What To Do ... Mommy Of Two

I'm on ETSY!!! (AGAIN!!!) Welcome to Baby Town!

2011-12-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

I tried Etsy for awhile for scrapbooking, but it never seemed to catch on. So I abandoned it for awhile. Then a friend suggested that I should sell some of the cute baby stuff I've been making. I thought it was a good idea, so I started up again! You can click on the sidebar that has pictures of my stuff, or you can follow this link http://www.etsy.com/shop/BabyTown I called it Baby Town because everything else I thought was cute was already taken! Feel free to pass along my info to someone expecting or throwing a baby shower. I can do custom orders as well!

Here's the stuff I have right now, there is more to come!

Look who turned 32!

2011-11-13T15:17:00.002-07:00

Today is my birthday!

I have had a good day so far. Kids woke me up at 7:30am by singing "Happy birthday to you" and insisting I come downstairs. So I reluctantly left my warm bed. The kids and Tall Boy had "wrapped" my presents in a blanket on the couch. Tall Boy got me a wall mount for our TV in the bedroom...we are hoping it will make a good ceiling mount...we really are that lazy!

Super Boy got me Pot of Gold Turtles (Pecan bits and caramel covered in milk chocolate),

and Super Girl got me gummy lifesavers.

We came home from church and Tall Boy helped the kids make cupcakes. I let the kids decorate 2 each, and I decorated a couple too...

We are probably going out to dinner to Tucano's, but I haven't decided entirely. We went to church and had really good lessons. But perhaps the best present of all is coming later this week...my parents are coming for a week and a half over Thanksgiving and will be taking the kids over a weekend so Tall Boy and I can have a romantic and peaceful weekend to ourselves!

So a Very Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Yeesh! It's October!

2011-10-16T18:54:00.000-06:00

Yet another month has flown by! We have been CRAZY BUSY here! Earlier this year,Super Boy and I took Hunter's safety. We put in for some tags, mainly to build up points, but I drew a Bull Elk tag! So we went hunting and I shot an elk,but we never found him! Tall Boy has 2 other tags in the same general area, so he is keeping a look out for our trophy, but no luck so far. He hasn't gotten any animal either yet. He is out on his Spike Elk hunt right now. Over the next few weekends he also has a Buck Deer tag. Here's hoping for some good meat coming our way!

In other news, Super girl and Super Boy are enjoying school and recently took their photos for this year. We have Super Girl's back already, and will be getting Super Boy's back soon too...but for now, here's Super Girl's Kindergarten Photo...

Gotta love that girl! In fact i am doing a project for her for Christmas. I am making her a matching outfit (or two) for her and her Madame Alexander doll she got from Gma K for her bday. I just finished the doll's outfit last night! It is SUPER ADORABLE! Here it is...

It is comprised of a shirt, sundress, shawl and pants

Isn't it so cute! And Super Girl's outfit will be almost identical. I couldn't find an exact match to the doll pattern, but it will be close enough. I will be sure to add photos as I finish various projects.Anyway,that's about all for now!

Yeesh! It's September!

2011-09-07T09:55:00.000-06:00

Wow, summer seemed to drag on, but it really did fly by! So much to catch up on!

At the end of June my parents, sister, and brother came to visit and brought their families along! We had 14 people in our house for a few days so it was a bit crazy, but WAY fun! We saw the movie 17 miracles together...We went to Temple Square...

The assembly hall is amazing and so beautiful!

Especially the glass windows!

Having fun along the way!

We went to the visitor's center...

And the tabernacle...

Walking around downtown we saw these cool fountains...

and then we all went to Hatch Family Chocolates together...

We were all so amazed by their awesome creations...especially the basketball!

Unfortunately,all good things must come to an end, and all our company left us after the 4th of July.

During July, Gma and Gpa C took the kiddos for a week. The last day was a service project making blankets. The kids loved helping out!

While they were gone I had a chance to make some more baby stuff for an expectant mother in our ward, I really think they all came out so cute! (sorry some are blurry, don't know what happened there!)

For the month of August we mainly tried to stay cool and visited with friends. I also started a refinishing project on our dining table... This was the color before sanding...

After sanding...

After new stain!

And now with the gloss polyurethane on top...

You can still see the original color on the legs and base of the table...now I just need to get it all finished!

Then it was finally time to get back to school at the end of August! Super Boy is in the 4th grade and Super Girl finally gets to go to Kindergarten! I also am in school taking an online class and actually attending a class on campus as well...my first time in 7 years! Here's Super Boy on his 1st day of 4th grade...

And super girl on her 1st day of Kindergarten!

Then for this month,Super Girl turned 5! We had our family celebration on her birthday,and had a party on the following Saturday...

Tall Boy really loved the hair clippies from Gma & Gpa K

And Super Girl absolutely adores this doll from Gma & Gpa K!

Gma K even made these cute outfits for the doll...

For the party on Saturday Super Girl wanted a "Jane and the Dragon" theme. So we learned how to shoot cannonballs at a castle (bean bag toss)...

And played pin the tail on the dragon...

And I did my best to produce a "Jane and the dragon" cake...

Super Girl had a great time!

She even dressed up as a dragon briefly...

But if you party this hard you have to be prepared for the inevitable crash...Good night birthday girl!

This month Super Boy has his 1st pinewood derby, he and I made his car the other day...

Super Boy designed it, helped cut it out using a coping saw,sanded it, painted it, and put numbers on...isn't it a beauty!

So that's what we have been up to! Who knows when I will get another post done...so I hope you really enjoyed this one!

Last days of school and life since March!

2011-06-03T12:30:00.000-06:00

It has been a crazy few months! Life has been full and CRAZY!!! I have been finishing my 2nd semester of class which involved a lot of service hours. But I loved it so much that I decided to build some relationships at the school and stay beyond my required hours! It has been a great experience to solidify my choice in profession, I KNOW this is what I REALLY want to do! Beyond that we have had Super Boy's 9th birthday, Easter, Spring Break, tons of school activities, lots of crappy weather, and lots of fun! To top it all off, I have been battling a major case of strep throat this past week.
I have been majorly slacking on my sewing projects since Easter, but I do have a few done. I am doing several fun things for a friend having a baby... All of them are in coordinating red, white and black materials...

The 1st thing is a shopping cart seat cover...

with a cute carrying bag...

Next is a reversible car seat cover with Velcro straps to connect toys on the underside facing the baby, and Velcro straps on top to connect to the carrying handle of the car seat...

I am absolutely IN LOVE with this stitch on my machine...

Some burp cloths...

with washcloth backs...

Ans finally, a nursing cover with wash cloth pocket corners

I am still finishing a little stuffed red elephant to finish off the package! I will definitely post pics when it is done too!

In other news, Wednesday was Super Girl's last day of Preschool! They had a cute graduation ceremony and sang some songs they have been doing all year, so cute! Unfortunately this STUPID BLOG won't let me upload the videos for some STUPID REASON!!! UGH!!! Anywho...Super Girl got some great gifts from friends and teachers. The teachers put together a DVD of all the pictures they had taken throughout the year and put it to music. We took some pictures of our own with the teachers though!

Then one of the parents of a kid in the class made shirts for everyone with cute drawings of each kid's face...

Today was Super Boy's last day of school. Here he is with his FABULOUS teacher! She made a DVD too of pictures from throughout the year with music...very cool!

What a great year these kiddos have had with their amazing teachers! KUDOS! I hope someday I can be as great of a teacher!

It is quite strange that "Summer Vacation" is here, but my kids haven't been able to wear shorts to school for a full week yet! Crazy cool and wet Spring! I think the warmest day we've had so far was about 75! This weekend will finally get above that! Now it's time for camping and family fun! I have a brother an his family coming to visit at the end of the month as well as my parents coming at the same time! It'll be a great time and like a miniature family reunion! I can't wait! It has been WAY too long since I have seen my brother's family, and I ALWAYS look forward to visits from my mommy and daddy!

Well, I think that sort of catches us up for now. I am sure there are hundreds of photos I will come across later and think, "Oh, I should have put that in the blog...oh well!" Maybe another update will be coming sooner than in 2 months like this one! Anyway...that's what we've been doing! Until next time...

New Machine = New Projects

2011-03-28T09:28:00.002-06:00

My beloved Singer broke and would cost asmuch to fix it as it would to buy a new machine. So I reluctantly replaced it with a Brother CP 6500. My reluctance was short lived! My new machine is WONDERFUL! I got it on Saturday and did a quilt to test out new stitches. Here are some pics of my machine and the quilt!

I also started a girl scrap quilt as well. I just need to get a binding and decide on a back for it, but here it is!

Another dress for Super Girl

2011-03-23T14:03:00.002-06:00

I made another jacket and skirt set for Super Girl. Here is all the ruffly cuteness!

My beloved sewing machine kicked the bucket right after this project got finished, but a replacement machine is on the way. I plan on making a skirt for myself out of these same fabrics...SO CUTE!!!

More fun stuff!

2011-02-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

2 postings within a week?!? I know, pretty amazing. But I just had to share some fun stuff! This weekend we bought Super Boy his 1st rifle! SCARY!!! He and I will be taking a Hunter Safety Course starting Wednesday, and the shooting portion has to be done with a 22 caliber rifle. We didn't have one, and we have to provide our own, so we bought one. Super Boy and Tall Boy and I all went out shooting on Saturday. Tall Boy taught us how to steady the barrel. Super Boy and I both picked it up quickly and were pretty good shots! Sowe are ready for our course!

Also this weekend,I came across the cutest fabric and pattern for Super Girl's Easter dress this year. Only, it is a skirt and jacket. So I found a shirt (and some leggings just in case we have another freezing cold easter!) and got started today. i finished just a few minutes ago! I decided to make her outfit reversible so we could mix and match the patterns. It is SO CUTE!!! I still have plans on making a bag/purse to match and maybe even a bunny or other stuffed animal to go along with it. Here is the finished product with all the options!

Polka Dot Jacket with Gingham Check Skirt

Polka Dot Jacket with Flowered Skirt

No Jacket with Gingham Check Skirt

No Jacket with Flowered Skirt

Gingham Check Jacket with Flowered Skirt

Gingham Check Jacket with Gingham Check Skirt

Mommy-Daughter Day

2011-02-05T10:36:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday this week, Super Girl and I had a fun Mommy-Daughter day. We went to the mall where they have a Build a Bear Workshop. Super Girl got a bear for Christmas, so we took the bear to get a birth certificate and give her a name. Super Girl was in heaven! The sales associate offered a cute little house for the bear, and some bows for her ears! Super Girl was beaming when we left the store. Then we went to Clair's to check out ear piercing. Super Girl has been wanting pierced ears for at least 6 months, and she finally felt brave enough to do it. But Clair's didn't have a cute selection of earrings, and the ones Super Girl wanted were $40.50 + tax! I thought that was a RIDICULOUS price for not-cute earrings, so we decided to check out Wal-Mart.We had looked there before and I remembered a cute set of butterfly birthstone earrings that came with a matching necklace for less than $20. So we arrived and I let Super Girl pick out the set she wanted. Then she sat on my lap with her cute bear squeezed to death while the 2 ladies pierced both ears at once. Super Girl cried for a minute (that's to be expected...IT HURTS!!!) But then she stopped crying and was so proud of her beautiful earrings! She has been great about letting me clean and turn them 3 times a day,and everywhere we go, she tells and shows people her beautiful pierced ears. She even says, "I was SO BRAVE!". Super Girl even got a certificate of bravery from Wal-Mart. It is super cute! Anyway, that was our very cool Mommy-Daughter day! Here are a couple of pictures...

Playing Catch-Up

2011-01-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been SO LONG since our last post. Winter, holidays, and LIFE seem to just take over! Here is a quick update:

I got an A in my online class last semester, now I have started a new online class and love it so far. Tall Boy and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. Super Boy finished flag football and has now moved on to basketball. He loves being active and earning beltloops and other awards in cub scouts. Super Girl is still LOVING preschool and can't wait until she is 5 so she can go to Kindergarten.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Hot Mama's family, and a spectacular Christmas at home.

Recently I started the YOU on a diet plan by Dr. Oz. It has been 1 week and I have lost 3 pounds! I have had so much more mental energy that it has been hard to sleep! I had a couple of slip ups, craving cave-ins, and a dinner out, but I still managed to lose 3 lbs without any extra exercise!!! Hopefully this trend will continue and I will continue to make progress! Wish me luck!

Super Girl's Preschool Photo!

2010-10-11T09:12:00.003-06:00

We just got the school pictures back...here's Super Girl!

I made a FREE dollhouse today!

2010-10-07T16:11:00.012-06:00

I have been looking for a cheap dollhouse for Super Girl for Christmas...I have found cute EXPENSIVE ones! I even looked into a kit to make one, even cardboard ones...they were all really pricey. So I started looking online for do it yourself instructions for either wood or cardboard. I found this awesome website

http://letsbuildadollhouse.com/

It has directions for a beautiful and big wooden dollhouse. So I looked through all the directions and thought, "I can do this with cardboard!" So I drew up a plan for one similar to the one I found online...
Then I went and measured the cardboard we have. It turned out to be smaller than the plans called for, so I just adjusted it to that size. You need two pieces roughly the same size for all of the architecture. One big piece is the outer shell of the dollhouse. The other is used to make the roof and floors. This is my big piece already scored...
I figured the depth to be 1/2 the depth of the cardboard. This way I could make 2 floors and didn't have to worry about a lot of cutting. Mine came out to be 11 inches, so I measured in from the outer edge on each side and marked in 11 inches. I then scored it with a butter knife (see above picture) I used a box cutter and a butter knife alot during this whole process...
After I had my big piece scored, I measured out where the tabs would be to hold the floors in place. I marked up my board (I knew I was going to wallpaper, so I didn't have to worry about excessive marking. If you are not using wall paper, you should mark using a pencil). Then I cut out each hole, 1" wide and 1/4" tall. I found it easiest to cut the sides first, then the middle line...
Then I cut the bottom and top lines...
I pushed my butter knife through the top and bottom line, then flipped the cardboard over and cut out the sides from the back. I used my butter knife to punch out the cardboard...

After I had the holes cut out everywhere, I cut out the 2 floors and marked the places for the tabs. I cut the tabs out using my box cutter...
I would later learn that the tabs need to be about 1/2 the size of your hole to allow wiggle room during assembly.

I then cut out the roof. I used a piece of cardboard that was 2 times the depth of the house...in my case 22", and 2 inches wider than the width of the house, 24" for me.

I scored the board in the middle and folded it to the angle I wanted. I then traced the angle on another piece of cardboard and cut out 2 triangles for the sides of the roof. I used hot glue to glue them to the roof. Then I got out several sheets of black construction paper to make shingles for the roof. I started out by folding the paper into 12ths...1st in half...
Then 1/2 again same direction...Then into 3rds...
I cut all the paper apart along the lines. The I used one to make a template of the shingle shape...I started from the bottom edge of the roof, making sure to hang over for later gluing under. I also made sure to overlap shingles so no brown showed through and wrapping over the corner edges as well...
I worked my way up the side, making sure to offset each row of shingles...
I only glued the top strip and sometimes a small dot under the shingle to keep it down...
I did both long sides first, then I did the short sides. Sometimes I had to cut the shingles to fit the triangle crest...
When it was all done, I made a small scalloped strip to go on the top crest of the roof...
Now it's time to cut out the windows. I chose 4"X4" because that's what my frames would fit (frames come a few steps later). So I measured to the center of the room wall and cut my 4X4 openings there. I only cut windows in the side walls, but you can do it wherever you want...

Next is wallpaper. I made the mistake of doing the corner of one room before I had the floor in, it got torn up a bit. So just do the other sections...

