My name is Tasha and I'm a Cokeaholic....

When Tate told me he would stop eating candy if I stop drinking diet coke, I realized I might have a bit of a "diet coke" drinking problem... But when Addie said she would stop drinking diet coke if I stop drinking it, I knew my problem was much bigger than I thought.
"My name is Tasha and I am a diet cokeaholic and it has been 10 min. since my last drink...."!

Short Kid Stories that need to be told...

These are old stories I meant to share but haven't...
"Where does chicken come from?" Yesterday my kids had fried chicken on the bone for the first time. Tate asked, "Mom, why do they put the chicken on the bone"? At this point I wasn't sure what to say. "Well" I said, "Chickens have bones just like us". At this point Tate's eyes got really big with concern and he said "You mean this is a REAL chicken?", "Like the ones who walk around and say cluck cluck, cluck?".....
Of course I couldn't lie to the kids and I said yes. To my surprise Tate suddenly got happy again and took a huge bite of his chicken and said, "This is the best chicken ever".


"Addie's Masterpiece" Matt and I (Mostly I, while Matt worked) enjoyed a nice relaxing trip to Curacao this year. My parents were kind enough to take time out of their crazy schedule to come to cali and watch the kids. My mom did several projects with the kids and of course Addie wanted to make sure she had her drawings up for us to see when we got home. It was very cute to see pictures hanging up in the living room on the wall and in her room above her bed. I decided to keep them up for while before taking them down and putting them in her box of memories. 1 to 2 weeks later I decided it would be a good time to take them down. I first went to take of the pictures that were hanging up in the family room. I grabbed the paper and began to carefully remove the picture from the wall it was taped to. But there was a problem... I learned that these pictures were not taped to the wall but glued. When I finished scrapping the paper off the wall with water and a rag I went up to Addie's room hoping that this wasn't the case for the pictures in her room. Of course it was. I called my mom to ask her if she helped Addie hang her pictures up. She told me no and how Addie did it all by herself. That is when my mom too learned of Addie's brilliant idea of using glue. It all works the same to her. Although I was laughing I had to hold back my smile when I explained to her that glue is not meant for hanging up pictures. Now I know to keep an even close eye on my little artist.

Babysitters Worst Nightmare Matt and I came home from a nice date night. As soon as we walked in Addie came running into the room and said "Tate is not being nice to the babysitter". We could hear the sitter telling Tate to go to bed and heard her sort of shriek. Matt ran upstairs to see what was going. The sitter came downstairs looking exhausted and relived that we were finally home. I was so embarrassed that I didn't even ask her what happened, I just immediately apologized for our son and opened the door so we could hurry and get her home. It wasn't until I got home that I learned what was really going on. When Matt went into Tate's room where all the commotion was coming from, he saw Tate hiding under his table with a squirt bottle spraying the sitter in the face as she was trying get him out from underneath. Tate was telling her he was not going to go to bed and just kept spraying her with water. Now I was even more embarrassed. The next day at church I made both the kids write apology petters to the sitter. Poor girl, it was her first time watching our kids and our first time using one of the yw in that ward. I am sure now they all know to be busy the nights we call them.

Much Needed Motivation One day I was telling matt how I didn't feel like running that day but I knew I needed to. Addie then pipes in and says, "ya, mom needs to go running so her butt doesn't get big". Thanks for the reminder Addie!

What The... This story is extremely old, especially since it append last summer when Tate was only 6 years old. We were visiting our family in Utah. We were at my sisters house and everyone was hanging outside. Tate and his cousin were jumping on the trampoline. All the sudden I hear his cousin say "How did you do that?". I sort of ignored this, since that is what I do when I have other kids to entertain my own kids, but then again I hear, "How did you do that, do it again"! This time I asked my nephew what it was that Tate was doing. He then informed me that Tate can do a back flip on the tramp. At first I figured that it was just a front somersault so I was like, "That's cool, I want to see". Tate began to jump really high and then he did it... He did a freakin back flip. I was hesitant to ask him to do it again, afraid he might break his neck or something. But I did and Matt filmed it on his phone. It was crazy! Of course I was wondering where he learned it from. He then told me he learned it last summer at his cousins house when he was being babysat. I thought back to when that was and then remembered that the babysitter told Matt and I that night when we picked Tate up, that Tate had done a backflip on the tramp. Of course we didn't believe it and didn't even ask to see since we were ready to head home. Now I am starting to believe he did do a backflip. Lesson of the day... I got crazy kids and I better keep an eye on them.

