SNOW DAY!!!!

This morning I woke up to Jenalyn squealing "Mommy! It's snowing! It's snowing! Come see!" I jumped right out of bed and ran to the window - I expected to see light flurries falling on the wet ground and melting instantly - but NO! I peeked out the window and everything was covered in white! It was beautiful! BUT - again, I stayed up too too late last night (*funny story - see note below) so I was not ready to wake up yet - especially since I knew they would be canceling church! So I offered to put a movie on her. Her response: "No thank you. I just want to watch the snow!" How sweet!

When I got up she just kept asking...can we go play in the snow? Can we? Can we? I told her we needed to wait for daddy to wake up. When he did we bundled up and ventured out. It was Corbin's first time in the snow - 'cept for the light snowfall we got for Christmas. And it was really Jenalyn's first experience actually getting to play in it! We had a wonderful time and I got a LOT of great photos!

First of all, Jenalyn really wanted her Sally doll to come outside and play with us, but I explained that Sally didn't have a warm coat but she could sit in the window and watch us:
(That reminds me - the funniest phrase in our house today - I heard it more than once: "Corbin! Sally is NOT a toy!" Those were Jenalyn's instructions to Corbin when she caught him with her dolly.)

Okay, on to the real dolls:

(Oh yes, those cheekers are a tad photoshopped. I couldn't resist! I tried to make them look as natural as possible, but still be deliciously pink!)Helping with the snowman:And the finished product: (Jason did most of the work - in case you were wondering if my amazingly talented kids made this on their own *lol*). Oh, and Jenalyn was very upset that we didn't make this poor guy a wife, two kids and a cat. I think she got that from this book (which is a GREAT book btw)Jenalyn's favorite Strawberry Shortcake movie is then one where they are trying to find spring. The girls do snow angles - Jenalyn was so excited to be making her own snow angle just like in the movie :)
After playing outside we came in and warmed up with some hot cocoa. You should have seen this kid after he was done with that cup! I don't care how non-traditional it is - next time he's getting his in a sippy!
Last, but certainly not least - my hubby. I love this picture of him - it gives me butterflies in my tummy. He's so handsome! And watching him play with his kids the way he did today made me fall in love all over again - I LOVE THIS MAN WITH ALL MY HEART!
*Almost forgot my story - I was up until nearly 3 a.m. making mini loaves of bread for my class today (no! It doesn't normally take that long to make bread, but I doubled the batch because I have a lot of Beehives - then I realized I didn't have enough yeast - quick trip to the store - then when I started adding the flour I realized I didn't have enough of that either - good thing the store is close!) - and then they CANCELED CHURCH because of the snow *pfft* now I have bread coming out of my ears - on top of the 7 mini loaves I made for my girls, I also have two standard-sized loaves that I made for my family! What to do? Well, I whipped up some cinnamon butter and I will be taking the mini loaves to work with me tomorrow - offer it to my co-workers for breakfast! I'm sure they'll appreciate it. It makes amazing cinnamon toast! On the upside, I got to sleep in this morning - I was exhausted after being up so late!

My Kind of Saturday

I had such a wonderful Saturday! It started before sunrise with a kiss on the forehead from Jenalyn. Sometimes she gets incredibly sweet and says things that you would expect to hear from your mother...it's weird when it comes from a tiny little 4-year-old!

So she came to wake me up and I was absolutely NOT ready to get up. We had stayed up until like 2:30 a.m. the night before chatting with Chris & Heidi! I was NOT waking up at 7:00! So I told her that I wasn't ready to wake up but that she could cuddle with me if she wanted so she crawled into bed with me. She kept stroking my hair and saying stuff like, you have the cutest little nose! and Did you sleep good mommy? Did you have good dreams? (while still stroking my hair and being motherly) I explained that I was super tired and just wanted to sleep and she said I'm just loving you mommy! What a sweet girl! It tickles me when she does things like this. When she does/says loving things to me or other people. It makes me feel like I've done something right.

When I finally got up (around 9:45) I decided to make pancakes. Well, Jenalyn LOVES to help in the kitchen, so I found the perfect job for her: when I put the batter in the pan she would top them off with frozen blueberries. When it was time to eat she dug in and said Mmmm...these are the best pancakes in the whole wide world mommy! *sigh* If that doesn't make you feel like Mom-of-the-Year...

