Here We Go, Dosey Doe!

American Idol

2012-01-26T11:34:00.004-06:00

It seems like Tristan has decided he likes to sleep!!! He is going to bed a little later, but he is sleeping better. I think he just likes to stay up for Idol. Jeff and I love watching American Idol. I'll admit, last season took a while to enjoy because we missed Simon so much, but I've really come to love Steven Tyler. He kills me. Him and his big lips. He is always nice to contestants. JLo and Randy can be so mean to some of the contestants (and it just isn't funny when it's not SImon), but Tyler is almost always nice. I like him for that. Anyway, super excited for this season. I think they found another Scotty last night! And I like watching Tyler sing with the contestants-he is so playful.

I first started crushing on him years ago. I worked at the Country Club when I was in high school. All the performers who came to the pavilion stayed there. One night my manager called me and asked where they could rent fishing poles. I was like, "What? In The Woodlands? Nowhere." He explained that one of the guys from Stone Temple Pilots (and his wife) wanted to go fishing on the golf course pond. Remember-first class passengers can pretty much do anything they like. I immediately volunteered my assistance. I grabbed a handful of fishing poles and brought them up. My manager and I were invited to stay and watch them practice for their concert the following night. I was super excited, but there was one hang up. I had a stupid date with my lame high school boyfriend (who was psycho), and I knew if I didn't meet up with him he'd freak out and pretend like he was either going to kill himself or just scream like a banshee. I called, and called, and called to tell him I was ditching him... I never got a hold of him, so I just decided to not ditch the boyfriend and just go home so he could pick me up. Ugh. When he found out I was going to ditch him to watch a band play he went nuts. I was so bummed I spent the evening with him and not STP. That is, until they gave me my fishing poles back (they loved catching fish) and included almost front row seats to the show. They opened for Aerosmith. Still is one of the best concerts I've ever been to in my life-Steven Tyler was amazing. And so was my date, cause I took someone who wasn't a psycho!

My Kid Doesn't Sleep. Ever.

2012-01-22T21:05:00.003-06:00

OK, that's not entirely true, but it's what it feels like sometimes.

For a long time Twistan went to bed at about 8pm. He'd sleep until about 5am, nurse, and go back to sleep til about eight again. I didn't mind feeding a 6 month old after a he'd been asleep for 10 hours. I'd be hungry, too. Life was just dandy for a few months.

With the December festivities, two ear infections and what appears to be 2 little bottom teeth trying to come through.... his new schedule is horrific.

He goes to bed about 8. Or 7. Depending on his naps. He wakes up almost exactly an hour later. Then he is up again almost exactly at 12:45am. If I nurse him back to sleep (which I try not to do), then he sleeps til 5am. Then I nurse him (again), and he goes to sleep until 7am. It's driving me nuts-absolutely nuts. I don't know what his deal is. I'm not totally opposed to letting him cry it out, we've done it twice before. After a few nights of HOURS of screaming, he slept for a few nights all the way through. Then he went right back to waking up. We did it again, and got the same results. I think he just might be that one kid that crying it out does NOT work with-and I'm really not willing to listen to him scream his head off for HOURS again to find out. Is it the teething? What is his freaking deal? I'm not sure it's his naps, most of the time he does fairly well... he sleeps about 1.5 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Occasionally he takes a cat nap about 5pm... but regardless of what happens during the day, this is what we deal every night. Exact schedule. I've tried to up his food intake in case he is waking up hungry, no effect. I've tried trying to lengthen his naps, or shorten his naps, nothing changes. Exact schedule, every night no matter what.

... We drove him around in the car once (the night he had an ear infection) and I am not doing that again. I can't imagine getting into that habit and having to go out in the cold, the rain, the summer, the fall... just to drive a kid around hoping after 20 minutes he'll sleep. At that point, I'd rather let him scream in his crib.

Any suggestions?

******** I love that the day I posted this he slept all night. And then he did it again. And again. I mean, we are talking 10+ hours of no crying. Of course, I'd wake up randomly-and then the morning would roll around and I'd be like, "Wait, did I, or did I not wake up last night and take care of the baby???" Now I am wondering if he knows I wrote this? Is he a baby genius and can read early? Did his spidey senses tell him he was on thin ice? I don't know but I'm super excited for tonight! ********

Chunky Has Grown Up

2012-01-19T10:51:00.001-06:00

Chunky used to never get in our bed unless we let him. Now this is where he is 9 times out of 10. I wonder what suddenly made him so comfortable?

I think it is because he is out of the puppy stage. Now that he is an adult dog he no longer has to be by my side 24/7... Just 20/7. Nowadays instead of following my every move he mosies out of bed about 9 to go potty.. And then crawls back in bed til about 1 or 2. Then he moves to the couch. About 5 or so he wants to play, and then about 10pm he is ready for bed.

What a lazy little bugger.

Tristan's Twin

2012-01-14T01:32:00.004-06:00

My Mom gave me this vintage Kewpie doll when she moved to China. One day I pulled it out of the box to set it on the changing table... and totally did a double take.

Caprock State Park

2012-01-09T15:43:00.007-06:00

We got home from Arizona early Thursday morning. After sleeping most of the morning, we straightened the house up, took turns running errands and got ready for Ben, Tonia and the kids to spend the night. They talked us into going camping with them at Caprock State Park. I have to say, I'm pretty proud of Ben. This is the first trip I think I have gone on with him that hasn't resulted in a catastrophe. Aside from the fact that we went camping in January and it was below freezing that night. That actually wasn't that big of deal since Jeff and I brought 8,000 blankets. I am SO glad we went though! That park is one of the best kept secrets, I don't think anyone I know has ever seen that side of Texas. It was beautiful-just beautiful. We saw tons of road runners... Saw tons of deer... almost lost Sushi when she figured out she could chase them. Fortunately she came back.We even saw a whole herd of wild pigs. The ranger drove by shortly after, and when he heard we'd seen them he asked where about, then said not to worry if we heard gun shots because he was just taking care of the pigs. Kudos to anyone (besides Dad or Tonia) who understands this photo. Isn't the red rock beautiful? It reminds me of Southern Utah-in between Provo and Moab.

Under the trail there was this natural bridge-not as big as anything in Arches but it was still super neat. The kids loved exploring it.

One thing I learned from my Dad is that you never go back to camp until it's almost dark. Stay out and about as long as you can, then you come back, cook dinner, clean up and go to bed. The hike ended a little earlier than we wanted, so we drove around and looked for fubbalo before we went back to camp, cooked dinner, and froze in the crazy wind. Then we put the kids to bed, looked at our watches.. and whimpered because it was only 8pm.

How did Twistan do on his first camp out? Super. Until 10pm. 1am. 2am. 3am and 5am. Then he cried like a baby for who knows what reason. However, when he woke up at 7am he was probably the cutest child around. He laid there with Jeff for an hour and a half and just sang and talked. He must have known he was on thin ice and was doing his best to save his butt by being cute.

After breakfast we went hiking. Jeff tried to put a snack in his pack but it mysteriously disappeared.... I bet we find those raisins in just a few hours, fully intact.

I couldn't help myself with this one.

Hannah was a trooper. Of course, life is easy when you get to be carried through the entire hike... it's hard not to like that part.

We turned sideways in an attempt to get Tristan in the picture. This trail came by the primitive campground. That looks like a really fun place to camp in the future. When Twistan can carry his own stuff.

This is Twistan's best bud. She carried him all over and played with him a lot. That little boy just loves other kids, it's like he knows they're "one of us..." I think she would have even changed his diaper if I'd asked, but coming from a family of all girls I didn't wanna answer more questions about "What is that?"

The biggest hit of the whole trip was the last thing we did. We went fishing. They had recently stocked the lake with two thousand rainbow trout, and they loaned us fishing poles for free. That combination is sweeeeeeeeet. So we grabbed the kids and enjoyed fishing. There was nothing cuter than their little faces as they reeled in a fish. Of course, nothing is sadder than the one kid who doesn't catch anything when everyone else does, either. But hey, that is part of fishing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. It's about learning to deal with the times you don't win, and learning to be gracious the times you do win.

Tonia made fun of me while we were on the bank. I was struggling with sanity because the baby sat in the dirt and ate rocks the whole time, while the other kids got covered in mud. I am my father's daughter as I yelled at them to stop doing everything they were doing. Tonia remarked, "Wow. You have a lot of your Dad in you." I can't help it. I don't do sticky, slimy, snotty, or vomity. It drives me nuts when kids wipe their faces on their sleeves or the inside of their shirts. It drives me nuts when they drag things in the dirt. I can't stand it when people smack their gum. I can't stand it when they walk around with a cup of liquid over carpet.. and don't get me started on people who drive in the left lane and aren't passing. I might make myself crazy thinking about the things that make me crazy. That, and the list is too long to post this late at night!

Anyway, it was a super trip, and I suspect we will be going again in the near future. And I'm already excited about it!

Arizona

2012-01-03T15:19:00.000-06:00

We got home on Wednesday from the Tree House, enjoyed my parents company most of the day on Thursday... by the way-that was super nice of them to add 230 miles to their trip just to come see our house and eat at Buns Over Texas with us. Sorry the groundhogs were such a disaster. Friday we packed up again and headed out to Arizona to hang out with Jeff's best friend, his wife and little girl. Twistan loved Brynlee. Loved her. She liked him pretty good, too... she called him "Baby" and was constantly talking about him. She just barely turned 2 and was surprisingly patient. He crawled over one morning and pulled himself up on her clothes, instead of shoving him off she just yelled at him, "No, Baby! Noooo!" It was pretty cute.

Of course, in true Ben and Julia fashion we weren't bored a bit. I don't have any photos, but we went out New Year's Eve to a block party with 100,000 of our closest friends. We watched BMX demonstrations, ate tons of chips, ate way too much burger and fries, ate cookies and ice cream and watched the chip drop into the dip. It was pretty fun. Tristan also had his first non-family babysitter. Holly was a darling 12 year old and did fantastic with him and Brynnlee. We went swimming, we went to eat at crazy restaurants, and we went country dancing at San Tan Flats. We also dragged poor Julia hiking. She's almost 7 months pregnant with their little boy, and was the nicest host ever.

I'm totally bummed I didn't take more pictures of us all together! It just seemed like we did non stop activities the whole 5 days we were there. We saw the new Sherlock Holmes, we watched football, ate fresh citrus off trees.. enjoyed the park, and then every night we harassed each other playing Settlers or other games. I don't think I have laughed that hard for that long since I don't know when. At one point I think we all cried we laughed so hard. We were super sad to leave, and Ben talked us into staying one more day. We're glad we did. They're a blast.

Tristan was not pleased to be in a backpack hiking again. He would have rather sat in the dirt and ate rocks. Little bugger. I have to add that after we drove 5 hours to Garner, we thought we'd try driving at night so as to avoid a screeching baby who wants out of his car seat. It was so much better. The drive to Arizona is 12 hours-so we left at about 4 in the afternoon both days and had so much less baby to listen to. The only bummer is driving through the dark when you hit pretty places like Cloudcroft, New Mexico. We almost ran over an elk there on the way home. But definitely it's easier to drive at night with a baby... although it's always that last hour at 5am that's killer!

Christmas Crafts

2011-12-29T23:25:00.006-06:00

Thanks to Pinterest, I did a few extra things this season that I might not have done had I not stolen the idea from someone else. I love Pinterest.

CUTE CHRISTMAS PICTURES OF THE BABY

First, I stole this cute idea of taking a picture of your baby playing with Christmas lights. Ah-dorable. Of course, the first go at it didn't turn out like I wanted, so I did them again. Thats where the darling pictures of him in his Santa outfit came from.

ORNAMENT BOOK

Then I stole the idea to make an ornament book for the ornaments that have a story. I'm waiting til I take the tree down to finish that one, but I am pretty excited.

CHRISTMAS WRAPPING PAPER

Then I collected a bunch of paper bags and butcher paper to wrap presents in. I saw a bazillion "brown paper packages" themes and fell in love. I wrapped everyone's presents in brown paper, tied them with string, and glued a photo instead of a tag. The kids LOVED it-especially the little ones who can read yet. They found their presents in a heartbeat. Totally bummed that I didn't take a picture of how cute they all looked together. I also got cuter with the last few and wrapped the string different.

MERRY CHRISTMAS BANNER

I fell in love with the picture of the couple holding the Merry Christmas banner. I wanted to do it too, but as always I ran out of time. Next time I would print out a template and not free hand the letters, but hey you do what you gotta do. This still took an hour to make, but for what it was I liked it.

SNOWMAN HANDPRINT ORNAMENT

We did the snowman ornament craft with all the kids at the treehouse... they turned out ridiculously cute and the kids loved drawing scarves and hats on their snowmen. I used gel pens because they are easier for kids to work with than paint. And cleaner.... but the ink will smudge off. So when they were done I sprayed them with acrylic sealer and everything stayed put. The ornament hooks are super cute-I bought them at Target last year when they were 75% off. And the ribbon came from the Target $1 section. You should see the ornament I did with Chunky's stinkin cute little paws, too. That is adorable.

MAGIC REINDEER FOOD

Growing up we always looked at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. Oakridge had the best lights, and Santa always sat in the corner of his yard in his big, yellow Jeep loaded with presents. You got to sit on his lap and give him your last minute wish list, and he gave you a candy cane and a bag of reindeer food. His poem was super cute-something about giving to the reindeer because they worked so hard. One year his Jeep wasn't there and we were pretty bummed. Found out later he had passed away. As an adult I've truly grown to appreciate the love that man had for the season as he sat out every Christmas Eve, year after year, handing out candy canes to starry eyed kids. I looked online for a poem like the one he sent out - but never found one close so I did my own. For the jars I spray painted the lids on a few of the millions of empty baby food jars that plague our house, threw on some ribbon, and added ingredients I already had on hand that wouldn't litter the enviroment. I'm nice like that. I used oatmeal, chocolate sprinkles, red and green sugar sprinkles, gold sprinkles, and peppermint sprinkles. I wrote my poem to match what I had put in the jars:

Magic Reindeer Food

As Santa brings a gift to you

Remember his reindeer, so strong and true.

Leave a surprise for them on your lawn

So they can soar from dusk til dawn.

Bits of chocolate give them smarts,

Red crystal sprinkles warm their hearts.

Glitter of gold gives a sparkle to their eye,

Green sugar sparkles give strength as they fly.

White sprinkles make the sleigh feel light

And oatmeal keeps their tummies full all night.

It was like magic. We sprinkled it on the lawn Christmas Eve, and as we gathered in the loft to read the Christmas Story and The Night Before Christmas, deer came and munched on the food.

Take a break from reading and look how freaking cute this kid is. Seriously. So cute.

HOW I HUNG MY CHRISTMAS CARDS

I didn't see this on Pinterest, but close enough. Originally I wanted to take a picture frame, run some twine across and then hang it on the wall. When the cards were gone then I could reuse it for other photos. By the time mid-December rolled around I ran out of room for the picture frame idea. My Mom used to hang her cards in the entry way-she had three large doorways with crown molding that she hung invisible thread from and the cards made a cute drape. I don't have doorways... but I did have the twine frpm the Christmas presents, so I just bought clothespins and did this. I didn't tack the twine to the wall-I like to avoid adding extra holes if at all possible. This worked out well because I ended up having to add extra rows to the windows and it was super easy. Love it.

Well, as Jeff would say, "That's pinteresting." Those were a few of the things I did this year, thanks to inspiration from that nifty little website. I'm so excited for next year!

Avery's Baptism

2011-12-26T12:11:00.000-06:00

Since the entire family was together at the Frio, Avery wanted to get baptized there. So her parents got special permission, and she got baptized! Since she knew how cold the water would be from the polar bear swim, we all thought she was pretty brave. She was given the option to get baptized in the hot tub-but after hearing stories about the pioneers who wanted to be baptized so bad they would break the ice on the rivers, she chose to go with the Frio. Did you know "Frio" means "Freezing?" They're not kidding. As Mormons, we baptize our children at the age of eight. Many religions baptize their members as babies. We wait until they are eight years old-basically when they're old enough to know better. Before that, children are completely innocent, incapable of committing real sin. Once they reach the age of eight they are able to choose for themselves if they want to be baptized, and start becoming accountable for their choices. Christ says in John 3:5, "Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." He also commands us "Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do." We believe in baptism by immersion, the same way that Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan. We are baptized by someone who has God’s priesthood authority for the remission of sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16). We are also baptized to become members of the Church of Jesus Christ, and to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). When we are baptized, we recieve a remission of our sins. We also make a promise to our Heavenly Father. We promise (also called a covenant) to accept Christ, become one of His followers, and to keep His commandments until the end of our lives. If we do this, Heavenly Father promises us to forgive our sins and to let us return and live with Him in Heaven. It's a pretty good deal... especially the forgiveness part because heaven knows we're not perfect. I remember asking the bishop when I was baptized if the water would turn black from my sins all washing away. Then I asked if I would need to be baptized more than once-since I was sure at some point in my life I would do something wrong again. He laughed and assured me the water wouldn't turn black, that it was a spiritual thing and not temporal so the water would stay clean. Then he explained that each week I partake of the sacrament, I would have the oppurtunity to repent and be clean again. So being baptized once is all you really need, as long as you are baptized correctly and by the right authority. I didn't actually take pictures of the actual baptism-this is a photo of them getting ready. We believe the ordinance of baptism is sacred. Sacred things are best remembered-not photographed. I couldn't help but snap a few pictures before it though, it was such a beautiful moment. And then Avery got baptized-I was proud of her for not gasping when she went under. The water was SO COLD, and it naturally takes your breath away. But she was brave and reverent for the whole thing. They came back over-Emma was a great help. She held their towels... nice, warm towels! And here she is. The newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When she was dried off she was confirmed a member and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Christ taught that if you get baptized, but then don't receive the Holy Ghost as a companion, you only went and did things half way. The Holy Ghost is a spirit sent to help us here on earth. If we live our lives right, and try to be good, he will help guide us and keep us safe. I think it's safe to say she was a little cold-but the memory of her Christmas day baptism in the Frio will warm her up!

