Update/Christmas Card

So I haven't really been in a blogging mood lately. Not sure why, but let's be honest, who really cares what I write here. It's not like it changes the world or anything. On the other hand it is a nice way to keep in touch with my favorite people, all 7 of you who read this. lol.

Yes, I am preganant! I'm 10 weeks along and we saw the baby on Monday. It is definitely a boy or girl. The doctor said he's quite sure and never been wrong yet. So here's hoping right? :) I'm due July 20th, however, Chris leaves for Paris on the 19th and can't change it so we're planning on bringing this baby here around the 13th so he has time to get me through the hospital and home. My mom will come and take over from there. Thank Heavens for Moms! We're really excited! When I say we I mean Chris and myself. Boston could really care less. He has no idea how much his little world will change next summer. I'm feeling a little guilty for making him share me. I'm sure we'll all adjust just fine, just like we did when Boston came.

Chris is loving his job, and frankly so am I. He gets two weeks off at Christmas, and did I mention it's PAID time off, not using any vacation days? It's especially nice because while I'm in school he gets ignored and I end up taking out my stress on him. So it's nice to just hangout and get life steady again.

I have one semester left in school and I wish I could pay triple tuition instead of actually doing it. Luckily, being with the kids is the fun part so I'm sure it will fly by.

We are ready for Christmas at our house. I discovered that it's very easy to buy for Boston. It seems like every time I go to the store I come back with a new Christmas present for him. It's bad. I know he could receive one thing and be thrilled, but I can get a little carried away sometimes. Chris, on the other hand, was very had to buy for. If I could get him anything I would get him an ipad. Maybe when dropping $800 without cringing becomes an easy thing to do I'll do it. lol.

2010 has been an amazing year for our family and we truly feel so blessed. I hope that 2011 is just as awesome. We are so thankful for the Gospel, prayer, the guidance of the Holy Ghost in our lives. We know that Jesus Christ is the Savior, and are so humbled for what He did for us. We know that it is through the power of the Atonement that we will return and live with our Heavenly Father again one day and be able to be an eternal family. We pray that 2011 brings nothing but joy to you all. We love you all and are so incredibly thankful to have you all in our lives. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

*I wasn't intending for this to be in Christmas card style, but it worked out well:) )

Hi.

I thought I would jump on and just say hi to my friends and family. I'm so thankful for you all in my life!!

Best Pumpkin Cake Ever!!!

If you want something that is going to be melt in your mouth, can hardly stop eating kind of dessert for Thanksgiving that's a step above the usual pumpkin pie you've got to try this. Trust me it will change the way you think about pumpkin. Even pumpkin haters LOVE this pie and have asked me for the recipe. :) My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Even if I had a picture it wouldn't do it justice.


Pumpkin Cake

Crust:
1 pkg yellow cake mix, minus one cup (must be dry for topping)
1 egg
1cube (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Beat with spoon and press into greased 9x13 pan

Filling
1 30oz can pumpkin pie mix (make sure it the pie mix and not just pumpkin)
2 eggs
2/3 cup evaporated milk (a 5oz can)

Mix together well and pour over crust

Topping:
1 cup dry yellow cake mix
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 TBS cold butter cut up into pieces

Mix dry ingredients then add the butter. Using two knives slice through the butter over and over until a crumb mixture is formed. Sprinkle over the filling.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes (if it's glass pan 325) or until the center is set and top is golden brown.

Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

I love it when...

I love when I come home to this.

To Die For...

Want a pizza that is truly melt in your mouth and honestly truly to die for?
Trust me it's easy and totally worth it!!!

From The Pioneer Woman. She's a new love of my life. (Along with melskitchencafe)

Caramelized Onion & Prosciutto Pizza

SIDE NOTE: The recipe doesn't call for it, but I added a thinly sliced tomatoe, tons of spinach, and substituted the Prosciutto for Turkey bacon and it was still a party in my mouth!!!

If you do one thing in your life, try this.

My little Dragon

Boston LOVED Halloween. We saw this Dragon costume and he ran up to it and started "Ooing." I thought it was so cute that I just had to get it. He loves it and has pretty much been wearing it for the last two days, hood and everything. We took him to the houses on our street and after about 3 houses he got it. He started running between the houses, ran right up to the front door and knocked. When they opened he would point to the candy bowl, I would say "take just one." He would take one, and drop it in his candy bucket, smile, and run to the next house laughing the whole way. I loved it! It was a Halloween to remember!


