"Hey Mama"

This song I just added on my playlist is dedicated to all those who can do the "booty dance"...I envy you.

FLDS Fashion...or lack thereof.

I understand that modesty is very important for the FLDS and that is the basis for the dresses, strange as it is. But what's up with the shoes? Even back in the 1800's when women actually wore dresses like these they wore nice, pretty shoes. I don't get it.

Buyers Remorse

I have been on the hunt for a new swimsuit for the last couple of weeks...it's been very frustrating!

I'm not one to buy a lot of stuff for myself... I don't wear a lot jewelry and I don't have a lot of clothes and I always try to find things on sale. So after a several days of trying to find the perfect swimsuit (if there is such a thing) I finally bought one today. I tried so, so hard to find one one I liked on sale, but they all had something wrong with them, like a stupid bow, or they didn't have my size. So the one I bought was full price...now I feel guilty. How can a swimsuit be that expensive! It's crazy! I think I was more willing to pay full price because I was so utterly exhausted from trying so many on, I gave up and bought the best one. I was loosing my mind in the dressing rooms...I would practically run through the store grabbing any suit that caught my eye and then went straight into the dressing room. The suits would become a tangled mess on the hangers so I'm frantically trying to pull one out to try on, and keep a close eye on the door because my girls love opening it, and that's no fun when I'm standing there half naked. Aren't kids fun?!

I was in Pacific Sunwear pulling suits off the rack to try on when all of sudden I felt very very old. Everyone around me were either teenagers or early twenties. I had this fear that they were laughing at me behind my back, "Look at that old lady with two kids...Does she really think that bikini she's holding will look good on HER! HA!". OK, I'm sure they weren't thinking that, at least I hope not. I did notice that several of the bikini bottoms I tried on have less coverage in the back, or I'm getting bigger, maybe I am getting too old for this. The last time I bought a suit was before I had kids so needless to say my body just isn't the same. I'm thinner than I was then but now I'm lacking the curves...I just can't win.

OK, I got way off track. I let the world know maybe a little too much about me.

Bottom line: Bought a swimsuit full price, and now I feel guilty.

Back to Reality

After family visits it always takes me a couple of days to get back in the swing of things. I haven't been very productive with getting housework done these past couple of days (although, I did do the laundry), but most of the day is pretty mellow...don't want to go anywhere and don't want to do much of anything. It's just so nice to get out of the daily norm when family comes, plus the kids get tons of attention so they don't fight as much or have a chance to get into mischief since there are more eyes in the house.

After everyone left yesterday (grandparents went back to Sedona and Ryan back to work) Haley says, "Why did everyone have to leave!". It's just a bummer that Ryan's family and most of my family live out of state. If I could have it my way everyone would live on the same street, how nice would that be?! There are a lot houses for sale in our neighborhood...any takers?

This afternoon, however, I have no choice...I have to get myself to the store since we're out of milk. And since Morgan basically lives off of milk, I better get some.

Fun Filled Weekend!

On Friday my in-laws, Sandy (yes, she has a blog too)and Ken, came to visit for the holiday weekend. We wish the weather was a little better, but we were still able to get out and about. Saturday we went to Thanksgiving Point Farm, and the kids got two free pony rides, which they loved! Haley picked the biggest horse and Morgan got the smallest one. That day ended with dinner at PF Chang's and dessert at the BYU Creamery...Can you get better than that?!

Sunday we drove up South Fork and went for a short hike. It was a bit overcast and we felt a sprinkle here and there, but it was absolutely beautiful! The girls hiked liked champs, not one bit of complaining. We were very impressed! It took a little while to finish the hike since Haley and Morgan like to stop and pick dandelions, and this time of year they are everywhere! So needless to say we were stopping often.

On Monday Grandma and Grandpa bought Haley and Morgan an early Birthday present, a picnic table just their size. They absolutely love it! Haley could not wait to eat on it, "Is dinner ready? Is dinner ready?". Finally, when it was time to eat, we decided that it was a little too chilly to eat outside. So all the adults were inside and Haley insisted that she and Morgan eat outside on their new table. So that's how we did it, and it made a very peaceful dinner for all the adults. Hmmm, I think I'm going to like this table!

