San Diego Trip

Samuel and I got to have another little getaway last weekend. He had a Lifevantage business conference in San Diego. (Technically it was the Ribbon Cutting for the launch of the business.) It was so incredible. I was so glad I went. The weather was INSANELY gorgeous and such a nice break from the Vegas heat.
The first day we went over this awesome bridge to Coronado Island. This hotel is the Hotel del Coronado. I remembered it being in a scary/ghost-story episode of Baywatch years and years ago, so it was fun to see it in real life. We ate lunch there and Samuel tried to get his phone out of the picture so we could pretend he wasn't on a call for half of lunch. (It was one of his bosses so it was necessary.)The water was ICE cold, there's no way I would have gotten in. The sand was loaded with Pyrite (Fools Gold) which was so pretty sparkling in the sunlight. I wish it showed up better in this picture.


We had fun staying at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego. (Priceline name-your-own price is the only way to go! It's a $180 room that we got for $72/night.) It was all old/classic/elegant. When we walked in the lobby (below) there were a few tables set up for afternoon tea, and a beautiful lady was playing the harp. I loved it.Here are a few other things I loved:

The hotel decor:

The nightly turn down service and the bathrobes. ( I LOVE wearing bathrobes in hotels!)
The carvings on the headboard-The square tub/shower- never seen one of those before. So I took bubble baths both nights.
The view from the balcony:
The conference was held at the brand new Hilton Bayfront. It smelled literally, brand new. It was decorated so cool, very modern. Here were my favorites from the Hilton:

I love this sliced-up picture thing + lamp. I want that in my house someday.

And for my mission companions that read this, on Sunday we were able to have breakfast and go to church with my mission president and his wife. They invited over the Senior couple that I served with (very closely, for 9 of the 18 months of my mission) and it was just wonderful to see them again. (Elder Kerby is not in this picture, as he was the photographer.)
On the drive home, Samuel's sister called to tell us that she was going to get sealed to her husband and kids....NEXT weekend. IN SAN DIEGO. So we're heading back tomorrow. And then two weeks after that, my family is going to San Diego AGAIN to visit my brother's mission, and meet all the people he taught. So that's me going to San Diego, 3 out of 4 weekends. Crazy huh! Luckily it's only a 5 hour drive. Too bad I can't just spend a month there.

Happy Fathers Day!!

When I was still single, I knew that I wanted to marry somebody like my Dad. I wanted that someone to be supportive of me. I wanted him to be willing to help me out (my dad always did the dishes in our house.) I hoped he'd be athletic and supportive of our kids getting into sports. And I hoped he could sing a little too. I also hoped he'd love kids. My dad loves to jest and tease kids (not in a mean way of course) and whirl and twirl and toss them around. And he comes up with the funniest nicknames for them too. I also hoped that my husband would be a great spiritual strength in the home, and lead and bless our family by honoring his Priesthood.

I try not to brag about Samuel too often on my blog. He gets so embarrassed when I put anything on the blog about him. And I mean anything. But he'll just have to grin and bear it this time while I wish him a Happy Father's Day in front of anyone who reads this.

After 3 years of marriage, 2 kids, and lots of drama brought on by me, I can only say I am one lucky girl to have him as a husband. He loves us so much, and he is so good at showing it. Before we had Kalia, he had very little experience with kids. I had no idea what kind of father he would be (I just hoped for the best!) I remember when we were going to the birth classes before she was born, and the teacher taught us to swaddle a little doll. His swaddle ROCKED. Mine was terrible. It was my first clue that he was going to be an amazing dad.

Then we had Kalia. She ended up being a c-section after a long and rough labor. (They mercifully knocked me out right after they showed me Kalia. I barely remember seeing her). Since she had some respiratory complications, they took her to the NICU, and he was the one who held her first and watched over her while I was completely out of it. He told me that his "Papa Bear" instinct immediately kicked in during those hours, and all he wanted to do was protect that baby girl. Then, when we left the hospital, we had no family with us-- it was just the three of us for those first few days at home. And since I was recovering from the labor and c-section, I couldn't do much. But he was amazing! Every time Kalia woke up to eat, he would get up and bring her to me. Then he would change her diaper so that I didn't have to get out of bed. He kept that up for weeks. And that was the beginning of fatherhood for him. This is one of my favorite pictures of his first day as a father:Mmmmm...that make me want to have another baby.

Anyway, fast forward to Annaliese, when we spent those months trying to help her stop crying. We'd rock and jiggle and bounce until we couldn't take it anymore, and we'd hand her off to the other. There is NO way I could have gotten through that without him. He had a special way of holding her on his arm that often did the trick, and even though I tried, I couldn't duplicate the results:Then, when I was sad about giving up breastfeeding so that we could give her hypoallergenic formula, he convinced me to do it, and he did that by telling me that he would get up and make the bottles at night and feed her. He still does that today, getting up every morning in the wee hours to get her the bottle.

He is a wonderful priesthood leader, and has given me and the girls so many blessings, and some have been very sweet and special experiences. He does his home teaching (he's so much better than I am at VT-ing) and he makes sure we have a family night every week.

For those of you who have heard him sing, he's AMAZING! And he is very athletic (see video below) and very adventurous. (He passed that on to daughter #1). And as the final icing on the cake...he is willing to share my workload. After working so many long and hard hours to provide for us, he still comes home and will change any diaper at any time. He will feed and bathe both girls and get them to bed while I slip out for some alone time at Target. The two times that Kalia was up every hour throwing up, guess who slept in her room on the floor? He did. And of course, the big whammy...he does the dishes Every. Single. Night. I don't know why I get to be married to such a wonderful man, but I hope he knows how much I love and appreciate him and all he does for our family. I also hope he knows how much his daughters love him. I am truly so grateful for our forever family.

