Finally!

Well I finally took some pictures of Hannah in her Easter dress today. This first picture says it all. She was being rotten for me, so I didn't get too many good ones out of the 150 that I took. Here are a few, though. I think she is such a beautiful little girl (Doesn't everyone think their child is beautiful?); these pictures don't do her justice.

Our Week!

I have not been in the mood to blog lately. There are some weeks when I feel like I have a lot to write about and other weeks when I feel like nothing is coming to my mind. I have stopped writing in my journal since Scott and I started this blog, so I figure that one day I will print out all of my writings in this blog and use it as a journal. So, if my blogs often sound like a journal, I apologize, but I think it will be fun to one day read back on the things I have written.

So, this past week has been a good one, but nothing too exciting has happened. On Saturday night, I went to see 27 Dresses in the dollar theater with my friend Wendi (who I will miss when she leaves). I thought it was a really cute movie and would recommend it if you like love stories. Oh, and another movie that Scott and I rented recently was Dan In Real Life. We rented it because we love Steve Carell but were surprised at how good the movie was. It's very clean, funny, and romantic. Anyway, so there are two movies I would recommend.

On Sunday I was planning on finally taking pictures of Hannah in her Easter/Spring dress because the weather was gorgeous, but Hannah fell on the kitchen floor and got a black eye. It's still bruised, and I feel terrible when she gets hurt. So, my plan is to take these pictures on Saturday. Let's hope that Hannah doesn't receive anymore owies and that it doesn't rain. Anyway, so Sunday night we had friends over for dinner and I made lasagna. I've only made this twice in my life and because I used my mom's delicious recipe, I think that it turned out great! I usually only have homemade lasagna once a year during Christmas, so this was a real treat.

And finally, Scott finished his last class yesterday and now only has finals to worry about. I can't believe how fast this semester has gone. In just about a week, our parents will be here and I will be walking for graduation. I am so excited to see you all......and then, Hannah and I will be off to California for a week and a half to visit. I am very excited!!!

I See Some Life!

Look at this picture closely (please don't look at my face too closely; that's a really bad angle for my nose). If you look to the left of Hannah's head you will see a tiny yellow flower on that disgustingly ugly bush. This bush was about 12 feet high a couple of weeks ago and was about half way into the sidewalk. It was huge. We chopped it, so today it looks like that. However, I was so happy to see a little bitty flower growing from it. Spring has come later this year than normal and it is still pretty cold here (usually mid 40s). This little flower gives me hope that spring might actually be here soon, and I believe that next week it is supposed to get up to 70 degrees. Hip Hip Hooray and a big Whoopdi Whoop!!!! I am jealous of you Californians whose flowers sprung 2 months ago. Oh well, our time will come soon!

Motherhood: The Best Job On Earth

I don't have much to blog about; My life is really monotonous. Tonight, as I was trying to cook pork chops, make a broccoli salad, and bake some corn muffins for dinner while having Hannah pull on my legs, asking me to hold her and tripping over the numerous pots and pans and cans that lay on the floor because my daughter loves to pull things out of their place, I thought about what I would blog about today. Being a stay at home mother has been the most challenging career that I have had so far in my life. I feel like I do almost the same thing everyday. I clean up the same messes, cook dinner, do the dishes several times, fold laundry, tell Hannah to stop playing with the DVD players, printers, and to keep her hands out of the toilet, and in the midst of it, try to keep her happy. This has been especially hard these last few months, as she has been so dependent on me and wants to follow me everywhere I go. She is a good girl for most of the day, but she's also very good at throwing tantrums or whining if she doesn't get her way. On top of that, mothering has been especially challenging for me because I am so concerned with doing everything perfectly. I don't want to spoil her, yet I don't want to take the fun out of everything either. I've heard of too many studies (especially being a Sociology major) that say if you do this, your child will turn out good or bad, like letting your child watch TV. One study tells me that Baby Einstein is good for a baby's development, while another study tells me that letting children watch TV before the age of 2 is related with ADD and ADHD. Therefore, I am no longer allowing Hannah to watch much TV (only once or twice a week), which means I have to be more creative. I feel like I am trying too hard to be the perfect mother, when all I really need is to realize that every child is different, and I should base my mothering style on what my child's needs are.

