fent

another blog. am i crazy?

2011-06-28T21:36:00.001-07:00

I haven't completely given up, I'm still pluggin along. I haven't been to the gym all month but I have been to the pool, so that's better than nothing. I do laps and other exercises, but I haven't been running. We're on a break. The past month or so I've been doing the Lemonade Diet/Master cleanse. It's been pretty rough and I really didn't make much progress on it except for losing and then gaining the weight back. It's not a bad diet, it's just VERY HARD! It is effective, but it's just not right for me. This girl needs to eat! Anyway I decided to start a weight loss blog w/some friends (my sisters & cousins) for us all to be able to go to for support, tips, ideas, and try to stay accountable to each other and lose some weight!! So here is, my new blog

I don't love the name and would like to change it as soon as I can come up with something clever. I will let you know if I change it. The few of you that actually read this, lol. If you have any websites or recipes or anything else that you find helpful please pass it along and I will share it on the blog.

2011-05-30T22:58:00.000-07:00

So I've been having a very hard time sticking with the running (slowly jogging). I have a million excuses as to why but doesn't everybody? I need to figure this out. Jill, Jolyn, Christy, you have been SO supportive and I hate to ask for more but I need more. :) In a perfect world I need someone to come to my house everyday and help me get my buns in gear. Since that's not gonna happen I need to do it myself and knowing that I have you guys to hold me accountable helps. I feel so bad that I haven't done my best and you guys are just cheering me on telling me what a good job I'm doing, but I'm not. I don't know what 'it' is that will do it. I know what I need to do but I'm pretty good at talking myself out of doing it. Today is a perfect example. I had the day off. I could have gone running, done a video, shoot I could have even gone for a walk. But instead I did nothing. It is a holiday ya know. I should get the day off right? No! I've been taking too many days off as it is, but as usual I was too lazy to get up and do something. Anything. So tomorrow is Tuesday and there is no reason I can't go to the gym. I'm sure I will find a reason between now and then. Thursday is the only day I really can't do anything since Shelby has her dance recital . Cody's on a campout for the week, Dylan is done with scouts for the summer but I'm sure I can find an excuse not to go this week. I don't know how people do it! Once I think I'm getting into a routine, something happens and I go off track. I need to be on the track! Moving my but!! I'm still trying to do the couch to 5k but I'm overwhelmed and I feel like a loser. I should be done by now or close to it but I've slacked off way too much!!! I'm stuck on week 4 or 5, I can't even remember. There is a 20 minute run coming up and since I haven't really been doing it every week, I'm scared to continue. I don't want to be a quitter. I want to be able to run w/out feeling like I'm gonna die, and most importantly I need to lose weight and get in shape. Do I pause the couch to 5k and work on losing the weight or do I continue with it and do both? I feel like if I stop the 5k I'm a quitter, but I think it's too much right now and that I get overwhelmed by trying to do both. The forum I belong to is so supportive and I don't just want to stop. They have been so wonderful and we've all supported and motivated each other along the way. I don't want to let them down. The boys just got out of school so I feel like this is the time to really do it. And then there's my battle with food. It's daily. Hourly, minute by minute. I always think about it and what's gonna be my next meal. I'm like a druggie. A foodie and not in the cute fun way. If you kow of a Genie in a bottle, please send him over. I've got some wishes I need granted.

I'm back!

2011-05-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, ok! I did it today. Well kind of.
It was so hard! That's what I get though! I only could do 3 minutes running (slooooooooooooowwwwwly) at a time. I was hoping to get the 5 minute run in but I just couldn't make it! I don't know why I do this to myself. I guess I like to do things the hard way. If I would have at least gone 1 or 2 days last week it would've been much easier. Oh well, I did it today and I will keep it up. Thanks Jill and Jolyn for your support through this! Along with you guys and my friends on the active community, I would not have kept this going. Oh here is the quote I heard and I loved it: The best way to get your rear end off the couch is to put your feet on the ground and start moving! So that's what I'm doing!

2011-05-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

So much to blog about, so little time! I still have Holli's visit to talk about, and now there's Womens conference. It was so fun, way better than I expected and I got to visit w/my Utah families!! I will give you more info and maybe even some pictures soon, I promise!
One thing that is kind of disappointing is that I did not make any time to do any running. How do you Utahans do it? We saw so many runners out there-even in the cold weather! Everybody was running! I was not used to the altitude, and oh ya all the walking. I knew there would be a lot of walking but I didn't expect the altitude to be so rough on me. I'll be ready for it next year. Oh yes, there will be a next year!
So about the running. Ya. Well I started back up on Tuesday and I wasn't about to dive back in to the 5 minute runs, so I did 3 minutes run, 3 minutes walk. It went great but today I tried to do it again and I couldn't! I read somewhere that to make the treadmill more like running outside you should put it at a 1% incline. So I did that and I only lasted for 2 minute runs. That 1% doesn't seem like much but it is!! That's my excuse anyway but to make up for not running as much I walked a 5k which I'm very embarrased to say took me o-n-e hour. Not good for me at all, and I really wasn't trying like I should have but whatever. There's a lot of room for improvement!
I've been so stressed with our new drama of having a full fledged teenager in the house, I don't even know what to do! That boy just doesn't listen to my advice and I feel like I give pretty good advice! Why don't they listen? It's so much easier for everyone if the just LISTEN!!! Why must they do what they want to do and not use that cute little brain in their heads?? Ugh!!! I hear that boys are easier than girls at this age so I'm really scared for whats to come! Whose idea was it to ever get rid of chastity belts? I'm all for them!

kids!

2011-05-04T13:12:00.002-07:00

I firmly believe that kids should be locked up from the age of 13 through ??? I don't know, 25! He may not make it to 14, cuz I'm gonna kill him!

runnin, runnin

2011-04-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

I didn't have time to make it to the gym Saturday so I just ran in my neighborhood. I don't have any fancy equipment to tell me when to run or walk so I just decided to run every other song. It's the first time in 2 weeks that i went running (more like a sloooooooooooooow jog) 3 times in a week like I'm supposed to so I was just happy that I got out there and did something.
Today I continued on to the ever dreaded week 5:
day 1 is run 5 min, walk 3 min ( do that 3 times)
day 2 is run 8 minutes, walk 5 minutes ( do that 3 times)
day 3 run 20 minutes.
I don't know about day 2 and 3. I may have to do day 1 a few times especially since I'll be going to Utah this week for womens conference. I hope to find time to fit some runs in there. I know I'll be doing a lot of walking but I want to stick to the program as much as I can. We'll see how that goes. I'm pretty excited to go w/my sis & cousins and visit family while we're there. I think it's been 11 years since i've been, myabe eve longer. I can't remember. Anyway it will be an adventure for sure!
I need to update you on so much stuff I just can't find the time and I need to get ready for my trip so wish me luck on the running and I'll catch up when I get back!

on again!

2011-04-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for the advice guys! It really helps me to get or stay motivated knowing you guys are out there too. And to think I motivate you is still crazy to me! You guys are running rock stars, but like Jill said it wasn't always that way, LOL. Do you guys run everyday, every other day, a few times a week??? Treadmill or outside? I run on the treadmill but I feel like I need to do some outside runs at least once a week.

I tackled week 4 day 3 today. I am not giving up!! It was pretty tough, especially the second interval! I wanted to stop so many times but I heard you guys in my head and just took it one step at a time and powered through! I've finally come to terms with the fact that just doing this 3 times a week I'm not gonna see much of a weight loss if any. I've been telling myself that I need to do more so today I did my Jillian Michael's Shred video. I usually wait until everybody goes to bed until I do it but by that time I'm tired and I just don't feel like it!! Well over the weekend Mike moved one of his game things upstairs so today I thought "Duh!! I can do my video now since I have the downstairs to myself!!" So now I have no excuse not to do it a few times a week. I have a love/hate relationship with that woman! Her video really does work and I have seen results when I keep it up but just like with any kind of program, you have to DO IT-and it's hard!!! Besides I feel like I need to do something besides just the running to gear up for the upcoming harder weeks. One nice thing about the running is that I can make it through more and more of the Shred video w/out having to stop!! I took a sneak-peak at workout 2 and it looks TOUGH!!! I've been doing better on my diet during the week but the weekends are my downfall! I need to allow myself a reward meal during the weekend and not just turn it into a reward weekend eating whatever I want. I throw all my hard work out the window when I do that! I was reading some comments in the active community and one woman said "I don't want to get out of bed to exercise, but I don't want to be fat even more than that-so I got up and ran"!! That's exactly it! I will tell myself that every time I don't feel like working out. Moving is better (and easier) than being fat!!
Thanks for letting me ramble and very soon I will blog about what is actually going on in my life and Holli's visit! I better do it soon before I forget about all the fun we had.

have to vs. want to

2011-04-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!! I am stuck on Week 4 and I have to say I am really scared to do week 5. I should be starting it this week but week 4 didn't come as easy for me as the other weeks (I only did 2 days of it) so I knew I would be doing it more than 1 week. I had a really busy week so i was planning on repeating it anyway. But just the idea of that 20 min run looming in the near future haunts me! It just makes me so nervous! I am still trying to figure out a schedule that works for me. Mondays I'm always so tired cuz I stay up so late on Sunday night. I didn't go today and I promised myself I will do it tomorrow! Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday may be my routine but I feel like it should be an every other day kind of thing but it's hard to find the time. It would be ideal to either run or do a video every day but I'm not there yet.

I don't love running yet. When does that 'love' part kick in? I love the way I feel afterward but that's not enough to get me excited and motivate me to want to do it the next time. The more I get into this, I understand that this is not just a 9 week thing. This is long-term, which is a good thing. I need to be active and stay active, that's what I wanted. I don't see myself ever running a marathon or half marathon. Running a 5k under 45 minutes is my goal and completing a 10k would be a flat out miracle for me!! I have never been a runner. I was always that kid finishing the mile in last place on track and field day back in grade school. Oh how I hated that day! Every year I just dreaded it!

I am still dreading my run days and doing the whole self-doubt thing all day until about midway thru my run (if you can call it running, lol). The upcoming weeks just get harder and harder and this thing may take me years instead of weeks to finish. But I will keep on, keeping on!

2011-04-14T18:20:00.001-07:00

Did week 4 day 2. It was tough! I had to walk for a minute on the last run but at least I did it!! Feeling accomplished!! And pooped!

still going strong!

2011-04-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

Maybe not going strong, but still going! I haven't given up yet. Last week Holli was visiting so I only managed to get 2 days in. I know it's better than nothing but I would've liked to get that third day in. I can't blame it on Holli. It's Codys fault too cuz I had to go to his basketball meeting on Monday. Yay for him, he made the team!!
So I planned on finishing week3 day this week and continuing on to week 4. But instead I figured since I did both days (and a few extra intervals) with such ease that I might as well just try week 4 day 1 and see how that goes. Well I did it and I didn't die like I thought I might a couple times, but I did it! It was the hardest day yet!! I thought the other weeks were hard, but they were nothing compared to this!!
Here is it what week 4 looks like:
5 min brisk warm up walk
3 min jog
90 second walk ( i made that a 2 min walk so I wouldn't die!)
5 min jog
90 second walk (2 minutes for me)
and repeat.
I WAS DYING at the end and I wanted to let out big hollar that I did it. I was not sure I was gonna make it! I had to talk myself through it and pray for good songs! I was really proud of myself even though I had to slow way down for the 5 minute jogs. I just may have to repeat this week cuz next week it goes up to 8 minutes (cringe)!
Tonight was a busy night and I barely had enough time to get this in, but I wanted to check in with you and let you know that I'm still truckin along! I need to post pics of Hollis visit, although you can check Facebook I just uploaded some. I hardly took any pictures while she was here :(
Thanks so much Jill & Jolyn for your encouragement. One day I just might be a runner like you!! Thanks to Mom, Holli, Christy, Malissa (and anyone else) for still reading my blog.

2011-04-06T23:41:00.001-07:00

I got started a little late in the week, but I finished day 1 of week 3! It went great! Getting myself to do it is the problem but once I get going I'm good!

week 2 done!

2011-04-01T16:35:00.005-07:00

Finished week 2 day 3 and even went for a bonus run this morning!! It was great to change it up from the teadmill but it was a lot harder! Not loving it yet, but love the way I feel afterward!

joggin (slowly)

2011-03-29T21:28:00.001-07:00

I've now finished 2 days of week 2 which consists of a 5 minute warm-up, jog 90 seconds, walk 2 minutes and repeat until you've done that for 20-30 minutes and end with a 5 minute cool down. Whew, the last couple runs are H-A-R-D!!! I have to say that I really didn't even want to go to the gym on Monday! But knowing that I'm blogging about it and that I'm apart of a discussion forum made me do it. I even had my gym clothes on and tried to make excuses on why I couldn't do it but I did it anyway, so good for me! I have one more day and then I begin week 3 which will consist of jogging for t-h-r-e-e minutes! Not sure if I'm gonna be ready for that but we'll see how it goes. Not sure if I can call it jogging yet cuz I feel like I'm going pretty slow. I picked up the pace today and went a little faster so, easy does it for me! I'm not trying to fly off the treadmill again! I used to dread the treadmill but, doing these little intervals really help the time go by fast. Well not fast but it doesn't just drag on for forever and a day.

