A Day In the Life of Me

Big move!

2011-09-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know... it's been a year and a half since I posted on the blog. Life got busy and I lost motivation to keep up on this, but we are moving to St. Louis, Missouri on October 2nd (this Sunday ACK!) and this is the best way to keep everyone updated on what the kids and Jay and I are doing. Expect LOTS of pictures and updates about what we are doing soon. I have been busy packing and going through all our stuff. It's amazing what you collect when you live in the same place for 6 years.

We are excited for the St. Louis Adventure and all that comes with that! See you soon from Missouri!

Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada Cruise

2010-03-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a synopsis of our trip, day by day. I just have to say, it was an absolute blast and I would go again in a heartbeat! Most of this is written by Jay, but we did almost everything together and I don't want to write it all out again.

Friday 3/5/2010 Drive to Las Vegas, walk the strip. Watch the fountains at Bellagio. Eat at Amore Patisserie, Macaroni Grill in Caesar’s Palace

Sat 3/6/2010 Drive to San Diego, board the cruise ship. Toured the ship, buffet lunch, Karaoke in the Cole Porter Lounge, Mikado Theater for standup comedian Jerome. First night on the ship and Jay got seasick. Talk about vertigo!

Sunday 3/7/2010 Day at Sea. Breakfast in the Imagination Dining Room. Elegant dinner in the Imagination Dining Room; we wore our best dress/formal clothing. Mikado Theater for Hypnotist Jac Rene—Brock Simmons and Tyler Stephens were hypnotized, hilarious! Went to the casino after the hypnotist show and Melissa won $31!

Monday 3/8/2010 Cabo San Lucas. Breakfast in the Imagination Dining Room. Took the tender to Cabo and walked (a ton). Shopped at the flea market (Jay got a bracelet, Melissa got a necklace, and a cool sewn palm leaf bag). We ate lunch at Hard Rock Cabo, then made our way to the beach where we swam, and played for 3 hours. We walked back to the peir where the tender would pick us up. Jay got chafed, yet we still went in to the Cabo Harley-Davidson shop. Jay got a magnet and some cool stickers and David Henry gave him some bag balm and that was enough to get them back to the pier. Once back to the boat and preparing to shower, Jay noted he had two tablespoons of very coarse Cabo sand in his swimsuit. CHAFE! Dinner was at the Imagination Dining Room, and we caught a show afterwards. The first comedian was Tyler Linkin; he did a very dry yet hilarious routine which involved juggling. The second act, Glenn Hirsch had a hard time following up Mr. Linkin’s act. We would absolutely see Tyler Linkin again.

Tuesday 3/9/2010 Cabo San Lucsas. Breakfast in the Imagination Dining Room. Took the tender in to Cabo and hired an all-day excursion for whale watching, touring the sites, and snorkeling at a distant beach (40+ min away; Santa Maria Beach). We saw two whales just off Land’s End (a rock formation south-east of town near the arch and Lover’s Beach). After the whale chasing and subsequent soaking we got from the Pacific waves (which ruined our nice DSLR), we turned about and went back into the Sea of Cortez and Santa Maria Beach. The beach was fantastic! Coarse sands, pieces of sea glass and coral, amazing snorkeling with a ton of fish, and a much smaller crowd made this excursion the highlight of the trip so far. We played, got sunburned, fed fish, picked up five pounds of shells/coral/glass, and had an amazing Mexican experience. Dinner was, you guessed it, in the Imagination Dining Room. Our Waitress and her assistant had our routine down pat and the food was very appealing both visually and to the palate. We are now en-route to Ensenada and quickly falling in love with Carnival Cruise Lines!

(This is also the day that my camera bit the dust (or salt, in this case) so there are no more pictures for the rest of the trip.)

Wednesday 3/10/2010 Day at Sea. A guy sang swing tunes which was the best show so far of the cruise. When he stopped singing I just wanted him to sing one or two more. I won $10 more dollars at the quarter slots at the casino today, too.

Thursday 3/11/2010 Ensenada. Shopping was good and it was cool to see the blow-hole. It has changed a lot since I came last time 10 years ago. It is much more developed now. The best part of the day was eating some fish tacos for lunch. They made the tortillas fresh right in front of us, even, using a hand press to flatten them. They were so good and I’m glad Jay insisted we bought some there. The churros were excellent, too. Nothing like the churros you get in the states. We both thought the ground felt like it was swaying like we were still on the ship the whole time we were walking.

Friday 3/12/2010 Melissa and I are on Lido Deck sitting in the sun waiting for debarkation to occur. After speaking with one of the stewards by the dining room we have approximately one hour to wait before it begins. We already had breakfast, this time at the buffet here on Lido. Melissa has reclined with her book and I am typing at my laptop—we checked our voicemails, and texted everyone who has taken care of our children while we were out to sea. Anna has our kids and will take them home tonight to await our return. Fantastic that she is doing that; it will save us an extra hour of driving after we get home. Looking back over the trip it is hard to place a favorite moment. I have asked several people over the last couple of days what their moments were; some of mine correlate. A definite top moment was Playa Santa Maria and its beautiful sand, snorkeling and contented feeling. I also really enjoyed myself in Ensenada with the street vendors, the fish tacos, and just being there with Melissa. Overall this cruise has been extremely relaxing; Melissa and I had our moments where we got on one another’s nerves, but they were very small and were usually related to one of us being tired. Those sorts of things are healed with apology and sleep. It has been quite nice to get to bed by 1030ish and up by 8ish. Will miss that for sure! In these last moments on the boat we have called home for the past six days I feel content. The Elation is back where we boarded her in San Diego Bay, right next to the USS Nimitz. We have a 12 hour drive ahead of us and then we’ll be home! The ground solidly below us, our children around us, and two more days off before work resumes. It’s been a good trip.

Happy 5th Birthday, Maddy Jane!

2010-02-23T08:36:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Maddy has turned 5 years old! She seems so grown up and is such a little mommy to her brothers and helps take care of them. She absolutely loves preschool and is thriving in that environment. She is constantly amazing me with what she learns and remembers. Here are some pictures of my sweet girl on her big day:

We had a family birthday party for her and held it in our church building's gym. Here she is surrounded by cousins opening her gifts.

Maddy is opening another gift, but I had to post this because I love Savy's arm around her. Cousins are the best!

My mom made party hats for me for the kids to wear and we had to put one on Graham. He totally looks like a garden gnome! HA!

My mom made this huge Cinderella castle for a wedding reception and we couldn't pass up using it for Maddy's party. Some of the princesses (Kara and I are not in the picture) in the family posing in front of their castle.

Princess Maddy in front of her castle.

Close up of the cupcakes I made. I kinda went all out on these. I am awful with making frosting look good on cupcakes, so to get out of that, I made sugar cookies to go on top. I think they turned out so cute and Maddy loved them!

Cupcakes on the stand.

Maddy had seen an infomercial about the "big top cupcake" and said she wanted it for her birthday cake. I was happy to oblige with the wilton version of it. I made the cookies and my mom decorated it. I thought it turned out adorable! Maddy about died when she saw it.

Maddy showing me how old she is now. Such a big girl!

My mom had curled her hair for church a couple weeks ago and she said she wanted it curled for her birthday. I have such a beautiful daughter!

In her Princess crown... she loved wearing this around the house and at her party. She would put it on and proclaim "I'm a princess!" She always is!

Sticky and sweet

2010-01-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when your big sister gets a donut, takes a bite or two out of it and then leaves it on the floor without mom knowing.

He is just so dang cute! He was very proud of himself and thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles (he actually didn't get very much besides the frosting and sprinkles into his mouth).

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-23T09:34:00.001-08:00

The last couple have weeks have been crazy busy with lots of fun Christmas stuff going on. We had 2 gingerbread house decorating parties (one with the Stephens side and one with the Blair side). My camera wasn't working for the first one and then the second one I couldn't find it until all the houses were already decorated and mostly eaten. I'll share some pictures anyway though.

Graham about to grab Michelle's Christmas tree. He was actually very soft with it and just wanted to discover how it felt.Maddy's gingerbread house.Miles' gingerbread house. (I don't have a picture of Hyrum's because he ate it too fast.)Graham just loves to be held. Aunt Becky loved holding him while deep in adult conversation. It's been so great to get to see Becky so much this holiday season!Savy and Miles pounding away on the piano. Savy loved being a little mommy to Miles and watching out for him and playing with him.

Then we went to Temple Square last sunday night to look at all the beautiful lights. I took some pictures there as well, but my battery died after not too long.

Hyrum and Maddy at the reflection pool. They thought the floating lights were pretty neat!Me and the boys (you can't see Graham as he's all bundled up in his carseat in the stroller).My wonderful family. I am so blessed! They all look red because they are standing next to a HUGE pine tree that is completely covered with red lights. Jay says this has been his favorite tree on Temple Square since he was a kid and that they've always put red lights on it.

And here are some cute pictures of Graham just because he's adorable. He's crawling all over the place now and I am constantly worried about the stairs. We'll have to get a gate up there soon! Oh, and Kara crocheted the cute hat!

His smile lights up the room! I love this little dude!

I could totally picture him thinking something along the lines of "what are you talking about crazy lady? I love you, but you are nuts".

Holy Moly

2009-11-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

Obviously blogging has not been a priority for me lately. Rather than try to catch you up on everything/anything or try to upload a ton of pictures, I'm just going to start from scratch... like I never missed a day blogging.

Thanksgiving was great. We got to go to Jay's oldest sister's house and spent most of the day eating way too much yummy food and hanging out with family. We went over to my parents' house for a couple hours after that and... ate some more. Like we were hungry, but what can you do when there's so much good food?

Hyrum is loving school and started asking me on Friday if he got to go to school tomorrow. He has a great teacher and is doing pretty good.

Maddy is doing great, too. She loves preschool and her teacher and she is learning so much. It's definitely worth the money to have a couple hours of peace and quiet (the girl is constantly talking) and to have her learn and love it so much. Her teacher was telling me that she is constantly talking about her brothers and what they do, so I'm glad that she doesn't mind being the only girl and loves her brothers.

Miles is finally starting to talk a little more and it seems like his vocabulary is increasing every day. Sometimes I have to decode what he is saying before I understand it, but here are the words I can remember that he says now: dinosaur, ear, eyes, hair, chin, spoon, fork, down, Mom, Dad, Dan, light, some too, no, more, thank you, drink, duck, blanky, go. I'm sure that there are more, but that's what I can remember for now.

Graham is getting up on his hands and knees constantly and rocks back and forth. No crawling yet, but I'm sure that will be coming very shortly (much to my dismay). He is so fun and his laugh always brightens my day.

I've still been baking up a storm... seems like whenever I have a free hour I end up in the kitchen making something sweet to satisfy my sweet tooth. Good thing I'm good with sharing!

I will try to be better about posting more often!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

2009-07-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so if you don't like super rich chocolate and peanut butter mixture then please do not make this cake as you will hate it. It turned out sooooo good! And I took a bigger piece than I could finish. The peanut butter cream cheese frosting adds so much to it and then the chocolate glaze over that just puts it over the top to die for. I got this new cake cook book called Sky High that is full of just three layered cakes. This recipe comes from that and I see much more cakes coming from it into our house (good thing my birthday is coming up... I'm excited for that cake, for sure!). So, here's the recipe for you... Enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into the kitchen aid bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and blend with the flat beater attachment in your kitchen aid. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl then add to the mixture and beat until well blended. Scrap down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks and let cool completely.

4. To frost the cake place on layer, flat side up, on large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup of the peanut butter frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

5. To decorate with the chocolate-peanut butter glaze, pour the glaze over the top of the cake ad spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drops. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minute to allow the glaze and frosting to set. Remove about 1 hour before serving.

Peanut Butter Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

5 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup smooth peanut butter

In a kitchen aid, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bown often. Continue to beat of medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I actually used chocolate chips and it worked great)

3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of a double broiler combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Melt on medium heat, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Chocolate Strawberry Cake

2009-07-06T21:10:00.001-07:00

Today was my little brother's 20th birthday and I have been hankering to make a cake, so I asked him if I could make his cake for him. He obliged and requested a chocolate strawberry one which I was more than happy to do for him.

I ended up making a double layer chocolate cake with strawberry filling and cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries sliced on top. It turned out absolutely wonderful.

The cake was very chocolatey (without being super sugary sweet) and had a great texture. This recipe is now my go-to chocolate cake recipe. I got all of the below recipes from http://www.smittenkitchen.com/. She didn't put it together the same way I did... but all the recipes are hers, which is awesome.

