What A Pregnant Woman Will Do For Cheap Ice Cream

What will a pregnant woman do for cheap ice cream? Stand in line for 30 minutes with the rest of Newbury Park!

My brother Adam always comments about people who stand in line with there 10 kids at a store opening just to get a free hot dog. "Just buy them lunch! Dont take them to the opening of an RC Willey just to get a free hot dog!" My brother says it better than I do, but it always makes me laugh. Well Adam, I've joined the league of people who will stand in line to get a free something or other. Tonight was .31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins. I've had it on my calendar for weeks and have been looking forward to it. Sad, I know. You can make fun of me.

I dragged my parents with me, my dad was thrilled! Ha ha ha. However once he figured out the regular price of a scoop of ice cream compared to tonights promotion, well his tone changed quickly and he became very excited to be there. He got 3 scoops for .93 cents. He loves a bargain, must be where I get it. We stood in line for no more than 30 minutes and the boys got to climb on a fire truck parked in front while we waited. The firemen scooped the ice cream tonight to help raise money for a memorial they are putting up in Ventura at the Courthouse.

Sam and Harrison had to earn ice cream today. Well, they were going to get it anyways but I kept it as an incentive all day. Harrison earned 2 scoops because he was such a great kid today and helped me clean up so much. He got Rainbow and Vanilla. Ate the vanilla, left the rainbow. Sam barely earned one scoop, he's not much for cleaning up. He had Chocolate chip. While in line we were deciding what to get. Harrison couldnt decide between vanilla or the crazy colors kind. I told him he earned 2 scoops so he could get vanilla and the crazy color kind. He was so happy he said "This is the best day ever!" He's a great kid!

We had a fun night and listened to Neil Diamond in the car. I love Neil and loved American Idol last night. Cant wait to see Neil perform tonight and he's going on tour soon. I keep asking Ben if he will take me to a concert, he groans and changes the subject. I just cant resist his catchy lyrics, combed back hair and flashy shirts. Can you?

This Week!

This is an old pic of us, but I like it. I dont have any new pics from this week!

Sunday: Church.

Monday: Played
Tuesday: School/Played

Wednesday: Played some more at Grandpa Tom's.

Thursday: Dr's appt. Baby is looking great and is measuring nice. I asked Dr. Poliakin if we could induce the week on July 1st. I mentioned that Sam was 9lbs 4 oz 2 weeks early, I was induced. He said that the baby will probably be that size or bigger at 38 weeks, so inducing would be a good idea. We'll make a decision as we get closer.

Friday: V.T. then Pirate School then the park with some friends.

Saturday: Trader Joes, Costco, etc.

Ben has been trying to finish a Linear Algebra class he is taking through BYU Ind. Study. Our goal was to take the final today, Saturday. Our new goal is to take the final no latter than next Saturday. Ha ha ha. 3 more weeks of school. 2 weeks of classes and then finals week. Ben's grad announcements came this week and were mailed out. Everyone should get one soon. All are invited, especially to the Graduation Party afterwards!

I added: What's for Dinner? to our blurg! If anyone is interested in seeing what we are having for dinner the next two week, take a look. If you want the recipes, email me.

Funny moments this week: We were eating dinner Tuesday night. Sam looked at Harrison and said "Pull my finger, Harrison?" Harrison pulled it and Sam burst out laughing. Are they born with that impulse? Some days I swear I am raising Jim and Adam. Very scary! Especially since Sam is looking more and more like my brother Adam every day. Even his hair is taking on the one shape Adam's hair did all through childhood. Helmet hair! So cute!

Last Saturday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's in the morning. They had a clogged drain in their front yard. My dad rented a snake from Home Depot. Harrison got to push the button while the snake was operating. All week long this has been his topic of conversation "We went to grandma's and there was a BIG problem. I showed up, pushed the button and fixed the problem. Grandpa is lucky to have me help him" After that we went to Earth Day. Harrison was drawn to the drum circle. The hippies were dancing with their maracas and their dingle belts. Ben and I couldnt coax him away from the drum circle. I wish I had my camera, it was hilarious. He finally got the courage to walk up and ask for a drum to play so he could participate. When the lady offered him one, he got nervous and ran away. The drum circle was chanting "Yes we can, yes we can, stop world hunger, stop global warming, etc" Ben, my mom and I were hysterically laughing, but I know that they mean well and they looked like very nice people. Now do I sound like mom or what!? Here's a pic of cute Harrison.

Lauren Lokelani Poepoe

Lauren and mommy

Thursday my mom and I went to see my cousin Julie's new baby, Lauren. She is the sweetest, cutest baby and I loved spending the afternoon with her. As an added treat Uncle Tom was there helping Julie. I always love seeing and spending time with my Uncle Tom. To me Lauren looks like Aunt Fran and has a little bit of grandma in her too. She is just too sweet. She likes to sleep with her hands above her head, which made us all laugh because all the women in our family do the same. Holding Lauren made me so excited to hold my own baby soon. Julie looks wonderful and is a pro at being a mom. I cant wait to see Lauren again and hold her, I really cant wait for her to get older and boss all these boy cousins around. We had a great afternoon and enjoyed admiring Lauren.

