Kirk, Laura, Tessa, & Ashley

Halloween 2010

2010-12-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. Finally. Halloween. Yes, it is Dec 3, but better late than never.

Grandma came to visit over Halloween. You know, to potty train Tessa.

Grandma was a queen and passed out candy to the few children who braved

the downpour outside. But we were a few of those kids who got soaked.

Family of cowpokes. The hats actually helped a lot with the rain.

Taking a cookie break after trick-or-treating main st. friday afternoon.

Yee-haw says Jessie the cowgirl!

Cowgirls forever!

Went to visit Daddy for lunch and then feed the ducks, one of our

FAVORITE activities!

Tessa going to a dress-up bday party.

Very excited to wear her costume for the first time.

Girls by the firetruck that was parked on Main St.

for the trick-or-treating. They look so tiny!

Cowgirls with a little friend at the pumpkin walk.

An educational experiance with Daddy learning about the yucky
insides of a pumpkin. They were not overly excited to pull all

the stringys and seeds out.

Wanna-be cowgirl! Ashley trying out her new hat!

The girls loved halloween and got lots of candy because the few houses we went to were very generous because of the rain. But what really matters is that they looked super cute!

A New Addition

2010-11-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

We are increasing our family. By two-fold.

Two new girls. We are using the names Shelly and Goldie, and they look beautiful. Very similar to this picture below! (because I am not going to try and photograph our fish when I don't even post pics of my own kids very often!)

These are Tessa's fish for using the potty! Because I would LOVE to change fish water

instead of diapers!

Scream It From the Rooftop

2010-11-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

It happened. It finally happened. I thought it would never ever happen, and I had no idea on how to change it, for every idea Kirk and I had ever had were total flops. But the sweet precious day finally came. And who knew all it would take is a visit from Grandma and a pop-up castle.

But it's here and glorious!

Tessa is potty trained!

That's right, it only took 4 1/2 years, but she's going like a pro, and since last Thursday has had no pee-pee accidents and has conquered the #2 situation well.

So, here I am screaming from the rooftop...

Glory Glory Hallelujah! She is using the potty!

Thank you Grandma, we love you even more!

Did you make your bed?

2010-08-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

I did!

Well, I made Tessa's bed, not as in fix the blankets, but actually made the bed, painted, sanded, screwed together, etc. And we love it! Tessa picked pink, of course!

And the best part is, it was simple. I went to HD, picked out the board listed in my shopping list, asked them to cut them, which they did, and didn't charge me for :) Then I loaded it all up in my car trunk, went home, got out my cordless drill, and put the bed together, which really only took about 3-4 hours, but this was my first project, so it took a little longer to figure everything out. Now I wish I could say the finishing, you know, the filling of screw holes, sanding, painting, sanding again, painting again, etc only took a few hours, but that would be a lie! This part is a little time consuming becasue you have to wait between each coat/layer, so that means you can only do a little bit each day (I still have kids to pay attention to, you know).

Wonder how I did all this, check out the toddler bed on Knock-Off Wood, my favorite website ever.

Oh, and I also built this table from my neighbors old fence they were ripping out, but I will do a post about it seperately sometime soon!

And the quality assurance team gave it a thumbs up!

I'm linkin' up at:

You know you have children when...

2010-08-17T08:51:00.000-07:00

You know you have children when you are watching TV with your husband, sharing a bag of chips together, and you reach in for a chip and pull out a plastic toy baby bottle instead. Hm, I am thinking maybe Kirk and I are not the only ones in this house that like chips!

Swingset Giveaway!!!

2010-07-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Serious. They are really giving away a swingset, valued at $340. Go check it out either here. Ends tomorrow night Thursday at midnight. So hurry!!!

Fun huh???

Daddy's Office

2010-07-12T14:59:00.000-07:00

We put both girls into the same room a few weeks ago, it is going good. They have finally become accustomed to each other and I think enjoy the set up. So the other bedroom has become Kirk's office. And how does he enjoy his office, let's see...

I think he is enjoying it! I love you Kirk!

Tessa is 4

2010-07-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

My dear sweet little girl is growing up. She is now officially 4 years old (and not potty-trained, but we aren't talking about that right now). We had a backyard water party for her bday on Saturday, she loved it. So with that, let the pictures begin...

Blowing out her candles. We had everyone help in the end because

she just wasn't getting it done!

Singing Happy Birthday Song! Look at all the candy, we totally filled these kids up

with sugar and then sent them on their way :)

I love decorating a fun cake for the kids. I want them to always have a f
un and memorable cake, every year. (yes I have issues).

Tessa being grateful for her gifts. I just hope she is always

kind and grateful as she gets older.

This is her friend that used to live next door, they played

all the time last summer on the swingset.

We miss having her next door, she is such a sweet girl.

Group shot with their cool new shades!

We played the "go fishing" game with the sheet behind them.

They all got new sunglasses (that are heart shaped because I bought them

after Valentines day for 75% off for the summer bdays we have!)

Get the candy!!!

Tessa taking a wack at the homemade fish pinata.

I forgot to take photos as I made it, but it was totally easy

and I will probably be making one for Ashley's bday also.

Just a few layers (4) of newspaper dipped in flour paste

to cover a balloon. It probably took a total of 2-3 hours over

a couple of days time. Like the paint?? I was going for cheap

or free with this thing, and this was the only color I had besides

white and black spray paint! but hey, it's simmery!

Ashley's turn!

Bubble snakes. The kids had a lot of fun with this one. Except

both boys sucked in bubbles, and I think one might have puked

a little...opps. It's just a water bottle with the bottom cut off

and a washcloth rubberbanded around the opening. Then dip

in bubble solution or dishsoap water and blow, but only blow

and don't suck, as the boys learned!!

Having a blast with friends!

The pool at the bottom of the slide, this was daddy's idea,

and it was the hit of the party! This is a picture of our

cousin Olivia, I couldn't get on of Tessa because she only

did it once, little chicken girl :)

Tessa, we love you and wish you would stop growing so that you can be my little girl forever :)

Dirty

2010-06-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

What is it about dirt piles that children love? Dirt piles seem to have a gravitational pull on kids. Every kid I know loves to just sit and play in the dirt and make mud pies and build dirt hills. At least I know mine do, they are out in the yard right now as I type spreading dirt around, dumping it in Rosco's water, and pretty much just getting dirty. And I can visually remember making mud pies in little blue plastic plates when I was little, then slicing them up and pretending to eat "pie".

Now that I am grown up, I guess I just don't understand anymore the hours of fun that are to be had sitting in a pile of dirt.

I wish I knew where my camera was so I could take a picture of them, Tessa and Ashley and Rosco, all sitting out in the shade in Rosco's relaxing spot playing away. The best part is that there aren't any toys to fight over, just dirt and sticks, so there is no fighting and crying. It's precious.

My Baby

2010-04-28T13:59:00.001-07:00

What happened to my little baby?

She grew up, very quickly it seems.

I downloaded pics today and just wanted to share this one really quickly because it caught my eye and I realized that Ashley is no longer a chubby little baby, she is a thinning out toddler who is learning new words everyday and climbing anything she can and is just getting so big.

A few pictures

2010-04-02T14:32:00.001-07:00

I am just gonna post a few random pics for fun.

These are from this past winter, sledding in the backyard.

Ashley couldn't even sit up because of all the clothes!! haha

Just chilling together with cookies!

Good Times

2010-04-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a few good times we have had lately, and what we have been up to, since I never blog anymore.

*Ashley is getting sooo big, her little round baby face is beginning to become more slender and she is looking more and more like a little girl instead of a baby *sigh* She is talking so much more. Last Friday night I heard a first sentence from her. "That's funny Dad!" as kirk was tickling her. Today she came up to me and said "Wheres binky at?", to which I said "Where did you put it?", and she follows up with "I don't know." and walks away calling to her binky. Crazy, huh? Told you she is getting big.

*I have began babysitting Kirk's niece a while back, and Tessa and her have a fun time playing and make-believing. One of the favorite "games" is Penny and Bolt. Tessa is typically Bolt because she LOVES pretending to be a dog.

*We had blue stakes come yesterday to mark our yard for power lines and gas and whatnot, so we can start working on the fence for our backyard (Ashley and Rosco are both wanderers, Tessa we have luckily scared to death of the street). That will be our summer project, well, mostly Kirks :) and mine is going to be painting the kitchen cabinets. Also, we are going to lay a new kitchen floor (thanks dad) later in the summer after all the cabinet painting is done. I think both the fence and cabinets will be quite large, long projects for us!

*I had a birthday last week. I am now 29, gulp, my last year in my twenties. It was nice, we went out with the kids on Thursday night to IHOP (we had good coupons and kids eat free after 4 pm) and then Saturday night Kirk and I went out. We went up to draper area to do some shopping at the stores I love (Tai Pan Trading anyone??) and grabbed dinner at Panda Express, which I LOVE. It was really nice to be out going somewhere I have been wanting to go forever and getting yummy food WITHOUT the kids. For my birthday, Kirk got me a jig-saw, which may seem odd, but I have been wanting to get one, and it tells me something very important: Kirk is ok with me starting some of the Knock-Off Wood projects!!! Plus, I have some kitchen chairs to redo (shoot, I shoulda had kirk and I go to the fabric store for my bday!) that need new seats cut out using a jigsaw. Also, we found a nice used bike online for me, so that's also a bday present for me, it will be nice to all ride to the park this summer and for me to get some exercise.

*I have lost some more weight, not as fast as I was, but still losing so that's good. My total loss so far is approximately 18 lbs. And, I have now noticed that clothes are getting loose. It's nice to finally really notice and I even bought some new jeans a few weeks ago, and I bought them in a size smaller than I was wearing. yeah!

I think this will be all for now, but I do have Easter post to make. We took the girls to the city Easter egg hunt last Saturday, too funny, they loved it. I need to download the video camera card and show you all how funny it was!

Progress: Week 5 and 6

2010-03-04T15:40:00.001-08:00

It has been hard lately. All I want is Chocolate! And, I haven't really lost any more weight, I am hoovering around the 14 lbs loss for all 6 weeks. But, I haven't gained any, so that is the positive! Sometimes I just don't know what to do about the chocolate thing though, because if I have a little, then I just want MORE! So, I try not to have any, but sometimes it's a killer. So, I try mint gum, mints, water. Not helping :( I did find some absolutely wonderful chocolate ice cream bars, from the skinny cow, that are only 100 cals and are called chocolate truffle bars! But then the only eating one problem kicks up, ugh. (at least they only have 6 per box, haha)

Today I had some redhots when I was wanting a sweet snack, seemed to help throw me out of the funk a little, but still the thoughts remain in the back of my head that we DO have chocolate chips in the cabinet (which I have not/will not open, I promise). So, instead I might go have another bowl of zero-point soup, yummy :)

Progress for weeks 5 and 6: no new loss

Total loss: 14 lbs.

Family Photos

2010-02-28T18:15:00.001-08:00

These are a little late coming, they were taken in Nov 2009, just before Thanksgiving!

But it is my fashion to do everything a little late :)

Now to upload christmas pics. haha!

ps. these were taken by our wonderful friend Amy, she did awesome!

Tub Times

2010-02-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

I get so busy sometimes, I don't know with what, and Kirk probably is wondering the same thing :) but I just don't always find time to get online. But I have found a small gap of time, its called Tub Time. No, not for me, but for the girls in the afternoons. They love it, and I can get out the laptop and have a little "me" time. So here I sit in the bathroom, typing away, telling little girls to sit down on their bottoms so that I can have a few minutes to use the computer :)

This was short today, its time to wash and then go have afternoon snacks!

Gift Card Giveaway

2010-02-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

I want to share, my newest favorite blog (Knock-Off Wood) is having a $50 giftcard giveaway! The GC is for either Lowes or Home Depot, whichever you prefer. Just leave in your comment that you were referred by Laura Johnson, because if you get chosen, then we BOTH get a GC!!! So go enter, I am saving for a kitchen floor!!! :)

Go Enter!

