Mason Meanderings

liam and addy playing pretend together

2009-07-25T19:26:00.001-05:00

this is actually a whole video but it didnt upload it to the blog like i thought it would. i will try again.

have you seen this twilight fans?

2009-07-04T16:44:00.004-05:00

click to enlarge.

Liam trying to wink

2009-04-16T19:29:00.001-05:00

And Last But Not Least...

2009-04-06T12:18:00.007-05:00

I had a poker tournament for shawn's birthday. We had a great time- it was a blast, and it didnt hurt that Shawn got first place and won the t.v.! The other prizes were a netflix membership, some board games and a Nacho Libre dvd, which my mom won! My mom was in the top 5! i couldnt believe it, and i dont think she could either. My mom has never played poker in her life. Battling shawn for first was my brother, who lost on this play....

He folded late in the action with a 10 in his hand! Note the reaction...

Boy that looked painful Miles.

And now here's just some random pictures from the party. It was alot of fun and we are definitely making it an annual thing!

Miles doesnt look so happy being the queen, does he??

Next up....

2009-04-05T21:25:00.012-05:00

The next birthday we have is Addison's which was a couple of weeks ago.She turned 3! I had a fairy tea party for her and invited all her girl cousins. We did fairy makeovers...

which involved lots of glitter, and tutu's and hairbows that my sister in law tiffany made for all the girls. then we sat down to eat...

and apparently in this picture addy is using her fairy wand to turn abby into something while her back is turned. The other reason i chose this picture is because it's the only decent one i have of the table and also the cake. i wanted to do a doll cake so I got a thumbelina doll for it. It turned out really cute, and the reason i'm bragging is because SHAWN DID IT!! i know, right? he did a great job. maybe cake baking and decorating will become a new hobby for him. My waistline hopes not.

Addy was so cute this year when we sang happy birthday. She totally knew all the fuss was for her and she was just soaking it up.

And of course, Thumbelina had to be cleaned up when she was taken out of the cake.

It was a great day, and we had alot of fun with family. Addison got alot of fun stuff, and some of it was put to use a little while later....

Werent they just laying her in my arms yesterday?

Birthdays

2009-04-05T20:34:00.004-05:00

First, i have Liam's birthday, way back from New Year's. He turned 6!! Man, where does the time go? I blinked and he was big! No more blinking. Enough of the blinking!! Anyway, we had his brother-cousin over for a few days and took them and another friend to a super fun park for cake and presents. Pretty low key but it was all i could manage after the holidays. Which is why I am going to start celebrating his half-birthday and having a party for him at the end of June. That way we can make a big deal about him, and throw a big party at the pool or whatever. And he can feel special, and I wont have another big celebration to plan for on New Year's eve. And now, with one picture, i would like to show you all why i love this boy so crazy much-

He can always make me laugh.

Wow. Just Wow.

2009-03-19T16:02:00.001-06:00

http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/party-dress-cake-2008-05-17.htm

Look at all those amazing cakes. I need them.

my favorite christmas pictures

2009-02-22T17:16:00.001-06:00

these pictures are of my brothers, Miles and Mate, trying to put together Addison's Rose Petal Cottage on Christmas Eve. In this first one I love how the little cottage is all caddywampus while Miles intently studies the directions.

i can only imagine how many christmases my father wore this same expression, while putting together some bicycle or barbie dream house.

total. complete. frustration.

but in the end, it was all worth it, just for that excited smile.

8th Anniversary

2009-01-28T22:28:00.001-06:00

For our anniversary we had planned on going to Dallas and spending a day or two. Well, we stopped in Sherman to do some things, and whaddya know we got stuck there! There was freezing rain that iced up the highways so we decided to just stick around Sherman. The next morning we got a call from my sister in law that Addison was throwing up!! I know what a date killer. So we ate at Johnny Carino's (which honestly wasnt that great) and headed home. I am calling a major redo.

My cheeks- full of air. Shawn's cheeks- full of bread. Dont get between the man and his bread basket!!

Wow. Have I really been married 8 years?

All The Cooks

2009-01-28T22:10:00.000-06:00

All the lovely ladies that cooked up a storm! (Liam is so about to steal an orange roll.)

Holy Moly

2009-01-28T21:05:00.000-06:00

Okay so I havent blogged a meaningful blog since before Thanksgiving. Whatever. The important thing is that I'm blogging now right? Right. So for your viewing pleasure but mostly so the guilt will stop eating away at my precious sleep here are some pictures from Tgiving. The fam on both sides came to our house this year and it was heaven. Family at my house + delicious food in their hands when they knock on the door = Heaven. I wont say what it equals when they dont have delicious food in their hands. Joking!! Just a joke. I love my family! (and when I say "my family" I do mean shawn's family too.)

Addison and her cousin Arieanna waiting patiently for FOOD!! Arent they the cutest????

Me and my momma.

Me getting totally, completely unarguably owned in arm wrestling by my SIL Tiffany. I love the expressions on Miles and Shawn's faces as they witness the carnage.

a new cookboook

2009-01-08T16:28:00.003-06:00

So i love Oxygen magazine, and one of my favorite ladies in there is Tosca Reno. She is the nutrition writer for the magazine, and practically started the Clean Eating movement by herself. Well she has some books about clean eating, and her cookbooks are awesome! The one I just picked up at Sam's the other day is the eat clean cookbook for kids, and it's got some really great, really kid friendly and super easy stuff to make. I totally recommend!

Gratitude 11-15-08

2008-11-15T20:19:00.003-06:00

You know, today was one of those really mundane days. Just a hang out at the house, no makeup , stay in your jammies practically all day kind of day. So when I sat down to blog a gratitude list, I'm embarrassed to say that nothing really sprang to mind. So today's list will be a little...boring maybe. We'll see what I come up with.

1. watching a movie with my kids that I watched when I was a kid. (All Dogs Go To Heaven)

2. finding my running shoes online for 90 dollars instead of 130 dollars. (last year's model. i dont care.)

3. leftovers for dinner

4. my kids going to bed without any fuss tonight

5. liam "working out" with me today

6. the funny thing addy said to me while on the potty- "mom my toot sounded like clarky's squeaker toy!!" *cue hysterical giggles*

7. cold, crazy windy weather that makes it perfect for Chicken Tortilla Soup tomorrow! yum!!

8. my Real Simple mag coming in the mail today

9. being able to incinerate calories for 24 hours with one 20 minute workout. (google HIIT)

10. Addy snuggling me all day because she doesnt feel good.

11. i'm grateful i can come up with all these things to be grateful for even on days that feel boring and barefoot house-wife-y. That in itself is a blessing, no?

BONUS NUMBER 12: Twilight coming out this next weekend!!!! how could I forget??

Just a Couple...

2008-11-12T12:03:00.002-06:00

of random things that are floating around my head.

1. Can you believe that it's almost Thanksgiving? One day at Hobby Lobby right before Halloween, they were playing Christmas songs!!! Crazy. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving this year- my family is coming down and we should have alot of fun. Also, I am looking forward to Black Friday, because shhhhh, we are getting the kids a trampoline this year. I am very nervous about this because I know all the things that happened to my brothers and I on our and our friends' trampolines, but Liam has been BEGGING for one, and I am consoling myself with the fact that we will be getting the safety net thingy that goes around it. Of course, that doesnt keep anyone safe from flying ninja kicks to the cheekbone and hospital trips to repair said shattered cheekbone (right Miles?) but I'm not going to think about that.

2 .I am so glad that I have YW counselors now!! Yea! I heard they were awesome Sunday when I wasnt there- they had just been called in Sacrament that day too! I had no clue they were getting called and they just jumped right in and gave the lesson. P.S. it is really hard to run YW with just yourself and your secretary. Do not attempt.

3. This article really burns me up.

That's all for now. There's alot more floating around up here, but I will save you from boredom by not writing about it.

I really, really

2008-11-11T00:09:00.002-06:00

really hate hormones.

Was pregnancy, labor, and delivery not enough of a challenge?? Do we have to have a monthly one too?

i used to get really bad cramps until i started taking my Barleans supplement. (see list, "supplements i swear by" at the side). I also used to look 5 months pregnant because I would be so bloated- it didnt matter what i did, i would always look chubby around "that time". Seriously, you should look into that supplement. I looooove it.

So now my only monthly challenge is the witchi-ness. I cant stand the fact that I cant control my mood or thoughts. My words, I have ever so kindly been reminded by my husband, are a different story. I can control those. I wish he would stop being so good at pointing out what should be glaringly obvious to me.

So, I am trying harder to think about what I say before I say it. It's that or take a vow of silence for a few days a month. Or duct tape. Or maybe a combination of all three?

Because I really, really, dont want to look back on my life when all is said and done and realize I sounded like Kate from Jon and Kate plus 8 on TLC. I mean, I love her and her little family, that is one of my favorite shows, but boy she can really be hateful to her husband. I dont think I'm that bad, but then again I'm not about to go ask Shawn and find out the truth.

All I'm sayin is, "Why do women have to have periods?" will be one of the first questions I am asking Heavenly Father when I see Him again. What about you? What will be your first question??

today i am grateful for...

2008-11-06T18:38:00.004-06:00

1. homemade pizza with whole wheat crust
2. my husband who cleans the house every morning while i am at work
3. that my family is coming for thanksgiving
4. cooking with my kids in the kitchen
5. karma-what goes around comes around people!! So dont talk bad about someone to get them fired so you can have their job, because then the economy will crash and the company you badmouthed someone to work for will crash and you wont have a job!! bwahahhahah!!! ahem...sorry.
6. my husband having a job
7. my new furniture

well what are your thoughts??

2008-11-05T14:43:00.003-06:00

How do you feel about the outcome of this presidential election? I, for one, am not happy. And alot of the people I see and talk to everyday are not happy. Yet all that is being shown on the major news stations are people so hysterically happy they're crying, Oprah and Jesse Jackson among them. Young idealist college students gave Obama this presidency, and they wanted "change". I want change too, we all do, but does nobody realize just what kind of change we are about to get? I could be wrong. I hope I am. We shall see what the next 4 years bring.

did you know..

2008-11-02T21:12:00.003-06:00

that in mexico the word for christmas is belize doddy-da?

just ask liam.

I am so embarrased...

2008-09-10T09:19:00.003-05:00

I just logged on and saw that the date of my last post was JUNE 28!!! That is terrible!! But, by way of explanation, I have not had the internet. Right now I am at my in-laws house using theirs. I really wish I could post some pics so you could see everything we had been up to- but I guess I'll have to settle for telling you.

Well, we got moved in. That was way fun and I enjoyed every minute. Seriously. Those boxes did not sit for long before they were emptied and BURNED!! bwahahahahah!!!! (just kidding on the burning- we reused them and let other people use them like the responsible global warming conscious people we are. Well. Maybe I did burn one, just for fun.) I love living in my house and waking up every day in my OWN room, and decorating my kids rooms, and all that fun stuff. Oh, and p.s. on the kids rooms, you know how I was asking for floor painting ideas? Yeah, well, I said forget that and we got carpet. Way too complicated for my peel-and-stick sensibilities.

This summer we basically went to the pool everyday and got brown as nuts. Liam became so much more comfortable with the water and by the second week we were there he was jumping in and doing tricks and putting his head underwater. BIG, big steps for Mr. Liam. (who by the way hates it when I call him that).

The end of the summer we were getting Liam ready for SCHOOL!! Wow, how exciting. He loves his teacher, loves his friends, and it's so fun to me to catch him singing a little song to himself that he learned that day in school or something. However, I have been dying for details of his days away and it has been like pulling teeth to get him to tell me!! The first day I was all spastic, I will admit that, and probably a leeetle annoying with all my questions (as evidenced by his answer to me finally "Mom, are you going to ask me all these questions everyday when I come home?") so I just have to be ready for when he's feeling chatty and starts talking. It's like "whoa, liam are you talking about school? let me drop this hot pasta pot and listen!"

My brother Miles just came home from his mission in Canada- how awesome is that? We had a fun weekend hanging out with him and seeing his face again! Welcome home Miles!!!

Let's see, what else? I guess just the day-to-day things that we all do. It's funny how you can be so busy but upon reflection you cant really remember what you were so busy with! I've got to go ahead and hop off for now but hopefully I can post some pics soon. Have a great Wednesday!!

Okay Maybe I Lied...

2008-06-28T18:44:00.009-05:00

Today we didnt move anymore, but we finished painting the master closet and the pantry. Shawn was like, "let me spray this, it wont take but 20 minutes." I should know better by now not to trust his time estimates... yeah, it took all day. But while he was doing that I finished painting the master tray ceiling, so at least I felt like I was doing something instead of having a wasted day.

Anyway, here are some pics of the house- sorry there are so many but I wanted to show my family how it had turned out.

As you walk into the master bedroom.
The faucets in my bathroom. I love them!
Front on view of my closet.
Entry

Dining room.
Ha, this is how our first moving day started out. The car wouldnt start!!!
Kitchen. Where my stand mixer is there will be a microwave someday, but we didnt feel like shelling out the major moola for the one that matches the oven right now. We dont really use the microwave anyway, so we can wait. Right now it's a good cubby for the mixer! Through the door there you can kind of see where the laundry room is, and then to the right of that hallway is the guest room/workout room and guest bath. I dont know why the hall color looks diff from the kitchen color because they're the same.

Breakfast nook.

Front door. I am in love with it.

Okay, that's all. When ya comin over??? :)

We're finally ready to move today!!!

2008-06-27T09:49:00.001-05:00

We'll be moving today and tomorrow- it wont all get done today. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! Yippee!!!

Devastated

2008-06-23T11:11:00.002-05:00

For Father's Day, I took some pictures of Liam and Addison dressed up in their dad's clothes- Liam was Working Dad and had on a suit, and Addy was Golfing Dad and had on a golfing outfit, complete with driver. They turned out SO CUTE. I take the card to Walmart to get them printed, and for some reason my card didnt work in the photo machine. Hmm, that's strange, it worked at home in my card reader, I thought. The lady tried to make it work and kept shoving it in and out, and finally I made her stop (politely) and just said oh well. Well, when I got it home and put it my card reader again, IT WOULDNT WORK AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!! Now the card is asking if I want to format it... NO I dont want to format you and erase everything on there!! So I googled the problem and came up with some recovery software that found the pictures that were on there- over 400- and as I was looking at them more than half are ruined- like they wont come up or they're just pink and green and black squiggles. So then I go to download them and the software is gonna make me pay 40 dollars just so I can have my pictures back!! That is highway robbery! They are taking advantage of people who will do anything just to get those precious pictures back. I will probably pay it but it will be very painful. Almost as painful as the card being ruined in the first place. Easter, Liam's T-Ball, etc.... lost in a little blue card.

So the moral of the story is: DOWNLOAD AND PRINT YOUR PICTURES AS SOON AS YOU TAKE THEM!!! Learn from my misery!

Pick a Pail of Peppers

2008-06-19T18:34:00.000-05:00

Can you guess who's place this was after dinner tonight? I'll give you a hint: it starts with "L" and ends with "M". We had pasta salad and "somebody" picked out all the peppers. Notice the dressing sucked cleanly from each pepper and onion before being placed in the pile. That kid cracks me up.

Currently Listening To...