Christmas on the Frio

2011-12-25T09:37:00.003-06:00

This year my family couldn't decide where to spend Christmas. With everyone spread out over the States and my parents now living in China, we needed somewhere for over 20 people to get together for a few days without stepping on each other's toes. We ended up in Leakey (pronounced lake-ee), Texas at the Tree Top. It was beautiful. The little town of Lakey could have come out of a book. Down town had a few businesses, churches and a park. Everyone there knew each other. We spent an hour at the Mercantile waiting for the rest of the family to come and finishing up our grocery shopping. Each family was in charge of one or two meals. Jeff and I had one of the breakfasts-we did PW's baked french toast. It was a huge success. We loved hanging out in the store-as each customer came in the owner greeted them by name. It reminded us of when we lived in Montana. The Tree Top is just a mile or so from Down Town, and we all excitedly headed over. We drove through a winding road and had to avoid herds of deer munching on grass alongside the road. Once we got to the house we were excited to see it had been beautifully decorated for Christmas. There is one house and a cottage on the location, a giant deck built into a tree, several other decks, a gazebo, hot tub and beautiful stone stairs to access the river. It was SO beautiful and the perfect location for a huge family. The entrance to the cottage where my parents stayed. The inside-a little thrashed from Christmas but it survived! It is a one bedroom, one bathroom cottage with a wet bar and sitting room. Over at the big house the loft was the perfect place for all the kids to sleep-there are three beds upstairs and plenty of room on the floor. The window overlooks the front yard. Looking down from the loft you can see the kitchen.... And living room. What you don't see is the 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms below it. The couches in the living room are also pull out beds so the entire property sleeps about 22 people. We debated forever how that deer got those Christmas baubles.. a ladder? Clipped on? Thrown over? Outside the house was just as pretty as the inside. The actual tree house is the big hit with the kids-and the adults... especially because there is a fire pit on the deck. The whole view of the house-although it's hard to see the beautiful stairs and that there are two decks. Up top in between the two houses is a gazebo and hot tub. The hot tub saved our butts after the polar bear swim in the river. Emma was the brave one who started the swim-but almost all the kids and myself ended up in the river.. and then once we were close to hypothermia we ran up the stairs and into the hot tub. Once warmed up-the kids would dare each other to run all the way down the stairs and into the river again. I declined. I'm too old for that kind of shenanigans. We did play truth or dare-dares being the most common choice and everyone at some point probably licked dirt, kissed a tree or danced with leaves. Grandpa spent a lot of time with the kids hiking along the river bed. Despite how beautiful the scenery was, they will all probably be scarred for life with memories of the dead deer dancing to the tune of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." Don't ask-I think we're all trying to forget the event and I think Sadie is still crying. Christmas Eve found us all resting from hiking and swimming, playing games and awaiting the night. The kids were so cute playing together all the time and I felt like I never saw Tristan. He was constantly being toted around by one of his sweet cousins.. which he loved. He lights up like a Christmas tree when big kids pay attention to him. Our family always tries to keep the spirit of Christmas, so we decided to go into town and attend a candlelight service. I used to always attend midnight mass with a good friend, but since being married and moving, I haven't been in a few years. The service was beautiful, it really helped us focus on the true reason for the holiday. The minister read the story of Christ's birth and the whole congregation sang almost all of the Christmas hymns. If you notice, we were fortunate to sit in the front row. We thought being a few minutes early would give us a chance to hide in the back. Apparently that is what the whole town does-so the only available seating was in the first two rows. That also made it awkward when the minister announced we would be taking communion by walking to the front... Jeff and I were the first of our row to be shoved to the front by the guy with the cane behind us. Regardless, the congregation was so kind and sweet to the whole family. One man came up to Ben afterwards and complimented his beautiful daughters and said he loves big families. He gave Ben some cash and told him to take the girls out. My favorite, and probably the kid's favorite part was sharing the light of the Christ candle with each other and singing Silent Night. With the lights dimmed in the church, and everyone singing that song on the eve of the Savior's birth it really gave us a chance to reflect on what is truly important this time of year, and to be grateful for the life of our Savior. After the service we thanked the minister for sharing his sermon with us and went back to the house. We ate dinner, played more games and then got ready to get the kids in bed. I had brought reindeer food for the kids to sprinkle on the front lawn. They loved it, and it was so precious to see all their little eyes light up and their debate over how and where it should be sprinkled. After we sprinkled the reindeer food we went back inside for hot chocolate. I had a recipe I got from a friend for some "sleeping potion" for the kids. Basically you let them see you put a drop or so of the "potion" (that smells JUST like vanilla) into their hot chocolate and it will make them think they can sleep better. With 11 kids wandering in the kitchen with cups of hot chocolate it got hard to remember who got some. Avery yelped when I gave her a second dose that she had already got some. As to keep in the spirit of things I said, "Uh oh! We'd better fix that or you'll never wake up tomorrow!" I meant, "You'll never wake up and will sleep all through presents and breakfast!" I didn't mean, "you'll never wake up and DIE!" But that's what Sadie thought I meant. She looked at me, her chin dropped to the floor and she wailed for twenty minutes, "She'll neeeeeeeeeeeeever waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaked uuuuup!!!" It was pretty dramatic. Poor kid. Between that and the singing reindeer she will favor any holiday over this one. After the hot chocolate the kids got in their pajamas and went upstairs to the loft. One of them noticed a cat eating the reindeer food. THe cat disappeared and then we had a few deer stroll through and munch. It was a pretty magical moment, the still of the night, watching the deer munch on oatmeal and sprinkles before wandering away to tell Santa the kids were still up. Grandpa read them the Christmas story from the Book of Mormon, I read "The Night Before Christmas" and then they tried to go to sleep. The next morning they woke to their mischevious elf who had toilet papered the tree and most of the house. He even got Tucker who slept on the hide a bed-he never even woke up! Santa had clearly been there... But the presents were nowhere to be found. The presents under the tree were from Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents and Cousins. The kids were confused. Fortunetly, Grandma came over with the news that the tree at her house had been visited-and the couch was full of stockings. We opened presents one at a time-althought it looks like complete chaos. It was so much fun.. Tristan opened a Hershey Kiss all by himself and made a huge mess. His toy from Santa was a hit-he played with it FOREVER. The other hit toy with the babies was the classic Fisher Price pop up. It was a big mess of wrapping paper, toys and excited kids. It was a lot of fun. After playing there for a while we went back to the other house. To the kid's dismay, Santa's footprints has vanished. Eliora told the kids that it would happen once the presents were opened, but I think they were still surprised it did. We ate a huge, delicious breakfast (Katie's turn) and then proceeded to open MORE presents! It was AWESOME. Jeff got me a new phone-that was probably the best ever since my old one would turn itself off whenever it felt like it. That made for quite a few awkward conversations. Grandpa and Grandma got everyone Christmas ornaments from China, along with quite a few other cool gifts. And the gift of their presence ;) That was all they really needed to bring. The rest of the day everyone spent hanging out, chilling and enjoying each other's company and presents. The kids really enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa around-they don't get to see them as much anymore and they're greatly missed. Overall, it was a great day. We also baptized Avery-but I'm going to let that be it's own post. It was a pretty neat deal. So that was our Christmas. It was fun, beautiful, full of amazing memories and a lot of love. Jeff and I are so grateful for each other, our little boy, our families (we missed his side this year), and the Savior. We hope you had a beautiful Christmas as well!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T21:52:00.002-06:00

The family (most of us, anyway) are spending Christmas together this year at the Tree Top house on the Frio river. It's been super amazing. I forget how much I miss everyone being together until it happens.

Christmas is such a magic time of year, and I love the spirit of the season. I hope that wherever you are your Christmas is as magical as ours has been.

... Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cookie Exchange

2011-12-20T12:30:00.002-06:00

Every year my sister hosts a cookie exchange at Christmas. It's gotten wildly popular and everyone expects her to do it. Since I missed her party this year, I thought I'd do my own here in Lubbock. I recruited my friend Brittany to help... and am I ever glad she did. She is super cute and crafty. We invited quite a few girls from the ward. Everyone brings 5 dozen cookies. Then you swap cookies and everyone goes home with 5 dozen cookies-all different kinds. The easiest way to swap is to set all the cookies out on a table-everyone comes over with empty plates/containers and just picks and chooses from the spread their 5 dozen cookies. We had a hot chocolate bar for the guests, served in these adorable cups that we all know I didn't make! Although I'd like to thank Pinterest for the idea of a hot chocolate bar.

I did bring over a few dishes to serve our goodies in. We had peppermint bits, Heath bits, marshmallows, those wafer cookies, red hots, candy canes... anything we thought would be good in chocolate. Which is almost everything. We served the cocoa in a crock pot so it'd stay warm. Here's a hint-if you do that, you will need a few hours to get it from cold to hot! Brittany also made chocolate covered stirring spoons. Very, very delicious!We also served cookies, and marshmallows.... We felt like we should have something besides sweets, so we threw in a cheese ball and some chicken ranch things Brittany made. I probably ate ten of them! Overall it was a great party-and the easiest way to make a pretty plate to give the neighbors and the girls I visit teach. That, and having a Christmas party really invites the spirit of the season in. Looove this time of year!

Enchiladas

2011-12-15T21:18:00.001-06:00

I winged some enchiladas tonight and they passed the Jeff test. I didn't want to resort to pizza for dinner and I had tortillas needing to be eaten. The thought of cooking chicken made me gag... so this is what I came up with and it was super easy and quick.

1 can of chicken
1/2 can of corn
1/2 small can of green chilis
1/2 can of green chili enchilada sauce
4 medium tortillas
some cheddar cheese
some Lowry's seasoning salt
some cilantro (I have some dried stuff)
1/2 red onion

Dice up the onion and cook it in a frying pan...add the chicken, spices, green chilis and corn. Roll up the stuff with some cheese in a tortilla...lay in a baking pan, dump enchilada sauce on top, throw on some cheese. I put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes on 350. When it looked yummy I broiled it for one more minute and called it dinner.

Christmas Cards

2011-12-14T23:31:00.003-06:00

This year we ordered our Christmas cards from Cardstore.com ... and I think they turned out super cute. I really liked their service, they cards came fairly quickly, and if you have your addresses typed up (I don't, I always hand write envelopes and addresses are in my little book..) Cardstore will ship them as well for the same price. Sadly, I didn't have my address book with me so I had to buy my own postage (ugh). I wish I would have ordered more! I love sending and getting Christmas cards. I'm looking forward to hanging them on my little Pinterest frame I'm fixen to make this week!

He's 8 Months!

2011-12-11T19:48:00.006-06:00

I am not sure when my baby decided to grow up, but here he is. Eight months going on two. He decided last month he'd had it with sitting still and started to crawl. Since then he's been a regular terror. He loves to play in the bathroom and make the scale lights turn on. He loves, LOVES to dump the dog's food and water all over. He's recently discovered the kitchen drawers and cupboards and has pulled E V E R Y T H I N G out of them. Yesterday he was standing up on the dresser pulling my socks out of the drawer. As he would toss each one out Chunky would catch it and give it a good shake. They're starting to be really good friends. It surprised Chunky the day Tristan saw him across the room and started to chase him. He had this look on his face like, "What the... this thing moves?!"

Twistan has no business growing up so fast. Seriously. Who does he think he is!? I was hoping he'd stay little forever but apparently he's got other plans.

He sleeps about ten hours at night-needs to eat a little and goes back to bed a couple more. He has good nights and nights he's lucky to see dawn, but thankfully those seem to be tapering off. Twistan likes to give fives, and waves, and is just starting to pick his nose. Even though he is still a baby Jeff, I think he's starting to look a little more like me, no? Maybe a little in the eyes? I've had a couple people tell me that lately and I almost kissed them.

Regardless, whether he looks like me, Jeff or a monkey, we love this little boy. He brings out the best-I never knew I could have so much patience or love for something. He is such a pumpkin!

PS Don't download the new IE 9... it sucks! There are lot of features it is missing that I liked on the old IE and it totally screws with a lot of sites! Like Blogger-my publish button didn't work for days, and now half of my other buttons don't work. Which is why I am typing in the stupid center alignment! Ugh! Save yourself a headache and stay with the old one.

Southern Hospitality

2011-12-09T10:56:00.004-06:00

The people here in Lubbock are some of the kindest I have ever met. I am not sure if it's because we live in the bible belt and everyone is Christian, or there is something in the water, everyone is just incredibly kind. I am used to Houston where for the most part, people are nice. It's how it is in the South. People are just nice. I hear it all the time from people who visit, "Wow, Texan's are just so nice!" It really is true. But Lubbock is something special.

On Wednesday I left the mall and completely spaced where I parked. I wandered around for twenty minutes looking for the van when I finally decided it was stolen. I was calling Jeff to whine that I couldn't find it, when this couple in a big SUV pulled up. "Did you lose your car!? Don't worry, we'll help you. What's it look like?" I was so embarrassed I wanted to crawl under the stroller, but they were very insistant so I gave them a description. Ten minutes later, after I was sure they'd probably just given up and gone home, I saw them pull down the aisle I was still wandering in. They were laughing, "Does your license plate cover say "Hot Lips" on it? We found it!" They directed me to my stellar parking spot and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That was just at the mall. After looking through the fridge I decided we were having Papa Murphy's for dinner. As I was walking in the store with the baby carrier this man ran over and opened the door for me. I set Twistan on the bench to get in line, and he was mobbed by three people waiting for their pizzas. They tickled his feet and made faces til he was laughing. The lady in front of me said, "Oh! I believe you came in before I did!" and insisted that I go in front of her. When I left I had two pizzas, a liter of soda and the baby carrier. I could've gotten the door, but someone else ran over and got it for me. As I was walking to my car another lady ran over and grabbed my pizzas and helped me load them up. On the way home I realized I needed some key ingredients for mine and Brittany's cookie exchange, so I stopped at the store. On the way in, the bell ringer saw me carrying the carrier and ran inside and got me a cart. I asked a random stranger where the cheese was (it's conveniently across the store from the dairy section) and she was happy to tell me. The lines were soooo long to check out, but that didn't matter. Everyone enjoyed the time they had to chat in line with complete strangers, play with my baby, and wish each other a Merry Christmas. My bagger remembered me and asked me how things were going as he took my things to the car.

That is how it is here. All day, every day. I love it.

Twistan's First Snow!

2011-12-05T08:29:00.002-06:00

It's snowing this morning in Lubbock! Real, big, fat snowflakes! And they're guessing it will snow most of the day. I had to scrape almost two inches off the car this morning, pretty crazy for Texas! I didn't have the heart to sit Twistan directly in the snow, so I thought I'd set him on a towel and let him explore on his own.Which he didn't appreciate very much. He would prefer to NOT be in the snow.Chunky loved it though. He usually isn't a fan of the cold but for some reason snow makes him get all giddy. He pounces through it like a reindeer. I wonder if we'll have a white Christmas!

My 27th Birthday Blast

2011-12-02T20:11:00.003-06:00

Jeff sure knows how to treat a girl. I swear every year on my birthday I am surprised by the things he does. And I don't know why-I guess I just don't expect anything and then he goes all out. This year my birthday landed on a Monday. What a lame day to have a birthday, right? He had a lot of tests and presentations so he asked if we could move it to Friday. Now that I'm old birthdays just aren't what they used to be-and Friday is a funner day anyway. Friday rolled around and I got a cryptic text telling me I needed to be ready when he got home from school. I wasn't sure if that meant we were going out in the middle of the day or what. So, I got ready just in case. When he pulled up he had an armload of bags and refused to let me see what was in any of them, I started to get super excited. He made me wait in our room for a few minutes til he had everything set up. I am sooooo bummed we didn't get pictures, but it was a lot of fun. He bought me four presents.... not including the ones I'd bought myself.... but, there were five boxes on the table. He set up "Price is Right" game show, and one of the presents was a "zonk." I seriously couldn't stop laughing as I tried to win my gifts. Sadly, I suck at game shows (um, or does someone purposely pick hard questions) and only won three of my gifts, including the beautiful "zonk" gift which was a rock. Nice.

I could tell he was a little concerned with the fact I hadn't won the very last gift. After some bribery he finally let me have it... which is a good thing because it was a massage scheduled at three. So I rushed over, enjoyed an amazing massage and some grocery shopping, baby free. When I got home, the house was picked up and he'd baked me a cake. Seriously? How adorable is he? Then he let me get ready (again), he took me on my shopping spree (entertained the baby and practically drug me through the mall without once saying he was ready to go)... then we went to dinner, rented a movie, came home and ate cake.It was such a fun day. Seriously. I couldn't stop laughing the entire night, and if it hadn't been for Sir-Babes-a-Lot it would have felt like we were dating again. Jeff makes me laugh so much, I love this guy.

Happy birthday to me!!!!

Our Christmas Tree!

2011-12-01T23:38:00.006-06:00

Last week Ace Hardware was having a major sale on real Christmas trees. (Now that Thanksgiving is over I will talk about Christmas. I believe each Holiday deserves it's own spot-none of this creeping up on Halloween stuff that Christmas has been doing lately. Nuh uh. Back off and wait your turn, buddy). It's a long story-but my pre lit tree is in my sister's garage in Houston. You see, I was incredibly pregnant and trying to get the baby's room halfway set up, and the stupid tree was taking up more than half his room. My sister said she'd store it in her garage. She sent my brother in law to go get it. He had to move it to their garage. They moved two months later. He moved our tree to the new house. They moved again a couple months after that. He moved the tree to THAT house. Oddly enough, the house they moved it to is my parents. I had asked my Mom if I could store the tree there and she said, "It'll get packed when we move to China." Then she decided not to pack the garage attic. Where I was planning on storing the tree. So my brother in law moved the tree four times just for fun. Isn't he a nice guy? And he never complained once! Ha. So I got a tree last Saturday night for a steal of deal. When Jeff got home I said, "Can you get the tree out of the van?" He said, "I'll do it later." I must have reminded at least four times. The next day as we left church that was when I said, "I just really don't think it's good for the tree to be in the van. It's hot." That was when it clicked I'd bought a live tree. Whoops. It's a little brown now. But that definitely reminds me of our first Christmas together. We didn't have a tree. We had Christmas twigs. Oh Jefferson. Anyway, we put the baby to bed, enjoyed some quiet time and then decided to decorate the tree. It was so fun to pull out the usual cast of characters and laugh at the memories they brought. I love Christmas trees that have the big, beautiful matching ornaments. I think they're fabulous. But my favorite trees are the ones with ornaments like this. My niece made this for Jeff and I. Growing up our big tree was full of handmade and mismatched ornaments. Each ornament had a memory, and every year my favorite thing to do was find certain ornaments and relive where we got them from.

Jeff and I have a tradition-every year we pick out an ornament together that kind of "wraps up" an event of the year. This is our Christmas Pickle ornament. We forgot to buy one when we were in Europe in 2008, so we found a little German shop that imports ornaments and bought this one. It took me three seconds to find it. The bride and groom at the top is our first ornament that started the tradition. Do you put your star on last? We always had an angel growing up-but I fell in love with this star. What a perfect night. I love the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T21:08:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love the spirit of being grateful, I love the feast, I love that it gives a beautiful farewell to fall and leaves arms open for winter, and I love that our family is almost always together. This is one of the first times in years that we haven't gone backpacking for Thanksgiving. My Dad started that tradition years and years ago, and I'm always a little bummed when we don't go. I am also bummed that I didn't do a single bit of Black Friday shopping. Except online. Usually my sisters and I map out an entire plan, but this year we just weren't up for it.

