Two Men and Two Ladies

Funny Smithisms

2012-01-07T16:58:00.002-07:00

Tanner (after being accused of being scared): "Honey, the only things that scare me are midgets and the second coming."

Ella (after going potty): "Get me a wipe...and stop smiling at me."

Halloween

2011-11-22T07:55:00.002-07:00

We love a good Halloween at our house! This one seemed like it went on for a week with all the parties and things we dressed up for. This is Alex and Ella dancing around in their skivvies after painting their pumpkins.

Here are our pumpkins. Tanner and I choose the 2 lame-o patterns marked "easy"

Here's Woody and the fairy princess. I guess my kids are old enough to have opinions about what their costumes should be cause they weren't letting me choose. I had some good ideas too. I even saw a really cute pirate costume for Ella, but Tanner said I had to give her a choice and she chose the frilly pink princess dress. I thought I made a pretty good argument for the pirate. Well, they turned out cute anyway, I guess.

"Princess":

Woody:

The fam--Tanner and I were Napolean Dynamite and Deb.

Alex's 4th Birthday

2011-11-22T07:36:00.004-07:00

Alex was so excited he got to go to preschool on his birthday. They were having their preschool Halloween party that day, so he got to wear his costume and take these cookies to share. He was very proud of his costume!

We had a "Monster Bash" on Alex's birthday. He was very excited to have his friends come over and play. We played ring toss on the witch's hat, musical eyeballs, and pumpkin roll with broomsticks. Here's the (not so) scary crew:

These were his monster cupcakes:

This was his monster hand punch:

This was his most favorite present of all. He's been asking to put the Christmas tree up since, well, since we took it down last year. In about August I started telling him we would be putting the tree up after his birthday, meaning his birthday would come first, then Thanksgiving shortly after, and then we would put it up. He started taking that literally and asking to put it up right after his birthday. I thought it would be a good idea to just give him a little tree for his room to hold him over until we could put the real tree up. He's definitely obsessed with Christmas like his mommy!

The Rest of So. Cal

2011-11-19T14:20:00.003-07:00

SEAWORLD:
Impressed by all the Shamus:

Boozer:

SAN DIEGO ZOO--the kids' favorite part of the trip:

Ella had a weird connection with this snake. Pretty sure she was speaking Parseltongue to it.

"Are they twins??" The question we heard all throughout the trip.

Too bad we didn't plan a whole day at the beach, probably would've been the best part, minus the fact that it was stinkin cold while we were there.

San Diego Temple: Note to self--temple grounds are closed on Sundays, so this is the best picture you can get. Still gorgeous!

Dinneylan

2011-11-19T12:58:00.006-07:00

We went to California a couple months ago. We had a blast! I'm a little slow with posting pictures, but here we are at Dinneylan (that's how we said it the entire time).

On the way, couldn't be more excited!

The only ride Alex wasn't scared of, including "It's a Small World" (which he cried on the ENTIRE time). Oh wait, I was scared of that ride.

Who doesn't have a pic like this?

This is totally their personalities (Tanner's personality is "cute")

On our way to the hotel for naptime. We we were all tuckered out.

Daddy/daughter date to the "princess parade":

Random Summerness

2011-10-02T09:27:00.003-06:00

We decided it would be fun to start taking the kids on little dates to spend some one-on-one time with them. This is from the first one I took Ella on. We went to feed the ducks at the nature center. I think she ate more bread than the ducks.

Alex loves making forts with the couch cushions, and I love when he falls asleep--those days are rare now!

Gotta love when the fair comes to town and you can be a little white trash. I have a weirdness about petting zoos (or maybe just fairs in general), but the kids really loved it. I think I used their complimentary hand wipes after they touched every animal.

This was definitely the weirdest thing I've ever done...and most disgusting. I have some weird fascination with farms. It's not like I'm from a big city, but I know absolutely nothing about farms and they're so interesting to me for some reason. For a while I was trying to find someone to let me come work on their farm for a day so I could see how things work, but nobody really took me up on that offer. Luckily I married a man who has a suspiciously large knowledge about farm life, mostly because he basically went to high school on a farm and they were required to take FFA and other farming classes. He denies this, but it's really the only thing that can explain his plethora of knowledge about farming. Well, I took my chance at the petting zoo to milk a cow. My face says it all--yuck! I don't like the feeling of that in my hand!

Alex started preschool this year! I had a big internal struggle about whether or not to put him in this year or just wait til the year before he goes to kindergarten. It seems like nobody down here puts their kids in til the second year, but I really felt like he needed some kind of outlet. The minute I signed him up I felt so good about it. He LOVES it! He asks to go back to Ms. Dianne's house every day, which is good because he usually has a hard time leaving us. He's been learning so many things I never thought he could learn at his age and he's already made lots of friends. The other day he started doing the alphabet in sign language. I never would've thought to teach him that. Isn't he a cute little student with his wee little backpack?!

The Narrows

2011-10-02T09:16:00.005-06:00

We're grateful to Tanner's parents who came down to give us a much needed break and watch our kids while we hiked the Narrows in August. It was the perfect time to go and we had a lot of fun. We did the hike in one day (most people camp overnight and split the hike into 2 days) and it definitely took a toll on the old joints. I think by the end I'd sprained both my ankles from walking on rocks in water for 16 miles (12 hours), plus I had 4 open blisters on each foot. Tanner had much better shoes than I did and ended the hike feeling much better than me. We were racing to get out of there before it turned dark, but it ended up being so much fun and so beautiful. Unfortunately I thought I'd be smart and take a disposable waterproof camera, but the crappy pictures don't do the hike justice. We only have 3 that turned out well enough to scan, and they're not even at the really narrow parts. Despite all the scrapes and broken joints, it was fun to get out and do a hike without the kids!

Left-Brained

2011-08-08T13:05:00.004-06:00

Alex definitely gets his artistic abilities from me.

Maybe he could be an artist for "Rugrats" someday.

Last One--I Promise

2011-07-22T13:19:00.003-06:00

Hiking at Red Cliffs. I remember loving this hike in college. This was the perfect distance and difficulty (AKA really difficult) for my little ones, and the water was definitely relieving in the hot sun. Alex keeps asking to go back to "hike on the slide."

Alex has been saying some funny things lately. Remember me talking about him trying to act/talk like a grown-up all the time? Well, it continues. Some of the phrases he's been saying lately:

What time are you going today?
Is you hair getting longer?
Tanner, how's your iPad?
Mom, how's your plants? Are they dying? (Yup!)
Mom, how's your work?

He's also been obsessed with numbers. He always says he wants 5 of everything. One day he was saying he wanted balloons. He started out saying he wanted 1 balloon, then he said he wanted 2 balloons, then 5, then he held up all his fingers and said, "No, I want MANY balloons." Another day I heard him talking on his play cell phone. He said, "This is Stacy Smith. My phone number is...." And he rattled off my whole phone number, area code and all. What the heck? I think I've talked to like 2 people on the phone since he was born!

Tanner was holding Alex one day while he was growing out his sexy 'stache. While Alex was examining Tanner's face, he said, "We need to cut my hair. We need to cut your face."

They're a handful, but it's moments like these that remind me how much I love em!

HAPPY #2 ELLA!

2011-07-22T13:05:00.003-06:00

The nice thing about having your birthday around a holiday is that you seem to get more than one party. Such was the case with Ella again this year. We were in Logan on her birthday, so she got to celebrate with cousins and grandparents and then with just us when we got home. Nice excuse for Mom and Dad to eat 2 cakes. We had a hard time finding her a present this year. We walked around several stores and couldn't see one toy we didn't own. Now that's pathetic. We settled on the only thing we didn't have--a play kitchen that is almost as big as our real kitchen. Looks like it's time to move again...

Ella entered the Terrible Twos exactly on her birthday. I kept blaming her attitude on her "not feeling well" because she had a runny nose, but we're more than 2 weeks out and the runny nose has stopped. The tantrums, however, have gotten worse. I guess this is what we're in for for the next 2 years (through the even Terribler Threes). We're hoping on Alex's 4th birthday he exits that stage as quickly as Ella entered it. Despite her sassy attitude, she's absolutely hilarious and super smart. We love all the weird things she says and does. She's a joy to be around, even if she is drawing on my arm with a pen at the moment.

Good Times with B&D

2011-07-22T13:01:00.002-06:00

Summerfest and sugar overload via Nana

Riding Papa like a pony during fireworks

What We're Doing This Summer:

2011-07-22T12:48:00.004-06:00

*Cross-dressing

*Gardening

*Camping and swimming at Sand Hallow

*Exploring around Dixie Rock

*Splash Padding and having a BLAST!

In the "garden" picture, my mother-in-law and I were filling containers with soil and planting seeds. We turned around and saw a pot sitting there with all these leaves in it. I think we both stared at it for a good minute trying to figure out just how those seeds sprouted so fast before we realized Alex was cutting leaves off the bushes and putting them in there. It was pretty cute. He's definitely got a greener thumb than I do--that's the best my garden has looked all year!

Overdue Congrats

2011-07-22T12:30:00.003-06:00

Happy Graduation, Daddy (yeah, in May)! Tanner has 2 graduations down and 1 or 2 more to go. We're very proud of him and all his hard work. He's going to be starting a Master's program in September. We'll miss him for the next 2 years!

He also ran the RAGNAR with his brother and a few other business geeks in June. I wish I had a picture of all their mustaches...then again, maybe not. They were disgusting and I was sure glad to be able to kiss him again after weeks of refusals (from me). Even though he's sworn off ever doing that again, we're still proud of him.

Mommy's Smart

2011-05-27T12:32:00.002-06:00

Ella calls the remote a "me-mope" and is obsessed with chapstick, which she calls "mips." She's become quite the little pickpocket for it. She means lips, but she absolutely can't say it with an L. She can say her name and other things with L just fine, but you can say it over and over to her and she just repeats "mips." It's funny because she's usually pretty particular with how she enunciates things, but she can't seem to get these two down. We don't usually try to correct her on these things, though, because we think it's cute.

