Tweten Family

Fun Date Night Activities

2009-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, so my brilliant cousin Kami, has come up with a great way to keep me motivated to blog. I feel bad because I always feel like I have so much to blog about but by the time I actually sit down to do it, all of the things I wanted to say have piled up and the less excited I am about posting because it takes me literally hours to do it. So I am going to really try to stop stressing about including everything in here. Anyway back to the subject, Kami has given herself and anyone who wants to participate, a monthly topic or topics to blog about, so the first topic is fun date night activities and I gotta say I am totally boring when it comes to date nights. Eric and I hardly ever go out on dates, in fact we only go out on our birthdays or special occasions, but I just love going out to dinner or to the movies. I do miss the spontaneous dates we used to go on though, before the kids and lack of funds. We used to go for long walks just to talk about nothing and just to be together. We sometimes go for walks at the mall, but it has been a while since we have done that. We used to play bored games after the kids have gone to bed, but we haven't played any bored games in a really, really long time. Sometimes we play video games together, yes you heard right, I do play on occasion. And we like to catch up on recorded TV shows together since he is usually studying when the show actually comes on and its nicer when the kids are in bed. Hmmm... when we were first married one time, Eric just randomly took me out for ice cream and it was so unexpected, it was one of my most memorable dates. Well that really is it I guess, I told you it was boring, mostly I just think any time when we can be alone together is a great date, and we are both still as in love as ever, maybe even more. I also enjoyed going to the Zoo and to Sea World with Eric the one time we went together, but like I said lack of funds. I guess thats really all I have for the fun date night activities topic, but it really doesn't matter what you, do, it's who you do it with that matters!

A Month or so of Highlights

2009-09-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am finally taking the time to blog after who knows how long. I decided that too much has happened to put in everything, but here are the highlights:

Max had his first taste of solid food at 6 months, rice cereal, and now he eats solids on a regular basis, I've included a picture of him having his first bowl, spoon, and high chair experience.

Max got his first tooth the last Friday in July (bottom middle left), then another within a week on the top left and within another week he had 2 more to balance out the first 2. So he looked sorta like a vampire or a hippo until just last week when another one started to come in. It broke in on Saturday but is too small to really see in a picture. Eric took some just tonight before I put him down to bed of his toothy smile.

Max also learned to crawl sometime before all the teeth, and now he is pulling himself up to furniture like a pro, flat walls and everything. He has taken many a tumble too and he had the bruises to prove it.

Alex is still loving video games and he loves it when I read to him. He has been doing better about going to the potty, but still can't go a full week without an accident.

Haley started 1st grade on the 10th of August and so far is enjoying it. She likes her teacher and the homework load is less than in Kindergarten somehow. I have also been volunteering in the classroom to help out the teacher, Mrs. Schmidt, since they have no budget for teachers assistants or aides. (A sarcastic Hooray for the economy in CA )

We took a trip the week before Haley started school to go to Vernal for my Aunt Diane's funeral. She has touched so many lives and it was a bittersweet 4 day trip (2 days of it literally spent in the car). I was so grateful that we could be there and we still pray for the Morton family every night. She will truly be missed, but thank goodness for the knowledge of the gospel that puts it all in perspective and makes it easier to cope. I posted some pictures from our trip as well. The sweet part of the trip was seeing family especially my nephew Grady whom I met in person for the first time, and some of my extended family that I hadn't seen in years.

Also on that trip Haley had her first taste of a bee sting actually it was a wasp that got her in the back of the leg/knee 3 times. My mom and dad didn't know there was a nest underneath their porch swing, so unfortunately Haley discovered it and was lucky to only have the one wasp attack her. It was a learning experience, I know now that she isn't allergic and I learned how to treat stings.

Alex lost his hat at the Mad Greek in Baker, and had his first experience with peeing on the side of the road, so he learned something from the trip too. I can't speak for Eric who did all the driving, but I think we built some lasting memories from the whole experience. It also made me really miss Provo since we spent 2 out of 3 nights there, for me it will always be home.

Eric started his second year of law school one week after Haley started and it has been tons easier than the first year, minus the whole expense of school and living off of loans thing which remains the same.

Eric came home a few weeks ago to say that he found out that he had received some awards for highest grades in 2 of his classes last year and I was very proud of him he worked really hard and beat himself up over whether or not he did well after the finals were over. Then within a few days of this news we received a letter stating that he had made the Dean's List! Whoo Hoo! Way to go Eric! I am really not trying to brag, but I am so proud of his achievements.

Anyway those are the highlights, I hope I didn't miss anything since my last post, but if I did then I blame Mom-nesia (memory loss after having a child which they say can last up to 9 months). Recently we had a fun Labor Day at Eric's parents house barbecue and visiting. We actually visited for 2 days in a row since we go up there every Sunday and it was nice. And we have been swimming a few times since the school year started which has been nice since it has been so hot lately. I never thought I would say it, but I actually miss winter in Utah, snow and all. I think it is still going to take a while for me to like living in California, but its starting to grow on me.

Lots of Pictures!

