Before and After Home Improvement

The front door: the plain jane construction door, and apparently I didn't take any "afters" with the tape off the door, lol. I'll have to do that later!


Before: plain jane, white, same as when we bought the joint look.


During: my message to Tyler, his message back (he added the 2) :)



After: the exact color I saw in my head, the cabinets just "pop" P.S. don't make fun of my messy fridge, I was on a "free from kids time line" I will clean it now that the kids are back.



So what do you think? not bad for a couple of days without kids huh?... but thats not all, we have a few other projects that got started but are not quite finished cause I was missing my kids too badly... but before and afters will be up soon!

My dream home..

So all this home improvement has me dreaming of my dream house... I think it is so fun to go look through floor plans! ( this is a list of things I would change about the house we are in now, as well as those things that "would be nice" as well as a few "if I won the lottery" things)

• A Flat lot

• A lot big enough for a garden and a few fruit trees with room leftover for the kids to run and play as well as the dogs!

• I like a one level house with a basement over a house with two stories.

• On the ground floor there must be a bedroom with a bathroom or two bedrooms with a bathroom, ( I don't know why but I always picture one of our parents coming to live with us when they get old... my parents deny this will ever happen, and I have never asked Tyler's parents about it.)

• I like having the idea of all the bedrooms on one floor and the rest of the stuff on another (other than the whole grandparent suite thing)

• You can not see my kitchen or my family room from the front door (deal breaker)

• I would like to have a guest room. ( that isn't the storage, catch everything else room)

• I like the kitchen, breakfast nook, family room combo, just wish they weren't all the same room divided only by flooring.

• In my mind a formal dining room (only used for Thanksgiving and Christmas)is a waste of space...

• Give me lots of windows.. I love natural light! I love covered porches!
  

• I want a beautiful bulb garden in the front yard!
  

So that is some of my wishes... what are yours?

My Style...

So we have lots of projects lined up for this summer and we have been doing a few home improvement things around the house, I have been looking threw some great DIY blogs... I love them... I get lost in them and at times the kids have to come get me..lol. The funny part is, I have no style... My husband hangs everything in our house, has every move we have ever made.. and he has great taste.. so that works for us! But as I do more and more projects I find things that I don't like, and things that I just love! Here they are:

• I like solids or wide stripes, very few patterns ever catch my eye... way to busy!

• I like textures, I like fabric to have textures...(think my headboard fabric)

• I do not like flowery fabric!

• I like stone, but it is way out of my price range..:)

• I like silver over gold.

• I like light colored wood over dark.

• I don't think you can go wrong with a new coat of paint! (unless you are painting over light wood..bad!)

• I think bedrooms should have a darker more subdued flavor, while kitchens, bathrooms and family rooms should all have a brighter feel. (how to get this to flow.. I have no idea)

• Windows are made to be opened

• The simpler a window covering the better.

• If you have a big wall, you should have a big picture, or a bunch of little ones, but never both.

• I don't want clutter, crafts and pictures of people or things that I have never seen in real life are not decorations, they are clutter. The only pictures in my house are of my family, temples or of religious significance for me.

• I believe that your decorations should reflect the things you love.

• My one exception: Decorations can be useful... i.e. I use the "decorative" trivets that hang on my wall.

• I like glass shelves, and am perfectly fine with only a few things on each shelf. no need to over do it!

• Trim should be a different color that your wall.

• I love crown molding, have never had any, but it sure makes a room look rich!

• Lighting fixtures bore me. Haven't found one that makes me want to Do it myself yet.

• A large mirror can change a room.

• An objects use usually trumps "but it looks cute!"

• I love the look of bead board and board and batten. Think it is a cheap way to dress up a room!

• I don't buy things "aged" or "antiqued" ... I will add my own dings thank you!
  

So thats a taste of my style, whats yours?

The matching footboard

We made the matching foot board last night! Never realized that there was a need for one, but I LOVE IT!

pictures?

Remember my boys pics last September? the photographer who took those great pics here and here is having a giveaway!
check it out here!

Wanna see something cool?

at least to me!....

this is 4 of the 5 boxes we put in... the 5th is under the tarp in the back and we put one around the apple tree... so excited... I think I am gonna go put my "cold season" plants in! yeah! the wire thing you see leaning against the fence are where are am going to be growing my trellis plants up! I have 4 of them! wahoo!

now we need to put the watering system together! (Tyler is sooo excited... ok not really, but I am!)

Pure Joy...

Unloading of Pictures

AWWW... yep they sleep like this most nights!

Kevin just ended his first season of soccer... he is the one in the white jersey with the red hoody, he did great! The first practice was spent mostly lying on the ground but he got more and more into it after that. We got the "they aren't sharing" comment and the "I need a break" but over all he did much better by the end of the 4 week season. It was a lot of fun to watch him with is team.


Grandma and the boys being cute!

Kevin rockin his soccer gear with his boxer briefs!
And drum roll please......


I finally uploaded a pic of the paint job in the master bedroom.. three stripes on the South wall...and!

I have finished the headboard that has been two years in the making... literally, got the fabric two Christmas' ago, and the board and batting this Christmas... I don't know about you, but I LOVE IT! ( now Tyler is telling me to go order more to make a foot board...lol.)P.S. it will be a little taller than that, it isn't mounted yet.

