Mulan's Haircut

I attempted to trim a little off of Daradie's hair tonight. As I was almost done, we had a slight turn of the head and...well, we had to go shorter than expected. I ended up cutting her hair to her shoulders (which is about 4 inches off). I mentioned to Daradie that her hair is a little shorter than what she wanted but it looks really sassy and sophisticated. She looks in the mirror and runs upstairs. Yells to Dan, "Mom cut my hair with a sword! It looks just like Mulan's!" **if you're not savvy on the Disney show, Mulan cuts her hair with her father's sword to disguise herself as a male so she can fight for the army in disguise.

Me, the Kids, Doctors and Christmas

So, like always, Christmas plans are arriving and once again, I'm in the doctor's office with my children. Koen had asthma attacks that would not stop--he'd cough for over an hour straight. Daradie, her coughs are like barks and they go on for days. Who would've known that I was only suppose to give my children their inhalers once/twice a week instead of every 4 hours every day for weeks? I just randomly took them in just wanting to have a prescription for something stronger and hours later, I'm sent home with a case of liquid steriods to give to Koen twice a day and told to be home within 2 hours to get their nebulizer (something similar to an oxygen tank but not nearly as high-tech and scary). Until things are looking better, they are on "breathing treatments" three times a day for the next few weeks. I've tried to make this fun and bought them new PJ's (Koen's is superman with an attached cape, it's quite funny to see him fly to bed) and a ton of Dora shows--that's the only movie they can both agree on and the only time they are "rewarded" to watch it. No worries, we are not contagious, just pumped up on steriods!

Plus, some of you may be wondering where your Christmas cards are...well, I was told that I was going to have the house painted yesterday and it would take the next three-four days. Like a good wife, I took down decorations and pictures, etc. Later to be told that Dan ended up having enough work scheduled at the last minute and they won't be coming after all. Somewhat relieved and bit disappointed, I started getting things back up for the holidays (only because we're having a few festivities here or else I would've just left all the decorations in the box--except the tree, we still need to make the kiddos happy). Those cards...well, they ended up somewhere and I don't remember where exactly. Besides, due to delayed holiday mailing, you'd get them all after the holidays anyway. Those of you that were lucky enough to get mailed out in the pre-painting era--consider yourselves blessed. The rest of you, have an awesome time wrapping and unwrapping all those presents.

Heaven's Watching Over Me

So during Daradie's prayers she asked Heavenly Father and Jesus to help me get the laundry done. But the bizarre thing is, I hadn't even started to do it....ummm. Can a 4 year old possibly sense the need of a chore to be completed?

Wal Mart Threw-up a Party for Me

Okay, I thought I spread the word about my experience at Walmart. Guess I hadn't. Here goes. This happened sometime around early summer and Koen had a stomach flu of some sort. After throwing up I decided that he'd be good for at least 30 mins. I packed him and Daradie into the car and off we went. I decided to run to Walmart instead of my favorite grocery store (why, I am still questioning that) because all I needed was some more Gatorade and juice. I grabbed those items (and seriously nothing else) and was standing in line when Koen E R U P T E D again. I'm not talking just a little but a whole wheelbarrow full. I cupped my hands and even pulled up my shirt tail thinking I'd catch some of it. Not a chance. I had puke down my shirt. Puke was in my shoes (I had slip ons and no socks). Throw-up was splattered on my pants. I yelled, yes I really did, at the clerk "Get me some paper towels and a garbage can." That was all she did. Did not even help wipe up the floor but continued to check out the shopper in front of me. Hey, they are known for their fast customer service, right :). I run to the bathroom while Daradie is screaming her head off because she thought Koen was going to die from too much vomit. While in the bathroom I scraped off as many chunks as possible and rinsed off Koen. After we were somewhat presentable, I continued back to the check out stand. Hey, we all know what it's like to be a "mom on a mission." I was at the store for one purpose only--juice and Gatorade. That was all I was asking for. While standing in line with noticeable upchuck remains and a distinct smell with 2 crying kids, I had a lot of sympathic looks but not one person was willing to let me get ahead of them. Come on people! What was even worse--I just so happened to be in the same line that I was in previously knowing exactly why they had the "caution wet floor" sign posted. She briefly said something like, "Looks like someone is sick." What gives you that idea?

