McDanielation

I am THAT mom!

2011-04-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered how you became this person? Then again maybe your not that person but I digress. I remember thinking I would never be one of THOSE moms. You know that epitome of what everything you didn't want to lend yourself to. Before children we all had our judgements right. I swore four things to myself... #1 I would never be caught wearing sweats all day, #2 I used to swear up and down that MY kids car seat were going to clean with perfectly straight straps. #3 MY kidos were going to stay sitting in the grocery car quietly minding their own business, never one of those horrible red faced chitlins throwing a colossal sized tantrums . And last but not least #4 MY house will be beautifully clean and organized. I wasn't going to be that house overflowing with gazillions (ya gazillion) of tiny toys, bikes, scooters, etc...etc...

What do you have to say for yourself now??? How about now?
CONCLUSION: 6 years of motherhood has kicked my trash!

I am NOW that MOM! Fully clad in her 5 o'clock sweat pant glory. Cuz it's comfy right? Just forget about what I am wearing to keep my feet warm!

Let me tell you what these once clean and perfect car seats look like now. They are a mine field of half squished french fries, and unidentifiable sticky things probably used in their original state as some sort of bartering tool. The straps are spotty and gunky probably from sleepy kiddie drool.

Public appearances, when I feel brave enough, are most often spent chasing ... or worse... just pretending they are not mine. Ahem...what? That's not my kid riding a very expensive loaf of bread like a horse, or just plowed over that wall of cracker boxes...again.

My house is now filled almost to the brim with toys, toys, toys. How in the world did we get this many toys? My couch cushions that I once treated with gingerly care are tossed multiple times daily onto the floor to cushion cannon balls and front flips launched from couch arms. DVD's are found haphazardly (despite my repeated warnings) stuffed in any allowable space.

Long story short, despite all these seemingly shortfalls I often feel about my perceptions of how motherhood should be, I still wouldn't change a single sticky car seat strap or embarrassing knock out drag out in the middle of Walmart over chocolate milk ( well OK maybe I would trade this) for what I end up with at the end of the day... Three beautifully sleeping little angels!

I love you guys!

Christmas morning at the McDaniel house.

No week is complete without big sis dressing up a little bro like a little girl.
Sorry Darling... I should have tried harder to give you little sisters.

Since we are talking about being that kind of mother... here is a funny story for ya. On Marshall's blessing day went all day without noticing that Carlan in a madrush to get to church on time, had put on his outfit backwards. Worst part I didn't even notice until I went to change him into pj's at the end of the day.

Is it normal these two already love to rough house?

Ally and her first lost tooth. Goodbye baby teeth... hello weird awkwardness.

And then there were three

2010-12-16T15:42:00.000-08:00

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE... err...okay okay there has been three of us for sometime now.

Introducing the newest member of the family...

Marshall Merrill McDaniel
Born May 18
8lbs. 3 oz
21.5 inches

I already know what your thinking. Um Lady isn't he is 8 months old. I know! I remember, as I myself was the fourth child constantly passing judgment on my parents for never having enough pictures or memories of my childhood. Sometimes I wondered if I was dropped out of the sky sometime around 8. But, now I fully understand what it is like to find time between the laundry(blah), diaper changing, cleaning, cooking etc. to take a pic or two or even to soak in a new milestone. Someday I am sure kids 3, 4, 5 and so on will look at me with the same judgment and ask why there is almost a 8 month lapse in blog documentation. Boy life has a way of coming full circle doesn't it? But here we are 8 months into Marshall's life trying to recollect the very details of these busy past months.

This cheesy smile is brought to you by every woman's BFF during
pangs of birthing... my epidural... you sweet, sweet concoction
of mind and body numbing bliss.

My absolute favorite moment! When we get to see each other for the
very first time!

Carlan and Marshall spend a little time getting to know each other too.

Marshall's delivery was super easy. In fact he pretty much delivered himself. It was peaceful and not stressful. He only had one blue spell (as opposed to my 2 older kids and each of their week long stays in the hospital). Marshall has always been a good eater, as well as a good power pucker, just ask anyone who has sat behind us at church. (p.s. sorry about your boots)

Marshall can be summed up in one word... CONTENT! Since I had yet to have a mellow content baby/kids that aren't constantly needy for entertainment, Marshall comes as a blessed surprise or natures way of tricking us into more! He is happy playing with a basket of toys on the floor, in fact he prefers this to being carried around. He is always so imminent with his toothy grins and loves to show a little extra enthusiasm with his power leg pumping move that he does when lying down. Marshall loves his brother and sister... mostly at a distance for now, this is, I am sure some survival instinct since they can become a little smothering but they truly mean the best! One of my favorite quirks are his super squeezes. When you pick him up from his crib after a nap or whenever he consistently likes to give a tight enthusiastic squeeze, a nonverbal "hello good morning."

Here we are now a family of three. Life is crazy most times and we sure like to have fun. Someday we will figure out how to get it all done but until then we just buckle up and enjoy the ride. I have felt it necessary to take a few semesters of school off so I can get my feet on the ground. This change has only resulted in a massive game of catch up. I find myself these days cleaning those things that were neglected during my focus on my education ie. my pantry, the cereal cupboard, the drawers in my bathroom give me nightmares at night as well as what seems to be all over the base of my kitchen table; all the while trying to make my home a place where my kids, my kids friends, my friends and family like to be.

BABY ON BOARD!

2010-05-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Finally the time has come! For those who see me on a regular basis you are probably saying hallelujah! We can stop hearing her complaining so much. I am finally here in the hospital and with the help of modern science (in the form of pit) am cheating nature a bit. I may go into labor on my own but who wants to wait two weeks after your due date to find out? That's why I am here now.

Last day! Big mama.

I just wanted to blog for posterity's sake some of the events of this pregnancy. It's been fairly uneventful. Not a lot of nausea or smell aversions. Cravings usually came in the form of nacho's with pepperonis (little hot peppers) before bed (that explains alot) and lots and lots of chocolate. The last couple of months found me hungrily awake in the middle of the night eating practically a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk (it's the only thing that sounds good). Hip and siatic pain, as usual rendered me practically useless after 6:00 p.m. My surging hormones have left me crying through many movies even if they are not very sad. All the usual suspects.

