Chris, Edna, Ryan, and Reagan

Happy Birthday!

2011-12-20T15:16:00.001-08:00

Answers from a 6 year old:

Favorite TV Show: Good Luck Charlie

Favorite Movie: Hello Kitty
Favorite Song: Hello Kitty Theme Song

Favorite Musician: Mommy ( I swear I tried to change her mind.)

Favorite Food: Bacon and Turkey

Favorite Candy: Reese's

Favorite Toy: Hello Kitty

Favorite Activity: Watch TV

Yup.....bacon and Hello Kitty....keeps her happy.

The Grim Wreathers!

2011-11-21T20:21:00.000-08:00

I asked my husband if he thought we should have a name for our booth at the craft show. He thought of "The Grim Wreathers".....and it stuck. We even got paged at the store once by him and Bobby.

So PLEASE check out our etsy shop

We would love your support!! Help us SELL OUT!!!

Thanks!

Wreaths!

2011-11-17T13:51:00.001-08:00

Here is a sneak peek at the Wreaths that Sabra Lemmon and I made for the Community Bazaar Craft show. It's this Saturday, November 19th at the Civic Center from 9am - 4pm. Come check out our booth!

Again this is just a sample and we have more!!

Hope to see you there!!!

(yes...you saw this on Pinterest!)

I posted

2011-09-01T10:09:00.001-07:00

I posted on my blog and soon I'll have an actual family post on this one too.

At least they aren't coloring ON the walls.....

2011-06-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Over the past year or so....the girls have been setting up an art gallery in our house. I have never been bothered by it at all. I love to see them being creative and I love that they aren't actually coloring ON the walls, so this is fine for me. I am about to take everything down soon, because I have been redecorating, so I had to get a picture of what's up right now. One day soon, we will be expanding our house and making the girls a bigger bedroom and I want to come up with a way that they can display their art....but until then, I'm going to take these down and store them somewhere safe.

Were you counting? That's 32 "art" pieces.

Yet another Disney Post

2011-06-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

I think the majority of my family posts are about us going to Disneyland! Oh well....we have annual passes and they are about to black out for the whole summer so went the last chance we got. Plus, Disneyland revamped Star Tours and California Adventure opened up the new Little Mermaid ride so we really wanted to go. It was SO BUSY but it was a fun trip.

We got into Disneyland at 8:30 am and went straight to get Fast Passes to Star Tours. We got them....but we couldn't get on until 7:30 PM! and by 9:30 am, all the fast passes were gone. The regular wait was 200 minutes! Insane.

This is when we were waiting for the Little Mermaid ride. The longer we waited, the farther away we got from the ride. But this wait was only about 45 minutes. Not too bad.

Ahh....Captain EO. I promise myself that I will NEVER watch this movie ever again, but here I am once again. It is so awful. But the girls enjoy it (and Chris) so I'll suffer through it.

The Toy Story line was also SO LONG, but one of our favorites. I had the highest score!

The girls love this car, but refuse to ride Mr. Toad's. We did it once and they hated it. It's amazing how creepy these old rides are.

I have no words.

On the Rockets.

Being 7 at Disneyland is awesome.....you get to ride all by yourself!

As busy as it was, it was still really fun and the girls behaved themselves really well.

Til next time....

Pix I found on my camera

2011-06-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

My sister in law. She's Awesome and I was happy to find these.

P.S. I'm glad these pictures didn't break my brand new Camera that I got for my birthday! HAHAHA!

The "My nose is itchy."

The "Those weren't eyedrops I put in my eyes!"

The "Oops....10 second warning!"

The "Hm.....I do believe Edna IS my most favorite Sister in Law."

The "AWWWW......I didn't mean to walk in on you!!!"

Careful next time you want to surprise me!!!

Prayers and thoughts coming constantly from us....Love you guys!!

Dream car...no more

2011-06-09T15:48:00.001-07:00

I sold the Beetle....in one day. I couldn't believe it. I listed it just to see if it would sell.....and it did. We got about 10 calls on it within a couple hours and someone saw it that night and bought it. So....I got a new car....read all about it in my blog. Click "did I tell you about the time" on my side blog list.

I blogged again

2011-05-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

My poor family blog.....gets no love. It's all about me i guess! :)

Read all about it!

2011-05-04T10:09:00.001-07:00

I blogged on my personal blog.....been awhile. This blog will be next...hopefully.

Post #100

2011-03-19T08:06:00.001-07:00

Just a quick funny story:

I was getting the girls ready yesterday morning in a hurry because I had a Dr.'s Appointment (with a dermatologist). Ryan, of course, was taking her time and I started getting frustrated.

Me: Please hurry! I have to get you to school and Reagan to Ericka's because I have to go to the doctor!
Ryan (looking at me concerned): You never go to the Doctor.
Me: I know....this is just a skin doctor
Ryan (looking me up and down): For your dead skin cells?

Yup. Hilarious that girl.

Beware of Sleeping with Little Girls in the House

2011-03-09T17:20:00.000-08:00

See what happens when you're lazy and sleep in til 1oam?

Love ya babe!!!

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!

2011-03-09T14:59:00.000-08:00

Ryan's Birthday was on January 9th. I know time has past, but I wanted to make sure and post.

My baby is now 7 years old! Can't believe it. We normally do a birthday party for both girls, but it seemed exhausting this year. Christmas, birthdays, holidays, vacations.....eh!

Anyway, Ryan is growing. She just lost her front tooth.....welcome to the awkward stage! She's still beautiful though! She has been doing so well at Mesquite since we switched schools and loves her friends and her teacher. Ryan is such a great girl. She's funny, loves to sing, quite the artist, and is so friendly.

I love you Ryan!!!

Happy Birthday Reagan!

2011-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

I should have posted this a few weeks ago, but the Holidays were brutal this past year for some reason. Anyway my baby turned 5 on December 20th. It's hard to believe. Right around Christmas marked the 3 month anniversary of when we found out Reagan had diabetes. It's amazing how hard it is to even remember life prior to that. She is doing well. She handles the shots really well. Although it still breaks my heart when a shot hurts her and she shuts her eyes and starts to cry. Every time that happens I feel like never giving her another shot ever again. She occasionally asks why she has diabetes. All I can say is " I don't know. Heavenly Father knew that you would brave enough to have it. " One time at the Treehouse, she was playing in the play kitchen with an employee and she said she wanted to make her a cake. The employee said "Doesn't that have too much sugar?", trying to be helpful. Reagan responded with "can we just pretend that I don't have diabetes right now?" Breaks my heart. I hate knowing her perfect little body doesn't work perfectly. Frustrating. But She handles it well. The majority of the time, we don't even think about it. It's just an extra step in our normal routine. I'm so grateful she is a happy, healthy girl!

See the ill-fated Hello Kitty Cake? Ryan used the box as something to support herself with. Could've been worse I guess.
A gift card to her most favorite place. Claires. The workers know her now.

Reagan with her favorite Tiny Tots teacher who is leaving....so sad.

We love having Reagan in our family.

Happy Birthday!!!

Mellow Man

2010-12-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

Chris and I used to go to concerts or theatre shows all the time. It was one our favorite things to do.....still is- it just doesn't happen as often as it used to. In our almost 12 years of marriage we have seen: Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Jewel, Chris Isaak, Wallflowers, Sister Hazel, Sugar Ray, Mana, Conan, Les Mes, and I'm sure I'm missing some.....but no doubt one of my favorite shows is Jack Johnson. We went to his concert for the 2ND time this past October. We had purchased the tickets earlier in the year and then almost couldn't go because Reagan had just been diagnosed and I couldn't bear leaving her yet, but Ericka stepped in and took good care of her and Ryan!

Anyway, I'm a big fan of Jack Johnson....not a fanatic, I just really like his music. It's so relaxing and laid back....in fact when I was in labor with Ryan, I had his cd playing in the room. The girls fall asleep to listening to the Curious George soundtrack (he did it all). Pretty much like all of his songs. Anyway, I love going to concerts with Chris. It's fun and it brings us back to days when we hung out together and always had a blast.

Concerts on my bucket list?: Coldplay, Wicked, Dixie Chicks, Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, and PAUL MCCARTNEY!!! (gotta do that before I die.....or before he does! Must see a BEATLE before they're gone!)

Ryan's second First Day Of School

2010-11-09T16:59:00.000-08:00

We officially pulled Ryan out of Desert View Academy on Monday morning. Desert View was a great school and we loved it for Kindergarten because it was all day. The class sizes were small. No more than about 24 per class. She loved her teacher. It was near the Treehouse. I had always planned that she would attend DVA for kindergarten and then transfer her to Mesquite for 1st Grade, but I didn't. I thought just one more year. I would switch her for 2nd grade.

I feel it's important to attend school with your church friends. Not to make this post about me, but I remember growing up in the spanish branch. We went to a ward that was outside our school boundaries. All of our church friends went to a different school. I had members at my school, but it wasn't the same. Then in Jr. High, we went to Woodard where all of our friends went. Ericka and I LOVED it! It was great. And then the same for High School.

So Ryan. Everyday last year was a struggle to get to school on time. She loves her sleep! I would pick her up (from the top bunk) and get her dressed. She would cry and fight EVERY morning. I dreaded it. And she didn't' stay up late. Her bedtime is 7:30. She just was always a sound sleeper and needs 12 hours every night.....like her daddy. Reagan......doesn't matter what time she falls asleep....6:30am......like her mommy. Ryan also started getting into trouble in class. Notes almost every week, detentions.....blah. I tried to not place the blame anywhere else. If she was not behaving in class, we took it seriously at home. She would write letters apologizing to those she disrupted, including her teacher. She was not allowed to watch TV or play with her DS. Her teacher is very nice and conferences were always positive. "Everyone Loves her", "she's my smartest student", "Straight A's", "just Beautiful work", etc. ....."she just drives me crazy sometimes". Ok. Not really what I want to hear from a teacher. So we kept getting letters from the teacher and we kept struggling to get her to school happily. So it began to make us wonder if we should just switch her. Mesquite is a great school and the schedule would work so much better. So something just clicked on Sunday and we decided we would switch her the next day. Ryan was very excited. We showed up on Monday morning and accepted with Open arms (or open enrollment. Sorry I know this is a sore subject for most, but we do live in the district!) She has made friends and she loves her teacher. I have heard wonderful things about her teacher, and I'm grateful her classmates are kind to her.

So she has had a great second First Day of School.....but i forgot to take pictures.

Mickey's Halloween Party

2010-11-06T16:53:00.001-07:00

We decided earlier this year that we were going to do all we could to make sure to take the girls to Disneyland during their Halloween season because Ryan is a HUGE fan of the Nightmare Before Christmas and Jack Skellington is her favorite character. We have annual passes, but we bought tickets to go Mickey's Halloween Party. The girls had a good time and the rain stopped as soon as we got there and began as we were leaving.

Quick funny story: We were especially excited to take them to the Haunted Mansion because its decked out as HalloweenTown. We talked this up ALL year long. We get on.....Ryan and Reagan bawled the ENTIRE time. Hated it. Figures.

The girls with Sally.

AND the Moment of truth: Ryan started to freak out! I couldn't believe it. I PUSHED her towards him and he was so nice. She calmed right down. He told her he was so flattered that she dressed like him. It was cool!

Happy Campers! Reagan even loved it!

The Costume Parade

The next day, it was supposed to rain all day, but not one drop! It was perfect.

The girls FINALLY got to take a picture with Silvermist.

And then Tink.

Teacups with daddy.

Ariel's Carousel

Reagan Loving it...

Ryan loving it.....

Chris too.....

This is Mickey Mouse.

After two days at Disneyland........

Til Next time.....

Chris took that picture! I LOVE IT!

This is Halloween! This is Halloween!

2010-11-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

Reagan went as her favorite, Hello Kitty.

Ryan went as her favorite, Jack Skellington.

We pieced their costumes together. I made Ryan's tutu and Chris made Ryan's shirt.

I think they came out cute.

Just Funny too

2010-10-31T08:15:00.001-07:00

The entire family and I went to Walmart last night after the Trunk or Treat to make sure we were "ready for Sunday". Chris had Ryan in a cart and I had Reagan in mine. I began looking at the nuts and debating if I wanted to get almonds or not. Reagan asked what they were and I said they were almonds.

Reagan: "oh."
We then see another package of the nuts pictured above.
Reagan: "What kind of nuts are those?"
Me: "Those are Brazil Nuts"
Reagan: "Those look super gross. They should be called 'Poop Nuts'."

I laughed like I was 5 years old. I seriously couldn't control my laughter and then Reagan started doing her silly laugh that I love and then I really couldn't stop. I repeated what she said to Chris and Ryan and Ryan, of course, thought it was hilarious. Chris laughed a mature amount of time, but I couldn't stop.

Poop nuts......hahahahaha!!!

What I've been up to.....

2010-10-12T17:55:00.001-07:00

I used to be creative and crafty.....but lately I've felt like I've had not one creative thought in my head and that makes me sad. So within the last two weeks after Reagan came home from the hospital, I haven't been working a whole lot, so I've gotten in touch with my crafty-inner self and I've worked on a few projects I've dying to do!!

*yes, this post probably should've been on my personal blog, but I didn't feel like re-uploading the pictures....sorry.

I messed up the order for the before and after.

This is after. Found this fabric in the remnant rack at Joann's for $2!!! I recovered SIX chairs for $2! Love this fabric!

Before.

Made Ryan and Reagan matching damask skirts. Ryan didn't want a picture taken. Ryan's skirt had turquoise ribbon on the bottom of hers.