Max's First SolidsA Toothy SmileFrom Crawling to StandingHaley's First Day of First Grade Pictures from our Bittersweet Trip: Me and Grady Payson
Cami, Haley after her stinging incident, and my mom
Kemish
My dad holding MaxAll of us minus Yvonia and Spencer and their families. Posing after the funeral luncheon. Grandpa and seven of his children (6 of my aunts and 1 of my uncles) Vicky, Grandpa, Kaylynn, Michelle, Duane, Kathy (my mom), Carma, and ShellyGrandpa and Grandma PowellKami Mayer (my cousin) in front, with a pregnant Aunt Nikell talking in the background A picture of the Casket at the Gravesite just after the funeral. Malinda holding Grady and Cami holding MaxCousins!
Haley holding Max, Alex, and Payson holding Grady
Nathan, Yvonia, and Rya (Catia didn't want to be in the picture)
Rya
Catia finally let me take her picture.Just some fun pictures:

Max asleep on the floor one random day still in his jammies.My 3 Kids wanted their picture taken together (Alex, Max, and Haley)A really random picture of a happy face in a can of OJ that Eric opened one morning.

Finally and Update!

2009-07-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

I guess since Eric finished school I have been super busy and not just because of the kids. I just have a car during the day now so I have been out and about. So here is the update of pretty much our whole summer and pictures for it all. First off, Haley finished school and that weekend we had a fun birthday party for her. We were supposed to have a swimming party but we ran into the June gloom so we just played games and had presents and cake and ice-cream at home. Oh well her cake was super cute (I made it, wink, wink). Then we had a second party the next day with just family at Grandma and Grandpa's house so she got 2 cakes and it was a good thing, because I missed getting a picture of her blowing out the candles on the first one. Anyway now she is 6 and will be starting 1st grade on the 10th very soon. Earlier that week we started the potty training an got rid of diapers for Alex for good. We used the same method my sister-in-law used with my nephew Payson and it worked. The problem now is that he gets lazy and doesn't always tell us in time, but we are working on it. Ok then we started swimming lessons for both Haley and Alex and they had a lot of fun. Father's Day came and went and so did our 8 year Anniversary which were both fun and I appreciated Eric's parents watching the kids so we could go out to dinner. Then I started taking a sewing class once a week and have been working on a baby quilt for a friend of mine who is having a boy. I've decided that I love sewing and if I had more time and more money I would like to take on that hobby. I also did her baby shower which was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. I had some help which was good because there were 60 people on the guest list. I have also been studying the CA driver's handbook, because I still need a CA driver's license. I gotta say I am a bit nervous about taking the written test again since it has been 9 years since I have taken one. I just wish there was some way to skip all of the questions that didn't apply to me and my personal driving, but that's life. It doesn't sound like a lot, but I really feel like I have been so busy that I haven't spent much time with my family at home just enjoying life the way I used to. Then it was the 4th of July and we went to a flag raising/breakfast that morning and then spent the rest of the day at Eric's parents house and watched some fireworks from their backyard (some of their neighbors set them off even they are illeagal here in most parts of CA). I missed the fireworks in Utah, but we still had a good time. Then we celebrated Alex's 3rd birthday on the 6th. We just had a simple party at Grandma and Grandpa's house. I made an R2D2 cake and we did the whole Star Wars theme. Alex had a great time. We have been slowly making changes in our home with our decor. We finally bought some much needed shelving for the kids rooms and for ours and I finally was able to unpack my stamp things so I can get back into my card making that I love so much. And now the kids have their books on shelves instead of in boxes. And we are moving all of the boys clothes into their own dresser, yay! Eric has been watching the kids a lot for me, and he has been out shooting with his dad and brothers a few times for fun. Haley just started her next swimming lessons today and we are hoping she will be able to stay in that class and not get pushed back into the class she took a few weeks ago. And I had Alex and Max weighed for our WIC appointment this last week, and Max is now 19 lbs. and 27 inches long. Alex is 25 lbs. 36 inches long. So as you can see Max is really growing and catching up. He has is 6 month checkup on the 17th and we will be starting solids this weekend. I always wait until 6 months for that. He has also been rolling over like crazy too. It just started about a week ago, so that is fun, and I think he will be crawling pretty soon. I also joined facebook, because I was trying to find some old HS friends. I didn't find who I was looking for, but I have enjoyed catching up with others, especially family members who get online a lot and some of my super good friends who I have missed since moving. Anyway that is our update, sorry this post is so long, but like I said we have been super busy. Enjoy the pics!

Haley with Mrs. Maylad at Kindergarten Graduation Hooray!

Haley's birthday beach cake

Haley blowing out candles on second cake

Haley and her pile of gifts

Father's Day

Daddy and Alex at swimming lessons (sorry he's hard to see)

Alex on the wall getting ready to jump in

Haley at swimming lessons

Alex's R2D2 birthday cake

Alex waiting for his cake
Alex Blowing out Candles

Alex with pile of presents (Uncle Kevin helping him open some)

Finally a picture of all 3 of them together!
Haley, Max, and Alexander

Catching up on 3 weeks of fun!

