Independence

Tylie has recently started to explore her independence. She has always wanted to do things herself but these past couple of weeks she has officially put me on the sidelines and is calling all of the plays herself. This has especially impacted her daily fashions. She goes in her room, instructs me not to look, closes the door, and carefully selects what she is going to wear out of her dresser. She then lays it out and begins to methodically get dresses piece by piece, accessories and all. It is such a proud moment for her when she can bound into my room, backwards underwear and all, pronouncing that she once again did it by herself. I have been fortunate enough to catch a few of the latest upcoming trends. Watch out Vogue!

The backwards snow hat with the long pajamas.


The sweater under the princess dress. This is a trend that I would only expect to see on Halloween since all paranoid mom's bundle their kids up under their constumes.



The tshirt tucked into the underwear.


The ever popular sweater with sundress accessorized with lacey sunday socks.


And finally, wearing twelve pairs of underwear at one time. Who needs "Depends" when there is a fashion statement like this?


Tylie also has a fear of the dark. She hates to have her bedroom door closed and rarely will fall asleep if our room door is closed. I guess she feels that as long as our doors are open, she still has a connection to me in one way or another. I have thought about getting her a night light for a while now but everytime I am at the store I simply forget. Jake found a Christmas lawn candy cane the other night and figured he would give it a go with Tylie. Much to my dislike, she loved it and now will not settle for some lame care bear night light. Why take one tiny light when she has about twenty twinkling little lights encased in something as fun as a candycane. So, we are playing it ghetto-fabulous at our house and going for a "Christmas year round" theme in Tylie's room. Hopefully this will wear off soon.


I decided to try and capture a picture with my two kids at one time. It is a very rare occasion that we are all together in one place and I thought that I would capture one of those moments that I would look back on a few years from now and sigh- reminiscing the good times. This is what I got:

Tylie ducking out of the picture right when I took it. OK- let's try again.



Tylie angry because I wouldn't let her duck out this time. We go for another try.


Tylie putting on a fake smile hoping to get out of there as fast as she could and Mason is just trying to figure out what this flashing light is that keeps going off in his face.



Mason looking like he is going to beat Tylie in the head.


Tylie looking like Mason succeeded in beating her in the head and Mason looking like he took a few beatings himself.


After so many shots I gave up. When my children started looking more like drunken pirates instead of spry innocent souls, I decided that maybe these weren't memories that I would like to cling to when I am an "empty nester". I had started to feel like one of those chicks that plaster themselves all over "facebook" and "my space". They look completely ridiculous and you know they went through about 50 pictures before they got that perfect shot. The one where their head is cocked just right, their lips are pouted just enough, and their hair in gracefully laying around their face. C'mon- don't act like you don't know "the shot".


After trying to force some memories and giving up, we went outside to enjoy some sunshine and have a picnic in the back yard. As I am sitting there snacking on my jelly sandwich and looked up and this is what I saw.

Shame on me for trying to force my kids to be cute. I need to just back off and let them do their thing. No fake memories needed.

Holy Poly!

Jake came home from work tonight and gently reminded me that I forgot to take the "Red Box" movies back. I felt so stupid because it was my one single task that he gave me to do today and in all my errands and Tylie "play dates" I simply forgot. So, I instantly grabbed my keys and rushed out to the car. No, I didn't have to grab the movies because they were sitting in the console of my car. I know- I am pathetic! They were in my car and I was at Mcdonalds with a Red Box staring me in the face and I still couldn't pull off getting them back. Anyway, as I whisked down to my local box, I saw that there was a line of about 3 people and I was not about to wait for 3 people to rent their movies to simply return my movies. That would be far too patient for my personality and I was determined that this trip take no more than 5 minutes of my already wasted time. I dashed across the street to the next box and was thrilled to see that nobody was at this one. "Hahaha, stupid people," I thought, "Why aren't they all smart like me and come to the one that nobody is at." I flew into TWO spots diagonally and jammed my car in park. Right when I grabbed my door handle I was met my headlights that I would only recognize a semi to have blaring me in the face. I saw this monster truck slam on it's brakes, put his beast in reverse, and pull in right next to me. "Oh Great! Now I feel stupid. I parked like an idiot and made this poor guy have to reverse just to park next to me." I raced up to the box hoping that I could return my movies and get out of there before I had to face the guy. I sat there tapping my toe impatiently waiting for the stupid machine to register what I wanted to do and then I heard it. A door open, a door close. Footsteps. Breathing. I glanced up and the world around me disappeared. LITERALLY! All I could see was a Polynesian mountain looming before me. Now, usually I love Polynesians, especially when they are dressed in a BYU football uniform but all those feelings were chased away by the look that this guy was bearing into me. My heart was pounding as if it could accompany an entire marching band and I stood there completely forgetting my purpose in my trip. All I wanted to do was scurry back to my hole like a little mouse and hide until the tiger disappeared. Since there were no holes to be found, all I could do was put on a little sheepish face and sigh. "I am so sorry," I said, " I didn't realize that you were coming to the Box. I shouldn't have parked like an idiot." I sat there waiting for my judgment to come, hoping he would pass me off as a small bug that was not worth his energy to squish. Then to my surprise, his eyes lit up and he became as an elf in Santa's toy shop. He stood there asking me what I had rented and if I had any recommendations for him. I kind of giggled to myself and thought it would be funny to recommend some sappy chick flick. I couldn't help myself- it would be hilarious to watch this guy sit through a chick flick. I was finally able to accomplish the job of returning the movies and wished him a good night as I got in my car. I am happy that people are patient and understanding when I do dumb things. I will have to remember that next time somebody makes me mad. After all- a 5'3"white girl can be very intimidating and I need not inflict fear on some poor unsuspecting soul!

