It's so pretty around here today

I really can't complain about the view from my house.
It's gorgeous today.
I hope it lasts for awhile.

OCD

I am going to admit publicly, maybe for the first time, that I have an OCD with cleaning my house. Yes I Do.
I will admit though that I have a Monica closet and a couple of drawers, who doesn't right? Please tell me you all do???

Right now though my drive to have everything clean is in HIGH GEAR with our impending arrival only 10 days away.
My only problem right now with keeping up with my OCD is one BIG round obstacle that gets in my way. I just can't physically do all the things that need to be done. I actually took a nap today after church instead of clean up after the morning and lunch rushes. I never do that!!
But it gave me an idea. Not really a new idea to most people nor to me either, but one that I don't use as much as I should.
Wanna hear it?
LET YOUR KIDS AND YOUR HUSBAND CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES!!!!!
Isn't it a great idea? If there is anytime in my life when I even have a good reason for making them clean up after themselves it is now.

So I spent the rest of the day trying to convince myself to only clean up after myself. That's why, after searching the house for things I got out and could clean up, just to satisfy my OCD; I am here blogging instead of sweeping the floor and doing the dishes. I'm gonna let the boys do it!
My kids don't have school tomorrow, and having all the kids home all day means having LOTS of messes all day. I would usually spend the whole day cleaning up after them and usually not really mind doing it. But tomorrow, I QUIT! I may have to lock myself in my room and start reading a book, or maybe find somewhere to go because it will be hard for me, but really I QUIT!!
Ok, now that I have admitted my OCD and revealed my plan, please wish me luck. If I can even get through one whole day that's all I ask of myself. And it will be good for my boys to see how much they really can do. Won't it??


Now that I got that off my chest, here are some pictures from our weekend.

Colby earned his Wolf badge at Pack Meeting on Thursday and since he is 9 now will be going on to Bears. (moms get a pin too, that's what Colby is pinning on me)
YEAH COLBY!!!
We did end up having to go bowling for Colby's party. Not only were the movie times messed up, but the weather ended up being really nasty and I am SO grateful that I didn't try driving to Park City. All of the kids agreed that bowling was just as fun, so I think it was all a success and I am just happy to have it over with! Staying here also meant that Hayden got to come bowling with us. He is actually really good at the bowling alley and loved every minute of being with the big kids!

Colby loves Football and pink. He wanted pink football cupcakes. He told me that I should be happy because all he wants for his birthday is football cards so I won't have to spend too much money! Thanks Colby!

After Mark snow blowed the driveway yesterday it was perfect for sledding on. Even Hayden got in on the action. His only problem was that he thought he could stand up on the sled like his brothers. Thankfully his head landed in the snow when he crashed!

Are these boys CUTE or what!!!
I can't imagine a sister in the next picture.

After really not having much snow at all, the last storm got brought us a little more of a winter that we are used to. Still not as much snow as in years past but enough that it will be around until mid-March.

one, two, three boys

 Just call him "Toothless". 
I love the freckles too,

and the blonde hair that I thought would have turned brown by now.

 Hayden is the worlds greatest "copy cat".  This is him doing an impression of our friend Mike! 
If anyone is in need of a laugh or a smile, just stop by our house and talk to Hayden for a few minutes.  He is sure to brighten your day!

This kid is going to be 9 years old next week.  How does that happen?  Nine years??
Since his Aunt is getting married on his birthday we are celebrating today.  He has invited a couple of friends to go to Park City and see the movie Tooth Fairy.  One problem that he doesn't know about yet is that the movies in Park City are all messed up because of the Sundance Film Festival that started yesterday so they are not showing Tooth Fairy tonight.  He is going to be so bummed.  Hopefully I can reserve a couple of lanes at the bowling alley instead and he will just have to be OK with that!

