91/365

Had to make a cake tonight.
Connor decided he was going to be spoiled.
Can I tell you how difficult it is to cut out fondant pieces and shape them while holding an infant?

Ahhhh the joys of motherhood.

On another note...
Kade came home with this adorable little number today.  One might say, "What does a 1st grader learn in computer class??"   Well, they learn to use the camera and put speech bubbles on their heads.

Hilarious!  (on the picture where it says, "I am mad" he told me that he was trying to hold his breath so his face would be bright red in the picture. What a funny kid)

90/365

It's another first.

Ok.. so it's not a REAL sit up.  He's kinda balancing on his tummy, but it's still adorable.

On a side note, today Avery had Show and Tell.  She decided to take Connor.  She was so excited to show off her baby brother.  I wish I would have had my camera.

The real miracle would have been if Avery would have wanted to show off Brighton.  

Ya!! Never gonna happen.  

89/365

Today my heart broke as a mom.
It was one of those moments that I know I needed to help teach a lesson, but all I wanted to do was cry.

Here's the story.
Kaden has been doing Karate the past 6 months. He LOVES it! Tonight was his "graduation" from his yellow belt to his orange belt. He has been soooo excited for this night.  It's about the only thing he's talked about for the last couple weeks. He told all his friends that he'd be getting his orange belt tonight, Brian got a little time off work to come and see him, grandma Becky came by his class, Avery even prayed for him this morning and said, "bless Kaden that he will get his orange belt". We were all so excited.

Well.....
He didn't earn his orange belt.

When they called his name, they gave him his 100% attendance star and a certificate saying he is now a 2nd Degree yellow belt. My heart sunk.
Kaden (the tender and proud little guy he is) ran over to Brian and I with a smile on his face and gave us a hug (no other kid did that) and said, "I'll be getting my orange belt at the end". Ahhh! I barely could hold back the tears. He was going to be so disappointed. I felt so hurt for him. It was a feeling I don't think I've had as a mom yet.
The class went on, and pretty soon he started realizing other kids were getting their belts and he wasn't.  When all the kids were asked to stand up and change their belts, he and his buddy Ryder were asked to come over to the teacher.  She put a black piece of tape on their belts and told them they were now 2nd Degree black belts. All Kaden could say was, "uhhh... after yellow belt, it's orange belt".  The teacher then had to tell him he didn't pass his test so he didn't get to have his orange belt yet.
Now... his heart sunk.
(crap... I'm crying just writing this post!)
The rest of class, he looked sober and kept his head down.  He kept blinking like he was trying to hold back tears. He came over to me and said, he didn't earn his orange belt.  I knew I just needed to put a smile on my face and tell him what a good job he had done.  I was so proud of him, but  all I wanted to do was hold him and take away all his disappointment.  We put smiles on our faces and told him how proud we were that he was a 2nd degree.  It was hard.
 As I was watching him in class, I couldn't help but feel the hurt my parents had for me the first time I didn't make the school play or when I was benched on the softball team.  I knew they felt bad for me, but I had never realized how bad it hurts to see your kids when they are heartbroken. Wow!!! It really sucks.
The crazy thing is.... despite how much I wanted to take that pain away from Kaden, I also realized what a good lesson this would be for him.  Having him not pass this test will help him realize that he has to work hard. The best things in life don't come easy.  He loves karate. And now I think he will appreciate it even more because of this experience.
 Brian told him some great advise that I hope that he will always remember.  It's this advise that made me want to write this (super long) post on our 365 blog.  So Kaden... in years to come, read this post and remember what your dad taught you tonight.
He told you that now that you have to re-do this class, you will learn it better and you will have the potential to be the very best yellow belt student.  He told you that you will appreciate your orange belt so much more because you had to work so hard for it.
He then told you that he could go and buy you an orange belt, or even a black belt. He asked if you thought those belts would mean anything to you. Dad told you that the reason those belts are so special is because all the hard work it took to get them. The real honor is the work... not the color of the belt.
So... as hard as it was to see you hurt and disappointed tonight, I think it was a lesson well learned.  Not just for you, but for me and dad too.  As a parent, we have to be able to support, love, hug, cry and think positive.  Teach our kids to be strong while giving them a shoulder to cry on.  We can't just be negative and put the blame on others.. we need to help lift up our kids head and get them out there to try harder.  This is what will make them strong, confident and successful in all their endeavors.
Kaden.... I love you so much. I am very,very, very proud of you! I'm hurt when you hurt, but I gain strength by watching you pick yourself back up.  You are only 7 years old and you haven't had too many disappointments in life yet, but I know when you do have to face them, know that your dad and I will always be there for you.   You are one awesome son!

