Our week…

Thanksgiving at Richard’s Grandma’s in Aurora  (Central Utah).

 

The fun started when we had to squish all three kids in the back of our small Saturn because the transmission has gone out on our van…so sad! So we had to deal with 2 1/2 hours of Mason poking and picking on Kendyl the whole way. At one point we even pulled over on the off ramp of the freeway to sit Mason in a time out on the side of the road….Maybe we can shoot for “Parent of the year award” in 2010…I think we’ve messed up one too many times in 2009!

It was fun to get to know Rich’s Aunt Linda and husband Steve better, along with her son. And of course it’s always fun to visit with Grandma and Aunt Cindy. We didn’t get many pic’s…we were too busy eating!!!

We gave Kendyl a choc. chip cookie…she managed to eat the cookie without eating the choc. chips.  Can’t be my child…the chocolate is the BEST PART!

 

So what do the Reeves’ do at home when they are bored….

well here’s one thing…

Here’s a new twist to hide-and-go-seek….dressing Sadie up as a lamp to see if Mason noticed where she was.  Dad threw the wig on! It made for a funny disguise.

And my new form of punishment…..you know when you have days where you just wish you could BEAT YOUR CHILDREN…but of course you don’t. Well here’s the next best thing….when you feel like getting even for all the yelling and whining going on….JUST GIVE YOUR KIDS LEMONS FOR SNACK TIME. As you can see in the pic….Mason was not excited about this and ended up throwing it at me. I’m hoping that next time they decide to fight all I have to say is “Sounds like those sweet mouths are ready for their LEMON SNACKS”!

If you mess with a bull….

You end up looking like this!!!

So today Rich was working with some massive wild bulls (not someone’s pet….serious wild bulls that live out on a ranch).  Rich ended up getting kicked by the bull AND BROKE HIS HAND!!!! And I won’t go into detail what Rich was doing to this poor animal…but in the BULL’S DEFENSE….if someone was doing to me what Rich was doing to this poor bull, I WOULD HAVE KICKED HIM TOO!  It’s sad though…Rich is in a lot of pain. He will probably be UNDERGOING SURGERY on Monday.  We just feel blessed it was his hand and not his head.

Let it snow…

I love watching my children play in the snow. It reminds me so much of my own wonderful childhood memories.

Don’t you hate when you have to make an important call and you end up waiting on hold for an hour. Really what mother has the time to wait like that? This day I had too many things to do and too many moody children who needed my hands. So this is how I ended up walking around the house for an hour. I got a good chuckle out of myself…thought I should document it!

Serenity now!

You Seinfeld lovers out there may recognize this saying….this was the exact dialogue from the show:

(George’s conversation….)

"Serenity now! Serenity now!"

"What is that?"

"The doctor gave me a relaxation cassette. When my blood pressure gets too high, the man on the tape tells me to say 'serenity now!'"

"Are you supposed to yell it?"

"The man on the tape wasn't specific."

If you could hear the thoughts in my head lately…you would hear A LOT OF “SERENITY NOW’S” being screamed in the most desperate voice. On top of the daily stresses which I won’t bore you with….we have been dealing with one sickness after another for 2 MONTHS NOW! I myself have had the stomach flu 4 times since the beginning of October and a bout with the Swine Flu last week. Our sicky bugs have just been recycled from one person to the next and then back to the original person again. I feel like I’m cleaning up kid diarrhea or vomit ON A DAILY BASIS! I’ve given up on keeping the bedding clean and back on the beds. I’m now just throwing down old towels in the beds and calling it good!

THEN THIS MORNING….. (only a couple of days after recovering from the Swine Flu) I woke up feeling like I had the stomach flu AGAIN!  RIDICULOUS! ….although I think it was just something I ate last night because I got over it within 5 or so hours. BUT RICH IS NOW FIGHTING SOMETHING NASTY!  I was so looking forward to spending some time with Rich over the Thanksgiving break since he’s such a busy guy….oh well…such is life (as I scream SERENITY NOW, SERENITY NOW, SERENITY NOW….a little louder each time in my head, but continue to have a smile on my face \’’/ ).

