visiting santa...

Busy Busy Busy

Things have been so busy lately. I think it will finally slow down today. Yay! Anyway, just a little quick note. I babysit a cute little girl that is Jaedyn's age. The last few days it has been raining raining raining! I love the rain! I love this time of years. Anyway, instead of straightening my hair like I do everyday I have been wearing it curly. Ayana, the little girl I babysit is not use to see me with curly hair. She told me my hair looked wiggly. I thought that was so cute!

The kids had fun at the Christmas party. Drew LOVED seeing Santa and all his friends. Jaedyn fell asleep in my arms so by time she woke up she wasn't to thrilled about seeing the man in the red suit. I set her in his lap anyway just to get a picture, but she wanted nothing to do with him! Anyway, I will post pictures of the party soon.

We had our Progressive Dinner for Enrichment night last night. It turned out really well! Thank you Becky! We went to 3 homes and at the last one had a little program with the women in Christ's life. At the end one of the women in the ward played Mary and sang a beautiful song. The program really brought the spirit in. It was really neat. One of the ladies who played a shepard's wife had the whole thing memorized and she did such a good job, I almost believed she was really there. All the ladies did a wonderful job.

Merry Christmas!

Saltine Toffee Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

4 ounces saltine crackers 1 cup butter 1 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 3/4 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
	Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.
	In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread t cover crackers completely.
	Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces. When I was working a friend of mine made these and brought them in to work. They are really good and I just found the recipe off of www.allrecipes.com. I didn't have dark brown sugar so I used regular brown sugar. And I did one cup of chopped pecans instead of 3/4 cup. And because I don't care for chocolate anyway and only had semi-sweet chips I used 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. If I would have had milk chocolate I would have used the full 2 cups. Anyway, my kids loved these, lets see if Kyle will too. :0)

my daughter and me

Granny's Thanksgiving Stuffing

Well it's Thanksgiving time! This is my favorite time of the year. September through January. And it is already almost over. For Thanksgiving this year we will be spending it with my family.

My mom who is the best cook I know makes THE BEST stuffing ever! I know that Aunt Valerie makes this recipe and I am guessing that my other Aunts (Aunt Nan & Aunt Marcie) make it as well. She got the recipe from my granny who was another really good cook (I think my mom probably learned a lot from granny because she has a lot of good recipes from my granny). Well my mom decided that this year one of us girls needs to make the stuffing. I guess it is time for the next generation to learn how to make it. Michelle who cooks just as good as my mom decides because I am at home I get to make it. Ugh! I am a little nervous about the whole thing. I bought bread last week and already started drying it. I am heading out to the grocery store today to buy the rest of the ingredients! I hope it turns out ok! Wish me luck! Pray for me... Sprinkle good luck dust on me....

Out of the mouth of Drew...

So last week Andrew got a Ding Dong for reading his scriptures for the month of October. As he was eating it we started talking and I told him I didn't like chocolate and I thought Ding Dongs were "Yucky." He then asks, "How do you know mom?" "Have you tried it." Nope! "Well you don't know unless you try it."

Friday we had our date night and we dropped the kids off at our friends the Little's. When we got home I was talking to the kids about what they did. Did they have fun? What did you eat? Well Drew starts telling me. Then he tells me had something with cheese in it. I asked him what it was. He told me to guess. Hot dogs? Nope. Corn Dogs? Nope. Mac and Cheese? Nope. Cheese Crisp? Nope. Finally I tell him, "I give up, you tell me what you had." He then tells me, "Your s'posed to never give up mom, never give up."

What a wise boy I have.

And for all my Globite Friends...

As we were getting ready to leave for church today I am hollering at him to come downstairs. He tells me, "Hold your chonies!"