He was fascinated by the Jack-O-lanterns and had to be right by his dad the entire time he put the candles in.


When we got home he stood at the door and begged to go back out. We had to bribe him with candy to get him stay in.





He had so much fun with Broderick and Chris eating candy Obviously. I let him pick three pieces and go at it. He was up for a while on a sugar high afterwards, but he eventually crashed I'm sure dreaming of next year.

Kiersten

This is my sister-in-law Kiersten. She is beautiful and sweet and we love her! Boston gets so excited every time she walks in the room. I can't believe she's a senior this year. When Chris and I started dating she was 10. 10!!! I can't believe how quickly time goes. Anyway, here are some of her senior pictures we did. She is beautiful! We love you Kiersten!

The Role of Governement....

Last night I went to a big band concert with my mom, grandma, and sister. It was so much fun! One song was about what it means to be American, and I realized halfway through that I was uncomfortable listening to it!!! The moment I realized that I realized what an effect everything has on me. That so much of what we hear about the Governement and America seems to be numbing. Patriotism seems to be looked down on as something that is wrong and ignorant. The idea of America is changing so rapidly (I Have felt this for some time) but I also thought it wasn't really as bad as I thought. That it wasn't a big deal, and people, the American People, wouldn't let things get so bad.
Then I had my moment of feeling uncomfortable with a patriotic song and I realized we, the good people of America, are not doing anything to protect patriotism and what our county stands for.
My cousin sent me this talk and it is eye-opening and incredible. This is what she had to say about it.
Hi family and friends who I adore and love,

This morning I listened to one of President Benson's talks. The one that jumped out to me was:
"The Proper Role of Government."

This is one of the most profound speeches about government that I have ever heard or read (and I love political books and lectures!). Such marvelous brilliance, clarity, and foresight.

Please take some time today to listen to it or read it.

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1636

I echo her sentiments and am asking you to please read this. With Elections coming up, especially right now, it is imperative that we are prepared and know exactly who and what we are voting for. It's going to take some time, but I plan on going through my VOTE UTAH information pamphlet I received and looking up each candidate to find out what they stand for. I also plan on reading each of the Amendments so that I know what going on.
Last time I voted I knew about one topic, and wanted to vote on that. This time it's not enough.
Listening to President Benson's talk really opened my eyes to how close we really are to socialism and becoming everything our forefathers fought against.

Sorry to be on a soap box, but this is something that has been on my mind lately and I really felt like I've had my eyes opened and am no longer willing to be a complacent citizen.

Three Things

We had a great and very inspired lesson today in Relief Society and I thought I'd share it with you all.
We talked about three things we need to Cultivate in our lives to become more of who we want to be. if you want the definition: Foster the growth of/prepare for/work the soil/nurture/tend/educate/teach/refine/consciously pursue/focus on/bestow time or attention for self-improvement or for the benefit of others/advancement. President Hinkley used this word all the time when addressing the Saints.

1. Happiness. Happiness is something that the majority of us truly have to cultivate. We have to work on it daily. We choose it. Elder jack deJager said "Words such as reap, restored, and desire imply that happiness is a consequence, not a reward. We are restored to a state of happiness when we have chosen to live according to the plan of happiness. Our joy in God's kingdom will be a natural extension of the happiness we CULTIVATE in this life...Striving for happiness is a long, hard journey with many challenges. It requires eternal vigilance to win the victory. You cannot succeed with sporadic little flashes of effort." So what do you DO to bring happiness in to your life?
Some people said serving others, one woman said "do the opposite of unhappy people", some said smile even if you don't feel like it, and so on. As I was listening to what other people were saying I thought about what brings happiness into my life. I've noticed there are three things that can really impact my happiness. First, a clean house. When my house isn't clean I feel gloomy. I also tend to snap at the people I love a little more. Second is exercise. If I don't exercise I feel yucky and lethargic. And I tend to snap at the people I love a little more. Third, is my relationship with my Heavenly Father. When I'm ignoring it I'm annoyed easily, and tend to snap at everybody.
When I have these three things in order I am truly much happier, and easier to be around.
So I want to think about the things that help you to feel happy and start doing them!

