we moved

yup. And we love our new house! There is a spot for everything. We asked Brook what her favorite part was and she said, "Just livin' and playin'". I agree Brook. I am proud to announce that Drew and I slept in the same bed the night we moved!! For those of you who don't understand what I am saying you have either never moved, or you are a far better person than I. Of course I learned some good lessons too:

1. I have way more stuff than I think I do

2. I require way more boxes than I think I do

3. I have way more sheets than anyone with only 3 beds should own (which by the way if you need sheets let me know, I am downsizing)

4. Packing takes way more time than I think it should

5. My friends are way more helpful than I deserve

6. and if I fill this house before our lease is up, then I shop craigslist way more than necessary!

Pictures of the new house soon to come!!!

Thankfulness

So, I was having a pity party on Saturday night and decided that I need to stop, and enumerate the things(or should I say foods) that I am thankful for. It sounds so silly, but I cried over food. Thats right, food. We went to a pre-holiday party that one of Drew's classmate's threw and there was a TON of yummy delicious good fatty food. Now, I dunno the magic number of fat grams that will send me whirling into dire gallbladder pain, so I have been avoiding them as much as possible. Not to mention that my doc told me of another prego lady who had to be hospitalized cause one of her stones moved and blocked her pancreas! (why would you tell that to a lady with anxiety anyways???). So at the party I had a burger minus the burger and some carrots. I washed it all down with a fat free cake that I brought. I held in my tears while eating my cake (which totally did not turn out!!!) as I watched everyone else delve into the plates and plates of holiday cookies and treats not to mention the cheese ball! I held them in, until we got to the car that is. Then I lost it. Brookie kept saying, "it's ok mom, I will help you" which actually made me laugh enough to be able to gather enough air to tell Drew why I had broken down. He said, "whats wrong?" and I replied, "food!!!!". Silly, I know. I was crying over food. I felt like the recovering alcoholic at the beer and wine festival. I have since gathered myself and I can now laugh about the whole thing. I have decided that I need to be thankful for all that I CAN eat instead of depressed over the rest. So here are some of the wonderful fat-free or near fat-free things that God has blessed me with.....(in no particular order)....

Fat free cream cheese: while you are no good in a cheesecake, you make a wonderful spread on just about everything else! And you are reasonable priced at the local super market, or should I say "sooper" market. My favorite is a cream cheese, cranberry, spinach, mustard, and turkey breast sammie!

Fat free sour cream: You rock! You have made some of the yummiest mashed potatoes, and if I mix you with ketchup you make a pretty good fry sauce (not that fries are on the menu). I can mix you with salsa and use you to dip my homemade tortilla chips! (they are delish. You take corn tortillas and cut them into triangles and stick them in the oven on a non stick sheet. Then turn the oven on to 400 and when it is preheated, your chips are done. Only 1 gram of fat for three tortillas, or 24 chips! store bought have about 7 grams.)

Fat free cottage cheese: Once again, cheese that is fat free! How do they do it? Since fruit is usually fat free (and sugar doesn't count!) you are great for an afternoon snack. I especially love you with peaches.

Fat free yogurt: You come in so many flavors that I can have you every day and not get bored. You are also very yummy as a frozen treat. I can sometimes find you for 33 cents and that only adds to my joy.

Fat free cool whip: I know why you are so good! It is your sugar, but how you do it without cream is a mystery to me. I can dip grapes and strawberries in you and I can even put you on angel food cake (fat free as well!!).

Fruits and sometimes veggies: The majority of you are very good and very fat free. Although I struggle to keep you naked from the wonders of ranch and peanut butter, you have filled me up in my moment of hunger.

Bouillon: You are so loaded with salt that you need no fat! You make my soup very tasty, and with some no-yolk noodles you make an excellent fat free dinner.

Juice, soda, and sugary candies: you may give me diabetes, but you are fat free!

Cereal, wheat bread, and oatmeal,: While you have some fat, you are almost fat free and bring much needed relief late at night.

So you see, I could have celiac disease and be diabetic and be allergic to milk and eggs and peanuts and heaven forbid chocolate...but I am not. And I am grateful! Feel free to leave your favorite fat free item in the comments!

The Morning Miracle.... post by Drew

As I was riding my bike to work this morning I had an incredibly jolting experience....

While heading eastbound on major street in Longmont (well about as major as they come in Longmont) I was enjoying the nice crisp winter morning. Suddenly, an extremely loud sound came from about 15 feet away. A head on collision had just occurred right next to me. But, it was not over. One of the drivers of a car had gone into immediate shock and kept her foot on the pedal... she was heading in my direction. I immediately came to a stop and she went right in front of me. Her car was moving over 30 mph and was less than one foot from running me over. Her car stopped about 10 feet away from me as she plowed over a sign and drove head on into a tree. I was able to help her until the paramedics arrive on scene and rushed her to hospital.

The driver that was at fault in the accident came barreling through a stop sign at 45-50 mph. She missed the stop sign because she was text messaging. She came through and hit the other car head on. Miracle #1 The car that was hit by the texting driver saved my life. If she had not been hit, the texting driver would have ran over me at 45+mph. The consequence is clear (rather, messy). Miracle #2 About 5 minutes before the accident, I crossed the street early than I normally do, which delayed my ride by a second or two. I typically do not cross where I did but clearly the Spirit was influencing my decision. If I would have stayed on the same route that I always take I would have been hit by the texting driver before she hit the other car. Again, the consequence is clear. Now, the moral of the story (well one of them).... this accident occurred around 8am. Brooklyn had said a prayer about one hour prior and included the statement "..bless daddy that he can be safe and have a good day." I had also asked for protection before leaving. I am certain that the faith of my family allowed me to be sensitive to Spirit and make very subtle, yet life saving, decisions. Also, I wonder what would have been different if I had an IPOD blaring in my ears? Would I have been able to be aware of these small whisperings? Hmmm.... I am humbled by these miracles. Let us keep the others involved the accident in our prayers!

One other moral.... everyday I see people texting and driving. Are you serious???? If it is so necessary to text while driving... maybe you should slow your life down, de-complicate yourself, or just pull over if it is that important.

long awaited

Ok, so I finally figured out how to download, hehe, we got a new camera and I love it, but new technology is always tricky for me. So here is October for us. What a mild and great month!

