T.G.I.S.???

Thank Goodness it's Saturday!! Yeah! Matt and Hailey went to visit G&G Bird and family in Stockton today, and I stayed home to clean. YES..... I stayed home to clean!! When do I ever have a QUIET empty home to actually get work done!? Well today i do!!!

I have much needed laundry, bathroom cleaning, kitchen cleaning, and vacuuming to get done. I am sitting here smiling because I only have ONE load left, and I just finished cleaning out the fridge. I am running out to Target to return a gift I got Hailey that we no longer need because I learned someone else got it for her so that is a HUGE plus! ~

AND I am getting some MUCH needed sleep hopefully tonight, as long as baby Landon lets me rest! I have not been away from my little girl too much, and this will be the first overnight trip in like 6 months!! I am a little sad, but I need to take advantage of this one! ~

I thought about putting up our Christmas Decorations, but I thought we could save that for FHE on Monday Night! (Family Home Evening for those who are not members)

Wish me luck and happy dreams! ~

Twilight ~

Ok, so I have to PUBLICLY apologize to my little sister Sharon. When she was reading the "twilight" series, I have to admit I made fun of her for liking a VAMPIRE book! I told her it was not normal to like Vampire books, and teased her for a good 5 months.

Then I decided I should read this book because all my friends were saying how great it was. I thought it was a "teenie bopper" book and there was NO way I was going to get into it.... Well I WAS WRONG! ~

I started reading the series in September, and I have finished ALL the books as of Thanksgiving. And I am SURE there are people who read all four books in like ONE day, but for me NOT being a "reader" getting through all these books in a few months is NUTS!~

So the reason for my post is also to Thank my Mom and Sisters for going to the movie with me as well. Mom treated us all to a Girls Night out to see the movie (yes my mom even read all the books) and it was a blast~

I had heard mixed reviews about the movie, so I was worried I would not like it. I decided I needed to see for myself, and I went in with no expectations of anything great, and I came away very pleased! I thought at the end to myself that I wanted it to keep going! I can not WAIT for the three other movies.... how do we get Stephanie to write more.... That is what I really want! ~Good times with Great People!

Thanksgiving Andersen Style ~

I enjoy the Thanksgiving Season SOOOO much! It is a time I really try to sit back and remember all the great and wonderful things that I am thankful for. Even with our tough times, I am SO Thankful for the love and kindness there is in the world. We go around the table every year and we say things that we are thankful for. This year my thankful items consisted of my family and epidurals. You might be laughing, but when those Braxton Hicks Contractions are coming and going, that is one thing that comes to mind when I am being Thankful for everything there is...We had a FULL table this year! Dad, Mom, Sharon, Preston, Brian, Nicole, Matt, Myself and our two little munchkins Hailey and Katelyn. My mother made AdOrAbLe little Pilgrim Hats that we got at our setting. I think Hailey ate a few before dinner started... luckily Grandma had made extras just in case that happened.After Dinner, we were clearing the table, and there was not enough room for the Mashed Potatoes, I learned from my father not to let things go to waste, so Matt thought it would be funny to get a picture of the Prego Eating! ~ HA HA ~

There are SO many reasons to be Thankful, I wish Matt was in this picture so I could capture them all in one Thanksgiving Photo, but my daughter and I will do... Hailey has made our lives so much more interesting. She truly is a blessing from god!~And here is the Grandgirls with Grandpa ~ Hailey is giving me the "STANK-EYE" for taking her picture... Gotta love time spent with loved ones! We are SO blessed with all we have!
I hope you and your family had the BEST Thanksgiving, and were able to truly be Thankful!!

Wanna hear a Riddle??

HOW DO YOU GET A TODDLER IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR??

GIVE UP???

YOU PUT HER HIGH CHAIR SEAT IN THERE AND TELL HER WE ARE GOING TO GRANDMA'S TO EAT......

Yes, she got in there ALL by herself! The muffler sure was a help, Matt said he watched her, and knew he should have stopped her, but wanted to see if she could do it! And she did! What a kid!

Fishies ~

We have a DARLA on our hands!!

So if you are wondering WHO this Darla is.... come on.... you have seen Finding Nemo haven't you?? Well if not, you need to see it! ~ For those of you that have, you now have a smile on your face because you know that I am comparing Hailey to Darla....

Yes, she got 5 fishies from the pet store the other day, and we are happy to say THREE have survived!! YEAH! ~ Matt was going through his fish tank junk from the move, and we found a 2 gallon tank and decided Hailey would enjoy some fish in the house again! ~ So we went to the Pet Store here, and 0.54 cents later are PROUD owners of fishies!!

Hailey LOVES them! She loved them so much, she wanted to carry them out to the car, and she can't hold them nicely, she had to SQUEEZE the bag.... and shake it too.... I think she only dropped it twice, so NOT too shabby!! I think she killed one with one of her monster grips on the bag, and daddy killed the other one leaving the heater on in the tank too long. I guess the remaining three will be around for a LONG while! ~ :)

I love hearing her talk to her fish, she gives them kisses and everything! ~ These are the things in life that make me smile! ~ Happy fishing! ~ HAHA

Enrichment Night

Matt and I have been in our new ward ALMOST a month, and I am really trying to get to know other people in the ward. It is hard because our first two weeks we were chasing after Hailey and trying to figure out where to go... now she is Nursery age, and we are just trying to get her to stay in there....