2009-05-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am getting worse and worse at this. I thought that I would have more time to blog once Eric finished his first year of law school, but I was wrong. Yeah thats right, the 16th, his birthday, he finished his first year hooray! We celebrated with dinner at Red Robin and then Sunday we did gifts and dessert at his parents, it was a lot of fun. I wish I could get into more detail, but like I said I have little time and so much to blog about. Ok next, Max had his 4 month checkup since he was 4 months on Eric's birthday and he was drumroll please... 17 lbs. 6 oz. and 26 1/2 inches which puts him in the 95% for both weight and height. Holy cow he is getting so big, he can almost sit up by himself now and he almost rolled over a couple of times since I have been giving him more tummy time lately. He loves to play with toys on the floor, which just means I need to vacuum more. I have also been busier since I started working out on a regular basis and am going to try and lose the 20 lbs. I have gained since having 3 kids. I also signed the kids up for swimming lessons and they will start next month once Haley finishes school, I just think it is so important that they learn what I never learned how to do. We have also been cleaning out the last of the boxes that we never unpacked since moving here, shopping for much needed clothing and shoes for ourselves and the kids, and moving some of our furniture around to make room for the shift in kids rooms. Max has been sleeping through the night so I thought soon we would move him in with Alex and that means Haley gets her own room. So a lot of cleaning out and change and just spending quality time with my family this week. We are doing better about having family home evening now and it has really made a difference. We attended a play put on by our stake "Saviour of the World" it was nice to get out of the house, and we have spent a few fun filled weekends at Eric's parents house swimming, watching movies, and playing Rock Band. Anyway that is pretty much the last 3 weeks in a nutshell. I have included some fun pictures of Max and am planning on getting some good ones of the three kids together this week so wish me luck; it is really hard getting all three of them together all smiling and looking good.

Eric an Max

Max was all smiles while Eric was swinging him one night I caught him at the top of the swing smiling

He was so happy that night, I wish the lighting had been better though.
You can't see this one very well but I thought Max had the cutest face.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am getting worse and worse about keeping this thing updated, but I promise I try. I just have so much to do, I really don't know how moms do it with more than 3 kids. I just can't keep up, but I can't complain, I love my family. Eric has been home this week studying and stressing for finals and he has his last one on the 16, yep his birthday. Oh well we'll just have to celebrate after the test. I can't believe how fast time has gone, but I am glad he'll be done with the 1st year since that is supposed to be the hardest for Law students. We have all had colds this week and I just started to get it a couple of days ago. No its not swine flu, but it still stinks being sick. I just have to say, the more kids you have the more you get sick. We get something at least every 2 months, but oh well it could be worse I'm sure. I finally got some good updated pictures of Max and he is growing like crazy. He is wearing 6-9 month size clothes now. He pushes with his legs to standing on my lap a lot and now if he's not buckled in, he can slide right out of his car seat/carrier. He smiles and plays all the time. He loves his toys and trying to grab things, but mostly he just loves to be talked too and played with. He's been sick this week too, so we've been trying to get healthy again. Haley has had a hard week (which she brought on herself), but I promised her we would go swimming if she was good all week and today is the last day of the week so I guess we'll be going swimming. Alex has been sick and still obsessed with Lego Star Wars so mostly we just hung out at home this week trying to get well. Friday Haley's kindergarten class put on a cute little Mother's Day program for the moms and Haley did a great job. I took my camcorder and got it all on video. The funny thing was, she had taken her play earrings to school in her backpack without me knowing and she was wearing them for the program. I guess she just wanted to look dressed up for the program, but I guess I'll have to start checking her backpack before we go to school from now on. She is so funny about wanting to take her toys to school. Anyway its all on video. I was thinking about it while I was filming the program, but we have a lot of home movies and we never watch them. I think I'm going to have to pick a night and make it home movie night. We always film things, but we never watch what we film. It's strange because I remember watching home movies when I was a kid and laughing at how young I looked and things, but I guess I just get busy or something and we forget and never get around to watching anything. There is so much I want to do when Eric is done, but we'll see. I want to finally organize my apartment and move Haley into her own room. I want to get Alex potty trained and exercise more and just spend more time with Eric and have family time without a law book in the mix. So things are looking up, we just have to get over our colds and make it through finals. Oh and don't forget to call your moms and have a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!!

Max is always eating his hands, despite my attempts and keeping his hands out. He makes some funny faces with his hands in his mouth sometimes. Poor little guy is losing all his hair too. He hates to be on his stomach so he rubs it out, and he's growing so fast his hair can't keep up with his head growth and the cradle cap doesn't help.

Max loves the swing

Max playing with is new teether toys in the mouth of course.

The smile shot, unfortunately the swing was moving when I took it so its a bit out of focus.

I got an even better one, but it was really blurry. (darn) I'll just have to get the ones Eric's dad took last Sunday with their camera, he has a super cute smile.