Yet another story of a day in the life of the Peck's. Betcha can't beat that one!

Yet another story that could only happen to us....

I'm at Big O Tires getting the car inspected and emission tested (yeah, you lucky Idahoans don't have to worry about that...your time will come for pointless things like this later in life). Koen is pushing his Lightning Mcqueen car around the piles of tires on display. Suddenly I hear him screaming. I turn around and a pile of tires fell on top of him. I'm pretty sure he was trying to climb in it because I tried a while to wedge the tire off his body--he somehow was able to fit inside the inner rim/wall of the tire. Anyway, I'm pretty much laughing thinking that this kind of thing only happens to funny ole Pecks. Once I get the tire off (notice "I"-- I forget how a store full of men are deaf and dumb when it comes to acknowledging a damsel in distress) I notice that Koen's mouth is bleeding a ton. I'm cupping the blood under his chin looking around for a bathroom or roll of paper towels. While rinsing and pouring, I notice a white square thing floating in the blood. Crap! I just knew it was a tooth. I'm sticking my fingers through his mouth seeing what tooth it was. All in place--it was a piece of chiclet gum that wasn't chewed up yet. No stiches. Just a giant bloody scab on his lip. Doesn't look the most attractive due to the other half of lip currently sporting a cold sore. There you have it. Another event in life that could only happen to us. However, this does no justice to the throw-up piles in Walmart that I suffered through a few months ago. If you think men in Big O tires are insensitive--you haven't had an incident with employees at a Walmart. I'd take Big O men over Walmart help anyday.

Dan is the Man

This one is for you, Dan...

Can anyone beat this guy as a husband and a dad? Didn't think so. He already put up the Christmas lights around the house AND cleaned up the dinner mess--as in the "whole enchilada" mess (man, I just make myself laugh), wiped off counters and loaded and turned the dishwasher on. Kudos to you, Dan the Man.

Couldn't Resist to Post Some More...

Cowboy Koen for Halloween--he accessorized with handcuffs, 2 pistols, belt buckle, canteen, and a whip. We left the horse behind. Koen is not a fan of candy, pies, cakes, cookies.... What? How come that kid weighs in at 46 lbs. without eating junk food? Well, dear friends and family his weakness is chips. He did trick or treat just because he knows that's the social thing to do. We all knew he wasn't going to eat any candy (Daradie was very excited about this fact as well). While at one house he noticed that they were handing out Cheetos. "Hey, I like those!" yells Koen (I say yell, because we could hear him from the front sidewalk) and in response the lady says, "Oh, really? Well, I have two big bags of these." Koen knowing he'll never get another chip bag that night yells, "Give me another one!" Much to his dismay, she did not comply. He should've put up his guns. Just a sidenote: he begged to be a shark in dirty water for Halloween. Who in the heck knows how to create a shark in dirty water? He had to settle for a cowboy.
Daradie in action--I rarely get a shot with my kids sitting still. She was Mariposa. You know, the Barbie fairy. Keep up with the Barbie lingo, huh!

My kids playing "at the beach." Gotta love Koen's pose for the ladies.

I'd like to think of myself as a relatively calm and patient person....
This is the outcome: sock puppets. Koen refused to wear his sock puppet on his hand. Socks go on feet, duh Mom!

Kiddos had a blast at Thanksgiving Point. They watched calves being bottle fed and fed some goats and rode a tractor. The whole time, I couldn't help think, 'seriously, I'm paying for this? I did stuff like this for FREE.' Don't be embarrassed Dad that your city grandkids are on a plastic cow. Felt like we were in DisneyLand for a few moments. Had to track down the Pumpkin Princess so dear Daradie could get her picture taken with her.

Blogger Journal

Hey, does anyone know how to print blogs off easy? Blogger is not supported by any "blog to book" companies. Trust me. It's a new thing that just started a month ago. Something about API's and then I slowly tuned out once they put instructions on the Internet on how to transfer (see blog2blog...or something like that) Blogger to another company. However, you can cut and paste in Microsoft Word and still adjust fonts, pictures, etc.

