the crew.... est: 2000

Looking back...

2012-02-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

I was thinking the other day.... about where we were this time last year. Getting ready to have our 4th baby, living with my parents, Ricky's job getting ready to end.. life was just a big pile of uncertainty.

In truth, I remember being terrified. I felt soooo unprepared for Easton to be born. He didn't have his own room, or even a crib (though in all honesty, that didn't really matter, as we co-sleep the first few months anyway), we didn't have a car that would fit us all safely, and Ricky was about to be laid off.

I did a lot of praying then. A lot. It was all I could do. I know much of what I was feeling was due in part to the lovely pregnancy hormones, but the things we were facing WERE scary, and so it wasn't all "crazy preggo brain". I do remember feeling a sense of peace though, a calming feeling that everything would be okay. And it was. It always is.

I ALWAYS freak out, I always worry, stress, panic, but in truth... it ALWAYS works out for us. Maybe not right when I want it to, but eventually, it does work out. Those things I worried about this time last year.... most worked out (we are still living with my parents), but Easton came and we survived! lol We ended up getting a new mini van that fits us all, safely. AND... Ricky, while he was unemployed for 7 months... got a job. And, we survived during his unemployment. Things worked out.

I have no doubt that the other stuff will also work out. We will get a house, and while I'm sure that fact alone will bring on a new slew of worries, it will be okay. ;) Moving here has given us an entirely new set of trials to deal with. But so far they have helped to shape us into who we need to be. I know that I need to start trusting in Heavenly Father more. He really does know best, and the sooner I trust Him and stop freaking out over everything, the better off I'll be. ;) I'm trying, but for an admitted control freak like myself, giving up the reins is a hard thing. But I'm getting there. Slowly but surely... I'm figuring it out.

It's crazy to think that this was where we were this time last year...

8 Feb 2011

Sometimes, you just need to play hooky ;)

2012-02-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I decided to pick the kids up early from school and surprise them with a trip to the mall play land. The weather this winter has been really all over the place. We've had a ton of nice warmer-than-average days and I've tried to take the little kids out to the park whenever the weather allows. (FYI: getting the chance to play at the park in the winter in Michigan is RARE!! Like..super rare!) Problem is.. it's always when the older kids are at school. They get all bent out of shape when they hear that I took the littles to the park and not them. :( I feel bad, but they don't get home until 4pm from school, and often there just isn't enough time to load them ALL into the car and go to the park, again.

So.... with that in mind, I decided I would surprise them with a trip to the play land at the mall. Truth be told, Cohen is a little big for it, but he still had a good time. It also gave me a chance to hit up a few stores. ;)

We headed to 77 kids to look around. Cohen has been begging for skinny jeans for weeks now. I told him if he's good, I might get him some for his birthday, but I wanted him to try them on first. Ricky is very anti-skinny jeans on boys. He even hates that I put them on the girls. But Cohen looked sooo cute! lol He really loved them, but they were out of his size, so I need to order some online.

We DID however, score a rocking deal on a new Paper Jamz guitar. Cohen has one that he got for Christmas last year, and he loves it! The thing was like $25 though, and that was on sale. Well, 77kids had them on clearance so we got it for only $8!! SCORE!! It was such a great deal, that I decided to go back after dinner to get one for my nephew. I was chatting with the gal about how I was getting it for my nephew, and how I just couldn't pass up such a score. As I was walking out, one of the other girls working there chased me down and said.."Hey.. we had this amp in the back. It's the last one, and it's only $6. Do you want this too??" Um.. YES please!! So, I'm pretty much the best Aunt ever. ;) Brady LOVES to play with Cohens guitar and amp every time he's over, and now.. he'll have his own. :) My sister is less than thrilled. lol The guitars are really loud and can get pretty obnoxious after awhile... but, does that really matter when it makes your kid crazy happy?? ;) heehee

On our Way!!

He is SUCH a good big brother. :) Love him!!!

Thank God it's Tuesday

2012-01-31T20:40:00.001-08:00

***I'm not loving how the blogger app uploads photos. I can't figure out why they look so crappy! I took them with my phone... but I've posted pics from my phone here before and they look fine. Hmm.... I really need to figure it out. **

All day long I thought it was Wednesday. The kids were off school the last two Mondays in a row....so I'm just sort of programmed that the first day of school for the week is Tuesday, so today has felt like wed.
I'm really glad its Tuesday.
I have a ton of stuff to do this week. Mostly catching up on laundry and such.....but I also need to strip the wallpaper in the kids bedroom...and our bathroom......and then I need to shampoo/steam clean the bedroom carpets....and then operation ”Organize The Basement” can commence. We are redoing the playroom and right now its in a scary state.
So, I was pretty excited when I had to keep reminding myself it was only Tuesday. :)
It was actually a gorgeous day today. My sister dropped off the boys at noon, and after Ricky left for work at 1:30, I decided we needed a day at the park. :) It was 54 degrees and sunny today....in January...in Michigan. How can you NOT take advantage of that?!
So we headed you the park. Unfortunately it was a little windy and everything was wet. But the kids still had a blast.
*I just downloaded the blogger app for my phone...so...its my first attempt at ”mobile blogging”..kinda.fun. ;)

I Hate Mondays

2011-12-19T06:21:00.000-08:00

*disclaimer.. I love my kids, I really do..but sometimes they just make me wanna pull out all.my.hair. Like, today.....

I will be the first to tell you that I am NOT a morning person- never have been, never will be. I can stay up til 3 am no problem! But once that alarm goes off at 7am... I wanna crawl in a hole and die. Now, I should also say that this issue is NOT solved by going to bed earlier, trust me... I've tried. Most nights I'm out by 11pm, midnight at the latest. This, however, has not improved my feelings toward 7am. We are not, nor will we ever be, friends.

Now, when you have children, specifically school age children, there is this little thing between the months of Sept thru June that requires you, and your kids, to be up at obscene hours of the morning. This thing is called school.

I have a love-hate relationship with school. I LOVE that I get to send my children off for 8 hours every M-F for someone else to deal with. I could never be a teacher. I have the utmost respect for teachers. I volunteer in the kids classes and this has only solidified that fact.
I hate that in order to get my 8 hour break each weekday, I am required to get not only myself up and out of bed at 7:00am each day, I also have to get my children up and out of bed, and dressed, and fed.

My children are also NOT morning people. It is an extremely unfortunate trait that I seem to have passed down to them. I fight with them every.single.morning. No lie. Our school mornings are often full of "I hate yous!", "I'm NOT wearing that!!", and the every popular.."but I'm siiiiiiiiiick!"

Cohen (7 years old) will typically lay under the covers, ignoring me as I'm tossing his clothes up on his bed, until I have to threaten grounding him. (the threats will more often then not end in him being grounded for some set amount of days and him screaming at me that I am "sooo mean!"). Oh, and I have tried to drag him out of bed myself... literally... but he sleeps on the TOP bunk, and I am 5'4". Short of climbing up into bed with him.... dragging him out is not an option.

Ashley (5 years old) is an entirely other set of fun-ness in the AM. When she finally DOES decide to wake up, typically about 15 mins AFTER I started trying to rouse her, the first words out of her mouth are.."I'm not wearing what you picked out for me."

"You don't even know what I'm going to grab yet."

"I don't care... I'm not wearing it."

"Fine... you pick something." (or.. my fave, if it's the end of the laundry cycle and she only has ONE jean/top/bottom option..... She will without a doubt HATE whatever it is and throw it across the room as she screams..."I"M NOT WEARING THOSE!")

"I hate all those clothes. I'm not going to school." (cue pulling covers over her head)

After some bribes and/or threats, depending on the day, we stumble downstairs where I try to get them to eat breakfast (if there is time... sometimes they screw around for so long getting up and dressed that there is no time.. like today.) After breakfast.. or no breakfast, the "go brush your teeth" battle ensues. I have to ask them at least 3 or 4 times to go upstairs and brush their teeth. They will usually go upstairs.... but there may or may not be any "brushing" going on. This is a fact that is usually only discovered AFTER they have already boarded the bus and left for school. Right now we are batting about a 50 average.

Then comes the coats. (Gawd, I heart winter... *ugh*)

Cohen, "I wanna wear my sweatshirt!!"

Me, "You can't, it's 32 degrees outside."

"AGH!!!! WHHHHYYYY NOT?! It's fine!!"

"Because you will freeze. Put on your coat, the bus will be here any minute!"

Ashley, "AHHHH!!!! My coat doesn't FIT!!!! Moooooommmmm, it's too small!!!!"

Me, "Ash, it fits fine! Please just put it on and get outside!! The bus will be here any second!"

(for the record: her coat is a size 7.. she wears a 5, a 6 at best. Her coat fits her.)

The next few minutes are followed by me pushing them out the door to the sights of our waiting neighbor. She is always dressed for day and rarely looks as disheveled as I typically do (my outfit of choice is whatever I happen to sleep in the night before- generally sweats that may or may not have baby spit-up on them, my Sorel boots (with da fur) they are always right by the door, and my husbands HUGE winter coat, as mine is never where I put it the night before, and lets not forget the ROCKIN bed head. Oh yes.. I am a hot mess before 8:00am.)

She greets me with an empathetic smile.... "Rough morning?"

She has one child at home.

"You have no idea."

Thanksgiving | week in review + a BIG announcement!

2011-12-04T16:39:00.001-08:00

To say that the weather was "good" for Thanksgiving weekend this year would be an understatement. It was FABULOUS! To put it in perspective: last year we already had a couple feet of snow and it was FREEZING!! Like, bitter cold. THIS year... it was actually WARM! No lie. Thursday it was about 50ish and then on Friday it was 60+! And SUNNY! Seriously... if you had nothing else to be thankful for this year, you HAD to be thankful for the amazing weather. ;)

We once again went to my sisters for the holiday. It was fun. The kids spent the majority of the time outside playing, which was great. The food was good, and we actually ate on time this year. ;) (last year we deep friend the turkey for the first time and didn't realize how long it would take to heat the oil up before we could put the bird in. We didn't eat until after 8pm last year.)

It was pretty laid back, which is nice...but honestly...I miss the "dress-up" atmosphere of Thanksgivings past. When I was little we always went to my grandmas and everyone dressed up nice. Now that my grandma is gone, and we just go to my sisters.... and the kids spend most of day playing outside in the snow/mud...dressing up isn't really a "thing" anymore. Plus...the guys never really dressed up during their Thanksgivings in California, so... it's harder to get them into the habit. (honestly... isn't that the way? Guys hate dressing up nice..lol).

Baby Boys FIRST Thanksgiving! :) He's decided he LOVES Ritz crackers recently....so that's what he munched on most of the afternoon. ;)

Marzie and Tripper "cooking" at Elmos Kitchen. (girl has a rockin' Fire Marshall Bill smile going on these days...LOL Gotta love her!)

Prepping the bird for the deep fryer. It was still a little frozen in the center..whoops!...so Ricky had to run some warm water into it in the hopes of avoiding a massive fireball when they dropped it in the oil. FYI: It worked... fireball/explosion averted. ;)

Brady giving the "Blue Steel"... haha, Ash and Tripper.

Easton and his favorite.... Aunt "Danner", aka.. Meredith. ;) (I believe there was food on the counter that had his full attention at the time of this photo)

Frying the Bird! Much warmer this year. ;)

Me and my baby girl.

Mars and Cohen. These two have such an awesome relationship. I have said it before... but I know I need to say it to him more often... but, he really is SUCH an amazing big brother. I am so grateful he was our first born. I know it was not by chance that he was sent to us first. ;) The younger kids are so incredibly lucky to have him as a big brother.

Me and my chunky monkey.

My sister did a pretty good job with the table this year.

We put the wolves out in the sunroom to eat. LOL

Don't worry... I wasn't taking a pic during the prayer. I think I just happen to snap this when my dad was in mid-blink. ;)

See the wolves in the background??

