SNOW SNOW SNOW...

I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with the snow right now...
I LOVE to go up and snowboard without kids, but I HATE to take the kids up to the snow for a "day of fun" with friends. Matt and I have wanted to get the kids up in the snow ever since we were in Tahoe. We told some friends about this, and it ended up being a big huge trip!! We had planned to go up the week before, but the weather did not permit us to go then. It ended up being a big deal, because we went up with EVERYONE else on the three day weekend... and that is just the start of it.
So the kids were both coughing at breakfast, and I asked Matt if that was our sign to not go. We decided it was going to be a warm day so they could not get any worse... so we packed up the car, got in, and headed up. Half way up the hill (through twists and dips) Hailey throws up ALL over herself and her car seat... after cleaning that up I again ask Matt if that is our sign not to go. We get back on the road and meet our friends at the park n' ride. We head to the Snow Park and Landon throws up all over himself and his car seat to which I tell Matt " UGH, I am DONE!" now at this point I an REALLY thinking we need to head home. My friend Megan drives by right as I am thinking that and they come back around and confirm we are like 20 minutes away, we are sure it will be fun. So we go up despite the 4 previous signs... Here is our Happy Family Picture... notice the not so happy kids... Matt decided he would take Hailey up the hill and ride down the tube run. The boys went up on Thursday and Dug out a tube run. They were SO excited to get up there and check it out. I told Matt to let Hailey work up to the big hill, but I guess he did not hear me. He comes back to the car while I am getting Landon ready with a crying wet child. I guess the run was a little TOO fast, and Hailey fell off and slid down on her belly for a little while. She wanted to strip off her clothes and have nothing to do with the snow from there on... And does this picture not show you that! Oh, how I love her pout face! And by the way; she is wearing Landon's Gloves and Beanie. We got her cute pink gloves that she refused to use... go figure!

Here I am with Landon. He liked to just sit on the sled and get pulled along, or he liked to walk around on the snow. He did not like when he would fall and get his hands cold, but he also did not want help walking, so it was a lost cause.

He was a pretty good trooper! He was enjoying the snow, but Mommy was not really able to because she had to watch him the whole time! Not that I am complaining, I knew this going up there, but I expected Hailey to be having fun with daddy on the hill.

Here Megan and I are gossiping about something. (I only say that because I am sure that was what we were doing... that is what we do best) Landon and Hailey loved that she brought her dog Boston up to the snow. She is one of my friends from our old ward. We had lunch soon after our gossip session. It was fun sitting around the cars and laughing about the tube runs the boys were getting in.

After lunch was right around nap time, and our children were down to their last change of clothes and were getting a little crazy. We decided to be party poopers and head home. Had the kids not thrown up on the way up there it would have been a better experience. On our way home we took a better road that was not so windy and we think that is the way we need to go from now on!

I am not sure if there is a snow trip in the future for our little family, but I am sure that I want to hit up the snow WITHOUT children again! :)

TARGET ~

We TRY to sneek past the front of Target, and most of the time we are able to do so... but today BOTH kids wanted popcorn... So we decided we could splurge and let the kids get some Popcorn...
When I see this picture I think of the old Mervyns comercials where the lady is standing at the door saying " Open... Open... Open..."
Oh the little things in life that make the kids SO happy! :)

GIRLS NIGHT OUT

Dinner ~ Movie ~ Friends ~ and FUN

WHAT MORE COULD A GIRL WANT??

I put a shout out on my facebook page and invited all my Fresno girls to join me in viewing the new movie Dear John.

This movie was based off a Nicolas Sparks book that I just finished reading.

I am a HUGE fan of Channing Tatum who plays the lead character in this movie, so when I saw the previews, I KNEW there was a GIRLS NIGHT OUT in the near future...

After I got some responses as to who wanted to attend we planned out our night. We went to Red Robin for Dinner, and just had fun laughing and talking about "GIRL" stuff.

Red Robin's fries ALWAYS hit the spot for me, so I was relaxed after dinner and READY to see the movie!! Most of us had pre-ordered our tickets because the first week Dear John beat out the hit movie Avitar, when we walked through the doors to find seven seats all together we laughed because there were probably 5 other people in the whole theatre... haha ... Sorry Girls... I was really worried we would not all be together for this one...

