It is a shame...

 

 

I don't usually share polotical views much, but this picture really moved me.  It is a shame that a God fearing man is not in charge of our country.  Can you imagine what he could have accomplished if he was President?  It speaks volumns that he is saying a prayer before exiting a plane to greet people.  How many prayers would he have said every day if he was President?  If he is praying over littler things, I imagine that the carpet at the White House by his bed would have been worn out had he become the President.  I feel for my children and grandchildren.  I woke up this morning to a failing stock market, Obama rasing income taxes, and gas prices that went up.  Yep, that is awesome.

Organization

I have been obsessed with organization ideas. Even more so lately. I love these ideas that I saw on a few blogs. I want to make them my own and implement them into my house. I love this cupboard idea and I want to put the chalkboard on the back of my pantry door so that I can put a weekly menu on it or a to do list.

I have a ton of these grocery reusable bags and I love how this lady stored hers. Definitely need to do this one!

I really need this one for my belts and Jason's. What a great idea. I have mine on a hanger and I like this clean look better.

How awesome would this be in the garage? I need to find someone to build me this.

Just a few ideas I need to remember. Hopefully I can make some of them possible in my life long endeavor to make my home more beautiful and functional.

Awesome Article

So, I was watching a show called "Studio 5" and they were talking about an article a mom wrote on her website. www.powerofmoms.com "Your children want YOU!"
I really really enjoyed it. She has voiced the many concerns that I live with almost everyday of my life lately. I haven't felt like the greatest "supermom" and most days I am just trying to get through the day. I don't have a pinterest account, or a facebook account, but I do look at blogs. A LOT. Funny thing is that just 2 days ago, without even reading this article yet, I went through my blog list and deleted quite a few blogs. I didn't personally know the people, just had found them through someone else, and liked the way they wrote and to see what creative things they were doing with their house. I realized that I was spending countless hours reading about peoples lives that I didn't even know. My new goal is to look at the few I have left, once or twice a week. I may have gotten a few great ideas on decorating, but it isn't worth my time. But, because of these blogs, including a burned lady in provo (most of you may know her blog), her really funny sister's blog, and other various blogs, I have been feeling less of a great mom day after day. They all seem so creative and fun. I wasn't feeling that my life was as "charmed" and fun as theirs. Also I felt that I wasn't witty or interesting enough to put down words on a blog and therefore slacked on mine. (which is dumb because it was for my kids anyway to record their history. Not to impress people to read it over and over again. :)
I am making a new New Year's Goal. Don't compare myself to others. This will NOT be an easy goal, but I hope that it will change my mindset. I am me and that's all I can be. I will do my best to be a great mom to my kids. Not for my friends, family, neighbors, or my blog.

Happy 2nd Birthday Troy!

(Dallas loves to put him in silly outfits and he thinks he is really funny)

*Weight 26 lbs

*Height inches

*Just starting saying cheese and a big smile when taking pictures, but only once for you
*He is starting to wrestle his big brother
*He has a great imagination with his animals

*MUST have 2 animals in his hands at ALL times!

*Mischeivous. I have found him behind my closet door and the bathroom door eating toothpaste, a flower bulb and doing number 2.

*Great at hide and seek. He will be quiet for minutes while you look for him. Even when mom isn't playing hide and seek

Favorites:
*Favorite Movie - Ice Age (all of them) and anything else with animals
*Favorite Toys - plastic animals, but prefers the safari ones
*Favorite Food - pasta and pears

*Favorite word - Moy (more), and Atis (a version of Dallas & Austin)

*Favorite Sound - loves to growl all of the time

Food Nanny!!

