Heart Melter

It's entirely possible that I'm biased.

But I think that I did in fact, give birth to the sweetest baby ever!

Campaign For Real Beauty

I first came to love Dove years ago because of their moisturizing soap. Those who know me, know I love to feel soft and you won't find a shower in my house without a bar of the good stuff. But then Dove gave me another reason to love them. Their advertising. Dove is one of the few companies that I'm aware of that encourages women to love themselves and love their bodies. I spent way too many years of my younger days obsessing that I didn't measure up to some untouchable standard. It's something that I still struggle with. But I want something different for my daughters and I know it starts with me. So now I'm taking the Dove challenge and encouraging each woman who reads this to feel great about your own real beauty. Question beauty stereotypes, refuse to use negative language to describe your body, and tell your friends why they are beautiful. I believe when we feel better about ourselves, we are better to those around us! So pass it on!

Wishing for Maggie

Maryn has been asking Justin and I for a dog for quite some time now. She even knows exactly what she wants, a chocolate poodle named Maggie. There has been some discussion about what a responsibility dogs are and not to mention the cost. I Googled chocolate poodles and those little things can run about $800. I told Maryn that we may not ever be able to get a chocolate poodle just because they are so expensive. She said she would save her money so that she could help Mom and Dad buy her. I figured that bought us a couple years, since her income comes in quarters and dimes. But then the other night before bath, she came to me and said "Mom, I've got it all figured out! All I have to do is ask Santa to bring me Maggie and then it won't even cost ANY money!" I just wanted to squeeze her because I love her tenacity, but what the heck am I supposed to say to that?!

For Connor

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

It's the year of the ox! People born under this sign are said to be honest, reliable, hardworking, pragmatic, and tolerant, with sound financial judgement. So for you Laura, Baby Alley sounds like my kinda girl! You may be wondering why the heck I am even thinking about Chinese New Year. Well, it's because of our main man, Connor Ensign! Last year when Megan and Aaron got engaged, the Ensign's wanted to get together and meet the whole family. So they invited us over for a Chinese New Year feast. Apparently Connor at some point became a big fan of the holiday. He has even been to China and everything, so it's a big deal to him! Jonathan, who spent some time growing up in San Francisco and is in the know, made the most delicious dishes! I thought, hey I could get used to that! So, in your honor tonight Connor, Justin said that he is going to be making an edible Asian sensation for dinner! My stomach thanks you for this new tradition!

Wondering...

I'm not gonna lie, most of my brain's activity lately has been focused on the results of Justin's layoff. I'm a planner and I've been in a funk because the whole thing has left me feeling so vulnerable. It bothers me that you could just be plugging along, doing what your supposed to do and with no provocation your life gets shaken up and left with questions and uncertainty. I always told Justin that come what may, we'd always have each other, and that is very true. We will always have each other and that's the most important thing. But it's hard not to feel angry that your life can just be turned upside down without doing a single thing to deserve it. As we've applied for different jobs, they've been all over the country and I just hate not knowing. Not knowing where we'll end up, not knowing what Justin will be doing for work, not knowing if I am going to need to sell our house, not knowing whether or not to register Brynna for Preschool next year at her current school, not knowing if Maryn's going to be able to finish out the school year where we're at, not knowing if we'll have the luxury of being able to live near family. Everything is such a question mark and I hate it. I know I should quit complaining, that there are others that are far worse off. But I still am wishing and praying and hoping for some answers in my life.

.... I just went back and read this and feel better now. Heavenly Father is so good. In the words of my little buddy Thatcher Alley "Have a happy attitude!"

Maryn's sitting next to me playing with stuffed animals and she just said to her dog "If you're not feeling happy, then you're gonna have to change that. It's your choice!" Ahhh, it's so good to know some of the things I tell her are sinking in! During drama and moodiness that is apparently so prevalent at this age I constantly say, hey look YOU decide how you're gonna feel and act! Now even the stuffed animals are getting the lecture!

Thoroughly Pecked

Have you ever heard the saying that raising children is like being pecked to death by a duck? Well, as much as I love my little monkeys, consider me thoroughly pecked! Lauryn has been so cute with eating her toes lately and I had a minute, so I thought I'd grab a little video of it. It's never so simple. My Busy Bees hit the scene and cue Brynna's whining and bossiness and Maryn's incessant repeating and micro-managing. Sorry Lulu, this is what you get as the third one on the scene, moments crowded by noise! No wonder she seems a little concerned in the first video. But I can't help but love each of them, pecking little duckbills and all. Oh, and please excuse the baby talk. It just comes out when I'm with Lauryn, I can't help it!

Killin' Time

It's right before the girl's bedtime and if they're not tired, I am. So in an effort to keep them entertained and myself awake we decided to mess around with Daddio's laptop. Maryn and Brynna think this is the best thing since sliced bread!