This is pretty much what we did all month, yum yum.

I thought this was cute.

So it looks like he is pushing her, but he is actually being pulled along and he loves it!

This is one of my favorite pics of both of them. I can't believe how big she looks. She's growing up!

Happy halloween!

Brook was so excited this year. We had halloween all month and we have already started with Christmas. I have to say that it was one of my best Halloween's ever! Not cause of anything super new and exciting, but because Brook was so stinkin excited. It got Drew and I in the spirit real quick. I have decided that holidays are 1000 times better when you have a kid that is soooo excited about it, she talks about it for weeks. I think she wore her Halloween costume 100 times before the actual day. Which she has already "tried on" her Christmas dress a bazillion times. Yeah for kids and holidays!

T was a monkey. Look at his feet. They were sewn on backwards! Maybe thats why it was such a good deal-hehe.

So Brook's outfit was actually Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, but she kept saying, "I'm gonna be a princess for Halloween!" and since the costume did not come with the ruby red shoes, and they cost $16 while a princess crown with a wand was only 99 cents it was easy to give in. So she went as Dorothy the princess. This pic also has one of Brookies best friends as Snow White. I think she pulled it off well!

Drew's costume was easy this year since Brook kept saying, "I'm a princess and daddy is my prince!" Thank you Burger King for coming through for us. Also, since we have been married, I have been Drew every year for Halloween. I was a football player for two years, and a college graduate for the other. So naturally, I had to be him again. So I went as a marathon runner! I can't wait to see what Drew does this coming year to inspire my costume for next year!

We also celebrated the mormon Halloween on Sat. at our trunk or treat. The kids did great and I, I mean they had lots of candy!

Wow, this is a long post. I did want to add that the fat-free thing is going better than I thought. The hardest and most depressing part for sure (thus far) is going to a restaurant. Luckily that is not a big prob since we hardly ever go, but for Drew's graduation, we went last night. You Coloradans will appreciate that we went to Sam's3 and as you can suspect, there is NOTHING fat free there. It is kinda embarrassing asking the waitress, "and could you do my toasted sub with no butter or oil, and no mayo, and is your cottage cheese fat free? and can I sub yummy awesome fries for a bowl of sub-par fruit?" Yeah, it was depressing. The good thing is that thanks to our over-processed choices of foods these days, you can find almost anything in fat-free. You would think this would be healthy, right? Wrong! You can easily make things taste good without fat by over compensating with sugar and salt. I am going to do a post in a while with my fav. fat-free foods, but just know, since sugar is fat free there is a good chance this whole ordeal is going to give me diabetes!

There you go, uber-long post with pics!!!

complacency

Remember a while back when Elder Nelson gave a talk about complacency and how heart patients will get feeling good and stop taking their medication because they feel fine? I remember hearing that and thinking, "who would do that?" why would you risk your heart and life? Well, I somewhat understand now. Ever since the major gallbladder issue a while back I have known that I have to eat a fairly fat free diet if I want to avoid the pains. I did good but then everything felt fine so I started letting fat sneak back into my life. Then last night I delved into 4 peanut butter cookies without a sweat. Now if you have ever made peanut butter cookies, you know that they are basically fat, sugar, flour, and more fat. Thats probably why they are so good. Well, I got what I deserved. Another long gallbladder night, this time avoiding the ER since I know there is nothing they can do about it. I did turn to Drew at about midnight and said, "thats it, we are adopting from now on". Thats right. I would rather have a peanut butter cookie anytime I want, than create life! Well, at least at midnight I would rather.(Side note, for those who don't know, being pregnant increases my chances of gallbladder attacks and my doctor said that this will likely happen with each pregnancy). Anyways, pray for me cause it is going to be a LONG holiday season going fat-free style! Pass the carrots!

bwa haha

Caught it!

enlightenment

So, pics are coming, but I can't get my computer and camera to agree on things right now

Anyways, Do you ever have those nights where you are enlightened and you feel the need to share your pearls of wisdom that you received by pondering in the wee early morning hours? I had such a night, and here are my pearls!

1. There is something very attractive about your husband when he says, "I don't care if I have to kill it with my bare hands", and then you both squeal like little girls cause it runs past your baracade.

2. My mother-in-law has told me that she used to go grocery shopping in the middle of the night, cause with all of her kids it was the only convenient time. I discovered that Walmart is not such a horrid place at 2 am and now I totally understand her. Had I not been in a hurry to get back with the traps, I might have stayed for a while. Also, at that time, you can totally find helpful, available employees to help you!

3. There are 4,763 places for it to hide in our house, and although we checked all of them, it is still out there/in there.

4. There comes a point when after many hours of failed attempts, you CAN fall asleep knowing that there is a mouse lurking somewhere in your house.

WELL....

It's a ....

BOY!!!!!!!

No, you read that right. Just like T-Ray this little guy is going to inherit all of Brookie's pink things! I did promise Drew (before we knew)that if it was a boy, I would give in and buy a blue towel and I wouldn't make T-Ray wear Brook's pink snow pants from last year (since there is someone to pass a boy pair down to now). So... because I like to know WAY in advance what will be happening, we have already decided on a name. We will call him Lincoln James. James is for Drew's uncle James who we really like and Lincoln just because we could agree on it. Anyways, we are celebrating with pizza cause what better reason to eat my fav food!!

A sucker of a deal

So, thank you for all of your vacuum advice. It was desperately needed and we found a great deal on a great vacuum. It's funny though. I think maybe only another SAHM or student or young married family will understand, but I thought longer and harder about this decision and the impact on my life than I did when I decided to marry Drew. Drew was a shoe-in (don't know if thats how its spelled), but the vacuum decision was really sucking a lot of my time and energy up. But I happily report that when we finally decided and bought our new beauty, I went home and vacuumed the whole house and wasn't even mad about it!! I have also reached that sad sad point in my life where Drew and I made the vacuum purchase our Christmas presents for each other this year, and it sounded ok to me (instead of making me cry at the thought that my present was going to help me do chores!).

