Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Christmas

Christmas was great. As much as I wish we could be with family, it's fun to have it just our somewhat-little family. M and P still don't fully get Santa, but they got that he brought presents and wouldn't come if they were naughty. Great motivation to be good...

It looked like Toys R Us threw up in our house in the morning, it was awesome. We ended up having to get P some plastic totes to put all his Thomas in because we have no more storage left. And I've stepped on quite a few sharp little trains already, and came very close to "accidentally" chucking them through a window. Good thing the shades were closed.


M got a kitchen and seeing her face when she saw it... it was so great. She got really shy as if she wasn't sure it was for her, and then was just SO excited. She loves it. ALL of them love it, actually.
J got some fun toys, but it's hard to find toys for his age that we don't already have in some way or another. Not the best picture, but you can see the load of Thomas crud everywhere.


And what did CJ and I get for Christmas? Tee hee hee hee.... one of the best presents I've ever gotten.

A new TV!!!!!! To sound like TAMN---Squeeeee!!!!!!!!!! Yep, we used CJ's bonus to get a new 42" HDTV. No, we're not being wasteful with money, we did need a new TV as our old one was starting to go, and watching movies with green corners just isn't as fun as on a new TV. We'd had that TV since we were newlyweds, and my parents had had it before us. I'm such a suck and teared up in the van as CJ was donating it to Salvation Army here. What a dork. Sucky thing is, our cable company doesn't have HD channels yet (bah) so we're switching to DirecTV. CJ's like a little kid on a sugar high, thinking about watching the Super Bowl in HD. And now you've also seen part of our house, aren't you all so excited? In all it's white walledness? I should take more pics of this room and have you guys tell me what to paint it, if even to paint it. It's so whacky shaped it's hard! Oops. There I go on a ramble again.

So Angie, Jesse and Staci will be proud, but I've been thinking about getting back into scrapping (both ways, digi and paper) again. I took a big fat break because I was just feeling.... overwhelmed I guess. I had other things going on IRL and in the online world, and I let it slip off my radar of things that relax me. But I'm like a fly drawn to a bug zapper with all the pretty doodads out there for both kinds of scrapping, and I've been collecting a bit here and there. I made a mini album for my friend Kim for her baby boy Spencer, turned out cute. Of course, forgot to take pics of it, durr.

J is finally standing with support!!! And he's figured out his feet and takes STEPS while holding onto our hands!! AND he's crawling on his hands and knees now!! Really, the amount of progress he's made in the last month just makes me burst with cheesy mummy pride. Shelley is so pleased she's letting us go to an appointment every two weeks instead of every week, which is very nice since our copays are going up to $50 a pop. J is also very proud of himself, and loves to show off his skillz anywhere. Little lovebug. He also has discovered that tipping the bowl straight into his mouth is mucho faster than bothering with silly things like spoons or fingers.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Another Fun Visitor!

From Wednesday until today, my mum came to town for a pre-Christmas visit, since she and Richard are ditching the States in favor of the beaches of Bermuda for Christmas. Color me jealous... but never mind. We had a BLAST.
The kids loved having her around.
We made gingerbread cookies.
We decorated gingerbread houses. {and made a huge mess doing so}
We went on drives to look at Christmas lights.
We ate at the peanut house. {Texas Roadhouse to those not speaking P-ese}
We shopped our feet off in Tucson.
We watched Mamma Mia! Over and over and over.
We hit up Target multiple times.
M sang Love Story for her.
P showed her his plethora of Thomas trains.
J charmed the senses out of her.

It was a great time!

I'll have to remember to upload the pics ASAP, which probably means I won't remember til new years.

Maybe that should be a new years resolution, to upload my pics faster....

Speaking of new years, one of my resolutions that I hope I'll actually *keep* this time is to restart my 365 project, but with a different spin. Instead of me being in all the pics, I'm going to try to take a pic of each child each day, and if I succeed, at the end of the year I'll print them in a hardbound book. Fingers crossed I can keep it up this time!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

One out of three...

likes Santa.


























At least in our house.











Oh well. We'll try again at breakfast with Santa this weekend. Maybe I'll get two out of three this time.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Please, please PLEASE read this and sign!!

I'm a huge fan of mom and pop businesses. Like my favorite bowmaker, Karyn, who runs Little Pink Ladybug. But she's closing her business as of February 10, 2009. Not because she WANTS to, but because she HAS to. Likewise, many sellers on my favorite addiction, Etsy, will have to shut down. I love to get second-hand clothes at great deals, but I won't be able to anymore, from garage sales or consignment stores. And do you love going to the handmade crafts sections at fairs and such? Well, no more buying childrens products there, or selling them yourselves.

New Product Safety Legislation Needs Clarifications Now
Urge Your Members of Congress to Help Now

In August 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) (PL 110-787) was passed by Congress to strengthen product safety laws to ensure only safe and compliant products are sold to our nation's children. While well-intentioned, this legislation imposes several new and burdensome requirements that increase costs at a time of economic upheaval but that do not offer any improvement in the safety of children's clothing or footwear.
Urge your members of Congress today to work with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to develop a pragmatic approach to the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Strengthening our product safety system is an important goal, but this can only be achieved if there are predictable and commonsense regulations that address safety risks.


In "mom" words:

Congress passed an act called the CPSIA - its intent is to keep lead and phthalates out of childrens' products. Which is obviously great. HOWEVER, this act means that everyone who sells products intended for children will have to test each and every one of their products for lead/phthalates. If someone knits baby booties, they'll have to test each yarn they use, and each dye lot of that yarn. Each test costs upwards of $1k. In other words, as of 2/10/09, most small businesses dealing with childrens' products are going to be forced to close up shop.It's not just toys - it's clothing, cloth diapers, cribs, strollers, slings - EVERYTHING meant for children under 12. And it's not just businesses, large or small - consignment stores cannot sell untested/uncertified clothing. **You yourself cannot sell untested/uncertified clothing on eBay, message boards, or even in a garage sale.


Please, please, please take the small amount of time that it will take to email your Representatives and Senators to let them know of this huge problem. Whether you create things by hand yourself, or enjoy being able to buy something beautiful and support a fellow mom or dad. Even if you haven't ever bought something handmade, chances are you know or knew someone that this will affect.

Places to find out more information and to sign petitions/email your Reps:

Etsy's Open Letter
CapWiz - they'll email your Reps for you, with your info
Handmade Toy Alliance
National Bankruptcy Day - they have a petition to sign in the colum on the right, as well as updates.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Taggiola Time

Hilary tagged me a bit ago, and I kept meaning to do this, but then my computer got a virus and it took me forever and a day to get rid of it, blah blah blah. So here it is:

8 T.V. Shows I like to watch:
1. Psych (totally have a crush on Gus)
2. House
3. NCIS
4. Imagination Movers (it's the one kids show that I can really get into)
5. House Hunters
6. Numb3rs
7. The Hills (guilty pleasure)
8. Parking Wars

8 Places I like to eat:
1. Texas Roadhouse
2. Bushwhackers
3. Rodolphos
4. McDonalds (kid friendly. what can I say...)
5. Chilis
6. Olive Garden
7. Outback
8. Golden Dragon

8 Things I did today:
1. Went to M's IEP evaluation
2. Avoided going to the gym
3. Finished making the gingerbread cookies
4. Fixed the computer
5. Changed my kids diapers
6. Sent CJ off to work
7. Took M to dance class and chatted with the other moms
8. Watched J learn to get up on his feet!!!!!!!!!

8 Things I'm looking Forward to:
1. Mum coming to visit next week
2. My arms to stop hurting
3. To FINALLY see Twilight
4. Christmas
5. Shopping in Tucson this weekend (yesssss)
6. Sleep
7. Getting our new TV finally
8. Painting the kids room... eventually

8 Things I can't live without:
1. CJ
2. M
3. P
4. J
5. The Church
6. Extended family
7. The computer
8. Coke

Now... Tag 8 people

umm... really, whoever wants to do this. :) Amber? Shila? Staci? Bueller?