Have any of you seen the "Food Nanny" show on the BYU channel? I have seen it a few times and found it was really great! (I quit watching Rachel Ray cuz her food is awesome, but just not for little kids or myself) The food nanny provides help for "real" families and food that your kids will actually eat. She promotes having mealtime together and all of the benefits that it can provide. You can create your menu plan on her site and even print recipes that she has on there. You can choose to pick recipes based on money or time. She suggests having themed nights. Like Mondays are "Comfort food" nights, Fridays are "pizza nights", Wednesdays are "Italian", etc. Then you input the themes, recipes and print your two week plan. This is supposed to help your family with knowing what to expect every night for dinner and to shop for your two weeks worth of food so you aren't shopping so much. (ie. more family time) I wasn't totally committed to the idea, but I would like to do it and be more organized with dinner. Who doesn't need more time right? Anything to reduce stress and conflict (deciding what's for dinner at 4 or 5 pm that night) in my life.

Her site is www.byutv.org/foodnanny. If you register on her site (it's free!) we can exchange recipes and add to our menus. I would love to recipe swap with all of you, so go and register and leave feedback letting me know you did. Happy cooking!

Homecoming!

My sister is coming home TODAY! from her LDS mission in Edmonton Canada! Her flight comes in at 1:10pm. We are so excited to go and see her. Those 18 months went by really fast. See you in a few hours sis.

Major Catch Up Time!

Okay, so it's been a while...a long while since I have posted anything. Hopefully you haven't given up on me yet. I will be posting a lot because this blog thing was meant to be a journal for me. I need to back date some posts to catch up and record our lives the last couple of months. My goal for the new year is to post something weekly. Now that my life isn't so crazy with the Christmas selling season with my book business, planning the ward Christmas choral program (I am the ward choir director) and Christmas with the kids, I can hopefully focus. We are finishing our basement right now and I can't wait until it is done. Having to be here for people to come and go all day, the noise that prevents Troy from taking naps and giving me headaches, and the constant stress of making decisions is starting to annoy me. I am grateful that we have the means to finish it, but tired of the process already. They just finished drywalling so things should move quickly now. I can't wait to put "stuff" down there and have an offical office. I am so excited to have a scrapbook area. Maybe I can finally get caught up with that as well. Yeah! And a toy room for the kids! Heaven!! No more stepping on toys or pushing them to the side to get into their rooms at night. We will be needing to have a huge garage sale this spring as I clear out all of the junk that was in our basement. How does one collect so much?

Dallas is 8!

Dallas was baptized Sept. 25, 2010. What a beautiful experience that was! How crazy that I have a daughter who is old enough to be baptized. Just seeing her in her white dress was enough to choke me up. The whole experience was so wonderful and beautiful.
Before she was baptized, we went and picked out a white dress that she could wear. She was the one and only one to pick out her dress. I really wanted a different one, but she wanted what she wanted and she looked gorgeous! I called a lady in our ward to take pictures of her in her dress so that we could capture this moment in time. We went to the Oquirrah Mountain Temple and she did a great job. I also used one of the photos as an invite for family members. Loved how they turned out!

We had a luncheon after her baptism. I even made white and pink chocolate candies with a girl on the front that is kneeling! Although Dallas was afraid that she would have to go under again if she didn't do it right the first time, she did a great a job and went all the way under. Before she got baptized, we talked about lying, as well as a few other things that comes with baptism. Well, a few days after her baptism, we asked her if she was telling the truth about something and her response was, "I can't lie anymore because I was baptized." We explained that yes, in fact she could still lie, she just wasn't supposed to.

We are so proud of you honey and the decision that you've made to be baptized. I know that your Heavenly Father is proud of you as well. You are turning out to be a very remarkable daughter of God. We love you so much!

Grandpa and Grandma Birrell

The Priesthood who helped confirm her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Grandpa Birrell, Great Grandpa Harper, Grandpa Hinds cousin, Grandpa Hinds, Jason, Tyson

Great Grandpa & Great Grandma Harper

Grandma & Grandpa Hinds

Our beautiful family!

