Getting the Christmas Tree; McOmber Style

Alright, so our tradition was broken this year due to snow in the mountains and no windshield wipers on our vehicle. The kids and I were totally bummed. I'm all about the journey more than the tree. To tell you the truth, I'm not a big fan of the Christmas Tree's in our mountains. They're too naked for me. ;-) But I love just going up there with family and searching for "the one." This year, the day after Thanksgiving, I woke up at 4am and hit the black friday sales, which I did not think were even worth it. And then I was home by 8am so we could go with the Meyer family to the mountains. It was raining though in the valley and I could only imagine what was happening in the mountains. Since our van's windsheild wipers aren't working, we came to the final decision that we wouldn't go, and I was sooo upset. We ended up going to see Jason's family for a little bit and Lauren offered to give us her fake tree. I was like, nah... it's fine. Because I wanted the experience with the kids of even going to the Christmas Tree farm to find a tree. Well, Jason has always wanted a fake tree so I gave in. Since it was raining outside, Tim wrapped up the box in a black tarp and used yellow caution tape to keep it in place. I think more than anything, he was trying to embarrass us. But hey, I'm from Oroville, not much can embarrass me. haha So we threw it on top of our car and came home. We put together the tree and it actually looks really nice. It doesn't even really look fake. But we don't have the pine smell in the house. Maybe next year though.

No longer private!

Well, we were only private for like 2 weeks and I took it off. I figured that with the holidays and everything, I would keep it public for a few more months. There are really only 2 people that I am really hoping that aren't reading my blog and I don't want those 2 people to ruin it for everyone else. Thanks guys for your patience. Have a great weekend!

My brotha from anotha motha?

What the? Who's that guy to the left? Is that my little brother Derek? It sure is! Derek and his bff Bryce on Halloween. Dressed up as Rob and Big! hahahaha! I just thought this picture was hilarious! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Sadee

Sadee is at such a fun age! She is pretty much over the terrific two's now! Hallelujah! We have a lot of fun together. She's hilarious and is definitely a caniver! Here are some pics of our Sadee girl...
Jason and I were taking our pumpkins into the house and I came out and saw that Sadee had grabbed our biggest pumpkin trying to get it out herself. Miss Independent!

Sadee and her friend Kiara. She's all about friends and talks about them all the time. Even her pretend ones.

I told Sadee that if she got her vaccines and flu shot without crying, this is what she would get! A rootbeer float... and sure enough, she didn't cry at all!

Sadee loves creating "house" spaces. Especially on our front porch. She was the mommy and Elijah was the daddy.

Elijah

Elijah literally started kicking a soccer ball before he started walking. This was in September. He definitely doesn't get his athleticism from me. ;-) Awww... he's getting so big.

Where the heck are the McOmbers?