Chocolate Butter Cake
This made 9 inch round layers with a little left over

3 cups cake flour
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups fresh brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature (I actually used Postum, but I imagine Perro would work great, too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray with non-stick spray with flour added on 2 9-inch round cake pans.

In Kitchen Aid bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix on low speed until fully incorporated.

Add butter and buttermilk and mix until moistened. Put speed up to medium and beat for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl often to make sure there isn't any flour hiding unmixed.

Whisk together the eggs and coffee in a small bowl. Add to the batter in 3 seperate additions, scraping the sides of the bowl in between and mixing just until combined. Fill the 2 prepared pans halfway.

Bake for 38-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Carefully turn them onto wire racks and let cool completely.

Strawberry Filling

1 cup pureed strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon corn starch

In a small saucepan mix together all the ingredients on medium-high heat. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. Let it boil for a few minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool before spreading it between the cake layers.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until fluffy and smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

If you make this, let me know how it turned out for you. I will be definitely making it again and soon if I can help it!

Four weeks

2009-06-24T18:30:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe that four weeks ago today I was sitting in a hospital bed with my brand new baby Graham. It seems like with each additional kid I've had that the time speeds up a little more. I swear I was just going through this all for the first time with Hyrum. Now he's 6 years old and I am amazed at how much he is learning on a daily basis. I am really trying to treasure every moment with Graham as I know that he is already growing and changing faster than I can tell. I already can't imagine life without the little man. He is definitely a part of our family.

When Maddy looks at him or holds him she has started saying, "He's so cute! He's so darn, darn cute!" Hyrum and Maddy still ask to hold him all the time and I love that they are so interested and caring. Miles will pucker up his lips when he sees him passing by in my arms to give him a kiss on the head. I am still pleasantly surprised with how well Miles is doing and how gentle he is with him. And I am finally feeling like I can handle this whole four kids thing. Not that I'm going to be taking them all to the grocery store by myself anytime soon or anything, but I don't feel overwhelmed constantly anymore.

Today I went on a walk with my mom with all the kids (2 double strollers so all the kids are sitting and we are both pushing) and then let the kids play at the park for a while. It was a great mommy day! I just feel so happy and content and that days like today are the reason why I've wanted to be a mom my entire life. I've also decided that I need to start taking the kids out to do something fun once a week. My mom offered to come help whenever I wanted her to, so that will be nice so I don't feel like I can't do it by myself. I'm thinking anything around that's free (I'm open to suggestions) like a duck pond, BYU Art Museum, picnic, library, etc. And some not so free things too, of course like swimming at the pool, dollar theater movies, zoo, etc. I'm excited and think the kids will love getting out of the house and, heck, so will I! It's going to be a great summer!

Pajamas

2009-06-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday was one of my best friend's son's first birthday and I decided on Sunday that I was going to sew some pajamas for him for his present. I had everything besides the ribbing for the neck on hand (which was a grand total of $.54), so it was just my time that I needed to put into it. I am very happy with the end result (and they looked so cute on him). Even if it was attempt number two (never ever again will I try sewing with stretch knit!). I got these cut and completely sewn in one day. I was pretty impressed with myself. I do have to admit that I asked my mom to do the neck band since I was not ready to try to attempt anything with stretchy fabric again quite yet. She was so nice and did a great job and saved me lots of time, I'm sure. Anyway, here's the finished product...

I think I have enough of the fabric to make Miles a shirt, which I might do if I can get up the motivation next week.

Baking blog?

2009-06-07T23:19:00.001-07:00

So, it's no secret, I am not the best at updating my blog. I was talking with a friend and she suggested posting about my baking. So, I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'd love to hear what you (all 2 of my readers) think. I'm sure I'll still post the occassional picture of my cute kids (because, really, how can I resist?), but maybe this will give me the motivation to post more often. I absolutely love to bake and sharing recipes is a big part of that too.

So, I'm going to start this off with red velvet cupcakes (minus the red since I didn't have any food coloring on hand).

I thought they were pretty good, but next time I'm definitely going to make sure I have cream cheese on hand to make cream cheese frosting instead of butter cream which seemed a little too sweet for the mildness of the chocolate cake.

The cake itself was moist and a good texture though. I wish my kids would've appreciated that fact a little more as they would lick the frosting off and maaaaybe take one bite of the cake part. And the hubby didn't really care for the frosting with it, so ate a grand total of one.

Leaving me with the task of eating most of them myself. Not that I'm complaining TOO much, but it certainly doesn't help with getting back into my regular pants. Ah well... always another day to start dieting right? I can't remember where I got the recipe from... somewhere online, but I looked at too many different places to remember. This made 24 regular sized cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients -
2-1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour2 tablespoons Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder1 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Butter, softened

1-1/2 cups Granulated Sugar

2 Eggs

1-1/2 teaspoon Red Food Coloring

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 cup Buttermilk

2 tablespoons Water

1-1/2 teaspoons White Vinegar

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Place cupcake baking cups into muffin tin.

3. Combine all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a medium-mixing bowl.

4. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer. Butter mixture should be light and fluffy. Continue mixing and add in eggs, red food coloring, and vanilla extract until well blended.

5. Alternately add buttermilk and flour mixture to creamed butter mixture.

6. Mix water into cupcake mixture

7. Combine vinegar and baking soda, in a small bowl. Gradually stir vinegar mixture into cupcake batter.

8. Spoon cupcake batter into cupcake baking cups.

9. Bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

10. Remove cupcakes from muffin tin and cool completely before icing.

Graham's birth story

2009-05-29T16:24:00.001-07:00

So, a warning before you start reading this. It might be a bit graphic or too much information for some of you. So, if you don't want to know all the details of Graham being born, stop now. I promise I won't be offended in the least bit. Here goes.

Jay and I headed to the hospital for my induction at 12:00 midnight Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. The reasoning behind the time was to SLOWLY start me on pitocin and get my 4 hours of antibiotics for Strep B in before Graham was born. Anyway, my OBGYN had forgotten to schedule the induction AND the hospital had that he was on vacation from Wednesday until the end of the month and they couldn't induce me without doctor's orders. They almost sent us home, but I think my puppy dog eyes and huge pregnant belly got their sympathy and the nurse got the head nurse and she called my doctor and told him he would have to push back his vacation until after I had the baby since he had forgotten to schedule it. (Oh, and by the way, a huge part of the reason I had decided to be induced a week early was because he said he was going out of town the weekEND before my due date... not the entire last two weeks before my due date.) Anyway, the nurses were totally awesome and made it work out for me. I almost broke down and cried while we were waiting to hear what they were going to do. Anyway, about 12:30 they admitted me to the hospital and started my IV with antibiotics and pitocin. The contractions were very minimal in pain and Jay and I watched a couple movies (While You Were Sleeping, and started The Terminal). It was great to spend some time relaxed and with my husband with the exciting prospect of what was to come.

Every 30 minutes they upped the pitocin a little and by about 7:00 my pain level was still pretty minimal at a level between 2 and 3 (1 being none to little pain and 10 being completely unbearable). At 7:30 I had the highest level of pitocin going and they called the doctor to come break my water. There was some miconium in it, but since it was more yellow than green they weren't too worried. The nurse now (Darlene - the second nurse of the night) was hilarious and absolutely awesome. She warned me that the contractions were about to get very painful. And she was right! It seemed like with every couple contractions the pain level jumped up another number. Jay was absolutely wonderful and really listened to what I said was working to help me deal with the pain during contractions. He called my mom and she came and it was great to have her support as well. I really can not describe the amount of pain I was in by probably about 9:15 (things were sort of a blur during this part). They checked me and I was at 5 cm. That was when I decided that I wanted an epidural. Thinking I possibly had hours more of this much pain ahead of me was just not a possibility. My mom when out and got a nurse to tell her I wanted the epidural NOW. The anesthesiologist came and I can not believe how still I had to hold while he put the epidural in. It actually gave me some real focus though and knowing that getting it in would make it so I wouldn't feel the pain was enough motivation for me to just be able to do it. So, it took probably about 10 minutes to get the epidural in and the nurse checked me again and I was fully dialated to 10 cm! They gave me another dose in the epidural to try to get enough in so I wouldn't feel the pain so much. The nurse called my doctor and told me to try not to push until he got there. And my Mom remembered that we should call Kara to come (I had completely forgotten I was so wrapped up in the pain I was in). She got there as fast as she could and literally ran in the door as I was starting to push. The epidural barely was taking the edge off the pain when I was ready to push. I was grateful for that much at least though. Graham was posterior so with the first push the doctor turned him around. I pushed through three contractions (picture what those women in the movies are like having a baby... screaming and sweating and that was me) and Graham Taggart Blair was born. He had the cord wrapped around his neck and his body a few times and had breathed in the miconium. The doctor unwrapped him and cut the cord and the nurses cleaned him off and checked his vitals. He had fluid in his lungs still and was breathing too quickly, so I got to hold him for a few seconds and then they had to take him to the nursery and put some oxygen on him and give him some fluids via IV.

Graham weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces of absolute preciousness and was 19 1/2 inches long. He is my smallest baby by almost a pound. After being in the nursery for a couple hours he got to come back to me and we really bonded. He had some trouble nursing at first, but is now an expert nurser! I am so grateful for that.

The whole family has fallen absolutely in love with him. Today Graham was sleeping wrapped up in a blanket on my bed and Hyrum came and just watched him for at least 20 minutes in total awe. Maddy keeps wanting to hold him and makes sure he is always covered up. Miles is quickly learning to be soft and is always coming up and saying "baba" (AKA baby) and petting his head or pointing to his nose.

I'm really wanting to add pictures to this post, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully I don't forget.

Cleansing tears.

2009-05-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

So, back in January my Great Grandma passed away at 102 years old (actually a month away from her 103rd birthday). I found out, ironically enough, on our way to visit her. I cried a few tears when I innicially heard the news, but didn't shed a single tear during her veiwing or funeral. I was touched by those who spoke and knew I would miss her increadibly, but I just didn't feel the need to cry. Yet. Last night I sent my wonderful husband to the store to get some diapers and treats for Hyrum to take to class today. He also came home with a bag of Salt Water Taffy as a treat for us to eat. This is not normally something I buy since I am automatically drawn to anything with chocolate in it rather than, well, not. I was really excited though and turned on the season finale of Dancing With the Stars and dug in to the bag. Not moments later I was pausing the show as a wave of nostalgia hit me and the tears came unbidden pouring down my cheeks. You see, my Great Grandma always (and I mean always) had certain treats at her house for when kids (and, the not so little kids) would come visit. She had homemade fudge (my very favorite), salt water taffy, and hard candy (butterscotch and cinnamon), plus usually some kind of cookie.

So, I think the large majority of times I have eaten taffy before last night was sitting on my Grandma's couch while listening to her tell stories of times gone by and how she used to do things. I missed her more than I could put into words. I missed sitting on her lap and having her rub her calloused hand on my back under my shirt as a child. I missed her hugs and kisses and her telling me "I love you a bushel and a peck" and "Kid, you don't know what love is until you are as old as me". I missed her smell and her house and playing in her front yard. I missed sleeping on her floor on foam egg carton mattresses. I missed her asking if I wanted to borrow a nighty and getting to take a turn sleeping with her in her unusually high bed. I missed her standing in the driveway waving and blowing kisses as we pulled away. I just missed her.

I was talking to my Aunt about it a little bit and she said she thought that Grandma was holding little Graham's spirit in heaven right now (she used to absolutely love to hold the babies) and enjoying him before he came down to us. So, Graham, enjoy Grandma as much as you can for me before you come to join our family. And bring some of her love with you when you come.

Easter

2009-04-14T15:03:00.000-07:00

So, Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt with my family and since it was raining, we hid the eggs in the church's cultural hall. Which turned out great! The kids loved it and no one was wet or cold and no candy got ruined from the rain.

Miles was SO excited when we let all the kids in the gym. He immediately picked up an egg in each hand and ran around yelling "ooooh! oooh! oooh!". It was so dang cute! Although, he made it very hard to get a picture of since he was running around everywhere. Oh, and he would not let go of those first 2 eggs to pick up any more. Oh well, he's happy, I'm happy.

The bigger kids literally found all the eggs in about 10 minutes. They were very excited to go back to Grandma's house so they could open them all and find out what they got inside! Much sugar intake happened then. Talk about sugar rush! They were bouncing off the walls!