8 Things...

I was tagged by Michelle and Margo

8 television shows that I watch...... (ok, you get to find out all the bad TV shows I watch)
1. Days of Our Lives
2. Chuck
3. Biggest Loser
4. Desperate Housewives
5. Office
6. Dirty Sexy Money
7. Samantha Who
8. Everyday Entertaining (just started watching this one)

8 Favorite restaurants......
1. La Casita's (Globe Mexican food, the best Mexican food ever)
2. El Pollo Loco (The Crazy Chicken, as Drew would call it)
3. Mom's house (ok, i know it is not a restaurant, but there is nothing like going home to mom's home cooked meals)
4. Rubio's
5. Pei Wei
6. Quiznos
7. NYPD Pizza (the best calzones)
8. Macaroni Grill

8 Favorite Singers/Bands........
1. Hilary Weeks
2. Sugarland
3. George Strait
4. Toby Keith
5. Jack Johnson
6. Harry Connick, Jr.
7. Martina McBride
8. Rascal Flats

8 Books I have read.......
1. Twilight
2. Eclipse
3. New Moon
4. Breaking Dawn
5. All of the Great and Terrible Books, except for the 6th one
6. The Biography of Gordon B Hinckley
7. Harry Potter books
8. No One Can Take Your Place by Sheri Dew

8 things that happened yesterday.....
1. Took Drew to get his hair cut
2. Went to my 1st book club, it was a lot of fun, we talked about the book Twilight
3. Took the kids to Tastee Freez for dinner
4. Worked on my Vinyl Business. Made a really pretty sign
5. Downloaded Care Bear Movie for the kids to watch.
6. My friend Melissa came over.
7. Did the Wii Fit
8. Cleaned

8 things I am looking forward to.........

1. Losing 20 more lbs
2. Thanksgiving
3. Christmas
4. Losing 20 more lbs
5. Date night with my husband, even though we are babysitting this weekend i am looking forward to next weekends
6. Decorating the rest of the house
7. Seeing Drew go on a mission
8. Seeing my kids married in the temple to wonderful spouses who love them and love us and seeing them grow up to be good righteous people who love their Heavenly Father.

8 things I wish for....
1. A new President
2. The economy to be better
3. My kids to be happy
4. Have my year supply stocked up (Almost there :) )
5. My kids to not be afraid
6. To be able to sing!
7. To have bills paid off
8. A CLEAN house!

8 people I am tagging.....
1. Kyle
2. Andrea
3. Verlynne
4. Becky
5. Xela
6. April B
7. Nicole, ok, Nicole I know Michelle put you on the list too... (hint, hint)
8. Steph, I know, you probably won't do it but I am putting you on the list anyway :0)

Riding the Quad

I was going through our pictures and found this today. This is at my parents home. Jaedyn and Andrew LOVE going to Grammy & Grandpa's. And they love to ride the quad. Their cousin Mimi, who Jaedyn thinks is the bee's knees, was riding the quad with us.

Happy Halloween

We had a lot of fun for Halloween. I took the kids in to see Kyle at work on Halloween and he got to parade them around the office and show them off. Then that night we made pizza and went Trick or Treating around the neighborhood. Last year it was so busy in our neighborhood, everyone ran out of candy, including us. This time we were prepared, but it was a much slower night and a little more calm. Jaedyn dressed up as a pirate and Andrew was a "Choo Choo Train Driver." They had a lot of fun. We handed out candy and then left to go Trick or Treating. When we came home Jaedyn was so tired she went straight up to bed and Andrew and Kyle and I stayed up to hand out candy. I think he had a lot of fun. Well it is time to put the decorations away till next year. I am going to have to do this while the kids aren't around because I know they will get upset.

Wii Bought One!

Ok, after a long time of wanting one and wishing to have one, but thinking Wii really don't need one, Wii finally bought one on Saturday. And Oh My Gosh it is so much fun. We didn't by any extra games just the ones that came with the Wii.

This weekend we went up to Prescott Valley to visit Kyle's sister and they had a Wii so I officially got to try it out (besides racing with Mario at the Best Buy). We played bowling. I was hooked. The next day we were at Target in Prescott and there was one there and we thought about it and decided no, we don't need to get it yet. Then we get down off the mountain and stop at Best Buy and they had more! And we said OK! Let's do it! And we did! And it is so much fun!

Anyway, it was late Saturday evening when we bought it and so we had to get everyone ready for bed and my parents were here to come listen to Drew in his FIRST primary program (he did great by the way, his part, "Adam & Eve were our Dirst (first) parents." He was so cute, I bought him a white shirt and a tie and some black slacks Saturday evening, and my mom trimmed his hair, and he looked like a little missionary) Oh wait, I am talking about the Wii...