I was always very confused by another of Ella's favorite random sayings: "There's a stink in my poop." I didn't really know where she learned it, but I thought it was funny nonetheless. She said it again today and Tanner repeated it back, only he said, "There's a snake in my boot." Hmm, apparently that's what she's been meaning this whole time.

Cute

2011-05-18T09:26:00.002-06:00

Alex: "Mom, I can hear the thunder and Lightning McQueen! Go thunder and Lightning McQueen!"

Toilet Talk

2011-05-06T21:52:00.003-06:00

Alex is in this stage where he likes to talk like an adult. If someone isn't talking, he gets nervous and starts trying to think of things to say to keep the conversation going. He sounds so funny cause he tries to sound so grown up, but the things he says are pretty funny. We're also all on a first-name basis.

Today I was cleaning the toilet. He and Ella were hovering over me, so I told them to leave so I could clean it without them licking it or drinking the Lysol or something like that. He said, "No, I can watch, Stace." I relented and let him stay. I flushed the toilet and he said (very grown-up-like), "Ew, that was a good flush, Stace!"....Thanks. A little while later he said, "I really like your toilet, Stacy!"....Thanks again. I'm so proud I'm a good flusher and have a likeable toilet.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2011-05-05T21:53:00.004-06:00

Our American friends had a Cinco de Mayo party tonight that was a lot of fun. I scored this stylin' sombrero for winning the salsa cook-off and now Alex thinks he has a hat "like Woody's." Alex loves playing with friends. He gets so excited and a little out of control whenever other kids are around. We had the party at a park and he just kept running around yelling, "This is the best...day...EVER!!!" I realized later he must've learned that from "Tangled."

Unfortunately, Ella fell off the top of the playground (over 5 feet) and landed on her face. Luckily I wasn't there to see it or I would've hyperventilated for her. You can see the scratches on her face a little better in the bottom picture, but it really looks a lot worse than that. It was so sad! The summer bumps and bruises begin! She makes a pretty cute little senorita though!

(Yes, she's wearing winter jammies with snowflakes and it was 83 degrees when I put her to bed. Time for some more summer PJs!)

Random Stuff

2011-05-05T21:35:00.004-06:00

I couldn't wait for Ella to be big enough to start wearing nightgowns. I always wore them when I was a little girl. I spotted this on the clearance rack at Target and had to get it. It's our favorite. Tanner puts her in it every night cause he loves it so much. Love those teeth!

This was at Kite Day this year. Unfortunately it was in the upper 80s and there was pretty much no wind. Most of the kids were running to get their kites in the air, but then of course there were those die-hard kite-flying adults with home-improved kites who were also running full speed to get their kites to fly. (The same adults playing in the splash pad with all the little kids.) They're so cool.

This was on Easter Sunday. My parents came down to visit so we had 3 total Easter egg hunts--Nana and Papa's, the Easter Bunny's, and the scripture egg hunt. Alex is getting smarter in his old age and dubbed Nana and Papa's the favorite because he got money. Guess he's starting to get what's important in life. He's been carrying around that $4 since they left.

Look familiar? Nope, I didn't post the same picture twice, and I didn't post a picture of Ella in her nightgown in the future. This is Alex wearing Ella's nightgown (which he wears pretty much whenever she isn't). He's started to demand we call him either Princess or Ella when he wears it and he spins around singing, "I'm a princess!" Tanner came home from work the first time and tried to get him to put on his Transformers costume with no luck. Guess he's got the figure for it.

Camping, Christmas, and Baby Jesus

2011-04-01T12:56:00.003-06:00

Alex just really can't let things go. He asks to go camping every day and has been since the last time we went--last September. Luckily we're moving into prime camping season in SG so we'll be able to go. I'm glad I have someone else on my side in the family that will get us off our butts and out camping.

Unfortunately, another thing he hasn't quite let go of is Christmas. He asks if we can put up the Christmas tree nearly every day. If he talks to anyone on the phone, the first thing he says is, "Daddy took my Christmas tree down" as if we've betrayed him. It doesn't help that my parents still have their Christmas trees up, 4 to be exact, and they tell him every time they talk to him. My mom sent me a picture text the other day looking out their basement window. There was about 4 feet of snow outside and a Christmas tree all lit up in the window. Sick. It was 74 degrees here that day. At least in a couple months he'll be really early when it comes to asking about Christmas, but for now he's just really late. And if his love for Christmas is anything like his love for camping (which I think is actually more), we'll be sure to hear about Christmas for the next 8 months, and probably beyond.

And...the second anyone goes home after visiting us he'll ask who's coming to see him next. Tanner's parents were here 3 weeks ago, and after they left we told him his other grandparents would be down in another month. Too bad he doesn't understand time. Every day since then he's constantly asked if Nana and Papa are going to come see him. If I say yes but not for another month, he'll get excited and go look out the window. If I say no, he throws a fit. I've just started saying yes. Every night in his prayers he says, "Thankful Nana and Papa and Grandma could come see you"--Always TWICE!

_________________________

Ella knows her ABCs for the most part now. The count on the iTunes playlist is currently 94 for the ABC song. I'm so sick of hearing that song but it's the only thing she'll let me play. She's also learned to count to twenty from Alex, which goes 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 20!

She's quite the little mommy to her babies. She always carries them around with their blankeys and say "It's okay" while rocking them. Today I asked her what her baby's name was and she said Jesus. Hmmm...I guess Jesus was a baby once, but I don't think he had pigtails and purple clothes!

MaDnEsS!

2011-03-10T19:35:00.001-07:00

Alex keeps walking around yelling, "You're driving me crazy!"

Wonder where he's heard that all day.

It's funny how I wanted to be one of those cute moms that never didn't like my kids (how's that for a double negative?)...or at least didn't let them know. Then I realized there aren't those moms, only pre-moms who have no idea what's coming.

Sorry Mom, but it had to be done!

2011-03-02T11:04:00.004-07:00

I know, I know, I'm going to be in trouble. I know my parents have this dream of indirectly raising head-banging, drug-dealing, foul-mouthing, ear-piercing, leather-wearing, electric guitar-playing, rock star grandchildren, but I couldn't do it any longer. Yes, I'll admit, Alex's hair was cute (in an ugly sort of way) and did attract lots of attention from the creepy people at the grocery store, but it was a horrible mess each and every day. I have this problem with not wanting to do my kids' hair if we're not doing anything but sitting home all day. What's the point? So I'd get the same disgusted look from Tanner every day as he walked through the door to see our trailer trash children running toward him. The days we actually had somewhere to go, it was an enormous fight to get Alex to sit still while we doused his hair with buckets of water in order to saturate everything underneath. This kid has some thick, coarse, wiry hair that is almost impossible to do anything with. When he'd wake up, it would be an all-out mess (refer to the "before" picture below). As my dad would say, "It looks like you combed your hair with a firecracker!" Bathing was another struggle because it took about 36 cupfuls to get any soap out, and he is a complete SPAZ when it comes to getting water dumped on his head. Well, I couldn't handle it anymore, so it looks like I've failed and will now be raising clean-cut, wholesome, LDS missionaries instead.

*Before*

*After*

(I still think he looks kinda cute!)

He's absolutely convinced that he has black or brown hair. Mom has black hair. Nana Suz has white hair (blonde). Alex, Ella, and Daddy have black hair, until I tell him it isn't that dark, then he says brown. When I tell him it's red or orange, he acts like I'm crazy. I guess it probably doesn't really look red or orange to a kid, though. At least today he admitted it was pink. I think we're making progress.

On another note, the other day he scraped his finger (no blood) and yelled, "I broke myself!!"

GO AGGIES!

2011-03-02T10:55:00.006-07:00

It's sad/funny/ironic that we always try to show off cute pictures of our kids smiling and looking at the camera (or at least in the same general direction) and not closing their eyes or putting their hands in their mouth, nose, ears, pants, air, or on each other, and standing so we can see what their clothes look like and so there isn't a huge gap between them and not messing up their hair or pulling any weirdo faces, but, really, in the other 50 pictures we took, we're frustrated and yelling and wondering why even try to take pictures in the first place. Hmmm, Go Aggies!

Bountiful Baskets!!

2011-02-26T09:05:00.011-07:00

CHECK OUT ALL THIS LOOT!!

(2 heads broccoli, 2 bunches romaine, pkg mushrooms, 4 orange peppers, bunch spinach, bag carrots, cantaloupe, pkg strawberries, 8 bananas, 9 tangelos--mix between tangerine and grapefruit, 7 apples, and 4 lemons--WOW!)

I've been wanting to do Bountiful Baskets for over a year now but have kept putting it off. Yeah, avoiding the $3 start-up fee. Pretty much everyone I know down here goes every Saturday to pick big.....bountiful baskets!....of fruits and veggies. I had split a basket 3 ways a while back but didn't really notice what kind of a deal I was getting because I didn't end up getting very much. A few weeks ago I saw a friend's basket and about died. I signed up for a whole basket by myself a week later and this is what I got! It fills up a whole laundry basket! Score! It took us 2 weeks to eat all of this food and some of it even started going bad because there was so much.

My neighbor and I decided to split a basket every week so it would be more fresh and we would actually have room in our fridges for everything. It's like Christmas every Saturday morning when we go see what yummy new things we're going to get. I love how we always get things that I don't normally buy at the store, either because I've never tried them or they're just too expensive. It's been fun to let my kids try new things. But then we also get things that we use regularly like romaine, bananas, strawberries, etc. pretty often. This week we got 2 mangos, 2 coconuts, asparagus, and "forelles" among other things. I always have to come home and google something--like forelles are the smallest kind of pear and have great flavor.

