5.23.2011

Juggling Act

I have been working on a fun project for several weeks and I'm super excited to publicly announce the launch of my little business!  I am getting in on the hottest hair trend, feather and tinsel hair extensions!  They take just minutes to install and add color and flair to your hair without damaging your hair with chemicals or heat.  The celebs are doing it, some of the Young Women in my ward have them and now, I have them!  Wish me luck!

Here's my business blog!  Fab Feather Designs



This week I am also starting another part-time job, doing on call customer service for a merchant processing company!  BUSY busy BUSY!  

You know...

I know I already did some bragging about my husband yesterday... but I just can't help it!

You know your husband loves you... when an hour before church starts and you're getting ready, your blow dryer decides to DIE and he runs to Walgreens to make an emergency purchase so you don't have to go to church looking like a hot mess!


You know your husband loves you... when you're lying in bed at 9:30pm, getting some work done on the computer and you randomly mention that for some reason- top ramen sounds delish... then about 20 minutes later, he brings a steaming hot bowl of yummy Korean ramen and a beverage on a platter for you to eat right in bed!

I love this man more and more everyday.

5.22.2011

Spring...kler!

Last year, for Londyn's 1st birthday- Grandma Milne gave LJ a Ni Hao, Kai Lan sprinkler but she wasn't a huge fan of water back then, so we haven't been able to use it until now!  We had some super sunny and warm days last week, which definitely called swimsuits and sprinklers!


When Daddy got home from school, he found us girls in the backyard!  Londyn LOVES her Daddy!




Two peas in a pod!

"MELMO!"

Last weekend, a friend was giving away FREE tickets to see Sesame Street Live.  Of course, I jumped right on it with Londyn's obsession with "Melmo".  Andrew wasn't feeling the 1.5 hours of enduring the fluffed and feathered "entertainment" so Courtney and I took the kiddos to see the show, while the guys stayed home- ordered pizza and worked on their car project.  Needless to say, Courtney- being 8 months pregnant, and me- anxiety prone, were exhausted by intermission and the kids were done.  They loved the music and dancing but with them being so little, could only last so long!  We headed back to the Adamson's where we found the guys doing whatever they do in the garage and we vegged out on the couch for a good hour. 



Adamson Shower

Yesterday, I got the chance to throw a baby shower for our favorite family, the Adamson's!  They are expecting their second baby boy in several short weeks (we're pretty sure he's coming any day though)!  It was a family shower, so spouse's and kids were invited to come to the party.  There was no measuring Courtney's belly or guessing what kind of chocolate is melted into a diaper... but it was a circus theme with Costco dogs, a bounce house and friends!

We are so excited for the upcoming arrival of Brecken Adamson and can't wait to meet the little fella!

Food

 Bounce House

Face Painting
 

Gifts (AKA lots of bottles!)

Friends

I love this girl!


The Mr. was super amazing and helped me ALL day with the shower!  He got up early to clean up the yard, ran to the store for last minute items (without me even asking!), helped me set up, grilled the hot dogs and even did all the clean up!


I love this man.

5.14.2011

Baby Mama

LJ is such a lil' mommy these days.  She is constantly caring for her baby dolls.  One morning this week, I was getting ready for the day and when I peeked out to check on her I noticed her doing the itsy bitsy spider with her baby.  She then asked her baby if she wanted to watch "Melmo" (Sesame Street).  Also this week, I saw her doing Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes with one of her babies.  It amazes me how she naturally has such a mama bear instinct.


I love my baby mama!

FUN in the SUN

This week we had two fabulous days of sun!  Obviously the weather is not totally cooperating with my plans for spring, which include sun bathing, gardening and lots of playing... which all include sunshine that isn't always around.  But, when it comes for a visit- we are all over it!

This is Lulu's favorite toy at Auntie Nell's house.  During the Winter, she would drive it around my sister's house but I'm pretty sure it's meant for riding outside in the sun!


Londyn and I spent almost 3 hours at Woodhaven Park on Tuesday with her friend Addie.  It was SO nice!  This park has the perfect play structure, including 3 slides.  Whenever we go to any park or play area, LJ just goes down the slide about a bazillion times.  It also has a whole sand pit with tons of trucks and toys.