Chris says all candy corn ever made was made in the 1920's. He hates candy corn, so I made a wreath out of it to remind him of his love for CANDY CORN!!!

I love the Candy Corn Man hanging in the middle. Can't believe I found that. It's Perfect!

My Favorite. I found a tutorial for this pillow and I had been DYING to try it....and I did!!
The petals are made from Black leather. I think it looks great with my New white leather couch and Green walls. L.O.V.E IT!

I'm hoping this is just the beginning! It feels good to get the creative juices flowing again!!

Just funny

2010-10-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

Last night, I was debating about what to make for dinner. Feeling a little lazy, since it was a rough day with Reagan being sick, I decided we would order a pizza or get something else.

Me: hey Ryan, what would you like to eat for dinner? I don't really feel like cooking tonight.

Ryan: Oh good! Cause I don't really feel like eating something you cook tonight either.

I was hysterically laughing on the floor......just what I needed. Love you Ryan.....you're hilarious!

Life as we know it.....

2010-10-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

Now, I know that it could be A LOT worse. I know that there are Millions and Millions of other people and families that have it way worse than ours.....but our life as we knew it had changed.

I was unsure about posting at all, but I am treated this as our family journal and I guess documenting it should be therapeutic and maybe one day it can help our family to remember what happened and how we felt at first. And being a week after, it's amazing how much has changed already!

We have two gorgeous girls. Ryan, the older, 6, and Reagan, the younger, 4. About 3 weeks ago, Reagan developed a yeast infection and I took her to the doctor to get something to help since Desitin wasn't cutting it. Going to this appointment, we noticed she has lost a little weight since her well-check in January. We all noticed she had gotten taller and slimmer.....being the chubby girl she was, we thought she had finally hit her growth spurt, just like Ryan did at that age. Dr. prescribed a cream and sent us on our way. I, mother of the year, was not too diligent with the cream and the infection seemed to stick around and wasn't getting any better. Finally it got so bad that she had blood in her underwear and I took her back to the doctor to make sure I should continue with the cream

I took her in last Friday, September 24th in the morning. She peed in a cup to check for an UTI and then they weighed her again.....She lost 2 more pounds from the appt 3 weeks before! I freaked out a little and then told the nurse how I had noticed her drinking a lot of water and peeing a lot. So, the dr. came in and I proceeded to tell him how the yeast infection was MY fault because I hadn't been applying the cream like I should have. He basically interrupted me and told me they found sugar in her urine. My heart sank. Having 2 sisters with Type 1 diabetes, I knew what that meant. I was sent immediately to get her blood drawn (traumatic!) and waited by the phone for a call from her Doctor. He called about an hour and half later to tell me she was a very healthy girl, that she looked great.....except for her blood sugar. 429.....normal is under 120. Told me to get to the hospital within the next couple hours. Who knows what else he said.....couldn't pay attention anymore.

We headed up to the hospital and we stayed there the rest of the weekend and we were discharged on Monday afternoon. During our stay, the doctors told us several times how pleased they were that they found it so early and that she could've been so much worse, as children often are by the time they find out they have Type 1 Diabetes.

I remember having 2 distinct thoughts.....

1. Why can't we just keep living the way we were yesterday.....ignoring it....not knowing. But I know she would just keep getting sicker and sicker

2. Once they bring down her sugar.....it'll just go away. Also....not so.

Chris and I didn't say much to each other about it that first day. We were sad and I gave myself one good cry and then I decided I was done with that. We could handle this. But it was hard seeing Reagan when it was time for a shot or for having her blood sugar checked. and all I could think was...."this is how it's going to be for the rest of her life." A sad thought indeed. She would never remember NOT having this. The next day Chris told me, "Of course Reagan had to be the one to get sick.....She's So beautiful, the Lord couldn't just let her be that gorgeous AND healthy." I cried one more time.

I remember praying that first afternoon before going to the hospital and getting the feeling that this could be cured in her lifetime. The advances of medicine are just that....advancing! One of the first things the Doctor told us in the hospital that the research being done is promising great results. Of course, it is still a couple decades away, but that would put Reagan at 24 years old. That made me happy to imagine that.

So now.....she gets 6 shots a day and her blood sugar is checked 5 times. She doesn't mind her finger getting pricked to check her blood sugar anymore, but she doesn't look forward to the shots. But the aftermath of the shots is getting shorter and shorter. The first shots in the hospital took several of us to hold her down. Now she stands still, still cries but gets over it quickly. Plus, she gets a coin in her piggy bank after every shot and finger prick and once a month we'll go to toys r us for a new toy. We may be creating a monster, but it's worth it right now.

Ryan has been handling everything well. That's also the hard part, is making sure she still feels loved at all times. A lot of attention is going to Reagan and we also reward her with coins in her piggy bank for good days at school.

So.....this is our new life....still wouldn't change it for the world. :)

Tiny Tots

2010-09-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Reagan started Tiny Tots this week. I was able to convince her that she could still go to Beauty School when she was older, but for right now it's Tiny Tots.
First day of school is not the same without a Hello Kitty T-Shirt.

My own blog

2010-09-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

I have started my own blog. I WILL blog once a week about my family on this blog. But I need my own place to rant and vent into the great space that is the world wide web since i am no longer on facebook. So join me if would like..... Here

Beauty School wannabe

2010-09-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

We let Reagan know of a little secret.......there is something called "Beauty School". Her eyes opened wide and informed us that she would no longer go to preschool......only Beauty School. Here she is practicing on Taylor.

Hate to say, but not bad huh?

One night I told her I needed to go to the store and asked if she wanted to come along. She said "Yes!" I was gathering my returns and lists and then called her "Let's go Reagan!" I found her in my bathroom. She had changed into her church dress, dress shoes, and was putting on make-up. I asked her what she was doing? She said, "We're going out. I'm getting ready." Man, we're in trouble. WISH I would've taken a photo.

On the First Day of First Grade....

2010-09-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Even though Ryan has just started her 4th week of school (!), I had to post a few pictures of her 1st day of school. I can't even believe she's finished with kindergarten and she's now in 1st grade.
Her teacher, Mrs. Lawrence.

Right after this picture, she turned to us and told us we could go, waving her hand like she was shooing a bothersome fly.......
big girl now.

The Cruise!

2010-08-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

A year ago, my in-laws surprised all of their children and spouses (that's me!) to go on week long Caribbean cruise this summer. I was excited (and freaked out cause I don't like boats or flying!). But it was a FABULOUS time! and I do love hanging out with all my brother and sister in laws.
So at the end of June, we flew out of Yuma (yikes! I hate those little planes!) to Phoenix. Then to Denver (which closed for an hour due to weather and we had to circle the airport in the air for an hour!). Then to Miami (which we waited on the tarmac for an hour because of mechanical issue....holy cow!). We also flew right by the Gulf of Mexico and we could see the fires burning from the oil spill. Pretty crazy to see that. We landed in Miami and let me tell you......HUMID! I would in a million years take our "dry heat" over the stickiness of Miami. How do they stand it??? So....we boarded our ship. It was HUGE!

*I usually don't include pictures of myself, but this time there are. Yes, I'm fat....no I'm not pregnant.

That dome area that is sticking out is a hot tub.

Have you ever seen the ocean this blue?? Beautiful!

The Flow Rider! Chris got pretty good at it. (he's not pictured. sorry!)

The Royal Promenade. (shopping strip) See those windows above the stores? Those are rooms and our rooms were on the 2nd level of windows. Awesome!!!

The adult only pool.

The Kiddie pool

The Party Pool.

Chad in the belly flop contest, which he won!

After TWO straight days out to sea, we make our first stop in St. Maarten.

This is Orient Beach....the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. The sand was Soft! The water was clear and perfect!

Most of us.

Next stop, San Juan, Puerto Rico. LOVED IT!! SO awesome!

We visited Fort San Cristobal

Another Fort and cemetery.

cool buildings

hands down.....the BEST food we ate all week!

Last Stop....Labadee Haiti.

Most of us zip lined down the Dragon's Breath Flight line.

It was Great!!!

View of the zip line from the beach

That's me.

Labadee Beach.

All of us hanging out on our last day out to sea.

Awww....the Family Picture

We had a great time. We missed the girls, but they were well taken care of by my family here at home. We ATE! We Played! We Danced! We ATE some more.

This ship was SO huge. It had restaurants, spa, pools, 5 hot tubs, ice skating, rock wall, mini golf, Flow rider, fitness center with boxing ring, dance clubs......I can't even name them all.

I would HIGHLY recommend Royal Caribbean. I've been on two cruises with them and I would do it again in a second.

Til next time.......

One of many....

2010-08-26T07:35:00.001-07:00

Back in January we went on our annual trip to Disneyland. It almost got rained out, but the heavens opened and we were able to go. We got our tickets off ebay for super cheap and we were able to upgrade them to annual passes for $8 a piece! So we have gone 3 times so far this year. Now I can't tell which trip is which. But basically, they're all the same.
Reagan.....too scared to get on.

Ryan has a crush on Terrence. She was almost too shy to take the picture.

Disney Princess Breakfast is must.....but we can only do that once a year. Pricey, but good!

I didn't fit in the Dumbo ride with them.

My Mid-Life Crisis

2010-02-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

Most men get a sports car....I wanted a Beetle. I have wanted a beetle since I had a dream about it back in Jr. high. I had a dream that Ericka and I were walking down the street and we see a car parked on the side of the road. I thought it was a cool looking car. A couple years later, I'm looking thru Popular Science magazine and I see an article where Volkswagen was going to release the New Beetle a couple years later. It was the car from my dream.....so it's my dream car. Once I had my first child and got a van, I told Chris "I'm having two kids and when the youngest turns 4, I'm getting a beetle." So the day Reagan turned 4, I put my car up for sale. It took about 3 weeks to sell and then we went up to Phoenix and bought this one. I only spent half of what I got from my car, in case in six months, I end up hating this car, but so far...I love it!

Thanksgiving Trip 2009

2010-02-03T16:22:00.000-08:00

This past Thanksgiving we took a trip to Rocky Point for an entire week.....and let me tell you.....it was NICE! We took the girls with us and it was seriously the most enjoyable, not-at-all stressful week. This is the resort we stayed at. Very nice. People asked us what we did all day and I would respond "we laid around and drank." And we did. We would lay at the palapas all day and order virgin piña coladas and limeades during happy hour. They would bring our food to us. The ocean was a little too cold for me but the girls loved it.

This was the view from our room.

Ryan and Reagan had a great time with their cousin, Grace. It was nice hanging out with Chad and Stacy too! (uurreeaaa) -inside joke.....I still crack up with that one! Good one Chad.

Oh....how cute.

Why was Ryan chasing PELICANS??? Those things are mean and scary!

This guy was at the resort.....we thought he looked like Barack.

I didn't post pics, but Chris' parents came up during the last half of the week and we all had a nice time. Chris and his dad went golfing. We went swimming in the indoor heated pool. We watched Mexican TV....which is Weird....and I'm not talking about Univision. We ate dinner at the restaurant a couple of nights. One night, the theme was Mexican (go figure) and they had a couple dancing traditional Mexican dances. They then asked for volunteers from the audience to go up to....what I thought was to dance......so my family volunteered me. It turned out to be a drinking game! I quickly turned down the tequila and went back to my seat.

Now....if it was a virgin Piña Colada.....

She's 6.......

2010-01-09T15:27:00.000-08:00

Ryan's birthday is today.

I had said a few times before that I would post pictures of what Ryan looked like when she was born. The above picture was the day after. She looked like her face had been burned. Later that afternoon the doctor told me that she had hemangiomas on her face and that they would keep growing and get so big that she would not be able to see and she would be blind. Not what a first-time mom wants to hear. Then another doctor came in and told me he didn't know what it was and that on our way home from the hospital we were to stop at a pediatric dermatologist to have her checked out and that they were waiting to examine her. After many family prayers and family fasts, the day came when we were released (c-section, four day stay) and the dermatologist took one look and said "they're not hemangiomas, so don't worry about that, but we need to find out what it is." The doctor said she was the 3rd child he had ever seen with this condition. Another doctor told me "well.....you see this in textbooks, but I'd never met a child with it." Few days later, after blood tests from Ryan and me, we found out it was a Lupus Rash. We took Ryan back to the hospital to have her heart checked. Everything came back completely normal! (although I found out I have Sjogrens which I wouldn't have known if it wasn't for Ryan being born). Ryan's rash got better and better every week and by the time she was a year, it was pretty all gone. It left spots on her skin that are thin and the skin behind her ears is so thin, she looks like she has bruises. So...if you see them....I'm not abusing her! :)

And now look at her! She's smart and so hilarious! She loves to sing and loves school.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!! I love you!

She's 4....

2009-12-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

My baby is four years old today. Reagan keeps our family interesting and unpredictable. She's has a mind of her own.....and that mind is about 16 years old. She is a fashionista.....but not in a good way. Some outfits basically look like she's a clown. She's probably getting back at me for not being thrilled when I found out I was pregnant with her. (it was a surprise!) I think I was 7 months pregnant when I finally got excited and thought "OK....I can handle two kids....I think."

Year one was tough! Didn't nurse, took forever to eat, wouldn't take long naps, didn't sleep through the night until about 10 months, began crawling at 5 months, walking at 10.

But She's Beautiful and we love her!

The Latest!

2009-10-24T08:41:00.001-07:00

My mom has more bags available! Please check them out! Perfect for Christmas.....which is coming up whether you like it or not!

http://ladybugbags.blogspot.com/

You'll love them!

11 years ago today....

