It's 10 o'clock...do you know where your children are?

Yes I do. Mark took them out so I could do homework in peace. Thanks babe!!! I definately owe you one!

My first Sunglasses

So, I finally broke down and bought some sunglasses. The only other pair I have owned in my life were a pair of Armani sunglasses that I bought in Vegas and I think one of my roomates stole because I have no clue where they ended up. Since then (1999) I haven't bought a new pair becuase I can't see without my glasses. I have always just had transitions lenses. Well I got contacts this month and decided that it was time to breakdown and buy a pair of sunglasses. There was no way I was spending $95 on them like the only other pair I have ever owned, so I set out to find some cheap ones. Well all the cheap ones were just that...CHEAP. Until I found my new favorite place for accessories. Aldo! I went to their website www.aldoshoes.com and found these. They were $4.95 and are not cheaply made, just a really good sale! I am now slightly addicted to their sight and have bought numerous jewlery items from there. Here are a couple of pictures of my new glasses. I love the little sparklies on the sides, the flash in the picture made it so you can see my eyes through the lenses but you really can't.

Decorating Fun

Mark and I got tired of our boring white walls so we decided to make some changes. We only painted in the living room and dining room, but we added some things to the walls. We also bought a new "toy". Yes that is 65" of pure HD fun you see. I am still trying to find something to go over the TV, any suggestions are welcome.


Mark ragged this wall. I think it looks great...especially since he had never done that before.


We added some black and white pictures of the boys. If you look close enough you can see how straight the edge where Mark painted is. I don't know how he does it.


We did the dining room a solid color called Aloe Vera and added the O Jerusalem picture. It is one of my favorite pictures. (I love the Deseret Book half off sale during Easter and Conference)


To add to the hallway and staircase we added this mirror and matching pictures of the boys.


We got the trees at Michael's, they have little christmas lights on them and I love them. I just need to know what to put above the TV. We were thinking of painting the wall behind the TV, but not sure what color to do there either. Any suggestions are welcome.

mmmm fruit

So today was bountiful basket Saturday. We are members of a co-op and every other Saturday we get a basket full of fresh fruits and veggies. It it $15 and we get at least $50 worth of fruits and veggies. This being my first Saturday off work in months I thought it would be a good idea to ride the bike and bike trailer to the neighborhood across the street and pickup the basket. Well let me tell you don't let the word morning fool you. It is still schorching HOT here even at 7:30am. Needless to say I came back a sweaty gross mess, but was very excited about the basket. We never know what we are going to get, so it is like Christmas every other weekend. After breakfast (thanks Mark) I went to shower and get ready to take the boys to go see the new Pixar movie Wall-E. It was ok I guess not near as funny as Cars or as exciting as Nemo, but it was still good. After the movie we came home and the boys laid down to take a nap. I went upstairs to do my homework when it hit me that we had fruit downstairs. I went to look for something yummy to eat and saw this
Mark had arranged the fruit so pretty I couldn't resist taking a picture. I probably would have just thrown it into the bowl or refridgerator, but he carefully placed each fruit so perfectly in the bowl. Thanks to him we now have a beautiful edible display in our kitchen.

Update

Well I finally have some time (well not really I am just choosing not to write my essay for school right now) and I decided to post an update so Jillian stop whining here is an update.

Life around here is good, we are busy and time seems to fly right by. Coytt and Dalon are growing up and it is hard for mommy to take in all that they are learning. Coytt is just a chatterbox who is now talking in full sentences. It is funny the things that come out of his mouth sometimes. Dalon has started army crawling all over the place and has learned to stand up when holding onto something. As cute as this is it is terrifying with the tile downstairs. I am still working at University of Phoenix as an Enrollment Counselor in the Military division and loving it, and Mark is enjoying this special time he gets to stay home with the boys. Mark is enjoying his online classes and is excited to finally be getting closer and closer to his degree. I am majoring in Business Management and Mark is majoring in Muti Media Visual Communications. We both plan on getting our Master's degrees within the next 5 or 6 years.

Some of our favorite things right now are:

Mark: Playing Call of Duty 4 on the Xbox 360, Painting, Making Amazing meals and trying new recipies, Playing with his boys

Monette: Watching movies on our 65" HD TV, My Hip Hop Dance Class, Singing Silly Songs with Coytt, Tickleing Dalon, and snuggling with Mark

Coytt: Race Cars, Race Cars, Race Cars oh and watching "Buzz and Weeloo" or Toy Story. He has also decided that he no longer takes baths, but showers.

Dalon: Crawling on the floor and plaing the game where he makes noise and mom or dad pats his mouth to make the noise sound like an Indian call. He could do this for hours!

We have been enjoying having different families over for family home evening each week and are making a lot of friends in our ward. We are really starting too like it here in Gilbert.

