off to the trailer park we go...

When Olivia was born with hair like this:


I naively envisioned long locks of brown hair falling down her back and thick bouncy pig tails in her near future. Smitten with love for this new little bundle of joy, I neglected to take this into account:


Look closely. Do you see it? She has a clearcut case of "old man hair" - thick around the edges and sparse on top. Maybe I did see it back then, maybe I just didn't want to- I was holding on very tightly to dreams of those dadgum piggy tails.

And now, 19 months later, my sweet little thing is most definetly engaged in the biggest hair-challenged experience of her little life- the mullet. I kid you not. I know she needs a little more length in the back to compete with the mullet enthusiasts of our day, but as a mother, is that something I can allow?


Today I decided something must be done. What can I do for this baby? She will look back and wonder why I never did anything to get her on the fast track to that beautiful hair I so dreamed of. I try, I really do. A headband lasts about 15 seconds before it is ripped off and stuffed in her mouth. A hat is gone before I can place it on her head. She doesn't even have enough hair to make a poof on top. So today, in an attempt to reclaim some of my dreams for this child and her glorious head of hair (or lack thereof), we introduced this new do:


I lovingly refer to this masterpiece as "glorified rat tail". Glorified only because there is a bow involved. It appears we may need to put her little bike up on blocks in the front yard, buy her some tube tops, and change her name to Brandeen.

Praise to the Man

Since the passing of President Hinckley on Sunday, I've been reflecting on my life and the way in which I feel he has impacted my life as a prophet of God. For me personally, he has been a very comforting prophet. I have always felt uplifted listening to him. His perspective on life was beautiful and he always managed to turn discouraging things into positive things. I have at times found myself feeling down or overwhelmed by kids, callings, or just the general state of the world. And wouldn't you know it, there is President Hinckley reminding me of what a great mother and Daughter of God I am. Always reminding me of my potential and patting me on the back saying "keep up the good work." Amazing. I love it. I feel that as a member of the church I have been so blessed to be taught by him and to have felt of his love for me and for the Lord. He has said so many amazing things that have impacted my life for good. Here and there I find something he has said that really speaks to me on a certain day or during a certain situation in my life. And today, I like this one:

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us...If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

Getting to know ME

My friend Natalie emailed me this "getting to know your friends" thing. Honestly, I have never answered one of these in my life. But since I figure it was rather painful for Natalie to do it, I figure I can do it. Instead of emailing it to everyone, I thought I would post it here- add to the fun, ya know? This is a first for me people, be kind. Oh, and while I'm rambling on, I also have to mention that I'm not so good at the one word answers. I'm a bit wordy, if you haven't noticed. I am also NOT a favorites person. I don't have favorites. I like everything. Well, mostly everything. I'm weird that way. I can't pick one thing to save my life. Seriously, me and a multiple choice test is a major disaster waiting to happen. I can talk every answer into being the right answer. Now if that doesn't tell you anything about me and highschool... Here goes- and feel free to do this on your blog as well. I'm going to be checking (no pressure).

