Our Crazy Blessed Life

A Fathers Blessing - A Mothers Tears - A big girl starts Kindergarten!!!

2011-12-29T10:25:00.001-08:00

Jayda started kindergarten in September. I started crying in early August. I stopped in late November. Needless to say...I had kind of a hard time adjusting.

A few of my friends laughed at me and gave me a hard time for being so "dramatic" (they know me so well), but I really struggled. I couldn't even tie her shoes that morning without breaking down and sobbing. The thought of my tiny 5 year old being gone for soooo long every day (she's in school from 9a - 3:45) made me sick to my stomach. I also started panicking thinking that I wasted her early years. I worked so hard, even though it was from home, that maybe I didn't get to enjoy her as much as I should have. The thought that I wouldn't have full days of playing and giggling and snuggling in our pajamas anymore made me break into tears. All those conference calls, and work memos, and policies and procedures I wrote and time I spent working was time away from my baby. And now she's going to kindergarten and I won't get that time back. It was a roller-coaster of emotion for me. I realize now that I didn't waste any time. I enjoyed her every day. All day. I had to work, so I was blessed beyond words to work from home and experience her on a daily basis...even if it was with a headset on my head and a blackberry stuck to my fingers. It was time for her to start kindergarten whether or not I was ready.

The night before school starts we had our annual "Back To School Dinner & Blessing." Jayda requested her favorite, Chipotle. We feasted at home, talked about the exciting day and year to follow, and ended the evening with a gift and a blessing.

Every year, prior to school starting (this is the 4th year now since Jayda had 3 years of preschool), Russ gives her a Fathers Blessing. This is where he gently and sweetly places his hands on her tiny head and prays for her. He speaks directly to our Lord on her behalf and offers words of thanks, strength, and encouragement. He asks for the Lord to be with our daughter each day as she leaves our home and goes to kindergarten. This year, he specifically asked that Jayda remember each day, and though each experience, how much she is loved by her mom, her dad, her sister, her extended family, and most importantly - the Lord. He prayed that she remain sweet in spirit and strong in mind. He prayed that she would always talk to her mom and dad and tell us what she was feeling and experiencing and he asked that the Lord help her make good decisions. Most importantly, he prayed that he, as her daddy, would know how to be the best father he could be to teach, care for, and guide his sweet Jayda Grace.

After the blessing, Jayda opened a few gifts. Russ and I gave her a locket that she could wear to school. It had a picture of us one one side and a picture of her sissy on the other. We've always loved the book "The Kissing Hand" and wanted to give her something special that she could always keep with her to remind her that we were thinking of her all day. She wore the locket her first day, and then we put in her backpack to keep with her always. Lilly gave Jayda a cute little bracelet and a big sloppy kiss.

We walked her to school the next day and left her with her new teachers, Mrs. Ito and Mrs. L. They made us say goodbye to the students at the door and wouldn't let us walk inside to get her settled in. I kind of wanted to drop kick the teachers right then, but Russ calmly grabbed my hand and pulled me away. And although I climbed a light pole out front of the school to look inside her classroom, Russ was able to help get me home in one piece, albeit with a flood of tears.

Jayda said her first day was great. She had a nice time and enjoyed meeting the students. She thought her teachers seemed nice and said she "felt like a teenager" when she got to walk to the office to drop something off all by herself. All in all, she did great!

August Happenings

2011-12-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

On August 25th Jayda lost her first tooth! She cried and screamed and then laughed and cried all at the same time. She didn't know what to do with herself! She wrote a note to the tooth fairy and drew her a picture. Then she put the tooth and note under her pillow. 5 minutes later she came running out of her room and stated that she was too scared to let a fairy in her room and sneak under her pillow while she was asleep. So, we put the tooth under a pillow on the floor in the living room instead. 4 teeth later, that's still where the tooth fairy finds them...in the living room!

The tooth fairy left a nice note (in super fancy swirly handwriting) that had some cool glitter on it. We thought Jayda would be so jazzed. She was excited, but she did politely state that we had the same glitter and she was a bit disappointed that the tooth fairy couldn't "come up with something a bit more magical than regular glitter from Target."

Jayda also stared soccer for the first time which makes me a SOCCER MOM! I love it. We had so much fun watching her play and actually get aggressive (we weren't sure she even had that in her). We enjoyed seeing her in uniform and taking snacks to the game. The whole process was really fun! Jayda, however, has requested to just take Irish Dance classes again and forego soccer in the future.

Lilly had a great August as well. Although there are no major happenings to list, she enjoyed spending time with her sister during the last few weeks of summer. We also spent nearly every day at our community pool. The kids took swim lessons and had a blast. I wish I had of taken my camera!

Jayda and I also went on weekly "mommy/daughter lunch dates." I had a hard time knowing she was about to start kindergarten so I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could. We had some great conversations and I learned something new about her every time we went. Her favorite date was when we went to eat with her doll at the American Girl Doll restaurant.

We had an earthquake out here in August. I had both girls and Jayda's BFF, Abbey, at the pool. We were in the restroom when it hit. The little shack that the restrooms are in was swaying like it was gonna come down on us and the creaky noises freaked me out. Being a SoCal girl I instantly assumed it was an earthquake so I screamed for the girls to "run, run, run!" Both girls come dashing out of the toilet with their bathing suits around their ankles and started running out the door! Looking back it was quite hilarious! At the time...not so funny. It took 5 hours for Russ & I to actually get a hold of each other since he was at work in DC. All the phone lines and cell lines were down. It made me nervous knowing I couldn't reach him and that he was going to have to take the metro train home even though we were having some aftershocks. I couldn't get a hold of Heather (Abbey's mom) either. I didn't want her to worry so we quickly climbed in the car and dashed to her house to deliver Abbey. Heather was a trooper and didn't seem too stressed, but I was kinda of shaken up not being able to at least get a hold of her and confirm her little one was okay. Anyway, I know my California friends and family are reading this laughing because they are used to earthquakes...but out here in DC/VA we aren't supposed to have earthquakes! For a few freaky minutes nobody could confirm it was an earthquake so we weren't completely sure it wasn't a terrorist attack. Anyway, not my favorite day in August.

Gram & Papa

2011-11-17T18:09:00.000-08:00

After we got back from Disneyland, Grammy and Papa flew out to visit. This was the first time my dad had been out since we purchased the house. So naturally, we worked my poor parents to the bone!! My mom had to help paint and decorate the basement, the living room, our upstairs bathroom, and master bedroom (haha...can you still call it a "master bedroom" if it's the size of a cracker jack box?). Papa got to fix lights, remove fans, replace chandeliers, and tear down and rebuild an entire custom shelving unit/wall using a pumpkin carver! Okay, not really a pumpkin carver, but we don't really own any tools so he might have had better luck using a halloween knife as opposed to the stuff we had.

We did, on occasion, let them out of the house. We enjoyed a day trip to Ocean City, MD and drove around to see the wild ponies on Assateague Island. We also enjoyed spending the 4th of July at the lil Fairfax parade. We watched the fireworks over the nations capital while sitting at the Air Force Memorial. We ate ice cream and had a great time!

Here are the girls, all tired out, after a long day of body surfing!

Look at my mom, sitting on the ground, getting sopping wet in all her clothes! I hope I'm a cool grandma like she is. I doubt I will be because I'm not even that cool as a mom...but here's to hoping!

And here's my mom getting KILLED by a wave that caught her off guard! SOOO AWESOME! I have a ton of pictures of her trying to get up and climb out of the water...but I'm saving those to use as ransom so I can't share them here. But let me just say...they. are. awesome.

Once she did finally make it out of the water she was messing with my dad and kissing him on the cheek while she was all wet. Doesn't Papa look thrilled!

Practicing holding their breaths for the waves that are bound to come.

This is a Papa and Jayda tradition. Their favorite thing to do at Knotts Berry Farm is ride the Ferris wheel...so of course they had to do it in Ocean City, too!

Lounging around waiting for the fireworks!j

What an awesome summer!!!!!

The Happiest Place on Earth...Florida style

2011-10-01T11:58:00.000-07:00

I am having severe back pain. Like so severe I thought maybe I was dying. Okay, not really..but it is soooo bad. I have been laying on my back for nearly a week now trying to heal myself. So far it's not going that great. The upside of this pain and being stuck on the couch for a week? I get to update the blog with our vacation photos...from the trip we took 5 months ago!

We took the kiddos to Walt Disney World in June. It was the first time any of us had been there. I grew up having an annual pass to Disneyland and MY FAVORITE memories are usually those involving my trips to D-land with my dad. I was so excited to take the girls and see them experience the same magic that I did when I was young. I must admit...it was just as fun going as a mom and watching my kids eyes light up!

From start to finish it was totally magical! We couldn't believe how everything just fell into place and we felt like we had good luck at every turn. No waits. No lines. Weather was great. It was utterly fantastic!

Our girls were the absolute perfect age. They were old enough to walk around and enjoy the rides, but also young enough to feel the sweet magic and truly believe they were talking to real princesses. It was amazing!

Here, in no particular order, is a photo dump of our trip!

Epcot Center

Magic Kingdom

Flynn Rider from Tangled kissed Jayda. She nearly cried with excitement!

Hollywood Studios

I loved looking down and seeing this face look up at me all day!

While waiting for the Beauty & The Beast show, Lilly decided to show me all the faces she knew...this one is scared.

Here we have "confused"

"exasperated"

"the thinker"

this was the face we'd see when Jayda was sick of waiting in line or refusing to go on something "scary" (which was everything).

Epcot Center

All 3 of my loves getting sick of mommy taking pictures and having the flash go off in their faces.

Lilly not happy about having to wait in line.

Lilly excited our wait is over.

We went to the Princess Lunch one day which is where we mortgage our home to pay for a meal we eat while various princesses walk around and chat with the kids. It was the girls favorite part of the trip!

Isn't this face the most special, sweet, adorable thing you've ever seen? She was waiting so patiently to meet Rapunzle and Flynn Rider. She was mute when it was her turn to meet him. She was soooo star struck.

Here Lilly is trying to pose like Jayda. The castle is turned blue at night for a few minutes during the parade. Cinderella told Jayda that she was turning it blue just for her. Jayda was convinced that's why it happened. Sooooo sweet!

Kiss from Cinderella.

Wowzers. I am GORGEOUS! Buahahaha. Poor Russ wakes up to this every morning. At least in this picture you don't see the drool stain. But this is what family vacations are all about, right? Bonding with each other and just sharing the love!

We watched the fireworks from our car. It was perfect. They were right above our heads, we had great seats, nobody in our way, and we beat the traffic. And the kids thought it was super cool to sit on the rental car!

I love how excited Lilly is!

Our hotel was at Downtown Disney so we would walk over in the evenings. This was our last night there and the kids played in the fountain.

We enjoyed the pool at the hotel nearly every day.

Character breakfast at our hotel on our last morning.

Jayda had her own queen bed. Russ and I shared a queen. Lilly slept in a crib, in the closet, with the door shut. It was the perfect set up!

My sweet babies in their Disney Princess Tiaras! Oh how I love them.

It was truly the trip of a life time and I feel soooo blessed that we had the opportunity to make such sweet memories!

Lucky

2011-09-11T16:41:00.001-07:00

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend.

We just had our 8 year anniversary and I love him more today than ever.

He's amazing.

I was tired and run down today. I had a headache and was just feeling really drained.

So what did he do?

Well, he forced me to sleep in. Then when I woke up he had a warm breakfast waiting for me. He took the girls to church and made me stay home to sleep and rest and have some alone time. Then when they got home he made lunch. And he put Lilly down for a nap. Then he cleaned the house. Then he provided us with a yummy dinner. Then he cleaned some more.

Do you know what I did?

I slept. I read my kindle. I did my nails. I rested. But mostly...I just thought about how unbelievably lucky and blessed I am to have him. To have this man. This man who works two jobs and then still finds time to take care of all his girls.

To have my best friend as my soul mate is such a blessing.

I hope I can be as good of a spouse as he is someday. I'll keep trying. But he'll probably keep winning. Because he's good. Very, very good.

And I am lucky.

Our Girls - August 2011

2011-08-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

A Girls Best Friend

2011-07-31T17:20:00.001-07:00

What a blessing my lil Riley has been over the past 12 years. She's quickly approaching 14 years of age and we're not sure how much longer she'll be with us. She has some health issues that are making me think her time with us is coming to an end.

Riley and I became a pair when she was 2. I was 19. She helped me stay sane and calm during finals in college, we would decompress at the dog beach during crazy wedding planning, and after Russ and I were married she helped our first apartment feel like a home. She moved with us to Virginia and I'd hold her and cry because I was homesick. She would always know when I was feeling sad.

Riley knew I was pregnant (both times) before I did. She would follow me around and stay put on my heels. She'd lay over my tummy and growl at Russ when he would walk by (this was soooo not like her). She'd nip at anyone who would try to touch me. She would follow me to the toilet and stay at my feet when I puked. And when I brought my babies home she loved them instantly. Jayda and Lilly have never known a world without Riley. She just sits and takes the ear tugs, the hair pulling, the kisses, and the rough hugs. She's put on a few lbs (she went from 6lbs to 8lbs) once the kids started self-feeding. She follows them around and shares their snacks all day. She often has sticky stuff on her fur from Lilly's dirty little fingers petting and loving on her throughout the day. When the girls run and play, Riley is right there in the mix barking and nipping at their heels. They all love it.

She sulks and pouts when she sees our luggage and crawls inside the bags while we try to pack...she knows we are going somewhere and chances are she's not invited. She gets sad. Her entire attitude changes and she mopes around till we return.

She's truly more than a pet. She's a friend. She's my buddy. She's irreplaceable. She'll be loved for every minute of every day until that time comes when she is ready to go to doggy heaven....which I'm hoping will not be for about 60 years.

Jayda-isims

2011-07-24T13:40:00.001-07:00

Jayda lets a really loud "toot" while in the car yesterday. Then 2 minutes later she did it again with an even bigger one. I look at her in the rear view mirror and while rolling her eyes and letting out a deep sigh says, "Ugh. I can't take my butt anywhere."

___________

At the dinner table Jayda asks:

J: Mommy...am I like you or daddy?

Me: You're like both of us. You're half daddy and half mommy because we both made you with our hearts and bodies.

J: (exasperated while saying) How can I be half dad if I'M A WOMAN (she yells while slamming her fist down on the table).

___________

I picked Jayda up from school today and she was quite melancholy. This was our conversation about why she was so sad:

Jayda: MOM! I had the worst day of my life today! I'm just heartbroken!

Me: WHY?? What' happened at school?

