BLiNK

Disney World!!

2012-01-22T15:43:00.000-08:00

We are getting closer to the cruise, my friends. But I can not talk about our trip without doing an entire post just on Disney World. SO MUCH FUN!! Kalianna talks about it constantly. I bet Magdalyn would too, if she could talk, but her view might be a little different. She fell asleep on Peter Pan cause it was nice and dark. Then woke up in the middle of Small World. Biggest eyes I have ever seen! She looked like a mix of complete surprise and confusion. Can you imagine what a ride like that must seem like to a baby? It was hysterical! But I am getting ahead of myself...

Sound asleep at the beginning of the ride

Huge, surprised eyes when she wakes up.

We went to my parents house Thursday night, December 29. We had dinner with them and put the girls to bed early. Then we were up at 4:30 AM to catch our early morning flight. Thankfully the idea of getting on an airplane was so exciting to Kalianna that she woke up happy and excited. We met up with the rest of our group at the airport. It consisted of my parents, my three sisters and their husbands, Kristine's three boys, the four of us, Brent, my mom's parents, and her brother Richard. Bryan and Ricci were already in Florida with her family for Christmas, but the other 19 of us were all on the same flight. We were thankfully on time (early in fact) for our flight, otherwise we might have looked like a scene from Home Alone, racing to our gate. We had a layover in Denver and then it was on to Florida. Kalianna was very excited to fly! She giggled when we took off and landed, if only she knew there would be more rides to come! We could have just flown there and back and she would have been perfectly content.

Hanging out, waiting to board

Both girls slept most of the way, since we had an early morning. The plane ride went very smoothly. We got to our condos in the late afternoon. The kids ran around, releasing much pent-up energy, while several of us went to buy some food. We basically crashed that first night. It's amazing how exhausting traveling can be! Even though you are just sitting there.

Saturday we spent the day by the pool and relaxing. It was New Year's Eve but we didn't do any celebrating this year. We actually went to bed early to prepare for the next day. And it was totally worth it! Because Sunday was Disney World! Yes, I am openly admitting we sinned. But it was my Grandpa's idea, and he is the patriarch of the family, so that is my excuse and I'm sticking with it. We knew a lot of people would be hungover from the previous night,so we got up early and were some of the first ones in the park. It was awesome! The party-ers (yup, makin' up words now) got to the park in the late afternoon. All morning we barely had to wait in line, just going from one ride to the next.

On the ferry, crossing the lake to Disney World

Waiting with aunt Julie

I love that they have these buttons for the kids. Kalianna wore it on her monkey backpack all day

Our view from the ferry

Anxiously awaiting

Seth, Julie, CJ, Mom, Grandma Gallacher, Richard, Me & Magdalyn, Grandpa Gallacher

Kristine and Theresa with the boys in front of the castle

CJ and Josh on Dumbo. Our first ride of the day

The four of us all fit in one

Small World. We took up our own boat

Kristine & Hayden on the Carousel

Me & Magdalyn

Brent, looking too cool for the horse

Matt & Kalianna

Julie, Seth, & Hayden on Winnie the Pooh

Kristine & Ian having fun, Logan...sleeping?

Gallachers and my mom

Hitching a ride. This was the nice part of having 16 adults & 5 kids

We didn't know how long the girls were going to last, so Matt and I decided we would play it by ear. Taking it one ride at a time, expecting to have to leave in the afternoon. The girls were awesome! And Kalianna seriously had the time of her life! She loved every ride, especially the teacups! She's my kind of girl! Matt hates spinning, but for both Kalianna and I, it was the faster the better. We had a ball riding them 3 times in a row. When Kalianna saw the huge drop at the end of Splash Mountain she begged to do that ride too. Unfortunately, she was too short =( I hope she keeps up her fearlessness as she gets older. I can't wait to take her on roller coasters!

Teacups! Bryan, Julie, & Josh

No one else would ride with Seth. He didn't want to spin fast

First time with me, Kalianna, Ian, Brent, & Kristine. Brent was awesome at getting us going super fast!

Having a ball

Kalianna just giggled hysterically the whole ride. It was awesome!

2nd time around. Brent was our officially spinner

Matt & Magdalyn watching us have fun

Before we left, a friend of mine told me to bring our front carrier backpack for Magdalyn. I was so glad she did! I didn't know babies could go on the majority of the rides like that. She stayed pretty happy being carried around all day! And I think she enjoyed all the colors and lights. Kalianna started getting cranky mid-afternoon and we were afraid we were going to have to call it a day. But she fell asleep in the 3D movie and took a good nap. When she woke up, she was ready to go again! We opened the park at 8:00 AM and didn't leave until 9:00 PM. It was such an amazing, awesome day! So fun to watch Kalianna light up with each new ride and character and everything there was to see!

Matt, Kalianna & my dad on the Buzz Lightyear ride

I love this picture of my Grandpa. He may be a little too into this game

Richard, Ian, and Kristine with Chip and Dale

Joshua with Chip and Dale

Maggie hanging out in her backpack, enjoying her first Cheeto

Yum Yum!

Jungle Cruise. It was really fun saying "21" whenever they asked how many was in our party. We got some awesome looks

The kids really enjoyed this one

Ricci and the boys on Aladdin

Kalianna loved to see the characters, but wanted nothing to do with them when they approached her

The boys with Woody and no-neck Jessie

Theresa & Kristine with all the kids on the train

Watching one of the shows at the castle

The kids were enthralled! This was also Kali's first time eating cotton candy

Magdalyn even looks entranced

Too many people kept standing in front of us so we had to continually shift

Bryan & Ricci by the castle

Our family

Much needed ice cream break

Turner family. Yay! Logan stayed awake this time!

Us and a nice Chinese family

The castle was gorgeous at night! The Christmas lights were still up

At the end of the day, both girls were exhausted but glowing with excitement. We took Kalianna into one of the stores to pick out a souvenir before we left. Her favorite movie right now is Lady and the Tramp. Matt noticed a Lady doll earlier in the day so we went back and showed it to her. Pure joy! She hugged Lady so hard and held on tight to her the rest of the evening, while we made our way through the parade crowds and out to the car.

Monday we spent the day hanging out at the condos again. We swam and played and got prepared for the cruise.

Christmas Day

2012-01-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

I think it's really fun having church on Christmas Day! I mean, what better way to celebrate the birth of our Savior? We got up and went to church Sunday morning. We only had Sacrament meeting, which was really weird, then we got home to open presents. Kalianna was so excited! At first she was very upset when we told her there wasn't nursery that day. The only way I got her to leave church was telling her there were presents at home. The second we walked in the door, she lit up and started unwrapping gifts. She got two of Magdalyn's partly open before we could stop her. Thankfully Maggie didn't really care.

Christmas morning 2011

We had a really great Christmas! Kalianna was super excited about everything she got, and she loved helping Magdalyn open her presents too. It's so fun when they start to understand presents! She played our little Santa's helper and was even thrilled to hand gifts to Mommy and Daddy to open.

Opening her stocking presents first

Hanging up her new pink car ornament

Loves her new teething ring

Checking out her new book

Kalianna was So Excited to give Matt the present she made for him. She is describing how her hands got pink paint on them.

Daddy loved his new frame!

The girls got matching Minnie's Boutique shirts for the cruise. They also came with headbands. So in the rest of the pictures, that is what's on Kalianna's head.

Magdalyn's favorite gift? Hands down her toothbrush. She loves that thing!

The girls helped me open my presents

Checking out her new ball

Loving her new baby dinosaur (Yoshi) Kalianna loves dinosaurs! It was a lot harder than you would think to find a cute dinosaur toy!

Helping Magdalyn open her bunny that plays peek-a-boo

Kalianna got her very own laptop. I don't even have one yet! It has some fun games on it , she just loves to learn!

We kinda wished we had more time at home after opening presents. The girls were busy playing with all their new toys but we had to load them up and move on to the next thing. We got to Matt's parent's house early in the afternoon and had "breakfast" with them. We opened presents there and then headed off to the hospital to see Bryan again. The girls lasted a little bit longer this time and we were very glad they got to see Grandpa on Christmas. After the hospital, we went to Matt's grandparent's house for food and visiting. Then, our last stop, we went to my parent's house and visited with them for awhile. When bedtime came, we put the girl's PJ's on and headed for home. It was a very long, exciting day for them. They were both asleep in a matter of minutes.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-13T16:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas was less than a month ago, but it already feels like it was forever ago! So weird. Christmas was with Matt's family this year. The bummer part was Bryan was in the hospital on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Thankfully, Nedra was able to bribe a few of the nurses to let the girls visit him for a few minutes. (You technically have to be 14 to visit, but it was Christmas!) Christmas Eve we let the girls open their sibling gifts to each other. Kalianna picked out the pig for Magdalyn all by herself. Maggie had a little bit of help. Kalianna has been in this funny phase lately where she is obsessed with cages. Every animal toy she owns has a cage. And anything from laundry baskets to mixing bowls make up these cages.

Then Matt and I decided to start a new tradition this year, and we all went out to breakfast that morning. It was lots of fun!

In the car on our way to IHOP. She loves Mommy's sunglasses

The cream off Mommy's hot chocolate. How did I know it wouldn't really be mine?

Coloring while we waited for our food

Magdalyn slept through the entire breakfast. Next year...

Very excited about her smiley face pancake

Yummy banana smile

Cinnamon roll french toast. My favorite!

Diving in

Like father like daughter, right?

It's all about the whip cream

And a yummy gogurt

After breakfast we had a fun afternoon playing. Well, the girls and I did. Matt worked on the never-ending pile of homework. Kalianna helped me make some Christmas cookies while Magdalyn went nuts in her bouncy chair. She loves this thing!

We went to Matt's parent's house that afternoon for a nice dinner and then a visit to the hospital. We couldn't stay too long, with the girls getting very anxious in a teeny hospital room, so we then headed to my parents to get them ready for bed before heading home. Matching jammies! The girls loved them! Kalianna loves having her little sister match. Then it was home and off to bed for the little ones.

Zoo Lights

2012-01-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to have Christmas and our December activities posted on here before leaving for our trip. Oh well! Didn't happen! So I am back-tracking a little bit. Stay tuned. Pictures and cruise stories to come.

My parent's bought Grandparent passes to Hogle Zoo at the beginning of the summer so they could take their grandkids anytime. None of us had ever been to Zoo Lights before so when I saw a billboard for it, I asked them if we could go one last time. It was my parents, Kristine & Logan and their three boys and me and Matt and our girls.

We all had a ball! Not as many animals to see, but the lights were fun. It snowed while we were there, making things pretty cold. Poor Magdalyn was bundled up so tight in her stroller, she couldn't put her arms down. Then I picked her up and carried her, and she stayed much happier (and warmer) after that.

The lights were everywhere! It was really pretty

The girls checking out the monkeys

Doesn't she remind you of the poor kid in "Christmas Story"?

Grandma and Grandpa spoiled the kids with Carousel rides

Kristine and Hayden

She thought this was a regular kitty and wanted to pet it

So happy to see animals!

Mommy and Maggie keeping each other warm

Carousel ride

So happy!

Both babies conked before we were done

Kalianna was terrified of the fire in the warmers

Maggie 8 months + more

2011-12-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

So many little things I've been wanting to post, so I decided to combine them all. Are you ready? Here we go!

Magdalyn turned 8 months last week! This has been kind of a surreal milestone for me. Last December I looked like this:

I remember talking with my sister, Kristine, around Christmastime about our future little ones. We were specifically talking about them being 8 months old because we said, "Can you believe we will have 8 month olds by this time next year on the cruise?" It was so weird to believe the little kicks we were feeling would be active, babbling, toothy babies in just one year. Well, here we are!

Magdalyn hasn't changed a whole lot since 7 months. She has two teeth now, and is working on getting her top ones in as well. I think it will be a matter of weeks. She loves food more and more! She is starting to like "real" food, which I love! She enjoys bread (especially Olive Garden breadsticks) cheerios, teething cookies, graham crackers, and Club crackers. And whip cream. Courtesy of her Daddy on Thanksgiving. She loved it! She seems like she wants to crawl, you can tell she is starting to get frustrated about not being able to move where she wants to go, but she hasn't quite figured out how to do it yet. She can roll to get an item, but that isn't always as accurate. She is babbling like crazy, which is super cute! Her first word was "Dada", much to Matt's absolute joy! Since then she has also mastered "Baba" and "Mama". Kalianna keeps saying, "try Kalianna". Yeah...it may be awhile for that one sweetie. =)

Other than that, she is still my super sweet, happy, easy-going girl. She is starting to show a little more personality, especially around her sister. She is starting to fight back when Kalianna tries to trade toys with her and Maggie doesn't want to. But if Maggie gets upset, Kalianna hugs her and makes everything all better again. The two of them always want to be doing the same thing, and they are the happiest when they are together. I know they will have their fights as all siblings do, but I hope this closeness they share continues through the years! Sisters are the best!

Matt found these giant marshmallows at Wal Mart and thought, "Hey, we need those!" So he bought them. Kalianna only made it through a couple bites before she was done. It's the size of her hand! These would make some killer big smores though.

Kalianna Loves her stuffed animals! She has way more than she needs (as did I) and actually a lot of her animals are my old ones. Whenever we clean her floor to vacuum, they end up in a huge animal pile in the corner. The other day when we were cleaning, she decided she needed to hide in her animal pile. She thought this way pretty cool! And yes, she has chip residue on her face. These are my awesome parenting skills at work.

