Two posts in one day. GASP!

It must mean that my children are in bed....before 9 pm. Somebody sound the trumpets!


Lil' sis turned 9 months yesterday. Her feisty personality is becoming much more apparent the older she gets. If big sister Diva screams at her she screams right back. Take something away from her and she screeches until you return it. Great. However she is still the happiest and "smileyest" baby you will ever meet. Strangers are constantly commenting on her sweet smiles which she flashes so generously. I could eat that toothless grin for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

"Wait a second, why am I not in the tub with my sister! Hey mom, put down the camera and help a girl out will ya!"

She adores her older sister. In the mornings when we wait for Diva to rise and shine, she plays right by her door and squeals and giggles until she succeeds in waking her up.


On a totally different note:



THANK YOU to Nee Nee and Papa for a wonderful Christmas week full of love, attention, whales, dolphins and seals. Oh yeah and this:


Still creeps me out but don't worry...she LOVES IT!

Non-Christmas post

and



Glitter paint makes GREAT lip gloss.

Merry Christmas

Tomorrow we are leaving for San Diego and won't be back 'til after Christmas so I'm sharing my message early!

I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday. I love being with family, baking goodies, listening to music and creating life-long memories. It is a time to celebrate and a time to give thanks. Most importantly though it is a time to remember the birth of our Savior. None of us would be here if it were not for Him. He created the Earth and then volunteered to come and be the Savior of us all. His love for us is pure and unconditional. He was the ultimate example of faith, integrity, charity, mercy and obedience. He wants each of us to remember why we are here upon on this Earth so that we can repent and return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father. The world has become increasingly selfish and wicked; scriptures and prophets have long foretold of calamities and consequences if we are not righteous. Thankfully and graciously we were not sent to the Earth to suffer through trials alone. We were given family and friends. We were given prophets and scriptures and tools such as prayer and fasting to communicate with our Heavenly Father. But none of those things would matter if we did not have our Savior. Christmas is a time to remember why He was born into the world and to remember to always strive to become more like Him.

I have been immensely blessed my entire life and I owe everything to my Heavenly Father. I hope this Christmas season finds all of you happy, healthy and loved.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

So long, farewell

*She's cute now but come 5 pm she turns into the Demon Diva.*


This last week, one of the most glorious things a mother could ask for left the building. When my Diva was a baby I dreaded the day these "gifts" would end. I tried to force it; I tried to grasp onto it as long as I could but alas I had to let go. My friends, my eldest daughter has quit taking naps. How do I know she's done with naps? Well because if she does get one during the day then she will not fall asleep before 11 pm. Ever. Most nights she's probably still awake at midnight, reading in her bed or talking to herself. Bed time routines have become a major hassle, she will stall and scream and stall for hours.

Yes I can hear your gasps and I almost feel your hugs of sympathy. What? Two and half is too young to quit naps? I thought so too hence my grasping. The 2-3 hours in the afternoon of blessed silence has ceased. I am now at the mercy of a hyper child at the exact time when my blood sugar and energy levels are at their lowest. Save me.

I will fondly remember the days of thinking, "Just a couple more hours and then I can put her to bed and do what I need to do." Those "need to do's" included many things:

starting dinner early
cleaning
napping
cleaning
napping
blogging
bill paying
napping
drinking up the beautiful silence

No more. Should I feel like a terrible mother since I looked oh so forward to her nap times? Absolutely not. Mothers, especially ones that stay home with young children need a couple hours in the midday to regroup or to accomplish tasks that simply cannot be done when their kids are awake or around.

So, since I have these extra couple hours with her all to myself (little sweet baby sister thankfully still naps during this time) I have decided to review her letters and numbers and pretend like I'm a good mother who teaches her child. And yes I will admit that Chicken Little, Tinkerbell, Cars and Elmo are well known and beloved figures in our home. Sue me.


P.S. It might seem that my recent posts have become biased. as if I love my baby more than my toddler. Well I do. No I'm kidding. I love, love, love my Diva but toddlers test you and try your patience at every opportunity and they can devitalize even the most energetic people. So it's rejuvenating to pick up a sweet baby and know they are unable to scream at you or order you around or ask you the same question 56 times in a row.....yet. Even though my Diva's attitude makes me want to punch a hole in the wall, it's that same spunk and moxie that makes her so adorable and unique. I wouldn't it change it for the world!