LOW KEY

I woke up this morning determined to have a "low key" day.
To me "low key" means staying home all day and really not doing much. I was actually trying to convince myself that it would be ok to watch tv and read books all day!
The reason for my "low key" day was because the last few days I have WAY over worked myself. My back is killing me, contractions are much more frequent and I am a whole lot more GRUMPY with my family than I should be because I'm tired and worn out.
So.... "low key" was my mission.

Did it happen???

Lets see.

-Got the kids off to school
-got Hayden settled with Chocolate milk and Sesame Street
-sat down to watch The Today Show myself
-couldn't quit thinking about how badly the floor needed to be swept and the morning dishes cleaned up, so I did those things.
-Hayden loses interest in cartoons and wants to go down stairs and get some race cars.
-Play race cars and pet shop with Hayden for awhile, but got to watch the Today Show at the same time!
-remembered that I needed to run a couple of errands.
-Got Hayden and myself dressed, got the things ready that I needed to take with me on my errands
-went out in the cold, windy, snowy day and got errands run
-came home and put pj's back on, Hayden was ready for more cartoons.
-decided to clean and organize the DVD shelves, got to watch TV while I did though.
-Hayden wanted me to watch Dora with him, so I made a couple of phone calls while I sat with him
-LUNCH TIME
-remembered that Cameron had asked for me to make him some hard boiled eggs and chocolate chip cookies, so started making both.
-Got Hayden fed.
-It's finally 1:00pm time for Hayden's nap. He likes me to sit on the chair in his room and sing to him at nap time. I think I fell asleep before he did. Slept in the BIG comfy chair for about an hour!!
-Woke up and remembered that I still needed to make another phone call.
-Still tired I sat down to watch TV and finish sewing on the baby blanket I am making.
-Heard Hayden starting to wake up after only about 30 after sitting down.
-Got up and started cooking the chicken for dinner and finished the cookies I had already started.
-Hayden was really ready to get out of bed
-Time for Colb and Cam to be home from school. Cam walks in the door and says "mom, why are you still in your pajamas? didn't you do anything today?"
-Haman stop by to borrow and ice breaker thing and Kathy asks me if I'm ok! I guess I really must look awfully tired or something!! At least I cam blame it on being so prego!
-Start the afterschool, homework and chores battle.
-start on dinner
-listen to my kids and four other neighborhood kids discuss the events of the day and their favorite things on Wizard 101, the hot new game!
-6:00 pm, send kids home, get my kids to eat dinner
-6:45 pm. Hayden and Cameron desperately need a hair cut and I am actually in the mood to give them one so we start the messy, dreded process.
-7:30pm finally done with hair cuts and baths. Time to watch the last 30 minutes of American Idol before starting bedtime routines
-8:00pm dad finally arrives home from a LONG day at work.
-Poor dad is tired and hungry and mom is tired and miserable and the kids don't want to go to bed!
-While dad puts Hayden to bed I decide that I really need to do the dishes since I will be gone from home most of the day tomorrow and I know I won't be able to sleep if I don't do them.
-Get dishes done in time to watch the last 30 minutes of Biggest Looser.
-Clean up all the toys that the boys missed and look forward to climing into my bed.
-Sit down of the edge of the bed and my brain keeps telling me I need to blog
-9:45pm and here I am.

Phew.
That was quite a list for a "low key" day. I should write down my list on a "normal day", I might just amaze myself at all the things I actually do accomplish.
Why is is that I can't just relax and do nothing? I try, but I really can't.
The two days spent in the hospital after having a baby are about the only time in my life when I actaully do nothing!!!!
Only 15 more days to go.

Here is what these two boys looked like yesterday before their haircuts.
Anytime someone is playing Guitar Hero Hayden gets his guitar and plays along too!!

Cameron's hair was really really long. His hair cut isn't finished yet in this picture, I just thought he looked pretty cute with his bangs this way! When he finally was finished he wouldn't let me get a picture.

Mr. Hayden can't say "cheese" for a picture with his eyes open!! I really debated cutting his hair because I liked that it was long and kept his head a little warmer in the winter. But the desire for clean cut hair won out. I think he looks so much older with it cut.

