Day 3- Rubics Cube Madness!

Katelyn got a Rubics Cube for Christmas because she has been asking for one for a long time now. I didn't realize that it meant her daddy and her would be up till all hours of the night trying to solve it. The first thing they do when he gets home from work is go to the internet and watch videos on how to do this. They haven't solved it yet and as it still consumes our lives!!!

Day 2- Clean!

The pictures I took today are of my almost never clean house. I love it when my house is all vacuumed, beds are made, floor is mopped, and my kitchen is clean. I feel like I can accomplish almost anything when I am in an environment like this. Of course, it's only a matter of minutes before the kids totally thrash my sanctuary, but it is good while it lasts.

Project 365

I read today on Becky Higgins blog about a new project she is starting called Project 365. It is where you take a picture a day and journal about it. It can be anything!! I am starting today, Monday, December 29th, as Day 1. Here it is.....

I just took this picture of Thomas.  I wanted to remember how we let him sleep next to our bed every night.  He used to sleep in his room upstairs but then would end up in our bed in the middle of the night.  I think it started one night when he was sick that we wanted him close to us all night long so we put some blankets down next to our bed.  We have not stopped doing that yet and it's been about 2 months.  I know that he is going to grow up and will not be our little boy forever.  I just want to remember how safe I feel knowing that he feels loved and secure.  He knows that he is in a home where he will be protected at all times and that his mommy & daddy don't mind him sharing a room for the moment.  Now, this will not last forever, as all good things must end.  

Merry Christmas!!!

This year was different in many ways for our family. First, we are in a new home after living in our last house for 4 years. It seemed a little out of the ordinary this year but hopefully over the years we can fall into a routine again. Second, Madie & I were under the weather yesterday. We literally stayed in my bed all day and just watched TV and napped. Thank goodness Bryan was home. I'm still feeling terrible today, I really think I have pneumonia. I hope not but it sure feels like it.

The kids were sooo excited to finally get a little dog this year. His name is Muffin and he is adorable!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas with your family and remember the real reason we celebrate.

Christmas Cookies

One of our family's favorite Christmas tradition is making Christmas cookies. This was one of my favorite things to do as a child, too, and I looked forward to it every year. It is very simple but the kids have a blast! I remember as a kid taking hours on just one pan of cookies. My mom was so patient about it and would just let me take my time. I loved making snowmen and snow angels.

Brayden's Birthday

Our sweet, little Brayden turned 2 on the 6th of December. We took him to Incredible Pizza and had our own family party. He loved his new Elmo Kitchen & eating his birthday cake.

Inspiring Story

Please take a minute to watch this. It is about a friend of a friend who is going through aggressive cancer. She is very strong. If you can think of any ideas on how we can help her please let me know. I would love to help with some type of fundraiser.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/health/health_watch&id=6528902

"What If"

Last night I was taking the 4 oldest children to the pet store and I was waiting just outside the garage in the car with 3 of them. Katelyn was taking her time! So when she finally came out the door, I closed the garage door but didn't realize the baby had followed her outside. The kids started yelling BRAYDEN and I started backing my car up a bit and then moved it forward. Then I heard crying. He was just outside the car. Thank goodness he was okay, but it was very close.

Provo Temple & Testimony

Today during Sacrament meeting, I was prompted to stand and bear my testimony. When I stood up there all I could think about was my trip to Utah a couple of weeks ago and how I took the kids to see the Provo temple. I did well at the beginning and then I started talking about my conversion while glancing at my kids and I COMPLETELY lost it!! I started blubbering in the mic, and I really mean I was blubbering. If you were there then you know what I am talking about and I am not exaggerating this time!! Let me explain what happened to make me go "basket case" on everyone. I was talking about how I was so grateful for the missionaries who taught me about the church and the gospel and that I didn't know where I would be without it in my life. That is when the major crying began. My life is so crazy right now with 5 children that I don't get the chance to ponder that. Where would I be if I hadn't joined the church? I certainly wouldn't be in a happy marriage with 5 wonderful children. I would probably be down a completely wrong path. I am soooooo grateful for those missionaries who gave up 2 years of their life so that they could meet me and teach me but not only that. I am thankful that they were worthy to hold the priesthood and that I felt the Spirit during their lessons. I am also grateful for the challenge they gave me to read Mororni 10:3-5 and to pray about it after. I am thankful to my father in heaven for letting me feel a peaceful Spirit confirming what I read was true. I could go on and on but I think you all get what I mean. I am just so stinkin' grateful!!!

Here are some pics I took at the Provo temple with my kids. You can see that Thomas was a bit of a grump that day. He actually fell and hurt his knee right as we got on property. That doesn't help pictures!!

Wednesday

I'm going to try to keep this blog updated better. Now that most of my family is on the mend life can go on. I have a few thoughts that I want to share today....

First, I just feel like a bad mom lately. I'm so busy comparing myself to all the great moms in my family & in my ward that I don't feel like I measure up to them. Oh yes, you will all say "Robyn, you are a SUPER mom" but I don't feel like that. There is one child in particular who I am struggling with. I guess you can say that the challenge started when she turned 2 years old. She is a very headstrong child, whom I adore, but at the same time I struggle because I don't know what to do. She has really started to back talk lately and no matter how many privileges I take away or how much discipline she gets she really doesn't care. She even says she doesn't care. I feel like we are trying to do the right things in our family, we have daily scripture study, daily prayer, weekly Family Home Evening. We do fun things with the kids, we teach them values, discipline, respect. I guess there is just this part of me that knows that I can only lead a horse to water but not force it. I know that all things will work out in the end, it is just the enduring part that is hard for me.