Other than that we have been working hard in the yard. We built the garden boxes and got the dirt and even put one of the boxes in, now we just need to get to the rest of them. do the fence post for the raspberries and tomatoes, pick weeds, I could go on and on.. but really we love having the nicer weather and being outside ( the boys love it too) Tyler went on a camp out and had Scout-o-rama this weekend so we only got a half a days work in yesterday but we got everything mowed and edged... the yard is starting to look a lot better! Spring really is my favorite time of year!

Its never to early to force higher education on your children...

So the boys were splashing in the tub last night and I asked them to stop, more water came out... so what did I do? it went something like this...

Mom: "you guys need to stop splashing the water of out of the tub"
Kevin: "why"
Mom: "because you guys are gonna ruin our bathroom floor with all the water and then there isn't gonna be anymore money to send you to college"
pause..
Kevin: "but I want to go to college"
Mom: "then keep the water in the tub"
a couple of seconds pass as he thinks...and i chuckle to myself
Kevin: "hey mom, whats college?"
Mom: chuckling "college is where smart people go and get smarter, its called higher education"
Kevin: "Oh, I thought you said that me and you and dad were going to go to college to get brushed?"
Mom: "nope honey, you get brushed at the dentist, this is college"...

p.s. the dentist conversation is pretty funny too!

Later Tyler asked me how college came up in the first place... when i told him it was because i was trying to get the boys to stop splashing in the tub, he laughed, said "nice" and realized, i will do anything to push higher education on my boys....lol.

You have to start early! HAHA!

Where else do youth think i could slip in college...
"you better finish you food, or you won't grow up big and strong or go to college"
"you better clean your room, or your college roomate with think your a wierdo"

Easter weekend

So we had a blast traveling down for Easter/ conference/ baby blessing weekend to Utah. All fo Tylers siblings (6, plus spouses) plus grandkids (25 top be exact) had a grand ol time! Baby blessing of baby Hunter, family pics, and and easter egg hunt like I have never seen before! (egg hunts with only two children in your family are way different!) it was so much fun! the kids loved it! got some great pictures and enjoyed lots of family time! the boys were so beat this morning I let them sleep in a miss preschool and speech.. I know I will regret it later, but I figured they needed their sleep! Plus Uncle Ken was there! so the kids got to see ALL of their aunts and uncles! It was crazy fast (we even had to cut out early before the birthday party!) but well worth the drive! I'll have to get picture from Ty later... so cute!

Proof that it is all in how you look at it...

So I ran to Target on Monday with Cameron while Kevin was at preschool. As many of you know Target has these very large red balls sitting in front of their store, well, as we were walking out of the store my two year old being the boy that he is ran up and kicked one... he was very surprised to see that it didn't move... the funny part was there were two older ladies walking into the strore, the second he kicked it, one chuckled, knowing exactly why my two year old "100% boy" would have kicked a giant ball.... The other lady scowled at him like he was a delinquent who didn't have respect for anything...lol. I quickly explained that those balls aren't to play with... that they were way to heavy to kick, then both ladies started laughing...

When we pulled up in front of Target this morning, Cameron in that back seat reminded me that those balls are to heavy to kick! :)

Randomness

• We bought a partner tree for our Apple tree and will be planting it on the other side of the yard, it is a dwarf granny smith (Tyler's favorite)
• The tomatoes and peppers are growing nicely on the counter
• We just threw out our 2nd large dumpster load of gardens stuff away (weeds, old corn stalks) and only have a 1/3 of the garden left.
• We are buying some hog fencing for a fence for the garden this year (way excited!)
• We are growing, watermelons, honeydews, cantaloupe and cucumbers up trellis' this year (thank you Brett!)
  
• We are excited to put in a watering system (PVC, I have been told is very easy, way excited, although I am sure the neighbors will be the excited ones when they don't have to water when we go on vacation...lol)
• We are in the 60's today, and they boys are covered in dirt...love it!
• We enjoyed a trip back to Washington with Uncle Ken to see Grandma and Grandpa over spring break.
• Grandma took me out, got my hair cut and colored and got me and manicure and a pedicure the day before HER birthday... how that worked out I don't know.
  
• Me, Ken and Tyler went back to High school. Saw one of my and Ken's favorite teachers, saw what they are doing to the school and what they have already done... holy cow! Change!
• Drove past the new High school in town, still is weird to have more than one high school.
• Enjoyed some time on the Dingy, Dad got a new motor for his boat, so we all went out and enjoyed a couple of minutes on the Columbia... the boys loved it! They were sure they were Whale hunting.
  
• Tried to watch Avatar in 3d.. got sick, had to walk out. (since Chemo, I have major motion sickness issues)
• Cameron is now pointing out letters when he sees them, he knows about half his letters
• Kevin now draws his letters with no help and is starting to spell out words he sees.
  
• Cameron can count to 10, Kevin counts to 20
• I am finally getting back into a routine with the house, keeping it cleaner, keeping up instead of having to catch up, making life at home much more pleasant.
• The boys are growing up to fast and surprise me more and more everyday.. they are best friends and tag team Mom every so often.
  