We had a rather nice weekend, didn't do much. Stayed home and watched movies, did a little cleaning (Mike mopped the floor)!! Went to my moms for dinner on Sunday and it was very nice. Always nice going over there for dinner and oh-so-nice now that she lives just a hop, skip, and a jump away. I love it, I mean I really love it love love it!! You don't even understand how much I love it! It's pretty great to have her so close! We all love it and hopefully this weekend she can make it to Shelby's dance class. Oh yes, Shelby has started a dance class and she loves every minute of it! She is such a good listener and so focused on her teacher, Miss Lori! She is so stinkin cute in her little leotard too! I need to take a pic for you guys cuz you won't even believe how cute she is!

We are super excited for Holli to come visit next week! It's been way to long and soon enough I'll go visit her in Omaha but that's probably gonna be a few months down the road. We've got a lot of things coming up, scout camp for both boys, women's conference for me! The boys just finished 2 weeks of spring break which is about a week and a half too long! So glad they are back in school! That's about it for now. Off to watch Tangled w/Shelby & Dylan.........

just keep swimming

2011-03-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

Did Day 3 today. Now I'm done with week 1 and next week I start week 2. Pretty nervous about that but hopefully I can do it. There was a woman there about my size and she was just running. She was already goin when I get there and she was still going when I left. She's must be half-crazy! She did awesome and soon that will be me.
Change of subject. I am torn. I've always wanted to grow my hair long and this just might be the year I do it. I've got a plan, but today I saw Jennie Garth on a Dove commercial and her hair was so stinkin cute! I love the hairstyle and there should be a pic of it right here but my computer is not cooperating. It's the second (short) hairstyle I've seen that I absolutely love! But wouldn't it be fun to have long hair? I could just put it up in a cute lil bun and go or just leave it long and flip it around like those skinny bitches with long hair. At least I'll have one thing they have and on my way to the other! Ha ha ha!

By the way, thanks for the supportive comments! When I'm not feelin it I can just look at your comments and that will keep me going ;)

getting there

2011-03-23T13:20:00.000-07:00

Completed Week 1 Day 1 and 2 of the couch to 5k! I dreaded going and didn't want to do it but I got my clothes on before leaving work so it made it that much easier and quicker! Don't want to get burned out but going earlier in the week is better for me cuz when Friday and the weekend roll around I just can't seem to get myself to the gym. I'll have to work on that. My workout partner was a no-show but that's okay, I did it anyway and get it over with and got out of there. My knee was pretty sore the first day but I iced it, took some ibuprofen and remembered to stretch and day 2 was much better.

I'm kinda friends w/one of the trainers at the gym. I've known her from when we used to live in that neighborhood and I had my kids in swim lessons and her son was the teacher. So she knows me and is excited that I'm going back again. It's been about 4 years since I was going all time and I got to know her a little bit. Well last week I was a no-show all week long and on Monday when I went she stopped me asked what happened to me last week. So we talked a little bit and that helped make me feel like I had someone there who is supporting me and looking out for me. She even said she would do the 5k with me when I'm ready, and she is not a runner but she'll do it!
So far, so good!

C25K

2011-03-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

So today I started the couch to 5k program. About a month ago I decided to do a 5k ( and I did it) but didn't run the whole thing like I wanted to. I didn't give myself enough time to train and halfway through the training I dropped out. I feel like I set myself up for failure. The program tells you to allow 9 weeks ( I think) to train and I only had 4, and I didn't follow the program. I just did my own thing. I really want to do another 5k but this time I know I need to allow myself enough time to train and then I'll find a 5k. My other problem is the lack of motivation. You would think a weight loss competition with some co-workers would be enough, but nope. Not for me. I've got exactly 1 month left and I need to lose some serious lb's cuz that prize money will seriously come in handy for Womens conference at the end of April. Anway, I came across active.com when I signed up for my 5k and that's where I found some motivation. So many different people at all different levels of fitness are on there and there's different discussion groups you can join. I love it! I came across one today for the C25K and the group just started training last week. Just reading through all the comments motivated me and made me feel like I could actually do it! So I started today and guess what??!! You know how I'm always complaining that I have no one that lives close to me to work out with? Well today I went to the Y, got on my treadmill and the girl next to me said, "hey Wendy". I know her! And she's my neighbor! And we're gonna start meeting there or go jogging in our neighborhood. It was like a God-send!
So I started my training for the C25K and I was pretty nervous cuz it requires you to run 1 minute, jog 2 minutes and on and on until you've done it for 20 minutes. I was pretty sure I couldn't run for 1 whole minute, BUT I DID!! I shocked myself and continued the session and I'll do that 3 times every week, each week adding the minutes I run. It's only day 1 and I really hope I continue this, which is why I'm blogging (not bragging) about it. I need you guys to hold me accountable and make sure I finish this thing.

Here is some of us after the 5k

trying to get on the jogging band-wagon

2011-03-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

In my never-ending quest to lose weight I've been trying to take up running. For me it's about the speed of the usual persons fast walking pace. I did a 5k last month and loved it! I didn't run it like I had planned. I dropped out of my own training regimen about 2 weeks before race day and I suck! I realize now what my down fall is. I was trying to jog 2-3 miles a few times a week instead of following the C25K program. I understand now why my way was the wrong way (too much too soon). Whenever I did go jogging i felt amazing afterward but not amazing enough to keep it up. I've recently joined the a gym and did pretty good going the first few weeks, but then I don't know what happened. I just stopped and I have been eating whatever I want. Sometimes good things, sometimes bad. The bad always outweighs the good and any progress I've made exercising. I sabotage myself EVERY SINGLE TIME. So I need any help on what motivates you and how to to keep my head in the game. Thanks!

family pics two-thousand-10

2010-10-28T14:03:00.002-07:00

So, I didn't give shelby a cute hair-do, and I realized on the way home that i didn't wear any jewelry, UGH!!! I'm just happy that everyone participated and brought there smiley faces. Maybe next year I can get my act together, its hard enough just to coordinate outfits and get everybody to participate.

Photos by Malissa Cordova
http://picturethis--photography.blogspot.com/

dylan update and my bday!

2010-10-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

my blog looks kinda weird cuz I'm trying to update, don't mind the mess! It's been awhile so I don't know where to begin.....

I'll just start w/my happy news that I got on Friday. I meet w/Dylan's teachers, school counselor, asst principal, and others every so often to discuss "what we're gonna do with this kid". He's had a bumpy school year and so we were discussing what to do next. But much to my surprise and happiness his teachers couldn't stop telling me how good he is doing! I made sure that they were talking about my kid, Dylan. Dylan Fent. Are you sure?? Yes, he's been doing good in class, participating, being nice to others, no bad behavior incidents, no outbursts, and even getting homework done in class. In class people!!! He has never done that!! Homework is a bad word in our house. Dylan fights me all the time about it. Except the last 2 weeks after the fall break (yes we had our fall break in September-weird i know!), he has been saying he already did it and he wasn't bringing it home and I didn't want to fight w/him about it so I let it go. When I mentioned in the meeting that he hadn't been bringing it home, one of his teachers said he'd been doing it in class. I just couldn't believe it and then the other teachers went on to say how good he's been doing!!! So we all decided to keep him where he is and hopefully he will keep up the good work (and behavior) and then his grades will start improving too. I can only hope!
Needless to say that was a great way to start off my bday weekend! That day at work we had a yummy bday potluck and ate all day! Good times, good food! Earlier in the week Mike had called to let me know he arranged for a sitter so we could go out to eat (w/my Red Robin coupon) and his free movie tickets. Yes!!!! We hadn't been out on a date for quite awhile, we couldn't remember the exact month, but its been too long! We had a very nice evening and the next day (my actual bday) I had even more things planned! Shelby had a bday party to go to, then we swung by my sister-in-law's baby shower, and after that my mom took me to the funnest store called 'Charming Charlies'. You have got to go!!! I loved it, Shelby loved it, it was awesome!! The have a ton of cute stuff and the best part is that its' cheap!!!! Cute and cheap is right up my ally! We were there forever and could've spent even longer but I had to get home to meet my bff Tina for dinner (at Matta's) and a movie (paranormal activity 2). I can't pass up a scary movie and this one scared us good! We literally held onto each other almost the entire time! Good times, good times!! Not done yet, Sunday we went to my moms for my bday dinner and of course she made yummy enchilada casserole, SALSA!!!!, and brownies. Such a fun weekend, best birthday so far (that i can remember)!!!! That's all for now, Shelby is about to have a hissy fit, she's got to get to bed!

PS Jolyn, your turn!

family pics sneak peak

2010-10-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

My amazing photographer cousin Malissa took our family pics last weekend. Here is a sneak peek. Anyone who can make us look this good will be my bff forever!!

glitter toes

2010-10-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

Check out

leviandemyeager.blogspot.com

Emily does glitter toes and she is awesome! I hope to get some done in the very near future!

PS. I'll update my blog soon....if anyone cares

School. Thus far.

2010-08-24T23:32:00.000-07:00

So we have been back to school for just about a month now. I say we cuz it is a team effort. I may not go to school but I talk to teachers almost every day and I'm pretty happy that I haven't been called to the principals office yet this year! Cody has been doing good but he is such a chatty cathy and isn't applying himself like he should be. He promises to do better in the next quarter. He LOVES 7th grade. He does his homework usually w/out being told and oh ya, he's turning into a teenage boy. I don't like it. Not one bit. Any day now he will be taller than me and he makes me stand next to him almost everyday cuz he is that close! His voice is starting to get deeper and he's kinda getting that mad-for-no-reason-attitude but it's all good.
Dylan. Well Dylan is Dylan and he is actually doing okay. We switched one of his meds just before summer break and I wasn't sure how he would do once he started school again but for the most part he is doing really good!! I even got an email today from his teacher that his behavior has been great and that he actually participates in class. My Dylan? Dylan Fent? Are you sure? Describe what this kid looks like!? Surely she has him mistaken with some other Dylan, but no he has been doing great. He had a hard time at first getting his homework home in one piece but his teacher and I keep in touch via email and we were able to fix that problem and today I came home and he was already done with his homework! ALREADY DONE. That does not happen with this child! I about died! You have no idea the things that go on in this house to get him to SIT DOWN and DO HIS BLEEPITY BLEEP BLEEEEEEEEP homework. Seriously. I dread it everyday on my way home from work. It's not my favorite thing to do. Some days it's a battle I choose not to fight, but today he did it and that's wonderful!
Shelby is 2 1/2 going on 13. She is all girl! She shouts w/glee when I get home from work and is my shadow until she unwillingly goes to bed. She loves to play in my makeup, which I do not love. Still can't find my perfume-looked everywhere! Hopefully she will soon master pooping in the potty, we're having a bit of a hard time w/that. I'll be glad when that's over and then potty training will be done for the rest of my life! Potty training is not my favorite! She still loves Tinkerbell and sponge bop (as she like to call him) and she loves her brothers! She and Dylan love to chase each other around the house and she has mastered that little girl scream! It is SO FUN having a girl!! Don't get me wrong, boys are fun too but this little girl has us all wrapped around her finger!

30 day SHRED

2010-08-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

Welp, here goes another challenge. I've still got lots of weight to lose so I decided to challenge myself to actually DO the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred for 30 consecutive days in a row. I did pretty good doing it for a little while but certainly not everyday. I decided to tell Facebook about it so I would feel accountable to somebody and I even got a few people to join me. Today is day 2 on level 1 and I think I sweated more tonight than i did last night. Go figure! Anyway, that's what I'm up to. Join me if you want! Who doesn't appreciate a little cooperation and support?

all things thrifty

2010-08-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

if you haven't checked out this website already, Go right now! I love it and am inspired by all the cute things i see! I look at her blog all the time for cute ideas and inspiration! I will post about some of my accomplishments soon. I need to finish a couple things first!

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/

growing pains

2010-07-16T00:46:00.000-07:00

School starts next week (YAY!) and Cody will be going into 7th grade?! Ya, you read that right 7th grade. Mind blowing, I know! Where does the time go? I can't believe he is old enough to be in junior high, every time I say it out loud, I can't believe my own mouth. Anyway, we went to Meet the Teacher night and as we were waking in, finding out where we're supposed to go, Cody's 1st grade teacher hands him his 7th grade class schedule. There in that moment, I got so emotional, I could feel a lump in my throut and my eyes starting to water. Don't worry I didn't start crying like an idiot I quickly pulled myself together and spared him (or me) any embarrassment. I had a flash back of him going into her classroom for the very first time and then here we were, her handing him his 7th grade class schedule. It was a little much for me. That particular teacher was and still is his favorite teacher and I like to think he is her favorite student. Thanks to Dylan, he rushed us along to go find his class. Life goes on. I felt that lump rise up a few times through out the night, going to all the different classes and meeting all the teachers and seeing him having those same nervous feelings that I once had and can remember like yesterday. My little baby Cody is not little anymore, in fact he's as tall as me, soon to be taller w/ a cracking voice, growing into a handsome young man!

making progress

2010-06-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

This was written Monday, blogger was giving me a hard time so i had to save it for later.