I also want to thank my dad for setting the example of what a father (and husband) could be. He has blessed my life in a million ways, and I would not be who I am today without him.

Finally, since this post IS all about Samuel, I have to show off his wakeboarding skills. And when I say skills, I mean he pulls a back flip at the very end...and lands it. Sorry the quality is terrible. I had to send back my brand new camera because the video quality completely fuzzed out. I love you Samuel!! Happy Fathers Day. Thanks for being so dang wonderful!

Tonight It's About Me

Thanks Suzanne, I borrowed this from your blog. By the way, Jeanette Fry Garrett is the pregnant one, she's having twins in two weeks! Doesn't she look amazing? She had the coolest belly that stuck straight out.

I went to my 10-year high school reunion last weekend. It was really fun to see everyone, and not nearly as awkward as I imagined it. I was surprised by how much everyone looked PRETTY MUCH THE SAME! Except for a lot of the guys who had filled out, and I mean in the belly and in the faces, but just a tad of course. I put up a bunch of pictures on facebook, but here's one of me and my closest friends--my teammates from high school in Volleyball and Basketball. Maybe it's just sports, I don't know, but these girls became the best friends I've ever had, and when we get together, it's like we've never been apart. Katie, Suzanne, Genis and I (and the husbands) squeezed in an afternoon on the lake, and it was SO much fun. I know we were all sore from wakeboarding-- and Katie and Suzanne both got up for the first time- very impressive! (Samuel did the best trick that I got on video, but this post isn't about him, so I'll save that for later.)
:)

In other news, I keep losing things. I lost my wedding ring (2nd time it's happened) and it took about 3 weeks, but I finally found it in the bottom of the washing machine (WHEW!). And it was very sparkly. I was just so grateful for that prayer being answered.

I also lost my contact again (100th time it's happened.) I wear gas permeable contacts, (They are hard, not soft, and I only replace them once every few years.) Last time, Samuel took apart the drain to get it back. This time I dropped it on the ground and could just never find it. Samuel is so tired of all the contact issues, so he INSISTED it was time for me to get Lasik. YAY! I didn't think he was serious, but he is. So I went and got the exam and quote, and the only problem is that since I've worn hard contacts for 14 years, my corneas have changed shape, and so I have to wait at LEAST 6 weeks to get Lasik, and I have to wear my GLASSES for all that time. Very annoying, and they aren't cute either. They are just back-up glasses, they aren't stylish/trendy or anything. The Lasik place/people were so nice though, when I told them about my HS reunion, they ordered me a special pair of soft contacts to wear so that I could go to my reunion without feeling too ugly. They must really want my business. And they're going to get it.

Has anyone had Lasik? I'd like to hear about your experience. I am afraid I might only end up with 20/40 vision. I've had 20/15 with these contacts, and it sure is nice. The statistics online said that 67% of people have 20/20 vision or better...but I will be bummed if I'm not one of those 67 percent.

Finally, the one thing I'm NOT losing is WEIGHT. I was within 1 lb. of my pre-pregnancy weight, but somehow since Hawaii I gained 6 lbs back. Now I'm discouraged, and instead of working harder, I'm eating MORE ice cream and sitting on the couch more...GREAT! I have no desire to work out at all. I really need some motivation. Any ideas? Magazine pictures of rock hard abs on my fridge?

Annaliese at 7 months

Lately everyone is saying, "She's gotten so big!" And it's weird, because it's like all of a sudden she went from being a little baby to a ....big baby. Or something like that. She is 18.6 lbs and 26 inches (90th percentile). It's going to be weird when my girls are taller than me someday.

Last week I was realizing that her footie pajamas were all a little too small, and I better go dig out the bigger size. That's when it DAWNED on me that Annaliese is 7 months old, and still wearing 3-6 month pajamas. I have to blame this on Kalia. (Hear me out on this one). Kalia started crawling at 4 months, before she could even sit up on her own. And she started taking steps at the age that Annaliese is now (remember the video I posted of her last year, at 7 1/2 months? That movie blows my mind now that I see what a normal 7 month old baby is doing.) Anyway, since I don't know any better, my unconscious mind still thinks that Annaliese is 4 months old.

That was fun for a first-time Mom, but from here on out I know better and I want her to stay SITTING and not CRAWLING or WALKING for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE!! Especially because of her food allergies, I am going to have to keep my floor spotless which is a daunting job as you all know.

About those food allergies-- She is still very allergic to cows milk (thanks to Kalia, who dripped milk all over A's face, we know that she hasn't outgrown that one) and she still has her corn allergy. When ever I see her start spitting up a ton, (or sometimes it's a rash on the back of her neck) I know that I wasn't careful enough. She's on solids now, but several jars of fruit baby food have citric acid added to them. Citric acid is sometimes made from corn starch. And I forgot about that until the spit up started up again. So I have to stay on my toes with her. At least the vegetables don't have anything added but water. She really loves carrots and sweet potatoes. I am very cautious with any baby cereal, but so far rice cereal has been fine.

