Girls, Girls, Everywhere....Except Here!!!

Life is funny. My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby. My brother was really wanting a boy. He is as crazy as me, but in his own special way. He is under the impression that you can breed children to be something you really want them to be, and he thinks that if he has a boy, he can mold him into the ideal athlete. So, it will be fantastic once reality hits him. Plus the ultrasound technician is 90% sure it is a girl. I suggested he name the baby Kayela. My name, and our sister, Lana's put together. I can't believe his wife doesn't want to do that....seriously, I think I'm funny! I really didn't prefer either a boy or a girl for them. It wasn't until I was talking to Scott, and he said, "How do you feel about them having a girl?" I'm so slow, I responded, "I think it's great...I didn't have a preference." He then asked the question again, emphasizing the FEEL. I think he was totally stressing that I would be jealous and then start begging him for another child, or be completely jealous and freak out. But, I know he was super concerned about the effects of everyone around me having daughters!!! To tell you the truth, I was a very girly girl. I LOVED my barbies, I had fancy pajamas, loved frilly things, and when it came to sports, the only thing I was good at playing was the piano....well, it's kind of a sport.....my fingers would always sweat on the keys!!! So, you would think I would have that yearning for a little girl. Don't get me wrong.....I would love to have a daughter. I have had her name picked out for 12 years, my mom has the most beautiful fabric for her blanket, and it would be so fun to have pink and dance class, so on and so on. Sometimes, life doesn't give you what you think you are ready for. Did I ever think I was ready for 5 BOYS? Not really, but I am absolutely in love with them. I love their range in personalities, their strength, their little manliness, and everything that comes with having boys. So, all in all, I feel very content. Scott comes from a family of 7. 6 boys and 1 girl. His sister has 2 boys, but she didn't control that outcome. His other brothers that have kids have 2 boys and 2 girls each....what is up with that? My sister has 2 girls....and now my brother is having a girl. By the way, I tried to fill the girl fix with Lexi...but it is not the same. I'm not even sure why I am expressing all of this to you....just rambling with my thoughts. Anyways, it seems that everything around me is falling apart! Last night at 11:00 Scott opened the garage door to get something out of his car...stinking garage door fell apart. That's right....completely apart. The garage door guy was out this morning and we have to replace it.....not exactly what I want to spend vacation money, or any money at all on. The crappy part about this is, it is 100% due to my stupidity. A while ago, I backed my car out of the garage with my driver side door open. That wasn't good when it smashed my door, and took the garage door off the tracks. We have spent hundreds of dollars in repairs since then, and now it is time to replace it. I have to say, Scott has never once made me feel bad about it. I hate to admit it, but I would have ripped his head off. Every check I had to write I would have grumbled something horrible. Needless to say, we are quite opposites. Speaking of getting things fixed, Lexi is getting fixed tomorrow....already complained about that one! There is something in my house that smells.....I can't find the source. I have emptied every trash can, cleaned all the carpets, washed all the dirty clothes, and I still can't find it. Tonight we will be pulling out the washer and dryer to clean behind and under those. Hopefully we can solve this mystery. Tomorrow I am suppose to drive with my parents and brother and sister to Palm Springs to go see my grandfather that just got transferred to hospice. He isn't going to hold up much longer. Please don't feel bad for me. He is 92 years old. He also really hasn't been part of my life since I was 12. My family had a falling out, and just reconciled a couple of years ago. He is my grandfather, and I do love him, but the thought of driving to and from in one day isn't fun. That makes me sound like a horrid person, but we aren't very close, and he has lived a long, pretty healthy life, so there are sadder situations. Despite the fact that everything around me seems to be falling apart, and everyone else in the world seems to be showered in pink, I think of the Relief Society lesson we had a couple of weeks ago, and how we must look at the big picture. I guess my point to this is, no matter how good other people seem to have it, or temporal things get taken away, or even loved ones get taken away, life is good. Is it weird that the everyday, simple pleasures make me feel like I am a happy person? I have so much, and I am so glad that I really do appreciate it. I love watching my kid's strong, healthy bodies, even when they are beating the crud out of each other....I'm grateful they can do that! When the garage door falls apart, and I laugh at Scott when it actually detaches, I'm grateful he doesn't let it ruin his day. When my house smells like who knows what, I am grateful it forces me to deep clean! Even when my 12 year old is so angry with me and tells me he hates me, I am grateful that he recognizes how hurtful that is, and tries his hardest to make it up to me and show his love. These are all bumps in the road, and I'm so glad I get to drive it!