So far, so good. My family started up another challenge, so here I go. I feel a lot better now that I have goals of what I'm supposed to do each day. I find it very hard to exercise every day but I try to take the kids swimming and if i don't get the chance to do that, Biggest Loser Bob says get your heart rate up for at least 25 minutes a day. Lately I have been trying to just stay busy. Things like cleaning, organizing, going thru my big box of pictures that need to be put into books, re-arranging my house, pretty much all those not-so-fun things I've been putting off. They pay off is good. I get to burn some calories and my house is looking good. Still a long way to go, but I can do this! I try not to negative-talk to myself too much, just stay busy and don't eat any fast food. Jack in the box has been calling my name the past couple days and I'm trying to ignore him. Saturday and Sunday I treated myself to a giant coke zero and now I am regretting that decision cuz that's all i could think about today-I NEED A SODA! I did not need a soda, I did not have a soda and tomorrow will be easier. By the way, I'm down another 5 lbs! Yay for me!

goals

2010-06-15T12:57:00.001-07:00

Just thought I should update this thing cuz I need some help. Let me give you a little update on my weight loss, cuz let's be honest-It's all about me. I did end up winning that biggest loser competition I was talking about in my last post. However it ended in May which was good for me cuz I was totally slacking(i though it ended in april)! That last month I got my butt in gear, lost some more weight and kicked everybodys butt! I won some money, which was GREAT for motivation. I had had my eye on some adorable bedding but I just didn't have the funds, but Kirsty told me about a new line at Macys and it was on sale at jsut the right time and I got it and I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT! It makes me happy when I see it and adds color to my blah room. Anyway, since that comp has ended I have had a very hard time staying motivated. I have lost a total 50 lbs since November-ish and I am having a very hard time staying on track. I was doing a couple other challenges also, but once the big one was over i could feel myself going back to my old ways. At first I gave myself a reward lunch, but then that turned into a reward dinner and then a reward weekend and then i took a week off and that turned into another week and now that has turned into a month. Not good! I've only gained back a few lbs, but I need to put a stop to it now! So here's where I need your help. Tell me how you stay motivated to eat healthy. I know it really is a lifestyle change and I have a long ways to go on that. I need to teach my kids good eating habits so they don't have to deal with this, because it really is hard. You don't know til you go through it. No one can tell you, you have to live thru it to truely understand. It's a battle I fight in my head every time I eat. I need some yummy recipes, snack ideas, tips on how to get 4-5 servings of veggies a day. I've been thinking of starting up another biggest loser competition. Money seems to be a great motivator for people, so if you want to join me, please let me know. I would love to lose another 50 lbs by the end of the year. I think it's possible but I need some help.

a little something

2010-03-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

I have to post something. I'm so sick of looking at my blog with the same tired old post staring back at me every time. Lots of things going on. We are at the last day of Spring Break and I could not be happier! It is has been....tough to say the least and that is all I'm saying about that. Can you believe Easter is next Sunday? The first few months of the year have flown by, as usual. I've got a little over 2 weeks left of the biggest loser challenge at work. I plan on winning it, however I am about 10 lbs shy of my goal. I CAN DO IT! I have really been more aware of what I'm eating w/the end of this challenge in sight. Exercise and I have not been getting together as much as I would like. Something I really need to work on. I will have to come up w/some new motivation once this contest is over. Bathing suit season as a goal never really works for me. Money is a pretty good motivator. Especially when it doesn't have to come from me. Anyone up for a challenge?

We have been trying some new meds for Dylan and I'm not sure if they aren't working or if it's the boring-ness of Spring Break. We'll see how he does at school next week. Please send good thoughts my way cuz we ALL need them.

I finally started reading the Love & Logic book I got. It's suppose to help w/ 'the more challenging' kid. Let's hope this works and that I can retain the knowledge cuz we are just about at the end of our rope and looking for a new home for this kid. No. I'm not kidding.

Goal for April: blog more, yell less.

PS. I learned how to use the spell check. Yeah for me!

losin the lb's

2010-03-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got my butt on the elliptical. We've only had it for eh, about 3 years and I've probably been on it that many times. Maybe. Mike would say less if he were writing this. Hopefully since I did it once, I will motivate myself to keep it up. So far since October I've lost a little more than 30 lbs. Christmas was hard. I didn't quite stay on my diet, I was just careful and watched the scale to make sure it didn't go up too much. Valentines was also hard with all those yummy heart shaped cookies calling my name. Why is it when something is heart shaped, or say, Santa shaped or any kind of cute Holiday shape it is just so much more appealing? We are doing a Biggest Loser challenge at work and some of the Williams' family are doing a Family Health Challenge. I signed up for both and hopefully the $$$ and movie tickets will help motivate me get this weight off! I am doing pretty good w/the diet part bu the exercise part is SO HARD! I can tell myself all day long that as soon as I get home from work, I'm gonna go for a walk or get on that elliptical. Then I get home, decide that maybe after the kids go to bed would be a better time. Then at that time I decided that I will just wake up a few minutes early and get on the elliptical. Then I set my alarm clock for about 30 minutes early and hit it a million times til I eventauly HAVE TO get up. Ya, I suck. But today I did the elliptical. So there.

more cousin fun.....

2010-03-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

Just some of the fun things we did w/the fam:

Reverse Charades

Jeremy's face cracks me up in this picture!

Just watching everybody was so hilarious!

Nikki, Davin, Dylan and Shelby had so much laughing and running and playing

Everyone loved holding sweet Jaxson

Shelby loved playing w/Grandma's pottery. I was sure she was gonna break something but she was pretty careful with it and just sat and played forever.

I had no idea that so much of the ceramics, plates, mugs and dishes in the house were handmade by my Grandma. All these years and I never even knew!

Shopping!

Laughing. Lots and lots of laughing talking, eating, playing, and let's not forget Just Dance.

PS These pics, along with many more are on Picasa if anyone wants them

beauty shop

2010-02-26T23:10:00.003-07:00

On Holli's first day here we met up for pedi's! Even Tony got in an the fun.

While Tony & Brigette got there pedi's started, us girls picked out our colors!

Shelby was so good while we all got our pedi's. She was looking, ok touching all the nail polishes and bringing them to us and just having a good ole time. The next thing I knew they set her up at a station and she was getting her tiny little nails painted. It was the funniest thing ever! She LOVED it! She thought she was hot sutff! She had to actually sit still and to get her to do that the guy filled her mouth with candy. She was in Heaven!

After about 2 seconds she messed up her nails and the poor guy kept trying to do it over. Needless to say this won't be happening again for at least a couple years,but it was so fun!

By the way, the next day Shelby got a new'do, courtesey of Holli! (So did I but I don't have a pic yet.)

Getting her nails done while getting her hair done.....what have we created?!?!?!

Celebrating Grandma Wright

2010-02-26T22:29:00.002-07:00

About a week ago, my Grandma Wright passed away. When I think of her I remember her pink house, pink satin nightgowns, candy jars on the counter tops, and she and my Grampa working at Wrights' Market-and how proud they were of each one of there kids and Grandkids. I remember a long time ago they needed a new truck. My Uncle Billy went to the car dealership, picked out a nice red truck w/all the bells and whistles and haggled with them all day long til he got the price he wanted. Feeling very proud of himself he drove the truck home to show my Grandparents. My Gramma took one look at it and told him to take it back because the truck clashed w/the house. Yep, that was my Gramma. She could care less what kind of vehicle they got so long as it matched there pink house. So my Uncle Billy took the truck back and got a simple little gray pick up truck. Years later my parents ended up buying that truck once my Grampa could no longer drive. It was my first car(truck). I loved that truck and have so many fun memories of it. Ya, I could have driven our VW Volkswagen Bug but no, I was way too cool for that and instead I made my dad drive the bug-with no AC-to Phoenix, who knows how many miles, in the hot AZ sun and back so I could drive the AC filled truck-not even a mile to school w/my friends. Can you say spoiled? That's the love parents have for there kids I guess and I'm sure I would do the same thing for mine. Maybe.

I absolutely LOVE this picture of everyone in all our 80's glory!

I'm on the bottom rockin the read headed 'fro

On the bright side we had a lot of family come and visit. I love to see all my cousins! We joke that we don't get to all be together unless there's a wedding or a funeral.

Mom Jolyn Aunt Marilyn Laurissa Joslyn Monica Meg Amber Jill Me Kristen

Mr. Cody is growing up so fast! Some old friends I hadn't seen in a few years could not believe how grown up he is. I agree!

Brigette Holli Tony Mom Me Kirk

My mom and aunts gave wonderful tributes at the funeral. I got to learn a lot about My Grandma these last few days and in turn I also learned a lot about my mom. I've been to quite a few funerals and I always learn something I never knew about the person. I've known my Grandma all my life but hearing my mom and aunts tell there stories it just gave me a better understanding of things. They all grew up in the same family yet they all had different perspectives of there Mom. Hearing my mom and my aunts tell there stories, it just gave me a little peak inside and helped answer some of the questions I never knew I had.

Beautiful sisters:

Lynelle Susan Mom Marilyn

Jolyn Gramma Mom Brigette Me

Valentines Day

2010-02-14T20:30:00.056-07:00

Once again, it's been awhile since I've blogged. A lot has happened, let's see if I can get through this. I'll start w/Valentines. We had a very nice weekend. Mike bought the kids some fun gifts, which was a huge surprise for me cuz he never gets into stuff like that and I usually do it. Not this time! He says he was making up for Christmas (that's a story for another day). He bought me a digital picture frame and cleaned the house which was wonderful in and of itself! The picture frame was broken, so I had to return it and keep the money-Even better! We set up the chocolate fountain and pretty much just dipped stuff in it all day-Wonderful!

MmMmMmM

Suckers!

Shelby loves her new Dora and especially her sparkly new shoes. Seriously, she would not take them off!

Mike made us pink waffles!

Some people at suckers all day. Had to hide 'em, I think she's got a 'problem'...

Happy Valentines!

separation anxiety? not me!

2010-02-11T23:15:00.000-07:00

I just sent my Cody off to San Diego. He's going for school and it will be a great learning experience for him. I can't help but be nervous though! All the what ifs run through my head and did you see the Oprah texting-while-driving show? Not helping me right now! I know he will be okay and he will have so much fun but I just don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep well until he is home safe annoying me with his endless chatter!

skinny jeans

2010-02-10T22:40:00.001-07:00

You know teenagers are just so weird these days! Back in my day we dressed normal! You would never catch me wearing anything crazy. So what if I loved to wear neon colors and wear 2 or 3 pairs of socks to match them just right to my clothing. The hip thing now is to wear a lot of black clothing, heavy black eye liner, (even boys) weird haircuts, and those hideous skinny jeans. Every time we see this look on kids, we say we will never let 'our kids' wear that. Well lately Dylan has been saying he wants skinny jeans. What? Not my kid! No kid of mine will wear those! We kept saying things like 'no, you don't want skinny jeans' and Dylan would say 'yes! yes I do!' I just kinda ignored the topic and hoped it would go away. Well it didn't and he just kept asking. Ugh! Finally I asked why he wanted skinny jeans and what he liked about them. He said he wanted some cuz they are tight and don't fall down. I finally understood. He wants jeans that fit him! All his pants are big on him and we have to adjust the waist so it's as tight as it can go and they are still loose on him. He was so excited to try on jeans, and that just NEVER happens! He was more than happy to wear them to school today which made for a smooth morning! By the way, I didn't even have to buy skinny jeans, just a slim. Duh, Wendy!

P!nk

2010-02-10T22:07:00.012-07:00

I love Pink. When I first heard 'So What' I knew I had to own the cd. I love the whole entire cd-the entire cd-every single song! Love it! You can't say that very often about a cd. There are a few songs in particular that I put on repeat and just listen to over and over and over again. The kids love it too and they have there favorites. Number 7 Funhouse, is there fave! Even Shelby sings along to that one. 'Glitter in the Air' is one of my favorites! I can't tell you how many times I have listened to this song, I love it! It is just so beautiful and honest and raw. I missed her performance on the Grammy's but I was watching Oprah the other day, and much to my surprise and delight she had Pink as a guest. You know you've done something good (or really bad) when you've made it on Oprah! So that was my first time seeing the grammy performance and I was so happy to hear her perform that song and do that amazing twirly-whirly act-all while singing. And yes, she was really singing. She told me all about it. So now I can't get enough of seeing her perform so in case you haven't seen it, here you go. I think I need to see her in concert! Wanna go?

Pink out-performed everyone and I don't think anyone can top it! She is amazing!

Enjoy!

glitter in the air

Here she is performing on Oprah, just wait a few seconds for the videos to load
I don't Believe You

comments

2010-02-09T11:12:00.001-07:00

I'm not getting the comments e-mailed to me anymore. Has this happened to anyone else before?

oh.my.gosh!

2010-02-08T23:32:00.002-07:00

As I'm sitting here on the computer, I hear a strange noise. A clanging sound. I look over and I see the cat. Wait, that is not Kit Kat (our cat)! Wha? Double-take. Triple-take. Silently freaking out!!!! Screaming inside! Do you know how I feel about cats? They FREAK me out. You never know when they are gonna POUNCE. Kit Kat is different. She's very mellow, very sweet, she stays away from me for the most part, the kids love her and nobody has to pick up poop. Okay, back to the strange cat. He's staring at me. He knows I see him. I know he sees me. I told him to leave but nothing. He just stares. I get up and open the front door and he leaves-out the back door...I had no idea the backdoor was even open! Ahhhhh!!!!!! DYLAN!!!!!

That clanging noise? That was the cat eating out of Dylan's bowl of chili. What if I didn't hear that noise and just went to bed? There would have been this strange, evil cat in my house. All.Night.Long. I don't think I'm gonna be able to sleep tonight. Has this happened before and I just never knew? This cat is a stalker! He stalks our cat. He stalks me. One morning he was in my car. Stalking me. Cats freak my freak! They are evil! This is not good....not good at all. Freaked Out!!!

