Winter Fun.....

Today we went sledding and had a blast! Even Denver and I attempted a couple of turns down the hill....felt like being a kid again til I had to walk back up the hill! Oi..... Here are some pictures from our adventures in the snow. We were going to make a snowman today but the snow quality isnt so great....maybe this weekend since it is supposed to snow again. Also, check out the pictures of our backyard friend....apparently our snow seemed the perfect place to finish his meal!

Christmas Pictures......update follows slide

Going, going, GONE......

Well, we finally made it through Christmas...all the build up and then BOOM......its over, just like that. It starts Christmas Eve for us. First we went to Uncle Nate and Aunt Alisa's house for lunch and gift exchanging. We had pizza and treats and then exchanged gifts. The kids had a blast....any chance to be the center of attention. As you can see, they come by their goofiness naturally. Nathan (my brother) is clearly demonstrating our families' crazy gene! We had a great time!

That evening we continued our Christmas Eve tradition of making cookies for Santa. I decided to make them from scratch this time which was time consuming but fun. The kids enjoyed decorating their own and Im sure Santa enjoyed them..wink wink.

Next we opened our one Christmas Eve gift.....new PJ's. The kids actually love getting new jammies and were looking forward to putting them on.

This was a first for us this year in a lot of things. Number one was the fact that my 2 sons seemed to finally catch on that Christmas is really hard to wait for. This is the first year that they consistentely whined about Christmas coming too slow. I can remember that it was torture for me as a child also.....funny how when you are an adult, Christmas comes WAY too fast. The 2nd new thing for us was that our kids actually got up before us this Christmas. In the past we have had to wake them up...usually aroun 9am! Can you believe that? Finally, they woke up first and came to get us to open presents (at 7:30). Im guessing that in the future that time will get earlier and earlier each year.

Addison was also very excited but she only had the attention span for one toy at a time and was getting quite irritated at everyone who tried to get her to open something else. She even kicked one present away from her because she wasnt ready to open it yet. Still she is very happy with all of her gifts but especially loves her cabbage patch doll which she carries everywhere and feeds and kisses constantly. She is such a little girl and I LOVE it. We have all had a chance to play the Wii that we got Alec. I wanted to see what all the hype was for. All I can say is that we will probably own one ourselves very soon. It is a lot of fun and I have only played one game so far... bowling. It is interactive and amazingly accurate. Very cool technology. Oh did I mention it snowed about 6 inches on Christmas Eve! I love it when it does that.....makes it a perfect Christmas.

So tonight we tried to go see the lights on temple square despite the 17 degree temperature reading. Not a great idea. It was beautiful but after about 10 minutes we could no longer feel our noses or toes. We headed home and had some hot chocolate to thaw us out. Now we are all settling down for the night and are thankful for having such a wonderful Christmas. Thanks to everyone who sent cards and well wishes and for the gifts that we received from everyone. You are all so generous and we thank you and love you. On to a new year!

Tis the Season....

So, the one thing I hate the most about the Christmas season is shopping. It is sad really because most of the time it would seem like a good time.....actually being able to spend money instead of just window shopping, buying the perfect gift for someone that you care about, the excitement of finding the perfect gift. Unfortunately all of that potential fun gets ruined when you have the share the shopping experience with MANIAC's! I've decided that although the Christmas Season generally brings out the best in people as a whole, the Christmas "Shopping Season" almost always brings out their WORST. Case in point..... yesterday at work I read an ad for ToysRus that stated it was having a "doorbuster" sale that morning at 7am. There was one item on there that I wanted to buy for Ian and it was normally $40 but this Saturday morning at 7am it was only $15. Bargain right!~ So, I figured I would stop by and get one considering that I got off of work at 6:30 and it would be perfect timing to swing by on my way home. I got off early (luckily) and showed up in the parking lot at 6:45 and waited. Suddenly 5, 6, 7 cars start pulling in to the parking lot. I start getting nervous and anxious and as soon as one person got out of their car to stand in front of the door, the rest of us did the same. I was 2nd in line. Turns out they were all there for the same thing I was with the exception of a few who were checking for Nintendo Wii's.....I will get to that story in a minute. So, the door opens and suddenly Im being pushed out of the way by a mob of people literally running to get this toy! Ive never experienced anything like it. Grown adults running like little children for a toy! I am humiliated to admit it, but I ran too....I had to or I wouldnt have gotten one. Ugh.

