Matthew & Melissa Bird

So...

2012-01-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was MY personal

"horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day...

No details; just know there are TWO children that are seriously LUCKY to be alive.

On a daily basis I loose my cool; but yesterday it was WAY BEYOND just loosing my cool... I had to go in my room; scream into my own pillow WHILE crying I was SO UPSET.

Quick Question;

What do you do to calm yourself down?

Usually I just need to tell myself I am like 10 times older than my kids so grow up!, but on days like this one I was SCREAMING... no not just yelling at the kids; SCREAMING like I was going to loose my voice at them.

It makes me sad...

It makes me feel like I am a bad mother...

WHY do I let myself get so UPSET?

I mean I love these kids with everything I have; so why do the little things they do as 3 and 4 year olds drive me so freakin' crazy? WHAT the heck am I going to do with them as teenagers?

Just so I can remember this day; I'm just going to say Hailey had TONS of potty accidents... pee and poo; so when I read back on this I can remember what pissed me off so bad...

I think today I am over it and really trying to get past it; but MAN I still feel upset.

Pray for ME and PRAY for my kids... not looking forward to that cruise now if this is what I have to deal with.

CRUISE PLANNING

2012-01-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

We set up all our documents for the cruise today... it seams more real to me than EVER...
Usually when we book a cruise it is months off; so I have to WAIT like forever to go. But this time I have less than a month to prepare... getting excited about it!~

We have been telling the kids about "Going on a Big Boat" for about a week now. Landon is BEYOND excited about it and everyday asks daddy to show him pictures of it. Matt will get out my NOOK (LOVE THAT THING; and love just saying "NOOK") and let him scroll through the pictures. We have showed the kids a few videos of the "Big Boat" and Hailey says she does not want to go because "I am scared, and I don't want to go down the big slide!" YES, the ship has slides on the top and we are STOKED about it; until we learned Landon was to small to go on it... well see how this goes down. Hailey who is tall enough could care less about going but shortie Lando wants to go so bad it hurts!!~~ HAHA!~

I am VERY thankful we are able to do wonderful things like this as a family. I completely "get it" how lucky we are that we get to enjoy things like this. I also KNOW we can do things like this because we had set ourselves up right. We don't go out to eat much, we don't waste money, we live on a budget, we save, I shop on clearance racks and buy generic brands, we work hard for our money. We make our money work for us... so we can enjoy little vacations and things like this.

If there is anything I have learned from my husband it is this; You have to ENJOY life while you are living it. And sometimes you have to spend money to do that.

And what my husband has learned from me is this; You only buy things if you have the money for it. We don't put things on a Credit Card to pay off later; we pay everything in full at the end of the month. And if we don't have the money for something... we don't buy it!

I have to admit I learned what I know from my parents. We were never BIG SPENDERS, we always lived within our means. I swear I life a much fuller and richer life by doing this. Sorry about my RANDOM RANT... I feel like some "haters" around us think we get everything in life handed to us...

ANYWHO... This is me excited about going on our Family Cruise!~ :) AND at the same time PRAYING that this does not happen...

Landon Turns THREE!!

2012-01-16T11:00:00.000-08:00

My Baby is THREE!!

He is SO fun, and SUCH a crack up!
Landon David Bird has yet ANOTHER YEAR under his tiny belt!!
We did not have a "Party" really... we just had friends over for dinner and sang to him... I guess that kinda is a party, but we eat dinner with these people ALL THE TIME!
I guess if we think about it we must have LOTS of parties over here!!~~

He did want a "Pirate Theme" so he wore his new shirt and we put up candles and dimmed the house lights.

I made cupcakes, and Landon got a hold of one as our friends were arriving...

We had a Healthy Dinner; BBQ Mesquite Chicken, Rice, Fruit Salad, Salad with ANY dressing option, and the kids had French Fries and hot dogs. YES there is two huge soda bottles in the one picture which makes it not really healthy, but there was water and sugar-free juice behind them...

The kids enjoyed making Balloon Pirate Friends while we got dinner ready...

And After dinner we all enjoyed some YUMMY Cupcakes!!

As soon as Landon finished his cupcakes he told me it was time to open his presents! This kid got HOOKED UP!~ The Hardens got him the Batmobile, the Bakers got him a Spiderman backpack with a sleeping bag, G&G Andersen got him a Disney Read-To-Me set of Books & If you give a Dog a Donut book, G&G Bird got him Spiderman Shoes and a Spiderman Shaving set, and we got him a set of Monster Trucks and Two C.A.T. building toys! This kid is LUCKY!!

The above picture shows Hailey very upset that she did not get a present; we had a nice talk about birthdays and how she will get a present in a few months. It was a GREAT night with GREAT friends! Thank you for sharing out JOY that is Landon with us!

Mommy and Daddy love Landon SOOOOO Much!

~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY STUD!!

Positiveness!!

2012-01-14T09:00:00.000-08:00

(Thank you Stacy Rogers for sharing this on FB)

THIS is my new favorite quote...

"We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose a positive attitude!"

- Thomas S. Monson

Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue ~

2012-01-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been wearing a pair of shoes that you LOVE

and noticed that the back of the heal has come UN-GLUED??

I got these STEVE MADDENS while pregnant with my daughter to wear with my sailor dress.

I love wearing them because they are SO comfortable!!

I had forgotten that they were broken, so when I took them out of the box and remembered; I realized I knew EXACTLY what would FIX my little problem...

Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue
(hit on the above hyperlink to learn more)

I feel a little dumb giving you directions... this is NOT rocket science... (I promise)
Grab your glue, put the glue on one side of the shoe, press and hold. Wipe away excess glue. BEST PART... It only took 25 minutes to dry!! I wore them the next day, and the glue HELD! I had previously "fixed" these shoes with super glue and that only held until I put the shoes on and took a step! This glue allows for movement and a quick bond!

I LOVE THIS STUFF!!

Check out iLoveToCreate.com for all your Crafty~Fix-it~ or Fun needs!!

"Dr. Teeth" A.K.A. The Kids Dentist

2012-01-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

No my friends this is not a post about how scared I am to enter the dentist office...
This post is about a BRAVE mom putting on a HAPPY FACE for her kids to not get all worried about going to see the dentist. And can I just say I LOVE the kids dentist!
Monday the kids went in for a cleaning and they both LOVED it!!
We walk into the office and see THIS:

HELLO play area for the kids to ENJOY before they go in for dental work!

My kids absolutely LOVED it!

When the kids are called into the back room for the cleanings they ask them what movie they would like to watch. Hailey picked Strawberry Shortcake. She sat there in the chair watching her show and getting a cleaning. She has two cavities on the upper back teeth, so we went back today to get one of them filled.

Landon choose Toy Story to watch, and was a little squirmy; but did wonderful. No cavities; but we have to cut out juice during the day. (which WILL be a struggle) And we need to brush and floss after breakfast and before bed. DONE!! We did great Tue and Wed with the routine so far!!
So when Hailey went back today for her first ever dental procedure, she was very hesitant. I told her the night before and the morning of that we needed to go back to the dentist so he could clean her back top teeth. Getting into the car was the toughest part. Once we got there, she played and when it was her turn she was ready to go "get her top back teeth cleaned"
BUT FIRST we had her go to the bathroom...

YES that is a MINI toilet and sink and mirror for the kids... HOW cute is that? We loved it! After going potty we went to the room and she got up ready to go. She decided to watch Dora the Explorer this time, and was sitting so well. They put the "Elephant Nose" on her to give her Nitrous to calm her down, numbed the area, gave her a shot, put a brace on the tooth, drilled and filled it AND she sat perfect THE WHOLE TIME! I was SO proud!!
She got a pink balloon and a Princess Book and we were on our way! I think I was more worried about the whole thing; and she was a ROCKSTAR!! Now we will be back next Wednesday to get the other cavity and then we are done until our summer cleaning!! YEAH!!
Thank You Powell Pediatric Dentistry ~ YOU are the BEST!! If you are in the Fresno ~ Clovis area and need a pediatric dentist... CHECK this place out!!~

SILLY STUFF ~

2012-01-09T11:50:00.000-08:00

You know those adorable kids books written by Laura Numeroff... Oh you don't recognize the name... well how about the title...

If you give a Mouse a Cookie or

If you give a Moose a Muffin or

If you give a Pig a Pancake or

If you give a Cat a Cupcake or

MY little boys FAVORITE If you give a Dog a Donut... (THANKS Grandma and Grandpa Andersen for getting it for his Birthday!!~~)

YEAH... THOSE books!!~~

Well, I was on FB reading to my hearts content because HAILEY is at Preschool and LANDON is watching Team UmiZoomie and I came across THIS... ENJOY MOMMAS!!~~

IF YOU GIVE A MOM A MUFFIN-
"If you give a mom a muffin, she'll want a cup of cocoa to go with it. She'll pour herself some. Her three-year-old will spill the cocoa.
She'll wipe it up. Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer, she'll trip over boots and bump into ......the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her... she has to plan supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger. She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook. The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She'll smell something funny. She'll change the two-year-old.
While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for cocoa.
Thinking of cocoa will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some.
And chances are, if she has a cup of cocoa, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it." by Kathy Fictorie

I thought It was SO cute!!~ I think I could take pictures of my daily life to fill in the book for Kathy if she would like!!~

SNOWBOARDING!!

2012-01-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

While my family visited for New Years, we had also planned a Snow Trip. Preston my little brother (who is NOT littler than me in real life) and Matt wanted to hit up China Peak for some SNOWBOARDING!!

The boys left early and hit the slopes; my dad went with them, however he sat back and relaxed in the sun reading until "The Girls" got there (we had Landon so that is why I say "the girls") with lunch. It was chilly; but not too cold. I decided to put my big girl panties on and hit the slopes too; only ever since I had children I tend to take things REAL slow. Almost like NOW I have a purpose and if I get hurt playing around my purpose will become MUCH harder!! Here are some pictures from the day...

Hailey had fun making snowballs and throwing them at Grandpa, Preston, and Daddy. She told me "We don't throw snow at girls" so Grandma, Sharon and I were safe! She got hit by a snowball in her armpit by Preston and she acted like she was pretty upset about it; however when I was taking her to school the next day she told her friend Haley Harden that her uncle Preston had hit her with a snowball and it was funny; then she giggled.

She finally put on her coat after Sharon told her it was cold...

And this is Matt and Landon the snowboarders... see the below video for them in action!!

And this is me at the top of the hill ready to snowboard down... don't i look SO happy?? haha!

Oh, and YES I did get some new Snow Clothes THANKS for asking HOT PINK PANTS and a sweet Jacket at the Columbia Outlet... THANK YOU!

Hailey throwing Snowballs at Daddy...

Landon and Matt going down the "Bunny Hill"...

Landon trying to slide on the snow...

The kids made a snowman with Grandpa while Preston, Matt and I went down the hill. I only did one run and I was done. Grandma was reading her book for church book club, and Sharon was helping the kids and grandpa make the snowman. They made a little slide area for the kids; we know now that we can take the kids to the snow and they will LOVE it! ~

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!~~

2012-01-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

The Andersen Family came to FRESNO for New Years!!
I had the Wonderful Opprotunity to give a Talk on New Years Day at my Church, so they decided to come and spend some time with us. (It helped that Preston wanted to go snowboarding, so that is what we did on Monday) But we had a GREAT night out on New Years Eve...

We went to Mitsui Buffett for dinner!!

And we were Celebrating TWO occasions... New Years AND Landon's Birthday!!

They sang Happy Birthday to him, and he REALLY liked it!!~

He got a piece of cake too and that was nice!

Hailey, Aunt Sharon and Uncle Preston got Ice Cream cones for dessert!

It was a GREAT time had by all!!~~

Here is the end of the Birthday Song they sang with the WHOLE gang...

And this is Landon singing the song...

HAPPY HAPPY DAY!!

Gingerbread Houses!!

2011-12-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

This year we knew the kids would be making Gingerbread Houses at both grandparents houses so we opted to not make any at home. We did not have enough time to make the one we had planned to make at Grandma & Grandpa Birds house, so they let the kids take it to make at Grandma & Grandpa Andersen's!!

Grandma Andersen and Sharon made a special trip to the store to stock up on candies for the Houses... the kids LOVED making them this year!~

Grandpa and Landon made one from scratch with Graham Crackers and Sharon and Hailey took over the kit from G&G Bird. Grandpa was SO patient with Landon it was fun to watch them and take pictures. I was in charge of making the icing so they could plaster those candies ALL OVER!!~~

We got out all the candies and supplies and got going!!

I made some special icing that was nice and thick. We had a prepared icing from the kit, but because we had two house going at once we knew we would need more icing!!

Hailey and Sharon did a GREAT job! Sharon was previously working on a Graham Cracker house but it kept falling apart so she went for the pre-made one. She used Red Vines for the roof and I convinced everyone in the house that came to look at them to tell her it was ugly, but secretly we loved it!!

Then Landon and Grandpa made a Great house too!! Grandpa taught Landon how to hold the candies between two fingers and then squeeze the frosting on it so you could place it nicely on the house. Landon caught on quite quickly and loved it. He would tell grandpa all the colors of the candies as he got them out and was quite proud of himself after the house was finished. Grandma came out at the end and he told her not to eat it; only Landon and Grandpa could eat it!!

The kids got PLENTY of candy, and enjoyed eating the houses over the next few days.

I am sure Landon will make this a future tradition when we visit Grandma and Grandpa for sure!!~

ROCKETS and Ice Cream!!

2011-12-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

The Day after Christmas we spent with The Bird Family.

After exchanging presents we headed to the Park to enjoy shooting off ROCKETS!!

This is a Bird Family Tradition, and since we knew we would be in town to enjoy the tradition we took the kids to get their own Rockets! Hailey did not care to get one, but Landon picked the GREEN Rocket! (green is his FAVORITE color right now)

We had 9 rockets to shoot off and the boys sure did enjoy shooting them off!!

Here is Landon and Matt firing his Rocket off...

Even Baby Jillian enjoyed the fun times. The kids took a little break from the rocket-ness and played at the nearby park. It was a FUN time had by all!

After we got home we took the David Bird Family Pictures, THEN went to the Ghiradelli Factory and enjoyed some ICE CREAM!!~~ Our little family shared a Banana Split and it really hit the spot!!

It was a BEAUTIFUL day to spend all together as a family!!

Matt had to return to work the following day, so the kids and I went back to Sacramento to spend a little more time with my family. Matt loved it because he was able to get some things done after work around the house without little hands wanting to help him. It was a nice vacation for us all!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T16:07:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas we were VERY Lucky!
We were also able to enjoy Christmas Eve Dinner with some close friends from church. It was potluck style and all the food was amazing. The kids enjoyed playing, and the adults enjoyed talking and eating. We had a little presentation from the hosting family about the meaning of Christmas and all the kids joined in to help with the characters; Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, the Angel, the Shepherds, and the three wise men and a few animals. It was fun to see that the kids really do understand about Jesus' birth. It was a great time had by all I am sure.
After leaving the party we went home to get ready for Christmas Morning. Matt and I have always wanted to have Christmas at HOME (our home) when we had kids old enough to understand what is going on. It was nice being able to sleep in our own beds, and prepare the presents for the kids. This was our Second Christmas in our home and we just LOVED every moment of it!! ~ getting out cookies and milk for Santa on Christmas Eve ~ reading Christmas Books with the kids ~ the PURE JOY on the kids faces Christmas Morning when they wake up to see the gifts they have received.
The kids woke up this Christmas morning around 6:30-7:00. Matt and I woke up first and went to awaken them ourselves. This made it perfect to catch them truly in action... they were still a little sleepy; but after seeing the presents they woke up right away!!

They both got PJ's, Shirts, Puzzles, and FUN stocking suffers. All the family got an "Angry Bird" at the top of their stockings; we think that may have been a favorite! After checking out the presents laid out the kids decided we needed to open the presents under the tree...