2. Holy Ghost: What effect does the Holy Ghost have on you? Does it make you angry? Mad, depressed or scared? NO! It "inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature...inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, charity, develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation and social feeling. It invigorates...strengthens, and gives tone to the nerves. In short...marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being." Parley P. Pratt.
What are you DOING to Cultivate the Holy Ghost in your life? These last few days I turned off the T.V. and just enjoyed silence. At first it was semi-annoying since Chris was gone, but soon I was able to have some very special experiences and even some personal revelation. I'm thankful for that. Have you ever met anybody that exudes the Holy Ghost? I have and it's amazing to be around.

3. Temple: You need to Cultivate a love for the temple. Think about this. As you attend the Temple you are inviting the Spirit into your life, and if you have the spirit in your life you will be happy. That is a fruit of the spirit. Maybe you say you don't have time to do a full session once a week. Do Initiatories. There are some other things you can do that take less time but you still receive all of the blessings. This is something that I have to work on. I love the temple, but it took multiple trips for me to love it. The teacher asked us What are you SACRIFICING to get there? That hit me. I'm not sacrificing anything. I go when it's convenient. Our teacher said that she was going once a month, and at the same time struggling with some things in her life. So she took it to Heavenly Father and asked Him what to do. She felt the question of sacrifice asked to her. She decided one of the things she could sacrifice was sleep. Yup. Sleep. She gets up once a week at 4:45 am, and is home by 7:30 am. To me that's amazing and inspiring. So I'm thinking of ways that I can get to the temple more often, and if not with Chris then by myself.

I know this is a long post but I felt like it was worth sharing. Sometimes we feel like something is missing in our life and I really believe that as we work on these three things we will find that we feel more complete and fulfilled. Suddenly what we feel is one of life's gargantuan problems becomes more like an average thunderstorm and conquerable.

I'm really going to try to work on these three things. I'll let you know how it goes in a month. :)

Dear Whoever is listening.

Dear all who want to listen to me vent.

Have you ever felt like when you really commit to something life throws everything against you to make you fail?

It happened to me this last week. I need to get out of my weight slump I've been in all summer so I started doing P90x and really trying to be careful what I ate...then the weekend happened. Boating (Yay!) but Pizza and ice cream through a wrench in that day. It's ok, I've got a little wiggle room, I'll just do better tomorrow.

So I start the day off cleaning, forgot to eat breakfast. Oh well. Today is going to be a big food day (conference & Priesthood) so I'm going to make good decisions today. Lunch with some friends at zupas. Dinner at Cafe Rio with the in-laws and I cut out the tortilla, 3/4 of the dressing, sour cream, cheese, and tortilla strips. The workers looked at me like I was crazy. lol. I don't care, I'm being healthy. At least I thought.
Then to my grandma's house for dessert. Yes I taste the three different kinds of soups there, but I've eaten so all I do is taste.

I made a peanut butter & chocolate pudding cake for dessert, which lucky for me didn't turn out the way I had expected, so I only had a little of that. My mom's peach cobbler was to die for, so I helped myself to a little more of that, and then topped it all with ice cream. Yeah I know. Not a great thing to do if you're loosing weight.

I thought I had done pretty decent for myself at the end of the day, all things considered. I ate two salads, a small sandwich, and some dessert.

I woke up this morning and stepped on the scale to find out that IN ONE DAY I gained 3.5 pounds. Ok, I know you're all laughing to yourselves thinking 3.5 pounds? Who cares? That's nothing to stress about. Since when did you become obsessed over something so little.

To the average person not trying to lose weight, 3.5 pounds is no big deal. But to the person who is struggling to lose weight that's an extra 10500 calories that we have to work off! 3.5 pounds takes me about 2.5 weeks to burn off. Lame. After my zupas trip i had spent 26 of my 25 points, cafe rio added another 9 and everthing else put me at a grand total of 76 points for the entrire day. No wonder I gained a couple pounds.