So anyway, I didn't get to open it on Saturday. So Sunday afternoon, I know it was Sunday, and I shouldn't have done it, but it was calling my name, so I did it. So while Kyle was napping the kids and I were putting it together. I was reading the instructions and Drew tells me, "Livy's mom can do it." I said, "Oh really, should I call her?" "Yes, mom." But Steph I figured it out on my own, actually it was pretty easy.

Anyway, then we bowled. Kyle was awake by then, so we created 4 Mii's. Drew wanted his Mii to be really tall with a red shirt of course. Jaedyn wanted her Mii to be little so we made hers as little as possible and hers has a little pink bow in her blond hair with a pink shirt. My Mii, of course, wearing a pink shirt and SKINNY. And Kyle' Mii has his goatee.

So we bowled and the family had fun. Jaedyn even got into it. She would think she was doing it and swing her arm and jump up and down and say woo-hoo!

Anyway, so we put the kids to bed, Kyle went to bed and I headed out the door to an adult fireside. Then I came home and decided to try tennis... It was even more fun the bowling, I sucked, but it was so much fun. Then I tried boxing. I did better at that and it was fun too (not as fun as tennis, but it was fun. Anyway, I kept thinking that if anyone could see this 38 year old lady playing the Wii by herself late at night they would have been laughing.

Halloween

Giving away dishes...

I bought new dishes and I was just going to send these to DI but Kyle wanted me to see if anyone wanted them 1st. So does anyone want these? I have a placement setting for 8 on all the pieces except the dinner dish i think i only have 6. these are very nice dishes from Bed Bath and Beyond. the brand is Sakura Cashual dining by Oneida, they also say Sonoma on the bottom of them.

It's Autumn time!

It's Autumn time
It's Autumn time
The leaves are falling down!

On Noggin (the preschool channel) they keep talking about it being Autumn and the Fall. So Andrew has been telling me the leaves are falling and he needs to wear a jacket outside (those of you reading this that don't live in the Phoenix area, it is in the 90's here). Anyway, I finally told him that here, in the Valley of the Sun, Fall doesn't come until Winter!

I would LOVE to live somewhere like this! Oh well!

This week has been a better week.

I didn't want to leave anything negative about my boy on the computer! Because he is my boy and I am a little partial to him. I talked to his primary teacher for a while on the phone the other day. She said Drew actually does really good in primary. I had felt bad and was afraid that I had neglected him or something for him to act out like that. She said no, he is actually pretty happy in primary. She said she can tell that he is NOT neglected and that I spend a lot of time with him. She said that most of the time he answers the questions before she even finishes asking them. He loves singing the songs in Primary and he behaves. She said that it actually threw them when he acted up those couple of times in Primary. Anyway, we have really working on things this week and I am hoping to have are Sunday's at church back to normal.Anyway, I took a couple of really cute pictures of the kids this week. They are both from Saturday. It was are turn to babysit and I took a really cute picture of Andrew and his little girlfriend Olivia (Steph, I'll even let you copy the picture and put it on your blog too if you want :0) ). It just really showed there personalities. They have so much fun together and they play really well. The other picture is of Jaedyn (this picture is for you mom) eating her peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a bowl. Just like I use to when i was little. However, she doesn't let me stir the peanut butter and jelly up. Anyway, she loves it this way and doesn't like to have it on bread anymore. She is wearing pony tails in her her and she looks so cute. She is getting so big and she is discovering (or I am discovering) just how much she loves music. She has been telling me lately, music mom, music! She loves to dance and sing along with the music and she has a big grin as she is doing this.

Oh, on another note, we had a special number in sacrament meeting. There is a new return missionary in our ward and he plays the violin. He played a primary medoly in sacrament meeting on Sunday. Drew LOVES the violin. He sat on my lap and just listened and watch the whole time. And then when the guy came to sit back down he set across from us. I think Drew had ants in his pants... He wanted so badly to go say hi and look at his violin, but poor kid, I made him wait until sacrament meeting was over. Anyway, Drew did get to say hi to him and he let Drew look at his violin. It made his day.

Well, Kyle and I are off to my 20 year class reunion this weekend (yes, i am that old). My parents are going to watch the kids for us. However, the kids are going to come to the tailgate party with us. My high school colors are orange and black so we are all going to wear orange and black to the tailgate party. Good thing it is close to Halloween, I found plenty of orange and black. I found some really cute tights at Old Navy for Jaedyn, they are orange and black striped and I am going to make her a really cute orange and black bow to go in her hair. I will take pictures.