A Special Moment

I'm trying to be a good mom and have my camera with me at all times to capture "special moments" with my kids. So here's a keeper, I know Morgan is going to be very glad when she's older I have this documented.

She was playing around with her shirt and realized she could pull it up over head. She thought she was the coolest thing until she realized she was stuck. As soon as I pulled out the camera she went ballistic! "How dare you mock me!" (That's what she was thinking I'm sure.)

She reminds me of an angry celebrity trying to whack a camera out of her face. Of course it probably didn't help that I was laughing the whole time...I know, I know, I'm terrible.

She finally gave up and threw herself to the ground, she stayed there until I put the camera away. Don't worry, I helped her get out of her shirt and she fully recovered. She went right back to playing with her ponies as if nothing ever happened.

Back to the Doctor

I can't believe it...I've gone years and years without seeing a doctor, and now I've seen him twice in one month!

I've been suffering from a cold for the past week, I was the last to get it. I believe Morgan was the culprit in all of this! Anyway, last night I woke up to horrible pain in my left ear. I took some Ibuprofen, layed there in agony for a while, of course that's after I woke up Ryan to tell him my ear hurt. His half awake response, "Go see a doctor." (thanks babe) Then I finally fell asleep.

I was able to get in to see the doctor this morning! That's a miracle, usually it's impossible to see my doctor the same day I call. So come to find out, I have an ear infection. That really surprised me, I thought only little kids get ear infections. He prescribed me Amoxicillin. I was hoping for the same fruity Amoxicillin I had to take as a kid, but no, it's in the pill form...Bummer.

Now, hopefully I won't need to see a doctor for a long, long time!

What a Night

Last night was awful! Could it have gotten any more windy?!

When Ryan and I went to bed it was a little windy but not too bad, then about 1:30 I woke up to wind blasting me in the face (I like to leave the window open at night). Plus, there is no way I could sleep with all the racket outside, our fence is falling apart so it creaks like crazy...no one can sleep through that.

When we first moved to Provo and would have a really windy night I couldn't sleep because I thought for sure the fence was going to blow over. Ryan thought I was crazy, "The fence isn't going to blow over, go to sleep!". Aha! I'm not crazy after all! I also might add that this is the second time our fence has fallen over, both I'm convinced, was a result from the wind.

Now back to last night...So I look outside to survey the fence damage and notice that all of our patio chairs have blown all over the lawn. Our BBQ is being blown across the patio as well as our entire patio table complete with it's umbrella (closed of course)!! I couldn't believe it, the umbrella stand alone weighs around 20 pounds, now that is some major wind to move that table! So Ryan and I went out there (yes, at 2:00 in the morning) to secure everything. But then I still couldn't sleep because I was so worried that our little baby tree that we planted last Fall was going to snap in half.

A few years ago we woke up to half of our huge Willow tree lying in the street after a windy night. So you can see why I'm now worried about our trees!

Our little tree did make it, luckily...but I'm sure it went through a very traumatic experience! And I got very little sleep.

Good Times

This is a picture that I stole from Sleevie's facebook page...thanks Sleevie! Taken after last years State Crit. Championships.

Enjoying the summer weather!

The weather has been particularly nice these past several days. This morning we went for a walk along the path. This is why I love living here! In the dead of Winter, when I'm miserable, I need to pull these photos out to remind myself that there is hope. OK, I guess Winter isn't that bad...wait, yes it is!
I'm so fortunate to live right beside a beautiful path alongside the river. The girls love it! Haley always calls our walks an expedition...she says she's on an expedition to find Heffelumps (that's from Winnie the Pooh, for those unfamiliar). She's getting pretty good on her tricycle, I think Ryan and I will have to get her a new one this year.
There is a really nice spot to stop on the path to let the girls play for a while. Someone installed a tree swing and the girls of course love it. Morgan is addicted to swinging, she'll sit on a swing all day if she could. Haley was never like that, she never had the patience, she's always on the move! I'm just thankful Morgan can sit in one now by herself. When I had to put her my lap to swing it just made me so nauseous...hmmm, I must be getting old, I can't even handle swinging on a swing anymore. As you can see in this photo I've really been into dressing them alike lately. I just can't resist! I might as well do it now while they don't care...right?