• We attempted potty training with Cameron, and he goes on the potty when he wants to, he is in a stubborn stage and wants to do it his way... surprise surprise.
• Tyler is loving teaching Technology, got a night school digital media class to go and is enjoying it.
• Tyler is also applying for the PhD program at ISU to start next fall. We are excited to finish what we started.
  

Oh my, oh my...

So I sat down tonight to work on a sewing project, three hours, three bobbins and a really funny looking towel later, I finished the first of 4 projects... ( every time I break out my sewing machine I am reminded just how novice I am) I am making hooded towels to auction off at the Wardle reunion this year, for one, my kids have almost grown out of theres, and two they great for the beach and after swim lessons for keeping the kids warm, plus they pull over the head so the kids can still use their hands to eat and play and all that jazz...The next few will be made smaller and hopefully will go a little faster without so many issues....

Here are my models, Cameron, Kevin and Tyler, I made them for older kids so it looks a little big for Cameron and Kevin but I obviously didn't make it for Tyler, he was just so darn cute I had to post it!

Plus here is a picture of Kevin's eye when he had all his issues, just ignore the butter smeared across his face (he was eating toast)

Middle Management at the Wardle house...

So apparently my 4 year old thinks he is charge of "baby". Everytime I ask him to do something, he turns around and "delegates" that job to Cameron. What? I asked you to do it... I know.. I don't want to.. lol. Well thanks for trying but please go do that for me... He tells Cameron non-stop, me and mommy and daddy are in charge of you. I was listening to the boys conversation the other day.

Crash (Cameron hitting Kevin with a toy)

Kevin screams "Baby we don't hit"

Cameron yells back "you don't take my toy!"

Kevin screams back, Cameron screams back.... getting no where... I almost intervine here, except I hear Kevin take a deep breath and say (calmly now)

"Cameron come here and sit on the couch, I need to know why you hit me.." ( pause)

Cameron says something about brother stealing car

Kevin says "why did you hit me? we don't hit baby, it hurts, do you want to hurt me? do you like it when I hit you?"

Cameron continues on in his 2 year old mind not paying attention to the logic...

Kevin finally gives up getting a real answer.. after like 5 minutes of asking...

But they did start playing together nicely, and Cameron stopped hitting and Kevin didn't steal that car any more...(at least for a little while)

Have you ever had anyone turn a mirror in your face and not like what was shown you? Apparently my first reaction is to yell and then sit Kevin down and ask him why and explain why that wasn't such a good decision.... lol. ( I am working on not yelling so much) He truly believes he is middle management....

Another Random note...

The other day... this was a conversation between me and Kevin...

Kevin just asked me "why are you eyes looking squished like a mean guy?" (side note, he now has fears of the dark and "mean guys")

I answer back "oh I am just getting tired honey, it's almost bed time"

he answers back "ok, mommy, just take deep breath, mommy, don't get frustrated...." HAHA!

the take a deep breath thing was something I was trying out when he was in the hospital, so that he wouldn't be so hysterical...he so used it on me! Rude!

So yes this 4 year old stage is a blast. He is writing and coloring and working on his school work like crazy, he actually asks for it.. and he has had the sounds down to letters for a while but now he is able to say the sound and figure out what the word starts with and sound out words (not enough to read just to get a few things here and there) I am having a problem with numbers, he can count to 20 but he doesn't really do a one to one thing, he just counts to count, so there may be 9 things there but he counts to ten just to finish to 10... annoying. I think i need to find some dino counting things because I believe that is what has helped him so much with his letters, he colors and shapes are not an issue at all, so really we are just working on numbers and rhyming.

We are enjoying not having any infants around, we can all go for family bike rides, and my panic attacks are much smaller now when I have to take the boys in public. It is just a fun phase. I think this year I might even be able to get the kids help in the garden, we are all very excited for warmer weather and I am planning my garden. Today we moved around the family room, so there is a lot more room for the boys to run and the TV is less central... (seems the tv gets watched a lot more in the winter than the summer) We brought the boys basketball hoop back out and they are enjoying the new soccer ball... of course my boys never sit still. So we are working on honing our skills.

Anyways, this has turned into a very long random post so, thanks for listening to my ramblings (that is if you made it this far) lol

Have I mentioned how excited I am...?

We signed Kevin up for spring Soccer! Chances are I will regret it because it will be so cold that we will all be miserable, but I still can't wait to see how he does. Its only 4 weeks long on Saturdays only, but really for his first thing we have signed him up for (other than swim lessons) I can't wait to see if he is one of the kids that is pushing kids out of the way to get to the ball or if he just stands there playing with his socks.... I am guessing he will be one of the more aggressive players ( who knows maybe he'll stand there roaring like a dinosaur)... have you ever watched a 4 year old soccer game?.. hilarious! The only rule they really enforce is don't use your hands! Anyways, We don't know if he is old enough to play t-ball this summer, or if his birthday is too late, either way I want to see how he does with soccer before we put him in something like t-ball. I can't wait!