Ends Sunday Night

Progress: Week 4

2010-02-17T12:26:00.000-08:00

I had a horrible week this past week with eating right. We went out Thursday to Applebees, I had a small meal, they serve weight watchers meals there. Then we went out for frozen yogurt, but it was sugar free, so that night wasn't horrible. Then, we went to Red Robin Friday night with kirk's family. I had a cheeseburger in a lettuce wrap, with a side salad, but they put tortilla strips on the salad (which was delicious), I thought I was only going to eat half my burger,but with out the bun it just all got eaten because I didn't get filled up as fast as if I had eaten a bun. It was sooo good though. Then, Saturday night (Kirk's bro and family came down for the weekend on Friday, and we went out a lot, which was nice to see them and hang out) I had a triple combination at Sizzler, yes I know, what a pig I was. But kirk said it was valentines day so go for it, because it is my favorite. It is steak, Malibu chicken, and 6 butterfly shrimp, and I had salad bar and steamed veggies with it. So to make up, Sunday I made the healthiest lasagna I know how to make, which is delicious too, but we had Lali's party, so I had cheesecake AND a slice of chocolate cake! I am full of confessions right now! And I had some extra icing because it was homemade and you have to taste it as you make it to make sure it is good. SO, then on Monday when the Trev and Lali left, we all went out to Artic Circle for lunch for the kids to play one last time, and I had a salad, but it had a ton of cheese on it, but I used no salad dressing. Does that make me feel better, to write a bad thing and a good thing, yes, it does make me feel better. And, one last confession, yesterday, I had another piece of that chocolate cake, then threw the rest away (I can't handle the pressure of it sitting there uneaten on the counter), and I had 3, yes 3, of the granny B's frosted pink sugar cookies, each on is like 5 points, and I only get 25 points a day. I can't believe it.

So, after a weekend of eating what sounded good and smelled good, I am having junk food withdrawls again. I thought I had kicked it, but I guess it will always be a battle :(

Anyways, after my list of confessions (not that anyone really cares, but I want you all to know that it is so hard to always be good)

my weigh in report is:

This week - one and a half pounds.

Total for the 4 weeks is - thirteen and a half pounds!

I really got to start exercising. Does typing count? :)

Progess

2010-02-08T09:03:00.000-08:00

I know I usually weigh in on Wednesday, but I had to check anyway this weekend, and I have hit the 10 lbs mark! So super excited! I was gonna start trying to go to the gym this week, but Ashley has woken up with a cold (again) so she can't go to any friends houses to play for a couple days. Arg. Maybe I can get myself up early to go walking with Rosco. Thats a big MAYBE. haha. We will see. But still super exciting for 10 lbs! :)

Toddler Bed

2010-02-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

We are selling our toddler bed if anyone knows someone that can use one. Asking $35 and it is made from solid wood, painted white, needs a touch up or re-paint job because it's been used and whatnot. Also, the princess decals come of for boys!

Progress: Week 2

2010-02-03T11:22:00.001-08:00

Week 2 has been good on my weight loss plan. Total, I have lost approximately 7 lbs in these past two weeks. Yea! Now, I am sick again, a cold this time, thank you Ashley, so I will start my exercising next week when I am feeling better, I am getting someone in the ward to watch the girls so I can hit the gym. Stay tuned.

Oh, the chocolate thing is not as good as the weight loss. I did cave in and have a cupcake, yellow with chocolate icing. And, I ate about 10 M&M's this past weekend. While I am confessing, I also had a cupcake without icing (it was one that broke coming out of the pan). So that is my sugar confessions! Still, it's been good since I am still losing weight. :)

Progress

2010-01-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

I have decided that it is time. Time to lose some weight. There are lots of reasons why, and it definitely is time. So, last week I got out my Weight Watchers books and charts and info, and started keeping track. It's been one week, and so far 4 lbs. But it's hard to tell, because I can't remember what part of the day I weighed myself last week, because weight fluctuates during the day. I am now going to weigh every Wed before breakfast, so I am keeping my fingers crossed and eating my salads! :)

By the way, 8 days and not one piece of chocolate, or actually not one piece of anything sweet, besides oranges and bananas!

MIA

2010-01-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

I know that I never blog anymore. Never ever. I am too busy. I also have my 2 assistants that like to "help" on the computer. So, my computer time is pretty much limited to nap times and bedtimes. Maybe an occasional few moments here and there when everyone is preoccupied :) So, when the time does allow for me to go online, I have found a new passion... Craft Blogs...and...Remodeling Blogs. I could spend hours searching these blogs (the first one I saw, which led me to sooo many more is All Things Thrifty, where they like to refinish yard sale furniture... love at first post! Because I always tell Kirk when I buy something from a yard sale that we can always paint it, which I never really do because I am not always super sure on how to do it, but now I am! I had no idea I was missing out on so much GREAT information out there! We just went to Ikea this weekend, and found lots of things we would love to buy, but some are a little out of our price range (actually at this time EVERYTHING is out of our price range :) But (kirk, don't read this:) I found an awesome blog that tells you how to build everything, mostly pottery barn inspired things. I would start out with their queen sized bed with drawers underneath it, so much storage from such unused space. So exciting!

So, that's where I have been, not at the Johnson Crowd, but out searching and loving craft blogs!

And, if Kirk does read all of this, I am pretty sure he is going to cancel our Internet before I have him "helping" me with fun projects! Love you Kirk!

I need Ideas

2010-01-21T12:35:00.000-08:00

I have a geat new Idea. Well, I think it is a great idea. But I can use some help from other moms. I want to start putting together and selling dress-up kits/trunks. I made Tessa dress up box for her birthday, and she loves it. So, I thought it would be a good idea to sell them. It is really hard to find quality dress-up stuff that doesn't cost an arm and leg. Even walmart sells a kit, but it's like $30 for hardly anything and the reviews have said that it's all really cheap things.

So, with this thought, I need some ideas of what you would like as dress-ups, or what your little kids would like as dress-ups. It's really boy stuff that I have a hard time thinking of, guess maybe cause I only have girls! These are the ideas that I have:
*fairy stuff- wings, tutu's, fairy headpiece
*Wedding- white wedding dress, veil, probably a pair or fancy gloves
*cheerleader- skirt, pompoms
*cooking- apron, oven mitt, perhaps a chefs hat (that may be too involved:)
*animals hoods and tails combos- cat, dog, rabbit, pig, maybe horse
*cowboys- bandana, hat, vest, chaps
*capes- superhero capes, maybe facemasks too

and then I have accessories to chose from:
*hats, scarves, gloves, purses, tiaras (homemade), wands, crowns (like king and queen), boas, glasses, shoes, etc.

Does anyone have any other ideas? Do you think it's a good idea? :) Thanks!

Chocolate

2010-01-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

With the thought about chocoate from the other post, I have decided that this would be a good time to give up chocoate again. Yes, I say again because in Nov I went about 2 or so weeks without a single thing chocolate or chocolate-y. So, having not eaten now for almost 2 days because of stomach flu, I guess I already have my head start on giving up chocolate.

So, with the new year in mind and of course, as everyone does, wanting to lose weight, I am deciding to give up chocolate. I might even add a chocolate ticker on this blog! Here's to hoping my willpower is great! :)

Girl after my own heart

2010-01-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

Last night, I had Tessa help me make some chocolate pudding. I told her if she ate all of her dinner, spaghetti, that she could have some dessert. We never do an actual dessert, like a totally planned out item. So, in an effort to have Tessa eat better I have decided to add dessert to the daily menu. Probably just something small, like chocolate pudding, because I don't need any leftovers of chocolate lying around! :)

So, we made pudding, but forgot to give it out, for a couple reasons. I was still feeling sick from my round of the stomach flu, so I went to bed a little early and forgot to offer the pudding, and reason two is that the girls and Daddy came downstairs as soon as dinner was over to watch some more great dance scenes from Snow White. (It is a DVD with only dance scenes on it, just little 3 minute clips, and yes, we watch the same on OVER AND OVER, but they love it, it also came with a princess book)

Back to the pudding, so today I gave the girls their pudding after eating ALL their lunch. Well, Tessa ate hers and put her bowl in the sink (good girl) and Ashley pretty much worked on her pudding for about 20 mins. Finally she came walking over towards the sink with bowl and spoon and chocolate everywhere. So I grabbed the bowl and spoon and started to work on cleaning up all the chocolate. Well, she promptly tried to run away so I wouldn't take her bowl, then threw herself onto the floor for a full blown tantrum. Pretty much her first real kicking screaming tantrum that I have seen! And all over a little chocolate :)

Spell Check

2010-01-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

I noticed the other night that our "Merry Christmas" greeting on our blog has been mispelled this entire holiday season. How many of you noticed this? Either you are all very polite or we just don't really attract that many visitors to our blog. Or maybe those visitors to our blog can't spell like us....lol.

Just another day...

2010-01-16T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today, I went in to get Ashley and found her surrounded by vomit. Yucky. Thankfully, it wasn't anywhere but on her bed, so that is pretty easy to clean up. But it just made me a bit depressed because thats a never a good sign. I was hoping to go up to IKEA today to window shop, but that didn't happen. She only yakked one other time, and thankfully, that was in the kitchen, sitting on my lap facing away from me. So, another realatively easy cleanup. I hope I am not jinxing myself for posting this.
I hope no one else gets anything, I dont' especially care for cleaning up puke :(

Ramblings from the husband

2010-01-05T19:30:00.000-08:00

When we bought our house here in Cedar Hills we decided to cut back on a lot of unnecessary bills. This meant getting rid of cellphones and cable TV. Luckily our contracts were up for both of those so we didn't have to pay any expensive cancellation fees. Laura got herself a pay as you go Cricket cellphone which has worked out nicely. She now pays roughly around a month instead of $60 something with our old plan. I like her having a phone with her in case she needs help with car problems and such.
We have Internet since I often VPN into my office computer and work a little from home when needed. So last night I'm sitting in front of the computer with ESPN gamecast on so I can watch the updates for the Fiesta Bowl with Boise State and TCU playing while doing some work. I'm thinking something is wrong with this set up.
I bought a little 7 inch portable TV so I could walk around the house and find the best location to erect my 500 ft digital antennae. I have since found out that we get 3 stations. 2 Spanish stations and some sort of Christian station which is even cheesier than the 700 Club with Pat Robertson. Sorry if I offended any 700 Club fans. So I either need to learn Spanish and start enjoying Spanish soap operas or I can watch TV evangelists preaching fire and brimstone one minute and crying repentance the next. Haven't decided on which one I prefer yet. I may become desperate enough to sit on my camping chair on the hill behind our house tomorrow night to see if the reception is better there.
So I realized something this past week. We didn't have cable in our first house either until after Tessa was born. Laura finally decided if she was going to be up in the middle of the night nursing then she deserved to be able to watch TV without the rabbit ears. I was of course in full agreement. So along came dish network and the glorious DVR.
So I'm thinking it's time we have another child. I know what you're thinking......that's pretty expensive way to get cable TV but in this economy I may not get a raise for awhile so this might very well be my only choice. So keep checking in on the posts to see if there is any news but I'm predicting no cable TV at the Johnson home for a few years but hey I can try right?
I enjoy our home and love that Laura and the kids think it's a great place. I am beginning to understand about the sacrifices my parents made for me and my siblings.
Truth be known I think I'm more productive without TV. There is a high likelihood I wouldn't be typing this if I had cable TV. Oh and by the way does anybody have extra space on their couch Thurs. night for the Texas vs. Alabama game?

