Playing Catch Up!

So life has been fabulous and full lately. Christmas alone as added to the To Do list, but I always seem to tack extras on top of extras. :) Here's the list of extras and just an update on our lovely life!

1. Potty Training- About 9 months ago I read this book called Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day. Perfect! Right? The basic idea is wait until they are ready and then have a really fun, all about them day that focuses on teaching them how to go potty by having them teach a doll. It was really fun; presents, decorations, treats, games, books, movies. Needless to say I was a zombie by bedtime. :) Hallie is not a mess girl so there was trauma whenever her doll had an accident, and I don't think she really likes "Megan" very much anymore because of all her accidents, ha ha. But I must admit it was pretty cool. Hallie has had 2 accidents in the last 5 days, and one was my fault cuz she told me she had to go and I took to long. So hooray, diapers are gone and we're good to go!

2. Adoption - Before I left for Iowa I was in a complete scramble. Everything was done for our adoption paperwork to be put through and I can completed our online profile, questions, and pictures; all except the 2 collage pages with 20 copies of each and then 26 additional pictures that I completely forgot about. So the day before and the day of our departure I tried to finish the selection and assembly of these pictures and pages. Easy right? Nope. Every picture I looked at I thought, "will this one show the future birth mother that WE'RE the right couple?" "what if I add this flower, will she like that?" "is it too girly, plain, colorful?" Every little decision I made was the make or break on whether we would be chosen. It's silly now to look back at it, but... what can I say we just want more kids so bad!!:) I did however finish and we've been online ever since, hooray!
(adoption blog - haydenandcheyenne.blogspot.com)

3. Christmas - We went into the mountains and cut our own tree this year. We use to do it all the time with my family, but then we moved north and didn't fancy the drive. This year was so fun and we have a beautiful tree! Also, every year all of Hayden's siblings create scrapbook pages from the year for his moms Christmas present. My last scrapbooking experience was obviously a little tense so I'm trying to gear up and do some for Christmas.... I am officially ready otherwise and SO excited for Hallie to open her presents. Santa is still a creepy old man to her, but presents and toys almost make up for it. :)

4. Callings - Camp Director and Personal Progress Leader...hmm didn't they realized I'm not that organized. It's great though, I love the girls. Hayden is in Young Mens again so we got to go caroling together, lol. He's also working full time, studying for the MCAT and finishing his last class. HOORAY for Christmas break. Unfortunately he's on call Christmas Day. Keep your fingers crossed that no one will need surgery.

Anyway, that's the low down. We're good, we're happy and we're cold with all the snow.:)

Sad sad sad

So I just got back from Iowa to visit my sister Melissa with my mom. Hallie had an AMAZING time playing with her cousins! I loved the game nights and chatting :) On the way back home Hallie was a little under the weather and as usual didn't sleep in the car. So when we finally stopped in Laramie and in a pack and play she was deliriously tired. It was so sad to hear her little cough intermixed with crying. I am a total wimp and can't stand to let her cry without comforting her, but I've learned it doesn't help when she's that tired. However, I was about thrown over the edge with this...

Background- We talk about staying by Mommy to be safe and not get lost.
In church a 1 or so year old was crying in the foyer amid a sea of adult legs looking for his mom. Hallie asks why he's crying and I explain that he can't finds his mom. Hallie says, "He's lost?" with concern. "Yup."

The Story - I'm laying in the hotel bed reminding myself that Hallie is fine as she is crying her saddest, "just hold me mommy" cry. When all of a sudden she whips out this, "Mommy, I'm LOST! I got lost mommy. Mommy, I got lost!"

No I didn't break down and get her, I just broke down. It is one of the worst thing in the entire world to hear your child cry and feel like they need you and you can't do anything about it.

Of course the next morning she woke up her sweet happy self with hugs and kisses for mom, not at all traumatized, I however can't say the same for myself. (I am a wimp)

Happy Birthday!

