So Sayith Tay and Jay #25

Tell me a story about a princess.

Taylor: A princess called me, Taylor.  Once upon a time there was a princess, me Taylor, and some one was trying to find me.  His name was Harry Potter.  He saved me and found me.  He took me away from the bad castle, but mommy couldn't find me so she killed the prince, but he comed back alive.  We went to the castle fast enough so I can get my baby.  My little baby.  And her name was Darla.  And she didn't like Alphalpa.  But princess Connor, I mean Prince Connor was trying to marry me so he can have a baby but he couldn't.  And then he hit me in the face and then he just tried to laugh at me because he hit my face really bad.  And then he went and hit my face again...all over again.  And then he married me after all.  The End.

Jordan: My princess is all pink because I love.  My princess got lost with a witch. Then the witch took her to witch house.  Then the house broked off. Then there got fire. Then the cookies broke.  I said the cookies broke off! Then they go to a new witch house.  Then nothing else happened. Then the witch got a little cookies, pink cookies, on the house.  Then the witch don't know how to get down.  Then bad guy comes and find the witch house, but he couldn't know how to do it.  The princess colored on the princess house.  Then a guy don't know how to build with bricks.  But the princess goes to her princess house and she throws the witch away.  The End.

The Skill of Awkward

I’ve been meaning to write about Taylor starting in gymnastics, but I hadn’t gotten pictures and just isn’t the same without pictures right?  And the reason I don’t have pictures is not because I just forget, but more that Taylor looks so awkward I was more worried she see herself and realize how awkward it is.

However, Taylor has been practicing…a lot.  Most nights when I get home for work she asks me to run through her stretches with her and Jordan and Elijah join right in as Taylor struggles to get it right (important to note that Jordan does it great unlike her older and younger sibling).  After her stretches she practices her cartwheels, somersaults, and hand stands.  She’ll practice over and over.  In her typical Taylor fashion she does get upset at herself for her mistakes, but we keep reminding her what great progress she is making.  We also have watched a couple of gymnastic type things on tv so she can see if “good” people fall and make mistakes, I think that has helped.  She is less down on herself then she is normally.  And you can see the sparkle of excitement when she feels she’s done something well.  She can finally point her toes…this skill took about 3 weeks to master since whenever her teach said “point your toes” she would literally just point TO her toes.

Since Jordan and Elijah have been practicing right along with Taylor and Taylor is “instructing” them on how to do things correctly, Jordan has actually been doing a pretty good job.  So we asked her last week if she wanted to start doing gymnastics and she did – but she wanted a pink leotard – so pink it is.  They also only had size 2T/3T so it is always up in her rear end – so until I can find a new one in her size she’s stuck wearing shorts over her leotard.  At least I found it on clearance so it was only $3!

This Saturday was Jordan’s first weekend so I took the risk and actually took pictures of the girls.  I didn’t get good ones of Jordan sadly, so I’ll have to try again, but they both had lots of fun.  This was Taylor’s first week of doing most of her things on her own.  Since she is so horribly awkward on the equipment the coaches have been holding her all the time, but this week they actually let go and let her do things on her own and just stayed there to spot her.  She was so proud of herself despite her few “near falls”.  She didn’t like the feeling of almost falling – I don’t think she completely realized that her coach is still there and would not let her fall so it freaked her out a little, but after a short pep talk she was back in and ready to go.

I’m so proud of my babies and their first “class”.  They are learning something new and doing it with a smile.  I’m super glad I found these SUPER cheap classes through the city’s website so they can get fun opportunities like this one.  And now on to the pictures:

This coaches is name is America...no joke.  So her name is "Ms America"

 Taylor just got done organizing the other girls to ensure she would get to go on the bar first

 Jordan using the benches as her balance beam

 Getting ready to do a flip - she loves flipping over the bar.

 The Vault...she runs full speed and the stops at before she jumps...every time.