After the movie, we all posed for a picture with the ONLY Movie Poster they had in the whole place about the movie... haha! Glad to see they have great publicity at Manchester for the movie!

We have (left to right) Amalia Cutts, Amber Cluff, Me, Megan Cluff, Lauren Baker, Amy Harden, and Kassie Humman.
The movie was BETTER than the book for me! I really enjoyed reading the book, and I think it helped me understand the movie more, but I was not a fan of the book ending. (you may have caught that from my post last night) The movie ending was SOOOOOO much better!
So I am officially waiting patiently until this movie hits the $3.00 theatre now. I love you very much my Dear John, but not quite another $10.25 to see you full price again!

Thanks to all the Girls who attended! We need to make more GIRLS NIGHTS OUT in the future! It is JUST what I needed! LOVE YA! ~

And now for your viewing Pleasure... Channing Tatum

Did I mention he is Hot??

Dear Nicholas Sparks,

So, I was just wondering if you saw the new Movie that came out in theatres this last week Dear John. The reason I ask is because you wrote the book that the movie was based on. I hope you did because Mr. Sparks you need to retract your book ending. I have some sweet friends who talked me into reading your books. This book was my first read. I have to tell you I did not want to put the book down. Of course it helped that I was imagining Channing Tatum as the lead character because he plays him in the movie, but that is besides the point. The book was SO easy to read, and I felt like I was IN the book... you know, Like I was Savannah, and Channing... I mean John Tyree was in love with me. I was really enjoying the story until BAM... the end... I thought someone had pulled out my heart and stomped ALL over it.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

Really, you thought that was a good ending? You thought I wanted THAT to be my life... you thought all your readers would ENJOY that ending... REALLY??

The purpose of this letter is to inform you that you need to change the end in the book. You see Mr. Sparks after leaving the movie theatre my heart was happy. All was well with the world, and I again was Savannah and my Love Channing Tatum... I mean John Tyree were back to that good place in life.

So needless to say, you might want to think long and hard about collecting all the books you have distributed throughout the world and changing the end for the better good of the world...

Thank You ~

Melissa Bird

Channing Tatum's #1 Fan

THIS SUCKS!~

Running that is....

IT SUCKS!

It sucks EVEN more because I have TWO kids...

and with two kids I have to DO something with them when I go running...

My jogging stroller has one tire that is flat...

YET I need to run because that is how I am going to

TAKE MY BODY BACK!

So at first I ran alone... NICE...

THEN I invited my husband to run with me...

(since he does not have a job currently we are doing LOTS of things together)

but running while pushing two kids in a Jogging Stroller that has a flat tire SUCKS!

did I mention that Hailey is 32 lbs and Landon is 22 lbs... so yeah...

SUCKS!!

WHY??

WHY do I look in the mirror after getting out of the shower? That is the question I asked myself ALL day yesterday... When I look at myself for too long I tend to pay TOO much attention to who I used to be, and what I thought I would always look like...

Before I was married I had what I thought was a GREAT body... I practically had a six pack, my thick thighs were toned, my calf's were strong, my arms had "mini guns" when I flexed them, my breasts were perky and a perfect size, and my overall feeling about myself was never threatened...

Fast forward to now... Almost seven years of marriage and two children later; My six pack is GONE! In its place is a mountain of stretch marks and flab. My thighs are STILL thick, but where did my tone go? OH that is right the tone has left... my calf's are not strong anymore from running, they are tired from running after my kids. My "guns" are still there, but they don't seem to be the same... actually they might be a little bigger after carrying kids around. And last but not least my breasts... oh, WHERE did they go? WHAT are they doing down there? WHY do people breastfeed again?? My overall feeling about myself has become VERY threatened.

Sure, people tell me I am a Strong Beautiful Mother... but how?

Just after having my first child I found myself crying about what I had done to myself. My husband would try to console me, but HE DOES NOT KNOW! What does HE have to go through to get a baby... lets not talk about that... it is not fair...

My friends tell me I am nuts, and I look great. But they are LYING! Maybe not all of them because some of them do not know what I looked like before kids.

My clothes are the only ones who tell the truth. Items that fit nicely now cringe when I try to pull them on. I appreciate them for letting me know I have changed, and this is not the change I had wanted OR planned for!

WHY did no one tell me that I would feel like this?

I know I know... I am my WORST enemy! If I am SO upset at what has happened WHY don't I do something about it? Well I AM!