We had a fabulous weekend celebrating Hayden's Birthday! My wonderful Hubby turned the big 30 and I've been stressed out about doing something fun for him. So here's how it played out. I got 30 gifts for Hayden and hid them in places that he would find throughout the day, ie his lunch, backpack, in the shower :) He got of work early and I had a babysitter lined up and a tee time at Fox Hollow. It was my first time golfing and I was HORRIBLE but it was SO much fun! Hayden did great and we doubled with my sister and her husband who are avid golfers and thankfully gave us tips :)


Then we had a wonderful dinner at Carrabba's and headed home for dessert, Chocolate Purses. This is one of Hayden's favorite treats so I made it for his "birthday cake." We opened presents and put Hallie to bed. I had a second set of babysitters lined up to come over when Hallie was asleep and we went to the movie "The Invention of Lying." It was pretty dumb, but we had a great time just going out. Neither of us could remember the last time we went to a movie!



The next morning I told Hayden we should go to the park with Hallie because it was such a nice day. So we drove to Rock Canyon Park and walked around toward the playground. I had balloons hidden in the trunk that Hayden pulled out with the stroller. Then when we got to the top of the park I told him I forgot something in the car so we rounded our way back down. As we got toward the bottom we came upon my sister and brother and their families. Cherie made delicious cupcakes for his "birthday cake" (yup awesome) Then my other sister and sister-in-law came later. Everyone was prepared with ice blocks to slide down the hill and party! We had a great time at this little family birthday party! I'm so glad everyone could make it!



I just want to do a little shout out to Hayden. He's so amazing and I feel SO lucky to have him forever! I need the laughs he provides and the love. He is such an amazing hard worker and I'm constantly impressed by all he does and the effort he puts into everyone around him. I'm so proud of him and I love him so much! Happy Birthday Baby!!

How did THAT happen?

So Sunday night I looked at my calendar for the week... completely blank. "Wow, I actually might get bored" I thought to myself as I snuggled in bed. Ah, little did I know. So here's the whole chaotic caboodle.

Monday - Nothing right? Wrong! I completely forgot that I had preschool with cousins at my house Tuesday! So I ran (literally, we only have one car) to the library hoping to get a card. No luck, I grabbed mail with only Hayden's name on it. So to make sure our trip wasn't a complete bust we stayed for singing/signing time. Can I just say AMAZING! I learned so much and Hallie loved to sing the songs as we signed. This will permanently be on our Monday calendar. The rest of the day was a prep for cousin's preschool.

Tuesday - Preschool didn't start until 9:30 so I had plenty of time for last minute prep right? Apparently I had too many last minute preps so I was stressing out! Tape one million fall colored leaves around the house, make orange rice krispie treats and red punch, crap! forgot to vacuum - as my brain is working this all out and trying to stay caught up with my body Hallie is being absolutely adorable in taking out each and every one of her toys and finding a lovely hiding place for them. Regardless of my stress we had a great time and I LOVED having everyone over to learn about Autumn. When I got back inside from waving bye to everyone I found out that there was a funeral tomorrow for a friend of mine who had passed away over the weekend, so I started looking for a babysitter. Then I saw that my neighbor was finally home and ran over the pie I hadn't been able to take yet and found a plan for Friday, babysit! Should be fun as long as I can remember what to do with a newborn. :) But mostly I'm excited to have a baby in the house for a bit. Then just as the day was winding down... oh ya I have a calling! Oh ya, I have young women's tonight. :) So went there did that, got worn out and crashed.

Wednesday- What was Wednesday? Ah yes, at Young Mens the previous night our window stopped working and was stuck down so we had to run it to the shop. This and a million more incidents got us car shopping which was the majority of our day after the car place took off our door panel and said come back tomorrow. Then I drove to Ogden for the funeral, I'm so glad I could make it. She was a truly amazing, selfless, loving person. Afterward I talked with a few friends then hurried home as fast as possible through rush hour to babysit for my brother who called last night wanting a sitter. We went over and enjoyed a delicious dinner and fun with the nephews! They are adorable! Again came home and crashed.