So, Ninendo Wii. For those that dont know this....because until I tried to buy one I didnt know it either.... this video game system is THE THING to buy this season. So much so that Nintendo cant keep up with demand and people are buying them and selling them on ebay for $200 more than they bought them for. This makes it impossible for the average consumer/parent to purchase one for their kids. My step-son Alec wants one for Christmas....in fact it is ALL he wants. So everyone in the family pooled their money together and sent it to us to help out with the hefty price tag. That was 2 weeks ago and I cannot find one. People are showing up at stores at 4am to stand in line in hopes of getting one but the stores are only getting shipments in of 6-10 machines at a time again making it impossible for the average parent to get a hold of one. I had intended on buying Alec a giftcard and wrapping it with a picutre of the Wii so that he would know that I tried because I refused to participate in the game... We would just have to buy it after Christmas. However, it was rumored that a lot of the stores got large shipments in (by large I mean about 20 of them) and were holding them until Sunday to sell. Ding Ding Ding.....I get off work early on Sunday morning, so I could stop by and wait in line for a little bit right? Something I swore I would never do for a toy......but I did it. I got off work at 4:30 this morning. First I went to Kmart and the people that were already there told me that they only got 6 of them in (one of the people waiting works there) So, then I went to Shopko and the 15 people standing there said Shopko only got 10 (again an employee was there) but they heard Best Buy had the largest shipment. So, I went down to Best Buy and got in line because someone said they heard Best Buy got 80 of them! So, I grabbed my blanket and my extra coat and got in line at 5am...I was number 36 in line and I stood there for 3 hours (they opened at 8am) in 16 degree weather! It was the longest 3 hours of my life but...... I GOT ONE! We are now the proud owners of a Nintendo Wii.....that is until Alec opens it and takes it back to Phoenix with him. It's bittersweet really, although we dont have a "gaming system" at our home and probably wont for a while, I feel like I deserve to at least play with it considering the sacrifice I made to get it. Oh well, Im just glad that Alec will get to open it on Christmas. Im excited to give it to him. Thankfully there were no news reporters there to capture my stupidity on film. Today, now that it is over, I swear never to do it again......never say never.

Merry Christmas

My Big Little Girl.....

Well it has just been a week of growing up. Tonight we officially converted Addison's crib into a toddler bed. I know it seems early since she is only 20 months but due to the fact that she can climb like a monkey, I felt that it was safer for her this way. Not to mention that she was taking a nap today and I was downstairs so when she woke up and couldnt get out she started screaming and I really couldnt hear her. She was pretty mad at me once I got to her. This way, she can just get up and come to me.....which is what she does if I lay her in my bed anyway. So, she is very excited about her "new" bed and here are the pictures to prove it. They are taken with her newest "baby".....her pink bear. She rocks it, sings to it, and lays it down to sleep. And, this week has been showering it with major SNOT kisses.......yum. I attached a video below demonstrating her delicious kiss. Please ignore the cheezy mom talking in the background! Now that I have figured out how to attach video with my camera, I will be sure to take some more soon!

Lazy Friday.....

I am sooooooo lazy today. It is rainy and overcast and I just dont feel like doing anything. So, I am typing a post instead of cleaning. I found a new website that I love and am passing along. It is www.momadvice.com and has lots of great articles and recipes/dinner ideas etc. I am always looking for good ideas for dinner since I have a really finicky eater in my house (IAN) ...and I stumbled across this one. I also need lots of advice on organization which I feel has really gone to pot around this house. I swear, there are days when I dont think my head is attached right anymore. I forget things and lose things......my mom says that is just a sign of aging but sometimes I think it is worse than that. I literally forget something 10 minutes after thinking about it. It is crazy. Or maybe I am. Anyway, Ive got to organize my life. I need a good "office" for paying bills. A good calendar on my wall to help me remember important dates. A good "Chore Board" for my cleaning projects and for the rest of the families cleaning jobs. Then a good "General Board" to write important notes down for remembering. All of this needs to be in a place that I see EVERYDAY. I tried using the Palm Pilot and as much as I love gadgets, I could just never remember to check it or even carry it with me all the time. The only place I have ever felt like I had a grip on things was at work.....I kept immaculate files and was totally organized so I feel like if I can recreate an office setting maybe that will help me. Pottery Barn has the COOLEST stuff for this.....unfortunately it comes with a very UNCOOL price tag. But at least I can get the idea from there and try to recreate it.