2008-06-18T16:31:00.002-05:00

Coldplay's new album. Oh boy. Is it ever good. Get thyself to iTunes or wherever and pick this bad boy up. You wont regret it!!

Family pics

2008-06-18T11:06:00.000-05:00

It's a pic of a pic, so the shadow at the bottom is my fault, sorry, but I wanted to post it and I dont have a digital version. We went and took these 2 weeks ago at Olan Mills for a 10 dollar donation. I am quite pleased at how they turned out! I have some more of just me and Shawn, just Liam and Addy, just the kids individually, and I have a ton of them! He made me an offer I couldnt refuse, so I bought them all! lol. I'm normally kind of a picture snob I guess? I dont really like posed studio portraits but I was happy with these and these are the first updated family pics we've had in a while.

Anyway, if you want one, email or comment and I will mail you one!

Mmmmm.....

2008-06-17T19:05:00.000-05:00

Dontcha wish you could just pop on over for a cookie? I wish you could too! But since you cant, I guess I'll just eat enough for both of us!!

More Slightly Belated Fathers Day

2008-06-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

My dad. What a guy!

(Only Slightly) Belated Father's Day!

2008-06-17T11:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Fathers day to my baby daddy! We couldnt ask for better!!

Happy Seriously Belated Mothers Day!!

2008-06-17T10:54:00.000-05:00

My mom is always up for whatever goofy thing Liam and Addy come up with! Love ya mom!!!

Midafternoon slump

2008-05-29T15:56:00.004-05:00

This is what I feel like today.

I cant get out of it. The kids are thankfully entertained with the batches of homemade playdoh we made this morning.

But the laundry? That REALLY, REALLY needs to get done??

So not getting done today.

Help!!

2008-05-23T09:15:00.002-05:00

Ladies, I need your creative ideas. Our budget wont allow for carpet in the kids rooms (we overpsent in a few places). So now I have the idea that I could paint the floors in their rooms, something fun but also *very* simple. Addy's room is kind of a shabby chic cottage room, with pink walls and this bedding, on a white bed. Liams walls are a bright lime green. (Karie, it's very similiar to Dustins walls) His bedding is a pottery barn kids quilt with lots of colors in it that would be easy to pull from and tie in- orange, green, navy, khaki, light blue.

I'm thinking that this might be a blessing in disguise, since it will be so easy to clean, and durable. We will of course add rugs for softness and comfort. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give me some ideas. Thanks!!!

A Blogging Sabbatical

2008-05-22T07:02:00.003-05:00

At first when I didnt blog for a week or two it wasnt intentional- I kept meaning "to get around to it". Then as time went on and more holidays and blog worthy things passed me by, it just seemed too overwhelming to have to blog about it all. I was sooooo crazy busy- the part time job at the Pro Shop (which I quit about 2 weeks ago) my new calling (which I'm finally getting the hang of) building the house (for a while I was there everyday helping shawn with something) and for about a month we were sick with one thing after another: flu, scary fever that we took Addison to the ER for, pink eye, stomach flu, and then more pink eye. There was a long time when I hardly talked to anyone. In fact, my mom called a couple of times and I was never able to answer the phone, and she finally left me a message on my voicemail that said "Um, hi. I am looking for my daughter. She's tall and has long blondish brown hair. She was last seen working on her house. I have reason to believe she may have gone crazy and run for the hills. If you have any information on her whereabouts please call (and then she stated her phone number). Thanks." So when I called her back I acted like the reception was bad "out here in the hills I ran to." lol.

So, let's see...what have we been up to?? We still havent moved into our house. Hopefully by the end of the month. Yesterday we went and bought all our appliances, so that was fun. For us. Not the kids. I dont know what it is about Lowe's but it *always* triggers an allergic reaction in my kids that causes crankiness, an extreme desire to run up and down the aisles, and an urge to flush all the fake toilets and "turn the water on" in all the fake sinks. Even having the never-fail backup, an iPod with Sesame Street video podcasts, is not a sure antidote. Let's see what else about the house? Oh oh oh the kitchen cabinets are installed and painted, and they are lovely, if I say so myself. Somebody's coming soon to glaze them because the painter was going to charge us $2500 to glaze!!!!! Shawn was like, "um, no. That's ridiculous because I have people that will do that for $6-800." The guy didnt back down on his price so we figured he just didnt want to drive out here anymore. He lives about an hour away. Tuesday the granite people came and installed all the countertops. Yesterday the plumbers were here installing all the faucets and getting the tub in the master bath ready to go. So now Shawn and I will finish painting and cleaning, and then next Thursday all the electrical work will be done, like installing lights and ceiling fans and stuff. There will still be a few little things to do after that but we are moving in anyway.

The weather has been gorgeous, so we have been outside almost everyday. I finally picked up golf, after 7 1/2 years of Shawn asking me to play. He says that I'm doing really good, and there's something about a "natural draw" which I have no idea what that is but I think he's just telling me that to feed my ego so I'll keep playing. We've been playing tennis too and most of the time we have the courts to ourselves so Liam and Addy wheel around on their bike and trike while I try not to knock them unconscious from an errant serve. So far, so good.

I have a bunch of pictures to upload and tell stories about so I guess I'll do that in the next few posts. I will try not to be too embarrassed to upload Easter and birthday pics (!) but it is more for my benefit than yours so that when I am on my deathbed I can look back on my life and die peacefully, knowing that in 2008 my blog and family did not suffer neglect from having an insufficient number of holiday and birthday pictures posted.

Have a wonderful day! I hope the weather is pretty where you're at too!!

Awww.....

2008-03-01T09:50:00.004-06:00

isnt she sweet? wait a sec...is that a..? In her hand? That looks like a tampon! I can only imagine the fun that provided before she fell asleep. You dont know how hard I laughed when I walked in and saw that.

p.s. just so you dont think I let my daughter rummage through the bathroom trash for toys, she dug it out of my purse that was hanging near where she sleeps. The contents of the purse were everywhere. Apparently the tampon held the greatest fascination for her. Which seems to be a theme lately for her. She really loves her feminine products. Like last night Liam was tantruming and in the big middle of it Addy comes running up laughing hysterically, naked as a jaybird, with a, ahem, feminine product stuck to her belly. I have to admit it provided some much needed comic relief. For me. Not so much for Liam. Who cried louder when he saw me laughing. It runs the gamut around here, ya know?

These Are My Confessions...

2008-02-26T22:02:00.002-06:00

Confession 1: I never like how my stylist styles my hair after they've cut it. Especially when they get out the blowdryer and flat iron. I never know what I'll end up with. I have only liked the style one time and that was when that guy in Houston cut my hair in the Willowbrook Mall. Mom where was that again? What was his name? Anyway, I always look in the mirror, after they've finished shellacking and primping and try to act like I love it, but honestly, I get about a mile away from the salon and I twist the rearview mirror and put everything where it goes. Now, that's not to say that I dont love the cut, because the next day after I've fiddled with it myself I always end up liking it. Well. Most of the time. Another thing is: are you self conscious about fixing it in the mirror when the stylist is watching? That's why I wait until I'm about a mile away and then doodle with it. I'm always afraid of offending them or something!

Confession 2: Today after my haircut I bought a bacon cheeseburger at Burger King and picked out all the bacon. It was gross.

Confession 3: Grocery shopping with my kids makes me want to scream. I hate it. I think when I became a mother I didnt get the "dont mind hauling your kid to walmart" gene. If you gave me a choice between, say, I dont know... Lets say you said "ashley, if you stand outside naked in the cold tonight for 5 minutes I'll watch your kids while you grocery shop tomorrow." I would say "Make sure you turn off the porch light!". In other words, I wouldnt hesitate to let you watch my kids, no matter the conditions you set forth!!! I am going to dedicate a whole post to this, and you'll laugh and think oh that's so funny, but it will be true. Every word of it.

Confession 3: I need to go to bed. Night!

p.s. I am very glad spellcheck is working again.

I like you just the way you are

2008-02-19T00:10:00.004-06:00

Today Liam went to work with me and can I just say that I totally see the Shawn in him. Wanna know why? Well, I gave him a little job to do- washing the (glass) windows and doors, and told him I'd pay him 50 cents. He got done with that and BAM it's like a fire got lit under his booty. All of a sudden he was streaking from here to there doing all sorts of little jobs. He emptied out the trash into the outside trash can, vacummed, swept the outside, refilled the candy that needed refilling, re-arranged the hats, dusted, and was going to refill the drink cooler vendor thingy but I stopped him when I realized he was refilling it with expired drinks. ;) He did all that without a word from me. So Shawn. Not being able to sit still- always busy busy busy. I paid him a dollar for all that hard work- he definitely earned it! If I dont watch out he'll be stealing my job from me!

After work Shawn asked me to come over to the house and clean the brick so the mud from this weekend's rain wouldnt stain it. While I was doing that Liam and Addy worked their way over to hole number 3 in our backyard, and it's kind of built up on a hill. They had the best time just hanging out on that hill. Eventually Liam hit upon the fantastic idea of rolling down it and I had serious flashbacks watching he and addy doing that because it reminds me of walking down to UT Tyler with my family on Sundays and they had a humongous hill that my brothers and I would ruin our jeans on. That is one of my favorite things though (i'm flashing back to the present, folks- stay with me)- watching my kids have fun together, and laugh and run around. It makes up for all the cranky, why-did-you-hit-your-sister, addy-dont-take-things-from-your-brother-please-stop-screaming-like-a-banshee moments.

And of course the kids got filthy so when we got home they got plunked in the bath tub. Sometimes while they're in there I play with my makeup, and tonight I was playing around with my eyeshadows. I was in the middle of putting some on, and Liam goes "Mom, you dont have to wear makeup. I like you just the way you are." I. love. that boy.

After I got the kids to sleep Shawn asked me to come back over to the house and help with some more stuff, and it was strange walking alone together, because that hasn't happened in quite a while. I was like "so.....how are you? what's goin on in your life?" He was like "I know! It feels like I've been out of town or something and we havent talked in forever!" I will be so glad when we are done with this house and we can both have a normal life again. 6 more weeks..............

I'll try not to end up in a rubber room by that time!!

Belated valentine

2008-02-16T17:25:00.001-06:00

So I totally meant to post these on the actual day, thereby giving you all a virtual valentine, but you'll just have to settle for a few days late.
1. To Poppy, Granna and Mate
2. For Miles- we love you!!!!!!!
3. For everybody else- the reason Addy is not in this one is because my take-a-good-picture bribe, peanut m&m's, ran out. Addy doesnt work for free.

House

2008-02-16T16:55:00.000-06:00

1. the front, obviously
2. living room
3. back
4. front door

A Slow Saturday

2008-02-16T12:22:00.002-06:00

So what are you up to today? Us, nothing much. Well, when I say "us", I mean the lazy 3/4 of the family. (me, liam, addy). Shawn is working on the house doing electrical work. Shout out to my hard working hubby who even when the weather is cold, rainy, and generally yucky goes out and gets stuff done. Me....not so much. This morning we had a late, yummy breakfast, which I havent cooked in forever. Eggs, sausage, biscuits, pancakes...mmm mmmm. Mostly I havent cooked that in forever because I can't stand eating greasy, fried pig patties but you know some days it just sounds good. Then Liam and I cleaned the kitchen (no really, he did help. It wasnt the usual kid "helping" that makes you wish they werent "helping"). Then he and addy scattered to play mario carts .....

Liam: "Addy watch how I jump. See? That's how you jump. These buttons. Do you want to try it?"

Addy: blank look.

Liam gives up and just plays on his own. Addison continues to watch on the couch with all the necessites of life surrounding her: bee, blanket, binkie, and bunny. Gotta have em all or life's not worth living.

Man, I am dying to tell you what I got Shawn for his upcoming 30th birthday!!! But I cant because he is a frequent reader, and it would spoil it. Love ya babe!! ;)

Have I ever told you how much my dog HATES rain? Detests it. Hides like a baby when it thunders. Will not set a paw outside if it even looks like a drop of rain maybe might possibly fall from the sky. The poor dog has been "holding it" all this morning. I keep opening the door when the rain slows down thinking surely he'll have to go bad enough to eventually tough it out and step outside. Nope. Finally about 5 minutes ago he started pacing around the kitchen, so I opened the door for him- he took a quick look at the sky, seemed to say to himself "it's now or never old boy" and made a run for it. He squatted and peed for at least 2 minutes, I am not even kidding. Then he ran to his poo place, took care of that, and dashed back to the window so I'd know he was done. It cracked me up!

So to borrow a term from Heather, I am one-tracking a Disney Cruise. Seriously, I'm obsessed. All my money is going to saving for that next summer. (well, and some new furniture for the house.) Hopefully there wont be any newborns or hugely pregnant people, i.e. me, to stop the Disney magic. No, I am not pregnant right now. But I'm just sayin. As soon as Addison's potty trained, which will be when we move in our new house, we'll be thinking about having another one. Because, you know, there's just something about poopy diapers that I can't stand to be parted from. I love being up to my elbows in green baby poo while Liam ninja kicks *rightthere* beside it and nearly ninja-lands in it. Fun times, you know? Wow that paragraph totally landed in a different place than it started out at. But yeah. Disney Cruise. Us. One day.

Well, I've got some house update pics if ya want em... the outside is completely done except for a few minor things and the front door, which was special order so it's taking forrrrrreeeevvvvvveeerrrrrr to get here, but hopefully, *fingers crossed* it will be here Tuesday. But Shawn finagled a price break since it's taken so long, and they gave us 1000 bucks off. Yes! Love that.

Yall have a good Saturday!

p.s. I'm going to do pics in the next post because I thought I had updated ones but I dont. So I'm going to run over there and take some and post them in a little bit.

Holy crow...

2008-02-04T14:49:00.001-06:00

life has certainly picked up in the last few weeks. Here are a few of the reasons why, and maybe then you'll understand why I have neglected my little blog...

1. I got a small part time job at the pro shop here on the golf course. I love it! I just work from 8-12 monday through friday, and shawn's schedule recently changed so he could be home with the kids during that time. It's kind of funny how it worked out... I had asked about working in the Pro shop a couple months ago but was told they were waiting for an actual Pro to come work here, and he would be hiring his own staff. Well, of course I forgot all about it until one day a couple of weeks ago I get a call from the pro asking if I was still interested in working there. I said sure and he scheduled an interview for the next day and I got the job! Then a few days after that is when shawn found out his schedule was about to change, and now he works from 3 pm to 12 am. Perfect! Right now though my mother-in-law is watching the kids while I'm gone because Shawn is sooooo crazy busy building the house, but once the house is built life will slow down for him and we wont have to leave the kids with anyone else. Which is important.

I really love my little job though. It was hard to leave the kids for that first week or so, but I'm so much happier all the time now. I'm not cranky anymore, and I have alot more energy and motivation to get things done. So I've realized that for me (and my house haha) it is much better for me to get out of the house for a little bit each day than to stay home and be miserable. Which I was. It sounds horrible to use the word "miserable"...maybe a more apt description would be that I was very out-of-balance. This is such a touchy subject though, isnt it? There are people on both sides who feel passionately about their choice. And I agree that if you are working working working all the time and you dont even need to, then you need to reset your priorities. Especially if your kids are getting shuffled around to daycare everyday. But also, the issue of mothers working outside the home deserves a second thought instead of covering it with the blanket "mothers shouldnt work unless they have to." Because some people can get pretty high on their stay-at-home-mom horse.

