{Reedys}

Month 1

2011-08-22T08:37:00.002-07:00

Well that went by quickly. Things are going great! We added two new occupants to our home. And now they're not pets. My sister Aimee and her son/my nephew Harrison. Most of you probably know them. They're famous. It's been great and they help us out...a lot. We're really enjoying our new home. It's still undecorated with plenty of empty space, but we're all having a good time anyway! Today Ellen and Harrison start school. Ellen's ecstatic and Harrison's dreading it. They're like brother and sister! Life is good :)

Week 1

2011-07-25T13:54:00.004-07:00

So we've painted and fixed up a few things around here. We're just now getting our stuff out of boxes. I go back and forth with my thoughts on this house. And it's not just THIS house, it's just the responsibility of a house in general. This is a good house, really. But this is how it goes in my head:

This is gonna be really good!

Are we going to be able to afford it?!

I really like this house!

I'm not so sure this was a good idea.

I am happy with what we got!

Joe, this is a really big house....

I love all this space!

Our water bill is going to be how much?!

***

It goes on and on. :)

Newest addition for the Reedy Fam:

2011-07-13T20:17:00.003-07:00

We are officially home owners! This is a day that we honestly thought would never happen, but miraculously it did. Thanks to those of you who helped it happen (you know who you are)! So far Joe and I are exhausted by the house, but the girls are completely in love with it! Ellen loves to spend most of her time in the backyard and Kaylin loves having plenty of space to run around. Hooray! We'll be moving in this weekend and after it's all spiffed up we'll be having a house warming party. :) Now we actually have space to throw all the get-togethers we want. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Pool time!

2011-06-13T19:01:00.002-07:00

Welcome summer! We're soaking up every saturday down at the pool in our apartment complex. This past Saturday we took Kaylin down there for her first experience playing in the pool. The result: she had more fun on the cement with the pool toys and we got some really cute pics!

We went to Red Butte

2011-05-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

Super Mom

2011-05-06T08:29:00.002-07:00

I was sitting here thinking about how good I feel today. It was a good mornnig which usually leads to an overall good day. It's also a good day because yesterday lowered expectations for what is a good day. Yesterday my super mom powers were unmet. I was not able to be in 5 different places at once. I was disappointed and sad. But today everything is in place and I even managed to make banana pancakes for breakfast! So now I'd just like to say: Moms ROCK! and I LOVE being one!

DIY CTR ring color change :)

2011-04-10T17:13:00.008-07:00

4/11/11 UPDATE: the ring has been lost! ;)

Way back in the day my older sister Alecia taught me this awesome trick. Today i got to pass it on to Ellen. She didn't really do much, but I had lots of fun doing it. i didn't even mind when she told me she hated the purple color and wanted it pink instead. Instructions follow.

You'll need:
1 standard Green shield CTR ring
tin foil
crayon (color of your choice)
pan
Heat source (i used a stove, and honesty I don't know what else you'd wanna use)
q-tip
paper towel

Place a square piece of foil inside your pan. Set the stove to a low setting and allow pan and foil to warm up. Take your crayon and rub it around the foil until you get a nice little puddle of melted wax.

Dip your ring in the wax, making sure it is completely covered.

Alternate between wiping off the wax from the silver parts and keeping the wax soft by holding the ring on the foil. Use a paper towel piece for the larger parts and the q-tip when you've just got the small detailed parts left. It'll take more than just one dip and wipe so keep working at it. :)

If you don't like the color just hold the ring on the foil on the heated pan and the color will melt and you can just wipe all the color off.

For you

2011-03-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

So here's something fun for you all. These are meant as cupcake toppers!! I created them on my computer then I just had to print them out! I had a scallop circle punch, but if you don't you'll have to cut them out. Stick two sides together with a tooth pick in between and then stick it in a cupcake!

Jealousy

2011-03-17T15:07:00.005-07:00

Do you ever feel yourself consumed by jealousy? Please tell me I'm not the only one!! I think it's my least favorite feeling. It gets a whole big ball of negative emotion rolling. And I find that it is hard to stop that ball.

When I do want to solve a problem I try and find the opposite of what I am dealing with. Then I can try and balance myself out. So what would I say is the opposite of jealousy? Maybe compassion? Rather than envying others I soften my heart to feel love and rejoicing for them.

Everyone has their time of ups and then inevitably their downs and then inevitably, again, their ups. Sometimes the jealousy isn't about feeling like you're #1 and you're the one on top. Usually that's what we think it's about. But I think it is usually about some small thing that we seem to be missing. Something that we can only get from someone or something. For example feeling like you're being left out and being jealous of everyone who seems to be automatically included. We can get jealous of those "included" and they only way to feel un-jealous is to be included, but not out of pity or because you said something. We need someone to very smoothly and discreetly notice us feeling left out and then bring us back into the group. It always surprises me that in situations similar to this one nobody has a clue about those bad feelings. And it's not because their bad people! They always assumed you were included and never had any thought that you weren't wanted.So I say that it's best to just push through it. It's just a funky out-a-whack feeling. And it'll pass.

Make this!

2011-02-28T08:44:00.002-07:00

I tried a recipe from marthastewart.com yesterday. It was so good. So here I am sharing it!

Baked Ravioli
Prep: 25 minutes Total: 50 minutes
Baking pasta with cheese on top creates a chewy and
crispy topping kids will love. You can assemble the
dish ahead and refrigerate it, then bake it right before
dinner.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 to 6.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, or oregano
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 pounds store-bought ravioli
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a large
saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and
season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally,
until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and tomatoes.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, breaking up
tomatoes with spoon, until sauce is thickened and reduced
to about 5 1/2 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling salted
water just until they float to the top (pasta will continue to
cook in oven). Drain pasta; return to pot.
3. Toss sauce with pasta. Pour pasta into a large gratin
dish or 9-by-13-inch baking dish, and sprinkle with
cheeses. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool slightly
before serving.

I used 3 14.5 ounce cans of tomatoes. None of them were crushed so I crushed them myself. It seemed like a lot of tomatoes to me so I did less, but after baking it there was room for more tomatoes, but it wasn't bad with less! I also used dehydrated onions and dried garlic so I went straight to heating the tomatoes and adding the seasonings. I used thyme and it was perfect. The ravioli I used was from Costco, it is already pre-cooked so that part was quick.

Remeber the days?

2011-02-24T22:14:00.004-07:00

Remember when it used to be so amazing that you could take a phone with you wherever you went? Then it was cool that you could send text messages on your phone. Then it was cool that you could get the internet on your phone and play games. Well now it's freaking awesome that your phone is basically a laptop in your hand. Why do I even need a computer again? I tried really hard to not want an iPhone, but how can a girl resist? Well a girl like me anyway.

It's amazing. So glad i got one! I think my favorite thing is having my books with me wherever I go. No matter where I am I can read and if I don't want to read then I can just play solitaire.

Check This out

2011-02-21T21:08:00.002-07:00

Beisdes the obvious differences in picture quality and background could you look at these pictures and tell me who is who? Okay, maybe the hair is a dead give away too. But these two girls look a lot alike!

The picture of Ellen with the orange was a favorite for a long time. She loved holding those little clementines. So when Kaylin picked up an orange the other day and wouldn't let it go I found myself with the perfect photo opportunity. Ellen was somewhere between six or seven months old. Kaylin is seven months here. In two days she'll be eight months and Ellen will be 5.5 years.

I've noticed before how convenient it will be to give Ellen and Kaylin nicknames based on the first syllable in each of their names. Ellen is "L" and Kaylin is "K". I love it. Their other easy nicknames come from the initials. They seem to stick more. Ellen is "ekker" and kayling is "kegger" Tee hee. Fun times ahead!

