If the VECA (Vegetable Eating Council of America), ok, I know it's got a different name, but I don't know that name!! Anyway, if they could only get Winni to do commercials for them, all kids would want to eat more veggies. Either that or the parents will wonder what I drug my kid with to get her so excited for veggies. People are always so shocked that my daughters favorite "treat" is peas, and my sons as well. I don't know why but they love peas so much. They love them for breakfast, lunch, snack, anytime. Winni would take peas over ice cream or chocolate milk anytime! Right now Winni has chosen to eat oranges and green peppers, instead of shells and cheese. The reason I bring this up is because yesterday as we were grocery shopping, she was driving me crazy!! She was grabbing stuff off the shelves and putting it into our cart. I felt like the worst parent when I said, "Winni, put that bag of stuff back!" We were in the beans and legumes area. She said, "But Mommy, I like them. It's peas!" It was a bag of pea lentils. Then when we got to the produce she started filling a bag with green peppers. She asked if we were going to get bananas. She went over to the broccoli and tried to break some off so she could eat it! I told her not to. She asked if we have broccoli at home and I told her we did. At that point she started running around the cart, cheering, "Yeah! We have broccoli at home!" She made sure we got potatoes. She let me know that we need more carrots because she ate them all. How did I get cursed with such a wonderful daughter! BTW, for those of you who are concerned about this entry, knowing that Winni is a petite girl, dont be! She eats other things too. I am just trying to encourage these healthy food choices while I can. She is healthy and very smart!

We survived all 3 hours of church today!! Yeah! Last week we went home during sacrament meeting because our kids had had it! I guess we were better prepared this week. Relief Society was great. The thing I enjoyed most was being reminded that a mother who knows who she is...knows when do to less. Meaning when to back down and let her children be independent, when to say no, when to be more simple. However, the best part of church was during sacrament meeting. I packed a pb&j for Winni and Trae, then Trae fell asleep. Of course, it wasn't until during a quiet moment church when Winni was feeling my leg that she found the crease under my knee, then she announced to the ward, "Mommy, I found your bumb!" Ahhhh.....I'm so proud!

Good-bye Gramps and Nana. They left early this morning and are well on there way back to Georgia. In honor of their visit, please enjoy this slideshow of some of the fun things we did with them.

And a Happy Black Friday to you!! I swore I wasn't going to go out with all the crazy's today, but around 3 PM I gave in and headed to Wal-Mart.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! This year Thanksgiving was up to me. We had a small crowd with Walter's dad and step-mom, our family of 4 and our 4 students. I got an early start on my cooking, I started on monday!! Throughout the week I slowly got things put together and into the fridge, waiting for Thanksgiving day to cook them. I would definitely do it this way again! Today felt restful, rather than stressful. We were invited to Trent and Julie's for breakfast.



Julie, and my profile! very impressive



Winni & Eli



Libby, Zack, Eli & Winni



Tyler



Quinci w/ Jacki

We used to have pie for breakfast, but decided that this year we would break tradition and have pumpkin waffles with cinnamon syrup. It might as well be pie, its soooo good! It tastes like pumpkin pie!! Then we headed home to get the turkey in the oven.

We sat down to eat at about 3:30, and if I say so myself, it was delicious!! The turkey was perfect. We couldn't even get it from the bag to the serving dish, it just fell apart. We also had homemade rolls with whipped honey, creamy mashed potatoes with turkey dripping gravy, brown sugared sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade stuffing, canned cranberry sauce, and homemade punch, and for dessert...pecan pie, struessel topped pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cheesecake. However, we were all too full to touch the pies. I think we will eat them for breakfast tomorrow. Sounds like a new tradition, leftover pie for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving!



Our beautiful table with the hostess who, apparently, sampled too many desserts as she cooked!!



After making a wish, I won!! Walter was so upset, but his wishes always come true! Hopefully my wish will come true too....January 9th here we come!!



The boys taking care of clean up!

Today as we were driving home from Park City, Winni paid me a great compliment! She said, "Mommy, I can't find your butt!" OK, so maybe I took it as a compliment and it was meant as an insult. Maybe it's cause I was sitting on it.....oh well, it got me to blog again.

Winni came out of her room today with her swimsuit in hand as she was ripping her clothes off. "I'm going to the Beach mommy! I want to go swim in the ocean!" What am I supposed so say?? So, I say, "OK honey, have fun!" I thought maybe she was confused by our beach-like front yard....or maybe not.

So, I gained 8 lbs this month! Woo Hoo! You'd think, "ah, that's ok, the baby had a growth spurt..." or something along those lines. Well, unless this is a really really big baby, I think it might be time I take inventory on myself! I mean, really, this baby has had a growth spurt this month, last month (6 lbs), and the month before (9 lbs). Can I really expect a 20+ lb baby.....time to spend less time blogging and more time walking.

The In-Laws have arrived!!