So, enough about that. Big news at the Shannon household.....the boys have graduated to self cleaning. By that I mean they are taking showers! The other day I was running a bath for Ian. Im sitting there thinking that he is too old for mom to be washing him up so I tell him Im going to show him how to wash really good and then from now on he can bathe himself. He says "mom do I have to be 9 years old to take a shower?" I said NO you can start now if you want (I thought he hated the shower). So, thats what he did and of course that created major tears from Evan who also wanted to take showers and hates being left out of "big boy" things. Anyway, it feels very strange to have moved on to showers. I know that must sound strange to some of you but little kids always take baths and I guess my boys just arent little anymore.

As for Addison. She has turned in to quite the little climber. She will try and climb up ANYTHING. She is 19 months old and climbs up the boys' bunkbed ladder without hesitation. She carefully places her little foot on any kind of "foothold" she can find, such as the desk drawer rungs. She can climb in and out of her crib now too which means Im going to transform it into a toddler bed soon. I really cant believe how agile she is. Maybe I should skip Ballet and put her in a rock climbing course!

Well, Ive put it off for too long now. Must clean house.......

The 5th Food Group......

Occasionally in our house (Ok maybe more frequently than that) we partake in the 5th food group.......Chocolate!! Last night Addie had her first taste of mama's chocolate frosting and needless to say, I wont have any trouble getting her to eat this instead of Broccoli~ She really didnt even care about the brownies that it came with she just wanted the frosting. So, I did what any responsible mother would do and gave her the beater to lick clean! Thats the best part about being a kid, isnt it?

Our Elfin Family....minus Denver

I found something so funny! I was "browsing" the Felsing Blog and found a link that turned out so hilarious! You must watch our little Elf Family. Sorry Denver, it would only let me upload 4 pictures and I couldnt find a good one of your head anyway so its just me and the kids..

Here is the link....enjoy, then make your own! Thanks Felsings!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1157972132

Winter Wonderland.....

Well Winter has finally arrived in the Salt Lake valley! It took its time but I think it is offical now. It started snowing at about 2am (I was at work....) and didnt stop until about noon today. We measured it on top of our garbage can and it was nearly 9 inches! I'm sure the Ski resorts are skipping about right now as the people are pouring in to get their ski (or board) on. Im sure Jeff is up there right now....that is if the canyons are even open to cars. Anyway, this is the part about winter that I love. That first big snow storm that leaves everything fluffy and white. Nevermind that I couldnt even get up my driveway this morning....driving home from work was very frightening. I didnt go above 30mph the whole way home. It was soooooo slick! The kids are thrilled of course. They are outside as I type with their sleds in hand. Its good to have them out of the house actually. I made Cream of Broccoli & Potato Soup for dinner last night and that made a nice Snow Day meal today.....Yummo. This is a recipe from Aunt Sally in Kentucky and Im telling you I hate Broccoli but I could eat this soup all day long. It is so dang good! I took a picture of it (thanks for the idea Melanie).....if you want the recipe you will have to ask me for it since I dont technically have the rights to "publish" it on my blog. Sally is pretty protective of her recipes....in fact Im not sure how I managed to get it from her except maybe she was worried about poor Denver starving to death out in Utah without her cooking! She really is a great cook...

Well, thats it for now. Just wanted to share our Winter Wonderland with you. For all our relatives in Kentucky, THIS is what you call a snow storm!! :) .....and the schools would still be open if it were during the week! Can you imagine this much snow falling in Drift? You all would be "snowed in" for days!