Here is what Colby has been up to.
Jr. Jazz started a couple of weeks ago and Colb has a game every Wednesday night through the end of February.
He LOVES IT!!

does anyone else hate that there is no spell check on blogger? I don't understand why not. Sorry.

Getting the PINK ready!

Three weeks from tomorrow, February 4th, this baby is scheduled to make her debut!
Will it really be a girl?
I am in denial.

But just in case it really is a girl I am LOVING all the pink I have around my house these days!

I think that this BIG guy is the reason this pregnancy has flow by for me. He definitely keeps me busy/exhausted everyday.
Don't you love the bow?

Clothes are washed, folded and put away just waiting for the baby!

Since I am still in denial that this baby is a girl I couldn't wrap my head around having "accessories" like head bands and bows. But after a trip to AZ and seeing/making bows with Kacy I got pretty excited and started making some of my own. My boys even helped, wish I had a picture of them.

These are just a few of the AWESOME things that my mom has made for the baby. I can't wait to see the blessing dress when it is finished and another blanket too! She really should hire out and make stuff for people. Maybe she will when her own grand kids slow down a little! 4 baby girls in less than a year will keep a Grandma busy!


Along with getting baby things ready, Mark has very graciously fed my "nesting" bug and painted the master bedroom and bathroom, bought some shelves, window treatments, new bedding and whatever else I have said we "need" before the baby comes! Now all I need is the floors and bathrooms steam cleaned and the house will feel "ready" for baby!

After a pedicure and a trip to the salon for my hair I will feel ready.

Just about 4 weeks until this baby is due only I feel like she could come any minute. I feel huge and awkward and uncomfortable and I can't sleep or bend over and picking up my 40lb 2 year old is quite a strain! Would it be to much to ask that just this once I have a baby that decides to come a little early? Despite all of the discomfort of the last month of pregnancy, I do enjoy being pregnant, knowing the baby is safe inside and feeling her move around is such a miracle that I am very blessed to be a part of.
Another HUGE blessing that I really don't verbally recognize often enough is my FABULOUS husband. He is a life saver, seriously he is. I don't have to ask him to help with the kids he just does it and he is so good at it. Especially with Hayden. Our favorite time of day is when Dad comes home from work. Even though Hayden acts like a major Momma's Boy, he really does love being with his dad. Mark even went along with my "nesting" project of getting our bedroom painted and decorated this last weekend. I did as much of the painting and taping as I could but Mark with the help of our friends the Hamans did 99% of the painting. It feels so good to have it done. THANK YOU SO MUCH MARK!

Not to ramble on about how great my husband is, but I really don't know what I would do without him. It really sucks living so far away from my mom, especially right now when I could really use her help, or just her company, but Mark does a great job of calling me during the day and getting us out of the house and keeping the kids entertained, and on and on.... He is also doing a pretty dang good job of putting up with me and my pregnancy mood swings. Without knowing he is doing it he is filling in where my mom would. I couldn't ask for more.

Thankfully we haven't had to deal with too much snow yet this winter. But we do have enough that he kids have been able to use their new sleds.

Cameron lost another tooth! That makes for three lost in a month. He has the best "toothless grin", I really need a picture!

Colby played his first Jr. Jazz game last night. He was SO darn excited and was quite picky about which number he has on his jersey. I think the got #9. I am still amazed at his interest in sports. He looks at ESPN.com multiple times a day and is just sure that he knows all there is to know about football.

Hayden (sorry no picture) is so stinkin cute. He kills me and makes my day at the same time. Right now he loves to play with Play Dough, cook food in his microwave and watch Dora and Diego. I seriously love two year olds. Can he stay two forever?

SUCCESS!!! 
According to our kids this was the best Christmas they have ever had!

It was so nice to hear them say that because this Christmas had a pretty small budget and I stuck to it!   Just goes to show(to me anyway) that with careful planning, shopping, and effort, wishes can come true even on a small budget.  Seeing how happy they were and still are with Christmas was the best Christmas present for me. 