In other news, yes, we do have a new camera and pics but I am too lazy to download right now. Hang tight, there are photos coming.

Also, I finally reached that extremely awkward stage in pregnancy where my normal clothes are tight enough that I have to undo the top buttons when I sit down, but my prego pants are just too big enough that my kids can easily pull them down on me while I am, lets say, standing in line at the DMV. And the stage where you know people want to ask, cause it looks like something might be lurking under there, but they are way too afraid of the all to scary, "no, I'm not pregnant". So, any suggestions on the pants dilemma? I do have some stretchy stuff (and luckily the weather is starting to get cold enough that I can wear it without looking like I have been sick all week), but my jeans and "nice" pants are the problem.

ALSO, we find out Thursday if we are having a boy or a girl. Pray for Brooklyn that if it is a boy, she will understand that these things happen even if she has been praying for weeks that her baby "sister" will be happy.:)

vacuum

oh, vacuums! Here is my poem for you.

You do not suck

You do not work

I bought you recently (within the last 2 years)

You are a jerk

Anyone had any luck with a vacuum lasting longer than two years that was less than $200? In our married life we have gone through 3 vacuums and I am tired of it (but not willing to pay the thousands for a really good one). Any suggestions?

what the heck in the world

So a while back my friend Heather did a post where her son had said, "what the heck in the world". I thought it was funny at the time, but on Friday night at 2am in the ER room I was thinking that very thing. I was up all night with horrible pain in my upper right back and upper right chest. Finally after many hours, I decided I had had enough and I drove myself to the hospital. OF COURSE the second I pulled in the pain went away. I called Drew bawling cause I didn't know what to do. He insisted that I still go in so that I didn't get home and have the same pain. That was a little awkward, going to the front desk and saying, "hi, I used to be in pain. Literally 10 minutes ago I was bawling in pain, its gone now, but can you tell me whats up." They were actually really nice, and there was zero wait time. After some blood work and tests, the doc came in and said, "I think that you have gallstones. I smiled and said, "oh, I already had my gallbladder taken out 2 years ago. He then said, "ya, I know, but you can still have gallstones with no gallbladder". This is when I thought, "what the heck in the world!!!!". What kind of cruel trick is that. Thats like getting charlie horses when you have no leg, or pinkie cancer when you are missing your pinkie, or labor pains when you are a man (you get the point). So I haven't had an attack since Friday, but I am really hoping to make it through the pregnancy before it gets too bad, the test to check for sure is a little risky on the baby, so its frowned upon. Moral of the story: you can take the gallbladder out of the body, but you can't take the stones out of your life!

another funny

hehe, Brookie made me giggle again so why not share! I was with my good friend Mel when I told her that I needed to go to the grocery store. She offered to watch my kids while I went (BL-E-S-SSS-ING!!) and I said yes. Brook asked where I was going and I said to the grocery store. Then she said, "oh, did you find some money mommy?" hehehe ya, I guess I found some money so why not buy food. hehe. Guess she really is listening when I say, "we don't have the money".

what to write

So I have wanted to post, but I can't think of anything that tops just how great I am!! Brook did however say something funny today, so hear goes.

As you know we recently bought our vehicle. Well, for some reason we had to go to the dmv to get the title. Ever since we moved to our place now, we have been told that we belong to Denver county. Everything that we had at Arapahoe county got transfered to Denver county so naturally I thought that I should go to Denver county dmv to get our title. After my morning walk, I packed up the kids and headed out. We sat in line for about an hour and then my number got called. The lady grabbed my paper work and said, "You live in Arapahoe county, you need to go there... next!" To which I explained that for ALL other government agencies, we reside in Denver county. She rolled her eyes and printed something off the computer that says Arapahoe county and said, "If you don't believe me, believe the paper...next!" I marched out steaming mad. I even said something that I know I shouldn't have to Brook on the way out, loud enough that the lady could hear me (part of my passive aggressive tendencies I guess). I said, "Brook, and thats why we hate the government.". So I got the kids in the car and was headed towards the Arapahoe county dmv when Brookie shocked me. She said, "mom, maybe we can go tomorrow." and I said, "ya maybe," and she said, "that way you're not so angry". She is a wise wise woman. Lesson learned Brook, when you're having a rough morning, just give up and try again tomorrow. (Maybe she secretly reads her daddy's psych books at night).

Something to Really Brag About - By Drew

The award which Shayna referred to in the previous post holds little, if any, credit in comparison to her accomplishments. All too often, her work is overlooked. I mean when was the last time you heard of , or saw, an awards ceremony for homemakers? This type of event is unheard of, although this is the most impacting job that exists. So, if there should be any bragging done… I think it should be done in regards to my wife’s daily accomplishments…..

1. She wakes up to an immediate need that needs attention. Usually hunger, thirst, peed bed or a really messy diaper. Often times these needs are communicated by crying or screaming. On the other hand, I get to wake up to quietness.

2 . When I go exercise in the morning I walk out the door. When she goes to exercise. She has to allow 30 minutes in order to prepare the kids, which usually includes getting the snacks ready, changing clothes, finding shoes, getting bottles for three, getting the kiddos strapped in the stroller…. and usually having to redo this the whole process a few times before leaving. She has two to push and one to carry… now that is a real Triathlon. Nonetheless, she gets it done!!!

3. By the time she gets home she has probably changed several diapers and cleaned several messes. She doesn’t get a break to the break room, instead she starts preparing lunch while making sure the two kids don’t get hurt too bad. That is multitasking!!!

4. After lunch she gets to put them down for a nap…. well that sounds nice but the kiddos tend to not follow the same sleep schedule. So, she spends time reading/singing to them, and changing a few more diapers. Meanwhile, she is pregnant and just praying for a minute to rest. PATIENCE!!!!!

5. Time for dinner… this is hard! The kids are either waking up from naps or grumpy and tired because they did not want to nap. Our kids truly want to help out with everything.. they have big hearts. So, trying to prepare dinner in a small kitchen with a 2 and 1 year old as your sous-chef is an art.

