Food Fight

So I totally just got in a fight a Macey's with this Hagatha of an old lady. My happy little family walked into the grocery store tonight only to pass some delicious cheesecake being handed out as samples. We walked by and Abbi wanted to try some. So I told her to go ahead and go back and get some. Jeff, Hallie and I walked over to the produce section of the store. I was getting some lettuce for a salad and turn around to see my sweet Abbi in tears. I asked her what was wrong and she said the lady giving out the samples told her that she could only have one if her mom or dad was with her. One look at Abbi told me that the lady wasn't nice in her ways of telling her she needed a parent. So I took Abbi's hand and we walked over to th lady behind the samples. I said, "So, I'm here now so can she have some cheesecake?" The lady behind the samples said to me, "Ma'am, you need to listen to what I have to explain to you. One of our sister stores had a little boy ALMOST DIE because he was given a sample that he was allergic to." I said, "Well that's fine, but there's a nice way to ask her to get a parent and you obviously didn't do it, so I'de like my sample now." I grabbed some cheesecake and walked away. This stupid white trash hagatha of an old lady pushing her shopping cart said in the snottiest voice imaginable, "SHE was NOT rude." I turned around and said, "Excuse me, but you had nothing to do with this, so maybe you should stay out of it." Hagatha said, "Well, she wasn't rude." I said, "As a mother, if I see that someone has made my daughter cry, I'm not just going to sit there and do nothing about it. There is a nice way to say what she needed to say. You didn't have anything to do with the situation, so just drop it." All the while my even tempered (sometimes too much) husband is between us telling me to just leave it alone and not to drop to her level. Which I probably should have, but seriously! That's not the type of person that I am. I proceeded to grab a few more vegetables and get on my way. Hagatha said, "What do you think, you walk around on gold." Oh no, did she just go there?!! The nerve of some people. I turned to her and said, "Honestly, who do you think you are. Why can't you just leave it alone and drop it? You had nothing to do with the situation. Just leave it alone." Hagatha then said something under her breath, and I was forced, by Jeff to walk away. I was so upset I was shaking. I hate confrontations, but when it comes to my kids I gotta stand up for them. Needless to say, I am so mad right now. Honestly, the nerve of some people. Funny thing is, she's probably home blogging about the same thing.

20 Questions About My Mom

Abbi was tagged by Quaid and Ainsley to answer questions about me. So here goes:

1. What is something mom always says to you? "Abbi, clean up your room."

2. What makes mom happy? When I do something nice.

3. What makes mom sad? When I don't pay attention to you.

4. How does mom make you laugh? When you tickle me.

5. What was mom like as a child? I'm pretty sure you had red hair.

6. How old is your mom? 20

7. How tall is your mom? 20 feet

8. What is your mommy's favorite thing to do? I think you like to read.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? That I don't know because I'm not around.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Singing

11. What is your mom really good at? Cooking

12. What is your mom not very good at? Doing flips on the tramp

13. What does your mom do for her job? Nightwatch

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Pizza

15. What makes you proud of your mom? When you jump on the tramp with me.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Bessie Higenbottom

17. What do you and your mom do together? Clean, but I like to help you clean. And mostly because you're cleaning all the time.

18. How are you and your mom the same? We both LOVE pizza.

19. How are you and your mom different? Our eyes are different. Plus you have blonde stripes in your hair and I don't. Pretty much we don't look alike at all.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because you say it all the time.

Now Abbi tags: Lindsey, Laura Ann, Abby Wood and Whytli.

...You Make My Heart Sing

So today we got to go with Michelle to her doctors appointment. It was great! We got to hear the heartbeat. I'm such a baby, I got kind of teary eyed. She is 27 weeks along and she is very healthy and so is Korver. I was confunsed on the due date, but I'm all cleared up now. Michelle's actual due date IS September 25th and she'll probably go in for a c-section a little early because she has a growth disorder that makes it so her hips don't move. If she was to deliver Korver normally it could dislocate or possibly even break her hips; OUCH! So she's really pushing a c-section. After the doctors appointment she had to go to Timpanogos hospital to drink that yucky orange stuff and we went along with her. I'm kind of a nerd, but I've always wanted to know exactly what all you pregnant people go through. Michelle is nice enough to put up with me tagging along with her. Hopefully I'm not too annoying.

Name 10 Non Living Things You Can't Live Without

I was tagged by Kristie. I am supposed to name 10 non living things I can't live without:

1. Diet Coke with a lime, need I say more.

2. My notebook, I am such a list maker that I would be lost without it. I can't do anything/ go anywhere without making a list.

