Whatever Wednesday: Grateful...

Maddy made this at school on Tuesday and I just LOVE it! I just adore those little hands of his. I can't believe how much he is learning. He can already spell and write his name without any help.

I have so much to be grateful for. I am truly blessed! I could stay up all night listing everything that I have been blessed with-but instead I'm going to take advantage of one of my favorites... my warm bed. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and are able to spend it with your loved ones.

*If you are bright and caught on that Maddy's left hand is on the picture twice (and not his right hand), it is because he "didn't want to get his bandaids dirty."

Music Monday: According to You...

Love this song and think she rocks the guitar!

Orianthi: According to You...

GNO (New Moon-Spoiler Free)...

If you follow my blog you already know Steve hooked me up with four tickets to a prescreening of New Moon last night. I invited some good friends and had lots of fun. We grabbed some yummy food at Red Robin before heading over. It was packed and I'm pretty sure (based on the girl to guy ratio) that most of the people there were going to see New Moon. I really enjoyed the movie and thought it was done better than Twilight. The movie followed the book really closely and there were lots of word for word lines straight from the book. The book was fresh in my head because I just finished reading it yesterday. There were a few minor things that they added that didn't affect the story line. There were a few parts that I wish could've had more screen time but overall felt they did justice to the book. I didn't have high expectations and was expecting the acting to be of the same quality, which for the most part it was. There was also a bunch of the same type of humor that was in Twilight and a couple super cheesy parts. But overall I was impressed and am looking forward to going again for another GNO on Monday. There are some parts I thought were really cool and some characters that I really thought nailed it but I don't want to spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it yet so if you have and would like to talk feel free to do so in the comments....

Thanks Brooke, Lisa and Kari for coming-it was lots of fun! We will have to do it more often!

P.S. Of course I thought Jacob looked hot... I'm pretty sure I'm not alone though-and yes I'm still Team Edward :)

I Appreciate His Honesty...

Randomly out of no where while I was watching The Doctors just now...

Maddy: Mom, what's your deal?

Me: Maddy, you are my deal, what's your deal?

Maddy: My deal is that I'm tired of you.

Me: (a bit taken back) Really? Well that kind of makes me feel bad, but I appreciate your honesty.

Maddy: Well sometimes I just get tired of you and I want to watch my show.

Me: Well do you wish I went to work and Daddy stayed home with you all day?

Maddy: (with a big grin on his face) Yes!

Me: Do you think you would get tired of Daddy?

Maddy: No, just you.

Me: Do you get tired of Avery?

Maddy: (with a big sigh and roll of his eyes) Yes!

Me: Well are you glad she takes naps then?

Maddy: Yes!

Me: Well if you are tired of me maybe you should just go and play in your room all by yourself. But thanks for being honest... we always tell the truth don't we?

Maddy: Yes.

*Maddy has started telling little white lies here and there and so we have been really talking to him about honesty lately... I guess maybe it's sinking in and I guess I need to work on being a more exciting Mom.

Super Powers...

I may be speaking prematurely but I think we have kicked Maddy's "finger sucking" habit. It actually kind of all happened without even trying. Last Thursday while I was working out in our basement Maddy was messing around with one of the cardio machines and got his fingers stuck. Before I could get off my machine and over to him he pulled them out and scraped his finger up pretty bad. It is one of the two that he sucks. I washed it up and put a bandaid on it while thinking it wasn't going to stay on long because he would want to suck his fingers. Anyway I forgot about it and a day or so later realized it was still on and he hadn't been sucking his fingers at all. Saturday evening Steve took him to Wal Mart and among other things got some bandaids. He let Maddy choose some as well. He chose Handy Manny ones. I had recently watched "The Doctors" and a tip they gave for thumb suckers was to put bandaids on their thumb and tell them they had "super powers." So when Steve and Maddy came home with their new bandaids I thought what the heck, I'm up for trying anything. So I took his old, dirty bandaid off and let him pick new ones to put on. We told him that his bandaids had "super powers" and one thing they could do was help him stop sucking his fingers. So far it has worked and tomorrow will be a week. I'm so proud of him and am hoping it is going to be this easy. I'm not sure what will happen when he has no bandaids on his fingers but I'm willing to let him wear them as long as he wants if it means no finger sucking.

