Winter Activities

When we told the brothers we were moving, the first thing Tanner needed to know was if the house had a track. A track? Yes, a track. I allow them to ride their scooters and anything else that might happen to have wheels on it around our house. Don't worry, we have an envelope labeled "floors" that we periodically put money into so that in five years we can refinish them! Our last house had a pretty cool "track" and so I can see how this was a big concern for our 4 year old. Luckily, the new house has a "track" and it seems to fit their needs just perfectly!

Where did January go??

Oh my goodness has it really been since January 9th since I last posted! Where has the month gone? So much has gone on and I have so much to say! Stay tuned! It's all good!

Skiing!

Last Saturday morning we kicked off the day wit ski lessons! Tanner and I took ski lessons up at Bogus and had a blast! We left Carter with Uncle Chris and Aunt Cammie and Hadley stayed with my mom and Tyler,Tanner and I headed up to ski! I have to admit I was nervous as all get out! I don't like heights so just the thought of getting on the chair lifts and being lifted up to the top of a steep hill didn't really sound appealing. But, I watched Tanner do it last year as a 3 year old so I figured I could get some courage and do it too! I have to say that the first time I rode up on the chair lift it stopped as I was half way up the mountain on what I perceived to be the highest part of the lift and scared the living day lights out of me! I had to act all cool and brave though because I was riding up with another girl in my lesson class who wasn't afraid at all! She didn't even hold on, while I had the death grip on the bar! I suppose this was better than if I was riding up with Tyler because then I might have really allowed myself to be scared and possibly shed a few tears! Then, the lift started up again and I was even able to get off the chair without biffing it into the snow ! Hooray! Skiing down that hill was so invigorating and quite possibly one of the most fun experiences I have had in a long time! I am so happy I did this, skiing is so much fun! I am very excited to have found a winter hobby we can all do as a family!

Tanner and Mommy! Ski lessons here we come! Our lessons classes ended up being kind of together so I got to ski with the big guy a few times! He is really great and a lot faster than me! As I was skiing down the hill for the last time, Tyler was standing at the bottom watching for us. I started waving and almost lost my balance, but I didn't fall! Thank goodness!

Tanner and Mommy after ski lessons! It was a beautiful day up at Bogus! We can't wait to go back next weekend!

New Year's 2011

Welcome 2011! I am very excited for this year, I have a great feeling that lots of wonderful things are in store for us!

I have my New Years Resolution and it is in full swing already. There wasn't much I had to do to make this resolution effective, all I had to do was decide. So, here is how it's going to play out (at least I hope!) I plan on being able to stop messing around with all the crap that periodically happens. I'm not going to act like it isn't there or anything-this is no fairytale after all, I am just going to "Change it, Accept it, or Leave it." I know this is easier said than done, especially the acceptance part. I am not big on accepting things, especially when they suck. I just can't sit back and accept stuff that sucks, can I get an Amen? I will have to try to change it before I decide to leave it or accept it. I feel like acceptance is usually a last resort for me!

