Day 22

A picture of something you wish you were better at:

I have the worst will power when it comes to exercising.  I SOOO want to have a great body, but I do NOT have the energy or will power to achieve it.....  I have joined and quite the gym 3 times.  THREE!  I have Jillian Michaels as my personal trainer, and she is very disappointed in me....

Day 21

A picture of something you want to forget:

I searched high and low for the perfect picture.  This is it.  Freshman year.  Never.again.

This should have been for the picture that makes you laugh.... buhahahaha!

Nonsense....

My favorite cereal is Rice Krispies Treats Cereal.....  DELICIOUS!!

Day 20

A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel:

Day 19

A picture of a letter:

Like Kim, I have no idea what this means.... but I thought I'd try this.... J for Jaime and it's made of coffee beans... which goes with Day 12.  Hee Hee

Day 18

A picture of your biggest insecurity:

Speaking in front of people scares me to death!  Which, might be ironic since I'm a teacher and I do it all day.... but seriously, speaking in front of 7 year olds is WAY different than my peers.  I even start to instasweat if I have to talk in front of my friends, even if it's a small group.  I can't stand people looking at me!! STOP looking at me!

Happy 7th Anniversary....

.... to us!  Love you Babe!

Day 17

A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently:

Well, I have to copy Violet in this one.  Kim suggested a Tgroup, or Transformation Group, which is essentially an accountability group.... for us it's reading the Bible in a year and helping each other apply it, along with just being real friends.  I have started reading the bible with intentions of finishing it in a year a few times, but with no results.  I am staying on track with reading and trying to stay on track with my life for God, and it's thanks to these girls who are such a blessing and an encouragement.  Thank you Kim, Violet, and Lindsay!

Day 16

A picture of someone who inspires you:

I have been thinking about this one... a long time....There are so many people who inspire me, in different ways.  I couldn't just narrow this to one person because I couldn't figure out who it would be....

In no effort to not sound cheesy.... here goes.....

I am inspired by:

• My mom, to be a better wife and better mom.
• My dad, to not take things so seriously and find the humor in things.
• Jonathan, to ease up, to lighten up, and to love better.
• My friends, to be a better wife, mom, and friend.
• My TGroup - Kim, Violet, and Lindsay - to be a better believer, to seek God first, to live my faith.
• My kids, to have more fun and to live what I believe is right since I know they are watching.

Disney or Bust!

Kim and I decided to venture to Disneyland for part of spring break.  First of all... it was a blast because it was with some of my favorite people.  Second of all.... I will NEVER attempt to visit Disneyland during spring break again!

Since my pictures are on my main computer (and not the laptop I'm using), and since my main computer does not have a monitor at this very moment, I'm using Kim's pictures from FB to help highlight my top 10.  Once I get mine, I will try to remember to add them.

In no particular order, my top 10 favorite moments of our trip, that I can remember at this moment:

1. Character breakfast.... and both kids, especially Jude, being uber afraid of the characters... which is the WHOLE point, right?
2. Tower of Terror! - Zoe had been talking about this ride for weeks!  We stood in line for almost an hour and 20 minutes, during the whole time she kept saying how excited she was.  The moment the ride started, she began screaming and crying... and I couldn't help but laugh... .because SHE dragged ME on!  After she'd calmed down, all she could talk about was the ride and begged to go on it again!  So we did, of course.
3. "Kim!  Stop snoring!"
4. Wheelchair.access.
5. Where's the ice machine!?!?
6. The Aladdin Show.... I saw this for the first time and highly recommend it! Fabulous!
7. Pushing the stroller with 100+ pounds of kiddos in it.... better than a workout with Leslie and Sarah.
8. "Jude, stop hitting Zoe!"
9. 10 rides in 18 hours of Disney.....that's it!  So.many.people.
10. and of course, experiencing it with Zoe and my BFF and her kiddo. :)

Day 15

A picture of something you want to do before you die:

Day 14

A picture of someone(s) you could never imagine your life without.  Had to copy Kim...

Day 13

A picture of your favorite band or artist. 

This is a HILARIOUS request of me since I have NO idea who anyone really is or what they sing....

But, I will contribute something since I know a few people.  I love Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Pink (mostly), and Johnny Cash.  Well, that's about all I can think of at the moment....

