Bridget is One already!

My baby Bridget turned one on Tuesday and it's pretty much boggling my mind. I can't believe that one year ago, I was holding a new little miracle in my arms and marveling at the wonder that is childbirth and children. It is truly a blessing in my life and my children are my way to true happiness. That's just me though.:) I was going to do a whole montage of the past year with Bridget so we can look and see how she has grown but my pictures are on a external hard drive that is not at my house. so when I get it back I'll be sure to add them to this post.:)

Exhausted

May I just say that buying a home is one of the most exhausting things I've ever been a part of and I'm not even the one doing anything! For those of you who didn't know DH and I have been looking for a home to buy since he got his new job. Seeing as our lease on our apartment is up at he end of February, we're pretty glad we decided to look sooner than we planned. We looked at a few houses and put a few offers in which obviously didn't pan out.  Our realtor brought up a home that we had seen on the market but Tim looked at the pictures and saw the stairs were on an angle and turned his nose up at it. We were just turned down for one of the best houses we had ever seen for a screamin' deal so naturally Tim was feeling a little beaten. I had seen Breaking Dawn p1 the night before and was really tired but immediately when we walked into the house with our realtor we felt at home. Tim found that he liked the angled stairs and he loved the back yard. (which by the way, is HUGE). There wasn't a fridge in the home but that would be easy to fix. Needless to say, Tim felt that this was a good home to try for. So we put in an offer which was countered which we in turn countered and we ended up getting it after two nail biting gut wrenching days and two surprise offers. Wednesday Craig, our realtor called Tim and let him know that we one the toss up. That's a pretty good feeling :) Let's look at some pictures shall we? We should close in January and I didn't take these pictures so I haven't been able to clean anything so don't judge me. these are just so we all know what it looks like.

 This is the front yard. The grass is sad but one spring and it'll be fine.

 This is the front room. Tim didn't like the "native american" wallpaper border along the vaulted wall. :) Easy to fix.

 These are those angled stairs and this picture makes them look filthy. They are pretty dirty, good thing I have a good vacuum.

 Our little kitchen I'm excited for the two windows over the corner sink. Very comfy.

 I have french doors out to my back yard! And a fireplace! YAY!

Our HUGE backyard. We have no neighbors to the east because it's a patch of horse property. I always knew I would have horses in my backyard!!:)


Isn't it cute? We love it and we're really excited to be able to have our own home. Come over when we're all moved m'kay?! :)

Thanksgiving is only 4 short days away....errrrrgh. That's my life slipping away from me as I sit at home watching Bridget pull down the movies that I just put away. If you know me, then you know that I actually like to make things. As long of course, that it doesn't involve sewing cooking, cutting, coloring, molding or painting. See the thing is, I LIKE, even LOVE doing these things. I think they are great wastes of time and a good reason for me to sit behind a desk and require Tim to interact with the kids. But I just seem to have a hard time following and understanding directions. So no wonder I spend most of my day keeping bridget out of the dog water, not getting locked in the fridge, picking up needles so she doesn't sew her lips shut and placing heavy objects out of reach. And with Riley I have to curb her love of counter climbing, hinder her desire to become an electrician with a butter knife, and ease her obsessive compulsiveness when it come to rearranging the magnets. I think the not being able to follow directions must be hereditary... Here's some other good things to waste your time doing:

-Watch all the Fox's "New Girl" episodes from first to latest. Zooey Deschanel is totally adorkable.
-Watch any episode of "The Big Bang Theory". Is anyone else crushing on Sheldon Cooper??? or is that just me?? Nerds jokes are the ones I like best!!!!
- Make a cute hair bow( or two) for your daughters your OWN way after spending hours watching YouTube videos of Midwest Housewives with back country accents using "gro-grain" ribbon. P.S. I didn't use "gro-grain" ribbon and I could have sat there heat sealing it all day if it wasn't such pretty ribbon.
-Read a funny blog. Here's a couple: www.tellingdad.com, www.findingthehumor.com and as always cakewrecks.com never disappoints me.
- I guess you could go get you crying child from her baby cage.:)
-watch Robin Moses nail art video tutorials and you'll be asking yourself all day, "How does she do that?"
-Sing your favorite song. If you're like me and you don't have a favorite song. Just hum aimlessly. Husbands LOVE that.
- Play teacups with the kids where they sit in a laundry basket and you spin them around until you get sick.
-Try and buy a house. Buying a house is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever tried. There are so many hoops to jump through and so many things you can and can't do, it's aggravating! But, that's another story that I'll probably never get around to blogging about.
-Lastly Think of all the stuff you should be doing, ignore it and go take a nap.