Update: This morning I told Dylan about it and he completely denied the whole thing. I was sure that he let the cat in, but he was just as surprised as I was about it and I can always tell when he's lying...hmmm.

When I went to bed I mentioned to Mike that 'that cat' was in the house. He knew what I meant about 'that cat'. It is always around our house-stalking, preying. He was half asleep when I told him that, but this morning he called me and asked me "did you say a cat was in the house last night? Yes Mike, yes I did. That is exactly what I said. Shelby! he says....Shelby opened the door, I know it. I remember her opening that door and then I got distracted and forgot about it.
Yep. Scary.
I will be checking that door along with all the other doors from now on.
Little stinker!

Ps. where did the spell check go? I can't find it.

homeWORK

2010-02-04T21:48:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess they call it homework for a reason. Dylan has been doing really good this week getting it done. A little bribery is key for us, and hopefully in time he'll just start doing it and forget about the prize/reward. I won't hold my breath.
Not much new here. I finally almost completed my project of painting my picture frames black. My mom gave me a few more frames so I need to get those done, but other than that I am pretty pleased w/how they turned out. I am not a crafty gal, so don't look too close if you come over. It's taken me a while to decide where I want to put/hang things in this house. I am always moving stuff around and driving Mike crazy. After the holidays I kinda forgot where stuff went so I decided to mix things up a bit and I'm rather pleased w/ how things have turned out. Next step: putting pictures in the frames. That's an inside joke, cuz I have a couple frames that i have never put pictures in. Just the people that came in them. They are part of the family by now. I'll get pictures in them very soon, I promise. I just have to pick some out. I've got a few walls that are still bare and driving me crazy, so I need to think of what I want to do with them. I have a few ideas, but that involves money, so it may have to wait.
I scrubbed my house clean over the weekend. Well not all of it but at least the downstairs. I don't think I'll ever get my whole house clean all at once-that is just never gonna happen. I'm okay w/that, but I've really been trying to keep it clean. I'm pretty sure my father in law has never seen my house clean. He lives close by and gets to come over pretty often and usually my house is a disaster! Embarrasing! It feels so much better to have everything picked up, I'm in a better mood and that means everyone else can be in better mood. I scrubbed my fridge majorly and the next day Cody asked if we got new shelves and drawers. Nope Cody, I just cleaned it. Wow, good job Mom, it looks brand new. Thanks, that's just what I wanted to hear!

oh happy day

2010-01-28T22:59:00.001-07:00

I have to blog about this cuz I never want to forget it. I'm sure I never will, but my memory isn't what it used to be. Dylan did his homework! Without anyone ~~yelling~~ telling him to do it! Before I even got home from work! On his own! This is MAJA people!! Getting this child to do homework takes both Mike and I (one of us to help him and the other to protect Cody & Shelby), a crap load of patience, restraint, time, bribery, chocolate, tape, encouragement, pleading, a first aid kit, and usually tears. So most of the time we try to get him to do it, but going through that day after day is draining and not worth the fight. I have tried everything. A sticker chart, food/candy, a puppy, the list goes on. If this kid doesn't want to do something, he will NOT do it. And good luck getting him to try. Me and his teacher have really been trying to encourage him to do it and somehow it is starting to work. He is such a challenging little boy and some days I just don't know what to do with him, but he can also be loving and kind and NICE. I try to enjoy those moments and not dwell on the bad ones.

little dyl

2010-01-15T22:20:00.003-07:00

Update on Dylan.
The school has been doing testing on Dylan to see what kind of help he needs and in what areas. School has been a huge challenge for him/us and I am so happy to have him in a good school with a wonderful, helpful teacher and a great staff. The teacher makes such a huge difference and Dylan started off w/ a rotten one so that didn't help the situation at all!!! Anyway, what they found out with all this elaborate testing is that Dylan is smart, he knows what he's doing, he just needs a lot of extra help to get him to do it. He takes a little extra time to process information and when overwhelmed with tasks he shuts down and tunes out. His teacher has been wonderful and really loves Dylan and has been really trying to help him and now the school is giving her and me the tools we need. They're going to make special arrangements for him while testing and different visual aides to help him in the classroom and teaching tools/ideas to help motivate him. So far so good, at least at home. I got him to do his homework a couple night this week, it was a little rough but at least I have more ideas and tips to get him to try and in time I hope it will get easier. He is such a challenge each and every day and some days I just can't do it, it's hard on everyone and I know it's hard on him too. But everyday is a new day and I just enjoy the easy moments!

Shelby's room

2010-01-14T12:33:00.002-07:00

I had to post these pics so I wouldn't forget and then it bothered me that I didn't write anything so here goes. Shelby has (had) this big empty wall in her room and I did not know what to do with it. I was walking around in Target in the girls bedding section where I like to make my wish list of how I want to do her room. While everything else is too expensive and she's not yet in a big girl bed, I saw these cute decals. I eyed them for awhile, then looked them up online and then decided that I had to have them. I'm trying not be an impulse buyer, so I look first, think about it, decide if I really need it, get the ok, and hopefully get it. I took Mike to show him and he thought they were cute too (who wouldn't) so we got them. I put them up the next day and I LOVE them. It makes me so happy when I go in her room, and I must say she loves them too. She touches them and talks to them and just thinks they are so fun! I almost want to get another set since they are so cheap and easy to do.

Gingerbread fun

2009-12-14T21:25:00.001-07:00

Here are the pics that I promised. Sorry, I kinda forgot.

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2009-12-08T12:42:00.001-07:00

The inside decorations are up, and the tree is up but not decorated yet and no lights on the house yet. Hopefully Mike will get motivated to do that this weekend???? We can only hope! Last night I decided we needed to get in the Christmas spirit so we decorated a gingerbread house, made chocolate chip cookies and Cody put up the tree. I got home from work, put some fun holiday music on and gathered everyone up. We started w/the gingerbread house and oh boy, what a pain! Shelby would not keep her fingers and mouth off that house! She wanted to just eat it and didn't even care that it is a Gingerbread Mans house and that it was up to us to give him a home and decorate it! She even ate one of the G-men. Every chance she got she tried to bite the house. As soon as we got out the frosting, she was dipping her little finger in it. Mike couldn't keep his comments to himself on how it was supposed to be done so I let him takeover and I started the chocolate chip cookies. I think Shelby might have an addiction problem. Candy might as well be crack cuz she goes ca-RA-zy. Screaming like someone's trying to hurt her and will not get her hands and mouth of that poor house! I had to hide the candy from her until it was time to put it on the house. She would not move too far away from the house and would not take her eyes off of it. You might just lose a finger if you got too close. We might have to find a 12 step program for her after the Holidays. Not sure how long that house is gonna last between her and Dylan. I was happy to see the house was still there this morning when I goet up. The cookies though, not safe. Dyl tore into those sometime ealry this morning. But he was in a great mood so maybe I should make cookies more often. I will post the pics when I get home....

cookie time

2009-11-29T22:12:00.001-07:00

We kicked off the Holidays the best way I know how. Putting up decorations and baking cookies. We had my friend Tina and sweet little boy Kingston over to help us get started. Tina and Kingston always bring cupcakes over, which we love but noone loves it more than Shelby. She loves to lick off all the frosting and then throw the rest of the cupcake through the air. This little girl will not stop eating the cupcakes and I am afraid she has become a bit of an addict. We love to have Tina and King over and they love to help us decorate for the Holidays. So we put up the decorations and then made some yummy sugar cookies from my Aunt Judys cook book;. The kids had so much fun doing it and they really got into it! They were such a mess by the time we were done and covered in flour. They all did such a good job and really got in and got there hands dirty. Literally!!! You have to click on the collage to get a better look at the pics, there are some really good ones in there! Merry Christmas!

Turkey Day 09

2009-11-29T21:47:00.001-07:00

We had a nice Thanksgiving Lunch at my Aunt Lynelle's house this year. She puts on a great feast and everybody brings a little something. I wasn't sure of we were gonna make it since Mike had to work and there was no telling what time he would get off. Luckily he got off early and we were able to make it! It's always fun to get together w/family and eat really yummy food. Especially on Thanksgiving!

Shelby and Cody's birthday celebration

2009-11-29T20:44:00.001-07:00

This is pretty bad! The month is just about over and I haven't even written about Shelby's b-day. Ugh! Who knows what else I missed, but I'm gonna start there. This year we decided to have Cody and Shelby's b-day parties together since their birthdays are a couple weeks apart. It turned out really fun, lots of friends and family came to help celebrate their big day. My friend Jayme Stoker made the CUTEST cake! The kids loved it! It was a huge hit! Cody has been wanting an I-touch, so we just asked people to get him money or a gift card and we were able to surprise him w/that. He loves it and has hardly put it down since he got it. Shelby got some fun toys, pajamas, a cute little fairy dress, a cute little purse, play-do, and the cutest little dress up shoes that she loves to wear everywhere we go. She also got a baby doll and a mini cleaning kit. It is the cutest lil mop and broom set and everything she needs to clean. This child is always getting my mop and broom and trying to sweep and mop, so needless to say she loves playing w/it.

Halloween two-thousand-and-nine

2009-11-05T21:28:00.001-07:00

It's about time I post about Halloween, so here we go. Halloween Eve Ellie and Derek came over to carve pumpkins and have caramel apples and watch a movie. Well, part of that worked out. I do what I do best and procrastinated and waited till the last minute to get a pumpkin and they were all sold out. Luckily Derek and Ellie came prepared w/2 pumpkins! They had cute lil faces drawn on there pumpkins but i couldn't find my pumpkin carving kit so there pumpkins didn't turn out quite as they pictured but they all had fun gutting the pumkpins with there bare hands and even Shelby got into it. She had to get right up in there w/the other kids. I was to busy w/messy pumpkin hands to take pics, but it was actually quite fun. And messy! The plan was also to make caramel apples but as usual, I messed those up. I had never done them before and kinda glanced at the directions and had the stove heat a smidge to high and that caramel just scorched before I knew it, and that was the end of that. The kids played and watched a movie and had popcorn and had a great ole time.

This brings us to Halloween night! I was so sick of Halloween, I was not feeling the whole trick-or-treating thing, but once the kids got into there costumes, I was ready to go, and even got my ole standby cat costume and whiskers put on and we were ready to go! Shelby looked so dang cute in her costume, the pictures do not do her justice. She was so cute walking up to the door w/her brothers and they were so good to wait for her and help her out and show her the ropes. We took her around the block and she was done! She would not let that bag of candy go, and she couldn't wait to get home and dig in. Mike took the boys out for a bit longer and Shelbs and I stayed home, had a little candy, handed out candy and she was off to bed! So ready for bed! When the boys got home they actually sat down and watched Halloween H20 w/me! These boys take after there father and do not like scary movies. It was edited for tv and they were mostly busy w/there candy but they sure did sit thru it, eyes glued to the tv, wanting to know what's gonna happen next??? Oh you will see...You will see!

Until next year....

my bday weekend!

2009-10-26T22:23:00.001-07:00

Hmmm, what else is in October? That's right, my birthday. It started out really fun w/happy bday wishes from the kids and 32+ bday spankings from Dylan. We take birthdays pretty seriously at my work so I had a fun day. Lots of food, treats, and yummy lunch from Rosati's.

My desk

My cute friend Carolyn and her adorable baby bump! She is due in January w/ a baby girl!

Later that night we went to San Tan Flats w/the fam. The next day I spent the day w/ my mom and she took me to get a pedicure and then we went out to lunch and oh, she got me the CUTEST purse! I also got a fun gift card to Ulta! Can't wait to use it-Thanks Debby!
Then in the evening I went to dinner and a movie w/my best girlfriends Tina & Nicole. Sorry, no pics. While at the movie I got a text that my cousin Jolyn was in town and she wanted to see us before she had to leave, so the next day I took Dylan & Shelby w/me and we picked up my mom & Brigette and off we went to the assisted living home my Grandma stays at so we could visit w/Jolyn and my grandma until Jolyn had to go back home. It was so fun visiting w/them, we just don't get to see out-of-town family enough. We got to catch up on each others lives and chat and just have fun!

Jolyn, Grandma, Mom, Brigette, Me

Shelby and Dylan had a blast playing together and were so good while I got to visit w/the fam. They played in the back yard, found a cat and tried to bring it home, played ping pong, jumped on the trampoline, ran around, ate all the granola bars from my purse and played in this fun little helicopter. (By the way, when the time comes I want to stay at this place! Such a nice home, and a sweet couple that take care of the elderly).

Shelby and Dylan going for a ride

Dylan and Grandma Wright

Shelby, Me, Mom, Grandma....Dylan

Later on my cousin Monica came by w/her son Mitch and he put on a fun magic show and played some tunes on the piano. We loved it and so did Grandma and her roommates. I had to steal this pic from Monica's blog-Thanks Monica!

Some other fun things that have gone on.....Cody made the honor roll...Dylan lost 1 tooth and the other one is just about to come out. Tooth fairy couldn't find our house...woops! Shelby found her attitude and her favorite word is "No" or "nope". Oh by the way, we got a cat. I know, I know...here he is. Dylan LOVES this cat SO MUCH!

Kit Kat, aka Garfield

Dylan was sleeping w/the cat, but the cat ran out of the pic.

Jolyn , this was for you! I finally updated my blog! Enjoy!

Halloween at the Fents

2009-10-26T22:05:00.002-07:00

perhaps the best part of Halloween??? Halloween Oreos, My fave!

