Feeling Wretched

I am having a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad morning. Can I blame it on pregnancy hormones? Well, I am.

Let's see...the girls have been bickering nonstop this morning. In our feeble attempt to get them to stop we put on a movie...but that just seemed to make things worse. "Haley is in my way!" "Morgan is on my side!!" "Haley's touching me!!" "Morgan took my pillow!!" "Haley looked at me funny!!" Blah, blah, blah.

And then Piper woke up a grump and basically just walked around and screamed all morning. To give you an idea of what her scream is like...just walk around with a very agitated cockatiel on your shoulder, one that squawks about every 10 seconds in your ear...yeah, it's kinda like that.

Ryan left on a mountain bike ride right after breakfast. I was a little salty on that one to say the least. In my fury that that he was leaving me hanging in a morning of complete chaos I may have taken out my aggression on one of the pancakes that I was flipping. The poor pancake didn't have a chance. I know...weak moment...very childish.

As soon as Ryan left Haley decided to make mud artwork on the outside of the playhouse. Little hand prints strategically placed all over it...and she's says, "It was an accident, Mommy!" Uh...yeah...Mommy's not falling for that one...nice try though.

Now...the house is somewhat quiet. Piper is taking a nap...thank the lord. And the girls are playing nicely (hallelujah) in the basement. My turn to breathe...change my attitude...and have a great day.

"Keep Calm and Carry On"

It's not because of me that my house is messy...honest.

Piper is a full on walker now...she's everywhere. I had forgotten what a mess a little walker can make throughout the house. And with a new baby on the way it will be a while longer that I'll have to deal with these messes.

I have to accept the fact that my towels will never hang neatly on any towel bar. You want a towel...look on the floor.

My Ziplock baggies will never look neat in the box they came in. Everyday, Piper manages to scatter them all over the kitchen floor and then I consistently cram them back in the box.

The potatoes in the pantry will always have little bite marks on them.

Our shoes will be anywhere but the place you left them. Piper is obsessed with shoes and likes to put them on her hands and walk around. The trick is locating them when she's done playing. I couldn't find a shoe for the longest time...it finally turned up in the toy bin. I should have known.

Newspapers and magazines always looked crumpled and/or ripped. Plus, they are never neatly displayed on the table. Like the towels...look on the floor.

Finding previously chewed chunks of food in the carpet around the house. I should know this one by now. You give a piece of food to a baby, they walk off with it in their mouth, seconds later they decide they don't like it and toss it.

So on and so on.

But I guess, one day, years from now, I'll realize that I don't need to put the pillows back on the couch every ten minutes. Or maybe one day I won't have to live with the coffee table right up against the TV stand in my attempt to block Piper from getting into the DVDs. And maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to load the dishwasher without having one leg extended in order to hold Piper back from pulling out all the dishes I just put in.

Hey, you never know...I may miss all those messes one day. Then again, maybe not.

I love a good storm...just don't hurt my house!

We've been having thunderstorm after thunderstorm lately...I love it. It's something I never had growing up in Long Beach.

Funny story: The first Summer we lived in Utah I kept hearing a very low (very distant) rumbling one afternoon, and my poor Coonhound would NOT stop howling because of it. Honestly, I had NO IDEA what that noise was. I really thought someone was doing some construction in the neighborhood and kept shaking some kind of sheet of metal. Once it became louder I realized it was thunder...Yes, I felt very stupid. Good thing I didn't ask a neighbor what the noise was...then I really would have made a fool of myself. So anyway, I was very thunderstorm deprived growing up in the LBC.

Yesterday we had quite a storm with a major downpour. Instantly, the water filled the streets and the sidewalk in front of my house completely disappeared under water! Then my entire yard became a lake...I was a little nervous it would creep closer to the house but luckily it didn't do much more than that. When the thunder had stopped my kids ran out to play on the slip 'n' slide that we left out in the front yard from earlier in the day. Yes...still raining...my yard a lake...the wind was howling...but my kids are playing (fully clothed mind you) on the slip'n'slide. They are crazy!

