Picture Perfect

Don't we look like a sweet family decorating the Christmas tree? The boys are so helpful, carefully hanging the decorations, hot cocoa and candy canes, Christmas music playing in the background. I really picture families doing that. If you look closer, you realize that the boys' hair is totally messed up, Curtis is wearing a Halloween shirt, the decorations are stuck where they were thrown....I believe 3 were shattered. Yep, that's how the Cuillard's do it!

This is the Real Tree Decorating at our home.....#1 James is starting to get bored....look at him on the couch right behind me....

#2 KC could sense James's lack of enthusiasm and went over to bug him #3 At this point I say "If you get hurt, don't come crying to me"....... #4....then he comes crying to me#5...the boys continue to decorate the tree, even though they lost interest after the first 2#6 The decorations are up....I've had it and leave the room....Scott thinks it's great to get pictures of them breaking at least 2 rules of the house....no wrestling, and no ball play inside






Well, we survived the tree decorating. After that, Scott and I got a chance to escape life for a few days and head out to Punta Mita, Mexico.
Then it was back to the real world. James had the nerve to turn 13 and become an official teenager. Wish me luck on that one. I can handle the whole getting older thing, it's the 'teenage' attitude I could do without. Luckily, it's a slow transformation.I know I'm his mom, but, he is a handsome young man. This was taken right before his band concert at school. He is a talented musician. He does percussion in the band, but at home he has completely self taught himself the guitar. He is really good. I know I sound like one of those moms, but he is awesome. He even lets me sing songs while he plays. It is probably one of my most favorite things to do....even though I sound like hud!!!Christmas came quick as always. Santa is such a nerd.....prewrapping Christmas presents, and then forgetting whose presents were wrapped in what.....made for a fun Christmas Eve and kept me up an hour later than I wanted to be. Here are some of the kids at Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's.......seriously, look at KC.....that's my kid!!!




Here is the house before the major destruction. It took me a solid 3 hours to clean everything up. Right after I cleaned, I turned around and it was a complete mess again.....the joys of Christmas! A lot of work for one day, but well worth it. I am grateful for the true joy my boys bring to me. I think I am one of the luckiest people around.

"Like A Dream Come True"

These were the words that George used to describe his Halloween/Birthday/Baptism weekend. George was on cloud 9. The anticipation leading up to everything was almost too much for him to contain. We'll start with Halloween.......George started that day with an 8 am baseball game. Immediately after that he had some friends over for a costume party. Then it was off to big brother's football game. We hurried home, redid costumes, had cousins, aunt, uncle, grandmas and grandpas over for the festivities. George lives for Halloween....absolutely LOVES it....he has had this costume picked out since 2006......

The cousins have such a good time together. Poor George is the "in between" cousin......James and Hanna are close in age.....Curtis and Conrad are 5 weeks apart.....Charlie and Ruby 2 months apart.....luckily, Curtis and Conrad let George hang out, and it was so much fun for him!

Family Portrait

After a night of running around the neighborhood and eating mass amounts of candy, he was ready to get baptized! As you know, we usually go to the 1/2 of Halloween sale on his birthday, but since it fell on a Sunday George got to decide whether to hit the stores or get baptized. He woke up on his birthday, had waffles and ice cream, and opened presents. George has worn his CTR ring ever since he got it in primary....you know the kind that bends until you get it the right size. George NEVER took that ring off....he wore it to school, baseball, bathtime, etc. It never came off. So, he was so upset a week before his birthday when that little ring just cracked right in half. He was thrilled when one of his presents was a 'real' CTR ring. He also opened his new set of scriptures, a journal, and I've never seen anyone so excited about a scripture bag. But, that's Georgie for you. He loves it all! His baptism was after church, and he was thrilled. It was so nice to see him so excited to become a member of the church. I think I might actually be doing something right! His baptism was a success and George was glowing. George was so happy to have family and friends there. Now, I just mentioned that CTR ring......because of that ring, George's baseball coach, an inactive member, recognized George was LDS. When I mentioned George was getting baptized, his coach told him to let him know when it was and he'd be there. Well, his coach kept his word and attended George's baptism. We have come to find out that he has the desire to come back to church. My little Georgie is a good little missionary!

We had our family over for a birthday/baptism celebration. George loves having people over, and I am pretty sure the smile never came off of his face! He was showered with presents, attention, love, and the Spirit. It was a wonderful day for our whole family. Now, I am a little embarassed about this next picture, because I never thought I was this kind of Mom....turns out I am! Yes, that's me helping him blow out his candles!

I am so proud that George had the desire to be baptized and embraced it. He is a sweet, caring, confident kid. When the Bishop called his name the next week in sacrament to announce him as the newest member of the ward, George raised his hand and stood right up. He makes me smile...he also makes me scream, but he definitely makes me smile and laugh a lot! Thank goodness for my George!