Thursday/Today - My plan was to go to Payson and paint some wood to make Family Home Evening charts out of, but Hallie slept in and had been eating poorly, and had diarrhea for the last 4 days. Plus I am a completely over protective mom and had been noticing that her breath had been smelling a lot different, really sweet. So I freak out a little as I'm putting all of these symptoms into one big disaster, instead of the separate little problems that they were before and take her to the doctor. It was our first time to see him so I can judge; loved the zebra stethoscope, didn't love that he casually thought it might be diabetes. So I freak out more and have a miniature heart attack as they take her blood. (By the way Hallie HATES Dr. offices and screamed the whole time which makes me, her wimpy mom, always tear up and wonder if they are really helping!) So he comes back and says she's at a 62 and 70-100 is normal so she's fine. He then sends us packing with a diarrhea helping prescription. Now, I know I get a little crazy when it comes to protecting Hallie, but how does 62 fit into 70-100? As I'm driving away, shell shocked and confused, I dial several people to help make sense of this matter. Thank heavens for Moms. She sensibly told me they probably would worry if she was high and since she's been sick and not eating well it was probably normal for her to be a little low. I started to breath again, then got a little ticked that the Doc didn't explain this to me. Granted he doesn't know (yet) how protective I am, but come on! You can't throw out a bombshell like diabetes and then chuckle and push me out the door. So I took a lot of deep breaths and put my exhausted little one to bed. So back to the craziness. She woke up, we drove to get the car fixed. That was a disaster of "Ya we have the part." "Now the part is making the window work even worse than the old part." "Sorry, I can't focus cuz I'm full of morphine from my scrotum...(I don't know exactly what was wrong with his scrotum because I stopped listening at that point)" "Do you want me to put the door panel back on? It will cost you double cuz I'm going to have to take it back of when this OTHER new part comes in." "We'll just put it back together so you can take it, be out in 10 min." (30 min later) "They usually leave in 15 min so I'm hoping they finish before then." I was hoping too!!!! An hour later - "Ok your cars done and we fixed everything it's ready to go." Hu?!!! "And here's the bill." (Double what they quoted) HU?!?!?! So I drove off shell shocked and confused for the second time today. Luckily Erin my sister-in-law invited me to shop at Costco. Shopping is calming. Then to end the night with a smile we stopped at the "Hot Donuts Now" sign and loaded up!

So my empty "boring" week was anything but, and it's still in full swing. I need to remember this week next time I complain about being bored staying home.

Out of the mouth of a 2 year old.

So I'm a slacker and only so often write down all the...adorable things Hallie says. Well I'm on the upswing so I thought I'd share some of the day-to-day from this last week.



Cute Story #1

Sitting at breakfast Hallie does her version of the "I Love You" sign which looks more like an "OK" and says, "I sure love you."
Me- "Thanks, I sure love you too!" and I touch her little cheek. She takes my hand and holds my pinkie then proceeds to eat. I of course can't eat without my hand, but who needs food when she's so dang cute?! Two or Three minutes go by and Hallie leans down and kisses the pinkie she's holding.
Me- "Thanks cutie!"
Hallie leans down and hugs my hand.
I'm completely melted at this point and say, "thanks for the hug!" Then of course her 2 year old curiosity comes into play as she notices the inside of my elbow and questions ensue, "what's that? why are there lines?" etc. The questioning ends, I am granted my arm back and Hallie continues to eat. A few minutes pass and Hallie stops, gives me her cute little sly smile as she leans forward and whispers, "Mom, can I tell you a secret?" I lean in and say "ya," ready for the secret that I'm sure is about elbow lines. Then she cups her tiny hand around my ear and whispers, "Daddy loves ya." Yups. She completely melted me again. What can you do when your a puddle on the floor? Pretty much nothin; I was wrapped around her finger for the rest of the day.

Cute Story #2

We went to the fabulous Pleasant Grove park (with sand and wood chips) and spun, climbed, swung, hung, slid, and twisted our way to exhaustion. When it was time to go I loaded little miss into her car seat. She starts freaking out and trying to take her shoes off saying, "I've got the park in my shoes!!!" And she did; sand, rocks and wood chips tumbled out.

Cute Story #3

(I inspired Hayden I guess cuz this is one he wrote down.)
They are sitting outside on the grass "chillin" and Hallie leans in cups her hand in secret mode (apparently a new favorite thing to do) and says, "Daddy, your handsome."