Here's to a legend:

Day 12

A picture of something you love .... are addicted to:  (McDonald's Sugar-free Vanilla Iced Coffee)

Hayden Does His Laundry

In an attempt to teach Hayden a lesson for not putting his clothes away after I washed them... and after his comment of  "What's the point?", Jonathan and I decided that having him do his own laundry was a good idea.  Ha... ha....

Before I left Monday morning, I explicitly told Hayden - "Don't do anything without talking to me or Dad first." 

I got home Monday and to my surprise and disgruntlement, the laundry was going.  This was annoying in two ways:
1 - We are on a time plan and rates are HIGH before 7pm.  It was only 4pm.
2 - I noticed that my brand NEW bottle of detergent's level was roughly 2 inches lower than when I left in the morning.... We have an HE machine.  !!??

I asked Hayden why he was doing laundry now and why hadn't he talked to me.  He said he talked to his mom.  Hmmm.....  I then brought up issues #1 and #2.  And although I was trying to keep my cool about #1 and #2, I was also proud of him for actually doing the laundry. 

So after rinsing the same load 3 times because there was so much soap, he was able to move on to the second load with my careful tutoring of how much detergent to actually use.

The first go around...

The bubbles were SOOOO thick!

Day 11

A picture of something you hate.  When you say you are going to do it, DO it!

Zoe's Bead

Almost 2 weeks ago.... right at 7:30 when it's time for bed.... Zoe tells me she has a bead stuck waaaaaaay up her nose.  Really?  You are just telling me now, child?  So.... I pretend to believe her and get a flashlight to look.... and I can't see it.  She swears it's there, so we decide to get Dad.  Lo and behold... there actually is a bead waaaaay up there!

Well.... we start trying to figure out what to do.  At first we didn't think it was that big of a deal.... Jonathan claimed he had an idea that would work....  Here is what we tried:

• a mini vacuum with a tube that went up her nose  (Before trying this, Jonathan claims that if we didn't do this, then the doctor would have to cut her nose in half, get the bead, then sew it back up.  Talk about scarred for life.... Really Jonathan!  You have to be that extreme!!???  Poor Zoe started crying from that point forward and would NOT do anything willingly....)
• calling our neighbor who is a doctor for advice....
• a q-tip with Vaseline stuck on the end... thought the bead would stick to the Vaseline
• a mouth-to-mouth type move where we closed one nostril and I blew into her mouth.. hoping the bead would shoot out.  All that shot out was snot onto my cheek!
• a hooked screw driver.... she didn't go for that one....
• a call to to Goodnight Pediatrics
• lots of nose blowing...
• a trip to the ER where the wait was 3 hours...we turned around and went home
• calls to Grandpa
• Internet searches
• Facebook ideas

Finally we gave up and decided that since it was 9:30 and we still needed to get her to sleep, we put her to bed and planned on going to the doctor in the morning.  However, Zoe freaked herself out so much that she gave herself a tummy ache and kept getting up saying she was going to throw up.  

Then.... our savior arrived!  Dr. Jeff, our neighbor came with some Afrin and mini forceps.   She got to stay in her bed while Dr. Jeff got that bead out!  She did so well and only started crying after it came out.    So, at 10pm she finally went to sleep bead-free.

We love Dr. Jeff!  We hate beads!

Day 10

A picture of the person you do the craziest things with.

Well.... if anyone knows me well enough, then you would know that I just don't do crazy things.  I mean, I think I do some pretty fun things, not sure they qualify for "crazy".  Does that mean I'm boring??

hmmm..... I might say that some of the craziest things I have done were with Jonathan (i.e. paint balling on the 101, skinny dipping at the Wigwam, "borrowing" a golf cart from the Wigwam....).  Were being the operative word because after getting married and having kids, I have to say that we might be snoozeville (although to give him credit, he still does many crazy things....).

Some other fun times, pershaps borderline crazy, are of course with these girls....

Day 9

A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

Have I mentioned what an indecisive person I am???   What a hard choice!  It just depends on what it is and when it was, and .... well, you get the idea.  My parents have sacrificed tons for me, my friends are so awesome that I would die with out them....... but the hardest thing I've had to do is have Daisy when I was only about 18 weeks pregnant with her....and this guy was right there with me.

Day 8

A picture that makes you laugh.

This is only one of MANY!  Pictured are my Aunt Carrol (left), my mom, and my Aunt Donna (right) dancing ... and either enjoying it or .... not. 

