The Haircut

Well, here is the new me. This reminds me of the George Thoughogood song'Get a Haircut' If you haven't heard of it then let me know and I'll let you borrow it. Very funny song. I like this haircut. I can still do alot of cute thigs with it and it isn't just pulled back in a ponytail. Matt likes it long but I think that it is just string looking so at least this way it has some style to it. I have never gone this short before. It is a fun hairdo! The worst hair experience I had was when I had my hair dyed blonde and the hairstylist forgot about me. I went and found her about 45 minutes later and she quickly took off the foil. When I looked in hte mirror I had a nice brassy haircolor. I matched a trumpet! I told her this color wasn;t going to work but she refused to fix it and charged me anyway for it. Sometimes I wish I could be mean and vulgar. Oh well, I survived and I certainly never went back to her!
I don't have a lot to post today. I have a billion things to do today that I feel overwhelmed and don't want to even start.

What is your best or worse hair story?

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

Hello out there if anyone still looks at this page! I am rededicating myself to blogging. My life has been insane the last two months which is no excuse but I am going to put blogging higher on the priority list. I feel that writing on it is like journal writing and I want to be able to look back and see my progress-if there is any! So, here is a brief summary of the last two months. My dad came for a visit in the middle of May. He lives in Arizona but just recently was laid off from his job so it looks like he may be moving to Washington state. I had a cousin get-together while he was here. It was good to see all the cousins and my aunt that live in salt lake. He also bought us anice new grill. I use it nearly every night. Thanks Dad! We also had him help us tear down our old deck that was rotting away. That too was fun to watch things fall down. Any volunteers to help us rebuild it?!

Then we went to Idaho and spent the long weekend of Memorial Day in Idaho. Elise saw her cousins and we celebrated Matt’s niece graduating from high school.

Next, I left my sweet family and spent the first part of June in Michigan helping my sister with her new baby. He was born in May and they named him Luke William. Such a cute new baby. I was almost baby hungry but not quite enough to do anything drastic! I enjoyed seeing her and spending time with sweet Emma Rose. She is very quite but always a smile on her face. I had fun photographing her. We also got permission from my brother's mission president to visit him- I think this made him a bit homesick though.

When I returned from Michigan I went back to work for two weeks at the vet clinic to help them out. They had for people quit in one week so they needed some help. I was happy to do so but I got s behind in my already ignored ‘duties’ at home. Once my two weeks were through I dived into my house work and yard work. Fun.

At the end if June I packed up my camping gear and went to girls camp for a week. I am secretary in the Yong Womens. It was nice to get away from all the hustle and bustle and just have fun with the girls.

Elise had her third birthday on July 8^th. Matt, my mom, Joseph and Elise and me all went to Hogle Zoo in the morning. Then had two of her friends over for cake and ice cream. When asked what she wanted for her birthday Elise would always say the same thing-a princess cake! We couldn’t fine the princess cake that she had seen months before but she seemed pleased with the Tinkerbell cake.

Remember how I deep cleaned my house a bit earlier, well, Monday of last week I left the drip line on for the front yard shrubs and I flooded our basement. We had to pull everything out of our storage closet-had no idea I had so much ‘stuff’ under there! Then we pulled up all the wet carpet to let it dry and replace the padding. Luckily a carpet store gave it to us for free! I am so thankful that Matt is so handy and he is also nice to look at while workingJ Our kitchen sink also backed up that night and matt had to replace a some pipe under the sink after digging out the clog with a plastic spoon. Can I just say that our house smelled awful after that.

So, that is the last two months in a nutshell. I apologize that it is so long so if you don’t want to read it I understand. But, check back in a few days and I promise I will post about my new hairstyle-I went for a whole new look!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

My Mom. I have been so blessed to be her daughter. I don’t know where to begin. She has had a huge influence on where I am today. I attribute my will to have fun to her. My faith in God is because of her example and faithfulness. I learned from her that you can’t change people. They are who they are and to love them anyway. But if they want to change then I should do what I can to help them better themselves. She has always been there for me when I needed her and when I thought I didn’t need her. I always knew that her love is unconditional. The other day I asked my daughter who loves her the very most and she answered “Oma does!” (That is what she calls my mom), so even her grandkids know that their Oma loves them! That opens up another wonderful characteristic of my mom-she is the worlds best grandmother. I couldn’t ask for a more loving and fun person to be the grandmother to my children. They adore her as do I. I can’t say enough wonderful things about her. She is such an example of strength to me. I though I would share some of her sayings that are famous in my family that come from her. Her favorite is “Remember who you are.”

