A good prayer

 

Parker's Prayer Tonight:

Heavy Fader,


Thank you for all the good things that we share.
Thank you for all the good things that we have...and... all the good things. & thank you for everything good. And help us to be good....and sometimes not mean. &...
please help us not to be kidnapped.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
AMEN

Well, I'm glad he's seeking after "goodness".
And it's totally normal for kids to pray on a regular basis that they won't be kidnapped, right?

THE BACHELOR

Sooo.... I can't keep my mouth shut.

This girl?:

Completely crazy!

Am I the only one whose noticed?

Because apparently Brad hasn't caught on to the fact that she's not only totally psycho and talks about beating up the other girls while demonstrating just how to to the camera (in a very lack-luster, non-impressive but definitely looney bin way), but even around him she's completely self-centered and lacks - HELLO! - a personality! Brad's completely swindled by the fact that she is gorgeous. (Okay, so we all are until she opens her mouth) Poor, poor Brad! I'm hoping he doesn't waste much more time on her or he will be extremely disappointed to find out that the real Michelle is not at all what he is signing up for.  I shouldn't gossip but go ahead and google Michelle Money & Jazz player Carlos Boozer...she hasn't done great things for some marriages around the UT valley! Research it yourself. :)

Not only does the crazy girl of the show have to be from UTAH but she also shares my name. Fantastic. :) (Note that I'm being totally sarcastic here:)

Oh, and one more thing. I think she actually might be TRYING to be the villian for attention and publicity. Some of her stunts last night seemed like really, really bad acting. She has a movie coming out in Utah next week...she has some ulterior motives that are highly suspect if you ask me. Meanwhile - poor Brad - he might be taking her to the final four! YIKES!

Onto our next crazy...:

ASHLEY H.

I liked her at first but I'm sorry, I don't have much patience for overly needy, caddy, drama queen women. I AM impressed that she's a dentist. But she lost big time points in my book last night for her whiney little stints. I have a hard time believing that she could have been all that appealing to Brad last night either but he keeps reassuring her how much he digs her so she's kind of up in the air for me right now.

Set those two aside... and overall, this is a revolutionary season on the Bachelor in my opinion, because for once - I think that there are a LOT of great, quality girls to choose from! Ex out those top two and the rest I think are really all-around cute girls!

Like this one:

JACKIE

SO sweet and genuine. So pretty and I just want to be her friend.

Not sure that she'll open up enough for Brad but meanwhile I like her.

Next up--

CHANTAL!

I think I kind of love her! She's (once again) beautiful, fun, NOT CADDY and I think that they have great chemistry. Mark my words... she will be in the TOP 3!

EMILY:

Who doesn't love supermodel (not really but REALLY), yet Southern Belle Emily? She is drop dead gorgeous, so sweet, so dainty and nice as can be. What's not to love?! I think Brad is REALLY hoping for a love connection but honestly I just don't think she has enough personality for him. She's darling (okay stunning) but she's missing that fun factor & I think she's holding back a lot. I feel compassion for her with losing her fiance in a plane crash and I want her to find love and hi - looking like that - she WILL (!), but I am not so convinced it will be with Brad. I think she'll be in the FINAL FOUR though for sure.

ASHLEY:

I love her! I think she's the complete package. If I were Brad, I would pick her. Or Chantal. :) Needless to say, I think she'll be in the TOP FOUR   - even the TOP 2. And this 26 yr old has definite future Bachelorette potential if she and Brad don't make it. :)

BRITT:

I really liked her last night! I think she's totally the girl next door and so down to earth. Maybe a little too shy for him though? I think Brad's nature is to be more subdued as well, so in my opinion he needs someone to push his limits a bit which wouldn't make Britt his best match.We'll see.......!

(I also like Alli - I think she's adorable but for some reason her picture didn't want to post)

What can I say?

 I LOVE Monday nights!

 Feel free to comment and tell me that I'm not the only crazy out there who watches!
Really. I'll feel better about life and not so pathetic. :)

Birthday #33

Chris turned the big 33 on 1-11-11!

We've had ongoing celebrations for him for the last 2 weeks and here is the rundown...

The Saturday before his big day, my little brother and my sis in law were nice to babysit the kiddos while we did something we rarely get to do - hit a movie! We saw True Grit & even though I can't deny it was good, I'm still not exactly sure how I felt about it. I walked away a bit disturbed! I mean I guess it was cool if you like watching people get shot in the face, fingers cut off and rotting corpses hanging from trees...let's just say I was covering my face for a good portion of it. It was nice though to be away just the two of us. Without kids. It's funny how much freedom you can feel doing something that was once (pre-kid life) so commonplace but now just a couple of hours of not dragging kids around and only worrying about YOU for a minute becomes quite the refresher!

