Flashback Friday

My sister may not be happy about this, but I am flashing back to her first wedding. I am mainly flashing back to what my kids looked like and the cake I made that I was so proud of!

Thankful Thursday

My friend inspired me to do this. I am going to list 3 things I am thankful for every Thursday. Probably not too many deep things mostly the little and simple things that I am thankful for! Feel free to join me!

1. Digital Cameras

I see pros and cons to the digital age, but I love the instant gratification from digital cameras.

2. Spring Flowers

These are pictures from our Peach and Apple trees. We got fruit from both of them last year and it was yummy so we can't wait for them to grow!

3. Hair.

I am going through that stage after you have a baby where your hair falls out, not thankful for that, but I am extremely thankful that it grows back!

The Wedding

My baby sister, Shannon, got married today. This is a 2nd marriage for both of them and it is kind of funny that his last name is Phillips, our maiden name, so my sister is now a Phillips again. She met him at UOP and then the rest is history. He has 7 kids from his previous marriage ranging from 14 down to 4 so Shannon gets to be the wicked stepmother! (joking of course)

Maddie and Maya

The 5 boys (there is 2 at the end of the line, they are 6 year old twins)

My kids were really excited that Shannon was getting married at a castle! This place was really beautiful. Then we went on to have a luncheon at Macaroni Grill. We ended up being there for a long time and ate way too much food.

The whole event was really nice and we wish the whole family luck on this new adventure!

The pictures below are some pictures of us at the wedding.

This is a cool cartoon effect I figured out today which was good because I looked terrible in all of the pictures with my sisters.

Hawaiin Day

I was not thinking when I bought the Hawaiin stuff for the girls to dress up for school today since they were not going to school today becuase of the wedding. They wanted to go to school for just an hour just so they could dress up. So we dressed them up and took pictures, but they still did not go to school.

Night Out

Unfortunately I forgot the camera, but we had a girls night out before Shannon got married. It was My sisters, Mom, me and Maddie and Maya(Shannon's soon to be stepdaughters). It started off with manicures and pedicures at Fusion which has the best massage chairs ever. Then we moved on to dinner at Mi Amigos. Then Tara and I headed to the mall to see if we could find any outfits for the kids in the wedding colors (life with a baby does not allow a whole lot of clothes shopping, hence the procrastination). It was a good night of relaxation and good conversation. Now on to the wedding today.

I'm not crazy about the colors, but oh well the rest of the pedicure was worth it!

Playgroup

Emmy is part of a playgroup every Wednesday for a couple of hours that consists of 3 other morning kindergartners. It was at our house yesterday and they got out the full body massage mat on their own, set up and then took turns getting a massage.

Mismatched and Crazy Hat Day

For those of you wondering this is like a spirit week thing. So here they are for today with mismatched shoes and a weird hat.

I've been Tagged

It took me a while to think of 7 weird/random things about myself, not because I am not weird, but because they were all things that require psychiatric help, not funny:-)!


1. I LOVE ice! Especially ice water, people make fun of me because I will stop at Sonic for a large ice water with extra extra extra ice (you have to say it 3 times or they do not put enough). I can not stand McDonald's because no matter how many times I say it, it always melts before I drink it. I don't even chew it really I just have to hear ice clanking in the cup until I drink the whole drink. This will probably be the thing I will miss the most if there is a crisis!


2. I HATE dirty or dry hands and I am afraid I have passed that on to my kids. I am extremely sensitive to how my hands feel. I am not OCD about it, but I wash/sanitize my hands frequently. I also have to leave a bottle of lotion in my van because I can not stand when my hands feel dry and I always realize it as soon as I start to drive.


3. I can not stand wet uncombed hair on my neck. This is why I have those little towels with the elastic and I always keep my hair up until I can brush it. I always have to bring them with me when I travel so that I do not have to use 2 towels.