Dear Sweet Baby Girl

Dear Sweet Baby Girl,

I cannot tell you how blessed I am to have you in my life. Your constant smiles and cheerful disposition light up my every day. You are not selfish with your happiness; you share your joy with everyone around you. The snort in your laugh makes me want to squeeze you tight and never let go. Your sweet baby smell invokes such strong, warm and happy feelings in my memory and I wish it would never disappear. Your eagerness to stand up and walk breaks my heart just a little bit; please don't grow up too fast. Last night when you awoke for the third time in less then as many hours I wanted to be angry but I couldn't bring myself to feel it. Instead I brought you into bed, nursed you again and snuggled with you for a good 10 minutes. The fact that I can console your crying just by picking you and cuddling with you makes me feel like superwoman. I held you and created yet another memory that will last me a thousand lifetimes.

Whether I have been gone for 10 minutes or 2 hours, the smile you greet me with when I walk in the door melts my heart. I can never entertain a negative or depressing thought when I am near you.

I love you baby girl, thank you for coming to our family. You have changed it forever and for the better.

Life under tyranny...

Some days I wish I had a camera constantly recording to document what I go through on a daily basis with this girl.

Typical car ride:

Diva: "I see a doggy!! I see two doggies!! Wook! Der day are!"
Me:"Oh yeah? Wow!"
Diva: (she is now screaming in her demonic, exorcist-worthy voice) "NOOOO.....SAY IT!! SAY, 'I SEE A DOGGY!' SAY IT MOMMY!"

*cowering with fright*

I repeat. She seems satisfied.

But no, it is not over.

Diva: "We're going to da park today! We're going to swing and pway in da sand!"
Me: "That's right we are going to play in the park!"
Exorcist: "NOOOOO, NO! SAY, 'WE ARE GOING TO DA PARK TODAY AND GOING TO SWING AND PWAY IN DA SAND!"

If I so much as alter the inflection in my voice or change one word I am consequently screamed at the rest of the way home. No joke.

This scene reoccurs over and over throughout the day. You would think that I would just learn to repeat everything before she starts screaming but it doesn't work that way. Sometimes I have to repeat, other times I must listen and then reply with her wording. Not mine.

I hope year 3 will have a better outlook for me.










Somebody help me. please. I need a safe haven. A shelter perhaps.

Family Fun and Being Grateful

This picture was taken the day of my last post. No wonder she was tired. BUT would you believe she has made a complete turnaround? Seriously the past 4 nights she has slept 6-7 hours consecutively. It has been amazing. I have no clue why it's happening but I sure hope it lasts! Any mother knows the pure gloriousness of more than 3 hours of consecutive sleep.

During T-day we did a lot of this (well those that weren't cooking at least)


My Diva joined in. I think she could stand to get a little closer to the microphone.


Wouldn't be the same without my sisters!


I am grateful to this man for all his hard work. Thanksgiving was only possible because of him! Thanks Dad/Grandpa!

And I am grateful for:

My Savior
The Gospel
My Family
A place to live
My hubby's job.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding me. Holidays wouldn't be the same without them!

zzzzzzzz

8 pm: Put Lil' Sis to bed.
11 pm: She wakes up, feed her, put her back to bed

I go to sleep around 11:30

2 or 3 am: Wakes up screaming, feed her, put her to bed. But wait, she screams and screams some more. I go back in, she's poopy, I change her. I put her back to bed. More screaming follows. I go in and out trying to calm her down for OVER AN HOUR. Finally I feed her AGAIN and she goes back to sleep.

AWAKE for the day at 6:00 am. It is now almost 10 am and I just tried putting her down for a nap and she is........oh you guessed it....SCREAMING!!!!!

Maybe she doesn't like getting older? She turned 8 months old yesterday. 8 months of crappy sleep and counting.

Confessions

She is most inspired when she's shirtless.



Due to rough nights which involve constant wakings and fussing, her sleeping quarters have been relocated to the closet. *crossing fingers*

Paper is delicious, especially when looking at your reflection. Double the pleasure?

Safety

Okay so I've been reading a few friends' blogs about how they are either going private or making their blog safer. I do NOT want to go private so I decided to edit all my posts by changing names, taking out specific locations and deleting a couple pictures. I will be using nicknames from now on and I'm sure most of you will have no trouble deciphering them. :)

Just wanted to give you a heads up. I'm doing this mostly to protect my girls.