First Time

For some of you, this may not seem like such a big deal, but in this household we are celebrating! I don't mean to mock this in anyway, or make my children seem unintelligent. They are actually pretty smart. I rarely ever have to help out with homework, and they do well on their own. I wish I could say their success is due to me, but I peaked in 4th grade and it went downhill from there. Anyways, back to the point of this post......James got straight A's on his report card. He has always gotten good grades. Usually a 3.5. Last year, his cousin, Hanna, got straight A's in 7th grade (her parents rewarded her with an IMAC) and I am pretty sure that is what lit the fire under James to get him going. He set the goal. Being the smarty pants that he is he asked his father (knowing his mother would say a hug or a kiss) what he would get if he got straight A's. Well, his father said a cell phone.....I am pretty sure Scott didn't have much faith in James at this point. For those of you that think it's crazy that my almost 13 year old doesn't have a cell phone probably think I am extremely abusive due to the fact that my children are deprived of a lot of our modern technical devices! Throughout the semester James would report his test grades to me, and they were all really good. Now, I assumed he was just reporting the good and not reporting the bad. There was one time he tanked on his math test, and he was so disappointed. He did everything the teacher asked of him in order to bring that test grade up. Needless to say, James is a hardworker.....I've always admired that about him. So, report cards were mailed November 10th. Due to the holiday the following day, he had to wait until the mail came on the 12th. There he is, waiting patiently for the delivery......

Once it was in his hands, he insisted on opening it

The next picture is my favorite one, because our "straight A" student was getting frusterated trying to open it. We had to talk him through it.....bend the edges, tear at the fold! It cracked me up and so typical

Here is Dad double checking, just to make sure

And there he is.....the proud new owner of a cell phone! He actually returns my texts......I should appreciate it while it lasts!

What The ?

Reality is really slapping me in the face.....in fact, reality is beating the crap out of me. I'm really not all that, and I always have helpful reminders of that everyday. This is my friendly reminder right here........

George is one of the most honest people I know......brutally honest!

Tonight he was looking through some old photo albums. "Mom, you look so young in these pictures.......and now you look like, well, like a real Mom." Pretty much sucker punched me with that one. Sad thing it is true.....granted I have been sick this week, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking about just this week. George is also the child that confirmed something I knew for sure. From the mouth of babes....

"Hey Mom, did you take off your bra?

Yes, why?

Well, they use to be there, and now they are all the way down there!"

Thanks George :)

I have earned my "real mom" look. This week while Scott has been out of town I got hit with some killer virus........KC decided to rip half of my keys off of my keyboard. As I type, my B button and space bar aren't even on, and my N and H just fell off! I no longer think I'm 16, I think it's more like 86!

BOO!

If you know me, you know I love Halloween. We brought out our decorations in September - I have so many decorations, I figure I might as well get as much time out of them as possible. I thought I'd post some of them for you to enjoy. I try to add a couple of things every year, and since the 1/2 off sale is on Sunday, I had to buy a couple before. Lana and I met at the Halloween store, my mom came along. Lana and I were having so much fun.....fighting over different ones.....getting super impressed with one another's picks.....my mom just rolled her eyes. We could have stayed there for hours. Mom doesn't understand. She has tried buying gross things, but just can't do it. She bought some black roses the other year, and absolutely hated them, so she gave them to me.....I love em! We usually get those great pumpkins from my uncle's garden, but we didn't get to go down this year, so my kids will have to settle for Vons pumpkins......I refuse to go to the commercial pumpkin patches and pay $10 a pumpkin. (I guess that's my "Humbug of Halloween") You may think our decor is a bit over the top, but I figure it's an investment for the future. Since I don't have anyone to hand my barbies down to, I will at least be able to give my boys all of this Halloween stuff (their wives will love me). Anyways, hope you enjoy.....Happy Halloween!

The clown was a birthday gift from my sister....I love him!

These two beautiful ladies were my purchases this year....aren't they pretty! I love how the witch looks like she is melting!

No Guilt Here!

I tried before, but couldn't go through with it! I felt too bad for the kids. It's not right to make a bond, and then just rip it apart. That's what I thought about giving our little Maltese away. When we got her, she was pretty good, but just like with my children, we transformed this dog into not such a good one. She was peeing all over the rug, barking every time the door rang, jumping on everyone that came to the door, and licking my legs constantly. I was reaching my limit. About a month ago, my niece was going to take Lexi home with her, but the boys were so sad about it, it broke my heart. So, I backed out, and I felt really bad for my niece Ashlee, but I felt like a horrible Mother taking their pet away from them. Anyways, after washing the rug for the millionth time, I begged for Scott to find a new house for her. A lady from his work really wanted her. So, last night, without telling the boys, Scott took Lexi and gave her to this lady. My children went through the rest of the night, this morning, and now this afternoon without even notice Lexi is gone. They don't even realize that we no longer have this pet anymore, and it's not like she was low profile. Like I said, she ran up to everyone that walked in....the kids had to change her pee pads, pick up her poop, fill her dish with food, etc. So, needless to say, I am feeling no guilt for getting rid of her! Scott and I are going to see how long it takes for these boys to even notice. It really cracks me up that I actually was feeling bad for these people! I guess I'm not the only one that does not love dogs.