Ramblings from the husband

2009-12-14T22:54:00.000-08:00

After passing a strenuous back ground check I have been granted clearance to our award winning family blog. Laura warned me that she may revoke this privilege at anytime so I better behave myself while posting.
Tessa has been on this "Little Mermaid" kick for awhile now. Recently Laura purchased one of those Disney sequels that went straight to DVD. I believe it is titled something to the effect of "Little Mermaid 2". Basically it is about Ariel's daughter Melody. So now Tessa goes around the house pretending to be Melody and calling me "Grandfather" in reference to King Tritan. Tonight I decided to participate even more in this game than I usually do. I sat in my recliner (King Tritan's throne) with our yellow broom from the dollar store (King Tritan's Trident). I ordered her to finish her dinner. We played this game for a little while until Tessa noticed Ashley playing with Tessa's toys. Later in the evening we rocked out to a "Doodle Bops" (some crazy acid tripping Canadia Sesame Street show) DVD. I don't think I could have predicted this night when I was single and watching "The Simpson's" at my apartment with Blake my roomate. It's funny how life changes and priorities get shifted around. I love my little girls Tessa and Ashley, my beautiful wife Laura, and possibly our dog Rosco that peed on the snowman I made. Stay tuned for the next installment of the "Rambling Husband" by Kirk.

Happy Late Halloween!

2009-12-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

This is at the ward party. I think it was supposed to be for bean bag toss,

but we found a better use!

Cinderella, a little Piggy, and their Daddy.

Right before heading out to trick-or-treat. Our super cute
little Piggy, she even had a curly tail on her bottom!
(And she is a fancy piglet with her necklaces on)

Cinderella was having a fit about putting on her dress back on,
so we went to the dress up box and got out
her wedding dress instead, then we just called
her a princess.

Cute girls!
Notice the glass slippers:)

The loot, which we forgot to put away before we went to bed.

We woke up the next morning to Tessa with chocolate all over her face

saying "I found chocolate!"

Halloween Day at a small festival down the road,
hanging out with Kirk's sisters kids.

They had games to play so you could win candy.

Ashley is playing the mummy game, courtesy of the cousins!

She is the most beautiful mummy I have ever seen!

Ashley and Tessa, just hanging out watching the other kids. Ashley was too little

to play most games, and Tessa was too shy, so this is how we spent most of the time.

We had a really fun halloween, I know that it's almost Christmas, but I wanted to get some pictures up of the girls. So check in around Valentines Day for our Christmas post!! haha.

I made a decision

2009-11-28T20:38:00.000-08:00

I made my advent calander decision. I only have a day or so to get it together. But I love it. Check it out.

Pizza Night!

2009-11-10T15:49:00.000-08:00

I have bunco tonight, I haven't been in a few months because of scheduling conflicts, so tonight is Kirk and the girls doing dinner on their own. And what a great day for this, because

Tuesdays and Thursdays are

$2.99 pizza night at 5 Buck pizza!!!

Thinking Ahead

2009-11-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

I just spent a few minutes searching KSL.com for Christmas trees (I am totally ok with a gently used tree)! And all the Christmas decorations made me think of how excited I am for Christmas, I just want it to hurry up and be time to put up Christmas decorations, maybe we will have to start the week OF thanksgiving instead of the weekend after! Anyways, all this looking made me realize that I want to make an advent calendar for the kids. I found this one online, but want to keep looking for other ideas, I still have a few weeks to get it all figured out I guess. Now, I need to start working on some of the homemade gifts we are doing this year, which I can't post because some people that may read this may be on the gift list! I will post them in January :)

I love Christmas!!!!

Things I Have Learned

2009-11-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

Things I have learned in the past week:

*Ashley can eat her weight in grapes.

*I can kill spiders without screaming, but only the small ones.

*Laundry multiplies during the night.

*Tessa ALWAYS wants to share, as long as it's not her food or toys.

*I am in totally different place in life than I was a few years ago, and I never noticed the change in myself until it happened.

*I always stay up way too late, even when I am tired, and I don't know why.

Single Parenting

2009-11-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

I am a single parent this weekend. Kirk is in AZ for an aunt's funeral, with his brother and two sisters. They took off this morning around 4:30 and I had a message that they got in safely, but haven't talked to him tonight, I am sure he is busy. So, for a 3 day spurt, it's just me and the girls.

So, I wonder, what will I do. Well, we went to the zoo today. It was a lot of fun, a bit on the chilly side since I forgot our jackets, but not too bad (I felt like a bad mom forgetting the jackets, but there were lots of other kids there without jackets too. It was in the high 60's, but the wind cooled it down a bit). We also had our cousin Olivia, since her mom is in AZ also, and I think Tessa and her had a good time playing today.

At the zoo, they have a new baby elephant, totally cute, just like Dumbo! And a precious little baby giraffe, it was just beautiful. The tiger cubs where almost full sized tigers by this time in the year, so that was a pinch disappointing, looking for cubs and only seeing large tigers, but everything grows up eventually.

We went with my friend Becky and her munchkins, which I think worked out great, because they kinda moved in a pack, so it was a little easier to keep track of them. I think Olivia has a new boyfriend, because she was talking about Ben on the way home, saying how funny he was and that she liked him! So funny. Thanks again Becky for taking us with you, the day turned out great!

The only downfall of the day was me dropping Ashley's binky down the giraffes ditch where they spray the poop into. And it was the only one I took with me, made for a bit of a noisy drive home :(

Now, for the rest of the weekend, I don't know what we will do. Hm. All I know is that tonight, I plan on getting a great nights rest in a big bed all by myself!!! :)

First Words

2009-10-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ashley has finally spoken, and it's a real word. Yes, she does say the "bye-bye", "uh-ohs" and whatnot, but she also has her first actual word. Get ready for this, ok, you are ready?? She screams, yes, screams the word "Quiet!" Haha!

There is one particular family member she is directing this to, and you guessed it, it's Rosco. She stands at the glass door screaming Quiet! when he is barking. Sometimes not even when he is barking, just because she sees him. And who would you guess is right next to her yelling it also, yes it is Tessa. I typically tell Rosco "that's enough, no barking" or just knock on the door/window. But not Tessa and Ashley! Ashley actually says it anytime she is around Rosco or if she hears the neighbors dog barking, she hurries over to the window to yell "quiet". And sometimes she wakes up in the middle of the night, and we hear her saying very loudly "quiet"! Too funny. In fact, the other day, I had the laptop out, and she desperately wanted it. But then she heard the neighbors dog, and quickly crawled over to the window so she could yell "quiet", so cute.

And to top it off, tonight I was telling Rosco to sit while I put her pajamas on, and I swear she said "sit" also, like 3 times. So I will be listening for that one too.

Does this mean my darling is destined to be a dog trainer?!

That's my Girl

2009-10-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

At the birthday party, they only offered sodas to drink. So I grabbed Tessa a sprite. As I sat down at the table, I explained that we don't give our kids soda and that this would be Tessa's first real soda, all for herself. Well, she took a sip and said "I don't like this water." Yeah!!!! That's the girl I have been dreaming of!!! I know, some people think it's totally crazy that we don't offer soda to the kids, and someday she will like soda, but for now, she doesn't need it (no one needs it) and she can have juice and milk and water instead. I love this little girl!

A few days later, we went to the Pollo Loco (my new favorite place), and they have strawberry soda, so I got Tessa a little bit. One sip, and she says "I don't like this. It's yucky." Bless her! :)

Happy Birthday Isaac

2009-10-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

Tessa was invited to a birthday party for her little friend Isaac. I decided to make him a super hero cape. I have never made a cape before, and I wanted his name on it. So, I got really crafty and made my own "patches" for the cape. My stitching isn't the best, but I hope he likes it. Tessa wore it for quite a while the day before his party, so at least I know she loves it!

I used super thick iron on interfacing to make my letters and star. Then I stitched them on the fabric, which didn't turn out as well as I had in mind, which is why I am not posting that picture! I used Word to make my letter patterns. So, I thought it turned out pretty good for a first try, I just hope he enjoys it!

Isaacs party was a blast too. It was held at Thanksgiving Point at the Barnyard. We saw the animals and fed them corn, got our face painted, had the chance to ride the ponies (which Tessa declined, oddly enough since we OWN horses), went for a wagon ride pulled by the tractor, got a personal time with a cute little pony just for the party kids, played some games, and had pizza and cake and ice cream. It was a lot of fun, 3 hours worth and the kids loved it!

Ashley's first sucker! She loved it!

We have darling children, I must say!

Our wagon ride. Ashley is now eyeing the candy cup!

Tessa had so much fun, she even sat on the cow!

It was such a cute little pony, until one little girl didn't hold her hand flat to feed it and it bit her finger, then everyone got a little apprehensive.

MoonLight

2009-10-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

Kirk surprised me with a night out on Oct. 2. He told me a month ahead of time to block that night out for our date. All month I kept trying to guess what he had planned. Then, the day before our date, he told me what it was, only because it was like snowing up in the mountains and super cold. He scheduled tickets to the full moon night ride on the lifts at Sundance Resort. It was really fun, great to be out together ALONE and have time to talk and laugh and not sing Sally the Camel or The Ants go Marching while passing crackers to the backseat. We, well I, wore so much clothing because of the weather that we kept warm but kinda ruined the romantic holding-hands-and-kissing-on-the-swing part. Thank you Kirk for such a great time!!!

As you can see, I stayed very warm!

Baby Legs

2009-10-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to be crafty lately. I got out the sewing machine one day, because I needed to do something for me. So, I whipped out some leg-warmers for the girls. So totally cute!

This is the first pair I made, ages ago. Look how little Ashley was!

I have been wanting to make more ever since this day, but then the house

sold and life got busy and it just wasn't time for sewing.

A close up view. Darling with cute little skirts!

Shiner

2009-10-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Tessa got her first black eye a few weeks ago. She was running around the kitchen table while I finished up feeding Ashley, and she wasn't looking where she was going, tripped on a chair, and then hit another chair with her eye. It was like watching those 30 second video clips of a plant growing over a months span; it turned purple and blue within 30 seconds, right in front of my eyes. Amazing. Poor girl, it really hurt her, and we had to get out the frozen corn bag to ice it. I am just glad I took away the fork I hadn't noticed she carried the first time around the table!

I know, I know...

2009-10-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

It's about time I added some cuteness to our blog. And don't worry, I will try to update our picture sometime too, since it is only 2 years old!

Take a Walk

2009-10-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ashley has taken her first steps!

Sunday evening, I was on the phone with my mom, fixing dinner. Kirk and the kids are in the living room. Suddenly, Kirk yells at me "Ashley's walking!" And she was! She would take a few steps to us, and then we would turn her around and she would go back to the other person. Well, this continued for a bit, and then we had dinner and went to the neighbors for a little 3 yr old birthday party. And Ashley kept walking! She probably took about 35 steps that entire night. At one point, she was walking across the room, fell down, stood back up with out touching anything, and just kept walking on! It was like she has known how to walk for ever, and just finally showed us that she knows how. It was super exciting!

Now, she hasn't walked much since, just here and there, she is a much faster crawler and just prefers whatever way lets her keep up best!

Love

2009-10-09T10:49:00.000-07:00

I just need it to be written that I very much love my husband. He is wonderful. He is an awesome daddy and the best husband ever. I love you Kirk!

Got Milk?

2009-10-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Ashley is showing signs of being lactose intolerant, not severely, but when she has had milk or yougurt or even just regular milk based formula, she is up screaming a few times a night. Ugh. I NEVER thought I would have an intolerant kid, because I drink like 2 gallons a week, just by myself, I LOVE milk. So, we have always bought her sensitive formula, which is a little bit more expensive, but she does well with it. The doc suggested that we get her some goats milk, or soy milk. I tried the soy, but she was still fussy a bit, so I tried goat milk, which she seems to really enjoy. Maybe the soy trial went along with teething that week or something, so we might give it another try in a week or so, because, get this, FORMULA IS CHEAPER THAN GOATS MILK! I added it up last night, and we get about 50 more ounces of milk for our $15 with formula than goat milk. Arg!!! I thought when Ashley turned 1 we would switch over to milk for $1.50 a gallon and be saving tons of money, and now, the formula will continue I suppose. So much for saving money, but I it's worth the extra $$ it if my baby will sleep at night and be happy!

