Jen's Hair Flair

So, I have finally decided to sell my bows. A lot of people have told me I should but I was scared to do it. I think I was (and still am) afraid that no one would buy them, or that no one would like them as much as I do. Well, I finally got up enough courage, came up with a name, and started a Facebook Business page. I can do regular bows, loopy ribbon bows, infant headbands, crochet headbands, ribbon wrapped headbands, flower clips, buggy bows, and more! So, go check it out on Facebook (just search Jen's Hair Flair), like the page, and if you need any bows, let me know! Thanks!!

By the way, I just made the 'Silly Monkey' bow today and it is, for sure, one of my favorites!! Super Cute!!!

Bah Humbug!

I am sure I am not the only one feeling like a Scrooge this year and this isn't the first year I have felt like one but this year is the most Scrooge-ish I've ever felt. I don't even want to go finish shopping for Isaac's birthday or Christmas presents! And if you know me, you know how much I love to get my shopping on!! It seems like I am always yelling at my kids or annoyed by anything they do or don't do. My house is a mess and I can't seem to care enough to clean it up. I wish I could sit in my pjs all day and never get dressed (but I do get dressed, eventually). I should be baking cookies and making candies, listening to Christmas music, shopping up a storm, cleaning up my house... Ya know, all the fun stuff that comes with this time of year, but instead I sit here with a scowl on my face (yes, in my pjs still) and wish I had the oomph to do half of that stuff. The only sign of Christmas at my house is the Christmas tree that took me over a week to finally finish decorating it. No other signs of Christmas here. I haven't even turned the lights on the tree on. If they get turned on it is Logan that did it and he probably got in trouble for going by the tree! See, Scrooge! I am not sure what my problem is, I wish I knew because then maybe i could try to fix it but it is hard to fix a problem when you don't know where the problem lies! I know I am tired of the seemingly monotony (sp?) of life. Get up, fight the kids to get them to school, get on the computer, finally get dressed, fight with Logan about watching cartoons, go pick up Isaac, come home and eat lunch, lay Sadie down for a nap, fight the boys to be quiet while Sadie naps, girls come home, fight Emilee to do homework, dinner, fight Kenna to feed her dog (that happens in the morning somewhere too), fight the kids to go to bed (especially Logan and Isaac), fall into bed at night exhausted, wake up to a stupid dog barking (yes, ours, and more than once a night), wake up to Sadie crying (she is teething and has been for weeks), finally, wake up and start the process all over again. There is also the dishes, vacuuming, laundry, sweeping, and normal household cleaning thrown in there for good measure. Don't get me wrong, there are good things too. Sadie can always make me smile, especially because she has started randomly coming up to me, hugging my leg and then kissing it. So cute! Whenever you tell her 'love you' she responds by making a kissing sound so kissing is her way of saying 'love you' and when she randomly does that it makes my day! And the other night the girls sang in the Community Christmas Concert and they did so well! I was a very proud Momma! (Don't ask about Emilee and the practice on Saturday though! That was a nightmare!) I am proud of Isaac when he brings home his books from Kindergarten and reads them like a pro, he really needs harder books. I love it when Logan reads to me! He is such a little smartie pants! But, and here I go being a Scrooge again, it seems like for every proud moment I have there is a list of moments that I am not so proud of, moments I wish were different, moments I wish I could change whether it is something I did I want to change or something a kid did that I wish they had done differently. Anyway, enough of my ranting, maybe it will help to get all of that off my chest, maybe not, but that is that.

So, with gritted teeth and a scowl I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you are more in the spirit of the season than I am!

Highlights From the Last Few Months

Yes, I am a bad blogger! I haven't updated for a while so here's a mish-mash of pictures, in no particular order.Sadie is such a cutie that I can't resist taking pictures of her. Notice that she has a little spout of hair on top of her head! Yes, I know it isn't much but it does prove that she has hair!

Sadie loves the horses. This is Sunny. Sadly, Sunny died a couple of weeks ago. :(


The kids on Halloween. I loved Sadie's costume! Logan's buzz costume (some of it is missing in this picture) is courtesy of Rachael. While at Fred Meyer decorating cupcakes, the table folded under on Logan. Borrowed costume + bright orange frosting = big mess!! And a mom that felt really bad about the borrowed Buzz costume. However, I am proud to say that I got the bright orange frosting out of the costume and it was saved!! Yay me!!

