I Really WANT These Things!!!

So, I am in limbo between being on cloud nine about my life and being completely overwhelmed!!! :) When I start to panic and stress I often find myself dreaming of ways I could make it less crazy. Here are my top day dreams:

TIME!!!

And not just any time. I need time with my hubby home and time where I can focus on something besides the care of my kids. I really can't get my things done when my kids are awake. I have to run my business, clean my bathroom, do my calling, be crafty and if I ever want to fit in more of my clothes I have got to find a way to lose 15 pounds! And starving is not my fav option - you know, I want to be running. :)

A Fence

If I could let my kids go play in the back yard that would be wonderful. I could get some space and they could get some fresh air and burn some energy. There would be so much more peace in our home. I hate cabin fever!!! We are trapped in our house literally. As of now when they are outside I cant keep track of all of them and our house is too close to the street for me to let them play out there. I really really really need a fence.

Triple Stroller

The weather here has been so dang beautiful and I can't take advantage of it and that tortures me. But if I could go on walks, ahhhh! I love walks. When you are poor and live far away from parks and stores and you need to get out fast walks are the way to go. But I cant handle the kids on a walk with how our stroller situation is now. And our neighborhood doesn't have sidewalks...too scary with three kids three and under and only one parent! I want this stroller! Its a Sit'n Stand for three. Awesome huh?!?!?!

Cement

Yes cement or maybe what I am wanting is concrete, whatever. Either way I want a patio area in my back yard so there is an area besides our really bug infested prickly grass for my kids to play on.... provided that we can someday get a fence.

I know I should be counting my blessings and not wanting so much. We really have more then we deserve. :O) Its hard for me with Stew gone a lot...I get needy. Ugh! Well I better get back to potty training. :) Which by the way is going fantastically today! So great.

23 Diapers a Day!

I realized I changed 23 diapers yesterday! That's a lot. Stewart was taking two days worth of diapers out and the trash bag was so heavy he decided to weigh it. 50 pounds it was! 50 pounds! Well, not anymore!!! I decided it is potty training time at the Rasmussen house.

I am crossing my fingers that I can train both Bridger and Angeli at the same time. I am not too sure Angie is ready but ready or not I am giving her the chance to wow me. Today was my grand kick off. We went to the store and bought stuff to make their own potty charts complete with glitter, pictures, and stickers. And of course even more bribery in the form of candy. So far so good. Bridger has loved helping me make his chart and when I explained to him what he would do he kept saying "Yay, Mommy! This is fun. Fun!" Since then he has gone pee once and half a poop...he didn't quite make it there in time. So in the first hour things have gone pretty well. I will be interested in how Angeli does, she has not been introduced to the whole thing yet because she is napping. It might not go too well with her right now because she is getting her two year molars in. Poor girly.

Their charts.
They go from their baby pictures to their big kid pictures.
Homely I know but they think they are great. :) Angi is yet to pick her big kid picture out. Notice Bridger's first sticker?!?!?!

So I feel unsure because I am still working out all the bugs. It has been awhile since I have faced a new phase of parenthood. So I have some questions:

What do you do with all the poopy underpants? soak them...wash out in the sink...spray 'n wash?
How long does this whole thing take?
What should my expectations be?
How often do I ask them if they need to go?
When you are training do you basically stay at home for a couple weeks or do you go places and put diapers or pull-ups on when you are out?
When the "fun" wears off how do I get them to comply if they decide to go back to diapers?
Do I just let them go back if they want too and not make it a big deal?
Is there some amazing thing you do when potty training that I should know about?

Wish us luck!!!!

Angeli Turns Two

Our little girly is TWO! This has been a huge year for her. In this past year she has learned to talk, walk, eat crunchy foods, how to stick up to her big brother, became a big sister, fallen in love with babies, princesses, doggies, cooking and basically grown from a baby into a big girl. She is a sweet, fun, slightly shy, lovable, beautiful, bright eyed, feisty and smart angel of a girl. We adore her. Today she let me take a mini photo shoot of her. Such a cutie! Forgive me for posting so many similar pictures but I couldn't decide which ones to cut out, they were all just too cute.

A year ago today Angeli was still a baby...

But look at her now. She is so grown up!

She absolutely loves being a big sister.
She has to give Benjie kisses hourly.

Okay, I know this post is supposed to be all about Angie but this picture needed to be posted too. I'll I can say, besides look how dang cute my boy is, IS...
Milk. It does a body good! ;)

Angeli you really are our little Angel. You bless our family so much by simply being you! We love you!