Here's a few other little things about Annaliese at this age:
1. I cut the mullet!
2. Her eyes are taking their sweet time on changing colors. They are still grey/blue with some brown streaks in them.
3. She has survived some pretty hard falls, one of which she landed face down on the ceramic tile and got a bloody nose (DANG THE BUMBO!)
4. She just started reaching out for people when she wants to go to them.
5. She's drooling again like crazy. And she started waking up at nights. Those bottom teeth better get in soon, PLEASE PLEASE!
6. She found out that standing is pretty cool, and when I go to put her on the floor in a sitting position, she locks her knees and tries to stand. Finally I just put her on her stomach which she HATES, and rolls over to her back and is just stuck there.
7. She's increasingly tolerant of Kalia who likes to hold her, squish her, roll her around, and drag her by the feet. But she does NOT like sharing the Exersaucer. (Sidenote: My mom has a picture of my older sister trying to get in a baby Walker with me, and I'm screaming my head off. I tried to find it at home but I couldn't. It's just funny to see K & A reinacting my old baby pictures.)
8. She gets REALLY UPSET when she doesn't get what she wants. She could be a real challenge when she's older. I usually see it when she's really hungry, and I'm trying to get her bottle ready, and she's reaching for it. and when I won't give it to her, she starts crying so hard it sounds like she's laughing.

9. She has a cute little voice and loves to say ba ba ba and da da da.



10. And for those of you who are wondering, she is still sleeping in a pack and play in our walk-in closet. I can't bring myself to move her in with Kalia yet. Annaliese wakes up at 5:30 for a bottle and then goes back to sleep. I can't bear the thought of Kalia waking up and STAYING awake at that hour.

11. Last but not least, she has a sort-of foot fetish going on. She will rub and scratch her feet on everything. She loves having them massaged. And sometimes when I give her a bottle, she holds onto it with her hands AND Her feet....kind of like a little monkey. I really need to get a picture of it.

"Rest time"

I think it is safe to say that rest time is "working"...and she does in fact, still need to nap. I'm not sure why she likes to take her clothes off, or tip over her playhouse every day, but I'm really not complaining. I couldn't get a good angle on this shot, so don't get dizzy trying to look at it.


When it got awful quiet during Rest Time yesterday, I peeked in and was surprised....because I couldn't find her! She wasn't in the crib, or even in the room for that matter. Oh wait, there she is. Sound asleep. I love her.

Ticket...dismissed

Well, for the most part. It really felt like a blessing, but just as I was leaving I found out about a judge who handles "friends and family" tickets (friends and family of cops...and anyone else who knows about it. It was in the newspaper a year ago.) This judge does it once a week for an hour, and you skip all other protocol, go straight to him, and just...try to work it out. It just so happens that the day and time that I showed up was the time he was there, so I tried to calm my beating heart (I've never been in a courtroom, much less in front of a judge, trying to get out of $1620.00) so I was NERVOUS! Then we had to "all rise" for the judge and he walked in, pretty cute and young actually, and smiley and friendly as you can imagine. He was joking with everybody and being all happy. I started to calm. He would call people up one by one and ask about their tickets. I heard him reducing the tickets down to $190 or $140, some got traffic school too. I was a little disappointed, I knew that if I took the time and effort to go all the way to trial I could probably get the whole thing thrown out entirely. But I decided to just see what happened. Right before I went up to talk to him, I looked down to check out the insurance card that I'd brought showing current insurance. My heart sunk to my toes when I saw that it was for Samuel's old Ford truck, and not the Pilot that I'd been pulled over in. I didn't know what to do. Beg for 10 minutes so I could run out and HOPE the right one was in the vehicle? So my heart started pounding again. So he calls me up, he smiles, asks about my ticket, I first hand him the insurance card, and he only looked at the dates on it, (which are the same dates as the Honda insurance) and that was it! He immediately dismissed that one. (HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF!) Then he asked for my drivers license. I gave it to him, and I'm still blond in it. Plus, I have to wear my glasses for a month (more on that later) and so he was kind of giving me a hard time telling me that the picture didn't look a thing like me (and it doesn't). (Heart pounding again.) But then he just smiled and dismissed that charge, and then he asked about the speeding. I told him it was my first speeding ticket ever. (I'm pretty sure that's true...I've had 3 accidents but no speeding tickets...weird, huh) and so he joked again, saying he'd just give me a $500 fine (the others in the courtroom are all laughing at his jokes; I was laughing too, probably too loudly because I was nervous). Then he wrote $140...and then he crossed it out and said, "I'll just make it a parking ticket, no traffic school, no points, just the $90 fee." And, I was done. I'd expected to spend half a day in the customer service line, and the whole thing was done in 55 MINUTES! I wanted to skip and cartwheel out of there. That was the nicest coolest (ahem...hottest) judge I've ever seen. I hope everyone in Las Vegas knows about this little Friends and Family deal. That being said, I still have the downloaded book on how to take your ticket to court and KICK BUTT (even if you're guilty) so I'm urging you guys not to just pay a speeding ticket. Everything I've read said that you are almost guaranteed some sort of reduction in points on your record, in fees, or whatever else, if you just show up to try to contest it.

It's over

Well, it's over. She's done with naps. I have to accept it. How sad. Thank you to the other moms who told me that their kid(s) gave up naps around two years old, somehow that makes me feel better. All Kalia's cousins (Maddux, Malakai, and Kyla) are older and still napping and I'll admit I'm a little jealous. Oh well. I don't know any child that has as much energy and excitement about life as Kalia. (Last Sunday a girl in our ward said to me, "Kalia makes Noah look calm (they are the same age)...and that's hard to do." I just smiled. I know. At least she's not like, ADHD hyper, just pleasantly joyful. It bursts out of her.