Cute Story #4

Hayden was driving and we're all in the car heading to Provo. There are several lights and Hallie loves that she knows that red means stop and green means go. Hayden's driving along and up ahead is a green light. Hallie shouts, "Green means go!" But as we approach it turns yellow and she let out a moan and an "Oh no!" Hayden apparently thought he had time to make it and drove on through, but not before Hallie saw the light turn red as we passed under it. Hallie instantly shouts, "Daddy! You need to stop!" I of course am laughing. Then she continues to enlighten and teach Hayden, "Daddy a red light means stop!" She informed him of his error the rest of the ride. :)

Summer Fun!

We're back! We had so much fun on our trip! It started with Hallie's first plane ride. I was so nervous! There were m&m's, granola bars, fish crackers and teddy grahams bursting out of her backpack. Not to mention books, toys, and an array of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes. All of which were to keep her calm on the flight. Little did I know that all our hype over going for a plane ride would pay off. She hardly paid attention to all the treats and toys; she just wanted to look out the widow, lower and raise her tray, say hello to the flight attendance, and squeal in delight that she was "flying high in the sky!" I was relieved, but I'm sure the other passengers got a little tired of the giggling and excited exclamations at every new thing. It was fun for us though! :)

After almost 5 hours on the plane we got into D.C. got our rental car and headed to my Aunt's house to stay. (thanks again it was amazing!) The next morning we got up bright and early for our White House tour. (THANKS to Rachelle for getting all our private tours set up! They were awesome!) I could hardly wait to head inside! The security was crazy, but I'm glad we did it. We could only take in our id's pretty much so we had to take pictures outside.

We went to the Natural History museum and saw the hope diamond, dinosaurs, mammal, live butterfly gardens, and aquatic life. Hallie was in heaven! One of my favorite was the Library of Congress. Ya know, the building in National Treasure. It was such a beautiful and ornate building! The kids got a little bored, but I was in heaven. Someday I dream of a library room in my house, well first I dream of a house, but then a library room! If only I could have those amazing books too! There was everything imaginable there! And who knew, anyone can get a library pass! Someday....

We had fabulous picnics all over and saw so many things! We went to one of my favorite sculptures "The Awakening." with the giant coming out of the earth.

Then we went to the Red Sox Game! We had fun getting on our Sox paraphernalia and cheering our team. Hayden is officially out of the closet, he is a baseball fanatic! He's always liked it, but who knew he loved it! The hot dogs, the crowd, everything was so fun!

Then we drove to Myrtle Beach! Our condo was amazing and we met up with all but one of my siblings! We had a great time with family. We went from the beach to the pool to the beach and back. There were 3 outdoor pools, 2 indoor pools, a lazy river inside and one out, and two sets of water slides! Hallie had the time of her life! The condo had face painting, hoola hoop contests, whip cream eating contests, and a million more activities. We went to a calabash buffet and mini golf. Hayden, Erin and I went parasailing (awesome).

Then we went back to D.C. and saw the monuments and the American History Museum! It was amazing and we had so much fun. The flight back was just as joyous for Hallie as the first one:) Of course now everyday she wakes up wanting to go the beach and pool. And she is constantly asking where her cousins are! It was a fabulous trip!

Vacation!

Just a quick update, we're heading to Washington D. C. then Myrtle Beach! We are so excited! Hallie keeps talking about her plane ride and building sand castles :) We got white house tickets while we are in D.C. and are planning to see all the things we've missed in previous trips! It should be amazing! I'll update with pics when we get back!

(we just got internet at our new apartment so it's been awhile since I've been on... sorry ;) I've missed a lot and haven't written all the fabulous things that have happened ie. a married brother CONGRATS, a married sis in law CONGRATS, family visiting, and all the cuteness of Hallie and our summer! One really long post is on its way!)