From "SANTA" Landon got an Fresno State Bulldog Pillow Pet, a Batman Cave Playset, and a racecar track. Hailey got a Unicorn Pillow Pet, a Kitty Pet Vet Set, and a Doodle Bear. Then they opened presents from cousins and Hailey got the Pretty Pretty Princess Game (a total HIT thank you Ray Family) and Landon got the Cootie Game. (we are working on playing this game correctly; the kids just enjoy building the cootie's) They got each other some games also.

Then they opened the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Andersen. They both got Jelly Beans, PJ's, and Church Clothes. Landon got a Christmas book, swimsuit, and a fun coloring poster that wipes clean. Hailey got a crown, a coin purse, and a jewelry purse full of special things; sunglasses, necklace, bracelet, chapstick, body spray, I can't even remember everything!! They both LOVED the presents!!

They played with each others presents and had fun that morning. Matt got a Marine Battery from my parents and a Harbor Freight gift card from Brian Richardson who pulled his name. I got money towards a Freezer in the garage and a Marshall's gift card from my brother Preston who pulled my name for the gift exchange. It was GREAT! Matt and I also got a few things, but our big present to each other is our CRUISE at the end of January!!
We ate our candy, got packed up, and headed to Sacramento to see family!! We got to my parents and enjoyed spending the rest of the day with them. Auntie Sharon got the kids some present, and Auntie Crystal hooked it up with some See's Candy!! We spent Christmas Dinner with my family and some missionaries and that was fun. We played games, ate more, and stayed up WAY to late!!
The next morning we spent with the Bird Family in Stockton. We exchanged our gifts with them and LOVED the extension of Christmas for us! From Grandma and Grandpa Hailey got a Rapunzel Barbie Doll, and Landon got a Toy Story Car. Throughout the year they put money into a savings account for the kids College-Mission Funds so these presents are EXTRA!! Matt got a very nice suit, and I got a 15 piece Aluminum Cookware Set that I can not WAIT to use! (I am waiting for the "Pan Savers" before I open them; they are the liners that go between nesting pots that help them not to get scratched up) Matt got a Harbor Freight and a Marshall's gift card from his brother Chris and I got a cookbook and knives from Kevin. Hailey got a Zoobles play set from Jillian her cousin and Landon got a Spin&Glow Bucket (blocks and gears play set) from Rylie his cousin. We sure love exchanging names and getting some extra fun gifts from family!!~~ Christmas is a WONDERFUL time of year and we are so thankful for our friends and family that we get to see!!

BULLDOG BASKETBALL!!

2011-12-23T11:37:00.000-08:00

At the Elders Quorum Christmas Party Matt scored some tickets to the

Fresno State Men's Basketball Game. We had a Gift Exchange and we both were very happy with our gifts. (I got some "girly" relaxation stuff)

The kids were excited to go to the game!

We had nose bleed seats and enjoyed the game for a distance. Just before Half Time the cheerleaders came to ask if the kids wanted to dance with them on center court. Landon jumped at the opportunity and I was the lucky parent to join in on the fun! (Too bad Matt was not on top of his fatherly duties to take pictures or get a video of our little tiny dancer... ha ha.) So after that we moved a little closer to enjoy the game.

The Bulldogs lost, but there were some good plays that we enjoyed. I spent most of the game texting my little brother Preston. I have been TRYING to text more, and he seams to be the only person I really get into texting conversations with so I enjoy that! Landon also got to give Timeout (the Bulldogs mascot) "Knucks" but Matt was late on taking that picture so in the picture above all you see is Landon running away from Timeout... DADDY FAIL... ha ha! But overall we had a BLAST!

STILL Bulldog FANS!!

Happy Birthday Baby Morgan!!~~

2011-12-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

I guess I can't really call her a baby anymore because she is ONE!!~~

Morgan Baker (what I would consider my THIRD child) turned ONE this month and we were able to celebrate with her...

Her party theme was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (ironic that Landon had the same theme for his first birthday party; just another reason I say they are DESTINED to get married...)

We enjoyed Hot Diggity Dogs, Mickey Mouse Nuggets, Tater Tots (which I have not had in FOREVER and they really hit the spot) Fruit, Chips and Drinks to enjoy. The house was decorated for the Mickey Celebration as well!!

Friends and Family Galore came to see this sweet little girl on her special day!

We ate then played "Pin the Flower on Minnie Mouse" Hailey cheated and won of course...

We talked and opened presents... I think she liked each and every one but she LOVED the Mickey Mouse Stuffed Animal she got!

The Cake and Ice Cream were WONDERFUL and she even did a good job blowing out her candle! Despite getting a HUGE piece, she did not get herself too messy...

Daddy jumped right in for clean up crew...

And you can't tell me this face is not the easiest thing to love... Look at those baby blues! Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks all day long??!! LOVE HER!!

Happy Birthday Morgan!!!

The Bird Family LOVES you more than you will ever know!!~

Pump It Up!!~~

2011-12-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

One of the FAVORITE places for my kids to go is PUMP IT UP!

We learned about this place from a friend who had a party there when Hailey was just a few months old. We took Hailey for her first time on her second birthday and ever since then she asks me to go to "Jump it Up" all the time! They have a "Pop in and Play" event every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. With the kids being out of school this week my dear friend Amy Harden and I decided to take the kids!

Matt was able to leave work for lunch and join in on the fun jumping around with the kids. They have a HUGE slide which I think is the kids FAVORITE!! They ride on that more than anything else. They also have a basketball court bouncer, an obstacle course with climbing and slides and a bounce house with a mountain on it. Landon like so play in there and get on top and say

"STRONG MAN!!~~" he cracks me up!!

And here is Hailey Bird with her "BEST FRIEND" Haley Harden.

YES we have to call them by their FULL names when they are playing together!!~~

By the end of the day the kids are either SO TIRED from all the work or READY for MORE...

It was a GREAT time had by all!!~~

Thanks Amy for the invite! We love spending time with you!!

Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

We had a BLAST at the Ward Christmas Party ~
We talked with friends, ate cookies, sang songs, played games, and we even got to see Santa!!!
But the MOST fun I had at the party was watching Landon dance... or run around in circles... (He is the one in the cream sweater if you need help finding him...LOL)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

PreSchool Christmas

2011-12-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

For Hailey's LAST DAY of PreSchool before Christmas Break,

she came home with lots of Christmas Cheer...

The kids made Gingerbread Houses,

Santa's Journey Books,

Santa on his Sleigh Puppets,

and they got Window Clings from the preschool teachers...

Hailey was SO proud of the things she had made, and she was proud after she put up the window clings too... I have to admit I MAY have helped her spell Merry Christmas, but everything else was all her doing! Looking forward to this WONDERFUL time of the year!!~~
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!~~

Disneyland TRIP TWO

2011-12-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

Yes. My kids are OFFICIALLY the most spoiled rotten children ever.

Yes. We took them to Disneyland AGAIN within a month of going before...

Go ahead, Judge me...

Are you done...?

Good.

BECAUSE WE HAD A BLAST!!~~

(Thanks again to AMANDA for the HOOK UP!~)

The second trip was awesome! We got to go on the rides we missed on the first trip and the kids KNEW what they wanted to ride and had an AMAZING time!!~~

They LOVED the Christmas Tree on Main Street USA. Here they are ALL bundled up ready for the day!!

We hit the rides in Fantasyland First again. We went on Peter Pan, Dumbo, King Aurthur's Carousel then the kids had to take turns trying to pull the sword out of the stone... it was unsuccessful... Then Matt took Landon on Matterhorn while Hailey and I enjoyed the Storybook Land Canal Boats. We both enjoyed our rides but I think Landon enjoyed his the best. Matt told me about 10 seconds into the ride Landon put his hands up in the air and kept them up the whole time... Mommy's Little Daredevil!! Landon wanted to go on the Storybook Land Canal Boats so Hailey and I enjoyed a Dumbo ride again... Then Landon decided he needed to get in another ride on the Casey Jr. Circus Train.

Then we decided to head to the place we did not get to last time. We took the kids on Pirates of the Caribbean which we all LOVED! Then we hit up Tarzan's Tree house AND then went to the Pirates Lair on Tom Sawyers Island. The kids ran all over and really enjoyed that area. When we got back on the main land we saw Jack the Pumpkin King and Sally and the kids wanted to see them...

That is until we got to the front of the line... Hailey became very hesitant so Landon did most of the talking. He asked Jack what was in his head and in staying in character Jack made no sense to me at all... Sally told Jack to be careful around Landon's hair because he might cut himself on his hair... Landon really liked that. After seeing the characters we took the kids on the Haunted Mansion Ride. We think they enjoyed it...

Then we took the kids over to The many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Land. We went on the ride then got a treat for them. Mickey Mouse suckers are the BEST!!

Then we heard that Tigger and Eeyore and Pooh were going to visit soon. Landon LOVED seeing them. When he saw Tigger he started jumping UP and DOWN like crazy! Tigger danced with Landon and he loved it. Hailey was not as into seeing the characters as Landon was... can you tell??

We wanted to go on the Pirate Ship but it was not going at the time we were there, so we opted for the Mark Twain Riverboat. We got to go up to the top of the riverboat and the kids loved looking out at all the animals. (we see a cruise in our future) It was a nice little break for Matt and I to rest...

THEN we hit up on of our favorite rides... Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We talked Hailey into going on the "Train" with Mommy and she actually did a good job. When we got off she said "Mommy, I don't really like the fast Train...OK?" So needless to say Matt rode alone for his turn. Poor Landon wanted to do SO bad...

But LUCKILY for us he was easily cheered up when we saw Woody and Jessie on our way...
We decided we had gotten everything in we needed to so we headed over to California Adventure.

We headed straight for the rides we missed from last time. We got to go on the Golden Zephyr which was spaceship like rockets that spinned around in the air. Then Hailey and I enjoyed the Jumpin' Jellyfish. This was like a MINI Hollywood tower of terror; I liked it. Then we went on Mickey's Fun Wheel and made sure to get a cage that did not spin around while up at the top of the Ferris Wheel. Hailey was hesitant to ride this but then enjoyed it when she noticed it was not too scary. Matt loved getting the aerial views of the park as you can tell from below...

We were able to see the construction on the Cars Land that was soon to come and the World of Color set up in Paradise Bay water. There were thousands of jets you could see in the water; it was a neat thing to see. THEN of course we had to hit up the FAVORITE rides...

The kids picked the Toy Story Midway Mania. I think we waited the longest for this ride; but it was worth the 35 minute wait. Then we took turns on California Screamin'. The kids really liked looking over the pier to watch the countdown for the start of the ride... After we enjoyed those rides we went to Denny's for our Lunner (lunch-dinner) before our long night back at Disneyland.
The kids fell asleep on the walk to Denny's, so we just let them sleep and enjoyed our meal. We got them finger foods to go, and hit up the car for warmer jackets and to drop off stuff. We headed back to the park where we meet up with Amanda and got to play the night away.
We went to see "Captain EO" which was a nice little rest as well. The kids actually really enjoyed the 3-D mini-movie. Then we went on the kids favorite Autopia. (Landon likes to call them Umi-Cars... anyone else watch Team UmiZoomi??) Then we took turns going on Space Mountain... AHHHH I forgot how great that ride was. Matt went first while Amanda and I took the kids on Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Then Matt took the kids on Astro Orbitor (which is really just Dumbo a little faster with rockets) and Amanda and I enjoyed Space Mountain.(I believe I lost an earring on Space Mountain... boo; but well worth the ride) Then we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean, and then again took turns on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I think we all got two rides in which was nice. While waiting we were able to catch Fantasmic on the Rivers of America. Some pictures are shown below...

We tried to hit up Indiana Jones Adventure but it was closed so we opted for every one's favorite with Peter Pan. We really lucked out on this one because Amanda had friends working so we got VIP access. It was a LONG day and by the time we were in the car headed home it was 11:30 so we almost stayed the whole day... MAN what a LONG FUN FILLED TIME for all involved.
Until we meet again Disneyland... WE LOVE YOU!!~~

Landon's View

2011-12-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning up my pictures on my camera and came across a few pictures that were taken by my sweet boy Landon... I made a collage of "Landon's Point of View" for you to enjoy...

As you can see he is hanging out with Daddy watching Football and snacking on Wheat Thins. Hailey is playing on my Nook in the background. I just LOVE the picture of his shoes that he took and the Fisher Price Nativity Set Grandma and Grandpa Bird gave us... The other pictures were mainly of the floor or the walls or blurry, but here are the few good ones... you are WELCOME Matt. I think he totally caught your essence...

Reading

2011-12-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

We love to go to the Library.

The kids enjoy picking out that special book to read...

They love it most when they snuggle up with Matt or myself and we read the book to them...

It is the little things in life that we are just beginning to enjoy ~

We make an effort to go once a week!!

Disneyland Pins...

2011-12-12T12:51:00.000-08:00

This post is just for my mom. She had us buy more Disneyland pins to trade for her and these are the pictures of the pins... let me know mom...

Landon was telling me "No PICTURE MOMMY! NO PICTURE!!"...

These are the classic ones we thought you might like some of these... Mickey Minnie Donald Pooh

These we figured you would not care about at all...

And these were a mix... click on the picture to make it bigger and let me know! OH and the kids want to know if they can have a few more to trade for themselves!! :)
P.S. Matt got the pinch locking backs and we tried them and LOVED them! I think we got 25 for like $7.00... Just a FYI! ~ DISNEYLAND OR BUST!!~~

Christmas Andersen Tradition ~

2011-12-11T12:54:00.000-08:00

Grandma Andersen started a WONDERFUL tradition with her grandchildren last year...

Each night before bed the kids get to open a Present from the Christmas Basket and we get to enjoy a Special Christmas Book!

The kids REALLY love it!

THANKS MOM!!~

I just thought it might be a good idea for someone to do for a friend or family member next year.

You can get the books discounted after the holidays! YEEEAAAH!!~

Bass Pro Shop

2011-12-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been to a Bass Pro Shop??

If your answer was "No!" then you need to hit one up my friend!!

This place is AMAZINGLY Huge and Fun for any occasion!

Sure it is the ULTIMATE Man's Shopping Place, but I assure you Ladies you will enjoy it as well!! Because I sure did!

The one we were able to visit was in Manteca, CA.

We went there with some of the Bird Family. Grandpa, Grandma, Chris, Erin, Rylie and our little family made the trip to go see the place AND have some Holiday Fun while we were there...

Hailey was lucky... she got invited to ride with Rylie in Uncle Chris and Aunt Erin's Car. She was VERY happy to go with them. Poor little Landon was stuck with us, but he took the time to show off and grab Daddy's glasses and pretend to drive the car...

The first thing we did when we got there was stand in the lobby in AWE of the place... then we headed to get in line for Pictures with Santa. We did not have to wait long, but we did have a lot of fun waiting in line. The kids really enjoyed being the CONDUCTOR of the Choo Choo Train at the front of the line... we almost missed our turn!

When It came time to see Santa Rylie went first, then Landon; I heard him tell Santa he wanted a boat. I asked him what kind and he said "A big boat like daddy!" (I guess we are going to have one little disappointed boy when Christmas comes huh!?) When it came time for Hailey she made Matt take her over to Santa, but she refused to sit on his lap for a picture; but she did tell Santa she wanted a Doodle Bear...

Then the kids did a little shooting for stickers...

Then they made Santa Ornaments out of Fishing Bobbers. They turned out pretty cute!

Then we went to see the HUGE fish aquarium. You could look at it from the ground, or walk up stairs and see it from above on the second story.

The kids played with some fake guns and really took in all the "camo fun"!

It was a neat trip that the kids really enjoyed. We checked out the General Store and headed home.

I can now live a normal life because I have been to a Bass Pro Shop!

(Now we just need to get a fishing pole for the kids to enjoy out on the boat!)

Fairy Tale TOWN...

2011-12-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

WHAT WHAT!!~~ It would not be Thanksgiving time for me at my parents without a trip to Fairy Tale Town... Growing up this is where we went to get out of the way while mom would cook Thanksgiving Dinner. I have not been in over 10 years so it was fun to take the kids with my dad and enjoy it as an adult...

