I love the holidays!

Here are some pics from T-Day!

Here's where the turkey started to kick in.


Here is Brent's beautiful sister (well, all 3 of them are beautiful....but this one works magic when it comes to chocolate) who makes AWESOME fudge.And here's the fudge....you see those things in the middle? Rolos! YUM!!!!
Here's my sweet nephew, M. Love that kid! When's it my turn for a kid with hair like that?

Speaking of hair.....here are 2 cute cousins, Tink and V, playing with cousin A's hair.
And by the end of the night, cousin S had Lady wrapped around his finger. He enchanted her somehow and she gave him loves for a LONG time. This is a rare thing for her.

And then when it was time for him to go, this is what happened......"Don't go, S!"

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Can't wait for next year!

Thankful

I told you this post would be a happy one! In light of the holiday (yes, I know it was yesterday, but we didn't turn on the computer the WHOLE day! Amazing, I know. Still not sure how we survived.) I'm going to indulge myself and give an account of 29 things I'm thankful for (since that's my age, that's the # I picked....random, I know).
Here goes:

1. My Savior and a loving Heavenly Father

2. Brent (I don't know how I'd get along without him)

3. My kids....they're what keep me going everyday

4. My parents - don't know how they put up with me for so long, but I'm so glad they did

5. Brent's parents - so glad they are such good parents and raised such a great man

6. Brent's and my siblings - Thank goodness for big families with loads of cousins!

7. The holiday season.....I wish the feeling I get this time of year could be carried through the whole next year

8. Great friends - you know who you are

9. Computers....seriously, what did we ever do before them?

10. Fresh fruit and veggies....to make up for yesterday

11. Clean water....one of my nieces was thankful for this yesterday and I thought it was a great one since there are so many in the world without it

12. The magic of Christmastime in a child's eyes

13. Good cars that run and don't have "technical" issues very often

14. The gospel of Jesus Christ and my testimony of it

15. A kitchen faucet that works (it went out last week and I was amazed at how much I rely on my kitchen sink)

16. A house with room to grow

17. A husband who likes to fix up our house with me (stay tuned for yet another project in the works the beginning of next year)

18. My dad's voice....I love that it still gives me immediate comfort whenever I hear it

19. The knowledge and experience I have gained over the last few years (and am continuing to gain)

20. My dog, Ruby....she's the best, most loving and forgiving dog ever

21. To be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) and to be able to homeschool my kids. What would I do without them for 8 hours everyday?

22. A piano in my home

23. Band-Aids, for when Mommy's kiss isn't *quite* enough

24. Washable markers

25. Music

26. Slobbery baby kisses

27. Date night

28. The temple

29. Good Indian and Thai food

Now I'm off to put up Christmas stuff before Brent gets back from working on Stephanie and Christian's house. He hates that job (putting up Christmas decor), so the girls and I are going to tackle it this morning! (Roo is w/Brent.)

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!!!!

Not to dwell on sadness, but here's another example...

Another poor little girl who wasn't as lucky as Joel. Her neck was broken in this accident. You can read the article here.

The truth is, we don't know if she would've lived had she been rear-facing, but I can tell you her odds would've been a lot higher, especially seeing as how everyone else made it out of the accident alive. Sad.

Next post will have happiness, I promise!

Wanna know why I'm a carseat safety nut?

Here's just one of the MANY reasons....this is the story of a little boy named Joel who was 18 months old and in a car accident while safely strapped into his carseat. The problem? He was facing forward.

Here's Joel before the accident:

Here he is after:This little boy's grandpa has made it his mission to inform people of the dangers of turning babies around once they meet the legal criteria (1 yr and 20 lbs). Their little necks still aren't strong enough to hold back their proportionately "big" heads in the event of an accident. So what happens is this.....internal decapitation. This little boy was lucky and was able to be saved. He's recovering, but will have long-term effects from the accident.
Joel's grandpa tells the story and goes into detail about the dangers of turning babies forward-facing too early. You can read his story here.