Then Sunday we went to church, of course. The kids got dressed in their Easter best and I had to take pictures before we left! I can't believe how big they are all getting!

Then, after church we went to my parents' house for lunch/dinner and hung out for a while. It was very relaxing and great to be with my family. I'm so blessed to have such a great family.

Today, we finally got around to dying some eggs. The kids LOVED it and I think they could have done a dozen each.They started with coloring the eggs with crayons (so, the dye wouldn't go where the crayon did). Two very focused children there.

Then they dipped them in their color of choice and after they dried the dye kit I bought had stickers for them to add which they absolutely loved! I think they turned out cute!

So, that pretty much wraps up Easter 2009 for us. Sorry for the picture overload!

Birthday and Anniversary

2009-03-31T10:49:00.000-07:00

So, the last week has been a little crazy. Lots of stuff going on and lots to do so this has really been my first chance to post.

Hyrum turned 6 years old on the 28th and Jay and I celebrated our 7 year Anniversary on the 29th. For Hyrum's birthday we invited all the family and the Frank's over for cake and ice cream on Sunday. It was great to have (almost) everyone here and Hyrum absolutely loved having all his cousins there to play with.

For presents he got a new PS2 game, Bolt, from Grandma and Grandpa Stephens, Uno and a light saber from the Henry's, a handmade library bag from Grammy Lemon, a notebook and some cool two-sided colored pencils from the Frank's, Playdough from the Turley's, a slide for the backyard from the Dave Blair family, Sour Patch Kids from the Kolz's, and we got him some new art supplies, a kite, and Pinocchio. He was so excited about all the presents and I was impressed with his manners and saying thank you to everyone with little help from me.

When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday he was adamant that he wanted a blueberry cake. I looked online for a possible recipe and almost all of them were more of a coffee cake than a birthday cake. So, I improvised. I used the same recipe I have for strawberry cake from scratch and substituted everything strawberry for blueberry. It turned out pretty good and was a very pretty blue color. Hyrum was really excited to have it be blue and I put a Spiderman stuck in his web on top for some fun. I also made chocolate cupcakes so we'd be sure to have enough cake for everyone.

He had an absolute blast and was talking about it still the next day. I'm so grateful we have family and friends. We are so blessed! Thanks everyone for coming and helping make Hyrum's birthday extra special!

I do want to take a quick minute here at the end and say how much I absolutely love my not-so-little oldest boy. He brings such joy in my life and amazes me with what he learns and knows and does every day. He adds so much to our family and I can't imagine it without him in it! I love you to the moon and back, Hyrum!

Control Freak

2009-03-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

So, I realize I'm a little bit of a control freak. Especially in the kitchen... especially when I'm baking. If Jay tries to hug and/or kiss me while I'm in the middle of baking something I have to try really hard not to get annoyed, but usually just try to brush him off and tell him I'm in the middle of something. My biggest pet peeve (which is unfortunate for my kids) is taking fingerfulls of batter of whatever I happen to be making while I'm still adding things to it. I've mostly put a stop to this by telling them if they don't sneak a taste they can have a spoonful at the end when it will taste the best anyway. And that seems to put the itchy fingers at bay for the most part. Tonight Maddy helped me make brownies from scratch (per Jay's request). She LOVES to help and as much as I'd rather just do it myself, I do enjoy the bonding moments and learning experiences for her. A lot of my best memories growing up are from baking in the kitchen with my mom and my older sister. So, I try to get the control freak part of me under, well, control and let my kids help me so they can have similar memories. Off to enjoy a fresh from the oven brownie!

Nightmares

2009-03-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

So, the last three nights in a row Hyrum has woken up crying from nightmares. I will go down and calm him down and lay with him to make sure he is settled in and can go back to sleep ok. Tonight when he woke up I was just headed to the bathroom, so I didn't make it down to his room as quickly as I usually would. When I made it down he asked if I heard him and said "calm me down, Mom." I do what I normally do to calm him down and talk to him and trace his face with my fingers (I remember my dad doing this to me when I was little and still love for him to do it). After he had calmed down some he said to me "I'm feeling better now, Mom because I'm thinking of you. When I think of you it makes me happy." He totally melted my heart! I sure do love that boy!

Guess who's four!

2009-02-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yep! I can hardly believe that Maddy is four years old today! She seemed confused when I talked to her about it after work (and, yes, we have been talking about this coming for WEEKS!). I guess since we aren't have her party until tomorrow that it doesn't count yet. Whenever I asked her what she wanted for her birthday she just would say, "a car" and that was it. You would think she'd want something a little more girly... or know that she's gotta wait another 12 years, at least, before she starts asking for a car.

So, I just want to take a minute here and say how blessed I feel to have Maddy as my daughter. I know it's a bit cheesey and cliche, but it's so true. I love that she has an opinion about EVERYTHING (yes, I even appreciate that when it is frustrating to me). I love that she loves pink. I love that she can hold her own among all the boys in the family. I love how smart she is and the way she tells me "remember, mom" when I forget something she hasn't. I love how excited she gets when I make her something girly (lately I've been sewing and crocheting-plus I made that flower clip she's wearing) and tells me she loves it and thanks me without any prompting - just because she is grateful. I love how Hyrum is her best friend and how she baby talks to Miles. I love how she excitedly yells "DADDY!" whenever Jay walks through the door. I love her hugs and kisses and then blowing kisses to me whenever I leave. I think I could go on and on about the things I love about Maddy, but I will stop here and suffice it to say that I love my Maddy-girl.

Bunny, fluffy bunny!

2009-02-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

I have been nesting today, it seems like. I've swept and mopped every floor available and Jay and I have been going through kids clothes today trying to see what all we have and found a ton of stuff for Maddy. Among them was this bunny costume and once she saw it she just had to put it on. Hyrum exclaimed, "Maddy, you like to eat carrots!" True enough, in fact.

Oh, and I have been uploading all my pictures a day to shuttercal. You can check it out here: http://www.shuttercal.com/calendar/Mestebla if you want.

Pay it Forward!

2009-01-26T18:54:00.000-08:00

Pay it Forward

Read closely...this is how it works...

The Rules

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

The snow is slowly melting.

2009-01-23T15:10:00.000-08:00

The weather today has been warmer than it has for a while. We actually got rain instead of snow earlier and the sun started to peek through the clouds. I had to make sure the kids got to play outside and enjoy it some. And, of course, I followed them out with my camera to snap a few shots. They were a little too busy and excited to really pose for me, but that's just fine with me! I love how this one turned out. Maddy's going to join Hyrum in the snowy sandbox.

IT'S A...

2009-01-20T10:22:00.000-08:00

BOY!

We had the big ultrasound this morning and everything looks healthy and he is growing great and he is most definitely a HE. It is finally feeling like it is settling in that I am going to have 3 boys and a girl. I had convinced myself that he was a girl. LOL! Anyway, we are excited to welcome him into our home and family and I can not wait to meet him! For his name we are thinking Graeme (or Graham... still are deciding on the spelling) Taggart Blair. He must be a very special spirit and very meant to be in our family for how he is coming and everything. I am excited to meet him and get to know his personality. My due date is still June 2 (but hopefully I'll go on my own a little before or be induced if not).

This is a picture of his arm. It is amazing to me how much he has grown since my last ultrasound only a month ago! The ultrasound tech said that he is about 7-8 inches long now.This is a picture of his boy "parts". No question of whether or not he's a boy!

During his ultrasound he kept opening and closing his mouth... it was so cute! It definitely made it seem more real to me.

Baby Clare

2009-01-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

So, today I am babysitting a friend's six month old daughter. I haven't seen her since she was a newborn and she seems so big now! She is just adorable and my favorite part is that she is tickelish! And her laugh is just to die for cute. Miles liked her quite a bit as long as I didn't walk away from him while I was holding her. It was quite humerous how mad he would get.

Rock and ROLL!

2009-01-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

So, after Hyrum took a shower this morning he told me he wanted (and I quote) "spikey rockin' roll hair". I figured, eh, once in a while, it was ok for him to go to school with crazy hair. He was SO excited when he looked in the mirror after I was done. And then he even struck a pose for me to take his picture. I have a lot of him grinning ear-to-ear, but this one was my very favorite that I took.

Watch out world! Here comes the next ROCK STAR!

365

2009-01-01T11:50:00.001-08:00

So, I am going to try this project of taking a picture a day for an entire year. I was going to do this kit that Creating Keepsakes (http://community.creatingkeepsakes.com/store/products/project_365_kit) put out, but it was sold out by the time I got my internet working this morning. I'm kinda bummed about that, but maybe I can just scrapbook it in the same way just using my own stuff that I already have (I certainly have enough to use). Anyway, I thought every once in a while I'd share the picture on the blog here. Keep me posting and sharing pictures. Here's the one I took today of Miles:After he had eaten a banana for breakfast, he was just crawling around and playing and I was eating my own breakfast and checking my email. I came in the room and he had somehow wriggled his right arm free of his shirt through his neck hole. I just could not help laughing and knew right away I had to take a picture! That's my silly little man!

Everyone have a happy new year!

100 Things

2008-12-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

My sister, Kara posted this on her blog and I thought it was kinda fun and since it's almost been a month since I've posted here, thought this was an easy way to do it now. The bolded things are what I've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo - I sing solos every night when I put my kids to bed. ;)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - well, it hasn't been exactly speeding, but fast enough, believe me.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved some one's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Pregnancy update and more.

2008-11-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

So, I had my first dr's appointment yesterday afternoon. Since I wasn't sure how far along I was, they did an ultrasound and I have to say that it finally feels really real. I guess I just couldn't really wrap my brain around the fact that I was pregnant again without any throwing up. Haha! Seeing the little bean and hearing the heartbeat brought it home for me for sure.

So, the baby's head is on the right side and then its body goes to the left. And I don't know if you can see the numbers, but it says that it measures 35.2 mm. To help you visualize how big that is it is 1.38 inches. That just seems so teeny to me! So, that means I am 10 weeks and 4 days pregnant today and puts my due date on June 2. I had originally thought it was a week later than that, so YAY! on shaving a week of the pregnancy!

In other news, Miles turned one year old on the 29th of October. I took a ton of pictures on his birthday and loved everything, (he got a new car seat from me and Jay, new pants and a cute book from the Henry's, a new baby Einstein movie... his fave! and an adorable monkey hat from Grandma and Grandpa Stephens) but I think this one is more exciting.

He just started to pull himself up to stand up all the way on the couch a day or two ago. He is SO proud of himself! Boy am I in trouble soon when he starts walking. LOL! Nah, I'm actually really excited for him. It'll be easier for him to keep up with his older brother and sister if he can walk. Plus, he's just so dang cute, it doesn't matter if he gets into stuff.

As I was taking Miles' picture Maddy was begging me to take hers, so I did.

This is her "pose" for the picture. She is so pretty, but why she's not smiling I'll never know!

Husband Tag

2008-10-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

Michelle tagged me, so here goes.

Rules: Each person has to answer questions about their sweetheart. At the end of your post tag 4 people, post their names and then go to their blogs and leave them a comment about the tag.

What is your husbands name? - Jay Russell Blair
How long have you been married? - 6 1/2 years
How long did you date? - We didn't really date. We hung out A LOT as friends and sort of got engaged overnight.
How old is he? - 30. He's 5 1/2 years older than me. :)
Who eats sweets? - We both do! I probably have the bigger sweet tooth out of the two of us though.
Who said I Love You first? - Um, I want to say he did, but I can't remember for sure.
Who is taller? - Jay is taller by about 5 or 6 inches. I think I am the shortest of my family so I could marry a Blair.
Who can sing best? - Definitely Jay! He has a great singing voice.
Who is smarter? - Jay! He knows all sorts of stuff I would never remember.
Who does the laundry? - It's about half and half. Lately, Jay has been doing it more. He's great that way!
Who pays the bills? - Jay does 90% of the time.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? - Jay does.
Who mows the lawn? Jay, unless I get an exercise kick in when Jay's going to... then I'll usually mow either the front or back and Jay will do the other.
Who cooks dinner? About half the time each of us does.
Who drives? - Oh, definitely Jay. I hate driving with other adults in the car and I'm too self concious.
Who is first to admit they are wrong? - I don't think either of us has issues with that sort of thing. We're pretty good about realizing when we're wrong.
Who kissed who first? - He kissed me, but I think I nudged him along to get there. ;)
Who asked who out first? - Hm, good question. We hung out a lot as friends, so no one was asking anyone out really. I'm sure he asked me if I wanted to go on our first real date though.
Who wears the pants? - We both wear pants except on Sundays. Oh, that's not what you meant?