Ok, I have thought things through some more...

I am not going to be asked to be released from my calling (sorry Becky, I didn't mean to scare you). I think I might sit in with him a little bit in Primary. I am also going to start inviting some of the little boys to come over and play. Maybe he will get excited about Primary. I am also going to talk to his teacher some more. And of course, really talk to Andrew a lot. Get him excited about primary and his friends. He is grounded from his computer games and the TV for 2 days and he is really having a rough time. So maybe it is kicking in this time. He also had to sweep off the back porch for me. I am not going to tell you what he did (some of you already know). I have just been shocked over the whole thing. Like I said before, he is a good kid, so I just don't understand why he is acting out in primary.

I am thinking about being released from my calling

Andrew is having a really hard time in primary. He has had a hard time since he left nursery. For some reason he is just not happy there. And he has done a few things in primary that have not made me happy. I am in the RS presidency right now, but I think I need to focus on my children more right now. I just really feel like Andrew needs me right now. I don't want to be released but, my most important calling is being a mom and raising righteous children. I have been praying about it this evening, so far I feel good about this, but I want to pray about it more and talk it over with Kyle. If I do ask to be released I will ask to be a primary worker (they always need primary teachers) and teach primary so I can be in there with him.

Andrew is such a good boy, he really is. I just feel like I need to be there for him more. I am also thinking about quitting my babysitting job. I am wondering if it is too hard on the kids with me babysitting. If it distracts from things. My most important job right now are Andrew and Jaedyn. The little girl I babysit is a good girl and she has the sweetest parents so I don't know how I would tell them.

Anyway, I am not for sure on all this. I am just thinking out loud right now. And of course it has to be a decision that Kyle and I make together.

41 Reasons Why I love My Handsome Husband!!!

Happy Birthday to you!! Kyles birthday is today, I won't tell you how old he is but I bet you can figure it out...

1. He is so handsome!
2. He loves me.
3. He gives good back rubs.
4. He is the best husband.
5. He is the best dad.
6. He honors his Priesthood.
7. He is an excellent provider.
8. He is VERY smart.
9. He cracks up laughing at his own jokes. And he has to slap his leg when he busts up laughing.
10. He is forgiving.
11. He apologizes quickly.
12. He is a family man.
13. He loves to get down with the kids and play with them.
14. He loves my family.
15. He is VERY nostalgic (every time we go to his parents, as soon as we enter the neighborhood we have to take a trip down memory lane).
16. He has a very funny sense of humor.
17. He loves me fat or thin.
18. He thinks I am beautiful.
19. He is a hard worker.
20. He patiently let me buy countless numbers of bedding until I finally find the perfect one.
21. He is a good photographer.
22. He lets me decorate our home.
23. He is patient with me and my ideas.
24. We are best friends.
25. He would rather hang with me then anyone else.
26. He gets my gas for me.
27. I love his family.
28. He thinks he has the 2 cutest kids ever (and of course he is right).
29. He likes to snuggle with me.
30. Andrew
31. Jaedyn
32. He is so much fun!
33. He magnifies his calling
34. He brings me roses even when I don't deserve them.
35. He keeps my computer up and running and gets me cool toys for my computer.
36. He looks sexy in his truck.
37. I have faith in him.
38. He knew better then to buy the bigger house that the lender and developer told us we could buy and told them, "He didn't care what the credit report showed, this is all we will pay for a monthly payment." And he got a fixed interest and didn't get a payment that would balloon in 5 years. Thanks for thinking ahead!
39. He has faith in me.
40. He looks beyond the mess when I have just had way too much to do that day and it didn't all get done (which seems like everyday lately).
41. He is just as happy with a frozen meal as he is with a home cooked meal!

I love you Kyle. Thank you for being the one I want to spend ETERNITY with.

My sweet sweet boy

At Drew's 4 year check up they discovered that he had an "innocent" heart murmur. His pediatrician wanted to make sure it was just an innocent and not more serious so she set up an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist. The appointment wasn't set till September, so here we are. Here is Drew getting an EKG. He was kind of freaked out a little as you can tell by his face but he played it well. And I made a game of it. "Wow Drew, that is so cool!" "Oh my goodness, look at all that stuff on you!" "Let's take a picture and send it to daddy!" So here is a picture from my camera phone. Notice his train on the right, if you know Drew you know he LOVES trains!