Day 7

A picture of your most treasured item.

Ahhh....another one where there are so many options!  One of my many, many flaws is that I'm sooooo indecisive.  So, this having to decide on just one memory, favorite night, treasured item is killer!

Some of my favorite items include my nook (wootwoot!), flip flops, popcorn, flat iron, McD's iced coffee, etc...  But, since I have to choose my MOST treasured item, I'll have to go with something less tangible... my family... which, I know, IS tangible, not not in the way the other things are.  And I can't just stop at my husband, kids family... it includes my WHOLE family.  I feel so blessed to be a part of a great group of people.

This is my brother Nathan's wedding in Vegas.  Not my whole family, but much of them (plus Jenn's parents)!

Day 6

A picture of someone you'd love to trade places with for a day.

Living in Zoe's world for a day would be hilarious and amazing..... is there any doubt it wouldn't?

Day 5

A picture of your favorite memory.

There are so many fun things to remember about this night, besides the obvious ...

• ...my water breaking 4 weeks early
• missing my sister-in-law's wedding, in which I was supposed to be a bride's maid
• Jonathan "packing" my stuff
• tug-of-war
• epidural... way to strong!
• pushing for 3 hours
• "I'm sitting on something!"
• Del Taco at 2am
• .... and so on....

Snickers!

Our new family addition... and if she doesn't pee on my leather ottoman again we might just keep her around.

Day 4

A picture of your favorite night...

This is SUCH a hard thing to do.... One might say, "Wow, this night is the best".... or "This is by far my favorite night".... However, to actually choose only one favorite night is incredibly difficult.  What about all those other nights that were great?  My wedding was awesome... or the birth of Zoe... or any night on an RHS event....  Or can't I have many favorites for many different reasons, occasions, feelings?  Hmmm....

I've settled on this one, as it was my last favorite night.... and it's always my favorite night of the year.  Christmas Eve!  This night holds the most anticipation, along with the most food, family, friends, fun, gifts, excitement, etc.....  This is when the kids... all 12 or so of them.... started opening their presents.  It was absolute chaos.  Jonathan is taking the picture.

Day 3

A picture of the cast from your favorite show....

I had never watched even one episode of this show... then Kim, Lindsay, and Violet suggested I watch it.  I   borrowed Kim's series and watched one every night... and sometimes two... until I was done with the series.  Fabulous!!!!  The only complaint is the final episode... and maybe it's because I'm not smart enough to comprehend the higher meaning, or maybe I just really didn't like it.  BUT... it is awesome.

Day 2

A picture of you and the person you have been closest with....

This was SUCH a hard choice because I feel that I could choose a few different people, as I have been blessed with awesome people in my life.

Ultimately I chose my mom.... which, I know might be somewhat cliche, and I also know that I might not share everything with her, but in the end I feel that we are very close. :)

Obviously this is at a Red Hat event.... it was the 70's decade!  Perhaps we are a little off on our accessories, but hey, we look good!

30 Day Picture Challenge.... Day 1

As per Kim's suggestion, I am trying this.  Key word being "trying" since we all know I suck at blogging.  This is my attempt to get back on track.

Day 1.... a picture of yourself with 10 facts. (I will try to think of other things than my 10 Things You Might Not Know About Me.)

1. I heart Disneyland.
2. My bed has to be nice and neat... made or remade... before I go to bed.
3. My toast has to be buttered on the side withOUT lines (we use a toaster oven and the bottom gets the lines)... drives me NUTS if it's buttered on the lined side.  Jonathan tries it sometimes and claims he didn't do it on purpose.  What.ever.
4. I've been pregnant 4 times.... and have 1 Zoe.... so of course she's my miracle baby!
5. I will not move away from my parents willingly.  :)
6. I have 1 brother, 3 aunts on my mom's side with 7 cousins and 4 second cousins, and 2 aunts and 3 uncles on my dad's side with 11 cousins and 12 second cousins.  Big families!
7. We are contemplating getting a dog.  HUGE decision.... and of course if we do, my 3 loyal readers will know.
8. Being married and being a mom is a LOT harder than it's made out to be.  But of course totally worth it.
9. I'm a control freak... which, to give me some credit, I really am working on it.  But this fact makes #8 even harder!
10. I am an avid reader...mostly fantasy or paranormal (is that the right word?).... and hardly ever watch TV.