BLACKBEARD'S

We got free passes to Blackbeard's Golf Playland from our Grizzlies Game. We had planned on going one Monday for F.H.E. but it rained and we did not end up going. We only had a few days left to use them so when Thur night looked promising we decided to go!
Our close friends the Harden's that lives near us decided to go as well.

All our kids LOVED it!!

 Can't you tell?? And it was also nice that I KILLED Matt!

 I forget the exact score, but I WORKED him!!

Haley Harden , ME and Hailey Bird.

FUN! Then after golfing we hit up McDonald's for some dessert.

It is our new favorite hangout with the kids.

 We let them run all over and have fun while we eat ice cream and just talk and laugh.

Good Times GREAT people!!

Princess "TEA" Birthday Party

So for the last couple months; actually since we had Landon's Birthday Party Hailey has been telling me what she wants for her birthday. About a week after Landon's party; Hailey said "I want cupcakes for my party too." I just kinda laughed thinking she was just thinking out loud. I told her we could do that for sure. So about a month later she said " I want to have a Tea Party, but like we do with cocoa." It was such a cute idea that I decided we should do that. She got an adorable Princess and the Frog Tea set last year for her birthday from our friends Amalia and Brent. The first time we played with it I explained to her that we do not drink tea, but we could have juice, milk, water or even hot cocoa. So every time we play with it now she always offers me hot cocoa. It is SO cute!!
ANYWAYS...
So the idea for her party was her own and the party was a hit!! She invited all her princess girlfriends and mommies to attend. I just did a Facebook Invite because the people who were coming already knew about the party.
The invitation said "Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a King and Queen. They longed for a child; then one day, not so long ago, their sweet Princess Hailey was born. The royal family requests your presence to celebrate Princess Hailey's FOURTH year of birth.
~ Please come dressed as your favorite Princess, Mothers are welcome to join in the fun of dressing up too. Light Refreshments will be served during the "TEA Party"
~ Please RSVP to Queen Melissa~"

I hope all who attended had a wonderful time!

 It was everything she wanted... Streamers, Princess Castle ...

 Presents, Balloons, Happy Birthday Banner...

 Princess TEA Table ready for food... We had ALL Princess Hailey's favorites... chicken sandwiches, fruit salad, pretzel's, veggies and dip, fishie crackers, teddy grahams with a cream cheese dip, Reese's peanut butter cups and some AMAZING TEA Punch...

 AND a Cupcake stand FULL of Princess Cupcakes!

 The little crowns on top were SO cute!!

 Hailey liked to hide in her castle while she waited for the guests to arrive.

 We played a game of KISS THE FROG. We put lipstick on the little girls and spun them around and let them see who got the closest to kissing the frog. Haley Harden WON! It was cute!

 When the little Princess's arrived they received a wand a tiara. Hailey told me she wanted them to have Party Hats and I thought this would work out nicely...

 Lauren and her daughter Princess Morgan...

 Alex and her daughter Princess Grace...

 Megan and her daughter Princess Reagan... (I have a better picture of Megan below)

 Amy and her daughter Princess Haley...

 And there is Megan holding little Morgan. Amber was behind the camera the whole time (THANKS AMBER) but she did not get a picture of herself for me... trust me she was there!

 Hailey enjoyed opening up her presents.

 She was a VERY lucky girl this year.

We had cupcakes and then just hung out and talked until the boys came home.

That night as I put Hailey to sleep in her bed I told her she was SO Lucky to have lots of people that love her. And she said "I know Mommy, Thanks for my Princess Tea Party." And she gave me a kiss and went to bed. I am thankful for the sweet moments I get with her. She truly is my little Princess.

Worst Morning EVER...

