Go Gougs!

A couple of days ago while at work Heather popped up on IM and told me we should come visit her and Brooks x2 in Pullman.  I told her I would love to but I did not think Terence would want to.  Heather had told me that her and Terence had already talked about and everything was all set; since that was the case I was not going to object.  We left early this morning for our drive to Pullman.  The drive on its own is beautiful with tons of fields and long straight roads.  Our boys did AMAZING we did not have to stop once for anything.  It probably helped that we had tons of snacks in the car and Terence drove pretty fast.
Once we got here Heather had cooked an awesome dinner.  We sat around and watched the US vs Canada hockey game which was totally a nail bitter.  Too bad the US lost (Yeah for Lee and Amanda and all our Canadian friends).  After dinner we went over to the Pullman airport and watched the Boise State plane take off which was really fun for the kids.  Then we headed over to see the bears that they have on the campus.  They were really big and really stinky!  I don't have any pictures of any of this but Heather does so hopefully I can steal some.  We went from seeing the bears over to a really fun park.  This park has all of the of  he old fun toys that parks are not aloud to have anymore a merry-go-round, super tall windy slide and some fun swings.  Terence thought it would be fun to spin me really fast on the merry-go-round which it was until I got off and both Heather and I were laughing so hard we almost peed our pants (almost).  After the park we came back to the Lively household.  Now we are all sitting around watching Matilda waiting for the kids to be tired enough to put them to bed.  It's been a really fun day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

Dentist

I hate the dentist! I am terrified of the dentist. I had a horrible experience with one of the worst dentist in the world at the end of last year (Dr. Jane Hon DDS, don't go to her) and am absolutely petrified to go back. I know I have to; I have a lot of work that I need to have done on my teeth. I also have to make appointments for my kids to go see one. I am sure my fear is unreasonable; my one bad experience is probably an isolated experience. Plus it's not fair to my kids to project my fears on them. So with that I am going to bite (pun intended) the bullet and schedule appointments for them for next week. I have a few days off and I figure it would be a good time to get it done. Anyone have any recommendations for a great pediatric dentist?

This is too funny not to share

This was my sister-in-laws blog for today.  It made me laugh out loud when I read it.  I thought I would share it with those of you who may not have access to her blog.  Thanks for the laugh Emily, or should I say Jared.

OCD?

I'm seriously starting to wonder if Connor has OCD or if his behavior is normal three year old antics. Last night Jared came over to help pull out our old dishwasher in preparation for a new one (yay!!!). Connor loves Uncle Jared and both he and Corey were in the kitchen with their screwdrivers "helping". Everything was going fine until Jared actually removed the dishwasher from the wall. Connor lost it! He was so upset that Uncle Jared was taking the dishwasher out. We tried to explain to him that we were getting a new one but for whatever reason Connor was beside himself. He kept saying that Aunt Emily would have to bring us a new dishwasher and he was really concerned about the new hole under the counter. Corey on the other hand thought it was a great new hiding spot. We laughed and Jared said if we had gotten Connor’s reaction on video it would have been worth $10,000. Jared actually did take a video with his cell phone but for some reason I can't hear it on my computer. I will have to try it at home and see if it works; if it does I will upload it. Somehow my description of the events does not do it justice. Is that normal for a three year old to react that way to change?

Also, Terence I know you are reading this so could you please run laundry today? Love you!

Gentlemen Start Your Engines

This is another one of those things that I can’t remember if I have blogged about it or not. A few months back I bought my boys matching racecar driver pajamas, which are adorable! The loved wearing them and would run around the house pretending to drive racecars when they were in them. Ironically Corey is wearing these same pajamas tonight except that he is wearing Connor’s old pair as they have both grown out of their original ones. Baby Brooks has the same pair as well. What can I say with my Dad as their Grandpa how can our kids not like racecars?

I can't remember if

I have ever blogged about this picture.  I thought about it randomly tonight while I was making dinner.  This picture makes me laugh everytime I see it. At the time this was taken Connor told me he was Uncle Brian.  I don't think this is quite what Uncle Brian looks like.  Kids are so goofy.

