Trying to count my blessings

I am a little embarrassed about how long it has been since I have posted anything.  Writing really helps me to clear my head and I really need to do it more often.  The past few weeks have been full of trials and heartbreak and honestly looking for the positives in life has been hard.  Luckily two of my biggest blessings call me Mom and constantly do things that amaze and humble me.  

This past week Dylan woke up with more excitement than usual for an early morning (the boys obviously get their love of mornings from their Mom).  He was so excited to tell me about what happened after he went to bed.  He said when he was in bed he couldn't find his teddy, his teddy he has had since he was a baby and sleeps with EVERY night.  Dylan told me how sad he was, but then he thought of something he could do.  He knew that if he said a prayer Heavenly Father would help him find his teddy, so he said a prayer and after he finished he found his teddy.  Seriously one of the proudest Mommy moments I have had seeing his testimony grow!  

Yesterday (Thursday) was one of those days full of trials and tears.  We went to bed late Wednesday and hardly slept, we put an offer on a home that we fell in love with.  We were so excited to hopefully get good news the next day.  Thursday started like any other weekday, Kelly's alarm going off, him hitting snooze, his alarm going off again and him hitting snooze, again.  Finally after kicking him out of bed so I could go back to sleep while the boys were still asleep I heard a terrible commotion of dogs freaking out upstairs.  Our two dogs and my sisters.  They weren't just freaking out it was a something is wrong kind of bark.  Kelly had been upstairs when this happened and knew something was wrong too.  He ran out side and found a big husky in our backyard shaking our poor old cat for all it was worth.  Our other cat, this cats brother (we've had both cats for over 14 years) ran and was attacking the dog.  Kelly grabbed a shovel and was able to chase the dog off.  But at that point the damage had already been done.  The damn dog had broken Garfield's back.  It was at this point that Kelly came downstairs and instead of kissing me goodbye and leaving for work he told me I needed to come upstairs and that the cat was hurt, bad.  We tried to move him but he was in so much pain and it just made it worse.  We called animal control.  We waited over an hour for animal control to get here.  While all this was going on, we got the not so good news about the house offer too.  It was blow after blow.  So for over and hour we watched the cat suffer and watched our other cat, his brother staying with him.  We tried and tried to find the dog that had done this but didn't have any luck.  Until hours later one of our neighbors saw it out killing their chickens.  They called animal control who responded a little quicker that time and they caught the dog.  This dog had been out for around 4 hours, killing.  The thing that makes me so angry is that they returned the dog to it's owner, who lives at the end of our street.  What happens if it gets out again?  What if it isn't an animal it hurts next time?  I was never so happy to see a day come to an end.  Friday has been just the type of day I needed.  We packed a picnic and Grandma, Jordyn and the boys and I headed off to the park.  It was such a peaceful, relaxing time.  As I began to gather up the garbage one of my amazing little blessings began picking up garbage that other people had left.  He wanted to leave the park cleaner than we found it and make it nice for the animals.  Another huge humbling, amazing Mommy moment when I get to see that some of the things we are trying so hard to teach them is actually sticking.  

Nothing even comes close to being able to clear my head and bring my heart peace as moments like those.  I'm so thankful for those moments that Heavenly Father gives me.  

FYI Political Drama (and rant)