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Oh owww...

We had a visitor this weekend. The kids loved her being around. I did too... as long as we weren't in the gym. Because she kicked my arse into gear, and oh good gravy, I'm SO FREAKING SORE now.
Yep, aunt Camille came to visit us for the first time in SoAZ! M and P loved it, they had such a blast playing with her and laughing hysterically. We took her to see the sights, which was basically just Tombstone and Bisbee... yeah. Not that thrilling when she was only down from Thursday until today. But it was fun! She helped me take the kids to the Christmas parade last night. OOOOOOOH my gosh, that sucker was long! It started at 5:30pm and we took the kids home at 7:30 because we were too cold to keep standing there, even though the parade was still going on!
Some pictures...


Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thankful

I am thankful...


for our health, as whacky as it can be.
for M's preschool and all that she's learned already.
for baby smiles and growls first thing in the morning.
that I didn't burn the roast today.
that I have some amazingly great friends both near and far.
for CJ's job, as skeery as it can be.
that Kim drags me to the gym.
for House and how much he makes me laugh.
that my mum is in a happy place, for the most part.
to have a husband who never discourages my whacky ideas.
for the memories I have so far, happy and sad both.
that dinner tonight was just SO good.
to have a roof over our heads, and a fridge full of food.
that Mercy said she was thankful for tomatoes {even though she meant potatoes}.
that my printer finally decided to work.
for my roots and ancestry.
that MaryBeth kept her promise and came to playgroup this week.
for a healing P man.
that our neighbour takes our garbage to the curb for us when I'm busy cleaning up a puking P.
that J find burps so freaking funny.
for Bolt.
to have some amazing people for in laws, both immediate family and extended.
that there's a park right behind our house, so burning toddler energy isn't a car drive away.
for Canada.
that I didn't name my son Bronx Mowgli like I'd planned. {who knew Ashlee Simpson was thinking the same thing!}
for yummy smelling candles that make the room smell so lovely.
to live in a country where I can say all these things and not be muted.
for a religion that is so sound and firm.
to have faith surrounding me even when I don't feel it.
for a cat that wakes me up at night with unearthly sounds. {wait...}
for a dog that is better with my babies than most babysitters.
for a fish that just won't kick the bucket. {we're down to 1 out of 4}
for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and me crying while watching it, for no good reason.
that this town has a Target.
that P still loves to cuddle with me, and pats me on the cheek and says "i loe loo, mummy."
for J's physical therapist, Shelly, and how well she does with him.
that M loves to sing the Mamma Mia! soundtrack with me, and can shake her booty doing it.
that CJ is such a funny and fun dad.
that I finally got to say "peace out, girl scout" in a sarcastic way to someone this year.
to have so many blessings.



Happy Thanksgiving/Black Friday!!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Peekture Time Again!

I have a few things I've been thinking about blogging, but instead I'm going to let you see some really cute kids. Sound fun? Yes! BTW, if any of you want a Christmas card {that will probably include one of these pictures, if that's more incentive for you} email me your address or post it in the comments, if you're that brave. Email is cjandlaurie@gmail.com

I took the kids to the park to take these pics yesterday. I have a big blank wall that's begging for a photo collage, and so I need some new pics of the kids for that, as well as for Christmas cards. I need to take some more, but here's what I have so far. Enjoy!

{the reason they're all black and white is because they're for the photo wall, and I love B&W photos.}













Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Time Flies...

When you're trying to pretend it doesn't.

What have I not been posting about... hm.

How about my joy boy, P, turning three. Three?! What? When did... How on earth... WHO LET TIME FLY WITHOUT ASKING ME!! That's it, someone's getting fired tonight.

Yes, my P-man turned three years old two weeks ago, but because we wanted to have his 3 year checkup and J's 1 year checkup at the same time, he just had his appointment today. 33 lbs, 39 inches. I *knew* he was growing! Little dude's always been on the smaller side, but he's starting to catch up to M. Watch out world. He is the perfect image of health, his speech is beautiful {not something most worry about, but after what we went through with M... well, I'm paranoid.}, he's beautiful. He didn't need any shots, but they offered a flu shot for him, and since he catches everything and I'm a sadist, I said yes please. Poor kid, I guess it hit the muscle funny or something because today while M was in dance class he'd fallen asleep in the van, but when I got him up he could barely walk and was just so upset. Yes, it was a bit of dramatics, but this is the boy who can jump three feet forward from a standstill, and rarely stops moving. So I know he really was in pain. Poor bug. M did excellent in class so I treated her to a kiddie cone from Mickey Dees and got P a chocolate chip cookie to help him feel better; it seemed to stem the tears.
J did well too, charming the doctor and smiling and playing like the cute bubba he is. 20.3 lbs, 29 inches. Thought he'd weigh more than that... huh. He looks great, his head tilt is less and he's starting to pull up on things and figuring out how to tuck his tooshie in so he can stand better. Unfortunately he didn't fare as well as P did in the needle part of the exam. Poor bubs got 5, yep FIVE, needles. Le sigh. He. Was. PIIIISSED. We had P's done first, and I held P {who was sobbing} while CJ held J down so the nurse could stick him. Oh, the anger and hurt in his little man voice!! And then M wanted to know why J was crying and went over to see, and saw him get a needle. *She* burst into tears too. Oy vey, I was glad CJ was able to be there to help me. Three crying bubbies is just not fun. Funny enough, J seems fine now whereas P is in so much pain from his one shot...

Thanks to everyone who commented on my photos. I love taking photos, I hope I'm getting better at it. Helps that I have fun kids to practice the skill on, I suppose! I have some wonderful friend/teachers, check out my blog links and you'll see their names. Kate Crafton is one of my most favorite people I've ever cyber-met. The talent she has... it makes me drool. I keep saying one day, when I win the lottery or something equally impossible, I'm going to fly her somewhere exotic with my family, so she can be my camera-love slave and take ridiculously gorgeous pictures of us all. {hah... totally made you read my blog now, didn't I, SK?}
And yes, I love editting pics too. I don't completely destroy a photo, but I like the pop that a bit of editting gives photos, so crucify me if you're a naturalist, but me and my PS will keep on truckin'.
Anyone local who wants to goof around with cameras and take pics, let me know!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Because I Suck.

**apologies to those of you trying to see the pics this morning, I didn't realize Blogger would cut half my pics off, so I had to redo it**

I've started and stopped two --no wait, maybe it's three-- posts, but just ran out of steam. You'd think with the past week I'd have plenty to say... but nope. So how about some pictures instead?

Mister J is now one year old, much to my chagrin. He suddenly seems so much bigger too, and he's doing great in his PT and starting to climb up on us too.

Halloween! J was a pony, P was a tiger, and M was Cinderella. Some random pictures from throughout the day:

Isaac and P. Best friends until there's a Thomas toy at risk.

Tatiana, one of the cutest kids. I foresee P and J fighting over her in 15 years...

Lips courtesy of MaryBeth, her wunderbar mother.
Peekaboo

Our house all ready for trick or treaters.

Some videos:












Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Okay, so just to follow up, I did call the billing department again and basically said "I got a bill, the lady was useless so I called the PT department and Melody double checked everything and said you're all wrong and I owe nothing, so I want this bill removed." {seriously, that's pretty much what I said} The lady who answered said "ummm... oh... okay, hold on..." got put on hold for awhile {really, they could use some better on-hold music} and then she came back and said "okay, I talked to [I couldn't understand her] and we're going to go ahead and get rid of that bill." Yeah, thought you'd say that.
We went grocery shopping today, before M went to school. Monday shopping is fun because it's usually mostly older people who are much more understanding of our kids yelling across the store "mum. MUUUUMMMYYYYY. Wook at the apples, they're WED!" We take two carts, with P and J in the seats and M walks with us, "helping". Anyways, we split up every now and then, and twice CJ had someone come up to him and ask if both the kids he had were his {since P was with me}, accompanied with a look of incredulity. Huh? Is it because it's a man with two kids? Or has two children suddenly become a rarity in society? Most couples we know have two or more kids, but then again, we're Mormon, it's expected. Maybe we just don't notice these things...