Nesting hit me much later than it did with the others but when it did it was quite the event. Everyday was spent scrubbing some floor, cleaning some space or even vacuuming the tops of my cupboards (it's really the only way to get all of that dust).

I was able to squeeze in a little sewing and painting that I wanted to do before the little guy came. Here are some of those projects.

Car seat tent. Easiest thing to make ever!

Free dresser someone was throwing away.
Just needed some paint
and a little TLC.

Nursing cover.

Well a few short hours we will see the little guy. I just want to say how lucky and blessed I am to have the privilege of being a mother. Its the best but hardest thing I have ever done. That's it... for now the contractions are making it impossible to think much more. Next posting he will be here and I can't wait!

2010-04-11T21:18:00.001-07:00

Dear Spring,

Please come soon or I may flip out!

Sincerely,

Me

Okay, that aside, I wanted to take a little break from my term paper and other loads of homework and catch up on some of the Easter happenings around here. We enjoyed Easter this year aside from like the foot of snow and crappy weather (figures).

Easter was celebrated here for like three weeks in a row. Our ward had an Easter breakfast and the kids did an egg hunt. Preston's candy didn't even stand a chance, he had it all in his mouth before we pulled into the driveway.

*gross.*

Then Easter morning we had our own egg hunt. As always that sneaky little bunny hid the kids baskets. In order for them to be able to find the rest of their eggs they had to figure out where he hid their baskets. He brought candy, coloring books and these water squirty toy things that have provided the kids with hours of enjoyment (much to our poor cats angst). They like to fill them up from the sink and chase the cat around, outside of course, and drench him. I should probably do something but I am too tired these days to really care.

*I really wish Preston would eat one candy at a time, instead of his usual handfuls.*

*Ally patiently waiting to eat her candy.*

*Kids with mentioned water toy.*

*New Easter clothes.*

Afterward we watched a very good conference on T.V then headed out to Grandma Colleens for a family dinner.

This weekend because my brother was back from boarder patrol school for the first time since November, we got together with that side of the family and had yet another egg hunt. Whew! There was even a little one for the grown-ups. It was a fun get together as it always is. The grownups sit inside catching up with one another while the kids threw every decorative rock (some impressively large) in grandma and grandpa's yard into a giant mud puddle. (Funny story if you were there).

*Here we are at Grandma Marshall's egg hunt*

Okay a brief synopsis of our Easter. We are looking forward to the end of my semester, Ally's preschool graduation, dance recital, my big 29 (gasp!), and yes, finally having this baby.

A birthday holla!

2010-02-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

Preston I can't believe where time has gone. My not so little baby boy just turned two. It seems like yesterday when I wrapped you up and held you in my arms for the first time. You staring at me with that hungry look on your face. I get a laugh when your newborn looks at you for the first time, trying so hard to put the voice with the face.

So your that lady that eats all that spicy food!

Newborns can look so freaky!

We partied McDaniel style with lots of family and chaos. That is the way we like it. Preston loved all of his new toys.

Preston shenanigans that go right along with my favorite little grin!

New Padding
(a very appropriate b-day gift for our accident prone one).

Putting padding to good use.

2 year old highlights include counting to 3, singing ABC's, (working on the colors thing) laughing, an obsession with outside play, french fries, digging in the dirt, lots and lots of active play, Dora the Explorer (heaven help us!), having his voice be heard, and a contagious silly grin that can melt away any parental discipline .

Ally my darling dear! Just turned 5. Am I old enough to have a 5 year old? I go into hyper sweats every time I think about you starting kindergarten.

For this birthday Ally wanted a family party. So again we filled our house to the brim with lots of supporting great family. (although they look a little bored in this picture (: )

Wow! What more could a girl want?

Ally has been anticipating getting her ears pierced for some time.
So we decided 5 was a good age for her to get her wish.
She was so brave about it, didn't even flinch!

Of course it helps to have a good support group.
Ally and her cousin Kayla got their ears pierced together.

Ally thought the years:

My beautiful baby at 6 months.

One of my favorite pictures. I miss that baby face.

Another sweet heart melter.

A current picture of Ally and her chef set that aunt Caroline gave her.

5 year old highlights: reading, writing, playing with friends, dancing, she loves to help mom and dad cook dinner, her current favorite movie Barbie in the Nutcracker, playing on the computer, she has a love for anything fashion design, and her favorite food is taco's and eating avocado's, and we are discovering what a great helper she is developing into.

Well I feel very fortunate to be so lucky to have such great children. They are a blessing to me. They are my life! I thank Heavenly Father everyday that I have the opportunity to be a mother. I love you guys!

It's a.........

2010-01-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Just had an ultra-sound today and found out we are having a.... BOY! I have to say I am both relieved and a little disappointed all at the same time.

I am relieved because I have spent a few nights awake thinking about what kind of life Preston would have being sandwiched between two over bearing dominating sisters (as the girls in this family tend to be). It is already evident that the "girl influence " has creeped in bit by bit, corrupting by innocent little boy. Dressing up Preston into drag by his sister was once something that was highly protested against. Now it occurs all to easy and not to mention frequently (and often without Ally's encouragement). I worry that with two sisters Preston's days would consist of afternoon tea parties and make-overs. So I was able to rest easy last night with the thoughtful visions of Preston and his future little bro climbing a dirt hill somewhere or playing basketball in the driveway. Yes, boys are difficult, dangerous and not to mention a little gross sometimes but I can handle that in place of the more girly of the alternatives.

A once very angry and uncooperative Preston

A now very "all too willing" Preston
(I know your thinking this pic is pretty mild, but unfortunately
I don't have a lot of documentation. I guess you could say I try not to encourage it.) LOL!

But in contrast I was a little disappointed because girl things now days are just so darn cute. I was almost sure the next kid was going to be a girl and that got me excited for all the hair bows and pink fru fru again. Even further I feel that the girl majority of power and say in this house will become long gone. I guess you could say the days of girl filibusterer power in our "house" are on the verge of collapse.

I am mostly kidding. We are very excited for the addition of this little guy to our family. I am happy he is healthy and all is well with him. I am strangely very excited to meet him. For whatever reason I feel as if he is excited to meet us to.