The next step was making windows. I made 4 windows, but each takes 2 window frames (1 inside and 1 outside). I used craft sticks (Popsicle sized) and my framing square. Each window uses 6 sticks...
I backed only the 4 outside frames with clear plastic, but it looks better if you back all 8...
Before you install the windows, you should have your windows cut out, and your wall paper/paint done. I got consumed by this project and forgot to stop and take pictures along the way, but here is the 1st installed window on the exterior...I got the brick pattern online and just printed a bunch... http://www.jennifersprintables.com/woodbrickandtiles001.htm
After the windows are cut you can install the floors. I would suggest covering them before you install them. This is the hardest part. I ended up needing some added pressure while the glue dried...
After the floors are installed, then you can do the wallpaper in the corners. (I just used colored computer printer paper) Then just place the roof on, and TADA!!! You have a house!
Then I decided to try and make a chair from some directions I found online. It didn't turn out great, but it's a start!

So that's it, my 1st dollhouse!

Playing Catch-up! Super Girl:preschool, bday and cute hairstyles; and Super Boy Flag footbal Fun!

2010-09-29T12:10:00.022-06:00

Super Girl recently had her 4th birthday! Time sure does fly! We had so much fun! But the best part was Super Girl's surprise gift...GMA K flew all the way out just for her bday!!! She stayed for a week (WAY TOO SHORT) and we had a blast!!
Here are some cute pics of Super Girl going to preschool. Her 1st day was on her birthday!!!
She got a bunch of elephants from her family bday party on her bday...
And the 1 thing she asked for...an elephant pillow pet!
Gma and Gpa C gave her this SUPER ADORABLE OUTFIT!!!
She ended up wearing it for her school pictures!
Gma and Gpa K sent this present home with us when we visited in July...
We had white cake with chocolate frosting...
After a long day of school, watching brother at football practice, and a bday party, she finally tuckered out surrounded by her new stuff!
Then, over the weekend, we had a friend bday party. It was a princess theme...
Here's her cake... Pink on the inside too!
We had a crown cutout for a bean bag toss game...
Some kids took it VERY SERIOUSLY!!!
Super Girl had so much fun opening all her fun presents...
My mom brought this pattern with her and helped me buy the material to make this adorable outfit...
The Fab 5 found this cute outfit for her...she loves bunnies too!
I have been having fun experimenting with hair-do's for Super Girl. Here is the one I did today, it's a french braid that goes from one ear to the other, very low on the back of her head...here are photos...
This next hair-do is a favorite of mine...Super Girl likes it too! This was for church one week...
Another favorite, this time for school...
Then there was the time when Super Girl wanted ALL of her PRETTIES in her hair at the SAME TIME!!!
Super Boy also started Flag Football this season. Here he is at his 1st practice...
And at his 1st game!
The coach is telling Super Boy that he is blocking on the next play for the ball carrier...
They won their 1st game! Can't you tell by the exhilaration and pride on his face???
Super Girl loves flag football too! When we go to practice, this is what she likes to do...
There is a climbing wall at the playground where the boys practice!

And when we go to games, she has a special friend to play with...Super Girl calls her Snow-fee...
Super Girl has also recently learned how to roller skate! There are days when she barely takes them off!!!
This last weekend we took a drive up the canyon and this is what we found...FALL!!!!!
Also, while my mom was here, she brought us this cute pan for silver dollar pancakes...
I have since found that the wells are the perfect size for the egg portion of a homemade egg mc muffin! If you want all the details, go visit my recipe blog...
http://yummiesforyourtummy.blogspot.com/2010/09/home-made-egg-mcmuffins.html

Summertime Fun

2010-07-09T12:58:00.010-06:00

We have been busy busy busy with summer fun! Both kids started gymnastics in June. They both love it so far. Super Boy sometimes doesn't like stretching, but he sure does make some funny faces while he's doing it! Here he is on the bar...
Super Girl just loves running, jumping, swinging and rolling her way through class. Here she is on parallel bars and the wedge mat...

In other news, Super Boy lost his first upper tooth and the second is coming quick!
We also took a short but fabulous trip to Cali for 4th of July weekend. We had a nephew getting baptized and a niece getting blessed! We got to see most of our family that still lives in Cali and also got to work on our tans! Here are some of our pics from the trip...

On the road...

With Great Gma...

Swimmin' Time...

Almost all of Tall Boy's Family in 1 spot!
Band Hero before fireworks...
Sparklers...
Super Girl playing with her cousin Miss B...

Random Fun...

Now it's back to normal life...bleck...

Camping Fun???

2010-06-14T15:48:00.004-06:00

We finally decided to brave the elements and go camping this past weekend. We have been dealing with rain almost every day of June and finally said "ENOUGH!" So I packed the trailer on Friday, in the rain, then we went to our camping place, in the rain. Saturday we tried fishing, in the rain, and Sunday we decided that we better go before we couldn't get out of the mud. So we packed again, in the rain! We got home Sunday afternoon and unpacked, in the rain. Then by 6pm, there was no more rain! Now today it is bright and sunny! This has been a pattern every weekend so far this spring/summer! Oh well, we still had lots of fun making beaded animals and passing off LOTS of scouting requirements for Super Boy! (The picture before this paragraph has all of our toys under a tree. The new quad we bought for Super Boy is the red one of course)
Super Boy is in LOVE with SCOUTING!!! He got 5 belt loops and 3 BSA 100 ribbons in the past 2 months. Next month he'll be receiving atleast 4 more belt loops and 2 pins! He is very eager to do scouting and I let him! There are only 58 requirements for his next rank and he already has done 40 of them! he has only been in scouts for a little less than 3 months! In other news, he has a VERY wiggly top front baby tooth.
Super Girl is still as spunky as ever and loving her new independence by being potty trained. She tells all her friends and has even encouraged one of them enough that her friend is also potty trained now! She loves camping and looking at all the animals and trees. She says the funniest things sometimes. When we were camping this past weekend, we were asking the kids what their favorite part of camping was so far. Super Girl said VERY seriously, "When the brown and white bird called me stupid!" We couldn't help but start laughing so hard! She sticks to her story though, somewhere out by a reservoir, there's a brown and white bird calling little girls stupid...parents be aware!
I have been struggling alot lately with lack of energy and desire to do things, so camping was a nice break from everyday life. I can't wait to get back to nature again!

Our New Piano!

2010-05-28T10:06:00.004-06:00

Tall Boy consented and I got a piano! I have been wanting one for awhile now, and Super Boy recently told me that he wants to learn how to play the piano. So I found an electric piano for a great price! The best part is that it never has to be tuned, you can plug in headphones so you don't bother anyone while playing, and it is WAY lighter than a traditional piano. It is beautiful! So here are a couple of pictures...
Also, today is Super Boy's last day of school. He is excited for the summer, but sad that there is no school. He tested for the Accelerated program and was put on the waiting list, but we recently found out that enough people declined that he has a spot in the program for 3rd and 4th grade! He was very excited because according to him "I only learned 1 new thing in school!" His class recently performed "A year in review" it was a great program with a lot of fun songs and little narrations by the kids.
Super Boy's grade also had a walk-a-thon last week. He did great! They did it at a local park and the kids had 45 minutes to walk, jog, or run. Super Boy Ran most of the time, walking only about 1/4 of each lap. I'm not sure exactly how long the route was, but he did 9 laps! That's 5 minutes per lap! Here he is at the end with his punch card...
The kids all had sack lunches and Super Girl and I stayed for a little picnic with Super Boy...It was great fun!
Now we just have a long summer to look forward to! We are excited to be in our new neighborhood where there are tons of kids. I think this might be the best summer ever! Kids roaming wild and free from house to house! We also have a trip to Cali in July to look forward to. We might even send the kids to Gma and Gpa K for a couple of weeks of freedom! I'll try to keep this blog updated, but we just might be having too much fun for me to stop long enough to update!

Potty Training COMPLETE!!! And my new guilty pleasure...

2010-05-12T13:31:00.006-06:00

Yes that is right! Super Girl has been accident free for a week, and she shows no signs of ever going back to being a "baby with a diaper"! She has officially earned her potty elephant today!
In other news, I just discovered an awesome recipe that I had to share! I used to participate in a recipe blog, but I've decided just to include them here. There'll be a new label "Recipe" that you can click to see all my posts with recipes in them from now on!

The recipe I've discovered is kinda weird sounding, but delicious! The recipe is...

MICROWAVE POTATO CHIPS

I know what you are thinking...ewww...right? I thought the same thing, but thought, "why not give it a try?" I tried them and now I'm hooked! This is a very economical way to get your chip fix, and healthier too I think! Here are the instructions:

1 potato or sweet potato
parchment paper (or microwave safe glass plate)
cooking spray

Slice your potato using a thin slicer (you can even do it with a vegetable peeler) I use my salad shooter. Lay the potatoes in a single layer on the parchment paper. Spray with a light coating of cooking spray. Turn each slice over and spray again. Make sure none of the slices are sticking together, and put the potatoes in the microwave.
Microwave on high for about 5 minutes (mine are usually done after about 3-4) You should take the potatoes out immediately after they start to brown. They can burn easily and stink really bad when they burn (personal experience). Slide them off the parchment paper on to a cool plate or bowl and enjoy! I don't think they need any salt, but you can sprinkle a bit on right after they come out of the microwave if you want. I LOVE the sweet potato ones...mmmmmm... no dip or salt needed, just lucious! The following picture is the potato ones, they were slightly under-crisp, but still delicious!

Here's the sweet potato ones (and a few potato ones) they got slightly over done, but weren't burnt yet, and they were still delicious!

Mother's Day, Super Girl, Tim and Minute to win it fun...

2010-05-10T09:42:00.002-06:00

Mother's day was great! The kids gave me some yummy treats and 2 fun games. At church the Primary kids sang 3 beautiful songs, and the Relief Society gave us yummy chocolates and a beautiful quote I have always loved...

"Each of you should be grateful to be a woman!...To be a righteous woman is a glorious thing in any age. To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on earth, before the second coming of our Savior is an especially noble calling." ~Spencer W. Kimball

I got to lounge in bed most of the morning before church, then after church we had Tall Boy's parents over for pulled pork...YUMMY. Then we had cobbler for dessert...extra YUMMY! It was a great day!

As of today, Super Girl is 6 days clean and sober...um I mean DRY!!! She is doing great! She is over half way to her elephant.

In other news we FINALLY found TIM (Super Girl's beloved stuffed bunny)! Tim was stuck, wedged behind Super Boy's linen box in his closet! Tim was about 1 inch thick when we pulled her out, but she has been fluffed back up to almost normal size. No more sad Super Girl at bedtime!

The kids are in love with the show Minute to win it. They are constantly asking to try all the games. I recently found pedometers at the dollar store so I bought 4. The kids love playing "Bobble Head" and "Nervous Nellie". So I took some video of them doing the games...

Such cute and silly kids! I'm a lucky woman!

Potty success!

2010-05-06T09:33:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the 1st accident free day for Super Girl! She has been wearing only panties for a couple of days now, and yesterday she went potty on her own THE WHOLE DAY! I only told her to go potty right before bed, the rest were all on her own! WOOOOOOHOOOO! Hope it continues! She's up to 15 out of 50 stickers needed for her cute elephant....keep it up Super Girl!

Corrections, Baptism, Scouts, and other updates...

2010-05-05T08:15:00.000-06:00

I just figured out something about the potty dresses. The dollar amount I gave was wrong. I realized yesterday that I just added up all the ribbon and fabric from my receipt, and that included the ribbon and fabric for the bike trailer! I spent about $8 total on the bike trailer, so that leaves about $25 for 12 dresses. So it really boils down to about $2.10 for each dress! Potty training has been going well, had a couple of accidents yesterday, but improving! Super Girl told me after the fact that she went poop in the potty! Sure enough, I checked and she did! Luckily she was in a potty dress at the time so she didn't get poop on any undies from not wiping her bum....ewwwwwwww!!! Anyway, PROGRESS!!!

I finally got around to downloading the pics off my phone and getting the baptism photos from Hot Mama, so here it is!

Super Boy Turned 8 in the beginning of April. He had known about Scouts for about a month prior to that and we worked on all the requirements we were allowed to work on before his birthday. He is so gung ho about anything Scouts! So 2 weeks after his birthday was the 1st pack meeting he got to attend. He received 3 awards!!! There is a program this year called BSA 100 because it is the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary. So there are special ribbons the boys can earn and Super Boy earned 2! He earned the Outdoors ribbon for planning and doing an outdoor activity (a hike) for our family (that fulfilled 2 requirements), and while we were on the hike he identified animals and plants that were present in our neighborhood and told whether or not he thought they were there before the houses were built. The next ribbon he earned was the Community Service ribbon for cleaning up a public area (school balls over construction fence), planning and participating in a community service project (shoveling 4" of very wet and heavy snow for our whole side of our street) and for talking about people who serve the community and what they do (he mentioned me and the bishop! Talk about awesome company!) At the pack meeting, Super Boy also earned his first rank, Bobcat. He was so excited! I was too! He gave me the parents pin for helping him with his projects. i had forgotten about the pin, so it was super special. I was so proud of him for wanting to do Scouts and for being so persistent, I felt he earned it all on his own. It made me a little teary-eyed when he said, "Thanks mom, you are the best mom ever!" and gave me a hug. We don't have any pictures of the pack meeting, but he was kind enough to pose for me after...pardon the crappy phone picture quality...

So let me tell you a little more about this amazing kid known as SUPER BOY for obvious reasons!!! He is so smart and wants to grow up WAY TOO FAST!!! After he turned 8 he asked me, "Mom, can I cut my own hair? Will you teach me?" So I agreed and this was the result...

He wanted to do it longer that I usually do it, so we put on the longest guide and he went to town. A few days later we did it again, the normal length, so he looked super sharp for his baptism!

There is nothing in the world that can prepare you for the emotions and feelings you get when your oldest child makes the decision to be baptized. I still remember my baptism day very clearly, especially the feeling I had. So that made me think of how he will remember most of his life from now on...SCARY!!! All the moments I need to be the mean mom, he's going to remember! Through a series of unfortunate events, we lost the images of right before the baptism, with Tall Boy and Super Boy in their white clothes. But we still have the after photos! We were so happy so many people could join us and support Super Boy on this special day!

Here's everyone who was there...

Our newest family photo...

There are tons more pictures of the party that followed, but that will need to wait until next time...

My latest projects...

2010-05-03T22:52:00.001-06:00

Along with the potty dresses, I had another sewing project last week. We have this old bike trailer/stroller that has been neglected over the years, and the fabric cover was thrashed. So I made a pattern as best as I could from the scraps that were left and made a whole new cover!

The old cover (what was left of it)

The patterns I made (side net, side fabric, front fabric, front net, side velcro etc)

The finished product (side view)

Back view

Isn't it spiffy!?!

I also have my very own laptop now that is small but has an awesome battery life! Tall Boy told me I could "put whatever viruses I want" on it! That's his way of saying games and programs. The only program I've downloaded so far is for the Family Search Indexing. I know Dad, you are so proud...I've caught the bug! For those who may not be familiar, it is a program where you download images of census documents or other similar documents from around the world, and you type what you see in each field. I have been doing WWII draft records from Texas. It is amazing to see how many people have the same names!!! I have been typing away for a couple of days now and have set a pretty lofty goal of 36,500 names indexed in 1 year...about 100 a day...I already have over 1000 done in just the past 2 days! Just 35,500 more to go! Wish me luck!

In other news, Super Girl has been doing well with potty training. She has a chart with places for stickers up to the number 50. She gets a sticker each time she goes on the potty with a clean diaper/panties. When she reaches 50, she gets her cute elephant! She's already up to 10 and we've only been doing it for a few days...here's hoping!

And last tonight is the return of the weight loss tracker. I recently started walking with Hot Mama and another friend about a month ago. So far I have lost 5 pounds in 4 weeks! I haven't been walking lately, but I'm still exercising at home most times. So root for me, I'm shooting for about a pound per week...slow and steady wins the race!

