On the Road Again!

He got it! Starting March 22nd, Braden will be working in Minnesota! We just found out yesterday and now have 2 weeks to get things packed and ready to go. We've been talking about all the options, what rental trucks to use, which route to drive, what day to leave, and all the other crazy details that this move will entail.

As excited as we are for the move, we are also broken-hearted at the reality that we will be leaving family, friends, and wonderful memories behind. Yes, we will be moving toward other family, new friends, and new memories, but our 4 years here have been wonderful. Thank you!!

TGIF!!

WOW! I had a fun time last night!! It was almost as much fun as planning it. I've had a bunch of people ask what we did, so I thought I'd blog about it sooner rather than later.

I asked a lot of people for advice on what to do for my birthday date and got a lot of great ideas. My SIL's suggestion was to do something that we've always wanted to do in AZ before we move away. We had scavenger hunt suggestions, restaurant progressive dinner suggestions, birthday club suggestions...

So we combined a little here and a little there. We weren't able to do everything I had planned, but here's what we DID do:

First of all, my cousin and her family offered to have all three girls stay at their home OVERNIGHT! I still can't believe I let my 6 month old sleep somewhere else overnight, but I'm SO glad we didn't have to take her with us. It was wonderful to be fully child free. But get this. My cousin has 6 kids. She invited over 2 other nieces to spend the evening and help take care of the girls. So 8 kids. Plus my 3...so 11. PLUS, she had another niece that she's been taking care of for most of the week...another infant. So she had 2 infants, 1 two-year-old, 2 three-year-olds, and then seven other kids between the ages of 5 and basically 13. CRAZY. And she did it with grace and a smile.

That's why we gave them this as a thank you (for three years of watching our girls and being SO gracious):

My friend's husband is a professional photographer (his site here) and took this GORGEOUS picture of the Mesa Temple. I love it. Then, I bought the materials and my uncle (this same cousin's dad) and I built the frame. Really, he built it and I told him what I wanted. It turned out beautifully. We're making 3 more next week because Braden really wants one too. We're trying to get one of the Mt Timp temple where we were married, but we'll have to see if we can get one we love.

Anyway, so we left our kids there and went with my BFF Jill and husband John on our double date. I am going to dedicate an entire post to Jill and John because I adore them so much, but suffice it to say there is no one else I could have gone on this adventure with. You guys rock!

I had spent a few days signing up for every birthday club imagineable (hence the strange emails some of you got from me...sorry! A hacker got into my account...probably from one of those birthday club sign-ups!).

So first, we went to TGI Fridays for a free appetizer. We got it to go and put our names in for a table at Red Robin, then went to the truck and sat in the back and ate our appetizer while we waited for our table to be ready. Then we got a free burger at RR and John and Jill got $3 off their meal. I love RR's freckled lemonade, so I had about 5 of those. After that, we went to Baskin Robbin's for a free ice cream cone. I got Daquiri Ice (thankfully dairy free) which has been my favorite ice cream since I was little. I still love it! I hadn't had it in YEARS. Then we went to Dairy Queen for a buy one, get one free Blizzard (for John and Jill). Then we went to Cold Stone for a free like-it creation for Braden. And finally, we went to the drive-in movie and saw "When in Rome."

That was my favorite part. We put a blowup mattress in the back of John's truck...which doesn't have a big back. So here we are, four adults crammed on an air mattress that is CRAMMED into the back of this truck. As Jill said, we were all spooning with each other. Thankfully, we put me and Jill in the middle so it wasn't awkward. Like I said, there isn't another person I could have done that with! The movie was cute and it was great to go to the drive-in. We had wanted to go for the last 3 1/2 years but always thought it was further than it really is. I couldn't believe that it was just over Tempe Lake!

The movie got out at 11:30 or so and we had a sleepy drive home. We hit the sack and Braden still got up at 6 to play ball. I got to sleep in a little longer before we went to pick up our kids. They had a great time, though VERY little sleep. So we had a monster of a day with these two (mainly one) excessively grumpy kids. But they are all asleep now, so life is good.

