Cottrell Water Park

The Cottrell Water park was a blast!! Again, it's no SIX FLAGS but it's always fun to have friends and their kids come over to play and have some fun in the sun!! Water time and some lunch made us some good times! We definitely will have to do it again

Justin Update

This post is mainly for family back home to see updated pictures of our little Justin Ron. Justin is such a great addition to our family. He smiles at everyone he sees and it's not just a little smirk, it's an full face, eyebrows, cheeks, and all expression! It's such a joy to go in his room in the morning when I hear little coos and grunts from him and lean over his crib and be greeted with a huge smile, his little way of saying "Good morning" I think! All babies have their needs and times when they can definitely be trying and difficult to handle, but for the most part Justin has been a "easy" baby.

(Remember how my boys love STAR WARS? Can you say "OBI-WAN KENOBI!")

That was NOT the case with my second son. I love my little Hayden boy but around 3wks old to 9wks he was a colic baby. He couldn't self sooth himself so when I would finally get him to stop crying and fall asleep I would try to lay him down and within 5 min (usually in less time than that) he would be screaming again. So the best treatment with him was standing up during the night doing a little Indian dance where you basically walk around but with a bouncing up and down motion. There were times when after over 4 hours of switching from dancing, to nursing, to singing, to rocking I needing to just give him a few minutes to wail it out and leave the room to regroup myself. After his good little crying session he was more calm to nurse and too worn out to fight not sleeping anymore. So glad that after those 6 wks he was a great sleeper and is still my best sleeper. I can tell Hayden that I need him to take a nap and he won't fight me at all, he just says "OK mom" LOVE IT!!

Justin's play saucer, he really loves it but doesn't like it when his brothers try to take over he he.

What I love about the easiness of Justin is that when he is tired and needs to go to sleep that I can put him in his crib and he can go to sleep on his own! I leave the door open a little so there is light coming in the room and he lays there looking at his cowboy stickers and cuddling with his blankets until he drifts off to la la land. We hear him talking to himself and sucking on the satin trim of his blankets. He doesn't take a pacifier at all but loves his blankets to burrow down into. With each new baby I feel very blessed to have such wonderful little boys to care for. I hope that I can show them the right paths to go on and guide them on their way to becoming young men, missionaries, husbands, and then fathers. I am thankful for the knowledge of the gospel to guide me and the great example that they have in their own father, Nathan. I love all my boys in the Cottrell family!!

Imagination of Kids

I love the things that kids come up with!! After a double take of seeing tons of shoes all around my family room I asked Clayton what he was doing.

Playing

Playing what? Why do you have toys all inside our shoes?

It's my star fleet command!!! Ya know like on star wars!! They each have to have their own ships! Mom don't you remember?

Star Wars I should have know --- Silly mom

Double negative = POSITIVE

When there are multiple minus signs on any of my receipts it definitely makes ME Positive!! I love finding a good deal or getting something free. I think as women we want to find the best deal and get away from that stereotype of always spending the "money" and show some good tactics of saving the "money" or at least getting the most out of it. I really love it when I see this at the end of my receipts.

and can see my money saving tactics here.

If you can't see the number it's $117.70 in savings!! Yeah I'm excited can't ya tell!!!!

Cutting those dang coupons and taking the time to match them to the sale ads is worth it.

I feel so giddy going out a store when I get some major savings. Feeling giddy is so much nicer than that empty retching feeling of money being burned, thrown down the toilet, gone with the wind, wasted or how ever else you call the money we had to spend on necessary things that are way over priced. Just thought I'd share some giddy feelings!! he he he he