2. As some of you already know (who read Celeste's blog :)) I got called as Young Womens President. I very nearly told the Bishop no. I really struggled in his office and the only thing that saved me was my firm belief and promise to myself that you never say no to a calling. So I said yes but still came home just torn about how I was going to do this, I mean, I live 30 minutes from the meetinghouse, and the time you have to put in in this position...well, it's not so easy on the gas bill, ya know what I mean? Plus I'll be gone from the house even more...girls camp, stake dances...but there comes a time in your life when you have to decide if you're willing to sacrifice a little to do what the Lord asks you. We're not gauranteed an easy time of it here and if there was no sacrifice then there would be no blessings. We cant expect to just take take take the blessings the Lord gives us and not give anything in return. And I have been highly blessed, in so may ways...it just wouldnt be right if I gave a half-hearted effort. So I've gotten more excited as the weeks go by- last Wednesday was our first mutual and Sunday was the first Sunday with them, and I LOVE my counselors and secretary. They rock, and they are so perfect for me. And the girls love them which is essential! :)

3. Our house is on schedule! Which is a good thing because I'M GOING INSANE! It really sucks sharing a room with my 2 kids, and that's all I have to say about that. Especially since Liam has started "noticing" pretty girls on t.v. For example yesterday one of the super bowl ads starred Naomi Campbell dancing to "thriller" by micheal jackson- maybe you remember that one. She looked hot. Liam just stood there in front of the tv, with a look on his face that I imagine might be seen on the face of a man lost in the desert who has found water. Mouth hanging open, glassy-eyed- you get the idea. When it's over he turns to me and says rather dreamily, "i wish you were pretty like her, mom." I had to laugh, no offense taken- I'm under no illusions about how I rank with Naomi Campbell. lol. So now I'm just more concerned about my privacy now that Liam is showing an interest in girls. lol.

There you have it- my last few weeks in a nutshell. I've got some errands to run so have a great day! And if you live in Oklahoma, enjoy the pretty weather today because tomorrow it'll be gone!

ps sorry about any typos or misspelled words- for some reason spell check isnt working.

This shirt makes me salivate...

2008-01-12T13:21:00.001-06:00

if you click here you can see it.

I HAD to post this picture...

2008-01-07T21:58:00.000-06:00

For a few reasons:

#1, it cracks me up.

#2 I thought I had lost it (the picture, not my mind)

#3 I cannot believe how small Liam looks.

#4 I am really glad I've let my hair grow out.

p.s. we were doing prenatal yoga. And as you can see, my house was very sparsely furnished at the time. lol. (we had just moved in.)

Liam turns 5!

2008-01-07T21:05:00.000-06:00

Liam turned 5 recently, and I am frankly flabbergasted that he's "a whole hand." We took him to Pizza Planet Plano which was fun but also very crowded. It was just the sort of place you might lose your kid and never find them again, so thankfully my mom and dad and Mate were there to help keep an eye on the 5 kids we had brought. They had a blast, the pizza was good, and it was so great to see my family, who drove down to help him celebrate. They got to stay the weekend and we got to show them around the community.
Then we took him to Target to spend his Christmas gift card and his birthday moneys and we just let him go crazy in the toy aisle. We figured, you only turn 5 once, right? Some of the stuff he picked I winced at, because they were the most random things and I could just see where this was headed about a week down the road but oh well. The one thing I really wanted him to look at was G.I. Joes because my husband and my brothers were crazy about those things when they were young, and I knew Liam would like them too. First of all you had to dig around amongst the other ridiculous toys they sell for boys, and then they had a poo-ey selection, and then when we got it opened up (which is a whole 'nother irritation- why do they package toys the way they do? Do they enjoy irritating me?? Do they enjoy the thought of me being out-smarted by a twisty-tie?? Sadistic toy packagers.) I digress. What was I complaining about? The horrible fart my dog just farted right here under my feet? Oh yes, the cheap quality of the G.I. Joes. Man, they just dont make em like they used to. They dont even really look cool anymore. He still loves playing with them, but man....they just dont make em like they used to. That's fo' sho'.

So my little boy looks not so little anymore and I can swear some days he looks bigger than he did the day before. He's such a blessing to me, and these are 5 of the thousand reasons why:

1. This boy forgives faster than you can say "Will you forgive me?" I am constantly reminded of how much we are to be like little children: meek, humble, and forgiving, when Liam is around.

2. This boy has got a bug in his soul for music and dancing. It is always a day brightener to watch him rock out to his favorite songs (which just happen to be my favorite songs- right now the favorite around here is "You Cant Stop The Beat" from Hairspray. It is a HOOT watching he and Addy dance around the kitchen to that. And very infectious.)

3. He's got a great desire to be like Nephi, Jesus, and Joseph Smith. One day at bedtime we were chatting and I asked him who his favorite superheroes were. The answer: "Spiderman, Batman, and Joseph Smith." He really tries hard to do the right thing. He always says sorry when he messes up. And, for the most part, is incredibly kind to his little sis.

4. Liam is a cuddle bug!!! And I love it! He's got a knack for giving you a hug when you need it most.

5. He's got a great sense of humor and pops out with stuff when I least expect it. I'm guaranteed a good laugh when Liam's around.

Love ya wimmy! Here's to so many more!!

Let us all take a moment...

2008-01-04T00:39:00.000-06:00

and reflect back on the life of bee. It is with heavy heart that I inform you of her demise. You see, we are dogsitting a dog for my brother and sister-in-law until they are able to move into their condo. Yes, you can already see where this sad story is going. I was in here in the kitchen when I heard this jingling behind me. I thought it was addy playing with a jingle bell ornament, as we were in the process of dismantling the tree. Finally I turned around to look, and there was that dog chewing bee's head off. I freaked out and went ape on that dog. All I really remember is saying "NO!" in a horrified voice a whole bunch of times. The kids heard me and came running to see what was going on, and when Addy saw bee she cried the most heartbreaking cry I have ever heard.

But let us not dwell too long on her untimely death. Instead, I will point you to this blog here so that we can all remember what a great little companion she was for Addison.

The good news is that I do have that other bee from ebay. THANK HEAVENS! I bleached her, roughed her up a little, and now everything is hunky-dory again. It took Addy a few hours to get used to the new one because she definitely knew something was different, but we just kept saying "nana fixed her! and she's all clean and pretty again!"- finally she swallowed the story and went to sleep with her, though still not as snuggled up with her as she used to do with Old Bee.

Thank you all for your love and prayers as we get through this difficult time.

Christmas Recap

2008-01-02T10:16:00.000-06:00

Okay, so this time of year is CRAZY! It really seems to fly by with all the preparations you make for it, and then before you know it the new year is here and life slows down again. There are so many things I need to blog about- Christmas, Liams Birthday, New Years, and of course all the little stuff that happens in between! So first, Christmas...

right before we got started making cookies.

sampling the fruits of our labors.

The result of Addy turning the mixer on to a crazy fast speed with her face held a leetle to close to the mixing bowl. She freaked out at first and then laughed.

After Liam decided he wanted flour on his face too and just threw it on himself.
If you look closely you can tell I have flour on my face- this would be the result of a practical joke gone wrong. See, Ila came into the kitchen and I told Liam to pretend he was giving her a hug but in reality he was going to throw a fistful of flour on her. Well, seeing as how Liam is totally transparent in his actions and face, she knew something was up and when he went to throw the flour on her (with me holding him) she grabbed his hand and turned it on me!! Another thing I love about this picture is how it shows Addy's new picture taking face. You say "cheese!" and she says "sheeeeeeese!". I love it.

And now, the good times end. Seriously. Kaput. I think someone may have come and snuck my happy kids out of the house and replaced them with the crankiest, grumpiest, sassiest imitations they could find. Christmas Eve this year was the worst, ever. Nothing really went according to plan (and maybe that was the problem- did I over plan the night?) but it all started during the Christmas Story reading, when I couldnt pry Liam away from his dumb video game.(very out of character, both to be playing a video game and to refuse to put it down). Finally he was convinced to come in the kitchen and sat on my lap on the floor, as close to the living room and video game as possible. (can you see me making a face?) Addison has started taking her clothes and diaper off at every possible opportunity and Christmas eve was no exception. She sat down on the floor in her little booster seat naked as a newborn and about the middle of the story she jumped up and freaked out because she had peed all over the seat. She then said "help mommy" and "helped" by bringing me the seat full of pee, spilling it all over the floor, thereby ensuring there would be a huge mess to clean up. What a little helper. *sarcasm* That pretty much put an end to the reading. Then we went into the living room to open up a present (jammies). Liam refused to put them on because he was mad he didnt open a toy. Liam then proceeded to act like we have spoiled him rotten his whole life by demanding a toy, crying, screaming- oh boy it was a doozy. About an hour later he calmed down, put the jammies on, and about 30 minutes later peed in them. Yeah. Thats right. Peed. That's when we decided enough was enough. Bedtime! They would NOT go to bed, not for Santa Clause excitement as you would rightly assume, but just out of sheer rebellion. I had a melt down, Aunt Ila and Tonya put the kids to bed, and I put out Santa toys despite repeating the phrase "Santa WILL NOT come to our house tonight!" an ineffective 1002 times. I still cant figure out why they both had such a total and complete meltdown, because it wasnt just Liam- Addy put in her fair share of screaming too. The only thing I know is that neither one of them has been the same since we had to move in with somebody else. Nothing really goes according to routine, and maybe it was just too much for them that night? Who knows?

Christmas morning was much better, with both of them acting like they had never so much as considered acting like banshees. Following are pictures of happy children (and parents):

waiting in the hallway for everyone to get out of bed
i love her sleepy face. Why dont I look that cute in the morning?

Rescue Center excitement. Note Christmas jammy bottoms from last year.

Doll house un-excitement. Maybe she's mad she has a droopy bow on her gift.

Santa helper Liam

The happy family. A couple of things to note: Liam immediately changed when he opened that light up spider man shirt. Shawn is holding a hello kitty popcorn maker from his parents and Ila. He's really wanted one and apparently everyone was out of mature looking popcorn makers. Addy's face is covered in the candy she found in her stocking and ate it all in about 30 minutes. I have on a necklace and earrings that were self-bought Christmas gifts. I had to put them on and try them out!

More to come later. I've ignored my kids enough for now.

Merry Christmas!!!

2007-12-24T11:43:00.000-06:00

Hey yall! I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas! Today we are making chocolate chip cookies (Santas favorite recipe), and hanging out until tonight when we will read the Christmas story in Luke, open up our new jammies, jump in the car with some hot chocolate, and head to Ardmore to the big Christmas light display. There may be some caroling in there too somewhere. Shawn took Liam golfing this morning and Addy took a nap, so I took the opportunity to put together the much requested Talking Diego Rescue Center. It looks like a TON of fun so it will be exciting to see Liams face when he sees what Santa brought. There is also a little girls dollhouse waiting for tomorrow morning...I dont know if I can wait that long! I think this more exciting for me than it is for them! There's about a bajillion presents under the tree (not all ours, the whole family's- we ourselves were modest in our present buying this year) and Liam and Addy's present opening mania is just barely being contained. I'm actually very surprised that I havent walked in on Addy ripping open some paper (at Liams discreet urging, no doubt).

I love this time of year for what it means to us as believers in Christ, and for the family time we get to have. Merry Christmas to you and yours- I cant wait to read all your Christmas Morning Reports!

portraits

2007-12-21T16:22:00.000-06:00

so yall know those portraits that I blogged about a while ago? Well, here they are. You should probably check quick because I dont know how much longer they'll be on his site. (I kind of forgot to post this back when I should have. whoops.)

click here on his website, then the session i.d. is mason_portraits. dont miss the second page, and scroll all the way over so you dont miss any of them . k? check them out and tell me what you think!

7 Years!!!

2007-12-21T12:13:00.000-06:00

This pic was really hard to take! I had to set the self timer, then run and jump in the tree and hurry and turn and smile! We fell off a couple times before we finally got this one! lol

Yum.

me on our date night.

on our way out.

On a walk by the lake. I thought about photo-shopping that beanie of his burnt orange, but then my next post would be informing ya'll of our divorce.

the sunset one night. the view from our deck.

On the 16th Shawn and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. He surprised me with a trip to a cabin on the lake and it was so beautiful. It was the first time we had been on vacation together since our 1st anniversary!! Horrible I know. We spent all day in the Temple one day and it was so nice to just take our time and do all the stuff we wanted to and not worry about getting home at a particular time. We were gone 4 days and even though we enjoyed our time together, by the end of it we were itching to be with our kids again! They were ready for us to be home too. I guess Liam was tired of making dinner and changing Addy's diapers. What? We left them a cell phone in case anything happened! Just kidding we left them with their Nana and Aunt Ila who took great care of them and said they behaved beautifully. They swear they're not lying about the "behaving beautifully" part even though I had barely been home 15 minutes and I was already breaking up tiffs and asking them to "speak in your big kid voice. No whining!". Why do kids always behave better for other people?

7 Things I Love About Shawn:

1. In the middle of an argument he'll make a joke and who can be mad after that?

2. He is an awesome father and always, *always* makes time to play with the kids, even when he is so exhausted he can barely stay awake through the game.

3. He's always looking for the best in people and tries to ignore their faults.

4. He's a great motivator, and is always helping me be better, do better.

5. He's very fair and humble. Always the first to apologize, no matter if he is wrong or not.

6. I love the fact that he came into my life at the absolute perfect time. Alot of people wonder why I got married so young, and I used to wonder that myself, but looking back on things, it could not have worked out better than if the Lord had had His hand in it. Oh wait, He did!! :)

7. He is a very hard worker and his first priority has always been providing for his family.

Mmmmmwah! Love ya babe!

New Dresses!!

2007-12-06T21:57:00.000-06:00

Has anyone seen these adorable dresses at Down East Basics yet? So cute, and so cheap! And according to the email I got, the Plaza dress (above) will be available in black with green buttons and belt! Yall know that's got my name all over it! I'm also in love with the brown/cream art deco dress. I love getting a new dress!

Dare I....

2007-12-01T14:14:00.000-06:00

or dare I not, wear these shoes to church?

Blogworthy

2007-11-17T09:47:00.000-06:00

Now, being as I'm from Texas, you'd think I wouldn't have any trouble understanding an Oklahoma accent. In fact, thus far I've had no trouble, because they're basically the same. But the other day at the ward Thanksgiving dinner, I introduced myself to someone (who doesnt read this blog) who then told me his name, which to me sounded like Lian. Like, Lee-un. So, I think to myself, oh that's cool it's kind of like Liam but with an "n". So I say "How do you spell it? L-I-A-N?" He's like, "no, it's Leeyun. L-I-N." I said "oh, I thought you said Lian. My bad." He goes, and I quote "I did! Lin, it's short for Lindel, but I didnt like that name so I shortened it to Lin." Only, when he said Lin, it still sounded like Leeyun. So I just said "oh. ok. gotcha." and moved the converation to his wife, who I could understand alot better!

And now, for something completely different...

