I Have Bangs Again

So it had been 8 months since my last haircut. I was looong overdue. I wanted a big change and I sure got it! The stylist went a lot shorter than we discussed, but I'm getting used to the new doo. What do you think?

Before

After
I didn't tell Dave that I was getting a haircut and boy was he shocked when he walked in the door. But he gave a big "Wow!" and says that he likes it. Derek told me this morning the he "kind of likes my hair". Thanks, kid.

Wacky Clothes Day

Taylor wasn't very daring and didn't go with any of my "cool" ideas. :)

Look What I Made Today!

I am not a "crafty" person. The only crafts I make are those provided for me at Enrichment activities. So the fact that I made this all on my own is very amazing. Okay, so it's not a complicated craft...but I did it! I got the idea from this blog post.

(Gayle, these pictures were taken on the settings you recommended. It made a huge difference versus using the auto settings and flash. I just need to work using the manual focus.)

Now I'm Listening!

My major at BYU was Marriage, Family, and Human Development. I am somewhat hesitant to admit that since it implies that I should be an expert on the subject...which I am not. I think back on all the classes that I took and wonder how much more knowledge I would have absorbed if I had been married longer or was in the middle of motherhood at the time. I know I would definitely study the parenting and child development books in more depth if I were taking the classes now. Similarly, have you ever been to a bridal or baby shower where they ask the guests to give words of advice to the guest of honor and you know that they fully don't appreciate your words since they just haven't experienced what you are talking about. You see that look in their eyes that tells you all your words are going in one ear and out the other, yet they nod respectfully. I wish we could all get those words back and hear them again...now that we are ready to hear it and it relates to our situation.

I've been thinking about making this post for over a year now and I am finally doing it. I wonder how many of us have little tips or tricks that, if shared, would save the rest of us time or headache. I know that I often do things the hardest and most time-consuming way possible (like this intro to my post). So here is my humble list of things I've picked up from others along my way. I'm sure some things on this list are old news to you, but then again I was asked once, at the grocery store, by a young, confused college student "What is the difference between mayo and mayonnaise". I learned from that experience that not everything is common knowledge to everyone. So maybe some of these tips will help you or maybe you just aren't ready to hear it yet. :) Enjoy.

• Removing the core from iceberg lettuce. Just hold the head of lettuce "core side down" and whack it on the counter top and the core pulls out with ease.
• An easy exfoliant. Put a nickel-sized amount of hand dish washing soap in the palm of your hand and add a bit of salt. Rub them all over your hands and rinse. Ahhh...nice and smooth. (Thanks, Meaja.)
• Extra coupon power. Grocery stores and stores like Rite Aid, often have coupons in their ads. If the coupon says "vendor coupon" or "Rite Aid coupon", etc. then you can use a manufacturers coupon (found in Sunday's paper) in addition to it.
• Freeze the meat so it don't stink. Whenever there is a sweet sale on ground hamburger or chicken breasts, I buy a large amount and freeze it in Ziploc bags. Most of my recipes call for 1 lb. ground beef, so I divide up 1 lb. portions into bags so it's easier to thaw. I cut the fat off the chicken and usually put 2-3 chicken breasts in each bag.
• No more hiccups. My mom gave us a teaspoon of sugar to get rid of hiccups. It always worked, but doesn't seem so healthy. Nowadays (that's right, I said nowadays) I plug my ears and drink water. Works every time! Using a straw to drink the water makes it less tricky.
• The black-eye look is out. Have you ever blinked just as you put the mascara brush to your eye? Or has your older brother ever elbowed you while you were applying mascara just 2 minutes before leaving for church? An easy way to get mascara off your skin is too apply a little foundation, using a Q-tip, to the messy area and it comes right off. Wish I had know that years ago...maybe I wouldn't have been so mad at my brother.
• Poor little Derek whined every morning before Kindergarten as I combed his hair. I used to wet the comb under running water and drips of water always ran down his face. One day I saw my sister wet her boys' hair with an old hair spray bottle that she filled with water. Brilliant! They still complain about the cold water, but the light mist is much more pleasant than drips of water running down their neck.
• The Ped Egg is more than just a dumb name. I laughed when Dave bought it for me for Christmas a couple years ago. But the thing really works. You just can't scrub too hard...sometimes calluses are there for a reason. I was sore after the first time I used it. (Laurel, you just gagged...didn't you? Sorry.)
• I shouldn't admit this, but both my boys have learned the letter sounds from a DVD, "The Letter Factory" by Leap Frog. My mil recommends it for all her preschool students and my kids have loved it. Both of my boys knew all the letter sounds by age 3...no thanks to their mother. :(

That's pretty much my list (that would interest any of you anyway). I really want to learn more tricks from you, so please leave a comment or make a post on your blog!