Obsessed

With her binky.

Plus she's crawling. Gulp.




P.S. Had to add that yes that is Diva, in a swim suit, in the middle of November. CA has yet to get the memo that it is FALL...almost WINTER. For Pete's sake. And who the heck is Pete?

More ME time

Yes I do wish I had more ME time but that's besides the point. I've been tagged several more times. I've done this tag before but I'll do it again because I know you all LOVE to read more about ME!

Random facts

1. I have to sleep with something weighty on my feet. I mean like a pillow or a blanket. I have no idea why but I can't sleep unless there is something heavier covering my feet.
2. I don't understand how people can skip breakfast. I HAVE to eat something in the morning or else I'll die. Not really but it feels like it.
3. Up until about the age of 15, whenever I went to a restaurant, I received a kids menu. It bugged the CRAP out of me. I wanted to hurl the menus at the waiter and scream, "I AM NOT A CHILD!" I understand I looked young for my age but please...do I LOOK like a 6 year-old??
Tying in with this story, the other day I stuck my hand out of the car to give a NO on 8 protester a thumbs down. He yelled at me, "Can you even VOTE?!" *snicker*
4. Before I ever even took permit classes I liked to take my parents' land cruiser for spins down the street. I'd park it back in the garage and no one was the wiser. Then one day after said spin down the street I angled the car incorrectly when I drove into the impossibly small garage. It got stuck. I pulled it back out and white paint was etched into the BLACK, now DENTED driver-side door. I freaked. I immediately told my parents. Thankfully the white paint came off and my brother fixed the dent. Good as new. Though my dad now likes to tell that story to anybody who will listen.
5. I detest combing my hair. Yup. I only ever brush it when I get out of the shower but it takes FOR-EV-ER. Somehow in the process of washing my hair it becomes a thick, tangled, snarly mess. It is the most tedious part of my overall hygiene. I'd say it takes a good 15 minutes to comb it out completely. Seriously it's ridiculous.
6. I've said this before but I am a spelling Nazi. I am not exempt from my own spelling mistakes but I try to be error-free. There are a couple random blogs I read (none of which are linked on my sidebar) that are RIDDLED with spelling mistakes. I don't know why I continue to read them. It literally makes my brain hurt. The misuse of your and you're has got to be the worst. For example: "I told him, your going to regret that!" Arghh! Just typing that makes me want to pull my hair out. Also, what is with the random apostrophes people? There are some blog titles with this kind of header: "The Johnson's" Um....the Johnson's what? The Johnson's backyard? The Johnson's spaceship? WHAT?!
7. I am horrible at math. In school I was pretty good in Science (not chemistry), English and other classes but in math I was downright awful. To this day if I make cookies over at my parents' house and I have to double or triple the recipe I end up asking my younger siblings how to add fractions. It's embarrassing. I have diagnosed myself with math dyslexia. In high school I was in an Algebra Trig class with my best friend. We had an upcoming test and I studied my butt off. I paid rapt attention in every lesson and went over the pre-test about 6 times. My best friend? Yeah she slept through every lesson. I ended up teaching HER the material for the test. Test time came and I scored an 80%. Not horrible but certainly not great. My best friend scored a 99%! Admittedly I gave up after that. I was depressed after having worked so hard. That 80% was the highest test score I received during the whole semester. I abhor math.

I'm tacky

Diva found some tacky glue and came at me with it. "Honey what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to fix you."

Pumpkin Love

2007........................ 2008 (She's been working out)

2007 .....................2008-You think those chickens recognize her?

No pictures of her from last year-she was the size of a walnut.

My sign waving experience...

As the election draws closer I become more passionate about Proposition 8 passing. I see friends on Facebook adamantly opposing the amendment and that's ok. We're all entitled to our opinions and beliefs.

However yesterday I waved signs with several people from my ward and while I'd say the majority of cars passing by were in favor, there were quite a few that were opposed and downright nasty about it. I was called a Bi*ch, I was flipped off, cussed at and if looks could kill I'd be dead, real dead. I'm not upset over it at all, I mean hey I asked for it! I just wonder why people have to act that way. They don't know me. We are NOT anti-gay!! We are PRO-marriage! It's just so ironic because here they think we are filled with "hatred" against homosexuals (which is SO NOT THE CASE!!!) but they are expressing THEIR extreme hatred against people who feel differently than they do. Interesting and not the best way to get your point across.

