Aidan turns 3

Amid all the craziness of the last week, Aidan had a birthday. I can't believe my baby is three years old. I know everyone feels this way, so it's a bit cliche, but it really does happen in the blink of an eye. Here's to 3 being a better year for us than 2!! (Seriously, Aidan almost got sold to the gypsies several times last year...)

We had a little party at the park for him on Monday so he could play with his friends before we left. Here he is in some sweet new sunglasses:

Blowing out the candle on his cupcakes (with a little help from Taylor!)

And finally, my personal favorite. Check out where the birthday boy's finger is. I think I'll frame this one...

jeff update

From Mike's comment on an earlier post:

Cat found! Poor Jeff has been wedged between Aidan's headboard and the wall for at least 3 weeks. Despite the lack of food, water, or meowing, Jeff was extracted and is completely unscathed! Upon his rescue, he was immediately snuggled by Aidan. Onlookers said the reunion was nothing short of a miracle. Mike Silver, Channel 9 news. Back to you in the studio, Stan.

This was very good news.

made it to idaho

We got here yesterday afternoon after a week that can only be described as hellish! I hate moving!!!! Are there enough exclamation marks to get my point across?? (!!!!!)

So many things have happened, including Aidan's 3rd birthday yesterday and Mike's dry socket (blech) after his tooth extraction. Pretty exciting life we lead, wouldn't you agree?

I wish everyone could see the state of our house... no, never mind, I take that back. Did I mention that I hate moving? I will make sure to update the blog sooner rather than later with photos of Aidan's birthday party and some pictures of this place covered in mess and boxes. But I really do have to go back to unpacking. Or showering. I stink!!! Moving sucks.

A few things I've learned in the last week:

1. Take a break from lia sophia BEFORE major events, not just after. It's just a couple days and it saves a whole lot of trouble. What was I thinking doing a show on Tuesday and closing a show on Wednesday afternoon amid boxes being carted out to the moving van? Picture me and my little computer in a corner of the empty office, desperately trying to find order forms that had probably been packed.

2. Hire movers next time.

3. Piano movers are one of God's greatest gifts to mankind.

4. 16-yr old moving assistants are not very good at NOT messing up your furniture, no matter how good their intentions.

5. Garage sale BEFORE the move, not after.

6. Unloading moving vans by yourself in 86 degree weather is ridiculously grueling.

7. $4.15/gallon at 6-8 miles/gallon times 235 miles ... equals expensive.

8. Hire movers next time. Seriously.

5 days left...

...and the situation over here is pretty much the same. SIGH. I've been packing things here and there, but I want to move packed boxes and furniture out to the garage and the garage isn't packed yet. Don't blame me, that wasn't my job!! ;)

On a positive note (sort of), Mike got his wisdom teeth pulled yesterday. Why is that positive? Well in our original plan his appointment was the day before we needed to be out of here... and more than likely it would have gotten real ugly, real fast. The dentist had a cancellation though, so voila! Here we are, 2 teeth extractions later. Even though we accomplished nothing yesterday I'm glad to be on the other side of dentist visit. One less thing to worry about. (I'm trying to stay positive here)

On an incredibly negative note, Jeff (Aidan's stuffed cat) is absolutely nowhere to be found. I'm really, truly starting to panic. He hadn't asked about him for the last few days, but it started tonight. I asked Aidan if he knew where Jeff was and he said that he was "plob-ably in my closet? Or in your room?" But alas, he is neither of those two places. Or any of the other 247 places I have checked in the last 20 minutes.

Have you seen this cat???

(I'm totally not kidding -- did we leave it at your house, anyone?)

Beer, Anyone?

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed -- my (lovely) sister Johannah told me everything I need to do in a week's time as far as packing is concerned, since she's an expert and has moved her family several times (without any help from her ex-husband who would coincidentally disappear every time moving was required).

Needless to say I have finally realized that ignoring this issue probably isn't the right way to go about trying to get everyone moved up to Idaho by next Thursday -- oh well, it was worth a shot!

Pray for me... I guess I have to go start packing. Have I mentioned how much I hate to move? Does anyone want to do it for me? Free beer!!

Way Cooler Than Cosmo

So... you should all subscribe to my fabulous blog. See the handy little sign up button over there on the right side of the screen? Yep, you should do it. Everyone else is, and you don't want to be the only one NOT doing it, right?