88/365

Dear Future Me.

I have one question for you.
Do Avery and Brighton STILL pester and bug each other over and over and over and over and over again?

Have I gone crazy yet?
Because Present Me is about ready to lose it.

87/365

Today I actually learned something in church. Most days its just a lot of running around chasing kids or trying to keep them reverent.  Today, we had a cute senior missionary speak to us in Sacrament Meeting.  He told the primary kids that they were right where their Heavenly Father wanted to be at that moment.  As I thought about that, I changed my attitude about church.  Yes I'm chasing kids for 3 hours. Yes, I spend more time looking at coloring books and passing out treats than I do listening, but I am here.  My kids are here.  We are where we need to be on Sunday's. It gave me a clearer perspective on the importance of being there each week.
Thank you for the little kick in the behind.


We also had a great lesson tonight from dad.
The kids learned about honesty.
Brian told them that when we aren't honest, it's like we are getting tied up tighter and tighter and it's very hard to get out of the ropes of Satan.  We need Jesus to "cut through" the ropes that bind us.

The kids loved the object lesson.
(I love Avery's face. She's listening to every word Brian is saying. So cute)

86/365

We tried rice cereal today.

He doesn't look too impressed.

85/365

Late Over Fun!  A little organized Chaos makes the best parties.
We had a couple extra this week.  Sadee and Kenzlee joined in on the fun.

These two are best little buddies.  We sure with Sadee was a "Sohm" cousin so Abby could have a cousin her age.  They thought it was super cool that they both had on purple peace jammies.

84/365

I'm going to try and not make every post be about Brighton, but if he doesn't get out of the terrible 3's pretty quick, we might be seeing alot of his adorably cute, knotty face.... or the blog will be dormant because I will have gone crazy!  On the positive side, he does give me a lot to blog about :)

After yesterday's flower picking, the day before's, telling me he was going to beat me up...
today he peeled the entire bunch of bananna's and left them on the floor, opened a bag of chips, ate some and then poured them on the floor, (these two events took place before 8:30 in the morning)
Grabbed a loaf of bread and took it in his room without me knowing. When I went in to put him to bed, there were 6-7 hard stale pieces of bread on the floor.  He spilled a box of candy all over the floor. He decided it would be fun to jump OVER Connor while he was laying on the floor. (I'm glad I was right there for that one), He went in the fridge and got  into a container of strawberries (I had bought about an hour before) and eat one bit of every single one and then put them in the garbage while I was helping Kaden with homework, he took out EVERY SINGLE ONE of his diapers from the drawer and started throwing them in the air.  When I told him to put them away, he said, No mom... I'm playing with them! He got up over and over and over again tonight (again)... then when Brian got home from work, he had the guts to slowly come tip toeing in with a sly grin on his face and said to Brian, "Dad, I just want to give you a hug and kiss!"   (he knows how to work it doesn't he?)

I tell you what! 2 1/2 years old is my favorite stage of all time.  3 years old is pretty great too, but you hit 3 years 3 months and life is a different story.  I'm exhausted.  This kid is going to drive me to drink.

I love you Bright, but this weeks been tough.

self control experiment 1

it's time for an experiment
I have realized the last little bit that all the things about myself that I struggle with all stems back to having no self control.