6. Dad gets home…. After having no break she gets to listen to me vent about my day and cool down. She never gets a break… she is always at her place of employment. So, when you hear someone say they had to pull off an 18-hour shift… that doesn’t have anything on my wife… she is always on a 24-hour shift. WOW!!!!

What it all comes down to….. my wife has always wanted to be a homemaker and she does an incredible job. I am forever grateful for her skills…. She could easily be the one bringing in the money, frankly she could do much better than I! So, she gets the rewards that will never be formally presented on this earth… however, what she does cannot be replaced by anyone else and will bring the longest lasting rewards!!!!

bragspot

I'm doing it. I'm bragspotting about my husband, so if you already know how cool he is, you can feel free to skip this post. For those of you who have seen The Christmas Story movie, Drew got a "major award". Thats what it feels like anyway. He received a letter from Argosy that states:

Dear Andrew,

You have been selected for the Argosy University Denver Outstanding Graduate Student Award for the 2010-2011 academic year.This award is given to students in recognition of their academic and extra-curricular excellence as evidenced by academic performance and by setting an example that both motivates and inspires other students in the classroom and outside the classroom. The award will be announced at the upcoming Commencement Ceremony on November 13th at the Embassy Suites Hotel. I truly hope you will be able to join us for this event.

Signed, blah blah blah

Yeah for Drew!! I hope we get a leg lamp!

Watch Out for the Guy in Tights on the Bike!!!

Hey everyone, this is Drew (Shayna's sidekick). I wanted to share a story that happened yesterday... enjoy!

I am Riding home on my bike, IN THE BIKING LANE. A friendly man, with an excess amount of testosterone, quickly passed me in his truck. He was about an inch from knocking right off of my bike. While in passing he said, " Explicit, explicit, get off the road, explicit, explicit!" Mind you, I WAS IN THE BIKE LANE! I proceeded to ride IN THE BIKE LANE, while approaching the upcoming red light I noticed he was the right next to me stopped. I began to have several thoughts... first of which, I did something wrong on the road, wait no, I was IN THE BIKE LANE! Second, (the therapist side of me) he had a traumatizing experience on a bike and the simply the sight of a bike triggers unwanted/very angry feelings. No, the third thought... just keep going about my business and ignore him. So, it happens I pull up to the red light and he said, " Hey, explicit, explicit explicit, you got a problem with me?" I was thinking to myself I have not yet even acknowledged his existence, how could I have a problem???? I continued to look forward and ignore him... he said, "You need me to get out of my truck to talk about this?" I thought to myself talk about what? You are simply carrying on an unwanted hateful monologue. There only needs be one individual in a monologue, right? Next thought, I should say, "yes, but hold on let me go set my bike down and come talk to you, better yet can I set in the back of your truck and we can speak while you take me home, that is since you don't want me on the road, IN THE BIKE LANE." Well, the time came I turned to him and said, " Sir, we can talk if you would like; however, my office is a few miles down that road (pointing). I prefer to speak to people in a more private and confidential setting about their problems. The downside is talking to me about your problems means I will have to charge you my normal fee and that is $$." WOW... it worked... he shut his mouth looked ahead and sped off. And me, well I stayed IN THE BIKE LANE and rode my happy self home! So, when you see that guy in tights riding his bike, be nice to him, especially if he is IN THE BIKE LANE trying to get home to his family!!!

By the way... when I got home Shayna had made the BEST meal!!!

gratitude

So, my last post sounded whiny and while it's true that I cry when I am frustrated, I also cry when I am extremely grateful. One example was how tonight I cried as I thanked the firemen for getting T-ray out of the car quickly and safely, crying partly from embarrassment, and partly from gratitude! Don't you love Sundays!

ps, no one got hurt,I just locked the keys in the car without taking T-ray out first.

why I wish I were 2

So, here is a true, I mean "hypothetical" story as to why I wish I were 2.

I needed to go to the store today. We were out of milk and a few other essentials and I like to shop when Drew isn't home so that I can take advantage of the few times that he is home. Since I know that I have 2 kids, I decided to go prepared. I waited until T-ray had a nap, and I took a giraffe toy that I got at the dollar spot at Target to bribe Brook. We got to the store, and I put the kids in the only double cart I could find. As we walked in the store, T-ray started kicked Brooke. She of course began to scream, which made T-ray scream back. I tried my calm, sweet mother voice, which might as well have been the flapping of butterfly wings cause the kids did not hear it. So I resorted to covering T-rays mouth and threatening to take away Brook's giraffe. This stopped the fighting for about 30 seconds. So I let Brook out of the cart to walk beside me. Which of course she did not. Now, if anyone has ever shopped at Safeway around 2pm you would know that this is when all of the older generation like to shop. We were going down the cereal isle and there were 2 such older women shopping in front of us. Brook thought it would be hilarious to scream as she ran past them. One of the ladies grabbed her chest as if Brook's scare had given her a heart attack and the other looked at me and said, "my word!" I of course apologized as I ran past them to catch Brook. Giraffe got taken away and the scream began again. I should have just quit and left, but I didn't want to come back. A few scenes later we were ready to check out and there were 2 cashiers and about 8 people to check out. I got in line with T-ray screaming, thinking this would deter others from coming behind me. It didn't. A few minutes later, "oh my" and heart attack lady came and stood behind me. I was trying to load the stuff from the cart onto the conveyor belt while also grabbing the power bars out of T-rays hand, which are so awesomely placed at child seat level. Brook meanwhile is asking me about every candy on the candy rack and why she can't have one so giraffe came back. I got to the front of the line and the cashier was young, but sweet. She kept stopping to try and get T-ray from crying. I realize she was trying to help, but I just wanted her to be as quick as possible. Meanwhile, the grouchy twins were doing their best at gawking and sighing and making me feel really really stupid. Normally I wouldn't let stuff bother me, but I happen to be a little sensitive right now. The checker then asked how old T is, and then how old Brook is, and she followed my response with, "wow, one right after another huh. Well, at least this way you got done quick." Reasonable Shayna knows that she didn't mean anything by it, but hormonal Shayna thought, "you're right, what was I thinking! and she doesn't even know that I am doing it again" as the tears start to well up in my eyes. I get my receipt and start heading out as the checker asks grouchy how she is and she responds, "well my ears hurt, but I'm fine." I got the kids in the car, the groceries in the car, myself in the car and then started to bawl. Full out, wailing bawling (side note:I am fine). Now comes the part of the story as to why I wish I were 2. Brook says to me, "mom, what happened?" and she is dead serious. She has zero idea what happened. All she knows is that we went to the store, got some food, mom cried, and we came home. What a life!

one leads to another

Hey everyone! We bought this....

so we could fit more of these...

cause we're having another one of these...

because we are this...

and we're due around here...

and we are happy!