If you don't know what a heart murmur is here is a little description:

A heart murmur is a noise that the blood makes as it flows through the heart. It's like the noise water makes when it flows through a hose. Heart murmurs are common in children and are usually harmless.

An innocent heart murmur does not pose a health threat. If your child has an innocent heart murmur, he or she can run, jump and play, with no limits on activity. Your child doesn't need to take any medicine or be careful in any special way.

This was taken from the http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/heartdisease/kids/453.html

So anyway, things went well, the cardiologist agreed that, yes it was just and innocent heart murmur and they would see him in two years for another checkup. As we were walking out of the office I asked Drew what he thought about all of it and he said, "It tickled a little." Oh and he got to keep the "stickers" he had all over his chest and stomach! He thought that was cool!

I am a Child of God

This is my latest creation. I made this for Kyle's niece. She is getting baptized tomorrow. I love the crown because I think of how she has "Royal blood running through her veins" (this comes from a song by Hilary Weeks, called "Come Take Your Place") because she is one of God's children. Anyway, I am going to make one for each of my children.

To hear the song by Hilary go to this link. It gives me chills every time I hear it.

http://www.imeem.com/people/n4MEN8N/music/Vy7Anhry/hilary_weeks_come_take_your_place/

FHE

I found this blog the other day. I was looking for a lesson for FHE on Love at Home and found this. It was quick and easy for my children. And kept there attention. It is for families with children 0-5 years old. Nothing fancy, just easy, I even made the dessert and my family loved it (including my picky husband). I am going to use it again next week, lets hope this one is easy too.

http://nataliesfhespot.blogspot.com/

Here is the recipe, this was quick and easy too and Drew loved helping me make it.

Blueberry Buckle Recipe

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup butter
1 egg
½ cup milk
2 cups blueberries
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ cup butter

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease 9x9x2 inch baking pan; set aside.

Stir together 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine ¾ cup sugar and ¼ cup butter. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add egg; beat until fluffy. Alternately add flour mixture and milk to egg mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined (batter will be slightly thick). Gently fold in blueberries. Spread batter in prepared pan.

For topping: In a small bowl combine- ½ cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, and cinnamon. Cut in ¼ cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over batter; sprinkle with additional sugar.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until topping is golden and toothpick inserted in center come out clean. Serve warm. If desired, serve with whipped cream.

Six Years!

Kyle and I just had our 6 year anniversary yesterday. To celebrate we took the kids to my parents and he and I went to Greer and stayed at the Red Setter Inn for a couple of days. We had such a nice time. It was absolutely beautiful up there. i don't think the temperature was ever above 75 degrees if it even hit that. I can't believe we have been married for 6 years. Time flies when your having fun! I Love you Kyle!

We had only been dating a few weeks here and we decided to go to San Diego.

Memorial weekend, the weekend Kyle proposed to me.Wedding Picture
Greer earlier this week

Ok, I know i am biased but...

isn't this the prettiest dirty little face you ever saw!!

Palin Speech

Ok, I just have to say that I loved Sarah Palin's speech last night! She is getting me excited about the Republican Party again. I feel like we actually have a chance at beating "he who shall not be named." (I can't believe people really like that guy anyway. I don't get it... Why is it so cool to like him?)

Anyway, back to the task at hand. I am watching the RNC convention right now and I am even impressed with McCain's speech. He is actually talking about what he plans to do.

The libereal media and the liberal's kept critizing Palin's speech because she didn't talk about healthcare, education, and the economy. McCain is talking about it tonight. I can't wait to hear what they have to complain about tomorrow.

Go McCain/Palin!!!

I lost 30 lbs!

Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to me!
I lost 30 lbs
Happy Birthday to me!

Ok, so yesterday I was at 29.4 lbs lost and I started thinking that would be cool if I could get to 30 lbs on my birthday! And I did!!!!!

This is a mile stone for me, it has taken a long 5 months and I still have 30 lbs to go, but yeah!!!

More Andrew Quotes

"Top trowing a dit, Ayana, top trowing a dit!" Translation, "Stop throwing a fit, Ayana, stop throwing a fit!"