Anyway, after three days of easy, successful naps, today was a mess. She climbed out of her crib at least 15 times and just played in her room. One time she knocked, so I went to the door and she told me she was poopy. (That was one of the 3 times she had a messy diaper. I swear she holds it in until nap time.) Another time I heard a big crash, and she was crying. Another time I just walked in and she was up on the changing table getting into the hand sanitizer. (I didn't even know she could climb up there.) I will definitely still enforce some sort of quiet time, for my own sanity. And on the bright side, since she only gets binkies while in bed, she's slowly weaning herself off them. Today as I got her up to feed her lunch, I asked her if she wanted some pizza and her eyes lit up, and she said, "Yes!" and then I said very seriously and solemnly, "but after lunch you have to take a NAP!" and she starts nodding with a real serious face and said, "Nap." I think she just told me her first lie. And she was really good at it. But it did crack me up. So...as for bedtime, she used to go to bed at 6:30 or 7. Does this mean I put her to bed at 5:30 or 6? That seems soooo early, and it's still light outside. But she's pretty tired by then....so what else do I do? Anyway, that's where we're at with that.

Fight!

I am on my way out the door to fight a speeding ticket. I was cited for going 40 in a 25. I also got cited for not having a Nevada drivers license (supposed to get one 30 days after moving here) and also for having an expired insurance card in the vehicle. Grand total? $1620.00 (Yes you read that right.) They are desperate for money here or something, tripling fines and stuff!! I get the insurance fee thrown out as soon as I show them proof of current insurance, but it's a $300 fee just for going 15 over (and the place he claimed he clocked me was after coming out of a stop sign...I would have had to floor it!) I'm not the type to just roll over and take it, not to mention I haven't had a speeding ticket in years, SOOOOOO... I found an amazing book online about fighting tickets. It must have been written by a lawyer, it has all the tricks in it!! But you have to get to an actual trial. Most courts try to settle (give you a deal) before a trial to get you to go away. I kind of want to go to trial, cause I have info that would almost guarantee that the ticket would be thrown out entirely. Anyway, I'm probably just going to get a date for trial today, but we'll see what happens. Wish me luck. If anybody needs to fight a ticket, let me know, I'll send you some good info.

And This is Why

Life is so sweet. Having 2 kids 14 months apart...well, yes, we buy a lot of diapers, and it has it's hard moments for sure. The first three months were especially hard. But my mom who has experienced it firsthand (me and my older sis) PROMISED me that it would be WORTH IT! I didn't expect it to be paying off quite so soon, but of course I am not complaining. Annaliese has always been a bit more on the serious side and doesn't laugh easily. Enter Kalia. She gets Annaliese laughing without hardly trying. (There is a little bullying starting to happen though, and you can see it all here: (pardon the tub nudity. That's why the blog's private.)

My life just got a whole lot easier. Kalia isn't as needy anymore because she's busy entertaining Annaliese!! YESSSSS!!! And Annaliese adores Kalia. It is so neat to see the sibling relationship developing. I didn't realize how strong that bond could be. It's beautiful.

On another note, Kalia has these random days where she refuses to nap. She's not even two til August. Isn't she too young for this? Somedays she'll fall right asleep (usually if I put her down by 11 a.m.) but other days she will seriously stay awake playing in her crib for HOURS. (One day it was FIVE HOURS and she never fell asleep. I had to change her diaper twice and take her in food and water because I was worried about leaving her there that long). Samuel told me to just appreciate my free time. But really, we're all happier if she's had a nap. When did your kids give up naps, and is there anything I can do (aside from putting her back on the bottle!) to keep her napping a little longer?

FOR SALE

If anyone is interested, I bought a huge lot of the following and have extra to sell:

1. Tickets to WICKED in Tempe, Arizona on July 11th at 7:30 p.m. I have 8 close seats ($90) and 6 far seats ($40) and will sell to friends before distant relatives. :) I realize that there are only a handful of you in Arizona anyway.

2. Foam Soap Dispensers: I have about 14 of these, they make your soap/shampoo/dishsoap/babywash last FOREVER. You add a couple of tablespoons of soap, then fill the rest up with water and you get a great foam. I just started using mine and I love them! These are $1.00 each, plus shipping if you need it shipped (shouldn't be much, they are plastic and not too heavy.)

Leave a comment or email me if you'd like any of these.

Hawaii

Samuel catches a wave at Sandy Beach

We had such a great time. The weather was beautiful! Samuel and his buddy did a ton of business meetings and they were successful, so there will probably be a lot more trips out there. Yay! By the way, I got my first spray tan (liked it) and bikini wax (didn't hurt as bad as I thought) before I left. That was an adventure. Just a note for the future- Don't do them both in the same day.

A Waikiki Sunset

Makapuu

It was so nice to have time for just US!! It felt like we were just married. And I mean it literally...It was the weirdest twilight zone/Deja Vou thing that I've ever experienced. We went to all our favorite beaches, restaurants, stores, and our old ward. It was like we'd never left (and never had kids) and it was trippin me out.

Just more pictures of us doing the same old thing...standing there smiling...

We were so happy to meet all our friends for dinner. They just made us want to move back. This was our favorite Thai restaurant of all time, just one of those tiny little hidden gems on a side street.

At one random moment we were at the Makapuu lookout and some local guy just pulls out his parachute, catches a breeze, and jumps off the cliff! It was so cool to see. I thought he was going to land in the water (and drown with those heavy clothes and parachute) but he skillfully manuvered to a rock. It looked so fun...I'd love to try it.

Anyway, I don't know what was the best part: Not having to be a mom for 5 days, sleeping 10 hours at night, or soaking up the sun and swimming in that perfect water. It was as wonderful as it sounds and now I have feel like my energy and my patience has been renewed.