Grandma and the "twinlings".

Black Friday is not only the traditional day of shopping... it is also the day of the Fantasy Of Lights Parade. For as long as I can recall, every Friday after Thanksgiving my mom and dad would bundle up my sister and I and we would all head downtown for the parade. Some years, when my sister was in Girl Scouts, she was actually in the parade. Typically it was EXTRA cold those years. ;)

The parade is actually really neat. Businesses and organizations in the community decorate/design floats covered with Christmas lights. They are really cool. They also have a 5K, and a "Christmas Alley" with food and crafts and such. This year it was soooo warm that the runners were able to wear shorts and tank tops and NOT die of hypothermia. LOL We even saw a couple guys in nothing but their Christmas boxers and suspenders. Eek! LOL

No Holiday parade is complete without a visit from Santa!

The kids had a great time and so did the adults...especially since we didn't have to listen to any whines about "being cold". ;)

SO..... after the parade the rest of the weekend was pretty laid back. We worked on getting the house decorated (still working on that one by the way.. it's takes a couple weeks to get it all done.) The kids were still off school Monday, thanks to a Teacher Work Day, so we tried to entertain them best we could their last day of vaycay. I've never been so excited for Tuesday in my life! LOL 6 days off school is too many.

Tuesday also brought some more good news, other than the kids going back to school.... ;)

Ricky got a call about a job!

and..... after the interview on Wed.....

They OFFERED HIM THE JOB!!!

Yes, after being unemployed for almost 8 months.... Ricky is finally working again. :) He started today and already texted me that he's really liking it. I know he was sooooo sooo sooooo happy to be back working. I'm really happy for him, and so relieved. Him not working was, for obvious reasons, really stressing us out. The next step is to start getting things in order so we can buy a house. :D

I will say, the call for the interview came after some major prayers and fasting. This whole experience has really reaffirmed my faith. I'm thankful for that. I know it was something I we both really needed. ;)

Give Thanks

2011-11-23T17:13:00.001-08:00

I know it's been FOR-EV-AH since I posted last... and I know I need to post a massive update.... but right now I just want to start up with current goings-on.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow.

image source

I know I have much to be thankful for. But with so much "wrong" in our lives right now... it's been rather hard getting into the "thankful" mood. I was feeling rather sorry for myself this evening. On FB and, a few of the blogs I stalk, I noticed wives complaining that their husbands had to work a lot of overtime this week, or many days in a row this week. I wanted to scream... "At least your husband HAS A JOB!!" Quit yer' bitchin'.

Ricky is still without employment.

It sucks.

He has his Masters Degree in Business and STILL he has no job. :( We have MOUNDS of student loan debt that needs to be paid off and no income to pay it. We have medical bills, (lots of medical bills.... thanks to Eastons birth and Ricky's unexpected hospital stay in April.. yes, I owe an update). We have 4 kids that we need to somehow give a joyous Christmas too. I read all these "mommy blogs" and I am jealous. Jealous that their husbands have jobs, that they have homes of their own, that they seemingly have no money worries.

*sigh*

But I know life is not always what it seems. And while those "mommy's" lives seem perfect, I know they are not. I know they have their own trials. Some of them are open about them... others are not. But I know they have trials. I also know that I would not trade my trials for theirs. We are all given our own specific trials for our own spiritual growth and well being.

So, as I sat here, feeling sorry for myself.... I was suddenly reminded that I have *much* to be thankful for.

Like this guy....

Yup.... Easton Warren... born 4 March 2011. ;) We love him lots.

I'm also thankful for these little wolves....

And.. so comes "the list". I have been seeing "thankful lists" all over blogs this month. So, I thought I would throw mine out there as well. If for nothing else but my own record. (sometimes... when you are feeling like you have "nothing"..it helps to write down all you *do* have. ;)

~Our children. I know that there are some people who struggle for a long time to have just one child. We have been very lucky to have been blessed with 4 in just 7 years.

~Family. We have been very fortunate in that we have family who is always willing to help us with whatever we may need. Whether it's babysitting, or a place to live.

~Two, paid-off, working vehicles. We are very blessed to own two vehicles that are new-er, and in good working condition, and are totally paid off.

~A wonderful, loving and supportive husband. In a day and age where divorce is becoming the norm....I am sooooo grateful to be in a strong marriage and married to my best friend.

~A job, for me. I was recently hired on at a local childrens clothing store. I know finding work is tough right now (seriously...I am the last person you need to tell how hard finding work is right now.) So, I am thankful that I was able to get a job that will enable me to bring in a little money and get clothes for our children at a discount.

~To live in a free country. I know that the United States is in a bad way right now. But I am still so grateful to live here. I am so thankful that my relatives braved that voyage on the Mayflower (yes... my ancestors came over on the Mayflower. They were here for the FIRST Thanksgiving.. ;) so that their children and grandchildren, etc. could live in a FREE world.

~The Gospel. Being a member of THIS Church is not something I take for granted. I am thankful that I was raised with the knowledge of my Savior and that my husband shares in that knowledge with me and our family.

~A Home. It may not be "ours"... but we have a warm place to live and for that I am thankful.

~Heat, Running Water, Food. The basics, that sadly... not everyone in this world is privy to.

~Modern Medicine. And FREE medicine at that. We had our first illnesses of the winter season last week. Marley came down with strep and a UTI last week and needed Amoxocillin. THANKFULLY... many pharmacies, including ours, now offer Amoxocillin for free! Free is always nice. I am so grateful for that. Especially since when I was little... my mom had to shell out $120 for the stuff every time my sister and I were sick. How wonderful that you can now get it for FREE?! I would die if I have to pay $100+ for it.

~Modern Technology.With family spread out all the way to the west coast, I am thankful for the internet so that we can keep in touch.

There is more. I'm thankful for so many things.....some may seem small and silly (like Diet Cherry Pepsi.. don't laugh. It's delish!), others more sentimental..(like friends.. ;). Point is, I have much to be grateful for. I have many blessings. And while I may not currently have the ones I am so desperately seeking.... I need to remember to give thanks for the ones I *do* have.

If you live your whole life in "want"... you'll miss out on what you already *have*.

Onesies for the wee one...

2011-01-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

I discovered that art of freezer paper stenciling from Dana, over at MADE. It's soooooooo fun and easy!! I did a few onesies as a baby shower gift for some friends of ours back in December and just knew I would have to do the same for our own little guy (due march 1st).

I have a few more to do.. BUT.... I think I need some new freezer paper. The roll I bought when I did my first project somehow ended up in the [freezing cold] garage and I think that the cold somehow affected the way it adheres to the fabric. When I did my first onesies the paper peeled off no problem. This time though.... it was REALLY stuck on there, and my paint bled at the edges. :(

I thought it might have just been a fluke or something with the first one that I did (the camera), but the other two were the same way. :( I was actually pretty bummed because I was very excited about the Nor Cal top, and it bled pretty bad. So, I'm heading to the store today to buy some NEW freezer paper to finish the other onesies and to do the older kids Valentines Day tops. ;)

But.... until then.... here are a few snaps of the ones I did do. ;)

eNjOy!!

Being due March 1st... I'm willing to bet money he'll be here by St Pattys day, in time to wear this one!

A friendly nod to his daddy's home state of California....

Pretty sure this one speaks for itself.... ;) And you better believe I will be making this one again for the other kids... and for when little man gets bigger.

a wedding and a move.. oh my!

2010-08-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Oh my.... such a slacker!! Not sure anyone even reads this anymore.... I guess I really do it for myself anyway...... instead of (in addition too) a journal. I've been meaning to get my old blog printed into a book... it's on my to-do list. ;-)

So... the weeks leading up to our BIG MOVE were quite busy. I had so many last minute sessions, I'm still buried in editing. I should be editing now... but the blog was looking so sad and neglected... ;) Anyhow, as I was saying, the weeks before the move we very eventful. I really did kick myself Monday, the day before we left, for not having packed sooner, as the Hubs had told me to do.. sooooo many times over. We had birthday parties... family get togethers, and a wedding! (see photo below).

Do you see me?? Kinda like "Where's Waldo?".. But it's "Where's Whitna?".. hee hee

In hindsight I should have probably taken the last week or two off work in order to gt things handled and what not, but I didn't... and so I was scrambling Monday to get everything done and packed and all that. I have to say.. if it had not been for my AMAZING sister.. we would probably still be in California trying to get packed and such. ;) She's pretty much my hero. ;-)

But.... thanks to her and the hubs we were able to leave Tuesday morning as planned. :) It took us 6 hours to get from June Lake to Ely Nevada (normally a 4 hour trip...), that was due in part to having to pull over 3 times because Marley threw up, two more times because the cat, who was in the cat carrier, slid off the cooler into the litter box (we then moved him to the back of the truck), and once because the trailer came a little loose.

After we hit Ely, Day One went a little more smoothly. Besides the typical I-swear-I-will-turn-this-car-around-if-you-don't-leave-your-sister-alone threats..... we made it to our first stop with only a few minor hiccups. Due largely in part to the rough start, and the limited amount of sleep we all got the night before, ... it's understandable that we were ready to kill each other once we hit Rock Springs, WY. We also discovered that I-80 is quite popular in August. Proven by the fact that just about every single hotel was sold out! We ended up finding a room at some place called "Budget Host". We pulled in and almost immediately pulled back out. Needless to say it was pretty ghetto and there was no way any of us felt comfortable staying there, leaving the trucks, and trailer and the Pathfinder in the parking lot to get robbed. So... we ended up back tracking about 10 miles to the small town of Green River, which was also just about sold out. Thankfully we found a much less ghetto hotel where we all crashed out for the night.

Day Two was MUCH easier. We were all in a pretty good rhythm, Ricky in front in his truck, Meredith in the middle in her truck and trailer, and me bringing up the rear in the Path. We were smarter on Day two (or so we thought) and started calling hotels in Des Moines about 5 hours before we actually got there. Unfortunately... other people must have had the same idea, as practically every hotel there was full as well.So.. we settled on a hotel in West Des Moines. Which in the end worked out much better, since we didn't even get there until 1am, and I really doubt any of us had enough energy to make it the next 15 miles to Des Moines.

Day Three... well... Day Three always seems like the longest as we know that's the day we make it HOME. And this Day Three was no exception. We lost each other after a stop at the Iowa 80 Truck Stop, and then I took a roundabout way just before we hit Illinois.... getting of I-80 when I guess I didn't need too. We were about 10-20 miles apart for about two hours or so. But finally caught back up with each other when we stopped at a Wendy's in De Kalb Illinois. Then after some horrid traffic just outside Chicago, seriously..... 45 mins to go one mile!!?? WTH??!! I felt like I was back in LA. *sigh*

We ended up pulling into my parents driveway about 7pm EST. :) *ahhhhhhhhhh*

All in all it wasn't too horrible. I mean... all the kids made it alive, barely. ;-) And we didn't lose anything on the way. All three vehicles made it without a problem. We lucked out last year... the kids were angels and I think it helped that we were all together in one vehicle. It was tough this year... trying to drive with only one parent per car. If a kid wants something... you can't very well turn around and grab it for them as you are driving down the freeway. But the boys did great for Meredith... which I was really grateful for that. She was stressed enough having to tow the trailer and such, I would have hated if the boys were freakin' out the whole way too.

So... we made it.... and now we are trying to get all settled and what not. The Hubs is on his fishing trip to Isle Royale. He'll be home Sunday night.... very very... very.. late. We'll see if the kids survive till then. ;-) kidding......

One of those days.....

2010-06-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

It's been one of "those" days... You know... one of those days where things are sooo crazy that you're not sure if you're gonna make it to 6pm.. then once 6pm comes you are think."Wasn't it just lunchtime??". One of those days where when you *do* finally make it to 6pm you look at eachother and wonder..."What's for dinner??"