2009-10-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

Chris proposed to me. I don't know if I have this written down or not.....hmmm....i should check my journal. But basically, Chris came down for a weekend visit, (he was going to the U of A and he would come visit me every other weekend). So he came down to visit and took me to get dinner and we took it to the park to eat it. After dinner he told me he was going to sketch something for me (he's an architect and a great artist). He told me was going to draw my left hand. I kind of knew where this was going. When we began to talk about getting married, I told him about a certain ring that I saw the year before that at a jewelry store that I almost bought myself, thinking I would just have my husband pay me back.....I'm a dork. Well I showed Chris a picture and told him that this was THE RING! My ring is very similar to the picture above. So...back to the story. He sketches my left hand and then draws the ring on my finger. Then he gets up and kneels beside me and asks me to marry him. I yelled YES. We spent the rest of the night arguing with my mom about when we should get married. OK...not really arguing....but A LOT of talking went on that night. So....that was October 23, 1998. We got married a few months later in March. Happy Day.

Ugly Screamer

2009-09-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ryan came home one day from school.....I think it was still the first week of school.....and she was crying. I asked her what was wrong and she tells me that a girl in her class called her an "ugly screamer." With tears running down her face, I realized that I had no idea what to say. My first instinct was to say "Well she's Ugly for saying that to you!" or "Show me who she is.....I'll show her." Both would not go over well, I'm sure. Then I kind of laughed to myself because I can totally imagine the scream she did, that is.....ugly....or at least annoying. So my infinite wisdom and knowledge on 5 year olds....I said "there, there......let's get ice cream." I've just come to realize how protective and how CLUELESS I am and that I'm already teaching her to become an emotional eater. What will I do when it's something totally serious? Get ice cream, I guess.

My brain is fried!

2009-08-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Ryan has started school. She started last Monday and I am now finally getting around to posting about it. She is attending Desert View mostly because the all-day Kindergarten they offer sounds very attractive. She is having a great time and can already read three books. Granted it's "I am Cat" I am Dog" "I am hammering" etc.....but I'm proud nonetheless.

Happy to report.....Phoebe is with a family who loves her and cares for her. Ok......I couldn't take the stress anymore. She was great but just too rough with the girls. She knew several commands and was completely potty trained but she was home all day by herself and she would it take out on us by bringing in chunks of grass from our backyard and COVER our living room floor with it. After cleaning, changing diapers, and being on my feet all day.....the last thing I wanted to do was to clean up after a dog. So she has gone to a family that already has 2 boxers and the wife stays home all day and they report they love her and she fits right in. I think she knew when I took this picture that it was to show her to someone else so that we could get rid of her.

The hardest part of my day is when Ryan leaves for school and Reagan has to stay home with me. Apparently, I'm no fun. The first day of school, we all walked Ryan to her class and Reagan searched desperately for a seat to sit down in. So when we left, she was crying. That's the only time I cried a little. But we took Reagan out for breakfast to eat bacon and all was forgotten. I also realized how much I don't know Reagan. Sad, I know, but Reagan has always been "Ryan and Reagan". They play together and have fun together, but now that it's just me and her....She's Hilarious. She TALKS ALL DAY! and makes up the craziest things. So never believe a word she says. But I am happy we get to spend time together even though she's missing Ryan all day.
OK.....that's all I got.

Oh NO!!!

2009-06-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

I was heading home this afternoon from work after a great birthday party with Ryan in the car. It was hot and I was very tired. In the back of my car, I had leftover supplies and drinks from the party. I was driving very carefully and slowly making sure that I didn't spill the drinks or break the fancy glass platters that belonged to Ericka. All was going well, when suddenly the car in front of me slams its breaks at an intersection that's on a downhill slant. I slam my breaks and all I hear are jugs and glass hitting each other. I brace myself, not wanting to look back. but I did, I looked. Ryan began to have tears in her eyes as she looks back as well. I see one of the jugs of juice upside down, treacherously close to the rear a/c vents.

Me: "Ryan, very slowly, pick up the jug please."
Ryan: "ok mom" As she does, the lids pops off and spills about a gallon of pink lemonade onto the floor and my A/C vents.
Me: "Oh NO!!!" Ryan begins to sob.....
Me: " It's Ok Ryan, I'm not mad......we'll clean it up.....it's ok.....I'm pulling over...."
Ryan: "It's spilled!!!!" She looks to the back. "Oh NO!!! The other juice spilled too!!" More sobbing.
So now I have total about a gallon and a half of lemonade spilled all over the back of my car.
I continue to assure Ryan that I'm not mad and that it's going to be ok. "Don't worry, we'll get it cleaned up...."
Ryan: "But I'm upset!"
Me: "why?"
Ryan: "Because I was really thirsty!"

I had to laugh.

I got home and now I have completed one thing that was on my to-do list: "Clean my car"
Juice Everywhere! PUDDLES in every nook and cranny. Thank goodness for the SHAM-WOW!
It seriously soaked up the puddles just like in the infomercial. I then called the guy who details my car every time I come back from being out of town. This guy is great! He charges $25 for cars, $35 for Trucks, and $40 for vans. He cleans inside and out and details everything. I ask him how much to detail AND shampoo the back of my car. He said, "I'm gonna bless you with a good deal.....$40." WHAT!?!?! I think normally he charges about $80 for detail and shampoo. SO if anyone needs a detailer, I would love to send some more business his way. So come Monday, I will have a lemon-free car again.

BTW....Ryan is still sad about not getting her drink of lemonade.

Little Ballerina

2009-06-22T13:45:00.001-07:00

Reagan has found her calling in life. We signed her up for ballet classes earlier this year. Ryan had done dance and then soccer and we figured Reagan was probably ready to do a class of some sort and thought the exercise would be good for her. We finally decided on ballet and she loves it. Mostly because you get a costume and you get to wear make-up. She is definitely in love with that part of it. Watching her in class is pretty funny. She stares at herself in the mirror, she listens very closely to her teacher and she can't wait til the end of class when Ms. Barbara brings out the flowy scarves that they get to dance with. I'm glad.

She just had her recital a couple weekends ago and I'm glad it's over. Recital week is EXHAUSTING! Practices, pictures, run through every day for a week....and just for a very small part in one dance. But again, Reagan was really happy putting on her costume and getting make-up put on. She wants to wear it EVERYDAY.

Ryan was so excited to see Reagan on Stage.

She was a frog in her recital.
I just love the pics Chris took.

Check these out!!!!

2009-06-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

For those who know my mom, she is an amazing seamstress and she has begun making her Ladybug bags that are totally cool and chic! Please check them out at here! They are so cute and we're able to ship! A paypal account will be set up very shortly. Thanks!

The BIG 3-O!!!

2009-06-07T22:36:00.001-07:00

I am officially 30. I think on the DAY, I started feeling achy, started to think that tennis shoes are completely acceptable with every outfit because my feet and HIPS feel so much better at the end of the day, I wondered how young is too young for Botox, and as I walked around Disneyland on that day....I began to see the benefits of a purse you can tie around your waist. Sad.

Did I tell you I went to DISNEYLAND for my birthday. Ericka came too of course. In case you didn't know, you can get in free to Disneyland on your birthday this year. So at the beginning of the year, Ericka and I immediately decided that for our 30th Birthday we were going by ourselves, no kids, no husbands to the Happiest Place on Earth. We had a great time. We had a friend of ours (who's birthday was also June 2nd) and her sister join us. Which is good....because one can only take so much of family. ; ) But the best surprise about the trip happened on the ride home from Disneyland. I let Ericka drive to San Diego because I tend to fall asleep at the wheel and I wanted to sleep before we hit the mountains since Ericka hates driving that part. When we get to San Diego, in my sleep I hear they all wanted food and drinks, so we pull into an In and Out. I look at a truck that looks like Chris' and I think, "wow that looks like Chris' truck." and out comes Chris! I was so shocked. He planned for us to stay an extra two days in San Diego. Everyone was in on his little secret. It was great! I tease him because he gave himself a present too for my birthday......two days away from the girls and the dog.

Oh yeah, so trying not to add anymore stress to our lives.....we got a dog. She's really cute. Her name is Phoebe and she's a white boxer. She's about 2 1/2 months old now. We're trying to train her but its more like we're trying to train Ryan and Reagan. They just can't leave her ALONE!!!

So lots has been going on and I have no pictures of them because we have yet to buy a digital camera and I hate lugging Chris' camera out. So....hopefully soon I'll finally catch up.

No time.....

2009-05-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

That's my excuse for not updating my blog. yet.....I have had time to read other peoples blogs.....and facebook......and keep up with my favorite shows.......and go to the movies......and sleep. But no time to clean, study, and blog. Sorry. I also feel like I'm suffering a bit of writer's block. I feel there is nothing exciting going on. Just working everyday and it's been great. (Thanks to all you who have checked out the Treehouse! Happy to report its doing well and we're getting busier and busier!)

My camera also broke and I haven't had time to even shop for a new one, so as soon as that happens I will post some new pictures and get back to blogging....i mean...."journal" our life. In the meantime.....anyone want to help me clean, study, and blog?

My Dream Home

2009-02-09T21:36:00.001-08:00

This is my dream home. Look Familiar?
I think the best thing I did was marry an architect because he has educated me on what is out there and what good design is. I think we have the same taste. He likes to decorate and pick accessories for our house. Sometimes it's annoying because I feel like I have run my design choices through him.....but...hey.....he does it for a living.
So one day.....I will live in a single story, mid-century modern home with three bedrooms, and office, three bathrooms, a kitchen with concrete countertops and grey porcelian floors and walnut zebra grained cabinets, and a huge foyer that I will call the gallery to hang all of my family pictures. My current house does not have a family picture wall. I wish it did.
So....can anyone guess where you've seen that house?

New Preschool Program

2009-01-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

Hey all. We're starting a small preschool program at the Treehouse. Only two days a weeks for three hours or four if you want us to feed them lunch. $30/week or $36 with lunch. Tuesdays and Thursday is the Tiny Twigs (ages 2 & 3) Class and Wednesday and Fridays is the Learning Leaves (ages 4 & 5) Class. We hope to start classes the first week of Feb.

Let me know if you're interested!!!!

Mom says......

2009-01-13T08:17:00.001-08:00

I have a lot to post about. Reagan's birthday, Christmas, Ryan's Soccer game, Ryan's Birthday (which I forgot my camera). Anyway.....lots. But something happened a couple weeks ago that I've meaning to post about.

Growing up my mom had tons of superstitious theories about certain things. They're cultural I know. Chris heard a lot of them when he was on his mission in Veracruz. Examples: Don't go between hot and cold weather so suddenly because "Te vas a torsed" (Direct translation :you will get twisted) which means get achy joints? I think. Also, Don't cut your hair when the moon is getting smaller because you're hair won't grow back. So growing up we would have to wait for every haircut. Don't shower when you have a cold because you'll stay sick. Chris heard, Don't open the fridge first thing in the morning because you'll get sick. Don't eat an avocado and get mad because you'll die. Ericka believes in the "Don't shampoo your carpets barefoot because you'll get a sore throat.

So anyway, we went over to my mom's house and they had a fresh plates of carnitas (shredded pork)! YUMMY! It was around 8:30 pm when we went over and Reagan, of course, begins to sample it and loves it. My mom then says, "kids shouldn't eat pork late at night." I laughed and said why? She says, "I don't know....I just don't like it." Whatever mom. So we all continue to finish the pork, even Ryan and Reagan.
Warning.....graphic content!
Later on that night......it's about 2 am. Reagan comes into my room very quietly but climbs into bed with me. I immediately notice she's wet, but she's being very quiet with an embarrassed look on her face. I go to her room to get her a change of pajamas and as I walk in their room, I smell the strongest smell of pee I have ever smelled. WOW! I go back to my room and begin changing Reagan. I take her pants and underwear off and put a new pair of underwear on and begin to put her pants on....then my hand grabs something.....what is it?........a freakin TERD! I scream, waking Chris up. Then I compose myself and finish cleaning her up and change her sheets and disinfect her mattress and she went back to sleep in her bed.

So....don't let your kids eat pork at night because they will pee and poop their pants.

The Best of 2008

2008-12-17T10:52:00.000-08:00

2008! Almost over and we can't even believe it! There have been a lot of changes in our family this past year. Chris is working for Barry Patterson Architects which has now been changed to Patterson Thompson Architects. There is a new sign and everything! I tease him that he sits and draws all day, but he's been staying busy and we're blessed that jobs keep coming in. He is still serving in the High Council over the San Luis Branch and loves it!

I have finally quit working for the bank after 9 and half years! I have opened the Treehouse Kids Club and that is going well. It's getting busier so hopefully soon we'll be running at full capacity! I have enjoyed owning my own business (with my business partner!) and I really enjoy spending so much time with my girls! They ask every day to go play at the Treehouse.

Ryan and Reagan are growing and keeping busy. Ryan will be turning five next month! She also had her first dance recital in June and really enjoyed going to class every week. She is taking a break from dance and has just started soccer. Reagan is about to turn three on the 20Th and is having fun keeping up with Ryan. She is a great sister to Ryan and loves to try and make her laugh. We love watching them play together.

