What, do I really have to wear a bra???

It's been tough, but I'm finally getting used to wearing "real" clothes AND a bra again. (Real clothes defined as anything OTHER than sweat pants, yoga pants, pajama pants...anything really without an elastic waist!) We had a lot of house time this Christmas Holiday season. It's been ages since I blogged, where to start?? It's been hard fitting in computer time, when you have a house full. Literally, all the time! If we weren't cooking up a treat we were cleaning it up. Hayley was a saint and brought her PD90X aka P90X with her. Tony Horton and I kicked some butt together, I would have been one grumpy girl without him. I am a fan. This is just a quickie blog post, I must take the kids (all of them, I'm bringing a book) to the dentist. Since, our original appointments were cancelled due to the weather. But I'll blog more later, but I had to end the blogging fast. I'm here, we had tons of fun and I'll share more of it later.

Merry Christmas

These last few days (well week really) have been so fun. We have been busy busy busy...doing stuff mostly around the house. We were home bound Friday-Monday, we got out of the house to shop on Tuesday, and then today has been a big cooking Christmas Eve day. Seriously, fun and games and eating. I haven't felt cabin fever. We got the few things done we needed to yesterday (thanks Wal-mart and Target). This has been the most snow the area has had since like 1968. I LOVE IT. I love the White Christmas, I love the trees covered in snow, I love the cold weather and cocoa, and being cooped up-even better. Thank heavens Hayley brought P90X! And doing it all with my family...it doesn't get any better. The kids have had a blast in the snow. Scott even snow boarded down out street. Good times.

We just finished out dinner, Scott and Dad are doing dishes, and then it's Christmas Traditions!! Merry Christmas!!

Snow day"s"

These pictures are all from the other day, when we didn't get too much snow, but it turned really cold and the roads were a little slick.

I found this kid some boots so he didn't have to play in his Keens.

Monday=no school

Tuesday=school

Wednesday=no school

Thursday=no school

Friday= it's already been decided...no school

My goodness, if it is snowy AT ALL there is no school. Today, it really did snow. We got 3 inches (or so) today, but it was kind of warm (36ish). So, the kids played outside all day. Literally. It was kind of nice :) Everybody except Hope that is. Well...and Hayley and I, but we did play, I even shoveled the driveway. Sledding down these hills was a huge hit. Hunter and his friends were having so much fun, they even popped the inner tube. Hayley and I keep asking each other "What are we going to do with these kids all day tomorrow too?" I guess if they keep playing outside, nothing!

I didn't like it...

I loved it. At nearly 3 hours, prepare yourself and don't drink too much Diet Coke!! But seriously, it's my kind of movie-epic romance. It had it all, AND it didn't hurt that Hugh Jackman is one hot Australian! Go see it on the big screen, it was a beautiful movie-I loved the way it was shot. The scenery is gorgeous.

And this kid, was so darn cute, I loved him. I saw it once with Scott, maybe Hayley would go see with me again, Hayley? But I'm buying that one as soon as I can!

Oh....two year olds!!

Today we went to our friend/kid's dentist Christmas party. It's the second time Hope has been around Santa, and the second time she has shunned him. She doesn't cry...but she wants NOTHING to do with him and will wiggled around until she is at a safe distance from Santa (or bury her head in my shoulder). She says "NO Sanna!!" And puts her little pointer finger in the air like she is shaking it at him.

Yesterday, was an event filled day for Hope. As I was getting dressed she came in and got out the bottle of peroxide. She showed it to me, and I told her to put it away. She did, but then I turned to put my mascara on, and she unscrewed the bottle and started shaking it. All over her hair, her clothes and me. I quickly rinsed her (and everything else off) and luckily no harm or bleaching was done. Phew. But then, we got to where we were going (a brunch for a friend's birthday) and Hope disappeared (at some point) with my purse. I thought she had gone off to play like a good girl, but oh no. She had taken my purse, and gone upstairs alright...only to eat an entire (minus 1 piece) of Orbit gum. She ATE it, not chewed it. All 13 pieces. Lovely. Needless to say, she woke up from her nap with a tummy ache (she kept saying "I'm sick"), but still smelling like mint. In fact she still smelled like mint last night. She did NOT ask for gum today :)