A Busy Week

2009-04-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

Ok so I finally have a minute to blog. Now that Max is getting older he is demanding more attention and I find less and less time to sit and type let alone check my email so I got lucky today. It's strange because I feel like I'm super busy and can't keep up with my housework, but at the same time I feel like there really hasn't been a lot going on at least not anything terribly exciting anyway. Haley has been doing really well in school and she and Alex have been obsessed with the Lego Star Wars game for the X-box so I have to limit their play time. It figures that my children would pick up their dad's favorite hobby and not their mom's. It has been so hot here too that my arms got tan just from walking Haley to school. Then after one of Haley's school friends asked why Haley always wore jeans to school, I decided it was time for new clothes mainly shorts and t-shirts and some of us needed shoes, so we went shopping this week. Max is already in some 6 month clothes and since the seasons were off with Alex's old clothes he got some new things too. The only down side is that I couldn't really find any shorts that were modest for Haley to wear. I am going to really have to search more than one store for Haley. It really is too bad that you can't buy modest clothes even for a 5 year old. It's times like these when I really miss Provo. So I got almost all of my shopping done, minus the shorts and we are set for the warm weather now. This last weekend was birthday weekend for us too, since Eric's brother James and his best friend Steve had birthdays on Friday and Saturday so we had a fun weekend celebrating with them. Then Sunday I sang in church and judging from the complements I got, I would say it was great. I'm just lucky I didn't start crying during the song, because I was feeling pretty emotional yesterday during church and I haven't sung a solo in at least a year. And Eric and I got called as the new ward librarians so that will be something totally new and different and I am looking forward to having a calling that isn't quite as demanding as my last calling was. I am also helping out as a district leader for visiting teaching and I have been on the phone a lot lately, but I love to talk on the phone so that's not too bad. So that is about all that has happened since my last post and like I said, it doesn't sound like much, but for me that is about all I have time for anymore. It's funny because last week Haley had a homework assignment to write 5 sentences about a weekend activity and draw a picture, and she wrote about going to the grocery store. I guess our weekends need some livening up. Unfortunately she only gets from June 11th through August 10th off from school and then she starts 1st grade so we don't get much vacation time. They really push kids hard with school these days. I can hardly believe some of the things Haley is learning in kindergarten. What ever happened to nursery rhymes and making crafts? Anyway I could go on but it seems Max is demanding my attention once again so I guess I'll have to sign off for now.

Easter Happenings

2009-04-16T16:55:00.001-07:00

Ok so I finally have some time to blog this week. Easter was wonderful and the kids all got tons of candy and the Easter bunny brought them all a gift as well. I took the kids to an Egg hunt that some of the sisters in our ward put on Friday and the kids had a great time finding eggs, so that was fun, then we decided to color eggs on Saturday and it was fun up until Alex knocked over the cup of blue dye and well lets just say that I really hate having white carpeting in our dining area. Luckily we have a bissell wet vac, carpet cleaner and with some quick work by Eric, you can't even tell there was a spill unless you are right down next to the spot. Haley wasn't very happy about not being able to color any more eggs blue, but we got 3 out of 24 so it wasn't too bad. Then Easter Sunday the kids were up well before us and had already found their baskets, but it was still fun watching them play with their new toys that the Easter bunny brought. Especially Max, he got a little einsteins cow that hangs from his carrier, it has a rattle tummy crinkly arms and legs, and a pull string that makes it vibrate. He just stared at it and talked to it and smiled forever, and then after several attempts to grab at it, he finally got hold and made it vibrate. Anyway I really should get it on film some time, it's so cute watching him play with it. Haley got a Silvermist doll to go with her Tinkerbell playset that she got for Christmas, and Alex got two new Star Wars figures, R2 and Luke Skywalker, since he has been really into Star Wars lately. I forgot to mention that on Saturday while I was looking for extra egg dippers to color the eggs, I found our old camera and realized it still had a bunch of pictures on it that needed to be taken. So most of our egg decorating pictures aren't digital, but I guess we just completely forgot about finishing that roll of film, when we got our digital camera. Anyway that will be fun to get developed and see what was on there. Then Sunday for church the kids got all dressed up in their new Easter clothes and we got pictures afterwards at Eric's parents house before we had our Easter Ham dinner there. Eric's parents and his Aunt Gloria got the kids some nice treats too and the kids had fun finding their special eggs and bunny bubbles before dinner. We also got to see the movie Bedtime Stories which I thought was really cute and really funny. So I have to say that Easter was a big success and here are some of the pictures we took Sunday at Eric's parents.

Haley in her new Easter dress, she looked like a princess so pretty in pink.

Here is the whole family, Alex wasn't in the best of moods, but still a cute picture.

Here is one of all the guys, Alex looked super cute in his new suit. It was his first suit with jacket and all, he looked so grown up. And of course Max already in 3-6 month size clothes he is such a big boy and super cute.

2009-04-07T13:47:00.001-07:00

Well everyone it looks like once a week is the best I can do with this blog, but I still enjoy doing it. Conference this last weekend was wonderful. I got so much out of it this time and President Monson made me cry with his story about the woman who lost everything she had. I am always awed by those who have lost so much and stayed strong in the church. My husband and children are my life and I cannot even imagine life without them in it. I just felt so humbled this conference because I need to improve so much. I also really felt out of the loop when I heard that Elder Wirthlin had passed away. I guess out here you can't keep up with the church news as easily which is probably why Eric's parents order and read the church news. Anyway I also had some good news: Alex finally had some potty success last Friday he went instead of just sitting and we made a really big deal out of it too, so I hope he gets the picture now, although so far that has been the only time, we'll just have to keep trying. Max has started the standing on your lap thing now. We have tried it with him before, but now his legs are stronger and he loves to stand, with us holding him of course. I still haven't caught that perfect smile photo, but he has a super cute smile, so I'll keep trying with that too. This week I also got to see Speed Racer, and Quantum of Solice, and I gotta say, Speed Racer was better than I thought it would be, it was exciting and I thought the story was good, Haley liked the Chimp. Quantum was ok, but I didn't like it as much as Casino Royale. I also got a chance to go shopping with Rita this week for Easter clothes for the kids, and it was fun, even though I didn't remember to bring the stroller. We got some really good deals and I can't wait to get pictures of them all dressed up. Alex will be wearing his first suit, jacket and all, and I was lucky to find a dress with sleeves for Haley out here that I liked. Max even got a nice outfit too, Thanks Rita! Anyway I'll post those next week hopefully. So on that note, HAPPY EASTER! And don't forget what Easter is all about, Haley asked me about that the other day and I had a wonderful teaching moment about the resurrection with her. Kids are wonderful and reminding us what is really important in life.