Logan smashed his finger in the Durango door. He got 3 stitches in his finger and it split his fingernail in two!! Funny story though, we went to McDonald's after going to the ER and Logan got a Kid's Meal. While sitting in the drive thru, waiting for our food, he got this totally excited look on his face and asked me if there would be hope in his Kid's Meal!! (Ya know, the commercial, right!?) It was hilarious!! Anyway, he eventually lost his fingernail but it is all good now and the fingernail has grown back. This picture is from the night Nathan took the stitches out.

Logan reading to Isaac.

Hayley and Aaron had a new baby boy born into their family on November 18. His name is Thomas Aaron and he a cutie!! We were lucky enough to be able to go down to Utah for his blessing on the 5th of December.

Logan and Isaac somehow seem to find the baby powder no matter how hard I try to keep it hidden! I don't know how many pictures I have of Logan covered in it!

Well, there is a little update of what we have been up to! I am going to try to do better at updating this more often since we have faster internet now and it doesn't take as long to upload the pictures! As always, comments are always welcome since I don't think anyone reads this!

Logan and Sadie

Logan and Sadie both had birthdays in August.

Logan turned 4 on August 28th. Logan, Logan, Logan... Logan is a boy, and I think that is all that needs to be said. He is such a boy! He loves his dad and hates it when dad isn't home. Which makes it hard for mom when dad is at work. Anyway, Logan Stephen Buck was born August 28th, 2006 at 7:30ish a.m. (my last three were all really close to the same time so I get confused. That is what you get with scheduled c-sections!) He weighed 7lbs. or 7lbs. 1 oz. depending on which crib card you looked at and 19" long. He was a blondie from the start and had the most hair of any of my kids. He is such a little charmer! He has the cutest little personality and everyone wants to take him home with them but I am sure they would bring him back after not very long!! They just don't know the real Logan!! They only see the Prince Charming side! He is Isaac's little shadow and it is fun to have a little time with Logan while Isaac is at school but Logan sure is excited everyday when it is time to go get Isaac!! He is just starting to play with Sadie and it is so cute when he gets her to laugh! He gets so excited and she just laughs more! It is a good thing he is so cute because his antics sometimes drive me crazy!!

My Bug is now 1!

Sadianne Ray Buck was born August 31st 2009 at 7:something a.m. (I could go look but I don't wanna!) She was 6 lbs. 15 oz. and almost 20" long. The traumatic story of her birth is already in this blog and I don't wish to relive it (I already went through the trauma of Kenna so that is all I can take in one day). If you want to read about then go back to September of last year and the story is there. Sadie is such a sweet baby!! She is generally happy and by far my best eater and sleeper!! She sleeps all night and has since about 9 months which is way earlier than any of my other kids! And she naps really well also, as long as the other kids are semi-quiet! She loves to eat and will eat anytime food is offered but she doesn't look like it! She is skinny just like my other kids. She is finally starting to think that learning to walk might not be so bad. She will take one step and see if anyone is watching. If she doesn't think anyone is watching she will sit down and crawl. If some is watching she will grin and try to take another step. She loves to give kisses and is a little dare devil. She loves to climb things and be thrown around by dad. Sadie is a talker and says alot of words. A few of my favorites are "I want it", "Want some", "Go" (which she says when she wants to go somewhere), "Outside". She says no-no but that is not one of my favorites! Her newest word is "pretty" which she learned while I was painting her toenails and fingernails yesterday. I don't know what I would do without her sweet smile in our house everyday!! She can always make me smile!!!

We ♥ you Logan and Sadie!!

August 2010

The kids started school again on the 25th of August (Isaac actually started the 26th).

Isaac started Kindergarted!! He was so excited! He is in Mrs. Harshbarger's Morning class and he loves going to school! He is like Kenna in that it is easy to get him up and ready for school. His hair is in a mohawk because that is what he asked for. I went to buzz his head a couple of weeks before school started and he said he wanted a mohawk so I gave him one. He loves it and is afraid I am going to cut it off everytime I shave the sides down.

Emilee is in 3rd grade this year and is in Mrs. Johnson's class. She is still kind of a pain to get up in the morning but not quite as bad as last year (most of the time). Can you believe how long her hair is getting? She loves it!!

McKenna is in 6th grade!! She has homeroom on Mrs. Poole's class, ummm... she has Mr. Esplin for something (haha, I am not quite sure what, I think Spelling though), and someone else for Math... Man, I am a good mom!! I know what I am asking her when she gets home!!

We actually planted a garden this year and we loved it!! Beans, peas, banana squash, crook neck squash, carrots, radishes, strawberries, cucumbers, and oodles of zucchini!! It was awesome and I think we will try to make it bigger next year.