Blogging!

So, I haven't posted in almost 10 days. I have been slacking. I told Kyle the next post is going to be about my birthday so he had better make it memorable. j/k :0)

BTW, it has already been a great birthday and i haven't even had my birthday yet! Thank you Kyle, Melissa, my VT Sister Arnold. I am truly blessed to have such a great husband and such dear friends.

Breaking Dawn

Well, I finished it (don't worry mom, I won't give anything from the book away in this post). I can get back to reality and get back to my busy life. The book was really good (thanks Steph for letting me borrow it). It took me a little over a week to read it. I know you Twilight fans are probably thinking that you can't believe it took me that long to read it. But I did have other priorities I just couldn't get out of... Taking care of my family, feeding my family, date night (I just don't think Kyle would have understood if I told him I would rather read then go out on a date with him), church, babysitting. My blog did slack and I haven't watched DOOL since last Wednesday (thank goodness for DVR) because I was reading at night instead of watching DOOL.

Anyway, I am not quite awake this morning because I stayed up to finish the book last night so this is all I can think of to say. Oh, but yes, I thought the book was really good. I won't say anymore because my mom reads my blog and she is now reading the books. I think she is reading the 2nd one right now...

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/breakingdawn.html

Jaedyn and her "Lays"

Jaedyn has become attached to her "lays" a.k.a. blankets. ALL OF THEM (OK, well she doesn't know about the ones at the top of her closet). But the 8 or so that she has found. This has been for a while now.

When she goes to bed at night, she has to have ALL of them on her, AND I have to count them as I put them on her.

For a while she would bring them every where around the house with her. If she saw me putting them away. She would freak and run and get them and put them by her.

When we go on a trip I would try packing one "lay" and she would run and get the rest and pack them herself. She got away with it one trip. When we went to Grammy's and Grandpa's she took them. In the picture above you can see Grammy holding her with all her lays on. Note the bottle.... Grammy is feeding her a bottle (she doesn't take bottles anymore, although she would still take them if I let her) and Jaedyn is just eating it up (eating up the fact that Grammy is treating her like the little baby). I guess Grammy misses having a grand baby around so the closest one is my 2 1/2 year old daughter. But anyway, that is another story.

Below is a picture of her with all her "lays" here at home, you can't tell from the pictures, but there are at least 7 or 8 lays there.

Oh... notice her little stuffed animals. Her cow, "Chloe" and her other stuffed animal both had to be tucked in the blankets... I mean "lays" too.

Diaper Cake

We had a baby shower here last night for my friend Summer. We had a lot of fun, and she got a lot of nice gifts. Anyway, I wanted to show you the diaper cake I made for her and a little plaque I made for her too. She has two boys and, as you can see from colors in the pictures, is having her 1st girl.

I was tagged!

Thanks Kyle. :0)

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names.

3 Joys:

• My handsome husband - Kyle is my best friend.
• My sweet children - They are so much fun and getting way to big to fast.
  
• Being a SAHM, decorating my home, my vinyl business
  

3 Fears:

• Speaking in church
• Something happening to my husband or my children
• Not being able to grow old with Kyle
  

3 Goals:

• Losing 34.2 more lbs (I have already lost 25.8 lbs)
• Getting my BA degree someday
  
• Reading and studying the scriptures more
  

3 Current obsessions/collections:

• My vinyl lettering business. It is really a lot of fun and addictive
  
• Crafts - they are a lot of fun!
  
• Reading - I just finished Traitor, it was really good.
  

3 Random surprising facts about myself:

• I don't like chocolate (ok, if it has peanut butter with it or carmel, maybe, but chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake, or just plain chocolate.... Yuck!)
  
• I am a licensed Nail Technician
  
• I didn't get married till i was 32 (but i think most of you know that)

Ok, I now tag my sister Michelle, my cousin Nicole, my cousin Lisa, and my friend Kristal, and my friend Amy G

Well we decided to get Drew a bike. He already had one that we bought a year ago from Wal-mart but he would not ride it so today while at the Sports Chalet he was riding this bike around so Kyle decided what the heck. He has already had a blast on it and wants to head outside for more. This bike will definitely be kept in the garage away from the sun and rain (when we get rain). Here are a couple of pictures and a video of them riding. Don't they look cute!