This year Halloween was a little difficult. Riley didn't get to nap during the day so spent the entire night whining and wanting to be held. Not really conducive to having a good time for me and Tim. But I guess it's not about us having a good time. I don't know if Riley felt very good because all she wanted to do was lie around. Oh well. We had a nice time with family and I still got to dress up. I guess that's having a good time.
Tim emailed our realtor and hopefully we're going to be looking at some houses soon. Tim is really itching to move now which I am perfectly okay with.

Hello Everybody!!! You may be wondering why I'm so chipper today as opposed to my usual surly self. Well, I hate to say it ,but I'm happy because Tim and I may actually have some money now. I'm not saying money makes you happy or you can buy your happy, but it sure makes it easier to live in such a way that you can appreciate the little things you have, especially when you don't have to worry about how bills are going to get paid. Tim got a call on Thursday from an agent he works with on one of his customers. Said phone call was about a job offer at the agency and an interview with the three principal owners of the company. So Monday rolls around and he goes to the interview and then comes home feeling pretty optimistic about it. Not 3 hours later he gets a call and is offered the job. They had other applicants but after interviewing Tim they decided not to hold those and just hire him! Isn't that great? I think Tim kind of underestimates his ability because he doesn't really see himself as the responsible adult that he actually is.:) So Tim is going to be making A LOT more money which is really nice seeing as we would like to buy a house soon. Actually, we'd like to buy this house.
Isn't it cute? I love it. If you know people who live up around the 6200 south WalMart near this home tell them to drive other buyers away from it because we want it!!!! Really really bad!!!! Anyways that's my news for lately. we're just really excited to get our heads above water. It's not like we're POOR, but it'll be nice to be able to buy groceries if we need them. which sometimes we can't do as of right now because all of our money goes to paying bills.  We're planning on paying off all our debt and then getting the home buying process rolling. seeing as we don't have that much debt we should be in pretty good shape. I'm really excited. Let's take a peek at that house again with some other pictures of the rest of the house shall we?

Living Room
Kitchen
1 of the 3 finished bedrooms
1 of the 2 bathrooms.
Like I said I'm really excited about this house. We would really love to buy it, if we can get this moving quickly. Oh, if anyone would like to help with our house buying cause you can come get your nails done and have cute nails like this
 oh yeah those are Halloween nails. Cute huh?! Thanks for visiting!!!!

Testing...testing...

I finally have money to go take my tests to get my license to become a legit nail tech. My practical is on Thursday and I think I'm taking the written on Saturday but I have to make sure with Tim because heaven forbid he spends a few hours alone with the girls. Does anyone want to help him out?

I Need a Project.

I have quite a few people whose blogs I follow (see sidebar) and it seems like everyone has plenty of projects to do. I need/want a project. I feel like all I've done lately is sit around my house and sweat all day. I know, gross, but it's true! It's been so hot it's too hard to even think about doing anything, but I've gotten so bored and I seriously and only do dishes and pick up toys and stuff so many times a week before I go insane. I should PROBABLY get a job, but you know, not really something I'm pushing for. Tim had to work today, but he has the rest of the week off and it's pretty much packed to the gills with stuff to do. It'd be pretty nice to just have him home and chill out, but since he can never sit in one place too long, I don't think that'll ever happen. He was also was called to be the second counselor in the young men's presidency so Wednesday nights are now off limits for going anywhere. It's just as well, people are always doing stuff during the week anyways. Other than that I don't have much to do. All of the stuff that needs to get done this week is Tim's stuff that's he's helping other people with. Tuesday we're helping people move. Wednesday during the day I think he's helping his dad rip out the laundry room wall. Thursday he's fixing our car so we can get it registered. Friday probably getting the car tested and registered (finally) then fixing our dryer (hallelujah) Saturday probably will be so tired of being "at home" with me he'll find something else to do that I can't go do, even though I won't be doing ANY of this stuff that's been planned for the week. My project now has become nagging Tim to order parts, call people, ask Tim for money and me just chasing kids everywhere. I feel like a single mom sometimes. I know it's awful and Tim does help with the kids A LOT but he's so BUSY. Sometimes like he can't find time to squeeze in some "together" time where we just stay at home and hang out. But I still have the need for a project. Sigh. I hate how selfish I am.