We got in for FREE by donating one canned food item per person. Thanks Mom for pulling some out for us, and thank goodness we remembered we were missing them before we got too far from home! As we walked up to see Humpty Dumpty on the wall the kids started getting excited!!

Grandpa got the kids a special key they could use to hear all the Nursery Rhymes and Stories. We were able to see the whole park in just a few hours. The kids really liked the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe; it was a slide. And Hailey liked trying to feed Mary's Lambs (they were really sheep and they told you not to feed them; the sheep knew better than to eat leaves anyways) They also liked playing in the Ti pi and naming all the animals on the Totem Pole...

I guess we needed a BREAK from all the "work" so we had some fun playing on the Hippo water fountain... Grandpa helped both kids get a drink then watched as Hailey climbed up the elephant... yes she is my climber! We got to see the different animals in Farmer Brown's Barn next, but I think the kids enjoyed the slide the best. I was able to get a great picture from the window in the barn; it is Grandpa Andersen making sure the kids are going up the stairs to the slide... Hailey is making her way up the stairs but Landon is wandering around... my dad is SO patient! I got to wait on the other side to see the kids go down the slide so that was fun!~

The next thing the kids RAN to was Owl's House. It again was a SLIDE... man I am seeing a pattern here. And next to that was the Crooked Mile. I remember having my dad time us as we ran the "crooked mile" thinking we were SO fast... sad to say I realized it was not a mile after all... We had fun walking it however!

Then we went to a new area. It was the Mother Goose Stage. All the kids were playing with the leaves and making piles. Not sure if you can see, but in the small pictures on the side Landon is being helpful and putting the leaves in the garbage can. He had helped Grandpa rake the leaves at home earlier in the week and he was just doing what he was taught! What a sweet boy!~ Dad and I laughed as we watched him do this!

After some dancing on the stage we headed over to the Three Little Pigs... Hailey LOVES to tell this story, so we enjoyed her telling us her version. Most times she does a good job. The pot belly pigs were adorable! Landon told me he wanted a pig!

Then we headed over to Sherwood Forrest. This part has always been here, but they added a few things. Hailey and Landon both enjoyed walking on the new balancing beam; and sitting in the chairs and relaxing with Grandpa...

The next area had Jack and the Beanstock (Hailey thought the big foot was a slide... not so sure) Cinderella's Coach, and The Little Engine that Could. All the picture I got of Landon on the train I could tell he was saying "CHOO CHOO!!" This kid LOVES trains...

Then the kids climbed on the Cheese Stands Alone; and Hailey found a BUG she just HAD to keep on Jack & Jill Hill while she was pumping some water. Yes she held it in her hand... YES she found a place to keep it in her back pack and YES we still have the little guy to this day but NO... it is not alive... (don't tell her that, She tells me he is just sleeping...)

The kids enjoyed going down the Rabbit Hole mini slide and Mother Goose. Hailey and Grandpa talked about the boy who jumped over the candlestick and grandpa helped Hailey try to jump over this big Candlestick. Then we checked out the Tale of Peter Rabbit and the and the Bunny and Turtle were fun for the kids to play on...

Then we saw A few characters from the Wizard of Oz... We read an interesting story in the Japanese Garden and saw some neat fish then Landon saw the PIRATE SHIP and he in Heaven...

One of the last things we hit was King Arthur's Castle. Grandpa helped Hailey compare her hand to the princess, and they all got to sit in the "King Man Chair" as Landon put it.

We headed back over to Mr McGregor's Garden and took pictures of the letters in the Alphabet Garden. Hailey has been learning her letters and recognized most of them. We got pictures of every one's first letter in their name for her to practice later on. The kids also got to help OVER WATER the poor plants. I hope they do not die from all the watering going on! I am sure the summer is the best time for these poor plants! We had to pull Landon out of there crying!!

But Grandpa fixed his tears letting the kids put some money down the Make a Wish Coin Racer...

The kids made sure they had the Treasure Maps when we left and they both got piggy back rides back to the car... well Landon lost his piggy back privilege when he kept putting the map in front of my face while we were walking and giggling about it! It was a fun trip for the kids to enjoy with Grandpa and Mommy! Thanks Dad! The kids still talk about all the slides and fun they had!!
(Disclaimer: Matt did not go because he was snowboarding with Preston and Chris, Sharon did not go because she worked midnight until 9am Thanksgiving Night, and Grandma was up early Black Friday morning shopping so she wanted to get a nap in...Oh and Crystal was working, so Dad and I got to have all the fun with the kids. We all had a nice nap when we got back!!)

~ THANKSGIVING ~

2011-12-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

I think this time of year just might be my favorite...

Don't get me wrong I LOVE all the seasons, but there is just something about Thanksgiving and Christmas that gets me all giddy and happy!!

This year we were able to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday with BOTH families.

WE were invited to my parents house for Thanksgiving Day. And it was a good thing we took them up on the offer because it got us some time away from the kids ~ (remember the post about the kids going to Grandma and Grandpa Andersen's without us... yeah THANKFUL FOR IT!) We had breakfast at my sister Crystal's house... PUMPKIN WAFFLES... YUMMMOOO...

THEN we enjoyed Thanksgiving Dinner HERE...

(YES that is Landon in the picture sticking his fingers in the Mashed Potatoes...) My mom prepared most of the food while we were at Crystals House ~ It looked AMAZING... She also made that Pumpkin Centerpiece! ADORABLE MUCH??!! This was SOME of the food we enjoyed...

And here are the people who were able to enjoy it... Preston and Landon, Hailey (she was on the potty when I took that picture... I realized I did not have her in any pictures so I snapped that one while I could) Sharon and Crystal and I, (my baby sisters) my dad and mom in the kitchen and almost everyone else on the couch... GREAT people to be with on such a special day!!

Dinner was AMAZING and I had to undo the button on my jeans to be comfortable. We cleaned up and got ready for the girls to go and see the new "Twilight Movie" I forget the title but NOT before we ended on THIS note...

Marie Callender's Pumpkin Carmel Mouse Pecan Pie. We also enjoyed a Homemade Cheesecake made by Crystal, and a Blueberry Pie from Marie Callender's too...

I am VERY Thankful for the wonderful family I have. I am especially thankful that we are always welcome; and able to visit whenever we want!!

DISNEYLAND day TWO...

2011-12-03T17:45:00.000-08:00

The second day of our trip we went to Disneyland!! It was Friday and the park was open from 8am-12am... so needless to say we were ready for a FULL DAY of FUN!! We had a GREAT night sleep because everyone was tired from the previous day so we woke up and headed to have our Continental Breakfast!!

We got to the gates early and they let us in to wait on Main Street U.S.A. until the park opens at 8am. Can you tell we were excited to get going... look at the kids below...

We hit up Fantasyland first and got a TON of rides in... first we did Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Snow White's Scary Adventure then we hit up DUMBO the flying Elephant... Hailey was scared to go on it at first but the second I let her control the elephant she was in heaven! We rode this one TWICE!!

Then we went on King Authors Carousel, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (which neither kid enjoyed) then waited for a while for Peter Pan's Flight... Landon LOVED this... it was worth the wait!

Then we headed over to Casey Jr.'s Circus Train where we saw... AMANDA!! She is the awesome cousin that got us into the park for FREEEEEE..... (minus us paying for Hailey's ticket) She was the conductor and it was SO fun! The kids wanted to be in the cage area so I jumped in with them...

Then we decided to head over to the Mad Tea Party cups... Hailey really liked this one...

Then we hit up the Alice In Wonderland Caterpillar ride and then the Storybook Canal Boats... The beginning of this ride was horrifying for Hailey. She took one look at the whale's mouth we were to enter and told us that it was not a good idea. LUCKILY as I was forcing her to go, a nice ride helper gave Hailey a "Magic Flashlight" so she would be safe on the trip. Once we got through the whale she calmed down and said "Oh Mommy, that was not bad!" I just giggled and enjoyed the ride. At the end of the ride the same ride helper gave Hailey a button because she was SO brave! It made her day!!

We headed towards the back of Fantasyland and noticed there was a line for seeing the Princess's. Mom, Myself and Hailey waited about an hour in that line while Matt and Landon rode on the train then rode some other things... Half way through our wait they switched out the princess's so we missed Aurora Belle and Cinderella.... but we did get to meet...

Tiana!! FUNNY STORY... so we walked around the side to get into where the Princess's were and the first thing we saw was a yellow-green dress... I KID YOU NOT... my mom says to the kids "LOOK It is BELLE!" and I laugh and say "MOM, she is black... take another guess..." and we all laugh and get our picture with Princess Tiana from the movie The Princess and The Frog. THEN...

ARIEL!! Landon walked right up to her and gave her a hug before Hailey was even over there... it was ADORABLE! The got to hold her shell necklace that held her voice. She was very sweet to the kids. I think Landon liked her the best. THEN...

JASMINE!! She was a TALKER! She had Hailey telling her who everyone was; and when Hailey asked her where Aladdin and Abu were she was quick with her responses. It was a VERY neat experience meeting the Princess's. We were surprised how into it Landon was. We got our Family Picture on the Royal Castle seat...

We decided to finish up the rides so we got in line for It's a Small World... It had been decorated for Christmas and it was BEAUTIFUL! The kids were in shock looking at everything! And that had just about finished our Fantasyland Area so we headed over to Mickey's Toontown Attractions...

We waited WAY to long in line for Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin... but had fun chatting in line. Then we played in the Jailhouse and the Toon Car; then hit up Goofy's Bounce House. We had to hit up Chip n' Dale's Treehouse only because they were my favorite characters as a kid. We all enjoyed that.

Then Grandma rested while the rest of us headed to Gadget's Go Coaster... this was the ONLY roller coaster that we made Hailey go on. It was about 30 seconds long and after we got off she told me she never wanted to go on that again...

While Matt was riding other rides with Landon and we were waiting to see the Princess's he picked up some Fast Passes to Star Wars. So we headed over to the Tomorrowland Attractions. The kids were not able to ride this one so we took turns. My mom and Matt went first and I took the kids potty and got them in line for the Astro Orbiter. They got out in time so Mom and I switched places and she got to ride this with them. We did not have the camera out at this time. We decided it was time to get some food in our bellies so we left the park and went to lunch. We took the Disneyland Railroad back to the front gate and got in the car and hit up TACO BELL.We rested our feet and just had a nice break... We went back to the hotel to get ready for colder weather and then we were BACK for more... Matt ran to get fast passes for Indiana Jones ride and we headed for Autopia. We let the kids drive and we had alot of fun. Then we went to the Nemo Submarine Adventure. The kids really enjoyed seeing Nemo...

After that we were able to meet up with AMANDA, she got off work and came back to hang. It was fun talking with her about her job and family and future wedding... we hit up Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster. MAN Landon was in HEAVEN!!...

Then we went over to Adventureland to get on the Indiana Jones Adventure. Again we took turns and while Matt and Amanda went first mom and I took the kids into Tarzan's Treehouse. The kids liked that so much they went again when Mom and I went on Indiana Jones. I had NEVER been on this ride before and I loved it!! We hit up the Jungle Cruise; the cruise director was FUNNY!! I wish we would have gone during the day so the kids could see better... we were hungry AGAIN by this time so we headed for the MONORAIL which Landon had been pointing out since we first got there...

We took the monorail into Downtown Disney where we ate at The Rainforest Cafe. We had reservations so we got to shop a little before our reservation time. We traded more pins and Mom got some cute little coins for her Primary Kids. The food at the Rainforest Cafe was SO good... I think everyone enjoyed it except for the sleeping Hailey and cranky Landon...

After dinner Mom took the kids back to the hotel to rest and Matt, Amanda and I went back to the park to enjoy some ADULT rides. (THANKS MOM) We went on the Matterhorn Bobsleds which I had never gone on before either. Then we went on the Haunted Mansion which was "Jack the Pumpkin Kinged OUT". Our last ride we got in was Big Thunder Mountain... it was GREAT to end on that one!! We got a beautiful pictures of the castle at night; shopped on Main Street U.S.A, then headed back to the hotel.

We gave Amanda a ride home so we got to see the outside of her apartment which was neat. We sure are lucky she offered for family to come and enjoy Disneyland with her!! It was a WONDERFULLY MAGICAL time and we all slept in the next day and woke up just in time to get breakfast and check out! We missed a few rides here and there and we hope to go back before too long to enjoy them while we can... On our drive home we shopped a little at some outlets in LA and made it home to sleep in our own beds... it was a WONDERFUL little Vacation!!

DISNEYLAND!!!

2011-12-01T15:33:00.000-08:00

Or as LANDON would say "Di-ne-wand!"

Our family got the AMAZING opportunity to attend the HAPPIEST Place on Earth earlier this month!!

Matt's cousin Amanda Bird works there and was able to get us in for FREE!!! Actually we WOULD have all been free, but Matt and I decided we wanted more help so we asked my mother to tag along (only because she is the BIGGEST MICKEY MOUSE fan AND the biggest help with our kids that we know) So we had to buy a child's ticket but to get 5 people in... = SCORE!!~~

We drove up EARLY Thursday morning and hit up Denny's for breakfast. We did not want to get stuck in any traffic; we missed all morning traffic and arrived at 6:30 a.m. (the park did not open until 10:00 a.m.) Our nice warm breakfast was a perfect start to the day!! We were able to get an EARLY check in at our hotel across the street from the parks and got ready for our BIG first day...

(click on the picture collage to get a closer look)

Matt and I decided to buy some Disney Toys before we left (WAY CHEAPER) and so as we were driving we gave the kids a special prize... Landon got Buzz Lightyear and Hailey got the girl kitten from Aristocats... I am sure she has a name, but like anyone would know if I used it... Above are the EARLY morning pictures. Then we made it to the gates and waited for our cousin to get us in.

The first day we went to California Adventure~

We went inside and headed to see Ariel's Undersea Adventure (Hailey's Choice) Then we ran over to my mom's favorite ride Soarin' Over California; we had gotten Fast Passes to ride it. Hailey went with Matt and LOVED it! Landon was not big enough so we had fun watching him play with all the airplanes in the store...

We headed to the "A Bug's Land" area and enjoyed EVERY SINGLE RIDE there! ~ Fliks Flyer's, Francis' Ladybug Boogie, Heimlich's Chew Chew Train, Princess Dot's Puddle Park, Tuck and Rolls Drive "em Buggies and then enjoyed the show "It's tough to be a bug". That was the kids first 3-D experience.

And as we were leaving the Bug Land we got lucky enough to catch Mickey Mouse and Pluto!!

Landon went right up to them and had no problem taking a picture... Hailey on the other hand... well you can tell by the pictures. Pluto got her to at least go near him on her own... that was GREAT!~

We got a few more pictures taken, went on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror a few times (THANKS to the fast passes), went on the Monsters Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue; which the kids LOVED! Then split up for a short while. Mom went shopping with Landon and Matt, Hailey and I went on The Grizzly River Run... HAILEY'S Idea... luckily she did not get wet. She did get a little scared but not wet!!

Then we ran to make the showing of Disney Junior LIVE on Stage. I think this might have been the kids FAVORITE thing, and we loved it because we got to sit back and relax. They had a LIVE show with the characters from The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny and Jake and the Neverland Pirates. The kids were dancing, singing and clapping along. It was GREAT!~ We had a LATE lunch at McDonald's after this and got our Jackets so we were ready for the rest of the night...

When we got back we headed over to California Screamin' probably Matt and my favorite rides at Cali Adventure and got some Fast Passes. As we waited to ride that we went to Toy Story Midway Mania! It was a HUGE hit!! We probably waited the longest for this but it was well worth the wait. Hailey even talked Matt into taking her back to ride this again as we waited for the World Of Color show...

Another HUGE hit for the kids was King Triton's Carousel. They rode this while we went on California Screamin'. The person running the ride told my mom they could just stay on the ride as long as the line does not get too long. I am sure the kids rode this over 10 times...

We missed a few rides we think the kids would have enjoyed but we knew they wanted to ride the last two rides and we just went along with that. We got a GREAT seat to watch The World Of Color water show. It was amazing and I have to admit a few tears dropped from my eyes... We headed back toward the hotel after the show was over and decided to just hit up McDonald's again for dinner... The kids were OUT before we were even finished eating...