I needed to take that GOOD HARD LOOK in the mirror. I needed to HIT BOTTOM to know I need to get back to the top! (oh, I did not even look at my bottom... we'll leave that for a whole other post) I am going to WORK at myself! Being a mother; I tend to help others with their needs before I help myself, and I just decided I AM GOING TO HELP MYSELF!

Thank You for listening to me whine... now lets work together at helping OURSELVES! I know most of you who read this are mothers... you either do, did, or will feel the same way I do right now. I hope that rather than you letting your body get the best of you, you let it get you motivated! I am SICK and tired about crying about the stretch marks and the sagginess! I am going to change my mind and my body for the better! I am taking myself back!!

WHO IS WITH ME???

Prayer ~

Prayers are said QUITE often in our house. Matt and I are often trying to figure out WHO'S turn it is for prayer... I tend to say them because lets face it...

I NEED THE BLESSINGS!!

But today we were BLESSED with a Dinner Prayer that HAILEY gave; we asked her to fold her arms and she just started saying her little prayer;

"Der Hevn Fthr
Bless Food

Bless Broder

Mom and Dad

Nm Jesus Crst

AMEN!"

( throwing arms out in excitement)

To which Matt and I both looked at each other in amazement and started to clap! "Yeah Hailey! Good Job with your prayer!" I told her. Then Matt and I giggled, and I knew that we were doing SOMETHING right in our house...

This was ironic to me because we have been fighting her to fold her arms for prayer at the table, and I was so frustrated with her that I put her on time out for not folding her arms... (what kind of a mother does that right??) I am not sure if it was the time out or the repetition, but I am SO thankful for my crazy little girl right now!

ODE to my SNUGGIE ~

For Christmas, my dear friend Lauren Baker gave me TWO of the BEST presents EVER! The first present she gave me was a Snuggie! But this was NO ordinary Snuggie... this was a FRESNO STATE Snuggie! ( I will have to do another post soon about the SECOND gift she gave, you can just look forward to getting that soon)I have to admit when I saw these things on TV, I would LAUGH at how dumb they looked, and think to myself... " GET A BLANKET YOU IDIOT!" But since being able to TEST one of these beauties out on my own... I have learned that there is SO much more to a snuggie than what meets the eye!

IT HAS SLEEVES! I get to read my book without being cold! I get to change the TV channel with the remote without a draft! You all laugh at me now, but DON'T KNOCK IT TILL YOU TRY IT!

~ But on the other hand, I was doing some research and came across THIS ~ The Snuggle Suit...

Now, in a world of snuggies, the snuggle suit make perfect sense. Half fuzzy robe, half body suit, it's another freakish hybrid designed to keep us warm and comfy while simultaneously signaling to others that we've completely given up on ourselves. Would YOU wear a Snuggie Suit?? Just wondering . . .~

The Good Samaritian ~

So I gave a talk today in my new ward about The Parable of the Good Samaritan. I have always known about his parable, but was REALLY opened to deeper meaning recently...For those of you that have not heard the story, here is a summary... A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Levite walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.'

WHO DOES THIS??

It really made me think about WHAT would I have done!? If the same situation happened to me now, would I stop to help? Would I pull over my car with two kids to help a stranger that most likely hated Mormons, and take them to a hospital? THEN would I offer to pay for their medical bills, and return to the hospital to check on them later?

Just something to think about. We are all trying to be like Jesus... RIGHT? So what does Jesus say at the end of this Parable... "Go and do likewise."

In my talk I also covered things WE can do to help those in need today. And I shared a story that made me realize it is not only the BIG things we do that help us to be like Jesus... it is the SMALL things too... Read this Story, and GO AND DO LIKEWISE ~

