I like where I live

A lot of people who live in our city, don't really care for it and want to get up and move away someday. We do to, at some point, but for right now I really like where we live. I love our city and our little neighborhood. They're not perfect, but what really is? I love our apartment too. I've said it before, it's the nicest we've ever had and we don't intend on moving, unless it's within this same complex but bigger apartment. We feel pretty safe here which hasn't always the case for other places we've lived. Yes, it would be nice to have an alarm system of sorts just to be on the safe side, but right now we're ok. I'm so thankful to be in such a nice place and area!

Reunions

This summer I helped put together my family's reunion. I spent a lot of time on the phone while my SIL and two cousins did all of the planning. There were some unfortunate bumps along the way, but everything came together. During that reunion, I had a brother mention that maybe next year we all go down to southern Utah and rent houseboats. He sent me a link to a website that had pricing info and boy howdy, it's expensive! Not that it wouldn't be fun, but there's no way I could take my family and go on our measly student income. Looking at the prices, I felt like I was looking at panama city beach rentals instead of houseboat rentals. But who knows, maybe if we get enough people to go and we split costs, it wouldn't be that bad when it comes to price. We'll just have to wait and see!

Wednesday update

It's Wednesday and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. We had to get up earlier than usual because the girls had a dentist appointment. The appointment went well with both girls until the dentist tried to take a look at Miss A's teeth. She freaked and wouldn't let him get near her. I'd like to say it wasn't that big of deal and we wouldn't have to worry about it for another six months but, she has a cavity. Ugh, I'm so bummed for her! She's always done so well at the dentist and now I'm afraid she won't. We'll have to see.

Other than that, I'm trying to study for one last test before spring break. The break will be nice but it's going to be a busy week nonetheless. I have some catching up to do with homework, babysitting for a friend, and fitting some pediatric study in. I was finally able to coordinate doing pediatric observation hours in every Wednesday starting after spring break until the end of the semester. (I'm hoping to pick up more on Mondays and Fridays.) The peds PT I'm working with is one of the best in the area so I'm stoked. :) I'll have to get up at 6am to get ready and commute, but it will be worth it.

On top of appointments and school (and working on a talk for Sunday - crap, I totally forgot about this one), I'm getting back into my exercise routine. I'm working out at the school gym twice a week and running outdoors on the weekends. I've been trying to train for a 10k but it's coming along slowly. I'd be fine doing another 5k if it came down to it, I just want to do something to stay active. The girls will be starting t-ball in a week so that will help keep us all active too. I'm glad we're focusing on being more healthy, it makes a big difference.

Better get back to my homework and start lunch. I'll be back with more updates. :)

My schedule is crazy busy but I'm trying to stay on top of everything, my blog included. But other things have to be a priority right now

New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve, we went out of town and spent some time with my family. We saw my mom then ended up going to my brother's house. At my brother's, he showed us his latest project, that has taken many months of hard work, his new entertainment center. tv stands do not compare to grand project. I was really impressed with how much work went into his entertainment center. Right now he has the center two pieces, then two columns on the outside. Soon he'll add two more columns and it will be done. I keep telling him to make more and sell them. The quality of his woodwork is worth a lot of money, hands down. I wish I had his talent!

I really do have the best kids

I've always been in awe over how incredible my two little girls are. They really are something special, sent straight from Heavenly Father's arms into mine. I could go into detail the story of their births and how wonderful they were, but I'd like to take a minute and talk about all the wonderful things they are doing now. Yes, I'm going to brag. :D

Miss J - at four years old, she's more mature than any four year old I know. From the outside, she's a beautiful little girl with almost porcelain looking skin. When I fix her hair and she's all ready to go, she looks like an angel. She's always willing to help and it's surprising how rarely she says no to anything. She loves to try new things especially the things that mommy and daddy do, like cooking or cleaning. Her eyes light up with so much joy when I tell her what's planned for the days ahead that it makes me look forward to them as much as she does.

Miss J is a great big sister. She's always there with her sister teaching, helping, or tagging along. She's naturally protective and likes keeping the peace. It hurts her to see someone sad or scared and she will put her arm around you and tell you it's going to be ok. When she speaks, she can rationalize almost anything in the cutest and most logical way possible. Her curiosity and desire for understanding is endless and while some of her questions are over my head, she never stops believing I know everything.