Party Pictures

Since Morgan and Haley's birthdays are only a week apart we celebrated them on the same day this year. I know they'll probably hate that when they're older, so I might as well get away with it when I can.

We had a really nice dinner outside, good pinata fun, cake and ice cream, and of course presents. Probably their favorite gift were the CD players for each of them from their grandma...oh my, they LOVE them!! And the Justin Bieber CDs that Nicole gave them didn't hurt either!

The girls stayed up way too late with all the good party fun!!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my sweet Morgie!!

Today you turn 5!!

Birthday Season

There are four birthdays within two weeks of each other in our family! Lots to celebrate!

My brother Andrew is up first, and he just so happened to be in town! So earlier this week we all got together for some BBQ tri-tip, cake and ice cream. There was a thunderstorm that blew through, but that didn't stop us from grillin'! My other brother, Matt, brought a pinata...which was probably the biggest hit!

The girls were up first hitting the pinata...this was the first time we had them do it blindfolded...it was so funny watching them. But nothing is as funny as watching adults hit pinatas!! Both my mom and Andrew gave it a go...oh my...it was pee-in-your-pants funny!! We were all hysterical...I'm sure all the neighbors were peeking out there windows wondering what on Earth was so funny at our house (aka: the loony bin).

Today is my mom's birthday...Happy Birthday Mom!! And next week we celebrate the girls' birthdays...lots to do!!

Playhouse Pictures

My grandparents arrived in town last week and my grandfather was on a mission to get the playhouse moved to our house. The men worked all weekend, and the mission was accomplished!

Ryan, my dad and grandfather.

Morgan "working" as well.
My grandparents.

The finished product!

I've got to work on some landscaping now.

I love looking across the garden and seeing the playhouse sitting there. It looks much better at this house than it did at the other. It seems to fit better in this yard.

Spreading the Love

I guess my little Miss Haley has been spreading the love. She likes to draw little pictures and write little notes to put into our neighbors' mailboxes. Also, I found out she made a little bouquet of flowers and put it on another neighbor's doorstep. Never mind the fact that she rang their bell at about 8:00 in the morning and ran off...leaving the flowers of course. A very nice jester I know...but I did have to tell her it may not be a good idea to ring peoples' doorbells that early. Not everyone is on Haley's early wake up call. But, my, what a sweetheart!

As a thank you, our neighbor gave Haley a little treat for her and her sisters. Again, this is all without my knowledge. One day Haley came home with three HUGE lollipops...when I asked where they came from this is when I found out about all the little notes and flowers she's been passing around. Half the time I have no idea what that girl is up to!

Piper loving her lollipop.

No bedtime in the Summer.

21 Weeks

Does anyone have kids that can stick to a bedtime schedule during the Summer? I know bedtime gets pushed back for kids during the Summer...I can hardly blame the kids why they're not sleeping when sunlight is blasting through their windows at 8:00 at night...I wouldn't be able to sleep either! Plus, it's Summer! It's so much more fun for a kid to race around the yard barefoot in the evenings eating Otter Pops than going to bed...don't you think? But truth is...I'm tired, and I'm ready for some peace and quiet! We usually can get our kids into bed by 9:00...most of the time. But even when they're in bed they stay awake chatting, reading, or playing until around 10:00, or later. More times than not, Ryan and I are going to bed and they are STILL up. Makes it a little harder for Ryan and I to have some special alone time (if you know what I mean) when you have two Chatty Kathys next door...and our bedroom doesn't have a lock. Yeah...I know.

So anyway...Summer equals LATE bedtimes for everyone.

Last night as I climbed the stairs to my bed around 10:30, this is what I found at the top.




Funny girl. I gave her those eye thingys for sleeping in her Easter basket this year...more like a joke gift. She wears them just about every night! She hangs them on a little hook next to her bed. Best one dollar I spent for that basket!! Who knew?

Baby Girl #4

I'm 21 weeks...half way there baby! Doesn't it seem like I've been pregnant forever?! Does me.
I had my ultrasound last week to check things over. I was so nervous about it...all I want is a healthy baby, and I had so much anxiety going in. It just seems there has been one thing after another with this pregnancy and all I really want is to make it to the finish line with a little healthy baby in my arms!

