Out with the old, in with the new

Making our first batch of Confections By Cami fudge

All my life I have dreamed of doing a lot of things. One of which is to work in a chocolate shop. That is probably one of the reasons I became a chocolatier for Dove. It was selling chocolate. But I really wanted to MAKE chocolate, to taste test, to smell it and experiment with it. To watch people smile when they bit into it and know that it was something I made. Like I somehow made that smile.

I kind of got to do that as a chocolatier, but I hated the pressure of feeling horrible with how much it cost and that I had no control over that. There were a lot of little things, but it was wonderful too. I learned SO much in just over a year. I have never been so outgoing. And I loved getting to know my team, especially my upline Bekah. And I loved being a leader too. But I haven't had a party in awhile and haven't made the quota I need to have to continue being a chocolatier.

When I found out as I was disappointed in myself. It wasn't anyone else's fault, just mine. But at the same time, I felt relieved. I really felt good about becoming a chocolatier, but I knew it would only be temporary. That is all I wanted it to be.

Well, anyways, Tyson and I talked about it and we decided that I would have one last party, sell off all the Dove stuff I have unless I need to keep it. And I would take one step closer to my dream. I would start creating my own chocolates and sell them on Etsy. So far it has been really fun. We have only made two different things and probably gained five pounds because of them, but hey, fat and happy, right? :)

So I am a curvy, happy wife to the handsomest man, mother of three adorable boys, writer, and chocolate (although purely internet) shop owner. What is even better is that Tyson is helping me with everything. We made the fudge together (thanks to Mama Sue's AMAZING recipe), and he has helped me with all the ideas and researching.

It is going to be great!

Adjusting

So it has been five days since Matthew was born. I have only been by myself with all three boys once, but it went pretty well. It seems like adjusting to three is easier than to two, but I'm not sure, it has only been so long. :)

Caleb seems to have grown into a giant, with chubby cheeks and he is so smart and capable, I didn't even realize it. And Josh, well, he is practically a grown up to me. Hehe, not really, but he seems so mature and helps so much. Except of course when he feels like not being helpful and then he is totally not. But hey, everybody has limits I suppose.

Having Tyson home is wonderful. He rough houses with Josh and Caleb and they love having him around. I'm afraid I am already too spoiled. He loves playing with Matthew too, which just makes me sorry for the little guy. He is so tiny, but we already treat him like he is a few months old. Poor kid.

But anyways, we are doing good. My body is healing fast and so is little Matthews. Caleb still refuses to get near Matthew, hence the reason we have no pictures with all the boys yet. Hopefully that will change soon. Josh is at preschool, Matthew is sleeping, Tyson went to work for a bit and Caleb and I are playing Cootie. :) Yup, that is about all in the Cooper home today.

I Feel Thankful...

Even though I felt grouchy all weekend, I woke up this morning feeling very grateful, so I wanted to share my list.

I'm thankful...
-that Josh hasn't thrown up this morning.
-that so far, Caleb hasn't gotten sick with this flu bug, that would break my heart.
-that I feel much better this morning.
-that by some miracle, Josh didn't get sick until about 3 o'clock on Friday, leaving only a few hours until Tyson came home for the whole weekend so I didn't have to deal with the throwing up by myself.
-that of all the weekends we got the plague, it was Conference weekend so we didn't have to go anywhere.
-that our couch cushions have covers that come off so I could wash them after being so pleasantly puked upon.
-that I'm not pregnant and therefore the throw up smell that still permiates our home doesn't make me too sick.
-that even though Josh has been the most sick, he has the most energy and is still super happy. Almost annoyingly so, but I am still thankful.
-that Tyson was so helpful and sweet and kept pretending that I was actually helping him in some way. He is such a gem of a man.
-that Heavenly Father blessed me with some insane sort of love so when I got puked all over, I didn't get mad or grossed out, I just wanted Josh to feel better.
-that I am a mom.
-that I have a body and almost all the time I am really healthy.
-that Heavenly Father listens to my prayers and loves me.