Bloggie got back

2010-01-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hey are you lovin' my background???? If you are, I have to plug a blog that designs websites by one of my blog lovin' friends...Gina. She is a blogging genius. She was even kind enough to make me a custom background. Bloggiegotback has some really cute options... plus you can't help but love that name. Not to mention I was there when the name was born. Just wanted to give a shout out to her blog backgrounds and push the word along. Enjoy!

Ooopsy Doopsy

2010-01-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

Okay a minor fix here. I guess in my blog tinkering I accidentally changed the posting setting. This was accidental and not intentional. Sorry everyone for the mix-up. And thanks for letting me know.

Christmas come and gone.

2009-12-29T13:27:00.000-08:00

Christmas has again come and gone. The once delicately wrapped presents are now a pile of chaos, heaped upon the floor. The Christmas carols and the the Christmas goodies are now all gone (the goodies never stood a chance!) What is now blatantly evident are the piles of new toys and various other gifts that are all begging for a spot, designated as their own, to be put away. Also evident are the 10 extra pounds gained from all the goodie plates, Christmas cookies and Holiday party food making it hard to button our pants.

.
Here we are showing our new p.j.s that we traditionally open on Christmas Eve.

Christmas was good to the McDaniel's this year. It was a fun year with Ally's anticipation and awareness of the magic of Christmas. She was fun to watch as she carefully thought about the gifts she was to give this year. Preston was a hoot Christmas morning when he awoke to find his large car track activity table and upon that discovery was not about to leave it to open anymore presents. In fact if that was his only present he would have not cared one bit.

*a funny story here: Preston, during his bath Christmas night, gets himself out, but managed to grab a towel evident by picture left, and was found playing with his very favorite toy. This picture will become very scandalous in about 14 years from now.

Carlan and I had a good Christmas. We decided it was best to scale back the size and cost of our Christmas this year and save some money for a rainy day (or a basement). At first I was a little worried as I always do about who gets what and if it's even or if everyone will be happy. This year, as hard as it was, I had to let that all go. Much to my surprise I found this Christmas was one of the best in a awhile, much less stressful. I was able to concentrate on what was important at this time of year and that is the birth of our Savior, family and making traditions with the kids. It was great.

My hope is that Christmas came and went and left you with the same kind of peace and contentment that it has left with us.

Merry Christmas one and all and a happy new year!

Oh and a little p.s here... I am not tooting my own horn here, okay well maybe a little, but the greatest present of all was a report card of straight A's this past semester. For those who knew me in high school and college, I know you are all about to die of shock. It's funny how a far a little effort can go, I just wish this epiphany would have come to me about 20 years ago!

Kids in their Christmas duds.

It's nice to see Preston found some clothing here. (See above picture if your confused)

Ally with her favorite pose. Ahhh!

2009-11-13T11:49:00.001-08:00

Does this ever happen to you? You pick up the camera to recap on months worth of pictures only to find that most of your pictures consist of like a hundred of these kinds of pictures?

I am so glad that there are a hundred pictures of my floor. I've been thinking how I needed to get around to that. The bigger question here is who is responsible for this? Well there are really only two culprits in our house. I am ruling out the oldest of my two children because when she gets her grubby little paws on the camera this is what you get.

Yes, a hundred pictures of her smiling vainly at the camera.

I guess I could go CSI style and figure the height and angle of the camera to determine. Too much math and you know how I feel about that. Another option would be to keep scrolling through the pictures.

And there you have it. The proof is in the puddin'. I recognize those feet anywhere. They belong to my very electronically curious 1 year old. Now the only thing I need to figure out is how he learned to turn on the camera and take pictures so quickly, since it took me well over a couple of days to figure that one out. Hum go figure!

And now for some candid camera moments with my kids.

Ally my glam girl, my beauty ,my star. I, as your mother know you will go far. With a smile that turns the gray skies blue, I hope you know just how much I love you!

With Preston what more is there to say. You teach me patience each and every day. But I see your cheeky grin and your twinkling eyes,

Okay pretty cheesy I know but hey, they are my kids and I love 'em besides motherhood isn't about always looking cool, right?

2009-11-01T14:36:00.000-08:00

Okay... okay. It's official! I am now back from a fall hiatus!

So I have good reasons for my brief and temporary pause from the blogging world. First of all I am going to school this semester and that has sucked up most of my free time. In the past when the kids would go to bed I would use this as my free time to do as I would please. Often that included blogging and quite frankly anything that sounded like fun. Now this time is spent with my nose in the books. I classify myself as one the unlucky people who lack subject retain-ability and because of my misfortune I have to spend countless numbers of hours, probably more than the average Joe, trying to remember what I just read.

The second reason blogging was at sub par level was due to this:

This is the small dark and freezing corner of my basement where our back-up computer is located. Due to the death of our previous laptop this creepy location was the temp home for all our computer needs. Someday when the basement has walls and carpet it will be a nice nook, but until then, would you want to spend any more time than necessary here? I prefer the comfort of my living room couch and quite frankly not having to worry about how many spiders are watching my every movement. (That gives me the major creeps!) But alas, our new baby has arrived and is gracing my lap at this very moment. It is shinny, black and silver and I am in love!!!

I like to think the grimy finger prints are a nice touch!

Anyways, I hate always having to give some sort of excuse as to why I am so lame at posting, it's just many of you have asked and now I am giving you the information. As for the few of you that probably are sick of my excuses.... to you I am sorry!

Anyways, onto more important things. Like this little announcement!

The McDaniel's are soon to be no longer party to 4 but instead party to 5. Yes, we are crazy! But we felt it was time to bless our family with yet another child. We did pretty good with the first two and now we are really going to test our odds with a third. The little bundle of joy is set to arrive on May 25 forever changing our lives. Carlan and I are a little nervous since the children are beginning to out number the adults here at our house. I wanted to wait for sometime to see if I was any good at keeping secrets (okay I already know I am really bad at keeping secrets) but as it seems to me with the third child, I guess I no longer have any abdominal muscles. Because of this strange occurrence I feel the need for explanation (I know here I go again with the explaining) because I either look like I may be prego or I ate too much halloween candy, which may be the case... but that is a mute point. So I figured if I tell everyone then there is no second guessing my ever growing gut.