Stretching - the girl in front (black and pink) is amazing! Her mom said its her first time in gymnastics but she has been "practicing" at home since she was like 2.

So Sayith Tay and Jay #24

Brittany M:
What does a dentist do? 

Taylor: A dentist gives you shot.

Jordan: A dentist do nothing that you do.

How many stars are there?

Taylor: 100

Jordan: Little bitty stars.

 Whats your favorite holiday? 

Taylor: My favorite holiday is Spring I mean Valentimes day and Christmas and Happy Mother's Day ::hugs me:: That's the day when you get um...Valentimes day means you give your mom something special and you say Happy Mother's Day!

Jordan: My favorite holiday is Picnic Day.

Are your parents good drivers? 

Taylor: Yeah.

Jordan: Yeah.

 What is dads favorite thing to do?

Taylor: Dads favorite thing to do is cuddle with me.

Jordan: Daddy's favorite thing to do is playing a game.

 What is moms favorite thing to do? 

Taylor: Cuddle with me.

Jordan: Mommy's favorite thing to do is get corn out..to eat corn.

What is the most fun thing to do ever? 

Taylor: Cuddle with Mommy.  Everyone loves to cuddle.

Jordan: My favorite thing I like to do is helping daddy get towels.

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Taylor: I will buy stuff. Toys stuff.  Building toys.  But wait I forgot! When I saw building time in Elmo's word there was a big toy with a big hammer where you knock things down like you are building something.

Jordan: I would buy a kitty! And a Dog!

What is your favorite food?

Taylor: Apples and bana...no wait I don't like bananas.  I also like... I mean that's it.

Jordan: My favorite food is eating apple.

Jennifer Baker
What is your favorite stuffed animal and who gave it to you? 

Taylor:  My favorite stuff animal is my polka dot monkey and my beach grandma gave it to me.

Jordan: The doodle bear animal toy! Doodle bear gave it to me. I love my doggy Marley! Grandma gave me Marley.

What is your favorite word.? 

Taylor: My favorite word is SILENCE (she yelled it) because you have to really quiet and not talk because somebody says SILENCE (she yelled again).

Jordan: DOG word

What is your favorite reptile? 

Taylor: My favorite reptile is a T-Rex.  The biggest dinosaur in the world...what did you ask me? What is my favorite thing?

Jordan: My favorite reptile is a dinosaur, but dinosaurs scare me.

What is your favorite number? 

Taylor: 10

Jordan: My favorite number is L

What is your favorite board game?

Taylor: The one we play on the floor (Hulabaloo)

Jordan: Fishy Games.

Rachel Reed
Why do people need bandaids? 

Taylor: Because they got hurt.

Jordan: Because they hurt themself.  I don't like getting a shot or something. OW

Favorite song?

Taylor: Wish... I mean I won't turn left and I won't right...I will not stray from the path that is right...I will keep on seeking...I will keep on reaching... follow, follow, follow Jesus Christ.

Jordan: My favorite song is Cubbies, Awana Cubbies. (starts singing it)

Kinder-Garden

Up until COLLEGE I was saying Kindergarten and spelling it in my head as Kindergarden.  No Joke!

I had NEVER written the word out or even seen it spelled out for that matter so my idea of how it was spelled was based on what I heard when people said it – and what I heard was Kinder-Garden.  It’s embarrassing I know… especially since the way I learned I was always saying/spelling it wrong was when I was writing a paper my freshman year about how I wanted to graduate and be a Kindergarden teacher. I spent a few minutes trying to figure out why Word was putting a red squiggly under the word until I actually looked at the spell check to see my error.  What a great teacher I would have been… HA!

Any way, that was not my intention on writing today.  I actually don’t think I’ve ever sat down with the intention of embarrassing myself, it just happens.

I’ve been getting a lot of people asking about what’s going on with Taylor.  Here’s the word humming bird (SHOUT OUT to my Bye Bye Birdie cast peeps – Have you heard about Hugo and Kim?!)

