Halloween Party!!

What a fun day at Grandma's. My sister and I brought our kids to my mom's house for a day full of Halloween fun. My mom LOVES the holidays. I miss all the decorations she would put up when we were growing up in the house. Most of the decorations are all boxed up in the basement. Mom used to go all out. She LOVES to decorate for the holidays. Now that we are all out of the house, she barely takes out the decorations...even on Christmas. Anyway, today was a lot of fun....crazy screaming 3 yr olds, but fun. It started with early morning church, saying hi to neighbors I haven't seen in years. Then we came back to the house for a yummmmy pot roast with potatoes (she used my recipe). =o) After our delicious lunch we CUT PUMPKINS!! We let the kids help take out all the gooey goodness, which was funny 'cause neither of them liked getting their hands very sticky. When pumpkins were done we moved to decorating sugar cookies. My mom put the frosting on, but the kids did all the decorating. Cadence accidentally put an entire bottle of sprinkles on one cookie...yum. And of course after I was done cutting her pumpkin I embellished her cookies even more!! i love decorating. To top it off we had cake and ice cream...a must at moms house. She made a delicious cake! Finally, we helped my mom clean up and then I had to get home for work. I think my mom was glad to see us go, she can't handle screaming 3 yr olds for very long. hahaha. Towards the end of our fun day, my mom was just trying to stay calm--the look on her face was priceless. =o) love you mom! They are 3 yr olds? it's what they do. =o) The babies were pretty good the entire day. I posted some pictures of our fun day! Here is the picture of my cousin Anna with Braden and Cadence. Cadence is wearing her flapper sequined outfit. So cute on her! But she'll be a princess for Halloween, the flapper outfit would be cold outside trick or treating. See the pink feather in her hair? =o) Here we are cutting one of the pumpkins. I am diligently cutting this pumpkin....which kept creeping away from me while I was cutting. It took me almost an hour or more to cut her pumpkin. Note to self: pick an easy design. =o) The finished project!! k...you may not be able to tell, but it's supposed to be a cat. I had to improvise due to time restraints, but it still worked out and is now out in front of my door. Cadence loves it! Crazy thing is I'm ready to cut a few more pumpkins before Halloween. This last picture is of my mom (Grandma!) helping the kids decorate the yummy cookies. I think Braden's shirt is still off...that boy can make a mess. =o)

