Fashion Tip # 136

"Pink rain boots go with everything!"

As I was informed.

Apparently so.

I love this kid!

Life is Beautiful

Today is one of the most beautiful days I have seen since I moved to northwest. The sun is shining, the birds are singing (making my birds sing loudly), and the air is crisp. As I walked out to my mailbox I could feel warmth on my back. I have opened all the windows to air out this closed up for way too long house. I put on some of my favorite tunes and have managed to accomplish all my self assigned chores with a smile on my face. My kids are actually all napping...does it get any better than this? Well, I guess taking them outside after nap time so they may too enjoy the day. One of natures finest!

And look at that, spell check is working!!!

R's Special Weekend

This weekend I flew to the great Mid-West. I was able to spend time with my parents and all three sisters and their families. Today I feel a little jet lagged from the 3 day travel with a toddler. I have to add she was a very unprofessional flier, I will cut her a little slack since she is only 19 months old (and it is all over).

Cooking for this big brood is not always exciting. Sometimes it is just easier to go out. When we all go out together we can be a little loud so we try not to disturb major restaurants and settled for Chinese.

In the last picture is the crowned prince, the only little boy in our family. I just love him! He is getting hard to hold as he is all boy and SOLID. I miss being able to kiss his cheeks whenever I want too.

During this fast forward, 3 day vacation was a very important Ordinance.

R's Baptism.

She was so happy all day, she just glowed. I am so pleased with her and I know our Heavenly Father is too.

I miss my family. I feel so blessed whenever I get to spend time with them, whether it be a big amount or small. I hope they know how much I love them.

I thought I'd add, that pretty red headed lady is my grandma. She looks dang good, I am hoping it is genetic!

For Blog's Sake

I haven't blogged in a while. I have no excuses, I haven't been too busy I have been keeping up on reading blogs and commenting. Just been ignoring my own blog. Of course today when I should be busy packing for my trip (leaving tomorrow at 5 am), I decide to blog.

A couple of things going on this week:

M has had a fascination with the Planets in our Solar System. She is constantly asking questions like, What is their order from the Sun, How many moons does each one have, Which one has the big storm again, and Why isn't Pluto a planet anymore? (a good one if you ask me)

I am glad that she is showing some interest in something other than Disney Princesses and My Little Ponies. Jeremy is over the Moon ( hee, hee) to tell her every single thing he knows. It brings back wonderful memories when his father wood pull out a telescope and together they would explore the wonders in our Galaxy. Last night was fun for her, we let her stay up and see the Lunar Eclipse.

S is driving me nuts with having to do and say the 'opposite' of whatever I tell her to do. Even when we help her say her prayer it is 'I'm NOT thankful' and 'please NOT bless'. We have explained to her many times how sad that must make Heavenly Father feel when he hears prayers like this. She always reassures me, "Mommy, I NOT,not do it again." You know what? I believe her. I try to remind myself it is just a phase.

This silly face is going on my trip with me. I am sure everyone traveling on my plane will be 'so grateful' for all the entertainment they will recieve from her on the flight. Wish me Luck!

I am grateful for Sunshine and Blue Skys! These pictures were taken at the park, even though it was still COLD, we enjoyed the chance to be outside in the fresh air.

Saturday is a Special Day

This post is mostly for my mom. I can remember quite a few Saturday nights, when my mom would sit and roll my sisters and my hair. I would love to do that every Saturday, however I am just not that motivated. But...every once in a while the urge strikes and I do it.

This Saturday I decided to roll M's hair in sponge rollers. The girl's hair is STRAIGHT
and THIN. Her regular style is a ponytail and it started to feel like a tired 'do.' I carefully rolled her entire head. I used small sections of hair for each roller and made sure the curl was tight. I felt very satisfied.

After I finished, S begged me to roll her hair. I was not in the mood to attempt it again, but to make bedtime smoother I caved. I did a loose job and rolled her hair in big chunks just to please her.