So if you haven't already noticed, we are totally and completely ready for Summer to arrive!  Notice how I jump on putting Londyn in tanks and shorts when the Sun shows itself?  I can't wait!

5.09.2011

Mama's Day

The Mr. gets an A++ for a job well done on Mother's Day.  This was my third Mother's Day (including the year Londyn was in my belly) and let's just say, Andrew's getting the hang of it!  On Friday and Saturday, he couldn't wait to give me gifts from him and LJ.   I got two framed photos with beautiful poems!  



On Mother's Day, I got breakfast in bed, unlimited Diet Coke privileges (without hazing), off dish duty, a delish truffle at church and complete and total pampering all day.  Andrew treated me like a queen and I can honestly say it is one of my favorite holidays now!  I suppose it's a little selfish to make Mother's Day my favorite holiday, but sometimes I feel like with all the hustle and bustle... the things I do get overlooked.  But that's not the case and Andrew made that very clear!


To finish off a fabulous day, all the men in my family made a delish surf n' turf dinner for their ladies.  We had yummy salmon fillets, brisket, Andrew's famous grilled asparagus (so delish), baked potatoes, salad, rolls and lots of homemade desserts!  They did an awesome job!  Aside from such a tasty meal, I was really grateful to see Andrew and my brother Eric do all the dishes and cleaning up after the meal.  Clearly, I married up.  



Now, I can't wait for Father's Day to return the favor!

5.07.2011

Cannery Night

For Mutual this week, we had a joint activity and filled orders for the ward members at the cannery.  I was excited to go because I had never been!  My brother Kevin was in charge of the activity, and as always- he did an awesome job!  He turned it into a competition and like I even need to say... the leaders won, filling 157 cans!

Anyway, it was hard work but really fun!  I will definitely be going back to can food for my own family!






Lucky Aunt

At about 9 this morning, I had this really strong feeling to check online and see if my niece Kamry had a track meet scheduled for today.  Kamry is one of the Beehives in my class that I teach and I love her so much.  Londyn and I changed out of our jammies and headed over to SHS.  Kamry was awesome and got 3rd place in hurdles!  I am proud of her and glad that Londyn lasted long enough for us to stay and cheer Kamry on for her event!


This is one of the reasons why I love being close to family because I can watch my nieces and nephew grow up, watch their talent shows, track meets and dance recitals.  I am a lucky aunt and Londyn is a lucky cousin!

MY cute peeps

I know I'm her mom, but seriously... this kid is the cutest!


Londyn's spends hours, and I mean HOURS during her day taking off and putting on her clothes and shoes.  She concentrates so hard and wants to be able to do everything mommy and daddy do!


Along with the cutest kid, I have the cutest husband.  Here he is taking out LJ's piggy tail before bedtime.


"lookin' like a fool"

"Lookin' like a fool, lookin' like a fool... lookin' like a fool with your diaper cover on your head!"


While I was cooking dinner one evening, I looked over and found Londyn doing the usual (her own thing) with her bum cover on your head.  When I asked her what it was doing there, she laughed and just left it there.  Silly girl!

Big Helper

Helping carry in groceries...


Running away with groceries...

5.06.2011

Eat. Pray. Love.


So I'm creeping up on two years since I gave birth to the almost 10 pounds of Londyn Joy.  Having struggled with an eating disorder most of my adolescent life, let's just say the 60 lbs. I gained while prego was a tough reality to face.  I look back now and really should have cut back on the 20 piece chicken nugget runs... countless times a week and probably should have thrown out the words "super size it" from my vocabulary.  I have always LOVED food and it is one of my many struggles as I also have a really hard time accepting my body in the way it was given to me.  

Between my teenage years and now, I have popped almost every diet pill on the shelves, tried strenuous diets- including no carbs, hormone injections and prepackaged meals.  It even got as ugly as not eating at all or the worst, binging and purging.