Gramps and Nana Gunter got here Friday morning and we are having so much fun with them!! As we were waiting for them to get off the plane, Walter and I started a little bet as to what kind of hat his dad would be wearing....retired Navy, camouflage, or Georgia Dawgs. Well, I won on the hat, retired Navy, but Walter wasn't completely wrong. Walt Sr showed up in a Georgia Bulldogs sweatshirt with a camouflage coat over top. Dang, do we know him or what?!?! They have successfully spoiled my children, and now they are rotten! They went to Antelope Island and downtown SLC and, of course, Hill AFB to the PX. Then they came back and showered Winni and Trae with Christmas gifts. Trae got a little motorcycle, a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer doll, and Donkey, from Shrek. Winni got a tricycle, which she calls her "bike-icle", Clarice, Rudolph's friend, and Shrek's baby. They are having so much fun with their new treasures. We also got some books and movies, all 3 Shrek's and Jungle Book. We had a fun practice "Christmas," and we now know that Winni will be very helpful to Trae when it comes to opening gifts. She just tears everything up while he is still playing with the first box he got. Gramps and Nana will be here til Friday. Winni sometimes gets confused and call them Gramps and Grandpa, I guess we'll have to work on her. Sometimes she refers to Nana as "her!" Oh well, eventually she'll get it all figured out. At least they know they are loved!

What a fun and dirtful day we had!!

Thank You to all those who helped!! We got the grass out, the leaves cleaned up, the greenhouse finished, and the kids on a walk! Whew! I'm tired!!

Another cooking club night, which means I get to come home to some fun surprises!! After a wonderful night of great food and spa treatments I returned home to find everything pretty normal, so I went to bed. 6:30 AM I woke up to Winni looking for me in the kitchen, so I went out to tell her good morning!! I was a little shocked, but not so much considering my kids' fetish with shoes, but this is what I found...



Look closely, as this will be the new trend in New York, pajamas with snow boots!!



I asked Winni if she put her boots on when she woke up? or if she slept with them on? I was sure she was going to tell me she just put them on, but sure enough she said she had slept in them. I was curious, so I asked Walter when he woke up if he had put Winni to bed with her boots on? All he said was this, "It was a hard night and she didn't want to go to sleep. I got mad at her and put her in her bed. I thought she would take them off and go to sleep, but I guess she slept with them on." He followed it with, "I'm a good dad. I went in and covered her up with her blanket, once she was asleep!" Well, I guess if it snows in our house in the middle of the night, Winni will be prepared!

Our heater has been slowly dying, and last night in the middle of the night it officially died! We woke up this morning to a freezing 63 degrees!! whew! It was cold! We were either bundled up or under a blanket.



Trae was unwilling to sit under the blanket with us so I got him dressed.....



Yes, those would be his pajamas under his clothes. It works when camping, why not now!?!?

Aren't they cute little frozen children!!

So, I was doing my blog stalking for the day and found this on someone's blog. I thought it was so funny. He has a lot of other funny youtube videos out there. I thought of many of you as I watched them...

Alright, so I'm not saying that whatever name wins will be my child's name...(disclaimer for Walter), but this poll will definitely help me narrow the choices down. Next week I will have some boy names, and finally I will have a poll as to the gender of this child. I'm so excited to find out!! So, with that said, I am not limited or set on the names on the poll, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I've already got a Winifred and a Walter, III, so really, nothing is too crazy!! Happy voting!!

Tonight I decided to take Winni on a Mommy-Daughter date. We went to see the high school's production of Cinderella! I thought she would love it and it would give us a chance to spend some time together. As we were leaving home, Walter and Trae were about to enjoy some cheese. We started out the night with Winni upset because she wanted to stay home and eat cheese.



We got to the high school and found some seats where Winni would be able to see the stage. She was very active and excited, but I was sure she would sit still and watch it like she watches TV. And I was wrong!! Right before the show started, a tall man sat in front of us, so Winni was going between 3 chairs, including my lap, to see different parts of the play. I kept telling her to sit still and watch the show. She let me know that it wasn't a show because it's not a movie on TV. I didn't think she was getting much of the musical, but about 5 minutes after the opening song she started singing, "The Prince is giving a ball!!" It was so funny. We made it to intermission and went into the foyer to run off some energy.



This is what she did during intermission! When it was time to go back in for the 2nd half of the show, she refused! "I don't want to see the show!" "I don't like Cinderella!" "I want to go home and see Daddy and Trae and eat cheese!" So, we headed home to eat cheese with Daddy and Trae, but not before stopping at Starbucks! I had earned myself a 400+ calorie Strawberries and Creme drink! (Don't worry mom, it's coffee free!!)

Our morning routine!

After breakfast, Winni and Trae like to destroy my kitchen!


They pull out all my hot pads and towels and pretend to sleep!



BTW, that it not a rash on Trae's face, that would be the jam from his toast.

Leaf Fun!!



Winni and AJ had so much fun playing in the leaves! They each found a stick and used it differently. Winni uses her stick to conduct music...