Has anyone noticed that the commercials for this stuff, which is a Restless Legs medication, tell you to be on the alert for "increased gambling, sexual, or other urges." ????? I laughed at first, but it's really not funny. Now I'm just amazed that a medication with those kinds of side effects is allowed on the market. What a way to get out of being caught in an affair, huh? "Honey, it didnt mean anything, it was the Mirapex and those darn increased sexual urges! I swear!!!" Hmmm.......

Today's Project:

2007-11-13T11:56:00.000-06:00

Get Addy to take some halfway decent pictures with the photographer. This sounds easier said than done, because the following picture is what Addy tends to do when you turn the camera on her...

I dont really have alot of good pictures of her because she is SO busy, all the time. (hence her nickname Miss Bee). This girl never stops moving, I swear! Add to that her natural inclination to do exactly the opposite of what you've asked her to do, and I think you can see why I end up with pictures like the one above. So pray for me people!! There's no telling what I'll end up with when it's over!

House update- here is the link to the plan we are building. And here is picture of the foundation:

taken from the fronttaken from the corner of the garage.

So now we are just waiting for the lady in charge of processing our loan to stop eating bonbons at her desk all day and actually send us our papers. Yeah, frustrating. Because as soon as we get our papers it's all systems go. Shawn gave her till today to get them in our mailbox or he's getting our account transferred. We shall see.

p.s. shawn is at the grocery store right now doing our shopping, and he has called me 5 times to ask me where stuff is. I think this is hilarious.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-01T19:51:00.000-06:00

just me and shawn, hanging out before we take the kids around.

The fam before we set out to voluntarily give our kids a shot at pancreatic failure. notice how Addy has already discovered some goodies put in there by Nana. Also notice how I am wrestling liams face *towards* the camera because he was itchin for a shot at the goodies too.

Halloween was good this year, namely because my kids got to wear their costumes like 4 separate times, so that was fun. It was the first time I had really gotten to meet people in our community and introduce myself, so that was nice. We met alot of nice people, and I got to peek inside a bunch of houses I had been curious about! haha. And it seems to be a slightly older community, so the kids ended up with a bunch of apples and bananas. Which I thought was great! We then came home, got the kids in bed, and I promptly threw away the sweetarts, bottlecaps, suckers, and bubble gum. And probably a bunch of other stuff that I cant remember now. Hey has anybody ever noticed how the inside of a Halloween bag full of candy smells? I HATE THAT SMELL! It is so disgusting to me. Just wondering if anyone else hated it too. Okay, well, I guess that's it for our Halloween 2007. Hope yours was great too!

Addy and Her Bee

2007-10-31T14:20:00.000-06:00

waiting for bee to get washed

Lisa do you remember taking this pic?

feeding bee some breakfast.

taking bee on the road. shoes and purse both hijacked from my closet.

If you know my daughter very well, you know that she has a lovey named Bee that has been the love of her life since Day 1. Literally. I've had that little thing since Liam was born but he never took a shine to it, so it got saved for the next kiddo. Bee has gone missing at times but has always turned back up a short while later. Like the night before we moved, everything was pretty frantic and busy. It was really late but I kept putting off putting addy to bed because I couldnt find bee. Well, I couldnt put it off any longer but bee had still not turned up. Imagine your house totally looking like a tornado had gone through. Now imagine having to find something the size of your hand amidst the boxes and piles. Yeah, the phrase "finding a needle in a haystack" comes to mind. We started tearing that house apart, but still no bee after about an hour of hard looking. We were starting to get scared that she had gotten accidentally thrown in the moving truck. Finally Addy was so tired I just had to lay her down and hope for the best. Well, the best didnt happen. She screamed and cried, and we all had been saying a little prayer to ourselves before, but now Mom suggested saying one all together. So we did, and resumed the Search For Bee. Not one minute after we had all scattered to look again, I heard dad yell "I found it!!" I grabbed it and ran into Addy's room where she smiled, took Bee, and laid down and wasnt heard from the rest of the night. You can bet there was not a dry eye as we said a prayer of thanks that Heavenly Father is mindful of even the smallest of troubles, and I left that experience knowing that the Lord loves his little ones. Upon questioning my father ("WHERE did you find her????") he said he just walked by the overturned laundry hamper by the washing machine, felt like he should turn it over, and there she was. I swear to you that my mother and I both looked there.

So the purpose of this post today is to chronicle my daughters love for bee, but also to direct your attention to this ebay auction here. This morning I woke up and remembered that I had wanted to look up bee on ebay for a while to see if I could find another one in case the unthinkable happens. And whaddya know I found one! So it will be interesting to see if she accepts this new bee, or if she can tell the difference. I will let you know!

Sunday, Funky Sunday

2007-10-29T10:20:00.000-06:00

Me and my SIL Ila.

My crazily goofy family members.

My crazily goofy self trying to hula hoop.

Two of the cutest girls in the world!

Sunday we went to Durant and got to have a giganto family birthday party because 5 family members had recently had birthdays. As you can see it's always a crazy fun time when the Masons get together!

Our Weekend In Pictures 2

2007-10-29T10:18:00.000-06:00

Liam with his good buddies Lilo and Stitch. (plus a fireman hat he had just been handed by the Fire Dept. So now I guess he should be called Minja Fireman.)

My expert marksman making a bullseye on the velcro doodad. The teenage helper beside him is obviously stunned at his incredible skill.

Gratuitous picture of Hot Husband.

Our Weekend In Pictures 1

2007-10-29T10:15:00.000-06:00

Miss Addy in her Queen Bee costume. What a cutie cakes!!!

Liam as a Dragon Minja. No that's not a typo.

Me and Addy at the park before the costume contest.

Liam with Mr. Slimy Animal Handler. Notice the finger placed ever so gingerly on the "Legless Lizard" when I told him to touch it.

Saturday at Leonard Park and Frank Buck Zoo was a big Halloween shindig called the Zoo Boo. Radio Disney was there in the park in the pavilion doing cool games and a costume contest (that Addison came close to winning, by the way. She got beat out by some brat in a turtle costume.) Then they opened up the zoo and had trick or treating at all the animal stations and a bunch of fun games, which you will be able to see in part 2 of this post. A fun time was had by all even though our legs froze off.

This House.....

2007-10-26T12:08:00.000-05:00

and the process of building it, seems like about a million years ago. Isnt it funny how that happens? I mean, it almost feels like we never lived there. I guess because I feel like we finally made it to our "spot" ya know what I mean? So it's weird to think that I ever lived anywhere else. I dont know if you can relate to that feeling, that severance-of-ties type feeling, but it's a strange one that's for sure.

So, apologies for not having written in over a month. I've had some time to settle in now though, and to process some of my feelings concerning this move. My life is still totally unbalanced though, and things will not be back to normal until I have a house of my own. Everything has gotten thrown off- my workouts, my daily routine, MY BLOGGING, the kids routine, my sleep habits, my scripture reading, FHE, everything. Plus, where I live now is so secluded, I mean I am out in the sticks, people!! So that has been a humongo adjustment, and one that I didnt really see coming. So, there have been some trade offs for living here, again, that I didnt really foresee. Which is dumb. We just knew we needed to be here so we moved without alot of forethought. Which it's probably better that way anyway. Because if I had visited the ward before we moved, we wouldnt have moved. I wont blog about that but I will blab about it if you give me a call, lol.

Our new house is rockin along- I will post pics after I go down there and visit today. And I'll give you the link to the plan so you can see what it's going to look like in a few months. The foundation will get poured Monday which will be grrrreat!

So, I'm sorry again that I lost my blogging mojo. I will try to be better at it because I know how annoying it is to expect an update on someones blog and not get it!! :) I mean, I know yall arent waiting on the edge of your seat for a blog from me or anything, but you know what I mean. Ciao for now ladies! (and gents if you're reading.)

Addy and Her Boots

2007-10-26T11:41:00.000-05:00

her cherry rainboots

her sherpa boots- so cute I had to get a matching pair!

Liams green cowboy boots that she loves to borrow

her pink cowboy boots- what girls wardrobe is complete without pink cowboy boots? :)

Addy's favorite shoes are definitely the boots! When she starts walking around the house saying "Boo, Boo..." you know she's looking for a pair of boots to wear!

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

2007-09-14T21:49:00.001-05:00

Like my friend Karie, I really dont have anything cool to tell you. I've been wanting to blog for a few days but honestly couldnt think of anything to tell you. Well, nothing that you would think was exciting anyway. Well, maybe I will tell you that Addy learned how funny it is to tickle people but instead of it feeling tickly, it feels like maybe it's a test run for a new interrogation tactic for the CIA. And the whole time she's "tickling" shes saying "teeka teeka" and laughing hysterically, bringing to mind the image of being in a torture chamber while the demented torturer laughs maniacally. In both instances you're begging for it to stop. I'll tell you too that Liams favorite phrase right now is "I swear!" and "oh for the love of pete!"

Oh I know what I can blog. For a while now I have wanted to blog about how grateful I am for wonderful friends. At almost every stage of my life I can name a friend who was sent to me to help me through whatever stage it was I was in. Not that it was a bad stage of life, but you know, like a big life change or something. I feel like I am the mother and wife etc I am because my girlfriends have been such good examples to me. I love you all so much and want you to know what a blessing I consider each of you, truly! Though I will admit that I tend to put my friends on pedestals and make them (in my mind) more perfect than they are. However I know they must yell at their kids sometimes and make mistakes but even with the flaws they see in themselves I think they are pretty great people. I know we're all the same and we all wake up every day and try to be better than we were the day before, and thats the most important thing.

With that being said, I wonder why it is that all my best friends live nowhere close to me? I have other friends who have wondered this same thing and the only thing I can come up with is that maybe if your best girlfriends all lived close, 1. your laundry and dishes would never be done and dinner every night would be stouffers lasagna or mcdonalds because you would always be hanging out with your friend talking and laughing. 2. maybe if your friends lived nearer to you they wouldnt like you (ha) 3. dang I had another reason but it left me as I was typing the others. shoot! If you have a theory post it in the comments. I'd like to hear your take on that.

Tomorrow is the neighborhood garage sale so I better get to bed early so that nothing can hinder the Garage Sale Mindset. Steph knows!

Yes I am still alive...

2007-09-09T18:29:00.000-05:00

...although some days I feel pretty close to dead. Moving totally sucks!! Plus on top of General Moving Suckiness, I have All My Stuff Stuffed In A Garage Unpacked Suckiness. I have no clue where my dressy shoes are (which is killing me!!) and Liams church/nice clothes that were hanging in his closet are missing. All my workout, lounge, and pj clothes are MIA too. So I'm trying to convince Shawn that this just means I need to do some shopping! lol.

Man I have been going totally crazy without the internet at the house. I havent been able to blog or anything! And I'm still not really in the mood to do it, but since Karie is keeping a tally of the total number of days since I blogged (and reminds me of the number whenever I see/talk to her), I figured I would make her year and post something. (lol!!)

So we are visiting my fam and today we went to church. Have you ever had one of those days at church where you felt like if you had to corral your kids any longer or try to keep them quiet for one more minute, you would run out of church and jump on the next plane to the Bahamas? (without the kids. maybe the husband.) Well today, if you havent guessed, was one of those days. Sacrament was great, the YW gave a program that was phenomenal, but I dont think I heard more than about 10 minutes of it. Addy was doing her best to imitate an earthworm, albeit a very squawk-y one. Then in Relief Society I am sure everyone thought Addy was a spoiled tyrant baby. She was just not happy with anything today! And then, of course, fell asleep about 13.2 seconds into the car ride home. So I know we were both feeling a bit off, with the different time for church and being in a new building.

Speaking of Addison, her hair is finally long enough for piggy tails!! Awwwww! I am so excited! I put her hair in pigtails today for church and I have to say it was pretty darn cute! I actually really feel like the mother of girl now that I can fix up her hair and stuff. Pathetic I know.

Speaking of hair, (man today all my topics are just segueing so nicely into each other) I got my hair cut the other day by Paul at Tony and Guy in the Willowbrook mall and he was great. So if you're in the Tomball area and are looking for a new hair person, I would highly recommend him. He totally interpreted my mess of hair pictures and "maybe like this, but I like this too" into a really workable cut for me. It's not fancy or anything but I wanted to keep my hair long and he gave it some shape so it doesnt just look like it's hanging there. I barely have to do anything to it after I get out of the shower to make it look presentable. Love that!!

Oh I have to tell yall the reason I am so excited. I'm running another 5k October 13th! Its in the Wichita Mountains National Refuge, but what's really cool is that Shawn agreed to do it with me!! Yipee!! They've got a 10k, a half marathon, and a marathon/marathon relay, but since it's been a while since the last time I actually ran seriously, I figured I would do the 5k. But I would totally do the marathon relay if I could find 5 people! Wouldnt that be cool? If you're interested in doing the relay or know someone who would be let me know! The 5k is a run UP Mt. Scott- they say on the website that it's a 7% incline. That makes me a little nervous. If you want to check it out its www.spiritofsurvival.com

Alright, well, have a good Sunday. My son is begging me to go outside and say "on your mark get set go!" so he can race up and down the driveway. He wanted me to run with him but I used the old "sunday is a day of rest" excuse. hehe.

Last Post from Durant!!!

2007-08-20T09:43:00.000-05:00

Whoa this weekend has been the most stressful and busiest of my life!!It all started with the garage sale, and I got rid of a bunch of stuff (though not nearly enough!) and made a nice chunk of change. About 12 Saturday afternoon I started getting stuff ready for my birthday party! It was so fun and so many people showed up! We had a watermelon eating contest...

a tiki bar set up under a canopy (thanks to carissa's way cute sign!)...

and some SERIOUSLY yummy hot dogs and hamburgers! (thanks to mom and Brandon, otherwise known as Grill Daddy.)

we even had a "beach" set up for the kids! They had a ton of fun!

And of course, what get together would be complete without a kid getting injured? Liam fell on the wet slippery concrete in the garage and banged his eyebrow into a bicycle. Thank goodness Dr. Jamie was there!

It was so much fun and really great to see all the people I love for one more time before we left Durant!

Then when everyone cleared out we continued packing stuff into the truck and realized that there was no way we were going to be done by monday morning if we went to church the next day. So sadly we had to miss our last sunday at Durant Ward, but I know I'll see them again sometime and am really grateful for the fantastic ladies I know there!

So, I dont know when I'll get to post again- at this very moment I am sitting on the floor because everything else is gone. The people that bought our house are here wrangling all their stuff into the house and they are very nice people. A very nice family which is what I prayed for to get the house. This house is very special to me because shawn and I didnt think we would be able to have a house of our own for a long time because we thought we would go to medical school. But for some reason med school didnt work out and we ended up back here in Durant. This is the first place as a married couple that we could really call "home". We brought Addison home as a newborn here, and this place just has a very special feeling and I am very sad to be leaving it! But I know that life will be really great where we will be now because I just have that feeling! For a while I wasnt really sure if we needed to move, should move, etc. but I had some very vivid answers to prayer and I'm thankful Heavenly Father is mindful of our trials and problems.

So I guess thats it.... signing off from Durant now....