1. What time did you get up this morning? I tossed and turned all night but wasn’t actually forced out of bed until about 8:00 when Livvy woke up. Isn't that awesome? I would not be a happy camper if I had to wake up at 5:45 with Dave everyday. He doesn't like getting up that early either which is why he dislikes that I am more of a night person trying to keep him awake chatting and such.
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds (but I really do love pearl earrings!)
3. Last movie you saw in the theater? We took the kids to see the Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D- I don't think I have seen one since- Dave will have to correct me if I am wrong.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Do I have to pick one? I hate this! The office.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? I don’t really love breakfast, unless it’s bacon, eggs, and hash browns. That said, I usually force down either yogurt, toast, or leftovers
6. What is your middle name? Anne (Anne with an E! I’ve always loved that- way to go mom and dad!)
7. What food do you dislike? Generally, I like all food. I'm kind of piggy that way. I complain to Dave that he is too picky and his response is “You just like everything so if I don’t like one thing, I’m picky.” Whateva! If I must choose, one time Dave’s brother hauled us to a fancy restaurant where they placed scallops on top of my steak- I didn’t like them AT ALL. I even like seafood but something about those just grossed me out and I don't ever want to eat them again. Not ever. And I had a bad experience with prime rib when I was pregnant.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Wicked soundtrack
9. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Sienna
10. Favorite sandwich? Since I can’t think of an actual sandwich with a name, from a place, I’ll just tell you what I love on a sandwich- turkey, avocado (not guacamole), olives, tomato and really about anything else I can pile on there. Yum!
11. What characteristics do you despise? selfishness
12. Favorite item of clothing? White Downeast t-shirts that I wear under practically everything.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go? Right now I just want to go to Hawaii.
14. What color is your bathroom? So boring and so tan colored.
15. Favorite brand of clothing? I like buying my clothes at Maurices.
16. Where would you retire? Are you kidding me? We are way too far away to even think about this. That said, Dave has been saying St. George so that he can play golf all year but I’m leaning toward anywhere the majority of my kids are.
17. Most memorable birthday? My 30th was fun because Dave planned a surprise party for me! How cool is that? Then there was that surprise party back when I was 15 that I helped my friend Katie plan… yeah… I really shouldn’t admit to these things.
18. Favorite sport to watch? I don’t really enjoy watching sports. I guess I watch Jazz basketball more than anything.
19. Who do you expect to send this back to you? I’m actually only sending this to the person that sent it to me and then posting it on my blog so I guess this doesn’t apply. I know I’m sort of party-pooperish when it comes to things like this.
20. Favorite saying? Seriously
21. When is your birthday? April 28
22. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night! I really want to be a morning person. I accomplish so much when I get up early but I’m just so tired in the morning (probably because I stay up late. Ha!)
23. What is your shoe size? 7-7 ½
24. Pets? No pets here…EVER. Well, my brother-in-law Mike did bring over goldfish and put them in our water feature in the front yard. I figured that was an instant death sentence. However, one of those things lasted the whole summer. Crazy stuff.
25. What did you want to be when you were little? I can’t remember that far back.
26. What are you today? I stay at home and am bossed around by small children. It’s lovely. Mostly I am a pee cleaner-upper. Sad but true.
27. What is your favorite candy? Ehhh…don’t love candy so much.
28. Your favorite flower? I wouldn’t say I really have a favorite flower but I do love the smell of roses. I planted a few in my yard last Spring just for that very reason.
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Friday
30. What church/synagogue do you attend? I’m a Mormon, yes I am! Although I do prefer to say I’m LDS. It’s just one of those things.
31. What are you listening to right now? I can hear “Go Diego Go” in the background- this is the torment I get at 11:00 at night for letting my kids fall asleep on the couch earlier in the day!
32. What was the last thing you ate? String cheese
33. Do you wish on stars? sometimes
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? This goes back to the favorites thing and I really don’t have a favorite color. So today I say BLUE.
35. What is your pet peeve? Smoking- it’s strange to me that people smoke in their cars- don’t they think about re-sale?
36. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My brother Russell and he invited me to a raging party- doesn't get much better than that!
37. Favorite soft drink? Can I just alter this by saying my beverage of choice is water. Growing up my dad really liked Squirt, therefore, I liked Squirt and I still do but I drink it like once a year, if that.
38. Favorite restaurant? I think I really need to get out more before I can answer this question. I’d probably have to say Café Rio right now. I so love Mexican food!
39. Hair Color? Blonde
40. Favorite day of the year? Christmas is kind of fun.
41. What was your favorite toy as a child? I have very fond memories of getting a My Child doll for Christmas one year when they were all the rage. My mom had to fight crowds and beat people off with a stick just to get her hands on one. The things we do for our children… But do you remember those dolls? They had a soft fuzzy face and they smelled like baby powder or something. Loved mine!
42. Summer or winter? summer
43. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
44. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate
45. When was the last time you cried? Last Saturday, I think.
46. What is under your bed? Kid’s toys and I’m crossing my fingers that there aren’t any rotten sippy cups. I try not to look under there very often. If I don't look, it's just not there, right?
47. Who is the friend you've had the longest? Deborah
48. What did you do last night? Took a nap
49. Favorite smell? I like to walk into my house and smell my spiced cider wallflowers.
50. What are you afraid of? Snakes and anything that looks remotely like them. I haven’t ever touched a worm except when I had to dissect one in Middle School but I had gloves on.
51. How many keys on your key ring? 3 big ones and a couple small ones (can someone remind me what those ones are for??!!!)
52. How many years at your current job? I like to think my job started the day I married Dave- that means nearly 8 years.
53. Favorite day of the week? Friday
54. How many towns have you lived in? Towns, meaning cities? I’m assuming this is different than states- 6
55. Do you make friends easily? Yes, I would like to think so.

