Self-Decorating for Christmas?

So, Remy came home from school last Thursday with pink-eye. It was a pretty good case of it too. It was more like Christmas Red-Eye. Not so jolly.



I took him to the instacare to get some drops because he really wanted to go to school on Friday. We got home at 9:30 that night and put a couple of rounds of drops in that night. The next day he woke up with his eye almost swollen shut. It kind of freaked me out because I was hospitalized for 3 days with cellulitis when I was 15, and my eye looked exactly like his.

So, after the late night instacare visit, I still kept him home from school and took him to our pediatrician, who gave him an oral antibiotic to take if it got worse thru the day.

Thank goodness it started improving and after a couple of days was all clear.

One week later (this morning) both boys woke up with Christmas Red-eye jolliness again (opposite eye for Remy). Remy's is clearing up pretty quickly this time, but Tate's is being more stubborn.

(OK, really bad picture of Tate...he did not want me to take a picture of him)

Also....All Remy wants for Christmas is his two front teeth!!! He lost one two weekends ago and one today. He is very excited for the tooth fairy to come again tonight.


Tooth #1


Tooth #2 & 2nd round of pink-eye :)

Happiness...

....is getting awesome pictures of your kids. My friend Lyndsey took the boys photo's a couple of weeks ago. She did an awesome job. Check out her website at www.seenboxphotography.com I highly recommend her.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45605047@N08/page2/

Just click on the link, or copy and paste the link into your URL. Enjoy!

Temple Square

We had the opportunity to take the boys to Temple Square yesterday. We haven't been since Remy was little. We bundled them up in snow pants, sweaters, snow boots, coats, gloves, and hats and headed up to Murray to board the TRAX train.

We rode up a couple of stops and Uncle Kyle and Aunt Cindy hopped on our train and headed up to Temple Square with us.

The boys had a lot of fun riding TRAX and they loved seeing all the beautiful lights at Temple Square, especially the bubble lights in the reflecting pool. They really wanted to throw some money in the water and make a wish and we decided that we should have brought our tithing to pay that way. ;)

We went into the north visitors center to warm up and the boys enjoyed the map of Old Jerusalem and especially enjoyed the downstairs display on Loving One Another and Taking Joy in Serving One Another. It was very nicely done.

Then we hopped back on TRAX to go The Gateway to have a late dinner. We went to Rumbi and had some yummy chicken, steak, rice, noodles, veggies and Cindy was really excited to have Teriyaki Sauce.

We stopped in at the Planetarium and looked at all the cool displays there and Remy and Kyle had a fun time trying out all the cool interactive displays together.

We all rode TRAX back to our destinations and had a good drive home.

It was one of those blissfully enjoyable nights that come every so often. It was so nice to see the boys having fun and learning about the important parts of Christmas.

I am truly grateful for the family that I have close by and for the love that they show my children.



Remy on TRAX

Taters

Kissy

Cindy and Kyle

Our Family

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We celebrated my mom's birthday last Saturday by going for a picnic by Sundance ski resort. It was warm enough in the sun, but down right chilly in the shade. We had a lot of fun! Happy Birthday Grandma!


Peek a Boo!


The Birthday Girl


Da Boys

Reorganization

The Charlie Bradshaw Fan Club met Friday November 6th, 2009 at Treasurer, Cindy "Cannon" Balling's, newly purchased Home in Magna Utah.
In attendance were:

President: Tate "er" Bradshaw

Vice President: Cody "Poke ya with a stick" Baird

Newly Elected Secretary: Tanner "Toot in a bag" Baird

Treasurer: Cindy "Cannon" Balling

Activities Committee Chair: Mandy "Oh Apples!" Bradshaw

Reproduction Committe Chair: Betsy "Where's my kid?" Bradshaw

Vertical Height Specialist: Becky "Too tall" Baird

What happens at Aunt Cindy's Stays at Aunt Cindy's Visitor Relations Committee Chair: Charlie "Houdini" Bradshaw


It was deemed neccessary to Reorganize the CBFC to a newly updated Fan Club to incorporate all newly admitted and yet to be admitted memebers.

In a vote of 1 to 0, the newly organized: Super Cool Cousins of Mike and Ruth Bradshaw Family was officially incorporated on Friday November 6, 2009.

Statistical Report:
Current Membership: 7.9
Current Celestial Membership: 2
Male Membership (of the 7.9): 5.9
Female Membership(of the 7.9): 2
Average Age of Member: 9.75 years

Here are some photo's from our most recent meeting:




Sticks, Leaves, Holes, Dirt, Water...a boys dream.


The crew minus Tanner.



Apples from Aunt Cindy and Uncle Kyles tree.


Cody teaching Charlie how to blow bubbles in his water.


Aunt Betsy and Tanner


Aunt Cindy and Tanner


Look at that cute dimple!

Oohhh, Giveaways....