Ghosts and pedicures

Saturday morning Jason asked Austin if he had good dreams. His response...
"I dreamt about a ghost, but not the Holy Ghost."
We've been talking about the Holy Ghost at our house since my daughter is getting baptised. I think he thinks that the Holy Ghost is just like a ghost that you see in cartoons and movies. Silly kid!
Dallas got a pedicure today as a birthday gift from my sisters. She had a choice of a pedicure or a manicure. When I asked her why she chose the pedicure, she said ..."I want my feet massaged. It would feel so good." She really enjoyed the experience. I still can't believe she is 8!!!

Happy Birthday Dallas!

Happy 8th Birthday Dallas!
Favorite color: Pink, Purple & Violet Blue
Movie: Hanah Montana the movie
Animal: Horse
TV show: Wizards of Waverly Place & iCarly
Toy: Baby Dolls
Food: Waffles
Favorite thing to do: Play with friends & family
Book: Unique Monique

Happy Birthday Austin!

Happy 5th Birthday Austin!!
We love you so much and have been thrilled to have you in our family. You definately make us laugh with your silly ways.
Favorite color: Green
Movie: Lion King
Animal: Lion
Food: Macaroni & Cheese
Toy: Motorcyle
Favorite thing to do: Play with friends

Our Model Baby!

I received the photos from his model shoot when he was 7 weeks old and they are awesome! (Sorry I forgot to post them.) I love love love the smirk/smile on his face. The photographer got two really great shots that she used. It's for a fertility clinic in Salt Lake City. The first photo with a little smile on his face was made really big and it went behind the receptionists desk. The one of his back and head was put with a collage of other baby photos for a room.

On a side note, I can't beleive he is 4 months old.
Weight: 12lbs 1 oz
Height: 24.5 inches
*sticks out his toungue when smiling or just because
*grabs toes and holds on
*wraps his litte hands in mommies hair every chance he gets
*talks and smiles at his brother and sister
*giggles when I attempt to make percussion sounds and move his arms/legs

Awesome Date ideas!

I have found a really awesome blog! A gal I know from when I used to sell scrapbook stuff, started a really cool blog about dating.

http://thedahlingdatingdivas.blogspot

Her friends and herself, post fun and awesome date ideas. Some ideas are free, cheap, adventurous, romantic, silly, etc. It is worth the read to go back to the beginning to get all of the great ideas. You can also email them if you have a great dating idea. They post pictures, how to's, etc. One lady even made her ice dispenser from her fridge into an M&M dispenser for a day for her husbands birthday! How easy is that and creative! They want to put the "fun" back in marraige. I love the saying at the top of her blog.

"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day." -Barbara De Angelis

Go check it out and let me know if you are just as excited about this blog as I am.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Wow! This movie is awesome! (using my son's favorite word) I really loved it. My faith in these movies has been restored. The first one: Ugh! Second one: better! This one: Loved!
The acting was improved. Edward doesn't "brood", he actually looks in love. The make up and hair were awesome. Even Rob Pattinsons' was under control throughout most of the movie.

All of the action scenes were awesome. Even Kristin Stewart doesn't play the stammering idiot. Tons of one liners from the book that made me laugh a lot.

I even loved Jasper. He looked a ton better in this one.


The only negative is that I'm not sure I liked the new Victoria.
She was way too "doll" like and didn't have enough "menace" about her. Does this picture scream "madwoman"? No. She needed to be more wicked in her facial and body movements to me. She just didn't make me believe that she really really wanted revenge on Edward and Bella. Even in the fight scene with Edward, she didn't look mean enough. She almost looked scared. She just...was. At least for me. I think that the old one could've done a better job. She's just as pretty, but had a look about her in the second one that made you know that she was upset.
So, what did you guys think of the movie? Whose "team" are you on? (Come on, we all love the books, admit it, you're a proud twi-hard "Twilight Mom"!) I liked Edward in the books and switched teams to Jacob for the movie, but I think I'm back to Edward because that's just how much I liked the movie. The proposal scene was heart warming!
Let me know. Can't wait for the last 2!