Falling a little behind....

I know I am behind in my blogging so this post is for yesterday. I actually used to have a sweatshirt that said falling a little on the front with a picture of turtle and on the back it said behind with a picture of the back of the turtle. Get it, falling a little behind. OK maybe you had to be there. Anyway I will write more later, I just wanted to let you all know I am aware of my tardiness.

Terence Kind of Weird

Connor cracks me up! Both he and Corey have been really into singing primary songs lately. Their favorites are Popcorn Popping, The Wise Man, Do as I’m Doing, Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam and of course I am a Child of God.

Growing up we used to change the words on the chorus to I am a child of God from “with parents kind and dear” to “with parents kind of weird.” The other day we were singing in the car and I taught Connor to sing it this way. Go ahead and judge me. Anyway instead of singing parents kind of weird he changed it to Terence is kind of weird. We just looked at each other and started laughing. This is how he sings it all the time now, I better re-teach him the right words before he sings in wrong in primary.

It's a Hard Knock Life. Or is it?

I have been very reflective lately, looking back on all the things in my life that have not been ideal. I would not consider myself a negative person by any stretch of the imagination. I try to see the good in things, give people the benefit of a doubt, and be positive. In general I think it's a much easier way to live my life. So I was thinking back over the past year at all the things that could be considered bad and wanted to give you my take on how I truly feel about them.

First is Terence losing his job back in May of last year. Having a husband who went from being employed full time to unemployed is hard. However the blessings I have seen from it have been too numerous to count. Terence has been able to go back to school to study to be a personal trainer, something he has always wanted to do. He has been able to stay home with our kids and really get to know them. That is an opportunity many Fathers do not have and he has loved almost every minute. I also know that the difficulty that we have experienced in finding a job for Terence comes from the fact that the right opportunity has not presented it's self yet. I know that when it is right we will know and the pieces will fit into place.

Second is me being a working mother. My schedule is busy, my house is a mess, it's hectic, I feel like I never have enough time for anything. When I'm at work I am thinking about home, when I'm at home I'm thinking about work. The other side of this coin is that I am so very blessed to work for Microsoft. If there was ever a company that was accommodating to working mothers this is it. I have a flexible schedule and am able to come in early in the morning which leaves me more time for my kids in the afternoon. I also have the best benefits in the world! There is nothing like the peace of mind that comes from knowing if something happened to someone in my family they are 100% covered. Microsoft is a very family friendly company and if I have to spend time away from my kid’s everyday I'm glad that it's at MS.

Third is my miscarriage. I have not written anything about this because I really don't know what to say. It's been painful; there have been a lot of tears. I do however feel very blessed and know that this has been a trial given to me for my benefit and learning. I was very blessed the day that I went in for my ultrasound and found out that it was not a viable pregnancy. I know that Heavenly Father had prepared me for that news before I received it. Although it was hard to hear it out loud the ultrasound had just confirmed what my gut feeling had been telling me for days.  I am grateful for this tender mercy. This pregnancy has also been a blessing because I think it has made both Terence and me realize that we do in fact want another baby, maybe not soon but for sure in the future. And if for some inexplicable reason we are never able to have another baby then I am still incredibly fortunate to have two healthy, smart, handsome, big brown eyed boys. That’s more than a lot of people can say.

The last week the song Count Your Many Blessings has been running through my head a lot.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings; name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. …

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

To-Do List

Last night I could not sleep (seems to be a pattern for me lately) as I lay there in bed the only thing that was running through my head was my seemingly endless to do list. So I am writing it down. Hopefully this will help me get some of these items accomplished.