Family Game Night Our kids LOVE games. Once of our favorites is the game "Headbands", where you have to guess what picture is on your forehead. Addie is an absolute hoot to play with. Here is one example (actually the reality) of what happens when it's Addie's turn (She is a shark)...

Addie: "Is it an animal?"

Me: "Yes"

Addie: "Does it have 2 legs?"

Me: "No"

Addie: "Does it have three legs?"

Me: "No, Addie there are no animals that have 3 legs."

Addie: "Does it have 4 legs?"

Me: "No"

Addie: "Does it have 5 legs?"

Me: "NO ANIMAL has 5 legs Addie. Lets move on from the legs and I will give you a clue. Your animal DOES NOT have any legs".

Addie: (Her eyes get really big like she finally knows what it is)... "I know.... It's a chicken!"

Me: "Addie, chickens have legs"

Addie: (Pauses and thinks for a minute) "No mom, they don't.... They do?"

Needless to say, this was a very long game, but hilarious.

My basketball Star!!!

Tate recently started basketball. Let me tell you, it as competitive as every other sport is here in cali. I swear all the kids were born holding a basketball or something. Anyways, Tate is fighting to keep up with the rest of them. It has taken home a while, but he is finally getting the hang of it and I am so proud of him. Well, sort of...

The one thing with basketball... well, probably any sport, is you get the really talented kids who aren't good at sharing the ball. This is the case on Tate's team. There are a few boys who are pretty dang good and they know it. I have to admit that I myself am impressed with their skills. However, it does suck to see your own kids trying and not ever being passed the ball. Actually, the worst is when you see your child opened for a pass, standing near the hoop, yelling for his teammate to pass him the ball, then just as the teammate see's who it is that's opened for a pass, (which is your son), they decide to take their chances at making a basket that is literally impossible. Now, I am not saying that their is no reason for these boys to be concerned about giving Tate the ball. He does have a hard time focusing and you can sometimes catch him doing spiderman moves on the court, but he he does have some good basketball skills he can do if given the chance. I understand competitiveness, but come on, the kids are ages 5-7. How do you expect the other kids to get better if they aren't given a chance. Then again, try explaining that to competitive 5-7 year olds.

I think because of this, Tate has learned to become more and more aggressive at getting that ball. He has gotten several rebounds and made some great passes, but regardless of his improvement, the boys still don't pass him the ball. Recently, Tate had practice and I nearly fell off my seat... One of the boys was actually passing the ball to Tate. Now this wasn't just a couple of times, it happened several times. Not only was Tate getting passed the ball but he made some great plays and even got a couple of baskets. I was so proud of him. I thought to myself, "It's about time those other boys realized Tate is a descent player"!


After practice I went up to Tate and the excited mom I was, I told him how proud I was of him and how he played really well. I then continued to tell him that I bet the boys were passing him the ball because he was really focusing and paying attention to the ball.
"That's not it", Tate said.
Then I replied, "Well, How do you know?".
"Well, it was just Brett passing me the ball and when I ran into him at Chucky Cheese the other day, I told him I would give him some of my tickets if he passed me the ball the rest of basketball (season)"!

So maybe the boys didn't realize Tate was a valuable player on their own. Tate knew they needed some persuading. That's my boy! One day he is trying to by a box of popsicles for $100 dollars then the next he is paying off his team to use him more ;0) I love that kid.

First 6 months in Cali...

Finally After a month of the Hotel life we found the city we felt would be best for our little family. The only problem was we couldn't find the home we wanted and didn't know if we wanted to rent or buy. We decided to do a short term lease in the school district we were wanting our kids to be in. Basically we took what home we could find. I never did take any pictures but I am sure you would have enjoyed seeing our sea blue carpet and salmon pink tiled bathrooms. The house was straight from the 70's with a mini oven (which none of my cookie sheets fit into), a dryer (which forgot how to work once it turned 40 years old) and a kitchen sink which drained water through a pipe onto our plants below our kitchen window (had to see it). As for the back yard, there were glass plates to cover any holes in the ground and lots of potted plants yet to be planted. It was very interesting but it kept us warm... Well on day two after we got the heater fixed when it broke down in the middle of the night.