I'm now officially boy-cotting zupas since they don't offer Nutritional info and if you really want it you have to search forever online to find it or find the nearest thing. Zupas I love you, but you are dead to me for the next little while. I feel so betrayed. But mostly by myself.

I know better than to assume that a salad and a small sandwich with no cheese is a healthier option than a burger. Lame. Well, today is a new day and I'm starting over. I think I'll start a weight counter on the side, and post it every week so you all can help me shape up.

Thanks for listening,

Love me.

Fantastic Veggie Burrito!!!

So last night I made a to die for curry and have been looking forward to the left overs all day today. I had some for lunch and was excited to have some more for dinner. Before my weight watchers meeting I decided to check out how many points this curry was including the naan bread that you eat with it. 18 point. That's right. For one serving! 18 out of my 25 points all day! I brushed it off and went to weight watchers thinking "I'll eat it when I get home, use my 35 points and start over tomorrow." During my meeting I realized that if I really want to get to my my next weight goal I need to choose not to eat that curry. I had a 20 minute conversation with myself on the way home about all the reasons why I wasn't going to eat that curry.

So when I got home I pulled out a whole grain, whole wheat tortilla. Low-fat refried beans, an onion, a jalepeno, a green pepper, and garlic. I added a couple things some things for flavor and sat down to the yummiest burrito I've eaten for a really long time! By eating the veggie burrito instead of the curry I saved myself 14 points! Here's how to make it!

Yummy Veggie Burrito (makes 1, and this is a rough estimate of what I threw in, you can adjust according to what you like)

1 tsp Safflower oil.
1/4 onion sliced
1 jalepeno diced into little pieces, seeded
1/4 Green Pepper thinly sliced
1 garlic clove diced into little pieces
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp Chili Powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1 TBS Worcestire Sauce
1 TBS original BBQ Sauce (Trust me this adds a sweetness but you can't even tell it's in there)
1/2 cup low-fat refried beans
1 whole wheat/whole grain tortilla (I've only found these at costco)
3 small slices of Mozarella cheese

Heat up the Safflower oil. Add all of the veggies on med-high heat. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add cumin, crushed red pepper, chili powder, and bbq sauce and pepper. Stir together then turn off heat and let sit. Pull out a tortilla, spread the refried beans over the entire thing (If you don't do the entire thing the edges get crispy). Break up the cheese and spread it over the beans. Pop it in the microwave for 60 seconds. After 60 seconds, add the veggies, and salsa and knudsen's low-fat sour cream (if you want) and heat for 30 seconds. Wrap it all up and enjoy!

*I'm sure you could add more veggies if you wanted, I just threw in what I had.

Seriously guys please try this! It's filling, and you'll love it, I promise. And it doesn't take more than a few minutes!

I love it when...

I love it when after Boston drinks from a regular cup he always goes "AHHHHH" afterwards.

Moves like you've never seen!

These are a couple of my favorite shots that I had to share!

Shout out!

This is a shout out to my wonderful friend Mandi and her husband Bryce! I'm so thankful that our husband's were mission companion and that they're in my life! We've got crazy lives so we don't get to hang out very often, but they're always there if we need them.
Today Mandi made dinner for us because she's been through the teaching program herself and knows how crazy it can get. When Bryce got here to drop of the food he said that the boys have had a really rough day. I am so thankful that she is so sweet. She is constantly putting others first, and is a real example to me with her always positive attitude! Dinner couldn't have come on a better night for me! Thank you so much!! We love you guys!

Boston's To Do List

Hi Mom, it's me your only and favorite most adorable son Boston. I've noticed you have been calling me your little tornado lately, I'm not sure what that means but I think it has something to do with you cleaning up after me all the time.
You know mom, I've noticed that you've been pretty busy lately and I don't know why you insist on following me around and putting things I try to pull out for you away. SO in order to help you out I thought I'd let you see my daily check list. FYI I'm a pretty spontaneous guy and sometimes don't stick to it perfectly, but it should give you a pretty good idea of my plans for tomorrow.

