Happy Birthday To Me!

Don't you hate it when someone asks you how old you think they are? And then you start to get all nervous because if you say too young they will know you are lying but if you say too old they might be offended. That can be so awkward!

So...it's my birthday tomorrow. How old do you think I will be?
And just to make this more fun, how about a little give-away? I've never done one before, but heck, it's my birthday, so I can if I want! I actually won my first giveaway a few weeks ago on Laura's blog, and it was fun. So, here it is: The first person to guess my age correctly wins a prize. A good prize.

You know I sell Scentsy, right? And that I love it! I love my house/car to smell yummy! And since this is my blog and I can do what I want to here, how about a little scentsy plug? Just to let everyone know, in the month of August, everything is 10% off. You can visit my site here. Or if you happen to be in my area and want to do a party or anything, just let me know. I am so not a pushy salesperson, I promise! If you want any more info. or have any questions about scentsy or any of their products, please feel free to email me. Plug now done, back to the contest!

So, whoever guesses my age correctly first wins a Scentsy warmer of their choice and 3 Scentsy bars! That is over a $39 value people! So get guessing! Also, I must specify one guess per person.

PS- If you know me in real life and know my true age, you are officially disqualified!

Happy Birthday Matt!

Yesterday was my husband's birthday. As you can probable guess, this post is for him.

Matt is such a great guy! He is very fun. And funny. He jokes a lot. He is very sarcastic. He is a very big tease to everyone. He is not shy. He has no problem meeting people or speaking in large groups. (which terrifies me!)

Matt is an awesome cook! He doesn't care for baking or for sweets, though. He can make things that I would never think to make. He enjoys finding new recipes and trying them out, sometimes putting his own twist on them. And let me tell you, most of them are delicious! He also enjoys doing themed meals. For instance German night, or Greek night, or Hawaiian night, or Mexican night...and every dish in the meal goes along with the theme. He knows a lot more about cooking than I do and I have actually ruined a few of his creations by trying to help (for instance, 2006's Thanksgiving gravy!) There are a lot of spices in our cupboard that I never would have thought to buy, (some of them I'd never even heard of!) but now I know how to use some of them. He also loves to barbeque and is very good at that, too. I reap the benefits of this often.
Matt enjoys sports and is very good at them. He really loves to play volleyball. And trust me, you don't want to be on the other team digging his spikes. It also sucks to be trying to spike with him on the other team trying to block you. He also likes basketball and can hit a lot of outside shots. A few years ago he tried his hand at indoor soccer as our goalie and was surprisingly really good at that as well. (I only say surprisingly because he's never really played soccer before.) He likes to be active and work out a lot. (I get to reap the benefits of this as well, hehe.) He also likes to go camping, hiking, and biking.
He is a wonderful husband and an amazing father. He works hard to support our family. Our kids love to play with him. I think I fall in love with him all over again every time I see him playing with our kids and how he interacts with them, sometimes looking like a kid himself.

I could probably go on and on about him, but you've probably read enough.
Happy birthday baby, I hope it was great!!

Foster Parents

I have been thinking a bit about people that are foster parents. I think it takes special people to be able to do this. I can't imagine taking in a child/children and giving them everything that a parent gives a child--shelter, security, food, love, and so much more--knowing that that child/children can and probably will be taken from you at any moment. Wouldn't it be hard to put your heart on the line like that? On a regular basis?

Matt's brother and his wife have been foster parents for a few years. They have taken in many children over the years. I know that there have been a few that they have wanted to keep in their family. Only to have them taken away. I think this would be so hard! You would have to get so attached. And then to not know what kind of situation YOUR kids will be placed in next. Like I said, I think it takes special people to be able to do this.

They brought Olivia into their home on November 1, 2006. She was 3 months old. She had just been released from a hospital stay that lasted more than a month. The reason she was in the hospital is because she had a severe skull fracture courtesy of her biological father. They loved her from the moment they saw her. The doctors have always been unsure of what kind of long term problems this injury would cause her. She continues to see many specialists, including neurology, neurosurgery, opthalmology, and audiology. All of them say she is a miracle baby with how well she is doing, given what happened to her.

Olivia is a very happy, active girl, full of energy. She loves music and dancing. She also loves to play with her babies and read books. She is very much a momma's girl.

We were thrilled last month when we heard the news: They were finally going to get to adopt Olivia!! She has been their daughter in every sense of the word for almost two years. Now nothing will change, except that she is legally theirs and cannot be taken away. They came to Utah early July and were able to have her sealed to them in the Bountiful Temple. I was lucky enough to take some pictures for them. They also have a foster baby right now, so we'll see what happens in the future. Congratulations Dan and Melissa! You can visit their blog here, if you're interested.