I tag Kara, Clarice, Beth, and Tricia.

Positive.

2008-10-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's what you think it is. And yes, two lines means positive.

I'm not exactly sure when I'm due since we weren't trying and I wasn't paying attention to when my last period started, but it is probably the beginning part of June. I found out 2 weeks and 2 days ago. We're excited to be adding another bundle of joy to our family!

Hyrum brag

2008-10-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

So, last week I had a parent/teacher conference with Hyrum's teacher (who is just fantastic by the way) and she said he is doing really well. The first thing she had to say about him had to do with his folder that he colored. If you know Hyrum at all you know he LOVES to color/draw/paint/etc. Well, here is his folder:His teacher showed me some of the other children's folders and commented on how bold and bright his is and how every space was filled with color. She then told me a story about Eric Carle, the author of the books "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?". How when he was in preschool his teacher noticed his impressive artwork, hung it up all over the walls when his mom came to parent/teacher conference and asked what she thought of the art display which her reply was that she thought it was great and asked who did them all. She was pretty surprised that they were all done by her son. Anyway, I guess she was saying she has noticed the same kind of thing with Hyrum, which is no news to me. He is also doing great with uppercase and lowercase letters and sounds and with his numbers. He needs more work on not talking out of turn (as do most kindergarteners, I think), but he does really well with listening and following directions. He still has a hard time memorizing things like his phone number and address, but we're working on it. He can even sound out some short words! Oh, and when his teacher asked him what he could do to help the class he said "I will lov [love]". So very Hyrum! :) Anyway, I think that's all I can really remember, but I'm so proud of how well he is doing in school and how quickly he is learning.

6 inches later

2008-10-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

So, last night Maddy decided to cut a few of her lovely long locks off. So, today meant Aunt Beth got to come fix it. Luckily, Maddy didn't cut it too short or too much, but it was definitely enough to need a new do. So, this was her this morning. (Don't ask about the tongue... I don't know.) This is right after her hair cut. She was really good for Aunt Beth and I was amazed that Beth said she was cutting 6 inches off. (That's 2 inches of hair a year that she's been alive!)
And then here she is with Aunt Beth. Two beautiful girls! Beth styled it for Maddy and it is SO CUTE! I don't think this will be a daily occurance, but I think it will be really cute air dried too. She looks so much older to me somehow... so grown up! And I'm happy to say that it is staying out of her face for the most part (which was getting to be a problem with her long hair). As cute as I think her new haircut is, I hope Maddy has learned her lesson and keeps the scissors away from her hair from now on!

And we officially have a crawler!

2008-09-25T09:14:00.001-07:00

He is four days away from being 11 months old and he started crawling (versus scooting/army crawling) just this week. It is SO cute! I have to say that he is already getting into more stuff than he was before and is pulling himself up on the fireplace to get to toys that the older kids leave there. He'll be walking before I know it! It's so exciting to see him reach these milestones and be excited about it himself. If he catches you watching him crawl he will get this look on his face that just shows how proud of himself he is. Hehe! Love it!

Photoshoot

2008-07-30T11:14:00.001-07:00

So, Kara took pictures for me yesterday and as much as I was hoping to get some good family pictures, Maddy threw a royal fit and would not cooperate in the tiniest bit. Turned out she was over tired. I will be trying again for family pictures on a day that I make sure she takes a nice long nap beforehand. Kara did get some great ones of everyone else though! I wanted to get some pictures of Jay and I since I'm going to take a class to make a mini album of an "Us" album and wanted some recent pictures to put in it. It's so hard to pick between all these great pictures, so if you just skip over them real quick, I understand! These are my favorites... I think!
Baby toes!

Max explaining to Hyrum that both of their eyes are blue. :)

Family toes! We love bare feet in the Blair family.

I love the faded color in this one.

My boys!

This one of Miles just makes me smile. I love his round belly, light skin, and curled toes!

And some pictures of me that I actually LIKE when I'm not pregnant!

Now I bet you all wish you had a sister as talented as mine!

Interesting observation at the park

2008-07-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

So, last night we went to the park for about an hour and after sitting down on a bench with Jay and Miles and finding where the other two kiddos had darted off to, I noticed a couple who were sitting in the grass who happened to be midgets. I pointed them out (not actually pointing my finger, of course) to Jay and said that it was pretty unusual. Jay's response was that he didn't even notice them. They had a boy probably about 4 years old playing at the park and the dad would get up and watch or help when called for/needed. A while later they had gotten up and moved to the side of the park where I was sitting (Jay had been called by one of the kids to look at the huge gross beetles that were everywhere in the wood pieces at the park) and a kid who couldn't have been much older than Hyrum (I'd guess about 6) oogled at the woman and then ran off to tell his friends, who happened to be a couple feet behind me at the water fountain, "hey guys, this lady is really short! You've gotta come look at her!" And then she had five 6-year-olds staring at her. She just smiled at them sweetly... I can't say I would have had the same reaction. I was a little miffed and shook my head at their reaction. About 3 minutes after the group of boys had decided she wasn't going to start doing anything interesting left Hyrum told me about the beetles and then went back to look at them and then shouted over his shoulder to the man midget that there were lots of beetles over here (I'm guessing he had talked to him earlier a bit since he sounded like he was familiar with him). The man just replied something about how that was cool and Hyrum grinned in satisfaction. I guess I'm mostly posting this to brag a little on Hyrum. He is definitely one to notice differences (he later told me about the short man as he was getting ready to get in bed) but he just doesn't make that big of a deal about it -- it doesn't really matter. I wish I could claim that as good parenting, but I don't think I've had a whole lot to do with it.

Sink Bath

2008-07-28T12:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after lunch Miles was pretty messy and sticky, so I plopped him in the sink to give him a quick sink bath... he seemed to really like it! I had Jay grab the camera and take some pictures and they are just too cute not to share.

He is getting so dang big! He is so fun (although still teething) and he makes my heart happy. Always one to be ready for a smile and the slightest reason to. He's 9 months old tomorrow! Time surely flies!

Memory "Tag"

2008-07-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember that maybe brings a smile to your face!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It will be fun to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you are playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-07T11:20:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty good 4th of July. Kara and David and their kids came over and we had a barbeque dinner and just hung out and chatted. The kids had a lot of fun playing together (as always) and the adults enjoyed talking. Saturday there was a neighborhood barbeque and we ate yummy food and then watched fireworks once it got dark. Maddy was kinda scared of them (better than last year though) and had her hands over her ears and on my lap the whole time. Hyrum absolutely LOVED them! He was laughing like a maniac the entire time. He really cracks me up! Here are some pictures I got of the kids while they were in the backyard.

Maddy totally struck a pose it was so cute! She is getting to love the camera, I think.

Hyrum actually kneeled down and put a hand on his knee when I told him I wanted to take his picture.

I think I'm training them well. *wink*

Miles is now 8 months old and sitting on his own for a few minutes at a time.

I can't believe how big he's getting! He LOVES food and it seems like he is always eating something or wanting to eat.

He just melts my heart on a regular basis.

First word!

2008-06-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Miles said his first word twice yesterday! It's so exciting that he is growing up so much. Despite my many efforts to get him to say mama first his first word was Dada. Good thing he is so cute and I have no doubts that he likes his Mama, too. It's so sweet to hear his little voice say an actual word. I can't wait to watch him discover the world around him.

Great weekend!

2008-05-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Jay and I had a great long weekend. We both had monday off, so that was a nice treat. We went out to lunch at Zupas (YUM!) and then went and saw Horton Hears a Who at the dollar theater with the kids. It was a cute movie and the kids behaved perfectly. We later had my parents over for pizza with us. It was fun to just hang out for a bit and eat some yummy food (that I didn't have to make). I'm so blessed to have such wonderful parents.

The highlight of the weekend for me was Saturday afternoon... When Jay got back from what I thought was just running to the bank and surprised me with a new lens for my camera! I've been wanting a 50mm fixed lens for a long time, but couldn't ever justify the price tag. I have such a great husband! He said that I work hard and deserve it... and that he knew it was something I wouldn't ever buy for myself. Soooo, I played with it quite a bit on Saturday and WOW! I LOVE IT! It makes a world of difference in the pictures I take. Jay played with it some too. :) The first two are ones I took and the second two are ones that Jay took. I have to say, I think I like his pictures better! I need to be more creative with my picture taking.

Hello, hottie! Love this picture of Jay!

Maddy Jane is such a pretty girl!

I love that Hyrum has his hands in his pockets... such a Hyrum thing! And I love the angle of this.

And I don't know if you can see it here, but there is a bee on one of the flowers on the right. SO COOL that Jay caught that! Not to mention the awesome colors!

The Host

2008-05-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

So, I started out slowly and thinking I could stretch reading this book over a couple weeks or so. I was doing well until yesterday morning when I picked up the book to read while the kids watched a couple morning cartoons. And that is when I got completely sucked in. Stephenie Meyer does such a good job with getting you to really love the characters in her books. I finished the book yesterday with cringing when I looked at the clock and saw that it was 2:00 and realizing that I must stop reading to feed myself and my children (by the way, they didn't complain at all about being hungry). I don't think I even got dressed until about 1:00 and that was because Jay gets off at 1:30 and I didn't want him to think that I didn't get dressed because I was too busy reading. Not that he would really care that much. Anyway, good book! Loved the ending and have been thinking about the book and characters all day today. If you liked the Twilight books at all, then you must read this. It is more of an adult novel because it is kind of more serious and -- not really scary, but I can't find the right word that I'm wanting to use -- graphic maybe? Anyway, you must go buy this or borrow it from someone you know and read! And then, when you are done, call me, because I would love to talk to you about it. And now I'm really wanting the Twilight series' fourth book to read!

Well, at least I got to sleep lots.

2008-05-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday was mother's day... Happy Mother's Day to all those wonderful mothers I know out there! I got Dance Dance Revolution as my gift (YAY! Thanks, Jay!). We went and got it on saturday and I couldn't wait to play it (yes, I felt like a little kid excited to play my new game hehe) so we opened it as soon as we got home and played for about a half hour. Whew! I was tired the rest of the night! Turns out it was a good thing I played it some on saturday as I woke up about 4:30 that morning sicker than sick. The kids had all had some nasty bug and I guess I didn't get to escape it either. I felt horrid for most of sunday and then was just feeling very weak until this morning. I think I probably slept more than I was awake yesterday. Right when I thought I was done sleeping, Jay took the older two kids with him to have a potluck dinner with his family and Miles fell asleep. My head hurt, so I laid down and was surprised to wake up two hours later not even realizing I had fallen asleep again. Good thing is that it seemed to be a 12 hour bug, so other than feeling hungrier than ever and my stomach muscles feeling a little sore, I feel perfectly normal. Jay got sick last night/this morning, so now everyone here has had it and we are DONE with it for good! It was awful and I hope no one else got sick from us. Hopefully, everyone else's mother's day was a bit less, well, painful than mine.

Exercise.

2008-05-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

I walked/ran (mostly speed walked) on the treadmill on tuesday and went 2 miles in 40 minutes. I thought that was pretty good... until I was talking to my family yesterday about it. Apparently, that is pretty slow. So, I tried stepping it up today and mostly ran and wore myself out pretty quickly. I did go 1 mile is 16 minutes, but felt like I might puke by the end of it. I am going to DIE in the relay race we are going to do in about 10 days (I think?)! I think on saturday I'm going to go outside and see if I can find my rhythm easier when not forced to go a certain speed on the treadmill. I can not believe I liked to run a couple years ago. Was I temporarily insane???

For the record...