We have had a great year and we hope you have had one as well.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Pick your Battles

2008-12-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

Has anyone ever heard that saying? "You just have to pick your battles." I keep hearing that and I always have that in my head when I'm fighting with Reagan. Yes, fights. That's what I tell Chris when he asks me how my day was..."Ryan or Reagan and I had a fight." I have little arguments with Ryan too, but it has gotten a lot easier to explain things to her or show her why I'm doing things the way I am, but Reagan.....she will not give in! It's amazing how different they are in that. Reagan will throw a fit for an hour! Ryan would give up pretty quickly when I walk away from a fit, but not Reagan. She will follow me and keep crying. So "Just pick your battles." Does that mean just to let some things go? That's what I think it means. So ok, Reagan, you can buckle yourself up in the car seat and I promise I won't even TOUCH the seat belt AND let you close the car door. Ok, Reagan, you can put the lid on the sippy cup even though it's not on completely. Ok, Reagan, you can wear your swimsuit under your clothes. Ok, Reagan, Church shoes are an appropriate choice for shoes even for playing in the backyard. Ok, Reagan, when we're trying to leave the Treehouse at night and you frantically say "Wait! I need to color!" and then run over to the art table and quickly scribble for a half a second on paper and then run to the door." Ok....pick my battles. I'm sure you're reading this and thinking "No Way! I would show my kid who's boss!!" Well, I did.

Battles:

Mom-1

Reagan-249

I must be dreaming....

2008-12-07T06:27:00.000-08:00

I am usually very entertained with my dreams. I don' sleep very well so usually my dreams are interrupted right when it going to get good. Does that ever happen? Last night I was dreaming about an old boyfriend from high school and his wife and how he had taken up tap dancing and started teaching classes and I look over to Chris and he says "I knew it!" Then I wake up realizing that one of my girls made it into my bed (the reason I don't sleep very well). One of the girls will come in at least once, but mostly several times during the night and climb into bed with me. Sometimes I'm in the mood to cuddle with them and let them fall back asleep, but mostly I don't realize they're in bed with me until my arm has fallen asleep or because suddenly Chris and I are sharing one side of our king size bed. Not Comfy! Well after the "I knew it!", I wake up and begin to think that Reagan is sick because she feels like she had broken into a sweat. So in that barely awake, mostly asleep phase, I begin to realize that my side is all wet too. So then reality sets in and I realize that for the first time, Reagan peed the bed.....but not in her bed....my bed. My new mattress has now been peed on. We potty trained Reagan about two months ago but kept a pullup or diaper on her during the night. Sometimes she would wake up dry but other times she would be soaked. So....whatever. But after many nights at the Treehouse and the girls falling asleep on the way home, she would fall asleep in her underwear. She never had an accident since. A couple of times, she would even wake up and go to the bathroom all by herself. So yay....potty training done. So....it was 6:30 am this morning and I had to start doing laundry and now Reagan is watching WALL-E and I'm too awake to finish my dream. Oh well....there's always tonight.

Reagan!

2008-12-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

I recently did a post about Ryan and now I want to do about Reagan.

Reagan, Reagan, Reagan.

1. We worried when Reagan was born because we were unsure if she would be born with a rash on her face like Ryan or worse. But she wasn't. She was born perfect with not a mark on her. It was a huge answer to our prayers.

2. Reagan taught me a huge lesson. She taught me the importance of patience. I always thought Ryan was an easy infant because of something I did.....ha ha. I can honestly say I didn't do anything different and Reagan was tough. She didn't nurse, she didn't sleep, and she had colic. I know it made me a more patient person because I learned to just "go with the flow." And even though it was still hard, I came to realize that no book, no advice is better than to just be patient and enjoy the ride.

3. Reagan wants nothing more than to be your friend. Sounds cheesy, but she loves to try and make Ryan and Riley laugh. Most times it works, but I love to watch them play together and feed off each others silliness.

4. Reagan is not as independent or fearless as Ryan. She clunged onto me a lot more. She cried when I dropped her off at the sitter or preschool everyday! Even at my mom's. I had a hard time getting used to her always by my side. But now that she doesn't do it as often...I miss it...sort of.

5. Reagan loves to eat!! She is the human garbage disposal. She isn't picky and gets upset when we don't give her the bone from our steak to pick it clean. She prefers steak and veggies to sweets. So that's good.

6. Reagan is more of a girly girl than Ryan. She enjoys dressing up in very interesting outfits and changes several times a day. Right now she's wearing a swimsuit that is way to small! She likes to wear her church shoes with everything even to play basketball!

So....that's Reagan. I love her very much and I couldn't imagine life without her!

Rejected Twilight Screenplay!

2008-11-26T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hilarious!!!

Read HERE

You'll love it!

Happy Feet!

2008-11-24T22:01:00.001-08:00

We finally got Ryan's pictures sent to us from her dance recital that happened in JUNE! Isn't that the cutest (and funniest) picture. Just keep staring at it....you'll just smile and start to laugh. Not at her, but with her! So...here are things I LOVE about Ryan!

1. She's my first baby! She was the beginning of our little family. We had a scare when she was born. I'll try and post pictures of what she looked like when she was born soon. After many MANY prayers, we found out everything was OK.

2. She's very independent and bossy....wait....a leader and friendly. HA HA. I love that she isn't afraid of people (although when she decides to go sit next the weird man at the park and begin to ask him questions....that worries me a little!). She right away likes to go up to other kids and ask their names and begin to play. It makes me think that she won't let anyone push her around when she's older.

3. She's smart....too smart sometimes. Nothing gets past her, so it helps me to be better knowing she's listening.

4. She loves Reagan (most of the time)! One day we picked her up from preschool and she was not happy. She was crying and crying (which she never does) and we couldn't calm her down. Finally later that night, I asked what happened. She said "Miss Monica (one of her teachers) said she was going to take Reagan home with her! But she can't (with tears falling down her face).....Reagan belongs with me!" It was really sweet.

5. She sings ALL day! It's hilarious the songs she makes up.

6. She tells me she loves me for no reason.

So I love you too Ryan!

Ok I take it back!

2008-11-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

I saw Twilight again with Chris tonight. Chris read the book and enjoyed it and since his favorite thing to do is go to the movies, he said he would go with me to watch it. I warned him that he might think it was cheesy or a little weird, but to go watch it anyway. The second time around was sooooo much better. It wasn't cheesy to me or awkward, it was really good. I loved the soundtrack too. Chris really liked it too. Maybe something was up with me that night because even the Harry Potter Trailer was not good to me, but tonight I thought it was really good too. Who knows. Anyway, saw it the second time and I really liked it!

Highlight of the night...

2008-11-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

I did it. I watched the midnight showing of Twilight. I have read all the books and I enjoyed them for sure. The Tailgate party was a blast and the movie was pretty good. Not my favorite movie for sure. I think it was a little choppy and honestly, cheesy in a few parts. The highlight of the night was seeing a very tired Gary Kirkham walking in like he was in pain (like Jasper). I could tell he didn't really care about Bella and Edward and would much rather be at home asleep. We teased him as he walked by and he wondered where our husbands were......at home asleep. Then during the raffles, who wins the beautiful necklace that Rosalie Cullen wears?.....Gary Kirkham. The look on his face.....pretty much just as painful as when he walked in. I thought it was pretty funny. Also...Stephanie winning the life size cardboard cutout of Edward was also a highlight.
Anyway....the movie was entertaining, but the whole party made the night a blast. Thanks Shannon and Sabra! That party will be very hard to top! Maybe for the New Moon release?

Six Weird Things.

2008-11-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

I saw a bunch of my blog friends do this and I got a kick out of reading them, but I figured I couldn't come up with six.....but I'm going to try.

1. I hate flying. I don't know why. The first time I flew in an airplane, I was a freshman in High School and I went to Washington DC. I loved it! I think it was the drugs I took to calm down first. But the food was great, the flight was smooth, and I was sitting next a really cute Junior. Life was great. I have flown many times since then, Phoenix to Salt Lake, Tucson to Mazatlan, Tucson to San Diego, Tucson to Las Vegas, Yuma (!) to Seattle, LA to Hawaii (twice). So I'll do it, but it's not my favorite. I think it happened when we flew from Las Vegas back to Tucson, I could Swear that that airplane from slowing down and then speeding up and slowing down and speeding up.....I was quite angry at the pilot. And when we flew from Yuma, it was in a small plane with PROPELLERS!! Freaky. So...that's why RVing sounds appealing to me.

2. I love the day after Thanksgiving Shopping day. I always had to work and could never do it, but the last two years I was able to do it. Last year I got in line with Ericka at Sams Club at 3 am!! I love it. I love the hunt and pushing elbows and the thrill of getting 600 count sheets for my bed for $20. Love it!

3. I have not thrown up since I was in First Grade. That would have made me.....6 years old? I remember the day, but I don't remember what it was like. I never threw up with my pregnancies, although sometimes it came close.....but that was the first time I felt nauseous. Some say I'm lucky, and I am....but that just makes it a huge fear for me. I dread that day when I throw up.....is it too much to hope that it will never happen? Probably. I'll keep you posted.

4. I can dislocate my right shoulder on demand. It makes a hole in my shoulder and it's pretty gross looking. Although now that I'm older, when I do it....it hurts.....and it keeps hurting for awhile. So, I realize elasticity of my ligaments are slowly drying out.

5. I can do the splits. I could do it better when I was younger, but I can still do them. A 30 year old doing the splits really has no importance or use. But even now...I can do them.

6. I have a fear of choking or someone else choking on their food. Shortly after we got married, Chris and I were having dinner at Olive Garden. Chris had braces and they just put in an extender thing on the roof of his mouth. We were eating bread sticks and Chris starts to choke. I quickly get up and tried to do the Heimlich. It's not working! Chris was sitting down and I couldn't get a good grasp of him. He's still choking.....I don't know what to do. I yell for help. An OLD man gets up and comes over and start to pat his SHOULDER...."Are you ok?" REALLY? I then hit Chris really hard on the back and he spits out his food. Gross....but I was a mess! Of course you begin to imagine what could have happened. I was crying and I could not calm down. Chris, on the other hand, says he's still hungry and proceeds to eat all of his food. I wouldn't let him eat alone for like three weeks. I've grown up since then and found that I'm not nearly as paranoid with my girls. Especially Reagan......she is a human garbage disposal and I've really relaxed since the Olive Garden incident.

Ok.....that's all I got.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

Halloween. This pretty much sums it up for Reagan, at least. We had about three costume changes for Reagan the day of the Trunk or Treat for our ward. She was first, An angel, which is really funny for Chris and I because Reagan.....is the opposite of an angel, some of the time.....no....a lot of the time. She is super cute though. Next change was Mickey Mouse, then finally she put on Ryan dance costume from her dance recital in June. So that's fine. That costume cost $60 and she only wore it for the recital. But Reagan refused to put on the tutu, or the belt, or the arm poofs. So it looks like she's wearing a bathing suit to go trick or treating at the church. Ryan knew she wanted to be a cowgirl. She wore this costume two years ago and it still fit her....although short.

The first picture shows most of the kids who came over for our first ever Halloween party. We had about 45 people come and it was crazy, but a blast!! Ryan and Reagan wore different costumes that night. Ryan was supergirl. Her same costume from last year. Reagan was an Angel. But that didn't last too long. She took her custome off and ran around in her underwear and undershirt. She's nuts.

So now.....we have tons of candy left over and I have no idea what to do with it? Eat it, I guess.

Thanks for everyone who came to our party. We hope you had fun! I know we did.

I Represent!!!

2008-10-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone know, I was represented on HOUSE last night. It's one of my favorite shows and I have a huge crush on Hugh Laurie, so I felt an instant connection to him when on last night's episode, the mystery diagnosis turned out to be Sjogrens.....which apparently causes cysts on your lungs. You can't believe everything you see on TV right? Any who, it was a good episode.

I hate the Dentist!

2008-10-19T21:41:00.001-07:00

Ryan had to go to the dentist to get one of her three cavities filled this past week. I was really nervous because she tends to.......throw up when she is nervous or scared. The dentist, Dr. Cullen (wink, wink), could tell that she was going to have a hard time calming down, so he prescribed her Valium to take before her appointment to keep her happy and calm. And they were going to use laughing gas to get thru the filling. I was really nervous....to the point of tears that whole morning. I wasn't sure how I was going to get her to swallow two pills and I was afraid of any reactions to the medication and laughing gas. I imagined her being totally out of it all day and it frightened me to think of her any other way than her happy, silly, and sometimes annoying, self. Well, I crushed up the Valium in her juice and she drank it all up. By the time we got to the appointment, she was super silly. They took her back, all by herself, and they started the procedure. I wasn't allowed to be back there, so I'm not sure how she did. It was over in about a half hour and she walked out smiling and pretty much herself, but sillier. So I was relieved and we went about our day. They warned me before I left that the left side of her face would be numb for awhile and not to let her eat anything until she got some feeling back. OK. So later on that night, I pinched her cheek and she flinched, so I let her have dinner. We were at the Treehouse and she was eating some food. About 15 minutes later, I looked at her and her lip was completely swollen on one side. My employee thought she was having an allergic reaction, but I couldn't figure out from what. She wasn't eating anything new. I realized, after calling the nurse's help line, that her mouth was probably still numb and she completely chewed up her lip. See below.

Pretty gross. The next day was even worse. It looked like an enormous canker sore and the other day she hit it by accident with a toy during her bath and it split open and was bleeding pretty bad. How about that for mother of the year......I don't brush her teeth like I should and she gets cavities, I pinch her on the cheek, and she still manages to chew up her mouth without me knowing.

I can't WAIT for her next two appointments.

4th folder, 4th picture

2008-10-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

On Stacy's Blog, she was tagged by a couple people and one of them was to post the fourth picture in your fourth folder. So I was curious to see what picture that would be. So this is it. It's when we picked up Cale from the airport from his mission. I remember being worried that Reagan would not warm up to him, since she didn't really remember him. But to my huge relief, she ran right up to him and gave him a big hug and kiss. I think the picture came out cute too.