2011-02-12T13:22:00.004-07:00

You know those moments women have when it dawns on them that their babies are growing up? For Claire Dunphy it was selling their first family car. For me it was last night when we discovered that Ellen has a loose tooth! Ellen always brought up how much she is looking forward to having a loose tooth. I figured i still had a year or two until that happened. But it's started. I cried!! Once those baby teeth fall out I think that means that my baby is really grown up. Wow! This is harder than I thought.

Classic baby pics

2011-02-08T21:03:00.006-07:00

Every baby gets pictures taken in the bath tub. And for me personally they're usually my favorite ones! They just look so cute! Here's some recent ones taken of Kaylin.
Notice her hair because she actually has some!!
Classic Kaylin tongue out pose.
Beautiful.

Valentine Crafts

2011-01-25T18:37:00.001-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31208260&l=e5e4f4c5e8&id=1256983948

2011-01-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

Should have posted this picture a while ago. Here are the girls in their Christmas dresses.

Some luck lies...

2011-01-13T09:50:00.004-07:00

I learned this quote from my dad. He got it from Garrison Keillor. It applies to just about everything in life and now when Joe and I are talking and this quote applies we just say "Some luck lies" to convey the message. My mom asked my family to tell her something that they're grateful for. And this is what I'm grateful for: that things turn out the way they do.

What would you do for a Klondike bar?

2011-01-04T12:51:00.002-07:00

Or I could entitle this post "Martha speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks". After regaining a coherent level of consciousness all my brain can do is sing jingles and repeat the lines of Ray the firefly from Princess and the Frog. I've been sick for the past couple of days and I've slept through most of it. The best part of being sick is getting better. Realizing how much energy you have and feeling good is a nice refreshing feeling.

Okay. Here's a picture for your enjoyment.

Christmas 2010 photos

2010-12-26T15:29:00.002-07:00

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Best way to core a pineapple...

2010-12-13T19:35:00.002-07:00

Use cookie cutters to core a pineapple! Who would've thought. Actually after I did this, the stars looked so appetizing everyone thought it was edible. My poor niece snuck one and then had to sneak it back into the bowl after she couldn't bite it. :)

5 months and a haircut

2010-11-23T09:07:00.003-07:00

Today Kaylin is 5 months old! Awesome.

Ellen got her hair cut! Adorable.

Recipes

2010-11-07T19:47:00.005-07:00

I have seriously been cooking so much more since we moved. And I've found some awesome stuff and even made up a couple!

Thought I'd share these for your enjoyment.

Banana Muffins-best part of this recipe for me was that there aren't any eggs in it! I like to save my eggs for things like breakfast. :)
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda

I added about 1/4-1/2 c. chopped walnuts.

Combine all ingredients. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Simple. Delicious. Perfect.

I got this recipe for the world wide ward cookbook.

French bread pizza slices

French bread, sliced
butter
garlic salt, to taste, if desired
pizza or marinara sauce
mozarella and grated parmesan cheese

First cover slices with butter and toast in either a toaster oven or use your broiler on low. When butter is melted and edges are slightly browned, appx. 2-3 minutes, remove from oven. sSrinkle with garlic salt, cover with sauce and pile on the cheese. Put pack in the broiler until cheese melts and starts to brown on top, about 2-3 minutes.

German Pancakes Muffin style

3 eggs
1/2 milk
1/2 flour
1/4 t. salt
non-stick cooking spray

Mix ingredients. Spray muffin tins with spray. Pour batter into muffin pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy.

Here's another idea that we loved.
Make banana pancakes and skip the syrup. Top it with sliced fresh fruit (we used strawberries), walnuts, and powdered sugar. So yummy! I would've taken a picture, but they didn't stay on the plates long enough!

Joe's Birthday 2010

2010-11-07T19:33:00.005-07:00

I almost forgot what a blog was. Then I stumbled upon it and rembered that I have one of these. I thought to myself, "Hey-you should up date this." Sooo here it goes.

It was Joe's birthday last week. And around here birthday's are a week long event (sometimes longer). We do this with the "Birthday Name Game." A present for each letter in your first name, one day at a time. I made little poems for each day to explain the gift. J was definitely my favorite day.

J's gift was a monogrammed frame with a picture of Joe and the girls. O was obviously an omelette for breakfast. S was socks-this was Joe's favorite. :)

E was a package of "eclipse" gum. P was a bunch of pens. and H was a package of to go hot beverage cups so he could have hot chocolate on his way to work.

We got up super early to let Joe open his presents on Wednesday. Ellen was so excited to get up for presents. "Mom, can we get up early to open presents on my birthday?" We're going to have to do the name game with Ellen this year. Her name is tough. Wish we would've thought of that when we named her, but we probably would've picked the same name anyway. :)

Decorating

2010-10-06T14:53:00.003-07:00

This is my latest craft project. I love my cricut!! I've been using it to decorate our new apartment. I've put vinyl up in Ellen's and in the bathroom. I'm hoping to put a word on the big empty wall of the bathroom above the towel rack. Any ideas? Bath? Clean?

This was a fun project. Super easy.

2010-10-02T19:48:00.002-07:00

We are in the process of taking family photos. I've got a little project in mind of having nice candid photos of our family. I like pictures that are candids because it's more natural and brings back better memories. My awesome dad let us borrow one of his nice cameras. We're still practicing and getting to know all the functionalities of the camera. Here's a taste of our first attempt.

Sleep...sle...

2010-09-27T18:00:00.002-07:00

Two nights in a row Kaylin has slept all night! Woohoo! It's what I've been waiting for for 3 months. (That's right, my baby is 3 months old already!) It feels so great in the morning to wake up and realize it's not 3:00 a.m. But I am now learning that transitioning back to regular sleep is tiring! ;) I haven't slept through the night for probably 5 months. And after the past two nights of regular sleep I am tired. It could be that since I feel so good in the morning I am going all day long rather than just resting all day trying to catch up on sleep so I can manage my basic duties. Maybe. But it's only 7:00 and I can barely keep my eyes open. I can't write anymore...

Weekend Fun

2010-09-18T14:43:00.002-07:00

It's the last week of summer. So we celebrated with water! It was so nice and warm! Ellen and Joe had a blast together in the swimming pool at our apartments. When I came down to watch them I could hear Ellen laughing as soon as I walked out the door on the other end of the complex. Joe kept throwing Ellen up in the air and she'd come splashing down. She got pretty high! Kaylin gets so relaxed when we go outside. So she was nice and calm in the carrier while I took pictures and laughed with Joe and Ellen.

Then today we went to the Gateway and Ellen played in the water for almost 3 hours! She only came home with one injury. I red bump in between her eyebrows. We think it's from running into another kid! Kaylin was all cuteness and smiles sitting in the shade during the warm day.

We had a good summer. The weather has been great. It is really windy where we live though. Having two kids, one that's in school and one that's an infant seems to make my life crazy. But I have never been happier. :) These pictures show the reasons my life is so good.

Love 'em!

2010-09-09T11:39:00.004-07:00

Here's the picture of Ellen on her fist day of school! And the picture of Kaylin is from today! Joe said if I take more pictures he'll get me a new camera so here I go proving my worthiness :)

2010-09-08T08:05:00.001-07:00

We went to Fish Lake this last weekend and blessed Kaylin while we were there. Isn't she just adorable?!

Ellen looked so pretty for school today. She got all dolled up.

I love having girls!

Back to School on the Cat Walk

2010-08-30T18:31:00.004-07:00

We moved. We now live in a West Jordan-Midvale area. It's on the west side of the free way, but on the east side of the river. It's very nice to be home from work sooo much earlier. I absolutely love it. Our new place is brand new, so it ain't all that bad either. It was a lot of work getting all that stuff up the three flight of stairs, but somehow we managed, with the help of some friends and family.

