Valentines and doorbell ditching. What could be more fun???

Parker loves to play with other kids. If there are kids around, he is their instant friend. Therefore, he was so excited to put together Valentines for a bunch of his little buddies in our neighborhood on Saturday.

After explaining to him the "old school" way of how we were going to deliver them (leaving them on the step, ringing the doorbell and running), he joyously shot his fists up into the air with a drawn out, "YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!".

I love that kid. He makes me laugh. :)

When I was little it was tradition at our house on Valentines Day for my Dad to leave wrapped gifts on the doorstep and of course ring the doorbell and run. Me and my older brother loved this ritual and we would get all giddy running to the door to find fun surprises. We would then hear a knock at the back door and went running to find more fun things and so on. My Dad was so fast to get back in the house through the garage that he had us fooled for a few years as to how the presents were making it to our doorstep.

In my desire to carry out this tradition with my own kids, Sunday morning the doorbell rang and magically there were presents awaiting for Parker and Emmie which of course brought on shrieks of delight and excitement.

The second time it happened, Parker looked out the window onto the step and said,

"More presents, Mom! How do those presents know how to ring our doorbell?!".

Chris was pretty fast getting himself back into the house. (As P would say, "YEEEESSSS!")

I truly think Valentines Day is a great excuse for a date night, but really I think the holiday is for kids!!! I love it! :)

HaPpY VaLeNtInEs DaY

from our favorite little Valentines!

(Aren't they cute? They're even homemade...! :))

The Getaway

When was the last time myself and this guy had a night away with no kids???

That would be July 21, 2006 - the night before Parker was BORN!

Yep, 3 1/2 years and we've never spent the night away from our kids!

(besides leaving P the night Emmie was born and the night my brother passed away but those don't exactly count...)

Well that all changed this last Sunday night!

Chris surprised me with a 2-night 'staycation' in Salt Lake with NO KIDS! You heard right -NO KIDS for 2 nights!

Yep, I'll admit it - I have a hard time leaving my kiddos, & it was a little odd (in a good way!) having so much freedom and time to waste but we had a great time!

No hurry to get back for impending nap times, no rush to avoid inevitable tantrums, no stupid double stroller to navigate that I'm pretty sure weighs more than myself, no 5 lb diaper bag that took 25 minutes to pack, no 3 year old visitors in our room at 5 a.m. rearing to go for the day, no goldfish cracker trail left behind us as we walked, no taking 10 minutes to get in and out of the car, no WHINING (!), staying out past 6:00 with no consequence of messing up bedtime schedules.... the list goes on...& on...

YEP it was all pretty foreign to us! But pretty nice! I had forgotten that there ever was such a life!

Having said that, I LOVE my babies and I was thrilled to get back to them -- REFRESHED!!!

Thanks Chris for making it all happen! Loved it!

Oh, and BLINDSIDE -- LOVED that, too!

& thanks Lance & Becky for taking on the kiddos. LOVED that you had that 5 a.m. wake up call by the blonde hair, blue-eyed night visitor while we snoozed away! :)

Spread the word to pray for them!

My friend who underwent the unimaginable and heartbreaking loss of her precious baby boy a few years back, had a new blog post come up tonight.... 'Trials, why?" under my blog list there on the right. I clicked there to read her sweet post which was spurred on by a friend who is verging on that same horiffic grief of losing a child...she offered a link to their story. I just bawled my eyes out over it for the last hour...I don't know these people but I can promise you that they will be in my prayers! Click here: http://www.stakerzxposed.blogspot.com/ for a reminder of what's truly important in life. I promise you will be touched as I have as you read the heart wrenching nightmare that they are in the midst of with their youngest little boy (who is just a month younger than Emmie) and the tragedy that took place just one week ago that could happen to any of us.
Ironically, just this last week I've felt more confident in leaving Emmie and Parker in the bathtub for a few minutes while going to get pajamas and diapers, etc. and even straightening this or that along the way. I won't be doing that again after reading this. You should read it too!

Please pray for this family!!!

P.S. Once you get to their blog, read the post 'A week ago right now' near the top', then scroll down to February 1st to read from the start....