Back to (ab)normal Life

Now summer is gone and life has gone back to the usual business. It is funny that now that Tyson works all year, summer is not really the exciting time, it is when everyone comes back from summer and is all here that things get more fun for me. It will be really weird when Josh starts school, luckily that is a few years away, or I would be freaking out. :)

So I was thinking I was going to post just normal pictures, and really they are normal, because my family isn't normal, like take Caleb in Josh's cool new Buzz glasses that his Aunt Bunky got him. He is totally my son, weird in everything he does. Hehe
And Josh, who has to sleep with four pillows

or in a pillowcase with the pillow. :)

And seriously, I grab the cheapest, lonliest looking flowers at Walmart because I wanted to give them a good home, and look how beautiful a little love (and sugar water) made them.
Especially since they are decorated with Josh's very own acorns that he collects and adds to daily. There are probably about 50 on our dining room table right now.

And this is the reflection from the front window, so random, but I thought it was neat. It reminded me of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave."

Now that Bunk is back in school, I get to watch Zuri everyday. I don't actually get to see her much since she is sleeping when she is here, but I guess that is nice too. When she does wake up and we get to hang out with her, Caleb LOVES it, and so does Josh but only for a few minutes. :)

And to top it all off, Uncle Chanson is here for school now too. I think he is rapidly becoming Josh's best friend. Chanson even put shaving cream on Josh's face. He gets him cereal when he comes, draws pictures for him, shows him little cartoons in German, has pillow fights and even takes him for rides around the house in boxes and tubs. How cool is he?

Caleb even held still in his arms, that is saying something.

So, only a week into school and things are going great. Tyson is enjoying his first class for his Master's degree pretty well. The text book reading is a little dull (okay a lot dull) but he is doing great and I was able to read the Hunger Games trilogy in like four days because of it, so huzza. :) That is also how I am able to post all this so I now I need to stop procrastinating and work on my book. I agree with KJ, September pretty much is awesome.

Shopping is like a Marathon

I have never been much of a shopper. I think if I had a ton of money, I might enjoy it more, but most of the time it seems more of a chore. However, since I have become a stay-at-home mom, it is a break in the routine and so I get excited to get out, just for groceries. The hard part is the two kids and the massive amounts of food we buy, no matter how much I try to limit it to the bare essentials.

So today, I realized grocery shopping is like running a marathon for me. I have never ran a marathon, nor will I ever, but I have heard lots of stories about them. So, I start out and I am excited, I have lots of energy. I put Josh in the cart and Caleb straped to my front in his little Jeep carrier. Everyone thinks they are so cute and are always talking to them and tickling Caleb's toes. It is lots of fun, but after two aisles, I am already working muscles from bending over to get cottage cheese, milk, and diapers with an extra 20 lbs. weight attached to my front. But I look at the shopping list and so little has been checked off, so we keep going. I try to keep a smile on my face while Josh starts saying "go home now" or "buy this too Mama." It goes on like this and I try not to look frazzled and I try to be polite and happy to everyone else in the store.

By the time I get to the bread I think, "I'm just going to stop and go home now." But then I remember all the fruit and veggies that I need to get. So at that point I feel like I have hit the wall and I have to shove myself onward to finish the shopping, to get it done so I don't have to come back for another two weeks. And as I pick out the apples and try to find lettuce that isn't already brown, I keep thinking "3 more things..." "okay, one more thing."

Then when my brain thinks, "just the last stretch now," I realize I still have to pick a line, then load all the mountain of supplies out of cart and onto the table to be scanned and placed in bags, and then from there I have to load them back into the cart trying to not crush bread and tomotoes, not to mention the eggs which I have no idea where they are. And the whole while Caleb is getting completely seasick from me moving from side to side putting things in and out of the cart. Not to mention, I have to strategically place the cart so Josh can't reach any of the side candy which I am secretely hoping he will so I can eat it.

Then when our bank account is significantly decreased, I must push the merry crew and baggage to the van, load that up and buckle the kids in and wait 10 minutes so the lovely lady that has happened to park directly behind me can chat away with her friend while Josh says repeatedly "go get Daddy!" So I try to breath in deeply on the 15 minute drive home, focus on the road and at last pull into our little driveway. That is when I notice it is very quiet.