Lots of Random

So there are so many things fun things that have been going on I just want to share :)

1. Hallie is getting SO big! She is amazing! Yesterday she said a 2 prayers all by herself! She said the usual begining and close and in the middle she said "thank you for this day, thank you for the food, thank you for daddy studying so hard." How cute is she?! Today I was talking to Hayden on the phone and Hallie said, "Can I talk to daddy?" So I gave the phone to her and she said, "whatcha up to daddy? What's your plan for today daddy?" She just cracks me up!!

2. We love the mountains! We went on a beautiful hike at Big Springs and took fun pictures. Hallie was so happy the whole time and loved seeing everything! It made me so excited to go camping this summer!

3. Sewing! All growing up I detested fabric stores. To me the idea of walking into one was more painful than a root canal! However I have recently realized there is a whole new world of wonder in fabric stores! I walked by a store the other day and actually stopped to look at cute fabric! Here are a couple of things I've made lately: an apron (bibs are so last month!), and a couple of skirts.



4. Hannah Montana. Somehow I missed my teenie-bop years and loving tween singers (except New Kids on the Block-everyone loved them!) because I am suddenly joining in with all those little screaming 12 year olds about Hannah Montana. Yes, I have watched the show off and on for a few months, but never really considered myself a fan until the movie and the soundtrack! LOVE IT! The climb - love it, butterfly fly away - love it, backwards cowboy song - love it, but most of all and unabashedly Hoedown Throwdown- LOVE IT! I totally need to learn this dance! It is so cute and I am now a complete fan.



5. Loving the weather! Summer is so great! I means bbq's, swimming, hiking, gardening, reading books on picnic blankets, and of course Big Springs! We're having so much fun and loving every minute!

Just Life For Now

So I feel like something cool and amazing needs to happen for me to blog. Ya, it's pretty dumb. So here a few of the "just stuff" things going on with us. :)

We are loving being near family! It's so fun to spend time with everyone! AND we've been on more dates because of all our fabulous babysitters! Thanks everyone! I especially love that Hallie becoming such good friends with her cousins!


I have generally always worried about exercising and being healthy, my problem was that I wasn't really sure what that meant. What is the magical exercise program that will make me LOVE to workout? What do I have time for? Isn't ice cream healthy, it has like calcium and protein in it... So after almost 7 1/2 years (yes 7 1/2) of listening to me talk about being healthy Hayden got me an early birthday present. My new favorite thing! A bodybugg!

He found some great deal and away we went! It is my new favorite thing! I feel kinda silly, but I am constantly checking to see how many calories I've burned and trying to do more. I've decided I'm a pretty competitive person and it bugs me to not reach the goals on the computer. The first day the stupid lady, that's probably 100 pounds, smiled down on me and announced that I had eaten 274 calories more than I'd burned. Oh ya little miss skinny! Well how about I burn an extra 1,000 tomorrow! How do you like them cinnabuns!

Part of my heath craziness is due to one of my favorite shows, The Biggest Loser. I usually watch these amazing people dripping with sweat while I enjoy a bowl of ice cream. (By the way I REALLY CAN'T STAND watching Ron one more week. Please, please go home!) Now I still enjoy the ice cream, I just look ridiculous during commercials doing step-ups on the kitchen chairs to make up for my delicious treat.

I'm also the nursery leader and camp director so a lot of my day is spent trying to prepare for both of these. I LOVE nursery! The kids are adorable and I love getting all the little treats planned and fun games ready. It's great because I get to choose what Hallie does and learns for nursery and then I just hope the other kids like it too. Hee hee! Camp will be fun...it's just a little daunting. There is a lot to plan and a lot of pressure that I put on myself because I want it to be amazing and I feel like if it's not then there's only one person to blame...me. So if anyone has any fabulous ideas our theme is Basic Training. It basically about "making and keeping sacred covenants" and they are doing an army theme. It should be fun, we'll see.

We've also been LOVEING the holidays! It's so fun to plan things with Hallie and see her getting excited about little things. We just had our annual Easter Party that my mom plans. One word.. chaos. She LOVES to hide things in extraordinary places, like the bottom of the flour bin and taped to the bottom of the kitchen table. Needless to say the house is turned upside down in pursuit of all things easter. It is hilarous and we look forward to it ever year! I put a few pics of it on the slide show, and yes that is flour from the bin and yes I am the best Easter egg hunter in the world! :)

My day is also full of sweet little Hallie. She is so fun and sweet and smart and I love her to pieces! I've already talked your ear off about her in the last blog so I thought I'd put on a cute little video of her playing. I can't say it enough, she is the biggest blessing and I feel SOO lucky to be a mom!