Once Kendyl went down for her first nap this morning, Rich and I jumped into bed to rest,  all the while praying that our two older kids could fend for themselves. Mason struggles most with lack of parental attention. Our little bedroom retreat didn’t last…it wasn’t long before Mason came in trying to cause trouble! I told him if he grabbed a book and laid next to me I would read to him. So he did…AND I TRIED! As I tried reading to him, I kept falling asleep mid-sentence. He finally gave up on me and went seeking attention from his “ON CALL MOM” aka ..his sister Sadie! She is naturally a little mother who wants nothing more than to BE IN CHARGE! So she took the role as “ON CALL MOM” and ran with it! She even tried dressing up like me (which I may need to call “What not to wear” if I really look anything like this)…but she even put on my earrings and carried around my purses. After getting an hour or so of sleep Sadie came and woke me up and said “Mom, you don’t have to worry about Mason. I’ve become his mother and I’ve been taking really good care of him. I even made us some lunch”.  Me…"Oh, what did you make”. Sadie “I made FRUIT SNACK TACO’S”. Me…"WHAT’S THAT????” Sadie “I just opened up some fruit snacks, poured them into a tortilla and rolled them up. I was extra hungry so I poured two packets of fruit snacks into mine. Mason really liked it. He ate the whole thing.” Me “Hmm, not surprising!!!” While Sadie was on a roll, I asked her if she would bathe herself and her brother. She did a great job at that responsibility too! Rich and I even got another 45 minutes of rest. I won’t lie….the thought did pop into my mind “Maybe I can get away with sleeping in now that I have another little mother to come to my aid”…but I won’t….tempting….but  I don’t think we will ever get rid of our illness’s if the kids are only being nourished by fruit snack tacos!!!

Quarantined

 

All the gallons of hand gel I bought were purchased in vain! It still found me, and it sure did a doosy on me! Yes I contracted the Swine Flu…and it was worse than I expected. When I woke up early on Saturday to go running I jumped out of bed only to find myself with the worst body aches ever. Running was out of the question…so I went to the kitchen to do the dinner dishes from the night before since I was feeling guilty about not having already done them. As I cleaned my house for an hour or so I was slowly losing every ounce of energy in me. My head started to ache, my throat was sore, my back was extremely tight and felt like it had knots everywhere. But Saturday was not a good day to be sick. My kids had two performances to act in (reference to lower post) so I kept trekking along with my plans. Finally while at the church…while I was in charge of the nursery (of all places)…I broke out in a high fever. I grabbed my kids and headed for home. I spent Saturday and Sunday feeling like I was dying! So Monday I went in to be tested…SURE ENOUGH THE SWINE FLU!

The best part….

So after leaving the doctors I went straight to the pharmacy to pick up the tamiflu. At the pharmacy there was a huge line of people waiting to get there H1N1 vaccine shot. As I sat there waiting I was talking to Rich on the phone. When he asked what the doctor said I had, I asked him to guess. Seriously…can you imagine what would of happened if while these people are standing in line to receive a shot to PREVENT the swine flu… then here this sickly looking girl who is sitting amongst them says out loud while talking on the phone “Yes honey…I have the Swine Flu”…. there would have been a mad rush for the counter to get there injection. I didn’t want to be the cause of any deadly stampedes. I could tell that Rich was getting frustrated that I wouldn’t just come out and tell him. The funniest thing that came out of his mouth was…. “ARE YOU PREGNANT???” ….my response “Um yes honey, see the last three pregnancies brought on 9 month’s of vomiting and nausea. Crazy how on the 4th child it brings on a swore throat, body aches, sniffling and a cough.” And we invested how many years for him to study medicine????…….just kidding sweets…..in his defense I was being weird over the phone and weirdness IS ONE OF THE SYMPTOMS that comes along with my pregnancies. So no I’m not pregnant…..I’m just letting my body be host for sometime for the “Hini” bug….so Rich calls it.

So far I’ve been wearing a mask all day in the house and washing my hands NON-STOP and none of my kids have gotten it….let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Moxie girls UNITE!

Rich came home the other day to find this note hung in the window along with Sadie’s new Moxie doll sitting in the window. I’ll use my mommy urim thummim skills to help you through this letter, it reads

“Come here if you have a Moxie Girl. Because I have a Moxie Girl and because you do have a Moxie Girl, then come in”.

So far there have been no Moxie Girl collectors congregating in my house…phew!

I love my girl….how cute is she! She’s got such a sweet and innocent imagination that I will find so sad when she grows out of this stage!

Calling all agents…

Post Wizard Of Oz Actor/Actress LOOKING FOR THERE NEXT NEW ROLE….