Suddenly, I don't really care how hard grocery shopping is. Crossing the finish line was all worth it.

They are as weird as me and I love it

Box riding, a sport for toddlers.

Yes, he totally dresses himself. He wore this hat to the doctor the other day, it was hilarious. I thought about telling him no, but then, why kill his spirit? He doesn't see anything wrong with looking odd, why take that away from him? Haha, plus, it makes me laugh the whole time. :)

This is Caleb's hat that Josh loves to wear over his head like this, I'm not sure why, but it is really funny.

Anniversary-Plan B

Happy Anniversary to Tyson yesterday (and happy birthday Kirsten)!

We had a fun time yesterday, it wasn't what we were planning, but what ever is? We had planned to go to a bigger town about an hour away, do some shopping and eat dinner at a nice restaurant. However, we have been way too spoiled with having Kenni and Cassie be here. We never really have to worry about finding a babysitter. Well, they both are out of town so I thought, well, now that I am in young women's, it will be really easy to find one of them to watch the boys...Nope, not one. They were all out of town or busy. Everyone else we know or could think of have their own kids and we didn't want to take them away from their own families. (sorry Bunk, we do that to you all the time.)

So we had plan B. Tyson was awesome and left work much earlier than usual. We took the boys and went to a local Italian place, got some take out, came home, put the boys in bed. Which turned out to be much easier than usual because they had taken like the shortest naps ever which made me mad at the time, but turned out to be a blessing because they were so tired. So they fell asleep and we went down to the basement where Tyson had laid out a blanket on the floor and lit some candles (which is really different for us, we never light candles). So we ate our take out on the floor and talked about our past anniversaries. It was really fun.

I love how much Tyson loves me and always makes me feel special, no matter what day it is or where we are. Sometimes it is hard being a mom and having to worry about the kids even on days when I want to celebrate and be alone with Tyson. But I am so thankful I get to be a mom and I know this may sound weird, but I know Heavenly Father knew that I needed to spend some quality time with Tyson, so He had the boys sleep extra deep. I am so thankful for days that remind me of why I love life and how lucky I am. Tyson, thank you for marrying me four years ago. Thank you for making every day wonderful and for keeping your promise and making me laugh so much. Thank you for writing notes on all our windows so every time I look outside, I remember you love me. Guess what? I love you.

What's Up?

So I don't write on my blog as much as I want to. I still find myself creating posts in my head, but I never get to actually type them out. :) All three boys are asleep (I get to watch Jacob today, which both Josh and I are really happy about), so I have my chance. However, the camera and the cord to download pictures are in the room with one of the sleepers, so alas, no pictures. I promise, I will put up pictures of the house someday. :)

We have been crazy busy lately, I mean, not insane busy, but time just seems to be gone in a blink. I mean, last night I realized that I didn't even notice the 30th of May at all, which is my parent's anniversary, which I like to think as kind of a special day for me, since their marriage is the reason I came about and I'm thankful that they are still married and in love and that they have devoted so much of their lives to us and to each other. There are a lot of days that I just don't even notice. I blame part of that on the fact that days of the month really mean nothing to me, I am home with the boys whether it is the 1st or 21st, so I forget to care. The only days I notice really are Saturday and Sunday because that is when we get to have Tyson home all day with us.

Anyways, I ramble, what I wanted to write about is what we have been up to. Let's see (these are just the big highlights that I can think of), we moved, we painted, we fixed up the basement and now have four great girls living down there enjoying the sounds of our lovely children, our car died, Tyson's parents came to visit, Josh had a seizure, I got called as 1st councelor in Young Women's, we had our first party in our house, Caleb learned to crawl, still won't roll over, but he can crawl. What else? Tyson got poison ivy, Josh had a rash that turned out to be eczema, I finally finished my outline for my book, we bought a van, Tyson got called as Young Men's President, I went to the dentist (no cavities, huzza), Kenni and Chris left for a few weeks, making BV feel suddenly very empty, our van's tire started going flat so we got it fixed so that on Saturday we could go to the temple for the first time in 9 months.