The Sweetest Things

There have been so many things lately that have made me smile and say "Ohhh, how sweet!" I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! :)

1. I have a 2 year old! Just seeing her getting so big puts little stars of pride in my eyes, as well as tears for the lost littleness. She is so perfect and sweet. Yes, she is still a 2 year old as proof of the birthday video :) But even the "No!"s and such have to make me smile. (I didn't edit at all so sorry it's a little over a minute.)
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2. Having a hard working, smarty pants, hunk of a husband! I so proud of Hayden all the time, but it's even better when he's proud too. He recently took a quiz that everyone did poorly on; even the professor commented on it with concern. And what was Hayden's score??? 100%!!! Yup he's pretty amazing! :) Plus he's an amazing dad to boot, what can I do but swoon! :)

3. Everyday Hallie! This is for a taste of the everyday sweetness that is Hallie. When she really wants something she adds words to her sentences ex. Sentence 1 - Mommy I want a drink. 2- Mommy I want a drink of water please. 3- Mommy I want my flower drink of water on the counter right there!!! I apparently took way to long in getting it, but couldn't help smile at this entreaty. She runs everywhere! Galloping and jumping however and the new joy. She loves to smell anything that is getting stirred, mixed or cooked. Hide and seek is a must. Singing songs like "Mr. Sun," "5 little monkeys," "ABC's" "On top of Spaghetti" and several more are a daily occurrence. Swings, swings, and more swings!! Little tables, chairs, and dish sets are hours of entertainment. She adores Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and all the friends. Each new stuffed animal gets a "Hello Mr. ____ (bear, bunny, kitty etc.)" She takes an animal, a book, and a water cup to bed each night. She changes their "poopy bums." She says things like "Swinging was super duper fun mommy!" and "That's a gigantic dinosaur!" Every night when I lay her in bed she asks for her water, I give it to her and she says, "Thank you mommy." She is my sweetie pie. I love her so much! I feel so blessed to be her mom and my heart expands with love as she grows; I feel it from the tip of my head to my toes! :) She is my little girl and my gigantic blessing!

4. Baking/Cooking. Literally. I LOVE to bake/cook! We had a fabulous green meal for St. Patrick's Day, so much fun! Green soup bowls, green sour cream on the soup, green jello in little lime cups, green juice and we topped it off with sugar cookies and green frosting! I loved it! The best part is it was Hallie's first time baking sugar cookies! She mixed and added flour and vanilla and helped me cut out the stars. That was fun of course until she realized that the little scraps left over after I took the stars out was delicious cookie dough. Her attention was completely switched from stars to dough. Before I knew it she had a mouthful of delicious dough stuffed in her mouth with all that wouldn't fit hanging down to her chin. I was a little nervous about tummy aches, but also thought it was cute. That is until she kept at it. I'm up to my elbows in flour and frosting and she's downing the dough, so I tell her several times "let's make those into cookies, the dough will give you a tummy ache." She responds by quickly grabbing more because of course that statement was just a warning that I was not going to let her eat more. So I try to take some out of her sticky little hands with minimal success. Then she looks up at me and wraps her sweet little sticky hands around my elbow and leans her head on my arm and says,"don't give me a tummy ache mommy. It's yummy!" Then she releases slightly and changes her mind giving me another sweet arm hug and head rest and says, "Mommy makes me so happy!" She let go and I was a ball of mush. Then to add to it about every 30 seconds she gave me that same hug and said that I made her so happy. She is such a sweet heart! I know she loves cookie dough, but I can't help but think it was more that the sugar rush that made her so sweet!