Here's the recipe I used: Best Pancakes in the Whole World 'cept I swaped the milk for soy since Corbin is allergic to dairy - it was Very Vanilla Silk, to be exact - maybe that's what put them over the top *shrugs*

After breakfast I started in on sweeping the kitchen. Jenalyn again asked if she could help me. I really want her to always be excited to help with chores - so of course I let her...and had to take a picture too! After her turn sweeping, I got a turn and she insisted on taking a picture of me too *haha* but I'm not going to share that one because this is my blog and I'll post what I want to! *lol*

Later Jason took Jenalyn to the playground in the mall - when we were in the mall on my birthday we didn't have time to play so Jason promised he would take her on Saturday. She had been looking forward to it all week. Corbin is sick so I stayed home with him...which was blissful! We just lazied around the house - watched Cars and snuggled. I love my big boy so much! It was nice to have one-on-one time with him - we rarely get that!

OH - Ohmigoodness...I can't forget to mention that my Corbin actually poopied in the potty today! I was cleaning up breakfast and he said "Mommy! Poopy!" So I suggested we go sit on the potty and he said, "yeah, lets sit on the potty! Lets go mommy!" (yes, he actually did say all that - he's an amazing talker! 'tho it's possible that no one else on earth might have understood him.) So I think he's actually getting it! He actually let me know he needed to go! That's a major step, isn't it?

(Now I'm sitting here hoping I'm not the only mother in the world who blogs about her child's potty victories.)

Here's a picture of my poor sick boy after his nap today. He was so grumpy and would not quit crying so I settled him onto the couch with a blanky and his sippy and turned on some toons. He was content after that.

I did it - I turned 30 - it was mostly painless

My birthday was yesterday. I got totally spoiled at work - I felt so loved! Here's a quick pic of the loot at my desk (taken with my iPhone - not bad quality, huh?):


And today I had my party at Skate World - I can't believe I actually did it - we laced up the ol' rental quads and had a party. Here are some hi-lights:

Jason and Jenalyn (her first time on skates - she did GREAT!)


It was like she was born to wear skates! She fell a lot, but she had such a great time - she cried when it was time to take them off!

Me and my princess:
Jenalyn helping Betty up after she fell - these girls have so much fun together!
Awe, me and the hubs on roller skates *sigh* and it wasn't even a couple skate:
Here is me and Venessa - BFF - we've been thru a LOT together! I LOVE YOU V!
Me and my good friend Marlo - we have Marlo to thank for most of these pictures! She couldn't skate since she is great with child so she offered to be my photographer! thankyou Marlo!
Keith (Marlo's husband) and Corbin anticipating some birthday cake :)
My good friend Jen and her Dustin! I'm so glad you were able to come! We'll hafta go again when we can get babysitters - I bet you can FLY on roller skates!
More guests (Brandon, Diana, Amberly, Chris, Heidi & Betty) - and Aunt Penny trying desperately to duck out of the picture *lol* luv ya Penny!

And the icing on the cake - they made me stand in the middle of the floor with an inflatable cake while they sang to me - of course they announced to the whole world that I was turning 30! *rolleyes* it was only slightly humiliating!


I left some guests out because I don't know how they feel about having their picture on the web - so if you're looking at this and thinking, Hey! What about me? I was there too! I won't post your pic w/out your consent *winkywink*

So it was a WONDERFUL birthday! Turning 30 wasn't so bad - not with a celebration like that anyway!

Yeeeeow *do a little dance*

Glorious day! Corbin sat on the potty for the FIRST time today...and uh...it wasn't wasted time either! He put pee pee in the potty! And now you get to hear all about it because this is MY blog and I'm a proud mama - oh yeah! And of course I didn't let the photo opp slip by either!

A couple nights ago we were cleaning out the laundry room and Jason threatened to throw out our little potty *gasp* NO WAY - so we put it back in the bathroom simply for he sake of getting it out of the laundry room.

Well, tonight while I was getting Corbin ready for bed I decided, on a whim, to let him sit on the potty for a while - just getting him use to the feel of it - never even crossed my mind that he would actually go! After all I had just changed his diaper and it was wet and poopy! So I got him a book and let him just take his time and enjoy his "new" seat. After several minutes and a several times thru the book he stood up and low and behold...there was a beautiful yellow puddle at the bottom! I squealed...prolly scared him a bit...but I wanted to make a HUGE deal out of it! I was so proud of my boy! So I lead him thru all the follow-up steps: wipe, dump the little potty in the big potty, flush, wash hands, etc. THEN...we got to celebrate with a cookie!