David's Wedding

My littlest big brother David was married this weekend in the Los Angeles Temple. It was a beautiful sealing and reception. It was so wonderful to meet and welcome Carolyn into our family and celebrate their union. I couldn't be happier for my sweet big brother. They radiated their happiness and love for each other the whole day. His wedding also served as my families reunion this year. Eleven of my twelve siblings were able to be there. One of my favorite things ever is being with my family. I was so depressed when we had to leave. When I am with my siblings I truly feel I can imagine the sweetness of heaven. Being with so many of those I love is pure joy for me. I often think that being the last one of my siblings to come to earth must have been a great trial for me to bare.;) It was simply heavenly to be with them again this past week. :O) Congratulations DAvId and CArOlyN Smith!!!

Me and my girl at the reception, sorry it is blurry. The lighting was not too kind to my camera...most of my pictures didn't turn out because they were so blurry. So sad! :( But this one was so cute I had to stick it in anyways. ;)

The building they used for the reception was so cute. The primary room was set up like a mini-chapel. They thought it was great fun. Look how cute all these cousins are together! They were being reverent.

Me, Adam and ShayAll my sisters and I. So great to be together!

My wonderful sister and best friend Bethany and her great husband. We already miss you guys!

Miss Eden. She and Angeli are so adorable playing together!

Eating the grub

And when all the partying was said and done we all felt pretty worn out! But we cant wait until we can get back.

A WILD Birthday!

For the kids birthday we went to the L.A. Zoo. We had a wonderful time. We were a huge group. In all there were 20 of us. The park was busy, the weather was perfect, and the animals were great. It was a perfect day at the zoo. After the zoo we did a little birthday dinner for the kids. Our kids are so loved by all their family members. They really are spoiled with all the love they get from both mine and Stew's family. There are few gifts as great as the love of your family and friends. Watching them be able to be with their grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and along with their siblings would be worth driving any distance. I find it weird to think that I am a mother to a three year old, a two year old, and a almost two month old. They are growing up so fast!!! This year is going to be happy, busy, full of a million dirty diapers, and well, interesting. We wouldn't want it any other way....well, no. I take that back. I could really do with fewer diapers! ;) Here is the picture evidence of our WILD birthday. Sherri thanks for the tickets!!

Here is half of our group

Benjamins's beautiful Grandma Ras loving him. Lucky BOY!

Now we know it takes one Grace, one Bridger, and one Stew to reach as far as a California Condor can.

Bridger and Grace taking on the Zoo

Grandpa and Grandpa's girl at the bird show.
Benji at the bird show. So sweet.

I love Whitney. She makes me feel like a teenager again. And lets be honest I could use all the youthful feelings I can get these days! :)

Our Happy birthday dinner was simple but really fun. Bridger and Angeli spent the whole time watching and helping make their birthday cake. My kids LOVE sweets!

Bridger thought he was grown up enough to sport a mustache and goatee ;)

Benjamin's Baby Blessing

Benjamin's Blessing was wonderful. It was the least stressful blessing experience we have ever had. We blessed him at my parent's home in L.A. and then had a dinner after. It was lovely. Thank you everyone for taking the time to be there. It meant the world to us. Benjamin is seriously such a good baby. Quick to smile and slow to cry. We feel so blessed to have him as our son.

Here are those that stood in the circle: my brother-in-law Mark, my brother Jason , Dad Smith, Stewart, Benjie, Dad Ras, and Stew's cousin Josh. We love all of you!!!

Bridger's Birthday! We blessed Benjamin on Bridger's birthday so even though Benjamin got a lot of attention we took time to be just with our Bridge Man. We could never imagine life without our little ball of smiley energy. Happy Third Birthday Bridger! We love you.

Bridger saying "CHEESE" for the camera ;)

We are so happy to belong to each other! :)

Preschool - Winter Wonderland

I got to do preschool this week and while our temperatures are in the high 60's we talked all about snow, cold, and ice. I really love doing our mommy preschool. I was so torn when I dropped my education major and I remember my mom telling me that I would have many opportunities to be a teacher to my children and that I could even make lessons plans for them if I wanted too. I wondered then if I actually would go through with that. Today it hit me when I was thinking about how geeky I was for taking pictures of my homemade snow that my mother's words had been fulfilled, I wasn't teaching them about history but I was having the little teacher experiences I always wanted. I am so grateful to be able to be in this place in my life. I love teaching and I especially love teaching my kids and their little buddies.

Here is a little show and tell about preschool. We learned all about the letter "W" for winter and white (our color of the week). They were so adorable repeating its sound and drawing in the air with their arms big "W" and little "w". They were thrilled when we practiced writing "w"s; really so proud of themselves. We made Popsicles, we made glittery snowflake fridge magnets, we made winter cupcakes, and even painted with jello and ice (when it dries the jello sparkles and it is really pretty). I would tell all about the other little things we did but that would be a bit excessive...either way I think you can tell I get way into this stuff and absolutely love it. Here are some cute pictures taken of our week at preschool.

Winter cupcake making

Our Popsicles

Homemade snow (ice in a blender) - I was surprised how much they liked it. Especially when we made snow balls with it.