Well, I'm happy to report that baby looks terrific! Boy, was that music to my ears! However, we are learning more about this mysterious tissue that has been lurking inside my uterus. First, they thought is must be scar tissue from a previous C-Section. Well, not anymore. Now, since things are a little more stretched out in there they can see that it's actually a membrane/tissue of sorts that connects from one side of the placenta to the other side. Very strange. The good news is that is doesn't seem to be effecting the growth of the baby. But, they do want to keep an eye one it.


Baby Girl #4. Look at that profile...what a beauty!

If you look closely in the second picture you can see that tiny strip/membrane (looks kinda like a rope) yeah, that's the mysterious tissue in there. And that little flower thingy by her forehead...yeah, that's her hand. Just in case you wanted to know.

Tree gone...Playhouse coming.

On Monday when we came home from our Idaho Falls/Jackson weekend we discovered a large branch from our flowering plum tree in our front yard has fallen off. I knew it needed to be pruned, so now this was the motivation I needed to actually get it done. However, the tree guy said that the tree wasn't worth saving. Lots and lots of weak points in the trunk and it was already suffering from some iron deficiency. So, the tree had to go...sad, I know. But you know, I kind of like how it opens up our yard...that is once I got used to our house being more exposed.

Piper and Morgan watching the wood chipper do its thing.

My parents have been in town since Saturday...it's wonderful! I love having them close by again! And yesterday my grandparents arrived in town. My grandfather has been wanting to move the playhouse from our old house to this one. We are so grateful! The girls have been wanting it at our house since we moved. It's quite a project actually...the entire house needs to be taken apart, transferred to here, and then put all back together again. It will be nice to finally have it here!

Idaho Falls and Jackson Weekend

We left Saturday around noon, hit a bunch of traffic in N. Salt Lake, kids were a little on the whiny side ("Are we there yet?", "Where are we?"...that kinda thing about every 3 minutes), Piper was extremely fussy (she kept spitting up chunky milk so it smelled like barf in the car...not sure why, maybe she had a little upset stomach). I don't think Ryan and I spoke once to each other the entire drive. With all the commotion going on...the girls yakking it up in a volume as if they were 100 feet from each other (seriously...it's such a small space...why do kids talk so loud?) and Piper's high pitch screams every 30 seconds, it was impossible. So, bottom line, the drive there was a bit on the horrendous side. But we made it to the race for the girls' age group with about 5 minutes to spare! Whew!

The girls were thrilled!

Morgan is not quite five yet, but we put her with Haley in the five-seven year olds. Here they are gearing up to go!

Haley coming in! She's busy looking at all the spectators.

Little Morgie to the line!

Ryan's race was later that evening. The girls did great and cheered like champs...even Piper! I have found that the key to ensuring everyone's happiness is to keep moving when at races...or anywhere really. The longer we stay in one spot the easier it is for the rough housing between Haley and Morgan to begin, plus Piper starts to fuss.

We didn't get back to the hotel until around 11:00 that night...and finally around midnight, everyone was settled and all was quite. Ahh, peace.

Haley was our wake up call at around 6:45 the next morning...ouch. We had a great breakfast at the hotel and went on our annual Idaho Falls river walk. It was a beautiful morning!

Then we packed up and headed to Jackson, WY for another race. Just like last year...the drive was beautiful! And luckily the kids were exhausted so they were either napping or just really mellow and barely made a peep. Quite nice for Ryan and I!

Again the girls cheered like champs for Ryan. Many crashes, but luckily my Ryan stayed safe.

The quote for the day came from a very new-agey/trail mix type lady. She was talking to me a bit in front of her chiropractic office, all the while, my two sweet little girls were literally rolling around in the grass fighting and yelling at each other. (yes, a little embarrassing) It was one of those moments you wish all you had to do was say, "Girls, that's enough!" and they would stop on the spot...yeah, didn't work out quite like that. So anyway, at one point she says to me, "Oh, I knew you couldn't be from here...Provo sounds about right with all those kids!" What!? Excuse me?! And then as I'm leaving, dragging my dirty children as they continue to bicker...she calls out, "GOOD LUCK!!". Whatever lady...I don't need your approval!