This all may sound like I am complaining about being a stay at home mother, but that is not the point of this blog. I would not change being a mother for the world. After listening to M. Russell Ballard's talk on Sunday, I realized just how important being a mother truly is (This was one of the best talks that I have ever heard). I love staying at home with Hannah. It is challenging, but I am so glad that I haven't missed a moment of her growing up. I might have to go back to work in the fall so that Scott can focus on his studies, and it will break my little heart, but I have been so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be there for Hannah, and cook dinner for my family, and clean up the same messes everyday. Things really could not be any better than they are right now (well, maybe if Scott was no longer in school and we lived in a house). Being a mother has truly made me grateful for my own mother. I don't know how she was able to raise 5 children and still have her patience (she says that she's not a patient person but I don't remember her losing her patience often with me). I often lose mine with one child. Being a mother is the greatest gift that God could give to us. I am so blessed to be a woman!

Anyway, I don't really know why I blogged about this. I have just been losing my patience often with Hannah and have since realized how blessed that I am to have her in my life, so thank you for letting me share.

Another Fun Tag!!!

I just got tagged again today (man, I am so popular....ha ha...j/k), and I figured that since I was already planning on blogging tonight that I would do this tag as well. The point is to show your favorites with pictures only, so here it goes.

Color:
Holiday:
Animal:
Food:
Vacation Spot:

Worst Habit:
Job:
Dessert:
Hobby:

Me:
Well, I've never tagged anyone before because I figured that if anyone wanted to do it that they could just consider themselves tagged. That hasn't worked, so now I am tagging a whole load of you who have not yet been tagged (that I know of). Kerrie, Jen, Hollie, Mom, Jill, Kate, Esther, Angela M, Angela H, Teresa, Amber, and Leslie, you are all tagged. If you don't do this tag, you will have bad luck for 46 years, grow 5 horns, all but your two front teeth will fall out, and you will burn in the fiery depths of tagging "H" (Don't you just love it when you get a forward saying that if you don't pass it on, something bad will happen to you? I must admit that I do think for just a moment, 'Will I actually grow horns if I don't forward this to 9 people?' Then just to see if I actually will grow horns, I'll refuse to forward it on). So, good luck and have fun!!!!

Scroll down for another post!!

Welcome Back!!

Well, it's back!! Since the writer's strike, I have been without my favorite show and it was devastating to me. In one week from tonight, The Office will be back on for a short time!! The Office has been the best show that I have ever seen. I even like it better than I used to like Full House as a child (and I pretty much watched that all the time). We have all of the seasons of The Office, and it is the only show that I could watch over and over without getting bored.....and I even find it funnier every time I watch it. We have had many people borrow our DVDs and everyone who has, has loved it! However, there are people who find it too crude, which I can understand. It can be crude, which I don't appreciate, but unfortunately I justify it by saying that there are so many other TV shows that are much worse out there. So, here's to you, cast of The Office.....Welcome Back!!!

You probably won't want to watch this unless you are a big fan, which I believe are only a few of you.

Little Miss Hannah!!

In my Easter post I promised to post some pictures of Hannah this Sunday in her Easter dress. Unfortunately, it snowed almost ALL day today, so I did not take any pictures of Hannah. I was hoping to do it on BYU campus after church because they often have pretty flowers, but everything is still dead here and like I said, it snowed today...GRRRRRR. So, it may be a few weeks because I would like to take some nice pictures of her....hopefully the sun and flowers will come out soon. I thought instead I would post some funny things that Hannah does.

1. She yells my name, "MAMA!!" Then I say, "What?" She says, "BOO!" She does this over and over, especially when we're in the car.
2. Whenever I go outside to throw something away or get the mail, she hides behind the opened door and watches me through the crack. Then, she tries to scare me when I come back inside. It's really funny.
3. She loves to close her eyes really tight and show her teeth.
4. She loves any kind of Chapstick or lubricant that she can put on her face. I think she got used to these after she had the rash around her mouth (which has been completely gone ever since we went to the Derm....thanks Doc!). She loves to spread them on her or my face.
5. Every time her nose starts to run she says, "Boogies" and makes me wipe them.
6. She is always so concerned with her finger nails. Anytime she has the tiniest hang nail, she tries to pull it off herself. When that doesn't work, she makes me clip them (or bite them.....bad habit that she is picking up from me).