This is so exciting to me! He isn't even 2 years old yet! I know we're probably far from being a diaper-free household, but it's still a step towards that end! Jenalyn didn't potty train until she was 3 years old!

So there is our exciting news for the day!

CORBIN PEED IN THE POTTY!!!!

Maybe we'll add this additional step into our night-time routine!

That felt SO good!

What a good day - I'm amazed at how good a little physical activity and some V-therapy makes me feel! This morning I went for a brisk walk with Venessa - then tonight we went rollerskating together. *wowsa* I FEEL SO GOOD! My legs ache and my ankles feel weak, but my head feels so clear! THANK YOU Venessa!

BTW - I'm having a birthday party at Skate World next Wednesday night (1/23) - celebrating (er...grieving) my 30th birthday. It's $3 at the door (includes skate rental) - 6:30 - 8:30. PLEASE COME! Kids, friends and family are welcome!

Hum dee dum - waiting for dough to raise

I got the baking bug tonight so I decided to bake bread - what a fitting thing to do on my mama's birthday! I'm so grateful that she taught me how to make homemade bread! There's nothing better than the smell of fresh baked bread in the house! Feels like home! I LOVE you mom! I wish I could have been there to celebrate with you! Happy Birthday!

So while I wait I thought I would share my ah-ha moment that I had at church today.

This may sound so simple, but for some reason it was particularly profound to me today. Sister-Somebody made a comment and said that she likes to watch the tiny babies at church - especially the newborns. They are so tiny and dependent on their parents - just as we are dependent on the Savior. A newborn can't survive in this world without the help of his/her parents and we can't succeed in this life without the help of our Savior. We are literally dependent on Him as a newborn is on his/her loving parent. I loved that - thank you Sister-Somebody!

Oh, and this picture was the center-piece of my YW lesson today. We talked about how there is no door knob, so in order to have Christ in our lives we have to invite him in - we have to open the door.

Compliments(?) from a 4-year old.

Jenalyn is a very complimentary little girl. She compliments just about everyone she meets. Even random people at the grocery store. She'll say "I like your shirt"...among other things.

We went out to dinner last night and I took Jenalyn to the bathroom. After she went I decided I needed to go too. When I was done she said, "I like your bum bum mommy! You have a biiiiiiiiig bum bum!" *dies* we weren't alone in the bathroom! How embarrassing!

Then today we were snuggling during nap time and we were talking about noses. I told her that I thought she had the cutest little nose. Then she said, "Maybe I can have a biggest hugest nose like you when I am bigger!" *ugh* I've had a big-nose complex most of my life - thanks a lot baby girl!

Maybe he's French

I just love the way Corbin talks, sorry if ya'll are getting sick of me going on and on about my kiddos! But here are a few of my favorite words that Corbin says - sometimes he sounds like he has a French accent:

Color: "cal-lure"
Pillow: "p'LOW" (he really accentuates "low")
Cars: "carrrrrs"
Crackers: "craquerrrs"
Water: "wadure"

M'kay that's all I can think of right now, off the top of my head. And he's asleep so I can't get inspiration!

*eesh* I really wish I could catch it all on tape and post for you to hear with your own ears! It's so cute!

Resolution: Best shape in '08

Okay so I have never been an athletic person - never been a real thin person either. But I'm turning 30 this month *ack* (*note: see sweet little story below) So I decided - why not make my goal this year to be in the best shape of my life? Why NOT? I can totally do it, right? My light bulb came on when I was doing an ab workout last week. The instructor said, "You're never too old to have the abs you want - just keep working out and eating right." Now I'm not saying that 30 is *so old* what I'm saying is, why not now?

I have a really hard time aging! I was 19 years old when I started working at the firm - the baby of the office! Now, 10+ years later there are attorneys younger than me *gasp* I guess I somehow thought I'd always be a cute young thang *ha* so, even though I can't do anything about aging, I can do something about how I look, right? So that's what I intend to do - something!