Jeff and I drove out to Midland to my brother's. I love their new house! The dining room was the set the best atmosphere. Twistan's first Thanksgiving! We set him in the baby walker, and once I lowered the legs to his height he RAN like crazy all over the house the whole night. I was just dying. He is seriously the cutest child I have ever seen.

I thought these would be cute appetizers for the girls. They were no where NEAR as good as my amazing sweet potatoes, but they photographed cuter. The food this year, as always, was amazing. We all agreed that while everything was delicious, the sweet potatoes and homemade gravy were to die for. I drank the leftover gravy later. After dinner we read from the Thanksgiving tree. All month long the girls wrote little notes of what they were thankful for. Twistan, Jeff and I were mentioned at least twice. Love those girls! I hope ya'll all had a marvelous Thanksgiving holiday-grateful to the two of you who still read my blog!!! :)

I'm Thankful For...

2011-11-23T22:37:00.002-06:00

These two. They light up my life.

What's Wrong With California

2011-11-22T15:57:00.002-06:00

Very rarely does California have anything to brag about besides good weather. Today they can brag about being host to the most vile and disgusting people in the United States. If I lived in Oakland and had to deal with these monsters, I'd be joining the police department for a chance to enforce some code. Normally I'd oppose police brutality-but now I'm hoping to see some cops open a can of whoop @$$ and take care of business.

There are some idiots out here "occupying" Lubbock. I hate to break it to them, but no one cares. I mean, no one. But I smile every time it's colder than 50 degrees out and they're all huddling in tents. These people clearly do not understand what makes America the greatest country in the world. I wish they'd all move to whatever country they think is better. We need a cleaner gene pool

Breaking Dawn: The Movie Sucks.

2011-11-19T14:44:00.002-06:00

SPOILER ALERT!

Jeff and I love to go to the drive-in. We can take the baby, we bring the dog, it's always a double feature, it costs $4 for both of us, we bring in dinner and dessert, and I can complain about the movie without having to whisper. Last night we went to see Breaking Dawn and Tower Heist. The second movie was exactly what you'd expect, I liked it. Of course, any movie with what's-his-face from Night at the Museum and Eddie Murphy ought to be good. Breaking Dawn, however, made me want to poke my eyes out.

The entire plot (well, the attempted plot) was over a four week period. In that time, Bella and Edward get married. Bella looks like she is going to vomit through the whole ceremony. There was too little wedding, I thought. There should have been more of the ceremony and reception.

Then, Jacob gets mad that Bella isn't a vampire yet and is going to get *ahem* "busy" on her honeymoon with Edward. Bella hugs him like they're lost lost lovers.

Edward and Bella go on their honeymoon. She can't decide what lingerie to wear. They have a lot of *ahem* "fun." They talk about having *ahem* "fun" constantly. The audience is subjected watching a third of the movie with Edward and Bella naked, having *ahem* "fun."

Exactly fourteen days after the wedding, Bella pukes. She discovers she is pregnant because the baby is moving, and she can feel it. They're in shock. After all that *ahem* "fun" and no mention of birth control, who would have thought? It's madness!!!

The baby is half vampire, and since Bella isn't, it starts to eat her from the inside out. All the vampires want the baby aborted. Bella sits around in silence. Finally, one time, she mutters something about wanting to keep the baby. She doesn't insist she keep the baby in a moving scene about a mother's love for her unborn child. Nope. She just sits around while all the vampires stare at her very grimly and say things like, "She's going to die." "She is dying." "It's killing her." Bella picks out hideous names for the baby.

Meanwhile, the wolf pack decides to go after the vampires. Jacob is mad at Edward (WHAT!??). I can't figure out why this kid doesn't butt out, she's married! To someone else! She clearly doesn't love you! Move on, man. Also, don't these people need to do something to pay the mortgage on their homes? All they do is stand around and talk about Bella. Personally, Bella hasn't done anything cool enough in my book to deserve this attention. But, it must be boring to be a vampire so they all are cool with spending every waking minute obsessing about her.

Bella has to drink human blood to stay alive. She likes it. Then she has to have an emergency c-section without anesthetic. They're shocked when she dies. One of the vampires wants to eat the baby.

The baby is ugly. Jacob imprints the baby (uh, child molester...). Edward chews Bella up. She's still dead. They put cute clothes on her. She comes back to life, only with red eyes.

All I know is that means there is going to be YET ANOTHER TWILIGHT MOVIE. Although you probably knew that if you read the books. I can't bring myself to.

I want my $1 back.

Tuesdays

2011-11-18T00:39:00.002-06:00

We wake up. Eat. Harass the dog.

Go for a bike ride.

And spend as much time outside as we can before it gets too cold. Best part about Tuesday? Jeff coming home hours early and playing on the blanket with us.

Prayers

2011-11-16T09:07:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving is approaching, and I feel like I have so much to be thankful for. Today I am super thankful for prayers, answered and unanswered. Today its the ones that are answered quickly. It's crazy that God will answer the simplest, silliest of prayers. Because I constantly am losing things, mostly I'm praying that I will find something (on top of everything else I ask for). But even those prayers for lost items are answered. It never ceases to amaze me that a God who has so many other things to worry about would bother to listen to my plea to find my USB drive, my shoes, my phone, or anything else that I seem to lose constantly. But He does. He totally does. I have some friends who might think it's a lucky coincidence, that statistically the odds are in my favor of getting what I ask for, like asking for sunshine on a sunny day. But I know that it's not a coincidence. It's a loving Father in Heaven who knows of my existence, and is aware of my every need.

Remember that day forever ago that I decided to take three dogs to the park? Well, I was all sweaty and gross from running. I thought, "might as well take the dogs out before I clean up." So, I grabbed my dog, a friend's dog, and then drove to my sister's to get her dog. I was leaving the neighborhood when I had this feeling I should stop by a friend's house that wasn't far away. I pushed it aside, "I'm sweaty, gross, and have a car full of dogs. She doesn't want this kind of company." I kept driving. I had the feeling again. I thought to myself, "No, I need to get my day going... she's probably not there anyway." I got to the stop sign... and that's when I turned around. When I pulled into her driveway she was hanging out in the warm sun. I felt dumb, but I got out and said hi. The tone in her voice was just wonder, "I knew you would come!!!" I was confused at first, but she said, "My phone is lost, my husband is at work, none of the neighbors are home, and I really, really need a ride to work! So I said a prayer that someone would come, and immediately I felt peace." She repeated, "I knew you would come!"

What simple, beautiful faith. I was so humbled and grateful that I had listened to what I thought was my own stupid voice. Turns out, the only stupid voice was the one telling me not to go by her house.

I know in the grand scheme of things that might not be such a big deal to others that she got a ride to work, but it was to her. And God knew that. He knew her individual needs, just like He knows each one of us. He knows what each one of us is going through, what our feelings are, and what we need in this life. We can become closer to Him through personal prayer and scripture study. We will be able to feel His love for us as we pray and try to be closer to Him. He wants to bless us-but it's up to us to ask and be willing to receive. He has given us moral agency in this life, the right to choose what we want to do with our lives. And if we want Him to be included, we have to make that choice. When our hearts hurt, He can heal them. He can give us answers to questions. He can pretty much do everything, but we have to ask. And that is what I am grateful today. I am grateful to a God who loves us individually, and who wants to bless me. And all I have to do is ask.

Beggar McGee

2011-11-15T11:12:00.002-06:00

I have no idea how my dog gained three pounds over the summer. Oh. Wait. Yes, I do. Because he bores holes in your hand with his intense stares while you eat. Doesn't matter what you're eating, and his little face is so pathetic you can't not share.

He puts a nice little paw on you, just so you know he's there. In case you drop something. He'll be there for ya. He'll get it. Don't you worry. Yup.. just waiting here in case you drop something, or wanna share. Just little ol' me...

He's drooled on me more than once.

Peanuts. Celery. Plastic. Lettuce. Rice. Pie. Ice cream. Apples. You name it. He wants it. Except for the strawberry jam I spilled on the floor Saturday. I rely heavily on him to keep our floors clean. Imagine my disappointment that here it is, Tuesday... and I'm having to wash the floor. Yup. That's right. Tuesday.. and the jam has been there since Saturday. I had other ways to spend my weekend!

He ate the peanut so fast this was the best I could get.

Bajio's Green Chile Chicken Quesadilla

2011-11-13T22:31:00.004-06:00

When Jeff and I lived in Rexbizzle, we loved going to Bajio's. Our favorite dish was the green chile chicken quasadilla, with sweet rice and borachho beans. On our last trip there, he was heart broken to discover the restaurant was closed. He requested that I make this for for dinner yesterday, and let me tell you... it kept me busy.

And Tristan kept me busy. I need more kitchen tools to entertain him, he kept climbing out of the bumbo and harassing me! Anyway, if you find yourself in need of something to do for a few hours, not including clean up, here you go!!!!

The Quesadillas:

You Will Need:

2 Grilled Chicken Breasts

1 cup Green Chile Chutney

1 cup of Caramelized Onions

1 cup Shredded Cheese (a mix of cheddar and jack cheese)

4 large Flour Tortillas

DIRECTIONS Marinate Chicken Breasts in 1 cup of lime juice and 1 cup oil, let stand for at least two hours in the refrigerator. On a hot grill, grill the chicken until done and set aside to rest. Once the chicken has had time to rest and cool, shred into small pieces.* Slice 1 whole white onion into slices. In a medium saute pan, add 2 TBL spoons of oil and saute the onions until they are translucent. * Once the onions are done, add the shredded chicken and cup of Green Chile Chutney, and saute all together until well heated. Warm up each tortilla and add shredded cheese to each tortilla. Spoon in warm chicken mixture and fold the tortilla over. Cut into 4 wedges and serve.

The Chutney Sauce

You Will Need

3 large annaheim peppers, halved, seeds removed

1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, halved, seeds removed4 oz. can diced green chiles

5-7 tomatillos, husks removed

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

dash of chili powder

dash of cumin

dash of salt

1 large sweet onion, halved

Directions: Place peppers, tomatillos, and onion on baking sheet/rack. Roast in 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until nicely browned. Place tomatillos and about 1/4 cup onion in blender and process until mostly smooth. Dice peppers. Add all ingredients except the remaining onion into a large pot. Cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until thickened and reduced. Add more sugar/peppers to adjust the spiciness/sweetness to taste. For Carmelized Onions: Slice the remaining onion and saute with a little bit of the green chile sauce over medium-low heat until carmelized.

BAJIO SWEET RICE

You Will Need:

1/2-1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 of a white onion, chopped

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

1 1/3 cups white rice

3 cups chicken broth

1/4-1/2 cup white sugar

Directions:

Put a little oil in bottom of pan (maybe about 1/2-1 tablespoon). Saute chopped onion until translucent. Add the chopped cilantro (no big stems) and saute a minute more. Add the rice, cooking until it is light brown (being careful not to burn). Combine the chicken broth and sugar, letting sugar dissolve. Then stir into rice until combined. Bring to a boil. Cover and let cook on low, med-low until rice is done, about 25-30 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Kiki's Borracho Beans

You Will Need:

1 pound dried pinto beans, washed

2 quarts chicken stock

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle dark beer

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chopped stewed tomatoes

1 white onion, diced

1/4 cup pickled jalapeno peppers

6 cloves garlic, chopped

3 bay leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cilantro

Directions: Soak beans in a large pot of water overnight (Or start early in the morning and let them hang out in a crock pot ALL day). Drain beans, and refill the pot with chicken stock and enough water to cover the beans with 2 inches of liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Stir the beans occasionally through out the entire cooking process to make sure they do not burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir beer, tomatoes, onion, jalapeno peppers, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, and cilantro into the beans. Continue to cook uncovered for 1 hour, or until beans are tender. With a potato masher, crush the beans slightly to thicken the bean liquid. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.

Can I just tell you that you should be easy with the beer? Actually, next time I'm going to leave it completely out. These beans were so, so so delicious. Until I was like, "Oh, right. Gotta add the beer." Without even looking I dumped in about 3 times too much. We had to toss them, they were awful. I can't even think about how much got wasted when those went down the drain, I'm still sick about it. ... Also, here's a hint. I think next time I'll go with semi-homemade with Sarah Lee's recipe for boraccho beans, although these were so delicious.

I think I had all four burners on cooking something at about any given time, and once the oven. It definetly took some skill to have everything ready at the same time. Next time there are a few things I think I could make ahead and would taste even better marinated overnight. And of course, the kitchen was totally trashed. I swear I used almost every single pot and pan we have.

The end result was totally worth it though. We had them again the next night, and then the following night we had chicken tacos since I'd made extra chicken. Now, go try this!

Women Run Lubbock 5k

2011-11-12T13:15:00.006-06:00

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but running in Lubbock sucks. It's not like The Woodlands where there are hundreds of miles of trails, shaded by big beautiful trees and you find yourself in company with other joggers. Lubbock has nothing like that. To go three miles, I have to run a loop in my neighborhood three times. It's lame staring at the same stupid houses over and over. I've struggled to find the motivation to get out and run these last few weeks. That, and thanks to the massive amount of burs out here, two of three tires on my jogging stroller have been popped. And, I finally found my shuffles charger-inside the sofa and broken. Ugh. Anyway, I was excited to sign up for this 5k, hoping to get new motivation to keep running.I think I did pretty good-I was able to mostly keep up with this cute fifteen year old girl. She runs cross country, although they don't do more than about three miles. She cheered me on when I started to lag. What a doll. This is the first 5k I've done. I really loved it! The shorter runs are so easy, and when you hit the halfway point you can think, "Gee, this will be over in less than twenty!" So it's easy to push yourself a little harder.I've mentioned before I am not competitive. Not even a little. Well, occasionally I am sometimes. If someone else I know really, really wants something and is making a huge deal out of it, and I know I could have it and that it would bug the snot out of them if they didn't get it... I'll take it just to be obnoxious. But, I suppose that is more facetious that it is competitive. It doesn't bother me if I come in last in something. I don't care. But today for some reason I actually wanted to be in the first few runners. I wasn't going for first place-not after seeing the girl from Tech's cross country there, but I just wanted to stay up front. So when someone started to pass me, I picked up the pace. Then, in the last hundred yards up the last hill I just needed some air, I slowed down and got passed by seven other girls. The same girls who'd been right next to me the whole time, passing, or falling behind. That's when something clicked and I thought, "I didn't keep a steady pace this whole time to get passed by them!" So I sprinted past them all and beat them to the finish. Then I collapsed and died.

OK, not really.

I went and got a gatorade. And a massage. But I wanted to collapse.

Anyway, it was a great run, great people, and great fun. And the best part was my cheering team, my three favorite boys in the whole world. Sadly, they're not pictured because Chunky rolled in poop and no one wanted to be near him.

**Update*** ... the race results are in! I came in 14th out of 91. Not too shabby!

Oooh Super Elevens

2011-11-11T23:11:00.001-06:00

It's November 11, 2011... at 11:11. That's nuts. I've thought about this date my whole life.... here it is. Here it went.

Sonster's Wedding

2011-11-08T22:34:00.001-06:00

Here we are, almost a month later and I am finally talking about Sonia and Tyson's wedding. Lame, right? But before any more time went on, I had to share a little something about that weekend.It was beautiful. The whole everything about everything. From the weather to the location, to the people, everything was so beautiful. I was so excited. We'd been talking and talking about this wedding for a year, and it was finally here. We had the rehearsal dinner the night before. Actually, they had the rehearsal the night before too-but thank you, Houston traffic, we missed it. Thankfully, that was the only thing we missed. I will spare you from the 465 other photos I took and skip right to the important ones (almost all of which Jeff took.. he's turning into quite the photographer!). When Sonia gets nervous she gets goofy. While I get sweaty, Sonia cracks jokes. I think that was part of her smile as she walked down the aisle... because moments before, she had us all laughing and smiling in the little area we waited in before going down the aisle. Sonia looked like a dream. Doesn't her Dad look so proud? And you can't see it in this picture, but she had about 40 people watching the wedding from their balconies. Sonia couldn't see Tyson, but that's who all of us bridesmaids were looking at as she was walking up. He couldn't take his eyes off her, and the whole moment made some of us get misty eyed. Including Tyson. That's when Jane started to sniff, which caused me to sniff, which almost caused an emergency situation as I did not opt for fake eyelashes, or waterproof mascara. Thank goodness the ceremony started and we got distracted. Pastor Ware gave such a beautiful sermon on the holiness of matrimony. The whole ceremony was so sweet, Tyson and Sonia are just the cutest couple in the world. Sonia and Tyson-husband and wife!!! After the ceremony we cruised to the beach for a few snapshots. Having to cross the road by the seawall is no small feat-but cars on both sides of the road screeched to a halt so Sonia and Tyson could run across the road. Then they all honked and screamed congrats out the window at them. The seawall was packed with people-and EVERYONE was yelling congrats to the bride and groom, telling Sonia how fantastic she looked, and of course, all the little girls draws hit the ground and they just stopped and stared. And they totally deserved it. They were just stunning-both Tyson and Sonia were glowing like little lightening bugs. I was dying-I almost always have my video camera and this time it had been forgotten in the hotel room, twice. Ugh!!!! I have to quit thinking about that. Anyway, the ceremony, the photos, the wedding.. the reception, everything was seriously so insanely beautiful. I didn't want the night to end. I loved every minute of it and was so glad to have been a part of it. Sonia has been one of the best friends anyone could ask for.

And of course, I had a great weekend with my honey, in my dress that totally fit like a glove. I am hoping they do vow renewals or something next year. I'd totally do this again.

The Elf on the Shelf

2011-11-07T10:21:00.003-06:00

Instead of sharing with you last night's details of the dog puking on the baby and in our bed twice, I'm going to share with you the cutest video ever. Aside from any I make of my baby, of course. My sister posted on her deal blog where you could find the book, "The Elf on the Shelf" for a great price. She just got her's in the mail the other day, and thus was born a new family tradition.

10,000 Pictures

2011-11-06T08:48:00.003-06:00

The other day I uploaded some photos. When I went to find them later on, half of them were missing. It took me a minute to figure out where they went.

If you look close at the name of the files, the last one is DSC_9999.

And if you look at that first one... it's DSC_0001. The file names had to start over after taking 9,999 photos, so the half that were "missing" were actually just at the top of the folder. Isn't that crazy? I guess if you have had a memory card for that long it's not that crazy... but man. That's a lot of photos. I'll bet half of them are of buffalo.

Things to Cook for Dinner

2011-11-04T22:40:00.005-05:00

I always know when Jeff loves something for dinner, if it was just OK, or if he hated it. If he loved it, he scarfs it down like he's never seen food before. If it is just OK, he'll eat MOST of it, and leave a bite or two. If he hated it, he openly chokes down a couple bites and then says he isn't hungry. But we all know that's a lie... he's almost always hungry.

