Time to spill the beans

I've definitely had an aversion to blogging this last few months.

In fact, I've had an aversion to a lot of things lately.

But not without good reason....

My body has been hard at work!

That's right!

Baby #3 is on it's way & we are thrilled to add another little person to our family!

I am just 14 weeks along but it's been a LONG 3 1/2 months!

Due to crazy and ridiculous lovely, debilitating bouts of nausea, I have found myself sprinting to the bathroom at 3 a.m. way too many times (I think this baby thinks it's a funny joke), the mountains of laundry have been building up, keeping up on housework has been almost a joke, 8 p.m. bedtime for me has been a necessity, and I think we've had carry out pizza at least 4 or 5 times since January (that's alot for us!).

 Zofran, Ginger Ale and Saltines have been my best friends and I have become way more aquainted with the toilet and bathroom floor than I ever thought I would...(just in case you wondered;)

But such is life when your body is busy making a human being!

We feel blessed and can't wait to meet this new little person in October!

Buddies

Emmie calls Parker, "Buddy".

I know what you're thinking.

How cute for her to describe her brother that way! 

Well, I think so too. 

But to Emmie, Parker is not only her buddy as in her pal.

He IS Buddy. 

It's rare that she ever calls him by his actual name. 

Instead, it's "BUDDY", (with extra emphasis on the "D") or with added affection she'll call him "My Buddy".

(She calls the dog, "MY Roxy").

If he gets in trouble, she'll say (okay, so it might be yell) -

"HEY! You leave my Buddy alone!", or, "You be nice to my Buddy!".

I know I shouldn't like being bossed around by a two-year-old, but in these instances when she is sticking up for her brother,

 I think it's pretty darn cute.

If he's hurt or sad, she'll rub his back and say, "What's wrong, Buddy?", & "It'll be okay, Buddy".

& buddies they are.

Don't let me paint the wrong picture here. They definitely have their moments of antagonizing drama, incessant teasing that makes me want to pull my hair out, & screaming fits of rage at one another that sometimes ends with battle wounds.

 But overall they love each other's company and love to play together.

Their sporadic manifestations of "I love you, Emmie" and "I love you Buddy" are often and don't come only after they've served in time out.

 They are a team and I'm so thankful they have each other.

Isn't it great to have a sibling, aka "Buddy"?

Taboo body talk

The following is not for the easily offended...;)

The other day Parker pulled up his shirt, pointed to his chest and said,

"Mom, what are these?".

Me: "Um, those are your nipples".  

Parker: "Nipples? Oh. We'll have to tell Daddy". 

Me: "Why?"

Parker: "Because the other day when I asked him what they are, he wouldn't answer me. So he must not know!"

Oh, I'm pretty sure he's aware...

Me: "Uh, yep, we'll have to tell him".

*****

On Sunday I was steaming my shirt while standing in my bra and undergarment when to my surprise two little hands reached up and planted themselves on my, ahem, chesticles.

Taken off guard I glanced down to meet his little eyes and he softly said, 

"Mom, can I touch these?"

Wu huh?

I just kind of shrugged him off while but couldn't help being humored by the action.

About a half hour later we were at church standing in the hall for a minute when all of a sudden those two little hands reached up and planted themselves in those same lovely places. In horror I quickly swatted his hands away. I also quickly assessed that there might be only one witness to the crime - one of my cute Beehives. Phew.

That moment could have been much, much worse....

I don't know what to say except that apparently the baffling magnetic force to those things starts at a young, young age for the  male species....heaven help us.

*****

When getting ready for baths one night, Parker made a breakthrough observation.

 "Hey Mom, the reason Emmie doesn't stand up to pee is because she hasn't grown this (pats his private area) yet".

Uh no, and I'm happy to report she won't be growing one of those. Ever.

So while P-Man aced preschool anatomy, there are still a few body parts left that he can't set a name to due to the fact that we've never divulged their identities.  

