Super Deals

My friend Jenny and I were suppose to go to a class on coupons and saving money a couple of weeks ago but I was unable to go. Jenny went and she had learned a lot. I was very excited to get started and with Jenny's help Mike and I took on the challenge. We purchased 260 dollars worth of groceries for 129 dollars! It was our first time and we call it our "trial run" but for the most part it was fun. We went to a lot of websites and printed a lot of coupons. We have a lot to learn and look forward to continuing the savings. So thanks Jenny!

Following In Conner's Footsteps

Now that Gray is sleeping in his "Big Boy Bed" we have found him asleep on the couch downstairs a few times. I can't believe he is quiet enough to do this without us knowing. So I guess we have another Conner on our hands! As long as we don't find him outside that is something I would not like too much. Hopefully our extra locks will take care of that.

School Days

Now that Jackson and Conner have started school I have had some time with just Gray. It has been nice he is much easier when he is on his own. Conner and Grayson do not get along for the most part. Conner loves to bug Gray all day long it never stops. I guess he is lost without Jack and feels so inclined to torment Gray so that is something we have really been struggling with. The other day Gray and I were upstairs I was doing something on my computer. Gray was with me and the next minute he wasn't. I found him down stairs in Mikes office he had poured almost a entire bottle of glue on some paper. He was so proud of himself that is why I had to take a picture of his work.

Soccer

Jackson and Conner started soccer last week. It has made the weeks very busy they have games two days a week. Sometimes one right after each other and some at the same time. Good thing Mike is the coach for Conner's team. It has been fun watching Conner enjoy it so much. He is so happy to be playing and I am glad we have the opportunity to have them play. Grayson and Max also enjoy going to the games.

Conner's First Day Of Kindergarten

Conner was not very excited about Kindergarten starting. All summer if I asked him about it he would say " Kindergarten is boring". So I was a little nervous how he would be. The night before Mike gave him a blessing and he really liked that. He told me what he wanted for breakfast which was quite the breakfast it consisted of blueberry muffins, bacon, eggs, a banana, strawberries and juice. He ate everything but the muffins. We went to school and you could tell he was excited he was ready for me to drop him off before we got to his door. I walked him into class and his teacher greeted him. They found his cubby he put his backpack in. I helped him find his name tag on his table and he started coloring. I told him he should put his name on his paper and that is when he told me I could go. He said "you can leave now." I said what and he said, "you can go now" again so I took one more picture and left. What he said was bitter sweet. I was happy he was OK with being at school but was a little sad he was so anxious for me to leave. He had a great time at school and told me all about it when I picked him up. He had ice cream, which he loved, and played with a lot of new friends. Later I asked him why he wanted me to leave and he told me he wanted to do his name on his own!

Jackson's First Day Of First Grade!

Jackson Loved his first day of school! Like I had said before he was nervous about what was going to happen in first grade but once he finished his first day he couldn't wait to go back. The thing I was worried about the most was his lunch. He had no problems with that he couldn't open his chips or his cupcake but other then that he did great he just had a teacher open it for him. All day I asked him who he ate with and he avoided the question then finally he told me he sat next to a girl from a different class and "she was cute and she had cute clothes and she told me she liked my spiky hair and collard shirt" he thought that was pretty cool. He got really embarrassed when I would tell people that story so I told him I wouldn't anymore. Who would of thought this would happen in first grade. He loves his teacher and couldn't wait to go back the next day. He woke up this morning at 6:50am and was dressed and ready to go! He does not start school until 8:45am so he had a long time to wait and asked me every 5 min if it was time to go yet. So needless to say my anxiety is much better now knowing he is happy. Yesterday was hard for me and we missed him like crazy. Conner kept asking me when we were going to go get him. I would ask him if he missed him and he would say no. At dinner he had to scoot his chair right next to Jack so he could be as close as he could be to him. So I think it is safe to say he really missed his buddy Jack. Now that Jackson has had such a good experience Conner can't wait to start school!

