In-N-Out

Would he not make the perfect advertisement for them? I'm just saying. :)

My boys.

Isn't the cutest picture ever! Jr absolutely ADORES his dad. As you can tell :-)

XOXOXO

2011

I am not going to lie, 2011 was the probably the hardest year of my life. I started it losing my dad to a long fight with Parkinsons. From there it seemed every trial was thrown right at me.....just smack right in the face. But I strongly believe everything happens for a reason. Although I might have disagreed a couple months ago, I know this past year has made me so much stronger in som many different ways.

This poem has been a favorite of mine since I was little. It is so true and gives so much comfort.

On a lighter note..... I am sooooo excited about what 2012 has in store for us! Bring it on!

What they don't tell you about babies

First of all, no one talks about having kids or teens, it's about babies. Guess what? Babies are easy. And ridiculously temporary. Have all the babies you want, but know that they turn into something else entirely and then you're dealing with this:

{1}Your house will NEVER be clean again. Ever. It seems like a small price to pay for a cute little family, doesn't it? Sure, but if you pride yourself on a clean home, you better look for another source of pride. Or a cleaning lady and a daycare that keeps your kids out of your house seven days per week.

{2}You will NEVER sleep again. Having a kid up at 5am or awake until 10pm is not unusual. Hopefully you only have one or the other. And age doesn't effect this; in fact, babies sleep BETTER than kids. You will begin to define a good night's sleep as just having one kid in your bed and only waking up three times for various ailments, bad dreams, accidents, etc. And that's after they've gotten up seven times before even falling asleep for water, to complain that someone's being too loud {oh, the irony}, or to ask what we're doing tomorrow.

{3}You will ALWAYS be dealing with food. It's a constant stream of packing lunches/snacks, listening to complaints about how disgusting/too cold/too hot/can I have chocolate milk instead?/that's not how so-and-so makes it, and cleaning up. And don't tell me to just have the kids clean up. Mine do. Have you seen how kids clean? Have you seen how husbands clean? It's about the same. So you're STILL cleaning up after clean up. And yet, it's never clean {see #1}.

{4}You will NEVER see an empty laundry basket. Self explanatory.

{5}You will NEVER be alone. And out of desperation, you'll start inventing ways to be alone: arriving an hour early for doctor's appointments, purposefully waking up at 4:30am just to enjoy a cup of coffee, or going back to work.

If you have a baby or are thinking about having babies, I'm sure you're shaking your head and mumbling, I would never let my life become like that. That's ok, I said the same thing. It's self-preservation. No one wants to think that a little teeny tiny baby will turn their lives into a disheveled, chaotic mess. Don't worry - babies don't. It's those dang kids.

These 2 kids keep me going a million miles a minute! I love how close these 2 are. I can already tell they are going to be best friends for life. You will have to excuse the individual pictures but it is seriously impossible to get them to stand still together for a picture! I can't believe my "baby" is going to be 3 next week! Wow! I promise I will be back soon to give a real update! Until then......
XoXoXoXo

What are we doing with today?

How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, “What are we doing with today?” If we live only for tomorrow, we’ll eventually have a lot of empty yesterdays. Have we been guilty of declaring, “I’ve been thinking about making some course corrections in my life. I plan to take the first step—tomorrow”? With such thinking, tomorrow is forever. Such tomorrows rarely come unless we do something about them today.

President Thomas S. Monson

Some thoughts......

I have so many things that I want to do in my life. Long term and short term. It seems that lately there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. It has been almost 6 months since I have been back at work full time, I still haven't quite found that balance between work and home! I am getting there but I have lots of things I want to improve. Maybe if I list a few of my goals it will kick my butt in gear!

Goal #1

Planning dinners for the week. I am not sure why this is so hard for me, but it is! Maybe the problem is that I don't really actually like to cook! :-) Fortunately, I married someone who is a great cook and loves to do it. Unfortunately, he works long hours and is usually home after dinner time has long passed. And by the time I get the kids and get home it is about 5:30. Sophia is usually starving by this time and all Jr wants is my attention.

Goal #2

Work out at least 5 days/week. This is something that Jeremy and I are doing together. Every night before we go to sleep we go The Biggest Loser on the Wii. We have been pretty good at sticking to it and it is actually a great time for me and him to spend together while the kids are asleep. Now don't get me wrong.........there are some nights we are both beyond exhausted and collapse into bed before we can even think of working out, or the other nights when Jr. refuses to go to sleep and my workout is constantly interrupted by his screams of "mommy!" from his room. But such is life! The intent and want is there so hopefully we can stick with it.

