Decisions, Decisions...

Oh my...I got very little sleep last night. My mind was racing!

Last night Ryan and I looked at a house...what's new right? Well, we loved it...it's probably the best house that we've seen for the price they are asking...and we've seen A LOT of houses. And it's in the area we LOVE. It meets all of our needs. So what's the problem? Well, it's on a busy road, and the bedrooms are teeny tiny. But my main hang up is the road. I have learned a lot with this house search...first off, you are not going to find the perfect house...you'll have to compromise something. The question is "What are we willing to sacrifice?". The location of the house is still ideal, it's a beautiful street...and it's wide...and it's a 25 mph. But, will the cars be a problem? I just don't know. Every single school (elementary, middle and high school) are in walking distance, I love that!

And then of course there's the whole money thing. Taking that financial leap. We did it with this house (boy, were we scared then). But we did it! Now we are comfortable, but it's time...it's time to make that leap again.

So anyway...decisions, decisions...wish us luck!

Birthday Festivities

We started the day off by waking Morgan up at about 7:00 by singing Happy Birthday and presenting her with a birthday muffin and candle. For a second I thought she wasn't going to wake up...we were almost done singing and she hadn't even budged! But luckily she came through...happy as can be! (She's usually pretty grumpy in the mornings so we really risked it by waking her up) Haley on the other hand had already been up for an hour...she was chomping at the bit to get in there and wake her up...she was so excited!

That evening we had Matt, Carrie and little Jett over for some Lasagna and of course cake and ice cream to celebrate.

The Birthday Girl!

Homemade Rainbow Cake

I can't really take credit on this one...I got the idea from Megan.

Morgie loved it!

Piper with Uncle Matt.

Waving...or maybe she likes the feel of Matt's whiskers.

I knew I wanted to get Morgan a scooter...I figured I'd just get a razor...plain and simple. But Haley was with me when I went shopping and she insisted that Morgan have the Barbie scooter. "Mommy, the razor is boring. Look at all the pretty colors on this one!!! She'll LOVE it!!". So, I got the Barbie one. Notice the little Barbie sized scooter that attaches to it. Haley was right...she loved it.

Cousin Jett

It was fun to see how excited Haley was for Morgan's big day. She gave Morgan a Zhu Zhu pet...another great choice. It's a little mechanical Hamster that skitters around the floor making all kinds of sounds. You can get all kinds of tunnels and other accessories for them too. Kids know what kids want! Apparently, Zhu Zhu pets were all the range last Christmas (people stood in lines for these things!). Now they're pretty easy to come by. Anyway, Morgan loves it...they have been playing with it non-stop!

Haley's Birthday is next week...so more birthday festivities are in the works. I have a feeling a scooter and Zhu Zhu pet are in her future.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Morga-Muffin!!

Today you turn four!!

I love you!

Oh...Give me Strength.

Why...Why do kids do the things they do? Do they do it so they can see me go crazy...so I lose my mind? Why? I know...kids will be kids...but still...

Why...

...Haley, did you have to dump half the bottle of dog shampoo onto Etta so she turned into a green gooey mess? Just have me throw five bucks into the garbage instead next time...save me the mess.

And why Morgan did you have to dump the other half of the dog shampoo onto Belle the next day? Did you not see Haley get into trouble for the exact same thing the day before?! I couldn't do anything about it with Belle since she is not supposed to get wet (she's still recovering from being spayed). So she just has to be sticky and mangy the rest of the week.

Why Haley did you have to sit and pick at a yellow crayon so all the little teeny tiny shavings land all over my sofa?

Why Morgan did you knock over a cup of water, and not tell me, so I nearly slip while holding Piper when I walked into the room? Then I see that you walked on it spreading your muddy foot prints all over the kitchen.

Why girls did each of you take an apple from the fridge, take four bites and then throw them to the dogs? Is it because you see how much I love to go grocery shopping? (sarcasm)

Why Morgan did you have to pump about quarter of my hand soap onto your hands, rub it all over your arms and on my counter? Yes, I told you to go wash your hands...but that's not really what I meant.

