Mother of the Year? Not me!

So I messed up. Shayla lost a tooth last night after dinner and I forgot to do the tooth fairy deal. Oops! I have done it before with Haylee so she was not really upset. I explained to her that the tooth fairy probably could not get to her because she lost it at night and she didn't get that far on her list. Then I told her that maybe she doesn't like to work on Sundays and will come tonight. Haylee told Shayla that I was right and the tooth fairy didn't come to her once because it was a Sunday. Few! I got off easy! Well then about 9am that morning after the girls were at school my neighbor Kristi called me and told me of the discussion they had about the tooth fairy in the car on the way to school today. Her daughter Corinne had lost a tooth yesterday also. Shayla was so excited to show Corinne her lost tooth. Corinne asked if the tooth fairy came and Haylee said that she didn't because it was Sunday night. Corinne then told her that the tooth fairy came to her last night. Haylee was so confused because she was sure that the tooth fairy didn't come on Sundays! Kristi wanted me to be aware of what was said. It's kind of funny if you think about it.
I called JC and told him that this was all his fault because he didn't remind me last night. He knows my brain is fried! He wouldn't accept the blame though.

Beauty Is . . .

Haylee's teacher sent home an assignment. This year all of the student's were required to submit a Reflections entry and the theme was Beauty is. When Haylee came home she told me that she wanted to make a film/video entry. I am so not that kind of smart so I told her that we could take a picture. We went to the International Peace gardens and gathered all of the different leaves that had started to change colors and then arranged them on the bench. I thought the photo turned out pretty cool. (Really we were not looking for any type of award, Just wanted to complete the assignment because it is her Art grade.) It was fun to spend some time as a family at the park though.

I can't believe it is November!

Wow how time flies when you are having fun. We have had such a busy couple of months. Our family went to Disneyland in September. A well deserved vacation after the long stretch of Paramedic school. It was great fun! AJ turned 3 on October 19th. I can't believe how grown up he is now. The girls are doing very well in school. JC and I both seem to be doing well in school also. We have crazy nights with homework, Dance, Chior, and the bedtime routine. Halloween was fun and we now have more candy than I know what to do with. I need to hide it because I just don't have the will power to resist the temptation. Unfortunately JC will be at the station this year for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Oh well such is the life right! We are still looking forward to celebrating.

Baby is doing good. Only 10 weeks left! This pregnancy has really gone quite fast but I am still trying to not get anxious. It helps to have a lot on my plate right now.

playing catch up once again.

Well here we are almost done with another month of this year and it has been nearly that since we have updated this blog. This is J.C. or Joe which ever you know me by writting this time. Since our last entry I have taken and successfully passed the national Paramedic Exam finishing off the last 7 1/2 months of my life known as paramedic school. I am actually responding as a paramedic (technically) although officially there are alot of things yet to learn through experience.

After the past two semesters of school going full time and completing 31 credit hours, I thought that I would take some time off, Jen had given me permision to purchase my dream (a truck) when all of my tests were official and I was a paramedic, I had decided on the Nissan Titan. This was up until about two weeks ago when she informed that she wanted to return to school and get her Elementry Education degree and teach.

She has been unusually proactive at this new quest and has filled out all the appropriate forms, made the necessary phone calls, visited with the required people, and is now enrolled at UVU finishing up her general's to hopefully get into the teaching program in the next couple of years. This is a two year full time program that is two years long, with us expecting in January our fourth child (another girl) we just found out this past week this program might be a bit challenging for her but her goal is to be ready to go to work when the newest one will be going to school her self so she has about 5 1/2 years to get it done.

This brings me to my next step in life, back to school to get my degree in emergency services. This of course puts my truck dream on hold for a little while but I guess the long term investment is better with the education than the V8 engine that will just eat up more gasoline and polute the air (I am trying to convince my self of this still).

The girls are both back in school, and going full time this year. Haylee is in 2nd grade and loving every minute of it, especially math. Shayla is in 1st grade and has made the adjustment better than was expected by Jen and I. She had a hard time last year with mommy seperation although this year seems to be doing much better. Anthony (A.J.) does not know what to do with himself with all this parent time he has during the day. (mostly get bored) although he likes it when both mom and dad are home and he gets to go do the shopping by himself with us and not share that opportunity with his sisters. he is doing very well with the potty training (the bribe or threat of not being able to go to Disneyland in Sept is a real motivator).

Well that birngs us up to speed on our lives may god bless and protect everyone. A friend of ours just went through the worst experience ever by loosing his daughter which has taught us that we must not worry about making mends tomorrow solve your problems today, and that life is to short to allow others to dictate how you will feel or live your lives. James thanks for sharing your testimony with us.

Summer

So it is summer time. The girls are out of school and now they spend their days playing, reading, (a mandate from mom) and fighting! I have found myself stopping many fights and it is driving me crazy. Every day it is pretty much the same. When are they going to learn?