Anyway, this SAHM Mom thing is fun! I have nothing to do all day but decide what to cook for dinner! So, here are few things I've tried this week. Some were better than others. They were all really easy.

Sweet and Sour Boneless Beef Ribs

The sauce was yum. I served it with rice, green and orange peppers, leftover white onions and pineapple sauteed in soy sauce. I used the canned pineapple juice to help make the rice. Jeff's favorite so far. Be careful about browning the ribs-I think they'd have been better in a slow cooker. Oh, and I left out the red pepper flakes.

Tanya's Boneless Ribs

These turned out super. I listened to the reviews and did them in the slow cooker, and they were super duper tender. So delicious. Jeff liked them a ton but not as much as the sweet and sour. I served them with mashed potatoes and green beans. Also, I left out the hot sauce. I'm not a spicy fan.

Pork Chop Veggie Medley

Pork chops were on sale, buy one package get one free. I had everything on hand, which was great... except mine didn't look anything like the photo. It looked more like stew? I liked it, the pork chops were tender and I like tomatoes. I served it over rice as suggested.

We also tried the boxed Macaroni Grill pasta mixes. Oh. My. Gosh. They were SO good. I don't have a recipe for those-just buy the boxed mixes. Yum.

Midlandia

2011-11-03T12:29:00.001-05:00

As previously mentioned, when my brother came to help unload our moving truck he took one of our vehicles back to Midland. Jeff and I drove down Sunday to pick it up. We were going to go last week-but Ben said he was smoking a brisket this week. Jeff wasn't going to miss out. Shoot... I wasn't going to miss out. He smokes a good brisket. So we came this week. And I went car less for a week. I thought I was going to die-but somehow I survived. That's the longest I have ever been without a car since I have had my license. I didn't have Internet either. Talk about pure torture. The kids were all so cute. Hannah doesn't like her picture to be taken, so I hid behind the table and at least got one photo of her being adorable. She kept kissing Twistan. Tonia and Ben just moved into one of only 8 houses in Midland that has a basement. Pretty cool. I decided to be a nice sister in law, and not take pictures of the house that isn't unpacked yet. They've only been there a week. Actually, for only being there a week I'm impressed with how much is already done. And how clean it was. I've been in Lubbock two weeks and there is a room that we don't talk about ....

This is the neighbor's sign. One of the neighbors that brought over cookies and dinner. In fact, in the short time we were at their house they had about 6 people stop by and welcome them to the neighborhood. Again, people here love where they live. It's part of being a Texan. Have some pride. You don't see this in California for sure.

Midland is such a pretty town. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it is so pretty. They actually have trees, there isn't trash everywhere (like in Lubbock, but I'm blaming the wind), the neighbors are real neighbors, and it has the best hometown America feel. I'd totally live here. Especially with cousins!

Ben and Jeff left for half an hour to pick up the gun safe from storage. While he was gone, Sadie and Abby both said, "We miss Daddy...." And promptly mauled him upon his return. So cute. Anyway, it was a good Sunday. Good food, good company, and good times!

My Parents Have Been Married 37 Years

2011-11-02T20:25:00.002-05:00

I haven't even been alive that long.

I thought I'd share this video I made for them at Christmas... it's funny, in 37 years they hardly had any photos of just the two of them together. They're constantly surrounded by kids... :)

Tech v. Iowa State

2011-11-01T11:01:00.002-05:00

There is SO much team spirit here in Lubbock. Every driveway, every restaurant, every street corner, bank, grocery store, sock drawer, mailbox, billboard, flag pole, every everything has some sort of Texas Tech symbol on it. Everyone here loves Tech. I love it. I love that they love Tech. When we were in school at BYU-I it was like the students were a plague. The residents there haven't quite accepted that they're a college town, and it shows. It's two separate worlds-the students vs. the residents. I hope someday they get over that, because the students are what is keeping those businesses there alive, and the locals should appreciate it. Maybe if they had a team to cheer? Maybe if they just got involved in intramural sports.... ? Anyway, back to the Raiders. This statue gets decorated every home game by the Saddle Tramps. They did a tacky job this time-but I still think it looks cool.

Guns Up!

We got to the game early so we could enjoy the festivities... BBQ, live bands, tail gating like there was no tomorrow. And the opening show for the game was fantastic too. What other school has a horse run across the field to open? And the fans were awesome-so much cheering. Twistan slept through most of the beginning, but all in all, I don't think he cared one way or the other. See how everyone is in red? And black? Even my baby? I wore pink.

See, all over the radio and school paper, and everywhere they requested everyone wear pink for breast cancer month. So I did. Me and about 10 other people. The other 58,990 fans wore team colors. I almost went home and changed. I would have, if the car hadn't been a 1.5 miles away.The half time show was pretty cool. I love watching the marching band-it's pretty cool they can play and march at the same time. I'm not coordinated to walk and chew gum at the same time, so I appreciate these guys.And this is how Jeff pretty much spent most of the game. The Raiders sucked so bad. We thought for sure they were going to clobber these guys-especially after last week's win over the Sooners. But no. Noooooope we got our butts handed to us. I'm OK with that-I like Iowa. It's where my kin folk are from. We ended up leaving after the third quarter with about 50,000 others. Better luck next time, Raiders.

Halloween

2011-10-31T10:28:00.001-05:00

Chunky Gagging Over His Costume

Before we had Twistan, Chunky was our baby. That's why he has four Halloween costumes. He wore the pumpkin one this year. Good choice, too. He outdid the baby on comments. "Oh. My. Gosh. Look at that dog!" "Ohmygosh, look at that dog!" "Ooooh look at the puppy!" I should have charged for photo ops with him. On the way home from Trunk or Treat he was sitting on my lap in the passenger side of the car. The women at the light next to us rolled their window down to get our attention, so they could get Chunky's attention. Apparently people have never seen a pumpkin costume on a dog before.

Twistan went as a bumble bee. Here he is.. happily being a bumble bee. And here he is, showing off Chunky's collar. Twistan! Wook here! Twistan! Say cheese!

And here he is... being a baby. He's only gots so much patience for this kind of crap.

For Halloween, Jeff took a physics test and went to school. I couldn't convince him to dress up as a bee keeper, so I scratched my bumble bee costume and went as the usual I don't want to do anything that takes effort witch outfit. Oddly enough... I happen to have everything for that on hand.... I carved the pumpkin, cleaned the house, made dinner, and spent three seconds making those ghosts which actually turned out to be a hit. I gave most of them away to trunk or treaters. Anyway, it was a very successful evening. Twistan discovered suckers, and it took him about two seconds to figure out how to rip it out of my hand and feed it to himself. He was a sticky, disgusting mess. Ha. That was the only piece of candy he got. Jeff and I shamelessly took him around trunk or treating and then ate all his candy. We're good parents like that.

Undercover Rat Dog

2011-10-27T17:43:00.001-05:00

No, literally under the covers.....

Happy Birthday to a Wonderfully Old Lady

2011-10-23T00:23:00.001-05:00

Today is my Mom's birthday. She is officially getting olde-I mean wiser. I was looking through my phone to see what pictures I had in here, since I won't have internet til next week. This is the most recent one I have. Actually, it is one of the only ones I have that don't have Twistan in them. And thats cause I am holding him while I took this. Then I took one of him.

Anyway, my Mom is a sweetheart. This last trip we took out West was a ton of fun. She played with Tristan, taught him new things, fed him raisins, and took his side when he'd cried himself out of everyone else's good graces. He sure loves his Grandma.

And it's a good thing she is nice too... perfect example is this photo. We ditched the Frankenbaby with my Dad and went horse back riding...where I promptly lost my wallet in the middle of the field (No..I didn't do it on purpose). And I appreciate her patience (and Dad's) as we looked. My Mom is a good example of patience. Hope your birthday is awesome! We <3 u

Epic Dust Storm in Lubbock

2011-10-17T14:11:00.005-05:00

It was my first real day in our new place in Lubbock. Jeff came home for dinner, and we were hanging out in Tristan's room while I took cute pictures of him playing with his blocks. ... OK, maybe I played with the blocks and he sat there. Same difference. Anyway, I just happened to look out his window into the backyard. .... W... T.... F....??? So I grabbed my camera, took a picture and then asked Jeff if this was normal. He said yes, it happens about twice a month. Five minutes later, no joke, this is what the backyard looked like.

I went outside in the front, and this is what I saw. I was horrified, to say the least.

The sky just got darker, and darker and within seconds I could literally see the wall of dust making its way towards me.Jeff went to take the trash out to the dumpster across the street and I could hardly make him out through the dirt. Not even kidding. Watching it blow in was totally eery, everything was quiet. It's not like a thunderstorm where you hear thunder and see the lightening. This creepily just snuck up on you. I wasn't sure if I should expect something really awful, or how long this would last, and how this was even normal. I mean, that is a LOT of dirt. Come to find out that this is NOT normal. This was the worst dust storm Lubbock has seen in about thirty years. That, my friends, was a relief to find out. The ones Jeff was seeing are much, much lighter and smaller. This one was so strong it blew our screen door off the hinges, and the wind raged for quite a few hours. It explains why there is a constant pile of dirt near the corners of the windows though.

It's Grizzly Out Here

2011-10-10T09:59:00.005-05:00

Aside from missing Jeff-this trip out west has been Ah-mazing. I've been missing the weather, the mountains, the animals, everything. It's been super amazing to be out here. Especially because I finally got pictures of a bear!!! I've seen bears, wolves and mountain lions before, but I never ever get pictures. Finally though-we got some pictures! We were driving through Yellowstone, passing plenty of animal jams when we came across a particularly large one. Most people were inside their cars, hanging out the windows. We asked a passerby what we were staring at, and when he said, "Grizzly!" my Mom and I jumped out of the car as quick as we could with our cameras. I was probably ten feet from him when I took this-he ambled towards the group of us, and when he stopped and stared we all jumped back. I wasn't too worried about being this close, I figured with such a large group there had to be at least one person slower than me. We watched him dig for grubs for a while. Every time he'd lift his head you'd hear, "Click! Click! Click!" Then his head would go back down and it'd be complete silence til he lifted it again. I'm sitting in our condo at Big Sky posting this, trying to decide what we want to do today. I watched the sun rise with Tristan this morning-and I'm still facing east so I can't hardly even see the computer screen... which is why I just now realized that isn't the best picture of the bear. Oh well.

Yellystone

2011-10-10T00:10:00.000-05:00

My reward to myself for spending six weeks without Jeff was to take a two week trip out West with my Mom and Dad. Wait, that doesn't make sense... it means no Jeff for two more weeks! Ah I know.. that part sucked. But I couldn't pass up the chance to hang out with everyone so I went anyway. Needless to say, we missed Jeff and he was jealous. We went all over the place... but this was one of my favorite places. The elk humored us and bugled a lovely bugle for us. I know it's bad, but I really, really wanted the fubbalo to charge this guy. The first day we'd slow down and stop for most of the animal jams, but then we decided that 18,000 photos of fubbalo was 18,000 enough and from now on it had to have claws.

Can you really have too many buffalo pictures though?

True that.

My Grandma has a picture of this waterfall from back in the 1930's... it still looks the same. That's why I like people in the pictures-for the most part the scenery is the same.

Look how small some of the animals are!

Ha-love this shot. That fubbalo kept moving ... and the car seemed to get smaller.

I mean, look at the size of his head! It's huuuge.. like an orange on a toothpick! It's got it's own orbit!

Mom wasn't going to mess with that guy... smart choice.

There are McDonald's in China and You Have Their Number?

2011-10-06T23:23:00.001-05:00

After a few days in Utah we drove up to Idaho. Now I am hanging out at Whit's house and playing on the computer. They just got their first snow of the year... huge fat snowflakes that stayed on our nose and eyelashes. I love Idaho sooooo much! Tristan didn't care one way or another about the weather-but I thought I was going to squish him in his little bear suit :)

We walked around Bed Bath and Beyond this afternoon to kill some time. I watched this cute young couple filling up their cart, you could totally tell they were newlyweds. It was so cute to see them picking out stuff for their first home. Brought back sooo many memories. The Idaho Falls BBB is where Jeff and I got most of our stuff. Ah good ol' Idaho.

We ate at Sol Rio (so good) and I dropped my ring off to get dipped and stopped in at TGI Friday's to say hi to anyone who still worked there. I am excited to visit campus tomorrow! I will try to pretend I am a student. Ha.

Heritage Park

2011-10-03T21:57:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned before, I moved Saturday-Sunday to Lubbock. Jeff and I got there at 7am with the moving truck Sunday morning, and Ben and Tonia showed up at 11am. Tonia and I left with the kids for Utah and Ben and Jeff unloaded the truck. Then Ben took my car back to Midland. Pretty much I have the best family in the world... I got a lot of help packing and unpacking.We got to Pleasant Grove about three in the morning. Everyone was excited to wake up at Grandma Roundy's and pick peaches, apples, grapes and strawberries for breakfast.. (I can't seem to find those pictures though). Thank you, late harvest! The next day we went to Dough Boys and Flour Girls for lunch. And then I took the girls to Heritage Park down the road from her house to enjoy the afternoon. Sadie wished on some dandelions she'd get to see Daddy real soon.

Abby wished that she could leave the park and be around anyone but me.

And we had fun playing with our shadows. I loved that park! It was beautiful. And so Mormon. Some Mom showed up with a picnic, her kids, a hand quilted blanket and their scriptures (they're in the background). They sat by the stream and read their scriptures together. I kept waiting to wake up from this little dream but no, no. It's all real-it's Utah. Sadie lucked out-when the group of 20 kids ran off to play tag, she had the rope swing alone to herself for twenty minutes.

Best. Day. Ever.

Dough Boys and Flour Girls in American Fork :)

2011-10-03T16:40:00.001-05:00

So after moving Saturday... I jumped in the car Sunday with Tonia and her girls and we headed to Utah. So here I am! I am in Utah and forgot how much I love the mountains. I love the mountains, I love the chilly weather, I love the lack of humidity and I love that I am this much closer to Idaho and Montana. What I don't like is being away from Jeff. He had too much school to leave for two weeks. :( Sad face. But at least I am in good company! We are at Tonia's Moms house... which is beautifully redone and are loving picking grapes, strawberries and peaches for breakfast. For lunch we ate at Flour Girls and Dough Boys for lunch. This is the stinkin cutest little cafe... so cute. Anfd the food was fantastic! Ah I am loving vacation! I'll be in Idaho and Montana soon, too!

Why I Like This Picture

2011-09-24T22:59:00.003-05:00

Okay. I should rephrase that to "Why this picture made me bust out laughing."

One boob is totally bigger than the other.

It's not my fault!!! It's just how it is-Twistan nurses on one side more often than the other-and it's pretty clear which side that is.

Unless I am the only one who notices and then I'd feel dumb for pointing it out.

Fires in Texas

2011-09-22T22:08:00.005-05:00

~Steiner Ranch Fire (google images)~

It's been national news about the drought and the fires in Texas. It's pretty serious. My Uncle that lives by Austin lost his entire house. They have a ravine in the back yard and didn't think the fire would cross it-unfortunately it did. They had less than an hour to get out with whatever they could grab. As they were getting in their cars he glanced back to his beautiful yard-and his oak tree was engulfed in a thirty foot wall of flames. They lost everything-wedding photos, his years of collecting law books and coins, everything. The only thing left standing was a very tippy wall. I'm glad they had fire insurance got away with their lives. The fire in Bastrop was insane. We had quite a few that were super serious less than fifteen miles from my house. It's scary. In fact, this was how hazy the sunset was out my porch a couple weeks ago-the entire air smelled like smoke for days-everything was smoky.

September 8th on Facebook my friend Peg posted this as her status update on Facebook, which I reposted, and it wasn't long before I saw it quite a few other places (as well as ones about people needing places for live stock, etc. and people offering those places, everyone was reposting):

From my friend Peg Burrell From Trinity Episcopal Church in The Woodlands, TX: We are gathering needed items for firefighters battling the Magnolia fire. It was almost contained until a pipe burst midday today. Please drop off the following items today at the Tomball Fire Dept. or in Molly's truck parked at the entrance to the church: Lip balm, Gatorade, energy drinks, power bars, aloe gel, and beef jerky. She will be leaving at 5:00 P.M. to drop off supplies and again on Thursday.

I took the kids I nanny, ran to the store, grabbed waters and gatorades and some snacks and hurried to catch this woman before she left. She had her truck full of supplies-I apologized for not bringing more, but she smiled and said, "It's everyone bringing a little bit that makes it happen." Anyway, I hoped it would come in handy. I just got this email tonight:

This is very typical of Texas and Texans. Think about it------and people wonder why Texas and Texans cast a jaundice eye at the Feds!!!! This is a great commentary on Texas folks vs Big government. Here are some stories about the Tricounty fire in Montgomery, Grimes, and Waller County, Memorial week, 2011. My neighbor across the road has a sister named Kenna. Memorial Day, when she saw the huge column of smoke over our homes, she left a birthday party at my neighbor’s house to meet with her friend Tara at the Baseball complex in Magnolia. She called the owner of the complex and got permission to use the warehouse there as a staging area for donations for the fire fighting effort.

They put a notice out on facebook that they were going to be taking donations on their facebook pages. That night as they were setting up tables and organizing, News 2 Houston came by and saw the activity, investigated and left with the phone numbers and a list of suggested donations. The facebook notice propagated faster than the fire. By dawn they had 20 volunteers, bins, forklifts, and donations were pouring in. I stopped by with my pitiful little bags of nasal wash and eye wash, and was amazed. There must have been 20 trucks in the lot, offloading cases of water, pallets of Gatorade , and people lined up out the door with sacks of beef jerky, baby wipes, underwear, socks, and you name it. School buses and trailers from many counties around were there offloading supplies, students forming living chains to pass stuff into the bins for transport to the command center and staging areas. If the firefighters had requested it, it was there. What do you give the guy out there fighting the fire that might engulf your home? Anything he or she wants. Including chewing tobacco and cigarettes.

Kenna moved on to the Unified Command Post at Magnolia West High school. She looked at what the fire fighters needed, and she made calls and set it up.

Mattress Mac donated 150 beds. Two class rooms turned into barracks kept quiet and dark for rest. The CEO of HEB donated 2 semi trailers full of supplies, and sent a mobile commercial kitchen at no charge to feed all the workers, but especially our firefighters, 3 hot meals a day. An impromptu commissary was set up, anything the firefighters had requested available at no charge.

As exhausted firefighters (most of them from local VFDs with no training or experience battling wildfires) and workers came into the school after long hours of hard labor, dehydrated, hungry, covered with soot and ash, they got what they needed. They were directed through the commissary, where they got soap, eye wash and nasal spray, candy, clean socks and underwear, and then were sent off to the school locker rooms for a shower. HEB then fed them a hot meal and they got 8 hours sleep in a barracks, then another hot meal, another pass through the commissary for supplies to carry with them out to lines, including gloves, safety glasses, dust masks and snacks, and back they went.