Tonight it was "fend for yourself" dinner. As I type this the girls are digging into frozen chicken fries, Brady is trying to wrestle open a bag of frozen frenchtoast sticks and Cohen is somewhere outside, riding his bike. Tripp is the only one somewhat taken care of this evening..... he's strapped in the highchair. And that's probably only because he's really not old enough to try and get anything for himself. ;-)

Don't judge me... you know you've all done it. ;)

The house is a disaster. The living room is a mess and I need to do laundry, and dishes in a bad way. And yet here I sit... blogging. I also need to pack. *yuck* Oh how I loathe packing.... It's even more difficult since we aren't just "packing up.moving..unpacking".

Ya see... our packing is broken down into serveral catagories: "Stuff We Can Live Without Right Now", "Stuff We NEED to Have Til August/Sept", "Stuff We NEED To Have in Michigan in August", "Stuff We Can Live Without until Sept". Ya... MUCH more difficult than just .."pack it up.. drive to the new house.... unpack". Ya........So... I have been slowly packing things up. It's really annoying... trying to figure out what we need now and what we can live wihout for a few months. Ugh..

Speaking of which.... the Hubs is telling me right now that I need to get on packing up the desk and stuff. (I did the playroom the other day with the help of my seester!). So.. time to go through the desk... *shudder* it's a scary sight. A horrid unorganized disaster!!

Wish me luck!

Happy Fathers Day!!

2010-06-21T01:28:00.000-07:00

It's fathers day.... time to honor those great men in our lives: fathers, grandfathers, fathers-in-law, husbands.....

First.. I wanna honor this guy.

The Hubs.... the Hubs is great... the Hubs gave me three beautiful chidren... He gets up in the night with them when they are newborns and babys... (we had a system with all three kids when they were babies: I would nurse them in the night and then he would burp them when I was done nursing. It worked out great. ).. He STILL gets up with them at night, whether it's teething, or nightmares, or tummy aches... he will go and comfort them. He doesn't mind when the kids crawl into bed with us. He does his fair share of diaper changes and he puts them to bed every other night (we take turns.. we're all about "fairness" in this family.. ;-).

He's an amazing father. I know this because the kids adore him.. I see the way they flock to him... the way they prefer him over me 90% of the time (the girls anyway... they are 100% daddies girls.. but I don't mind). I see it in the way he reads to them.. holds them and hugs them... the way he does the girls hair... the way he taught Cohen how to fish.... how he cooks for the kids, and me... how he supports our family.... how he went back to school, full time, while working full time, to get his BS *and* his MBA in less than 4 years. He's amazing...

He puts up with me and my craziness.... he puts up with the kids.. even when they are at their wildest. He wants nothing but the best for them, and he's willing to do anything to make sure that they have the best advantages in life.

He's the perfect Dad for us. And.. we love him.

I also need to talk about my own Dad. I mean... it *is* Fathers Day after all.. and what kind of daughter would I be if I didn't pay respect to the man who put up with *ME* for 19 years. ;)

(My dad...seen here with Mars last summer during our trip to Michigan)

My Dad is amazing. I am just like him.. in personality and looks. We have the same hair, the same eyes...

My Dad "raised" me from the time I was 18 months old, until my sister was born when I was 3.5. My mom was/is a graphic designer and she worked for an ad agency in Detroit. She had 18 month maternity leave (much better than the crummy 6 weeks they give women noadays....) anyway.. when I was 18 moths old she went back to work, and since my Dad's only job at the time was playing in a band at night and on the weekends (something he still does to this day.. though he has a real "grown up" job now too, and only plays a couple weekends outta the month)... he took care of me during the day. As young as I was I still recall those days. We would go on bike rides... he'd ride his Schwin and I would sit in the little baby seat behind him. We would go into town.. ride around the lake, by the dam. It was fun.

Years later.. when my sister and I were older, our Dad started a tradition of taking us to eat every Sat morning to this great little restaurant in downtown. We loved it. I think it about it everytime I drive by that place, whenever I am home. Though it has changed hands a few times since then... I still remember going there with him.... :)

Our Dad is a gifted musician. He plays the guitar in his band that he is in with his two best friends, my god father, Unce Steve and "Uncle" Ronnie. They have known my sister and I since we were born... they are great fathers too. But back to my dad....he pays trumpet, trombone, piano, banjo, and this thing that looks like a hybrid between a piano and a guitar.. he will kill me if he ever discvoers I can't recall the name. We had one in our basement growing up... my sister and I used to play it all the time...

He wanted us to be musical too. And even though my sister and I both tried our hand at it, she the piano and myself the flute, neither of us ever stuck with it. Much to my fathers dismay. He did however make sure that we knew music. REAL music. Not the "crap they play nowadays" as he would say. But the classics: The Beatles... the Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, etc.... We loved them.. still do.

My Dad also taught me how to drive. My mom was terrified to take me driving so my Dad did it. We would go drving all around town, and on the back roads and everywhere. He would sleep sometimes... and sometimes we'd talk. I was just happy he'd take me. When you are 15 and only have your learners permit... a willing parent is like a gold mine!!

As my sister and I got older my Dad tried to do things with us that he could. Like... he would go tanning. Yes.. i said tanning. Now... before you judge, laugh or are rendered speechless.. let me explain something... if you know my Dad this does not in anyway strike you as odd, I'm sure. However... if you've never had the pleasure of meeting my Dad, well.. then I'm sure you are confused. You see... my Dad is a little caught up in apperances. Which is not a bad thing. In his job (he's a rep for a paper company) you need to look good so that you can impress people. You need to look good... be confident... So... in order to "keep up his good looking-ness" my dad would go to the tanning salon wih me and my sister. My mom hated it. LOL She wanted to get us to AVOID tanning... you know, skin cancer and all that... But when she confronted my Dad about it... about how he should be setting an example on proper skin care and NOT go tanning.... he said....

"I have girls... I can't go throw a baseball around with them.. so I go tanning with them."

:) I was touched. :) My Dad is one of a kind. He was/is also very popular with my friends. They all loved him. I wasn't sure why... I mean, when you are 12-17 years old you generally think your parents are idiots and don't know anything, while you on the other hand know EVERYTHING. ;-) So, seeing that I was in the "I-know-everything" camp... I was always baffled as to why my friends (boys and girls alike) were so smitten with my Dad. It wasn't until I was older... and during several fleeting moments of my adolesence, that I was privy to the fact that my Dad was in fact... pretty awesome.

He always wanted the best for my sister and I. He wanted us to do our best in everything. He wasn't one to hand out compliments willy-nilly either. Compliments from my Dad were earned... the hard way. I can actually probably count on one hand that amount of times my Dad has told me he was/is proud of me. Not that it's a bad thing. Actually... I think it's great. Because as I look back on those times I *know* I did my very best... and that I truly earned the "I'm proud of you." One of the most recent ones came right right out of the blue. I was talking with my Dad on day on the phone, and he was asking me how my photography business was going. I told him great... and he said.."I saw your website. I'm really proud of you. You are very good."

**sniff sniff**

My Dad is also a wonderful grandpa. My kids call him Grandpa Rockstar. Cohen made it up when we stayed with my parents for a few months several years back, and he would see my Dad leave on Fri and Sat nights to go play in his band. Cohen asked him one night..."Are you going to be a rockstar tonight?" My Dad kinda laughed and said.."I guess so.. kinda." And from that moment on Cohen and all the grandkids since have called him Grandpa Rockstar.

He's concerned with how Ricky and I raise them. He always asks if I read to them, which I do, and if I make sure they are brushing their teeth, which they are, and if I sit with them at night until they fall asleep like he used to do for me when I was little, yes... I do. ;-) It's pretty cool watching him with my kids.... as I look back on all the things he did with me when I was their age, that he now does with them. I really love it.

But I think the most AMAZING thing my Dad did for me when I was growing up was to *not* ship me off to a convent or boarding school or someplace of the like. I was a tough kid to raise for sure. I'm independant and stubborn and strong willed. And my Dad and I are like 2 peas in a pod. When I was a younger... the things I said to him sometimes... it's a wonder I'm still standing. He put up with a lot from me... a lot!! And the fact that he still loves me and put up with me all those years... well... it speaks volumes about who he is.

A great Dad. :)

I also need to say a little something about my father-in-law... of whom sadly I don't have a photo of.. (hmm.. not sure why....) anyway... My father-in-law is probably the most patient man I have ever met. He is also one of the most giving people I have ever known. If someone needs a car.. he finds on for them.. gives it to them.. for free. If someone needs a place to live... he firgures something out for them... finds them a place. He will stop and help standed motorists on the side of the road... he will move friends and family across the state or even across the country. And he loves it! he loves to drive all over the country. I'm pretty sure he's been to every state in the Union... even Alaska and Hawaii.

He's a wonderful grandpa. As I type this he has taken Cohen and his cousin Jake for a sleep over at their house for the THIRD night in a row. And I'm sure he'll take them again tomorrow. He would do anything for anyone and he supports his kids in all they do, even when they make bad choices. He still loves them and treats them the same as the others.

Yes... I'm pretty lucky to have such great "Fathers" in my life. I hope that one day Cohen will be as great a father as his Dad and grandfathers. I hope the girls marry men like their Dad and grandfathers. They are all great men, and great examples of what makes a wonderful Dad.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

Cohen and the baseball

2010-06-17T12:52:00.000-07:00

I realized that I don't post nearly enough about Cohen. So this post is dedicated to him.... my first born... my only son.. the sweetest kid I have ever met. I love my girls... but he just has a way about him. He loves his momma and it shows. He's an AMAZING big brother... a great helper and just all around a great kid. I know every mom thinks that about their own kids.. but with Cohen... it's really true. ;-)

Cohen played t-ball again this year. Though I don't think he'll want to play next year. He informed me that he would only play t-ball if we promised to sign him up for soccer this fall. He LOVES soccer. I think because he's doing something the whole time. He's not a fan of just standing in the field.... he needs action. His fave part of t-ball is batting and running. lol

He had his second-to-last game this monday (his last game is tomorrow)... and I was able to get some pretty decent pictures... Usually we have to beg and plead, and sometimes bribe, him to go out on the field... But this time he ran right out there and had fun the whole time. He was on a team with his cousin, Eva, this year... and between the two of them.. it was quite comical to watch.

Ash is OBSESSED with swings. There is a park right near the baseball fields and as soon as we get there she makes a run for the swing sets. And nothing short of an earthquake will get her off them. LOL

MOVING!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

Yes... we are MOVING to Michigan!! After much talk and prayer, more talk.. more prayer.... the Hubbs and I have decided that we will be making the move back to the mitten state. :-) And we couldn't be happier about it. We both feel really good about this, and we can't wait to see what it brings for us.

We will spend the summer in California. Then.. August 18th we will leave for Michigan. :) The kids are all signed up for their fall activites: Cohen will be in Soccer and Ash will be in ballet class.

I am so excited to be going "home" again. I never thought I would want to move back there.... but after 8 years between Caifornia and Utah.. we both reaized that Michigan is where we want to be. I am sooooo blessed to have a husband that wants to leave *his* home state of California to move to *my* home state of Michigan. It heps that he has friends there. ;) He's pretty excied about all the fishing and stuff he can do there with his friends.

I am looking forward to taking the kids to all the amazing places I grew up going to: the DIA, The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfied Village, Hands on Museum, Spicers Orchard, Detroit Historical Museum, Detroit Zoo, Mackinac Island.... I could go on and on and on!! LOL

I really cannot wait. I know my parents are so excited as well. My mom cannot wait to take her grandkids to all the places she and my dad used to take my sister and I.

So.. the next couple of weeks I will be packing and cleaning... LOL lucky me!! Oh well... it's worth it!

memorial weekend

2010-06-06T01:32:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend down at Mule Days in Bishop. It's an annual festival over Memorial Weekend with nothing but mules and more mules. LOL It's pretty neat... and they have a parade and the kids love to see all the horses, donkeys and mules.