1. Run laundry
2. Fold laundry
3. Clean out toy room
4. Get rid of all the extra toys we don’t need
5. Clean my bathroom
6. Clean the hallway bathroom
7. Clean downstairs bathroom
8. Order replacement bottom drawer for refrigerator (the whole thing is completely broken in half)
9. Sweep and mop kitchen floor (nothing worse than a dirty kitchen floor)
10. Clean the carpets in my house
11. Take down the Christmas Lights (TERENCE!!!)
12. Weed and clean up our front and back yards
13. Paint the house
14. Pressure wash and paint the front porch
15. Paint Corey’s room
16. Move Corey to a “big boy bed”
17. Move Connor into Corey’s room
18. Clean out the garage
19. Get rid of all the extra things we have lying around that we don’t need
20. Get my car fixed (something wrong with the computer in it)
21. Go to the gym
22. Lose 30 lbs. (really I need to lose about 50 but I am being realistic)
23. Go to the dentist
24. Schedule dentist appointments for my kids
25. Schedule a dentist appointment for Terence
26. Schedule Terence for a physical
27. Hire two thugs to pick Terence up and take him to said physical and dentist appointment
28. Schedule a follow up doctor’s appointment for Corey’s ears
29. Schedule a vacation
30. Clean our bedroom
31. Paint our bedroom
32. Paint our bathroom
33. Hang the blinds in our bedroom that we bought months ago
34. Hang up the shelf for our bathroom that we bought at walmart two weeks ago and is still sitting in Terence’s trunk.
35. Decorate my office at work
36. Organize the closets in my house
37. Buy vacuum bags
38. Replace the filter in the furnace
39. Figure out why the heat does not work in our bedroom, Corey’s room or the toy room
40. Get a garden box built for the back yard
41. Get rid of all the wasps nests on the awnings of our house
42. Get a new computer desk
43. Vacuum out our cars
44. Wash our cars
45. Renew our tabs
46. Bake rolls for the party at Aunt Pam’s house on Sunday
47. Call my Grandma
48. Send my Grandma and Terence’s Grandma some pictures of the boys
49. Take some pictures of the boys
50. Figure out why my cell phone bill is so high (probably my fault!)
51. Go grocery shopping
52. Figure out what to make for dinner tonight
53. Prepare my young women’s lesson for Sunday
54. Replace all the light bulbs that have burned out in our house (refrigerator, dryer, laundry room bulb, lamp in Corey’s room)
55. Figure out where the leak under the sink in our bathroom is coming from

Well that's about it for now. I'm accepting volunteers or if you have teenagers that need to earn some money send them my way.

Random thought

A couple of days ago I did not blog so now I am behind. Hopefully I can get two blogs done today and that will get me caught up.

This was a totally random thought that I had at 3:30 this morning (after getting Corey back to bed for the 3rd time). I tend to get myself locked into things. No I am not speaking metaphorically; I mean I literally get locked into things. I could not tell you the first time it happened but it has definitely happened more than once. The most memorable was the time I locked myself in the trunk of a car on a ferry. Talk about one of the single most embarrassing moments of my life. Long story short; my family had a rental car and I thought it would be hilarious to climb into the trunk and when my family got back to the car I would pop out and scare them. A few lessons I learned from this:

1. Make sure if you hide in the trunk it has an emergency release.
2. If you are going to have the key to the car in your hand make sure you leave at least one of the doors unlocked.
3. If you do find yourself climbing into the trunk of a car for inexplicable reasons don’t do it on a ferry that is literally docking.
4. Make sure you have your sister or someone else there to cover your head with their sweatshirt once the ferry workers slim Jim your car to get you out and realize you are a 17 year old girl.  When this happened they all started applauding and cheering loudly (and laughing hysterically). Seriously, so embarrassing!

Another time that I got locked in was on my first anniversary. Terence and I had gone up to this resort near the Canadian border called Semiahmoo. It was beautiful! This was back when Terence still worked graveyard and after driving for 3 hours and working all night he was exhausted and decided to take a nap. With nothing else to do I decided to explore our room. The bathroom had one of those pocket doors with a little latch lock on it. I closed the door and locked it and then could not unlock it! I tried for a good 10 minutes to get out on my own and couldn’t. Terence was sound asleep in the other room and could not hear me calling for him. I figured he could not sleep for too much longer and decided to wait it out. After about half an hour he still had not woken up. I started pounding on the door and yelling. He finally heard me and came to try and help me but he could not get the door open either. After a good 45 minutes of being locked in the bathroom Terence called the front desk and we had to have one of their maintenance people come and let me out. Also super embarrassing!