Wow, I’m all sorts of distracted today.  So back to Taylor.

Here are the three options we have in the order of which we would prefer, or at least I would prefer.  Not that Justin and I don’t agree, but we haven’t talked too much about what we prefer, but that anything is better then option 3.

#1 – Price Elementary: Dual Immersion

This is close to us and I could drop Taylor off in the morning on the way to work.  AND there is the Salvation Army right across the street that has afterschool care for her for only $80 a month!!! So I could also pick her up on the way home and not use up extra gas money!!  She would also get to learn Spanish which is awesome AND a few of my coworkers have kids going there for Kindergarten too so I know we’ll have a group of people to help the kids along the process.  We have a meeting next week to get put on the official waiting list and they will start telling us within the next couple of months if she gets in.  PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS – That she get’s accepted into Price Elementary and that we can afford the $80/month for afterschool care by the time that comes up.

#2 – Laurel Elementary: Brea School

This is a good school in Brea also on the way to work.  The downside to this is that we would still need to come up with $150 a month in gas money for Justin to pick her up everyday.  We have had several people offer to help and I do greatly appreciate it.  Really I do.  It is just another example of what amazing friends we have, but it’s an offer we can’t accept.  If we can’t do it on our own then what happens if one month the friend/family that offered to help is unable to help for any reason – we still have to be able to get Taylor to school.  Our paperwork was turned in the beginning of this month and we should start hearing in May/June. Our prayer for this is that if #1 does not work out and #2 does that we will be blessed in ways that we can afford the $150 a month in gas money.  We don’t know what that looks like, but we do know it does not look like getting cash aid from friends and family.

#3 – Palm Lane Elementary: Horrible School

This is the school I am hoping she does not end up at.  As of now that is the only school she is “accepted” into since it is her district school.  No prayer for this one other then that she doesn’t end up here and instead in one of the other 2 schools.

So there is an update for those of you who were asking.  Thank you for your prayers and any more prayers to come!

To My (Incredible Awesome Bestest) Friends on My Birthday

I can seriously not express enough how enormously blessed I am.  I have THE best people in my life – it’s crazy! I sat down a week or so ago stressing about “debt”.  I know I’ve mentioned this stuff before, but Justin and I are working hard to get this stuff done and at times it’s depressing to live on such a tight budget – to have to say no to fun things and sometimes feel like we “can’t have” new things for us or our kids.  So I looked at our budget and felt overwhelmed.  We’ve paid off a lot and there is only $6,000 to go, but it feels like so far away still and I’m tired of feeling “left out” of life in a way.

But then I had a good reality check this weekend.  More details later, but I spent the whole weekend surrounded with friends that I adore.  And the best part is they love me too!  It’s an overwhelming feeling (but a good overwhelming unlike the above mentioned overwhelming) to know you have people in your life that love you and your family like you are part of their family.  I cherish my friends more then I could ever express and if I don’t say it enough… I LOVE YOU GUYS!  Today is my birthday and I have been showered with birthday wishes and goodies and I can’t help but think how “rich” I am.

I know…cheesy right?!  But seriously I would take my incredible friends over having a bunch of money any day.   My friends know me.  They tolerate my annoying habits and appreciate my odd self.

So to all my friends I want to say THANK YOU for making my birthday today special – and any other day we get to hang out awesome.  Seriously you are all such an incredible blessing in my life and I do thank God for all of you often.  I hope I can bless you all the way you have blessed me and my family.

So Sayith Tay and Jay #23

How do your eyes see?


Taylor: they have seeing stuff.  Because you have eyeballs.  Because these things behind the glass in your eyeballs make the glass so you can see and then there's blood under here to hold your eyeball up.


Jordan: My eyes see with ice.


How does your nose smell?


Taylor: Because it has air in it and air goes in my nostrils.  Because they smell because you try to sniff and then they smell you and they can smell anything like poop in your babies diaper.  And also there is old poop like diarrhea that you can smell with your nose.  So stinky.


