Crazy Eights

I need a distraction right now, so I'm going to answer a tag that my cute niece sent me.

8 things I'm obsessed with right now:

1. TWILIGHT...Are you surprised?
2. Reading Midnight Sun
3. Cleaning and dejunking
4. Getting Christmas shopping done
5. Blogging
6. Finishing orders
7. My hair (wanting it to grow, wanting to cut it, wanting to change it...!)
8. Twilight should count as two. I'm seriously obsessed.

8 words or phrases I use daily:

1. "Are you kidding me?"
2. "Quit fighting, you two!"
3. "We're going to be late! Hurry!"
4. " I love you."
5. "How was your nap?"
6. "Who wants to make cookies?" (Yes, daily. I could eat cookies every day.)
7. ''I can't handle this!"
8. "What should we have for dinner?''

8 T.V. shows I love to watch:

1. The Office
2. Chuck
3. Eli Stone
4. L.O.S.T. (C'mon and start already!)
5. Old episodes of Friends or Seinfeld (I think I have seen them all.)
6. Samantha Who?
7. Oprah or Ellen (although I find that I don't watch these show much anymore).
8. Fox 13 News

8 Things I did yesterday

1. Sewed orders 'til I couldn't sew any more!
2. Played with Max
3. Watched 101 Dalmations
4. Talked to my sister on the phone or was that the day before? I lose track of days.
5. Decorated (and ate) sugar cookies with the boys
6. Tried, but failed at getting dressed and ready (who's gonna see me?)
7. Ate the last of the leftover turkey and yams (mmmmmm)
8. Stayed up too late

8 of my favorite places to eat:

1. Cafe Rio
2. Olive Garden
3. Nothing Bunt Cakes
4. Pat's mom's house (she makes some mean Peruvian food)
5. Numero Uno Pizza (in Cali...that pizza place Jyl and James took me to)
6. Anywhere that serves pasta, it's my weakness
7. IKEA
8. Chicken Empire (more Peruvian food)

8 Things I'm looking forward to:

1. Christms
2. Exercising (Too much Thanksgiving dinner)
3. Being done with boutiques and orders (or at least slowing down)
4. L.O.S.T. to start again in January
5. Meeting up with Jyl!
6. Meeting up with Candy! (Two of my good friends just moved back and I can't tell you how happy I am!!!)
7. Taking the huge pile of bags and boxes to D.I.
8. Pat's finals to be over and the Christmas holiday to begin!

8 Things on my wish list:

1. To own "Twilight" the moive
2. For gas prices to stay down (I swear we have the cheapest gas...It's down to $1.61)
3. To hang out with my sister again.
4. For my kids to sleep in their own bed and sleep through the night!!! Are you kidding me? They are 4 and 2, they should be able to sleep through the night in their own bed by now, don'tcha think?
5. A new play list with better songs
6. No more whining, diapers, laundry or dirty dishes. Hey, I can wish can't I?
7. A finished basement with a sweet TV and surround sound
8. No debt.

We are THANKFUL

This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love taking time to reflect on our blessings and give thanks to those we love. We have so much to be grateful for. Here are a few:

• T- Time & Togetherness(We're thankful for our time on earth and being together)
• H- House & Health (We're happy to have a nice roof over our head and a place to sleep and to stay safe and warm.)
• A- An education (Pat is halfway done with nursing school and it couldn't have been a better time for him to go. His education will provide for us for years to come. Thanks for your hard work Pat!)
• N- Our Nation (We are grateful to live in this great country and to have so many freedoms.)
• K- Kindness (This is such an important attribute and those around us display it daily. We live in a great neighborhood and associate with kind people! It makes us want to be kind.)
• F- Family & Friends (We are blessed to have most of our family close by, and those that are far away, we connect with on a regular basis. We love our families.And we're blessed with great friends who keep us laughing.)
• U- JesUs Christ (We have a testimony of the Savior and His restored gospel. I am grateful daily it's influence in our lives.)
• L- Love (We feel constant love from our familes, friends and mostly from the Savior.)