Did you pray about it?

Are your chores finished?! ( I had to throw that one in!)

Ladies don’t chew gum nor do they call boys.

-In Dutch she says this but I don’t know how to spell in Dutch so you get it in English!

Enjoy your meal

You pee in my eye- which is really a compliment! Strange Dutch people!

I love you

Mind your own business

Well, I hope that one day you all will get to meet this wonderful woman that I am honored to call my mother.

You are the best Mom-I hope your day is all you wished it to be!

MOTHER
By Author Unknown

I appreciate the many prayers
you've whispered during
the worst moments in my life,
and the many hopes for my success
in all that I dreamed of.

I appreciate the kind wishes
that would make me so happy and fulfilled,
and the gentle words of encouragement
that were meant to strengthen my quests.

I appreciate the moments of sorrow
you experienced during my failures,
and the little gestures of kindness
that always made me feel better.

I appreciate your acceptance,
your ability to understand,
and the sincere friendship
that always gave me such security.

I appreciate the wisdom
of all the lessons you taught,
and the meaning behind the words
"unconditional love."

I appreciate all you've done -
every word and gesture.
I know you've been the best there is -
a mother beyond all compare.

For all you've done...
thank you, Mom.
For all that you are...
I love you.

A Memorable Birthday

I have had a great birthday week! This will be a memorable birthday for me. Thank you for all for making it so. I received a potted plant from my mom, a fun dinner with my two aunts and cousins at a nice restaurant- The Tuscany. I had one of my favorite desserts-tiramisu and was sung to. J I got lots of cards from friends and family, Matt made me a yummy breakfast and let me sleep in. Then I went shopping with my birthday money and found the perfect hand towels, rug, and cloth napkins for my kitchen. If the kitchen ever gets done! My neighbor brought me a new hydrangea plant to replace the one that died and her mom made me a mini birthday cake. Saturday Robin, Hannah, Jessie, and I had a fabulous dinner at PF Changs. It was the best Chinese I have had in a long time. And then we all shared a ‘great wall of chocolate’ cake-fours layers with fudge frosting in the middle of each with chocolate chips smothering the outside edge in the frosting with strawberries and raspberries. YUM! There is a reason I don’t own a scale! The girls also gave me a gift certificate to Pebbles in My Pocket. I am so excited to use it but I am first getting my office arranged so I will scrapbook on a regular basis. Last night Matt and I were able to go on a date- a rare thing these days! We went to dinner and to the movies. I wanted to go to a play but nothing looked interesting so I opted for the movies. We watched Mission Impossible III which I must say was better than the last two. I am not a Tom Cruise fan but this was a good one. I really wanted to see Take the Lead so if there is anyone out there that wants to see it with me I would enjoy the company! Here are some pictures of all the great things that made my special day special! Thanks again to all of you!

Trip to the Dentist

I finally went to the dentist Monday. I probably shouldn’t say this but the last time I went was right after Elise was born-2 ½ years ago! But, in my defense I have very strong teeth and healthy gums which I must have inherited from my mom. I have never had a cavity in my life. And again I passed with flying colors at this appointment-whew! Life is just not fair-my sweet husband takes excellent care of his teeth and has at least one cavity almost every time he goes and he does go every six months! I took Elise in as well for a ‘happy visit’. She did okay but would not let the lady scrape the inside of her teeth. But she let her polish them. I also had to take Joseph and he was the perfect child. I put him in his stroller and there he sat for TWO hours entertained by his toys and people around him. He only fussed a small amount near the end! Amazing, really.