Bill Nye the Science Guy

visit this link and bask in Nye glory as he totally makes an idiot out of a news anchor on TV. I <3 Bill Nye. Brings back gooooood memories.:)
http://www.newser.com/story/124662/bill-nye-schools-fox-news-anchor-jon-scott-on-climate-change-video.html

she has her arms around his neck while they're reading books before bedtime. Toats adorb.

Riley Roo is Already Two!!!

Yesterday my litte Roo turned two years old. We went to the park and had a picnic dinner with our families. Its always nice to be able to have everyone get together and celebrate with us. Riley has been such a blessing in our lives and it's hard for me to believe that's she's already two. These last few years have gone by way too fast and it makes me sad to know there's no way I can get them back, but onward and upward I suppose. Riley was spoiled by everyone (including her parents) as usual and she got way too many presents. Bubbles and clothing seemed to be the present of choice clothes which I always appreciate, Bubbles... not so much, but, whatever they're lots of fun when they go to Grandmas!:) Riley now has toys that should last her into her bigger toddler years. She was getting kinda bored with the baby toys. Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a special day for her. She'll only be able to look back at pictures because she won't remember, but I can and it was special for me. I'm glad I have such a wonderful family who loves my kids just as much as I do.


Riley in her Doctor outfit. I bought the little playset for me mostly but she likes it too!

Father's Day/ Tim's 25th Birthday (because Father's Day came first, that's why)

Yesterday was Father's Day and since I did a Mother's Day post I should probably do a Father's Day post... But since it was also Tim's birthday I will talk about him first.

June 19th 1986 Miss Ohio was crowned Miss USA (I learned that yesterday) and Argentina beat West Germany in soccer's 13th World Cup (I learned that about two seconds ago) and my husband was born(Ive' known that for a while). (Not to mention his parent's apartment flooded, but that's just a another story.(:) For the nine years I've known my husband (has it really been nine years?) He's always been the... stubborn type, lucky for him, that's how we got married. (just kidding) I know he grew up in Magna and was just barely at the tender age of 13 when he moved into the house his parents now live in then he was moved from Brockbank Jr. High to Hunter Jr. High and changed from being a hooligan to being kid in the school musical who I bumped into in the halls, and he didn't even stop to say sorry. RUDE. That's my first encounter with him or more to say, his elbow, he was so tall. I don't think I've gotten much taller since 8th grade but he doesn't seem so tall now. My next encounter with him was that summer when I saw him walking down the street with one of his friends. My sister dared me to yell out "Hey Timbo!" so I did. That was weird. I guess I was the first one who called him that. I next came to know him the next summer at a youth conference. We were split up into tribes and I was praying to be put into a tribe I would know at least one person that I could stand being around. As fate would have it I was put the same tribe as Tim, and little tidbit for ya, Tim was actually in the place of Jake J so... I guess we lucked out. I knew who he was of course, but he didn't know who I was until i said something totally creeper like, "You were in South Pacific in Jr High weren't you?" considering he only had 1 line and he said it in the dark, this caught his attention. But attention like, Woah stalker, but like how you doin(eyebrow waggle) attention, which I didn't expect. After I said it I went immediately red and went back to picking at my homemade Nephite robes made out of curtains (long story) and the rest is history. I never would have thought I would get to marry someone so talented in so many things. He's a wonderful husband and father to my children and he doesn't make fun of me for the stupid things I do, and doesn't get too hurt when I make fun of him for the stupid things he does. And I know that we can fight and scream at each other but at the end of the day he's always willing to be the bigger person and want to let things go. Even if that is really annoying. I love you babe. Happy Farthday. Ha ha ha!