Our little neighbor boy, Kaleo, is almost a year older than Kalianna. Well they absolutely love each other! I call him her first boyfriend (which Matt hates). But growing up, I never played with boys. Ever! I was too shy I think. Whereas my daughter seems to play really well with a lot of the boys in our ward (which again, Matt hates). A couple months ago the two of them were playing outside together when Magdalyn fell asleep. I didn't want to leave two two-year-olds outside alone so I shooed them into the house and sent them downstairs to play while I laid her down for a nap. I came downstairs to find this:

Kalianna is such a sweetheart! I am often so impressed with how sincerely sweet she is to others around her. Yesterday at church, Matt peeked in the nursery window between classes. Unfortunately since Kalianna is one of the oldest in her age group, she is losing most of her friends to Sunbeams next year. Really sad! But I'm not too worried after what Matt saw yesterday. She was sitting next to a little girl during snack time. The girl was probably a year younger than her. Kalianna reached over and pat the girl on the head (she does this all the time-not sure why) Well her finger got caught in the girl's hair so as she pulled away, she yanked the girl's hair a tiny bit. The little girl was extremely angry and immediately started hitting Kali and tried to grab her own hair to pull back. Kalianna looked at her, and without saying a word she wrapped her arms around the angry child and gave her a big hug. One of those moments that makes me so proud to be her mom!

Christmas Story

2011-12-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

This is one of the greatest inventions ever!

I don't know about you, but growing up I always loved nativities. They were, and still are, my favorite decorations for Christmas. But most nativities are fragile and not meant for children's hands. So when my sister found an awesome deal online a couple years ago, I jumped on it and ordered the Fisher Price nativity set for my future kids. I love that Kalianna and I can sit down together and play with her nativity while we talk about the Christmas story. And she Loves that baby Jesus!

Last week for family night I sat the girls next to me and we acted out the Christmas story with their toys. Then the next day, I sat Maggie on the floor next to the coffee table and asked Kalianna to play with her while I went to the restroom. This is what I overheard:

"This is Mary and Joseph. They got married in the temple (love that marriage = temple!) Then baby Jesus came. Then the three kings came and brought baby Jesus presents for his birthday. Then they all had cake!" (because what's a birthday without cake?) Then she continued to explain all the animals that were there to Maggie, and the noises each animal made. "Then baby Jesus slept in the hay."

Talk about moments that just melt your heart! I absolutely love that Kalianna knows what Christmas is about! She picks up on more pieces of the story each time we tell it, and she loves to hear about how baby Jesus was born.

After that, Matt and I decided not to talk about Santa Claus yet. We don't want to ruin everything she has learned by throwing in a fat jolly dude who shimmies down the chimney. She knows who Santa Claus is, she recognizes him when she sees pictures and other things. But we've never gone over the story with her, so she doesn't exactly know what it is he does. I just can't bring myself to focus on that aspect of Christmas when she is So Excited about Jesus' birthday! It seriously makes me one proud mamma! We definitely don't want to take Santa out of Christmas, I think that's just plain silly. It's a great tradition and Santa Claus teaches kids about giving and love, which is what this season is all about. But on the other hand, we want the focus in our house to be on the story of Christmas and Christ's birth. Santa is still welcome in our home, as long as he wipes his feet, and we will carry on the tradition of leaving milk and cookies as well as carrots for the reindeer. We just don't want to put all the focus and attention on that.

Matching

2011-12-08T22:22:00.001-08:00

I got this shirt back when my parents went to Hong Kong to pick up my sister, Julie, from her mission. Then several years later, when Kalianna was a baby, my dad went back and brought home a dress for her of almost identical fabric. A couple months ago he brought back another dress for Kalianna. All three are from different trips, years apart. And all three match perfectly! My dad did not do this intentionally, I guess he just knows what I like! So a few Sundays ago the three of us wore matching clothes to church and we got tons of compliments. It was really fun matching my girls, and Kalianna was in heaven! She Loves to pick out clothes for Maggie that resemble her own, so they will match. But this time Mommy matched too and that was just icing on the cake!

Escaping the Wind

2011-12-05T20:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are safe, our house is safe, we suffered almost no damages in the ginormous windstorms on Thursday. Thanks everyone for all your concern! I got lots of texts wondering how we were.

Matt and I don't have TV, so we had no idea that big windstorms were expected all day Thursday. We went to sleep Wednesday night, thinking it was just like any other day. I first noticed something was up when I got woken up Thursday morning by Sobaka laying down right beside my face. Sobaka never does this! He does not sleep on our bed and only feels the need to snuggle when he is scared. So I knew something was up. Then I heard it. Then I felt it. The wind was blowing so hard and was so loud, I couldn't believe I'd slept through it thus far. And the entire house was shaking. That's saying something when our house is connected to 9 others! Pretty soon Magdalyn and Kalianna were both awake from the noise too. I woke up Matt, wondering why he was still home so late. He said he woke up and saw the wind and decided it wasn't worth the risk to drive on I-15 all the way to Salt Lake for school.

When I went in the girls' room, Kalianna was sitting on her windowsill looking out the window. I sat beside her and we just stared for awhile. I have never seen anything like it before in my life! I felt like we were in the movie Twister. Every time a gust blew, we saw huge trees blow over like they were nothing more than a couple of toothpicks. Shingles flew off roofs as though they weren't attached at all, and fences were being blown over left and right. Or pieces of fences, like in our case.

We began our morning routine and while Kalianna and I were in the bathroom, the lights flickered several times. We kept having to open the door so we could see. Then they finally went out. And then they stayed out. Matt checked the news and called the power company (thank goodness for cell phones!) and we decided it would be best to hit the road when the storm calmed and head to my parent's. Matt had to be to work at 4:00, and there was no guarantee we would have power back that night. Plus we were headed there Friday anyway, so we just packed the girls up and went a day early.

We left our house in the early afternoon, after the brunt of the storm was over. But we still had to run a few errands before leaving Layton. It was crazy!! Driving down the road, there were huge trees all over the place, ripped up right from their roots! There was garbage everywhere! Debris from all over the place now lay in piles around people's yards and in the road. Branches, wood, roof shingles, lawn furniture, Christmas decorations, anything and everything that was out in people's yards when the storm hit. It was such a weird feeling driving past all the people cleaning up, moving trees, repairing fences, etc. I seriously felt like we had driven straight into the scene of a scary movie! Or maybe an action movie...either way it was very surreal. I wish now that I had my camera with me, just to remember what everything looked like.

None of the streetlights worked and there were people from the power company all over the place trying to repair power lines, so it took awhile to get out. The freeway wasn't any better. Every few feet there was an overturned semi on the side of the road or trucks pulled over. We went about 5 mph until Centerville. I even ended up nursing Maggie in the car while we drove because it was taking so long to get anywhere, and she woke up hungry. But after Centerville everything opened up and we were able to make it to my parent's house.

We ended up having a really fun weekend with my parents! And the girls were spoiled rotten! (Matt has been working every Saturday lately to get a big upgrade done at work, so the girls and I have been spending a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa.) Thursday night my dad took Kalianna to the store to get cookies and after being gone for an hour, my mom and I began wondering where they were. Awhile later they came back and Kalianna had an ice cream cone, a bag of Oreos and another bag with several Muppet movies in it. (After seeing the new Muppet movie last weekend, we discovered Kalianna Loves them!) My mom just laughed. We had been making bets on where he took her and what she would arrive home with. My mom called it spot on, with the exception of which store they bought the movies at.

Friday we played all day. My sister dropped Hayden and Ian off for a little while so for about 30 minutes I had the 4 kids alone. Kalianna and Ian had a ball together! She sure loves her cousins! Then that night was Matt's work Christmas party so my brother, Brent, and his cute new girlfriend watched the girls for a couple hours.

Saturday we went to the mall to help my mom pick out a new shirt for her concert that night and Grandpa spoiled Kalianna again. She wanted to ride the carousel, so he bought her 4 rides and she was in heaven! Kalianna Loves the carousel! Then he took all of us out to Olive Garden for lunch. I had Magdalyn on my lap while I was eating a breadstick and she grabbed it right out of my hand and started chowing down on it. She loved it! It was so funny! Maggie has not been interested in solids at all, but I guess I just wasn't giving her the right flavor. Forget the cardboard tasting cheerios and Gerber snacks, she wanted butter and garlic! We played some more at my parent's house that afternoon and then we all went to watch my mom's bell choir perform that night. Really fun!

Biggest grin ever!

Yummy!

What started out as a scary experience turned into a really fun weekend!

2-Year-Old Thankfuls

2011-11-30T21:28:00.001-08:00

Every morning for the month of November, up until Thanksgiving day, I would ask Kalianna what she was thankful for. I would then write it on a feather and she would stick it on her turkey. He started out naked and the hope was by Thanksgiving morning he would look beautiful with a full tail of feathers. Well, his tail turned out a bit clumpy, Kalianna liked to stack the feathers on top of each other according to color, but seeing my 2-year-old get excited about writing down her "thankfuls" was absolutely priceless! Kalianna loved her turkey and couldn't wait to add a new feather each day. We had so much fun doing it and I look forward to next year when he will have twice the feathers! Here are all the things she was thankful for. Typically they reflected what she could see in the room, or what we had been talking about.
Feathers
Turkey
Jack-O-Lanterns
Pumpkins
Kutse & Sobaka
Our Family
Balls
Shampoo
Soccer Balls
Diaper Bag
Family
The Kitchen
Pianos
Cages
Kitties
Maggie
Snow
Mommy & Daddy
Diapers
Blankie
The Basement
Clothes
Dogs
Temple

So You Think You Can Dance Tour

2011-11-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to post pictures of this for a long time, but it just kept getting pushed back. Well no more! Back in October I was able to go to the SYTYCD tour with my cousin, Miquelle. She goes with her mom every year but this year after buying tickets, her mom had to go out of town that week. I willingly stepped in to take her. We had such a blast! I love Miquelle! She's so fun! My mom is the oldest child in her family, and Miquelle'a mom is the youngest. So though she feels more like a niece to me, she is my cousin. My sweet husband took the night off early to take the girls so I could go. Miquelle and I grabbed dinner first, then it was off to the show! I was so stoked!! It wasn't until I discovered Hulu that I was ever able to watch the show. I always wanted to, just never had TV. Then this last year I didn't miss an episode! From the first audition on I was hooked! Totally fell in love with the dancers ( I so would have been a dancer if I was at all coordinated) and it was amazing to see them live!

So cute...right?

If you didn't follow the show, then the names will mean nothing to you, but you can still appreciate the awesome shots I got. Mitchell was out with an injury. Sadness. And for some random reason Nick and Missy were there. They never explained why the two of them were on tour with the top ten, but they gave a solo performance and everything. I didn't mind though. They were both amazing! They performed a lot of favorite numbers from the show, as well as each did a solo number. Then they also combined a few of the numbers together into mash-up dances, which was awesome! Tadd was a huge showoff and, of course, got the most applause, being in his hometown. He was really funny on stage. They were all incredible to watch! Miquelle and I were both happy to see Nick again. He is such a good dancer! We both thought he probably would have gone much farther if he had had a better partner to begin with. Kind of how Alexander and Ryan both probably would have been gone sooner if they weren't with such incredible partners, keeping them afloat.

The award for most impressive of the night, however, goes to Ricky. Holy smokes that boy can move!! I so wish he would have been paired with Sasha from the beginning. He danced with her a couple times and the two of them together took my breath away! I don't think he got enough credit on the show for how good he is! Honestly I never paid too much attention to him, he wasn't one of my favorites either. But after seeing the tour, I am totally a Ricky fan! On tour he took the place of the all-star who danced with Melanie. She threw herself into his arms with equal force and Ricky didn't budge. He also took the place of the all-star who danced the wall number with Sasha AND he did the Twitch number with Sasha at the breakfast table. Three huge numbers from the season and Ricky was chosen to perform them all. That's saying something! I so wish I had recorded his solo too. My battery started dying though and I wanted to save it for the end of the night.

Here's my boy. Yup. He's upside down!

Biggest disappointment of the evening was they didn't do the Marko and Melanie wedding routine where they kissed. That was my favorite routine of the entire season and they didn't do it! So sad! It was a super fun night though and I had a great time! It made me look forward to nights like this with my own girls someday. Thank you Bonnie for going out of town! =)
I took some videos, but they aren't loading right now. I'll try again later. I got pictures of everyone's solos and most of the numbers. These are just the ones that turned out best:

Jess & Clarice

Melanie and Jess. Jess did the choreographer routine with her, and he did awesome!

Caitlyn and Tadd doing a ballroom routine

Nick and Jess doing a tap number

The circus routine

Caitlyn's solo. Love this shot!

Sasha and Marko doing the soldier returning home routine. Marko was so much better than Alexander!

Tadd's solo. Another awesome shot.

Nick's solo. I didn't think it was possible for feet to move this fast!

Clarice and Jess performed the jail routine. I thought they were better than the original with Chris and Ashley.

Ricky and Sasha doing the Twitch routine.

Ricky and Sasha doing the wall routine. So good!

Marko's solo. Still think he should have come in second!