         I haven't blogged in a long long time and I've been dying to start again, but finding a spare minute has been really hard.  Yesterday and today were some of the most frustrating days and I have so many emotions that I just can't sit still.  I need to vent and I need to feel like my opinion is heard.
         Having a husband in the army is such a trying thing.  I am so proud of him and the sacrifices he's making to support our family through his hard work and service.  While he hasn't been deployed YET he's  at the beginning of his term and has 6 more years to go.  He's already spent 6 months away from our boys and me and that was the longest 6 months of my life.  I felt like he missed out on so much.  There were so many little moments with the boys that he didn't get to be there for and that will always make me sad.  But such is the army lifestyle and we knew that having long periods of time of him being gone just goes with it.  But one thing I was not prepared for was that basically the army (commander in chief) makes crucial decisions for our family.  They determine when he's called up and if he gets transferred and when he works.  With the results of the last election done and over with I'm even more terrified.  I have no faith in Obama and the way he handled Benghazi and treated the families that lost their loved ones made me sick.  I can not get the thought out of my head that this man is commander in chief for my husband and family.  How can I have faith that he would give a damn about my husband if/when he gets deployed?  
        I was so hopeful for the election that our country could change the direction it was headed and have someone that I could at least respect in office.  As nervous and anxious and frustrated as I am I can only imagine how my husband feels.  Because he's the one, who if called up is willing to put his life on the line.
        Our opinions are important to us and last night was so hard.  Our spirits were crushed.  I don't know what the future of the country is or if Kelly will get deployed.  But I'm trying to move on.  I will pray for this country and our military and put my trust in Heavenly Father. I kept rereading a post from a friends blog and I can't express the comfort it brings.

"Whether or not the fabric of America is going to change forever with this new administration is unknown at this point. It just may be that America will not be the great nation she once was, as Mike and others fear. But I say, if that is to happen... I would be very sad, but the point of this life and this world was not that America should be great, but that the Kingdom of God should be built upon it [the world]. America served as the vehicle through which this restoration was able to take place. The things that are greatest about this nation are ours because God granted them to us, and inspired a government to be set up that would allow those freedoms to prosper. Whatever happens to this country will not change what our Father in Heaven has in store for us."
       
         

The dork on the bike....

Okay, first off, Kelly finally called! It was so nice to talk to him even though it was a sad overall phone call. I'll be the first to admit I'm a baby. I miss him like crazy. But talking to him on the phone really helped give me the boost I needed to have a positive out look. He is working so so hard to make a better life for our family so while he is working hard away from us I need to work that hard taking care of everything at home and our boys.

Now back to the dork on the bike. Yesterday I bought a bike trailer. I grew up next to the Provo river and river trail and now that I'm back there I wanted to take advantage of it again. So since today was kind of the warm before the storm I decided we needed to get out and take it for a test drive. It was a little chilly out but no too bad, until I was sailing down the road on my bike with trailer in tow and realized how freaking cold my ears were getting. Well back to the first part of the story, I'm a baby. So I pulled over and pulled my hood on and pulled the little strings so it was scrunched around my head and kept my ears nice and warm. The only thing sticking out were my nose and sunglasses. I enjoyed a very nice bike ride with the boys after that and only passed a few people that gave me an awkward smile. And Dad, I'm sorry you had to go for a bike ride with a dork.

A child's alphabet

Dylan has been working on learning all his letters and alphabet and all of that fun stuff. So we have a game that doesn't really have a name but we go through the alphabet and say things that start with each letter. He actually has been doing really well meth this but the last time we played it I could not have been more amazed. We started out the game like normal. A is for Alligator and apple. B is for bubbles and book. C is for Christopher and cookie and Cooper. D is of course for Dylan and dinosaur. Well so on and so on. We come to the letter I. Each time I say a letter I pause and let Dylan say a word first. There was no hesitation to the letter I, he shouts Ipod! I was kind of taken back for a second because that was one we'd never used and I didn't even think he knew what an ipod was. So in my moment of hesitation I get a very very exasperated sigh from Dylan and then he starts to explain, "Mom, it's like a computer, you know?" Wow. He sure thinks he's a smartie pants.

Hell Week

Okay so it's been quite a while since I've posted anything here, but seeing as I have a couple hours without my little..... angels I thought I should start getting caught up. Kelly joined the army. That was the main reason we moved back to Provo so I could be around my family and have help with the boys while he is away for training. Still while I knew his date to report to training was coming closer and closer it didn't really seem real, until he left. Now it's very very VERY real. This has been the hardest thing I've ever had to go through and we're just getting started.

The first night he was gone, Dylan peed the bed twice. TWICE are you kidding me? I wanted to just go to bed and cry. But I got up, I changed his sheets and tried to hold it together. But the commotion of changing bedding for the second time woke up Christopher. At that point there really was no point in trying to go back to sleep, but I tried. For an hour plus Christopher threw a huge tantrum. He wouldn't stay in bed but was bent on sitting on the floor against their door yelling, "Mom, Mama, Mommy." I don't know I kept my eyes open the next day. I was exhausted.