Disney On Ice- Princess Wishes

This week as I have been prying into other people's lives via the world wide web, I came upon this valuable info. Anyone who wants to get tickets to Disney Princess on Ice you can click here and enter the word BELLE into the promotions box to purchase tickets before the general public. The show is March 12-16 and the presale ends Jan. 27th.

So who wants to go? Call me call me call me. It will be fun. I am planning on ordering our tickets very soon. Sara will just think she has died and gone to heaven. I asked her today who her favorite princess is. She said, "Cinderella (pause), and Belle (pause), and Jasmine". She just loves them all. Everytime she gets in the tub she belts it out like Ariel. So funny. I'm excited!

Romance is in the air

What says love more than Adobe Photoshop Elements 6? I picked this up today for myself from Dave for Valentine's Day. Did you get all of that? Romantic, isn't it? I just couldn't resist that Costco $30 off rebate. And so, to justify my purchase I called Dave and let him know his Valentine's Day shopping was done already. He was thinking that this was some girl trick, you know, the whole I said not to buy me something but I still expect you to buy me something trick. After repeating myself several times that I was absolutely sure, he was like "okay, so I really don't need to get you something?" Really. I'm good- except flowers, of course. I made that part clear.

Chicken with Lemon-caper sauce

I love capers. They are such funky little things. A while back I was in the mood for a lemon-chicken-caper dinner and found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I'm not saying you won't have a cardiac arrest after you eat it, I'm just saying we think it's good. That's all I'm saying. Taylor calls it "sour chicken" and Sara just wants to eat "the little bean things" aka- capers. They eat it though- that's all that really matters. I've pretty much decided that when my kids say they don't want to eat something, I put it on their plate anyway. If they don't eat it, fine. Each time we eat it, I put it on their plate and I've found that eventually they eat it and like it. Taylor and mashed potatoes are a perfect example. Having him help me in the kitchen to smash them up has also been a big help to get him to eat them. Aren't I tricky? Anyway, if you are in the mood for something new and tart- try this out. I usually double the sauce (yep, that means a whole stick of butter...)

CHICKEN WITH LEMON-CAPER SAUCE

1/2 tsp salt
½ cup flour
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 Tbl olive oil
¼ cup chicken broth
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup cold butter, cut into pieces
2 Tbl capers, drained

Mix together salt and flour. Coat the chicken and shake off excess. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in hot oil until both sides are golden brown and the inside has turned white and firm. Remove chicken and set aside in a warm place. Pour chicken broth into skillet and allow it to boil as you dissolve the cooked bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon juice and allow it to come to a boil, cook for a few minutes until reduced by half. Sprinkle the cubed butter in to the boiling sauce. Swirl and shake the pan vigorously to melt the butter, thus thickening the sauce. The butter must never come to rest, or the sauce will separate and become oily. Once the butter has completely melted, remove from heat and stir in capers. Pour the lemon-caper sauce over the chicken. Serve over angel hair pasta.

Oh Happy Day!