Great! Now I'm a bit hesitant to post anything....there's pictures of Daradie with the Pumpkin Princess and Cowboy Koen and their funny missionary lesson just screaming to be seen by all....hmmm. What to do, what to do.

Curse the Daylight Savings!

I am so dreading this daylight saving ordeal. Why? Why? Seriously, who is it really saving? A little history lesson on dear sweet Koen. Last year he had a horrible habit of waking up between the hours of 4-5 a.m. Tell me about it. I was the only one in Walmart with a child fully dressed and peppy at 5:30 a.m. I tried almost everything to change his wake up time. For months we experimented with ideas. Nothing worked. Well, almost nothing until we just decided to ignore him completely. It took me exactly 37 days of intense, hard core refinement for him to break the habit. (See, his picture. He's got his game face on and ready for battle again.) It was not pretty during that time. Doors were kicked at and almost ripped off hinges. Screams and cries were so loud that only dogs could identify the exact words being said. So, now we are drawing near to that time of year again. The worries--during the months of August and September Koen was pulling 6:30-7 wake up times. I was in heaven. I couldn't have asked for anything more. On the weekend that daylight savings time should have been (first Sunday/Monday of October), he woke up at 7:45 a.m. Why couldn't that have been daylight savings day? Why? Oh why? The reason for this panic: he's been taunting me with 5:35-6:07 a.m. wake up times. Do you realize what time in the morning that will be in exactly 14 days?

General Conference Insight #279

My kids are absolutely hilarious! I know that I was suppose to be watching general conference and taking notes but seriously, my kids are funny. *Please ignore the poor filming. I was incognito in the laundry room trying to record them to avoid the infamous, "Let me see! Let me see!"
Out of all the things that happen in General Conference, Daradie digs the Mo Tab. She's loving the sparkly brooches and the lady with the purple hair pulled up with curls on her head. Why not pretend to be in the choir as well? And yes. Her hymnal is the official Candyland game board. Hey, just like President Monson instructed us--the moments of windows and walls with dirty handprints and floors covered with toys like everyday is Christmas morning will soon be gone. Make the best and the most of what I have now! This is my playroom floor in all it's glory. The time is 9:55 p.m. Oh well. They had fun playing today!

Best Kept Scripture Reading Strategy Secret Discovered

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we've been instructed to faithfully read The Book of Mormon daily. I know I'm not the only one that struggles in this area since we seem to be reminded of this constantly (and because their are other temptations that come in a vampire series, Jodie, and a murder mystery series form and my list could go on and on).

Anyway, I attended the BYU Women's Conference in May and went to a seminar on scripture study. Totally loved this technique that was offered in the class. It is based on the quote from President Hinkley on how we seem to read too much and ponder too little. The presenter told us that it took her 5 years to finish reading The Book of Mormon. During those years she gained an extremely strong testimony of the scriptures. Here is how she did it:
1. read a few verses (I read anywhere from 3-8 daily...almost)
2. in a notebook write down the scripture reference
3. then write down what inspired you from just that portion you read
4. write how you apply that inspiration in your life

I'm telling ya, this has really helped me. There is no more pressure on getting that chapter read or having to study for 20 mins. and then feeling like crap because I couldn't even remember what I read although I read it over and over while trying to stay awake. This method has helped me to actually think about those scriptures throughout the day. I have never done that before! At Youth Conference Sister Cook, from the YW General Presidency, promised that if we read The Book of Mormon for only 5 minutes DAILY, we will be blessed. That is all the above strategy takes me. Anyway, try it and you just might like it.

What's been keeping us busy

I had no idea that boys could get into dressing up like girls...Koen in his all red outfit. It was his favorite for a few days. And yes, it included the bike helmet as well since that was red too. But hey, he's happy so why not!










You just can't feel any better than getting your peaches done and making loaves of bread all in one day. Man alive I'm a good mom!