A letter to a grandson

** Hayden is a fun little boy, sometimes naughty, but overall he is a good boy. When he is curious about something, he is very curious and he asks lots of questions. Dare I say he obsesses a bit. For any of you who KNOW me, you understand that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. One day we were driving in the car, and it came up that my Dad was a marine. My Dad's "coolness" factor jumped threw the roof with Hayden. We immediately called my Dad and Hayden talked and talked and talked...about being a Marine, war, weapons, the fact that MY Grandfather was in WW2 was almost too much to handle. I'm not sure why I don't have a picture of my Dad in uniform yet...Dad?? You got all of these other shots together, what's one more :) Hayden is working on a school project/poster and had some questions for my Dad. My Dad didn't just respond to his questions, he went above and beyond. Did you know, for every birthday, for EVERYONE in our family, my Dad writes us a birthday letter. Someday, we should have them all published. **

Okay Hayden, here is a little history:

Hayden's great grandfather, Maurice G. Jones was in the Navy in World War II. He was a aircraft mechanic on board the U.S.S. Saratoga in the Pacific Ocean. He was in a lot of famous naval battles in the Pacific Ocean. This picture was taken in 1944 (he was 20 years old and had been away at war for about 2 years) before he met his future wife and two years before Hayden's grandpa Micheal was born.

In this picture, Maurice was a Second Class Petty Officer (Aircraft Machinist Mate). He ended the war as a First Class Petty Officer and was recalled to active duty in 1951 for the Korean War. I remember when he came home.

The picture of Eunice and Maurice Jones (Hayden's great grandparents) was taken in about 1990.

Maurice's parents were Ronald M. Jones (picture from about 1971)

and Edna Gerrard (her engagement picture from about 1922).

Ronald Jones' parents were Charlotte Judd (picture from sometime in the early 1960's)

and Thomas A. Jones (he died in about 1936 and this picture was taken shortly before he died).

The last picture is of Orville R. Atkin and Nina Atkin (Hayden's other great grandparents) and Wayne Goodman (Nina's brother who just returned from World War II fighting in Italy). The picture was taken in Oakland, California in 1945 about two months before Hayden's grandma (Marleen) was born.I knew all of these people except Thomas A. Jones.

I love you.

Grandpa Michael D. Jones

the day of Christmas cards

Oh I need a break, I have been addressing and writing on Christmas cards all day, my hand feels like it will fall off. I want to go read a book, in a minute...I am tracking down a couple more addresses and then putting stamps on the cards. No Christmas stamps left when I went to the post office, flags only-bummer, not as cute... but they still work.

Have you tried any "green" cleaning products/beauty products lately? Well, I have let's see...

1) Dish soap- the "green" stuff stinks. It doesn't cut grease worth a hill of beans. Have you tried one that you like?

2) Laundry soap- I bought the kind they sell at Costco and think that it rocks- love it.

3) I was using this brand of facial soaps, lotions and potions called Suki, but I didn't deem it worthy for a repeat buy. I'm back to my Renova and Oil of Olay. Even the "experts" like those.

4)"Green" sunscreens stink!! Terrible, I won't buy them anymore. They go on white and really sticky and heavy-not good. I didn't like one so much I threw it away without using it up! I like the Neurtrogena brand.

5) I use lots of vinegar and baking soda to clean. Not together, but vinegar is a good window washing. Baking soda works great cleaning sinks and tubs when you couple it with a soapy cleaner like Mrs. Meyers. Plus, Mrs. Meyer's smells good.

6) Of course all the Method soaps and cleaning products I have tried I love. I really like the way the Method toilet cleaner smells.

Hmmm, I can't think of anymore-that's all for now.

I finished this book and thought it was very good. Not the best book in the world, but I had just finish Middlemarch and NEEDED something very different than that. I found it quite entertaining, and think it would make an interesting discussion for a book club. Go look and see what it's about. If that doesn't spark some conversation, I don't know what will.

I need to go shower and change. Like I said before, my whole day has been Christmas cards!! Hannah and I are going with some friends to see the Nutcracker tonight. Exciting! And I'm dressing up.

"Hold you, me!"

When Hunter was 2"ish" he would say "hold you me" when he wanted somebody to pick him up. It was always one of the favorite things he said as a little fella. Now I get to re-live a time in history. Wouldn't you know Hope the other day, as we were walking up the hill said to me "hold you me, Momma". I loved it, and you better be sure I held that girl.

