New Orleans

For those who don't know, I just got back from New Orleans. I had a great time. I had no idea that town had such a rich history. It all seemed just a bit tainted though. All the stories had someone dying in them.
I loved seeing all of the really cool plantations. That was my favorite part of the trip, besides the great company, of coarse. Here are some of the great pictures we took. Check the pictures of the houses in the French Quarter extra close. There are ghosts in them (The tour guide said the spots of light are ghosts and if you zoom in far enough it looks like the Mayan calendar.)
The "add image" feature isn't working right now. I will have to add the pictures later. I know you are dying to see the ghosts. Just look at the sun, it is pretty much the same thing.

Read My Earlier Post First

Violet just came to me with four bottles that she found lying around the house. She told me that one of them is really yummy. I asked her if she tried them and she said yes. She likes the blue one the best....ew. "Really yummy."

No More Breastfeeding Ever

I don't really have anything to post, but I need those pictures to move down! I will tell you all about my challenges I am currently going through. I have decided to stop breastfeeding FINALLY. Yesterday went better than expected. Atticus took a bottle with little complaining. A little resistance then he would give in. Today, not such good news. He won't even let me hold a bottle near him. Tom was able to get him to take a little, but not more than a couple ounces. I really want this to stick because I am sure if I give in at this point it will be much harder in the long run.
Things I am suddenly aware of. I should have been giving him a bottle all along. (I told myself after two previous weaning nightmares I would always make sure my kids would take a bottle. Why didn't I listen to myself?) I obviously favor the left breast. It is about twice the size of the right, and it is really hard to sleep with tender, lumpy engorged (even in your armpit) boobs. I am sooo tired. If you eat too many blue robin eggs, you milk will turn a lovely shade of blue. (Breathtaking, you should see it.) I know you shouldn't pump if you want your milk to dry up, but I am miserable. A 13 month old that gets the bulk of his nutrition from me (the rest from dog food) apparently eats a lot! See how tired I am? This makes no sense, and I don't have the brainpower necessary to make the needed corrections. You are going to have to sort through this mess yourself.

My Self-Portrait, Inspired By Emily

I was just looking around my sister Emily's blog. I noticed some pictures she posted that she took of herself. I thought they looked good, but I totally underestimated how hard it is to take a good picture of yourself. I took about 20 before I realized maybe it isn't my picture taking ability, but my face that is ruining every picture. I thought I would post some of the best ones. Or rather, worst ones. Don't I have a lot of freckles? Next time I try to take pictures of myself, I think I am going to put make-up on. Maybe even brush my hair.

Shameful...

I have an embarrassing admission. I have been eating candy again. It started after Valentines day. I just couldn't resist the half price candy. It has escalated. I bought WAY too much half price Easter candy. I ate it all already. I was looking around the house for something to satisfy my caving when I spotted a melted twix in the refrigerator. (Not one of mine of coarse, I would have eaten it already. Violet had found one of the neighbors Easter eggs in their front yard about a week after Easter.) I don't know why I didn't throw it away, but there it was staring at me from the fridge. I ate it. I am not proud. I feel sick.

A Whole Week!

I can't believe it has been a whole seek since my last update! I have been so busy. I can't really think of anything specific I have done, but I must have done something otherwise I would have posted something new. I have a video, but it really showcases my dirty house. I am debating whether I should post it or not. You will know before I do.
I have been a bit sad. Rob Caufield, my ex-boyfriend's dad, died last Friday from a brain tumor. He was a great man that I really looked up to. I think of him every time I refinance anything, file my taxes-"get them done early", buy a car, or pay extra principle on my mortgage. I will miss him.
I guess I will post the video, but no judging. The kids are responsible for cleaning the playroom, not my mess.

Violet Is Cute

I was just sitting here, looking at blogs. Frankly, a bit boring except for Jenny's fabulous posts. Violet was playing with her ponies. It reminded me of a story... She always asks for what I thought was pony-bears, but while I was giving her a bath one day the roar of the TV was thick in the air. A giant smile splashed across Violet's face when a "My Little Pony" commercial came on. "...in ponyville..." Violet told me she wanted her pony-bear at that moment. I got it. She had been saying ponyville, not pony-bear. When I corrected my mistake she was thrilled. She had been misunderstood for so long. She has been an exceptional talker, and I could tell it pained her to be misunderstood. I know she thought it was me that had the problem, and maybe it was. Maybe I was wanting to hear pony-bear because now it sounds nothing like pony-bear. Who calls a pony a ponyville anyways?