Ellen started school today. Before she went to school for the first day ever, she put on a fashion show for me. That way I could help her decide what she would want to wear to school.

She did the whole show to Single Ladies.

I'm not sure exactly where all the poses came from, but I think

it was all of the Ugly Betty Angie has watched in the last year.

I picked my favorite. Which was the Jeans and butterfly skirt.

She mixed it up and went with the leggings/skirt combo with the butterfly shirt.

This is the point where people will say "I can't believe my little baby is already in school!!!" I can. She's a doll, and I'm a little sad that I'm no longer going to be her soul influence of corruption.

I just hope she still likes me once she gets to know other people besides her family...

Changes

2010-08-11T08:40:00.004-07:00

Having a new baby around here makes life different. It's a huge adjustment for us all. Ellen and I are both missing our time with just each other. Joe and I are both missing our time with just each other as well. But we're all loving our time with Kaylin too! So since we're having all this adjusting and changing to do we just decided to add some more on, just to get everything over with at once. Okay, that's not the real reason, but we adding some changes. WE'RE MOVING! We've lived in our current apartment for 6.5 years! Can you believe that?! It's time to move on and we are! Which means that not only will Ellen be starting kindergarten, but it will be in a new place where we don't know anyone! Oh boy. That's a little more stress than I was anticipating. Kaylin will be 2 months old on the 24th of this month! She's still not sleeping through the night, but we have great midnight cuddles. Life is good for us. We're all happy with the new things we have going on! Woohoo!

Beautiful Kaylin

2010-07-20T18:53:00.003-07:00

Here's some pics of little K.G.R.!

2010-06-29T18:18:00.002-07:00

Mary Kay

2010-06-01T16:40:00.003-07:00

I have a bunch of Mary Kay inventory that I am selling for 40% off! Includes skin care, make up and fragrances. Selection is based on inventory I have on hand, first come first serve. Leave a comment with any questions on any products you might be interested in. This is only going to last for a week then it will all be gone!

Happy Birthday to Ellen

2010-05-13T06:09:00.003-07:00

Ellen turned 5 this month! Holy smokes! She had a great birthday. On Friday April 30 we had a party for Joe's graduation. The next day Ellen got to have her party. She was great and having so much fun these two days. For her birthday party we did Blue's Clues. She had just discovered the show a couple of weeks before her birthday and absolutely loves it! So Joe was great to be our "Steve" who is now 'Joe' right? He was great with Ellen's friends and they all had a good time. They each got a handy dandy notebook with a matching crayon. So now the parties for our family are over...sorta.

Joe graduated!

2010-05-05T14:00:00.002-07:00

April 17th

2010-04-17T08:45:00.001-07:00

Saturday, April 17, 2010 will mark six years that Joe and I have been married. It seems a little anticlimactic after reaching the five year mark. Last year was kind of a surprise that we had reached a milestone like five years. Number six feels like you're starting all over again! Now we have to wait another five years to get to 10 and then it will be a big deal again! Also six years is a good chunk of time to assess your progress and life. As of the end of this month we will both be college graduates! Hooray! During Joe's process of school a lot of other things have happened. Back surgery, a baby, getting out of debt, getting back in debt, losing weight, gaining weight, owning 2 out of 3 major gaming systems, doing at home businesses and other stuff. Everything else is pretty much the same! I think our biggest accomplishment in six years of life together is using our experiences to our advantage to create a foundation to stand on. It's a totally different thing to better yourself, with constant growth and change, and include another person in that so intimately. It can be uncomfortable and awkward-for both people! I hope we have developed that ability well enough to keep on fighting with and for each other! :) I love you, Joe!

*This is Joe now.

Ang you're pretty ok. Happy Anniversary.

Limes!

2010-04-13T17:10:00.002-07:00

I finally thought of something today that I wanted to post about!

LIMES!

I had a lime today with my dinner-coconut shrimp taco. And I remembered how much I love limes. They are so good. They're great. They're wonderful. Limeades are my favorite kind of drink and any fruit smoothie with lime in it is the best.

They're pretty too!

Writing

2010-03-05T22:07:00.002-07:00

Ellen has started writing letters. She's also very interested in how words are spelled. So here is her first time writing words! STOP, OPEN, and MAP.

Good words for a kid to know, right? She later added NEST and SAND. But she had to look at the words in order to write them. The other three she has memorized and can read anywhere! So cool! Way to go Ellen!

WTWTA

2010-03-05T21:56:00.003-07:00

One of our favorite movies was released on video this week: Where the Wild Things Are. It's a great story about tough times being a kid and being in a family.

So we planned a special night to watch this movie all together. Friday night was it. To make it more fun we made the whole night themed on the movie. We had a Wild Things Dinner and we decorated the living room to look like a jungle.

Ellen was the Queen of the Wild Things. She had a crown and a scepter and rather than dressing up like a wolf she got to wear her favorite dress. She ruled over our "wild rumpus". We practiced our roars together.
Joe and Ellen got some good angry roars going on. Ellen's two favorite parts of the movie were: 1)the dirt clod war, and 2) when Max comes back and says sorry to his mom. It was a fun night to watch a movie and make it a little bit more unique.

And fortunately the Jungle Book is coming from netflix so we're leaving up the jungle decorations!

Saturday's Family Activity

2010-02-28T20:54:00.002-07:00

Did you know that Midway, UT has an outdoor skating rink? No? Neither did we until we looked up places to see around Heber.
Joe and Ellen both went ice skating for the very first time this weekend! I was a happy observer. Ice skating isn't that much fun for me. :) When Ellen first stepped onto the ice she clung to Joe for her dear sweet life! She couldn't keep her balance. I was laughing with tears streaming down my face as I watched her attempt this weird thing.
She got much more confident and her dad was great to take her around and let her take breaks. Joe was pretty darn good for his first time too! He's got some skills.
It was a nice way to spend an afternoon. We looked around at some of the cute shops they have around and got some awesome bread from a local bakery!

Travels to AZ

2010-02-15T22:03:00.003-07:00

We made a sudden trip to AZ this past week to attend the funeral for Joe's granny. She was a very special and amazing woman. Getting the chance give her one final tribute was the least we could want to do in honor of her.

We had a great time planning out our trip with Joe's brothers and their families. We managed to caravan with Tim and Nellie to go and visit the London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ. It was such a fun place to stop and visit.

Getting to Mesa was nice. We got to stay in a nic

e hotel. It was the first time us staying in a hotel on our own. Our family was the perfect size for the room. One big king bed for us and a sofa bed for Ellen. We were happy to sleep in such nice beds since we were away from home.

The funeral was nice to hear fun stories about Granny. And the most exciting part was Joe's siblings all being together for the first time in like 10 years. It was fun to watch them reminisce together about their growing up years.

We broke up the trip to Mesa by stopping in Richfield, then to Vegas, then to Mesa. The way home was one big long drive. Joe was awesome. We had a really good time sitting together in the car for 9 hours and Ellen was a good little passenger! I'm looking forward to future family trips as nice and rewarding as this one!

Smart AND cute

2010-02-08T08:22:00.002-07:00

This month is kindergarten registration for the school district here. And unbelievably I have a child to register! In two weeks Ellen and I will be taking a trip to the elementary school and getting her started on her path to kindergarten! :)

She is excited to start school. I after a small teaching job that I two 4 days a week and Ellen comes with me. She is getting really into doing things that prove hose smart she is. She'll read us letters or even spell some words then ask, "Mom, am I so smart?" We always answer 'Yes, you are smart."