Pillowcase dresses and potty training...

2010-04-28T11:54:00.003-06:00

My good Friend Hot Mama recently introduced me to pillowcase dresses (sorry mom if you have told me about them before, I didn't get it) I have been struggling with Super Girl to conquer the potty business. So my lovely mom made her a reward, a super cute purple & pink elephant puppet!

This has gotten her motivated, but has produced minimal results. So today, I was finishing up a bunch of dresses that I made out of left over fabric and some remnants I bought...and suddenly it hit me...these are POTTY DRESSES! Super Girl wears only the dress, no undies, no diaper! I have been waiting for warmer weather to do the naked butt potty training technique, but I can't wait anymore! So this morning when she had a dirty diaper, we were miraculously out of diapers! So the potty dress was initiated! Super Girl was SO MAD!!! She whined and cried for 1-2 hours, then suddenly stopped and told me, "I think I'm starting to do toots!" So we rushed into the bathroom and.....ta da!!! Poop and Pee in the potty! YAY!!! So here's the breakdown:

Fabric and ribbon for 11 potty dresses and 1 dress for me = $33.25 (that's about $2.77 per dress!)
Getting the most stubborn of children to pee and poop in the potty = PRICELESS!!!
Here are photos of the mass production that's been happening here for 3 days! I made my dress and 1 potty dress on monday. Then I made 7 potty dresses yesterday. And today I finished up with a respectable 3 more dresses! Enjoy!

All 11 potty dresses lined up in a row

My dress (the bottom half atleast!)

The 8 potty dresses made on days 1 and 2...

The 3 dresses I made today...

Super Boy's murals & birdhouse, and Super Girl's Easter Dress

2010-04-22T10:23:00.003-06:00

Super Boy had a fun painting day yesterday. Ever since we moved in, I have been promising him he could do 2 murals on the white walls in his room. Yesterday I finally came through on that promise! He had the ideas of what he wanted to do for about 3 years now, so here are the pics!

This is his Football Mural: Colts vs Tigers, Colts ahead 99 to 0 with 3 min left in the 3rd quarter. They have just run a play to give them another touchdown. Super Boy is in the stands all the way on the left, holding a sign that says "Colts always win!" The black dotted line is the path the ball took on the play, and the black solid lines are the routs the players ran on that play. All of this he dictated to me 3 years ago, he stuck to his original plan! I only helped with the areas he couldn't reach, but the rest is all Super Boy's talent!

This is his Landscape mural. He has wanted this since we moved in to our last house 4 1/2 years ago! I kept trying to figure out a less-permanent way to get it done, and finally I gave in and let him use real craft paint! Hope he doesn't get sick of these murals any time soon! I do not want to start painting walls again!

The hand print is his signature on his artwork! He put his name and the date in black in the center of his red hand print.

Super Boy recently started Cub Scouts and has been begging me to put together a birdhouse since he read it in his book! So I finally gave in and we bought this kit. It is all glued, so it is still not finished, we had to wait for the glue to dry to add the embellishments. The blue pieces go as trim on the roof and as decoration over the door in the yellow wall. The red are little perches that go outside the doors to help the birds get in. More pictures will come once it is finished. He painted everything himself (and even let his sister help a bit) I just cleaned up drippy spots and held while glue dried!

Now on to Super Girl. I made her Easter Dress again this year. I'm really trying to keep up the tradition my mom started when I was little. So this year I made this one...There are a few boo boos, but she really likes it! I also made a matching shirt and skirt for her favorite bunny "Tim" who wore her dress at the same time, so the matched and were super cute! Tim has since gone missing...maybe in protest to the outfit??? Anyone with information on the whereabouts of "Tim" the girl bunny please contact me! Super Girl is so sad anytime she thinks about "Tim" which is about once a day.

DRESS AND PURSE

UP CLOSE ON DRESS TOP

UP CLOSE ON PURSE

I will probably have another post for you tomorrow with Super Boy's first pack meeting and receiving his Bobcat. I might also post whatever other pictures I find on my phone (our camera was having issues, so I finally broke down and bought a new one. The pictures from today's blog were taken on the new camera. I have yet to download all the pics from the few months we were without a camera and left to use crappy cell phone cameras...)

Adieu until tomorrow....

I love the rain!

2010-04-21T12:58:00.000-06:00

I am sitting here at the computer, working on some stuff for scouts...then I hear the rumble of thinder and all I want to do is go sit out on my porch and listen and smell...I have always loved the rain, but I haven't seen or heard it in so long, it was a nice reminder! So now I am pacifying my need to waste my day by leaving a window open and walking by it every now and then...life must move on...

In other news, we got Super Boy's test results back from the Accelerated program. He scored high enough to qualify for the program, but is on the alternate list. We will know in the summertime whether or not a spot opens up for him. He told me he is happy either way. He said he likes learning new stuff, but is happy to know everything already too! What an amazing kid! I hope he gets a spot, just because his mind needs stretching!

Ahhh...the sky just opened up with a downpour of rain... I must go watch for a minute...

Finally another update!

2010-04-15T13:16:00.001-06:00

Sorry I've been away so long...life happens!

I have new pictures of the kiddos to share!

Super Boy is loving his new 2nd grade class at his new school. He has tested for the accelerated program in this new district and we should be finding out soon how he did. He also had an awesome school performance a few weeks ago where the whole school honored people/ideas of the past that helped shape the future. Each grade had a different person/thing. Super Boy sang about Christopher Columbus discovering America. The whole school sang about believing in yourself and reaching for your highest potential. It was really great and fun too! Super Boy also had a very important birthday...he turned 8! He made the decision to get baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He also started Cub scouts and has already earned his Bobcat rank and 2 achievement ribbons! My parents came to visit for a week to celebrate his birthday and attend his baptism. It was so good to see them! I miss them already!

Super Girl is as active as ever and growing like a weed! She is pictured here with her favorite friend "Tim" the girl bunny! Tim was a gift from the Fab 5 for Christmas, and she hasn't put her down since! Super Girl has been struggling with potty training and attitude growing pains. Hopefully she'll get back in the program and get potty trained before she turns 4 in September! My mom even has made her a special surprise that she only gets when she is potty trained...I hope it works! She seems excited about it, so here's hoping!

We absolutely love our new home, but I miss Tall Boy's mom sometimes. She is such a wonderful woman, so helpful and caring. I miss her conversations and guidance. But we are adapting to life on our own and really enjoying it.

Tall Boy and I have new callings in our ward. We both teach the 9 year old class in primary, and I have a 2nd calling of Webelos Den Leader Assistant. I love working with these young men who are curious and want to learn. What a fun bunch!

Tall Boy is still secure at his job, though there were some cutbacks and layoffs, we were spared. We are so grateful for his job and for the love and respect his company shows all of us.

I am still at home with the kids, but am looking forward to going back to school soon. I hope to get a degree in Elementary education, but that probably won't be for another 5 years! Oh well, like I said before...LIFE HAPPENS!

Hope all of our friends and family are well! Love you all!

Super Girl's New Do!

2010-01-16T12:36:00.004-07:00

Super Girl and I have been fighting with major tangles for about 6 months now. Super Girl hated having her hair brushed and combed, and would rarely let me do anything with it. So today, after much deliberation, I finally took the plunge and cut her hair!

I gave her a bath and used shampoo and conditioner. Then I combed out her hair until I hit the major tangles.

Then I cut just above the highest tangle
and cut the rest to match!

Before
and After

After all was said and done, this is how much hair (tangles) we removed today!

My 30th Bday, Super Boy's 2nd Grade Picture, and Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T15:28:00.006-07:00

I finally hit the big 30! I had a great day! It started with some awesome Yoga, it continued with a FABULOUS Brunch with my mom-in-law, and it ended with a romantic dinner for 2 at a fabulous restaurant with my hubby! My mom sent me a beautiful earring and necklace matching set of my birthstone (Citrine) Here's a picture of the earrings, the necklace is the same design just on a necklace!
We had chocolate cake cupcakes with chocolate frosting for our dessert. It was an amazingly nice day. And the next day we got snow! I considered it my belated birthday present from mother nature! Anyway, I am so excited for this decade in my life. I'm done having kids, I might finish school, and I'll probably go back to work! WOO HOO! Bring it on!

Moving on...

Here's my Super Boy's 2nd grade picture. He sure is growing up fast!

Yesterday for Thanksgiving, we repeated our Utah Thanksgiving tradition of eating with Hot Mama's Family. We had an additional couple with us this year and it was tons of fun. We were there for over 7 hours! We ate, laughed, told stories, ate, and laughed some more! We love our tradition! Some people don't understand how we could want to be with friends instead of family. I just say that we are with friends that are just like family! We always have a relatively stress-free time (and how many of you can say that Thanksgiving with your entire family is relatively stress free?) and always have a very nice Thanksgiving that we can ACTUALLY be THANKFUL for! Anyway, I'll get off my soap box for now...

In other news, we are still house hunting, but we think we are getting close to finding and getting exactly what we want. Wish us luck! Until next time, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, and MERRY CHRISTMAS! (Just in case it takes me longer to update this blog than I hope! Hehehe)

Our 1st Snow of the season!!!

2009-10-27T11:37:00.002-06:00

I had forgotten how much I LOVE SNOW!!! It is so beautiful and tranquil. It invites warm feelings of home and relaxation. I just want to curl up with a good book and some hot cider/cocoa...mmmmm...

What have I been up to lately???

2009-10-24T11:34:00.009-06:00

We have been kinda crazy here lately, but the past week has been kinda mellow. Last weekend, I had just my Super Girl with me, so we had a girl's day. We just played all day, snuggled and watched shows until Super Girl fell asleep. It was a sweet day. She makes a lot of really cute faces, but this is one of her new favorites...she makes it when something "scary" is going to happen on a show...
Also, our Relief Society had an activity where we learned to use the knifty knitter loops and make hats and scarves for those in need. Here are the baby and toddler ones I've made so far:
The house hunt has slowed a bit due to our Realtor having some personal issues to deal with. So this next week we'll be hitting the pavement again. We have 2 houses we like and have offers on. One has multiple offers already and the bank gets to decide. The other, we are the only offer. So who knows when we'll know, that's the only problem with short sales-there's nothing short about them! I have both kiddos this weekend, so we are just hanging out, having a Primary Program practice + pizza party, then Trunk or Treat! Should be a fun day!

Last, but certainly not least, I have a video of Super Girl singing the theme song to one of her favorite shows! Enjoy!

Super Girl's Bday and life updates

2009-09-26T02:02:00.001-06:00

Ok, I don't know what happened to the post I did before, but it was really cute and well done. This is just a quickie to get certain PARENTS OFF MY BACK!!! Just kidding Mom and Dad! Love ya! Anyway, here are some updates...

I am no longer going to school. Yeah, I know, that was short lived! The class I was taking was just way too time consuming for right now. So maybe next semester??? We'll see. Also, I have a new calling, I am Relief Society Secretary. I don't know how long I'll be in though, seeing how we are house shopping! It's a really good time to buy right now, so we are looking for a new home! Also, Super Girl started preschool! We are still working on the potty training, but she loves school and is doing well. She has also recently become an ELEPHANT GIRL!!! She still loves monkeys, but when I asked her what kind of birthday party she wanted, she said "Pink elephant party!"

Now for some pictures...
Super Girl's Bday party...

The pink elephant cake

Super Girl's 1st day of preschool...

Her backpack is as big as she is! She has smaller ones, but Brother has a rolling backpack for school, so she has to have one too!!! Gotta love this spunky girl! That's all for now! I'll post pics of our new house soon!!!

Don't Have A Heart Attack! I'm BACK!!!

2009-09-01T08:43:00.001-06:00

Ok, so yeah, I sucked over the summer with blogging...I KNOW! Okay! But I'm here to redeem myself a little bit. I have pictures of Super Boy's 1st day of school! 2nd Grade ALREADY!!! And Super Girl is 3 years old TODAY!!! Life is flying by!

Some updates for you all...

I started going back to school! I am just taking 1 class this semester to ease my way back into it, but it is History and it's an online class. It will be hard, but it will be good to get it over with! I have also been attending the temple weekly with my friend and it has been AMAZING!!! So many spiritual and fun experiences, what a blessing! I also just cut my hair, I have a picture that is not cute, but atleast you can see my hair cut!
Also, Super Girl will start preschool on Sept 3rd! WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!! That girl needs it! Okay, so do I, but COME ON!!! So we are trying to get the potty training under control so she can be at school. She is great about peeing, but poop is still an issue. Anywho...

Super Boy is ESTATIC to be back in school...he was "SO BORED!!!" this summer! We only went camping every other weekend, with a week long trip to California and swimming EVERYDAY for a few weeks out of the summer...THAT'S ALL!!!

So here is Super Boy on his 1st day of 2nd grade! Can you see the look on his face that says "Hurry up mom, LET ME GO TO SCHOOL ALREADY!!!"

I have walked him to school for the past 3 years (preschool included) and every year I always ask him if he wants me to walk with him on his 1st day...this year was the 1st NO! He's SO BIG!!!

Here are some pictures of our last camping trip before school started...I have a couple of dirtballs like this every time we go camping...aren't they ADORABLE!!!???

Then last, but not least, is my baby girl who is 3 TODAY!!! Here are some pictures I LOVE of this awesome SUPER GIRL!!!

Found her like this a few days ago...Gogurt empty but hanging out of mouth, passed out on floor! This was after an afternoon filled with "I'm NOT TIRED!!!" (Age: almost 3)Super Girl's 2nd Bday party! (Age: 2 years old!)

Then last year in May (I think) My friend ZoieBelle took these photos to get some practice for her business...she did an AMAZING job! (Age: 18 months)

Super Girl's 1st bday party! (Age: 1year old...DUH!!)

Camping at Strawberry Reservoir. (Age 10 months)

And last is Super Girl on the day she came home from the hospital! (Age: 2 days old!)

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Weekly Weigh In and Trip to Cali

2009-07-10T07:28:00.006-06:00

Well, I haven't been a good girl...I gained some weight in Cali (which is really surprising cause I was always busy and didn't pig out) But such is life. I am 232.2. Also I have been working (sweating) outside on our yard and selling trailers and such. I have had some really good workouts and haven't lost ANYTHING! SO FRUSTRATING! Anyway, that's my reality.

In other news I have been CRAZY busy since I got home from Cali, but it was a really good trip. I left here on Wednesday. The drive there was pretty uneventful except for the few thunderstorms we encountered along the way. There was one in particular that I had to take a picture of. The whole sky was blue with white puffy clouds except for this one area of dark right ahead on the road...here's the picture I took of it!
We arrived Wednesday night and just visited for a few minutes with Great Grandma when we dropped off Gma and Gpa C at her house. Then on Thursday I got to see a friend from a performing group I was in during High School. We had lunch, did some shopping and finished off with some yummy ice cream! We also stopped and picked up some bedding at Sears for Gma and Gpa C (we both have cal king beds but they don't sell sheets that size here for reasonable prices) On Friday I saw my sister and her family. I was happy to rid my house of some VERY CUTE BABY GIRL CLOTHES! My sister's daughter looked so cute in some of the things she tried on for us. What a FIRECRACKER! Super Girl didn't know what to think of someone as sassy as she is!

Saturday was my busiest day. I went to one of my best friends' wedding! She was AMAZINGLY GORGEOUS! Everyone should look great on their wedding day, but she was POSITIVELY STUNNING! Anyway, I saw another friend from High School at the wedding, she was there with her super cool husband taking video and such for the wedding and reception. It was great to catch up with them. After the reception, I went to a baby shower for my brother and his wife. I saw some of my siblings, but not all. It was a lot of fun. Super Boy decided that he needed to spend the night and one of my brother's house. He played with his cousin on the Play Station and had a blast.

