What To Do, What To Do????????

So, a lot of you have been asking and wondering what we're going to do as far as having more children goes. So I'll use this post to inform all of you at one time. The last few months have kind of been stressful for us in wondering what we should do to get baby #3 to come to our family. We have gone back and forth trying to decide if we should try to get pregnant again, if we should adopt through a different agency other than LDS Family Services, if we should go out of the country and bring one home with us.... Aghhhhhhhhhhhhh! The list of possibilities goes on. It's a very frustrating thing to have to deal with. What we have decided to do, drum-roll please... Is go through LDS Family Services again. They are so kind there and have everyone's best interest in mind (birth mom's and adoptive couples.) They know their stuff and cross all the "t's" and dot all the "i's". Literally, nothing gets past them. I also love that they are so organized with everything. We have had 2 successful adoptions through them and have come to know 2 very special young ladies who made a great decision to place their daughter's with us. Why we ever questioned it was only because Jeff and I both want a baby NOW and, as some of you know, LDS Family Services has a lot of sweet couples wanting to adopt a precious baby, and because of this, the wait can be a little long. But you know, we are willing to wait, because it's worth it. I've checked into lots of different agencys and even looked into a couple of doctors who specialize in infertility, but nothing has felt right other than going through LDS Family Services again. We're really excited and anxious, but we hope our baby is ready to come down to us soon. We can't wait to share our news with everyone when we're finally picked by a sweet birth mom. Everyone will definitely know when we are because you know I'm gonna post it! Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers!

The Mom Questions

1. Typically what time do you wake up? At about 7:30. No need for an alarm clock, Hallie takes care of that for me. She's got an internal clock that tells her to scream for daddy at 7:30 every dang morning.
2. On a good night what time are your kids in bed? 8:00
3. How long have you been a mommy? 6 years 8 months and 12 days!
4. How old were you when you became a mommy? We started tryng when I was 19, but not until I was 24.
5. What is your favorite kids TV show/movie? Hannah Montana is Abbi's fav and Dora is Hallie's.
6. What is your least favorite kids TV show? It's a toss up between The Wiggles, The Doodlebops, and GoGo Gabba
7. What is your favorite chore? I love to mop my floor and vacuum.
8. What is your favorite meal to cook? Really don't love cooking, but I love to bake chocolate chip cookies. I also make some pretty mean cinnamon rolls.
9. What is the meal you make most often? Spaghetti, because it's fast and easy and my kiddos love it.
10. What is your kids favorite meal? Spaghetti or pizza.
11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids? He gets them bathed at night and usually puts them to bed. He's the best!!!
12. What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom? a) Listening to Abbi sing up in her room. b) Seeing Hallie wear dress-ups (see "My Little Fashionista" post below.) c) Having "Girl's Night" when Jeff is gone. d) Doing anything together as a family. e) Cuddling with them, it doesn't happen very often, but when it does I love it.
13. If you could take your kids anywhere where would it be? Disneyland! It's such a magical place. We're goin' in May!!
14. When was the last time you went out without your kids? We went to the Jazz game the other night and left the kids home.
15. What is your favorite past time/activity to do with your kids? Going to the park.
16. Name 1 thing you said you'd never do as a mom: Use a leash on them, and then along came Hallie!
17. What is your favorite quality that your mom has? Patience.
18. What is your advice for new moms? Don't sweat the small stuff.
19. What is the scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom? Luckily nothing too scary has happened to us, but when Abbi was in pre-school there was a little girl named Grace that was really mean to her and wouldn't let her play. That was really hard because it was the first time she had had her heart broken.
20. What is your most joyful moment of being a mom? Everyday my heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest because I have so much love for my two little cuties. They make me joyful!
21. When was the last time you were told 'I Love You' by of your kids? Abbi said it as she was leaving for school, and Hallie said it this morning while we were eating breakfast. "I la lou, Mommy!"
22. I tag: Anyone who wants to answer these questions.