Naturally her new understanding of how to assess herself on smartness has given her the ability to judge our smartness as well. The other day Mommy did something not too smart. Ellen remarked, "Mommy you are not smart". That got us giggling. :)

Luckily Joe was there to defend me to our 4 year old.

J: "Ellen. Mommy is smart."

We're still giggling a little. After Joe says this then Ellen says kind of quietly with her head looking down, "Well, she doesn't look smart."

Our jaws dropped and we couldn't stop laughing!

Memories

2010-01-24T00:37:00.003-07:00

Here's a fun picture of Joe and Ellen. One of the headlights on Joe's car went out. While hewas replacing it he let Ellen be his helper. She loved it!

I was so excited when I took this picture because it reminded me of memories when I was younger helping my dad fix a car. I loved it! Now I get to see my kid having the same fun experiences with her awesome dad!

Plus this picture is a pretty good shot of Joe's bottom. (I say bottom because I know my mom will be reading this later.)

2010-01-19T17:26:00.003-07:00

My good friend Kim gave me this Kreativ Blogger award. Why? Because I haven't blogged lately. And since I love and respect Kim I will do as she tagged. Thanks Kim.

I'm supposed to name 7 things about me that people don't know. This could get embarrassing. I keep certain things hidden because it would be so unbearable. Here it goes:

1. I have to read something in order to fall asleep. If I don't I'll lay awake in bed for the longest time with my brain will be racing through all sorts of different scenarios. Then I usually think of something that freaks me out so much that I can't sleep at all.

2. If I see something I like, especially something to make, I have to try it at least once. I'll get all the stuff to do a project, try it, make it, and not really worry about it again.

3. I hate talking loud in public places because I don't want people to hear my conversations.

4. I really like to watch movies by myself. And I used to love going to movies at the theater by myself too. I am the perfect introvert. :)

5. I love to kiss. I could give kisses to Ellen and Joe all day long, but they can't stand it.

6. I easily get jealous when it comes to Joe. I usually don't like to go and hang out with people because I hate sharing him with others.

7. I am not perfect. I know most of you think so, BUT it just simply is not true. Ha Ha!

Now I get to choose 7 blogs that I think are "kreativ":

1. Sister Aimee

2. Alia

3. My Dad

4. Brother Curtis

5. Brother Bryce

6. Meagan

7. JOE!

Now this is what you seven lucky individuals get to do.
1) Thank the person giving the award - you can skip this. I won't be offended. Especially if you're annoyed with me.
2) Copy the award to your blog
3) Place a link to their blog
4) Name 7 things people don't know about you
5) Nominate 7 bloggers
6) Place a link to those bloggers -i didn't do this.
7) Leave a comment letting those bloggers know about the award -i didn't do this.

Post, post, post

2010-01-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

[Insert new post here]

Horses, horses, horses....

2010-01-02T20:21:00.003-07:00

Here is a picture of Ellen. This was a couple of days after Christmas with all her new and old horses. This doesn't include her My Little Ponies either. This girl loves horses! She got 7 new horses this year for Christmas!! The new horse stable Santa brought her to hold all of her horses included 4 new ones...now she needs another stable.

Jerk sleep

2009-12-26T23:41:00.005-07:00

I know my sisters experience the strange phenomena of having in-between awake and asleep dreams that make your body jerk. Experiences range from dreaming about dodging a basketball to falling off of something. Last night I had one of the weirdest of these dreams I have ever had. And it got me to sleep run! I was falling fast asleep when I dreamt I saw a gigantic spider hanging down from the top of my closet crawling through the air towards me. In my dream and in real life I jumped out of bed to escape this monster. I looked behind me and saw the spider still crawling towards me so I ran out of the bedroom to the living room where Joe was. I wasn't sure if the spider had gotten on me or not so I turned my back toward Joe and asked, "Is there a huge spider on me?" Then I asked him to come check the bedroom for this giant spider! I made him check the bed sheets and in my hair. When I came to, I was getting back in bed and I was wondering what in the heck had just happened! Before I could fall asleep I had to tell myself that spiders that big aren't around here and wasn't even possible. Why would I have just thought all of that?!

So weird. Makes me feel kinda like a crazy person.

Finally!

2009-12-21T10:13:00.004-07:00

I'm sorry it's been forever since I posted! I thought I didn't have anything to tell. But I found pictures on my camera. Now I have something to tell. :)
Another 7-8 foot snowman by Joe. When Joe builds a snowman he makes it big. Ellen and the neighbor friend enjoyed being the helpers. I'm not really loving snow this year. Usually I am glad to see the beautiful snow despite all the trouble it causes. This year-not so much. I don't go out in it unless I absolutely have to.

Ellen hasn't really liked the cold and snow as much this year either. She just likes to stay inside all day. Usually I can't ever keep her in. She's been wearing costumes and pajamas and hates it when she has to get dressed. This is her second favorite indoor activity (painting).

This is Ellen trying to be funny like Grandpa Mower by blocking the tv. She blocks just enough of the screen to get a reaction out of us! Too funny!

2009-11-18T21:19:00.002-07:00

I just found this picture in iPhoto. OH, i love it! Joe and I love these two people! They spend many hours talking to us on the phone about plenty of things. This is from the Hale Theater when we saw The Scarlet Pimpernel. Good times.

'Tis the season

2009-11-12T12:22:00.001-07:00

Here comes all the holiday crafting! I'm so excited! Today was my Stampin' Up! stamp club. This is what we made!

Facebook killed the Blog

2009-11-12T00:30:00.004-07:00

Happy Halloween!!..oh wait. That's long gone :) Here Ellen's photos of this year's Halloween. Not so exciting for everyone to see, only the important ones!
There was no way to avoid Ellen dressing up as a princess this year. She had three costume opportunities so we tried to change it up a bit. This first picture is her "fancy face" option. She wanted to get all dressed up like mommy to be a princess. Awwww.... So we put eye shadow, mascara, blush, and lip gloss on her. This second option was "fancy hair". She wanted her hair to look like Belle's. Voila! This is also altered with the addition Ironman piece. That didn't happen until later on Halloween.

Here she is with her dragon. He's her protector!Here she is with the sexy Tony Stark-oh wait, that's Joe! (Lucky me.)
We went out last Monday to enjoy a late afternoon venture to the park. This park has ducks. And they're hungry this time of year. And there are tons of them! Joe and Ellen fed these bold ducks a half loaf of bread. They even got one duck to eat right from their fingers! This is another picture perfect moment with Ellen and her dad...I love it.

I, like many, have recently realized that blogs are better than facebook. Hooray! So I'm gonna try and do better.

2009-09-20T20:54:00.002-07:00

I'm blogging again! I can hardly believe that I'm managing to accomplish this! Mostly i just wanted to show of the card I made tonight. I really do love doing this so I'm trying to get back to doing it regularly. It feels really good to be able to create something that is pretty. And I love it when I find blogs of people sharing their creations so I figured I should do it too!

I've also been doing quite a bit of exercising lately. "Training". It's also something I really do enjoy doing and I'm to the point where I fit that in regularly. My latest feat was an attempt a "mini" triathlon by myself. My dad and sister Aimee helped me complete it. Dad helped me with my running and biking, Aimee came biking and then got me to do swimming. It felt good. I did the run outside which I haven't done for a long time. And it was a solid reminder of how much easier it is to run on a treadmill. Dad hooked me up with a bike this weekend and took me for a ride. He even raced me! (I won!) He made me huff and puff, but I had so much fun on the bike! I can't wait to get a little kid's seat so I can take Ellen on rides with me. Thanks for the help Dad and Aim! But now I'm either sick or I totally over exerted myself. Either way I'm out for a couple of days for sure.