So, as the dad from 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' says, "there you go." ;) That is what is up with the "Coops" as we are sometimes called. And Thursday marks the two month anniversary of living in our house, I can't believe all of the above and more that I don't want to post to the entire internet, happened in just two months. It makes me tired just thinking about it. Isn't life grand that there is never a dull moment? I love it.

Christmas is Coming!!!

So I have been slacking on the posting, but here are my boys in action...or lack of it. :) Yes, Josh did fall asleep in front of the TV. It was so cute. He LOVES the puppy movie (101 Dalmatians). I try not to let him watch TV very much, but when he says "Mama, puppy, puppy Mama, please." It is really hard to say no. :) Caleb, on his 2 month birthday.

Josh and Caleb just love each other. It makes me so happy.

Trying on the cold weather clothes, because...

It is Christmas time, Santa is coming...

and it snowed, a TON. It doesn't really snow here much. The whole town completely shuts down. So, when we heard it was going to snow, we went and got gas and milk (and donuts, cuz you need donuts when it snows). Came back and were trapped. Tyson of course, being his perfectly adorable self wrote this is the snow for me when it first started.

And Josh LOVES the snow. It is so cute.

please take note of Tyson's 3 forts. He is very proud of them. It was so cute watching him play in the snow, it really brings out the kid in you. I was really excited church was cancelled, but then having a Sunday without church was sad, I really missed it. But it was really fun having Tyson with us all weekend.

So, just for your entertainment, this is the funniest thing ever:

So, I can't wait for Christmas. My whole family is on their way right now. My older brother Yance and his wife Kimmy stayed here last night and it was sooo much fun. I laughed and laughed. I feel like a little kid again with all the siblings and Mama and Dad coming. Huzza!

So...a few funny stories

Let me tell you a story. It is about a young mom who has been attacked by, well, let me just tell you. So yesterday, she decided to take a walk with her young son down to the library. So on their way there it was bright and sunny, pretty warm and humid, but that was normal for August. So they make it to the library, stop for a little while at the park, then start heading back home. On the way there, it starts getting REALLY humid and the nats attack this poor mother like crazy. She is seven months pregnant so the heat really doesn't agree with her and well, who likes nats? So she says a little silent prayer that it will just rain or something. Well, out of no where, it starts getting really cloudy. Then she hears this noise that sounds like a running stream, it gets stronger and it sounds like there is a river coming down the road. This little mom looks up, and suddenly they get pelted with rain drops. It continues to get heavier and heavier and within a minute the poor mom and toddler are completely soaked to the bone. (except the underneath portion of her belly which remained dry throughout) They hurry to the closest place, her sister's work, which took about 5 minutes walking in the pouring rain. The poor toddler was in shock and trembling from the cold shower. But what else could that poor mother do? All the cars driving by must have thought, "how selfish and sad, that mom making her child get wet like that." But, it was completely an accident. She couldn't help but laugh, and she laughed harder when her sister saw her when they entered her store like two nearly drowned rats. However, shortly thereafter they made it safely home and got dry.

The next day though, the mom was perched on the couch, relaxing a little before her day really began. She watched her toddler playing in the cupboard with cans and other things. She noticed him holding a bottle of chocolate syrup but thought nothing of it, because kids can't get those open right? So she started drifting off, when she happen to glance over and notice a large murky puddle on the carpet. Her first reaction was, "there has to be a delete button, an undo button. What am I going to do? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?" She raced over to her little boy holding the empty chocolate bottle, his little hands and feet covered in the sticky mess. She set him aside and ran for the paper towels. It slowly got less and less chocolate covered and after a google search on how to get chocolate stains out, the carpet grew to a relatively normal color. The sweet little boy sat nearby, happy but a little fearful of his moms frantic scrubbing. He couldn't possible understand why she didn't like his dark brown gooey mess that tasted so good. He tried to help a few times by smacking his mom on the head with a spatula he found in the dishwasher. (Don't ask me how he thought that would be helpful, but he had such a "i'm helping" look on his face) So now, thanks to our wonderful neighbors, we have a childproof cover on the pantry door, so no more chocolate syrup for this little toddler...at least not until he is older.