For Karie

2007-08-16T23:06:00.000-05:00

When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place. Once it's your turn, you check for feet under the stall doors. Every stall is occupied. Finally, a door opens and you dash in, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall. You get in to find the door won't latch. It doesn't matter, however, because the wait has been so long you are about to wet your pants! The dispenser for the modern "seat covers" (invented by someone's Mom, no doubt) is handy, but empty. You would hang your purse on the door hook, if there was one, but there isn't - so you carefully, but quickly, drape it around your neck because Mom would turn over in her grave if you put it on the FLOOR Finally, you yank down your pants, and assume " The Stance." In this position your aging, toneless thigh muscles begin to shake. You'd love to sit down, but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold The Stance."To take your mind off your trembling thighs, you reach for what you discover to be the empty toilet paper dispenser. In your mind, you can hear your mother's voice saying, "Honey, if you had tried to clean the seat, you would have KNOWN there was no toilet paper!" Your thighs shake more. You remember the tiny tissue that you blew your nose on yesterday - the one that's still in your purse. (Oh yeah, the purse around your neck). That will have to do. You crumple it in the puffiest way possible. It's still smaller than the palm of your hand. Someone pushes your door open because the latch doesn't work. The door hits your purse, which is hanging around your neck in front of your chest, and you and your purse topple backward against the tank of the toilet. "Occupied!" you scream, as you reach for the door, dropping your precious, tiny, crumpled tissue in a puddle on the floor. Now you lose your footing altogether, and slide down directly onto the TOILET SEAT. It is wet, of course. You bolt up, knowing all too well that it's too late. Your bare bottom has made contact with every imaginable germ and life form on the uncovered seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper, not that there was any. You know that your mother would be utterly appalled if she knew. You're certain that her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because, "frankly, dear, you just don't KNOW what kind of diseases you could get." By this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused that it flushes, propelling a stream of water like a fire hose against the inside of the bowl. Of course, that sprays a fine mist of water on your butt, which then runs down your legs and into your shoes. The flush somehow sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the empty toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged in, too. At this point, you give up. You're soaked by the spewing water and the wet toilet seat. You're exhausted. You try to wipe with a gum wrapper you find in your pocket and then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks. You can't figure out how to operate the faucets with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past the line of women still waiting. You are no longer able to smile politely to them. A kind soul at the very end of the line points out a piece of toilet paper trailing from your shoe. (Where was that when you NEEDED it??) You yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand and tell her warmly, "Here, you just might need this." As you exit, you spot your hubby, who has long since entered, used, and left the men's restroom. Annoyed, he asks, "What took you so long, and why is your purse hanging around your neck?"

This is dedicated to women everywhere who deal with a public restroom (rest??? you've GOT to be kidding!!) It finally explains to the men what really does take us so long. It also answers their other commonly asked questions about why women go to the restroom in pairs. It's so the other gal can hold the door, hang onto your purse and hand you Kleenex under the door!

hahaha karie I read this today and thought of you because you hate public restrooms
so much!

On Exercise

2007-08-14T14:11:00.000-05:00

So, it has been about 3 weeks since I last worked out. I absolutely hate it when I do that to myself because this is usually the scenario: I work out consistently for a couple of months, and then *BAM* a kink gets thrown in the schedule and 3 weeks later what do you know I've lost all my muscle tone (because I always lose my muscle quick, but thankfully I get it back quick) and whats more, I've gotten cranky. For me, working out is more about making my family happy because it makes me happy! My mood is sooooo much better when I run and work out and I can always tell the difference in my stress level when I dont do those things.

But today, the drought ended because this morning I woke up at 5:00 (!) to make it to my friends fitness Boot Camp that she's running. In the beginning I was like, this is easy. Piece o cake! But then, she started killing our arms with pushups and triceps dips and I thought I would DIE! But when I got home and showered, had breakfast, etc. I noticed that I felt so different. I had so much energy. I've been goofing off with my kids more today, dancing around, singing, and just generally acting like an idiot. But I love that! I actually have the energy and motivation today to get my pizza crust started so that dinner can be on time tonight, and I dont feel like the day is stretching before me endlessly, with nothing in it but endless repetitions of "mom! make her move! or "mooooooom! come wipe me!".

I also have always felt that we have such an obligation to take care of our bodies, that when we dont it's kind of an offense to the Lord. Here we have these beautiful bodies (despite the fact that you may not think it's beautiful) that are so integral to the Plan of Salvation and what do we tend to do but pick it apart! You know what I'm talking about. "Man, she has such great arms, thighs, fill-in-your-coveted-body-part-here." Because the thing is, there is something beautiful about each and every one of us! Yes, that means you!! Because, guess what else? We are made in the image of God, and isnt He perfect?

So I guess my point is, there are other reasons to exercise than to have a skinny waist, or a perky butt, or whatever. Your mood will be better, you'll have more self-confidence, energy, and motivation to get through your day, whatever it holds for you! So just start. If you're currently overwhelmed with all the things you have to get done in a day, just go for a walk. Do an aerobics video. Just start. You will be so happy with yourself, I promise!

For Karie and Stephanie

2007-08-13T20:40:00.000-05:00

I would like to direct your attention to the post titled "about me". If you'll notice at the bottom of that post it says "I tag STEPHANIE AND KARIE". That means you two need to fill out that survey! Got it? Jeesh....

Why A Broken Air Conditioner Will Make You Gain 32 Pounds

2007-08-13T13:38:00.000-05:00

Got any guesses? This is my theory, based on personal experience from this past week: it's because you eat so much ice cream and popsicles in an effort to cool off your body that you end up gaining about 10 pounds. Add to that a general reluctance to work out in a 90 degree house and you have a great recipe for weight gain. The guys are supposed to be over today to fix it, but we shall see. In the meantime I am over at my friends house enjoying her air conditioner. Dont tell her that because she thinks I'm over here to watch her kids. hehe.

Well, Moving Day approaches. And now that I write that, I realize that I never even blogged the exciting news that our house had sold! So we have to be out the 20th, which is next Monday. Saturday I am having a surprise party for myself for my 25th birthday! So make sure you dont tell me because it would totally ruin the surprise. It's a beach theme party in my front yard at 3:00, so if you're free pop on over! And bring the kids!

So anyway, back to the subject of moving day: do you know that I have not one thing packed? Yes, this week will prove to be tons of fun as I get a party put together, pack, and try to have a garage sale. It is really weird to be moving. i didnt think we would be leaving durant for a very long time, maybe never. I love our house- the very first house we have had as a married couple- I love our ward, I have great friends and family here that I will miss dearly...oh well. It's strange how life works sometimes. But when you're being led in a different direction all you can do is say "Okay Heavenly Father!" and have a little faith! Which is waaaaaaaaaay easier said than done! Especially when you are not going to have your own house for another half a year or so. We will be living with his parents while we build our house. Which I'm not concerned about living with *them* because I know we'll get along and everything, but I'm concerned about living *with* them, ya know what I'm sayin?

Well I'm gonna go take the kids in the backyard to go swimming. Have a great day!

My New Invention

2007-08-02T15:15:00.001-05:00

They say necessity is the mother of invention. I'm inclined to believe that is a true statement because I find it quite necessary to get Liam to stop running as loudly as he can down the hallway while his sister and dad are asleep. Lengthy discussion on this topic with the little offender has not helped so now I am forced to invent something to head off the elephantine running. I'm thinking something like an invisible force field that will be able to sense when Liam's little feet are beating a noisy path to the hallway. Before Liam could get one foot in the hall the force field would spring up (or however it is force fields appear. I'm a mother not a scientist people.) and Liam would be prevented from waking anyone up. So picture this in your head: Liam, running full tilt for the hallway, bounces off of what looks like thin air and lands on the floor with a puzzled look on his face. I would be seated nearby with a box of chocolates laughing my head off. So you see it would double as entertainment. I would of course tell him how to get the force field to not appear. After he tried for another 5 or 6 times. The way to keep the force field down would be to walk veeeeeeerrry quietly down the hallway.

So, if you too would like your very own Force Field Nap Extender, give me a call, or leave me a comment, and I'll try to get you one for the low low price of 1999.99. And if you call in the next 15 minutes, I'll throw in a box of Godiva for free!

The Cannery, A Magazine, A Recipe.

2007-07-31T09:30:00.001-05:00

So yesterday we went to the Cannery in Carrollton while my sweet best friend watched my kids. It was great! I had never been to the cannery before and when you walk in you have to go through the LDS employment services offices. You could totally feel the spirit- it was so peaceful and all the people were soooo nice. So then we went into the cannery and we hadn't realized that to can you have to have an appt if its not on a Wednesday, but despite that a really nice lady named Carolyn helped us and she told us we could buy the extras of stuff that people canned and didn't need/want. So we ended up with a bunch of stuff and while we were driving away Shawn was like "i feel so calm now!" And I felt the same way. Its the same way I feel when I have a full pantry after a trip to the grocery store when I've bought alot of extra stuff. And that is the way the Lord wants us to feel. He doesn't want us to be worried and that's why we all need to take seriously the feelings I think alot of us have been feeling lately- namely, that we need to hurry the heck up and get our food storage taken care of, and learn some ways to be self-reliant! We are going back tomorrow because they're getting a shipment of stuff in today because they were flat out of lots of stuff when we got there yesterday. They said it's because of the article in the Ensign- everyone is rushing to get their year supply now.

I found a new magazine at WalMart that you should all check out. It is right up my alley because I just love reading reviews of products and finding which one is the best to spend my money on. It's called Shop Smart and its from Consumer Reports. It covered everything from the best diapers to the best sunscreen, to the best cars to buy under 4000 dollars, I mean you name it it was reviewed. And it's a magazine, which means even more stuff will be reviewed next month that I can read about!! Here is a link about the mag: http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/database-marketing/38287.html.

The other day after Liam prayed we asked him if Heavenly Father heard him. He said yes. We said "how do you know?" and he said "because I pray loud." So just a little tip from Liam: when you don't think Heavenly Father is hearing your prayers, pray louder.

I made a killer salad the other day. Oh it was so yummy. Here ya go: toss together romaine, grape tomatoes, black beans, carrots and cucumbers. Season some chicken strips with Montreal Steak seasoning and grill. Cut up and throw on top of salad. Make cilantro pesto: process or blend cilantro (without stems), olive oil, salt, lemon juice, minced garlic, and cracked pepper. Drizzle pesto over top of salad (or individual salad portions whatever you prefer), along with some good salsa, crumbled tortilla chips, and mexican blend cheese. Mmmmmmm, so good. The cilantro pesto is also yummy on a corn tortilla just pan fried with cheese, salsa, and black beans.

I'm gonna get offa here- a nice lady from my ward is coming over to my house today and showing me how to can food. I've got some peaches I got on sale the other day so I'll start with that. I'll let you all know how it goes!

About Ashley...

2007-07-26T13:38:00.000-05:00

1. Where is your cell phone? wherever my phone obsessed toddler has left it.
2. Relationship? Married
3. Your hair? I've never really decided on the color, but I guess for the sake of this quiz I will just say dark blond.
4. Work? why yes I do.
5. Your sister/s? dont have any by blood but I have some rockin sisters in law!
6. Your favorite thing? i have to pick one? umm, reading while laying outside.
7. Your dream last night? I didnt have any (that I can remember)
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream car? I really really want a saturn outlook
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your shoes? Barefoot
12. Your fears? someone breaking in the house while shawn is gone.
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? a freelance writer
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? my fam in houston
15. What are you not good at? getting motivated to do stuff.
16. Muffin? cranberry orange
17. One of your wish list items? going on vacation
18. Where you grew up? Tyler, Texas
19. Last thing you did? sat outside with Liam
20. What are you wearing? bermudas and a shirt from ae
21. What aren’t you wearing? well, that would basically be anything but bermudas and a shirt from ae.
22. Your pet? a boxer named clark, also known as clarky malarky, clarky, and clarkster.
23. Your computer? really really old.
24. Your life? a little confusing at the moment!
25. Your mood? tired and missing my husband!
26. Missing? lots of people!!
27. What are you thinking about right now? that I really need to get off the computer and go take a shower.
28. Your car? nissan XTerra
29. Your kitchen? nice and clean today. but I'm sure somebody will go in there in a second and make me a liar!
30. Your summer? hasnt felt like summer at all with all the stupid rain!
31. Your favorite color? green
32. Last time you laughed? about 5 minutes ago when Liam made a "temple" out of a sippy cup and my mini camera tripod.
33. Last time you cried? I know it has to have been recently because Liam has been very difficult lately.
34. School? done with for now.
35. Love? so many people! all my friends who are so awesome, my husband who helps me see the bigger picture, my kids who teach me how to be a better person, and my family for raising me with the gospel!!!!
36. Name? ashley

k, I tag....steph and karie!

Some More Random Photos For Elder Standard

2007-07-25T11:16:00.000-05:00

why, yes, actually, I will be showing all his dates this picture.

what a cutiepatootie!

figuring out the sock-foot connection

chocolate face. yum!

Some Random Photos For Miles

2007-07-25T11:01:00.000-05:00

me and Liam! he loves me!

shawn and liam at addy's 1st birthday dinner

addy at her first birthday dinner

addy's cupcakes

love ya bro!!!!!!

Lots of jumbly thoughts

2007-07-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

Today has been great. On Wednesdays I get to read Miles' letter to the family, so it's always great to know how he's doing and to hear what progress he's making with those stubborn Canadians! I took the kids to a park early this morning before it became Hells Kitchen outside and they had alot of fun. Addy is the type of kid though who just watches stuff for a while. She watches and watches, and then decides to jump in and have fun. I am always reflecting on how different 2 kids in the same family can be.

I am in mourning right now, because one of my dear friends has passed away. Her name was Morning Nap, and one day she was here, the next she was gone. Poof. Just like that. Addy just decided she didnt need two naps a day after all, so now she takes one around lunch time. At least it's a long nap, around 3 hours. Niiiiiice. It's been good and bad. On the good hand, we can go do stuff in the morning without Addy becoming Miss Cranky Pants. On the bad hand, I cant just wake up when the kids do and then work out when she lays down for her morning nap, which was around 9:30, 10:00. Now I have to actually wake up before the kids do *gasp* if I want to work out and shower. You know, at a decent hour instead of waiting until 2:00 in the afternoon to look presentable. But I guess it's more good than bad because I've been really really trying hard to do the "early to bed, early to rise" thing. So now I just have more motivation to do that.

You know whats funny? All day long I will think of things to blog and i usually write them down on a list, but today I just cant think of all the things going on. And actually, if you look at the date on the top of this blog, it will say I wrote this on Wednesday. But in actuality, it's Friday. It has taken me that long to write out a decent post. And it doesnt even have pictures! For shame!!! But seriously, I took a blog addiction quiz the other day, and I am 70% addicted to blogging. I could've (hmm, my spellcheck is telling me that could've is not a word. Does it know I'm from Texas and I can make any word I want into a contraction?) sworn that it more like 98% or something like that, but I'm also pretty sure that it was The Official Blogging Addiction Quiz, so the numbers must be right, right?