Andrew dressed himself today

Ok, so I am sure a lot of your 4 year olds have been picking their clothes for a while and dressing themselves. Not my 4 year old. He would really just prefer me to do it for him. Well last Sunday we are all downstairs getting things ready for church and eating breakfast. Drew was still asleep in bed...

Anyway, we hear stirring around upstairs then Drew comes down stairs. He has dressed himself. He pulled a shirt out of the closet and found some shorts (where they came from I don't know) to wear. Anyway, I am sooo glad it was Sunday and he had to get dressed in his Sunday clothes because after he got out of the shower later on, he wanted to wear the clothes he had picked out. Anyway, he was pretty proud of himself for picking his own clothes. Here are some pictures of him in his outfit. And yes, I let my children have peanut butter and honey sandwiches for breakfast sometimes.

Mela needs...

Ok, so i saw this on my cousins website (thanks Nicole). You type in your name with the word needs next to it in google and see what comes up. What comes up is pretty funny. Here are six things I need. In my defense, apparently there is a town called Mela in France and Italy. I have also added the rest of the family. What do you need???

1. Mela needs a nap!
2. Mela needs you
3. Mela needs to be done
4. Mela needs support from you
5. Mela needs to be stopped from happening again
6. Mela needs bigger home

1. Kyle needs help
2. Kyle needs a hot dog
3. Kyle needs friends
4. Kyle needs a Chiropractor
5. Kyle needs a bad guy to fight

1. Andrew needs a life
2. Andrew needs a real dog (he would probably agree with that)
3. Andrew needs a job
4. Andrew needs love
5. Andrew needs all the prayers he can get

1. Jaedyn needs a break from us
2. Jaedyn needs reassurance
3. Jaedyn needs room to run around
4. Jaedyn needs a little playground action
5. Jaedyn needs a more powerful source
(Jaedyn's I had to change a couple of times to Jadyn and Jaeden)

Snickerdoodles - 2 WW points/cookie

Did you know that Snickerdoodles are only 2 WW points per cookie? Not to bad, if i only eat ONE! Anyway, what I do, so I don't eat the whole batch, put them in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer! Out of site, out of mind!

Here is my recipe for Snickerdoodles, it is Kyle's favorite cookie. I am making a batch for him today because I think he is pretty awesome! He fixed my car for me today! He changed a hose that busted and we only had to spend $5 rather then going down to the car shop and paying, I am sure, anywhere from $50 - $90!


Snickerdoodles 36 cookies/2 points per cookie

POINTS® Value: 2 Servings: 36

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp Cream of Tarter
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions: In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or till softened.

Add about half of the flour to the butter. Then add the 1 cup sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, and cream of tarter. Beat till thoroughly combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Then beat or stir in the remaiing flour. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

In a shallow dish combine the 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. Shape dough into 1-inch boalls. Roll balls in the sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven about 10 minutes or till done. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Remove cookies from cooke sheet; cool on a wire rack.

Makes 36.

New home phones

So we bought some new home phone's because our old ones were not working very well. The batteries were $15 a piece to replace so we decided we might as well just get new phones. Anyway, they are panasonic and look like this set but there are 3 phones instead of two.

I am learning this morning that they are kind of fun. You can put names into a phonebook (i know that is not anything new), and then you can set ring tones for certain people. Oh and the fun part is you can turn on a sound or voice for caller id. That is the real fun part. For Kyle's cell phone I put Sexy Daddy so when he calls it rings his ring tone then says, "Call from sexy da-ddy." it is hilarious. For mine I put Hot Mama for my cell phone, but I had to change the spelling from mama to moma for it to sound right. It is kind of fun. The kids were cracking up over it!

another cute website!

http://shedoeshair.blogspot.com/


Ok, my sister sent me this website and i just loved it! My sister Michelle and my sis-in-law Maren are really good at making these cute hair-do's but i am not! This is why Jaedyn gets big bows and flowers in her hair. Anyway, it looks a lot of fun.

Maybe i will do the latest one on Jaedyn, of course i just chopped her hair off.



Picture of Jaedyn with her haircut. She is getting way to big!

Andrew had his 4 year check up this week....