As for Updates

2009-09-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been too much exciting stuff going on here. No first steps yet, although hopefully any day now. But, for the un-exciting stuff, here is what we have been up to lately:

*I got a part time job, working at Ross Dress for Less! I am actually enjoying it so far, it's been about 3 weeks. I work two nights a week a week, and I have worked one Saturday for 4 hours. So, it's good, it gets me out of the house, and I am not spending money (well, at least I am making a little bit to cover what I spend at Ross!)

*Ashley stands by herself now. And she is trying to climb, she climbs the fireplace step, which she only fell off of 3 times, and can now get down pretty well unassisted too! She is trying the couch but can't quiet make it yet, thankfully!

*Tessa is in a home-based preschool and loving it! She goes right in and doesn't look back, and when I go in to pick her up, she tells me "Not Yet Mommy!"

*Rosco has been in Obedience Training for the past 5 weeks, he has 3 weeks to go. He is doing awesome, as long as you have treats in your hand. If you have no treats, forget it! But he is becoming the dog we always wanted, just slowly!

*Tessa hasn't used the potty yet. Has no desire, just screams no if you ask her. But one day, one day this will all change... I told her that all I want for Christmas if for her to use the potty!

*Kirk asked me last week what my thought were on having another kid, I mentally froze for a moment, and he filled in the silence with "I don't want to even really think about it until the first one is potty trained" phew! I don't want to think about it until the second one is consistently sleeping through the night and that isn't going to happen until all her teeth come in, I believe. And until the first one is toilet trained. I DO NOT want 3 children in diapers, no way no how, thank you very much. Two is too many to change already.

*We finished painting the kitchen this past weekend. It has a chair rail, so we went a lighter shade on top and our through-out-the-whole-house beige on bottom. It looks sooo nice, I just love it! And I feel more complete looking at an entirely painted wall instead of a big brown and white line down the middle of the wall :) Thank you very much Kirk!!!

*Tessa has began asking for ponytails!!! I knew that this happy day would come! She sits and waits and then asks for hairspray. I let her pick out the color barrettes she wants, and all goes well, and I LOVE IT!!! She is darling!

Anyways, these are some of the things that we have been up to lately, like I said, nothing exciting, but just our normal daily doings :)

Crate

2009-09-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, I had been rearranging the garage one evening. While laying in bed, Kirk asked if I had shut the garage door. So I hop out of bed to come down and shut the door, and it's very dark out I notice. So I reach out to push the button for the door, and think to myself that someone could be in the garage and I wouldn't know since it was so dark, so I shut the house door and lock it, just in case, you know. As I switched the lock, I hear a noise behind me, in the family room or toy room (although I am not sure why a burglar would be in the toy room, perhaps stealing our little people collection?). So I quickly, and I mean quickly, run up the stairs to tell Kirk to go check the downstairs. As I am telling him this, I hear a loud crash. I am totally freaked out at this point, absolutely sure we have a burglar, and I have locked him IN our house now. Kirk swears he didn't hear the crash, I don't know now he didn't, but anyways. So we totally check out the downstairs, and then the upstairs. No burglars, and totally puzzled about the crash (which the next day we find out was a super big branch falling off the tree outside the family room window), we go to bed. So I have a dream that night that we had a burglar. In the dream, I am sleeping and wake up, only to see a man in black clothes in our hallway, he notices me sit up and steps into the room Tessa is sleeping in. I can't even talk, all I keep saying in k-k-k-k-k, stuttering Kirk. I was frozen with fear, totally frozen. All I kept thinking was, we don't have any weapons, well, there is a baseball bat, but it's in the garage, and the phone jack upstairs isn't working, so the phone is downstairs too. And Rosco, our big, scary looking with a really deep growl, but gentle as can be Rosco is outside. In dream Kirk says he is going in to confront the guy, or get Tessa or something, and I don't know what to do. I am afraid to go downstairs, because what if there is another burglar (they do go in pairs sometimes) and I am afraid to go outside to get Rosco, because what if they lock me out and Kirk and the girls are inside alone. I know, I have crazy dreams. Anyways, I woke up with a pounding heart, and had a hard time going back to sleep.

So now, lucky for Rosco I have scary dreams, he is happily sleeping in a Crate in our front room, with a great view of the front door and glass door. So, I know, what good is he going to do in a crate?? Well, I have the idea that if someone breaks in and starts coming up the stairs in the dark and hear a very large dog growling that they will quickly turn and go away because they can't see if he is crated or not in the dark. Hopefully we will never have to find out, but I do sleep a little better at night now. Thank you Rosco.

As a side note, Kirk told me last night when I was opening the front door around 9 pm after getting home, Rosco heard the noise and started growling, but then saw it was me and stopped. So Rosco is paying for his keep!

Growing Up

2009-09-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Tessa is getting so big. It just amazes me. When I read to her now, I let her finish the sentences. The other day, we were reading Cinderella, and I started with "The stepsisters tried to push..." and she ended with "thier big, ugly feet into the glass slipper." It was funny to hear her say "big, ugly feet" I just laughed to myself and was proud that she is getting to good at remembering. Which makes me also realize that she remembers, and that she probably remembers everything now. So, I need to make sure she has happy things to remember. (although at dinner time when Kirk asks Tessa what she did today, she always says "i don't know" so maybe she isn't remembering as well as I thought! haha)

Educated

2009-09-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have such a wonderful husband. He let me go to Education Week this year. Well, I guess I shouldn't say let me like he is controlling or something, it's just that he was fine with me being gone every night for an entire week and putting the girls down by himself. So for this, and all the other nights I am out and about, I love him, he is such a wonderful husband and awesome father. Thank you Kirk!

I want to write a little about Ed Week. I had such a wonderful time. Next year, I want Kirk to go with me, it would be a lot of fun to go to classes together so that we would have so much to discuss, other than the kids and fixing up the house! So, I would recommend it to EVERYONE!

I went to a lot of different classes, some spiritual, some financial, some parenting, some marriage related, and one fun organizational class. The organizational class was very encouraging. It was taught by Marie Ricks, author and professional home-organizer. www.houseoforder.com I really enjoyed her classes, I actually only got to go to two of them, for they fill up fast. But I bought her book, House of Order Handbook, and have read it cover to cover already. So I am now going back and starting over and this time going to try putting it into practice. I really want our new house to be an organized one, this is why I still haven't put everything away yet, because I am scared of putting it where it shouldn't go, and then having to move it all again, so therefore I just leave it all in the garage packed up still. Yes, I sometimes have to go down searching for things, like last week the blender, so now I think I might have the courage to start unpacking! We will see!

I am actually taking her classes again at a stake center down the road in PG on Thursday nights, it's an 8 week course, free which is good, because I didn't get to see all of it at Ed Week. Some of the things I have learned though are:
*keep only half of what you already own. Like if you have 3 staplers, only keep 2 (she says to round up), or if you own multiple pots (like 10 or 20... I don't have that many) you really only need 4, max of 5, because your stove only has 4 elements on it.
*keep quality, and buy quality. Don't spend your money on junk products because they are cheap, save up a little more and buy something you will use more often and that will last longer. Her example was with kitchen utensils, don't buy dollar store plastic tongs, splurge and buy $10 metal ones that won't rust and will last years and years.
*File, don't pile. I love this saying! She talked about the counter top next to the fridge, how almost every single house has a "pile" of paper next to the fridge. So, she said when you come into the house with paper, like mail, don't set it down, set it in it's file (bills to pay, insurances to file away, etc.) She also said that 90% of the paper in your current Pile you will never look at again if you file it away, so she said have a pending file that you put things into, and then file them 30 days later, and with that 30 day buffer, you will have forgotten why you wanted to keep it anyways, so you don't file only to move them around forever but to never look at them again.

Another speaker that I loved, I mean absolutely loved, is H. Wallace Goddard. I went to both his marriage class, titled Inviting Heaven into Your Marriage, and his parenting class, Bringing up our Children in Light and Truth. He is also a columnist for Meridian Magazine. I just can't say enough about his lectures, except that if you ever have a chance to listen to him, it would be well worth your time. My favorite except from his class is as follows, from the marriage class:
*You want to build a house, but you have two favorite architects. So you ask each of them to build half a house. They both ask what specs you want, and you tell each of them to just build what they think is best. You then have your halves delivered and go to put them together so you will have the best house ever, from your two favorite architects. Problem is, they don't fit together. One may be a rambler, 3 bdrm, 2 bathroom style with a basement, but the other half is a two story, 6 bdrm, 3 bathroom, with a balcony. You can try to do the remodeling your self, to build a second story onto the rambler, dig a basement underneath the two story, but your chances of actually making a functioning, non-leaking, going to last a lifetime home are slim. What you need is a carpenter, someone that can come in a build a structure to unite these two homes into one. Someone that has experience, someone that knows what they are doing, someone that will make sure there are no leaks and gaps. That someone is the Lord.

If we let the lord unite our halves, then we will last the test of time. Our marriage is never just between husband and wife, but also between Heavenly Father because he is there to help us and keep us strengthened.

I love analogies, and this one takes the cake in my opinion. I just loved it and wanted to share it with you. I hope it can help you to take a look at your marriage and see what needs some "updating" or "home repairs" that Jesus can do for you.

The other time I went to this class, the night was titled, Looking on Your Spouse with Compassion. I was expecting something about changing ourselves and being humble, but what he spent almost the entire time on was the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). He totally went in depth on it, and pointed out how it applies to our marriage. Fabulous class.

Anyways, there where lots and lots of other great classes, but maybe I will give recap of those at another time. So really, if you can make time for it, Education Week is awesome!!!

Happy Birthday Girls!!!

2009-09-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

My goodness, it has been a long time, and so much has happened. Tessa turned 3 on July 12. Kirk and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on July 23. Ashley turned 1 on August 27. And lots of other fun things have happened too, I just can't remember all of them right now. So, with that in mind, I will try to start posting things more often. See, the problem with blogging is that Tessa thinks she doesn't need to nap anymore, but Mommy thinks she does. So to get her to nap, I have to lay down with her. Only, it is usually me that falls asleep first and then doesn't wake up until Ashley wakes me up. So, my free time has been drastically cut, but I am much more rested now (or am I? Ashley has been waking up once a night for the past 4-5 weeks).

Anyways, here are a few quick pics to enjoy of the big celebrations. Sidenote, our anniversary wasn't a big celebration. We got a sitter, went out for ribs (yum!), and then walked around a few stores "window shopping" until our 10 pm curfew. So, there are no pics of this great party!! haha.

She blew out the candles before I could even get a picture!

We decorated cloth crowns and tiaras with foams stickers, it was a huge hit!

(and now they are part of the dress-up box we gave her for her birthday!)

Tessa's cake!

The decorations are melted Starburst rolled out flat and cut-out with cookie cutters, super simple and way fun!

The great balloon race.

Tessa was a bit camera shy at her party. Daddy had to hold her tight to catch just one picture. Don't you love the tiara?! :)

Happy Birthday Ashley!!!

Party Girls!

Ashely's cake!

So, the story about the cake. Well, it all starts when I spend like 3 hours on Saturday working on her cake (I know, it should look like a wedding cake if I spent 3 hours!) I felt a little bad that we didn't have any glorious presents for Ashley (her toys are from a yard sale, but she loved them anyways, as a side note) so I thought I would try out some fondant and try to make her a glorious cake. Well, after much research, I decided I wanted to make a cake that looked like a present wrapped up, with a big 3-D effect bow on top. Perhaps that was a little ambitious for my first try. So I decorated the cake with the white fondant, and then set about trying to make a bow. It wasn't working out, well, it has to set overnight, but I didn't have any faith that it was gonna set up hard enough to stand up as a bow, so I then undecorated the cake, only to start over, and this is what I ended up with. Still it looked really pretty in real life, I was and still am proud of it, since it was my first fondant try. Now, for Kirk's birthday, he is getting a cake that looks like a present wrapped up!! haha.

