a GREAT birthday!

Thanks to all of you who wished me a Happy Birthday, and crossed your fingers that I would have a better birthday this year!!! I FOR SURE DID! It started with me sleeping in until 9 (ahhh) and then I headed to Joe's Farm Grill where they gave me a free birthday breakfast, and I got to go with two beautiful friends, Emily and Loa. I had never had breakfast there before, and it was without a doubt the BEST breakfast I've ever had at a restaurant. I had hand-squeezed orange juice (to die for- really- that good) and a belgian waffle with sausage. And it was a beautiful but slightly chilly day, so we were able to eat outside under some heaters. Then I had Loa drop me off at the San Tan mall, where I went to Sephora (free birthday body wash from Philosophy) and Victoria Secret (had a $10 gift card, bought some YUMMY body butter) and Bath and Body Works (picked up a few little things) and then I waited for Samuel to come pick me up. There was a little confusion on when my in-laws were supposed to be there, and he ended up picking me up about an hour later than planned. Fine by me, but it messed up my plans to get to the temple that day, since we didn't have time to do everything I planned. So we rescheduled our temple trip for Monday (turns out the temple is closed all day Monday down here- so Wednesday it is.) Then we headed to Scottsdale, where we picked up 4 gourmet cupcakes (expensive- but SOOOOOO good. I rationalized that this was my birthday cake.) We saved them for later, because first we had to go to my favorite Thai restaurant, the Thai House- and got their (once again, to-die-for) Red Pineapple Curry with chicken. Seriously. It doesn't get much better than that. I don't like pineapple in dinner foods normally, but for this, I am forced to make an exception.

Next we headed to this gourmet ice cream place that I've been dying to try. It's super fresh and natural and they make everything from scratch in their store. It's called Sweet Republic. We bought a pint of almond toffee (homemade toffee in there!! Yummm) and split it as we drove back to Gilbert. Then Samuel dropped me off at a salon where I got a pedicure and Shellac Manicure. I don't normally get manicures, because they just don't hold up to mommy duties, but I have to say, Shellac is the way to GO!! They are totally hard and dry by the time you leave, plus they are gel and don't chip or scratch (at least not so far) and they just look fabulous, if I do say so myself.

Having red nails like this just makes me feel better about myself. I feel more elegant. That's a nice change.


Then we met up with the kids, and they had made me sugar cookies while they were with Grandma. (Yum! Best eating day ever.) We got home and busted out the cupcakes, where they sang to me and helped me blow out my candle.

The red velvet cupcake was the most amazing cupcake I've ever had in my life. (We went to Sprinkles, for those who were wondering, only because it was the closest place to the Thai House.) As I was standing over the kitchen sink, polishing off the last bite of the cupcake, the top (FROSTING) part broke off and fell in to the sink. It landed in a clean(ish) dish that just had some recent water in it. And you kNOW I couldn't let that go to waste. We had just paid $3.50 PER CUPCAKE and I wasn't letting that last frosted bite go to waste. I grabbed that piece of cupcake right out and stuffed it in my mouth. The waterlogged cake part was no longer any good, but the frosting was still FINE! It was worth it. Samuel couldn't believe I did it. But wouldn't you?

It was really a wonderful birthday. My next door neighbor (the one who decorated the house with balloons when I came home from the hospital with Ella) brought over a birthday Teddy Bear and 5 more extra large, beautifully frosted cupcakes that night. It was so sweet. I felt special. I felt loved. That's how you should feel on your birthday.

31

This is what I'm having for dinner tonight. Cause it's my Birthday Eve.

Tomorrow is my birthday. I hope it's a good day. Last year I turned 30- it was the worst birthday of my LIFE. I already didn't want to turn 30...but I was also pregnant, emotional (a little down all week) and I didn't want to plan anything for my birthday. But I wanted it to be made into a big deal (as always- I was raised that way) but Samuel was not...this means my birthday is never quite how I pictured it in my head.

I asked Samuel (repeatedly) to plan the day, but he didn't. He thought I would do what I do many other years, and plan my own day, and just tell him what to do. It ended up being a day where everything went wrong, I went to lunch ALONE, okay, that's not accurate, with Kalia, who cried most of the time because I accidentally slammed her finger in the car door. And okay, I did get a pedicure, but they couldn't fit me in earlier in the day, in fact I basically had to beg for an appointment (I had a gift certificate) and by the time I was done, it was a little too late to go to dinner or a movie, so I just stayed home and I'm pretty sure I cried, until Samuel finally asked what else he was supposed to do, and I told him to go get me a DANG CAKE! (I don't like cake that much, but I wanted to blow out some candles, or have the girls sing to me, or something, gosh darn it! My kids didn't even know it was my birthday for crying out loud.) I did get my cake at about 10:30 p.m., also about the time I got a voicemail from my mom telling me that she had been thinking about me all day, but hadn't had time to call, what with the party they were at and everything. I purposely didn't answer because I was mad that she let the whole day go by. Plus, I have always felt like my birthday was a bit of an "inconvenience"-- being so close to Christmas and all. I know I can't complain, because some of my friends have birthdays on Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day. That has to be worse, no doubt. But still. I want my own day, ya know?