Favorite Things 2009 Party

*This is long -- I know -- but read on and you might just be inspired to check out some great things!... or scroll to the bottom to read a few of the things I was inspired to check out...

Last week I went to a Favorite Things of 2009 Party. Ever heard of one? Neither had I, but I thought it was such a good idea so I thought I'd share! It was put on by a cute girl (lady, whatev) in my neighborhood that I used to visit teach. I guess she puts on 2 of these per January per year, and making the 'guest list' as they called it is a coveted thing ( so I was told by the non-first timers). LOL

WHO KNEW???

The rules went like this:

Each guest was to bring a list of 3 of their favorite things from 2009... these could be favorite new hobbies, products, websites, books....you get the idea - printed out on 13 sheets of 8x10 paper. THEN everyone was to bring 13 'gifts' that corresponded to one of her listed favorite things. Also, everyone was instructed to bring one favorite new recipe made to share with everyone, and the recipe printed out (for 13 people).

GOT IT? Sounds fun, right? Well, it was! Great food and great shared ideas - what's not to love? I came home with a mini binder full of tested and tried products, activities, vacation spots, food - you name it, not to mention 13 fun things from everyone!

So here are a few of my favorite things from 2009 that I divulged at the party:

1) FABRIC STEAMER

Before you call me LAME --this has been a life saver! I refuse to put away un-ironed clothes but I hate ironing! It's so time consuming and some weeks I was spending a good five hours with the good old iron. (Am I crazy?! Maybe a little OCD -- I don't know.) UNTIL my mom bought me a fabric steamer! I. LOVE. IT!!! It seriously has cut my ironing time by at least 2/3rds. It is super fast and super easy and takes up less room than an ironing board (I keep it in my walk in closet). Mine is a Conair brand from Wal-Mart and I'm not kidding when I say that it is one of my FAVORITE THINGS from 2009!!! It is saving me TONS of time!

2) FAVORITE BLOGS...I cheated and did THREE favorite websites instead of one. Here they are:

*For the kitchen: http://www.ourbestbites.com/ I LOVE this food blog! There are lots of great food blogs out there and they all have made cooking more exciting for me, but this one is definitely one of my top faves!!! I highly recommend checking it out. I get really excited about cooking when I visit this site!

*For the kids: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/ This is such a fun site to find great craft ideas for kids, holiday crafts, fun children's book reviews... I ran into this while researching some things for Joy School and I LOVE it!

*For YOU: http://www.tipjunkie.com/ This site has so much info that it can be a bit confusing. But go there seeking any question or idea for ANYTHING -- birthday party themes and decorations, shower ideas, crafting whatever, gift ideas, creative holiday decor or crafts, how to organize, how to clean, decorating ideas...YOU NAME IT and you'll find a plethora of ideas! Such a great resource! And you can share YOUR great ideas there, too!

So what did I bring to the party?

3) LITTLE GIRL HAIRBOWS!

Something fun that I learned to make this past year were little girl hair items.

I don't do as cute of a job as my friend Lichelle who has made lots of Emmie's hair accessories - let's clear that up! But I made some of Emmie's hair flowers to match her birthday tutu this last year, a bunch to coordinate with outfits for our Disneyland trip in September and her Halloween Tinkerbell bows (which weren't so hot) and more for just everyday...it's been fun just knowing how!

So, there you have it-- I brought little girl hair bows

to the party as my 'gift' for everyone. Exciting, I know, especially I am sure for those who don't have a little girl. But I figured we all have nieces or go to showers, right?? :)

Here they are:

I know I know, some aren't so cute but the craft store didn't have great materials when I went and hey I was on a budget so this was what I whipped up.

And here is the stash that I came home with:

A few of my faves: a homemade headband, a cute sewn kleenex holder there in the front, a CD FULL of free digital scrapbook stuff (so excited for that!), cute Forever 21 hair accessories, strawberry Whoppers (surprisingly these are way good!), one lady LOVED Weight Watchers so she brough some of those food items you can see. Apparently those chocolate Mini Wheats are super good and you can eat 52 and it's only 3 Weight Watcher points. Whatever that means but I guess it's really exciting! :) Anyways, you can see for yourselves what some of the other fun products were.