Family Pics 09

2009-10-26T21:03:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year for family pictures...Not a happy time in my house. Everybody hates it. Nobody wants to go. Nobody wants to wear what I pick out. Everybody complains about it. We almost just forget about it. Thank goodness for my perseverance-and bribery!
The pics turned out great and guess who couldn't wait to see how they turned out? Hmm, I'll leave that up to you...
My wonderful and talented cousin Malissa Cordova took the pics and she did a wonderful job. Mike was pretty nervous the whole time since we were in downtown Mesa and as soon as we got there the crazies started coming out. Dylan was extremely nervous to go near the train tracks, let alone step inside them. It took a lot of coaxing to get him to do it, but he did and he was a great sport. Some if his faces in these pics crack me up!

are you ready for some football?

2009-10-26T20:14:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted and it's a good thing I take pictures, otherwise I would forget everything that has happened.

Dylan started flag football and for the most part he really loves it. This is his first time playing sports so I was kinda nervous and I wanted to make sure he wanted to play and that he would go to all his practices and games. I signed up both boys but unfortunately there weren't enough kids in Cody's age group so he did not get to play. That really pissed me off cuz I searched and searched for an organization they could both play in and that was close to home. So much for that! Anyway, Dylan did really good the first few games and got to play Quarterback and other positions and made some really great plays. He loved it. Well, a couple Saturdays ago, he did not want to go, would not go, threw a huge fit but we made him go. Getting him out of the car was another story and eventually we got him out to the field. The game was half way over by this time but I was bound and determined that he go and at least show up and support his team. He was not getting out of this! Mike and I were irritated and exhausted by this point so I asked his coach for a little help in motivating Dylan. He came over to Dylan, asked him if he wanted to help him coach, brought him over to the sidelines and just started talking to him and letting him know how happy he was that he showed up and came out to support the team. At the next break he had all the boys come over to him and give him a five. It was the sweetest thing and my eyes filled w/tears, and I just could not help myself. So many emotions for a crazy, crappy morning and it just helped to have his coach react the way he did. He ended up having a great time and said he would go to the next game and was even excited for it! We haven't had any problems since and he loves it and is doing great!

Live IN the MOMent

2009-10-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

I just watched Oprah and felt compelled to write this. Say what you want about Oprah but sometimes she has one some really good shows. I Tivo it everyday just so I don't miss out on anything good and once in a while I learn something from her shows. Today was a great show and it really got me thinking cuz I have been so fed up w/my kids and really having a short temper w/them and that doesn't make me happy. It makes me feel disgusting and I don't want to feel that way and I don't want them to hate me when they grow up and move out.

I have been feeling so overwhelmed lately with mother hood and the day-to-day and dealing w/Dylan and his needs and Shelby entering the terrible two's and Cody about to become a tween. On January 29 (I will never forget this day) I made the worst mistake of my life. I left Shelby in the car. At work.
It was like any other crazy morning. Getting the kids up and ready for school or daycare. I have a very bad habit of sleeping in til the last second and then waking up in a rush, wondering how I could let myself sleep so late, waking the kids, getting them ready, dropped the boys off at school, took Shelby to daycare, all that fun stuff. At the time the boys were still going to Copper Basin, so I would drop them off and then drop Shelby off and then go to work. This particular morning was no different. Before leaving the house I grabbed a soda and put it in my purse which I do quite often. After dropping off the boys I looked down at my purse and noticed there was soda everywhere and it was all wet and there was a big gash in the soda can. I had just gotten a new cell phone and I was worried sick that it had gotten wet and destroyed (not the first time this has happened) and rushed off to work to clean out my purse. I was excited when I clocked in cuz for once I was actually early. No bells went off-red flag #1-early for work. I'm almost never early. I preceded to the bathroom to clean out my purse (I left the door open) and wash it out when one of the Technicians-Marty, came in calling to me and said to me "Hey your kid is callin for ya". I thought to myself, Oh great Cody has full day, He forgot to get his planner signed-again, it must be him. But I still didn't understand how Marty would know this information (red flag #2) or why he was answering our work phone and I kinda looked at him like "what-the-heck-are-you-talking-about. He said "your baby. She's in the car. Screaming." I just looked at him. Suddenly it sank in and I ran out to the car as fast as I could and grabbed her and took her in my arms. She was screaming her little head off, her face covered in tears and I know that if she could talk she would be asking me, "why did you leave me in the car Mommy?" How could I forget my baby?? How could I be so stupid? And then I had a flashback of the whole morning and the stupid can of soda/rushing to work/and then having someone else, some man tell me that my kid was in the car! I just couldn't believe it and I just cried and cried and I went home and spent the entire day w/her and just played w/her and cried some more. I was a wreck the hole day. In the back of my mind, I remembered on Oprah show that I had recently watched where a Mom had a similar morning to mine, and one little thing went wrong and then it just snow-balled from there. She left her baby girl in her car and she was not as fortunate as me and her sweet little girl died. In her own car. The guilt I have over this will never go away and I will never forget that day. It could have ended so much worse but thank God that it didn't. I would like to think that eventually I would have come to my senses and realized I never dropped her off, or that Brooke would have called me asking where we were but I just don't know. Having to tell Mike was the hardest part because I didn't want him to give me 'that look'. The look of 'how could you be so stupid'. Luckily he didn't give me too hard of a time because he knew how much I was beating myself up about it. Since then people who knew about it would tell me there own stories of how something similar had happened to them, but I just don't know how I could have gone on, how I could have ever forgiven myself.

One good thing about that happening is that I try to pay more attention. I try to remember things better. I have the worst memory since having kids and one day I almost went to work in my night shirt-w/out my bra. I was feeling nice and free-just about to walk out the door when I realized I should not be feeling so free. I then remembered why I had come down stairs-to get my shirt and bra out of the dryer, got sidetracked, was already running late and almost went to work in my pj's.

So, watching today's Oprah really helped put things back into perspective today and remind me to not worry that my house looks like a bomb went off, and just try to enjoy my kids while I have them and make the most out of my time w/them.

Hopefully I can remember this when Dylan is having a melt-down and calling me every name in the book and destroying my already messy house.

Ewwwww!

2009-09-04T22:17:00.001-07:00

Tonight Mike was sitting outside, enjoying the nice weather and out of nowhere he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. It was a scorpion! Cody happened to have his friends, Tony and Nick over for a sleepover, so Mike called 'em all out there and told them to put there shoes on and come out here quick! The next ten minutes or so was the most excitement we've had in a long time! While they were looking at the scorpion, this big-huge-gnarly-hairy-ugly spider comes creeping out from under the bushes! These boys were out there trying to CATCH these disgusting creatures and they were screaming like little girls! It was hi-larious! Tony and Nick are really fun kids and have a great sense of humor. At one point during the "hunt", Tony exclaimed, "Don't worry, we can do it! We're Mexicans!" I thought Mike was gonna pass out from laughing so hard.

Now we are on alert! We have never had anything so grotesque as these scary disgusting creatures, (well except for the mouse)! I cringe just thinking about it! I am scared to death to go outside now!

Shelby's First Haircut

2009-09-03T19:46:00.001-07:00

Mike has been bugging me to cut Shelby's hair and I was not okay with that! I didn't want to get it cut and have her look like a boy and I didn't want just anyone to cut it. I was afraid he was gonna take her out somewhere and let some stranger cut my babys hair. After a few false alarms and choice words for him, I finally gave in. He was at his friends house and his wife Tori cuts hair, and after a few frantic texts and Facebook messages, I finally felt ok with it. Well she did a great job and Shelby looks so beautiful. She was so proud of herself cuz when we asked to her to show us her hair, she did the whole putting her hand up to hair and said "pretty".

August

2009-09-02T20:57:00.001-07:00

Well, I can't think of anything that happened this month. I was gonna post about August, but I couldn't remember anything that happened. Maybe I should at least right stuff down so I can remember.
Well, today Shelby learned to jump. It's the cutest thing and she just kept doing it over and over. We are having so much fun w/her! I love my boys, but little girls are just so special. Don't get me wrong though, this girl definitely takes after me with her stubbornness and hot temper-as Mike likes to point out every time she gets crazy.

The boys have been in school over a month now and so far so good. They really like the new school and I actually do too. I am glad to get away from that WITCH of a principal at Copper Basin. I hate that woman, she is.........Anyway, they really like the new school and their teachers. Cody is in 6Th grade and Dylan is in 2ND. They made new friends pretty quick and even ran into some old friends. I was really nervous about having to switch schools, but so far so good. I think it will actually be better. Here are some pics of the first day of school. They are taking the bus for the first time and I was really nervous about that. The first few days I waited at the bus stop w/them but Cody accused me of stalking them so I now I just wait inside the house and make sure everybody gets on the bus okay. So far there has just been one morning where someone decided that they didn't need to get on the bus. Luckily, we caught him and now I don't feel so bad being a stalker!

Can someone please teach me how to do those photo collages? This is it for now, I have a fun post in the works....

summer

2009-08-10T21:26:00.002-07:00

Things that have happened since I last posted...In no particular order, just as they pop into my head...

i FINALLY got my hair cut
school started
i hung a picture
hosted several summer sleepovers
holli came to visit
my mom had major surgery and is now recovering
i started and stopped weight watchers and then started and stopped again
cody fell down the stairs-like mother like son
shelby fell and cut her lip open...same day as the stair incident
they are both ok
went swimming at grampas
took an unplanned dip into the pool to get dylan out of the pool
lost my mind
i escaped the house-by myself! for a few hours
went crazy
attempted to get organized

2009-08-10T21:17:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in forever so don't expect anything now. See my background? The black and white print layout thing going on? Well I found a shower curtain that I just love and it is the inspiration for how I want to decorate our master bedroom. I am looking for bedding in this print or something similar. At least a bed spread. Let me know if you see anything.

Dylan turned 7

2009-06-30T22:23:00.001-07:00

This month is just about over and I have only done 1 post. Lame! Well, Dylan turned 7 on the 9th and we had a really fun pool party at his Grampa's house. We all had a great time and Dyl man got some really fun gifts! Here are some pics of his fun day!

Cody goes to Omaha and Dylan turns 7

2009-06-09T12:13:00.001-07:00

Cody is in Omaha w/Holli. He was so excited to go. He got to ride on the airplane all by himself! He said it was so cool. By the way, don't ever fly US Airways. They charge a $100 Unaccompanied Minor fee-BOTH WAYS! Ya, someone didn't see that when they were booking the flight so we got stuck having to pay that stupid, unneccesary fee. I was so nervous for Cody to fly by himself. We had to wake up super early and get to the the airport 2 hours early. It's a good thing we did though because w/all the waiting in lines and going through security and then getting to the gate we really didn't have to wait long until they boarded him on the plane. There were 2 other kids flying by themselves and they all sat together. They put the kids on the plane about 30 minutes before the rest of the passengers. I guess that got a tour of the plane and met the pilots. I wanted to go on the plane w/him but they only let me up to the gate. I got a little emotional when it was time for him to go, but he had no problem, he wasn't scared or nervous. He was just excited! So he is there, they are having a great time and all is good.
Once he arrived safely we got to talk to him and hear all about his first plane ride. Dylan was so excited to hear his voice. It was so funny, he was just beaming. They went to the zoo yesterday and today they are just hanging out.

7 years ago my baby boy Dylan was born! I was so relieved to be done being pregnant w/him cuz I had to be on bed rest at the hospital and it was a very long and lonely time. I will never forget the day he was born and I shoulda known then that he would be my challenge!

He was so excited to take cookies to share w/everyone today at daycare. I noticed one cookie missing this morning, he just couldn't wait. I tried to have one last night and he said, No Mom, it's not my birthday yet! He would not let me have one. He even hid them! So, I couldn't have one and then he decided he would take them to daycare today. Oh well, I didn't need it anyways. Since it's his birthday he gets to pick what he wants for his bday dinner and he chose Taco's. We love taco's at our house and usually have them about once a week. I am going to attempt to make him a spiderman cake for his bday pool party. He is so in to spiderman, it's ridiculous! We've been watching Cake Boss on tv and they make it look so easy. We'll see how my cake turns out. I've got some ideas.

movie day

2009-05-25T20:56:00.001-07:00

Today was a fun day. We mostly just laid around the house until Mike got home from work and then me and the boys went to the movies. We saw Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian. It was a really cute movie and the boys loved it. Dylan was pretty good this weekend, just a couple meltdowns but we got through it without killing each other! Today he was really good and really fun to be around at the movie. He even held my hand from the car to the movie theater. It's the little things that go a long way. After the movie we met up w/my Mom and Tony at Red Robin and then picked up our little house guest. Gracie will be staying with us while my mom and Tony go to Omaha for a week to visit The Besse's. I'm so jealous!!! I wish I could be going too! Oh well, I will hopefully be going in December?!?!? Brigette-get ready!

brothers by chance, friends by choice...someday I hope

2009-05-21T12:14:00.001-07:00

It's no secret that Cody & Dylan don't get along. At times I wonder if they will ever get along. Most siblings have little fights and say mean things to each other, but when they become adults they are friends. I can only hope this comes true for Cody and Dylan. Anyway, this happened a couple weeks ago at school and I need to write it down to prove to them when they are older, that yes, you do love each other. The school day ended and it's always a rush to get out of the school, but some kid brushed by Dylan and knocked him down. Oh this set Cody off and he was about to hurt this kid for knocking over his little brother. But then, he stopped before he did anything and actually thought about the consequences of what would happen if he punched this kid. Even though he was so mad, he refrained from hitting this kid cuz he knew he would get in trouble and instead just gave the kid the "Cody look of death". Done. No one get hurt. No one got in trouble, but Cody got his point across-and he actually defended his brother-whom he says he hates! I get a little choked up just thinking about it. There is hope for them!