On a completely different note...I have officially retired the flannel sheets for the year and brought in the cotton. I am ready for summer...Bring It!!

Pretty nice weekend...

The weekend was beautiful, we couldn't have asked for better weather! A little chilly in the mornings but it warmed up nicely by lunch. The condo was a great place for the kids, a playground, lots of grass, plus the beach area. The girls loved digging through the sand looking for shells.

We went out for raspberry shakes Saturday evening...Yum! Apparently, that is a speciality there so we couldn't pass that up!

I wanted to post a few pictures of the weekend, but I forgot the camera. I know...I'm such a crummy mother, I should have a camera in my purse at all times. Oh well, I guess you'll have to take my word for it: it was absolutely beautiful there and the kids were super cute!

Off to Bear Lake!

The family is spending the weekend at Bear Lake to watch Ryan and his team race both Saturday and Sunday. It's been four years since I was up there last (I can't believe its been that long already!). I was about 6 months pregnant and it was super cold and raining practically the whole time...needless to say I didn't have that much fun. So now two kids later I'm giving it another chance. The weather looks pretty decent for the weekend, and I do love the drive there...Logan Canyon is beautiful! Hopefully the kids can behave themselves since we're sharing a condo with a ton of people.

I'll have the full report Monday.

Moving Closer to Insanity

This morning started out well, but then has slowly spiraled out of control (not that I ever have control)...but whatever.

The girls and a I had a few errands to run this morning, one being a visit to the doctors office to get my stitches out...not something I was looking forward to. However, it went well, didn't hurt a bit! But now I'm in constant fear that my incision is going to burst open at any moment. Every time I look over at my shoulder I'm prepared to see blood seeping through my shirt...luckily that hasn't happened.

We also went to Costco to pick up a few things and that is when things took a turn for the worst. Morgan had the biggest meltdown as soon as we entered the store. Sometimes Morgan gets an itch on her bum and for a baby with a diaper, well, it's kind of hard for them to scratch it, so it can be very frustrating and agonizing for them. (I know, too much information) Well, I think that is what started the meltdown. When she's at home she'll sit on the floor and scoot on her bum to take care of it, but in a shopping cart seat there's really nothing she can do. So I try to distract her with some fruit snacks, but she ends up flinging them all over the floor. Then I try giving her a book from the rack to look at, nope, she throws that across the aisle. So I continue on...keep in mind she has not stopped screaming once! A record for her! Now I'm practically running through the store, but unfortunately Haley's wearing her flip flops and they keep flying off her feet, so I have to wait for her every couple minutes. Finally, it was a tube of my lipstick that calmed her down. She didn't know how to get the lipstick out, but she really loved pretending she was putting it on. I'll remember to pull that out first next time!

Morgan wore herself out so much in the store that she started to fall asleep on the way home. Now all mothers know that if they fall asleep in the car, chances are they will not nap well in the afternoon. I NEED that time when Morgan takes a nap, its very important for my sanity. And when else am I supposed to blog? So I rolled down the windows (that helps keep them awake) and we sang "Apples and Bananas" all the way home.

It worked...she's napping now in her room and I get to keep my sanity, for today anyway.

They do get along!

I had to sneak up on them to get this shot. Haley was "reading" to Morgan. Too cute! They did this for a good 15-20 minutes...no fighting! Wow!

Before Kids

OK, I know lives dramatically change when kids are brought into the picture: issues of money, parenting, more groceries, bigger cars, bigger houses, illnesses (that always gets passed along to the parents), noisy house, noisy car...need I go on? I think you get it. But it's the little changes that I was thinking about.