That being one of them.

And ya know what?

Gasp in horror, call me a bad parent and turn me in, but I'm just fine with keeping it that way for the next 7 years or so....

The teenage years are going to be rough at our house.

Can't we just keep them little and innocent forever?

Rag-a-who?

Emmie changes her wardrobe numerous times a day.

 It's fantastic.

The other day she wandered down from her nap in this happenin' getup....

Niiiiice, ay?

Lovin' the mismatched socks.

The floral skirt with striped sweater.

The necklace.

The Minnie purse.

& don't forget the rockin' hair....

accompanied of course by an entrourage of her biggest fans.

Basically, the girl quadruples her share of laundry each day.

& she loves it.

Me? I hate laundry.

But really, how can I be mad at that cheesy little grin?

I guess it's not hard to tell who rules the roost around here.;) 

A welcomed guest

We had an old friend visit today.

Have you met Sunshine?

Oh, how we've missed her.

& oh how we enjoyed her presence in our backyard today.

Have you tried her Vitamin D lately?

It's truly revitalizing.

 We are thrilled to hear that she will be spending the next few days with us.

SATURDAY, she's even gifting us 72 degrees.

72!

Bless her.

We'll miss her on Sunday and the 30 degrees she takes with her, but for now, we are cherishing every moment we have together.

Bored confessions

Lately hasn't been all that exciting... The Bachelor ended last week, my kiddos are sick so we've been pretty home bound, there hasn't been that much excitement to speak of. Okay so we did get a Dyson vacuum a week or two ago which is super exciting in my book - that thing is amazing! Beyond that, we just haven't been all that eventful around here. To me --a good thing! I prefer quiet days at home (okay - "quiet" doesn't quite exist with a 2 and 4 year old but you catch my drift) where I can enjoy my kids over a crazy, built-up, hectic schedule (& running to the ER) so I am in no way complaining. Trust me. But I am in a bit of a blogging schlump. I just can't get into it lately. So disappointing, I know. So, as I should be journaling stories about my oh so cute kids, I am going to instead dare be even more self indulgent & confess a few things you might not know about myself. Things that  really aren't that interesting, but are a big part of who I am.  Great, right?!

Here we go with a few confessions...
Hopefully I still have friends after this post...

1) I have an extreme love for space heaters. I have one on all three floors of my home, and if I'm sitting down (or doing hair and makeup in the bathroom), it is right there beside me, blowing it's warm air of comfort on me. You misunderstand if you believe that it's there only to combat these cold UT winter months, or that my house must simply be freezing. Growing up a teenager with a basement bedroom that bordered on frigid, my need for them did start out that way. But over the years, my space heaters have become an all-weather obsession for me. You see, even during my summers of Arizona living I had it right there blasting it's goodness upon  me.  I have no shame. If you've ever worked with me, you know I even bring one to the office. Really. I can't concentrate on the TV, reading, or playing with my kiddos on the floor until I have my adored SH by my side.  Yes, Chris thinks I'm a total nut but has learned to love me despite my addiction. If my house ever burns down, you won't have to wonder why.
Oddly enough, I hate being hot....

2) I LOVE straws. Almost as much as I love my heaters. I am never without one in my drink if I can help it.

3) I haven't eaten red meat since I was 14. (If you are counting that's 17 years!) Except for once when Chris and I were first married. We were invited  to one of Chris' old mission companion's homes for dinner and beforehand we forgot to politely warn them that I don't eat red meat so as not to offend them.
I had anxiety the whole ride there thinking of the possibility of what might be served.
So of course what did they have?
RED MEAT.  With ONIONS. (One of my other nemesis.) 
The combination makes me shudder. The first part of the evening went fine, they were a very nice couple, and we had fun socializing. But the mystery dish cooking in the oven had me quite nervous. And rightfully so.
Upon entering the kitchen from a quick bathroom trip, I fought back tears of horror as I saw that they they had lumped a whole pile of a ground beef mixture  sandwiched between french bread onto my plate.
And of course, the portion was enormous.
Apparently they forgot that I'm 5'1 and under 100 lbs and therefore probably don't chow down like my husband who is twice my weight and a foot taller.
 Normally in that situation, I would decline the meat and happily just eat a side.
(I would happily starve for a few hours too - trust me.)