The next day (Sunday) we headed to the Hansens for a birthday dinner and to celebrate. Instead of a cake we had these cookie thingys (Skookies?) that you eat with vanilla icecream. Chris' Dad had us write down 2 things that Chris exemplifies and Lance read them out loud and Chris had to guess who wrote them. Aunt B helped Parker with his and I thought it was cute that in addition to saying "smart" and "fun", that he put that he was his "best friend". I think that I wrote that he is selfless and hardworking. Chris was offended that I didn't say something shallow like "smokin' hot" or "sexy" so if you want me to be shallow Honey, I can be shallow. You can add those two to my list.:)

The following Tuesday was his actual birthday. I ditched the Young Women activity I would normally have gone to and after looking over the not-so-appealing movie choices, we decided that the best use of our time would be to go to the temple. The Hansens watched our kids and we had a great evening! We also just had a joint b-day party on Friday for my Dad and Chris but I haven't uploaded those pics yet...soon though! I'm hoping to get back on top of blogging by February!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy, Chris!

33. That just sounds old! ...& it kinda freaks me out that I'm not so far behind him... :)

xoxo

Hansen Family Christmas Take II

One week after Christmas, the Hansens were sweet and did a Christmas Part II for us since we missed out on the actual Christmas Day festivities due to illness. They had a full on feast and all - which is no big surprise since I am lucky enough to have Betty Crocker (just change the Betty to Becky) as my Mother-In-Law. She is definitely talented in the kitchen! YUM!

Can you see their excitment? We had been cooped up sick in the house for the ten days prior to this so they were thrilled to finally go do something fun!

Have I mentioned that they LOOOOVE their Aunties and Uncles!?

ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION is definitely a perk for the first grandchildren in a large family! There is no lack thereof when they go to Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's house and they love every minute of it.

Gma and Gpa Hansen presented Emmie with her first chest of dress up gowns and you better believe that she was transformed into a princess for the remainder of the night! Grandpa H taught her how to "dance" and Emmie was in heaven - just note her big grins. Now whenever she puts on her "pimpess" dresses as she calls them, she holds up the sides of her dress, starts swaying back and forth, hums a song, and exclaims, "Dance with me mommy! Dance!". This little girl is so animated and the such the performer. :) I am considering not buying her spring clothes this year since since she likes to wear these dresses everyday anyways. She is an expert at putting them on by herself, too. Simplicity is something I am striving for this year so it works out perfect!:)

Parker got some fun games and they both got cute bags made by Grandma Hansen that contained Pillow Pets and fleece blankies for sleepovers. Parker got a Wii game from Uncle Z and Toy Story legos from Aunt B, wo also gave Emmie some cute beads to make her own jewelry! I was thrilled to get my most-hoped for gift of the year - a Shark Steamer mop, and Chris got an awesome compresser that he's wanted for years to help him with projects around the house.

Thanks everyone for the fun night and the re-creation of Christmas!

Belated Christmas celebrations

On the night of January 2nd we went over to my Grandma's to celebrate Christmas with she and my Dad and that side of the fam. I was still feeling awful going from Influenza straight into a bad sinus infection but we had already pushed back "Christmas" far enough and didn't want to cancel. I felt as terrible as I looked hence no pictures but you can get an idea of my loveliness by viewing the Hansen fam picture from the party the night before. (Don't look, really.) Ughh. Back to the party. We are always completely spoiled by my Dad and cute Grandma and I think it took us over a good hour to get through all the present opening. Among the many gifts I got several pairs of boots I wanted, several generous gift cards for shopping and dinner (yay!), and some really nice serving dishes and some cute cardstock for cards and craftiness. Chris got some work shirts, DVDs, & honestly I was so out of it I am not completely sure what else! Parker got lots of fun Toy Story toys including a TS art kit that he loves, and the coolest night light turtle that shines the solar system on his ceiling at night and even changes colors. He LOVES it!

Emmie got the cutest Little People treehouse, a darling Baby Alive doll, Sleeping Beauty, a bathtime doll, darling jams, a fun princess magnet book among lots of other fun toys!