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember that the shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but I used to listen with fascination when Mother would talk to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was ‘Information, Please,’ and there was nothing she did not know. ‘Information, Please’ could supply anybody’s number and the correct time.
“I learned that if I stood on a stool, I could reach the telephone. I called ‘Information, Please’ for all sorts of things. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my arithmetic, too.
“Then there was the time that Petey, our pet canary, died. I called ‘Information, Please’ and told her the sad story. She listened and then said the usual things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was unconsoled. ‘Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers, feet up, on the bottom of the cage?’ I asked.
“She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, ‘Paul, always remember that there are other worlds in which to sing.’ Somehow I felt better.
“All this took place in a small town near Seattle. Then we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. ‘Information, Please’ belonged to that old wooden box back home, and I somehow never thought of trying to call her. The memories of those childhood conversations never really left me; often in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
“Later, when I went west to college, my plane made a stop in Seattle,” Paul continued. “I called ‘Information, Please,’ and when, miraculously, I heard that familiar voice, I said to her, ‘I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?’
“ ‘I wonder,’ she said, ‘if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your calls.’ I told her how often I had thought of her over the years, and I asked if I could call her again when I came back west.
“ ‘Please do,’ she said. ‘Just ask for Sally.’
“Only three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, ‘Information,’ and I asked for Sally. ‘Are you a friend?’ the woman asked.
“ ‘Yes, a very old friend,’ I replied.
“ ‘Then I’m sorry to have to tell you. Sally has only been working part-time the last few years because she was ill. She died five weeks ago.’ But before I could hang up, she said, ‘Wait a minute. Did you say your name was Paul?’
“ ‘Yes,’ I responded.
“ ‘Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down. Here it is—I’ll read it. Tell him I still say there are other worlds in which to sing. He’ll know what I mean.’
“I thanked her and hung up,” said Paul. “I did know what Sally meant.”
Sally, the telephone operator, and Paul, the boy—the man—were in reality good Samaritans to each other.

Fresno Chaffee Zoo 2010 ~

We were invited last minute by some friends to go to the Zoo. We originally said we would pass because we had alot going on, but when I mentioned it to Matt, he thought we should go. Mainly because he has not been to the Zoo in the 6 years we have lived in Fresno, but also because we like to take the kids out of the house when we can! SO, we were excited about the invite; the only real worry I had was that we were speaking the next day in church at our new ward, and had not prepared our talks... after a little more justification on our part, we got the kids ready real quick and headed out the door! It is usually hard for me to do things like this on the fly, but I am learning to roll with life, it is more fun that way I have learned! Hailey really enjoyed going to the Zoo, she got to meet up with some friends, and have fun watching the animals!

These next few pictures CRACK me up because it is SO funny how our kids interact with each other. Here they are playing King of the Mountain I guess... Logan Harden the little boy in the brown is just minding his own business, but making sure he stays on the big rock, Kalos Cluff the little boy in the blue jacket just got up, and is getting ready to show his moves, my Hailey is LOVING being the center of attention, or at least she thinks she is, and ... Little Haley Harden is wishing she was up there... THEN

Kalos does this, which makes my Hailey give him the STANK eye, and Haley Harden have "all eye's on Kalos" while Logan still holds his ground on the rock...

And then the two 'Love Birds' look at us like "Did we do something to make you look?" The reason I say Love Birds, is because Hailey and Kalos love each other so much they hate each other. Remember when Hailey got kicked out of Nursery... it was because she threw a toy at Kalos! They are SOOOO getting married when they are older. Amber we should start planning the Wedding already!

This picture CRACKS me up too! The second Landon got out of the Stroller, he was GONE! It is like he is running and waving bye to us! LOL!

Matt took Hailey into the Petting Zoo. I made sure to steer clear of this place... it kinda grosses me out that people pet these dirty animals all day long... but I am trying to let my children live normal lives, so I let Matt take them into the poo infested dirt tank...

Hailey was our tour guide if you were wondering. She was ALL about reading this brochure about the zoo. She was like Dora the Explorer only it is a little white girl is a Zoo...

Good Navigation skills, she was testing to see what time of day it was by where the sun landed... lol haha!~

And this was the best family photo we got of the day! Matt and I are kinda smiling... Landon not so much, and Hailey is checking our the Flamingos behind us... Let me tell you WHY is looks like this... those birds STANK! I thought I might pass out! I was holding my breath the whole time we were by the flamingos... poor Landon does not know the hold your breath trick, and Hailey is wondering is it is the flamingos that stink or her... LOL!

Is it Ironic that these are my favorite animals?? They have been my whole life! I went to the Sacramento Zoo when I was a kid, and the first thing you saw when you walked in was the flamingos... I LOVED it! The Ironic part is that they are PINK my signature color, and they are birds... yet another sign I married the right guy! LOL!

We had a GREAT day, and we are glad we went to the zoo!! We will have to visit again with friends soon! ~