The incredible champion of the season: Melanie

Everyone in the red door number

Sasha and Melanie doing their warrior routine

SYTYCD Videos

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

I decided just to post the videos separately, if anyone wanted to see them. =) Here is a clip from Melanie and Marko's statue routine:

Here is my favorite Jess and Clarice routine of the season:

Melanie and Ricky dancing "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Listen when they go to either side of the stage in preparation for Melanie's jump. The crowd gets really loud because we all know what's coming next!

Jess' solo. He was a favorite of ours this season. I specifically recorded this for my mom. She loved Jess so much, she stopped watching after he was kicked off.

Magdalyn 7 months

2011-11-15T15:37:00.001-08:00

Magdalyn is 7 months old today. That means she is now closer to turning one than to being a new baby. It also made me realize Kalianna is now closer to 3 than to 2. My beautiful little girls are getting so big! Maggie has become quite mobile. She isn't crawling yet, she hasn't even tried to get up on her knees, but she is scooting, rolling, and wiggling until she gets to her desired destination. We've had to stop putting her in her bouncy chair, as she started to try and climb out of it. She continues to love her saucer though, because she can stand and play the whole time. She is such a funny little goof and always makes us laugh! She has been squealing a lot lately, and tries to talk a lot. I think she may turn out to be just as vocal has her big sister.

Maggie seems to be a very sweet and tender-hearted little girl. I think she is going to be very sensitive. She doesn't like loud noises and gets very upset when anyone is angry. Not with her, but in general. If Kalianna is throwing a tantrum, she cries. Or if Kalianna gets sent to her room for timeout, she cries too. She much prefers everyone to always be happy around her! If people start laughing, especially Kalianna, she will giggle right along. Magdalyn doesn't like loud noises, but she does love to be surprised. Peek-a-boo is one of her favorite games. She loves to pull things over her face and then giggles when we pull it off. Maggie has recently discovered her tongue and she often sticks it out and plays with it, making some pretty awesome faces!

Magdalyn is getting pretty good at sitting up, but she still doesn't seem to like doing it. She can sit up fine on her own, but she will always roll over onto her back or stomach within a couple minutes. Her favorite thing is standing though. Most of the time our arms get tired before her legs do! She doesn't show any interest in moving her legs forward and walking yet though. She just likes to stand. Maggie also loves food! She will eat just about anything I give her to taste. She is loving baby food! Applesauce is one of her favorite foods right now and the only thing she seems to really not like is green beans. It's always fun seeing how Magdalyn differs from her sister at this same age. They have a lot of the same tendencies, but Magdalyn is definitely her own little person.

This is such a Maggie face, I had to add it.

Here she is sitting up on her own.

Helping Grandpa

2011-11-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

Staying at my parent's house last weekend, Kalianna was thrilled to help Grandpa with the leaves. Seriously, this girl LOVES to help anyone with anything! She is such a sweetie! Then Grandpa showed her how to jump in and throw the leaves. She had a ball and we got some great pictures!

Six Month Pictures

2011-11-04T14:43:00.000-07:00

We couldn't afford to pay for someone to do Maggie's six month pictures, so Matt did them this time. He borrowed my parent's nice camera and I think he got some pretty cute shots! Grant it, the subject is super cute! Here are some of our favorites:

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:08:00.001-07:00

Talk about kodak moments. So glad I caught this! I just love Halloween! It has always been one of my favorite holidays. If I had lots of money, or any sort of sewing skills at all, I would dress up every year. I did dress up every year until Kalianna was born. Then any funds and creativity went into creating her costume. And now with Magdalyn too, I spend my time dressing up the two of them instead. I'm totally okay with it though. They look far cuter than I would! Thursday started out our Halloween festivities with trick-or-treating at Matt's work. Kalianna was super excited to wear her pretty Tinkerbell dress and she was very excited that her little sister was a fairy too. She wanted Mommy to put on a fairy costume too. Maybe next time. She also loved that I put a little bit of sparkly makeup on her eyes and cheeks and she got to wear some lip gloss. She was thrilled to get to wear Mommy's makeup! I love that Kalianna really understood Halloween this year and she was really excited about it. Last year she was excited about the candy, but this year she loved everything about Halloween! And I loved watching her get excited.

This morning I made some jack-o-lantern pancakes for breakfast. We put in orange food coloring and I was out of chocolate chips so we opened a couple bags of M&Ms from her treat bowl to make their faces. Kalianna thought they were the coolest thing ever, and she ate every bite. We had a lot of fun making them together. I did the same thing last year, but this year Kalianna was far more excited because she actually knew what a jack-o-lantern was.

Then in the afternoon, while Magdalyn was napping, we carved her pumpkin. I was afraid she would be totally grossed out by the pumpkin guts, but not my girl! She thought it was pretty cool to pull out all the goo and throw it away. I love my brave girl! Then I asked her if she wanted a happy pumpkin or a scary pumpkin. She immediately replied with "Scary!" then she growled. So I googled Jack Skelington and improvised from a picture online. I think he turned out pretty cute! I mean scary. Kalianna was super excited about carving her pumpkin. She loved every minute of it!

Tonight was my ward's annual trunk-or-treat. We've never actually made it before, but this year we were going to be home. And this year Kalianna was actually excited to go. So I got both girls in their costumes and braved it on my own. We had a ball! But my arm was completely dead after holding Maggie for 2 hours! Kalianna loved seeing all the kids in their costumes, and saying trick-or-treat, and of course getting candy. Magdalyn did fantastic! She was happy as could be while we walked around and visited all the cars. This was a super fun Halloween! I love that Kalianna is starting to really get holidays and I look forward to Magdalyn joining in next year.

Time

2011-10-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

This is something I felt like I never had enough of. As I'm sure many of you can relate to. With Matt doing both school and work to take care of our family, we rarely see him. He usually gets home in time to see his girls for maybe an hour a day. Then once they are in bed, he disappears to the basement for homework. He works super hard so that I can stay home with our girls, which I am super grateful for! That being said, most of the other responsibilities fall to me. I take care of the girls from the time they get up around 8:00am until they are both asleep at 9:30pm. I got rid of Kalianna's naptime (she rarely slept anyway) and now she sleeps better at night and no longer has accidents. Between her no longer napping and Matt's work schedule, I have no time to myself until after 10:00pm. It gets exhausting sometimes! On top of taking care of the girls, I take care of all the household chores and any shopping and other errands that need to be done. I also try and write whenever I can. Trying to keep up with everything by myself was really wearing me out! Then I had the opportunity to watch General Conference.

The General Relief Society meeting had a big impact on me. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk! His 5 forget-me-nots really made me stop and think. I was trying to do way too much and this left me feeling stressed instead of happy. I needed to be more patient with myself and realize I didn't have to be super woman. I didn't need to be doing so much. Some of the ways I was spending my time weren't as important as I thought they were. I needed to prioritize. President Uchtdorf got me thinking and then when Elder Andersen spoke in the Saturday afternoon session, he reiterated everything I needed to hear. My absolute favorite part was when he said, "Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps . It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for." That last line really hit home for me. Motherhood is what God gave you time for.

Now I don't want you to think that I was neglecting my kids in any way. But I was trying to be a mother and a writer at the same time. After conference I decided as much as I love writing, and as much as I want to work on my next book, and especially as much as my fans want me to finish my next book, it is nowhere near as important as my two beautiful little girls. I have always put my girls before my writing physically, but sometimes I wasn't with them mentally. Waiting for my next opportunity to sit at my desk, or working through a scene in my mind while playing with them. I am definitely not going to stop writing, but I realized I have my whole life to write. My daughter's lives, on the other hand, are zooming by and how much would I regret it if I missed even a second? So I stopped getting on my computer during the day. I took away that distraction and put 100% of my focus back where it needed to be. And you know what? A huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. The stress of trying to be everything was gone. And instead I can just be the one thing that is most important: A mom. I will continue to write when I find the time, but I don't need to be a successful author right now. The characters in my books will wait. Kalianna and Magdalyn won't. The characters won't age while I am away. My daughters will.

Interview with author Dana Taylor

2011-10-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited this week to introduce you to Dana Taylor. Dana writes uplifting stories filled with inspiration and humor. Born and raised in California, she graduated from the University of Redlands. She has been published in various magazines, including the Ladies Home Journal. She hosted the Internet radio program Definitely Dana! at HealthyLife.net. and won various contests with the Romance Writers of America, including Best First Book from the Desert Quill Awards. Her published works include ROYAL REBEL, AIN’T LOVE GRAND?, HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS, and DEVIL MOON: A MYSTIC ROMANCE. Her non-fiction book is EVER-FLOWING STREAMS OF HEALING ENERGY. Visit her blogsite Supernal Living with Dana Taylor at http://definitelydana.wordpress.com/. She is a founding member of the on-line community SupernalFriends.com and can be reached at SupernalFriends@yahoo.com

Patty’s Angels from HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Prologue Snippet:

Description: Los Angeles, 1960. California is a state of growing contrasts. The suburbs and downtown are only minutes, yet worlds, apart. One little girl changes lives and brings people together, with the help of her celestial best friends.

Setting: A dingy apartment building

The set-up: A down-on-her-luck actress, Geri, encounters a little girl and her mother passing out Christmas bags in the hallway.

The little girl turned and smiled. Geri grabbed the doorjamb to keep from falling at the sight. The child’s blond hair fluffed around her small head like a halo. Her pinafore dress reminded Geri of the dolls in toy store windows. Light seemed to shine from the small body, like Barbara Stanwyck’s sparkly dress in Ball of Fire.

The girl waved, repeating, “Mewwy Chwistmas!”

The mother stood up, turned around and smiled also. Geri shook her head at the sight of this Lee Remick wannabe, dressed in a full skirt, wearing gloves, toting Christmas bags and towing the angelic daughter beside her. What was she thinking coming to a stink hole like this? What a do-gooding idiot. Geri looked down at the tempting bag at her feet. Well, she wasn’t one to turn down free food. She pounced on it.

The woman took a tentative step toward her. “Hello, I’m…”

Geri clutched the bag to her bosom and slammed the door.

She leaned against the dingy wood, reached into the bag, and sank her teeth into the perfect mini loaf of gingerbread. Mmm. Lee sure could bake.

Who were these people? Geri picked up the envelope and opened the holiday card.

Merry Christmas from All Saint’s United Brethren Church. Crayon stars and a childishly scribbled name—Patty--embellished the inside.

Her name was Patty.

1. Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself?

“Fun” facts?? Like I have 11 toes or something?

a. Frank Sinatra’s album “Songs for Swinging Lovers” was my favorite record when I was 3 years old. I played it obsessively. It is still my favorite.

b. I was voted “Most Likely to Suceed” in high school. I am still trying to get there.

c. My only athletic ability is a fair game of ping-pong.

2. How long have you been a writer or known that was something you wanted to do?

I sold my first magazine article to The Ladies Home Journal in 1979. (You do the math!)

3. Tell me about your current project?

HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS features three inspirational, heartwarming short stories. I thought in this dismal economy, people might like some hope for the holidays.

4. Where do you receive your inspiration or ideas for your books?

I think ideas are floating out in some ethereal plane. It’s like going on a mental treasure hunt. Stories often start out as dreams.

5. Why did you choose to self-publish? Or go with the publisher you are with?

I was published by Echelon Press in 2004 with “Ain’t Love Grand?.” I sold a few thousand copies and got some good reviews. Ultimately, I saw that small presses couldn’t get into the brick-and-mortar stores. So I waited, feeling I could find my place in ebook publishing. It’s an astonishing opportunity. My books sell somewhere in the world daily. Amazing!

6. How often do you write?

Sadly, not often enough. It’s all about marketing right now. This summer I divided my time between morning marketing and afternoon writing. I spun out “Patty’s Angels” for the holiday book. I loved it. I hope to dive into a new book in January.

7. Tell us about some of your future projects?

My adventures with my Supernal Friends (see SupernalFriends.com) will undoubtedly influence my future works. I am witnessing some amazing women with gifts of healing. I believe I will be the person to tell their stories.

8. What are some of your favorite books?

“Tattoos on the Heart” by Father Gregory Boyle is my favorite book. He beautifully chronicles what’s important in life after spending three decades working in the barrios of LA. I like books with a mystical touch—“Peace Like A River” by Leif Enger. I also enjoy the whimsical books of Sarah Addison Allen.

9. If you could co-write a book with another author, who would it be?

That’s a hard question! Living or dead? It would be fun to work with Shirley McClain and meet all the fascinating people she knows.

10. Do you have any advice for others who dream of being an author?

Have at least 8 editorial runs and don’t rush to publish.

Magdalyn 6 Months

2011-10-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

My sweet little baby just gets cuter every day, doesn't she? I love that she has such an easy smile! She is so happy and sweet! Today was Magdalyn's 6 month check-up. She is now 26.3 inches tall which is the 73% and she weighs 15 lbs 12 oz which is the 45%. She just keeps climbing up the charts. It's so fun to watch her get bigger, and see the relationship develop between her and Kalianna. They are so cute together!

Magdalyn doesn't really care much for sitting up. She can sort of sit up on her own, but whenever I try and make her sit, she shoots her legs out, arches her back, and tries to stand. She would much rather be standing up! You can tell she is just raring to go. She wants to run around with her sister so badly!

She tried baby food for the first time last week. She has been eating it really well, but she always looks at me funny after the first bite, like she isn't quite sure what's happening. Magdalyn is rolling over like crazy. It's just a matter of time before she figures out crawling. She is so strong! It wouldn't surprise me if she started crawling early.