Mark the photographer

Mark took some amazing nature pitctures at the reunion and I thought I would share some of them.

Lots of pictures

So, we finally got a new camera and fixed our computer. So I am just going to post a bunch of pictures for this update. The pictures are mostly of the Rothlisberger reunion and the weekend that Mark blessed the boys.

Dalon's Great Grandma Romine (Monette's Mom's Mom)



Dalon and Uncle Bryce (please ignore the spitup on Dalon's shirt)

Yes Meagan that is mud Brooklyn is trekking through



I don't think these boys have enough toys...do you?


Yes that is a giant horny toad Coytt is holding!

It's about time

Well I bet some of you don't even read my blog anymore. So much has happened in these last few months. Our camera broke so since I stopped taking pictures I stopped posting. I should have just kept posting anyway I know.

Well as for updates. Things have been pretty crazy around here. Mark came home in March and we decided to work things out. We have been doing really well and our testimonies of prayer and scripture reading are growing. I am still working and Mark is going to school and stays home with the boys. This set up seems to work well for us. I LOVE my job and do quite well at it. I am usually in the top of my division and at the top of my team. Mark loves being home with the boys and the house is always spotless. We just seem to have found a system that works for us. I have a lot of opportunity for growth, promotions and raises at my job, and I still am home early in the afternoon. I actually usually get home before Coytt wakes up from his nap. Mark is working hard with school and getting used to the idea of being a student again. He is getting his degree in Mutimedia Visual Communications. I am working on my bachelors in business management. Needless to say we are busy. Coytt is growing like crazy and talking a lot. His favorite new phrases are "No I don't want it" and "No I don't want to". He says these as clear as can be and it is quite obnoxious at times. But then he has also learned to say "I love you mommy and daddy" So that makes it all better. Coytt loves his brother and Dalon is just growing growing growing. We call him Fatty Fat Fat. He is such a chunk. He and coytt actually wear the same size shorts (the even fall off Coytt's waist) Dalon wore a 12 month shirt to church on Sunday and he is only 7months old! Dalon is scooting all over the place forward and backwards, and has his first tooth. Coytt has discovered Toy Story and loves "Buzz" and "Woo loo" I don't know where Coytt comes up with his names. He calls Grandma "Maga", and his friend Christian is "Hashi" I don't know what he is hearing, but it comes out pretty funny and cute. We painted our house and bought some beautiful art from Deseret Book. We are not sure if painting the rental is allowed, but my sister Mandi taught me that "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission" So we took her advice. It looks so cute. I will post pictures later (we bought a new camera). We also bought an Xbox 360 and Rock Band. We LOVE this game. Coytt even plays...well thinks he is playing, but he seems to stay on beat. He likes the drums and to sing. We have done so much lately I don't even know where to start. I will post pictures and tell more later. This is just a starting point.

Welcome, Welcome Sabbath Morning....Then again, maybe not

So I learned a hard lesson today in Sacarament Meeting. Always be on time!!!! The past couple of weeks I have been on time and have been able to sit in the pews and Coytt has been a pretty good boy. Today, not so much. I was ready on time (meaning get there 10 minutes early) but just as I was about to get the boys out the door Dalon started acting hungry, so I had to sit to feed him. This put us behind and getting there after the opening song had started. Well being reverent was over before it even started. I found a seat in the chairs in the gym and that was that. Coytt thought this meant he could run all over. He wiggled off my lap and was gone before I could even get up. He thought he was so cute running through the rows of chairs and smiling at everyone. I didn't know what to do with Dalon, there was no way I would have caught Coytt if I carried the carseat or baby around, so I just left the poor little guy there hoping nothing would happen as I chased Coytt. What I really want to know is why there is always one mother who LETS her kids run around in the back of the gym thus tempting mine to join and creating fits when I the "mean" mommy don't let him join in the fun. Needless to say next time I will just take Dalon hungry and use the car seat to save a spot in the pews and then feed him in the mother's lounge. I will definately never be late again...well I hope so. Other than a wild sacrament meeting, where I did get the chance to bear my testimony and Coytt got his 15 seconds of fame as he sweetly smiled and waved saying "hi" into the microphone...how could I stay mad when he is so stinking adorable, church was very uplifting. I am so excited to study the Book of Mormon and the teachings of Joseph Smith at the same time!!!!! I have really tried learning more about Joseph and his life and teachings and in this process my testimony of him and his calling has grown so strong that most of the time I can't say his name without tears coming to my eyes. Needless to say I bawl all through relief society. Anyway I am just absolutely excited to study them together. I also have decided to start a "single mother" FHE co-op where at least once a month all of the single mothers in my ward will get together rotating houses and holding FHE together. We are including the women whose husbands are always away with work so Kristen you are more than welcome to join us anytime. I just thought it would be a great opportunity for us women to build a support group for one another and a chance for the children to get the most out of FHE. I still have to put the word out and some finishing touches on the idea, but the women I ran it past thus far seem to think it would be a pretty good idea. Anyway I better get to bed, 5am comes rather quickly.