Ten Things I Could Not Live Without

Laura did this tag and passed it along to everyone, so I thought I would give it a shot.

Ten things I could not live without (excluding hubby, kids, religion, and anything else that's REALLY important.)

1. My cell phone
2. My laptop (I only got it a few months ago and now I am in love with it!)
3. Paper towel
   
4. My shark cordless sweeper
5. My rocking chair (I have loved to rock since I was just little)
6. My washer and dryer (although I would love to upgrade!)
7. Clearance sales
8. Pants in a 34 inch length
9. My camera
10. A nice hot shower
    

Now to add my own twist, I am going to do another list. Ten things I could totally do without!!

1. Spiders
2. Weeds
3. Litterbugs
4. Dust
5. Ignorant, rude people
   
6. Allergies
7. Skyrocketing prices (on everything!)
   
8. Ear infections
9. Body hair
10. Pushy salespeople

I had to add one more!

1. Early mornings

Tag! You're it!:)

Bows Galore!

Saturday night I decided it was time to make some more bows for my girls. I always try to make my girls bows/flowers/hair things because I am too cheap to buy them. I feel like if it's something I can do myself, why should I pay someone else a lot more to do it? I am a do it yourselfer (and yes, that's totally a real word!) I feel that way about a lot of things and sometimes get in over my head because I am sure something can't be as difficult as it seems. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. Anyway, back to the bows...

These are the types of bows I usually make. I guess they aren't really bows, but flowers. I think they're darling and I have quite a collection that I use in my girls' hair every day. Here are a few that I've made:

Well, this time I decided I was going to try my hand at the ribbon kind of bows. I found some cute ones online and some of them had plans. These are the ones I made.

Tada! I think they turned out quite well. Especially for my first time. I love the red ones because the ribbon I used for those was a little bit wider and thicker and they seem to hold their shape a little bit better. I found instructions for those here.
I love the butterfly and dragonfly ones because they are more unique. This site also had a bee and a ladybug that were pretty cute.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday. Therefore this post is going to be all about her.

My mom has six kids, 12 grandkids, and one on the way!

My mom has a lot of health problems. So many, in fact, that doctors run the other way! Nobody wants to treat her. She lives in a lot of pain daily. This is something I wish I could take away from her. Her 2 most recent surgeries have caused her death, in which she was brought back both times (thankfully!) She is not on any kind of disability and she doesn't have a handicap sticker (although I keep telling her to get one!)

My mom has so much compassion for others. She is the most sympathetic, empathetic person I know when it comes to someone being injured or sick. She took care of me and my family during my twin pregnancy. She took care of us again last month when I had back/shoulder issues, even though I know she was in pain, too. She is the first to help any of us out when we are sick or injured. I am very thankful for this.

My mom is such a great mom and grandma. She baby sits several of my nieces and nephews every day. She tends my kids when I need her to as well. She gets down and plays with them and they all absolutely adore her. She is concerned for each of their well beings. She is active in her kids and grandkids lives. We are quite an active family. She and my dad make an effort to come to all of the sporting events that we are involved in--whether it be me and my siblings, or my kids. My mom loves her family. Of this, I am certain.

She takes a lot of crap from her kids. We joke and laugh at, ahem, I mean with, her. She puts up with a lot from us.
Happy Birthday Mom. I love you!

Poop. Lots of Poop.

If you didn't like reading that title, you probably shouldn't read this post. (Hey, don't say I didn't warn you!)

So I've had a pretty rotten day. And just when I think to my self how crappy things have been...they get worse!

Imagine, if you will, two little cuties going down to nap. Sounds great, right? They were even asking for "night night," even better. A few nice quiet hours go by. And then they start making noise. Cheerful noise, so it's ok.

I happen to be on the phone at the time, so I send Parson in to get the girls out of their beds. Only seconds later, he returns telling me that one of the girls doesn't have any pants or diaper on. "She only has a shirt!" he tells me.

As he's walking away, I notice the trail of poop footprints from the bottom of one of Parson's shoes. Are you kidding me?!

As it turns out, neither girl had a diaper on. And apparently both had decided to throw around their poop. A nice little poop party. How about that. And now it's not only in their room, it's all down the hall and living room, too. UGH! And I am short on sanitizing cleaning supplies and have to borrow from the neighbor. Wonderful. Dis.Gus.Ting.

Don't worry, it's all cleaned up now.

One day at a time, I tell myself. Here's hoping for a poop-free tomorrow!