For example, before kids, when ever I made a cake or cookies or anything sweet I always licked the spoon and maybe even cleaned out the bowl when I was finished. Don't pretend that you don't!! I know I'm not the only one! Anyway, now with kids, when ever I make something sweet they are on me and soon as that mixer is turned off. So of course they get it now. No more eating the batter for me, something we just have to give up I guess with kids.

The other day I was making brownies, except this time the kids were outside playing. As soon as I was done Ryan and I started licking the spoon and bowl. At that moment Haley comes in and at the same time Ryan and I instinctively turned toward the sink with our backs to her.

Haley: "What are you guys doing?"
Us: "Nothing." As we frantically try to finish.

Luckily she wasn't able to piece it all together and went back out to play. But I find it so funny how we have to hide what we're doing, and the fact that we don't want to share it. Aren't we supposed to be teaching our kids sharing! So many times I have found myself hiding out in the kitchen sneaking something sweet. Most of the time when I "hide out" it's because it's something like a truffle, something they are unable to savor as well as I can. They can eat a Hershey kiss instead. But some things are meant to be eaten with a fresh cup of coffee in peace and quiet without any kids hanging on you so each bite can be savored! And if that means I have to hide somewhere, so be it! Something I never had to do before kids!

Someone's a little tired.

Haley got into trouble for knocking the rocking chair over in her room. She rocks it too hard and makes it flip over. I try to explain that she may squish Morgan doing that. She didn't listen (no surprise), so I sent her to sit in the chair at the kitchen table for a while. I kid you not, I came back in about three minutes later to check on her and this is what I saw. Hmm, a little tired maybe?

Man, I wish I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat, and have it not matter that I'm in some funky position...what a talent!

Another Victory!

I'm not one to put a lot of cycling related material, or race results in my blog. However, yesterday's race definitely deserves to be mentioned. Saturday was the Crit. Utah State Championships, and Ryan won for the second year in a row!

Basically, Ryan was in a breakaway with about five other guys for the much of the race. A lap to go he broke away from the group and held it to take the finish solo!

Check out Ryan's blog if you want the full race report.

Ryan has a lot going on (job, family,etc.) and I'm so impressed that he's able to find time to train and stay competitive in the sport. I'm so proud of him!


Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Motherhood's tough...

...times are normal. It's good to know that other mothers struggle just as I do!

Ryan was working late yesterday, so he wasn't home for dinner...we had cereal.

Little Girls vs. Little Boys

Shopping for little girls is way easier than shopping for little boys...I think. Granted I am a little biased since I have two girls, but lets face it, there is a lot of cute stuff out there for girls!

A few weeks ago my sweet little nephew, Parker Peanut, celebrated his second birthday. I asked Haley what we should get him. Her response, "A pony!" (as in My Little Pony). I tried to explain that Parker's a boy, and boys may not like ponies as much as she does. Her next idea was a princess crown. OK, she wasn't helping...I was on my own. Well, I did eventually come up with something, but it took two full days to do it. I know that a lot of that time is just me being very indecisive, a weakness of mine. I would find something and put it in the cart, then put it back, then put something else in the cart, put it back, then put the first thing back in the cart...so on, and so on. This is one, of the many I'm sure, complaints Ryan has of me...I take forever to shop for anything.

So today we had to get a birthday present for Haley's friend, Katie. I asked Haley what we should get her. Her response, "A pony and a pony book!". Sounds good to me. Haley picked out a My Little Pony book and a pony she thought Katie would like. We even got her a My Little Pony birthday card! I sure hope Katie likes My Little Pony, I can tell Haley does! So I can already tell that Haley takes after Ryan, knows exactly what she wants and buys it. I should have Haley do all my shopping, we would save a lot of time.

I think my main problem when shopping for kids are: For girls, everything looks like something a girl would want (except for those Bratz girls, I'm not a fan), and my problem is narrowing it down to one thing. For boys, I just have no idea what they like, everything is very foreign to me since I don't have any boys. I guess the only way to solve the problem is to have a third child and just hope it's a boy.