I also don't feel guilty about dropping my precious children off at school today, and heading for the beach. It was perfect! I actually got a little burnt, and it's kind of nice to have a little more sun on my fading skin. It was really nice going with only 1 of the 5 boys. Don't get me wrong, I love going to the beach with my kids, but I got to park for free, carry one chair and light bag, and keep an eye on KC. There were no fights to break up....very peaceful. I went with some friends from the ward. I told Pam, aka "The Kid Whisperer" that it would be nice for her since Charlie wouldn't be all over her.....this is what Pam gets when she goes to the beach with us.....

Unfortunately, for Pam, it seems that KC has the same affection for her that Charlie does, and was on her for the most part of the day.....sorry Pam! Anyways, it was a fun day, and really nice! We will definitely have to do it again.

I understand that I am not the most normal Mom in the world.....let alone normal person in the world. Anyways, if you know me, you know I love my food, and have a fear of not having a food accessible when I am craving it. So, I keep a lot of yummy snacks on hand. I would think that my kids would appreciate it, and I think they do, but they actually crave healthy food, which is great, just kind of foreign to me. Here are a couple of examples.....when I take the kids to the beach, my staples are licorice, chips, and oreos. My poor children beg everyone for their grapes, apples, melons, etc. Charlie was heard saying, "Mom, why do you always bring junk, we need healthy food!" So, when they started school, I always put at least one serving of fruit in it. For some reason I didn't have any fresh fruit on hand and ended up giving them all processed stuff. Charlie told me that day that he traded his chips for some kid's apple......how pathetic am I! I know, loser Mom. So, I learned my lesson!

Goodbye Summer

I had it all planned out. Get all of the school preparations out of the way so we could get as much beach time/fun time as possible before school had to start. School started on a Wednesday this year, so we were going to take the boat out Monday, and say our goodbyes to the beach on Tuesday. Things sometimes don't work out as planned. The Thursday before, we went to the beach (of course). When we got home, I found out that my sweet Grandma had passed. I knew Grandma (Grammy as I called her) was not doing well, and was suffering greatly from Parkinson's. She had a calm passing, as my grandfather was putting her in bed for a nap, she gently laid her head back and took her last breath. I did not think I would be as sad as I have been. Sad, just because I miss her. I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, but she is the best Grandma EVER, and I am not sure what I did so great to be rewarded with her! I can not recall one time I heard her raise her voice (a trait I did not get from her). I remember when I was little and would get in trouble by my mom, I would cry for my grandma. I know my grammy has always loved me, she showed me constantly, and I could feel it all the time. Here are some of my fun memories with my sweet grammy.You can tell by this next picture that she didn't love the style I gave her, but I remember being so proud of it, and she acted like it was great!Here is a copy of a paper I had to write in Middle School. I think the topic was "Who Do You Admire?" My paper was about my grandma.Here is a picture of her doing my Jane Fonda workout video with me....
Grandma loved to play the piano, and one of my favorite things to do with her was to sing while she played.....one of my most favorite memories......
I had no idea that this picture was taken, or that she had done this. I was probably about 15 or so, and there she is "loving me"....typical....So, instead of going to the lake and beach, we packed the car and headed to Orem, Utah. I was grateful that Scott could take the time off of work and take us. Grandma's funeral was very nice, and you could tell that she made friends easily. Here is a picture before the funeral with one of Grandma's paintings (another talent I did not receive from her), some of her pictures, and a huge bowl of cinnamon bears, her favorite...... The next picture is of my mom, her brother, some guy (I have no idea who he is) and two of my Grandma's sisters......Grandma looks an awful lot like both of them, so when I saw them at the funeral, it was like seeing my grandma, they are beautiful women with gorgeous skin (hoping I get that!)
The song that I have on my playlist right now is a song that my grandma listened to over and over again on the busride she took to marry my grandfather (he was in the military during the war, and she had to travel to him) . It is called "Sentimental Journey", and I got to play it on the piano as they took her casket out of the chapel. Even though I had not visited Grandma for a while, I miss her everyday, and can't wait until we hug again.


I forgot to mention that Grandma is 1 of 11 children, many of her siblings have already left this earth, and I know their reunion was very sweet!