Oh, oh oh!!!! I know I know!! I was going to tell you that I have a talk this Sunday. Eeewwwwwwwwww. It is like the worst possible week to have a talk to give. My house has been in a total shambles because we redid the flooring in the hallway and the kids rooms. All the furniture from 3 bedrooms was in my room, plus Liam and Addy were sleeping in there. 2 beds, a crib, 2 dressers, a ridiculous number of childrens books, and clothes strewn everywhere (dont ask me why moving furniture involved strewing clothes everywhere) all conspired to make me, well, not feel quite so.........spiritual, if you know what I mean. Cleanliness is next to Godliness you know and I swear I have been so cranky this week. So I have looked over my talk once, and luckily it is very short and Shawn will be speaking too so that means he can pick up the slack on my 8 minute talk. I love having a husband who likes giving talks. So anyway, back to why this is the worst possible week to give a talk: tomorrow (saturday) is Richards wedding and reception (shawns younger brother), I had to put my house back in place from the Flooring Fiasco, and Sunday our realtor is having an Open House and my house has to be *spotless*, and Sunday we are driving to Houston so I have to pack for that. yuck yuck yuck.

Well, that is enough griping for one night. Well, it's not really I could do some more about how hard it is to have your house show worthy all the stinkin time with 2 small children. I dont know how Becky Hansen did it. I dont know how Stephanie Gibson did it. I dont know how anybody does it. Kuddos to you ladies!!!

Okay that really is all. I will let you all know how my weekend goes. And if you're a Tomballite, I look forward to seeing you in a couple days!

What If the Shoe Doesnt Fit?

2007-07-08T15:54:00.000-05:00

This morning as we were getting ready for church I went to put Liam's shoes on him and I was stuffing and stuffing those feet in there and they would not fit!! I finally figured out that his toes were scrunched up at the top of the shoe, and there was nowhere for the feet to go! So he ended up wearing his trusty black and white converse sneakers to church, which I bought when I was pregnant with Addy and which I realized this morning are getting to be too small for him too. It always comes as a shock that Liam is getting bigger. I mean, the laws of the universe make it pretty clear that a child will grow into an adult, but still, sometimes you'd like to think it wasn't happening to your child. Of course, other times you'd really like your child to be a grown adult capable of pulling on his own underwear and getting his own milk. But then, I guess, you wouldn't get funny conversations like these:

Liam: "mom, theres a bug outside! and it has tweezers!!"
The funny thing about this is that I knew exactly what he was trying to say but I couldn't think of the word for about 5 minutes. Finally I found the word and yelled out "Antennae! you mean he had antennae!" He said "yeah mom. tweezers." Okie dokie.

We had a fhe a while back on safety, and what to do if you get lost, and if someone tries to pick you up, etc. I'm always having mini lessons on this with him because, obviously, as a mother I'm petrified of something like that happening. The other day I was sitting on Liam's bed with him, and he goes "Mom, what should we do if a kid gets lost in the store?" and he said it in the way a teacher would ask her class. I said, "he should yell his mommy's name really loud." He said "No mom! he prays first!" I felt dumb.

While on a walk with him recently he was picking things up that he wanted to take home and show daddy. He kept begging me to hold his things and I had to say no because I was carrying Addy on my shoulders. (her little short legs didn't make it very far before she wanted to be carried. Luckily the route I chose was not very long.) Shortly I found something that I thought was neat and since my hands were full I asked Liam to carry it for me. Big mistake. Liam goes "Mom! I cant carry it for you! I'm not an octopus! I don't have bunch of arms to carry stuff! I only have 2 little arms! You have to carry it yourself!" I just had to laugh. He'll be a good daddy one day, coming up with stuff like that to say. All I could come up with was "If you find it you have to carry it Liam." I should be taking lessons from him on "What To Say When Your Child Asks You "Why?" So Many Times You Think They Might Be Trying To Set A World Record."

So I guess the grass really isn't greener on the other side. One day when he can put on his own underwear and pour his own milk I know I'll miss the funny things he used to say. That's why we have to enjoy every minute of parenthood and not let things like the internet, our to-do list, and cell phones suck away these small moments we have with our kids. Speaking of, I have some cute little nieces over here that I need to spend some girl time with, so we'll see ya tomorrow. Have a good Sunday!

Panic! at my house

2007-07-06T23:32:00.000-05:00

So, yesterday, someone came to see the house. Not the first time, but definitely the most stressful time. I had visited Falconhead for the 4th, and when we left the house was a complete disaster. So I get back home and get a call: "can we come see your house at 3 or 4?" Sure, I said. Of course. I hang up and get to work on the house. Thankfully Addison was tuckered out and slept a really long time for her morning nap, so I got a whole bunch done while she was asleep. But there's always those last minute things, like hanging fresh towels in the bathrooms (you know, in case the people wanna smell my towels. "Honey, what about that pretty house on Lake Durant?" "You mean the one with the stinky towels? No way!" I cant let stinky towels be a reason they dont buy the house!), hiding laundry that needs to be folded, emptying out the bathroom trash... etc. I am very nearly done when there is a knock on the door! Oh my gosh! I go into a panic! These realtor people are never on time!! It is 3 o'clock on the dot people!! Apparently my panic spilled over into my children because the kids had been playing contentedly outside. Liam knows the drill: if we are here when the people get here, we go outside. He has been totally fine with that concept, until we heard The Knock. At the sound of The Knock, all of my children's mule-ish tendencies made themselves known. All of a sudden, Addy wants to come inside. Clark is still inside, which I was told by the realtor was a big no-no. Liam decides he doesn't want to go outside after all. I (quietly- wouldn't want the people outside to hear me) hiss at Liam to "take your sister outside! NOW!! Don't come inside!!" but the hissing didn't work because right about the same time I'm opening the door and saying Hi and trying to look normal, I hear Addy at the back door being wrestled outside by her brother and she was in no uncertain terms telling him that she did NOT like being wrestled out the back door. She was not going quietly I can tell you that!!! I look back and see Liam trying valiantly to get her outside, and he yells "she doesn't want to go mama!" I mean really, it looked like she thought someone was trying to drag her to the gallows or something. And if you've heard Addy protest lately, you know how loud and piercing it is. I imagine it sounds something like what a pterodactyl must have sounded like. So then I look back at the people, and I swear that the look on the realtors face was a look you only see in movies. Seriously, I felt like I was in Desperate Housewives in a scene with Lynette and her crazy triplets. She just had this look like, oh. my. gosh. With her eyebrows raised she goes "Can we come in?" I was like "Sure. Sure. Just...um, hang on a second while I grab my kids by their ears and throw them outside. And the dog! You wont even know we're here!!!" So they're in the house at this point and I'm trying to shoo Liam outside and he very emphatically does NOT want to go outside, so I end up putting us out of the way in the family room and turning on Animal Planet. When they leave I notice that the towels are still where they were dropped in my panic (on the bathroom floor), and the laundry was still there in all its rumpled glory. Definitely selling points, don't you think?

Girls Night Out!!

2007-06-29T10:09:00.000-05:00

1. What do my puritanical eyes behold?? Oh! My! GOODNESS!! (This picture absolutely cracks me up!)

2. I love how in this picture I'm all "hmmm....oooo..." but Jamie's like "mmm, yeah, next page. Got anything exciting to look at?"

3. I think we look like 14 year old boys in this picture.

4. My dream home!! And so reasonably priced, if you'll notice!

Last night was GNO and while it was a smaller group this time it was still way fun, and I actually prefer it that way. Smaller, I mean. We went to Jonny Carinos and I ate waaaaayyy too much pasta, and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy too much chocolate cake. But that's what GNO is all about right?? We then went to Books A Million where you can see what Jamie and I's favorite aisle was, (I love taking funny pictures!) and then we went to see Evan Almighty. Funny movie that actually had a serious meaning, for me anyway. Oh and I cant forget Target where I bought some seriously cute pink cowboy boots for Addy! I smell a photo op in the future!! Anyway, had to blog that real quick. I gotta go work out while my little munchkin is taking a nap! It will take me a week to work off the pasta and chocolate cake!

apple peels and high heels

2007-06-27T20:18:00.000-05:00

the first 3 pictures are the apple peels I kept stepping on today. See previous post for more information about apple peels. And, the last one is another funny pic of Addy in her favorite high heels. This time she paired them with embroidered jeans! :)

pictures for previous blog

2007-06-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

1.my pretty girl!!
2-4. this is where I found her yesterday.

Some observations...

2007-06-27T16:01:00.000-05:00

Have you ever noticed how your children's play clothes will be nearly free of stains, while the nicer clothes they have are pretty much ruined like the first time they wear them? I noticed this today while folding and hanging Liams clothes. Play shirts that are free to have a couple stains? Hardly any. Church clothes and nicer, sure-my-kids-look-like-this-all-the-time clothes? Holes and stains that need an assault from the bleach pen (best invention ever!!) to look presentable again. I think kids are born knowing what clothes will irk you the most if they get ruined.

I have to make a post about Addy today. She is doing so many funny things!! I'll have to do the pics in the next post, but here are the stories behind the pictures:

1. Addy loves shoes. I always love this stage that kids go through because it's hilarious to see them cloppin around in humongous shoes. If you cant find Addy, she is nearly always in my closet, hijacking my shoes. And she doesnt go for the easy to wear ones either. No. This girl loves the high heels. And there is a certain pair that is her very favorite to clip-clop around the house in. She tries them all on, but inevitably goes to the brown pointy toes that are, incidentally, my favorites as well.

2. She LOVES apples. If you are holding her and you walk by the counter where I keep all the fruit, you need to be prepared to stop and get out the apple slicer because she will not let you rest until you have gotten her an apple. But the funny thing is, she will gnaw those apple slices down to the peel, and then throw the peel on the ground. This morning I gave her one and the next thing I knew I was finding apple peels all over the house. Another funny thing is that she loves bananas. She has even started saying it: "nana", and she gets them down quick. We timed her once: 38 seconds. I bet my kid can eat bananas faster than your kid! lol

3. She will actually pick out the dress she wants to wear on Sundays. I will hold two up, and she always knows exactly which one she wants to wear! I think I am serious trouble with this girl!!

4. Lastly, she is one of the most determined little kids I have ever seen! It will definitely serve her well in life, and in that regard she reminds me alot of Shawn. But boy, I can feel some tantrums coming on already. I am already praying for lots and lots and LOTS of patience!

Okay, that's enough bragging for one post. Tomorrow I will have to do my Father's Day post since I never got to!

On Gluttony

2007-06-25T18:55:00.000-05:00

Oh boy. I ate way too much ice cream tonight. For FHE (family home evening for the non-mormon readers) we ate dinner at home and then took the kids to get ice cream at Braums. I go thinking "I will just have a tiny scoop of something in a tiny cone. I can do this." But when I walked in and was confronted with a myriad of sweet creamy choices, I caved and bought the Black Forest Sunday. And the lady must have been in a really generous mood because she piled on way more toppings than I have ever been treated to at Braums. Shawn saw how humongous it was and said "I guess we're sharing a Black Forest Sunday, huh?" because he hadnt even ordered yet. What I said: "Oh yeah! I cant eat all that by myself!" What I was thinking: "Dangit! I totally could've scarfed that whole thing by myself!" But I guess I should be thankful that we shared so that I didnt look like a complete glutton. And so I wouldnt gain 32 pounds.

Things are not going so great here. I am about as sick of rain as a person could be. Did I miss the "Build an Ark memo"? And the forecast says we will have rain for the next 10 days! UGH!! I am going crazy, and my kids are going crazy. Anyone have any rainy day ideas that would last for the next, oh, MONTH? Because that's probably how long I'll need them.

The rain has also threw a way big kink in our plans, move-wise. We had a buyer for the house, we were moving out July 7th, and we were excited. Then, the Flood Of 2007 happened, and our backyard had what looked like a river flowing through it. And the windows in Liam and Addy's rooms are leaking and ruining the wood floor. So our buyer backed out. We're getting gutters, so that should fix the pond (aka front yard) in front, recaulking the windows so that's an easy fix, but the backyard I think we're stuck on. I think we're just waiting for an answer to fall in our laps because we really dont know what to do about it. I know we're supposed to move, so I'm trying not to feel like this is the end of the world, and I'm trying to keep faith that this is all going to work for the better. We shall see.

Signing off for now. Someone please send me a joke or something.

more picassa playing

2007-06-25T13:22:00.000-05:00

me and my sister in law Tiffany at Tonya's wedding. Isnt she beautiful? I feel like the ugly duckling in his family because all his sisters are all so beautiful!!!!

Me and Shawn Picasa Test

2007-06-24T23:13:00.000-05:00

just playing around again- i'm really diggin picassa!!

Need some techie help

2007-06-24T19:39:00.000-05:00

So you've probably noticed that I now have a humongous pic of Liam fishing as my header. While I love this picture, I didnt quite want it to take up my whole blog. How do yall do that header thing where you have like a couple pics of your family or whatever up there?

Also, as a public service announcement, I would like to direct your attention to a new feature I have added to my blog. It is titled "Wish List". I will remind you all that my birthday is coming up August 17. Thank you.

testing 1 2 3

2007-06-23T16:58:00.000-05:00

just testing my new toy, picasa. it has a "blog this" feature which when pressed automatically uploads the selected picture onto your blog. Cool!

This pic is when Addy was just a minute old! It was such a great experience going with a midwife- I HIGHLY recommend it!!

short anecdote...

2007-06-23T11:46:00.000-05:00

we are driving in the car on the way home from Falconhead when we have to stop because of some road maintenance. They finally let us through, but the car in front of me still wants to sit there lookin at the flowers or whatever they were doing. I say "go idiot!" under my breath, but apparently not under my breath enough, becuase I then hear Liam's little voice from the back saying "mom, dont say idiot. idiot is a mean word. say move out of my way please." I think that is what you call being humbled, no?

At Long Last!!!

2007-06-22T22:09:00.000-05:00

Oh, how I've missed you fair blog of mine!! your cunning words of black and white, that the typing of keeps me up at night! I know gentle reader, you've missed me too- else why would you call and say "where are you??"

Okay, that's enough of that. But really, I have missed typing on my teeny tiny little corner of the net. And now it's been so long that probably nobody will check this because they'll all think I have given up on my blog. But whew! I have been gone so much lately! First I went to visit my family in Houston, which was great, and that was for two weeks. Then I got home and the next day went to Falconhead and stayed for a week helping to get stuff ready for my sister-in-laws wedding. And then, when I got home, my internet wasnt working!!! I cannot tell you how disconnected I felt from the civilized world! I would want to look something up, say, symptoms of botulism, (story for another time lol) and not be able to!! And this is when you know that you are too dependent on the internet: you dont know where else to turn for information. So, anyway, here I am, ready to inform you and entertain you with all the fun and exciting things I have been doing in my life.

Well, "fun and exciting" might be stretching the truth.

Hmm. There are so many things that I want to tell you. Like the day my dog got skunked. I was just looking through the pictures I'm uploading to the computer and saw the one of Clark smeared with tomato paste. He has a really miserable look on his face. I guess I would too if I smelled like skunk and tomato paste. Someone please alert me if I ever do. You know, if my nose's ability to smell horribly offensive smells ever diminishes. In fact, let me try and upload that now. There it goes. Doesnt he look sad? I tried to tell 'im....

Or the day mom and I took my kids to the beach, Addy for the first time. They loved it!! Or when dad took Liam fishing. Or Tonya's wedding and shower, or when I got home from Houston and discovered doggy poo in the back of my car. Or the recent evening Liam told me that wacalolee (gaucamole) looks like boogers. Or the night I rode a Radio Flyer trike around walmart with Mate. But tonight, since it is late, I will regale you with an anecdote recently heard in our house:

Liam walks in clutching privates.