Probably not THE WORST EVER, but REALLY close...
So I wake up at like 6:30 to my kids in my bed kicking me. TOO EARLY... so I roll out of bed and head to Hailey's room to sleep on her bed. The kids were still asleep on my bed, so I wanted to get at least another hour out of the morning... (they both kick in their sleep)
7:30 A.M. the doorbell rings... I JUMP out of bed dazed and confused trying to figure out WHO would be at my door this early (besides Mommy Amy dropping off Haley Harden for me to watch, and I knew that was not the case) so I head to the front door and as I walk by my bedroom I notice the sliding glass door open... 'Great, the kids are in the backyard' is what was going through my mind. I turn the hall corner to the front door and it is WIDE OPEN, and my kids are standing there with a neighbor. "I figured they were yours because the front door was wide open." is what the nice neighbor lady said. SHOCKED and STILL ASLEEP I thank her and shut and lock the door. Here I am staring at my sweet little babies not knowing what to do or say or if this is a dream or really happening to me...
"We FOUND you mommy!" Hailey says as she gives me a big hug. Apparently they thought I was outside half way down the street and were looking for me there... I have NO idea how long they were out there, and I have NO idea what makes them think this is OK to do without a parent... "GO get on your bed NOW... both kids scurry to their beds crying and upset that I am yelling at them. WHAT ELSE AM I TO DO??? I am in shock!! So I sit on Hailey's bed and say "We DO NOT go outside without Mommy or Daddy!!" and make her repeat it. I then tell her a stranger could have taken her and not brought her back. She starts to cry again and by this time I am crying too because I was realizing what I was saying was true...
I head to Landon's room and do the same thing and just give them the biggest hugs ever. So then I call Daddy to tell him what happened and REMIND him that I had asked him to fix this problem over a week ago. He starts laughing.
REALLY BIRD? I am calling you at work (which I try not to do) HYSTERICAL and you laugh at me... "I can just imagine them outside running around and playing with the flowers and dirt is all" is what he says... "It's not funny." is all I say. "You better put those locks up."

You see this is not the first time this has happened. On Saturday while Matt was at Lowe's or Home Depot (our home's away from home) the kids took his keys to the Escort while Mommy was watching DH and folding laundry in her bedroom; opened the front door, unlocked the car door, opened the car door and got in. I had this feeling that something was wrong and went to look for the kids. Running to the playroom I noticed the WIDE open front door. I run outside in my PJ's yelling for them halfway down the street, I run home to look the other way and I notice they are in the car playing... I LOST it... but I was thankful they were not lost. When Matt got home I told him we need to get another lock for the doors because Hailey can unlock both the deadbolt and the other lock... We bought them but he did not have time to put them up between the Whole House Fan being installed...
AND when we first moved into the house you might remember Hailey opened the door to the garage THEN slid a box over to the garage door opener; opened that and was outside playing when Matt pulled up from work and saw her out there alone... yeah...
So... WORST MORNING EVER!!!

P.S. Thank you my new neighbor friend for returning my kids and not judging me. She has had the same thing happen to her and was very nice about it... I'm not a bad mom...

Pre~School

So I got a nice letter from Clovis Unified today.
It said "We cannot process Hailey's income eligible preschool application for the 2011-2012 school year. Family is over State guideline. You may apply for the fee based program (2,3 or 5 day) at $22.00 per day."

What is SHOULD have said is this:
"You make around $100.00 too much for the state guideline per month for you to get free Preschool. We will HAPPILY charge you $22.00 per day at 5 days a week. We understand that this means you will be paying $440.00 per month, and this totally negates the fact that you make too much over the state guidelines. Welcome to California, bend over and take it." P.S. the fee based schools are 25 minutes away also; so add gas back and forth to your total. Oh, and did I mention it is only 3 hours a day? You might as well enroll her into one class at Fresno State University would be cheaper. Have a nice day.

REALLY??????

ANGRY MOTHER RANT WARNING:
What is AWESOME is that if my child was "at risk or being abused, neglected, or exploited" they would accept her. OR or if she is a recipient of Child Protective Services, or Homeless... that would work too. HOW ABOUT I AM A GOOD MOTHER AND I WANT MY KID TO SUCCEED... Oh no, you want me to beat her... OK... let's figure this one out...

THANK YOU. It feels GOOD TO get that out. I feel MUCH better now... :)

SCREW!! So now to find another preschool program... any ideas people??
Oh, and I have already thought about doing it myself... I want another option. THANK YOU.