Okay, so I wanted to post about this dental office and not so much about my mouth. If anyone out there is looking for a dentist this is the place to go! It is called Total Care Dental. They are serious when they say 5 star VIP service. So this is how it went. After taking my xrays and setting Elise up with a movie in the children’s play area with a cookie and a juice box for each of the children they offered me a paraffin wax treatment for my hands. Then adjusted my dental chair which is also a heated massage chair to whatever made me the most comfortable. By the way I had a personal lady that stayed with me nearly the entire time just to make sure I was comfortable and if I needed anything. Posted on the wall was a sign that listed all the items that they provided:drinks, snacks, coffee, hot chocolate, etc. So, I was laying all the way back when I notice the television on the ceiling and the lady asked if I wanted to watch a show or a movie. After my teeth were cleaned and polished the dentist came in to exam my teeth and talk to me about some cosmetic stuff I want to get done. Very nice man. After he looked in Elise’s mouth-no cavities by the way-‘the lady’ brought me a moist hot towel, a mint, and chap stick on a silver tray to me. She gave each of the kids a goodie bag with toothbrush, past, and gold coins to buy toys with in their little trinket machines. That’s not all, you then move on to the restroom if you need to and there you find samples of makeup, lipstick, lip gloss, and perfume or cologne so that you look better than when you arrived! After that, it is the only negative part- you go into a small office where you have to pay but I thought they were very reasonable, especially for all the pampering you get! I am already looking forward to my six month checkup!

Well, that was the BEST experience I have ever had at a dentist office. My worst experience was when I busted out my front tooth from a fall off a skateboard and had to have a root canal or the time the dentist pulled out my adult teeth instead of my baby teeth to make room in my mouth so I am short a pair of teeth. No wonder I had questions about the cosmetic dentistry! When I win the lottery I will be able to get that work done! What was you best/worst experience at the dentist?

(Alright-I have just spent the last ten minutes trying to upload a picture and it is not working. Sorry.)

Sunday Evenings

I thought I would post about what I like to do on Sundays after church. We have a ward that meets late so by the time we get home and eat dinner it is time to put the kids to bed. They go to bed rather early on these days since church is during their nap times. So by 7:00 both children are usually in bed and Matt and I have some catch up time to ourselves. I really look forward to these evenings together. Matt doesn't work on thesis stuff and I am not distracted by our adorable children. our favorite thing to do is to play our instruments together. I have played the flute since I was in the fourth grade-so about twenty years! But I haven't played as often as I would like since Elise was born. My dad gave me his flute that he used while in highschool so it is a family treasure. I am not sure how long Matt has played the guitar but he has taought himself all that he knows and does a prety good job. He really would like a piano but the guitar works for now! I think he has a nice singing voice and he sings along while we play. It is a pleasant way to pass the time.

We also enjoy playing games. Matt LOVES to play chess and wants to play it all the time but I am terrible at it and the game never lasts very long. We also like Monopoly and Risk. I love that Jessi and Timm have a game night. I really want to start something like that up here. I have a few prospects of who I can have attend. It is just a matter of getting the ball rolling:)

The other thing we do sometimes is visit with eachother and get to know one another again! We'll do this over a bowl of ice cream or make cookies together and eat to much of the dough! I like this activity alot but it doesn't happen often enough!

An update on the flowers my mom sent- they died. I was very said because I thought they would never die since it was a potted plant. I called the florist and took it in for them to see. The guy said that they must have just reached the end of their time in a pot so he let me pick out a replacement. Unfortunatly he was out of flowering plants. I picked this one which is nice but doesn't smell as wonderful as the hydrangeas.

As for my birthday I would love a girls night out. How is Saturday? I will send out an email to you all!

Birthdays!

Well, I have made a new goal to make blogging more of a priority this week. Every week seems chaotic so I can’t use that as an excuse anymore :)

A recap on this past week: took Elise to the Urgent care center last Sunday for an injury that she caused herself at nursery; then took Joseph to the ER for a head injury on Friday; participated in the YW activity; mowed the lawn and weeded my newly planted shrubs; cleaned the house from top to bottom; called the city to come out and turn on the irrigation water; began a recycle pile so that I can be better to the environment; and babysat the neighbor kids. I know that I am not ready for four kids! My two sisters birthdays were also this past week and I got the dates mixed up in my frenzied busyness- I swore that Thursday was the 26^th not the 27^th. I had to actually look at the calendar to prove it to myself! At least I remembered to mail their birthday presents! I am thinking about dying my hair blonde so that it matches my personality.

This week is my birthday and my mom sent me a beautiful potted plant full of sweet smelling blossoms. I love that it won’t be dead by next week and each time I walk by it I think if her. I love my mom-Thanks mom for giving me a birthday!