The Honeymoon's OVER!

If you are a sensitive person, you might not want to continue reading. Here it goes.....I've had Lexi for a week and a half. I still "like" her, but I have to be honest and say I don't "LOVE" her. She is very sweet, she loves to sit with everyone, she doesn't bark when people come to the door, and her fur doesn't smell yucky. Here are my problems....her breath is horrific!!! It is so nasty. I've tried the puppermints...doesn't really work. I will actually try brushing her teeth, I just have to go get the stuff. This is what I can not deal with.......POOP!!! Granted, her poop is the size of tootsie rolls, but it is still poop. I am trying to get her to only do it outside, and she does a lot of the time. It only takes one time to really disgust me. It is gross. I have dealt with enough poop, I don't want to deal with hers. I don't have time to stand outside to watch her poop, so I am not quite sure what to do. Oh well. And one more thing....she totally licks. All of the time. I think it is so sick! I guess Maltese dogs are known for that. The boys really like her. She is getting spayed next week. It is going to cost over $100. It is 80 something for the procedure and a little over 20 for the pain meds. Scott was irritated I didn't want to waste my $ on pain meds for a dog. Seriously, if I am going to pay for them, I should be able to be the one to benefit. I know I am horrible! Oh well, I guess I did this to myself.

I Finally Got A Girl!

Random facts about me.....I LOVE food, I can't stand being cold, I LOVE babies, and I am NOT an animal person. So, this is much of a surprise to me as it is to my husband. We got another dog, and she is mine. That's right, it's a girl. Now we have two dogs.....that is crazy! Our first dog is a golden retriever. We got him when he was a baby, and the only reason we got him was because people made me feel guitly for having boys and no dog. They told me every boy needs a dog and I fell for it. Anyways, that dog is now 2 or 3....whatever. He poops all over my back yard, he smells, he barks, so I haven't really enjoyed him. Also, when you take him for walks, he is usually the one leading....and he's BIG. So, Scott works with this lady that knows this well-to-do teenager that got two maltese dogs. She was over them, and wanted to get rid of one. Scott mentioned this not thinking I would bite, but I did. By the time he got back to her, she already got rid of the first one. She wanted to keep just one. I was actually a bit disappointed. About a week later Scott got a call telling him that she didn't want the other one either. So, she brought her over, and we kept her. This is totally new for me. I've never had my own dog, let alone a dog that stays indoors. You know I hate smells, so if my house starts smelling like urine, I will freak. So far, she is pretty good at going outside. She had one accident the first night, but has gone outside all the other times. She did poop in the house, but it was our fault that we did not take her out, because she was barking by the door, and we didn't get to her. Anyways, she is very girlie. I named her Lexi, because it seemed like a little, spoiled girl's name (sorry if anyone is named Lexi) She loves to sit in my lap, and she is my shadow. She really, really loves me. I figure since Scott won't let me have anymore babies, this might be as close as I ever get to a girl!
My camera is getting fixed right now, so as soon as I get it back, I will post the pics!

Last Two Days of The Year

Two of my favorite things to do with my family are going to the beach and going out on the boat. December 30th, we took the kids to the beach. I was feeling really lazy and didn't want to get it all together, but I'm glad I did! It was about 70 degrees, sunny, and no wind. It wasn't warm enough to wear a suit, but I had shorts and a tank top, and it was nice to sit in the sun. My nephew got a surfboard for Christmas, so the boys got a chance to try it out. They LOVED it. I am afraid they really want one.....so, if anyone knows of any used boards for sale, please let me know! Anyways, Curtis borrowed his cousin's wet suit, but the other crazies can be part of the polar bear club. You can tell he is freezing, but it didn't stop him from going back in!