She loves to make noises and talk to anyone who will listen. She has discovered the dogs and loves it when they pay attention to her. Even though she does love the dogs, Kalianna can bring a smile to her face and make her laugh like no one else can. Kalianna loves to lay in the crib next to her whenever Maggie is playing with her mobile. Then they just lay there and talk to each other and Kalianna will sing for her. It's so sweet!

A Word Problem

2011-10-09T22:40:00.000-07:00

Two girls share a room. One is six months old, the other is two years old. The two year old is prone to night terrors, while the six month old is a very light sleeper.What do you do when the two year old has night terrors and begins screaming in the middle of the night?

Do you remove the two year old, thrashing and kicking, to try and somehow console in hopes that the six month old will remain asleep? While still running the risk of the two year old waking up and peeing on both herself and you? And take into consideration, you have limited time to get her out the door before the six month old wakes up and joins in the screaming.

Or do you remove the six month old from the room, running the risk of her waking up when you grab her and then try and remove her from the room quickly enough that she doesn't wake up from the screaming anyway and have to be fed to go back to sleep? While still running the risk that the two year old will throw herself out of bed and wake up, peeing on herself and the floor and have to be cleaned up.

I never was very good at math.

Interview with author Mike Cooley

2011-10-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Mike is a computer geek working at the headquarters of a large national retailer. He was born in Washington State, went to college in New Mexico, and is now living with one wife and one son in Minnesota. As well as writing fiction, Mike is musician and mountain biker.

Mike’s epic fantasy novel The Crystal Warrior is the story of Larissya, who discovers that her life and destiny is tied to an ancient legend involving six magical crystals. With help from her friends she has to try to save her World from the evil ones known as The Triad. Full of swords, magic, and incredible creatures, The Crystal Warrior is an action-packed page-turner about good and evil, darkness and light, hope and salvation.

1. Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself?

I’m left-handed (despite public schooling), play guitar, and some people call me ‘Z’.

2. How long have you been a writer or known that was something you wanted to do?

In a way I’ve always been writing: short stories, poetry, lyrics, and so on. I only recently finished my first novel. I got hooked on writing in school since I was a voracious reader and didn’t want to take speech class, so I took creative writing instead.

3. Tell me about your current project?

Which one? (I’m terrible at single-tasking). I am currently working on the sequel to The Crystal Warrior. It’s called Crystal Origin, and goes off in exciting new directions. I’m also working on Before The Revolution – 13 Days In Egypt, which is about a trip I took to Egypt in 2010 (non-fiction).

I’m also working on Fade Away, which is a Lovecraftian Horror story.

4. Where do you receive your inspiration or ideas for your books?

Thin air. I never have a shortage of ideas. Just time to write them down.

5. Why did you choose to self-publish? Or go with the publisher you are with?

I wrote a short piece explaining all that. It’s called Traditional Publishing Is My Bitch. It’s free. Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Publishing-inflammatory-remarks-ebook/dp/B005HFQ2JG/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

6. How often do you write?

I try to write every day, but I rarely do (except for blog posting and social media). Because of my work schedule it’s more like three times a week for an hour or two each time.

7. Tell us about some of your future projects?

I covered most of them above. I am always interrupting myself and starting more projects. It’s all I can do to limit my projects to two or three at a time.

8. What are some of your favorite books?

I have so many favorite books! To mention just a few: Lord of Light by Zelazny, Meet Me At Infinity by James Tiptree Jr., Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison (short story anthology), The Man In The High Castle by Phillip K. Dick.

9. If you could co-write a book with another author, who would it be?

James Tiptree Jr. Love her. But she’s dead. She can be my ghost writer.

10. Do you have any advice for others who dream of being an author?

I’m full of it! Here’s a blog post I did about it. It’s called Judgement Is The Mind Killer:

http://mikecooleyfiction.dyndns.org/?p=67

Mike's blog: http://mikecooleyfiction.com

To purchase Mike's book: http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Warrior-Legend-Crystals-ebook/dp/B004RPZRMK/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_4

One Year Mark

2011-10-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Next week will hit the one year mark since "The Princess Sisters" was first published! It has been an exciting journey so far! A little frustrating at times, but overall it has really been a lot of fun. I have learned so much, met so many amazing people, and have become a better writer for it. In honor of my book's anniversary, I am knocking the price of my eBook way down. You can now get it for your Kindle, Nook, or other eReader for only $.99! It will be on sale for the entire month of October, so let everyone know. And thanks to everyone for their support this last year! I could not have done it without you!

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Sisters-ebook/dp/B005D5J3I2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1317664120&sr=8-2

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-princess-sisters-stacy-lynn-carroll/1026238410?ean=2940013162587&itm=2&usri=the%2bprincess%2bsisters

Sony, Ipad, etc: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/79054

Interview with author Katrina Parker Williams

2011-09-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Bio--Katrina Parker Williams teaches English composition and grammar at a community college. She is a Barton College graduate with a B.S. in Communications and a Masters of Education in English from East Carolina University. She is also the author of a short story collection, Trouble Down South and Other Stories, a fictional novel, Liquor House Music, and four short stories, Miss Carmelia Faye Lafayette, Rock, Missus Buck, and Slave Auction.

Her current work is Bootlegger Haze--Buford Tee is back! If you loved Buford Tee in “Rock” and from Trouble Down South and Other Stories, you’re going to love him even more in Bootlegger Haze. One of the biggest colored bootleggers in Mississippi and known for selling the best whiskey in Jones County, Buford Tee learns his craft from his grandfather, who takes him in and raises him after the murder of his mother. His rival, Morris York, a white bootlegger, hates Buford Tee for drawing his customers away, who favor Buford Tee’s top-notch whiskey to York’s watered-down hooch. York’s resentment is also fueled by his recollections of his stepfather’s infidelity with Buford Tee’s mother, a union which resulted in the birth of Buford Tee. York believes his mother, who dies shortly after discovering the affair, died of a broken heart, and he sets out to destroy Buford Tee, although others close to him suffer his wrath.

1. Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself?

I like to paint—watercolors and acrylics are my favorites. I like westerns. I like sour apple candy for some reason.

2. How long have you been a writer or known that was something you wanted to do?

I have been writing most of my life, short stories here and there. It wasn’t until the tenth grade that I gained a great interest in writing after reading some of my favorite authors: Gordon Parks, Harper Lee, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston, etc. I wrote my first novel in 1997, along with some short stories. I spent several years trying to get it published and then decided to self-publish it. I wrote several more short stories and compiled them into a collection and self-published it also.

3. Tell me about your current project.

My current project, Bootlegger Haze, is a novel about a colored bootlegger and a white bootlegger who are linked by infidelity. It is set primarily during the Prohibition Era. It went on sale on September 1, 2011.

4. Where do you receive your inspiration or ideas for your books?

Much of the inspiration for my short stories and novels comes from stories told to me by my mother and other family members. I listen to them at family gatherings and then try to create a story that is my own based on their recollections.

5. Why did you choose to self-publish? Or go with the publisher you are with?

I chose to self-publish because I wanted to make my books available for readers without waiting years for a traditional publisher. I like having full control of what I produce also.

6. How often do you write?

I try to write something every week. I still have my day job, so time for writing like I want is limited.

7. Tell us about some of your future projects?

I am working on a series of short stories and a full-length novel. I hope to have them ready for publication in the next few months.

8. What are some of your favorite books?

I like Sue Monk Kidd’s The Secret Life of Bees, Kathryn Stockett’s The Help, Toni Morrison’s Sula and Beloved, Alice Walker’sThe Color Purple, Gordon Parks’ A Choice of Weapons, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and many more.

9. If you could co-write a book with another author, who would it be?

I would love to work with Toni Morrison. I love her writing style.

10. Do you have any advice for others who dream of being an author?

Just do it (to coin Nike’s phrase). Today, with so many ways to get your work published, there’s no reason not to. Make sure to put your best work out there. It is so rewarding when readers enjoy what you have written. That is the bottom line, isn’t it?

Here are the links to purchase Katrina's work:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_23?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=katrina+parker+williams&sprefix=katrina+parker+williams

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/katrina-parker-williams?store=ebook

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/59331

Our New Addition

2011-09-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

When we started the sticker chart with Kalianna, we made her a deal. Once she went potty in the toilet 10 times, pooped in the toilet 10 times, and stayed dry through the night 10 times, we would take her to the pet store to get a fish. Kalianna LOVES animals, so we knew this was something she would want to work for. And Monday afternoon Kalianna pooped in the toilet for the 10th time! I have to be honest, I thought staying dry in the night would take her the longest, but that was cake compared to pooping.

After dinner that night, we loaded up the girls and went to Petsmart. Kalianna was thrilled! She was so excited to get to pick out her very own fish. We let her choose between the Bettas and she picked a beautiful blue one with red fins. His name is Don. Not sure why or where the name came from, but every time we asked her, she said she wanted to name her fish Don (even before she got him). So we brought Don home and he is now living on the kitchen counter. Kalianna is in love! She can't wait to feed him each morning, and she loves to sit on the counter next to his bowl and talk to him. She even had lunch with him today. She sat by his bowl and told him about her day. Super cute!

As for potty training, here is the latest: she's doing great! We are done with the potty timer, Kalianna tells us when she needs to go now (both potty and poop). Yay! She still occasionally gets tiny droplets on her panties, but for the most part she stays dry all day and night. She is so awesome! It's funny, after I wrote the last post when I was frustrated, she completely turned around and is doing so well now. It was like the moment we brought Don home, she decided to be better. She even had diarrhea the last 2 days and did not have a single accident. Now that's saying something! And yesterday when I was nursing Maggie, she went all by herself! She wouldn't even let me in until she was done to help her wash her hands. I am so proud of my girl!

Interview with author Cindy C Bennett

2011-09-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

I met Cindy through an LDS authors group we both belong to and I can tell you right now, she is amazing! We have done a couple book signings together, and she is not only an amazing writer, but she's also a great person. She is the one who helped me get my book into Ebook format and now you can purchase it on Kindle and Nook and basically anywhere else. I have read Cindy's "Heart on a Chain" and loved it! It is a tear-jerker and hard to read in some places, with the abuse Kate has to endure, but I would highly recommend it. Her debut novel "Geek Girl" is being re-released in December and I can't wait to read it! Enough from me, on with the interview.

Cindy C Bennett was born and raised in beautiful Salt Lake City. She lives with her husband, and is the mom of four humans and three dogs. Her two daughters keep her writing with their constant encouragement. Her two sons keep her writing with their willingness to read her books—even if they aren’t fantasy, sci-fi, or comics! She volunteers her time working with teen girls between the ages of 12-18, all of whom she finds to be beautiful, fascinating creatures. When she’s not writing, reading or answering emails she can often times be found riding her Harley through the beautiful canyons near her home.

Heart on a Chain by Cindy C Bennett

17-year-old Kate has lived her whole life in abject poverty, with an alcoholic father and drug-addicted mother, who severely abuses Kate. At school, her second-hand clothing marks her as a target. Her refusal to stand up for herself makes her the recipient of her classmates taunts and bullying. That is, until Henry returns. Henry Jamison moved away six years earlier, just as he and Kate had begun to develop feelings for one another. He returns to find the bright, funny, outgoing girl he had known now timidly hiding in corners, barely speaking to anyone around her, suspicious of even him. Kate can't figure out what game Henry is playing with her - for surely it is a game. What else would the gorgeous, popular boy from her past want with her? Kate finally decides to trust Henry's intentions, opening her heart to him. Just when it seems he might be genuine in his friendship, tragedy strikes, threatening everything Kate has worked so hard to gain. Can Henry help her to overcome this new devastation, or will it tear them apart forever?

1. Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself?

a. I really love vegetables, and don’t care much for fruit. There are exceptions to both, of course, but I prefer veggies over almost anything (except chocolate and vine fresh tomatoes – my favorite fruit).

b. Taking a long (3-4 hour) bath with a book, candles, and chocolate is one of my favorite luxuries.

c. I’m a huge Disney fan—Disneyland(!), movies, characters, cartoons, decorations, anything Disney is pretty thrilling to me.

2. How long have you been a writer or known that was something you wanted to do?

My whole life, really, ever since I was about 12 or 13. I’ve always loved to create, and to make up stories. In high school, I had an amazing English teacher who really made it clear that writing was what I wanted to do. But I always felt unprepared or unworthy even, to be a writer, even though I believed I had the talent for it. It took a long time for me to get enough courage to give it a try. Now I wish I had started sooner!

3. Tell me about your current project?

I’m currently writing a book that is really far outside my usual writing area. It’s still YA, but has an edge of paranormal to it. It’s about a small town girl, Niahm Parker, seemingly content with her life, until Sam Coleman moves into town. She finds herself drawn to him, even though he irritates her. As they grow closer, she begins to suspect there is something a little unusual about him—and she’s right, of course. I promise, though, that he isn’t a vampire!