Anywho, in case you've never used/heard of Bountiful Baskets, I thought I'd pass on the word to help others like me who are just looking for a good deal. Each basket is $15, or you can get organic for $25, and you choose which weeks you get it. This week we also added homemade honey wheat bread, which is an extra $10 for 5 loaves. I can't even imagine how much this stuff would add up to in the store! The other day I went looking for strawberries at Smith's and 1 container was $4! Another benefit to Bountiful Baskets is that the food is more local than food in the grocery stores in order to support local farmers and smaller farms. Bananas would come from Mexico as opposed to Asia, and other stuff comes from Washington, California, Idaho, etc. Obviously summer is a great time for Bountiful Baskets because stuff might come from your own town. So look at the Bountiful Baskets website and see if there are pickup sites in your area. It's seriously like Christmas every Saturday (to nerds like me)!!

????

2011-02-23T12:52:00.003-07:00

Alex just told me he was "scared of the question mark."

Good Morning!

2011-02-23T07:53:00.003-07:00

This is the conversation between Alex and Ella when Alex came down from bed this morning (in such sweet, adult voices):

Alex: Hi Sweetheart! How's my sweet girl?
Ella: Good! You sleep good?
Alex: Yeah, did you sleep good?
Ella: Yeah!!
Alex: Oh good!

Followed by a big hug! :)

Ella Bella

2011-02-21T08:02:00.003-07:00

Ella is just such a joy to be around. She's always happy! It's so fun to hear her putting her words into sentences lately. Here are just a few things she's been saying:

*What's the problem?
*Oh shoot!
*My nose is runny....need a tissue. (She's minorly obsessed with tissues and blowing her nose. It drives me crazy, but I guess she's following in my footsteps. Tanner calls me a grandma cause I always have tissues tucked in my clothes--you never know when you're gonna need one!)
*Wanna watch "Wiggles"
*It's okay, don't cry (mostly to her dolls who always seem to be sad and sometimes to Alex)
*Just a minute...
*"Probly" not

She ALWAYS says I love you, especially if you're being separated for any reason--of course when we leave the house, but even if I go get in the shower, if she goes down for a nap, and she even said it to our babysitter's husband when he left the house. She's such a sweetie!

She talks to her bears and dolls like they're really listening. When I go to get her from bed, she's holding one of them and says, "There's mommy." And then nods and keeps jabbering to them. She's such a good mommy to her babies. Good thing they can't breathe, though, because she likes to swaddle them in blankets really tight, and it usually includes their whole head.

She's always been a pretty obedient little gal. I'm so glad she's getting to the age she understands punishment and can go to time-out (even though it's really sad because she screams the whole 10 seconds she's in there and clings to you for an hour afterward). She definitely is getting to be more of a stinker and doing things she's not supposed to, but if I catch her and start counting, she usually obeys. She started going to nursery in January and she totally hates it! I make Tanner take her if I can because she's such a mama's girl, but she starts screaming the moment we approach the door. Even though she's screaming, she'll sit down at the table and just cry. She hates it, but she knows that's what we want her to do, so she does it. But by the time we go back to get her at the end of church, we can hardly get her to leave! The other night we were going to an activity at the church, and after we parked and started walking to the building she started saying, "Noooo puzzles!!" (That's what they have the kids do at the beginning of nursery.) Her teachers told us she hates the puzzles, but I think she just meant she didn't want to go to nursery. She thinks she hates it, but she really likes it once she gets in there.

She and Alex play so well together! It's been fun the older she gets because now they can both entertain each other. The other day they went upstairs and played for 3 straight hours before they came back down, and without any crying. I went up the stairs and listened a few times to make sure they were still alive, but I didn't want them to see me cause I knew I would disrupt this magical time for them (and me)! They love to hug and kiss (a little too much), and wrestle. Ella kind of seems to be the leader of the pack, but they just follow each other around all day and generally play pretty well. Of course there are times Alex takes cheap shots at Ella or Ella sits on Alex's face but, for the most part, they just like to laugh at absolutely nothing together. What a great couple of kids--I sure love 'em!

Little Stinker

2011-02-16T09:32:00.002-07:00

After refusing Alex's many attempts at getting a snack (an hour after he didn't finish his breakfast), he opened the pantry (where we keep both food and coloring supplies) and said, "Can I color, or......have some chips?" Nice try, buddy. I may be stupid, but I'm not that stupid!

Another Great Year With My Valentine!

2011-02-14T08:28:00.002-07:00

Well, another great year has passed and I find myself even more in love with Stacy than last year! I honestly know without a doubt that she is the best person I could have ever ended up with. She takes such great care of me that I don't have to have her call my mom when I'm sick anymore! The sympathy is a little lacking though. She tells me that I complain like a man and men complain more than women when they're sick. You can work a little on that sympathy this upcoming year honey. Anyway, this year I would like to pay tribute to some of her wonderful quirks! Anyone that knows Stacy knows that she is hilarious and random. Well, I get to see all of these quirks on a daily basis and they make me laugh and brighten my day. Let me name a few.

1- She has a condition where her mouth gets ahead of her mind. She'll ask for something before she can think of the name of that something, or talk about someone before she can think of their name. It turns out like this: Stacy--"Hand me that." Me--"What?" Stacy--"That...thing!" Me--"What thing? Could you be more specific?" Stacy--"You know! The thing with the little things on it!" Me--"I don't know what that is." Stacy--"Well! It's too hard to think of the words!" Another one that happened just yesterday went like this: Stacy--"Are they home?" Me--"Who?" Stacy--"Those guys?" Me--"I don't know who you're talking about." Stacy--"The neighbors!" Me--"Ummmm....we have lots of neighbors. Do you know their names?" Stacy--"I can't think of their names fast enough!"

2- I'm not sure many of you know this but Stacy has a bit of an addiction. I'm not talking about her chocolate addiction (that's no secret to anyone) but she has another addiction that she is a little ashamed of. Reading. I'm sure, by now, most of you have heard of The Hunger Games series of books. Well, there are 3 books and it took her about 3 days to read all of them. I would come home from work and she would get this ashamed look on her face and say, "Well...I haven't hardly worked today. And I haven't showered or got ready for the day. I just wanted to see what happened next!" She just had the first book at the beginning, then one day I came home and she had all 3! The next thing I know, she had finished the 3rd one! I didn't even know she had started the second! This is her secret addiction. We now have to set limits with her on how much she can read.

3- She has what I like to call the "feet-hands phenomenon." She can use her feet as if they were hands. It comes in handy because, rather than bend over to pick something up (which is considered laborious in our household) she can pick it up with her feet and lift it to her hands. She'll do this with many things. If she's sitting on the couch and her drink is on the floor, she'll lift it to herself with her feet. She'll pick up clothes, toys, garbage, pretty much anything with her "feet-hands." One night I bet her she couldn't eat a Snickers bar with her "feet-hands." She proved me wrong. She opened the wrapper and everything with just her feet! I asked her if she thought she could brush her teeth with her "feet-hands." She did it. I'm pretty sure if she lost her arms in a freak accident today, she wouldn't lose any abilities, including typing her work. I'm inclined to think this is a genetic condition because Alex has been picking up toys this way and just yesterday I watched Ella trying to pick up her bracelet off the floor with her little, chubby "feet-hands!" It's a gift you have to see to believe! I think it is hilarious and it is just another thing that I love about Stacy.

Well, this is the end of my yearly blog about my wife. I hope it has been enjoyable. These little quirks bring a smile to my face everyday and they are part of the reason I love my beautiful wife. On top of all of this, she is an amazing cook, hard worker (when she doesn't have a book to read!), and a great mother. Thank you for being the highlight of my life Sweetheart! I love you...more!

Enter: The Scary Roope

2011-01-25T21:46:00.003-07:00

Alex has been going through these spells where he gets scared of everything, and I mean everything! A few days ago he refused to go to the bathroom by himself, which is clearly in view of where we were sitting, because he was "too scared of the roope." We kept asking him what the "roope" was and he just kept spazzing and screaming that he was scared of it. Occasionally since then he's said he's scared of the roope, but I didn't know what the roope was until I pulled it out of his dresser to keep his pants up this morning--his belt, that is. Immediately when he saw it he clung on to me and said he was too scared of the roope. I asked him if that was the roope and he assured me that it was. I think he was maybe thinking rope?? I told him that the roope was really there to protect him (and I guess secondarily to hold up his pants). He didn't say anything else about it all day until I took the roope off of him. He acted scared of it for a minute, until I let him play with it. As we were putting him to bed, I put the roope in his dresser and he said, "Noooo, I'm too scared of the roope." We just laughed and told him he was crazy. Good job, us.

Seriously though, he has turned into such a scaredy cat. Sometimes it's kinda cute, but other times it's just plain frustrating. Like when he refuses to go to the bathroom or go upstairs to get a toy by himself. I've been wondering what I could do to make him not so scared of everything. The only thing that has really worked with the kid to date is to make him say a prayer. Pretty much every night after we put him to bed and go downstairs, he starts screaming that he's scared. When I go up to check on him, he's shaking and bawling. I'll tell him to say a prayer and that Jesus will keep him safe. After he does, he always goes to bed without crying again. I guess I shouldn't look for other ways to calm his fears, cause at least this is a good lesson, and pretty cute if you ask me.

Good Habits Start Early

2011-01-21T07:53:00.002-07:00

If there's one thing I hate more than dishes in the sink, it's dishes on the table. I think my kids have caught on to this early, so they both always go throw their dishes in the sink when they finish eating. Then they go push their chairs under the table where they belong (another peeve of mine). Alex will often spend a good minute or so making sure they're all perfectly aligned too. I love these habits--definitely my kids. Next we'll have to work on putting the dishes in the dishwasher!