Needless to say, I think we are set on toys for the next 5 years! REALLY! Maybe just bikes this spring.... :) & I already have Emmie's waiting in the storage room from the sweet deal I found on Amazon so we just need P-Man's and we are set! I think we will just add to their college funds for their birthdays and go do something fun!

Set aside the gifts... that's not what makes Christmas for me. It's just nice to be with family to celebrate the holidays. We're grateful that we were able to get together - belated as it was and all!

Santa still comes, even when you're sick

Like I mentioned before, thankfully Santa (with zero help from the Mrs) did brave stopping at our Influenza-filled home on Christmas Eve so as not to disappoint the kiddos. What a guy that Santa is! Here is what he pulled off:

Waiting to go downstairs to check out the goods...

Sick & all, they were excited. Super duper ridiculous sick as I was, I forced myself out of bed to watch their Christmas morning magic... I was not going to miss it, as miserable as I felt. I only lasted about 20 minutes but hey I was there and I was thankful not to miss out on their huge grins and shrieks of excitement that Santa had come. And he did not disappoint.

Parker got his wished for Leapster 2 and three games to go with it, and Emmie got her "kitty" via a mini Furreal Zhu Zhu pet thingy (?!) with the accompanying track. Santa also brought them a mini couch to go in their playroom. A few of their other loved items were their Buzz and Jessie dolls found in their stockings, Toy Story 3 and Beauty and the Beast Blurays, Emmie's laptop along with her Cinderella shoes and the Little People home, new MegaBloks and duplo legos for Parker as well as a pirate ship, Zingo, books,....the list goes on!

It was a fun 20 minutes while it lasted but unfortunately our Christmas day ended there! Thankfully my kids are at an age where they didn't realize the continued festivities they were missing out on. Heck they had a room full of new toys to get aquainted with!

The missed Christmas Day parties with family were made up for, however, a week later.

More on them to come! :)

Merry Influenza A

I've tried writing this post a good four or five times, but...

1) I've been so sick I can hardly think straight,

2) I hate to sound like such a "Debbie Downer" in posting about our terrible X-mas, but hey - it's inevitable! I have come to the conclusion that it is what it is and that I shouldn't sugar coat it, &

3) my aversion to walking among the living combined with my loss of appetite have spilled over into blogging resulting in zero desire to even open my computer, admit to our pathetic holidays, and my non-desire to have to read about other's more cheerful and exciting ones of what could have/should have been...

BUT

I am ready to get it done, to move on, and hope for better luck next year! So in an attempt to continue this so-called journal of my life through 2011 and with an attempt to 'keep it real' - as pathetic and down-trodden as it may be - here I go.

WARNING: Due to the sheer length of this post I don't expect anyone to read this, and probably don't recommend it! I'm posting simply to record our reality for my own keepsake. This will likely be a depressing post but it's honest and I've decided I'd rather remember this Christmas like it has been and not journal a fraudulent, sugar-coated "story". The following is reality - it stinks, will not be uplifting and therefore you may just want to catch us on the next post and save your time! But be my guest if you are at all intrigued....:)

So if you haven't picked up on it already, this has NOT been our brightest Christmas. In fact, the title of this post is deceiving as our Christmas was anything but MERRY - in fact it was quite the opposite! The Wednesday before Christmas started out with Emmie's fever of 104.8 and a trip to the pediatrician. Upon our visit we were sent directly to the hospital for additional testing and a possibility of Croupe, but a positive test resulted in my feared findings of Influenza A. Needless to say, the next few days Emmie was horribly ill, and I was a nervous wreck monitoring her breathing and wondering if my baby was going to end up a hospital patient for Christmas. She slept for the next 6 nights by my side in bed, her little body those first couple of days unresponsive and listless as she moaned in misery. Her fever - one of her many symptoms -was stubborn and was near impossible to bring down. By Thursday Parker had developed a fever as well and the throw up started in for him just as it had for his sister. We knew he had it too but this time we were armed with Tamiflu and were able to start it in a timely manner so the little guy ended up not being hit nearly as hard as his mom and sis. That's right, by Thursday night I was getting quite sick and Friday - Christmas Eve was the day that I thought might be my last. Fever, EXTREME headache, the worst nausea EVER accompanied with violent bouts of vomit, horrible body aches including a lower back ache that was comparable to pre-epidural contractions, an excrutiating sore throat... you get the picture. Words however cannot describe how awful I felt! On Christmas Eve I sat rolled in a ball in the corner of the URGENT Care office awaiting my nose culture results and verdict from the doc wondering how I could go on in such immense pain. I couldn't keep a thing down so pain medicine wasn't a reality at that point, but my ridiculous nausea made the idea of taking meds anyhow a ludicrous thought as I didn't think I could go on with worse stomach pain than what I was currently experiencing and meds would certainly aggravate it. The result of course came back positive for Influenza A. As he sympathetically stared at my patheticness the doctor mentioned his surprise because he hadn't yet seen this nasty bug this season. Leave it to my family to be the first lucky victims, and victims we were!