Also, I wanted to include about all the fun Halloween activities we participated in. We have a tradition and really love doing all the activities that go on the week of Halloween, usually starting with Halloween story time at the library. Then Friday we did trick-or-treat street followed by boo at the zoo, which is my personal favorite. We love the zoo and find that in the fall time the animal that you usually don't see in the hot summer time are fully active. Preston loved the tigers and zebras. Ally said she liked the zebras and the monkeys.

The following day we participated in a very fun neighborhood trunk-or-treat. Afterward we looked at our children and their bulging treat bags and decided to call it a night.

We have enjoyed our time this fall, albeit crazy and hectic on so many levels. I am sorry for those that I have sort of lost contact with. I am trying to do better and I am making it my resolve to keep better contact with you all. I do care about each one of you and appreciate your loving e-mails of "where the heck are you's?" We are here, alive and well, surviving... well sort of. (:

Ally was a witch with pink hair this year. The pink
hair was her decision of course!

Preston was a lion which proved to be a very warm costume choice. Yes, this
is the best picture I had of him. He didn't want his picture taken, he only wanted to
be taking the pictures.

Ally, Carlan, Preston and Mr. Bojangles (skeleton in the background)

Our pumpkins that Carlan so graciously carved since I hate getting my
hands into the gunk.

Back from a summer hiatius!

2009-08-20T13:57:00.001-07:00

Hello everybody! I know what this looks like... no new entry for months... it would seem as if I crawled under a rock somewhere and have spent all summer with no contact to the outside world. Well I am back from like the best summer on record for a long time. We were kept busy doing all sorts of imaginable fun. Now that we are back to school, I felt that the time was overdo for me to kick my passive resistant behavior toward blogging and catch up on some summer happenings.

First major happening this summer of note was my 10 year HS reunion. I know what many of you are thinking. 10 years graduated... Amber you don't look that old! You don't look a day over 18. BUT yes it has been 10 years. As for the whole event I'd have to say how weird it was to see how much some people changed... and how much some people haven't. Nevertheless, I enjoyed letting my hair down and partying like it was 1999!

Okay so I look a little punch drunk (I promise I wasn't drinking) but my friends still look
like a bunch of hot mama's ... literally!

Age has got nothing on this bunch!

This picture is only funny if you have a little back ground... which is a post for well... never!

Hillary Guilford was the biggest shock of all. She was my best friend through most
of JR. High and I almost didn't even recognize her. She is looking fab..u..lous!

Ally hijacked my camera for most of the family picnic and so I got
like 100 shots that look just like this.
She is so vain!

Jessica with her cute little belly, me and Em.

Am and Em! Reunited and it feels so good! Lets not ever tell our kids about the good times we had. How did we ever survive High School?

Well onto the next thing of note this summer was the semi-tri-quarter annual Marshall camp out. This year's very dirty camp out consisted of the usual... hiking into a beautiful mountain lake, fishing, 4 wheeling, eating, more eating, obstacle courses, dirt, skits and campfire stories.

A Pause for a picture. Ally is not too happy about the hike, and that is why I had to
carry her down 1.5 miles on my shoulders.

Preston taking a break from his new found fav pastime... throwing rocks!
He could do it for hours.

Ally and Preston revving it up.

The funniest thing about camping is that you never realize how dirty you are
until you get back... and look at the tub after your bath.

The picture does it no justice. Just take my word for it... TOTALLY nasty!

After the reunion we got back just in time to leave for Oregon. So the kids and I packed up into Aunt Tara's (Carlan's sis) SUV and headed west. Needless to say a 12 hour car ride was not exactly a picnic. Preston squealed the whole way in true Preston fashion... earsplitting!

Upon our arrival we found Monica and her family to be very hospitable to us and enjoyed doing all sorts of first's for our kids. Some of those firsts included their first beach trip. This was probably their most memorable. Ally didn't like the waves much but Preston charged right into them with no fear.

The next type of "firsts" for our children included a very informative trip to the sea aquarium in Newport OR. Ally enjoyed looking at the very large tanks filled with these gigantic jelly fish... and Preston well when he wasn't trying to run around like a wild animal found his favorite to be the touching tank in which he was able to touch an actual shark and a huge sting ray. He loved it!

(Sadly my lap top is completely defunct and I am no longer able to fire it up, the sad part is all my Oregon pictures are loaded on the laptop... a problem that is none the less fixable but in the sake of time I figured these pictures will have to wait until another time)

After two weeks or probably driving Aunt Monica crazy we all packed up (including Monica) and headed back to home sweet home. Where we found a very excited Carlan, glad to have his family back.

After being home for about about the space of one week we felt that we had been sitting just too long and packed up to go on yet another camping trip with the fam. This trip included the usual four wheeler rides, star gazing, swimming in the creek and what ever this is...

Well to sum up this seemingly large post we McDaniel's enjoyed a summer filled with all sorts of fun. Whether it was touring the beautiful state of Oregon, numerous boating trips (thank you Tara and Jeremy) or a back yard BBQ with friends we are all too sad to say good-bye to the best summer ever.

2009-06-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

Ten reason's Carlan is the Best Dad Ever

10. He builds the best forts.
9. He is a good tag team for mom.
8. Always willing to give unlimited 4-wheeler rides.
7. Loves to wrestle with the kids.
6. Thinks chocolate cake satisfies 4 major food groups.
5. He carries a generally optimistic attitude and a positive outlook on life.
4. Loves crazy fun.
3. Always game to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies
2. Likes to make the kids laugh with his funny songs.
1. Loves his children with all his heart and will go to any length for his family

Ahhh like an angel. Take a nap dear... you deserve it! We love you.

The worst blogger of the year award goes too....

2009-06-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, there is without a doubt, no question that I have easily made the top of the worst blogger of the year list. When my future children dust off the old family blog records and look back on their lives there will be this huge chunk of about 2 months missing in their lives, and they will look at me with wonder in their eyes and ask "why mom? how could you do this to us?"

Okay I am being a little dramatic... it's just so much has gone on in the last few months while I have gone missing.