Kevin's Eye

So last Friday Kevin woke up from nap time with his eye swollen, just about half shut, we put some compresses on it, and watched it but it didn't get any worse so, we sent him to bed... he woke up Saturday morning screaming, he couldn't open his right eye! SO we went into emergency mode, after showing him to our freind Jeromy, a PA off the the ER Tyler and Kevin went. They came back with benadryl and orders for cold compresses. We went through everything trying to figure out what he was allergic too, looked for bugs in his bed, washed everything we possibly could, blankets, pillows, toys, you name it we washed it. Come Saturday night his eye looked the same, so we called the ER and they called in a antibiodic, hoping that would help. Come Monday morning, he could open it but it was larger and moving down his face... so I took him in this doctor and she said that the risk was to high and that he needed to be put onto IV antibiodics and would be staying overnight. CRAP! Tyler was supposed to go to Boise that night for a conference! Me and two kids in the hospital overnight! Yikes! Thank goodness Tyler called and got out of the conference because it was a long two days with him here! Tyler stayed night with him, (that man can sleep through anything, whereas I wouldn't have slept a wink the whole night, and been no good the next day!) while I was there during the day. He got a Ct with contrast (remember the test that i told you makes you fell like you pee your pants... yeah, that one) although they had to put him out for it, he sure is a light weight when it come to anesthesia... he is funny! the test came back that it was anterior cellulitis, and the blood cultures still we clean at the 24 hour mark. So we have no idea why it did it, but it could have been a sinus infection that pushed out his eye? anyways, he is on some extra strength antibiotics at home to make sure we got rid of it all, but he is at home and happy and playing like normal, so I can't complain. Uncle Ken came up and help us Tuesday to Wednesday morning... he was great! the nurses told me he must be the best uncle ever! (its true to!) So that is what is going on here! I will have to upload the pictures of his poor face later!

One Year Apt

So I flew out for my one year apt, had my petct, blood work and doctor apt like normal, although this time, my blood work came back funny, and my scan was not as clean as we would like. My blood work came back with thyroid issues, pretreatment my number was 2.4 normal is 4 and in november my number was 11, and at this apt it was down to 5.8.. what does that all mean you ask.. I have hypothyroidism, not a big deal it runs in my family and the radiation treatment I had can cause it, just usually 30 years later instead of 1. So now I am headed to my doctor hear to figure out the dose of pill I need to take everyday for the rest of my life to get it under control. The hardest part is the sluggishness, I just can't seem to get any energy, Tyler had actually mentioned it before I went to my apt so I know it isn't all in my head... of course as soon as you know something is wrong, and you read the symptoms list, you notice all symptoms.... I now have a reason for gaining all this weight back.. HAHA!
As for the scan, my thymus gland had a high uptake, which could mean a few things, could mean the lymphoma is back, could mean I have thymus cancer, could mean I have a thymus syndrome that can happen in young people, or it could be nothing (among other things it could be I am sure) So I go back in June for another Petct for another look.

Facebook updates that I don't want to forget...

Jan 23:

other kids carry around dolls and wrap them in blankets and want to be doctors, my kids wrap dinosaurs in blankets, and Kevin wants to be Jack Horner... aka a paleontologist...lol

Jan 20:

Kevin walks in the room "Daddy, we need to talk" "why, are you doing drugs?" "no" "did you get someone pregnant?" "no" "are you smokin?" "yea, were smokin, and playin, and rollin".... uproar of laughter.. my husband and my 4 YEAR OLD.. at least we aren't afraid to talk about the hard topics....

Jan 7

Kevin came running in.. "we found creatures, black flying creatures".... we are now watching the birds play in the garden...:)

Dec 31

Cameron is running back and forth from Me and Tyler saying "ticket please" and then punching our tickets, apparently he is the conductor from The Polor Express...:)

Dec 21

Kevin keeps telling me he hears a clatter while looking at the ceiling, tonight he got out of the car, ran out to the curb, looked back at the house and said "nope nothin there".. now where is Santa?

Dec 4

Kevin even talks about dinosaurs in his sleep...lol

Nov 30

its true, I confess: i gave my kids the option of pumpkin pie or apple pie for dinner tonight...

Nov 29

mental note:5 pies is too many, and if you use colored marshmellows in the yams, they taste fine but don't look so appitizing...lol

Nov 8

listening to Kevin tell daddy what her grew in his garden (the one he grew in the family room this morning) This is the corn and this is the peppers and this is the apples don't forget the tomatoes... but the funny part was.. i swear he said and this is the carnivors!

Nov 7

prefect night... my babes "dancing" around the family room to Christmas music, ok, so really they are spinning around in circles getting reall dizzy and falling down but whatever! :)

Nov 6

So Kevin's new thing is his brain, where is it, how big is it, what does it do, he just asked me if he could pull it out of his eyes... I don't know how to put it into 4 year old terms... that would not be good.

Oct 20

Kevin is now using his straw to eat his applesauce so he "can be an elephant"... never ending imagination...

Oct 16

Kevin is watching Ice Age 3. He points at the sceen and says "look its Momma, just like you, when you were a Tyranosaurs Rex".. not only is he a dinosaur but apparently I was too!

Oct 14

so while I was in the garage cleaning up the kids last mess (too embarassing to post here) Kevin was in the house covering his little brother in pam cooking spray... yes you heard me right.. i can't even believe him.. where does this stuff come from?

Oct 14

kids, diaper rash cream, hair, may never come out...yeah for 4 year olds...