I guess I've decided that sleep is optional tonight. I need to do a quick shout out to my brother Mark and his new wife Annie! They got married on Friday in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.

A couple of my favorite quotes from the day, both from Annie.

1. Right after they were married and the sealer told them to kiss Annie said, and I quote, "sweet" in the most squeaky-giddy-excited-bride voice I have ever heard.

2. " You are all my brothers and sisters. I have a family!" Annie is an only child so you can only imagine that joining the Monson family might take a little getting used to.

It was a fun day! We are so excited to have Annie in our family.

As far as pictures go, I don't have any fabulous ones because it was freezing and snowing right after they were married.

I think these pictures say all you need to know about these two-

Livvy just came for the food...

Because I like to be random

I'm awake at 12:15 in the morning and I should be sleeping- I will definetly regret it tomorrow when my kids are crawling all over me while I am still trying to sleep.

A few things:

1. When we got home tonight, and after my kids and Dave were in bed, I noticed a plate of cookies out on my front porch. Lucky me (ha!)... I just pounded 4 chocolate chip cookies from an unknown source and a glass of milk. Seriously. I could be dead by morning. I am posting this for two reasons- 1. so Dave knows what happened if I am unresponsive in the morning and 2- just to remind myself NEVER to do this again- which I can do, until another plate of cookies is delivered to my door- then all bets are off.

2. As many of you know, I have a brother named Alan. With the recent passing of my uncle Alan, you can imagine the confusion surrounding the 5 and under crowd at my house. My mom was very upset and of course my kids were concerned as to why she was crying. She began informing them that Uncle Alan had died. Great mom, just great. I quickly intercepted this conversation and did my best to offset the inevitable confusion. Apparently I didn't do such a good job. Upon seeing my brother Alan the other day, Sara asked in her all too sweet, concerned, and curious voice, "Alan, why you died?" I guess I have some more 'splainin to do.

3. Taylor has a hard time saying the letter "L" at the beginning of words. It's not so much that he can't do it, he's just a tad bit lazy. And I know, you really just have to be here for it to be funny but because this is my blog, I will list some of our current favorites.

-His new "Yego Star Wars" game on the Wii (Seriously, everytime he asks me if he can play this I have to take a moment and figure out what he is even talking about.)

-The "yincoln yogs" he got from Santa

-Upon noticing the veins in his hands the other day, he came up to me in a panic asking about the "byack yines" on his hands.

-Sara just won't "yisten"

-Christmas morning I was getting drilled on whether Santa set out the gifts or whether it was me and Dave. In a very concerned voice, he said "Don't yie to me, mom."

4. Olivia turned 18 months last month. Yesterday was "18 month photo day". I love the idea of getting her picture taken but hate the actual process. She is a monster- not interested at all in being cute for her posterity to remember her by. She cried, she ran, she stuffed her face with marshmallows, she arched her back ( I hate that), she climbed all over the place. Really and truly a nightmare. Why do I do this to myself every time? I should learn by now. It's just that I can't pass up the photo opportunity. Really. It would kill me. So anyway, Angie at Simplicity Photography worked her magic on my little terror and I am crossing my fingers something turned out. She posted one of Livvy and one of Sara on her blog. Sara was the posing pillar of perfection. A photographer's dream. Not Livvy. Grrrrrr........

5. Friday night Sara found a new smile. What is this? -Raise your glasses- here's to hoping we never see this smile again.

5. Sara just woke up screaming and crying. I went up to her room and there she was- underwear only- flailing about on her bed. Don't ask me where her jammies went because I still haven't figured that out. After trying to calm her for 15 minutes, I gave up. I don't think she is awake. I did change her into a pull-up. Waking up all crazy and peeing herself seem to go hand in hand. Better safe than sorry. Then she started screaming "mommy" at the top of her lungs. I just have to breathe to prevent bodily harm from happening to any member of this family. I have all my kids sleeping in the same room (story for another day) and so this whole situation of screaming in the middle of the night isn't exactly ideal. Long story short- she is back to sleep. Sometimes I feel like I just need to smack her forehead and scream "Demons Out!" Really. She is so freakishly Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. It's unreal.