2008-05-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

In case anyone was curious and didn't have the guts that two Archiver's customers (within the last 2 1/2 months) have had to ask, I am most definitely not pregnant. Yep, I have now been asked twice when my baby is due when I was at work. I'm just carrying some extra weight, not a fetus that I haven't been motivated to exercise off. Apart from being a rude question, I have to admit, I can't blame them too much from asking. And now thanks to those two ladies, I am NOW motivated! I usually hesitate to actually say anything about exercising, especially in such a public way because then if I fall off the band wagon and I complain about wanting to lose weight, then I've got a myriad of people to remind me what I said I was going to do and failed at. I actually called my mom tonight to vent a bit and to get an exercise buddy. With both of us working and Jay working early in the morning, it might be a little difficult to come up with a time that we can work out together, but I think we can do it. We discussed that Kara got a Dance Dance Revolution for her Mother's Day present early and that I'd see what Jay thought about me getting a computer version for me and she would buy a pad so we could do it together. I've actually wanted to get one, but haven't made it a priority. I think it would be a great, fun way to get exercise! If it doesn't work out, I can always go on the treadmill downstairs... it's just not as exciting. Anyway, wish me luck! I am wanting to be able to fit into my capris soon! :)

The green green grass

2008-04-30T11:59:00.001-07:00

Oh, and that adorable little boy sitting in it! I took Miles out in our back yard to take some 6 month pictures of him (crazy that he's already 6 months!) and he was enthralled with the grass. He would NOT smile at me and when he'd look at me, it was usually with an expression like he was saying, "can't you see I'm a little busy figuring out this green stuff, Mom???"

He is starting to sit up more on his own. We keep practicing anyway.

Usually he ends up looking like this next picture after not too long.

The poor guy is squishing his little buddha belly. Hehe. He was mad at me when I made him come back inside. I can see he's going to fit right in with his big bro and sis in no time playing outside all the time.

Great Giveaways!

2008-04-27T20:24:00.001-07:00

So, my friend, Steffani called me tonight to let me know about this site that is doing some great giveaways! One of them is a free printer... how cool! I think it's been 2 1/2 years or so since I've actually owned and used a workable printer. I would love to win this! And if I don't win, I'd love for YOU to win it, so go enter! You just need to go here: http://www.5minutesformom.com/3329/mothersday2008/ and do what they say. Good luck!

Happy Birthday, Babe!

2008-04-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Today is my hubby's 30th birthday. As the day closes on the end, I couldn't have asked for things to go better. I have been planning in my head for over a month a surprise party for Jay tonight.

Amazingly enough, I was convincing in my lies of going to work and him having to be home with the kiddos the night of his birthday. Not to mention many many deceptions I told him to be able to get ready for it. Going shoe shopping with my mom (AKA buying decorations for the party), being the new church building coordinator (AKA I didn't take out the paper for the rules for reserving the church out of the diaper bag before he could find them), telling him the kids must've gotten into the postage stamps and used them as stickers when he found the empty stamps backing left on the computer desk (AKA I am not very good about cleaning up after myself... apparently especially when I send out b-day invitations) are the first ones that come to mind. It was all worth it when Jay walked into the gym and the lights magically (wink) turned on and his loved ones yelled "SURPRISE" and he looked scared then happier than I think I've seen him since our wedding day once the reality set in. Thanks to my BIL, Dave, we got it all on video.

Anyway, it was just a great party and I didn't plan any games and didn't even have any music on. Everyone just sat and chatted and Jay's siblings and mom put together a little bit of a scrapbook of pictures of Jay growing up and wrote to him. I think what made it the best is that Jay thought he'd have to be home with the kids while I worked until midnight tonight and was really bummed about it, but had come to terms with it and had made "plans" to hang out with one of his brothers right after he helped my dad move a piano at the church. Best time he's ever had moving a piano! Hehe.

So, happy birthday, Jay! You are my favorite person in the world and I love you more than anything. You are the greatest father I could ask for to our children and the most loving and unselfish husband. I love you!

PS. I'll post pictures of the awesomeness of a cake that my bestest sister ever made and various other ones at a later date.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

2008-04-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hyrum just loves his halloween costume and puts it on on a regular basis. Today he and Maddy were watching "A Bee Movie" and I walked in to check on them and I found Hyrum like that, asleep. I had to grab the camera! He totally cracks me up! I have no idea how he can sleep like that or be comfortable enough to even fall asleep, but there you have it. Maybe if he would sleep past 7:00 in the morning he wouldn't get so tired. LOL! Here are some pics of the other two... just because I had the camera out and Maddy wanted her turn in front of the camera (even though she never cooperates when I actually am taking pictures of her) and Miles is just too cute not to take pictures of! He is rolling over all the time now from his back to his tummy... then he gets frustrated and tired of holding his head up. I definitely do not want him to crawl anytime soon yet though!

Can you believe that Miles is almost 6 months old?! When did that happen? He looks so old to me in that picture.

Tagged!

2008-04-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Amber Wolf (www.jawolffamily.blogspot.com) tagged me forever ago and I'm just getting around to doing it on my blog.

A- Attached or single: Definitely attached.

B- Best Friend: My hubby, Jay.

C- Cake or pie: Cake! YUM!

D- Day of choice: Saturday... Jay is home and no obligations, usually.

E- Essential item: Chocolate and Dr Pepper!

F- Favorite color: Pink.

G- Gummy bears or worms: Bears, but I probably wouldn't turn down either.

H- Hometown: Orem, UT

I- Indulgences: I have a major sweet tooth that I don't keep under control very well, so I guess that could be an indulgence.

J- January or July: July... as long as there is AC.

K- Kids: 3- Hyrum (5), Maddy (3), Miles (5 months)

L- Life is not complete without: Family.

M- Marriage date: March 29, 2002 (6 years!)

N- Number of siblings: 3- Kara, Jake, and Ty

O- Oranges or apples: Apples, I don't like peeling oranges.

P- Phobias or fears: Being completely alone.

Q- Quotes: All that I am or ever hope to be I owe to my angel mother. -Abraham Lincoln

R- Reason to smile: The pure laughter of children!

S- Season: SPRING!

T- Tag three friends: Jay, Kara, Tammy.

U- Unknown fact about me: I sing off-key unless there is someone singing with me. I sing to the radio anyway!

V- Very favorite store: Archiver's!

W- Worst habit: Grinding my teeth at night when I'm stressed and emotional eating.

X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Seeing as I've only had ultrasounds, I'll go with that one.

Y- Your favorite food: Oh, there is no way I could pick just one... anything I don't have to cook myself?

Z- Zodiac: Leo

For Sale?

2008-04-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

My nephew, Maxton, who is 4 1/2 called me on the phone today and timidly asked if I would buy him. After much laughter and realizing he was serious I told him I didn't have enough money to buy him. He seemed quite disappointed. My guess is that he was mad at mom and dad for something or another (you know how 4 year olds can be) and wanted out of the deal. Kids can be so silly!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of my kids before we went to church today. I'd like to know when they all got so dang big!

Haircut

2008-03-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

So, I wasn't really feeling like I HAD to cut my hair... I was just going to get a trim... then I saw a picture of a woman with hair that I thought was really cute and that I might be able to pull off.

So, of course, mine isn't exactly like that. My sister-in-law, Beth, is awesome and does my hair. I still couldn't decide if I should just get a trim or go all the way. She saw the picture above and told me to go for it. So, I did!

I have to say that I love it! Although, I think it makes me look younger, but I suppose that's not a bad thing.

It feels great and so light! I keep touching it because it feels so short! LOL! I think a lot of people will be surprised the next time they see me. Anyway, we are off to the store, but I just thought I'd share real quick.

Balance

2008-03-03T21:58:00.000-08:00

Balance in life is something that I have found is a necessity for me and my happiness. I went back to work about 3 weeks ago at a scrapbooking store in the mall (Archiver's). I worked there before I got pregnant with Miles and a job and schedule change for Jay meant that I needed to quit. I was sort of burnt out with the manager that was there anyway. So, this job has really helped me have the balance in my life that I need. I felt like I was being swallowed up by the identity of Mommy. Now, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love being a mom and adore my children. I love spending time with each and every one of them. It felt to me like my entire life was just about them (cleaning up messes, changing diapers, feeding, dealing with accidents in underwear, cleaning up messes, did I mention cleaning up messes??? even my hobby (scrapbooking) revolves around them). I almost felt like I was losing myself and who I was to become just Mommy. I would spend almost all my time that I wasn't taking care of one of them on the computer IMing with other scrapbookers who are states away or reading blogs of some people I have never even met (most I have ;) ). Pretty much just trying to escape. So, Jay would come home from work and the house would be a mess because I would just run out of motivation to clean it again and he would clean it. Anyway, I started to slip into depression and getting a job seemed exciting and a way for me to A) contribute to the family's income B) get some serious adult interaction without kids around and C) Jay to get some one-on-one time with the kids (not that he didn't do that before, but this was just a little extra bonus). So, I guess my point is that I have found balance and I finally feel like I am happy more than I'm not happy.

Miles rolled over!

2008-02-29T08:51:00.000-08:00

He is exactly four months old today and when I went to put him on his tummy to get pictures of him, he rolled over onto his back! Hyrum and Maddy both flipped out a little and laughed and laughed! Then wanted him to do it again. (silly kids) So, I flipped him on his tummy again and he went right over to his back. I went to call Jay to let him know... left a message on his phone, and grabbed the camcorder. He did it again for the camera! I don't even know for sure how to get video off our camera let alone make it so I can post on here, but if Jay or I can figure it out, I will put it on here for you all to see. My baby boy is getting big!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Maddy!

2008-02-22T14:37:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday was Maddy's third birthday. She shares it with her name sake (my great grandma) who is 99 years older than her (which means she turned 102 yesterday). We went to Ogden to celebrate her birthday with family. Here are some pictures I took there.

Grandma just loves to hold the babies! Here she is with Miles (one of the very first things we did when we got there is let her hold him).

The two birthday girls! Madolin Jane Ball Jensen and Madolin Jane Blair. :)

Some of the great great grandkids helped Grandma Jensen blow out her candles.

They had a cake for Maddy too. Here she is blowing out the candles on her cake.

And that spells...

2008-02-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

So, Maddy surprised me a few weeks ago by spelling out D-O-R-A after getting her Dora shoes on (they are on the bottom of them). Since then she has been a super speller! It really surprises me. And I can take no credit what-so-ever for it. Just a few minutes ago I heard her spelling something out and went to look what she was looking at. Jay has a poster on his dream board of some fancy shmancy car (not sure what one it is... sorry sweetie) and at the bottom it says in all capital letters "AN AMERICAN REVOLUTION". So, Maddy proceeds to point out each letter and then looks at me and says very matter of factly, "that spells car". Cracks me up that she would think that aaaall those letters spell out CAR. Anyway, my girlie is just so smart! And funny to boot. We've got to run to church, but I thought I'd post this while I was thinking of it.

As the mom of 3 kids...

2008-02-09T14:33:00.001-08:00

I will be the first to tell you that being a mom is not easy. Especially with them all under five years old. The fighting, the whining, the late night feedings, the drawing on walls... It is all worth it at moments like I just witnessed. After it being very apparent that Maddy actually needed a nap today (I thought she might not take one since she got a hold of my Dr Pepper today without me knowing and drank quite a bit of it) she was mad at me (something that happens quite a bit with her and I'm guessing will not stop until she has children of her own) and asked for Hyrum. I thought maybe she just wanted a kiss from him. He came in, blew her a kiss, and started to leave and she called for him back. She asked him to sing to her and he asked what she wanted him to sing. Twinkle twinkle little star (of course). Hyrum proceeds to look into her eyes and sing the whole song and they both were smiling such sweet smiles. After he finished Maddy said, "thank you, Hyrum. I love you." And Hyrum responds with, "I love you, too, Maddy. You're my favorite." Talk about melting my heart! Sure makes the hard times worth it to see something like that transpire between my kids.

3 months!

2008-01-28T11:47:00.000-08:00

Wow... time just flies! I can hardly believe my baby is three months old tomorrow. Miles is SUCH a happy baby... I even started calling him Smiles every once in a while. It's interesting because from the moment I first held him and he looked into my eyes I have thought that he is wise. He already has a way with people to make their best side come out and to melt the walls away. Every once in a while I think I catch a glimpse of the man he will some day be... what he will look like and his personality. It is such an amazing experience to watch a life unfold from being a brand new baby to getting a little bigger and I know his personality will just shine through more and more each time I look at him. I'm proud to be called his Mother. I'll leave you with this picture I took of him earlier today.

PS. He was smiling at his Daddy right here. :)

Maddy's first haircut.

2008-01-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

And, no, she didn't do it herself, thank goodness! LOL! Jay's sister, Beth who does hair for a living came over today and cut Maddy's hair for the first time. Maddy was SO excited and kept giggling during the whole time. She did pretty good and Beth is just awesome! She was so ready for her sucker at the end though.

Here is Maddy before getting her hair cut:

During her haircut:

After her haircut with Aunt Beth:

After her haircut by herself:

2 months old and Great Grandma Jensen.