Now for the rest of the list. If you are having a birthday come up or are looking for something to do for FREE, here's some places to check out:

Baskin Robbin's-birthday club for free scoop of ice cream (cup or cone), no purchase necessary

Cold Stone-birthday club for free like-it creation, no purchase necessary

Dairy Queen, birthday club for BOGO Blizzard, no purchase necessary, and eClub for BOGO Blizzard, no purchase necessary

TGI Fridays-Give Me More Stripes for Line Jump Pass and Free Appetizer or Dessert, no purchase necessary

Red Robin-birthday club for free burger, no purchase necessary, and eClub for $3 off purchase

Fuddruckers-birthday club for free burger, no purchase necesasry, and eClub for burger, fries, and drink for $7 flat

Black Angus-birthday club for free steak dinner with purchase of entree, on actual birthday with ID

Krispy Kreme-go in ON BIRTHDAY for free dozen glazed donuts, with ID (call your store to make sure they do this...Superstition Springs DOES)

Stratum Laser Tag-eClub for free game (probably 15 minutes)

Dave & Busters-eClub for $10 free game play

Scottsdale 6 Drive-in-eClub for $1 nachos with admission purchase

Joe's Farm Grill-$10 toward purchase ON BIRTHDAY with ID

Joe's Real BBQ-$10 toward purchase ON BIRTHDAY with ID

I really wanted to do laser tag and Dave & Buster's but we ran out of time. In the end, we had a great time anyway. On Monday (my real birthday) we're going to Joe's Farm Grill and Real BBQ for a free dinner...and then we'll get some Krispy Kremes on the way home. Yeah, they have HFCS in them, but no HYDROG! So we're going!! I do love Krispy Kremes...

So there you have it, a whole list of free things to do. I wanted to show how much money we saved, but since we didn't go as many places as I planned and since we didn't only get the free stuff, it wouldn't be that impressive. But it was still so fun and I am so grateful for J&J, especially for their friendship. What will we do without you!?!?!

Thanks for everyone's ideas! I'll post a couple pics soon...(hey Jill, could you email me those pics...?)

Two More Days...

My exciting birthday celebration is in just under 2 days...any more great ideas?! I'm still trying to come up with something great!

for those who have asked, my birthday is NOT on Friday...it is on Monday...

Practically Perfect In Every Way

These posts are backwards. I did the post on Taryn, then the post on Avery, and then decided I needed to highlight Keara too. I don't have any recent pics of Keara that haven't already been posted, so I'm pulling some that you've already seen. We'll be doing this again in a month for her birthday, but here's a preview.
I don't know where I'd be without Keara. We butt heads a lot because I expect WAY too much from her. I have to remind myself often that she is only three. I'm sure that's a first-born syndrome, but she is so responsible, so smart, so...everything. She's the best helper, the best friend, the best sister, the best listener, the most responsible kid. But she has her moments. Some days, they are hours rather than moments. Some months they are weeks, rather than hours. But under the totally normal three year old behavior, lies a truly special kid who has a heart of gold.

I love spending individual time with Keara. It doesn't happen often enough. So we try to make moments as much as possible. Like in the mornings (if she comes in without waking Taryn first) she always wants to talk. She's really into "talking" lately. We do it in the mornings, before naps, and at bedtime. I hope she always wants to talk. We talk about all sorts of things. Weird things, hard things, feelings, frustrations, hopes, dreams, mundane, exciting, things she did, things I did, things she wants to do...everything that she can think of to talk about.

Keara is a great friend. She loves being alone and playing according to her own rules, but there is nothing quite like being with people for Keara. She often asks me to play with her or says, "I need a friend to play with me!" She can create activity on her own, but prefers collaborating with a friend.

She is an amazing mommy. We saw it when she was a year and a half old with her baby dolls (younger with real babies, but she wasn't around them that much). And she's stayed true to that inner love. She loves babies, she loves taking care of things and people. And she always finds a way to include. Taryn drives her crazy, sometimes, but she is also her very best friend.