4. I can not clean 1/2 way (although I am making improvements on this). This is why when you come to my house and it is usually messy. If I do not have the time or energy to vacuum I can not pick up the floor. If I do not have time to mop I can not bring myself to sweep. I can also never keep my bathroom clean (why put it away if I am just going to get it out again tomorrow?) I also never make my bed unless I know people will be coming in my room (same theory as with the bathroom). I chalk this up to my perfectionism, believe it or not. If I can not do it perfectly I can not bring myself to do it, so I just don't do it!


5. Expensive taste. I am not sure where I got this because I have never had money. You can put a line up of items in front of me and I will always pick the most expensive one. Scott hates this about me, but I can not help what I like!


6. I LOVE/NEED a lot of sleep! I have to get at least 8 hours at night and then I usually have to lay down in the afternoon. I don't read books because I automatically doze off after a few pages. I am only worth about and hour or two of drive time and then I doze off-even if I have just woken up after a full night of sleep. Fortunately/unfortunately (I am not sure) only Macey is like me. The rest of the family is like Scott and only needs minimal sleep to be functional (and pleasant).


7. I LOVE flip flops/sandals. I wear them all year. I have nicer shiny ones & cheap plastic ones in all colors. Occasionally I convince myself that maybe I should wear tennis shoes if I will be walking a lot and I always regret it. My feet and toes always hurt from the tennis shoes, but never from the flip flops. This is the biggest hurdle that keeps me from excercising-socks & shoes. I also feel like tennis shoes make me look more like a cowgirl (with jeans) and make my legs look shorter and fatter (it does not make sense I know).

Not sure who I will tag since several of you have already done this one!

Pleasant Surprise

I used to think of Bashas as my grandma's grocery store, but my love of Bashas has been renewed. I took all 4 kids grocery shopping for the first time, which I try and avoid at all costs, but I was feeling up to it since Macey and Emmy could go in the "Cub House". Well, it was a pleasant surprise to find out that they also take 2 year olds so Tate could also go in! Among the other great things that happened at Bashas today I also found out that they give you like $.10 a bag if you bring your own bags, which I happened to do today. It was a good day of grocery shopping!

Twins

Today was twins dress up day at school and this is how they dressed up. Of course Macey does not have bangs and they look totally different, but when they were younger people used to ask me if they were twins all of the time. I think it was just because they are close in age. I used to have so much fun dressing them alike all of the time, but now they get their clothes in different sections, so maybe in a few years they will be in the same section again :-)!

Teacher Thank You Card

So here is the card that I was excited to finish for card club in April (I can't believe I am doing something ahead of time:-)!).

80's Day

Today was 80's day for school (thank goodness we got those shoes!). My girls asked me about a million times all weekend what they would wear for "19"80's day. This morning they also kept asking me if I was alive in the "19"80's, like it was so00 long ago and of course I had to just laugh becuase I was there age in the 80's. It was also funny Natalie Burley came down the street this morning all dressed up and said "I am dressed up like my aunt Becky today because it is 80's day". I actually had a hard time converting their wardrobe into 80's since all I have ever bought them was white socks and mostly ankle ones, so they actually have their soccer socks, which can resemble leg warmers. Emmy loved her bangs and will probably ask me to do that again tomorrow. Ahhh good times!

New Shoes

Scott took the kids on some errands with him today and he decided to take them shoe shopping since Macey was in desperate need of some new shoes. He took them to Payless for BOGO and this is what they came home with. I thought it was funny because I remember these kind of shoes from when I was younger, except I do not remember them being cool.

Friday Flashback

This flashback is going way back! These first two pictures are of me as a baby. As I was looking through all of my pictures I kept getting glimpses Claire in them.

These pictures are of Emmy when she was a baby to show how dark she was when she was born. When she was born we said "where did she come from?" She came with lots of curly dark hair that had to be cut at like 5 months old and dark skin. After having Macey, a blonde fair skinned girl, we were a little shocked.

Look at all this cute little rolls. Can you believe they were telling me to feed her more fats in her diet (ie instant breakfast, slather everything in butter, etc.). Does she look underfed to you?