4. Where do you receive your inspiration or ideas for your books?

Different places. It can be an overheard snippet of a conversation, or a line from a song, or a dream, or just looking at someone, wondering what their story is, then imagining it from there. Sometimes I’ll just hear the story of an incident from someone’s childhood, and a story is born in my head. I have many, many stories in there just waiting to be set free. :o)

5. Why did you choose to self-publish? Or go with the publisher you are with?

I can answer this question both ways. I originally chose to self-publish because I had queried countless agents, and had received countless rejections. Those are painful! I was introduced to the idea of self-publishing by a fellow author, and it just felt right. I’ve always been a do-it-myselfer anyway. After I self-published Geek Girl, it just kind of sat. And sat. I had no idea how to market. So I began looking for publishers who would accept previously published works without an agent. That meant going with a small press. In the meantime, I self-published Heart on a Chain, which also didn’t move much. Cedar Fort was the first to respond to my queries for Geek Girl, so I signed. The weird thing is, as soon as I signed and took it off sale, sales for Heart on a Chain really took off. Had I received the query for them a month—or even two weeks—later, I likely wouldn’t have signed. I’m glad I did though. I’ve been able to work with some great editors, and I’m excited to see what happens once they release the book. Egotistically, it will be cool to see it on a bookstore shelf.

6. How often do you write?

I write something every day. It can either be something on one of my books (which is what I try for!) or something for my blog, something on a website somewhere answering questions, posing questions, or answering interview questions. :o) I need to write every day. If I can’t for some reason, I feel a little stir crazy.

7. Tell us about some of your future projects?

I have several ideas, so I usually start the one that seems most exciting to me at the time I’m ready to begin. I think my next project is going to be a series of short stories, published as ebooks one at a time, and when they are all finished, I’ll publish them together as one book, available both in print and ebook form. I can’t really tell you what it’s about just yet, but will once I begin. (How’s that for cryptic?)

8. What are some of your favorite books?

Sheesh, the list is long. I’ll try to condense to some of my very most favorites. My number one all-time favorite book and guilty pleasure is Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale. I read that a few times a year. I go into withdrawals if t’s been too long. Don’t you love books like that? I also love the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson, The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, the Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean Auel, Edge of Escape by Debra Chapoton, The Bounds series by Jeffery Moore, Hidden Heart by Camelia Miron Skiba, Unloveable by Sherry Gammon, Dragon Eyes by Stephen King, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, the Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz, the Miss Mary Pennynickle series by James DeSalvo, Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare. . . I could go on, but I’ll stop.

9. If you could co-write a book with another author, who would it be?

Oddly enough, Stephen King would be my choice. I think he’s intelligent, interesting, fascinating, has a good grasp on how the art of writing, and I would really love to see how he creates, the process behind his warped mind.

10. Do you have any advice for others who dream of being an author?

If you have a passion for it, then go for it. Write what you find interesting, write characters that you love (even if it’s the villain), make sure you edit, edit, edit, and take advice from others on how to improve your writing. Make sure before you begin that you have a basic understanding of grammar and punctuation.

These are all the places you can find Cindy, or purchase one of her books:

Website: http://www.cindycbennett.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorcindycbennett

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/cinbennett

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4116333.Cindy_C_Bennett

BookBlogs: http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/cindycbennett809

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Chain-Cindy-C-Bennett/dp/1456492411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316673701&sr=1-1

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-on-a-chain-cindy-c-bennett/1103651177?ean=9781456492410&itm=1&usri=heart%2bon%2ba%2bchain

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/37566

Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/3535361

Interview with author Laura Yirak

2011-09-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

Along this fun journey of becoming a published author, I have met some amazing people! It's really been awesome to see how authors support and help each other out, as we each try and promote our books. Because really, we can't do it all on our own. The only way for people to find out about good books is by suggestions from their friends (hint hint). So I decided to start interviewing a new author each week. I know a lot of you love to read, so check out my blog each week for some great book suggestions and get to know the wonderful people behind them. And here is my first author spotlight! Drumroll please...

Laura Yirak

1. Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.

I'm very tall, I love aerobics, and I drink tea most of the day.

2. How long have you been a writer or known that was something you wanted to do?

I took a creative writing class in college and loved it. I started with poetry and have advanced to longer works.

3. Tell us about your current project.

I just released my new series, The Adventures of Be Boo & Dolly. Be Boo is a little blue dragon with green eyes and Dolly is a little pink doll with pink hair and a very pink dress. They work together to figure out their daily adventures. This series has three books, "Indoors", "Outdoors", and "Seasons". "Seasons" is free on Smashwords, see link below.

4. Where do you receive your inspiration or ideas for your books?

For this series, I was inspired by my little ones, who love it when I tell stories. I just put them to paper.

5. Why did you choose to self-publish?

It's easy and I love the freedom of it with no deadlines.

6. How often do you write?

I write M-F 2 hours/day.

7. Tell us about some of your future projects.

I am currently working on a longer novel- a psycho-thriller.

8. What are some of your favorite books?

I love the Thorn Birds and The Chronicles of Amber.

9. If you could co-write a book with another author, who would it be?

Anyone from IWU =)

(For those of you who don't know, this stands for Indie Writers Unite. A group that both Laura and I belong to.)

10. Do you have any advice for others who dream of being an author?

I say go for it! Now is the time!

If you are interested, here is Laura's blog: http://dreamsofdiamondsauthor.blogspot.com/

Find Be Boo and Dolly on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Boo-Dolly-Outdoors-ebook/dp/B005KK8GNI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316810681&sr=8-1

Or for free on Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/90115

Where were you...

2011-09-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

when the world stopped turning? I realize September 11th was last week, but I have been reflecting on that fateful day and the ten years that have passed since. I was 17 and had just started my senior year of high school. I decided to go back and look at my journal from that year, wondering what I'd written that day. Well, I missed that day but wrote about the attacks 4 days later. This is what I wrote:

"On Tuesday, the 11th of September a very terrible thing happened. Some terrorists hijacked 4 airplanes (with lots of passengers) and ran two of them into the twin towers in New York. Another went into the Pentagon in New York (I know this isn't accurate, but that's what I wrote), and the last one was headed for the White House but some brave passengers stopped it and it crashed somewhere in Pennsylvania. Thousands of innocent people were murdered, and everything in all 50 states (including airports) shut down for a few days. This could be the start of world war 3. It is a very serious thing. It is even worse than Pearl Harbor. Next Saturday is Homecoming. I want to go so bad!!!"

Yes, I went from the attacks to Homecoming in the same paragraph. It's like, "Yeah this big thing happened, but now back to my life and my own trivial things." I seriously could not believe that was all I had written! Although, as a little 17 year old, I don't think I really realized the enormity and tragedy of that day. The whole thing seemed surreal and far away from me. It was hard to imagine it as an actual event, rather than some horrible movie they kept playing over and over on TV. I want to write, for my own records, what that day was like for me. So if you're bored already, feel free to skip.

I remember rolling out of bed that morning and barely being ready as my ride pulled up. Suzy Christensen and her dad gave me a ride to school every morning. The first thing she said to me when I got in the car was, "Did you hear about the airplane crash?" Still half asleep I, of course, had no clue what she was talking about. I only half listened as they repeated things they had seen on the news. I thought it was some little private airplane and maybe 1 or 2 people had died. And I am embarrassed to say I had no clue what or where the twin towers were. And I thought the crash was an accident. I had no idea what I was about to walk into at school! Everyone was in a frenzy talking over the situation and that's when I first knew something serious was going on. I got to my 1st period English class was Mrs. Trelease and everyone was so riled (including her) that she didn't make us have class that day. She turned on the TV instead and we began watching the news coverage. That's when I saw it. A dark shape came from off camera and headed straight for the other tower. I thought it was a bird at first, but then it crashed into the second tower and with lots of smoke and fire, the second tower fell. Everyone in my class gasped. No one could believe what we were seeing! No actual school work was done that day. Each class turned into a discussion over that mornings events and we spent the whole day with the news on, trying to grasp what was actually happening in New York.

Like I said before, I knew it was a big deal, but I didn't actually grasp the severity of the situation. Then a year later when I was a nanny in Virginia, I took a train to New York City one Saturday. I got it after that. Being at ground zero a little less than a year later was a very emotionally heavy experience. There was a huge hole in the ground where the two towers once stood. A fence went all the way around the edge and people had turned the fence into a tribute. There were pictures, stories, ribbons, flowers, and teddy bears attached to the fence in memory of all those people who had died. There were also stands near the fence with people selling things (a little tacky, yes) but I bought the picture at the top there.

It's so crazy to believe ten years have passed since that day! I helped Matt in his primary class last Sunday and one of the boys said he was born 2 days after 9/11. So weird to me that these 10 year old kids knew the story of that day, but none of them were even alive for it!

Where were you that day? I hope each of you have written it down somewhere so you can remember all the details. And hopefully you wrote a little more than a desire to go to Homecoming.

Magdalyn 5 Months

2011-09-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

My sweet little baby is now 5 months old! She just gets sweeter, and more giggly, and cuter every single day! She now rolls over constantly. If you lay her down, she will be on her stomach within minutes. Though she can't figure out how to return to her back yet. She is super strong and can straighten her arms completely, to hold her upper half up when she's on her stomach. She is working hard to get those knees up under herself and it's just a matter of time before she is crawling all over the place. She has also found her toes and loves to grab her feet and play with them. She giggles all the time and is starting to get ticklish. Love it! If everyone around her starts laughing, she will laugh too. It's so funny! But she also has become a little more sensitive to noise lately. She does not like things to be loud, especially if they catch her off guard.

I also gave her her first taste of rice cereal this last week. Kalianna, of course, had to help. Magdalyn was intrigued by it. She opened her mouth and accepted each bite, and seemed to really like it. It will be fun to introduce her to new foods next month and see how she takes to each of those as well!

Potty Training Blues

2011-09-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

Kalianna was ready to potty train before I was. I've assisted with potty training kids back when I was a nanny, so I know how time consuming it is. I didn't think there was any way I could do it with a little baby who needs lots of time and attention of her own. But Kalianna was ready so I half-heartedly took her to the store to get panties and a couple seats to fit on the bigger toilets. She did really well, but since I didn't throw myself into it like I should have, I would put her in pull-ups anytime we left the house. Stupid! Pretty soon she didn't want to wear panties anymore cause she realized pull-ups were the same things as diapers and she could go anytime, anywhere. I gave up and just had her wear pull-ups 24/7.

About a month later I realized I was being stupid and selfish and I needed to give Kalianna the time and attention she deserved. So we got rid of the pull-ups completely, went back to panties, and pretty much did nothing for 3 days except go to the bathroom. I set the timer for every 30 minutes and she had a sticker chart to win her special prize. I did everything right this time. I put 100% of my focus on Kalianna for those 3 days. The first day she had several accidents, but I never gave up on her this time. The second day only a couple accidents, and by the third day she was golden! If she started having an accident, she would stop herself and only get a couple drops on her panties. She started getting better at telling me when she had to go, and we were able to move the timer back to every hour.

She has even kept her panties dry all night since that first night. She has even woken me up in the middle of the night a couple times saying, "Mommy, need to go potty in toilet". I am so impressed with her! She still has trouble pooping in the toilet, but I know that takes a lot longer for kids to get comfortable doing. So I try my best to encourage her, and she has to clean up her own messes each time there is an accident.

Then this last week she has given up. She has multiple accidents a day, and doesn't seem to care in the least little bit. She won't even tell me if she is wet, she just keeps right on playing as if nothing is wrong until I notice her wet pants and make her change. She has told me the last couple days that she wants to wear diapers or pull-ups again. She doesn't try and stop herself, she doesn't tell me when she needs to go, she still has to clean up her own messes but this doesn't even seem to faze her. She doesn't mind being wet or dirty and she very matter-of-factly will clean up the floor or chair or whatever, change her clothes, and then keep on going as if nothing happened. I am at a complete loss! I don't understand why she doesn't care anymore? We still use the timer and have "potty time", I still get excited with each success, and she still has her sticker chart. Did any of you ever experience this with your children when potty training? Is this just a weird phase? Cause I can work through it if it's just a phase that will pass. I am just so frustrated right now! I know she can do it, but how do I get her to want to again?

Book Trailer!

2011-09-07T11:15:00.000-07:00

Check out my new book trailer!

Sweetness

2011-08-30T23:14:00.001-07:00

I love how sweet Kalianna is to her baby sister! And Magdalyn just loves watching her big sister's every move. I know they will fight on occasion, as siblings do. But I can tell already just how much they love each other and I hope as Magdalyn continues to grow, they will be good friends.

The other night we were gathered on our bed, getting ready for scripture study, when Kalianna bent down and whispered "I love you Maggie". Then she kissed her sister on the head. It was so sweet! Matt and I looked at each other and smiled. I could tell we were thinking the same thing. "You want a pony? Okay! I'll buy you a pony!" Seriously. It was so cute, we would have given that girl anything she wanted!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2011-08-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Last week was our ward's annual swim party. Kalianna got some fairy tattoos from her grandma so I thought this would be the perfect night to wear them. Kali picked out which one she wanted each of us to wear and she giggled as I put them on. She has been showing them off to everyone ever since. She especially loves to point out that even Magdalyn has a Tinkerbell fairy on her arm.

Her eyes got so wide when the flash went off, it makes her look terrified!

Kalianna's new favorite thing at bath time is having me style her hair after we put shampoo in it. Here she is sporting a lovely mohawk. I hand her a little hand mirror when I am done, and she looks at herself and just laughs and laughs.