One of the imported crew from California came into Unified Command and asked where the FEMA Powerbars and water were. He was escorted to the commissary and started through the system. He was flabbergasted. He said FEMA never did it like this. Kenna replied, ”Well, this is the way we do it in Texas.”

Fire fighting equipment needed repair? The auto shop at the High School ran 24/7 with local mechanics volunteering, students, and the firefighters fixing the equipment.

Down one side of the school, the water tankers lined up at the fire hydrants and filled with water. Down the other side there was a steady parade of gasoline tankers filling trucks, dozers, tankers, cans, chain saws, and vehicles.

Mind you, all of this was set up by 2 Moms, Kenna and Tara, with a staff of 20 simple volunteers, most of them women who had sons, daughters, husbands, and friends on the fire lines. Someone always knew someone who could get what they needed- beds, mechanics, food, space. Local people using local connections to mobilize local resources made this happen. No government aid. No Trained Expert.

At one point the fire was less than a mile from the school, and everyone but hose volunteers were evacuated. The fire was turned.

The Red Cross came in, looked at what they were doing, and quietly went away to set up a fire victim relief center nearby. They said they couldn't do it any better.

FEMA came in and told those volunteers and Kenna that they had to leave, FEMA was here now. Kenna told them she worked for the firefighters, not them. They were obnoxious, bossy, got in the way, and criticized everything. The volunteers refused to back down and kept doing their job, and doing it well. Next FEMA said the HEB supplies and kitchen had to go, that was blatant commercialism. Kenna said they stayed. They stayed. FEMA threw a wall eyed fit about chewing tobacco and cigarettes being available in the commissary area. Kenna told them the firefighters had requested it, and it was staying. It stayed. FEMA got very nasty and kept asking what organization these volunteers belonged to- and all the volunteers told them “Our community”. FEMA didn’t like that and demanded they make up a name for themselves. One mother remarked “They got me at my boiling point!” and suddenly the group was “212 Degrees”. FEMA’s contribution? They came in the next day with red shirts embroidered with “212 Degrees”, insisting the volunteers had to be identified, never realizing it was a slap in their face. Your tax dollars at work- labeling volunteers with useless shirts and getting in the way. The upshot? A fire that the experts from California (for whom we are so grateful there are no words) said would take 2-3 weeks to get under control was 100% contained in 8 days. There was so much equipment and supplies donated, 3 container trucks are loaded with the excess to go and set up a similar relief center for the fire fighters in Bastrop. The local relief agencies have asked people to stop bringing in donations of clothing, food, household items, and pretty much everything else because they only have 60 displaced households to care for, and there is enough to supply hundreds. Again, excess is going to be shipped to Bastrop, where there are 1500 displaced households. Wish we could send Kenna, too, but she has to go back to her regular job. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3

I hate packing therefore I blog

2011-09-21T22:27:00.002-05:00

This is my current living room floor. The dog was crying and begging at my feet while I nursed the baby.. after putting the baby to bed I tried everything to make him happy. I fed him, played with him, asked if he wanted to potty, everything. He still just sat by his bucket of toys and cried. So I dumped them out everywhere trying to see what he wanted. I finally, finally realized what he was looking for. His dumb rawhide that I'd put on the shelf when his friend came over to play and they fought over it. He couldn't find it and was crying over it. I swear Chunky is worse than any kid I've ever met.

And then there are the thank you notes, my shoes, the groceries that didn't have to go in the fridge and the pile of empty boxes waiting to be filled. Yup. Messy house. No motivation to do anything but sit on the sofa. Instead I blog and complain about the new Facebook.

Ugh. I hate packing and moving.

Family Photo

2011-09-19T00:30:00.004-05:00

I love my little family! And I love that little shirt Twistan is wearing. It's my favorite. I would have him wear it every day if he didn't spit up so much. And I love the shirt Jeff is wearing. It makes his arms look huge. Well, it could be the fact that his arms are huge... but hey whatever. I like it. I like the necklace I am wearing-sadly you can't see it. But I promise you, it's cute. Anyway, back to my family....

I love these boys! I love that when people see Twistan they say, "Oh my gosh, he's a baby Jeff." Or, "Wow-did you have anything to do with this little guy?" "He looks JUST like his Dad." I will admit, I get a little jealous cause I wanted a baby to look like me-but in the end I think it's better he looks like his Dad. Jeff laughed the other day and said, "It means he either looks like a 30 year old man, or I look like a 5 month old baby!"

And that's all. I just thought I'd share.

Pushing 30

2011-09-17T02:02:00.000-05:00

My honey is THIRTY years old today. When we saw that number we said, No way! Then we celebrated with cake. Something something on the lake. .... I am no good at poems.

But Jeff has officially pushed thirty. Thirty! That seems so old, doesn't it? I mean, I remember being fifteen and thinking I'd never see those numbers. Too far away. But I don't think Jeff looks (or acts) like he is thirty. He still has that same cute baby face he had when he was fifteen-only it's got a lot more stubble. Happy birthday, baby!!!

September 11

2011-09-11T16:56:00.002-05:00

This morning I talked to my parents for a little while. They were in the cab on their way home from the memorial service at the US Embassy in Beijing. My Dad and Mom said it was a neat service, and they invited a lot of Scouts to attend. Of course, all phones and cameras had to be left at the door so they weren't able to take any photos. Still though, isn't that great that they're on the other side of the world in China and they're still honoring the memories of those who died ten years ago? I thought it was neat. I was late for church because I couldn't stop listening to the people reading the names of their loved ones who had died. It choked me up when they had the children of the family members who had died. I also watched TLC's "Hero's of the 88th Floor." That was a great story-it really reminded me of all the sad emotions I felt that day, even though I didn't know anyone who was personally involved. I hope I never forget, either.

At church today I was talking with some kids that were fourteen. They casually talked about today and were reverent about the subject, but I asked them if any of them actually remembered anything. One girl said she remembered her parents frantically saying they had to go up to the schools and get the other kids. But that's about it. I can remember September 11, 2001 like it was yesterday. I wonder what will happen to those memories after our generation is gone... how will people remember this day? I wonder if eventually we'll stop reading the names of the dead and if ground zero will become something like the Alamo-just a tourist spot to stop and tour.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a chance to take a moment at some point during today and pray for those family members who lost someone, to pray for our military, and to pray for the good of our country. And for rain in Texas. We need it really, really bad.

Nike Plus Sports Band Review

2011-09-09T22:24:00.004-05:00

After Shelby inspired me to really get into running last summer, I knew I wanted some sort of fun watch to trakc my runs. When I was pregnant I wanted one that would monitor my heart rate so I knew immediately if I was working too hard-but it was one of those things I meant to buy and never did. So, at my sister's kind reminder to Jeff about my first Mother's Day, he went and got me the watch I'd been wanting. But after reading some reviews on it-and borrowing it from a friend for a day, I realized it wasn't quite what I wanted. So I took it back, got a small white Timex and then the Nike Plus Sports band.... like Shelby had. I loved at the end of each run how she could tell us how far we'd gone, how many calories we burned, our average pace, and distance. For the price ($59.99 new at Academy), this is a good watch.

I say good, not greatest. I've had some kinks I have had to work out with it. For example:

It works with a sensor that is supposed to be attached to a Nike shoe. Unfortunately-I don't run in Nike's. I suppose I could-I just haven't in a few years. So I had to buy a shoe pouch-which makes it not as accurate as it would be if it were held sturdier in a shoe.
It's not always accurate-probably due to the sensor situation, but it would tell me I ran a mile instead of three... >: ... and today-my watch said we did 5.7 miles, and Shelby's said 6.1 ...her's is the correct one.
The toggle button is at an odd angle. The toggle is on the side, and the stop/start is on the top. When you want to go through and check time or pace instead of calories while you are running, you have to grab your watch awkwardly and toggle through. If they would have switched the buttons life would be easier.
It does come in cute colors. Mostly black, but I like my blue and lime green.
It comes with a great online computer program with all sorts of training programs-love it.

Anyway, overall I am satisfied with my watch and happy with the purchase. My next one will be either be a phone app with GPS, or it will be a GPS watch itself. But only as long as it will record my runs over time-I love looking back at the miles I've logged and seeing my improvements.

The Ripple Effect

2011-09-07T13:44:00.000-05:00

At the Post Office I forgot a pen and the address to the box I was shipping. The baby was sad and crying cause he wanted to be sleeping. But then this nice man, leg all done up in a cast, told everyone in line, "Don't eat them and they don't need water.." and gave us all a rose. Someone loaned me a pen, someone smiled at the baby and I threw away all the trash on the counter instead of leaving it. I held the door for someone as I left.That act of kindness made my whole day... it's amazing what one small gesture can do for someone.

Tootsie Roll Fudge is Not a Hit

2011-09-05T20:07:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I get a wild hare... then I have to release it back into the wild because five animals in one house is enough. For some strange reason I thought it'd be fun to let the kids come and spend the night. So they came over with just enought time to hit the pool before it closed. ... and then their Mom thought she'd be sweet and drop off a giant bag of Tootsie Rolls... why??? Individually wrapped candy?? Who does that... anyway-the kids wanted to make something. So we tried a recipe for Tootise Roll fudge. I think I put too much peanut butter in-but it pretty much tasted like peanut butter flavored Tootsie Rolls. It wasn't a hit. It's all still in tact sitting on the counter, actually. I mean, it's not bad. It's just not great.

So then we ditched the Tootise Roll stuff and did makeovers. Darling while it lasted-but the girls discovered why make up remover is imortant as when they tried to wash it off... they looked like Zombies. Which inspired more blood red lip stick on their teeth... and random zombie walks.

The next morning we made chocolate chip waffles.. homemade whip cream, syrup, cherries and sprinkles.

Then we went back to the pool. Overall-pretty busy party. I think I only threatened their lives a handful of times-but in the end it just made me realize how much I will miss little things like this when we move. I just had to text their Mom and say, "They can come over and spend the night tonight if they want!" And there they were-covering my living room with piles of stuff. The good news is that I'll still have family within a 100 mile radius, but it won't be as close as it is here.

Almost Pre-Baby Size

2011-09-02T22:22:00.004-05:00

In between work, packing (OK, we all know I am not packing, I mean thinking about packing), Cub Scouts, volleyball and never being home, I am still trying to lose that last sticky 8 pounds. Ugh. I wish I would have eaten better when I was pregnant! My big motivation to lose weight is Sonia's wedding, which is getting here super quick. I can finally zip up the dress-but I hate how it looks on me. Just because it zips doesn't mean it's cute.... like my friend Tori says, it's skinny fat. I wouldn't call myself fat (anymore), but it's not like I was when I was 20 and could bench press 115 lbs. So, I am going to work on Isanity a little more, and make some half @$$ attempt at doing a low carb/low sugar diet. Thank heavens that Tristan's pediatrician said I wasn't allowed to cut out all carbs. I'd die. So, I made it about 2 days so far-until today. When there were donuts at the pre-school open house. And then when Maile and I wanted to make cookies. And when I wanted a bowl of cereal. But aside from that-I think I am going to do pretty good :)

By the way-the dress has a cute jacket... in case anyone was wondering if I was going to be that scandalous.

Highlights of My Week

2011-09-01T21:56:00.003-05:00

Hanging out with my Sister in Law
Hanging out with Jenni-watching our babies play in footy pajamas
Enjoying the kids I nanny-watching how good they are with Twistan
Hanging out with Tiff while she painted
Loving how much Jeff calls Tristan "effing cute"
Stumbling upon what I thought was a long lost treasure never to be seen again
Having someone call and ask for a favor so they could surprise someone else
Twistan wearing his Hawaiin shirt
Hanging out while Desi got her rad trendy haircut
Hanging out with Mr Randen-Pie and his fat widdle cheeks
Chunky missing me so much while I was gone-he tried to run away from his sitters
Eating an entire container of blueberries

All since last Friday. Also-side note: blogger has a new interface. Not impressed.

My Sister Rides Her Bike 100 Miles-On Purpose

2011-08-30T23:10:00.006-05:00

To get your mind off of Twistan jumping around in poo-I am posting this. Well, that is one reason. The other is because I am impressed by how awesome my little sister is. First, I am going to share a picture of what Twistan looks like when we go on a bike ride. He falls asleep into a mess on the little bike seat. He's become a pro at sleeping squished against the side-we've been doing this to him since he was eight weeks old. Now he's just big enough I can lose the ten pounds of padding and he will mostly sit up and enjoy the ride instead of sleeping through it. We only go a few miles... Chunky can only run so far, and the baby now takes the bike seat when he used to. Whitney goes hundreds.

Like, all the time. One time she did a fifty mile race. She wrote about it HERE.

She also did another race (sixty five miles I think) and wrote about it HERE.

And for extra credit this one time she rode another absurd amount of miles around Rexburg. On one downhill portion she had this brilliant idea, "It's hot. I am going to take my pants off while I ride so that way I don't lose any time." .... for the record, she was wearing shorts under the pants. I'll give you one guess how that turned out. Thank goodness for helmets-although we may never know if she did suffer brain damage from the fall ;) because this time she is going all out noble and is going to ride a HUNDRED miles for a diabetes fundraiser. If you can help with donations-click here! Or, at least take a stop by her blog and tell her you love her and wish her good luck!

Crappy Bouncy Swing

2011-08-30T15:28:00.001-05:00

Tristan was happily bouncing away in his Johnny Jump Up thing... when Emma shrieked, "Ew! Ew! EW!" I looked over and there was Tristan, still happily bouncing....

in his poo.

It was so gross! His diaper clearly failed, and poo was everywhere.

Shots

2011-08-23T22:50:00.006-05:00

This picture has nothing to do with shots. I just can't get over him in his little pin stripe suit-I did leave the matching tie off though. He would have just ate it.Twistan was going to get shots yesterday. He's supposedly already behind on them as is... but I am still up in the air on how I really feel about immunizing my tiny baby. I am a little wary because of the autism studies-regardless of the fact that the one guy who instigated a lot of the scare recanted his study. Blahblahblah, whatever you want to say defending either side, autism went up as the age in which kids got shots went down. That being said, I know a lot more kids who didn't have issues with shots than those who did. ... Although you can't prove it was the shots that did anything, either. It's just a "what if" kind of deal. And, it's not like I want my kid coming down with whooping cough, I want him immunized. I am just not sure what age is the best age. The nurse that saw us first was interesting-when I asked her about shots and what she thought, she almost looked over her shoulder and then whispered what she thought. Apparently she normally works for another doctor (in the same office) who is heavily involved in Autism research, and she said she wasn't huge on immunizing little babies. But, my doctor acted like I was a terrible parent because I hadn't immunized him yet. Thoughts on this, anyone? Anyone else iffy, or am I alone in this and just getting one step closer to my cabin in Montana off the grid? ;)

Oh! Percentiles. I am not huge into this-but Jeff was there and needed to know if his kid was going to be a midget like his Mom (since four months is a predictable age for this kind of stuff), or a strapping lad like his Dad. He's 75th for height, 25th for weight, and 50 or 60 something for head. Apparently he'll be a gumby-tall, skinny and lots of brains.

Holy Crap My Kid is Cute

2011-08-21T15:21:00.003-05:00

Look at him in his Sunday Casual. I had second thoughts on posting these pictures for fear someone would kidnap him, but fortunately I have Chunky Brown to stand guard. I swear he can't possibly get any cuter than he is. All I do all day long is kiss his little cheeks. Poor little man is going to get shots tomorrow-ugh. All I know is I am relieved Jeff is going to be there-I don't think I can do it. I cried like a baby when Chunky got his, I don't see how I'll be able to do tomorrow.

A Curious Dent...

2011-08-17T23:53:00.002-05:00

Exhibit A: The foot appears to match the dent.... it looks like we have enough evidence for a conviction. But can she claim self defence or plead insanity?

No Butter Sugar Cookies

2011-08-15T11:35:00.003-05:00

Sugar cookies are my favorite-and I wished I would have paid attention to the recipe I used this one time that made them absolutely delicious. Sadly-I can't remember where I got it from. I guess I'll have to keep trying every recipe out there until I find it. Darn. Anyway, I tried this one last night-it's slightly similar to The Pioneer Woman's, but I don't think they're as crumbly or crisp. I don't like crisp cookies. I let the nieces help-which explains the width and height difference in the cookies-but they turned out surprisingly good despite all the different sizes. Thanks to Tiffany for taking a picture of these after I left!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp double-acting baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon or 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I did cinnamon)

Combine:

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Add to this mixture and beat well after each addition:

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (I always add a smidgen more... but that's me)

Add the flour mixture all at once and beat well. Shape the dough into 1/2 inch balls. Dip the balls in granulated sugar, or flatten them. Bake about 10 minutes on a lightly greased cookie sheet-do not let the edges brown!

Our Fourth Anniversary

2011-08-11T11:28:00.003-05:00

Jeff and I both looked at each other last night. "It's really been four years since we've been married? Geeez! Where does the time go!?" We both can hardly believe it's been four years. Seems like it was yesterday, but clearly, it wasn't.

Time is going by so fast-I can't believe it's been four years. I can't believe our baby is four months, I can't believe my dog is almost two... I just don't know where it all goes. Probably with the socks that I am missing. I have an entire bag of single socks that have no mate. I was looking through photos of our wedding, trying to pick some to post today. As I was reliving that sweaty, hot day I thoroughly enjoyed some of the pictures. It made me think of that quote..."You never see the hard days in a photo album, but those are the ones that get you from one happy snap shot to the next." I don't always blog about the hard times, or show off the pictures that aren't the most flattering. Life isn't always this easy, perfect show. There are rough times. But I think it's how you handle those rough times that gets you through to the good times. I believe that comes from the inside, from knowing who you are, knowing where you came from, and knowing where you are going. That's a quality that I think Jeff and I found, and although sometimes we forget, overall it's our rough days that make us stronger. It seems like these last couple months we've become closer than we ever have, since having this baby I think it's made us really see that we're a forever family. We've been more patient with each other and really made sure to try to help each other. ... Like Jeff, he likes to try and teach me how to nurse, and I patiently listen while trying not smack him on the back of the head. "Honey," he'll say, "why don't you move him lower?" And I smile and say, "Thanks honey. But I think I got this." When really I am thinking, "Are... you... serious?" Cause somehow the baby eats when Jeff isn't there to supervise....But back to our wedding, it was one of the funnest days I've ever had. I was a princess marrying her prince, and the whole day was ours. Our friends and family were there, we had good food and entertainment, and I had previously decided I wasn't going to sweat the small things. Like our wedding cake. I'd always pictured this beautiful cake, with several tiers and flowers and whatever else goes on a cake. It showed up half an hour before the reception looking like this: Not quite what I expected. In fact, I don't think it even had frosting on it, I think I saw it after Tiffany had to PUT the frosting on it. Thank heavens she was there. I took one look at it and I remember thinking, "Oh." But, I already decided that whatever happens, happens. So, I just said, "Well, that's OK. I'll bet it tastes good." My sister-in-laws went to work and fixed it the best they could. It might not have been the prettiest cake, but I think I ate three pieces and it's still the best tasting cake I've ever had. And this picture always, always makes me smile. All my beautiful nieces, dressed in the most adorable dresses ever. ... wait... one, two, three, four, fiv-we're missing some.

