3 Kylie not quite crawling

Kylie's not doing much here, so if you're in a hurry don't take the time to wait for this to load. Mostly it is for the Grandmas.

I'll work on getting a clip of Allie for you, Maren/Kate!

4 Everyday Lift

Nate says that Kylie's transmission is broken - she only goes in reverse.

Here I am, at my normal station - making lunch

Allie loves her 'snap-dolls'. Lyn is her favorite at the moment.

7 Hobby Time

Now that I have a space to leave out y scrapbooking 'junk', I seem to be able to find little bits of time here & there to work on it. I'm loving it! Here's a taste of what I've done in the past week or so.

4 I need your input!

Yesterday was a sad day...my digital camera is dying. I L-O-V-E my camera! Nate got it for me for Christmas just over two years ago. It is a Panasonic, Lumix DMC-LZ2 and has been great!

Since Kylie is going to be crawling any moment & her first tooth is just cracking through I don't have a lot of time. I need your input! What model do you have? Tell me the pros & the cons.

UPDATE: my camera is working today, but each time I turn it on I hold my breath.
I'm still looking to buy a new one.

5 KYLIE's first PIGTAILS

** MILESTONE **
Who: Kylie Anne
What: first pigtails
Why: cause she's so darn cute
When: Sunday morning, Feb 17th 2008
Where: mom & dad's room
How: very carefully!

0 Would you like fries with that?

WHAT YOU SEE:
Kylie eating her FIRST FRENCH FRY (9 months old). It only took one lick & she was all over it. To be healthy, we also gave her a peel-free apple slice. Its hard to say which she liked better - she drooled excessively & munched on both. I think that the pressure must have felt good on her sore gums. I wish her teeth would come in soon, the poor girl has been in pain for a week.

WHAT YOU DON'T SEE:
Allie! She was all over the play equipment, running with the other children, too busy to stand still for a photo. It was fun to witness her social growth. It seems she is turning into quite a leader, even thought she was about the youngest kid there. We heard her saying, "hey, guys...come over here. Lets go to the top." She was also singing the Strawberry Shortcake songs the whole time, too. Her growth astounds me!

1 Sisters are too cute

I took this a week ago when we were cleaning out the girls' closet (please forgive the boxes in the background). I love watching my girls interact. Allie was doing all kinds of funny dances to make Kylie laugh. So cute!

1 Gainfully Employed

My hard working hubby has been ever industrious in "growing the empire". This week he traveled down south to purchase yet another trailer. Most weeks he comes home with a truck-bed trailer or two to use as steel bins at mechanic shops and the like, but this week he hit the jackpot with this 4 foot side, 16-foot long, double axle beauty he plans on placing at a warehouse for servicing their cardboard. Thank you www.KSL.com. The only problem; he wanted 6 foot sides. Thanks to some handy welding from the best neighbor next door & Nate's handy-man attitude: mission accomplished.



I really hope our wonderful neighbors aren't getting sick of all the "junk" that seems to visit us on the weekends. Look close and you can see THREE trailers out there today:
1)the car hauler with a junker to recycle Monday morning
2)the re-invented cardboard trailer ready for placement
3) the handy pumpkin trailer Nate shuttled building supplies in on.
If you are wondering just how many trailers we own?
Well, I don't really know.
I stopped counting after a dozen. LOL
I LOVE you NATE!

2 Basement SPACE in use

We've been in our home for almost SEVEN years, but are still working on our basement. WE are proud to only do what we have cash for...no debt! BUT as our family keeps growing we NEED the space. Before Allie was born we finished one bedroom downstairs, but nothing else is complete. A A second bedroom & the bathroom are now painted. The third bedroom & massive 'great' room are just primed.

This fact is NOT stopping us from using the space!!!
Today I rearranged the 'great' room into three distinct spaces:
PLAY, EXERCISE, & SCRAPBOOK

1 We love the SUN

It has been bright and beautiful here...in between storms. I've been bundling up the girls for an afternoon stroll in the cold. Allie zips up and down the sidewalks on her Christmas scooter. Kylie swings her legs & squeals with delight. It feels so good to be outside. I'm not complaining about this wonderful winter, but spring will be nice.