Valene- you are the greatest! Thank you so much for teaching me how to french braid. I have practiced several time on Ty and it is getting better. I owe you!

Sneaky Bunny!

I have not yet mastered the art of sneakiness needed to successfully pull off the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause. I admit that I have been somewhat lazy and have taken advantage of the fact that my kids do not recognize a bag full of basket stuffers mixed in with all the groceries. Last week I forgot that I had left a bag full of "stuffers" sitting on the kitchen table while I was cooking dinner. Tylie decided that she needed to color and coincidently climbed up to the table only to find a that bag full of brightly colored packages. She took out a bunny pen that I had gotten her and proudly showed me what she had found. "DANG IT!" is all I could think, "why didn't I hide those when I had the chance?" Well, true to Tylie fashion, she had quickly put the pen down and was off to the next great thing. I grabbed the bag of goodies, pen and all, and raced up the stairs hoping that I could hide this and she would forget all about it until Sunday morning. While we were eating dinner, she casually asked me where her "crayon" went. At this point, I should have given up and just given it to her, but I was naive and thought that a simple explanation would suffice.
"The Easter Bunny came and took it", I told her.
Tylie: "Oh! That naughty bunny. He needs to bring my crayon back."
Me: "Maybe if you are a good girl this week, he will put it in your basket."
Ty: "Mom, where does the easter bunny live?"

I know what you are thinking. GIVE IT UP!! GIVE IT UP!! I really should have but like and idiot I just kept on going.

Me: "He lives in the mountains in a hole."
Ty: "Does he live by aunt Brittany?"
Me: "Sure, far far away."

She continued to push me for every detail and I just kept giving them to her. Before I knew it, I was dialing the phone to call aunt brittany so she could go crawl in the easter bunny's hole and tell him to give Tylie her crayon back. These phone calls continued every night until Saturday night when she decided that aunt brittany was no longer good enough and she needed to go right to the source. She instructed me to get the easter bunny on the phone so she can make sure that the crayon is in her basket. I thought this was hilarious and since I was already in this deep, why not let her imagination run wild? I am left to wonder who I would call. Who sounds most like the easter bunny? Who is good enough to get her to believe that they are a giant rabbit that lays chocolate eggs and has a solid diet of "peeps" year round. I turned to rick (britt's husband) and handed the phone to Tylie not really knowing what to expect. I heard Rick diligently trying to alter his voice in convincing tylie that he the the world's greatest bunny. "Is that the easter bunny, ty?" I asked her. She shook her head and said "No, it's rick!" Oh Geez! I quickly grabbed the phone and then Brittany wanted to give it a go. Well, I guess Britt just makes a convincing fluffy bunny because Tylie believed everyword of it! So, to sum up the story- The Easter Bunny lives by Rick and Britt in the mountains in the hole. Rick crawled in the hole to talk to him and rick is his friend. The Easter Bunny goes to BooBoo's house and he is going to go swimming with us in may when we go visit Vegas. Wow!!! All you lucky people in Vegas did not realize the wonderland that you were living in.
Easter was a blast. We had a solid week of dying eggs, decorating and delivering cookies, hunting out eggs, digging through baskets, and talking to the easter bunny on the phone. I am completely worn out and I will forever hold the memories from this easter but I am glad I have a solid year before I have to do it all over again.



Delivering cookies on a gorgeus sunny day!


Tylie is helping me cut the cookies out

Dying eggs

Basket full of loot!

my adorable children

The infamous "crayon."

After all the festivities, we all felt like this!