They were spoiled rotten before they even knew it! Grandma treated them to some Mickey Ears. Landon picked the Pirate Ears and Hailey picked the Cinderella Ears with the glass slipper. Grandma was surprised because we thought for sure she would get the regular PINK PRINCESS ones... it was a GREAT First Day!!~ And that night WE ALL slept wonderfully!!~~

Lawry's ~ Recipe Mixes

2011-11-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

Looking for something SIMPLE and EASY to make for dinner??
Yeah SO AM I!
Lucky for YOU and I ~ I have had the opportunity to sample what Lawry's has been cooking up!!
My BUZZ AGENT (remember how I told you I try stuff for FREE and then report back on it, yeah this is another one of those things I got in on...) sent me my LAWRY'S Packet and I was SO stoked!!
Tonight for dinner we enjoyed the Southwest Chicken Skillet ~

I already had the ingredients needed... corn, diced tomatoes, black beans, instant rice, water, and cheese...
it was SO easy and SO good! My house smells wonderful too!!~~
This is all I had to do, cook the chicken (OK, I did have to cut the chicken first before I cooked it) until browned, all all the rest of the ingredients bring to boil, stir well then simmer for 10 minutes, then take off heat add cheese and let sit for 5 minutes. BOTH kids ate it and Hailey even said "Mommy, I tried it and I like it!" (yes we tell her she has to TRY things before she can say if she likes them or not... I am a MEAN mommy)
SO hit up the store and get you a Lawry's Skillet Packet! And if you need a coupon LET ME KNOW!!~~
HAPPY COOKING!!~

Where Have I Been??

2011-11-24T06:17:00.001-08:00

WELL, Again it has been a little while since I have blogged.... this time it is because of some AMAZING Vacations that I have not been updating my Day to Day Life...
FIRST we went to the Happiest Place on Earth...

MANY more pictures to come about that...

SECOND my kids went on the Amtrak Train back to Sacramento with Grandma on Sunday which left me CHILDLESS for almost 4 full days... would YOU be on your blog if you were in my shoes?? HAHA!
Matt and I drove into Sacramento last night in celebration of Thanksgiving. This year we are going to be able to visit BOTH families. We know we are truly blessed to be able to have our families so close and we are thankful that they still want us around year after year...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

Family Wish List

2011-11-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

I wanted to keep a running list of what everyone wants for Christmas so i could remember AND let family members know... I will update it when I know of something new... hit the Hyperlinks to see items under the kids names ~

MATT
Surround Sound System
TV 50'
~~Garage Door Opener~~
Home Phone System
Gift Card to Marshall's or Harbor Freight

MELISSA
Desperate Housewives Season 6 or 7 ( 7 was at Target for $20)
Deep Freezer (stand up)
Gift Card to Marshall's or Ross
Cookware (not sure what I really want yet)

HAILEY
~~Pink Doodle Bear~~ DONE
Princess Squinkies (at Costco for $20)
~~Unicorn Pillow Pet~~ DONE
Zoobles Playsets (any playset or toy)
~~Vet Playset~~ DONE
Little Pet Shop Toys (she likes the ones with the little people)

LANDON
~~Fresno State Pillow Pet~~ DONE
Spider man Playset (any spider man toy, not too small)
~~Batman Playset~~ ~~(he REALLY wants this...)~~ DONE
Little People Airplane
Optimus Prime Transformer
~~Construction Vehicles~~ DONE

BOTH KIDS
Sandbox (not sure if I want to allow a sandbox yet)

Andersen Christmas Present Swap ~

2011-11-14T08:21:00.001-08:00

Every year we draw names in the Andersen Family (my side of the family) to make Christmas shopping EASY and stress free! We have 2 parents, 6 kids, 3 in-laws, and 8 grandkids so it would get a little crazy everyone buying for everyone...
I put this on my blog so people have a reference when they are out shopping if they have forgotten...

It's SANTA time!!!

We have been telling Hailey whenever she wants a toy (which tends to be EVERY time we go into ANY store) that she needs to put it on her list and tell Santa. Then if she is a good girl maybe Santa will get one of the toys she wants FOR her... So far it has worked pretty well...

Adult List
Dad- Sharon
Mom- Preston
Steven- Nicole
Tiffany- Mom
Matt- Brian
Melissa- Crystal
Brian- Tiffany
Nicole- Matt
Crystal- Dad
Sharon- Steven
Preston- Melissa

Kiddie List
Kimberley- Katelyn
Logan- Landon
Owen- Hailey
Evan- Johnathon
Hailey- Owen
Landon- Logan
Katelyn- Kimberley
Johnathon- Evan

I am working on getting our LIST'S together... that will be another blog post soon!~

Holiday Pictures 2011

2011-11-12T11:08:00.000-08:00

We took our Bird Family Holiday Pictures last weekend... wanna see them....
FIRST do you like them in BLACK and WHITE or COLOR...
and SECOND No I am not pregnant... the "flowy top" was not a good choice for tying to look skinny...
THIRD this year Landon did not cooperate... FOURTH Hailey's smile in some of the pictures are PRICELESS... ENJOY ! ~

I think this last one above is my favorite...

Hailey "I'm stuck in a cage" picture...

And Landon at the end of the photo shoot... SO SLEEPY! It must have been lots of work for him to NOT look at the camera!~ HAHA!~
Again these pictures were done by Kresta Kraucyk just like last year... LOVE her! ~ Check out her photography blog! And local people hit her up for your own photo session SOON!!

Happy VETERANS Day ~

2011-11-11T11:04:00.001-08:00

Some people just like Veteran's Day because it is a day off work...

I LOVE Veterans Day because I live in the land of the free and the home of the Brave

BECAUSE

of the great MEN and WOMEN Past Present and FUTURE that serve this great nation...

THANK YOU is not enough...

You and your family are in my prayers always...

We appreciate your service.

CATCH UP! ~

2011-11-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

So I officially SUCK... yeah like I have not put ANYTHING up from Halloween... REALLY Melissa...
But I have TWO really good reasons... wanna hear them
1) Matt was trying to "sync" his iPhone to google or something and LOST all the pictures on the phone... INCLUDING the ones from Halloween...
2) I am a lazy butt...

REALLY... I have been...
Not sure WHY...
I have not blogged for like 2 weeks... UGH... So here goes...

Carving Pumpkins 2011

Landon picked the Yo Ho Pirate that Mommy carved and Hailey picked the Kitty Cat in the boot that Daddy helped carve!~ Landon won the SCARIEST Pumpkin at our ward Halloween Party! :)

Landon in one of his MANY costumes...

Landon is ADDICTED to yogurt. I caught him red handed in the fridge searching for his beloved yogurt one day when he HAD to wear Buzz Lightyear. (The costume is too big, but works for now...)

Trick or Treating... sorry for the bad pictures... yes I was ELMO...

Landon was Batman, Hailey was the Princess riding the Unicorn then we also had baby Morgan with us the happy little pumpkin... Along the way Hailey became The Princess and the Frog riding the Unicorn when she found a frog and HAD to take it door to door trick or treating... NO JOKE...

Yeah that is a real frog...

We put him in a bucket when we got home and he "jumped away" over night... that is my story and I am sticking to it!!

And here is the picture from our Halloween Ward Party...

Landon was a Cowboy riding a horse, Hailey a Princess riding a unicorn, Matt was Big Bird and I was Tickle me Elmo. Notice Hailey looking down at her TREAT she won on the cake walk... it took about 10 times in the cake walk to win those brownies... she LOVES them can't you tell!!

We had a GREAT Halloween! Hope you did too!!~~

A few Pictures for FUN ~

2011-10-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

We watched the Harden Kids for Amy's Birthday while Mike and Amy enjoyed some RIO GRILL!! While they were gone we made a poster and decorated the house with streamers! We had a fun time!!

You all know we took Amtrak to Sacramento, but I wanted to share these pictures I got from the trip. We sat on the top level of the train and both kids got a conductor hat. Here Hailey is playing with her Leapster game...

And here is Landon coloring and enjoying the view...

We LOVED the train and the trip!!~~ The pictures from the bus are on my phone and I am still figuring getting stuff off that so... yeah...

Little Man Kisses

2011-10-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

This little boy gives me more kisses than I can handle...

Matt and I were watching Amazing Race together and Landon and Hailey decided to join us.

After Matt got this photo of Landon giving me kisses; Hailey took over and got a few pictures of US...

in our PJ's chillaxin' watching TV...

Landon has been a SILLY little boy as of late ~ ENJOY!

This is just one of the many video's of entertainment Sunday Night! ~

Just Because

2011-10-24T12:58:00.000-07:00

My husband came home for Lunch today as a surprise for us...

and as a TOTAL surprise for me he came in with these lovely flowers...

He knows these are my FAVORITE ~
I am not usually a FLOWER GIRL, but for some reason when he handed these to me I just started to cry. Not because anything is wrong, but because it just touched me that he took the time to think of me and do something special for me. He also did the dishes last night after I made the comment that I really hate doing dishes. It's more that I hate seeing dirty dishes in the sink than I hate doing them, but whatever...
It's the little things ~
He also posted a video on his FB page, AND sent me an amazing e-mail that AGAIN brought me to tears...

It truly is the little moments that matter most!!!

THANKS MATT!

I am SO glad we are enjoying these moments together! ~

Dear Occupy Wall Street...

2011-10-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Occupy Wall Street ...

A Message From Dave Ramsey

from daveramsey.com on 19 Oct 2011

By Dave Ramsey

“I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!” Yeah, that’s great. But what do you want? What are your goals? What are your demands? What result are you looking for?

The beauty of being vague is that anyone who has any emotion can get caught up in the excitement and join your crusade. They’ll just get mad at something and assume that you’re both mad about the same thing. Put a few hundred of these people together, and boom. You’ve got a crowd, a headline and a lot of attention … but no message.

A lot of people on Twitter are saying I totally agree with the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) demands and goals. The only problem is that I have no idea what their demands and goals are. And neither does anyone else. If all you ever do is stomp around, yell and hold up signs protesting a million different things, sure you’ll get some attention, but over time, you’ll just look foolish. You end up coming across like a three-year-old having a temper tantrum.

This is what’s happening to the OWS movement. They’re being discredited because no one has stepped forward and really stated what it is they’re after. The whole group is just coming across like a bunch of jacked-up, jobless, wannabe hippies. That’s not going to change anything in this country. You’ve got to state your goals clearly if you want to accomplish something.

So in the absence of any clear goals, let me comment and offer some helpful advice in some areas that seem to be getting a lot of disorganized OWS attention.

“No Government Bailouts!”

Banks and big companies should not receive taxpayer money for a bailout while their CEOs are making hundreds of millions of dollars. If that’s your gripe, then you’re protesting in the wrong location. Pack up and head to Washington, D.C., to deliver your message to the current administration. Don’t get me wrong—I totally support a company’s freedom to pay their leaders well. I just don’t believe that I, as a taxpayer, should subsidize those huge salaries in the form of taxpayer bailouts. I pay my own team members; I don’t need to pay everyone else’s too.

By the way, you may be shocked to learn that the Tea Party agrees with you on this one—and so do I.

“Down With Corporate Greed!”

Gordon Gekko was wrong. Greed is not good. Greed is bad—very bad. It’s a spiritual disease, and it is a disease that sadly affects a lot of companies across the country. If you believe a specific company is acting purely out of greed, then don’t just get mad—do something. Point out where and how they’re greedy and let the world know. Stop doing business with them. If enough people listen to you, the company will get the message because you’ll hit them where it hurts: the bottom line. If they don’t get their act together, then they’ll go out of business and another business will take their place.

But if you’re saying that all businesses are greedy and that capitalism itself is evil and ineffective, then I’m sorry—you’re just being stupid. You’re being misled and misinformed by some of the louder voices around you. Are you wearing clothes? Have you eaten any food lately? Do you have an iPhone in your pocket to check in with Twitter and Facebook while you’re out marching around? Good. All of those products and services are brought to you by quality companies dedicated to serving you well in a capitalistic system that works just fine.

“Wall Street Is Evil!”

If you have this painted on a sign, well, now you just look ignorant. Wall Street is a street that people drive on. The New York Stock Exchange is a building where people exchange stocks in New York. This is the flea market of the financial world. Don’t turn Wall Street into some terrible monster attacking American citizens. It’s just a road with some buildings on it.

But here’s what happens. Sometimes when people don’t understand something, they start to fear it. And as the fear grows, it turns into anger. But just because you don’t understand something, you shouldn’t see it as bad or frightening or a conspiracy. You should just think of it as an opportunity to learn something new—something that could actually be a blessing to you.

For example, imagine a group of natives out in the jungle in the farthest part of the world. I mean, picture a group of people who have never seen anyone outside of their tribe and have certainly never seen any kind of machine. What would they think if they saw a Red Cross helicopter land near them? And what would they think of the strange-looking men and women who jump out of the chopper and start walking toward them? They’d be freaked out! They wouldn’t know or care if the Red Cross was there to help them with food or medicine. They’d think it was the end of the world or something because their minds would be totally blown!

I hate to say it, but a lot of OWS protestors are just about as uninformed as those jungle natives when it comes to how the American financial system works. A road and an office building. That’s Wall Street.

“Wealth Redistribution Is the Answer!”

I’ve heard a lot about wealth redistribution over the past few years, and I’m sure you’ve heard it too. Call it whatever you want, but this is how it usually sounds to most Americans: “We are the 99% of Americans who don’t have as much as the 1%, so we’re mad and think the government should take their wealth and property away so that I can have a piece of it. Wealth inequality is a moral breakdown! We should all spread the money around so everyone gets a fair share!”

I have my toughest critique for those who believe this: You are a thief. When someone takes my money and gives me no say in the matter, that’s called theft—whether they’re using a gun or the government. At the core of this demand is envy. And that’s not the same as jealousy. Jealousy just says, “I want what you have.” Envy is a different beast. Envy says, “I don’t think I can ever have what you have, so you shouldn’t have it either.” Decades of horrible economic teaching and the politics of envy have kept this monster alive and growing and moving forward.

This way of thinking makes you assume that all rich people are evil and have scammed their way into wealth. That may be true in the tale of Robin Hood, but I choose to live in the real world. Sure, there are some scoundrels, but the vast majority of successful men and women got that way by working hard and serving people—lots of people.Steve Jobs and Bill Gates changed the world in ways we’re just now starting to realize. Their positive impact on the world has helped all of us live better lives, and they made fortunes for themselves by doing so. Why is it that you’re holy if you help one person but evil if you help a million? That’s just stupid.

A good friend of mine is a country music legend. He’s made a bazillion dollars over his career, and he just bought a $400,000 car. He’s worked like a crazy person his whole life, spending decades in tour buses, writing songs in the middle of the night, and entertaining enormous crowds of cheering fans. He paid a price to get there, and I’m happy for his success. Would it be right for me to walk into his house and demand my “fair share” of his wealth? Heck no! I’m a terrible singer! I didn’t do one thing to contribute to his success, so why would I be entitled to a share of his wealth? He’s given me years of entertainment through his music. That’s my fair share of his hard work.

My problems aren’t his fault. And my problems aren’t McDonald’s fault or Home Depot’s fault or Walmart’s fault, either. My problems are my fault! And the more people these companies serve, the more money they make—and that’s none of my business! If you don’t like McDonald’s, then here’s an idea: Don’t eat there. But don’t walk into the restaurant and demand a portion of their proceeds for the day.

When you scream, “I’m in the 99%!” you just look like a whiner. Those of us willing to pay the price to win look at you and shrug. Heck, when it comes to the music business, I’m in the 99% myself! But that doesn’t mean I have to tear Toby Keith, Brad Paisley or even Kanye down. Oh, and a special note just for Kanye: Capitalism has been pretty good to you. I celebrate your success, but you look a little hypocritical protesting capitalism while wearing a $50,000 watch.