We are busy getting things ready for the big day. It's my first time hosting Thanksgiving at my house, so any tips would be greatly appreciated. I have to cook the turkey! YIKES. I'm excited and thankful. Ooh, I just can't wait for that pumpkin pie! Happy Thanksgiving and count your blessings!

I heart Twilight

After seeing Twilight, I cannot wipe the silly grin off my face. I'm like a giddy teenager girl!! I'm officially a Twilighter. I have to say that I love, love, LOVED this movie. The dumb $20 t-shirt I bought was worth every penny. I went to the 12:30 show last night and got home at 3 a.m. You think I'd be grumpy, frumpy and tired. But no, I feel like I'm on cloud 9. I'm all smiles today, and probably for the rest of the week, too. I'm going to see it again. And again. :) * * sigh * *

Marshall Cousins

All the grandkids on my side of the family were together this weekend. We finally got them to sit still enough to get their picture. Aren't they cute?

Busy Bee

This has been one crazy busy week, again!

I have been hanging out with my sister. We have had so much fun. She drove from San Fran with her 3 kids (to come to a wedding for her sis-in-law). Even though we are 5 1/2 years apart, we are best friends. I think we call each other at least 2-3 times a week! I am so inspired by her and she seriously has the best recipes and ideas for food. She has great taste in books and music and is just FUN to be around. Here's a run down of our time together:

• Max's b-day party/dinner
• Family dinners and sleep-overs at Nana & Papa's
• Late night talks and just sitting together reading our books until we can't keep our eyes open any longer
• Disney on Ice with our kids, Pat and Nana & Papa
• Hanging out at the park for hours (having deep conversations while our kids play great together. I'm still laughing about Sierra playing so cute with Max and that silly red berry they found.)
• Marshmellow Mint Chocolate Chip hot chocolate with popcorn watching our favorite shows

There is NEVER enough time when she comes and I never want her to go!! If only she or I lived closer to one another. Until then, HOORAH for the time we had together this week!!! ____________________________ I also had a boutique ("Simply Chic") on Saturday that was so much fun and I have so many orders that I'll be busy for weeks! And I also got a lot of my Christmas shopping done :) It's fun having a hobby for a business, but it's also very stressful. I have to tell Patricio how awesome he is. I was gone all day Saturday and came home to a CLEAN house! When I left for my boutique it was quite a disaster and I knew I'd have to deal with it later. Then to my surprise I came home and found everything sparkling!!! The kids were happy and the house was clean. There really isn't much more I could've asked for. OH, and his sweet mother brought us dinner! Gotta love mi suegra! So THANKS to an awesome husband who made my weekend! _____________________________

I was out of groceries and Whitney told me about Smith's having a huge sale...only it was Alpine. So I headed out to Alpine with Whit and we loaded up on cereal, bread, gatorade, granola bars and muffin mix! YAY! Thanks for the late shopping trip.

_____________________________

One of the reasons I'm so tired is b/c my kids are giving me grief again. It's like there is an invisible leash attached to me that they can't let go of. I haven't slept in my bed for 2 nights in a row. When I get up from their bed to go to my bed, they each wake up crying and then my night is shot. It takes forever for them to fall asleep and then I'm so tired I can't do anything else. I'm exhausted and ready for a clean start, a new week. Here's to Monday.

Jealous?

I have an announcement to make...

My awesome sister-in-law called me today with 2 tickets to the "Twilight" premiere on Tuesday (yes that is 3 whole days early!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and she is taking ME! Does that make you jealous??? I'm so excited, I can't wait. And yes, I'm still going to the midnight showing with my friend Emily and I'm going to be just as excited to see it then, too! Now to find me a cool Twilight t-shirt...

6 Year Anniversary

Not only was Max born on November 9th, but it's also the day Pat and I got married. (Yes, I planned that one well...) This year was my turn to plan our festivities. We went to the Marshall Woodland Hills Bed and Breakfast (which included free babysitting). We went to Ottavio's Italian Restaurant (which is waaaay better than Olive Garden, which is saying a lot, b/c I LOVE Olive Garden). Then we were whisked away to a private screening of "Eagle Eye", a romantic comedy (totally opposite actually). Then it was back to our mountain resort for hot tubbing. ----Okay, so we went to my parents this weekend so they could watch the kids while we went to dinner and a movie. Then we were too tired & cold to get in the hot tub! But we had a good time anyway. It was a busy weekend for us with Max's b-day party the next day and my sister coming into town. But it was fun to celebrate our anniversary together. Happy Anniversary to us! 6 years wooo hooo!