Miss A - at almost three years old, still surprises me every single day. I call her my chameleon because of her many different funny faces and attitudes. She's the spitting image of her daddy when he was young, blonde hair and all, and I absolutely love that. She has a determined spirit and a heart filled with so much love. She loves to suck her thumb and hold onto a blankie while cuddling with me. As she lays her head on my chest and looks up with those beautiful blue eyes, I can't help but love her a little more.

Miss A loves babies and making sure they happy, not sad. When I babysit, she always wants to help feed them or get them a toy. She also loves to watch movies and relax on the couch. Playing with her sister is one of her favorite pastimes and watching what her big sister will do next makes her laugh. When I play the piano, she's the first one beside me, wanting to play too. She never gets sick of me reading her books and will bring one after another for hours on end. When she sleeps, her face is calm and sweet.

My girls are amazing and I seriously, could not have asked for better children. Yes, they have their defiant moments, but those are minuscule and I easily forget about them. With my husband's and I's schedules, I bet most kids wouldn't do well. But our girls do very well and they're still so good! They help pick up their toys and clean the house and set the table and listen to what we say and they do a million other things! We're not forcing them, they want to help. I feel blessed more and more each day because of how marvelous they are.

My precious angel daughters, I love you very, very, very much. Thank you for being you. XOXOXOXO

My husband rocks

I've noticed this meme going around and I wanted to join in because my husband is pretty darn incredible. Love you Spouse!

Where we met: We first met at a local restaurant. My mom invited him to eat with us and didn't tell me about it until he walked in the door. She pretty much set me up.

How Long we dated: We met in January, started dating in May, engaged in July, and married in October. 10 months roughly.

How Long we have been married: 6 years tomorrow!

What is my favorite feature about him: I've always loved his hair.

What is my favorite quality about him: He is so kind; to me, the girls, and other people.

Nickname for me: M is the most common.

Favorite Color: Blue.

Favorite Food: He loves sweet and sour chicken and fried rice.

His Favorite Sport: Golf is his new passion and he's doing really well. I love watching him tee off. Yum! :D

Favorite couple things to do: Go out on dates, go for bike rides, watch movies, play games, go to the gym.

How many kids: 2 beautiful little girls.

His hidden talent: Not many people know he plays the guitar. I love listening to him. He's also learning to play the violin.

What I admire most about him: He's always willing to help me. This semester especially, he's really stepped up and helped out. He blows me away every week doing as much as he does despite his own schedule.

Will he read this: I'm sure he will. XOXO

Moving away

I know as time goes on that family members tend to move away. I've been pretty lucky, most of my family is relatively close, only one brother lives far away. He lives in Las Vegas and my dad was telling me he's going to buy a house there. It is nice to know that I'd never need to get a las vegas hotel room if we visit, but I'd much rather have him closer to home. I haven't seen him in two years and that makes it hard. I have another brother that will soon be moving to Texas and who knows how often we will see them. I know this is normal, but it still makes me a little sad. As long as they are happy, then I'm happy, no matter where they go. :)

Creating opportunities

Since we've been married, my husband and I have talked about how we want our children to experience things that we never did, or at least have the opportunity to. Growing up, neither of us had a wide array of options when it came to playing sports or participating in activities. So early on, we agreed to try and make things possible so our children would.

Earlier this year Miss J was old enough to participate in sports, so we chose soccer. I loved the fact that it lasted only a few months. This gave her a chance to see if she liked it or not and if she didn’t, we weren’t out a lot of money. She ended up really enjoying it and we may do it again next year when Miss A can play too.

After soccer, we took a break and enjoyed our summer. Summers are busy enough without extra activities! But as the end of summer drew near, I could tell Miss J was getting antsy to be doing something extra. She really wanted to do ballet but finding the right price and timeframe was tricky. We finally found a great dance class that started last week and she loves it. Plus, it only lasts a few months, bonus!

Anyway, I’m glad that we can do these things for our girls. I hope in the not so near future, and after a variety of activities, they will be able to pick one or two they really like and we’ll stick with those. I think I get just as excited as they do when they participate in things. They’re just so darn cute!