Look How Much Fun We Had

This is our Easter egg hunt. It was more dangerous than it looks. Some of the eggs were hidden out of reach. The kids were forced to make dangerous climbs for the goods. There were also muddy areas where you could easily loose a shoe if you misstepped. There was also one little boy (I won't name names-Thomas) who followed Hazel around and cried every time she found an egg. Then there was the dog poop hazard. We decided not to clean it up, you know, to liven things up a bit. Kind of like avoiding laser beams. Atticus forfeited his eggs so everyone would have the same amount. (Thank you little man-your small deed stopped many tears from falling.) Overall, I would say it was a success.
I would have posted the same day as promised except the Internet was down again. Darn transformers. This post will happen. I win this time. -More than meets the eye, my a**!

Stay Tuned For Easter Pictures

I thought I would post a couple pictures from my birthday. I don't have time to post birthday and Easter so I will post some Easter pictures a little later today if I have time. I had a great time. thanks to my family. I loved all the calls and harbor no bad feelings toward the ones that left a comment a day late on my blog on the wrong post.
I would like to give a special thanks to my mom for making this all possible. I couldn't have done it without you.

We,ve hijacked your blog to wish you a happy birthday

HAZEL-happy birth day i luve you mom luve hazel

VIOLET-f,,.xcvb(Violet typed this, it looks like she spelled a bad word. She wanted me to type wilet, then happy birthday mom)

TOMMY-tjomqqs (this is how tommy spells his name on the computer, he also says i love mom)

ATTICUS-Buckel (this is all he knows how to say, I'm pretty sure he means happy birthday mommy, BTY isn't his snot beautiful?)









DAD-Happy Birthday Katie, I love you. Only 2 more years and I can say both me and my wife are thirty-somethings. TIT

New Family Pictures

I am finally going to update my family pictures. The girl that did my last one is coming in from Utah. I am really excited about it. I thought she did a really good job. (I don't know how many of you have tried to get a good picture of your family with a wild 23 month old. I think she took over 300 pictures and about 60 of them turned out.) Anyone who would like their pictures taken by her just let me know. She does really cute candid pictures and posed. Whatever you want. Here is a link if you want to check her work out. All of the pictures of my kids at the right were taken by her (except for the one of Atticus. That was Jenny, who also does some amazing work.) She is really affordable. I think I paid $75 for the shoot and $50 for the copyright. I don't know if she still charges the same, but I think she is totally worth it. Sara's pictures

Stairs...Mastered!

Atticus has finally figured out the stairs. He can go up and down all by himself without assistance. I am so happy that I never have to worry about a baby toppling down the stairs. From this point on, any if my kids that fall down the stairs deserves the pain for being careless in the area of the stairs. It is exciting to move past this one. It's a big one for me.

Oh, Thomas...

I wish I was there to see this one. Sadly, I missed the actual even, but I didn't miss Tom laughing about it as he tried to tell me all about it. He told me he was spying in the kids. They were supposed to be cleaning up the loft, but were in their bedroom playing. He peeked in to see Thomas up on the top bunk looking particularly dare-devilish. Thomas used the short length of the bed to work up enough momentum to launch himself across the room onto Violet's bed below. At that moment he noticed Tom watching and said, "Come on, admit it, that was really cool." Tom said he wanted so bad to be mad, but it was a really cool stunt, pulled off perfectly. You win this time Thomas.

I'm Going Swimming!

I love Las Vegas this time of year. I just talked to my friend that lives in Rexburg. She said they woke up to snow yesterday. I was out washing my car with less clothes on than is appropriate for someone my age, when this conversation took place. There aren't too many good things I can say about Las Vegas, but this time of year I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. While you are still putting a jacket on to leave the house, I am going to be putting on my swim suit an working on my tan. So, I will accept the crime (actually the crime is the only reason we still live here, unfortunately) and the whoring and the overindulgence because I hate putting jackets, shoes, and hats on my kids.

Does This Look Groomed To You?

Tom and I have been in negotiations for about a week. He insists it is my responsibility to groom poor Whitey (our untouchable, matted dog) because I am the one that grooms everyone else in the house. I think it is his responsibility for the exact same reason plus I have done it every single time for the last three years. Since this is my least favorite chore, I was willing to make an offer. I will pick up Dave for a week, and give him (Tom, not Dave) a back rub. I was fulfilling my end of the bargain, but this is the finished product. Needless to say I am feeling used. This is Whitey hiding her shame under the chair.