Koen was getting wrapped up in Daradie leaving for preschool and wanted to be a part of it. It's his "first day of pretend preschool" picture.

When is this phaze going to end? I can deal with the Princess Barbies all over the floor and drawing ballerinas and princesses on every scrap of paper she can get her hands on. But this? Having to eat her breakfast with a tea cup, saucer, and teapot. Will she ask me to serve her breakfast in bed next?


I just finished another 10k and it felt awesome! It's amazing how we've been blessed with a body that remembers how to get back in shape. I am now proud to say that running 5 miles is not too much of a big deal and I can spit out 3 miles like it's nothing. The race was just around town and so the family caught up with me for the last mile. I did pretty good (finished at 1:04) with some minor detours. First, I promised myself that I would not get pre-race jitters and need to use the bathroom; unfortunately, I had to go and figured I'd run half way and then use the portapotty at mile 3. Ran to mile 3 and there were no bathrooms. Running a bit further and a saw exactly what I needed. I pulled a Teasha (a friend from high school that could go to the bathroom on demand anywhere) and went to the bathroom between two cargo trailers at a trailer dealership. Doing just fine and then looked up...looks like their security cameras will finally have a story to tell. Now feeling better and kept going and saw the kids waiting for me at the 5 1/2 mile mark. I tried talking Daradie out of wearing her black sparkly church shoes to the race because she wanted to run with me for the last bit. But, she HAD to wear them since they matched her black pants and she wanted everyone to say that she had pretty shoes on. Anyway, all 4 of us started running. Within 2 strides Koen falls flat on his face. No worries, 1 down and 3 to go. Before we hit the sidewalk Daradie's slick church shoes hit a pebble wrong and she twists her ankle. Now there are problems. Over the crying kids, Dan yells at me, "Get going! Don't wait for us. Crazy woman keep running!" That was the last words I heard from him as I turned around and headed for the finish line. What an eventful morning.

Swimming 101

I could not stop laughing at Daradie. She'd dive into the pool non stop! There is a clear rule of no diving allowed...I just don't think the lifeguards knew exactly what to call what she was doing. (The video runs a bit before you actually witness the plunge--she's the one in the black and white swimming suit.)

Koen was amazing! From the kid who wouldn't even get in the water and now who flops in and doesn't care if he gets water in his eyes. I had a lot of fun taking these guys swimming.

Now you know where they've been practicing. Who would've guessed that a bean bag and bench could lend to weeks of fun without even taking a step in the water.

Bed bugs? Least of my worries....

Crazy things that Dan eats in bed at night while watching either "The Cosby Show" or "Scrubs" reruns. In no particular order: 1) raviolloi 2) brownie batter (I appreciated it when he offered me a bite, but had to refuse since he was dripping batter on the sheets and pillowcases) 3) fried chicken 4) otter pops (this left no lingering smell nor sounds while he was eating, but I discovered 5 leftover wrappers in bed the next morning) 5) leftover tiny spicy chicken from Panda Express.

Like father like son....I found Koen sitting on the floor between the fridge and the door hiding. He ate the whole container of strawberry jam, worked on the bowl of celery, had some of the jello (he used his hands) and ate 3 yogurts (he found a huge spoon that I was surprised could even fit in the hole). That was at 10 a.m. today. And yes, he did eat breakfast and even lunch.

Why I want my OWN computer

Tonight's prime example: I closed down 13 windows of Barbie.com, unsuscribed to a Barbie birthday party package, relocated my Microsoft program, realigned my icons/thumbnails, adjusted the volume, and stopped 27 Barbie coloring pages from printing.

PS: since I'm already asking why not go with a laptop

Good Mom Moments

Okay, so first off, I can't wait for Christmas. I know Halloween hasn't even hit us but I'm anxious for a change. I asked Daradie what she wanted Santa Claus to bring her and she said, "All the Polly Pockets I can handle." I'm sure Santa may have to consider that one. Maybe he'll realize just how small those shoes really are.

While on a walk yesterday, Koen asked to "hold my hand because I think you love me."