But there was no side to be had, and the slop (which I'm sure was delicious slop to those who like that sort of thing) was already on my plate.

So what could  I do but choke it down.

Literally.
Agghh.

Let's just say it was not a good night for me.

I cried on way home.

& I'm sure I brushed & meticulously cleansed my teeth and tongue well into the night once we got back to our apartment. I may have tried to gag myself too but throwing up on demand has never worked for me...

Needless to say, eating at other people's homes can be an anxiety-ridden event for me.
For the record, I never would expect anyone to arrange a menu around my tastes - I prefer just to pick around what is edible to me from what is being served. If that means I'm eating a roll for dinner, no problem. I'll just have a bowl of cereal when I get home, thank you. It's just a little taboo because if people don't know me they can get offended, which I would never want. But it happens.

4) I do eat chicken.  (not fast food "chicken")
However, every little string and piece of fat has to be cut off if I am to ingest without gagging. Dealing with raw meat (aka cutting off all the gunk) is one of my least favorite things to do. I cover my cutting board with multiple layers of protection (plastic bags and wax paper) for the task and basically gag for the entire process. Afterwards every tool used is thoroughly sprayed with Clorox. I do like to cook but the meat part is stressful for me. Let's just say that I'd much rather sit and pluck my leg hairs than deal with that slimy, salmonella-ridden raw stuff...yeck.

5) I LOVE cookies. I love to bake them, eat them, think about them...I would make them daily if it weren't for knowing that I'd gain an instant 5 pounds due to lack of self control. I can pass up cake, pie and ice cream any day, no problem. To me those are wasted calories. (I do like a good apple pie in the Fall or white cake and white frosting on an occasional b-day.) But cookies, they entice me. No nuts or raisins in mine though please.

6) I love mascara. I don't go without it. Ever. (Well, except to bed.) It makes me feel like I can face the world. Literally. I am baffled by women who don't take advantage of this magical, beautifying gift of a tool. Don't they know what it can do for them?
It makes me happy.

7) I don't own an Ipod or MP3 player. In fact, I wouldn't know how to work one if you handed me one. No, I am not a complete idiot or technologically challenged. I've just never had the pocket change to go out and purchase one and it's never been a priority on my Christmas list. One of my goals this year is to enlighten myself to the world of Ipods and Itunes.
A world my husband is well familiar with.
Along with the rest of the world.
Including my parents.
But me?
Forget about it.
So behind the times, I know.
What can I say, I'm a busy mom... a daily shower and mascara are my priorities for myself and beyond those (okay and DVRing the Bachelor and AI make the list too)...let's just say I don't have much interest in spending much time at Best Buy, I run on the treadmill and watch the Today Show while I do it,  and CDs work just fine for me.
 For now. :)

***

Hmmm. I think those might be enough self-confessions for the day. I better stop there before I reveal anything really embarrassing.;)
Like I said, I hope we're still friends... :)

One little monkey = several trips to the ER and the dentist

On Monday afternoon this cute little guy came downstairs with tears in his eyes and a mouth dripping of blood.

"Mom", he whimpered. "I was doing some "exercises" in my room, and....."

....and long story short he knocked his face on the wood frame of his bed that the mattress sits on....

