. Finally this year we reserved us a room. We've been looking forward to it all year but then Nick switched jobs a few weeks ago & couldn't get the time off {sniffle}. Kendra & I have still had a lot of fun up here, even if she is a turd.

[I just googled turd to make sure I spelled it right & found some pretty funny stuff]

Anyway, we've went swimming 4 days in a row now & Kendra is LOVING it! We also did the bounce houses which K decided it was way more fun to lay there and be bounced than to bounce herself. So she spent the entire time on her back, kicking her legs & squeeling - that's what he said.....lol. I almost erased that last part but left it in for you Nat. She's my dirty minded friend that says that joke a lot. Little'ole innocent me would never think up such things.....hee hee!

The Terrible 22 Months

I've had a rough day and need to vent so here goes. She, and you all know who I'm talking about, is a MONSTER. I feel like all day has been a constant battle with no winner. First thing in the morning I say "good morning baby" and she says "I wanna cookie". I make eggs, she cries for "cereallllllll". I give her milk, she wants "jew". One thing we agree on is swimming, she loves it, would live at the pool if she could, so we go "simming". She never wants to leave so first tantrum of the day almost results in drowning. Bath time is a chore as she likes to wrap her legs around my neck when I lean her back to wash her hair. Then it's time to get dressed, oops I mean a wrestling match. One point goes to Mama, only because I'm physically stronger. She brushes her teeth while I do her hair, which she pulls out about 5 seconds later (see picture). Usually this is when she wants a movie and then demands "MORE, MORE, MORE". Now for lunch....what should I make? Doesn't matter cuz she ain't gonna eat it. Finally it's nap time but wait.....she needs her silky, her baby & her bunny.

{a moment of silence please}

This is when I regain my composure & get ready for round two. The rest of the day goes pretty much like the first half. As if it's all not frustrating enough, I get to show off my great parenting skills to an audience most of time because I'm a freakin' gypsy. AND yes, I'm totally feeling sorry for myself right now but at least I know it.

I don't wanna grow up!

I know it hasn't been that long ago since she actually did these things but it still makes me laugh. Grandma D started this new obsession where they pretend Kendra can't walk or talk. She wraps her up in a blankie while Kendra pretends to cry, then Grandma hushes her with a lullaby. K's fave is when Grandma helps her walk & says things like "big girl & so big". Kendra LOVES it. Daddy hadn't heard of this game but when we got settled in the trailer, Kendra showed him how to play & now he's a pro. He taught her how to say "goo goo, ga ga" & pinches her cheeks and says "coochie coochie coo". Once again, Kendra goes bananas & thinks it's hillarious. What did we ever do without her?

OUR SUMMER SO FAR......picture overload!

*sParKLinG*

- farKeliNg -

...sLeePinG...

{taNtrUm ThrOwiNg}

*cOOkiE eAtiNg*

_4-whEEling_

~ pOtaToe BuG hUntIng ~

'mAc-n-cHeeSe EaTinG'

(dRiViNg)

*mOViNg*