Dad giving Curtis surfing tipsHe's up!He's Down!James makes it look easy

You know it is a successful day at the beach when before you hit PCH you see this.......
December 31st looked like it was going to be just as nice, so we decided to head off to Castaic....it was gorgeous

It was not a surprise that we were the only people actually going IN the water. The only other people around were the fishermen. The water was like glass.....the kids (and Scott) had some great runs!

Jamertime

KC loves the boat......he also says "boat" no less than 1,000 times.....he also has no fear of the water and thinks he can walk right into it...we only let him go under once....then we saved him!

Curtis

Curtis always makes us laugh!

Charlie was the only man enough to do it without a wet suit...he had soooo much fun!

The best part is, that it usually results with this.....

And, here I am being happy! Hope everyone had a Happy New Year!

I Think I'm Older

Christmas with 5 little boys is so much fun! I absolutely love Christmas morning and watching them open their presents. One of my favorite moments was watching KC open up his fire truck.

He was so happy. The boys had a very nice Christmas, we are very blessed to have everything we have.

Christmas Eve is spent at my parent's house. Since my life revolves around food, it is one of my favorites, because they always provide a yummy prime rib dinner. Most families reenact the nativity story, but after the kids' production at the ward party, we decided that was enough! The cousins decided to do a talent show. The white boys rapped the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air"

James played the guitar

KC picked his nose then entire time Ruby and Charlie sang

These 3 boys sang the party song from "Nacho Libre"

You can see I get my not normalness from my family. Not exactly traditional. It was a fun night, and then Scott and I stayed up forever since I had not wrapped one present, and he had a couple of bikes to assemble.

We have the 4 boys sleep upstairs together.....I am pretty sure we could get a couple more kids in there!

Christmas morning came early. KC woke up at 6, but then fell back asleep. By the time I fell back asleep the boys came walking in our room at 7:09. We opened presents, I prepared some food for that evening, and then, went back to bed! I got about an hour nap...not bad. We headed back to my parents so the kids could open some presents together. We got back home and got things ready for Scott's family to come over for dinner. It was nice to see Steve and Melissa and their kids. I got to play with their girls. Kennedi and Rilea sang songs while I played the piano....so much fun for me. We then included the boys and it was nice to hear them sing "We'll Bring The World His Truth"

Robbie and I had one of our usual photo shoots, and he had fun posing....

He is still my favorite sister in law...the funny thing is, my sister had me take pictures of her posing as well....

Robbie and Lana have a lot in common......very funny!

I definitely ate more than I needed to or should have. The only person that I think outdid me was KC......I think this kid has an eating disorder......he NEVER stopped!

I love this kid!

Jamers received the Aaronic Priesthood today, and I am very proud of him. Grandma bought him a nice white shirt since he will be passing the sacrament next week!

Hanna and me....she is a cute girl....I get to watch my sister go through the drama....it's fun!

My mom thought this shirt would hurt Curtis's feelings, but he thought it was funny....he looks exactly like the picture on this shirt when he poses.....and he eats ALL day long! See....

It was a nice Christmas. Since we have only spent 95% of this week with our families, we had everyone over for a post church lunch at our house to celebrate James's accomplishment.

Last night KC slept in his big boy bed for the first time. It wasn't too bad getting him to go to sleep in it....the usual in and out a few times, the problem started at midnight. He walked down into James's room. James brought him up to us. KC wasn't upset, he just wanted to play. Scott and I tried to deal with him in shifts. I layed in his bed for a while, but he just wanted to play with the mole on my face.....Scott took over about 2:30, and said he didn't fall back asleep until 5:00. At least KC was happy throughout the night. No crying or anything.....just wanting to play. So, after a week of nonstop activity, I could not handle an all nighter. After the lunch today, Scott and I were able to take a nap....after 3 hours I had to force myself out of bed. I use to be able to function on very little sleep...I think I am getting old!

My Baby Is Growing Up!!!