Sunday I went to church with my parents, then we had a lunch father's day get together at my sister's house. Then I went to my sister-in-law's house for a father's day party for Gpa C and her dad too. It was great to see more of the family there and have some DELICIOUS ICE CREAM! Of course I had to get the recipe! Super Boy decided that he needed some more time with his cousins and spent the night. On Monday I hung out with my sister-in-law at her house and caught up a bit. She was my best friend in high school, and she married Tall Boy's brother! I have missed her SO MUCH! After hanging out with her all day, I went to dinner with Gma and Gpa C at one of their daughter's houses. Great Gma was there too. It was delightful! We visited, played games and enjoyed the food and company.

Tuesday was my other crazy day. I went to the Sacramento Temple and did an Endowment Session where my dad officiated! It was a really neat experience! After that, I did some Marriage and Family Sealings with Great Gma, Gma and Gpa C. What a beautiful day! After attending the temple, we all went out to lunch together at one of my favorite places LEATHERBY'S! I had pizza and ice cream. YUMMY STUFF! After lunch, I did some errands and then met up for dinner at Carl's Jr with even more friends from High School! It was so amazing to see their kids and to catch up on our lives. After saying goodnight to them, I went to Great Gma's house and saw one of Tall Boy's sisters for dessert and catching up. It was a long day, but it was really great!

On Wednesday my mom and I dove into one of her "junk" rooms to try and find some parts to a sewing machine she gave me. We managed to organize and clean up quite a bit, but we didn't find the parts :( After a long day of work, we went out to dinner at a nice BBQ place. Then I swung by Good-Ol-Walmart to pick up a few things for our trip back the next day. Thursday Morning came all too soon and before heading out, I had to buy some strawberries from the road-side-stand. They are PERFECTION and SO SWEET! So we had a sweet treat for the drive home. I only needed another driver for 1 tank of gas across the Nevada desert. I was so glad to let my allergy-weary eyes a rest for a couple of hours. Thanks Gpa C! We arrived home safe and sound and EXHAUSTED! But there was to be no down-time for me! Tall Boy had called on Wednesday and asked to go camping on Friday! So all day Friday was spent packing the trailer and such.

We camped at our same favorite place all day Saturday and returned home Sunday afternoon. It took me e few days to recover and almost a full week for our house to recover! Then for the 4th of July, we celebrated a day early with Hot Mama and her family with dinner (home made ribs!) and dessert and fireworks in the street.

Then on the 4th we just hung out and then went to watch fireworks form a nearby High School Parking lot! We had Gma C take a new family photo too! We might have to try again, but this is the best one I think!
The kids had some sparklers to play with...

and Super Boy played Bocce Ball with Gma C, Tall Boy, myself and Super Girl.
The kids also loved rolling down the little hill we were sitting on...
Then it was finally time for an awesome fireworks show! we were pleasantly surprised by how well we could see them, it was a really great show!
Then this week I have been trying to play catch up with laundry, bills and keeping kids entertained! Yesterday I took both kids to a trial class at The Little Gym. They both liked it alot. It's a bit pricey, so I may just have to do some shopping around. I know Super Girl could use an outlet for all her crazy energy, and Super Boy could really use some muscle building exercise, so we'll see what I can find!

Whew! I think that just about catches us up! Oh yeah, I forgot, we are going camping tonight with The Fab 5 and Gma and Gpa C! I can sleep when I'm dead...right?!:)

Weekly Weigh In

2009-06-15T11:17:00.001-06:00

Oops I did it again! Hahaha! I made it another week! Another pound gone!!! I am now 231.2 and still 50.7% body fat...this week I hope to get to the gym tomorrow, then it's off to Cali! So this will be my last post for atleast a week unless something amazing happens in the next 48 hours!

Upcoming Fun!

2009-06-13T23:15:00.002-06:00

I am the best wife ever! I am giving my husband the ULTIMATE FATHER'S DAY GIFT...a quiet house for a week! That's right, I'm packing up the kiddos and his parents and driving to California! Now, I have to be honest, this is a win-win gift. I get to see my friends and family, go to a wedding and just have fun! And my husband doesn't have to be dragged along or worry about missing work! I am really excited and SO IS HE! Little does he know that he will be getting an actual gift too! I ROCK! So in preparation for my trip, I have been cleaning house, doing laundry and dishes and preparing meals in advance! I AM THE BEST WIFE EVER...I KNOW!!! Anyway, I will do my weekly weigh in as scheduled on the 15th, but I won't do my weekly weigh in on Mon June 22nd. I'll do it when I get back. Wish me luck!

Weekly Weigh-In

2009-06-08T11:40:00.002-06:00

Okay...we're back on track! I didn't go to the gym at all this week, but I had major yard work and grocery shopping to boost my calories burned! I have decided to take weekends off unless I know I'll be doing manual labor, my arm just needs a break and so does my mind and spirit. Anyway, lets get to the good stuff...

As of 8:20am today, I weigh 232.4 with 50.7% body fat. My body fat went up, but that is not something to stress over, body fat measurements rely on water measurements, so they can vary quite a bit throughout the day. 1 week, 1 pound- only 62.4 more to go!

The Awful Truth

2009-06-01T09:24:00.003-06:00

For those of you who have been following this blog awhile, you will remember the days when I did my weekly weigh in...I haven't done one in a long time because I knew I was way off track due to a not-so-great winter. But I am renewing my efforts so here I go again. I'm sure you will all be shocked by my new numbers (in a bad way) but I need to be accountable to someone other than myself...so blogging world, close your eyes if you don't want to know the details.

As of 7:45am today I weigh 233.4 lbs with a body fat percentage of 50.5%

GASP...WOAH...OUCH...Yeah yeah yeah...I KNOW!!! But this is Super Boy's last week of school and he's been DYING to go to the kid's club at the gym, so I just might be there EVERY DAY for 2 hours just to have a break! I have a new goal to lose 1 lb a week and get down to 170. That puts my new Ultimate Weight Loss date all the way into October of 2010, but I should still be down about 34 lbs by My 10th anniversary. So I'll Say I want to be below 200lbs by my 10th anniversary. Never knew a bad winter could affect my outcome so much...this sucks, but it is the Awful Truth...time to face the music...

My official Girl's Weekend post...3 weeks in the making!

2009-05-22T09:11:00.018-06:00

All of our fun friend photos!

We started off by flying to SFO. Hot Mama, Cuddles and I all flew together.
While waiting in the airport, Hot Mama proceeded to tell us about her neighbor's
hunger strike because his wife refused to have anything in the house that her highly
allergic children couldn't eat...and according to Hot Mama all she had was "Healthy Crap".Well, we weren't the only ones who were in on the conversation. A very nice lady sitting about 5 feet away heard this and started to crack up and walked away for a minute. This threw us into fits of hysteria that lasted much longer than normal! After she came back we asked her to take our picture and promised we wouldn't say "Healthy Crap" again! This is the picture she took...

So we finally board the plane and proceed to take tons of pictures of ourselves! Believe it or not,but only a few turned out well!

After we landed in SFO we got a very sweet surprise..Lady J!
We didn't know she was coming!So then we went to the airport train to go get a rental car.
After that we checked into the hotel and got dressed to go to the Oakland Temple.

We took the "scenic route" to the temple. We all thought we'd be able to remember the proper exit...which we did...after a few wrong turns and finally calling Hot Mama's hubby to rescue us. We found the exit and all screamed out just as her hubby was telling us the exit name...he didn't enjoy the screams through the phone much...SORRY!

Once inside we were all dressed and ready to do an Endowment session, but we missed it by 5 minutes and the next one wasn't for 1 hour and we couldn't wait that long because the last girl in our group, Super Woman,
was meeting us at the hotel. So we decided to do some Marriage Sealings. It turned out to be really special because none of us had actually been to the other's Sealings, but we were all Sealed in the Oakland Temple! So after our session (in which the luckiest older gentleman in the WORLD got to hold ALL of OUR HANDS!!!) we all got to walk around to the different Sealing Rooms and find "ours" that we were Sealed in. Lady J and I were sealed in the largest of the rooms, but none of the others had the same rooms. It was a very special day.

After getting dressed we went outside for some pictures. Atleast that's what we THOUGHT...
we took a GAZILLION photos! Most of them were by timer and we were running around like 15 year old tourists! We got some strange looks, but we also got some of our best photos!

Of course I had to stop and document some of the GORGEOUS flowers at the temple. I only got a few cause we were ready to go...

After our hour long photo shoot, we finally made it back to the car and drove back to the hotel and got changed. It turns out we weren't the only ones getting lost that day, Super Woman got lost on the way to the hotel.

So when she arrived, we all went downstairs to greet her! So finally back together again, we all went out to dinner. We decided on Mimi's Cafe. We got settled in and ordered our food. We chatted and caught up on each other's lives. We went back to the hotel and chatted some more into the wee hours of the morning...

Super Woman never did go to sleep, and Lady J was so tired of our gabbing that she retired to the other room! But we were all wishing Super Woman hadn't chosen a Super Gas Food for her dinner...BRAN MUFFIN FARTS FILLED THE AIR!!! We were all too busy laughing and (in my case almost dying from the asthma attacks that ensued) catching up on our lives. I think we all managed a couple of hours in there somewhere (all but Super Woman because she is SUPER WOMAN!).

Anyway, the next day we dragged our tired bodies down to breakfast. They have an amazing breakfast at the hotel. We got to specail order our omelets and put our own varieties of stuff in them. There was also french toast, pastries, muffins, bagels, cereal, oatmeal, juices, milk...you get the idea. There was so much to chooses from, but we all got our fill and went back to our room to get ready for the day.

Lady J chose to stay in and get some more shut eye while the rest of us took to the mall for some fun lingerie shopping! We grabbed "lunch" at BJ's restaurant. I say "lunch because we ate sweet onion strings and pizookies! Hot Mama and I shared a


A rich chocolate cookie featuring chunks of Ghirardelli chocolate. Topped with two scoops of double chocolate ice cream with Ghirardelli chocolate chips and a Ghiradelli SQUARES dark chocolate."

This is a picture of the "Original Pizookie" that Super Woman and Cuddles shared...
Now just imagine it ALL CHOCOLATE!!! SO YUMMY Thanks Super Woman for introducing me to a new form of Kryptonite! After that we went back to the hotel, napped for a couple of hours then got up to get ready for WICKED!!! We got dressed to kill, hopped in Super Woman's Car and headed to the Cal Train station. We had some issues with tickets that took awhile and we ended up not being able to go to The Cheesecake Factory before the show. But we did find a Subway near the theater and it turned out to be the PERFECT meal! Here are some pictutures of our WICKED ADVENTURE!

What an amazing show! I am "Changed for good!"

That night we got home and talked and sang for hours. There was also some touching...
The next day held more of the same amazing breakfast, followed by more adventures! This time it was a trip to Great America to ride some roller coasters without having to worry about those little 4-letter words...KIDS!!!

Everyone but Lady J got a Henna "tattoo". I got a pair of lips on my upper chest. I told everyone it was so I could tell my hubby, "Start here!" Funny story is that he never actually saw it! I told him about it, but every time I thought about it was when it was dark and my hubby didn't seem to care for the visual or the instructions!

We decided to go get Hot Mama a new bra for her saggy bags...some of us decided that wasn't a bad idea. We were all going in and out of the changing room...it was mayhem! Then we finally went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and dessert (duh!) I had the most amazing chocolate fudge brownie cheesecake ever! YUM! Everyone was exhausted and I was the only one who hadn't seen Twilight yet, so I stayed up until 3am watching it while everyone else dosed off.

The next morning we had another amazing breakfast and decided to clean up and pack in preparation for our departures. Cuddles REALLY missed her hubby and kids, so she decided to switch her flight to an earlier one. So she went to the airport and the rest of us went on a wild goose chase looking for a 1 hour photo to combine all our pictures onto a CD to share. We also wanted Chocolate Malted Crunch ice cream from Rite Aid, so that's where we went. The 1st Rite Aid didn't have the ice cream and the computers for the 1 hour photo were not working. So we got some "directions" to another Rite Aid "just down the road". Needless to say we never found it, but we managed to get lost 9 different ways and finally stop at a gas station to ask for REAL directions. After that we made our way back to a Target in a mall. We turned in our memory cards and started the CD making process and left to get some much needed lunch. We picked up the CD and we finally had everything done (except the ice cream from Rite Aid) and it was unfortunately time to go home :( Hot Mama and I took the Shuttle from the hotel to the airport, Super Woman drove Lady J to Sacramento to have a day there before going home.

I think we all agree that this will be a tradition from now on...Hot Mama and I vote to have the next one in or near Park City Utah...what do you all think?

New Super Boy Picture

2009-05-20T08:25:00.004-06:00

His school does "personality portraits at the end of the year. Of course he had to take his elephant with him. Also, in other Super Boy news, he lost his 1st tooth! He's growing up way too fast!
As for my long awaited girl's weekend pics...you have to wait even longer! I have to pick and choose, edit and then post the pics...and this week it's not happening because I am doing job shadows with some local teachers and trying to decide what subjects I want to teach so I don't waste ANY time or money on something I'm not sure I want to do! After my 1st 2 days of shadowing a Sign Language Teacher, I KNOW I want to teach ASL, but there isn't a degree in that, so I have to find another subject to teach and add an ASL endorsement to it. Red Tape...I LOATHE it!!! So that's my life lately! I'll post more as I know more!

The BEST Mother's Day EVER!!! And life update

2009-05-11T08:43:00.009-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted in almost a month...life is crazy. I had a total BLAST on my Girl's weekend...I'll have to go into detail once I get pictures back. I didn't take many of my own because my camera was really big and didn't fit well into my smaller dressy purses. I know...EXCUSES EXCUSES! But here are a few I did take...

Plane landing at home after the weekend...

The view from our 1 foot wide balcony

The following is what happens when 5 girls live in 1 hotel room for 3 days!

The view from our front door into the hotel

Our room door!

The Elephant planter in the hotel lobby

Back to the post at hand!
We went camping this past weekend and had a ton of fun!
But the best day by far was Sunday, Mother's day. We started off with pancakes made by Tall Boy, then we packed up camp. We drove home and picked up Goodwood barbecue for lunch along the way. I ate ribs in my pj's! Then I had a really long nap. Woke up and the kids had been bathed and put in pj's. I had Oreos and milk in bed and then I got my present, a new cookbook!
I'm really excited to try out some new recipes! Also, the kiddos traced their hands in the front of the book, so I'll always have that!

In addition to an awesome girl's weekend and mother's day, I also have decided to job shadow a couple of teachers for a week to see if I really want to teach math and sign language in either jr high or high school before I take any classes toward that goal. I will probably be going back to school as soon as I decide for sure what I want to do and make a plan that will allow me to be home with the kids like I am now. Wish me luvck, I know I need all the luck I can get!

Thanks for tuning in to the crazy lady's blog update, hope you come back soon!

Easter and Tall Boy's Bday

2009-04-15T09:03:00.005-06:00

Not much to update, so this will be short...

Over the weekend, Tall Boy did some much needed work on cars (thanks again babe!) and spoiled his birthday present! He was a little upset when he couldn't find any tools! I think he was a little less grumpy after I showed him his present, a tool storage chest that rolls and separates. I even labeled and organized everything for him! Hopefully he really likes it. I know it will help keep our tools more organized and easier to find!

Easter Sunday was very mellow. Super Girl and I wore our matching dresses and received MANY compliments. It was a lot of fun...we BOTH looked pretty darn cute! Anyway, we just hung out at home, no Easter Egg hunt. We talked about the reason we celebrate Easter, Jesus Christ's life, Atonement, death and resurrection for us. I think Super Boy is finally getting it. He was very somber and asked lots of questions. I told him that Christ is the reason we celebrate and that the Easter Bunny is just for fun. He wrote a letter to the Easter Bunny and left him/her some cookies. The Easter Bunny even left a reply! He was VERY excited about that. Anyway, Easter was fun.