A few others that were listed but not given that I am convinced I want to get are:
*The Biggest Loser Cardio Max DVD (I just picked this up at Costco for only $7.99 - I will let you know how it is!) The girl raved about this so I am excited to give it a try.

*The book: Christlike Parenting...recommended by the host who says she tries to read it once a year.

*Shark Steamer mop. The girl brought this to demo and it's amazing! I would love this for Mother's Day (wink wink). Am I crazy that I love good cleaning, household products? Hey, what can I say? Anything that makes my job more efficient makes me happy....!

*Pureology Essential Repair Restorative Hair Mask

*And for all you readers, the book Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins came highly recommended by several ladies, as well as (clean) romance books by Marcia Lynn McClure.

So there you have it. A FAVORITE THINGS PARTY! Maybe ya'll should throw one next year and invite me! :)

Does anyone have another fave from 2009 to add to the list???

Post-dinner ritual

Twice her size a problem?

Nah.

This girl's love for a challenge mixed with her toddler determination enables her to accomplish great things.

I wonder how she'd do with a mop....

LOVE my little helper!!!

Dear February

Dear February,

I have a few things to ask of you. Please be nice and SERENE to me and just let me relax (RELAX: chasing after & playing with my cute kids, endless & constant cleaning, cooking) a few days during your term. Above and beyond that ALL THE TIME overwhelms me. I am a homebody at heart you know. After the holidays I couldn't wait for January. I thought I'd be able to breathe again, get back to my 'normal', cozy life... but good old 'Jan' proved me wrong. Jan has been one crazy, hectic month! I am counting on YOU February, to be that calm month that I've been looking forward to since August. Please, I plead with you, to HELP me out! To share with you how bad it has gotten, I am behind SIX hours of my always-anticipated American Idol. SIX! Catching up at this point is hopeless. In favor of not coming off overly whiney, I won't share with my blogging friends the CRAZINESS of this last week, but I will share with them a few of the highlights amidst the chaos.....

I know there are sadder stories out there, but I thank you for taking my pleas into consideration! I have always liked you. :)

Sincerest regards,

Michelle

A few highlights from this last week that I needed to note:

*My Dad's birthday was last week so last Saturday night we had everyone over for dinner and cake and ice cream to celebrate. My kids just love their Grandpa Todd and I couldn't resist posting these two pics from the party.

*Parker was a lucky boy. I think he had a play date every day this week but one!

(L to R: Cami, Tammy, myself, Jill, Stephanie)

*Thursday I met up with some of my cute high school girlfriends. (We missed you Lacey and Amanda!) It's always fun to get together, even if it's at Chick Fil 'A! (Not that anything is wrong with the place but the backdrop of this pic just makes me laugh.) We coincidentally ran into two other BHS friends and grads having lunch at the same time! (Steph made the pic, Mandy Jean did not...) Next time girls we are ditching the kids and leaving them with the boys... these Hot Mamas need a serious Girls Night Out!

Mine and Cami's kiddos rolling in the germ-infested tube slide of the Chick Fil A playland. YUM.

*To top off the week's events I went to a Favorite Things Party on Thursday night! Stay tuned and I'll fill you in on lots of great things....!

Three Amigos

We were so sad last summer to have some of our good friends from the neighborhood move back to Virginia for MBA school. Parker loved playing with these cute brothers, one of which (Little Jakie in the green) shares P's exact same birthday.

Well their cute Mom is unfortunately on strict bedrest at 7 months into her pregnancy (we are familiar to that scenario!), so these little guys are back out here in Utah with Grandma and Grandpa until their new baby sis arrives (their mom was still in the hospital when they flew out here last week!). I know it's got to be hard on Karen and Ben to have 2 of their kids across the country from them for a few months, but we just wanted to tell you guys how much we are loving having cute Jake and Cameron around for some playdates again! Parker loooves playing with them and they are so good and we just love having them over.