I was wondering what kind of reaction the girls would have when we picked them up in St. George. Annaliese (who looked a whole month older somehow) gave us a huge smile and lots of kicking action (whew! She didn't forget us!) and Kalia just froze for a minute before she ran over to us and jumped on us. Then all that night she kept running up to me saying, "I miss you!" and then she'd give me a hug and run off- I think she did it about 6 times. Maybe she really knows what that means...I don't know. It sure made me feel good though. Kalia learned how to roll her tongue, (well, more like vibrate her tongue, you know, like you roll the RR in Spanish) and has been making me laugh all day with her new skill. She also has a way better tan than I do. No fair.
:)

My camera completely quit working on the second to last day. I just ordered 3 different ones to try out. You'll have to help me choose which one takes the best pictures and video.

Finally, a Vacation

Tonight Samuel and I will catch the red-eye flight....it's our first CHILDLESS VACATION since we've been married. And yes, we are excited! It's part-business, which is actually a blessing because we don't have to pay for a hotel or Samuel's flight...just my flight. And we're headed back to our "home away from home"--OAHU!

My mom (and family) is watching the kids in St. George. I already miss them! I hope they are good, healthy, sleep through the night, etc. etc. etc. They'll never know we're gone, right? (!!)

Most of you know, but for those who don't, Samuel and I met in Honolulu (and our first date was on Memorial day, so it's fitting that we'll be there that weekend). He was working in Honolulu and I went there to do a 3-month internship at the Shriners Hospital for Children. By the end of the 3 months we were engaged, 5 months later married, and then we ended up living there for 3 years (and Kalia was born there, which is why she has a Hawaiian name). We have been missing it so much, and all our friends there, and we can't WAIT to see them all again!

Above picture was taken on a Black Sand beach on Maui, off the Road to Hana

Change (in this case) is definitely good.

I love books. I always tell Samuel that if he wants me to change something, that he shouldn't try to talk to me about it himself. I learn and apply things a million times better if I read it in a book (preferably a book with good reviews on amazon.com.) ;)

I've also always admired my friends who are health conscious. I love that Crystal makes her own cream of chicken soup, and Emma buys meat without any hormones, and Kat avoids hydrogenated oils and bleached flour. But I have always been too lazy to do the same.

I SERIOUSLY don't know what's come over me, but something major has changed inside me. I feel like a different person (and Samuel says sometimes he doesn't even know who this person is that he's married to...regarding my new attitude towards health and wellness.)

Maybe it's because of the great library system out here in Vegas, (you just request a book online and they ship it on over to your closest library, and then they e-mail you to tell you to come and pick it up.) But thanks to this system, I've been able to get my hands on lots of great books, and my let's just say I'VE SEEN THE LIGHT! The first set of books that really got me to change, were the books by David inczenko....called Eat This, Not That. Maybe it's the pictures, or all the little details about the foods that are in them, but that info just sunk in. Then I read parts of Suzanne Somers book, Breakthrough
She had interviews from lots of doctors, and I was surprised at how much I learned, especially about MSG (monosodium glutamate), as well as the water quality of my tap water and showers.

Anyway, after reading a few of these good books, it's like someone hit me over the head with a brick. All of a sudden I am dead-set on changing my ways. I am tired of being lazy and I don't want my health, or my family's health, to suffer because of it. I'm not going to go on and on about this, but I want you all to know that these are my new health and wellness commitments:

1. No Aspertame (Samuel has been drilling this into me for years, but now I'm with him.)
2. No MSG (this one was a tricky bugger, because I learned that even things that claim to have "NO MSG" actually have other (worse) forms of it, example: Autolyzed Yeast Extract.) I guess I am going to have to use more whole, natural foods and cook from scratch, because MSG in all its forms is in almost everything that is processed. And it goes beyond causing obesity, it is actually toxic for our brains. Yech.
3. Filtered Water in showers and drinking water (Did you know that the cholorine in tap water can increase cancer risk? I didn't know that til today.) Found a pretty good deal here.
4. No trans fats. They're just not necessary and they are so bad for you.
5. Lower sugar diet This one happened because we found that Samuel had EXTREMELY high triglycerides (3 different tests confirmed it.) They are linked to heart disease. So, with a little bit of proper eating (and I've had to be careful about what I buy at the store for him to eat) his triglycerides came back to normal. Still though...it was a wake up call. We thought we were too young to have to worry about that kind of stuff, but we were wrong.
6. Lower carb diet (mainly the unhealthy carbs, like from white flour.)
7. Hormone-free meat As much as possible. This one is going to be difficult because it's more expensive.
8. No more skipping breakfast, and include protein in your breakfast as much as possible, that actually boosts your metabolism for the rest of the day.

Now, we're not going to do all this overnight, I think it will be a gradual process. I know it's going to be hard, as major changes always are, so that's part of the reason I'm putting this out there. Accountability to people always helps. So these our my new goals and I'll let you know how we're feeling with this new...uh...lifestyle. And check out those books if you get a chance. Especially the Eat This Not That Books. I learned so many helpful little things from that book that I'd never even heard of before (ex: Cherries, Grapes, and Bananas all help you sleep better and are a good snack before bed.)

Who knows. Maybe I'll be able to give up cows milk and start recycling too. We'll see.

Why?

Today I am just wondering WHY men like to sit on the toilet for so long. I am not pointing fingers at anyone in particular, since I know quite a few men/boys of all ages who do this. I just can't believe how many men I know that will go to the bathroom, sit there, and read or play games on their phone for like, 45 minutes.

WHY DO THEY DO THIS?

If you HAVE 45 minutes to read or play games on a phone, why not go sit on a comfortable couch or better yet, sprawl out on your soft memory-foam bed? That hard plastic seat cannot be comfortable. I know from experience...IT'S NOT!

HOW LONG IS IT TAKING THEM TO ACTUALLY GO? And how much time is just spent...sitting there...killing time?

And they give us such a hard time for going to the bathroom in groups...or spending a whole 20 minutes in the bathroom to get ready. (Okay. Up to an hour sometimes when possible.)