Happy "2" to Max!

Max turned 2 on Sunday, and we had a big family party for him on Saturday at my parent's house. It was so fun to have my entire family there (my sister from San Fran and her kids were here!!!) and Pat's mom and sisters, too. It was a dinosaur party and Max refused to take off his dino costume (last years Halloween costume). He was so cute. We had yummy chili in breadbowls and dino nuggets for the kids. He got so many cute gifts. He truly loves dinosaurs. There was also a T-Rex pinata, which Lukas busted after a few hits. We go in order of age, so only 3 kids hit it and then it broke and everyone was sad, so we taped it up and had the kids whack it until it was in shreds. They had fun hitting an empty, taped up pinata! I usually have three different parties (a friend party, and then a different party for each side of the family). It turned out perfect this year combining it and Max was the center of attention! All the cousins had a blast running around and playing and making lots of noise. It couldn't have turned out better. And my mom and I made THE cutest dinosaur cake! I was so impressed with myself. Every cake I have ever made has been a disaster and NOT CUTE at all, so when this one actually turned out just how it was supposed to, I was thrilled! We are so glad that Max is part of our family and we love him so much! Happy Birthday to our little Maxers!

First Snowman of the Season

We woke up to a bright white layer of snow on the ground the other day. I was disappointed b/c I wanted the colorful leaves to stick around longer. I'm NOT ready for snow and cold. Ugh! Pat surprised us and came home early to build a snowman with Lukas. They had fun rolling him up and making him look like a snowman. I was nice and warm inside!

My Afternoon with Max

Lukas is at preschool and today I decided to spend some time with Max instead of running my errands. It's been a fun couple of hours. Here's the rundown:

• Max took the salt shaker and decided to decorate the table with it's contents.
• Max got into my bag and took out my lipstick and a glue stick, stuck his finger in BOTHand smeared them all over my coffee table and his cute vest/jacket he was wearing, not to mention his face.
• He also grabbed some sticky tack and chewed it, then spit it out in pieces all over the floor.
• We played on the chalk board and had the same conversation for 5 mintues. It went like this: Max would color/scribble and then turn to me and say,(he stutters a little bit) "Mommy, wha wha wha wha wha what do you think?" I'd say, "I love it". Then he'd say, "Too much. Scrub it." So I'd take the eraser and wipe it off. Then it would start all over again.

I'm sure glad I can spend time with my little Max. He cracks me up. Here are some other cute things he's said today (with a lisp and a stutter).

• "Mommy, I I I I broke off lollipop. I I I I I broke something". (He was actually playing with a little globe).
• "Lukas at prekool." (preschool).
• "It snowing outside."
• "I freezing."
• "Draw me." (He put his back up against the chalk board so I could trace his shape.)
• "Pumpkin maaaaaaaaaaaad!" (Lukas learned a cute poem about emotions at preschool and Max copies him.)
• I I I I I I wanna play."
• "I go with you."
• "C'mon, I I I I I I show you something cool."
• "Le le le le le let's go see 'em".

And Max wants to blog, so here's his contribution. 000.'000000 i00000000011111111111111111111111 111111111u uuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuu1111.2 m,lm, jhg67ph9te i ox

4jhmvo;py9 fdg/ .................................. l;q[pqwop40okfm spoair9k-0krw0o dopw2005rf0-g 6 g [[ o.ittgjfuuto nu-iuk llllllllllllll2+47**/9-+69999999999999999999999996+ +++ .+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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Trials