So moral of the story, unless you want to get soaked, down pray for rain, and keep your children away from chocolate syrup. Either that or just laugh at what happens to you, it makes living with the crazy times so much more fun.

News from the Homefront

So Tyson said that I need to post more. He won't read my journals, so I guess he likes to read these because they are like a journal, but public so he doesn't feel bad reading them. So a lot, well, kind of, has happened since I last wrote. I feel so much more at ease and calm about everything, about losing my job, about lots of different things. When really, I think I should be crazy scared.
Grandma and Grandpa Cooper came to visit a few weeks ago and it was a lot of fun. We stayed up until 2 every night with Grandma so she could take her pills and we had a lot of good talks and of course they loved being with little Josh. The only bad part about it was it made me miss my own mom a lot. I was tempted to tell Tyson that we needed to move back to the west coast because I just can't handle being far away from her anymore. But I love it here, it has become my home. I have spent the past almost 6 years of my life here, grown more independent than I thought was possible. I have fallen in love here, had my first baby here, I have so many memories here in this beautiful valley. The sunrise this morning was amazing, it wasn't gold or yellow or pink, it was perfectly blue. Bluer than I have ever seen the sky. And I know I would miss it terribly if we ever left this place.
So I have been babysitting a lot for people on the side, keeping busy with writing, laundry and trying to help the people around me. I decided that the Lord must have a reason for me losing my job and I decided that reason was to take care of His children more. So I have been trying to find ways I can help others. I haven't been very good at it, but I feel a lot better at least doing little somethings.
Plus, I have been able to spend a lot of time with little Joshua. He loves to draw on whatever I am writing, read when I am reading, play hide-and-seek and visit our neighbors with me. Tyson and I spend most of our time watching Psych and Lost. I totally love both shows! I just wish Lost played 2 times a week because the suspense is killing me. :) And we have been reading a book called 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' and it is really good. I have learned a lot from it already.
Then there is the big news that has changed me completely, and will continue to change me. On Wednesday evening, Josh and I went over to Kenni and Chris's house to hang out while Tyson was teaching the Dave Ramsey class. Kenni had an EPT that she isn't going to use any time soon, so she let me use it and yup, we are expecting another little one! I am really excited and really nervous too, mostly because I don't want another c-section and because it is still really early. I used to think that I shouldn't tell anyone if I got pregnant for awhile because the baby might not stick, but I think every child should be celebrated, even if they are here for only a little while. But we are hoping this one, despite all the craziness that goes on in our home, will want to stay. We want a little girl and to name her Isilee, yes like the character in 'Goose Girl.' But Tyson and I fell in love with the name, so I guess we will see what the munchkin looks like. I am just excited for life, and excited (kind of) to get round again. Anyways, that is the news from the mini-Cooper's. Being a mom for me now will be as K.J. and Tyson put it "a lifestyle now, not just a hobby." :)

Okay...so stuff did happen

Okay, so I didn't realize so much did happen over the past couple of weeks. I just downloaded the pics from our camera and I kept saying "Oh, oh, yeah, I forgot about that." Hehe So this is a sweet puzzle that Tyson got for me for Christmas and it took us two weeks to build. Our table was completely covered that whole time so everytime we wanted to eat, we had to eat atop our puzzle. It was really fun though, intense, but fun. It is a scene from Italy, so it was like we were there for two weeks. :)

We also went out of town for a few days. Tyson had this computer Access training for a couple of days and Josh and I got to go with him. It was really fun because we got to see a few friends we haven't seen in awhile and it was just a blast getting away together for a few days.

This one is hilarious. Our friend's Emilie and Logan and their little boy Tommy came over. Well, it turns out Josh and Tommy have the same p.j.'s Hilarious huh? They are both so cute!

Josh making one of his fabulous faces.

Can you see his slippers? They are elephants and soooo cute!

Josh's first hair cut. I gave it to him. He doesn't have much hair except in the back and it was all curly, but it was getting a little unruley, so I had to chop it off. He didn't like it one bit, but I think it looks better now.