On to Sunday...when I took all the sponge rollers out, S had the most beautiful cascading curls. M had stick straight hair. I whipped out my curling iron to attempt a few curls for the poor girl. The more I curled her hair the straighter it got. This is a mystery to me. Good thing she is cute no matter what her hair looks like.

While at church, I got some great hair advice from fellow moms. Next week we will try something different. These pictures are for my mom, I know they will bring back memories.

Valentine's Day Love

I received this fun package from Rhonda at Brite Cloud Creations, for the L.O.V.E. Swap.

Whoa, that's a lot of loot. She is a scrapbbok artist, so she wanted to share the things she loves.

• L-light up embellishments.
• O-orange flowers.
• V-velvet sayings.
• E-emphemera.

Thank you, I loved it!

Also a little present from my Valentine.
These remind me Spring is almost here!

And I am so ready for this...

Even though my girls usually spend Easter Sunday in their new Spring dresses, completely bundled up in coats and scarfs (even in Texas), it is one of my favorite holidays.

Because I am in need of a Vacation

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

I posted it because it is so me. If I ever go there I would love to go to The Vatican City. My favorite subject is history. Can you imagine all the wonderful things there? Just to be able to see some of the art that is hidden in those walls would be amazing.

A Very Happy Valentine's Day to You!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

We will be celebrating on Friday instead.

I still wanted to let my Sweetheart know I am thinking of him!

Giving credit where credit is due: The scrapbook paper and embellishments are by Tangie Baxter. The stitching is by DigiNirvana.

A tag and a Meme

We did something a little fun for the kids yesterday. I took pictures, but forgot to put my SD card back in the camera. I still took some, but had to use the internal memory. The problem is I can not get them off the camera til I find the cord that plugs into my computer.

So I can't blog about it yet.

Because I am in a blog funk this week, I will give you a tag and a meme.

Laurie tagged me to give you all 6 unimportant habits or quirks about me.

1. I do not like waking up early. Sometimes (okay more than sometimes) I let my kids stay up past their bedtime so they will sleep in. This gives me a little more time to stay in bed.
2. I hate it when people wear perfume or chew a fragrant gum at the gym. I am already feeling like throwing up sometimes (mostly because I am out of shape) from working out. When someone on the elliptical next to me is wearing perfume I literally start gagging.
3. I have a tad bit of OCD. I always clean my house in the same order. Occasionally I work backwards for variety. But it has to be in the reverse order. I know I am weird!
4. I sleep better in a made bed. Even if (GASP!) I don't make my bed all day long, I have to make it before going to bed. This used to drive Jeremy crazy, but now I catch him sometimes asking my to make the bed before goes up for the night.
5. I don't like to eat chicken when I go out. I have to cook it myself to make sure it is cooked all the way and there is no fat chunks, or grissle on it. If I get one bite, it ruins the rest of the meal for me.
6. When I was younger I did not like shopping on my own. I always had my mom, sisters, friends, boyfriends and then a husband to go with me. Now that I have kids.....I prefer to go shopping all by myself.

And now for the meme.

A- Attached or single: Attached (married)

B-Best Friends: Kathy, Rebecca, and My Sisters

C-Cake or Pie: Cake, cheesecake to be exact.

D-Day of Choice: I have always favored Thursday, don't know why.

E-Essential Item: I agree with Yvonne, Camera.

F-Favorite Color: Today it is yellow.

G-Gummi bears or Worms: Gummi Bears.

H-Hometown: Dallas, Texas.

I-Indulgence(s):I admit it, Gossip magazines. I love to see what celebrities are wearing, what they are doing, and how they are dieting, etc.

J-January or July: July

K-Kids: I have Three Little Princesses.

L-Life is incomplete with out: Again going with Yvonne's answer, Family and the The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

M-Marriage date: March 21, 2002.

N-Number of siblings: Three Sisters.

O-Oranges or Apples: I like both but if I have to choose, Apples.

P-Phobias or fears: I am claustrophobic. I like crowds, but do NOT like to be crowded. Luckily I am pretty tall!

Q-Quote: I love quotes, but I will use one I read today, here. The Cheshire cat's reply to Alice's, "Which path shall I take?" he said, "That depends on where you want to go. If you don't know where you want to go, it really doesn't matter which path you take."

