Pimp my walls

The newest addition to our house. That I absolutely love.
These are printed as 11x14's lustre on 3/4" standout boards. No frames needed. And we velcroed (no idea how to spell that) them to the wall (easier to level them that way).

The view when you walk in our front door.


A closer look.

The sides of 3/4" standouts are black.

Photos courtesy of the one and only Mike Cunningham. We took them in my "studio" in my house.

I'm considering offering family "photo booth" sessions to produce pictures like these for families. Anyone think that would be cool?

A new year.

Okay. So January's almost over, but it's still a new year. And with a new year comes new goals, new ambitions, new hope. . .
And the beginning of a new blog book!
So. Happy 2009. I look forward to an odd numbered year (I have a thing with odd numbers. I prefer them over evens. No idea why.).

A few goals for the year.

1. Gain weight (because that would mean I'm pregnant. I'm not yet, but maybe, just maybe, if we're lucky, we'll find ourselves "great with child" before the year is over.) Right, Mike? ;)
2. Learn to play with kids toys for more than 5 minutes. Because right now, kids toys bore me. But I'd like to spend more time actually playing with the girls and all they want to do is play house, polly pockets, or barbies.
3. Buy a boat. Or at least start a hefty fund for one.
4. Blog at least 2-3 times a week (because blogging is journaling and we all know how important journaling is)
5. Beat my nephew and neice in "Dance dance revolution". Yes, it's a serious goal. It's a little tough because I don't own the game yet, but once I do, I'll practice. And then. . .you better watch out Tanner and Brooklyn.
6. Quit drinking Diet Coke. Because my dad says it's bad for me. :(
7. Figure out how to go to Lake Powell this year. Gotta get there.

And a few long term goals:
*Run another marathon
*Climb Lone Peak
*Travel to Italy
*Go on a river trip (a multiple day, camping river trip)
*Hike the Subway

I have more, but I'm keeping them in a safe place. Because they're just for me.
Here's to 2009.


Photo courtesy of Mike Cunningham.

Things on my mind.

**Why don't my kids sleep through the night?
**Why do my kids throw-up so much? (Mya puked last night. Nasty)
**Mopping is a total and complete waste of time.
**I wonder where I can find an extra $1000 so I can buy that camera I want.
**We really need to buy a boat this year. With all that extra money we have.
**I wish playing with kids toys didn't bore me so much. But it does.
**I need to come up with more "winter" activites for my kids. Right now they're watching Ellen. Can't be good.
**I'm quite sure I have the coolest husband in the entire world
**I find it very unfair that kids come equipped with an "on/off" switch for their ears, but mom's don't. I need one. Badly.
**I've been craving celery. Is that weird? Definitely weird. And no, I'm not pregnant.
**My treadmill is broken. Anyone know how to fix them?
**I wish laundry could put itself away.
**When we get really rich, I'm hiring a chef. Maybe the iron chef. As long as they don't make freaky food like they do on the show.
**Anytime I take a drink of milk, I sniff it first. Even if I just bought it. There's nothing worse than taking a big swig of rotten milke. Yes, I've done it. More than once.
**This year, I'm going to spend more time with friends and family. Because they matter to me.
**I think Jaida came equipped with two completely different personalities. One of which we could do without.
**I'm tired. Really, really tired. And I'm trying to give up Diet Coke so I don't even get a caffeine boost. Boo.
**Time to go play Barbies. Woohoo.

Keeping warm.

How does an entire week go by so fast? It feels like it was Sunday yesterday.
This seems like a fitting post to mark the end of "Volume 1" of the Ross blog book. After this, I'll be making the blog into a book.

After playing in the snow one day, the girls decided to warm up by the fire.

It was only a matter of time before clothes started being removed. Mya went for a belly warming. . . .

. . . .while Jaida went for the bumb. Mya wasn't happy she couldn't get her diaper down low enough for a full bumb-warming.


This picture will mean more to my siblings. When we were little we used to have competitions to see who could keep their bare bumb by the fire the longest. When it got too hot, we'd run and jump in the bean bag to cool off (love sacs weren't invented way back then). I was probably only 4 or 5 when we did this, but I still remember doing it.

THE END!! On to Volume 2

Round one.

Potty training.

Mya: 1
Mom: 0


We'll try again in a few months. I've cleaned up enough body liquids to last me a lifetime.

Camera thief.

Hmmm... I wonder who got a hold of my camera and took a bunch of blurry pictures???

Busted Mya.

The maid.

Yesterday I let the girls make a huge mess while they were playing. I was too tired to clean it up last night and have been busy all morning.
Jaida just got home from preschool. She walked in the door, looked at the mess in disgust and asked
"Why did no one clean this up while I was at school. I don't want this crap all over the house."
Looks like we need a maid. ;)

Christmas 2008.

Christmas. I didn't take many pictures because i wanted to enjoy instead of worrying about pictures the whole time.

Christmas Eve we acted out the nativity. Mya was Joseph. And Jaida, fittingly, was the angel.

We had a sleepover in our room on Christmas Eve.

The girls didn't wake up until 8:30. We probably don't have many years of that left.

Mya got her "wip gwoss".

Traditional Christmas breakfast at my parents. Green eggs and red pancakes.

Kate got a little crazy with the nerf shotgun.

J modeling her new nightgown.

The girls definitely need their own cameras for Christmas. Yes, they work. Yes, the quality is horrendous. But they think they're fun.

Then it was over to Mike's parents for more presents and chaos. There were a LOT of people packed into a not so big space. But super fun to have almost the entire family together. First time in a long time.

And for anyone out there who may be curious, Doug and Gene (the goats) are still alive and well at the Thueson ranch. Anyone who would like to bring their kids over to the petting zoo are more than welcome. Pictures and update coming soon.

Happy New Year!

Decorating the tree.

I put the girls in charge of decorating the tree this year. Mya had no interest so Jaida flew solo. There was some ornament "clumping" which I thought added character. Some of the branches got too heavy with ornaments so we had to spread them out at least a little bit.

To my girls

Dear Jaida and Mya,

Yesterday after a full day at work, your dad came home and washed, folded, AND put away a weeks worth of laundry. I didn't ask him to. He just did it. He does stuff like that all the time. Why? Because he loves me.

Please MAKE SURE when choosing a man to spend the rest of your life with, you find someone just like your dad. Someone who loves you as much as he loves me.

Don't settle for anything less.

Love,

Mom

(Photos courtesy of Mike Cunningham)

Freeze.

There are some days where I wish I could freeze my girls. Freeze them at the age they are, just how they are and make them stop growing. Just for a little bit. Right now is one of those times. Though I enjoy watching them grow and change, I miss how they were the day before. So for now, I wish I could freeze them.

A conversation I had with Jaida about this very thing.

Me: "Jaida. Stop growing. Right now. I don't want you to get big."

Jaida: "But I want to grow up and be a mom." (Melt. my. heart)

Me: "Are you excited to be a mom?"

J: "I'm excited to kiss somebody."

To the guardian angels assigned to Jaida--please help me through her teenage years. I'm going to need it.

Preschool program and Santa.

J's first preschool program. It took a bit of coaxing to get her on the stage. And once she was up there, she just stood there. No singing. No smiles. In fact, she looked around at everyone else like they were a bunch of idiots. No one can make her do anything she doesn't want to. Which really frustrates me while at the same time makes me really love her. Just be you, Jaida. I can't blame her for not wanting to stand in front of a bunch of people she doesn't know and sing. Let the record show, however, she knows ALL the words to every song and rhyme they did that day because I get to hear them every day. Over and over and over again. And surprisingly I don't get tired of it because she sounds so cute.





This was the most participation she gave. A sign above her head. And I did catch her mouthing a few of the words to Rudolph because she just couldn't deny the beat any longer. But it stopped as fast as it started.

At least Santa AND Mrs. Clause came for a visit at the end. Jaida asked for barbie princess's and Mya asked for "wip gwoss" (lip gloss). Thankfully Santa brought both this year.

Enough of the charades. Give me some of that candy lady.

Groundhog Day.

Some mornings I wake up and think, "Am I really doing this all over. Again, and again, and again. . ."

Playing in the snow.

Finally. Snow. And we LOVE IT!!!!