They'll laugh at you...

I took a shower with the kids today, trying to get ready to go up north. As we are getting dressed, this is in the conversation.

J: Mom, why do you were that?

M: What? My bra?

J: Yeah, why?

E: So people don't look at her mi-mi's.

J: Why don't you want people to look at your mi-mi's?

E: (matter of fact, of course) Because they will laugh at them.

*pout* What do you say to that?!

Afterwards, as I am making lunch, the kids come in with ice cream cones (pretend ones) and are "licking them" like crazy. I look over and say:

M: Don't eat too much ice cream or you won't eat lunch.

J: (looking at me like I am stupid) Mom, we are just 'attending. We are doing something called using our 'magination, it's not real ice cream, mom.

I tell you kids are so literal it's funny sometimes.

If all else fails, do it yourself (with some help!)

We bought jaxen a loft bed earlier this year. We didn't think to measure it before we brought it home. We have vaulted ceilings, so everything must fit, right? It was really high and he wouldn't sleep on it. Then we thought we would buy the frame for the bed to go under it (it could be a bunk bed too). We figured he could sleep on the bottom bunk until he was brave enough to hike up to the top. IKEA stopped making it. Now what?!

So, for the last few months we have been trying to sell it on Craigslist. I wanted to be able to get some money for it, and everyone was really trying to lower it. Mind you, this is a bed that has never been slept on.

Leave it to a friend to come up with a great idea (thanks Bridget), and even better to volunteer her husband (he, he, thanks Jason) to help! So last night we had the Hopkins over for dinner, the men taylored the bed, and had dessert. It was a great chance to hang out, chat, and fix a problem that has been driving me nuts pretty much from a few days after we bought it.

Overall I am pleased with how it all turned out, take a look!

Before (look at the dresser for size comparison)

After

We were going to take the race car bed out of the room, but decided to keep it so Ember can have "sleep over surprises" with Jaxen every once in a while. She slept in it last night and loved it!

Secret Santa Helpers

Every year we do Christmas Angels off the trees at the mall. This year, we decided to do something different within our church. I talked to the Relief Society President and we came up with a plan. Our family was going to be a Secret Santa Helpers. The people we were doing this for secretly were older, so me and the kids came up with a plan.

Every other day until Christmas we were going to drop something small off, ring the bell, and run. The kids loved to remind me that today was "Secret Grandma Day" and would pick out of the little gifts we bought to bring over. Some we bought and some where home made.

Shaun and I couldn't help but smile when we saw the two of them with these huge grins running as fast as they could back to the van after ringing the bell. Ember's little boots slapping the pavement. Jaxen's "aaahhh"and silly run after he appears from around the side of the house. RUN! Really, they probably could have walked faster than someone would have made it to the door, but it was fun and made it seem more"sneaky".

Christmas Eve was the last night of the SSH, and I went with Shaun (he had taken the kids the last few times) and noticed that one of the houses had up the Snowflakes (I made a poem to go with it) we had made for them in their window.

During this adventure, every once in a while I wondered if we were more of a bother with the token gifts then it was worth to them. Seeing the snowflakes in the window made me smile and realize that people can be touched by the small things and appreciate the thought.

We had so much fun as a family doing this and it made the season a little more meaningful and fun.

Christmas Year-in-Review Letter

Dearest Loved Ones,

2007 was supposed to be a lucky year, and I guess in many ways it was. I am glad I am not a betting woman or I would have put money on a totally different outcome for the year. A year in review:

Shaunton and I celebrated 7 years of wedded bliss, I am happy to say that there is no itch.

Somehow we managed to get pregnant while using protection…and fending off two little ones that liked to sleep in our bed. We decide we wanted to be surprised with this pregnancy and not find out what we are having. After all, we have a boy and a girl…it was going to be one or the other, right? I mean, what are the chances I was abducted and impregnated with alien spawn? The big surprise was that I had complications, serious complications. Two boring, normal pregnancies and two healthy babies had me unprepared for the bleeding that started at 12 weeks. Come July, about 22 weeks into the pregnancy, I decided to get a second opinion on the bleeding and ended up admitted to the hospital. Two blood transfusions, meds to stop contractions, steroid shots for lung development, and 5 weeks later there was no more they could do. The baby needed out, and now. We had our tiny miracle baby, Owen Edison Davis, on August 3, 2007 at 6:50pm (27 weeks gestation). He was a whopping 2 lbs. .3 oz. and was 13 inches long. Twelve long weeks of rollercoaster emotions, worry, hospital visits, one surgery, four blood transfusions, and a partridge in a pear tree…we were finally able to bring Owen home, tipping the scales at 5 lbs. 14 oz. and 19 inches long.