People always comment on how dark Claire is, but only time will tell if she will keep it or lighten up like Emmy did. This is Macey still wanting to play the mom to the baby. Claire is 4 days old, Macey was so anxious to try her in her doll carrier and treat her like a doll.

I love my babies...all 4 of them!!

Valentine's Day

So, what did I get for Valentine's Day? A dinner of nachos and jalepenos with my favorite dessert, cotton candy and our entertainment was these really tall guys that ran around getting sweaty from throwing a ball around. It was amazing! I am being sarcastic of course, but I really do enjoy basketball just not to the extent that Scott does (I don't think anyone does). It was great game against the Dallas Mavericks, we won, and we had GREAT lower level seats! For those of you who know Scott, you know this was definately not a romantic night for me, but I am sure he enjoyed spending Valentine's Day at the Sun's game and I enjoyed a night away from the kiddos.

Crafting Fool

Since having Claire and she has been sleeping in my closet (which is mostly my scrapbooking stuff, and a little bit of clothes) I have been having major withdrawel pains and urges to craft. I mean it has been on my mind constantly so I just had to do it. I have been pulling more and more things out of my closet while Claire is awake so that I can work on things while she is sleeping. My room has been overtaken by all of my stuff and I have been sitting on the floor and getting up and down, but I love it! I have been working on my Valentines for the Bunco ladies, my card for the next months card club and now I am in the middle of the next card for card club, which I am so excited about! Now who's going to clean up this stuff when I am done?

My Tatie Poo

I have been wanting to jot down my thoughts about Tate for a while now since I know that he will not be my "Tatie poo" for much longer. There is definately a different kind of love between a mom and her boy (not more or less just different). For any of you that know Tate, you know that he is a piece of work, but cute as can be. He is definately all boy!

CARS- He loves loves loves his cars. He has to have one in each hand as he goes to bed, he lines them up, sends them down ramps, and pretty much anything else you can do with them. He can also remember there wherabouts at all times. You can say go get your cars and he will go right to the spot where he left them (I think this is pretty amazing even though they are pretty much all over the house). You would think he would get sick of them, but no. Scott said he was the same way as a kid. He also loves to push around those big yellow dump trucks. At one time we would have to load them in the car when we were going somewhere because he would not part with them and as soon as I would put them outside he would drag them back in.

BROTHER- Scott and I are always amazed an bewildered at how a 2 year old can make his 7 and 6 year old sisters cry, but the girls just can't seem to escape him. He loves his older sisters, especially all of the cool stuff they have in their room. He always calls Emmy "Maphcey". He is always wanting to do whatever they do....swing, ride a bike, and drink out of regular cups. I was nervous about how Tate would react to having a baby sister around, but I have been pleasantly surprised. He grew up right before my eyes. All of a sudden his legs looked longer, he cried less and talked more. It seemed like as soon as I came home from the hospital he stopped when I said stop and did whatever I asked him to. He has been a great big brother and Claire just lights up when he plays and talks with her.

WHAT HE WATCHES- Naturally he loves the movie, Cars. Thankfully it has slowed down a little bit, but still watches it several times a week from start to finish. His other favorite right now is "Dora boovts". This is how he tells me he wants to watch Dora the Explorer. I DVR it so we have it to watch at any time. I cannot even tell you how many episodes of this he watches a day (way too many for sure).

QUIRKS (cute & not so cute things he does)- He always takes his shoes off in the car. We have learned and just keep his socks and shoes and put them on at our destination.... He loves to have his picture taken any time I get the camera out. This is his "cheese" face.......