(with cousin Alana)

Every day, Keara can be found either holding, changing, dressing, carrying, or playing with Avery...or all of the above. She loves to get her dressed and to get her out of her nap. Yes, she gets her OUT of the crib and carries her down the stairs all on her own...I know!
Keara is also ALL girl! She LOVES LOVES LOVES pink and insists on wearing pink every day. She only wants to eat off the pink plate or bowl. She loves to dress in skirts and wear her "black bow shoes." She is hoping for an all pink birthday party, with pink cupcakes, pink frosting, pink ice cream, and I'm sure, pink pizza. I don't know how that'll work, but since she also wants to live in a pink house and drive a pink car, I'm sure she'll want pink pizza.

Keara is the perfect first born and I need to let her be three. But she is so amazing and such an amazing kid that I know we expect miracles from her. I'm loving watching her mind develop as she is understanding more and more and getting so ready for school. She has such a sweet disposition and a sweet heart. I love being in Primary with her, even if she doesn't sing. She still is listening and learning. I wish I could get her to sing "I Know That My Savior Loves Me" for the camera. She knows it all and sings it a few times a day. Taryn even knows the words too now. I love being in the other room and hearing Keara asking Taryn to sing that with her. So sweet!

These girls are the greatest! How did we get to be so blessed?!

Avery Goose

Baby love. That is what this baby is! She is a dream. She is laughing so much that she cracks up. She is so ticklish and loves being tickled. She thinks peek-a-boo is hilarious. She is rolling all over the place, even fully swaddled. She loves being thrown in the air or dropped suddenly (of course, not DROPPED, but you know what I mean...).

She snuggles, cuddles, and just loves being held. She loves all people and is quick to smile. She doesn't like being left alone but always wants to be where the action is. She loves her sisters and is SO patient with them.

She has been eating solids for a couple weeks and DOWNS them. She'll finish off a whole cup full of rice and applesauce.

She's been sleeping thru the night (finally!) for a while now. She was definitely my hardest to get to sleep thru the night. She stopped eating in the night when she was 10-12 weeks old, but kept waking for her binkie just the same. We're finally past that! (except she did wake up last night...odd...)
She wants to sit up SO badly. She has opinons and lets you know it, but is also so content that she just goes along with everything (unless, of course, she has an opinion AGAINST it).

I still love that she loves her mommy most of all! I just love having her around and think it doesn't get much better than this! I can't believe she is 6 months old. Where did that time go? Please, slow down!

Taryn: Large and In Charge!

Here's a spotlight on Taryn. She is just so photogenic...most of the time...and I love her smiles! Today has been a very exciting day for Taryn (though she doesn't know it).

I took T to her allergist today. She had a blood test done a couple weeks ago and today we went for a skin test and to find out the results from the blood test. GOOD NEWS! All her levels have dropped. She is now declared as pretty much NOT allergic to dairy! We're going to challenge the allergy over the next few days at home to make sure she's grown out of it, but what a relief!! She's been tolerating milk and cheese so much lately as we've put it in her diet more and more, but she still hasn't had a drink of milk ever in her life. So, we're working on her being able to have a full glass of milk with no reaction. If we can do it, she will be officially allergy free (for dairy!)

YEAH!!! Now, if only Avery wasn't allergic to dairy, we'd be officially back on milk in our family. I guess we'll keep waiting...

As for her other allergies, she is cleared for all nuts except peanuts. So she can have pecans, walnuts, cashews, almonds (with supervision still), hazelnuts, macademia nuts...yeah! So chocolate covered almonds, here she comes! She's still high for peanuts, but whereas her levels were 8.56 in 2008, she's now 7 point something, so at least it is decreasing. She's never had a reaction to peanuts, but we'll still keep her away from it as much as possible for another year. Then we'll probably challenge it too.

Then, with eggs, she went from 12.31 to 3.56...BIG drop! But still definitely allergic. She can eat eggs baked in things and even tolerate things like crepes. But she can't handle raw eggs (as evidenced in this post) and probably can't have straight scrambled eggs yet. We'll also challenge that in a year or so.

