SERIOUSLY???

My little boy, only 3 months old, is rolling over by himself and has cut his bottom tooth!!!
This is so not cool with me by the way:(

When the Moore's visit, we play!!

My sister in law Daymi called me on Monday Oct. 3rd to tell me that she would be able to come for a visit on Tuesday, I was stoked! I used this information the next morning to "help" my kids be good boys and listen to mommy... or else they wouldn't get to play with their cousins who were coming to Pocatello to visit, hehe!

So how do we spend a day with cousins? We play, of course! We got a pizza at Papa Murphy's and had a pizza lunch at my house, followed by an action packed afternoon at Outer Limits Fun Zone. We were the only people there practically, the kids had the play area all to themselves and had a ball! I snapped a few shots of the kiddos in action.

Elena

Abigail

Kimball

Kelvin

Brandon

After all of our hard play, we decided to take a break and go see a movie, Cars 2 in the cheap theater. $1.50 per person, Abby and Brandon were free, and $1.50 drinks and popcorn... who can beat that? No one I tell you!! And get this, Zach didn't cry once during the movie:) He was too busy nursing and sleeping... thank heavens the movie theater is dark, that is all I have to say about that.

Mor-mor surprised everyone when she walked in halfway through the movie to join us. I guess the clerk who sold her the ticket was confused as to why she wanted to watch a movie that was half way over, too funny! She was tired of studying and wanted some much needed R&R. When we got out to our vehicles after the movie we found a note from my hubby, he had stopped by. I guess him and Corey were jealous of our adventures without them today, I would be too especially if I had to spend the whole day studying like they did.

We enjoyed a slow-cooker meal, creamy potatoes and chicken and play time at mor-mor's house. It was a comforting meal, especially with how the weather changed from that evening clear up to Saturday, it was quite chilly and wet. Thanks Daymi and kids for the wonderful visit, it was VERY enjoyable to spend time with you!

Slipped my mind

I just realized earlier today that it totally spaced my mind to share our family pictures on our blog (I didn't forget to post some on facebook though). So, because of my thoughtlessness, I am sharing some pictures that I didn't share on facebook, so it isn't boring to those who have seen the ones I posted on facebook already:) The quotes are from The Family: A Proclamation to the World

"Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ"

"Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live"

"Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents..."
Kimball, 4 1/2 years

Brandon, 2 years (3 in November)

and the littlest beloved spirit in the Matusek household

The love of a father

Precious moments in motherhood

1 month old Zachary Abram

"Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children"

"Fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families"

"Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny"

"The family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children"

What we do on October 1st

October first for us this year was awesome! We pulled out our halloween decorations, as we always do. On top of that though, I was feeling better after being sick all week, we were able to listen to our Prophet and church leaders speak to us, and I got to spend time with my mom while Mike went to the Priesthood session. Great weekend! My FAVORITE talk was Elder Anderson's talk titled "Children". I also loved Julie B. Becks talk, as did Mike... and we don't even have daughters, yet. I listened to President Monson's address at the Priesthood session tonight with my Hubby, very powerful! So grateful that Mike enjoyed that address so much and shared it with me.

Wanted: Good playdough recipe

I attempted and failed miserably, either that or the recipe I had was horrible. In any case, Kimball had a ball with my attempt at making homemade playdough! Doesn't that look like fun, to squish a blue, cold, gooey mess through your hands? So please, if you have a tried and tested recipe for playdough, send it my way! Hopefully I can find a recipe that actually comes off of the hands of the kids who play with it!

Park Hoppers

Am I the only one, or are there others who "park hop"? Let me explain... so that we don't get bored with one park, me and the boys like to go visit different parks in town. Variety is the spice of life, right? If there are other park hoppers like us, to you we say hop on:)

Have you ever?

Have you ever made a tent out of the chairs in your kitchen and all the blankets and sheets in the linen closet? What about a chair train in the hallway while your mom mopped the floor? Well, I did, and am happy to report that my children have as well! Oh the things that can be done with kitchen chairs!
Makes me want to be a kid again, if only for one day

Tulle!!

What do you get when you take yards and yards of tulle and an afternoon spent with the BEST women ever?



A lovely Halloween wreath! Now, take my disclaimer when I say that the picture above shows an unfinished wreath... the tulle needs trimming as does the ribbon:) Still very cute though! Thanks Marla for all that you did to host a lovely craft afternoon on Sept. 24th. The interesting thing about this pic, is that 7 hours after I took this photo on Monday evening Sept 26, I came down with a horribly NASTY stomach bug that killed that whole week and left me this past week fighting to catch up and get life back in order.

To all those who were at this craft session, I am proud to be a part of the secret society of ladies who have these wreaths hanging in their homes:)

Shout for JOY!!

Life can be disappointing and at the same time very surprising, and I can prove it! We thought, back in spring, that we would be able to afford to send Kimball to Preschool. It would be in the 60 dollar range, seemingly affordable at the time. Kimball was SUPER excited about school, especially since he would get to go to school with his friend Braxton.

Coming into the fall semester however, it became very apparent that our budget had no breathing room for any extra expenses. We knew that we would have to downsize, and Preschool was one thing to be taken out of the budget. We wanted Kimball to get used to the idea of having a teacher before kindergarten, and also to get adequate social interaction before that time. We decided to pay a one time fee for soccer, giving him social interaction and also the opportunity to learn how to listen to an adult other than mom and dad.

How grateful I was to other moms in our ward who wanted to organize a Joy school. We have 6 moms and 8 kids, and it has been an awesome experience! It is very similar to the Preschool organized last fall by Ashley Krieger, but the lessons are already prepared. Meieli Hales has an account at www.valuesparenting.com, and it is at this web address where all the Joy school lesson materials can be accessed. The moms use her log-in info to access the lessons, songs, and handouts when preparing for Joy School. Each week, one mom is in charge of Joy School at their house, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 to 12:00. Another mom is assigned as the helper for the week. They come to Joy School to be the extra set of hands that is always needed with that many youngsters.

You know what the biggest surprise was? Brandon AND Kimball get to go to Joy School!! They love going together, and they both feel included. Brandon definitely would have felt left out if Kimball had left for preschool. It is bound to happen next year with Kimball going to Kindergarten, but Zach will be a little older and hopefully a good enough companion for Brandon. Joy school will live on though, I am hooked! I am definitely getting my own membership for valuesparenting.com!!

Above all else though, I get the opportunity to be their teacher. It was really enjoyable this last week to be the mom in charge and have the lessons prepared for Joy School. Not being able to send Kimball to preschool has made me step up as my children's first teacher as well. I spent $20 at The Learning Store in Pocatello on educational materials for the boys (charts with colors, numbers, animals, letters, and shapes). I put them on the wall in my kitchen around our dining table. On the day I put them up Brandon's ABC'S sounded like this "A, B, C. A, B, C...." That night it was "A, B, C, D, E, F, G. Next time won't you sing with me." Now, one week later, he can sing the whole alphabet! Mike and I both work with Kimball on addition and subraction.

$20 has gone a long way, which is why every 2 months I will take $20-$30 dollars to the learning store, or even online, and buy educational materials for my boys. The great thing is that these materials will be handy and in great condition for Zach and all other children that join our family circle!

So where we were met with disappointment in our budget, we are now met with fulfilling activities with friends from our ward and greater purpose in my role as a teacher for my children.

I remember...