I'm just thinking of you and your status as one of the cool kids... because just between you and me, I think you are definitely one of the cool kids.



Pssssssssst......... do it.

are we there yet?

07/08 - 07/14 Pack all our stuff (seriously, who needs all this stuff??) while concurrently searching the house for Aidan's stuffed cat "Jeff" who has been missing for the last few days -- try not to act panicked, kids can sense fear. I'm sure the cat is somewhere around here... right???

07/08 lia sophia show

07/09 Finish shopping for Aidan's 3rd birthday, finding fun things for him that have nothing to do with sports since his sports toys are tied up in a potty reward that we created MONTHS ago (literally) and that I was positive would be achieved by now. Any suggestions?

07/10 lia sophia show

07/12 lia sophia Region Rally up in Layton... so not looking forward to driving to this.

07/14 Aidan's birthday party/going away party at a local park

07/15 lia sophia show (yes, I'll be doing it)

07/16 Mike's wisdom teeth removal (we are apparently insane)

07/17 Happy Birthday Aidan! Hopefully driving to Idaho (which should be fun -- see previous day's activities!)

07/18 Renters move-in date / Anna's collapse date :)

crap

Apparently my whining did the trick (natch) because it seems that we have found some normal people (at least in appearances!) to rent our home. The guy dropped off their deposit this morning, and Mike says they're coming over to sign the lease tonight.

So how do I celebrate? By getting queasy of course! Crap, crap, crap. TONIGHT?

I am freaking out now that it's actually happening -- but I have no time to freak out. I have to go pack. Crap.

renter blues

Why is it so hard to find normal people to rent our house? I wish I could change the listing to just head off all these weirdos at the pass.

--Your aunt's fiance's cousin may not live here with you.

--No, we will not rent to you if you lie to us about your reason for moving, especially when we discover through your background check that you're going through a bankruptcy you failed to alert us about. (Especially when the rent payment is $50 MORE than your current house payment. Even if you tell us you're selling your cars and getting rid of your pets. No. No. No.)

--No, you may not re-tile, paint, or build on if the spirit moves you and then deduct the work from your rent.

--I beg you, stop saying "get 'er done." Especially while my husband shows you the dimmer switch in the master bedroom.

-- Why does everyone seem to have two massive outdoor dogs? Mike is sure they are all probably named Marmaduke or Clifford, and while I do like our furry friends, the idea of having big dogs tearing up my backyard and barking all day long is frightening to me.

-- Yes, the rent is firm.

-- No shoes, no shirt, no tour of the house.

Any other questions?

feathers

I can hear the jealous cries of teenage boys everywhere, who fight with their hair to defy gravity in such a messy, Big Bird feathery way.

secret joy

Um. How did I not know they were making a bigscreen version of "Mamma Mia"? HOW? I love campy crazy things like this. Hell, I even love ABBA. They're like Ace of Base, but so much more more... classic. I secretly love the movie "Muriel's Wedding" (okay maybe not-so-secretly...) and I was literally shocked today when I saw pictures for some premiere of this movie I wasn't even AWARE of. Perhaps I've had my "Twilight" movie (in theatres 12.12.08!) blinders on.

Who is as excited for this as me?? It's okay to admit. It's got Meryl Streep in it -- she has an Oscar so it has to be good, right? ;) Pierce Brosnan! Colin Firth! Both fabulous -- and fabulous looking! It even has that HI-larious girl from "Mean Girls". I have no idea what her name is, but I loved her then so I'm sure I'll love her now.

I just had to share the joy. This is a good thing, people.

my book report

Should I make a note of it when I finish a book on my list? Feel free to share your opinion of the possibility of me doing book reports here. I'm so embarrassed -- I am no literary critic. They might end up sounding a bit like this:

"The Pillars of the Earth" Book Report, by Anna

I read "The Pillars of the Earth" (deluxe edition - Oprah's Book Club!) by Ken Follet. It was a good book. I didn't know if I would like it, but I did. It was about some people building a cathedral a long, long time ago in England. And they went to France and Spain for a while in the book too. It was really hard to build churches back then without forklifts and cranes and all the other cool things that we have now. There was other stuff going on in the book, too. It took me a little while to get into it but I really did enjoy reading it. I would recommend this book to a friend.

The End.

