Jealous?

I got bored. I just needed something new to do, and since I needed a good enough reason to not clean my disgusting bathrooms I decided to tear out a tree and plant a new one. I am really proud of myself. It wasn't just a baby tree I tore out, like the one I planted in it's stead, but a real tree. Three hours and one sunburn later we have a new addition to our backyard. Isn't she lovely?

He Walks!

This is a very long awaited event in my house. I have been looking forward to this moment for a couple months now. I was sure it was going to happen any day about 4 months ago, but Atticus was determined to prove me wrong. I haven't minded since he is my last baby to hit this milestone, but I am so tired of carrying that boy around. I am starting to look funny with my one really buffed out arm. I actually shot this video a couple of days ago, and he hasn't really taken a step since so you might have this exact post again in a couple of months.

Ready To Be Blown Away?

The moment you have all been waiting for. Here are the notorious New Orleans ghosts. These are the lost souls that not only had to endure a terrible death, but also a nightly ritual of under enthusiastic guides telling their stories.
Tom said I left out the best picture of Atticus at the beach, so I will add one of him.

Beach Pictures

We decided that we just hadn't had enough of the death and carnage so we decided to go to Gulf Port Mississippi to see the devastation. It turned out to be more depressing than it sounds. There were foundations all over where houses used to be. Nearly every lot was for sale-too many bad memories. If you want some beach front property, now is the time to buy. I saw 4 acres right on the beach for 900,000. (That one might have even still had a house on it.) You look to the left-depressing. You look to the right-beautiful ocean. It was surreal. I think the hurricane had damaged all the good sea shell. I collected a lot of fragments for my kids. (Those were their souvenirs.)

Don't Worry, The Ghost Pictures Are Coming.

Atticus was totally sunburned on that side of his face.
Tom right in front of the mighty Mississippi.

Where are we going?!?

This is me and (can't seem to remember their names) at the Laura Plantation. I would recomend this tour above all others. A special thank you to Jay, our tour guide, it wouldn't have been the same without him.Rust city

Amy, looking fabulous, at Oak Alley Plantation.

Oak Alley, in all her glory. Did you know those trees were planted more than 100 years before the actual house was built?

Real Aligator.

Pretty sure that light on it's tail is a ghost.

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.