Why girls must you keep spilling the dogs' bowls of food so that when they want to eat they have to hunt for it in the of grass all over the yard? And I won't even ask why I'm finding little pieces of dog food in various places in the house.

And why right after I hosed the patio off did you both decide to make mud pies all over it?

Why Haley do you have to use the bathroom sink to fill up various bowls and cups and then proceed to take them to the front yard spilling them as you go, resulting in a constant river in my hallway?

And why must you have to use my silverware when playing the dirt? One or two is okay, but when my entire drawer is emptied and laying around the yard...then we have a problem. Okay, they don't empty the drawer...but still.


This is just the tip of the iceberg my friends...I could go on and on.



And then, a big thank you to Etta...for barfing all over the dining room floor...just lovely.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Mom!

I love you!

Quick post...

So first off...Piper slept through the night! I guess all I had to do was blog about it for her to start getting the hint that I needed more sleep. And wow, I felt so refreshed! And yes, I woke up to boulders...aka, stripper boobs.

Anyway, I'm pretty proud of myself today. I mowed my parents' lawn (front and back) this morning (they don't come into town until August). My brother usually does it for them but he's out of town, so I had to step up to the plate (I hate that expression by the way...too many people said it on the Apprentice). Now, what's the big deal one might ask. Well, I have NEVER used a mower! Okay, I'm lying...I did try mowing my parents house when I was a kid, but I couldn't finish the job. I couldn't steer it very well and I almost ran into the neighbor's house because I didn't know how to stop it...and the fact that I could see the spinning blades didn't help...it was just a plain scary mower. The whole experience traumatized me, so I didn't touch a mower since. Until today. Yay me! Let's just say mowers have come a long way since then!

Ryan...don't get too excited about this fact.

Dentist...Success!

Happy to report that none of us have any cavities! Yay! The girls were so good...and Morgan, goodness, she has come a long way since our last visit. She used to cry the entire time, but this time she was all smiles.

Haley went first and she made a point that she did not want me to go with her. She's getting so independent...kinda bitter-sweet. She was like that at a birthday party the other day. When I dropped her off I stayed just a bit to talk to some other mothers, she kept telling me that I needed to go. Oh my, her teenage years are going to be hard on me!

Anyway...back to the dentist...when it was my turn of course Piper decided to get fussy. I felt bad, one of nurses practically had to sit with her the entire time just to hold the pacifier in her mouth.

After the dentist we went across the street to the Malt Shop to get a shake...my reward. But unfortunately I couldn't enjoy it...I think I had a yucky taste still in my mouth from all the paste and fluoride, which altered the taste of the shake. I even raced out to the car to get my little free toothbrush and paste so I could brush my teeth in their bathroom. It didn't help...still yucky. I can't believe I wasted four bucks on a shake that I didn't even enjoy! Not to mention all the calories I wasted on it! What a bust!

My mission today: trim the bushes in the front yard (they are getting embarrassingly huge) and weed in the front. I can do it...I can do it...I can do it...

Monday rambles...

Let's see...what's been going on...

Belle got spayed on Saturday...so she's been extra spoiled these past couple days, lounging in the air conditioned house. Etta was spayed a few weeks ago (she has a knee problem, so we weren't going to breed her for sure) and I noticed that she has calmed down a little...note the words, "a little". I think she's also put on a few extra pounds...not such a good thing. But anyway, we thought, really in the long run are we ever going to breed Belle? Probably not. So we spayed her too...maybe she'll settle down a little as well. If you're unaware, Brittanys are probably the most hyper dog to ever live!! Just a little warning if you're wanting to get one.

We had our annual block party Saturday night. Good times. It was nice to see everyone, and let the kids run amuck. We are very lucky to live in such a great neighborhood...tons of kids, and great people!

The weather has been HOT...in the 100's, so Ryan took the girls to the swim park Saturday and the river on Sunday. Piper and I enjoyed some napping while they did that.

