Life As A Mommy

Love Day

2012-02-14T16:06:00.002-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day! :)

We celebrated yesterday, we're rebels like that.

Denny came home with oodles of gifts.

I got roses & the newest Twilight movie.

The girls each got their own flowers.

He also brought us food from Olive Garden... mmmm.

After taking an hour to get Sophie to sleep, I came downstairs to watch my movie with Denny.
He lasted a whole 30 seconds before he started making snide comments.
He was banished from the couch.

Today it was a balmy 50 degrees out.
The girls and I decided we needed some fresh air and walked to the park.

Aaaand my photo for the week- Linear.

Package from Grandma

2012-02-13T17:43:00.003-07:00

My mother adores the girls.
That may be a slight understatement.

I often get phone calls from her that go like this:

"MISSY!!!!"
"What?"
"Why haven't you posted any pictures of the girls?"
"I have them on my camera, I just haven't uploaded them."
"I NEED to see them. You are depriving me of my grandbabies!"

And scene.

My mom sent a package of clothes for the girls... filled with matching outfits! You all know how much I love matching outfits. Nothing is cuter than two little sisters in matching outfits. NOTHING!

The girls tried on every single one.
The adorable tutu-pants are my favorite.

And just because it's the cutest thing in the world...
Mya giving Sophie kisses.

Doll House

2012-02-13T14:37:00.002-07:00

Remember Mya's super awesome bounce-house? Ya it broke. Lamest toy ever.

I took the defective device back to the store, and came home armed with a doll house.

The girls' first doll house.

They love it! We've already lost the table that goes with it, but who needs a table.
They can eat on the roof.

Including Myself

2012-02-13T14:31:00.003-07:00

I rarely get pictures of myself. I have literally thousands of photos of everyone else, but not me.

When I'm old and wrinkled, I want to look back at all of these pictures and see myself too.

I have maybe 5 pictures of me from Christmas, none from the girls' birthdays, a few from Halloween. I don't exist in these family occasions!

So, I'm going to be using the self-timer a lot more.

My Baby > Your Baby

2012-02-08T10:49:00.001-07:00

Mya doing the sign for "all done."

She does it when shes done eating, done getting her diaper changed, done nursing, and done in the bath.

MY BABY SO SMART!

Word.

2012-02-01T13:34:00.001-07:00

Bath time = Best time.

Unexpected Perspective

2012-01-29T21:00:00.003-07:00

One of the best parts about creating your own offspring is watching them grow.

While I may tear up when I look at their baby pictures, I love to see how far they have come.

Mya is learning sign language.

Sophie can write her name.

Even though the thought of having teenagers makes me cringe, I cannot wait to see the smart young ladies they will grow into.

Epic Quilt

2012-01-29T20:48:00.002-07:00

This past Christmas, I made Denny the most awesome quilt ever.

Behold.

This quilt is a jumble of hand stenciled patches, old t-shirts, woven fabrics, and so on.

I've slowly shifted Denny's wardrobe from his high school blackness, to prettier nerd shirts.

I had a giant 10 gallon container full of shirts, and didn't know what to do with them.

Now they are forever immortalized in the awesome quilt.

While the shirts are super, my favorites are still the hand painted ones.

Ron Swanson

Horde

Howl (my fave)

Our silhouettes from our engagement pictures. (my 2nd fave)

Being as this is the first quilt I've ever made, I'm super proud of it.

And just because they are adorable... some pictures of the girls. :)
I love their matching shirts!

Guess What I did...

2012-01-25T13:40:00.002-07:00

Yup....

That beautiful, curly hair.... the hair I waited 4 years for....

Chopped it off!

Sophie has asked me several times to cut her hair, but I was always able to persuade her not to.
Today, she decided she was "for sure" about it.

So I cut it!

"Do you just want me to cut a little off?"

"No, I want it shoooooooooooooort."

"Like to your shoulders?"

"No, to my neck!"

Oh how I love those curls.

I must say, I am a fan.

As is she.

Miss Mya Loves Ice Cream

2012-01-24T15:20:00.002-07:00

I mean LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES it.

See?

Everyday Tools

2012-01-24T14:55:00.002-07:00

In case you haven't noticed by now, I'm trying yet again (year number 3) to work my way through Let's Do 52. 1 picture every week, all year. I've only ever made it about halfway through the year, so we'll see how this goes.

Anyway.

Here are my "everyday tools".

These little pills are what kept me from ending up on the late night news.

I try very hard to be open about the struggles I face in life. I know how crushing it can be to need help, and feel like a failure. In our society, being sad is a weakness. Only losers need help.

Poppycock.

Truth of the matter, EVERONE needs help.
My help just comes in the form of a little sky-blue pill.

My hopes is that somewhere, someone will be positively affected by my openness.

What is life for, if not bettering the world somehow.

Random Pictures

2012-01-23T13:55:00.003-07:00

I'm practicing messing with my camera settings more.
So here are some random pictures from this morning.

Enjoy.

I adore little bums.

Responsibility

2012-01-23T13:39:00.003-07:00

I very strongly feel that my single most important responsibility in this life, is to raise my children the best that I can.

No one is perfect, I know this.
We make mistakes, and grow as people.

I felt awful for not taking Sophie to church more as a toddler. I wanted to go, I longed for us to be there as a family. It just didn't happen. Since Denny didn't want to go with us, I selfishly decided not to take Sophie on my own. I didn't want to be judged with looks (being the teenage mother there by herself).

When we did start going as a family last year, I was certain that I would be called out as a fake.

We would walk into the church, someone would point their finger at us and shout, "J'ACCUSE!" They would know that I didn't teach our daughter about Jesus. They would know that she only went to Nursery a whopping 5 times. They would smell the stink of bad parenting on me.

That was all insane. We have been lovingly accepted into our ward. Sophie adores the other children in Primary, and is an expert on all things Jesus.

My responsibility is teach these children the Gospel, and prepare them to face the world.
And by golly, I'd like to see someone try and stop me.

Pink Marshmallow

2012-01-22T22:52:00.001-07:00

Cutest pink ball of fluff that you ever did see!

Stupid Dog

2012-01-22T22:42:00.003-07:00

Remember how I got Denny a dog last year?

Well something awful happened...

She decided I am her master.

Most of the time you can find her sleeping under my desk.

She follows me everywhere. All. Day. Long.

Examples:

I go in my craft room, she lays under my sewing table.
I get on my computer, she lays under my computer desk.
I sit on the couch, she lays on my feet.
I nurse Mya in the rocking chair, she lays by the chair.
I make dinner, she lays in front of the fridge.
I go in the bathroom, she follows me.
I kick her out of the bathroom, she lays by the door until I come out.
We eat at the table, she lays next to my chair.
I go up to bed for the night, she waits at the stairs for me.

You get the idea.

*sigh*

Guess Who Can Write Her Name?

2012-01-19T13:55:00.003-07:00

MY BABY!

Earlier today she asked if we could make little Valentines for her preschool class.

Now that I'm the proud owner of a spiffy Cricut machine, we whipped up those cards in minutes.

Then she wanted to write her name on them.

I wrote it out on a sheet of paper, and she went to town.

Grown Up

2012-01-18T23:22:00.005-07:00

My Freshman Homecoming

Have you ever just sat there and thought, "Holy crap, I'm a grown up."

My Quinceañera.

I often have moments where I am amazed at the life I have.
2 beautiful girls, a home, a husband, whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.
It blows my mind.

Engagement.

It's silly how quickly life goes by...

Baby #1

how much we change and grow.

Baby #2

We realize that life isn't just about us, but our family.

Happy family.

I can't even imagine where we will be 10 years from now.

Obstacles

2012-01-17T13:55:00.002-07:00

5 years now, I've been asking for a car.

Any car.

Every year it's, "we can get one next year."

Next year rolls around, and it's shoved back another torturous year.

I need a second car in order to be a doula.
I need to be able to drive the girls to a friends house, and to drive to the births.

I've been so excited about getting my schooling done.
(which I finished by the way, I just need my births to certify)
I've planned it all out in my head.
I've made websites, business cards, marketed myself.
I even have a birth lined up for this spring.

Then we had the talk.

"We just can't afford another car this year."
*spiral into depression*

I've reached the point where I would do questionable things just for a freaking car.

me "would you be willing to sell your body on the streets?"
denny "you want the car, why don't you sell your body?"
me "i already gave my body, i had the kids. now it's your turn."

He ignored me, as I went to go sulk on the couch like a teenager.

One day.... one day I will have another vehicle.

Until then, we will survive I suppose.
I just have no idea how I'm going to be able to be a doula, with no way to get to births.

Who wants to be our chauffeur?
You will be payed in baked goods.

Homebirth

2012-01-13T13:31:00.004-07:00

We aren't exactly sure when, but at some point in the future, we will have more children.

When we do, those children (brace yourselves) will be born at home.

*GASP*

Before my friends and family die from heart attacks, read on.

Homebirths are just as safe, if not safer than hospital births.
(assuming the woman is not high risk, and has a competent care provider)

Homebirths dramatically reduce intervention rates.
Only around 12% transfer to a hospital during or after labor.
The majority of which were simply for pain relief and exhaustion.

Generally the "serious issues" that arise during a labor, are due to needless interventions at a hospital.

Example: Mom is tired, so they convince her to get an epidural. She then has to lay on her back her entire labor, which is a horrible position for birthing. Labor doesn't "progress" to the doctor's liking, so he orders Pitocin. She may not feel her contractions, but baby certainly does. Pitocin contractions are longer, and give smaller breaks in between. Baby becomes distressed. C-section is preformed. Huzzah! THE BABY IS SAVED! *snort*

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnyways.

I don't believe that I should have to be constantly on guard during labor, so we will simply be sticking it at home. We will have a CPM, certified professional midwife, as well as a doula.

I figured I would give the world a heads up so that whenever we do become pregnant, no one has to deal with the shock of my choices.

Also, as well meaning as your concerns may be, they aren't necessary.
So before anyone goes calling us crazy, do two things for me:

1- Actually research planned homebirth statistics.
2- Remember that I am working towards becoming a CPM, and my career will be birthing women at home.

As my sweet friend puts it, "Hospitals are for sick people, pregnancy is not an illness."

Legit

2012-01-11T21:47:00.003-07:00

^^My super awesome logo.^^

I finally published my website, and created a Facebook fan page for my Doula business. :)

Go have a look see!

http://www.BabiesBelliesBirth.com/

and

http://www.facebook.com/BabiesBelliesBirth

I'm super proud of my self. :D
I even have business cards and all that jazz.

Certification here I come!

Bubbles

2012-01-08T21:28:00.002-07:00

These girls go bananas for bubbles.

Au Naturel

2012-01-06T14:24:00.002-07:00

There is just something about being naked that toddlers find intoxicating.

Bath time is like crack to my kids.

Choose Joy

2012-01-03T13:27:00.003-07:00

Being a happy and upbeat person is more of a challenge than it should be; especially when one is plagued with a "mood disorder."

Despite the fact that I have a fantastic life, there are still days when I want to give in to depression and curl up in a ball of defeat.
Those days suck. Hard.

Anyone who knew me as a teenager, knew that I was happy and bubbly. I had a few issues, but overall I was ridiculously upbeat.

Damn it all, I want to be bubbly again.

So.
I have decided that instead of focusing my effort on surviving one crap-tastic day after another, I will be positive.

I will choose to find the joy in each day.

Sophie's Birthday

2012-01-01T20:45:00.003-07:00

My baby girl is 4.
How did this happen?
FOUR?!

I remember always hearing parents say "time goes by way too fast," and thinking they were super lame. Being a teenager, time couldn't go by fast enough.

Now that I have my baby girls, I just want it all to slow down.

Here is Sophie's birth video.
I couldn't find a song that I really liked :/ but this will do. :)

Happy birthday, booger!

We had her first real party this year.
My Little Pony theme - she LOVED it.
She took all the decorations from the party and stuck them up in her room.

Yup, I painted over my address and phone number. I don't need no crazies calling me or coming to my house.

Pin the tail on Pinkie Pie

Rainbow Dash Balloon Popping.

Mini vanilla donuts with glaze and sprinkles.

"Happy birthday!"

A picture Sophie's friend made for her.

She got lots of awesome gifts from her friends.

Denny and I gave her a big girl bike.

She really had a ton of fun.
Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate her special day.
And thank you to everyone who couldn't be here, but sent their love as well.

We love you, Sophie!

My Baby Mya

2011-12-26T22:20:00.004-07:00

She has grown from a baby into a toddler.

Being the horribly sappy mother that I am, I put together a video of her birth, and threw in pictures from her 1st year of life.
(This caused an insane amount of frustration, but I got it done!)

Yes, I did cry while making it.

I love my baby. So sue me.

You can also read her birth story, here.

Enjoy. :)
(turn on your sound)

Happy Birthday little lady!

I love you, my little sweet Mya.
And I look forward to watching you grow for years to come.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T17:57:00.002-07:00

Our Christmas was fantastical.

Kids popped up at 8:00, and the first thing Sophie wanted to do was see if Santa ate the cookies we left out.

And ate them he did.

We had our breakfast feast.
Eggs, bacon, pancakes, & juice.

Present opening time!

We were blessed with a wonderful Christmas this year.

The girls got tons of cute things, and had a blast opening gifts.

We got Sophie a My Little Pony bedset.
Can you tell she loves it?
She's hugging it.

We got the girls little Princess barbies.

The ONE thing Sophie kept asking for was a toy seahorse.

Mya kept trying to put the clothes on herself.

Playing with dad's toes.

I made Denny the most epic nerd quilt ever.
It consists of old t-shirts that he wore in high school, and hand stenciled patches too.
Horde, Howl's Moving Castle, The Goonies, Video Games Live, The Big Bang Theory, Pokemon, Star Wars, Pirates, Robots, & so on.

My brother's beautiful wife made the girls matching bracelets.

Denny got me a charm necklace. :D *squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee*
I loves it.
It has both of the girls names stamped on little silver circles, with their birth stones.
Huzzah for supporting WAHMs!
(work at home moms)

A Merry Christmas indeed.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafter all of the clean up, reorganizing their toy room, Mya's nap, and relaxing - we had dinner.

I love being married to a man that can cook, and cook well.

We have started a tradition of having a spaghetti dinner every Christmas.

Behold:

Tasty salad.
Is good for you.

Giant meatballs.

Hungry toddler.
Yes... toddler.
*le sigh*
She turns 1 tomorrow.

Jealous?

And my chef.

Hope everyone had as good a day as we did.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T15:43:00.003-07:00

I told Denny that we could all open one gift on Christmas Eve.

The moment we finished breakfast:

Denny "OK, LETS GO OPEN PRESENTS!"
Me "No, you open one gift on the NIGHT of Christmas Eve."
Denny "...what? NO!"
Me "Ya, that's how it goes."
Denny "NO!"

Needless to say, we did not wait until the evening.
Denny got the girls some little Sing-a-ma-gig dolls.

I got me some fancy chocolates.

In the afternoon, we went over to Papa's house for dinner.

It was a nice way to spend the day. :)

I have oodles of Christmas pictures, and I'll either get those up tonight or tomorrow in a different post.

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family.
We love you.

Poking Holes in Babies

2011-12-20T15:34:00.002-07:00

Yep, I'm one of those moms.
Deal with it.
It's what Hispanic people do.

Mya got her ears pierced today! :D
She let out one offended cry, then fell asleep nursing.

ADORABLE!

Thank you, mom, for buying the little white gold earrings!

Mya's 1st Birthday Party

2011-12-17T17:10:00.002-07:00

We had Mya's birthday party this afternoon.

This won't be the super long, sappy, love filled, omg-my-baby-is-now-a-toddler post. I'll save that for her actual birthday.

I made Mya a super cute ladybug dress and matching bow.

She wasn't a fan if the bow.

Denny and Sophie also helped me make some kick-ass cupcakes. (from scratch of course)
Chocolate, pudding filled, buttercream frosted, chocolate chip topped, ladybug cupcakes!

Since one year olds are oh so interested in birthday parties, we just kept it small.

The girls had fun.

Papa and Isaak got her some super cool little stacking block/toy things.... not sure what exactly they are called.

Denny and I got her a Jump-o-lene.
Best. Gift. EVER!
Both her and Sophie love it.

It was a delightful afternoon.

My baby girl is growing up. *sob*

Cookies with Santa

2011-12-09T15:39:00.002-07:00

Since we are super awesome members of the Treehouse Museum, we got invited to a special event with Santa last weekend.

My friend, Claire, and her family are also members, so we all met up there.
Then we feasted on cookies and milk.

Even the daddies joined us. :D

The girls took teddy bears down the "chimney" for Santa.

Then they wrote letters to Santa.

The girls played, while we waited in line to see Santa.

Even though they didn't get to sit on his lap (which I thought was complete bull), they had fun singing songs with him.

Sophie is actually into the whole "Santa is awesome" thing this year. I'll probably have to take her to a mall and hunt a Santa down for her.

Miss Mya

2011-12-09T15:36:00.003-07:00

Best helper in the world.

She is pretty awesome at putting away freshly washed diapers.

And playing "peek-a-boo."

*covers face*

"Where's Mya?!?!"

*uncovers face*

"Oh, there she is!"

*giggles*

repeat for hours

Thanksgiving

2011-12-09T15:32:00.003-07:00

Here are the pictures from our fantastical Thanksgiving dinner.

We (Denny) made ham.

Steve made turkey.

Our kids ate a ton.

Especially Mya.

We heart our friends. :)

Lazy Update

2011-12-06T14:31:00.003-07:00

I have a camera upstairs, and it's full of pictures...
I'm just too lazy to go up and get it.
So you will have to settle with being imaginative.

Random updates on life:

I have been busy making Christmas gifts, and almost have them all finished! :) I do believe our family will be super pleased this year.
I also got called to be a member of the Relief Society Committee.

Denny has been nerding, playing with his girls, and being the delightful bag of sarcasm he always is.
He also got called as a Primary teacher.

Sophie has recently decided she is rebellious. When she is sad or upset, she flat out doesn't listen or answer. Which is suuuuuuuuuuuuuper fun. We are slowly working with her, hopefully this passes soon.
She has also picked 3 future husbands. Sam, Jaxson, and Aidan.

Mya has been walking for the past few weeks. It is beyond cute.
She loves her books. She carries them all over the house. Once she finds a nice spot, she just plops down and reads them.

I promise pictures next time I post.

Thankful

2011-11-25T09:01:00.002-07:00

This year my family spent Thanksgiving in Texas with my brother and his family. Sadly, we didn't have the money to join them.

Instead, we had an awesome dinner with some good friends.
We love Steve & Jaimie. :)

After we ate, Jaimie and I ditched the kids with the men and went Black Friday shopping.
Great Thanksgiving, if I do say so myself.

Now on to what I'm thankful for!

I am thankful for our home, having a place that is ours is so wonderful.

I am thankful for Denny's job, and that fact that he provides for us.

I am thankful that we are all healthy. *ironically we all have colds right now*

I am thankful for the fact that I found something I want do, and can do. Becoming a doula and a midwife is beyond exciting for me.

I am thankful for friends. After years of having crappy friends, who never made the time for me, I now have a handful of extraordinary people in my life.

I am thankful for music.

I am thankful for strength. Thanks to Postpartum Depression, I felt like I was drowning for months. I finally cracked and started taking medication, and it has helped so much.

I am thankful for weekend mornings. Mya and I normally wake up an hour before Denny and Sophie, so we get time to ourselves.

I am thankful for my beautiful girls. They teach me so much everyday. I adore them with every bit of myself.

I am thankful for my mother, who I know will always listen and never judge.

I am thankful for a welcoming and friendly ward.

I am thankful for my husband. He is my rock. So often, when I feel that I am over whelmed, he keeps me standing. I love you. :)

I am thankful for so many more things. I love my life and my family.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Painting!

2011-11-17T22:23:00.003-07:00

Guess what the girls and I did this afternoon?

Decorated my craft room door. :D

Most beautiful door in the world, yes?

I attempted to keep the project clean.... so much for that.

At one point, Mya was trying to eat the paint.

At another point, we ditched the brushes and started using our hands.

On a random note, Mya has started looking at the world like this.
She just stays there forever.

Another random note, I cut off all of my hair.

Tortillas & Steps

2011-11-17T13:44:00.002-07:00

It is official - even Sophie is more Mexican than my mother.

We made tortillas the other day.

Who wants a boring old circle tortilla?
Our tortillas had personality!

And they were SUPER yummy.

Mya is becoming a walking pro.
She waddles all over the place.

See those cute pants?
I made those out of one of my old shirts. :)

Best Assistant EVER

2011-11-11T15:27:00.002-07:00

While Mya was napping today, I was working on my business stuff.
I had all of my diapers out, taking pictures, so that I could list them online.

Mid nap, Mya decided she would flounder about angrily.
I headed upstairs to put her back to sleep.

"I'll finish the diapers, mom!" - Sophie

When I came back downstairs she was smiling.

"Don't worry, I finished the diapers." - Sophie
"Oh good, thank you!" - Me

I uploaded her work.

Best. Shots. EVER!

She also took it upon herself to photograph her blankie.
We got that blankie when I was pregnant with her. :)

Don't ya just love that face?

Little Fuzzies

2011-11-08T11:14:00.002-07:00

Guess what I did...

I have a tendency to be ridiculously spontaneous. This personality trait works to by benefit about 50% of the time.

I want to be a doula/midwife and start schooling right away. - Win
I want to learn something new and become overwhelmed. - Fail

Denny has become used to this. If it is something that is likely to fail, he will gently try to talk me out of it. If I am stubborn, he will support me anyways. Yay for loving husbands.

Let's just say that this time, I was stubborn.

I've been thinking about getting Sophie a cat for a few months. There was just one little thing stopping me - I loath cats. We have had several since getting married, and they have all been spawns of Satan. That is not an exaggeration. I still have scars from some of them.

After talking to my friend, Claire, she mentioned that getting two kittens helps out a lot. Then they have a sibling to play with, and that keeps them entertained. Awesome! I continued to research randomness, and fill my mind with kitty knowledge.

Sunday night I had an itch to go looking for kittens.

Meet the newest Schlaikjer family members.

Igor.

&
Scamper/Pepper.
(Sophie couldn't decide on a name, so she picked both)

They are brothers.

Other than the fact that Moose has an aneurism every time she sees them, everything is going delightfully. I have already trimmed their claws, and the girls love them. I even like them.

See that super awesome shirt Sophie is wearing?
I made that.
It is refashioned out of a shirt that I wore, while I was pregnant with her. :)

And Mya sticking random crap in her mouth.
That's how she rolls.

The First Snowfall

2011-11-06T23:34:00.002-07:00

Sophie has been waiting months for it to snow.

MONTHS!

When it finally started snowing the other night, I actually thought about waking her up just to show her.

The next morning, she all but exploded from excitement. I told her that we had to eat breakfast before we could go out and play.

She inhaled it.

Mya and I even wrapped up and went out for a bit.

I can see many hours spent outside this winter.

ALSO

We made 70 tamales this weekend. :)
They are suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper yummy.

Day at the Tree House

2011-11-06T23:29:00.002-07:00

I took the girls to the Tree House Museum last week.

This was the first time that Mya actually got down to play with all of the fun things.

The light table and magnetic shapes are one of Sophie's favorite toys there.

She was asking me if we could buy a unicorn.

Building towers!

Sitting on said towers.

Mya eating the townspeople.

I'm really glad that my mom got Sophie a membership for her birthday. We have really enjoyed going here. I'll have to renew it next year. :D

Purple Hair :D

2011-11-04T14:22:00.006-06:00

I was raised by a mother that supported anything I wanted to do.
Piano, dance, soccer, cheer-leading, basketball, volleyball, girl scouts, choir, track, drama etc.
If I wanted to do it, she found a way to make it happen.

She also got involved with a lot of the activities. She went to every game/show/concert I had. She was my troop leader, she was my girl's camp director, she was awesome.

A lot of the time, I forget that some kids didn't have "involved" parents. I was very much spoiled with love as a child. One of the best gifts my mother gave me was confidence and independence. I was taught never to "follow the crowd," but do what I wanted to do. I was allowed to mold myself into someone unique.

I pride myself in being an awesome mother, just like my mom was. I try very hard to encourage Sophie to be her own person. She dresses herself, and most days she doesn't let society cripple her fashion. One of my favorite outfits was a tutu, butterfly wings, rainbow shorts, and snow boots.

After having kids, I felt somewhat pressured to mold into the generic housewife. I stopped dying my hair funky colors, started buying more boring clothes, rarely put on makeup, and basically toned myself down.

I just realized this kind of makes me a hypocrite. Here I am teaching her to be herself, while I am just doing what is expected. Screw that. I was worried that me being "unique" or "alternative" would put off all the other moms at church, playgroups, preschool, etc. I didn't want my little Sophie to suffer because I couldn't just be normal.

Thanks to a supportive husband, who gave me the final shove I needed; and my friend Jaimie, who helped me with the coloring - I now have purple hair.

I love it. I decided that if someone is going to judge me based on the fact that I have fun hair, I don't want them around my family anyways. Judgmental people often raise judgmental children, and we don't need friends like that.

The best part?
The purple is only a semi-permanent color, and will wash out in a month or so.
Then I can put a NEW color in! :D
I will be a human mood ring.

Gift List

2011-11-01T09:45:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe we are already in November.
This year went by way too fast.

You all know the drill, same as every other year.
Here are some ideas to help out the family that spoil our girls. :)

Mya
She is currently in winter 9-12 month clothes.
Next size she will need are 18 months. Either winter or summer.
I have no idea what size shoes she needs, as she never wears them. :P
She could use some new little books.

Sophie
She is currently in winter size 4 clothes.
Next size she will need are size 5. Either winter or summer.
She is in size 8 shoes.
Favorite colors are pink, purple, and blue.
Favorite animals are unicorns and giraffes.
She could use dress up clothes, books, or art supplies.
She loves My Little Pony.

Denny
He wears XL shirts.
Anything nerd makes him happy.

Lexi
I wear size small shirts.
Headbands, or fun jewelery are always welcome.
Gift cards: amazon.com, barnes & nobel, joanns, etc.

Once again... I've misplaced everyone's addresses. *sigh* I'll be emailing you all to ask for them sometime this month.

Leaves

2011-10-30T11:46:00.002-06:00

Our neighbors have a big tree that shades most of our yard.

When autumn arrives, our lawn turns into a sea of yellow. This blows Sophie's mind.

The other day I took her out to jump in the leaves.

Enjoy.

Awesome Sauce Costumes

2011-10-29T23:00:00.002-06:00

Here they are.

The super awesome costumes that I made this year.

Be jealous.

First up: Sophie the bat.

I had asked her back in September what she wanted to be for Halloween, and she was dead set on a bat.
While I was doing my makeup, she decided that she would do hers too, hence the blue eyes.
She is also sporting pink hair. When I went to pick up my purple hair dye today, she decided that she ~~wanted~~ needed pink hair.

I decided to match my costume with hers and be a vampire.

A scary vampire.

I know. We look awesome.

Denny wanted to be The Heavy from Team Fortress 2.

We made Mya his "sandvich."

Once again, you wish you were as cool as us.

Gorgeous

2011-10-25T12:52:00.002-06:00

Mya knows how to open things with lids.
Chapstick, markers, pens, even got a few medicine bottles open.

Earlier this morning I was doing homework, and Mya was sitting under my desk with a box of markers.

I looked down and she had 3 open.

That's not even the best part.

I put the lids back on, and tried to finish the assignment.
A few moments later Sophie goes, "Hey mom, look!"

She was coloring Mya's face with the markers.
"You're so gorgeous!"

On an unrelated note. We totally carved our pumpkins for family home evening last night.
They are awesome.

Ward Halloween Party

2011-10-23T11:20:00.003-06:00

Last night was our ward's Halloween party.

I awesomely forgot to shave my legs, so Sophie was the only one in her costume.

Fear not. I will get pictures of all our home-made costumes on Halloween. :)
(by the way, our costumes are freakin awesome)

Sophie absolutely LOVES her preschool teacher. She is such a sweet lady.

There were tons of little games for the kids to play.
And prizes!

Face painting!
Sophie actually walked right into Denny's hand after getting her face painted... and smudged her butterfly. This was unacceptable. Luckily, the face-painting teenagers had no problem with repeat customers.

There was also yummy food.
Denny described it as "liquified chicken enchiladas."

Mya was a fan.
Never mind the scab on her nose.
She's in fight club.

We had fun, even though we had to leave a bit early because tiny miss was super tired.

Right as we were leaving, Sophie's BFF was arriving.
So I snapped a quick picture of the girls.

Almost There

2011-10-17T12:41:00.002-06:00

We finished our last Temple Prep classes yesterday. We had the sweetest old man as our teacher, I just loved those classes. Denny just has 2 more weeks of Preisthood classes.

Every week we get closer to being an eternal family.

I can't even describe the amount of excitement I have. I've been waiting for this for 4 and a half years. The fact that this whole process is actually happening makes me want to explode with happiness. I could quite literally pop at any minute, and confetti, bubbles, and glitter would go everywhere.

I tried on my wedding dress today. It was a bit too big, and will need a jacket, but it will do. :)
I also plan on making the girls fluffy dresses.

SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rainy Days

2011-10-07T12:51:00.002-06:00

It dropped a good 20 degrees this past week. It's also been raining a ton.

The other day I realized that I was slacking in the picture department.

Here are some of our rainy day pictures.
:)
We were eating our lunch up in the front room, while watching Monsters Inc.

Mya loved watching the rain.

A Career

2011-09-28T13:10:00.002-06:00

In high school, I had life planned out.

Graduate
College
Med school
OBGYN
Family
Babies

In that order.
So much for that.

After getting pregnant and having Sophie, I no longer liked the idea of being an OBGYN anyways. The birth experience was lame, not special, and sort of traumatizing.

I got smarter with Mya. We switched to a Midwife, and had a more enjoyable experience all around. I would have loved to be in a birth center instead, but halfway through the pregnancy, we weren't prepared for the costs. :/

Some point in the last few weeks, something clicked. I've always wanted to birth babies. I love midwives. Why not be one?

Everytime I've looked into schooling for other career options, I would instantly get depressed. The time away from my family, and the ridiculous amount of money just seemed impossible. I looked up Midwifery anyways.

:)

Game plan:
become a doula
then
a midwife

Luckily I have had several very sweet ladies help me out so far.
And as always, Denny supports me completely.

I already have a scholarship through a doula organization, so off I go!

The Zoo!

2011-09-10T19:52:00.002-06:00

I try to take Sophie to the zoo at least once a year.
This year we went with our friends Steve & Jaimie.
(who happen to be super awesome zoo members)

Sophie is in love with Steve.
Every time we are going somewhere, Sophie asks "is Steve coming too?"
I was making corn the other day, "mom, Steve likes corn too, is he coming to dinner?"
You get the picture.
95% of her zoo trip, was spent glued to Steve.

The children also had much fun at the zoo.

Remember the pregnant elephant from last year? Totally had her little baby.
Elephants are pregnant for 22 months..... pass.

Riding the creepy wooden horse.

And Sophie's favorite animal.
(who is now pregnant)

Merry-g0-round!

Children getting sleepy.

Lastly, the train ride.
It started raining about 30 seconds before we got on the train.
Because the train is awesome, it lost traction, and we got stuck.
Train fail.

Much fun was had. :)

Labor Day

2011-09-06T22:27:00.002-06:00

Our Labor Day weekend was pretty nice (aside from the fact that the girls got colds).

The girls and I played outside, while Denny grilled up some dinner.
Sophie took over 300 pictures.

After dinner, we made smores :)

Preschool!

2011-09-06T22:20:00.002-06:00

Sophie started preschool last week! She absolutely loves it.

We woke up and had breakfast. She asked me do her hair "fancy."

We packed up her snack, and put it in her new backpack.

And off we went!

The preschool is held just down the road, which I love. Our Primary President is actually the one running it. So she is with all of her friends from primary. :)

When we got home, she told me ALL about it.
These are the things she made her first day.
I love the playdoh cupcake.

She very much loves preschool, and is so excited every time she goes.

Mya's First Time Swinging

2011-08-25T10:59:00.001-06:00

I LOVED IT!

Happy Fan

2011-08-24T17:56:00.004-06:00

Today was fun.

Not.

4 times, I got Mya to sleep, laid her down, only to have her awake 10 minutes later.
Fun stuff.

Around 3 PM, I reached my snapping point. At that moment I looked over to see the fan smiling at me. And had a minute of crazy laughter.

"I'm decorating it!"

My favorite part about our now sharpie covered fan, would be the smiley faces.

I love her.

Random Videos

2011-08-16T14:15:00.002-06:00

Bikes & Fluff

2011-08-13T19:31:00.003-06:00

Sophie would live outside if I let her.

Most days we go outside for an hour or so, and wait for Denny to come home.

Yesterday I got fluffy mail! :D

Prettiest model in the world.

Sophie's favorite activity is bike riding lately.

(Mom- Notice she is wearing the shoes you got her. They are her favorite now. She puts them on when she wakes up, just because. :P So thanks for them!)

Breakfast with Grandma

2011-08-13T19:24:00.003-06:00

My mom came out for 2 days. She spent one of the nights at our house.

Just waking up.

My mom also brought her new doggy, Coco.

And eating us some breakfast.

"YOU CAN'T SEE ME!"

And this.... my homemade jam. :) First time I've ever made jam/canned anything.

Wish we could have had a longer visit. :/

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT

Next month the girls and I are going to visit her for a week. :D

Waffle Blocks

2011-08-10T12:40:00.002-06:00

When my brothers and I were little, we had a bunch of waffle blocks. I now have those blocks in our spare room. Today, Sophie and I pulled them out to build a castle.

Mya was put in the dungeon.

She didn't mind.

Then she escaped.
Sophie was not pleased.

Such is our morning.

Zee weekend

2011-08-01T13:22:00.002-06:00

Attempted "nap," more of a rest with little people crawling on me.

Lunch at Olive Garden.
Ever eaten a lemon wedge? Sour as crap, and makes your face pucker up - right?
Not the case with Mya.
She devoured that thing.

Hit up the duck park in Layton.

Denny and Sophie "Zoidberging" the ducks.

Zoidberging: adjective. to zoidberg. Running full speed at an object while shouting "woop, woop. woop, woop!"

Swinging.
Look closely at Denny's face.

Spinning.

And thus concludes the pictures.

Day In The Life

2011-07-27T11:03:00.002-06:00

Of me :)

Wake up, because small children are crawling all over my face.

Start a load of laundry.

Take Moose outside to potty.
Sophie refuses to come back in.
Get stuck playing outside all morning.

Moose likes licking Mya for some reason.

Nurse Mya

Mya chews on everything in sight.

Sporting her new diaper, that just came in the mail yesterday. :)

Inside for breakfast.
So I cut my mango without looking, and didn't realize it wasn't ripe yet.
Since it was already cut, I figured I would try to eat it anyways.
Nope.
Most disappointing mango ever.

Angry sticky baby.

Brushed Moose, she sheds a stupid amount.

Hung out swimsuits.

Change Mya.
Rockin a prefold.

Sophie playing her guitar and singing like Marceline.
Adventure Time.
Notice the mess behind her.

Cleaned & vacuumed downstairs.
Mess gone!

Nurse Mya to sleep, and watch The Land Before Time with Sophie.

Dying husband wakes up (after noon), he stayed home with a migrane.
Everyone has lunch.
Gave Mya a cookie.
Hella messy.

Go take a shower with the girls, to clean off all the cookie.
Now squeaky clean.

Wash and hang out diapers.

Get slurpees for dying husband.
Then go to Papa's with the girls.

Eating crackers with Abuela.

Picking raspberries.

Picking apricots.
Yum.
Sophie ate at least 10 of them.

Mya liked them as well.

Abuelo embroidered Mya the prettiest pillow ever!
Abuela sewed it shut, and Papa bought the supplies.

Watch toonies with Papa.
Eat dinner.
Mya naps.

Home once more.

Denny nerds.

Sophie eatin a salad.

Off to brush her teeth.

And go to bed.

Denny got both the girls to sleep, so I sewed.

Finished a diaper.

And a blankie.

Then I cafemom it up & watch netflix.

Then off to bed.

Lagoon #2

2011-07-22T13:50:00.003-06:00

We went toLagoon yesterday, and took pictures.
Here is Sophie's version of the day.

First the girls and I hit the beach, since Denny was still at work.

Then Sophie went on the boat.

While Mya napped, with cold water bottles to keep cool.

We went on the train.

Then we went to pick up Denny, so he could join our fun.

Swimming round 2!

Denny took Sophie on the little mini boat ride.

Mya and I hung out in the shade.

I took Sophie on the skyride.

And we all hopped on the farris wheel.

Whenever we left the beach, Denny stared longingly at the rides.
"It's like I'm in a strip club, I can look, but I can't touch."
He was forlorn.

While on the farris wheel, he spotted the Samuri.
He was forced into line. After a stupidly long 30 minute wait, he got to ride it, and looked silly all the while.

As we were leaving, Sophie requested a hammer, and candy cot (cotton candy). Being as you have to play those stupid games to win a hammer, Denny found her something even better.

Armed with cotton candy and a baby giraffe, we headed home.

See you next year Lagoon.

Lagoon

2011-07-14T16:39:00.002-06:00

I personally think Lagoon is stupidly overpriced, but then again, what amusement park isn't? I knew that I wanted to take Sophie, I just didn't know when. Then 2 days ago my friend asks "you guys wanna go for $10 each?" Hells ya we do!

So yesterday we were all packed up and super excited, but my friend had to go to the doctors. Sad. :( She was loving enough to still give us her coupon. So off we went.

I took my little kodak point and shoot, so here are our pictures!

About 2 in the afternoon rolled around, and we arrived. Our friends Claire and Dea met us at the entrance. The first hour was complete fail. Neither of the girls were cooperating. Dea was tired, Sophie was scared to ride ANYTHING. Many tears were had.

After not so much success, we got them on the train.

Sophie effin love trains.

Then Claire took the girls on the sky ride.

While Mya and I walked across the park to meet them on the other side.
Mya fell asleep with a cracker in her hands. She goes ape for crackers right now.

After that, we hit up the Farris wheel.

Even Mya and I came along. :)

I then took the little ones on the Tilt O Whirl, and Claire watched Mya. I freakin LOVE the Tilt O Whirl.

After that Claire & Dea left, so the girls and I went to pick up Denny.
And more fun was had! First we got us some dinner, for a stupidly expensive price.

Even Mya had some fries.
(and flipped me off)

Next we all suited up and went swimming.

As we were all getting dressed, I realized that we left Mya's diapers in the car. I took Mya and walked the 20 miles (slight exaggeration) to the car; Denny took Sophie on the train.

Then on the sky ride.

We rode on the Carousel.
The mini version of the boat ride.
And puff the magic dragon, which was hella funny because she screamed to get off the whole time.

And home we went, 9 hours later.

We have bounce back passes, so we'll be going again next week sometime. :)
Next time I'll be sure to get pictures of me too.

Pretty

2011-07-08T15:23:00.002-06:00

My sister-in-law linked this post on her facebook. If you have children, read it. It is about teaching our little ones to be comfortable with their bodies.

It took me a long time, but I'm happy with my body. (tiny boobs and all) Most days I feel prettier without makeup, or with just foundation.

i have small boobs, bit whoop, they do their job. i provide more than enough milk for Mya
i'm almost positive my stomach skin could engulf a small horse. it stretches out ridiculously far, i find it kind of entertaining really
i have mom legs, stretchmarks, a zillion tiny scars, the jiggle, but eh.
i have a scar in the middle of my nose from a tiny bastard dog that bit me when i was a kid
if i didn't pluck my Hispanic eyebrows, i'd look like caterpillars were on my face

Such is life.

I still walk around naked/in undies. Sophie showers with me. I don't think I've ever peed with the door closed. I make no effort to "hide" my body from my girls, and never will.

The same goes for Denny. More often than not, the man is just in his underwear/shorts. To be fair, it is the middle of July and our swamp cooler still isn't fixed.

We are both happy with ourselves, and while we would both like to make improvements, we don't make a big deal out of it.

As for the slutty image that the world is throwing at our tiny children, screw that. My girls will be raised in a home where a pair of cute shorts and a tshirt are much better than a mini skirt and padded bra.

Babies!

2011-07-06T23:37:00.002-06:00

Anyone pregnant, or ever wants to get pregnant, you MUST watch The Business of Being Born. (totally on netflix instant)

I finally watched it, and it was so awesome.

Being pregnant and giving birth at 17, I was scared out of my freakin mind. And I didn't really know squat. Everyone I knew had epidurals, why not? Cesarean? Sure! Heck, why not pick the date of your child's birth, and rip them out of your womb when it is convenient for you?

In case you can't tell, I hate that anyone would have an elective cesarean or induction for "convenience." Babies come when they are ready, leave them IN. Any reason, other than medical necessity, is just crap.

When I was pregnant with Sophie, I read everything I possibly could about childbirth. Turns out most info on the internet points to epidural, in the bed, with an OB. Laaaaaame. I didn't know any better, so I went with it.

My OB was something I was used to, and I like consistency, so I stayed with her. We had Sophie at the hospital, where my OB literally walked in about 10 minutes before I was ready to push, delivered Sophie, then left.

The anesthesiologist = the grim reaper. That was the more horrible experience ever. I was told not to talk to him, and just do what I was told. Sure, make me scared of the man who is about to ram a giant needle into my spine. Thanks.

Right after Sophie was born, I got to touch her, then they whisked her away. She was put on the table and man-handled, while the OB was all up in my girly bits, doing God knows what. I didn't get any skin to skin with her. I got to breastfeed her, then they took her again for a good hour+.

Then the hemorrhaging, yay.

I completely love my baby girl, but I was screwed out of a "special" birth. Live and learn.

We attachment parented, breastfed, co-slept, cloth diapered, and so on.

Baby 2.

I learned about better birthing ways. The idea of natural still scared me, because we had no one to watch Sophie while I labored.

I made it well through the majority of my labor, then the pitocin had me give into another epidural. Luckily, a much better anesthesiologist was on call that day. He was making jokes through the whole thing, AND I could still move and feel my entire body.

The instant Mya was born, I all but ripped my gown off for skin to skin. Mya was not taken away from me. The only time she was ever away from me, was when they did her hearing tests and such. Less than 15 minutes.

Second round was all together more enjoyable.

Round 3 will be at a birthing center, if we ever get one back in Utah. (God forbid we are STILL in Utah then. Gag.)

Learn about what options are best for your baby people. Don't just blindly trust your doctors, educate yourselves!

Happy 4th

2011-07-06T12:56:00.002-06:00

The night before the parade, I finished the girls' dresses. Sophie loved hers so much that she refused to take it off, and slept in it.

We woke up bright and early for the parade. Can you tell that Denny is a morning person. tee hee!

Sophie collected oodles of candy.
And I got heat exhaustion... yaaaay. How lame am I, it was even overcast all day.

I told Sophie to show me her dress, and she posed on the rock.

The dress reminds me of Wonder Woman.

After the parade we tried going to iHop, then Bee's, but EVERYONE had the same idea. We ended up hitting up Burger Bar.

Mya in her dress.

That evening we watched fireworks with our friends Steve, Jaimie, and their munchkins.

Hope everyone enjoyed their 3 day weekend as much as we did!

Piloff :(

2011-06-30T22:54:00.003-06:00

Every morning, we eat breakfast, then head downstairs to watch cartoons for a bit.

This morning, I found Piloff laying there with her head in her food bowl. If she hadn't of twitched, I would have thought she was dead. She hadn't really eaten any of the food I gave her, and just looked wrong.

So we loaded up the car and took her to the vet. Piloff died on the way there. :( I didn't really know what to do at first. I informed the lady behind the desk that I didn't want to upset Sophie, and she offered to just take Piloff. I figured this might upset her even more, so we just took her with us.

Leaving the vet's.
sophie "are we going to another doctor?"
me "no baby, we're going to go home"
sophie "but Piloff is sick"
me "i know sweetie, i don't think she's going to get better. she's going to heaven"
sophie "but why"
me "she is too sick, she's going to die and go to heaven"
sophie *slow pout* "...but i don't want her to die"

I put Sophie in the car and let her hold Piloff on the drive home, she sniffled the whole way. I cried like a baby, Sophie just looked so heartbroken.

We got out of the car and she started crying. It was so awful, not like tanrum angry cries, she was so sad. I snuggled her outside for a good 10 minutes while Mya napped.

me "it's ok, she's with Heavenly Father now"
sophie "but i want her to get better"
me "she's happy in heaven now, we can bury her in our garden and keep her with us"
sophie "but i don't want to, i want to wait for daddy"
*more crying*

The day couldn't possibly get worse right?
Wrong.

I opened the door, and heard a toilet seat drop. Unless an intruder was using the potty, that meant Moose had escaped... again.

1 - she literally ripped up a chunk of my carpet & padding. staples included
2 - the kitchen trash was spread in every room upstairs
3 - she pooped in the front room
4 - she all but killed my aloe vera plant

I instantly wanted to stab her in the face. Like today wasn't crappy enough without her shenanigans. I threw her outside and went downstairs.

5 - the downstairs trash was everywhere
6 - her kennel door was completely bent, now unusable

Hate dog. Also because of our delightful neighbors, I can't even leave her outside. Someone called Animal Control on us because she barks. Really? She's a dog, they bark. andfilasjdflK!J

My friend, Claire, let us come over so Sophie could play with her daughter. It was a much needed highlight to our day. They had fun in the little pool, and the dogs got to play too.

We got in the car to go home.
sophie "are we not going to put Piloff in the garden?"
me "we'll do it when we get home, daddy is there now"
*crying*
sophie "but can we do it tomorrow?"

When we got home, Denny had already dug a little grave for Piloff, and picked some flowers for Sophie. Earlier that day I had Sophie draw Piloff a picture and we put it in the box with her. She also drew on the box before we put it in the ground.

Heartbreaking.

It wasn't even that Piloff had died. Sure it would make me sad, but pets die, life goes on. It was how sad it made my poor little Sophie. :( Her being so unhappy just ripped me to pieces.

sitting by the little grave
sophie "i want piloff to get better some day"
me "i know sweetie"
sophie "is she going to come back?"
me "we'll see her in heaven some day"
sophie "can we go to heaven?"

She keeps asking randomly if Piloff will be back soon, or if medicine will make her feel better. It was all just so sad. We went out for ice cream after that. Being little, I'm hoping she'll just bounce on to something new.

I'll just have to make tomorrow extra fun.

Surf n Swim

2011-06-25T23:27:00.002-06:00

We spent Saturday at Surf n Swim.
Sophie was horrified by the waves at first, but eventually started enjoying herself.

We had lots of fun. :)

Father's Day

2011-06-21T16:09:00.002-06:00

Denny got 2 gifts for Father's Day:

1- a dog from me
2 - a snail from Sophie

Thanks to my friend, Claire, we found out about Color Me Mine. This little store on 25th has oodles of ceramic thingamabobs.
You pick out a thingamabob.
Paint said thingamabob.
They fire it for you.
And you pick it up a few days later.

Sophie chose a snail.

It proudly sits on Denny's desk.

Sophie & Moose

2011-06-21T16:01:00.002-06:00

This worm thing from Carters = hours o fun.
While Mya napped today, Sophie and Moose ran around the yard.

Sophie trying to eat the water like Moose.

While we were playing outside, the mail came.
In said mail was the hat I got for Sophie.

After playing we all relaxed outside.

Abuela's Birthday

2011-06-17T16:03:00.002-06:00

For Abuela's birthday, we made a vanilla cake with whipped cream frosting... mmmmmmm.

We hung out for a bit while we waited for Abuelo and Papa to get back from the store.

Isaak played ponies with Sophie.

Sophie helped blow out the candles.

Daw :) They are the cutest couple ever.

Abuelo got her a fancy bracelet, and earrings.

Abuela loves the bling. :)

Papa's Birthday

2011-06-17T15:50:00.003-06:00

My dad is ooooooold.
:)

Sophie and I make cakes/cupcakes/brownies from scratch for birthdays.
For my dad we made a banana cake... mmmm.

Sophie made him a card.
She's big on making cards. And since I have about $1,000 worth of scrapbooking nonsense, she has an endless supply of paper & stickers.

Abuela also made him a carrot cake, so we all got two pieces. :D

Sophie has gotten pretty pro at blowing out candles. She got them out before Papa had a chance.

After cake, Papa and Sophie played marbles.

Wife Win!

2011-06-14T09:53:00.003-06:00

I know, I know.

I'm guessing you've all seen the picture on Denny's facebook.
I wasn't going to say anything until we were for SURE keeping her, but oh well.

"No more pets."
Can you tell I'm strong willed?

Denny loves pets. Coincidentally the ones I don't like. Big dogs, cats, ferrets, and so on. Most weeks he'll send me 1-10 ads for pet listing on KSL classifieds. My response for the past 7 months has been a consistant "no."

It has been impossible to find the right pet for our family.
All the cats were evil, and hated me. Pumpkin was the only acceptable one.
Achilles nearly died, then lost his house-trained-ness. (plus we were in a tiny apartment)
Medva ran away EVERY time I let her out.

I've always told Denny that I only ever want puppies, because then we can train them. When adopting someone else's dog, they can lie (much like a lady did with a cat we got). Turns out I hate training dogs, I already have 2 kids, I don't want another baby.

Denny has been breaking through my "no pets" wall lately.
My requirements were:
- ~~good~~ great with kids (like child climbing all over dog)
- house-trained
- small-med sized (i don't want to fall over if it tries to jump on me)
- not an aggressive breed
- good family dog breed
-no barking/growling

I should have known better than to agree, because he found a dog that worked.
I had planned to find him a pet for Father's Day anywho.

Smokey a 1.5 yr old German Shepard. She is smaller because she got parvo as a puppy and it stunted her growth. She is house trained. And in her ad picture she had a 7 month old baby pulling on her face.
Sold.

I agreed to go SEE the dog (emphasis on SEE). If she was right for us, we could take her. I'd never admit it to him, but she isn't bad. And so far, I don't hate her yet. :P Plus I know how happy it makes him to have a dog. She is also very loving. Denny also agreed to sign a "this is the last pet I will buy" agreement.

I'm a good wife for making compromises to make my family happy. What WHAT!

So here she is. The other woman.
Denny "where do you want to put her kennel"
me "where the old one was. why, where do you want it?"
denny "...you don't want to know"
me "...?"
denny "...our room"
me " why?"
denny " BECAUSEILOVEHER!"

denny "mark my words, when this dog dies, i will cry"

me "you know we can take her camping and stuff"
denny "oh i know"
me "have you already planned out our whole life with her?"
denny "yes."

Giggles

2011-06-09T14:53:00.001-06:00

Sophie making Mya laugh at dinner.

Mya giggling at breakfast.

Tumbling Show

2011-06-07T12:02:00.002-06:00

Brace yourself for oodles of pictures with horrible lighting! :)
Denny did get video, but I'll get that loaded later.

Yesterday was Sophie's Tumbling Show!
She did awesome, even though she was shy at first.

Bridge.

Front roll.

Jazz hands :)

Getting her medal.

Kisses.

Hugs.

High five.

Family came to support her.

Her teachers. She loves them.

Mud

2011-06-05T22:36:00.003-06:00

This morning 3/4 of our family woke up all booger filled and with headaches. Yaaaay.

By the time we weren't dying anymore, church was over halfway through.
I felt bad that Sophie didn't get to go to Primary, so we went outside for some family bonding.

Sophie and I made mud art.

Sophie and daddy played with the hose/pool/water balloons.

More mud.

Mya hung out with daddy while Sophie and I got dirty.

Afternoon with Abuelos

2011-06-04T17:42:00.002-06:00

We hadn't seen abuelos, since they went to visit my mom.
The girls and I went over last week, and we all hung out in the backyard.

Sophie has a thing for bandages, and puts them everywhere.
This one is legit, I accidentally bopped her with the vacuum.
In my defense, she came up behind me, so I didn't hear her.
But if you ask Denny, he'll tell you I probably just beat her.

Mya got annoyed at my trying to take pictures with her in my arm.

So Mama took her for me.

Sophie and Papa collected "flowers."

"Show me the flowers."
"ok, mommy!"
*SHOVE IN FACE*

Putting them away, for save keeping.

Matching!

2011-06-01T11:45:00.002-06:00

It's no secret that Carter's is my favorite brand of clothes for little kids.
When we were walking around Sam's Club a few weeks ago, I spotted a table with Carter's clothes on it. The clothes were cheaper than the actual store, AND they had a little dress that matched one of Sophie's shirts.

Me - "do you love me?"
Denny - "how much?"
Me - "$6 worth?"
Denny - "sure"

He thinks I'm ridiculous for dressing the girl's in matching clothes. If they had one in my size, I would have gotten it too.

For church that week, they matched. :)

Till Death

2011-05-31T16:54:00.002-06:00

We drive each other nuts.
It's what we do.
We are sarcastic.
That's how we roll.

*sitting in church*
Denny - "how did you scratch your arm?"
Me - "iono"
Denny - "masochist"
Me - "fight club"
Denny - "did you hurt yourself?"
Me - "fight club"
Denny - "i thought we were past thi-"
Me - "fight club"
Denny - "no fight club!"

*just got home from grocery shopping*
Denny - "what is this?"
Me - "i'm helping you get the groceries"
Denny - "whaaaaaaaaaat?"
Me - "i'm helping"
Denny - "you never help get them"
Me - "accept my help, damnit!"

*bedtime*
i bump denny's computer chair
Denny "what?"
Me - "spoon."
Denny - "but i was gonna stay up and play"
Me - "spoon."
Denny - "but we did last night"
Me - "no, you said the same thing last night"
Denny - "but"
Me - "spoon."

Denny - "what are we doing for father's day?"
Me - "going to the lake"
Denny - "why?"
Me - "Sophie has been asking to go"
Denny - "so is this for me or her?"
Me - "her"
Denny - "thanks"
Me - "well, i'm cooking food to bring for you"

Denny - "hey hun"
Me - "nope."
Denny - "what?"
Me - "nope."
Denny - harrumph
Me - grin "what?"
Denny - "I wanted to-"
Me - "NOPE!"

*driving to dinner*
Denny - "don't you want to know where we are going?"
Me - "where are we going?"
Denny - ".....guess"
Me - "UGH!"
Denny - "guess"
Me - "where denny?"
Denny - "I'm not telling you"
Me - "i hate you"

You wish you were us.

Grandma's Visit

2011-05-30T20:47:00.002-06:00

Here are a few of the pictures from when my mom came out to visit.
Notice their adorable shirts?
"Bis Sister" & "Little Sister"

Jumping with Diego.

Hanging out outside.

We took the front runner to Temple Square.

We all kept telling Diego that the train was going to fly when it took off. So everyone held on. :P

Flowers. Digging. Whatnot.

Holding hands.

Playing in the reflection pool.

Me and my little ladies.

Sophie loves her grandma.
We can't wait for her to come back.

Ren Fest

2011-05-17T13:13:00.002-06:00

We spent our anniversary at the Renaissance Festival.

My mom came along with us.

Denny got his turkey leg.

And ate it while we waited for the jousting to start.

Sophie giggled.

Isaak and my dad showed up for a bit too.

Joust!

Jousts breaking.

Waiting for Sophie and I to get our Henna done.

Me.

Sophie's unicorn.

She loves it.

Random giant turtle.

Sign we saw while looking for the festival.
*giggle*

4 years ♥

2011-05-17T11:42:00.005-06:00

As of May 14th, we have officially been married for 4 years.
4 very long years, and it's just the beginning.

We started young, and have faced an absurd amount of trials.
But.... what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. :)

4 years:
1 shotgun wedding
5 moves
2 apartments
1 home
5 dogs
4 cats
4 fish
1 bunny
2 pregnancies
4 nerd games played together (D&D, WoW, Magic, Minecraft)
2 very difficult problems
1 baptism
5 jobs
2 cars
2 car accidents
3 obsessions with food
2 cervical cancer tests
5 hobbies (legos, nerd games, sewing, scrapbooking, photography)
2 family deaths
2 road trips
3 nights on the couch
9,000 disagreements
11 birthdays
1,000 sleepless nights
4 sewing machines
5 computers
2 family weddings
9 cell phones
3 mp3s
4 gaming consoles
200 books
1 baby with colic
5 beds
2 postpartum depression
5 cameras
and 2 beautiful little girls

Te amo.

Mya's Baby Blessing

2011-05-17T11:17:00.002-06:00

BEHOLD!

THE DRESS!!!!!!

So much time was spent on it, and I am in love with the outcome.

Having 2 tiny children, I don't get hours to just sit and sew. This took about 2 weeks, working in spurts of time. It was so worth it. :)

Mya was exhausted, and slept through all of the pictures.

Abuelo was the one that blessed Mya, and it was such a beautiful blessing. My dad translated so that all of the whites could enjoy the blessing as well. :P

Everyone went over to my dad's house, while Sophie and I stayed for church. Afterward we went over to have some food too, since EVERYONE ate without us. Thanks guys. *glare*

And now the pictures.

Since she was asleep on blessing day, I dressed her up again yesterday and took some pictures.

Motherhood part 2

2011-05-09T10:15:00.002-06:00

Despite the fact that it rained ALL day yesterday (literally, morning till night), it was a good day.

My Mother's Day weekend started on Friday.

Sophie and I spent the afternoon at the Treehouse Museum, which wasn't as fun. There weren't as many kids there, so she spent most of the time looking for a "friend" to play with.
On the way to pick up Denny, both of the girls fell asleep. With both of the monsters out cold, we decided to go get dinner. All you can eat sushi, *gag*. I hate fish, always have. Sophie thought the chopsticks were amazing.
Next we hit Barnes & Nobel for my Mother's Day gift. Denny took Sophie to pick out a planner, while I wandered about the store. I wanted a planner because I like knowing when, where, and what is going to go on. Having two tiny children, my brain is full of cartoon theme songs, so I just write everything important down.
I left the store with my new gifts: a box of Hello Kitty stationary, a pretty purple planner, and two raspberry filled Godiva chocolates *drool*.

Saturday

Weed pulling day. Yay?
Denny went to pick up Abuelos, and brought me back flowers. :) I love flowers.
Abuelos were loving enough to come help out. I originally asked if they would come keep the girls entertained, so that Denny and I could work on the yard. The moment Abuelo got out of the car, he dove into pulling weeds. There is no stopping that man. :P Abuela held Mya while she napped.
We got a TON of weeds pulled. A good half of what we needed done. Keep in mind that we have a good 4 areas for gardens, so that is about 4 million weeds.
After we showered, I took Sophie to the mall. She lost one of her earrings the day before, and we were out of spares. Being the pink lover she is, we left with a pair of pink heart earrings. After grabbing smoothies, we spent the rest of the night at home.

Sunday

We had what Denny declared "Mother's Day cake," after he sang the "official Mother's Day song" (that I'm fairly certain he made up as he went). Delicious breakfast.
Got everyone ready for church.
The primary children sang to all of the mommies. Sophie just stood there and alternated smiling at me then her teacher. She adores her primary teacher. All throughout Sacrament, she kept asking if it was time to go to class yet. I'm so glad that she loves Primary so much. It makes the idea of starting school much easier.
After church, Denny took us to Olive Garden. SOOOOOOOOOOO many people. Luckily, the wait wasn't too bad, and someone gave up the couch for Sophie and me.
Once we got back to our table, Mya was starving. The instant I started feeding her, Denny informed me that the lady next to us was giving me the stink eye. She can go suck an egg, you couldn't even see my ta-tas.
The evening was spent watching tv shows.

Another wonderful Mother's Day with my family.

Motherhood part 1

2011-05-07T23:16:00.002-06:00

My mother always has been, and always will be my best friend.

She has always given her time to make sure I was a well rounded and happy person.

She was my girl scout leader.
She had me take 2 years of Spanish.
She was my girl camp director.
She taught my young womens class.
She put me in soccer, cheer, basketball, and so on.
She lived with me for weeks in a hotel, so that I could go to my first Homecoming before moving.
She drove me to and from a different school for an entire year, so I wouldn't have to deal with bitchy teenage girls.
She let me dress however I wanted.
She taught me to be friends with everyone.
I never came home to an empty house. My mother ALWAYS made sure she was home for us.
When my parents got divorced, she let me hate her without trying to stop me. It wasn't until I went through the same problems, that I understood how much she gave for us.

After seeing how other people were raised, I now know how blessed I was.
My mother is the reason I think my kids deserve to have me at home with them. They deserve to be raised by me, not a daycare or babysitter.
My mother is the reason I love to make things for my girls.
My mother is the reason I believe that "I am beautiful, no matter what anyone else thinks." :)
My mother is the reason I fight to be happy.
My mother is the reason I don't give up.
My mother is the reason I am strong.

I love you. :)

(part 2 will come sunday evening after I spend it with my girls)

Tumbling/Blessing info

2011-05-03T23:56:00.005-06:00

Instead of the one big show, Sophie's tumbling class will be having 2 little shows.

June 6th and June 20th
from 6:00 - 6:30

If you want to go let me know.
Otherwise you can wait until they give us the DVD in July.

She'll have worked on her dance for 2 months, so come support her!
:)

ALSO

Abuelo will be the one giving Mya her baby blessing.
We are planning for ~~May 29th~~ May 15 (when my mother will be here).
From 1:00 - 2:00

If you'd like to go to that, let me know :)

giveaway

2011-05-03T22:14:00.003-06:00

doing the first giveaway for my shop
win a free cloth diaper :)

HERE on Facebook

Go.
Now!

Abuelo's 73rd Bday

2011-05-03T11:44:00.002-06:00

On April 28th, Abuelo turned 73.

Sophie and I spent the afternoon making him some cupcakes. She does pretty well baking on her own. I just give a little help here and there.
(notice the wardrobe change)

That evening we went over to celebrate.

And had a wonderful evening.
Sophie loves her Abuelo.

73 down, 73 more to go!
:D

Egg Hunts

2011-04-26T14:12:00.003-06:00

First picture has nothing to do with egg hunts, but I love it (and know my mom will too).

MOVING ON!

Sophie was lucky enough to have 3 egg hunts this year. 1st was with my mommy group (or lack there of). We were the only ones to show, but my friend's family was there, so we still had bunches of kids.

Then at our home.

Then we took some more eggs over to my dad's and let do another one there.

Denny both hid all of the eggs, and took the egg hunting pictures.

And just because I can:

Pictures of Denny and Mya. :)

Easter Dresses

2011-04-25T12:19:00.003-06:00

Sunday morning Denny woke up sick. The bastard. :P I spent a week making the girls' Easter dresses for church, so I wasn't about to stay home. I got everyone ready, while Denny lay dying on the couch, trying to keep Mya happy. He offered to come, but we left his diseased self at home.

The girls and I were only a few minutes late. Mya let me sit for a grand total of 5 minutes before she started fussing. A woman who already had 4 kids of her own (and was watching them by herself), invited Sophie to sit with them so I could tend to the squealing child.

Since Sophie had so much fun sitting with the girls, she actually wanted to go to Primary. Blew. My. Mind. She never wants to go, and normally starts asking to go home halfway through Sacrament.

On top of that, she stayed the whole time! No crying, nothing. She was all smiles when I found her after church - sticker covered, and holding her teacher's hand. HUZZAH!

I got to hear maybe 10 minutes of church, but at least Sophie enjoyed it. :)

Once we got home, I pulled out the camera to get pictures of the dresses. So there ya go.
(the egg hunt pictures will come later)

Piloff

2011-04-22T10:21:00.002-06:00

I had bunnies when I was a little girl. Other than the fact that they poop an absurd amount, and ours liked to hide behind the fridge, they are pretty nice.

Denny spends a lot of time coming up with gifts. He knows I can't stand cats, I don't want big dogs, and little dogs cost an insane amount. Reptiles are nasty, and most rodents are too. Fish are boring, and so on.

That left him with a hampster, or bunny.
So he went looking for bunnies.

Thus, Piloff became a member of the family.

Sophie loves her. (I've declared her a "her," the seller actually wasn't sure about the sex.) She is a Velveteen, super soft breed. Also she won't get more than 5 lbs. Yay.

Her name is Piloff.
Like Baba Yaga's pet in Bartok The Magnificent.

Videos

2011-04-14T14:29:00.001-06:00

Mya Laughing

Rollin

Veintiuno

2011-04-12T11:45:00.002-06:00

I had a wonderful 21st birthday.

First we took Sophie to her tumbling class, that's the first time Denny got to go with us. Then we brought some Olive Garden home, and the family came over.

Isaak made a cake, that my dad and Sophie decorated.

Sophie led everyone in singing, and helped me blow out the candle.

I made out with a bag of snickers, a red polka-dotted body pillow, and money.

We ended the night watching a movie with the girls, and Mya pooped on me.

A day well spent. :)

Sponge

2011-04-09T00:24:00.002-06:00

I love how much Sophie mimics us. If Denny is fixing something, she needs to use tools too. If we are doing dishes, she has to help. If I'm vacuuming, she uses her stroller as a vacuum.

This morning I pulled out my camera and she asks, "where is MY camera?" She has taken over my little Kodak.

Spring has Sprung

2011-04-01T18:47:00.002-06:00

Finally. It got over 70 today. :)
We spent most of yesterday and today outside.
Sophie would pick flowers and "plant" random things.

Mya napped outside both days.
Out cold.

Sophie used her watering can to create a big mud pit.

Treehouse

2011-03-30T17:06:00.003-06:00

We took the girls to the Treehouse Museum last week. Denny was Mr. Photographer, while I carried Mya around.

Sophie loooooves going there. I'll probably get a membership for her this summer.

She really liked playing with the castle. The prince was saving the princess. :)

And just for my little niece, here are some of Mya. We love you Melody!

Nerding

2011-03-30T15:24:00.002-06:00

Isaak came over last week, and brought a nerd project. He was making a building of some sort, for a mini figure game. Sophie got right to helping him paint.

After that, he pulled out the Dungeons & Dragons stuff.

There really is no escape from the nerd. At least she's cute. :)

Because I Can

2011-03-25T15:20:00.002-06:00

After this post, I'll be disabling the emails. So you lazy people will actually have to check the blog on your own.

Why?

Because I can.

It also drives Denny slightly insane that the majority of our family just reply to the emails, instead of commenting on the posts. He doesn't get to see the comments if they go straight to my email. So now you have to comment here. Ha HA!

So go ahead and bookmark the links you want now:

this blog
http://dennyandlexi.blogspot.com/

photo project
http://schlaikjersnapshots.blogspot.com/

craft blog
http://crafthappymommy.blogspot.com/

side note - Denny is still fine. We got all the stuff out of our car this morning. Sometime next week the insurance company will be calling us.

Mya has made the change from 0-3 month clothing to 3-6 months. She also smiles all day.

Sophie is doing well in her own bed, and has a bedtime routine that works.

Happy Friday.

Goodbye Car

2011-03-24T11:10:00.003-06:00

Every morning Denny wakes me up, and kisses me before he leaves for work. Today he woke me up twice, and it kind of disoriented me.

"I got in a car accident. I'm perfectly fine, but the car is totaled."

"...What?" (It is important to understand that I'm not good with accidents. I panic when we slide on ice.)

"I was on the freeway and hydroplaned into a semi, then flipped over the median." (My brain didn't catch the flipped bit.)

As ridiculous as it is, I couldn't stop thinking of everything that could have gone wrong. Just yesterday I was worrying that we don't have life insurance.

"Hun, I'm fine."

I start crying.

"Really I'm fine."

I get a hold of myself, and realize he actually is ok.

"The car might be drivable if I didn't flip, but it broke the hood. We'll be getting a new one."

"...YOU FLIPPED OVER?!" Panic once more.

"It's ok."

We've both been abusing that car for the past few years, but now it is dead. Denny is off getting a rental car at the moment, and we should be getting the info on our car by tomorrow.

I have yet to see the car, but when we go get our stuff out of it, I'll be sure to take a picture.

Sneak Peek

2011-03-23T23:24:00.003-06:00

Sneak peek of Mya's blessing dress.

This is going to go over both her blessing dress and Easter dress. :)

If you want to see how I made it, just click the picture.

Weekend

2011-03-22T13:46:00.002-06:00

Sophie had been asking all week to visit Papa's house. Denny got off work early on Friday, so we went over for a bit.

Sophie loves to play with the dogs. Oreo is the jerk wiener-dog. Quimby is my lovable cockapoo.

Denny brought his birthday present - a remote controlled helicopter. Both he and Sophie love it.