Me: "Liam, ya gotta pee buddy?"

Liam: "No. I'm just itching my penis............and moving it from side to side."

Me: whoa. sorry I asked...

And something else i would just like to ask all you other ladies whose husbands go out of town to work- I will describe my general attitude on these days and you raise your hand if you are the same way:

shower? clean is overrated!

change out of jammies? who needs to look presentable?

nap when the kids do? sounds great!!

clean house? surely you jest!

dinner? cereal sounds good!

I dont know why but when shawn isnt home all semblance of order and routine go with him. And I consider myself a fairly orderly person. It's like, you know, a free day in school or something.

Also, I need some more weigh-in from you mommies- has anyone hit upon a discipline strategy that works well for you? I need some fresh ideas because Liam has hit a new and wonderful stage called "Never Ever Listens To A Word You Say." PLEASE help!!

Well, that is all for now. But rest assured that my blog is up and running again!! "cant nobody hold me down..oh no...I got to keep on movin...". Shut up you know you love me when I'm dorky.

Scary Night!!

2007-05-22T11:18:00.000-05:00

But before I get to that, a couple of words you will have to know if you want to have a conversation with Liam:
moth= floss
eyelashes= ash-lies. (say that last part like "she LIES to me.")
forgot= gotfor

I'm sure there are more I just cant remember them.

So, my scary night- Most of you know we have a new dog; a rescue Boxer named Clark that we've had for about 3 months now. He's a great dog and very protective of us. He is also very intuitive about people and if he doesnt like something about them, he will sure let them know in a not very nice way!!! He always barks whenever people are coming up the driveway, and that is the very reason I got him, so that he would act as a warning system/protector since Shawn is gone at night. However, he's also not easily spooked- like, he never barks just to bark, and I'm really glad about that. Last night was Shawn's first night at his new job (which he LOVES) and Liam was watching a movie in the family room, and the blinds were open. It was pitch black out side and all of a sudden I heard Clark bark bark bark at the window that faces the driveway, so I went to see if someone was here. Nobody was there. I chalked it up to maybe an animal or something, but then he did it again about 2 minutes later. Now that is when I got spooked folks!!! I went and looked one more time, didnt see anything, and hastily called my brother in law Jonathan who lives about 7 minutes away. He came like a knight in a white....truck with a .38 and a flashlight. He investigated nearly that whole section of woods by the driveway, the whole backyard, everything and didnt see a thing. He came inside, loaded my shotgun for me, said a prayer with me, and after that I felt like we would be fine, but boy!!! There is nothing that strikes fear into a girls heart quicker than the thought that there may be someone outside your house and you are alone inside it with two little ones!!! For sure though, thank goodness I still have the right to bear arms and that I do indeed know how to use that shotgun!! I'm also very thankful that Jonathan wasted no time in coming to my aid, even though he was SICK and it was late and I'm sure he was very tired. Thanks Uncle Jonchin!!

Liamisms

2007-05-21T16:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Shawn showed me the insurance benefit paper from work so I could look over it. I noticed that sterilization is covered, and I said "Oh, that'll be nice when we dont want kids anymore." (even though I have mixed feelings about that surgery, and am not even sure we would use that). Liam, who was standing nearby us, said very sadly "But I want to stay with my family forever!!!" It took me a moment to realize why he had freaked out, but when I did I heartily reassured him that we're not getting rid of the kids we already have... lol.

Last night in bed Liam was snuggling with me and I was reading my scriptures when I realized he was staring at me. I said "What?" He said "Nothing. I was just looking at your pretty eyes." !!!!! What a heart melter!!!

The other day he climbed up on the counter to get a cup out of the cabinet, because, in his own words "I can do everything on my own!" Well, I have told him and told him not to do this because he's bound to fall or something. He got up there with no-one in the kitchen with him, and suddenly I heard this ear splitting scream. I ran in there and he had banged the side of his head into the corner of the cabinet, and pretty dang hard. He ended up with a large purple lump and as I was holding some ice to it, he said "Mom, (sniffle, sniffle) Tom and Jerry dont need ice when they get lumps. Their lumps just go down by themselves." I had to laugh and explain that that's because they're cartoons, and we're real humans.

One of my favorite bands is Coldplay, and my favorite song is "Fix You". I listen to it pretty often and Liam is quite sure the chorus line goes like this "Iiiii will guiiiiide chit pole." All attempts to persuade him that that is not the line are refuted.

And finally, one from Addy- just now she was playing with the cd player that is right here next to the computer. I said "No, addy! Dont play with that!" A couple seconds later I hear her playing with it again and I turn around to tell her no again, and she flashes me a huge new-toothy smile and says "hi!" except the way addy says it it sounds like this "Hieeeeeeee". lol.

I'm sure there are more that I cant think of right now, but when I remember them I'll make sure and blog it! :)

My first 5k race!!

2007-05-19T16:36:00.000-05:00

the picture on the left is me crossing the line- dont ask me why I felt the need to act like a dork as I finished. Also, please try not to look at my mayonnaise colored legs. The one on the right is of me and one of my cheerleaders. :)

So I ran a 5K race a couple of Saturdays ago, and it was alot of fun! Well, after the fact, of course. I wouldnt call running 3.1(or .2, whatever it is) miles in 30 minutes (and I'm not tooting my horn there with that time dropping- I know that's not a spectacular time) alot of Fun. One of my good friends organized it and signed me up, and I am so glad she did! Shawn and Liam and Addy were standing at one of the bends in the course and when I went by they all cheered me on and Liam even ran by me for a few seconds. I started a minute and a half late, but I still won first in my division!!! I considered not telling you that I was the only one in my division, but then I remembered that in my profile I described myself as honest so I better live up to that, huh? Can't be living a double life here on the internet. But anyway, even though I won a medal and all, the absolute best part of the whole thing was my family cheering for me. That was the best feeling and I hope I always do things in life that are worthy of their encouragement and cheerleading. And also, it was great to have my husband so proud of me. I mean, I know he's proud of the way I take care of the family and stuff, but this was different because he was proud of me for MY accomplishments. So anyway, I've been meaning to post that for a while, but hadnt gotten around to it. I hope I get to do alot more races!

p.s. Oh! I almost forgot!! There was a 67 year old man who finished his race in like, 25 minutes or something like that. He's my hero.

Mothers Day...finally

2007-05-19T15:25:00.000-05:00

I am finally getting to post my mothers day thoughts!! Accordingly, it is late because of all my Motherly Responsibilities. So here was my Mothers Day: Saturday I got to sleep in and read a book in bed, something I haven't gotten to do in....well, nevermind, I wont add that up and depress myself. Then that night we went to eat at one of my favorite places on the whole earth (well, the little patch of earth called Oklahoma at least!) and it just happens to be across the lake from me! It is called "That Catfish Place." Don't worry, the food tastes better than the dumb name sounds! It is easily the best catfish I have ever had, and the beans are so tasty. And the hush puppies! I am drooling thinking about it.

*wipes drool*

Sorry. So if you come see me anytime soon, (and if I were you, I would), I will definitely take you to eat there and then you will come see me all the time, and I will tell myself that you are coming to see me because you love me, and not because you are using me to eat yummy catfish. I am really sad that I have discovered it right about the same time we are MOVING, but oh well. So we went to eat there Sat. night, the kids acted crazy, but I don't expect them to change their usual ways just because it is Mothers Day. (oh, wait, yes I do.) Addy discovered a new favorite food and ate it to the exclusion of all others, and that new favorite food is Dill Pickle. She ate so many pickles I thought her insides would pickle. Liam ate exactly 1 and 1/3 pieces of catfish, drank a root beer, declared he was full, and then used the booster seats that were stacked behind him on the wall as slides for the action guys that he brought in. Fun times. And, of course, I got some new running sneakers that I have been wanting for a while- the Asics Gel Nimbus. They're metallic green and white, so you know since they're my favorite color I'll be able to run farther and faster.

I'll let you know how that theory holds up.

And then it was Sunday and there were the usual la-dee-da messages about how wonderful mothers are, except the mothers are too busy taking the kids out for diaper changes, reverence pep-talks, and the like to get to hear everyone acknowledge how wonderful they are. But they gave out this really great CD called "For the Beauty of the Earth" for the mommies and it is really fantastic. I've been listening to it all week and I highly suggest you check it out the next time you're at the LDS bookstore.

I have alot more to say about mommyhood but I feel like I've been typing forever and I think my posts are probably too long anyway. But of course, I cant sign off without a shout-out to the special mom's in my life:

Nancy, my mother-in-law, who raised Shawn to be a good husband and father, and who continually impresses me with her willingness to help out with anything she is asked to. She is also one of the most un-selfish people I have ever met, and very rarely complains about things! Thanks for all you do Nancy Lou! :)

My own mom, who always shared her chocolate with us, and if you know my mom, that is really saying something! But seriously, she has always come to my rescue whenever I needed her. That time I had double mastitis...twice, letting us live with them for almost a year while we figured out what the heck we were gonna do with our lives, coming and helping caulk and paint the house when we were on a tight time budget, driving down the night I went into labor with Addy... I love her lots and I will always be thankful that she and dad raised us right and helped us figure out early on what would really make us happy in life. She has also been a great example of kindness to everybody and every thing -she loves animals and I have definitely inherited that from her! Maybe she and I should form the Turtle Saving Coalition Force, where we drive around in search of turtles that are crossing the road and pick them up and help them on their way so they don't get run over. And maybe throw red paint on people who run over turtles for fun. Mwah! Love you mom!

"Teeth,

2007-05-10T15:00:00.000-05:00

They are very much worthwhile. They must be very much in style!" That line has been going through my head all day. It is, of course, from Dr. Seuss' "The Tooth Book". Addy started teething yesterday, and when Addy is getting teeth, it is NO FUN! Liam was an easy peasy teether, no worries, no fuss. But Addy. Addy is another story entirely. Each time she cuts a tooth (in this case, 2) she gets a raging fever, a horrible diaper rash, and the crankies, which on a scale of 1 to 10 would be a 23. She wakes up every hour on the hour at night, so maybe you can add this up for me: sleep deprived, aching toothed baby+sleep deprived, aching bodied mom= ? Or maybe if it was an elementary school math word problem, it would look something like this: "Addison, a 13 month old baby girl, is teething her back 2 teeth, which are always the hardest to get in anyway. At night, when the other family members in the house who are *not* teething are trying to sleep, Addison wakes up every hour on the dot. If it takes her mother 15 minutes to get her back to sleep, how much sleep is her mother getting? Addison goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes up at 7 a.m. at the first sign that there may be sun peeking through her blinds." I don't know what the answer is, I'm too tired to compute it, but if you do, don't tell me, because it will just make me more tired to hear the mathematical equivalent of my fatigue.
In other toothy news, I had a cavity filled this morning and my baby tooth, my only claim to uniqueness and fame among my peers, pulled. I have put the tooth pulling off for about 2 years, because, you know, that whole-yanking-on-something-in my-mouth-thing doesn't sound so...fun. But it happened so fast I didn't even know he had pulled it. However, he was quite chatty and kept asking me questions that required long answers, while he had the numbing needle in my mouth. After he had numbed my mouth, he told me to sit up and he would be back in about 10 minutes, to give the anesthetic time to take real good. I sat up, in a kind of nervous stupor, (because needles plus my mouth equals hives and sweaty hands) and he goes "You don't like to talk, do you?". What I said was "I cant talk! My mouth feels really weird!" What I was thinking was "I love to talk, I talk all the time, except, you know, for the times that there IS A 3 INCH NEEDLE IN MY MOUTH!". They got done with the whirring torture devices and stuck a piece of gauze in my mouth to blot the small amount of blood from the extraction (which was in the very front of my mouth), and then they made me walk out of there like that! I was like "are you sure you want me to do that? I dont wanna scare the kids in the waiting room. They'll take one look at me with that bloody gauze hanging out of my mouth and decide that going to the dentist isn't such a good excuse for missing school, after all." When I got home I took some me-time with my best friend Blue Bell Cookies and Cream, which tastes the same even if my chewing and swallowing capabilities are diminished, thank goodness. And now that I think about it, my deep love of Cookies n Cream is probably a contributing factor in the appearance of the cavity, but I figure that's what brushing and flossing were invented for.

And I, I Choose the Road Less Traveled...

2007-05-04T22:50:00.000-05:00

Is there something about yourself that you would like to change? Not something superficial, like "I wish my nose were smaller" or "I really wish that spot of cellulite would disappear", but something that really bothers you about your personality? What I am about to disclose is not a surprise to anyone who has known me for any amount of time, because it is something that plagues me everytime I try to go somewhere even slightly unfamiliar. I, unfortunately, have about the same sense of direction as a blindfolded drunk trying to whack at a pinata in a tornado. Yes that would be, ah, ZERO. And it. is so. FRUSTRATING!!! Today I went about 15 minutes out of my way to get to where my best friend works, after her husband gave me *explicit* directions on how to get there, complete with finely drawn map. Then, on my way home from aforementioned destination, I took the wrong turn and wasted about 10 minutes, not to mention the ever-increasing-in-cost-gas! And when I get lost, I seriously have, like, anxiety attacks. I sweat, I get nervous, I think about pulling over and sobbing, and I entertain thoughts such as: what if I never get home? maybe I should just find a hotel and stay there until someone comes to get me. would someone come to get me? And it's even worse when my kids are in the car, because just about the time you realize you have made a big boo-boo in the turn-taking, someone either A. has to pee B. needs a snack C. is sick of being stuck in their car seat or D. decides to holler about all 3.
And my poor mother! I think every time I drive to Houston (which I havent done by myself in a while) she worries until I show up, alive, in their driveway. I think that is why she has resorted to meeting Shawn halfway to take the kids and I to Houston. She was probably sick of giving herself gray hairs over worrying about us.
So all of this is to say: I have a fund going for myself called "Help Ashley Choose The Right (turn)!" and the funds will be used for a GPS thingy for my car, as well as map and compass reading classes. Feel free to contribute. Because if you're ever stuck in the car with me as the driver, you'll wish you had.

temple, tantrum, and... circus.

2007-04-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

Whew! What a busy week! And by busy, I mean poor time management. Have you ever done that? Just got caught in a rut of going to bed too late, being tired the next day so you end up not doing any of the things that you need to do... ugh! Every day I try to be better at the whole "early to bed, early to rise" thing, but for some reason I have a really hard time winding down at night and I get caught in front of the tv, or worse, the Internet. And then I'm too tired to wake up early and work out and shower, and I have to hit the ground running when the kids wake up. Anyway, let's see, what have we been up to? Okay, here we go....
1. We went to the Circus last Saturday night. And as you read that, you're probably thinking, "oh, what fun!" But no, you'd be wrong. It was terribly, horribly boring. Let me give you a recap: We sit down. We are very excited. Dorky ringmasters come out and do the whole "greatest show on earth" schpiel. The horse trainer lady comes out, and both Addy and Liam are totally impressed, with Addy squealing happily the whole time the horses are visible. Horses and lady exit. Boring, boring, boring act on the rings (or whatever those are called) that lasts ENTIRELY too long. Commencing of the squirmy children. Clown act that is, thankfully, funny and entertaining, but which Addy cant understand and so becomes even squirmier. High wire act that is both fascinating and hard to appreciate because, you know, Addy doesn't get the whole gravity thing. So she starts doing the arch-the-back squirm to get out of my lap. Liam, meanwhile, is entertaining himself by doing his own trapeze-like act on the stairway rail that divides the bleacher walkway. I am starting to feel that it would be more entertaining if the spotlight was turned on me and everyone could watch me convince two small, bored children that this circus really is fun (I was by myself- Shawn had to work). The next 3 or 4 acts are totally unimpressive, there are no animals, bad timing, stupid jokes and un-interesting anecdotes from the ringmasters. One act was performers actually dressed up as cheerleaders doing a bad jump rope routine. I have never been to a circus so boring and poorly performed in my life! We left during intermission with not a single protest from Liam.