HEY GIRLS.....and boys....if you want.....

2008-10-12T11:11:00.001-07:00

Three or four years ago we had a small girls night at one of our houses and we made our Christmas cards. Do you remember??? I REALLY want to do that this year again! Who wants in. I know it's early, but I'd rather do it now than to wait until the last minute or not send any cards out at all. I'm thinking first week of November we can get together and assemble our Christmas cards. I'll try and find some easy fun ideas for cards and we'll all get together, have some snacks, and just hang out! Who's in??

Edna's Favorite Things.

2008-09-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hey if Oprah can have a list....why can't I?

1. The Treehouse! Sorry....shameless plug!

2. Dreyer's Real Fruit Strawberry Popsicles. They're my Lays Chips...."once you've had one, you can't stop!" This should be under Chris' least favorite things, because he finds my Popsicle sticks everywhere. Sorry!

3. Oreos with a glass of milk. Does it get any better than that? And to think I use to hate Double stuff. What was I thinking? If it was socially acceptable, I would easily eat a whole package by myself in a day.........hhmmm....I wonder why I'm fat?

4. Going to the Movies. Nothing reminds me more of being married with NO kids than going to the movies. Chris and I would go to Park Mall movie theater every week in Tucson and after the movie we would go to the Gap. Wow.....now we go to Target to buy more pull-ups and apple juice after our movie night.

5. Taking our girls bowling or to the splash park. For a moment I feel like I'm a good mom. It's great to see them enjoying themselves and they think we're the coolest parents for taking them there.

6. Fabuloso. That's Fabulous in Spanish. It's the mexican's Pine Sol. But it smells so much better! I feel like I have a really clean house when I smell it. They came out with a spray bottle version that I clean my counters with....and it's the best. You can find it at Walmart....and probably Del Sol and Food City.

7. One Word.....IKEA.

8. Disneyland! The last time we took the girls last January.....Disneyland became magical again. They had so much fun and Chris even had a great time too. Can't wait til next January to go.

9. DVR!! (TiVo) I will quote another mom on this one....."Zoloft and Tivo has made me a better mom!" If you don't have it....get it!

10. Girl's Night! I'm convinced I have the funniest coolest friends! I look forward to this night all the time......hey girls....I think it's time again!!

11. Walmart. I felt like I was in one of their commercials the other day. I went to walmart and did all my shopping in one place while I got my oil changed. Pretty cool.

12. Playhousedisney.com. Ryan will sit quietly at the computer for an hour straight and play games. That's enough time for me to clean my house......or lay on the couch.

13. Sunday Newspaper ads. I just love looking through them.

14. TV. I have my favorite, can't miss shows. Heros, Lost, The Office, House, 30 Rock, and Project Runway.

15. Infomercials. I don't know why.....but I love to watch them......usually its 2 am when I'm watching them.

16. Vacuuming. I do it everyday. It's my favorite chore.

My Least favorite things!

1. LOCAL NEWS!!!! I really think our local new anchors and reporters don't have any idea what they are reporting. I really believe they just read the prompter and go home. I hate when they start to have friendly banter on the air.......it just makes me uncomfortable to watch them.

2. City Nicknames. I think "The Big Apple" is the only acceptable one. I hate how Yuma is "The Desert Southwest", Tucson is "The Old Pueblo", and Phoenix is "The Valley." ?!?!? Valley? Where are the mountains? I know there are mountain ranges around them.....but I can't see them. Wouldn't that make everyone in a valley?

3. Yuma Commercials. Especially the ones with jingles. I believe yuma is Single handedly keeping those people in business. Why does everyone feel the need to add some cheesy song to their commercial? Next year for Yuma Idol, I'm singing a medley of Yuma jingles.

4. Bad drivers. I don't know why driving 25 miles an hour in a 45 is ok.

5. Ok...new one. Words that are changed to sound like another one......like "Sale-a-bration", "Spook-tacular", "frog-get-about-it"(complete with stuffed frog saying it), and the ultimate, "Fun-citement!" Holy cow. Seriously? These words do the opposite for me......I do not get excited......I get furious!

I'm sure that once I post this.....I'll think of way more. and unlike Oprahs favorite things.....I have no free stuff to give. Thanks for letting me vent though!!!

A Quickie

2008-09-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

I took Ryan and Reagan to school yesterday morning and Ryan ran straight to the bathroom (she didn't get a chance to go before we left...). So I took Reagan to her class and then went checked in on Ryan in the bathroom. She was there with another little girl, Abbey, which I'm friends with her parents.

I said: "Hi Abby!"
Abby: "My dog Pooped and peed on the floor!!" (which huge big serious eyes!)
Ryan: very serious as well..."Reagan does that too."

I laughed.

For the first time in 11 years........

2008-09-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm unemployed. It feels.....great! and strange. There is still the HUGE worry of no health insurance. Chris works for a firm that is just him and his boss, so he gets no benefits there. That was why I worked. I provided health insurance for my whole family. And the bank had great benefits. I worked 20 hours a week and I got full medical, dental, and vision for all four of us. We knew that we would eventually have to buy our own. The thought of being at the bank for the rest of my life....was.....depressing. So why not now??? We're almost ready to open The Treehouse and I need to focus on that. But now....come to find out......I can't find insurance to cover me. I have been diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome. I found out when my first daughter, Ryan was born. She was born with a bad rash on her face and after seeing a dermatologist, he determined it was neo-natal lupus. He looked at me and ask me if I have lupus. I said no. After two weeks of blood tests, they pin pointed it to be Sjogrens. I had no symptoms, so I didn't know I had it. Basically, it's an auto-immune disease that attacks the moisture glands in my eyes and mouth. So...I have dry eyes and dry mouth. Nothing unbearable, but this is the reason we won't have anymore children either. Ryan was very blessed that all she had was a rash and we were even more blessed that Reagan came out perfect! But now we have a 50% chance that the next child could have a major heart defect and require a pacemaker put in with days of being born. That's a risk I'm not willing to take. We have been blessed with two healthy beautiful daughters and I am grateful for that.
So back to getting insurance.....no one will cover me because of SS. I didn't realize having dry eyes made me a menace to the medical world. They'll cover someone with AIDS, but not cover my eye drops.....which I just buy over the counter. So what am I going to do?? I'm going to use up my COBRA benefits through work and then someone will be forced to cover me, but it's going to be expensive. I can see myself returning back to work get on a group plan that will cover me. Sad.

Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching you? I woke up to this.....

2008-08-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my side of my bed.

Aaahhhh....I knew it was going to be good day.

Time to go shopping...I think....

2008-08-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

Well, starting a business takes up A LOT of time! I'm loving it though and girls are having a great time playing with Nile and Sahara everyday. I'm glad they get along well. Reagan, though, can get very snatchy and most of time doesn't want to share....we're working on that.

But I realized something horrible yesterday......we ate out every single meal last week because I could not find time to go to the grocery store! Pretty sad, huh. No wonder my stomach's been screwed up and I gained two pounds! So I planned out my meals for a week and made a list and went to Walmart. It was a lot of money.....but I feel better that I actually have food in my fridge.

As you can see from the picture above....pretty bare. No milk or juice (just ran out of that before I went shopping and I know it looks like a bottle of wine, but it's sparkling red grape juice....it's good.) So I'm going to try and be like Renelle. She has dinner on the table every day by 5:30!!! I usually don't do that because Chris cooks every day. He likes to cook so....he cooks...I clean. I'm very happy with that arrangement but I will try.

The Happening!

2008-08-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

It's Happening!!!! I have just put in my weeks notice at work. I can't believe it! It doesn't seem real to me yet. August 30th will be my last day. After nine years....it's happening. I'm happy and....scared. My job has been my security blanket for so long, but I'm looking forward to the future.

And now the reason why I'm leaving. I am starting a business. Specifically a child care center. Our logo above. The Treehouse Kids Club. It's a short term hourly childcare center in Yuma. We're hopefully opening by the end of September. The idea hit me a year and a half ago when I needed to go bra shopping and there is no way that I could do that with the girls with me. I realized that it would be so nice to have a place to leave that girls to get my errands done without having to take them out in the heat during the summer or do my grocery shopping without having to crush one of my girls in the back of cart with all the food or go to a doctor's appointment without bothering my family for babysitting. We're also going to be opened nights and weekends for going to the movies or out to dinner. Anyway....check our website: http://www.treehouseyuma.com/

And a HUGE thanks to Renelle and Israel Leinbach who partnered up with us to get this done. If it wasn't' for her, I KNOW I would still just be talking about it. Renelle is completely fearless and very organized, which is my exact opposite, so I am very grateful for her great ideas and everything she's does. So I'm glad to be quitting my job so that I can put in more than I have been. Thanks Renelle and Israel!!!

We also need employees soon!! Let me know if you're interested or know someone who would like to work. Send us an email through the contact link.

Also let us know about any concerns you would have on dropping off your child at a place like this just make sure we address those too!

We'll having a big registration party so look out for announcements!

I'm done!!!!

2008-08-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

I finished Breaking Dawn two nights ago at 2 am. I had to stay up and finish because I couldn't take one more day of being distracted and trying to squeeze in reading whenever possible. I enjoyed all the books very much and I was happy with the ending. Now....back to real life.....aaawww man! I miss Edward already!

This was how I found her.....

2008-08-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

I swear I didn't tie her arms behind her back and knock her out to take a nap!!! I found her this way one afternoon. Drum roll please.....we have broken Reagan from her binky!!!! Breaking her of it was my greatest fear, so I was in no hurry to do it and it didn't bother me that she had it. It bothered me that Ryan wanted to always steal it away.....now a four year old with a binky in her mouth is not right...I think. But I was scared because Reagan is very stubborn and will NOT stop crying until she gets her way. I can remember countless nights when she would wake up crying and and I would think, "just let her cry it out....she'll go back to sleep." But I would doze off and on for an HOUR and she would still be crying. So I was not looking forward to when we would break her of it. We forgot all her binkies at school, so we told to go to sleep because we left them there.....and she did....and she did not cry. She still will ask for it when she's sad and crying about something, but I just tell her we left them at school. So, once again.....I think I was more attached to it that she was.

Can anyone guess.......

2008-08-13T08:54:00.001-07:00

why I've had a sudden urge to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire???

I planned it that way!!

2008-08-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge reader. It takes me about a month or so to finish a book usually. I can't justify sitting down with a book, because, One, I don't have time to sit down and read, and, two, I feel like I have many other projects that I should complete or begin before I do something like read. All through high school, I never finished any of the required reading assignments, other than "Black Elk Speaks" (I don't know why, but I found that book fascinating.) When everyone was talking about the Harry Potter books....I just didn't get into reading them....I just watched the movies. But after I watched the Goblet of Fire, I read The order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows. I was so glad I did. The movies made so much more sense. I have yet to go back and read the first four books....one day, I hope.
And now everyone is talking about the "twilight" books by Stephanie Meyer. I was interested in reading them, but again.....can't justify the time it takes to read a book. I'm really busy right now with Work, Young Womens, starting a business, housework, and yes, two kids!!! I knew the fourth and final book came out this past weekend, so that last I went to Target, I picked up the first book, which they are now making a movie.
OK....I was wrong.....I should make time to read!!!! I cannot put it down!! I am a slow reader so I'm not done yet......in fact writing this blog is taking away precious reading time to see how this story unfolds.
This morning I informed Chris that I bought him his favorite kind of cereal and that I promised that I would not have a single bowl.....(this is because he complained that I finish all the cereal before he gets a bowl......hey "snooze, you lose"....not my fault.) He looked at me with a surprised face...."No way you can't do it!", he says. and I said...."If Edward can resist drinking the blood of the women he loves......surely I can not eat your cereal." It brought a tear to my eye....(I think it was allergies.) His eye....rolled. Ok.
So I think I have it made. I can read through all four novels without having to wait impatiently for a book release. The only sleep I'll be missing is from laying in bed reading, rather than waiting in line for a midnight release. I am a genius.
PS....Anyone care to let me borrow the second and third and fourth book?

The greatest thing happened.....

2008-07-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

....my visiting teacher set up an appointment with me via text messaging while I was at work. That was awesome!!! Has anyone else experienced something like that????

In the Summertime.....

2008-07-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ryan took swimming lessons last year and got really comfortable with the water and could put her face in and kick across the pool. The first time we went swimming this summer, she kind of freaked out and it took her awhile to get used to it and remember everything she learned last year. We go swimming about three times a week and now check her out!!!!

By the way....last year she would swallow too much water and throw up every time we went swimming. Every time she would cough.....it was a mad dash to see who could get her out of the pool the fastest before she threw up. This year.....she's only thrown up once at the very beginning of the summer. Yeah!!!

Afternoon Snack

2008-07-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

While I was cleaning my bedroom the other day (and I have cleaned my bedroom again since then), I came out to our kitchen and Ryan announced to me that she made a snack. I figured it was a Peanut Butter and jelly sandwich, her favorite. But no...she opened it and I found this:
....a white bread and fruit snack sandwich. Hhmmm...What would Dr. Oz say?

I wrinkled my nose in disgust and then I thought, "Well, Bread?....good. Fruit Snack?.....good."

So asked her to make me one too.

Cartoons aren't like they used to be!