Love Language 101

This post will focus mostly on a book called The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I was reminded of this book when I was talking to a good friend about communication in a relationship. My family read this book together when I was just a teenager. At first I thought this was silly, and why do we have to read this book, but after reading the book it had many good points that I wanted to share. I do not consider this a "book report" in anyway, just good information that you can choose to read or not. =o) I'll try to just mention the highlights. Some of you that have read this book will probably roll your eyes at me, or have a different opinion, and that's ok. Bottom =oD Here we go: Keep in mind that this book focuses on marital relationships, but can apply to all types of relationships. The main idea is that you each bring something different to the relationship; such as, personality, history, expectations, and opinions. Obviously, you are not expected to agree on everything, but you can find a healthy way to discuss those differences. But my favorite aspect is how you can express your love more effectively to your partner. We all communicate our "love" differently to each other. Sometimes it's effective and other times you're lucky if the other person even notices. The love language of one person may not be the same for another. The Five Languages mentioned in this book are the following: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. At first, you may think that you (or your significant other) are one language just from reading the options, but you might be surprised at what their true language is. What have you most requested from your partner? Whatever you have most requested is probably keeping within your own primary language. What makes you feel the most loved? What can your partner do for you that would just scream i love you? Let me share my own personal example before I summarize the different languages. I love my husband, and I try to do various things to show him that, but honestly, I doubt he notices half of what I do. One day I finally just asked him what I could do to show him that I love him. His answer? make him a lunch for work. Simple request right? well, not so easy for me. I grew up making my own lunches. He always rubs it in that at work his buddies wives make them lunches. So just a couple weeks ago I surprised him with a lunch. I couldn't believe the difference in his attitude towards me and how much more affectionate/attentive he became. I felt appreciated. Now? I want to make lunches...not every day =o) but enough. I know that my main language is service. When Jared helps clean the kitchen without me having to ask, it makes my day. #1 Words of Affirmation: "I can live for two months on a good compliment." Mark Twain. Everyone needs the occasional compliment or word of appreciation, but to someone that has this love language, it is a very powerful communicator. They rely on these words and are either built up or torn down by them. Verbal encouragement is another factor. Someone in this language may need that extra push of affirmation that someone believes in them or that they have worth and meaning to that person. Since this is a verbal language, you also need to be careful with the tone of how that message is carried. Sometimes your words are saying one thing, but the tone is saying another. I really like how the author says that love makes requests, not demands. The request creates the possibility for an expression of love, whereas a demand suffocates that possibility. Who likes demands made on them? #2 Quality Time: This has to deal with giving that person your complete and undivided attention, not just being in the same proximity. Someone in this language is craving that eye contact, that one-on-one activity, a real conversation, and just spending time together without outside distraction. He mentions how most of us are trained to analyze problems and create solutions. That we forget that a marriage is a relationship, not a project to be completed or a problem to solve. Sometimes quality time has to do with being a good listener and not offering advice unless it's asked for, which can be hard for a lot of people. That first instinct to interrupt and "fix the problem" rather than just listening and understanding their feelings. They just want some of your time and attention focused solely on them, whether through an activity, conversation, or just listening. #3 Receiving Gifts: A visual affirmation of love. Something they can hold in their hand, like a visual symbol of love. A great example is a wedding ring. They are a symbol of love to that person. I think that spontaneity in gift giving is very important to those in this language. When it's least expected, it might be the most treasured. For example, giving a simple flower just because, and not due to a special occasion. Another aspect is giving the gift of self. Being there for that person when they need you the most. These gifts don't need to be expensive or frequent, but they need those small tokens every now and then to show that you value them. #4 Acts of Service: His definition of this language is doing things you know that person would like you to do. You are expressing your love by doing things you know would please them. This could be as simple as making dinner one night, vacuuming, cleaning the dishes, or the shower! This does require some thought, planning, time, effort and energy, but the rewards are great. Sometimes this one requires us to reexamine our stereotypes of husband and wife. A lot of us are following the example of our parents and have the same expectations. When something doesn't come naturally to you, it is a greater expression of love. #5 Physical Touch: "Physical touch can make or break a relationship. It can communicate hate or love." Touch can be a few things, like holding hands, running a hand through their hair, kissing, a big bear hug, and of course being intimate. Keep in mind that something that may bring you pleasure, my not bring them the same pleasure. Make a study of it and find out what they enjoy, whether it's a back rub, or something as simple as a hug and kiss before they go to work. I love the fact--and it should be mentioned--that most women (not all) are more willing to be intimate if they feel loved, admired, and appreciated. If they are not emotionally ready, the desire is just not there. Everyone can benefit from each language, but usually their is 1 language (sometimes 2) that speaks louder than others. In the end Love is a Choice. A choice we make everyday to meet that persons emotional needs. This is something you do for someone else, not something you do for yourself. And if you reach out to meet their emotional needs, they may return the favor. It's almost like falling in love over and over again. Love is kind, not selfish. I believe it's when we are unwilling to make that effort that the relationship starts to fall apart. Ok I'm done. Like I said, the book has a lot of good points that i think about all the time. For those that actually read the whole post..wow, you must be bored. lol. If not, no worries won't hurt my feelings. 'til we meet again.

