PRIZES!!

Here's some more info on the last post I did about my super talented friend Karli. Today is the last day of the contest so she needs all the hits she can get. I just thought you'd like to see the prizes you could possibly win if you help her out. Click here to see the awesome prizes.

I Support Karli Hurren & Blog Wars!

Click here to visit my talented friend Karli's blog and help her win a contest she's having with her husband. Make a comment and you can even win a sweet price.

Such a great feeling!

You know that feeling you get when your child does something that really makes you proud? Like when they make a right choice, do something nice or caring? Well today was NOT one of those days. When I picked Gavin up for school he starts telling me all about these children in Guatemala who don't have any shoes or socks, who don't even have carpet in there schools and they have to sit on dirt. Sad right? Gavin's school is doing some sort of fund raiser for some kids in Guatemala. Gavin goes on to tell me this:

Gavin- "My teacher asked us if we had a dollar would we want to put it in a jar for the kids in Guatemala or buy a brownie. I told her I would buy the brownie."

Me- *with a look of shock* "Oh really, why did you chose the brownie?"

Gavin- *with a look of duh* "Because brownies are yummy!"

Oh yeah, and it gets better. He also told me that he was the only kid in his class that choose the brownie. And let me tell you, the pride was overflowing!! I think it's time for some service projects in the Atwood home.

Can someone explain this to me please???

Is is a lack of commitment? Can't decided if it's truly dirty or not? Or is it really just that much harder to put the clothes ALL THE WAY inside the hamper? I seriously don't get it!

You don't realize how easy you got it until...

you don't got it so easy any more.

My real life-Wife and stay at home mother of one.

My life for a week-Single mother of 3 with a high maintenance puppy on the side

My sister Lisa and her husband asked me to go to Michigan and watch their kids for a week while they went to sunny Florida. In that week I became thankful for many things and here are just a few:

*A child who doesn't wake up before the sun. I am not and never will be a morning person.

*A husband who comes home from work at night and plays with our son. Even though Gavin, Keely and Ben are really good kids, having a break at the end of my day would have made a huge difference.

*A husband to hang out with and talk to at night. You don't realize how badly you need adult interaction until your not getting it.

*A warm body in my bed. Even though I'm not much for cuddling it's nice to know he's there.

*Utah weather. That's right you heard me, I said Utah weather. You think it's cold here? Try going to Michigan where the weather forecast says 20 degrees, but feels like 7. The humidity makes it so much colder. Just thinking about it makes me cold, brrrrr!!!

And last but not least...

*Time alone with my amazing niece and nephew. I know it may sound like I was complaining, but all in all I actually really enjoyed the time I had with them. Ben is such a cute, chunky, cuddly, little boy, but in the past had been very withholding of those cuddles. It was great to be the only person he had, so he was forced to love me. I got more cuddles, hugs and kisses from that boy in one week that I have in his whole life time (he's 2 next month). I also loved spending time with Keely. Even doing the simple things like homework was enjoyable. It's so fun to see her learning and growing. She is such a smart, beautiful girl and I'm lucky to be a part of her world.

The Only Option

Gavin's new obsession is Lego Star Wars on the Wii. If we would allow it, he'd play it all day long. Yesterday he asked me if I'd play with him. I asked, "Do you really want to play with me or is it because I'm your only option?" He quite frankly said, "It's because your my only option." Wow! I guess at least the boy's honest.

A Very Happy Day!! :-)

Gavin was very disappointing to have to change the date of his party, but when the day finally came he was so excited he forgot all about that sick day. I think the waiting made it even more exciting for him. We had a great time! Gavin ran wild with his friends while the parents were able to just hang out and visit. It was great not having to worry about messes, entertaining the kids, clean up or anything like that.

Gavin chose the space room and said we had to have a Wall-e cake to go with it. Isn't that a great cake? I wish I could take credit for it, but unfortunately I'm just not that talented. My friends sister in law Jacci made it. Gavin loved it!

A BIG thanks to Gavin's friends for coming and all the great presents!

A Very Sad Day!! :-(

Gavin hasn't been sick in over 2 1/2 year and for that we feel very blessed. But today was the worst possible day for that long run to end. We had planned to have his birthday party today at Kangaroo Zoo and invited 16 of his friends to join us. Last night Gavin went to bed at 9:00pm and didn't wake up till 10:30am. I was hoping he had just hit a growth spurt or something, but that was definitely NOT the case. He woke up with a fever, tummy ache, and a soar throat. So after a call to Kangaroo Zoo to reschedule, a call to my cake lady to order another cake, and a call to all the parents, we are now waiting patiently for next Wednesday. Poor little guy!!