Oh, and here is a link to the most beautiful christmas song EVER. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating but it is one that I love and have heard since I was a child. It is by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and is no longer available to purchase unfortunately but I found an mp3 online so you can hear it on your computer......Merry Christmas. http://www.josephsons.org/slmtc/baby.mp3

Ok I keep adding to this post after the fact but the boys just came in from sledding and look so cute and red faced, I had to post a picture. They walked to a little park just around the corner from our house to go sledding and had a ball!

Christmas Tree....

So, we finally got our tree up. Or should I say "I" finally got our tree up! Denver called and decided to meet us at Nibley Golf Course to pick out our tree on Tuesday night. For those that dont know or may care, the trees sold at Nibley Golf Course are THE BEST trees ever. We have never been diappointed and they are so affordable compared to other tree lots. Anyway, we all met over there and picked out the tree which ended up being the very first one we saw. Then Denver went back to work and I drove it home, heaved it off the top of the van, and drug it inside the house. I was covered in sap from the ordeal but managed to get it in, center and secure it into the tree stand and decorate it. But dont take it negatively because I enjoyed every minute of it....even when I discovered that 6 out of 9 of my christmas light strands were not working. So I found a good sale at Shopko and bought more lights but now I cant keep them on. The fuses keep blowing on the third strand of lights. I cant figure it out....I already bypassed the second strand because it is having issues with the plug in so now the third strand is blowing out which in turn blows out the rest of the lights since they are connected. Anyway, Im rambling but very frustrated. The boys helped me hang the bulbs and even Addison had her little bitty hands in it. I found a pile of about 4 ornaments that didnt have hooks stuffed in to the tree in the same spot. This was her contribution...I would have left them there but the OCD in me couldnt stand an ornament out of place. Sad, I know but Ive learned to accept that part of me....now if only everyone else would HA HA. I also put lights outside on our trees and around each of our windows. Ian was a bit dissapointed that we didnt have more decorations...he would be happier if our home resembled the Griswalds! Its really the first time weve had a house that we could decorate outside so we will just have to build our supply each year. I took a picture of the kids in front of the tree...Im still trying to get a decent Christmas card pic out of them.....as you can see, no such luck
So, it FINALLY snowed in Salt Lake Wed night. Dont misinterpret that as me being excited about it. Although it was beautiful as I was hanging decorations on my tree and listening to Christmas music....very Courier and Ives....the next morning reminded me of how much more I enjoy warmer weather. The ice on my van was so thick that the kids were late to school due to the scraping I had do. Mind you I couldnt find our ice scraper so this was being accomplished with a Subway discount Card from Denvers wallet which subsequently broke in half during the scraping....UGH! Not to mention I have ZERO in the way of winter clothing. No boots, no gloves, no coat, no hat.....just me in a sweatshirt and tennis shoes scraping ice off my car at 7:30 in the morning. No thanks. Im already pining for Summer.

Happy Holidays

Alison Krause lyrics......

I added this song to my music playlist and here are the lyrics. Even though it really isnt a Christmas song, it was just too beautiful not to add it. I LOVE it...

Baby Mine by Alison Krause

Baby mine, don't you cry.
Baby mine, dry your eyes.
Rest your head close to my heart,
never to part,
baby of mine.

Little one when you play,
don't you mind what they say.
Let those eyes sparkle and shine,
never a tear,
baby of mine.

If they knew sweet little you
they'd end up loving you two.
All of those people who scold you
what they'd give just for the right to hold you.

From your head down to your toes,
you're not much, goodness knows.
But you're so precious to me,
sweet as can be,
baby of mine.

If they knew sweet little you,
they'd end up loving you too.
All those same people who scold you,
what they'd give just for the right to hold you.

From your head down to your toes
you're not much, goodness knows.
But you're so precious to me,
sweet as can be,
baby of mine.
Baby of mine

Thanksgiving and an Anniversary.....