1. Wake up at 4 am Check
2. Climb all over mom for the next three hours Check
3. Practice my Picasso impression out of my yogurt at breakfast Check
4. Turn my bath into my own personal toilet Double check (hehehe)
5. Throw clean and dirty clothes into the same pile at the bottom of the stairs and basically all over the house so you can't tell which is which Check
6. Eat whatever food I can get out of the kitchen garbage (even if it's moldy) Check
7. Pull things off the counter that are close to the edge check
8. Take out all of the pots and pans out of the cabinets Noisy check
9. Hide the measuring cups and silverware all over the kitchen check
10. Dump out any messy substance all over the kitchen floor check
11. Throw up on mom during Regional conference Check (this is a once in a while thing)
12. Throw at least 5 head banging/self-injury inflicting tantrums every day
12. Get into your mascara Check
13. Eat your mascara Check
14. Paint the carpet with your mascara Triple Check (it was beautiful, I'm particularly proud of this one)
15. Paint your new WHITE bedspread with your mascara Check
16. Scatter garbage all over Check
17. Dump Laundry soap wherever possible Check
18. Give you at least 1 kiss Check
19. Jump on you during your yoga workout Check
20. Give as many hugs as possible Check Check Check check check

Mom, we both know there is a lot more I can add to this list, and many things I won't think to add until you leave it out or leave a door open. Just know that I love you and I'm not trying to drive you and dad crazy.

Love,
Boston

A secret?

Do you want to know where I'm blogging right now? Well if you guessed in the bathroom you would be correct. It seems like lately that's the only place I can get 5 minutes to myself. Even as I type this there are little fingers reaching under the door and some little person is yelling at me to either 1) let him in (not happening) 2) get out (also not happening...yet) I'll be honest, I rather enjoy the few minutes to just relax and not have to worry about what he's getting into or for how long he's been chewing on the toilet scrubber (a new favorite toy for him).
So while I have about one minute left before he has a melt down and starts slamming his head on the tile during said tantrum and because I don't want the massive bruise on his forehead to get any bigger I'll give you a quick update on life as we know it.
School is getting better. I have amazing teachers, and the classes are interesting. I'm trying to have a positive attitude and enjoy being back. I'm not working on changing my attitude about all of the large quantities of reading given to us, but I'll survive. I don't think anyone has ever died from reading. My classes are Literacy 2, Math methods, PE, ESL, Diferentiation, and Classroom management. Today for PE we got to have recess. A bunch of us played kick ball which was a blast.
Boston is having a hard time adjusting to being away from me and has become even clingy-er which I didn't think was possible. He's suddenly waking up at night and really moody all the time because he's apparently refusing to take naps. By the time I get him it's too late to put him down. But he too will adjust.
Chris is loving not having to go to school or do homework and is being very supportive of me. The other night I was so tired when I got home. Boston and I laid down on the couch and slept for almost 90 minutes. When I woke up the house was clean and dinner was ready. Remind to never complain about my husband again. He's wonderful.
So that's about it. The head slamming has commenced so I guess it's time I get back out there to my full time job.

Pure Joy

Meet Joy. She is my cousin's sweet little girl. She had her while we were in California and were lucky enough to be able to capture some sweet pictures of her. Christy and James are beyond thrilled to have this little angel in their home. She's pretty lucky herself to go to a home with such amazing parents. :)

Quick and Easy Paninis

So I've been craving Mexican like crazy lately (no I'm not pregnant) and so to take a small break form the deliciousness that is all food Mexican I decided to make paninis. These are my own creation but they are ridiculously easy and yummy! They're not horrible for you either...

This is actually filling and the flavors are awesome. We had some chicken left over and so I places it in the fridge. The next morning as I was rushing around getting ready for school I thought "what can I eat for lunch today?" Since the chicken was already cooked I was able to throw this sandwich together in less than 3 minutes. When I heated it up and took it out for lunch I had quite a few people tell me it smelled amazing. I told them it tasted as amazing as it smelled.

Anyway, make it. It's quick and easy and a husband pleaser. :) I'm about to go make one for myself right now as a matter of fact. I'm telling you it will become a family dinner staple.