So Beautiful It Made Me Cry

My Aunt sent me this link and I thought I would share it with everyone. This is the time of year when we reflect on our Savior's birth, and I have always loved the song "Mary Did You Know?" I love the pictures they put with the song. I am so grateful for this season and this time of year. I am grateful for a kind and loving Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. I have really worked this year on strengthening my relationship with both of them and I can truly say that I know I am a child of God and that Christ is His Son. I know without a doubt in my mind that he lived on this earth and is an example unto us of what we should strive to become. I am so grateful for His love and sacrifice. I can't comprehend what he felt in the Garden of Gethsemene or the pains he bore, but I can feel his loving arms wrapped around me when I am feeling alone, lost, or troubled. I hope I can teach my children to love and appreciate what Christ did for us. He gave his life that we might live, and that is the true Spirit of Christmas.

I love this show!

Very rarely do I find a show lately that I really truly like to watch, most of the time I watch whatever is on, but this show is absolutely great. It has it all, Humor, a Love story, Death, Conspiracy, and a good moral to be found in each episode. The main character is absolutely adorable, he isn't hunky hot like Cameron Mathison (dancing with the stars and all my children), he is adorably cute and innocent. He plays the character so well. All the actors are great actually. IF you don't know what show I am talking about it is the one with the pie maker that brings people back to life with his touch and solves their death to collect a reward, but that really isn't what the whole show is about, it has an underlying love story/triangle, but since the person he is in love with died and he touched her to bring her back, if he touches her again she will die for good this makes for a very clean show. I especially love the way it is narrated and the colors. It is just all around great. Watch it and tell me what you think.

Checkout our family Christmas card!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1194423883

Such a Big Boy!

Coytt reached so many milestones in November I thought I would just make a list of all the fun new things he learned how to do

1. Drink out of a big boy cup
2. Open his bedroom door
3. Turn on his bedroom light
(those last two make bedtime interesting)
4. Finally call me mom and Mark dad (he used to call us Mark and Monette)
5. Put his coat on by himself
6. Sit still and listen to a whole story

7. Talk on the phone with Grandma
8. Eat oatmeal without making a huge mess

9. Say his prayers (he actually gets really excited and runs to his bed at night and kneels by his bed)
10. Sort his bath toys


We love you Coytt and are so proud of all you do and all you are learning. You bring such joy into our lives and we are so lucky that Heavenly Father blessed our home with your special Spirit.

Romine Reunion 2007

This weekend was so much fun! We went to Las Vegas for the Romine Reunion. That is my mom's side of the family. I had not met a lot of my cousin's children and it was fun to finally see all of them. Our Great Grandma Mary Jolley was there and it was amazing at how alert she is for being 102 years old. She will be 103 in May and I couldn't believe that she could sit and talk with us, of course we had to get close and talk loud, but she could still hold a conversation. The funniest thing was when she was watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade and Rascal Flatts was performing. She looked at the TV and said, "Now why does he have his hair all spiked up like that, why would he want to look like that?" First I couldn't believe she could see the TV without glasses, and second her voice was so cute when she said it. She loved seeing all her great-great grandchildren running around and playing. We took some 5 generation pictures with her, grandma Romine, my mom, me, and Coytt and Dalon. We also had fun playing Jake and Mallory's Rock Band game. I think my mom has found a new hobby! I can definately see many lost hours caught up in that game if we were to own one. THanks Mal and Jake for the fun, maybe we will come visit you and have a rock off :) I also learned a lot about our family this year. I had no idea Justin enjoyed getting up at 3am the day after Thanksgiving and doing the shopping thing with his wife, I didn't know Jake played the drums, that Michael was a die hard BYU fan (he stayed and watched the game by himself in his BYU gear while everyone else went out to do other things), I didn't know Shaina was going to school to teach autistic children, it was like everyday I learned something new about someone. IT was so much fun. I am especially close to this side of the family and it was nice to catch up with all my cousins and see their children. It was nice to resume my spot on my Aunt Lorie and Uncle John's couch (I used to crash there all the time when I needed somewhere to stay), it was great to see my Grandpa Romine, although we didn't get to visit much it meant a lot to me to just see him. I have always been close to my grandpa and he knows that he is my #1. I wish I was able to see him more, and hopefully we can go to Vegas more often now that I am not pregnant.

My Camera is broken and will only take video so all I have are some short videos. I hope you enjoy our singing and musical skills. All I can say is top this Osmonds :) Actually you may want to turn your volume down and just watch my mom bounce up and down as she plays the bass.
Reunion

Add to My Profile | More Videos
Romine Reunion

Add to My Profile | More VideosRomine Reunion

Add to My Profile | More Videos

I will post pictures as soon as everyon email them to me.