The biggest and most occupying was putting in our lawn. As you know we built a new house last year and thus needed to put in a new lawn this year. We decided we were the type of people who like a good challenge and that we would do most of the work ourselves. We spent most of the winter designing a landscaping plan. Carlan enjoyed drawing up his sprinkler plan. When spring hit we rolled up our sleeves and dug in.

Okay not quite literal here. We hired a back hoe to dig the trampoline hole (we actually were smart this time and hired out)

At this time Carlan and I looked at each other and gave each other a reassuring nod of the head as if to say we can do this... together (hahaha).... we had no idea.

That when this ugly thing called Murphy's law hit. Everything we did went completely wrong. We dealt with torrential snowing rain storms, equipment failures, work related injuries more rain and snow... needless to say after 2 months of challenges, 150 baths for the kids from all the dirt, 200 loads of laundry and nightly floor scrubbings, we are planted and waiting for the seeds to grow. Mostly the "we can do it together" consisted of Carlan working every free second trenching, digging, raking, moving dirt. My part consisted of keeping the kids under control. I did manage to put in about 20 minutes of labor in which I spent telling Carlan how lucky he was that he had a wife that did that sort of thing. Te he he!

Thanks to Carlan and his tireless efforts and although I complained thorought the whole ten minutes of raking I endured I apreciate his hard work. Your a good man!

Ally has had many milestones these last few months that are worth mention. She finished up her first year of preschool in flying colors. She learned so much and had loads of fun while doing it. She also participated in her dance recital this year. Preforming in two numbers. I may just be partial but she was the best dancer on the stage. The only hitch to the night was a little embarassment for mother when Preston got away (which he does often) and ran onstage to join Ally in her dance number with mom intow. So whether we wanted to or not we all got to make our own debut that night.

Preston also has had many milestones these last few months. He has learned many words as well as many animal sounds. In fact about once a week he bewilders us when he wakes up in the middle of the night and for about 2 hours straight entertains himself with barking like a dog. Never cries just barks. He still is climbing everything and keeping us busy, busy, busy. He got all of his molar teeth and I think is working on some eye teeth. (oi!) He is loving playing outdoors and will attempt to escape out the door every chance he gets. He has loved playing in the dirt by daddy as he works

.

a typical dirty day
(the camera does it no justice)

My kid already has his label!

still very much unseperable from bear bear.

And so here we are... waiting for the grass to grow and hoping that the kids won't... at least not too fast.

Easter adventures

2009-04-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

Easter day has come and gone. The Easter bunny found it's way to our children on numerous occasions including an egg hunt at aunt Caroline's house as well as another in our living room Easter morning. He (the Easter bunny) has left the kids baskets full of chocolates and goodies.

Three days later I have taken the liberty as a conscientious mother to take an inventory of what has been left in the children baskets. Each basket tells a different story and gives confirms what I already know about their different personalities. (Okay I know I am always reflecting on my children, but hey what's a mother to do?)

Here is Ally's basket.

Neat and orderly. She is a saver (much like me) and can appreciate savoring the best for last. She does have one vice and that is chocolate (again much like her mother) and those usually go within the first couple of days. She insists on sharing it with everyone like any good girl should. She makes no fuss, and she is not excessive with it. I know this because we still are harboring Halloween and Christmas candy.

Now here is Preston's basket.

This is for real. I find it on the floor almost all the time with a trail of wrappers ensuing. The wrappers are a good sign because it means he has taken time to find someone to open his candy instead of eating it with the wrapper on like he has done so many times (evidenced by his last couple of diapers). He has attacked his basket with reckfull (not to be confused with reckless) abandonment. For the last couple of days he has had a perpetual chocolate ring around his mouth despite my many attempts at wiping it from his face. I can't help but laugh when he is eating his candy he puts it into his mouth then takes it out extending it toward you, sometimes gooey (not for an offering but more for showing) and then gives an ecstatic mmmmm... while putting it back into his mouth repeatedly. As you can imagine he has been getting things a little messy around here. Oh well, at this rate I give his candy about another day or so.

Preston and the perpetual chocolate face.

Here are some of the Easter adventure pictures...

An anxious bunch await.
(Easter egg hunt at Sean and Caroline's)

Preston figuring things out.

Ally with the mother load.
(literally her mother's load with how much I have eaten... lol)

Easter morning booty

Fierce posing in her new Easter getup.

Child development lesson case in point

2009-03-18T13:33:00.000-07:00

Childhood is, as I learned in my child development course, when adolescents use their imagination and practice different rolls in preparation for adulthood when they will adopt a particular roll as their own. Have you ever looked at your children and wondered what they will someday become?

Here are some pics of my children practicing their different life rolls:

ALLY

A lovely dancer

A fashion designer

A hairdresser at Disneyland?

Royalty

I know what ever she does or chooses to become she will strive for nothing short of greatness. You go get em' tiger!

Preston

A connoisseur of fine chocolate
(including chocolate cake from the garbage, this has happened more than once)

Center of the offensive line in the NFL
(blue 42, blue 42, hut hut hike)

Yoga instructor?
(Is that really Preston demonstrating downward dog.)

Whatever it is Preston decides to become I am sure that he will be passionate about it and will attack it with full on, pure Prestoness (excuse my word making).

There you go. A child development lesson case in point for you all to enjoy.

10 Things you Probably didn't Know About Me

1. I have a crazy keen sense of smell. I feel like a bloodhound sometimes.
2. I love old things like antiques. I usually can't afford antiques so instead I like SALVAGE.
3. I am the best private dancer that I know. (As in dancing around my house when no one is around, that kind of private dancing, nothing dirty I promise)
4. My fear of rejection holds me back in so many aspects of my life.
5. I have never broken a bone or had stitches before.
6. 4th of July is my favorite holiday.
7. I love doing anything active such as extreme sports like snowboarding and wake boarding, although I don't get to wake board as much as I would like.
8. I heart the sun! And love doing anything in it.
9. Aging terrifies me! I know it's a waste of time to fear the inevitable.
10. My worst fear is going head first into a sleeping bag. I have always had this fear, and my brothers tried more than once to help me face this fear, but to no avail.