In Praise of Plenty

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving. We did. It was just our little family at home, together for the holiday. I cooked the full spread. I brined a big old turkey (best turkey I've ever made), I made homemade rolls, made the crust for the pies, tried some new recipes, and did all the old traditions. I was in the kitchen literally the whole day, but had a great time and wouldn't have done anything differently. Scott and I had fun shopping together on Black Friday, we even met up with some friends and had breakfast together after the shopping extravaganza. All in all good times!!

Everyone knows I loved my life in Houston, right? One of the things I really liked there was my gym. It sounds dumb, but it's true. I loved Lifetime Fitness. They put out this magazine that I like more than any other fitness magazine out there. Thankfully, I still get it. They take fitness to another level. They have had this 6 part series of articles on fitness at a cellular level. There was this particular article on stress that I found oh so interesting and I'm really trying hard to incorporate into my life. Especially since, from Thanksgiving-Christmas I have insomnia. It's not the first year this has happened, and it probably won't be the last. Come about 3 or 4 AM I'm awake...laying there. I have been turning on my light to read for a while, hoping I'll fall back asleep. Poor Scott.

BUT, it's this article that I kept saying "oh this is good" to Scott to while I read it. It's called In Praise of Plenty. It pretty much sums up how I look at food. Cathrine Guthrie starts the article out, by talking about how more and more Americans are over weight (no news flash there), but she points out that a lot of Americans have stopped viewing food as a pleasurable experience, it's become something that many fear and restrict. It's funny how the grocery store offers more than 40,000 different food types, but many of those are lacking in nutritional value. She outlines a five step guide (are you ready?):

Step 1: Prioritize Plants. Yep, eat more fruits and vegetables. We aren't getting enough, and we need more. They are full of bulk, and you fill fuller when you eat more. When you just eat less, you set your brain up to fail. You look at your empty plate, and you are left feeling deprived. Not good.

Step 2: Seek Hormonal Balance. According to some, obesity is related to insulin. If you eat the majority of your calories from refined carbohydrates, your insulin spikes. However, if you are eating foods rich in complex carbs (foods like vegetables, whole grains, legumes) they produce a steady flow of insulin. The higher the insulin levels, the more fat you accumulate.

Step 3: Enjoy Variety. If you eat a wide variety of foods, not only will your taste buds be happier and you will crave foods less, but your nutritional needs are more likely to be met.

Step 4: Adopt a Traditional Diet. The author of the articles points out that back in our Grandmother's day everybody got along just fine on a diet of whole foods. "Your great-grandmother's approach to eating probably didn't involve a lot of reduced-fat or low- cal diet foods, nor did it include a lot of drive thru fare or precessed snacks."

Step 5: Eat Mindfully. We need to tune into the food we are eating. We should sit down, at the table and enjoy family meals more. "When food becomes an aesthetic experience, the brain and gut align and the body feels more nourished."

Anyway, that's just a brief overview, if you find this info at all interesting go check out that article in full detail. Happy eating.

You've got to love kids!

Typically, I'm not a cereal for dinner type Mom, but tonight...I was. This morning, I made a big waffle breakfast, followed by a big lunch out. After an afternoon filled with Christmas decorating and Thanksgiving prep...cereal it was. Now...I am a rock star. What makes matters even better, I bought some "good" cereal. Total rock star here. I didn't even make anybody (well Hope, but she asked for a carrot) eat a vegetable. I had a PBJ sandwich, yogurt, and sorry to disappoint, some spinach salad and carrots.

What I find entertaining lately...

This is what I took to the bus stop this morning. This is one heck of a fun girl these days. With that being said...she can be a huge pain in the buns too. Like when we go to the grocery store. ha But I have certainly been enjoying this girl lately.