For the last couple of months Cam has told me that he wants his very own can of Cashews for Christmas.  He was quite pleased when he unwrapped them!  He also loved the Star Wars Lego sets and the remote control car and the "how to make paper airplanes" book.   I won't mention that later in the evening he flooded a bathroom and half the basement when he forgot he was filling up the sink to grow his "growing thing."  It was a good excuse to use the new Shop Vac that Mark got for Christmas!

Hayden was just excited because everyone else was excited!  He also thinks he is pretty big when he stands on his stool and gets to play with the new Air Hockey table that GMa & GPa Heap gave the kids.  When he's not playing Air Hockey he is cooking us up some food with his new microwave and pushing around his shopping cart.  He sure is fun to have around on Holidays!

Colby was a little disappointed that he didn't get the 6 NFL Jersey's he asked for until he opened his TEXAS Longhorns T-shirt and the Diary of A Wimpy Kid Do It Yourself book!  It's three days later and I can't convince him to take the shirt off so I can wash it!  And I don't think I have seen the book out of his hands except to build his new Star Wars Lego sets. 

Marks parents and sisters and new Bro-in-law wanted to be at our house to watch the kids open their presents so as soon as the boys woke up, which wasn't until 7am, we called them and they headed over.  Waiting that 10 minutes for them to get here was like waiting and eternity for the kids!  It was fun to have them here though.  It's not really like Christmas without kids around is it?

Later that day we got to talk to Marks youngest sister Hilary who is on a mission at Palmyra, New York.  We also had our friends, the Hamans over to watch a movie and let the kids play. 

Overall this Christmas was really great.  We spent Christmas Eve with Mark's family and his mom and Emily over did themselves with a huge Christmas Dinner.  The kids got to open a few presents that were Gorgeously wrapped by Kristy and Jordan, and GPa told some stories from the scriptures.  When we came home we opened our Christmas PJ's and read a few stories.  By 9:30pm the kids were asleep and by 10:30 Mark and I were all done with preparations for the morning.  I'm pretty sure 10:30 is a record for us for the earliest time being done on Christmas Eve! 

Now we get to look forward to a FUN New Years Eve with more good food and fun! 

Missing Christmas

I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love. Even more than I usually do. And although I know it's a long road back, I promise you.... I'll be home for Christmas.... If only in my dreams. ~my current favorite version of this song by Michael Buble'. Give it a listen, it's great!

Every year that I don't plan on being at home in Arizona for Christmas I have a good attitude about it and don't get too sad. Until Christmas is actually here and I start thinking of all the things I am missing by not being at home. This year has been especially hard, I blame it on pregnancy hormones, but hard none the less.

When I was a growing up Christmas was hands down the best time of the year. My family had so many traditions that started right after Thanksgiving and lasted all month long. Maybe it was the fact that all 17 of my Heap cousins lived in St. Johns and that we gathered at Nana and Papa's house pretty much daily. Or maybe it was that Grammy and Papa came up from Phoenix to spend the holidays and we went there daily as well. Either way, the Holidays were an awesome, Magical time. We were never alone, always had family around, and that's what made the Holidays the best. In my world there was no other way to spend Christmas except surrounded by lots of family, food, and fun. I am pretty sure that my memories and feelings of Christmas as a kid are what makes it so hard for me to be away from home during the holidays. I feel so bad that my own kids are not experiencing Christmas like I did. I feel like they are missing out on so much and it makes me sad. Yes I know that I chose to stay in Utah for Christmas, Mark would take us down right now if I asked him too. And at some moments in the day when we are alone in our house with no other family around, I am ready to head down the road despite the long drive.

Despite my longing for HOME, I am excited about Christmas and I really do hope that I can somehow make Christmas as meaningful and fun for my kids as it was for me. And to my brother Kent who is also so far from home for Christmas, we love you and hope your Christmas is Wonderful. I'm sorry to say brother, but it does make me feel a little better knowing that I am not the only one who is missing out on Christmas in AZ!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

from The Davis'

This is how I felt this morning when I woke up to TWO VERY SAD BOYS.