I eat what I want. I clean when I want. I shop when I want. I pray when I want. I play with my kids when I want.... etc. etc. etc.
It all boils down to the fact that I have a bunch of kids that I'm the boss for, but no one is my boss.  I have no one that I have to report to.  It's not a good thing for me.
Im a rule based learner.  I succeed and push myself when I know there is someone that will be checking in on my progress.  It's not that I need to be babysat through life, I just need to figure out how to let my better, more focused and inspired self be my boss.  I need to learn that within MYSELF I can gain the self control to overcome weaknesses and bad habits.
Soooooo.... I've decided to challenge myself to several "Self Control Experiments" over the course of this year.  In doing so, I hope to prove to myself that I have power to control the good things in my life and not let laziness have all the power.
I may not look lazy on the outer appearances with 4 little kids, having my own business and being in the primary presidency, but I am lazy with the things that matter most in growing as an individual.
I'm "lazy" in that I don't take time to go to the gym
I'm "lazy" because I let my kids watch hours of tv because it's easier
I'm "lazy" with saying my prayers because I'm too tired
I'm "lazy" so I don't read my scriptures.
I'm "lazy" to think of healthy things to cook for dinner, so I always fall back on eating out or fast unhealthy foods I can cook in minutes.
The list could go on and on.... but I don't want to focus on that anymore. I want to focus on the thought that I CAN overcome my lack of motivation to be better.  I know it will be hard, but I'm ready for the challenge. I just think I need to prove to myself that I can have self control over small and simple things, and in doing that I can overcome anything.

So, my first Self Control Experiment for 2011 is.........
No Television during the week. Only on Saturday Night.  Nothing on Sunday.

83/365

I was so excited to have daffodils growing in the garden.

And then I heard, "Mommy! Look at the pretty flowers!"

 (sigh)

Every single one of them left this earth way too soon. 

82/365

Don't have much to report today except to say that Brighton told me he was going to beat me up because I had to take his "guankey" away from him again tonight at bedtime.

Seriously... he said, "mom, I'm going to beat you up. Give me my guankey!"

Oh boy.

81/365

We got a cute little nephew today.
Madden Jacob Larsen
Connor is going to have a buddy :)

He's so cute.

80/365

wow. wow. wow.

My parents told us a surprise today.  Something we've been wanting for longer than I can remember.

THEY BOUGHT A HOUSEBOAT AT LAKE POWELL!!!!!

There is no other place in the world that I have more memories from than Lake Powell.
It is my happy place.  

I have spent 36 years going to Lake Powell camping in a tent. (yes, I went when I was just a couple months old)

This is going to rock! My kids will be able to have the same memories I had.  I am soooooooooo excited. 

Thank you mom and dad!!! 

79/365

A few years ago we had one of our most proud parenting moments.  The kids wouldn't eat their dinner so Brian brought out the blow torch and threatened to burn their favorite toys if they didn't eat.  (See the full story here)

Today, we had another one of those parenting moments.  OKAY. OKAY. It might seem mean, but it's kinda funny too.  Whatever works!!!  Sometimes you just go into survival mode when it comes to trying to take care of 4 kids who aren't listening to you.

Here's the story.
Brighton LOVES. LOVES. LOVES his "guankey" (blankie). He doesn't go anywhere without it... especially to bed.
Well, tonight (like many other nights) this little dude would not stay in bed.  He kept getting up over and over again.  He'd turn on his lights and we'd hear Kade and Bright laughing. Several times of getting after them, Brian went down and turned off the power in their room.  If they can't keep the lights out, we'll just have to help them out a bit.
That didn't work. Bright came in and told us his light is broken and it needed batteries.  (He wasn't getting the discipline tactics at all!)  We finally had to get mean. We brought out the big guns. Brian told him we'd have to take "guankey" away if he didn't stop getting up.

Well, he got up.

So did his "guankey" (with a little help from daddy)

He didn't think it was very funny.

Kaden heard him crying and came out to try and rescue his brother from this terrible trauma in his life.
As hard as they tried, I still don't think they will reach it.
"Guankey" is officially in time out till the morning.

To all our kids:

Before you tell me what a bad mom and dad we are,

Just wait... Someday you will do something similar.  

It's moments like this that are some of the great joys of being a parent.  

You do whatever works at that moment. If your lucky, it will be really funny in a sadistic sort of way. 

(just make sure to stop and take pictures!)

We really do love you guys...... really! 

78/365

.

I had a total "Mom" Birthday Celebration today.  

What other 36 year old gets to go to Planet Play for their birthday?