6. It's hard being outnumbered, isn't it?

Saying goodbye to Uncle Alan

We have had a most unusual week filled with ups and downs. My uncle Alan died this last week in an avalanche while out snowmobiling. This has been very hard for our family but we feel grateful for the blessing of family and our knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The funeral was amazing- Jeremiah, Bryan, & Jennilyn did a great job honoring their dad. I would post pictures but it appears my dad must have taken all of the good ones. Bryan and his wife Melissa did an excellent job of expressing their feelings on their blog. They also have some good pictures of their dad and of the spot where they recovered his body from the avalanche. I feel so grateful for them and for the strength Alan's family has been to each of us as we are mourning his loss. He will be greatly missed. We love you guys!

Seriously. We have a problem.

This little baby finds joy in the most inconvenient ways. She came up to me all smiles patting her head and feeling so proud of this big mess.







I guess at this point you are wondering why I even bother to have Vaseline in my house with all the incidents I seem to have with it. I just like it. Okay? It works better than chapstick and when we get all dry and chappy, I can rub it on our hands and wala- problem solved.

Sara was in her room hiding- she was the little culprit who climbed on the counter and gave it to Livvy. Stinker! In my defense, I really don't just leave Vaseline lying around anymore. I put it up high. I'm still trying to figure out how Sara got onto my counter. Looks like we need to put it behind lock and key.

Things like this always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times. We had a baby sitter arriving in half an hour. I tried to get some of it out with a paper towel but I was pressed for time and I was like "eh, whatever." Third child. I'm not so concerned anymore. The babysitter arrived and just before we walked out the door I realized the baby looked a little freaky- "Oh, about Livvy...".

I don't know what is up with this kid and her head. Sunday morning she found a jar of putty and emptied that all over her head. And let me tell you, that was just darling...

Don't say I didn't warn you

Since I am an expert on parenting (cough cough), I would like to advise all of you on something I have learned from being the mother of the walking, talking, eating, no-lid-on-cup age group. Many of you haven't had to deal with this yet so let me just save you some grief. ONE pointer. Just one. Never, and I mean Never, utter the phrase - "Be careful not to spill". Not even a variation of the phrase. Nothing. Give em the drink and walk away without a word. The end result of this comment will 8 out of 10 times (I have a running tally) result in a spilled drink. This is a tricky thing to do. Much easier said than done but trust me, you won't regret it. I'm getting pretty good at not saying it but man, when I do- grape juice all over the lap, milk on the floor, water across the counter. It's inevitable. Save yourself the grief my friends.

Doing the dip!

This is Livvy doing what she does best- eating! She loves chips and dip. Actually, she loves the dip more than the chips and that is why these containers of dip made their way to the garbage when she was all done. She is so cute and was seriously in dip heaven. It was the dip-lick-dip-lick with lots of "mmmmm" sounds in between. How can you deny a baby that? She was even more than happy to share- she kept offering me some. I tell you what- this child is the whole package- looks, smarts, manners. All she needs to do is grow some hair and we will have it made!

Dipping-


Licking-


Looking lovingly at her chip and saying "mmmmmmmm".

blog banner befuddlement

I'm sorry if you feel your head is spinning from all my blog make-overs. I was in a rush to get rid of the Christmas banner (because I hated it) and the new one I made basically looked like "welcome spring". Looking outside, it's not spring yet. Nowhere near spring, in fact. So yeah, please enter the snowflakes. Now we are seasonally correct. Except the banner is too big. I don't want to squish it down because then my children will look like aliens. - gasp- And heaven forbid I re-do it. (Can you hear the air slowly eeking out of me in true Napoleon Dynamite form?) It will never end, will it?