Now I'll talk about Ben. Tim's dad, who goes by Ben, is a real mystery to me. He's kind of a goofball and can always find someone to talk to where ever he goes if he knows them or not. I know he works really hard for his family to have what they need. He's always supportive and always there willing to help if you need it, all you have to do is ask. He looks suspicously like my dad and they would probably pass for brothers, but it's probably because they're both bald and have a mustache. :) I have never actually seen Ben get knock down drag out angry. Come to think of it I haven't seen my dad that angry either. I see controlled words and the weight of a lot of pressures sitting on their shoulders. I guess that comes when you become a father, a protector and provider. All of which I see both my dads strive to do.
Now I'll talk about my dad a little more, cause I know him better. I know where I would be without him and never want to be there. When I was 10(I think) my dad was in a awful crash that almost killed him. I remember coming home from school and my mom crying then she sent us to stay with my Grandparents. The whole time I worried about him I was only 10 and I couldn't sleep because of it. Then we got to come home after he got out of the hospital and got to rest for a little bit. I remember walking up the stairs and seeing him sitting the old gold chair(best reading chair ever) with a pillow under his arm cause he had broken ribs. His face was a mess. And I cried. I had never seen my dad like that, so vulnerable and breakable. His lip was fat with stitches and his arms were all torn up from the steering wheel. He couldn't hold anything cause the force of the crash made his hands break through the steering wheel and he had severe nerve damage. The steering column had punched into his chest breaking his ribs and disrupting his sternum. By all accounts he shouldn't have lived. I always wore my seatbelt after that crash and if my dad was in the car, you better believe I made him wear his too. A few years later when I was little older, I was driving with my dad somewhere, just me and him, which I feel privileged to say was something I got to do. Go places with him and do things with him. But we were driving and Dad had been doing that high pitched whistle through his teeth that hurts your ears but he insists on doing it in small enclosed areas, and then he turned off the radio and it got quiet in the car. He looked at me, his angry teenage daughter who was too worried about everything else to think about how lucky she was to be with her Dad, and he said, "You know, I think Grandma was looking out for you." I didn't know what he was talking about so I just raised my eyebrows, which was the majority of how I communicated during my junior high years, and he said, "When I was in my accident. I think she knew I needed to be here for you. I think she knew you needed a daddy." All I could do was look out the window because then he couldn't see me cry. Because I did need my daddy. I still do. He's still the one I call when things don't work out the way I want them to, or when something scary happens. He knows how to do everything and what he doesn't know he'll learn. He's always willing to share his chips and cottage cheese with you as long as you keep his glass full of ice water. He'll come up with weird little jingles about candy bars and lame jokes about fairy tales with a twist (it's a pig's tail). He'll build you whatever you ask for your wedding even if it takes forever and he has plenty of other things to do with his time. And he'll be there waiting for you in the temple when you get married. He'll be there in the hospital to see your new baby and he'll give you a kiss and tell you how beautiful they are. Lots of people see my dad as gruff and a little rough around the edges but they haven't seen him cry like I have, or bend over to kiss Riley goodbye. He may think it's nothing, but to me it means everything. I'm so grateful to have my father as my father. So happy to have him as my Dad. I love you Dad. Happy Father's Day (even though he'll probably never read this.)

Summertime Fun 2011

So now that' it's finally reached over 50 degree outside, the kids and I have been itching to be outside and do something FUN. So we went swimming today with my mom and sisters and cousin Rowan. Mom and Abi and Jessi came up on Friday to swim too, so we've been swimming a lot. Last year the water in the pool was really warm, this year it seems to pretty chilly, but of course that doesn't dampen our enthusiasm.:)






Rowan looked so cute in all his water gear Grandma had bought for him. And I think he throughrouly enjoyed being in the water. With the tube up under his armpits, he could feel confident in swimming around alone.





Catch Me Sarah!