2009-03-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well this last week was really nice with Haley on Spring Break and the weather has been really warming up and very spring like. We are finally all healthy again YEAH!!! I made this peach no bake cheesecake for dessert on Sunday and it turned out great so I gotta say it has been a really good week for me. Even my kids have been better behaved. It must just be because of spring. Max has been talking and smiling up a storm. I might just get a picture of it one day if I'm really fast with the camera, we'll see, it seems like I just can't quite catch it fast enough. He has also been sleeping through the night although I don't know how long that is going to last, but he is just such a good baby and so big too. It is amazing to me how much bigger he is than Alex was at the same age. I am already putting him in 3 to 6 month size clothes and everything. Anyway overall it was just another boring week, but it has been nice and I have been thinking about just how blessed I really am. Oh and for anyone who is looking for a good family movie to watch, Nim's Island is really cute. I just watched it the other day with Haley, and she and I both really liked it. Haley especially liked the animals. I don't have much else to say and I need to go and feed Max, but enjoy conference and spring and all the blessings of life because we truly are blessed with so much. We just tend to focus on what we don't have more often than we should and I am definitely guilty of that.

My sister in law sent this to me and I just thought it was something everyone should think about in this day and age of texting. I felt bad for the poor woman who this happened too, but maybe her story can help us to be more cautious.

This lady has changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet... etc...was stolen.. 20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I replied a little while ago.' When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cellphone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account. Moral of the lesson: Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey,Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad , Mom, etc..... And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back!! Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you. Along with that if you have an entry called 'Home' with your actual home phone number it's not too hard to do a reverse look up on the number to find the address. now the robber has your home number, keys, AND address.

Twilight, Getting Well, and Spring Break

2009-03-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so most of you know that I am a huge fan of the Twilight series books. I love them so much. Anyway we finally got the movie and I watched it with Eric's family on Sunday. We always go over to Eric's parents for dinner on Sundays and I tried out some new dessert recipes to share and I brought Twilight. I gotta say, I thought it was good. I think it could have been tons better and the acting wasn't so great but it was ok. I knew it could never be as good as the book and it felt really rushed to me. I also never thought that the guy playing Edward (Robert Pattinson) was good looking. Edward is supposed to be gorgeous and well to me he just wasn't. I just had a lot of little pet peeves about the movie, but I liked it overall and I am glad that I bought it because I will probably enjoy watching it again at home when the mood strikes me. I gotta say though that the book was 100 times better and if you really want to get into Twilight you have to read it. As far as the desserts went, I messed up a little on the pie, but it was still ok and the brownies were good. I made a Lemonade Cheesecake pie (you can get this recipe at kraftfoods.com) but I wasn't paying attention to the ingredients and instead of using only 1/2 cup of frozen lemonade concentrate I just poured in the whole can without thinking, so it was a lot more lemony than it was supposed to be, but oh well, it was ok, just kinda runny because of the excess lemonade. I made the brownies as a backup when I realized that I messed up the pie, and they turned out great. They were a little different because I baked them in cupcake cups and they had a peanut butter cream cheese center (also a recipe from kraftfoods.com). Anyway other than that it has been all about getting well since we have all been sick for a few weeks (well everyone but me anyway). Poor little Max has had fever and a bad cough so I haven't been getting much sleep these last 2 or 3 days from all the crying he has been doing. It is so hard with babies because they can't tell you what hurts or how to make them feel better. I am just glad for infant Tylenol and the power of prayer, because I think he is doing a lot better. Haley has spring break this week, and I think she has actually been a little bored staying at home. Yesterday she drew pictures of all the characters in one of her favorite cartoons and made a book out of the pages. It took her a long time, but she was really proud of her work and I think she is turning into quite the artist. It was so cute because she wanted to write her friend's name on her book and she asked me how to spell it, so I said "A" and she wrote it down then I said "U" and she wrote "you." I thought that was funny. We stocked up on the Jelly Belly jelly beans from Costco because of their coupon for this month and we are going to use them for Easter and as an incentive for Alex to go potty. So far though the potty training hasn't been working, Alex just has no interest at all and I think I am going to wait for the summer when Eric gets out of school to really work with him on it. That way I'll have some help. But I just love Jelly Belly especially since they remind me of how Eric and I met and fell in love. Anyway that's about it for us, now we are just looking forward to Conference, and Easter.

2009-03-18T13:38:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love pictures, so here are the ones of Max I promised and Haley jumped into one. Alex didn't want to be in any, he hasn't been feeling too great and he has been extra grumpy and not too cooperative. Oh well maybe next time when he feels a little better.

Oh and just for fun, and because my best friend Megan requested it, here is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever try I promise.

Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 2 large eggs
½ tsp baking soda 2 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar (about 2 cups)
½ cup granulated sugar
*2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened Yield: About 3 ½ dozen

Preheat oven to 300. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with wire whisk. Set aside. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended. Do not overmix. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just barely mixed. Do not overmix. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 18-22 min. or until golden brown. Transfer cookies immediately to a cool surface with a spatula.