2007-12-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

So, Miles turned two months old yesterday, December 29th. It seems like all of a sudden he is really interested in everything around him and noticing more and more. From the time he was born it seemed like he was just taking everything in, but that has increased tenfold now. I can tell he is going to be one that doesn't miss a thing.

Christmas was great this year! The kids were so much fun and SO excited to open their presents! They were all really good about taking turns opening them too. We all slept over and Grandma and Grandpa Stephens' house and the Henry kids woke up about 7:00 and Maddy heard people and woke up, but I had to wake Hyrum up. After we opened presents and had breakfast, we all got dressed and headed to Ogden to visit my Great Grandma Jensen. She is 101 (102 in February) and still going pretty strong. This was her first time meeting Miles. She seems to have such a connection when the babies are young, so the first meeting is always so special. When she held Miles she talked to him almost the whole time and one of the things she always says is "you'll never know how much I love you." Miles was just staring at her the entire time like he was listening to every word she was saying and soaking it in. It was so, so sweet.

I am so blessed to have so much family that loves me.

One of the things that Jay gave me for Christmas is a book called The Five People You Meet In Heaven. I am almost done with it and if you haven't read it before, I would highly recommend it. Such a good book! Very thought provoking for me.

I hope you all had a great Christmas and have a good New Year. We are going to go to Logan for New Year's Eve and spend a couple days at my Aunt Angie's house. I'll have to try to remember to take some pictures while I'm there since it is always so much fun when we visit her!

Hyrum funnies.

2007-12-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

So, I just thought I'd post some funny things Hyrum has said lately so I don't forget. (Cuz, ya know, I want to scrapbook them later, but I'll forget about it when I actually sit down to do it.) Lately, when we are in the car he will ask where we are going and Jay responds with "crazy. wanna come?" Hyrum just thinks it's hilarious and now if I ask him where we are going he'll say "crazy" and starts giggling. So. dang. funny.

Another thing that just cracked me up is the other day (I think two days after Christmas) Hyrum wanted me to open one of his dinosaurs he got. Well, you know how packaging is... everything is super wired to the box. While I'm working on cutting the hundreds of wires Hyrum triumphantly proclaims, "SET THEM FREEEE!" Bwahahaha! Free, indeed! Free to the hands of a 4 1/2 and 2 1/2 year old. Good luck there, brontosaurus, with that freedom thing. Unless maybe by freedom he meant flying from the top of the stairs just to land with a thud at the bottom of them.

So, in case you couldn't tell, I'm in a really good mood right now. Not sure why exactly. My two older kids have stripped completely nude and are vewwwwy quietly running around so I don't see them. So, all I hear is *whisper whisper*, *pitter patter*, *whisper*, *giggle*, *pitter patter pitter*... I need to give them baths, but haven't quite yet and frankly, I'm enjoying them trying to be stealth. Well, Miles just let off a stink bomb in his diaper... he is exactly 2 months old today, by the way. Where DOES the time go??? I plan to take some pictures of him today after his tylenol kicks in (he had shots yesterday and is still feeling the aftermath from that) and I'll try to post some later. Peace out, ya'll (or something like that).

My poor babies.

2007-12-28T15:29:00.000-08:00

Today I had to take Maddy and Miles to the doctor for their well check-up. Which means shots for both of them. Miles had to get four and Maddy had to get one. Miles was a trooper and only cried when I woke him up for a minute and when he was getting his shots (he stopped as soon as they were over with). Maddy on the other hand started crying as soon as I tried to get her undressed. She is pretty shy when it comes to talking to people, so I guess she really didn't like the idea of someone she didn't know touching her. I had to hold her down while the nurse measured her length and while the doctor checked her ears, throat, tummy, etc. It totally broke my heart. After she clung to me like I was her life line and she still had to get a shot. Poor thing was not a happy camper. After that, she just asked for Daddy. :( I wish I could have taken her to him. She fell asleep on the short drive home and two hours later is still sound asleep in her bed. I hope she won't be mad at me when she wakes up.

So, the stats on those two... Miles weighs 12.19 pounds which is the 63% for his age and is 21.5 inches long which is in the 6% for his age. I guess you could say he's a bit short and chubby. Hehe. Chubby babies make me happy. Maddy weighs 31.2 pounds which is the 63% for her age and 37 inches tall which is the 53%. Apparently she is supposed to be 5'8" when she grows up since she was 35 inches at 2 years old and that is when you are supposed to double it to see how tall they are supposed to grow to. The girl will be 6 inches taller than me if that is true. :)

Smiles!

2007-12-18T14:20:00.000-08:00

Miles smiled at me for real (as in looked at me and grinned... not just randomly or in his seep) yesterday afternoon (right at 7 weeks old). I spent quite a bit of time after that trying to coax another smile from him. It didn't happen until just a few minutes ago. Talk about making my heart melt! I will try again tomorrow and see if I can maybe get Jay to get a picture of it. He's still pretty unpredictable with it, obviously, but it's worth a try to capture it on camera.

Lots and lots of pictures.

2007-12-15T09:14:00.001-08:00

Since I haven't written in quite a while, I will just update you all the best way possible... with pictures of my kids! I promise to just write a little blurb about each one. Enjoy!

December 1st we got our first real snowfall. Of course, the kids HAD to build a snowman with Grandma Stephens. Hyrum loved trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

Miles was blessed on December 2nd. Such a wonderful day surrounded by loved ones! I love how he is sorta smiling in this picture (smiling is still something that doesn't happen for any reason that I know of besides maybe he's just happy... I can't coax one out of him yet).

We were going to go to the store and Maddy disappeared for a few minutes and came back like this saying she was ready. What a little diva! Complete with sunglasses, necklace, and purse.

We made Christmas sugar cookies on Dec. 8th with the Henry's. We tried something new this year and the kids painted the sugar cookies with an egg yolk wash colored with food coloring instead of piling candy on. They turned out pretty and yummy!

This is the digital Christmas card I made and printed out in a 4x6 to send everyone. Kara took the picture (she is awesome!). I love my family!

Miles is so strong! I put him on his tummy with the boppy (nursing pillow) under him to give him a little more leverage and he holds his head up so well and is happy for 5-10 minutes to just look around. Then he gets really upset and tired. LOL! (Picture taken Dec. 14)

Delayed gratification

2007-11-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

Maddy is getting quite the lesson (multiple times) in delayed gratification. Like, right now, I am nursing Miles (and typing one handed, thankyouverymuch) and she keeps asking (more like whining) for juice. I keep explaining to her that I can't get her any juice right now because I'm feeding Miles. To which she usually walks out of the room, turns around, comes back to me and asks for some juice. Because you know, I just might not have really understood the first two or three dozen times she asked me for some that she meant that she wants. some. JUICE! Oh, and once or twice she threw in that she would like some rice too. OKAAAAY? Finally, she will get distracted by something else. This particular time it was bringing me her toothbrush and the spongebob toothpaste for me to prep for her so she can suck the toothpaste off and then chew on the bristles of the toothbrush. That's really how you get your teeth clean, in case you didn't know. Anyway, I guess this is the Lord's way of answering my prayers to have patience because I have certainly had to have it in order to keep my sanity mostly intact!

Our little monkey...

2007-11-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you totally can not tell that his hat is actually a monkey face, but it is! I promise! I took that picture about a half hour ago while the big kids were playing in the sandbox (and Hyrum asked me for a jar for a worm he found so he could bring it inside so "no birds can eat him"). Thankfully no worms are in my house and I got a couple cute pictures of Miles while I was at it. Here's my other favorite one with no hat...

He is 2 1/2 weeks old! Seems like he has changed so much in such a short amount of time. Why do they do that to us???

Unadventures with 3 kids.

2007-11-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

So, I ventured out to the store today for the first time by myself with all three kids. I was a bit worried that the older two would make it difficult, but they were perfectly behaved. I'm not sure if it was the promise of balloons, or that it was right at Maddy's nap time, so she was super mellow, or that they had samples throughout the store that the kids loved getting to eat. Anyway, it was just much less eventful than I thought it would be. Having three kids is easier than I imagined! lol.

Fresh out of the bath...

2007-11-06T10:13:00.001-08:00

and smelling so sweet.

Miles Daniel Blair

2007-10-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

So, this post is probably going to have more pictures than words. I'll start with the stats... Miles Daniel Blair was born on October 29, 2007 at 7:47 pm. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces (exactly the same as his big sister) and 19 1/2 inches long. He has blond hair, blue eyes, and quite the chubby cheeks already. He instantly stole all our hearts! I already can not imagine my life without this little person in it. Hyrum and Maddy are quite the proud older siblings. They are always asking me if they can hold him and Maddy will tell me to be quiet because the baby's sleeping. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last couple days. (Ok, I am sorry, but blogger won't let me upload pictures through them and I can't get it to work through my photo host I usually use, so there are links. I will try to put pictures in the post tomorrow.)

The morning after he was born. I LOVE his blond hair!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/Mestebla/10-29-2008.jpg

Tuesday night in his coming home outfit.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/Mestebla/10-30-2007006.jpg

In his carseat, ready to be home already! (and thinking the lights are entirely too bright)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/Mestebla/10-30-2008.jpg

All three of my children. Nothing could make me happier.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v127/Mestebla/10-31-2009.jpg

What are you going to be?

2007-10-24T14:33:00.000-07:00

So, I was sitting here and a Halloween song that I sang as a kid (my mom taught us) popped in my head. I had to ask Kara for half the lyrics since my mind went blank after the first couple lines. Here are the lyrics:

What are you going to be on Halloween night?
A witch, or a goblin, or a ghost?
What are you going to be?
Well, don't tell me.
Wait till Halloween and let me guess.

After I sang it to my kids multiple times (Hyrum giggled through the first time I sang it and then promptly answered that he was going to be a lion and Maddy squealed) Hyrum came up with his own version. This is what he sang to me:

"What are you going to be?
Or tiger or a ghost or a lion or a pumpkin or a eyes or a monster or a horse or a arms.
Well, what you going to be?
Wait till night and let me guess"

It was TOO cute! :)

Since it's been so long...

2007-10-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

This will be a catch up post, since I haven't posted in forever. (uh, sorry about that.) So, I had a dr's appointment last tuesday where they checked my cervix and I'm dialated to 3cm and 60% effaced. I've been having contractions off and on the past couple weeks, so I'm not really surprised. Also, before you get too excited, this is pretty normal for me to be dialated that much and not have anything happen. It seems nothing gets going until my water breaks. Anyway, they are going to strip my membranes at my appointment I have this monday to see if they can get things going without having to induce me. If that doesn't work, then the monday after that, I head to the hospital to be induced at 6:30 am. So, if you don't hear from me before the 29th, I will be enjoying the newest addition to our wonderful family. I feel mostly ready, if I don't think about it too much. Haha. I know that I can handle a third child, it just feels like a really big step. I mean, I only have 2 hands! I mostly just feel blessed to have this child be a part of our family and I'm excited to meet him! (And I feel VERY ready to be done being pregnant!)

Maddy has been going potty on the toilet off and on the past week and a half. I am really tempted to just put her in panties all the time and let her have accidents and learn, but I think I will probably wait until after we have adjusted to Miles making his appearance. It has at least been a few days since I changed a poopy diaper/underwear though and that feels so nice! (and yeah, just in time for Miles to make up the difference lol) The funny thing about it is how different Hyrum and Maddy are motivated. Hyrum wants something for his work, dangit, but Maddy just wants someone to be excited for her. The whole potty training experience has actually taught me a lot (and I don't mean about bodily functions, people). I never thought in a million years I would learn a thing from potty training, but I have learned that sometimes making someone try is all it takes and sometimes not making them do anything helps them learn. Timing is essential. ;) Anyway, enough of the potty talk already!

Conference weekend (a couple weeks ago) we drove up the canyon a bit to find the perfect spot to take pictures and boy was it ever perfect! Here are some of my favorites...

Kara did such an awesome job and I love them!

Well, I am off to head to my mom's to finish up sewing Maddy's halloween costume. I will try to update at least one more time before baby Miles comes.

I am a child of God.