Oh no. Not again. My heart skipped a beat when I opened his mouth & amidst the blood saw a big chunk of his gum hanging vertically down over his big front tooth. After further frantic assessment (and thanking our lucky stars that it wasn't his previously broken eye socket that had been hit as another blow there at this point could result in brain surgery) I ran to get my phone. After consulting with Chris, Parker's pediatrician, and a nearby pediatric dentist, we were off to the ER. Of course, there was a big snow storm coming and Chris had made the rare decision to take my car to work since I thought I wouldn't be needing it the rest of the day. That left me with Chris' 2-door car and an interesting arrangement  of carseats, since their normal chairs were in my car 25 miles away in a pharmacy parking lot. (Why is it that emergencies happen at the most inconvenient times possible? I mean, normally, my car is sitting the garage, armed with car seats and ready to go. But of course not when I needed it most.) Thankfully I managed to stuff Emmie in her baby car seat and luckily we recently got an extra booster seat for Parker to make preschool carpooling easier or I would have been calling neighbors amidst the chaos to borrow a seat.

(This pic is post the stitch and is looking great compared to how it was a few hours earlier. The white/bluish chunk of gum tissue had been hanging vertically down the front of his tooth.)

Off to the ER we went, where they basically tied Parker up in a straight jacket to prohibit movement on his part. He calmly laid there, wrapped up like a "burrito" as they called him (he smiled proudly at the description), while they stitched his gum back up into place. They decided against numbing him and much to the amazement of the male nurse and doctor, he didn't make a single peep the entire process. No whimpers of pain, no flinches, no tears. We explained that he's a bit of a pro when it comes to the hospital scene. He was definitely braver than I would have been!

The next morning the stitch fell out, and we were back at the ER (at their request) to have it looked at again. It was too late to refix it successfully, so he ended up losing that chunk of hanging gum tissue. :(

His tooth didn't seem loose so they didn't think a dentist was necessary, but having worked for a dentist I knew he needed to be seen. (Hello?!) And THANK GOODNESS he was! Besides very traumatized tissue (above what you can see in the pic) the x-ray revealed a FRACTURE in the upper hidden part of the tooth! AGHH! I knew it wasn't going to be good. The hopeful news is that there is no visible separation at this time in the fracture, and sometimes the bone will heal itself back together. Sometimes. If not, an infection will occur and this will indicate that the tooth has to be pulled.  Ugggh. Oh and wait. Not just one tooth - it would be his TWO front teeth! If they pull one tooth, they have to pull the one next to it as to not cause problems for the big teeth that will eventually move in. The doc said that there is about a 40% chance that this will have to happen & we'll know in about a month. I asked when those two teeth normally would fall out and the answer was 7 1/2 to 8 years old. Not to be vain, but my poor cute little guy might have a big gaping hole in his smile for up to FOUR years!? :( I know, I know - it's cosmetic right? But come on, more than that it could cause potential speech problems, self esteem issues, eating issues...the list goes on.

Lively little Parker, jumpin' on the bed
He fell off and bumped his head
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said...
"NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPIN' ON THE BED!".

That last part was an actual quote from the dentist, finger wagging included.
We'll see if it gets through to our little guy.
I can't tell you how many times I have told him not to do his "exercises".
(this entails jumping back and forth from his little foam Pottery Barn chair to his bed, mixed I am sure with some pretty awesome "tricks"...)
I was tempted to ask the ER doc where I could purchase one of those straight jacket things...my little "burrito" did seem to like it... ;)

We'll find out in the next few weeks whether or not we'll be mourning his teeth... meanwhile I am just trying to enjoy his precious, non-hillbilly smile while I can! :)

Lumped again

 February was once again a month of celebrations.

And once again I am lumping them altogether....

How fun for you who happens to be reading this oh-so-exciting blog.

 The month started out with Chris' brother, Dustin's birthday.

It was #28 for him & guess what? 
He's single!

Last I heard anyways.

Find me in the comment section if you know of a super cute friend of a friend you want to set him up with.

I love to set people up. :)

It's a bit of a disorder.

Last person I set up happened to be my sis in law, who happened to marry the guy I lined her up with.

Shabam.

Not to be cocky or anything. ;)

(& not that I usually go around saying words like "Shabam"...seriously. I'm really tired.)