Jayda: Christopher doesn't want to be my boyfriend anymore! He has been my boyfriend my whole life...for like almost a week since I was 4 years old and I don't even remember being 4 years old...that's how long he's been my boyfriend and now he's being mean. It hurt me bad!

Me: I'm sorry baby. Did it hurt your heart?

Jayda: Yes. And it hurt me here, and here, and here, and here (each "here" was said as she did the sign of the cross over her body). Remember when Jesus died on the cross?

Me: Yes.

Jayda: Well it hurt me like that!...ONLY WORSE!

Me: (dying of laughter): I'm so sorry honey. That's really tragic.

Jayda: I know! And it's also sad because he stabbed me with a pencil in my nickel (which is what jayda calls her nipples)! I had to have an ice pack and have my teacher look at my boobie.

Me: What? Were you okay? Why would he do that to you?

Jayda: I don't know. I don't know anything anymore.

_____________

Jayda got a new necklace with three charms...

Jayda: "Mom, see this key charm? Do you know what it reminds me of?"

Me: "what babe?"

Jayda: "the keys to the gospel." "and do you know what this heart charm reminds me of?"

Me: "what?"

Jayda: "It reminds me that Jesus loves me so much." "and do you know what this peace sign charm reminds me of?"

Me (as I prepare to hear more about jesus or church): "What does it remind you of?"

Jayda: "it reminds me to NOT watch Hanna Montana because it's so trashy."

__________

Russ and I were getting ready to go on a date the other night and she says, "I'm so glad you guys are leaving because I need a serious break from you."

Russ: "You do? Why do you need a break from us?"

Jayda: "because you guys are killing me today."

__________

Jayda did something really nice for her sister without being asked and cleaned her room without being asked so I surprised her and gave her a dollar bill as a reward. She got a big smile on her face and said, "thanks mom! I'm saving up to buy a cat when Riley dies."

_________

My mom is visiting and Jayda gets so excited that she forgets I'm even alive. I gave her a hug yesterday morning and said "Jayda, I miss you. I haven't had any time with you since Gram has been here because you just spend all your time with her. I wanna snuggle." To which Jayda replied, "sorry mom. life is full of disappointment."

_________

I was on my way out the door to present to about 100 teenage girls on how to dress modestly and fashionably. As I'm running out the door, Jayda says "mom. is that what you are wearing?"

I reply "yes."

Jayda then says, "interesting choice" and walks away.

Great. Now I'm second guessing my decision because of what a 5 year old said. (and yes, in case you're wondering...I ran upstairs and changed!)

interesting choice.

_________

I took Jayda shopping last Friday night for a backpack for kindergarten. After going to about 5 stores she says "these backpacks are lame! I just wanna take a coach bag."

Last Day of Preschool. :(

2011-07-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

The second to last day of school was "pirate day."

Then, the last day came. The very last day of pre-school. ever.

Jayda thought it was fantastic.

I cried.

This is all going waaaaaaay too fast for me.

I can only imagine what it will be like on her 1st day of kindergarten. I may need to be sedated.

Easter

2011-07-17T12:52:00.001-07:00

We had a great Easter again this year!

We enjoyed a fun egg hunt and picnic with friends and then celebrated His Resurrection on Sunday. It was a great weekend filled with friends, family, and gratitude.

Spring Concert

2011-05-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

Jayda had her very last preschool spring concert. It was so sweet to see her sing her little guts out on stage. She has been at that preschool for 3 years! She was 2.5 when she started going to Living Savior. She still had tiny dimples in her hands and arms from baby fat. Her hair was just long enough to put into a tiny pony tail. She was the cutest little bug ever! Now she's 5. She'll be starting Kindergarten in the fall. She's learned so much and has grown in leaps at bounds. We feel so blessed that she was able to spend such quality time with the staff and her friends at Living Savior. It was a great 3 years!

Can you see Russ and Lilly? It's like playing Where's Waldo, but instead of finding Waldo you have to find the pissy baby and the daddy rocking her on his shoulders trying to keep her quiet.

Jayda and her best buddy, Christopher. They've been "dating" now for 10 years (according to Jayda). He says he's going to marry her when he grows up, but he has to "learn to drive and learn to play golf before he can get serious." (those were his exact words to me...he's too cute!)

Miss Micki - the lead teacher in her class (the Turtles)

Miss Kristi - the helper teacher in the Turtle class.

Twice Blessed

2011-05-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I can't believe they're mine.

Sometimes I feel so blessed it takes my breath away.

Sometimes I can't believe these two little spirits came to be sisters because Russ and I fell in love and started a family. Then I watch them together and realize that Russ and I may not have had much to do with it. Their connection seems to be more of a heavenly creation.

I could be their mom for a million more lifetimes and still not get enough.

They mean the world to each other. They cling to each other when they're sad. They run to each other when they want to share a giggle. They snuggle first thing in the morning and right before bed each night. They were meant to be sisters. Sometimes I think that me being their mom was just the price they had to pay to get to this earth to be together again. They seem to have known each other prior to being sisters here. They seem to have loved each other since the stars were created.

My wish for them is to find happiness in each others successes and hold each other during their failures. That they'll cry together, laugh together, plot and plan together, and pray together.

Love you girls...

A Day In the Life of LILLY MAE

2011-04-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

7:15 wake up angry.

7:16 immediately begin yelling for daddy.

7:17 mom enters room to get me out of bed and explain that daddy is at work.

7:17-7:27 walk around the house looking everywhere for daddy because mom is a liar.

7:28 realize mom was telling the truth and begin to cry because "i wamma dadddeeee"

7:29 climb on top the kitchen table to pound on the computer. mom takes me off the table.

7:30 - 7:32 repeat table/computer activity repeatedly till mom threatens to duct tape me to the wall.

7:35 breakfast.

7:37 throw breakfast on the floor.

7:38 scream for more breakfast.

7:39-7:45 eat food, throw food, feed Riley, throw cup, repeat.

7:45-8:00 scream bloody murder as mom changes diapers, clothing, and puts on shoes. Oops, mom put on the shoes that I hate today (even though I LOVED them yesterday), pick out other shoes and make mom put them on immediately.

8:01-8:45 generally speaking just make trouble for mom and do things such as jump off the couch, climb back on the table, bounce a bunch on the dishwasher door while it's open, find a butter knife on the counter (which mom still has no idea how I even got it down) and throw it at the dog, finger paint the tv (don't ask what I used to finger paint. Let's just say it's light green and salty and comes from my nose).

8:45-9:005 Ride along in the car while we take Jayda to school. If there's no movie on the in car then I scream like someone is pulling each hair out of my head very, very slowly.

9:00 - 9:15 drive back home after dropping Jayda off at school. Yell "SHESHE" (or sissy/jayda) for the entire 15 minute drive because I'm extremely ticked off she's at school and I'm stuck with my mom.

9:15-9:20 mom runs up stairs to pee. Silly lady. I use this time to pick up the dog food bowl and dispense dog food anywhere and everywhere I can think of. I also dump all the dog's water on the kitchen floor so I can pretend it's a slip'n'slide. Later, mom will find dog food in the pots and pans (which were inside the cabinet) when she goes to cook dinner. Surprise!

9:20-9:25 mom runs downstairs to start a load of laundry. HA! She'll just never learn. I use this time to open the refrigerator and place the shredded cheese, milk, and pickles all over the kitchen floor. Then I poop. I run like clockwork. Every morning at about 9:30 OR 11:30 I make a dookie. Then I scream while mom changes my diaper.

9:26-10:00 watch The Fresh Beat Band on tv because mom needs a few minutes of "downtime" to get stuff done without me trying to pick the dog up and put her in the dishwasher.

10 - 11:35 run errands with mom. I hate it. So I scream. And scream. And throw things out of the cart. Then I wave at people walking by so they think I'm cute and angelic and that my mom is a big ol' meanie. It's kind of evil of me. But hey, that's how I roll.

11:35 - 12:15 drive to and from getting Jayda from school. Repeat activity done during 8:45 - 9:00 time frame.

12:15-12:25 mom helps Jayda get in some comfy clothes, go pee, wash her hands, yada yada yada. So, while I'm not being watched like a hawk I find a marker that my sissy left out. I use it to draw all over every one of mommy's checks in her checkbook.

12:25-1:00 lunch time. It's just like breakfast, but with lunch food.

1:00-1:02 my mommy tries to do the dishes. While she turns her head for a minute, I kick down the baby gate that is blocking me from getting out in the front yard. I escape for about 60 seconds (which makes my mom feel like the WORST parent ever because something very bad could have happened). While I'm FREE for 60 seconds I decide to run over to my next door neighbors house and play, while still in all my clothes and shoes, in their hose. I'm soaking wet.

1:02 -1:05 My mom comes and picks me up. She's pissed. And scared about what could have happened. And mad at herself. And I think its funny. So I laugh and giggle the entire time I'm being scolded.

1:05 - 1:15 While we were outside drying me off, a neighbor came over to say hello. While my mom was holding me and talking to the neighbor, I unzipped her sweater and showed the neighbors my mommys boobs and bra (keep in mind these are her boobies that were a 34c, but after she had me they became a 34long...not pretty). My mom was pretty mortified. I found it hilarious!

1:16-mom mumbles something about one of us needing a nap.

1:17-3:00 I sleep. My mom recovers (and by "recovers" I mean does the dishes, laundry, plans dinner, pays bills, reads to Jayda, and vacuums).

3:00 I wake up angry.

3:01-3:20 snack. you can guess how this goes based on what breakfast and lunch were like, right?

3:20-4:00 play with my sissy. There'a lot of screaming and hair pulling involved (from me). My sissy takes it like a champ because she's awesome...but I sense she's getting a bit tired of my attitude.

4:02 (notice the missing two minutes??) I escape for two minutes only to have my glorious alone time shattered when my sissy screams for my mom to come help. My mom finds me standing in the bathroom sink drawing on the bathroom mirror with toothpaste. It was fun AND it tasted good.

4:03-4:05 My mom starts dinner and finds the dog food everywhere. I try to help by pulling out pots, pans, and pantry items. I can tell my mom is thrilled. Mommy looks so defeated when she's happy.

4:06-5:00 Mommy calls this the "witching hour." It's when I'm at my finest and she "barely holds on till daddy gets home." I try to make this time go by super fast for her so I keep her busy and entertained by trying to ride the dog, climbing up on the barstools and getting stuck and them screaming for help (I do this one over and over and over again till mom throws the bar stools on the front porch out of desperation), then I throw my gold fish snack on the ground and step on them to make sure they're really smashed into the carpet. I take a few minutes to find two rolls of toilet paper. I drop one in the toilet and it gets reeaalllly big! Then I take the other one and toilet paper sissy's bedroom. My mom starts yelling at my sissy for leaving the bathroom door open allowing me to do said activity.

5:01-5:10 play with mommy for a few sacred minutes, change diaper and get ready to go pick up daddy.

5:10-5:30 pick daddy up from the bus stop. I tend to yell a bunch while we drive there. Then I see him and act really, really angelic. Again, sorta evil of me to do, but it's worked for me thus far so I'll probably keep doing it. Dad gets in the car and says "what smells in here?" Mom looks like she's gonna cry.

5:31-6:00 eat dinner. yes, it goes about as well as breakfast and lunch. Only now daddy's home so he's angry because I keep throwing my food and screaming like a banshee.

6:00 - 6:30 play with daddy. It's my favorite time of the day. Mom usually rocks back and forth in a corner sucking her thumb during this time. I hear her repeatedly ask herself why she even bothers to clean or straighten throughout the day since it looks like WW3 in our house...which is CRAZY because it was clean 2 hours ago.

6:31 - 6:55 shower, brush teeth(try to throw my tooth brush in the toilet, but mommy catches it), put on PJ's.

6:55-7:00 song and prayer. Yell at anyone who doesn't have their arms folded just right. Yell Amen. Give kisses. Go night night.

7:01 - 7:09 - cry and whine that I'm in bed. then scream for help because my blanket is not exactly over my feet the way I like it. Dad comes in and fixes the blanket once last time.

7:10 fall asleep and prepare my body to do it all again tomorrow.

Luckily for us all, there are a TON of sweet kisses, big hugs, priceless smiles, and warm embraces that make this all enjoyable and very, very sweet.

WE LOVE YOU LILLY. WE WOULDN'T TRADE YA FOR THE WORLD (I was just kidding earlier today when I said I'd trade you for a half eaten girl scout cookie). :)

Look Whoo's Having a Baby

2011-04-10T17:27:00.001-07:00

Heather and I threw a shower for our dear friend Sarah. She was expecting her first baby (a little boy named Dallas who was born a few days ago). We used owls as the theme and it turned out pretty cute! The games were actually fun, the food was simply amazing (I can say that because Mallory and Heather did it all), and the turn out was great.

Sarah is a good friend. She is a pediatric nurse and works at the hospital where I had both of my kids. When I had Lilly (remember how horrible that was!) she was there to come in and check on me and make me feel better. Not just to check on me physically...but to make sure I was okay emotionally. She's pretty awesome and it was GREAT to "shower" her with love and support.

Look how cute Sarah looks pregnant.

If I didn't love her so much I'd totally hate her.

Heather, along with helping decorate, coming up with the games,

and making most the food, spent a bunch of time making these cool paper hangy thingy's.

They really make a party look cool. (Please note that she's gonna kick my butt for putting this awesome picture of her on my blog. I can guarantee I said something to her and she's giving me her sideways "you're crazy" look....I get that look a lot). :)

The cupcakes were made by yours truly! Shocking, I know!

Aren't these little cinnamon bun candles cute? Perfect parting gift for our guests. The tag read "thanks for celebrating Sarah's bun-in-the-0ven. We had a real hoot!" Cute, eh?

Singing in the rain

2011-04-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

It was warm one day last week and it felt WONDERFUL! We decided to have a picnic out front and decorate our tiny tree with easter eggs for the upcoming holiday. However, the girls saw the hose sitting on the ground and just couldn't resist an impromptu water session!

It was so much fun...we can't wait for summer!!

2wo

2011-03-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know you can see the snot in her nose in this picture. But I don't have editing software and this is truly what she looks like every day so I think it's pretty appropriate!

Lilly Mae is 2!

My 5lbs 1oz, 7.5 week premature baby is now 2 years old! She weighs 30lbs, fits in size 2 or 3 clothes, and wears a size 7 shoe (Jayda is only in a 9!). She's healthy and growing like a weed!

She is also fully enjoying her TERRIBLE TWO's! She's feisty, pissy, temperamental, energetic, mischievous, and funny. Our little "Angry Elf" likes to yell at her sister, push her around, pull her hair, and throw her toys. But she also likes to snuggle, give kisses, and grunt when she gives super big hugs. She's absolutely perfect.