3 Years Down Eternity to Go!

I think I use that title for all my anniversary related posts, but whatever. This last Friday was Tim and my 3 wedding anniversary(pitiful applause) yes yes thank you. While 3 years is pretty nothing compared to 50 years (Gma and Gpa Harward) or 70 years (yeah I know of a couple that has been married that long) I'm still going to congratulate myself on a job well done. To celebrate we farmed out the kids and went down to St. George to get away from all the crappy weather yuck:p. It was nice and warm and we had a lovely hotel and we went to the Tuachan morning Craftsman Market and spent some money, all the while I was thinking about my two little girls at home and Penny with Mike and Emily wondering if they were going to be ok, secretly hoping that they weren't, but to my disappointment they were fine, if not better than when we are home.(eyeroll) It was nice to have a little break but I was glad to have my kids back and to be able to come home. On the way home Tim mentioned how he would move down to St. George if he could get the clearance to work from home. I'd be okay with that, but I'm pretty sure he would get really tired of driving 10 hours just to eat dinner at one of our parents houses.:) I have some pictures of some of the stuff we got to see down at the Tuachan and the temple down there, but I'll put them up later, cause I have a crying baby in the other room. I love you babe, thanks for putting up with me, and I apologize in advance for any stress I may cause you throughout the years to come. Love you!!!!!:*

* The best part of going on vacation without the kids is getting to come home to them.

I think I'm going to try *GASP* diet and exercise

I got these off ksl.com I think I'm going to try them.


Day 1
Breakfast: Oatmeal, half a cup of berries and a glass of almond milk.

Lunch: Half of a pita sandwich with lean turkey lunch meat, spinach, tomatoes and mustard, a side of carrots and hummus.

Dinner: Baked salmon flavored with lemon juice, salt and pepper, fresh sauteed green beans and a side of brown rice.

Day 2
Breakfast: Three egg-white omelet filled with spinach, tomatoes and onions with a side of melon.

Lunch: Tomato basil soup with a side green salad.

Dinner: Lean chicken breast seasoned with your choice of herbs or marinade with a sweet potato and fruit salad on the side.

Day 3
Breakfast: Avocado pear smoothie sweetened with honey and half of an English muffin.

Lunch: Crisp tofu, red pepper, green beans and cabbage sauteed in a stir fry with sesame sauce.

Dinner: Halibut with a side of barley risotto and peas.

Day 4
Breakfast: Whole grain toast topped with goat cheese and raspberries.

Lunch: Turkey roll-up with light cream cheese and tomatoes with a side of veggie chips and a pear.

Dinner: Black bean burrito with caramelized onions, mushrooms and mango salsa on a whole wheat tortilla with one cup of tortilla soup.

Day 5
Breakfast: Whole-wheat pancakes topped with applesauce.

Lunch: Large spinach salad with hard-boiled egg and light honey mustard dressing.

Dinner: Pork chops with a side of mashed cauliflower and baked cinnamon apples.

Day 6
Breakfast: An oat bran muffin with a side of strawberries.

Lunch: Chili with chicken, green chiles and white beans.

Dinner: Falafel in a pita with a side of cous cous and green salad.

Day 7
Breakfast: Greek yogurt parfait with honey, oats and berries.

Lunch: Portabello mushroom burger with a side of sweet potato fries.

Dinner: One California roll with one cup of edamame and one cup of miso soup.

Other
Snacks: Carrot sticks or red pepper slices and hummus, a handful of almonds, an apple with one tablespoon of peanut butter, Greek yogurt with berries, baked chips with salsa, beet or kale chips or fruit salad.

Super foods to include in your meal: red tomatoes, black beans, spinach, almonds, Swiss chard, mushrooms, kale, avocado, salmon, flax seed, Greek yogurt, pumpkin seeds, oats, grapefruit, carrots and broccoli.

Low-calorie seasonings and flavors: cinnamon, honey, Stevia all-natural sweetener, agave nectar, mustard, basil, sage, thyme, coconut oil, olive oil, garlic, ginger, saffron and red chiles.

And for when I feel like eating a little unhealthy:
The Rule of 3 - doing three different exercises every day - is a great way to mix things up and make sure you're not bored while you get the exercise your body needs.

Here are three easy things to do at home to get you started:

Choose a Pilates move to do each day
You don't even need a mat. Joseph Pilates designed his exercises so that people could do them from home. A quick online search will reveal detailed instructions on how to perform each pose.

Wall Roll Down is a great one that many people like that will get you started on your core.