3. My handbag (that's for you Kellye!) I need all my "stuff" with me at all times.

4. Paul Mitchell hairspray. It holds my kids hair and mine great.

5. My beloved computer. I am attached (literally) to it.

6. My iPod. I love the thing. It keeps me motivated when I'm excersising or cleaning.

7. Nail polish. If I'm feeling really not so cute all I have to do is paint my toes and I feel much better.

8. The color RED.

9. Lotion. I love the stuff. If I don't put it on right after I get out of the shower, I itch all day long.

10. Saturday Night Live. I love love love SNL. I don't think I have missed an episode in over 5 years, probably longer. It is the most hillarious show. Thank goodness for TiVo.

Now I'm supposed to tag some people. So I tag Janean, Michelle, Angela, Kellye and Holly.

Remember When...

Remeber when you used to sit in your purple Dora chair eating a bag of M&M's, watching Dora the Explorer? Man, those were the days!

Trampoline Fun

One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to sleep outside on our tramoline with my friends. Since our girls aren't quite old enough to do that, Jeff and I had this crazy idea that we would sleep out there with them. We piled on blankets and pillows and cuddled under the covers.

We got out my laptop and watched the movie Hot Rod which is a favorite at our house. We spent the night laughing at the movie and enjoying some beverages out on the tramp.
Here we all are watching the movie. It was so much fun. However, at about 1:00 in the morning I felt the trampoline bouncing and woke up to fine Jeff trying to make an escape back into the house. He said he had a headache. I was freezing my butt off (well, not all the way off, because I looked and it's still there.) So we decided to go inside and sleep in the family room. But when we woke the girls up, they were both mad at us and said they really wanted to sleep outside. But luckily, we were able to convince them that inside the house would be much better.
It was a really fun night. I'm now trying to convice Jeff to let Abbi have a sleepover with a friend at our house and set up a tent in the backyard. It would be so fun, we could even roast hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire pit. We'll see how long it takes to convince him on that one.

Cake Decorating Contest

Hallie's actual birthday was celebrated up at Jeff's family reunion. One of the activities that they did was have a cake decorating contest. There are 5 main families so we had 5 cakes and the male head of each family was chosen as the team captain. Each team captain could choose 2 other people to be on their team to help them decorate their cake. Hallie shared her birthday with Jeff's cousin's wife, Maria. So Maria and Hallie got to judge the cakes. I was really surprised at how crafty and creative each team got.

The judges hard at work.
Here is the winning team with their cake. Aubrey (the cutie in the front) wasn't actually on the team, but gave the team the idea to do a cat because she is Hallie's cousin and knows that she likes cats.
The winners: Jeff's uncle Cliff, cousin Jenn, cousin-in-law Russ, and Neice Aubrey.
It was a lot of fun and such a special way to help Maria and Hallie celebrate their birthdays. The cakes were all very yummy and I'm sure those decorations had everything to do with the way they tasted ;)

Top 6 Reasons Why I Love This Girl

I have seen on people's blogs where they post the top however many years old reasons why they love their kids. I decided that 3 just wasn't enough, so I doubled it to 6. Here we go (in no particular order.)

1. She has the most infectuous laugh I have ever heard. When she laughs I can't help but smile and laugh along with her. She definitly brightens a gloomy day.

2. She is her own person. Hallie knows what she wants and rarely lets anything get in the way of it. She is a very determined little girl.

3. She is naughty. That's right, I actually love that she's naughty. She looks so dang innocent with those big brown eyes, but don't let her fool ya. She's trouble. If she wasnt' naughty she wouldn't be Hallie. Most of the time her naughtiness makes Jeff and I laugh (I said MOST of the time.)

4. She loves to cuddle. Everyday at some point she curls up on my lap and snuggles with me. She's a busy little thing, but when she feels like cuddling she becomes very still. It's one of my favorite things ever!

5. She's extremly vocal. Even though her speech isn't as advanced as some 3 year olds, she knows what to say what she wants. Lots of times it's just jiberish, but she thinks she's saying something. This may sound horrible, but I laugh everytime she yells out the back door, "Shu-up! choo choo!" (when she hears a train) or yells at our dogs to be quiet. Or when she tells a fly to get off of the wall. It's just funny seeing this little girl voice commands at the world.

6. She is caring. Hallie is so concerned about other's feelings. If she sees someone sad she'll go up to them and ask, "whas matter?" or "wha happen?" She truley cares for others and that makes me happy.