Anyways, it didn't really matter about the cake, because Saturday night Ashley is puking, so the Sunday party is off. So we celebrated Monday night, after everyone is feeling better, with just the four of us. The cake was a little 3-days-old by that time, but still ok. Oh, it didn't help that Tessa totally un-decorated the cake Monday afternoon when I was trying to lay Ashley down for a nap. I come into the kitchen and Tessa is next to the cake, saying she's "playing play-dough"! I tried not to be mad, but I was sooo mad, I hadn't taken my pictures yet!!! haha. Long story short, we had fun and that's all that matters!

So excited!

Tessa is a great candle-blower-outer!

Too bad for Ashley it was made out of marshmallows, so she couldn't eat the little circles! But she enjoyed playing with them and squishing them. And don't worry, there was icing underneath!

Yeah for Presents!

Tessa is always a helper!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS!

It Is Time

2009-07-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

It is time that Tessa learned to use the potty. We had our last straw yesterday. She woke up from her nap, and went into our room. I walked in and saw her squatting over, I asked what she was doing (knowing what she was doing), and asked her if she wanted to go sit on the potty. She of course screams NO, and so I told her to let me know when she was done so we could change her diaper. Well, she come out of the room about 3 mins later, holding her poopy diaper in her hands. This is about the 20th time she has done this, taken off her diaper. A few times, she has taken it off, went to the toilet and tossed the poop in, then flushed it away. So, if she is wise enough to do this, then she is totally wise enough to just poop on the potty, she is just playing us!

See, people keep telling me that she will use the potty when she is ready to use it, but this taking off the diaper thing is IT, I mean, she OBVIOUSLY knows what is going on. She always goes to hide to poop, and as soon as she is finished, she wants to be changed. So, Kirk and I decided that today is the day, she is all done with diapers, I don't care if she pees her pants till she is 5, she has to figure it out sometime, I am just hoping that sometime is sooner than later! (but I am not going to hold my breath).

The problem we have in our household, is potty resistance. Tessa knows what the potty is all about, she knows we toss our poop in there after she dirties a diaper, she knows Mommy and Daddy and Grandma and everyone in the world uses a potty, she just doesn't want to sit on it. She wants to flush it, and throw TP in it, and all the fun stuff :) but she doesn't want to sit on it.

So far today, we have had about 6 pee accidents, no successes, but thats ok, because she is sitting on it. We set a timer, usually around 15-20 mins, and when it goes off, we sit and "try". If we try, and our panties are dry, then we get a candy. If our panties get wet and then we "practice", there is no candy for wet panties.

I am prepared to wipe up pee for about a month or so, I am totally calm and just told Kirk that in a month or so, we need to have our brand new carpets professionally cleaned! Haha.

Pictures Worth a Thousand Words

2009-07-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Tessa flying kites in the backyard.

Daddy hard at work!

Mommy and the Girls on Easter Day.

They looked so cute in matching dresses! Thanks Grandma!

Look what the Easter Bunny brought!

Breakfast.

Snacktime, sharing grahams.

Sisters.

Tessa says, "I got her!" Better hold on tight Tessa!

Our future cowgirls.

Another cowgirl and her Daddy.

Swingin' time.

Playing with our friend R.

They had so much fun playing together.

Ashleys first stroller ride without the carseat to sit in.

Her coat is so puffy that she can't even move!

I love this picture and this hat. This was the begining of Jan.

Our family, minus Daddy who is the photographer!

See, I said I had pictures going back forever. Here is Christmas after Santa Claus came.

We used large boxes and stacked the presents up really high so that it looks impressive in the morning.

It helps that our tree is only a tiny little thing!

I am also going to do a post of each girl seprately for the past few months. It's fun to see them grow and change. Look for that in the coming days......

Long Time

2009-07-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since I have posted anything. I have a bizilloin pictures to post, all the way back to Easter. So, I will start working on that this week, I think it might take a while, I haven't even went through them since uploading yet.

We have been busy lately with lots of family time. Kirk's family were here in Utah for a family reunion about 3 weeks ago. It was really nice to see everyone, we had a lot of fun visiting and playing games. It has been a while since his entire family has been together. We went up to his sister Vonda's cabin for 5 days, the kids had so much fun. I am really excited for Tessa, for her growing up with cousins close in age. For one year, from Oct. to Oct., there were 4 kids born. Olivia in Oct, Aiden in April, Tessa in July, and Erin in Oct again. They are going to have so much fun playing as they grow up together. I have such fond memories of playing with my cousins that were close in age. There are 5 of us within a 3 year spread, and we always had a ton of fun playing. Ashley also should have fun, she is right in the middle of Sadie and Ian, so that make those 3 within a year-n-half of each other. Also on my side, my step-sister has a boy KC that is 1 year older than Tessa, and she has a little girl Kennedy that is 3 months younger than Ashley. So that is nice. I think they are done having kids, so any more that we have will probably have to play amongst themselves. (When I say more, I mean only a couple more!)

Anyways, we had a great time hanging out with the family. We played probably about 18 hours worth of CatchPhrase! It was a lot of fun, we got to the point were we had went through all the answers, so now I don't think Kirk and I can ever play it again because now we know all the words!

After we got back from the reunion, my mom came to visit for a week. That was really nice, the girls loved it! Tessa loves grandma, she was so excited to see her. We went to the dinosour museum, had Tessa's 3rd birthday party, did some shopping and lots of playing! It was nice that in our new home Grandma gets her own room, in our old place, grandma had to share with Tessa, so that was always a little crowded. Grandma had so much fun, she wants to come out for Ashley's birthday next month too!

Right before the reunion, we finished our basement. That was a project, but it is done now and I love it! It's one of my favorite parts of the house, it's so cool down here, and the rooms are big. Right now Tessa is in the play room playing dollhouse, she has everything spread out and she loves it.

So that is what we have been up too. Now it's time to take a little bit relaxing and have a mini break from fixing up the house. Although the list is long, we are just enjoying for the moment.

Busy Busy

2009-05-21T05:52:00.000-07:00

Things have been so busy lately. The house is coming along well, we got all the carpeted areas painted (although the extra bedroom could use a second coat) and the new carpet in. And it looks great! We wondered why the previous owner didn't have the place painted and carpeted, he could have sold this place for much more that way, but all the better for us I suppose!

We are loving the backyard. Our neighbors a few houses down gave us a swing set that they have been storing under their deck for a few years. But it's really nice, and the girls love it. And so do the neighbor kids! Tessa has some cute little friends that live next door and another friend that lives up the hill behind us. She will hear them outside and go running to the back door saying "My friends are here! Let's go outside!" They all have fun, even though Tessa does get a little shy, she loves having them over to play in the backyard.

Speaking of the backyard, Tessa almost picked up a garden snake the other day. I think it may have taken a year off my life! We were walking into the neighbors backyard to go pet their cat, and all of a sudden we both notice a small movement next to her in the grass. She immediately starts to reach down to pick it up, I grabbed her and jerked her back and probably let out some sort of scream/yell/gasp, it all happened so fast I can't be sure what really came out of my mouth. Then she says, "oh, a snake, let's go touch it" Noooooooo! The previous day we had been to the pet store, and looked at snakes through the glass, so she thinks all snakes are ok. I know it's just a garden snake, but I had to tell her that we don't touch snakes that live outside. They can be mean so we just look from a distance. Again she asked to touch it, and I have a feeling she may be learning a lesson about touching snakes someday... I am glad at this moment that I have a girl and not a boy, because a boy would be picking it up and bringing it home!! After we walked away, the neighbors cat took off after the snake into the tall grass out in the field behind us. I am glad that they have a cat to patrol our house for snakes and mice so that we don't have to get one.

Anyways, we love the house. We love the neighborhood. We love our neighbors. We love the new Walmart down the street. We love having a garage. We are really happy, really busy, but really happy :)

Happy Aprils Fools!

2009-04-02T06:21:00.001-07:00

Totally not true!!! The previous post about twins, Happy Aprils Fools! It was mostly for my mom, who I think we took a year away from her life. I tried emailing her, but couldn't get the picture to work out, so I decided to do a blog entry and tell her to check out the new pictures. And for the record, this was all Kirk's idea! So sorry to decieve you, but the phone call from my mother was priceless. First thing out of her mouth was, "Tell me this is an Aprils Fools joke!" Oh, I was dying. One of Kirk's friends did this also, they have a kids the same age of ours, I can't wait to hear how their joke went.

ps. I know pregnancy is special, and I know it's not always funny to joke about it because some people have a hard time or can't, we don't mean to upset anyone, this was all for my mom :)

New Pictures

2009-04-01T14:44:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess it is a good thing we are getting a bigger house, because, well, surpise to us, we are increasing our family, this time by two! Not a planned thing at all, but what do you do. So, the house-buying-timing worked out well. Kinda sucks cause Ashley is only 7 months old, but at least we will be done after this. Here is my ultrasound pic from my appointment, I love my new doctor, it's cool that he does ultrasounds when you first find out, guess since we weren't planning it, an ultrasound is the only way to really get an accurate due date. So, the tentitive date is Nov 25, Thanksgiving babies!

Finally

2009-03-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

We have a new house! We are so excited! We signed all our papers on Monday, and tomorrow morning we get our keys and can get things going. We have a lot of work to do before we can move in, but thats ok. We have some small holes and chips in the walls/ceilings to fix, then we need to primer/paint. Next, we are having carpet put in, that will make a huge difference. We also have some work to do downstairs in the bathroom, the washer stand pipe is short, so that we have to add some piping to so that the washer won't overflow (we had this problem in our other house, who knows how many time that thing overflowed before we caught it). Anyways, we are super excited, Tessa loves it, every time we go she begins the "derby race" through the kitchen to the dining room to the living room and back through the kitchen again. Ashley and Tessa will have a lot of fun running around that for many years I hope. So, we have until April 25 to get things done and moved in, because that is when our 30 days notice is up. Oh, we are super excited!

Sleep Baby Sleep

2009-03-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ashley is so smart. She got with the "Sleep-thru-the-night" program super quick. It took only 2 nights of fussing, and then, walla, she sleeps thru most of the night. I lay her down around 8 ish at night, and then I won't have to go to her until around 4-5 for a quick 20 minute feeding, or sometimes she won't wake at all. There have been a few nights where she wakes and fusses for like 15 mins around 2 am or so, but she falls right back asleep. I love this girl.

I borrowed and read a book from my friend on sleeping, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Marc Weissbluth, and it said "sleep begets sleep. This is not logical, but it is biological" and "The more rested a child is, the moe she accepts sleep and expects sleep". At first, I thought sounds odd, but then I got to test the theory, and it's TRUE.

Here is how my test went. These past six months or so, I have been getting up at least twice a night. At first I was tired at night when I woke up, but after 6 weeks or so, you just adjust and it seems normal. I was tired, but I wasn't zombie-tired all the time. So 6 months passes, and I am still tired, but totally functional once I fully wake up in the mornings. ( I am more awake when I wake up at 1 am than I am at 8 am.) So, this past week, when Ashley started sleeping thru the night, I got to sleep for like 7 hours straight a few nights, from around 11 until about 6-6:30 am. And strangely enough, I am more tired now than I was when I was waking up at all hours of the night! Also, Ashley never napped for over an hour. Now that she is resting well at night, her naps have are becoming longer. In fact, she just woke up from an hour and a half nap!

So, I testify it is true! Sleep begets sleep!

2009-03-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

This was taken on New Year's Eve. Thought I might finally post it for fun!

A New House

2009-03-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

I am SUPER EXCITED! We are signing on a new house today! We went and looked at a nice home in Ceder Hills and decided to put in an offer, and they sent us a counter offer, and we are taking it! Yea! It is going to be so great to have a bigger place. It is a 4 bedroom, with three bedrooms upstairs, which is something I really really wanted, but thought that in our price range, we may not be able to afford, so I am stoked. It has 2 1/2 baths, so we will have a master bathroom, and in the kitchen there is a bar, which are other things I didn't think we could afford. I am just beside myself with excitement. Anyways, we feel very lucky that this came our way and hope everything works out like it should. Sometimes inspections bring bad news, so we will be crossing our fingers and hoping that this is our lucky time to find a good home.