Christmas Trees

2011-01-21T07:51:00.003-07:00

My kids are still obsessed with Christmas trees! When Tanner was taking down our tree a few weeks ago, Alex was pulling at his leg and screaming because he didn't want him to take it down. Every day he asks where the Christmas tree is and if Nana and Papa and Shaun and Kym still have their Christmas trees. Every tree Ella sees she calls a Christmas tree. Looks like I'll have someone else on my side after Halloween when I want to put up the tree!

Mashed Potatoes Vs. Cookies

2011-01-19T19:50:00.003-07:00

At dinner tonight (as we were eating pizza), Alex said, "Dad, do you like mashed potatoes?" Tanner said yes. Then Alex said, "I like cookies. I want cookies NOW!"

The Good Life

2011-01-19T10:40:00.002-07:00

There's nothing awesomer than turning on your A.C. in January. I Love It Here!!

Picture update:

2011-01-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

I had some pictures I wanted to post, so I thought I'd better just get them all done in one long and painful hour so I don't have to worry about it for a long while. Warning: Picture overload!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-10T15:57:00.002-07:00

Here are the kids in their Christmas Eve jammies:

Here they are with too many presents, and we still had 2 more Christmases to celebrate with our families. I'm now thinking of opening a daycare. Ok, that is a total lie. I could never handle that. Alex's most prized presents were Buzz and Woody. Unfortunately we lost Woody's hat! Too bad it's not like the movie and lots of toys pitch in to find it for us! :( Ella got lots of girly presents. It was fun to have so much pink in the house--reminded me of me as a young me!

My parents got 3 of these cars for the grandkids to play with when they come to visit. They were a total hit. Luckily their basement is big enough to ride inside cause the conditions weren't favorable outside!

Cute Ella:

We had a great Christmas and tons of fun. It was great to see most of our friends and family over the break. We were very blessed this year as starving students with kids!

Cookin' & Bakin' (no, not the failed blog)

2011-01-10T15:40:00.003-07:00

I love to let my kids help me bake. Unfortunately, they now think they need to "help" every time I'm in the kitchen. Usually with dinner I'm racing to get it done by a certain time, so it's a little frustrating to let them do everything they want to. Not to mention with cooking, as opposed to baking, there are usually sharp knives, hot stoves, and not-so-tasty sampling involved (like when they both BEGGED me for some cream of mushroom soup the other day--they were not impressed)! Either way, it's usually fun to have them there to help and hopefully pick up some tips so they don't go into marriage/adulthood like I did--not knowing a meat tenderizer from a garlic press!

This is when we made Christmas sugar cookies. Like I've said before, I love when Alex tries to teach Ella how to say new words. Alex asked me what the gingerbread man cookie cutter was. After I told him, he turned to Ella and said, "Ella, this is a binger man. Can you say that? Binger?...Man?...Binger man?" Ella, of course, repeated this perfectly. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Christmas isn't Christmas without a binger man!

Toy plastic knives are the solution to letting the kids help me chop veggies. Let's just say a lot of veggies go flying when they help me!

This is Alex stirring the fudge. I'm not really a fan of him standing at the stove, but I think exceptions can be made at Christmastime!

Gingerbread House Makin'

2011-01-10T15:31:00.004-07:00

We decided it would be fun to make gingerbread houses this year. Tanner and Alex made one, and I made the masterpiece. Ella knew we were preoccupied with the houses, so she was moving as fast as she could to shove in as much candy as possible before we finished and made her stop. We're pretty sure she ate herself sick!

An architect maybe? George Costanza would be proud!

2011-01-10T15:27:00.002-07:00

These are Alex's new creations. It's actually quite amazing how much time he puts into building these little towers. And for his usual red-headed, inpatient self, he is actually very calm and patient when he builds these. It's kinda cute.

Major Mullet

2011-01-10T15:22:00.001-07:00

Although he's still better lookin' than any man I know, I had no idea my husband could ever look this...gross! He was so sad to cut his luscious locks in lieu of our Christmas card, but it had to be done. Takin one for the team. For the actual card his mullet wasn't quite this dramatic, but I'm actually glad he didn't find this style until after the pictures had already been taken. This is a little TOO white trash for my taste...still hilarious though!

Alex's 3rd Birthday (...like 3 months ago)

2011-01-10T15:16:00.002-07:00

After I posted the Halloween pictures I realized I didn't put anything from Alex's 3rd birthday on October 27th. Like I said before, my parents, grandma, and brother came down for the celebration. It's always good to have people come visit! Alex chose "Cars" for his theme, so here he is with his "Cars" cake:

And here he is with his "big" present. He rides it all day, every day!

Happy late Birthday, Buddy!

Rewind to Halloween

2011-01-09T16:00:00.004-07:00

My camera was set to video when my parents were taking our Halloween pictures so, unfortunately, we just have videos of us standing there in our costumes posing for pictures. Really cool. When we went home for Christmas I took a bunch of pictures off my parents' camera, so I want to post them now.

Tanner was supposed to be working that day, so all my great couple costume ideas went to waste. My parents, brother, and grandma were here for Halloween and Alex's birthday so I asked my brother if he wanted to go as the MJs. Tanner ended up not working so he found this mask that scared every kid in sight. Alex told everyone he was Incrediboy, even though Incrediboy is technically the villain he was supposed to be fighting in "The Incredibles". And Ella was the cutest little witch I've ever seen!

2010-12-24T07:36:00.003-07:00

A lot has changed from last year:

To this year:

But we're still wishing you a Merry Christmas!

What's the matter with spazzing burper brownies?

2010-12-14T14:05:00.004-07:00

Since I'm trying to get Alex to stop saying freak/freakin', I've realized I have to completely remove that word from my vocabulary. If I tell him to stop freaking out, he'll call me on it. I decided spaz/spazzing work better, so I've been saying those instead. The other day I was getting a bit rambunctious and he told me to "stop spazzing, mom!"

Alex came down with an ear infection and was screaming his head off on the way home from the doctor this morning. Ella was very concerned and kept asking "what's the matter, Awex?"

Alex has added brownies to his Christmas list. He's obviously my kid.

Any time any bodily noise is heard, Ella calls the culprit a "burper."

Tanner:

2010-12-13T15:22:00.003-07:00

I hope you never stop saying, "Well, you're right about one thing" like Edgar on "Men in Black" whenever I say anything.

Road Rage and World Hunger

2010-12-12T08:49:00.003-07:00

Alex already has severe road rage (I won't blame anyone's example here)! Whenever we stop the car for longer than 3 seconds, he starts yelling, "Come on...hurry up....Whaddya doin?.....Go! Gooooo!"

Every time Ella wants to eat, AKA- all day, she says, "Hungry me!" and she's grab our finger and drags us to the kitchen, and then she starts spouting off whatever it is she wants to eat, usually (fruit) snacks, candy, orange, apple, or yogurt, or all of the above.

Thanksgiving and bosses

2010-12-07T11:36:00.003-07:00

Just before Thanksgiving we had a family home evening about being thankful. I was trying to teach Alex what it means to be thankful. I told him he was probably thankful for Daddy and Ella. Then I asked him what else he was thankful for. I was thinking he would say his toys or something like that, but he said he was thankful for Jason. (Jason is my brother who--no offense, Jay--probably pays the least attention to Alex than anyone. I thought it was kind of a funny/cute response.)

Alex also randomly said "Take it easy, boss" in the car the other day. Tanner has said it before, but he doesn't say it often and hasn't said it lately.

Toy Drum and Sentences

2010-12-03T15:54:00.006-07:00

Today Alex beat his toy drum for a good 45 minutes (only taking a break once to go potty) while I was working. I guarantee he was just trying to get a rise out of me since he looked at me the whole time and got louder and louder as he screamed my name (when did I start considering my name to be mommy?). I looked at him a few times and gave him a smile, but this only made him hit harder and louder. I wanted to see how long he would go before he gave up. I actually hid the camcorder when he went to the bathroom and got a couple minutes on video. I'm pretty sure he's crazy.

Ella is getting really frustrated that she can't form sentences. Whenever we're holding her, she'll look around at everything in the room and just start naming things she sees. She wants to converse so badly. A lot of times she'll get going on a string of words she knows go together, she just can't figure out how to connect them. In the car the other day she said, "Fall, bonk, owie, hurt, you okay?" It's amazing how little kids just learn to form sentences without being taught. She also has this new game where she'll name everything on your face when you're holding her. I usually just scrunch my face up really tight with my eyes closed because she pokes you as hard as she can when she says eyes and she pinches pretty good when she says nose. She'll also try to stick her finger as far down your throat as she can get it when she finds your mouth. She must have pretty long fingers cause I'm pretty sure she's got my uvula a few times and made me gag.

Cunning Alex

2010-12-02T07:29:00.002-07:00

Alex tries to convince us that things he wants are great and we want them too.

He'll say things in this very convincing, upbeat voice like, "Mom, wanna make some brownies? Does that sound nummy? Whaddya think about that, huh?"

"Hey guys, wanna go get some ice cream? That sounds nummy, huh? Let's go get some ice cream."

Alex: "Hey, wanna go outside and ride my bike?"
Me: "No, it's too cold."
Alex: (still in his upbeat voice) "Wanna put on my jacket and go outside and ride my bike?"

I'll admit, sometimes it works. Yes, ice cream and brownies usually do sound nummy to me too.

Alex (3 years):

2010-12-01T09:43:00.003-07:00

I've been making a list of things to add to Ella's journal for a long time so she has more, but Alex is by no means lacking in the funny things he says--they'll just have to be added as I remember them.