Anyway no moral to this story, just was thinking about this at 3:30 in the morning and thought I would share. I know, random.

My Kids...

Are KILLING me! Ok maybe that is a little dramatic but seriously Terence and I are both so tired. It all started a couple of nights ago when we took the child proof door knob off of Connors door. I know, I know I can hear it now. Gasp! You put a child proof lock on your child’s door? Yes because if we didn’t he would get up in the middle of the night and wander the house which seems dangerous. Anyway we took this thing off because A. we needed it downstairs on the pantry so Corey would not get into it and B. Connor is now potty trained and needs to be able to get out of his room at night to go potty, seems pretty straight forward. Unfortunately chaos at bedtime has been the result.


We say prayers with the boys as usual and then take them up to bed. Corey does his typical cry for about 10 minutes and then he falls asleep. Connor will stay in his room for about 5 minutes and then inevitably come downstairs and tell us he has to go potty. Not wanting to discourage this we of course let him go (although, half the time I don’t believe he really has to). Once he has done that he will try to head for the couch. It’s his way of saying “Hey I’m down here, might as well hang out for a while.” We send him back up to his bed and on the way up he will say something about how he is going to scream in his room or how he doesn’t want to go to be. Either way it unavoidably wakes Corey up. Then we have to tag team to get them both settled back down which can take anywhere from 3 minutes to an hour. Then the cycle starts over again. Two nights ago we were literally up every half hour with one boy or the other the entire night! When I got home from work yesterday both boys were so exhausted from being up all night that Corey had fallen asleep on the family room floor in a pile of blankets and Connor was asleep on the couch with his GG bear.

We were seriously contemplating putting the child door knob back on Connors door last night when it looked like we were going to have a repeat of the previous night. Miraculously, both boys went to sleep on their own by about 8:15 and they stayed asleep! What a relief. Hopefully that was not just a fluke.

The other thing that has been making me CRAZY lately is my kids inability to listen and obey what we are telling/asking them. Connor especially is having a hard time with this. It takes us asking him six or seven times before he will do something. He has to go to time out constantly! Both of my boys are really good kids overall but for whatever reason the last couple of weeks have been really hard for them. I’m not sure what to do. Any advice on what you have done to get your kids to listen to you and do what you ask of them?

Happy Valentines Day!

Terence and I have been together for what will be ten years in June. I am so lucky to have him! He is my valentine in every way! We actually got engaged 6 years ago last Friday February 12th. I am not a huge fan of Valentine’s day but I do love letting everyone know how much I love them so, Happy Valentine’s day Terence and to everyone else that I love!

What do you think?

Yesterday while out shopping with my sister we bought these matching hats at the Gap.  We both thought they were amazing!  When Terence saw me wearing it he thought it was a joke and said it was a "butch" hat.  What is your opinion?  Be honest.

Viva Mexico!

Today I posted on my facebook that I was trying to convince Terence to use some of our tax return money to take a trip to Mexico.  I was semi-sarcastic, semi-serious and got a ton of comments.  Aunt Pam and my Mom both said they were in and now I am thinking Mexico sounds like a really good way to spend that money.  I think that we are going to do it.  Probably the Barcelo sometime in June.  Everyone who wants to come is invited...who's in?

Tonight...

I have a ton of things running through my head and no words to put them down on paper.  I think one word sums up how I am feeling right now and that is sad.  I am totally at peace with what has happened.  I know that it was for a reason but that does not make it any easier.  I knwo that things will get better over time.  Tonight I just need to feel sad.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday! She is one of the most amazing people I know. So in true Keenan family blog fashion....

My Top Ten Favorite Things about My Mom:

10. She is so fun to be around! I know if I am going to do something with my Mom it will be a good time. Especially when it involves my sister, girls days are the best.

