Kareoke Rob

For those of you who have been asking and waiting.... click this link to hear Robbie singing on our cruise ship. You can't see him very well but you sure can hear him loud and clear!!

Okay I guess I am not so smart...

Monocots!!

Well for those of you who left a guess- you were all right!!! Maybe it wasn't so difficult after all, but I will still let myself feel smart for that moment. Sorry Sacramento-Whitney about the candy cane, but for Amanda and Darci- A little peppermint package shaped as a cane will end up at your door sometime in the next few days!!

I'm smart!!!!

I don't really ever say this about myself... but I feel like I should say it today!! Robert called me from work to ask a question. He was playing are you smarter than a fifth grader at work ( thanks for earning the big bucks honey) and called me for his life line and million dollar question!! ( I think that is a combo of a few different game shows) The question he asked was: What type of plant are Lilies, Orchids, and Grasses? Well I got it right and he won and felt smart in front of his coworkers- as did I (while I was stirring mac and cheese and wiping snotty noses.) Granted I was a Horticulture major but still - I graduated almost five years ago so I have forgotten a lot of useless information.

Do any of you know the answer???

If you get it right I will personally come to your house and give you a candy cane..if you live in Utah that is.

Good luck!

the top ten Free Things to do at Christmas( in no particular order)

1.

Give love to your Old Man

2.

Sit and Cry with Santa at Fashion Place Mall

and you 'get' to use your digital camera

to take a picture of your kids-- for free

( the last mall that will let you do it for free!!! Ba Humbug)

3.

Make yummy sugar cookies

Don't forget the great Symbol of christmas... the Stegasaurous.


4.

Eat icing, (any yummy sugar treat for that matter) like its going out of style



5. Shovel the walk and freeze to death then come in and drink yummy hot chocolate

6.

make peppermint marshmallows for your Hot Chocolate

by smashing up candycanes,

dipping marshmallows in powdered sugar/water glaze

and then rolling in the peppermint.

7. Watch free Movies on TV or from the Library: ie. Charlie Brown Christmas, Testaments, Disney Ice Princess, Christmas Carol, The Christmas Story.

8.

Lighting and hanging the tree with your family while you sing crazy Christmas songs

9. Go to Temple Square to see the Nativity or act out the Nativity with your own family.

10.Dream of escaping the snow and wearing a speedo on a warm, sandy beach
Merry Christmas!!!!

Some pics and recap from our Mexican Vacation:

We brought home a mexican wrestler named SanTiagito (Little James in spanish)





Hot Sauce and Coconuts- yummy

fun friends in Ensenada

Hot Short Shorts on our Catamaran in Cabo

View of our ship off Lovers Beach

So no red ligh heels and slutty bikinis but it was a lot of fun and a lot of sleep- very relaxing- just in time for all the snow we are getting. I can't complain now....:) The highlight of the trip for me was Rob singing kareoke to Boys to Men -- I'll make love to you. I signed him up so he was suprised when they called his name. He went up to sing even though he was bright red. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time.

Cabo Arch

Embarking on the cruise.

Taggings

I dont normally do taggings-I owe a lot of people a tag- but I haven't posted for awhile and I am too lazy to download any pictures so I will respond to my lovely sweet friend Merediths tag- hopefully you all get to know me better and I become your new BFF:)!!

Tag Your ItRules:Post rules on your blog.Answer the six "8" items.Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving them a comment.

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
Went tanning for our Mexico vacation- it had been approx. five yrs since I have been and the tanning technology has totally changed. I was scard of my bed- it felt like a space ship.
Fed Max, took shower, filled out sub for santa needs with a neighbor- for her not us!, talked to my sister steph on the phone about her buying a bull dog, took a nap, cleaned my kitchen floor, did 2 loads of laundry.

8 Things I Look Forward to: Paying off med bills, our trip to mexico, finding out if Rob got the insurance auditor job with his same company he interviewed today, james potty trained at night, max to be a year old to be done with breast feeding, for spring to come, to turn 30- yes I will embrace it- a month from today!! Christmas Caroling.

8 things I am grateful for ( i changed from 'wish', I need good karma): health, my kids health, future health, the sun shine, a home, robs job, working cars, good music

8 Restaurants I Like: Panda, Pei Wei, Demae, Plutos(sacramento), Kneaders, Wendys, Ruth Chris(mmm... crab cake crusted rib eye), Chipotle

8 Favorite TV Shows: Oprahhhh!!( i love Dr oz), Office, SNL, any news channel, sesame street( love it), 20/20, Brady Bunch, Conan Obrien.

8 People I Tag: (Your It!)Steph H., Kim McEvoy, Whitney L, Darci, Cita, Kaci O, Tara, Kim S.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

What is better than....??

One week in the making. Keep up the good work Buddy!

Ode to Kraft Dinner

Kraft Dinner my friend, you are a bowl of emotional peace. Especially when James is screaming loud: "Hot Macaroni and Cheese!!" "Please!" I race to the stove to see what I can do and there you are in your blue box begging for a hot bath, you melt all my wrath.

Whether it is with:

brocolli and ham

hotdogs and peas

taco bell sauce

tomatoes

celery salt

seasoning salt, ketchup, BBQ sauce, dill, or ranch you make my belly warm.

How many dinners can you make? I can't count the ways. In weather cold and hot you hit the spot. All I need now is: "Where is the remote and the cable tv, blankie??!"

How do you like your Mac & Cheese?

Brothers

It's been such a long, long time...