Poor Sick Clayton

What a crazy week or so we have had. First Clayton was sick. Throwing up and sitting long time on the toilet sick. I felt so bad for him. During his all night throwing up party, (where he couldn't even keep a sip of water down) he said a couple of things that tugged at my girl emotion strings. ( I Kept it together though he he )
First sitting on the floor leaning over the toilet he says, "Mom, I'm trying really hard not to cry." What a tough boy!! and then two to three hours later and alot more sick time he says "Mom, I just can't take it anymore." Oh how I wished I could have just taken all his hurt away from him. It was so bad the Nathan asked if he wanted a blessing, which he gave a really good one. The next morning Clayton was still sick and he left this message for Nathan at work "Dad, I know you used your power to help me get better...but I'm still sick... and I'm wondering why your power didn't work...well I'll talk to you later but I'm still sick...bye"
Oh I wish this was one of those complete conviction stories of the power of the priesthood and Clay would have a strong testimony of it but things are in God's timing. I explained to him that he might have become even more sick without the blessing and maybe Heavenly Father wants him to learn what being sick feels like so he can be prepared for the next time and his body will be able to fight it off better. I was making sure he stayed hydrated and gave him a Popsicle to have. He picked blue of course and with his sunken eyes, skinning looking frame, and now blue lips he really had the look of death on him eeeeek.
Needless to say it's all over now and we just finished having a two day garage sale at my house and it's clean up time for the things scattered around that didn't sell, laundry that is clean in separated baskets, dishes to be located in cupboards, not to be taken out of the dishwasher to use, and a promised back massage to give to Nathan as he is learning his new calling of Elders Quorum President in our ward and all that goes with that. He will do a great job and I hope I can be as helpful as I can be for him with his calling (you know not nag or tone it down some right he he) As my brother Max says all the time "It's all good!" Life carries on and we will go forward one sick kid to the next!!

Mom's quilt /// Great Friend

I forgot to post the pictures of the awesome quilt my mom made for Justin. She hand quilted it all and the bottom has fringe on it!! So Adorable. I wish I had that talent maybe someday.
Mom says this little boy looks like Clay...She's right he is that cute!

See the Fringe?





I have a great friend in Crystal Lake and her name is Anna Marks!! She is the best!! Just look what she found to go with my cowboy room!


Love it! The wall stickers completely match my quilt I made and the wall paper in the room





We get together when we can and let our kids play. She has five kids of her own and the last three are almost the exact same ages as mine. Our baby boys are just 13 days apart!! We don't have to have some special occasion to see each other, we just do and I love that there is such an easiness with it all that we can put a fast lunch together for kids, talk about life, learn new projects to do, and not care if we or our houses are messy. I don't know if there is anything Anna can really learn from me because she pretty much has been there done that with everything I still have questions about, but hopefully I bring something to the table. Anna is my sista away from home!! Thanks, you are awesome!

3 month old Justin

My third little man is 3 months old!! WOW Justin is very alert and happy baby (most of the time). He has the best little smile and even trying to capture it with a picture, it just doesn't do any justice to the feeling you get when he gives you a personal smile all of your own! I love it when they start to enjoy little toys and try to grab them and shove them into their mouths and all the slobber that goes with it. He sleeps well, sometimes even taking a long four or five hour stretch! Justin is laughing at his brothers right now playing fighting in the background and I bet he can't wait to get in the mist of all that chaos!! My favorite time with Justin is when he falls asleep on me all curled up under my neck! Who doesn't love a cute sleeping baby!

Justin has a little blanket that has a blue puppy head on the top. He cuddles with this all the time and buries his head into the soft fleece and satin edges. I love babies, they can do no wrong!

LOVE FRIENDS

All I can say is I love friends. It makes my day...no week....NO MONTH to get together with friends!! It's not a real jab session at my house with wrestling boys using as little words as possible to have more room for 'HI Yahs' and 'got ya' lingo and an accountant tired from talking too much at work, I am actually able reach my girl quota for talking and use some laughing muscles when the friends gather!! The boys get a thrill making up new games and having multiple little people around to roam with!! So Thanks all you friends of mine your great!! When's the next party . . . I need my fill ;)!!