& can I just say thank goodness for disorders that result in love connections?

Next up we got together with my Dad's side of the fam and celebrated my cute Grandma, my Aunt, and my sister-in-law Kylie's birthdays.

If ya know of any super cute Grandpa's ages 85+ to line my Grandma aka Mimi up with, let me know.
Just kiddin'.

We also celebrated Valentines Day at this shindig seeing as it was Feb. 13th. It felt more like Dec. 25 with all the presents filling the room and all the loot my kiddos walked away with. Good times. :)

Thanks Mimi and Grandpa Todd!

 On Valentines Day we took the kiddos bowling for the first time. I was a pretty good bowler once upon a time (in my good old days of high school white trash bowling), but I think that P and E came out with better scores than me that night.

 Above Emmie is celebrating a strike (adorned btw with a cute V-Day necklace Parker made her at school). I'll blame my loss of concentration on my constant efforts of trying to keep my crazy kiddos from being slammed in the noggin' with  neighboring bowling balls. We've had our fair share of head injuries in this last year, thanks. Keeping them out of harms way was a full time job and required constant restraint for the 2 1/2 year old. It was fun & I'm glad we did it, but let's say we won't be joining any family bowling leagues in the near future.

Next up was my FIL Lance's birthday. Yes, that makes birthday #5 for the month, and actually make that #6, as Chris' brother Eric and his wife had baby boy #2 on the 10th. Unfortunately we couldn't do much celebrating with them as they live in Texas, but we are very happy for a new cousin!

Back to Lance's party -- I was loving the exchange between Emmie and her Great-Grandpa Lonczyna. I cherish those types of moments knowing that this cute man (in his 90's)  may not be around for Emmie to remember down the line.

I'm so thankful for cameras so that moments like these can be recorded forever.

As the month continued, we took advantage of our new Thanksgiving Point Season Pass that Chris got our fam for Christmas, and visited the Dinosaur Museum. These two love dinosaurs - even Emmie. She is always prancing around on her tip toes, arms in attack position and growling, "RAAAAAR! I'm a T-Rex."

I'm really glad these things are extinct.

& don't worry, I cut my hair this week.

 In more exciting news, we purchased  a much needed new couch that the kiddos are sitting on in this pic. I really kinda love it.

Just for the heck of it I let Parker practice his camera taking skills after church on Sunday. Blurry is sometimes better and the ruffled hair and bunched up shirt under my cardigan are reminiscent of my crazy once-a-month Sundays that Chris has to work wherein I brave church by myself with my oh-so-reverent kiddos (that was laced with sarcasm.). But nonetheless I am triumphant in this picture as we survived our Sunday. Let's just say a good nap on those days is more than well-deserved.

And... onto the last day of the month! The Bachelor!

(This is the part to sign out on if you aren't a dedicated Monday night fan) 

I was really glad that whiney Ashley left. She definitely shot herself in the foot after not being able to talk about her thoughts on the future even after repeated chances by Brad to redeem herself. For such an educated person she really stinks at communicating! & I was confused at why Brad kept saying that he really wanted it to work with her...seriously? Call me crazy but I think those words might come back to haunt him with whoever he up choosing in the end...

Chantal....so I would have FREAKED if I were her and had to spend the night in a treehouse in the middle of the jungle in South Africa! Are you kidding - lions are not our friends, and they are especially not desirable bunkmates. I can't believe they did that! I hyperventilate at the thought of sleeping in a tent in Utah mountains at Girls Camp. But a South African jungle?! Heh UHH!

 I think it's all about Emily at this point....she is my final prediction. Although I do think the idea of her having a child freaks Brad out and rightfully so.

Who knows.

Maybe he'll walk away again.

I won't hate him for it if he does.

Such drama and seriously such a stupid show that I'm addicted to! But I love it! & I hear that next week's "The Women Tell All" is quite the shocker, especially with Michelle...