The Past Month

okay, so it has been way too long since I wrote. And since I am stuck at home feeling completely sick, well, I am feeling way better than the past few days, I decided I should finally write something. Here are some of the going-on's of the past month:
-Christmas was wonderful! Tyson and I couldn't wait for Josh to wake up so we could set him in front of the Christmas tree and have him open all his presents. He was scared at first because we had been telling him not to for so long, but after a few presents, he was tearing them open and shaking and panting like a dog, he was so excited for each one. It is way more fun on Christmas with kids!
-Two days ago we went to the temple, and although I used an entire roll of toilet paper blowing my nose on the 7 hour drive there and back, I was so glad we went. Tyson was able to go in and do an endowment session for my Great-Grandpa Charles who was married to Mary Claire (my namesake). Tyson came out so happy, it was wonderful. And Josh and I got to hang out in the visitor's center until the lights came on (gorgeous!), and I also got to see Sister Katie Hamblin from my high school days, pretty neat.
-I finished my photo class a few weeks ago. I am sad not to have a class with Kenni, but I am really glad I don't have that stress anymore. It was a really fun class and I didn't realize until after the class ended just how much I had actually learned.
-I lost my job. This probably was the hardest thing for me because I absolutly love the family I babysat for. I am still not quite sure if they didn't need me anymore because their situation changed, or because they didn't like me as a babysitter, but I hope it was more of the first. :) However, Tyson and I did give them the "Joy to the World" DVD and a Book of Mormon for Christmas, and that was a really wonderful experience for me, and hopefully for them as well.
-Little Josh is cruising all over the place now and babbling constantly about something, I'm pretty sure he mostly talks about how much he wants food. :)
-My cell phone and our DVD player on the lap-top (we don't have a TV, nor do we want one) both broke, so we have been a little technology challenged as late.
-And, probably coolest of all, my brother Yance and his wife, Kimmy were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on the 20th. I wasn't able to be there but I heard it was wonderful and amazing and I am so happy for them.

And many other things happened, mostly just fun and wonderful things. I have to run because Josh is waking up and the poor guy isn't feeling good either. Love you all and Merry (late) Christmas!

So long

Just some random shots for all to enjoy... the ones that are actually good are ones Tyson took while he was watching Josh while I was in the temple a few weeks ago. They are both so good to me.
It has been a long time since I have written. It is always hard for me to write to the puplic when I am not happy. But finally tonight, I am happy and thoughtful, the two best things for a writers mind in my opinion. Not to mention, I just baked some brownies, yum. So, let me explain the last few weeks. I have been really busy with work, my three classes, being a mom and wife, etc. If you have read Kenni's blog you know that we tried to fly out to Utah a few weeks ago and EVERYTHING was going wrong. So we bought tickets again for last weekend. And we did go, everything went great and Delta was so opposite from our last trip and was wonderful and kind and it was great. Josh flew splendidly and all was grand. I am sorry to everyone in Utah because I did not tell anyone we were going to be there. My grandma was really sick and I wanted to spend time with my family, especially since we could only be there for a few days. Then the day before we flew out, Thursday, October 2 at 4:05 pm Utah time, my grandma slipped from this world to the next one. It was exactly a day later that Kenni, Josh and I arrived. So I never got to see her again after KJ and Court's reception, but I suppose that is best. I don't handle death very well and it hurts me really bad to see the people I love in pain. I haven't really cried yet about it, maybe because I know she would have hated to have been fussed over, and she knows that where she is now is much better and she is much happier. But if any of you heard bag pipes on Sunday afternoon, they were playing for her. She loved the Scotts and their music. I miss her, but I have my memories and that is all I need and want. I hope she knows just how much she meant to me and that I love her. I am glad I went and I did have a great time with my family. The girls hung out a lot, and it is so weird having so many sisters now, it is so much fun. I still find it rather amusing that I always told myself one day I would get a big sister when my brothers got married or maybe the guy I would marry would have a sister older than me. Funny, but I am still the oldest. I don't feel like it though, which is good. I'm glad I am pretty immature and silly, otherwise my maternal side would completely take over and I would be an old ninny. Hehe, anyways, enough of my rambling...just thought I should write and say something. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you all.