New pictures

2009-09-05T23:32:00.004-07:00

I had to post these pictures! We were hanging out at Joe's mom's house and it was such a beautiful sky! We had a really good time hanging out there and got some really good pictures!

Ellen got to sit on a horse the Marci is taking care of! Ellen still loves horses more than any other animal!

Here's Marci with her dogs. Marci loves animals and this proves how happy she gets even when her dogs are jumping all over her!

Here is the best picture of all!

Joe started his last year of school! Woohoo! This is Ellen's last year of no school! I've started my year of training for a triathlon! We're still having a good time together! (Mostly!)

Something to Update

2009-07-08T15:51:00.002-07:00

Here are some random pictures! The first 3 go together, but the last two are just fun ones I wanted to show.

A couple weekends ago my brother ran a triathlon. It was totally awesome to watch him do that, but also it was totally awesome to be with so much family to support him. We stayed in an awesome condo and had some fun times together. Ellen is not only our daughter, she is loved and loves just about as equally to everyone in my family. This picture is a good example of that.

Here's a big H. He's not that little anymore. This is one of the cutest pics of this boy! He and Ellen share the whole "too much" love situation in this family!
(Check out Joe in the background before you look at the next pic...)

Here's my Joe-taking full advantage of being a spectator of a triathlon! :)
That's a bag of Cookie Crisp cereal!

Golf Cupcakes!
I saw these in a Martha Stewart cupcake book, and since my brother-in-law is totally obsessed with golfing, his wife took advantage of the idea for father's day. They turned out so cute!

We got some family pics with Joe's trombone before he sold it. It was so fun to see Ellen's cheeks puff up! Maybe she'll pick up on an instrument other than the piano some day, but hopefully not the trombone...i don't think it's THAT great! :)

Ellen Quoting Movies

2009-06-14T18:46:00.004-07:00

If you want to see Ellen talking and going crazy you need to ask her about Spirited Away or The Castle in the Sky. They are Japanese Anime movies that she loves to wach. She has started to memorize them, below is the proof. The first clip is her quoting while the second clip is the scene she was quoting, enjoy!

P.S. Angie will be having her class for the mini album on June 23 at 6:30 pm. Cost is $10, not $15.

Crazy Hair

2009-06-12T22:28:00.002-07:00

If you ever wake up next to Ellen the first things she may say to you is "My hair is crazy." Here is an example of the morning hair craziness!

Postponed

2009-06-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone-

The next Stampin' Up! class has to be postponed. It was scheduled for this Wednesday, but due to transitions at Stampin' Up! shipping has gotten way behind, and materials for the project will not be here in time. If you would like to know when the updated class date is leave a comment and I'll be sure to tell you.

Forever ago

2009-06-02T09:09:00.003-07:00

We went to Thanksgiving Point forever ago. I made a post about it on my computer, but never published it. And Joe harrassed me and called me a "terrible blogger", which I understand as a hint to put something up here. This was an unexpected view at TP. Up close with the baby goslings. They were cute little things. But Joe and I have both had experiences with being attacked by geese, so we kept our distance.
The walk through the gardens was mostly fun. We weren't very prepared-we were all hungry. I lose 50 points as a mother for not taking care of that. Can you see Ellen? In the far distance of the picture is a preview of my favorite garden in the Gardens.
This is the Italian Garden. When I go to Thanksgiving Point I also have to catch my breath when I see this part. I love it! But it always bothers me that I can't climb all the way to the top and see the statue!
Joe and Ellen were good enough to have a little photo shoot with me. I got some cute pictures of these two. This one is the best! This is right by their waterfall. It's huge! Amazing!
Bragging here. This is little baby Brandon. He's so sweet! I love that I have a washer and dryer because Britt will come over to do laundry and I get to be with this guy.

Info!

2009-05-27T20:47:00.002-07:00

Update and info on the next Stampin' Up! project I'm doing. The mini album is going to so cute and so fun! I will provide all of the stuff you need except photos and glue. I'm also offering this deal: the cost will be $15 unless you bring a friend then it will be $10 for each of you! :) Projects are always more fun when you have someone to share it with!

Kim-are you coming to the workshop or to the class?

Crystal-hope that's enough info.

Check out this blog: http://craftastics.blogspot.com/

Crafts by my sisters and myself!

More Stampin' stuff

2009-05-20T15:27:00.004-07:00

Workshop June 4 at 6:30-No cost

Stamp Class June 10- Mini photo album. Great gift idea or great for yourself! Ask for more details.

New Jon Schmidt song

2009-05-18T08:48:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day Class

2009-04-28T13:26:00.003-07:00

I'm doing a Stampin' Up! class! We'll be making this super cute flower pot card and a gift as well. It will be so fun!! Hope you can come! Sign up by May 1.

Class Date: Thursday, May 7, 2009
Time: Come between the hours of 4:30-7:30
Place: Angie's house
Cost: $10

5, Five dollar, $5 foot looooong…

2009-04-17T12:53:00.005-07:00

I have been married for five years, and so has Angie. I just found out that we were married to each other. I tell you what; I ought to pay attention who sleeps next to me more often! I fell asleep on a park bench once and couldn't get that homeless guy to stop following me for 8 months! *rim shot* Thanks, I'll be here all week, please remember to tip your waitresses. Goodnight Everybody! (Exit music plays)

No really though folks, five years is a nice round number, so I'm going to give you some great marriage tips! You are all so excited aren't you? Well here we go

Tip #1 Newlyweds suck. This isn't really a tip, but more of a fact I was recently reminded of, similar to being reminded that hitting my thumb with a hammer isn't fun. I was in my office when this obviously newlywed couple came in. I think that they reached into a vat of epoxy and couldn't find the right solvent, because they never let go of each others hands, even when it was awkward to do so.

Me: 'Here are some papers we need to go over to get you set up for surgery."

Wife: (struggles with 10 recipe books for that night's dinner in left hand without letting go of husband.)

Husband: "Let me help you."

Wife: "No, I got It."

Husband: 'Just let me…'

Wife: (In a lovingly commanding tone) 'You need to pay attention!"

Husband: (shrugs, and gives wife a 'you're right, and I should have just listened to you from the beginning and we would have been able to avoid this ugly confrontation from the first place. I love you sooo much' look).

Me: (After throwing up a little in my mouth) So…are we ready?"

Some people may say this is cute or that it just shows how much they love each other. I say that there is an even greater chance of that some people are naïve idiots. If this same act was performed by 80 year olds, then it would be cute. I guess the tip is be aware and considerate of other people no matter how much you absolutely love your little shapoopie schmoopsie doo.

Tip #2 Date night. You need to go on dates; just you and your spouse. Sorry Ellen. I often have to convince Angie that getting babysitter is not an inherently evil thing that has need of penance. We hear this a lot, but there is good reason for it. Complacency sets in easily. Remember when you were single and you would just sit around bored sometimes with your siblings? This is very similar to what happens to married couples. You'll bicker. (Good word, bicker.) So here is a recipe for a date game that can always work, always be new, and is only limited by your own creativity.

Step 1- Go to a mall, department store or plaza; someplace that you will be able to patronize different shopping venues without seeing each other.

Step 2- Spending limit. Determine a set amount of money for each other. No cheating or you have to take back whatever the other person got for you.

Step 3- Set a rule of what to buy. Ie; it has to use batteries, must be wrapped in cellophane, purple, crafty, something I can put on, a game, etc.

Step 4- Set up a time limit and a meeting place to exchange gifts.

This date idea easily takes up an hour or 2 if you make the challenge hard enough and helps you to think only about the other person for awhile. Plus everyone likes to get presents. I'll admit it, I like getting stuff especially when someone else gives it to me. It makes feel loved.