After the race we enjoyed a great dinner at a local restaurant (Ryan won a gift certificate there during the race!) and then went back to the hotel and all was settled and quite around 9:30...much better than the night before!

We toured around Jackson the next morning. It's a very touristy town! But we enjoyed it.

Headed back for home in the afternoon. Stopped in Bear Lake for shakes on the way and made it home around 9:00.

All in all...a great weekend!

Off for the weekend.

I survived my two days without Ryan...although, my inner Hulk started to appear as my kids were driving me absolutely insane last night! It was one of those moments that everything seems to go wrong all at once. One moment it's peaceful and I'm so proud of myself for being able to handle everything...and then, all of sudden, all hell breaks loose. Kids running around, screaming at each other (lots of screaming), she said this to me, she said that to me, she looked at me funny, I'll get you for that, she took my toy, spilled drinks all over, Piper poopy, phone ringing...and then there's me in the middle of it all trying not to pull my hair out. Whew...I'm dizzy just thinking about it. Let's move on.

Tomorrow we're off to Idaho for the annual Alan Butler Memorial crit...a family favorite. The girls are doing their bike race as well so that should be fun. Then Sunday we drive to Jackson for another crit. We're staying there an extra day so Ryan can visit some shops and we'll get a chance to walk around a bit. So that should be nice.

Our berries are coming in! However, I have yet to eat a single one...Little Miss Haley snatches them up before I can get to them. I'll tell ya...as soon as they are slightly red she gobbles them up. But this house is literally surrounded by berries and grapes...so soon enough we are going to be up to our eyeballs in them...I'll be patient.

The girls painted bird feeders this week. I thought they came out very cute!

Do you see those apples coming in?!! Ooooh goodie!

Need to know where the poo is?

If there is dog poop or gum in the area...Haley's feet will find it. No joke, it happens all the time.

Yesterday, she managed to step in both. I must have been slap happy when she stepped in the gum...I could not stop laughing! Watching her struggle to keep her flip flop on while dragging about 8 feet of stretched gum was cracking me up! Don't worry, she was giggling too! I'm not that mean!

But I was NOT laughing when she stepped in dog poop at the bike race last week...BAREFOOT (although she probably steps in dog poo barefoot on average of about once a week at home...but we have access to a hose, a tub and soap). But at a bike race, that's way different! And by the way, the poop happened to be about two feet away from our picnic...how my mommy radar eyes didn't see that, we'll never know. So yeah, kneeling down, holding a wiggly 15 month old, while trying to wipe dog poo out of in between Haley's toes with wet napkins is NOT cool.

But you know, Haley could care less. Her reaction every time, "Oh, darn...I stepped in dog poop."...."Oh, darn...I stepped in gum." If it was up to her at the bike race, she would have given her foot one good wipe on the grass...call it good...and get back to playing.

My little free spirit...that's what she is.

Time to decorate.

I'm holding down the fort for a couple of days while Ryan is at a sales rep meeting in San Luis Obispo...I know, lucky him. Although is schedule is pretty jam packed for the 2 days he'll be there, so I'm not sure how much "fun" he'll have.

Again (I know I've mentioned this before) when he's gone I always have a major desire to spend money. Why is that? Like go grocery shopping and buy junk food, or order pizza for dinner, take the girls to something that costs money. I guess when he's gone I feel like it's a break from the "housewife" role...I don't need to think about dinners (mac and cheese or pancakes will do just fine), laundry doesn't get done, and I don't worry about making sure everything is picked up...basically, all chores get put on the back burner.

Speaking of spending money, I'm getting the itch to start painting the walls in the house and sprucing up my decor. We've lived here for about 10 months now and I haven't really done anything yet. Walls are still white and the girls room still has ugly flower wall paper (although they love it). We don't even have a single piece of artwork in our bedroom...or anywhere upstairs for that matter. I think it's time to do something about that. My only problem is I'm incredibly indecisive! It takes me FOREVER to pick something or pick a color for the walls. So I may be getting the desire to decorate, but it will probably take another three years before anything gets done (that's about long it takes me to decide on anything). We'll see what happens.