Pumpkins all from our Garden

I stink at blogging.... but we wont go there... again. I think I change my blog template as often as I post!! It is so fun to do though. I am now returning to the original colors we had when we first started blogging. Fabulous ehh?! Our lives are so hectic but wonderful. The beautiful bowl of Brownie delight was given to us by our friends Liz and Nash. They were very thoughtful after they found out the baby had pneumonia and brought over a treat to cheer us up. It worked! This was way back in September. Since then Max has been doing great! He is already 14 lbs!

Yummy!!

Happy Baby, Happy Mom. Thanks Liz!!!!

The Professor -- 6 weeks

Also,
James Turned 2!! We had a small party with some of the cousins and aunts and uncles. It was a good time. James likes saying that he is two.

IS that enough pictures??!!:)

also...

James my big boy is potty training.. trained??!! I figure if he tells me once a day that he needs to go and then he sits down himself and dumps and flushes then he is trained!!!! Sorry if this is too graphic!

Canning these grapes from our yard was so fun. My mom first helped me, then Robert helped finish. Together we canned a total of 52 grape juice quarts. We also canned tomatoes and salsa and dehydrated grapes and apples. Dehydrated grapes?! not a good idea. Raisins right? Wrong! Burn little grapes is what we got. I later learned at the Murray Cannery that if it doesn't "snap" then it doesn't preserve. Nice try I guess- but no raisins.

More SHORTER posts to come more OFTEN!

Sept. Food Storage

Family Starter Kit: (Includes 2 Gallom Cans on Hard Winter Wheat, 2 Gallon Cans of White Rice, 1 Gallon Can of Pinto Beans and 1 Gallon Can of Quick Oats) $23.70

Black Beans: 1 Gallon Can $4.25/ can

White Beans: 1 Gallon Can $4.15/can

5 Gallon Water Jugs: $4.76/jug

97%

Good Job Rob on your first Biology Test Score!!

Life changes

Those who said that 2 children were easy are gifted parents! It has been a fun but rough past month. I realized today-- Max's 1 month birthday -- that we have taken maybe 2 pictures of him since we came home from the Hospital. Wow. Sorry kid. Today I took some but they aren't artistic in any way. I need to get some professional pictures done as soon as I can take charge of my schedule again. I had to have a neighbor come over while they were napping just so I could run to the grocery store for 15 minutes.

Max 1 month stats:

Holding head up for a short time.

Rold over last night for the first time!

Weight 10lbs. 11 oz.

Down to one night feeding at the most.

Despite the extra work- Max is soo cute, and James has become cute to me again ( he was a little devil for awhile and therefore not in any way cute.) When they can play together I know they will have so much fun.

For those of you who said that I "looked good" after labor- thanks for your comments- but it was all planned. I looked like Death after James so I was determined to get cleaned up before this Labor. I was also induced so I had it all scheduled. The labor was less then 2 hours and I pushed through 3 contractions. Can it get any easier?? Healthy baby, Heathly mom, I left the hospital after 24 hours and haven't looked back. It was a total miracle birth and we feel soo blessed.

Life has totally flipped itself upside down though!! Here are some reasons why:

#1 Reason: Baby Max

#2 Reason: My husband has declared himself as a Biology major (Even though he already has a Finance degree.) Rob is now an aspiring dentist!! Can anyway say: "I am almost 30, I hate my job, what am I going to do for the rest of my life Crisis"?? Good luck- I am behind you a 100%, but am now a single mom 85% of the week.

#3 Ken & Kamie (robs brother) are moving back to SacTown! Ken is taking a job with Neillo Jaquar and their Mapelton house is for sale! I am soo sad to see them go- but I am so happy for them too. I will join you soon. The thought of this winter approaching makes me ill so I will visit for the whole months of January and February if that is okay!

#4 James is now a defiant Toddler with mischevious faces and the ability to say: "No way Mom!" and run away while I am helplessly feeding baby. A guy at a store the other day told me to buy a leash because it will decrease the running after him and yelling factor. What a jerk.

#5 I cant go to the gym with the little guy until he is 3 months old so I am feeling the effects of a saggy, atrophied body and miss the endorphine effect on my brain.


#6 Rob bought a cruise to Mexico in Nov/Dec. We are going with friends Lizza and Jared. You'd think this would be a good thing right??!! But you dont have a breast feeding 3 1/2 month old you need to leave behind. I will be running to the nearest fig tree to hide while I pump my milk. Sounds stressful mentally to leave my babe. Thanks for the suprise trip.

On The Bright Side:

#1 I have 2 CUTE, healthy kids

#2 I have a permanent residence in Cali at K & K's house.

#3 My husband could be a Dentist and get us all free dental work.

#4 I have my whole life to explore and travel- so what If I have to be a home body for 3 months while baby is little.

#5 I bought a Zooper double stroller that will save my life. It is coming in the mail tomarrow- equipped with inflatable tires, and full sun shade for each kid and it fits the infant car seat. Can we say:"Mobile again!!"

Eating Tomatoes from our Garden

#6 I am going on a cruise. Beach!! and a good excuse to buy some fun red sassy heels and a slutty bikini.

#7 I have learned I need to chill out. I use to be super laid back. I have turned me into a scheduling, organized perfectionist fanatic. I want to be fun again. 2 kids have taught me that cleaning is the last thing that is important and that having fun each day and showing love to each other is the most important thing. I decided to live for my own expectations, not others.

#8 Costco

#9 My Good Friend Lizza who had baby Elsie at the same time who is also leaving her baby to go on the cruise.

I have a lot to be grateful for!! If I sound sarcastic and ungrateful it really is the post partem!!! At night when I can lay down to sleep I am happy and grateful. I really want to be a good mom and create a happy, loving home. Please remind me of this if you see me and my face is haggard and I am yelling at my toddler. Thanks for reading my post. We will try and be better with pics.