Tip #3- Make sure you have good friends that are married. WE have some of the best friends, and it's good to just hang out with them sometimes. More than anything it's good to see that other people have problems too. It takes the edge off when you realize everyone argues about the same things.

Tip #4- Don't try to change or control your spouse. On the flip side, don't try to change for your spouse. Just be honest and if you want to 'change for your spouse' learn to like yourself enough to change for yourself, and it'll be a permanent change rather than a setup for disappointment. (Note: These are not exact quotes, but rather a compilation of things I have heard, said, or have heard of being said.)

Bad Example:

Wife: Quit playing video games. I hate them. Nag, nag, nag, nag….

Husband: Quit nagging me, I hate it. Whine, whine, whine….

Wife: If you could do _____ it would be great for me.

Husband: You should work out more.

Wife: I'm leaving you.

Husband: Fine, leave dinner by the door on the way out.

Good Example:

Wife: Honey, could you please _______? (This blank must be filled with a concrete thing to do. Not playing video games is a concrete thing to not do and doesn't count and won't work and will spur the previous argument. Also 'just spend time with me' is a newlywed tactic and is therefore only works during the temporary insanity time period known as the honeymoon phase.)

Husband: Sure, just let me just find a save point.

Wife: That game saves in the start menu, so please hurry up. **It must be noted that even if a wife doesn't care about the game at hand, knowing how to save a particular game (ie: save point, start menu, pass a level, etc. will show that she takes some interest in the game and that sends a message to her husband that she thinks it's ok to like something she doesn't.

Husband: *smiles, saves, enjoys a happy life

The point is to not lose your individuality for each other. There is no happiness there: hence why newlyweds make me sick.

I hope you enjoy this. We're having dinner then a shopping contest date tonight. I'll let you know how it goes later.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T08:41:00.004-07:00

I loved this talk during General Conference. This just enhances it!

This morning we gave Ellen an Easter lesson and some gifts. It was a tender moment to talk to her about Jesus Christ and what we believe He did for all of us. And in the end He did it because He loves us.

Another reason...

2009-04-11T06:45:00.002-07:00

This is one of the reasons I love being a crafter! I've gone plenty of stuff for Ellen to use! She makes cute pictures with stamps. I guess it's all about being able to share something you love to do with someone you love!

2009-04-02T11:54:00.002-07:00

Like many of you I was so excited for warmth. After 25 years of living in Utah I still get disillusioned by the beginning of spring when it's warm because in Utah spring and warmth don't go together. Spring is the time of year when the thermostat is being changed week to week. Last week I turned the temperature way down and this week I have been freezing cold because of the denial I've been in over the cold wet snow.

But the energy from warmth sticks around and when inside you have new energy to do things! So this week Ellen has started learning piano! She is so dang smart and catches on to the 8 year old version of piano books that I have laying around. She learned two songs this morning!! Go Ellen!

I am getting so antsy about pools being open! I want to take Ellen swimming! I want to be out in the sun and getting sun burned! I have played tennis the past couple of weekends with Rob and Fatima and came with a sunburned face! Wahoo! I love the warm sun.

New pictures

2009-03-27T12:50:00.001-07:00

Some of you have seen these pictures on facebook, but for others here they are!! This is what i worked on yesterday. It was so much fun!!

Surprise!

2009-03-23T14:53:00.003-07:00

Ellen got her ears pierced! It's been one week since she got it done! She was so brave!! She cried, but let the girl pierce the second ear anyway! She looks so cute.

She loves having earrings!

My FRIENDS got together to make this cute picture frame. The big flower is etched on the glass and then I put little flowers on top! So fun. Bigger glass etching projects to come!

Ironman makes biscuits and bookshelves

2009-03-15T08:22:00.009-07:00

Ellen took one of these little stick-on shelf lights we had the other day and put it on her chest to look like Ironman. Even though she has a pink striped sweater on, it is a better impression than she was able to do in October. She used to just stand there with her hands at her side looking constipated saying, "I'm the red one."

It seems that even Ironman gets frustrated sometimes, I believe the phrase she gave her was, 'Oh, Dad."

We Made some biscuits the other day as well. We decided to make some fun shapes. Ellen models them below.

We've been needing to fix our entertainment center situation for awhile now. Angie came up with an idea and we put it into action.

Before:
During:

Ellen was reading schematics and helping me along the way. She had a good time. Her favorite part was hammering. I think that's everyone's favorite part of building.

This is one of the times Ellen blinked during the process. Just in case someone out there didn't think she blinked. She does. Frequently.

After:

I think it works pretty well. All of the shelve on the left are full of movies and Video games in alphabetical order. It's awesome.

2009-03-10T16:58:00.004-07:00

I love ipods. I love having it to listen to while I am cleaning up, ironing, or working out. And the picture above is of my absolute fave headphones - the "smokin' buds" from skullcandy. I love these things. One of the reasons they are so cool is the different sizes of buds each set comes with. I can find the perfect fit for my ears to block out extra noise. ;) With my first pair we lost all of the extra sizes, so when we lost the ones on the headphones we couldn't use them. I didn't mind too much and got a new set. And this time I've taken extra care to save my extra covers. But now I've lost the headphones! C'est la vie!

Whatever

2009-03-06T22:03:00.002-07:00

We've been enjoying a fun week! I love birthdays! Here's a picture of Ellen with one of my gifts: goggles! She had to wear them while she was playing the computer!

Ellen completed one of her sticker charts this week. She gets a "prize"! Here's the photos of her success! The sticker chart was even her potty chart! (If I haven't told you, Ellen is back in diapers.)This is the craft I did with some of the most awesome people in my ward, they're also friends. :) It was a lot more time than I expected, but fun! I still have to do the other side that will sat "give thanks"!

Kids...

2009-03-03T14:39:00.002-07:00

Kids says the darnedest things.

(Warning: gross conversation)

Ellen was standing in the "I'm holding it" position.

Ellen: My bum hurts.

Me: Are you okay? Do you need to go potty?

E: No. My bum is growing up.

M: Oh really?

E: Yeah. It's growing a poop.

M: Wow.

E: It's gonna grow big like me!

I couldn't keep the conversation going anymore after that. It cracked me up!

Welcome to Parenthood

2009-02-19T17:37:00.002-07:00

Today when I went to the elementary school I work at the teacher with whom I share a classroom with approached me about some damaged property in her classroom. It was a whiteboard easel she uses and it was covered in glue, crayon, marker, and scratches. Oh, no. It's either one of my students or my child. After investigating (Ellen, did you color this?) we solved the case. It was Ellen. Oh dear. So tomorrow it's a trip to IKEA to buy a new easel for Ms. Nielson. This is a moment I like to refer to as "Welcome to Parenthood". These moments are times when reality hits and you realize you are a parent and what the joys and/or responsibilities are included. As Ellen gets older the "Welcome to Parenthood" moments shift slightly. When she was growing from baby to infant then infant to toddler the welcoming moments were more like "Wow she's getting so big". Now it's "My child did that?"

Another bit of "Welcome to Parenthood" is when life stops happening like you planned. (That's inclusive of Welcome to Life as well.) Pregnancy #1 was a piece of cake. No problems at all. Pregnancy #2 threw me for a loop and now I am on drugs to even help me get pregnant and stay pregnant.

I thought I could keep this post light and funny, but it is hard to cover up the feelings that come along with all the trying to get pregnant junk. Luckily I have success stories in my life to keep me hopeful, but I'm also trying to be accepting of whatever happens. I remember when I was pregnant with Ellen, and my older brother and his wife who had been married for like 5 years were still trying to get pregnant. I felt worried about the pain that would cause them, but like so many situations in life God was just teaching and preparing me. Now that I'm in their situation and they've had two kids I can be more understanding, rejoicing and calm.