They are so fun! And so is this cute blog! Who, is also sponsoring a Giveaway....
Check it out! http://sugarnspicecreations.blogspot.com/

Motherhood Olympics, Back to School Edition

It's the moment you have all been waiting for!!!

Motherhood Olympics: Back to School Edition

Step right up, step right up!!

A Track Olympic Games will begin at the 'are you sure we're awake yet' hour of 7 am sharp!

B Track Olympic Games will begin at 8 am sharp and end at the 'hey lets try and smash homework, dinner, doctors appointments, karate, dance and bedtime in before midnight' time of 4 pm sharp!

Games this go around will include:

Socks and Shoes Smash-up
All participants will be judged according to the length of time needed to find the mate to a randomly chosen sock and shoe.

Lunch-Box Sneak-A-Roo
All participants will be judged by the ability to create a appealing and appetizing lunch with limited ingredients on hand.

All lunches will be scored by our expert panel of picky 6 year old judges.

Homework Huh?
All participants will be judged by the ability to decode complicated instructions accompanying daily homework.

Extra points will be given for each correctly identified "Mom, is this a picture of a needle or an apple?" type question regarding poorly copied homework pages.

Throw me a life jacket, I'm in the Carpool
Participants will be scored on how many children, backpacks, and coats they can fit into a minivan with extra points for form while driving to school.

Points will be deducted for any smashed fingers in doors, stop signs run, or school children still left in minivan when participants exit school grounds to return home.




To sign up to participate in the Back to School Edition of the Motherhood Olympics, please fill out and return the small crunched up white Olympic form at the bottom of your child's backpack and return it by yesterday. Thank you.

Mrs. Sew and Sew

First of all...thank you to my friend Macy for the cute title :)

Secondly, Here is my sewing debut!
I have seen all these cute aprons around and I thought I would try my hand at one.

Now, I am not really a seamstress, Darrin had to show me how to thread a needle when I got my sewing machine a couple of years ago (thanks Mom Bradshaw!).

I was given a short lesson on sewing by my friend Cherish while she was helping me make Remy's Beatles blanket, so this is my first real creation.



DRUMROLL PLEASE...........................














Thanks also to my beautiful model, Miss Madeline.

Muse, Mutter and Murmur

Darrin says I worry too much.

I say, "Well, SOMEBODY has to worry in this relationship."

He's right, I do tend to contemplate situations, words, future events, performances, attitudes, meanings and actions a little too much.

I worried for a long time that I worried too much. Then I came across a quote about 7 years ago that says this:

Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but doesn't get you anywhere.

I can really say that I don't worry so much about things I can't control. I have a plan for things I have a little control over and I take charge and do something about the things I have control over.

But, I still think a lot.


I have just been assigned a new visiting teachee.

She is, well, a little needy.

Or a lot needy.

OK, she is really a lot a lot needy.

In the 2 weeks I have "officially" been her visiting teacher, I have done one home visit, taken food over once, sent my husband over to give a blessing (which didn't go down...they didn't answer the door when he showed up), and received 9 phone calls for things ranging from rides, babysitting, and just wanting to chat.

I can really honestly say that I believe in the purpose of Visiting Teaching and I believe that it is divinely inspired and is a wonderful program.

BUT, (OK, you knew there would be a but in here somewhere, didn't ya?)

But, what exactly is a Visiting Teachers role?

I actually find it all a little amusing still at this point. I love a good story, and this is shaping up to be a classic. I do have a feeling though, that this will eventually cross a yet to be determined boundary and how do I not feel guilty when that time comes?

I have been musing on this calling of mine and what is expected of me and what the Lord would have me do and what might be considered "beyond the call of duty".

I am sure that Muttering and Murmuring will come into the picture at some point in this new assignment of mine.

But for now, I am happy to serve and gain a little humor about life along the way.

Shoot 'Em Up!

Some old time CEU friends came over on Saturday and we took a **few** guns and went over to the mountains behind our house and had a great time firing a few rounds. Then we all came back to our house and had a BBQ.
It was great seeing everyone and we had a ton of fun!
(I didn't get a picture with Remy shooting because I was helping him shoot...and no one else cared about pictures)



Boys and Guns


The latest shooting wear...


Daddy and Tate shooting the .22



Remy and Tate did not want to pose for a picture, can you tell?



"You are not going to move until you smile." --Mom

Transitions

I purchased a new purse and wallet today. It was really a momentous event in my life. It is a black "grown up" purse and a black "grown up" wallet.

It is the first time I have had a real purse, not just a bag of some sort.

Purses really aren't my style, but it was time to transition.

I don't have to worry about diapers, bottles, toys or even changes of clothing for potty training kids. I have grown past that stage of life.

I am not quite sure how I feel about that. Free? Helpless? Happy? Sad?

We have been talking a lot about emotions lately with Remy and Tate. Remy is a very emotional person (hmmmm, I wonder where he gets that from?)so we have been working on labeling our emotions and talking more about them to make sense of how he is feeling. We just talked about how we can feel more than one emotion at a time and how fascinating that really is.