Happy March! :)

Churchy tales

I've touched on this before, but I'm at it again...
When Parker prays, we never know what we are going to get.

At the very least, big smiles are a given.

Or if you are me and apparently lack self control, you are trying your hardest to not fall over laughing and are quickly trying to wipe away your laugh tears upon the "Amen" before P-Man notices.
I know.
Such a bad example and completely irreverent but I really do try. Really.
& for the record, he doesn't know I am laughing at him.
It takes all my might, but I am discreet.

Often times he and Emmie fight over who is saying it, which results in a simultaneous outloud prayer offered by the two.
I am torn when this practice arises, because when trying to reinforce the correct way, the result is often much screaming by Emmie. & let's be honest.
That's not setting the best tone for the prayer.
Okay and I might be a bit lazy. But even moreso hungry. I just want to eat dinner without a ten minute delay due to technical difficulties & get these kids bathed & off to bed so that I can have five minutes to myself for the first time in the day. 
I like honesty.
So sometimes simultaneous prayers are just what we do at our house.
 Double the prayer = double the blessings, right?
That's what I try and tell myself anyways. :)

The thing is, Parker's prayers are so heartfelt and genuine.

 He's not trying to be funny or come up with peculiar things to pray about. They are straight from his heart and that intricate brain of his &

that's what makes them so good.

Here is an example of a small portion of his prayer the other night - not even one of his very funny ones but one that I quickly wrote down when he was finished...

Heavenly Father,

We're grateful for good moms and dads.

Grateful for good brothers and sisters.

Grateful for good cats and dogs.

Grateful we could eat our dinner fast so we could get treats.

Grateful that we don't play with matches.

Grateful that we don't die from bugs.

Grateful we didn't get kidnapped.

Grateful that we can play the Wii, but not on Sundays.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Grateful that we don't die from bugs or play with matches??

Where he comes up with some of this stuff, don't ask me.  

But I'm grateful that he is grateful. Especially about the matches.

What a guy.

& while I'm at it, here are few more classic church tales as of late to add to the history book of Parker H.....

P-Man has a hard time sitting still.

Okay so that might be a complete understatement.

He has a really, really, really hard time sitting still.

Like last Sunday night at a family party at my Dad's, Kylie and Steven challenged him to see how long he could sit still. He sat there, unmoving for several minutes.

Several minutes.

That is by far his record.

I was amazed.

And proud.

But I digress.

At church last Sunday, he was his usual wiggle-bug self pacing in front of me as we tried to listen to the speakers. I asked him to please sit and be reverent and he responded,

 "But Mo-om. I just have so much ENERGY in the day."

This answer struck me as funny.

Because I'm a witness to that truth firsthand.

How could I argue with that?

PB please....

Parker refuses to eat bread.

Except for peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

This doesn't work out so well for when the sacrament tray of bread comes around.

He's never taken it.

He's 4 1/2.

Today as it came around he asked, "Mom, do you think that we can let that Deacon know to let the other Deacons know that I only like my bread with peanut butter so that the next time they'll send mine with peanut butter?"

Hmmm. Never heard of that but maybe for kicks I will put in the request.

I wonder if it would it be inappropriate if I whipped out a jar of Jiffy during Sacrament meeting....?

When I try to explain to him that we take the sacrament to help us remember Jesus, he replies in a bored, "duh"-like tone,

"But Mo-om, I don't NEED to take the sacrament to remember Jesus.

I remember him everyday! I'm a smart kid, remember?"

& once again, how do I argue with that? 

Michelle on Ellen

Don't get all excited.

 I wasn't on Ellen.

Supermodel, CRAZY, Bachelor MICHELLE was on Ellen.

Just in case you didn't catch her...Here ya go!

I have to admit - I was a little sad to see her go. NOT because I wanted her to end up with B-Rad, but because I wanted to see her on the hometown date in good old Utah.