Goal #3

More time for myself. Now this is a hard one, because I am NEVER by myself. Even in the bathroom, there is always at least one kid pulling on me or wanting my attention (you mothers out there know what I mean). But lately I desperately yearn for this, so I have decided if I get up at 5am every morning I can at least have 45 minutes to myself in complete silence. And of course there are lots of mornings where my bed is just way too warm and I am too comfortable snuggled up to the husband to get up that early. But it's a goal and I am going to work at it! I think it is a great way to start my day!

Goal #4

Finish school. I am now back in school. I am doing it online, hopefully it will fit my schedule better that way! I'm a dork and I really love school. I love learning new things! And I have worked so hard over the years. I was put off track a bit when I had kids, but I am back on track! I am doing it!!!

I have soooooo many other things I want to do and strive for every day. As soon as I can figure out the balance between a 1 year old and a 2 year old, I'll be good! Ha! That won't ever happen. But no matter what I do or don't get done every day it is so fun to see my babies discover new things every day! It reminds me of what is really important in life!

Moments That Matter Most

I love this video! We all get wrapped up in our every day lives and sometimes we forget what really matters! I will admit, I am guilty of this. But I think we should all make it a goal to notice the small things that we so often overlook.

We are still here!!!

As I look at the blog, I realize I haven't posted in FOREVER!!! Sooooo many things have been happening in our lives lately. I have many pictures to post and lots of updates to give. It seems so hard to pin everything down lately and find time to update. But I will be back soon (hopefully this weekend) and let you all know how the Pedersen family is doing!

xoxoxo

Spiritual Bliss!

This is where I am going tonight and tomorrow! It is a women's conference put on by LDS church. I am so excited to have some time for myself and to spend time with my mom. The daily chores and chaos can take over our lives at times. Sometimes we just need to step back! That is exactly where I am right now. Between working 40 hours a week and my precious kids and everything else, things are crazy! I am so looking forward to hear all the wonderful speakers and soak it in!

Brrrr....It's Cold Outside

This weekend we decided to head up to the mountains and take the kids to the snow. We met up with Jeremy's brother and family and headed up. It was quite chilly and I knew the kids wouldn't last long. Then we get up there and I realize I forgot one key thing....Jr's coat! I felt so bad.....I bundled him up in layers of shirts and sweatshirts and gave it a try.

This is where it turned bad.....he got his hands wet. (Just a side note on Jr's hands....he is such a boy and loves to get dirty and play outside. But AS SOON as his hands are dirty or anything is on them, he wants them wiped off) Well his hands were ice cold and he was not having it.

Which lead to the saddest face EVER! And lots of tears.

He was perfectly happy sitting in the Tahoe with the heater on watching everyone else play in that horrible, cold, wet stuff :-)

Then we have Sophia...she is totally mellow all the time. As long as she has a clean diaper and a full belly she is happy. She went outside for a bit with daddy and didn't seem to mind the snow falling on her little cute pink head.

She did keep her brother company most of the time though in the truck.

Cam had a blast with his cousins sledding down the hill and playing in the snow.

Me and the hubs.

Isn't the snow absolutely beautiful!

Although, I love the snow. I think it so pretty and I love how quiet it is. But I will admit, I love it most from my car. With the heater on. And I think my kids probably feel the same way.

Finally!

We all know Jr has the best hair ever. I mean, seriously. Have you seen his curls!

We decided to take him to get his haircut. Now, I tried to take him a couple weeks ago to the lady that does my hair. He would not have it, within minutes he was a complete mess and a puddle of tears. So I found this awesome place called Cool Cuts for Kids in Fresno. This place is amazing! Every station has it's own TV and each kid gets to pick out which movie they can watch. And of course, he got to drive his own taxi the whole time.

And there were plenty of bribes during the haircut as well. Sad but true. I had to do what I had to do! The curls are staying but we had to get his bangs out of his face.

So with his hot wheels and monster truck he was good.

Then we moved on to bubbles.

Overall, he loved it! And looks cuter than ever now that we can see his eyes again! And the curls are staying...for now.

So-So

Sophia is at the funnest age right now! I absolutely love it! Isn't she adorable with her two bottom teeth :-)

She is trying SO hard to crawl! Right now she just rolls around everywhere and scoots backwards. She is so determined to stand all the time too. She sees her brother running around and wants to play!

She is quite vocal now too. (But who couldn't 't expect that, seeing as how she has pretty loud people in her gene pool. :-)) She screams when she wants your attention....which she kind of has to do to be heard over Jr. Our house is definitely not a quiet one. But we love it!