Hair Drama

Having what is called a "Dirty Blond" hair color I have had my share of hair drama. I like to dye it blond for the summer and maybe tone it down a little for the winter with darker hair with blond highlights. Hair tends to do alot of weird things to a gal at times though. I am very familiar with hair turning a bright orange or florescent yellow which is looks way to trashy looking. Hair dyes that have worked just fine before each of my kids have turned against me. I don't fall apart and think the world is over when after I dry all my hair dyed out hair and the wet look is gone but the orange is not. I have been here before!! So choices are: tough it out and wear a crazy hair do, get another dye and damage my hair more, or just cut the dang thing. I did all three of these!
I wore it around for awhile making fun of myself with friends or if I couldn't stand looking at it a ball cap does wonders for self esteem. Then it got to me and I picked up a different color that is "suppose" to turn the color darker and take brassiness away. It toned the orange down a little, and made the too much blond ends gray!! This would be because of the medium ash blond that I used; again was my friend before and worked fine. NOT any more or maybe not right after a bad dye to begin with huh. Notice the orange and then the grandma ends!! the horror !! he he

Not a terrible fix and I wore that around for a day and I am sure Nathan was burnt out with me asking if it looks real bad and why does my hair do this. He is a good support to me and can laugh right with me about it all. After telling me to do what ever makes me happy and can fix my hair problem I decide to just chop it off!! Even though Nate said to go get whatever I need done at a salon I can't bring myself to spend those crazy rates they charge to do any type of dying so an easy fix is cutting. It was sad to see the long hair go when it takes time to get it that way, but hair grows back and it feels healthier to me. And it doesn't hurt to change things up with a sassy short cut either!!

Yes Laundry!!

You know what they mean when they say "He's a love sick puppy"? Well I have a Laundry Sick Puppy and his name is HAYDEN. Hayden has created a love for watching the laundry machine run and with no hesitation try to fill it to maximum capacity. I have found him completely naked in the laundry room putting what ever clothes he can find into the washer. One conversation has gone like this:





ME: Hayden no more laundry it is too full
H: But mom laundry says 'I hungry'
ME: No he's not saying 'I'm hungry' he's say 'Ouch my belly full' no more clothes in the washer OK?
H: OK mom


I leave to go help Justin, only to notice that it is really quite and know something is up so I go into the laundry room and see an overloaded washer and a very guilty looking boy. My UH OH radar goes off when the washer starts making some weird sounds. I have to unload the entire washer into the sink and everything is soaking wet making it all heavy. The washer was a full load of kids clothes before Hayden got to it, but he felt that four more towels, a sweatshirt, his entire drawer full of undies and rolled up socks needed to be added to the load. After emptying all the clothes, the total amount could make four separate loads!!


ME: (holding a baby clothes outfit) HAYDEN NO MORE CLOTHES!! You will break our machine and then how will we wash our clothes? NO MORE!
H: He said "I hungry"
ME: No. no more OK
H: OK (looking at the baby outfit in my hand) Is that dirty?


AHHGHHHH but I have to laugh. He is so adamant about it. A little OCD about it at times I think! Especially when he feel like it is a punishment to not be allowed to watch the laundry machine work it's magic.


I had to draw a line and tell him he can't do laundry if he was naked because he would strip his entire outfit off if it had the slightest bit of dirt. I actually had to pry his hands off the side of the machine and help him get dressed. I have left a clean basket of clothes out and it ended up being thrown into the washer by Hayden mixed with dirty clothes so I had to do the whole load again. I think I might have to lock my laundry door to keep Hayden out!! CRAZY KID!!


*Also*

I have to add that my very active boy Hayden has yet another bruise on his head!! I swear that kid can't stop, he has so much energy and think he can do everything and climb everything and his head is paying for it!! This picture doesn't even show yet another bump he got today on his chin. I just look at him and my face hurts. Poor kid, I try to give him extra loves because of his whole hurt head but he can't sit still enough for even a get better hug!!