So Freakin' Excited

I am so excited. I went to this cute blog called Sparklepower and she had a contest going to win an apron. And guess what! I WON!!! I logged into my computer tonight at work and lo and behold, there was the email stating that I had won. The apron is from Flirty Aprons. I have put both Sparklepower's and Flirty Apron's links on my sidebar. So go check them out.

Decorating Easter Eggs

My mom invites us down to her house every year to decorate Easter eggs on Easter Eve (as Abbi called it.) My kids totally got into it this year. We set out about 3 dozen unpainted eggs and they were finished in no time flat. Hallie was totally amazed at putting in a white egg and having it come out colored. This picture shows just how excited she actually was. She would put one in and pull it out immediately and exclaim, "Awesome!" That was the first time we had ever heard her say that word. Abbi is always saying it so I'm sure she picked it up from her.

Abbi was a little more patient and let the eggs sit for a while to get a really vibrant color. This was her favorite one this year. She liked the pink stripe that it magically got on the side.
No Easter would be complete without my dad's "ugly" egg. He has made his ugly egg ever since I can remember. When I was little my mom used to make fun of my dad (teasing him) about his ugly egg and I used to feel so bad for him. I didn't want him to feel bad about his egg. I thought he didn't know how to decorate eggs the right way so I thought my mom was really mean to make fun of him. Until I got old enough to understand that it was all a joke. Now I make him do his ugly egg. This year, it turned out more cool looking than ugly, though.
My mom and Abbi pulling their egg out of the dye.
Hallie didn't really have a favorite egg, she like them all. But was totally amazed by her hands. And if any of you are wondering, that dye does not come off with soap and water. She went to bed with her hands looking like this. We'll keep you posted on whether or not they came clean in the tub!

Hippity Hoppity Easter's On It's Way!

Jeff's mom and dad, Ann and Garth, throw an Easter Egg hunt party every year the day before Easter. It is SO much fun because there are 22 grandkids (24 by the end of May.) All of us bring 22 surprises and throw them out on the lawn for the kids to find. They end up getting so much stuff and have so much fun. Ann always has hotdogs and chips for us to eat for lunch. It is always so nice to sit and visit with family. We are so lucky to have everyone so close. Jeff has 8 brothers and sisters including himself. Every single one of us lives within minutes from each other. He has a very fun family!

I got the idea for our surprise off of Holly's blog. Abbi helped me make them this morning. It was really fun. We couldn't find the sixlets that she used on her rabbits so we used pixi stix instead. They turned out so cute. It was a great project for Abs and I to do together.
Garth and Ann are so great. They are always helping everyone out with whatever we need. They looked like they were enjoying watching everyone have fun. They are really sweet people.

A Sunny Afternoon

Saturday afternoon was such a sunny day, Jeff and I decided to take the girls for a walk down to the park. We discovered soon after we left that it was very chilly, but fun just the same. Abbi has mastered the monkey bars this year and can get across them in no time flat.

Hallie loves to swing. It's fun to watch her because she hangs her head back and she looks like she is totally enjoying herself. She couldn't be cuter in my huge sunglasses. She reminded me of a little bumble bee.

A Delicious Day Cont. (Read 1st post first)

The second place we visited was called So Cupcake, also in Salt Lake, but on Highland Drive. It was also adorable inside. This store offers both regular size cupcakes along with mini ones. Abbi chose a mini lemon one.

And Again, Hallie wanted pink. Hers was raspberry.
This cupcake shop owner was also very nice and her workers were as cute as the cupcakes themselves. You need to check out their website and read about why this cupcake shop was started. The owners little girl has cerebral palsy and is the cutest little button ever. There is a picture of her on the website. She was at the shop when we went there and she came out and told us her "life story." It was one of the most touching moments of my life.
Even if you're not a huge cake fan, I would recomend hitting these shops the next time you are in Salt Lake. It was such a fun way to spend a day with my kiddos. This is what makes being a mom so much fun!