* This is Alex's Christmas list: dog, car, train, boat, motorcycle, mashed potatoes, Santa, the moon, and the usual boy stuff.
* He calls Ella "sweetheart" in the cutest little voice.
* He currently calls all of his grandparents by their first names.
* He has a little laptop with numbers and letters games on it. One of the games he loves is one that shows you the lower case letter and you find the upper case letter. He's mastered this.
* I can already tell he's going to be a musical genius. He is so into music and sits at our Clavinova piano for hours each day playing the demos and making up his own songs. Most of the demos are fun, upbeat songs that kids would normally like but, weirdly, his favorite demo is organ music, which he pretends to play with his eyes closed and moving his whole body like only true pianists do!
* When he wears his Toy Story PJs, he constantly runs around yelling "To infinity and beyond!"
* He asks to have "Heavenly Father meeting" every day (aka--family home evening). He always gets up and leads the music with one of his books, and his prayers always go like this, "Heavenly Father, we're grateful for this day. In the name of Jesus Christ, Ameeeen." Amen is always said so sweet that we just have to accept it. Note: He's a great one to ask to pray when we're starving!
* Sometimes he remembers that if he tries to pray while he's growling it makes me and Tanner laugh our heads off.
* He has this funny little accent when he talks, so I always love when he tries to teach Ella new words. One day I heard him say, "Ella, can you say Wookie Chiorms? Wookie....Chiorms. Wookie Chiorms." Ella, of course, repeats this perfectly. He means Lucky Charms.

Ella (16 months):

2010-12-01T09:22:00.004-07:00

* The other morning I was working and heard Ella just waking up through the monitor. She started singing "I am a child of God and He has sent me here...da da da da blah..." Then she said very sternly (as she often does), "Alex, 1...2...3...time out....TIME OUT!" (She hears that 100 times too many every day!)
* On our way home to Logan last week she was getting very ornery and driving me a little crazy, so I said, "Ella, feel free to go to sleep any time!" Even before I finished my sentence she started fake snoring very loudly with her eyes half closed.
* She started calling her daddy "Tanner" and my mom "Deb."
* She can count to 10, sometimes missing 8 and 9.
* She can say her ABCs to G.
* After the example of her brother (who learned from the example of his parents--yes, Tanner, both of us), she says "Are you freakin' kiddin' me?" This was almost abolished until we went to Logan and it was encouraged all over again by our families.
* She calls Alex "brother."
* About a month ago she decided she wanted to go poop on the potty. She had said this several times before, but I totally ignored it because I'm done with potty training for a while! She kept insisting, so I took her to the toilet and she pooped. The next day, she said she wanted to go potty just before I put her in the tub. I didn't think she would do it again and I didn't want to wait very long, so I let her sit for a few seconds, grunt a bit, and then put her in the tub. I went to grab the towels and she had pooped in the tub. Guess I should've waited. Sometimes she says she wants to go potty, but sometimes she is VERY adamant about not going. I have no intentions of pushing her. Diapers are so convenient!
* She has the chubbiest little sausages I've ever seen! No shoes fit her!! It's a nightmare.
* She has the cutest curly hair.
* She's obsessed with her blanky and gets mad if anyone, especially Alex, touches it.
* Tanner and I realized we spoil her way too much and she's getting a BIG attitude. She's so sassy!
* She's quite the talker. She will keep trying to say a word over and over until she gets it right. For example, she says my brother's name, "SssCaaah...t" She can pretty much say anything you ask her to, but some words/phrases I have heard her say since I've been typing this include Christmas, outside, upstairs, on/off, piano, shoes, brrr...it's cold, Jesus, bike, lotion, want some, come see me, good girl, snowman, I dropped it, oh toodles (from Mickey Mouse Club), doggy...woof woof, etc. She's funny.

New Traditions

2010-12-01T09:15:00.004-07:00

I nearly decided to give up on the blogging world because I hate how I feel like I have to update so often and it has to be this big amazing thing with pictures and stories and adventures that I have to clear my afternoon to post. I've tried to start journals for my kids, but I haven't been so great at that. I wondered if I would be better at just quickly blogging simple little phrases my kids say or things they do so I can remember them. I don't like the "impress everyone" aspect of blogging, so some of these things might not make sense to you and some of them might not be funny unless you're there. But now I'm going to try to blog for the memories of me and my family, and hopefully the funny things they do will be enough to entertain whoever keeps reading. I'll do a few of those fancy posts here and there, but I'm hoping to be able to post little tidbits daily, or as often as they come up. So here goes.

Seriously, though...

2010-10-19T16:20:00.002-06:00

I have to show off!

I just love 'em!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

2010-09-19T13:02:00.008-06:00

I don't like when blogging feels like a chore. Hence no posts for months. Hence the near extinction of the new and most popular food blog.

We've had some grand end-of-summer events that I wanted to brag about a little bit.

First off, went to Lion King in SLC a few weeks ago. Stinkin' A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! If you get a chance to go, go.

The past few days we've been in Bryce Canyon with some of our friends. The pictures and sights are breathtaking! For the third camping trip this summer, the kids did GREAT sleeping, even though it was butt cold! They didn't wake up screaming once! And I didn't turn on my un-turn-off-able car alarm once in the middle of the night either. Tons of fun and tons of food!!

It was fun that Ella could wander around with Alex this time and eat lots of yummy dirt-covered nature.

On our way home we decided to go the long way and do a hike in Colorado City (polyg-town). The whole drive was so pretty. We even went through infamous Orderville where they sold "Ho-Made Pies." Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the ho on the billboard who made the pies. And they had a delightful little store there that sold "Sporting Goods and Chain Saws."

It's drives like those and hikes like the one we went on in Colorado City that make me wonder why people aren't flocking to move to Utah (even though Colorado City is technically in AZ). So pretty! Our friends, Cory and Shay, showed us this hike in Colorado City. It doesn't even have a name or cost money, but it reminds me of Zion, the Subway especially. These pictures make me realize how little it looks like I had to carry the kids on the hikes. I made the neighbors do it. I had to carry the camera instead. My achin' fingers!

(Alex always had to have a walking stick!)

I'm glad SG still has a month or so of summer cause I'm not ready for it to be over!

Life

2010-08-14T18:14:00.004-06:00

It's hard, cause Tanner and I used to get all the cookies. But now we have to share the cookies with 2 other people.

Good Times

2010-07-11T15:55:00.005-06:00

Who the dilley-dalley understands Blogger's new way of importing pictures?

Well, anywho, we went to Bear Lake for a few days with our families. These are pictures of all the cousins (minus the 3 babies) on Tanner's side, freezing our butts off at Bear Lake, Ella's first steps caught on camera, Ella's white trash 1st birthday party, and Alex and his Papa BA on the 4-wheeler. Even though it was butt cold, we still had fun with our families. But next year everyone's coming here!

Another Blog

2010-06-12T12:53:00.008-06:00

Since I'm not that great at cooking, and probably even worse at blogging, I decided to start a cooking blog. Nothing special, but take a look if you're ever looking for some semi-palatable recipes that I've tried.

cookinandbacon.blogspot.com

What We've Been Up To This Summer...

2010-06-05T09:16:00.012-06:00

Tanner graduated from nursing school! (and he was the speaker at his pinning ceremony!) AND he was 1 of 24 to get hired at the hospital out of over 200 applicants!

Hiking in Zion with Nana and Papa!

Sleeping on hikes!

Growing freckles!

Playing in the water with the new and improved thong swim diaper!

I DID IT!!!

2010-05-02T17:11:00.002-06:00

I was a spectator at the St. George Ironman!

We Need a Diagnosis

2010-04-22T16:07:00.004-06:00

Ya know when kids start doing things that don't seem like such a big deal at first? Heck, maybe it's even a little cute. And it keeps them entertained for hours on end so you decide to let them go at it so you can get some stuff done?

Well, Alex recently started picking off every sticker he spots. One day he sat there with his car and picked off stickers for nearly an hour. It was amazing! He didn't bother me once for snacks or with questions or anything. It kept happening every once in a while, but now it's pretty much all he does. I'm pretty sure it's classified as a full-fledged disease by now. It's horrible. He used to replace the little pieces back on whatever he got them from (like in the picture of his car below), but now he puts them all over the walls, the tile, the cupboards, Ella, himself, anything! I've even found pieces stuck to the butt of my pants in public. Lately I've been telling him to stop or I'll take whatever he's picking at away, so he'll tell me to "go potty" or "go work" so he can continue on while I'm in the other room. It's really becoming quite annoying, not to mention near deadly. Ella has been choking on the little pieces pretty much hourly. What can I do? And what's the prognosis?

I went in to check on him during his nap the other day and found him like this. He's addicted.

Kite Day

2010-04-22T15:55:00.004-06:00

Every year St. George has Kite Day at a local golf course. Most people bring all sorts of fancy expensive kites. We decided to take Alex and his $1.30 kite and hit the sky. It was actually a lot of fun, even though Alex spent most of the time playing with the kite wrapper, ripping up the kite tail, and playing in some melted gummy candies on the grass. Yummy!

"Why so many pictures lately, Mom?"

A Visit to the Temple

2010-04-22T15:48:00.003-06:00

My cousin Shauna got home from her mission a few weeks ago and came down to visit with my aunt. The kids had a blast! One day we went to visit the temple. The flowers looked so pretty, especially with pretty Ella Bella.

This is a common face from Alex, though he usually does it when he's trying to hide something (very obviously) under his arm. He must've had a bug or a flower, which he probably ate later.

Ella on Easter

2010-04-22T15:39:00.003-06:00

She's just a joy!
She's started to be a little tease. She'll hand me something, and when I reach for it she pulls it back and shakes her head no. She loves this new game.

Dear Sloan:

2010-04-17T23:31:00.002-06:00

You make me crazy!! Learn to call a time-out! If we're tied at the start of the 4th, lose by 13, and still have 5 time-outs left at the end of the game........then you should retire!

Speaking of Food...

2010-03-28T13:06:00.005-06:00

I'm pretty much obsessed with bacon and garlic--not only the taste, but the smell. If any recipe has bacon or garlic in it, I'll try it. And it's even better if it has both. I'm one of those people who has a permanent smell of bacon and garlic on my skin and hair. It's very attractive. I have dogs running towards me all the time. I always tell Tanner that if I had it my way, I would have garlic and bacon Scentsy flavors.