I seriously can't believe our girl is 3 years old. I remember when Jordann placed her in my arms and I just looked down at that precious little face thinking there was no way she was ever going to grow up. I drove all the way home from Salt Lake to Spanish Fork in the back seat of the car (I know, I'm a nerd) wondering what her personality was going to be like and thinking to myself, "I am the luckiest mom alive." My heart was so full that day I thought it would explode. Jordann had given Jeff, Abbi and I such an amazing gift and I was just so thankful to welcome Hallie into our family. She was just the tiniest little thing sitting there in that big huge carseat. I could barely stand it until we got home and I just kept kissing her little cheeks. It was one of the most perfect days of my entire life.

Hallie is 3!

That's right, folks! Hallie is 3 years old now. We celebrated her birthday the day before because we had a family reunion to go to on her actual birthday. There were lots of people there to help her celebrate and she got so many fun things.

Kristen got her a BBQ grill that blows bubbles. Kristen was just a little more excited about it than Hallie, though. I swear this girl is going to make a great mom one day.
Hallie picked a Rella (Cinderella) cake this time. It was pretty small so we got cupcakes to go along with it. It turned out really cute. Macey's seriously does a great job at making cakes and they are very reasonably priced.

Jeff and I have wanted to get the girls a trampoline for quite a while now. So we asked Abbi how she felt about getting a present early to share (since they are pretty expensive.) Abbi was totally fine with the idea. So Jeff assembled the tramp so it would be ready in time for the party. Both girls loved it so much. Again, Kristen was stoked about the tramp. She and Weston (her boyfriend) stayed over until about 10:30 jumping with the girls.

Forever Sisters

I've mentioned in an earlier post that Abbi has a biological sister named Rain. Teressa and Asthon (Abbi's birthparents) live in Kentucky right now and they came out last week for a little visit. Teressa, Jenny (birth-grandma) and I decided to take them to Kiddie Kandids to get some pictures taken of the two of them together. Abbi has been wanting a picture of Rain in her room for a long time. The photographer there was so good and quick to get the perfect expressions out of each of them.

I think they look quite a bit alike. They both have their own looks to them, but they are definitly sisters. I think it's so great that we have this relationship with Abbi's birth family. The next day, Jenny invited us over to their home for a BBQ. She bought a little blow up pool for the girls to play in that was just the right size. Rain decided to sleep this one out so there are no pictures of her in the pool.

Here is the delicious spread of food that we had. Steve (Teressa's step dad) made yummy BBQ chicken that was to DIE for. Jenny made a really yummy green salad with spinach and lettuce and I made my famous potato salad. Jenny also made Strawberry rubharb cake and served it with vanilla ice cream.
She also got Hallie something for her birthday. It was a darling orange dress and a Dora the Explorer telephone with stickers. Hallie loved it all and looks adorable in the dress (you'll see in a later post.)
Jenny always surprises the girls with "just because" presents. She got Abbi a really cute doll with long hair that she can brush and some stickers.

Campfire In The Backyard

Jeff got a fire pit for his birthday back in April but the weather has been so yucky that we never got a chance to use it. So when we finally had a good day, we invited Michelle, her sister Ariel, Kristen and Weston over to roast marshmallows. We had a really good time roasting (mostly lighting on fire) marshmallows

At one point someone asked what time it was. We all thought it was around 9 o'clock. When we checked it was 11! Time flies when you're having fun, right!
Both kids ended up falling asleep. Abbi made herself a little bed on one of the camp chairs and Hallie fell asleep in my arms (love it when she does that.)
Here is Michelle and Abbi getting ready to roast a few mallows.

Fun At The Park

A couple Sundays ago we met my parents down at the park by their house for a little dessert and fun. It was the perfect day with just a little breeze and lots of fun playground stuff for the kids to play on.

This is my dad, Roger, playing with the kids on the swings. Swining is one of my kids favorite things to do. They love to go really high!

My mom, Diane, made delicious strawberry shortcake. It was so yummy and perfect for an afternoon picnic treat.
At this particular park they have really big swings that can go really high. Abbi got going so high that she made the chain gap. It scares me to death when she does that, but she was loving every minute of it.

Birthday Party With Jordann

One of the coolest things about having adopted kids is you have all these people added to your family who love your kids just like you do. Every year we invite Hallie's birthmom, Jordann, and her family down to our house for a birthday party. We had to do it a week early this year because on Hallie's actual birthday we will be gone. Anyway, the weather could not have been more perfect. We had a BBQ outside in our back yard and ejoyed the afternoon in the warmth (finally!) Hallie loved being pushed on the swings by her birthmom's mom, Grandma Miney.