On another note about being a good mom. I wish I was a calmer person. I just have this energy inside me that pops out! When I am happy, sad, or mad I let everyone know. Wouldn't it be nice if I were just calm most of the time and didn't freak out for every little thing? I am grateful that Heavenly Father made me the way that I am but I struggle a lot because I know I am a lot to handle. I expect a lot from people/family so I am often disappointed. I should just lower my expectations, I know this, but that is hard for me and my "personality". I am going to try some essential oils from my SIL to see if they help me a bit. I just need to relax.



While I am saying everything that is on my mind can I just bring up bedtime & wake up time? They are both so hard for me and my kids. I know some of you will say, just get them on a routine. Can I tell you that I have tried that and that my kids are just HARD at night and the mornings. I hear so often others comparing my children to theirs making me seem like I do not know what I am doing. I truly believe that each child is different and if you have easy children that might just be a blessing for you and your family. I am not saying I do not have good kids because I was blessed with the BEST kids ever and I love them so much.

Okay, I feel much better. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Tree Trimming

Well, it is officially time for the Cardon family to get in the Christmas spirit! Going on a trip during the time where we usually set up the tree kind of threw us off a bit. Tonight during Family Home Evening we set up our tree. It's a little chaotic with 5 little children, I won't lie, but the end result is always beautiful.

Lemonade Stand

Remember the days of having your very own lemonade stand?  My kids love to do these little stands.  I was surprised when I came home to find them like this last Saturday.  The funny part was that instead of the 10 cents like they asked, everyone gave them a quarter or a dollar.  They made $3.25 in just about half an hour!!

Little Boys

I cannot believe how big our two littlest boys are getting. I took these pics because today at Mother's Day Out the professional photographer was there but Brayden threw a fit and they couldn't get any pictures of him. Since he was all ready dressed in something besides sweats or jeans I thought I would do my own little photo session with him. I didn't really notice until after the stain he had on his shirt from lunch. Oops!!

Changes

This past Sunday I got called to be the new Primary Chorister.  I am super excited but also a little nervous.  I have a lot of fun stuff that I want to do to help the children learn the songs next year.  Wish me luck!!  I have no musical background or experience.  I got released from my Primary Secretary calling but am still the Enrichment Leader in our ward.  I enjoy doing that, too.  :)

Disney Highlights

Hello

It is so good to be home from our trip. Although we had an awesome time, nothing beats the feeling of hanging out with my family in our own environment.

We had an excellent day at church yesterday. Our Stake presidency was there and we had Ward Conference. I love to hear from the leaders of our Stake. I felt the words were very inspired and meant for us. There are so many things that I want to do better to prepare for the coming of my Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a great day to be alive!

Last night right before bed, Brayden, came down with a high fever. He had it all night long and slept with mommy & daddy. I don't like my children to ever feel yucky but when they do it is the one time that all they want to do is snuggle. Brayden is such a sweetheart. He is still really hot this morning even with the Tylenol and Motrin. Hopefully he recovers quickly.

Today the kids are still off school for Fall Break. We are just going to get our house in order since we were not home last week. I'm sure the kids will love that.

Checking In

We are on Day 3 of our Disney World trip and having a blast. On our first day here we ate at a place called Chef Mickeys as a character meal. Thomas was actual glowing the entire night. I guess we didn't realize before how much he liked Mickey Mouse. He was saying the cutest things and having so much fun with the characters. They were having so much fun with him, too. Every picture from our group had Thomas in it staring up at the character even if he wasn't supposed to be in the picture. It was too cute. Then he just blurted out "Mom, I just LOVE them!" What a sweetie pie. I'm so glad I got most of it on the camera.

On Tuesday we went to Magic Kingdom and yesterday we went to Hollywood Studios. Today we are going to Animal Kingdom and then tomorrow we will be going to Magic Kingdom again and hitting all the rides that we missed the first day. The kids are having a blast!

It's too quiet!!

I have never been in my house without all my children being here. It's kind of weird. I have a lot of thoughts today so I am going to write down as many as I can. I am taking my SIL's 31 for 21 challenge and going to try to write in my blog every day in the month of October.

Thought number one. I have had only two children this weekend and it has been a piece of cake. It has been quiet and easy to maintain. No fights to break up, no children back talking, no homework, etc. I remember back to when I was a mom to just my first 2 children. I thought it was very tough. My life seemed so busy with the demands of motherhood and being a good wife. Now that I have older children I realize that I had it easier back then and didn't even know it. I wonder if I will look back on this time of chaos and say the same thing. I had it easy back then. I hope not because my life is certainly not easy right now. It's usually very LOUD at my house. It has been nice having a quiet home but I really miss my oldest kids and my husband.

Okay, I'm going to go to bed now so I will continue my thoughts tomorrow. I need to get some sleep so I can get back to normal. I've been under the weather all weekend.

My Babies are in Utah!

Here is a pic I took this morning at 4:45 am right before they were leaving with Bryan to fly to Utah. Andrew had a fever so it was really hard sending him off when he wasn't feeling well. I offered to have him stay home but he just wanted to take medicine so he could go see Grandma and Grandpa Cardon.