The allergist did think that maybe her allergies are causing her to have frequent ear infections, though she never complains about them so I never know she has them until we go to the doctor. "WOW!! Did you know she has a raging ear infection?" Nope.

I love this girl. She is a wonderful example to me. I love her tenderness, her love, her innocence, her purity. I love her big hugs and "I love you too much mom". I love 'seeing' her mind work as she reasons and comes up with the funniest things to say. I love how much she talks. I love her craziness. I love spending one-on-one time with her. Ahh...I love this kid!

Taryn just lives. She does whatever comes to mind, often without thinking. And then Keara follows her lead. This day, Taryn saw the water running, so she climbed in...clothes and all. Since she didn't get in trouble, Keara figured it was worth doing too!

Taryn's whole life is lived like this!!! Full of life and joy! Passion is her middle name. I love it!! Yes, it is the greatest challenge to bridle that passion and help her understand decorum and appropriateness, but I LOVE how alive and excited she is with EVERYTHING. Nothing is dull in this kid's life! What a blessing she is to our family!

She Ain't Heavy...She's My Sister!

Well, that may not be exactly how it goes, but I loved this tender moment.

Taryn really wanted to ride Keara's bike and mom and dad were busy, so Keara filled in.

Lava, Our Dog...For a Day

So, remember this post about our dog? We enjoyed Lava for a few days, but I have to admit, I felt great anxiety the whole time she was here.

After a couple days, I ran a quick errand and when I came home, the girls were napping, so I didn't think much about Lava. But as soon as Keara woke up, she wanted to go play with the dog (which entailed crying because she's TERRIFIED of dogs...). But when I went outside to find Lava, I discovered she had dug herself out of the yard! The dog we were trying to rescue had escaped...

We canvased the neighborhood, and thankfully a neighbor had seen her following someone on their bike. They recognized the bike laying in front of a home around the corner. So after looking around the neighborhood for a while, we went back to that house. A bunch of people were standing outside, so we asked and sure enough, Lava had not only followed them home, but followed them IN!

We got her back and were grateful our efforts had not been completely foiled.

The next day, I had more errands to run and I felt strongly that she would escape again and that I should take her to my friend's house for the day. But I didn't have time, so I called and left a message with my friend to pick Lava up. She didn't get the message. However, she is so in tune with the spirit that she happened to come over anyway...only to find Lava wandering the streets!! Houdini!

Thankfully, she took her home safe and sound. Her mom wanted to take Lava anyway, so it worked out just great. We went over and said goodbye. Lava (now Penny) will lead a lavish, pampered life in her new home.

You can't really tell in this picture, but my friend's mom has another dog that looks EXACTLY like Lava. She's right next to me...Lava is in my lap. This is the closest Keara would get. A couple seconds late, she got up and ran inside, screaming...

But Taryn LOVED the dog and didn't mind her jumping on her, licking her, and following her around. She thought it was hilarious.

Enjoy your life, little puppy! We enjoyed you for a couple days! Thank goodness I can now say we had a dog so we'll never have to get one again. I'm still not a dog person!

Valentine's Celebrations

Wow, I'm behind. Okay, Valentine's Day was almost 2 weeks ago...yeah.

Here's our celebrations in pictures. As you know, I love cookies, I love to eat cookies, I love to make cookies, I love to decorate cookies...So we made pretty Valentine's Day cookies, complete with dairy free frosting. LOVE!

They were DELICIOUS and I couldn't get enough. I love this recipe for cookies. They aren't your traditional sugar cookies (no cream of tartar!) but they are PERFECT and absolutely delicious. Mmmm! (Thanks, Sunny!)

The girls wanted to help, so I gave them each a clump of dough. Keara, of course, cut out perfect cookies that we could bake. Taryn, on the other hand...

Hmmm...these cookies had egg in them, so smearing the dough all over her face wasn't the BEST idea...

Nothing a little Benadryl can't fix! Good as new.

Then, on Valentine's Day itself, Keara wanted to make MORE cookies that she could "paint" herself. So, unfortunately, I just HAD to make (and eat) more cookies. My tummy (and waist) thank me.

Pretty!

Pretty gross...Looks like snot... (looks like frosting, but it's snot...)

Anyway, I still have an addiction to cookies and I didn't take my sister's advice and start a non-cookie diet on the 15th. Here it is the 24th and I had a few cookies yesterday. And I'll probably have more tomorrow. Oh well.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

I need some ideas. I think birthdays should be special. I think Valentine's Day is great, but a bit over rated. Braden's birthday is just a month before V-Day and mine is just 2 weeks after, so V-Day is just an excuse for a date (though this year's date doesn't even qualify as a date, it was a LAME excuse for a date). Anyway, birthdays are different. I like mine and I like feeling special.

Hence, the problem. We are such boring people!! We can't think outside of the "dinner and a movie" box so our dates are redundant and bland. So, I'm coming to you for ideas!

My birthday is in just a week and a half and I want to have fun! But I just don't even have an idea of what to do. I'd love some great ideas you've done or heard of for cheap, fun, exciting, entertaining dates. It can involve dinner and a movie too, but at least more exciting than the same-ol'-same-ol'.

How about group things? What fun things have you heard of/done with 4+ people? It can be silly, totally college-esque, but it has to be fun and enough to make you laugh. There's nothing I like better than laughing, truly laughing.

How should I celebrate my birthday?

Winner gets a batch of cookies or loaf of bread...your choice

...unless you don't live here. Then you'll have to wait til I'm near you again.

Make Your Day

If you get a chance, click on the song "Gimme Gimme Gimme" in my playlist. Needless to say, it is NOT Abba. Who knows who it is!?! But its enough to make my sister (and now me) laugh every time we hear it.

Corn...It's What's for Dinner (and breakfast, and lunch, and everything else you eat)

So, my friend Jill has gotten on a anti-high-fructose-corn-syrup kick. I'm proud of her. She's also avoiding hydrogenated oils, which has been a little bit of a soap box of mine for the last few years since my mom went crazy against them too and started educating us. Anyway, we avoid them at all costs. Now Jill does too. You can read a little about what she knows here.

Anyway, one of her points is that high fructose corn syrup has been on the rise in all our store bought, manufactured products. And, at the same rate, so has the obesity in our country. It is not good for you, it is not good for our bodies, it is not good for our weight. So, she's trying to cut it out of her diet.

I've always believed that most of what I feed my family should be completely homemade. I don't do a lot of boxed, canned, or premade foods. I'll use fruit, veggies, and tomatoes from the can, but not much beyond that. I'll make brownies every once and a while from a box, but I love making them from scratch. I make my own bread crumbs from my own bread, make my own chicken and beef broths and gravys, make my own spice mixes (a lot of store bought mixes have hydrog in them), and a bunch of other things.

So, after reading Jill's blog, I thought I'd dtake a quick peek in my fridge to see what has HFCS in it. Since I don't do a lot of the other boxed/canned stuff, I just looked in my fridge. And guess what...I don't think a lot of people could survive off a non-HFCS diet. We are so used to the simple things that have it in them. Here's the list of what was in my fridge that would be taboo:

*ketchup
*barbecue sauce
*miracle whip
*mayonnaise
*jam (we were given some...normally ours is homemade)
*pickles
*steak/chicken marinade
*ranch dreasing
*worchestershire sauce
*bagels
*root beer (duh...but it happened to be in the fridge)

None of those things seems "bad for you" and all of them are things people who are healthy use on a daily basis. But the point is, they are manufactured, processed, chemical combinations that are just not natural. When we found out about Taryn's allergies, I came to believe strongly in God-Made-Foods rather than Man-Made-Foods. I think all the processing, manufacturing, and chemical-ing that goes on in our food is not only what is making us fat, but is causing so many diseases and cancers, allergies, and a slew of other problems.

A couple other things that might surprise: Cornflakes (at least the generic brand) has it in it. And most peanut butters. We only buy all natural that is nuts and salt, but all other types are basically peanut flavored shortening with HFCS mixed in. "Here, honey, have a heart attack on a sandwich." As Jill discovered, canned tomato soup is chock full of it. Cake mixes...happy birthday to you.

Anyway, not to get on a soap box, but I'm grateful for Jill's determination. I'm not saying that I'm going to follow suit and completely eliminate HFCS from my diet (I love BBQ sauce...) but I definitely am even more resolved to cook as much as possible as though stores don't exist. I will continue to use as many natural, God-Made-Foods as possible. That being said, I do not mean organic, or whatever. I know that man still messes with fruits and veggies, but at least its better than other alternatives.

So, that's that.

How Much is that Doggie in the Window?

It's not a secret that I don't like dogs. I ESPECIALLY don't like big, slobbery dogs, or little yippy dogs. I hate it when they jump up on you. I hate it when they slobber all over you. I hate it when they won't leave you alone. I hate it that they are so clumsy and way too excited for their own good. I hate it when they bark. And bark. And bark. I hate how they destroy your yard and you can't play freely in it because you always have to watch out for "droppings". Oh, and Taryn and I are allergic to dogs.

So, I could be considered one of the LAST people in the world to befriend a stray or lost dog. Hmm...

On Tuesday, the girls and I were at the park and we saw this little dog scouring the park for food. She was so hungry. And the park is on the main road in our community so I worried she'd get run over. She was terrified and shaking. Something pulled on my heartstrings and we worked to coax her over so we could catch her and take her home.

We brought her home, put her in the yard, gave her food and water and a little bed and tried to help her calm down. It's been 2 days and I have to admit, she's the best dog I've ever met. She's beautiful, sweet, gentle, good with the girls (even Taryn pulling her by her leg), doesn't bark, loves to play, and doesn't cause me or Taryn problems with our allergies. She does jump up and kiss you, but she's a small dog, so she's not slobbery.

Keara named her Lava and she is such a GREAT dog! She has a beautiful coat, doesn't appear to have worms, ticks, or fleas, and poops in the same location every time (the back corner of our garden). I can tell she really wants to be inside, not out, because she cries softly at the door, but there's no way we're bringing her inside. So out she'll stay until we can find her a home.

I took her to PetCo and happened to catch the contracted vet service gals there as they were leaving. They found she doesn't have a microchip, so we couldn't find out her owners. They also told me she's about 5 months old. They think she's a chihuahua weenie mix...a Chiweenie. They were amazed by how well behaved she is. If I wanted a dog, I'd love to have this one.

But, Lava can't stay. If she looks familiar to you or you know who she belongs to, please help me find her owners. Assuming they even want her. If not, if you have a very loving home and want an indoor chiweenie, email me or leave a comment. I hate to part with her, but I know we can't give her the right home.

What's Going On...

I know a lot of you out there are wondering the latest status on our lives. So here it is...

We are trying to have faith. Faith that the best will work out for our family. Faith that we are making the right choices. Faith that all things will work together for our good. Faith that we'll be able to do everything we need to in the amount of time we have. Faith that we will be watched over.

Right now, life is really good. Braden really enjoys his work and he is loved at his work. He just received another award for outstanding performance company wide. He also just had his review and did amazing. The last review he had, he was awarded the highest raise his manager had ever given out. Well, this time, he beat that. I am very proud of him and how hard he works. He is often approached with opportunties to participate in exclusive training courses or to apply for managerial positions because all his superiors love him. He has the best numbers in his division and does awesome at his job.

That being said, we also feel very strongly that it is time for us to move out of Arizona and head to Minnesota. So we put our house on the market at the end of December and just got an offer on it yesterday. Hopefully it will be accepted by the bank and we can close in the next couple months. Hopefully.

After applying for a whole bunch of jobs, and hearing nothing, Braden has now been interviewing with an online school in Minneapolis. He's made it thru the first 3 interviews and has 2-3 more to go. We're just waiting for them to schedule the 4th interview, which should be next week. After that, if they want him, he'll have 2-3 weeks to get packed and moved to MN. If he doesn't get the job, we'll start the process all over again and hopefully come up with something else.

So, we're trying to have faith that this move is the right thing to do. When Oliver Cowdery was acting as scribe in translating the plates, the Lord told him,

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldsnt not have come to the place where thou art at this time. Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth; yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart."

Later, He told him, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" (Doctrine and Covenants 6:14-16, 22-23)

I love those verses. We are trying to have faith and rely on the witnesses, the inspiration, the quiet whisperings of the Spirit, the light and truth we have felt as we have prayed and prayed about this decision. It is hard to keep perspective and not feel doubt as Braden is offered a better job here and a big increase in pay, while applying for a job in MN where he will be at the bottom again and take a pay cut. But we know what we have felt and we know what we know, so we move forward in faith.

Hmm Hmm Hmm Hmm-hmm-hmm Hmm...

then you must also talk when you are brushing your teeth. We we were younger, my sister Kerri and I would have full conversations that sounded just like that. We'd do it in the mornings while we were getting ready for school. I've come to find out that Braden does not understand me, so I have to talk with my mouth open (heaven forbid I wait 2 minutes until I'm done brushing...). However, Taryn is quite fluent. This morning, she got me something while I was brushing my teeth and I said, "Hmm hmm." She said, "You're welcome, Mommy."

I LOVE Tax Season!

I live for February. I love tax season. I know that will quickly change as Braden gets his CPA license, but for now and for the last 5 years, I love tax season. And I finished my taxes 2 days ago. SWEET. More than tax season, I love refunds...

I Got My Bike!

I found a bike and bike trailer on craigslist! I love craigslist.

This is the trailer I found, not the bike. But I got them both practically new and for a great price. Thanks mom and dad for the early birthday present you didn't know you got me! We go on bike rides about 3 times a day and the girls do great!

Hello, My Name is Cheri, and I'm Addicted

To cookies, that is. I have a major problem, as my mom would say. I love cookies. I love them so much that I can't help myself. If they're around, I like to eat them. All of them. I try my best, but its just not enough. I have some oreos in the house but I don't think about them, though I love oreos. But when I think, "Hmm...I'll have an oreo," I end up having like 10.

So don't buy cookies. I know. I don't (besides the oreos). My second addiction is baking and cooking. I LOVE to bake and cook. So, when I'm bored or wanting to do a project with the girls, I bake. And usually, we bake cookies.

So I try to put them in the freezer, but its only a matter of days before I've eaten all the ones in the freezer. Braden often takes them to work, but I just love them so much I can't give them ALL to him.

I need help. Sort of. Its not really an addiction I want to give up. But I do want to give up these last few pounds, so I need to do something.

Problem is, next week is Valentine's Day and I've been DYING to make pretty Valentine's Day sugar cookies. I can't wait. But that means I'm going to be eating more cookies...

Snow?

During that storm system(s) that wracked the country, we got our little bit of winter mixed with the rain. Yeah, its hail, but we'll pretend it is snow.

Avery's Latest

I love this baby. I can't say it enough. She is just so pleasant to be around, smiles up a storm, cracks up so easily, is playing with her toes, trying desperately to roll over, loves to sit (with support, of course), loves snuggling, loves eating, loves sleeping, loves her sisters, is SO ticklish, and thinks her mom is the greatest in the world.

She's started doing this spitting thing and does it over and over all the time. She'll be eating and stop to spit, telling me she's done.

Re-Purposing Old Clothes

I had a bag of clothes that I was going to give away. I was looking around on Make It and Love It and saw how she used a skirt and a shirt to make a dress. So I decided to try it out.

I think it turned out pretty good. A little homemade looking, but at least we have a dress that fits.

So I thought I'd try to make a sweater dress from one of my old favorite sweaters. But the neck was too low, so it ended up a shirt dress as well.

These pictures crack me up. Apparently, Taryn needs some serious help learning to keep her eyes open...

"HEY TARYN!!!"

Keara looks terrible in this picture, but at least you see the whole dress. I've since added a ribbon tie, but I'm going to take it off and try something else.