I wanted it

I knew it was wrong. I knew it was wrong even before it left my lips, but I did it anyways. I just wanted it. I wanted it all to myself, and I didn't want to share. I share all day long, and the selfish devil in me said, "no, its mine!" What am I talking about? I am talking about breakfast. We had one bagel left, and it sounded sooooo good and we even had cream cheese and a peach to put on top. So naturally I poured the kids a bowl of cereal and I made my mouth-watering, creamy, juicy, bagel delight and sat down with the kids. Then the inevitable happened and Brook said, "Can I have a bite?" I could feel the blood rushing to my head as I panicked to think of a way out, and then I did it. I LIED. I wanted the bagel all to myself so badly that I lied. Before I knew it, I was saying, "Remember brook, you don't like peaches." She said, "I don't?" Here was my chance to repent and tell the truth, but as a mom I rarely get to eat something yummy all by myself, so I lied again! "No, you don't like them", and then I enjoyed every single bite of MY bagel, all mine!!!! bwa hahaha.

I understand that there are consequences to my actions, and the fact that I will probably not get Brook to ever each peaches again because, "she doesn't like them" is something that I will learn to live with!

if your happy and you know it

Hello everyone. We have been gone on the worlds longest, I mean coolest vacation. Before I delve into that, I would like everyone to know that I PASSED my BYU classes, and by passed I mean "C's get degrees" passed. Because of that, I no longer need an attitude adjustment. I know you were all concerned for the welfare of my fam, but rest assured that they are all still alive.

OK, now on to our trip. We drove, yup drove, from Denver to St George to Los Angeles to San Diego to St. George to Redfish Idaho to Denver. YUP, we drove. We spent 54 hours in the car with the children in a 12 day period. 54 hours is a lot of time so I would like to share the lessons I learned in case anyone else is thinking of driving for 54 hours just to see what you could learn.

1. Hours 1, 4, 9, 15, 24, 30, 37, 45, 46, 47, 48,49, 50, 51, 52, 53, and 54 are the hardest.

2. My children are better travelers than I am.

3. All of the Flying J's in the western US are under construction and consequently have no soda fountains, which means you have to fill up your water bottles in the sink, yuck!

4. Gas is more expensive in Hurricane, UT than CA!

5. Ring pops are a heaven sent and are worth every second it takes to clean up the aftermath.

6. The new LA Temple Visitor Center is awesome.

7.The longer you sing "if your happy and you know it" the more creative you get, ie. "if your happy and you know it make fart noises"

8. Teaching your kid the sign language sign for "all done" is both hilarious and heart breaking in the car.

9. Deer really are on the road at night and are surprisingly hard to see.

10. m&m's can be hours of fun, and are also worth the mess.

11. If you are bored enough, it can be entertaining just listening to the movie coming from the back seat.

12. If you drive from Baker, CA to Las Vegas in the middle of August, you can keep your car from overheating my turning on the heater and rolling down your windows.

13. Sometimes overheating your car is better than barfing.

14. Del Taco should never be eaten in Baker if you are on your way towards Las Vegas in the middle of August.

15. Some of the road signs that say "BUMP" really mean, "BU-U-U-M-M-M-P!!!!!"

16. There are no restrooms available between the hours of 9pm and 1 am between Stanley ID and Idaho Falls, ID. On the same note, you are usually the only person on the road and can bet fairly safe that no one is going to see you.

17. Super 8 is slightly more super than motel 6 because you get free breakfast, but room quality is equal.

18. When the GPS says 10 hours, plan on 12.

19. 54 hours in a car is a good way to see how you will all do together for eternity.

20. Redfish Lake Idaho is even more beautiful than I remember and was worth every second of the drive!!

Picture to come.

advise

Hey, does anyone know where I can buy an attitude adjustment? I would make one my own, but I just don't have time. It doesn't have to be a great one, I think at this point my family would take a slightly better used one. I have of course procrastinated my schooling until I had 5 days to finish 2 papers, 7 lessons, and 2 finals. I thought I had more time to finish but its a long story. Needless to say, I have been less than awesome this week with my family and after my daughter sat there and watched me say, 'I hate school because it's so stupid' I decided that I seriously need an attitude adjustment or maybe just a really big nap and some chocolate.

Evil Garden

So we have had some fun with the garden this year and most of our experiences have been good, but Saturday night we were reminded of how you just can't tame the wild. Drew was watering and I was picking weeds and the kids were doing what they usually do. This consisted of walking through other people's gardens and picking the leaves off of flowers. T-ray was wandering a bit and he was in a weed patch when he fell down. He usually whines/cries when he falls, but this was a particularly loud cry. At first I just told him to get up and "come here". But he wasn't listening. So as I approached him I saw what had happened and I felt horrible. He had fallen into a burr patch. For those of you who are not familiar, here is a picture (not the least bit exaggerated by the way).

So since I had no gloves on hand I got to pick these little suckers out one by one with my fingers. He had 4-5 in the palms of each hand and several on his arms and legs. I felt so bad cause every time that I pulled one out he would start to bleed, then as I shook it off my hand I would start to bleed. It was sad. But hey, the carrots are looking good. Thats worth it, right?

and should we die....all is well

You know its been a great day when you are sitting down for prayer with the family and you look over at your 1 year old and think, "that hole in his head is healing nicely" and then you look at your two year old and think, "no wonder she has been complaining about her head hurting, there is a gigantic goose egg above her eye," and then you close your eyes and your husband starts the prayer out with, "Thank Thee that our house did not burn down..." and he is being completely sincere. All is well in Zion folks!