I'm loving this "job jar" that I stole from someone. Kiddos decorated their own piece of paper and I laminated the chart and cut out pictures of jobs (dusting, toilets, garbage...) Each morning I tape up a job on their chart. Once the job is done, they earn a treat and it gets put in their "job jar." They are paid twice a week in strawberry marshmallows instead of a cash allowance. Koen has been sucked into this gig at the go but it took awhile for Daradie to catch on. Our goal is to have them save up their treats to get them through the next pay period. Daradie has one more treat in her jar and tomorrow is pay day! Not sure if she's forgotten about it or she really is saving it. I'm hoping for the latter because that would really make me happy!

I asked Daradie what she wanted to do for her family home evening lesson. She wanted to do something about not hitting or talking mean to other people. I suggested some ideas and she wanted to do it on Nephi and Lamanites not being nice. I took it as Laman and Lemuel murmuring about Nephi and the building of the ship. I drew the pictures and she colored them and even told the story. Man alive. Moments like these just make you feel like you're doing something right with your kids.

Late lastnight Dan and I are struggling putting a trampoline together at 11 p.m. Dan had to have it up because he wanted to surprise the kids. Both kids are up before Dan leaves for work at 6:30 a.m. (Not too unusual if you REALLY know how my family runs.) He takes them by the backdoor and turns on the back light...you'd have thought it was Christmas in August. The kids were jumping up and down screaming "A jumpoline (what they call a trampoline)! A jumpoline!" Yep. My kids were the only ones yelling and laughing and having a blast while jumping on the "jumpoline" at 6:30 in the morning. Aren't you glad that you aren't my neighbors?

This explains a lot...

So this would explain why I had wrappers of Band-Aids in the bathroom.

Pre-babysitting Age

"Hey, mom! I just fed my baby some breakfast," cried Daradie from downstairs. Time has gone by and I went down in the kitchen. Well, well, well. Looks like any baby would love a leftover rib-eye steak to gnaw on.

Swimming 101

No, she's not dead just having the time of her life! Past few weeks she's turned into a fish. From not even wanting to swim in the pool and now to jumping in without plugging her nose (jealous, TaNece?) and opening her eyes under water! Funny thing she said while we were watching the Olympics: Mom, why can't you show me how to dive like that?

Sisterly Love

Outcome when all is quiet in the house. Daradie and Koen are ready for the ball.

Sidenote: since this picture was taken, he's now the "official" prince of the house.

Dan's Scout Adventures

Dan is really loving the scouting part of his calling. He's been pretty successful at teaching the boys that camping can be fun. They are at Tony's Grove (in Logan canyon) and this was their July campout. His next challenge: it's okay to be camping without cell service.

All American Cowboy & Cowgirl

Koen was adamant about wearing his red cowboy hat to "Grandpa Horsey's" house. Dad gave each grandchild a ride on his mighty steed. Koen stayed at his post and made certain that every kid had an opportunity to wear his red hat. It's pretty ironic. A kid who freaks out over flies or seeds in his watermelon isn't scared of riding a horse. Keep in mind that this is no small horse. My dad likes a horse that is big enough to carry his 6'5" frame. Daradie even got into the riding. She however, has BAD allergies to horses. In seconds her eyes become slits! She's tough and she's willing to suffer through the itchy eyes and runny nose. The kids had a blast giving the horse carrots...Koen decided to eat his instead of share it.

Dear ole Daradie

Daradie wants a "car with no roof" and to marry a man with "hair on his face." Yep. I know. I've got a dreamer.

The Awakening

Sound asleep the other morning. I mean really asleep. One of those that you actually know that you are sleeping good while you are sleeping--ever had one of those experiences? Suddenly I am wide awake and jump up, "Wet, mom. My diaper is wet mom." Dear sweet, chocolate covered Koen. "Yep. I can tell your diaper is wet bud. Thanks for throwing it on my face." Nothing like waking up to lastnight's diaper smell.

I can do hard things...

Through clenched teeth and fingers tugging at my hair, I'm attempting this blog thing. Didn't someone tell me this was easy? Three hours later and still wondering how to work this thing, I just keep telling myself 'I can do hard things. I can do hard things.'