Another part of the kick off of 2011 is starting another blog. Yep, another blog. This one has a purpose and a timeline, which will result in an end goal. Much of my life right now deals with what happens with kids under the age of 4. I love this very much, don't get me wrong, but I miss parts of me before these 3 little precious cherubs blessed my life. I miss the way my marriage was before kids and I miss being able to go to lunch or coffee or shopping or anything with my girlfriends before kids. We get together at places that have play lands. I have written to Starbucks, Moxie Java and Tulley's all asking for play lands within their wonderful coffee houses but apparently that isn't the demographic they want to cater to. Darn it! I get it though, becuase on tose rare occasions when I go to coffee, the last thing I want to hear is kids! I love my girlfriends to death and they all have kids so they get it. It's just as hard for them to have lunch with me sans kids as it is for me with them. They get it, they live it, and we all love each other. My marriage is the most special thing I have. I love Tyler and I think he is the best man, husband and father in the entire world for me and our kids. However, marriage changes ten fold when you have kids, especially multiple kids because the more you have, the more chances you have of someone having an issue, being sick, needing something, anything, everything. Oh, babysitters are a little harder to come by and with 3 kids you usually need 2, that tacks on a bit more expense to an evening out as well! As I write this right now, Hadley is laying on a blanket on the floor with a fever, Carter is on the chair with me, and Tanner is messing around in one of the desk drawers. So, my thoughts might not be complete right now, but I can get out the gist of it! I LOVE my kids. But I LOVE my marriage too. My marriage was here before kids and it will be here after kids and I want to focus on it. Kids change marriages, there is no arguing that. In the last 5 years our marriage has grown stronger and stronger and I can't imagine my life without Tyler, he is amazing and never seems to stop amazing me. I made a pact to stop focusing so much on my kids milestones and reading kids books and just let my kids be kids. It has been refreshing most of the time to watch Tanner, Carter & Hadley and not anticipate what they should be doing! I have kept that pact 100%. This made me turn my attention more towards my marriage. I picked up this awesome book which I am going to do a daily blog on until the goal is reached. Then I will recap and that will be the end! It's a "marathon" of sorts and right now we are in the "training" part of it. I am going to have my first entry of the new blog be about the training and plan on having it up and running by Monday. I'm not going to have it linked to this blog though, if you find the blog; wonderful, if you want the link, email me.........I am hoping that I am not alone in all this. Marriage with kids, little kids to be exact, is very different. I feel like it is not talked about very much either. At least I never talked about marriage with multiple kids before I had kids. So, I am opening the door and letting you all in. Let's talk about, let's not feel alone in it, let's Change It! Happy New Year!

December in a nut shell!

December was a very busy month for our family! We kicked off the beginning of the month by moving into a new home. We are very excited, we very fortunate to have been able to make this move, and love our home! It fits our family very well and we are looking forward to many many years of making memories in it! Moving with 3 kids, snow, rain and just plain cold weather was not the most ideal situation but we made it work. In fact, we are still making it work because I think I go back to the old house a few times a week and take more loads in between anxiety attacks and just feeling completely overwhelmed! Nothing a few deep breaths and a good cup of coffee can't fix! Hopefully someday the old house will be empty and sold!

Our realtor got us this cute little cookie bouquet! It was also very delicious!

We made Ginger bread houses one afternoon and the boys had a blast!


I did not read the directions when I made Carter's and so he has a flat roof which they kindly call "The Cabin"! Gotta love it!

Hadley loves her new home and has adjusted very well to the move! She even had 2 little bottom teeth poke through last week! Tanner adjusted wonderfully to the move too! Carter loves the new house and has adjusted great except he has definitely had a regression in his potty training since the move. I have been trying to find a good balance between bribery, compassion and understanding without getting upset! I'm still trying! Hopefully one of these days he will just snap out of it! I have heard form numerous people say that the most traumatic things in little kids lives are births of new babies and moves and this little kid has had both in the last 6 months!



Tanner in the backyard! This was the only picture I took the weekend Dad and Sue came to visit! I could kick myself! We had a wonderful time visiting with them and celebrating an early Christmas too! We love it when they come up to visit and wish we could see them more often! We are anxiously awaiting the private jet timeshare purchase!

Because of all the moving, Christmas came faster than it usually does! I did not decorate to the nines inside the house like I usually do and Tyler did not act like Clark Griswold with the outside lights either. There were definitely moans from Tanner as to all that. Luckily Christmas comes every year and I will make it up to all of them next year!

I did manage to order Hadley's stocking at the very last minute (I got in on the free shipping deal though!), find the rest of the stockings and hang them all in time for Christmas! We did put up the tree too but did not put ornaments on it, they must be in another bin!

The kids and I made cookies for Santa and he left them a nice little note! We also left carrots for the reindeer and there was talk of seeing reindeer tracks on the back patio Christmas morning! Its an absolute blast around here for Christmas! Christmas Eve and Christmas day was spent with family and we couldn't have asked for a better weekend!

Tanner sledding at the cabin New Years weekend. Daddy surprised us by leaving work early on Thursday so we were able to get to Cascade early in the afternoon and spend some much needed family time up there!