I was crushed as our much anticipated ride on the Polar Express train in Heber Valley with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen passed us by on the 23rd and went without our accompaniment. Emmie had spent the weeks prior talking about the upcoming "choo choo train ride" with her cousin Atticus, and shouting "ALL ABOARD" had become one of her most common phrases in anticipation of the venture. POLAR EXPRESS RIDE - missed. I felt as though my cute kids were getting jipped as Christmas Eve festivities were not only missed but skipped over completely as I was the sickest I think I've ever been and laid miserable in bed. And as Christmas morning approached.... well, Santa did work his magic for the kiddos so I watched them open their gifts but 20 minutes later collapsed right back into bed with my 104 fever and lovely Influenza gift package of some of the most painful flu symptoms I have ever experienced and that I wouldn't wish upon my least favorite person. (not that I have one -- do I??) Christmas completely passed us by-- our first on record of having missed out on ALL family Christmas festivities. And yes, it wouldn't have been so bad if we could have at least recreated our own fun at home but I could hardly open my eyes to watch the TV Chris had brought up to the bedroom, let alone enjoy any sort of activity with my kids and husband.

By Sunday both P and E's fevers were gone. Emmie was still obviously not feeling great, but definitely on the upswing. I waited anxiously for my upswing, but the days went by, the fever continued and I wondered how it was possible that I could carry the misery I was feeling for so long. Meanwhile the kids - THANKFULLY - were doing better. The answer when comparing the recoveries is that the KIDS had had their Flu shots back in September. (I didn't know it was possible they could still catch such a bug with the shots, but I am told to think of how much WORSE they would have been had they not had them!) Me on the other hand, had all intentions of getting the shot but with our crazy Fall it somehow got skipped. I will NEVER miss getting the Flu shot again in my life! Lesson learned there!

It is January 5th today and I am STILL sick! I was finally feeling a little better by New Years Eve weekend when I must have caught Chris' sinus infection and have spent the last few days back in bed - fever and all! How long can a person be sick!? Seriously. I am normally NOT a sickly person but let's just say that 2010 has not been my healthiest year.

So as I wish I could post all of our fun Christmas pictures...well they simply don't exist. I still have all my Christmas stuff up (obviously I've been too "under the weather" to take it down) and whenever Emmie opens up this cute Christmas book that sings Christmas songs, for a fleeting moment I get that giddy feeling of anticipation that Christmas is coming, just to remember seconds later that it already came and passed us by. We missed it! Another 355 days to go...So sad. :(

Chris' carfully planned 5 days off of work that were supposed to be filled with pre-Christmas buildup and post-Christmas play, turned into... well, more WORK, just in another form as he gained his latest title - Nurse Chris. How fun for him. He (and myself) didn't open a single gift until the Wednesday after Christmas -- I was just too sick. Not that Christmas is about the gifts anyhow but his magical expectations of the special holiday were crushed just like the rest of ours. He was however such a good sport about it and took on taking care of the kids(and myself) full time and single handedly for days. He brought me flowers to put on my nightstand as my Christmas gift and cheer since I was unable to open any real ones. I am blessed to have such a good husband!

Another silver lining, if you will, was having my sweet Emmie sleep next to me. Yes, I missed my husband sleeping there but he was voluntarily banished to the basement in fear of catching the nasty bug himself. Understandable! Back to Emmie.... I have had the rare and uncommon opportunity this last few months to sleep a number of nights next to each of my kids. First, with Parker in the hospital back in September. The nurses allowed me to sleep next to him each night snuggled up in his hospital bed with him. It was such a comforting thing to both he and myself after experiencing such a traumatizing accident. Amidst a horrible situation, I cherished those nights of sleeping next to my sweet little boy as I reflected on how tragic the outcome could have been, and how blessed our family has been by his precious life this last four years. Flash forward to the week of Christmas - sleeping with Emmie as she was so sick reminded me of those nights with Parker. And once again amidst not the best of circumstances, the gratitude I felt for my beautiful children was overwhelming. Forget Christmas presents - they - my kids, are the best gifts I have ever received and this last year has certainly been a reminder that life is so fragile, and to cherish all the moments we have because we don't know which will be our last! I got to the point of feeling so sick that my heart ached at the possibility of what if I were to leave this life early and not be able to experience the joy of raising my children here on earth? How heartbroken I would be to miss out on this amazing experience of MOTHERHOOD. Amidst my dramatic and tragic "what if" thoughts while I wallowed in my misery, I felt such a sense of gratitude for all that I have been blessed with and a renewed desire to focus my life more on what truly matters and embrace the moments that I have with my family.