Sooo... maybe I won't write reviews of the books that I finish. I just broke out in a cold sweat remembering middle school assignments and I think I need to go finish my panic attack now. (breathe, Anna, breathe!)

delicious delicious bellinis

Last night I went out with some of the girls on my lia sophia team for a going away dinner. I'm sad to be leaving, because I love these girls! (I must -- I look way better in another shot, but no one else did -- so I posted my semi-cute photo. That's love.) We're a barrel of laughs, I tell you.

Yes, those are empty drink glasses scattered on the table. How had I gone this long without sampling the deliciousness that is a bellini?? I LOVE peachy-things. And I love champagne. And wine. And rum. It had a refreshness factor of 12 -- 12, people. I don't kid around with my made-up scales of greatness.

uh oh

As excited as I am about this milestone in Wesley's young little life, I am also pretty nervous for what it means. Aidan was always a pretty laidback, easy baby -- Wesley has been a busy boy since day one. At four months old he was picking bowls up off the counter while in my arms and dropping them on the floor.

Ready or not here he comes, right?? Ohhh, I long for the days when children would stay where you put them.

goodbyes

Today we said goodbye to Cuddles, one of our two kitties. She's been with Mike for a very, very long time -- I think she was around 21 years old. She was just so old, sick and weak that it was the kindest thing to do. But it really does feel like we're missing someone important in our house tonight. She was a sweet cat and we'll miss her terribly.

family pictures

Wesley doesn't like cheerios... who ever heard of a baby who doesn't like cheerios?? If he puts one in his mouth he starts gagging and spits it out...quite hilarious.

If, however, he's eating something more agreeable to his delicate palate, he insists on doing it all by himself or he dissolves into a mess of tears. If he could talk, he would surely say "I want to do it by my own!" (a la Aidan)

Here's Doctor Aidan checking on his patient, Mike, who is apparently terribly sick (read: he fell asleep on the floor while playing with his children.)

happy birthday

Me: How old are you Aidan?
Aidan: I am two.
Me: And how old will you be on your birthday?
Aidan: Six.
Me: Well, not quite. You'll be three! That's so big! What do you want for your birthday?
Aidan: A swimming pool!
Me: Anything else?
Aidan: I want to be six.
Me: I'll see what I can do.

le freak out

Does that make me look like I speak French? Cause I don't.

Anyway, I'm a tad freaked out because we're MOVING as most of you know, and I loathe moving and I double-loathe the feeling of trying to juggle a hundred things while tap dancing which is pretty much how this move is making me feel. We're going to Idaho Falls for a business opportunity for Mike so I'm excited for him, plus my sister Jo lives up there which means fun, wine-drinking shoe-shopping adventures for moi. (there's that French again)

I am, however, sad about some things that are making me drag my feet a little. I don't want to move again, we haven't been in our house for very long and I'm happy here. I will miss the mountains, and all the friends I've made through lia sophia and mom's groups over the last couple years. I love my midwife, our pediatrician, and the school I found for Aidan. I like my neighbors, and my super fabulous grocery store Harmon's. (Is it way dumb to be sad over a grocery store??) Lastly, there is no Costco in Idaho Falls... and that saddens me a great deal.

We have people coming to look through our house (we're renting it out) starting on Tuesday evening, and I believe we're shooting for a mid-July exit. I will do my best to keep you updated on our progress (or lack thereof) as we move along.

notes to self

1. learn how to make mango margaritas
2. drink a pitcher of them
3. ... hmm.

yeah, that's pretty much it.

if you need me, dear, i've run off to mexico.

Have you ever had one of those days where you just wanted to crawl back into bed and lock your kids out of your room while you drank an entire bottle of Shiraz and pretended that you didn't have dishes to do, hot pink wax to scrub off the wall (thank you Aidan with the scentsy warmer), or laundry to do? (I think you all know how I feel about laundry at this point)

Yeah...that was my week. I've been in survival mode, so I'm sorry that I wasn't around much. Wesley's teething and going through some wake-10-times-a-night phase, and Aidan's on night #2 without a binky (YES, I know he's almost 3, so sue me). It's ugly, people. I mean... wow.