Whatever Wednesday: Can't Wait...

I've had a GNO planned with my sister and a bunch of her sister-in-laws for Monday to see New Moon for a while now. But... I couldn't turn down the opportunity to see a prescreening of the movie Thurs. at 9:05PM! Yep that's right-even before the midnight showings. Steve has a hookup so I had him get four tickets so I could have a fun GNO. I invited a few awesome girls and I'm really looking forward to it! Thanks Steve!

For those of you that are Team Jacob...

Team Edward...

More from where these two pictures came from here.

Swimming...

Wednesday my sister Jamie and I took the kids swimming at the Lehi Legacy Center. Other then a couple minor injuries(Avery slipped and hit her head before even getting into the pool, Maddy hit his mouth on the bathroom sink and it bled for a while), we all had a fun time...

Maddy loved floating on his back.

The girls loved splashing.


Isn't this the cutest picture of Jamie and Lola!

The kids were starving so before we left we ate some pizza. I guess it wasn't enough for the appetite they had worked up so I had to stop and pick up another pizza on the way home. Thanks Jamie for a fun time! Stacy we missed you and hope you get feeling better soon!

Music Monday: Possibility...

Since New Moon is opening in theaters this week and I'm super excited to see it, here is my favorite song off the New Moon soundtrack.

Lykke Li: Possibility...

More Stories from the Cemetery...

After such an interesting trip to the cemetery last year, my sister's and I decided we had to go again this year. After meeting such a wide variety of characters last year we weren't sure what we would encounter this year. I must say we were not disappointed...

When we arrived there was so much chaos. It seemed to be unusually dark, almost as if there was evil lurking everywhere...

We saw the cutest little clown that was completely beside himself. He had broken down and was sobbing, he said that all he wanted was to have some fun. He wanted to play some games but everyone he came across was out of sorts and wouldn't play with him.

There was another cute little clown. She seemed very distracted and claimed that she must be going crazy because she had her hat when she arrived but couldn't seem to find it anywhere.

There was a cute little caveman that couldn't handle the chaos. He longed for the simpler times his ancestors had experienced. He couldn't even bear to watch what was happening in front of him.

You probably won't believe it but Luke Skywalker was there and he decided enough was enough... he was going to have to gather some friends and fight the evil face on.

Princess Leia was also there and quickly joined the cause and immediately started channeling The Force.

Yoda was there as well and was certain The Force would be with them.

Finally with The Force with them they were able to conquer the evil and there was peace in the cemetery once again. The gloomy darkness was taken over by radiating light and almost instantly all those that we came across were back to their happy selves...

They even played a fun game of hide-and-seek, the little clown couldn't have been happier.

Until next year-may The Force be with you...

Whatever Wednesday: This Is It...

My sisters and I saw this movie over the weekend. I found it very entertaining and loved getting a glimpse at the passion behind MJ's artistry. He seemed genuinely nice and very humble. Of course his talent was showcased and I was also amazed at the talent of his crew. I was also amazed at how much work goes into a production like that. The theater raised the ticket price to $10(even for a matinee) for this movie but I thought it was worth it. I think it has been extended through Thanksgiving-I would reccomend seeing it. My sister's and I talked Steve and Ben(Justin was gone hunting) into watching the five kids(ages 1-5) while we went. They survived(and even got some Chinese takeout for dinner), but claim they are never doing it again... we came home to chaos and a destroyed house. Thanks for letting us go guys!

Music Monday: Two is Better than One...

Such a beautiful duet... love it!

Boys Like Girls(Ft. Taylor Swift): Two is Better than One...

Stellaluna...

Monday my sister Jamie and I took the kids to Stellaluna at The Scera. It is a puppet play based on the book Stellaluna written by Janell Cannon. It is about a baby fruit bat that gets separated from her mother and ends up getting raised by a family of birds. It was 40 minutes long(perfect for young kids), really cute and the kids really enjoyed it.