4 Confessions of an internet friend

I'm laughing at myself as I type this. I always made fun of people who meet people on the internet or worse date over the internet -Psycho!-, but (*blush*) I must come out of the closet...

Hello, my name is Sarah & I have an internet friend.
There, I feel much better.

Here's the details: almost a year ago I posted a project I made on the Cricut message board. I got lots of comments on my Animal Alphabet book (2407 hits as of today). One of the first was from a girl name Julie. She urged me to enter it in a contest I'd never heard of, so I email back to find out the details...yada-yada-yada...we started emailing at infrequent intervals. After a few months we were IM'ing a few times a week. Now it is more like everyday. We have so much in common! Kids, husbands, hobbies, family... It is a shame we don't live closer!!! In fact she did live closer, but moved to Lehi (2.5 hr drive) after we started to chat.

WELL...last week we FINALLY got together! I have to say it was a weird experience to have a 'first' meeting with someone you are close friends with. Nate was driving to Spanish Fork to pick up some MORE trailers for work, so the girls & I hitched a ride. He dropped us off at Julie's for a few hours while he tended to business. Poor Kylie threw-up massive amounts in her carseat about 10 min before we got there, so here's how our first meeting went: "Hi, Julie, good to meet you. By the way, can I use your washer, dryer, & bath tub for my sick kid?" LOL She was great! We cleaned up BabyBird who didn't seem to be sick, made Mac-n-Cheese with dinasour chicken nuggets, and talked scrapbooking on the floor. What a perfect afternoon. She even hooked me up with some markers that work in my cricut & a paper pack she found at Provo Craft's warehouse. Best of all, I can now stop saying, "my internet friend, Julie" and just say "my friend Julie".

(I got Julie into blogging - see her link)

5 Us old foggies

It seems like I'm always posting about the girls. They are cuter than us, but I thought it might be time to post a pic of the adults. Here we are watching the Super Bowl.

7 Fresh Air is Great

Last Saturday I was finally able to get up on the slopes. Once-upon-a-time I had a season pass & snowboarded nearly once a week. Last winter I didn't go at all since I was pregnant. This winter I've struggle to find time to get away. Mommyhood changes everything. My great friend/next door neighbor, Britney, & I had a great time. I have Brit to thank for getting me into this awesome hobby. She is a DANG good rider & teacher!

We were covered in layer of ice the first half of the day (wet snow + wind), a far cry from the blue sky that had been forecast. Oh, well...the worst day on the mountain would still be worth it. ESPECIALLY after cleaning up after 2 little girls with the stomach flu the previous week. Mommies need days off, too!



PS-Thanks Nate, for staying home with the girls!

5 Kylie is PRE-crawling

Kylie sure isn't in a big hurry to get moving. She has started to scoot around a bit on her tummy, but mostly is content to just sit & play with toys within reach.

4 Jammin'

Saying Allie is into Strawberry Shortcake is an understatement! She has dolls, a pillow case, coloring books, DVDs, and even a chopstick of her favorite gal. Today I got out the new 'Straw-Cake' CD..."Jammin". It was a hit!!! She already knew most of the songs from the movies. She's been singing along & dancing for 2 hours! Here is a bit of video I got of her dancing.


Note: sorry about the side-ways thing. I'll know better for next time.

6 I appolgize for the delays...they will be more frequent I fear

Yes, I know I have been aloof lately. Well, if I was treading water teaching the USU Stat 1040 Wednesday night class on top of 20 hours a week for the Center for Epidemiological Studies AND being a full-time-stay-at-home mommy to an teething infant & a potty-training pre-schooler, now I'm drowning with teaching ANOTHER USU class (stat 1040 broadcast/distance ed Tues & Thursday mornings) on top of all that. (To put it in perspective three class alone is considered full time, so I'm over full-time now.) I started writing a post about HOW I ended up in this situation, but it never got finished. Keeping that in mind, I haven't downloaded any pictures from my camera for a while. Although I don't have a lot of time, I did want to post a few updates.