It came and it went

The first day of school that is. This day flew by and because I'm too tired to type in complete sentences, here's a quick run down of our crazy day.

7:10am - "Crap! I'm late!" Roll out of bed but secretly hope it's Fall Daylight Savings.
7:11 - Dang, the time is right.
7:12 - Take a quick shower. Where's the shampoo?
7:20 - Get the girls up, or in other words, wake the dead.
7:30 - Finally get everyone breakfast. Even treat myself to toast and eggs.
7:50 - Realize it's almost 8:00 and we're running late. Miss my bed. Dang.

8:00 - Why aren't the girls listening to me and getting ready?
8:10 - Start yelling "hurry up!"
8:15 - Work on hair. They'll survive with one ponytail and a comb down right?
8:16 - Wonder what the sitter will think of the hair.
8:17 - Start packing food for girls. Guess who didn't go to the store.
8:18 - They'll survive on fruit leather and bananas right?
8:20 - Get in the car.
8:30 - Arrive at sitters, hope she doesn't care about the hair.
8:38 - Try not to speed to class.
8:48 - Kick myself for wearing sandals when I have to walk 10 minutes to class from the car.
8:58 - Make it in time. Miss my bed.

10:45 - Yay, class is over. Dang, I have homework.

11:15 - Pick up girls. Yay they were good. Hair didn't last.
11:45 - Head home for lunch.

12:15pm - Clip everyone's fingernails and toenails. Pack school bag with new books. Pack gym clothes. Redo hair - never mind. Put hats on girls.
12:45 - Help Miss J with her homework.

1:10 - Crap, we're running late, again.
1:20 - Bathroom break for girls, quick clean up. Sigh at sight of bed.
1:35 - Pick up grater from friend to make zucchini bread.
1:42 - Crap, why is the time flying by? At least girls are in hats.
1:52 - Give car and girls to Spouse, go to class.
1:54 - Get lost.
1:58 - Get found.

2:05 - About cry because there's a quiz. Fail quiz. Feel awful.
2:10 - Look dumbfounded at teacher. What language is he speaking?
2:15 - Consider fleeing. I need ice cream. Or the Urim and Thummim.
2:16 - Stay put.

3:20 - Leave class. Sit on lawn and wait for Spouse. Do homework.
3:40 - Arrive home and get ready for the gym. Why did I bother with my hair?
3:58 - Drop Spouse off at work.

4:05 - Exercise. Think about cookies. Think about bed. Hair didn't make it.

5:30-7:10 - Get dinner, clean up, read scriptures, sing songs, say prayers, make zucchini bread.

After 7:10 - Visit with a friend, make phone calls, do homework, sleep. Forever.

It's a little early...

I was thinking how funny it is that the older I get, the more I become like my mom. And the older I get, the more that realization bothers me, lol! Don’t misunderstand me, there are many, many admirable qualities my mother has that I wish I did. I guess I’m just more surprised at how “soon” I would realize that we’re more alike than I’ve ever admitted. Although, there are still a few things I will never have that my mom has. One is acne. Yeah, my mom never had it growing up and I always have. Despite a few different acne treatments I seem to be continually blessed in that department, lol! Oh well, if I had to take after someone, I’m glad it’s my mom. Now if only I could ever measure up to how incredible she is.

The latest

Jen asked me awhile back for some updates on this post. Sorry it's taken so long to let everyone know, we have been crazy busy. :)

My mom - She is out of the hospital and doing better. We went up to visit her the day after she arrived home and that's when it all hit me pretty hard. My mom doesn't look anywhere near her age and she's a hoot around my girls. So to see her in this way, just broke my heart. We stayed most of the day and helped out where we could. Since then, her oxygen levels are improving and she's been more mobile. I continue to pray everyday that she will overcome all of this and soon. Thanks to those who have been so supportive, I've appreciated it.