I know we all go through our own trials and I do not want to be one to complain. Vent is more like it. I'm struggling with my kids these days. My sweet Lukas is turning into a 'sass'er and he (I'm embarrassed to admit) is spoiled. He freaks out when he doesn't get what he wants and he gets mad. He'll slam things down or hit things or pound his fists on the table. And he'll run out of the room saying "I'm not going to be your friend any more." Or occassionally he'll say, "I'm not going to be your son anymore!" He is so disrespectful to me sometimes, it makes me cry!! He demands things, like at the store he'll say, "Mommy, buy me a toy or I'm gonna be sad. You need to buy me something right now." Little stinker. Like I'm gonna fall for that one! I know he can be so sweet and he is happy a lot, but it's these other times that really get me down. And my Mr. Max is cute as can be, but is so busy and gets into things quicker than I can keep up. I was on the phone with my mom today and had to call her back several times b/c Max dumped out a packet of RED Kool-Aid onto the floor and somehow it got wet and he got it all over his hands and face and was walking around the house leaving his mark. Then he and Lukas were fighting and Lukas pushed him off the coffee table (that he shouldn't have been standing on) and cut his lip. I'm tired just explaining it all. Bedtime is a whole other issue. They share a room and now that Max is out of the crib it takes a least an HOUR to get them to settle down and go to sleep. Then half-way through the night, little feet find their way into my room to wake me up...EVERY NIGHT. I feel like I am doing something wrong. I can see the way that I handle things is rubbing off onto Lukas and the way he reacts to situations. I'm trying so hard to be a nice, happy mommy, but after hours of whining and crying and chasing after trouble I just can't take it anymore! I love my boys so much and I want them to have a happy childhood and grow up to be responsible adults. Then again, I want to be happy. And right now, I'm just drained.

Spooky Walk

My Dad had the luck of being born on Halloween AND being named Jack. He is a good sport and they always go all out for Halloween. For the past 2 years since they moved to Woodland Hills, Utah (on 5 acres of wooded forest) they have organized a Spooky Walk for the family. Last year it was so scary all the kids were in tears. This year, they decided to do a fun version for little kids and a scary version for the big kids and adults. There were things flying through the trees, crawling up from the ground and popping out to scare us! It was so fun. No kids cried this year and in fact, most of them wanted to go through it again. It was so incredibly awesome, I don't even know how to describe it. My mom was a witch and she had the best cackle I've ever heard. Pat was the Wood Keeper with an axe and a vengance. He scared the bejeezers out of the 2nd group. Besides the Spooky Walk, there was great Halloween food and fun activities (cookie decorating, bobbing for apples, ghost stories and well, the BYU game was on and then the U of U was on to distract Pat mostly...Darn football!). We had so much fun, we didn't want it to be over. Great Party Nana and Papa!!!! And Happy Birthday to Papa Jack!

Claytor

When Pat and I were first married (almost 6 year ago, can you belive it?), we lived in Sugarhouse and attended a married student ward (YAY Univeristy 23rd!!) It was one of the BEST wards I have ever been in. We met several dear friends there, the Lantz's to name one. So it was Clayton's b-day yesterday and we met them at the park for a quick party. It is always so fun to see them and be around their fun, sincere, happy personalities. It was a perfect afternoon with the leaves and the incredibly warm weather. The kids were sad to go when it was time to leave. We need to see you more Lantzers!! Happy b-day Clay-tor!

Trick or Treat!

Halloween is by far my very favorite holiday. I just love the weather and the leaves and the oranges and browns and the pumpkins. I LOVE IT! It was a very fun night. We had the Norton's over for dinner and trick or treating. The boys had such a fun time going from door to door saying "Trick or Treat". They each got so much candy! It was fun to run into neighbors and friends along the way. I wish I was a better dresser-upper. I never know what to be now that I'm all grown up. It's fun to help the kids though and they loved being super heroes. I'm sad Halloween is over.

Carving Pumpkins

We sort of waited 'til the very end to carve our pumpkins. My sweet neighbor and I got together with the kids (while our husbands worked late into the night and left us as single moms home) to carve up our pumpkins. Max wasn't interested AT ALL, but Lukas drew his own face on and then I carved it for him. He loved squishing the insides and getting messy. Holden liked to color his pumpkin and we all had a good time! Thanks Whit!