Iron Man Button

I got a really good laugh out of this one today.
Setting: Driving home from Dallas' school.
Austin: "Mom, push that Iron Man button."
Me: "What?"
Austin: "Push that Iron Man button."
Me: "Iron man button, where?"
Austin: "The Iron Man button in between the heater."
Me: Looking around and then seeing in the middle of the dashboard the hazard button inbetween the vents. It has a triangle with another triangle inside and it's in red. Laughing, "Honey, that's not an Iron Man button, that a hazard button." Then realizing he doesn't understand what "hazard" means, I explain that it's for when the car breaks, we use it so people can see us and know we are in trouble.
Hee Hee Ha Ha!
Austin is starting to say the silliest things lately.
The other day I buttered him a roll and he said, "I knew I could count on you." I said, "What...where did you hear something like that?" Austin: "From the Super Why show."
Then a few weeks ago, he was helping Josh (my brother-in-law) install a new faucet and I asked Austin if he would grow up to be my fix it man. Austin: "Yeah, like Handy Manny."
Thanks for the laughs and entertainment Austin! Love you bud!

Dance, dance, dance!

Dallas had her dance recital the end of May! She was all smiles and loving every minute of wearing make-up. When you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, "a dance teacher" is what she'll tell you. I am so happy that she loves to dance because it sure is fun watching her.

Shopping with mom!

Shopping at Smiths is acutally a pretty good experience. They have little shopping carts for kids and Austin loves to help out by pushing his own cart and collecting our food from the shelves. The times I've gone, I haven't had to rush or hurry because he isn't bored and whinning. Great job Smiths!

Models

Dallas taught Austin how to pose for pictures. We showed Jason his fantastic pose and he about had a heart attack. Now Austin does it all of the time because he thinks it's funny. (It is pretty funny) He's actually really good at it and that may be scary!
Troy had his first (and probably only) modeling gig. A lady in our neighborhood called me up in a panic because her computer crashed and she lost some baby photos that she needed for a job. She wanted to take pictures of Troy and then I would get those pics on a cd for free. Well, he wasn't the best baby to film. Once they get over 3 weeks old, they don't like to be posed and moved around. We tried for 3 1/2 hours to get him to sleep and lay on his belly. He wanted none of that. So she got 10 minutes of shooting time. She got two really great shots that she will use. It's for a fertility clinic in Salt Lake City. One is of him wide awake and with a little smile on his face. She made that one really big and it will go behind the receptionists desk. Then one of his back and head to go with a collage of other baby photos for a room.
My kids are the most beautiful children in the whole world.

To Infinity and ... Curious George?

Or maybe it's Astronauts vs King Kong? I spied on my son playing in his room and got a good chuckle out of watching Buzz Lightyear shooting Curious George with his laser. In return, Curious George growled back and and attacked Buzz. However, the winner ended up being . . . Buzz Lightyear! (doesn't he say "to the rescue"? Not "to the death"?) I grew up with 4 sisters and it is a ton of fun to watch a boy play. He also can make sounds that are so fascinating to me come from his mouth.

Girl's Hair

Okay, I admit it. I am not the most creative hairstylist when it comes to doing my hair or Dallas'. When I was growing up, there were braids, ponytails (side, double, normal), half up, or just down (curly or straight). So when I had my own daughter, I stuck with what I knew. Nowadays people are so creative and cute with doing their girls hair. Dallas loves it when my two younger sisters are around to do her hair because they do it so cute! That's why I am so excited that I found this great website about cute hairstyles for girls. www.cutegirlshairstyles.com. It has pictures and video tutorials on it.
Well, I did the "waterfall braid" for school the other day from this wonderful site. Dallas was very skeptical about what I was attempting to do because she knows that I don't try new things. After just one failed attempt, it finally looked good. I hope you all enjoy this site as much as I do!