2008-07-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

Before Ryan became old enough to watch cartoons, I was very disappointed with the cartoons that were available. I would see ads for Pokimon, Spongebob, Avatar, etc., and I remember thinking that they just don't make cartoons like they used to. What is going to happen to kids these days watching stuff like Spongebob??? I was concerned. I remember getting up at 6am on Saturday morning to watch cartoons like Gummi Bears, the Smurfs, and Thunder Cats ( I wanted to be Cheetah-Ra so bad, I would practice running to see if my legs would move as fast as hers.....I should have kept practicing.) We'd also watch She-Ra, He-Man, Duck Tales and so on.
So one day I go and find a DVD of Tom and Jerry and think "HEY! COOL! My girls can grow up watching things I watched when I was young." So I bought it and took it home and began to watch it with my girls. Ummm....I don't recall Tom getting hit square in the face with a frying pan so many times. Or any of the other big plans of causing as much pain as possible to one another. We watched the Smurfs instead.....within ten minutes, Handy hit a smurf on the head with a hammer and called him Stupid. Ok.
I just couldn't bear to watch Dora the Explorer anymore! Why must they yell everything!??! Wonder Pets.....annoying..."This is Se-wious!" But after you watch it a trillion times....I have my favorite episodes and I do appreciate that cartoons these days are about getting along in a happy-go-lucky world. Hey, if Dora helps my kids "Clean up, Clean Up, Everybody Clean up", I'll take it.
Ryan's favorite is Oswald and it is really cute, even though his catch phrase is "Omigosh."
Just stay away from Oobi....weird.

Blame it on the Rain....

2008-07-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

We went to Tucson over the 4th of July Weekend because our really good friends from there was baptizing one daughter and blessing another, so of course we were not going to miss it!! Before leaving, I checked the weather to see if by chance Tucson would have a monsoon storm....my favorite!!! That is definately, by far, the thing I miss the most about Tucson....the weather! It's still hot, but about 5-10 degrees cooler usually than Yuma. But by July and August, the monsoon seanson starts and we get to enjoy an almost daily thunder and rainstorm. It's great! It can get dangerous because of the flash floods, but it's so pretty. The first monsoon I experienced pretty much freaked me out. The girls had no idea what Thunder was, so they were crying. Oh well.....I loved it!
We also went to the Desert Museum, which I've never been to. During the summer you can go at night, so we went on Saturday night and it was awesome. Again another monsoon was happening, so we were in the dark with lightening all around. It wasn't close and it sprinkled a few times on us, but the temperature was great and there was a breeze. We saw some pretty cool stuff.......spiders, snakes, scorpions, mountain lion, beaver.....lots of stuff. We even saw a diamondback rattlesnake, not in its cage!

Well, that was our trip. It was hard to come back this time. I don't miss the traffic, but I sure miss the city and our friends.

Knock on Wood!

2008-06-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

Did I not just post about needed a summer break from anymore injuries or visits to Urgent care. Well, yesterday I only worked until 1:30 and I came home and planned to help my sister pack up her apartment and leave the girls at school while I did that. So I came home, had some lunch, got dressed in comfy clothes to go help, when my cell phone rings. I looked: "YM" (Young Minds Preschool.) Oh no. My heart instantly races....I think, "Who threw up? Who's hurt?" They called me about a month ago to come pick Reagan up because she slept wrong on her neck during naptime and she woke up with a wicked crick in her neck. It was sad. She couldn't turn her head.

Anyway.....I dread those calls. So I quickly answer. "Hi, Ryan's had an accident. I was carrying a table from one of the classrooms and Ryan came running out of the bathroom, full speed ahead, and ran right into the corner of the table, right below her eyebrow and she's bleeding." Ok....more stitches, I thought. And to make matters worse.....Ryan is EXTREMELY dramatic about any injury or scrape. She cries and cries about not going to the doctor and she walks around asking everyone "Am I bleeding?? Don't look!!" Ever since she got stitches on her finger, she is scared about going to the doctor. So I go and examine the damage. As you can see, a gash (right under her previous gash from my headboard) and she broke a blood vessel in her eyeball, which concerned me.
I didn't know what to do, so I took the girls to Chris' office and we decided it probably didn't need stitches. We remembered that Greg Titensor gave us an extra tube of Dermabond and we would glue it ourselves. Thanks Greg again!!! Saved another $30 co-pay.
Well, Ryan's doing good, but she kept crying, "I don't want anyone to see my cut when we go see "WALL-E" or "I can't go to Naomi's party with a cut on my eye!"
Well don't run in the halls.....or fall my headboard.....or smash your finger in a door....etc.

Sea World and Beach day!!!

2008-06-24T14:18:00.001-07:00

We just got back this past weekend from a quick trip to San Diego. We took the girls to Sea World on Thursday and they had a great time. They enjoyed watching the shows (Shamu was their favorite!). We went and saw the huge tank where Shamu swims around in and Ryan said "I can't believe that Shamu would have a friend that's a girl like me!"

Ryan's favorite place by far was the tide pool with all the Sea Stars. She could have stayed there all day! She would go to the other people and tell them to be sure and keep them underwater because that's where they breathe. Reagan really had fun too and even though it was busy, it was nice to not wait in any lines and just wander around the park.

The next day we drove out to Coronado Island and spent some time at the beach. Ryan immediately ran into the water and liked to chase the waves. It took Reagan a bit to get used to it. But by the end, she got all the way in the water. We had a great time and we all got "toasty shoulders," as Ryan calls being sunburned. Who wants to join us next time for a day at the beach??? It would be a blast!

First Annual Sisters Retreat!

2008-06-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Bear with me as I explain our First Ever Sister's Retreat. I was planning to visit my sister Gabby in California last week. I was going to take the girls with me and we were going to go cherry picking at the local orchards and Gabby and I were going to make quilts. I was excited. Then I was trying to convince Ericka to come along too. She wanted to go to Disneyland, so I considered it. I knew the girls would have fun, but it would be really busy. So then Karla said she would come down to go to Disneyland too. Then Gabby said when Dan got home, she would head to Disneyland and spend the rest of the evening with us. Then suddenly someone mentioned going without the kids....hhhmmm.....that sounds good! I spoke with Chris and he said it would be no big deal. I was on vacation from work for the whole week, so the girls would go to preschool those two days. Ericka worked it out to get a sitter during the day. Dan offered to take the day off and stay with Gabby's kids. Karla wasn't working, so she could be there for sure. Last it was to convince Griscel to call in sick to work. I called her up......"I don't work Monday or Tuesday!!" We couldn't believe it. My mom offered to keep Noah for her. We did it!!! A sister's only.....no kids...no husbands......retreat!!!

So Ericka and I made T-shirts for everyone. It had NTA on it, which means "National Taded Awareness." Through the years, Taded has become our way of saying "retarded." I know...stupid, but it has stuck. In fact, I don't think Ericka and I even call ourselves by our names anymore....it's always Taded this and taded that. We told everyone that NTA meant "No Toddlers Allowed" just so we didn't have to explain what Taded means.

So anyway.....I cried when I left the girls......but then Reagan threw a fit.....so I left. Ericka, Griscel, and I drove to Gabby's, where Karla was waiting too, on Sunday, and then we drove to our Hotel room. Three and half stars!!! We felt pretty fancy. Did I mention that I got pink eye again that same day!?!?! Annoying. Griscel was treating me like I had the plague. I thought it was funny.

Disneyland was a blast!!! It was busy, but we didn't care. Everytime we saw a child throwing a fit or a sea of strollers.....we all would give a sigh of relief. It was fun! Karla peed her pants pretty much on every ride, Griscel was the only one brave enough to ride Screaming, I refused to get on Tower of Terror with my sisters....sorry. I got on Soaring all by myself instead. We all got the same Ring (pictured above) to remind us of our trip. It was a ring from the Pirates store. I think we regreted it as soon as we bought it.....it's pretty big.

But a big shout out to our hubbies for taking care of things at home!!! We have so much fun and we can't wait for next year's NTA day!!!!!

Thank Goodness for Health Insurance!!!

2008-06-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to document every time we've had to take the girls to Urgent Care, because I think we're starting to become regulars.

Ryan: 11 months old. Ear infection with vomiting. They gave an antibiotic that made throw up within one hour.....so that was useless...and it was around Christmas. That was the Christmas that everyone got the stomach flu. EEEWWW.

1 1/2 year old. Another Stomach flu. They gave her a suppository that helped her a lot.

3 Years old. Worst one yet. I just dropped Ryan and Reagan off at the babysitters and as I drove away...I could feel it. I remember telling myself "Ryan's going to get hurt today." So when I was parking at work, I get the call. Come pick up Ryan because we're sure she'll need stitches on her finger. Ok. Picked her up. She smashed her finger on an iron security door. Half her pointer finger was flapped open. I instantly felt sick. We went to Urgent Care. Three stitches and a broken finger tip later....we left. The incident alone sent us back for three more visits for re-wrapping, stitch removal, and a follow up.

4 1/2. I wrapped Ryan up after her bath with a towel and threw her on my bed....like I always do. But this time....I aimed horribly and she twisted in the air. Result? Direct hit on my headboard right on her eyebrow bone. Instant gash. Chris right away said we had to take her to urgent care to get more stitches. I stayed calm and said, "Call Greg Titensor....he's got glue!!" We got a hold of him quickly and he did in fact have Dermabond. Glue! I think he carries it with him to all church functions because a little kid always get hurt. So he glued her up and she's fine. Saved a $30 co-pay!

I think that's it for Ryan.

Reagan: Not very often. Almost 2. She had a double ear infection. They also gave her the antibiotic they gave Ryan, and sure enough at exactly one hour and fifteen minutes....Reagan threw it up. I was taking her to her regular doctor every two weeks during March and April because she kept getting ear infections and the doctor had to keep cleaning our the earwax out of her ear. But Reagan rarely gets sick. Mostly running noses and a cough.

But that all changed on Sunday. We're ready to head to church and the girls were playing with Chris on the bed. They were laughing, having a good time. She laughs and bends over fast and hard and BAM!!! Cuts her gum right above her front tooth. Blood was dripping down her chin....I thought she was going to lose her tooth. So we pack up and head to urgent care. I just kept thinking that the sooner you tend to "teeth" issues, the better chance of saving the tooth. We waited in a sick, gross, crowded waiting room for about 40 minutes and then decided to leave. Chris and I started to feel like we were taking on the symptoms of the other people in there. We left and went to the Stake Center, because we knew at least three Dentists there. Dr. Harris looked at her and said she would be fine. He can't guarantee that her tooth wasn't' damaged but he thought she would be ok.

OK. That's it. and People always tell me, "It won't be the last visit to Urgent Care."

I need a summer break at least!

I found it!!!!

2008-06-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

This past week has been the week of "I Found it!!"s. For two weeks I have not been able to find my scriptures. The last time I remember seeing them two weeks ago at church and I had searched everywhere for them and couldn't find them. (I pulled out my high school scriptures, for those who were wondering how on Earth I was able to do my daily scripture study.) Last Sunday, halfway through Sacrament Meeting I was so distracted by finding my scriptures, that I got up and went searching around the building. Lost and Found, not there. The library, not there either. Young Women room, nope. Young women closet, nada. The seminary closets, vanished! Where are they?!?! I also lost a very important stack of papers for work that I needed to mail to corporate verifying my dependents for my health insurance. If we don't mail this in by this Friday....we could lose coverage for my family!!! YIKES!!!! With all this was a tithing check I wrote and now couldn't find it. AAAUUGGHH!!! I looked everywhere!!!!! EVERYWHERE!!! I almost resorted to going through our "sensitive" trash (confidential trash) at work. I didn't know what I was going to do. AND where are my scriptures!!!!

So on Friday, we had a Young Women Recognition Night at the church and I happen to walk past the stand that they use in Gospel Doctrine and BEHOLD.....my scriptures!!!! YEAH!!!! With the tithing check still inside! Then last night Chris took out his folder thing he uses for High Council and BEHOLD......my insurance form, along with very important prescriptions that I've been meaning to get filled for the past two months! YEAH!!! What a relief.
As a side story, every time I clean out my purse I ALWAYS find a spoon in my purse. I tell Gabby every time because she can't believe it. So one time I cleaned out my purse in front of her....and yes...there was a spoon. The last time I cleaned out my purse...4 spoons. I kid you not.
I realized after all of this that I never did the "Primary" solution. You know.....when you lose something...pray and ask to find it. How many stories have we heard about little children praying to find their favorite toy....or help mom find her keys.....it never dawned on me. Shame on me.

Time at the park.....

2008-06-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post some pictures of the girls enjoying themselves before it gets too hot to go outside. AAAHHH....can't wait until it's 105 degrees at 10 PM.
Ryan Golfing.
Reagan laughing.
My girls. Funny story: Ryan, Reagan, and I went to watch Chris play softball last Tuesday night. After playing at the park for awhile we went back to watch the end of the game. Ryan, by then, was not listening to me and I found myself yelling her name over and over and louder and louder. I was getting frustrated with the fact that she was completely ignoring me. So on the way home, I decided it was a perfect teaching opportunity for Ryan. I told her why it is important for her to listen when I call to her, because I want her to be safe. I then decided we should role play. I was the "mommy" and she was "ryan.

Ryan: Mom, can I go sit on the benches?

Me: Well, wait for me and Reagan and we'll go together.

Ryan: Ok mom.

Then Ryan wanted to switch roles. "You be Ryan and I'll be the mommy!!", she said.

Me: Mommy, mommy....I want to go sit on the benches all by myself!:

Ryan: Sure, go ahead.

I laughed all the way home.....so much for a teaching opportunity.

My Secret Crushes!