And here's a good video someone put together to show the difference in crash dynamics between rear-facing and forward-facing and why it's so important to leave your kids rear-facing for as long as possible.

Here's a link to an AWESOME website put together by a certified carseat technician. The link just shows the part about rear-facing.

And here's her page that shows some "big kids" still rear-facing.

And what would this post be without showing my OWN extended-rear-facing child?

Doesn't she look comfy?

Statistics show that children are 5 times safer riding rear-facing. It's safer for all types of accidents.... frontal, side AND rear impacts.

Now I'll go over a few of the basic rules of correct carseat installation. (Because I know you're all just dying to know if you're using your carseats right ;) Right?)

1. For newborns, they need to be at a 45 degree angle from vertical and once they're bigger and have better head control you can sit them up a bit higher, closer to 30 degrees from vertical, but no less than 30 degrees.

2. The install needs to be TIGHT. No more than an inch movement (front to back or side to side) at the belt path.

3. And the child needs to be buckled up tight too. No slack in the harness (if you can pinch a horizontal line near the shoulder, there's too much slack).

4. The chest clip needs to be at armpit level and no putting bulky clothing or coats on children in carseats. Remove the coat and put it on over the top of them once they're buckled in the carseat.

5. Also, no use of after-market products like those big, fluffy sheepskin things that go under the baby in the carseat, and no adding harness covers for near their necks. If it didn't come with the seat, don't use it.

6. Oh, one more thing that seems to be a common mistake these days. DON'T use both the LATCH system and a seatbelt to install it. Use one or the other, but never both at the same time. (LATCH is not the same thing as the tether anchor....that goes over the back of the seat when they are forward-facing. LATCH is what you can use instead of a seatbelt if your car has the anchors down in the seat bight (the place where the back of the vehicle seat meets the seat itself...where your bum would go.))

7. Also read your carseat manual and your car's owner manual to make sure you understand them clearly. And to find a tech in your area and have your carseats checked, you can go to this website.

Keep watching for info on extended harnessing and proper booster use.

Just to show I'm not the only babywearer out there.....

Motrin ran a commercial that was pretty much anti-babywearing. In fact it was quite offensive (to the babywearing community anyway). You can view the video here. Needless to say, there was a huge uproar over the commercial and Motrin (or Johnson and Johnson, the parent company) felt the wrath of babywearing mothers everywhere. I just have to add my 2 cents, (because this is my blog and I can). :)

First of all, if you're babywearing because it's "in style," you totally missed the boat. Second of all, if it hurts, you're doing it wrong. And you should stop and find somebody who can help you. Third, there may be a small percentage of women with neck and back problems who should maybe choose NOT to wear their children, but most of them probably aren't using Motrin (or anything over-the-counter) for their pain anyway. And the majority of women I've talked to who have back/neck issues tell me that babywearing is what helps them because they're not straining themselves by carrying their baby on their hip all the time anymore.

So just for fun and to help me (and my fellow babywearers) feel vindicated, go here to read Motrin's response to the onslaught of calls and emails from us "crazy, style-driven, will-do-anything-to-look-fashionable-mothers." Note the sarcasm. (I actually didn't even get a chance to email them before they'd put up that notice....there were quicker mamas than me out there.)

Ok, I know we're tall, but will these kids EVER slow down?

Roo wanted to measure himself this morning even thought we'd done it less than 3 months ago. So we went ahead and measured all the kids to see if there was any difference in 3 months. Holy cow! Brent had to measure Roo 3 times just to make sure we had it right.

Here are their stats:

AJ at 7 1/2 grew 1 inch and is now 53"

Roo (who will be 6 in January) grew 1 1/4" and is now 50"

Tink who is almost 3 1/2 grew 3/4" and is now 40"

And we didn't measure Lady 3 months ago, but we got the best measurement we could today (she wasn't super cooperative) and she was around 31 1/4"

I keep waiting for them to slow down, but it's just not happening. I think this might mean that AJ has finally outgrown her 5 pt harness carseat by height (meaning her shoulders are above the top slots. She's in a Britax Husky/now called the Regent). I'll have to check next time she gets in the car. But I feel pretty good about making it 7 1/2 years without having to use a booster. If she's outgrown it, she'll now move into the Britax Parkway booster she uses in Brent's car and Roo will move into the Husky.

