Sledding Fun!

 We have had a really mild winter with not much snow. On Kaleb's first Monday off track, I promised him if it snowed we would head over to the park and go sledding. It Did!! It was our third time to take advantage of our huge sledding hill that is located at the Western Springs Park that is right by our home. It is so nice to be within walking distance of it. The first time we went sledding this year, I just put the kids on our sled and towed them over to the park. It was kind of funny to just drag them behind me and the kids thought it was AWESOME!!

While we were there on our second visit for the season, we decided that we definitely needed another sled so both kids could sled at the same time. So this time last time around, we had two sleds and the kids had a blast. Both Kaleb and Karmindy are getting more brave all the time. The normally would sled down the smaller hills but towards the end the kids loved going down the large hill. It was fun to see them progress and get more comfortable and have fun! I truly enjoy getting out with my kids and enjoying the great outdoors. The only thing that would have made it better is if Mark/Dad could have joined us. He was at work.

I usually love the snow just until after Christmas and then I wish that it would just disappear for the rest of the year but I have figured out that living in Northern Utah for the past 3 years that you can get snow as late as May/June! Crazy Weather! One thing that I do love about the snow is not only playing in it but looking out our front windows and seeing the Snow blanket the Mountains. It is GORGEOUS!! It is a lot different than the red sand and dry desert landscape that I grew up seeing in Hurricane.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Two years ago we started the tradition of leaving our shoes out on the eve of March 16th so the Leprechauns will come to visit our home and leave little trinkets and treats for the kids. The kids really like celebrating St. Patty's Day and look forward to the Leprechauns coming for a visit.

This year the Leprechauns kept things simple and left a couple of green shirts in the kids shoes, along with a package of skittles and a couple of simple toys for the kids. Kaleb got a tiny fishing game. You wind it up and then hurry and try and get out as many fish before the timer goes off. Karmindy got a little Hello Kitty Figurine that can ride on a tiny skate board. The kids were thrilled with their treasures! ( I am sad because I forgot to take pictures of their treasures). However, I did snap a couple of pictures of them wearing their festive green shirts holding their Skittles Candy. 

For dinner that night, we decided to mix things up and instead of having Corned Beef and Cabbage, I made Fettucine Alfredo with Broccoli, rolls, a lime jello with pears, Shamrock Shakes (sprite mixed with Lime Sherbet) and Key Lime Pie for dessert. The kids really loved our festive green food and gobbled everything up! They are truly looking forward to next year's visit!

He's Got the Moves

Midas Creek Elementary, where Kaleb attends, is becoming known as a "Arts School" in the District. The educators at Midas Creek incorporate art into their curriculum!! Art was one of my favorite subjects in Elementary School and I remember looking forward to Art Days because I knew we would be creating something fun. It is fun as a mom now to see how excited Kaleb gets and looks forward to Art as well. Luckily, our Elementary School has been given a Grant for the Arts. For the past two years, Kaleb has had the opportunity to have a "Dance Day." Meaning that he and his classmates get to head to the gym once a week and have the opportunity to learn about dance and to participate in learning new dances. The dance that they focus on is modern dance but it is fun for the kids to use their creativity to move.

This week Karmindy and I headed to the school to see Kaleb in a 15 minute dance program, where Kaleb and his classmates got to show the parents what they had been learning over the past few months.

The first dance that they performed was a modern dance to the story of The Little Red Hen. It was very cute.  There next and final dance was a Mexican Dance. Kaleb got to dance with one of the cute little girls in his class. It was really cute! It was really fun to see Kaleb perform these dances and interact with his classmates. I am really grateful for the arts programs in his school and for what he has been able to learn this past year!

Cute Cousins

My Sister Kamberee Came up this past weekend for a visit. Her and my cute nephew stayed at our home on Friday and Saturday and left on Sunday. They came up to go to Toy Story Disney On Ice with her Boyfriend. It was so fun to see them. On Saturday we were able to hang out a little bit and we decided to take the kids to the park in the afternoon because it was such a nice Spring Day. Kaleb and Karmindy had a great time playing with their little cousin Karev and going down the slides with him. I also had fun spoiling Karev and squishing him. I call him Squishy because he is such a chubby little guy. I love both my sister and nephew so much and I was so glad to be able to have them come stay for a couple of days and see them. I love my Sister so much!

"I love you too!!"

Having had the experience to be the mother to two beautiful children, I would say the hardest part of parenting small children (for me) is Potty Training. I know that there will be different challenges that will arise through each stage of life but right now Potty Training gives me a run for my money. Kaleb potty trained pretty easily with only a few accidents. Karmindy has been a different story and we have struggled. For the most part she is potty trained it is just when she gets busy playing or she gets tired in the afternoons she will have accidents. I have tried not to yell but it truly is so aggravating and I do yell because that is the only thing that gets her attention. Everyday she has an accident in the afternoon. Everday.....!!! So I yell on a daily basis, and I HATE THAT!

 Some days  Most days I think she will never get it. As you know I have yelled, I have sat her on the Naughty chair, She has stood in corners and put her nose on the wall. I know that sounds so mean, but what do you do when my free spirited child doesn't seem to care about punishments. Also, it is hard because she knows that I am furious at her and when she knows I am mad, she will yell, "I LOVE YOU TOO, MOM!" How do you get mad at that?! It has spilled over into all aspects of her naughtiness. Whenever she is in trouble, she will yell, "I LOVE YOU TOO, MOM!!" I believe she thinks that is she says the words, I love you, that it makes everything all better. :D I still follow through with the punishments and She still has to sit on chairs and stick her nose in the corner to be punished. I have also taken toys away. However, she still doesn't not grasp it!! I am hoping that she will be completely potty trained soon! Wish me luck!!! On a positive note, at least I get told on a daily basis that my daughter, "Loves me too!"