While in the hospital, I managed to miss Jaxen’s first day of school. Yes, he is a big boy now! Kindergarten! His teacher raves about his artistic ability (much more detailed than most kids his age) his agility (the only one in his class that can cross the monkey bars) and his smarts (we already knew he was a genius). He is doing extremely well and likes school. He makes us so proud. He has a crazy sense of humor and loves to entertain his classmates, sister and brother.

Ember is three years old and can’t wait for preschool, maybe after Christmas break. She loves to paint, play play-doh, sing (she is quite the song writer and sings her own material often), and take care of Owen (Yikes! This one has been an adventure!) When she isn’t in his face or kissing him all over, she is mothering her dollies, pretending to be pregnant with her doll up her shirt, or pumping “mi-mi’s” for her baby (like mom). She also loves to read (she has quite a few memorized and likes to read to me and Owen).

Shaun is still at Jacobs, this is year five. He has racked up quite a bit of daddy points while I was in the hospital. It took a lot for him to take care of two little ones, taxi them between friends’ houses to watch them while he worked, and still find time to entertain his bed ridded wife each night. He has also learned how to do laundry, I am sure he could still figure it out…if I let him. He played flag football this year. He was the best player on the team…and he was the center…so that tells you something. He still likes to work out to maintain that svelte figure. I still don’t know how he manages to get up 2-3 days a week at 4 am to do it! That, my friends, is determination!

I am a SAHM with 3 wonderful (and awful, and silly, and fun, and crazy) kids whom I love (most of the time). We are adjusting to being a family of five. We thank the Lord for taking a chance on us. Somehow the cards fell just the way they were supposed to. We have all we could ask for and more and give thanks to Heavenly Father daily for all our blessings. 2007 was a year with crazy odds, but ones we were able to beat. We love each of you who have been a part of it, both directly and indirectly. We think about you often. May 2008 be a calmer year (yah right!) and one that brings us all closer together.

Count your blessings; See what the Lord has done!


Best wishes and all our love,

The Davis Family

What is that sound?!

I meant to blog about this a week ago when it happened, but Shaun made me wait...you 'll see why.


I was lying down with Owen trying to get him to sleep when I hear this tapping sound. It was like someone hammering on something. I thought it was coming from next door. I was getting slightly annoyed, but it was the middle of the day, which I prefer to the middle of the night. The only problem was that it was very rhythmic. Tap tap tap *pause* tap tap tap. I got up to see if it was the kids banging around on the walls or something. Nope. Finally, I noticed I could really hear it in Ember's room. I open her blinds and a bird goes flying. Was that a woodpecker?! I mean, don't woodpeckers live in forests or something! And like trees?! LOL I went outside to look at the underside of the roof by Ember's room and didn't see anything. I got back in bed and kinda forgot about it.


The next day Shaun was home and we hear the same tapping sound. I told Shaun about my woodpecker theory. He got the camera and was going to try and take a picture of it. He went out by the orange tree (sans oranges, still a baby) and trying to turn the camera on. The click of the lens made the bird poke its head out from under the awning of the roof and look (quite sneakily I might add) all around. Shaun tried to zoom in and that is when the bird realized it had been had. It booked it to the next door neighbors roof. Shaun tried to take a picture then, but it flew off before he could. So, sorry no pictures (that is why he wanted me to wait to post the blog)!


Since then...no tapping, which is nice because I really don't want to share my house with a bird. Although, we do have real estate in a nice big tree in our front yard. He can go peck on that all he wants.

Sweet Relief

Last night I was up late wrapping presents. I wanted to get it done so I wasn't stressing last minute. I put Owen to bed around 9-9:30. When all was said and done I fell into bed around 11:30. I thought Owen would be waking up within the next hour or so. NOPE! He woke up at 3:30! I don't really know what constitutes "sleeping through the night", but a 5-6 hour stretch seemed pretty close. Granted, it was only one night (so far). Maybe it was Owen's Christmas present for me...which would have been really great if I went to bed the same time he did (hindsight!) :)

Christmas Shopping

I am finally done! Shopping is way to stressful! That is why I called a friend last night, last minute, and begged, I mean, asked her to go with me! It was actually really fun. (Granted I missed a few things on the list, LOL).

As I sat in bed last night I realized that poor Owen has only one gift. Yeap, just one...and it ain't even from us... it's from "Santa". I know he isn't old enough to open and enjoy presents, but come on...nothing under the tree? That is unheard of! So I trotted down to Target this morning and got him three outfits. One "from" each of the kids and a nice church outfit from mom and dad. All the kids have essentially 4 gifts. One from each sibling, one from mom and dad, and one from Santa. Jaxen and Ember will have stocking stuffers (I love the Dollar Tree!)...I am not even going to try and find stuff for Owen's stocking (at least I remember to get him one this year). He needed clothes, holiday or not, and I can't for the life of me think of anything to put in the stocking. He won't remember and, honestly, neither will we. LOL