too early to be up

Here I am, tired. Melody had me up a few times before deciding that at 4:30am she wanted to stay awake and wasn't tired anymore. Here I am, waiting for her to fall asleep, hoping that I will get at least an hour or 2 of sleep before Cadence wakes up. doubtful, but hopeful. Just as a review of last night: Jared calls me 30 minutes before my shift starts and tells me he's not going to make it home in time for my shift due to a server at work that decided to just not work. He has to stay till it's fixed--that's understandable. Not to worry, he called Johnny (friend) and Jordan (brother) to watch the girls? Where's grandma when you need her? =oD At the last minute and with so little notice, they were the only choice. They were the only ones near enough to make it back to my home before my shift started. K, for those that know Johnny and Jordan, they are more than happy to watch as long as diapers don't have to be changed, minimal holding--if any, preferably no crying cause they don't know what to do, but the will make sure the kids stay alive. As much as I love these guys and I know they would keep my girls alive, I started looking into if I had enough time accrued from work to get it off for the night. I had no doubt in my mind that they could watch Cadence, she likes playing with Johnny and tormenting Jordan. Melody on the other hand is a very needy 4 month old. Unfortunately, I found out that I had already used up my accrued hours and was stuck working. On the edge of panicking, I rushed to feed Melody hoping it would help keep her happy until my break, then they showed up just in time for me to start work. I can't hear much from downstairs, but I can definitely hear crying. About an hour into my shift I heard not just crying, but screaming. Melody was not happy. I could only imagine what they guys were doing and thinking. I had to wait till the current call was over before I could see what was happening. I ran upstairs only to find Jordan. I guess Melody had started to fall asleep so he put her into her bed, but she quickly woke up and was not happy. Then I find out that Johnny takes Cadence outside because he can't stand crying babies--leaving Jordan to take care of her? Those that know Jordan know that babies just aren't his thing. period. If he had a choice, he wouldn't hold them and I've always known that. The fact that he had no choice but to hold Melody, and stuck around during the inconsolable crying, not backing out, said a lot. Then again he knew I would be less than happy if he had backed out. =o) So I decided to help out by taking Melody downstairs with me. She stopped crying when I picked her up--just missed her mom, and she was wide awake. This was going to be interesting. Luckily it was only for about 30-40 minutes, and then Jared showed up to save the day, but during that time I had to take phone calls and keep Melody quiet. Melody is a talker. She loves to make noise. cute adorable noise. So here I am on the phone with one hand on the mute, unless I have to talk, and the other with her rattle trying to keep her happy. I'm just glad Jared came home when he did, she was getting restless. In the end Jared put them both to sleep soon after he got home, and I finished my shift. I was going to post a picture that Johnny supposedly took of Melody during her crying only to find out that somehow (and I'll find out) ALL of my pictures from my Kodak camera have been erased...I had at least 900 pictures on this camera..luckily I had most of them downloaded on my computer. Not to happy to have found that out at 4:30 in the morning. I'm sure they (as in Johnny and Jordan) were trying to delete a single picture and accidentally selected delete all. These things happen. Well, Melody has fallen back asleep and I need an hour of sleep myself before Cadence wake up. I'd say good night, but it's morning. =oD correction: i must have been half asleep, cause after telling Jared about my camera before he left for work, he checked it out and told me it was because my memory card wasn't in there. Someone took is out and it was in my computer (was not me). HUGE sigh of relief. So if you're going to use someone elses camera--namely mine, PLEASE only use the button to take the pictures, and if you want a copy of some picture (or want to delete pictures) let them know afterwards. =o)

Short Note

Just a short note to say Hi! I didn't realize it has been this long since my last post. I just haven't been "inspired" to write anything lately. Everything has been pretty low key for me. My shift just ended for work and I'm about to read a chapter in my book and hopefully go to sleep. I guess I could just sit down and write what's in my head, but who wants to hear rambling?? Those that know me, know that once I get started rambling, it can be hard to stop. I could write about my feelings on current events? who knows. Honestly, I've been in the dark the last few days. I haven't had much time to myself to watch the news or even just check online to see what's going on. I found out about the Southern California fires from a customer on the phone! How sad is that?! Then I started searching the Internet about what was happening and about how the Santa Ana winds develop and how they fueled the flames. It's just devastating at the magnitude of destruction this fire (or fires) have caused. Anyway I really need sleep, but I hope to post soon! In the last few days my mind has been revisiting a book I read years ago (forced on by parents), not a fictional book, but a book that focuses on communication in a relationship. I may share highlights on the basics of what it talks about because for me it makes a lot sense. I know there are MANY ways of communication, but I always think of the main points of this book. silly huh but there it is...more to come!

Super Mom!

Today was a big day for one mom in particular--my sister! This is what happened. I had to attend a MANDATORY training for work at the Salt Lake Center, which is about 45 minutes from my home, but only 15 minutes from my mom's home. Due to this mandatory meeting I needed someone to watch my darling girls. My husband couldn't get work off, and my mom just started a new job. Luckily, my sister Amy came through for me--she always does. She is the best. Amy already has a 3 year old and a 6 month old of her own, but she drove from Bountiful to meet me at my mom's at 8AM to watch not only her 2 kids, but my 2 kids as well. Yes, 4 kids!! Two 3 year olds, and 2 infants. She is a SUPER MOM! Luckily, my mom found out at the last minute she didn't have to go into work as early as she thought and was able to help for the first part--I know Amy had a sigh of relief when she heard that. With 2 crying babies and kids running all over the house, she survived...barely. Thank you Amelia!!