For Tall Boy's actual birthday, we didn't do a whole lot. I asked him what he wanted for dinner, he answered and I made it for him. The kids picked out a big musical card that plays the chicken dance song REALLY LOUDLY! The kids danced and giggled. Tall Boy was a good sport and even led them in a game of freeze dance! Then we had chocolate covered strawberries and cheesecake for dessert (2 of Tall Boy's favorites). However, the cheesecake was thin and not very tasty (the store was out of the kind I normally get). Anyway, we just chilled out at home and watched TV together.

Then yesterday (Tuesday) started off pretty normal. Super Boy woke up and climbed into our bed for his morning snuggle. Then a few minutes later he says, "Oh yeah, I forgot, there is throw up EVERYWHERE in my room!" Tall Boy quickly exited to work (lucky jerk!) and I examined the damage. It was SO GROSS! So Super Boy stayed home from school, but he wasn't sick AT ALL! So he had TONS of energy! He drove me crazy! Luckily enough, we had bought roses on Monday to plant in our front yard, so i went out in the light rain and planted 8 rose bushes! Super Boy had to stay inside and I got to have some fun! I stayed outside WAY longer than I needed to, but I got to breathe a little bit. Then late in the afternoon I had to tackle the nastiness. I had already stripped the bed and cleaned up the floor in the morning, so I just had to rinse the bedding in the shower before I put it in the washing machine. I did so much laundry! AND THERE'S STILL MORE!!! I HATE LAUNDRY! Anyway, I still have a couple of loads to do...

So that is our update. I have a couple of pictures of our first flowers of spring (before Super Girl got a hold of them!). Hopefully our tulips will bloom soon and maybe even some roses too! Enjoy!

Blogging the Midnight oil...

2009-04-08T00:01:00.005-06:00

So I find myself staring at a computer screen at midnight (yet again) while everyone else is sleeping (and snoring). So I figured I could atleast post some new info and pictures for all of you who have been missing me!

So here's the latest:
Super Boy is 7! He had his "friend party on saturday between sessions of conference. He had a blast playing the same elephant bean bag toss game we played at his family party. The kids he invited were all so super sweet and fun. There was even a boy who lost a tooth that had been hanging on by a thread. He was only concerned that he didn't make a mess or cause any trouble! Anyway, thes kids all got him cool stuff like lego cars to build, brain bender puzzles (the wooden kind) and of course, TONS of ELEPHANT STUFF! We had red velvet cupcakes with white frosting and various toppings to make "Cyber chase cupcakes" as requested by Super Boy!

General conference was inspiring as usual. I loved President Monson's talk about temples and another talk (I can't remember who gave it) about choices. I have been struggling lately, but I'm doing better now. I have been so busy thinking about what my kids need and husband needs that I lost sight of myself. So I took some initiative and got a new haircut, new dress, made an appointment with my dermatologist, made an appointment to get new glasses, and have set up Fridays as temple day. I have also returned to my wednesday yoga class. It is always like feast or famine with me! So I am important again, I just need to find the right balance where everyone gets their needs met.

I have taken up a few projects too. I mentioned in a previous post about the dresses my mom and I made, but I don't remember if I mentioned the super cute and super secret flannel PJ's I'm making for my kids for Easter! I finished Super girl's today. I'll probably start and finish Super Boy's tomorrow(today) or Thursday. They will each have a short sleeve button up top, shorts and pants...here's pictures of Super Girl's. (Super Boy's won't have the girly rick-rack on it...don't worry)
I have also been having great luck shopping at my local DI for clothing and fabric. I found this really cute wrap around skirt that was HUGE! But I loved the fabric, so I bought it (2 yeards of fabric for $4) and just sewed it closed and cut off the excess for something for Super Girl...here's a couple of photos. It has a glitter to it too...so cute!

I also found a SUPER CUTE DRESS that I will be taking on a girl's only excursion at the end of this month. Some friends from high school who are all turning 30 this year are getting together in San Francisco for a much needed GETAWAY! We'll probably see WICKED and do some other stuff, but the better part of 4 days without kids! WOO HOO! GO ME! Anyway, so I found this dress and a bunch of belts that will look really cute with it, but I also found a SUPER CUTE pink courduroy jacket. I even found a perfectly matching belt for that too that I envision using as a headband! So here they are...

I took some REALLY BAD self portraits trying to show off my cute new do, I am only posting them so everyone can get an idea of my cuteness...I KNOW THEY ARE HORRIBLE PICTURES, so please don't waste your comment space to tell me so! Also, an interesting side note- these photos were taken within a total of about 5 minutes, so I can change my look quickly! FUN STUFF!

If you want to see a slide show of the friend party festivities for Super Boy, go to his blog and check out all the pics...

The snoring has died down, so I think I'll once again attempt the feat of sleeping...wish me luck!

Gma and Gpa, Super Boy's Family Bday Party and Easter Dresses!

2009-03-27T20:27:00.007-06:00

Hello Blogging World! Yes it's really me! Yes, I AM still ALIVE! We had a lot of fun over the past 2 weeks with Gma and Gpa K visiting, but sadly, they are back home now. We were busy and the time just flew by!

We had a family bday party for Super Boy. We had just family over for a small party. We played a couple quick games of bean-bag toss into our cool elephant target.

We did chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting in the shape of an elephant with colored marshmallows to outline features of the elephant. It turned out pretty cool if I do say so myself!

Sadly "the Fab 5" were sick and couldn't make it, but they were awesome enough to send a present...they gave Super Boy a Neopet, a Blue Starry Elephant.
He had fun looking at that site, playing games and setting up his account, but likes Webkinz more still. Gma and Gpa got him a cool bank that makes a car "vroom" sound when money is put in it, the Horton movie and a book called "Seven years old and preparing for Baptism".
We gave Super Boy some MUCH NEEDED clothing and a puzzle map of the United States.
We let Super Girl in on the fun and let her have a present so she'd leave Super Boy's alone! We got her a doll with clothing and "magic" bottles from the dollar store...she loves them!
While my mom was here, we were sewing like crazy! Gma C had a serger she didn't remember how to use. So she asked my mom to figure it out. I wish we would have done this LAST YEAR! The serger works great! We used it to make Super Girl an Easter Dress...
and a cute little summery dress from fabric my mom brought for Super Girl.

We also made my Easter dress to match Super Girl!
We made 3 purses to go along with our outfits...mine is the clutch purse pictured first...

We also made numerous bean bags for birthday parties and just plain ol' fun! We joked around that we were having dueling sewing machines (cue the banjos!). We had a lot of fun just playing around and enjoying one another's company.

But by far, the best part of the visit with my parents was the AWESOME opportunity to be INSIDE a temple DURING the DEDICATION! We were so excited to be in the temple and we were seated close to the room the Prophet would be in. We were waiting for a little bit when a woman entered the room and asked a question. Before my brain had time to register the question, my hand shot into the air almost knocking my dad off his chair! The woman motioned to come with me, and as I stood up and walked out it occurred to my brain that the woman asked if there were any singles in the room, meaning if anyone would mind sitting alone in another room. I thought I might be filling in an empty spot somewhere else, so some people could sit together in our room. I didn't mind, I was just happy to be there. All of this happened inside my head within me taking a few steps outside of my original room. A few steps later the woman leading me slowed down and whispered in my ear, "You get to go in the Celestial room dear!" My jaw hit the floor, my heart started to pound and my words became jumbled. I muttered something like, "Oh my gosh, are you serious!" and proceeded to hold my heart as they led me to my seat. I was in the 3rd row back on the 3rd seat from the wall on the right facing the podium. I had no clue where the prophet would sit or enter from. I just sat there in awe that I was in that room! A few more people were ushered into seats and shortly thereafter, the prophet entered on my side and shook hands with the whole first row! If I had reached out and he had done the same, we could have shaken hands...I was within arms reach of the prophet of God! What an amazing feeling! As we proceeded through the dedication, I was in awe of the man who converses with the Lord and is His mouthpiece here on Earth. Every word that was spoken seemed meant for my ears. I used to have faith that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet of God in these latter-days, but now, I KNOW he is the Lord's chosen prophet to lead and guide us. President Uchdorf was also present at the dedication and I felt his passion and power as an apostle break though his words. What an amazing man! I was on a spiritual high...feasting on the essence of a prophet in my midst. The dedication ended too soon and we were shown the way out of the temple. I stood at a staircase looking for my parents and in-laws, but I never saw them. So I went outside and still couldn't find them. I finally decided to get on a bus and wait for them at the church building where the car was. So I boarded the bus. When I stepped of the bus, my parents were there to greet me. They told me "We thought you'd FLY back!" I felt as though I was walking on air. My soul had been fed and lifted in the most amazing way! As long as I live I will never forget nor deny the feelings and knowledge that were bestowed upon me that day. My thanks and awe go to my Great-Great-Great-Great Grandmother Pheobe Draper for her amazing testimony, faith, devotion and endurance to help settle the area that now has a dedicated temple of the Lord! What an amazing legacy of love! I am sure it was her hand that raised mine in that room, so I could have that knowledge of the Prophet poured upon my spirit. I felt her faith and her love as I sat on holy ground where she must have stood so many years before. Thank you. It will never be enough, but Thank you. And thanks to my amazing parents for raising me in the gospel. I don't know if I would have sought it out or chosen it on my own. I have heard, seen and felt their faith and it has helped my faith to blossom and grow. You are amazing and I question everyday if I can ever be as good of a parent as they were to me. I love you. I am amazed by your generosity, love an devotion to our family and to the gospel. I hope I can do just half of what you have done in your lives to affect change in the lives of others and to help and serve others. You are my shining examples of what I want to do in my life. Thank you. It will never be enough, but thank you! So much gratitude in my heart for the life I have...even though I face some steep challenges with depression, medication, parenting, and marriage...but really, who doesn't these days! I'm just glad to have the example of 2 couples who have endured much more and worse than anything I have yet endured. Mom and Dad, Gma and Gpa C, thanks for the inspiration! Well, now that I've babbled on for an hour, I should get back to my life. Take care!

Gma and Gpa are here!

2009-03-17T08:16:00.002-06:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you are wearing green so you don't get pinched!

Gma and Gpa arrived last Wednesday and we have been having tons of fun. We went to a Burger place on the way home from the airport, it was pretty good. On Thursday Tall Boy had the day off, so we went to look at guns. He and I both applied for our concealed weapons permits and were looking at pistols to buy. We went ahead and bought one. It is a Springfield XD semi-auto 9mm sub-compact gun. I am excited to go shooting. I think I'll use the gun more for enjoyment than protection, but when Tall Boy is hunting, at least he can carry a pistol for sneak attacks from rabid bears or elk! Gma and Gpa had fun taking Super Girl around the store to see all the animals and let us shop...THANKS!!! While we were shopping, Super Girl saw a larger gentleman with a beard and long brown hair...she was right next to him, and as he walked by, she said in a VERY LOUD VOICE WHILE POINTING AT HIM..."IT'S MR. JESUS!!!" I just about DIED! But the guy just kept on walking and didn't even flinch! It was hilarious!

Then we went to the Draper Temple Open House on Friday the 13th. It was amazing. (I know, I just jumped from guns to temples...kind of strange, but that's what we did!) We took Super Boy and Super Girl along and they thought it was just so beautiful inside. Every time Super Girl saw a painting with Jesus in it, she said, "There's my Mr. Jesus!" It is so adorable. She has gotten into Elmo's World lately and there is a Mr. Noodle on the show, so now everyone is Mr. something. She loves her "Mr. Papa" and her "Mr. Princess Meowy"...yes that's right MR PRINCESS MEOWY! HA! That little girl is just too funny! On Saturday we did some shopping and Gma and Gpa went through the temple open house again.

We didn't do much on Sunday, just went to church and relaxed the rest of the day. On Monday we went shopping again and went to DI for some clothes and other stuff. Gma and I stayed up late cutting out fabric for Easter dresses and a cute dress that she brought some material for. My mom started this tradition when I was a little girl, and I don't know how long it lasted, but she made my Easter dress many years out of my life, and it's one of my favorite memories of growing up. It always made me feel so special and pretty to have a new Easter dress every year! Don't get me wrong, I wasn't always GRATEFUL for the clothes she made me, but I am now. So I'm trying to carry on that Tradition as long as I can with my little girl too. This year I am making her a white dress with pink polka-dots. There will be sleeves, a tie in the middle, and a band around the bottom that are pink with white polka-dots. And I'm making a purse to match. We have all the pieces cut out, I just need to start assembling them. I liked the dress so much that I decided to make one for myself! So Super Girl and I will have VERY SIMILAR DRESSES! I am doing just all white with pink polka-dots and a tie in the middle out of the pink with white polka-dots. I'm making a little clutch purse for me too! I can't wait to upload photos, cause that will mean they are done! My mom is making a similar style dress out of this super cute yellow material with a border print that's Eastery (I don't know if that is a real word, but you get the idea!) Anyway, we are making a purse to match that too! I can't wait to see all the fun after it's done!

Yesterday was another lazy day, but we made awesome cookies last night! Then today Gma and Gpa are coming with me when I go to help in Super Boy's class at the end of the day. We are making green soda floats to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We are having lime sherbet with lemon lime soda over it. I'm bringing some green food dye incase it isn't very green. Doesn't that sound so good and super refreshing!?! Anyway, that's what we've been up to. Sorry there haven't been many pictures lately, I'll try to take some new ones of the kiddos soon!

Take care and have a FABULOUS DAY!!!

Over due Update...

2009-03-02T10:32:00.003-07:00

I know it's been way too long since my last post, so here goes my life's update.

I am feeling better these days, the new anti-depressant dosage is really helping, but I still have my moments. To put it into perspective for those of you who know me well, I LOVE WINTER, and I am SO LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING!!! That's where I'm at, I want the warm sun and cool breeze, flowers popping up and grass returning to it's full green color. That says it all. I am ready for FUNK-LESS days! I also am looking into having my hormone levels tested, it sounds like some (or all) of my issues may be related to hormonal issues. Thanks to my friend Amber for the info on Bio Identical Hormone therapy. My chiropractor is one of the doctors who does this, so I'll be contacting him soon! If anyone else wants to check it out, go to the website below. Who knows, if this is the answer to my problems, then maybe I can get off my anti-depressant all together!

http://www.healinghormones.com/

Anyway, my brain has not yet returned to it's fog-less state, but it's getting better. I also had an "AHA" moment yesterday...I don't know why it took me so long to figure out...I have been feeling especially crappy since I haven't been working out like I was before the holidays...DUH! So I really need to get back on the bandwagon! I got a manual treadmill to use at home and I'm thinking of breaking out the bike with the kiddie trailer attached and going for some rides when the weather is nice. Hopefully I'll be back on track for weight loss and full brain function soon!

In other news, I am REALLY excited to see my parents. They are coming to visit in a little over a week now! But I'm SUPER excited to walk through the Draper Temple with my whole family! We will be going to the open house on March 13th. But I also just found out that I will get a ticket for Saturday's dedication INSIDE the temple!!! And our stake has the opportunity to usher for the Sunday dedication INSIDE the temple! Of course I signed up. What an amazing opportunity, once in a lifetime probably! And to maybe be able to meet the Prophet! HOLY COW! I am super excited to see what happens! Anyway, I feel so blessed and lucky to have these opportunities!

I just realized something, I haven't done my thankful Thursday in a LONG time...maybe I'll have to cut it back to once a month, but I'll definitely be having a long list soon!

That's all for now, gotta get back to the daily grind! Take care!