Freedom Days

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th! I have to say ours was pretty darn good. Although, I woke up a bit sad and down. Around the holidays I really miss family. All around the neighborhood you see tons of cars parked around different houses and lots of kids jumping out of them to run into grandma's and grandpa's house. Tons of cousins all around for all to play with. I'm lucky to have my brother and his family here...at least one cousin for the girls to see. But we didn't see them this weekend...their neighborhood does a pretty big bash for the 4th. So, it was just us.

We spent the afternoon at Freedom Days, a festival in our little downtown area. It was actually so much better than when we went three years ago. They had a huge kid area with crafts and different activities for them to do. We basically spent most of our time there.

Although, there was this one "game" that I thought was pretty lame. Okay, so there's this big sandbox thing, pretty huge so lots of kids can be in it at the same time. The idea is the kids dig around and find coins to turn in for a little prize. Well, after about 40 minutes our kids found NOTHING! And keep in mind that the sandbox is in the full sun...kinda miserable if you ask me.

Finally, they come out covered in sand, and sweaty, disappointed and empty handed. So I told them to go over to the booth and tell the ladies that you've been in there for close to an hour and found nothing and can I please have a prize. Well, that old hag said "NO" to my children. "Sorry, you have to find a coin!". So they go back into the sand pit to try again. Another 10 minutes and still empty handed...so they ask again. Now, if you saw my children at this point (looking like they came out of some mine, and little Morgan's bottom lip quivering holding back tears she's so upset) how can any person say no to that?!! But again, she said no. So I decide to go over there and punch her in face (okay, not really)...I explained that my kids have been searching for close to an HOUR in that box, don't you think maybe you should put more coins in there!!! "Sorry ma'am, I can't give her a prize...she didn't find a coin!", is all she kept saying to me. Turns out, the "prize" were little trinkets (maybe worth 10 cents each)...something you'd find in a gumball machine! And, she had a FULL basket of them in front of her!! Keep in mind too that this was the last day of the festival, and only a few more hours left...you have fun with all those left over trinkets at the end of the day. It's a freakin' festival you old lady! Lighten up!!

So, other than that, the festival was great.


The girls loved the hair dressing booth.

So pretty!

On our way home...exhausted.

We ended the day with some grilled hamburgers and more ice cream. The girls stayed up extra late watching all the aerial fireworks coming out of the neighborhood through their window upstairs. Every now and then I would hear Haley clap.

All is well...so far.

Morgan and the dogs are healing up nicely. Morgan gets her stitches out tomorrow morning and the dogs are returning to their normal hyper selves. I even gave them a bath the other day (the dogs that is) and now they are super fluffy and clean! No more oil smell!

We went to an evening crit Friday night. Apparently the course was absolutely insane...it was definitely under a kilometer long...it should NOT have been passed as a course to race on! Anyway, our good friend went down after winning. His speed was too fast to make the turn and ended up breaking his elbow in several pieces. He's been at the hospital for the past two days and we have been taking care of his little poodle. We have learned, bottom line...this is NOT a household for little poodles!! Or any little house dog for that matter! The little thing is terrified at all times! Terrified mainly of our children. It's too bad because the girls absolutely love him, and all he wants to do is get away from them! He doesn't like to be walked by them and they basically just drag him along...they have no idea of course that the dog is miserable. They just skip along, oblivious, like he's having the time of his life! I bet he can't wait to get home! It definitely makes me appreciate our dogs a bit more. They don't mind the kids in the slightest! They actually put up with quite a bit!

In other news, our little Piper is starting to walk a bit more! Although she still relies on crawling, especially when she's in a hurry.




Last night was the stadium firework show in our area. We made a super good dinner of grilled Tri-tip and stayed up late eating cookies and ice cream. We live pretty close to the stadium so we thought maybe we would be able to see the fireworks easily from our backyard. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as we thought, but the girls loved it regardless. We didn't go to bed until close to 12 and now I'm exhausted.