Celebrate the Land of Opportunity

This is the greatest country on the planet, but even here, you’re not guaranteed wealth, talent, fame, a full head of hair or six-pack abs. Those things are not in the Constitution. You are, however, guaranteed the freedom to make your life what you want it to be. And when you do that, when you build your life around your dreams and passions and hard work, you’re guaranteed the right to keep it. No one has the right to take it away from you.

So to summarize, I’m not very impressed at the moment. I’m not impressed by your temper fit. I’m not impressed at your lack of goals and focus. I’m not impressed by the fact that the only thing I see about your movement is ignorance, immaturity and envy. Grow up—and get a job.

Yes, there are jobs out there. There are jobs out there that haven’t even been invented yet. Go create the next Facebook or Weed Eater. Go pick up so much dog poop that you can start your own fertilizer company. And stop complaining that companies are TOO RICH while also complaining that they aren’t RICH ENOUGH to hire you! I’ve seen a lot of you guys. I wouldn’t hire you, either. But if you take all of that energy and excitement and pour it into something new and creative, you’ll get the chance to serve a whole lot of people really well, and over a decade or two, you’ll get to become the very thing you’re now protesting: rich people who actually earned their money.

Can I just say THANK YOU DAVE RAMSEY! These are EXACTLY my thoughts only he can tell it SO much nicer and eloquently than I can. Mine were more like this... "Stop crying about being poor and trying to take money from the rich... they earned their money, learn to love how you live and go find a better job if you are not happy in your current one... AND quit depending on the government to fix your problems; you are your problem and they can't fix you. Oh, and I bet the rich would be happy to give you their money if they were asked... not told. Why don't you go ask them yourself? And to those of you who want your school loan debt to be forgiven so you can use that money to "build up the economy"... DREAM ON!" ~ I think Dave said it better...

~ Melissa

Doodle Bear??

2011-10-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

I bet you are all on the EDGE of your seat wondering if Hailey got her Doodle Bear...

WELL...

This Mommy is $19.95 RICHER because she DID NOT perform for us.

~Sure she went up EARLY and sat in her seat.

~Sure she sat "STANK FACE" and crossed her hands and said

"I'm not singing" whenever it was time for a song.

~AND when it was her turn she yelled "It's not my TURN!"

so everyone KNEW "IT WAS NOT HER TURN"...

~ I also had the AWESOME opportunity to take her off the stage towards the end of the program and take her into a room when she started crying and saying "It's too scary!"

OK!! Call me a bad mom BUT;

I knew she was not going to do it.

The second we pulled up to the church building and she was saying "No"... I knew it.

We had practiced for WEEKS... no really WEEKS on what and where she was to say her line...

I am not kidding WEEKS!!

In Relief Society when I introduced my Mother and Sister I said;

"This is my mother Lisa and my little sister Sharon.

They came to see Hailey NOT participate in the Primary Program."

The best part??....

AFTER church was over Hailey asked Grandma and I when she would be getting her Doodle Bear. We both let her know that she did not do her part in the program; so she would not be getting it. We told her she would have to wait until Christmas or her Birthday to get one. So she takes us into the Chapel, has us sit in the pews, goes up to the stage and grabs the mic and says "I CAN BE REVERENT" then walks calmly back to where Grandma and Sharon are sitting in the back and says... "Now can I get my Doodle Bear Grandma?"...

COMEDY!! OHHHHHHH MAN!

"No, but you can have the Hello Kitty Purse because you did it now." Grandma said through giggles.

This kid is CRAZY!!

Sacramento Trip

2011-10-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

We are leaving Thursday Afternoon and taking AMTRAK ( WE = Me and two children that I PRAY will enjoy and be good for the ride) to see Family. We get to take the Amtrak train from Fresno; then in Stockton we jump on the bus to Sacramento...
SO we get to experience BOTH ways of travel offered...

Praying there are helpful hands to help me with:
2 kids
2 car seats
hopefully my stroller
a bag with snacks and toys
and at least ONE huge suitcase

Prayers that the Three Youngest of the Bird Family arrive safe and sound in Sacramento are VERY much appreciated. (yes, upon turning 30 I have to group myself as part of the three youngest in the family...)

We are going to enjoy family and friends. Hitting up the N.H.S. Homecoming Game along the way.
AND we are bringing Grandma and Sharon home with us to enjoy Hailey in the Primary Program at church. Hailey has to say "I can be reverent" at the pulpit in front of the whole congregation THEN show that she can be reverent by sitting in the front row for all to see...
Who thinks she will do it?

I am preparing for the big day with a brown bag for her father and I just in case my WEEKS and WEEKS of practice with her about what she needs to do and how she needs to act does not work out...
If you see her with THIS...

She was successful.

Yes I bribe my children...

The Pink Doodle Bear is the price I am willing to pay.

Iron On T-Shirt BLING ~

2011-10-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

My kids LOVE the Halloween Shirts we see in stores...

Mommy however does not like the prices, AND they are not exactly what we always want.

SOOOOOO ~

I let the kids pick out an iLoveToCreate.com HALLOWEEN THEMED Iron on Transfers.

Hailey picked a Kitty Cat, and Landon picked a Spider...

We hit up WALMART for the black shirts $3.88 HOLLA ~

washed them up and got out our handy dandy Tulip Mini Fashion Iron

and went to work.

The directions were simple and easy to follow.

Hailey helped me with her shirt and she LOVED it!

The kids wearing the OFFICIALLY FINISHED PRODUCT ~

And after all the HOT things were up and out of the way...

We had a little fun photo shoot!

EASY and FUN craft the kids are able to enjoy!!

Target Fun

2011-10-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

We were in Target the other day... (not a surprise to anyone huh)

and GUESS what they had in the DOLLA HOLLA section...

YEP... Fake Swords... and they were a HIT! ~

The kids were "Captain Hook" and "Captain Princess"

Good Times ~

2011-10-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Quote of the Night...
" Boise is SO good they have their own refs to travel with them."
Thank you Matthew Bird for that...
The game tonight was... Ugh... SAD...
I knew we were going to be playing Boise State and so I knew it would be a long-shot for a WIN.
HOWEVER, I did not expect a BLOWOUT...
So, in no way do I think the ref's "WON IT" for Boise but the calls were HORRIBLE!!
I mean I would have done a better job calling the game... it was bad!
That is all...

But I did enjoy the company! DATE NIGHT with the Sorenson's!!

FALL FOOD ~

2011-10-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

So last night we had CLAM CHOWDER and TODAY while at a Focus Group at iLoveToCreate.com the subject of "PUMPKIN" came up which reminded me about my AMAZING Pumpkin Waffles... SOOOOOOO here are the recipes ~ ENJOY! ~

BOTH are Andersen Family Recipes my mother passed down. THANKS MOM! ~

CLAM CHOWDER

2 cans of clams (6.5oz)
2 cups Potatoes finely chopped
1 cup Celery diced
1 cup Onions finely chopped
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 qt. Half & Half
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
dash of pepper

(I just wrote that off the top of my head ~ YEAH that is how I roll) So let me go get my book to write the directions so I don't mess up... Drain Clam juice into 2 qt. sauce pan and add Potatoes, Celery, and Onions. Then add enough water to cover veggies and bring to boil. Turn down to simmer until tender; about 20 minutes. Meantime melt butter in bigger pot and add flour blending with whisk on low until bubbles; cook for 1 minute while bubbling. Add Half & Half slowly, cook until smooth and thick. Add cooked and UNDRAINED veggies and then Clams. Heat thoroughly, season with salt, sugar, and pepper. Serve warm with sourdough bread! YUMMMMMMOOOOOOOO!!!!

* I put in more veggies and the Hubby says add more salt.

PUMPKIN WAFFLES

Waffle Mix
2 cups flour

1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
2 cups milk
3/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped pecans ( I am not a nut person so I leave these out)

Heat Waffle Iron. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger; blend well. Add milk, pumpkin, oil, and eggs and beat for 1 minute at medium speed. Stir in pecans. Bake in hot waffle iron until golden brown and steaming stops. About 4-5 minutes.

Syrup ~ YES you need to make this syrup... it is the BEST!!
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup apple cider
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. margarine or butter

In small sauce pan, combine sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon; blend well. Stir in apple cider and lemon juice; cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and add margarine; stir until melted. Keep warm and serve over hot waffles.

* I DOUBLE the Waffle Mix and TRIPLE the Syrup for left overs at our house. This is a GREAT breakfast and also a GREAT dinner! ~ HAPPY EATING! ~

SURPRISE!!!

2011-10-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

So, Friday Night my dear husband came home from work and announced he needed to mow the front and back lawn. I thought to myself ~ Man we have had a busy week and he wants to mow the lawn THEN I remember that my birthday was the next day and he was probably not wanting to leave it for then, so I laid on my bed watching Dr.Phil and waiting for the last load of laundry to dry. We all know Friday is my CLEAN DAY, so by the time Matt gets home I am tired from cleaning all day...

Landon was out with him 'helping' and started knocking on the sliding glass door. I go over to open it and Matt looks at me kinda weird and says "You need to shower." my first thought was ~ REALLY... my 30th birthday is tomorrow and I just got done cleaning this mans house and he is going to tell me I NEED A SHOWER... I gave him the LOOK and he laughed and said "I was hoping you were going to shower without me telling you, but you have friends coming over so you need to go shower." OH ~ TOTAL change of thought... so I have about an hour to get ready before my friends show up... I jump in the shower and get ready...
I think he knew Friday would be the best day because my house would be clean and ready to go for the party...
6:30 hits and my friends start showing up. I was not sure who was coming but I had a pretty good idea... Matt was in the kitchen getting the fixin's ready for BREAKFAST BURRITOS!~ The first to arrive were the BAKERS; Spencer Lauren and sweet baby Morgan. She had gotten her shots earlier that day so when I went up to her she was not the sweet little happy baby that usually comes over. (but fast-forward to cake and ice cream and me feeding her LOTS of it and she was RIGHT back to her normal self!) They brought ice cream and CANDY! THANKS! Then the HARDENS; Mike Amy Ty Logan and Haley show up with CAKE (Costco cake, you know the good stuff) and bacon. And the CUTTS; Brent and Amalia walk in after them with Soda ~ DIET A&W Root Beer (my friends know me so well) and other kinds of drinks. The boys finish up getting things ready and we proceed to EAT and LAUGH and GOSSIP and LAUGH to our hearts content! It was a GREAT NIGHT! ~
While the girls were in the kitchen the boys were watching the BYU v. Idaho game ~ us girls came in near the end of the game and caught the excitement of BYU winning at the VERY END. We talked more and then got the Ice Cream and cake out! ~ ICE CREAM AND CAKE DO THE ICE CREAM AND CAKE... (Sorry, I could not control myself...) Then the DEHMEL'S show up with the BELAIR'S... (Jeanie and Kerry Dehmel have been like our FRESNO parents and I worked with Virginia Belair and her husband Don is just the best!) That was a very nice surprise too!!
The kids played and the adults just talked and had a wonderful time!

Good Friends = GREAT TIMES! ~

THANKS EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS SURPRISE SO WONDERFUL! ~
And I did not get many pictures ~ But here are some we got from grabbing out the cell phones! ~

THANK YOU

30 YEARS NEVER FELT SOOOOO GOOD! ~

30 BLOWS!!

2011-09-30T16:39:00.000-07:00

HAHA! ~

YEAH don't you LOVE this...

My cousin (actually she is my cousin-in-law; whatever...) Ally gave this to me for my upcoming birthday. She is SO sweet to me all the time. She also watched my kids while I cleaned the condo ~ I am just glad is turning 30 RIGHT after me... :)

ALLY YOU ROCK! ~

Thanks for the 30 Blows, the card and the ADORABLE fridge note pad! LOVE YA GIRL! ~

Return With Honor ~

2011-09-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

I have wanted a "RETURN WITH HONOR"

sign for my house ever since I first saw these signs around.

My DEAR friends Lauren and Spencer Baker remembered me saying that and got me this...

FOR MOTHER'S DAY~

Perfect timing that it came just before my birthday! ~

And it has already found it's home and I LOVE IT! ~

Thank You Bakers...

Now I have a visual reason to ALWAYS remember (AND LOVE) you! ~

Urgent Care

2011-09-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

So I was going to wear my new shoes to Church today...
Unfortunately I had a sick child to deal with...
LATE last night (3:24am to be exact) I awoke to Hailey calling me. I ran into her room because being half asleep makes me worry more. I sit by her bed and hear her breathing like crazy. I tell her to take a few breaths and calm down. Then I try other words that she might know Relax, Breath... I put my hand on her chest and her heart was beating SO fast. I grabbed her and went into our room and woke up Matt.
Now usually I would let Matt sleep; but sense he is the breathing expert I woke him up for his help. ( He has asthma, and knows what to look for) We did a breathing treatment and she was able to go back to sleep but upon waking up she was still breathing heavily.
SO I hit up my good old friend the Internet and Google "4 year old breathing problems" and "4 year old fast heartbeat" after being scared to death that my daughter might die, I decided to call a friend who has had the same problem with her children. After she calmed me down from my Internet search she recommended doing another breathing treatment and if things did not get better to hit up Urgent Care...
So we hit up Urgent Care. Waited SECONDS to be seen and had our fears relieved. (I guess telling them at the front desk that my daughter is having a hard time breathing they take that pretty seriously) The Dr. checked and her lungs are clear, her breathing is under control and her heartbeat is not too high to be really concerned. He said the Air Quality has been real bad and that we just need to watch her and make sure she is acting OK. He said he could treat the cough (oh, yeah she was coughing too; I forgot to mention that one) and just let everything else settle. BREATH... ahhhhhhhhhhh...
I have said this before and I will say it again... I would SO rather I be sick than my kids being sick!! It was heartbreaking watching her breath so crazy ~ glad it is over for now...
So church had started before we got home and we decided to just REST today! ~ This is me Resting...

Cupcake Face ~

2011-09-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

My kids LOVE to help cook when I let them.

I often her "Mommy Let's make a cake!" Or "Mommy Let's make Brownies!"

We were wanting to have something for dessert, so I asked the kids if they wanted to help me.

They decided we needed to make cupcakes...

I let them each frost their own cupcake which was not too bad of a mess...

I LOVE doing fun activities with the kids! ~

My Pixi ~

2011-09-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

So my phone died...
And when I called Verizon about getting a new one and explained to them what I wanted they told me I could sign a new 2 year contract (AGAIN) and they would give me a $50.00 credit for whatever phone I wanted... So I went into the store to see the phones and I think I hear the person LAUGH when I pulled out my ghetto old school flip phone...

HEY! ~ No laughing... (Yes, those are teeth marks on the front)

And when I OPEN the poor thing I can't see anything. I can't tell who I want to call, I can't even tell what the time is or the date...
So needless to say I need a new phone. However, I really did not want to sign a new 2 year contract OR get an ugly phone that was Free with my plan... Matt wanted me to upgrade to have unlimited texting so I asked Verizon if they hook up people who have been with them for a long time (10 PLUS years) and they pretty much told me they have the best service and so they have to charge a premium so no; no discount... So we went searching for my new phone. We hit up Cricket, AT&T, and a few other places that I can't remember. Matt decided to get online and do a little research. After a few days he found a phone and plan in my price range (cheaper than my previous plan with other options) he got the Verizon Palm Pixi and we are going to service it though PagePlus (I think) which uses Verizon Tower Service... so I am getting a WAY better phone on a way better plan for cheaper...

I really only like phones for talking, but Matt got one that I can easily text with and surf the net with too... he also made sure my plan would have that as well; I think he thinks I want to carry my phone around with me all day like "normal people do". ~ Ugh, Hello Stay at Home Mother of TWO here... not going to happen...

Let's just see when I decide to learn how to use it...

after I get my hot pink cover he promised I may be a happy camper again!! :)

CAUTION PEOPLE : Now, DON'T go getting ALL excited about getting in contact with me... I am still going to suck at remembering my phone and picking it up... remember who you are dealing with! :)

Funny thoughts...

2011-09-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

Ever sit back and have great thought cross your mind... here are a few of my DEEP THOUGHTS...