I told Kirk on Monday morning when we went to look at it, that it was our time, because Sunday night I finished unpacking the last box in our apt. Isn't that how it works??? So soon, I will start packing them up again!

Cry Baby

2009-03-11T13:19:00.000-07:00

The time has come for Ashley to learn to sleep through the night. Currently she is waking up about 2, maybe 3, times at night. At night means from bedtime at around 8-9 pm until 7-8 am the next morning. So, I am thinking this is a ridiculous schedule. She is a 6+ month old baby, she weighs over 18 lbs, and she doesn't even eat that often during the day now because she has 2 entire containers of solid foods a day, one for breakfast and one for dinner. So needless to say, she is not hungry all those times she wakes up at night. I usually try and nurse her the first time, hoping she will then sleep longer, but alas, it doesn't seem to be working. She will wake up again, just so that someone will pick her up and cuddle her so she can doze back off. I love holding her and snuggling her, and I don't' mind getting up to nurse her at some point, but not three times a night. So... it is time. Time to learn to sleep. And she isn't particularly happy about it, but she will be. She will thank me someday for letting her learn to sleep unassisted (ok, maybe she won't actually thank me, but she will be happy that she can fall asleep easily). We did this with Tessa, it took her 4-5 nights, and she got with the program and is a great sleeper (as long as she is in her bed at home).

I spoke with the downstairs neighbors, and they said they can't hear a thing, thank goodness. So, we have the go-ahead to let her cry. Last night she cried for about 25 mins before Kirk stepped in and rubbed her hair a couple mins. Then she cried a couple more mins and went to sleep. But, as our story goes, she was awake in about 2 hours, and then again in another hour...

So tonight, cry baby cry, cause mommy wants to be able to sleep again!

ps, she has been sleeping for her nap now for about 20 mins, and woke up and just started crying right this minute, so it begins :)

Oh My Goshness!

2009-03-05T09:41:00.000-08:00

This is Tessa's new saying. Oh My Goshness! It's really cute. She is at the age of repeating everything. This one she just gets a little confused on :)

Apartment Life

2009-03-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

I feel like I am 20 again, living in a cheap apartment without a dishwasher, cooking meals in an electric skillet so as to not dirty too many dishes, eating off of paper plates and using plastic cups as often as possible. But, I am not single, and I live with a couple of small children, which means we never have a clean house, unless they are asleep!

We finished moving the last box on Tuesday, and still have many to unpack. We signed our papers on Tuesday afternoon, so the house is offically not ours anymore. We hope the new couple enjoys it very much, we had a lot of fun in that house. So, like I said, we feel like we live in a college apt again. It's actually a very nice apt, it belonged to my friend Lesli a while back. I just wish I had a dishwasher. I told Kirk that if we have to stay here for like 6 months or so, we will be buying a portable and then resale it after we move out.

Our home buying is slow going, we found out that we didn't get the Springville home we put an offer on, we thought we might get out bid. Oh well. We haven't heard anything about the Pleasant Grove home. We really like it and really hope that it works out, but you never know.

So, we will just sit tight here in apartment life and see what falls into place for us!

Patience

2009-02-23T22:58:00.000-08:00

Things have been crazy lately. We are supposed to be closing on our home Friday, but alas, dates never seem to work out in real estate. So, today they asked to extend closing to next Tuesday. So, we are crossing our fingers that all goes well and that they still buy our home!

We also have put in two different offers on two homes. One is a short sale, which means that they previous owners are loosing it because they can't afford it anymore. So, we put in an offer and that was two weeks ago, and haven't heard anything. The other house is a foreclosed home. It is bank owned, so it should be a fast sell. We put in our offer last Wednesday, and then on Friday had to put in our 'best' offer. We were supposed to find out today if we won or not, but so far haven't heard anything. So we just have to have patience.

We just hope that we find a good home in a nice neighborhood that we can raise our kids in and make many memories in!

A Months Worth of Pictures

2009-02-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Ashley and Daddy playing on the bed. Tessa and Ashley love to hang out and read books on Mommy and Daddy's big bed.

Tessa has claimed every toy in the house hers. Even the plastic baby keys have somehow become "my toy".

Tessa has become such a big girl. She has even pee-pee in the potty a couple of times. She talks so much and has sooo much to say. Last week at the librery, she walks up to me with a My Little Ponies dvd and says, "I want fruit snacks" holding up the dvd. I told her that it wasn't fruit snacks, that is was a movie. So she then said, "I want to watch fruit snacks". Funny little girl.

Tessa and Ashley are 26 months apart in age. But in size, they are 10 lbs apart.
Chunky little Ashley.

Tessa hanging out with "the boys". She loves the Johnson boys, they always have such a good time playing together. Here they all are sitting on our couch watching Peter Pan.

Mommy and Ashley after playing out in the snow. I love her hat!

Mommy, Tessa, Ashley and Rosco playing out in the snow. Tessa loves the snow. Ashley is indifferent. And Rosco just loves having us outside playing with him, snow or no snow.

Under Contract!

2009-01-20T22:21:00.000-08:00

Yea, we are under contract, as of tomorrow morning! We are so excited to be selling the house. So, now we need to start looking for an apt (most likely) so that we have a place to live while we do our NEW HOUSE HUNT!!! Really I am just happy to be under contract so I don't have to keep making this place spic and span and keep hiding things so that people can walk through it every week. (I do like to keep the house somewhat clean on an everyday basis, don't get me wrong, but when buyers walk through, you can't believe how much stuff I can hide under our bed and how many clean clothes I have shoved back into the dryer because they hadn't been folded yet (I wonder how many sellers do that?, I am going to look into some dryers when we go look at houses!! haha)).

So I have been wanting to post some new pics of the girls and some videos, but we have been having computer issues lately and I haven't downloaded any pics recently due to the issues (Kirk has had to change out the hard drive and it is still a little funky, I don't really know a lot about it). But hopefully soon it will all be better and we will do an picture update.

Since I have no pictures, just let me tell you about our 4 month check-up. My darling sweet little Ashley weighed in at 16 lbs 4 oz and is 25 inches long(90 percentile on both)! That means she has gained almost 10 lbs since she was born! It really shouldn't have shocked me so much since she eats ALL the time, like still sometimes twice a night, ugh :( But she's healthy and very happy, that's what matters. And everyday her hand-eye coordination gets a little bit better, it's fun to watch her grow!

Tessa is growing fast too. She is getting smart, smart, smart. She knows how to work the system, and it's driving me nuts. I know I have to be consistent in discipline, but sometimes it would just be sooo much easier to give in to make her quiet... if only that would work. So I just walk away from her fits and tantrums, hoping the lack of attention will make her stop. We will see... I tried potty training last week. I believe that potty training may be the death of me. I decided to do a "naked day" for Tessa, because if she is naked, she doesn't pee, but as soon as she has a diaper on, she pees. So, I thought naked was the way to go. Um, wrong. After 5 accidents in a row, and not a single success, I called it quits. She would be sooo good for like an hour, and then I would not be looking for 1-2 minutes (like going to pick Ashley up from her nap), and come back in the room and she would be standing there with wet feet saying "I pee-peed". No Kidding. I think I am a fairly patient mom, but that about took me over the edge. Thank you Kirk for coming home at lunch time to help calm me down!

Anyways, back to my original thoughts, We are Under Contract, Hurray!

Longest Blog Ever

2008-12-22T22:17:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the book I wrote on cloth diapers, I have been working on that for a while now and finally published it. Hope it helps :)

Mouseless House

2008-12-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

I know you are wondering what about the mouse... So, yes, after he licked the peanut butter off the trap for two nights in a row, his time came to an end. And I am glad to say that it was a boy mouse, which means no little baby mice living in my couch. And there was no girlfriend mouse either, we kept the trap out just in case, but nothing. So we are now mouseless and very happy.

OH MY GOSH!!!

2008-12-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

We have a mouse! I can't believe it; the mouse ran out from under the coat bench to under the couch, and I only saw the blur. It scared me to death, but I kept from screaming somehow because I had just put Ashley down and I guess in the back of my mind I didn't want to wake her up. I just can't believe it. And it is probably getting fat from the crumbs Tessa drops here and there that we don't find. Needless to say, I am sitting on the chair tonight, not the couch, and am well prepared to head to wal-mart tomorrow to buy a trap (or two).

Cloth Diapers, Part 2

2008-12-14T21:37:00.000-08:00

Yes, a continuation of my cloth diaper post. I had a few questions asked about my new cloth diaper obsession, so I want to go into a bit more detail. Please stop reading at this sentence if you aren't interested in diapers or baby poop.

And sorry that this is the longest blog in the history of blogs :)

By the way, a little testimonial from my husband. Last week I went shopping and he stayed home with the kids. Well, he said he smelled baby poop coming from Ashley. I had a disposable on her because we have a few and it was handy. He opened up her sleeper and she had poop all the way up to her chest. Ugh! Not a fun time. So this past weekend, I again left the house alone, but before letting me leave, Kirk asked me if Ashley had on a disposable or not, because he wanted cloth this time because she doesn't have blowouts in them and he doesn't want to clean up a huge mess again!!! How about that for a changed man?!

Oh, another By the Way tid-bit, ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS use the bio-degradable liners for kids with people poop. I forgot once with Tessa this past week, and icky-icky. Now I know why people hate cloth diapers, if it wasn't for the liners, I don't think I could do this either. So, if you decide to try it, PLEASE make sure you order liners too, otherwise, you are not going to enjoy it at all, trust me!

Let me give you all a little cloth intro on the types of diapers available and what I think of them:

Prefolds- these are the white rectangular diapers (sometimes used as burp cloths). You can't buy wal-mart diapers, they don't work. There are diaper-service quality prefolds you can buy, they are cheap, like less than $2 a piece, but have to be folded and pinned, or snappied on. FYI, a "snapppi" is a little y-shaped stretchy item with little teeth on the end (similar to ace bandage grabbers) that holds the diaper on. The snappi is super easy to use. I tried the prefolds for like a day, and decided that this was hard-core cloth diapering. I mean, Ashley peed through this diaper by the time she finished nursing. So I would change her when she woke up to eat, then change her again when she finished eating, then change her again when she started to fall back asleep. This meant for a lot of changes, and then if you add Tessa to the equation (I didn't have prefolds in her size to try), that would be over 20 diaper changes a day, maybe 30. Needless to say, I only tried these for one day! Also, I have a very hard time keeping the newborn runny poop in these because they don't have any leg gussets to catch the poop. Now, I am going to try to make a few prefolds to have as a backup, but I want to make mine with flannel and put a microfiber towel in the middle to be the soaker area. Microfiber is VERY absorbent.

Prefolds do require a waterproof cover, which are easy to use. They Velcro on similar to a disposable diaper and come in cute colors and patterns. And they can be used over and over during the day, as long as they don't have poop on them.

So, in my opinion, prefolds are too much of a hassle for me, even though they are super cheap, I just can't do it.

Fitteds- These are nice. They are all cloth and come in different sizes. They range usually from newborn to x-large. They are usually made out of some super soft materials and come in fabulous patterns and colors, and I mean fabulous! I tried a few on Ashley, and they fit well and keep the poop in. They have leg gussets and elastic on the back to prevent blowouts. These also require a waterproof cover, unless you just let them where the diaper with no cloths over it. But there is an option of having wool clothing to go over the diaper, which sounds weird, but it's not. In fact, I wish I had some fitteds so that I could get the cute wool covers (tell me those aren't darling pants). Wool is naturally water-repellent, and when you add some lanolin to it, it because pratically water-proof. The wool covers come as just covering the diaper (like the panties that come with little baby dresses), as shorts, or even as pants. Most have draw stings, and you can get them with cute little designs on them, like animals on the back or rainbow colors. I totally think they are the cutest thing ever!