Yeah. Turning 30 was awful. It was 95% my fault. My husband is awesome and sweet and thoughtful. He was so confused by my behavior last year.

I am determined that this birthday is going to be better. Luckily, I WAS in the mood to plan my whole day. And luckily, I also have made some friends in my new ward this year, so I don't have to feel like such a loser! :D I also plan on getting gourmet cupcakes, ice cream at a specialty ice cream shop, and eating at LEAST two meals out. One of them with friends, and one with my eternal companion. We are also going to go to the temple, because I had the thought to go on my b-day last year, and I didn't. And now I wonder if that would have made my day any better.
Oh, and I repeatedly reminded Kalia and Annie that it was my birthday. They even started telling the neighbors. Niiiiiiiice.

Perhaps best of all, Samuel surprised me with my very own piano. It's a gem. It came all the way from Ireland, stayed in Scottsdale for awhile, and he found a great deal on Ebay classifieds, although he refuses to tell me what he paid. Look at how the top opens up like a faux-grand-piano? So RAD! I am so excited. We have to get it tuned, but that's okay.

So here's to turning 31. I can already tell you that it's going to be a whole lot easier than turning 30!!! Woot woot!
This picture...oh...what can I say. I was trying on this shirt to see how the color looked on me. Samuel was snapping pictures and egging me on like I was modeling. So I was pretending to model. I was trying to "Smize"- can'tcha tell???
hahahaha.

Drab to Fab for $0

So, Samuel works for Paypal, which is owned by Ebay. They are known for being pretty good to their employees, including great benefits, and lots of parties, incentives, and bonuses. This year they had their Holiday Party at a ritzy hotel, and it was a Hollywood/Red Carpet theme. (There was literally a red carpet to walk on when you got to the entrance. It was pretty cool.) There were 1200 people there!! I didn't know until 24 hours prior that I was supposed to dress up in something "Glamorous." Yeah....I don't own anything that fits that description. And I didn't exactly have the time or money to go out and buy something! So this is how I solved that dilemma:

*Called my neighbor, ended up borrowing her black satin dress.

*Pulled an old trick my roomies in college taught me: Wear TWO padded bras (had to fill out the dress. It was too big in the chest.) Instant boob job.

*Browsed Pinterest for a Smoky Eye Tutorial. Found one, and did my best to copy.

*After looking at these pictures, I went back in the bathroom and added more dark shadow for an even smokier effect. This is my "I'm trying to be sultry" face. It makes me giggle, cause it's not working.

*Dug out my hot pink heels. Finally a chance to wear them!

*Realized I didn't have any hot pink accessories, and didn't want too much black.

*So I painted a bracelet with toll paint (the other side is the original color- it's reversible.)

*Then I found one of Kalia's princess Aurora dresses, and cut off the bottom of it in a complete circle-- and I had my hot pink sash.

(I felt a little like Cinderella, trying to fancy up her dress so she could go to the ball. If only I had little mice and birds to help.)

I was pretty happy with how it all turned out, although I kind of wish I had worn my hair up. And looking back, I might have liked the dress better without the sash- the dress was a little more of of an empire waist, and the sash wouldn't sit there, so I wore it around my natural waist. But whatever. It worked. We had fun. Just wish we would have won an Ipad or a big TV.


(P.S. Samuel works on the Spanish team, which explains why he is the only white guy.)

Life is Settling Down

Well, things have finally gotten a little easier with three kids... And that is for this main reason: Ella (just hit 8 months) is finally on formula, and I am off the diet. This means she is eating every 4 hours (sometimes her naps are so long that it will be 5 and sometimes 6 hours without eating) and she is sleeping for LONG stretches at night. Usually I will put her to bed at 8 or 9, sneak in and feed her one more bottle at midnight, then she will sleep all the way until 9 or 10 in the morning. It's wonderful. I also moved her into her own little Nursery. I mean storage room. And I thought it would be traumatizing for her, since she was used to being so close to me, but she transitioned fine, and sleeps well in the pitch black. She is a very good baby, I LOVE this age! She crawls all over the house and plays with whatever she finds. She can sometimes entertain herself for a full hour. This means I have a little more free time to shower, make my bed, read my scriptures, or clean a tiny bit. It makes me feel less stressed, and a tad more productive. Just a tad.

She is putting everything in her mouth, still, so walking would actually be a little better for her health, because she won't have quite as much access to pieces of crackers and cereal that she's finding on the floor. But for the most part, she's a very easy baby and it's been fun. Kalia loves to make her laugh (and she's really good at it) although that usually entails lots of loud noises and yelling from Kalia. Annie is going through a SMOTHERing stage with Ella, she wants to hold her and not let her get away, despite Ella screeching to be let loose. I have to threaten Annie a lot to get her to let Ella go. Annie told Al, our upstairs neighbor/friend/landlord, that her name is Annie, but if she's in trouble, her name is Annaliese Sadie. I think that says it all.

I worked out a few days ago- it made me so sore that it's been 3 days and I can't make myself do it again. The good news is that it didn't aggravate my hip and leg joint too badly, so I might be able to keep it up.

Oh, but my sad, little boobies shrunk so fast. Smaller and droopier than ever! I couldn't believe how fast that happened. A boob job is sounding more and more appealing. Just to put them up where they belong. Restore them to their former B-cup glory- is that even too much to ask? All right. I might want to be a C.

Just so I don't forget, what happened with the diet was that Ella was that I started having symptoms of hypoglycemia; my hands started trembling after only a few hours of not eating. I wasn't able to get enough protein in my diet, as beans seemed to bother Ella when I ate them, so I was stuck with just turkey and beef- and no dairy. The nail in the coffin though is that she was sleeping horrible at nights, and was having stomachaches almost daily- this is because I started eating all fruits and vegetables, and beans, thinking all those things MUST be okay! But they weren't- which ones were bothering her, I don't know- but I realized that there were just TOO MANY THINGS BOTHERING HER! It was time for formula.

I agonized about switching though, because the time I tried to switch her to Elecare/Neocate (the Ped. Gastroenterologists very firm suggestion), it went SO HORRIBLY, and I was really worried that the corn syrup solids would bother her. So after lots of worry, and some prayers, I decided to INSIST that the formula prescription be for Alimentum- the same stuff Annie was on. I felt so much peace. Luckily I was able to see the Nurse Practitioner who is my new favorite person ever, who gladly gave me what I was begging for. Samuel and I started praying for Ella to be able to know why we were putting her on formula, and we asked that the taste not be too awful for her. And our prayers were answered 100% as we asked (how often does that happen?) The first time I gave Ella a bottle of Alimentum, she drank it without a single complaint. I was STUNNED. It was Thanksgiving day, and I was able to start eating normally from that moment on. Which was pretty great timing- let's be honest.

She has taken 4 steps, but is still tipsy when she tries to walk. She can stand forEVER though. She also figured out how to climb up the stairs and also up the girls' picnic table.

Family Pictures 2011

Things to Remember:
*I spent all morning scouting out two perfect locations. We didn't use either of them, and I am so glad- the photographer had some better ideas.
*At the first location, and after only about 10 minutes, Kalia laid down on her belly in the dirt, just goofing off. I was freaking out!
*Ella was teething and has her tongue resting on her bottom gums for most of the pictures. We didn't get a great shot of her, but oh well. Next time.
*I used a curling wand on my hair, as well as Kalia and Annie's.
*Annie had to go potty in the middle of the shoot. I had to take her around the side of this old "peeling paint" building and hold her while she went on the ground.
*I wish I would have gotten my hair done before the pics (regrowth!) but it had only been 4 weeks, and I couldn't rationalize it. Guess there's always photoshop.
*I used bathroom humor to get Kalia and Annie to smile- things like "poopy bum!" and "Ella tooted!" and "stinky pants!" and it totally worked.
*Kathryn Crouse (Kathryn Crouse Photography) is amazing. She's in our ward. We loved working with her. She edited so many photos for us, I had to beg Samuel to give in and buy the whole session. I don't think we'll regret it.
*This is the first time I've ever been truly happy with pictures of myself. It's probably the extra 12 lbs that are missing, but oh well- Samuel looks handsome too- and we are both hit and miss on photos. Another reason to buy the whole set.
*Ella was really getting cranky at the second location (the Pecan Groves and the red building with the vines growing up the building. Loved that place.)
*I returned Annie's shoes to Kohls after that photo shoot, because after only 1.5 hours the outer toe leather was worn off.
*I was going to put tights on Ella but I forgot. I'm glad though, because we got that cute baby leg fat photo.
*For the last 7 months, Ella's little left eye always has a tear in it, since it doesn't drain well. I Love that she caught a shot of that tear so I can remember it.
*The last picture is the one we are blowing up huge for our wall (on canvas.) Kathy told me to stick my hip out like that, I didn't think of it on my own. I liked the final effect though.

Here's my handsome hubby!