2007-09-07T09:12:00.001-07:00

Early this morning (say 4:30) Maddy woke up sick and has thrown up multiple times since then. She certainly has not been herself and has been super snuggly (about the only time she is like that is when she is sick). I gave both kids a bath this morning and as I was getting Maddy dressed she started singing "I am a child of God..." then she kind of mixed up the words (ok, she mixed them up a lot, but got the tune about spot on) and then she picked up with the words "lead me, guide me, walk beside me..." and then trailed off again. It was about the cutest thing in the world and completely melted my heart. I couldn't help but think it was a sort of prayer for her. I think I'll add this song to her nightly routine of songs (which right now, is about 4 songs long lol).

Happy Labor Day!

2007-09-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

Jay had work off today. YAY! We ended up going to Thanksgiving Point with my parents and Kara and her family and watching a 3-D dinosaur movie they have there. The kids LOVED it and I wish I had my camera with me then because the glasses were pretty histerical looking. Anyway, we went to Iceberg after the movie and then headed over to the "children's garden" which essentially has a wade pool with Noah's ark and animals (some of which periodically squirt water out). The kids played hard and loved being in the water. Maddy kept running laps and I could barely get a picture of her and she would NOT look at me. They also had this part where water sprayed up every once in a while. Hyrum got up close and personal and got a good one right in the face. By the end, the kids were completely soaked and absolutely happy! Then we went and walked around the rest of the gardens. They had a bear cave complete with a statue of a bear and tunnels where the kids climbed up one and came down the other.

They also had beautiful flowers everywhere and some interesting plants (like bamboo) and a waterfall here and there. Then the women and men split up and the women went to IKEA and the men went to Cabela's. It was really a very fun day and a great way to spend the holiday (much better than sitting at home thinking we should be out doing something fun). We got home around 5:00 and both kids and I took a much needed nap and have been enjoying a quiet evening. I hope you all had as great of a labor day as we did!

Bye bye baby...

2007-08-24T14:42:00.001-07:00

Wait! Bye bye baby? As in Maddy isn't a teeny baby anymore??? Says who? I never gave her permission to not be a baby! I snuck quietly into her room while she was taking her nap this afternoon so I could take pictures. She still looks so little to me...

Especially in such a BIG bed! No more crib for Maddy. She now sleeps in a twin bed. So, I guess since this was my idea, it is all my fault. Good thing I'll have a new itsy bitsy baby in a couple months.

The best part of this whole arrangement is that now I can snuggle with her for a few minutes before she goes to sleep. She still has me sing her top favorite songs (which are How much is that doggy in the window?, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Popcorn Popping on the apricot tree, You are my Sunshine, and sometimes the ABC's) and pray with her before she will fall asleep. I love this routine and so does she! Although, now that Jay is working during the day she wants Daddy to put her to bed at night instead of me (she is such a daddy's girl!).

Who knew a metal bowl could be so much fun?

2007-08-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

I was sitting at the kitchen table and heard Hyrum making some goofy noises, I look over and this is what I see...

Nothing like making faces at yourself in the reflection of a metal bowl. The kids cracks me up!

Friday afternoon fun

2007-08-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Last Friday afternoon Jay was up unusually early (he was working nights and just this week started a new job where he is working during the day again... woohoo!) so we decided to do something fun. We planned to go for a drive up the canyon and have a picnic for lunch. It turned into a really great afternoon. We had lunch and then went and took some pictures by some really beautiful flowers and then we went down by the river and the kids threw rocks in it for about 20 minutes. On the way home we stopped and got slurpees since we were all thoroughly heated to the core. It was a much needed family time afternoon. I need to remember to take time out of the hectic regular life and do this kind of thing more often. Here are some pictures we took while we were there.

My kids being hams! Jay was trying to get their attention so they'd look at the camera for a picture and he pulled a face much like this and then kids both copied them. They crack me up!

Finally a picture where they are looking without grimacing or pulling faces. ;)

A picture right after we ate lunch of me and the kids by the gorgeous flowers that were there. Maddy was not too thrilled to have her picture taken right then.

Maddy sitting on her Daddy's lap when we were down by the river. She certainly is a little Daddy's girl through and through! (can't say I blame her, really)

Hyrum and Maddy enjoying their slurpees that stained their whole mouths red (which you can't see here). Hyrum seems to be focusing pretty intently on his.

BLACKBERRIES!

2007-08-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

My MIL has 4 long rows of blackberries in her garden and they are beginning to ripen. We (my mom, my Aunt Dixie, me, and my kids) went to pick them this morning. Here are some pictures from the event.

My mom and the kids picking blackberries. :)

Two messy faces. Aren't they CUTE?

And my mom's, Dixie's, and my hands after picking for about an hour and a half.

We made some jam afterwards and my mom and Dixie wanted to freeze their share to use in things like pies and shakes. This is one of my very favorite things to do each summer. I am so grateful that my MIL is willing ot let us come pick blackberries from her garden. There is just NOTHING like popping a fresh, juicy, sweet, plump, delicious blackberry in your mouth straight from the vine. (and yes, most of the blackberries I picked ended up coming home in baskets and NOT in my tummy. ;) ) We plan on going back one more time, probably next week.

24 and maaaany more!

2007-08-03T07:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 24th birthday. It was a good day, overall. I got to take a nap in the afternoon and we went to Olive Garden with my whole family. Nothing like yummy food and good conversation. Jay bought me some gorgeous long stem roses the day before...aren't they gorgeous?? I have the sweetest husband ever! I also got him to take some pictures of me (ya know, so I can scrapbook my birthday).

So, I'll be 27 weeks pregnant tomorrow. Which means I have 3 months left until baby Miles makes his appearance! It's amazing how quickly time flies! Oh, and after we ate at the Olive Garden, we headed to my mom's where awaited the best cinnamon rolls ever! I asked her to make them for me for my birthday cake and it was the best!

Doesn't that just look divine? So, as for other presents, my parents gave me cash (which I'm planning on going and spending today lol) and Kara said I could pick out a cartridge for my cricut. Overall, it was a great day!

Captains of the underpants!

2007-07-27T11:44:00.001-07:00

Hyrum got new spiderman underwear last night. I think both him and Maddy really like them. What do you think?

I LOVE MY KIDS!

2007-07-16T10:19:00.000-07:00

This morning Hyrum had been begging to go outside in the back yard and play. And I finally let him and Maddy out after I took a shower and when I went to check on them a few minutes later they had been picking dandelions and also had discovered some flowers that had fallen off of a vine type plant that is in our yard. I had to grab my camera and take pictures! Here are a couple of my favorites.

Man, do my kids ever bring me such joy! I love capturing their personalities on camera!

Summer pictures!

2007-06-29T15:57:00.001-07:00

It has been SO HOT lately! I have been eating popsicles like crazy (and so have the kids). Today I got the kids swim suits on and let them (ok, Hyrum was the only one that wanted to) run through the sprinklers. Of course, I had to take some pictures. Here are my two very favorite. :)

Don't mind the pen drawing on his stomach... earlier today they had fun making art on their bodies. *eyerolls*

Where DID my baby girl go??? I swear she grew up over night!

And in other news, I believe it is safe to say that Hyrum is completely potty trained. HAPPY DANCE from Mommy! I even feel comfortable taking him to the store with underwear on. :) YAY for my big boy!

It's a...

2007-06-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

BOY! :) We had our ultrasound yesterday. Sorry I didn't get to post about it yesterday, but it was a pretty busy day. Our ultrasound tech was awesome and explained everything to us as she was doing it. It was pretty dang obvious that he is a boy and wasn't shy in showing us either. ;) Everything looked healthy and he is measuring right on schedule too. We are all very happy and excited. His name will be Miles Graeme (the old english spelling of Graham). Miles is after my dad (it's his middle name) and grandpa (his first name). It is so nice to know his gender and get to call him by name... which gives me a little thrill each time I do! Hyrum is excited about it being a boy (or seemed to be at least) and Maddy doesn't really understand what I'm saying, I don't think.

This is a profile shot of him. You can even see his little hand by his mouth. :)

And proof that he is indeed a HE! His bum is in the bottom of the picture with his legs spread apart and his manly parts sticking out right in the middle. ;)

I even bought his first outfit today. LOL! I went to costco to get some stuff and found an adorable outfit that I just couldn't pass up (and for $5 who can blame me???). Jay saw it and said, "uh oh. The baby shopping has begun." He is dead on. We need quite a bit of stuff before he gets here, so I figure if I just get something every now and again it won't be as hard on our budget. Plus, I get to shop longer that way. Hehe.

Tuesday's the day.

2007-06-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

For the BIG ultrasound! We are definitely going to find out what we are having if the baby bean cooperates. We actually don't have a boy name picked out yet. Which is a shocker since I really like to have these things figured out when we are even trying to get pregnant. ;) Any suggestions? I'll be sure and post here after we find out. My appointment is at 2:30 so don't get TOO anxious when I haven't posted right away lol. I'm really excited and can't believe I am now 20 weeks (exactly today). I'm half way done! Where has the time gone??? Although, I am really starting to feel very pregnant now... by the end of the day my back is hurting and my tummy is getting BIG. I'll have to have Jay take a picture of me soon so I can share that with you all too. Have a great weekend!

I'm probably a little TOO excited about this...

2007-06-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

but my sister had her beautiful baby girl last week and she gave me the maternity clothes that we swap back and forth between pregnancies today (she did give me some before). I just feel like I have been wearing the same 3 outfits all of the time! And anyone who knows me really well knows that that's not something that I like to have happen. Variety is a MUST! Anyway, I just started going through and pulling out anything that is not long sleeved and OH MY GOSH! My sister has bought some seriously CUTE maternity clothes since I had Maddy (she has had 2 babies since then)! I feel like my wardrobe of things that I can wear and think are cute/comfy has grown beyond measure. Hehe. Anyway, yeah, a bit too excited probably, but I can't help it! So, if you see some blonde pregnant lady with 2 kids in tow that has some cute clothes on, yeah, that's me! ;)

Pretty in pink!

2007-04-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight Jay and I had date night as his schedule is pretty whacky and he gets monday and tuesday off instead of a normal weekend. My sister is nice enough to trade babysitting with us so we both really benifit from a weekly date night with our hubbies. Anyway, tonight Jay and I went to our favorite pizza buffet place, Doc's pizza buffet, and after we had satisfied our hunger and our stomachs were entirely too full we decided to walk around the mall. I got some cute florally maternity pajama pants and then we went to the scrapbooking store (Archiver's) I used to work at, of course. On the way over there, we stop in at the Verizon store just to see if they have any super specials or great deals that we just couldn't pass up. Jay has been researching cell phones for what seems like forever. We got the scoop and had them right us a quote and went to think on it some. Anyway, right in front of Archiver's is a kiosk that is a Verizon dealer (?). They offered us a better deal that we really couldn't pass up! Two brand spankin' new Razr phones for $50 and then a $100 rebate on them... so, we'd actually MAKE $50 off of getting the phones. So, hello world! the Blair's are finally apart of the 21st century with cell phones! Of course, I had to have the PINK one! (really, what other color is there???) Jay got a sleek silver one and we signed a two year contract. I can't believe after 2 years or so of talking about it we finally made the plunge and got cells. We've been having fun changing the settings and adding all our contacts and calling eachother for FREE! No more memorizing numbers for me (except my new one hehe). Anyway, we are both pretty excited about it. It'll be nice to be able to call Jay (or anyone for that matter) when I am out of the house if I need to. Okay, enough rambling... I shouldn't have had that Mountain Dew with dinner tonight. I'm off to watch The Pursuit of Happiness with my Razr-owning husband and probably Dan too. Have a great night everyone! :)

Me and the baby.

2007-04-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday I had my first dr's appointment. Everything went well and I even got an unexpected ultrasound. :) The baby is measuring right on target and everything looked good. And I got the peanut's first pictures! Today, I had my sister-in-law, Beth cut and highlight my hair. She is awesome and gives me a great deal to boot! I absolutely love my hair again. I'm thinking I need to keep the highlights up since I just like it so much better! Here are some pictures for you.

A picture taken by my sweet husband today. I am 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I always show pretty early, but this seems like I REALLY am!

Ultrasound picture of the baby taken yesterday. It's head is on the left side and then you can see it's little hands/arms, body, and barely see it's stubby little legs. Makes me happy. :)

A bit better picture of my new haircut/color. Did I mention I LOVE it! I could just HUG Beth!

Anyway, I'm extra tired today, so I think I'll put the kids in bed a little early, watch my Grey's Anatomy and then head to bed early myself. I NEED SLEEP!

Spring is here!

2007-04-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

And today it actually FEELS like it! Spring makes me happy. I love summer/spring clothes (especially for my kids) and all the activities that come with it. I took these pictures of Maddy this morning because her outfit is just too cute! Most of the pictures looked like this...