We had such an adventure. Not only did we have crickets make room in our home but we were welcomed by a baby rattle snake on our front porch the start of rattle season. After 6 months we finally found a more permanent home and one which was a little more newer and needed less maintenance.

We have defiantly created a lot of memories here in California. But seriously, I love it. It has been a great growing experience for our own little family to have each other to rely on. We also live within an hour of Matts brother and his wife who are amazing. It has been so fun to get to know them and their kids better. They have been a great help in helping us adjust to the move. I really enjoy living close to them.

We all have also been very blessed to meet great friends here in cali as well. The area we are in thrives on family and faith. Tate and Addie have made lots of friends. Matts new job has sort of left me a single mom a lot of the time, which is hard, however I have made such great friends who know just what I'm going through. It is so great knowing we can help each other and have each other to turn to and talk when we are stuck with toddlers all day and night.

I have sooo many pictures which I will hopefully add in the next day or two. I have almost a years worth. Know that we are good and hopefully I can get back on track with updating our blog.

Life in a Hotel...

We were crammed but we made it out alive. We lived in a hotel for our first month in california. During this time we got Tate into school and it seemed everyday we were exploring houses and different cities. I also had to keep the kids entertained so I made it a point to go to a different beach once a week and find other fun activities near by. Here were a few of our favorites.

BEACHES:
Both Tate and Addie LOVE the beach. It seems each one has something different to offer. My favorite beach had to be in Malibu. We went during low tide and were able to explore some of the sea life on shore. We found some hermit crabs and seashells. There was also some awesome caves you could go through since the tide was so low. We had a blast.

PARKS


We also found this fun park called Brandons Village. I told the kids that they had to make a friend each time we went and you know what...? They actually did. They got really well at introducing themselves which really helped them adjust to all the changes.

RECYCLED ART
My favorite find was the Create Studio, where you can create art by recycling items. You will have to check out the facebook page.


Addie and I used a soap detergent bottle and made a princess.



Tate wanted to make a super hero and we just so happened to find a wooden picture frame shaped as a person. From there we broke a bouncy ball with a light in it and used it as a chest piece (simular to Iron Man), and added fabric and paint to it.

I am seriously dying to go back. The kids and I had so much fun.

Goodbye Utah...

Our final days in our home were as hectic as ever. We just finished our Christmas only to get everything packed away the next few days after. We had several different piles of boxes and luggage. We had our suitcases for the Cabin, where we would spend right after we move out of the house, boxes full of necessities for the next month (While we live in our hotel) and of course the biggest pile that was to be put in storage until we find a more permanent home in Cali.

Of course on the official moving day we were hit by a huge snow storm. This couldn't make me happier to move to sunny California ;0) Our house was freezing since it had to be left open all day for the movers. Once they got everything loaded the plan was to leave for the cabin. However the storm was too bad for us to drive in and we had NO BEDS or BLANKETS. This gave me the perfect excuse to invite me and my family over to our neighbors house for a sleepover. It was hard enough saying goodbye to them earlier that day so it was nice to hang out one last time before we take off. These particular neighbors are basically part of our family. Matt and I met them years ago when we lived in West Jordan. We were all so close that when we all learned on the new development in Draper, we both decided to move up there together. Basically it really sucked having to leave them behind. Plans are to become neighbors again as soon as we move back to Utah or once we get them to cali... (I wish)

The next morning, after our sleepover, we had to say our goodbyes one last time. It was just as hard the second time. Once again weather wasn't great but we knew we needed to get going. The picture above is the pic I took just as we were leaving.

I am never going to buy a baby....

today Tate asked me if I ever have to get shots like him and Addie. First thing that came to mind was all the blood test and needles I had to get when I was pregnant with both of them so I told them about all the shots I had to get when I was carrying them in my belly and when they were born.

"So you see", I said, "I have had to have many shots given to me as a mom".

At this point Tate replies, "I am never going to BUY a baby If I have to get all those shots"!