I have to admit... it was a great day.  I love being able to see life through my kids eyes.  

It makes life much more fun.

77/365

St. Patricks Day was filled with all sorts of fun adventures.  

Lenny the Leprechaun stopped by and left a few "surprises"

It started with waking up to a green table cloth on the kitchen table, green milk, green apple jacks and a note from our tricky leprechaun.

                                                                                                     

           

                                                          Ha. Ha. Ha. Can’t Catch Me!            

                           I’m as Tricky as Can be!                                                  

  My name is Lenny the Leprechaun and I’m here today

Watch for my tricks I am going to play!

I might leave treats. I might leave messes,

But whatever I do,  don’t wear pink dresses!!

Green is the color of choice today.

If I don’t see it, pinches will come your way!

I can see you! Even though you may not see me

I’m super sneaky, but cute as can be!

Being a leprechaun is so much fun,

But if you think you can catch me, I’m going to run. run.  run!!!

                                          Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

He also left a note on the front door for the kids when they got home from school.

My pot of gold you will never find,

But a little leprechaun dust I’ve left behind.

See the green sparkles, they bring you good luck

Maybe next year you will capture me and I’ll be stuck

But for now, I leave you with one neat treat

In the fridge you will find something sweet

I hear you like pistachios so this treat will do just fine

It’s green just like me….. It’s my favorite kind!!

 (this was their reaction to the leprechaun dust)

76/356

We had a nice and lazy morning

I just love sleeping babies

Little boys playing with trains is pretty cute too!

I still think Brighton is my little boy until I put them side by side to today to change diapers.  

Oh my goodness!! When did he get so big??

75/365

I always knew I was born on the ides of March, but I never knew I as born on the 75th day of the year.  Now I know.

That being said. Today is my birthday.

I thought about alot of things today.  Mostly about my life. These thoughts have made me happy and some have made me pretty sad. But it's in these moments that I know I can grow and be a better person. That being said,  here's what my 36 year old self is thinking about on March 15, 2011. Most of these thoughts are pretty personal. But part of writing about my life for a year has to have real honest moments.  This is one of those moments.

Things I'm Happy/Grateful/Proud of:
- I have 4 Amazing Kids!! (Oh my gosh.... I have FOUR KIDS!! How did I get old enough for that?)
- I have a very happy marriage and have been married to my best friend for almost 12 years
- I live in a beautiful home in an awesome neighborhood where everyone is so generous and kind
- I have a wonderful extended family who is always there for me
- I have an amazing group of girlfriends who are as family to me.  They too.. are always there for me from raising our kids, to coming to cake competitions, to flowers on my doorstep, to phone calls, texts and lunch dates
- I am loved
- I'm not afraid to try new things
- I spend a couple hours almost every morning with a little 3 year old cuddling in my arms sound asleep
- I  am happy for breakfast in bed and my kids scratching my back while I eat.  What a great birthday surprise.
- I feel like I teach my kids confidence and they know I love them

Things that Discourage me and I want to change:
- I'm sick of being overweight. I need to lose 100 pounds.  How did I allow myself to get this big?
           It makes me sad.
- I could be a much better mom
- I need to be a much better wife
- I wish I served others more
- I feel I'm not a very good friend
- I need to be more fun.
- I need to be happier with myself
- I need to be more kind and not talk bad about others
- My faith needs to be stronger
- I want to be more organized
- I fear my life is going too well and I can't help but think that tragedy is just around the corner..... this is my greatest fear, and I HATE feeling this way. I have been too blessed for too long. I pray life continues to be blissful.

I know I have many things to be grateful for and many things I'm often discouraged about.  At the end of the day, I take my strengths and dedicate myself to be better.  One day at a time to becoming a better person.  Maybe we need days like this to help us look inward and have desire change BECAUSE of all the blessings we already have.  Those blessings make me WANT to be a better person.

74/365

Brighton was so excited to go jump on the trampoline with the kids, he made sure to put his shoes on.
Is he missing something?  At least he got his shoes.

73/365

Today we got to have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen

(nice face there Kade)

along with an afternoon playing baseball. This is one of Kaden's favorite things to do with Grandpa.

71/365

I am sooooooo excited!!!!