There are more silly things that I can't think of at the moment, but maybe I will add them to the list when I do.
Scroll down for another post!
P.S. I feel bad for saying that I hope no one else tags me, so if you have a good tag, bring it on, because I really do enjoy doing them.

A New Look For the Kitchen

These past two weeks have been a bit challenging for me. Now that I don't have any homework to do at night (and I often find myself sitting in front of the television), I decided to take on a project. I have had some French style decorations for my kitchen for a few years but didn't put them up because they didn't match at all. The kitchen was yellow and green and had a fruit border.....my decorations are mostly black, tan, and red. So, I decided to paint the kitchen red and tan. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about the tile and counter tops, which are still yellow and green, but at least the walls match a little bit better. Here are a few "after" pictures.





Here are a few "before" pictures. Please excuse the messy kitchen...we had just finished eating dinner and I was about to take off the wall paper so I wasn't really focused on cleaning.




This project actually ended up being a bit of a bear, as I found that our ceiling and our windows are crooked. The tile on the right wall is a quarter of an inch taller than the tile on the left wall. This made is difficult for the line between the red and tan, as they are different heights on the walls. Hopefully no one will look too closely when they come to visit, though. The walls in this apartment feel like complete concrete, which makes it almost impossible for the paint to stay on them. It often rips off like a big Bandaid. So, because I used paint tape to make that line in the middle of the wall, when I ripped it off, some of the paint ripped off with it. That was definitely not fun. This apartment is all jacked up, but at least I feel like the kitchen is more my style. I still need to paint white over the parts that I got red on the ceiling and cabinets, so I'm not completely finished, but it's almost there. This was my first time ever painting, and at least for now I know what to expect when we live in a real house, and I will probably end up hiring someone.

One more tag....

Ok, one more tag. Frankly, I hope that this is the last one. I like getting tagged, so thank you Amber, but I'm sure it's annoying to all of you reading it and I feel like I keep writing some of the same things over. This one's good, though, so you have to read! If anyone wants to do it, you are more than welcome.

10 Years Ago

I was finishing up my Freshman year of high school (I had just gotten my braces off so I felt good), crushing on a lot of boys, needing a hair straightener, and in a lot better shape than I am now.

5 Things on my list to do Today

1. Play with Hannah
2. Paint the Kitchen
3. Make dinner
4. Watch The Biggest Loser
5. Write blog

What would I do if I were suddenly a Millionaire?

We would DEFINITELY move out of this spider infested, flooded kitchen, dark and smelly apartment. We would pay off the car we just bought and all of our school loans and then save most of it. I would also give every member of my family some of it. Scott would continue to go to school but would not have to work while doing so and I would continue to stay at home with Hannah. We would go on MANY vacations and donate a lot to the church and other charities.

3 Bad Habits
1. Biting my nails (toe nails, that is....ok totally kidding, but I used to joke around when I was little and stick my toes in my mouth).
2. Saying "um" when I'm speaking in public
3. nagging Scott

5 Places I've lived

1. Torrance, CA
2. Elk Grove, CA
3. Rexburg, ID
4. Orem, UT
5. Provo, UT

5 jobs I've had

1. Zehnder's Yogurt (Is that how you spell Zehnder? Or is it Zhender? I can't remember).
2. Western Watts (YUCK!!!)
3. Mimi's Cafe
4. Staples
5. House Wife

5 things people don't know about me- since I've already done a few blogs with this, I thought I would change this to 5 of my Pet Peeves.


1. Since Jennifer blogged about people calling Sherbet, SherBERT, I'd also like to say that when people say words wrong it drives me nuts. A few other examples of this is the word "Nuclear." The word is NU-CLE-AR, not NUCULAR (President Bush says this all the time). The dictionary says you can say it either way but that's not how the word is spelled. Another word that's not as annoying to me as nucular is Mayonnaise. Scott calls is MANNAISE, as I know a lot of you do too. Again, that's not how it's spelled. I started to call Hannah Hannaise, though, so it's kind of grown on me. There are other words like this, but I can't think of any at the time.