Oct 13

just found Cameron standing on the kitchen counter digging into my cabenet, the same cabinet that holds my kitchen knives on the tops shelf, I got lucky that the stuff on the bottom shelf was more interesting.. is it possible to glue stools to the floor, so the kids can't push them around?

Oct 8

are my kids the only ones who really don't want to eat anything for a few weeeks, an then go on an eating rampage and eat anything and everything they can get thier hands on?

Oct 8

Magic Erasure use number 547... sharpie on the van passenger side door and window.

Oct 6

I have decided one of my favorite daily activities is... cuddling with my munchkins. ya can't beat that.. especially when one is sleeping.. cuddly and quiet and warm! :)

Oct 3

you know the guy who envented the magic eraser is a genius, they saved the day and my sons life!

Sept 22

Kevin just ate 7 pieces of gum and told me it was becuase he stomache was hungry...(this is why we don't keep gum around the house)

Sept 12

Looking forward to whatever comes out of Kevin's mouth tomorrow at his first Primary program! "what is your favorite part of being part of your family..." Kevin can fill the blank in a million different ways...most of them have to do with a red dinosaur... not exactly what the primary presidency was expecting....

Sept 2

as I walk out of the room after my workout I say to Tyler "tell me my butt looks three sizes smaller" he without hesiation says... I was thinking four.." I have him trained quite well!

Aug 31

Kevin is telling me about his first day of preschool, the girls yelled at him becuase he cut on their papers...and he has so much fun with the green fish and the yellow dinosaur... it must have been a busy day! He is so excited!

Aug 30

Cameron climbed out of his crib tonight... ya wanna know why?.. Tyler asked him to...crazy!

Kevin prayed for us "to be safe from dragons" tonight.... The dragon slayers can have a good night sleep tonight!

Aug 28

Kevin was horrible at his "getting to know your teacher" for preschool.. he is making me second guess even putting him in preschool...

Aug 24

Got out of bed this morning to find my children each reading a book, sitting on the couch... I love quiet moments!

Aug 13

I was so impressed that my kids cleaned up all the toys in the family room when I asked them to this morning, I assumed they were putting them where they go, silly me,.. I found where all the toys went when I went to put the kids down for nap, they put all the toys in the crib...!

why my kids find weird stuff funny i don't know... they are taking turns running around the house with their hamper upside down over their heads... giggling wildly the whole time!

July 1

serious tears people.. grandma and grandpa just took both my kids.. I don't don't know what to do!

June 11

Can't get Kevin to eat a carrot to save his life, but I just pulled one fresh out of the garden and gave it to him and he said "mmmmm, I love carrots!"

April 11

if only everyday could end with two dirty boys.. then a dirty bathtub.... to me that means a beautiful day for the boys to play outside and get as dirty as only boys can get!

Christmas Vacation

Our Christmas vacation was great, we got lots done and enjoyed time with family. We painted our bedroom, something that I thought would never get done, pics later, the paint job is growing on me... we put up a bunch of shelves, so my house is seeming more and more home-ee. We bought the rest of the stuff needed to make my head board, still haven't quite made it yet, but am planning too, bought a freezer for the garage, bought myself a shop vac, (to replace the one we lost in Oklahoma) which means my van is clean, and basically we spent way to much money on the stuff we have been waiting for! lol. Do you know how stressful spending money can be?

Basically, Christmas crept up on me and when it was time for the boys to open their pj's Christmas Eve, they were just coming out of the dryer... My decorations has just barely gotten unpacked and nothing had been rapped. We spent Christmas here, and then drove down to Utah to spend a few days with the Utah clan, and we were back before New Years, The boys got a train set from Santa and plenty of dinosaurs to keep them busy until their birthdays is September, we got a wii and wii fit, and my personal favorite, Jillian Micheals fitness ultimatum... that girl knows how to kick butt!

So all in all we had one great vacation, and have been enjoying some serious family time. I just can't get tired of having Tyler home more.. (of course there are moments that I see the look on his face that says "get me out of here!")

We even had one of my old friends Nicole from high school stop by with her adorable little family, she has three of the cutest little boys ever! I am bummed I forgot to take pictures but it was so fun to see them!

Oh, and here is family pic that we were going to send out with out Christmas letter..lol. (crazy hair and all)

Our Unsent Christmas Letter...

December 2009-

We wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and very Happy New Year. As we look back on the last year and look forward to a new one, we couldn’t feel more blessed.
Tyler is back teaching at Jerome High. Although he misses coaching he is enjoying being back in the classroom teaching technology and night school. He’s working with the young men at church, and is having fun on the campouts.
Catherine ended treatment the beginning of February and has remained in remission ever since. She still gets to “enjoy” check-ups every three months to make sure all is well, but all in all, remission is great news. She ran a couple 5k’s, one in July and one in September and is playing volleyball at the rec center again and is enjoying that. She also stays busy working in the Cub Scouts

Kevin turned four in September and has never ending energy. He is having fun in preschool and astounds us with his knowledge of dinosaurs every day. He is a joy to have around the house and is becoming a real peacemaker.

Cameron turned two in September and is catching up in height and weight to his brother. His speech is coming along so quickly. He is always climbing on something, and shows interests in dinosaurs, cars, and lately, trains. Cameron is showing a little more of the “terrible-twos” every day.

Kevin & Cameron are best friends and we couldn’t ask for more! They keep us on our toes and are our pride and joy!