A Delicious Day

A couple of my friends have visited these two cute little cupcake shops, so I decided that Abbi and Hallie and I needed to go. It was so much fun. We enjoyed the day with just girls satisfying our sweet tooth (which all 3 of us have in a big way!)

The first shop was called Mini's, and it is in Salt Lake. I have put a link to it on my sidebar so all of you can check it out. It was decorated so cute, right down to the shop owner. She had on a cute vintage dress and I truely thought I was back in the 50's visiting a candy shop. Her cupcakes are just like the name says, mini (but not too mini.) They were the perfect treat for us to start with.
Abbi chose a vanilla cupcake with silver and white balls on top. She was thrilled with the idea that the balls were edible. She said she wished it was a decoration that she could keep in her room. Hallie was interested in all the "pink" cupcakes. The lady asked her what kind of cupcake she wanted and Hallie said, "Pink!" All 3 of us loved every bight.

My Little Fashionista

Everyday, Hallie and I go through the same thing. We wake up, get her all dressed and looking cute, then 10 minutes later, she strips everything off and puts this get-up on. EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

This is the best part. She insists on going comando.
If that isn't pinchable, I don't know what is. It's frusterating but I gotta admit, it's pretty darn cute.

A Perfect Day

Today was such a great day. Jeff woke me up at about 7:00 and told me he was heading out for a few hours to do some farm stuff. Then he told me that he was taking the girls with him. I was so excited to have some free time. So what did I do... I slept in until 9:00. I haven't done that in a really long time. Then I got up and went on my morning walk. Usually I have Hallie in her stroller with me and I gotta say, it was a little weird being alone with my iPod. But nice, nevertheless! I came home and got ready all by myself. Which also was a little weird, because usually Dora is on in the background or Hallie is "helping" me with my make-up and hair. Jeff came home at about 11:30 and asked if I wanted to go to lunch and take the girls to a movie. So we got ready and headed over to Chili's, my favorite!! It was delicious.

Then we went to see "Horton Hears A Who" which was hilarious. You can't go wrong with Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. They were the voice overs for the main characters in the movie. Both kids liked it a lot.


After the movie, we all had a sweet tooth, so we decided to satisfy it with a trip to Coldstone. Yummy! Both Abbi and Hallie LOVE ice cream so much and jump at the chance to eat it.

It was such a fun day having some much needed alone time and spending time with my little family. These are the days when I truly feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I have a great husband who helps out and takes time for his family. And not to mention my terrific kiddos. I adore them (if you haven't guessed!) They are so much fun to be with. I love my little family.

My New Blog Header

My new blog friend, Holly, made me the cutest blog header. I was so excited when she sent it to me. So thank you Holly! She has a really cute blog so check it out. She is in my contact list on the side.

Pancakes Please Mommy!

The other day we were driving home from somewhere, and Hallie started saying she wanted pancakes. Hallie is not much of an eater at all. We call her our little bird lady because she seriously eats like one. Anyway, I made her some wholewheat pancakes and the little stinker gobbled up 3 of them. She just kept shoveling them in like crazy. She even ate more than her big sister, which is very rare. I figured that this was an event worth posting.

Famous phrase from Hallie, "That's nummy mommy!"

New Hobby

Recently I discovered that I don't really love to scrapbook. My house is small, and I have no room to get it all out and leave it, let alone store all of it. I do have a ton of stuff, but I just think it's a pain to pull out so much stuff to create one page. It is really frusterating to me. But Stampin' Up has these great little scrapbook kits. They come complete with adorable stickers and paper. They sell them in themes (baby boy, baby girl, big boy, big girl, wedding, travel, you get the idea.) So I've been buying these and they have totally helped me. What I have started doing is making 6x6 books for each of my girls and then fill it with pictures of them as events happen. This has totally helped me with scrapbooking because I can pack the kit with me to work and whip one out in a couple of nights. It's so fun and has changed my view of scrapbooking tremendously. No, there may not be a Christmas themed page, or an Easter themed page, but there are pages and that's all I care about. I have also made a family book to keep pictures of things we do together as a family. My girls really like these books. They are perfect size for their little hands. Most recently I'm working on Hallie's baby book (sad I know, she's almost 3.) Here are some finished 6x6 pages that I've done. All the little embelishments you see on the paper are stickers. Cute huh!