But we're actually doing something productive.

I don't think there's a real answer to this particular "WHY" question that I have. Maybe I don't really want to know. I just think that it's so BAFFLING that males do this.

6 Months...Half a year...

I told you she had a nice mullet going on! It might be time for a little snippity snip.

Happy Half-birthday to my little Anna-leecee. Latest developments:

This month she started holding her own bottle and sitting up. She's started giggling a lot too. And she no longer needs to be swaddled when sleeping. Still as cuddly as ever, and her Daddy calls her Teddy Bear. It's the most fitting nickname...of all time. 'She still seems so YOUNG to me, and I love it. Because, as we mothers love to say, "Where did the time go?"

Weight: 17 lbs (75th percentile) and my arms are starting to get a little muscle back, packing her around all the time, just like this:

Look at the baby. I'm too tired to crop out the parts I'd rather you didn't stare at.

My girls have been sick today. Kalia has been sick all week. I took her to the doctor to give myself peace of mind that it's not swine flu. Long story shortened: It's not. Just the stomach flu. It breaks my heart when she asks so sweetly for food, and I have to tell her no- and she doesn't understand why. I tried to give her rice and applesauce, but they came back up every time. yech. Today Annaliese started. I washed sheets and babies (not together) so many times today, I lost count. Both girls drank Gatorade (G2) all day and loved it. I can't believe I fed my baby Gatorade all day. Oh well. She kept it down. That's all for now folks. I must go sleep.

He's Home!

Elder Eric Esplin returns after an honorable two-year mission to San Diego, California, Spanish-speaking. I tried to write him every week that he was gone, and so we are closer than ever. I have spent the last 5 days with him here in St. George.

My mom's reaction is pretty priceless. Kinda makes me cry. She went through a lot while my brother was gone...namely breast cancer, chemo, radiation, and surgery for a torn rotator cuff. But now she's good as new. And very happy to see her firstborn son.

Funny story- the day before he was coming home, my mom was near the park (it's basically our whole backyard) and a neighbor asked when Eric was coming home. My mom said something about her "firstborn son" coming home the next day. Then a little girl on the swings piped up and said, "I want to see the firstborn son!" Cute.

Life is good. :)

Energy Clarity

First of all, before I get into this, can I just say that my little brother is coming home from his mission TOMORROW and I am SOOOO EXCITED!! I feel like a little kid at Christmastime, (and I miss that feeling)...counting down the days!!

Second, my wonderful friend Emily does something really incredible, and I have to share it. It has already really blessed my life. I won a session with her in a giveaway, and little did I know how much it would benefit me and my whole family. I wrote up a review for her to use, but I thought I'd post it here. Her website is HERE.

I was very fortunate to do a session of Energy Clarity with Emily about ten days ago. I know very little about it, but it didn't matter, it was still an awesome experience, and not only did I learn a lot, but I have felt so much better and a lot of really amazing things have happened since our session.

First off, the session was an hour long. It's done over the phone, which I kind of like, because I was able to be at home, in my pajamas and relaxing in bed. Emily can explain more of the details, but in a nutshell, she had me repeat certain statements, and then she was able to detect where my energy was not flowing properly. It was pretty fascinating to do this with her, because I would try my hardest to say things exactly the same, with the same amount of enthusiasm and voice inflection, and yet she was still able to determine where my energy wasn't flowing properly. Then she helps clear out those "blocks".

The skeptic might not think she is really able to do this, but I know for a fact she can. It happened over and over, but here's just one example: As she took me through the statements about "relationships" she told me she could tell there was some sort of energy block in that category. So she had me say the names of everyone in my family. Then she told me where the kink was (or with whom, I should say.) She was right. (And she didn't ask any questions or need to know any details.) I have been through a lot with this person in the last few years, and though we have made up and are close again, I know there are still feelings that are healing right now, on a very deep level. Emily had no prior knowledge about any of these things...and I (jokingly) told her that I felt like I was talking to a psychic. But it was pretty powerful. In addition, she helped me with specific things that I wanted to work on (like not being so negative and having more willpower; also, I had a food/weight issues that I needed help with.)

After an Energy Clarity session your life just.....gets better. I don't know how else to say it. I can't even explain how this all works, but please talk to Emily about it. Let me just share some of the good things that happened since our session.

1. I have lost 3 lbs. I am 6 months postpartum and still trying to lose the last of the baby weight. I had been stuck at a certain weight for over a month, but that's already started changing.

2. My husband is a Property Manager. I have been very negative about renters right now, because I thought the owners were not being very smart (keeping rent too high.) Previously, the last few months, he has only been able to rent out about ONE unit PER MONTH. In the last two weeks, he has RENTED OUT 5 (FIVE!!) UNITS. It's incredible to think about how my negativity was affecting our whole family and this whole property. He now gets an extra week of vacation, and we are probably going to be able to go to Hawaii next month. AND it looks like he will get to go free, and we just have to pay for me. (It's a long story...but still, just another good thing that popped into our life.)

3. I am getting on a better sleeping schedule, and I have FINALLY broken the habit of needing a nap every morning. I have more energy and feel happier. In fact, the morning after our session, I woke up with the strangest urge to clean my room. I don't like cleaning very much, and it's rare for me to WANT to do it. But I just felt so good, I wanted to get things DONE! And the day went on...cleaning, organizing, laundry...I got a lot done that day.

Now, I want to end by saying that this is not a "magic fix" for all your problems. HOWEVER...sine my session I have definitely had more ideas about how to solve problems, and WAY more discipline and willpower to do it. And if that wasn't enough, all kinds of random blessings keep pouring down on us.