Here's to Life and to Parenthood, may there be many days ahead!!

Joker DS

2009-02-16T12:47:00.003-07:00

I like to think Ellen is a balanced child. And this is why. She's into make-up, but not necessarily primping herself. She loves to play video games on the DS, but usually she likes it best when someone is with her.

2009-02-05T18:32:00.001-07:00

Ellen loves My Little Ponies. The show. I don't have ponies to love. Even if I did they'd be the apocalypse ponies, not the 'my little' variety. The ponies all come with DVDs now they are Ellen's favorite. She reminds us every day. The adventures are as exciting as ever, but they are all best friends. One of the DVDs includes a part where they need to find their dancing shoes so they can dance. Just watch...

New things

2009-01-27T18:37:00.003-07:00

You'd think, well I thought, after the holidays the need for new things would go down and the bank account would take a break. That thought lasted for the day I thought it and then it was over! Luckily we received practical things. :) We got a very first vacuum! This lovely picture is the after shot of vacuuming our recently vacuumed floors with a different vacuum. Whoa! We also got a new iron. It is so nice. I don't get a tired arm from pushing down on the clothes to make the wrinkles come out!

And of course I can never wait to make a new craft project. This is Ellen's new bag. We made it for church, but now we pretty much use it for everything! Ellen loved being my helper. She picked everything out and helped me stamp the white flowers on it. So fun!

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T13:01:00.002-07:00

I spent all morning watching the news. I watched President Obama go to church, come out of church, go to the White House, leave the White House, and then onto the stage and off the stage. And I saw President Bush leave the White House and the moving trucks taking his things. What a significant transition this day was. I was impressed with President Bush's manner. What an awkward time!

I was also impressed with President Obama. He seemed humble and sincere. And even through the tv I caught onto the new attitude and feeling he has brought to this country.

Cheers to the next 4 years!

Invitation

2009-01-18T12:39:00.005-07:00

So it's official. This Saturday, Jan. 24, there will be a card making party at my house! Come over anytime between 10:30 to 1:30. It's not going to take 3 hours of your time, it should be fun and not take long at all! There will be other fun paper crafting ideas here to see as well!

Please bring your own glue!!

Such a woman....part 2

2009-01-14T20:48:00.005-07:00

Joe came in an hour later to wake me up and ask "Did you wanna sleep in here?" I was under the covers of Ellen's bed and sleeping on my pillow so I obviously had put some thought into it, BUT I was cold and needed some medicine (I was sick) so I just mumbled and got out of her bed and came into ours. Joe got me some drugs. We didn't say much.

We didn't say anything about it all day. I wasn't bitter anymore and Joe must have been because he brought up last night after Ellen was in bed. :)

He once again started with "Ya know".

The main point of his argument was "Ya know you're such a woman! I can't read your thoughts!"

What I said to him was, "Don't you ever pay attention to your situation and the cues? When I am playing or reading something I notice when my seclusion is starting to be annoying! It doesn't mean I care, but at least I notice!"

My argument was obviously weaker (though not incorrect). We ended up chuckling over it. Yet we were both so passionate about each other being wrong and ourselves being right!

The End.

Jan. 15 12:12 pm
Sorry this second part wasn't as fun to read. After a continuation of the argument I am worn out and less amused. And after another argument similar to this one last night and then another one this morning I am very much unamused! :)

Such a woman....part 1

2009-01-13T22:20:00.002-07:00

Last night Joe and I got into an arguement. Nothing too significant so far. But this is an arguement that we used to have ALL the time. Last night was a flashback to the past.

Joe got home from work at the same time as usual. We ran to Cosco for some necessities (including dinner) and then back home. We had time on our hands! Since school has just started this was already a treasure. It was also Monday night which as most of you are familiar with that means we do something unique with our time. But we didn't jump right on that when we got home. Joe settled into the couch to play his new wii game. I didn't feel like watching so i went into my room to do some crafting. Ellen bounced back and forth between us. After some time I finished up what I was doing and came out to the living room. I still didn't get into watching Joe's game for too long and Ellen brought up reading about Jesus. And then I remembered it's Family Home Evening! So I break our FHE book out and read the lessons out loud to remember which lesson we are on. Joe keeps playing. I find the lesson and read the intro. Joe keeps playing. "Joe I'm really not going to give this FHE lesson while you're playing."

"Let me just find a save spot."

From experience I know that finding a save spot can sometimes take two days so I reply,

"Just pause it."

Pause.

We do the lesson. We sing songs, we learn about forgiveness and mercy. We pray. We're done.

Unpause.

I am trying not to express my annoyance because I think that would make me annoying. So I go off with Ellen. Then it's time to get ready for bed.

Joe usually does the routine, but he's still playing. So I bring Ellen out to the living room where he is and we say family prayers. Pause. Unpause.

And then I just can't hold it in any longer!

"When are you going to be done playing this STUPID GAME?!"

He is quickly brought up to speed and then responds to my outburst. All I will say is that the sentence began with "Ya know..."

I ignore his retort and walk out of the living room. Ellen goes into her room to pick a story while I go into my room to get my pillow. We read a story and then we fell asleep.

Stampin' Up!

2009-01-08T09:53:00.004-07:00

Hey all slightly interested in stamps and paper. Stampin' Up! is have some good sales right now!There's a new catalog coming out in a week and a half so that means they are making room for the new stuff. If you've wanted to try some stuff now is the time!

Also on Saturday the 24th I'll be having a Stamp-a-stack. I'll have pre-designed cards for you to come and make! 5 for $5! Let me know if you're interested!

Jack and the Beanstalk

2009-01-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

GIACCHE ENNE BINNESTAUCHE
Uans appona taim usse disse boi. Nemmse Giacche. Naise boi. Live uite isse momma.
Mainde da cao.Uane dei, di spaghetti iss olle ronne aute. Dei goine feint fromme no fudde.
Momme , sci sei "Orei Giacche tecche da cao enne traide erra forre bocchese spaghetti enne
somme uaine". Bai enne bai commese omme Giacche. I garre no fudde, Igarre no uaine. Meccse
mistecche enne traidse da cao forre bounce binnese. GIACCHASSE!
Momme scise engri, enne giompe uppa enne daon craine "Uare ui! Somme caine cresi?"
Denne sci tro olle binnese aute da uindo.
Neccse dai Giacche luchhese aute da uindo enne aura iu tinke? Isse disse binnestaucche
uate rice appe tru di claoudse. Somme uide! Giacche gos appe da binnestauche. Isse disse
ogghere! Isse menne nainte sicchse futte tolle uite tri grin aise! Enne I garra ghusse uate laisse
ghoide egghese.
Giacche ielle "Giaiaiao!". Denne isse grabbe da ghuse enne cuicche claimse daon
fromme di binnestaucche. Isse cose cioppe cioppe uite di acchese. Di nainte sicchse futte menne
isse folle enne brecche di necche. Auchhe!
Momma giompse fromme gioie. Sci mecchse naise ghusse cacciatore. Bai enne bai dei
garre no morre fudde. De goinne dai! Uattse iusse? Uara iu goinne du uene iore ghusse isse
cucchede?

Mini Update

2009-01-05T13:48:00.002-07:00

Sorry that we haven't posted for a while! We had a great vacation!! It was so nice! We spent a few days in Richfield. When I say we I mean all of us. Ellen and I stayed for over a week. Joe had to work. It was my dad's retirement party on Monday the 29. We were glad to be there for that. Ellen is still claiming that she is Grandma's Ellen.

I'm gonna post more pitcures about this. Because I don't think I have yet. It was show week at Ellen's gymnastics. She did a great job! She was so cute!
Here's the rambunctious trio. These three had a great time together! We miss them!