Ugly Sweaters and White Elephants

Our friends Sheri and Josh had us over for a New Years Eve party. We had all planned on having a sweater party before Christmas, but things got too crazy for every one, so we decided to combine it with our New Years party. We had a very yummy dinner. Sheri made sweet potatoes and cheesy potatoes, Dale made a ham, I did a veggie tray, and Steve and Tami brought drinks and lots of them. Their was way too much food and we all ate way too much. That's what new years resolutions are for, right?

Tabitha, Sheri, Me, And Tami. Josh washed and dried Sheri's sweet wool sweater, needless to say it shrunk a little. I think it was pretty hot though. My Shirt was just naturally a belly shirt, no washing and drying needed. I guess that what you get for $0.99. I think Tami definitely takes the price for ugliest sweater though. Look at that beauty!


Josh, Steve R., Steve A., and Dale. Aren't our boys handsome? Steve R. was soooo uncomfortable doing that pose. He's not a real touchy feely guy, so that pose was killing him.

We had a white elephant exchange. Everyone got some pretty awesome gifts from hunting gear to "The World According to Mr. Rogers." I'm sure that's a must read.

The crew playing the Wii.

The boys seriously rocked at Rock Band. I even got an awesome video of their performance, but my husband won't release the rights so I can post it. I'm going to keep working on him though. Lincoln (bottom left) thought he was playing too. He had a nunchuck in his hand and kept saying, "I'm winning!" So Cute!! I wish I would've taken a picture.

We had a great time! All the kids (except Kyle) even made it to the new year. Thank you Josh and Sheri for hosting us all. We had a blast! Happy New Year everybody! Here's to a great 2009!"

Our 5 Year Old

Gavin was so excited to turn 5. The other day he asked me, "How do I turn 5? Is it magic?" He didn't quite understand how one day you're 4 and the next you're 5. Today we did family stuff. His friend party isn't till next Tuesday. That's what happens when you share your birthday with a day like New Years Eve. Poor kid! We had a great day together though.

It's our tradition that on your birthday you get what ever you want for breakfast. Gavin choose chocolate chip pancakes with powdered sugar and pink milk. Pretty healthy, huh mom?

Steve and I with our favorite boy! You can say that when you only have one.

We told Gavin we could do what ever he wanted today, so bowling it was. It was so fun to watch him try to hurl that heavy ball down the lane and then we'd all watch as it crept slowly towards the pins. And for the record Steve and I tied 159 to 159, so what if I was using bumpers.

Gavin got a snowboard for his birthday. He couldn't wait to try it out, so Steve took him in the back yard to show him the ropes. He actually did a really good for his first time. It was icy snow and he fell a few times, but he seemed to get the hang of it pretty quickly.

I don't know why I filmed this sideways and I don't know how to fix it. So turn your head to the side and check out our budding pro. Sundance has a hill that you can board on for free when you're learning. So Steve plans on taking Gavin up there as much as he can.


I made him a cake to take to our New Years Eve party, so everyone could sing happy birthday to him there. He kept asking when we were going to HIS party. I guess that's one benefit of sharing your birthday with New Years Eve, theirs always a party.

Some pictures of my little chunk the first 6 months of his life. Gavin's first year he was in 90 to 95th percentile for both height and weight. But as soon as he started walking the chubs went away. We haven't seemed to have that problem with his height though. He keeps growing like a weed.

I feel so blessed to have this amazing child in my life. I don't know how I got so lucky. He has such a sweet spirit. He's so loving and caring with his family and friends. When he says his prayers at night he blesses everyone he can think of, from his family to his friends and even his friends parents. I feel like these 5 years have gone way too fast. I love watching him grow and learn new things, but at the same time I wish it would all slow down. I just need to hold on to my little boy a while longer.

Some of his favorite things this year:
*Wall-e-He loves everything Wall-e. He has the Wall-e voice down and he'll correct you if you try to say it, because your not doing it right of course.
*Iron Man-Remember my post after Halloween about him wearing his Iron man costume everyday? Well it not quite that bad anymore. He's down to about every other day.
*Playing with friends-He think he needs a friends to play with from the minute he wakes up till he goes to bed.
*Playing in his imagination-His imagination play can get pretty intense and involved. And don't even think of interrupting him.
*Wii and Wii Fit-This is only since Christmas, but he loves it.