What a difference a day (and some sleep) makes!

2009-02-18T09:49:00.001-07:00

I called my doctor yesterday and she said to double my dose of anti-depressant. I can't believe the difference today! I have a clear mind, some energy and best of all, I feel rested! I don't know if it's a combination of stopping the cleanse and my new dosage, or if it was all sleep deprivation. All I know is that I'm taking this blessing of a day and enjoying it!

BODILY FUNCTIONS

2009-02-17T10:48:00.002-07:00

As the title of this entry states, this entry is about BODILY FUNCTIONS. Stop here if you are squeemish about bowel movements and menstrual cycles...

With that said...

I have been doing the colon cleanse, body cleanse, acai berry supplement and green tea supplements for a week now. I have not lost any weight, in fact I have GAINED! I don't know what's going on, but I'm 211.6 today! I'm freaking out! I have felt like crap (no pun intended) all week, no energy, want to be in bed, want to eat constantly. It's a little early for my period, but it feels like the week before my period...so who knows, I guess I'll find out next week. Anyway, back to the pills. The colon cleanse works VERY WELL. I went from being a regular 1-2 times a day to a 4-6 times a day. If you want to do the colon cleanse thing I have a couple of suggestions:

1: No spicy foods...spicy in= spicy out...you know what I mean?:)
2: Buy some really soft toilet paper, you'll thank yourelf at about day 4
3: Don't plan on being intimate or in fancy situations, you'll be passing some AWFUL smelling gas!
4: You will be getting up several times during the night, so don't have anything planned for early morning unless you are used to being sleep deprived.

With those recommendations, I could see doing a colon cleanse once every 3-4 months, but the package I got is supposed to last a month, I'm not torturing myself for another day, let alone 3 more weeks! So today I decided to just take the acai supplement until next week and see if that helps.

To be completely fair, I have been lacking energy for a couple of months now, and I know it has to do with my depression, but nothing I've tried has fixed it, so who knows... I'm just too frustrated with my crappy body (again, no pun intended) to care about much else right now. I'm making some phone calls today to see if there is anything else I can do to fix this funk I'm in, maybe that'll help with eveything.

So, that's my update...hope you aren't too depressed now!

Peanut Butter, New Truck and other fun

2009-02-13T09:27:00.003-07:00

We finally bought a new truck! We took a week to look around, but we finally took the plunge and bought one. We got a 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500 Diesel crew cab. It was the best value we could find. I told Tall Boy that we'll need a big bright sign on the gas cap that says DIESEL!!! Other than that I think it will be great! We made sure it would tow our new trailer (something we should have done with our suburban BEFORE buying the trailer...but alas, hindsight is 20/20) Anyway, it's here, it's loud, it's big, but it's fun too.
In other news, Super Girl is officially in love with PINK-A-BUTTER...peanut butter to the rest of the world. Her daddy thought it was a good idea to just give her a spoon and let her go at it. She used to get a pretty nasty rash, but that has changed, so she is diving into it...she loves to get the jar out herself and now (thanks to daddy's idea) she grabs a spoon too! I however have gotten her to accept some graham crackers and a small bowl for dipping instead...I know, I rock!

In other news, I am not doing well in weight loss. I have sort of stalled at 208.5. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I have only been to the gym once this year! I need to get a treadmill and start doing my yoga DVD's here at home. But as I have told some close friends, I feel like I've been in a fog for the past few months...I don't know what it is, but it's frustrating to have no energy or desire to do anything but sit at the computer or stay home doing nothing or sometimes doing a little housework. Anyway, I decided to try something new...I'm not much of a fad person, but I saw an opportunity to try something for REALLY cheap. I decided to try the Acai supplement to see if that could kick start my weight loss again. But when I was signing up for that trial, I saw a colon cleanse thing with it. So I decided to do that too. And when I got the colon cleanse, it had a body cleanse and green tea supplements with it. So I'm trying all of them for a couple of weeks. I don't know how I'll tell which one is working, but I'm desperate to get back on track. So I'll let you know if anything starts happening! Wish me luck...I REALLY NEED IT!

Take care and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TOMORROW!

What have you done?

2009-02-08T18:08:00.002-07:00

Here's what you do: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!
1. Started your own blog - Duh?!
2. Slept under the stars .
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii -
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch-do scrapbooking or blogging count as arts?
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables-when I was younger and living at home, but hopefully we'll start our garden this year
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person-I'm told I did when I was 4 years old...but I don't remember it
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant-does fast food count?
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance .
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie-do HOME movies count???
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business-WANT TO BADLY!!!
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma- All 3
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp-I visited the memorial in Washington D.C. -an absolutely humbling experience
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt - not yet, but soon!
73. Stood in Times Square- this was so cool & I can't wait to go back again
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book-My blog book counts...right?:)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox-
89. Saved someone’s life-
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby - x2
95. Seen the Alamo in person-
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone - who doesn't?
99. Been stung by a bee-stepped on a dead one and had my foot swell up huge!

Yes, I AM still alive!

2009-02-03T09:38:00.003-07:00

Hello friends! So sorry for my absence... Winter is really hard for me, the bear in me comes out. I only want to eat and hibernate! Of course, this means I am nowhere near my weight loss goal right now...especially since I haven't been to the gym in at least 2 weeks, I've been on my cycle, and I had an amazing break from real life for our anniversary, and convincing myself to come back to real life after that has proven VERY DIFFICULT! Also, I think I need to find a support group, I think I'm officially addicted to Webkinz! My mom got Super Boy a Webkinz Elephant for Christmas, and there are so many fun games and cool things to do on it, that I think I have enjoyed playing online more than Super Boy!

Anyway, enough lame excuses...back to real life.

Weekly weigh in...not too proud...209.4. Ugh. Gotta get back to my routine!

Other happenings...
We had a small Super Bowl party with Tall Boy's friend from work. We were hoping Arizona would win (GO UNDERDOGS!) but we were pretty sure that wouldn't happen, but what a great close game! All I can say is WHAT HAPPENED TO THE REVIEW AT THE END OF THE GAME!?! We were all screaming at the TV, AREN"T YOU GOING TO REVIEW THAT!?! Anyway...we had a great time and lots of yummy food...oh yeah...that's why I'm up 2 lbs! So, that's me! how are you all doing? Maybe I shouldn't even weigh myself for another couple of weeks...Valentine's Day is just around the corner!

Our Fun Anniversary and other life events!

2009-01-21T13:38:00.007-07:00

We had the most amazing anniversary trip! Gma and Gpa C graciously offered to keep our kids for the weekend. We drove to Heber/Midway, Utah and stayed at this AMAZING Bed and Breakfast place called Johnson Mill. We spent Friday (our 1st day) driving there, riding the train and eating awesome food! We rode the Heber Valley Railroad on a scenic tour of Deer Creek Reservoir. The trip was so beautiful! We saw deer, bald eagles, and a beautiful frozen lake!
We went to dinner at this place called Mountain House Grill. Tall Boy got Ribs and Chicken, and I got Petite Medallions. The Ribs were TO DIE FOR, the chicken was dry, and the medallions had a gamey taste to them, but Tall Boy thought they were good. We retired to our gorgeous room, the Courtyard, ready to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, the room had other ideas...there were these big pvc pipes outside our room that were vents of some sort, but they whistled and moaned and groaned all night. We didn't sleep well.

Saturday morning we went to the front office and told them we couldn't sleep in that room again. They were awesome and moved us to another room, The Millpond, and gave us a gift certificate for dinner! What a nice upgrade!
After that we went into the dining area for breakfast. We were served a DELICIOUS french toast breakfast. The french toast had cream cheese in between them, and on top had mixed berries, whip cream, and nuts too. It also came with a slice of honeydew melon. It was AMAZING! After fattening up, we went to Soldier Hollow to go Snow Tubing and had an absolute blast! We played there for 2 hours, then we went to this little place called Cuckoo Cafe for lunch. I had the Swiss days half panini and salad. Tall Boy had the Cuckoo panini and bowl of soup. The soup was a creamy cheddar with veggies and it was REALLY GOOD! Are you noticing a trend? Everything Tall Boy picked was really good! But I think my sandwich tasted better...it was really good. After that, we went on a Snow Mobile tour! We went for 2 hours on a 2-person snowmobile. We took turns driving and had a blast. We even stopped along the way for some pictures!

So after our awesome adventure, we went back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner at the Snake Creek Grill. Since we had a $50 gift certificate, we decided to go crazy and get soup, entree, and dessert! Tall Boy and I both got the special soup of the day, an amazing onion creamy soup. Then Tall boy got cornmeal stuffed pork chops, and I got Maple Mustard BBQ Baby back ribs. They were SO GOOD! Then for dessert, Tall boy splurged on some Black bottom banana cream pie, and I opted for the Gingersnap ice cream sandwich with warm caramel dipping sauce. We had to roll our bellies out the door, but it was SO WORTH IT!

We waddled back to our room and settled in for the night. Sunday Morning we packed up our stuff and went down to breakfast. We had an amazing quiche and cinnamon strudel with a slice of honeydew melon again. It was amazing. Then we packed up the car and bid a fond farewell to our little hide-away. We decided to stop and look at a trailer on the way home. We liked it a lot and decided we would buy it in a few days. Then we drove home and spent the rest of the day playing with kids and acclimating to real life again.

Monday Tall Boy was off work and Super Boy was off school. We just hung out at home. Then Tuesday was payday, we could afford the trailer. So Tall Boy took a couple hours off work and went with his friend down to buy and tow home the trailer. It is a 25 foot long toy hauler trailer. It has a queen loft bed, 2 couches/twin beds and 2 tables that combine into 1 eating area at the couches. After we arrive at our campsite and unload the toys, then we have room for an additional queen bed below the loft bed. It has a bathroom with a small tub and shower, AC and heater, good sized fridge and freezer, stove, oven, microwave, awning, stereo and tape player, TV hookups including antenna, 105 gal water tank and 6 gal water heater, and TONS OF STORAGE. We really like it! We can fit motorcycles and quads and only have to tow 1 trailer! It also has storage racks on the roof so we can put MORE stuff up there if we run out of room inside!
Anyway, that has been our exciting life this past week! I weighed in yesterday at 207 even(pretty amazing considering all the yummy stuff I ate over the weekend!), so I'm still getting back in the groove, but I'm still on target for my goal. I've got 1 year to lose 47 lbs! I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN!

My Life as of 2009...

2009-01-12T08:27:00.003-07:00

BBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!
Yep, that about sums it up! Since my last post we have been battling sickness and the associated laundry! I even went to a laundromat one day because all my laundry baskets were full and I needed it done fast. Thank heavens for 8 load washers! But less than a week later and there were another 5 to be washed! I'm still not done, but the end is in sight...finally! The holidays threw my schedule and body way out of whack, but now that Super Boy is back at school, my life can resume it's former glory. I haven't been to the gym since before Christmas, so I look forward to getting back to it. I am happy to report that I haven't gained any weight over the holidays, but I really wish I had lost some! I was sick twice and both times I dropped down to 205, but then I bounce right back up to 207...but that will change soon. I am re-dedicating myself to using my Body bugg to it's fullest potential!

In other news, Tall boy and I are headed off for a weekend alone to an undisclosed location! Gma and Gpa are taking the kids for a couple of days while we treat ourselves to a little alone time and celebration. 9 years of marriage, that is something to applaud! This past year has been a struggle. Between my depression diagnosis and my struggle to find a groove (and effective medication) we have weathered a pretty nasty storm...I only hope that our renewed efforts and dedication to one another will help this year be one of our best yet!

Some of my wishes and hopes for 2009 are already taking form, but here they are none the less!

1. A stronger, happier marriage full of love and devotion.
2. A potty trained Super Girl. Side-note: She had her 1st dry night yesterday, and she has been telling me 90% of the time when she needs to go potty, and it's usually right after she starts going...we are on the right track!
3. Less of me to love! I really want to get back on the wagon! I was successful in losing almost 13 lbs in 4 months, and I really want to get back to that!
4. More dedication to learning what others have to teach me. This has many facets. I am trying to learn more in church by studying before class. I want to open my mind and heart to ideas that others have that just might be better than my own. I want to go back to school (to learn what, I don't know!) and improve my home-making skills by learning from what works for others. So please, if you have some awesome recipes, or ways to speed clean your house, I am all ears or eyes! Please leave me a comment or a link to your treasures of knowledge!
5. Be a more balanced person. I need to learn how to balance my time and efforts between my husband, kids, myself, friends and all the things we want to do separately and together! Again, if you have any insight...please share!

To sum it up, I think President Gordon B. Hinckley (president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or mormon church) was on to something... He knew what we all need to strive to be:

Be Grateful,
Be Smart,
Be Involved,
Be Clean,
Be True,
Be Positive,
Be Humble,
Be Still, and
Be Prayerful...

Need I say more? He has it all, and more, of what I want out of life this year and always! I miss his insight and humor, but I know he is with our Heavenly Father watching over us and hoping we all make the kinds of decisions that will let us join him there when this life is over.

So, that's my life (hopefully) this year. I wish you all well for your year, whatever you choose to do with it!!!

Christmas, Igloos, Friends and MORE!!!

2009-01-02T11:00:00.008-07:00

Sorry it's taken me so long to get a new post up, but I have some new goals for this year. I am trying to be a better wife and mother...that means spending more time playing with kids and doing the things my household and hubby need me to do. After that, then I focus on my other wants and needs. Anyway, I need to let you know what's been going on!

The Sunday before Christmas, we went to Hot Mama's house to exchange gifts. We got them some nice glasses, some martinelli's to go in them, some chocolates and a cute sign that says "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all!" They gave us some cute mugs and awesome wassail from Stephen's...YUM! They gave Super Boy a football and Super Girl got a cute little puppy in a purse! It was a fun night!

Christmas: We had an amazing Christmas. So many presents! We videoed Christmas morning, so I didn't take stills of the opened presents (yet, and I might not get to it ever) But I can tell you what we each got!

Santa rocks! He got Tall Boy some Logic puzzles, got me a electric griddle for pancakes and such and a cute silver necklace, Super Boy got a science experiment kit and a red elephant, and Super Girl got some bracelets and a Clifford dog. He also got the whole family matching blue Peyton Manning Colt's jerseys! Of course we left him a note, hot chocolate and these cookies too!

Tall Boy also got a Colt's Superbowl hat from Super Girl, a red football from Super Boy and a foot care kit from me (along with the unspoken promise that I'm the one who uses these tools on his feet!) My parents also went a little crazy and sent WAY TOO MANY PRESENTS! They sent Tall Boy a Santa Mr. Potato head, some money, A Tetris cube puzzle and cute magnet. There may be other stuff, but I can't remember it at the moment...sorry!

I got new oven mitts (much needed) from the kids and a beautiful, long pearl necklace from Tall Boy. My parents sent me some beautiful jewelry, hand lotion, a tangram puzzle and a cool Rubik's cube puzzle. We also exchanged presents with The Super 5, and they gave Tall Boy and I an assortment of goodies and treats along with a gift card for blockbuster movies..THANKS! Gma and Gpa C officially gave us the Pancake Puff cooker thing.

Super Boy got an elephant puzzle and book from The Super 5, an elephant and elephant DVD from Super Girl, another science experiment kit from dad, and elephant blankets from me. My parents got him a Horton puppet, a webkinz elephant, a cars blanket, a Wii Burger king toy, a cookie monster small lunch box with chapstick, and a fluffy dog (sorry again if there are more missing) Gma and Gpa C gave him all the ingredients for smores and a microwave smores maker! He also got a chocolate bar, calendar and book from his teacher at school!