Take care of yourself, Karen! I know it's hard but it will all be worth it when that sweet baby arrives healthy and you are healthy as well! We are happy to do anything to help out with your cute little guys! Take care and I hope seeing their sweet faces brings a smile to your face. Know that they are being taken care of!!! :) Hang in there! We love you. :)

Outtakes

We took advantage of the fact that all Hansens were in town the week after Christmas and met up at the Hansen headquarters for some family pictures. I don't have THEE final picture of everyone yet, but I thought I'd post a few of the outtakes.... COUSINS!

Parker and Emmie's only cousin thus far is adorable little Atticus. This little Texan is such a sweet little guy, and - like Parker - full of energy, so as you can imagine my kids had the best time playing with him in December.

Whenever I see Parker and Atticus together the theme song from the old Patty Duke show runs through my head...

"But they're cousins! I-dentical cousins...!"

Take a look at the top right picture and you can see why. :)

Parker & Emmie with some of their favorite people...
Cute Aunties: Sarah and Bethany (yes, these two are sisters), and cute (& single! let's set them up!) Uncles Dustin (27) & Zach (23). And somehow I missed photographing Uncle Eric and his cute wife Cindy!

Ems with Gma & Gpa Hansen

And of course, we had to get a family snapshot. It's not all that often that we are all dressed and have our hair combed at the same time so we have to take advantage of these photo ops when they arise! :)

Thank U Wiggle Cart

Dear Wiggle Cart,

We were very happy to get you for Christmas from Grandma & Grandpa Hansen, but we had no idea at the time how much excitement you would eventually provide for us. We just LOVE you! Let me explain...:

I take you for a spin numerous times throughout the day. You have given me and my sister endless amounts of entertainment! Yes, even though you were a gift for ME, there is just enough room for my 1-year-old little sis to jump on for a ride. DON'T WORRY. I come to a complete stop before she loads herself on - all by herself! Yeah, I know. She is such a big girl for just being one. Next, she holds onto my shirt for dear life as we zoooom from the front entry way, through the kitchen, around the island, around the table and back to the front door.

Over. & Over. & OVER!!!

You are soooo much fun and we are soooo glad you came to our family. We are so lucky to have you.

My Mom especially loves you too for several reasons...:

1) You have the ability to entertain us for 30 minutes straight (not even joking), so she is able to do some of her favorite hobbies like CLEAN, FOLD LAUNDRY, or COOK us some dinner;

& 2) You don't even make a MESS! In fact, when we are using you, you actually KEEP US from making messes. Can you believe it? Now that is a really, really, REALLY big deal as my Mom seems to think Emmie and I are REALLY good at tearing apart the house in about 2 minutes flat.

Entertainment + no messes means my Mom thinks you are pretty great!

Lastly, I am trying hard to not bash into the wall because Mom says you will be banished to the garage once that happens, but so far we have had no accidents. We will keep our fingers crossed and I am trying hard to be careful. Mom knows it is probably inevitable but she says we will just patch it up with some of the other accidental 'bumps' we've put into the walls when that time comes.

We've never had so much fun in the house, in the winter time.

Thank you for the good times, smiles, and laughter you induce in our home!

Love,

Your New Friend,

Parker

The BIG 32

It's official. Yesterday, January 11th, our Big Boy of the house turned 32!

We partied ALL weekend as myself, the kids, and the Birthday Boy were lucky enough for him to have Saturday, Sunday & Monday off!

HOORAY!Let the parties begin!

Saturday we had my family over for some food & fun... FUN for all, especially for Parker! This kid looves to have anyone over who will play with him so he was in heaven having cute Aunt Kylie here and Uncle Steven to play with at the drop of his high-pitched commands...

And anyone who will play the newest accessory to our basement with him (the Wii - I know - not loving that my 3 year old is this into a video game!) holds a special place in his heart.

Here he is in action with his buddy Grandpa Todd:

Just check out that smile of contentment and pure satisfaction as he holds his precious little Wii controller. I'm not sure if I should snatch it out of his little hands and hide it for life or if I should just let the love affair with the Wii roll & find it in my heart to be happy for him and his new, ahem, passion. (You can bet you'll be hearing more about this later...!)

Thanks guys for coming! We had a great time and thanks for the nice gifts!