I found this interesting since I have lived in both Dallas and Charleston most recently, and that Phoenix is not on the list, I wonder what a western accent is like.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Life at home (and new pics of Dalon)

Well since blogging is like journaling, I thought I would record what my day to day life is like. I just started watching Josh and Meagan's twin nieces so life here is pretty busy and with 3 two year olds and a newborn I am learning the importance of a schedule and a routine. Here is a peek of that schedule/routine:

6am- Mark's alarm goes off, I feed Dalon
6:30am- 15 mins. of snuggle/talk time with Mark
6:45- I get up and fix Mark's breakfast and lunch
7am- back to bed until Coytt wakes up unless he is already awake
8am- breakfast with Coytt, Kaelsy, Sienna, Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster
8:30- feed Dalon, clean up ginormous mess from the two year olds (I find food in places you wouldn't believe.)
8:45- Vow to make the kids eat neater or make them clean their own mess
8:46- realize it is harder to make them clean their mess than to just do it myself
9:00am- outside time for the kids, scripture reading for me, nap for Dalon
9:30- "Go Diego Go" (I have every episode memorized, but the kids love it)
10am- upstairs playtime for the kids, workout time for me (ok so I dance around while I sweep the floor and do situps while the kids jump on me,or run up and down the stairs 20 times to keep their busy bodies out of trouble) but I like to call it a workout)
11am-feed Dalon
11:30-Dance time with the kids )Kaelsy and Coytt love this time Sienna usually seeing that we are distracted finds a cupboard to empty, but eventually I get her to join us.
12:00pm- LUNCH! I try to keep it healthy and a daily variety for the kids (which roughly translates to tuna or hotdogs in the mac and cheese or swappping out different jellies or jams on the PBJ), although they did enjoy the flax seed in the pancakes this morning, and it's a smoothie or sandwich for me
12:30- baths if necessary...like I said I find food in unbelievable places if no baths Yo Gabba Gabba and sit down time
1:00pm- nap time
2:00pm every one finally stays in their bed and I get alone time (I usually either clean, shower, blog, eat ice cream, or nap myself durint this time)
3-4pm- Kids wake up and get a snack, I feed Dalon
4-5pm- If I am alive I clean what I can and outside they go
5:00pm Clean up Kaelsy and Sienna, cool down time with Looney Toons, I start Dinner
5:30- Kaelsy and Sienna go home, I finish Dinner

That is it for the routine, the rest of they day depends on Mark and whatever chores I have left or if I have errands to run. In a couple of weeks I will be taking on 4 afterschool kids from 3pm-6:30 or so. That should make things interesting, but hey it keeps me busy and in shape. I don't know where all my energy is coming from, but so far I am keeping up with these little ones. Coytt loves having playmates, and the girls seem to be enjoying my house. Today I had to give the girls a bath after their lunch and I did their hair in little ponytials. They looked so cute. I looked at them and said "so pretty" and they touched their pony tails. Thay did it everytime I said it so I took a video of it because I though it was so funny. Coytt has really seemed to take a liking to Kaelsy. They dance together, and I caught him holding her hand and giving her kisses yesterday, and today when he woke up from his nap he went and laid down by the door where she sleeps and looked at me and said "where did she go" he was just laying there waiting for her to wake up.

We will see how long I can keep up with all of them, but for now I hope it keeps me in shape and energized.

Check out this video: so pretty



Add to My Profile | More Videos

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa Tatom

He is handsome isn't he?


Ready...Set...Go!!


at the fish hatchery

One of these things is not like the other ones...

Uncle Billy and Irena


Well I know it has been a long time, but I finally have some time to post. Mark's family was here the 10th-15th and we had such a good time with them here. Mark, Coytt, Uncle Billy, Grandpa and Billy's girlfriend Irena went to the D-Backs game and an ASU game. I enjoyed visiting with Mark's mom and Grandma, and getting to know Irena. Coytt loved having company and people to play with him. My camera was out of batteries so I have the pictures Mark's parents took. They both are enjoying photography, and so we went up to Payson where they could take some pictures of the scenery there, I posted some of my favorites. We really had a good time playing games, eating, laughing, eating some more, and just being with eachother. Mark's dad thought it would be funny to get Coytt to say Grandma and was teasing Barbara about being a "Grandma" so Grandma Donna thought she would teach Coytt to call Corby "Pappy". Well Coytt tried his best to say "Pappy" but it kept coming out "peepee" so of course we all got a good laugh and Coytt thinking he was cute and funny kept pointing at Corby saying "peepee peepee" with a big smile on his face. We can't wait to see them again it was so much fun having them here.