Adventures in the Royce Hood

2009-04-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

ok- so it has been a long while. New stuff.. I got an iMac that I love and a new Nikon D90 camera that I just love and have been having so much fun with. Hopefully I will be able to take a photography class in the near future so I can use them even better. I have also been busy with Primary since I have been called to the first counselor in the primary presidency in the ward. It is so much fun and it is with a great group of women! The kids have realized their love for the beach and the sand and water. They are begging to go there all the time. Brandon always wants to go see the big boats in the harbor! It is so cute. We had a fun Easter. The Easter bunny came and then we went to Grandma Jones' house and had a fun Easter egg hunt! The kids had so much fun. I don't think they ate anything without sugar in it all day! Anyway, here are a few pictures from the past few weeks. If you want to see more, they are posted on my facebook, so if you have a facebook account, go on over to my page and check them out!

Aaaahhhhh!!!!

2009-02-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Seven entire hours of uninterupted sleep!!!! Can you believe that this is the first time in about three years that I went to bed at 11:30 and didn't wake up once until 7 am!!!! I am stoked. All three kids are in the same room and sleeping!!! Jake is out of our closet and in his "big boy crib" and out of the pack n play and sleeping through the night along with his brother and sister. And I am NOT pregnant!!!! HOORAY- I feel like a normal person finally this morning! I am so stoked! Now all that is left is getting the boob man weened. We are almost done. He is only breastfeeding at night before bed, so we are making progress. It is hard to believe that this day has come. Yeah for me!

Growing up

2009-02-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

My how time does fly! I can hardly keep up with blogging and now it seems the kids are growing up even faster. I was recently made nursery leader at church, so it is even busier. It feels like I have 10 more kids on Sunday. It is fun though. I love getting to know all of the kids. I have so much fun watching all of the different personalities interact with each other. Anyway, Jake has started walking. He will walk at home, but he will walk around on his knees other places. He is funny. He still crawls a lot also, I think, because he wants to keep up with his brother and sister and it is faster on his knees right now. I am going to get pictures taken of the kids very soon. My sister-in-law is a very talanted photographer, I just need to chose a day that I think the kids will cooperate. Here is a video of Jake walking.

2009-01-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

2009-01-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

Well, the past two weeks were quite an endurance challange for Darren and I! On the 20th of December, we were flying out of Orange County to Austin, Texas to be with Nana and Papa for Christmas and when we got there, our flight was cancelled. We had to go get our luggage and go to Long Beach Airport and wait 6 hours for another flight which stopped in Phoenix and then we finally made it to Austin at 11: 30 PM. Now that was a long day, but thankfully, the kids were great and we made it there safe. Nana was so prepared for us and she was so excited to have us out there. She had all sorts of fun things for us to do lined up. Unfortunately, all three kids came down with Rotavirus the second day we were there and were sick the entire time we were there, so we stayed cooped up in the house. Darren and I were able to get out a couple times after the kids went to sleep, but not very long because all kids wanted us to hold them. Luckily, on the way home, our flight was smooth, but the kids were still not feeling great and were crying a lot, but only one poopy diaper on the plane! When we returned, the kids were finally better after two days and we had our Christmas for the kids here. Thay had a lot of fun opening gifts twice! Then on the third day, I threw my sister Talie a wedding shower that went really well and then on the second, her wedding was wonderful! Unfortunately, Darren had to work the entire day, so I hired a babysitter for the wedding, since it was in the temple. It was fun. We all have colds now and I finished packing up Christmas yesterday. I am finally getting caught up with all the laundry and my next project is to reorganize the kids room to try to get all their toys in an organized way to fit in their room instead of all over the house! Time to get rid of stuff! Jake turned one on the`22nd and moved into the kids room with the twins. I can hardly believe it has been a year already! Time for naps, so I will try to update again soon, this is way to much information for one time!

2008-12-12T10:07:00.001-08:00

OK - So we have a singing Christmas Homer Simpson and the kids just love it. Last year they wore out the batteries so I thought this year wouldn't be so bad- I was so WRONG! Jake loves it just as much as the twins. I had to put new batteries in it and they won't stop pushing the button! I have to put it up high when they aren't looking so they don't throw a tantrum. Anyway, the first day we had it out- it wasn't left alone. Thay had it at lunch and as soon as they woke up from their naps they went straight to Homer. YEAH for me! Just watch how entertaining this is!

Keeping posted

2008-11-29T09:48:00.000-08:00

I have recently joined facebook and I seriously don't know how people keep all of these fun new sites updated! I now have 4 and I can't keep up, but it is fun. So, I will keep trying, just have some patience with me- having three crazy babies keeps me pretty busy. Last night, Darren and I were up until 4:30 am with Jake. He had a temperature of 102.8 and just couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep. Finally, we got 3 1/2 hours of sllep before the twins woke us up. His fever is down to 101 this morning and I think his eye teeth are coming in. He just wants mommy to love him.