CATCH~UP

Since Blogger was down last week, I was not able to post about a few things that happened, so here is a CATCH ~ UP Post to do just that... CATCH UP!!
FIRST My 8th Anniversary Dinner with my HUBS! The Bakers watched our kids and we went to Rio Grill. It is a Brazilian Steak House and the food was AMAZING!! We took a few pictures before we left so we could remember what we looked like 8 years into our life together... they turned out pretty funny... the sun was in our eyes, and needless to say, we don't look very "HAPPILY MARRIED" ha ha

 Matt's Eye's closed...

 Cheesy Smiles, and squinty eyes... (but most likely the best picture!! :)

 Sassy Pose for me, and ANGRY BIRD...

 Now I am squinting and Matt is Happy... Oh Well! It was a GREAT night!

At dinner they had an all you can eat salad bar area, and every couple minutes a waiter would come out with beef and offer it to us. I tried everything but the Chicken's Heart... I draw the line there. But everything else was AMAZING!! It was nice to get out together and eat in peace!

THEN Friday we got HAIR CUTS!

 Landon liked the AFTER hair cut picture, but was not a fan of the DURING hair cut part...

And because Landon got a Hair Cut, Hailey wanted a trim too.
(YES... I know Hailey looks GOOFY in this picture, what a HOTT MESS)
And then Matt got a nice hair cut too. We did this to prepare for the HEAT and for Great Grandma's 80th Birthday Party. We were not originally planning on going to the party. In fact, we had already told a friend we would be attending her Graduation Party here. LONG story short, Matt felt he needed to go celebrate with family so we parted ways and I went to the Grad Party and he went to the Birthday Party. Here are some pictures from the event...

 Great Grandma Bird with Hailey...

 Landon and Hailey enjoying the food...

 Great Grandma Bird with Landon...

 The Grand kids (& Great-Grand kids) enjoying the Trampoline...

 LANDON lovin' the trampoline! Matt says he was so glad he went. I was lucky and got an early Mother's Day Gift; they stayed the night at G&G Birds so I got the night and morning of Mother's Day to myself.
They came home just before Church and here I am with my SWEET babies on my special day...

 AND I got kisses from my sweet little girl!~

GREAT TIMES!!

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day too!!

WEEKEND FUN!!

This last weekend was a GREAT one.

Filled with Friends and Family and LOTS to do!!

Friday Early Evening Matt and Landon headed up to the Father-Son Camp out for our old ward Gettysburg. I think it is actually called the "Priesthood Commemoration Camp out" but I call it Father-Son. Matt enjoys camping and I enjoyed him going camping without me having to go. (Don't get me wrong I LOVE spending time with my boys... but this mommy does not love camping...)

 So I had planned a FUN FILLED Girls Night for Hailey and I. I was talking with my girlfriend about it and she said "That sounds like fun!" Since her hubby was going camping too I invited her and a few other friends last minute to join us. FIRST we hit up RED ROBIN for some dinner! YUMMY! THEN we headed to the local Nail Salon in the Sierra Vista Mall for some MAJOR Pampering!!

Mommy Megan and Mommy Amy

(see her sweet baby sitting on her lap getting her nails done... SO CUTE)

 Mommy Lauren waiting to get her Manicure and Reagan (Megan's Daughter) letting her nails and toes dry.

(Many of you may remember Mommy Lauren has a little baby,

she got the night off HOLLA GRANDMA BRAUN!!)

 The lady that came to do Hailey's nails asked me if she could sit in her own chair. I told her I was not sure she would sit still, but she had a little talk with Hailey about "If you sit still I will make your toes beautiful." So believe it or not this girl SAT STILL the whole time she got her TOES and FINGERS painted...

 She even helped a little with the prep... buffing her toes...

 And she picked out her own color... GREEN.

"My favorite color" she told me.

 I wanted to change her mind, but I decided to go with it.

And she got polka dots on them too...