Well July has been a pretty great month. JC graduates from Paramedic school this Friday! Hallelujah! It has been a long year and I am so glad that we can go back to living normal again.

Shayla celebrated her 6th birthday on the 8th and had a huge party. I definately bit off a little bit more than I could chew that day. She had a great time and her friends did too. We had a water party and ate pizza. There were about 16 friends that came and then cousins too. (Never again will I invite people and think that they will not be able to come!) We survived the party with no casualties and everyone had fun.

AJ is doing so well. I would lable the potty training done. He is very good to tell me when he needs to go and we have very minimal accidents a week. GREAT JOB BUDDY! Pull ups are still a mandate for bed time. He doesn't like to wear them but occasionally he does wake up wet so instead of changing sheets, he gets to complain when we get jammies on.

This month we have done many things with our family. We enjoyed taking our kids to the Oqquirh Mountain Temple open house. The temple was beautiful. It was very hot that day but I am glad that my children had that opportunity. We also went to the Day's of 47 Rodeo. I have never been to the Rodeo and I have lived in Utah my whole life! It was fun. I think the kids enjoyed it. AJ came home and was talking all about the cowboys. I think the best part for the kids was the Monkey. They had a sheep dog with a monkey dressed as a cowboy strapped in a saddle on his back. It was really cute. They even hurded steers. The evening was really fun and it was nice to get out and do something. On the 24th we spent the day at Cherry Hill water park. We all had fun getting wet on the water slides and spending the day as a family.

Only 3 more weeks and then school starts again. I have to point out that while writing this post I have had to stop yet another fight with my daughters. We hope everyone's summer is treating them well.

Attempting to Potty Train :-{

So my son will be 3 years old in October and we have decided to attempt the potty training task. Today is day 3 and I am wondering if I am really ready to do this. AJ can't decide if this is something he wants to do or not. Sometimes he is all for it and other times he asks to just have a diaper. He does well actually going to the bathroom in the toilet, it's just convincing him that he needs to stop playing and go sit on the potty that is the current issue. Perserverance is the key I guess.

Reina!!!

So yesterday I was heading to work in the Toyota and all of the sudden I can feel weight shifting in the back seat. I was suddenly terrified because I knew that something was in my car and had absolutely no idea what it could be. I glanced behind me into the back seat and low and behold there is my stupid dog in the back! That little stinker!
JC was mowing the lawn when I was leaving and he had asked me to take a few things out of his car before I left. Well in doing so I had left the car door open and I guess Reina decided she wanted to get in and go for a ride.
So I got on the phone and told JC that he had to come up to Bountiful because the dog was in the car. Thank goodness it was a very mild morning and not to hot because I could not bring her into the store.

Let's get caught up!

Wow! It has almost been 2 months since we have posted an update. Here is a run down. Haylee turned 7 on April 5th. Wow, I can't believe she is 7! Time really flies! Her birthday was on Conference Sunday so we had 2 parties that day. One for lunch with the Kalmar side, and one for dinner with the Spicer side. I have decided that it is cheaper to make cakes for birthday's rather than buy 2 of them. So Haylee decided that she wanted an Ariel cake.

I decided to frost both cakes at the same time so that there was less mess with the frosting. My hands hurt so bad after. Haylee loved it though.

Then the next Sunday was Easter. The kids looked so cute in their new Sunday clothes.

They also had a fun Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma's house. AJ thought that was so fun!

About mid April JC started doing his practicals for Medic school. He has been all over the Valley doing all kinds of things. A couple of days in the ER and OR at the IMC hospital. Rides with Sandy, Provo, and Orem fire. We have learned that we can't look more than a week or two in advance schedule wise or we get confused as to where he is this week.

Since our income has dropped due to JC not working a few part time jobs, the kids and I have picked up a new part time job. We helped deliver flyers for Pier 49. JC helps me when he can and it really makes a big difference when he is there. The kids HATE doing flyers, especially Shayla. She makes it sound like it is hard physical labor when you talk to her about it. We get paid $.10 a flyer. It does add up in the end. So far we have delivered over 1400 flyers. The money definately helps out. I haven't had the kids help me for about a month now so hopefully they won't complain too much when I tell them that it's time to again.



We are also so excited that we have planned a family trip to Disneyland in September.

I keep wanting September to come faster! It's not working though. Oh well, knowing that we have a trip planned will help me get through the rest of school. June and July left and then Paramedic school is done!!! I definately hope that the pay raise is good and makes the sacrifices worth it. So that pretty much brings our family up to date. The girls are in school until July 2nd which is still a long time but I think I am glad because then I don't have to entertain all day long.