Cheese! Maddy loved his movie meal.

Afterwards they had the puppets out in the foyer for the kids to meet. Avery was curious about them but Maddy wanted nothing to do with them. I'm still amazed every day how different the two of them are. I'm surprised he's even in the picture above-he was pretty much clinging to me until they were out of sight.

Halloween 2009...

We had such a fun Halloween this year! I was super excited because Steve came up with this idea for costumes so of course I ran with it. We went to my sister Jamie's fabulous Halloween party again this year. Here are a bunch of pictures from the night...

Steve as a "Jester"- the costume is actually called "Evil Jester" but we decided to not use the scary mask it came with and added a different red mask as well as the red tie around his waist. I really like how it turned out.

I couldn't resist posting these.

I was "Harlow Quinn." I added the wig and leggings to the costume.

This was my first time wearing fake eyelashes... pretty fun!

Maddy was "Tickles the Clown."

That's all the face paint he would let me put on him.

Couldn't resist posting this one-he is obsessed with these glasses Jamie had for the kids.

Avery was "Lil Harlequin."

My sister Jamie(our hostess) and family.

Ben as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Jamie as "Queen Padme Amidala." Isn't she such a skinny hot mama!?!

Dallin as "Luke Skywalker."

Claire as "Princess Leia."

Lola as "Yoda." Isn't she the cutest ever!

My Parents.

My Dad as a "Women." Howard Sterns Mom? Cher?

My Mom as a "Clown."

My Sister Stacy and family as the "Rubble's"

My brother Shawn as "President Obama."

My sister Shalane(and friends) as "Little Red Riding Hood," "Big Bad Wolf" and "Mad Max."

Isn't her costume the bomb! She made the whole thing herself(except the corset.)

My brother Justin as "Steve Irwin-AKA The Crocodile Hunter."

Jamie's friend Andrea(and family.)

Trick-or-Treating...

Maddy was tired and ended up riding in the stroller. Not Avery... she was as energetic as ever and loved saying "Trick-or-Treat" over and over. After hitting Jamie's neighborhood we headed back to Jamie's house and then just Jamie and I took Maddy, Dallin and Claire to a bunch of nearby town homes. It makes it easy to get lots of candy in no time at all. After that we headed back to the house for some yummy food and fun.

Back at my sister Jamie's house...

Some of the YUMMY food we had. In the top right corner there is a pumpkin with pumpkin soup inside... have you tried it? It is really sweet and yummy-almost like a dessert.

After we left Jamie's house we stopped at one of Steve's clients houses. Then we did a little more Trick-or-Treating in his neighborhood.

We had a great night as a family and I think the kids did pretty good as far as the candy department is concerned(now if I can just keep my hands out of the bag)...

Steve and Maddy couldn't resist sorting all the candy into piles.

Whatever Wednesday: Back on Track...

After a rough several months(due to pregnancy complications and then just plain loss of motivation), I'm finally back to spending some time here on a regular basis... and it feels good!

Happy Birthday Stacy!

You are the best...

sister,
aunt,
friend!

How did I get so lucky?!?
I want to be just like you when I grow up!
Luv ya tons hot little mama!

Legacy Halloween Party...

Friday evening my sisters and I got the kids dressed up and took them to a Halloween party at the Lehi Legacy Center. There was a lot to do and as expected it was really crowded. There was a bunch of games, trick-or-treating, magic show, spook alley, movie and food. Overall I think everyone had a good time.

Music Monday: Angels on the Moon...

I've loved this song since the first time I heard it.

Thriving Ivory: Angels on the Moon...

Preschool Halloween Program...

Thursday was Maddy's Preschool Halloween Party/Program. The kids were all so cute dressed up in their costumes! Of course I'm biased and think Maddy was the cutest! They started off with a little Halloween Parade and then sang some really cute songs. Maddy was a bit shy and didn't sing a whole lot but gave us some adorable smiles. He had a rough night last night so I think he was also tired. You can see him yawning in one of the videos below. When I picked him up after school he said "Mom it was hard for me to sing all the songs." I asked why and he said "It was just hard." I asked if it was hard to remember all the words and he said "Yes." He said he had lots of fun at the party playing and had a cupcake. And then he asked me if it was nap time... which means he is really tired. He was in better spirits later in the evening and Steve got him to sing some of the songs. It was pretty cute!