The next day I was so excited when it was time to start getting the boys ready for bed. They were tired, I was tired, we all needed a good nights sleep. So after bath time they were all snug in their jammies and Christopher threw up. All over. With Chris, this isn't anything really new, he throws up usually once a week or more. But I don't do good when people throw up. Kelly is the vomit cleaner upper in our house and he was gone.

I quit keeping track after that because there's just been to much. I've cleaned up more vomit and washed more sheets in this past week than I did in a year. And throughout this I've been dying waiting for a phone call or letter or anything from Kelly. I miss him like crazy. We've been together 6 years and never gone more than a few hours without talking to each other. Now it's been just over a week and probably will be another before I hear from him. I'm feeling so over whelmed when I think about how little time has gone by compared to how much time is left. I'm trying so hard to focus on all the positive things that are going to come from this but right now I just miss my best friend.

My Little Puppy Dogs

So another amazing pre school day for Dylan. They were learning about the letter D, so they all got to make doggy ears and a collar and pretend to be little puppies! His teacher is so amazing with him! And seriously have you ever seen such a cute little face?!

Of course once the camera was out my second little man came running (he's definitely not camera shy) and then he needed a turn to wear the puppy ears too! I am dying to see the Halloween crafts she has planned.

Some Fall Fun

Okay so I'm still not too good at consistently blogging but I'm trying. Last week we took the boys to the zoo and they had so much fun. Since we took them on Saturday I just knew the place was going to be crowded so we decided to be there right when they opened, and especially because once it reaches Christopher's nap time there's nothing you can do but stop what ever you're doing and get him home before the mother of all tantrums. So we accomplished our goal. We were there 20 minutes after they opened and we got a parking spot right in the front :) We decided we didn't want to bother with a stroller since the boys would want to be out walking the whole time anyway and planned on using a little monkey back pack leash thing for Chris (Some people are so against those on kids but really once you try it you won't go back. Don't get me wrong parents can use them wrong and drag their kid around.) Anyways we were just going to use ours for Chris but Kelly forgot to grab it as we left the house. So when we got to the zoo we each took a little guy and when it wasn't crowded we ended up giving them a little more freedom and letting them see the park like this.... I couldn't believe how good they did. It was so nice not having a huge stroller to push around and try and get close enough to things for the boys to see. Instead they could walk right up to the fence, glass or whatever and see the animals so much better! Can't wait until they have the new exhibits open next year and when we go again!

Dylan would not go anywhere near the gorilla for some reason so it's just a picture of Chris
gator wrestling

A Mother's Heartbreak

So Dylan has been sick for a week+ now. He's getting better, just a lot slower than I would like. Tuesday I didn't go to work because he was still really sick and I didn't want any chance that he might give what ever he had to the kids I watch. I was so sad that he would miss pre school Tuesday. He loves it. He loves his teacher and playing with all his friends. But I kept my chin up. I thought it's one day, and if I don't tell him he wouldn't know he even had class he can't be upset. Well Thursday came around and he still wasn't better. So instead of me missing work again Kelly called in and stayed home with him while I went to work. This is when my heart really started to break. I got to work and the little boy I watch that is the same age as Dylan kept asking where he was. Then it was time to get Coop ready and walk him to pre school. I was almost in tears walking him to class with out Dylan. I felt like such a baby. I'm dying waiting for him to get better because I don't know if I can handle that again.

I love my little man!