Okay, nuff of that. Pictures, anyone?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Seriously?

Let me start this by saying I'm still ticked about this, despite talking to CJ, mum, and various friends. So excuse the sarcasm with a hint of venom.

We got a letter in the mail from Sierra Vista Regional, where J gets his PT sessions. Hm, okay... open it, and it's a bill telling us we owe $40 for a September visit. Huh? We pay our copay after every visit, on our way out the door. And yeah, it's $40 a pop. Every appointment. Ouch.

Anyways, I can't find my paper where I have the list of J's appointment dates, so I call the PT office and lovely Melody gives me a list of when he was seen. I look up on our banking website to see when we paid, looks caught up. I call and the billing department can be considered less than helpful in my books. Half an hour of being on the phone and on hold, they can't give me the specific date that I supposedly missed paying, yet insist that I missed a payment. Color me angry, I get snarky and say "forget it, it sounds like the PT department has it more together than the billing, so I'm just going to deal with them from now on, thanks." and hang up. Seriously, they expected me to just say "oh, I missed it somewhere, but you're not sure where? Okay, let me pull $40 out of the air and send it off, thank youuuu!" {there's that snarkasm coming out, sorry.} So I call back to the PT office and stutter off what's going on {stutter because by this time I'm completely flustered and my words are choosing to not come out properly} and Melody, yet again, rocks the vote. She says this happens sometimes, don't stress, I'll go through your appointments and compare them to the receipt records we have. So she's going to get back to me about this tomorrow, and I'm finally chilling out a bit. Thank heavens for sane people sometimes.

This might not be such a huge deal to some, but we've been having medical billing problems all over the place this year, and I'm just done with it. Really, I'm sick of having to sit on the phone and repeat myself over and over about billing and coding and incorrect blah blah blah, and just feeling like it's falling on deaf ears. I'm frustrated because we've shelled out a good amount of money so far this year for therapies and such, and while I love the therapists we've been blessed to have for J, the money part just sucks. SUCKS. And I know there are people who have much heavier payments and get treated worse, but that doesn't make it easier for me, know what I mean? Especially seeing as I'm Canadian. I know the medical system up there isn't perfect, but from the crap I've encountered this year, I'd rather be up there right now. Sigh.

Okay, going to snuggle my expensive but so completely worth it baby boy. {but he better have d@mn straight teeth, because he's used up his braces money.}

Monday, October 13, 2008

Meandering Minds

So I really thought that I'd posted on Friday, but apparently it was Wednesday. Ooooops. Yet another sign that kids kill brain cells. {in a good way, of course}
Another sign? Totally turned the alarm off for Church. Shake your heads at me now. Shame shame. Woke up at 8:40 and said "well, there goes that good idea." It might not have been such a bad thing, since CJ got home from work at 3, so he would have got 4 hours of sleep, and that makes one grumpy man. So we took the kids to the "big park", which they appreciated, poor things needed to burn some energy. Other than little man J, who pooped out on the way to the park and slept through most of it. Went home and piddled about til CJ went to work. I took the kids to the park behind our house, and then we decided to go for a walk, since they're levelling some roads since they're building more houses. M had a blast running on the dirt, and P did too, til he biffed it. Then he thought walking with me and holding onto the stroller was a good idea. I'm glad I brought the blanket for J, it got nippy!! Anyways, a nice calm Sunday.
M's picking up some.... special... sayings. My favorite is she went up to CJ and said "I need twenty five dollars." CJ kind of looks at her funny and says "um, why do you need twenty five dollars?" She replies "I want to buy candy, so I need quarters." Good law, that child remembers too much. Our mall has candy machines everywhere, so when we go we always talk about whether we have quarters or not. Why she wanted twenty five dollars worth of quarters... well, the girl loves her candy.
I should mention, she's completely day trained now!! Whoop whoop! Both number one and number two. Niiiice. Apparently waiting til she cued us was the right choice, even if it meant waiting til she was 4. And pull ups are of the debbul, if you ask me. Those things are just the diaper industry's way of trying to suck as much money out of you for as long as it can. Jerks. I shake my fist at you, Huggies. {and ask for more coupons please. I still have two in diapers, after all. You'll be getting money out of me for awhile.}
M's off school this week... pray for my mind, dear people. One day down, four to go. We're going to make her run around the park a bunch of times, maybe help the roofers who are working on the new houses in our development, go chase the cows in the field next to our development... just kidding. {watch, someone's going to go CPS on my butt now.} We're going to go to Apple Annies on Saturday, anyone want to join us, oh local ladies? Other than that, not a big planned out week. Some crafts, some Disney {yep, I'm a bad tv watching mum}, some park.... so on so forth. Oh, and some trips to Target I'm sure.
So here's my latest grrrr-session. COSTUMES. M has hers, she's Cinderella {not my choice, but unfortunately doesn't bow to my whims anymore} , but P and J, nothing yet. They were all going to be a character from Toy Story 2, but M had to go and get an opinion on me. So then I thought we could dress P up as Gus Gus and J as a pumpkin, and they'd still be theme-y. But do you know how hard it is to find a mouse costume that A) isn't ugly and B) doesn't have the word "Mickey" in front of "Mouse"? So we asked P what he wants to be. Finally he says he wants to be a dinosaur. So we sit down in front of the computer and google "toddler dinosaur costumes" and find the freaking COOLEST costume. It's a Triceratops, it looks great and is reasonably priced {I hate cheap looking costumes, if I'm blowing money on something it better be worth it} and it's completely sold out. Like I can't find it anywhere. ANY. WHERE. What the deuce am I supposed to do?! I ended up finding two on eBay, one in J's size and one in P's size, so we'll see if they stay reasonably priced. If not.... you may just hear me ranting and raving about it some more. Sorry, my blog my rules!
And on that note, The Duggars show is almost over, and hark, I hear my bed calling my name.

*someday I'll post new pics of the kids.... someday.*

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Shmoopy time, anyone?

I fully admit two things. 1) I listen to some country music. Really, I listen to whatever catches my ear, I'm not picky. 2) I have a shmoopy streak. What's shmoopy? Shmoopy is cheesy love songs, over the top romantic gestures, PDA, all that stuff we all gag at publicly but secretly kinda wish it was us.
The problem is, CJ is not shmoopy. He just doesn't thought-process like that, which is so fine. It's obviously not a deal breaker for me, I mean, I obviously married him anyways. And he does have his moments, like when I turned 20. He'd just left on his mission (as in *just* left, 13 days earlier) and I was feeling so sorry for myself. I walked into the house and there, sitting on the kitchen table, was a vase filled with 20 beautiful, perfect white roses. He'd ordered them before he left, and I had no idea.
We're a great example of how opposites attract. I love hanging out with other people and doing things as a group, CJ could be alone in the mountains for weeks and be perfectly fine. He loves sports, I didn't until we got married. CJ falls asleep early, I'm a nightowl. I love working with computers and programs, CJ... well, he's not good at it. He loves horror movies, I do NOT. Point taken? But we work, dunno why.
We didn't have an easy courtship for a bunch of factors that I won't get all long winded about plus I don't need them floating around the internet. We started dating almost 10 years ago, before his mission. I knew two months in to dating him that I wanted to marry him, but I really didn't think it would happen. How often do people date before missions and swear they're going to get married when the guy comes back, and they don't, for whatever reason? Ask Jesse or Mandy, I was sure it would never work out. I moved back to Canada, he went on his mission, I taught at a summer camp in Maine, I moved to Scotland... life happened. I even stopped writing him, for a variety of reasons that had nothing to do with him. He came back from his mission, and I was playing on the internet with some friends while in Scotland, and found him listed at BYU. Shock to the system. I ended up writing him a letter apologizing for how things happened, and I felt at peace with whatever happened. And then I got a phone call, asking me if I knew who it was. Like I could forget his voice. We long-distance dated until I flew home in March and he came to visit me at my parents house, and it was all over. We got engaged in May and married in August. Haven't looked back since.
Back to my confessions. I was listening to the top music songs on iTunes and "Love Story" by Taylor Swift came up. It's at the bottom of my music playlist in my sidebar, to the left. I fell in love with it. I love the lyrics, it makes me think of some of the things that CJ and I have been through in the times we've been together, some of them I've never told most people about. Especially the line "this love is difficult, but it's real. don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess. it's a love story, baby just say yes". I just love well written songs, no matter what genre they fit into. Anyways, I finally opened up my PhotoShop and did a page about it, I don't think I've ever scrapped about CJ and how I feel. It usually has to do with the kids and him. Excuse me if it's too shmoopy for you, trust me, I could have gotten even more shmoopy on you.