I finally decided

Well, I finally decided! Decided what you might ask. I have finally decided what I will do if/when I win a million dollars. Let me tell you how I got to that decision and then I will share my master plan. So I had a good friend that I look up to stop by last night and my house was a pig sty. I knew all day that I needed to pick up, but I forgot about spring cleaning this year and the thought of what really needed to get done in the house was too overwhelming so I did nothing. I had a good speech ready for Drew too, you know, about what it is that I had been doing all day since it clearly was not cleaning the house. (I should note here that Drew NEVER bugs me about the house. He is actually very understanding but it is my own conscience that makes me feel guilty at the end of the day when Drew has worked hard and comes home and trips his way back to the bathroom. And yes, I know that I work hard too) ANYWAYS, So this friend came over and I of course started with my usual, "please excuse my house I was doing this and that and blah blah blah..." Then she was like, "don't worry about it" and she really looked like she wasn't concerned. She sat down, we chatted and she left. This should have been a good thing, right? Well, I got thinking about it, and it hit me, "Oh my goodness, she was not stunned AT ALL about the state of my house which must mean that....my friends are used to seeing my pig sty." (another note, I am sure that this friend was NOT thinking this, but it was the fuel that I needed). SO, since Drew has weekend class this weekend, I had all day today to change my ways. Which, it took, ALL DAY to change my ways. I even scrubbed the base boards and cleaned the blinds. I am exhausted. NOW, this brings me to my million dollar dilemma. At first I thought, wouldn't it be nice to have a maid who keeps your house clean. But that idea quickly died for several reasons.

1. My house only stays clean for moments because my children think it is the funniest thing to walk behind me and undo things I do. Granted my house looks better, but after only an hour, the sink has dishes again. The table is dirty. The toy bins have been emptied, and the sliding glass door has little hand prints.

2. I would like to think that I can manage a house on my own. There is a certain pride that comes from being a stay at home mom, and accomplishing (if only momentarily) stay at home tasks.

So here is what I have decided. I want a guest house. Only WE would be the guests. The kids and I would play and eat at the guest house all day, and when it was almost time for Drew (or anyone else) to come home, we would run over to the clean, bright, sunny, happy, good-smelling home! Then I wouldn't have to have a heart attack every time that the kids played with their toys or dumped the gold fish on the floor, or pulled the bedding off of ALL of the beds (weird huh!).

There you have it. Bring on the million, I am ready!

$300 tantrum

I know that this has never happened to anyone else, but T-Ray, (yes T-Ray) threw a fit that cost us about 300 dollars. Let me explain. We have been doing lots of fun stuff lately and we recently went camping. We decided to go on a 2 1/2 mile hike with the kiddos (which Brook walked almost 2 miles of it!). When we were done we took a family pic at the view point which was a 100 mile panorama of the continental divide. When we went to put the kids in the car, T-Ray had had enough. He was stiffening his body and screaming. Naturally Drew put the camera on the roof of the car so he could focus both hand on the task. You know where this is going right? We got in, drove away, and never saw our precious camera again. So since I take forever to download pics we lost some important occasion memories. Here I will try to re-create them.

I took a cake decorating class this last month which was awesome. It culminated with me making T-Ray's first birthday cake. We will pretend that it looked something like this. Also, imagine my sweet little guy shoving lemon cake with lemon curd filling into his sweet 1 year old mouth.

Pretend this is our cute family enjoying the 4th of July weekend up at Cold Creek campground just outside of Golden Gate Canyon State park.

Imagine this is us on our hike, only T-ray was in a baby hiking carrier, and it was about 4 times steeper, and 30 times more beautiful.

This pic is not too far from the truth. It rained a lot!!!! Fortunately it let up for the good parts, food, set-up, hikes, and smores.

Now pretend that this is us watching the fireworks at Coors Stadium after the ball game to end a great 3rd of July celebration.

You can also imagine how cute Drew was on father's day, and all of my cute pictures from our trips to St George and Idaho and a way cute video of Brooklyn explaining what camping is all about. Sad sad, wo is me and my memories. :(

yummy-ness

So lots of stuff has happened like Father's Day and T-Ray's first birthday (my baby is so grown up!), but no, I choose to blog about food. I have been on the endless quest for the perfect snack food that is good for you, no calories, tons of protein, and really really tasty. I haven't found it yet but these come pretty close. I thought I would share my hours and hours of "research".

First on the list are these tiny buddles of joy. The name is lame! but Think Thin bars are actually pretty tasty. They have 0 sugar and 20 grams of protein. The only flavor that I am not loving is the chocolate covered strawberry. The texture is too off for me.

These are yum yum yum! They are Pop Chips. They are so crispy and yummy and they are not that bad for you. For every 20 chips, there is about 120 calories and only 4 grams of fat (compared to 11 grams in regular chips). The kid love them too.

I have already raved about the Luna White Chocolate macadamian, which is still my fav, but I have found other flavors that are not bad as well. One is the berry n nuts, or nuts over berries, or something like that. It is purple on the inside. Oddly enough though, I havenot found a chocolate Luna bar that I think is worth the money.


Kashi for me is very hit and miss. I feel like a lot of their foods taste like bird food. Very crunchy and seedy but not much satisfaction. I do however really like the dark chocolate coconut granola bars:)

Sprouts is one of my fav. stores. I love their veggie chips. When you compare, they are not that great in nutrition, but they taste really good, including the green beans, which are my fav. CAUTION: I tried to make my own thinking that it couldn't be that hard, and it is. buy them, do not attempt at home.

Let me know if you have found any pearls for me to test out!!! Good luck

yum

more food continued...

These are actually really good, especially the peanut butter one. They are low sugar and are a good treat substitute, hint: put a table spoon of real peanut butter on top of the peanut butter one and you can trick yourself into thinking that it is dessert day :),

These are my absolute favorite!!!! One problem though, the tiny little 90 calorie pack is never, never enough. What I do is just eat the whole box and count them as a real dessert day. Yeah, they are that good (but only the mint chocolate ones). BEWARE, once you pop you really can't stop.

So good I put it twice (I should get paid for this advertising huh!)