2008-05-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well it's not so secret, because I tell Chris all the time....."I have a secret crush on him." "Him" meaning my new favorite actor or actors. Right now I have quite a few. I realized this is also another part of "How I know I'm getting older." My taste in men has shifted. I recently watched "Ironman" and I had a very nice dream about Robert Downey, Jr. that night. We saw Indiana Jones on Thursday and man....Harrison Ford looks great....for 60....but does that matter? I don't care. Let's see....who else. OH! Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild) Hunk!, Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) Yummy!, and my ultimate crush....Hugh Laurie (House). Why??? I don't know....maybe because they're stable...have a life plan....good insurance....discount at Ross on Tuesdays? Not that my husband lacks these qualities. He's stable, life plan....no insurance...no discount, But very handsome. One time Chris wore jeans, a t-shirt, with a black blazer, and tennis shoes....I told him...." I don't know why, but you look very sexy in that." He responded, "Because I'm dressed like House." He was right (see above)!!!! He was even limping because he hurt his ankle.

But anyway...all of these men are over 40 and they say 40 is the new 30, so....they're only a couple years older than me. So it's ok. And besides....have you seen the little boys girls are swooning over these days??? Come on.....The Jonas Brothers (someone HAS to do SOMETHING about their eyebrows!!!) and Zac Efron (High School Musical)......ok he's a little cute. David Archuleta (American Idol).....I find him adorable.....in a "I want to be your mom" kind of way.....you know....take him to the splash park, feed him lunchables with campbell soup and a gogurt, then put him to bed the way my girls put everything to sleep. See my "Put to Sleep" post. http://chredna.blogspot.com/2008/02/put-to-sleep.html .....little boys nonetheless.

Don't worry....Jake Gyllenhaal....you still have a special place in my heart.

Bring your daughter to work day!

2008-05-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

Did you know it was bring your daughter to work day on Monday???? I sure didn't. Sunday after church I noticed Ryan's eye was collecting a little goop and I figured it was allergies. Monday morning she woke up with her eye completely sealed shut with gunk. It was sad. She came up to me in the morning asking me why she couldn't see. I gave her a hot wet washcloth and she cleaned up her eye. I didn't know what to do. I would have normally just kept her home, but I already didn't go to work on Friday because of a funeral and I felt bad. One of the biggest reasons why I don't like work, if my kids need me, it takes phone calls to make sure I can get permission to stay home. AAAUUGGHH!!!
So, her eye was looking ok, just a little a swollen and red, so I packed up the girls and headed off to school. I told Ryan that if her eye bothered her during the day to make sure and tell her teacher and I would come and pick her up. I don't know how many other times I've hinted to her to tell her teacher she's not doing well and I could go and get her, but she doesn't ever pick up the hints. She has too much fun with her friends. So I took them to school and before I left, I told the director that Ryan's eye was weird and I wasn't sure what it was. She said she'd look at it because she's seen what pink eye looks like. She goes to her class and brings her back to me...."It's pink eye. She can't stay today...sorry." GREAT!!!!! I get to stay home. I told the director that I would leave Reagan there while I took Ryan to Urgent Care.
So, I took Ryan with me to work, since I was already late, to show proof that I have to stay with her. My mom couldn't take her because she watches Noah (5 months old) and Ericka has her two kids and I know they don't want pink eye. I walk in to work with Ryan and I show my manager her eye and told her that I have to stay with her. She tells me they're really short handed, with two tellers gone, but she understands. Then she asks me....."Do you think she'll sit with you in the drive-up until Jessica comes at 12?" Uuummmm....."I guess we could try," I said. So Ryan helped me get my cash out of my vault, helped me set up my teller window, send the canisters thru the tubes......it was weird. I told Ryan, "I never thought you would come with me to work, Ryan." She responds "I never thought you would come to school with me, mom." I sat there getting more and more angry as the day went on. I couldn't believe she was sitting there with pink eye at my work. It was so strange. She did really well though. I was shocked. I would tell her the number lane to talk to and she would push that intercom and say "Thank you very much. Have a nice day." I would look at the customer's face do a double take when they heard her voice. She asked if she could say "Thank you very much. I love you." I said no. She also would sing Tell me the Stories of Jesus full volume thru the intercom (when there were no cars, of course), but everyone inside could hear her.
She kept the merchant teller entertained most of the time. At the beginning of the day, another employee buzzed me on the phone asking me if Hugo was in the drive thru, I said no. Ryan was so concerned the rest of the day. "Where's Hugo?" , she would ask. And anyone who walked in, she would ask, " Are you Hugo? No? Where is he?" It was funny. Well about 11:50, she started acting like a dog, running around on her hands and knees, barking. I knew it was time to go. I quickly balanced (to the penny) and we left for the day at 12:45. I took Ryan to the doctor and she did have pink eye. I called everyone she was in contact with in the last couple days and it turned out the kids we hung out with in Tucson for the funeral got pink eye too on Monday morning. So.....I guess the moral is....just call in....don't go to work.

My Princess!! (say that with a lisp)

2008-05-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

Ryan got her costume for her dance recital coming up in June. She wants to wear all the time but she feels she must walk around like a "big girl." But seriously, have you ever seen such grace and femininity? Ryan's sheer size and height basically puts her in linebacker status with the other girls her age. We love her though!!!!

Ok, this is it!!

2008-05-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Chris laughs every time I say this because I say it every Sunday. I always say that I'm going to accomplish tons this week. I'm going to continue my weight loss efforts by exercising everyday, by really taking time with each of my girls to teach them something new everyday, organizing one drawer in my house every day, I want to strictly follow my beauty regiment every night, read my scriptures and so on. But I don't and every Sunday I throw my hands up in the air and "OK This is it!" Chris usually asks, "What?" and I go on telling him that I'm going to be new woman and I'm going to lose the rest of weight, and I'm going to keep my house clean, and my children are going to poster children for the Friend. I realize I can't possibly accomplish all that in a week, but I should be able to do at least one, right? Nope. Nothing.
This morning, I said it again...."Ok This is it!" Chris didn't respond this time. I'm sure he knows I'm going to go ahead and start listing my goals off anyways....and I did. I'm going to take it slow, but I do want to start doing some form of physical activity other than chasing after Reagan. I have been on a "diet" for the past.........eight years? I weighed 112 pounds when I got married none years ago. I don't weigh that anymore. Before I had Ryan, I thought I was so fat, I became very depressed. I had to take medication.....how embarassing. Yeah.... and now I weigh twenty pounds more than I did when I was depressed and I have already lost twenty pounds. So its a good thing it doesn't bother me like it did then. Maybe I shouldn't lose those twenty pounds, because I'd hate to be depressed again!
So this week, I'm doing something different. I'm saying "OK This is it!", but on my blog so that I have all of you to help me stay on task. I will keep you updated with my journey. Wish me luck!

I want Eight kids!!!!

2008-05-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

I sometimes watch Jon and Kate Plus Eight on TLC. If you haven't watched it, do...because I can promise you that you will feel better about yourself and realize you don't have it that bad. This show is about a couple who had problems getting pregnant and did in-vetro fertilization and got pregnant with twin girls. The first show they ever did said that Jon, the husband, was happy with two kids and didn't want anymore. He always imagined a family of four, but Kate wanted to try one more time and Jon finally gave in. Surprise!! She gets pregnant with sextuplets. When they started the show they had two 6 year olds and six 2 year olds. Can you imagine??? I cannot. I don't DVR this show so I just watch it whenever I happen to catch it while channel surfing. One show was about how they ALL went to the dentist in one day.....hello?? Why would you take eight kids all at the same time to the dentist. They would go two at a time to the dentist chair while the other kids entertained themselves in the lobby. Obviously, it makes for better TV.
The last episode I caught was where one by one all the kids got the stomach flu. Their house was a field of blankets on the floor with puke buckets next to them. I felt sick just watching it. Kate, who has OCD and is a germaphobe, spends the entire day doing laundry. She then said that she washing about four loads of laundry a day and gets everything washed by Tuesday because she has a lady come on Wednesdays to FOLD ALL HER LAUNDRY!! I want that!!! I HATE to fold laundry and I only do about five loads a week. Then on Thursdays ANOTHER lady comes and puts the laundry AWAY. I sure they can afford it because the show probably pays a good amount. Otherwise, they live on one income.
Chris and I always say how we would kill ourselves if it were us. And I just keep thinking.....I couldn't handle it...I couldn't handle it.....I coudn't handle it. Then I realized something glorious. When these kids turn five.....they all go to school together!!! and Kate will have alone time every day during school. I'm sure that's when the show will end, because Kate by herself, will not be entertaining. So, when ever I get overwhelmed with my two kids, I will remember that I don't have eight and I'm not married to Jon (who is a bit of a jerk). Check it out if you can.
So do I want eight kids? Not a chance!

By the way....I will pay good money to have my laundry folded and put it away.....any takers?? I didn't think so.

We did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it would be...

2008-05-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

That's one of my favorite movie quotes. I love to do nothing every once in awhile. It's been over a week, but I need to post about our very nice trip we took to Palm Desert. I had a few days off from work and Chris and I were trying to decide where to go. San Diego, Las Vegas, Rocky Point....anywhere as long as the kids stayed here! Finally we decided to go to Palm Springs and leave the girls with Gabby who lives only about 30 minutes away. We began searching for hotels....uh oh....everything in Palm Springs is really expensive. 2 star hotels were about $130 a night. Turned out it was the Cochella Music Festival that weekend headlining Jack Jackson, Pink Floyd, and Prince. So we decided to Priceline a hotel, hoping we could get a 3-star for around that price. We entered a bid for a 3-star at $120 and the computer took awhile, but it finally came back and it said "Congratulations we've upgraded you to a 4 star resort in Palm Desert at $120!" We were so excited! We stayed at the Hyatt Grand Champion Resort and Day Spa. Check it out. http://grandchampions.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp It was definitely the fanciest place I've ever stayed at! We looked online and the regular price for our room is $280 a night!!! It was almost embarrassing when we pulled up and a bunch a cute guys came up and opened doors and took our luggage and told us it would be taken to our room. My luggage by the way.....is old and dirty and one has a huge puke stain from Reagan that was impossible to get out. We were parked around BMWs, Mercedes, Cadillacs, and even a Black Lamborghini. Above are pictures of the Cabana we used one day and the view out to the pool.....please ignore the fat girl who thought she looked cool in our cabana. The Cabana had a ceiling fan, a TV, a fridge, and they brought water bottles and a bowl of fruit. It was so nice. Chris and I kept looking at each other and laughing. We thought for sure someone would come up to us and ask us to leave or verify we were staying there, but no one did. Everyone was really nice. We ate at great restaurants (Flemings and PF Changs) and we wandered around doing nothing. We went to an outdoor mall call the River, where our restaurants were at, and it's that same place where Gabby and Dan went for her birthday and that's where they saw Bill Gates walking in to the movie theater. Pretty cool. So anyway....it was nice and relaxing and I got to sleep through the night without putting Reagan back in her bed a trillion times and Ryan coming out saying she's scared of the monsters and I got eat all my food without Reagan sitting on my lap scarfing down all my food......aaauugghh, I miss it! Thanks Gabby so so so so so so much for taking the girls!! So....until next time.....I'll be dreaming of Palm Desert every night.

A moment of Silence please

2008-05-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to announce that today I celebrate(?) nine years working for Chase Bank. This was going to be two year job to help put Chris through school, but I'm still here. And it's not that bad really. I've just never worked anywhere longer than a year and a half. Even at the bank I never stayed in a branch more than a year. I liked to move around, but in yuma, where there are only two branches and your sister works at the other one....I've been forced to stay at my branch for over three years! I started working for Chase when it was Bank One and I worked in an In-store branch, which is a small branch inside a grocery store. We were opened from 9-8 and 9-6 on Saturdays. I remember working three 8:30-8:30 shifts in a row. That's not my idea of bankers hours, but grocery shopping was a breeze. Since then I've worked at: Golf Links/Kolb, University, River/Campbell, Grant/Silverbell, Back to River/Campbell, and now Yuma. I could seriously write a book on annoying Co-workers, wierd bosses, the two robberies I was in, how banking works (I just LOVE it when customers think they should make the rules and I would love to show everyone how to fill out a deposit slip), and how not to spend your money! I also know what $375, 000 looks like. But it's been a great blessing working there because I only work 20 hours a week and I get full medical, dental, and vision benefits for my whole family and I get four weeks paid vacation.....so I'm hardly ever there. I counted and I work 12 days a months. Not bad. But regardless I can't believe it's been that long and I am wearing all black today. And I know I have said many times to other people....I am close to quitting. I am starting a business and hopefully within the next few months, that will be it! And if next year, it becomes my ten year anniversary with the bank, I'm putting my "Next Window" sign up, locking my cash drawers, and walking out.

Tip of the Day

2008-04-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

I have always heard that you should never go to the grocery store when you're hungry. Well, I made the mistake today of going to Walmart to do my grocery shopping after I hadn't eaten anything all day!! (Other than a doughnut for breakfast) So at 5:30, my stomach is growling, I'm dizzy, shakey, and my mouth is watering at everything I see. My whole shopping experience happened in a fog and before I knew I was checking out. So......$150 later, I think the only complete meal I had in my cart were oero's and milk.

Fine Art Show at the Thompsons

2008-04-15T14:01:00.000-07:00

My girls go to a preschool three days a week while I work. Everyday they bring home coloring pages and crafts that they did that day. I was telling Chris that, while I love to see their creativity, the quality of art projects at their school seem to be lacking. Anyway, I was cleaning up my kitchen and I was throwing away a huge stack of stuff they had brought home, when I found a few I would share. Above you see a self protrait of Ryan. Have you ever seen "The Ring"? I told myself that the second that picture says "Seven Days", I'm burning it. Ryan also always draws a belly button on everyone she draws! Notice the big black dot in the middle of her belly.
Now this is more like it.....nice, cheery, springy....I thought it was cute.
Now this is a bird feeder, made out of an old milk jug, Reagan made in her class. They stuck a bunch of foam stickers on it and they even gave her a little bag of bird seed too....bless their hearts. I think I'm going to hang it up next to the Soda Can Wind Spinner my dad gave me.
Thanks Dad!