He loves Mugsy. He always makes sure Mugsy is following him saying "come on Muvsy"....... One of his phrases right now is "oh man" as he swings his arm (just like Swiper from Dora)...... Right now he is having fun burying things in the sand (such as the phone, Nintendo DS and whatever else that would be ruined by the sand). He is so quick and always up to something. A couple of weeks ago my mom was doing my hair and as we were rinsing it in the sink Tate started crying and had burnt his arm. He had gotten a hold of this thing that you put in water to heat it and plugged it in and burnt himself and then it proceeded to burn my moms wooden floor all in a matter of minutes right next to us. No matter how much I feel like I am watching him he always proves that I am not watching him close enough. I have to be on guard constantly. He is an escape artist and gives me nightmares that he is going to get out and I am going to back over him- I am serious about these nightmares and they are re-occuring...... Tate is the first child that I have had to "child proof" the whole house. I know how they always say to do that, but Macey and Emmy never got into things like Tate does. I have child proof handles on several doors and need to get more, I had to put locks on some of the cabinets and now I need to get a device for the fridge. I have come down stairs several times from putting Claire to sleep to find tomatoes, Mayonnaise, and whatever else he can reach out on the counter....He loves cereal and already picks the marshmallows out of Luck Charms. He loves waffles, but thinks the picture looks like pizza so that is what he calls them. All he wants to eat all day is cookies. He knows what the good stuff is!...He says "hold you" and puts his arms up when he wants you to hold and cuddle him. Although he only wants it briefly I treasure these moments and know that they will get fewer and farther between. I think I will just have to be like the mom in the book "Love You Forever"....He has started playing with my hair and it makes me laugh every time.

We love Tate, quirks and all!

Claire Rolled Over!!!

I always put Claire to bed on her stomach, but last night when she woke up to eat she was on her back! My first reaction is excitement and then I get a little sad that she will be all grown up before I know it. So I guess this means she is too big for the bassinette in my closet now and I will have to move her to the pack 'n' play. It will take her a while to perfect the art, but she's on her way to being mobile!

The six degrees...

...of BLOGGING! Can I just tell you how I am loving the blogging world. It appears I am the last one to set up a BLOG, except my sister, come on Tara jump on! Anyways I love how I can link up to other peoples BLOGS and it just seems like it keeps leading me to other people I know. I know you can link through 6 blogs or less and be back to yourself. In the short time I have been blogging I have located several people from high school and I love catching up! It's a small world after all (come on imagine the ride at Disneyland and try to get the song out of your head)!

Flashback Friday a day late...

..and a dollar short. Always seems that way anyways. I am not sure I will always do a flashback, but in lieu of Valentine's Day coming up I thought this would be appropriate. This is a picture from our wedding invitation picture session. I was so skinny, compared to now, which looking back, I never felt that way. Little did I know how my body would change, I would definately take the body in the picture any day. Scott looks like a little boy to me compared to now with his "man" body. As Emmy says "that's when they were in love" (like we aren't now?). We are still in love and love all of the changes that have come with having a family and being adults! Now... what to do for Valentine's Day...hmmmm?

Seeing Purple

Claire has thrush and just when we think it is gone, it's back. I have been treating it with gentian violet which works pretty well and quicker than Nystatin, but it stains everything including skin. I will gladly take any suggestions from any of you mothers out there on how to get rid of this once and for all.

This is a car isn't it?

Emmy had just emptied the dishwasher and I was changing Claires diaper when I heard some banging in the kitchen. I finished the diaper change and turned around to see Tate with the bottom tray of the dishwasher out and pushing it around like one of his cars. My first instinct was to get after him and then I hesitated as he looked at me like "oh no I am in trouble" and I just could not help but laugh. He kept rolling it around like one of his cars until I could get a picture of course.

Tribute/Plea

I was thinking about this the other day and wondered what others thought about this subject.

TRIBUTE: This is a tribute to those shows that have gone before their time-

The Mole- I loved this show. It was a reality show that ran a couple of seasons and was HU-LARRY-US! It had celebrities (you know the ones you have not seen in a while) i.e. Dennis Rodman, one of the Baldwin brothers (the one on Celebrity Apprentice),Corbin Bernson, Kathy Griffin, etc. . They had challenges to complete and one of them was a mole and would have to sabotage the challenges without being detected. After each challenge they had to answer questions about the mole, based on the who they thought the mole was would determine how well they would do on the quizes. The one that did the worst was eliminated every week. I LOVED this show it was hilarious and came together at the end as they showed all of the things the mole did to sabotage the tasks. Oh I forgot to mention there was money at stake for each task. I thought this show was way better than several other reality shows that have stuck around.