2008-12-23T22:59:00.001-07:00

Ellen asked Angie if she could watch this movie today. Angie asked, "Isn't he scary?" Ellen replied, "No, 'cuz he's got chocolate on his face."

Frosty the Red-Nosed Reindeer

2008-12-21T18:17:00.008-07:00

Ellen's favorite Christmas song is Frosty the Snowman. She has been singing for days now. We went to our ward Christmas party Saturday morning and she had the opportunity to sing it with other kids. I think she had fun, which can be proven since she says so in the middle of the song. I love her! Merry Christmas everybody.

She first waves to me behind the camera and then to her mom (playing the piano). Ellen also met Santa for the first time. He didn't ask her what she wanted, (he doesn't need to, he already knows).

Acid-ment

2008-12-16T16:47:00.004-07:00

I did a little bit of cleaning the other day and found a lot of Hydrogen (H+) ions in our apartment. It's not much of a base-ment anymore. (Rimshot)

Ukulele

2008-12-16T16:44:00.005-07:00

I took Ellen to a music store yesterday. She thought the guitars were so cool. And then she saw a ukulele. She was overcome, she couldn't even talk! It was a guitar that was her size! I've never seen her that way. It was cute.

And lately Ellen keeps having pottying accidents and it makes me upset. (Just ask Joe...or Ellen!) So Ellen's new common phrase to me is, "Don't be mad, mom. Be happy!"

Sweet little child.

And today we played hide and go seek. She picked the same spot every time she hid. She would only count 1, 2, 10. She made it a challenge for me. But we had tons of fun!

Earlier we shoveled our huge driveway/yard. We attempted to make a snow slide. It didn't work. We attempted to make Frosty. That didn't work either. But we did have a joyous hour together outside in the snow!

Pictures!

2008-12-15T00:13:00.002-07:00

I didn't realize how much I have slacked on posting pictures! I'm sorry everyone! These are some random ones from our camera.

This is my new favorite sweater! I'm going back to get them in more colors. It's the best!Daddy being grumpy because mommy hasn't been cleaning! ;}
This is from Thanksgiving! These little girls loved listening to the grandpa tell them stories. It was so cute!
These pictures are backwards in the order they were taken. This is back from before Thanksgiving. Harrison came and stayed with us for a night! It was so much fun. We stayed up late being Guitar Hero. Harrison got up to Medium!! We love it when Harrison comes to play!
The Rockband! Ellen was holding over the singing for me!

Funny!

2008-12-11T22:59:00.002-07:00

I told a friend that I think Patrick Dempsy is good looking.

This is what I get for saying such things, her husband made this:

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Girls!

2008-12-10T14:36:00.002-07:00

Some you know that I make a lot of my jewelry. Some of you have received gifts from me that I have made. Some of you have made some yourself!
My friend who does this is having an open house tomorrow (the 11th). She's doing it in the afternoon and then in the evening. If anybody wants to come give me a call and we'll go. It's so much fun!

The Three Bears

2008-12-09T13:18:00.001-07:00

Di Tri Berrese
Uans appona taim uas tri berrese: mamma berre,
pappa berre, e bebi berre. Live inne contri nire
foresta. NAISE AUS. ( No mugheggia. ) Uanne dei
pappa, mamma, e beibi go tooda bice, onie, a
fughette locche di doore.

My Dad once read us this story. I don't know how he read this. This is only the first paragraph!! Give it a shot translating it.
Leave a comment with your results! Good luck!

In response...

2008-12-03T08:40:00.003-07:00

....to Joe's blog.

Becoming Jane really wasn't that great of a movie. But distaste for this 'kind' of movie in my opinion is simply overlooking the social situation of that time. The society of the 1800s seems unbelievable with the lifestyles we live now( but that also depends if you're one of the rich when then I'm sure it is very similar.) And the reason we like Jane Austen stories is because her characters face terrible futures, then they get worse, and then things turn out so much more to their advantage.

Ninja

2008-11-22T15:42:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving!!! Time goes by quickly, and it makes me wonder what I have been doing with all this time that seems to be going by. Well, I've been doing plenty. Teaching, tutoring, piano lessons, etc. But his has been the most fun:

Ninja Town!

For you fellow DS-ers, this game is a must! This game came with a window decal. Joe got to put it in his car, when you're around our car see if you can find it. It's not what you'd expect!

The other amazingly fun thing I've been doing is getting ready for Christmas. I've got lots of projects! I'll post pictures of that soon!!

Ellen is getting so big!! She's getting really good and using new words she hears. She's also finally learned the skill of making play-doh snakes. She's being trying that for a while. She makes the most delicious play-doh food too!

Have a good weekend!

I read this on Nellie's blog...

2008-11-19T12:44:00.001-07:00

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How God could let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.
How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.
'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein

Kathie Lee and Hoda

2008-11-18T19:01:00.004-07:00

Anybody watch tv in the afternoon? If you do there is a chance that you've seen the Today Show with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. It's like a really terrible gossip hour that's been made legitimate by NBC. Seriously one of the most obnoxious shows ever. I searched youtube.com to try and find the perfect example of the dumb things these women talk about and I think I've found a couple:

I rest my case.

It's Time!

2008-11-15T08:58:00.003-07:00

If you remember I cut Ellen's hair off a while ago because she kept tying it in knots. With it being short the knots would just fall out. Fixing hair was a piece of cake.

Since it's long again, the knots have returned-and I'm gonna cut it again.

Sheesh.

2008-11-14T09:04:00.002-07:00

Would the sickness stop already?! I got sick on our way down to Arizona last month and then Joe got sick on the way home and then Ellen got sick when we got home.
I got sick last week, then Joe got sick the beginning of this week and now Ellen is sick. Oh yuck!

Joe's birthday came and went. He got himself some good stuff. :) His birthday always revives our video game playing. And yes i said 'our'. I am a part of the video game playing.

My teaching job is getting a lot better! The kids are starting to show some major improvements. I've made at least half the class cry. I think that's helping. :)

We're excited for this weekend. It's my grandpa's 90th birthday! We're having a fun little party for him in SL. Even my brother Curt is flying out from Denver. So cool. And we get to have Harrison over as well. This weekend will help us forget our troubles.

This weekend is also Launi's birthday, so make sure you say Happy birthday to her by Sunday! We went out last night to Spoon Me! instead of water aerobics. I enjoyed getting the fresh fruit with the frozen yogurt.

Wow, that was unexpected...

2008-11-09T22:11:00.004-07:00

We had a great weekend. Lots of stuff going on. Good stuff.
When extra things are going on unexpected moments creep on you. So here's some things I responded with "Wow, that was unexpected" in our busy weekend.

1. I have no more baby things around my house. Just regular stuff. No wipes, extra diapers, burp clothes, bottles, binkis, pajamas with the footsies, baby shampoo or lotion."Well that's just unexpected and weird." (movie?)

2. Doing this after school tutoring thing is making it more and more natural to correct children around me, even if I don't know them or their mother is close by. It's kinda like I'm an actual adult. Whoa.

3. After Joe's talk in church, the man conducting the meeting commented on how great Ellen and I are. And at the end of church someone said to me"There's that great Sister Reedy." I never knew. I was pretty sure after being in the same ward I'd done a pretty good job staying in the shadows.

4. I still get embarrassed by Joe sometimes, but he does equally sweet and perfect things that just take my breath away that it's getting harder to get embarrassed.

5. And last but not least no matter how many times I watch The Five People You Meet in Heaven it always makes me cry!

You could kinda call these revelations as A-ha! moments. Things dawn on me and I learn a little bit more and get a little bit smarter. (Thanks to those who are patient with me :)