Stand tall against a wall, and keeping your body against the wall, walk your feet out about eight inches from the wall. Pull your stomach in. Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears, chest open, and raise your arms over your head. Keep your arms up by your ears as you slowly roll your spine down and away from the wall, vertebrae by vertebrae. Keep your abs pulled in as you work slowly, peeling the spine away from the wall. Relax your head and neck. Roll down as far as you can stretch while keeping your hips against the wall. Keeping your arms in the same place, roll up slowly paying close attention while you use your stomach muscles to move your body up. Keep rolling up, replacing your vertebrae against the wall one by one as you go. Finish in an upright position with your arms up and hands clasped together

Choose an exercise DVD or video game to which you can relate
"Jillian Michaels: The Complete Workout for Beginner" and "The Michael Jackson Experience" for the Wii are two excellent workouts to put on your TV and computer

The Michael's workout burns an estimated 370-460 while using 3- to 5-pound dumbbells and a resistance band. (97 minutes; $24.95 for a two-DVD set; jillianmichaels.com). Do as much of it as you have time for.

The Jackson workout is a product of the 80s and 90s, and I find it a pleasure to work out and dance to Michael Jackson's hits, and even one song - Smooth Criminal - gets my heart rate up so quickly I have to take a break between each song. You can do a few songs here and there throughout the day which is good for your overall fitness and heart rate.

Squats
Squats are my least favorite exercise to do anywhere- even at home, but boy, are the results worth it.

First, place a chair just behind you and stand in front of it with feet about hip- or shoulder-width apart. Then tighten your abs as you bend your knees and slowly and squat towards the chair. Keep your knees behind your toes and sit down on the chair for a few seconds. Squeeze in your glutes and hamstrings to lift up out of the chair and begin extending the legs. Stand back up fully and repeat this at least 10 times.

You may be asking yourself if such a short, simple routine will do anything but make it hard to walk up and down stairs the next day. The answer is: Yes. Especially if you do it consistently.

By incorporating the Rule of 3 you'll soon be in the wonderful habit of taking care of your body and toning up while losing weight. Google, YouTube, Livestrong.com, and many other sites have so much information on daily workouts that you can choose three new exercises to try at home every day and never do the same thing twice, if you don't want to.

Mother's Day 2011

So today is Mother's Day and I'm a bad daughter and didn't even do anything for my mother or my mother in law, so... we're just going to talk about them and how great Mom's are. So, because I spent a pretty huge majority of my life with my mom I'll start with her. My mom was born in February on the 5th(I think ;)) and married my dad in August in the Jordan River Temple after she sent him on a mission to Canada. My mom can do so many things, She can sew anything, cook anything, grow a huge garden, share everything, teach anyone, and love everyone. My mom taught me how to be not only how to be a good mom, but how to love the people around me, how to stand up for the little guy, how to keep your mouth shut when you should, how to keep it under control when everyone around me is losing that control. My mom tried to teach me piano but I quit and she was okay with that. She let me follow silly ideas during school that I eventually gave up, but she was okay with that even though it took her time, and her money. She taught me how to love and support my husband when money is tight, and how to take care of my family at the same time. She taught how to follow and love my Father in Heaven who has given me so much through her. She gave me life and I could never say enough about how great she has made it for me. I Love you Mom.

Aaaaaand okay let me calm down enough so I can see the screen....
okay, Now it's Julie's turn. Julie I haven't known for very long just going 9 years this July, but so far she's been pretty great. She raised a wonderful son who got the lucky chance to fall in love with and get married to for time and all eternity which by happenstance means that I am also tied to their family for time and all eternity which I really couldn't ask for anyone better to be around. I watch go through things with her family with grace and dignity and I see her work VERY hard so her children have not only what they need but a lot of what they want. I see her want to take care of her children even if it means she has to put herself in a bad position, I see that she is willing to do anything for her family. I see her go through trials and tough events with her mother and sisters, feeling helpless, but knowing it's for the best she still does it. I know that she is given these experiences because our Heavenly Father knew she weather them. I see her open her home and her arms to those in need. I am in awe of her ability to work so hard physically, mentally and spiritually to keep her family on the right track. I see her love her children not because she tells them but because she's so willing to drop everything and help them. I'm sorry to say that all I have for her today is my love and appreciation for her and everything that she does and for her raising my wonderful husband to become the man I love so much. I love her too and I hope she knows that.
Of course I cannot say enough about my two beautiful children who I have the honor of being a mother to. Riley who will get me back in line as soon as I think about getting out of it. And my BB (Baby Bridget) whose smile makes me think angels cried when she left heaven cause she's so beautiful. (I know, gay but come on she's toats adorb and no one can deny it!p.s. 'toats adorb' means totally adorable.)