Our mornings have been going very well, and Dylan has been so sweet. In the mornings only, the evenings are a different story. Anyway, let's talk about how sweet he is in the morning. He wakes up, usually on his own, gets dressed and comes in and gives me a hug. He is in a great mood, cooperative, loving, nice, and just keeps giving me hugs. He can't wait to get Shelby up and give her a hug. It's sweetness overload. It's great. We all get ready, go to school/daycare/work. The evenings are quite different. I can come home, he's in a good mood, but just one thing sets him off and it all goes to hell in a hand basket! If Cody won't play w/him, or if he can't have a certain treat that he wants, or he can't play games, whatever it is that he wants, but can't have he turns into a crazy man. This is when we all want to run for cover, but can't because we have to contain the little monster man and just do whatever it takes to calm him down. The hard part is finding out what will calm him down, because it's always different, it's never just one thing. So, that's what happened last night until he eventually calmed down and fell asleep. Then this morning he was happy as a clam, like nothing ever happened. Fun times!

When I got home yesterday from work, Shelby was so cute. Brooke had done her hair at daycare, so she had a little pony tail and this cute little bracelet on. She was so excited to show me her bracelet and she even left it on all evening until I put her to bed. Brooke said she had taken it off for her when she took a nap and as soon as she woke up, she wanted it back on. Such a girl, she is so funny! Last night we made brownies for her 18 month milestone and she loved it! I have pics of the event but I have to get them uploaded from my camera. Stay tuned.

18 months

2009-05-20T12:44:00.001-07:00

Today Miss Shelby is 18 months old! I can hardly believe it! She is growing into such a beautiful young little lady, we are so happy to have her in our lives. She is so much fun and fits right in to our little family. She has the cutest personality and knows how to get exactly what she wants. She only has a few words that she says all the time, otherwise she just points and yells. We're trying to teach her to use her words but she gets so frusterated. Unfortunately she's inherited my patince and attitude! She is just getting more and more fun each day! I just can't believe how fast it all goes. Some of her favorite things are; chocolate, playing in her room, paying hide and seek, playing peek-a-boo, and running away when you need her to sit still. She loves to walk around the house w/my purses and a cracker in each hand. She is too much! I should have a picture on here but I have been really bad about taking pictures lately. I will have to post one later. Happy 18 months birthday Miss Shelby Grace!

gonna make a change

2009-05-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here eating lunch at work, as usual and I'm eating my lunch. Not us usual is what I am eating. I, Wendy Fent am having vegetables for lunch. Ok, pull yourself up off the floor and keep reading. Lately I have really been making a conscious (sp?)effort to lose weight! I tried the hellish HCG diet for 10 days and I just could not do it! I was about ready to kill someone, it was that bad! I hated every minute of it, except the part where I lost 10 lbs. That was good, but I just could not continue. I couldn't just go off the diet and back in to my old ways. I've tried several different diets over the years and they either only worked for a short while, I just gave up, became pregnant and decided I needed to stop dieting while pregnant because I am eating for two, ya know, or I just wasn't fully committed. Well, I am now! Especially after I heard a good friend has lost 70lbs doing Weight Watchers. She even asked me to start w/her last year but for some dumb reason I didn't start the program w/her. Coulda. Shoulda. Woulda. Enough! So I let myself go off the HCG diet, I gave myself a few good meals over the weekend, and on Monday I started Weight Watchers. I'm not going to the actual meetings. I've been enough times so I have the basics. I would like The Dining Out Guide and the Complete Food Guide, (HINT, HINT) but I have enough to get started. One of the good things about the HCG was that it was so limited in what you could eat, that I discovered that I do like certain vegetables. Now, I am 31 yrs old I have never been a good vegetable eater unless it was fried and covered in ketchup. So, out of desperation I broke down and actually devoured a bowl of zuchini and squash at my moms house, and I actually really loved it. I also found that I like asparagus. Who knew? So I am being more mindfull about what I am eating and keeping a journal of everything! Now I just need to get my buns in gear and get moving!

2009-05-18T12:37:00.001-07:00

We had a very nice weekend. Tina and Kingston came over on Saturday and we played and watched movies and Dylan got a taste of his own medicine! Kingston loves playing w/the boys and wanted to do everything the boys were doing. He was a little shadow to the boys, and Dylan was getting a bit annoyed. At first it was fun for Dylan, but after awhile he was getting tired of it. Yes. Dylan. Tired of playing. But he was a really good sport and both boys played with him and they both were very good at including Kingston in everything they did. He is such a little cutie!

Dylan's behavior has been much better of the past few days. Of course we had a few meltdowns, but that is what's to be expected. I try to think back and see what happened and why he hasn't been so bad. That sounds weird, I know but I just try to look back and see why/how the boys were getting along. They played together pretty well and were taking turns w/out Mike and I having to be all over them. It does help to have bribery, I guess. Now that it's hot enough to go swimming that is there favorite thing to do and they will do almost anything in order to go swimming. Dylan was extra super sweet this morning which always makes me kind of nervous. I thought i would go downstairs to some kind if mini explosion, but everything was still in tact. That's a good thing. No major outbursts this morning, everyone was ready for school. We'll see what happens tonight.

By the way, I am not trying to get pity or sympathy by talking about Dylan's outbursts. I am definitely frustrated at times, but I don't let it get me down. Sometimes are worse than others and I don't always stay calm, cool and collected but it is okay. I don't mean to give the impression that we are all miserable. Please don't feel bad for us. We have this struggle, but we are getting through it.

2009-05-08T12:21:00.001-07:00

Note: This was written about a week ago, I just didn't get around to posting it...

Ok, so I have been doing much better w/the not yelling. I have consciously been more aware of it and have been really trying to find a different way to get my point across. I was doing good until Wednesday. It all went downhill from there! Shelby was sick and I had to pick her up from daycare and it was a half day so I picked up the boys from school at the same time. Shelby was sick and puking everywhere every 5 minutes. Dylan. Oh Dylan. He started acting up and it was total chaos. By the time Mike got home from work I was ready to throw myself out the window and probably take one of the kids w/me! Not to mention it was the first real day of my new diet and I had just had it! Well, everyone made it through the day but I stayed home w/Shelby the next day and she seemed to be doing better. In the evening after her nap we could just tell she did not feel good and she had a slight fever. She was worse, although no throw up the entire day, just diarrhea. We gave her some Tylenol and then she just layed w/me until I put her to bed. She is just the sweetest thing! I feel so bad for her. Mike took her to the doc today and there was nothing they could do for her. He said she didn't look dehydrated and to just give her lots of fluids, which is what we have been doing, so that felt like a waste but I feel better that we took her. She is home w/her Daddy today, so that is good for them.

Dylan has been so destructfull the past few days and I have to wonder if it's because Shelby is sick and getting all the attention. He has been so bad this week, it really sucks! He is not usually this bad this many days in a row. I really don't want to up his meds, I don't think he needs that yet. But I do not have the strength to deal w/him some days. Mike and I are usually able to take turns but man, he just has worn us both down this week.
But things have not been all bad. He has been up and ready to go to school every day this week and pretty cooperative when asked to do something. Mostly. There were a few times this week that he was actually sweet. I wish there were more days like that! He can be very good at times, but then all of a sudden it's like something clicks in his brain and BOOM!!!! Take cover! Watch out!

Dylan loves to play w/Cody and do everything w/him but he is mean to Cody the most and Cody is really getting sick of it. We really try to help Cody understand that just the smallest thing can set Dylan off and to try and not do certain things. We cannot leave these to alone together because it most often ends in a fight, someone hurt & crying, or something broken, usually all three. Cody has my short-temper and gets fired up real easy! Dylan knows how to push his buttons!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and understanding! We will get thru this and helps to talk about it. This way I can keep track of how he's doing.
Thanks again!

i laugh and i cry

2009-04-30T22:16:00.001-07:00

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have The Facts of Life...the Facts of Life

So last night I had to go to the store and I really didn't want to take anyone w/me, it was a short trip. Miss Shelby really needed to get out of the house too, but she was being soooo whiny! Instead Cody took her up stairs for a nap and I went to the store. BY MYSELF! When I got back Mike informed me that the saddest thing happened when I left and it just about broke his heart. Shelby screamed my name all the way up to her room and then continued screaming my name in the saddest, most pathetic little voice. Moooommmy! Moooommmmmmyyyyyyyy! Boy did I feel bad but she really did need a nap!

Mornings suck at our house. They just do, I'm sure you can relate. I usually find myself yelling at the kids all morning to get up, get dressed, get moving and get out the door. I really feel bad about this and usually feel horrible about it my whole drive to work and thereafter. But the same thing happens again the next morning, and the next, and the next. I try do as much as possible the night before like showers and all that, but unfortunately they can't sleep in there school clothes for the next day. Well they could I guess but I'm not gonna make them do that. Something always goes wrong. I usually sleep in too long, thus getting a late start and that means me not getting a shower sometimes. Don't tell! It just never fails that there is always some small emergency or someone doesn't want to get up and there I go yelling at someone to get going and someone ends up in tears. Usually me. So I am really gonna try to get my buns outta bed and try my best and not yell. Hopefully they won't hate me when they grow up.

Evenings aren't much better. I've been trying lately to get Dylan to do his homework. This usually ends in tears as well. The only thing that works for this kid is major nudging (yelling) and I just have to constantly be on his case. Anytime you can make him laugh always helps a little bit, he'll usually forget why he's mad and then does whatever it is I need him to do. Sometimes this works, sometimes it does not. Tonight I had to bribe him w/going to the Cabin w/ Granny & Tony. It worked pretty well, he did a lot of his homework and even took a shower-and cleaned himself. Little miracles! Cody on the other hand copped an attitude. Sometimes I could just wring his neck! Part of me wanted to really show him I meant business and not let him go to the cabin, but that would mean that Dylan couldn't go either and Mike and I would not get a weekend alone, kind of, we'll still have Shelby. But I'll take what I can get! So we decided to let him go but he's gonna be grounded when he gets home and lose all his privileges for 1 month. He was very disrespectful to both me and Mike and he needs to learn his lesson.

Sorry this is so long, I just needed to vent! Don't get me wrong, we have good times too and I will post about that later when I am missing my boys this weekend!

stuff

2009-04-29T21:59:00.002-07:00

Every time I feel inspired to write a post I am either nowhere near a computer, or at work. I should just start keeping a diary or something. Anyway, things have been going pretty good I guess. So if anyone still reads this most of you know that Dylan has been diagnosed w/ ADHD and Aspergers Disorder-among other things. His doctor is treating him for his symptoms and isn't concentrating on 'labels'. He has been having a hard time in school so we needed a diagnosis in order to help him. Anyway, the past month has been h-e-l-l with him. He went a week or so w/out one of his meds and just about destroyed the house. Just a little reminder that we can never run out of meds and not be prepared. One night after hanging out w/friends I came home to what looked like a tornado had hit my house. I have been wary to write about his 'issues' cuz I don't want people to judge us and everyone has to give there opinions and sometimes people just don't understand. But then I got to thinking and I thought it might be a good thing to start writing about it, #1 to vent, #2 to mark his progress-and just daily things that go on, and #3 to let people know that they are not alone if they have a "Dylan". I don't know where I'm going to find the time to writ about this, so we'll see. The whole school thing is really frustrating. His entire kindergarten year was pretty much a waster because he had a substitute teacher who had no idea what she was dealing with. He was practically expelled from the school and they were not helpful! He has a wonderful teacher this year and I am sad that the year is ending because she just gets him and is so PATIENT w/him and has just been so helpful and understanding-along w/ a few other parents in the class. I could go on and on about this, but I really need to go to bed!
By the way, right now our thoughts are w/Mike's sister Jill who is having heart problems and will be having surgery at the end of May. She is barely 30 years old and has lived w/this her entire life, but didn't really know the extremity of it until recently. So please pray for her and to learn more about this amazing woman, you can go to her blog .

Easter

2009-04-15T22:35:00.001-07:00

I've been so excited to read every body's Easter posts and then I realized that I didn't post yet about our Easter. OK, well I love getting ready for Holidays and trying to do all the fun little traditions my mom did for us. I got the Easter baskets ready the night before and put them out where the kids would see them. They did not see them. Dylan came upstairs and asked if the Easter bunny had come and I couldn't believe he didn't see his basket! It was right in front of his face when he woke up! Crazy kid. Anyway, the kids got there baskets and they were so excited. I got them Easter clothes and the boys were actually excited about wearing there shirts. Yes! I think Shelby was the most excited about her basket. We discovered that she LOVES candy. This girl is hooked! I mean it actually may become a problem for her! I made the mistake of trying to take away her basket and this girl f-l-i-p-p-e-d out! She got SO MAD. It was hilarious, but really she did not like that one bit. She started screaming and crying and just threw the biggest fit! She then discovered Reese's pieces peanut butter candies. It is like crack! She loves them so much and that is all she wants to eat. So with way too much candy and not much of a nap, she was a little stinker toward the end of the day and we had to cut our party a little short. We had a great day though and the weather was so beautiful! We started off for brunch @ Mike's moms house and a fun little scavenger hunt and lots of egg hunting and good food! We then took a pit stop at my moms house until it was time for our next 'gathering' and tried to get some rest. That didn't really happen. We then went to my aunt Lynelle's for Easter dinner and more food, family and fun! I love seeing all my family for the holidays and I hate to miss out on anything. We had a really nice day. You can check facebook for pictures. lol!