So here's to my unRomeo. I'm so very glad I said yes.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Youth is Wasted on the Young.

I'm 29 today. Well, tonight, at 9:36 PM to be exact, I believe. But that's not my point. I always pshawed when people would talk about what a downer turning 29 was, but now that I'm here, I see their point. "Pish tosh, young one!" some of you may be saying. Well, I'm hormonal, so suck it up, princesses, you get to read my age related rambling.

I woke up this morning feeling very sorry for myself, but there's really no good reason, other than another birthday bites the dust. No big celebrations, that's one of the side effects of having a birthday that always falls on General Conference whenever I get lucky enough to have it on the weekend. Plus let's be real, what would I do even if it weren't General Conference? I've cheered up as the day's gone on, especially when I got a call from my in laws singing Happy Birthday to me, and then another one from my mum singing too. Plus some nice emails, and of course who doesn't appreciate happy birthday wishes on Facebook? Whoop! (Sorry, MaryBeth, no cake today. But swing by tomorrow, I'm so going to get me a big fat cake from Safeway) Life ain't so bad, I guess. Plus I just had M come in half nekkid and shake her butt at me and then run away giggling, who wouldn't crack a smile at a good mooning? Reminds me of my uncle Neil... that's a story for another day.

I should make a list of 29 things I want to do before I turn 30... no, that requires motivation. I don't have much of that. Although I did dust the ceiling fan off today, that was gross. That's what I get for having it on for most of the summer, I suppose. But now that it's fall, and the weather is freaking perfect, we have the AC off and the windows open, and it's heeeeeaven. (And nice on the pocketbook too) That's one thing I love about my birthday, fall is my favorite season. If we were east coast, it'd be even better. I love the changing colors, the leaves crunching underfoot, going apple picking... here, well, cactus don't really change colors. Or have leaves, come to think of it.

See, there goes the rambling. How many trains of thought did I hit up there?

MaryBeth was kind enough to tag me too (what a great birthday present! Better than any expensive bag or perfume)

I was tagged! Six weird and random things about me! (like that's hard.)

The rules are:
*Link to the person who tagged you (MaryBeth)
*Post the rules on your blog
*Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
*Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
*Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
*Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

So, here they are...
1. I still have a huge crush on Joey from New Kids On The Block. Huuuuge crush. He's totally gotten better with age. I still love their songs too.
2. I cry really easily, even at cheesy, stupid commercials that I'll make fun of while crying.
3. I have pack rat tendencies, which clash with CJ's cleaning overdrive.
4. I love surfing Etsy and finding all sorts of random stuff.
5. I'm a crunchy wannabe.
6. I secretly love teaching my kids bad things to say.


I tag Amber, Mary Lynn, De Ana, Melanie, Renee, and Staci.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

An addiction

Okay, I love bags. Diaper bags mostly, at least right now, but I'll admit to drooling over some Coach bags and the likes. Anyways, there's a new site launching, Handbag Planet, and to celebrate the October 15 launch they're giving away a free handbag every hour for 24 hours on the day of the launch. I signed up. You should too. Do it. C'mon, do it.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Because, Just Because.

Okay, I'm a follower. Mary Beth did one, so I am too. Here's my results, scroll down for my opinion on the quiz. Don't pretend like you don't want to know.



You Belong in 1955



You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!





Well... about half right. I definitely love fun, and have romantic tendecies, but not really innocent. Anyways, here's the quiz, my thoughts/comments/sarcastic drippings are in red. Enjooooooy!

What TV show are you most likely to veg out to?
Family Ties
I Love Lucy
Mork & Mindy
The Brady Bunch
90210
Come on. These are great shows, but the only one you can really veg to, I mean really just completely veg, is 90210. Mork & Mindy and I Love Lucy are too freaking hilarious, Family Ties too sitcom classic, and The Brady Bunch too mind-numbingly... well, mind numbing. (sorry to all the Marsha fans.)

When you think of a classically beautiful woman, you would have to choose:
Marilyn Monroe
Cheryl Tiegs
Cindy Crawford
Twiggy
Christy Brinkley
Freak. These are all classically beautiful women! (Except I'll admit I'm not really sure who Cheryl Tiegs is...) Anyone could pick any of these women, age regardless.

And the coolest guy?
Dennis Hopper
John Travolta
Cary Grant
Brad Pitt
David Hasselhoff
Who wouldn't pick The Hoff? He's a shoe in. (or is it shoo in...)

What's your pet cause?
Fair trade
Women's rights
The environment
Peace
Hygiene
Save the whales. And then wash your face, you dirty bird.

Favorite movie?
The Godfather
Casablanca
Say Anything
The Graduate
Forrest Gump
Why is High School Musical not an option...

What type of music do you prefer?
Swing
Alternative
Pop
Oldies
Classic Rock
Where does Imagination Movers and Ralph's World fall in here. Alternative? Because they're an alternative choice, right? I prefer broadway, just for the record.

What's your ideal first date?
Hanging out at the latest dance club, all dressed up
Skipping the date and going straight to the hookup
Dinner and a movie - dutch
Taking off to a rock festival
Sharing a milkshake and fries at a diner
Straight to the hookup. No problem answering this one. Wait, I mean--

You're cruising down a costal highway... what car are you driving?
A b!tchin' Camero
A classic Caddy
A convertible BMW
A new model VW Beetle
A sweet cherry red Mustang
Again, my actual preference is missing. Give me the big red car, please. Wiggles optional. If they're up for it, come on down. As long as they sing. I doubt the big red car has a radio.

What's your favorite comfort food?
Meatloaf
Pop Tarts
Mac N Cheese
Red bull and vodka
Fondue
All of the above? Check! (minus the vodka. no thanks)

Finally, how was this quiz?
All that and a bag a chips
What a trip!
Awesome
Far out!
A total blast
What about "totally tubular, dude! Rock on!"


Peace out, homies.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Ready for a Vent?

I'm slacking on uploading pictures, avoiding cleaning {who wants to clean at night}, and there's nothing I want to watch on TV, so I'm going to tell you all about the train of thought that keeps chugging into my brain lately. Try not to get too excited, if you bounce in your seat too much you can't read the screen.

I have an issue with Disney, specifically their cartoons. While I love most of their movies, some friends and I have been talking about Disney's tendency to the dramatic, borderline depressing bylines in their plots. Look at Dumbo. I'm sorry, but I can NOT watch that movie. I start sobbing from the very beginning, and just keep on working my way through that tissue box. That movie will never live on our movie shelves, no sirree. Same with Bambi. Nope, not gonna happen. Fox and The Hound? Yet again with the parentless storylines!