Oh, that's right.

They were being cry babies and wouldn't stay in the picture. See what I mean? These are the things you don't always see-the tears, the frustration, but its those events that help you grow. Or at least give you a good laugh. You have to learn from the tough times so you can get from one happy snap shot to the next. And that's what I love about Jeff. We are constantly laughing about life. Jeff is truly the best, greatest thing that has happened to me, and I love him with my whole heart. Jeff is the sweetest man in the whole world.

I know that four years is just a drop in the bucket of time-but I love each of those drops. So, happy anniversary, baby! Here's to an eternity of great snapshots!

The Reason For the Wogging

2011-08-10T11:44:00.000-05:00

My dear friend Sonia is marrying her true love this October. And she asked me to be a bridesmaid. I have been excited about this wedding since Tyson proposed last fall. It seemed so far away last year when he asked her-but since her bridal shower was this last Saturday I realized how much closer it is. It's roughly two months away. This is great news for Sonia and Tyson. This is daunting news for my waistline. You see, that baby I had a few months ago made me gain forty pounds. OK, OK, he didn't make me, but I'm blaming him. It has nothing to do with the fact that up until December, I was burning fifteen hundred or more calories every Saturday morning by running fifteen miles or so, and biking as many. Then we went on Christmas vacation where I stuffed myself silly as if I was still running. Then January came around and I still stuffed myself silly, only I decided I'd rather not run unless I was being chased. Oops. I still blame the baby. What does this have to do with a spaghetti cake? Nothing-unless you count the fact that the meatballs were made of red velvet and I wanted to eat ten. But only ate two. Which does not help the waistline situation at all. That cake, by the way, was amazing. Anyway, the point is that I bought a dress that is two sizes two small. It's my pre-baby size. Which means I have ten pounds, or a few inches to go to fit into it, unless I wanna show up at her wedding with my dress unzipped in the back. Which, Sonia said was not allowed. That's the status of the blue dress right now. It doesn't zip. I have a lot, a lot of wogging to do.

But anyway, I am super, super excited about this wedding, and I am super, super excited for Tyson and Sonia. I have never seen her happier than she is with him. They bring out the best in each other and it's absolutely adorable.

And so was her bridal shower. The theme was Italian, and it was cute! Everything was so well planned, and I was having the time of my life. Her sister went all out, and I think it's safe to say that everyone left happy, especially Sonia. She got some amazing, thoughtful gifts, we got to celebrate her marriage, be with friends, and eat cake. It doesn't get any better than that!!! Unless someone tells me there were zero calories in the cake, the bread, the ravioloi and cheese covered chicken I ate... it's OK-I am starting a diet on Monday...

Surprise!

2011-08-08T22:50:00.004-05:00

Jessica and I have been friends since we were fourteen. That means we have celebrated thirteen of her birthdays together. I about fell over when I realized that the other day... I swear it feels somewhat similar to high school, we still hang out with the same friends, live in the same area, and do the same stuff. Since when did I ever even get out of high school!? And college?! And where did this baby come from!?! Since when did we get so old?! It was just yesterday we showed up to Wendy's with balloons and embarrassed her in front of her co-workers. No-wait. That was ten years ago. Whatever! She hasn't changed-she is still the same fun loving, laughing, singing, smiling girl. I decided a birthday party was in order. Which meant, I called someone else and asked for ideas on what to do and hoped they would take over. I'm glad Shannon said things like, "Um, how 'bout no, and we do it the easy way like this?" I was also hoping Jessica would leave up some decorations from the Unbirthday party we had the other day. Then I wouldn't have to decorate! Jessica could decorate for her own party! Anyway, Shannon and I arrived early (and by early I mean Shannon arrived early) to an empty house, decorated a little more, and eagerly awaited Jessica's arrival home.Boy, was she surprised! We had Alma get her out of the house. "Where am I going to take her on a Sunday afternoon during Whitney's nap?" He asked. I had no idea, but he did a great job. Close to their original arrival time he texted me "Can we come back yet?" As I was running late and just driving over there, I frantically said, "NO! Not yet!" Ten minutes later he asked, "OK now?" To which I responded, "Ten more minutes!" So lucky Alma got to tell Jessica that for her birthday she was going to have to nurse her hungry baby in the parking lot of the post office. Hooray! Poor girl, all Jessica wanted to do was go home, but her husband wouldn't let her. Men. I'll never understand them ;)But in the end it was a blast. We got to hang out with good friends, eat great food, ignore the kids while they ate the toppings on the cake, and enjoy being friends with Jessica. We should have taken this before a few other people had to leave-but all of us went to high school together... and here we are with most of our babies. Isn't that crazy? I posted this on Facebook and all Hannah Hurt said was, "Wow." Yup. Give it ten years and look what us Mormons can do!

And this picture is clearly of my child. I know. I know. He's a boy. And in his defense he can't dress himself and I liked that pink shirt. So there. And it was two hours after he likes to be in bed. Anything that made him happy he could have. Pink pacifier? Sure thing, baby! Disney Princess lunch box? Anything you want. Until Kaitlyn decided she wanted it back-you can see her hand creeping toward it. Thankfully, Tristan survived the night, and Jeff and I had a blast. Of course, that's how it is anytime you're with Jessica. Happy birthday, best friend! Thanks for letting us trash your house on your birthday... it was the most we could do.

**I have to say something about this video... almost every clip came from my cell phone over the last seven years, and each one has a funny memory behind it. As I was putting them together I couldn't help but laugh at all of our inside jokes together, over being pulled over by cops, comparing hair, road trips, songs we sang, pellet guns... you name it. So many fun memories... Jess-thanks for all the laughs! Here's to another twenty seven!!!**

Hey, It's Chocolate Time!

2011-08-03T21:27:00.004-05:00

Isn't it mandatory that kids see all the classic Disney movies? Like Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White... etc.. etc..? I thought it was. It certainly would have made life easier yesterday if that was a rule. I must have explained twenty different times and ways what an Unbirthday was. "So we're celebrating her birthday early because we'll be in New York?"

"No-we're celebrating all of our unbirthdays today. It's not any one's birthday, so we're celebrating that it's not our birthdays." "Because her birthday is in a few days?" And on, and on, and on. He still didn't quite get the concept.

You see, yesterday Jessica threw an unbirthday party at her house. We got to be the guests. The little girls dressed up in their very best attire. Of course, because that's how sweet big brothers are, Noah had to help. It's not easy dressing that well! Later on it was precious-the girls tried to get their dresses off and back into their normal clothing, so they were standing in their underwear trying to help each other. It was super cute-but I didn't think I should post pictures of kids in their underwear. Just saying...

The girls looked amazing.

Jessica got all the kids a present. It's amazing what a twisted straw will do for a kid. The kids have spent all day carrying their water bottles around... just a new way to get something into their mouths, I suppose! I was hoping Tristan would outgrow this, as right now everything he gets his hands on must go directly to his mouth. Including Megan's pink water bottle like the one above. Sadly, he couldn't figure out the straw and just repeatedly whacked himself in the forehead with the water bottle. After some games, and presents (you should see Tristan's bunny slippers...oh..em...gee), and pizza, we ate cupcakes and cake til Noah begged to get down from the table. Unlike a certain someone I know (you know who you are) I force feed children vegetables. Not dessert. Cause I am mean like that. Kate and Maile hung out like heroes. They scarfed down anything and everything they wanted. When we brought the chocolate cake out, Noah had already taken off. Maile was worried he wouldn't get any-so she kept yelling at him to come get some cake. Like a typical boy, he ignored her even though he was literally ten feet away. Kate got UP from her chair, ran over, got right next to him and kept saying, "Hey... hey... heeey... it's chocolate time!" ... and like a man, he completely ignored her. It was still pretty darn cute. What isn't cute is the chapstick Maile drew with all over Jessica's new walls. I hope magic eraser is as magic as they claim... because I want to be able to come back again for another fun party!!!

Please Visit This Site

2011-08-01T22:39:00.001-05:00

... because it made me laugh.

www.byurejects.com

.... that's all.

Dog Sitting

2011-07-24T22:05:00.005-05:00

While my good friend Desiree is gallivanting about the country, I am at home consoling her lonely, cry baby puppy, Jasmine. Jasmine is a pig-weenie dog, and I love her to pieces. Seriously. I don't love her as much as I love Chunky, but it's pretty close. She's just a big hunk of love that just wants to be held and cuddled. And Chunky loves her, too. She lets him gnaw on her legs, pull her ears, and will even wrestle back with him. He shares his bones, his bed, and his people. They are having a blast. When she isn't whimpering that she misses Des. My goal is to make my house so fun that she won't want to go home.

Not that it'll work, she's pretty hooked on Des. This is where Jasmine sits and whimpers that she misses Des.

And this is Chunky showing her how much he loves her. Right before he gnaws on her legs. This definitely will make her want to stay. He enjoys having the company, but sometimes I think he gets a little jealous if I pet her too much. And she's been sleeping in his bed....his beloved, fuzzy, round soft bed. I think that's bugging him too. So he sleeps in Tristan's bouncy. And Twistan sleeps wherever I put him. It's the circle of life. And this is after they wrestled for an hour. Actually, this picture could be of them about 20 hours of the day. It's why they call it the dog days of summer.

Twistan's Wips

2011-07-16T00:05:00.003-05:00

Twistan has discovered his wips recently. He sucks on them ALL... THE.... TIME. It cracks me up. I was telling my sister about it and she pointed out the very obvious. "What else does he have to do today?"

It's true. He doesn't have much to do but play with his hands, swat at Mr. Elephant, and be harassed by me.

Sorry this one is upside down, but I am far too lazy to fix it. It would mean deleting, then finding the picture, flipping and saving, and re-uploading. Too many steps. But, if you have a lap top you can turn that upside down! ... which I know you will do-who wouldn't want to see this cute kid right side up?

Seriously... All I can think of is Larry singing, "I love my lips! If my lips ever left my mouth, packed their bags and headed South I'd be so sad!" I think Twistan would be weally sad if his wips ever weft. But I suppose he still has his hands. They're his little buddies-he plays with them all day... and especially at night. Sometimes I hear him singing to them after I've put him to bed. He's an unswaddled mess talking and singing to his hands. Then I feel like a mean old Mom when I go in there and have to "take his hands away" by swaddling him again. Right now in this picture he is trying to grab his tongue-another favorite game of his. He tries, and tries and tries to grab the slimy thing but it always gets away. Sometimes he gets both hands in his mouth, but then he usually gags himself or gets so frustrated he cries. Poor guy. ....but I suppose he doesn't have anything else to do.

Learning to Like Running

2011-07-11T22:53:00.002-05:00

In the past I've referred to my efforts at being a runner as "wogging." That's because I really walk and jog, not so much on the running part.

Recently I've had a couple friends ask how to be motivated to start running, especially since we all want to lose weight. And someone else just left a note on their blog-I ended up commenting and leaving her a novel instead of just saying, "Tell ya what, I'll post about it." But anyway, I am going to post about it.

I never liked running in high school or college, I'm not great at distance, and I feel that my short legs have a hard time keeping up with whoever I am running with. In college, I'd only run because it was the cheapest and quickest way to exercise. When I lived in Provo I actually started to like it. I'd drive up by the temple and jog up the canyon almost daily for most of the summer. It was a quick way to get in a good hike when I was short on time. In Hawaii, I'd run on the beaches barefoot-way more fun than the sand traps during soccer training. And much prettier. In Idaho, I just ran the streets and the parks-I loved down town Rexburg and enjoyed getting to see all the sites up close. I especially loved jogging during devotional-since it was broadcast on the local radio I'd take my headphones and mini radio and listened while I jogged. I usually didn't have much time between school and work so it was a two-fer.

Once you start running, I've noticed it's addicting. I know after I start running, the day I skip I find myself envying people I see out on the trails, or just longing to be outside running. I don't enjoy treadmill running-it makes me feel like a rat on a wheel. It's also less effective, studies show that people who run outside tend to run longer and faster.

So how do you start running? And how do you start liking it? Well-I know running can become addicting. I know too many fellow runners who used to hate it, but now find they can't stand to miss a day. But, whether or not they LOVE it is probably dependent on your attitude.... if you give running a shot, chances are after a few weeks you won't hate it so much if you run regularly. I found that I fell in love during early morning runs, when the world was fresh after a long night, the birds were singing, and the sun was barely coming up over the trees. I don't even use my Ipod then-I just like to listen to the sounds. It was calm, I felt like I could think, and when I got home I showered and got ready for the day. I didn't have this feeling of "Ugh, I need to exercise" hanging over my head. I was already done for the day and ready to go. There is another reason I've noticed people don't like to run-and I know at least six people who have experienced this. Shortly into their run, they have the need to "go." That's normal. Moving your body gets everything going... but don't sweat it. Find a loop that has a bathroom along the route, and take comfort that after running regularly, your body will stop doing that to you in the middle of your runs.

So how do you start running?? I am not a personal trainer, but I found what worked for me was to pick a distance, but nothing short of a mile. Then you do your best jogging pace. If you're super out of shape, walk it. If you are half way in shape, half jog it. But just go the whole mile. And, depending on what condition you are in, I always would add another half mile regardless of how long it would take me to do it. I just wanted to be able to say, "I did two miles." Or "I did three miles." Once I got to three miles, I would work on my time. Where it used to take me forty-five minutes, I once did it in twenty-nine. That's not incredibly fast, but I felt accomplished. After I had mastered the three mile loop and was running that at least three or four times a week, I upped my goal. One day I just clocked five miles on the car, and then when I went to go jogging, decided I was going to go five miles. Everyone is different, and your fitness shape will determine how fast your pace is, but just set a goal. "I want to walk twenty minutes a day five days a week." "I want to run a 5k." "I want to run a half marathon." Any goal you want-just stick to it... and don't sweat the days you dread getting out there-if it's that bad don't go the whole distance, but just get out there. You'll feel better and be glad you did. You can't grow if you don't get out of your comfort zone.

There are a few random things that have helped me with running.... I'll just share them as I think of them.

Oxygen is important for your body-if you start to itch while you're running its because your body needs more air! While jogging, breathe in two steps, breath out two steps.
When you feel like walking-just jog slower. Just keep moving as much as you can.
To increase speed, add sprints to your workout. Use google-it's a great tool.
Keep track of your runs-it feels good to see what you've accomplished.
If you decide to enter a race (I strongly suggest it, its SO fun.. even if you're shy or don't think you're capable, you'd be surprised how many people feel like that), pick a race that is within a couple months, register far in advance and get ready to go! Again, google how much and how often you need to run to be ready for what you signed up for.
People who listen to music while running tend to run farther-bust out the walkman! But don't have it so loud you can't hear anything.
When you start running farther than about three miles, consider a running belt (the ones with water bottles)... I love mine.
Don't just drink water-you're losing more than just water when you sweat a lot and actually need something like Gatorade to fix that!
DRINK A TON OF WATER! If you have to pee, you have to pee. But you'll severely damage your organs if you don't. Also, drink during the work out if its really hot, or you're running father than (this is for my body) five miles. It's not healthy to not do that.
If you start doing half marathons, use "goos!" They're awesome, and good for your body. But don't wait til race day to try them out, practice during long runs... because if you get the vanilla raspberry flavor and discover its disgustingly sweet and makes your head spin, race day is not a good day to find that out.
I eat before I run-but only something like toast and peanut butter. Nothing too full of sugar and sloshy. Once I ate a chocolate bar and went for a jog at three in the afternoon in August, in Houston. It's the closest I've come to puking during a work out.
Find a good loop to run. Then, if you get halfway and decide that running sucks and you want to go home, there's no way to back out.
GET GOOD SHOES. I repeat, GET GOOD SHOES. If you're on a budget, go to an expensive store and have them fit you. Then, find the shoes at an outlet store or online. Aesic brand is good for almost anyone, but ten to run narrower than New Balance. Nike's aren't for everyone, but neither are Reebok. Once you know what you like, try runningwarehouse.com-free shipping
If you find your legs chaffing, get new shorts. If that doesn't help, get that body glide stuff. Or, use Vaseline. You'll be OK.
If your legs start cramping on long runs (the first this happened to me it was my nine mile run) have a little salt! I carried those fast food salt packets in my running belt-when I got a cramp I just opened one up, dumped it on my gross sweaty hand and licked it up. Gross, right? But I didn't care at the time and it made the cramp go away.
Cute running clothes make you feel good, but they're not necessary. But, they make you feel good. I run better in my breathable fabric tank tops. They're just fun.
Gotta go while you're running? I couldn't go more than a mile when I was pregnant. I can recommend some good bushes.
I bought a that Nike running watch. It has a built in pedometer that tracks your distance, calories, and pace. When you are done, you plug it into the computer and it keeps track of all your runs. I mostly love that watch. There are a few others I'd like, but for the price I think I'm alright with that one. It motivates me not to stop and walk or I'll mess up my pace time. Having a toy like that makes me feel guilty if it sits on the counter too long.
When you hit a rut, change up your running routine. Find a new trail-add some sprints, do lunges, but just get out there and do it. Learn to push yourself. I never thought I'd do a half marathon pregnant, with three months of training but I did :) Of course, I was regularly running three miles so that helped, but if I can do it, anyone can.
And find a friend to run with. I find during the week its easier to go on my own, but its so much fun to meet up with friends on Saturday mornings at the crack of dawn. And, it's safer to be in a group. Or find a friend you admire-I like to see what Connie and Shelby are doing-they motivate me to run. If I feel like walking I think, "That's not how Connie trained for her big relay run... " or "If I am going running with Shelby, I'd better be able to keep up!" And instead of walking, I'll slow my pace.
Also, there are horror stories out there of women being raped while jogging. I bought some pepper spray (make sure you can clip it to your shorts) and always take that. I always take my phone.
And, when I can, I like to borrow a big dog. Running with a dog not only helps the dog owner out, but I doubt anyone is going to mess with you when you got him by your side. I know Chunky is a sweetie, and he can go on a three mile run, but I don't think he'll scare anyone away.

So there you have it-there is my novel on getting started running and little things I've learned along the way. I hope it helps.

Happy Birfday, America!

