I Survived Rock Climbing

Last night I went rock climbing for the 1st time.

A client invited me to a GNO & i figured, why not :)

I tried not to think about it too much ahead of time.

I was the 1st to climb and did pretty well until I reached about 1/2 way. Then I made the mistake of looking down. Not a good idea!

So I tried it again and made it to the top.

Pretty thrilling!

All the girls rocked it and we had a blast.

Thank you Kelly for inviting me.

Next time we will have to get you up there too :)

And yes, you can tell how hard & how hot it was in there just by looking at my face.

It's My Birthday!!!

Thank you everyone for making it feel special for me.

XOXO!

Wisdom B Gone

Well, it's done! No more wisdom teeth and a whole lot of Vicodin.

Before appt & After appt

New Van & New Graduate!

I am sooo excited to say I am officially a "Soccer Mom!"

We just purchased a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan with all the bells & whistles.

Leather, automatic EVERYTHING, DVD player, sun roof.... We LOVE It!

And so do the kids!

We also have another graduate on our hands.

Conrad graduated from Mtn View last week and boy has he been fun to watch during his high school years.

Conrad you Rock and I am so proud of you!

I Love to See the Temple

Last night I received a call from my beautiful sister inviting me to go to the Temple with her.

Of course I said yes.

I have to be honest, life's busy schedule has interfered with me going to the Temple as much as I would like & I could feel a dire need to go and feel the wonderful spirit that is there.

Thank you Cami for spending that time with me. Love you!

I have always had a special love for this song. There is so much warmth and joy that fills my heart whenever I hear it.

Read the words and then listen to the beautiful arrangement below.

"I Love To See The Temple"

1. I love to see the temple.

I’m going there someday

To feel the Holy Spirit,

To listen and to pray.

For the temple is a house of God,

A place of love and beauty.

I’ll prepare myself while I am young;

This is my sacred duty.

2. I love to see the temple.

I’ll go inside someday.

I’ll cov’nant with my Father;

I’ll promise to obey.

For the temple is a holy place

Where we are sealed together.

As a child of God, I’ve learned this truth:

A fam’ly is forever.

Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, b. 1938

Doctrine and Covenants 124:39–41

Happy Friday!

I Just Can't Help Myself

I swore I would not buy anything else for my home, not 1 thing!

I just can't help myself especially when it comes to holiday decor. I mean just look at my cute bunnies, lamb and carrot garland.

Adorable!

Oh, & I found the cutest apothecary jar that now needs to be filled with easter goodies. Yep Ithink I am going to start collecting them. I just love all the shapes & sizes. So far my collection consists of 2 & I'm looking for 1 more (tall & skinny is what I have in mind)

p.s. did I mention my baby is not a baby anymore & I am totally baby hungry!

Maybe if I get pregnant I will stop shopping

(does someone want to tell Scott that for me)

An Explanation...

My body's roller coaster ride the last few months

(Seriously, don't feel any pressure to read this at all)

So to start out, I have been a hormonal mess these last few weeks.

A little background.

December 7th: I had my IUD taken out.

January 6th: Started Advocare, totally transforming my body and my health for the better.

February 2nd: My monthly visitor! 1st one after getting my IUD out.

My monthly visitor was BRUTAL and lasted forever! My hormones were going ever which direction and I couldn't get a hold of them. The only thing I could compare them to was 2 yrs ago when I miscarried and then became pregnant again 2 weeks later.

(p.s. no I am NOT pregnant, & NOT trying)

I was a teenager again, throwing temper tantrums & acting like a psycho! & that's pretty much what I have been going through again, but I tried really hard to keep it all inside which really destroyed me, big time!

My body & mind have been thrown every which direction.

R u kidding me that I felt like taking care of my health when my hormones were acting like this. No way! ...............

Pretty much I don't know what I am saying anymore, but you get the picture. I was a depressed mess!

Fast forward to today.

I'm back in business.

Scott was home for a bit so I went out on my own & I ran another 2 miles straight. I always end in a long sprint which felt amazing! I took out my ear pieces so I could hear my shoes on the asphalt and wow what a beautiful sound that was.

I feel like I am back in business, & I am coming back from a horrible place.

My Advocare products did wonders for me and now I truly know the difference they have made reminding myself of what it was like not taking them.

(I'm just taking my vitamins people, nothing hard or fancy)

So here's to me! - Yes I need to give myself praise, I'm weird I know :)

P.s. Our 5 yr anniversary in coming up in a couple weeks and I have a lot of work to do to feel amazing for our special day!