These are really good. They are gigantic, probably cause they are around 350 calories but as a meal replacement they rock. Super low sugar and high protein so they keep you full for a while. The name is pretty fitting, oh yeah! Plus they taste like they actually have choclate syrup in them.

If you haven't tried Pirate Booty yet you need to. This actually started cause T-Ray chokes on almost everything and one day some one gave him a cheese puff and he did great. I couldn't justify giving him cheese puffs every day so I was looking for something similar. These are tasty and they melt in your mouth. You can get them on sale often and the best flavor in my opinion is the aged cheese!

the garden

So yes we are alive. We went on an awesome vacay to IF and I will post about that later. We also had strep and other sicknesses, we set up bubs to get tubes placed in his ears after the 9th ear infection this season and we planted a garden. So here is my garden story;

A while back our Stake leaders (can't remember if it was the president or the counsilor) told us that we should plant a garden regardless of where we live. We could do a little porch garden or Denver offers garden plots for rent through the denver urban gardens. This leader said that we could use this as a great tool in teaching our kids and helping them learn valuable lessons about the gospel and other such topics. I thought it sounded nice, but Drew was totally on board! The next day we emailed the garden rep and reserved a plot. Has anyone ever tried to garden with a 2 year old and an 11 month old? I wonder if this leader was thinking about families with older children when he gave the directive. I must have said to Drew at least 400 times in the last month, "this is not working". Let me explain. Over three days (not consecutive for sanity sake) we logged about 10 hours working on our garden plot just to get the soil ready. It was really hard clay and we had to do a lot. This already looks like a great lesson right? I can recite the parable of the sower and the seeds to my children, or tell them about how hard work can pay off, and relate it to how when they are on missions some people need more "prepping" than others, and that every little contact they make helps someone become prepared for the seed of the gospel. Oh, ya, I had some awesome lessons on the back burner. INSTEAD this is how it really went down. "Brooklyn get back here, we will play with the toys later, it is garden time" "No its not time to leave we just got here" "I thought YOU were watching him! Crap" "Get that out of your mouth, yucky" "Do you think organic means the same thing as non-toxic?" "If you run away one more time I swear..." "ug, lets just go home" " how much do you think a pre-made garden costs?" "I hate you clay" "fine, fine, lets just go home and forget the whole thing". And that was just the first 30 minutes. Drew however was faithful and patient with ALL of us (including me) and we finally got the whole thing prepped and planted. He keeps reassuring me that this is good for the kids and that they are learning through our example (which based on what I just described to you may not be a good thing). I will admit though, that when we went to water last evening. It was beautiful and Brookie really seemed to enjoy the hose and she only impulse stomped on the flowers once! So heres to the garden and to lessons learned. Maybe the lesson they will take with them is that it is truly a miracle when a family plants a garden together and is still talking to eachother at the end of the day :).

Poop is expensive

Yes, you read that right. Poop is expensive. Let me explain. Remember way back when we were starting to potty train Brookie cause we had the flu so we were home all week so I decided to attack the job. Well, more than 6 months later it is still a work in progress. My kids were super sick this week so we really drove home the whole poop in the potty thing since we were going to be home all week. And.... wonder of wonders,MIRACLE of miracles, she pooped in the potty!!! She was crying and throwing a fit and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. Naturally we put her in time out for the fit and she started tooting, alot. So I grabbed her and took her to the potty and she cried and wanted to hold my hand. After several minutes of hardship, wabam!! I was so excited that I got caught up in the moment. We sang, we danced, she got 2 prizes from the prize bag and we had cookies and icecream. Needless to say that she is now sold on the whole pooping in the potty gig (although she still wakes up with poopy diapers). Unfortunately since I started with such a bang, she expects it every time. These prizes are going like candy (cause most of them are candy).So, like I said, poop is expensive.

thanks moms

So I woke up this morning and got ready for church and as I looked at my outfit this scripture popped into my head...

I was naked and you clothed me.

I realized that without my mom, and mother-in-law, I would be naked. Here's the run down...

Earings and necklace : hand-me-downs from my MIL

White shirt: hand-me-down from my mom

Yellow under shirt: HMD from my MIL

Skirt: HMD from my mom

White Shoes: HMD from my mom

So, what I am trying to say is thank you to the moms in my life, whithout whom I wouldn't have made it out the door dressed!!

Heart-A-Tack!!!!!!

Ok, so now that we are safely back home here in CO, I can tell you about my heart attack in Utah. It was the middle of the night and T-Ray started crying so I went to get him and make a bottle. When I went in the kids room I didn't see Brook, but just thought she was under the sheets. I passed T over to Drew in our room and proceeded to the bathroom (cause you know when I am awakened in the night, so is my bladder ((and I always have to mention pee or poo in my posts)) ) ANYWAYS, on the way to the bathroom I decided to check on Brook. I went in the room and looked on her bed. She wasn't there. I checked the sides of the bed and she wasn't there either. I figured that she had snuck into Grammy and Grandpas bed. I knocked on their door and creeked it open. I asked if Brook was in there and Grammy said, no. Then a wave of blood rushed to my extremedies and I began a mad dash through the house yelling, "Brook, Brook, BROOK, BBBRRRROOOOOOOOKKKKK!!!!!" my voice growing louder with every vacant room. By this time I had woken up the whole house. I ran to the garage and checked there. I looked outside in the dog house and in the garden. When I came in the house again and saw Drew standing there saying, "where is she?" I almost died. Rushing through my head were names like Elizabeth Smart, Maddie McCann, and Jonbenet Ramsey. I was on the verge of the biggest panic attack I have ever had (even typing this makes my anxiety go up) when my Father-in-law came in saying, I found her. (HUGE RUSH OF RELEIF) followed by many tears and silent prayers praising Heavenly Father for keeping my baby safe. So where was she? Under the bed!!!! What?? Yup! Totally asleep and barely skinny enough to shimmy under there. We had to rug burn her face to get her out (how she got there?? a mystery that only Houdini baby could answer). Anyway, she didn't even wake up! But the rest of us did! It sounds lame typing it, but I have NEVER been soooo frightened in my entire life. I just can't even imagine how those parents cope with it, when their babies really are taken in the shadows of the night without anyone hearing it.