Anyways ~ the second week there, I was looking through the Relief Society Book, and I noticed they were having a Thanksgiving-Christmas Themed Enrichment Night. I LOVE Enrichment, so I signed up to host a table. I think they were very surprised that a new young sister in the ward would offer to sign up, but HELLO I am near my mother, and she is AMAZING at decorating and stuff! In fact I KNOW she LOVES doing these types of things, so when I called her to help me we were both looking forward to it!

We decided to decorate for Christmas, and it was such a nice night. My mom as always pulled off the most perfect table, and I got MANY compliments that night. THANKS MOM! ~ I always told them my mother helped me....

It was a nice dinner and dessert thing, and my mother and little sister joined me there. The food was GREAT, and the dessert was even better! ~ This is a picture of a cheesecake that had ADORABLE little mice on it! I am going to get the recipe so we can all enjoy this cake! ~

I am thankful for the church and the great programs they have for us to enjoy!!

Change ~

There is SO much talk about CHANGE latley, that I thought I might share a big Change in the Matthew Bird Family....
At the end of October Matt was laid-off from his job. When you are the first guy in, you are usually they first guy out. Unfortunatly with the turn in the economy, Capital Steel Products lost a few Big Accounts, and so they had to loose a few good workers.
Matt and I have been on "damage control" the last month, and we really feel like our prayers will be answered. It has been a tough transition, but I know this "change" in our lives is needed. I actually did a post recently after he was laid off, and just left it as a draft. It helped me get my frusturations out, and I am glad I did not post it. Nothing wrong with it, just more personal feelings that I wanted to keep to myself.
We are doing well, still living in Elk Grove. Friends and Family that know of our situation have been so supportive, we are lucky to be where we are. This would be harder if we were still in Fresno so far from family.
Prayers our way are greatly appreciated... we are just looking forward to the next change when Matt gets a job offer and where that will lead us. ~

PARK TIME

Hailey is ALL about going to the park and playing all over! I LOVE taking her, but it is SO much nicer to be able to take her with daddy!! This is her at the park near our church buliding. She would rather slide on the BIG slide than the SMALLER kid area! What a nut! ~ The end is the best! HAHA~

POOH POOH COOKIES

Hailey is into climbing latley, and this is what I caught her doing as I was making her dinner.She was sitting on top of our coffee table eating her Winne the Pooh Cookies. She calles them her Pooh Pooh Cookies! GOTTA LOVE IT! ~

Sleepy Head! ~

SHE SLEPT IN HER ROOM LAST NIGHT!! YEAH I am SO excited about that! I just wanted you all to know!! We are trying to get her out of the crib in time for the baby, and we think this is perfect timing!! We tried just letting her CRY it out, and I can only take ONE hour of crying, so we just took her to the crib.
So last night we tried it again, and it was a success. We still have a ways to go, because Matt sleeps in there till she is asleep, but all is well. Matt came to bed last night I am not sure when, but I checked on Hailey 3 times last night while she was in her big girl bed, and she was out!! And the best part is that she just sat in her room until I went in to get her in the morning!!
YEAH! success!! We are just a few short steps from starting her on the big girl potty! She really is loving all the hugs and high fives she is getting for doing Big Girl things!! YEAH! ~

Home Sweet Home

I thought you might like to see a little preview of our new house we are renting! This is for all of those out of towners that will not be able to come and see our place... the in towners better come visit soon! ~ This is the front view of our house. We live in Elk Grove off of Laguna in a nice gated community. Can you see my YES on Prop 8 sign in the window??? :)

This is what you see when you walk in my front door. This is the living room. Hailey is watching Baby Einstein! ~ :)
This is a "bird's eye view" of the front room from the loft-play area. It is really open and fun!

This is my Dining Room and Kitchen, they are next to the front room, and you can see we still have our Halloween table cloth on! I love the kitchen! The stove is gas, and that is new for me, but it cooks SO well!

This is the downstairs bathroom! It is the PINK bathroom as we call it. When you walk in through the garage it is to your right. It gets used the most right now because I do not have the strenght to walk up the stairs when I have to go potty.... T.M.I. I know.....

This is the master bedroom upstairs. Once up the stairs you turn right and this is the first door.
Our Master Bathroom is Black and White with Light Blue accents.... I have the toilet area decorated, but this is the picture i took... so whatever. We have double sinks in there... LOVE IT

This is Hailey's room. We are working on getting her to sleep in her toddler bed... any ideas?
This is Landon's Room, we have yet to decorate it in BOY colors because we still have Hailey in the crib. It is a nice big room with a HUGE closet! YEAH STORAGE!!Now this is the best room in the house! This is the loft area... we call it the playroom! You can see the living room from the banister, and it is to the left of the stairs when you walk up right next to Hailey's room. We LOVE it! It defiantly gets the most use!!

All her toys are usually scattered all over, this is clean for me....
And this is the Kids bathroom upstairs... Hailey loves the ducks in this bathroom, and enjoys her baths as she says "quack quack!" ~ It is nice for Matt and I to graduate from the "ducky bath" only after 5 short years of marriage!

Hope that gave you a good outline of our home! We love it, and just hope we are able to stay for a while! ~ :)