Sundays

It is a family joke that Aj knows when it is Sunday because he is always sad and ornery. Our ward meets at the 1pm-4pm time and it is especially hard for him because it is nap time. Well this last Sunday it was about 12:45 and we were filling treat bags and Aj of course was sad and wanted something that I would not let him have so he was crying. I kept busy trying to gather everything needed for church. The girls were told to go and get their coats on and I came down the stairs and found Aj crashed asleep on the couch. So we were then faced with the decision to pick him up and go or someone stay home. I decided that I needed to go to Sacrament so I grabed a blanket and scooped him up. He rode on my lap to church (Thankfully it is not far and just in the neighborhood) and then he slept on my lap until 1:50pm. When he woke up he was very happy and ready to head to the nursery. I was very grateful he got a nap and was so happy.

It's Spring Time! Just kidding!!

Well it is definately Spring in Utah! Saturday my kids spend the day outside playing in the sandbox, coloring with chalk on the sidewalk, and free to run and play without even a jacket! But low and behold Mother Nature decided Winter was not over. Monday we woke up to a big snow storm. The snow was heavy and wet, perfect for snowman making. The girls were excited to get geared up and go play in the snow. JC even decided to put studding on hold and join in the fun and talked me into getting my coat and gloves too. So the whole family was out in the yard pushing giant snow balls around trying to build a big snow man. Later we realized that to lift a giant snow ball on top of another giant snow ball was quite the challenge. Eventually we gave up and broke the middle ball into pieces and then packed it on top. The girls and Aj were so excited that their snow man was bigger than them and almost as tall as their dad! Of course when we were all done the camera had to come out. Everyone knew that Frosty would not be here long. (Hopefully!)

Creative Memories!

For any of you who don't know I have been a Creative Memories consultant for going on 5 years! I can't believe it. If anyone is interested I will be placing an order soon this month. We have some amazing new products. You can check out my personal website for a full catalog and new products. It also has great Ideas! www.mycmsite.com/jenspicer

Dads

So I went shopping with my sister last night and when I got home it was bedtime. I went to get my son who was laying under a blanket on the floor and gasped. Dad was in charge. Thats all I am going to say!

Temple Open House

I was so grateful to have the opportunity to take my kids to the new Draper Temple. I remember when I was young I had the opportunity to go and see the Bountiful Temple open house and my parents telling me that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am grateful that my children also had that once in a lifetime opportunity. They were so excited because they got to go INSIDE the temple. It was such a fun day and we had fun partaking of the spirit there.

Celebrating 8 years!

February is not only the month that everyone in the world celebrates Valentines Day but it just so happens to also be the month that My Sweetie and I celebrate our Marriage. February 23rd will be our 8th wedding anniversary. Wow, I can't believe it! In eight short years we have done so much.
-We have 3 beautiful precious gifts from our Heavenly Father that make our lives full of happiness (and sometimes craziness!) Haylee, Shayla, and AJ
-We have a beautiful home that I still marvel at how the Lords Hands put us here.
-We have been able to achieve many lifetime goals as a couple and individuals.
**JC becoming a full-time firefighter. (He worked very hard for that one!)
***Jen being a mother. Something that she has always wanted to be.
- Our friendship continues to grow. I have to say that JC is my bestest friend! I rely on him for so much and would be lost without him.
Last year we took the opportunity and went to San Francisco for our anniversary. It was fun to get lost with my husband and just explore somewhere we had never been. We are very greatful that we had that opportunity and hope to someday go back and enjoy San Fran again. This year will be much less expensive. JC has school that day so we won't be able to spend much time together. Oh well. It is still fun to look back on life and see how blessed we are.

January...Blahh!

Wow! It has been a long time since this blog has been updated. Probably because nothing grand and exciting has happened really.
The New Year came and now we are struggling trying to adapt to a new family routine. Joe is now embarking in Paramedic school. This includes many countless hours of reading, memorizing meds, and more reading. Jen is trying to get used to the new routine of having dad home at night, EVERY NIGHT! AJ is so confused, he used to enjoy cuddling with mom in bed on daddy's side on the nights dad was at work. Now he is squished in the middle and doesn't like that at all. On the bright side he might learn to fall asleep in his bed a lot quicker.
The Girls are currently off track until the 9th of February. We made it through week one ok. Hopefully we can be a little more successful at reading this next week.
We as a family are excited that American Idol has started again, and I can't wait until the 2nd of February for the new season of Heroes to start! I have also become really interested in The Biggest Loser again. Thank goodness for those Raymond re-runs too or I would not be able to fall asleep easily at night. (That show is hilarious!) I told JC that I was sorry for being a boring wife, he just smiled at me!
Update on Kristalee. She had her cast on her Left leg removed and is now in a boot. She also is begining therapy. Unfortunately 6 weeks of bed rest has deteriorated all of the muscle she had in her legs, (and she was buff!) so not only does she have to learn to walk entirely again she also has to learn to stand. The therapist said that she should be able to be used to standing in about 2 weeks and they hope that she should be mobile by the end of March. It is very frusterating for her but she is a trooper and is doing her best. I love that girl!
Well as I stated before January has been pretty uneventfull. JC and I are both addicted to Tetris on Facebook (how sad is that!) and we are trucking through life.