I had a friend ask me why I haven't posted anything on here lately. It's pretty much because the layout of putting up multiple pictures drives me crazy! I promise though, for those that care, I will put some up soon. Life here in the McOmber household has been good but CRAZY lately!
- House.The house we are renting is going into foreclosure. The best part about it is, our landlord didn't even tell us. And we just signed a year contract. I found out by getting onto a foreclosure website on line and all of a sudden our address pops up saying that it was delinquent in June at $6,000.00. What the? Where the heck has our money been going? The papers haven't been taped on our door yet telling us to get out in 90 days, so it's all good. We were frantic though and trying to figure out what to do. Price of rent has gone up here and I was in no hurry to start packing and moving again. So do we buy or do we rent? We prayed and prayed and know that Heavenly Father is sending us in the right direction and that is to buy. But where? Plumas Lake of course! But who knows when and how that'll happen. So that's totally up in the air though right now.
- Soccer. I don't know if I'm just older and more out of shape than the last time I coached or what. But man, it's tiring. The kids are sooooo fun and I'm so blessed because our parents are awesome! The hardest part about it is our little and very new league has lots of little quirks. They pretty much just tell the coaches to do whatever they want but to make it fun. Some of the other coaches interpret that to mean that we need to have quarters instead of halves. What? Soccer does not have quarters! So play for 5 mins and then have a 5 min. break. And do this 4 times! Maybe it's just me but I feel it only takes 1 min to get a drink and a hug and high five from mom and dad and then get back on the field. Also, a lot of the other coaches aren't teaching the kids anything about the sport. They feel that the children can't grasp the concept of soccer. The funny thing is, my kids do. They know not to touch the ball with their hands on the feild. They know what a throw in is and how to throw it in. They know where the goal is and what it's purpose is. They know that when they fall on the ground to get right back up or the tickle monster (me) is going to come and get them so they won't get stepped on by the other kids and get ouchies. They know that when a player falls down, to help pick them back up. And our #1 rule is they know to have fun! They're not dumb! Why do us adults underestimate these kids?
- Potty training. Not just any old potty training.... NIGHT potty training! Taking them befor I go to bed. Then getting up in the middle of the night and taking them again.... which is hilarious because all of my kids talk in their sleep and do crazy things. For example, I got Isaiah up and he is one deep sleeper... and instead of going to his bathroom he headed towards ours. And I was following him. Then he stopped in our bedroom, stood by Jason's laptop and almost proceeded to do his thing. I screamed loud and stopped him and walked him to the toilet. That was a close one! I have many stories to share.... but will not embarrass my kids. Every morning though I literally pray that I won't have to wash sheets and scrub the beds.
- Elijah. Whoa... this kid is active! We've never really had to babyproof our house. Our kids have always been generally good about not getting into things that they shouldn't. They've always listened well. And they've never tried to do crazy stunts. Elijah on the other hand is different. He climbs... everything! His favorite thing to do is to climb onto the chairs and get on the table and hang from our chandelier. And he does it so fast. He also loves to climb on top of the piano, the car (yes, I caught him climbing up our windshield), climbing out of his crib, pushing the chairs up to the counter and getting on the counter and turning on the stove. Ect ect. This is all new to me. It's like being a first time mom again. Whew!
- Piano. Isaiah is taking piano lessons. He doesn't fight me to much with having to practice, which is so nice. But everytime he sits down to play, Elijah insists on playing too. A 20 min. simple practice ends up being a 60 min. crying and fighting battle. And then the girls complain because they can't hear the TV or concentrate. It's just a huge ordeal everyday. Do you mom's ever feel like firefighters?
- Sick. My kids have been sick lately. The other day a friend of mine called and I said... "We have the fever in our home." She hesitated and said.. "uh what?" I said, "We have the fever in our home." And she started laughing. She thought I said We have the Savior in our home. Hahaha.... ya right! But yes, we've had the 103 temp for up to 5 days and then a cold at the end of it hit us. Maci has missed school all week. Sadee just cries and wants to play with her friends. And while she's tries to take a nap, Elijah will go in and think she's playing and grab a toy and hit her on her head until she wakes us. Ya, maybe I need to just follow the kid around 24/7. So she's tired all the time. The scare of the dreaded Swine Flu always comes to mind. We've had several friends that have had it here. But thank goodness we haven't!
-Friends. A friend of mine recently had some nasty issues with her husband. Well, she ended up realizing that it was time to go and she needed to go fast. So I got up and went over to help her pack up her stuff. We realized it would be best to pack up everything that was hers and get her out of their before her husband came home. We packed almost that whole house up in one day, thanks to the help of some wonderful friends of mine. I got this big idea that 3 of us could do it all! I quickly realized we needed help. So we got it. Throughout the day there were some major hurdles but Heavenly Father definitely helped us get through them. I ended up staying up for 24 1/2 hours that day and haven't done that since high school. It was a long, emotion, physical draining day, but at the same time, very uplifting. I am so thankful for Heavenly Father and know that with the help of Him, anything can be accomplished.
-Reading. I have been reading several chapters from the Book of Mormon every single day! I don't do this too often. I usually read it and then will miss a day or two. But lately it feels like I can't even put it down. I awesome! I love that book so much!
- School. Who would've thought that sending our kids to school would cost so much money. Between fundraisers, buying Breast Cancer shirts, book orders, pitching in to buy things for a raffle, supplies for the classroom, it's crazy! I don't ever remember our school growing up asking money from our parents. Only for the jump-a-thon and the run-a-thon. But that was it.
Well, this list is long enough of what's been going on in my life. I have plenty more. But won't bore you with the details. One funny thing Maci said the other day was... "Mom, it hurts right here. (pointing at her rib cage) I think I might have breast cancer." hahaha And Sadee calls it "Privates Cancer". That's what I get for trying to answer children's questions about what Breast Cancer is. Anyway, I will be posting some pics soon and I will post some videos as well. So long for now.

Going Private!

Alright, I have decided to go private. Jason doesn't want us too. But I was thinking about the people who might be reading our blog. People that could absolutely hate us and plot something against us. (ya, maybe I just read too many books) I created this blog back in 2004 for people that we love and that love us. Now a days, there are so many crazy people out there and unfortunately, we have people that don't like us very much as well. Sooo... I figure here is another way of safe gaurding our family from those that might have issues with us. Ya, maybe I'm over reacting.... but I would rather be safe than sorry. For the family, I will help you set up an account to be able to see our blog. Everyone else, please leave me your email address in the comment section so I can add it to the safe list. Sorry guys for the inconvience. I'll probably go private in a month. Thank you.