SUNDAY we were off to the Hansens for more celebrating. I did bring my camera but forgot to bring the charging battery so no pictures! :(
We had yet another delicious pot roast dinner (not that I would know since I don't eat red meat - but if Becky made it it was sure to be good!) and a yummy dessert and more appreciated presents and fun times.

MONDAY Chris' parents were nice enough to babysit for us while we went to dinner at Red Robin and then saw Sherlock Holmes.
It's amazing how just a couple hours of doing something fun with NO KIDS can be so rejuvinating! Hooray for a date! :)

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Chris!
We love you and were so glad to spend a fun weekend with you!

Wrestling matches

A few Sundays ago, after cleaning up after dinner I went upstairs to see what some commotion was all about. I found Mr. P flying in the air pantless (not an uncommon practice after going potty - the pantless part that is) and Emmie wanted in on the action.

So, into the crib she went with her big brother and both were blissful as could be as they bounced away.

UNTIL, P did something to tick off the little Spitfire. What that was, I will never know.

But here's what went down:

Emmie screamed, didn't miss a beat and took her brother down as she went in for the kill.

Better watch out, Parker, this girl BITES!

Check her out trying to chomp down!
You go, Emmie!
Luckily, Parker found her antics funny and assuming by their laughs she apparently didn't get any of his skin caught in her chops.
THIS time, anyways.

Phew. Smiles. Still friends!
And how convenient to have caught it all on film so that you could share in on the play by play, ay?
Parker better watch out... that is one tough sis he has!
Good thing! Somebody's got to keep that boy on his toes!

Disclaimer: No, I do not endorse or encourage my children to injure one another. But I DO let them work out their own battles now and then while enjoying the show from the sidelines. :)
And one more thing. My 3 year old IS potty trained, I just like him to wear pull ups to church (and to bed) for my own selfish peace of mind. In case you were wondering.

Christmas '09

CHRISTMAS 2009 It was a great one! Parker was so excited this year and he loved opening his gifts. Good thing because there were a lot of them! My Dad and Mimi (Grandma) sure spoil us every year. Christmas is always magical at Mimi's house. We love it. She and my Dad sure go the extra mile and make things so special.

CHRISTMAS EVENING we were off to the Hansens for more excitement...


Between Becky getting a new laptop and Bethany surprising Brett with a new 54' plasma TV, there were lots of surprises going on and spirits were high to say the least!


And the parties continued....
The next day, we celebrated with my Mom and Reed at my Stepsister's house. I forgot my camera though so no pictures. We had yet another fun time. Emmie got some cute princess dishes to go with her new kitchen, some books, play cookie-making accessories, and a darling hand sewn little purse by Grandma Jane. Parker received a golf set, some movies, and a remote control car.

It's a good thing we have a new basement to store all these toys in!

Having said that, it's sure not all the material 'stuff'' we get at Christmas that makes it special to me. I would seriously be happy with a tube of new lip gloss.
The spirit of giving, remembering the birth of our Savior, family, fun times, making memories, and traditions -- that's what I love about Christmas!

A Very Merry Christmas Morning

Well Christmas Eve, it did arrive

and Parker - Oh! He was EXCITED!

Out on the snow he spread reindeer eats

Hoping Santa and team would be DELIGHTED!

They sure were!!! They did deliver!

Christmas morn was quite the SIGHT

P & E -- what lucky kids

Just look to each side of those gleaming tree LIGHTS!

A kitchen for Emmie -- shiny and red

A train table as requested by P

All on display in our new finished basement

--A gold star Christmas favorite for ME!

Their eyes -- how they twinkled!

Bright smiles they did flash

Those moments - ones we want to ENGRAVE

What beautiful kids what a wonderful life

My family - they are the true gifts I do CRAVE!

On went the day, filled with laughter and love

The rushing about I could do without - I won't LIE

But blessed are we to celebrate the birth of His Son

Whom did suffer and for each of us DIE

What a wonderful year as I look back and reflect

on all that went on in '09

I am grateful and blessed for ALL that I have

From me, there will be no WHINE!

(okay - not 100% true - if you read my blog - you know I whine. Sometimes. :))

The story goes on...HOORAY! -- the pictures get better

For a FUN surprise I did get from my CHRIS

It is shiny and black with a shutter and lens

Yes! A new camera! A high tech one! I'm in BLISS! :)

Happy New Year everyone!!!