How I know I'm getting old....

2008-04-13T21:28:00.000-07:00

This year I will be turning 29. Twenty-nine! I'm holding on to my "late twenties" with all I've got! I can't believe it. I still feel like I'm 22, so to take the current year and subtract it to the year I was born...and come up with 29.....there's no avoiding it. It's coming.....29 then 30 then 31 then 32....you get the picture. I started to notice things in my life that has made me realize that I am indeed not 22 anymore. First of all....I have kids! I am in charge of the well-being of little kids. I have to provide for them.....feed them....dress them....wipe their bums....dry tears....clean up throw up......and I'm the one who has to kill spiders for them. I never thought the day would come for that! My mom killed all the spiders for us! I don't even know what I will do if I have to kill a cockroach! EEEWW! So, I'm getting older!
I am in the Young Womens program....which means I'm not a young woman.....you have to be 12-18 years old for that. And I catch myself saying...."What are they thinking...?" or "When I was that age...." I CHAPERONED a youth Dance and I kept telling Chris that my feet hurt and the music was too loud. HUH??? I also remember dancing with Tia at church dances and I know we looked cute! Not anymore....I tried dancing....I think I look like the leaders that tried dancing at my youth dances back then.
My television habits have changed. I used to watch MTV and VH1 all day! Never missed Real World (Seattle's my favorite!...followed by Hawaii....then New Orleans) or Road Rules. Not anymore. Those channels are COMPLETELY different now. Now I TiVo Designed to Sell and House Hunters on HGTV and I watch TLC. I do have my shows like House, American Idol, The Office, Project Runway, and Lost that keep me up-to-date.
By far, the thing that made me realize I'm getting older was that one day Ryan asked me to do a cartwheel for her.....and I did......and I pretty much almost broke my wrists and I stretched every muscle in my inner thighs. I also got really dizzy and I felt nauseous. I think I should start taking Boniva. Man...is it hot in here??? Uh oh...here comes menopause!

Yes we went to the Fair

2008-04-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

I normally do not go to the Fair. I haven't been in over ten years. I don't like the crowds, rides, and the animals....I know....I'm a blast to hang out with. But now that I have kids, I wanted to take them to see the animals and ride rides. Plus it's way cheaper than going to Disneyland and I think they think it's just as fun. Reagan, though, was not tall enough to ride any of the rides. Even the little Train that goes in circles. She was, however, tall enough to ride the Bumper Boats. Really? She's allowed to sit on a very unstable tube that has a small engine in a pool of 2-3 feet of water???? OK. She had fun.
The petting zoo was free and you could pay two dollars to feed the animals. The girls really enjoyed it. I think they were in there for about half an hour.

This picture above is us looking at the pigs. We've been reading Charlotte's Web to the girls and Ryan was excited to find Wilbur, Charlotte, and Templeton. She said she did find them.
Ryan on the helicopter ride.

What does this mean?

2008-03-29T22:44:00.000-07:00

Isn't it in "The Godfather" that if you wake up with a dead horse in your bed, some mobster will do something bad to you or your family.....I don't know....I've never seen "The Godfather", but I've picked this up from other movies. What does it mean if you wake up with the broom on your bed? That's right....we woke up this morning with the kitchen broom on our bed....thanks to....you guessed it....Reagan. During the night....she woke up and wandered around the house and decided to find the broom and bring it to me. What could that mean? and I don't think that it means I need to clean or sweep.....that's too literal. Any ideas?

Easter Day!

2008-03-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

Chris got a new camera thanks to our tax return, so he went a little crazy taking pictures. I think he took around 150, but we got some really good ones. I was excited!
Who are these kids? I'll keep them!

When Chris took this picture above of Ryan she said, "Here's the egg....take the picture." Imagine that with a "here's the freakin' egg....hurry up" kind of tone.
So we had a good easter. We didn't do baskets, mostly because I forgot, but we just had dinner with Chris' parents and they had an egg hunt ready for them. I think we hid the eggs around fives times. Then Ryan had a turn hiding them, with Reagan right behind her picking them up saying "I found an egg!" It was pretty funny.

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

It was that kind of a day......

2008-03-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my "Day." It happens once a month without any explanation or real warning. I just wake up and know......it's that day. Before I go on, this content may be disturbing for the sensitive. Coincidentally, it happens a few days before that time of the month. So that "day" happened like this. I woke up and layed in bed until after 8, which I never do. Mainly because Reagan wakes up around 7, but yesterday she slept in. But I think even if she would have been awake...I wouldn't have cared. We had a party Monday night and I had planned to wake up and get the kitchen cleaned and vacuum that living room. But I woke up.....and just walked around the house...aimlessly. I checked my email....read a few blogs.....checked random websites. Then I decided to feed the girls breakfast. I usually fix them eggs, yogurt, fruit, and milk, but that day...Cheerios would have to do. I gave it to them...and they didn't want it. They must be having a "day" too. So I asked Ryan what she wanted....She wasn't hungry....fine. I asked Reagan.....she wanted Doritos and bacon bits......so that's what a fixed up. Can you believe it?!?! I gave my child bacon bits for breakfast and I didn't think twice! Lunch and Dinner were much better at least. I didn't shower until 4:30....that's when I brushed my teeth too. I layed in bed watching TLC all afternoon...while the girls watched Bee Movie....I think four times while they shared a bag of Sour Cream and Onion chips. Hmm...I wonder why my two year old is wearing 3T clothes and weighs 30 lbs.? Chips and Bacon bits, perhaps? They didn't watch TV all day....they did play in there room, taking EVERY toy out of place. I didn't put Reagan down for a nap....she ended up falling asleep on my bed for half an hour. The rest of the evening was a blur.....I don't really remember other than going to Target at 9:30 and then watching American Idol. So...nothing really happened, but it was one of those days....I look forward to it next month.

Happy Anniversary!

2008-03-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today, March 12, Chris and I celebrate our 9 Year Anniversary! 9 years. As you can tell by the picture....a lot can happen in 9 years. We have moved 7 times. We have bought 3 three homes. Chris graduated from the University of Arizona (GO Wildcats) and is now a fully licensed Architect. We've had two great girls. We've had 8 different cars. We finally have a car made in this decade! Chris and I will become owners of our own businesses this next year. Wow....and we're still having a blast!

For those who haven't heard the story.....this is how we met.

I worked at Millers Outpost. I knew Chris' younger brother from school, but I didn't realize he had an older brother. Chris only lived here when he was a lot younger and his family moved to Yuma when he left on his mission (Veracruz, Mexico). He speaks better Spanish than me. I know, it's embarrassing. Well, I was working and Chris and his mom came into the store the day after he got home. I will never forget the first image I have of seeing him walking into the men's department. After shopping, his mom came over and introduced us. I shook his hand, which I remember was very missionary-like. And that was it. I would see him off and on during the next month at institute and other church things. We spoke for the first time alone a month later and I found out he spoke spanish and that he was going away to school in a few weeks to Tucson to study Architecture. I was impressed because most guys I knew didn't have a solid plan like that. So long story short, our first date was August 10, 1998, but by the time he left for school two weeks later, I was hooked! He went away to school, but he came down every other weekend to see me and we talked on the phone every Wednesday (the days before cell phones were affordable). We got engaged on October 23 and we got married on March 12, 1999. Very fast, but I couldn't take the long distance thing anymore. And now it's 9 years later and I'm still having a blast! He's my favorite person to hang out with and I love him!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

What a day for a daydream....

2008-03-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

Just Wanted to show a few recent pictures of the girls.We got them a little playhouse and they have a lot of fun making soup.
Ryan got a big girl haircut! Her hair was down to the middle of her back, but she would not let me brush it or do any cute hairstyles, so I cut it and now it looks done even when I just put a clip in it.
I"ll be getting my hair cut like this very soon.
These two pictures of Reagan capture the two sides of Reagan perfectly!

And more fun in the playhouse.

Well....that's all.

Don't be a Tool!

2008-03-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

I was reminded today of a story that happened a month ago or so and I had to post it, because it made me laugh. We were having Sunday dinner over at my in-laws house and we were sitting eating and talking about people we hadn't seen in a long time. Chris mentioned that Pat (someone we know) was back in town and possibly moving back for good....so on and so forth. We were talking about that for a little bit and suddenly Ryan says "Pat's a tool." We all just sat there shocked!! I quickly scanned my memory trying to figure if I had ever called someone a tool....or if Chris had said that before....but I couldn't remember ever saying something like that. Meanwhile, we're just silent with our mouths opened....and Ryan continues....."Yeah Pat's a tool....he's a hammer.....from Handy Manny." OOOOHHHH.....Handy Manny is a Disney cartoon and Pat is a hammer....his tool! Anyway....I just wanted to document that happened, because I had already forgotten.

The Day of Rest

2008-03-04T13:24:00.000-08:00

So, this year our ward has 1 p.m. church......which we dread for several reasons. 1. It's very hard to stay in the spirit of going to church when you go so late in the day. 2. During the summer, it's too hot!!!! I mean, who doesn't love getting into your car at the hottest part of the day and getting the air sucked out of your lungs from the intense heat and seeing 119 degrees on your car thermometer.....I love it! 3. The most important reason to hate 1 p.m. church is that we expect our children to behave reverently during the most critical time of the day....naptime. Ryan no longer naps, but Reagan does and she gets very irrational during that time if she doesn't sleep. What do we do??? Become inactive every three years? Sit out in the foyer every sunday? Wake Reagan up at six a.m. so she falls asleep around 12 and maybe gets an hour rest before? That last option sounds great doesn't it? I would LOVE to get up early on Sundays!
So now we're starting our third month of 1 pm church.....and what did we decide to do? Reagan wakes up every morning a little before 7 am and she begins to get tired around 11:30, but we keep her awake and occupied. Then we leave for church around 15 minutes early and take the senior citizen scenic route to church....and....Reagan falls asleep in the car....and.....she stays alseep during all of sacrament meeting!!! Its like we have turned back the hands of time and we now have an infant again! Except, no carseat in the aisle, no big diaper bag, no bottles, or burp clothes. I get to hold her like a baby all during sacrament meeting in my arms. And Ryan is behaving so much better because she isn't fighting with Reagan for books and snacks. We actually get to sit and listen to the speakers. Imagine that. And then, we send her off to nursery for two hours. She wakes up a little grumpy, but she gets over it pretty quickly. So.....hurray for 1 pm church........we'll see in three years if I still like it.

Put To Sleep

2008-02-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

A Random Sampling of things my kids "put to sleep." Above: Dora's twin brother and Sister
Boo from Monsters, Inc., was promptly put to sleep in the hotel when we went to Disneyland.
Baby Jasmine sleeping on Ryan's Bed.
Even the Remote Control need it's beauty sleep.
Oh yes, the Superman punching bag is also tired.
Baby in dollhouse.
Wilbur asleep.....no wonder I can't find my towels or washcloths.
Wilbur again....
and again.....
And Mickey Mouse in the pack n' play.

Ryan can even put Riley Nelson to sleep. The funny thing with this is that my children are the worst bedtime kids around! They hate to go to sleep. I dread bedtime every night. So we usually resort to doing a Dairy Queen run and they fall asleep in the car, but that's not economical nor is it good for my waistline. Any advice for us??? I know kids that are sent to their rooms and they just fall asleep.....how do you do it?? And I don't want to hear "Stick to a bedtime routine...", we've tried that. I'm more interested in a choke hold.....or some secret ninja move where you hit a pressure point and they fall asleep. PLEASE....I'm tired.

If the house is a-rockin', don't come a-knockin'

2008-02-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

Ok....that sounds appropriate. I'm saying this because we have felt three earthquakes in the last few days and it's starting to freak me out!!! The epicenter of the earthquakes have been southeast of Calexico, so a little ways away, but still scary. I keep checking the US Geographical Survey and there have been over 30 earthquakes in that same spot since Friday! Most of them are smaller, but quite a few have been over 3.0 and the ones we have felt here have been 5.0 and 5.1. I told my sister who lives in California and she asked if we have our emergency kit ready and we don't!! Last week, a big wind storm knocked out the power at night and we didn't have batteries for our flashlight....wherever it is. So I lit every Gold Canyon Candle I had and then had a huge headache from the great mixtures of scents. My sister in law is the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator in her ward....I will be calling her today!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2008-02-10T07:25:00.001-08:00

Reagan giving Mickey a Hug!!!!

Ryan is Snow White's House.
We went to Disneyland the last week of January for two days. Chris hates going to Disneyland because we've always gone when it's crazy (like Memorial Day.....don't go!). Last year Ericka and I took the kids the first week of February and it was great! So we decided every year to go at the same time and this year was no different. It is the BEST time to go. California adventure was pretty much empty. We got on Soaring over California without waiting in line. Ryan got on it two times and had a blast! Everyone walked on Tower of Terror two times without waiting. At Disneyland, the longest wait was the new Finding Nemo ride at 20 minutes, but they weren't even handing out fast passes for any rides, because you didnt' need them! 5 minute wait for Space Mountain, Pirares, and Indiana Jones. Anyway.....next year....anyone who wants to go, come with us! Last week of January or first week of February.