Lauren and her favorite Aunt, sorry everybody else.......

Lauren and Aunt Rosemary

Grandma's Songs and Cleaning Windows

This morning the boys are a little antsy so I've added some chores to their chore chart to keep them busy and to keep my sanity. This morning they are helping me clean windows. They are doing a really good job and I'm very impressed. We are listening to Becky's CD she made of her mom's favorite songs. The boys keep asking me to replay Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline' so they can dance around. Sam keeps trying to do the robot and Harrison's got some pretty funny dance moves himself.

I've been using this chore chart system that my sister in law Julie uses for her kids. I love it. It bases it requirements on daily chores, weekly chores and behavior. When the kids do their chores and/or show good behavior they get to put a "green dot" on the chart and at the end of the day they get to pick a treat. Stay up 5 minutes extra, ice cream with grandma, time with mom or dad, etc. When they dont do their chores or show bad behavior they get a penalty and lose things. Toys, bed 5 minutes early, no treat, etc. Here's the link to the site where I got it and it explains it much better than me. I love it and has given some structure to our daily routine. It also helps me stay on top of things I want them to get done. You can customize it aswell. Here's the website: http://www.familytools.com/ if anyone wants to check it out.

Pirates Aargh Us!

Sam and Harrison started a new class at the community center this last Friday. Its called Pirates Aargh Us. They were so excited. Its just 45 minutes every Friday for the next month, however I see us being frequent repeaters. All week long the boys asked when they were going to Pirate school. When Friday came they were so excited and wore their pirate hats to class. Here's some pic's after class was over, we went to the park.

There teacher's name is Captain Aaron. He dressed up like a pirate and was excited to see Sam and Harrison show up in their hats.

Funny/Annoying story: While we were waiting for class to start I was standing in the gym with another mother. She asked me the "golden question" I get asked every day. "Are they twins?"

No. "Wow, you were busy" "Wow you have your hands full". After she got all her annoying remarks in she asked me if I signed up for the dinosaur class that is offered during the month of May. I said no, and we'll probably save some classes for the summer. I said I was having a baby this summer and they boys will want something to do other than stay home. She told me I was going to have my hands full, that 3 children under 5 is riduclous and I'll probably not have any time to take my children anywhere because I'll be so overwhelmed. I just smiled, looked at her and curtly said "we'll be fine" and walked away. Strangers with opinions are so much fun!

Zuma Beach

Last week the kids had Spring Break from preschool. It makes me laugh because they only go 2days a week for 2 hours. However, somehow knowing we werent going made the week drag on. So on Thursday we decided to hit the beach with some friends. It was 80 degrees at home and a nice 70 at the beach. Sam and Harrison had gotten new bathing suits the week before and were dying to wear them. Harrison's is Buzz Lightyear and Sam's is Finding Nemo. He picked it because he loves Bruce the shark. He has such a funny way of saying "Buuce". Sam's is a little big on him, they didnt have his size so I have to get one size bigger. His shorts looked like pants. Hopefully he will grow into them by this summer. If not, no big deal, we have swim clothes for next summer. We had a great day and Harrison got to hang out with his best buddy Christian.

My favorite time of year in California is March - May. The weather is so nice and it takes so many unexpected turns. 80 degree beach weather like last week, and this week, cold and rainy. It's great!

The Easter Disaster of 2008

Why are those poor children in grubby clothes on Easter? Dont their parents care about them? Are Ben and Amanda in need of some mental help? Are these the questions you are asking yourself as you look at this picture of Sam and Harrison on Easter Day?

What happened you might ask? Well it started Saturday night when I filled Easter eggs with Reeses Peanut Butter cups and then carlessly hid the bag, in my closet, so the boys wouldn't find them. Sunday morning we decided to have an Easter brunch because our church is at 1:00. While Ben and I were making breakfast/brunch Sam and Harrison went into my closet and found the bag of eggs, opened them, unwrapped the candy and ate/played 2 bags of candy. I was informed they were "making muffins". The kids were wired!

After brunch we got everyone showered and into their nice Easter clothes. While Ben and I were getting ready, the boys found a tube of Desitin and smeared it all over themselves. Hair, face, feet, oh yes, and those nice, clean Easter clothes. So with church starting in 10 minutes and the boys clothes ruined they got to wear old worn pants to church, not so nice dress shirts and the icing on the cake: Sam got to wear tennis shoes because we couldn't find his church shoes.

We were 30 minutes late to church. While in Sacrament Mtg Sam and Harrison started yelling at eachother and Ben had to take them out to the foyer where they spent the remainder of the time. It was so lovely sitting in church alone while I saw all these other families with their beautifully dressed, well behaved children. Ben missed all other meetings because Sam fell asleep on him in the foyer. We are hoping for better luck next year, maybe we will dress the kids on the way to church, thus trying to avoid any "wardrobe malfunctions" that might arise. We'll have a 6 month old baby next year, so I am sure the inevitable poop up the back will happen regardless.

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter and I have been loving all the pics being sent out from family members. Happy Easter!