9. She works hard! Whether it's working at Safeco Field, doing her calling, doing her job or just pulling weeds in the yard she puts her whole heart into everything she does
8. There is nothing she can't do when she sets her mind to it. If my Mom decides something is going to happen, it happens!

7. She is supportive of every one of her kids. Whatever we want to do, she supports us.

6. She is the best Grandma ever! She spoils all of her grandsons like crazy and watches them for us all the time. My boys love being with her.

5. She is ALWAYS there when I need her.

4. She is one of the strongest women I know. I love her example of strength.

3. She raised me to have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the blessings that this testimony has brought to my life and know I would not have it without my Mom's guidance.

2. She LOVES my Dad! My parents example of what a marriage is and should be has been the inspiration and guidance by which I live my own marriage. What a blessing to know I have parents who love each other so much even after all these years!

1. She’s my Mom! I look up to her for so many things! I love her for so many reasons! I cannot think of a better person!

Happy Birthday Mom!  I love you!

Toot toot, chugga chugga, Big Red Car...

For anyone who gets the reference in the title of my blog I feel your pain...
My boys have a Little Tikes red car that they love to play with. Often times this car has to live in the garage because the two of them fight over it so much we have to take it away. Tonight it was in the house and they were playing on it together. I watched Connor "drive" to the couch and to no one in particular say. "ummm I would like two small hamburgers for Connor and Corey, two big hamburgers for Mommy and Daddy, two French fries, two diet cokes and two Sprites for Connor and Corey, and that’s it." I don't know whether to laugh or be horribly disturbed by the fact that my son already knows how to order from a drive through. Tonight it was funny and I needed a good laugh.

Random Picture

When I can't think of anything to blog about I pick a random picture out of my collection and write about that.  I love this picture!  It is Terence and my boys shortly after Corey was born.  At the time I thought having a 15 month old and a newborn was a piece of cake.  Now looking back on those times I know that the only way we got through that was by the grace of God.  There are definately some things that I do not miss about having a newborn (no sleep being top of the list) there are also some things I really look forward to.  I love the way the smell, how warm and soft they are when you hold them, the little noises they make, the way the look at you.  I am so excited for the opportunity to do it all over again!

Are you ready for some Football??

Today was a really nice Sunday. We went to church which is always a nice way to spend a Sunday. Connor is still having a hard time being in Sunbeams. He is OK with going to class but has a hard time being in primary with the rest of the kids. Lucky for him our good friends Thad and Julie are his teachers which helps a lot. It also helps that Terence has been going there to help out for the last couple of weeks. There are a ton of Sunbeams and it's more than two teachers can handle. It's been nice to have Terence go in and help and I think it puts Connor's mind at ease too.

After church we headed over to Terence's Mom and Dad's house for a Super Bowl party. They are always so nice when we come over and always have such fun things planned; today was no exception. They had gotten individual pizzas for the boys and us to make. Terence's Dad made baked potato soup just for me, because I requested it. It was amazing and I am looking forward to eating the leftovers as soon as I am done writing this blog. The game itself was not much to write home about. We were all going for the Colts so were a little disappointed when they lost. It was not enough to get upset about though.

It was a really fun relaxing afternoon. Now I am sitting on the couch with Connor watching The Sound of Music (one of my all time favorite movies). What a great ending to the day!

Books

I am always looking for good books to read.  There is nothing better than finding a great book that I can't put down start to finish.  There is something extremely satisfying to me about reading a book start to finish.  I’m kind of picky about the books I read.  I like to keep them pretty light hearted and entertaining.  I don’t really care for books that make me cry. 

Today while we were at Walmart I came across the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.  I don’t know much about this series except for what I have seen from the previews for the movie that is coming out.  I decided to give them a shot.  I will let you know what I think.

Aside from that I had a really fun/productive day.  It was capped off by going over to my Mom and Dad’s house for a birthday party for Mom and Jared.  The party was really fun but I will write more about it tomorrow.