2. My second pet peeve is kind of silly, but I am a big fan of biology so bare with me. It drives me nuts when I am watching a TV show or movie and the parents both have blue eyes while their children have brown eyes. Anyone who remembers biology knows that this is not possible (well, nothing is impossible, but according to biology it's VERY rare). An example of this would be 7th Heaven, if any of you have seen this show before. The parents both have blue eyes but a few of their children have brown....IMPOSSIBLE. If any of you can name me a family whose parents both have real blue eyes (not hazel), and has a child with pure brown eyes, please let me know about it.

3. The third pet peeve is when I am driving and people pull out in front of me so that I have to hit my brakes, and what's even more annoying about this is when there is no one behind me. If that person who pulled out in front of me could have waited 5 seconds for me to pass, they could have pulled out in front of no one and I wouldn't have had to hit my brakes.

4. This one is short- when the house is a mess and I've cleaned it SEVERAL times already that day.

5. This last one is kind of silly and I hope it doesn't offend anyone. You won't understand this one unless you are LDS. It annoys me when people use quotes or stories in church that they don't have references to. For example, I am sure many of you have used this as I have before, but the quote, "I never said it would be easy. I only said it would be worth it." We all quote this as if Jesus Christ said it and nowhere in the scriptures does Christ say this (or in talks, Ensigns, etc). Can you find it anywhere? I even saw a picture of Jesus in Gethsemane in the Deseret Book Store with this in quotes on it. It's a wonderful quote, but Jesus never said those exact words and yet we all quote it. Here is a video from The Singles Ward 2 that is hilarious to me, and sums it up quite nicely.



For the sake of you all reading, I will not write any more quotes or stories in church that annoy me, but there are more (just the fact that the first presidency had to come out and tell everyone to stop saying that we who are living in President Hinckley's time would be bowed down to after this life shows that we sometimes have problems with misquoting people because that is not true either). Please, just give me a reference!!!!!


Where will I be in 10 years?

We will probably have 2 or 3 more children and will hopefully be well off:) We will live in a house, hopefully out of Utah, and we will be happy.

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter!!! Yesterday we went over to Hollie's in-law's house for an Easter egg hunt and a BBQ. It was really fun to watch Hannah go after the eggs. Here's a short video of her picking up a few eggs:






Here are some pictures of the event:

Kamrie, Sienna, and Hannah

Shhhh....don't tell Si Si that Hannah stole some of her candy...hee hee

I think Hannah had candy in her mouth for about an hour straight. She ate all of her candy plus stole some other kids'.

This morning Hannah and I didn't go to church because she had a terrible night's sleep last night. She is sick again and slept in until 10:30am, which was incredibly nice for me because I was knocked out from the Nyquil that I took the night before (and thank you to my incredible husband for getting up with her in the middle of the night). Easter is definitely not a day that one should miss church. I was sad that I missed all of the great talks about the Resurrection and that I didn't get to show off Hannah's cute Easter dress. She'll get to wear it next week, though, and I plan on taking some pictures of her in it, so stay tuned for those. Even though Hannah was sick, the Easter bunny still left her some treats. The right basket in this picture was her basket. She got a baby doll that she picked out at the toy store, some finger paints, and an alphabet puzzle (and some more candy). Scott and I got 101 Dalmatians and Enchanted (these are actually probably more for Hannah) and a lot of candy! I've eaten so much candy these last few days......I feel sick! Finally, the Easter bunny left us one more present:


We bought ourselves a 2005 Hyundai Sonata yesterday. I know what you're thinking.....'WHAT!! A Hyundai....why in the world would you buy that?' Those of you who have had a Hyundai before know that they used to have problems but are now actually one of the best cars out there. Our bishop works for them and says that they are the cars that he has to order parts for the least because they rarely break down. Our bishop also gave us his employee discount on the car, and we were able to trade it in for our Durango. I really liked the Durango but we were almost paying a full car payment every month in gas for that thing. The "Check Engine" light was always on and more and more problems seemed to be occurring over time. We are SO SO grateful that we had that car, thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law and father-in law. We will still be making payments on this new car, but in the long run we will save money on it because hopefully, it won't break down and it uses A LOT less gas.