And just because every post needs a picture

(especially a post like this)

Here is Katelyn & I after making Valentines jewelry a couple weeks ago.

My hope is that if anyone has been struggling that you make today the day to say...

"Darn you hormones, I am taking my body & mind back!"

p.s. again. Thank you for all the V-Day advice & experiences! Loves to all!

I feel so blessed, I know weird to say, But I truly do feel so blessed to have my blog to be able to "talk" to so many amazing women, to share our thoughts, our sorrows, our achievements, and everything else that life throws at us :)

Well, thanks for listening to me.

On a side note......

I ran 2 miles today! Yep 2 miles running the whole way.

Pretty proud of myself!

(and then I came home ate a spinach salad....... 4 mini recess pb cups and 6 mini sugar cookies..... yep, looks like 2 more miles are in order for today)

Happy "*!&@$% Valentines Day to Me

*****WARNING- MAJOR VENT HAPPENING HERE*****

This was my last year celebrating Valentines Day- So Serious!

I'm so done with this stupid holiday!

Word can't even express the frustration of now hate this holiday!

Men are forced to express their love in ways they don't know how and us women get sucked into expecting the works- Why?Because we are supposedly suppose to. But Men are not made this way, seriously they are not so why do we hold it against them? In households across america, well at least Mesa, AZ, In talking to all my friends Valentines day is ALWAYS a BUST!

So while purchasing gifts for everyone else for this "special" day & in an attempt to get myself a gift as well, I buy myself a balloon, & guess what happens? It pops as I was loading it in the car. Seriously, out of everyone's balloon why was mine that one that had to pop. I found so much symbolism in mine being the one to pop & I burst into tears and thought to myself Happy Freakin Valentines Day to me!

When I was done crying

my horrible tears I heard the sweetest voice from the back seat

(yes my kids were in the car with me as I balled).

Katelyn asked "what's wrong Mommy"

I said "I'm sad because my balloon popped"

After a few seconds, Katelyn's responded, "I'll share my balloon with you Mommy"

I cried a little more after that:)

So sorry for the vent, And if anyone had a romantic candlelit dinner with chocolates, 2 dozen roses and lingerie waiting for them, and didn't gain like 20 lbs from eating loads of goodies, then I don't want to hear about it.

So, I know I really play up the holidays and I guess I do except too much. Scott loves me so much and I can't blame him for not getting inside my head to read my mind & that goes to all the other couples out there.

I know he loves me & that's all that matters.

(I will just never celebrate Valentines day for myself ever again)

:(

My New Desk

Scott kicked me out of the office, so now I am out in the family room and I'm kinda liking it, so thank you Scott!

My desk needed a little something for all my notes, announcements, reminders, ect.

Ya know something cute:)

So I gather up some materials.

And made this!

I didn't have much ribbon & it's a little off centered looking, but once all my notes, etc... are up I think it will look great!

So here's to my new desk :)

Turn That Frown Upside Down

These last few days have kinda been the pits.

Read Here.

Katelyn went outside with me this morning and presented me with this stunning beauty.

It has totally turned my frown upside down.

Today is a new day and I'm not going to let a second of it go to waste.

(please excuse the early morning face & hair)

***********************************

Addition made after reading all the comments....

Thank you girls, you are all so sweet.

Yes, I am my own worse critic, but let me reassure you that I am not only looking at the scale, but mainly just to what my body is telling me. What I put in my body sometimes makes me feel terribly gross. I think what I have learned this weekend is that my body does not handle salt very well at all. It makes be bloated and gives me a very heavy tummy. And today as the day moves on I am getting a headache, I think it's from withdrawals, even though I only had a little over the weekend. It's crazy because I thought sugar was my weakness, but come to find out it's salt.

Who knew?

Thanks for all the concerns and I know I am beautiful, well, I'm still working on telling myself that, but ya know it's a work in progress, i'm sure for many women. All I know is I feel amazingly happy when my body it healthy & happy so that's what I'm continuing to work on!

A Little Christmas Pampering

I recieved a gift card to get my nails done and I took katelyn with me to get some pampering.

I told her last night and she was sooo excited!

We had a 9:30 appt this morning and Katelyn quickly got all ready to go.

Once we got there she waited anxiously in the lobby. I went 1st and Katelyn kept herself busy reading books and playing with her stickers.

He turn was up and she picked her color. PINK of course :)

It was all business when she was getting her nails done & she held so still.