I am finally starting to get a glimpse at how unrealistic the bodies are on the covers of People & Cosmo mags.  To aspire to look like those women would be to forget everything that I am about.  I would not be able to focus on my family and be the best me.  I would spend too much time living for just myself, rather than for my husband, daughter and Heavenly Father.  It really is a tough world out there and as I teach the Young Women in my ward, I am constantly praying for them to see what I didn't see in myself at their age.  

A couple week ago, I started the Weight Watchers lifestyle.  Now, I say lifestyle because I don't feel like it's a diet.  I am eating everything I would normally eat but with more of a healthy perspective on what I am putting in my body.  It is more of a game with all the points and I feel like I am winning!  I officially weigh less than I did when I found out I was pregnant with LJ.  It feels good to be back down to a healthy weight, but my body will never be the same.  Things just aren't where they once were.  A song that comes to mind is, "One of these things is not like the other..." haha  

Anyway, I am going to continue being active, thinking before I eat, drinking diet coke whenever I feel like it and most importantly, enjoying life without revolving it around food and numbers on the scale!

5.03.2011

22 months & Counting

I can't believe Londyn's 2nd birthday is just around the corner!  She is such a joy in our home!  I seriously can't help but adore all of her funny faces.  What a ham!


LJ is getting easier and more difficult ... if that's even possible?  She is a lot easier because she can get around on her own and communicate.  But she is a lot more difficult because... she can get around on her own and communicate.  

She isn't very cautious or afraid of strangers... or unfamiliar places.  She loves to wander off on her own in public places or even take a stroll on her own after I get her out of her car seat.  

She is most daring, leaping off of the top stairs with all the confidence that someone will catch her.  I love her spontaneity and passion to simply have fun and make everyone laugh!

Communicating with Lulu is my favorite lately!  She retains words so easily after hearing us say a word only one or two times.  She comprehends everything, whether she wants to admit it or not.  

My favorites moments lately are:
When someone sneezes or coughs, she asks "are you okay?" or says "bless you"
In the morning when she wakes up, she wants to watch Ni Hao or Melmo (Elmo) and then nods her head saying, "breck-beck? breck-beck?" (breakfast)
Before bath time, she asks for "poppy" (potty)... we're in no rush to potty train, so we're just letting her go at her own pace.
Watching her take care of her babies.  she loves to rock, burp, read to and feed her baby dolls.
Listening outside of her door in the morning, hearing her counting and saying her ABC's... her favorite letters are B & R and her favorite numbers are 1, 2, 6... 9.
When she says "Thank you" and "Love you" without any prompting.
Whenever she is in trouble, she repeatedly nods her head and smiles... not listening to a word we are saying... making us just want to crack up.

Love you Lulu-pants!

5.01.2011

{Beach Weekend Getaway}

It was Thursday night and I casually presented the idea to Andrew of us packing up and getting away for the weekend.  Will all that he has going on, I was sure he would need to stay put for the next couple days but to my surprise, he was all for it!  We decided to get away with our friends, the Adamson's and had the most amazing weekend in the sun!  
Cade and Courtney Adamson have a cute little 14 month old guy named Kai and another little man on the way in just two short months.  I grew up with both Cade and Courtney and having friends that are our exact same age and stage in life makes hanging out with them so easy and fun!  Londyn loves Kai and refers to him as "Kike".  She is constantly asking to go to Kike's house... I think she's mostly in it for all of his fun new toys.
We stayed at an amazing resort with their timeshare, right in between Lincoln City and Newport with it's own private beach.  The weather was breathtaking and we got to play on the beach in the sun!

We arrived Friday afternoon, played on the beach and went out to dinner!

I love my family.

Play time!

Saturday was filled with walking the strip in old town Newport, checking out the sea lions and fishing boats, playing at the arcade and shopping at the outlet mall.

My parents were down in Lincoln City too, so they took us all out to dinner at Mo's... it wouldn't be a trip to the coast without a meal at Mo's.  Thanks Ma & Pa!

Before we hit the road for home, we played on the beach one last time!   

Such a fun trip!  Thanks to the Adamson family for the good company and laughs!