And don't give me the "well, it's an old movie" line. Look at how Finding Nemo starts! And the absolute worst Disney movie to watch in my presence is Tarzan. I guarantee I will use your sleeve as a tissue if you watch this movie with me. And yes, I absolutely love this movie, it's one of my favorite Disney movies ever, just cut out the beginning. I can't deal with it at all. I could barely deal with it before I had children, and now... see, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

Hercules, taken away from his loving parents {and don't get me started about how Disney TOTALLY messed with the actual Greek myth. Hera as his loving mother? Puh-leeeeze.}. Brother Bear, whose brother dies and the mommy bear dies. The Rescuers, that poor little girl is so alone! The Hunchback... well, we'll give them a pass on that, based on how much more depressing the actual book is. Ariel's Beginning {the new Little Mermaid movie}, SAAAD.

Anyways, you see my point? Disney, while making some amazingly endearing and enchanting movies, also definitely has a dark side. Boo to that! Cheer me up, get me daydreaming about how sweet cartoon life would be, make me root for the good guys and snarl at the bad guys! Don't make me think, for heavens sake! I use you to escape reality, not to think about how bad life can be! Bring on the popcorn. I feel like watching The Incredibles.


**disclaimer: I am no Disney hater, in case anyone tries to think that. I am a Disney lover, both cartoon and "live" movies. In fact, I just succumbed and signed up for the Disney Movie Club. So 6 Disney movies are headed to my house as we speak. Bring on the tissues, baby. I'm gonna need them.**

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Mary Beth.

I'm avoiding the kitchen and the half-cracked job I've done in deep cleaning it, so I'm going to post about someone who is amazazing. {name that movie, suckas}

There's this girl, and she kinda rocks. She makes walking the halls during sacrament so much more bearable than it usually is, because she always makes me laugh. She's also kinda evil like me, so it's nice to know I'm not the only evilly-inclined mormon in this town. Not evil in a Voldemorty way, but evil in a devious thinking, just-might-be-headed-downward-in-a-handbasket way. Get my drift? {probably not, but it's all good, because chances are most of you are nodding your head thinking "yeah, that pretty much describes Laurie".} She also has the most amazing strength I've ever seen, and not just because of her Wii Fit. Which she's offered to let me play with, that only increases the adoration on my part. I mean, lots of people will share their Wii in order to kick your tushie at something like MarioKart, but not many want to share their exercising with it. Purdy cool. She has stories of embarassment that rival mine, and she has no problem telling them. I'm sure we've gotten a few looks in the lobby at church from laughing so hard. Basically, all around, she rocks. Plus her kids are adorable, and her husband is pretty freaking funny on his own.

Anyways, Mary Beth, you and your stalking make me laugh. Maybe I should just hang out in the Target/Fry's parking lot and wait for you, because that's always where we "run into" eachother. Not literally of course. Unless you want it that way. I mean, the insurance money might be nice... no, just kidding. I love my car too much to do that.

But if someone wants to take out CJ's Snot Rocket car, feel free. Then I can have the garage to myself and my van again. Two car garages aren't actually *meant* for two cars, in my humble opinion.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Let's See...

what's going on in our lives. Oh, I know. Lots!

M started clogging classes once a week. Loooooves it. *when I signed her up I totally thought of you, Jesse!* One of the songs they dance to is a bumblebee song, watching her and the other girls "buzz" about is so CUTE! She also is doing great in school, aaaannnndddd.... *drumroll*...

IS POTTY TRAINING!!!!!

She's been in underwear during the day since Tuesday, and has only had one accident, which was my fault for not taking her straight to the bathroom when we got home from being at Target for awhile. I wish I could take credit, but alas, it was Miss Bonnie. On Tuesday she came home from school in underwear with a note saying that she'd started asking for new pull ups so they tried putting her in underwear and she did great! So the next day was her day off from school and we got an egg timer out and set it to go off every 25 minutes. We call it the peepee clock, and every time it goes off she runs to the bathroom and "does her business". She's so pleased with herself, and I can't blame her. Now, if only it would rub off on P. Knocking two (mostly) out of diapers would be so nice... but I take what I can get!

I got a Thomas tricycle on clearance at Target for P, he's blissed out. He got so excited when he woke up from a rare nap today and found the tricycle in the living room. He's having to fight off J though, J is fascinated with it. Good thing he's not walking yet, there might be trouble then. P is constantly asking to go to Target to see the halloween stuff. Most of it scares him, but he finds it funny at the same time. There's one thing where a skeleton hand comes out of a mailbox that totally freaks him out, but then he loves the dog skeleton that cracks jokes. Go figure, boys, right? Totally love that kid though, he notices anytime I'm feeling down or sick or crying about some stupid commercial. He comes up, pats my face and says "mummy? mummy, what's wrong? mummy, are you crying? why are you crying?" So sweet.

J... my little man. I wish I could say his PT was going well, but I don't know if he's going through a growth spurt or something, but he's looking pretty crooked lately. Got to get more exercises in I guess. He's such a funny kid, he's starting to be a lot like P in that he just cracks himself up. His favorite game is when I go in another room and he crawls after me and I play peekaboo. He screeches and laughs and then crawls some more towards me, and we repeat. I can't believe he's almost 11 months old, time is just flying. His eczema is looking a lot better, especially on his cheek, the patch is almost gone.

CJ's doing great, still loves his job. Sleeps lots, though. Of course, it's a pretty wearing job, so it's understandable. I'm tired, and have some nasty allergies going on, but that's dealable. Would love a getaway sans enfants, but not in the cards, as always. Someday...

Well, it's almost 11:30 on a Sunday night, and a House marathon is on, so I best be going. But I'll post some pictures soon, hopefully. Memory willing.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Because I Love These...

I admit it. I love tags and these cheesy things. Don't know why, but I think it's kind of fun to fill them out, think of funny answers, remember things in the past. So here you go again. Enjoooooooooy!!!!!!!!!

Ten years ago I
1. Had just started my second year at Southern Virginia College.
2. Worked at the stables on campus.
3. Didn't have a drivers license.
4. Was much skinnier than now, yet stupidly thought I was fat.
5. Had just gotten a stepdad.

My "to do" list
1. Make sure M sits on the potty every 20 minutes.
2. Clean something.
3. Get ready for Visit Teaching Conference tonight.
4. Play at Target.
5. Figure out why the printer isn't working/get all the crumbs out of it. (hm... maybe that's why.)

Favorite Snackies
1. Coca-Cola
2. Chips, especially ones from Canada
3. Mini carrots
4. Anything from Chili's
5. Rainbow Sherbet (Baskin Robbins is the best, with hot fudge on it. mmmm.)

If I had a million dollars
1. Pay all our debt
2. Get a bigger house
3. Take the kids on a trip to Canada (Toronto or Alberta, not sure which)
4. Buy out Gymboree
5. Get a pimped out laptop

Places I've lived
1. London England
2. Toronto ONT Canada
3. Lethbridge ALB Canada
4. Provo UT
5. Aberdeen Scotland

My jobs
1. Campaigner for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario
2. Cashier at the University of Toronto Bookstore
3. Pretty much everything at Tim Hortons
4. Student worker at Hayfield Riding Center in Aberdeen
5. Emergency Essentials sucker


I'm going to tag..... Ashley Wheeler, Amber Flint, and Shila Ingram.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Monday, September 1, 2008

My Very Own Personal Comedian

P wearing a cupcake:
P cracks me up. He's definitely my sidekick, he and I can have a blast together for a much longer period of time than M or J are interested in. I think it's because he's so much like me, he really reminds me of myself as a kid. Tonight after his bath we were laughing because he would stand about 4 feet away, and I'd whip his legs with a towel, making his knees buckle and he'd fall, and he just thought it was SO funny. A lot of the time I wasn't even getting him right, but he'd fall down faking it. Love that kid. Later, after I'd put him and M to bed, I walked by their room and heard him talking. I peeked in and he was sitting on the floor, with a toy microphone up to his mouth, and singing the Thomas song without words. I ran to get my camera but he'd stopped when I got back, but I asked him to sing again and this is what I got:




I think he thinks I'm his paparazzi. I have this similar video from M's birthday dinner at Peter Piper Pizza:


Love that kid.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Oh, four year olds are a BLAST.