Chicken spinach & tomato Pesto Paninis
Makes 6

1 loaf whole wheat/grain french bread (you can get this at walmart)
2 chicken breasts
1 jar sun dried tomato pesto
1 bag baby spinach
Swiss cheese slices
Salt & pepper (I like Lawry's Seasoning Salt)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook on stove top pan for 7-9 minutes on each side until chicken is cooked through and a little carmelization starts to happen on the chicken. Pull the chicken out, set it on a plate and tent with foil. Let it rest for about 5 minutes. While it's resting slice the french bread. Spreak pesto on both sides on the bread. Put half a slice of cheese on one half and spinach on the other half. Place the 2nd half of the cheese on the spinach. Slice the chicken into thin strips. Take 3-4 strips of chicken and lay on top of the spinach and cheese. Put the other side of the sandwich on the chicken and place in panini maker for two minutes. ( I Don't have a panini maker so I use a george forman grill).

Happiness

School started today, so I'm going to do a post about things that make me happy.


This picture makes me happy


This baby makes me happy


And this wonderful man makes me happy.

Three in one night

Yup third post tonight. I've now had four cookies and I'm just waiting for my movie to end before I go to bed. I wanted to post some pictures of the sky I took the night before that amazing/dreadful storm came through. I didn't mess with the colors or anything except to make it black and white which I felt was fitting. And the last photo is of Chris's cousin. I don't know if anyone could be more ready for a modeling career than she is. :)

late night rant

I'm baking chocolate chip cookies. I've already eaten two and I'm already counting down until the next batch comes out of the oven so I can eat a third and then maybe just maybe a fourth. Let's not think about the amount of cookie dough I've eaten already. I'm pretty sure they're not weight watchers friendly.
To entertain myself while I'm using my extra 35 points this week in one sitting I'm watching one of my favorite movies Definitely Maybe. This movie makes me happy.
I felt like talking to somebody...but there's nobody here but me.
Actually it's a good thing. No seriously. I'm enjoying the quiet. Chris is completely wrapped up in Harry Potter which I think is super Sexy. Yes I'm a nerd. He tells me that all the time. But it's true. Now only do I think it's sexy that he's reading, but it's sexy that it's Harry Potter, and what's even sexier is that he can hardly put it down. Even right now I can hear our squeaky bed moving around as he's trying to get comfortable but he's still reading and it's been three hours. :D LOVE IT!!!
Boston is getting his molars and just wants to be cuddled all the time. I keep telling myself to soak it all in because he's not a cuddly baby. His favorite thing is to be wrapped up in his blanket and danced around the room to songs by Glee. I figured it's a fantastic work out because he's a 27 pound weight.
My sister is dating Chris's best friend which I'm totally excited about! I'm secretly hoping that they get married...actually I'm pretty sure it's not secret. I tell just about everybody and now I'm telling all of you. :) Chris would officially be brothers with his best friend. It doesn't get much cooler than that.
Let's see what else. I'm dreading school but let's not talk about that. If I don't think about it it won't happen. Right?
The timer just went off so I'm off to enjoy another melt in my mouth cookie! This night couldn't get much better!

Events in the Adams family.

This kid left on his mission to Santa Rosa, California.


We are seriously going to miss him. Especially Chris. Those two were thick as thieves. We are so proud of him and excited for what he's supposed to go through. He is probably one of the funniest people I've ever met. Is it bad we're already counting down? lol.

This girl...

got baptized. We are so proud of her as well! All of this happened with in a week and a half. We have been busy and happy and sad all once. Awesome stuff.

I figured it out!

So I'm sure all of you are spectacular at keeping your house clean while doing everything else you have to do in life. I bet most of you figured it out a long time ago.
Well on the off chance there are any of you out there who get behind and suddenly one day you look around and see that your house is a disaster and are overwhelmed by how to clean it and keep it clean this is for you.
A couple weeks ago I was so overwhelmed by how gross my house felt and realized my current system wasn't doing much to help (the current system being that I would do minimal things during the week and then one day when I couldn't handle it any more I would spend 4-5 hours cleaning everything and still not get done).
So I created a little system which has worked wonders in our house, with my mood, and with my time. My house stays amazingly clean and the laundry gets done!
I thought I'd share this with any of you who may struggle like me. It takes no more than 30 minutes a day but it makes a huge difference. I promise it works!