In fact, all of my kids have been super entertaining lately. Hunter is fun to watch wrestling. I enjoy that WAY more than expected. Who knew?? He got a technical pin (he won on points by more than 15 points) and then in his second match he pinned the kid. But what made me smile was when he said, he just knew the second kid he wrestled was Mormon. I asked how he knew...he said he could see a sparkle in his eyes. He asked the kid and he indeed was. Interesting. Hannah did the family home evening lesson last night. She did such a great job. Better than our (Scott and myself) lessons have been lately. Everyone was engaged, Hunter even complimented her!! Good job Hannah. Speaking of Family Home Evening, Hayden was especially entertaining last night. He indeed was engaged in Hannah's lesson, but he can be so silly too. He indeed was on one last night and had us all smiling...until he went too far ;) I'll spare you the details. But hey, isn't that just the way it goes. That kid oozes personality, for good and bad.

Free beauty advice:by Heather

So, I was watching a DVR'd Oprah the other day (the newest one with Doctor Oz...you might have seen it) and they had a very interesting piece of advice. I don't know about you, but I hate scraggly heels. Hate it. I put lotion on every single night in fact, it's part of my ritual. But even with all my lotion applying, I still get rough heels. Well, the lady on there said...to buy yourself some Stridex pads (the kind most normal people would put on their face), rub the pad on your foot, apply lotion and socks and poof no more scraggly heels! I have been doing it since Friday, and have the smoothest heels. Now, I did do the heel scraper thing before (like a pumice stone), but I'm telling you normally, they would at least be rough again. No roughness. The Stridex pad has salicylic acid in it, that's what does all the work. Just thought I'd share.

Who wants cauliflower ear?

I really should be making dinner right now, I need to get on that, but first...

Its has been rainy here all day. I think "winter" is here. I have enjoyed my new slippers today. The Fall was so beautiful this year. I was lame and didn't take nearly enough pictures. I took some, but none that are blog worthy, you'll just have to take my work for it-BEAUTIFUL.

I have made two really good things this week: Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Sauce, Lighter General Tso's Chicken. There is no link on Everyday Food for that bad boy, sorry. It's in the September issue, I do believe. Maybe if I'm feeling really nice I'll type that one in. (later) It was a goody.

I didn't blog about this yet, but on Friday I went to Hunter's first wrestling match. Oh my. I don't have brothers, and I had never been to one. I don't know anything about wrestling. Really. But I'm learning. Scott came for Hunter's match and then left. I called him when Hunter was next up, he could bugger out of work for a minute and then went right back. But it was fun, and way more intense that I suspected. I did have to laugh out loud a couple of times about some of the wrestling "moves". Very interesting is all I have to say ;) I did mention I think, that I told Hunter in the beginning I wanted him wearing that head gear-all of the time. I showed him pictures of cauliflower ear just to be sure he'd listen. It's working so far, in fact he said now most everybody wears the head gear. Who wants cauliflower ear?? But anyway, it was intense and I yelled and screamed way more than I though I would. The Momma Bear came out.

It's fun to be a girl.

Hannah and I set off to the mall this weekend. After I returned Roomba, I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket. I tried last weekend to find some treasures, but none were found. (although I did have LOTS of fun looking) Fast forward a week and it was a total different story. I love Nordstrom. I love their clothes, their shoes, their make up...love love love. I love the Rack, too. Anyway, we parked at the Nordstrom when we got to the mall, because I like to wander through there, and I haven't for a while. So, we get there, and there is like NO parking. Not a good sign I'm thinking. But we finally got rock star parking and I very quickly realized why there were so many people. It was the half yearly sale. Glory days!! I didn't even know it. Hannah is becoming quite the fun shopping partner. My mission was jeans and black boots. I ended up finding a little pile, put it on hold while I checked out the Gap, found jeans that I LOVED at the Gap, but still came back to Nordstrom and did a little damage with my "pile". I found shoes that I loved. One pair I ended up putting back, because I was trying to be all responsible, and I just had to have this green jacket. But I ended up with some very cute black boots. They are a little edgy. By edgy I mean pointy toe, and shiny leather...a little edgy but why NOT??!! Hannah told me I "had to get them". I put them on for Scott (when I got home) and he said "they are hot!" In fact he went on to tell me all boots are very sexy. Did you know?? I was telling my Mom about them, and she asked, "Are they kind of hookerish?" I had to laugh out loud. Maybe a little Mom. But don't worry, I won't wear them with any skimpy skirts and halter tops, okay? I did have a little fun at the makeup counter with my BFF Bobbie Brown. It's fun to be a girl.