1. I think part of a best friends job should be deleting the history on your computer when you die...
2. I TOTALLY take back all those times I did not nap when I was younger. Can I have them back now??
3. There is a GREAT need for a "sarcasm font"... maybe I would over use it though...
4. Nothing sucks more then being in an argument with someone and realizing YOU are wrong.
5. Was learning cursive REALLY necessary? I mean who really uses it correctly? I know I don't!
6. MapQuest really needs to get their crap together and start on step like number 5. I am pretty sure I can find my way out of my neighborhood!
7. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes out after Blu Ray? I really don't want to start my movie collection over AGAIN...
8. I can't remember the last time I was not at least a LITTLE tired...
9. Bad decisions make for good stories. The good stories however do not lead to bad decisions...
10. I am always slightly horrified when I go to exit something on Microsoft Word and it asks me if I want to save my changes from the last time I was reading it... I know I did not make changes... what is going on...
11. "Do not Machine Wash or Tumble Dry" means NEVER WASH THIS ITEM EVER... IN FACT DON'T EVEN WASTE YOUR MONEY BUYING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE... I like I have time to "wash my non-washables" correctly!
12. I hate leaving my house ALL dressed up and cute for the day and then seeing NO ONE of importance the whole day. What a waste. Does Justin Timberlake not vacation in Clovis, CA. EVER??
13. I keep some peoples phone numbers saved in my phone JUST so I know not to answer when they call... this is a good tip huh??
14. I also wish MapQuest and Google Maps had an "avoid the ghetto" routing option. Just sayin'.
15. Sometimes, I watch a movie I had seen as a kid and realize I had NO idea what was going on when I first watched it... perfect example Dirty Dancing!
16. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in from grocery shopping than make two trips.
17. I have a real hard time deciphering between boredom and hunger...
18. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in line at the front. STAY STRONG my brothers and sisters!!
19. Is it just me or do High School kids get dumber and dumber every year??
20. There is no worse feeling in the pit of your stomach than the millisecond you realized you leaned back too far in your chair and are falling to what feels like your death.
21. Obituaries would be a whole lot more interesting if they told me how the person died.
22. My husband just got me a phone service where I can text, but I don't want to let anyone know because I don't like people relying on me to respond at the drop of a hat. I think if someone wants to ask me a question the least they can do is call and act like they care about me for a few minutes...
23. I have learned to stop trying to impress other people; they are usually more screwed up than you would think!
24. I hate when people say " I agree, BUT..." really? Do you REALLY agree???
25. I was making dinner the other night and only had one can of Spaghetti Sauce and needed two. So I grabbed two little 8 ounce cans of Tomato Sauce and totally had an anxiety attack when I put it all together... come to find out it tasted GREAT!!

I used to read Deep Thoughs by Jack Handey and I would laugh ALL THE TIME...
Just thought you might want a little laugh! ~

Something New AND Blue...

2011-09-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

So We all know I LOVE TO SHOP!

We also know I LOVE SHOES ~

So while shopping when I find shoes I LOVE I buy them!!!

(as long as they are in my price range)

What do you think??

I got a new pair of Blue Shoes ~

They are my FIRST Paris Hilton pair.

When I am shopping for shoes I wear them around the store to see if they are comfortable...

so far so good!!

I had a little fun playing with the colors on the computer

Can you tell?

Now I just need to find the perfect dress to wear them with...

Now If I have a friend getting married with the same shoe size as me she can borrow my shoes

AND get her Blue quota taken care of in one fail swoop ~ Any takers... I wear size 7.5 ~

Interesting...

2011-09-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

I noticed this last week that IN FACT we are the ONLY family on the block that does our own yard work...
We have had two young families move onto the block in the last year ~
(YEAH WE HAVE BEEN HERE A YEAR)
and both have OTHER people come and do their yard work.
I am not sure what I truly think about this...
I find it a little disturbing because as a kid, we worked together as a family on the yard. I learned how to work early on, and then had mowing the lawn as a chore I was responsible for. I think this was one of the many things my parents taught me to help form me into a better person. Which leads me to think the kids on this block are never going to get the good feeling I did in working to make our house a home...
I also find it a little liberating for those that take advantage of having someone else do it. I know how busy life can get, and paying someone else to do the yard work is just one less thing they have on their plate. Honestly, I don't think we would pay anyone else to do our yard work even if we had the money because I am SO old school that it is our job... PLUS let's be honest I am CHEAP!!
I am a little sad because my kids won't be able to make money like I did as a kid walking door to door and offering to mow the lawn... My older sister, Myself and a friend were mowing machines!! haha!
I am in NO way judging the people on my block. I am friends with most of them, it's just that I now realized Matt and I are behind the times doing our own yard work... not that I think it will change...

How does it work in your neighborhood, and what are your thoughts??

CHEESECAKE!!

2011-09-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we hit up the Cheesecake Factory for some YUMMMYYYY Dessert for Girls Night Out ~

We have not had one for a while, so I was really looking forward to going!

The food was AMAZING! I got the Hershey's Chocolate Cheesecake and I was not able to finish it!

I had eaten a light dinner so I could take that sucker down; but it was just too much for me!!

Amy got the Reese's Cheesecake, Amber got the Oreo Cheesecake, and Megan got the Original Cheesecake with Strawberries. Amber was the only champ able to take the whole thing down! We hit up Charming Charlies after, and again; I was overwhelmed by all the Jewelry. I plan on going back REAL soon when I have a few hours to myself to pick out some good pieces! Watch out Charming Charlies...

N.H.S. Football ~

2011-09-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

It is my brothers SENIOR year at Natomas High School ~

(he is growing up too fast if you ask me)

This was the first home game of the season. Matt and I like to hit up all the games we can. This game was the night before the boys were heading to see Fresno State play CAL in Candlestick park. So it was a perfect time for us to go early to see Preston Play ~

Here he is #64 talking with one of the coaches before the game ~

Here are some pictures I took from the game!! ~

So needless to say... Hailey took these pictures and wanted me to put them on the blog too...

notice the nice floor and random people shots! LOL! My favorite is the shot of the wall where the announcers sit! My little photographer!!

(I have to admit she is not too bad for a 4 year old!)

Grandma taught Landon to say "SIXTY FOUR!"

He was proud to see He and Preston has matching shirts at the end of the game!

We tried to get Hailey to take a picture with uncle Preston but she said

"Uhm, I think Preston is dirty, he needs to take a shower." ~ haha!

Good Game Uncle Preston! ~ We are the BIGGEST FANS! ~

(Yes, that is a band-aid on my son's face. As we were packing for the visit he and Hailey were playing in the suitcases. He came over to me crying with this nice long scratch from his lips to under his chin. The only thing that made it better was the Toy Story Band-aid... no judging...)

KIDS at PLAY

2011-09-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

As I talked about in a previous post we took the kids to John's Incredible Pizza for Family Home Evening with our friends The Harden's. We really love this place because we can all sit and enjoy a meal without too much problem from the kids. It is a pizza buffet, and they have like 4 different themed rooms to eat in. We usually are in the Cartoon Room. I don't allow my kids to watch TV and eat, so they LOVE this because that is just what they are able to do!!
After eating we went to play a few games, and play in the FREE playground. Here are a few pictures of the kids playing. We got a free $10.00 game card so we let the kids play a few of the other games too!

It was a good time had by all...

Except for this poor piece of Playground Equipment...

Daddy Mike MAY or MAY NOT have given it a run for it's money!!

THANKS HARDENS! ~

UPDATE ~ Random~ness !

2011-09-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

So that post I did about my Dyson on Friday... yeah... my husband fixed it the very same day and I was able to FULLY clean house! MAN I am lucky I married an engineer. Not that all engineers can do everything ~ but MY man almost can...

I am SO excited because I am "babysitting" for my friend again. I watch a little boy near Landon's age, about two-three times a week. It helps her out because her son HATES the daycare she usually takes him too, AND my kids get so happy when I say "Ganny Goo Is coming over today to play!" (his name is Gannon) The money I make my husband lets me spend ANY WAY I PLEASE!! NICE! It makes me want to have more "girls trips" and such!!

Hailey is REALLY enjoying Pre-School and Ballet! We are into week THREE... and when I drop her off she walks right in ready to go, and when I picked her up today she was ready to go without any fits or crying... SUCCESS!!! She is a little emotional (many of you would think she gets this from me, but I am sure she gets it from daddy) so sometimes when I pick her up she cries just because she sees me. Then other times she is having a fit about wanting to take something home from that day, or that she does not want to leave. I think today may have been the first GOOD drop off and pick up thus far...

I watched that show John & Kate Plus 8, which turned into Kate Plus 8... Ugh YEAH, I know she looks REAL crazy; but to be completely honest I TOTALLY get why she is the way she is. I just love hearing all these people WITHOUT kids or with one or two kids judge her... HELLO she has TWINS and SEXTUPLETS... if someone followed you around with a camera you would look crazy psycho too!! In fact if someone followed me around now with just my two I would look like a nutcase on MANY an occasion. She is doing a dang good job.... yeah she should treat her friends and those who help her with a little more respect and love. And she was mean to her husband but are we all perfect wives all the time?? NO ~ Glad the reality show is over. I hope she is able to provide for the kids in another way...

Which leads me to something I have been thinking about for a while. Isn't it interesting that the "RUDE" people in our life are constantly complaining about EVERYONE else and not taking a step back to look at themselves in a mirror? I have to look myself in the mirror MORE often than I want and I am constantly telling myself that "You need to calm down your behavior; many people can't deal well with someone who is so "OUT THERE" and does not have a problem stating their opinions." I know I stick my foot in my mouth quite often, but I never truly say the things I say to hurt people (OK, maybe some people...) Anyways... what I mean is; do rude people really expect "US" to be nice to them all the time?? If all they are filtering out in the world is negativity... why would "WE" give them pats on the back and compassion? I know life is hard, and sometimes it sucks, but REALLY the world does not revolve around YOU... (YES that last rant is dedicated to certain people, and if you feel like it is dedicated to you... go look in the mirror... LOL)

So that CITI card I kept open because they refused to close it and offered to credit my account the annual fee... yeah, so I got the $85.00 annual fee credit, and I went to the grocery store and got myself an $85.00 gift card. When I called to close it today I spoke with Randy. I explained that two months ago I called to close the card because I am not using it, then the representative offered to credit my card the annual fee and said "You can take your husband and those sweet kids in the background out to eat on us, and as long as you close it before October you will not have to pay anything." Yeah, I continued to tell him I did not want to take money from the credit card company and I just really wanted to close my card. So when Randy heard the whole story he laughed and said "Well Mrs. Bird I hope you enjoyed your dinner out with the husband; your closing statement will come within a week." I was baffled, I told him, I actually got a grocery gift card and had not spent any of the money because I was worried it was not really mine... Randy assured me that it was mine and that the longer they keep "good customers cards open" the better. He was sorry to see us go, but understands we do not need the card. REALLY? So yeah... I have an $85.00 grocery card... Thanks Citi Card.... I guess...

I taught the 8-9 year old class in church this last week for a friend. I love those kids. At this age they are fun to tease yet they totally listen to you! The boys were told if they talk out of turn I am going to kiss them on the hand for the first offense, on the cheek for the second... and because I was a married woman on the third offence I was going to get their mother to kiss them on the lips... needless to say there was NO kissing and NO talking out from the boys... and they listened to the lesson...success!!

We went to JIP (John's Incredible Pizza) last night for FHE with our friends the Hardens. We love this place because the kids sit and eat pizza quietly while watching cartoons and the adults get to enjoy a night out without whiny kids... that is until you go to play games and we tell them we are done and it is time to leave. We usually eat, play, then get dessert and go home... Hailey did pretty well through all of this until we go to the door to leave. They have balloons RIGHT before you leave to buy for $1.00. and almost EVERY TIME one of the kids NEEDS a balloon. Well Hailey NEEDED a balloon... so she threw a fit when we went to the car and went back and sat by the side of the building. Well, being the AMAZING mother I am; I decided she needed a little reality check. As she sat there pouting and telling me she was not getting in the car I said FINE. I got in the car and DROVE OFF... (Matt had his car there too, AND he was around the corner hiding to help with this reality check) the look on her face was priceless. As I pulled out of the parking space She stood up. As I started going forward her mouth dropped. As I turned the corner tears filled her eyes and she began to RUN in the direction I had left in which was also headed to the area Matt was hiding watching her from. She ran SO fast ~ Obviously I stopped as I turned the corner and waited for her. Poor thing... she got the picture for sure. I was feeling bad about giving her the reality check until today when I was going to take her to Pre-School she was taking her sweet time and I said "BYE I am leaving"... she was in the car quicker than I could get in the car... PROGRESS!!

Landon is starting to say prayers. "Tank fir day. Bess food. Bess daddy at work, mommy home. Jesus Christ. Amen" It is a work in progress...

Thanks... you are a true friend if you read all this none-sense... LOVE YA!~

Ironic ~

2011-09-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Isn't almost everything Ironic??
I am at a point in my life where it feels like things are ironic YET they are SO what you would expect to happen...
I have learned that in my teenage years... I was RETARDED!! Almost literally because you do not have the brain power to even begin to understand the results of your actions during the teenage years.
I have also learned that when I was 21 and newly married... I was just figuring out REAL life. I thought High School had prepared me for my "future" but getting married and leaving 'the nest' for good is what really started preparing me for my future.
And the things I have learned in the last few years have been astonishingly... Ugh NICE. I learned about being prepared and being humbled by the loss of my husbands job... twice. I learned that being a stay at home mother was truly harder than any other job I have ever had. I learned that real friends care about you and what is going on and do not put you down for being YOU...
ALL these HARD life lessons that I have learned recently have brought me to my knees, but not because it is too much; because I am grateful for the things I have.

I find myself in a constant state of contentment.
No I do not have everything I have ever wanted...
NO my life is not perfect, but I do not sit back and expect it to be perfect anymore.
I expect there to be bumps in the road. And now when I hit them I try not to cry; rather learn from what that "experimental bump" is trying to teach me. Oh Yeah, I am STILL going to cry over things. I am still going to blame things on something irrelevant like so many of us do... but at least now after I get over my "poor me pity party" I am going to try to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I think I used to sit and wait for someone to pull me close enough to the end of that tunnel...
I am glad I am learning and letting go. Glad that my mistakes are MINE, and I can and will learn from them. Glad that I have the wonderful family and friends that love me for who I am and what I bring to the table. I am not perfect and I don't plan on ever being perfect... that would be boring ~ I am glad I have my life! Ironic that a stay at home mother of two could be so happy and content ~ Right? :) What is your irony??

We NEED always remember...

2011-09-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

I was researching different people speaking out about the Tragedy of 9/11/2001. I knew I wanted to make a blog post about this topic, but was not sure where I wanted to go with it. Being recently there at ground zero on my trip to NYC; my heart has been full. Full of sadness for what the nation has gone through, full of heartache for those who lost loved ones, but also full of gratitude for the men and women that have been there everyday since the twin towers fell. Standing there and watching the workers do their job on rebuilding OUR horror was somehow comforting. NYC is a huge place full of people getting where they need to be in a hurry, and doing what they need to do fast. At this place there was no rushing. There was Calm. A Calm I never thought could have existed in such a busy part of the world.

I watched the 9-11 Specials on the History Channel and on TLC. The stories of the workers are SO touching. Many lost family and friends and are rebuilding to honor them. The people are working on the 9-11 Memorial pools, the Memorial Museum, and the new WTC Buildings.

The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.
The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history.

The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest man made waterfalls in the North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the Memorial design selected from a global design competition that included more than 5,200 entries from 63 nations.

THE MISSION of the Memorial Museum, located at the World Trade Center site, is to bear solemn witness to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993. The Museum honors the nearly 3,000 victims of these attacks and all those who risked their lives to save others. It further recognizes the thousands who survived and all who demonstrated extraordinary compassion in the aftermath. Demonstrating the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national, and international levels, the Museum attests to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity and affirms an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life.

In doing my research I also came across this... It helped me remember WHY we are here and WHAT we should be doing...

The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow. Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts. It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world. This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001.

There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well.

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change.