Maci Girl is 5!

Our last birthday for the year is over! Maci turned 5 this year and had a fantastic friend party! Maci is a social butterfly. Hmmm... I wonder where she gets that from? This girl is friends with everyone and never wants to leave anyone out. I'm so glad she's like that. She invited 22 girls. They weren't all able to come, but she still had a blast! Here's a group picture of most of the girls.

Snapshots of Elijah

I just took a few snapshots of Elijah in his new church outfit. He is such a big boy now! It makes me sad knowing he's not a baby anymore.

Happy Birthday Elijah!

Elijah turned 1 last week. August 20th! We had a little party for him on Saturday and had the family come over and some friends came as well. We had a blast! Good food and great company! Happy Birthday Lij!

Some of our friends brought their water slide for the kids. Thank goodness we had it cause it kept the kids outside the whole time so the adults could hang out. Thanks Mindi and Amerik!

Amerik (grew up in Gridley) & Mindi Hayden and Joalea kickin' it on the back porch.

Grandma & Aunt Carey

Jason & some of the kids playing popcorn on the trampoline

Elijah & Joel playing with Elijah's new toys. I love how these 2 are only a week apart!

Elijah loved his cupcake!




A few of the guests


All tuckered out. Elijah crashed after the party and slept great that night!

First Day of School

First day of school! It seriously seems like just yesterday summer began. The kids were so excited though! Isaiah is in the 2nd grade and his teacher from last year moved up to 2nd grade, so that's who he has. He is in there with his good friend Austin too! Thank goodness!! And Maci is in Kindergarten! I can't believe it. All day kindergarten. It's so strange to have only 2 kids at home. It's strange but good. Sadee doesn't have anyone to argue with. :-) Maci's teacher's name is Mrs. Cassidy and she has 2 of her friends in her class from church. We're hoping to be able to keep the 3 of them together throughout their school years. Strength in numbers! Maci loved school and learned more in a few hours than she did all summer from me. She kept saying so exuberantly, "Mom, did you know that Octopus starts with O. And snake starts with S. Oh my, Oh my, Mom! Spencer starts with S too!" I love this age. They are definitely like sponges. Anyway, here are a few pics from their first day!

Sadee at 2am

Lately, Sadee has been having a hard time sleeping. Last week she was living off of 4 hours of sleep a night. And so was I. Friday night/sat morning, at about 2am I heard the tv on. I turned over and saw that Jason was in bed still so I got up to see why the tv was on. I was very quiet coming out into the living room just incase it was some freak that decided on watching our tv in the middle of the night. haha.. But it was Sadee watching the tele. And this is how I found her......

Let me remind you that it is 2 in the morning and yes, she is wearing her brand new shoes that Grandma gave her for her birthday. She even got into the cupboard and got some fish crackers and put them in a bowl. She knows that she's not supposed to bring food onto the carpeted area. So when she saw me, she quickly pushed the crackers away and said... "Mom, those aren't my crackers. They were just here." Riiiiight. I finally got her to admit the truth. And these are the nights of our lives!

Sadee and Elijah

Not only do I love the elliptical, so do the kids. The older kids always climb on it and play on it and now Elijah has jumped on the bandwagon. Don't worry though... we have rules for it and the kids don't use it unless Elijah is not around. They usually use it as a jungle gym though. Since we can't let our kids roam the neighborhood like we did growing up, they have to have something to keep them entertained.

Sadee's 3rd Birthday Party

Holy cow... Sadee is the big 0-3! We had her first friend party and it turned out well. Here are some pics from it.




So we have a candy cannon that we use and here it is. Sorry I didn't get a side view. I will next time. It's a lot of fun though the kids like the boom!

Underwear Head!

Ya, we get bored a lot and do some strange things. Why is it kids think underwear is the funniest thing ever? They couldn't stop laughing!

Four Leaf Clover

Isaiah found a four leaf clover in the McOmber's backyard! I've never seen a real one before. WE thought it was pretty cool.

Monday Play Date Group

Yesterday was our last park day before school started. WE might have one for the younger kids, but won't start for awhile. WE usually have 4 or more families show up, but they weren't able to come or they had already left. But here's a pic of part of our group! We love it!

Isaiah's first friend birthday party.

Isaiah turned 7! He had his first friend birthday party. 15 of his guy friends came over and we had a fun fish themed party. It was a lot of fun! I do have to admit though, I was nervous since it was the first one I've ever done. I thought for sure the kids would get bored and stuff... but it worked out great. Here are a few pics from it....

 

 

 

Yuba City Water Park

My friend Ginnie and I took the kids to this water park in Yuba City. It was pretty cool and very kid friendly. Here are some pics from our day....