Shiver Me Timbers

It's 10 degrees outside right now. I hate to break it to Mother Nature, but Georgia isn't really supposed to get this cold.

Top Chef

I know I'm a nerd with cooking shows, but is anyone else watching Top Chef on Bravo? My favorito this season is Fabio. The first episode I saw him on I thought hmm, he's good-looking and Italian, so I took him for some sort of self-absorbed player. That's what I get by judging the book by it's cover! I was happily surprised to find out he's humble, funny, loves his wife, and can cook! I'm totally rooting for him to win!

Squeaky Clean

I'm usually a pretty thrifty girl. I get a rush out of the thrill of the hunt, in search of a good bargain. It's painful for me to pay full price for most things. However, there is one area I drew the line on thrift... cleaning supplies. I thought surely they cost what they did because they worked and because it was a complicated formula to make them work. Ahhh, silly me. I have heard chatter lately about homemade cleaning supplies and I thought that surely it must either stink like vinegar or not do the job.

But I ran out of floor cleaner and kitchen cleaner the other day and I figured why not give it a try. I had all the ingredients and thought I may just save a few bucks. So I got on google and looked for some recipes. I tried the one below and was FABULOUSLY impressed with it! All I have to say is takin' it back to the old school is so much more effective than the overpriced stuff in a bottle that doesn't really get the job done! Things cleaned up much easier than commercial cleaners I've used, no streaks or residue on my counters or floors and not a single hint of vinegar smell! If you like you can even add a few drops of any essential oils to make it smell yummy. So here it is folks, my new found cleaning favorito!

Homemade Cleaner:

1 Tbsp. liquid soap

1/4 C. baking soda

2 gal. HOT water

1/4 C. white vinegar

I put 1 gal. of the hot water in my sink, then added soap, soda, and vinegar. (A nice little effervescing action occurred - think homemade volcanoes in grade school) then added one more gallon of hot water in the sink. Worked like a charm! So go on, give it a whirl!

Meet Topper

We have a new monkey in the family folks! Meet Topper, Lauryn's new best buddy! He found his way into her stocking on Christmas morning and the two have been friends ever since. My mom went ahead and warned me that we should locate a Dos Topperitos right now since she seems to have taken to him already. Nobody wants to have to relive the Coco episode again in a few years!

My Dad and my Uncle Steve helped dub him his name. Apparently when they're joking around together, they have an imaginary monkey they named Topper that does things for them. The joke is if they want a drink of water or something they say "Oh Topper, can you get me a drink?" rather than getting up themselves. Don't ask, but it's funny! So when Lulu's new little monkey came out of the stocking my Mom and Dad said "Oh, it's Topper!" and it stuck! So here's to the beginning of a long and dear friendship!

Frustrated

I'm thinking I could put this little stress reduction kit to good use. The new job Justin had lined up, we found out yesterday had a little snag in it. The guy couldn't receive his funding to pay Justin until June. So he just figured since Justin was still receiving severance right now, he could just start and work for free. FOR FREE FOLKS!!! I really am amazed at the audacity and stupidity of some people in this world. Sigh. Oh well, moving on, back to square one.

Adventures in Sledding

The snow was deep and we were all getting restless being stuck in the house. So we decided to venture out and try our hands at sledding... even though the roads really weren't that great to be driving on. We piled into cars and set off. We found a nice hill and decided to drive to the top of it and park, rather than park at the base and hike up with the kids. The top of the hill took us through a neighborhood thick with untouched snow. My dad, seeing the top of our sledding hill at the base of a street, got excited for an adventure and without thinking, drove down a steep street straight into the deep snow of a cul-de-sac, getting his little Chevy Malibu stuck. My sister-in-law Kristine was laughing her head off, seeing the humor in it. I was scowling because I was certain we'd be stuck in Forest Grove until Spring and Jesse was getting pelted in the face with snow as the tires spun out as he was trying to push on the car to get it out. Luckily for my Dad, he thinks that little Mali is a 4-wheel drive or something, because he gassed that poor car until the chains broke off the tires. But he kept on pushing the pedal to the metal it and finally got it out of what I was certain would be it's snowy grave. Never a dull moment with my family!

We finally got going with sledding, but the girls quickly realized this business was cold! They screamed and weeped and wailed. It only took a few turns down of getting sprayed in the face with snow and it going down shirts and up pant legs for them to realize they were done. Maryn through tears at one point cried "I just HATE this winter!" So I put them back in the car where their cousin Kade was looking at them like "Holy cow, what is going on with these crazy women!"

Ahh, it just wouldn't be a family vacation without the kids throwing out some sort of joy-sucking antics, don't you think? I still had fun in the short time we had. Justin stayed out a bit longer with Steve, Kristine and Cole after Mom and I took the little animals home and had a good time.

I'm pretty sure like most things though, when the kids look back they won't remember all the bad. They'll remember the fun little moments of adventure in between!