Magdalyn 4 Months

2011-08-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

Magdalyn had her four month check up today. She now weighs 13 lbs 8 oz and is 24.61 inches tall. Still taller than she is big, but both are 40% and 60% so she is pretty average. Her head however remains in the 4%. She has a very cute, petite little noggin. Kalianna at this same age was taller and weighed less. Several people have commented these last couple weeks on how much Magdalyn is starting to fill out. You should see her thighs! They are super cute and chunky!

She hasn't changed too much since last month. She is still super sweet and easy-going. She loves to be around lots of people. She will happily play on her blanket and observe while everyone moves around her. She is starting to become very interested in toys. Now that she can hold them. Especially the ones that make fun noises. She also loves being sung to. Kalianna will sing to her when she is sad, and it is so sweet! Whenever Mommy or Kalianna sings to her, she calms right down and is super happy again.

Bear Lake

2011-08-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Bear Lake with Matt's family. His parents have a timeshare so we all met up there Friday night and stayed until Sunday evening. His aunt Becky and her family and their grandparents joined us. The lake is really high this year, so unfortunately we couldn't go to the beach. But the condos had a really nice pool, which the girls loved! We had a nice relaxing weekend of hanging out, playing games, and watching movies.

Playing by and in the pool

Playing with aunt Miranda

Playing games outside

I asked Matt to take some pictures of his family...this is what I got

I gave him another chance

Swinging in Grandpa's sling

Summer Fun!

2011-08-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to play catch-up lately, so I decided to just combine my last several posts. Get ready for a lot of pictures!

I love summer time! I love that the girls and I have been able to have play dates with friends, and go visit places together. We have spent a lot of the summer in Kalianna's pool in the backyard, and at tumbling. But here are a couple other places we've been.

Pedicures with Mommy:

Grandma's house, eating popsicles with her cousins:

Gateway Discovery with her cousins:

Wheeler Farm with some old roommates and their kids:

Tumbling

2011-08-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

Almost since Kalianna learned to walk, she has been jumping and somersaulting and climbing on everything. She is very active and has no fear! Matt and I kept saying how we needed to find her a tumbling class or something. We knew she would excel in an environment like that. So after she turned two, and things calmed down with Magdalyn, I started looking around. I found this place called My Gym that offers a tumbling class for 2-3 year olds and they had a free two week trial. I figured why not give it a try - it's free.

I took Kalianna to her first class at the beginning of the summer and I knew we would be signing up in the first ten minutes. We walked into the gym, Kalianna took one look at all the mats, bars and trampolines and she squealed and started jumping up and down. She ran for the gate and was ready to go! Once we got her shoes off and entered the gym, she was all grins and giggles as she ran from one thing to the next, trying everything out. Climbing up and over and through and bouncing off one thing after another. Class started and she had a hard time with the structure at first. She did not want to sit on the mat and warm up when she still had things to explore! But after that first class, she has gotten the hang of everything and she does fantastic! The teachers who work there are amazing with the little kids and the classes are absolutely perfect for the short attention span of a 2-year-old.

The most awesome part is during the summer they have unlimited classes. So I can bring Kalianna almost every single day of the week and we only pay the small fee for the one class she is officially signed up for. They also have free play several days during the week, where she can go and just play for an hour. So technically I can bring her twice a day for the price of a one day a week class. They also rearrange the gym every week, so the kids get to explore something new each time they come. It has been such a fun thing for us to do this summer! It gets us out of the house, Kalianna gets exercise, and she is learning and making friends at the same time. Matt was able to come with us to free play last Monday since he had work off, so I was finally able to get some pictures! I didn't get everything, but I got enough to give you an idea of how much fun she has.

The ball pit. Kalianna loves to stand on the edge and jump in, then bury herself in the balls.

Climbing. They climb up this ladder built into the wall and touch the tape at the top. Kali did this on her first try. The girl amazes me with her athleticism!

Monkey bars. Still trying to master these. Her arms aren't quite long enough yet to do them without help.

The unparalleled bars. She uses the padding to climb up one of the sides, then she grabs the top bar and swings for a minute before dropping onto the mat. She saw a couple older kids doing it once at free play and immediately joined in.

The ladder walk. She loves this! Having to climb up one box, walk across a ladder a couple feet off the ground, then jump down on the other side. I think she is a monkey. I really do.

The trampoline. Another favorite almost since she could walk. And thanks to Grandpa and Grandma's Christmas present last year, she seriously flies on these things.

Sledding down the ramp. They have all kinds of "rides" they set up for the kids each week.

Magdalyn 3 Months

2011-08-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy couple of weeks, so I know I am totally behind on this! Magdalyn is the calmest, happiest baby I have ever met! And I am not the only one who thinks so. It's not just a case of proud-mommy syndrome (which I do have). People at church ask me all the time if she has ever cried. The other moms at tumbling talk about her frequently (or so I have been told) and many of them have said, "I would have another baby if I could be guaranteed one like her." On July 15th, when she was exactly 3 months, I was at a book signing boutique all day. I was there all the next day too and Magdalyn spent both days with me. The other authors could not believe what a content little baby she was. She was perfectly happy laying on her blanket and playing for hours at a time. Everyone wanted to hold and snuggle her (she loves to snuggle!) and I had several offers to be my new babysitter.

Magdalyn loves to look around and take everything in. If we are watching a movie, she has to be facing the TV, just because she can tell something is going on. Bath time is one of her favorite things in the world! She kicks and splashes and goes crazy as soon as she gets in water. She also loves to watch her mobile. She enjoys being on her feet, you can tell she can't wait until she can run and play like her sister. It is very easy to get her to smile. With Kalianna, you had to work to earn her smiles. But Magdalyn loves to show off her gummy grin. She is such a sweet little girl! I honestly can't believe she was only born 3 short months ago. I can't imagine our family without her!

Binky Fairy

2011-07-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's official. We are now a binky-free house! A couple weeks ago Kalianna got a visit from the Binky Fairy. We got the idea from a friend of mine, and we really liked it. First I spent the day scouring the house for spare binkies. I threw away all of Magdalyn's while Kalianna was napping. Maggie doesn't take them, so I wanted them out of the house. I knew Kalianna had five. I found four of them. I searched and searched and couldn't find the last one. So I figured we had left it at my parents and would dispose of it later. We spent all day talking about the Binky Fairy and how she would leave Kali a present for her binkies.

Finally after dinner, the moment had arrived. We got a pink gift bag out and put it on Kalianna's bed. She said good bye to each of her binkies with one final suck, then spit them into the bag and said bye-bye. Then I took the girls out to run errands and when we got home, there was a cute stuffed elephant in place of her binkies. Kali was ecstatic! She loves elephants! She hugged him and played with him all evening. Then came the dreaded bedtime. She asked for her binkies and when I reminded her that the binkies went bye-bye and now she had elephant instead, she cried. A lot. Poor thing! But she did hug her elephant and went to bed snuggling him. She woke up a couple times that first night, unable to get herself back to sleep without the binky. So I went in and sang to her and she fell asleep again.

She did so great the next couple days! She rarely asked for them and when I reminded her of the binky fairy, she would hug her elephant and be happy again. Then we walked to a neighborhood dinner. That last little binky had been hiding under the stroller and, of course, Kalianna was the first to see it. She was thrilled! Darn that last binky! So...the Binky Fairy came again that night. This time bringing Kalianna a stuffed cat and some M&Ms. She was thrilled all over again! This time she realized the binky was leaving for good. So there were a lot less tears. Now she had an elephant, a cat, and chocolate!

There are still some days I wish she had her binky. Especially at nap and night times. But I really am glad it's gone! No more trying to find it and no more hassle. She hasn't asked for it in awhile now. She still has some restless nights, but most of the time she is just moving and making noise in her sleep. So not having it doesn't keep her up, it keeps me up. But she has been doing better and better. My little girl is growing up!

Book Signing Boutique

2011-07-21T23:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I was invited to participate in a yard sale/boutique/book signing event. I only had five copies of my book left and I didn't have time to order more. I wasn't sure if it would be worth it and almost didn't participate. But then I decided why not? Every time I have done a book signing with other authors, it has turned into a great experience! Even if I don't sell a single book, I get to meet other authors and always end up learning something new. It doesn't matter how many books I sell. Even selling one copy to someone who might not normally hear about it is worth it to me! So I found people to watch Kalianna for me all day Friday and Saturday, then I got up Friday morning and headed to the boutique. I was looking at my map, unsure of where to go next, when I was met by flashing lights in my mirror. Awesome. I've never been pulled over in my life! Of course it would be on my way to a book signing, when I was already running late. I was apparently speeding in a school zone. School shouldn't even be going in July! Whatever. I ended up with my first ticket ever. Way lame! I felt totally stupid. I don't ever speed! Especially in a school zone. And what a bad way to start my day! Oh well. I got there and set up and enjoyed visiting with the other authors. Magdalyn came with me, since she needs me every 3 hours to survive. She did so good! Maggie is seriously the happiest baby I have ever seen! She is so chill, people kept asking if she ever cries. Everyone absolutely loved her and it was fun having some one-on-one time with her. It started to get really hot late in the afternoon, even under our tent, so we closed shop a tiny bit early.

Then the next day we did it all again. I sold all five of my books in those two days, making just enough to pay off my speeding ticket. But I learned so much from the other authors, I don't even care! I made some great new friends who taught me so much already! And we had a blast visiting and sharing our experiences with each other for two days. I would do the whole thing all over again in a heartbeat!

The other authors who were there were Cindy C Bennett, Sherry Gammon, Anna del C Dye, A.M. Hooper, and Mandi Slack. The only problem with doing a book signing with so many other authors is now I want to read each of their books. That's a lot more to buy!

After hearing some of the experiences other authors have had with publishing houses, I am so happy I self-published! Sometimes I wonder if it is worth all the work, and then I talk to a "traditionally" published author. Nine times out of ten, they are unhappy with their publisher and wish they were in my shoes.

So after talking with these other authors, I went home and wrote this:

I'll huff and I'll puff...

Maybe it's because the 3 little pigs is my daughter's favorite story right now, but I spent the weekend with several other authors (some self-published and some published through big publishing houses) and now I can't get thoughts of the big bad wolf out of my head. Let's face it. We, as authors, are all just like these little piggies. We just want to make our own way in this world, set up houses for ourselves, and live happily ever after. But the big bad wolf of publishing doesn't want that. They want to knock down our work, watch us run away squealing, and then gobble us up.

Take pig number one for example. This pig is a little naive and possibly unaware of the wolf's intentions. The wolf takes advantage of this pig any chance he gets. This piggy is like many authors out there who sign a contract with the first publishing house who will take them, thrilled to be getting published at all. Saying, "Hey! A straw house--sounds awesome! It won't take long to put up, nor much work on my part. Now I can go play!" Then they read the fine print. They are locked in with this publishing house for life, unable to submit work anywhere else. They make almost nothing from royalties, while their publisher racks in the dough. And they don't even have a marketing package with their contract, so their book isn't being promoted the way it should be. The first rainfall hits and they realize their house was cool in theory, but now they are left with nothing more than a mushy pile of straw.

Pig number two has done his homework. He knows sticks are thicker and stronger than straw, but he maybe doesn't know how to make his house completely secure. He has a lawyer read over his contract and doesn't sign until he feels good about the deal he is getting, but he still doesn't have rights to his own book. He can't sell or promote his own work without first clearing it with his publisher and they get to make changes to his story that maybe he doesn't want in there. It only takes an extra blow or two, and his house gets knocked down, just like his brother's.

Then there is little piggy number three. He spends a lot more of his own money, and he has to work three times harder than the first two pigs, but once his house of brick is complete, he is able to relax by the fireplace and turn up his music to block out the sound of a wolf howling at his door. All the other pigs called him crazy when he said he was going to self-publish. "Why do all that extra work? If you build a simpler home, you can spend the rest of the day playing with us! Besides, do you know how much bricks cost?!" But it always ends the same. The third little pig is the happiest, and he always ends up helping the other pigs out when their houses come tumbling down.

July 4th Festivities - Horseback Riding/First Movie

2011-07-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm including this with the July 4th stuff because to me it was all one long weekend of fun. After the BBQ Monday night, Ricci invited us to go horseback riding with she and her mom Tuesday morning. Her grandpa has horses, and Kalianna has been obsessed with horses lately. We had talked about doing it, and with her mom in town from Georgia, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. So instead of driving all the way home that night, we stopped at my parent's house and put the girls to bed there instead. Since we hadn't planned on staying the night, Matt continued home to pick up clothes, diapers, and the dogs for the next day. He ended up driving to Layton and back twice that night to make sure we had everything for the following morning. He is such a sweetheart! I fell asleep after his first trip, or I would have discouraged him from going back again! Tuesday morning I had to wake the girls up, but Kalianna was super excited when I told her where we were going.

We got there and at first Kalianna was really nervous. She said "no like big horse". She loves horses, but this was her first time (that she could remember) seeing them up close. But once she pet one and saw how nice they were, she seemed okay. Ricci's grandpa has a really old horse named Barney who is super sweet. He loves to snuggle and be pet. And he loved Kalianna! He kept following her around and trying to snuggle up to her. She enjoyed petting Barney and warmed up to him pretty quick. Then Ricci got on Snap to go for a ride. Kalianna almost fell out of my arms trying to get to her! She was super worried for Ricci! We put her on the horse with Ricci and they rode around together, and she was fine after that. As soon as we tried to take her off the horse, and she realized Ricci wasn't getting off too, she became hysterical. We let her feed a couple of the horses some carrots and she really liked that! Then when Mommy went for a ride, it was the same thing all over again. She was fine as long as she was on the horse with me. But me being on the horse by myself, she was terrified for my safety! It was like she was trying to protect us. If she was with us, we were okay. Funny girl!