School - I'm about 75% sure that I want to continue my schooling and go into my program. So I've been taking all the steps required to do just that. One requirement was to get fingerprinted and have a background check done. $50 later, those are taken care of. I still need to get a physical, something I'm not particularly thrilled with because we don't have insurance, and the physician office I spoke with told me it could cost as much as $200. Then lastly, I need my Hep B shots. This has been frustrating because I think I've already had it done but I don't have any records to prove it. So I've been on the phone for days trying to find my records but no one has anything because the place I believe I had them done, was closed down years ago. I'll probably end up getting a titer, which is a blood test that determines if I have the antibodies or not. Add another $80 to my tab. Oh, and lastly, my favorite part, is paying for school. Yeah, $6,000 for my husband and I to go this semester. Six grand for tuition, that doesn't include the books! Oh, and I just found out that our Commerce and Labor department won't be able to help me pay for anything due to their budget. When Spouse was laid off a year ago, they said if I found a 2 year program, they would help me pay for some, maybe all, of my costs. I'm pretty disappointed but I'm praying we'll still be able to figure something out.

Camping - We're planning on taking a two day camping trip with some friends of ours. They have been so great and we really enjoy spending time with them. What's funny, is that I don't think we would have ever been as close as we are now, if I hadn't been her visiting teacher. From the first day we met, I knew there was something special about her and her family. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's part in having us meet. I count my blessings everyday for her and my friendship because she's just the friend I have needed. We're going to have a great weekend. :)

Summer - It's almost over and I'm feeling a little panicky. There's still so much left to do and only a month to do it all in. Thankfully Spouse is done with summer school this week and between the two of us, we'll get a lot done. The girls have been great lately and they continue to make me smile and laugh. We just had some family pictures taken and they turned out fabulous! (IM me to see!) Overall, it's been a great summer and we still have a lot to look forward to!

Good news!

We are able to take our vacation after all! Everything didn't work out perfectly, but at least we can go. We're not sure if we will be able to attend the baby blessing, as that would require two trips, but we'll see. I'm so excited to go! With all of our day to day busyness and craziness, the four of us need a break. It's rare we get time with just ourselves, so it should be fun.

Sorry to run, but I need to go finish cleaning the house. I can't stand coming home to a mess. :P

Funny girl I have

My eldest daughter often cracks me up. Today, out of the blue, she says “mommy, do we have a trampoline?” To her disappointment, I told her no, we did not have one. It’s been a long time since she’s actually jumped on a trampoline so I don’t know where this came from. I figure she just has a really good memory. Not something she gets from me I might add. lol

He's a keeper

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we do relatively the same thing. I wake up at 7am and get ready for class. Lately, the girls have been getting up just before 7:30, so I grab us all some breakfast. Husband gets up right before I head out the door and I catch my ride to school.

I recently discovered that after I leave, my husband usually goes back to bed. Lucky goose! lol I can't blame him, he's up so late doing homework that it's hard to get up so early. So after his little nap, he gets the girls ready (this involves clothes and a coat) and comes to meet me at school about 9:15. He gets out and goes to class and I drive home with the girlies.

But today was different. When I jumped in the car for our swap, Miss J said that daddy made cookies. (We have a deal where he makes the dough and I bake them.) I had yummy cookie dough waiting for me, mmmmm! He tells me that he got the girls ready early, did Miss J's hair (which is not easy for him but it looked pretty good), and made me cookies.

Isn't that sweet? He totally gets brownie points, er, cookie points, today. How did I get so lucky. :)

Money, ooh la la

In military fashion, everyone repeat after me!

"It's that time of year again,
When we get our tax returns!
So excited, loads of fun,
Here we go, run, run, run!"

"In the bank the money goes,
See it there and jump for joy!
Out the window it then flies,
Wipe a tear and say goodbye!"

"Sound off...1, 2, 3, 4..."

It's true isn't it? Anytime you get extra money, it tends to fly out the window. We don't even have our return yet and it's practically gone. Where is it going you ask? No, it's not going to my dream vacation in Ireland. No, it's not going to buy a new car. No, it's not even going to buy me deodorant, as practical as that would be.

The largest chunk of our return will go towards getting hubby braces (paying half this year, the other half with next year's return). Did you know that the cost of braces has almost doubled since I had them 6+ years ago? It's true! Our logic is, as the children get older, more of our money will go towards them. (We don't doubt that all of our kids will need braces and paying for more than one at a time is insane.) So while we *have* the money now, we thought the timing was better. Plus the extra rebate-thing from Bush this year will help compensate. So that's the first thing on our list.

The second purchase will be for a new vacuum. I mentioned that we bought this one from Wal-Mart but it's a pain. Plus, I need something with attachments and our current one doesn't have any. You don't realize how much you use them until they're gone.

