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A long, long time ago, this sweet, little boy.....

USE to like me. We have entered into unchartered territory. Teenage-ism. It definitely has its ups and downs....particularly mood swings. Everyone says boys are much easier than girls at this age, but I'm not sure. Don't get me wrong, James is a great kid. He can be super fun, and he is a huge help. I think I am pretty funny, he wholeheartedly disagrees with me on this! I was so proud of him when he told me that he is really looking forward to serving a mission......until I asked, "Where are you hoping to get called?" He replied, "Anywhere away from here!"

Georgisms

I remember holding this little baby, and thinking I would NEVER be able to raise my voice at this person. That didn't last too long. This child is full of spunk! He knows how to test my patience, and sometimes I think he was sent to this earth just so I would learn patience. He is quite stubborn. It is fair to say he is a lot like his mother. My parents love to remind me how similar we both are. It's not just personality, out of all of these boys I birthed, this one actually looks like my son. Anyways, George is one of a kind. He says and does things that really make me laugh. George is his own person, and I really don't think he cares what other people think of him. Every child of mine is so different, and I appreciate all of their individuality. I just felt like sharing some things about my sweet George. You all know how I love the name George.....I really do think it is perfect for him. I am glad that he loves it too. George has always been funny. He has an obsession with Halloween and masks. He started collecting masks years ago, and has quite the collection. About 4 years ago he would wear scary masks to the daycare at the gym. It wasn't even Halloween time, and he would wear them. After a couple times to the gym, the daycare ladies asked me if he could stop wearing them. They told me that he would just stand completely still infront of the other kids until he totally freaked them out. He is a little sick like that.....I on the other hand, think it's pretty funny. He also use to wear his Darth Vader mask. This one was my favorite, because the mask itself was just about the size of his body, and he looked so funny. I remember going into Costco while he was wearing it and one of the teenage guys that worked there was laughing at him. I got embarassed, and at first was a bit upset because I thought we was being mean......but, I overheard him say, "I want to be that kid, how cool is he!" I love George's ability to simply be himself. It is fair to say that George has the tendency to really push both of his parents over the edge. So much so, I actually went to the doctor telling him something had to be wrong. I was thinking some type of behavior disorder. The doctor gave me a bunch of forms to fill out, and then some forms for his teachers to fill out. I immediately knew there was nothing the doctor could do for me.....his teachers would have laughed in my face if I suggested George had some type of disorder. The thing with George is, he wins over every teacher he has. I swear he must put some type of spell on them. I've gotten use to it now, but the first couple of teachers kept trying to tell me that he was "perfect". Isn't it usually the other way around? George can be a handful at home....quite defiant, and at school, he is a model student. He is the only child of mine that gets recognized with an award every report card for having a high percentage of "O"s on his report card for behavior. George really is great, but he baffles me at times. One thing that really makes me nervous is when teachers of George tell me stories of things he has said in class. He is so honest, I am afraid he spills the beans of what a horrible parent I am. One friend in my ward told me a story about him when she was subbing his primary class. She asked the kids if they had a hero. Every kid in the class named an actor or singer. George said Heavenly Father. She then asked if their heroes made right decisions. Some kids said yes or no. She then asked if their hero dressed modestly. Most of the kids said no. When she got to George he said no. She was a bit surprised by his answer and asked him to explain. George said, "Heavenly Father wears a robe with nothing underneath it!" That is typical George thinking. He makes me laugh a lot. George has a good heart, and tries to do the right thing. Another time in primary a teacher asked if they pray for things, and if their prayers are answered. My sweet George said he prays everynight to be able to be good the next day, but most of the time it doesn't work. That's my George!

George is very sweet to me, and really cares about me. When I am sick, he is the one that checks on me the most and constantly asks what I want or need. He is a sweetheart. He appreciates everything he gets and really values his possessions. He takes really good care of all of his items. George loves to dress up and has many different characters. His latest is his cowboy boots and new cowboy hat. He actually looks very handsome, because he will wear jeans and a sports coat and pretend he is a sheriff. He goes around the house calling me "little lady". Is that normal? I don't know. But, that's my Georgie.....and I love him!

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!