Tonight we were able to go to Hollie and Jarin's for dinner and an Easter lesson. The dinner was delicious and the lesson was wonderful! Hannah loves her cousins and had a ton of fun over there!! It's been a wonderful Easter for us.....hopefully yours was just as great!

Scott

Look at my stud muffin strutting his stuff at the bowling alley. This picture is actually quite funny.....it looks like he's walking down a runway. Anyway, that's not the reason that I am writing this blog. Cori Robinson wrote an awesome blog about how wonderful her husband is, and I pretended like I was tagged in doing this (even though it wasn't a tag blog) because I would also like to write about how wonderful my husband is. Scott has been working so hard this semester. He goes to school full time, works about 30 hours a week, and does a great job at his calling. In the midst of all of this, he tries his hardest to spend as much time with Hannah and me as he can. I know he has a lot of pressure on him, mostly from me to do well in school, and I know it has been stressful for him. He is doing very well for his first semester at BYU in incredibly hard classes and I am proud of him. The minute he gets home from work, he usually goes off to our bedroom to study. Poor thing is so tired by the end of the day that he usually starts to fall asleep while he's reading. I know that he is doing all of this for our family. He wants to do well in college so that he can provide for us in the future and I am so grateful for that (even if I complain often that I don't get to spend enough time with him). He has also been incredibly great about working while going to school so that I can stay home with Hannah, even though I know it would be a lot easier for him if I were to work.

Scott and I also love a lot of the same things. I used to think that I always had to be out doing things to have fun, but now I know that we can have a great time together watching The Office or any other mindless TV show, or reading Harry Potter together.

Scott's also a wonderful father. He loves to play with Hannah. He reads to her, sings to her, and always has to get her after she's woken up from a nap because he's excited to see her. I am so glad that I married him; I couldn't have asked for a better man!

Now I tag you all to write something nice about your spouse. Scroll down for another post!

Homemade Dresses!

I had to post these pictures because my mom made this adorable dress and jacket for Hannah. There is a reason why this is so important to me. I hope this doesn't embarrass you mom, but I'm going to talk a little bit about you. In 2005, my mom started having health problems, which she later found out to be related with her thyroid. She struggled with anxiety attacks, infections, back and knee problems and more. I know that those years were very hard for her, and I wish that I could have been there for her. After more than two years of these health problems and many prayers and blessings, she is finally back to her normal spunky, adorable self, and I am so grateful for that. Thank you for the adorable outfits that you have made for Hannah.....I'm so glad that Heavenly Father answered our prayers and healed you.

Potty Talk

Hannah has been so interested in going potty lately. She usually tells me when she has gone "poo poos" and she always wants to come into the bathroom when either one of us (Scott or I) is going (and she usually says, "pee pees" when she wants to come in). Last week I met a mother at the park whose daughter is already potty trained and isn't even two yet. I asked her how she did it and she told me that they bought their daughter a little potty and kept it in the bathroom. They didn't push their daughter into using it, but she quickly became interested on her own and was potty trained two months later. I decided that I wanted to try this tactic as well. Yesterday I bought Hannah a potty and put it in the bathroom. She played with it like a toy for awhile. Today I told her that that was where she could go "pee pee" or "poo poos" if she wanted to. This afternoon she kept saying "pee pee," so I put her on her toilet to see if she would go. She sat there for a few minutes and then......she went!!! I was really surprised and happy!! I kept telling her "Good Job...You went pee pee!" My happiness ended quickly when I realized that I am the one who will be cleaning out her potty after she goes....yuck! Anyway, I'm sure it was just a fluke for now, but it was still fun. I'm not going to push it on her because I know that she is young, but I would love it if she was potty trained by two. I know the average age is around 3 years, and I will be okay with that too, but to be able to save money on diapers and stop changing stinky poop would be a delight!!