After our afternoon of shopping, we went to see High School Musical 3. Oh yeah, I know you are jealous. I must admit, I was tapping my toe, that tub of popcorn and half lemonade half Sprite was tasting mighty good... and it was better than I expected. Plus, knowing how happy it made my little girl-totally worth it.

The bye-bye's

1) Hope
2) Hayden
3) Me
4) Hannah
5) ?
6) ?

When Hope was sick and throwing up, she called throwing up the "bye-bye's". She'd point into her mouth, and say "bye-bye". I knew when it was coming (she'd tell me), and now when we say, so and so has the bye-bye's she totally knows what it means and points down into her mouth. Hannah is the next soldier to fall. Scott is leaving again, so he might luck out and not get it, or he will just spread the wealth tonight on the plane, not sure. I told Hunter to get ready. I told him, he had better not throw up from his tall bed. He has a history...he threw up once from the top bunk...just hung his head over the side and blew chunks. Imagine if you will, waking up to THAT sound. Gross.

So, McCain lost, as I'm sure you know. This was an election full of drama. Truth be told...I didn't LOVE either guy. Hannah told me she didn't want to go to school this morning. They have talked a lot about politics here in Hannah and Hunter's classes. That's good. Apparently, Hannah had been talking smack with some girl and didn't want to face her today. :) I have enjoyed all the calls for coming together as a nation. Can't I have just one day of "oh pooh?" Guess not. I watched/fast forwarded Oprah today. I like Oprah and she was on my nerves. In the spirit of looking forward, being positive and "coming together as a nation" (where has all this "togetherness" been for the last few years?) here's what I think: President Obama is a smart man, I think he is very genuine about his desire to "clean up" America, I do think it's cool we have elected a black president, and he is one charismatic guy. Let's Go America!

Girl...

I was in Wal-fart today grocery shopping, and Hope was on her best behavior. No, I lie. She was being terrible. I think she is allergic to Wal-mart, seriously. I think I am too. I had to change my meal plan for the week because they didn't have stuff. Like sweet potatoes and mangoes. Aren't those pretty typical things to carry? Whatever. I'm flexible that way, and I had some other ideas. But anyway, I was buying some new socks for Hayden because the child told me he was out of socks...and I just washed his laundry late last week. Not good. He is a sock loser that one. And so, Hope was being terrible, and she was crying around...and this African American woman comes up to me and says "Girl, you better get a hold of that one!" I wasn't offended, I was actually rather amused. I "play" slapped her in the arm, and said "Girl, I know it!!" We had a jolly good chat right there in the Wal-mart.

Can I just say, I hate that it's dark by 5 pm!! It's nice that's it's not dark still when Hunter goes to school, but goodness. 5 pm!!

Happy Halloween

Cool yard in the neighborhood.

"OH my goodness!"

Trick or Treat

Daddy and his girls. Scott was channelling the Jolly Green Giant last night.

Hunter didn't want to go out trick or treating, so he stayed home and passed out the candy.

Darth Vader was going to be a ninja, but he couldn't find his costume (well, he couldn't find the shirt part, everything else he had) from the trunk or treat last Friday. We went to the "Boo Bash" on Wednesday, and he just told me he didn't want to be a ninja anymore. He came down crying about 1/2 hour before candy time and spilled his guts. We think he left the shirt at the church at the trunk or treat. That kid :)

She saw that candy bucket at the store, and it was a must have. She carried that thing around all night! Anything "princess" is Ah Ha Ha. We think it's like... ta Da? I'm not sure, but that's the best we can come up with.

My little witch. She was pretty darn cute last night. She even lost a tooth later that night. The tooth fairy "forgot" to come, but thankfully remembered after she woke and question about the lame tooth fairy.

The "master carver". We waited to carve pumpkins until Thursday, because we thought Scott would be home. As it turned out, he was late. BUT, all the kids help scoop out the guts, but Hunter and I were the "master carvers". (his term)

Can I just say I'm a wee bit jealous?