Kenna's Birthday

My little girl turned 11 on July 28th! I can't believe it! The time is going too fast! Here is the story...

McKenna Fawn Buck was born July 28, 1999 at 6:32 a.m. She weighed 6lbs. 5 oz. and was 19" long. When she came out she had a death grip on the umbilical cord and wouldn't let go of it. She was such a sweet baby! She was very calm and content as long as she was fed, clean, and had her plug (pacifier). Kenna was the first Grandchild on my side of the family so she was spoiled rotten! Papa gave her the nickname of Sweetpea, and he still calls her that and she loves it! When Kenna was about 7 or 8 months old she started getting sick and just couldn't seem to get any better. We had her to the doctor multiple times. She would seem to get better for a few days and then it would all come back. Coughing, stuffy nose, red eyes, fever... She just wouldn't get 100% better. A few days before her first birthday she got really bad. She was coughing uncontrollably, extremely pale, it seemed like she couldn't breath... It was kinda scary. I took her to the doctor and he admitted her to the hospital. This was when we learned that she had asthma. Her doctor said that they rarely diagnose kids that young with asthma so they called it Reactive Airway Disease, but he was 99% sure she had asthma. While it was scary to learn that she really was sick, it was also a relief to know that it was treatable and she would get better, eventually. She spent her 1st birthday in the hospital. In March of 2001 she was back in the hospital again. And then in May of the same year she was life-flighted to Primary Children's Medical Center in Utah. That was one of the scariest times in my life. She spent 3 days in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and then 2 days after that she was released. Since then she hasn't needed any hospitalizations but has been really close to it a few times. A few doctors have told me that she could outgrow her asthma but I don't think that is going to happen. It has stayed pretty much the same since she was a baby and I think if it was going to get any better it would show improvement by now. Oh well, we have learned to live with it and we know how to manage it.

Kenna has a split personality some days. She can be the sweetest girl when she wants to be. She can be a big help to me or, sometimes the other personality shows and her attitude pops out! And, boy does she have attitude!! I guess I knew it was coming eventually but I am not ready for it! She loves her siblings and she gets along with them most of the time. I am looking forward to her getting old enough to babysit for me!! And so is she!

She has been begging us for a dog for a long time so she got one for her birthday from Nana and Papa (with approval from Mom and Dad). Her name is Annie and she is a Lab/something mix.

We ♥ you Kenna!!

July 2010

July was a busy month! These are all backwards but I am too lazy to put them in the right order! (Give me a break at least there are pictures!)

These first few are of the annual Buck Family Camping Trip. This year we went to Mill Creek again (thank goodness).The other mommies all went on the boat and left the babies with the daddies (I guess I wasn't invited, I dunno) so I shared my Oreo's with them! I know how to get babies to like me! This is Estella and her Oreo! Yummy!! Ryssa!! Cheese!!

Nathan skiing.

Kaleb wakeboarding.

Logan got in a little bit of a hurry and slipped in the boat. He split his chin open but barely cried at all. As soon as we got it bandaged up he was all smiles again.

2 boys + 2 GIANT marshmallows = 1 great big mess! But they sure were happy!!

Isaac trying to learn to ride a 2 wheeler! There isn't anywhere around our house for them to learn so they rarely get the chance to try. Emilee learned how to ride without training wheels this spring and Kenna (after being chicken to try) can kind of ride without training wheels!

One weekend I took Sadie and Logan and we went camping with my mom and dad. I don't think I can really call it camping the way they do it but i prefer it to the usual camping we do! Sadie in the 5th wheel. I love the grin on her face!

Logan got sick when we got up there. He had a pretty high fever most of the weekend. It got high enough that he was hallucinating. He told me that giant stink bugs were coming and that there was lava by the door of the 5th wheel. He was worried about how Papa was going to get over the lava! It was kinda funny. He swears to this day that there was lava there!

Kenna on a horse ride with Nathan, Grandpa, and Riley.

4th of July!! Emilee learned how to do a cartwheel. She was so excited. She had been practicing for a long time!

Nathan bouncing the kids on the trampoline. They liked seeing who bounced the highest. Now that I see how high they were going I am wondering what I was thinking letting them do that! Someone could have been really hurt!!

Me and my Sweetie!

Kenna was doing 'flips' on the trampoline but landing on her butt. I told her that all she needed to do was put her feet down and she would land it. She tried it and it worked! She landed on her feet first try! She thought it was awesome and now I have tons of pictures of her flipping on the tramp!

All of us at the parade. I don't wanna name everyone. You know who you are and if you don't then that isn't my problem!!