ABC's of Today

Awesome- How I would describe my life, job, boss, husband, children, family, friends...they are all awesome!
Bored- How I felt at the 2 hour all hands meeting I had to attend afternoon. Seriously who schedules an all hands meeting at 3:00pm on a Friday?
Cozy- the way my bed felt this morning when I was trying to get up
Dip- What I ate on my chips at dinner. Technically it was salsa
Emily- who we went to dinner with tonight
Funny- What I thought of the joke Terence told me while I was driving home
G- it was not G rated
Hungry- How I feel all the time!
Interesting- The show we are watching right now, Swamp Loggers.
Jared-the other person we went to dinner with tonight
Kind- a great word to describe Emily and Jared. They would do anything for anyone!
Lunch- I had tomato soup with goldfish in it
Mobile phone- something I have attached at all times
Nachos- what I had for dinner
Old- how I am starting to feel
Patient- something I could have been a little more of (all the time, not just today)
Quiet- I hope my house will be quiet soon because that would mean my kids are in bed
Red- The color of the sweatshirt I am wearing right now
Silly- what Connor thought he was being when he put Nate McMillan in the front hall closet
Terence- my favorite person in the world
Upbeat-how I am feeling right now
Valerie- One of the many people I know who is pregnant right now
Wisdom-something I am gaining more of every day (LOL)
iXtapa-where we went for dinner
Yes-Something I say a lot at work
Zebra- the word that Terence gave me when I asked him for a word that started with Z

Some fun pictures from today

These are some pictures from today.  Connor's new favorite spot to fall asleep is laying on top of the cushion on the couch.  I don't have the heart to move him to his bed yet.  He's just so sweet when he is sleeping!  The other pictures are of Corey when he was downstairs with Terence this morning.  He found a straw and a hard hat.  He was being so goofy, Terence decided to take some pictures.  I love my boys so much!!!  These are the fun little moments that make everything worth it!

So Sick!

In the last week or so the morning sickness had really started to kick in.  As every pregnant women knows morning sickness is both a blessing and a curse.  It's kind of a tangible way to know that your hormones are increasing and hopefully that means the baby is growing.  It's a curse because it's miserable!  I don't really get physically ill but I do get nauseated 24 hours a day 7 days a week for about 13 weeks.  I woke up not feeling great but tried to shake it off.  The hardest part of feeling nauseated when you have kids is watching them eat.  Connor wanted macaroni and cheese with hot dogs for dinner tonight.  Lets just say I will never look at Mac and Cheese the same.
I am scheduled to have my first prenatal appointment next week on my Mom's birthday and am looking forward to it.  I had an ultrasound strictly for dating purposes about a week ago and there was no fetal pole.  That basically means that the baby was not big enough to be picked up on the ultrasound.  I'm hoping that when I have my appointment next week there will be a fetal pole and a heartbeat and that everything will be fine.  I will also hopefully have some pictures to post on here.  Exciting!!

Hymn

Tonight as I was getting ready to write my blog Corey brought me a book to read him. This particular book has pictures painted by the artist Greg Olson and talks about ways we know our Savior loves us. I love this hymn, it is one of my favorites and always brings me comfort when I hear it. So for tonight's blog post I am just going to post the lyrics to it. I know my Savior loves me and I grateful for peace this simple testimony brings to my life.

I feel my Savior’s love,

In all the world around me

His Spirit warms my soul

Through everything I see

I feel my Savior’s love

Its gentleness enfolds me

And when I kneel to pray

My heart is filled with peace

I feel my Savior’s love

And know that He will bless me

I offer Him my heart;

My shepherd He will be

I’ll share my Savior’s love

By serving others freely,

In serving I am blessed,

In giving I receive

Chorus:

He knows I will follow Him,

Give all my life to Him

I feel my Savior’s love

The love He freely gives me

I will put you in the sink...

When Terence and I first started dating Terence loved to tell the little girls (Sarah, Laura and Michelle)that he was going to put them in the sink. It was his first experience with pickle ball points. Michelle especially used to hate it when he would say this.

This morning I was doing my hair in my bathroom downstairs and this is where Corey decided to sit. It reminded me of when Terence used to tease the girls, I thought it was funny.