One year older....And better looking too!

Jake's mom called this morning to wish her boy a happy birthday and she asked him if he felt a year wiser. He graciously declined but then insisted that he was better looking now that he was 28. I don't know about either but I am sure glad that he is around and am glad that I got to spend yet another year with my Jake! His birthday comes about 6 months before mine and it is always a little hard for me to swallow when Jake has his birthday. To me it is like my birthday is looming around the corner just waiting to snatch me up and force me to face the fact that I am no longer a newly-wed fresh out of high school and struggling to get through college. I am reminded that I am in my "child rearing" years (who came up with that term anyway??? "Child rearing"- is that the best we could do? I am going to have to work on that one!) and staring at the barrel at age 30. I wish I could say that turning a year older doesn't bother me but for some reason, it always does. I truly am enjoying this time of my life though and would not trade it for the world. Jake's sisters and I got him a backyard fire pit for his birthday. He has always loved sitting around a fire roasting hot dogs and marshmellows and hanging out. I have learned to embrace that awesome fire smell that weaves it's way into every strand of my hair and the smoke that seems to always follow me. Hey, you know what they say about beauty and smoke. I will just leave it at that. We had a blast with Jake's mom and dad and his sister Kelsey. Kelsey seemed to weasel her way out of every photo I got but don't worry, she is living with me now so I will get her on here whether she likes it or not. It was a fun night and I loved celebrating my husband. I am so grateful for him and I know I could not have picked anyone better. Babe, as you always used to say to me, I am going to say to you: "Eternity is just not long enough". LOVE YOU!!!

Conference Weekend

To me Conference weekend has always been a time of inspiration, spiritual revival, and good food! This weekend did not let me down and I truly enjoyed spending time with family and feeling a renewal. After my last post I am sure you could tell that I needed something uplifting and this weekend definately provided me with the "upswing" that I was looking for. On Saturday, while the boys were at Priesthood meeting, I attended a shower for my cousin that is getting married. It was such a blast to see my cousins that I rarely get to see and catch up with them. The good conversation was also accompanied by my grandma's great food. When the women and men were finally able to join up once again we held strong to that awesome Mormon tradition and had ice cream sundaes!
Sunday morning was nothing short of bliss as we woke up late, ate breakfast late, and wandered on down to our basement to watch conference in our sweats. Well, at least I was in my sweats but anyone that knows Jake understand that he was completely dressed for the day in a button down shirt, hair gelled and shoes on. It was amazing to me how much I was able to feel the spirit pour out of the TV as the apostles spoke. One particular talk that had me completely captivated was the talk by Elder Holland regarding feeling alone and how our Savior must have felt in that last week of his life. I sat there glued to the TV with tears streaming down my face as I made a new resolve that I will do my part in making sure that my Savior will never feel "alone" again. I think that talk hit me so hard because of the way I had been feeling just a few nights before. I admit that I felt very sheepish for feeling such despair over one bad day after remembering all that my Savior had went through. As Elder Holland finish his talk and walked away from the stand all I could do was sigh wishing that he would go on longer. I can't wait for that talk to come out in the Ensign so it can sit at my bedside available whenever I want to pick it up.
Jake's birthday is on Tuesday and so my mom had us up to her house for his "birthday" dinner and all the fun that goes with it. My mom is the most "people pleasing" person I know so it is no surprise that she made sure to have Jake's favorite stew and breadsticks waiting for us when we arrived. After all this, here I sit at the computer, recounting all that happened and I feel so grateful for all that I have. I feel that maybe I was supposed to have a bad day this week to make me more aware of the potency of the talks that were given this weekend. There isn't a better way to learn a lesson then when you are truly humble and searching for peace. I feel renewed and ready to take on a new week. I am ready to go to work tomorrow and laugh about what happened on friday. I am ready to pick up the pieces and move on. I am ready to say "Come what may and LOVE it!"


Isn't my little "fatty" the cutest!?


Tylie made sure to let Daddy know that he didn't need to worry about the candles because she would "help" him.

Tylie and grandma about to light Jake's birthday pie on fire!

Mason and Jake in their first wrestling match!

Mason and Daddy!

My mom and aunt Julie- the masters of the beautiful quilt that was given to my cousin.

Tylie is learning the art of quliting young.

The kids and my mom got bored and ended up playing under the quilt. I had to post this picture just for my mom's face- it is hilarious. I told you Christella that I would!

The ever embarassing game of tying to bows in her hair just to have the "man" kiss them out!

Mason was also enjoying some of that great food that I was talking about.

When is it going to be over?