Sadie and Mason have spent months at rehearsals practicing their parts (Sadie…a poppie, and Mason…a munchkin) in this stake play. Many week nights and almost every Saturday was spent practicing for this play. And after ALL THAT WORK…the only thing Mason would perform for was MY CAMERA! He never even made it up on stage for his big debut…..all because of that DANG WICKED OL’ WITCH!

Oh how I wish I could have caught this on camera…..So during the munchkin scene when the wicked witch would appear, the stage crew would blow this LOUD air compressor and she would jump out and SCREAM! Poor Mason is going to need some therapy now….every time they would practice their scene he would FREAK! The night before the first performance was by far my favorite reaction. So he’s up there dancing around…and I could tell that Mason had no idea idea her frightening appearance was coming. Right when they blew the air compressor, all of the munchkins dropped to the ground (like they were told to do…you know act scared)….no acting was needed on Mason’s part!!! Instead of dropping to the ground like the rest of the kids…HE TOOK OFF RUNNING INSTEAD! He ran all the way across the stage and into the dark area behind the stage. Finding himself in the dark he came running back out onto the stage, dived onto his stomach, and kept his head down without lifting an inch for a peek until the wicked witch was gone (about 5 minutes). After that night he informed me “HE WAS NEVER GETTING ON THE STAGE AGAIN”. So I went out and bought him a hulk action figure AND a candy bar to try and bribe him the night of the performance….FAT CHANCE….nothing’s worth facing a near death experience with the wicked witch!

Sadie on the other hand is a “born to be” actress! I was happy to see her get over some stage fright. She loved every minute. Especially when in the Tin Man’s line he would say “Those are sure some pretty poppies”….Sadie would bat her eyes and cock her head to the side and smile!

I’m glad the long rehearsal hours are over…but it sure was a fun experience for the kids!

I forgot!!!! Total Due....

Temple portrait making friends...the total cost for each picture comes too: $46 + tax ($48.92).

Temple portrait class update…

K   girlies……here’s the scoop. So if you haven’t already heard we are not able to use the church because it’s a business running this project. NO WORRIES…I have a unfinished basement that will fit plenty of work space. BUT not enough for everyone coming. BUT THIS ACTUALLY WILL WORK OUT BEST FOR ME AND ALL OF YOU WHO WERE WANTING TO MAKE MORE THAN 3. If we don’t bust out all of the pictures we want  in one day then I’m having MORE THAN ONE PARTY!!! The first party is for Wed. Dec. 2nd (early in the month for all of you who need them as Christmas gifts for early Christmas parties) sometime in the evening, and if we need a second party I’ve kept the Sat.Dec 12th party but the time will be a little later (the demonstrator will not be able to arrive until 1:30 or 2:00…I’ll keep you posted on times). SO HERE’S THE KICKER….Most of the time spent on this project is PAINTING THE FRAME and giving it time to dry before assembling it together. Here’s an idea and let me know what you think….the demonstrator said I could pick up the wood pieces and deliver them to you to paint on your own time (she will supply the paint too). As a crazy busy mother I loved this idea because then you wouldn’t have to spend 3 1/2 hours away from home. BUT if that’s not something that sounds good to you, feel free to paint them in my basement the day of the party. No harm can be done by paint in an unfinished basement \’’/ NOW I NEED TO START COLLECTING MONEY….I need it within the NEXT 2 DAYS!   YIKES I KNOW!  But if we want to do it as early as Dec 2nd, she needs to process the order.

So here’s what I need to know from you:

1. Does Wed. Dec 2nd in the evening work for you? It will be an open house style and we will offer longer hours most likely from like 5:30 to 10:00 (not 100% sure). If that date does not work for you let me know…I still have Sat. Dec 12th lined up and am completely happy keeping that party (which I think I will need to anyway since we have a lot of orders).

2.  Would you like to paint your frame at home on your own…. or at my house?

3. What temple would you like to do? (How to select : go to poppyseedprojects.com and click the temple portrait class link. The temple that are in the dropdown box are included in the price of the class ($46). Other options for temples are available to order directly from the photographer at an additional fee of $32…such as the Jordan River Temple etc).

4. I NEED YOUR MONEY….ASAP! Sounds greedy I know. This is how the demonstrator wants it done….CAN YOU TRUST ME\’’/ ? F.Y.I…yes you can! I need everyone to write their check to me personally (Nichole Reeves)because she wants me to write her ONE CHECK! I will also take cash or exchanges for a free all expense paid trip to Hawaii…YOUR CHOICE !