Twilight Addiction

Quick Post: I need to personally promote the book series Twilight by Stephenie Meyer .I was first referred to this book about a month ago and fell in love with the series. Right now, the series is comprised of 3 books (more to come!!), and I read all 3 books in a weekend. literally. I would stay up until 3am reading this series knowing that my girls would wake me up in a few hours. Twilight is an addicting series. I have tried to mention the series to everyone that I know. So far, those that are willing to read even the first book are also twilight addicts. My older sister is the newest member to this addiction. Some of you may not feel the same way I do, and that's OK. I have one question for those that have read the series, Edward or Jacob? For those that may be interested in reading the series: You can get a taste of the books if you visit the website. From there, scroll to the bottom and you will find an audio clip from the first book. The author does an amazing job in creating characters full of life and emotion. She elicits emotions in the reader, creating a connection to the characters that bleeds into you, making it feel as if you are in the story. These books take place in present day with a great story full of suspense, passion, intensity, heartache, humor...it's just a great book. Bottom line is I'm obsessed and I wanted to share that with you. Now, I have to wait until August '08 to find out what happens next!

Blue wall is no more

For those of you that have been in my home, you may remember the big blue wall. We have had that blue wall for at least 4 years. Change has finally arrived. I needed this change. For the last few month or so I've been trying to decide how to "warm up" our living room. I chose warm tones...brown and red. The brown is called Warm Nutmeg, from Behr Paints, and the red is called Deep Garnet. I don't think they named the red well, I would prefer to call it cranberry grape. =o) I love this red color. Honestly, it is dark, but it is beautiful. Anyway, Jared and I picked up the paint and painted the once blue wall (primed white already) brown, and the wall that our tv is currently on is now red. This is only the beginning of the "paint projects" in my home. The next project is to finish the other walls in the living room, and then the hallway leading to the bedrooms. I still haven't finished painting the ceiling in the hallway, the master bedroom, both bathrooms, or the guest room. Just a work in progress, and it may take another 4 years (or more). I hope you like the changes! The picture is a little dark, but you can kinda see what we did. (oh and that's Word World on tv!) Just on a side note: Thank you Jared! I would never have been able to get done what we did today without your help. Love You!

Morning Surprise

This morning I received a phone call from a old friend, Leslie Whitney...well now it's Leslie Ross. =o) What a great surprise! I haven't seen or heard from Leslie in over 8 years. I am glad she tracked me down, I've always wondered how she was doing. Leslie and I grew up in the same neighborhood and we were always good friends in junior high and high school. Then we each went our different ways and lost touch. Now, Leslie lives in Kansas with her husband and 2 kids. I remember that Leslie and I could talk about everything (and laugh at everything), and 8 years later, we still can can. It's nice to know that even though we haven't talked in YEARS, we are still friends.

Zion National Park

What a great weekend! It was a lot of fun with just the girls, but the boys were missed too. The place we stayed was absolutely gorgeous and literally at the doorstep of Zions. The sunsets were spectacular on the red mountains, and I don't think I've seen that many stars in years. We had a small river just steps away from our room. We loved to just open the door and listen to nothing but the water run by. Most of the trip was very relaxing, but when you have kids in the mix, it can be exhausting too. For example, the first night the two babies (4months and 6 months) were working together--seriously--they had Amy and I up every 2 hours unitl 4am when they decided they didn't want to go back to sleep. Luckily, my mom, Lisa, and my cousin Anna were in a different room and didn't have to deal with waking up during the night. The next day we were there, my mom, Lisa, and Anna hiked the Narrows, which took about 8-10 hours. Amy and I would have joined them, but it just wouldn't be safe for our kids, so we opt'd to stay back. The next day we joined them on an easy hike to the 3 emerald ponds. It was really fun to get out and hike in Zions. Everywhere you looked it was a picture perfect postcard. The weather was a bit on the chilly side, but that didn't stop us getting out and having a good time. Here are a few pictures from our trip! This is a picture of my sister Lisa, me, my twin sister Amy, my mom, and my little girl Cadence in the middle. We are all in matching jammies!

Here is a picture of my beautiful mom with my daugther Cadence. This is just before our hike when we were putting Cadence in the backpack. She thought that was so fun.

If you know me, I do not like sharing pictures of myself, but I had to share this picture! This is a picture of me and my twin sister Amy with our babies, Melody and Mylee, strapped on tight! They are so adorable.

The last picture I'm going to share is of my Cadence. Amy and I found this FUN butterfly chair in town at this cute little shop. Cadence did NOT want to get off. She loves butterflies.

That's about it. Zions was a great (and much needed) trip. I would go back in a heartbeat...well at least when the kids are a bit older. =o)