Yesterday Colby and Cameron both lost a tooth. Both of them on the same day, how often is that gonna happen? You would think that with the big deal that was made about it that it should have been easy for the Tooth Fairy to remember.


SHE FORGOT!!!!!

Colby had even left her a note taped to his door. He was asking for more money this time because he lost one of his molars, not just a tiny little tooth! He also wanted a note in reply written in cursive.
Poor Colby, he was SO SO SAD.
He says he will leave his tooth under his pillow for as long as it takes to get a note and more money from the Tooth Fairy.
If she forgets again tonight she should be fired from the job forever!

Cameron didn't really let it bother him too much. He actually took it pretty well!

The Tooth Fairy felt bad all day.

The funny things they say

Today I was at Wal Mart with Hayden and our friend Kathy. 
Hayden refuses to sit in the cart anywhere we go, he prefers the freedom of walking down the isles and being able to stop and look at whatever catches his eye. 
Today, he was in rare form though.  And he was copying everything he heard come out of anyone's mouth.

This is what I hear from my two year old, as loud as he can talk;

Hayden:  MOM! Come over here, I show you something.

Mom:  What Hayden?

Hayden:  Look at this!  OHHHHH....I LOVE IT!  I love it mom.  I put it in the basket? 

He did this multiple times with different items.  It was so funny!  He is only just barely two but sometimes I think he is closer to four!

Love this picture!

Well, the SNOW has arrived. We can plan on NOT seeing the ground until at least April.
For the first two days the kids were excited about it, but have already started complaining about how long it takes to get dressed and all the gear they have to wear. And I am complaining about wet floors and Mark is complaining about having to snowblow the driveway.
If you can't tell, WINTER is not our favorite season of the year.
It sure is pretty though and as long as we get some sunny days in between the snowy ones we'll make it through the long months of Winter.

Happy Birthday Dear Brother

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!

Seriously the cutest baby ever, and a really great brother.

Aaron and Brant

Aaron and Kent

Aaron is the middle child in our family and ACTS like it most of the time!  He does things his way and in his time.  You'd have to know him to know what I mean.  I think he got the stubborness of the Heaps and Mineers combined!  He is also a big softy and would do anything for anyone. I always knew if I needed anything that I could ask Aaron. 

We were so happy when his stubborness wore off a little and he decided to get married.

WE LOVE JODI and now LOVE their little one Maci. 

I'm excited that they have recently moved to SJ because that means we will see them everytime we go there! 

Happy Birthday brother.  Love ya.

My Baby is 2

I really can't believe that this little boy is already 2.
He looks 4 though and weighs as much as a 4 year old too.
Hayden's stats at 2 years old:

Weight- 38.9 lbs
Height- 38 inches
Is it any wonder that my back hurts? I get to carry this kid around everyday. The Dr. even told me that I should not be lifting him while I am pregnant. But yeah right. How am supposed to not lift him?
One of these days his size will pay off. We are hoping for a BYU football career followed by some time in the NFL!!!
Boys with Guitars.

Besides Hayden's love for balls, he also loves guitars and music. So we got him his very own guitar for his b-day. He and Cam have some great Jam sessions. You should see the facial expressions that Hayden makes. SO GREAT!

Hayden's b-day lunch from Mc Donald's!

Rock on Hayden!

It's hard to get a picture of him when he is not making this face. When he sees the camera he automatically says "cheese"!

No other cake would have been appropriate for this 2 year old.
He loves BALLS! Footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, you name it he loves it. He will shoot hoops and play catch all day long.
Because I am cheap and he is only 2 and didn't care I made a sad attempt to make a basketball cake. Hayden knew what it was supposed to be and that's all that matters right?! He was actually more interested in the rubber bouncy balls used to decorate the cake than actually eating the cake.