I've also been thinking a lot about how this fits in with our Heavenly Father and the Gospel. I don't want to thank "The Universe" for sending me blessings, I know they came from Heavenly Father. I was wondering why these blessings didn't happen until now. I've been praying for them for awhile. I came to the conclusion that I was praying for these things, but without much faith. I was stuck in a negative cycle of thinking, and I was not able to receive these blessings with that mindset. I don't believe in coincidences, but even if you do, it's hard to discount how many good things have happened to us in the last 11 days.

I want to refer my friends and family to do this. It's not something you have to do regularly. Sometimes once is enough! Emily made me feel very comfortable, very at ease, she wasn't nosy or asking any questions about my business...but she was still able to make a very powerful impact on my life.
THANK YOU EMILY, AND I HOPE OTHERS WILL SHARE IN THIS INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!!

You can read more and even schedule an appointment on her blog, again that's
Http://www.energyclarity.blogspot.com

Happy Happy Birthday Tara Dear!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SIS TARA! If you know Tara, then you know that she rocks! She is probably the most natural, gifted mother that I know. She has 2-year-old twin boys and the cutest little 9-month-old girl ever, and I can't believe how easy she makes it look to be a mom. I love that I get to see Tara so often (90 minutes away isn't too bad) and I love that Kalia has those twin boys to play with. They are her favorite friends.

Back when Annaliese was having a hard time, I spent a lot of time in St. George,. Tara was especially helpful to me. Even with 3 little kids of her own, she would take Annaliese from me to give me a break. Hop on over to her blog and tell her that she's awesome. Love you sis!

More Q & A

1. What is the quickest meal that you whip up when short on time?



2. What little food substitutions do you make in an attempt to be more healthy?



3. Do you take any vitamins/supplements, and if you do, what are they, do they help, and do you take them all at once or throughout the day?

KIDS SHOE SALE- SAT ONLY

AMAZON.COM IS HAVING AN INCREDIBLE SHOE SALE TODAY ONLY ON KIDS SHOES!!
I just bought Kalia enough shoes to last for the next two years...I HOPE! I got 7 pairs for $56.43 (free shipping too.)
**THE KEY IS TO LOOK FOR THE SHOES THAT QUALIFY FOR A PROMO OF $10.00 OFF A $60.00 ORDER.
HURRY, CHECK IT OUT, CLICK HERE

My favorite one...

Kalia was trying to get my attention: "Mom! Mom! Mommy! Mommy!" (I think I was on the computer.) She got smart and tried another approach: "Hon! Hon! Honey!"
It worked.

Kalia-isms

Thanks for all the GREAT tips on parenting/discipline...I'm trying several things out and they really are working! I really appreciate the input.

Kalia has been pretty good about climbing out of her crib.

1. About an hour after I'd put her to bed I heard the doorknob turning. I went to the door and picked her up to put her back in, and she said, "wejifp jsf skjssj anwne POOPY."
Sure enough, she'd pooped, which was not on schedule. In this case I was very happy that she'd climbed out to tell me, because we all know what kind of rash she would have had if she'd slept in it.

2. The next morning at 7 a.m. I hear the little pitter patter of bare feet on tile, and then a very exuberant little voice saying, "Hi! Hi! Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy! Hi! Hi! Hi!" as she ran to both sides of the bed. She was thrilled to be coming in to us instead of waiting on us to get her out. We are not thrilled to be getting up an hour earlier than usual, so the special doorknob has been put on, however, she didn't try to climb out this morning, she just waited for us.

3. Today I told her it was time for a nap, and before I knew it she had run to her room and climbed IN her crib. I didn't know she could do that, but I guess I'm not surprised. She is not putting up any sort of fight for nap time. I think she actually likes to nap...a girl after my own heart.

What this post is really about, is the funny things she's started to say lately. I'm glad I can join the club of "kids say the darndest things". I LOVE reading other people's blogs of the cute things their kids say. Here's a few from Kalia:

1. Samuel was grating cheese with an electric food processor. It was really loud. She runs over to the kitchen, takes one look at what he's doing, and very enthusiastically said, "WOW! AWESOME!" (We'd never heard her say wow or awesome before, which made it even funnier to us.)
2. One day I heard her grunting trying to open the fridge. She finally got it open for the first time ever and said, "Ta-da!" Now we hear "ta-da" all day long. It's usually a bad sign.
3. Every time she does anything all by herself she tells us, "I did it!" but she says it like this, "I deed it!"
4. Any time anyone chases her, and catches her, she says, "I gotchu!"
5. She found a tampon in a plastic wrapper, and she was so excited- she brought it to me and said, "CANDY!!!!" and I said, No, it's a tampon." Unfazed, she says with glee, "TAMPON!!!"

Easter 2009

Haha, these pictures say it all...Our life is a little chaotic right now, and these pictures captured it perfectly. These were the best shots (of the few we managed.) Just take my word for it. They looked cute. :)

I'm Frustrated...Please Help!

This beautiful little punk is giving me a RUN FOR MY MONEY!!! It seemed like overnight she has developed quite the DEFIANT ATTITUDE. She is into EVERYTHING, a lot of it is innocent, I know, (see picture below....CURSE THE DAY SHE LEARNED TO UNSCREW THINGS!)

but I guess I must be handling it all wrong, because the behaviors are increasing instead of decreasing. How do you discipline a toddler? (She is almost 20 months old). That's the question of the day. PLEASE TELL ME if you have any experience dealing with the following:

1. She throws her food, dishes included, as soon as she's done eating. The worst was yesterday, when her barbecue sauce painted the walls and floors. In the past we've tried a timeout in her room. This is the only thing that makes her cry, and she's always very penitent after her 1 minute imprisonment, but it hasn't really stopped the problem. So, for the last few days I've used a very stern voice and told her NO, that makes a MESS, Mommy is MAD! I repeat this over and over, then I get her down and direct her to clean it up (Love & Logic Style). She is fascinated with this "tough" side of me, and she seems to enjoy taking orders from me. Since trying this approach, the food dropping/splattering is happening at EVERY meal. The only thing I can think of next is to try the exact opposite approach and completely ignore the mess and the behavior entirely and clean it up myself later. When is she old enough to start to take responsibility for what she's done though?? To make matters worse, when it's time for bed, she's hungry and has a hard time falling asleep. I don't know what to do about this.