Life goes on and there will be more Christmases - and much better ones at that! I will see better days eventually and hopefully in no time will be back to operating at 100% rather than the current 70 I am at. 2010 has been an interesting and trying year! But I'm grateful that we have made it through and for the many ways we were blessed along the way.

May 2011 be filled with love, joy and moments that matter!

Could I get any cheesier? I'm glad most of you stopped reading at paragraph 1. :)

I hope all of YOU had a Merry Christmas... and I might just have to live vicariously through your blogs and check out your fun-filled holidays with a wishful heart of a similar Christmas for my own family for next year!

HAPPY 2011!

Pre-Christmas activities

Parker had his darling Preschool Christmas Program on the 6th of December. All of his in-town grandparents attended so he had a good little fan-base going for him in the audience.

He once again did great and sang his little heart out. He also (once again) refused to wear his hat.

See him in the big group picture? He's on the far right... not hard to pick out. Yep, the only one without his Santa cap. Oh well, we were just glad to see him up there participating. :)
Afterwards we took advantage of one of Chris' scarce nights off and headed over to Thanksgiving Point with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen to see the Thanksgiving Point lights and Santa's Reindeer. Always a fun outting - especially when Grandma treats to yummy cookies inside the Emporium!

In going down our list of "Must Do's" for Christmas we also of course hit the mall for a visit with Santa...My kids have never cried for their annual lap sitting with the Big Man. I thought this year would be the year that Emmie might freak, but she not only willingly but happily sat on his lap and let him know that she wants a kitty for Christmas (not a real kitty, Santa).

& Parker was all smiles and proudly let Santa know that he would like "one of those vidoe game thingy's that you hold"...(aka a Leapster, please, Santa).

& they walked away with candy canes... Oh wait --no-- big chocolate suckers. Apparently Santa gave up the candy canes for large, messy brown suckers that drip brown goup all over visitor's carefully chosen Santa outfits....but in exchange for those big grins what mom could mind? (As long as she's armed with a plethora of wipes that is...)

...& these two (three I should say) have been loving the build up to Christmas. A few activities included have been: tearing apart the Christmas trees to which I have given up on fixing, singing "Jeen-ju-bells" as Emmie calls it & "Once there was a Snowman", watching the old-school version of the "Grinch" and "Rudolph" and never missing a day of their much anticipated chocolate advent calendars (thanks Gpa Todd).

Merry Christmas!

Get your Lemon Poppy Goodness

I don't know about you but I actually get really excited about cooking when I have a great recipe to create from! I was thrilled to find out a few months back that my cute friend Ali whom I know from my historic high school days (12 years ago if you can believe it!) was publishing some cook books. If you know Ali you know that anything she is involved in is done amazingly well and with impecable detail. She comes from a long line of artistic and talented women and it shows in everything she puts her hand at. She is such a hard worker and just has a way of making dreams come to fruition. She was that way back in high school as our Senior Class President and I am not surprised at all that she is still creating magic at her every turn. She is truly an inspiration! I recently bought her THREE fabulous recipe books (at great prices!) & I just love them! I have made a bunch of her recipes including THESE delicious soft molasses ginger cookies last week and her recipes never disappoint! I was really excited to see that another option to ordering her books online is to purchase them at TAIPAN TRADING - one of Utah's most fabulous stores! Way to go Ali! How EXCITING! If you can't get to the store then you can purchase her books online HERE for a beyond reasonable price (under $9) and shipping is only $1! Perfect Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, wedding gifts, shower gifts... you can't go wrong!

I apologize - I know I tend to sound like an informercial but when I come across something great I like to shout it from the rooftops. These books are definitely worthy of the rooftop holla! You can read Ali's inspiring story as to how she made her dream her reality HERE (it's a great read--she is also a very talented writer!) and check her yummy blog HERE.

HAPPY COOKING!

Christmas Trees, Gymnastics and Twilight all in one post...