Okay, I posted this on one of my "imaginary friends" sites, but I didn't think I was brave enough to do it here. But since I figured out who my stalker was (it's so NOT the other way around, MaryBeth totally follows me everywhere), I figure I should post this. Maybe then she'll see just how whack my family is and be done with me. (Which would secretly make me sad, because who doesn't like a stalker? Plus she has a wicked sense of humor, it's like a twofer in a stalker!)


*deep breath*

We went to Target with Kim and Isaac like we do all.the.time, and we'd just had a snack at their food court, so the kids had their lemonade still as we were walking around. I made the mistake of putting M's lemonade by J in the seat of the shopping cart, forgetting that he likes--no, LOVES to play with cups. J takes it and drops it over the side of the cart, spilling lemonade all over the aisle floor. Luckily we're in the camping aisle in the back corner of the store, so no one around us. M gets upset and starts saying that she wants more lemonade, and I tell her "when we leave we'll get some more lemonade for you". Thinking that's the end of it, I move the cart forward so I'm not standing in lemonade and I'm talking to Kim about what I should do, whether to just scram from the aisle or be a good customer and call someone to clean it up, then I notice M isn't beside me, not a good sign.










She's freaking on her hands and knees, licking up the stupid lemonade from the floor. I let out a high-pitched screech, one that I probably couldn't imitate if I tried, yank her up, and book it out of the aisle, not stopping til we're at least five aisles away, where Kim finally catches up as she's still trying not to laugh hysterically.

Oh, and M was completely furious at me that I didn't let her "lick up" the lemonade. Apparently she was really thirsty.

I've got stellar mothering skillz, no doubt.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Fresh out of the proverbial oven...
and four years later...

My oh my, how time flies.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Six Years and Four Years...

Six years ago yesterday CJ and I were sealed. Wow. I thought five was a big number, but six feels bigger... wonder what ten will feel like. (I hope it feels like a big fat diamond.... kidding!) To celebrate CJ got me a new cellphone, an LG Voyager {which I am completely in love with, everyone knows I'm a big cell phone addict though.} , and took the kids and I to Texas Roadhouse for an early dinner, after which we dropped the kids off with our friends Cole and Maria (he planned this out with them without me knowing) , and he took me to see Mamma Mia!!!! Ooooohhhhhh mygosh. I was SO. EXCITED. I've been dying to see it since the previews came out, but I thought I'd have to wait for my mum to come down to go with me. Everyone who knows CJ knows what a "mans man" he is. He likes sports, fishing, sleeping, and scary disgusting movies. Does NOT do chick flicks at all, it takes a lot for me to convince him he might like to see a chick flick, and it usually means renting it, rarely in the theatres. But he even admitted that he liked the movie. I personally looooooooooooooved it. Loved loved loved it, I was smiling and laughing through most of it. Ahhh, so good. Definitely going on my "must buy" list. The singing rocked, even though Pierce Brosnan singing is really wierd to see, James Bond doesn't seem like a singing man, know what I mean? CJ and I totally snorted with laughter when he'd sing, we're childish like that. The past six years have been the best ups and downs of my life, and I can't wait to see what the rest of our life brings us.
And tomorrow is M's fourth birthday. Just under four years ago I woke up with sharp pains, thinking it was just from sleeping funny, until I realized that they were coming every 5 minutes. And so it all began... this girl drives me crazy, makes me laugh hysterically, burst into tears, want to squish her with love, and she's only four. Can't wait for the teen years. End sarcasm. I adore her, worship the ground that she leaps across, and cannot imagine a life without her in it, bumps and roadblocks included. She has come such a far way in the last year alone, her speech has improved amazingly, and she's becoming so much more social, yet still holds back to evaluate every new situation. Truly she is a unique creature, full of love one minute and hysterical the next. 5 minutes later she's spitting nails about some mishap of justice done to her by P, and then 3 minutes later they're running in circles in the living room, laughing hysterically when one of them falls and the other trips over them. A comedy of errors, that's our house.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Struck by the Strep.

Yep, all of us, except J (*knockonwood*) have Strep Throat. It's so much fun. Really, I swear. Don't believe me? Yeah, I'm lying. Oddly the kids have no sign of it other than a very sensitive and prone-to-bleeding nose. CJ and I got whacked with the Strep stick hard though. Last week on Tuesday I took the kids to playgroup like usual, and then we went to Mickey Dees with Kim and Isaac (it's practically a tradition). Then we went to Walmart to get something and I started feeling off, like tired and not so steady on my feet. I bought Toy Story 2 (since I am HELLA sick of the first Toy Story, M and P want to watch it all the time), took the kids home and put J down for a nap. Popped TS 2 in and I totally fell asleep on the couch for an hour, til J woke up. Even after he woke up I fed him and got some toys for him, and set him up in the living room by me and catnapped while he played and M and P played/watched TS 2 again. I ended up getting a fever that evening after waking CJ up (he's on the midnight shift). Thank heavens I have an awesome husband who will play with the kids, feed them and then put them to bed, because I slept through all of it. He finally woke me up on the couch at 8:30 PM and sent me to bed, where I spent the rest of the night having whacky dreams about sharks and outer space (CJ was watching Shark Week on Discovery, apparently my subconsious was paying attention). Woke up feeling a bit better but my throat was killing me, and a week later it's still sore. I'm still a bit off balance, I don't have much of an appetite (which isn't such an evil thing, I've lost about 8 lbs), and I get tired easily, but the fever's gone. But poor CJ caught it about two days after I did, luckily on his days off.


So how did we find out that we all have Strep, since CJ and I are both too stubborn to go to the doctors? We took M because she has a nasty looking finger, and her nose looked really sore. The doctor walked in, looked at her and said "well, this will be nice and easy! It's Strep." Whaaa.... yep, apparently you can get Strep on your FINGER. Way to pick those boogers, M. The doctor took a culture and we'll hear back tomorrow if it's definitely Strep, and if so he's putting all of us on antibiotics (which M and P are on right now anyways). Fun times in the Humpherys household.


In better news, J had his 9 month checkup at his new doctors office (long story but we got fed up with the crap that UMC/UPH has been pulling and we found a new doctor in town). He's 28 inches, and 19 lbs 5 oz. And better, WE LOVE HIS DOCTOR!!!!!! Seriously, I feel like we haven't had a great doctor since we left Utah and Dr. Parzyche (man, I miss him), but Dr. Smith is awesome. Actually sat down and talked with me about everything -- his Torticollis, his eczema, all that. I'm really pleased with him, and J didn't scream at all. Plus each of their patient rooms are themed, painted in different kids cartoons. M loved it.


M starts preschool again next week. Does it make me a horrible parent how excited I am? She's with Miss Bonnie this year, she only has 6 other kids in her class, and she got to go to the school open house this week. We also saw Miss Dana and Miss Rosy, but M was in her usual "adjusting to a new situation", and really quiet. I told Miss Bonnie about her potty training, they're really excited for her that's she finally starting. We're going to work with her a little harder now that school's starting, and I want to find a potty chart for her since I'm starting to feel like I'm rotting her teeth out of her head with all the Skittles. But the kid knows what she's doing, she just forgets the cues.


M's birthday is 12 days away. I can't believe 4 years ago I was so huge and round and waiting for her to come out... I'd share her invites but some of you that read here are coming to her party so you'll have to wait til we've handed them out, then I'll share on here. M's pretty psyched, she knows she's getting a bicycle from Granny and her "big" present from us is a fish tank (not a huge one, but she doesn't care) and she keeps asking for her fishies. We're also getting a cat. Well... not getting a cat, but rehoming her. She's my cat from when I was at home, Isis, and I'm so excited to have her with me again. She's pushing 17 now, but she's still my baby cat and I just adore her, and she's great for snuggles. Hopefully she doesn't rip up the furniture or CJ might not be as great about it...