I took Drew to his 4 year check up this week. He actually loves going to the doctors, he likes climbing up on the table and the doctors and nurses talking to him (of course, he doesn't like the pokes a.k.a. shots).

Anyway, so this is how it went...

Drew had an ear infection over Memorial Day weekend. She checked his ears and the poor guy still has an ear infection in each ear, so she gave us a prescription for some stronger medicine. Because this is the 4th ear infection in the last 12 months and that is a lot for a 4 year old, he is being referred to an Ear nose and throat specialist.

As she was checking his heart, she discovered a slight (innocent as she called it) heart murmur (my older sister has this). She said that it is not serious but she just wants it confirmed and wants to make sure that it is not serious so she is also referring him to a cardiologist.

She also discovered that he has eczema on his back, so she also gave us a prescription for that.

His back has also been bothering him, my wonderful bro-in-law is a chiropractor and he has been helping with it and we have also been doing back exercises to help strengthen it and we have had x-rays as well, which i am trying to get into her office so she can take a look at.

Drew is fine of course during all this because he is getting a lot of attention from his doctor. She is a super sweet doctor and acts like she just adores Drew and he eats it up!

Anyway, after all this, in comes the nurse (I feel bad because these nurses are always the bad guys, the come in with the needles). Drew had to have FOUR shots, plus a prick in his finger to check his blood for anemia (that came back just fine by the way).

Earlier Drew kept saying he wanted ice cream and I kept telling him, after lunch. Well as I was wiping the tears from his eyes from all the pokes (shots), I told him we could go get ice cream for lunch.

Anyway, my thing is, isn't this a lot for a 4 year old? I know that there is nothing serious, but the poor guy has a lot going on right now. I am glad we are getting it all taken care of.

Tagged Again

Tagged Again!

Thanks Margo! :0)

1. Four places I have lived:

Pima AZ
St. Davids, PA
Globe, AZ
Avondale, AZ

2. Four shows I watch:

Desperate Housewives
Days of Our Lives (DVR it and watch it at night when the kids are sleeping)
Chuck (what happened to Chuck?)
Samantha Who? (Just discovering this one off of iTunes, does that count)

3. Four jobs I have had in my life:

Dairy Queen (in Globe)
Nanny (in PA)
SSSC (student loans)
R&R Pizza (helped my bro run it in Cottonwood)

4. Four places I have been:

Canada
Mexico
Nauvoo, IL
Cleawater, FL (business trip when working at SSSC)

5. Four Blogs I read regularly:

KC Photo (my favorite)
Becky T (yup, look down below, i will be tagging you next)
Steph L (yup, you too!)
Margo
Of course, all my friends and families on my list

6. Four of my favorite foods:

Bean Burro's (not burrito, it's a burro and the best are from Globe, but Someburro's will work in a pinch if i am on the east side of the valley)
Cheez-its
Cherries (I love fresh Cherries)
Pizza


7. Four places I'd rather be right now:

In a nice cool (and by cool i mean not hot) place
San Diego
Mountains
NYC (one of mine and Kyle's favorite places)
Taking a nap (does that count)

8. Four things I look forward to in the next year:

Loosing 40 more lbs!
Getting more diamonds for my ring (hint, hint, we will talk about that more later)
Monsoon
Fall

9. Four things I like to do in my spare time:

Decorating
Playing with my Vinyl business stuff (that is a lot of fun)
Reading
Crossword Puzzles (the easy ones)


10. Four favorite things to do with kids/family:

Date night with Kyle
Taking the kids to the water park
Reading to them
Watching them grow up

Ok I tag Kyle, Becky, Steph, Lisa M and Heidi, oh and Tricia (maybe this way she will update her blog)

Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less.

This is an excerpt from the Glenn Beck Newsletter. Glenn, Rush, and Sean Hannity have been promoting this. Check it out, sign the petition and forward this if you agree.

Drill here, Drill now

Glenn was up in Toronto last night to help raise money for the Simon Wiesenthal Center and it was a debate on some of the different things that were happening in the world with Dick Gephardt and Newt Gingrich. Newt came on radio today to talk about some of those issues, and one of them is gas prices. Gingrich thinks that we should drill here and drill now. Here is an online petition that he started, which he believes will help the pinheads in Washington realize that you want to drill through the heads of Caribu in order to get to oil now.