She's still in speech therapy every other week and is doing well. She calls Jayda "sissy." She can say Jayda, but she prefers to call her Sissy (sounds likes She-She) which is the cutest thing ever. She says daddy, mommy, riley, grammy, papa, baby, bath, and a bunch of other words...but she still prefers to scream and point. Either way...she's communicating!

We had a yummy dinner and I made a ladybug cake for her birthday. It was a sweet evening and we enjoyed the family time just being together and celebrating our sweet Lils.

Happy Birthday Miss Mae!

Sneaky little Leprechauns

2011-03-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

I love St. Patrick's Day. I love that the wee little leprechauns come and visit our house to play tricks on the kids in the middle of the night.

This year they were especially sneaky.

First, Jayda woke up to green toilet water.

Then, when she walked downstairs she saw that the leprechauns had hung her barbie and her pink pig upside down from the chandelier!

We decided to make pancakes for breakfast, but when we poured out the bisquick...dog food spilled out instead! Well, we were lucky and we found the bisquick in another bag in the pantry so we pulled it out to start making our pancakes. But when we went to pour the milk in...it was green!

After feasting on green pancakes and green milk for breakfast, Jayda went up to her room to put her clothes on for school. She always picks out her clothes the night before. But when she went upstairs they weren't laid out on her chair like usual. She was a bit confused...until she saw her American Girl Doll, Elizabeth, sitting on top of her chair wearing Jayda's school clothes. Those sneaky little leprechauns took her doll out of her bed and dressed her in Jaydas clothes!

Luckily, the wee little leprechauns are super nice so they leave little gold candies at each spot they do a trick.

I think being sneaky is fun. Those leprechauns are pretty lucky they get to do tricks on the kids!

Hope you all had a fun, trick filled, St. Patrick's Day!

Dog food instead of pancake mix!

Here Jayda is cracking up because she found her American Girl doll wearing her school clothes.

This is one of my favorite pictures. . She was laughing so hard that she started crying!

My house is not this messy everywhere I promise! But I love this picture. Can you see the little splash of green flying out of the bowl on the left?

Nothing endures but change...

2011-03-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

It's interesting how no matter how much time you spend planning or plotting...things change. That's one consistent element of life. Change happens. It can be good. It can be bad. It can be exciting, scary, overwhelming, sad, thrilling, or simply different. We've had some slightly scary, yet exciting changes these past few months. For example, we bought a house!... and then I got laid off work.

On February 27th, we purchased our home. We've been renting this house for 3 years and found out it was going to be sold as a "short sale" which allowed us to purchase the home for a ridiculously low price. We know we like the location (4 doors down from the school that Jayda will attend next year!!!), we love our neighbors, and we know what we're getting since we've lived here for three years. The real bonus (besides the price)...we didn't have to move! We truly feel blessed for this opportunity. We now own a home that we can call our own. Although the house is not our dream home, it's perfect for us at this stage in our life. It's pretty, safe, affordable, and we love it! It's funny how when we were renting I didn't really like the house. I thought it was too small, the floors creaked, etc, etc. But now that it's ours I truly love it! I'm having fun planning how to redecorate and organize now that it's ours. Russ has already redone our closets (he did a great job) and is excited to become Mr. Handy! We're super excited!

The day after we bought the house our dryer broke. And our toilet is leaking. Weird that now those issues are our problems. No more calling the landlord. No more having it fixed for free. Those times are over. It's our responsibly now. And ya know what? It actually feels really, really good!

The day after our dryer broke, and two days after buying our house... I got laid off of work.

Ouch!

Then Russ and the girls all got the flu. It lasted for 10 days.

Needless to say...it was a crazy couple of weeks!

Although getting laid off of work right after buying a house was a bit scary and overwhelming...we feel blessed it happened. I've wanted to be a "real" stay-at-home mom for years. I say "real" because I was a stay-at-home mom, but I was working from home which means I was spread too thin and not really doing anything as well as I'd like. We were all suffering.

This forced our little family to make some changes. Russ is now providing for us on his own and I am able to truly run the household and manage our family. Interestingly enough...I've never been happier! I'm able to manage the house (it's still messy in case you were wondering), do the laundry (although we still dry clean Russ' work shirts because I think ironing clothes is the worst thing ever), cook meals (which I'm actually enjoying now that I'm not taking work calls and trying to keep the kids quiet while rushing out the door to pick up Russ from the bus WHILE trying not to burn the garlic bread!)! It's been soooooo amazing to feel like I have 10 minutes to read a book to Jayda instead of running around sending emails or taking calls while shushing my kids. It feels great to be able to read my kindle at night instead of working on RFP's or policies. It feels sooooooooo good to not be constantly hooked up to my blackberry. I do miss the sense of pride having a fancy title at a cool company gave me. But I am finding much more happiness and much more pride being an effective wife and mother. Being laid off was sad and scary. But being able to focus on my family and realign my priorities is a gift. We're thankful for the opportunity.

Staff Pro was a blessing sent from above. I truly believe that. I was able to work from home for nearly 6 years. I helped put Russ through grad school. I helped save enough money to buy a home. Although it was hard as hell, I was able to be at home with my kids and snuggle then any time of the day. I was able to fly home and see our families because Staff Pro would pay to fly me out for work. Staff Pro, and it's staff, played a HUGE role in my life over the past 8.5 years. I've made some great friends and had some great experiences. I'm so blessed to know them and to have been part of that company. I owe so much to my uncle Cory for providing me the opportunity to work at Staff Pro and be a mother and an executive! I can NEVER repay sweet Suzanne who was my boss and is now one of my closest friends for what she did for me day in and day out. I survived and thrived because of her leadership and friendship. I will always cherish Adi for putting up with my crazy ways and helping keep me on track. We made a good team. I'll miss my Staff Pro family. I'll miss the experiences I had while working. I'll miss Staff Pro.

But change is good. I'm happy. My kids are happier. Russ is happier. Life is just plain better.

Weird how a scary change can turn into such a happy blessing.

Yearbook - PreK

2011-02-23T17:03:00.001-08:00

5ive

2011-02-13T11:40:00.000-08:00

Jayda had a birthday and turned 5.

5 years old.

Do you understand what that means?

A) I'm getting old.
B) My parents are getting waaaay old (just kidding guys).
C) It's going WAAAY to fast.
D) She starts kindergarten in September.
E) I only have her for 13 more years before she's off at college.
F) Russ only has 10 or 11 years to clean and prepare his shot guns before she starts dating.
G) There's maybe 5 more years (and that's being generous) before she's totally embarrassed by everything we do.
H) Ten more years and she'll be driving with a permit.
I) I need to have more babies because mine are growing up too quickly.

Anywhoo- we kind of celebrated for about a week. It was a bit much and I'll try to reign it in next year (yeah, right). Grammy was here and so she got to spend Jayda's birthday with us. That was probably Jayda's favorite part of the festivities. Having her Grammy there to celebrate. They had slumber parties and art days. They played and talked and laughed all day, every day, for two whole weeks. Russ and I would go on dates and come home late. We'd sneak in the house trying to be quiet, only to hear giggles and whispers coming from Jayda's room. We'd open the door to find Jayda and Grammy snuggled in bed telling each other stories and cracking each other up. Those two are sure close.

On her actual birthday we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. She was able to wear whatever she wanted to and selected a very classy Fancy Nancy dress accompanied by some killer leggins and toy shoes. She's such a hoot! She also got to take special treats into her class and be the "line leader."

But the real festivities took place at her Megamind Movie Party! We rented out the movie theater next to our house for the entire morning (it was SUPER cheap...I highly recommend this party to anyone who doesn't want to host at their house and is on a tight budget!). The 15 kids arrived, had a tour of the theater, got some popcorn and soda, and watched Megamind. After the movie they ate some cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to Jayda. They ran around and played together in the lobby and then got a nice little gift bag on their way out. It was short. It was sweet. It was perfect. Jayda had a great time. The kids were all really, really well behaved and it was the most stress free event I've ever done!

So, Jayda...when you read this when you're older I want to tell you a few things: you are the sweetest, most loving, kind child I've ever met. You bring hours, and hours, of joy to our home. You exceed my every expectation in regards to being a big sister. You are patient and giving and cherish your little sissy. She's lucky to have you. You LOVE to laugh and give your dad a hard time. You joke with him (in a very adult way) and crack us all up. You are tender and get your feelings hurt easily, but you also love fiercely and forgive easily which make you just the right mixture of everything good. I often watch you play and interact with those around you and think: "I hope I can be as sweet and loving as Jayda." You're an inspiration to us and we adore you. Happy 5th Birthday, Gracie. We love you.

Here's Jayda in her outfit she picked out and wore to her birthday dinner. Love her!

Jayda on the morning of her 5th birthday...on our way out the door for school. Can you tell I was tearing up?

Happy and Healthy Lilly Mae

2011-02-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

Silly Lilly had tubes put in her ears on December 20th, 5 days before Christmas. Poor sweetie had ear infection, after ear infection, after ear infection and NOTHING would help her feel better. We tried chiropractors, acupressure, and normal antibiotics and no matter what we did...her poor ears were always infected.

It got so bad at one point that we had to take her to the doctors 4 days in a row where they'd give her a shot in each leg. 8 shots in 4 days! That SUCKS! Her fever was 103.5 for nearly a week and no medication would clear her infection. After being on so many meds in her short life her body became immune and the meds stopped working. It was time for tubes.

She handled the procedure like a champ. She came out of anesthesia fighting the nurses and her daddy. She was trying to "come to," but her eyes weren't open yet when she started trying to box anybody her little fists could reach. It was quite hilarious. And sorta sad. Poor pumpkin.

Anyway, it's been almost 2 months and we are ear infection FREE! This is fantastic news! She's had several colds, but its never turned into an ear infection and we are thrilled!

Apparently, when you have fluid in your ears all the time it sounds like you're always under water. Now that her tubes are in she's starting to talk more and she's SINGING! It's the cutest little thing on the planet. Her favorite (and I mean FAVORITE) song is Elton John's "I don't wanna go on with you like that." She sings right along with him when he ooh's and aah's (because she can say those) and is actually enjoying music. Thank heavens she can hear better. Now if only she'd actually listen to me! Do you think there's a medical procedure that would help that??

In the hospital waiting for the procedure to be done. I love that you can see Jayda whispering to me. I remember she kept asking "Is Lilly gonna be okay?" "How much longer does Lilly have to wait...she's nervous and I want the doctor to hurry up." It was pretty cute. I also love that Lilly looks like a deer in the headlights...she was a bit overwhelmed.

This has nothing to do with this post, but I just had to put it in. Here is Lilly in her daily "uniform" a diaper and a winter coat. She insists on wearing winter coats (and usually hats and boots) in the house all day long. It's so precious!

My word I love this kid! She's perfect for our family. We're so blessed she joined us!

Sucker punched & eating food w/ your hands in a place that smells like horse crap.

2011-02-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

So Jayda got punched in the face at school. Hard. A new little boy in the class named James 2 (no, his name is not really "James2", but there was already a James in her class so she now calls them "James1" and "James2" to differentiate) used his left hand to hold her head still and his right hand to sock her in the face. No warning. No verbal clues. No reason. He just got upset about something and decided to use Jayda as a punching bag. She had a lump and bruise on her cheek so when I picked her up from school she had an ice pack.

What did the teachers do when he did this? Simply moved him to the back of the line. Now, if you move him to the back of the line where he waits to be put in a trash can and rolled down a steep hill...then fine...the back of the line sounds great. But if you just put him in the back of the line and no other disciplinary measure is taken...not fine. Not fine at all. That's showing that kid, and the others that saw it happen, that you can sock a kid in the face and nothing will happen to you. Why don't you just paint a red bullseye on my kid so everyone else can hit her when they're angry too?

The next day the same kid pushed her down. What did the teachers do this time? They had a "talk with him" and told him that our hands are not for hitting (I disagree. I think there are times that our hands are for cold-clocking someone right in the face if they repeatedly pick on you and physically assault you...but maybe that's for another post. So, I digress...).

I was pissed. Stark raving mad is more like it. I understand that pushing, shoving, and that kinda stuff goes on at school. I want Jayda to experience social issues and learn and grow from them. But a fist to the face goes above and beyond the normal preschool stuff. And pushing her down the very next day crosses into "my mom is gonna annihilate you" territory.

I talked with Jayda about what was happening. I was so angry and I just kept telling her that this wasn't her fault and that she didn't deserve this. I told her that the kid obviously has some issues and she needs to stay far, far away from him. If the teachers are gonna let him beat people up...it won't be my kid because she'll be out of his reach. Russ was planning on giving her boxing lessons. I'm partly sure he was willing to display those boxing skills on the kids dad as an example. We were peeved.

Do you know what Jayda said? She said, "Mom. I was thinking about it today and I just don't think that he feels the Spirit. When you feel the Spirit you don't act that way. Maybe he just needs the Spirit in his life."

What the? Whose kid is this? I'm planning on hanging the kid by his shoelaces and my 4 year old gives me a spiritual lesson about how the boy is obviously hurting inside to act this way. I do not take credit for her awesomeness. The Lord made her little spirit strong and sweet and forgiving. I'm pretty sure those traits slipped off of me as I came through the veil into this world...because I just don't have that kind of Christ-like love. But she does. And it's amazing.

And it gets better...

I talked to the little boys mom and told her my concerns and issues. I was very nice, but when she told me that he's her problem child and she can't guarantee it won't happen again, I let her know that if it happens again one of us would be leaving the preschool and it won't be Jayda.

The next day he brought Jayda a cupcake and a handmade "I'm sorry" card. I had told Jayda to be polite but to stay away from him no matter what and that she didn't need to be subjected to his "issues." But when she came home from school holding her prized cupcake and card she said "mom, I know you said not to sit by him, but he said sorry and I think he really meant it. So I forgave him and invited him to sit next to me. We had a nice snack time together. I think that if he has friends at school he'll feel the spirit more."

It took me a minute to pull my jaw up off the floor. And then it took me another minute to wipe my tears. I was really, really proud of her. The Spirit she feels in her little body is overwhelming to me. I was proud. And I was humbled. And I was taught. By my 4 year old. Who feels the Saviors love and practices being a true Christian.

So, what does this post title of "eating with your hands in a place that smells like horse crap" have to do with this story? Well, we wanted to spend a special Mommy-Daddy-Jayda date night with our little girl who made such wise decisions. We wanted to spoil her and make her feel special and loved. So we took her to Medieval Times. And it was AWESOME!

We left Lilly with a sitter and made the 90 minute drive to the Baltimore Castle. Jayda had no idea where we were going and got super excited when we got there and she realized what she was about to see! It was so cute to see her little face light up with excitement!