I found these little ditties in my Taste of Home magazine. If they weren't $60, they would be on my feet right now.

Snacks

2010-03-28T12:45:00.007-06:00

I saw a segment on the Today Show the other day about kids and snacks. Let's just say I need a little help in the area...not so much with my kids, but with me.

They had a cute little fictional boy on the screen. They went over his snacks for the day and what the calories totaled. They said he had some pretzels between breakfast and lunch, a couple cookies after school, a fruit drink and chips before dinner, a Popsicle after dinner, and a bowl of cereal with milk before bed. I was shocked when they said only his snacks equaled 1,130 calories. After all, this sounded a lot like me, except substitute 4 peanut butter cups for pretzels, a couple cookies for half a pan of brownies, a fruit drink and chips with a Coke and a Milky Way, a Popsicle with a bowl of ice cream, and a bowl of cereal and milk with 2 bowls of cereal and milk.

I added up my calories for the first time in my life yesterday. It was disgusting. And I think I was being a little shy because I knew what I was doing. At this rate, I'll be a 385-pound diabetic by my 10-year high school reunion. Sweet.

(And the sad thing is, I'm eating some beautiful Girl Scout Somoas as I type. Mmmm, fries.)

Not Enough Ella

2010-03-21T17:17:00.002-06:00

I've been so busy with work and visitors that I just realized I haven't given near enough updates on sweet little Ella. Not very many people know how LOVABLE she's gotten! I've been counting down the days to warmed weather so we can show off those rolls. Unfortunately this picture doesn't show of her thighs, which are my favorite part. They're edible!

And this is what Alex has been up to lately--the cause of my first meltdown in a long time. This picture was taken after I had already cleaned some off and faded most of it with Magic Eraser and alcohol, which ate up the paint and will require a new coat before we move out. The picture doesn't do justice to everything else he colored on with the inch-thick Sharpie--the computer, tile, garbage can, CDs, papers, printer, desk, and himself. Please refer to my post a few months back on how to handle multiples. This happened while I was showering.

Shopping at the Vegas outlets with Jeff and Tana.
This little face is what makes me forget those horrible things he does. Unfortunately he's a sucker for these rides, and unfortunately I'm a sucker and pay for them.

In our backyard sitting on my future garden. Hey, at least they're both looking in the same direction.

Light Reading

2010-03-04T12:23:00.003-07:00

My father-in-law sent this article, and I thought it was so good I wanted to share. It's long, but well worth it. It's about some of the miracles the church has seen through the earthquake in Chile. Amazing! I love the gospel! Time to do better with my emergency prep/food storage!

http://www.ldsmag.com/churchupdate/100303chile.html

My Valentine!

2010-02-14T04:49:00.004-07:00

Let me just take a minute and tell you all how amazing my Sweetheart is. There are hundreds of reasons I love her and I doubt there is room on this blog for all of them so I will name just a few.

Many of you know that she works at home as a Medical Transcriptionist to help pay the bills. She is extremely smart and very good at what she does. What you may not know is that she just picked up MORE work in order to help out! She now gets up at 5 or 6 o'clock in the morning to get a few hours in before the kids wake up. Somehow she manages to get all her work done and take care of 2 rambunctious kids (make that 3 rambunctious kids because I live there too). I don't know how she does it!
I have never met anyone more selfless in all of my life. She always puts my needs or the kid's needs before her own. She never wants anything for herself and she is always making sure everyone else is taken care of first. I have to be very strict when she gets gift cards for birthdays or Christmas because she tries to spend them on the kids or even me! I don't think she has a selfish bone in her body.
She is an amazing mother. Most of you don't get to see it because you live far away but she is so great with our kids. She exceeds what I hoped my wife would be like as a mother! Not only does she produce Sweetened Condensed milk to fatten up our kids but she is so dedicated to raising them in the best way. She researches anything she doesn't know in order to best care for the kids. Anything from illness to potty training, she researches in order to find the best way to raise these kids. They adore her now, and someday they will recognize all she does and be extremely grateful to have the wonderful mother they have.
Beautiful is an understatement! I don't know if there is a word to describe her hotness! And she would be the last person in the world to admit it. Sometimes I get frustrated with her because she doesn't believe me when I tell her she is pretty! I really wonder how I found a woman with all these amazing qualities on top of being dang cute! I'll never know.
Top notch cook! If you don't believe me, I'll send you a before and after picture. When we got married I weighed about 165 pounds and now I'm 190! When we got married she made it her goal to learn to cook and it was all downhill from there. She is addicted to it and has become gourmet! If this isn't incentive enough to come visit us, I don't know what is!
Nobody makes me laugh like Stacy does. She has the best sense of humor of anyone I have ever met and I LOVE it! It draws people in and endears them to her and I am no exception. Her quirky sayings like "salivate like a yak!" and "Hey you dingleberry!"(Dingleberry is her favorite term on endearment!) are classic and there's always a new one! I could start a weekly blog and just post the funny things she says (and I might!!!).

Well, I just thought you should all know how lucky I am to have spent 5 Valentine's days with my best friend and the most beautiful girl in the world. Thank you for all you do sweetie! I LOVE YOU MOST!!!!!!

Why My Kids Are Cuter Than Your Kids!

2010-02-01T09:33:00.006-07:00

What we love about Ella (7 months):

*She's the sweetest little thing. We call her "angel baby"
*Her ears
*New sounds, especially the low "whos"
*She likes to suck on our chins (gross, I know)
*She's a mama's girl
*She hates "This little piggy went to the market"
*We call her "twinkle toes" cause she moves her feet really fast when she gets excited
*She gets stranger anxiety (kind of a pain, but she looks so cute when she's bawling and scared!)
*The only thing she'll watch on TV is football (because it's her dream to play in the NFL)
*She loves Alex, but she always gets a nervous smile when he comes around and starts looking for us to make sure we can see what he's about to do to her
*She licks her lips when we're eating chocolate or goodies that she can't have yet
*I love when it's bath time and those cute rolls aren't hidden under her clothes
*She's a good sleeper and eater
*She's the most kissable baby ever

What we love about Alex:

*He always says "that's pretty cool"
*He puts on Tanner's shoes and his jacket, asks for the keys, kisses everyone on the leg, and goes to the door and says, "K, bye"
*He gets his laptop and types like me when I'm working
*When I do my hair, he gets a water bottle and brush and pretends to do his hair like I do, and he likes to lay on the rug when I blow dry my hair
*He is president of the No Pants Club
*Every day he asks to go shopping (though he's a horrible shopper)
*He has proved that Wal-Mart is taking over the world because he somehow learned how to read "Wal-Mart" and asks to go there frequently, even though that's the store we go to least
*He loves to ride Pumba at Wal-Mart and says "fun doggy" for days after he rides it (even though it's the lamest "ride" ever)
*Whenever we're watching any sport on TV, he yells "Go Aggies" and screams at the TV like Daddy does
*Everyone in the store stops us and compliments his red hair
*He loves to dance and sing and he somehow learned how to do the worm--it's funny as heck
*He loves his grandparents, especially his papas
*He likes to have music on for his naps, but he can't say music; it sounds like "blanket"
*He likes to line his toys up in a perfect row and tips over the piano bench to set his farm animals on the bottom of the legs
*He says what he thinks we should say to him: "good boy", "STOP!", "no no", "nice shot"
*When he gets caught doing something wrong, his whole body stiffens and he turns into a robot
*He's on spit-up and bug patrol, and he doesn't miss a thing
*If he's doing something he shouldn't and I give him "the look", he'll say "1, 2, 3, timeout!" and sometimes even walk himself to time out, slam the door, and scream his head off!

We sure love these two!

A Truly Magnificent Christmas Surprise!

2010-01-21T15:51:00.005-07:00

My SIL, Courtney, actually MADE this cutesy little treasure I'm wearing in the photos down below. I've never had an apron before, and all my clothes have grease spots on them, so that was the #1 item on my Christmas list this year.

I didn't get it from Tanner on our fake Christmas in SG. I didn't get it from my parents for real Christmas in Logan. And (last chance) I didn't get it from Tanner's parents, either. I thought Tanner forgot, and I was trying not to act devastated!

But then I got a surprise gift from Courtney and it was even more beautiful than I could've imagined! I can't believe people are talented enough to make stuff like this. I love it! I pretty much do EVERYTHING in it:

Among other things, I work in it.

I play the Wii in it.

I sleep in it.

And I clean in it.

It's the greatest, cutest thing ever! Thanks a bajillion, Crafty Court!

The Greatest Invention Ever

2010-01-16T08:40:00.004-07:00

Behold...the amazing new dishwasher!

I come from a home that could be called "The Lazy of Lazies." My brothers are probably the laziest I've seen. (No offense, guys. You know it's true.) If the remote is nowhere in sight, they'll throw things at the TV or the light switches to try to turn them on and off.

Well, one day a few months ago while we were home, my sweet little brother, Scott, was rinsing off his dishes in the sink and said, "You know what would be way cool?..." (now moving his dishes to the dishwasher) "...if there was something that automatically washed your dishes for you." Tanner and I were dumbfounded. Then Tanner said, "Like a dishwasher?"

Looks like they already invented it, Buddy...in 1886.

Thanks, Dad

2010-01-07T13:22:00.003-07:00

When Alex used to see me drinking this, he would say, "Yucky, yucky!"

But since our trip home for Christmas, he spilled the beans when he asked his Papa BA for it...by name.

He now knows there's an alternative to milk, juice, and water.

Today at lunch he was throwing a fit..."Coke, Coke, Coke!"

Pee-Pee in the Po-tty!

2010-01-04T12:49:00.003-07:00

So, after much resistance and discouragement from his not-ready-to-train mom...

Alex potty-trained himself. Piece a cake!