Super Girl got a monkey and the 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed book from The Super 5. She got a curious george blanket from me, some boots and alphabet magnets from dad, and a pooh bear toy from Super Boy. My parents gave her a cute rolling lauging Curious George toy, a curious george blanket, a cookie monster small lunch box, a cookie monster that plays the trumpet, and i'm sure there's more, I just can't remember right now! Gma and Gpa C got her a stroller for her toys.

We gave Gma C 2 signs, 1 said "What happens at Grandma's stays at Grandma's!" and the other said "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all!" Gpa C got a tie with pictures of Super Girl ironed on that said "papa's girl" and "I ♥ Papa!" and a tshirt with a picture of Super Girl playing in the snow and this phrase on it "My heart (and this shirt) belong to Papa!" He loved it!

We had french toast (courtesy of the new griddle!:) and played with toys and such for most of the day.

The day after Christmas, Tall Boy came home from work very excited. He found Super Boy and asked him, "Do you know what we can make with all that snow outside?!" The answer was AN IGLOO!!! Super Girl was nice enough to sleep through the almost 2 hours it took to make, but we all pitched in to make this amazing igloo in our front yard! We used a plastic storage tote to pack down snow into "bricks"
Then Tall Boy arranged the first layer in a circle, then built the front arch. Then added more layers until the igloo was finally completed!

Then a few hours later, we had some visitors! Tall Boy's Brother and family all came to visit and brought along another of Tall Boy's nephew's too! That was a pleasant surprise for everyone! We had so much fun while they were here. Super Boy and Super Girl were in heaven with 3 more friends to play with. We were just happy to see each other and catch up. Unfortunately it was a short trip and they left for home on the 30th.

For New Year's Eve, we decided to go to Hot Mama's house (even though I caught Tall Boy's cold and her youngest had thrown up) We played Rock Band for the majority of the night with 4 other couples that were invited. We had a blast and brought in the New Year with noise makers, poppers, fireworks and martinelli's of course. We left shortly thereafter, and came home. We've been recovering ever since! I still have the cold, but it's getting better.

Anyway, that's all folks! Are you tired yet? I am!

Weekly Weigh In and other News

2008-12-23T11:46:00.004-07:00

Well, I was right about gaining back some of the weight from being sick, but I've still met my goal for the time being. I am now 207.6. I think that's pretty darn awesome considering the time of year and all the FOOD! But I also started running again. It felt amazing to know that I CAN still run! I started out at 4 mph for 5-8 minutes. Then 2 days later I bumped it up to 4.3 mph for 10 minutes. I didn't die either time, and my asthma was kept in check! I'm really excited for this progress! I have to run on a treadmill for now, until the air warms up again. But when it does, I think I'll be able to do what I love and run in the great outdoors!

In other news, Christmas is fast approaching, but we are totally prepared and ready! Also, we are VERY excited because we get to see some of our family from out-of-state. They are coming right after Christmas! Yesterday I went a little OCD and rearranged our kitchen and dining room to allow for more "counter space" and better flow of traffic. I find that I have these days where I have tons of motivation and energy, and then I have days where I can barely get out of bed...any advice? I am on Lexapro for Depression and vitamin D for Seasonal Affective Disorder, but sometimes I wonder if it is something more...Bi-polar, manic depression...anyway, I LOVE the days when I feel so great and get so much accomplished!

Well, I think that's enough ranting and raving for the moment...

Merry Christmas!

Icky Icky Sicky Sicky!

2008-12-18T23:16:00.003-07:00

Tall Boy hasn't been feeling well for almost a week now, and last night, I joined the party. Although, I do feel pretty good now, I guess only time will tell. But as for the feeling icky, it prevented me from eating or doing much of anything else today. I was really surprised though when I stepped on the scale this morning and saw 207. But imagine my bigger surprise when I stepped on it again this afternoon and it said 205! I know it's probably mostly water and I'll probably gain some back, but I just thought that it was amazing that I could lose 2 lbs in a few hours just by feeling a little icky! Anyway, I'll have to post more another day, like Super Boys super cool Polar express party at school...but like I said, another day...

Weekly Weigh-In

2008-12-10T08:26:00.002-07:00

OK, so I am changing how I weigh in from now on. I will be relying on my trusty home scale instead of the one at the gym because I can't guarantee that I'll be at the gym on 1 consistent day every week! So, the dreaded weigh in today wasn't horrible...I'm 209.6. Up from my low of 208, but not unmanageable. So wish me luck as we head for Christmas, New Year's, My anniversary, Valentines day, Easter...you get the picture!

Salutations from Slackerville!

2008-12-09T12:00:00.006-07:00

Ok, I know...total slacker. My last post was super easy and kinda a cheat cause I was sending out Christmas cards/letters anyway. So here's a real post! This is what I've been up to...
Yes...that's right...Christmas Shopping and wrapping are DONE!!!

That even includes all of our Neighbor Presents!

My note says "May your 'daisy' be marry and bright, and may all you truffles be a delight!"
Anyway, Christmas is done! Now I can relax and enjoy the snow (the whole inch we got last night) and the crisp air. And maybe, just maybe, I can get back on track for my weight loss goal! I haven't been wearing my body bugg very often lately. I also haven't made it to the gym very often. So, I'm scared for my next weigh in tomorrow, I probably gained some weight back, just how much I don't know!

I also have been dealing with some medical issues that have been exhausting physically and mentally. As soon as the weather got cold, my body wanted to go into hibernation mode...eat eat eat sleep sleep sleep. I have also had a very long and light menstrual cycle since October. So I finally went to my OB last Thursday for my yearly exam and to talk about those issues and my current medication. She had some concerns and did some blood work. I still don't have the results back...it is so frustrating and nerve-racking to sit and wait! I hope I'm back to my normal self VERY SOON!

I've slacked off so much that I haven't done my Thankful Thursday, so today I'm doing Thankful Tuesday!

I'm thankful for:
Being able to pay bills, buy presents, and reserve library books online! Family who make everyday life easier and more fun too! Friends who keep me on track emotionally, spiritually, physically and mentally. Doctors and medical insurance that allows me to make sure my body and mind are healthy and strong. TV shows that uplift and inspire. Jesus Christ, the TRUE reason for this season. The gospel of Jesus Christ for the hope, and guidance it provides me and my family. Plenty of food for my family, there are so many with so much less. A home that stays warm in the winter and cool in the summer and plenty of weather appropriate clothes to wear when we aren't in our home year-round.

I think that's all for today! Don't forget to check out our other blogs! Take care and enjoy this wonderful season of love!

Our Christmas Letter 08

2008-12-01T14:44:00.007-07:00

We can’t believe that another year has passed us by! Time for our annual Christmas letter and family update! We took our 1st family vacation with Super Girl this year! It’s been a long time since we went on an official vacation! In September, we went to Disneyland. The kids had a blast. Super Boy loved riding the Dumbo ride, and Super Girl’s favorite was the carousel I think. We had park hopper tickets, so we visited the California Adventure as well. We rode the Soaring over California ride, and took the kids to the Bug’s Life area to ride all the little kid rides. They had fun, but there wasn’t much else there, so we went back to Disneyland. The kids got Mickey and Minnie ears and lollipops as souvenirs. We had a really great time together. I hope we’ll be able to do something like this again next year.

We also have been doing more work on our home. In late August, we put sod in our front yard; and in late October we extended our driveway with concrete being laid all the way to the corner. So our front yard is 1/3 grass and 2/3 concrete! It really looks great. We have plans for a vinyl fence around the back yard and rose bushes along the east side of our front yard. I also hope to be able to put some raised beds for a vegetable garden in the back yard.

Tall Boy is still working at his same job. They switched to a 4 day work week and he seems to enjoy that better. He went hunting every weekend in October and shot an elk on the 19^th of October. Yippee! Meat for another year! The elk from last year ran out shortly after he brought home the new elk. Good timing!

Oh how time flies! I turned 29 this year! YIKES! That means I’ll turn 29 again next year! Just kidding, I’m looking forward to my 30’s! I have seriously slacked on the scrapbooking front this year, but have renewed my efforts lately and started up again. Thank you Tasha for helping me get my mojo back!!! I have also been working on losing weight since mid September. I purchased a Body Bugg through my gym, 24 hour fitness. I have had a lot of success with this program. I am well on my way to my ultimate goal of weighing 160 by my 10th wedding anniversary at the pace of about 1/2 - 1 lb per week. Slowly but surely…that’s my motto. In other news, I have been thinking about going back to school more and more lately. I keep coming back to teaching Math and Sign Language, but I’ve recently felt that it should be in Middle School instead of High School. ! I have also been busy with Super Boy's class as a room mom. It is so fun to see how Super Boy flourishes at school.

Speaking of Super Boy, he turned 6 on April 2nd. He loves his teacher and school in general. His teacher is amazing. He loves doing homework, math box activities, making up songs and games, and playing video or computer games. He comes up with ideas and experiments that are interesting to say the least! His mind and body are growing by leaps and bounds. He has such a sweet spirit still and I hope that never goes away. He is more frustrated with Super Girl lately, but it’s just because she wants to do everything like Super Boy does. He is a great big brother and a joy to us!

Super Girl is getting so big! She turned 2 on September 1st. Her vocabulary has exploded since we had tubes put in her ears back in June. She loves dogs, monkeys and elephants. She loves to dress up and play outside in the dirt. She is so anxious to go to school! She cried every time Super Boy went to school in the beginning of the school year, and now has her very own backpack too! She is learning more letters, shapes and numbers everyday and has started potty training too. She is getting so big!

Well, that’s about all for us.Thanks for stopping by our blog! Please continue to follow us throughout this next year.

Love,

Tall Boy, Scrap Happy Mommy, Super Boy and Super Girl

Family Blog: http://iseeyoumommyof2.blogspot.com

Super Boy’s Blog: http://themanyadventuresofsuperboy.blogspot.com

Thanksgiving and Christmas!

2008-11-30T18:44:00.005-07:00

I'm a horrible blogger! I didn't take very many pictures of Thanksgiving! It's my FAVORITE holiday! But I did take pictures of decorations!

Little guy hangin out on our door

Our table before the feast

We had Hot Mama's family over to our house this year. We had the traditional turkey and all the fixins! To finish it all off, we had decadent chocolate layered pie, pumpkin pie and apple crumble pie! The kids had fun with some packets I made and foam visor decorating fun. The adults had fun relaxing, watching a movie and playing "Ticket to ride". It was a great holiday!

The next day I pulled out our Christmas stuff and began deciding what to put up this year. Then yesterday we set up the tree and put up a few decorations and stockings. Then today we decorated the tree. We already have a few presents under the tree too! I hate waiting to the last minute to get all the shopping done! So, hopefully I'll be done sometime in the next couple of weeks so I can relax! Anyway, I took some pictures of our little tree and some of our decorations. Hope you enjoy!

PS...as per my dad's request, here are some photos of our completed concrete project!

New Blog Background

2008-11-24T08:59:00.002-07:00

I stole this background from my friend's blog! It has all the colors I was wishing for in my last background, and it has one of my FAVORITE sayings in it! I don't know where she got it, but I'll link you to her blog here!

Thankful Thurs...I mean Saturday!:)

2008-11-22T17:05:00.003-07:00

Sorry I'm such a slacker...this month is getting away from me!

Today I am thankful for date nights, winter weather, football rivalry games, massages, mommy's day off, Rumbi Island Grill, cute fabric, and California pizza kitchen! My hubby and I had our date night last night. We went to California Pizza Kitchen and had DELICIOUS STUFF! I had 1/2 of my BBQ chicken salad and 1/2 of my hubby's roasted garlic chicken pizza...YUM! Then we walked around Gallivan Plaza (we were thinking about ice skating, but decided that another day would be better) It was fun to just get away and enjoy the peace and quiet in each other's company. Then I had a massage today and it was HEAVENLY! Then I found ADORABLE fabric to make a blanket for super boy with elephants! Also, it's BYU vs UofU football! It's always a good, close game...I am Switzerland...I wear PURPLE! Anyway, I love being able to cozy up in this winter weather and have someone else (Rumbi) make my lunch too! So, that's all on my thankful list today!

Weekly Weigh In

2008-11-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

With my birthday and other stuff this week, I didn't lose my goal weight, but I did gain muscle and lose some fat. I am one pound heavier than my last weigh in...I'm 209. But now I'm .8% lighter in fat...I'm 34% even! Anyway, that's all for now, hopefully I turn this around this week and get back on track! Thanks for tuning in!

Great Christmas Ideas for Friends/Neighbors!

2008-11-18T11:53:00.003-07:00

I had a comment on my last blog from someone I didn't know, so I went to her blog and she had this amazing list of gift ideas! Her Blog is here. The post for the Christmas ideas was on Nov 13, 2008. Anyway, she gave me permission to re-post the ideas here! So here they are!