Black Friday was fun. We are done with all of our Christmas shopping and even got another twin mattress for Kate and a new car seat for Brandon so Jake could have his old one. Got great deals at BIG LOTS!!!! Now one of my favorite places!

Thanksgiving was a small affair with just the five of us and our dog, Abby. I made all the traditionals and Darren bought a chocolate silk pie for dessert, which was a big hit with the twins! Jake really liked the whipped cream!

Here are some recent pictures of the kiddos.

Where has time gone?

2008-09-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it is almost OCTOBER!!!! What the heck - I feel like I have hardly taken a breath since August! Well, my twins turned two! They are growing like weeds and so is my little Jake. He turned 9 months old and is standing up and trying to walk and has the many bumps and bruises to prove it. He is always on the go and cannot stand to be still. He is getting so big, it is amazing. He is such a wonderful baby. He decided that he wanted to skip the baby food stage and go straight to table food. He won't stick anything mushy in his mouth- so funny. So he just had breast milk until he was 8 months old and then just started eating cheerios and is now eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and crackers. He has six teeth already and is eating just about the same things as the twins. IT IS AWESOME!!!! He must know how much I HATE the baby food stage- I can't stand sitting there cramming mush into baby mouths- I don't know why- but that is my least favorite thing to do, so it is so awesome that I don't have to do it- also, I don't have to waste any time making baby food or spending money on those expensive little jars of mush. What a beautiful thing!!

Anyway, it is almost Halloween and it is one of my absolute favorite holidays! I am feeling a little overwhelmed and wondering if I am even going to bother with decorating this year, but I probably will- don't want to seem lazy! It is so hard just to sit down to write this blog as you can see from the lack of postings! Darren suggested that Brandon be a pilot for Halloween since he is infatuated with airplanes and helicopters, so we are trying to find an awesome bomber jacket for him. Kate seems to want to be everything, so I can't decide what to dress her up as. I was thinking of making Jake be a little lamb, so I thought Kate could be little bo peep, but it would also be cute for me to dress up as little bo peep with Jake on my hip as a lamb- so I am not sure. Maybe Kate could be a cheerleader or a ballerina or something- something she could just be herself in. She is turning into such a girl- she is so bossy to her brothers and our dog.

We had to put down our dog Lucy recently and it is so different around here without her! At first, Darren and I kept hearing her bark and whine, like she was waiting to come inside. Kate was a little worried at first when she didn't come home, but we told her that Lucy went to be with Jesus and she was ok with that. So now when you ask her where Lucy is, she points to our picture of Jesus and says, "Jesus". So Cute.

Yesterday, It was our friend's (Ken) birthday and his girlfriend Gina had a party for him at San Onofre Beach and we all had a great time spending time as a family at the beach. Here are a few pictures of our fun day. I will TRY to update a little more often. Love to all of you out there! Have a great Halloween!!!!

Zoo trip July 3, 2008

2008-07-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

Our Favorite Game

2008-06-10T10:36:00.001-07:00

PEEK-A-BOO!

Taking a bath

2008-06-10T10:33:00.001-07:00

Jacob smiles for the camera!

2008-05-30T11:46:00.001-07:00

2008-05-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Jake getting bigger.

Lately the twins want to be outside all of the time. A couple days ago, Kate insisted on wearing a hat- she is so funny.

We really need a little pool! One day I realized they were playing in the dog water, so I filled both up with water and sprayed down the outside and they had so much fun! It was just as good as a pool to them. It is amazing what a little imagination can do for you. They stayed out there for hours playing in the rocks and water. At one point they were pretending to take a bath and were washing each others hair. Too cute!

Brandon and Kate are so vain. They love to look at themselves. We put mirrored closet doors in their room and they just go in there and talk and play with their reflections. Kate actually plays peek-a-boo with herself. She will hide behind the closet door and then pop out and say peek-a-boo to herself! Brandon just likes to admire himself. Just sits there and stares and runs his hands through his hair. Last night after our baths, I realized that Brandon needs a haircut because it made a pretty good mohawk! He thought it was awesome!

Mother's Day was just another day, but because our anniversay and my birthday all fall in this month, it is kinda hard to do something for all three- anyway, Darren spoiled me anyway! We bought a 42" LCD HDTV and a Blu-Ray Disc player- we took the blu-ray back though- wasn't worth the trouble- the discs are super expensive and I don't think it is much better picture than the up-converter we got with the HDMI cable. Plus, a lot of our old discs didn't work in the blu-ray player and it took forever to turn on and load- I don't have that much patience. Anyway- I love the new living room additions! Just what I have wanted for a while.

It has been a while since I have updated- it is really busy around here since Darren went back to work- don't have as much time to write. Jake is getting bigger and already has his two bottom teeth. He will be 5 months old in four days. I can hardly believe it has been that long. He is a great baby besides the fact that he only wants Mommy all the time. He is not a social baby- he doesn't like other people to touch him or even talk to him. When a stranger says hi to him he just starts crying- even if I am holding him- very silly. He sure is cute though- I sure love all my kids so very much and am very thankful for the opportunity to have all three of them!

Getting Big

2008-04-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

We went to the doctor yesterday for all three children's well checks and immunizations. All three kids grew three inches in the last couple months. Jake is getting the cutest double chin but the twins are still as skinny as ever. They are wearing size 2T for the length, but we have to sinch the waist- especially for Brandon, he is a stick! I am so proud of the twins, they are so well behaved in public, I really don't know where they get it from. Grandma Jones goes with us to the doctor because mommy taking all three by herself seems impossible especially when they are getting shots and need a little comforting.
Jake has been such a graet baby. He sleeps through the night and has been for a couple weeks now. It is amazing! He barely fusses at all. He is very chill. He is a mammas boy though- he always wants me nearby- I don't mind!

easter part 2

2008-03-31T14:34:00.001-07:00

Easter part 1

2008-03-31T10:25:00.001-07:00

katie bug

2008-03-30T09:49:00.001-07:00

2008-03-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Do I suck? I feel so inadaquate sometimes; especially when I read my friends blogs. They are moms too and they seem to be able to get things done and be creative and have time to do things they enjoy. I am ALWAYS with my children. There are times when I feel like I need friends to hang out with or need to pick up my hobbies again, but when? When do they do it? Do they sleep? DO YOU???? You know who you are, Melody, Liz! I just play and take care of my kids and our home. I barely have time for my husband before I am just wiped out and have to go to bed. I barely have time to write in this blog.

Most of the time, I don't care. I love my kids and have a blast with them. But I also feel I am not being productive at the same time. Actually, I feel lazy. I don't even have a church calling to take any time, although I am thinking of volunteering to clean the nursery toys every Saturday because it makes me sick to think of all the germs just sitting in that toy closet!!!! Anyway, am I lazy if I just take care of the mommy and wife stuff? I am just sending this out in the void- no answers please- I just need to vent sometimes, because honestly, I feel like what I do is the most important at this time in my life. There are things that I want to do with my life and talents that I want to develop. For example, I would like to go back to school and take more time to paint, read, sing, and take pictures. I hope that there will be time for that when my children are in school.

OK - enough ranting. I am sounding pathetic. I know what I do is important and I think most people that have three children under 2 wouldn't have time for anything either!

So Cute

2008-03-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Last week, my sister, Whitney, took some pistures of my kids. They are so silly, but oh so cute!

Isn't my husband so cute!!! This is Darren holding our newborn, Jake. Yesterday, March 2, my husband blessed Jacob. It was beautiful. We had alot of family come out and we went to brunch at Marie Calander's afterwards. There was about 30 of us. It was a lot of fun. It was really nice to see family that we don't see that often.

2008-02-25T23:51:00.000-08:00

Where do the days go?

Yesterday, Brandon and Kate went into nursury for the first time and Daddy went with them. I watched from the hallway with Jacob when I wasn't feeding him. They did pretty good, but Darren doesn't want them to go now because he says that room is just one big germ fest! (That is why purell was made, silly daddy!) Anyway, Brandon jumped right in the toys and played while Kate hung back and studied what was going on. She took her baby doll in with her for comfort, but one of the older girls took it from her, so she got her first taste of a bully and did not like it one bit. She cried for Mom and Dad a couple times, but knew where to find us. It is funny how when one child will cry and set off the rest of them! When snack time came, Brandon was Brandon and spilled the water all down the front of him- I swear that kid is the messiest eater I have ever seen! They were so ready for a nap when we got home!

Today, I got done some of the needed work, i.e., laundry, cleaning cribs, changing crib sheets, and cleaning the kitchen cabinets. I am exhausted, but yet am awake at midnight! I have been goofing around on my scrapblog pages but should really be in bed getting rest.

I have been taking advantage somewhat of Darren not having a job and using him to get the twins up in the morning, changing them and getting them fed, so I have been able to sleep a little longer as long as Jake doesn't wake up. I was also able to get out on my OWN today! Even though it was only for an hour to Target to buy baby wipes and Brandon some needed new shoes, it was a nice break in the day.

Starting the Blog

2008-02-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

Who came up with the word BLOG anyway?

My long time friend Liz has finally convinced me that I need to start a blog in order to stay in touch and keep people informed on my boring little life. I have not written one thing about my children and their adventures through life thus far and I am starting to regret it due to the fact that I am now over 30 and realizing that I am not going to remember everything that I want to about them. So this is dedicated to them and their bizarre daily adventures we call life.

To catch us all up to date, Darren and I married May 3, 2003 and moved to Orange County, California in August of 2003. We were married for a year and decided to try to have children. Two years passed and nothing, so I went on the fetility pill, Clomid, which I call the crazy pill, because it makes you just that, CRAZY!!! You have never felt the extent your hormones can push you until you are on the crazy pill for 6 months. So after 6 months passed and my husband hadn't killed me yet, I took a pregnancy test and lo and behold we were finally pregnant. At nine weeks, we went to the doctor and they decided at the spur of the moment to just do an ultrasound since the machine was already in the room- at first we heard this incredibly fast heartbeat. The doctor said, "Look at the monitor ad tell me what you see!" I was in awe and said, "Twins!" She said, "Yep, but it looks like triplets to me" and she continued to show us the three sacs that had developed in my stomach. After that we were so extatic, it was so incredible. We later learned that the third sac had disappeared and we were in fact just having twins, which was a great relief to me. I was working at the time and one of my employees had triplets and her life was so incredibly hard, I just couldn't see myself staying sane with three little ones!

Well, pregnancy did not agree with me. Besides all the little minor complications you can possibly have, I developed Gall Stones and Pre-Eclampsia. I was in and out of the hospital and on the 33 week marker I was put in thehospital for good on bed rest. As soon as I got there, my blood pressure began to spike and I was swelling up like a whale! My toes couldn't be seen due to the swelling in my feet had covered them up, or so I was told because I was so fat, I couldn't see them. Even my tounge was swollen and I was slurring my speech. Then I started seeing stars and getting dizzy at which point I was given an emergency c-section and on August 7, 2006, I had two beautiful babies that were as small as can be.

The first one out was our daughter, Katherine Kalia, at 4 lbs. 7 oz. Then came our son, Brandon Koa, at 3lbs. 15 oz. They looked like little spider monkeys! So cute with these huge bulging eyes! They were perfect. Neither one of them had any problems. They did, however, need to stay in the NICU until they proved that they could function in all the ways they needed to and were able to gain weight and keep their body temperatures up. They were amazing and were home in two weeks time.

Our new life took a lot of getting used to and a lot of trial and error, but we got the hang of it and we are very fortunate to have two sets of parents who are willing to help out in any way possible. My mother also lives very close, so that was incredibly comforting, her being a great mother herself. Our apartment was filling up and we needed more space and we decided to buy. In April, 2007, we bought a cute little condo in Oceanside, California. We moved in on May 1st. My youngest brother, Nick, had just been called to the Cochabomba, Bolivia Mission and He and Darren and my parents went on a surf trip to Costa Rica at the end of May before Nick reported to the MTC in June. While Darren was in Costa Rica, I was at home with my two beautiful 8 month olds when I had the feeling I should take a pregnancy test. It was a shock when it came back positive because I had been on birth control and it was so hard to get pregnant the first time. I was actually elated and couldn't stop smiling. I was very worried, however, what my husband would think. He called the following day and I told him the news. To my surprise, he was happy!

My pregnancy this time around seemed easier- that is until I hit the third trimester and my body started to disagree with the pregnancy. At 34 weeks I was put in the hospital with pancreantitus. That was resolved in about 4 days, but as soon as that was over I developed pre-eclampsia yet again and at 35 weeks, December 22, 2007, we had a beautiful baby boy which we named Jacod Scott. He is perfect. He was in the NICU overnight and needed oxygen for 12 hours, but was fine. The next day he joined me in my room. We were able to come home in the afternoon on Christmas Day. Talk about a great Christmas present. Kate and Brandon were so excited to meet their new brother and Kate has turned into quite the little mommy.

Jale is now 8 weeks old and the twins are now 18 months old and we are having the time of our lives. That pretty much brings us up to date. Darren was laid off the week we had Jake and has been looking for work ever since. He works part time at the surf shop, Icons of Surf, to bring in extra income. He is actually in Kawaii right now on a surf trip with the owners and employees of the shop. He has two interview set up for when he returns home this next week. I feel like it was a special blessing that he has not been working because he has been such an incredible husband and father and has made the world of difference with me bringing home our third child. The help that he has given me with the twins is priceless and I will forever be grateful for the time he gave me to adjust to having three children.

That is all for now- all three are crying and tugging at me- ahh, the life of being a mommy.