Today is James's 12th birthday. I know this isn't all about me, BUT, I always thought I would be much more mature when I had a son passing the sacrament. I am still really immature....oh well, maybe when he blesses it. I am a proud mother. James is growing up to be an impressive young man. Don't get me wrong, he can be a total snot, but putting the attitude and disrespectfulness aside, he is fantastic. He is a great helper, he is responsible, I think he's a babe, he has a good sense of humor, and I actually really like him. So, he is my oldest....I made a rookie mistake and had my first baby right around Christmas. I did learn from that, and have scattered the other birthdays throughout the year. I try to make James's birthday special for him. I try not to blend Christmas into his day. I was super lazy this year, so yesterday he asked if some friends could spend the night. I figured it would be fine.....I did absolutely nothing. They played basketball and video games. I went upstairs and was asleep by 11. As long as they didn't wake up KC I was ok. I am not even sure if they ate. I think they got soda, but I am not sure if they broke into the junk food. I at least gave them breakfast.....doughnuts, and Scott picked them up. So, I basically did nothing. James will be received the Aaronic Priesthood this Sunday. I am very excited for him. I grew up without the Priesthood in my home. How lucky am I now? Some short years from now, I will be surrounded by it.....I always prayed to have the Priesthood in my home, and I am beyond happy to have that prayer answered. James is very low maintenance. All he wanted today was pizza and a big cookie.....he is outside playing basketball with some brothers and neighbors, and he is totally content......boys are great! Poor James.....I drive him nuts. He really can't stand me! I always tell him....when I am dead and gone, you will think about me, and realize how funny and great I am----weird....I know!

We have been keeping busy with Christmas festivities. The kids are on Christmas break, and we really just plan on hanging out.....that is what they prefer to do. I have to write about our ward Christmas party. I still don't think it is very funny, but people keep telling me that years from now I will find this hilarious. Anyways, they asked the three oldest boys to play the wisemen. James got hit with strep throat, so we replaced him with Charlie. KC was asked to play a camel, so we had the 4 boys up on stage. Long story short, it was basically the nativity story transformed into the WWF. Wrestling, jumping, tackling, hopping, etc. It was out of control. I felt so bad for the people that wanted to enjoy the program....you know there are always some of those out there, but leave it to the Cuillard's....we sucked any reverence out of that program! KC started going under some of the props.....it was entertaining. I was hoping the Bishop would ask us to take some time off from church, but he thought it was fantastic. Oh well, I have a feeling the Cuillard boys will not be asked to participate any time soon.

These were taken during the program

Mormons Are Going Where?

The other day George came home from school and asked, "Are all Mormons going to hell?" We said no, and why are you asking? He said his friend from school told him that his dad said that. George doesn't beat around the bush, and he isn't shy to tell you how he feels. I don't think I could have responded any better than George did. I asked George what he said when his friend told him this, and George said, "I told him, well, tell your dad he is wrong." How great is that? George didn't get offended, he didn't quite understand why Scott and I were having discussions about it. Well, it turns out this is George's best buddy at school. George has been asking if his friend could come over and play. I totally bribed him (chores, good behavior) I told him if he was good his friend could come over. I talked to this boy's mother. We had never met before. This boy is her oldest and she had never let him go over to a friend's house without knowing the family first. I told her she was welcome to come over and spend as much time as she wanted, etc. I did fess up and tell her I didn't pretend we were a normal family....we are a little crazy, so on and so on. After thinking about it, I thought I should let her know we were Mormon. Since she wasn't super comfortable anyways, I thought it might be a deal breaker. So, I called her up and told her George came home and told us a not so favorable comment about Mormons that her son shared with him, and let her know we were in fact Mormon. I think she was so embarassed. When I was talking with her, I told her there are a lot of odd rumors about our faith, and if she had any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them for her. Now, my evil side thought this was hilarious. We are not normal people, so I forget that people that aren't exposed to our kind can be a little afraid, worried, or whatever. She apologized, didn't even ask me what her son said, which made me believe that she was fully aware of what he may have said. For those that are close to me, know that I can be a bit extreme. So, when she brought her son over, I made sure the house was super clean, made homemade cookies, asked if I could feed him dinner, had the Christmas lights on, etc. etc. I tried to make it so she couldn't dislike me, which normally I don't really care, but realized we could be her first impressions of Mormons.....what pressure! We'll see if he ever comes back. By the way, he was a super nice and polite kid, and is welcome back in our house anytime. I always wonder what I would have thought of Mormons if I hadn't been born into it, because even being born and raised in it, I think we are a little weird....in a good and different way.