We wish you a wonderful holiday season and hope the best for you and your family!
The Idaho Wardles

Tyler, Catherine, Kevin, and Cameron

Wahoo!

Why the wahoo? We had a great day in Sacrement meeting yesterday. Kevin sat through the whole thing without screaming or making too much noise, he sat next to me read his book, laid down on the big pile of winter jackets next to him on the bench but never once did anything that made me want to take him out! even when the kid behind him wanted to play with him, he was very quiet, not that I didn't have to remind him that we don't play during church, he was great!.... there is always a catch though...

Cameron is officially two years old! has been for almost 3 months and boy is that a fun stage, he was wiggly and giggly and everything that noise is.... he was easily distracted so I did get to hear most of the meeting but I have to say, the next couple of years are going to be interesting.

And on an even better note, my kids made it through most of the meeting without even a mention of snacks, I am bound and determined to get them to wait until the speakers actually start speaking before they want food, but they made it though 80% of the meeting! Very glad, I haven't been through Sacrament without lugging along snack and a sippy cup in a really long time, I am glad to cut down on that!

Cute sayings from the Wardle house...

Grandma and Grandpa Powers came to visit over Thanksgiving, one night Tyler went in to check on the boys, he said "I love you Kevin" Kevin replied back "I love Grandma"...lol

Grandma was talking to Kevin "I love you" Kevin says, Grandma says back "I love you more" Kevin says "I love you enough"....HAHA!

The other night we got up to take Kevin potty about midnight, he must have been dreaming of dinosaurs because he sure was talking about them, "the t-rex, ...just a carnivore, ... cratious period..." we we trying not to wake the boys up so we had to stifle the laughter!

9 months!

9 months and still Cancer free. I flew out early out of Boise yesterday, (by the way early is the way to go, no lines, the bathrooms had just been cleaned, and everything was quiet!) flew in a brand new plane, Horizons new Boise State bright orange plane, very cool, very quiet and a great flight. Then did blood work and a chest x-ray then headed to visit all the nurses in the ITA, very good to see all of them, they all remembered me and my kids and my PhD/teacher husband, that was cool. Then I headed down to see Dr Advani, loooong wait and I am cancer free! I was able to go to Olive Garden with Teri, Ben and the kids, seriously love that soup salad and bread sticks thing, even took two bread sticks for the plane... great choice by the way.. they don't serve snacks anymore, just a drink! Then when I got to the airport the plane was delayed an hour and 15 min... turns out that the plane that was flying from Boise, that we were gonna get on, had to turn around an go back to Boise because a passenger had a seizure about 1/3 of the way through the flight, scary! So it was my first really delayed flight that I can think of.. anyways, after flying home and the two hour drive home I was exhausted!.. the whole driving there in the dark and driving home in the dark made it seem like a really long day! I really wish that it didn't get dark so early, makes the days drag out! But when I asked the Doctor what my chances were, she said about 80%, that is an 80% chance that it won't come back! Wahoo!! love it! O and in February (my one year mark!) i get to have a PetCt.. grrr. o well it is better than a CT with contrast!

P.S. Tyler did a very good job being a "stay at home dad" yesterday, he carpooled a load full of preschoolers to and from preschool, took Cameron to speech, and went shopping and cleaned the house, I think I am gonna keep him! Thanks and Love ya babe!

It's official...

I have turned into my parents... I now get my kids dressed while they are still laying in bed when I have to wake them up for something (my mom did this for me until I was like 12, what it is too cold to get out of bed without your socks on!) When my kids don't want to go to school I tell them that means they have to stay in bed all day, no toys, no tv... its amazing how fast they change their minds and want to go to school... it must be all down hill from here... :)

thought this was worth passing on!

I have been there before, and me and Tyler are happy to say our house is the cleanest it has been since before cancer... we spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday cleaning, and other than the fact that our carpets need cleaned,(again) we have even been able to keep up with it. It is nice to know that all the clothes are cleaned, folded and where they should be, to know that the floor really is clean enough for the 5 second rule to be pushed to the 10 second rule and that My husband isn't too embarassed for people just to drop by.... it's a great feeling! ( can you tell I just got done with a jog and am still on my runners high?..lol) I need a dose of this happy pill daily I think ;)

It has come full circle...

Thats right, 20 years ago in a small town, there was a father laying in the middle of the family room tickling and wrestling with his two kids, mommy, says to the youngest, "bring me daddy's glasses".. this is when you know the real wrestling is going to start... tonight there was a dad in the middle of the family room floor, tickling and wrestling his two young kids, when mommy said to the youngest, "bring me daddy's glasses".. and the real wrestling began... the only difference was I wasn't the youngest, I was the mommy, and I have to say, both nights are some of my favorites....now I know, all is well!

Seriously?