We went back to my parents house and fed the girls lunch, then some much-needed naps. Matt and I decided to take advantage of the rare opportunity of the girls being at my parent's house and we had leftover breast milk from Saturday with us, so we decided to stay another night and go on a much needed date. He took me to a yummy dinner at Red Lobster and then we went for a drive. We wanted to do a movie too, but we got a late start and with Magdalyn's feeding schedule, none of the ones we wanted to see worked out. So we drove up to Layton to get more stuff to get us through the next day. It was nice getting some alone time for once!

Wednesday the girls and I hung out at the house and took it easy. Ricci was there too. After several nights in a row of being up too late, the girls finally got a good nights sleep. Once Kalianna went down for a nap, Ricci and I worked on cards for card group. That afternoon, my parents wanted to take the grand kids to a movie. Kalianna had never been to a movie before. Ever. She is a very active little girl and doesn't sit still for very long. So I wasn't sure how she would do having to sit still in a theater for over an hour. But I figured it was worth a shot. And it seemed like an opportune time to try it, since there were seven adults for the five kids. Logan and Bryan got off work in time to join us. Poor Matt had to work late. =( So it was my parents, Logan, Kristine, and their 3 boys, plus Bryan, Ricci, me, and the 2 girls.

We went and saw Cars 2. It went about how I expected. Grandpa bought some popcorn and icees for the kids. Kalianna enjoyed her snacks and sat on my lap through the previews, commenting on each one. My mom held Maggie the whole time. Who was actually awake and wide-eyed for most of it. Now normally I think bringing a baby to the movies is stupid, but I wanted to be there for Kalianna's first movie, and I figured she would do the best with me anyway. So I chose to be selfish and took Magdalyn along. She was great though!

Cars is one of Kali's favorite movies at home, but we only watch about 20-30 minutes of it at a time. So about 20 minutes into the movie she said "All done" and tried to get down. Grandpa took her for a walk and then they came back a little bit later. She really didn't like the loud explosions and blowing stuff up (it's a spy movie). She kept saying "No like fireworks". She did pretty well, we took a couple more walks during the movie, but I think she did well for her first time. Especially taking into consideration her attention span for movies. By the end she was very ready to go. But all the next day she kept saying "go see Cars", so I know she liked it. Cars 2 was definitely for an older audience than the first one, so I'm sure that added to it as well. When we got back to my parent's, I fed Magdalyn and Matt helped Bryan with some stuff, getting us home late once again. We've just been home the last two days, and although we had a ton of fun, it's so nice to be back to our normal routines again!

July 4th Festivities - BBQ

2011-07-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

We had no plans for July 4th up until a couple days before. So we were thrilled when my sister asked if we wanted to come over for a BBQ. We were all a bit off on Sunday since we had gotten home so late. Then we were busy all day Monday getting things done and running errands. Monday afternoon we headed down to Eagle Mountain and joined the rest of my family at Kristine and Logan's house for a yummy BBQ. The little kids played in the pool and with water balloons while the older kids (aka adults) ate yummy food and talked about So You Think You Can Dance. Kalianna absolutely loves playing with her cousins! She was so excited to have so many kids to play with! She especially seems to love Cagney, who is actually my six-year-old cousin. Cagney plays really cute with her and helps her with everything.

After dinner, a bunch of us walked down to the park and watched while the little ones continued to play. Kalianna was the youngest one there (not counting the babies). She just loved chasing the big kids all over. They would run off and do something and she would chase after them, with all her little two-year-old might saying, "go with kids". She had an absolute ball!

When it started to get dark, we headed back to their house for fireworks. Kalianna loves to watch the fireworks, but she really doesn't like how loud some of them are. She started out with headphones on, to hopefully help some of the problem, but after one really big one went off, she was done. She kept saying, "No like fireworks!" She didn't mind watching them a little bit from the kitchen window, but she didn't care much either way. She preferred playing with Cagney in the basement with all her cousin's toys.

July 4th Festivities - Stadium of Fire

2011-07-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

What started out as a simple weekend, turned into one adventure after another for our little family. We ended up having a super fun weekend (week) but it's nice to be home now!

Saturday night Ricci and I went to Stadium of Fire again this year. Brad Paisley was performing, so we really didn't have a choice in the matter. Brad Paisley is one of my favorite country singers and he is actually the one who got me into country music in the first place. I always hated country until someone played me a couple of Brad's songs one day. Shortly after, I moved to Logan to attend USU and learned how to western swing. The rest is history. So I was super excited when Ricci told me who was performing this year! David Archuleta also performed, and although he has a really good voice, I don't know any of his songs. I was there to see Brad!

Saturday ended up being a super crazy day! We finally headed down to Provo around 5:00 and grabbed arches on the way. We met Bryan and Ricci at their apartment. Matt and Bryan watched the girls while Ricci and I went to party. Don't we have the best husbands? I scarfed my dinner and then we met up with my parents to carpool to the stadium. We didn't have seats together, but we figured why bring two cars? We parked about a mile from the stadium (closer than last year) and got into our seats just in time for it to start.

They had some awesome parachuters land right on the field this year. The last one, however, biffed it. Poor guy! How embarrassing would that be?! He was super graceful until the very end. He took out a person and a railing when he hit the ground. Then the military rushed over to rescue the american flag he was carrying. The fly-over is always cool, but I have to admit, since moving to Layton they don't thrill me like they used to. Then the dancers started and then some local entertainment.

Finally David Archuleta came out and performed a few songs. Ricci and I were sitting in an area surrounded by David fans. Tons of teenage girls and little families, all singing along. Ricci and I enjoyed his performance, but we couldn't join in with the singing. He seems like a cute kid. Still a bit awkward on stage, but cute. Then Brad came out and the singing began! Both Ricci and I knew every song and we sang and moved with the music. All the teenage girls who were freaking out only moments before, suddenly became very quiet. It was obvious who they had come to see. They looked bored through most of Brad's songs and kept looking at us like we were nuts. Good times! I actually took some video of Brad performing one of my favorite songs "She's Everything", but you can hear me singing along with it. I will spare all your ears and not post it.

Brad's performance was way too short, if you ask me. I could have listened to him for another hour! But it was getting late and dark and the little boy behind us kept asking, "is this the last song?" So for his sake, I'm glad the fireworks began. The firework show did not disappoint! It was awesome and lots of fun! Once the show was over, we booked it down the stadium steps (we were basically at the top) to meet my parents again. Once we finally got through the crowds and walked all the way back to our car, it took almost another hour to get to Bryan and Ricci's apartment. I fed Magdalyn and then we headed home. Getting there around 2:00am. Very long, but very fun night!

Twiners?

2011-07-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day! People tell me constantly how much Magdalyn looks like Kalianna. To me, they look completely different! I think it's obvious they are sisters, but I think their features are totally different. Well here is the test. I have a picture of each girl, wearing the same outfit around the same age. Tell me what you think.

Kalianna July 4, 2009

Magdalyn July 4, 2011

A Day at the Zoo

2011-07-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday Ricci and I took the girls to the zoo. We stayed the night at my parent's house Tuesday night so we could be up and ready when the zoo opened. I've never gotten to the zoo when it first opened before. And I will never go any other time now! It was perfect! It wasn't crowded, it was perfect weather (not too hot yet), and the animals were a lot more active than I have ever seen. I wish I had gotten some pictures of the leopard and the tigers, but I was nursing when we were over in that area and didn't have my camera out. They were super active and came right up to the glass. Kalianna was ecstatic! She even asked if she could go swimming with the tigers. Ummm....no.

She loved seeing all the animals, and remembered many of them from when my parents took her. She would ask for the next one, as we walked through the park, naming each animal we saw and making their corresponding noise. Magdalyn slept through much of the trip, not that we were expecting anything else. But thankfully it was cool enough I didn't have to worry much about her getting too hot.

Kalianna wanted to see the elephants first. They are a favorite of hers. After looking at the elephants she wanted to go see the big elephant statue that shoots water. Well it sneezed right as she got up to it, scaring the crap out of the poor girl. She jumped so high! After that, she didn't want to go near any of the animal statues. Not even the dinosaurs, which she normally loves. Dumb elephant almost gave the poor girl a heart attack!

When we first got to the zoo and walked passed the merry-go-round, Kalianna ran right up to it and kept saying she wanted to ride the animals. It hadn't opened yet, so I tried explaining this to her. She didn't understand, so I finally had to tell her it was broken and we continued to walk around. When we were almost done and started walking back toward the entrance, Kalianna could see the merry-go-round going from the bottom of the hill. She squealed, "It working!" and took off running for it. She even squeezed passed the people waiting in line and was just about to sneak her way onto the ride when I caught up. I reached over the railing and had to pull her back. It was pretty funny! She was so excited and so sweet about it, asking "pweeze!" that I gave in and bought her a ticket. She picked the elephant to ride on. Once I set her on the elephant's back, the look of pure joy on her face was priceless. Huge grin from ear to ear! I joked with Ricci afterward that after spending a couple hours looking at real animals, it was the fake ones that brought the biggest smile to her face.

It started getting quite warm and we had seen everything, so we took off around 11:30. Then we picked up some lunch and went to WesTech to eat with Matt and Bryan. Super fun day! I just love summertime!

Powder Mountain

2011-06-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Every year since we graduated from high school, our group of friends has gotten together for a weekend camping trip. Our friends have continued to go, but Matt and I have missed the last two trips because we had Kalianna and we didn't want to slow our friends down. (We are the only ones who are married out of our group of friends. And our trips usually consisted of some pretty intense hikes) Anyway, this year we decided to get a condo up in the mountains so Matt and I and the girls could go again. Our friend, Steve, has a timeshare up Powder Mountain, which is past Ogden Canyon near Huntsville and Eden.

Everyone met up at our house Friday after work. We picked up a pizza for dinner and after eating we loaded up our car and took off. Kalianna was so excited to drive through the pretty canyon. She kept exclaiming, "Mountains!" The condo we stayed in was a 2-bedroom. Our friends were nice and let us have the master bedroom with a queen bed. While Breezy, Suzy, and Jacque (Steve's girlfriend) each slept on a twin in the other bedroom. Then Steve slept on the couch in the living room. Our friend Greg couldn't join us since he is in the airforce and is stationed in Wyoming right now. We set up the pack n' play for Magdalyn to sleep in and started to set up Kalianna's bed when we realized there wasn't a good place to put it. The room was pretty cramped already. So Matt had the genius idea of setting up Kalianna's bed in the closet. Now before you call child protective services on us, we did not shut the closet door and lock her in and she loved it! She loved having her own little cave/bed.

We had lots of fun with our friends, and the girls did awesome! They really seemed to enjoy it too. We watched movies, played games, went swimming, went for a hike, and ate and ate and ate. This was our first time meeting Jacque and by the end of the trip, we all gave Steve our approval. She is a speech therapist who works specifically with children ages 2-3 on their language development. She was super impressed with Kalianna's vocabulary and ability to put sentences together. We knew Kalianna was smart, but it was nice hearing it from an expert!

Matt had to teach the lesson on Sunday, so our original plan was to just stay one night and then head home Saturday evening for church the next morning. But we were having so much fun, our friends convinced us to stay. Matt drove home late Saturday night (or really early Sunday morning) and taught his lesson the next morning and then drove back up. We left the condo last night and got home just in time to get Kalianna to bed. It was such a fun, relaxing weekend with good friends.

Enjoying the pool. Kalianna is such a fish! After 2 hours of swimming and very purple lips, we finally made her come in. Magdalyn didn't mind the water, but she got cold pretty quickly so she spent the rest of the time sleeping in a big towel.

Going on a hike to the top of the mountain. The view was absolutely gorgeous! Kalianna would have kept hiking but we needed to get Magdalyn out of the sun and wind.

This "baby" deer was in the lodge. Kalianna was fascinated with it, but very concerned of where its mommy was.

Just love this picture!

Happy as a clam in her own special bed.

Magdalyn 2 Months

2011-06-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

Magdalyn at 1 month

Magdalyn at 2 months

Magdalyn is growing so fast! She already looks so much bigger to me than when she was born, although others still comment on how tiny she is. She is now 10 lbs 11 oz and is over 23 inches tall. That's a whole inch taller than Kalianna was at this age! No wonder she is cruising through her clothes so fast! Matt and I definitely seem to have tall, skinny babies.

Magdalyn is in a great routine now, usually sleeping from midnight to 7:00am straight. So I don't get to bed until late, but at least I am getting more sleep now, and no more middle of the night feedings. Yes!

She is such a sweet, calm baby! Magdalyn has been smiling and cooing a lot more lately, which I love! She loves to be held and snuggled more than anything. She also loves her mobile. I can lay her in the crib and turn on her mobile and she will watch it forever, smiling the whole time.

Maggie has been really strong since the day she was born, but she just seems to keep getting stronger every day. She does great with holding her head up and sometimes when I lay her down, she will dig her heels into the ground and scoot herself along on her back.

People keep asking me if having two is a big adjustment. It's really not! The hardest part is getting less sleep, but that is improving already. Magdalyn fits so perfectly in our family, it's like she's been here the whole time!