Anniversary, Baby!

2009-12-15T11:25:00.004-07:00

You know you're a stinkin' old, married, MOTHER when you're counting down the days to drop off your kids at the in-laws for your 1-night anniversary getaway so you can SLEEP IN and get a CONTINUOUS 8, 10, maybe even 12 hours of sleep! I can't wait! This is going to be the best anniversary ever! Right, Love?

Ugh.

2009-12-03T21:38:00.003-07:00

TV is such a waste of time. Any good book ideas?

Important Things

2009-12-02T14:47:00.002-07:00

When I was in 5th grade, my teacher started talking about fires and exit strategies and meeting places for our families. I decided I needed to take this seriously. So I got an old shoebox and filled it with important things that I could quickly grab in the event of a fire. I found this box recently.

It was filled with notes and old valentines from friends.

Halloween

2009-11-02T10:29:00.002-07:00

Halloween was not taken as seriously as it should have been at our house this year. Ella went as Chicken Little, a leftover costume from Alex's first year (though a cute one, I must say.) Alex went as a doctor, one of the only costumes left at Target on Friday afternoon. And Tanner and I decided to dress up minutes before the trunk-or-treat. I went as a BA Auto mechanic and Tanner went as a white D-Will. It was a pretty fun night, though. I have to admit, I'm a fan of trunk-or-treat for 2-year-olds. I love eating candy for meals!

Alex's BIG 2!

2009-11-02T10:04:00.004-07:00

Alex had quite a birthday party! Nana and Papa Allen, Grandma Renee, and Shaun, Kym, and Riley came to celebrate. He got way more toys than any child needs. His favorite is his vacuum from Shaun, Kym, and Riley, for sure. He pushes it all over the house and says "night night vacuum" when he goes to bed. Such a mama's boy!

He was pretty stinkin' confused when we all started singing "Happy Birthday".
His new best friend is his cousin, Riley. They had a blast together!
(I know, we have a problem.)

Roly Poly

2009-11-02T09:57:00.004-07:00

We call Ella "roly poly" for several reasons now. One being that she's started rolling, and the other because it describes her perfectly--"ROLL"y. I can't get enough of her cute little rolls! We went to the doctor a couple weeks ago. She's now 4 months old and is 100% for length, 99% for weight, and 98% for head circumference. Tanner says he can't wait until she plays in the NFL. She's the sweetest thing ever!

Go Aggies!

2009-10-06T11:45:00.003-06:00

We may not live there, and they may not win, but we're still fans!

Ella's Blessing

2009-09-13T22:14:00.009-06:00

We went to Logan and blessed Ella in Tanner's parents' ward over Labor Day weekend. Let's just say that ride created a whole new list of questions! We had such a good time seeing our families and having this special day with Ella. Tanner did such a good job with the blessing. One of the counselors in the bishopric told him it was the best blessing he's ever heard. I agree! It was lots of fun and we were lucky to have so many people there to support us and help out with everything. Ella, you are so beautiful! And Alex looked pretty cute too!

Dear Mothers of Multiples,

2009-09-02T10:53:00.003-06:00

I'm still learning, but I just have a few questions.....

*When do you shower? And what do you do with your kids?
*If you're home alone and there's a fire or a robber and you can only take one, which do you take?
*What do you do when he's sick and crying all night? How do you keep her asleep?
*What if you're nursing her and he wakes up from a nap? Do you leave him crying or stop her lunch and make her cry?
*What if it's time for both of them to eat? Who do you feed first?
*What if they both want to be held but they won't let you sit? (and they're both fairly heavy)
*How do you make him still feel involved and loved when you tell him he can't smash her when he's trying to love her?
*When do you clean your house?
*How do you stop him from wearing her bracelets and clothes so he doesn't turn into one of those people on Montel?
*Can you give him time-out for "loving" her too much?
*Is there a secret place that gives out free diapers?
*How in the world do you go shopping...or anywhere?
*How can you have so much love for such little people?
*When's ME time?

BUT I LOVE 'EM!

Also, how do you get your toddler to stop saying the "F" word repeatedly when he doesn't know what he's saying?

No, he didn't learn it from us and he's most likely never heard it before. He just likes to make words up.

More Pictures

2009-07-28T17:57:00.004-06:00

We'll be out of town when Ella turns one month, so here are a few updated pics. The only real problem we've had with Alex since she was born is displayed in the last picture--he's turned into a cross-dresser.

She's Here!

2009-07-12T21:59:00.006-06:00

Ella Renee Smith
July 6, 2009
7 lb. 13 oz.
21-3/4 inches
Red or Brown hair--it changes

The boys admiring their little girl!

Do they really grow this fast in 1.75 years??

All is well with mom and baby. Thanks to everyone who have been so helpful and supportive--especially moms and dads and TJ and Court.
WE LOVE HER GUTS ALREADY!!!

Probably the Last Update For Awhile

2009-06-08T13:12:00.005-06:00

I realized its been awhile since I last posted, and it'll probably be awhile before I post again, so here's an update on what the Smith's have been up to:

Tanner is TOP OF THE CLASS in his summer classes! Ok...for sure he's top of the class in 1 class cause they've only taken 1 test and he's the only one that got 100%, and he's probably pretty close in his other 2 classes, scoring high-90s on all of his tests. He really likes to be called "Top of the Class" in a really cool voice, and he really likes being recognized so feel free leave your praising comments.

My new nickname is Baby Beluga. I'm full-term and white and HUGE! Three more weeks...or so!

Alex loving Sand Hallow.

More swimming....
This is for sure the greatest 20 bucks we've ever spent! I sincerely believe everyone should have some sort of pool of their own--even if it's one like this. I'm pretty sure I like it better than Alex though. This was obviously an unexpected swim.

And this is the last time we cut Alex's hair. I'm becoming a pro! (Don't look too close.) Alex gains 4 pounds and some hairy chocolate poop every time we do this.

That's the end of our heavenly summer lives.
Unless I'm really ambitious, check back in a few weeks hopefully for some new baby pics!

Surprise, Surprise.....TWINS!

2009-05-11T09:34:00.003-06:00

Well, last night we became the proud parents of twins! What a shocker! We are SOOOOO excited! Here's a picture of the little guys...although you can't really see them.

On Saturday we bought a female fish for our tank. When I spotted her, I knew she had to come into our family. After all, she was fatter than me, so I would lose my spot as largest person in the family. This morning we woke up to twins in our tank, and now she's skinny as a rail. Dang it.

I don't know why you thought twins were so hard, Mom. They're a breeze!

Smith Talk

2009-04-23T22:44:00.003-06:00

Do you ever find yourself saying the same things all the time? I get stuck in these ruts (mostly due to laziness) where I don't ever come up with anything clever to say. It's just so hard to know what to say when somebody asks if you want milk or something like that. I have a few "regulars" packed away, and you can count on me pulling one out pretty much anytime you say anything to me, whether it makes sense or not. Well, this is how the conversation has been around our house for the past 4 or 5 months...literally. I don't think Tanner and I talk to each other for longer than 3 minutes before one of these classic lines come out. Here are just a few of our favs:

(All said in a southern accent)

"I love ya more than my luggage."
"What is this in my Frigidaire?"
"I'd rather eat dirt!"
"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!"
"Have your roots done."
"If it had hair it'd be a St. Bernard."
"He wants you to open...open your eyes."
"I know now that I was suffering from premenstrual syndrome."

If you're a cool person at all, you'll recognize these as lines from the one and only classic "Steel Magnolias." And if you think I'm the one that usually spouts these out, you're wrong! Most of them come from the mouth of the #1 "Steel Magnolias" fan, my husband. So really, if you find yourself running out of absolutely hilarious things to say, just use a line from Steel Magnolias and you're sure to be declared a good conversationalist...like us. It's the way lazy people live.

A TRIBUTE TO THE GREATEST
Sir Robert Harling
(writer of Steel Magnolias)

Visitors Welcome!

2009-04-07T11:12:00.005-06:00

TJ (Tanner's bro), Courtney, Lainey, and bun-in-the-oven came down to St. George a couple weeks ago to play. It was SO fun! I almost forgot what it's like to have friends since I don't know anyone down here. I must say I felt a little lonely after they left. The weather was nice for the most part, so we took them around to a few of our favorite places here (at least the ones that are enjoyable with kids). Here are some pics from the weekend:

Tanner, Alex, TJ, and Lainey eating massive suckers and drinking ice-cold bottled Coke from Thomas Judd's Country Store. Maybe our favorite place!

Alex soaking himself at the local watering hole.

The fam on Dixie Rock. This maybe wasn't so enjoyable with kids. Cliffs are dangerous!

And this would definitely have to be my greatest accomplishment for the weekend...or my entire life! I have honestly never touched a sewing machine or sewed anything by myself in my whole life. No, I didn't sew in home ec.--I took shop. But Courtney was determined to make "hooter hiders" for nursing. So we went to work and it was....crazy, but a success! It was so fun to learn to sew, and maybe someday I'll even own my own sewing machine and start a sewing business!

New Tricks

2009-03-15T09:21:00.003-06:00

This is the best part of our day! Alex loves doing yoga with his mom. Check out that up-dog form. I'm jealous. He's such a mama's boy!

Ok...he's a daddy's boy, too!

And I really just had to post another belly shot after Katrina posted hers. I'm such a loaf!

So What Else Is New With Us?

2009-02-05T15:53:00.004-07:00

So I think I gained a little weight since you saw me at Christmas...

Oh wait, it's just a baby! Phew!

Alex's baby sister. Due June 29.

Eat, Sleep, Play Ball!

2009-01-21T16:20:00.003-07:00

Ever since Alex was born my dad (the BA) has been waiting for him to get older.
Day 1: Why doesn't he ever open his eyes? He's always sleeping.
Month 2: Can I buy him a Power Wheels Corvette for Christmas?
Month 4: Why isn't he crawling yet?
Month 6: When is that boy going to start walking?