It was COLD at the parade! It warmed up later in the day but waiting for the parade to start was cold and miserable!!

Sadie and Isaac in the pool we bought for Sadie.

I ♥ the look on Bug's face in this picture! She totally loves the water!!

Randomness

At the Tauphus Park Zoo with Rachael and some of her kids.

Riley, Sadie, Kenna, Niyah, Carter, and Emi.

Father's Day. Nathan with the kids. I love this picture.

My dad with the grandkids.

My Grandpa, Dad, and all the Grandkids!

The kids at Old Faithful on our yearly drive through Yellowstone Park. They love going and Isaac insisted that we wait and watch Old Faithful even though it was really cold and threatening to rain! He sat down and wouldn't move until he saw Old Faithful!

Time...

I have been sitting here watching my little sweetie play and roll around on the floor and thinking about how a part of me does not want her to ever grow up!! She is so sweet right now and loves me unconditionally!! She can't backtalk (like Kenna), doesn't whine (like Logan), sleeps well for me (most of the time), and can make me smile at the drop of a hat. She is extremely easy to please and lets me dress her in whatever outfit I want her to wear (unlike Emilee who, well, let's not go there right now). She doesn't get into things she shouldn't (like all the other kids) and did I mention that she is sweet? She loves to give me loves and kisses, which I love to give in return!! Yes, I know she will grow up and I will probably love every minute of that... (well, maybe not every minute) but I know she is my last baby and I want to savor every possible moment of her being a baby!! Is that so wrong? Don't get me wrong, I am uspet that all of my kids are growing up! McKenna will be 11 in a couple of months... yes, 11!! Craziness!! She can be so helpful when she wants to be, and I am looking forward to the day she can babysit her little sisters and brothers for me. Emilee is 8 and about the sweetest girl I know, but on the flip side of that she can be the most stubborn and hard-headed little girl I know too. Isaac is 5 and, well, Isaac is 5 and a little boy... Do I really need to explain myself there? He starts Kindergarten in August and I don't think he could be any more excited! He just recently started reading and I love to listen to him sound out words and read books! Logan will be 4 in August and he follows his big brother around like a little puppy! Isaac and Logan are always partners in crime! I never know which one started it but it is guaranteed they are both involved! Life is never dull around here!

8 and 6

It has been a busy last couple of weeks around here. Sadie is now 6 months old! I can hardly believe it! She is such a sweet baby and has the cutest little personality. She is a momma's girl but loves her daddy and Isaac too. Isaac and her have some weird bond or something. He is totally infatuated with her and she loves to watch him. He seems to have the special talent of always making her laugh. I took Sadie to the doctor the other day for her 6 month check up. She is 13.12 lbs. (which is below the 5th percentile) and 26" long (which is in the 50th percentile). So she is a tall skinny baby. She rolls everywhere and is now working on sitting up. She can almost do it by herself! She loves eating her cereal but is really picky about baby food. The only plain veggie she will eat is sweet potatoes, but will eat mixed vegetable blends. Her favorite baby food is applesauce, but likes most fruits so far, however she isn't a fan of pears. I have been trying to give her juice but she hasn't figured out the sippy cup yet. I tried giving her some water and juice in a bottle today because she has been constipated but she isn't a fan of the bottle. She just looks at me like I am crazy for sticking it in her mouth. She is such a sweetheart and can turn any bad mood into a smile for me! I don't know what our family would be without her!

Last Sunday I tried getting pictures of my kids and the plan was to get one of the family too. But just as I got a few pics of the kids (not very good ones though) my camera battery died. Oh well. We will try it again this Sunday (maybe). This is one of the pictures of my kids that I did get. Logan and Sadie are both grumpy!
My little Emi turned 8 on February 23rd. She was so excited to get baptized this year! She has been talking about it for a while now so when the big day came she was about jumping out of her skin. I think she was the most excited to wear her new dress that has been hanging in my closet for about 1 1/2 months and to wear her new shoes which have heels! The program was beautiful. My favorite part (besides the baptism and confirmation) was Nathan, Kenna, and Emi's song they sang. They sang "A Child's Prayer" and Nathan accompanied on the guitar. It was beautiful!! I loved it! Both Nathan's family and my family were all there. Papa and Grandpa were witnesses to the baptism and, of course, Daddy baptized her and confirmed her. We had ice cream sundae's at our house afterwards. All in all it was a great day!

Emi and Daddy

Emi in her dress.

She is such a pretty girl! (And very photogenic, which she did not get from me!)