Thank God for friends, right? I love my girls, the ones I see frequently and the ones spread all over. I don't think I could make it through weeks like this without them. Hugs, love, posies, sunshine, lace, kittens, and all that sugar-coated vomity stuff to all of you.

scary times at wal-mart

That title leaves so much room to play with -- let's be honest, how many of us have had a scary and/or skeevy experience at a Wal-Mart? I choose not to shop there most of the time for that very reason. However, today I ran out because it's really close and I needed some baby food for Wesley and I had a truly scary experience.

I was going down the frozen food aisle where I had grabbed a bag of rolls when I passed a mom with 2 daughters -- one was young, in the front of the cart covered with a blanket and the older one was walking around looking at the food with her mom. I stopped to look at something in the freezer case and thought that the little one couldn't be very comfortable, it looked like she was sleeping slumped over in the front of the cart. Just then, the little one threw up and the mom didn't notice, so I mentioned that her little girl had just gotten sick. She went to pick her up and she lolled over and I saw that her little lips were blue. She was limp and her eyes were half closed, she wasn't responsive. I have never actually seen a child go blue before, it was truly terrifying.

The mom started crying of course and started trying to get her little one to breathe, and I grabbed my phone and called 911. Over the next minute the little girl (who wasn't quite 2, the mom told me as I relayed questions and answers between her and the 911 dispatcher) started breathing again, and eventually became more responsive. She was still totally out of it. I was so frightened for this little girl I was almost in tears.

I went to the front of the store, showed the paramedics where to find her, and got my phone back from her. It sounded like she had had a seizure, maybe? I don't know -- there was no reason for me to stick around after that, so I hope the little girl is doing okay tonight. I am definitely thinking about her...

As a mom, when scary or horrible things happen involving children you can't help but imagining yourself in a similar situation, no matter how awful. I can only imagine how terrified that woman was, holding her blue baby and trying to get through to her.

I started shaking after it was over, so glad that I had noticed this little girl under her blanket.

SMACK

i need a maid

I hate hate hate doing laundry. I don't even have a really good reason as to why -- it just makes me completely insane. As soon as you fold the damn pants and put them away, somebody WEARS them again. (the sheer audacity!) It's a maddening, pointless cycle! (except for how it keeps us from smelling like medieval bar wenches... which I guess is important in its own right. But really not important enough to keep me from complaining)

What bugs me even more is when my husband puts some loads through and then either folds them and leaves the piles all over the TV room floor, or leaves the crumpled heap of clothing in a basket in our room.... for over a week. It inevitably turns into a battle of wills -- who will cave and put the laundry away first. That is, until he starts putting dirty clothes on top of the clean ones in the laundry basket, and the vicious cycle is perpetuated.

Is it just me?? I am not in college anymore and there is no good reason for going through every single article of clothing I own before doing 127 loads of clothes in one miserable weekend... but I can't help it. The washing machine sucks my will to live a little bit at a time, with each sock that goes missing.

little lump of gavin-flavored sugar

My oldest friend Emily just had her first baby on the 29th! (oldest as in she's in MY baby book, not oldest as in...well, old.) Oh my gosh he's so cute. His name is Gavin, and he was almost exactly the same size as my son Wesley when he was born! 7 lbs 3 ounces and 20.5 inches long. I seriously want to snuggle him and smell his little newborn skin and steal him from his mom and love him, and squeeze him and hold him... pretty much pull an Elmyra.

Here I am with Em and her mom Hilary a few days before she went into labor... why are my hands in my crotch? Choice photo, I know... it was bit windy, okay??

Em with baby Gavin at the hospital

Closeup of Wesley's adorable new best friend. I didn't have one of these on my camera so I stole the one the Hilary uploaded to facebook. Thanks Hilary!

I just love new babies, and I love Emily too... so I double-love Gavin.

conversation

Aidan: Oh my gosh! It's a roly-poly.
Me: It is! Where do you think he's going?
Aidan: He's going to Target.

Here comes trouble

Here's the update on Wesley's crawling progress: he's repeatedly getting one leg underneath his body, pushing up, flopping down onto his belly and then flailing his limbs about him in a desperate attempt to take flight, doggie paddle or do something that gets him moving, since the legs are still failing him.

I have a feeling that this one is going to be the kind of kid that originally inspired childproofing. I can already see the gleam in his eye...

woe was me, cried the mommy

Potty training sucks. I'm sorry in advance if the word "poop" offends your sensitive ears... but we've been stalled at this no-poop place for weeks now, and I had a realization today that our potty episodes remind me of a labor & delivery room. I'm literally holding my son's hands and coaching him while he grunts and cries. (he's scared, not in pain -- don't worry!)