Working Mama

So last week I went back to work....this is a big thing for me! I have been home with my kids for the last 2 years! Basically since Jr was born. I have loved every minute of it. Now that Sophia is 7 months, I thought it was about time. So far, it is going absolutely great! I found a girl to watch the kids at my house 3 days a week and then they get some grandma time for the other 2 days. I think the kids are doing great with it. I wasn't so worried about Jr, since they are at my house I knew he would be fine with all "his" stuff. I was a little worried about Sophia, just because she has been with mama since she was born. But she is doing surprisingly well. By the afternoon she is usually done and a bit crabby but I know she will get better as time goes on. It is great too because I work, literally, 4 minutes from home. So I am still "around" if needed.

But I think it will be a great experience for everyone. It is great for me to get out and be an "adult" again. I definitely need that. I need to get a schedule down for the evenings though.....if only I could pay the babysitter to make dinner too?! My poor husband has had to deal with leftovers and take out the last week. I am just so exhausted when I get home. I feel like I never stop (which I don't basically. lol) But that is okay, I know it will take me a couple weeks to get used to. And in the meantime, Jr is ecstatic he now has two little kids to play with every day!

My dad, my hero

As some of you may or may not know, I lost my dad 2 weeks ago to Parkinsons. He suffered years with this and was so strong. He truly was a great man and I have so many great memories with him! I am so thankful Jr was able to become close to him during his last years. And I know dad held on so he was able to meet Sophia! He loved his grandkids so much and was so proud of all they do. Even in his last days, Jr would always run up to hid bed and grab "pe-paw's" hand. Jr is so sweet and always knew! He will always be remembered with the most love in everyone's lives he touched. Love you dad!

This picture is my favorite. You can tell how much love is there!

xoxoxoxo

Sibling Love

Saying that Jr is in love with Sophia is an understatement. He is completely smitten with her. The first thing he does when he wakes up is say "Where's baby!" He must know where she is at all times! Now this can be bad at times....like the other day when I set he car seat on the couch and unstrapped her.(I usually NEVER unstrap her until I pick her up). But of course this time I did. Anyways I went into their room to get a diaper for 2 seconds and all of a sudden she is hysterical. I run out and she is laying on the floor and Jr just looks at me! Thank God she was perfectly fine, just a little scared. But my heart stopped!!! It scared me to death! I am sure this will not be the last time something like this happens.
Here are a few pictures of them. You can see in the last picture Sophia is about done with "borther time" for the moment. lol
Also, the cutest thing. I walked into the living room the other day and saw Cam and Jr on the floor. It was so sweet. Jr LOVES his bubba bubba. He has such a hard time when Cam leaves to go home. But the whole time he is here, Jr is right next to his side!

My working men

I am so lucky to have such a great husband, who works so hard for his family!!! It is Jr's favorite time of the day when we go pick up daddy. I always try to get there a little early so Jr can ride with him on the tractor. It is so adorable! My two guys!!
And just to make it clear....no, Jr is not scared in the first picture....this is his new look he gives me when I take his picture! Such a character!

My loves

Kids really do just make our lives that much better!!! I will admit, every day is complete chaos and I don't know if I ever sit down for more than 5 minutes at a time. But I love it! Every day it is something new.

Sophia with her Jordan...if only we lived closer to them. Jordan is sucha big helper!

Jr and Jordan in bed watching Cars

Jr in one of his favorite places...the orchards at daddy's work

Sophia w/ her other cousin, Anycia

She is such a happy baby!!!

Jr turns 2!!!

So my baby turned 2 on Sunday!!! I really cannot believe 2 years have already gone by. This kid is a nut! He is all over the place ALL of the time. He LOVES all of his trucks and tractors. Here are jsut a few random things that make me adore this boy even more each day.

-Every time he walks out of the room, he turns around to me and says "bye mom!"

-Every time he walks into a room he will run up to you and roar like a monster

-Whenever we are in the car, he holds his sisters hand

-He say "Bless" anytime someone sneezes....he also says this when he is trying to get by you. lol

-Whenever I walk into a room he yells "mom" and runs up to hug me. (Yes this one is my favorite!)

I could go on and on about all of the things he does. He is pure entertainment and love all day long! He is so great and we love him more than words!!!!
Happy Birthday Boogie Man!

A little sneak peek...

So my fabulous friend Nicole took some pictures of Sophia for me today. And a few of Jr with her as well.....although it is very hard to get him to sit down long enough to snap a good picture! She did a great job though. I am goinh to post more of the pictures but until then here are a couple. Aren't they adorable! xoxoxoxoxo