Goodbye Cyst...continued.

Well, the cyst is gone and I survived. The whole experience was horrible. While I was waiting for the doctor I was having a near panic attack, I was so nervous. All I could think about was running out the door before the he came in. But I didn't, I waited for him. I noticed that "My Redeemer Lives" was playing on the office sound system...only in Provo, UT will that happen.

So anyway, the doctor eventually came in and started "surgery". I could feel my body going into pre fainting mode as soon as he started digging around in there. I got all clammy, my arms and legs went numb and all the blood rushed from head, the doctor's voice was slowly fading out and all I could hear was a ringing in my head. Anyone that has fainted knows exactly what I'm talking about.

He finally finished up and three stitches later I was good to go. The whole procedure took about 15 minutes. I even took a look at the cyst, and let me just say, I can't believe I had that gnarly thing in me for that long! GROSS!!

So, I have no idea why I can't handle medical stuff very well. I did a better job at delivering my two babies than I did at getting a stupid cyst removed. But then again, any mother would endure a great deal of pain when their child is involved.

Goodbye Cyst

Those who know me well know that I have a pretty large cyst on my shoulder. I've had it as long as I can remember...well, today is the day I'm finally getting it removed. I'm pretty nervous about it. I know it's really not a big deal, but the thought of them slicing my skin open and taking out some gnarly looking lump scares me. During college when I was home for the summer my mom made an appointment for me to get it removed, but at the last moment I freaked out and cancelled it. So now 10 years later here I am, and I haven't cancelled yet!

I hand it to anyone in the medical field, that is one profession I could never do!

Best Weekend...in a while.

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend, the weather has been beautiful!

Today has been one of the better Sundays that I've had in quite a while. Ryan, the girls, and I went for a ride, the longest ride I've done in forever...about 35 miles. We went to South Fork and since the girls were asleep Ryan suggested that we ride up it a ways. (It's about a 4 1/2 mile gradual climb.) We ended up going all the way to the top, my first time ever! And I have to hand it to Ryan, he pulled the trailer the whole way...I know, he's awesome! Then on the way home we stopped at a park to let the girls play for a while. They did great, that was a long time they were in the trailer and no major catastrophes to speak of.

Then, as soon as we got home we went out to a late lunch/early dinner at Ruby River. Compliments of our good friend Sleevie. (Thanks!) I downed a 12 oz. Ribeye steak, fries and green salad like nothing, I surprised myself. I haven't eaten that much in one sitting since I was pregnant! It was good, however, I have a bit of a gut bomb now. But it was worth it!

Lately, anytime someone asks Haley what her name is she says, "Lassidy". (That's her name when she's pretending she's a dog...which is the majority of the time.) Anyway, a little girl asked Haley what her name was today at the park and she said, "Haley"!!! I think we're turning a corner! Hopefully.

One of those mornings...

I wanted to take the girls to story time at the library this morning. I thought I was doing pretty good with time, but as soon as I tell the girls it's time to get dressed the battle begins! Every morning I feel like I'm trying to dress two rag dolls. Of course that's after I chase them around house and wrestle them to the ground to get their pj's off. Finally, I get them dressed, only it took twice as long as I thought and I'm running late. It's a mission now...I MUST make it to story time!! We go to gather up the library books to take back and I find out that we are missing one. I looked everywhere for that book, and I never did find it. Now we're really running late! "Forget the book, get into the car...Go, Go, Go! We can't be late!" We pull up to the library with time to spare...YES! As we're walking in I notice a kid walking in with his mom and he's still in his pj's!! I was thinking to myself, "Wow, I know I was running late, but at least my kid is dressed! Unlike this slacker mom who's kid is still in pj's." As I walk into the library I notice another kid in pj's! I think, "What's wrong with these parents! It's 10:45! Get your kids dressed!". Then I walk to the story time area to find out today is Pajama Day. Just my luck!