We sat in the front row, ate yummy food (even though the entire arena smelled like horse crap), her name was announced by the knight because she was turning 5 that week, and our knight (the green knight) gave Jayda his winning sash! She truly felt like a princess and it was, by far, worth every cent. We had a fabulous time and will always cherish those few hours of Medieval fun!

But more than anything, I will always picture her tiny face with fat 4-year-old cheeks smiling at me while saying that she turned her enemy into her friend. I am so blessed to be her mama.

Ice Ice Baby

2011-02-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

On new years weekend we took the kiddos to the Gaylord Hotel in DC. It's a beautiful hotel overlooking the water that hosts an annual ice sculpture event. This year's theme was The Grinch.

We got there early in the morning, bundled up in the issued parkas, and walked around amazed at the awesome display. It was truly breathtaking to see the talent and time that went into each piece. There was also an ice slide that we had fun sliding down for several butt-freezing minutes. After seeing the ice sculptures we took the kids to the main hotel and Russ took them on a little train ride. It was super cute!

With that said, I wouldn't go back till the kids are older. It was great to see...but it was ridiculously overpriced and with the wee ones there things felt a bit rushed. But it was a fun morning and great way to start the new year!

Christmas was Merry!

2011-01-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Roth house was filled with love, laughter, and a ton of wrapping paper. Santa was good to the girls. They each got an American Girl Doll. Jayda was beside herself with joy. She'd been asking for her Elizabeth doll for about 3 months and wrote several, pleading letters to Santa making sure he knew what she wanted and why she deserved it (she was a very, very good girl this year). Lilly didn't seem to care much about the doll, but one of the boxes on the ground was a real hit!

Jayda's main gift from us was her talking, light-up princess vanity. Lilly got two bitty babies and a double stroller. Jayda gave hugs after nearly ever gift and kept saying "thank you guys" over and over again. It was very sweet. I was so proud of her and her "attitude of gratitude." She was well-behaved and polite. Sweet and funny and willing to share. Lilly, however, is lucky she's cute.

Russ bought me an insanely BEAUTIFUL watch that I totally adore and I bought him a handgun (44 Special)...because what says "we love baby Jesus" more than a weapon, right?

We were also spoiled rotten (again) by our extended family. Great gifts, thoughtful presents, and handmade items were all strewn across the floor. It looked like Macy's blew up in our living room. It was overwhelming...in a really good way!

Although the gifts were amazing and spectacular, we tried to keep our focus on the real reason we were celebrating...the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. As we all know, it can be an extremely difficult task of keeping Him as our main thought while we're driving in traffic at the mall, waiting in long lines, and stressing over which gift to get for each person. How did we do it (not that we did it as well as we would have liked)?? We had several lessons with the girls about the real reason we celebrate Christmas, discussions about what was so miraculous about Jesus' birth, and some fun "Christ-centered" activities. My favorite was our "gifts to Jesus." We took little ornaments in the shape of presents and wrote on each of them what our "gift" to Jesus would be. Then we hung those ornaments on our Christmas tree so we could see them every day and remind ourselves what we could do to show Him our love. Jayda gave: thankfulness, hugs to sister, and reverence. Russ gave kindness to everyone and more time to family. I gave patience (this one has proven to be an extremely difficult gift to give as apparently I have none. In fact, patience is such a HUGE gift...I only gave the one present. Jesus understands. In my world, giving patience equates to about 1,000 gifts). Lilly gave "not hitting." This too, has proven difficult for her. She's working on it...which, as I'm sure you can guess, is affecting my gift of patience.

Anyhoo - we all hope your Christmas was filled with laughter, love, family, and the knowledge that Christ lives.

Happy Holidays!
PS. I know its a ridiculous amount of photos (which are in no particular order)...but I don't scrapbook so this is my way of remembering how awesome it all was!

Lilly enjoying her gifts while resting.

Baking cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve

I guess I didn't have the stockings hung by Jayda's deadline...

because she put these up without consulting me.

Jayda as an angel at her school Christmas concert

Helping daddy put the star on top our tree

Does anyone else think they look like they should be playing fiddles

and walking through the corn?

Loving on her new best buddy - Elizabeth

the American Girl Doll Santa brought

Before it was ravaged.

Russ opening up his new Lakers jacket. Look how excited he is!

Please notice he's already wearing a Lakers sweater. Yes, it's an addiction.

Super excited to get the gift from my pops.

An entire make up kit just for Jayda.

Do you think she's excited?

Jayda opening her gift from Lilly. So sweet.

Russ spoiled me. Like a lot. It's BEAUTIFUL!

Dancing to the music her new airplane plays.

You mean this is all for me!!

One of the best gifts of the morning. Grandma-Made Jammies for both girls WITH matching jammies for their American Girl Dolls...now that's LOVE!

Jayda telling her daddy "thank you" for a gift we gave her.

This is my very favorite picture from this Christmas. Such a sweet girl.

She just melts his heart (as you can tell).

She's worn these every day (most of the day) for an entire week!

Hooray! A new princess cup just for me!

Playing in her new dress with her new make up applied like a pro!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T05:02:00.000-08:00

Costumes, Cali, and Craziness

2010-12-05T05:38:00.000-08:00

What a whirlwind of time these past few months have been.

We had a good friend take some family pictures. Stephanie Pilling (see sidebar for her website) is so talented and always gets great shots. Unfortunately (no fault of hers) Lilly cried almost the whole time so the pics weren't quite what I had envisioned in my mind...I'm not sure why I envision all 4 of us smiling at the camera. When, in my fantasy world, would that really happen? Funny story though- I saw the photos for the first time at about 9am. I joined Jenny Craig at 9:30. I've lost 10 lbs so far! So, even though Lilly was crying...I was able to see myself in print. And subsequently realized that it was time to say goodbye of the baby weight. And the donuts.

Jayda gave her talk (the one she gave in primary) in Sacrament meeting. This is the main hour of church when all the church members are present. She gave her 3 minute talk all by herself in front of about 150 people. She rocked! It was so sweet to see her tiny body on the pulpit talking about the miracles of Jesus. It was one of the highlights of 2010.

Halloween was great. We had our 3rd annual Trick or Treating Dinner @ our house. Pizza with friends and then some fun trick or treating. The kids had a blast. Lilly went as Tinker Bell and Jayda went as Rapunzel. Russ and I enjoyed an adult-only dinner party that was super fun...we so love and adore our friends! We went as Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo.

We spent all of November in California. It's hard to believe that one trip could be soooooo bad. Although it's always great to see family...this trip SUCKED! The trip started out with the flight from hell. Lilly screamed the entire 9 hours (door to door). She was so bad on the flight that the flight attendant asked me to sit in the bathroom with her to "give the other passengers a rest." Bitch. Yes, I've never cussed in this blog before. This, however, deserves it. It was really, really crappy.

When the plane landed I got an email from our landlord. He's selling the house and we have to move. How am I supposed to look for a place to live while I'm in Cali for 4 weeks? Ugh. Stressful!

While in HB, both kids were seriously sick nearly the entire trip. We went to the pediatrician 9 times! That's more trips to the doctor within a 3 week span than in Lilly's entire life. It was ridiculous. Jayda ended up in the ER because her flu was so bad. Me, my mom, my dad, and both brothers also got the flu. It was gnarly. And disgusting.

Work was crazy this trip. I was in California to shoot a training video for Staff Pro. I wrote, directed, casted, and hosted the video. I literally did everything from A-Z for this entire project. It was extremely difficult, but also very gratifying to complete. I'm hopeful it will be useful for all of our branch offices to use as their primary method of training new hires.

Russ and I went shopping at about noon on black Friday. We went to the local mall near my folks house. I borrowed my dads car. Without asking. I didn't realize that the two shotguns we took shooting two days prior were still in the car. Apparently some thugs did realize they were in there and wanted them. After shopping for about thirty minutes we came out to a smashed out window and the guns missing. I can't begin to explain how sad that made me. One was my dads gun and the other was Austin's. They were sentimental guns (that sounds hilarious, but its true). It made me super, super sad. :(

It was great to see family though. I adore our families and couldn't have done it without them. We also got to visit some of our very bestest buddies (The Thompsons) so that made our trip enjoyable as well.

Overall, we're glad to be home and are looking forward to a healthy Christmas season...we hope!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

It was awesome.

Slides.

Yummy Food.

Goat Village.

Our kids laughing and playing and having fun.

Nothing better than a good old fashion pumpkin patch.

Gratitude

2010-09-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

As a family tradition we have a "Back to School Feast" the night before school starts. We eat some yummy food and unveil our "family theme" for the year. At the end of the night, Russ places his hands on our sweet babies heads and gives them a blessing for the school year.

Jayda selected the menu: Swedish Pancakes (delish crepe style pancakes that are a complete pain in the butt to make, but super yummy) with strawberries and whipped cream, cinnamon and sugar, or nutella spread.

The blessings were sweet and lovely...as always. He prayed that Jayda would have strength to make good decisions, be a positive influence on those around her, and enjoy learning. He blessed Lilly that she would continue to grow and develop with no negative side effects from being 2 months premature, and that she and her sister would continue to love and appreciate each other. There is something so tender about seeing his big hands on their tiny heads. I love watching them look up at him with their big blue eyes so lovingly. It's a very sweet, spiritual, and tender moment in our life as an eternal family.

Our family theme for this school year is GRATITUDE. Our goal is to say something we are thankful for each day and really put our blessings into perspective. We have been blessed beyond measure and are going to be more diligent about striving to "live in thanksgiving daily" as a family unit and as individual children of God. Our family theme is based on a scripture from the Book of Mormon found in Alma 34:38 "That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

Today, as I write this, I am most grateful for my kids, my husband, our jobs, living in this amazing country, our heater in our house, my fridge full of food, good health insurance (every one's healthy...I'm just glad we have it), the movie "Up" that the kids are watching right now giving me 5 minutes to write this post, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What are you most thankful for at this exact moment?

1st day of school...take 3

2010-09-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Jayda is back in preschool...for the third year.

She loves it.

She goes Monday - Friday from 9 - noon.

I wasn't sold on the idea of having her away from me for 5 straight mornings, but it has been great. She looks forward to going and it's allowed me to spend some 1-on-1 time with Lilly.

She's in the Turtle Class. Her teachers are Ms. Mickie and Ms. Kristie. The picture above in her classroom is of her sitting next to her "boyfriend" Christopher. That info will be in another post. Let's just say that Russ isn't taking it well.

I miss her face each day. I miss her giggles. I snuggled on her today when she got home from school and said "Oh Jayda I just miss you something fierce when you're at school. I think about you all day and just miss you so darn much!" She replies: "thanks mom. I just miss my dad."

I just adore my little turtle!

Innocence, Purity, & Virture

2010-09-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

This post is written with a mixture of emotions. On one hand we are embarrassed to even announce what we have done. On the other hand, we are finally, after 18 months, at complete peace with our decision. So, here it goes:

WE HAVE OFFICIALLY, AND FINALLY, NAMED OUR DAUGHTER (no rush, right?)

yeah, yeah. I know what you're thinking? Haven't you already named her...like, twice? Once when she was born and then again 6 months later when you changed it? Yes, you are correct. She was born as Sierra Bella. It wasn't right. We decided to change her name ever so slightly to Sierra Isabella-Mae. It still wasn't right. Sierra Isabella is one of the most beautiful names I've ever heard, but no matter how hard we tried...it just wasn't her. It wasn't right. We truly wanted it to be and tried hard to make it so, but it was just wrong no matter how many times we said it.

Can you imagine calling out to your child and feeling like it was wrong every single time you said her name? Feeling like the words stumbled on your tongue and never quite settled in your soul? Well, that's what we felt like for a year and a half. I called her Bella, Russ called her Izzy, and Jayda called her sissy because, let's face it, what the hell else was she supposed to call her?

It's been crappy. It's been frustrating. It's been embarrassing. I've cried some tears, said some prayers, and cursed at myself in the mirror. What lame parents we are. I'm sure many people think we are complete and total dramatic morons. I may have to agree with them on this specific point.

Well, finally-finally-finally-finally...we have named the sweet little spirit who joined our family 18 months ago and made our lives too sweet for words. Such an amazing little spirit sent from heaven deserves the perfect name. We truly believe that we've found it. We are at peace, we are happy, we are content. Our souls are settled and our minds have stopped spinning. And I will also say that once we started calling out this name...she responded immediately to it with no hesitation or pause as if to say "it's about freakin' time you idiots!"

We are excited to reintroduce you to:

Lilly Mae Roth

Lilly means Innocence, Purity, and Virtue. Mae is after my grandma that passed away the day we found out we were expecting our sweet baby. It's perfect. It's fitting. IT'S FINAL!

Papa and Grammy

2010-09-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

My parents came to visit last month. It was fabulous. We took some little day trips, visited Nielsens' Frozen Custard a few times, and just enjoyed each others company.

My mom and I have been working on designing some childrens decor. We're starting on our own line of Vintage inspired art specifiically for children. It's gonna be pretty fantastic if I do say so myself! I will post about that at another time.

Since we kept my mom locked away in our basement creating the cool art pieces, my dad took over babysitting duty and watched the girls a lot (because I still had to work). Both of the girls are OBSESSED with their Papa and sure love him to pieces.

Jayda had "slumber parties" with Grammy in her bedroom. Jayda also got to go on several "Papa-Jayda Dates." He took her to get donuts several times, went to the movies to see Marmaduke, and he even took her to the pool for a swimming lesson! I have so many wonderful memories of my dad and I spending time together. When I was little we had Disneyland passes and just the two of us would go together. Those days are some of my favorite childhood memories. I love-love-love seeing him with my girls and watching them bond and create memories of their own. I know my kids will treasure their Papa and these times for the rest of their lives.

I don't have any current pictures to share (becuase I'm horrible at remembering to take photos), but here's an old one of Papa and Jayda. You can see their love affair started early!

The Girls - August 2010

2010-08-10T08:35:00.001-07:00

I know I'm biased. But I'm pretty sure we make cute kids.

Our Sunbeam

2010-08-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

Sweet Jayda Grace gave her first talk in primary today. The talk was on Jesus Christ and Miracles. She did great. Like really great. She talked for 3 minutes and did her entire talk all by herself. At 4 years old she's already public speaking with no help from mom or dad!

She's in the Sunbeam class (the youngest group) and was given the opportunity to present this little talk. It was too cute.

Russ and I worked with Jayda during our last Family Home Evening (for those of you that don't know...Family Home Evening is where we keep Monday nights free for family night and we focus on each other and how we can be a closer family and closer to the Lord. The night can consist of a little spiritual lesson or even just play time. It's just our time as a family to shut out the world and focus on each other. It's a strongly encouraged tradition our church recommends and it has become our favorite night of the week). Once she created her talk with help from her daddy, I "wrote" her talk out in the form of pictures. Since she can't read she needed a little something to help her stay on track. She used the notes as her guide and looked at the audience often.