Kind of last minute, Scott turned his layover in Houston (on his way back home) to a stay over for the day. He set up a meeting with some old work people at HP to see about some business stuff. But while he was there, he got to go visiting! Can I just say I'm a wee-bit jealous? Those last few days in Houston, still rate as some of my all time saddest days. I guess that's a blessing in my life, that those days are the saddest. What I mean is, I guess I haven't had some terrible thing happen in my life, you know? Anyway, he took the work meeting to Los Cucos for lunch. Ahhhh, Los Cucos, a favorite place of ours. You just don't get good Mexican food here, sorry but it's true. But I will say I have had some excellent food...just not Mexican food. ahh, the people and the friends. Good times. He certainly wasn't able to see everyone, but he did get to see a handful. I wish I was there. Who knows where we will end up? If we will ever move back to Houston? The sad thing we decided was, even if you move back to a place, it's never the same. When he saw the house though, he said he felt very much detached. That's not home-home is where we (we meaning his family) are! That's a good thing. Life does go on, and we have made many wonderful friends here, too. For that I am thankful.

Yesterday, Hunter had a band concert. With Hope being sick and Scott being gone, I had decided early in the week to get a babysitter and leave her home (best money I have spent in a long time). As it turns out, I left everybody at home, Hannah was tired, and Hayden had been stung by a bee and got Benadryl-so he was going to be tired. Anyway, as I was sitting there, I started looking around and thinking about our first band concert here, right after we moved here. I remembered looking around, not knowing anyone, and feeling very sad about that. Last night, was different. As I sat there, I knew a lot of people. Certainly, not as many people as I would have know at a jr. high band concert in Texas, but enough to not feel lonely. To feel like I am getting to know people here! Can I just say that is a really good feeling. I started talking to the man next to me. As it turns out, they had lived in Houston in the late 80's-mid 90's. It was fun talking to him. He liked living in Houston, but I think he was surprised I liked it so much. It got me thinking, what did I like so much about Houston?? The thing that tops my list?? The people. Enough of that for now.

And in other news...after feeling better"ish" for a whole day, Hope threw up again last night, and has been a sick little grumpy girl today. Lovely. I feel like I'm coming down with the flu, aches, sore throat, stabbing pain behind my eyes, stuffy nose...the works. Oh well, now I get a taste of what is making her so grumpy. I pray I don't get the stomach bug with it!!

friendly reminder: don't forget the sunscreen!

About a month ago, Hope had a dermatologist "emergency". She had a rash under her arm that needed some help. The fastest they could get us in...was about a month later. Lovely. Anyway, today was the day. I thought about cancelling. Thought about, but didn't do it. I wanted us to be seen!! Hope didn't throw up any last night, even though she did come in for visits about 5 times, so she wasn't feeling too hot. She did want some breakfast this morning, I took that as a good sign. Although, she did throw up her entire small bowl of oatmeal, and then she proceeded to take a nap. But I took her anyway. I certainly braved it. I was talking to my friend Jennifer on the phone while driving over (hands free thank you) and she said "did you bring something...in case she throws up?" I had not! But I lucked out and she was fine. I got checked out head to toe...I wasn't really expecting that one, but alrighty then. I found out I don't have any skin cancers. The little "thing" on my face by my eye is totally benign and so I left it for now. I did have the doctor prescribe me some more Renova (real reason for my visit). I was on that before I got pregnant with Hope and loved the way my skin looked, so I'll be back on that (tonight-I'm not compulsive AT ALL) I use it as an anti-aging skincare cream. But the most important thing is, don't forget the sunscreen!!

barfy babies

There is nothing like staying home when your baby is sick. She is one of those sick babies that likes you to hold them. Just sit there...and hold her, and of course let her rub my ear. And you know what, she is my baby, and I can do that...for the most part. She did fall asleep at one point and I went outside to my garage and did my book camp. I have a play list that I have entitled... Get Your Groove On. It's good stuff, and I indeed can get my groove on ;)

Hope is now fer-real asleep in her bed. So, I could break away and blog away. I was doing my thing and happened upon my friend Sarah's blog, who posted about some delicious pumpkin treat. I am a sucker for the pumpkin treats. I quickly hurried down to make sure I had all ingredients, happily I did. Butter scotch morsels and cream cheese included. I love that.