Okay, I'm so tired from this sickness, I'm going to bed. (If Mandy or Jesse are reading this, I'm sure they're snorting, because I never used to go to bed before midnight. Ahhh... the days...) But I'll leave you with a picture of my handsome Mister J in his Sunday best:




and this video of M singing on Camille's karaoke machine at her apartment. M so would have taken that home if she could.

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b114/cabbage_head4/?action=view&current=MVI_7367.flv

and P on the drums:

Saturday, July 19, 2008

i suuuuuuuuuck.

Wow. Way to be way later than planned, eh? Life got in the way, I guess. I still haven't uploaded the pics from my Rebel either. Duh. Must do tomorrow... I need to give one of you ladies my cell number so you can text me and harass me daily til I do it. :)
Busy times. Fourth of July was tame, CJ had to work so the kids and I parked in the Lowe's parking lot to watch the fireworks. P was terrified at first, he had to hide in his carseat. But after he kept hearing M saying "WOW!!! OOOOOH!!!!" and so on at the top of her voice, he peered over the back of the seat and watched them. J was a bit stunned at them, but I held him the whole time anyways, so who knows if he was scared.
We found out there *is* a pediatric PT here in town, and we were lucky enough to get J in with her!! Originally the wait was until September, but they called me the afternoon of the day I called and said they had a spot open the next day and could we come? Uh... yes, yes we can! So J is now being seen down here, so no more $60 one hour trips to Tucson for that. It's still costing us $40 per session (I know, ouch, eh?), but I can suck that up when I don't have to fill up a tank to go. J's getting stronger about pulling himself up, and has even gotten up on his hands! A big feat with Torticollis, so I'm really happy. One of the exercises I do with him is propping him up on his knees when he's on his tummy, and he seriously think it's one of the funniest things. He just starts giggling every time. At least he doesn't complain about that one like he does his other exercises! He's such a studious baby, everyone seems to say so. He's very calculated in what he does, like today Kim was holding him for me, and I went over and held my arms out for him. He turned towards me, looked me up and down, and decided "yes... I think I'll come to you", and slowly tipped towards me. Or when he's got his Gerber Puffs in front of him, you can almost see him thinking "hmmm... okay, I'll open my hand and go for that pile over there... ah, success!" By far my most serious of babies, yet so smiley too. He's charmed every single one of the older sisters at Church, they all think he's flirting with them. Who knows, it's very likely he could be.
M starts preschool up again in a month, I can't believe it. I'm excited and sad for her to go back though. She also has her 4th birthday in exactly one month. WOW. We're having a double party with Isaac, since his birthday is the day before. He's turning 2. We're renting a bounce house and got the pagoda at the park that's right next to the playground, so the kids should all have a blast. She's been so excited for her birthday for a few months now, and today we went to Bryson's birthday and she LOVED it. So now she can't wait for her birthday even more! Her "big" present is going to be a bicycle. Yeah, she got one for Christmas but she's already too tall for it so it got sold at the yard sale. Anyways, Granny and Papa are getting her that, and her big present from us is an aquarium. She loves animals and loves seeing the fish at Walmart, and has been asking for a "fishie" for almost 6 months. Obviously she's not going to be in complete charge of it, but it'll be fun for the kids. Plus Molly won't be likely to eat it.
P is doing great, such a little boy! Thomas take alongs have been on clearance at our Target (my home away from home), and so he's got quite a little collection of them now. I found the Cranky the Crane on clearance for $14, so it's stowed away for his birthday in November, provided I can hold myself back long enough to not give it to him. He loves to go to the park behind our house and just go down the slides for as long as he's able, and he almost always got someone chasing him, which he thinks is great.
And our big news..... M is finally potty training!!!!!!!!! *run around the house screaming for joy and fear* Yep, I really thought P would potty train first, and he actually did pee on the potty first. Once M saw that he got a bunch of Skittles for it, it was like a light went on. She's far from fully trained, but I'm not rushing her, and I think once school starts again and she sees how other kids her age go on the potty too, she'll probably be fully trained soon. But she tells me when she feels like she has to pee, and she goes and sits on the potty, and pees!! So proud of herself too.
Okay, it's late and ChaCha still isn't working for me (more on that another time), so I might as well toss in the proverbial towel and go to bed, especially when Church is in.... less than 9 hours. Whoops.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Humpherys Rock!!

Back from our road trip to Idaho, where we went to the Humpherys Family Reunion. It. Was. AWESOME!! {name that movie} Mercy and Porter had a blast with all their cousins, and CJ had a great time fishing with Shawn, and I loved talking with all the female cousins and wives there. Hilary and I had some great chats about pretty much everything, and Mary Lynn, Stephanie, Hilary and I all discovered we're stalking eachother via blogs. Blog stalkers unite!! :) Anyways, time to out ourselves and start posting in our blogs more, right? Right! Heheh. I'll upload pics tomorrow, I'm tired tonight, and a storm is blowing through.
We stopped in Vegas first to stay with mum a few nights and swim in her pool (and also hit up ON and the awesome sale they had going on), and then we went to Provo and got to hang out with Russ and Ashley and the boys that night. J and Owen are still about the same size, J weighs more, but oh wow, Owen is on the MOVE!! That boy is fast, I can't believe how quick he moves! Poor J is still in slug mode. The next day we loaded up with Camille in tow, and headed off to Idaho Falls (where we stayed) and then Heise Hot Springs, where the reunion was. Most everyone camped, but with the kids at this age, I just needed a hotel. lol! Anyways, they had a dutch oven cookoff, but we were late so we brought bread. Go us. Hey, it all got eaten, that's what matters. Mostly we just ate, laughed, talked, and laughed more. It didn't get dark until well after 10, so we completely lost track of time. Crazy!!
Saturday we spent the morning at the pool and slide, M loved it, P and J... not so much. And I forgot to put sunblock on myself, so my shoulders and back have a lovely burn. I didn't get in the water much, was too busy taking pictures. M wanted to go down the slide more, but wouldn't go with Camille, so we conned M into going down the slide with Camille by letting M walk up the stairs alone and Camille followed her up without her knowing. Pretty funny. I didn't know what spot in line they were and was worried I'd miss them, but I didn't have to worry about that, Camille and M yelled/screamed the whole way down. Camille won M's heart after that! We went back to the campgrounds for lunch, then back to the pool, this time we tried the hot pools, nice. Then back to the regular pool, but it was PACKED. The line for the slide was all the way to the bottom of the stairs. So we called it a day and went back to the camp. CJ and Shawn went fishing (of course right before dinner), but when they got back we got pizza. Mmmm. piiiiizzaaaaa.
Next day we packed up and headed back to Provo, then to South Jordan to have dinne with Brian, Amber, Lexi and Aiden. Mercy was so pleased to see Lexi again, they had a blast jumping on the trampoline and playing in the sandbox!! It was nice to sit and chat with Amber too, and to throw every object possible for the dog to catch.
Next day we headed back to Utah, but on the way there we were going to stop and switch, since CJ was getting tired, but he felt like he should keep going. Within the next few minutes, he felt like the air was off in the tires, and then suddenly he turned the radio off and started slowing down. I asked him what he was listening for, and he said "that!" and we heard a humming, and then suddenly a pop and we started kind of swerving. Luckily CJ had slowed enough that he got it under control fast, and pulled off to the side of the road. He got out, and one of our rear tires had completely shredded the tread from the rims of the tire!! Luckily clouds were overhead and a wind was blowing, because otherwise it would have been roasting out. CJ got the spare on after a bit of struggle (we have runners on our van which makes placing the jack kinda hard), and we drove into Cedar City, found a Big O Tires and $250 later, we have two shiny new tires on our car. Got into Vegas and ate with mum and crashed!
Next day mum had to work so we took the kids to Fremont Street and just played there. M got a "tattoo" (airbrushed, don't worry) and we got P a CSI t-shirt, and ate at a typical buffet and wandered around. CJ lost all our quarters on the slots {bwahahaha} and then we headed home, and out to dinner at Olive Garden. Of all the restaurants I miss from a big city, that's my favorite. Mmmm. I got the Chicken Caprese, oh, I was in HEAVEN. P was so cranky at first, waiting to eat, but as soon as he got a breadstick in his fist he was a happy guy. M chugged her lemonade and promptly brought it back up, all over herself and CJ. Lovely. I rushed her out to the car, where we happened to have a spare outfit (we are prepared), and then wiped her down in the restroom. Luckily (?) she hadn't really eaten anything yet, so it was mostly lemonade. Blech. Poor CJ looked like he'd wet himself. Plus there was a spot on his chest, so it totally looked like he'd... well, like he'd lactated on himself. I was trying not to laugh, but didn't really succeed. I guess I owe him a guys night out at Chili's or something. Came home and played in the pool, and then crashed.
Then today, we drove home. Wheeee. :)
Hope everyone is well and to the Humpherys, SO good to see you all, I am so glad we went to the reunion!!! I really wasn't wanting to go, because of how much time it would be driving, and with the insane cost of gas, but the fun we had and the chats we had made it worth it, plus to see Amber and Ashley. Anytime anyone feels like coming to Arizona, give us a call! (Like if you get ticked off enough at your husband. Ha!)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Blech