Anyways, fitteds are great, but the only downfall I can see is that you have to buy sizes. So that means more money. But that also means that if you plan to use them for another baby later on, they will have less where and tear. They do make one-size fitteds, by GoodMama, but they come in at $35-$38 bucks a piece, yikes. But I tried one, they are great diapers, but not really a true one-size because Ashley was 2 months old, and they thing swallowed her. So they could probably be used around 5 months and on.

So, I like fitteds, I really do.

Pockets- These are what I use. They have a water-permeable inner lining, and a waterproof outer shell. In the back, there is a slit or opening, and this is where you slide in the absorbent liner. You can control how much absorbency the diaper has by how much lining you put in. Also, these can be bought in a one-size, and these really are one-size. They can go from 8 lbs to 35 lbs, or so they say. Ashley and Tessa share diapers, and Tessa is about 26 lbs or so, and Ashley started in these around 11 lbs, when she was 2 1/2 months old. So far, no blow-outs in these, and that means a lot since she just had a blow-out (a HUGE blow-out) in a disposable last night. There is a little work involved since after the wash/dryer you must "stuff" them with liners again. It doesn't take very long, and I don't mind since I know I won't be washing anymore poop-stained shirts and pants now.

So, I totally love my pockets. They work great, and I think are totally cost efficient. I paid $18 per diaper, but they are one-size and Ashley will where these her entire diapering life, and then hopefully the next kid will use these also, so totally cost efficient.

All-in-Ones- These are waterproof on the outside and have a thick liner built in, similar to the pockets but you don't "stuff" the liner since it's already sewn in. These can also be bought in a true one-size, but are a little bulkier since you don't control the thickness of the liner. The only real downfall I have heard of (I haven't tried these yet) is that they take forever to dry since they are so thick.

Wetbags - A necessity for your diaper bag. A cloth bag that has a waterproof layer in the middle for your dirty diapers. Also great for when your kid has an "accident".

OK, enough terminology. Here is a list of links to find tons and tons of info on CDing.

Diaper Pin - this is a great website with reviews of almost any and all diaper brands out there, plus lots of info on cloth diapering (CDing for short).

Jillian's Drawers - If you want to try out CDing but don't want to make a huge investment, try out Jillian's Drawers program. You put down a deposit, they send you some great NEW diapers to try out for 21 days, if you don't like them or don't want to buy them, you mail them back and they refund you all but $10. If you keep all the diapers, you don't pay anything extra, and your next order is free shipping. So it's a great way to try before you buy!

Diaper Jungle - This is a wonderful website that you should really look at. It has tons and tons of information, and it's super easy to navigate around on. On the home page they have 3 columns: why use cloth, choosing the right diaper, and how to wash CDs. Really this is a great place to check out.

Baby Bummies - this is where I bought my diapers. She is in American Fork, so if you are local, you can go check out her stash and pick up diapers to save on shipping costs.

Cotton Babies - Another great online store that sells practically every diaper out there.

Diaper Swappers - I LOVE this website. It has sooo much infomation on it. It is a huge database of forums, including diapers for sale or trade, Work-At-Home-Moms online stores, lots and lots of information about CDing, with forums you can ask questions on about any subject, from feeding to diapering to being thrifty for your family. I love it.

I was thining about hosting a "home show" on diapers. So that everyone can check them out in person. This wouldn't be a bring-your-checkbook kinda home show, just an informative show to learn more. Would anyone be interested?

What I Have Done

2008-12-14T21:13:00.002-08:00

Ok, I don't always do these things, but Kirk and I saw this on another blog and where discussing our lists together. So here is my list, and maybe Kirk will post his list too. He is a little ahead of me because I have never been out of the country, and he has been all over the world as a child! It is always fun to learn new things about people you think you already know.

This is very easy to do and pretty fun. I hope everyone who finds it interesting copies and pastes it, then highlights (bold faces) what they have done :)

1. Started your own blog - obviously:)

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language - does high school spanish class count??

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach in the moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades - totally on my "wish list"

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee - many childhood summertime memories involve bee sting :(

100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person

101. Learned to play an instrument

So, what have you done???

Cloth Diapers

2008-12-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, that is right, I said cloth diapers. I know what everyone is thinking, the dreaded swishing in the toilet, right? Not anymore. I must say I am really liking my new diapers. I even got the hubby's approval today. I asked him if he was ok with the diapers, and he said, "yeah, they're fine. They help the girls bottoms look better" :)

So, I decided to go with BumGenius brand. They are waterproof, with mircofleece on the inside which is super soft for the girls, and they velcro on very much like a disposable, and the best part, they are a one-size-fits-all, so both Tessa and Ashley where to same diapers! Well, hopefully Tessa won't be wearing diapers much longer :) we will see how that goes... Anyways, this may be TMI for some, they are working great. No leaks, and the breastmilk poop soaks right in to the material, so no blow-outs. And for Tessa, with her "real people" poop, they make bio-degradable tissue-paper type liners to go in them. So when she poops, you just dump the liner and poop into the toilet, and she likes to flush it down. Ashleys cute little bottom looks good now too, it was always a pinch redder then her skin elsewhere, because of the diaper, but now you can't tell a difference in the skin shades.

Did I mention that they are cute too? We have pink, yellow, pastel green, sky blue, grasshopper green, royal blue, it's fun. I also got crafty and sewed a few diapers, for backups. But the really best part is that I don't have to buy anymore diapers, at all. How great is that??!! I just toss these in the washer every other day or so, and wa-la, I have a never ending supply of diapers.

Kirk told me the other day, he never thought I would be this domestic. When we were dating, I was scared to death of kids and diapers and all that stuff, and now I am knee-deep in baby poop and spit-up and totally ok with it (well, as long as it doesn't get on me)!

Sweet Kisses

2008-12-07T22:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we all walked up to the Art Museum for a concert of Utah's Handbell Ringers (or something like that). It was really cool to listen to them play the bells. We got there a few minutes late and pulled up a wooden bench just outside the back large doorway where the chairs ended (all the seats where taken already). Tessa was standing on the bench next to me, looking at the bell ringers through the crowd, when she reached her hand over my shoulders and around my neck, pulling me close to her. She held that for a few seconds, then turned and gave me a big kiss on the cheek. She smiled really big and I could tell she was happy to be the first on to kiss, because usually I kiss her, then she returns and we do that back and forth. So it was super cute that she kissed me first. It's these little moments that make you realize that your children really do love you, because it's hard to believe it sometimes while they are in the middle of throwing a fit or running away from you.

It was one of those sweet moments that I file away in my mind and hope I will always remember.

Early Mornings and Long Days

2008-12-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

So, I haven't blogged much since October. It's all due to the new schedule. Kirk has taken a second job; Early Morning Paper Delivery to businesses in American Fork and Alpine area. Yep, he gets up around 2:50-3:00 AM to go deliver papers, it's crazy. He hits the sack around 8:30 normally, sometimes he is stil up at 9, but not that often. I want to make sure he gets the rest he needs, it's very important to be rested. So, he started this job at the end of Oct, when Ashley was about 7 weeks old, and not sleeping at night. But, I am proud to say that she is now sleeping through most of the night. It goes like this. Bath, nursing, and in bed around 8:30 or 9, I get up to put her binky back in once or twice around 3-4 AM, and then we get up to nurse around 4-5 AM. Then she is hungry again around 6-6:30 AM. So not that bad. I tend to put her in bed with me after she eats at 5 cause she never really sleeps that well in those early morning hours unless shes snuggled up to me and I get sick of crawling out of bed to put her binky back in, plus Kirk is gone and I need a warm body :)

Anyways, our new schedules are super tight and don't allow for much downtime for either of us. Especially with the house on the market, I have to work super hard to keep this place in decent enough shape. So blogging is way down the priority list now, and since Kirk said he is going to get me a gym pass for Christmas (thank you so much Kirk!, I am tired of being fat after Ashley) I expect my computer time to go down even further. So that is where we have been and why no one hears from us anymore!

Body Worlds

2008-12-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

My mom and I went to Body Worlds on Monday evening. Very cool and not creepy like I thought it might be. I was sure that I might get grossed out seeing real bodies that have been skinned and preserved, but they totally don't look real. They look like plastic, probably because they have been "plasticized". I recommend everyone go see this exhibit, it is a little pricey($22 each, $20 with a coupon), but it's a once in a lifetime experience.

They have every body part available to see. There is a section on smoking, and I don't know how anyone who sees this can continue smoking. They show a set of healthy lungs, and a set of smokers lungs next to each other. The smokers lungs look like charcoal. And they have lungs with emphysema, which I can only describe as this: lungs look as if they might take up about a gallon jug size area. The emphysema begins to remove golf ball sized parts of the lung. Those golf ball sized holes can add up fast, and that would make breathing incredibly difficult.

There is also a baby section. They have babies from 5 weeks up to 35 weeks. It is amazing to see how fast they grow and how insanely small a 5 week fetus is, almost too small to see, almost like the size of a lady bug or maybe a small ant, it's just crazy.

Again, it is a once in a lifetime (ok, maybe you may have another chance years down the road) opportunity. I encourage all to see this exhibit!

House 4 Sale

2008-12-03T21:24:00.000-08:00

It has been a busy past few weeks. We put our house up on the market about 2 weeks ago, and it is way difficult keeping this little place clean and clutter-free with two kids at home. So it leaves me not a lot of time for other things! But it is so exciting, because I hate this place. OK, I don't really hate it, but it has gotten very small since Ashley came along. Well, it has always been small, but now it's super small. So, we decided to list it and see what happens. So far we have had 5 walk throughs, with good feedback, but no offers. I told our agent that I am ok to stay until next August, but I don't want to be in this little house next winter with two toddlers. All in all, I am glad we bought our home a few years ago. It has been a fun place to live, to learn a little about home repairs (like the tile work we did in the bath), and make good memories, after all, this is the house our girls came home to! Check out our house online: http://www.utahrealestate.com/846776

quick update

2008-11-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on how big Ashley is. Growing up so fast!

Ashley loves her baths! And Tessa loves to "help"!

Daddy's BDay

2008-10-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

Kirk celebrated his birthday on Oct. 6. Tessa was very excited to help make a cake for him, as you can tell. She didn't want to put the "candies" (sprinkles) on his cake, just eat them off the plate! It was a very laid back day, I wanted to do more, but with Ashley being only 5 1/2 weeks old, I thought I did great to cook dinner and make a cake! Kirk, I hope you enjoyed your birthday!

Growing So Fast

2008-10-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ashley LOVES her binky!

And I mean really really loves it!

Time goes by sooo fast. It's crazy. Ashley will be 2 months old this week. She is getting so big so fast. I weighed her (and myself...eek) last week, and she came in at 10 and a half pounds. I'm not going to tell you what I came in at!

Ashley is fun. She is going to be a happy little girl, she smiles so much now and has started batting at hanging toys. She has began rolling over, from her stomach to her back. Tessa didn't do this till she was like 8 months old or something, she was a lazy baby, she never even crawled, she just hated her stomach! But Ashley loves it. I try to give her "tummy time", but she just lays there on her stomach and falls asleep, happy as can be!

Her are a few pics of Ashley and Tessa...

Watching TV, Tessa's favorite pastime.

Tessa is a very hands-on and up-close kinda sister.

CopyCat

2008-10-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

We wondered how long it would take for this moment to happen...

Welcome Baby Ashley

2008-09-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

We took Ashley's newborn pics on Saturday. Some are posted on my friend Amy's blog www.amyharrisonphotography.blogspot.com I absolutely LOVE the picture of her sucking her cute little thumb! And again, Amy has done an amazing job! Thank you Amy!!!

Entertainer of the Year

2008-09-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

Tessa has learned the fine art of dancing and singing!

Singing 1 through 10.

Singing the ABC's. My favorite part is the "That's great" at the end of the song!

1 to 10

2008-09-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Tessa has learned to count from 1 to 10. We are so proud! Who ever thought you could feel such pride in such a simple thing. She likes to look through books and count pictures, like pieces of candy or animals. She is growing so fast, it's amazing. Makes me glad to have a new little girl because Tessa is becoming a big girl :)

Toes

2008-09-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Tessa loves baby Ashley's toes, and ALWAYS wants to see them!