AJ uses his stick to cast spells! hahahaha

BLOG HUMBUG!! I've been tagged by the evil blogger Julie! Now I must look deep into myself to answer these questions....

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. I had just been to my first school dance, Homecoming!
2. I had just bought my first car, 1991 Nissan Sentra! I thought it was the coolest!
3. I got my first email address. I was 17, so I made sure it was berb_18, cause then people would think I was 18! woo hoo!!!
4. For the first time in my life, I thought my brother Mark was cool!
5. I was working at The Bagelry. It was my dream job! I worked with my friends and got all the Root Beer I could drink!!

5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Watch for the garbage man so I can refill my cans with leaves and weeds and put it on the other side of the street!
2. Fix my flat tire
3. Take Xena to get her shots
4. Clean the bathrooms! ahhh.....it can wait til tomorrow, right??
5. Go to Cheesecake Factory for John's birthday!

5 snacks I enjoy:

1. Cookies and cupcakes
2. fruit smoothies
3. Root Beer
4. anything chocolate
5. Starbucks Strawberries & Cream

5 songs I know the lyrics to:

1. I am a Child of God
2. This is why I'm hot! ok, just the chorus!
3. I'll Stand by You - Carrie Underwood
4. ABC's
5. Business Time - Flight of the Conchords

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. Buy my own house, the way I want it, where I want it!
2. I'd have to buy an airplane so my husband can get to work and his family can come visit more often.
3. Go to Australia
4. Get a real diamond in my wedding ring! hahahaha
5. Hire someone to clean those bathrooms!

5 Bad Habits:

1. Blogging
2. Being late for church
3. Reading my husbands emails
4. Overspending the food budget
5. I should probably leave room for my husbands answers, I'm sure he could fill in some of these blanks

5 things I'd never wear again:

1. socks over my pegged pants
2. sponge curlers
3. pants up to my bra
4. a side ponytail
5. anything with a rainbow on it

5 Favorite Toys:

1. My kids
2. My blog
3. My Bosch
4. My cake decorating stuff
5. Walter's emotions!! :)

If you just read this, you've been tagged!

My kids love taking baths! They have figured out how to slide down the back of the tub, and enjoy it! Well, Winni slides down the back, Trae thinks he is sliding down the side, but it's just a straight drop. But they both laugh histerically while doing this. In order to slide down the tub, they must stand up first, so they have been standing up in the tub a lot more. Apparently the cooler air out of the tubby water is just enough to set off Trae's personal warming device. It usually happens when Winni has just slid down and is sitting in the tub laughing. Trae stands up above her and....he pees all over her shoulder! OK, I make it sound like it happens all the time. It has only happened like this once, but nice aim Trae!!

Just another day in Paradise!!

Wow!! Daylight savings has taken its toll on my kids! Trae was up at 4:30 this morning. I made him stay in bed til 5:30, at which point Winni was awake, too, so we went in the kitchen to have breakfast. By 7 Trae was back to sleep. After our nap I realized I haven't seen my cell phone since Saturday. Hope it's here somewhere! We spent the morning outside working in the front yard, until I was sick of getting Trae out of the street. So, we decided we would go visit Julie and Elijah. We got in the car, and then I realized that the curb Walter took out on Saturday night was worse than I thought. I now have a flat tire! Oh yeah, and for some reason my brand new wireless mouse and keyboard no longer work. So, here I sit, at my husbands computer feeling out of touch with society. This must be Paradise!!

Winni has been missing her naps lately, which means she is ready for bed by 7:30. Tonight I decided Walter needed to take us out to dinner, so we piled in the car and headed for Chuck-A-Rama, because I really wanted a good salad and some red meat! So, we pull into Chuck-your-Gramma and I go to get Winni out of the car and she is fast asleep! I'm sure she won't sleep through dinner, so we go in and sit down. 30 minutes later we are done eating and she has slept through dinner! We take her home and put her to bed and we didn't hear from her until 1:30 AM when she woke up telling me she was hungry. She had a glass of milk and a bite of cereal and we were back in bed. What a sleeper!!

Alright, today I'm giving a HUGE THANK YOU to my garbage man! We have chatted before, so he knows I'm pregnant and crazy. When he sees me out there pulling wedding and filling up another garbage can, he'll stop and say, "just put it on the other side of the road and I'll get it on my way back!" Well, I was planning on doing that, but it was nice that he made sure I knew it was OK. Well, I've been a slacker lately and occassionally forget to put the garbage out. Yesterday was one of those days. I hear him pull up to the neighbors house and I shouted, "Walter, the garbage man!" I figured we'd missed another week, when all of a sudden we hear a honk honk! He was in front of our house waiting for us to bring our cans to the curb! Walter ran out and took the cans to the curb and then I ran out to help. When the garbage man saw me he said, "there's the momma!" What a cool guy! It's nice to see someone enjoying their job, even as a garbage man. I seriously wouldn't have been surprised if he got out of his truck and pulled our cans to the curb if we hadn't heard him, or the honk! I think I'll bake him cookies, or something!