R-Reason to smile: Today it was seeing E on M's lap. M was "reading" her a story.

S-Season: I love Fall. I love the colors, the smell, the crisp air, and all the harvest foods.

T-Tagging: Anyone who wants to do it.

U-Unknown fact: My husband was in graduate school for 36 months, I was pregnant for 22 of them.

V-Vegetarian or Oppresor of Animals: Nothing tastes better than a juicy steak.

W-Worst Habit: Procrastination.

X-X-rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds, These allowed me to see glimpses of my babies for the time.

Z-Zippers or Zebras: I am afraid of horses, but have a fascination with Zebras.

Sidenote: I took M shopping Saturday for new jeans. She no longer fit into pants on the little kid side of Children's Place. We had to buy her jeans from the big kid side for the length. *Sniff, sniff*

Found One That Fits

I really wanted to change my page to something that felt like Spring. I am tired of snow! Some of the things I found were too bright and it hurt my eyes. This seems to be a good balance. I used free download, Digital Scrapbooking paper and embellishments, from Pelin's Designs.

Ummm... not what I had in mind

Sorry y'all I have been playing with my blog template. These colors are way too bright, and the header way too busy. I will change it when I have more time to mess with it. For now please endure....

Under Construction!

Nothing to Say Really

Why do men love sports?? My husband really only cares for basketball. Why do they have to play so many games a season? He's not a huge football fan unless it's the 'BOYS' (Dallas for those who may not know, as if!).

Last year he got the NBA league pass, this year I think he just upgraded to a sports package. He catches every Jazz game he can. Forcing me to blog on a friday night. I guess I can catch up on some digital scrapbooking though.

*Sigh*

Sidenote: (Yvonne look at what you started, quite genius.) Blogger might as well take spell check off all together. It hasn't worked for a while and it is taunting me! Sorry if any of that is spelled wrong.

I'm a Lucky Gal

I blog about things that are of interest to me. Most of my posts are about my kids. They are after all my greatest achievements.

So, I am sure when Jeremy reads my blog, he may be a little sad when I don't blog about the things he does for me that are wonderful. The last month has been no exception.

I know this first one was definitely not his ideal way to spend the evening. I have wanted to see Riverdance for a long time. He told me if they ever come to Idaho, with a tone in his voice like that would never happen, he would get me tickets.

Guess what....they did and he did!

I enjoyed every minute of it. I told him I could not wait to go again. He smiled lovingly, he might have been rolling his eyes on the inside, but he didn't let it show on outside.

When we were in Vegas, I really wanted to see the Blue Man Group. Sadly they were not performing the entire weekend we were there. Low and behold I was surprised with tickets once again. They came in town last week!

His final loving act is when I made him take me to Cheesecake Factory. In Dallas going was no big deal, but here we have to drive about thirty minutes to get there. I only wanted dessert there, we ate somewhere else. I recieved the desert menu of about 50 plus different cheesecakes. I chose......what I always choose The Original New York Style Cheesecake.

I know he was flabergasted.

A special drive for a special request and I get something I could have gotten anywhere. He just smiled and ordered his fancy dessert.

I love him because he sacrifices a lot for me and my girls. He wants us to be happy and his actions show it.

Man he is in big trouble when the girls are teenagers. It is only fair to warn him now.

Thank you-thank you!

So I recieved a couple of awards in the past few days.

I recieved this from Misty at Starting from Scratch.

I also recieved this little lovely from Holly at 2 Kids and Tired.

Both of these awards are to be passed on to everyone who reads this blog! I know some of you already read Misty's and Holly's blogs so I just want to you to know I think the same of you too.

Thank you ladies!

The next award was given specifically to me from Misty.

It comes with a few rules:

"The rules for being A Roar For Powerful Words recipient are that I share 3 writing tips and pass the award on to 3 more bloggers worthy of recognition and esteem..."

1. Write what you know.

2.Write what you love.

3.Give people a little insight to who you are.

I am going to pass it along to Yvonne at The Life and Travels of Me, Gina at On a Whim, and Laurie at My Priceless Treasures.

I have met each of these ladies online, but I feel inspired by things that they have shared with me on their blogs, by their comments, and by email.

P.s. I can not get spell check to work on my blog, so I am sure there are a few words misspelled. I guess I rely on spell check way too much.

Oh, What do You do in the Winter Time?

On Saturday it snowed a lot. The snow flakes were huge! I thought it was extremely cold.

So what did we do to keep warm??

We ate some yummy chili. I love this recipe. I like a meaty chili with a little bit of a kick. I am not a canned chili person. Sorry all you Wolfe Brand lovers. I usually need a really meaty cornbread too. Not sweet johnny cake, but the good iron skillet Texas corn bread.

My husband's family is from Utah and a lot of people there prefer scones. My DH being one of them, so I try to please everyone. Saturday we made scones.

We make a little honey butter to top them off, and it ends up being sweet goodness.

On Sunday church was cancelled, so we bundled up the girls and had family time in the snow.

The girls had the best time.

Jeremy helped the girls make a "snow fort". It kind of turned into a playground with a tunnel and a slide. The girls LOVED it!

Here they are showing off their "fort". It was bright, and beautiful outside with all the freshly fallen snow. I am glad the girls were able to make some fun memories.

Good and Hot Crockpot Chili

1lb. ground beef

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped green peppers

28-oz. can tomatoes

14-oz. can tomato sauce

2 14-oz. cans kidney beans, undrained (I prefer the dark ones!)

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. hot sauce

1. Brown beef in skillet. Reserve drippings and transfer drained beef to slow cooker.

2. Saute onions, celery, and green peppers in drippings. Drain and transfer to slow cooker.

3. Stir in remaining ingredients.

4. Cover. Cook on high 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.

This is so yummy! My hubby thinks it is spicy, I don't think it is! So if you were raised in the South where everything has a kick, it is mild. If you are flavor sensitive it may be spicy.

I am Always up for a Challenge!

I am usually not one to blog on a Sunday morning, but church here has been canceled due to the weather. So, being the addict I am, I read some of my favorite blogs and came across one that caught my eye. A neat challenge to remember our beloved Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. I saw this challenge while stalking this blog HERE.

It is a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. This is to honor the 97 years of President Hinckley's life. You can participate by CLICKING HERE.

I can't wait to reread the book of mormon all over again! What a great way to honor his memory.

Touch first, Questions later

It is no secret, I have red hair. It is shorter right now than is has been most of my life. Right now my color is completely natural. I usually add low lights, highlights, or both. I have been known to dye it a completely different color, but not in a long time.

Tonight my husband and I were minding our business eating our delicious meal. It was a new restaurant, which we both enjoyed. Anyway, an elderly woman aproaches our table and starts to make over my "beautiful hair." While speaking she starts to run her fingers through it and fluff it. I just sat there amazed and in shock. She preceeded to tell us that she had a grandson with red hair and she has always loved red hair, yada, yada, yada. She said that she could not believe her grandson would have red hair, but she "saw it's bright color coming down the birth canal." I thought my husband was going to choke on his Mandarian Chicken.

This is not he first time something like this has happened to me. I once actually had an adult male stalk at the mall when I was a teenager, because I "had the most beautiful hair" he had ever seen.

Is red hair that much of a rarity or shock? Has anyone ever touched your hair without permission? I just smiled nervously and thanked her. Should I have let her know how uncomfortable it made me?

This was one for the record books.

Happy Birthday Corrine!!

To say my sister Corrine has a lot of personality, would be an understatement. She is full of life!

Today my little sister (well they are all my little sisters) is 24!

Man, I wish!

Well, I guess being 24 again (for me) would mean going through 3 pregnancies and 3 childbirths so ummmm... NO thank you! But to still be dreaming about what those could have been like would be nice.

I am very proud of Corri. She has accomplished so much. From being the 50 yard line girl in Drill Team to serving a Honorable Mission to having a Temple Marriage.

Happy Birthday Corri!!