Don’t Say I Never Blog

Tue, 1 Dec 2009 23:28:33 -0600

{Insert profuse apologies for being such a negligent blogger here}

So we’ve had at least one major holiday since we last chatted. We enjoyed our 2nd annual trip to the Grand Hyatt’s Achiote restaurant for Thanksgiving this year. The food was de-lish-ous and the company was even better. Just look at Ellie licking her lips. Mmmm mmm good. We’re talking chipotle rubbed turkey, poblano cornbread stuffing, strip steak salad, ceviche...not that our kids really ate any of that. But Liv did have five desserts. And we didn’t stop her.

Before hitting the buffet we spent the morning at the zoo. It was a great day for the zoo...cool weather, small crowds. After our lunch/dinner at the Hyatt we walked around the Riverwalk and ended up at the Alamo where we sent Eric to go retrieve the car. It was a fun day.

After a disappointing trip to Old Navy at 3 a.m. (remind me NEVER to fall for a Black Friday doorbuster deal again). I came home and rested up and Eric went out and picked up his Christmas/birthday present. He got it early since it was on a special deal for Black Friday. Some men want a Harley when they turn 40, mine just wanted a Playstation 3 and Madden ’10. We got all our Christmas decorations up and are feeling the full-swing of holiday cheer around here.

On Saturday we attempted to go see Santa at Bass Pro Shop but since the line reviled those at Disneyland on Fourth of July weekend we took a pass and walked around the store instead. What do you think of matching pink 4-wheelers for the girls for Christmas?

For FHE on Monday the plan was to decorate our store-bought gingerbread house. That was the plan, anyway. But, after opening the box to discover a cracked roof piece and my futile attempt to repair it, we quickly abandoned that plan in favor of a new one.

Plan B: Using all available means possible, consume as much sugar as humanly possible while your parents sit by and laugh. Methods not to be ignored: squirting the icing directly into your mouth, dropping candy into your hot chocolate, followed by marshmallows and topped with even more icing, dipping giant pieces of gingerbread house into piles of discarded icing and then licking them clean...

We decided it was probably time to stop when Liv suggested we pull out the maple syrup (a la Elf).
But seriously, what’s more memorable? A carefully constructed gingerbread house that you’re not allowed to touch, let alone eat? Or sitting around with your family mainlining frosting?

{Dentists, avert your eyes}

I hope everyone’s excited for the upcoming Christmas season. I love this time of year and all of it’s wonderful traditions. I’m thinking we may have found our new gingerbread house tradition :)

Halloween

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 00:37:05 -0500

It came and went and we have the candy hangovers to prove it. Here’s some pictures of our cute little goblins. Or, more appropriately, Hermoine, Dorothy and Pink Poodle.

A big thanks to Grandma Reed for again outfitting my kids in costumes fit for Broadway!

General Conference

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 12:15:37 -0500

I hope everyone enjoyed General Conference as much as I did. I feel like my spiritual well is full again and I’m eternally grateful for living prophets and continued revelation here on the Earth.

While I enjoyed all of the talks, the one that has made the greatest impression on me was the impassioned testimony that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland bore of The Book of Mormon. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes from that talk:

“And if they leave this Church, they must do so by crawling over, or under, or around The Book of Mormon to make their exit.”

“I ask that my testimony of The Book of Mormon and all that it implies, given today under my oath and my office, be recorded by men on Earth and angels in Heaven ... I want it absolutely clear, when I stand before the judgement bar of God that I declared to the world, in the most straightforward language I can summon that The Book of Mormon is true.”

I also bear testimony that The Book of Mormon is true, that this is Christ’s true Church and I thank Elder Holland for reminding me that I knew that.

Welcoming Fall

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:26:25 -0500

After a LONG and HOT summer we are very excited to welcome Fall around here. We’ve even received some much needed rain after several months of drought. The girls love to play out in the rain and since we haven’t had much of it lately I’m happy to let them. And, yes, Ellie is wearing her pajamas. And yes, it is like 4:00 in the afternoon (tell me you have days like that too).

The other day we took advantage of the cooler temperatures and took the girls to the zoo. It was a wonderful trip. The weather was beautiful, the animals were all out and there were no crowds.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to kiss a hippo?

Life is good around here. I’m trying to make a few changes in my daily life to simplify things and focus on what is most important. I’m enjoying this time that I have with Ellie and Liv before Liv starts school next year. Ellie is changing everyday and she can certainly hold her own with her sisters. Abby is really enjoying school and excelling as usual.

My Blog Fairy business is also booming. I have a waiting list now of 25 customers. I am really enjoying the work and it has been such a financial blessing for our family. We are still following Dave Ramsey’s financial plan and we have seen amazing results in the three months we’ve been doing it. We have already paid off $5000 of debt and saved $1000 for our baby emergency fund. I can actually say that we are living on less than we make now. What a novel idea! And, yes, I’m still couponing. I think we have enough cereal in the pantry now to carry us through the millennium.

Hope everyone is well. We love and miss you all!

P.S. I just reread this and think I need to clarify something... “Baby Emergency Fund” is Dave Ramsey’s terminology for a small savings account for emergencies. It has nothing to do with having a baby. Just so nobody gets the wrong idea :)

Happy Birthday Liv!

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:20:16 -0500

This morning we celebrated Liv’s birthday with a Pancakes and PJ’s party for her and seven of her friends. It was a very fun, sugar-filled morning.

Liv wore her new pajamas that I sewed for her. Yes, I actually sewed something! I’m proud of myself, too. I have to disclose that the PJ’s actually started out with a flannel top that sadly ended up in the trash after I butchered it trying to make button holes. Note to self: Measure twice (or five times) and cut once. I ended up with button holes big enough for dinner plate buttons. However, I improvised by sewing one of the ballerinas from the flannel fabric onto a white t-shirt.

The guests arrived at 9 a.m. and started on a simple craft, decorating foam door hangers for their bedrooms. We then had “build-your-own pancakes” which translated into “see how much whipped cream and chocolate chips I can possibly put on here”.

For games we played “Blanket Bingo” and “Musical Pillows”. After the games we opened presents, ate cake and ice cream and sent everyone home to sleep off their sugar-induced coma.

Liv had a great time. She has literally been talking about her birthday every single day for the past two months. I really don’t know what she’ll have to live for now. I guess there’s always Christmas.

And we are having a family party for her on her actual birthday (Monday) so she can enjoy a few more days of being the center of attention. A position she welcomes openly.

Here’s a little video we took of Liv before the guests arrived:

Candid Camera

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:07:29 -0500

In case anyone wonders how an almost five-year-old entertains herself (and her baby sister) in the morning when mom falls asleep on the couch:

P.S. See my sewing machine set up in the background on the top picture? I sewed something! More to come on that later.

Less Is More

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:29:05 -0500

I make all my best decisions late at night when I can’t sleep. Or at least I’m so tired that it sounds like a good decision at the time. My latest insanity good decision is to unplug myself from all my social networking devices. That means bye bye Facebook and bye bye blog reader.

I’m going old school. I will still check up on my friend’s and family’s blogs from time to time, I just won’t have the constant, never-ending influx of news (and not so news-worthy) information right at my fingertips. As much as I love my iPhone (and we all know I love my iPhone!) it has just become too much.

I need to be there (really BE THERE) for my kids, my husband, my home and myself. I need a little quiet and I’m hoping this will help. So, please, don’t feel dissed.

It’s not you...it’s me.