There you go, in case you were wanting to know more about me, there it is. Amber's inner workings. Okay maybe not all my inner workings (I am a woman and much more complex than a list of 10 can give you), but I thought I list of over 1,000 would be a bit redundant.

Happy Birthday One and All!

2009-02-22T13:08:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday Carlan and I thought it would be a good idea to become parents. To tryout what everyone has been talking about. So we jumped into the parenting pool. Goodbye quiet weekends, goodbye sophisticated talk over weeknight dinners, goodbye skinny jeans, goodbye sleeping though the night, goodbye just about any level of tranquility and sanity in our lives.

We were clueless! Then there we were 4 years ago leaving the hospital with our brand new baby girl. We were about as happy as we could be. We had no idea what we were in for. We were brand new parents bringing home our first daughter sleep deprived and clueless. Now, four years later we are still sleep deprived and clueless wondering if we should know more of the answers?

It's birthday overload here at our house these last couple of weeks. Preston had his first birthday and Ally her fourth. So between all of the cake making, present wrapping and partying we are tired and broke (monetarily as well as mentally). But the goodtimes rolled on!

Preston's cake. Yum chocolate. That is to distract you from the fact I am not a pro at cake decorating like most of the women in my family(I think that it is a freaky gene that I somehow miss). But I can make a mean chocolate cake via box mix thanks to Betty Crocker.

This really doesn't look any different than what he normally looks like after eating. Except we were smart this time striping him down to a diaper first. Prevention is key to all our laundering mishaps.
I laugh because the chocolate on his face is making him look kinda like he has a hobo's beard.

Since it is a little too cold to take him into the back yard and hose him down we opted for the bathtub. I just love that face.

Oh Preston what does the world hold in store for you? My funny one, my mischievous one. It seems like only a short time ago I held you for the first time. Who will you become? With your strong body and your strong heart. How many lives will you touch? How many hearts will you win? One thing is for sure you have won mine. From the minute I held you close to my face, touched your tiny hand, and breathed your sweet smell. I love you more than any mother has loved before.

Ally also had a birthday this week turning 4!

Wow here she is in all her fabulousness. She got loads of dress up if you can't tell.

This is another cake experiment. Did I mention that I am a novice at presentation? Oh well it tasted fine.

Here she is giving her clock rug she most desperately wanted, a test drive. (It's from one of her favorite shows) Oh well at least it's not tampons. (see the above post if you're confused).

Ally -oh- Ally. What a boring place this world would be without you. With your new found insights on life constantly keeping us on our toes. I knew from the moment we met that you were special. Our bond was special. Your big cheesy smile, your funny laugh. My only hope is that growing up and leaving the nest goes out of style because you are my world. Your my daughter and my friend and I love everything about you.

Parenthood is probably(more like is) the hardest thing I have ever done. It seems like come 8:00 p.m. all I can do is count down the minutes until bed time. But it's after they fall asleep I find myself at their bedsides watching them as they peacefully sleep, excited for what tomorrow will bring. As a parent I laugh and I cry. I spend a lot of time hoping I get it right because I don't have all the answers. Nothing is for certain except that it is the most important thing I will ever do in this life. They are the most important thing I will ever do. And for that I am a better person.

Too much info

2009-02-02T13:36:00.001-08:00

This post deserves an fore-appology. I have had some real trepidation on whether or not I should even mention it here. It's just it seems there is a strange habit or regular occurrence around my house, and for the sake of archiving I feel it is necessary to post. This blog is, in a way, part journalistic, part informative and I try hard to achieve the balance between the two. In posting this next excerpt while it may be for posterity's sake (ha, ha we will laugh later sorta thing) it just may be a little too informative thus disrupting the delicate balance I have attempted to obtain. So that is why I feel I need to apologize ahead of time...

Okay I kid it's not really that bad but it is a little bizarre.

I became a parent roughly 4 years ago, and I have come to pride myself on the fact that I (we), Carlan can be included on this, are good providers for our children. We both remember growing up not having a lot to go around between five siblings (Carlan had five siblings as well). We had toys but they were rough. We had guns made from plywood, homemade blocks, I never had a barbie house, or for that matter a barbie car. Now that I have a family of my own things seem to be a little more easy to come by (thank you China, Walmart and numerous sweat shops all around the world). We have probably spent, like many of you, hundreds of dollars on kid toys. Ally has the huge barbie house with the car to go with it. Preston is almost one year old and has all sorts of toys and gadgets. I have bought every learning toy on the market in the earnest hope it will brighten my developing childrens' minds and intellect. They have toy boxes full of toys disguised as coordination builders, bouncy balls, leap pad, vtech, barbie accessories etc. etc. taking over all the extra space in their rooms.

With all of that what do you think their favorite toy is? What is it I find my kids playing with on a regular basis?

Here it is (please don't judge us):

TAMPONS!
(notice Ally is arranging the letter E on the floor)

These little products have been guns, Barbie rafts, alphabet letters, horse corral or whatever she dreams up and well Preston loves to just throw them around and play with the box mostly, but they could do it for hours on end. Who knew this femine product could inspire such imagination from my kids? Leapfrog and vtech's got nothin' on us.

Oh well there it is. A skeleton in the closet laid on the table for the sake of documenting. I will understand if I find that tomorrow everyone I know has taken me from their blogging lists. But for those of you who have kids like mine; who despite your best efforts to give them a normal childhood filled with hundreds of dollars worth of toys tend to gravitate towards the unusual (not to mention like under $3), I salute you! This one is for you.

Cabin Fever

2009-01-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

This rash of warm weather we have had this past month has not only melted the residual snow away but it has made my summer dreams of warmer days basking in the sunshine working on my summer tan with my flip flops on seem like a closer reality. That is until this happened.

Like a foot of snow in a matter of a weekend. Don't get me wrong. I love to enjoy the snow. I love sledding, snowboarding, snow caves, hot coco and how beautiful and white everything can be with a good layer of snow, but around the end of January I start to long for the warm sunshine, green grass and being able to go outside without 4 layers on. I begin to go a little stir crazy. Just when things couldn't get worse my kids came down with colds. Another downfall of winter I guess. So I will just have to stifle my severe case of the cabin fever with getting things I should be getting done like catching up on scrap booking, spring cleaning, (ahem) blog postings, things of the sort.