NoTORIous- Or something like that. It was on E or VH1. It was a show with Tori Spelling as the main character and she was basically making fun of herself and her family. She would poke fun at how big her dads house was and how mean her mom is. It was soooo funny and I thought she did a really good job in it.

Crossing Jordan- Is this show still on? I do not remember a final episode but have not heard about it in a while and I love it!

PLEA- This my plea for you to watch some shows that are on right now that I am afraid may also see the end before their time if they do not have a following. Let me just say I lOVE all of these shows!

PSYCH- It is one USA network late Fridays (I DVR it of course). It is about this guy who has the ability to notice details and remember them and tries to pass it off as psychic abilities. He has some connection with the police and he solves their cases. Anyways it is a show that does not require knowledge of all previous episodes (like LOST) that you can just watch, laugh and enjoy.

Ghost Whisperer- It is on Friday night (I am seeing a pattern) at 7pm on CBS. It has Jennifer Love Hewitt in it. She can see the deceased who have not crossed over because they still have unfinished business. She helps them resolve it and cross over. I love how it comes together at the end and you get a warm fuzzy teary feeling.

Side Order of Life- This show is on Lifetime (I am a major channel sufer and I just come across these shows). It has this blonde actress and Jason Priestly (is that his name?). They were engaged but not any more. They have the same circle of friends and I think they even work at the same place(I have not seen it in a while, it is it's off season right now). She has this picture perfect guy that she accidentally started talking to on her cell phone and now they confide in eachother all of the time. She about to meet him anytime now. At one point we thought she had meet him (Ian Zeering) but he was pretending.

I am sure there are more I am not remembering but these are the ones that are coming to me right now. Of course I have to mention the long running shows I love that I was scared would end but still have not....E.R. and One Tree Hill, According to Jim. And we can also have a section on shows that should not continue, but that list would be too long to list here.

Claire's Blessing

Yesterday we blessed Claire at church. Scott did such a great job, even though he was really nervous, you couldn't even tell. We love having her in our family. Heavenly Father has intrusted us with a sweet spirit. I have to admit that the picture above was actually taken today. Scott is always giving me such a hard time because I begged for a decent camera two Christmas' ago and he got me one and now I am always forgetting it for important things. With everything going on yesterday I forgot to bring it to church and then Claire crashed when we got home and I never got a picture. So I just dressed her back up today and snapped some pictures of her in her dress which is actually the dress I was blessed in. We're thankful to all of the family and friends that were their to support our family.

Although the blessing is the most important part of the day, I have to mention that it was also Super Bowl Sunday. Some friends of ours stuck around snacked, chatted and watched the game. I do not like football at all, but because it was in AZ and the Patriots had the potential to set a record, I felt compelled to watch (actually eat, watch commercials and glance at the score occasionally). It was a great game and as we all know the underdogs won.

Cinderella

No not the princess Cinderella! You know those projects that you always want done but need incentive to actually dig in and do? I always have several of these projects that stack up until we are having something going on at our house i.e. Bunco, card club, blessings, etc. Then I just go crazy for several days finishing them all. This last weekend was one of those weekends. I have "lovely" linoleum floors that have a lot of texture that looks nice, that is until all of those little divots fill with dirt. So this weekend we were blessing Claire and people would be coming over afterwards so I finally had the incentive to get down and scrub my floors. Macey saw me scrubbing away and asked if she could help me (odd I know-my kids think this looks like fun). I said sure and as we were scrubbing away she said "I feel like Cinderella". Ok, at that point I felt like the evil stepmother-but I did not make her do it! After a while she said she did not want to help anymore because her arms were hurting (and mine weren't?). Anyways, I let her off the hook and finished the floors. I am glad when I have this kind of pressure/incentive (Scott calls it the stress to impress) because without it, I don't think I would get anything done around here.