Sweet Success

My kids will do anything for a penny these days, and I mean ANYTHING! They all understand enough about money to realize that a penny isn't much, however Jared and I ended up with a gumball machine after a white elephant exchange over the holidays and now a penny has an entirely different worth. I didn't want to deal with the mess of gum so I opted for jawbreakers, something my kids haven't had much of before. It was new and exciting and really, I think the thrill of the gumball machine creates a big portion of the excitement!


I told my kids they could not use their own money from their piggy banks, or any money that they found around the house. The only coins they could use in our candy machine were coins awarded to them for good behavior, chores, or whatever I decide to ask them to do. (call it a bribe.. whatever - IT WORKS!)

Sometimes the candy machine even spits out two jaw breakers for the price of one! Just look at the excitement!

Bedtime is always a hard part of the day for me, especially lately. I'm so worn out and tired and it's such a process. Tonight Jared had to leave just as we were finishing dinner. While the kids finished up their food, I started on the dishes and wished there were someway out of the whole bedtime routine, just for one night. ...PJ's, brush teeth, pick up rooms, prayers, scriptures, read books, all of which take numerous reminders and encouragement all along the way....

With a glimmer of hope, I announced to my kids "whoever gets their pajamas on, brushes their teeth and is in their bed reading a book by the time I get the kitchen cleaned up gets a penny on their dresser that they can use in the morning!"

Zoom!! - all three of my kids went running up the stairs and scrambled into their beds without another word from me. It was amazing! I finished up my cleaning and went to each of their beds to tuck them in rewarding them with their pennies. There isn't much you can get for 3 pennies these days, THIS..... was a fabulous deal.

Name that Movie...

So this morning I hear Camille in a rush trying to get the kids off to an early morning dentist appointment. At one point I hear her say, "Emma, please get your shoes on and get in the car, I meant it."
Then I hear Emma running by my office door on the way to the garage say back, "anybody wanna peanut?"

I laughed until I cried.

They're off!

A few months ago we met with an orthodontist and determined that Linsey would need some work done with those pearly whites. Most things could wait a few years, but we all were in agreement that it might be worth doing something about those two front teeth. We've always thought Linsey was beautiful, but she could fit her entire finger in the space between her front teeth and they stuck out far enough that there were marks on her bottom lip. The plan was to put braces on those top front teeth only and the orthodontist assured us that it would only take about 3 months and less than $300.00. We weren't sure it would really be that fast, but the price was set either way so we went for it.

She got her braces on shortly after school started mid-September. I talked with her about the things kids might say thinking she might get teased. I was surprised when I took her to soccer practice and all the girls crowded around her admiring her shiny new braces with pink rubber bands. They all thought it was soo cool and made remarks about how LUCKY she was, wishing they also could have braces. Not what I expected, but it worked out great for Linsey. She got the same response from her friends and rarely complained.

We were surprised that in only a few short weeks, her teeth had already moved together and looked amazing.

True to his word, nearly 3 months later Linsey got her braces off.
Worth every penny!

Hmmm...

We are expecting a new baby boy in May. I can't help but wonder who he is and what he will look like. Even Hunter has asked, will he have brown hair like me? I had dream about him the other night and in my dream he had huge cheeks. None of us know, but I remember well finding out that Emma was a girl and assuming she would look similar to Linsey. Boy was I wrong.



Linsey was a healthy top of the charts child, averaging 90% in both height and weight for the first two years of her life. Emma was my smallest baby and nearly fell off the charts at 5% and she's still quite small and petite for her age. Linsey had a full head of dark hair when she was born. It all fell out and came in bright blond. Emma didn't have much hair, but it looked slightly red and even curly right from the start. I questioned every nurse that came in the hospital room asking if her hair looked red to them. They all would study it for a brief moment and then confirm that it was red. I just couldn't believe it, never expected it. My girls have some similar features, but I love that they are so unique from one another too. Their personalities are quite different too, but there's no mistaking that they admire one another and Emma especially tries really hard to follow in her big sister's footsteps, adoring everything she says and does.


I look forward to watching Hunter take on the big brother role. He is so sweet with his younger cousins and will love teaching a little brother how to play trucks and cars. I'm sure his little brother will look up to him and adore him much the way Emma adores her big sister and that will be good for Hunter in so many ways. I guess we'll just have to wait a few more months to get a glimpse of this little guy. For now, I guess we should focus on a name.