Monday:
Vacuum carpet
baseboards and doors
One load of laundry

Tuesday:
Dust
One load of laundry
Straighten Bedrooms

Wednesday:
Sweep/Mop tile floors
One load of Laundry
Take out garbages

Thursday:
One load of laundry
Toilets

Friday:
Tubs
One load of laundry
Plan next weeks meals

Saturday:
Sinks
One load of laundry
grocery shopping


So there you go. It's saved me so much time during the week and it's kept the house pretty much spotless. It's made my life easier, and Boston even helps aka follow me around pulling things out of drawers.

Hail NO!

Can you believe this rain and hail? We sure couldn't. It couldn't have come at a worse time. We just finished our yard and the hydroseed has only been down for a week. So when this hail came and the street turned into a river and our back yard turned into a lake there was nothing to keep the dirt in it's place. This lovely storm carried away so much of our dirt that in some parts of our yard the ground was eroded even below the sprinkler pipe! When we realized that the water was carrying our dirt down the street Chris ran out there with a large piece of cardboard to try and divert the water. It worked until the hail got to be about nickel size and was hurting Chris. We tried to put paint cans out there to divert the water, and it helped but the damage was already done and because the hail was so large and the water running through our yard was so strong that really in the end all we could do was watch as our Hydroseed and dirt was washed away. When it all stopped and we were surveying the damage to our yard we noticed that the neighbor's trampoline had been blown up against our fence. At first it looked like it had put a hole in it, but on closer examination we saw it was just bent, but in one piece.
When it was all over I cried. Sure did. Luckily, the Hydroseed guy said he would come and redo our entire yard for free. The landscaper guy is coming tomorrow morning with new dirt to try and fix the chunks that are missing in the front and in the back. It's going to cost us $ to fix it, but it's got to be fixed. Lame.
On a side note my brother backed into my car which now has a massive dent in the passenger side door. So that's going to have to wait to be fixed since the yard needs to be fixed asap so all the work done isn't lost.
Life has a funny sense of humor sometimes. The one thing that kept us smiling today was Boston. While we were horrified to watch our yard be washed away, he thought the hail and especially dad be pelted by the hail was quite comical. Oh sweet innocence. It must be so wonderful to only see the good in things. :)

Cool Stuff

Check this guy out. He does wedding videos and I think he's awesome!

http://www.kalefitchfilms.com

I did it!

I HIT 50 POUNDS TODAY!!!!

I'M BEYOND EXCITED!!!!!

Ready...Set...

Go!...no really....GO! Any time now. GO. Go? Please? For the love of...GO! Ehhhh, we'll try again tomorrow.

This is what I happens everyday lately. I wake up all inspired to begin a and commit to being "a little better today than yesterday" but as the day goes on I find I just can't get moving. I mean I get out of bed and all that, but I find myself overindulging and doing everything I can to not work out. Suddenly my day that started out pumped up is deflated.
I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about. Let me see if I can put it into a picture for you.
You wake up, put on your work out clothes and eat a healthy breakfast. You clean the house get your kids looking cute and ready for the day then suddenly the house is a mess, you clean it up. It's a mess again, you clean it up again. Kids down for a nap, you think to yourself "I have my workout clothes on, but I've got time to clean and do laundry or workout." As you start to do one or the other you realize you're tired so you give up and take a nap knowing full well your one chance to workout and really clean is gone. Kids wake up and you just surrender and think. Tomorrow I'll get everything done...
I need a drill sergeant or something to get me going again...

Maybe I'll look into it tomorrow...

:)

Balloons, Parade, and My Cute Boy!

(This is a long picture post)

We had a fantastic 4th...actually 5th...it felt like the 4th. :)

We started the day at 4:45 a.m. Chris and I woke up and got ready for the balloon festival. We woke Boston around 5:15 and headed out. He was not happy about the early morning wake up call but it's tradition and we thought he'd like it.
Once we got there he took a few minutes to get used to things but after that he loved watching the balloons fill with air and take off. Chris was equally impressed. He had never been before and I grew up with this tradition. It's one I look forward to every year.













After the Balloon festival we headed over to our usually family spot for the Provo Parade. Boston loved the fire trucks, and motorcycle cops, but he loved playing with his cousins most of all.



I love being able to pass along these fun traditions to my son and continue them with my family!

I know this is already a long post, but I had to add these pictures in. Isn't he the cutest? He walked around in his dad's hat all day just waiting for him to get home from work.