Reading

I have never really been into reading for pleasure. I never really loved English when I was young, although I did love to write (Remember, Stacy, in "Writer's Workshop" when we would compete in writing the most pages?). When I was in high school, I felt like I was too busy to read for pleasure and when I had time, I would have to read the scriptures (Ok, I did read an occasional book here or there). Then college came and reading for pleasure did not sound like fun to me, because I had to read thousands of text book pages or journal articles for my classes as well as the scriptures. Laying on the couch always sounded much more enticing to me than popping open another book (reading took too much effort because you actually had to think). However, I told myself that I would start reading for pleasure as soon as I was done with college. In January, I finally started reading the Harry Potter series (even though we have all of the movies) and just finished the 7th book last night. They were awesome!! The books are so much more detailed than the movies and I found myself craving to read more, rather than to watch TV, to relax. I am depressed that I am done reading the books, but I am excited for the sixth movie to come out at the end of this year. The next series that I plan to read will be Twilight (although I need to get my hands on a copy of them; they are always out at the library). After I read that series, I really don't know what to read. Does anyone have any suggestions for good books??? Reading has become a necessity at night now, but I feel like I don't even know what books are good out there because I have never really been into reading before (sad, I know).

ABC Tag

Well I was tagged again! Stacy, I kept some of your answers because they were worded nicely.


A-Attached or single: Very attached!
B- Best Friend: I would have to say that Scott is my best friend.
C-Cake or Pie: I guess this depends on the cake or pie. Sometimes the frosting on cake can be gross to me. However, certain kinds of pie are gross to me too. I like banana creme pie and most berry pies, but I also love certain kind of cakes, especially ones that come from Costco.
D-Day of Choice: Saturday...the whole day is at your dispense for whatever you want or need to do!!!
E- Essential Item: The diaper bag....it goes with me just about everywhere.
F- Favorite Color: dark red
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Worms...especially the sour kind.
H: Hometown: Elk Grove, CA
I- Indulgence(s): ice cream, cheesecake, hot chocolate
J- January or July: JULY! Summer!
K-Kids: One so far! Our darling daughter.
L-Life is incomplete without: My family and friends
M- Marriage Date: April 30, 2004
N- Number of Siblings: 3 sisters and 1 brother
O- Oranges or Apples: This depends. At first I would say oranges but I have had some pretty nasty oranges in my life....ones that I couldn't even finish because they were so dry and chewy. If the orange is juicy and perfectly ripe, then definitely oranges; otherwise apples.
P- Phobias or Fears: failing, spiders
Q- Quote: I don't wanna work, I just wanna bang on this mug all day-- from The Office
R- Reason To Smile: Because someone told me a hilarious joke
S- Season: Summer for sure (although I like spring too)
T- Tag Six: Anyone who wants to do it.....I would love to see my sisters and mom do it!
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I am burned right now because I went tanning this week for the first time in years. If you notice me getting tanner in the next month, this is why (although I hope to refrain from getting too tan like I did my Senior year when people started calling me brownie).
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I am a meat eater.
W- Worst Habit: Biting my nails
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds!!!
Y- Your Favorite Food: most types of pasta
Z- Zippers or Zebras: I could probably live without a Zebra...they aren't a huge part of my life, although they are beautiful wonderful creatures. Zippers, now that I think about it are a part of my daily life. I'd probably have a hard time without zippers!

Little Lioness

Before

After

Yikes!!!! Poor Hannah is going to be stuck with my lioness hair. This picture of her reminds me of my Freshman year cheerleader picture, where my hair was out of control because the wind was blowing. Sometimes I feel bad for the bad genes that Scott and I have passed on to Hannah. Poor thing is going to have thick, wavy, coarse hair and will be told this by every hair stylist. Good thing hair straighteners and silky serum were invented!!!!

What a Week!

Everyone I know has been sick these last few weeks with the flu or something else. It doesn't seem to matter what state you are in either, as I have heard of friends/family being sick in Arizona, North Carolina, California, and here. Last Saturday Hannah woke up really sweaty, so I took her temperature and saw that she had a fever. It quickly raised throughout the day and hit 104 degrees. I was worried that she was going to start seizing, as I know of babies who have done this before because of a high fever. So, I did everything I could, gave her Tylenol, a cool bath, and plenty to drink. She didn't seize, thank goodness, but had a terrible night's sleep. Sunday morning we all missed church. My husband was kind enough to stay home with me so that I could sleep while he watched Hannah. Around noon on Sunday, Hannah's fever suddenly went away. I was worried that she had the flu, so I was expecting other symptoms to come. She was really out of it that day, though, and even fell asleep in my arms, which she never does. Anyway, since Sunday Hannah has still not developed any other symptoms of the flu, so I believe she has Roseola (thanks to my mom who told me about it). It's just a virus that infants can get that causes a high fever and ends with a rash around the body. Tonight I noticed a rash forming around her chest and back which coincides with the symptoms of roseola. She has also been so much more fussy than usual. Yesterday I had to give myself a time out from her because I was losing my patience very quickly with her crying. Today was much better, though, and hopefully she will be completely better by tomorrow. It has been hard to watch her go through this.......poor baby. I just wanted to apologize to Cori, as this is a contagious virus, and I really hope that your kids don't get it.