This will be a long entry because Im combining 2 events. First, Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful day. My parents flew in from Las Vegas and we all met at Nate and Alisa's house for really yummy food....of course! I love Thanksgiving. Nathan asked me to bless the food which was a disaster. I have a thing about praying in front of people. I would rather give a 20 minute talk than say a prayer....I know, Im strange but it's true. Im such a boob....I cant say anything without crying anymore but I was overcome with happiness being with my family and our new little nephew/grandson/son, and just being so grateful. It was just too much....so hopefully everyone understood that and felt that the food was properly blessed in spite of my weakness. I have so much to be Thankful for. Ive been relatively healthy my whole life. I have a really great family both immediate and extended (yes, that includes you all in Kentucky!) a few really great friends and of course I have 3 perfect children with whom make my life complete. Although I have had my struggles and still continue to have them in some areas of my life, they are nothing in comparison to what I have and who I am. So, for that I will continue to thank my Father in Heaven who continues to bless me in spite of my weaknesses and shortcomings.

Now, I had some great pictures of our Thanksgiving Day celebration but unfortunately my dad accidentally erased them off of my camera....and since it was a day later, I couldnt really recreate the pictures so, that is why there are no pictures to post for Turkey Day. Sorry Jeff and Nicola, I lost some great pics of you guys......:( The pictures I have posted with this entry can be clicked on to view them in larger format. I just did them small so the entry wouldnt be so big.....

Saturday night was my maternal Grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary. 70 years together....can you imagine that? They are so cute and I really love that I live so close to them. I dont see them nearly enough but am grateful that they are just around the corner. We had a little celebration at the church where friends and family stopped in for cake and a visit. It was really nice. I saw some of my own cousins that I havent seen in 20 years! Sadly they have never lived that far away but we just didnt manage to keep in touch. I was very excited to see them all again. We promised to keep in touch but you know how life goes. I probably wont see them again for a few years.....or as long as my grandfather is alive anyway. Im sure the next time we see each again will be for grandpas funeral. He is very old and weak... although still has his mind with him most of the time which is an accomplisment for 93 years old! Anyway, I took lots of pictures for this event and didnt let my dad handle my camera again....just to be safe (wink wink) A really cool thing was my aunt Jill made us all copies of some journal entries of my great great great great grandma/grandpa Lloyd. I have always known that I had pioneers in my family but have never known any of the stories. This woman, Susannah Stone Lloyd not only came across the plains but was with the ill fated Willie Handcart company. It was really cool to finally have a story for one of these great people who sacrificed so much for what she believed in....so cool.

Well, it is Sunday and I am getting ready to go to work tonight. Im dreading the next few weeks as it is total mayhem at the post office and I will be working 12 hours days more than likely. Luckily it is just for 3 weeks though. We got most of our Christmas decor up minus the tree. I think we will have to do that next weekend. So, that is it for our week. I hope everyone who reads this enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday and I want you all to know how grateful I am to have you in my life however you may fit into it.

Warm Wishes
Vanessa

Christmas is coming....

So, I thought tonight would be a good night to get the kids' picture for christmas cards taken (by me of course)....nothing formal. Addie got new jammies today that she looks so freakin cute in and the boys got new haircuts so it should be perfect right? Well, here is the slide show to prove that kiddie photographers should get paid what they do for their pictures. Im not sure what I'll do ... maybe I will just put a goofy one in there since thats all I seem to be getting. Oh well, you gotta love kids.

An update.....

Well, no new pictures really but I will just give a quick update. Sunday was our ward Primary program at church. Each child was asked to come up with a few sentences about certain subjects. Of course I helped them a little with theirs but the best part was that Evan completely memorized his and my sweet, shy little man got up there in front of everyone and said every word all by himself. I was so proud. He says he wasnt nervous one bit...wink wink. So cute. Of course Ian being the seasoned speaker that he is...ha ha...did great too. The teachers, as well meaning as they are actually hinder some of the kids from doing it themselves. As a panic measure they keep a copy of the whole program on the podium in case a child needs help or wants to read their part. During practice Ian kept reading his part even though he knew it by heart. So, just before the actual program, I told Ian not to look at the paper and to look out at the audience and find Daddy and Addison and tell them his little speech. Well, he got up there and pushed the paper aside first (to show everyone that he didnt need it) then looked straight out at everyone and spoke like a grown man. I had people ask me afterward if I thought he might run for President some day.....too cute.