Jordan: My nose smell like butterfly.


How do your ears hear?


Taylor: Somebody speaks and this little hole - the air drum - helps me hear. Get it?


Jordan: My ears hear horsey sounds.


How does your mouth taste?


Taylor: Because it has a tongue and taste bums taste it.  Its called taste bums.  When you are really small and you go inside somebodies mouth its like mountains sprouting.  And if you are really tiny then its like hills.  And if you put your shoe on your tongue it is like Yuck.  And if you are tiny you can fall down the throat. 


Jordan: My mouth taste like candy.


How do you feel things?


Taylor: Because your hands have skin and your skin feeeeels.  Get it. Feel HA!


Jordan: I feel the movies.


How do you remember things?

Taylor: You remember things with your brain.  because your brain puts it in your brains head - inside it - and you remember and its in your forehead.  That's your forehead above your eyes.


Jordan: I remember things with numbers.


How do your fingers bend?

Taylor: Because they have these bending things that help them bend.  but they can go straight and if you make them straight they have little straight lines on them. 


Jordan: My fingers bend like this ::holds up fist::


What are feelings?


Taylor: Feelings are sad, angry, and also when you get angry you shake stuff and stomp.  That means you get really angry.  Sometimes when I get really angry I get sad and start crying.  because I want ice cream because everyone likes ice cream. Children really like ice cream.  When I'm grown up I will know when its ok to have ice cream because it has a lot of sugar. I forgot about happy. Woops!


Jordan: My feelings are when daddy spanks. And when daddy loves me. My feelings are just getting hurt.  I love you.

The Man of our House

I think being a stay at home parent is rough as it is then you add the fact that you don’t really want to be the one at home and you live in an area where it’s hard to get the gets out of the house without driving somewhere and it makes it worse.

I felt the need today to give kudos to my hubby.  For those of you who don’t know Justin was laid off in the end of August 2008 (a month before Jordan was due) and aside from working for the Census for a couple of months – he has been a stay at home dad ever since.  Not by choice, he has tried to find work with no luck.

I put a ridiculous amount of pressure on him – this is where I know I fail at being the “supportive” wife.  I can’t help but think of the way that I would do things if I was home and try to push those expectations on him.  Not only is that unfair, but unrealistic.  Justin and I are a different breed. I find joy in sitting with my kids and doing “homework” or having a set schedule/routine in our day that includes “motor skill development” and “learning time”.  This is my passion, and definitely not his.  I find myself getting frustrated far too often at the fact that this is not his thing.

I have been making a conscious effort to try and give grace.  I am not very good at this.  Justin is much better at showing me grace when I come home snappy since one of the above mentioned unrealistic expectations were not met before even asking him why.  I mean most of the time there is a REALLY good reason that something was not done and I would know that if I took a few minutes to ask.

At first I know Justin took this challenge as a “temporary” thing and treated it as such.  Now, however, I know he has accepted the reality that work is not happening right now and his approach has changed a little.  He is a good daddy.  He has his moments, we all do.  The kids adore him and every day the get the bodily needs and they get to spend time with their father.  I hope they look back on this time later and life and cherish these moments they have with him.  I also hope Justin will do the same.

Justin said to me once that you keep wishing your kids were older so you don’t have to deal with (insert thing/phase here), but then only realize the thing/phase that comes next is “messier” then the one before.  The bigger they get the more mess they make (mess could be a literal mess or some kind of drama too).

I love my husband so much!  I am proud of him as a husband and father.  He takes good care of our family in a unique way.  He makes us laugh.  He makes us feel safe.  He loves us.  He sacrifices so much to take care of us and he doesn’t have to have a “job” to do it. 

My prayer daily is for God to give him patience and strength to make it through each day so that he can teach our kids what a real man of God looks like.  So our girls will know what kind of man to look for and so Elijah will see what kind of man to be.

I love my man and I wanted to take time today to let you all know how amazing he his.