I'm a crier so it's no shock that it brought me to tears. Russ, however, was also teary eyed (it's true babe...you weren't sneezing or getting dust out of your eye...you were tearing up like a man child).

She was very proud of herself. But no where near as proud as we were. She's such our little sunbeam. She just warms our hearts and lights up our lives.

Good job Jayda Grace. We love you!

So that we never forget her talk...here is her talked "written out" with the pictures and what she said next to each page.

Hi. My name is Jayda Grace and I am giving a talk today on Jesus Christ (he's the Son of God) and Miracles.

What is a Miracle? A miracle is something amazing and special that God does through his power.

When Jesus was on earth her performed some miracles. Here are a few. Jesus healed the sick. He helped a blind man see. He fed 5000 people with only a small plate of fish and bread. He turned water into wine. and he brought a boy who had died back to life.

My favorite miracle is when Jesus walked on
water. There was a big storm and Jesus' disciples were on a boat and they were scared because the weather and waves were so bad. They saw someone walking on the water. "Is that you walking on water, Jesus?" It was Jesus! Peter asked Jesus to walk on the water so that he too could believe it was Jesus walking on the water. So Peter got out of the boat to walk on the water, but he started to sink. Jesus helped him up and then Peter walked on water too. Jesus asked Peter "why were you afraid, Peter? Did you not think I would help you?"
Then Jesus calmed the weather down. The three miracles in this story is that Jesus walked on water, Peter walked on water, and Jesus calmed the storm.

The greatest miracle is when Jesus died on the cross and then was put in the tomb for three days and then he came back to life. He was resurrected! That's a big miracle! Because of this miracle we can all live forever in heaven with our families.

I believe in Jesus. I believe in God. I believe in Miracles. In the name of Jesus Christ - Amen.

Fire Alarms, Shark Scares, and Locked in a WalMart

2010-08-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

We went on vacation last week.

It was fabulous!!!

We went to Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina (I'd REALLY like to move to Charleston and live there forever and ever. I loved-loved-loved it!)

Day 1
On our drive down to Myrtle Beach, all 10 hours of it, our sweet baby cried. and cried. and cried some more. Luckily Jayda watched movies and Russ and I drank yummy Sonic Burger drinks so we survived!

Day 2
First thing in the morning, Bella pulled the fire alarm at the resort. It had to be evacuated. The fire department came. It was hilarious. Or I should say NOW it is hilarious. At the time it was total crap. Mothers were running down the stairs holding their babies and workers were dropping their duties to flee. As we drove away from the hotel we passed the fire truck. Russ just looked straight ahead and said "just act natural." Good times.

Our time in Myrtle Beach was filled with relaxing beach trips and fun at the kiddie pool at the hotel. Jayda had a FABULOUS time and although I thought the hotel was pretty ghetto...Jayda thought it was the coolest place ever so we were all happy!

In the evening we went and saw some exotic animals. I was able to cross an item off my bucket list and play with a monkey! We all got to hold the monkey and I got to hold a baby tiger. It was pretty great. I was nervous that one of my children would get attacked (I've seen how some of those home videos end!!), but the little critters were as sweet as pie!

Day 3
As we were making breakfast in the morning (our hotel had a small kitchen) Bella was playing with Russ' phone. I heard her talking as she normally does...but this time I heard someone talking back. She'd called 911. Really? Two times in two days? Parents of the year!

We went to the beach mid-day and were playing in the water when we heard the life guard blow her whistle (side bar...the life guards were hotter than the chicks from Baywatch. it was disgusting. It made me want to add "acquire eating disorder" to my to-do list! they were like gorgeous freaks of nature...not that my mom bathing suit isn't sexy!) okay...back to the whistle...there were SHARKS! Everyone had to get out of the water. Or I guess I should say everyone in a 10 yard radius had to be evacuated, but they let people further away stay in and play in the waves. Apparently sharks can't swim more than a few yards?? Needless to say...we left.

That night there was an amazing storm that had the coolest lightning bolts and deafening thunder...it provided us with quite a show from our balcony!

Day 4
We got up early to go to the beach one last time and then headed to Charleston. The baby cried almost the entire 2.5 hr drive...again. We had sonic burger drinks...again. It was a tad bit of deja vu.

Once we got to our hotel (and after switching rooms so we could have two connecting rooms instead of being crammed into one) we ate at the famous Hymans Seafood Restaurant. It was a recommendation from some friends...and it was AMAZING! I had to fight Jayda for the crab dip! So yummy!

We also walked down the historic district and drooled over the old mansions. If you've never been...GO! (but do it without the kids. Kids kinda suck in Charleston).

Day 5
On Wednesday we visited the USS Yorktown which was an air craft carrier throughout WWII and played a major role in several battles. We got to take a cool tour of the ship and Russ was in heaven.

We went to a plantation, but didn't get to see much of it. Although we tried to take the house tour, see the slave quarters, and go on a carriage ride...the kiddos were just too hot and tired and wouldn't cooperate. So we left and went to lunch.

We waited in line for an hour to eat at the famous Jestines! It was worth the wait. If you go...just order the fried chicken and don't waste your time on anything else. It was pretty delicious.

We ended the day with a horse drawn carriage tour around the historic part of Charleston. I should say I ended the day on a horse drawn carriage. Poor Russ had to walk beside the darn thing carrying our crying baby.

Day 6
We left to drive home (13.5 freaking hours) and realized we had to stop to buy some diapers. We stopped at a Walmart. 5 minutes into our shopping all the lights went off in the entire store. It the darkness we could hear employees telling all customers to move to the front of the store. We walked up front and realized that since the power went out...the doors were all locked and we were stuck inside. Although it only lasted about 10 minutes, it was quite hilarious to see some of the people get panicky and start to claw and pull at the doors. Plus, it was a nice cake topper to our vacation!

Although we had a few bumps in the road and a few "oy veys" over our kids...the vacation was amazing. I will always picture Russ playing with his girls in the water. I'll always remember holding Jayda on my lap while the waves rolled over our legs. I'll always remember Bella pulling the fire alarm and the look that Russ and I gave each other. The memories will be sweet. We had a great time and cannot wait for our next adventure!

Here's to trouble making kids, worn out parents, over priced hotels, 25 pee stops, and some of my favorite family memories to date.

Oh and god bless my mom and dad who took us on family vacations before the time of i-pods and dvd players. You are a much stronger breed of parents. I'm not sure how you managed to survive let alone provide us with so much fun and memories! I would have slit my throat.

VIVA VACATIONS!

This is what your baby looks like when you forget to lock the

bottom buckle on your long drive to South Carolina.

This is what your kid looks like when she's bored out of her mind.

This was probably my favorite part of the trip! I'd really like to buy a monkey. I know they throw poop and everything...but I'm pretty sure it'd be worth it.

MYRTLE BEACH!

Walking along the historic part of Charleston, South Carolina. Can you believe I didn't take any pictures of the homes there? I'm such a loser. I was drooling the entire time-the homes are BEAUTIFUL. I did, however, grab a quick snapshot of my buggers alseep in the buggy. This was the only quite time Russ and I had for 5 straight days. It was magnificant babe...very romantic!

This was on the air craft carrier. Russ was really in his element. I, on the other hand, would have preferred to be shopping, or driving, or sleeping, or...that's why he calls me a "Commie" (as in Communist. I prefer Shopertunist).Family pic at the plantation.Here I am trying to act happy. I'd wanted to go to a cool plantation for ages, but didn't get to see much of it becuase of the little energy-suckers with me in the below picture. Man those critters are HIGH MAITENANCE (yes dear, I know they're just like me).

Viva Vacations!!

Fact or Fake: My Brother's a Star??

2010-07-05T17:26:00.000-07:00

My baby brother, Austin (or Daaustin as Jayda has always called him), is one of the leads on a spankin' new tv show. It's called Fact or Faked and is on the Syfy Network. It airs on Thursday, July 15th at 10:00pm. WATCH IT!!

It's gonna be super cool.

Plus, if ratings are good and it gets picked up for a second season than I'm gonna make him buy me a house, or a car, or at least a burger.

Click here to go to the shows website, see Austin's bio, look at pics from the show...and watch the TV COMMERCIAL!

Bella - 15 Months

2010-06-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

My sweet Bella Mae. You are now 15 months old and are a complete JOY. You are a big bundle of energy and keep me on my toes non stop. Today I found you eating old cake out of the trash can (and the award for mother of the year goes to...), trying to ride our small, 13-year old, one-eyed dog like a pony, and body slamming your sister as she was laying on the floor reading. Your laugh is infectious, your smile is contagious, and your cuddles are to die for. You are a smushy little thing that just makes me melt. I just adore you.

You currently weigh 22.5 lbs (50th percentile)

You are 32 inches long (90th percentile)

Your head is big (97th percentile)

You eat anything and everything you can get your hands on and LOVE it all (with the exception of Milk...which you detest). You love to dance (you often can be found "raising the roof") and peek a boo is still your favorite.

You're such a little muffin. We love you!

The Family - June 2010

2010-06-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

I love this man. I love these girls. What a good life.

1/4 of a year in one post. Kinda ridiculous.

2010-06-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

Wowzers...it's been quite a while since I've blogged! So, I am about to go crazy nutty with picture overload so that I can remember what our family did these past few months. Nothing too exciting, but filled with a lot of love and smiles that I just don't want to forget.

Although I have no pictures, I did want to mention that we all flew to California for a few weeks and spent mothers day in Huntington Beach. We each got to see our sweet mama's and LOVED being around family. Russ and I even had an uber romantic overnight trip to San Diego (thanks mom and dad for babysitting) which was great. However, we're lame and didn't take our camera to So Cal...so we've got nothing to show from our great trip. Which is super sad because Jayda got to go to Knotts Berry Farm and her Uncles (Dallas and Austin) took her to Disneyland....those would have been some great pics!

So...without further ado, I bring you March, April, May, and June:

MARCH

The sweet missionaries from our church came over and gave us some long hours of service. These two guys spent an entire day raking and clearing out leaves (and the occasional snake) so that we could make our backyard clean, safe, and extra cool for my kiddos. It's soooo nice to have a great big, gated back yard where Jayda can go and run and play...especially when I'm on conference calls and I need it quiet! Elder Rothman and Elder Perkins are THE BEST and are super duper appreciated for all they do. Can you believe good looking, sweet, funny, and awesome 19 year olds give up two years of their lives to serve others? The world is a much better place because of them!

My mom and I got in on the action too. We rented a Uhal truck and took a few tons of leaves and backyard crap to the dump. It felt sooo good to get our yard all nice and summer ready! Russ worked for days before, the big clean day, and days after making sure the yard was perfect for Jayda. What a good hubby/daddy. The big clean helped prepare the yard for this new addition!

As you can see below - Jayda couldn't even wait for Russ to put the thing together before she climbed on! I found this playset on craigslist for $150! it was beyond a nightmare bringing it home (rental trucks, a bunch of neighbors risking life and limb to get it over our gate), but it was better than buying one for $1000 new and it has been FANTASTIC to have!

and here's the sweet garden that Grammy made for Jayda. This picture does NOT do it justice. It's a super cute little place for Jayda to call her own. She eats her lunch out there on her little table and likes to get dressed up for tea parties she has with her stuffed animal friends. Sooo cute!March ended with sweet Bella having Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. It was gross and painful for the sweet baby. She had it for about a week. Was healthy for about a week...and then got croup. This little girl seems to be sick quite a lot. The doctors say its because she was two months early and that preemies get sick more. Poor pumpkin!

APRIL

We had a great Easter filled with picnics and Easter egg hunts with friends.

Bella learned to give kisses.

Grammy got to join us and had this little one stealing her food all day...or being attached to her hip like a 5th appendage.

I love this picture! All her friends are so cute and special. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how Jayda is getting ready to run and go find her eggs. She really enjoyed herself. Thanks to Grandma Axtell for her cool, personalized Easter Basket. She's used it for two years now and will use it for every Easter to come. She adores it!

Here is Jayda playing with her new Lakers bunny that Papa sent. It's kinda an Easter tradition. Nothing says "Christ is the reason for the season" like a stuffed bunny wearing a Lakers shirt.

Bella got some new rainboots from my dear friend Suzanne and felt so special wearing them on Easter morning. Because again, nothing really says "Christ was resurrected for us to live again" quite like Paul Frank rain boots.

All joking aside, we had a great Easter Sunday. We went and had a picnic in downtown DC and saw the Cherry Blossoms (of course I forgot my camera) and had a really nice weekend sharing stores of Christ death, resurrection, and love for us. We are all so grateful that we can live together forever as a family thanks to Christ's atonement and sacrifices.

We call Bella "Destructo" It's a good nick name. She likes to destroy things. She's super cute when she does it, but its still a pain in my butt!

Silly me...I went pee. I was gone for about 30 seconds (prior to becoming a mommy I had no idea a human could pee as fast as I can now accomplish that task) and this is what I came back to.

As you can see in the other picture...Jayda was also shocked at the damage done in such a short period of time.

Jayda learned how to dance like a country star (according to her).

Bella's a climber. She scales everything. She's also climbed pretty high on the "moms annoyed that you won't sit still scale." She can now reach the knobs on the over and stove. I LOVE trying to cook dinner and realizing that Bella either burnt the beans or turned the water off so we can't eat our rice! She swings from the door handle on the oven and the dishwasher. She stands at the gates we use to contain her and yells. She's a handful.

Jayda had a "Special Person Tea" at her preschool. Her daddy took the day off work so he could go and be her special guest. It just melted my heart to see him walk out the door with a little bouquet of flowers for his little Gracie. As you can see by her smile and her bright eyes...it melted her heart too.

This is Christopher. He is Jayda's first crush. She talks about him all the time and when she picks what she's going to wear in the morning she says "oh, Christopher will like this shirt" (like Christopher gives a crud about Princess Tiana). Funny story - Jayda was talking about Christopher at dinner one night. Russ started asking questions like "does he have a job?" "What are his intentions?" He was being funny. She was being serious. About a month after that dinner conversation Jayda went to have a playdate at Christopher's house. When I go to pick her up, Christopher's mom says to me "Jayda says that her daddy doesn't like Christopher and that her daddy thinks my son is a punk." AWKWARD! I really wish Russ could have picked her up and tried to get himself out of that one...instead I was left standing in the lady's entry way trying to explain my hubby's sense of humor. Good times.

Here Jayda is selecting the fine delicates served at the tea
(jello jigglers and cookies) to serve to her daddy.

Grammy went home a few days before this picture was taken.