When and if we ever move into a bigger house and I'm able to have a room designated for scrapbooking, I'll let you know if my attitude changes. As for now, this is what I'm gonna do. If anyone is interested in purchasing one of these kits let me know. I have a great friend (Tiff) that sells Stampin' Up and I'd love to introduce her to you. Only don't ever go to her house; it's trouble because her scrapbook room is AMAZING and will only make you jealous and even more frustrated.

Me and My Girls

It can be a struggle to get Abbi and Hallie to sit still for 2 seconds to snap a picture with me. But Sunday night we were cuddling in the electric blanket so Jeff took this picture of us. I love these 2 little cuties.

Hallie took off as soon as the picture was taken. She had more important things to do.

Baby Rain Marie

For any of you who did't know, Abbi's birthmom Teressa was pregnant and just had her baby girl March 6th. She is so adorable. They live in Kentucky which is really crappy because we can't see her in person. But Teressa sent pictures and I think I want to eat her right up. She looks quite a bit like Abbi. Abbi's birthmom and dad are married now and are doing really great. They named her Rain Marie. Jeff and I couldn't be happier for them. They are really awesome people and deserve this so much. Now Abbi has a biological sister, which is pretty cool if you ask me. Abbi is also really excited about Rain. Hopefully Teressa, Ashton and Rain will be coming out this summer so that we can meet Rain in person. The first picture listed is one that Abbi drew Sunday morning of Rain with Ashton and Teressa. She was so excited for them to see it. We emailed it to Teressa and Ashton and they loved it.

Rain and Abbi have lots of the same features. My favorite being the cowlick on their forheads.

Dora Obsessed

Anyone with a 2-5 year old can probably relate to this post. All I hear all day is, "Mom, I wanna watch Dora!" from Hallie. We have it set to Tivo every day for those moments when I need a little break and need to have her entertained. What is the obsession with Dora? She absolutely LOVES her. She can watch it over and over and probably would if I let her. When I got her ready for bed tonight she insisted on wearing her Dora jammies and slippers. She also has a Dora blanket that she insists on using every night for bed. Not to mention the Dora doll and backpack that she occasionally packs around. Oh, and I almost forgot, she eats on her Dora plate and drinks from her Dora cup every night for dinner.

Wacky!

Today was Wacky Day in first grade. The kids were supposed to dress wacky so Abbi chose to wear her clothes backwards and her hair funky.
She even insisted on wearing her shoes on the wrong feet!
This picture creeps me out a little bit. It almost looks like her head is on backwards.

Hat Girl

This week at school is Dr. Seuss week. Today is Cat In The Hat day, so Abbi got to wear a hat to school (thanks, Janean, for letting us borrow one from Whytli.) She looked so cute when she left this morning. I hate to say it, but she's growing right up. Today she honestly looked like a little teenager walking out the door. Sometimes I wish I could keep her little and invent some kind of anti growing up drug. But it is really fun to watch her get big. I sure do love this little one!

Sleeping Hallie

I had to post these pictures of my little Hallie Bug sleeping. She has been so ornery today, so I turned Dora the Explorer on to see if that would cheer her up at all. About 15 minutes later I looked down in our living room and she had fallen asleep on the floor. This never happens so I was quite surprised. She must just be really tired. She partied with Grandma Diane and Grandpa Roger last night while Jeff and I went to the Jazz game. They must have worn her right out.

The cutest part was that she had her stuffed dog and her blankie by her. She insists on sleeping with these two things (and about 5 others) anytime she goes to sleep.
The only problem now is I know she won't sleep like this for long. And if I try to move her she will wake up. So much for a long 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon. But she's so darn sweet that I don't really care.