This just hasn't been a fun week. First, M's preschool pictures still aren't here (they sent us some other childs pictures!). In fact, we had to call them two more times after our first conversation of them saying they'd call us within 48 hours. I finally emailed them everything that had been going on, and someone from their corporate headquarters called me within two hours to talk about it, she was really apologetic and helpful and now they're going to overnight the pictures to us. Hopefully that's the end of the story there, but it was making me pretty angry. Then the struts on our minivan went out two weeks ago (ironically around the same time as the picture fiasco started), and luckily I checked online and saw that Toyota had issued an extended warranty for them, because the dealership tried to tell us it would be about $400 to fix. Uhhh.. no, no thank you. So they said they'd call when the parts came in, yet we heard nothing (seeing a trend here?), so CJ called, and "somehow" our service order had been cancelled. So they re-entered it and said they'd call when they came in again. No call as of Tuesday, so we called again, and the guy said "um... your parts came in on Thursday.... didn't anyone call you to schedule a service appointment?" NO!!!!!!!!!! *tearing my hair out* He felt bad that we were getting put through the ringer and found us a time that afternoon to go in to get it fixed, so that's done too. I absolutely love my Sienna (ask anyone I know, it's pretty much my non-human baby *heheh* ) but this... ugh. But we've had amazing luck with Toyota til this, so I'm not holding it against them. (I/We have owned a Tercel, Celica, Corolla, and now our Sienna, so we're obviously pretty pleased with Toyota. :D ) Then they still hadn't finished the playground behind our house (there's a park around the corner from us, literally) even though the structure had been up for 3 weeks, and the kids were getting craaaaaanky at seeing the fun playground but not being allowed to play on it. Luckily they finished the rubber flooring under it, and now it's OPEN!!! We pretty much go everyday after dinner, it's a great way to burn off energy, and I totally use it as a bribe: "if you eat 2-3-4 more bites, we can go to the park..." It works, seriously.


J's finally starting to sit on his own, woo!!!! Little booger's getting so stubborn about his neck exercises though, at his PT appointment today he told Charlene off for most of it, screeching, crying and grumping. I'd feel bad for him, but it's for his own good and he'll thank us for it later. I hope. He's such a happy kid though, loves rolling around the floor and grabbing people's shoes, and eating. Oh, that kid loves to eat. He's discovered french fries (that was an accident) and also loves teething biscuits, and the only baby food he doesn't like is green beans. Can't blame him there, can I.


We went to Tucson for the PT appointment, and for most of the way back P and I played "GO TO SLEEP!" I have a video of him doing it somewhere, can't seem to upload it though. He thinks it's hilarious, and just loves to play it.


Ooh, speak of the devil, M's pictures just came!! Excuse the color, it's a little off from my printer.


Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Baby Season?

First: NO, I am NOT pregnant. Ha.
It just seems like summer always brings babies. Two friends of mine have just had their babies (congrats Karin and Lacie!) and there's some more due in the next few weeks and months. I love newborns and their snuggliness, so sweet. But I'm loving this stage with J, he's so much fun to be with. The best part is that he recognizes my voice and my face, and the way he just completely lights up when he sees me and grins from ear to ear.... melts me everytime. And I take secret satisfaction when CJ's holding him and J literally throws himself in my direction trying to get to me... I love it. I love being so totally and completely loved by another being! He loves peek a boo, I drape the blanket over him and say "wheeeeeeeere's Jamie? where's my Jameson??" and he yanks the blanket down and gets so excited, even more if I get P to play with us. They do it in the van too; J is in the middle aisle with P behind him, and P hides behind the seat then slams to the side of his carseat where J can see him, and yells "BAAAA!" (guess boo isn't as effective?) and he and J just completely crack up laughing. I hope this is a sign they'll be good friends in the future.
J's PT sessions are going okay. His growing isn't helping, his neck muscles just do NOT want to relax! His rotation is great now though, and he has no signs of plagiocephaly (flat head), so yay for that!! He does have to wear his collar as long as he can all day now, and I have to massage him as much as he'll let me, which is completely dependant on his mood. Sometimes he hates it, others he'll tolerate it. He's also LOOOOOOOOVING solid food. So far he loves: sweet potatoes, peas (blech), bananas (he changed his mind and likes them now), applesauce, squash, and carrots. Up next to try is peaches, prunes, and green beans.
M is... well, she's miss attitude half the time, the other half lovey and sweet. CJ said today "do you think she'll get better or worse for her teen years?" Ummm, I really don't want to think about teenagers yet, I'd like to get out of the diaper stage first. If that ever happens... I know everyone says that when they're ready they'll potty train, but I'm getting impatient. She has no problems sitting on it, and know what to do after, like wiping and flushing and washing her hands, she just won't do the actual act. UGH. Hopefully before her birthday.... yeah right. I think P might potty train before her or at the same time. Wouldn't that be nice, knock two out of diapers in one go.... ah, the dream. heheheh!!
P is now in his big boy bed and sharing M's room, and they're actually doing great, knock on wood! Sometimes they stay up later than I'd like and chatter and play, but they're in their room, in bed, so what more can I do? J is sleeping SO great in a room with just him and his white noise machine, it's bliss to him! His room looks so cute too, I found the cutest bedding, I still get so excited talking about it. Heheh!! I'll try to get pics of it later.
A friend and I are having a garage sale this Saturday (local ladies, come see Kim and I on Saturday and buy our stuff!!) so CJ and I went through the garage, cleaning and deciding what we don't need. Then I went through the kids clothes and sorted that. Then we went through both kids rooms and went through THOSE toys too. Hopefully we'll sell most of this stuff, we need a new Britax carseat, and it'd be nice to make a dent in the cost.
Okay, J woke up, I better go. I promise to try to be better at blogging, I've been so slack lately.

Friday, June 6, 2008

tagged!

Renee tagged me, so here goes! I tag Amber, Mandy, Jesse, Staci, and Angie.

1- I miss all things Canadian, from the people to the food. :(

2- I love my husband more than life itself, even when he's driving me nuts. He is my everything and I can't imagine life without him in it.

3- I used to want to compete in the Olympics in Show Jumping.

4- I talk to my mum at least once a week, and IM with her as often as we can.

5- I'm addicted to Coca Cola, and have no intentions of giving it up anytime soon. (hey, it's better than being addicted to drugs or smoking...)

6- I would move back to the east coast in a heartbeat, either north or south. Doesn't matter, I just miss the east!

7- If I could vote, CJ and I would be voting for opposite people. :D

8- If my name was Eduardo, I'd TOTALLY get away with it. Hat and all. Bye, baby.

THE RULES
1) each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2) people who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
3) at the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4) don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.