Our Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas season in our first home! We were able to put lights on OUR house, hang garland on OUR railing, and put a decorated Christmas tree in OUR front room window. Speaking of the poor tree...because of sickness and bad weather we weren't able to buy our tree until a week before Christmas. By that time the lots had slim pickings, but we at least got a discount. Ours was a tree on a diet.
The kids were so excited for Christmas morning. Later they told us that they just couldn't get to sleep. I remember those painful Christmas Eve nights. It was pure torture trying to turn the brain off. It sure is fun watching their excitement. Dave and I watched "It's a Wonderful Life" while wrapping the last-minute gifts. We all slept in until 8:00 the next morning and then we opened presents and had a large and yummy breakfast.

Taylor's uncle, Jason, taught him how to play Chess and Dave thought up the idea of buying him his own set. Taylor was very excited.

She's officially our "little miss mommy" now. She loads that stroller with every purse she can find. It makes her seem all grown up.

Derek has an obsession with anything Army. Taylor bought him this Army tank and Derek was ecstatic.

We've started a tradition of building a gingerbread house during the Christmas season and eating it on Christmas. (It's from a kit, in case you can't tell, so don't be too impressed.) They are fun to make!

Later in the evening we drove to my parents' house and ate Christmas dinner. I'll post more pictures of our following week in the next post. I know this is late, but I hope you all had a MERRY CHRISTMAS!! We sure did.

Jeff the Graduate

My "little" brother, Jeff, graduated from USU on December 12th. We are so proud of his accomplishment. Taylor and I (the rest of the family was sick) drove up to Logan for the graduation and he LOVED being the only child there. He ate up the attention in true middle child fashion. Congratulations, Jeff! Way to go!

It was heavenly...heavenly, I tell you...just spending time with the siblings without the distraction of kids. I want to make a yearly "adults only" night out tradition.

Taylor loved the time with Uncle Scott.

My sisters, Camille and Laurel, and Laurel's husband, Doug.

Four??!!

The beginning of November brought a big surprise for our family. We had been wanting a positive pregnancy test for a few months, but decided to take a break since we didn't want a July or August baby. Well, I complained to Dave one day that I was feeling tired and a little sick. He asked if I could be pregnant to which I replied "not at all possible". Well, it turns out that I was, in fact, pregnant. We were shocked...happy...but shocked. So we're having a July baby afterall. I am 12 weeks along now and I am due around July 18th. I've had a rough first trimester. I had some spotting and was put on bedrest for three weeks. Dave took great care of our family, but it was very hard on all of us. The threat of miscarriage is still there, but with each week it is decreasing. We are thankful. I've had about 8 weeks of morning sickness and it seems to have ended, but it is still lingering a little. So now I've got a little tummy and the boys think it's HUGE. They must have forgotten what I looked like with McKenna. :) Anyway, we are very excited to add to our family and wanted to share the news!! (I hope it wasn't too much information for some of you. Ha ha ha.)

A Halloween Post...Super Early or Late??

This is exactly why I quit scrapbooking. I got too far behind and got overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start back into it, so I quit. My blog has sort of become that. However, my generous sister offered me 3 whole dollars if I would add a new post and you know I can never pass up a good deal. :) I don't want to leave anything out for when I turn this into a book, so you'll have to suffer through some old posts....and I mean old. Halloween, people.

We were excited to go trick or treating in a real neighborhood for the first time. McKenna lasted a couple streets but the boys went strong for almost 2 hours. I don't know why we encourage them to keep going after they want to quit...I just have to deal with the candy rationing for weeks after.

Derek was a skeleton, Taylor was a Clone Trooper from Star Wars, and McKenna was a cute little fairy.

As always, Daddy took some "taxes". In all actuality the boys were very generous with their candy. This is the only time of year when having picky eaters is a good thing for us.

Our house looked awesome. Dave said that he heard trick-or-treaters take a picture on our porch before knocking on the door. I had a cute Fall wreath on the door and hung rubber bats using clear fishing wire from the overhang. The boys helped me make luminaries and my favorite was this little number:We cut a pumpkin face out of cardboard and taped yellow tissue paper behind it. The glow looked really cool from the street. Next year we'll put one in McKenna's window as well. So anyway, that was our Halloween...for anyone that cares two months later. :)