Review, Revise, Revist the plans

So...life's been busy of coarse, but I did get a minute to look over the plans I made several weeks ago. That always makes me chuckle. :) I must think I'm superwoman because it's silly to look at all my piles of plans; the lofty goals and expectations that I make and actually think I might accomplish. So I thought I'd get everyone up to date on what I am ACTUALLY doing instead of what I had planned on... oh the dreams.

1.Selling our house - did it, and done!

2.Martha Stewart... I'm slowly adding sewing to my diet, but it's a little tough to swallow. I made Hallie a Valentine's Day "heart dress" as she calls it. It's...cute. I don't love it, but I'm learning so what can you say. There was supposed to be a purse that I was going to make too, but that will have to wait until the next project.



3.Potty. Oh dear. This one is just silly. Hallie will be 2 years old in 20 days. What was I thinking?! Most likely I was wistfully dreaming of a one year old that would recognize the need to go potty, walk over in time, undress, wipe, dress again, wash her hands and come back over for a nice little chat with mommy. Yup, insane. So our first day was actually pretty good. Hallie LOVED her new panties! She was so excited to have stars and rainbows and Elmo on her new panties that she showed them off to everyone. We set the timer and went to the bathroom every 30 minutes until I was tired of cleaning up pee and upped it to 15 minutes. Hallie loves her potty so then we'd sit there for 5-10 min. Needless to say we spent the day in the bathroom.
Now to the fun part. Hallie hates messes. She shrieks at the sight of spilled water. So when suddenly her pants are wet with pee pee, all hades breaks loose. She instantly needs love and hugs from mommy, who is holding her at arms length so as not to get splattered with any more pee. (yup I felt horrible, but not bad enough to get peed on) So we ran, we cleaned, we repeated.
The good news is that she pooped once and peed 4 times in the potty. So exhausted and beaten I went to bed knowing that if I could just hold on one more day she'd be doing it all by herself. Oh ignorance is bliss.. So the next morning we're ready with our adorable panties, bags under the eyes and a hopeful smile. After analyzing every move Hallie made the previous day I got pretty good and determining when she needed to pee. So I see the look and excitedly say, "It's potty time!" Hallie starts crying and looking really worried, so I think, "Crap, I'm too late." I start getting her out of her chair and looking to see how wet everything is, but she's dry!? So we rush to the potty and I'm so excited to start the day with clean panties! She is still upset and it instantly escalates when we enter the bathroom. She sits for maybe 4 seconds then runs out. I know she has to go so I throw on a pull up, against her will. The next thing I know she's off in a corner with this guilty look on her face; she'd wet her pull up. I think I instantly woke up. She was having some serious anxiety about the potty! She was worried that she had to go to the potty more than that she was going to have a mess. Sad sad sad:( Right then I tossed the panties and pulled out the diapers again. I don't care if it takes until Jr. high, but I want her to be happy and confident and the potty insanity was not doing that. So we are officially saying good bye potty.

4.Marathon - this is still in the works, it's just slow and steady. I've been walking and jogging for awhile now. I just recently got excited again about the race. So the plan is 15 minute runs 3 times a week for 2 weeks. This week is week one. It's exciting to think of running again, and Hayden is on board to run with me so that makes it a million times more fun!

Chaos is good, chaos is good,.... right?

I feel like life has been a whirlwind for the last month, but now it is finally settling down.... sort a. We sold our house and moved to Utah County. Hayden is in a new job and a new school and loves every minute. We're looking for an apartment while we stay with my parentals. We're also looking for a new car so I can breath. :) And while we're at it let's potty train Hallie, start a new diet and exercise plan, get a new calling and plan a family vacation to South Carolina/ Florida. (Hawaii isn't out of the picture for me yet either; by the way fam!)



It's good, but sometimes I feel like I'm trying to breath underwater; like some frantic little fish. Of course all of the chaos if for good, exciting, moving forward things. The up sides are that we have gone on more dates the last month than we have for the last 2 years. Hallie loves being near her cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Hayden LOVES school. The more I think about it, life really is good. I guess I just needed to vent a little and get it out there. We're happy and busy what more can we want. :)

Just for Fun!

Here are a bunch of random favorite photos, enjoy!

...Keep reading, I just published a post that I started Dec. 9th!! (ya, a little slow:)