It was a fun Mommy Daughter date!

& yes, her nails getting done was that serious that she didn't even want to smile for the pic :)

My Birthday Weekend

Saturday morning Scott & Katelyn picked up some doughnuts for breakfast.

This pic just cracks me up- look at all of our random faces :)

& Guess what I got for my gift?

YAY!!!!!!!!

We got ready for the day and headed over to see sweet baby "Birdie" my newest little cousin.

Then over to Joes's BBQ for a free Lunch. (Funny story: Scott filled up our BBQ sauce cups for us. I poured a cups all over my Pork sandwhich, then dipped a spoonful of Mac N Chz into some and fed it to Katleyn. She FREAKED and chugged her water. I thought she was being a little spastic. Then I bit into my sandshich and my mouth was on FIRE! Scott had gotten the "extremely spicy" habanero BBQ sauce. It was a very hot meal, with me only eating very little of what I could bare."

After lunch we went to Krispie Kreme to pick up my free doughnuts. We dropped some off at Scott's Mom's home and thanked her for contributing to buying my camera, then dropped the rest off at my families home.

We went home and my Cousin & her Hubby came over to pick out their puppy. We call him"Jet" & he is so adorable.

Scott & I got ready for my Birthday Date.

We saw Inception. BEST MOVIE EVER!!! Wow, words can't describe it, I LOVED it!- GO SEE IT!

Scott earned points when he then surprised me by taking me to Anzio Landing. We went there on our 1st New Years night together.

Sunday the festivities continued at my parents home with a yummy dinner and dessert.

I also received cookies from my VT, Cake pops from a client, cupcakes from Em, flowers from an amazing friend, & Wonderful Birthday wishes, texts, & phone calls.

Thank you for such an amazing Birthday!

P.S. while I was cleaning out the fish bowl this morning, "Fish" decided to swim down the drain.

So now we have "Fish II"

But Katelyn doesn't know, so don't tell her,

Guess Who's Birthday Is Tomorrow?

Tomorrow I turn 26!

(I think I have been telling people all year that I was 26 already- Seriously I never remember my age.)

I came home from Bunco last night (p.s. Thank you Shaun for hosting I had a blast!)

Anyways, Scott & Katelyn put up decorations and wrapped the gifts for me.

So sweet!

Then today I did a great workout at the gym. I was sweating my pants off, but oh how it felt so good. Then I saw an old friend & did her hair. Then I went to lunch at Crackers with My Mom & Grandma, (Bread pudding- oh so yummy!) Then I got a pedi from Sally (p .s. she does and awesome job, I almost fell asleep I was so relaxed)

Scott has a wonderful day planned for me tomorrow.

Oh I'm actually really excited about this birthday! Yay!

Thank you for the cards, gifts, and babysitters!

I feel so loved:)

Story of The Rubber Chicken

10 yrs ago this rubber chicken entered my life. Not sure where it came from but Mom hung it up in the kitchen and it drove me crazy. I would always take it down and hide it until someone eventually found it and brought it back. This has been a running joke ever since.

On Fathers day the rubber chicken was found up in a tree in the backyard and brought back to haunt me.

After Landon chased me with it he disappeard and returned with his classic sheepish grin on his face. He was up to something.

The next day this happened

(Included is a little video of the puppies too)

Landon had recruited Scott to help and they hid it in the trunk, then Scott hid it in the toilet at home. Apparently he had the camera on hand and was just waiting anxiously.

Running jokes are hilarious how they get started & they never end,

Hence the rubber chicken and the axe drawn here:)

Dear Wedding Dress,

Have you shrunk or have I grown? Sadly I am at fault. I put you on today for the last time. Cami (my sis) will be altering you because she is even smaller than I was on my wedding day. My goal was to someday fit back into you, but it seems that is completely not possible.

Not too bad from the front

(minus the no shower today)

But from the back, it's a whole different story.

Why don't you zip up anymore?

Oh ya, I've had two kids and my ribs have expanded.

What's the deal with that?

I know I have gained some weight in my middle, but what's the deal w/ my entire rib cage expanding- Not Fair!

Has anyone else had this issue.

I'm sure you have. Please, do share.

Encouraging Words Desperatly Needed

I am to say the least, EXHAUSTED!
I am barely getting by these days, and a times feel like I just want to give up.

I dread the night and morning hours where sleep rarely takes place for Mack & Myself.
Mack has the bad habit of wanted to nurse 24/7 and it's really taking a toll on me.
He will not even fall asleep unless he is latched onto me.
This is not a habit I want him to have, but when nothing else works It's what ends up happening.