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.
The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.
It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm.
Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I am thankful for a prophet that leads us and guides us with love in these perilous times. I hope this has been as much as a comfort to you as it has been to me. I will always remember the loss and the rebuilding that has become a purpose for Unity in America.

Conversations with a 4 year old...

2011-09-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

Today after making cookies; and licking the utensils clean...
Me: "Oh dear, you better go wash you face Hailey Bailey!"
H: "What mommy? NO way." on her way to the bathroom.
Returning from the bathroom... "I cleaned my face, and my hands, and I picked my nose and wiped the boogies on the paper just for you mommy!"
Me: "Uh Thanks, I guess."

Prayer after seeing my cousin Josh for the night. We were outside and found frogs in our backyard...
"Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for this day. Help me be a good girl and sleep. Bless Josh Smith to get home safe. Bless our little froggies. Oh yeah, better get some froggie food. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

After Pre-School she was upset about getting a new letter "B" and wanted her "A" back...
Me: "Hailey, we have to learn all the letters in the Alphabet. You are so lucky because now you get to learn "B" Did you know BIRD starts with "B"?"
H: "No Mommy, I want my yellow "A" back!"
Me: "Why sister, we get a new letter every week. Let's go look for things that start with "B"."
H: "No Mommy, I just want to say AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaa."
Me: "Sheesh. You can still say it without the letter." as I walk out of the door.

Getting out of the car...
H: "Uhm Mommy, I think your back hurts."
Me: "Oh really, what are we going to do about that?"
H: "Maybe I can rub it for you." she starts rubbing my back while I get Landon out of his seat.
Me: "That feels so nice sister!"
H: "Ok, you are SOOOOOO much better now." and walks away after a 10 second back rub!

About getting a toy down from a high shelf...
H: "Mommy I am too small, are you bigger?"
Me: "I don't know Hailey, am I big or small?"
H: "You are too small, but HEY, where is that daddy? He is bigger he can do it!"

Gotta LOVE it! ~

Dyson ~

2011-09-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that I have the DYSON BALL vacuum cleaner...

Many of you also know that I use it ALMOST on a daily basis. If not daily at least twice a week!
I have had it for three years now, and I am sad to announce that it has had it's FIRST problem...
It still turns on, and sucks, but the wires that turn on the brushes on are not connected. So when it is running it sounds the same, however the brushes not moving means there is nothing being picked up, thus meaning my poor dirty floors are still... GULP... dirty.
After some research Matt was able to find that this is a common problem that occurs after lots of use. (I think three years of almost daily use would be considered "lots of use".)
To be honest I thought I would have killed this thing earlier. The three previous vacuum's I had lasted a little over a year and then would die. It was usually just cheaper to buy a new one than repair the current problem on the vacuum I had grown to HATE!
So my poor baby (that I am missing every day) is currently being taken apart and fixed by my dear husband. The reason for this post is that today is Friday; my cleaning day, and without this baby my house is not fully cleaned...

I consider myself completely lucky that my husband is able to figure out a fix problems that arise with our things. I guess marrying an engineer makes life a little bit easier...
I hope to be reunited with my baby in working order VERY soon.

THANKS HUBBY!!!

OH, ARE YOU DONE YET??

NEW...

2011-09-08T09:54:00.000-07:00

So I upgraded to the NEW Blogger Profile thing... my posts might be retarded for a little while... I am still getting the hang of all the new stuff... :)

Bulldog Pride ~

2011-09-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

We (and when I say "WE" I mean MATT)

have gone to EVERY HOME GAME that Fresno State Football has had while we have lived here...

AND when we did not live here, Matt would still travel down for a few games.

So needless to say we are

TRUE FRESNO STATE FANS!!

So when we heard Fresno State was getting a new TURF field we were STOKED!!

Here are some pictures of us seeing the new turf for the first time...

The kids loved being on the field.

They ran all over, pretended to play football, played with daddy, hugged each other, and Hailey even KISSED the Bulldog's Tail...

We had the kids sit on the Number for their AGE so they can always remember this EPIC time in Bulldog History.

Did you notice I spelled BIRD with letters from the stadium... yeah... I'm pretty AMAZING!!

GO BULLDOGS!!

(~ I saved this post for the Season Opener Game Day... Fresno State Bulldogs Vs. California Bears. Matt is at the game today with 14 other Friends and Family held at Candlestick Park...

I hope to have a GOOD announcement about the outcome of this game in a future post :))

We have a WINNER ~

2011-09-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

Pre-School is a HIT!
Hailey went to school without any problems and said "I LOVE Mrs. Lori!"
And this is what she made today...

It looks JUST like her huh?
This mom is REALLY looking forward to filling up my fridge with fun stuff like this! :)

My TINY Dancer ~

2011-08-31T12:52:00.000-07:00

Hailey is a BEAUTIFUL Ballerina ~

She had her VERY first Ballet class today and she LOVED it! A good friend of mine in our ward let me know she was going to have Dance Classes. I was excited to go home and let Hailey know, and when I told her she was going to be a ballerina she just smiled from ear to ear and told me "We better go get me a tutu." Well; we got THREE ballet outfits, but she picked this one out herself... BRIGHT pink tights and all! :)

As you can tell in the pictures the girls had a GREAT time!

THANKS Miss Wendy!!

My BIG Pre-School GIRL!! ~

2011-08-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today was Hailey's FIRST day of Pre-School!!

I know... I know...

So What? Big Deal? It's Only Pre-School!

Well HELLO!! This is a HUGE DEAL at the Bird House!

Momma gets THREE hours TWICE a week with just ONE KID!!!

"Heaven... I'm in Heaven..."

This Momma celebrated rather than crying!
I took Landon to Target and let him play with the toys...

Here are the pictures of my BIG girl ~

YES, she dressed herself ~
(Princess Shirt, Princess Pink Skirt, Princess Purple Shoes AND Princess Backpack)

She is SO sweet and was SO ready for her first day of school...

But not before she picked up some snails and jumped off the rock in the front of our house...

OR before she helped me make and eat some Minnie Mouse Pancakes ~

"Look at me Mom ~ I am ALL ready for school!"

It started off GREAT! We went to Miss Lori's House. When I told her this was her school she said "Mommy, this is not a school, this is a HOUSE!"

So through giggles I said "Well guess what, YOU are so special that you get to go to school at a HOUSE!" to which her reply was

"Oh Mommy, I LOVE IT!" She walked in and said goodbye without ANY TEARS from ANYONE!

When I went to pick her up Miss Lori said she did wonderful!! That is until the end when it was time to clean up; she was not done painting, and had a fit because I was coming to get her soon. (apparently she did not want to leave) Then she was sad about leaving her painting there; it was the first page they were making to put into a special book for pre-school projects, but besides that it was

THE BEST DAY!!

So happy for my Little Girl to Explore and Grow!!

Now ~ Let's see how THURSDAY goes...

Clovis Family Night Out ~

2011-08-29T12:58:00.001-07:00

We just LOVE the community we moved into.

It has a "small town feel" with all the great things a "big town has to offer"

A friend of mine let me know about the "Clovis Night Out" this last Saturday. Our family has been a little bit under the weather with a cold, so it was nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air...

We were able to walk down the street to Clovis High School and attend this wonderful Community Event.

There were Bounce Houses as far as the eye could see, vendors selling everything and anything you could want; (Uhm ~ HELLO Kettle Corn)... they had police cars, garbage trucks, and firetrucks for the kids to explore and learn about... and that is just what we did...

Here I am telling Hailey and Landon that they can help "put out a fire" with the fireman hose...

Are you at all shocked that Landon walked right up and pulled the nosel on the hose!? He LOVED it!

And here is Hailey IN the Firetruck... she loved talking with the earphones on!!
We saw some friends, jumped in some bounce houses, slid down some HUGE slides and stayed until it got too dark to walk home...

THANK YOU CLOVIS!!

WE LOVE YOU!!

Everybody working for the weekend...

2011-08-27T11:55:00.000-07:00

MAN yeah we sure are! This week has been a CRAZY HOTT mess!! We had plans every night and YES we made it through the week!!
We went swimming and out to eat Monday Night with our dear friends THE BAKERS! We checked out this Thai place in Fresno... can I just say ~ PINEAPPLE RICE IS AMAZING!! I forget what the restaurant was called; it was on Shaw near the Fashion Fair Mall... I was not crazy about the prices, luckily we had a 25$ gift certificate from restaurant.com that helped make it OK. However, the company was great so that made it amazing!! We did a little shopping at the mall after and I fell in LOVE with this place ~

Charming Charlie

THE MOST ADORABLE PLACE FOR JEWELRY EVA!! They have TONS and TONS of jewelry!! In every color you could EVER WANT!! The displays had me in SHOCK! I was walking around looking at prices and I was in LOVE all over again! It is across from Cheesecake Factory (another guilty pleasure of mine) at the Fashion Fair Mall... YOU NEED THIS STORE!!

We had the kids and hubbies with us, so Lauren and I decided we need to go back ALONE for sure... GIRLS NIGHT ANYONE??

(I am sure there will be a future post dedicated to THIS place)

So then Tuesday Night I had an Arbonne Party. I went to a party a few weeks ago at a friends house and was offered a FREE Firming Body Cream just for having a party. After seeing THESE pictures of before and after stretch marks I was SOOOOOO ready to try it!!

We did Facials and Foot Soaks. It was SO NICE!! We ate and gossiped and had a great time!!

So then on Wednesday Night my friend Lauren had HER Arbonne Party for her to get her free STRETCH MARK CREAM... Let me just say TWO nights of foot scrub relaxation was AMAZING!!

So next comes Thursday Night... BABY SHOWER FOR LAURA FIELD. I went to her baby shower a few weeks ago that her family threw. This party was thrown by some ladies in our ward. It was fun to chat and watch her open cute stuff yet again.... Ahhhh makes me want baby number three....

THEN comes Friday Night... after cleaning and taking care of crabby kids, I was SO ready for Date Night. And what better to do for date night then take the boat out and go wakeboarding!!?? We invited Josh and Kimmy Sorenson and James and Kresta Kraucyk. MAN was it a great night out! Everyone was able to wakeboard ~ meaning that we all got up and I would say kinda enjoyed it... then we did TUBE WARS 2011. Husbands VS. Wives was fun. The Kraucyk's tied, and Kimmy Sorenson beat her husband Josh for sure! Since Matt and I are the drivers of the boat; we did not get in on the spouse action; however Matt and Josh did a little tube war while I drove. I have to admit I was trying to throw Matt, so that may have been why Josh won, but Matt did have fun jumping onto Josh's tube and pulling him off. Then I decided all the girls needed to just have a relaxing run on the tubes so we did this...

Kimmy on one tube, ME straddling both tubes, and Kresta on the other tube...

We tried to all stand up at the same time, but it did not work out as we had planned it. Somehow straddling two tubes does not work when you try to stand up. The two girls were standing, but the second I stood the tubes separated... We still had a BLAST!

It sure has been a NICE LONG week.

Hailey Starts Pre-School AND Ballet this next week... wish us luck!!

I am a little annoyed...

2011-08-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

So yeah, Blogger is not letting me comment on some pages and I am getting a little annoyed. I read things and want to comment to my dear friends then blogger is dumb and blocks me from making my amazing comments... anyone else having this problem??
I can type the comment and when I submit it something comes up saying my soccerbarbie03 account does not have access to do that action... really because I did before!! DO I need a gmail account or something now?? UGH... anyways... that is why I am not commenting on your blogs friends, blogger won't let me...

I love being a mommy...

2011-08-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

REALLY I do...
I mean, it is not the easiest thing I have ever done; but it is the most rewarding AND the most funny...
Take last night for example...
I had just finished watching one of my new favorite shows THE GLEE PROJECT, and it was the season finale. After it was over I was SO excited about who had won that I called up my sister Sharon and my Mother to see if they were as happy as I was. They were just starting to watch it, and so I told them to call me back after they saw it. When I got off the phone I was getting Hailey ready for bed. Her room was a mess so I was helping her clean. I went to pick up her suitcase to put it away and noticed it was heavy and had something in it. I opened it and to my surprise I found this...

When I saw this I giggles and said "Hailey what did you pack your bag for?" and she replied to me while brushing her teeth upside down on her bed "I am all ready to go an see Shar Shar and Grandma." I laughed and called Matt in to see what our daughter had done. As I was unpacking her bag (because we are not going to visit for another two weeks) I laughed so hard I started crying and THIS is why...

The Contents in Her Suitcase:

1 pair of Christmas Snow Man Panties

1 Orange Elmo T-Shirt (her FAV, it has a rainbow on it)

1 Blue and White pair of shorts

1 pair of jean shorts

6 pairs of Pajamas

and her KaiLan Toy Doll...

REALLY HAILEY... One pair of panties?? I guess that is how "She Rolls"

SO ONTO my next good laugh... my son Landon...

He has been showing signs of being ready to Potty Train for a while now. After I found this cute little "Potty TRAIN-ing Kit" and after we were going to be settled in at home for a while I decided TODAY was the day to start. The kit has a Potty Video, a Potty Book, Potty stickers, a Choo Choo whistle, and a Parents Manuel on how to train your kid. After reading the Manuel, I took the kids (yes Hailey helped me) to the playroom to watch the Potty Video...

We watched it twice then headed back to the bathroom for some WORK. We read the book, sang potty songs, blew the choo choo whistle, ran some water, had sister give us a potty demonstration... and after about 20 minutes he FINALLY went PEE on the potty!! Insert Jumping for Joy and Squealing with delight here. "GOOD BOY, YOU WENT PEE PEE ON THE POTTY! What a BIG BOY!" we reinforced how excited we were, gave him his sticker and candy, washed his hands and were on our way. We did this a few times, but because I kept putting on Pull Ups he would have an accident. I thought stripping him down naked might help him remember to go on the potty... we tried one last time, then I decided we needed to get lunch going. So we all headed to the kitchen to make lunch. The kids wanted eggs so I started making them. I ran and grabbed the potty chair for Landon to have JUST IN CASE he needed it. I ran back to the eggs, cooked them up and put the on the kids plates. I was heading to the kitchen sink with the empty pan in my hand and to my dismay I slipped, fell to the floor on my bottom and SAT in my sons pee.

AWESOME RIGHT? YEAH.

As I am getting up Hailey asks me if I have a boo boo. I say I am OK then I look at Landon and ask him if he peed on my floor; he just smiles and puts his head down... It is then that I decide to laugh rather than get upset and both kids just sit laughing with me about the whole situation.

And then I remember something REALLY nice...

A little while earlier my sweet friend Kimmy Sorenson had left this plate

(minus one; I may have eaten one before I took this picture) of

PINK LEMONADE CUPCAKES on my doorstep "Just Because..."

KIMMY, you made this day THAT much better! YUMMMOOOO!

And if you are local Check out Frosted Cupcakes ~ I promise you will not be disappointed.

THIRTY ~

2011-08-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the DMV to renew my licence.

Today I realized my birthday is coming up and I am turning . . .

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN

Some would be in SHOCK...

Some would rather skip this day all together...

However THIS GIRL is in "A Good Place"

I have been telling myself;

There is NOTHING wrong with turning 30 when you have all the things you wanted accomplished at this age.

I have a wonderful husband.

Two sweet little kiddos to love and adore.

A house that is our HOME...

I am SO at peace, NOTHING can make me feel 30 is a bad thing...

BRING IT ON ~

October 1st Here I come READY OR NOT!!

The DMV lady let me keep my weight the same it has been since I started driving at 16...
I asked her if I needed to update the info and she said "Only if you want to..." I decided to leave it be; this will be an early birthday present to myself... YEP STILL 111 ~ haha!!

My Dad is the BEST man I know...

2011-08-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

Seriously... HE is...

I would have done this post ON his birthday,

but because we were SO LUCKY we got to be with him on that special day.

So the BIRTHDAY WISHES are a little late in 'Blog World'.

I have to admit being there in person to celebrate was WAY more fun...

His birthday fell on a Sunday this year, luckily he had to go to early church meetings so we were able to clean up the house and make a HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD~PAPA!! sign.

And get a little bit of the meal prepared...