Dylan trouble

Let's go back to last Saturday. I'd gone to bed and woke up to Dylan coughing and hardly breathing and a fever. So this was around midnight and with nothing else open I took him to the ER. There diagnosis was that he had croupe. They gave him a breathing treatment and an oral dose of steroids to help with the swelling and help him be able to get some sleep (and Mommy too) Well he's slowly been getting better but still coughs a lot at night. Since Saturday and since he's not been sleeping very well I've become even more of a light sleeper than usual, listening for any sound that he needs help or is getting really sick again. Well last night everyone was in bed. I was almost asleep and the boys had been asleep for a couple hours when I was jerked back from the verge of sleep by Dylan crying and coughing. I ran in his room to check on him. He was so upset and crying and coughing I could hardly understand him. Then I finally got him calmed down enough to understand what he was saying.... He was asking for candy. I made him repeat this 2 or 5 times just to be sure I heard him right and sure enough he was asking for me to go get him candy. At this point I'm relieved he was okay but still confused enough to not be too upset that I wasn't still in bed asleep. Needless to say he didn't get the candy he wanted and had to go right back to sleep.

Christopher's Terrible Hair Cut

So I have been learning to cut hair, I practice on my boys and occasionally Kelly (There was an incident that I will talk about another time as to why cutting Kelly's hair doesn't happen a lot) This last time though cutting Christopher's hair there was another incident.... I was almost done and he was getting a little impatient. As I tried one more time to just blend the sides with the top he had, had enough and arched his back and began throwing a tantrum. So up the side of his head the buzzer's went ruining his cute little hair cut and leaving him with even less hair than he was born with. Poor kid.

This was about a month ago and now I'm happy to report that his hair is growing and I'm not cutting it again until after Sherry's wedding....

The Daddy Potato :)

We've recently been collecting Mr. Potato head pieces after I totally scored finding a buzz light year potato head with all it's pieces at DI. So after a good cleaning Dylan has been so obsessed with building as many Potato men as he can. I was still shocked by his creativity the other day. He came running up to me saying, "Mommy, Mommy look I built a potato daddy! He even has his hat on backwards!" I'll let the picture do the talking now :)

PRE SCHOOL

Okay so WOW I'm behind on blogging! Things have been so crazy around here it's not even funny, so I'm going to use some time tonight to try and catch up. For starters, my oldest little man just started pre school. I was so excited and heartbroken (if that makes any sense) He grew up just a little too fast.

This was Dylan's first day of pre school......

And this is how excited he was to go....

He loves his teacher and she is so amazing! She does the cutest crafts with them and works on teaching them everything to do with writing and reading! I seriously need to post pictures of the stuff he comes home with. I'm so in Mommy heaven now starting a book of all his little school pages and things :)

Now I will tell a little secret about my self, you know those story problem worksheets you get in like 2nd and 3rd grade and so on, they are seriously one of my favorite things in the world (how lame I know I like math) and I can't wait until he is bringing home actual homework that I get to "help" him on.

Christopher....

Okay seriously Kelly and I finally found the true comparison for what Christopher turns into when he is throwing a tantrum, seriously, okay minus the green.

My only wish is that I can capture it on camera some time because it's the most ridiculous thing I've even seen.

My Dad

My Dad is my hero

This is my Dad.
The first one to make you laugh if you're sad or offer support. The first one to help you plan the best prank of your life. The man who would stick a live fish in his mouth for a perfect photo opportunity and the second he returned to camp go give his wife a big kiss on the lips and tell her he loves her and that Kaycie has a picture for her to see now.... The person who would help you with your goals no matter how ridiculous they are. The best nick-name giver (except for mine) The best cook especially his dutch oven berry cobbler that he always makes for his favorite daughter :) The person who always remembers the little things like how much Kaycie loves hammocks so we better pack one to take camping.
These are just a few of my favorites about my Dad and there are so so many more things. I love my Dad!

My Dad is always so amazing. He is the world's BEST ever grandpa. My Dad at the drop of a hat when my nerves were getting frazzled from two adventurous little boys in the mountains, took them on a nature walk in the "jungle" and that's not something new. He's always looking for ways to serve others.

He is so amazing with the boys! I love this picture, because it reminds me of when I was little and always going hiking with my Dad and always learning new things.

Dylan's hero is also my Dad for obvious reasons.... mainly because Mom isn't going to teach him the fine arts of the slingshot....

Papa is also giving Dylan his first fishing lesson.