You can deliver it to my house: 3992 Heidelberg Lane  West Jordan, UT 84084 (Take 6200 South past Bangeter Hwy heading West. You will see a Ream’s Grocery store on your left just after Bangeter Hwy. Keep going. You will also see a brown church building on your left. Turn left at the light just after the church building on Center Parkway Drive. As you drive down that road the airport will be on your right. When the road curves around you will turn left on Scarsborough Lane. Then your second right will be Heidelberg.

OR I can arrange to come pick it up from you

My phone number is 801-967-9561 or cell 909-706-0399.

Did I cover everything??? Questions??? Just let me know!

I need to grow up…

I went to a training meeting this week on how we can modify toning exercising for seniors in our fitness classes. This is what they suggested! I’M THE MOST IMMATURE EMPLOYEE! I couldn’t hold in any sort of  professional etiquette. I just had to make an inappropriate comment followed by non-stop laughing until we went onto the next exercise. SERIOUSLY…how could you ever demonstrate an exercise like that with a straight face \’’/

Got Laundry???

YES…YES I DO…

I don’t even think these picture do the mess justice. I had 10 loads here on the floor. Rich said we must document this so we will never forgot how crazy our life is with only 3 kids. This is one week’s laundry! Well..not your average week. One week full of clothes worn by a vet who works everyday with smelly horses, a mom who TRIES to workout and get sweaty everyday, 2 kids with diarrhea, and one child who threw up a couple of times. 

Hi we’re the Reebds!

I love it! Whenever asked what our last name is…everyone has a hard time understanding the “V”. We get people saying “The Reeds…or Reebes etc” But never before have we been asked “The Reebds!” Last Sunday we spoke in church and here was the program \’’/

It’s always interesting juggling the job of watching children and speaking in sacrament meeting all at the same time. I went up to speak first, and if Kendyl can ever see me but is not physically near me…SHE FREAKS! So for the first 5 minutes of my talk she was bawling as loud as she could. I’m sure nobody could hear me…I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts. I was so tempted to yell to Rich over the pulpit “TAKE HER OUT!!!!!” But before I had to go to such disrespectful measures, he finally took her out. After she calmed down a bit he brought her back in. Then just when I started to get into the serious part of my talk, I look down and Kendyl’s was waving at me with two hands with the biggest grin on her face. Once again I lost my train of thought because it was so cute I couldn’t help but chuckle. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!

Sunday picnic up the canyon…in NOVEMBER!

I know CRAZY…but in our defense you have to remember we are the people who just moved from California and Arizona. We are still getting used to the fact that we live in the ARCTIC!

After lighting the fire…WE QUICKLY ATE…THEN WENT HOME! Not much time to enjoy the moment…but at least we got out of the house as a family!

I like to ride my bicycle…I like to ride my bike!

So teaching Sadie to ride a bike without training wheels was one of those things we were meaning to get around to doing this summer….BUT WITH RICH’S CRAZY WORK SCHEDULE…and other things getting in the way, we just didn’t get around to spending as much time as we would of liked. We even had a nice neighbor friend that took it upon himself to be a mentor. But again, it wasn’t consistent enough to see any real improvement. THEN….ONE DAY…while out playing with friends, we all of a sudden see Sadie cruising down the road on a bike. Yep…SHE’S A BIKE RIDER! Her sweet friend Abby took it upon herself to teach Sadie…AND IT WORKED!  WAY TO GO SADIE….AND ABBY!

11 months…and already a SOCIAL BUTTERFLY!

As you can see….Kendyl’s new favorite thing to do is put things OVER or ON her head. All day long she’s putting everyone else’s clothes she finds on the ground on her head, then she crawls around the house bumping into things. SHE LOVES NECKLACES…that she can take on and off her head.

She’s a lover of FOOD…she get’s this from her mom. These pictures were taken at Burger King and this is what she consumed in one sitting : a cheeseburger (yes by herself) and 1 1/2 orders of fries. Then she continued to pick at everyone else’s leftovers!