Cammie and Hadley New Years Eve at the cabin! She and Chris were up in McCall for the weekend and came over for dinner and some Wii Friday night! It was great! Cam can really rock the Wii Mario Brothers!

Daddy pulling Tanner behind the snowmobile........not exactly mother approved but they were very safe and did have a GREAT time! Boys will be boys and my 3 are the best!

Tanner and Daddy on the snowmobile! They trekked all over the place and went on actual rides around the lake, over the dam, and all over! It was great!

Carter and Daddy on the snowmobile! Not quite as daring as his older brother, he did enjoy riding around the cabin!

Daddy making a snow angel!

Hadley played too!

Carter and Tanner at breakfast New Years Eve morning!

Hadley! She is new to the food scene! Just started experiencing all kinds of yummy pureed goodies a few weeks ago! Loves it all!

The Sterlings joined us at the cabin for a New Years Eve slumber party. We had a blast! Here is Chelsea, Tanner and Makayla! The kids really partied it up too!

Smiley Sissy! Happy New Year! We love you!

New Year's Rockin' Eve! Hadley rocked her flower headband for our big New Years bash! Justin, Lisa, Tyler and I all made it to midnight! It was so fun! Hadley even woke up to ring in the New Year with us while all the "big" kids stayed sound asleep in their beds! We had such a great time saying hello to 2011 with such great friends! I've got my New years resolutions almost all hemmed up and I can't wait to share them with all of you so I can be held accountable! A few are realistic and a few are dreams, like Le Bella Vita in Italy (someday, just not in 2011!)

I walked downstairs and had to laugh out loud! The kids were playing so well, but boy were they playing! One of the pictures above the bed was knocked crooked, toys were everywhere and the kids were dancing and singing! It was hilarious!

The nightstand where the kids slept and played! I don't know why this strikes me as so funny, but it does! With the toys, the singing, dancing and crooked pictures on the wall, the icing on the cake was the nightstand with 2 juice boxes and a sippy cup with the book rack full of kids books! 2010 went out with a bang for these kids! My have our New Years changed over the past 5 years!

As keeping with the bedtime routine, Justin read the kids 5 books before they all went to sleep. And they all went to sleep and stayed in their beds asleep all night long! It was amazing! Here's to 2011!

The girls watching Tanner play his LeapFrog. This picture is precious!

Tanner showing Chelsea the view of Cascade!

Tanner and Carter at Tanner's preschool before his Christmas singing show!


Tanner and his sweet preschool teacher, Mrs. Limdemood!

Tanner singing in his preschool Christmas show! These little shows are just priceless!

It has to be genetic!

So much of who we are stems from where we come from. We can talk all we want to about where we have been, where we grew up, how we were raised, and all the things we miss about the places we are "from". My little boy, Carter, was born here in Boise, Idaho only two and a half years ago. He has been to California a handful of times, Maui twice, and to a few other non flip flop wearing places, but for the most part-he has been here. And here specifically would actually be Meridian, ID. Not exactly the flip flop mecca of the world. Today when we woke up it was dumping freezing cold rain, so much that our backyard was flooded. Albeit today was not one of more colder days but the wind and rain in the morning made for some pretty chilly temperatures. These are the shoes my dear sweet little carter chose to wear today! Flip Flops! He wore them most of the day too. I was almost proud of him!

That settled it, case closed, when your mommy is a California Girl-you inherit the California gene!

Now, off to organize all the Christmas pictures and lump the December blog post all into one big old story, all while wearing my flip flops of course!

I used to be

I used to be many things...

Thin. Young. Snobby(ish). Selfish (more so than now, amazing huh? Like, how much more selfish could I have been?). Clueless about what being a grown up was. Able to go braless. Didn't ever worry about money or jobs. But what I remember the most is that once upon a time I was cool.

Like put on my ultra low snakeskin print pants and tease my hair cool. Like paint my lips scarlet and outline my eyes in a smoky kohl cool. Like I had my belly button, and ears double pierced. Like I would not even leave the house until 10:30 pm cool. Like down countless vodka and cranberries and dance on the bar cool.

And though I know all of you still think I am the definition of cool (just nod and smile) it hit me like a smack across the face that I am no longer that person. Not even close.