No Longer Wise

2011-06-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

My last wisdom tooth is now gone. I had my top two wisdom teeth removed about six years ago, when Matt and I were dating. I laid down in the dentist chair, he gave me a shot of Novocaine, and I pushed play on my portable CD player. Before the first song had ended, he was done. My top two came out super easily! I never had any swelling, never needed any pain meds, and was eating normal food the next day. Matt came to visit and brought me Jell-O after my "surgery". I was fine and we ended up going on a date that night.

So when my bottom tooth (I only have one) started coming in about a year ago, I thought nothing of it. I figured it was a piece of cake last time, so this time would be the same. That was my first mistake. I was pregnant when it came in, so I didn't want to bother with having it removed quite yet. That was my second mistake. It would get sore occasionally over the last year, but nothing significant. I figured I would wait until it was bothering me to have it out. That was my biggest mistake.

Last week it started to hurt, but I figured the pain would leave in a day or two, like it always had in the past. Four days of increasing pain and I finally made an appointment with the dentist. Last Friday I went in to see him and he knew immediately that I would need an oral surgeon. Plus with my jaw surgery a couple years ago, it was recommended that I have an oral surgeon take it out when the time came. I was in so much pain that my dentist called an oral surgeon friend of his and asked if he could squeeze me in that day. I thought my parents would just be watching the girls for half an hour, but that was apparently not the plan. I had just enough time to go back to their house and feed Magdalyn before going to my next appointment.

I thought he would just look at it and we would schedule the extraction for another day. Wrong again. My tooth and gums had become badly infected, which was the cause of my intense pain. The tooth was also impacted and was attempting to grow in sideways, straight into the tooth next to it. The surgeon said it needed to come out right then, and because of its severity, I needed to be sedated. My mom had left for the temple by this time, so my dad had both girls on his own, and no car seats. I called my wonderful friend, Breezy, to go pick up some formula for Magdalyn, since I wouldn't make her next feeding. Then my dad had to call my brother to come home and watch the girls so he could come pick me up, since I had driven myself. And of course Matt was stranded at work with no car, so he couldn't come help.

The surgery went very well, but I was in a ton of pain! Thankfully we were already staying with my parents for the weekend. Not sure how we would have made it without them! Saturday they took Kalianna to the zoo, and Matt had Magdalyn most of the day so I could get some much needed rest. I guess all my years of bragging about what an easy time I had with my wisdom teeth had come back to bite me!

I recovered very quickly and today feel completely normal again. It wasn't exactly how we had planned to spend our weekend, but everything worked out anyway. I'm just afraid Kalianna is going to wonder why Grandma and Grandpa aren't in church with her on Sunday. We had Hayden's blessing, Magdalyn's blessing, and then we went to their ward last Sunday. Three weeks in a row of her grandparents at church. She's going to be wondering where they are this time.

Magdalyn's Blessing

2011-06-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

After getting home around midnight from Idaho Falls, and then vacuuming the entire house and setting up chairs, we had to get up early the next morning to get everyone ready for Magdalyn's blessing. Matt and I contemplated buying a new dress for her, but then decided it might be a fun tradition to bless all our girls in the same dress. Then when they grow up and have girls of their own, they can bless them in the same dress, if they want to. We thought it might be a fun tradition to pass it around the family.

We had lots of support from family and friends, and it turned out to be a beautiful day! Matt said Magdalyn was awake for the entire blessing, but she never made a peep. She just stared around at all the men in her circle. After the blessing we had everyone over to our house for brunch. It was lots of fun to visit, and Kalianna loved having cousins over to play with! It was an amazing day and could not have been more perfect! I'm so grateful for a husband who honors his priesthood and can bless our beautiful girls!

Idaho Falls

2011-06-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Matt had a friend from his mission get married in Idaho. I mean a Latvian friend. He actually was the one who confirmed her after she was baptized, so it was pretty cool! We definitely had to head up to Idaho for the reception. I mean, it's not every day you get to see a Latvian! Not only one, but there were several who attended the reception and they did some Latvian traditions for their ring ceremony and there was even Latvian food. Matt was basically in heaven!

We decided to make a road trip out of it, so Saturday afternoon we loaded the girls in the car and began the 3 hour car ride. We left right after lunch, hoping Kalianna would sleep most of the way there. It worked quite well! When it was time for Magdalyn to eat, we were basically in the middle of nowhere. So we decided to get off at the next exit, no matter what. Well the next exit happened to be Portage, UT. Anyone ever heard of it? I hadn't either! It is this teeny, tiny, one street town. But they did happen to have a nice little park. So Matt and Kalianna played while Maggie ate. It worked out perfectly!

Then we were back on the road. Leaving so late, we ended up getting to the reception later than we wanted to. But Matt was able to visit with old friends from the mission and eat yummy food, so it was all worth it. We then got the girls in their pjs, stopped at a McDonalds for dinner, and headed home. Thankfully my brother-in-law, Logan's, parents live in Idaho Falls and they were nice enough to let us use their house to change before and after the reception. So much easier than trying to dress 4 people in a gas station bathroom! (and of course we forgot to get any pictures at the actual reception)

Another stop, this time in Pocatello, to feed Maggie and get a large coke to keep both Matt and I awake. Kalianna fell asleep again, thank goodness, cause we got home super late. We had a ton of fun though and the girls did great! It was an awesome first road trip with the 4 of us!

The Boat

2011-06-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

That's what we decided to name our second car. Yup, she is totally a grandma car! No need to look behind you before backing up, she is a beast and if you get in her way, she'll take you out! We didn't exactly pick her out. My grandma was getting rid of her (I told you she was a grandma car) and the deal was too good to pass up.

We've been surviving fine with one car for almost four years. But now with two kids, it is nice to have The Boat sitting out front in case I need to run an errand or take the girls to doctors appointments or something.

Even though we didn't pick her out, she is a really nice car and in great shape! Super roomy inside and very comfortable to drive, with the exception of her being as wide and long as a boat. I definitely feel like she could win in a fight, if she came up against any other cars. So look out, Layton. The Boat is taking over the streets.

Play Group - Treehouse

2011-05-31T10:42:00.000-07:00

Kalianna was invited to join a neighborhood play group last week, now that she is old enough to enjoy playing with other kids. Every month or two they go on group field trips. Last week was a trip to the Treehouse Children's Museum in Ogden. She had so much fun! I think this group is going to be good for her!

Playing with the trains

Riding the horse. She kept wanting it to move.

After riding the horse, she thought she needed to ride the frog too.

She loved going over this bridge! Took a long time to tear her away from it.

Checking out the fish with a bunch of the other kids.

Playing peek-a-boo in the log

She loved feeding and caring for the babies! Notice I was finally able to get her to smile, just not while looking at me.

Playing in the music room was one of her favorite parts

Photo Shoot

2011-05-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago, a friend from Matt's work did Magdalyn's newborn pictures and Kalianna's two year pictures. We also had her do a couple family pictures while she was here. The girls were not super cooperative by the time their own pictures were done and we wanted some family ones. But Mindy is amazing and was able to get some pretty good ones anyway. Here are some of my favorites.

Magdalyn's Newborn Pictures:

Sisters:

Kalianna's Two Year Pictures:

The Whole Family:

Cuties

2011-05-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

I just had some cute pictures I wanted to share. This is how Magdalyn loves to sleep. On her side, hand over her eyes.

Kalianna loves to lay down next to her sister whenever Magdalyn in playing on her blanket.

Mulch

2011-05-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

My dad had surgery last week and needed some help spreading mulch in their yard. So Bryan, Seth, and Matt came to help. And, of course, Kalianna wanted to help too. She helped load the mulch in the wheelbarrows:

She loaded some in her own dump truck as well:

Then she helped spread it around the yard and in the flower beds:

Then she helped supervise the return of the wheelbarrow to the front yard to be filled again:

Then she helped sweep up the driveway:

She sure loves to help! And yes, the bath water was brown when she was done.

Jaundice

2011-05-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

This has become one of my least favorite words. That and Biliruben. Whenever I hear one of these, I picture this:

After Magdalyn's initial stay on the Bilibed, her levels dropped significantly and she was able to come off the lights. Then at her two week appointment, the doctor said she was looking pretty yellow again. I had noticed that too, but was hoping it was just my imagination. It wasn't. They drew her blood once again and I got a call later that day. Sure enough her levels had jumped back up. My doctor suggested I stop breastfeeding for 24 hours. When Kalianna was only a couple weeks old, she had breast milk jaundice and after 24 hours on formula, she was back to normal. Since it was the weekend and the lab wouldn't be open until Monday, I planned to stop breastfeeding Sunday morning.

I hate pumping! I love having the extra breast milk on hand in our freezer, but I really hate pumping! I think if I had to work, my girls would have been formula babies. So 24 hours of formula and bottles and sore breasts, and it was back to the doctor's.

This was my first outing with both girls on my own. Kalianna loves the toys at the doctor's office. You know the ones that all pediatricians seem to have. Where you push the shapes around the different colored wires. She gets a kick out of them! So it went well for the most part. Kalianna played with the wire toy...until she saw the stairs. That girl loves exploring stairs! She took off and wouldn't be coaxed back for anything, including the bribery of candy. So with my recently cut open stomach, where I'm supposed to be careful for several weeks, I had to run up a flight of stairs and carry a giggling two year old back down them. All the while, praying no one would kidnap my newborn.

But once we were in the room, she sat fairly well and enjoyed her sucker while they drew more of Magdalyn's blood. It definitely could have been much worse! A few hours later I got a phone call from the doctor. The formula had not done the trick like we were hoping. It was back to the lights and the Bilibed. Boo! They delivered the bed a few hours later and she will be on it until tomorrow morning (fingers crossed it won't be longer).

Magdalyn is the sweetest, most patient, calmest little baby ever. She rarely ever cries and when she does, it's a tiny little burst and then she is done. So when she actually cries, I know something is wrong. She cried a lot last night (for her). Magdalyn is very much a snuggle baby. She loves to be cuddled and held! So having to be back in that bed has been harder this time. She seems to be okay when she can see me and I am by her side, holding her hand. Or helping her with her binkie. But she didn't like it with the lights off in our room and me laying in bed, where she couldn't see me. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much last night. And today Kalianna and I have spent almost the entire day in my bedroom. Magdalyn is much happier when we are around. She is fighting the bed a lot more this time around. In fact, today she actually kicked two different holes right through the covering and I had to tape them back up. Have to admit, I am a little proud.

She is still such a trooper though! And hopefully after another blood test in the morning, she will be done with the Bilibed for good!

Easter Fun

2011-04-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Kalianna really enjoyed Easter this year! She is old enough now to enjoy egg hunts and decorating eggs, which she loved! While we were in the hospital, my mom took her to a ward Easter egg hunt. Then on Saturday, Matt took her to Great-Grandma and Grandpa Carroll's house for another egg hunt and Easter party. Magdalyn and I had a quiet evening at home. Kalianna loved finding the eggs and putting them in her cute new basket! And she loved climbing in Great-Grandma's tree.

Sunday, after church, Kalianna got to open her Easter basket. I wanted to get her an Easter dress, but she has so many dresses right now, she really didn't need another one. So we got her some Easter pj's instead. They are super cute with little froggies on them. She also got a new book for church, a CD with some of her favorite children's songs on it, and a few eggs with some peanut butter M&M's in them (her favorite). I meant to get a picture of her basket, but forgot until she had already pulled everything out of it. Oh well!

Then, after a tasty dinner of crab and cream cheese wan tons with rice (yay for freezer dinners) we decorated eggs for the first time with her. She loved it! Except she kept wanting to taste the dye. Gross! She had tons of fun dropping her eggs in the different colors and watching them change.

This is what Magdalyn did while we decorated eggs:

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter as well!

30 Hours of Hell

2011-04-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

I am so glad this is over! Our last day in the hospital, the pediatrician told us Magdalyn's Bilirubin kept shooting up, so we needed to make an appointment with our own pediatrician within a few days and have her tested again. Three days in a row of painful pricks (my daughter's feet look like pin cushions) and we were told she had reached danger levels and would need to be in a Bilibed for at least 24 hours. I just bawled! After delivery, emotions are already high. Then tell me I can't hold my newborn for 24+ hours...I couldn't take it. Thankfully they deliver the bed to your house, so we didn't have to return to the hospital. And thankfully the new bed design doesn't require the infants to wear goggles. I'm not sure Magdalyn would have done as well if that had been the case. The bed wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but it was still unbearable to just watch her laying there and not be able to snuggle her!

I could at least still breast feed. So every three hours I was allowed to hold her, wrapped in a Biliblanket, and feed her. Then she had to go right back in the bed. Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind the bed too much. All those warm lights made it easy for her to sleep. Unfortunately, it caused her schedule to get really screwed up. She slept all day and was awake most of the night. She never cried. She would simply whimper and all I could do was hold her hand.

Kalianna had the hardest time with it, I think. For two days she was acting out and throwing more tantrums and then it finally hit me what was wrong. She didn't know what to think of her little sister being in the bed all the time, and that was her way of dealing with it. She loves to help with Magdalyn and she loves to hold her! Take those away, and she was really upset. Since she has been out of the bed, Kalianna has been fine again. We all have. It was a very rough 30 hours, but I am so thankful she got better quickly and it didn't have to be longer than that!