blood, puke and poop... OH MY!

**WARNING: The information discussed in this Blog post may not be suitable for those that dry heave, gag or vomit easily** The above mentioned items are some of the many obstacles I have had the privilege to clean up in just the last 36 hours. After Toa cut His lip and chin open I had the opportunity to clean up His blood that was on my comforter, pillow case, carpet, bathroom rugs and bathtub. Then Sunday night I heard running and then what sounded like someone dumping a bucket of water down the hallway and walked into puke. Our poor Little T had thrown up in our hallway trying to make a made dash to the girls bathroom. I felt extremely BAD about this one because I had locked the boys bathroom door (because Toa kept playing in the sink) and I forgot to unlock it, so He was running to the girls bathroom when he vomited. Poor kid, that was most likely Mom's fault! So, I got to clean off T, the hallway floor and my clothes. Then Monday morning Toa had a bit of an accident (I think it was due to the meds He was given at the Hospital) and He didn't make it to the bathroom in time, so I got to clean up the worst of all 3... poop!
And here's my "looking on the bright side" point! Yes, even after all this fabulous stuff, I had a feel good moment! I was so proud of myself for not gagging, dry heaving or throwing up during any of this! After being a Mom for 8 years I am finally getting used to others bodily fluids! Oh the joys of being a Mom! Yay Me!
(notice there are no photos on this blog post. I figured we can all use our own imaginations!)

It's Great to be 8! Happy Birthday T

Here we are back in the same city that our sweet first born arrived in! 8 years ago today we were blessed with a 4 lb. 7 oz. tiny baby boy. Sadly He spent His first month in the NICU at Primary Children’s, but today He is a loving, energetic, sports loving, Momma’s boy… and we are so grateful for Him! I was so emotional on His baby blessing day because He had overcome so many obstacles, and now we are approaching his Baptism (tears)! 8 is sooo GREAT! Happy 8th Birthday to our sweet boy, Talai Sione Leo! We ♥ you kid!
Today you are so much like your namesake, your Dad! You love sports and occasionally I catch you watching sports with your Dad! You love to play basketball and you love to watch your Dad play basketball! You are playing for a Junior Jazz team and you are fabulous at playing defense! You have stolen and swatted the ball from the other team too many times to count! We love this about you, the fact that you are sweet yet aggressive! Your HERO is your Dad! You are such a great big brother! You tend to worry about everyone too much. If Daddy isn't home when He's supposed to be you watch out the window until He arrives home. You love to hang out with your cousin Nick, and the two of you are inseparable! You love origami and you like to play video games! We are so PROUD of the handsome, loving, fun kid you are! HAPPY BIRTHDAY T!!

Happy 7th Birthday Taira

Today we are back in the same city that our sweet Taira was born in! 364 days after Her brother was born we welcomed our chubby baby girl home! Taira was the epitome of the "perfect" baby! She rarely cried and she made having 2 kids under 2 easy on Her Mom!


Today you are our very outgoing! You say random things all the time in funny voices just to make everyone laugh! You are loved by your classmates and you love school! You love to read and you are our little artist! You attend hula classes and You do a great job at each practice and performance! You are very caring! You remind everyone to be careful, wear their seatbelts and say prayer! You love little children, especially babies and you are a wonderful older sister! You liked Justin Bieber and Barbies during Christmas, and now you don't like any of those things. You just wanted clothes and boots and dinner at the Olive Garden for your birthday! You are very simple when it comes to certain things, and we love the fact that you are YOU! We love you! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAIRA!

2012 Leo Fam Motto

I am a Child of God and He has sent me here, has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear.. Lead me, Guide me, Walk beside me, Help me find the way! Teach me all that I must do, to live with Him someday!

I have heard and sang this song more than 100 times in my lifetime, and sadly I never really pondered the lyrics until I heard my own children sing it! T and Taira were 2 and 3 years old in the Nursery. Talai and I were Nursery Leaders and Taleya was a newborn. I was having a bad day, I was tired and overwhelmed. I was tired of being at home with our kids all week long while Talai worked 12-15 hours, 6 days a week. And Talai's only day off on Sunday consisted of our entire family in Nursery. I remember feeling overwhelmed and crying in the Nursery that day, but when my sweet kids sang these lyrics I cried even more and realized that I needed to "suck it up" and lead, guide and walk beside our children! It's been about 5 years and I can still recall that day! I am still so grateful for that sweet calling!

Teaching Nursery is the greatest calling... you are teaching little angels that were recently with our Father in Heaven!

The Leo Family doesn't really do New Year's Resolutions, but we do love family themes, words or quotes to "try" to live by! For 2012 our family theme is the "I am a Child of God" song! To put it simply We want our children to always remember that they are Children of God, they are loved and it is our duty to lead them and guide them!

Talai are also going to "try" to focus on

"Serving more & Having an Attitude of Gratitude" as our motto!
This year we are determined to have FHE every week! Yes, every week! It's kind of difficult to keep Toa's attention, but we know that it's very important to have FHE for our older kids and especially "T" who is turning 8 this year and has chosen to be baptized! We are excited for this year! Happy New Year!! XOXO

SISTERly withdrawals

Leya and Taira play constantly together and when they aren't arguing I love it! Leya has been watching the clock to count down the hours and minutes that T and Taira will be home. I love the fact that she loves her sister so much and that she can't wait for her to get home! I HOPE that they always remain this close!! SISTERLY LOVE is thee BEST!!

Our little Preschooler

Our little Leya started Preschool today! Leya is our little firecracker and our most unpredictible child! I'll think She's going to love something and then She hates it, or I'll think that She'll hate something and She'll like it... for example: Taleya never went to nursery or Sunbeams without Her Mom or Dad. Talai was called in to teach Her Sunbeams but then she hated the fact that Talai was also teaching other children so she refused to go. So I decied to enroll Her into Preschool and doubted that she would go. She has the most amazing teachers and she sure loves them because she said "Bye Mommy, love you" gave me a hug and a kiss and walked right in. This is our third child going to Preschool so you'd think it would be easy... nope! It was actually really hard on me, especially because she just walked right in without a fight! For the first time since I've been a Mommy I get to spend time with just one of our Little T's for a few hours and I LOVE IT! Happy First Day of Preschool to our Sweet Taleya! We are so PROUD of you for being such a big girl and a good example to Toa!

We are loving the kids new school, HOWEVER I do miss several things that their previous school had in Las Vegas. I already miss their morning announcements, school security and lunch procedures in Las Vegas. In Las Vegas the entire school and playground are surrounded by a locked gate. This is so not the case here in Utah. The kids could actually run across the street to home is they wanted to, but they know better... they better know BETTER!
In Las Vegas they have the children go to recess then to lunch and then after they eat lunch their teacher escorts them back to their classroom. T was not aware of Utah's lunch procedures and the poor kid sat after eating his lunch waiting for his teacher, he told me that after almost everyone was no longer in the cafeteria he finally decided to follow one of his friends and that's when he found out the lunch process.

I actually prefer Las Vegas' method for lunch because I'm sure that T will NOT finish his lunch. He'll probably just eat the junk food and run out to play. I actually recall my Mom receiving a call from the school about my brother John when we were in elementary school. They called to tell Her that my brother would grab his tray and walk to the garbage cans, throw away his tray and run out to recess, lol! I can totally see our "T" doing the same thing. Crossing my fingers that I don't receive that call! School lunch is not cheap! LOL...
Nevertheless the kids are loving their new school and that's all that matters! Change is good, it just takes a while to get used to it!
Although T was a bit confused about the whole lunch process Taira's most fave thing about her first day of 1st grade was..... lunch time! LOL!