2. Last Saturday day we went to the temple. My friend who was going to watch the kids for us called early that morning and told us that her kids were coughing and hacking, so we decided to just take the kids with us and trade off watching them. (but it should be noted here that my friend was still more than willing to watch my kids, and for that I think she's awesome!) So Shawn went in first(we didn't do sessions) while I watched the kiddos, and then he came out and watched them for me. I had alot of fun walking with the kids around the temple grounds, and Liam got to see a bride and groom taking pictures, which sparked a lot of questions from him. "Is this where people get married? Did you and Daddy get married here? Will I get married here? Can I marry you mommy? Why not? Can I marry Aunt Tonya?...." and on and on. The coolest thing he did though was as soon as we started walking around the temple, he folded his arms and walked very reverently and quietly. Of course, if I'm being honest, that lasted about 3 minutes, but he never got rowdy or unruly. It just showed me how perceptive children are to the Spirit, and how they instinctively know how to act when in a reverent setting like that. All in all it was a great day, and Shawn and I both agreed it was one of the best days we had ever had.

3. I am often struck by how you can soar the heights and plunge the depths of parent/mother-hood in a very short amount of time. Last night Liam threw a wall-eyed fit at dinner about how the bowl he picked to eat from wasn't the bowl he wanted to eat from, after I had already put his pasta in it. He does this kind of thing often, and I am getting fed up with the extra clothes and dishes I am having to wash, not to mention the food that goes to waste when he decides that it's not really what he wanted, after all. And if you know me, the food-wasting doesn't sit well. So last night I made him eat from the bowl he picked, and for about 10-15 minutes he screamed at me like I was beating him. When he does this, the best thing is to just flat out ignore it. It works every single time, but for some reason, I doubt myself when I do this. Thoughts like "should I just give him the stinkin bowl? Maybe he'll scream all night. What would I do then? Am I not choosing my battles right? Could it be unhealthy for him to do this?" Just when those thoughts reach a crescendo, his self-control activates again and he goes on his merry little way like nothing ever happened at all. Actual quote from Liam after tantrum: "I love this bowl I picked mom!" Go figure. And then in the quiet aftermath of the screaming, I examined his teary eyelashes, his sweaty blond hair and was once again struck by the wonder of the thought that "I made this boy". Does it ever come on you like that? When you least expect it, you will be awe-struck by the reverence you feel for having had a part in creating someone's life. And that is what I mean by the highs and lows of parenthood. What a ride we take everyday, huh?

We are busy getting the house ready to put on the market, and Shawn needs me to keep the kids corralled and away from the project he's working on, so I will have to get for now. More exciting updates to come! haha, love, ashley

Pictures and not much else

2007-04-22T21:56:00.000-05:00

I am just going to go ahead and post these pictures. I've been meaning to write, but have been a little busy. So enjoy! All the pictures except the mailbox one were taken at the Temple this past Saturday. Will write more on that later! Have a great day!
Liam by an old mailbox down our road on our walk sunday

Liam pointing out a brand new bride and groom taking pictures

my little flower*

taking time to smell the flowers!

Liam trying desperately to hold Addy's hand

walking reverently at the Temple- and I didnt even tell him to do that!!

Eeeeeeeewwwww!!!!

2007-04-17T22:43:00.000-05:00

Bath time today was very.....shall we say...interesting. Liam and Addy were in there together, as usual, and having a great time, also as usual. About 10 minutes into it, Addy squats and does a little grunt. Now, 2 things: 1. Usually when she does this it means that she is pooping, and 2. The other day she did this same thing in the bathtub and did NOT poop. So I'm sure you can surmise the rest of the story, because you are probably familiar with Murphy's Law. Yes, gentle reader, she pooped. (in case you were wondering, it was a floater). So I quickly yank the kids out of there and set them on the bathroom floor. And as I write this, looking back on it, I am wondering why in the world I did not go stick a diaper on her, but I didn't, so now you have a funnier story to read, because this is where all heck breaks loose. Also, at this point in the story, it helps to know that my kids' bathroom is not very big. So anyway, I start plucking the bath toys from the poopy water so I can clean them and drain the tub, and the whole time Liam is dancing around naked yelling "eeewwww! eewww! thats so gross mama!". About this time Addy figures she might as well finish what she started, so she squats and poops again right on the bathroom rug. Well, this really sets Liam off, and he high-tails it to the top of the potty, like a 50's housewife who's seen a mouse, and stands there giggling and squealing the whole time. I reach for the toilet paper and clean it up (thankfully it was one of those poops that was not...how to say this?... squishy or...wet.). I have to ask Liam to please step down from the potty so I can throw the poopy paper in there. While I am throwing the paper in, ADDISON POOPS AGAIN! I get her away from it, and as I am reaching for the toilet paper, she steps in it!! So she got a big cleaning-off in the sink, and thankfully that was the end of the pooping. Liam was shuttled to my shower to finish getting clean, and Addy was shuttled to bed, and that was the end of that. Of course, that was also the beginning of the Bedtime Wars with Liam, in which I employed the well-known diversionary tactic known as the Backwards Bedtime Fairy. What, you've never heard of her? You mean, you've never proclaimed to your children that it's Backwards Night, and that they must sleep with their head at the foot of the bed, with the promise of a treat under their pillow left by the Backwards Bedtime Fairy herself??? Which reminds me, I need to, I mean... the Fairy needs to, go leave that treat under the pillow, so I will be signing off now. Have a grrrrrreat day!

Any Given Sunday...

2007-04-15T15:07:00.000-05:00

addy at home after church working off the Relief Society Wiggles
Liam with his new CTR ring!!

If you are the mother of young children and if most Sundays are spent trying desperately to get something out of Sacrament meeting, then you will appreciate this post. This morning getting the kids ready went unusually well, and by some miracle I was left with alot of extra time to get myself ready. I was able to keep tears of impatience at bay during breakfast prep with my rousing renditions of such favorites as "Popcorn Popping On The Apricot Tree" and "Book Of Mormon Stories". We got to church on time (in the interest of full disclosure I will tell you that this NEVER happens), and took our seats. Liam was very reverent today and only took one piece of Sacrament bread instead of 4, and put the water cup back in the tray when he was done instead of keeping it and later turning it into a plastic missile, and Addy was easy to please as well. And I know you are not going to really believe me here, and that's okay, because if I hadnt been there I wouldn't believe it myself, but I was actually able to listen to the talk WITHOUT HAVING TO GO OUT A SINGLE TIME! Of course, that would be because I delegated responsibility to my charming husband. All Sunday I kept thinking "well, somethings gotta give. it cant be this good all day." But ya know what? IT WAS!! I know you're waiting for the punch line, the all-heck-breaking-loose story, but I dont have one for you today folks! It was such an irregular day that I had to write about it, as normal as it seems! The best thing that happened today though was that Liam got his CTR ring. Call me sentimental, but I almost cried when he came running up to me with his finger waving in the air to show me his new ring. I mean, come on! Getting your CTR ring is such a defining moment in a young Mormon's life! :) I even remember when I got mine, so it's a little weird that I'm old enough to have a kid old enough to get his.

So, there it is: my uneventful, remarkable day. May all of us mothers have those kinds of days, and often!

10 (okay 11) Things You Probably Dont Know About Me

2007-04-14T22:27:00.000-05:00

1. I peed in my pants on the playground in 2nd grade. Way embarrassing.

2. I give the squishy dried apricots to my kids so that I can eat the firm ones. Hey, what they dont know cant hurt them.

3. I think Red Delicious apples are anything but delicious.

4. I have never been able to dive. As in, go head first into the water. Weird.

5. I hate sneezing.

6. Some days I really hate to exercise.

7. I have never eaten the following foods: collard greens, Bit O' Honey candy, or frog legs.

8. I have been guilty of accidentally breaking a fast by eating some of the kids' Goldfish in Sacrament.

9. I think Mothers Day should be at least every week.

10. I have always wanted to buy one of those wierd "Enquirer" type magazines.

11. I dont own a single baseball cap. I know, right? It's like I'm not American or something.

And now I have to tell you a sweet story about Liam: today (Saturday) is Responsibility Day in our house, where we clean up the house and get stuff ready for Sunday. Towards the end of getting everything done, I was sweeping up the kithen (for what seemed like the kazillionth time) and the dustpan was just out of my reach. At about that time Liam walked by and I said "Oh, hey, Liam, could you hand me that dustpan?" and then kind of to myself I said "cause I just dont think I can bend down one more time to pick that dumb thing up". He handed me the dust pan, and then walked behind me and said "mom, I will give you a back mashage" and started rubbing my back. Awwwwwww!!!!! What a sweetie heart. I just love that boy. Another thing he has started saying lately that I would like for him to tell me for the rest of my life is (and he'll just say it out of the blue) "Mom, you're the best!". Sometimes he makes me want to think about looking up preschooler sized straight jackets, but he sure has a fantastic way of redeeming himself.

Love to you all- have a good Sunday!

Change Is In The Wind

2007-04-13T10:47:00.000-05:00

So, I wrote a honkin big blog about a month ago, complete with pictures, and then it got LOST!!!! Ohmygosh, it was SO frustrating. But Karebear (lol, didja like that Karie?) told me that there is a way easier way to attach pictures, so maybe this time I wont be on here for hours trying to attach pictures of my little lovelies while my bum goes numb in my chair. :)
Wow, things sure change fast, dont they? Just when you think your life is settled, and you know the direction you're going in, you get thrown a curveball and you're left wondering if anything in life is ever *really* for certain. I am referring to a life change that I will now inform you all of: we are moving. Yup. I thought we would never leave Durant, but we have found *the* perfect place for us, in Falconhead, Oklahoma. It's a community of sorts built around a golfcourse, and it has a lake, and a pool, and camping grounds, and hiking trails, little playgrounds everywhere... and lots and lots of trees. Yea for trees! The golfcourse was, of course, was the deal closer for Shawn. He's like "I can take the kids golfing everyday!!" I'm like "I can take them to the playground everyday! And walk them to school!" The nearest Church is 2o minutes away in Ardmore, and the nearest big city (Gainesville) is 30. The reason we are considering it is Shawn' s mom and dad are moving there, and they drove us to see it last Monday. Also his brother and fiance, when they get married, are going to live there. It's a gated community out in the middle of the woods, and when we drove in we were just in love. You can look it up at www.falconheadgolf.com . But the pictures dont really do it justice. So dont judge it based on the pictures. But we have alot of decisions to make, and we havent even really prayed about it yet, but we got such a good feeling when we drove in that I think we'll get the answer we want.
In other news, Addison has turned a year old. Wow. Her first year just really flew. She's got a great sense of humor, but also a wicked temper. About a month ago she started throwing those flop-on-the-floor-and-make-herself-go-limp-while-she-cries tempers. They never last for very long, like 2 minutes at the most, but they definitely have me worried!! She loves to play with her little purses, baby dolls, and her hairbows, and whenever you need a distraction you can always count on mommy's makeup bag to keep her entertained for at least 30 minutes. And the other day she picked up my chi iron (that had thankfully cooled off already) and put it to her hair. But she also dearly loves to be in the dirt with Liam, whom she utterly adores. And the feeling is (mostly) mutual. Liam likes playing with her and making her laugh. He has really turned into mommy's little helper. He puts the soap in and starts the dishwasher for me, always gets me diapers, helps me cook, puts away his clothes... I'm really enjoying this stage we're in. And he's so funny! He can always make me laugh, and I really enjoy that as well.
It seems like I always have these funny things that I want to write about what the kids said or did, but I cant ever remember them! My memory is so bad these days- it ran out on me when I got pregnant with Addison and hasnt been seen since. Or maybe I have seen it and I just can't remember... (Addy just walked up and put the iPod earphones in her ears, so i turned the music on for her. Pat Green came on. She likes it. Good girl. LOL she's trying to dance but she cant dance and hold the earphones in her ear at the same time. She takes the earphones out and dances, and then puts them back in. Funny girl.)
Well, I will sign off for now. Maybe I can get better at writing my blog because I really enjoy it. I have to go find something to keep us entertained on this rainy rainy day. Got any ideas?

An Introduction Of Sorts

2007-01-20T21:41:00.000-06:00

Okay. Well. Here is my very own, brand spankin new blog. I've wondered what the big fuss was about blogging, but I finally got it today when I read a good friends blog. I can keep family and friends updated! I will have a record of these crazy days with my kids! And, perhaps best of all, it's writing! I love writing! Anyway, thank you, good friend, for giving me this idea! (you know who you are!) ;)

So, I have kids. Two, to be exact. Well, okay, three if you count the husband, but we wont get technical. Liam just turned four and I am left wondering where in the world my time with him has gone. I mean, really. Where does it go? Because, when I think about it, all I really remember is saying "No!" and "Stop! you're going to hurt yourself!" alot. And all I can hope for is that he remembers the fun stuff we've done together, and not the dumb things I have done as a parent. And I used to think I had the parenting thing down, and lately, I am just wondering where I got off thinking that. Because this just gets harder the older (and smarter) they get. And the pressure! When you stop to think that your kids personality is fully formed by the time he's FIVE, well, it's enough to make you want to call the whole thing off. Or reach for a really big bar of dark dark chocolate, shut yourself in your closet, and pretend you don't hear when people are calling your name. Anyway, on a serious note, in the LDS Family Home Evening handbook, it says something to the effect of "The Lord gave you this responsibility, and He knows you can do it" or something like that, and that has given me alot of courage and hope. It helps to know you have someone perfect on your side!
Addy is 10 months, and she is an angel baby. Liam adores her, and loves to make her laugh. She is walking, although she's still in that in between stage where it's faster for her to crawl. She said "binkie" and "bottle" the other day, and she says momma alot. She loves to escape while you're changing her diaper (often at the worst times, like when there's poo still clinging to her bottom) and crawl over, lighting fast, to her headboard (because I change her on her bed) and hang on to it and bounce like a maniac. She smiles and laughs the whole time like she cant think of anything else that would be more fun than shaking that headboard back and forth. Also, Liam has gotten in the habit of wanting a bath at the oddest times of day, and whenever I run the water for him, you can hear Addison's hands slap our wood floor as she speed crawls to the bathroom to hang on the side of the tub and play in the water with her hands.
In the fall I will start on my Kinesiology degree. I am way excited about that and finally feel like I'm doing the right thing, college-wise. Shawn and I are planning a vacation this year for just us, and I cant wait! It will be nice to have some alone time with him, and finally get to go on a cool vacation with him. This year should be a good year, but we just never know what's in store do we?