Thanksgiving Point

We went to Thanksgiving Point the day before Jackson started school. We haven't been there since we moved away from that area, we had a lot of fun and it was like the kids experienced it for the first time all over again. We went to the children's garden and the Dinosaur Museum. Max was very excited about the water and dove right in. The older boy's really enjoyed everything I am glad we had the opportunity to do that before Jackson's first day of school. On the way up to Thanksgiving Point I asked Jackson about school and if he was excited? he got very quiet and I looked back at him and he was teary eyed. I asked him if he was ok and he said "I am just trying to rap my head around how it is going to be tomorrow I don't know how it is going to be" I couldn't believe he said that sometimes I think he is 6 going on 30!

Where Does The Time Go?

I am having major anxiety! Jackson is starting first grade tomorrow and whenever I think about it I panic. I remember when he was born like it was yesterday and I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. I have a hard time thinking he will be eating lunch on his own. Jackson eats very slow and I worry he won't finish his food on time and he will come home starving. I know some of you may think I am crazy but, just wait until you have your first baby go to school all day. I have kept a short leash on all of my kids. You will not see my kids running around the neighborhood on there own I am not sure when that will happen. I guess it is time to let go and let my sweet J-Baby grow up but it will be and is very hard. I know he will be ok and so will I it will just take some time. He told me the other day that he really wasn't that excited to start 1st grade. He wasn't excited about Kindergarten either but, he ended up loving it.

Max is Walking!

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Max started taking his first steps on his own last Tuesday he would just be sitting down and he would stand up and just start walking! We all would clap for him and he loved the attention. On Saturday is when he really took off he walks all the time now. Max went from starting to crawl and walk around furniture at age 11months to walking on his own @ 13months crazy! I can't believe I was ever worried.

Chuckie Cheese

Call me crazy, I decided to take all the kids to Chuckie Cheese on Friday by myself. It was a lot of fun. The kids behaved very well and a good time was had by all. We used to go all the time and have not been since Max was born. This was Max's first time there and he loved the pizza and the rides. This has opened up many doors for me in the future and has aloud me to believe I can continue to do these type of activities on my own.

How Do You Eat Your Corn On The Cob?

We love fresh Utah Corn I really don't think there is anything better. A topic that was brought up in our house growing up was do you eat it around or like a type writer back and forth? We would talk about this all the time while eating it. Conner and Grayson love it and can't get enough they eat it right off the cob, Mike eats it like a old man and cuts it off the cob. Anyway you eat it we love it and will continue to eat it for as long as we can!

Little Lost Grayson

I had the privilege of taking my four boys to a soccer clinic. The two older ones, Jackson and Conner, were involved in the clinic. The little ones, Grayson and Max, were just there so that I could watch them and help Britt go visiting teaching. I was letting Grayson play on the playground and would check to make sure he was there every couple of minutes. Grayson was up a staircase, down a slide, across a bridge, etc. I spent the time between checking on Grayson to play with Max who was sitting on the stroller drinking from his sippy cup and holding a soccer ball, throwing and just generally smiling and giggling while daddy kicked it in front of him.

A few minutes after the last time I saw Gray, I started looking for him again. There were several other little towheads (I have used this word before, but wanted a defination. Here is one for everyone else. In colonial times, families grew their own flax to make into fabric for clothing. Transforming the flax into thread was a complicated, involved process with many time-consuming steps. After the flax was harvested, it was soaked in water for several days to soften it so the inner fibers could be removed from the stalk. To separate the long, thin fibers from the shorter, coarser ones, the flax was pulled through a bed of nails or combed in a process called "towing." The shorter fibers that were extricated were of a lesser quality and were called "tow." This led to the term "towheads" to describe people, particularly children, whose hair resembled these strands.) with blue shirts on so I had to look at shoes and shorts to decide if it was him or not. After a couple of minutes of not seeing him I started to worry that someone had taken one of the three little boys that looked the same, which was mine. I was calling out his name, other moms were helping me look and I was beginning to get a little worried.

I start looking further out just in case he decided the playground wasn't that fun anymore. Looked in the parking lot, by the bathrooms and finally see a tiny little blond boy with blue on on the far end of the field by another parking lot about 150 yards away. I leave Max right by the playground in his stroller and start to run to the little boy calling out, "Grayson, Grayson." He starts to sprint to me and seems a little upset. I let him close the gap to not get to far away from Max. I finally get the little rascal in my arms and give him a big hug. I ask him if he was scared and he says, "Scared." I ask him if he is ever going to wander off again and he says "yeah." I then rephrase for my little mischief maker, "Are you ever going to get lost again?" "NO, NO, scared."

Needless to say I wonder how I am going to keep tabs on 5 little active munchkins as the grow up????

The Crazy Things Kids Say and Do!

The other day I went to the doctor for the baby and realized I didn't have much time left before the baby came, so we decided to make a trip to Target to get some things we needed. I wanted to get a new pack n play, and a few other things. Me and the boys were all on our own so I relied on Jackson and Conner's help. I had the pack n play in the cart along with a few other things a bar stool so I could cut the boys hair better and I also decided to buy a office chair for my new desk I bought a few weeks ago. I had Jackson pushing the cart with the office chair and I pushed the other. Later that day I was on the phone with Mike telling him that I didn't think I wanted that chair and Jackson says " well I wish that I would have known that and I wouldn't have pushed it around the store I would just as well have left it there" he listens to his Dad way too much and that is such a Mike comment. Jackson is getting so big it scares me. He will be starting 1st grade soon and I am having major anxiety about it. I have never been away from him for that long day after day he will be eating lunch with out us each day. I know he is ready for it, now I just need to be. As soon as we get to church each Sunday Grayson says class I want to go to class. Then as soon as the first prayer is said in Sacrament he says Amen really loud and follows it with Done class now. I know there is so many other things that I have had on my mind but, nothing is coming to me so I guess I need to write it down for next time.

Grandma Lassen

Today is our Grandma's Birthday, I have been thinking about her a lot lately. I wish that I could have gotten this written a little earlier, but I really felt like I needed to do it regardless of the time. She is an amazing person and I know she is doing great things where she is at now. We miss her a lot and in our own selfish ways wish she was here with us. I will never have enough to say about her. She is one of the most amazing people I will ever meet, We are extremely thankful that we had her as a Grandma, she was not only a Grandma to me but also to my kids. She was just a great person all in all and you could always count on her. Family was extremely important to her and she held our family together. I am so grateful for her love and support and miss her each and every day of my life. She is missed by all and I wish that today I could have made her a birthday cake like I have in the past. She will always be in my heart. When the time comes for me to have our last baby I will miss her more then anything she has always been there and has loved all of our babies. We love you Grandma and think of you often. Happy Birthday.

Swim Lessons

Jackson and Conner started swim lessons on Monday, and they love it. At first Conner was a little nervous but once he started there was no stopping him. They look forward to it each day and talk about it through out the rest of each day. Jackson is a little fish, always has been. Just recently he has been swimming under water and loves it. Conner has gotten more comfortable each day and I noticed today he put his head under water more than anytime before. He learned something new today, it is called the Superman glide, I think. He really thought that was great. I am glad we have finally put them in lessons. They really love it!

24th Of July Festivities

We had a quiet, yet fun, 24th of July. We were able to go to a local carnival which was very busy, but fun. The kids were able to ride some rides and the atmosphere was fun. We missed the parade, but we went over to our friend's house, the Duncan 's, for some ice cream and fireworks. This was the first time Grayson stayed up to watch the fireworks and of course he enjoyed it. We didn't have a BBQ but I was pretty sick and was lucky to do what we did. It was fun and we will look forward to the fun next year.

A Max Update

Max has been getting better, but I have to say it got worse before it got better. When we got home from the hospital on Sunday he stopped eating he wouldn't even take a bottle we tried our best to keep him hydrated and the doctor said that was the best thing to do. His rash was better but, at night it was awful for a few nights he would wake up screaming and there was nothing we could do he wouldn't even let us touch him hold him nothing! All I wanted to do is cry myself we knew he was getting teeth but, something told me that wasn't it. We had a follow up appointment on Wednesday and that is when we found out he had lesions down his throat which we knew could happen but were hoping it wouldn't but, at least we knew why he wasn't eating or sleeping he had also become horse. The Doctor told us to give him lots of cold things so after that I took him to Jamba Juice and he had a taste of his first Jamba and loved it! He has since improved and his appetite is back and his rash is continuing to get better. We love our Max and this has been one of the hardest things I have had to experience being a Mom. We have also since found out that my brother is allergic to Penicillin as well as my aunt and grandpa so we will no longer give him anything in the Penicillin family.

I Love My Boys!

As a lot of Mom's know there are those days that you are just happy to be a Mom. Today was one of those days for me it started off a little hard I was feeling really sick but it ended up great! Grayson has made it 2 days now with no accidents! Conner is writing his name better then ever, Jackson did a homework sheet with addition and subtraction almost all on his own. And Max is getting much better his rash is all but gone and he is more mobile then ever he has been crawling up and down the stairs. Grayson has also been sleeping in his BIG BOY bed and when he wakes up in the morning he brings me the clothes he wants to wear that day and they always match! He is growing up so fast well they all are and it is amazing to watch. So really nothing too significant but a good day of having the opportunity watching my boys change and grow.

Our Poor Little Max

On Friday morning Max started getting some bumps on his arms they didn't look very good but I didn't think much of it, we were on our way to the ENT to get his ears checked because his left ear tube was blocked so I figured I could ask her then. When we got to the doctor I had to change his diaper and noticed it had spread all over his body and it just didn't look good, So I asked the doctor and she seemed to think it was from the Augmentin he just got done taking. As the day went on I was still a little nervous and decided to go see a Pediatrcian he said the same thing and told me not to worry about it. So we went home and tried to make him comfortable with Benadryl and a oatmeal bath. He slept ok that night and was fine Saturday morning he went down for a nap and woke up looking worse then ever his eyes were puffed up and just overall was misserable. I called the doctors office after I started realizing he wasn't moving and everytime we touched him he would scream. I took him in on Saturday @ 7p.m. and the Doctor took one look at him and said I don't think this is a allergic reaction and went and got a book of pictures of what he thought it was he called it Erythema multiforme. This is a reaction to a medicine or a virus and it is the way the body responds to it. We don't know what it was from it could be the Augmentin or his one year shots that he got just on July 8th or a virus he was exposed to. The Doctor went on and told me that he needed to be admitted and that kids have died from this. So I took him to Timpanogos Hospital immediatly. They started a IV that was awful to be a part of thankfully my aunt Terry was there with me. They ran some tests and gave him IV fluids he started to feel better once Mike got there (he is a big time daddy's boy) We stayed there overnight which Max hated and did not sleep very well at all. The next morning the doctor came and thought he looked a lot better so we were able to go home. We will never know what caused it but, I know I will never give him anything with penicillin in it again. The doctor told us this was very rare and only 1% of kids under the age of one get this. It can happen again which we hope it won't. We are very happy he is getting better and we appreciate the help we got from family and friends. Sorry if this is not written properly I am not much in the mood to re read it and check it I would like to put this past us. It has been really hard and hope we will not have anymore problems you never want your kids to be sick and watch them go thru anykind of pain. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Vasectomy

So I have been wanting to post this for a long time and just have not gotten to it. Mike had this procedure done the end of June and I couldn't have been more happy. This means we are done having kids and if all goes well I will never be pregnant again. I am looking forward to raising the wonderful boys we have now and moving on to the next step of our lives. So just a little info on this procedure I thought I would explain what it involved. All you need is a husband willing to get it done a doctor, a jockstrap, one Valium, And a frozen bag of peas waiting for him when he gets home. Mike wasn't too bad about it, but I have to say I wasn't to sympathetic after haveing as many kids I have this is the least he could do. Some of you may think we are crazy for posting this but this was a huge decision for us as a couple and we are happy it is done.

Max's First Birthday

We have been able to celebrate Max's birthday 2 times already. We will celebrate with just the family tomorrow on his actual birthday. We decided to go with the Star theme and have had a lot of fun with that we had a star pinata and star cakes and star cookies on a stick. Max has had 2 of his own cakes to dive into. He started opening his presents before we were ready for him too. I think over all he has had a great time. We decorated the house for him on Saturday night for his party on Sunday and have left them up, he loves to look at them and play with them. Max is such a sweet little boy, I get sad thinking about how fast he has grown. I would love it if he could stay a baby forever. He has to put up with a lot having to put up with 3 brothers bugging him all the time. We love Max and look forward to seeing him grow in the next year. Happy Birthday Maxi we love you!