*Do not substitute shortening or margarine spread for butter it makes the dough too soft; if you only have unsalted butter, add ¾ tsp. salt to the dry ingredients.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know everyone is dying to know how Max's 2 month checkup turned out, so here are the stats. He now weighs 13.3 lbs. which puts him in the 75th percentile for weight and he is 24 inches long so he is in the 90th for length. We also had his follow up X-ray today on his right shoulder, but I have to wait for the results to be sent to Dr. Quan before I know if he is completely healed yet or not, but he got a clean bill of health otherwise and 3 shots too. I just hate watching them get shots (poor baby). Anyway other than the fact that all my kids have caught what Eric had (I guess I should say has, since he isn't completely well yet), we are all doing well. I also had Haley's parent teacher conference today, and she is doing wonderfully academically, she is even a little bit ahead of some of the kids in her class in math, so that is great. On another note, I found out that I have to wait until Saturday to get Twilight on DVD and I can hardly wait, since I have wanted to see it since it came out in theaters and I didn't get the chance then. I love the books and I own them all. Speaking of books, I have been reading again since I finally made it to the Library last week and recently have been reading another book series (Percy Jackson and the Olympians). I read while I nurse and I find it much more entertaining than watching TV all the time; I just finished the 2nd book Saturday and if you want to know my thoughts on it, I will be posting that on my goodreads page soon if not today. I also wanted to let everyone know that Kyle XY had the worst ending to a TV series I have ever seen. It was full of unresolved story and I was highly disappointed. So if you are planning on buying the show on DVD, don't. The ending isn't an ending and I just couldn't believe that ABC would leave it unfinished like that. Anyway I won't spoil it for anyone who still wants to watch it, but don't say I didn't warn you. Oh and I added a playlist with some of my favorite songs to my blog, but it will only play if you click the play button. I just figured not everyone is a fan of my kind of music so I didn't set it to play automatically, but it's there if you want to listen while you read. Oh and I'll post some new pictures soon, since I plan on taking at least one of Max at 2 months in his green frog outfit that my mom gave him. It was the perfect outfit for today, so be on the lookout for that. Once again HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! to all.

A Sneaky Situation

2009-03-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

Well the last few weeks have been really hard, it started with Haley and her sneaky personality. I love my little girl, but she is too smart for her own good and has been in trouble a lot lately. I'm not really sure why, but she is making me doubt my parenting skills. It seems that no one I talk to can relate, and if it weren't for the knowledge I have of the church and knowing that the Lord is always there, knows how we feel, and only gives us what we can handle, I would go crazy literally. Well I just don't know and at first I thought her behavior was because of attention since she recently told me she thought I loved Max more than her, but all my attempts at trying to spend more time with her haven't helped. We went and got our hair cut finally since it was so long. Then I painted her fingernails and I have been walking her to and from school just the two of us everyday this week. I have also punished her for her recent bad behavior, but I just have to say that I feel like it is somehow my fault she is this way, though I don't know how. I just wish there was some sort of instruction manual on how to keep your children from lying and sneaking around. I have also been really tired from a newborn keeping me up at night so I have had a really hard time keeping a good attitude about everything. Plus Eric got sick and the spring break we were both looking forward to, hasn't been so great for him, so I have been worn out trying to deal with Haley and taking care of the rest of my family. Like I said before it has been a hard week. The positives though, we had an at home doctor visit (weird I know, but they do those here I guess) and on the 3rd Max weighed 12 lbs. 2 oz. so whoo hoo his is doing great! Also as I mentioned before I finally got the haircut I have been wanting since we moved here and it feels and looks great if I do say so myself. I cut it from mid back to short shoulder length, so I took off a good 5 or 6 inches of hair, and Haley's was even longer and it is now the same length as mine. The weird thing is, only one person commented on it and it was one of the moms at Haley's school whose name I can't even remember. I know it doesn't matter, but I just thought it was strange. The important thing is that I like it. I will maybe get some pictures sometime soon to post, but don't be disappointed if things get crazy and I don't get it done. If I don't get to it on Tuesday HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

Blessing Success

2009-03-02T14:48:00.000-08:00

Well I finally have some time to blog, but it won't last long, so this may not cover everything that has happened, but I wanted to at least post some pictures from Max's baby blessing. I really need to figure out how to do slide shows for pictures, but I just don't have time to figure it out, oh well. I also wish I had taken some more pictures of Eric's family with the baby, but I think I was just excited to have my family come from out of town and didn't think about it. Well first off, some news unrelated to Max's blessing. I have a new nephew. My brother, Spencer, and his wife, Malinda, had their second baby boy Friday the 20th and he is a real cutie (at least in the pictures I saw) and a big baby too. I thought Max was big, but my new nephew Grady Kevin Quinto was 9 lbs. 10 oz. and 21 inches long. I wish that I could go and see him but that will just have to wait. My parents were glad they got to see him before they came out here for the blessing. The blessing was wonderful as all baby blessings are, and I am grateful that my husband is a worthy priesthood holder and so in tune with the spirit. I was glad to have my parents come out so that my dad could stand in the circle, and they could finally meet their other new grandson. It just wouldn't have been right not having my dad there. It was also fun to have my 3 sisters here and Yvonia even had her 2 girls with her so the kids had a great time playing with their cousins which they don't get to see very often. I was also glad for Eric's family. I really do think I have some of the best in laws. Along with his parents and brothers, Eric's Aunt Gloria was able to be there for the first time, since she wasn't able to travel out to Utah for my other kids blessings. After the blessing and photos, Vanessa and Yvonia had to leave, but the rest of us spent the afternoon at Eric's parents home and enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Eric's friend Steve, also came later for the lunch. He has been Eric's friend since kindergarten and he surprised us because he had his hair cut short. The hair was a surprise, because in all the almost 8 years that we have been married, Steve has had shoulder length hair and he seemed to have no desire to cut it all that time. Anyway it was nice that he was there to visit. So the blessing was a success and I was grateful to have everyone there that could be there. Well this post is getting long and I have some other catching up to do, so I guess I'll end this post and blog when I have more time later. Enjoy the pictures!