Just Pictures

2008-09-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

Laura's last few moments being pregnant with Ashley.

Daddy and Ashley.

She is always sleeping.

So small in her huge carseat.

Tessa holding "Baby Ashley".

Tessa kissing her new baby sister.

Tessa and Baby Ashley

2008-08-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

Tessa loves her baby sister Ashley, especially her hair bows!

Tessa with Grandma and Ashley.

Thumb Sucking

2008-08-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

Ashley Jane Lydia Lela Guadalupe Isabel Johnson

2008-08-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Well the day has arrived. I have been given the task to update the blog site (this is Kirk). Our daughter was born this morning at 7:49am. There were no complications with the c-section. She weighs in at 6 lbs 11 oz and is 18 1/2 inches long. We couldn't decide on a name yet so we just decided to use every name on our list. We will actually probably decide on a name tonight or tomorrow after Laura gets some rest.
I have taken a lot of pics but in all our preperations we forgot to pack the USB cable to download the pics. Sorry. Tessa is thrilled to have a baby sister. She refers to her sister as "Tessa's baby". We will have to make sure she isn't too helpful with the baby. It is very cute to watch her interact with our new one.
Mother and baby are doing great. I'm sure Laura will be posting something tomorrow after she has gotten some rest. Stay tuned for pics and the decision of the name.

Baby Update

2008-08-24T21:55:00.000-07:00

2 days to go!!! Wow, it has went by so fast. It's strange, because part of me, well, most of me, is tired of being pregnant. But the other part of me is sad that I only have 2 days left to be pregnant. It's odd that I feel that way, but I enjoy feeling girl #2 moving around in my belly. With Tessa, we were so excited for her to come out so we could see her. But this time, since Tessa is here with us, I just kinda enjoy the pregnancy more because I am not as anxious about having baby #2 here right now.

Anyways, tomorrow is cleaning day, then Tuesday I pick up my mother and step-father from the airport. They will be staying with us for the next 2 weeks to help with Baby and Tessa. Then on Wednesday morning at 5:30 am, Kirk and I head to the hospital. At 7:30, we go in to the OR and have our baby girl! How crazy to think that this is all planned out, that we know what is going to happen at every moment. The only thing we don't have planned is her name. We have a few we keep tossing around, the list probably has about a dozen names on it, but we aren't set on anything in particular yet.

So, check in Thursday or Friday for pictures and all the details of Baby Girl #2!

I am a Princess

2008-08-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

I saw this on another blog and had to do it, because I am a princess, well, I guess now that I have kids and a husband, I am a queen!!!

Idolized

2008-08-21T22:12:00.000-07:00

So I had to add another playlist to my blog... My favorite american idols. I heard "Billie Jean" on my friends blog, and was reminded how much I love David Cook. This is really the first year I have religiously watched American Idol, and I got Tessa loving it too! She would wave her hands and sway along to the music. Anyways, David Archuleta was very good also, but I just loved David Cook (and he's from Missouri)! He can sing anything, every type of song, he just does it all. I had never really heard Billie Jean, but when he sang it on the show, I was awe-struck, it was sooo good. He reminds me a lot of Our Lady Peace, who I just loved a few years back. I would listen to their CD everyday, it was a phase I guess. Anyways, I have no idea what the Idols are doing now, but I am really hoping that Cook does a concert here sometime next year!

Baby Update

2008-08-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

We had an appt. today and doc says pack our C-Section bag. Plan is next wednesday at 7:30 am, which means we have to be there at 5:30 am!!! I asked him if he was joking or not, and he said sorry, he wasn't. So, I guess I will be planning on a few naps that day, and so will Kirk! We do have to do a stress test again this Wednesday, but he thinks it will be fine. Doc said if the fluid is low, then we'll just take her out this week (but I'm not ready yet)! So, I have 8 days to finish everything I have put on my list of 'things to do before the baby comes'. I guess it is kinda nice to know exactly when she will be here!

Dinosaur Museum

2008-08-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

We went to the dinosaur museum last week with Tessa's cousins Jake and Jonny. She had a blast! When we pulled up to the museum, there is a large T-Rex painted on the building, and she points and says "dinosaur". I have know idea where she learned that at! It is a super cool place to go, I have always wanted to go, and since all Tuesdays in Aug. are only $2 per ticket, we decided to go. So did everyone else in Utah County! I have never been in a building with so many children and strollers in my life (well, maybe at the circus or in line to see santa)! It was neat to see all the skelatons and fossils and they have lots of interactive stations for kids (too old for Tessa, but if she was 3 or 4, she would have loved them). So, if you are in the area, check out http://www.thanksgivingpoint.com/ and go on a Tuesday this month, it's well worth $2 even if it is crowded!

Playing at the "erosion table".

Who knew that plastic palm trees make great shovels?
Petting the dinosaor with Jonny.

Baby Update

2008-08-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

We had an appt. today. Things are good. Baby is head down, as she should be. But doc still says it will probably be a C section, we have no signs of anything going on to get that baby out. So 14 more days till surgery and then we will be a family of four!

We had a stress test last week, and that was ok also. Tessa was induced because her fluid was really low, and doc says low fluid will probably happen with all my pregnancies because of the history. We got checked, she is at an 11. They want us to be between a 7 and 21, so we are good for now. Tessa's got low about a week before her due date, thus the reason doc has scheduled us a week ahead of our actual due date. The test was kinda nice though, the nurse checked again just to make sure she is a girl (we don't want a surprise!) and she took a few minutes to let us peer at her again. She looked so baby-ish, not alien-ish like at the 20 week ultrasound. When we saw her little calfs, Kirk said it seemed so real, it's like she's holding up her legs for a diaper change. Totally cute little legs.

So, yep, it's getting close!

Gymnastics

2008-08-11T21:43:00.001-07:00

Tonight, Tessa and Kirk were in the living room watching the Olympics while I was in the kitchen. Kirk comes in laughing telling me to come watch Tessa. The mens gymnastics were on, China was doing the floor routine, and Tessa would watch them tumble and throw their hands up, then she would drop to the floor, roll around, then stand up and throw her hands up. She would lean her head back and we thought she was gonna fall over! It was sooo funny, she is such a girl. I told Kirk that every little girl wishes that she could be like the gymnasts and will try to copy them, and Tessa is a total girl :)

Pictures!

2008-08-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yea!!! I am so excited! My pictures are done and they look great! We took our maternity pics last Saturday, it was a blast, and we love them. I have always loved having my picture taken, but it was really fun with Tessa and Kirk. Kirk feels a little cheesy, I think, but it's just so cute to have belly pics with Daddy. Tessa had a lot of fun running through all the cloth backdrops hanging up, it was hard to get her to hold still. If you want, you can check out my friend Amy's blog at http://www.amyharrisonphotography.blogspot.com/ to see them and all of her other great pics. She really does a great job! Thanks again Amy!

Recipes

2008-08-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

For my beloved Notebook, I am looking for quick and easy recipes to put in it. If anyone has recipes they would like to share, I would be so happy. Even the basics like Tator-Tot casserole are great to have, because honestly, I just learned how to make that one last year!! So, if you want to share, email me or leave it in comments. BTW, Lali, I would love to have your Swedish Steak recipe, that was great when you made it for us! I will repost any I get so we can all enjoy! Thanks!

Home Organization

2008-08-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it's because we are having the baby this month, perhaps it's because my mother is coming to stay at our house, or perhaps it's just finally time, but whatever it is spurring my great desire for an organized home is a good thing. I joked with Kirk that it has only taken me about 8 months of being a SAHM (stay at home mom) to finally get on the clean & organized boat. I have been trying really really hard these past few weeks to keep up on housework and finances (which is like a totally other post all in itself)!

So, having great desire but not sure how to proceed, I went to the Internet. I found a great website called www.organizedhome.com where I learned about a wonderful tool called the Home Notebook. I have been dreaming about one of these for quite a while, but didn't really know how I wanted to set it up. So, on this beloved website, I found forms to print and categories to put in my Notebook. I was so excited :) Now, I know you want to know what I put in my Notebook, so here it is:

1) an emergency contacts sheet, which includes all the info a babysitter would ever need in the case of an emergency (I printed it out on the organizedhome.com)

2) a weekly day-by-day chore chart. It can be overwhelming when the house gets sooo dirty that I don't know where to start cleaning. Now, everyday, I know what I am doing, and this way, the house never gets out of control (hopefully)!

3) a local yellow pages I put together of all the restaurants and phone numbers that we may want food from after the baby comes. Or when we have out-of-town guests here, they can see what all is close by. I am also enclosing a section full of take-out menus.

4) a food section. It has two pages of menu choices, all under the main meat heading, of things I know how to cook and that are fairly quick and easy to make. Next, I have a blank weekly menu page I can take out every week to plan out our family dinners. I don't worry about breakfast or lunch, cause they don't require much more than instant oatmeal and sandwiches. Also included is my absolute favorite thing: my grocery shopping list. I spent two hours making this beauty and just LOVE it. It is a two-page all-inclusive list of everything I could think of that we buy at the grocery store. I set it up for Wal-Mart, since that is where I do most of my shopping. I started with Dairy, which is in the complete back of the store, and worked my way up the isles category by category so it ends with freezer and fruits & veggies. I don't worry about forgetting anything now because before I go shopping I go thru the list and mark anything I need. It also helps me to not buy "extra stuff" that we don't really need, because I know that I have a complete list and I feel safe knowing I didn't leave anything off.

5) a list section. This includes a list called "Projects to Do", which has a date heading, a project heading, and a cost heading. When we think of something we need or would like to do, we write it on the list so we don't forget it later. And with the cost heading, we can prioritize our expenses to include certain projects. The next list is a "Things to Buy". Here we write down "extras" we want or think we need. It also has a cost heading and a store heading so I know where to get it at. I put the more expensive items that we can't afford right away and the little things we need but that don't go on the grocery list on "things to buy". Right now it has some baby items, like the double stroller and a bassinet, and also the random things, like a thicker shelf for the TV armoire that we need to get at Home Depot. Also in my list section is a Birthday/Anniversary list. How many times do I flip the calendar and see that someone is having a Bday that week and don't have time to send a card or gift. Plus, I don't keep up on my calendar like I should. This way, at the beginning of the month, I can go check the list, and mark off if I sent or already bought something.

This is all I have for now, but it is still a work in progress. It really does help me though. If anyone wants a copy of my Grocery Shopping list or any other list I made, leave a comment with your email and I will send it to you. They are excel files so you can change it up to fit your family a little better. Now Mom, when you come visit this month, make sure to say how clean the house is!!!

Nighty-Night

2008-08-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Kirk told me that I am wrong, but I almost feel like a bad parent. Tessa has learned that she has freedoms now that she is in her big girl bed. Freedom to get in and out when she pleases, freedom to walk out of her bedroom, freedom to play and read if she wants to. We typically push her door closed but not shut, so that we can check on her easily without waking her when we go to bed. Well, she now knows this also. So, we began shutting her door, nice and tight, so that she can't get out. And yes, I feel a little mean, but she needs to know that bedtime means bedtime, not coming and going time.

So, as I sit here and type, I can hear her rattling the doorknob, and knocking on the door. She is yet to make a sound (I have the moniter on) but is trying that door pretty good. I guess we just have to do what we have to do. After she falls asleep, we open the door again so that she can come out when she wakes up, but I still feel a little mean and a little sad locking her in. Hopefully she will learn to stay in bed soon so I won't feel so guilty :)

Good nights and naps

2008-07-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't want to speak too soon, but Tessa is asleep in her bed again. That makes this the 3rd time; yesterday naptime, last night (all night), and todays nap. I think she loves it, cause when she wakes up, I don't hear anything, just a few random noises. So I go check on her, and there she stands, collecting books to go read in her new bed. She gets all excited and runs back over and crawls into the bed. It's cute and I am so happy the transition is going well :)