This small little transition really sums up this emotional discussion that Remy and I had.

Who knew a purse could have such a powerful affect?

Preschool Party!

I have been able to get a little preschool started at home after teaching at the hospital for 10 years. It is very different in a lot of ways, but I am so very excited for the change!
Today was the first day. The kids were all so excited and cute. It was fun to see all the little personalities and to be able to be teaching again (even though it has only been 3 months). It is definitely one of my favorite things to do.
Here are some pictures of my kiddos...

Camping Trip to Old Folks Flat

During our vacation week we had our annual camping trip to Old Folks Flat in Huntington Canyon. We had lots of fun. We (meaning the boys) fished, creatively cooked the fish we caught, explored, plugged our noses in the bathrooms, sat on rocks, got really dirty, saw deer and slept to the sounds of the wild. It was great!
We look forward to next year, hopefully with our whole family this time! We'll plan ahead next year....
(Josh and Lacey, we thought about you and decided we should go camping together next summer! Because, you guys NEVER go camping....)




A very comfortable rock



.

Superman!!!


Looking at the deer walking thru our camp


Like Father. Like Son.


Getting ready to fly fish...oh I just melt when I see him fly fishing. le sigh

Mrs. Hollingshead and 1st Grade

Remy met his teacher yesterday, Mrs. Hollingshead. She is very nice and I am sure Remy will have a great year with her. There are 1200 children in Remy's school and about 3600 brothers and sisters. It is pretty crazy to see all the kids and their families there at the school!
Here are a couple pictures of my big 1st grader!


Remy and Mrs. Hollingshead


Remy and Tate before heading to school


Remy and his good friend Hayden


There are not being arrested...We just thought they looked so cute with their huge backpacks!




Lining up to go inside his class.

The Final Countdown (as sung by Europe)

Everytime I hear the phrase now, The Final Countdown, I think of my brother-in-law Brady. He told me he had that song in his head during the last little bit of his mission. I thought that was pretty funny.

I am easily amused.


It is the final countdown until 1st grade starts. Hooray. And Boo.

It is like pregnancy. I think Heavenly Father makes the last little part so uncomfortable that you really are ready for that baby to be born. Otherwise you would just be happy to let your baby continue to grow in the safety and security of the womb.


It is getting pretty uncomfortable now.

I don't want to let my baby leave the safety and security of our home once again, but it is apparent that he is ready to go.


If I learned one thing in my Statistics class it is that the rise in fighting, whining and contention is directly correlated to how many days of "summer fun" that one has experienced.

Remy is super excited to go to school. We are so blessed that he is happy, bold and friendly. He loves to meet new people and is very excited to go and meet new friends, a new teacher and learn new things!

My dad passed away in 2001 and in his obituary it read "Tom never knew a stranger, and was loved by all." I can really see those qualities in Remy. He spent about two years with my dad before we were blessed with him on earth and I think he emulates those abilities from my dad.

Yesterday we had a yard and bake sale for some dear friends of ours. Remy turned out to be quite a salesman. He would walk right over to anyone that came to the sale and would say things like:

"here is a nice little pillow, you put it around your neck so you can sleep in the car."

"here is a bike, it's only 10 dollars. It doesn't work, but you can fix it"

Darrin and I were talking later about how fun it was to see Remy shine during that experience. He is like my dad. He could sell a ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves. ;)


I think he will do just fine in the coming year, don't you think?

Vacation

This past week was Darrin's vacation week, we did a lot of fun things from camping to a trip to Snowbird to a funeral. Darrin and I had an overnight date together thanks to his mom and dad. We went to the Melting Pot in Salt Lake and totally indulged in Fondue. It was the first time I had ever had it and it was all really yummy!!


Darrin LOVED this salad (I did too!)


Yummmmmy!

Our 15 minutes of fame.

 

Yard Sale/Bake Sale

Hi, Just wanted to let you all know that I am putting together a charity yard sale/bake sale for my very good friend's little girl. She is looking to be a candidate for a heart transplant, which we all know is not cheap. It will be at my house on August 15, please let me know if you would be willing to contribute anything for the Yard Sale or Bake Sale. You can check out her story at the link on my sidebar entitled "Vittorias Corner".
Mandy

Vittoria

Our very good friends James and Val Frandsen are praying for a miracle while their sweet little daughter is fighting for her life at Primary Childrens Hospital. Here is a link to their web site. We are praying for Vittoria.
www.vittoriascorner.blogspot.com (copy and paste web address if link does not work)

Bowling for Soup

We have a yearly family tradition of a rousing game of bowling. The boys like it more and more each year, and thus, so do we!
Here are some shots from the mayhem....


Don't even THINK about using my ball.


Strike!!!!!!!!!!


Give me five!


Tate wouldn't stop plugging his ears at first because it was too loud for him.


He's a Pro!