To be continued....

Big Man in Red

Last Monday we were on a mission to go and see good old St. Nick.

Parker wanted to be sure to let him know what is topping his Christmas list this year.

As for Miss Emmie, everybody knows that a girl must look her BEST to meet the

Big Man in Red.

She is counting on her good looks and a little ESP to get her what she wants for Christmas this year. (Like most women out there, right?!...)

So the preparation began.... In went the curlers.....(a little hesitantly after our last episode)

...and out came.....
...SHIRLEY TEMPLE but with crazy calics!
No worries, with a little tweaking the lockes were tamed and she was looking pretty spiffy upon her turn to sit on Santa's lap.

She forgot her smile but her big brother remembered his. Parker was very excited to meet Santa and confidently let him know that he's been a good boy and would like a train table this year. He parted with his new found friend with high fives and high hopes and trust that Santa will deliver this Thursday night.

Afterwards we had a yummy lunch in the food court before Chris had to head over to work and then hustled and bustled around the mall with some of the other Christmas shoppers. It was craziness but actually really fun. We even saw a man get jumped and hand cuffed just a few yards from us out in front of Macy's.

(Yah, the man was super violent and it scared the daylights out of me to have this brawl go down so close to my kids!!)

Oh the excitement of the holiday season.....!

I love to see the temple

On Monday night we packed up and headed for Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square.

The beautiful lights are missing from these pictures however because my lovely camera battery died before it even got a chance to get dark out. Oh well. We still got a few pictures of the beautiful temple - which is way better than the lights anyways, right?

What a nice day out! SUPER COLD, but at least it wasn't snowing on us!

Parker loved the touch-screen videos in the visitor's center. He couldn't get enough of them and therefore we eventually had to rip him away. The kid is obsessed with electronics. Before doing so, however, a black gentleman appeared on the screen to speak.

What came next was our son screaming out for all to hear,

"Obama! It's Obama!".

Oh dear. Not Obama. Nice try though. Too bad he wasn't screaming out President Monson's name at all the pictures of him posted around. Maybe then we would have looked good... :) If you don't sense my sarcasm here you don't know me very well... :)

It was a fun night. I truly love to be on the beautiful, sacred grounds of the breath-taking Salt Lake Temple! What a blessing and miracle it is! I am so grateful for this time of year and the enhanced opportunities we have of reflecting on the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ. All things are possible through Him. I have felt such an overwhelming sense of gratitude this year as I reflect on all the many, many blessings in my life! I am truly blessed.
MeRrY ChRiStMaS!!!

Lights, hot chocolate, and reindeer

On Monday night (December 7th) we met up with the Hansens (minus Zach, Sarah and Dustin) & newlywed Bergers at Thanksgiving Point to see the Christmas lights. We also went inside the cafe there for hot chocolate and to check out Santa's reindeer. We had a great time!

Gotta love Thanksgiving Point. They've always got something fun & festive going.
Parker and Atticus...
Yes, they are cousins, but these little buddies could sure pass as brothers, don't you think? These two have had the best time playing together this last little bit as the Texans - Eric, Cindy and Atticus have been visiting Utah. They are 18 months apart in age - just like their
red-headed daddies! It is so fun to watch them interact and play!


This is Parker's way of saying that it was
FRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEZING but fun!
Don't you just want to squeeze his little cheeks???

Photography on a budget

The very beginning of November, we were on a mission to get a few good pictures of the kids. I'd love to do them professionally, but it just wasn't fitting the budget this year! So we took our point and shoot camera and drove about three minutes from our house, and here's a little of what we managed to capture. Nothing PERFECT (far from!), but a few pretty cute individual pictures that I am happy with for the 'free' pricetag that they came accompanied with!

Have a look:
My favorites are not here but might just be showing up in your mailbox soon! :)

Good morning

A pretty typical morning at our house: The bedhead, walking around pantless, interesting footwear, Emmie carrying around a plate begging for seconds (thirds & fourths)....

Yep, we've got it all together around here! :)