Anyway, thought I would share how I had my first heart attack.

the least of my problems

Sad, sad sad sad sad sad SAD!!! So poop is now the least of my worries. We are actually having an awesome vacation in good ole Hurricane, UT, but Brookie my dear has gone nuts. She is sooooo excited to be at grammie and grandpa's house that she has turned into a little puppy. You know the kind, when they get excited the pee all over the place. Yup, thats my baby girl. She peed her pants 5 times within a few hours. So needless to say, pooping in the potty is no longer the goal. Side note, Brookie never peed her pants for me cause she was so excited, should I be offended?

Anyway, here is Drewby on the scooter with Brook

This shot is a classic. Who else can chill redneck style with their mother-in-law? This was just a little of the Oklahoma coming out...and yes, I did actually shoot those guns and almost hit the target! The one I was holding scared me so bad when it went off that I almost didn't get my potty treat that day, hehe.

Backfire

...the poop saga continued...

So, my mom gave me a good suggestion that I thought would really work. She told me to go to the store and get some toys and treats that Brookie really wants, but never gets. Then everytime she goes poop in the potty, to give her one. She said the trick is to give yourself one when you go poop too, so that Brookie sees that the prizes are related. Follow me? k, so we went to Target (love that dollar spot) and got all sorts of really fun little toys. This was Monday morning. Not to be too gross, but I had some opportunities to show Brookie how we earn a prize. I would show her, go pick out my prize, and play with it in front of her. This has got to work, right? It made her so mad! She was wailing cause she didn't get a prize. We have ground it into her head that she gets one if she goes poop in the potty. Well, then she throws this curve ball at us. She has not pooped since Sunday. Not in the potty, not in her pants, not in her diapers! I am a little concerned. For some kids that might be normal, but my little princess usually poops several times a day. So, now I am sooooo paranoid about the huge explotion lurking around the corner. I guess the good part is that I have had quite a bit of fun these last few days, playing with my bubbles, my ring pop, my cow pen, and my stickers. (side note, I do feel like a jerk everytime she watches me play with my fun toys, especially since I don't know what the hold up is --pun intended!)

Easter

What do you mean i'm late. I'm just really early for next year.

Here is T man enjoying his Easter feast

Brookie at the easter egg hunt my friend put on, thanks Lindee

Brookies first basket at home.

Ok, so this is why we do it right. This made all the work and hastle worth it!

Right here she was saying, 'I love easter basket!'

march/april 2010

So this is the what I salvaged when Brookie got a little too excited for .........

This activity. It was our first year and it was really fun.

Maybe we should check their vision...I would probably be more motivated to turn the tv off if it didnt buy me that 5 minute snooze every morning. 10 points if you can name the show, and sing the closing song.

hehe, I hate when Drew does this to me, but it's cute when I do it to him!

So I usually don't save my wrappers, but this was DIVINE. Luna bar, white chocolate macadamia---yum yum yum!!!!!!!!111

my day

So I just got off the phone telling my mom my sob story and she was laughing and said, you gotta post this so someone can have a good laugh even if it's not you. So, for all you sick people out there that laugh at my pain ;) here you go. Last night we went to my birthday dinner since tonight is busy and tomorrow is Sunday. At dinner, T-ray threw up on the table. We came home embarassed and went to bed. At around 2 am, Brookie came into our room (my side of course) and threw up on me/the bed/ the nice dry clean only pillow. Drew called dibs on taking care of T-ray before I could speak up. Brookie threw up one more time last night and I managed to get it in the bowl. Today, of all Saturdays is the RMPA which is a Psychology conference and its here in Denver, so Drew is gone to that. Naturally, the kids and I watched Cars, then Bugs Life, then Cars again. I was feeling quite lethargic so I took the kids outside to kick the soccer ball for a minute. The soccer playing spawned some nice diahrea from T so we headed inside to clean that up. While walking inside Brookie announced, "I poo pooed". Argggggggggggggg. So I told her to just stand there for a minute and that she was in trouble. She was not happy about this and I thought, "good!!!" I cleaned T, then grabbed Brookie by the leg and arm and hauled her to the bathroom. While stripping her down I got poop on my hand!!! Gross!! The hand with my wedding ring, double gross!!! I put her in the shower and started pouring water on her bum, (I couldn't bring myself to turn the shower on). She was shivering, I was feeling like a crappy mom and then she turned and said through her quivering lips, "are you sick of it?" and I said, "as a matter of fact, yes, I am sick of it!!" Needless to say, our poop saga continues.

Poop Advise

Well, as the title so clearly states, I need poop advise. Not for me, I am actually doing quite well, but for my daughter. She has not peed her pants in over 3 weeks (yeah!!!!), BUT or should I say BUTT she has also not pooped in the tiolet in the last 3 weeks. Where is this poop hiding you might ask? In her pants, on her bedroom floor, on the kitchen floor, and waiting for me every morning in her night time diaper. So what should I do??? We have tried time out and making her sit on the toilet for long time periods after each stinky accident, neither of which is working. I don't like the idea of really harsh punishments, and I would totally reward her for pooping in the toilet, but she hasn't! Any great advise? Cause if you can't trust the whole blogging world, who can you trust?

Signed,
Poopless in Seattle, I mean Denver

i hate when

...I get so backed up that I have a million things to post but I only have enough time to do the oldest one..so get excited for our Easter post some time around the 4th of July.

Drew and I went on a little get-a-way. It was awesome!!! We went on a two day, one night ski weekend without the kids. Yup, you read that right. We left plenty of food and water for the kids and told Brookie to lock the door, (remember when you could do things like that, well Idon't but I have heard of crazy things my grandma used to do). Anyways, no, our totally awesome friends took the kids for us. The great thing is that since we are on a tight budget (but still need our sanity), this was my birthday/ our anniversary/ mother's day/ father's day/ Drew's graduation (ps, he passed his thesis defence, yeah, and now has his Masters only 3 years to go)/ Easter/ Memorial Day/ 4th of July present!

Room with a view

Hot stuff!! and Drew, haha just kidding

The Honeymooners

One more view, with no kids Drew and I slept for 12 hours! That and the 7 hours of skiing that day knocked us out.