I've even bribed him! When Aidan goes poop in the potty, he gets to go to Target and pick a baseball bat, a brown football, or a basketball hoop. This morning, I actually told him to keep his "eyes on the prize." I'm a bit amused in my embarrassment. We're getting closer, I can sense this... eyes on the prize, baby. Eyes on the prize.

Snopes.com - learn it, live it, love it. Please??

My friends are incredibly important to me and I love to talk to them about all manner of things. BUT!!! If you are forwarding politically charged emails, especially if they're ridiculous in nature (i.e. conservative propaganda) please, please, pretty pretty please take a moment to remove me from the "To" box. It will make me so very happy.

Politics is a pretty tough topic to bridge among friends, even good ones. So if you're not 100% sure that (1.) the information you're sending is factual, and (2.) I won't get my panties in a twist in a fit of righteous indignation, please refrain from passing along that "ah-ha!" email. You won't change my mind, so let's just agree to disagree for the sake of our relationship. (But really, if you're gullible enough to believe all the rubbish that ends up in your email inbox, maybe you should work on that.)

Thanks, friends.

I Kissed A Girl

Okay not really... but I heart Katy Perry's new single, and since I loved her last one too I think I will be purchasing this album when it goes on sale on June 17!

I am S-M-R-T

Since my blog is so widely read (rolls eyes) I decided to add a list of the books that I'm reading or am working toward reading. I'm a book geek, I admit. Mostly I did it because I had to get creative with blogger and I wanted to see if I could do it. There was more than just pointing-and-clicking involved this time, people. I am pretty proud of myself! It took a while of me throwing extra " and = and 10px's and four-letter words into the html code in hopes that SOMETHING would work... and something finally did. I think it was that last f-bomb that I typed in there at the end. HTML is hard, y'all.

aww, it's baby beer

Mike stopped at the grocery store on his way home today to get a few things for dinner. Beer is on sale for Memorial Day weekend, so he grabbed a six-pack of Corona while he was there.

We sit down for dinner, and I think to myself that the beer looks so dainty in Mike's masculine hands. No, I realize... the beer just looks dainty. It's a 7-ounce beer bottle -- it's even called "Coronita" to celebrate its petite cuteness.

Needless to say, Mike feels sheepish. "Maybe this is why they were so cheap," he explains. "I think I need another beer to wash down this beer."


It's one beer for the price of two!

near death experience

Everything's okay, no need to worry any longer... but stuff got pretty hairy for a while yesterday. Luckily I managed to subdue the massive snake that crawled into my house and reeked havoc. It almost ate me, I swear.




Okay, maybe I elaborated a bit to make myself feel better.

So it was a baby gartner snake that was probably just as scared as I was when my damn cat brought it inside to play with it. YES, it was rolled in a ball, not moving, and I covered it in a giant tupperware and stuck a piece of cardboard under it, carried it outside, and sprinted back inside.

Just because I started crying when Fig first brought it inside and called my husband in a dead panic doesn't make me a wuss. I did not sign up to live in the country, people. And I have issues with snakes.

end of school year blues

Aidan's last day of school was today. I doubt he grasps it, really, but I sure do. I liked his teachers a lot and was sad to say goodbye to them, but I am more choked up about bidding adieu to my free Monday mornings. Goodbye to my brief but uninterrupted stretches of productivity. Goodbye nail appointments that don't result in me apologizing to everyone around as my toddler runs amok. Goodbye quiet mornings snuggled on the bed with Wesley reading a book.

Hello, summer. We rang in the change by having lunch with one of his classmates Taylor and her cute mom Leslie. (says Aidan: "Taylor loves me. Addison loves me.") Then we came home and celebrated in style with a toddler meltdown that evolved into a dual toddler-infant meltdown resulting in a major mommy timeout and finally sweet, sweet naptime. Afterward, we had some much needed bubble time and Aidan ingested a little bit of bubble solution while he rubbed the bubble wand all over his lips. (technique maybe?)



Oh and by the way, I had enough of the imaginary spider itchies and had Mike put some anti-bug juice on the lawn. Don't hate me. I don't want them gone entirely, but it would be delightful to somewhat reduce their population so I'm not having arachnaphobia-themed dreams at night.