So, today, it was mommy's turn. A few days ago I had to run some pictures of me and Denver down to Ian's school because he had forgotten them. They were our Air Force portraits. The school was doing a little Veterans Day program and asked the students to bring in pictures of family Vet's. Anyway, I had to bring them to his Principal who then proceeded to beg me to speak at the assembly. She ony had 2 other speakers and needed help and so reluctantly I agreed. It is strange because although technically I AM a Veteran, I feel like I dont deserve the title since I only served 6 years. I look at men and women who give 20 or 30 years of their life to this country and serve in wars and I think that is who that title belongs to. I understand that everyone who serves plays their part no matter how big or small but it still feels weird. Anyway, I represented the women today. They had a young guy from the Army who had just joined a year ago. Then they had me and then an older gentleman who was a retired Air Force Colonel. 29 years as a fighter pilot! He was so cool. The kids loved it. So, I spoke about my job as a Linguist and I got the kids to interact with me by asking them questions as I spoke and I was doing pretty good until I got to the patriotism part....of course I cried (because Im such a boob) but I dont care because I am VERY proud to be an American. That is something that being in the military really brought out of me. I didnt realize I had that in me and I really want to pass that on to my kids. Afterward, I asked Ian how he thought I did and he said "great mom! Except when you cried...I said 'oh no, dont cry' but then I cried too...." It was a great experience and Im glad I agreed to do it.

While I was speaking at Ian's school poor Evan had a partial root canal. I had to give him this kiddie cocktail of demerol, xanax, and phenegran an hour before to knock him out. Literally 5 minutes after I gave it to him he started getting groggy. Denver had to carry him into the office....poor baby. Now he has a silver cap on his tooth and he thinks it is pretty cool. He thinks it will get him more money when the tooth fairy takes it! He took 2 naps later in the day too....it really threw him for a loop. Im glad it is over with.

So thats about it really. Its been a nice week and we are gearing up for Turkey Day. I have so much to be thankful for in my life and Im really going to try focusing on that every day this month.....

Love vs Anger

I was looking at the MySpace page of a girl that I worked with at ACS and she was blogging about her struggle between her anger and disgust for people versus her abounding love for other people. She struggles to comes to terms with the anger part and someone commented to her blog with this really cool story. I wanted to remember it and so I am blogging it here.....

"There was boy and his grandfather and the Grandfather was telling the boy a story about 2 wolves. One was angry and mean and the other was compassionate and full of love. The wolves were constantly battling one another. The boy asked the Grandfather which wolf would eventually win and the Grandfather responded "the one that I feed"."

Very cool.

Gouls and Goblins and Pumpkin Fairys...

Well, Halloween is over. I must say I really enjoyed it this year. Usually Im a bit of a grump with Halloween but we all had a blast this year and I might even attempt a "real" costume for myself next year...watch out mom! Anyway, I have to say that Addison made it even better. She was soooooooo funny! Thanks to her Grandpa Ries, she LOVES M&M's which has turned into a love of candy period. After the 2nd house last night, she figured out that people were giving her free candy and that was all she needed to get into the Halloween spirit. I put her down on the ground and she ran after the boys squealing and holding her hand behind her for me to grab. Apparently I wasnt moving fast enough for her. As soon as we got to the door she would literally push her brothers out of her way to get in front of them when the door was opened. She reached into the bowls and pulled out ONE piece of candy and plopped it into her pumpkin bag and then waved goodbye to the people at the door. I was laughing so hard. Ive seen anything so cute in my life! Needless to say, she LOVES Halloween. Here are some pictures of the little munchkins...although these were taken before we left and she wasnt quite in the Halloween spirit yet!

Ian's 7th Birthday....

Well, the party was a HUGE sucess. Ian invited 2 boys from his school class, Carter and Quinn. Also, Nate, Alisa and Soren and Jeff & Nicola joined us. We went to Fat Cats which is a really fun bowling alley with great food! The kids bowled (including Jeff and Nicola!) and ate lots of pizza and breadsticks. Then we opened presents and had cake. It was a great time and Ian never stopped smiling! Here is a slide show of the day for your enjoyment.