Las Vegas Lock-down

I am sorry to keep you all waiting. I think there is some kind of conspiracy. I leave that post and BAM the internet goes down.
When I went to go pick up Hazel from school, there was a message on a loop about a drill. I thought that wouldn't apply to the kindergarten, and waited by the gate as usual. The principal came running out dizzy with power urging us all into the cafeteria. We get inside and they inform us that a middle school 8th grader shot a 6th grade in the mouth with a BB gun when they had been dropped off about a half mile away from he school. The poor little 6th grader had a broken tooth and a bruised ego. She proceeded to tell us that the shooter was on the loose and she didn't want to release the kids until the culprit had been apprehended. The police finally showed up and calmed the power crazed principal down.
We made it home safely. Don't you worry.
I do think the principal might have overreacted just a tad, but that is the middle school Hazel is zoned for. I have a feeling that that same 8th grader might still be there when she finally goes. I need to move out of the ghetto.
By the way, when is a school lock-down a drill?
I am pretty sure it was the same principal that shut my internet down. She didn't want me to expose this story. I think I might need to dig a little deeper. There might be more than meets the eye. (Yes, that is a Transformer reference. Pretty sure she is a transformer.)

Did I Mention...

Hazel's school was on lock-down because of a shooting? To hear more come back tomorrow.

I Lost My Wedding Ring!

Yesterday, I was sent on an errand to get a tostada. I went to Baja Fresh because I had a coupon. I got in the car and drove a little way down the road. I noticed a strange, unfamiliar, feeling on my finger. I looked down and to my dismay, my wedding ring was missing. I still had my band on because i had never had then put together, but the diamond part was missing. Now this ring was of particular importance because it was tom's mom's wedding ring. The one she wore before she got a giant one for one of her momentous anniversaries. This ring was also Sara's for her first engagement that I am sure she wont be happy that I am bringing up. I never had it sized to fit me. Luckily the band part had been smashed to fit in an unremembered accident so i kept them both on by putting the diamond on first and the now oval shaped band on second. obviously, this particular morning there had been an oversight.

I was faced with a dilemma. Did I rush home to drop off the food before the crunchy shell got soggy or should I rush back to the shop to look around? I decided to call the number on my receipt. The manager looked around the store for me, but said she didn't see it and there had been a rush of customers since I had left. She took my number and promised to look again at closing when the tables were moved. I tried to stay strong when i called Tom to tell him the bad news. I could tell he was disappointed. I hurried home to drop off the food and I was off. I could no longer keep it together, and I started to cry. I was crying and praying, and hoping against hope that I would find it and have it too lose another day.

Now before I tell you how the story ends, I must let you all in on a secret. this isn't the first time I lost my wedding ring. I lost it about 7 years ago, but in a miraculous turn of events I found it several hours later in the parking lot at Walmart. It had been run over a few times, but it was still there. I know, you thought i would have had it sized the next day, but this is me you are talking about. I absolutely didn't, but as i was driving back to baja fresh, I wondered why I hadn't. I didn't have a really good answer.

i pulled in to the same parking space I had parked in before. A guy coming out asked me if I was the one looking for a wedding ring. For a second I was excited until he told me he had heard the story from the manager as she looked around the floor. he wished me luck as he left. i walked slowly toward the door when I saw something gleaming in the light. I blinked to be sure it was real. There, shinier than I had ever seen it, was my ring. I rushed home and put it in a box. There is no way i am going to lose it again. I replaced it with Kami's replacement ring. For those of you who don't know, Kami is Tom's ex-wife. I don't mind wearing her ring. I am frankly flattered that her tiny ring fits. That is right little miss size zero. Your ring fits me.

Happy Birthday Atticus!

I can't believe my baby is one. I must admit, I am just a little sad about it. I was hoping for just a bit more time with my last baby. I do love him though. I can't get enough of his juicy hugs and kisses. I hope you all enjoy the video. I had a problem with the song. Every time I tried to make changes the song wouldn't pause. It would always start like half way though. I had to start from the beginning after every change I made to make sure the song was syncing up right. I think I've heard that song about as many times as a human should.

I Told You We Needed Hot Chocolate

Now, try to follow. Thomas and I were watching a show about time travel on the history channel. The guy explaining how it would work was equating it to a cup of coffee and using Einstein's famous equation E=MC^2. Light=Matter=gravity. If you stir it around you can create a loop for time travel. Then he placed a coffee bean in the cup of swirling coffee. The bean swirled around just as expected. The bean representing information/sub-atomic particles/potentially people could travel through time with the right amount of gravity. The scientists would start with sending information. The visual they used on the show as they talked about how information could help prevent some of the major devastation, was a fallen city in reverse, just like it never happened. Thomas looked at me and said, "Mom, I told you we needed more hot chocolate. We should always have some so it could save the world."