Third, will be flatware. Yes, we're buying yet another set. Thankfully our current set has lasted so long and hopefully the next one will do just as well if not better.

Fourth, we want to take a mini vacation over Spring Break. I think we've been cooped up a little too long and it will do us a world of good. After this, the rest of the money will go into savings. As small as it may be, it will be nice to have a savings at all.

So, what are your plans for your tax return?

This is why we have children

Sure, we sometimes have rough days, but most of my parenting days are wonderful. Little Miss J has been so cute recently and I want to share a fun glimpses into my parenthood. I love this girl!

1. We weren't introduced until today, but apparently there's a puppy living with us. It's a boy, he's green, and his name is Charky (um, ok). He escaped from view a few times and caused a serious dilemma for my three year old, but thankfully he's safe and sound now. I don't think I ever had an imaginary friend so this to me is priceless.

2. Today was her first trip to the dentist and for the most part, she did pretty well. The lady helping us was so sweet showing Miss J every tool they would use to clean her teeth. Mr. Slurpie became the favorite as she got a kick out of putting it in her mouth. When it came time to clean her teeth they were only able to get four done, which was fine. We'll go back in a few weeks and finish up. I was really proud of her and I even found out that she has ticklish teeth like her mommy.

3. "Mom, if there's anything you need, just let me know." I stopped in my tracks, jaw dropped, and responded with, "well, we do need to clean up your room." Her reply, "oh, ok!!" That was pure heaven.

I'm so blessed. :)

I can't believe it

My sister was driving with her three month old son in my dad's old pickup, when she heard a loud pop and the engine started on fire. Thankfully she was able to get herself and her son out of the truck before it was engulfed in flames. The police are still investigating what caused it to happen.

My reaction, as you can imagine, was that of shock and worry. It's amazing that my sister and nephew came away unscathed. I'm so thankful to Heavenly Father for blessing them with safety. We knew the truck was in bad condition, but never thought it would explode on the highway. Scary incident.

I keep meaning too

But I haven't made the time to work on my blog like I said I would. With school done, Christmas, and being sick, I haven't felt like doing much at all. Husband and I have been in a bit of a slump this week. We're not quite sure what to do with ourselves and all the time on our hands. lol It feels like our brains have gone to mush and it's only been a week since school let out!

I've been doing some reading, which has been nice. Husband has been able to play some Playstation games that he hasn't touched in months and he's enjoyed that. The girls are having fun with the new Christmas presents too. But overall, I think we're getting rather stir crazy. We've been cooped up because of illness so leaving the house could do us some good. Maybe we'll head to the library or walk around the mall. The girls have asked to go swimming, so we might do that too. Hey, we haven't taken the bowling yet, maybe we should try that. I'll do anything at this point. lol

So, what is everyone else doing to keep themselves sane? I need some ideas. :D

I love this time of year

I especially love the spirit that comes with the holidays. We have had a wonderful Christmas and I love the time we have with our children. They have truly made our Christmas special and more meaningful. The light in their eyes as they watched Christmas movies, made special treats, wrapped/unwrapped presents, saw the lights, and sang songs. It wouldn't have bothered me a bit to not receive any presents this year because I am filled with joy just by watching and being with my girls. I was more excited for them than for anything else.

This was the first year that we kept our Christmas presents on a smaller scale. We liked the idea of doing three main gifts for each child, resembling the three gifts that were given to Jesus Christ at His birth. Although some thought it was strange, it helped us to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Not to mention the decreased amount of stress! Our girls don't need much and what they did receive they loved. Their favorite presents included their own rocking chairs and a little camera. My favorites included the game Scattergories from my husband and one of my favorite movies, "North and South," from Kara.

I hope everyone who reads this also had a wonderful holiday and is enjoying their time with friends and family. :)

Look at the pretty snow!

We've finally had a decent amount of snow. It's beens snowing since last night and everything today is white. It's really pretty on the ground and on the trees. I think it may be time to buy the girls some snow boots so we can go play in it. They have been so excited to build a snowman. And snow means Christmas is coming! I'd rather have a white Christmas than a brown one. Plus, it gives me a good reason to drink hot chocolate with marshmallows. :)