Somehow the Easter bunny lost my basket cuz I still haven't gotten it yet. Maybe i wasn't good enough? I will try harder next year. Ha!

what is that?

2009-04-15T21:48:00.001-07:00

Beware: I talk about poop in this post.

Tonight I was giving Shelby a bath and I had to use the restroom(quick) so I asked Mike to watch Miss Shelby while she was in the bathtub. Next thing I know, i hear Mike saying "What is that?? No Shelby, No don't pick that up...ew gross..no Shelby, don't touch that"...I rush out to see what's going on and she had pooped in the bathtub. And he just left her there-in her own filth! Did not take her out! He's fired from giving her baths! So I have him give her a shower and clean her off while I clean the tub.
What is it about men and poop? You would think he's never seen poop before. He was just freaking out! But that is fine by me, I will take care of the kid poop, he can deal with all other poop. It was just a funny moment, and I think he just couldn't believe she actually pooped in the tub. He was flabbergasted.

By the way, anyone notice that if you have to pee, there is no holding it! There is a certain point where it is do or die. Beware! After child birth things just are not the same! When you gotta go, you really do got-to-go!

haircuts

2009-04-13T20:59:00.001-07:00

All week long I have been wanting to take the boys to get haircuts. Not really a hard task you might think, but by the time I get home from work the last thing I want to go do is sit in line to get haircuts. Well, finally Saturday we got around to it and we didn't even have to wait in line! Nice! Cody did NOT want to get this haircut and had a not so good attitude the whole time. Dylan on the other hand, was so excited and was just smiling ear to ear the whole time. He loved it. I think it might have had something to do w/getting a sucker at the end. He even let the guy put some gel in his hair and he was looking sharp! Cody was almost done getting his hair cut and was so mad! He just had this sad look on his face and he was not happy! Finally when she was done cutting his hair, I'm trying to ask him if he likes it and he is still pouting away. I made him let her put gel in his hair and style it a little bit and all of a sudden her perked right up and guess what.....he liked it! He tried to act like he didn't but he couldn't stop smiling, so I know he liked it. And guess what, they both wanted me to style it again the next day. Ha!

edit to my last post

2009-04-12T00:28:00.001-07:00

One thing that I said in my last post has been bugging me. I thought about deleting it, but maybe I should just edit it. I do not, nor have i ever hated being a mother! It is the best thing I've ever done and would not trade a minute of it for the world. As you grow up you change a lot. Getting married and being a young mother has been hard and I don't always like who I am sometimes. I just have to keep in mind that we can only learn from our mistakes and tomorrow is a new day. Sometimes the kids make me mad, or Mike makes me mad, or I make myself mad. Some days are better than others and I just try to have more good days than bad. We as mothers and women need to be there for each other. I guess I was just trying to help others to understand that it is not easy and sometimes does not come natural. It takes time to find your groove and see what works best for you. Anyway I just wanted to say again that I love being a mom and I love my kids more than anything in the whole entire world-more than life itself! Happy Easter

motherhood

2009-04-06T21:29:00.001-07:00

So i just got done watching today's Oprah! I was so excited to see a blogger whom I love! Dooce, Heather B Armstrong. Her blog is wonderful and she is honest and open about motherhood and marriage and everything else in between. She does use a little(a lot) of bad language so beware if you decide to check out her blog! If you can get past that, you'll enjoy her blog. Anyway today's Oprah just talked about what it is to be a mom and how sometimes it is not so fun and how it is the hardest job you will EVER have! Sometimes I love it, sometimes I'm not very good at it, and sometimes I wonder what the heck I go myself into! I enjoyed hearing the comments and being reassured that my feelings are shared by other moms, even though we don't always talk about it!

Grandma Williams

2009-04-06T21:07:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend we had my Utah cousins in town for my Grandma Williams' funeral. She was 93 years old and loved life! Funerals are usually sad but there weren't a whole lot of sad tears since she is finally reunited with her 4 kids and 2 husbands whom she lost, and many other family and friends. The thing I remember most about my Grandma is that this lady could talk. A lot! And she always had a story or 2 to tell and she loved seeing all us kids and our kids. Even though sometimes she thought they were her kids! Grandma lost her memory years ago but no matter what, she was always happy to see you.

my cousins and our spouses

my grandma at her 91st bday party. Me, Kimmy, Malissa, Grandma, Brigette, Troy, Kristy

Omaha March 2009

2009-03-23T21:16:00.001-07:00

Shelby and I just returned from Omaha and we had a wonderful time. Brigette came with as well and I am so glad she did. I don't know how I would have gotten along without her on the plane rides. We got there late Tuesday night. Holli gave us new hairstyles on Wednesday. That took most of the day so we just hung out talked and laughed and just had fun. Shelby and Dallin got along that day and were excited to see each other but after that he was ready for her to go home! Holli's house is SO cute! It was so fun to see her and know that she is happy and being taken care of very well by Matt. Thursday was quite eventful. I somehow decided to fall down the stairs, with Shelby in my arms first thing in the morning. I don't recommend it. Thank goodness she was ok and i didn't smash her. Just scared the wits out of her, that's all. I have a few wounds but am recovering just fine and learned to be much more careful while walking. Especially down stairs first thing in the morn while having to pee like a race horse. Lesson Learned. That day we went to lunch and then the Omaha zoo. We loved it! It was really cool. My favorite part was the aquarium! We got to see the adorable penguins playing and jumping and swimming, they were SO CUTE! There was so much to see and we didn't get to see it all. We were supposed to go back on Saturday but we didn't have time. Let's see...Friday we attempted to get the babies pix taken but it was way too cold outside and they jut did not want to be together in any pictures. Holli's friend Trinity took the pictures and she was a really fun girl. I later found out that she is from AZ, I knew I liked her! Her little girls are adorable and she is just the sweetest girl. I can't really remember what else we did that day....Oh ya, we went to dinner at a Mexican food place called OJ's and then went to the Mormon Trail Center. That was very interesting to hear the stories and see the actual grounds they crossed and imagine what they must have gone through. Saturday we tried again for pictures and it went a little better, we got a lot of individual pics but those little stinkers did not enjoy being very close to each other. I can't wait to see how they turned out. We dropped off Matt and Dallin and us girls went to a couple boutiques and to Gordmans. What is Gordmans you ask? Only the next best thins since popcorn, while speaking of popcorn Holli and Matt make THE BEST popcorn I ever did taste! Anyway, back to Gordmans...it is a bit like Ross only bigger, more organized and tons of cute stuff you just can't live without! Brigette got a lot of really cute things and I found an adorable clock that I have been looking for! I can't wait to hang it up! We had a yummy lunch at Fuddruckers and then later that night, we ate popcorn, ordered pizza and watched Twilight! We had so much fun, I can't wait to go again. Which I will have to wait because after the most terrifying plane ride home, I don't know if I will be able to put myself on a plane again. All i can see is I really felt like we were gonna die and being scared out of my ever loving mind! Shelby had no idea what was going on and did very well on the flight. You would have thought Brigette would have been scared but for some odd reason found the whole thing hysterical and could not stop laughing. WTH??? She's crazy, really she is. I am convinced! Another lesson we both learned is to always wear your seat belt on a plane! We barely got on the plane and had to move seats around and blah blah blah, sit down, go. The flight was really full and everyone was waiting and giving me dirty looks cuz they saw I had a small child. I could just read there minds--"your kid better not scream the whole time cuz i'm tired and want to get some sleep". By the way our flight left at 6am, what were we thinking?? Anyway we were about thrown out of our seats during the 'extremely bad turbulance' and then got our seat belts on as fast as we could and continued praying all the way home that we arrive in one piece! Scary. Don't want to go thru that EVER again.
So now we are home, safe. I don't know how i got everything into one bag! I am still not done unpacking but I got my laundry done and hopefully this weekend and I can get all my stuff put away and cleaned up. I was very happy to come home to a nice clean house! Mike had done the dishes and even vacuumed! By the time i got all my stuff in the house and laundry sorted and this and that, I was ready for a nap! There is only a 2 hour time difference but just enough to get thrown off a little bit.

Happy Birthday Kristy

2009-03-12T22:30:00.001-07:00

I don't usually do these birthday shout outs, so you better enjoy it Kristy! Let me start off by saying Kristy is the best! She is so wonderful and helpful and creative! I can't tell you how many times she has been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on or just talk and laugh. She is so wonderful at throwing parties, showers, or just having fun. I am so thankful to have her in my family and as one of my very best friends! Kristy, You Rock and I hope you know how wonderful you are and how much I love and appreciate you!
You are simply the best!

my comfy bed

2009-03-08T20:18:00.001-07:00

I have been wanting to do something with my room. I didn't really know what to do and I don't have much money. I originally wanted to do something in black, white, and red. But I was not about to go out and buy all new bedding. Not gonna happen. So, I looked around the house and kinda had a picture in my head of what I wanted to do. I finally hung some pictures and I found a down comforter for really cheap at Walmart and then I tried a few different arrangements. I finally came up with one I really liked. The colors just make me feel so good when I see them. It's like sleeping on a cloud. I knew I reached my goal when Cody said "it is just as comfy as Granny's". Yes!

20 things about the man i married

2009-03-06T21:51:00.001-07:00

Here's a chance to see how well you really know your husband. Cut, paste and fill in the answers, then check with your spouse, to see how right you really are.

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen?
he's probly playing call of duty, or somether XBOX game. Ugh!

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Ranch, w/ a fully loaded salad. He makes a good salad.

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
he likes everything, and he will try almost anything.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. His drink would be?
either a beer or iced tea. the waitress better be on top of that refill on the ice tea or she's not gettin a good tip!

5. Where did he go to high school?
he's a warrior

6. What size shoe does he wear?
12-13

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
video games or model cars

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
he always changes it up, but I would have to say pastrami.

9. What would he eat every day if he could?
hmmm I know he would have an energy drink. I really want to ask him about this but I'm gonna go ahead and say....the barros lunch special: a slice of pizza, a salad and a drink.

10. What is his favorite cereal?
cinnamon toast crunch???

11. What would he never wear?
wranglers.

12. What is his favorite sports team?
one of my favorite things about him, he really doesn't care about sports but he roots for the AZ teams.

13. Who did he vote for?
Obama

14. Who is his best friend?
that would be Gerrit

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
definitely "pick". It's my worst habit, he hates it. He hates it even more that the kids inherited it from me. I need to go to "pickers anonymous" and no it is not my nose!

16. What is his Heritage?
I don't know. He never told me.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake?
He is not really in to cake that much. I would probly get him an ice cream cake or make brownies.

18. Did he play sports in high school?
Not really but he did injure his knee very badly playing basketball w/his dad one day. He played lots of sports growing up

19. What could he spend hours doing?
I know this one for sure! Playing XBOX and NOT cleaning the house!

20. What is one thing you appreciate about him?
this is a hard one....he makes sure there is chocolate in the house. somehwere. just for us.

8 things

2009-03-06T21:15:00.001-07:00

Here are the rules:
1. Post rules on your blog
2. Answer the six '8' items
3. Let each person know by leaving them a comment

8 favorite TV shows (in no particular order)
1. The View
2. Arrested Development
3. OC Housewives
4. Life
5. Amazing Race
6. The Unit
7. Project Runway
8. The Beast ties w/ Damages

8 Things I did yesterday
1. got gas (for the car) lol
2. took the kids to school/daycare
3. went to work
4. went to lunch w/my coworkers...so fun
5. spent too much time online
6. watched my shows on tivo
7. stayed up way too late
8. attempted to clean shelby's room

8 Things I'm looking forward to
1. Omaha!!!!
2. sleeping!
3. taking a nap tomorrow
4. eating the cookies & cream ice cream mike just got from the store
5. sleeping on my new comforter i got for a steal!
6. not going to work for 2 whole days
7. hopefully cleaning and organizing tomorrow
8. friday the 13th

8 favorite restaurants
1. Mattas
2. Red Robin
3. Outback
4. Carrabas
5. Chile's
6. my moms!
7. texas roadhouse
8. on the border

8 Things on my wish list
1. financial security
2. my family close by me
3. my kids always stay little
4. holli to live in AZ, or at least on the West coast!
5. a bigger car
6. a house keeper like Alice from the brady bunch
7. all the shoes and purses i could get my hands on!
8. a king size bed like my moms. such a comfy bed!

8 people I tag
1. you, if you are reading this
2. Mom- do it on facebook
3. Holli
4. Brigette-do it on Facebook
5. Stacey Smith, sorry Stacey you are always a Smith to me
6. Kristy- do it on Facebook
7. Jolyn
8. Angie

mini update

2009-03-04T22:22:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I posted, I mean really posted about what is actually going on. Here's a little mini update. Our computer is back up and running! I have so much to catch up on and I don't even know where to begin. I should probably just start fresh. Lately I have just been feeling so overwhelmed with everything. There is just not enough time in the day! I am such a huge procrastinator that when it comes to the weekend I just put everything off till the last second. I much rather lay on the couch and stare at the tv. Not a good habit! I need to get out of the house more. I need to do my Spring cleaning. My to do list is never ending, but unless I write it down, I completely forget about it. I have lists everywhere. My main goal right now is to get organized. I know once I get organized I will feel better and be able to get more things done. Last night I cleaned my kitchen and let me tell you, it really made me feel better. Why is it doing things like that makes you feel better? I hate exercising, but when I do it I feel wonderful and actually enjoy doing it. I get in the habit and then one little thing throws you off and bam! You are out of whack.
In 2 weeks I will be in Omaha. Yeah!