Miney got Hallie a really pretty silver Noah's Ark bank with her name and the year etched on the roof. Hallie was really excited to put money in it. All night long, even after everyone left, she searched the house for loose change and would run and put it in her bank. Jordann got her a pink beaded bracelet that has a silver heart on the end where she had Hallie's name etched on it. The gifts couldn't have been more perfect. I love when they give them special things like that, that they will always cherish. The bracelet actually adjusts small enough to fit her and big enough to fit me, so Hallie will be able to wear it for a lifetime.
Hallie LOVED everyone singing to her before she blew out her candles.
Jordann and Hallie
If you know Hallie, you know that she loves Little Mermaid the very best. She calls her "Mernaid Fishy." So we got her a Mernaid Fishy cake and she was SO excited. I love this picture so much because you can truly see how excited she is and how special she felt all because of a cake.
This picture makes me laugh because her head looks huge and her body looks so small. She is growing up so fast.

Feeling Korver Kick

Michelle and her sister, Ariel, came to our house tonight. We were sitting there talking and Michelle said that Korver was kicking. So of course I hurried over to feel it. I have actually never had the privledge of feeling a baby kick. So it was a pretty cool thing for me. Jeff even got to feel him kick. I think that Abbi and Hallie were just as amazed as I was to feel it. This is so fun for me because I've never even heard a baby's heart beat and Michelle invited me to go to her next doctors appointment, so I think I get to hear it. I am seriously so excited that I got to feel our little guy kick.

Hallie was so funny. She thought it was so funny to feel Korver kick her (I don't know if she really did.) But then she would try to lift up Michelle's shirt and say, "I wanna see baby." Then at one point she tried to look DOWN her shirt to find the baby. She kept asking me to feel my baby and then she asked Abbi the same question. The funniest part was when she was sitting on my lap and she was looking down her own shirt trying to find HER baby. She would also get really close to Michelle's tummy and say, "time a get outta bed, baby!" She had us all laughing.
We did't snap the picture fast enought, but when Abbi was feeling Michelle's tummy, she really had Korver kicking away. It was totally cute and one of the coolest experiences of my life.

What's In A Name?

We have finally chosen a name for our little guy! It really drives me crazy to call my baby's "the baby" before they are born. I don't know if it makes it more real to me or what, but I always get anxious to choose a name for my kids as soon as we find out we are getting them. We've been throwing around a lot of different names with Michelle and wondering what we're going to call the little man. Jeff and I emailed Michelle last night and asked if it would be okay if his middle name was Morris. Jeff's middle name is Morris and he was named after his grandpa who he was very close to. Jeff has always wanted to name his first son after his grandpa. Michelle emailed me back today and said that Morris sounds like a good solid name, and it's a family name so it worked for her. Then she suggested the name Korver. As soon as I read it, I fell in love with it. I've never heard of it before (except for the HOT Jazz player Kyle Korver.) So Korver Morris Swenson will be arriving sometime in September. We are so excited to finally have a name for our baby boy.

Abbi's Punch Sale

Abbi has been begging me ever since school got out to have a punch sale. So when we were at the grocerey store last time, we bought a couple packages of Kool Aid and a package of cookies. She set up shop on Monday and decided to sell it for .25 cents for a cup of punch AND a cookie. Now if that's not a deal, I don't know what is. I'm thinking of quitting my night watch job and making her sell cookies every day. She made a whopping $7.00. Of course, it did take her from 10:00-2:00 to earn that, but that's not too shabby for a 6, almost 7 year old. Plus, I didn't want her selling all by herself (who knows who is going to pull up) so I decided to stay outside and clean my garage out. I wish I would have gotten a before and after picture of that because it looked horrible before and now it looks awesome. Jeff was so surprised when he was actually able to pull his car in straight and not have to angle it to avoid all the junk.

Taking a Stroll

Sometimes it surprises me what my kids find fun. For some reason, they love taking our little dog, Sadie, for a walk. It seems like such a simple thing, but they love it and it totally makes them happy. Sadie loves it, so whenever they ask I always let them do it. Monday while Abbi was having her punch sale (see above post,) and I was cleaning out the garage Hallie decided it was her turn to walk Sadie. It was hillarious to watch her. She walked up and down our sidewalk I don't know how many times either dragging Sadie behind her or being pulled by her.

Look how happy they both are.