An Update....kindof Late

Well sorry for slacking on the blog this last week. I feel like I havent had much time to breathe let along sit at the computer for an hour. No major trauma's this week thankfully. In fact I cant figure out why I feel so busy..... I guess it's just that time of year. It is 7am and I just got home from work. Why am I up you ask? Well, today is Mr. Ian's birthday.....he is officially 7 years old. We are having a party for him at Fat Cats (bowling alley/pizza joint) at 11am and I still need to finish up the cake. That is whyI havent gone to bed. Right now I am waiting on the frosting to come to room temp so I can frost the cake. Luckily I was on top of things yesterday and did all the major prep work so this morning I just need to put it all together. IT is going to be one very COOL cake....if I do say so myself. I will post pictures of it and the party later today or tomorrow. Anyway, I still have to shower too so there is no point in going to bed now. I will try to get a nap in after the party before Denver goes to work.

Tonight as I was getting ready to leave for work, the boys were in the bathtub. You know Ive mentioned how much of a little fish Addison is....she loves the water....well, she really wanted to get in the bath too. It was all I could do to keep her from climbing in with them. THen I went upstairs to get my shoes on........well, you can guess what happened next. Here is a picture of the little guppie in the tub with all her clothes on. She is crazy! So cute....but nuts. She cracks me up daily with her little faces she makes and her singing and babbling. She has really got a personality. It will be fun to watch her grow and start really talking. She is just so much fun. I am so glad to have her in our family.

So, here are some cute pictures of my nephew Soren. He is growing fast too. Babies dont stay little for long. He is such a cute one too! Nathan and Alisa are settling into parenthood just fine it seems. It is fun to watch them all goo goo and in love with their little boy. Its just something you cant describe until you have one of your own!

So I finally made it back to the gym. Yes, I know I posted a while back that I was going to lose a certain amount by Christmas. Yeah....well, forget about that. But, I am finally doing something about it, so maybe by spring I will get there. I met with a trainer the other day while he weighed and measured me (fun times) and told me I was obese.....ok he didnt say that, but still. He is a cute kid (probably only 23 years old) who competes in body building. It was torture standing there on the scale.....oh well. I got it over with and have a starting point so now begins the long arduous work that is getting in shape. My body loves it's fat and hates losing it so Im sure Im in for a long year with not a lot of results. I just want to be healthy again and mostly I want Addison (and the boys) to see mommy practicing good habits so that maybe they wont have to suffer with weight issues one day. So, even if I dont get nice and skinny, at least I will be exercising and eating good and feeling healthier right!? Oh who am I kidding.....I REALLY want to fit in my skinny jeans again.

So work is going pretty good. I really like the job itself. I guess Im doing pretty good because tonight I had my 30 day evaluation and what takes most people the full 90 days to reach I have already reached (speed/accuracy). My supervisor was so impressed that she is allowing me to listen to my ipod before the 90 days are up (usually you have to wait). So, I was pretty happy about that. Im still trying to get used to my funky schedule though. This weekend was rough actually. You see Friday, I get up at 6:45am to get the boys off to school. By the time I get back, Addie is up so there is no going back to bed. Im such a horrible napper that I dont get around to napping later in the day either (so much to do you around the house) so then by the time I go to work at 10pm and work 8 hours, Ive been up literally for 24 hours straight. Saturday I would normally sleep until about noon or 1pm but this weekend Denver had to work on Saturday. So i was up at 11am after going to bed at 7am...4 hours of sleep. Then of course no nap during the day and off to work again that night and Sunday I have to teach a primary class at 11am so I only get about 2 hours of sleep on Sunday. I would have taken a nap after church except I needed to get Ian's cake going. I ended up taking a 2 hour nap later that night and then off to work again. Which now of course I am home and not sleeping..... so, 6 hours of sleep in the past 3 days! Yikes. Im thinking that Im going to crash big time this afternoon. Anyone want to come and get my kids so I can sleep! Ha ha. Wouldnt that be great. Anyway, Ive got to start taking naps I guess. Im just so horrible at it. But, I do like the job and the hours work out great. I love being home during the week and I get so much more done.

Well, not a huge update really but I will post again later with pictures from Ian's birthday and of course I will post again on Thursday with Halloween pic's.