The sun shows its face

This picture is how I've been feeling these past few days. It's finally starting to warm up here!! The snow is melting, which means that Hannah and I get to get outside!! It's only been in the mid to upper 40s, but it feels so much warmer (I even felt like putting on my shorts and sandals today). Everyone is outside going on walks and taking their kids to the park. One lady told me that there were so many people feeding the ducks at the pond that there was soggy bread floating around everywhere because the ducks were too full to eat anymore. Today I took Hannah to the park for the first time in months. She loved being outside and was angry when I took her back home.

Here's a picture of Hannah on the slide. Don't be fooled by the expression on her face; she loves going down the slide.

Here's the almost smile she gives me when I tell her to say, "Cheese."

Hannah loves to blow bubbles and has to do it herself. She usually gets it everywhere, but she's getting pretty good at blowing bubbles. Let's hope it stays warm.......NO MORE SNOW PLEASE!!!

Debt Free!!!!!!

So this is not normally something that you would tell people, let alone blog about it, but it is something that I am extremely happy about. As some of you know, Scott started a business before we were married and didn't have enough money to keep it up. Because of that, we began our marriage with a bit of credit card debt. This is something that I feel has been hanging over my head since we got married. Unfortunately, I get major anxiety thinking about debt, and because of that, I am a very frugal person. I still wear some of the same clothes that I've had since high school, and I hate spending money on myself. I wish this weren't the case sometimes because I feel like I always look frumpy. Anyway, a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders as we paid off the last of all of our credit card debt this afternoon. The main reason I am blogging about this is not because I want you all to know that we are out of debt, but because I want to mostly just give a shout out at how blessed Scott and I have been. I have been so worried about money since I haven't been working, especially now that Scott has gone down to part time work at Staples. I really just didn't know how it was going to work out and I was getting stressed out about thinking of putting Hannah in day care if I had to work. The fact that we were able to completely pay off our car and credit cards this month even though we are poorer than we've ever been is a miracle and has shown me how much we have been blessed. It's amazing how things work out, even when you feel like all is lost. This doesn't mean that I won't ever have to go back to work, but for now, I am so grateful for the fact that Scott and I are making it with the money that we have.

Girls Night Out!

Yesterday I did something that I haven't done in a long time. I had a girls night out without Hannah or Scott and I really can't remember the last time I did that (besides maybe going shopping with my sisters once or twice in the past year). Scott and I have couples that we hang out with every once in awhile but it was really nice to get out by myself (not that I don't love being with my husband and daughter). I went out with two girls from our married ward to see Fools Gold. It's especially been hard to keep in touch with people from our married ward since Scott and I have been going to the Singles Ward, so this was a nice treat. The movie, however, was not really something I would recommend unless you don't care about seeing women's breasts. I was really surprised that they were aloud to show that in a PG-13 movie. The only other time I have seen full on breasts like that was in Titanic. It seems like the ratings on movies don't mean anything anymore. The main reason it makes me mad is because when my kids are older, I'm definitely going to have to screen everything they watch.....you just can never be sure that a movie is going to be rated appropriately for children (plus the fact that I don't really like seeing another women's breasts is another reason it made me mad). I can tell you this much, I definitely wouldn't want my 13 year old boy watching that. Anyway, so that's my little speech about movies these days. Pretty soon Scott and I are just going to have to watch G rated movies (although I must admit that there are some really good PG-13s out there and even some R rated ones like The Matrix that don't deserve to be rated what they are).

P.S. I hope that this doesn't offend anyone...that wasn't my intention....but I personally think that nudity ruins movies.