So I say if you live in California and have the opportunity to wave signs in favor of Proposition 8..go for it! It was fun and we had a lot of support from people from all walks of life!

Enjoy it babe!

The last year of your twenties that is! I already posted this on my family's blog but of course I had to post it here too. We celebrated Hubby's 29th birthday yesterday. He felt a little depressed about getting older but I look at it as an accomplishment. He has done so much in his 29 years. He served a two year mission in Portugal and West Africa, met and married his amazing, beautiful wife (hehe), graduated BYU with his undergrad in Therapeutic Recreation, then graduted with his Masters in Public Administration and most importantly is a wonderful father to two adorable girls.


I don't know what I'd do without him. He's my best friend, my husband, my eternal companion. I love you tons! Thanks for being such a great guy! Happy Birthday again!

luv
your wifey

Camping 101

Know when to kick back and relax.



Always bring a hat.

Give lots of hugs, even if they aren't reciprocated.


Smile often.

Eat 27 times a day, but most often at night.

Bring along a very helpful and and very loved Nee Nees.

Pass out in a swing every night when lying down in your sleeping bag wouldn't cut it.

And of course, don't forget your men.

Proposition 8

Notice my sidebar? Living here, this has obviously been a more pressing issue than any other political matter. It seems the state (and a lot of the country) is divided on where they stand about same-sex marriage. There are a lot of non-truths and embellished facts out there.

In 2000, 61% of California voters voted in favor of keeping marriage between a man and a woman. I'd call that a majority. However just this year FOUR, count 'em FOUR San Francisc0 based judges overturned (i.e. undermined) that ban on same-sex marriage forcing California citizens to decide this all over again. This time it will be permanent. The California State Constitution will be amended to state: Only marriage between a man and woman is valid or recognized in California.

This has become a very personal and touchy subject amongst most people. As members of the LDS church we have been strongly urged to campaign and vote in favor of this amendment. There is a lot to say about this topic but I will try to be concise. Many people try to argue that by campaigning for this amendment we are "imposing our beliefs on others." This statement couldn't be more hypocritical. If this proposition does NOT pass we (voters in favor) are in fact being FORCED to accept homosexual lifestyle as "socially normal." We can love a person but not love what they do. If we speak out against it then we are being hateful, intolerant and discriminatory. Tolerate and condone have come to mean the same thing as years pass but they in fact are so very different. We can tolerate others' actions without condoning. So again, if this does not pass then we have no choice but to put our moral and spiritual beliefs regarding family and marriage aside and accept homosexual lifestyle and homosexual marriage into everyday life. If people think the world is confusing now, our childrens' world will be even more confusing. Let's not exacerbate things by changing the definition of marriage.

One thing this amendment will NOT do is deny anybody rights. Under California law, “domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections, and benefits” as married spouses. (Family Code § 297.5.) There are NO exceptions. Proposition 8 WILL NOT change this.

Basically this amendment will keep things the way they have been since Adam and Eve walked the Earth.

There are many websites out there to inform. Here are a couple:

www.preservingmarriage.org
www.protectmarriage.com

So to sum up, if you are in California vote YES on Prop 8. Even if you are not in California you can call, donate and get the word out on this issue. It's only a matter of time before every state has to face this same decision.

Post?

I don't even know what to call this post. So I call it a posty post. Clever right?

My hubby gets every other Friday off (which is AWESOME!!!) so most of the time we just hang out and play around. These were taken last weekend.

I don't have many pictures of just me and the girls since I am mostly behind the camera. Don't mind my sickly, deathly looking face (okay it's not that bad I guess) but I had just gotten back from the dentist and half my face was numb. And c'mon, you all know how dumb you feel when you are walking around without feeling in half your facial features. *Drools* The other picture is a better one of Divabut I look like I'm trying to seduce the camera instead of trying to contort my face into something pleasant-looking.

This was Lil' Sis most of the weekend. Solid foods= gas and constipation. Fun times I know. I guess going from straight breastmilk to oatmeal cereal and sweet potatoes is just too hard on the little one's system. It's also hard on my ears. By the way she officially turned 6 months on Sep. 27! *Sniff*

And of course my Diva. It's a RARE occurrence for her to look directly at the camera and smile. We caught her on a good day. She's so expressive all the time and has been since about 5 months of age. We love her, but she's crazy. No really, she is. I'm serious.