2011-07-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

I love celebrating the fourth of July! I'm so grateful for the freedoms that I enjoy in this great country, and it's great to get with the community and share those feelings! Especially when we have so much family around! Our family has a couple traditions, we go to the parade, and we watch the fireworks. Of course, we also always grill something and usually swim. But the main thing is the parade and fireworks. This year we had to get there early to get a good spot! It was crowded! So, we were up early. But not as early as my friend and her sister that I talked into doing a "Freedom Run 5k" with me that morning. Well, turns out we had more family in town than I thought and I didn't want to miss hanging out with them, so I ditched the run. They got up at 5am and did the race without me. Their supporting husbands and children cursed my name for about five hours straight. I still feel bad.

Twistan had a great time as the parade has something to offer everyone-Suzanne got him to giggle til he hiccuped. Tiffany found someone to come do her laundry!

Chunky got to eat gum off the sidewalk. He also got to wonder why I drug him out at that awful hour when he could have been home sleeping. Same thing Desiree's husband was wondering, actually.The kids got to catch a lot of candy, water bottles, frisbee's and other crowd pleasers.I got to steal candy from the kids.And of course, as the parade went on, it got hotter and hotter. We were waiting for our favorite two floats to come by.

The one that handed out otter pops, which Meeeeeeeeeller loved.

And the AC company who blasted the crowd with cold air. They should win "Best Float" every year. Seriously.

The rest of the fourth was spent at the pool, grilling at my sisters, grilling at my brothers, and then watching fireworks.

This is For Nancy

2011-06-26T00:27:00.003-05:00

Nancy-I just thought you should know I've practiced dropping my sister's children before I had Twistan. That way when I drop him, I've had practice.

Andie was just sitting up on her own when I babysat her one afternoon. Although pregnant, my house was not full of baby stuff. For her nap, I laid her down on my bed. I heard her making some noise, so I sent Jeff to get her. "Why is she on the floor!?" he asked. Oops. I didn't know she rolled.

A little while later she got hungry. I sat her on the table to feed her a banana. She got so excited about the banana she flapped her arms, and then promptly fell backwards smacking her head on my table.

I had to take the dog for a quick run. I left Andie with Jeff-he didn't want to hold her for twenty minutes, so he put her in the baby swing where she happily played for a bit. .... when I got home she was crying and he was trying to comfort her. Apparently she rolls a LOT and someone didn't clip her into the swing.

Finally, after a very tramatic afternoon with her Aunt she finally got to go home. As Jeff went to put her in the car seat he smacked her head on the handle. Whoops.

Through all of this you would think I would know better, but apparently I'm not with the program at four am. Twistan needed a new diaper, so I laid him on the sofa, well, I thought it was the sofa but it was actually the small sofa pillow. ( ... it was dark... I was tired... ) At least I've learned to always have one hand on the baby, and it's a good thing too! He rolled off and I found myself holding my six week old baby, upside down by one leg.

I swear I try to be so careful, but honestly I'm kind of a klutz. I feel for the kid... I do. Which, from now on, I will always adhere to my Mom's advice when diapering and letting him sleep somewhere other than the crib.

"There's never been a documented case of a child rolling or falling off the floor."

Wogging Resumed

2011-06-24T22:56:00.000-05:00

Wogging has resumed! I posted on Facebook when I attempted my first mile. I think I was 7 weeks post partum? Yeah... I immediately regretted that decision. But, here we are, something like 10 weeks later and I've already jogged more than 10 miles. Thank you, thank you very much! It feels SO GOOD to be outside sweating again, and I couldn't do it without my super awesome jogging stroller. You see, once you have a baby you have a CONSTANT companion who goes everywhere and does everything with you. Here's me, here's him. Here's me, here's him. Anyway, trying to jog with a regular Graco jogging stroller is probably going to do more harm than good, which is why I've been dying to have a jogging stroller. I've known how much I've wanted one since last January (2010), when the littlest kid I nannied was too little to ride a bike and I'd take her in their jogging stroller. It's a must have when you have children.

And now I have my own. I can't express how much I love this jogging stroller. Well, maybe I can. I LOVE this stroller.

I love it so much you hate it compared to how much I love it.

This is the In-Step Safari jogging stroller, in blue and lime green. Which, matches my beloved running watch I'll be talking about in a future post. I don't think it was on purpose, but oh, they are so cute together. It was like it was meant to be.

You'll have to excuse the pictures from my phone. I don't know what I did with the camera.

So, a little about the stroller. The front wheel swivels. I've read mixed reviews about swivel wheels, but I love it. I love it because then it doesn't always have to be a jogging stroller, you can take it anywhere, anytime. So far I've not had a problem with clipping it straight and leaving it swivelly. It also came with two different trays for the kiddo, a cup tray or a slightly less cuppy tray and a bug net. Also, instead of being a stagment position for the baby, the back adjusts so they can sleep or sit up. It's also SUPER padded so when I hit big bumps, he only slightly bounces around.

Also, notice the car seat on the stroller? It comes with a little bar so you can put the baby in his carrier too. Great, for when you get out of the car and he's sleeping still, or great for when you wanna use the stroller to go to the pool, the mall, or anywhere else this bad boy will take you. The one downside is the wheels are larger than a regular stroller wheel, so it's tough to fit in the trunk of the Saturn. It fits, but barely.

I love that the handle adjusts so someone short, like myself, can have the handle at a comfortable position for me. I also love the basket. Chunky gets tired after a couple miles, so it's nice to be able to take him every time I go, instead of just short runs. The handle also adjusts higher so Jeff can use it. Not his favorite, jogging with the baby, but hey if he has to he can! You can see the safety hand strap there. I use it to tie Chunky's leash when he's getting too sniffy. And when I actually have a leash on him.

And one of my favorite little things is this pouch. Great location for it. I put my water bottle here now instead of using my running belt (I'll post about that later). And my keys. And my phone. And my spray. That's right-my pink pepper spray I never jog without. Anyway, I love it. Love the stroller. Makes me excited to go running!

Summer Bucket List

2011-06-23T22:25:00.000-05:00

Summer is here! I made a list of fun things to do back in 2009. I had big plans, but it took a while to complete everything. This was my list last time:

• ~~Go to San Antonio, enjoy the River Walk, show Jeff the Alamo and the bar where the Rough Riders met~~ •~~Enjoy the area, maybe pick some blueberries~~ •Canoe Cato Lake swamps •~~Canoe and float down the Guadalupe river in San Marcus~~ •Enjoy Lake Conroe •~~Go to the beach~~ •Go to Blue Lagoon in Huntsvegas that Sonia always talks about •~~Get rad tan lines again (not a t-shirt tan like last summer-LAME!)~~ •~~Do a triathlon, marathon, or half marathon... or at least train for one in the fall (with Connie and Hailey!!!)~~ •~~Go camping along the river~~ •~~Visit my Grandmas~~ •~~Go to Tanya's wedding (as the maid of honor!!! WOOHOO!)~~ •~~Go fishing~~ •~~Take the kids to the beach~~ •~~Read at least 5 books~~ •~~Buy a new car...~~ bless the old one's heart, I really hate to see it go.. we've been through so much together... but well-it's probably time... •Be part of something big-work with children, inspire them to be better •~~Take the Cub Sprouts somewhere cool~~ •Go to Schlitterbahn (Jeff wants to enjoy the lazy river naked) •Go to Splash Town •Go Camping •Go to Corpus Christi •Make some money As you can see, I did most of them... most of the ones I reeeeeeally wanted to do. This summer is different. I am moving to Lubbock in the fall, so they mostly revolve around hanging out with my friends and family. So this list might look something like this:

Hang out as much as possible with family
Hang out as much as possible with friends
Again
And again
And again

I am not sure what else I am going to add, because as long as I am with family or friends, I don't care what we do. And, if you know me, I don't like to plan more than a day in advance because life changes too quickly. But, when I have a chance to actually sit down and breathe, I'll really come up with a list of what I want to do this summer. Although I have a feeling it'll be drastically different now that we've added a dog (oh, Mr. Wiggles...) and a baby to the mix!

I'm Kicking My .....

2011-06-22T21:27:00.004-05:00

So I'm not stellar at keeping Twistan's nails short. I thought he was over the whole "Let's scratch my face to pieces" stage. I was ve-wee, ve-wee wong. First, he did this to himself in a midnight hunger fit. Before that one even healed completely, he did the long one on his cheek in the picture below in another hunger fit. The baby does NOT do well hungry. We're talking there is a three second fuse before he explodes when he is needs to eat. Why do they do that to themselves!

All I know is this movie scene came to mind:

My Poor Dog Ripped the Pads off His Foot

2011-06-20T21:02:00.000-05:00

Why would he do that? I don't know. But, he did. He was chasing after his friend on the tennis courts, turned too quick and ripped the little pad off his foot. I took this picture almost a week later. It looked worse than it might have been, but it was so sad. He limped that whole night, and licked it for two days straight. You could tell it was really sensitive. Not sure what to do, I went to my most trusted source of advice: Facebook. After polling my friends, these were the suggestions I got on how to care for his widdle foot:

Clip the dead skin and do one, or all of the following:
Apply neosporin, then tape it so he doesn't lick the medicine off
Dry the pads out with rubbing alcohol (especially if you want to keep running with him)
Dip it in BRAGGS brand apple cider vinegar a couple times a day

I'm happy to say that with a little TLC and some good advice, it only took Mr. Wigglebum a couple days to feel good as new.

Well, almost as good as new.

The Men in My Life

2011-06-19T23:50:00.004-05:00

Today is Father's Day! I am a terrible person and haven't done anything for pretty much anyone. I thought, "I should send a card to Jeff's Dad!" And, "I should send my Dad a box of stuff!" And, "I should do something for Jeff!" And then it went from the beginning of June until the day of. Oops. Fortunately, Jeff lives with me so I still had a chance to do something for him. But to my Dad, and to Jeff's Dad... I'd like to apologize. I can't keep track of what day it is anymore.

But Happy Father's Day anyway! It's the thought that counts, right :)

I am so lucky to have so many great men in my life! My own Dad is an amazing man, I've always felt so blessed to be his daughter. Everywhere I go, if people find out that he is my Dad, they immediately say, "I love your Dad!" and tell me something that he's done for them. My Dad is truly a great guy. Then there is Jeff's Dad. What can I say, he raised a good son. Jeff would do well to turn out just like his Dad, he is a very kind and considerate man. I've always loved hearing Jeff's Mom say about him, "He's never said a mean word to me in all our years of marriage." He does have a good heart.

And, of course, there is my Jeff. He's only been a Dad for a couple months now, but it just melts my heart when he is with Twistan. When Jeff found out we were having a baby, he was already planning on building something for the little thing, and the drive especially got stronger when he found out we were having a boy. It was so cute watching Jeff build a toy box for our little boy before he was even born. Every time I came home to sawdust in the living room, it made me smile that he was already thinking of him. And now that he is here, I can tell already that they're going to be good buddies. I'm so glad to have married someone so adorable

Happy Father's Day to all you amazing men out there, thank you for being part of my life!

Where Babies Come From

2011-06-16T11:26:00.001-05:00

I have avoided explaining what nursing is to the three children I nanny... even though they always ask, "Why is your shirt like that?" or "Why is he under that blanket? It's hot." I've managed to mutter, "Because he's eating... and he likes it like this." I keep hoping that will work for a while. I don't like explaining things like that to other people's kids. So earlier today I was relieved when the seven year old took charge for me when the five year old asked a question.

"Are babies born through your belly button?" she asked.

Agitated at her obviously silly question her brother answered, "No! They're born out your tooshie!"

No wonder Tristan hurt so bad. I did it wrong.

Happy Monday

2011-06-13T11:08:00.003-05:00

It is definitely a Monday. I've been awake since 6:20am, the tire on my car is flat, and Jeff will be gone most of the day. But at least I have Twistan to hang out with, and he's not being as fussy today as he was yesterday.

Yesterday I spent the entire three hours of church in the hallway with a snoring baby, then in the hallway with a crying baby, then in the Mother's lounge with a fussy, crying, hungry baby... and then we went home because church was over. I wondered why I bothered to even go, but I suppose I get credit somewhere for at least being in the building, right? Yesterday was definitely one of those days when I shed a few tears of frustration. I know that babies just fuss, but it's frustrating when you are tired, when you just want to listen to the Relief Society lesson and can't, when you just want to walk down the hall and turn in your Cub Scout receipts and you can't because the little guy is crying and you don't feel like taking the tornado down the hall to disturb everyone else.

So, we went home.

Watched TV. Ate a snack. And then I took a three and half hour nap, which I haven't done in a month. I woke up to to a clean kitchen, steak grilling, and baked potatoes in the oven. And a baby who slept for another hour so I could enjoy it with my Honey.

So bring it on, Monday. Now I've got an excuse to stay home and clean.

Have I mentioned Lubbock?

2011-06-07T22:38:00.003-05:00

It feels like all I have done for the last several months is express how much I love The Woodlands and would enjoy staying here for quite a while. There are so many people here that I love I could hardly imagine going anywhere else. It'd have to be somewhere awesome, like Montana or Idaho, that would ease the sting of leaving and make it bearable. Somewhere with mountains, or trees, or water, or heck, I'd even settle for somewhere that had grass. Apparently Jeff has other plans and would like to ditch the trees, the gorgeous bike paths through the trees, the plethora of neighborhood pools, and many other amenities so we can move to Lubbock, Texas. At least he has a reason. Jeff is going to get another bachelor's at Texas Tech this fall. And the next spring. And the fall after that. And the spring after that. And probably the fall after that. ... and maybe the spring after that. While I am not excited about moving to Lubbock, I do have to admit they have one of the prettiest campus's I've seen.

We went up there in May to attend a mandatory orientation. I've never been to a college orientation besides BYU-Hawaii, and that was only because they offered free tickets to the Polynesian Culture Center. And a bus ride around the Island. Guess how many of the two hundred recent high school graduates brought their spouse and baby? That's right. We were the three coolest people on campus. With our stroller. And baby who cried during the chancellors welcome address.

But we suffered through the orientation, hung out with Twistan, and enjoyed what we saw of Lubbock. I've come to the conclusion that while it's not the prettiest town, the people are incredibly nice. Or at least I think so. Mostly because almost everyone in the parent's portion of orientation and restaurant we went to people would come up to tell me what a beautiful baby I have. It's pretty easy these days to win me over. But in all seriousness, Lubbock does seem full of super nice and sweet people. And, they have their own temple.

Which has some incredibly rare green grass. Twistan wuved it.

I've Been Robbed

2011-05-27T20:55:00.003-05:00

Growing up these two books illustrated by Tasha Tudor were on my list of favorites. Her drawings are so intricate and warm, I must have spent hours trying to soak up every detail. And I wasn't the only one who loved them. Katie claimed them as hers for years, although we all knew they were every ones. As you know, my parents moved to China. Well, Dad is there. Mom has her claws in the floor and will be drug there in a bit. Anyway, Mom asked us what books we wanted as she was cleaning out the house. I asked for Big Sixteen.

She gave it to my little sister.

I didn't ask for too much else since the books I wanted were family favorites, I didn't want to make anyone upset. Fast forward to last week when the packers were there. I decided what was left was fair game since everyone had four months to pick and choose books. I went upstairs and opened a box... picked out some childhood favorites that were leftover... and then found these two. I was thrilled. I took them downstairs, flipped through them, and smiled at my find. I felt a little guilty, since I knew how much everyone loved them, but hey they all had their chances to take them! And, I couldn't believe my luck, I never get anything like this, it always goes to someone else. Right as I was getting ready to leave the house I heard Katie come in the back door. I hid the sacred books under the stack of other books, but she saw them right away. She demanded to know why I had them-I said, "Because I got here before you did!" And then ran away. As I got into my car I was pleased as punch that I got the books. I smiled the whole way to my sister's preschool. I dreamt of reading them to my kids, and pictured them flipping through them the way I did as a child. I was still smiling when I pulled up next to the door where Tiffany was standing. She came out to say hi, and then asked how things were going. I showed her my books. "Look what I got!" I happily exclaimed.

You see-when I was a kid, Tiffany was a teenager. She didn't care about kid books then, so I didn't think she even knew these two books existed, which is the only reason I showed her I had them. Otherwise, I would have covered them in book jackets that said, "Trigonometry and Other Lame Things" on it. Immediately she yelped, "These are MY books! Mom bought them before you were born!"

And then she took them.

I snapped that picture as she tore them from my little hands.

I called my Mom crying that I only had them for ten minutes before Tiffany took them. She said she'd ground her, but I don't think Tiffany will listen.

All I know is that she's gotta sleep sometime....

Oh, Excuse Me...

2011-05-27T11:08:00.002-05:00

Did I wake you up?

Baby Town

2011-05-21T23:18:00.002-05:00

Having the last six weeks off from work has kept me pretty busy. I feel like I am almost never home on a daily basis, which is fine with me because I've been out having a lot of fun. Last Thursday Jessica had a bunch of us over to her house for a brunch. There were babies E V E R Y W H E R E. I wish I had taken more pictures of when there were what seemed like piles of babies just running around. It reminded me of the scene from Shrek 2 (or is it 3?) when he has that dream that there are babies spilling out of his cupboards, closets and the house. It was pretty close to that, only these babies were cute. I seriously just wanted to scoop them all up and take them home.

Haley Reinhart Trips on American Idol

2011-05-18T21:11:00.001-05:00

This made my night.

Tristan's Birthday

2011-05-16T14:45:00.004-05:00

Tristan just turned 5 weeks old yesterday. I can't believe how the time has flown-he is hardly a newborn anymore! He's already weighing in at just over ten pounds, and now smiles when I go and pick him up. That, of course, melts my heart and makes me want to just keep him that little forever. He is so precious!

I finally clipped together a few moments of the day that he was born and made it into a video. I thought since I finally did that now would be a good time to share the story of his birth. Here we go!

I woke up the morning he was born at 3:30am, went to the bathroom, and realized I was leaking. Every time I stood up or laid down something was coming out. I knew it was my water, but I didn't want to get excited over nothing, so I changed and went back to bed. It was but 45 minutes later I had a painful contraction, but I knew it'd still be a while before anything would happen so I went back to sleep. Half an hour later I had another one, and by then I couldn't contain my excitement. I was 10 days over due and was so tired of being pregnant! I woke Jeff up, and the 2 of us couldn't stop smiling. We repacked our hospital bag, cleaned the house a little, and then as we realized how tired we were, went back to bed til I finally couldn't sleep because of the contractions. By about 8am, they were 30 minutes apart, but not so painful I couldn't talk through them. After calling my amazing sister, we decided we'd head to the hospital later that morning. We eventually met Tiffany at the hospital a couple hours later, and that's when the party started!