Today I got a partial storage/workroom (shelves and everything!!!)

Bedrooms Framed

Bathroom planned out, a wall (with a door) on my furnace room, and the cutest little helper in the world!

THANK YOU DAD, JORDAN AND BRIAN (and Brighton)...... I LOVE YOU ALL!!

70/365

Oh What an Imagination  (and 2 days worth of fun!)

First it was a "Pillow Tower"

Then a Trampoline

Why is she in her room with a bunch of boys?? Right now, ok. In about 10 years? not so much.

Then a Beach

(didn't get pictures of this one, but all the kids had swimming suits on and they had a umbrella on the bed that was "shading" all the stuffed animals.

69/365

COMPETITION DAY!


 
I'm so happy today is over! I had a great time competing tonight.  I didn't win, but it was a lot of fun.  There were 3 of us competing against each other.  We had 2 hours to decorate an entire cake, with nothing done before hand.  It went by sooooooo fast! I could have done a better job with a little more time. I didn't get everything done I had planned, but I was overall happy with the final piece.  I named the cake "Relaxing after a day working in the yard".  Every side of the cake was a different room in a house with the top tier being a big bathroom with a girl relaxing in a bubble bath.

It was fun, but I don't think I'll be doing any of those Extreme Cake Challenges on Food Network any time soon! :)

This is the "Mud Room" Side of my house

This is the stairway.. The pictures on the wall are the 3 judges

This isn't a great picture, but this was my favorite "room" The family room with the striped walls.  The TV in the back is the show that the emcee is on. (Fresh from the kitchen on Channel 2)

The very large ugly flower is a "secret item" they gave us at the beginning of the competition and we had to incorporate it in the cake. 

I had spider mums! Really?? Have you seen the size of spider mums?  About the height of my tub! 

So I broke it down as small as I could and threw it in a vase. It's still too big.

Mud room again, but you can see some of the other sides at the same time.

This is the back of the cake or the backyard.  

This is the side I ran out of time on.  It was supposed to have a cobblestone path.. more grass and flowers, and it would have been nice if I put the path aligned with the door.  

Oh well.

Not the best picture, but here's the lady in her bubble bath.

A better homes and garden magazine and the Salt Lake Tribune (sponsor of the show) on the floor

68/365

Sorry for all the cake posts.... it's my life this week.

Today was "cake run-through" day.
Competition is tomorrow.  Here's the rules for the competition.

2 hours in front of a live audience
3 Judges and 2 emcee's that will be going around talking to us while we work
Theme:  Home and Garden
Nothing can be done on the cake


My dry run was pretty successful.
I feel a little more confident for tomorrow.

67/365

Cake Competition is in 2 days. This was in some magazine that went to all the homes in SLC.

Today was spent making cakes, making 20 pounds of fondant, preparing for my practice run tomorrow.
Went to bed at 3:30.

I'm so glad Brian is home to be with the kids... because I'm not getting the Worlds Best Mom Award this week.

66/365

Just a whole lot of baking and decorating today.
2 American Flag Sheet Cakes
1 Mario Galaxy Birthday Cake
A whole lot of kitchen cleaning

Now tomorrow the fun begins.  I'm only 3 days away from my competition.  I really need to start working on the details.
6 Detailed sketches. A whole page of "to do's" and loads of details to get done.  My imagination is much larger than my time frame I have to make this cake. Ahhhhhh!!!!

65/365

This little guy LOVES to play with his hands.

and my oh my!!  look at these eyelashes?
 One of my MANY favorite things about him.

64/365

What happens when Kaden and Avery have a sleepover in Avery's room?

They have a "Checkers Champinhsip"!

(Can't you see the sign?)

And of course there will be trophies.  

1st and 2nd place.... I know it looks like 2nd place is *@!    (I love 1st grade spelling)

Then for the dress code.
Avery had to get earrings, rings, bracelets, hat, lip gloss and high heels. When I asked why, Kaden said, "Girls just do that mom. They have to look pretty"

Let the Championship Begin!!!
(This was about the time I got kicked out of the room)

And the winners are???????

Kaden 1st.  Avery "S ht" (2nd place)  

Now go to bed. It's Late.