*now for story time: Yesterday at church we were talking about birthdays and I told my Beehives that I'm turning 30 this month. A couple of them started cracking up...I mean seriously laughing as if I just told the funniest joke ever! (keep in mind they are giggly 12-13 year olds!) I was like, what the heck? Why are you laughing at me? They said they couldn't believe I was turning 30 - you look like you're 20! Ahhh...another reason why I LOVE my girls! I love them - I love them ALL!

Fun conversations with my lovies

Thursday night I took Jenalyn shopping with me. Here's our conversation in the car:

Jenalyn: Mom, do you have to go to work in the morning?

Me: Yes sweetie.

Jenalyn: I can come with you!

Me: I don't think you can go to work with me honey.

Jenalyn: But I'm a really good worker!

Me: I know you are! You're a GREAT worker. But I don't think you can go to work with me.

Jenalyn: Uh-huh mom! You can be the big worker and I can be the little worker!

LOL - I wish I could take her to work with me! She'd find out it's not much fun and maybe understand when I tell her I would much rather stay home and spend the day with her. It's definitely not that I want to leave her every day!

And my new favorite thing with Corbin (I'm amazed every day by how much he talks!):

Me: Corbin, where is Jenalyn?

Corbin: I no know! (shaking his head) Neh-nyn...wheh ah you? Hmmm... (The "hmmm" really is the best part! Then he runs off to find her and when he does he yells) BOOOO!

I love this talking stage with Corbin! Jenalyn didn't speak real words until she was almost three! So to hear our little bitty Corbin say words - and actual sentences even - it's amazing to me!

And now New Years Eve

We spent New Years Eve with our good friends. We let the girls stay up with us this year (Corbin was in bed by 9:00 - he's just too little). We had SO much fun. Instead of boring you with my words, here are some fun pictures from our night.

Corbin before he got too cranky and had to go to bed:


We did a fun bead/peg activity with the girls:
A great picture of both Aimee and Betty:

Then we painted nails:

Then we ate cake *mmmm* I think that was the most exciting for the little girls, but we didn't get pictures! It was a bavarian cream chocolate fudge cake. I can't remember how we got started but we were joking about what it tasted like. Jenalyn kept saying that hers tasted like pickles *lol*

After all that fun we snuggled the kids up in blankets and pillows in front of a Carebears movie thinking they might fall asleep while we played a game. NOPE, they stayed up thru the whole thing. It ended just before midnight so we poured sparkling cider and toasted the New Year with our little princesses. We kissed and hugged and then we heard fireworks so we peaked out the front window and spotted a couple.

First picture in 2008 (Aimee was just too tired to smile - Jenalyn and Betty are party animals - they'd prolly stay up until 2:00 if we'd let them):

I love this picture of Jenalyn - she's such a little model, always posing for pictures:

Aimee was playing peek-a-boo thru the curtains - I got a lot of pictures of those red curtains, but I finally got a shot of her peeking thru (still too tired to smile):

So we put the girls to bed around 12:30 - without too much fuss - they were exhausted! Then we stayed up talking until 3 a.m.! *whew* good thing we decided to stay the night there! We were too pooped to drive home so we sacked out in their living room.

We have been ringing in the New Year with these guys since 2001 (I'm guessing here because I have a horrible memory - but I'm pretty sure it was the year before Aimee was born). We've been thru a lot together! Seen each other thru a lot of life's changes. I can't believe they are leaving us this year - this may have been our last New Years Eve together :( How SAD!

Christmas (finally)

Here are some highlights from our day(s):

[crazy eyes] Santa came to our house Friday before Christmas (he's a friend of FIL) - excuse Corbin's drool - he had a cold and couldn't breathe thru his nose.


After church the Sunday before Christmas:


The kids got a computer...but Santa forgot the power cord, keyboard and mouse :woopsy: (we had Christmas away from home)


Stockings are serious business :) (I love this face!)


Someone stayed up too late on Christmas Eve...


This tunnel seemed to be everyone's favorite:



Even Jason got into it (HECK, so did Aunt Dale, but she'd prolly kill me if I posted even one of the million pics I have of her making her way thru the tunnel):


We got Christmas SNOW this year (tho it melted before it hit the ground) - we rarely get snow here so this was very exciting for us. I LOVE this picture:


Freezing and ready to go back inside:


Sleeping after an exciting Christmas Day:


She's faking it! *LOL*


And the family picture (aren't kids supposed to smile on Christmas?):