But I did get one of her smiling and I have to say, where in the world did my baby girl go??? She is not supposed to get so big so quickly! Guess she didn't get the memo. *wink*

By the way, Jay got her to smile because he was asking her if she could see the popcorn popping on the apricot (actually a plum) tree. The girl loves that song! (It's right up there with The Eensy Weensy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star... she has to have ALL three songs sung to her before she will even consider falling asleep every night and nap.)

The "poop sucker"

2007-03-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

So, last night Hyrum finally did it! He went #2 (he he) in the potty! Of course the one day Jay took the car with him to work is the time that Hyrum decides to do this (all on his own, I might add... so proud!). I had promised Hyrum a BIG sucker if he went poop in the potty. Anything to motivate the boy so I don't have to clean out poopy underwear is worth it to me! Anyway, first thing this morning (ok, about 10:45) we went to the mall to get him a big sucker. He was so excited! He even told the nice lady why he was getting the big sucker (talk about slightly embarrassing). Anyway, here is my big boy with his big sucker...

Announcement!

2007-02-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

Yep, that says "pregnant"! What a nifty digital pregnancy test lol. I took a dollar store pregnancy test yesterday morning and there was a faint, barely there line on the test part. It wasn't too convincing so I made Jay go break the sabbath and get me a ept (early pregnancy test). I guess the digital ones were on sale so were cheaper than the non digital ones. They came 2 in a pack... anyone need a pregnancy test??? Anyway, I did the pee stick thing and stood and stared at it while the hourglass blinked letting me know it was working and then this single word popped up! We are so excited! My due date is November 3rd. I'm happy to have a fall baby since Maddy was born in February and Hyrum was born in March. I'm almost certain it is a girl from an experience I had. We have a girl and boy name picked out. Lilian Kate (although apparently Jay isn't sold on Kate... he wants Kathryn which I don't like, so we shall see what we end up with) and Gabriel Joseph.

Jay starts working at the post office on wednesday of this week. Very exciting! He'll be working 5pm to 5am 6 days a week, so our world will pretty much get turned upside down, but this is an amazing opportunity!

Lots of good changes happening right now. Maybe I can just sleep for the next couple weeks. hehehe.

Well, no more waiting...

2007-01-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

So, I am most definitely not pregnant this month. I'm happy to know, a bit disappointed, but at least I know for sure now. There is always next month to try and I know that it is all in the Lord's hands.

We got a call this morning around 8:45 from Jay's mom saying that his Grandmother had passed away this morning. Any and all prayers for his family at this time would be greatly appreciated.

Jay went to churh and I stayed home with the kids because Maddy had a fever and was constantly coughing last night. She slept until almost 11:00 this morning, so I'm glad that we didn't wake her up to go to church. She is acting fine now and has hardly coughed at all this morning and no longer has a fever.

Anyway, I just wanted to update everyone. I've gotta go change a stinky diaper... peeeeew!

The unknown...

2007-01-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

The unknown is really what kills me. I hate not knowing! It feels like I am in limbo right now about a couple things. As many of you know we are trying for baby number 3. I am supposed to start my period on the 27th, but I FEEL pregnant. Tired all the time, hungry more than usual, ornery (blushing in shame)... but I am easily pursuaded to think I am pregnant when I'm really not. So, I have to wait 5 days to see if I am or not and I just want to KNOW!

The other big unknown is Jay's job... not going to go into detail now, and no worries because he still has a job. Part of this for me is not liking change. I'm a big ole baby when it comes to big changes like a job. His grandmother is also looking like she won't be with us for too much longer. We all went and visited her last night and it was hard for me. I got to know her in the last couple years that she has lived here and she just was not herself. After I gave her a kiss as we were leaving she stopped me from just leaving as fast as I could and looked into my eyes... trying to soak it in, it felt like... like she was saying, I love you and always will. I had to fight the tears from springing into my eyes and just tell her I loved her too. It is amazing to me the connection and love I feel for this amazing woman. I know I'm not a blood relative to her... just through marriage, but I truly feel like she is my own grandma. I'm so glad I have gotten to spend the time to get to know her and love her. I would love to figure out a way to name a daughter after her in some way.

I don't really know how to end now, but it felt good to get my feelings down and out in the open, so thanks for letting me do that. :)

Guilty pleasures!

2007-01-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

So, this morning I woke up with a bit of a headache and instead of suffering through it for a few hours like I usually do, I grabbed a cold can of my favorite caffeinated beverage... diet Dr Pepper and sipped it as I read Lifetime Moments and checked my email. My headache subsided and I did get some housework done. Then around 1:00 my friend/co-worker Kari Marie came over to scrapbook with me. I made 2 birthday cards and a name tag thing for work and hit a wall in creativity. But, my kids were really good and it was fun to chat away with her and scrapbook! Then for dinner I made sausage and french toast out of some home made bread I made yesterday (oatmeal molasses bread... if you want the recipe, let me know). It was soooo good! After we put the kids in bed Jay made a fire in the fireplace (first time since we've lived here!) and that got me in the mood for chocolate chip cookies. So, of course, I made some. So, I got to eat warm chocolate chip cookies and cold milk in front of a cozy fireplace and read a book I got from the library. What a night! Oh, and I was in the mood for Mary Higgins Clark, so I'm reading Pretend You Don't See Her which is pretty good so far and I'm about halfway through. I just have to add that life is GOOD! A day full of guilty pleasures for me! I hope your day was half as good as mine. ;)

Noooooo, not chocolate!

2006-12-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

That was the attitude of my chocolate, candy, and sugar loving daughter this morning, when she asked for candy and Daddy didn't want to get it for her. I was willing, but wanted to carry her into the kitchen and give her some chocolate there. She wouldn't even stop wailing to see what it was I had gotten her she was so upset I took her from Daddy. I just had to laugh because as soon as Jay took her back she looked at me like, where's my candy? The girl definitely knows what she wants! She is such a Daddy's girl... and really, I don't mind because I'm a bit of a Daddy's girl myself and can completely understand. Mommy's just don't do it like Daddy's do. ;)

Yikes...

2006-12-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

It has been way too long since I posted here. I will try to be much better about that as I know I get disappointed when I go to someone's blog and they haven't posted anything new since the last time I had been there.

Christmas was great! Besides Maddy getting sick and her and I having to miss the Blair Christmas gathering. Jay got me a bunch of clothes, a belt, a purse, and (the big one!) a cedar chest! He did awesome and I was pleasantly surprised about how well he did picking out clothes for me without me there. ;) And I had no clue about the cedar chest... that was a great surprise! The kids got more things than I can remember... the big ones... an easel for Hyrum and an overstuffed rocking chair Maddy size (both from my parents). We have yet to put the easel together for Hyrum... one of these nights when Jay is home. Anyway, I will have to post some pictures from Christmas morning sometime, but we accidentally left the camera over at Great Grandma's house and she lives an hour away. I'll get it back this weekend.

I've been cleaning like crazy this week trying to beat my friend from Oregon in a contest we are doing. I am soooo going to win! We are both having New Year's Eve parties at our houses and want to get them looking all sparkly before that. Besides, what could be better than a super clean house to start the new year in? I've done so much scrubbing that the muscle in my arm is sore. How embarrassing to be sore from cleaning! LOL! I suppose there are worse things. I'll be sure and keep you updated to who wins the contest (even though I'm gonna make sure it is me!).

Well, it is after midnight and I am stinking tired and Maddy is fussing. I guess that is my que to get off the computer, take care of my baby, and get in bed. Have a good night.

A bit of inside my head

2006-10-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

Ever feel like you are talking and no one can hear you? I get that feeling sometimes. I don't think it is the fault of anyone but myself, actually. I have a hard time saying exactly what I mean most of the time. I think part of my problem is not really thinking before letting it come out my mouth... it comes into my brain and on my lips before I can seemingly stop or revise it. I am pretty sure I have SAD... ya know, season depression? It was rainy for about 3-4 days and I just felt so unmotivated, like I was doing the same thing over and over and over and getting nowhere at it. I actually really enjoy fall and the beautiful colors it brings with the crisp air. I just don't like day after day of clouds and not going anywhere or doing anything outside of my house. I guess my dilemma is going to a dr about it... which I really do not want to do. I don't like going to dr's where they poke and prod at you and ask you questions you never thought you'd have to answer. And I can deal with the depression most of the time. I just have to make myself go outside (which is good because then my kids get outside and burn off some energy so they don't drive me quite so crazy being stir crazy inside). My mom is always one to put on a happy face no matter what when someone outside of our family is around her and I've kind of picked that up. Don't get me wrong, my mom is usually a very happy individual, but she has some kind of a switch... like I remember her being mad at us kids (undoubtedly deserved) and then the phone would ring and she'd take a breath, clear her voice, and answer in her usual cheery voice. I'm usually pretty good at putting up a front too. Ya know, the whole thing, fake it 'til you make it? I try to do that because wallowing in selfpity sure doesn't get me anywhere. Anyway, I usually don't make depressing posts like these because they can be pretty, well, depressing, but it really feels good to let my thoughts go through my fingers and see it in writing, so thanks for letting me get all this out. It's been good.

I guess that's what I get...

2006-09-25T19:52:00.000-07:00

So, this weekend there was a cybercrop on Lifetimemoments.com that I participated in (by the way, if you want to look at my work here is the link to my gallery http://gallery.lifetimemoments.com/showgallery.php?cat=500&page=1&ppuser=4050 ) . Challenges, fun prizes, lots of scrapbooking. It was fun! And I made 6 layouts and 6 cards between Thursday and Saturday night. And I like every single thing I made. I was chatting with a friend and saying that I am doing so well lately with my scrapping... that I rarely like everything that I make, but that I had been. So, the kids are now asleep and Jay is still working with his brother Dave (a plumber) and NOTHING is coming together for me! I guess that's what I get for gloating. *sigh* At least I am listening to some good music on my iPod and the house is QUIET! I should probably be picking the mess that the kids made before I put them in bed (early! 7:40), but I need to just veg for a bit. Maybe I'll just go read my book for a while. Yeah, that sounds nice. Here are some pictures from a trip to the park on the 19th...

Kara took those top two at the water fountain. I just love the one of Hyrum! What an expression! The one of Maddy in the tube... she was playing peek a boo with me. Right behind her the tube curves and she would peek through one of the holes and we'd make eye contact and then she'd crawl as fast as she could past the curve and find me through the opening. She'd giggle and squeal every time. It was so much fun! Anyway, just thought I would share my latest favorite pictures as fall seems to be here for good and I don't know how much longer we'll be able to go to the park without having to bundle up.

2006-09-03T20:56:00.000-07:00

Maddy sitting in the wagon at Maceys helping me eat a chocolate cone.

2006-09-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

I will miss this part of summer. Walking to Maceys with Maddy in the wagon and Hyrum running the whole way and getting ice cream with them. Hyrum almost always gets chocolate and so do I. I share one with Maddy and Hyrum eats his all by himself (ok, with a little bit of help from me so it doesn't drip everywhere). Such a fun thing to do and costs a total of $1 since Maddy and I share one. :)

Costumes

2006-08-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

So, I have been brainstorming about what my kids are going to dress up as for Halloween for about a week now. I know, I'm way early, but I want to make them again this year and I don't want to be stressed out about it. My first thoughts were for Hyrum to dress up as Superman and Maddy to dress up as Wonderwoman until I couldn't even find premade costumes for infants in Wonderwoman. So, then it evolved to Superman and Superwoman except that there are no patterns for Superman. :( Soooooo, today I went to Hancock Fabrics with Kara and looked at patterns. We decided to do a theme with all the cousins... Maddy's going to be a princess, Hyrum's going to be a Knight, Griffin's going to be a dragon, and Xander and Max are going to be a knight or a dragon. I am so excited!!! I think they will all be adorable! :)

Lazy Day

2006-08-08T15:39:00.000-07:00

So, today I had a VERY lazy day. Just sat around in my pj's and played with the kids and on the computer. It was actually much needed and lots of fun! I took them outside to play in the back yard and I realized that I didn't have ANY pictures of them in the sandbox that they've been enjoying all summer. I had to run in and get my camera. Here are some of my favorite pictures (out of the 49 I took lol)...

Them playing together. They were both SO intent that I couldn't get them to look at me.

2006-08-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

Maddy slowly filling up a bucket with sand.