The only problem is, what to have for dinner? I have menu planned for the week, but I'm not so sure I'll be making it to the grocery store. Maybe when Hunter gets home I can run over. Scott is oot. I'm using code, so none of the scary rapist/murders will see this and come get me. If the kids or I ever get REALLY sick, you can be assured Scott is...OOT. I'm sure I'll be getting barfing pretty soon. Hope kept coming into my room last night starting at about 12. After about 1/2 of her tossing and turning and her breathing RIGHT in my face, I'd take her back to her room, only to have her back again the next 1/2 hour. That lasted until about 4, when she barfed...all over the sheets. She started making barfing noises, and since I hadn't been "really" asleep since about 12, I gathered the top sheet and caught-it-all. Am I good or what?

So, I'm off to go bake, and then read, and then watch another Oprah followed by another Sesame Street, because I'm sure Hope will be awake by then.

**Oh imagine my profound disappointment, when I went to start baking, I realized I didn't have any canned pumpkin. I always have canned pumkpin, I didn't even look for that. I really will be grocery shopping later today.

Just checking in

I haven't posted for a few days. Nothing too exciting to report just busy with life. On Wednesday, I made 8 trips (I started counting) picking kids up, dropping kids off, running to the store...and that was from 2:30ish until 7 o'clock. It was slightly obnoxious. Hayden plays his last game of soccer on Saturday. He met a little boy his age around the corner!! Hannah has about another month left in her soccer season, and she just started in a book club. They are reading the Little Princess. She volunteered to host the discussion. She's my girl. Hunter wrapped up football by winning the SkyHawk award- he showed the most football spirit. That made Scott proud, as you can imagine. Go Hunter! He has started wrestling. Being the good mother that I am, I showed him pictures of cauliflower ears. We don't want cauliflower ears. He came home yesterday with some head gear. He told his coach, "My Mom wants me to wear head gear, even in practice!" Darn right. Practice is killing him, he says it's harder that football practice in TX. You KNOW it's hard!

The roomba is still my friend. I have had some people asking. Momma still likey. I'm starting to see the beauty in this whole robotic cleaning solution. What about bathrooms? Dishes? Laundry?

The weather is still very nice here. I keep waiting for the rain to hit...I know it's coming....but I'm enjoying every day I can outside. Hope and I run to the park just about everyday that we can (for a few minutes anyway) after the gym. The only problem is, now she expects it, and if we have something else going on, she feels slighted. I'm going to take my workout outside this morning. My version of boot camp. No boot camp classes at this gym, so if I want that kind of pain, I have to inflict it upon myself. Good day to you!

Scott's version of a cleaning lady

Nothing says "Happy Birthday" like a Roomba. Scott and the kids surprised me for my birthday, with a Roomba. It's one of those gifts, I never knew I wanted. I have to admit, I choked a little when I did a little research to get a picture for my blog...about how much they cost...but hey, it was a gift. But that is one hard working little robot. I have had plenty of family and friends that have/had them. Some reviews have been great, some not so good. But, for the three days that Mr. Roomba has been cleaning at my house, I like him, and I'm keeping him. Back and forth, under the table, around the table, on the carpet, in the pantry,laundry room, and bathroom even. Places I don't even go, to sweep or vacuum. It's a lovely thing. Hayden announced that we now have "eight people in our family!" Huh? Mom, Dad, Hunter, Hannah, Hayden, Hope, Scout and Roomba. I have to admit it's quite the thrill for everyone to watch the Roomba. They like to watch the Roomba, I like watching them, like the Roomba. If you are thinking about getting a dog or some other pet? Consider a Roomba, the kids love 'em, and they clean up after themselves.

Happy Birthday Hope!

This is Hope today talking on the phone to my parents. She was talking and then started singing a song. It was pretty cute.

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Hope. She was just little with two teeth.

LIPS!

Hope had been crying and I took about 30 pictures, during the fit and after. They are some of my favorites too. Here is just one.
Hopey the thumb sucker. I sometimes miss that bald head.

"hospital picture" Here's what's funny...you know how you take about a million pictures when your baby is born? We are no different, some you'd show others and some...you might die if someone else saw. Anyway, Scott took pictures and sent pictures to lots of close friends. The only problem was he sent them ALL to everybody. :) No crotch shots, just after the baby was born, but some first time nursing pictures and such. I had one friend that said "oh I just deleted some of those!!" Thanks Scott ;)

I like those feet.

Happy Birthday to my Hopey girl. Seriously, where does the time go? It seems like yesterday we were trying to decide what to name this girl...and I couldn't have found a better name for her. She is my HOPE.