Did you know: A mule is the result of mating a horse with a donkey? Did you also know that mules themselves cannot reproduce?? Well.. you do now. ;-)

We also went to see SHREK FOREVER AFTER. While the kids loved it I have to admit I was kinda dissapointed. I liked the other ones much better. Oh well.. they enjoyed it and they were all very well behaved at the theatre. I think it was the whole morning of walking around and the parade and such. They were just too tired wiped out to be wild and crazy. haha

I hope your Memorial weekend was tons of fun!

so stressed....

2010-06-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

I am stressed. What else is new. *sigh* But this time there are, okay there is ONE, specific thing that is stressing me out. I wish I could share... really I do. But I can't, not just yet anyway. Never fear though... your curisosity will be satisfied soon.... promise. ;)

I was thinking today.... how many times can someone be let down or dissapointed or broken before they just cannot be put back together again? 5? 10? 40? 100? I wonder how many more times I have left in me. Sometimes I think I am done. I think I have no more left. Then... becuase I simply have no other choice... I continue.

I keep repeating the line.."Endure til the end." Right now I'm scared that it will be the way it is now til the very very end. And I don't know that I can endure *this* speific thing that long. If you have read my blog at all in the past, or if you know me IRL.. you can probably guess what has me stressed and worried at this particular moment. If not... like I said... hopefully I will be able to fill you in in the next couple weeks.

Ideally I would love a personal fortune teller. I need a crystal ball to see into my future....

Wouldn't that be the best??? let me know if you happen to stumble upon one today.....

mothers day :2010:

2010-05-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Better late than never, yes??

Since we've lived here we have had this Mothers Day tradition of having breakfast at this place..

They are only open the end of April thru the middle of October and they have the BEST breakfast and lunch menu on the planet!! Soo delish.. ;) We try to eat there a few times a month in the summer, but we always eat there Mothers Day morning... until.. this year.

If you go there on the weekend or in the summer be prepared to wait at least 30-40 mins for a table, sometimes more. You'd think that having lived here for 3 years, and having eaten there whenever we visited in the (almost) 10 years we've been married we would have known this and planned a little better.

Well... we didn't plan.. and thus... our Mothers Day tradition was not this year.

First.. let me tell you that we had a birthday party to attend at 11am this same day. The party was an hour away. Ideally, we should have gotten up by about 7ish... out the door by 8am, hopefully been seated about 9am (an hour wait time is norm on the weekends, as I said before) ..eaten and been done by 10 and at the party by 11am. Well... when you have 3 kids and are operating on about 4 hours sleep from the night before... things don't always go as planned.

By the time we got there it was already 9am... and it was 9:45 when we decided to just bail. We hadn't even been seated yet, and there was still a party of 4 ahead of us. The kids were devestated.... but we promised them we'd return another day.

So, we ran home, grabbed some granola bars and juice boxes for the kids and headed to the party.

{I want to state that Cohen IS in a carseat... a Britax Parkway SG to be exact... he just leaned over when I snapped this.... Never one to miss a photo op that kid.}

So, I got to spend Mothers Day with the people who matter most... those little guys there....

this little girl here....

and I got some of these....

and.. one of these...

It's rare that I drink these anymore... too many points.

All in all it was a good Mothers Day.. :) Ricky did pretty much everthing... which is all I really ask for on that day.

And the next day.... I got to enjoy my "traditional breakfast" with this guy...

and this girl....

And let me tell you... it was great! There was virtually no one else there... and it was nice to go out with just Mars. I mean.. we love the other two... but I think she liked the undivided attention. ;-)

Oh... and for your viewing pleasure... I leave you a shot of these two.... cousins who, no matter what, can't ever seem to get enough of eachother. So happy that they love eachother more than most anything else.

back from El Lay....

2010-04-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

It was a FAB trip! The weather was awesome, too bad I was stuck inside a hotel conference room most of my stay and didn't get to fully enjoy it..... but it was still nice to wake up to sunny skies, and warm weather everyday. And I did get to enjoy a little bit of it on Saturday evening when they released us for dinner. We got to go where ever we wished (my roomate and I choose The Block at Orange, eating at a great little mexican place and taking in a movie afterwards. :)

Thursday I spent the entire morning trying to get myself out the door. Shockingly enough... at 12:25pm I was officially on my way! Only 25 mins past my original "must leave by" time. Not bad if I do say so myself. I made it to Ridgecrest just in time to meet up with my friend Dawn, a gal I met via a LDS mommy message board several years back. I was doing family pics for Dawn, her hubby and their three super cute kiddos. (pics to come from that session... it was too fun!).

At 7:30ish I was on my way to Ontario. My "layover" spot if you will. I didn't really want to drive all the way to Garden Grove Thursday night, so I opted to stay in Ontario instead. I also planned this in part because Old Navy was having their fabulous "50% off everything" sale when you were one of the first 50 ON card holder customers in the store Friday morning. So...... I woke up at 8am on Friday, got ready, and got my butt over to Ontario Mills at 9:50am, just in time to be one of the lucky first 50. ;)

At 11 am I checked out of my hotel and headed down to Garden Grove. Have I mentioned how beautiful SoCal is in the spring?? It's like the only time of year everything is green! Then it all dies just in time for summer. *sigh*

At 12:45pm I was checked into my hotel in Garden Grove (the Homewood Suites by Hilton) Very very cool! The rooms were so nice, and HUGE! The beds were also uber comfy. It was better than my own bed! And I have a pretty awesome bed. ;-)

1pm kicked off my Weight Watchers leader training. It was amazing. The other women, and the one man, that were there were sooooo inspiring!! And eveyone was soo nice. AND.... my roomate was the only other LDS chick there. LOL How random right?? It was really funny. She was so nice and we hung out all weekend.

Sunday afternoon we wrapped up our leader training session and we all checked out of the hotel... and I headed to one of my fave stores: IKEA. How can you NOT love that place?? It was so nice to just go and walk around. No one whining that they wanted to leave or had to go potty. *ahhhhhh* I picked out a new couch, some chairs, and a new dining room set. And tons of new things to decorate the house. BUT I only bought a few things for the kids and some random kitchen stuff for me. I'll have to bring the hubs back to approve of the larger furniture pieces. ;-)

I also took a little detour to the beach. Huntington Beach to be exact. I lasted about 20 mins before I had to get back to the car.It had been sunny and 80 all day, but by the time I came out of IKEA it was overcast and windy. By the time I got to HBC it was sooo cold!! I got a few pics... and that was it. Oh well... next time, right?

I drove back to Ontario that evening and spent the night there again. Going back to the Ontario Mills mal lthe next morning to get Ricky some new Vans and get the stuff for Ashy's birthday party on Sat. She want's a "Princess and the Frog" party and I have to say I was pretty dissapointed over the lack of party stuff they had available. It was pretty sad. Wasn't that like a really high grossing film?? I would think Disney would capatalize on that like they do on every other movie they make. Oh well....

I made it home Monday evening to some rather disheveled looking children, one very messy house, and one very tired sister and hubs. (Thank you again Merd for helping to look after my rugrats while I was away.... I rest easier knowing you are with them... and that more times than not they prefer you over me anyway. ;-)

All in all it was a great time away. I missed the hubs and kiddos, of course. But I really only wished the hubs had been with me. ;-) Not that I don't love my little chickens.... I just happen to have a fond appreciation for mini vaycays with the Hubs as well.

headed to Los Angeles...

2010-04-14T00:07:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving on Thursday to head to LA for the weekend. I wish I could say it'll be all fun in the sun... but sadly I'll be stuck in a hotel all weekend for a Weight Watchers training. I get paid... so.. it kinda all works out, yes?

I get to go alone. No kids. No hubby. Just.Me. *eeek*

I haven't been alone overnight since Cohen was born. I have ALWAYS had at least one kid with me.. or a husband. And I have never been away from my kids for more than one night. (unless you count the time Mars was in the hospital... but I was still with her and Ricky)

I'm trying to get my life all organized before I go. Laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning.... ya know... all the stuff I need to do to ensure that the kids, and hubs, will still be alive when I get back. ;) My fabulous sister is going to help in watching them while I'm gone. That helps ease my mind some. I'm sure the hubs is totally capable of keeping his own kids safe and what not... but it's just nice to know that she will also be here.

The fun part is that I will get to do some solo shopping whileI I'm gone. Ahh... solo shopping. It's such a foriegn concept to me. Shopping.. alone??!! And it's NOT for lame stuff like food?? haha I actually get to.. dare I say it..

BROWSE??!!!

no.. way!?

very, very cool. very.

Have a nice weekend... I hope I will. :)

Hello again!!! I'm back.. ;-)

2010-04-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

So, I've been wanting to move my blogs from Typepad back to Blogger for awhile now. I wasn't really crazy about the designs limitations I had with Typepad... and until I can find a blog that I like more... I wanted something that was free. ;)

So... "Hello again Blogger!"

2009-07-07T17:57:00.001-07:00

Just testing....my first mobile blog!

This BLOG has moved!!

2008-03-22T10:40:00.002-07:00

ATTENTION: This blog has moved!! You can now find me at http://whitneymccoy.typepad.com/ricknwhit_and_crew/ PLEASE change your links!! As I will no longer be updating this blog!! I hope you'll all make the switch with me!!

I hope you'll all come check out my new blog!! Thanks so much!!

My 1st Digi Scrapbook page!!!!

2008-03-20T18:06:00.010-07:00

I have never been good about SB. I mean well, but ya know..... My SIL is even a consultant for Close to My Heart. I love looking at their catalogs, and all the amazing things she's able to do.

As for me though..... I never seem to have the time, or the patience to do traditional SBing. Not to mention that my hard drive is holding all my photos hostage. (okay.. not really... but I'm too lazy to print off all my pics. I take thousands!!)

Anyhow.... I was reading one of my friends blogs and saw a link to this really cool site ShAbBy PrInCeSs They have some really neat free kits you can download.

So, last night I downloaded a couple kits,a d today I made this!! (see above pic) My very first digi scrap book page!!! It was sooooooo easy!!!! I'm gonna do this a lot I've decided. I just need to figure out how to print them off so I can put them into books. Hmm..anyone know how to do that??!!

Easter Nativity

2008-03-20T16:48:00.004-07:00

Last year, a friend of my mom's found these really neat Easter Nativity's. I picked one up, and just remembered the other day that I had it. So, today, the kids and I set it up.

The kids loved it. Cohen knew just which one Jesus was, and right where he went. (I think he was mostly remembering from seeing my moms set up last Easter) Ashy liked the lamb the best I think. She kept cuddling with it.. girls are so cute. LOL

You can't really see it in the pic, but there is a little light inside the tomb. I thought it was really neat. I mean, we do all these things at Christmas to remember the Savior, and his birth. Then comes Easter.... an event which is just as important as His birth, and we hardly do anything to remember the *real* reason for the holiday. The bunnies and egg hunts are fun, but.....

I really want to get better at teaching my kids the real meanings behind Christmas and Easter. I don't want them growing up thinking that it's all about the presents and Easter baskets. Hopefully, this little nativity will help. ;-)

Had our BIG ultrasound today....

2008-03-18T20:58:00.002-07:00

And the verdict is........

We're excited! Ricky said he just *knew* it was another girl. I'm glad Ashy will have a sister. I think Ricky is nervous more than anything. LOL He loves Ash to bits, she's totally a "daddys girl", so I think he's worried about her having to share the spotlight. She does like to be the center of attention. ;-)

Cohen was bummed at first. He really wanted a brother. But after I told him this means he gets his own room, he was over it. haha

Food Network

2008-03-14T16:59:00.006-07:00

Anyone who knows me, knows that I can't cook to save my life. I've tried... but I suck at it. LOL Latley however.... I've been watching the Food Network. I really like this chick...

She's hosts a show called "Everday Italian". I love Italian food, so maybe that's why I like her show. I was wathcing today and she had "kid friendly dinners". I really wanna try her

"Veggie Stuffed Pancakes" http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_80618,00.html

They are full of cheese, my fave, and they just look soooo good!! I think I'll try these for dinner this next week. Cohen is always asking for pancakes for breakfast....and lunch... and dinner. haha I think he might actually eat these.

Tutu Directions

2008-03-13T11:26:00.002-07:00

A couple of people said you wanted to know how I made that tutu for Ash. It's super easy!!

Here goes...

-I got 3 yards each of two different colors of netting (you can just use one color if you want and buy 6 yards total of the one color). I *should* have bought 4 yards, as I *just* had enough foir Ashy's tutu.

-So, I'm gonna say, buy between 4-6 yards (depending on the size you need) of netting off the bolt. Better to have more than not enough.

-You also need between 1 and 2 yards of the 1 inch wide, STIFF elastic.

-First step: lay out the netting on a large table, or floor. Fold it on half, and then half again (lengthwise). You are going to cut the netting into 2 inch wide strips. Don't worry about it being perfect, once it's all tied you can't tell anyway.

-Once you have both colors cut into strips, you want to cute the strips in half. The netteing you bought off the bolt should have been folded already, so you should have a nice crease mark where you need to cut. Again.. don't worry about it being perfect.

-Next, measure the elastic around your little girl's waist, remembering to leave a little extra so you can tie it.

-Now, you can eiter tie the elastic now, or wait till later. I tied it first and then had to untie it and re-do it, as it ended up being a little big halfwayt thru, so... I'd actually wait to tie it till you are half way thru. Also.. if you are crafty, and have a sewing machine.. you can sew the ends together if you want, But they stay just fine by tying into a square knot.

-Now that you have your elastic cut, and your strips ready.. you can start to tie them. Grab two at a time, one of each color if you are doing 2 colors or 2 of the same color for a solid colored tutu. Tie them onto the elastic in a double knot, being sure that the knot lays on the outside of the elastic band. Continue tying and sliding the netting strips close together, so it's really poufy.

-When you are halfway thru, try the tutu on your little one again, as when you're sliding the netting on, you are also stretching the elastic a little, making the band larger. Make sure it won't be to big, and re-tie it if you need to. (like I had to.. haha)

-When you are done tying.. fluff it out and try it on. Voila!! You are done!! Sooo easy!!

*Now, another way of doing it, which involves a little bit of sewing is like this: Instead of tying the elastic ends together, you can sew on some ribbon, so you can adjust the size. (I have to thank my friend Brekke for telling me about this way )

-You again measure the elastic when you first start on your little one. But before you tie on any netting you sew on a piece of ribbon to each end of elastic. Then, when you tie on your netting, simply tack the pieces next to the ribbon, (at the ned of the elastic) with a needle and thread. This will hold those first two pieces in place, preventing the netting from slipping onto the ribbon, and coming off the tutu. Then just continue the tutu as stated above.

So, there you have it. It's really easy, and quick, and fun. I'm going to try the ribbon way next time. My friend said it helps keep the netting nice, and it'll fit a larger range of sizes that way as well. Now, for anyone who tries this.. I wanna see pics!!

No Sew Tutu

2008-03-12T12:25:00.003-07:00

Check out what I made this weekend!! :D I went and bought some stuff for a no-sew tutu for Ashy Grace. It was super easy. And I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I can't wait to get her out in it for a little mini-session.

Sadly, she's sick at the moment, so who knows when I'll get the chance to do it. I wanna go to the Village at Mammoth during the week, less crowded. I love the buildings there and I think I could get some great shots. Kind of "urban-y" style.

Anyhow, just wanted to share. If this baby is a girl I wanna make a matching newborn one as well. (we find out on Tuesday!! :D Sooooo excited!!)

My Baby Turned 4 Today...

2008-03-10T21:57:00.002-07:00

I can't believe that my baby boy is 4 today!! It's crazy to think I have a 4 year old. LOL

We spent the night in Reno last night at Circus Circus, so Cohen could hang out there today. He had tons of fun, and even won 2 stuffed toys at the Midway games all by himself!! I was so proud of him. :D

His party is Saturday, and I still have so much to do. {ack}

Anyway, just wanted to share a picture of my "little" guy that I snapped on the way home today.

17 weeks 4 days

2008-03-06T17:13:00.002-08:00

Here's the latest belly pic. I'll be 18 weeks on Sunday. I can't believe I'm almost at the halfway point. August will be here before I know it!! LOL

I also got the results from my AFP/Triple Screen test today. All is good!! I was super nervous when the Dr/s office called me. We had a false+ with Ashy. Having to wait for that u/s to rule out Trisomy 18 was the longest 3 days of my life!!! I'm soooo glad that we don't have to go thru that this time around.

Also..... my BIG u/s is 2 weeks from Tuesday. EEEKKKK!!! I am sooooooo excited!! With the other kids, I just *knew* what they were, so I wasn't really surprised at the u/s. This time... I have NO clue what it is. So, the u/s is going to be sooo fun!! I'm gonna be totally shocked when we find out. I can't wait. :D

Kids Are Funny

2008-03-02T16:27:00.003-08:00

Last night, Ricky and I had put the kids to bed with a movie (we let them watch a movie at bedtime every Friday night, if they are good. We missed this Friday, so.. they got to watch it last night instead.) Anyhow.... Ash fell right to sleep, but thanks to a late afternoon nap, Cohen was still awake at 11pm. Ricky and I were in the living room and he wandered out. He was saying he wanted to sleep in our bed. He was telling us he was scared and that's why he wanted to sleep in our bed. We kept asking him what he was afraid of. He finally said he was afraid of the bears. We explained to him that the bears were all sleeping right now, and he had no reason to be scared of them. To which he answered in his very 'matter-of-fact' voice;

"Mommy... bears have nails... like we do.... and they can break the window and come in."

Ya.... I then said... "No more Animal Planet for you."

It's a Go!

2008-02-29T13:49:00.002-08:00

Well... we bought Ricky's plane ticket last night. He leaves the 5th and get's back the 9th. It's gonna suck having both kids all by myself for 5 days, plus working. {ugh} If I wasn't working it'd be no big deal, but.....

So, there's a job fair on the 6th that he's going to and then another one on the 8th. His sister also found a really great job for him today that she sent his resume in for. *crossing fingers*

So, if you could say a little prayer for us that this trip will open up at least a few doors for him/us...that'd be great.

I'll keep ya posted.

Possible Colo Springs Trip

2008-02-28T12:35:00.003-08:00

So... we are thinking of having Ricky fly out to Colo Springs on the 5th for a job fair. He was going to take Cohen, but since it's such short notice.... the ticket for just him is gonna be like $300+. I'm not spending another $300+ for Cohen. I figure... we can all just go out there together, later.

It's a management job fair, so.. I'm hoping he'll be able to find something that pays well. I'm just sooooooo sick of being here and "waiting" for the next step. I really want to be moved by June, if not sooner. I *know* it's going to happen, it's just a matter of when.

We've pretty much nixed the whole "moving to Michigan" plan. I feel bad, but we just don't feel it's the right place for us to go. We feel really good about CS and it's a good half-way point between both of our families. I can drive up to Michigan whenever the mood strikes me. It's about a 17 hour drive, so.. not short, but defiantly closer than California!! LOL If Ricky and I drive together we can make it in a day.

{ugh} I'm just praying he gets something soon. I want my own stuff again. 90% of everything we own is in storage. We've been living out of boxes for over a year now, and I'm over it!! Plus... we are living with 2 bedroom, and 1 bathroom. It's beginning to get to me. 2 kids, 1 dog, a baby on the way. *sigh* My kids need their own rooms, an actual playroom, their own bathroom, not to mention... a freakin' backyard!! Ahh...to have my own backyard again.... what a joy what will be.

So anyhow..... hopefully we can get this trip planned. I told Ricky he needs to hurry and decide if he wants to go or not, because I need to buy the plane ticket tonight. He may end up driving, but with the price of gas.... it might be cheaper to fly. Not to mention faster.

Cohen's new do!

2008-02-26T21:04:00.003-08:00

So, I've been wanting to give Cohen a mohawk for a loonnngg time now, but Ricky never liked the idea. Until... this past weekend. ;-) We were down south visiting Ricky's brother and his wife, Jared and Stephanie, and Jared offered to give Cohen a mohawk. So.. we let him.

He loves it!! He's such a little rockstar. It's a teeny bit long, so we a gonna trim it down in a few days, but he's lovin' it right now.

I did some pics of him today for his b-day invites. I can't believe he'll be 4 on the 10th!! Crazy how fast they grow up.

Off to LA!!

2008-02-20T16:07:00.004-08:00

First off... I wanna say that I did NOT take the above picture. I nabbed it off of www.geocities.com , courtesy of Google. ;-)

Anywho... Ricky and I are going down to the LA Temple this weekend for our Stake Temple Day. Ya know what's funny... we lived in Utah for over 2 years and NEVER once went to the temple. And there... you can't go 10 feet with running into a temple. LOL Now that we are on Cali, and our Stake temple is 5 hours away in Los Angeles... this will be the second time we've gone in 4 months. Haha... funny how life works out that way.

We went in October for the 50th anniversary of the LA Temple. It was cool. We hadn't been in forever!! I mean really.. we're talking years!! It's kind of embarassing. LOL Anyhow, when we were there, Ricky said he wanted us to try and go every month. He said he "remembered how much he loved me, being in the temple with me." Nice huh?

Well... seeing as the nearest temple is in Reno, 3 hours away... and we have 2 little kids... we haven't quite kept up with that. Oh well.. at least when we move (be it to Michigan or Colo. Springs) we'll be like an hour from the temple, so that'll be nice.

Can I admit that I'm actually really excited to just get the heck outta town and go to LA! LOL I mean, the temple will be nice, but I just wanna go shopping at all the stores I so desperately miss around here. IE: Target, GAP, Old Navy, Nordstrom,... heck... any mall!! haha Ricky has already "ok'd" my shopping requests. Which is good for him, since I'd probably kill him if he didn't let me go.

13 weeks!

2008-02-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

So... I'm 13 weeks today. Crazy!! Sorry the pic sucks. LOL I need to have Ricky take it next time. Oh ya.. excuse our hideous outdated bathroom. If it were up to us.. we'd remodel. Oh well!! Man I can't wait to move. LOL

So, I was really feeling boy up until the last few days. Now I'm sooo unsure!!! I have pegged it with each of my kids. This time, I'm totally stummped. We were originally just thinking of boy names, now we are realizing we need to think of girl names too. haha

My next appt is the 19th. I'm excited because I'm pretty sure they will schedule my BIG ultrasound while I'm at that appt. yay!!! I'm thinking it'll be mid March. Seems sooo far away, but... I know it'll be here before I know it!!

So.... if anyone has any ideas for baby names..let me hear 'em! I'm gonna order a baby name book tonight to help us out. All of ours are in storage. One more reason I can't wait to move!! I want my stuff outta storage!! {ack}

Snowed In!!

2008-01-29T18:24:00.000-08:00

You'd never know this was California by the weather we've been having lately. ya.. it's normal to get snow up here, but this is nutso!!! They have closed Hwy 395 (the main hwy between us and Los Angeles) 4 times in the past 2 weeks!! In the whole 7 years I've been coming here I can only recall it being closed once, back when I was pregnant with Cohen.

It's closed again tonight. It was closed Friday, and then again on Sunday, and now again!! It's crazy!! Ricky took these pictures the other day. I keep thinking..what if there is an emergency?! how would we get to the hospital?? Well..just say some prayers that everyone is okay, and stays that way.

By the way... I've decided that I'm moving to Hawaii...anyone care to join?? lol

Ricky's first MBA paper

2008-01-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

So, Ricky officially started his MBA program on the 4th of January. He had his first paper due this Saturday. He was really worried, he had no clue what he was doing at first. But...I'm happy to say that he got his grade today, and it was an A!! :)

I'm really proud of him. I never expected him to go this far in school. But I'm really glad he is. He's come along way in the 7 years we've been married. We are both hoping that this will open up many more doors, career wise, for him. He'll be done this November. It's a fast track program, like his BA was. It'll be a tough year for him, but I know it'll be sooo worth it.

Been Awhile

2008-01-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

I really haven't been keeping up with this thing very well have I?! hmmm.... lol Maybe that should be my NY Resolution.

Well....a little update: We are still in Cali, desperately trying to find Ricky a job in Michigan. And..... we found out just after Thanksgiving that we are expecting #3 in August. Kinda a little surprise. We had just decided to try for another, just didn't think it'd happen so fast. That's another reason we are trying to get to Michigan. We want to have this baby in Michigan, and not Cali...for numerous reasons.

Ricky just started his MBA this week. I'm really proud of him. He'll be done in November, so that's cool. It's a tough program, all online, and fast paced. He's a wee bit scared..but he'll do fine.

Other than that..we are still just doing the day by day thing. We are in Michigan right now, visiting my family. I really don't want to go back to Cali (we fly back Tuesday). :( I talked to Ricky's aunt today and she said they haven't had power for over 2 days. Ugh.... I really dislike it there. I wanna be near my family for a change. It'll happen though, I just need to keep praying and keep faith. I actually am very faithful that it will happen. I know it will...its just a matter of when. I'd love to be here before Cohen's birthday in March. He actually has more friends here than he does in Cali. lol Plus I know my mom and dad, and Meredith would love to be able to be at his birthday party. Plus then we'd for sure be here for Ashy's birthday. And since my parents missed her 1st birthday last year...they'd love if we were here.

Don't ya sometimes wish you had a crystal ball where you could see where you'd be in 3 months, 6 months...whenever?! I do. I wish someone could tell me.."Don't worry...Ricky will have this great job offer and you'll be in Michigan by March 3rd, 2008." Ahhh...ya, I wish.

Christmas already??!! {and our turkey day plans}

2007-11-05T17:21:00.001-08:00

It was Halloween night when Ricky and I saw our first Cristmas related commercial of the season. WTHeck??!! Seriously?? It's not even November and they are already pushing Christmas?? It seems to start earlier and earlier every year. Now that I have kids I notice it more and more. There are more toy commercials now and every one that Cohen sees its, "Mommy..I want that!" {ugh}

I almost threw up when I was at K-mart about 2 weeks *before* Halloween and saw that they already had their Christmas display up. Can't we get thru one holiday *before* they start promoting the next???

Speaking of holidays.....we are going to Utah for Thanksgiving. I'm excited. I need a vacay. Even if it is only to Utah for 5 days. Plus, Cohen will be able to play with some of his cousins, he'll love it. AND...I'll be able to go to the "day after thanksgiving" sales. Yay!

I'm excited. I wanna try and get some stuff for the kids for Christmas on sale. We aren't getting them a ton this year. They don't need it. Cohen is getting a Honda 50 dirt bike, and honestly..if Elmo himslef jumped out of a box on Christmas day Cohen wouldn't notice. He's in love with anything dirt bike related, so....that'll be all he gets from us. As for Miss Ashy Grace...she's too little to notice but, I do wanna get her a little play kitchen, maybe some dress up clothes, and that'll be it.

In all honesty, their playroom stuff has been packed up for a year and so...when we do finally move into a new place and unpack it all..it'll feel like Christmas to them.

Besides..if we can swing it, I'd like to do a "sub for santa" type of thing, or something like that. We were really blessed last Christmas with things for the kids, so this year I'd like to "pay it forward". ;-)

Halloween!!

2007-11-03T01:03:00.000-07:00

Well, the kids had their first official 'door to door' trick-or-treating experience this year. Cohen's first 2 Halloweens we just took him to the mall, a lot warmer and easier than door to door with a baby. And then last year we just took the kids to the 'truck'-or-treat at Church.

But this year we took them door to door. The kids both walked the whole time! Even Ash!! And she carried her bucket almost the whole time too. They were sooo cute! Cohen was great about saying trick-or-treat and Ash wasn't shy about getting the candy either.

They only lasted about an hour. Cohen was asking if we could go home just after 15 mins. LOL In his defense, he was asleep right up until about 15 mins before we started, so he was still tired. He actually asked me the next day, "Mommy....can we go trick-or-treat tonight? I need more candy." He was pretty bummed when I explained to him that Halloween is only one night a year.

Anyway..here are some pics from that night, and a few from the night before, when we carved our pumpkins.

Yay for WiFi!!!

2007-09-19T00:39:00.000-07:00

So..I just had to share that we finally got WiFi today!! After dealing with horrid horrid dial up all summer long. {ugh} I'm soooo happy to finally be back among the high speed world of the internet. It makes life sooo much easier. Yippee!!

YAY..They finally WON!!!

2007-09-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

So...yes, I'm form Michigan and yes..I am a true blue U of M fan. AND...after losing their first 2 games of the season..Michigan *finally* beat Notre Dame on Saturday! Gawd..it's about time!!! We were all decked out in out U of M gear on Sat. My mom bought Ash a super cute cheerleader outfit and she got Cohen a cute jersey. We took a pic of them, I'll have to post it later. They looked soooo stinkin' cute! Ash was even yelling "touch down",and out her arms up, whenever they scored. (my dad taught her that when we were visiting them last week.)

I soo miss fall in Michigan. The football games on Saturdays, the Cider Mill, the leaves changing color, and the smell.....the smell of burning leaves, and the big leaf piles in everyones yard. Ricky needs to find a job there ASAP!! I wanna move back there sooo bad.

Mackinac Pics...

2007-09-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

So the weather was fabulous for our day trip to Mackinac. Got tons of pics while we were there. Here are just a few. :)

more from mackinac...

2007-09-08T20:25:00.001-07:00

summer vacay....

2007-09-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Ashy...on the beach....

Well...we are here!! We got to Traverse City, Michigan yesterday evening, and the kids couldn't wait to get onto the beach. We are renting this great beach front condo on the east bay. It's gorgeous!! Our unit is on the ground floor, so the kids just go out the patio door onto the beach....wonderful.

We are heading to Mackinac Island (pronounced 'mackinaw') tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be nice. We've been lucky so far.

Here are just a few pics from today and yesterday. it started off a bit cloudy, but the sun poked out for a bit, and no rain so far.

Miss Ashy Grace

Cohen...checking out the sand....

getting in some early morning beach time with daddy...

So....we wanted to try and get a nice family photo whilst we were here.....it was soooo bright...*ick*..we're gonna try again later tonight. *crossing fingers* we'll get some nice evening light... ;-)

Our 7 Year anniversary!!

2007-07-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

So...Ricky and celebrated our 7 year yesterday. It was fun. We went to dinner at this awesome Mexican restaurant and then to the movies. We went and saw Chuck and Larry. OMG!!! Soooo freaking funny!!!! I laughed so hard thru the the whole thing. AND..Ricky got me an "inno" (see the pic above?! ;-). It's an XM radio + mp3 player. I love it!! I can use it in the car, at home, or when I'm out walking or whatever with the kids. PLUS..I can record music and stuff off of XM radio and download my own stuff, like and ipod. Very cool!

All in all we had a really nice night. It was great to just get away from everything, as well as the kids. LOL We need to have a date night more often like that.

Some pics!

2007-07-06T13:31:00.001-07:00

Just a few pics from the other day. :) I have some cool pics of the fireworks, but I haven't edited them yet.....been busy. ;-)

Me and Ash-a-boo...the girl is a soda lover already...what a bad momma I am..LOL

Jakey and Cohen.....2 clowns...

I need to explain this one. Ya see...Ash loves her jump up, even tho she is quickly getting too big for it. She loves is to spin around in it, and then...inevitably she will fall asleep in it, like so. Haha

A little Update

2007-07-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

So..it's been a while since I posted. Here's a little update for anyone show still reads this thing..hahaha

Well.... June brought a lot of travel our way, along with some sad news. On June 7th Ricky's Aunt Diane passed away. She was one of the most vibrant, colorful, and loving persons I ever had the pleasure to know. She was a great person and will be deeply missed. Following her passing we traveled to Las Vegas for her funeral. The neat thing is that all of Ricky's siblings were able to attend, so that was cool to be able to see everyone.

We spent a few days in Vegas, and then returned home. It was only for a few days however, then it was off to Utah for Ricky's graduation!!

Yes, Ricky finally graduated with a BA in Business Administration. YAY!!! It was a really nice ceremony. And all but 2 of his siblings were there, so that was cool too. We had a great time hanging out with everyone, and Cohen and Ash had a blast playing with all their cousins.

Now, we are in the midst of sending out his resume to a bunch of places in Colorado Springs. We are planning on being there by September. We are so excited. Finally....finally we are going to be settled. We both feel really good about CO and are very excited to get out there. It's a good 1/2 point between both our families. A day and half drive to Cali and Michigan from there, so... that's kinda cool. Plus, Ricky's sister is living there so we'll have some family there.

Anyway..the kids are great. Cohen is probably the funniest kid I have ever met. He cracks us up on a daily basis. And Ash is our little monkey, climbing on everything she can. She's a nut, with absolutley no fear. Kinda scary..... but we keep a close eye on her. ;-) They are both getting crazy big, crazy fast, but it's fun.

Other than that.....things are great. We're just here in Cali for the summer, waiting to move to CO. :D

VEET ....... is it really that great???

2007-06-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

So summers coming and after years and years of shaving, I decided that I'd give some of those hair removers a try.

So, last week I bought some of that VEET Rasera stuff. You know, it has that blade less razor to get the cream off. I figured I'd give it a try. After all, it claims that it leaves you without that horrid stubble you get from shaving and it also says it will keep your legs smoother days longer then shaving.

Well, I decided to give it a try on Sunday. The directions say to leave it on for 3 mins, check it, but don't leave it on for more than 6 minutes. Well, after about 5 mins I began removing it with the snazzy Rasera. It seemed to be working, smooth legs. But once I got it all off I noticed that I still had some stubble in places. No biggie, I just used my regular razor once I got in the shower.

Monday: I notice a little prickly, but not horrible stuff.

Tuesday: Stubble. Razor stubble. Ughh... I thought this stuff was suppose to keep me hair free for "days"!? What happened? I decided to give the VEET people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I didn't use it right the first time (although...I really don't know how in the heck you can screw it up...hmm). So, I gave it another go. The stuff isn't on for more the 30 seconds before my legs feel like they are on fire. Now...I should say that the directions read to test a small portion of your skin *every time before you use it*, which I didn't do. But regardless, the product didn't do what it claimed it would do: Leave my legs hair free for days longer than shaving and stubble free.

So, a few Benadryl and Ibuprofen later......my legs were still looking like a puffy raspberry, and stinging like crazy. Several hours later.....the swelling has gone down a little and the bumps are almost gone.

Bottom line:You can keep the VEET, I'm sticking to my Venus Breeze, thanks much! ;-)

Brady Landon is here!!!

2007-05-18T17:51:00.000-07:00

Brady Landon ~ born 18 May 2007

Hooray!! My new little nephew has finally arrived!! Brady Landon was born via C-section today at around 9am, weighing in at 8lbs 4oz 20 inches. He's soo cute! He looks just like his daddy.

My mom and I headed up to the hospital this morning hoping we'd be able to see my sister before they took her in, but we were too late. After sitting around waiting for almost 2 hours, with 2 very impatient toddlers, her Dr. came out to tell us all was well. My sister is having a rough go of things. She's very sensitive to pain meds and has been throwing up all day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for her.

It was funny, as I was holding him all I could think was.."I'm sooo glad your not mine!" Haha.. I just could not deal with another baby. LOL I even asked Ricky if seeing little Brady gave him baby fever, he just said.."Nope..not all all." I laughed.."Thank God! Me either!" LOL

Anyway, I can't wait to get some more pictures of him. I only had about 10 mins to snap some today. And he was really whiny, so..I was limited as to what I could get. I told him he better get used to the camera tho....having an Aunt who's a photographer and all....he's gonna be in front of the lens a lot! HA!!

Me and my new little nephew...Brady :-)

We finally have a date!

2007-05-11T17:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, for any family members that read this blog, and are wondering when the crap Meredith is going to have her baby...we have a date!! Provided that she doesn't go into labor on her own in the coming days, she has a C-Section set for Friday, May 18th. She wishes it was sooner but hey....what can ya do.

So, there ya go.

In other news....Ricky came up today for the weekend. I haven't seen him in 2 weeks so, it's really nice having him here. No idea what we are doing for Mothers Day yet...probably just Church and then maybe lunch, or breakfast depending on how early I can get up, at Silver Lake Cafe. It's this great little cafe up here that is only open from the end of April thru the end of October. They have the best Turkey sandwich ever!! And their breakfasts are freakin delish!!

Oh yes, Ashley is walking now. She took her first steps last week, and now she's all over the place. It's so cute to watch her toddle all over the place. :-) Cohen will hold her hand and cheer her on. It's too cute.

My mom flies out on Tuesday. I'm excited. Meredith and I are going to go up to Reno to get her. Then we'll do some shopping. I need some summer clothes. All mine are still in storage and it's starting to get hot. So, we're going to go to Old Navy and Target, maybe the mall. It all depends on how Mere is feeling. I at least need some flip flops and some capris. These jeans are killing me! LOL

Props to all the Single moms (and dads) out there

2007-05-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Originally, this was a "whiny-why me" post, but half way thru I thought I needed to change it, to an "ode to single moms" type of post.

Since January Ricky and I have, for the most part, been living apart. Not because of marital stuff, we are fine. :) It started with my going to my parents house in Michigan for 3 months while he worked with his dad in SoCal. In April he came to get us, but after only a week in SoCal, I came up to NorCal to help my sister, who is due to have her baby any day now. So essentially, for the past 5 months, I have seen my husband for about a total of 30 days. :( Now, that's hasn't been the worst of it. The worst of it has been dealing with 2 kids all alone.

The first 3 months I had my parents helping me, but now.....it's just me. And as my 2 little munchkins are both screaming in the background and I am about to jump off the nearest cliff.......I am feeling the need to let all your single moms (and dads) out there know how incredible I think you are!! To do this, raise children, all by yourself!! It's amazing. To work, shuttle kids to school, daycare, little league, and still have time to play games, and read them books at night.....I applaud you. I don't know how you do it. I only have two, and I can barley keep it together.

I start to feel sorry for myself, start wondering how in the hell I can make it thru one more day, then I think of the single parents of the world. And then...well, I feel about 2 inches high. If they can do it...so can I.

So, as Mothers Day approaches, I want to wish all my fellow mothers a wonderful Mothers Day. And to all those who are going it alone, remember that you are the bravest of us all. You, who are raising tomorrows teachers, doctors, lawyers, firemen, and perhaps even the next president... a special Happy Mothers Day to you. You ROCK!!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO US ALL!!

I'm still here...

2007-05-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

I've been soo busy I haven't had anytime to update. LOL

Well, shortly after we got to SoCal I had to go up to NorCal to help take care of my sister. She was put on bedrest, so I came up to take care of her. Long story short...I'm still here. LOL She's due anyday now, but I'm staying here til she delivers and then some. My mom is flying out here on Tuesday and will be here for 2 weeks. So, I'm staying here while she's here. Basically, I'm here for at least 3 more weeks. It's okay tho, I'm enjoying it and the kids are having a blast. The weather has been nice so that is a plus.

Tomorrow we are planning on going walking everywhere we can to get my sisters baby out. LOL I wanna head into Mammoth to the shops at the Village. They have this super cute little kid/baby store called Munchkins. They have Roxy, Billabong, Hurley, Qucksivler, Uggs, and all kinds of cutey stuff for little kids. Cohen really needs a zip up hoodie, as the evenings here are a little chilly still. And I saw a super cute Quicksilver one last time I was there. And Ash could always use a little top or two. ;-) Having a girl is so much fun. hehe I'm dying for my sister to have her baby so I can go buy it something cute from there. They have the neatest stuff for little ones.

My baby is 1!!

2007-04-23T09:32:00.001-07:00

My Ahsy Grace is one year old today! I can't even believe it! This last year has really flown by. We are having her party up in June Lake this weekend. It's the fishing season opening weekend there and so most of Ricky's family will be there so...we figured it'd just be easier to it that way. ;-) I just have a few last minute things to buy here and then I think I'm gonna head up there tonight. It all depends on how tired I am.

Anyway...getting back to my Ashley Grace... ;-) I remember the last month of my pregnancy with her like it was yesterday. I was soooo uncomfortable (and I wasn't even that huge) I was just sooo over being pregnant. I actually went to the hospital 3 times thinking I was in labor, only to get sent home an hour later. Ricky would take me for rides on the motorcycle almost everyday to try and get me to go into labor. i wonder what people must have thought seeing an almost 9 months pregnant chick riding around on the back of a motorcycle. LOL But..it didn't work. Actually..it wasn't until the Saturday before my due date (it was the 22nd, and I was due the 26th) Meredith, Stephanie and I all went walking around the mall for 5 hours. I was having contractions like every 10 or 12 minutes. I could still walk thru them, but they were getting worse. I was really thinking that this was it. We got back to my house and as soon as I sat down.....they stopped. I was soooo ticked!! All that walking for nothing. The rest of the night we all (me, Ricky, Mere and Daniel, Stephanie and Jared, adn Cohen of course) hung out at our house. We had a BBQ and then I'm pretty sure thatwas it. We went to bed and everyone else went back to Mere and D's.

At around 2am I awoke to some pretty bad contractions. I thought to myself. "I'm gonna time these for a 1/2 hour, and only then if they are at least 10 mins apart will I go to the hospital." I was soooo not gonna go there only to be once again, sent home. Well...I think I timed like 3 contractions and that was it. They hurt soooo bad! I woke Ricky up, got stuff together and off we went. I had to stop twice in the hall before we even got to L&D, they hurt so bad. By the time we got there and I got all hooked up it was 2:30am. We called Mere to come get Cohen. Then I had to wait an hour before they'd give me an epidural. They wanted to make sure I was truly in labor. So, at 3:30am they checked me again, and yup sure enough....I was. But then I had to wait another hour while they gave me an IV of fluid *before* I got the epidural. SO...at 4:30am, 2 hours after my contractions had started, I got my epidural. I spent the next few hours, throwing up, only a few times, but still..nasty. And trying to get some sleep. At 6:30am I was ready to push, so they got everything ready. I really couldn't feel anything, b/c of the epi, so it wasn't that bad. And 20 minutes later at 6:56am, Ashley Grace was born. :) It was a pretty easy labor. No complications, and I healed pretty quickly. The next few weeks I tried to adjust to life with a 2 year old *and* a newborn.

It's been a crazy year, but I can't imagine life with out her. She's just so cute, and seems to do something new everyday. She's definatly a keeper. ;-)

I'm going going back back to Cali Cali

2007-04-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Man that's an old song...hahaha Well, we made it here safe and sound. We've been here a week, and are still settling in. We've had pretty nice weather, a little rain here and there, but the wind....man o' man, these last two days were nuts!! I was afraid my car would tip over a few times. At least today it seems to have subsided.

The kids are doing well, they seem to like it so far. We managed to find a couple parks, so I think we may head over to one today so the kids can run around before it gets too insanely hot here. I think it's only supposed to get to like 75 or 80 today, so not to bad. Then this afternoon Ricky's younger brother has a baseball game down here so we'll go to that, then dinner with his fam. I also might drive up to June Lake tonight. I was gonna go tomorrow morning but, I may go tonight. It'll be an easier drive if the kids are sleeping the whole way.

I have a bunch of pictures from our drive, I'll post them later...time to get the kids dressed and what not. ;-)

1/2 way there....

2007-04-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well..after a little delay leaving Michigan we finally made it to Colorado Springs this mid-morning. It was a looooonnnnnggg drive, and for the record...Nebraska is reaaaallllly big, and it all looks the same! I was actually surprised that the north-eastern part of CO is really flat as well. We didn't see any mountains until we got to Denver, which is a HUGE city btw. I guess I just never realized how big it was. Oh ya, and I think I can safely say that I have seen more cows in these two past days that I have ever seen in my life!! CO is freakin' full of cow farms, at least the part we drove thru.

The kids have been doing really good. Cohen just ate his snacks and watched movie after movie the whole way her pretty much. And Ash either slept or played with her toys. I'm hoping they are good Thursday for the 10 hour drive to Utah. *fingers crossed*

Today we are just hanging out at Ricky's sister house, waiting for her DD to get home from school. Not sure what else we are gonna do.....honestly, getting back into the car is not real high on my priority list today. ;-) So who knows.....

Tomorrow Ricky has a Dr's appt here, so we'll be doing that, maybe go to the mall, walk around or something. If it's nice enough I'd like to take the kids to a park, so Cohen can burn off some energy.

We're off

2007-04-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we are heading out tomorrow morning for California. We'll be making some stops along the way; Colorado Springs to visit Rickys sister and then Utah to visit his other sister and get some of our stuff.

I'm excited, but sooo not looking forward to that loooooonnng drive. Anyway....gotta get some sleep!!

Love this...

2007-04-03T19:56:00.000-07:00

I've heard this poem before, as I'm sure many of you have as well. A friend, and new mom, sent it to me today. I shed a few tears reading it, as I always do. Wanted to share it with you. And if you are a mom, you may want a tissue or two handy. ;-)

Before I was a MOM......

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom

Crazy days

2007-04-03T12:23:00.000-07:00

Well....I've been pretty busy trying to get things together before Ricky gets here. He flies in tomorrow and then we'll be here thru Easter. Monday we're off! We're driving to Colorado Springs first to see his sister and pick up some stuff. Then we're heading to Utah to see his other sister and drop some stuff off to her, and pick up our stuff from our storage unit. We'll probably be in Utah a few days. I'm hoping to visit some friends but we'll see.

I can't believe that we're leaving in less than a week!! My time here has flown by. I'm going to miss my family and friends, but it'll be sooo nice to be with Ricky again. Have our family together again.

VOTE!! Please Vote!!!

2007-03-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

My friend Aubey has been competing in this online music competition for CMT. She has made it to the top 4!! And she needs all the votes she can get!!! It's sooo exciting! You can go to CMT Music Madness and click on her name (on the right side, top). The video is from 6 years ago, but... the song rocks. Please vote for her! If they win they all get a trip to Nashville, and I *think* they get to record the song.

Voting ends in one week, so...get to voting!!! tHaNkS!!

still....awake....

2007-03-20T01:27:00.000-07:00

um.....4:28am...still awake.....what is wrong with me? not tired.......though I really ought to be.....been surfing the web.......discovering photography sites of many uber talented people...like this girl ....great work....I'm feeling inspired.......I wanna take some pics....but it's dark and my favorite little subjects are asleep........sleep....that's what I need to be doing......

although...if I wait just a few more hours....I can catch the sunrise...what a gret photo op that would be......hmm...haven't stayed up this long in a very loooonnng time......

ack..what am I saying....I have 2 little people that will be rising in just 4 short hours.......can a person function on only 4 hours of sleep??..... I'll let you know tommorow.... ;-)

She's standing!!

2007-03-20T00:09:00.000-07:00

Oh my...where does the time go?! Our little baby is standing all by herself! No steps yet, at least none by herself. But she has started to let go of things and stand by herself for a bit. Tonite I was laying in bed on the laptop, while the kids played on the floor. Ashy was standing at the side of the bed, I wasn't really paying attention to her, but suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I see that she is standing all by herself, clapping. I got so excited for her.. "I said.."Oh Ashy!! YAY!" And clapped for her. Then she got all excited, started clapping and schreeching in delight that she fell back onto her bum. It was soo cute. I'm sure she'll be walking anytime now. Although...I'd be fine if she didn't for a few more months....after all...the soooner they can walk, the sooner they can run away from you. haha ;-)

Cohen is changing everyday as well. He's takling soo good now. I was worried, as some of you may know. He had alot of ear infections as a baby, and had tubes put in when he was about 2.5 years old. He wasn't really talking all that well, and I was starting to think we might need to take him into speech threapy, but...no need to be worried now. The kid's a little parrot!! I'm really having to watch what I say, even when I don't think he's listening. Case in point: My mom and I were driving home from Babies'r'Us today and we stopped to get some dinner, I was pulling thru the parking lot...talking about something, and said.. "What the hell.". Well...my little monkey-see-monkey-do in the back promptly said.."What the hell?!" It was actually kinda cute, and I laughed a little, but quickly scolded him. Hmm..whoops! It's not like I cuss 24/7, but..the occassional "mini swear" does slip out now and then. I need to watch that..... I don't need him dropping a swear in the middle of nursery at Church. ;-)

When will it end...

2007-03-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

I had this whole post involving certain people, and what I thought of them, but..... I have decided to take the high road.

I know that certain people will be coming to this blog in hopes of seeing some nasty remarks from me about the events that transpired last night, BUT...... they will find none. Even though there is much I'd love to say to her, yes....you know who you are. I will restrain myself. None of you are acting like adults, so I think I need to. All I will say is this..... LET IT GO!!! Seriously! Do you really have nothing better to do with your lives? Is it *that* lonely up there? Even the people who were originally involved have not started anything since they moved. I suggest you do the same.

Grow up, move on, let it go. Your lives will be better if you do. I have come to the conclusion that, I for one, do not need the added, useless stress in my life. I have other things to concern myself with.

If you find that you cannot let it all go, I pity you. For it is apparent then that you truly do have very little meaning in your lives, and not much else to live for. And for that, I am sorry.

I'm Having a PARTY!!

2007-03-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hey all!!! I'm having a Modbe Clothing Party! Check them out HERE. These are the cutest tops, skirts, and swimsuits you will ever see!! The party will be at my house on Friday, March 30th from 7pm-9pm.

It's an "open house" style party. Which means NO long presentation, and NO pressure to buy! You just come anytime between 7 and 9, try on some clothes, check out the new styles for spring, and order your faves. Couldn't be any easier!! These are seriously the greatest tops ever. I layer them under EVERYTHING! :c)

Not in my area? Or you can't make it? No problem! You can do a phone order. For just $8, Modbe will ship the clothes right to your door. Just make sure to call me before the party date.

I've posted this on all my messages boards, even sent out bulletins on MySpace. And if there is anyone that you know that might be interested in coming or ordering, please feel free to pass along the info to them. The more the merrier!!

If you want to come, or want to place a phone order, just leave a comment to this post with your email address and I will send you my info. :)

I'm soo geeked to host this party! I'm really hoping for a big turnout. I've done them before and they are great! So laid back, and fun. Hope to see you there!!

senior year..

2007-03-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday I had a photo session all the way out north of Detroit. I left at about 9:30am, and stopped by the gas station right across from my sub to get some gas. It was early and I was tired so I decided to get a cappuccino as well (yes I know..coffee is horrible for me...it's my one vice, and I'm trying!) As I was filling up my cup I recalled my senior year in high school. Which brings me to my "flash back moment of the week." ;-)

I loved High School. It really was some of the greatest years ever. I have many fond memories from my senior years especially. As I stopped by that gas station on Sunday, and got my cappuccino, I was pleased to see the same cappuccino machine they had when I was in high school. They even had my fave drink still, English Toffee. Yum! One sip and I was recalling all those cold mornings before school. I'd stop by the gas station, get my coffee, and continue onto school. I'd waltz into 1st hour, at least 20 mins late, every morning. My teacher, Ms. Saoud, would scold me. I'd giggle, and spit out an "I'm sorry." Needless to say....I was making up tardies right up until graduation day. (stupid attendance policy)

Ms. Saoud was great. She was my Drama teacher. I had the most fun in Drama class. It was due in part to the other kids that were in the class with me, as well Ms. Saoud. She was this crazy lady, who was seriously convinced that all the unexplainable things in life were created by "Aliens". No lie...she said they pyramids were built by aliens, crop circles, and may other things. She was defiantly a character. haha

As I continued my drive towards the clients home, I recalled another fond high school memory.

I had to drive down M-59 towards Pontiac to get to their house. Now, when I was in high school, senior year actually, I made that drive down M-59 to Pontiac many times. But it wasn't for clients, it was for Clutch Cargo. HAHA! Yes, those of you who grew up in Howell are laughing right now, I know it. Clutch Cargo was/is this club for 18 an older that my friends and used to go to, before we turned 21 and could actually get into the *good* clubs. ;-)

I remember getting all hootchied out to go there. I had this little black skirt that was so short it came with these itty-bitty shorts underneath. I'd do my hair, overdo the make-up, put on some little clubbin' top. I'm sure my dad came close to stroking out every time he saw me leave for Clutch. I seriously can't believe he let me go out looking like that! LOL My friends and I thought we were soo hot. Truthfully, we were. hehe.

Clutch seemed to attract an interesting group of guys. There were hotties there for sure, but there were also lots of not so hot guys. I remember sweaty, nasty foreign guys who wore waaayyy too much nasty cologne. They'd try get all up on me and my friends....gewww.

I haven't been there in years!! But as I drove by....I saw it was still there. I even heard a radio ad for it on my way to my appt. I had to laugh. Ahhh...good ol' Clutch Cargo. hehe.. good times..good times..

A moment to myself....few and far between

2007-03-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

How sad is it that I had to wake up at 7:30am to get a moment to myself. Such is life with an almost 3 year old and a 10.5 month old. So..I snuck downstairs and hopped on the 'puter. ;-)

I'm feeling a little ill today. It started last night, I went to bed with a sick feeling in my stomach. I woke up at around 2:30am feeling like I was gonna puke. I had the shakes, and this nasty taste in my mouth and my stomach..ugh. Oh ya..and did I mention that I had a 10.5 month old that was crying to be nursed. Ahh...the joy of being a mom.

The thing is, I CANNOT get sick this weekend. My little boy is going to be 3 on Saturday and we are having a big party for him. Not to mention I have a photo session on Sunday with a little preemie and her parents. The mom already had to cancel last weekend cause the baby and dad were sick. I can't cancel on them this weekend. So, I said a little prayer that if I had to be sick... "make me be sick on Friday and then be done with it." Well..I woke up feeling a little better, but..not 100%. I made some tea and......oh crap!! I left my tea in the microwave. Dangit!! :-(

Ah..and there are my little "alarms" crying on the baby monitor....."me" time is over. *sigh*

Ughh....I know it's hard on everyone...

2007-03-08T18:06:00.000-08:00

So, the kids and I have been staying at my parents house for about 2 months now. I realize it's hard on my mom and dad, who have been empty nesters for almost 2.5 years to all of a sudden have 3 people back living with them, 2 of whom are under the age of 4. BUT....does that mean that my dad can be a jerk about it? All he's done is criticize me, from how I deal with my kids, to how I clean, or don't clean. Whatever.. AGHHH!!!! *breathe*breathe* just a few more weeks...that's all....

I'm totally grateful that they let us stay with them for a bit, but it's really time for us to go.

a little bit about me...

2007-03-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

The family~ Ricky w/ Ashley, Me w/Cohen, My Mom and Dad, Meredith and Daniel.
Taken at Mere & D's wedding August 19th 2006

So..I thought I'd post a little bit about my family and my childhood. Just cause I know you are dyin' to know!! ^_^

I was born and raised in a little town (not so little anymore) about an hour outside of Detroit. I grew up on a lake, and lived in the same house from the day I was born until they day I got married. My parents have been married for 36 years and still live there. :) I have one sister, Meredith. She's 3.5 years my younger and one of my best friends. It wasn't always that way, but it is now and has been for awhile. (luv ya merd!)

Growing up on a lake was awesome!! I seriously cannot think of a better place to have experienced my childhood. Swimming all summer, ice skating all winter. It was the greatest. The neighborhood I grew up in was also close enough to town were my friends and I could ride our bikes up town during the summer and just hang out. If we were lucky, we could finagle $5 or $10 from our parents to spend however we pleased. Usually that meant treating ourselves to lunch at Hardees or Anthony's. We thought we were soo cool. And truth be told..we were. ;-)

My bike rinding buddies usually consisted of my BFF, Beth, her twin brother, Doug and one of his friends. Beth and I would maybe go to D&C to look around, buy some candy, and the boys would go to the hobby store and check out baseball cards. Then we'd ride back and take a swim in the lake. Later in our youth Beth and Doug got a pool...lets just say as we got older...we spent many nights and days in the pool. The lake was still great but to several middle schoolers, a pool was *really* great.

I can also recall walking uptown after school when I was in middle school. We'd walk to "Sufficient Grounds coffee house". Man did we feel cool, with our Italian Sodas and scones. LOL We'd also make a stop by the library and study. But only after we stopped by Gus's to grab a bag of bread sticks. I can still remember it....you'd buy a bag of bread sticks and go to the library and get a study room. The room would be filled with the aroma of old books and delish bread sticks. (and if you grew up with me you are nodding your head right now, and thinking of Gus's bread sticks....haha)

Ahh..the good ol' days. I could reminisce for hours and hours, but..I'll leave the rest of my memories for another day.

Back to my family, as I said I have one sister. I also have one husband, 2 kids and one very crazy dog. (I love him tho) I was married in San Diego on July 20th, 2000. It was very windy, but I looked fantastic, and so did my groom ;-). It was the greatest day of my life, next to the birth of my two kids anyway. My husband, Ricky, was born and raised in California. And I am soo sure that he is my soul mate it's not even funny. I had always said that I wanted to live in Cali, and God made sure that my prayer was answered. ^_^ Even tho I'm in Michigan right now...awaiting Ricky's arrival to take us back to SoCal with him....I am convinced that Cali is where I will live out the rest of my days (much to my mothers disappointment). Ricky comes for a very large family, 7 brother and sisters. A little much for a girl with only one sibling, and 3 cousins. But..in the 7.5 years we've been together..I've learned to adapt. And..as luck would have it...my one and only sister just so happened to marry one of Ricky's younger brothers this past August. The idea took awhile to grow on me, but now I would not have it any other way. What better thing that having your very own sister as your sister-in-law?! Plus, Ricky likes that he now has Daniel (her hubby) to hang with when we are visiting my parents.

I also have 2 great kids, Cohen who will be 3 on Saturday. ( I still cannot believe I have a 3 year old!) and Ashley, who will be 1 at the end of April. My kids are wonderful. I never thought I wanted any, but...I couldn't have been more wrong. They keep life interesting and it's so fun to watch them grow more and more each day.

On top of my kids I also have another baby, my photography business (see my other websites). I really feel like I have finally figured out what I wanna be when I grow up. A photographer. It's the greatest thing I have ever done (okay...besides being a mom..*wink*), and I can't believe I get paid to do it. It's a great gig, and I'm working on making it better and better all the time.

Well..that's pretty much me in a nut shell. I'm thinking I'll try and post a "memory" from my childhood once a week or more. It's fun to take trips down memory lane. For me anyway. ;-)

getting ready to move....

2007-03-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

my blog that is..hehehe. I've been at Yahoo 360! for awhile now, but I really like the set up of blogger so..I'm slowly moving over here. Not to mention my photog blog is over here and most of the blogs I read are on Blogger so.....

I'll put a post at my Yahoo blog with the link over here sometime this week. I'm even debating moving all the old posts from my Yahoo blog over here. We'll see how ambitious I am. ;-)