I am not sure what to do for my birthday. I have some ideas like a romantic getaway with my husband but I have no sitter and no money so then I thought dinner and a movie or something would be nice. Perhaps a day hike with the kids and Matt would be enjoyable as well. What things have you done that made your birthdays enjoyable and memorable? Do you have a favorite birthday? The birthday that seems to stand out in my mind is when I was about 10 or so and my grandma gave me my first pet- a cute white rabbit, cage and all. My parents were upset because she hadn’t talked to them about it first. But, my parents couldn’t tell me no- so I was able to keep it. That started my adoration for all animals. So, you could say it is because of her that I have a career in the animal world and that I own so many pets now!

Tagged delayed!

Tagged by Hannah!

5 Things in my fridge:

Lots of milk

Yogurt

Roast beef lunch meat

Mac & cheese with green beans

Jack Daniels Horseradish mustard

5 Things in my closet:

Shoes-mostly sandals

Wedding dress

OPI nail polish

Surprises for the kids-future b-day presents

Box of purses

5 Things in my purse:

cell phone

Franklin covey mini planner-love it!

Wipes

Hand sanitizer

Lip gloss

5 Things in my car:

CDs
stroller
garbage bag thing

Elmo’s Activity book

Portable DVD player

5 Things on my Tivo/DVR:
(Don't have it- but if I did...)

24

Smallville

Phantom of the opera

-can’t think of anything else!

Tagging:
Aud
Morgan

Confused

Well, I tried all day yesterday to post and it kept giving me an error message that my connection was disconected but I have cable internet. And this was the only site that wouldn't work for me! It works today:)

The Lesson of the Five Balls

I am sorry to all my fans that it has been a while since my last post. The last few days has been a whirlwind! I can’t really remember what I did except try to recover from this blasted cold!

So I have been thinking about a part in a book I just recently read for book club. It is Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson. It is a bit cheesy but there is a part about the lesson of the five balls that I really liked. It goes like this: “Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls- family, health, friends, integrity- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.”

I am so blessed to be surrounded by good friends and family. But I did something today that I have never done-not show up for a shift at work. It really was a mistake on the doctor who scheduled me. I told him that I had no one to watch my kids for so long of a period and Joseph is sick with this bad cold. I couldn’t send him away in that condition to somebody else’s house. I feel good that I made my family first on this problem but what I can’t figure out is why I feel so guilty for not going to work to fill a shift I wasn’t even supposed to have. Why do I have to keep telling myself that my family come fist when I already know that? I am thankful that Matt has a great job so that I can stay at home and be with my children because this is where I am needed most. Any ideas on how to clear my guilty conscience that shouldn’t be guilty? I have found myself struggling with this type of guilt in different areas of my life, not just with work. I never want to make anyone feel uncomfortable even if it means causing me to be in a difficult spot. My sister in law once told me that I need to go down to the back store and pick me up a backbone! Can someone tell me where that store is!?

Creativity

Yesterday Elise had a fun time painting. It started out with a paint brush and paper but by the time I finished the dishes she had turned it into finger painting! She was so cute in her mess that I took a few pictures of her. Elise is my very busy 2 1/2 year old. Her favorite thing to tell people when they ask her age is that she is 5. She is very enteraining all day long. I have to watch her like a hawk most of the time because if I am not keeping her busy with an activity she will discover her own! For example, she was very quiet for a long time downstairs. When I went to investigate she had decided that the fish tank needed to be cleaned. She had pulled up a chair and proceeded to take all the decorations out of the tank. By the time I arrived on the scene she was working on removing the gravel out of the tank. Luckily the fish are slippery and hard to catch! When I found her it was very hard to look upset when she innocently explained to me that "the fishes' house is dirty"! So , my question to all of you is this: What sort of fun activities do you do with your kids to keep them out of trouble?!

TAXES

Well, I finally did all my taxes. I have been dragging my feet because we had to pay in alot this time around! I was shocked actually since we have two children and own a house. But, I suppose we have not owned the house long enough! We got a refund back from the feds but had to pay into the state. Crazy...I really do hate income tax; especially since it is technically illegal. Just ask Matt or his dad! We pay enough in taxes every else! Imagine how much more money we could have in our bank accounts if we didn't have to pay an income tax. I think I would pay someone to remodel our kitchen instead of doing it ourselves! How about you? What would you do with the extra money the feds didn't take? Or if you are a lucky person who gets money back how will you spend it?

I'm In!

Well, I've finally started my own blog. I am now part of the 'club'. My creative juices have been sapped by the blog setup process. I can't even spell anymore. So, I will write more tomorrow when I am refreshed.
Chow!