Jayda, since she can't talk to her for hours and hours in person,
does the second best thing and talks Grammy's ear off on the phone. One conversation they had clocked in at 41 minutes. What can you talk about with a 4 year old for 41 minutes straight? Those two are pretty close.

Now my second offspring is starting to take to Grammy too. In fact, there were many, many times here and in California where she would be in Grammy's arms and when I would try to take her away she would slam her head down on Grammys shoulder and just lay there holding onto Grams shirt to make sure I didn't take her. It's a bit hurtful, but my mom was LOVING it! My mother would give me looks with wicked little smiles that clearly said "nah nah."

MAY

Have I mentioned she's a climber?

I wake up to giggles and squeals of delight. I go into Bella's room and find these two munchkins playing and loving on each other. Jayda climbed right in with her sissy as soon as she heard her at 6:30am. It was early...but too cute. They just melt my heart.

Some good sprinkler fun with friends on our front lawn.

JUNE

Russ and I started P90X on June 1st. It is a 90 day fitness program. It's gonna get Russ muscle ripped and hopefully my butt won't touch the back of my knees, my back rolls won't make people crave muffins, and my arms won't wave hello or goodbye longer than my hand does. We took our pictures to document our weight loss...but there's no way I am sharing those. Ever.

I'm pretty sure Russ gets more emotional seeing her in this Lakers dress
than he will on her babtisim day or in her wedding gown.

We think Bella may be a Celtics fan!

(Which could easily get her kicked out of the house if Russ had his way)

Favorite Jayda Saying for the past few month:

Cori: "Jayda put your breakfast dishes away in the sink."

Jayda: "why mom?"

Cori: "because that is one of your chores you're responsible for."

Jayda: "Mom, chores are so passe. I don't want to do them."

Cori: said nothing but gave her a shocked look.

Jayda: "oh, passe is French for "over."

----

Yes, I know what passe means. That's not why I was giving her that loook. Thanks Pinkalicious book. I appreciate it.

This concludes our 5 hour update. Thanks for reading!

You Don't Know Jack...the ANSWER!

2010-04-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those of you that sent your guess (via the blog, text, or voicemail)! Here's the answer...

Jayda's Version
Artist: Potato Shelly
Song: Where we say goodbye

Real Life Version
Artist: Andrea Bocelli
Song: Time to Say Goodbye

She's such a little muffin!

You Don't Know Jack!

2010-04-09T13:34:00.001-07:00

Did any of you ever play that game called "You don't know Jack?" It was a game where the voice on the computer would say some gibberish phrase and you had to guess what it could have meant? Well, Russ and I used to play when we were dating and we love that game. Little did we know at the time that we'd be playing that game on a daily basis with our kids as we try to figure out what the heck they're saying.

So...here's our own "You Don't Know Jack" installment. Please play!

Jayda: "Hey mom, can I listen to a song on the Ipod?"

Cori: "Sure. What do you want to hear?"

Jayda: "Potato Shelly"

Cori: "What?"

Jayda: "Potato Shelly"

Cori: "Jayda, I don't know what you're saying. I don't have anything like that."

Jayda: "Yes you do. It's the one where we say goodbye."

OKAY...please lave a comment and send me your guess!

What song and artist do you think she is referring to???

Whoda Thunk It?

2010-04-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

The grad students at the Fairfax campus of Missouri State University have NO IDEA what they will encounter this fall Semester.

Russ, also known as: Russy Billy, Big Daddy, Captain Red Beard, and White Chocolate (many of those names are self-described) will now be PROFESSOR ROTH!

Russ will be teaching a graduate class on Energy Security and it will be AWESOME!

I'm so proud of him.

And we are both slightly amused as we think about the students that will look to him as their teacher.

They have no idea....

Camel Snot & Bat Guano

2010-03-23T16:41:00.000-07:00

We took a little family vacay this past weekend and had SO MUCH FUN!

First we went to the Virginia Safari Park. It's a 180 acre drive-thru zoo and it was GREAT! The kids were able to be out of their seat belts and feed lamas, deer, camels, and other cool animals right from our car. The furry beasts would just stick their heads right in our car window and eat from the food bucket. Jayda wasn't too sure how she felt about the invasion of her personal space by such large creatures. Bella was 100% sure how she felt...and she hated it! She screamed and cried every time a lama would creep up and look at her through the window. I can't even begin to describe how hilarious it was! There's also a little petting zoo (don't go by the black baby pig with white on its nose. It bites...just ask my left hand) and some monkeys, tigers, and reptiles to look at. We highly recommend going if you're ever in that area!

We spent the rest of the day at The Natural Bridge. There's nothing to do there other than see the bridge (that takes about 60 seconds), visit their "Indian village" which totally sucked, walk through the wax museum which was intensely creepy and completely bothersome, and then watch the evening light "show" which wasn't as much of a show as it was a guide with a flashlight. It sounds like I'm being a bit negative, but we actually had an absolutely fabulous time. I think I was a bit disappointed because The Natural Bridge is listed as one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. I think it's a wonder it was even nominated. HOWEVER, it was a great experience and we had a fantastic time. We recommend going...just make it a day trip or a stop over and not your final destination like we did. We also went to the caverns and saw some bats. Good times.

I think one of my favorite parts was driving through and stopping at the tiny little towns along the way. It was very interesting, and extremely humbling, to see how much of "middle America" lives. Those little places, far from city lights, make me think of what America is really built on and about the hard working farmers that really support this country. Oh, and I also think of creepy little toothless kids playing banjos.

Viva la vacations!

This is Jayda watching the animals come up to the window at the Safari Park. The one time she didn't have to be stuck in her car seat and she made a fort between the two seats and had a blanket ready to put over her head if she got too scared. Why do I find it so hilarious that my child was terrified? Not a nice mommy.

The Natural Bridge.

This poor guy. He had Bella on his back and then Jayda would want to be carried. She did pretty well, but it was a lot of walking and a TON of stairs. The most embarrassing part of the entire weekend? The fact that I only saw the back of this guy as he was charging it full speed and I was stuck eating his dust. In my defense my cute Puma tennis shoes were not slip resistant so I couldn't go too fast...plus, I was enjoying the view!

This is down in the cave. About 36 stories down! The guide took this picture and said she had no idea what that smoke/fog thing is. We couldn't see anything like that in person, but it showed up in our picture. She'd never had that happen before. oooohhhhhh (that's my ghost noise).

I know my sweet babies don't look their finest in this picture. Bella actually looks like she should be wearing a helmet and riding the short bus. But I just had to put it in so I could remember how sweet these two were on our trip. I'd look back to check on the girls to find them holding hands. Not looking at each other. Not playing. Not talking. Each in their own little world, but holding onto each others tiny fingers. This will forever be one of my favorite memories engraved in my mind.

So, where should we go next weekend?

Happy Birthday Sweet Sierra Bella

2010-03-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

You're one!! I can hardly believe it. It seems like just yesterday I was rushed to the hospital where you joined our little family nearly 2 months early. I remember being so scared that you would not be healthy being so premature. I remember that the doctors were afraid for me and my life, but I was just afraid for yours. I remember crying telling the doctor "no, please don't take her. It's not time." But the Lord provided. You came out, took a breath, and started crying. Powerful lungs. Especially for someone a bit under-developed. You have continued to put those lungs to good use!

You came out wrinkly and red. With soft hair all over your 5lbs body. You had no eyelashes. You had jaundice. You would forget to breathe or your heart would murmmer those first few weeks. Other than a quick kiss on the cheek when you were first born, I didn't get to meet you for nearly 3 days. I was too sick. C-suctions suck. You couldn't be moved from your incubator. Your dad stayed by me as much as he could. One time when he did have to go home to see your sister, he returned to the hospital to find me sneaking out of my room to go see you. I was on bed rest and wasn't supposed to walk. He found me in the hallway trying to walk to the elevator to go down 4 floors to see your sweet face. He scolded me briefly and then realized how sad I was and quickly put me in a wheelchair and helped me sneak to go see you. I couldn't stay away.

You slept in an incubator all hooked up to cords and wires. Alarms would sound every time you stopped breathing or your heart did a funky beat and it would send me into a mental tailspin. I hated those alarms. I hated not being able to snuggle on you without asking a nurse first. I hated trying to undress in front of strangers so that I could try to snuggle with you skin-to-skin or nurse you. I hated having to call a nurse and ask for an update on how my baby was doing. I hated leaving you when I was discharged from the hospital and you had to stay.

You were so tiny and seemed so frail. You had us fooled. You were strong in body and spirit and after dropping down into the 4lbs range you quickly started putting on the weight and getting stronger by the day. You never needed breathing treatment and you only had to stay in the NICU for 10 days. You were born at 33 weeks and you came home 10 days later on March 26, 2009.

Now one year later, your stats are impressive!

You weigh 21.6lbs (55%percentile)

You are 39 inches long (75%percentile)
Your head is 18 3/4 inches (97% percentile!!) MASSIVE...of course it has to be to hold that sweet, smart brain of yours.

You love cuddles with mom and dad, but your favorite person in the world may be your sister (moms a close second). You started crawling on Sunday, February 28th in the church foyer. You were determined to get to that cute little Liam Flynt and that motivation helped you take your first crawls forward. You crawled backwards for about 5 weeks before you were ready to go forward, but now that you started...there is no slowing you down. You crawl about 10 - 12 steps and them frog jump a few leaps, and then crawl some more. It's quite cute!

Your favorite game is peek-a-boo and you put anything you can get your hands on over your head to "hide" so we can play the game. You wave, clap, blow kisses (ie. slobber all over your hand), and dance on que. You carry pillows and blankets around with you so you can lounge around when ever your heart so desires. You love real food and are totally over baby food. You're still working at mastering the sippy cup and you still love your bottles. Although you stopped nursing about 4 months ago, you often try to have another helping by grabbing my shirt and searching for the promised land. Sorry kid---that ain't happening.

You are an absolute joy. You have what we call "happy hands." They spin in circles with your fingers spread every time you are excited or happy. You smile and wave your arms like you're trying to fly every time you get excited. It is simply delightful to watch. Your smile lights up the room. You have a killer dimple. I simply love it. You poop every change you get. Like every diaper change you crap your pants. That I don't love. You like to dance and love dancing with your sis during her afternoon dance parties. You love Riley. Unfortunately for Riley your favorite thing to do to her is try to rip her ears off. She's a good dog and doesn't do anything other than whine and run away. In fact, you often try to destruct everything in your path (including the faces of other little babies) which is why your nickname is Destructo.

Your dad is pretty much mush around you. You have him wrapped around your tiny, dirty, lint-filled fingers. You are so sweet. i LOVE LOVE LOVE that you are mine.

Happy Birthday Sweet Bella!

***below are some pics from your first b-day. We had your favorite for dinner...Spaghetti! Then we opened presents and had some cake. It was super fun! You were afraid of the bounc-back penguin toy and freaked out over the Zhu Zhu pet hamster. It was quite hillarious. When the hamster would scamper around the room you'd freak out and crawl as fast as lightening to your daddy.***

Friends and Photos

2010-03-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

Aren't friends great?

Mine are.

I have such talented friends. I am so lucky to know them. I'm so lucky to be able to soak up their goodness and talents just by hanging out with them. My friends listen to me whine, cry, and laugh. My friends help me talk through my stresses. My friends watch my kids so the hubs and I can have a few minutes alone. My friends come over and let me leave the house when I'm stressed...and when I return my kids are fed and bathed. Friends are truly the flowers in the garden of life (cheesy, but true!)

A few days ago my friend Elizabeth took some splendid shots of my girls. She's recently started her own photography business (she's super good...for those of you that got my Christmas card in the mail she took that great shot of the girls). To see her work or snag her talents for yourself, visit her website: http://www.elizabethmoonphotography.com/

Tough Times, Scary Times, Exciting Times

2010-03-09T17:28:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since my last post. Truth be told it's been a really rough 6 weeks.

Working from home has been one of the greatest blessing in my entire life. I feel beyond blessed to have been able to help put my hubby through school and help with our finances WHILE being at home with my sweet babies. I make about 60% less than I would if I worked outside of the home and yet I guarantee I work 60% harder. However, it's been a sacrifice I've been willing to make because I've been the one to kiss my babies boo-boo's, put them down for their naps, and play peek a boo during lunch.

HOWEVER...I feel like I'm drowning. I'm spread so thin with being a wife, mom, AND full-time executive working from home that I often feel like I can't do anything really well. I can't excel at being a wife. I can't be the kind of mom I truly want to be. I can't really give all that I should to work because I am trying to draft memos, create policies, and speak with lawyers on the phone while wiping butts and making snacks at the same time. Difficult does not begin to describe what working from home has been the last 4+ years.

I'm just done. I'm pooped. I'm drained. I'm depressed. I'm done quieting my kids for work calls. I'm done telling my sweet girls to wait for a snack, or to talk to me, or to even pee because I'm in the middle of a work task. I'm done kissing my hubby hello when he gets home from work and then not seeing him again for the rest of the night because I'm working till 11pm or later. I want to have 4 appendages. Not 5. That means that the blackberry that has become my 5th limb needs to be cut off!

There's no work-life balance.

It's got to stop.

And so it will.

Today, after 6 years as Director of Human Resources for Staff Pro, I resigned my position. I resigned my position to be a full-time stay-at-home mom and full-time wife.

I am more excited than words can express. I am more terrified than tongue can tell. It's gonna be tough cutting our income by 40%. It's gonna be scary relinquishing that part of me that has become so much a part of who I am. But it's gonna be exciting. Exciting to give my all to Russ, Jayda, and Bella. And maybe, just maybe, even give a little bit of me back to me.

4: Fun, Friends, and Fancy

2010-01-23T11:32:00.001-08:00

What do you get when you combine 11 little girls ages five and under,

enough boas to dress an entire Vegas show,

and more glitter than you knew could even be purchased?...

A fun, fabulous, “Fancy Nancy” themed 4th Birthday Party

and a very, very happy little Jayda Grace!!!

THE FANCY GROUP

THE CUPCAKES

THE FANCY DECOR

Upon arrival, each guest had their nails painted super fancy.

After manicures, the girls all made personalized tiaras and cute mirrors!

Once the tiaras were on their fancy little heads it was time to get super glam!

All of the guests visited "Jayda's Fancy Boutique" and

were outfitted with boas, necklaces, bracelets, rings, and sunglasses!!

What do you do when you are glam and fabulous?...

You go on a Fashion Parade around the house!

DANCE PARTY TIME!!

(Requested songs included Poker Face and Single Ladies...very impressive).

Please notice Jayda's incredible pirate face (arrrgh matey).

No dance party is complete without some ring-around-the-rosie.