Mostly it's because he thinks it's really fun to buy him all the electronic big kid toys that he couldn't buy us because they weren't invented yet. So this year for Christmas he got him a basketball hoop. The minimum age was 1-1/2 years, but he's close enough, right?

We thought it would sit upstairs until he was about 4, but it turns out Alex LOVES it! Every time he sees his dad he goes to get his ball and raises his arms so he can be lifted up for a shot (yeah, he's still got about a foot to go before he's tall enough on his own.) It's really quite cute, though it can be quite annoying too. That's all he ever wants to do! Good thing Papa BA is coming down next month for a good long weekend of B-ball! Anyway, here's a video for the BA. It might only be interesting to grandparents, and maybe Jeff, Shaun, and Kym, but we think it's pretty cute how excited he gets.

(Dedicated to the BA)

I should get paid more for this

2009-01-11T13:56:00.005-07:00

Tanner left about an hour ago to go home teaching. Pretty much the entire hour before that and another hour this morning I spent trying to get Alex to eat something...anything! Alex used to be a great eater (clearly). He would eat anything and everything. Since our journey home for Christmas, he's been liking food a whole lot less. There are certain things he still eats, fruits mostly, but I'm running out of options, and as I continue feeding him the same things over and over, he in turn gets sick of those, thus shortening my lists of potential options. (Any pointers on this would be most helpful, by the way.)

But on to the point of this post. Present setting: Tanner left about an hour and two minutes ago. Since then, I've been been cleaning up a poopy poopy mess. Despite Alex not eating much lately, he is sure taking LOTS of ENORMOUS poops. This one occurred in his highchair while he was eating, but it wasn't made aware to me how bad it was until several minutes later when I went to get him out. Since then we've had a bath, changed his clothes, treated a horrible diaper rash, done a load of laundry, cleaned the bathroom, taken out the garbage, and still managed to clean up the messy highchair and surrounding area--all before Dad gets home.

At times--actually, most of the time, I feel quite guilty that I get to stay home and watch my little peach grow up as Tanner goes off to full-time work, full-time school, clinicals, church meetings, and whatever else he does. Although it probably helps my guilt that I'm self-employed from home, the measly couple hours a day doing that doesn't seem to compare. He'll usually come home and say something like, "So, what did you do today?" I think back. It's blank. What did I do today?

Well, I'll tell you what I do. I do things like try to get my child to eat for hours at a time and clean up poopy poopy messes! Things look the same around here when he gets home as they did when he left. I have nothing to show for what I've done. It'll probably be a similar story when he gets home today. The house is still a mess. There'll just be one more long post on the blog, so he'll of course think I've been sitting here blogging all day, but really, moms should get paid a whole lot more for what they do! I wonder what two will be like.

Wouldn't change it for anything though!

Christmas Cheer

2009-01-07T11:35:00.005-07:00

So we had a great time in Logan with our family this Christmas. It's amazing how long 9 days really is to be away from home though, especially when people have to go back to work and we're just sitting around doing nothing. Although we're glad to be back, we had lots of fun with family and friends. I know this is quite boring, but I feel the need to put something on here since I've been away for so long, so here are some pictures from Christmas.

This is Alex in his Christmas Eve hat. He hated it, but we all loved it.

This is Alex and Riley with Papa. Alex could so eat Riley.
Alex with his plethora of presents. Santa sure did find him, even though he could've cared less.
Opening one of his newest favorite toys.
Pumpin' iron. He carries this 20-pound dumbbell around like it's string cheese.

And to start the New Year off right, Tanner and I layed around all weekend eating, eating, and eating. Aside from meals, we ate the candy from our stockings, we ate a 4-quart crock pot full of spicy bean dip, and we ate a whole pan of brownies. We went to bed sick every night, but it was well worth it. I love New Year's resolutions!

In My Defense

2008-12-09T12:50:00.002-07:00

Ok, so I don't always say the most romantic things. I can't be expected to be a charmer all the time can I? Besides, for those of you who don't already know, one of Stacy's many pet names for me is the very uplifting "Dingleberry!" Yes, nothing draws a couple closer together than the sweet whisper in your ear of your wife calling you "Dingleberry" as a term of endearment......I think we're even!

Tanner

Tannerisms

2008-12-08T21:28:00.002-07:00

I guess I'm going to have to start a weekly edition of my husband's sweet Tannerisms.

"Your face wash makes your face smell like burnt hair."

Love him, love him, love him!

Time Flies....

2008-12-05T13:49:00.004-07:00

...when a month goes by in a week. I've been informed by several people that it's been a month since I last posted. I thought it was a week, but I guess the dates suggest otherwise. I don't really have any humorous stories to tell, so this will probably consist of a few pictures taken on our visit home last week for Thanksgiving. We had a great time hanging out with Scott who just returned home from his mission in South Africa, meeting our new nephew Riley, learning some exciting news from my brother Jason, and eating and spending time with our other family members. Alex got his first haircut, and we also got him a pretty stylin' church suit for Scott's homecoming. Enjoy!

Alex was sick and didn't feel like smiling while we were in Logan, so these are the best we got of our little businessman!

At the Aggie game with Nana and Papa.

Sitting with a very strapping young Santa.

Discovering the Christmas tree the morning after we put it up....pre-haircut, obviously. He loves the tree!

None Can Compare...

2008-11-06T22:02:00.006-07:00

...to my sweet husband. He is constantly giving me wonderful comments like the one on Halloween after tasting my new chili recipe: "This is so good! It tastes like canned chili!" Right out of a movie or a book!

ADDENDUM: For Tori and lazy chili cookers 'round

2# ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 large bell pepper, minced
3-15 oz cans pinto beans (or kidney or whatever you like)
2-28 oz cans diced tomatoes
4-8 oz cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup chili powder (or a little less if you don't like as much spice)
1 tea. crushed pepper flakes
1 tea. ground black pepper
1/2 tea. salt
1/4 tea. garlic powder

Cook beef, onion, and pepper in large pot until beef is brown and onion and pepper are tender (about 10 min.). Drain grease. Stir in everything else and simmer for at least 30 min., stirring occasionally. I half the recipe when cooking for 2.5.

And if you did everything right, it'll come out tasting just like canned chili!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY & HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

2008-11-01T09:08:00.005-06:00

Alex had his first birthday on Monday and we had a blast! He had several parties to celebrate (some a little early with families), but we learned that he HATES birthday cake! I don't know if it's the bright, scary flame coming from the top, but he just starts screaming when we bring it in. He had two cakes and hated both of them. He didn't even dive in and eat too much either which is quite rare for this kid cause he eats ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!

This year for Halloween we dressed Alex up as Wubbzy from the Nick show "Wow Wow Wubbzy". (This is my submission, Tamara!) This is one of two shows that Alex loves, and I'm sure his dad wouldn't have let him go as a Wiggle. After all the hard work that went into the costume, he only wore it for about 3 minutes. Weird...1-year-olds don't like to be put in boxes. It turned out pretty cute anyway and we even got a good one of the man behind the mask. We had a pretty fun and festive week! Happy Birthday Alex!

All I Want For Christmas Is...A Shiner!

2008-10-26T21:56:00.005-06:00

Alex kicked me in the eye when I was tickling him the other day...hard! It's been throbbing for four days now. I was sure it was going to turn black, but no such luck. Luck, you say? Exactly.

It reminds me of a time in high school when my friend and I thought it would be cool to get black eyes, so we actually tried. Our psychology teacher (who was psychotic) told us precisely where we needed to be hit and suggested we try a board and a hammer. We tried several times, mustering up more courage to hit harder each time, but to no avail.

We then decided to just punch each other in the face. The first time I got hit I fell to the ground. She stumbled back a few steps when I punched her. We never did get black eyes.

Tanner's been wondering why I run to the bathroom each morning to see if it's turned black. He thinks it's insane and worries people will think he did it, but he just doesn't understand. I don't really think it's that cool now, but this has been a lifelong quest, at least since high school. At least I could say I finally got one.

Well anyway, the pain is starting to go away and the swelling has gone down so I don't think it's going to happen. It's amazing how good it feels to hit your best friend in the face though. From then on we always said that only the best of friends could punch each other in the face. I think there's some truth to that.

Cockroach Castle

2008-10-23T22:25:00.007-06:00

Since moving to St. George I've discovered a new fear. THIS. I HATE THIS.

I don't think THIS bothered me when I lived here before, but then again, I don't think anything bothered me when I lived here before.

We haven't found too many of these inside our house since we moved here, at least until a couple weeks ago that is. Now every night while I'm working, almost without fail, I'll see one of these crawling next to me out of the corner of my eye. My feet are down there! As far as I know they don't cause much harm. (Please notify me immediately if you know differently.) They're just dang weird looking and dang fast. Hopefully they're most likely too fast for Alex to eat. I've worn out my only mason jar! I can't figure out why we didn't have a problem before but now we do. Plus they crawl the same path every time. Any suggestions? I read somewhere that they leave chemical trails in their feces to attract others to their secret place of wonderful things. Sweet! I'm scared to move my couch.

Tonight as I was again thinking of my disgustation (that's a word, right?) of these, I was realizing that Alex does the same thing. Whenever I'm working on the computer, he goes crawling right by me along this same path. I've come to two possible conclusions: Either there's a mystery world that only little things know about next to my computer, or my son and these orphaned roaches just need a little TLC. I have been working a lot lately. Looks like I better go give my children a little attention instead of being a great stay-at-home-mom-blogger. Feel free to come stay at Cockroach Castle anytime you'd like. No one else makes reservations, so crawl by whenever you're in town.

On a cuter note, my brother and sister-in-law FINALLY had their baby on Tuesday (on his daddy's birthday). He's a doll! Link to Shaun and Kym on the right to see pics!