 HOW CUTE IS THAT?? SO CUTE!!
Then we went shopping a little bit and just enjoyed the night. I let Hailey pick out a toy and told her if she would be a "good girl" while Mommy shopped she could get it. These days happen FEW and FAR BETWEEN when I let her pick a toy if she is good. And for the most part she was. No running away from me, no hiding in the racks, when I called her she would say "I am right here Mommy." So she got her precious toy! (it totally helped that it was clearanced down to $4.95) Mommy got a dress and we were ALL happy! Then we headed home to hang out and chit chat with our friends. It was a FUN FILLED night! Hailey LOVES to talk about getting her nails done.
SATURDAY comes and is the LONGEST DAY EVER!! Matt decided this was the weekend he was going to put in the Whole House Fan. We both grew up with one at home and knew we really wanted to get one for our house. We just did not want to pay to have it installed, so after researching online and asking co-workers and stuff Matt felt SOMEWHAT prepared to take this task on... WITH help.
Our DEAR friends the Hardens loaned Daddy Mike out for practically the whole day. I did not want the kids in the way while this construction was going on so I took them on a bike ride to see the other part of the DEAR HARDEN family... Mommy Amy and the kiddos. We played at the park, played at home, walked to the store to get ice cream, played at the park again, played on the trampoline and ate pizza... MAN we tried wasting ALL THE TIME we could to get the boys time to put in the newest member to our family...

AND there he is... I think I will call him WINDY...

I name important things in my life...

WINDY and I will be BEST FRIENDS...

And just so you get a better perspective of where WINDY is...

this is the view from my living room down the hall...

 And not only did they install the Whole House Fan but instead of just putting a GAY PULL STRING on the thing to turn it on and off, they RAN electrical wires through the wall and gave me these pretty switches. One is for HIGH and LOW and the other is a timer... LOVE IT!!
NOW to put the 6 ceiling fans we just got into all the rooms... summer stay away a little longer until I get my new fans up!! So needless to say it was a BUSY weekend!!

HAILEY IS FOUR...

Can you believe it??
Four years ago TODAY I was in Labor with my SWEET LITTLE GIRL.
In FOUR short little years of her life we have had SUCH great times!!
We are celebrating her Birthday Next Weekend.
She wanted a PRINCESS TEA PARTY with cupcakes, streamers, the WHOLE works.
We let her open ONE present today and let me tell you... SHE HAS BEEN IN LOVE with it ever since...
Let me introduce you to the My Little Pony Mermaid Castle... (yeah, that is it's name)

Tonight at dinner we asked her to say the prayer and it went a little like this:
"Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the food, thank you for this day, bless the food, and bless my Princess Tea Party, and cake, and streamers, OH and my Pony Castle... In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."
NO JOKE.
Can you tell we have been talking about her Party??
ANYWAYS!!
She is just SO precious! She keeps me on my toes and I truly enjoy even the hard moments with this child.
Some of the nice things she does is when Landon is crying she tells him "It's OK brother, you'll be OK" and gives him a hug. When I need something and I ask her to get it for me she says "Sure Mom, I can do it." While running off " I CAN DO IT!" She is potty trained (AHHHHHHHH HALELULIAHHHHHHH) and goes by herself now. (she just needs help with the bum-wipes) She loves to sing songs and play with her Wonder Pets. (Little Pet Shop toys) And she sits on Time Out without having to be put there a million times and then we talk about what she did wrong and she is starting to listen better.
The TERRIBLE TWOS and THREES seam to be passing but the SASSY little PRINCESS Talk is taking over. I love every stage, but this stage is the funniest. The things that come out of her mouth are PRICELESS!! " I NEVER GET TO..." and "It's just not FAIR mommy, it's not FAIR." Or "LOOK at what you have done, just LOOK!" OH MAN...
ANYWAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET GIRL! I look forward to the actual celebration this year more than you will ever know!! :)

 And Landon likes the toy too.
You push the button at the top and the Mermaid Carousel goes around the top and it plays music...
very loud luau music I might add.

Here Hailey is giving the Mermaid Castle a Hug and Kiss!! 

"I LOVE MY PONY CASTLE" she said... WHAT a kick!

Clovis Preschool Program

SO... Hailey will be FOUR in less that a week!! And this means she is of age to attend Preschool.
Clovis Unified has a FREE pre-school for families that meet certain guidelines.
I went to the Registration Interview Today and was very impressed with how it was ran.
I will be happy when I get that letter saying they have accepted our daughter into the program.
I am having a bittersweet taste in my mouth about my FIRST baby going to school.... AHHHHHHH!!!

Happy Mothers Day!!