I'm ready for her to start sleeping through the night...I lay her down at about 8:00 and she usually wakes up at around 4:00 to eat. Then she goes back to sleep for a few more hours...not bad, but it would be nice if she went all night. The first two nights while we were in CA she did go ALL night...I thought she was starting something... but no...just a tease. When she skips her night feeding I wake up in the morning with boulders for my breasts...really, hard as a ROCK! You other nursing moms know what I'm talking about...it HURTS! I was about ready to go in and wake her up myself to have her eat so I could have some kind of relief! I do take great pride in that for my small stature, I can produce enough milk to feed the entire neighborhood! So I got that going for myself.

Okay, not sure how I went from water parks to my breasts...but anyway...moving on.

The girls and I are seeing the dentist today. Swell. If you don't already know...I hate going to the dentist. I hate everything about it. The sound while they scrape the gunk off your teeth, the smell and the taste of the paste, the drool...ugh...just awful. And this is just a check-up...let's just hope I don't have a cavity!! I think I've mentioned before...I'd rather get a pap smear than go to the dentist.

There I go again. I went from talking about the dentist to pap smears...okay, moving on.

The past few weeks, I've consistently been losing a pound a week...yay me! Soooo, in about 10 weeks I'll be where I want to be. Great, just in time for Winter.

In other news, I haven't worn my wedding band in about a month because of my broken finger (and can you believe it...not one person has hit on me...what's up with that!). It's still a little puffy in the middle and I think it's permanently tweaked...so bummed, that was my most beautiful finger.

Okay, I think I've rambled enough this morning. Time to get this day going!

Library books...be careful!

I try to take the girls to the library every week. Okay, I'll be honest...this Summer I'm lucky if I get there once a month. And I finally paid a fine that was looming over me every time I checked out books. I would always push the "pay later" button..."later" turned into a week, then a month, then several months...I think it's been about a year. Well...glad to report that it's paid...yay me!

Anyway, most of the time the girls find some really good books...but then, every now and then we get a dud...and some I wonder how they got published at all!

Not sure if I shared this story already. If I did...too bad, you get to hear it again!

This one book (I forgot the name) I really thought was lame. It was about all the things a mom can do. Every page focused on a different career...some moms swing on a trapeze, some are doctors, some work in the zoo, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, after I finished the book, Haley looks at me and says, "Mom, you don't do any of those things." So I ask, "What do I do?". Now, when I asked the question, the response I was expecting was, "You take care of us!!". Instead, she looks at me with a very serious look, "Hmmmm...you talk on the phone!". Lovely.

So anyway, the book would have been better if at least one page focused on a stay-at-home mom! I may not be a trapeze artist...but my job is important too!! And no, I don't talk on the phone all day...honest!

Then, last night Ryan read the girls a book they got from the library before bed. Another dud. This one was about a cat that was old and had to be put asleep, they had a funeral and everything for it. Now, I realize it's supposed to help kids understand death...yadda, yadda, yadda. But we didn't need that right before bed! Of course it freaked them out, "What?! The cat dies?!! Why does it die?!!! Are we going to die?!!!". Poor things...what a way to go to bed! Haley kept saying, "That book is too sad...I don't want to read it ever again!". No problem...I'll be burning it as soon as you go to sleep. Okay, not really...but seriously!! They should have some kind of warning on the cover...instead they just had a cute cat.

That book is right up there with this other book about a couple of feral children who got rescued...and then one of them dies. It was a true story and had an actual photograph of the kids. This one freaked me out more than it did the girls. Stupid book!

So...the lesson here...always read the books (or at least flip through them) before reading them to your children! It will make bedtime a lot easier!

Not just an ordinary day.

Someone said some really nice things about my family yesterday. I can't even begin to tell you how much it meant to me. It was the sincerity of it all that put it in a category of it's own.

When my children are out and about, I sometimes worry that they get in the way when people are doing something in their yard...they don't mean to...they're just very curious. And they can be a little high impact at times too. But they are full of life and just little free spirits running around. And this person sees that about them...and loves that about them. Truly.