I actually have a lot of people who I am grateful for their maternal influences. I have Janet Fredrickson who was a second mom to as I grew up and she raised my best friend, I have Mihoko Armitstead who has taken us as her family and treats us that way, I have my Grandmothers who I love dearly but I don't see nearly enough. I have my older sisters who are such great examples to me of love and faith. And there are so many more, I really can't list them all. To all the mom's, grandmother's, aunt's, sisters, wives, sister-in-laws, teachers, thank you for everything that you do even if you're not medically defined as a 'mother' if you help in anyway, you're a mother. Happy Mother's Day everyone!

D-Land Quiz from Rants From Mommyland (with a few changes cause I don't go to DisneyWorld)

1. YES or NO: I enjoy hemorrhaging money.

2. YES or NO: My kids think it’s awesome when sunblock melts into their eyes and they get to whine in pain.

3. YES or NO: Waiting in line for several hours is an excellent opportunity to practice meditation and deep breathing.

4. YES or NO: I like to eat all my meals off of plastic cafeteria trays.

5. YES or NO: Failing that, I feel that $50 per person is reasonable for food that is the culinary equivalent of that served at some of the nicer institutional settings in Southern California.

6. YES or NO: I live for those moments when all our hard work and sacrifice have paid off and our children stare at us with large eyes filled with... unmitigated lust for Disney-themed merchandise.

7. YES or NO: I have no problem with the fact that animatronic creatures often veer from cute to terrifying with no notice.


(Yes, you will see Princesses. And they will be MAGNIFICENT.)
8. YES or NO: Nothing is more important to me than riding Space Mountain about a million times. I will tell my four year old to man up, stop crying and get back on that roller coaster because that’s what good moms do.

9. YES or NO: Whenever I am asked the question: “Hot enough for ya?” I always respond by saying: “No. It is never EVER hot enough for me.”

10. YES or NO: When I see an adult person being paid to dress as a Disney character with a ginormous head, I squeal. But I do so silently, on the inside.

11. YES or NO: Walking between 9-14 miles per day in a sub-tropical climate is actually very good for you.

12. YES or NO: I believe in magic.

13. YES or NO: I am prepared for sporadic moments of horrifying ingratitude and brattiness from my children.

14. YES or NO: I am prepared for frequent moments when there are bursting with how happy they are and how much fun they’re having.

15. YES or NO: A vacation should leave you relaxed (due to total physical exhaustion), broke, sunburned, mildly dehydrated and with the complete adoration of your children.

You're done! That wasn't hard, was it? For every YES, give yourself ONE point. Count up your score:

0-5: You should never go to Disneyland. Ever. Or DisneyWorld. Maybe avoid Disney altogether. You should also probably teach your kids about Disney what Lydia has taught hers about Chuck E. Cheese: “Kids, I am sorry to tell you that mommies and daddies are not allowed at Disneyland. Only Grandmas and babysitters.”



 5-10: You probably think you’re not ready. But you might be. Consider your next move carefully. Drop a hint to your spouse and offspring. If your husband looks at you as if you have just suggested optional castration without anesthesia, table the discussion until next year. If not, spend several hundred hours researching your vacation on-line. Imagine how happy it will make your kids and think fondly of the memories you’ll be making. Pretend you think it’s ironic that someone as cool as you is even contemplating this. THEN JUST DO IT. Then vomit several times when you realize your children will have to forgo a year of college because of how much money you just spent.