Shelby's one year old pictures!

2009-02-23T19:26:00.001-07:00

My cousin Malissa took Shelby's one year old pictures....and I just love them!! and Thank You to my wonderful sitter Brooke for helping me with Shelby's hair. I can now do a pony and pig tails! She also showed me how to put the ribbon in her hair w/out it falling out. Thank You!

bwr

2009-01-27T12:55:00.001-07:00

as you can tell from my blog, I have been loving black, white and red. I am on the look out for a shower curtain and bedding. Let me know if you see anything cute along your travels...

any ideas

2009-01-26T12:43:00.001-07:00

I need a change. i was thinking of cutting my hair. I like Anne Hathaways hair in "Rachel Getting Married". I just saw that movie and I fell in love w/her hair cut. You can google if you want. What do ya think?

time out

2009-01-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

our computer is on the fritz which is why i haven't posted in forever. I've been a little out of the loop w/out it. Hopefully I'll be back in business soon.

absence makes the heart grow fonder

2008-12-30T20:27:00.001-07:00

I just had to post this before I forgot. I don't know how I could forget this because it is so cute, but I have to document it anyway. My mom watched the kids Sunday night thru today and Shelby was so cute when I went to pick her up. She kept saying "hiiii" and "dada". Daddy was not there but she was so excited to see me. She wouldn't let me put her down. When I got home w/the kids she was SO EXCITED to see her dad. This girl LOVES her Dad. She was so happy she almost started crying. It was so sweet! She has Mike and the boys (and Me) wrapped around her little finger! Sweetness. It is good to have all the kids home. It was a little lonely and very quiet here w/out them. It's good to have everyone back. Let the chaos begin.
Thanks to everyone who helped out with watching the kids during the break! Debby, Mom, Sandy, Kristy, Brigette, and Mike. Thank You!

not so easy, but worth it

2008-12-29T13:01:00.002-07:00

Well, we made it another year and that makes 10 years married, whew! Sometimes I wasn't sure we would make it. Don't worry, this post is not gonna be all lovey dovey about how wonderful these past 10 years have been and how much in love we are. Yes , we do love eachother and the past t-e-n years have been great but they have also been hard. Marriage is hard, love is hard and sometimes it's really hard to love your mate. Love is not all you need. It takes so much more! It takes love, understanding, patience, patience, and more patience! Boy have I learned to be patient! It takes respect, kindness, sacrifice, money, and a lot more of other stuff that I do not have time to list. No one can tell you that, though. That is something you have to learn yourself even though people(your mom) will try to tell you! When you get married young you grow up together and you make a lot of mistakes. You learn things the hard way. You learn more about yourself that even you didn't know, and you learn a lot about the other person. Hopefully after all that, you can still love each other and live under one roof-and not kill each other. Maybe it's not that hard for other people, but for most it is not easy! These past 10+ years have been fun, hard, trying, happy, sad, crazy, long, short, and everything else in between.
Love ya!

PS Happy Anniversary to Tony & Malissa Cordova and Ned & Lydia Smith!

Holiday Christmas Card

2008-12-23T21:50:00.002-07:00

I had to get this out before Christmas and of course I had to put it on my blog! Thanks to my wonderful and talented cousin Malissa who not only took the pictures but was nice enough to make this adorable Christmas card that I am emailing instead of spending $$ mailing. She did such a wonderful job! If you didn't get one emailed it's cuz I don't have your email address so please add a comment w/your email address so I can send you one!
Happy Holidays!
The Fents!

ahhh dylan

2008-12-15T22:34:00.001-07:00

Dylan was invited to a birthday party for a little girl in his class named Chloe. He loves Chloe and was SO excited to be invited to her birthday party. I used it against him all week to make him behave and it worked like a charm. One morning I woke up to find a nice little message on the kitchen table. Dylan had no idea who could have done it. Hmmmm

In case you can't read it, it says "i love Chloe" and maybe something about a "girlfriend". Luckily for Dylan, it came right off with a wet rag.
Anyway, needless to say he was so excited to go the party! He was the only boy there but it didn't matter, he had a blast! Chloe even tried helping him skate but gave up after waiting what seemed like forever for Dyl man to catch on. I wasn't there, but Mike said it was the cutest thing!

Another Dylan story.
The boys love our 2 story house. That was the only thing they required when we were house hunting. One night Dylan decided he wanted to sleep on the stairs.

I awoke to a raucous and then heard crying and found Dylan at the bottom of the stairs. He didn't sleep on the stairs again.

what a bad mom!

2008-12-15T22:07:00.001-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting pix of Shelby's first birthday (almost a month later). We had a fun time! There was a lot of people that made my big house seem small. Lots of kids, crazy kids running all over, it was madness but it was fun! A friend of mine, Jayme Stoker, made the cutest, most adorable ladybug cake for Shelby, I loved it! And so did Shelby. It just took her a minute to understand she was allowed to just dig in!

I also made lady bug cupcakes for everybody else. They turned out adorable if I do say so myself!

Shelby was not as excited to wear her ladybug custome as I was for her to wear it, so we took it off. But at least I got a pic.

My mom made burritos and salsa while Mike manned the quesa-dillas! Yummy Yummy food! Shelby got tons of clothes, so she is set for awhile and some really fun toys as well. Even the older kids were playing with them! We had a lot of fun and I can't believe my baby girl is already 1......

Here's a bunch of pictures from the party

The next day...more cake!

busy-ness

2008-11-28T10:15:00.002-07:00

Ok, so we have been so busy around here w/ the move and Shelby's birthday, and the Twilight series. Kristy told me I needed to finish it before the movie came out and I took on her challenge. I finished the book in time for the movie to come out but I still haven't seen it yet!! I just finished New Moon last night, I stayed up all night cuz I just could not put it down...I had to see if Edward would come back! I haven't had time for anything else! I've got boxes that need to be unpacked and laundry that is piling up! I have so much that isn't getting done cuz I'm consumed by the dang books! I have so much to update on my blog, I need to get that done this weekend. I'm having a garage sale, I need to put up my christmas deco, we have 2 b-day parties, and i have to clean! Oh ya, and finish unpacking!

1 year old

2008-11-20T15:00:00.001-07:00

Today my baby girl is 1 year old! I can't believe how fast it's gone! She just started walking last Friday and is getting more and more brave! She is so cute when she walks. We all just love her so much. The boys were so excited to see her walk, they just got a kick out of it! They are so sweet to her and always get her what she needs! This girl has us all wrapped around her finger. She is such a fun addition to our family and we our so happy to have her! Happy birthday miss Shelby Grace!

PS sorry there are no pics, I will add some later. We don't have internet until Monday so I am doing this on the "down low", shhh!

Grandma Betty's Cabin

2008-11-07T07:37:00.001-07:00

While I had my girls weekend away, Mike took the kids to his Grandma Betty's cabin. They had a fun time w/there Grandpa and Aunt Wendy and cousins. Thank You Wendy for the pics!

hallOween 08

2008-11-07T07:23:00.001-07:00

I figured I should get these on here before Christmas, so here you go. The kids had fun and got hopped up on way too much candy.

Shelby did not love her costume as much as I did. We ended up just taking it off and she wore her little orange onesie that said "i love my mummy"

me, shelby, Dylan and Cody's friend Tony

me, shelby, dylan, tony, and cody

Cody

Cody did not even want to wear this costume. He was so mad because we hadn't bought him the costume he wanted. I told him it's so much funner to just make you own and gave him plenty of ideas. After rejecting all my ideas and having a crappy attitude he decided on the rock star. This was for his scouts Halloween party, and I would not let him go w/out a costume. He ended up winning best costume for his group. He apologized. He was then excited to make his own costume for Halloween night and ended up loving being a zombie or whatever the heck he is. I am not excited for the teen years......

my bday weekend

2008-11-02T18:43:00.002-07:00

I really haven't been in the mood to blog and I just haven't found the time. Besides that if I don't do it right away, i lose my inspiration for the post and I don't remember what I wanted to say. Instead, I will just post pics of this past week.

us girls at martini ranch

Jamie is modeling Tina's book. It is the discertation Tina had to write. What a great accomplishment.

Tina and Sara posing with a weird placed column

Jamie and Nicole enjoying our wonderful dinner at Buca DiBeppo

We all stayed at a Hotel for the weekend. Danced, talked, ate, watched movies and just had a really fun time! It's not very often you get to spend a whole weekend with your best girlfriends and just forget about your worries for a little while. We will definitely have to do this again!

th1rty-ONE

2008-10-23T23:23:00.001-07:00

Today I am 31.
It was a great day! The girls at work threw me a mexican fiesta. Really what better way to celebrate than w/yummy mexican food? I think in my past life I was Mexican, because I just love the food, I could eat it every day! After work Mike and the kids and I joined the family for more mexican food at Cravings restaurant! I finally got a Monica necklace, which I can't wait to wear tomorrow! Thank You Mom, I love it! Kirk gave me bowl full of chocolate candy and a scary movie. What more do I need, I'm all set! Thank You everybody for the fun birthday comments and cards, I had a wonderful day even though it started off at the doctors office for my "yearly exam". TMI I'm, sure but oh well. It was a great day and I get to continue celebrating w/ my girlfriends this weekend since we are all staying in a hotel celebrating my best friend Tina becoming a Doctor of Psychology, my other friend Jamie for graduating UofP getting a busines degree, and of course my birthday as well! It will be a fun weekend.

some of us

Shelby stuffing her cute lil face

Derek, Dylan, and Ellie being silly

more silliness

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

2008-10-19T18:58:00.001-07:00

Shelby is such a funny girl. She loves to get up on the couch with us and gets so mad if we don't let her. The key is to not make eye contact! Well most of the time she can just get up on her own anyways and if you are in her spot-she will let you know! She has us all wrapped around her little finger. She's hilarious! Yesterday my friend Tina came over w/her little guy Kingston. I will let you try to guess how old he is.

He is only 2, but he is a big boy! He is such a sweetheart. I wish I would've gotten a pic of him and Shelby. He loved her! He enjoyed hanging out with the big guys as well. He is such a funny little guy!

cutest headbands!

2008-10-19T18:48:00.001-07:00

Mike's step-mom Sara made the CUTEST head bands for miss Shelby Grace. I am not a crafty or creative kinda girl so you have no idea how excited I was to get these fun headbands! Shelby on the other hand is not as excited as me, but she will learn to love them!

Obviously her favorite thing is to yank them off her head, but we will fix that soon! Thank You Sara so much for the adorable headbands, we love them!

New Kids on the Block CONCERT!

2008-10-14T21:02:00.001-07:00

Well, it is my birthday month and what better way to celebrate than a NKOTB Concert? Oh yes, this is a current post, not just a flashback of a concert I never got to go to as a kid. Well, dreams do come true and a wish I thought was long forgotten finally came true for me last night. I FINALLY got to go to a New Kids On The Block Concert. Don't hate on my NKOTB! I loved it and we all had so much fun! Me, Kristy, Brigette, Kimmy and Heidi all went to the concert and had a screaming time! We were 12 again as soon as they came on stage. Kimmy scored some awesome seats and we could practically lick there sticky sweat off the stage. TMI! Anyway my guys did a fantastic job! They entertained us all night long! They did a wonderful job performing, sang the good "old" songs and even some of the new ones. I really did feel like a teenager again. It was a night out that I've needed for a long time, we had so much fun! Thank you girls, what a wonderful time!

Ah, so much fun! LA show anyone?

Cute Signs

2008-10-03T22:22:00.002-07:00

Check out http://vinylwallenvy.blogspot.com/ for really cute signs. Vinyl lettering is all the rage right now. Since I can't have it, I thought the next best thing would be to put it on my blog. So cute!

moving along

2008-10-01T18:17:00.001-07:00

Shelby can now climb onto the couch. This girl cracks me up! First she swings her chubby little leg up. Then she grabs onto something, usually the shirt or pants of whoever is sitting close to her. Then she starts to pull! She pulls and pulls until her little bum is sittin on the couch. It is the funniest thing. And then she gives a big ole smile (by the way she has 4 little teeth now). Sometimes she doesn't quite make it and starts to cry in frustration. This by the way is her little laugh/cry. I really need to get this on video, it is so funny. The first time people here this they think she is laughing. If you've heard it you know what I'm talking about.
She is also starting to walk w/ the help of one of those little push along cart thingies. It's so funny cuz she's has only started doing this the past couple days (I will try to get a pic). She just pulls herself up and starts walkin along. Such a big girl!
Dylan started scouts about a month ago and he loves to go. Well except for last night he would not go! I think it's because Cody wasn't there, which is funny because they are in different groups but I think he just feels better when Cody's there. Anyway, he really seems to like it.
Cody just started playing flag football. He really likes it even though it's really hard on him. This boy gets an A for effort but it really isn't his thing but he loves it. His first game is October 10th. He is really excited. Hope to see you there.
FYI...today Mike brought home a box of brownie/cookie mix. It was SO GOOD! Seriously, the best of both worlds. Add an ice cold cup of milk and you are in heaven!