KENDYL IS A SENSITIVE SOUL! This sensitivity started presenting itself two weeks ago when she was feeding our dog her dinner from her high chair. Without even sounding upset, I said “Kendyl…uh..uh..uh” and I wasn’t prepared for the response she gave me…..TEARS….TEARS…AND MORE TEARS! The flood gate broke open. No consoling was going to help! Since that day she’s had a couple of other emotional breakdowns. It usually happens when I’m telling off the dog but she always assumes I’m upset at her. So no more voices are being raised in our house…even if the dog starts raising havoc!

She likes to wave to people (and you know you’re special if you get a double wave with two hands)….she even tries to say “hi” with it…but of course only her parents can understand what she’s saying.

Her top teeth have been trying to bust through this week, which only heightens her sensitivity level. Which means she’s been spoiled being in mom’s arms for the past couple of days.

ONE MORE MONTH UNTIL WE PARTY HARDY FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Temple portrait class update…

Ok Folks….Final word....we are doing this class on Dec. 12th from 1:00 to 3:30. I'm still working on getting our church scheduled so that would be the only hang up...but I'm praying it will go smoothly. I had to know the date before I could schedule it...so I'll get working on it \''/ What I need from you is a final count on how many you want to make and what temples you plan on doing. To see the selection, go to poppyseedprojects.com and click on the temple portrait class link and you will see the different portraits to choose from….Thanks!

Temple Portraits...JUST KIDDING!

So a lot of you are going out of town for T'hanksgiving....HOW DARE YOU! So I'm trying to change the day to Dec. 12th....STAY TUNED!

More about Temple Portraits...

Ok we are finalizing things here...let me know if this works for you. The demonstrator had limited openings this time of year. She had an opening for Sat. Nov 28th from 1:00-3:30 so I snagged it since many of us want to do these for Christmas. Get back to me if his works for you. The money is due TWO WEEKS BEFORE to her. That would be the 14th. You can pay one of two ways...by check written out to poppyseed given to me (and I will mail it in....which I would need by the 11th) or you can go through their website BUT..BUT..BUT you have to put in the space where you leave a note it's for Nickie Reeves' party. BUT BEFORE WE DO ANY SORT OF PAYMENTS let's make sure this date works for everyone....AND....I want to make sure there's not a limit on how many you can do. I know a lot of you are doing these as gifts (which is a great idea)....so for now just LET ME KNOW IF NOV 28TH FROM 1:00 TO 3:30 WORKS FOR YOU. Thanks everyone...this should be fun!

Last Call….Temple Pics!

We need 3 more people to join us … in order to have a party at least 10 pictures need to be made, and we are 3 short. If you are like me and have always wanted one of these pictures from Deseret Book (but didn’t have hundreds of dollars to fork out) here’s a deal you don’t want to miss. At this temple picture making party you can make a picture like this (there are other temple pictures available too) for just $46. Honestly I was surprised at how beautiful they turn out for that price…plus it will be a fun girls get together. I believe they take about 2 hours to make, so I was thinking Saturday morning may work best for everyone…but I will go with what is most convenient for you guys.  Some of you mention you want one but can’t work out a Saturday morning….if we end up going with a Sat. morning (of course as long as it’s ok with the demonstrator) I would be willing to come to your house and help you make yours after learning how to do it myself. (Can you tell how desperate I am to get my hands on one of these….I LOVE THEM). As soon as I have ten people wanting one I will work on scheduling a day that works for everyone….JUST LET ME KNOW! For more info you can look into it at poppyseedprojects.com

(This is my sister-in law and her picture that she made)

 

Happy Birthday Daddy…Big 30!

We celebrated today by going to TGI Friday’s for lunch.

 

To pass the time that ALWAYS seems way too long of  a wait for the kids before our food comes….we entertained ourselves by feeding our lemons to Kendyl!

Dad was so nice to share his birthday ice cream with all of us….BUT KENDYL DID NOT WANT TO SHARE. Whenever someone else went to take a bite she would have a tizzy!

When planning this day I was trying to think of something Richard would LOVE DOING…well Rich loves a lot of things, but he’s passionate about a few things and one of them is FISH and FISH TANKS! So I thought going to the aquarium would be perfect. He really liked it and so did the kids.

The kid’s impression of an alligator

In the gift shop Mason ran up to Dad and said “Dad you want to buy this for your BOOT-TAH”….Just what Rich has always wanted a Steve Irwin action figure. We didn’t have the money to buy it, so maybe Santa will add it to his wish list \’’/

RUN KIDS RUN….BRUCIE’S GOING TO GET YOU!