Sure, I may like my beats played fast and my bass down low, but it doesn't matter.
Even though I'm feeling so fly like a G6 (like a G6 like a G6), no one sees me that way.
And I've got my "sporty" GMC Denali to prove it, filled to the brim with car seats and boosters.
I came to this realization the other night as I was bopping along to The ABC's in my cool SUV on my home from one of our umpteenth meals of the season, exhausted and so ready for bed since it was past 9 pm, well almost 9 pm......that's like midnight in New York you know!

Wham! It hit me...I was officially not a party girl anymore, I'm a mom who likes to go to bed early with her body pillow that really needs to be tossed since it will no longer support a pregnancy in this body.

Sure, one might think I may have gracefully given up party girl status after the second or third kid. And if we're talking honestly here, once Tyler and I got married we both became homebodies...more likely we were at a movie (matinee) or just, um, relaxing at home. So I guess I haven't been cool for a long time.

Or maybe I'm just a different kind of cool...

Like a funny mom cool. Like a die for my children cool. Like an addicted to blogging personal details about my life to strangers cool. Like a try to be a great wife cool.

And even though I may not be as cool, or skinny, or young as I was once...I've still got it...just ask the trucker who winked at me while I was in the drive-thru at MacDonald's the other day...


So as 2011 approaches us I am ready to start it off with a bang! I am planning on trying my hardest to stay up until midnight with our friends during a rousing game of Wheel of Fortune or some other really cool game! But more importantly, I am ready to be a cool mom, a great wife, and a fantastic friend in 2011.

Can I please leave a message with Mary?

Carter is 2. He is very good at being 2. Last night he was tired and he was exceptionally great at being 2. The video above is what went on last night. Of course, when you are 2, it is always something, and its usually tired, or sick, or tired and sick. Sometimes I am just sick and tired! Most of the time when Carter throws these little fits, its funny. But sometimes they really get to me and I lose it! I'm trying to be better at that, be calmer, be helpful, be "dry pants", be Love and Logic, be Parenting is Heart Work, etc, etc! Scary thing is, I think it is easy now and it gets really hard when they get older!

As I went to sleep last night all I could think about was the fact that Jesus was once 2. I worry a lot about making sure my kids grow up to be good people. The last thing I would ever want to hear goes something like this......"Oh those Compton kids, they aren't people you want to associate yourself with" or something like that. I can't even imagine the pressure Mary had trying to raise Jesus. I'm sure he had tantrums and I'm sure he was really good at being 2 as well. It makes me laugh to think of Jesus as a 2 year old! I'd love to be able to talk to Mary and hear all about how she felt trying to raise God's only son. Needless to say, she did an impeccable job! Thanks Mary!

Tanner, on the other hand is 4 and he is very good at being 4. He never ceases to make me laugh! When we got home he wanted to put on his "comfy's" and relax. As he got his "comfys" on, he insisted I take a picture of him with his shirt back because it was silly. So, that is the above picture, and it is really silly. Then, he went over to the fridge and got himself some water and put it in a coffee cup, he then went over to the pantry and grabbed some crackers and took it into the family room. He told me he just needed to sit and drink his coffee for a little bit to unwind. Wow. I know I have said those exact words myself! I thought I should pour myself some "coffee" and join him!

Tanners crackers and "coffee"! So cute!

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Happy 6 Months!

Hadley is 6 months old today!

The last 6 months have been full of changes in our little girl! She has gone from a little tiny infant who does nothing but eat and sleep to a big little girl who loves to laugh, squeal, chatter, play with her brothers, roll over, feel her toys and blankets, play in her exersaucer and of course eat and sleep. She has always been such a great eater and sleeper! I was so blessed with that! Not that I couldn't have handled another non-sleeper, but this is so much nicer and WAY EASIER!!! Thanks for the gift of sleep sissy!

Hadley! Happy 6 Months! You chew on your tongue a lot. You might be teething or you might just like to chew on your tongue.......or you might be hungry! We are going to give you rice cereal for the first time this weekend! We borrowed cousin Caden's high chair for this monumental occasion! I know you will love eating cereal as this past week you have sat in the high chair with us at dinner each night and gazed longingly as we eat took bites of our dinners! You are ready for it sis and we are excited for this next phase of your life! Diapers look out!

At 6 months your eyes are still blue but we have a feeling they will turn green someday! You have very little hair so you wear headbands and hats which you love (and so do I!)! You are a beautiful little baby girl who I know will grow up to be a beautiful woman someday! You go in for more shots on December 16th which is when we will find out just how much you weigh and how tall you are! The doctor will also make sure you are hitting all your developmental milestones and ease Mommy's mind!

You have such a fun personality! You are the star of our family right now! We all just love you so much! Mommy has not left you for more than about 2 hours in your whole life! Its crazy to think we are together all the time. I wouldn't change that for the world sissy! You are a terrific & happy little girl to be around!

One of your main talents right now is sleeping. You are a rock star at sleeping! Whether it be at night or the naps you take during the day, all I have to do is lay you in your crib and you snuggle right down, coo for a little bit and then fall asleep! You are adorable and I could watch you sleep for hours! Lucky for me, you usually take a 2 hour nap in the morning and 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon! I've got lots of viewing opportunities!

Did I mention that you snore? You snore a little bit and it is so cute! You also love to sleep on your belly. You always have, since day 1! When we were still in the hospital the nurses noticed you liked your tummy one night while we were co-sleeping and they came to check on us! We had a small chat about it too. Lucky for us, we had some amazing nurses! Tummy sleeping and co-sleeping and all the other different ways to sleep are quite the hot topic right now! I was so afraid and I dared not breathe a word of that to anyone for fear of hearing all the horrible stories that come along with tummy sleeping these days! Not really something I wanted to hear while I was still in my post partum baby blues (aka crazy) phase! I just had faith in God that he would protect you, I will never stop having faith that he will protect you your entire life.

Your brothers think you are something special! They love to hold you, kiss you, hug you, get you toys, and talk to you! They smother you and you love every minute of it! They are also very protective of you and only want the best for you. Try to remember this when you go out on a date! Mommy and Daddy have been so lucky to have 3 little kids who all love to be around each other! As you get older you will find the bond that you have as siblings will grow even stronger. Mommy and Auntie Cammie have a very strong bond that the 3 of you will also have with each other later on in life. I pray for that special bond and friendship everyday. Family is sacred to me.

The Snow!

We woke up yesterday morning to snow, snow, and more snow! I think when it started snowing the night before last, it didn't stop until late yesterday afternoon! It was crazy! Tanner is a snow fanatic! He just loves to be out in it and can stay out for hours which is a delight for me! Carter on the other had, gets cold quicker and can't seem to keep his gloves on so his hands start "singing" which I think translates to "stinging" in our language! It might be due to the fact that after I spend what seems like an eternity getting the 2 of them all bundled up in their bibs, coats, hats, gloves and boots that he has completely undressed himself! The only item of clothing Tanner seems to take off is his hat. While all this is going on, the two of them are asking over and over a hundred times "Is it Christmas??" "Is it Christmas??" "Is it Christmas??" "Is it Christmas??" When I answer "No, not today." They respond by saying "It has to be Christmas because there is snow!" (over and over and over) and they are jumping up and down and yelling and inevitably someone starts singing Silent Night. It makes it really really difficult to get all their snow clothes on! It exhausts me just getting them ready to go outside! Is it almost summer???

Hadley is just too little for me to let her just be out in the snow! I took her out for a brief minute so she could touch the snow and see what it was all about! She shivered and wasn't too sure about the cold feel it had! It was so cute!

A classic photo of Carter with what is left of the items of clothing I put on him-just his boots and hat. This kid! He tests me to the end of the earth and back sometimes! He was able to be outside for 15 minutes due to the fact that contrary to popular belief, boots, thin jammies and a hat do not keep you dry and warm in the snow. Sorry folks!

Carter trying to ride his tricycle in the snow!

Tanner and Carter


Tanner with a HUGE snowball!

Tanner learning how to throw snowballs!

In the process of making a snow angel! He's doing it the Compton way!