Ok so the kids are testing me... in the last week alone, Kevin has drawn on every surface possible with a sharpie marker, the only places I can't get it off of are the dishwasher and the pantry door (thanks to the magic eraser!- I used a full magic eraser cleaning it off every other surface in my house) Kein and Cameron used a whole bucket of corn meal and sugar as decorations on my ficus tree and carpeting, and while I was cleaning that up Kevin covered his little brother in Pam cooking spray.. I am soooo lucky he didn't get him in the eye!... really? seriously? where does this stuff come from?... grrr. Not to mention that when I went to go get them out of their room, they wanted to "spike there hair", the only thing they had on hand apparently was diaper cream, my kids now have white hair! I have been so busy cleaning up their little messes, I haven't had time to.. I don't know, do the dishes!...yikes! Cameron is now pushing the bar stools around, climbing up on them and getting onto the counter and then looking though my cabinets, lets just say I can't take my eyes off them for second!.. going to the bathroom is stressful! erg!

Is it me ...

or do Kids learn things at school... Good things and bad things... Kevin is doing great in preschool and comes home everyday with a new letter, doing better with his numbers, it is all good! But there is something I have noticed... his vocabulary is growing, by words I wish 4 year old wouldn't say.. things like stupid, shutup, and crap and there are some others that I can't remember right now but shock me every time he says them. The funny part is he goes to preschool at out Young womens president's house, (Miss Lydia) and I know for a fact it isn't her, and 4 of the of 5 kids in the class are in our ward.. so I started to look around and say.. he is learning them form me and Tyler... well Crap (see it snuck in right there).. you mean he is learning his bad habits from me.... now what is a Mom to do.. well the first step is to stop calling the flies, stupid flies and stop telling Tyler to shutup when he gives me attitude.. (I swear there is a smile on my face when it is said) and as for crap, I think he learned that one from Tyler.. but at least I can figure out where the problem is.... ME! Mental note... the 4 year old is listening!

General Conference

So in this mornings sessions my favorite talk was by Elder Bednar (I still call him President Bednar.. and probably always will!) about being Deligent and Concerned at home. He gave us three ways to work on being better at home. Showing our love, sharing our testiomonies and being consistent with the things that matter. All it all, great advice that I hope I can implement... that was a point in his talk, not just learning more but implementing the things we do know... Loved it!

Work out buddies...

So I did the 30 day shred a month or so ago, and enjoyed it and felt stronger, (and have since gained the inches back) so I figured it was time to start again, well we are getting fit as a family so I put my boys to work!.. (actually they were supposed to be in bed, and jumped in so Dad wouldn't make them go back to bed).. What do you think of their form?

P.S. watch the boys.... they are the entertaining part...

Random September-ness

So it has been a busy month and I finally got to unloading my Camera.. here are a few random things for ya to take a gander at…

Garden Harvests….

My new Haircut…reminds me of the news anchor women haircut… only curly, its so much fun!

I hear Cameron yelling “stuck! stuck!” like a thousand times a day but when I turned around to find this, I had to take a picture, Cameron is a climber, and yesterday he found himself on top of the TV, and he was saying “horsey!…stuck!”… :) ( and yes I know you are wondering, where is the Parental supervision in this house?)

I finally got the boys some snow pants…! They are very excited!

Cameron 2 year pictures

So blogger won't let me comment on each picture (random) So I will just mention how much fun he had running around the park on his birthday!... Plus I can go print them out at Costco, and have a hay day decorating my house!

Cameron 2 year checkup

Height: 36 1/4in which is 90%
Weight: 33 lbs 8 oz which is 95%
Head: 19 3/4 in

P.S. the doctor felt to see if he has a pallet problem..
she thinks he has a high arch but no real issues there..
so now we just work on muscle strength...

P.S.S both boys got one shot today... I chose not to give them the flu shot...
(I nor the boys have ever got them) Tyler is not so happy with me...
Do you think I will regret it?
And no.. neither of my boys have had the chicken pox vaccine either...

A year ago today...

Was the day that someone said "I think you have lymphoma, or more Hodgkins lymphoma..." yep it was my baby's 1st birthday, it was a Friday morning and I first freeked out to my Dad on the phone becuase I couldn't get a hold of Tyler, Then later after my 20 minute freek out, I spent the rest of the day as planned, taking my son with best friend/neighbor and rest of the family to Target to get these great pics... The next day was Saturday, and I was headed to this yearly gathering that I look forward to for the next 364 days of the year, It was wonderful! The theme of the night was Hope, as I listened to the nights speakers and sang the songs I was wrapped in warm arms and I had hope that everything was gonna be ok. More than a few tears were shed, but it is really nothing new, I was among my sisters, and no one really even notices tears there. I remember at the dinner before not really knowing anybody but having the bishops wife walk up to me and give me a hug, look me in the eyes and offer support, there is nothing better than that!
Again tonight I headed with my Sisters to the gathering and listened to something that was so different and yet so the same... The message was uplifting and was of happier words.. I loved it. So as I look back on the difference between Cameron's last year birthday and this one, I keep hoping, that things will continue on in a positive manner, I thank the Lord for all that he has given me. Just to mention a few, my kids, my husband, my health, a job that pays the bills, a roof over my head and Sisters (that although not biological) that love me anyways... Thanks girls, your the best!

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Age: 2 years

Nicknames: the little one, Cam Bam, baby (we are working on stopping this), brother

Favorite Activities: going outside... playing with is brother, cuddling, climbing

Favorite Foods: Cereal, sandwiches cheese or ham, bread, fruit- pears, strawberries, grapes,

Least Favorite Foods: I haven't found anything he won't eat

Favorite Music: Cars movie music, and blues clues

Favorite Toy: his brother... he loves to play with his brother!..Lightening Mcqueens are his favorite, lobes to kick balls, or hit them off his T-ball

Favorite Book: McQueen books, or books that play music to him like the VTech ones,

Favorite Item of Clothing: Shoes!!!