10-15: Dude. You know you’ve already been to Disneyland like 50 times. And if you answered yes to all 15 questions then you should just move to California and get yourself a job walking around sweating your ass off, dressed as a cartoon character and telling people to have a magical day. If you fall into this range and you’ve never been to Disneyland - take your Auntie Lydia’s advice and go to your happy place.


for more mommy rants got to . TRUST ME They know exactly what you're dealing with.

I Miss the Magnificent Justo!

This morning I opened my email knowing that today was Justin's p-day and would be able to write to us. He hasn't really written me a full blown letter in a while, but I still get a joke of the week. This week's joke was:

How many Edwards does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
None! Because he doesn't exsist! If he did, he wouldn't do it anyway.

I laughed and cried when I read this partly because it was funny and partly because I miss him a lot. When I say a lot I mean A LOT. Justin has always been the source of pure joy in our family because of his impeccable comedic timing, off the cuff retort ability and the relentless whistling (serious, the kid could whistle like no body's business). I'm sure he shares jokes with other people, but the way he just wants to make you smile, makes it all his own. He wrote a paper letter to Tim and I and his joke in that one was:

"A piece of string walked into a bar and the bartender said, 'We don't serve your kind here.' so the string went back outside ruffled his hair and twisted and turned then walked back into the bar. The bartender asked 'Aren't you that guy from just a second ago?' The piece of string shrugged and said 'Nope, frayed knot.' "

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I still laugh every time I think about it. I laughed pretty hard when I got the letter, Tim didn't think it was THAT funny but still pretty funny right? When he was a kid he was always a good source of entertainment and wowed the crowds with his magic acts as "The Magnificent Justo" with our uncle Frank as his side kick. He could disappear, "okay everybody you'll need to close your eyes for 3 seconds..." he could inflict severe pain, "It'll be like sitting on your keys..." but most importantly he could melt your heart with his "magic". We love you J Happy birthday on the 15th this month!



(Yes I just barely made this picture, and yes those are supposed to be fireworks)

Ohhh Dear! Seriously We All Need to Be Like Him

Double Dream Feet

Riley's Easter Dress

Last year I made Riley an Easter dress which she can still fit into, go figure. this year Easter has kinda snuck up on me as with everything else and we went to buy Riley an Easter outfit just so when everyone was talking about what they got from the Easter bunny she didn't feel left out, and I didn't feel like a bad mom. there were several choices, Tim was leaning towards a style very similar to Riley's cousin's Abi's dress that she got for her birthday which was blue and had biog white polka dots on it. but i wanted to get something that didn't really look like an EASTER dress only but was still just as cute. so I made an entire post just to show what we got her. I love Target. i don't think I can say enough in one blog.











I'm pretty proud of my cute baby making skills.:)

Springtime Catch up

So I haven't really posted anything lately because I've been trying to keep myself busy so I don't go crazy knowing that it's still snowing outside. (grrr.) But i have taken quite a few pictures and I have some videos of some fun things we did since I last posted. In March. It's been REALLY snowy I guess.;)

Riley is getting bigger and bigger everyday. She's just becoming a little person and it's all I can do to keep up with her.


I love it when she stands like this.:)


Little busy body.


Still a kid though:)

And Bridget, well, she just gets cuter and cuter everyday.



Bridget's smile melts away all the early morning scream fests. It's almost like they don't exist. Almost.


This past month has been BUSY! Rory and Abi had their birthdays on the 15th and Abi turned 2! I can't believe the 2009 baby club is already turning 2 and talking and growing up so quick! This Saturday our little Lando turns 2! He's such a cute little tyke!


Next month Kenzie Loo turns 2 too! (he he 2 too)

She's such a little lady!

This last Sunday was Easter and we were lucky enough to spend the whole day with the Tucker family and Mindy was even there for Easter thanks to the tornadoes in St Louis! Here's all the kids after their Easter egg hunt. (of course my kid would be the one who would ruin a perfectly good picture.)


Then we had dinner and had a lot of fun. Riley got color Easter eggs with Sarah at my parents house




and Bridget and Tim took a little nap on the couch

We did do an Easter egg hunt and Easter baskets at home the girls got a basket of eggs and a new outfit for Sunday. They were nice and enthusiastic about them.






and Riley looked sooooo cute in her outfit I have to make a whole new post of the photos I took for her playing in it! Here's a sneak peek!