Some alone time...

So, James is getting ready for another bar exam and I'm pretending to be single for a few weeks.  We went to dinner the other night for his birthday at the Country Club in the Wynn.  I had been waiting a couple of months to tell him about the cruise and I could hardly believe I had kept it a secret the whole time.  As we arrived, I had the concierge place the laniard my mom had made, into the menu.  As soon as we got our menus, James looked up at the waiter and said, "What's this?".  The waiter then replied, "I don't know!", needless to say, it was a huge letdown.  I love surprises and James isn't very good with them.  I think that by the time we get off the ship, he'll be really excited about it.  Anyway, he and the kids are flying up to Utah tomorrow afternoon and I have about a thousand things on my list for when the kids are gone.  James is worried I'm going to be hugely disappointed.  Here's my list...

1.  pack up all the kids clothes that are too small now.  It's driving me crazy that their closets are full of nothing to wear.

2.  paint almost the entire downstairs ...  I picked out a new couch and got all excited for a new color.

3.  install child locks on every single cabinet I have in the house.  I'm worried I might lose it on one kid in particular if he gets into my clorox spray again.

4.  buy new pillows and recover the rocking chair.  See number 3 for reference

5.  Donate shoes and clothes I don't need anymore.  Maybe migrate over to James closet, too.

6.  Get rid of Harley's old room and move my sewing back in.  Since Levi's not gonna need a room anymore, I need to make better use of the space.  I know it sounds kinda insensitive, but I don't know how else to say it.

7.  Clean carpets.  I love the smell of the house after the carpets are all done.

8.  Go to all of the classes at the gym I like.

9.  Get James' desk organized.

10.  I scheduled a haircut, manicure, pedicure, tooth cleaning, doctor's appointment, visiting teaching appointment, invited all of my friends and family over for hair appointments, etc.  

Happy 30th Aunt Lori

Tuesday night was Layla's 3rd dance recital.  I'm not sure which part of the day she enjoyed more; hair and make-up or dancing.  She couldn't wait to get ready with Presley.  It was so fun to have the dressing room all to ourselves.  Presley and Layla sat on the counter while Bracken and I made the final touches.  

Layla danced to Mickey Motion and Happy Feet.  Harley and Avery danced in the aisle to just about every other dance in the show.  

Then, of course, Preston had to steal the show with the boys number, followed by a proposal to Melanie.  I guess she's on his buddy list now.  

Lettin' it Pour

James is in bed asleep and every time I walk in, he asks as if he's wide awake "Do you need help in there?". I need help.  Oh, yes,  do I NEED help.  The last time I entered a new blog,  was a little after I was just finding out that I was carrying another baby.  The baby that has changed my whole life completely.  The tears most definitely will never stop coming tonight and the only thing I can think of doing is write.  

A year ago, I was helping decorate for a lunch at my church with my friend Jodie.  My friend, Stephanie, had lost her baby.  Who would have known that one year later, I would be living that same nightmare.  The nightmare that seems like one long day.  I remember how horrible I felt for her and what a wreck I was.  I couldn't handle walking into the chapel and seeing a picture of the most beautiful little girl in her high chair, completely covered in her lunch.  I thought of how I would feel if I had lost my Avery, who was a few months younger.  My heart ached so badly for her parents who were dealing with this tragedy and loss of such a sweet little girl.  The funeral was one I would never forget.  Stephanie and John gave the most inspiring talks I had ever heard.  They made me want to be a better mom to my kids.  I was so jealous of their strength and their testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.   

Their experience, I felt most definitely helped prepare me for what was about to happen in my life.

Potty Training

So, James decided this weekend to start potty training again (maybe the 3rd time)with Harley. I'm now almost 5 months pregnant and I desperately want him to want to be potty trained. He did really good on Saturday with only one accident outside helping Dad trench the yard for more grass. So, today I decided to let him wear the "big boy pants" to church. HUGE MISTAKE! I checked on him every 10 minutes, made him sit on the toilet, begging him to just go, and nothing. I'm thinking to myself, "Just let Harley make it through church without crapping his pants". His daily ritual usually happens during nursery. Long story short, the kids and I ended up home from church early today. So, I'm going to wait another few months and forget about today and keep changing his disgusting diapers. I guess there's worse things in life than 3 kids in diapers.

A few weeks ago Harley found some of his big boy underwear or as he embarrassingly calls them panties. I am still working on that, but I guess that is the problem of having an older sister. Anyway, I did not want any accidents on the floor sow I put on his flip-flops and we went outside to hit some balls off the tee. He then pulled a "Happy Gilmore" and came running off the patio and smacked the ball. Now it is hard to get him to hit the ball normally because he gets such a reaction from spectators when he hits the ball on the run. Unfortunately, he has not shown that much interest in ditching the diapers since then. I think Avery will be potty trained before Harley.

Our version of the zoo

So, I thought it would be cool to get the kids out to the LV strip and check out some culture.  They had never driven down the strip other than passing thru to the other side.  We checked out the wildlife at the Mirage, the fountain show at the Bellagio and the conservatory inside.  The only time I ever go downtown is when we've got family that wants to go.  This time Jordan came through with Lisa to get a quick  make-over and to check it all out with me.  Layla totally bonded with little Tyler.  They were so cute with each other.  Thanks to Dad, Harley knew the difference between every kind of lion, tiger, panther, jaguar, you name it. At the end of the night after about 20 people gave me dirty looks for having my kids out on the strip,  we watched the fountains at the Bellagio.  Try to find Harley in the dark.  It was so funny to see "Harley monster" afraid of something.  He always acts really tough on the outside.

Labor Day with the Hermanators

Since we didn't go to the fair this year (a first in seven), I thought we needed some fun over the weekend.  I think this was our first time out with them this summer.  It's too bloody hot to even go out to the lake.   That day wasn't too bad though, and really, what's better than getting muddy and eating a bag of chips with a diet coke on the Lake Mead beach.