On the bright side Ally had fun going outside (since the ground was frozen and I knew she wouldn't sink in like a foot of mud that has been sitting in our back yard) and made a gigantic snowman. Saturday's snowfall was the perfect blend of snow good for snowman making.

Preston also found a new love for the snow. We were getting him into the car when he looked up and realized there was white stuff falling from the sky. He keep looking up and pointing to the sky. It was fun to watch him as he was discovering snow for the first time.

( I know not the best picture, my camera was on overload with all that was going on. plus Carlan looks like he has a crazy eye. )

So I guess we will just hunker down in our warm and cozy home enjoying the lazy days and my pasty white skin,being thankful we are not outside sweating and doing yard work since this spring/summer will involve much of that when we put in the yard. Also to further the point, I see they are doing some really cool things with that spray tan stuff. Always a silver lining right? I just have to keep reminding myself that.

Happy New Year

2009-01-04T20:41:00.001-08:00

Hello one and all. Christmas and the New Year have come and gone. I sit here on the night before our vacation comes to a close and everything goes back to normal and ponder to myself just where exactly the time went. I have been chastised by some about my lack of blogging and I feel as if I owe some an explanation. It just seemed like every day and night this past month brought loads of places to go and things to do. I don't know how all of you balance everything you do with the kids and all and then post to your well-thought-out and beautiful blogs almost nightly. Some of you even have more than one blog. Amazing. I just got through deleting 400 messages in my e-mail because I never found the time in this past month to really get to it. I just want to know, is there something I am missing here? How do you find all that time in one day? If there is some super mom secret please... I beg you... let me in on it.

Anyways I rant... actually the real reason I was unable to post was because our camera was on the fritz and I was unable to take some pictures for a short while (only video on Christmas day) and I didn't have any updated pictures. Because the camera was not preforming to the best of it's ability. I lost like a months worth of pictures (bummer) but I did somehow manage to salvage some priceless pictures.

For example this one of Preston eating some mysterious Ramen Noodles that he found later lurking somewhere between his fatty thigh rolls and his diaper (I cringe) !

Or here when I caught him eating chocolate cake out of the garbage. That is after he salvaged it from under the dirty diapers and various other garbage sorts. Hum... yummy right?

Busted!

He has been caught doing a lot of various gross stuff lately that makes me cringe. The other night he found his way into the bathroom (despite our ever vigilance in keeping bathroom doors shut) and was chewing on the wooden end of the bathroom plunger. That resulted in a major face scrubbing, teeth brushing, decontamination. You would think that would deter him, no way he tries to make a break for the bathroom any chance he gets. He just seems to have a propensity for gross mischief. I can't wait!

Ally has had fun this Christmas learning about the real meaning of Christmas (beyond Santa and presents) with her preschool group. They preformed the nativity and practiced it at a local nursing home before preforming it for parents and grandparents at the preschool Christmas party. At the party they raised money which they used to buy Christmas presents for other kids through Toys-For-Tots and had a fun time doing it.

Ally made us proud as she preformed the role of a shepherd to prefection. Don't you love the cow vest?

I thought this picture was cute. She is with one of her preschool friends. She told me that she was being a hairdresser like Aunt Tara, but it is obvious she is also channeling Mickey Mouse.

Well that is about all that I have for one night. I hope this new year finds everyone with as much peace, joy and happiness as we have here in our home. Happy New Year everyone!

(Katie you can quit making fun of me now. LOL!)

Long Time No Post

2008-12-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

(Here is the new family picture as promised. I know right? Amazing we found one where we are all smiling! On the contrary I am not lovin' that crazy few stray bangs of mine. I am growing them out and they were in that bad in-between stage.)

Well it's been a busy few weeks. Because of my neglected blog and lack of most usual phone calls, I am betting some of you thought I was a small unreported casualty of Black Friday, squished, unnoticed somewhere between the spaces of the floor and wall behind the automatic doors at Target (I did trip on the outside corner of the building on the rush in making everyone I was with almost pee their pants in laughter), but perhaps that is a post for another time. I am in fact alive and well and we find ourselves busy with all the Christmas time things going on around us.

Christmas is on it's way and we are mostly done with the shopping. There are always little things to get here and there, but we are mostly done. It has been interesting this year with having two children. I can get so caught up in making things between the two cost equal, but I need a reminding from a more economical individual such as my husband that they are kids and that only I will notice. I can get so carried away like in times past and what usually ends up happening is they get bored with opening presents and end up having a better time playing with the paper and boxes. I just need a little reminder now and then.

Probably two things I am passionate about are Christmas and decorating. So when two of these things become one, things can get a little crazy. My house is all aglow in Christmasness, inside and out. In fact it is so aglow that our babysitter called the other night to inform us that half of the house was sitting in the dark because we blew a fuse. But I just love having 9 strands of lights on our tree and Christmas lights wrapped, taped or wired to just about every surface in my home and have no plans to change anything. So every once in a while I will have to trek outside to our cold garage to flip a breaker that has blown, but I guess that is just the price we will have to pay for that beautiful twinkling ambiance that only Christmas lights and decoration can give. I will take them all down by the end of February. I promise!

It has been fun teaching Ally's preschool and helping the children see the more religious side of Christmas. We taught them about Jesus, Mary and Joseph and they get to preform the Nativity for the parents at tomorrow night's Christmas party. We also had the opportunity to give their play a practice run at a local Nursing Home. The children did amazingly well. Ally is a shepherd by the way. They also went room to room to the nursing home patients singing Christmas carols and handed out homemade Christmas cards. It was a great experience that Ally is still talking about.

(Ally and her preschool friends preforming the nativity for a local nursing home)

Well this isn't the best post ever, but I just wanted to update you and inform those who were worried I had become extinct that we are alive and well. Now I am off to make a manger for the nativity play for Ally's preschool. More on that later!

Things we are looking forward to:

Ally's nativity play and preschool Christmas party, unrestrained eating of Christmas cookies, a drive around town to look at the pretty Christmas lights, sledding (hopefully), Christmas music, new Christmas P.J.s, family visiting in town, snow, snowboarding, Christmas movies, Christmas morning and the delight of our children, gaining 10 lbs from unrestrained eating of Christmas goodies (see above), New Years Resolutions to loose 10 lbs from last year (vicious cycle I know).