2. She has been capable of climbing out of her crib for over 8 months now. But it wasn't til tonight that she decided to do it. And she did it twice. And she opened the door (a new development as well, we are in the process of putting on the door-knob thingies) and came sauntering on out...but she was crying and wanted to eat. I was hoping to keep her in her crib as LONG AS POSSIBLE...and I plan to do handle this "getting out of bed" thing the Supernanny way again (I really like her style) and just keep putting her back in without talking, until she stays. However, I still have to decide when to actually transition to the toddler bed. Any thoughts on this particular problem?

3. Finally, I am SO tired of telling her NO. And that's me being pretty lax. I don't say no to her jumping on my bed. I don't say no to jumping off the coffee table (ANYTHING to get that energy out!) and I don't say no when she wants to draw on every paper in the house. Most the time I don't mind the general messes. But now they are turning into bigger problems, like trying to take off the toilet tank lid, opening the fridge, pulling out her food/drink of choice, and helping herself, and/or discovering the fingerpaints and painting herself while I am showering. It just seems like I spend the whole day saying, No, Stop, Don't do that, Give it to Me...yadda yadda yadda. Welcome to motherhood right? Please give me advice on surviving these terrible twos. I hope Crystal was right when she said the half-birthdays are a harder stage than the regular ones.

12:40 a.m.

What is wrong with my body? Or mind? Is this what they call INSOMNIA? Today I did everything you're supposed to- up early (8 a.m...but only 6 hours of sleep)...NO NAPPING (a new thing I'm trying) then I worked out hard for once, then I mopped my floors very INTENSELY and now it's almost 1 a.m. I still don't feel tired. I had a major tired "spell" at 5 p.m. but that's normal I'm sure....I do have a lot of excitement on my mind, but this has to stop. Eventually it's going to catch up to me, I know it. Tylenol PM works, but I can't keep using it as a last resort. Any advice is welcome. I'm pretty sure it's about getting my mind to slow down.

Sooooo...here's a pointless silly post. These are my latest CELEBRITY CRUSHES. Don't laugh...I know you have some too! Why don't you just confess them, eh? Most of you know Ryan Seacrest

And Carrie Underwood used to date this hottie, Chase Crawford from Gossip Girl

And THIS one is FRENCH (woohoo!) and I only found him when I stumbled upon Dancing with the Stars one night and HELLO. This man can DANCE!! He's soooooo good. And so cute. His name is Gilles Marini.

And this is Simon Baker from the Mentalist. We love this show, it's funny and clever and his character as Patrick Jane is fabulous. He sounds like he's American, but he's actually Australian (and he's got our accent down!)

Samuel just marched out of our bedroom to ask what I'm doing up...and he thinks this is a very stupid post. Hahaha.

Stay tuned for my next insomniac post...I may just tell you everyone I love from American Idol.

I wonder what would happen if our TV blew up or something. Maybe I could quit watching it.

5 Months Old

Today Annaliese is 5 months old. Sometimes it's hard for me to believe she's that old, Kalia was pulling to a stand at this age. Annaliese is a very content little thing, and is happy to just lay on her back (and roll over occasionally). I'm grateful for a baby who is much slower paced. She is just what I needed. Here's a few things to remember- 5 months old means:

She's found her toes

She grabs everything in sight, usually that's my hair

She's usually pretty quiet, but when she babbles, she really speaks up

Her hair is thinning out (and so is mine!) and she has a lovely mullet

She is fascinated with her big sister, and smiles at her often

She is the squishiest, cuddliest little thing and I can't stop kissing her

She is taking 3 long naps a day, and still sleeping 13 hours at night (and this one took a lot of work to achieve, so we don't take it for granted.)

She gets so excited when I go in after she's been asleep, she starts kicking her legs like crazy and it sure makes me feel loved

Sometimes I can't believe this is the same baby that cried all the time, that never let me put her down, and that wouldn't sleep anywhere but my arms. That seems like a million years ago! She is the complete opposite of Kalia in every way- I can't think of a single way that they are the same, except for their hair color and eye color will probably be the same...anyway, it's just so interesting to me that two little girls could be so different. I think it means they will be even more compatible later on, at least that's how it was with me and my older sis.

April Fools

This is a pregnancy test (a little strip that I got off ebay. They're cheap, only 50 cents each.) It has a single purple line down it. So it is NEGATIVE of course, but I showed it to Samuel and told him it meant POSITIVE and that we were having another baby. He totally believed me! I used my best acting skills to pretend I was really nervous to be having another one so soon.
Samuel and I have never played pranks on each other for April Fools, so maybe this is kinda mean (I haven't told him yet that it's a joke. I'll tell him before he goes to bed. I thought it would be more fun if he spent the day freaking out.) Anyway, I've enjoyed seeing what some of you guys have been doing for April Fools. It was my friend Emma's idea to tell her hubby that she was pregnant- thanks for the idea. :)

Here's two video clips from today- Kalia doing her favorite song and dance on the coffee table and Annaliese doing her water aerobics: