Saturday, December 26, 2009

Humility


It's hard for me to accept help. I have always been a bit of an independant soul, and prefer taking care of people and their needs to receiving help for my own.

I have had to learn a hard lesson on humility this holiday season.


A gracious spirit, or two, has bestowed the gift of charity upon my family this year. I have always known I had good and supporitve friends and family who would help in the hour of need, whenever it may be. I have learned this year just how much they are willing to give.


My heart is full. I am extremely humbled by the spirit of giving. I hope one day that I can pay this generosity forward.


Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, and I pray for each of you. Happy Holidays!!


Thursday, December 24, 2009

Deck the Halls

My beloved 3 year old, in a frantic hurry, tells me she needs to go potty.
I then told her to run into the bathroom and go.
She runs to the bathroom, and almost instantly begins to cry.
She was too late.

Not only did she pee on my rug...which I can handle, I have a washing machine, but she also peed on my cell phone which had been left on the rug while I was bathing the baby.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like peeing on your loved-ones phone.

Merry Christmas Eve Everyone!!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Eight Years

That's right. 8 years ago today, on a VERY snowy afternoon, Dub and I tied the knot. 4 kids and 3 cats later, here we are, celebrating our anniverary with burgers and a board game with the kids.
I don't think I could love anyone more!!
So here is to the next 8....Let's see what kinds of shanaguns we can get into next!

(I tried to scan a wedding picture in but our scanner does not like the new Windows 7 we've installed on the compuper. So....Use your imaginations!)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Dancing Queens

Tuesday was the Christmas Dance recital for Mabey and Roxie.
They were amazing. Proudest mom EVER!!
There were several people who were unable to attend last night due to snow or other reasons, so I recorded it with my tiny camera. It's not the highest quality, but you will get the idea.






Friday, November 20, 2009

My biggest challenge

Happy Birthday to my Wild Child.
You run, you jump, you laugh and scream.
You hide, you seek, you dance and sing.
You challenge my skills as a parent, and I love you for it.
You're my favorite little RockStar
And I'm not a poet.

Sorry.


Happy Birthday!!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Good old days

Hey.
Remember when World of Warcraft was my biggest enemy?
Dub would stay up until all hours of the morning warring and crafting with the guild....it was his second life.

How times have changed.

He has become a DJ Hero.
That's right. He's rockin the turn tables on the xbox now.
He still stays up until all hours, but now he's all "BOOM-BOOM-POW" "GOT TO GET THAT" and "I AIN'T NO HOLLA-BACK-GIRL."
I don't know what a holla-back-girl is, all I know is I want it dead.

wicka-wicka-wicka! HOMIES!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Holy Busy

It's been a hectic few weeks in the Dub household. Too many things going on...birthdays, misplacing jobs, Halloween...it's all a bit of a blur.

And now we begin the holiday rush. I know for most of you, this is dreaded news, but it's nice for those of us in retail. It's busy, we make our budgets and have the possibility for bonuses.

So wish me luck starting this season...We're gonna need it!!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Next Cake Project

QUICK!!
I need to make a birthday cake for Krystal.

Ideas.

GO!!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

arggh.

I am getting a little offended by emails being sent to me with a ridiculous right-winged adgenda.
This is the latest one.


"This is really good!
Conservative Vs. Liberal *
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. *
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he feels that no one should have one.

* If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
* If a liberal is, he wants to ban all meat products for everyone.

* If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy.
* A liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

* If a conservative is homosexual, he quietly leads his life.
* If a liberal is homosexual, he loudly demands legislated respect.

* If a black man or Hispanic are conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
* Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

* If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
* A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

* If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
* Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

* If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
* A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God or religion silenced.

* If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
* A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his."

For the most part, I have stopped opening email from this sender.
The "liberal" part of me wants to turn the other cheek. She is entitled to her own opinion.
The "conservative" in me wants to block her emails.

The "liberal" in me wants to love unconditionally. Everyone has their choice.
The "conservative" in me wants to tell them to piss off.

argggghh.

Monday, October 12, 2009

A wicked road trip.


Everyone, I'm back.



That's right. I survived the 4 day ladies trip to San Francisco with the Webster Ladies.

It was so fun. Even the driving was fun...and driving is rarely fun.

We saw Alcatraz, Fisherman's Warf, Pier 39, Trollies, the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, the crookidest road, Fleet Week and Wicked. It was FANTASTIC!!
Can you spot the Pineapple in today's post??

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Hot Pink

The girls slept over at Grandmas house last night.
This morning, Mabey woke with a goopey eye.
Papa thought it was alergies to cats.

Silly Papa. Don't you know how many cats we have in our house??

I asked Mabey what happened to her eye.
She told me when she woke up her eye was "hot pink".

Great. We've contracted Hot Pink eye.

Eris--keep your children away!!!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

I quite.

Here is my new favorite application for employment.
(As written by applicant)

Where did you hear about us? ur website

Why did you leave your last job? quite. didn't get treated with respect.


Really? "U" "quite"? Impressive. I'll be quick to "higher" "u".
"Theirs" plenty of "rum" for "u" "hear".

Friday, September 18, 2009

Fran-SIS-co.

There is a girls road trip being planned.
My mother-in-law and her sister are planning a
"no-boys-allowed" road trip to San Fransisco to see Wicked in October.

I wonder if I'll be as gun-ho about this trip once we're between Vegas and California...

Monday, September 7, 2009

Feed the birds

I found a bird feeder in our carport. I assume it was at one time Cindy's, but she has vacated the premises, so it is now mine by default.

We put it in our front garden and today filled it with bird seed.

Roxie was delighted. I showed her where the birds would sit to get the seeds and how the seeds come out. She was so excited to see the birds eat.

I went inside for a minute and when I came back, she had plopped herself down in the garden next to the feeder and was sitting with her head in her hands staring at the feeder.

I asked her what she was doing.

"Waiting for birds."

"They won't come if you are sitting so close to the seeds." I replied. "You have to sit farther back. They are scared of you."

She stood up and walked over to the other side of the yard where our swing is. She climbed up and sat. "This good mom?" she asked. "Yes. Now you can wait for birds."
She smiled at me and I went back inside.

As I cleared the table I could see her waiting. Soon I heard her calling "Birdies! Birdies! Birdies!"

I poked my head out the door and said, "Roxie, the birds won't come if you are yelling. Loud noises scare them."

She stopped and looked at me. I could see her thinking about what I had just said.

Then she whispered, "Birdies! Birdies!"


Yeah. That'll do it.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

It's a jungle out there

Or rather in here.

Today was Rachel's jungle themed baby shower. It was thrown by my mother-in-law. It was...maybe a little over the top. But the theme was easy and fun and we ran with it.

I was in charge of the cake.
It was super fun.

All in all, it turned out good.
Took me 5 cakes and 4 batches of buttercream frosting.
Good times! It even tasted good!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Bags In Space!!

Space bags.

Invest.

They are fantastic. AND FUN!!

Everyone hail to the pumpkin song

Oh yes. It's September 2 and I have already watched Nightmare Before Christmas twice.
I will continue to watch it daily until Halloween.

It's tradition.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

The cake




Yes, most of these were taken in my fridge.
Get over it.
But there she is. 4 layers. Good times.

Big 5 year old!!


To the sweetest girl out there.
Happy Birthday Princess Mabey.


Mabey's favorite things are:
"Dancing, dresses, playing computer, jumping on the trampoline and nothing else."

Who knew "Fester" would grow into such a cute kid??!!

We will have a tiny little festival for her today.
This will include balloons, streamers and a Barbie cake. (Pictures of that will follow)
Should prove to be a super fun celebration.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Big First Grader


Kylee woke up this morning to the sound of her alarm.

She dressed herself and came to get me from my slumber.

Together we ate breakfast and practiced writing our numbers the correct way (not backwards)

We did her hair and picked out the right shoes for her "first day outfit"

At 7:50 she told me it was time to leave...hugged me and headed for the door.

I asked her if I got to go to the bus stop with her. Her reply was simple.

"Mom, I'm a big first grader now. I can do it myself."


My heart stopped for just a minute while I watched her walk down the hill to meet her friends.

I stood there in my front walk and watched my big first grader get on the bus and head off to school.


*sniff*

Friday, August 21, 2009

Lagoon!!

It was our "End of Summer" celebration yesterday.
We took 3 of the girls to Lagoon. Jovee and Papa played at home.


It was so fun. A fun filled day of rollercoasters, cotton candy and bumpercars.

I love Lagoon! What a great day.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Cancer Mole

I had a mole removed from my forehead today.
It was neat. A bit bloodier than I had expected.
They are going to biopsy it to see if it was growing teeth or limbs.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Roxie's first dance class





I have 2 dancers. Roxie is the newest to the scene. She is a natural born dancer. She doesn't care, she just moves to the music.
Today was her first day at Studio 1. It's located in Farmington. I met the owner, Jean, at work. She buys shoes in bulk for her competition classes. Jean is the greatest. I don't mind driving 15 miles away because of how much the girls like it and how great Jean and all the instructors are.
As you may notice, Roxie is not dressed in the "conventional" ballet attire. It just means she is going to have more fun!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Update


We went to Primary childrens hospital Wednesday to have some tests run on Mabey and her bits. She got to have an ultrasound done on her kidneys to see if there was an underlying cause to her constant UTI.
She was very excited to get to see what the inside of her body looked like.
Mabey's kidneys are good.
They are the correct size and shape.
There is no scaring.

They also checked for kidney refulx. That's fun.

She was a trooper thru the whole procedure. Even when they had to re-do the cathater, she listened to the doctor and did her "big breaths" to get thru it.
They took X-rays to look for back-tracking urine.

No reflux.

She walked away from that hospital with 2 stuffed animals, a pair of earings and 4 princess stickers.

We are still not sure why she has had a constant infection, but at least it's not something big.

Monday, August 3, 2009

I want a new drug

It's heroine.
Facebook is like crack-cocaine.
You sit down for one second to check on a friend, and then next thing you know, you've been online for 2 hours looking at pictures and having pillow fights with leopard print pillows and sending donuts and making witty comments and commenting on other people's witty comments and poking people.

I may be in over my head here.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

"Bon" turned 2 months old.
We took her to her doc visit and in 6 weeks, she has gained 4 lbs.
She is the picture of baby health.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Project Hot-Sister

My sister has recently moved into a new home.
It needs some love.
I will provide love in the form of paint.

"Old and busted"

"New Hottness"
It's the first of 3 rooms I will be helping her re-do.
Should be loads of fun!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Dime Update

I was informed Saturday that Kiki had, in her words, "Seven big poops"
When I asked if she saw a dime in any of them she replied, "I don't know. It was burried inside."

I ASSUME everything came out okay.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

The shoes missed me




















Boy did they ever.
It's good to be back and be able to do my job properly.
My first day back consisted of my DSM preforming an audit, a rep. from Brown Shoe preforming an audit and my yearly inventory.
Nice right?
Back to school is in full swing and I love it.
So many shoes...so little time!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Saving for a rainy day

Last night at 11:30 pm, we heard very panicked screaming.
Kylee was frantically hacking and crying, saying something about her neck.
Once calm enough to speak in full sentences, she cried, "There's a dime in my throat!"
This was followed by more hacking and panic.
Dub and I tried hitting her back and gagging her to get the dime back, but to no avail.
She stopped for a moment and exclaimed, "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

Sweet girl. The dime was moving at a glacial pace vertically down her throat.

"CAN I LIVE WITH MONEY IN ME?"
"IT WILL BE IN ME FOREVER!"
"I (HACK) CAN'T (HACK) GET IT (HACK) OUT!"

"Oh wait," she says calmly after taking a drink of water. "It's down. When do I get it back?"

My question is...Why was there a dime in your mouth in the first place?
Her response...I don't know.

Where did you get a dime?
I don't remember.

Are you going to do it again?
NO!!!

Then she went to bed.
Today after daycare, she told me her tummy pinched her all day.
This should be fun to pass.

Monday, July 20, 2009

HI-HO HI-HO

It's off to work I go!
My sweet little summer break is up. No more hanging out at home with the girls, no more going to the pool or movies when it suits me. No more mid day naps.
I guess someone has to make the money right?

Some people ask me how I can do it. Mother of 4, full time job, housewife, yard and social life.
I simply answer....I have no choice.

It's nice to get away and have some grown up time, but it also makes those little moments with my kids that more precious. I say moments because that's what they are. Sweet little things that make motherhood worth while. Everything else is enough to make you mental...but those quiet little times make it memorable.

Wish me luck. I'm going straight into Back To School. My favorite time of year. Pencils, highlighters and notebooks. I can't wait to show the girls how to properly organize their backpacks and crayons in color order.
Bring it on!

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Fergalicious

1:15 pm.
I have just returned from a late night doctor visit with a swollen child.
I come downstairs after putting her to bed to find my "grown" husband
sitting on our couch singing into his xbox with the Black Eyed Peas.

He is ALONE doing this.

He stopped and looked at me as though he was caught with his hands down his pants.
I am unsure what to think at this point.
His daughter is swollen and itchy making a visit to the doctor in the middle of the night, and he is singing his heart out with Will I Am.
I understand him playing this game with the girls....but alone in the dark?

hmmm...

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Massage Therapy

Though relaxing and good for you, having a massage reminds you of your wobbily bits you'd rather forget.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Hernae


Happy birthday Hernae.
21 years ago, I eagerly awaited your arrival.
Finally, I would have a sister.
Now you are all growed up.
To me, you will forever be the adorable 4 year old with the big "Disney" eyes.
I adore you, and as different as we are, I wouldn't trade you for anything.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Best gift ever!!

V hates tummy time. She cries and fusses like no other.
But not anymore!!
Thanks to this delightful bobby-thingy Tummy time is tear-free!
Thanks Friends!!
(you know who you are.)
wink!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Naked party

So...I just walked into my girls room to find all three of them in their underpants, wreseting.
I stood in the doorway for a sec and then asked them what was going on.
Kylee looked at me and said "We're having a naked party!"
oooooooooooooooooo-kay.

When Pants Attack.


Sunday, July 5, 2009

Boys....

Uncle Kurtis is off to war.
In a gesture of love and support, heads were shaved.
Now we can really see how much Dub and Anthony look alike.
Anthony is just taller...and in a band.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Magic Flowers

Before

After


It took me 12 hours to do....but the magic flower garden is complete.
It's fantastical.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Watermelon


I love to paint.
I love colors.



This is what I did today.
The curtains are temporary until I find something better.
I'm back baby!!!