Our First Family Photo since Max was born

My Parents, Vanessa, Me, Eric holding Max, Yvonia Ruth, Haley, Catia, Alexander and Raya in the carrier

Aunt Gloria, Kevin, Eric's Parents, Me, Eric holding Max, James, Alexander, and Haley

We just wanted a picture of Max with the hat on that came with his blessing outfit. We both thought he looked better without it.

Eric Holding Max

The Blessing Cake with Max's birthdate on it (Yum, Yum)

My dad holding Max

My mom holding Max

Yvonia holding Max

Vanessa holding Max

A missing post

2009-02-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

Ok Everyone, I deleted my Valentine's Day post with pictures of Max having his first bath, because Eric thought it was bad to have those pictures on my blog. Go figure, but I wanted to put some of the pictures from after his bath back on, so here they are in a different post, and for anyone who didn't see the post before, it was just me wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and the pictures.

Doesn't he look thoughtful

Gotta love the new Spiderman outfit.

Happy President's Day!

2009-02-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

Well I just had a little bit of time and it is so nice to have Eric off from school for one day even though I know he will be studying anyway. Our Valentine's Day was nothing special we didn't go out and we didn't get each other gifts, but Eric did get me a card. He said just being with me this year was enough. The girly part of me felt really bad that I didn't even get him a card, since I was so sick last week. Oh well. Max has had a lot of congestion and I am probably going to break out the humidifier. Poor little guy, it's so hard to see him sick when he is so small. Well that's all, hope everyone is enjoying being lazy and having the day off today like we are, but if your not have a happy President's day anyway.

First Bath's and Being Sick

2009-02-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

OK, everyone, well I'm sorry I haven't posted anything new in about a week. I don't know how you guys keep this thing up and where you find the time to post, but for me, I am lucky to find any time at all to sit and type these things up and still keep a clean house with 3 kids and having to nurse every 2-3 hours a day. I have a good excuse this week though, in my last post you all got my little rant on my being sick, well it got worse and I had like 3 days of fever and chills and the works. I am telling you mom's don't get to rest. My own mother used to say that a lot and now I totally agree with her on that. I probably would have been better sooner if I was one of those moms who took medication while nursing, but I just keep it to Tylenol which doesn't do much. I am really grateful for the priesthood because without Eric to give me a blessing, I don't think I could have gotten over it so fast. It was also nice that Haley had Friday off from school. The highlights of my week consisted of getting to go to Sacrament Meeting last week (we haven't been to church in almost a month, so it really was a highlight even if we didn't stay through all the meetings), giving Max his very first real bath in a tub which I posted pictures of, and helping Haley with Valentine cards to hand out at her school party. Other than that I was just laying around a lot and feeling miserable. Someone once told me that if mom is miserable then everyone is, and I think to some extent it is true. Luckily my kids didn't get fever and chills. Alex is pretty much over his cold and Max is a little congested, but hopefully he is on the up. Keep us in your prayers OK, and I'll try to keep up with the posting.

Blessing Date Change

2009-02-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

Ok, so that last blog was really long, and if anyone read it I am sorry it was so long, but if you know me, I am a talker. Anyway just an update, the blessing date for Max got moved to the 22nd because my dad couldn't make it earlier. It worked out good, because I have been really sick. I think I got double whammied with sickness. I had a cold which was mostly a really bad cough just a few days before Max was born and about a week after he was due I was starting to feel better. Then it seemed like a few days after I was starting to feel better, I got worse. Another cough, and my left eye turned all red and crusty, then I got some back aches and Eric said I felt kind of warm to him so I may have had a slight fever too. Anyway I am just trying to get well enough to go to church, but I should be better by the 22nd. Luckily Max seems ok, he may be a tiny bit congested, but he seems ok, and poor Alex got it, but oh well, what can I do.

I found out a way to change the background of my blog too, and it was free so anyone who wants to know how to get really really cute backgrounds for blogs, the site is: http://www.simplychicblogs.blogspot.com/
Anyone who blogs should totally check it out!!!

Daddy and Max

More Pictures of Max:

Yep his eyes are blue

What a Cutie

Baby Max, Our First Post

2009-01-31T14:22:00.000-08:00

Okay Everyone, I have finally succumbed to the blogging world. Everyone seems to be sending me blog pages lately and so I have finally decided to do my own. So it starts with the birth announcement or rather the info. that everyone keeps asking for about the birth of our third child, Max Selmer Tweten. So here it goes...