The hard contractions started at about 11am. I knew to expect some pain, but it still surprised me how bad it hurt. I was so relieved to have Jeff and my sister there, although there wasn't much to do to make the pain stop. Since my doctor was on call, he said to start some pitocin to get things going, and by noon I was hooked up to the pitocin and couldn't believe how much it hurt. The natural contractions gave you a break in between to collect yourself, but the pitocin contractions were one right after the other. I had a goal to make it as long as I could before I got an epidural. I made it til just after 1pm. The epidural was A W E S O M E. Almost immediately the pain was gone, although it did make my blood pressure drop quite a bit. Thankfully, that didn't last long. With the epidural in place, I was walking on clouds. Jeff got to eat lunch, Tiffany got to skype and blog, and I took a nap.

At about 4pm, the nurses had me start pushing. Tristan had decided to be a star gazer-meaning instead of being face down, he was face up. Normally, babies fix this on their own. Or you can roll from side to side. Or the doctor can reach up, grab the babies head and twist him the right way. You can also labor on your hands and knees, or on your side. I tried all of that for several hours...he was just really stubborn and refused to budge. At all. I was still feeling great-until about 6pm, when my doctor finally said he was going to have to get the forceps. My heart sunk. Then the room filled up with nurses, Jeff had a very worried look on his face (he told me later it was because I was about 2 minutes away from an emergency C-section), and we got ready to have the baby. The first set of forceps he tried caused so much pain I couldn't even see straight, let alone push when everyone was yelling at me too. So Doctor Williams yelled for the smaller set of forceps. In my head I was screaming, "WHAT?! You started with the larger pair!?!" But I was in the middle of having a baby, so I kept that to myself. The smaller set wasn't much better, but I was able to push enough that he could, as Jeff described it, have Doctor Williams "rip the baby out." And let me tell you, it's been 5 weeks and I'm still feeling the effects of that. But anyway, once he was out I was in a daze, I couldn't believe that was my baby-and although it was really only moments, it seemed like an eternity for Jeff to cut the cord and then for me to finally get to see and hold him. It only lasted a moment, and then they whisked him away to clean him up a little. But, about ten minutes later he was back, and Jeff and I got to hold our little angel. And, it's just like every mother says, no matter how much pain you are in, you'd do it again in a heartbeat for that little baby. Shoot-I'd do anything for that little baby, he is such a doll.

So there you have it. Our little baby's birth story, and the best day of our lives.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T14:45:00.002-05:00

Last night Jeff and I were at the grocery store getting a few ingredients for our family get together today. He asked if we had sweetened condensed milk at home, and I knew we had at least one can. "Are you sure enough to bake on that?" He asked. Although I was positive, I suggested we get another can. Then I grabbed two. Last night as I was putting away the groceries I found the other can. See, I knew I had one can in the pantry because the last time I needed to use some, I bought two. I know it's Mother's Day and I am talking about condensed milk, but hold on. I'm getting somewhere.

There is a point to this.

When I am making something, particularly cookies or other treats, I always hear my Mom coaching me in the background. Since we were little, she let us be at home in her kitchen and we were allowed to make a mess. My sisters and I were always in the kitchen baking treats, and because our Mom let us sit on the counter and help every time she made some, we were confident in our baking skills at a young age. Not only did she take the time to let us help bake, she taught us what she was doing while she did it. When we were just barely old enough to read simple words, we starting baking by ourselves. Looking back I wonder how big of a mess we left her to clean up, but she never said an angry word, just praised our cookies. Now that I am an adult, I find myself hearing her voice when I am at the store shopping for ingredients, "You always want to have an extra one to replace the one you use." "You clean up the baking mess while the cookies are in the oven." "You have two cookie trays going to be more efficient..." just little tips she'd share all the time growing up that have helped me in my life. And it wasn't just in the baking department, either. It was all areas of life, church, school, you name it. I realize how important those little voices are now that I am an adult. I feel for the kids who didn't have someone in their lives to help them learn little things, to help them learn how to be a better person, or just to learn how to bake cookies. I have been blessed in my life to not only have a mother, but grandmothers, an amazing older sister, sister in laws, more sisters, and many other women in my life who have influenced me for good through their mothering. So today I'd like to say thank you, and wish all y'all a

Happy Mother's Day!

My Baby is So Cute

2011-05-02T11:06:00.003-05:00

Wook how cute this widdle guy is! Sewiously. He is giving someone da evil eye.... And wook how iwitated the dog wooks when I talk wike dis.

Laden

2011-05-02T04:14:00.001-05:00

Last night the news broke that Bin Laden had been killed just over a week ago. I saw the news on Facebook first-it seemed like all the sudden there were a hundred new status updates announcing he was dead, and everyone was celebrating.

I think it's awesome. I guess a team of our Navy Seals were dropped in by helicopter and killed him in his own mansion. I just think its too good of a death for such a scum bag like him, but I am glad he is finally off the most wanted list. Of course, I thought Obama was pretty pompous in his speech-he made it sound like he personally did all the research to discover his location and loaded the guns that killed him. I feel like he should have given more credit to the military-since they're the ones who did everything. Apparently this is what I missed on Walten and Johnson this morning, but it sums up perfectly how I felt about Obama's speech last night.

"Osama hasn't been hiding in Pakistan this whole time, he's been behind a glass case marked "Break glass in case of declining presidential hopes" inside the oval office."

Visitors

2011-04-26T18:02:00.001-05:00

Our little darling has been the lucky recipient of visitors-the farthest coming clear from Virginia to see him. Jeff's parents came in last week to meet our little guy. We usually go to Virginia to see them, so it was fun that they came to Texas. What wasn't fun was that I couldn't do hardly anything. I felt bad, we spent a lot of time staring at Tristan. Not that he isn't beautiful, but it was probably not incredibly exciting for anyone else. Recovering from giving birth hasn't been my favorite. However, that couldn't be avoided so I am grateful they are very understanding and considerate, they didn't mind hanging out with the baby and I.

We had a lot of family over for Tristan's blessing. Originally we were going to bless him on the tenth of April-it might have been the only time my Dad was in from China. But thankfully, he was in town longer. Which was good-seeing as when I called the Bishop the Saturday before he was surprised, "You had the baby?" Um.... no, I hadn't, but I was confident he'd be there by at least the next Sunday. We took a short walk in the arboretum. Gosh that place is beautiful-I wish I would have thought of it in the morning and not the warm afternoon. But, it made a good excuse to stop at Cheddar's for dinner. We enjoyed eating out quite a bit when they were here. And, Grandma got him to smile. She also helped his two bumbling parents give him a sponge bath. Somehow bathing a baby is scarier when they're so tiny and yours. Gosh, I love this little guy. I just want to squeeze his cheeks all the time. I spend quite a bit kissing them at least-I hope he doesn't mind when he is in high school. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed their visit, and certainly miss them already.

What is That?

2011-04-25T16:29:00.003-05:00

For Easter we had the entire family in Texas get together, like always, and celebrate with chaos and food. It's what we do almost weekly here. My Uncle Dan and his family even stopped in to celebrate the occasion. And, Tristan's umbilical cord finally fell off. He has a belly button!!!

I was changing Tristan's diaper (no where else but the couch, sorry Dad!) when five year old Sadie, from a family of five girls and a very modest Dad came by. "What's that?" She said as she pointed to his "nether regions." I knew it was coming but I wasn't sure what her Mom wanted me to say. I responded, "It's what makes him a little boy." "That's what makes him a boy?" she thought about it for a minute. "Oh. OK." Short pause. "What is it?" I didn't think of a good term quick enough so I just said, "It's his outdoor plumbing." She rolled that over in her mind. "Outdoor plumbing?" She asked a couple more questions I can't remember, and then "Does Dad have one?" .... that's when I suggested she go ask her Dad. I was done changing his diaper anyway. Since her Dad was flipping through a slide show for everyone, she opted to go outside and play with her cousins. A few hours later she brought the subject up again while Jeff was sitting next to me. "Does Jeff have one?" I smiled, "You have to ask him!" Jeff winced, but put on a brave face when she moved towards him. "Jeff, do you have one of those?" He smiled and answered in the affirmative. "So you have that too?" She confirmed. Jeff said very authoritatively, "I do!" She looked at him hard in the face for a minute. And then she left. Thank goodness. That could have gotten awkward real fast.

So now they're "what makes him a boy." I didn't think telling someone else's little girl the official term was OK, and I didn't think quick enough to call it anything else. Oh well. There'll be more questions like that in the future I am sure. So!!! Speaking of naked kids, my Dad and Mom got somewhere around two thousand 35mm slides scanned from years 1974 (Oh Em Gee, nice hair and short shorts, Dad!) to 1993 (Nice coke bottle glasses, Mom!). They're fantastic. We found some real gems. Like this one of Tyler.

If we're friends on Facebook you've already seen this posted with the caption, "Look! It's Tyler as a baby! Tyler-I sent this to Facebook as well :) Thank you technology... and Dad for scanning slides!" ... I also sent it to Tyler. And, if you hadn't noticed, I didn't do as good of a job there as I did here cropping the picture. I did try! Tyler texted back:

"Just crop out my nether region, I don't want the world seeing my dingaling. And are you sure it's me?"

"Uh. I tried to crop but uh I don't think it made it all the way..." I texted back.

"What?"

five seconds later...

"!"

"Did you at least blur it?!"

"Did you even think of my poor dingaling?"

He obviously then checked the photo closer. "No, because you only think of yourself."

I almost felt a little guilty. "I can't help but think of myself I am so good looking. Uh, no it's not blurred.. I sent it from my phone. Oops!"

"Yeah. Child pornographer."

I wasn't even born yet!!! "Dad took the picture, I had nothing to do with it. Why were you naked anyway? Little flasher."

"It was performance art."

I LoVe My BoYs

2011-04-23T19:23:00.002-05:00

I just adore these three. I don't think life could be any sweeter.

Unless someone came over and cleaned the house and did my laundry for me. I've neglected it for two straight weeks.

Parenting 101

2011-04-17T23:46:00.003-05:00

One of these days I am going to get around to posting the story of our little guy's birth, but until then it's already been a fun week:

Nursing is fun. It's fun to leak, it's fun to try and figure out why milk is coming out his nose, and why nursing covers are so great at being cumbersome. Tiffany stopped by with a couple of her kids, and not to embarrass anyone, especially myself, I went into my bedroom to nurse. Storie, not knowing what was going on, and not remembering Rush nursing and Andie only being bottle fed, waltzed right in my room. "Whatcha doin!?" She smiled and said. I smiled back and said, "Just feeding the baby." As she got closer the realization of what was going on dawned on her, and horrified she spun around like a ninja and hurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her without even looking back. Then, just as quick as the door shut, it opened and she said, "You really should just get a bottle."
I discovered what a golden shower is. So did the couch.
I know everyone loves to hear about someone elses child's bowel movements, but bear with me. Tristan hadn't pooped since the first 20 minutes he was born. I am not sure what the deal is, but I think he was saving it up to test my diaper skills. Now, I will say I have had some category five diaper explosions with other kids. We're talking leaking down their legs, covering all their clothes, smeared on cribs, the whole nine yards. Infants? Infants just can't poop as much as a two year old, they're usually no problem-even their blow outs. For some reason, my own infant scares me when I have to change his diaper. In fact, I hadn't even changed a single one for the first three days he was alive. Then on Saturday he decided to get rid of what he'd been saving all week. I opened his clothes, saw his poo and excitedly yelled at my naked husband who was just entering the shower, "JEFF! HE POOPED!" Let me tell you, Jeff was thrilled. Then as I tried to clean it up I realized there was at least a gallon in his diaper. And it was sticky. And he was screaming and kicking so hard that it got on me, the couch, him, the clothes, and I finally gave up and just told Jeff to hurry and get in here to help me... right as someone knocked on the door. My friend Jenni and her husband Chris had stopped by. You know you have a great friend when she lets herself in upon hearing your panicked voices, surveys the scene (and makes sure that it is safe.. first aid, anyone?), and then takes your poopy baby to her chest and bathes him for you. If she wasn't already married I would have taken her right then. Also, her well trained husband who had only been over once was already wrapping up the diaper and helping her out. I might stay at their house for a bit and let them train me.
I put him on a pillow on my lap, forgot he was there (long night) and almost sent him flying to the floor.
The next exciting moment was seeing a wet spot on his clothes in sacrament right after we blessed him. I got up to go change his diaper. As soon as I laid him down he let loose with the sound effects. Thank goodness my sister in law was in the lounge nursing at the time, and Heather stopped in to say goodbye as she was leaving early, too. We all laughed, and I said, "I think I'll let him finish." Little did I know that he was just going to keep going until he had poo E V E R Y W H E R E. I will spare you the photo, but I had my camera in the diaper bag so I had to. Pictures don't do it justice though, since it took 3 of us to clean him up again. Also, it's a good idea to take the spare outfits out of the diaper bag to make room for an extra burp cloth because you didn't realize you already had one. Why would you need a spare outfit?

Bring on week two, baby. I'm ready.

Our Little Tristan

2011-04-12T01:08:00.001-05:00

Here he is! He made his debut Sunday night at 6:30... weighed in at 7lbs 10oz, and measured 21 and 3/4 inches. The whole story is coming eventually, but I will say that's the most pain I have ever been in. But just like every Mom has said, I would do it again and it was worth it. It also helps to have a husband like Jeff and a sister like Tiffany to help. They made a world of difference!

We love this little guy so much, he's so precious. Just the sweetest thing ever...

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My Sister the Super Star

2011-04-08T21:04:00.005-05:00

So just in case some of you don't know (*cough* Mandy *cough*), Tiffany is my sister. Tiffany Ivanovsky, from MyLitter.com... the deal saving site that she's been writing for the last couple years. If you haven't been following, here's a quick history. It started out as a family blog where she wrote the funny things her kids were saying and doing, her kids are hilarious and so were all of the stories. Tiffany also started couponing around then (the "extreme" kind), and everyone was asking her how and where she was getting these great deals. Rather than have to tell ten different people ten different times, she just starting posting the deals she was getting on her blog, and how and where to find them. Soon people were sharing her blog with her friends, and had SO many people interested in learning to coupon that she started teaching free coupon classes at least once a month, sometimes more. Tiffany started getting local media attention as well, articles here and there in the local paper, a few minutes on the evening news, and eventually landed on TLC's TV show, Extreme Couponing.

This is where it gets fun! TLC's producer's LOVED how well Tiffany interviewed, she's articulate, to the point, speaks clearly and quickly, and is easy on the eyes. They asked her to come to New York for a few days so she could be their spokesperson and promote the premiere of the show. So, last Monday she was in New York, getting her hair and make up done, being interviewed by somewhere around thirty different TV stations, hanging out with Rachelle Ray, interviewing with the TV Guide and CNN money, and having some time on the Today show. Totally jealous that I was in Houston, trying not to have a baby so she wouldn't miss our little boy's birth. At least we got to go shopping for outfits before she left and I scored a Cinnabon. Anyway, I love Tiffany!!! I keep watching her on these shows and thinking, "My gosh, that's my sister! I KNOW HER!" I mean, it's always fun to see someone you know on TV, but it's way more fun when it's your sister, AND it's a TV show that is broadcast across the country. I've been collecting links and videos to articles about her, so I thought I'd share a few!!!

A Few News and Blog Articles (there are a few out there!)

Herding Cats-Could Extreme Couponers Help the Government?

MSNBC Money

Live Love Coupons

Chicago Tribune (This article is repeated at over 8 other sites)

Some TV Interviews (Let's see if the embed codes work)

And let's try this one:

On the Today show-using Hulu

Tiffany on Today Show

2011-04-06T10:56:00.003-05:00

Tiffany was on the Today Show this morning-I hope you got to see it but just in case you didn't have a chance, follow this link! For some reason the embed code is sending you to some news conference in Libya.

General Conference

2011-04-03T22:02:00.003-05:00

For the longest time we have followed in one of Jeff's roommates traditions and made waffles for Sunday General Conference brunch. It's one of my favorite traditions. I love waffles. This morning we went through two boxes of mix for all the people at my Mom's house watching conference. The first box of mix took Tonia about eight seconds to prepare. The second box took two grown men, over the age of twenty eight, each with bachelors degree (and one with a masters) about twenty minutes to make. "Wait, so if the box is sixteen ounces and it needs eight 1/4 cups of water, how many eggs is that?" Thank heavens they figured it out before we all starved. Most of the kids opted to eat outside-until a dead wasp was spotted hanging on the screen. Then they all tried to run screaming into the house with their plates and cups full of milk. Fortunately, when I threw the dead wasp outside they all came back and were able to finish breakfast. Hannah opted for some safer seating inside.

When conference was over we skyped with Dad-who knew they had real Raisin Bran in China? And that milk comes in weird plastic pouches? He was eating breakfast and we had just finished dinner. If you look on the right computer screen you can see my Mom's latest obsession-the bald eagles hatching in Iowa. The kids were pretty obsessed too-they watched her bring in a dead bird, fish, and start ripping up the rabbit she'd been saving. It's pretty interesting.

Conference was great, but isn't it always? It seemed like the themes this year centered around service to others, getting away from the technical world and down to what matters, couples loving each other, and family. There were a few other talks in there that didn't center around that, but I did notice a lot of talks about service. I especially loved Richard G. Scott's talk, he really, truly loved his wife and you can see how much he misses her. I also couldn't help but have a little twinge on my heart-every conference I realize how much I miss President Hinckley. I honestly loved him so much, sometimes it still doesn't seem real that he is gone. He was such an amazing man, and such a great example to us all. President Monson is a sweetheart, but I will always have a special place in my heart for Hinckley. One other talk that made me smile was Elder Holland's. I love how he is just so direct, "I know not everyone out here struggles with pornography other issues we address in conference. So find the talk that applies to you and listen to that one!" That cracked me up. I am really glad I got to enjoy conference today, especially with the family! That always makes it a little more fun... especially when someone else cooks!

Forty Weeks

2011-03-30T00:26:00.007-05:00

Forty weeks is just about here, depending on which due date you pick. My original one was March 28, but after measuring small in the last ultra sound and a couple appointments it got pushed back to April 1. When I went in on Monday my doctor was confident the next time he saw me it would be in the delivery room. I am not too worried yet, I know I can't be pregnant forever! And, if he had come already I couldn't have had Princess take my pictures in the blue bonnets! I love the pictures she took, I posted most of them on my Facebook already, but here is a couple for fun (check her blog here). Do you love how I have posted like a thousand photos of myself lately?

The good news is that he is completely and totally head down and is interested in making a debut sometime this year, although it's been nice to have a little extra time to get things done. However, I've developed PUPPS in the last couple weeks, and I am READY to be done with that. Basically, it's a rash you get only pregnant, and the best guess for cause is that you are allergic to your baby's DNA. So, I have hives over pretty much my entire body and I itch so much I've woken up almost every hour every night feeling like I am going to go crazy scratching. Not going to lie, I think you can see it in my face in most every picture that I am tired and swollen. Not that that is going to go away when the baby comes, but at least I'll have something to show. So keep your fingers crossed he comes soon so this rash goes away-make a guess on the poll to the right!