Missy Em has been dazzled by the Christmas buildup this last few weeks and was excited to go and see all the "Kin-kuss" trees as she calls them.

I have to say, The Festival is fantastic. The trees are always amazing, and I especially love to read the touching stories behind them, which are donated in behalf of lost loved ones and whose proceeds go to benefit Primary Childrens Hospital.

Unfortunately, this year I wasn't able to do much reading....

I was too busy chasing a couple of unruly blonde-haired munchkins...

Yep. Popcorn again. We had to give in and purchase some right away. Why is it that my kids only seem to be well-behaved when food is at hand? This bought us about 10 minutes of peace....which was well worth the cost of the popcorn...and Chris' annoyance in having to get it for them. :)

Not too long after they finished their finger-lickin' eats I found myself bounding into some sweet gymnastics moves from back in the day to prevent complete destruction of beautiful trees and displays not to mention in effort of preventing horrifying and utter embarrassment. With the KSL radio booth just feet away, news headlines of a 2-year-old terror who 'ruined the Festival of Trees' were filing through my head as I contorted into moves I didn't know I was still capable of in order to save the eye-catching presentations that took countless hours, much hard work and creativity beyond my comprehension from crashing down at the hand of my little one.

I do suppose it's too much to expect a two-year-old to restrain herself with eye candy and plethoras of toys such as this right at her fingertips:

But why does it always seem to be my kids who are the only ones not sitting nicely enjoying the sites at such establishments? I am trying to decide whether we need counseling or The Nanny or both. I will let you know. :)

Welcome to my life.

Note to self: Get a babysitter next year and leave the kids at home. :)

Back to the festival... the trees were stunning as usual....

...& creative as always. This surfer Santa was one of my favorites. Three trees shaped into waves...GENIUS! As my good old High School American History teacher, Mr. Gillen, would say, "Way to use that Yankee Ingenuity!".

Love it. :)

In honor of one of Emmie's favorite songs these days... 'Once There Was a Snowman', this was another deserving of some creative props...

& yes, you are looking at a Twilight tree. One of many at the Festival this year. I heard the words "completely obsessive" muttered by a woman and her daughter in observance of this tree. Maybe so.

But I'm not gonna lie. I didn't mind the Jacob and Edward adorned trees.

...& in case you wondered, I am Team Edward.

No really I am. :)

A few things I forgot to mention....

It seemed to be love at first sight for these two....

I could tell that from first glance my little guy was quite smitten with Cinderella and right away they hit if off. He gazed into her sparkling eyes and pulled out his best charm & for a moment they seemed to be a match made in heaven.

...Until that is the princess asked P-Man how old he was... then things went a little down hill....

"FOUR", he answered proudly.

"Ohhh MYYYY", she replied as dramatically as a good princess would. "You are just growing us SO FAAAST, aren't you?".

"YES", he proudly answered. And without missing a beat went on to tell her,

*(here is the kicker:)*

"And do you know what? My FINGERNAILS are growing s0 fast, TOO!".

What?! What kind of a line was that?!

(Oh no. Please don't show her the ridiculously fast growing nails that I meant to trim before the trip but didn't trim before the trip.)

Trying her darndest to not bust up laughing, she managed a "Hmmm... let me see"... I winced as she turned his little hand over in hers to examine the claws that I knew she would find...

I was too embarrassed to hear what she responded with next, but thankfully I think the princess was more humored than disgusted with this proud confession. In fact, the adoration that she went on to pour upon our matter-of-fact little guy seemed to indicate that maybe, just maybe he had made the comment of the day.

Phew. She must have been swindled by the dimples. Those things are going to come in quite handy for him with the ladies down the road.

I always knew Cinderella was my favorite princess. :)

*

Another chart-topping comment Parker made was when we were in line for the Matterhorn for the second time. As nicely as he could, he said,

"Mom? Could you please try your hardest to not scream on this ride? It REALLY hurt my ears last time."

Did my four year old just tell me not to scream on one of the scariest rides in the park?

Uh, okay buddy. I couldn't make the promise because I knew I probably wouldn't keep it.

What can I say except that I guess this means that my 4-year-old is braver than his Mom....:) As Chris would say, I suppose I need to, "toughen up".

Oh, and the last and not nearly as entertaining detail I forgot to mention was that we hit the beach on our last day in Cali. It was cold (it being November), stinky and ridden with hooligans but still gotta love the beach. The kiddos were in heaven. A smelly one that made them shiver but still pure bliss.