Maddy is on the top row, left side, third one in.

Sure do love this kid!

This first video is of the little parade when they walked in...



The next two are of a couple of their songs...

Sneak Peak...

Whatever Wednesday: Straight from the Closet(part 2)...

Yes, these are mine...
Yes, they are still in my closet...
Yes, I purchased them from the Men's Gap department...
Yes, I paid $100+...
Yes, I wore them (once) to a company party about 10ish years ago...
Yes, I filled them out nicely...
Yes, I'm pretty sure I thought I looked hot...
Yes, I made Steve take these pics...
Yes, Steve thinks I have fallen off my rocker...
Yes, I'm pretty embarrassed about all of the above...

No, this is SO not hot...
No, I don't plan on filling them out nicely ever again...

Yes, I'm wondering, why am I humiliating myself???

I can't bear to toss them... cause I paid $100+ for them...
Any takers??? Halloween costume???

In case you missed part one you can view it here.

To be continued...

Primary Program...

Maddy participated in his first Primary Program this past Sunday. He's been praticing his line "I can be honest" and we were so excited for him. When they asked all the Primary kids to come up he got all shy(I fear he got this from me) and started crying. I ended up carrying him up there. They had the Sunbeams sit on the front row and he stopped crying after I found him a spot by the Bishop's wife. She is seriously one of the sweetest people I know. When they had all the kids stand up to sing Maddy didn't stand up for the first few numbers. After a while he warmed up and moved over by his friends and stood up but wasn't singing... he was looking for us. It was so cute. He pretty much smiled and waved at us the whole time. As far as I know he is the youngest child in the entire Primary(he turned three on Dec. 16 and the cut off was Dec. 31.) Hopefully next year he will be singing more. I was pretty sure that when it was his time to say his line he wasn't going to do it. He surprised me however and did an awesome job! We were SO proud of him!

The Little Gym Halloween Party...

Saturday my sisters and I took the kids to The Little Gym Halloween Party in Orem. They had a bunch of games set up, Trunk or Treat and of course all the gymnastics equipment to play on. The kids had lots of fun and didn't want to leave! They also had a bunch of drawings... of course Jamie won a prize(a free pizza)-she seriously has some luck going and pretty much always wins when she enters any kind of drawing.

Maddy LOVES playing on the rings. He also really like "fishing" for prizes... Avery not so much-she wouldn't even hold the pole.

My sisters and their kids(minus Claire.)

After we left we grabbed some pizza and Jamie and her family came over to watch the BYU game... well at least Ben came over to watch the game. Jamie and I hung out, the kids watched Star Wars, Steve was in and out of the house working in the yard and stuff(he's not a BYU fan) and Ben watched most of the game... until they got too far behind and then he decided to call it a night.

Music Monday: Many Shades of Black...

Another great song by Adele...

Adele: Many Shades of Black(Raconteurs Cover)...

I Survived the Day...

... barely!

While emptying closet shelves and drawers(which I admit are in dire need of organizing) the kids found some old binkies and were pretending to be babies... which was kind of cute until I realized what they had really been up to. This happened in a matter of minutes! Don't you love how they act like I'm not even there...

*Sorry about the poor shaky video quality... I was having a bit of trouble navigating my way through the mess.

Whatever Wednesday: He Was Tired...

I took these pictures in September and while doing a little clean up of my picture files realized I had never posted them. This particular day Maddy climbed into my bed while I was busy doing something in my room or bathroom. He usually just plays and jumps on the bed. I told him I was headed downstairs and asked if he wanted to come with me. He said "No Mom I'm tired and I want to take a nap in your bed." So I was like OK(thinking whatever-he will be downstairs with me in no time.) I came back up probably about 1/2 hour later to check on him and he was snoozing away. I couldn't resist taking a couple pictures.

This is the first time(since those very early days after his birth when I dozed off while feeding him) that he has slept in our bed.