1. Potty Training: 2 steps forward, 1 step back
After a week of no accidents, Allie figured out how to do #2 in the potty, but became inconsistent with #1. Now she is treating her sleeping panties (i.e. pull-ups) like a diaper - only going for fun. I'm battling the age old question of should I let her learn on her own (& clean up accidents)? I don't want to give her a complex about it, so I just took all the panties & pull-ups way. Back to diapers. We'll re-evaluate in a week.

2. My husband wins the award today!
I left bright and early this morning (leaving my family all in bed) to run a few errand in town, before running my campus errand, before teaching my class. I left Nate a list of 'chores' to do, but didn't expect much. WOW was I wrong. He did everything on my list by my return at noon! Swept AND MOPPED the kitchen, did dishes, moved/folded/put away 2 loads of laundry, took out all the garbages & made all the beds. This while tending to the girls (clothes, food, naps, ect). EVEN MORE he installed the new kitchen sink facet that I bought a year ago & didn't even mention. WOW oh WOW! Let me tell you, I was blown away!!!!!!

3. MORE praise for my husband!!!
Last night Nate painted our downstairs bathroom & another bedroom. Pictures to come...soon?

3 We are doing a happy dance

Yes!!! Allie wore panties ALL days long and stayed dry. She even used the potty at a friend's house & at a store (both firsts). She got to wear "sleeping panties" (pull-ups) during nap, but that's it. It will be interesting to see how tomorrow goes, especially with church. We are definitely on the right track!

3 Where's Rudolf?

Yesterday, Allie came to me with a jacket & sandals proclaiming she was off to play in the snow. What a silly! Her resolve wasn't damped when I insisted she wear all the snow gear: snow pants, coat, gloves, & boots. Once appropriately dressed she jump (literally) outside & into the snow banks. Kylie & I watched out the front window as Allie played in the snow. She even made a snow angle "ALL BY MYSELF" (the new catch phrase).

A little while later, as I was busying about the house, I heard tapping at the back door. There was Allie, minus the boots & gloves (discarded on the back steps). "MOMMY, I SAW TWO REINDEER!" Just as I was about to reminder that this wasn't the North Pole, I looked up to see two real deer jumping through the neighborhood backyards! She was right.

Update: Allie has been going pee-pee's in the potty (big & small) about three times a day for most of the week. I think she might be on to something! She's keeping her diapers dry for the most part, but had no desire to wear big-girl panties. Oh, well. I guess it will happen...eventually.

1 I'm back!

After a holiday break, I'm back to the world of posting. If you wondered where I've been, just scroll down. Since I had a break from both of my payroll jobs, I took the time to enjoy LOTS of time with my family...immediate & extended. I've noticed that some of you haven't been posting much lately either. OKAY, BREAK OVER ;) LOL I want to see your holiday pictures, so get them up there.

5 Resolutions 2008

I started my New Year's Resolutions a little early this year. I've got the standard eat better, work out more, get more sleep, ect. ideas but my main focus for the past few weeks has been the Fly lady way of life. If you don't know what I'm talking about, neither did I two weeks ago. Now I'm a Fly-baby with a shiny sink. After MANY friends had mentioned the www.flylady.com website I had to check it out...and you should, too. BUT not until you have a bit of time to check it out. It is like information overload. I would be overwhelmed, but they stress BABYSTEPS to gain control of your home. I'm really excited about this, so look for more post about my adventures in FLYing lessons.

One of my first lessons was creating a bedtime routine for Allie. This was easy, as we pretty much have one down. Last night I drew the sign & this morning she colored it. Allie LOVED the colored pencils!

I bet you are curious, so let me know what you think when you check out the site.