And for those of you confused about what I am talking about, here is the first banner I made:

And the second one:

Too cute not to post

Taylor was so cute on Christmas Eve. He was very concerned that we put out some grub for Santa and his reindeer. He counted out all nine carrots (one for Rudolph too). He wanted to put out 5 cookies for Santa because he is 5 years old. Fortunately for Santa and his big belly, mommy had a little more perspective and knew that eating 4 cookies would be pushing it for Santa. He then wrote out Santa on a piece of paper and reindeer on another one, you know, just to keep the confusion to a minimum. And as far as Taylor's name goes, it's only backwards because he wrote it upside down- that's talent for a 5 year old.

Wii wish you a Merry Christmas!

I know, I know, I've been a little late with my updates lately. We've just been too busy festivating.

Anywho, we had a great Christmas! This year I got Dave a Wii and Guitar Hero 3. He had NO idea and I was just dying to see him open them. It's one thing to have surprises for my kids, but my husband- it just about kills me. See that happy face? Do you see it? I love it!


I got a happy surprise too- a new camera- the Canon Digital Rebel. The problem now is finding time to read the manual. Dave also mentioned that I need to take a class. Riiiiiiiight- let me just fit that right on into my schedule. I just had to laugh at my name scrawled across my gifts with a sharpie marker. It made for such a lovely presentation. And no, I'm no complaining.


The highlight of Taylor's Christmas was a Transformer Bumblebee bike. Problem is, it's a bit too cold and snowy outside to ride it and so, I have black tire marks on my hardwood floor. Thanks Santa! It's all good though because he got quite a few other toys and movies to keep him busy until the weather is less freezing. Funny thing about Taylor. He couldn't believe all the loot Santa brought. In his letter to Santa he only asked for 2 things so I think he pretty much thought that was what he would find Christmas morning. Upon finding a huge pile of presents, he said, "Whoa. Santa brought lots and lots of presents. Next year I'm going to ask for more than two things." It made for a good laugh. I guess Santa needs to learn to tone it down before the kids catch on and expect a ton of loot every year.


Sara got her Baby Alive. When people ask her what she has named her baby, she replies in a very matter of fact and annoyed voice- "Her name is Baby Alive". Right. So we go with that. Two things were on Sara's list as well- 1. Baby Alive and 2. A Belle Christmas Dress. I'm not quite sure where she got the second idea. Santa pretty much wrote that one off as "not an option" until a couple days before Christmas when he magically came upon one at Macys. What are the odds? So anyway, all her Christmas dreams were fulfilled and then some.


This is just a lovely picture of Sara in her Christmas Belle Dress holding her Baby Alive. Notice the candy in the mouth. About every picture I took of the kids on Christmas involved candy in the mouth within view of the camera. Lovely.


Livvy just didn't know what in the heck was going on. Her main goal was to retrieve and walk away with any gift Sara opened up. Livvy opened her own gifts at first. After a couple, she started getting help from Taylor and Sara. Toward the end Taylor was her own personal gift opener. I have a feeling this is the last year that will fly. A few things she got- a Cabbage patch newborn, a shopping cart, a vacuum. She loves to push things so the shopping cart and vacuum are just up her alley. And she loves babies. Loves them. Real live babies need to stay clear of her because she attacks upon sight. And by attack I mean LOVES.



Here she is with her puppy- on the run with Sara's gift thrown over her back.


We had such a great day. The best part of the whole day was that we didn't leave our house once. Not for anything. It was nuts! That has never happened to us before. It was low-key and AWESOME!

We made pumpkin waffles with apple cider syrup for breakfast. So good. I will have to post the recipes later. I know what all you family members are thinking- where were the ham waffles? Well, it goes something like this- Dave doesn't like them. And so, since we had no ham and I'm not such a big fan of waffles in general, we took a break this year and tried something new. Add the applewood smoked bacon and we were in heaven.

My parents and Alan and Kristina came over for dinner. We had a Feliz Navidad dinner and pigged out on homemade Cafe Rio Pork salads. So good. It was a perfect day filled with people we love. What more can we ask for on Christmas?