Who is their mother?!?!

Uh, that would be me.

And no, I can't control them.

Especially during Sacrament Meeting.

Or any public place for that matter.

So get over it. :)

You have to admit that they are pretty darn cute though.

Even with their cheese grins on.;)

xoxo

My tip this holiday season: Amazon Amazon Amazon!

Yesterday the doorbell rang during naptime. Not something I love. Am I the only one out there who suddenly after having kids finds the act of ringing the doorbell highly offensive? Rude and inconsiderate are also words that come to mind.

Don't they know that I have KIDS?

& don't they know what hard work it takes to put them down for naps only to have it all sabotaged by a ring of that darn button? It can take a whole hour to get my little ones to fall asleep, darnit! How dare they!! :) :) (notice the smiley faces insinuating a tiny bit of sarcasm)

(Meanwhile all those who don't have kids or at least ones with sleeping issues are thinking I am a total nut. It's alright. Think away. I was once an ignorant doorbell ringer too. :) Yes, it may be my fault. Normally I do have a "don't ring" sign but depending on the weather they tend to fly away.

Anyhow, with "napping" Emmie now screaming in her room and the dog barking, I was not thrilled to answer the door. In these moments all I can think of is that it BETTER BE GOOD!

Well, I am happy to inform that yesterday, it was.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the offender had been the good old UPS man.

Who had left a package.

From Amazon.

One of the greatest retailers I know.

Suddenly my irritation dissipated and the offense was forgiven.

Inside was a slew of Christmas presents for my kids that I had just ordered on Saturday. & it was Tuesday. & I had used the "free shipping" option as always.

THREE DAYS from ordering to my doorstep!

All I can say is that I. HEART. AMAZON.

It is the way to Christmas shop.

What's not to love?!

Delivered to your doorstep, for FREE (I only buy the things that qualify for free shipping which are the majority), all from the convenience of HOME.

FYI to those of you with no kiddos : as with the doorbell phenomenon, what was once a simple act of going to the store and BROWSING in peace is no longer a reality post kids. You now have to go armed with sippy cups, baggies full of snacks that inevitably leave an embarrassing trail through the store corridors, accompanied by more often than not whiney and uncooperative children. (or is this just mine?) All the while trying to maneuver a double stroller that filled with kids weighs more than you through too small isles while trying to make sure your rugrats don't swipe everything you walk by off the displays is HARD WORK! The result: Very little or no time to thoughtfully pick out gifts for your loved ones - the whole purpose of your outing!

COMPLETE FIASCO sums it up!!!

I think that makes for great explanation as to why AMAZON has become a happy place in my home.

No, I don't buy all my gifts there. I definitely always compare their prices to those of Target and Walmart. (Amazon prices can change daily) Except for their books. They are almost always cheaper at Amazon. A good tip? Check a site like this for great childrens books and then find them on Amazon and read the reviews. That way you know you are ordering something good! (If you can't tell, I think that reading is one of the most valuable activities for children in their development... hence why mine always have some books as birthday, Christmas and Easter gifts). A few that my kids are getting this year are: Alexander and the Terrible Horrible no Good very Bad Day, Martha Blah Blah, & Harold and the Purple Crayon. (Click to check them out)

Also I have found some AMAZING deals on DVDs and Blurays! Some of the big name toys like Zhu Zhu, Little People and Legos are usually not hot deals, but I did find this DARLING pink (they have red too) Radio Flyer hotwheels bike for only $39. Target's price is $79. Great savings, right? Check HERE if Santa is considering something similar for your 3-5 year old cutie! (But you have to hurry when you find a great deal... yesterday the red one was $39 too and today it's $49...as of today, pink is still $39 though).

Super cute, ay?

To wrap it up I think Amazon is the greatest. I get at least 50% of my Christmas shopping done through them every year, saving me from hours of driving time, crowds, and mainly my sanity from hitting the stores with the babies in tow.

LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

Try it out for yourself, HERE !

DISCLAIMER: Author has no affilitation with Amazon and did not get paid for this advertisement. But she probably should. :)

HAPPY SHOPPING! :)

Disneyland Trip TAKE 2

WE MADE IT!!!

After our failed attempt at Disneyland in September due to P's accident (en route), we finally made it onto our much anticipated and long-awaited

California Vacation 2010!!!

We spent 5 days, exploring the sights and wonders of Disneyland & CA Adventure Park.

(Yes, 5, and yes, we might be crazy.:)

But truth be told, we (mostly) loved it!

One of the greatest things about this trip was our hotel. I found a smokin' deal last spring to stay at the Grand Californian Resort and Spa which connects and has a private entrance into CA Adventure Park. Being just steps away from the parks was AMAZING and beyond convenient! To be able to pop in for a quick nap for Emmie without any hassle, have the ability to grab a healthy lunch from the fridge in our room mid-day, grab a jacket, and be just steps (literally 5 minutes)from our bed both nights that we saw World of Color - we were in love this place! Not to mention that the name is beyond accurate - this hotel is GRAND! I've never stayed in such a nice place. We LOVED it! Aren't those Mickey and Minnie PJ bottoms the cutest? My sweet friend, neighbor and amazing seamstress Hollie made them after our first attempt at the trip. My kids love them and some mornings Emmie refuses to take them off and wears them all day. I highly recommend checking out Hollie's super impressive sewing skills HERE.

P-Man (& sis) did a lot of riding around in the stroller. We found it quite amusing that people kept asking us if they are twins. Really? I guess they do look more alike these days but they are 2 years apart! I should have lived vicariously through the moment and started saying yes...once upon a time I really did want twins. Two kids later however, I've come to my senses. (Although I do still think it's cool. For other people. :)

Parker finally made it on his much-awaited, self-professed favorite ride - The Matterhorn(height requirement is only 36 inches so he experienced it last year)! This year he was over 40 inches which qualified him for even "bigger" rides. So yes, he picked up a few new faves - Splash Mountain and Big Thunder. Isn't the huge hill on on Splash Mountain (which he named the "Peter Rabbit" ride) a little much for a four year old, you ask? Uh, not this one. Looks like we have a thrill seeker on our hands. I think I was more nervous than him. We elected to keep him off of Space Mountain due to risk of bonking his head on the side, but I'm sure he would have loved that one, too. Emmie made friends with the ducks while she waited for her big brother on the Matterhorn.

One of our favorite moments of the trip was watching Emmie meet the princesses, or "Pimpesses" as she calls them. The huge grins that came over her face were beyond well-worth the 25 minutes waiting in line (our longest wait btw) to meet them. She wasn't the only one enraptured with these beauties. Parker was pretty impressed with them himself! Cinderella was such a doll with the kids and took so much time with them. What a fun moment!!!

Another experience we loved was the Character Dining breakfast we went to at Goofy's Kitchen in the Disneyland Hotel. The characters come and interact with you at your table so the kids got some great one on one time with them. Emmie kept giving her blankie to Goofy which was definitely a sign of affection as it's her most prized possession & he was really cute with her, wrapping her up in it. The kids had a great time and even got to have icecream at 8 in the morning (after their breakfast), and got their groove on at a dance party in the middle of the restaurant with the characters and other kids. It was such a fun morning!

Disney Parades are the best! Always so magical and the smiles that light up on the kiddos faces are priceless. The Pixar Parade at CA Adventure is my absolute favorite but we also saw several in D-Land including the opening Christmas Parade the last day that we were there.

Along with the "Pimpesses", Emmie has been talking about going to Disneyland and meeting "Meenie" and "Jassie" for months now and loved interacting with her friends.

Unfortunately we never saw Buzz except in a parade, but Parker was looking forward to seeing his pal, Mickey and was very excited to get his autograph. Too bad the only picture I got with him alone he's doing this:

And it wasn't just him. That's right. BOTH of my kids are picking their noses in front of the Big Man at Disneyland. Really!?! Couldn't they have 'picked' a better time? Sick, I know. Sorry Mickey (& anyone who just got completely grossed out by my kiddos). I'm not even sure what else to say about that except that apparently we need to learn how to make good first impressions - not to mention we may be in need of some serious nose picking intervention. If anyone has any advice I am open. :) CA Adventure Park has lots of fun things... The Pixar Parade, Playhouse Disney, Soarin' Over CA, the Buzz and Woody ride, & the"It's Tough to be a Bug" show are some of our favorites... but hands down our most loved attraction was the new "World of Color" show! It was amazing! We loved it so much the first night that we dragged our tired kids to it again the next. That show alone is worth the price of admission to the park! We highly recommend it!

I know that there are lots out there who don't love Disneyland....but seriously what's not to love about a place that puts smiles like these on your kids faces?
There is such a magical feeling there! (Okay, unless it's hot and crowded - then it's comparable to torture). We loved it and are thankful that we were able to make it on this trip after our September chaos!!!