So, to help me out a little I ask for some encouraging words. I have cried my last tear and I want to look at the experience as a positive one- however I am in need of help to make that happen.

A No Title Post

Well lets see here... The is not much to report going on around here.

Katelyn was watching Cinderella this morning and when it came to the "Ball" part she said. "I dance, I dance" and ran into her room. Not sure what she was doing, but then she came out w/ her Snow White costume and wanted it on so she could dance like Cinderalla.
It was too cute.
Then I tried to film her counting, Cinderella was distracting her a little too much though.

Katelyn took my camera and took this lovely picture of herself.

Just look at those beautiful teeth.

Scott's Dad & Step Brother came down from Denver to purchase a Jeep- It's beautiful!

They were going to stay the night, so i was stressing cleaning and prepping, but then they decided to just head back right after picking up the truck. Oh goodness, stress me out for nothing J/K love you guys, Now Scott & I will just have a huge roast and potatoes dinner all to ourselves:) They did stop by to say "Hi" and then they were off on their 13 hour drive. Ugh!
The other day I was sick & tired of not having the blonde hair I dreamed of, so I decided to go at it myself. I just worked on the nape area because I knew if I made a mistake you wouldn't be able to see any bleeding. However i was getting so cross eyed that i gave up after only 6 foils. Saturday I am switching services with a friend and will finally get my blonde hair- I'm stocked!
Now for the bangs- I can's decide if I want to go that route again with a new baby on the way. However I would do more of a thicker side swept, kinda like Carrie's pic.
What do you think?
Don't laugh at the kissing pic- I was being silly:)

Tonight is The Biggest Loser! Yay!

It's Finally Friday

This morning I woke up at 1:15, well Katelyn woke me up for a refill of milk. I got back into bed and laid there waiting to fall asleep...... I waited & waited. I finally got up and it was 3:30. Seriously 2 hours had passed! I went to the computer to do some blogging and facebook for an hour. Then decided to watch a movie, "Fiddler On The Roof". At 6:00 I got back into bed and even then it took me a while to fall asleep. What a night! I blame it on my mind going crazy about housing plans and a bunch of other stuff running through my mind.

One of those things on my mind was bugging me. Seriously people! Why would you ever tell a pregnant lady that she looks huge, big, she's about to pop, just look at that belly.... the list goes on. & Please don't guess when they are due, just let them tell you because you always guess a whole lot sooner than it really is. I 1st have to give a shout out to my Bunco girls who made

me feel beautiful last night at bunco. Thanks Ladies!

What I'm getting at is...... if you Men (not Scott, he is wonderful, My Dad is wonderful too), Women who have not born children ever, or it's been years, please be aware of us prego Women & our sensitive emotions having to do w/ our weight. We are creating something beautiful that really takes a toll on our bodies. All you need to say is the we look beautiful. (Even if we are swollen & larger than normal). Ok, I feel a little better now.

Back to bunco, thanks to Taryn who hosted last night, the food was yummy & it was so fun to meet the 3 new girls in our group. (p.s. Kari & Lisa can you invite me to your blogs?) N-E-Ways, I brought a shirt as my gift & I secretly wanted it for myself, luckily I won it back. Apparently you girls don't know fashion when it hits you in the face- ok, totally kidding. I think I like it so much cause it was only $5.....And I haven't bought anything clothing for myself in a LONG time.

Surprisingly it fits me even w/ my growing belly, so I am going to wear it on a date tonight w/ Scott, that I hope we can pull off.

I promise, I will look sexier tonight Scott.

What pj pants, left over hair & makeup from the night before & only 4 hours of sleep isn't sexy?

Last night for dinner, yes I had two dinners last night. One @ home & the other @ Bunco- Hey, I'm eating for 2- Ha! right.

Well I created this chip dip, that is to die for. I saw it on Food network, but didn't finish the show, so I had to remember & make up what I could.

2 cups Monterey jack & cheddar blend cheese

1 large tomato diced

1/2 can chopped artichokes

1/4 cup cooked spinach

Then I added half a package of spinach artichoke seasoning I had on hand.

You slowly melt it all together on the stove top and serve hot.

I also made some chips using corn tortilla's cut in triangles, then laid out onto a cookie sheet, sprinkled w/ salt and baked @ 400' for approx 8 minutes. Yummo!

And then you eat it for lunch the next day:)