Even though their presence was present enough...the guests all gave Jayda some very fancy and fun gifts....and she had a blast opening them all up!

She felt very special. It was soooo cute to see

each little girl get so excited about giving their gift.

Giving a Thank You HUG for one of her presents.

Time to sing and have some cupcakes!

Saying goodbye to her friends at the end of her fabulous party!

HOORAY FOR GOOD FRIENDS!

I know this sounds a bit like an Oscar speech, but I have to take a minute to say thanks...this party DRAINED me! It was quite a bit of planning and elbow grease and Russ and I had some great helpers!

A big thank you to CAMILLE, DANA, MARY-JO, VICKI, AND RAINY for helping with the party. You guys did nails, helped with crafts, played with the girls, and kept me sane! Thanks.

Thanks to Heather for letting me borrow her camera so I could take these great pics! Jayda will love seeing these in 20 years!

Big thank you to Kerri for staying up with me late (on the eve of her 30th birthday) to decorate and bake cupcakes. The decorations were fantastic---thanks again!

Huge thank you to sweet Suzanne who made the most amazing birthday party invites ever created! They were super cute and Jayda talked about them every day for about a month! Super fancy and fun...thank you/thank you/thank you!

But lets face it - the one thing that makes a party truly fun is the good company! Jayda had a great cast of characters at her special event.

Introducing...

Fancy Jayda

Fancy Natalie

Fancy Bella

Fancy Abbey

Fancy Abigail

Fancy Belle

Fancy Ella

Fancy Madigan

Fancy Margot

Fancy Natalie

Fancy Ruby

Fancy Ava

Happy 4th Birthday Jayda. You Bring A LOT of Fancy to our lives!

Now Accepting Applications

2010-01-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

Seriously...my brothers are like the most handsome, sweet, loving, caring, smart, funny, and cool guys I know (with the exception of my bearded hottie of a husband who is the best guy on the planet).

I am now accepting applications for girlfriends for these two studs.

Minimum Qualifications:

18+

Some college courses completed and a goal to graduate (if not already achieved).

Must be pretty (I know it's superficial but I don't care).
Super pretty is even better.

Must make them laugh and enjoy laughing often - even if its at herself.

Must like kids...especially mine because babysitting my children so I can have a date night with my husband is going to be part of the interview process.

Must have a job, a car, and a good relationship with her own family.

Must be independent and strong-willed, but not a feminist (seriously - those are lame. let the boys pay for dinner and get your door, dammit).

Qualified candidates should also be adventurous, enjoy the outdoors, and enjoy being goofy.

Position requires someone who will never go psycho or stalk them, must tell Austin or Dallas when they are wearing too many accessories or are pushing the fashion limits far too much for a straight man, and must be okay with their involvement with MMA. Position also requires someone willing to deal with occasional farts, belches, and dumb statements (they are boys you know).

Compensation includes handsome, sweet, loving, romantic man-child who will also be a good friend.

Please keep your application to these open positions confidential. My brothers would kill me if they knew I was doing this. So, if you are interested - or know anyone who would be fantastic - please reply to this posting with who it is and why they would be great. And no, you don't get a placement fee (unless they get married...they I'll send you $100 and a bag of Fritos).

...but seriously...they're too cute!

Dallas (21) - Austin (24)

2010-01-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

Man-oh-Man it’s been too long since I’ve updated the blog. I don’t really have anything interesting to say so I’ll just share some snippets and quick photos so I can remember what we did this past Holiday season.

We're back in VA and are happy to be in our own beds in our own house. However, we are seriously more homesick than ever. Jayda is now old enough to really miss her extended family. She can often be found with very real tears in her eyes as she mumbles about missing her "California family." She's laying in on pretty thick and often asks if we can go back there right away. Russ and I both hope to eventually move back to CA, but we are so blessed to have great friends in VA that make this place our home. It's nice to be loved on every coast!

So, without further-ado, here's a quick recap:

Our girls are cute!! (this isn't so much a reacap as it is a factual statment (at least in my biased opinion) :)

Russ’ friend Max got married on December 5th so we flew to California, drove to Lake Arrowhead, and helped celebrate at the wedding. It was fun to see Russ’ friends from high school all growns up. They are such a cool bunch of guys!

On the 18th of December I joined the Dirty Thirty Club. I was dreading it and had planned on spending the day crying in my wrinkle cream. Russ had other ideas and made it the best birthday ever! Overnight stay at a beach side resort sans kiddos, steak and lobster for dinner, flowers, balloons, sparkling cider in our room, and diamond earrings as we watched the sunset. The next morning we saw a beautiful sunrise, enjoyed a walk near the beach, and had a delicious and quiet breakfast while overlooking the water. It was soooo fantastic! Well played Russy - well played! I love ya!

On the 21st of December we welcome my baby brother home from his mission. We were all so excited and it felt great to give him a huge hug. Please notice in one picture how my mother completely bypassed the “do not enter” security signs and she ran into his arms. We were all supposed to be holding signs and yelling for him when we saw him but apparently mom couldn’t wait. She ran faster than I imagined she could…it was quite impressive. We are sooo glad he’s home. He’s sweet, handsome, funny, well-adjusted, and smart ---love love love having him around!

Christmas was awesome…so awesome that I was having too much fun to even pick up a camera and take any pictures. I’m such a loser. We had a fantastic time spending the holiday with our families (Russ’ side and mine). Our girls were spoiled rotten with gifts and we were spoiled rotten by being with family and enjoying the nice So Cal weather. The pics below are from Christmas morning and Christmas afternoon. Jayda had fun playing “duck duck goose” with Uncle Dallas and Uncle Daustin (Austin, but she still adds the "D"). I had a great time being with my “baby” brothers. We all enjoyed being with family! (soo bummed I don't have any pics of the fun stuff we did with the Roth side of the family. I was enjoying gabbing and catching up with my in-laws, brothers & sisters-in-laws, nieces and nephews, etc so I didn't take any photos--insert frowney face here).

We are excited to welcome 2010 and can't wait to see all of the fun memories it will bring! Happy New Year!!

Thankful for...

2009-11-30T17:06:00.001-08:00

I love Thanksgiving. I love what a beautiful time it is to reflect on blessings and the simple things in life. I love what a beautiful beginning it is to the Christmas season which is a celebration of the Saviors life.

It is just a special time to slow down and evaluate what I am blessed to have and what I am truly grateful for. It is also a time for me to regroup and remind myself what a want is verses what a need is.

I am over abundantly blessed in the spiritual, physical, emotional, and material sense of the word. I love my Heavenly Father and know that he loves me, I am able bodied and healthy, I have the emotional support of loved ones, and we live in a nice, safe, warm home.

I love that prior to Thanksgiving I had to have a new table, new boots, new clothes for the girls, a new computer, new furniture for my bedroom and Jayda's, new make-up, gifts for everybody I could think of for Christmas, a planned vacation, etc etc etc...yet after Thanksgiving and after writing down what blessings I have received this year and what I am truly grateful for... I realize that not only do I NOT need them, I don't even want them right now. That's not to say I won't want them again in the future (I do love to shop!), but right now I want to simplify. I want to stop "needing" things that I don't really need. I want to focus on the beauty in my girls smiles, the warmth of my hubby as he lays next to me at night, the furry little friend that is my sweet Riley, and the blessings that come from being TRULY happy with what I have...which is A LOT and then some.

As I reflect on this past year it became apparent that I was more blessed in 2009 than any other year in my life.

Here's a list of what I'm most Thankful for (in no particular order):

I'm thankful to now work part-time. I work about 25-30 hours a week instead of 45-60. This change has brought a sense of peace into my life that I hadn't felt for over 4 years.

I'm thankful for my 12 year old, one-eyed, three-working-legs dog. Riley brings me so much joy...she's happy and healthy and spunky and we're blessed to have her.

I'm thankful for my in-laws and extended family. They rock. I'm blessed to be a Roth. My girls are blessed to be Roth's.

I'm grateful for my friends who laugh with me, cry with me, and bitch with me when needed. All my friends are fantastic. Those in California who make me feel missed and those in Virginia who make me feel welcome.

I'm grateful for little hands that reach up to hold mine and little feet that are always under foot.

I'm thankful for my calling at church. I'm grateful it helps me learn more about the Gospel and our Savior and that by performing my calling I am serving the Lord.

I'm thankful that kids eat free every Tuesday at Chic-Fil-A.

I'm thankful for the health of my children. I'm thankful for their laughter, and their smiles, and their arm dimples, and their big blue eyes that light up when they see me, and their sweet little spirits. You can't look into the eyes of a child and not think about the Love of our Savior.

I'm thankful for my brothers. Austin for his support, laughter, and friendship. Dallas (Elder Porter for 19 more days...but whose counting) for his example, humor, and fabulous penmanship in his letters home which provide me hours of entertainment as I try to figure out what the hell he wrote.

My mom. I'm thankful for my mom. For everything she is. For everything she's taught me to be. For her example of pure Christ like love. For her showing me what it means to truly be a good wife, mother, and friend. For her patience. For her humor. For her. I want to be her when I grow up.

I'm thankful for Spanx (not the naughty kind...the kind that suck your butt in when wearing tight pants)!

I'm thankful for my precious baby girl, Sierra "Bella," who came into this world nearly 2 months early but was healthy. I'm thankful for the doctors who helped me throughout my emergency (and scary) operation and for the NICU staff who loved and held my sweet girl for the first few weeks of her life when I couldn't.

I'm thankful for Jayda. For everything about her. This post is already long so I won't bore you with how cool she is and how much joy she brings into my life. Let's just say that it's a lot. I love her all the way to the moon and back. I'm grateful that when I tell her that she replies: "Well I love you all the way to the freeway and back!"

I'm thankful for my hubby. I could try to detail the reasons why, but it would be impossible. He's my Prince Charming, my Fairytale, my Happily Ever After. He totally got the short end of the stick in this deal. I lucked out.

I'm thankful for my Savior. I'm thankful to be a member of his church. I truly believe that the good things in my life are a direct reflection on my membership within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love being Mormon. I love that Jesus is My Savior and that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me and who sacrificed his son for me so that I could have eternal life. It's almost too much to even wrap my head around. It's a love that I can't fully comprehend...probably because I'm human.

Finally, my biggest blessing in 2009 is my dad. I have my dad back. We all do. For over 10 years my hero, the first man I ever loved, was in pain every day of his life. He hurt and took pain meds and suffered. We all suffered with him...especially my mom. But he is now nearly pain free and off pain meds and is back to his old happy self. He talks (non stop...it's awesome!), he laughs, he jokes around, he has energy, and he's truly enjoys his grandbabies. In all honestly I didn't think we'd see the day when we'd have him back. I didn't see an end to his pain. However, the Lord had other plans and proved (once again) that through true faith and prayer... miracles can happen. I'll never understand how come some people are healed and other's aren't. I know the Lord doesn't love one person more than another. I just know I'm thankful for the lessons we all learned throughout this decade of trials and I'm grateful that my dad being healed was part of the Lord's plan. He's back to his old self...only better. It's truly a bigger blessing than anyone could ever imagine.

So, is this a sappy post? Yes. Am I a bit embarrassed to share it with everyone because it's so personal (and quite long)? Yes. However, I would be remiss to not put down in writing the blessings I have been given. I am so thankful for each of them. I am so blessed.

Happy Halloween!!!!

2009-11-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

We hope you all enjoyed the Halloween festivities. We had some friends come over for Pizza and Trick-or-Treating and had a great time. As you can see by the pics above, Bella was Princess Leia and Jayda was Michael Jackson.

I sprayed Jayda's hair black which seemed like an okay idea at the time, but quickly proved to be quite dumb of me. It rained and so her "hair" dripped all down her face and created quite the mess. But also extremely hilarious!

Halloween night was less than 48 hours ago and I've already used her candy to perform 4 bribes and 2 "if you don't _________ then I'll throw your candy away." Wow - who knew that the candy would provide Jayda with eating enjoyment and me with bribes and punishment threats! Good times!

Last week in pictures

2009-10-26T13:10:00.001-07:00

A church Halloween activity (which is why Jayda is wearing makeup and looks like something from that show Toddlers and Tiaras!

A trip to the Washington DC Temple Visitors Center.

little Bella's first bath with her new chair. She loved it!

Good times had by all!

Flour Fun

2009-10-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

Most of you know me well enough to know that I don't cook or bake. I warm things and order things and that about covers my cooking career.

Interestingly enough, I married into a family of cooks. My mother-in-law rocks at cooking and my sister-in-laws are equally impressive. I remember being a newlywed at a family bbq and having Renee (my sister-in-law) ask me to cut the watermelon. Total panic! How does one cut such a large piece of fruit? Then my other sister-in-law, Ronda, was putting together a killer salad with all sorts of fun things like craisins, cheese, etc. Who knew that all salads didn't come premade in a bag?

Anyway, the Roth family is very talented in the kitchen and although I have learned some tips on how to cook, I have not learned to love to cook. In fact, I hate it. Like truly hate it. I'd would honestly rather wax my armpits or wear too small stiletto heels for 3 hours walking up stairs than cook a dinner or bake something. However, I have a 3 year old who enjoys baking cookies. I blame my mother-in-law for being an amazing cook and spending sweet moments with my little Jayda in her kitchen. Now Jayda thinks that I will spend time with her making similar memories. However, last time I really cooked with Jayda it was using her easy bake oven and I burned the cake and melted the Easy Bake utensil. So, I will leave the true cooking expertise to my sweet mother-in-law, Rosemary, who puts all other cooks to shame. It's hard to compete with someone of that caliber anyway. She's pretty impressive in the kitchen...and on a sewing machine, but that's for a different post!

So Jayda wants to bake cookies one rainy day and I feel obligated. I really do want to spend time with her. She's super fun to be with. However, I don't want her to have memories of her mom burning things and tasting crap that's supposed to pass for baked goods. So, I decided to have some real fun and hope that she remembers that as opposed to my lack of culinary talent.

Besides, food fights are waaaay more fun than baking!
PS: The cookies actually ended up being really good!

(getting daddy involved without prior warning was the most fun part!)

www.Lori-Porter.Com

2009-10-16T13:06:00.000-07:00

My mom is an artist. She's good. Really good. Not like "pretty good with a few cool pieces to look at"...more like "blow your mind, holy crud someone can paint that" good. Granted I'm biased, but she's done over 1000 projects in the past 20 years and I'd have to say that everyone agrees with me. Her God given talent to bring art to life is pretty amazing.

She has painted every room I've ever lived in---which is why as an adult I have an unnatural fear of plain white walls. So, if you too are white wall phobic, or want something special painted in your home, business, school, church, etc...then call the best...AKA: My Mom.

If you're in the giving mood during this pre-thanksgiving season, do us a favor and add my moms button, or a link to her site, on your blog. You can show all of your friends how hoity toity and artsy fartsy you are by knowing a famous Orange County artist (who is and is not famous is totally subjective, right?) Maybe if she gets a job from your blog button she can paint your face hidden in her next mural??? (Ha! Just kidding...that would be massively creepy!)

She's ready and willing to paint some killer murals or canvas pieces...so keep her in mind when you're in the mood for an interior make-over!

Love ya mom. And yes, I'm fully expecting a painting on canvas for this free advertising.

Potty Talk

2009-10-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

When Jayda poops she always yells to me "I love you mom."

It's not just any "I love you mom." It's the grunting, breath holding, intense moan of "I love you mom" as she poops. She's always done it. She does it every single time. No matter what restroom she's in (our house, friends, stores, etc) I hear the declaration of affection while she's making her deposit.

She had some issues with her urinary tract when she was really little so it often hurt her to use the restroom. I remember holding her hand as she sat on the pot and cried and I'd cry with her and tell her "it's okay baby. I love you" as I'd try to offer up little words of encouragement as she suffered. Poor baby.

I can only imagine that those words of encouragement left a mark on her little brain and now she doesn't know she can poop without yelling that she loves me. That's okay though. I love hearing those words, even if she's sending them from her smelly, porcelain throne.

Annie are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?

2009-10-01T09:47:00.001-07:00

I hear Jayda's feet hit the floor as she jumps out of bed in the morning. I can sense her tip toe past her sisters door so she doesn't wake her up and I finally see her walk down the stairs with droopy eyes, crazy bed-head hair, and a big yawn. My heart melts. She is sooo sweet and cute. I love this kid.

I sweep her up in my arms and I whisper in her ear, "good morning bubba. I love you."

She replies, "Michael Jackson videos please."

Yes, the first thing out of my daughters foul breathed little mouth is a request to watch more Michael Jackson on youtube. She kills me.

The above is just one example of the craziness that is Jayda's pure obsession with MJ. She loves him when he was normal, not so normal, slightly crazy, and full blown commitable.

Throughout the day I hear little Jayda singing: "Annie are you okay? Say Annie are you Okay? Are you okay, Annie? You've been hit by a smooth criminal..." Ha!!!!!Actually, she can often be heard singing the following greatest hits in her room, or while she plays, or when she's reading books...or frankly anytime she's awake: Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal, Bad, Say Say Say (duet with Paul McCartney), Remember the Time, The Way you Make Me Feel, PYT, Wanna Be Starting Something, Rock with You, Black and White, Dirty Diana, and They Don't Care About Us. Many of you may immediately notice that some major songs are missing - primarily Thriller. Come on people - there is a limit to my bad parenting...that video would scare the poop out of her!

She talks to MJ as if he's in the room with her, she bounces her ball off the back of the chair and when it comes back to her she acts as if MJ threw it, she saves him dinner, reads him books, and holds his hand when she's walking around. Creepy does not begin to cover this situation.

Russ and I are so sick of hearing about Michael Jackson. We told Jayda that he is a freak show and that she probably shouldn't talk about him all the time, but that didn't work. I heard her apologizing to MJ for her daddy and mommy calling him rude names. We told her that he is no longer with us and that he died and that he now lives in heaven. We thought maybe that would stop the obsession. Nope. Now she just tells him she'll have to wait to see him until she lives in heaven too.

She does all his dances in the living room and has now officially declared that she wants to be MJ for Halloween. Okie Dokie. I guess I just have to remember that I'd rather hear and see her sing and dance to MJ than Barney or Raffi.

Jayda also loves picking out her own clothes, cuddling with her sissy, reading books, playing with her friends, talking to her Grammy on the phone, making up stories, helping cook, eating snacks ALL DAY LONG, snapping (she's still mastering the skill), hugging her mommy, wrestling with her daddy, playing with her dolls, going to primary (church class for kids), picking up worms out in the front lawn (she totally gets this from her grammy (my mom) because I'd rather have a root canal than play with worms), putting on makeup, wearing my high-heels, and laughing. In fact, when something is really funny - she cries. She tears up and says she's crying because she's so happy she gets to laugh.

I truly - truly love this kid. I'm about as obsessed with her little face as she is with Michael Jackson... and that's saying A LOT!

YOU NAMED ME WHAT???????

2009-09-23T18:14:00.001-07:00

Our sweet baby girl was blessed this past Sunday. Russ gave a beautiful blessing and spoke loud enough for us all to hear...which was hard since Sierra cried quite boisterously the entire time!

Baby blessings are a beautiful LDS custom. Russ gets to place his hands on his little daughters head and bless her with all of the things any parent would hope for their child. Others are invited to participate in the blessing. We were so lucky to have my dad (Sierra's PaPa) come from California to help give her this blessing. It made it so much more special having him there. We also had some good friends of ours help cradle her as the blessing was given.

In the blessing, Russ asked that she be watched over throughout her life, that she will know how much her parents and her Heavenly Father love her, that she will be close with her siblings, that she will be an example to others around her, that she will eventually marry in the temple and have children of her own, that she will be mindful to those around her and help those in need, and that throughout her life she will always go to the Lord in prayer. It was beautiful. It was perfect.

Mere seconds before Russ was to walk up and give the blessing we didn't know what her name would officially be. We had our top three names selected, but I wasn't able to make a commitment. Silly me. I like to think that she's just so special that I can't pick a special enough name...but whose kidding who...the problem was that I'm mildly crazy. Russ took the bull by the horns so to speak and just went with whatever came out of his mouth. I think it was a great decision.

He blessed our sweet baby with the name: Sierra Isabella-Mae. We will call her Sierra with an occasional Bella or Izzy Mae thrown in there. We call Jayda the following names: Jayda, Jayda Grace, Grace, and Gracie. Whatever comes out of our mouth at the moment is what she responds to. So, we figure an extra long name giving us multiple options is great. Some may think it's too long or too much, but the name really gives us what we wanted. It gives us the name Isabella Mae (we love calling her Bella and we wanted to name her after my grandma), but we also love Sierra. So why not have it all? Celebrity babies get 3 names all the time!

Thanks to those who voted on our poll. Your help was appreciated.

We will call her Sierra, but you can call her Sierra, Bella, Izzy, Izzy Mae, or "cutest baby in the entire world." Any of those will work.

Name our 6 month old ---- PLEASE

2009-09-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we have never been happy with the name Sierra Bella.

I'll give the reasons we don't love her name in a future post.

Some of the time we call her Bella (which is great), but most of the time we call her "baby." The poor little thing needs a name.

We are frustrated not being able to decide and we are embarrassed it's taking us this long.

So, PLEASE take the poll on the side bar and help us pick a name!

Even if you don't normally leave comments - take our poll! We need help.

Here's a little bit of extra info to help or hinder you in your decision making...

Mae was my grandma's middle name. Virginia Mae Porter passed away the same day we found out we were pregnant. I adored and admired by grandma so the middle name "Mae" would be a tribute to her.

If we keep the name Isabella in there somewhere than we can still refer to her as Bella as we have for the past 6 months. Or we could call her "Izzy" which is super cute too!

Isabella was the 2nd most popular name the last two years in a row (this could be seen as good or bad - you decide).

I like the name Brooklyn - but I don't like "Brooke" or "Lyn" for nicknames (even though my middle name is Brooke).

Does Chloe sound too much like Cori or is it okay?

Anywhoo-this info may have helped or hindered or at a minimum sheds some light on why we are undecided (other than the fact that we are lame).

So, please cast your vote, leave me a comment if you'd like (please don't offer up new name ideas - I may go postal if I have to consider anything else...my brain can't take it!) and check back later for our decision.

We are blessing our sweet baby on Sunday, September 20th so we will have picked a name by then.

So, what will this little buggers name be?

Happy Anniversary

2009-09-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

First Came Love...
First date - Sadie Hawkis.1997
Weren't my pants awesome? (ha) Check out Russ' bleached tips! (hillarious)

Russ' Senior Prom 1997

Then Came Marriage...

Wedding in my Grandparents back yard - September 6, 2003

Then Came Baby in a Baby Carriage...

Happy Anniversary!

Together for 12 years

Married for 6

Hand-in-Hand for Eternity

Amazed: Our Wedding Song

Every time our eyes meet

This feeling inside me

Is almost more than I can take

Baby when you touch me

I can feel how much you love me

And it just blows me away

I've never been this close to anyone or anything

I can hear your thoughts

I can see your dreams

I don't know how you do what you do

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I want to spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

Every little thing that you do

Baby, I'm amazed by you.

Our Wedding Dance song still rings true 6 years into this bliss. I truly love you more every day. Thanks for loving me and for being my best friend and for being such an amazing dad and husband. Thanks for working so hard to provide for us and for coming home and working even harder to help with the girls. Thanks for kissing me goodbye and telling me you love me every morning before you leave for work (even though you wake me up at 5:30am to do it). Thanks for making me a wife and mother. Thanks for holding my hand through laughter and tears...and morning sickness. Thanks for making me laugh even when I don't want to. I could go on and on about all of the things I am greatful for, but in reality it boils down to this: I love you more than anything or anyone and words can't express how blessed I feel to have you.

All my love,

Cori

Daddy Daughter Date

2009-08-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

Russ sure loves his girls. He knew that our sweet Jayda needed some parent time without the baby around so he agreed to watch Bella while I took Jayda out for a mommy - daughter date. We had plans to go get ice cream and a pedicure.

That plan was short lived. Jayda saw her daddy come through the door after work and INSISTED that she go on a date with her daddy. She says with a high-pitched squeal, "I have a good idea! Mommy can stay at home with the baby and I'll go on a date with daddy for ice cream without anyone else!" Russ tried to talk her into going with me for pedicures because he figured I needed some "outside" time too, but she looked so sad about having to go hang out with mom that I thought she was going to cry. She just wanted to be the special girl in daddy's life and share some yummy ice cream. So that's what they did. And for Jayda, it was pure heaven. Although I'm pretty sure it was heavenly for her daddy too!

I hope she always knows how much this man loves her. I will never be able to truly describe to her how much she means to him. To us. To our family.

Frustrated, yet grateful...

2009-07-31T05:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Pre-Baby Body:

I miss you. Terribly. I miss our shopping trips, our skinny jeans, and our shirts that buttoned over our boobs. I miss our normal bras and our t-shirts sans spit up. I miss our jeans hitting our waist without the "muffin top" that does overfloweth.

I miss our smooth skin that didn't break out as if we are prepubescent and our hair that used to be curly or straight or anything other than its current state of frizzy undecideness.

I am trying to find you again, oh pre-baby body of mine. It's hard work. You're pretty far away. You're somewhere through the valley of sweatpants, over sized men's t-shirts, and sensible shoes. But I'm coming for you, fear not. Be patient. I will find you. Somehow. And we will frolic again through the fields of high heels and True Religion Jeans.

Longingly,
Post-Baby Body

Dear Post-Baby Body:

You rock. I am undoubtedly in your debt. What an amazing feat you have achieved. My little baby thanks you for your life giving abilities, your food processing, and your sleep depraved circles that now rest under your eyes.

You were necessary, and appreciated, and valued for all you did.

But your work here is done. It's time for you to leave. Vacate the premises. Go on a looooong vacation. Perhaps permanently - I'll let you know if your services are needed again.

However, feel free to leave behind the patience you gave me that helps me laugh during bouts of sleeplessness, the ability to do 500 things with only two arms - all at the same time, the ability to love more than I ever knew was possible...and my bigger boobs. Those can stay.

Gratefully,
Cori - on behalf of her pre-baby body and all her clothes that feel abandoned.

More Jayda-isims

2009-07-22T12:40:00.001-07:00

I found Jayda playing on the computer when she's not allowed to do it by herself.

Cori: "Jayda. You know you're not allowed to play on the computer unless you ask and I'm with you."

Jayda: "Well Mom, I'm talking to someone."

Cori: "You don't talk on the computer. It's not a phone."

Jayda: "I'm not talking on the phone. I'm talking by sending emails."

Cori: "Regardless, you're not allowed to do that whenever you want without asking."

Jayda: "Yes I can. I'm emailing Jesus and you told me I could talk to him whenever I want no matter where I am or what I'm doing!"

...well played Jayda. Well played.

__________________________________

I opened my eyes early one morning and was greeted by Jayda staring at me.

Cori: "What are you doing? Why are you out of bed?"

Jayda: "Mom. Get up. It's a beautiful day!"

Cori: "Jayda-go back to bed. It's too early to be up."

Jayda: "No it's not mom. It's a beautiful day. Get up. IT'S TIME TO GET ORGANIZED (she yells)."

Cori: "Get organized for what?"

Jayda: "The day. I am the woman."

Cori: "You are what woman?

Jayda: "I am the woman that is going to change your life!"

...Is Jayda watching self help tapes instead of Yo Gabba Gabba??? She cracks me up!

2009-07-08T18:34:00.000-07:00

Sierra - 16 Weeks

4 Generations of Meredith/Porter women!

Crap

2009-06-08T15:57:00.000-07:00

Jayda: "Mom, did you know that I have 3 kids?
Me: "You do? Wow. You must be busy."
Jayda: "Yes, I'm verrrry busy. I have to take them on field trips and stuff."
Me: "Oh yea, where are you taking them?"
Jayda: "To the North Pole. We're going to go and kick it with Santa Clause (and yes, she said "kick it").
Me: "Well, that sounds fun."
Jayda: "Yup. I'm gonna take all three of them there. Their names are Niche, Grace, and Crap."
Me: "You named one of your kids crap?"
Jayda: "Yup. She's nice. She's not a brat...she's just crap."

And that my friends, is a shining example of my wonderful parenting skills!

Sweet Bella - 11 Weeks

2009-06-01T12:14:00.001-07:00

Update: She cries ALL day. She's actually horse sounding right now from screaming so much. Has reflux really bad. Projectile Vomits. Doesn't sleep well (if at all). She rests in her car seat instead of a bed because she's happier when shes propped up. She often smells like sour milk because she can't keep anything down, she goes through about 50 diapers a day (okay, I'm allowed to exaggerate since I'm going on 2 hours of sleep)! HOWEVER...she has a smile that will melt your heart. She coos and sings for her papa. She has a big dimple that is too cute for words. She loves to snuggle on your neck. Shes happy when she's being held by her mommy. Her eyes get huge and happy when her daddy walks in a room. She LOVES to pull up a chair to the milk bar (if you get my drift), she smiles HUGE for her big sister, and she is truly the perfect addition to our family! She is perfect...smelly milk vomit and all!!

I was bored...so I went blonde. And yes, they really do have more fun!!

2009-06-01T12:12:00.001-07:00