Christmas Day

Christmas has finally come and gone at the Mallory house, now if we could just get the crud to leave that would be really great! I feel like we have been sick for weeks, just when you start to get better someone gives it back to you, it is the gift that truly keeps giving, that you want to throw away. Anywho, Christmas morning was a ton of fun. Ben was up at 7:30. I went into Jacksons room and he was still asleep, so I knelt down beside him and whispered, "Jackson, you ready to open presents?" With eyes closed he whispered back, "yes," and rolled out of bed and stumbled into the living room where we made them take a picture in front of the Christmas tree.

Once presents were opened we played around for a few hours and then headed to Jesse's parents house to open presents. We had a blast.

Merry Christmas

Hi there! Hope everyone is having a great time getting ready for Christmas. I know we are. Last night I was finally well enough to get out to the store to purchase the last of the boys Christmas presents. I was very fortunate to run into no traffic, get a great parking spot and be in and out of two stores in minutes with exactly what I went in for. Sometimes it is the little things that Heavenly Father blesses us with that makes all of the difference.

For the past few weeks Jesse has been working a turnaround and that means 10 hour days 7 days a week. So pretty much it has been me and the boys and our illnesses. Jackson has been battling a cough for weeks and was just getting over it when Ben got sick Sunday morning. The very next day I got an ear infection, which by the way I do not like one bit. It made me sick to my stomach and that is not something I handle very well. Makes me think of how Jesse must have felt with all of his jaw and ear problems when we were dating. Anywho, so Christmas is here in a few days and I am so excited Jesse is going to be home tomorrow and the next. We are going to give a shot at making popcorn balls and chocolate covered pretzels and might even get brave enough to try fudge. Just looking forward to spending time with the people I adore and seeing the look on my kids faces when they wake up Christmas morning and open presents. In all the excitement we will try to remember to take pictures as I hope all of you will.

Merry Christmas xoxo Cherie'

Houston

Recently we went and visited family in Houston and stayed in this amazing Hotel called Hotel Zsa Zsa. I truly think it is one of the most fantastic hotels in Houston. My Aunt knew the Hotel Marketing Director and was able to get us a $450 Suite for $99 a night. The first thing the kids did when they walked in the room was eat the chocolates that were on the dining room table and no they did not save any for us. The bathroom there was extremely kid friendly. I say this b/c the shower is directly outside of the tub, so the kids could splash all they wanted too. Luckily I brought their bath toys so they really enjoyed this. My only complaint and the same time LOVED It was that you had to valet. Tips everyone! Lots of tips! But oh how nice to have your vehicle waiting for you when you get downstairs and people to help you and your kids into the cars. Their concierge service was also very useful and they spoiled the kids with ring pops. Here are some pictures of the room and our view.

Do any of you remember my blue Saturn? Well I gave it to my mom......I am just happy I get to visit it once or twice a year. It was my very first car and was a gift given to be by my Uncle Jim for graduation.

On the way to Houston we stopped at the rest stop and let the kids walk around. They found this turtle statue and can you believe it, got them both to pose? They are the cutest!

One of the places we visited in Houston was the Childrens Museum. Someone should have warned me. It was the craziest place I have ever been in my life. There were kids everywhere and it was a huge mistake to even think about bringing the smallest of strollers in there. The kids absolutly loved it. Inside there is a Kid Town that is run by kids. They can work there, be the customer, vote, shop.....EVERYTHING. And it was insane. Jesse and I have never been so tired in our lives!!!! Next time we go we are going prepared to spend the ENTIRE DAY!
My favorite part of the entire trip and the one thing we did not get pictures of was our time spent babysitting my cousins John & Abby's new baby girl Lily. She was so cute and tiny, and I must say I got a touch of the baby fever just holding her. Yes, the baby fever is gone now but I think in a few years just might return. We shall see. =)

Catching up yet again....

Ok, so a lot has happened since my last post. Wisdom teeth came out and are now just holes in my mouth that food gets stuck in. Can't wait for them to close b/c one of them is right on a nerve and anytime anything touches it, well it hurts.......a lot. Went back to my OBGYN to get the results for my insulin resistance test and he walked in the room and said, "Wow, not only are you insulin resistance but I am pretty sure you have Type 2 Diabetes." Thanks Dr. He then sent me to my regular Dr. b/c since it was more than insulin resistance he would prefer him treat me for it. I pretty much cried the whole way home and went into a mild depression, which if you know me.....this is not like me AT ALL. I have never not been able to tell people about anything that was going on in my life but for two days I couldn't talk to anyone. Then I finally got the appointment with my Primary Care Physician. He is the best. He pretty much said no more carbs, they are the devil along with soft drinks,yes I have Type 2 Diabetes , and he put me on metphormine. Now, the metphormine made me sick, really sick. Eventually it started making my heart race and I couldn't sleep at night so he immediatly took me off of that and put me on actos. Ever since then I have been myself again. And yes, my no carbs diet is going beautifully. Health scares can do that to you.

Now, onto others in my family. Jesse is registered this fall to take an Economics class and some Spanish b/c BRCC counselors are lazy and told him the wrong date for registration so we missed out on the Math class he needed that is a prerequisite for just about everything he needs. We figured that our family wanted to learn Spanish anyway so he is taking that, plus it transfers to LSU. So there! I am now so fluent with the BRCC class schedules and rules that they should hire me as a counselor.

Jackson is turning 3 this weekend. Yes you read right. I can't believe it either. He is very excited. Mainly b/c everyone gets to sing Happy Birthday to him. He loves the birthday song and sings it often. Don't feel bad if you were not invited to the party, b/c a lot has been going on here so we decided to keep it to just family this year, but promise a big blowout next year. Jackson is also learning to clean his room on his own, which he is doing really well and next will be turning his crib into a toddler bed and then onto potty training. Please pray for me.....

Ben is starting 2nd grade this Friday. This will be his 3rd year at Greys Creek and we are so happy he is there. It is a wonderful school. His teacher this year is Mrs. Stewart whom he allready loves. All of us including Ben are excited to see how he does this year on his new medication. I have seen huge improvements at home and when we are at the store he is not doing Karate moves in the middle of the isle. We are told that this is a big transition year for 2nd graders b/c they are taught more responsiblity so we are trying to incorporate that here at home. We have added a few extra chores to Bens to do list and so far it is going really well.

As a family we are reading the Book of Mormon in one year. Our ward is doing this as well and so far it has been very nice to spend that time together every evening studying our scriptures. Jesse and I are also reading a Church History Book that his parents bought him for his birthday. There is a ton in it that I didn't know about. It also helps that it is well written. Looking forward to catching up with everyone and also getting caught up on my visiting teaching and participating in Young Womens. I have really missed it. Love to all! Cherie'

Good times!

So last week I was diagnosed with PCOS. Through the ultrasound they found cycsts circling my ovaries that look like a strand of pearls. This is one of the symptoms. The bad thing about this disorder is that it effects all of your organs a great deal. Untreated it can cause uterine cancer, heart disease and if you have insulin resistance it can cause your pacreas to fail. So the first step I have done is get back on the good ole birth control so that we can regulate the monthly's and hopefully my hormones. Today I took a two hour insulin resistance test, which by the way tasted nasty and they took my blood four times.......four times people! Luckily the lady was the bestest at taking blood and my arms are not bruised. So I go back next Thursday to find out the results. Should they come back positive they will probably put me on metiform that will regulate my insulin and with healthy eating help me drop this weight a lot easier. You see, this insulin resistance thing makes you gain weight like crazy! And if you have seen my behind lately you know what I mean, it was starting to scare me. Just glad to know I don't have to be like that my entire life and can get back down to the little me I like to be. Good times! Oh, and tomorrow I get my wisdom teeth pulled, which I am looking forward to b/c one of them is annoying me seriously.

Looking forward to going to Houston on the 17th to see my family and take the boys to the museums. Super excited about my grandma moving there.

Jesse got a new calling as first counselor in the Elders Quarum. He is stoked about it and is looking forward to learning new things. He starts school again in August and as usual is just being the awesome person he is. (If he knew I wrote that he would laugh and them throw shame on me with his finger)

Ben got diagnosed with ADHD the other day and starts his medicine next week. One of the things that cracked me up when I was talking to the Dr. was when she asked me if he sits still when he plays games. I took a video of him the other day of him "playing a game." I will post it below. And of course the whole time we are in the office Jackson is trying to tackle Ben and I am sure she is thinking, "Oh, she will be back in a few years with that one." I so love my kids and how crazy they are, they make me laugh .....a lot!


Had an awesome crawfish boil and fireworks out at our house for the 4th. Really enjoyed spending time with all of our family and some of our friends. Made me really miss the ones that moved away, but we will see you again.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Catching up....as usual

As usual, things have been so busy around here I haven't been able to collect my thoughts enough to make a proper post. So I am making myself sit down today to do so.

Lately, I feel like I have been falling to peices. For the past year, (and if you are a guy we are about to briefly talk about girl stuff) I have had problems with my cycle. It comes around every 3 mths and is horrible. It makes me ill. My hormones are completly off and i can starve myself and work out every day and still not lose weight. Matter of fact I have gained weight and I feel horrible. It is the most I have ever weighed in my entire life, and no, I am not going to tell you how much I weigh b/c it is horrifying to me. So, last Thursday I went to the Dr. and he took some blood work. Next Friday I am going in for an ultrasound so they can look at my ovaries and then we are going to discuss what is going on. Oh, and he found a lump in my left breast that we are hoping goes away soon. If not we are going to have to check on that soon. There is a chance that I have PCOS, if you don't know what that is I suggest you google it b/c it is a lot to explain. I am hoping it is just a fibroid and can be removed, nothing serious.

So the other thing that is wrong with me, I have a wisdom tooth that grew in weird and is really hard to get to when I brush, well, a month ago, a peice of it broke of in my mouth. I freaked out. You see, I love my teeth and work really hard to take care of them. When this happened I thought I was going to pass out for reals! Anywho, b/c of the way it has grown in and is obviously tied up in my sinuses I have to go to an oral surgeon to have it removed which is gonna cost us a lot since we don't have dental.

Hopefully after all my maintenance is done I will be back to normal and hopefully back to a normal weight. I like having lots of energy, it suits my personality.

Other than that, we have been enjoying our van soooooooooo much. Ben tells me all the time how much he loves it.

We had a great birthday party, which I forgot to invite some people too. Sorry. There will be Jacksons coming up in August!

Jesse is now 30, me 28 and Ben is 7. Crazy how time goes by so fast. I think this is going to be a great year though. I miss all of my friends that have moved and I miss the 3rd ward so much. Hopefully we can all get together some time this year and hang out.

New Car

Lately, I have had things pop into my head, you can call them promptings, about ways to do things. Well, Jesse and I have been searching for a van for a while(and praying ALOT) secretly wanting a Honda or a Toyota (b/c you just can't kill them) but we would gladly settle for a Dodge b/c that is really all we could afford. Now remember, things are getting scary with Chrystler and we were not all that thrilled about that. So one morning I was sitting at the computer and something told me to look up Honda Odysseys within my price range. There were 3, one being spectacular and super cheap, the next day there was 1 the super spectacularly cheap one. I told myself it would be gone in a few days so I should probably forget about it, but no, the next day it was still there. Middle of the night I woke up and felt urged to call the dealership the very next morning and ask them some very specific questions. So I write them down and go back to sleep. The next morning I called them and they said that a couple was looking at it yesterday but the financing didn't work out so it was available. I told them we would be down there that very afternoon to look at it, and we did, and I drove it home in disbelief. We just purchased a 2004 Honda Odyssey EX-L, the super of the Honda Odysseys for $6800 (by the way it retails for $11,500) Neither Jess or I can believe that not only did we get a van, but we got the brand we wanted, one that was perfectly taken care of before us, and has the nicest leather seats you have ever placed a behind on. I feel so very blessed to have something so nice that my kids can sit back and relax in. That if my friends and family need help I can be there in an instance. That I can run all my errands during the day and have more time in the afternoon to spend with my husband and kids. That I can participate more actively in playdates and other things done during the day. I just feel lucky! Here are the pictures of my birthday present (don't worry my birthday is June 19th, Jess just got it for me early)

Jambalaya Park

This Saturday morning Jesse and I both decided to get up early and head to the Jambalaya park so the boys can play in the water. Needless to say they had a blast. I had taken the boys there once last summer but this was Jesse's first time to go. Here are some pictures:

This is a pretty good picture of what the whole water part of the park looked like.

Took some time for Jackson to get used to the idea of getting wet, but once he did he had a blast!

Now, Ben on the other hand ran off the second we got there and every once in a while we would catch a glimpse of him running by.

Random Pictures

So, since I haven't blogged in a while there are so many pictures and things happening that you don't know about. So let me catch you up.

Cordell came home from Iraq and we were all really excited. Above is a picture of him and and his girlfriend Misty after he got off the plane. To say it was an emotional experience is putting it lightly. As the soldiers were getting off the plane the band started to play. Bobby Jindal was there to greet them and then they got to come over and see their families. Some of them had young children there ready to greet them. What got me though was as soon as Rene saw Cordell he ran up to him and wrapped his arms around his waste and just started crying. That just about broke me. I was crying like a baby and it wasn't pretty. Cordell we are so glad you are back home with us and so proud of what you did over there!

These are the first cherry tomatoes out of my garden. Aren't they beautiful?

How can you say no to this face?

Ben and Rene giving us their best crazy faces.

Rene holding the toy we got him for his birthday. Isn't he just handsome?

Noah with his birthday cake all over his face.

Jackson looking all happy because he just loves to sing Happy Birthday. Anytime he sees a candle or a fire he starts singing it.

Rene the day of his baptism. We are so very proud he made the decision to get baptised.

Ben made this hat at school and what is really going on in this picture is Jackson wanting it really bad so Ben is trying to hold him still while his daddy takes the picture.

Jackson cracks me up with his faces. The ones above are some of my favorites. He is so animated!

Jackson loves to play with his blocks in the bathtub and everytime puts them in a row.

This is one of the beautiful Alaskan Huskies that live next door. Jesse took such a beautiful picture of it.