We had a LOVELY dinner and dessert of his choosing and he opened his presents and loved

EVERY SINGLE ONE...

Hailey was helping him open his presents...

The next night my oldest sister Tiffany was in town with her kids so we decided to celebrate

Dad's Birthday OUT ON THE TOWN!

We went to CHANG'S... ALL OF US...

Mom, Logan Ray, Preston, Dad, Evan Ray, Tiffany Ray, Kimberley Ray...

Kim (again) Crystal, Sharon, Landon, Me and Hailey (Owen Ray not pictured)
We had FAMILY STYLE Dinner and it was AMAZING!!
After I got my pictures for my blog; Hailey decided she wanted to take a few pictures of her own...
Here are the ones that KINDA turned out ~

She is SO going to be just like me; capturing every moment she can. It is nice to get together as a family and celebrate our loved ones. I am beyond thankful for my wonderful father. I love him more and more every time I get to see him. He is truly the BEST man I know...
Here is an ODE to my Dad ~

This is for my hero, my Dad

The best father a kid could ever have

You laughed a lot and kept me happy

Even if some of your jokes were kinda crappy...

You were always there for the important things
And really helped me find my wings
I appreciate the love you have shared
And I always know how much you have cared.

The words THANK YOU are just not enough
And finding the words to say is tough
To try to express the way I feel
It really is something I need to reveal.

So I guess all I can say is this...
I really do not want to miss
The opportunity to share my true
thoughts and say; DAD ~ I LOVE YOU!

Thank you Dad for being AMAZING!

Happy Birthday LOVE the Birds ~

P.S. I hope the new Tool Bench is everything you ever wanted and MORE! :)

No one likes this . . .

2011-08-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

My friend had this link on FB, and I LOVED it.

I am constantly trying to figure out how to deal with the rude people at the store; staring me down like I am the WORST mother ever...

also my GOOD and BAD friends observations of WHY my children are the way they are.

AND dare I say it... YES even FAMILY with what I like to call "SAYING THINGS BEFORE YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT IS COMING OUT OF YOUR MOUTH CONCERN"...
ANYWAYS this was helpful...

(and I in NO way am singling any one person out... I am SURE I have offended others in the past, and I looked at these things not only for myself to remember to keep my mouth shut, but also to remember that SOME of these comments come from REAL love and I need to just take it as that...)

HOW TO HANDLE ANNOYING PARENTING ADVISE

Graceful ways to handle unsolicited parenting advice, even if it comes from your family

By Barbara Rowley
As a baby, my daughter Anna refused to wear her shoes or socks. Not a big deal if we lived on a sunny beach. But we live in Montana -- and she was born in late October. So the first line of the mother-daughter battlefield was drawn: I put her shoes and socks on, she worked them off. If she was lucky, she'd push them off when we were in transit and they'd be lost forever. Score: Anna 1, Mom 0.
Then one day, while we were on vacation, a stranger wandered into the crossfire. She was older, better rested, better dressed, and apparently a self-proclaimed authority on baby podiatry. She took one look at Anna in the hotel lobby and screeched, "Ooooh! Look at the tiny little baby with the cold feet!"
"They aren't cold," I said, instantly defensive. "Feel them!" I thrust my daughter's feet, dangling from my chest as she hung in her front carrier, toward the woman's hands. Her parting shot as she cradled Anna's darling little tootsies: "They're like ice!" I turned and left, holding my daughter's (warm, I tell you!) feet and feeling pretty ridiculous.
Almost every mom has a similar story about when someones criticism made her fume. The trigger can be anything from an idle remark -- for instance, your mother-in-law wondering aloud why you have to nurse so often -- to comments that seem specifically designed to hurt (the mom who declares within earshot that she'd never let her child have formula, right as you give your baby a bottle). In fact, people don't have to use words at all -- a disapproving stare from your sister as you turn on the TV for your toddler can speak volumes.
Of course, in the immortal words of my own mother, what does it matter what other people think? Well, it shouldn't, but too often it does. Here's how to manage meddlers, well-meaning or not:

Stranger danger

From the moment you're visibly pregnant till (I can only imagine) the time your child becomes a teenager, people you've never laid eyes on before will feel compelled to question your parenting skills. Their input should be the easiest to dismiss -- you don't know these people, right? On the other hand, they don't know you! So how can they presume to say these things?
This is precisely why Brynn Dessent can never forget the woman who stood behind her at the bank one day. "I was holding my five-month-old and talking about how I had to go back to work and how hard it was," remembers Dessent, a Los Angeles based post production film supervisor. "This lady said I was making a big mistake -- that her own son had never forgiven her for working." The worst part? "She didn't know my financial reasons for working, or my emotional struggle with it all," says Dessent.
Jennifer Salerno, a mom of four, has learned to give strangers who are a little too free with their advice a low-key lesson in the fact that she's someone who knows what she's doing, thank you. "I just say, 'Oh, yes, that worked with my other three at home' or 'Yes, but this is nothing compared to what his older siblings did,' " she says. "That just shuts people down."
Even if you have just one child, humor can work wonders, says Leah Hennen, of Oakland. Initially, whenever her daughter, Laurel, had a tantrum in public, strangers' reactions made her want to scream, too. "People asked, 'Aww...is she having a bad day?' " Eventually, says Hennen, "my husband and I would say, 'Not really -- you should've seen her on Sunday.' " This gave people the gentle message to let her handle it.

Relatively rude
Getting unwelcome input from people you don't know is annoying. Yet it's somehow even worse to hear it from people who know you well, since their remarks can pack an extra punch.
Lisa Fry* of Birmingham, Alabama, learned this the hard way after she asked her in-laws not to let their dogs lick her infant daughter's face. They acted as if the request was "ridiculous," Fry says, adding, "Now, when I visit, they say things to the dogs like 'Don't give kisses to the baby now, Lisa's here.' " And they continue to insist that dogs have sanitary mouths.
Right now, she just ignores their comments. But she admits, "I'm trying to figure out a way in which I can tell them that there are certain things that I believe, and that while they can believe differently, they need to respect what I think and want."
Figuring out what you can ignore and what's nonnegotiable is key. Fortunately for Shannon Rebolledo, the Wichita, Kansas, mom of 3-year-old Raef, her in-laws offer advice only from afar, since they're in South America. "They wanted me not to breastfeed my son for the first week of his life because I'd had gestational diabetes. They said I'd give it to him, something I knew was medically incorrect," she says. Her response? "I just said, 'Okay.' " Then she went ahead and nursed her baby.

Meddling mom friends
Since they're so often the victims of unwanted advice themselves, you'd expect other moms to think carefully before they speak. But sometimes they can be the worst offenders -- maybe because they have so many of their own experiences to base their opinions on.
When my friend Alice Smith* had her daughter Jenny* five years ago, strangers would occasionally comment on how the tip of infant Jenny's tongue often protruded from her mouth. "I didn't think it was a big deal," says Smith, but because other people kept mentioning it, she shared her concerns with her friend Mary*. Rather than reassuring her that Jenny was fine, "Mary went on and on about how her sister had the same problem as a child and had speech problems and eating issues, and ended up needing reconstructive surgery on her mouth!"
Jenny's tongue eventually retreated into her mouth without any intervention at all. It took years for Alice to come to understand why Mary (who has given her less than supportive advice on a few other occasions) had upset her so much. "I finally realized that she has the best intentions and is only trying to share information that she has found useful," she says. "She just doesn't stop to think that what happened in one case, or what worked for one person, doesn't necessarily apply to me."
Kate Cook, a Palo Alto, California, mother of three, had a similar problem with a friend whose older son suffered from several health problems. "She would just give me so much advice based on what happened to her and her son that it would send me into a tailspin," Cook says. "I've come to see that this is just her deal -- not mine. My kids aren't the same as hers."
Another strategy: Depending on the relationship you have with your friend, be honest.
Tell her you're sharing your worries because you want a sympathetic ear, not necessarily advice, and certainly not criticism. Chances are she'll respect your wishes.

Caregivers who care too much
There's a fine line between being super helpful and super annoying, and even the best sitter or daycare provide may not be aware when she's crossing it and butting in. Parenting contributing editor Denene Millner, an Atlanta mom of two and step mom of one, remembers the time her nanny was concerned about her daughters' colds and wanted Millner to rub a Mentholatum ointment on their chests before bed. "When I didn't, she acted like I was trying to make them suffer," she says.
Millner didn't want to fire her nanny for caring too much, or lose her in anger. So she did what any good manager would: She delegated, asking her husband to talk to their nanny about it instead. "It preserves the equality in my relationship with our nanny by letting my husband be the boss and deal with the misunderstandings that arise," she says. "It also keeps the relationship between her and me healthy while still letting me blow off steam through a third party."
Of course, if you don't have a person ready to play the bad-cop role in your household, you'll have to address your concerns with your caregiver directly, which can feel uncomfortable to consider but empowering to actually do. I've done it myself, and it was in just these situations that I found my voice, and perhaps even my identity, as a mom. This is, in fact, the good-news part of handling unwanted parenting advice. Deal with it and you may just see your confidence grow.

SO, yeah... good luck with that and may the force be with you... haha
LONG story short... we all need to think before we speak. Easier said than done huh??

I am reminded of a GREAT movie I watched once that teaches us how to behave...

Thumper: He does not walk very good does he?
Mrs. Rabbit: THUMPER!
Thumper: Yes Mama?
Mrs. Rabbit: What did your father tell you this morning??
Thumper: (clears throat) If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all.

DEEP!! Whoever said watching Disney movies was a bad thing did not watch Bambi...

RIO ! ! !

2011-08-10T11:49:00.000-07:00

Cutest Movie EVA!!
We took the kids last F.H.E. out to the $3.00 HOLLA movies with our friends the Hardens...
We had hoped the kids would like the movie we picked... RIO... Ugh, they more than liked it. They sat and watched it, and LAUGHED, and Danced to the music... it was a GOOD TIME HAD BY ALL!!

Needless to say, we bought the movie when it came out,

and the kids have watched it AT LEAST once a day!!

It is an adorable movie about TWO Macaw Birds. First Blu is a domesticated Macaw who never learned to fly, living a comfortable life with his owner and best friend Linda in a small town in Minnesota. Blu and Linda think he's the last of his kind, but when they learn about another Macaw who lives in Rio de Janeiro, they head to the faraway and exotic land to find Jewel. Her owner wants Blu and Jewel to keep the species alive, but all Jewel wants to do is escape...
I don't want to give too much of the story away, so I will stop there. It is a MUST see, beautiful colors and wonderful music!! I have to admit I don't mind peeking my head in for most of the parts!! It comes from the makers of Ice Age; one of Hailey's favorite movies, so we KNEW it would be a hit!!

My SWIM CHAMPION!!

2011-08-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

We KNEW that we would want our kids to take Swim Lessons ever since we bought our first boat WAY before our kids were even born... Having a Boat is alot of FUN, but not as much as it COULD be if you were not constantly worrying (like I did) that the kids were going to fall out of the boat...
SO, this was the year we had planned on getting the kids into Swim Lessons. We were just waiting for the perfect time to take them, and we figured after our New York trip would be best. We knew the PERFECT place to take them already ~ Jan Thomas Swim School. This place has been around for over 50 years, and Matt's parents HIGHLY recommended it to us. (Thanks MOM & DAD for all the help) PLUS anyone who is anyone in Fresno told us this was a GREAT place too!! We went in a week after our trip, and LUCKILY for us we did because they were only open for another 11 days to teach lessons. A full set of lessons is 10, so we needed to get started RIGHT AWAY!! We asked alot of questions, and decided that we would only sign up Hailey for this year. They thought Landon would benefit from watching his sister and being a little bit older to actually "learn to swim, and be comfortable in the water." We were not upset at all, now we had a year to save up the money for Landon's swim lessons... (NOT CHEAP) So my home away from home for the next three weeks became the Jan Thomas Pools...

On the day of her FIRST lesson we talked about her learning to swim. Her response was always "Yes, I want to swim!" so I thought this was going to be a piece of cake. We got the the lesson, and Hailey started to get a little worried. As you can tell by the above picture she was really trying to take it all in... I reminded her that we all need to learn to swim so we can go out on the boat. They called her name I took her over to her teacher. Because we came near the very end, she had three different teachers. Her first teacher was Tori. She asked me to watch the lesson from behind the clear wall near the walkway; that way we were out of sight our of mind... So we did. They teach the kids basic swimming skills. We were warned that the first lesson would be tough. There would be LOTS of tears and LOTS of dunking...

Here Matt and Landon are enjoying an ice cream from our special spot behind the clear wall. We could hear and see Hailey having a tough time with the lesson, but after about 5 minutes she gave in and started to swim. The lessons are 30 minutes long, and the teachers are great at building a good relationship with the kids. Lots of high fives and hugs after being dunked and swimming for life... when the lesson was over I went to get Hailey and she was FULL ON TEARS. "Mommy I missed you." I was fully prepared for the teacher to tell me she was horrible, but she said she did great! Tori told me that all kids fight it, and Hailey was no exception. She also told me to not even mention the next swim lesson; just put her suit in a bag and bring her to the lesson, dress her in the bathroom; and once you force her into the pool the worst is over. As we drove up for the second lesson Hailey started saying "No, I don't want to swim" and REAL tears came down her sweet sad face. I kept telling her we all need to learn to swim and forced her into her swim suit and into the pool... her second lesson was a little better than the first...

For her second lesson her teacher was Brooke. In this lesson there was less dunking and more learning how to kick her feet with her face in the water. She really did a good job listening, and got the swimming concept pretty quickly. Before I knew it she was swimming across the pool!!

For her Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth lesson she had Melissa. She learned how to jump off the side of the pool and turn around and swim back. She also learned how to float on her back. There was LOTS of practice and LOTS of praise. By the Fourth Lesson as we drove up, Hailey was excited to get her suit on and go swim! SUCH A RELIEF!!

Anyone who REALLY knows my daughter; knows she lives in her own world. She would rather play alone than with friends (unless it is her best friend Haley Harden, THEN she loves to play with friends) She also does not talk to people she either A) does now know, or B) does not like. So seeing her interact with these girls made my heart SO happy!!

Every once and a while she would get my attention before she did a jump or a slide and give me the "thumbs up" sign. PROGRESS... I think so!! One of her favorite things to do was go on the ducky...

They would put the kids up on the duck, sing a song as they went around (the songs were so cute) and then the kids would push off and swim to the teacher at the end of the song. Hailey LOVED it!!

By the end of the fifth lesson Hailey could start at the short end of the pool, swim then turn over and float to get air, the turn back over and swim to the other end. The teachers had to give her a little help with the turn over, but she was doing SO good and it was always so fun to call Matt on our way home and tell him how good she was doing!! The last four lessons Brooke was her teacher again, and she just reinforced the things she had learned. On the last lesson I was able to get in with her and learn the things to say and do for her. Little did they know I was TOTALLY TAKING NOTES THE WHOLE TIME!!

Here she is with Brooke (who we found out is in our Stake at church. We are in Clovis 3rd and she is in Clovis 7th ~ SMALL WORLD HUH!?) on her last day. She got her Medal and a Ribbon for being such a good SWIM CHAMPION!! We could not have been more proud of our little girl!~

Hailey was SO proud of her Medal. She keeps in on her bedpost to this day. And WE are so proud of her too. Almost on a daily basis she says to either Matt or I "I want to go out on the boat!" and I just laugh and say, "Oh yeah, lets see what Daddy wants to do when he gets home..." Needless to say we have had a few days out on the boat and she loves to jump in the water and swim!! She is my little swim girl and I love it!! THANKS JAN THOMAS SWIM SCHOOL!! We will see you next year for sure! ~

A few Videos of her Learning ~

The Last one was Me and Hailey in the pool!

GREAT TIMES!~

TIFFANY!!!

2011-08-05T12:07:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to my SISTA

from the SAME mista...

Can't wait to see you next week!

I hope you had a BLAST when the hubby took the kids and left you...

(it's not at ALL how it sounds; that was a PRESENT)

Now where are the picture of all the things

you got done with the short lived empty house???