Black Friday Day

2008-11-17T12:33:00.001-08:00

             Nutty tired, feet ache, frigid biting cold, the adrenaline pumping in my veins is giving me strange thoughts.  I am not normally this weird.  There is a smell of excitement wafting through the air.  My competitors buzz with anticipation.  I take a strained glance around, sizing up my competition.  No problem.  Courage gives me a moment's thrill.  Standing my ground feels good. Dirty dagger looks for anyone who dares sneak past me in line.  I take in the layout of the scenery ahead, plotting my final move.  Then it happens.  Doors swing open, the sudden movement causes the crowd to erupt into a frenzy....  I feel that crazy feeling coming from somewhere deep deep inside, that feeling like I have to win... I have to get ahead... I have to get what I want! The race is on...  Portable DVD player, laptop computers, stereo systems, baby alive, plasma T.V., weird incredible hulk hands your mine... mine... allllllll miiinnneee! 

The weeks have been flying by as we inch closer and closer to Thanksgiving, Carlan's birthday, then Christmas! I can't wait to start my shopping. If you know a thing or two about me one of my favorite things to do is go shopping. I have always liked the feeling of a shopping triumph. So naturally I love the day after Thanksgiving shopping. Yes I am one of those crazy people, up at 4:00 a.m. standing outside Target waiting for things that I could probably buy for the same price a week before but I don't care! It's the thrill of the chase.

I love this time of year!

Here are some funny pictures of Preston. Ever since he has been born Carlan and I have noticed how fast his moods can change. We always thought Ally was bad (you know being a girl and all) but Preston has her beat hands down. I just happend to capture one of his "moments" while I was playing around with the camera. He goes from "happy to crappy" in a matter of seconds.

See for yourself.

There he is being the fun happy Preston that we all love.

Still there. Ahh... don't you just love that face?

uh oh here it comes wait for it...

Boom! And there you have it. Preston happy to crappy in a flash!

What's a mom to do?

Things we are looking forward to:

Monica and family coming to town; Baby Katie's blessing and two nephew's priesthood ordinations all on the same day (whew big day); Twilight the movie's big debut (girls day yea!); Carlan's birthday; Friends in town; Thanksgiving turkey, turkey turkey and more turkey; Black Friday; Guitar Hero until 1 a.m.

Life can be mundane, at our house we have to anticipate every little detail like it's our life's greatest moment.

How is that for introspection?

Stay posted for our new family pictures! Yea we actually bit the bullet and did it despite my extreme camera phobia.

Post Halloween Blues

2008-11-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

Another Halloween has come and past. Household sugar highs followed by the inevitable sugar crash, as we like to call it, have subsided to a more manageable level. Actually to be honest I have to remind Ally to eat her candy because she really isn't all that interested in it. I however seem to be quite intrigued by it because I can't seem to walk by with out having just one, or just twenty (depends on the day I am having). On the up side I seem to be getting lots of household things done (sugar high) followed by frequent naps (sugar crash). Maybe I should start looking into redbull energy drink. Imagine how much I could accomplish. That's if I wanted teeth like this guy.

(ever heard of a toothbrush?)

Okay that was my attempt at being humorous. For our sakes I will try to keep those at a minimum.

This is Preston. He was dressed as a monkey for Halloween. This Halloween was interesting. I usually have to dress the kids in something that either is super warm or that can be worn over a snowsuit, but this year was unusual because well it was warm. Preston was almost too warm in his furry monkey suit

(monkey face)

(monkey food)

(monkey see monkey)

Of course we had to have a test run of the costume to make sure of it's adorableness level.

(I know right, kind of a cruel thing to do)

Ally was of course something glamorous. I had to talk her out of a princess (since that was last years costume) more than once in our Halloween preparations. So instead she wanted to be a movie star. No not the Paris Hilton, type but something more wholesome and vintage.

Here she is in all her splendor.

She had some awesome star shaped sunglasses that completed the look, but I just realized that I never took a picture with them on her. Oh well!

Well another Halloween survived, onto the next holiday to look forward to. I love Thanksgiving and all fall in it's splendor. Plus it means we are that much closer to Christmas. The greatest time of the year!

Taking the blog world by storm

2008-10-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Okay here we go *deep breath* I am jumping into the blogging world and taking it by storm. Well probably not exactly a storm, more like a gentle breeze, but none the less. Thanks to my friend Gina who spent like 20 minutes setting up my blog, saved me like two weeks of trying to figure it out myself... (thanks G!) So away we go...

An intro:
Here is the most recent photo of the family McDaniel. The bigger the family gets the harder it is to find a photo where everyone looks just right. I am sure many of you share my frustration right?
Hummm there is just something about seeing yourself sporting a summer tan that just makes me want to move to Hawaii and sit by a pool all day. Especially when you live in Idaho where winter lasts like 9 months out of the year. I can get pretty pasty.
*Sigh*

Here is my dear sweet baby ballerina. She is my lifeblood, my purpose in life, my chance to make the world a better place... she is my Ally and I can't imagine life without her. Ally keeps us busy with preschool, dance, play dates, etc. and she is only 3 (whew just writing about it all makes me tired). She is the typical first born: smart, precocious and a little sassy at times, but I have to say it... I love her to pieces!

Now this is my Preston. He is my second born, he is my boy! And what a boy he is. He is best defined as: a noise with dirt on it. It seems he is always making a noise of some sort, whether it is singing at the top of his lungs or flipping every door stop in the house. As for the dirty part well the picture speaks for itself. He keeps me busy with his shenanigans that's for sure. I'd have to say his devil horns hold up his halo well! I can't help but smile whenever I see him. (Plus how can you resist that face?)

Well there we go, my first official post. Not bad for someone who has feared the blogging world for so long. Alright it's not so bad, in fact it is a little addicting. I guess we will see... we will definitely see. (:

First Post!

2008-10-22T12:17:00.001-07:00

Well, I have decided to start this blogging thing.

Wish me Luck!