Dylan's first Fish
and Papa scaring the wits out of Dylan letting the fish suck his finger
My amazing Dad, who can catch 2 fish with one line!

Meal times at the Deitrick's house

As I was trying to think of something to make for dinner tonight it occurred to me, I no longer think about dinner times the same. When I'm thinking of something for dinner my first thought is, will the boys eat this? Next thought, how messy will they get eating this? Next thought, how hard is this going to be to scrub off the table and floor and occasionally wall? And of course somewhere in the middle of all those thoughts I am also trying to pick healthy things for them to eat, especially since I have two very picky eaters. So tonight after dinner and after bedtime when I returned to the kitchen to clean I began to scrub watermelon sticky spots from everywhere and I decided I really REALLY want a picnic table to have in our backyard. At least when the weather permits it would be a lot easier.

A funny moment in the life of Dylan

To begin this story, one of the sayings I can always remember my Dad telling us kids was, "Do you know any P words?" This was what he would always tell us if we asked for something and forgot to say please. Now that the background info is out of the way lets get to the part where Dylan comes in. Monday we are all out in the backyard enjoying our 4th of July BBQ. Dylan had spilled his cup of my Dad's famous homemade root beer and was extremely upset. He ran to my Dad and asked him to get him some more "rootbear" and of course my Dad replied, "Do you know any P words?" Well Dylan with out missing a beat replies, "YES! Pee pee and poo poo!" My first thought was why didn't I think of that when I was little. I love my incredibly ridiculous son!

The rest of the pictures I forgot :)

Another cool feature at the aquarium
Dylan behind bars at Farm Country
Dylan and Christopher exploring farm country. Of course I missed getting the picture of the calf that got a hold of Dylan's shirt and was not going to let go.
This is another perfect moment to describe Christopher. Of course it has to be my son that goes into the play house and starts picking up rocks and throwing them, sometimes at the other kids. This is Grandma Desiree escorting my little monster out of the play house. I still love him, even if the other children that were unlucky enough to meet him today don't.

Living Planet Aquarium and Farm Country

The boys got so spoiled today. Grandma Desiree took us to the Living Planet Aquarium and Farm Country, the boys had such a great time! They have so many cute things there for little kids. The frogs were one of Dylan's favorites!
They also have a huge open tank with Manta Rays that you can pet. Dylan was so terrified of them. Once all of the rays were on the other end of the tank Dylan decided to get brave and test the water..... then the rays begin to swim back towards him and he freaked out, hilarious Mom moment :) I hope that doesn't make me sound really mean. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the ray coming up the side of the tank towards him but of course the really cool stuff happens the second I put my camera away.
Dylan loved the coral reef tunnels. They have a huge playground thing of them that the kids can explore. So cool!

This was at the end of our visit at the aquarium. We began leaving and Christopher decided he wanted to stay and he was going to get away.

Dylan

This is Dylan. My oldest baby. Lately I've really been having a hard time coping with how big he's getting. I still see him as my little baby. This fall he will be starting preschool. When I was writing the check for his registration it really hit me. My baby is officially starting preschool, and then comes Kindergarten and 1st grade and then middles school and high school. Wow, I need to get a hold of my emotions again. Time really goes by way too fast.



He never ceases to amaze me. He comes up with the funniest things and always makes me laugh. He is generally a really nice older brother and loves when he gets to "help" take care of Christopher. I just wish I had a little bit of his energy.

One of my ridiculous little guys

This is Christopher. Mischief maker, yes. Adorable, yes. Christopher can push every single one of my buttons during the day and drive me to the point of insanity, but the second he falls asleep or flashes one of his mischievous smiles my heart melts again at that sweet little face.

So a little more about the picture. For starters I love sleeping with at least 4 pillows. A habit I've always had. The more pillows, the more comfortable. So when I checked on Christopher and found him sleeping like this I laughed so hard. Then I had to get Kelly to come look at him too. THEN I had to get find my camera and take a picture. Christopher definitely inherited my sleeping habits, and we'll just blame his stubborn attitude on Kelly....