I was due January 12th. We moved in August to Rancho Cucamonga, CA so that Eric could go to Law School. And just for everyone's info. he is going to The University of LaVerne College of Law which is located in Ontario. Anyway I needed to see a doctor, but we had no insurance so after a long search trying to find an insurance company that was inexpensive and would cover my pregnancy, I ended up on Medi-Cal, because most companies or at least the ones we could afford considered this pregnancy as pre-existing which I think is really stupid but it is what it is. Anyway I went to a public health clinic in Ontario because they would see me while my Medi-Cal coverage was pending. I do not recommend this clinic to anyone though, so if you are ever in my situation, wait and find a doctor that has his own clinic. The health care is 100 times better in Utah by the way. Anyway the clinic sent me to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, CA. I also do not recommend this hospital to anyone either. I have a million complaints on why, but no one wants to hear me rant, so I'll just get on with it.

In September I had an ultrasound and the baby's position wasn't the best but the doctor was guessing it was a girl, so we went with that. We were ready either way and had names picked out and outfits ready. We had no middle name if it turned out to be a girl though and I was stressed about that. Fortunately it was a boy so we passed down Eric's middle name which was his grandfather's name, Selmer. I guess deep down I knew it was a boy. I had had a dream that I had a boy, and I just couldn't settle on a middle name for a girl.
Out here, having babies early is a rarity, pretty much every doctor here wants to make the moms go as close to their due date as possible despite any misery or pain the mother is going through. I started having contractions the Friday after Thanksgiving and December 1st I was 34 weeks and contracting 4-5 min. apart, but it was false labor, and after giving me 2 shots to stop the contractions and instructing me to drink 10 glasses of water a day they sent me home. Well I ended up having 2 more false labor situations almost exactly like that, and after that and I just had contractions randomly all the way up until I had the baby. The doctor called them irritable uterine contractions and I was on bed rest for most of December, and thinking I was going to have the baby early. My mom and sister were here for the last false labor and my contractions were 2-3 min. apart and painful, but still because I wasn't dilating they sent me home, I was 38 weeks and it was New Year's Eve. I was deeply depressed and cried the whole night, because I knew that in Provo, they would have broke my water and let me have the baby then, but here they are heartless. I hurt so much the next day that I could barely walk and it hurt to roll over in my sleep. Anyway my due date came, but my doctor said they make their patients wait a full week to induce labor, I was very bitter about the whole thing. In Provo I would have been able to pick any day after my due date that I wanted. I got lucky though because the Monday that they would have normally induced me, was a holiday so I was induced 4 days late on Friday January 16th which just happened to be Eric's brother Kevin's birthday. Unfortunately the doctors at the hospital were extremely busy that day and even though I was scheduled for 8am we didn't have Max until 11:23pm. It was the worst pain I have ever experienced too. The doctor gave me some sort of weird pill to thin me out, but about 6 hours and 2 nurses later I still hadn't dilated so they finally gave me the petocin, another pill, and stripped my membranes. I was supposed to be checked after 4 hours but like I said the doctors were too busy. 4 hours after the petocin, I was dilated to a 5 and having heavy contractions. The nurse was surprised since I was only at a 1 last they checked. Anyway she left to get approval for the epidural, but I knew at the rate they were going it would be too late when she got back and I was right. I was at an 8 when she got back and so I had to deliver without drugs. I have never screamed so much in my whole life. The pain was excruciating. Anyway at least I didn't tear and other than Max having a tiny, minor fracture on his right clavicle (shoulder) everything went well. He was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 21.6 inches long.

Yesterday was his 2 week appointment and he was 9 lbs. 4 oz. and 22 inches long, so he has grown. I think the only upside to natural labor without drugs is that I have recovered so much faster and without taking any pain killers whatsoever. I feel so blessed to have a new little one straight from Heavenly Father in my life. He keeps me up with feedings and I am tired all the time, but he is a really good baby boy and hardly ever cries. The kids love him, Haley loves him so much she has to be reminded to be gentle and she is always waking him up because she can't leave him alone, but she loves him. Alex seems a little indifferent. He looks at the baby and I let him hold Max a few times, but he just carries on and does his own thing like always. I am looking forward to having the baby blessed. We have chosen the 8th of February and my parents are planning on coming. It just wouldn't be the same without my dad there in the circle. This will be the only blessing without my brothers and sisters though and it makes me a little bit sad. I miss being in Provo and being close to my family. They drive me a little crazy sometimes, but it was easier for Eric's parents to travel than my parents, and I think now that we live in CA I will be seeing a lot less of my family. I love Eric's family, but it just feels strange having a new baby and not having my mother here. Eric's mother stayed with us for 2 weeks to help out with the baby and she was great. We have been relying on them for a lot since we moved here. I just hope they don't get tired of us. Anyway that is the whole story. I was just a weird coincidence that 2 of my children were born 4 days late and on an uncle's birthday. Haley was 4 days late and came on my brother Kemish's birthday she was 7lbs. 10oz. Alex was the only baby I had early and that was because I had gall stones and was in too much pain to go full term. He was 12 days early and weighed 6lbs. 5oz. Who knows if we will have any more, but we are probably going to at least wait until Eric finishes school and has a good career under his belt before we consider having another child. Plus with my temperament I'm not sure how I will deal with 3 let alone 4, so we'll see. Here are pictures of Max and the kids. Enjoy!

Haley and Max

Alex and Max

Babies are so cute asleep

Eric holding Max

Max's first pictures at the Hospital