What Makes Him Happy: playing outside, eating, reading, cuddling

What Makes Him Sad: when he can't find his brother,

Funny Words or Phrases: "Baby did it" "Brother did it", "get it"

the boys second birthday..

So my boys got their Powers side birthday parties this weekend... they are just plain spoiled...
Not only did Grandma and Grandpa bring them backpacks filled with stuff, but also large birthday gifts that happen to be perfect for the boys. Cameron loves playing with balls and he loves lightning Mc Queen.. so Grandma and Grandpa got him this...


They both love to roll around in it and throw the balls in the top basket to watch them roll down..

Well Kevin is in love with Dinosaurs.. so they got him this...


this thing is huge!...when he unwrapped it Tyler had the remote control and started moving it, had it roar at Kevin and start walking towards him, he ran away, around behind the island back and forth watching this thing... it was so cute!.. then he asked "can you stop it".. It took him a good five minutes after we told him Dad was controlling it to get used to it enough to get near it. It didn't take Cameron half that long although he did climb into my lap for a minute before he went over and slapped it...lol.. ADORABLE!

To add to the spoilage, we had Strawberry cheese cake, and ice cream, plus Uncle Kens gifts... We joke that the kids are going to think that they don't have birthDAYS but birthMONTHS... they get to party all month long! (and this year it is true!) Cameron doesn't actually turn 2 until this saturday but has already had two cakes and two birthdays parties.. yep spoiled!

Can I just say...

That I love my kids...

We started Kevin in Preschool this year, even though he won't start Kindergarten for 2 years, he is behind if he was going to start kindergarten next year but is doing well, His Mom (yep that is me) is the only set back ( is it bad to learn what NOT to do on your fist child?) He knows his alphabet and his numbers and colors and shapes, but has never really been big into coloring or writing or cutting of paper.. why might you ask?.. because his mom never handed him a writing utensil or scissors for fear of what he would do with them, So in effort to get him up to speed with the rest of his class (all of which are starting kindergarten next year) we have been cutting and writing and drawing like crazy! He is making great progress, other than he doesn't really press hard enough with a pencil, he is now holding it correctly (most of the time) and is cutting soo much better.. why? Because we now have, number time, letter time, scissor time, and all sorts of "time" on the "chore chart" now.

Cameron is doing much better on his speech, he is now doing much better with intial sounds "b" and "p" and we are moving on to "t" and "d"... his vocab is quite large he just has issues with articulation, the worst is the "x" sound and "c" "k"and "s".. it almost sound as if the sound isn't coming out his mouth but his nose, which is making his speech thearpist wonder if he has a soft palet problem... the good thing about Cameron is he can handle different therapies that other kids his age, usually they don't use flash cards with 2 year olds, usually they do "play therapy" but he loves to do the flash cards (at home or at speech) and because he loves to color she can get him to color the words he has to say... although he still has a 2 year old attention span so he does end up doing "play therapy" he is doing really well!

Cameron's favorite thing to do now is "color" pronounced ("dolor")... he does how writing utensils the correct way and now becuase Kevin is doing it, is wanting to write letters, although his favorite thing is stars and hearts.

Kevin has been going through a fun stage, when I ask him to do something he answers "of course" and goes and does it... LOVE IT!

Aparently someone told Cameron his is turning two next week and his first response to everything is..... "NO!"... his has the best pout and gets more attitude everyday. ( such a fun stage... can you see me rolling my eyes?)

We overhauled the boys room last night, the crib is gone, the boys are sleeping in the big bed and the room is all switched around, the book case is out... they read so many books every night, that they were all over the floor in the morning, now We are treating books with more respect!

Kevin's 4 year well child check up...

He is 37.8 lbs which is 50% for his age.
He is 42.5 in tall which is 90% for his age.
He is happy, healthy, a little bit strong willed and darn cute!

Kevin's 1st Primary Program

Goofy Kevin before we left for church...

Huh.. before we left for church...

Kevin before we left for church...

So today Kevin sat on the stand at church the whole time.. we were very surprised... A month or so ago we were supposed to as Kevin what his "favorite part of being in our family is..." he for some odd reason told us.. going to church with us... why a three year old (at the time) enjoys Moms most stressful hour and 15 min of the week.. I don't know but that is what he said.. fast foward to today. When they asked the primary children to come to the front, he went!... and sat in his seat... and then ran back to us... so Mom took him back and left him... he looked so sad, me and Tyler were about to cry watching our little boy up there... they went through the first group of kids and their first song... he was almost in tears, and Tyler figured out what he was mouthing to us.. (so surprised he wasn't yelling at us, by the way) he wanted his T-rex... well in an attempt to get him to say his correct part and not yell something angry into the microphone I took him his tiny sponge yellow T-Rex. He stopped crying and eveything... the second song ended and they said "what is your favorite part of being in your family..." He said it "going to church with them".. Such a proud moment!... he then continued to play with his yellow T-rex, and tap the girl next to him for the next half hour... I couldnt be more proud! :)