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day,
With little time to stop and pray.
For life's been anything but calm,
Since you called on me to be a mom.
Running errands, matching socks,
Building dreams with building blocks.
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes,
And other stuff that children lose.
Fitting lids on bottled bugs,
Wiping tears and giving hugs.
A stack of last weeks mail to read,
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord,
Just at the sink or ironing board.
To ask the blessings of your grace,
I see then, in my small one's face.
That you have blessed me all the while,
And I stop to kiss that precious smile.
- Anonymous

I wanted to wish a VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all those wonderful women in my life! I am thankful for your LOVE, Support, and Helpful Hints to mothering. It is not an easy thing, but it is worth it.

Now to my DEAR Mother...

Words can not really express the gratitude I have for you.

Most of your life has been given to "raising children", and we all know how easy a life that can be!

RIGHT?

As I tend to my children DAY IN and DAY OUT, I often think to myself

"How did she do it?"

Obviously, I am learning how you did it... although I would rather poke my eyes out with a fork on most days with the kids... and I only have TWO. You raised SIX of us, and for the record we all turned out OK. No one in Jail, No one on drugs, No one in desperate need... all semi-normal children learning and living semi-normal lives. We are all Happy most of the time, and the only thing I can attribute back to that is that you were a wonderful mother. WE had wonderful parents who cared about us. WE were lucky.
I thank you for showing me how to cook, clean, sew, love, learn... your life lessons have made me the mother and wife I am today. And although I am not perfect, I am Happy. Thank You for all the sleepless nights you spent on me as a child and also the sleepless nights I gave you as a teen. Thank you for support and love only a mother could give to a child like me. I promise all your hard work is paying off. I just pray that my children will love me as much as I love you. Thank You for all you have done and all the things you will continue to do for me and my little family.
I Love You! ~ Melissa

Sister SIERRA SMITH

ALSO while we were in San Diego we got to visit the

Mormon Battalion Museum.

We REALLY wanted to see it because this is where my cousin is serving her mission

 This is Sister Sierra Smith and myself.

 We had a nice chit-chat about what is going on with her while the kids rocked away...

 Then the rest of my family showed up and we got some COUSIN LOVE!!

Thank You SISTER SMITH!

You are AMAZING!!

We really enjoyed being able to see you serve!!

BEST SALAD EVER!!

BLT Salad...
OH YEAH!~ SO GOOD~
And both of the kids eat it too!!

Salad

8 slices of cooked bacon

4 cups sliced green-leaf lettuce

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

1 cup low-fat croutons

Dressing

1/4 cup light mayo

1 Tbs. water

1 Tbs. cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. sugar

pinch of black pepper

Combine all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl. Then, in small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients: toss salad with dressing. Makes 4 servings!!

YUMMMMOOOOO~~~

Cook the bacon in the morning and it is an EASY dinner to throw together! ~

Nutrition per serving: 185 calories, 8g protein, 12g fat, 10 carbs, 2g fiber, 32mg calcium.

San Diego Wedding ~

This last weekend I got to go to THIS temple...

for those of you who can not tell from this picture, it is the

San Diego Temple in California.

While I was there, I got to see this ADORABLE couple get married...

(Aunt Julie, Crystal, Morgan, Uncle Brad Andersen)

The weather was beautiful!

In the Mormon Religion (most of you know I am Mormon right?)

we get married in Temples and are sealed to our spouse for TIME and ETERNITY. The sealing ordinance is very sacred and special. It is unlike traditional weddings, but that is how we are married. The sealing ceremony for Morgan and Crystal was beautiful. My favorite thing the sealer said was

"If you ever forget what is most important in life, remember this...

You are SEALED to it!"

 This is my little sister Sharon out in front of the Temple.

She watched my kids while I attended the wedding.

Isn't she ADORABLE??

 Landon was enjoying the beautiful flowers and sunny day...

 Hailey was enjoying the temple views too...

 "I love to see the Temple... I'm going there someday..."

My husband Matt and I after the Temple Wedding.

 Hailey at the Reception, she fell asleep in the car on the way there and STAYED asleep!!!

 Landon at the Reception, he has his car and his "M" ready to rock and roll...

We danced the night away and had a wonderful time!!

Thanks Morgan and Crystal for making this GREAT TIME had by all Possible!!

CONGRATS to the newest member of the Andersen Family!!