1. Pen: "Draw" near unto the Lord this Holiday season!
2. Twizzlers Licorice: "Twiz" the season to be jolly!
3. M&M's: "Have a Merry and Most wonderful Holiday Season!!"
4. Soup or soup mix: Wishing you a "Souper" Holiday Season!!
5. Frozen pizza: "Warm up to a wonderful Holiday Season "Topped" with Christmas cheer!"
6. Apples and Hershey's Hugs: A teacher can't live by apples alone...She needs "Hugs" too!!
7. Popcorn Balls: Hoping you have a "Ball" this Holiday Season!
8. Loaf of Bread: For being there when you were "Kneaded", for "Rising" to the occasion, large or small. For never "Loafing" on the job, for helping others to "Heel" with TLC. No matter how you "Slice it", you do a terrific job loving Others. Merry Christmas!!
9. Jolly Ranchers - Have a Holly "Jolly" Christmas!!
10. Rootbeer: We're "Root"ing for you to have a Happy Holiday Season and a Wonderful New Year!!
11. Chex Party Mix: Remember Santa "Chex" his list twice to see who's been naughty or nice...so be good for goodness sake!! Merry Christmas!!
12. Box of Hostess Ho-Ho's: Hope a merry "HO - HO - H0" fills your heart the whole year through! (Put a santa sticker on the label)
13. Wire wisk: (Filled with Chocolate kisses) "We WHISK you a Merry KISSmas!!"
14. Jar of Jelly: jelly is like love - you can't spread it around without getting some on yourself! Merry Christmas!! Jam: "Hoping your Christmas is "jam" packed with cheer"
15. Christmas Tray: We "Tray"sure your friendship! Merry Christmas!!
16. Bell: With each chime of this festive bell, may a Christmas wish come true. And bring you peace and happiness to last the whole year through! Merry Christmas!
17. Yule Log: "We send you warm greetings this Christmas Season!!"
18. Potpourri: "May this sweet scent bring back thoughts of warm Christmasses long ago!" Merry Christmas!
19. Cleaners: "You add sparkle and make our life brighter!" Merry Christmas!
20. Nuts: "We're nuts about you!" Merry Christmas! Love, your "nutty" neighbors!
21. Lifesavers: " You've been a life saver!" Have a great Christmas!
22. A juice pitcher filled with candy canes: "We pitcher you raising a little "cane" during the holidays!" Have a merry Christmas!!
23. Broom: You're "Dust" the finest neighbors we know! Merry Christmas!
24. Paper Towels: "Blot out your troubles; absorb the Christmas Spirit!"
25. Measuring Cup or Glass Measure: "Wishing you Joy Beyond Measure!
26. Bananas: If we could choose our friends, and we searched the whole world through, we'd go bananas trying to find a better bunch than you!!"
27. Any Star ornament: "Remember the reason for the season!" "Wise men still seek Him!"
28. Chocolate Mousse Mix: "Merry Christmousse" to our "Deer" Friends!
29. Wooden spoon: Whether stirring up cakes, cookies, soups or souffles; You'll find this spoon useful in so many ways. But whatever it's use, it says, "Merry Merry Christmas from us to you!"
30. Flower: "If friends were flowers, we'd pick you! Happy Holidays!! Or "You make friendship bloom all year round!"
31. Heart Christmas Ornament: "May the Joy and Love you give away, come back to you on Christmas day!"
32. Cinnamon Sprinkles: (Cinnamon & Sugar, or cookie sprinkles) "May your Christmas be sprinkled with laughter and love!" Merry Christmas!
33. Hersheys Hugs: "A friend always knows when you need a little hug!"
34. Christmas music..CD or Tape - "May the sweet song of Christmas make your heart rejoice!" Or "May the merry sounds of Christmas bring a Joyful Melody to your holiday season" Merry Christmas!!
35. Filled Basket: "Wishing you a basket full of Christmas blessings"
36. Salsa: "Add a little Spice to your Holidays!" Merry Christmas!
37. Stocking or filled Jar - "Have a fun filled christmas this year!"
38. Lamb: "Have "eweself" a Merry little Chistmas!!"
39. Candle: "May the you feel the light of our Savior this Christmas & always"! "You Light up my Life!" Thanks for your friendship! May your Christmas be Merry and Bright!" "Hope your Christmas is full of light" "May your days be happy, your heart be light, your Christmas merry and the New Year Bright!!
40. Holly: "Happy Hollydays!"
41. Calendar: "Keep Christmas in your heart the whole year through!"
42. Shaped Sugar Cookies: "Rolling out a batch of Christmas Cheer, for Someone we think is very dear!!"
43. Cherry 7-up: "Just a Little Christmas Cheer from Happy Hearts this time of year!! Merry Christmas!!"
44. Sparkling Cider: "Wishing you a Sparkling Holiday Season!"
45. Warm Casserole or Bread: "Bundled up with warm wishes!!"
46. Popcorn or Carmel Corn: "Just "Popping" by with a Holiday Hi!" Or "May your Holidays be Poppin'!"
47. Seasoning Mix: "Seasoned with Love" Merry Christmas!!
48. Eggbeater: "Have an "Eggstra" Special Holiday!!"
49. Hersheys Hugs and Kisses: "Christmas Hugs and Kisses to You " Or "Holiday Hugs and Kisses to you!"
50. Apple Pie of Apple Crisp: "Wishing you a Srumptuous Christmas!"
51. Fruit Basket: "May your New Year be Festive and Fruitful!!"
52. Any Sweet Treat: "Wishing you a season filled with sweetness!"
53. Oranges: " Orange" you glad we're Friends!?" Merry Christmas!!
54. Chocolate Orange: "Orange" you glad it's Christmas? Hope your Christmas is a Sweet one!
55. Sprite: " May your Christmas be Merry and Sprite!"
56. Ice Cream Snowballs and Hot Fudge: " Here's some packaged"snowball" treats - Just Drizzle Hot Fudge and its ready to eat!...Enjoy!!"
57. Snicker Bar: "Don't "Snicker", just be glad you got Something!!"
58. Mints: "Friends like you are worth a Mint!!" Merry Christmas!! "We "mint" to wish you a Merry Christmas"
59. Matches: "No one Matches you as neighbors!" Merry Christmas! "To our matchless friends"
60. Strainer: (With a christmas bow) " We could'nt restrain ourselves from wishing you a very Merry Christmas!!"
61. Box of Light Bulbs: "Have a bright and radiant Christmas"
62. Bubble Gum or Bubble Bath: "May your holidays "Bubble" over with fun!!
63. Pencil and Notepad: "Merry Christmas from our pad to yours!!" or Merry Christmas to a "noteworthy" friend!" "Hope your Christmas is something to write home about!"
64. Jar of Pickles: "Just in brine, Our wish for a merry Christmas!!"
65. Grater and Cheese: " To a Grate Neighbor! Merry Christmas!"
66. Ice Cream: "Have a "Cool" Yule!!"
67. Bear shaped Honey: "Have a Bear Sweet Christmas!!" "Have a honey of a Christmas"
68. Santa: "Ho - Ho - Hoping your Christmas is Heavenly!"
69. Angel: "Hoping you have a Heavenly Christmas!!"
70. Eggnog: " Have an "Udderly Moovalous" Christmas!!"
71. Gingerbread House: "Nibble, Nibble like a mouse, We hope you'll nibble at this house!" Merry Christmas!!
72. Mugs with Hot Chocolate Mix: "To our special friends who are so Dear, We wish you all a cup of Cheer!" (One Mug would be a special gift for a aTeacher. "To a Special Teacher dear, wishing you a "Cup of Cheer"!"
73. Cocoa Mix: "Wishing you a warm and wonderful Christmas!"
74. Muffins or Muffin mix: " You're getting "Muffin" for Christmas!!"
75. Gum: "By Gum, You're a great Neighbor!! "Have a Merry Christmas" We hope you chews to have a very Merry Christmas!
76. Veggies and Dip: "Dip into a wonderful Holiday season and a Healthy New Year!"
77. Christmas Shapped pasta: ( Or any Pasta and a bottle of Sauce ) " Have a Pasta-tively Happy Holiday!"
78. Jar of Jam: "Hoping you have a Holiday "Jammed" packed with fun!!" "Have a "Berry" nice holiday season!!" Or "Hoping your Christmas is "Jam-packed" with Christmas Cheer!!"
79. Cookie Dough: "Here's a little extre "Dough" for Christmas! Or "Everyone Needs a little extra "Dough" for Christmas!!"
80. Homemade Frozen Rolls: "Here's a little holiday treat. Rise and bake, it can't be beat! Warm fresh rolls just for you. Top with butter that's all you do! Warm Holiday Greetings to you"
81. Brownie Mix: (Or any Mix) "Whip up this mix for a wonderful holiday fix! Wishing you a "rich" Holiday Season!!" (Be sure to attatch the recipe!)
82. Homemade carmels: Hoping you have a "Rich" and "wonderful" Holiday!!"
83. Pie: "Just a "Holiday Hi" and a tasty Pie!! Happy Holidays!!"
84. Divinity: "May your Christmas be "Devine" and your Holidays so Fine! Sweet Christmas Wishes!"
85. Rice Krispie Treats: "Snap, Crackle, Pop" We think You're really Tops! "
86. Toffee or Brittle: "Any way you break it, We think you're the greatest!"
87. Fudge: "Fudge" a little on the calories and enjoy the Holiday Season!"
88. Cheese Ball and Crackers: "We don't mean to sound "Cheesey", we just hope you have a "Ball" this Holiday Season! Or "Spread a little Christmas Cheer this Holiday Season!"
89. Apple Anything: (Pie,Cobbler, crisp, muffins etc.) "Sending you a "Bushel" of love this holiday Season!!" Or " You are the apple of my eye, Teacher!"
90. Banana Bread: "Banana Bread just for you, because you have so much to do... We also love youa whole "Bunch" too! Merry Christmas!"
91. Cinnamon Rolls: "Here's a sweet treat "Rolled" up with warm Holiday Wishes! Merry Christmas!"
92. Homemade Chocolates: " You're so Sweet...having you as neighbors is really a treat! Have a Heavenly Holiday Season!"
93. Cake or Cupcakes: "You take the "Cake" neighbor, We think you're first rate! Happy Holidays to you!!"
94. Cornbread or Mix: "We're not trying to be "Corny" we just want you to have Merry Christmas!"
95. Carrot Cake: " I Really "Carrot" alot about you!! Merry Christmas"
96. Spiced Drink Mixes: " Hoping your Holidays are "Spiced" Just right!"
97. Homemade Ice cream of a Frozen Treat: "Here's the Scoop,,,,Hoping your Holidays are a "Blizzard" of fun!"
98. Recipe: "Just like you friend...it's tried and true, just for you! Happy Holiday Baking or Merry Christmas Cooking!"
99. Pizza: "Hope your Holiday has a touch of "Pizza - z!!" Merry Christmas!!"
100. Crayons and Coloring Book: Hope your Holidays are Colorful!
101. Plant: " The kindness you showmakes our friendship grow and grow! Hope you have a Happy Holiday!!"
102. Soda Pop: "I'd "Soda" like to wish you a merry Christmas!
103. Stuffed animal: (Beanie Baby) "Pawsing" to wish you a Merry Christmas!"
104. Dounuts: "Donut" you know we love you??? Have a happy Holiday
105. A plate of cookies: "Wishing you a wonderful Christmas, from your "crummy" neighbors.
106. Any soda: "We're "soda-lighted" to wish you a Merry Christmas!"
107. Popcorn: "We just "popped" in to wish you a Merry Christmas!"
108. Bear Shaped Honey: "Hoping our "honey" of a friend has a "beary" Merry Christmas".
109. Microwave Popcorn and 2-liter of soda: "Pop, pop, fizz, fizz, oh what a good friend you is!"
110. Mug with Hot Chocolate Mix: "To our special friends so dear, wishing you a cup of cheer."
111. Eggnog: "Have an "udderly moovalous" holiday!"
112. 7Up: "7 Up ideas for a wonderful holiday season" (include 7 uplifting thoughts/ideas)
113. Chocolate Covered Cherries: "Wishing you a very "cherry" Christmas"
114. Pasta: Have a "pasta-tively" happy holiday!"
115. Basket of Bath Items: "When you feel like a basket case, take a break...and slow your pace"
116. Bath oils, bubbles, salts: "The holidays can be a strain on our body and brain, so when you feel stressed, a hot bath is best, it truly will help keep you sane!"
117. Sweets brand ANYTHING!:Let us remember our sweet Savior during this holiday season and always!

There are so many great ideas that I wish I had 117 friends and the money to do ALL OF THEM! Thanks "Trying to stay calm" for all your hard work and awesome ideas!

More Birthday Fun!

2008-11-14T08:17:00.016-07:00

I had the BEST Birthday! It was so much fun!
I started out by going to the gym to work out with my trainer. unfortunately, he had to cancel, but I got $10 gift card for their pro shop! When I came home, Gma and Gpa presented me with some gorgeous Mums.
When Tall Boy got home from work, he helped the kids make my birthday cake. They made a fudge marble cake. It was yellow cake with chocolate cake marble and chocolate frosting with sprinkles!
After that, we went to dinner at the Olive Garden. I got the Chicken Carbonara. It was delicious and probably WAY TOO MANY CALORIES! Tall Boy had the Pork Filettino and their Zuppa Toscana soup. He had 2 bowls of the soup cause it was THAT GOOD! So he was too full for most of his dinner! As usual, the salad and breadsticks were divine! But I also had a Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri that was Heavenly too! I'd had one before and so I knew what I was getting, but my tastebuds were very happy anyway! We also got some special treatment in that we got a $4 off our next visit and the kids got coupons for free kids meals! Cha Ching! After we came home (with a LARGE doggy bag in tow) we had cake and present time! For candles, Tall Boy and Super Boy decided that it should be a subtraction problem! They put 3 candles on one side representing 3 tens, then left a space for the 0 ones, then added 1 more candle for the -1! 30-1=29! Too funny! 4 candles in all, sure hope I got my wish!

Then I got to open presents. Super Girl gave me a card that sang "Celebrate good times, come on!" when I opened it. Then Super Boy gave me a Ghiradeli chocolate bar with carmel center that he bought with his very own hard earned money!

Then Tall Boy gave me a GORGEOUS journey necklace!

I even had a present from the Young Women leader of my ward, Jasmine body lotion, spray and soap...YUMMY! I was seriously spoiled! My day was perfect!

It got even better today when my friend J came over with some fun presents...YOU ROCK! 1st (and most important) were the truffles. The powdered sugar ones are peanut butter flavor, and the sprinkled ones are pure chocolate...mmmmmmmm!

She also brought me pretty barrettes & yummy lip gloss,

a candle,

chocolate in many varieties,

and some yummy smelling soap!

Weekly Weigh In, Thankful Thursday and Happy Birthday to me all rolled into 1!

2008-11-13T13:28:00.003-07:00

Sorry for the slacking this week...but I have good news, I lost .9lbs! I now weigh 208.3! I started this program back in mid-September at 220lbs. 2 months later I am almost 12 lbs lighter! Things I am Thankful for this week:

1. A wonderful husband to me & father to our children
2. A (kid-free) night out on the town tomorrow night!
3. A birthday dinner tonight with the family
4. Birthday cake tonight with the family!
5. Thanksgiving plans with friends that feel like family (I love ya Hot Mama!)
6. 12 lbs and counting!
7. 29 years and NOT COUNTING ANY MORE!!! Hahahahahaha!
8. Technology that helps us (ie: digital photos=scrapbooking, blogs; Body Bugg= weight loss and health)
9. Precious Tender Moments with Loved Ones (you never know just how much time you have)
10. A loving Heavenly Father who knows me personally and spiritually, who knows my needs, wants, limits, strengths and weaknesses.

I think my lists usually go in order from most recent/superficial to deepest. They are in no particular order, just what comes to me when I'm counting my blessings!

I've Been Tagged!

2008-11-11T14:53:00.003-07:00

I've Been Tagged****8 things

Rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2)Answer the six "8" items
3)Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving them a comment

8 Favorite TV shows
1-Big Bang
2-Chuck
3-CSI (all of them, although Miami is my least favorite)
4-Criminal Minds
6-Without A Trace
7-Cold Case
8-Smallville

8 Things I did yesterday
1-Worked out with my trainer at the gym
2-Walked 1/2 a mile at the gym
3-Went Shopping at Walmart
4-Went Shopping at D.I.
5-Blogged on 3 blogs!
6-Made Dinner for kids
7-Made Dinner for Hubby and me
8-Cuddled with hubby watching shows

8 THings I look forward to
1-Being 160lbs again!
2-Twilight the movie
3-Twilight from Edward's point of view!
4-Super Girl being potty trained
5-Super Girl going to school
6-Thanksgiving with friends
7-My birthday 11/13
8-Christmas

8 Favorite Restaurants
1-Good Wood
2-Olive Garden
3-Claim Jumper
4-Chili's
5-Red Robin
6-Friday's
7-Del Taco
8-Chick Filet

8 Things on my wishlist
1-I wish my house could be spotless with the twitch of my nose or snap of my finger
2-I wish I could be a better organizer
3-I wish I could be a perfect wife and mother
4-I wish I could travel in Europe
5-I wish I could get all of my scrapbooking done or at least caught up
6-I wish I could go to Australia
7-I wish I could get my Bachelor's Degree without doing any of the school work!
8-I wish my family will always know just how much I love them

8 people to tag
1-Stephanie T.
2-Erka
3-Alicia
4-Amber S.
5-Mandy W.
6-Rose
7-Zoie
8-Kambree

Our cool turkey decoration, and my new winter wardrobe!!!

2008-11-10T17:59:00.008-07:00

Super Boy and I made this awesome turkey decoration today! We used his pumpkin from his field trip and some feathers I bought. We just punched 3 rows of holes and put in the feathers. Then Super Boy had the awesome idea to use the cat's ear from our Halloween pumpkin decorations for the turkey's beak! The I used a red feather for the turkey's thing that hangs down from his chin (warble? gobble? I can't remember what it's called!) We picked the brown eyes from the bear Halloween decoration for our turkey and VOILA! It turned out SO COOL!!! Take a look for yourself!
I also did some personal shopping today. I LOVE WINTER! I went to D.I. and hit the jackpot! Here's the run down and a slide show!

Brown Corduroy Jacket ~ $4
Black Dress Jacket ~ $12
Brown Top with Bow ~ $4
Red Sequin Top ~ $4
Magenta Scoop Top ~ $4
Yellow Button-up Sweater ~ $3
Gray Sweater ~ $3
White Fluffy Sweater ~ $4
Sage Green Zip Sweater ~ $3
Long Brown Skirt ~ $4
Short Purple Striped Skirt ~ $4
Short Gray Skirt ~ $4
---------------------------
Total ~ $53
New wardrobe for a skinnier body...PRICELESS!!!