Awww well we can't have everything. 

 Brad made a good choice.

I knew he'd come through...

Chantal though - she's turning into the next nut. She needs to go!

& that beach date...! Seriously! Those are the moments that give our show a bad rap. It was plain embarrassing.

As for predictions...

 I think it's pretty obvious he's all about Emily... just not sure she's all about him...

what do you think?

Hometown date week is my fave....YAY for next Monday night!



From our cutest Valentines

HaPpY VaLenTiNeS DaY!

XOXO

Rewind

Being sick for weeks leading into Month #1 of 2011

+ (PLUS)

my 2 most-looked-forward-to shows of the year premiering in January

(American Idol + The Bachelor)

+

Finally giving in and reading Breaking Dawn

=ed very little time for blogging last month.

(except for a few posts on an obsessed-over show...publicly outting my patheticness...)

So sad, I know.

So... surprise surprise....I continue to play the catch up game.

Here is our oh-so-exciting January in a nutshell:

It's official.

Little P-Man started his CTR class in Primary.

This status awards one with the honored kelly-green CTR ring. He was very proud of his new bling.

Little Sis was happy for him and stood by in support.

& no she didn't sport her Jessie boots to church.

Although it wouldn't have been the worst fashion choice she's made...not by a longshot.

We combined b-day celebrations for my Dad and Chris. This method of birthday parties is becoming a necessity for both my side of the fam and Chris'. Otherwise we would spend every Sunday at a party. Love parties and love family but that would be no good. One (or 2) a month is plenty for us.
I made Chris Ali's lemon cake from Lemon Poppy Inc. It was quite delish if I do say so myself and I will definitely be making it again!

My Mom stopped by on her way to a nursing board meeting in Salt Lake. She gave Emmie her anticipated manicure and pedicures and also brought this amazing quilt she made for me.

When my brother passed away we found a rainbow of bright colored silk shirts filling his closet. He was the Vice President of a well known computer franchise here in UT (also known for their crazy & dare I say obnoxious commercials) and one of his signature marks was to sport these bold shirts with his designer suits. My Mom took all the shirts and has made us all quilts out of them. She made red, black and white ones for my fanatical UTE fan Dad and little brother with U of U insignia on the back.

Yes your eyes don't fool - mine is hot pink (& black & silver).

That's right. He was a confident man and proudly wore HOT PINK.

 They turned out beautiful and I cherish the sentimentality this blanket holds.

It will always be special to me.

Thanks Mom!

Parker learned about the human body.

Have a related question, and he will tell you it's function.

I love that he retains information so well.

 THIS little girl continues to drink what does a body good in excessive amounts...

DANIMALS!

She is a bit obsessed with them & since she doesn't drink milk, I let her drink away. I hoard them when they go on sale because that is the only way I'll buy them.

P-Man was able to officially start back up with full-blown playgroup this month. Doctors didn't want him going back until January after his (Sept) accident so it's been great to be with his buddies again. We feel so lucky to have so many wonderful kids his age right on our street. ( 2 were absent this day)

I went to another fabulous Favorite Things Party 2010. I walked away with lots of awesome goodies, ideas, tips, & recipes....all the while indulging on some fabulous food! Some of my faves included vintage dessert glasses with lots of recipes to go in them, homemade granola, homemade laundry detergent + recipe, CUTE homemade magnets, great eye makeup remover, fun websites to explore.... the list goes on. What a fun party! I was excited to be invited again this year.

And we ended the month much like we started it - SICK! We spent the last weekend of the month accompanied by much throw up and pretty remarkable fevers.

Does it ever end?!

I have never missed so much church in my life.

On a whimsical note, I finally found pillows for our charcoal gray couch in the basement. It's only taken me a year to find something I love and thankfully Chris gave me a Target gift card for Christmas that enabled me to purchase my yellow flower pillows.

Aren't they cute?

I don't even like yellow.

But I like these.

They make me happy.