I'm not going to neglect all you who really only care about seeing pictures of my children!!

Since I know I'll irritate family members if I don't post plenty of pictures of my kids, here are some new ones:

Wesley taking a sink bath!

Aidan trying his hardest to make play-doh "noodles"

Finished product

Spiders and Snakes and 'Coons, Oh My!

Um.
I didn't know what I was signing up for when I moved to this house, apparently. No one told me that this quaint little town on the south end of the valley was infested with wildlife. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of all things nature-y and green, and I am among the people who get sad and kind of angry with society when another retail or housing complex is erected on top of a nice open field.

HOWEVER...

Snakes are not okay with me. Everyone who knows me is aware of my immobilizing fear of the little (or big, gasp!) things. I glance down on a walk and see a brown, shriveled pod from a tree that has fallen on the ground and I nearly pass out from the shock. Then my heart starts pounding as if I had a brush with death. I place the blame squarely on my brother's shoulders, but that's a story for another day.

The hard part comes when I try to hide my fear for the sake of Aidan. I don't need him growing up thinking they're bad or scary... just that they are things that will warrant a major grounding if brought into his mommy's home.

And that goes for all the other country fauna that we keep running into. Voles? They're almost cute in a wild-gerbil sort of way, but apparently troublesome little buggers. I've seen raccoons in my neighborhood and I don't even remember them from when I was growing up in a much more rural place than my current town. And the spiders... OOHHHH the spiders. Ugh.

I took this picture today to try to illustrate the spidery craziness that is my yard. I kid you not, the entire lawn is covered with webs, they are hanging between every flower in my garden, and if I go to sit in a lawn chair chances are I'll get covered in the sticky things. Blech.



I hope I don't offend any spider lovers out there. I really do love nature, I just sort of feel like I need to buy a pair of wellies to walk around in my yard.

a note to my fans

To all of my loyal readers... (well to the couple of you out there anyway),

I love that you love that I am trying to love my blog again, and I need you to show that love via posting comments, not texting me (although I love the texts too). It boils down to me needing to feel validated and loved by having obscene amounts of comments because it gives me great delight and many hearty chuckles to read them. So shape up or ship out! (but don't really, because if the two of you left I'd be writing for... well, me. And that's no fun)

Sincerely and with love,
Anna

P.S. I am still figuring this all out so I'm posting this video of my sister's engagement as a learning excercise. Also because I deeply enjoy all the off-color, off-camera remarks made by the peanut gallery that is their HERD of boys. (count 'em, there are 7 of them!)

I sure hope this works.



P.P.S. I'm a super-star!

2 children for sale

Priced to move -- act now and they could be yours! Both in near-new condition, and from a non-smoking household. They come with matching outfits and a box of diapers. Call with questions, serious inquiries only.

All sales are final.

mild obsession

Okay I lied, it's more like a rampant obsession. Am I the only one having somewhat inappropriate dreams about Edward from the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer? I certainly hope not, since I just bared my soul to everyone. Pre-ordered book 4? Check. Cleared schedule for midnight showing of "Twilight" movie on December 12? Check. Downloaded movie poster as desktop wallpaper? Check (seriously, people -- I'm not proud of this. I may need help.)

Have you read this book? Seriously, if you haven't yet you should really move that to the top of your priority list (tip: put it waaaay higher than laundry). And don't listen to my mother -- I love her but she obviously doesn't know what she's thinking in regards to these books.

Oh and I totally lied again. Somewhat inappropriate... teehee.

Look ma!

Look at the new layout! Oooh, ahh... I did it all by myself, too. I think I'm pretty much the most talented pointer-and-clicker blogger.com has ever seen. And it only took me half the night... so needless to say Mike's a bit perturbed with me right now. (I love you honey!)

Anyway, I'm not very good at this blogging thing, am I? Does anyone even READ this anymore? For some reason I highly doubt it. I'll try to do better... maybe my snazzy new layout will help.

Aunt Stephanie's visit!

Stephanie came from Tennessee for a visit last weekend to meet Wesley and see Aidan (it had been over a year since we had last seen her, so it was great!) We had a really fun time and ate waaaay too much chocolate and bread and just food in general, really. She has a sassy haircut that looks so cute on her and the boys had a fabulous time -- Mike wants her to move in because Aidan had so much fun while she was here!