Eveybody's always told me that kids grow up fast, but I didn't think it would be THIS fast!

Speaking of Transformations.....

Brent inspired the girls. AJ and Tink both decided it was time for a change for them too. They wanted to trade places in the hair department. So Saturday night we straightened Tink's hair and put AJ's all up in pink curlers. Here are the results:

Everybody at church made comments about AJ's fun, curly hair and had to touch it. And they all said how they had no idea Tink's hair was that long. AJ's curls lasted quite a long time. They didn't really relax much at all until after church. But Tink's curls came back every time she went to sleep. So I had to re-straighten her hair Sunday morning, and then I just left the curls after her nap that day. Her hair really likes being curly. :)

Transformation!

Brent decides to go through a bit of a transformation now and again. He woke up this morning ready for a change.

Here's the before pic:

A couple of "during" shots:

And the incredibly handsome "after":

The last time Brent decided to do this was back in 2006 when Tink was just over a year old. (About the same age as Lady now.) Here was her reaction then:

Here was her reaction today:

It took her a LONG time to get used to it when she was a baby and today was surprisingly not much different. We didn't expect such a strong reaction, but she really didn't want Brent to hold her for a while. She was a bit cautious with him at first. But once he started tickling her, she came around and realized he was the same, old Daddy.

Lady woke up right after his shower, so we got to see her reaction too. She didn't react with as much apprehension as her older sister did at her age. She was definitely unsure, but it didn't take her very long to warm up. Here she is sitting on the bed as Brent comes out of the bathroom:

And here she is trying to figure all this out:

And this was the reaction that I thought was sooooo sweet. Usually when Brent kisses her neck, she does NOT react with a smile. She doesn't like his "scratchiness." And today she got to feel what it is like without the extra hair. I think she liked it!

AJ and Roo didn't react at all. They're pretty used to this. :)

Now I get to find a babysitter for tomorrow so that Brent and I can go back in time and pretend like we're in highschool again. He looks so young without his facial hair that I almost feel like I'm robbing the cradle. I have to remind myself that he's 3 years OLDER than me. I LOVE him with facial hair....there's something so sexy and masculine about it, but I also like to see the face I fell in love with every once in a while. So I'm glad he goes through spurts of "needing a change."

Oh, and one of the fringe benefits of Brent shaving is that when I kiss him it almost feels like I'm cheating on him with another man. But without the guilt and sinning that would be involved in such a thing. :) (ps.....I'd NEVER want to cheat on Brent.....why would I? You've seen him!)

Fun in the Snow

I didn't let the kids go outside yesterday to play in the snow and I kind of felt like a bad mom because of it. So I told them they could go out today after lunch. Immediately after lunch they were putting on their shoes to head out.

The coats didn't last very long at all. Not a big surprise. Notice Tink's outfit. I've learned I have to be very careful which battles to pick with her. And picking a battle over clothing has never turned out well. So I don't say anything anymore. I did mention that she might be cold in her skirt, so the capris were her compromise, I guess.

Halloween

I know I'm past-due for a Halloween post, but I was lazy and didn't get the pics uploaded until today. So here's what our Halloween looked like.

Lady HATED her costume. She was trying so hard to pull it off. But I made her suffer through it anyway. (Mean mom!) Once she was in the stroller, she was fine.

The hat lasted all of 20 seconds and then it went into the stroller basket. It was cute while it lasted, though! :)

Don't they look enthusiastic here? I have no idea what the lack of smiles is about, but we really did have fun trick-or-treating.

The stash!!!

These are some bloody fingers our friends made for us. Brent wouldn't even try one and got a little disgusted when I did. He thought they looked too real.

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!