My alarm went off at 6:00 this morning shattering the silence that was so peacefully resting over my house but it didn't matter. I was already awake. I had been awake for a few hours feeling like I had a touch of the flu and tossing and turning wishing I could go back to sleep before Mason woke up and wanted to be fed. I knew that I had a really long day at work ahead of me and I knew that I would never make it feeling the way I did so I climbed out of bed without hitting the snooze button and turned on my jet tub. I soaked for about 20 minutes hoping that I would be able to rinse away whatever sickness I was feeling and my day would go on an upward swing. All I got was a downward spiral. I had to take a test at work, present a training at a staff meeting, and act like I was feeling great through it all. Nothing turned out the way I wanted it to and I quickly became ornery and didn't want to talk to anyone. Isn't it ironic that just yesterday I was talking about being a strong powerful woman and today all I felt like was a weak and whiny little girl. So here I sit in my all too quite house all by myself. Just me and the keyboard. Jake is at work chasing after a breaking story about a little boy that was abducted so I can't call him right now. An unhappy wife on the phone does not go well with a buzzing crime scene. Tylie and Mason are tucked nice and warm in their beds after a long day of playing at grandma's house. I am lonely tonight. I want to go to sleep but my mind keeps racing and will not let my eyelids win the battle that allows me to drift into a thoughtless sleep. That is all I want right now. I just want to forget what happened today. I don't want to think about it. I want Jake to come and home make his nightly pina colada drink and tell me about his night at work. Come to think of it though, maybe things aren't that bad. Maybe I should quit looking at all the crap that happened today. After all, I did get to rock Mason to sleep tonight and he fell asleep in my arms with a little grin on his face. I did get to watch my dad chase Tylie around their island tonight playing tag as she giggled uncontrollably. And I know that I will have a husband that is going to be home in about an hour and will crawl in bed with me and I don't have to sleep alone tonight. No, I guess things really aren't as bad as I think they are right now. Nope, they really aren't bad at all.

My Two Faces

I have two faces, two identities, two very different images that I have to portray and I sometimes get them confused and put on the wrong face at the wrong time. At work I am a loan officer, someone that tends to people's financial matters with the utmost confidentiality and care. I am expected to be confident, smart, sure of my advice and decisions and very rarely make mistakes. I shake hands with professionals and teach others how to start out on their financial paths the right way. I review things like credit reports and loan documents and use big words like creditor, annual percentage yield, and consumer rate index. In short, I am expected to know what I am doing at all times and know almost any answer that is thrown my way. I dress professionally in stiletto heels and fitted blouses. I work very hard to play the part of a "career" woman.
My other face is my "mom" face. I am Tylie and Mason's mom. When I am with them I morph from career woman into a diaper changing, lullaby singing, gold fish playing, tear wiping mom. My soft side comes out and I am allowed to make mistakes. Tylie doesn't question me when I am not dressed by noon and Mason could not care less if the floor is mopped or the dishes neatly put away in the cupboards. This is definitely my favorite side because I get to be playful, careless, and child like. Like I stated before, I often get these faces mixed up and it can present very awkward situations for me.
Today I was at Smiths shopping in their big "case lot" sale. I had Mason in his car seat on top of the cart, Tylie trying to thrown anything colorful into the cart, and me scouring the cases perfect for filling my food storage. Somehow I slipped into my "career" woman and I became over zealous in picking up the heavy cases of food. I clumsily dropped an entire case of chicken broth and it split open (of course!) sending 24 cans everywhere! I am totally embarrassed at this point and start frantically picking up the cans hoping that I can get them all before anyone notices. As I order Tylie to grab as many cans as possible, this guy in a business suit walks over to me and begins to gather the cans with me. My natural "career woman" instinct wanted to immediately assure this man that I was fine and had everything under control but then I took one look at my situation and decided to graciously thank him and accept any help he was willing to give. I was a mom at that moment with 2 children just trying to get some groceries for my family and I had made a mistake in trying to do too much. I don't know that man but I thanked him about 10 times because he taught me a big lesson today. It is OK to accept help and not be perfect all the time. It is OK for my house to be out of order and for me to take off to the park for the afternoon with my kids. It is OK for me to pay a bill a few days late if it means reading a CS Lewis book with Jake at night instead of being on the computer. I love getting these little reality checks and re prioritizing my life. So, as long as my co-workers can stand my endless chatter about my adorable children and as long as my friends are willing to accept a few dishes in the sink when they come over, I will continue to get my two faces mixed up and enjoy every minute of it!


Playing "princess" go fish with Ty and Mia. The only thing I can say is I got my butt kicked my 2 three-year olds.


Tylie crawled into Mason's bed when he woke up from his nap and was singing him songs. Does it get any better than this?