We're just a little family trying to do our best everyday...good days and bad days...ups and downs. I didn't do anything grand yesterday that made our family stick out above the rest. Just an ordinary day...laundry, playing in the yard, major craft session (we made quite the mess), more playing outside, TV, and dinner. So, to have someone say such wonderful things...it makes me feel on top of the world. It's a boost that this mom needed. My ordinary day feels more grand.

Later that night, while I'm laying in bed, I thought about the conversation I had with this person. I always do that...did I say the right things back to her, did I do anything stupid, did I say thank you enough? Then I thought...dang it...why didn't I invite her to sit down?! We were just standing in the kitchen...I hope she doesn't think I was being rude. I was just so caught up in the conversation I didn't think about it.

So now...time to pay it forward to her. Let her know that I appreciate her...because I do. I value the friendships I have...I do...I'm just really bad at letting people know. I think its time to change that!

Haley and Morgan

These two pictures my dad took while we were in Long Beach. Granted, he's a photographer...but it's amazing how much better the quality is with his camera. I think I'm going to start saving my money and get a better camera for myself at Christmas.

He captured both of my kids' personalities perfectly!

Haley, the dog/nature lover. She's walking Levi, my brother's new beagle.

It was love at first sight!

Now, one might think this is just a silly picture of Morgan. But the truth is this is a very typical pose when Morgan is talking. She is very expressive and always uses hand jesters.
And I love the fact that they are in swimsuits and tennis shoes...a very typical Summertime outfit.

Racing Weekend

What a whirlwind trip! Right after lunch on Saturday we loaded the car and headed up to Idaho Falls for the Alan Butler Memorial Crit (a family favorite...we look forward to it every year). We left a little early so the girls could participate in the kids races (their first race ever). They LOVED it! Hmmm....future bike racers perhaps?

Ready to go!

Morgan was first off...she raced the 4 and under.

Coach daddy right behind her...he was giving her some last minute racing tips.

Strong finish!

Happy Girl!!

Haley up next with the 5-7 year olds.

Notice she refused to wear the yellow race shirt. She loves her pink!!

Look at that finish...she totally smoked that kid at the line!!

Showing off their medals!

We hung out for a bit before Ryan raced at 8:00 that night. The girls and I stopped into a cutesy toy store to look around while we waited. I needed to nurse Piper and just figured I'd have to find some random bench by the race. But...the toy store just happened to have a big huge comfy chair (perfect for a nursing session!). So I asked the lady there is she would mind...which of course she didn't. My kids were doing pretty good playing with a set of dolls...perfect! Or so I thought. In about five minutes Morgan managed to knock over two displays. One being puzzle boxes strategically stacked in a pyramid formation. And the other, a very tall, spiral clothes rack holding very elaborate princess costumes. Needless to say Piper got cut off abruptly and we got out of there (of course after we helped clean up).

Ryan had a great race! Him and his teammate managed to lap the field and got first and second. I'm sure he'll have a race report on it. I'm VERY proud of him!

The next morning we went on our annual walk along the river path to the falls. We grabbed some bagels from the free breakfast so the girls could feed the ducks.

The T-shirt Ryan is wearing is referring to bike wheels...honest.

Just in case you were wondering.

Idaho Falls Temple

After our walk it was off to Jackson, WY for another crit. Let me just say here that the drive from Idaho Falls to Jackson is absolutely beautiful!! I loved it! That area is amazing!!

Ryan had another great race...they snagged first and second yet again!!

Now in hindsight, we probably should have left and headed for home immediately after the race. Instead we had dinner at the brewery next to the race (Ryan won a $25 certificate for the place...so why not, right?) Well, by the time we loaded up to go home it was already 7:30 (home was still five hours away!) And going through those canyon roads is not fun at night, the deer are everywhere! I was panicked that we were going to hit one for sure! Then we realized that both of our headlights were out...yeah, not a good thing. So this resulted in driving with our high beams...which of course resulted in blinding every poor soul who drove toward us. Sorry people...please forgive us. People kept flashing their lights at us..."Hey, morons...your high beams are on!!!". Oh...it was awful. We decided to press forward and continue on. We made it home around 1:00 in the morning. Wow...it felt good to be home.

So even though the drive home was NOT ideal, it was a great weekend!!

Now, I'm comatose...it's been a hard day. However...I did get our headlights fixed...in case you wondering.

Update...

...because I know everyone is just so curious about my poor finger.

Went to the doctor...with all three children...and everyone there had to comment on that fact. "Wow, brought all the kids with you, huh?!". Yes...sometimes I just don't have a choice people!! Anyway, they were perfect little angels...really, they were. Someone even said that my children were (and I quote) "very well behaved"...yeah, that's right! I gotta hand to the sticker chart, sometimes that little incentive is all they need!

Anyway, back to my finger. So like I said, it's been two weeks and it still hurts, it's still pretty much useless and still swollen (I haven't been able to put my wedding band back on yet). I figured it was dislocated and needed to see the doctor if I ever wanted use of that finger again. I was completely terrified while we waited. Just the thought of the doctor twisting my finger all around to pop it back into place nearly sent me into a full on panic attack. And to top it off my kids would see me yelp in pure pain. Then I thought the doctor would have to send them out, "This may traumatize your children...we'll need to send them out for this procedure." I know...my mind just races (we waited for a while, so I had time for several scenarios).

The doctor finally came in, took a look at my finger, then sent me for an X-ray...ugh...cha-ching, cha-ching! So much for just paying the $20 copay. I felt pretty lame sitting there at this big, massive X-ray machine for my pettily little finger. Turns out, there's a crack in the bone near the top joint...so it's not dislocated after all. I need to wait it out and it will heal itself. What a rip! I think I would have rather it been dislocated...at least then I would have felt justified by going. Now, I just shoveled out a bunch of money just to be told I have a crack in the bone. Lovely.

So there you have it.

Oh, and about that offer on a house. Turns out, they aren't taking offers until next week and they bumped the price up...great. We'll still try for it, but are chances of actually getting it is pretty slim...bummer.

Long Beach Trip

We're back from our week in Long Beach...sad it's over...especially Haley, who has decided that she is going to live in Long Beach when she grows up. I told her she would be so far away from me...her response, "Don't worry mom, I'll let you visit me." Thanks.

Like usual I totally slacked off with the pictures, but I'll share a few.

The morning we were leaving for LB this is what I found when I went to wake up the girls.

They said they were having a "sleep over".

So, lets see...here's a wrap up of the week.

Ryan ended up taking the girls to the beach twice. My mom and I enjoyed a nice walk with Piper on the bike path while they played in the water.

We had our Austrian relatives over for a BBQ one night...they were just starting out on a month long "Holiday" around the western states. I tell ya, those Europeans know how to vacation! My folks grilled up three tri-tips...and it never fails, whenever we have any relatives from Europe visit, they always take pictures of the meat cooking. I'll assume it's because they rarely see beef in Austria, not because they think we're gluttons. Anyway, great dinner...great visit.

Then we another BBQ to celebrate the fourth. Family plus good food makes for a very nice evening! Oh, and I'm still the reining champ of the Hula Hoop contest! Jeff gave me a challenge, but in the end, it was all me baby! After dinner we went to my grandparents house (they live right across the street to the stadium). We watched the fireworks from the roof like last year... can't beat those seats! Great show!

I went for a ride Monday along the coast with my dad, Ryan, and Jeff's girlfriend, Jen. It felt good to be back on my bike (it's been over a year I think). Unfortunately, the weather was a bit chilly. It was always overcast in the morning, but by the afternoon it burned off and the sun would come out. What's new right?!

We survived the drive there and back, albeit long. But the girls did great for the most part. It's just those last couple hours each way that get pretty intense.

Now for today...grocery store for sure. I also want to see a doctor about my poor dislocated finger (I'm absolutely terrified for this, but I think I've waited long enough.) I would like a fully functional left hand again. Oh, and we might make an offer on a house today. Better get going.