Here's a cute picture of Steph and the boys that she got off of her camera and emailed us:



We took a lot of cute ones too, but Mike still hasn't reinstalled the camera software on our computer so they're stuck on my digital camera until enough family members nag him to get it installed already (obviously he's grown immune to my wifely nagging and it's just not getting the job done this time)

It was so fun to see you Stephanie!! Aidan's still talking about you, so we'll definitely have to find a way to see you more often in the future. Thanks again for flying out!

oh. no. what. did. i. do.

I cut my hair off today!! Well not me physically, I'm not that unstable... but I PAID someone else to cut my hair off today!! I like it, I'm just in shock a bit. Impulse hair decisions -- they can so often go terribly awry. Oh my goodness I think I like it. I hope I like it. I hope I wake up tomorrow still liking it. (deep breath) Crap!!

My valentines

We didn't really do anything special for Valentine's Day -- Mike doesn't believe in it (I'm rolling my eyes as I write this)... I ended up taking the boys up to my sister's house in Idaho Falls for a visit. Even though we have no cute holiday-related photos to post, I still wanted to share some pictures of my boys so as to keep the families from grumbling :) I'm doing better this year, aren't I??

My three sons... er.. boys ;)

Wesley's getting ready for a bath -- what a cutie!

Aidan in the tub -- when asked what he was doing, he said "going on the potty." Thank goodness he wasn't really ;)

Classic Aidan expression...

I'm not a mean mom, really -- I just love crying baby pictures, and I think the fuzzy bear shoes are too funny not to share ;)

Snow Day

Well, dang. We woke up to crazy snow conditions this morning -- wind, snow drifts, the whole nine yards. Several of our neighbors were out helping people shovel snow, see how nice people are in Utah? Mike's the hot one in the orange-yellow jacket.



Even Aidan got in on the action -- and it only took half an hour to get him in his snow clothes and out the door.
"No pants!"
"Well, okay -- but you can't go outside without your snow pants on, honey," I say in my best attempt at endless super-mom patience.
Aidan seems to considers this. "Pants!!" I smile and walk toward him with his snow bibs in hand.
"NO PANTS!!" he yells, laughing while he runs away from me.

Repeat for boots, coat, mittens, hat, and the actual act of walking outside.

Once he got outside though, he had a blast helping "rake" the snow with Daddy.


When all the work was done, Mike decided to pull out the kid's sled Aidan got for Christmas in 2006 from his Grandma & Grandpa Silver. Aidan thought this was a pretty cool idea, too.



Everything was going swimmingly until Mike actually tried to pull the sled. This led to less-than-desirable results, which Aidan found hilarious.



Then the boys came inside for some hot chocolate and hat-hair grumbles when the camera came out again.

Tubby time

Bedtime routines with two are a little bit more complicated than with one, I'm discovering. Especially when both kids want Mommy. Especially when they're both SCREAMING this information at us. :) Here are some pictures of the calm before the storm:




And here's just a couple more random shots because there's no major events going on in our lives to link this post together ;)

Wesley is turning into such the little smiler... he is such a happy baby!


Mom and her boys!

Christmas with the Silvers

Merry Christmas! We're staying home this year, since Mike works tomorrow and we both break out in cold sweats trying to imagine lugging 2 kids under three, 2 carseats, a portable crib, and presents ANYWHERE!! Normally I wouldn't be updating this right now (or for a few weeks, who are we kidding?) BUT both the kids are taking naps and Mike is running all the boxes and gift wrap to the recycling drop-off near our house (look at us being so eco-friendly). So I was left to my own devices with a juice glass full of champagne (tres European, no?) and the digital camera.

So here we go...


Candy canes! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast.


Wesley playing with the rattle Santa brought him.


Aidan's new scooter! He's been saying he wanted Santa to bring him a skateboard for weeks now, so he was pretty excited to walk into the living room and see this.


Wesley enjoying all his gifts in his own special little way.


After 47 takes, we managed to get a photo where almost everyone looks happy to be there in our fabulous hats made by Aunt Allison.

Merry Christmas!!!

More pictures

Sadly, I have no time for witty commentary, since Aidan is most surely getting into something dangerous and/or messy at this very moment. I'm sure you'll all shed a few tears over that... but here are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure :)