Disney Land: The Happiest Place On Earth??

This post is a bit late, but I wanted document our trip to Disney Land this past Spring. We went with all of my siblings and had a great time but, as all parents understand, there is always a little bit of melt down action in, "The Happiest Place On Earth"! My favorite picture is the one of Thais trying to bend Sky's leg over his head in a moment of frustration. Classic!


But of course we still had a blast! Here are some happier moments:

Finger Puppets

My Mother in Law asked me to come up with a way to make finger puppets as a craft for the kids over Christmas. Thaisy and I decided to gjve it a whirl and here is what we came up with...





Thais made the black and white cat...what a crafty girl!

Reflections on this boy...

Have any mothers out there noticed that when you are working with a kid a little bit you tend to have a soft spot for them and it makes you just want to love them harder?

That is how I feel about my Skylee boy! Looking at these pictures just makes my heart burst with love for this little guy-bruised face and all.

When I say "working with" I want to clarify that it isn't that Skyler is a terrible kid or anything, it's just been over a year now that I have had to worry about this little biting phase he's in. He has been doing SO much better, but the other day we had a little episode where he bit another little guy his age five times on the back. I was pretty devastated. I was done. I felt a little bit sorry for myself because I thought what am I doing wrong where I haven't been able to solve this the last 12 months. But those feelings passed fairly quickly and in their stead I have this new resolve to just bask in a really great word: PERSPECTIVE!

For example,I read Skyler's baby blessing today and I got teary eyed as I basked in the caliber of his spirit. It told me again that he is strong, he is pure, and he will be a leader for good. What more could a mother ask for? It almost makes me laugh that I have been so caught up in this insignificant phase of a one year old boy (if he's biting in junior high then we'll worry!) Lately I can't get enough of how stinkin' adorable this kid is. He is talking more and more every day-and man he has a lot to say! The other day I was getting ready for church and he pointed to my chunky pearl necklace and said, "Oh. Dat a Basketball Mama? Cute!" It was priceless.

This kid is tough as nails. Yesterday he fell out of a wagon and scraped up his face pretty good in the dirt. He cried for only a minute while saying, "bleed. bleed!" But then we cleaned him up and he was good as new, ready to play with our neighbors dog again. It seems like nothing phases this boy.

I love the twinkle in his eye. I love the looks he gives me just beaming with mischief. I love how the very minute we get in the car he starts asking for the "hey hey hey song" (Hey Soul Sister by Train). I also love it when he says my name. Skyler didn't say mama until after he was a year old, and so I just kind of melt when he wants something and says Pease mama!

And I have to mention that he already has his own little fashion sense: basketball shorts and flip flops are a must around here. He howls like crazy if I even think about putting him in jeans. He says, "no! Ba-tet-boll shorts"! It makes Jordan so proud.

So despite my tendency to worry and struggle through a tough phase, I simply just love this kiddo more...

Sure glad you're mine, Sky!

It's Not Just the Challenge That's Making Me Better :O)

I think it's been a while since I have been able to watch all of conference in it's entirety (I even watched most of the priesthood session today). All of the talks were so good, so uplifting so inspired that it's hard to say which one was my favorite..

It's been a great experience this week doing the 8 Week Challenge. I am drinking more water, getting more exercise, eating better and the results are I feel energized and just better overall. Conference was a perfect way to finish off this week because it did all of those things for me spiritually. I feel rejuvenated and more ready to commit myself to the spiritual things that make me better overall. I love partaking of the palpable strength that is in the gospel and in the leaders of the church. Conference is a great reminder that there is still a lot of good in the world. Sometimes I feel so scared for my babies and scared for the world we live in, and then to see President Monson radiate optimism...Well it's infectious!

So I am happy to report that it was a good week....

Bring on Week #2 of the challenge baby!

I think It's Worthy to Mention....

And can I just say I had SO MUCH FUN doing it (note the pics above)! For those of you who are approaching the big"three-o" here is my tip: just start telling everyone you are 30 like 6 months before your birthday and then when you actually turn 30 it doesn't even phase you a bit. You might even actually feel younger on your real birthday because at that point you would feel months into your thirties(It's kind of like when you set the clock forward 10 minutes with the hopes that you'll be tricked into being on time) Hey, it's worth a shot!

I actually love being 30. I mean, don't get me wrong, sometimes I miss the metabolism of my 20's but I wouldn't trade where I am at right now for even that. I like how I feel right now, I love what and whom I have in my life and I like my perspective at this age. What's more is, this decade will bring about so much change. By the end of it Thais will be 14 and my Skylee boy will be almost 12 (yikes! I don't know that I love that thought) but hopefully there will be a few other members to add to our little family (unfortunately this is not an announcement :O)) but I can't wait to know what our family will officially be. Hopefully this decade will bring us some insight as to what we are going to do when we grow up! I wonder where we will live and oh I hope we can plant some roots. I would love for our kids to have one place they call home.

I also like the thought of Jordan and I in our thirties together. Already I have seen the growth and maturity that has taken place up to this point in our marriage and my feeling is that with more wisdom and experience we are just going to keep getting stronger. I have to say, I am a little bit feistier now that I'm 30 and although that can create some solid disagreements, we are also becoming better people. There is no one else I would rather grow with and grow old with than my Jordy!

So here is to this new decade in my life. I can't wait to know what the 30's have in store for me..

So far so good :o)

The Challenge So Far.....

-It's 3:12pm. I am pretty sure I have peed more today than I have all week. That is sad-I know!

-Last night I made the only cookie I know how (Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip), and I can't even tell you how good these things are the next day. It hurt a little to watch Jordy devour the three remaining cookies I had saved in my hiding spot (fyi: it's on top of the fridge ;) of course that was before I went a little crazy and decided to do 8 WEEKS with out sugar! Alas, there is one cheat day a week, and I will look forward to those like Christmas.

- Jillian, Jillian something tells me we are going to have a love/hate relationship over the next 8 weeks. I did your Banish Fat Boost Metabolism work out and yeahhhhh. Ouch!

-Thank you to Jamie for the uplifting read: It's good to be alive by Jack Rushton. I LOVE it so far! He is hilarious!


Favorite Moment of the day: Thaisy and Sky doing my work out with me. They've got some leg kicks you've just gotta see :O)

Alright, I am off to have my two servings of Veggies for the day....

I can make this happen.
(Wait my face totally just scrunched up as I wrote that. So I will be more positive..)

I CAN make this happen.
Better!

The 8 Week Challenge

I have heard of this challenge from several sources, the first being my cute cousin Cami, and now from my cute friend Cherise. The challenge is as follows:

Physically Better Yourself

1. Exercise at least 45 minutes a day!
2. Get AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep a night (if you are short a little just squeeze a nap in to make up for it)
3. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
4. No Sugar-there are different ways to do this. We prefer eliminating sugars and white flours (which turn into sugars) to get the most bang for your buck. But if you would like to just do without sugars than you can make that call.
5. No Soda or Junk Food Yes that means no Diet Coke ladies or fast food! Ya we know that will not be an easy point to earn...but you will love yourself and how you feel if you do it.
6. Eat at least 2 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables
7. No eating after 8 p.m.

Emotionally/Spiritually Better Yourself

8. Write in your journal EVERY DAY
9. At least 15 minutes of uplifting reading or scripture study
10. An act of service or random act of kindness, whether it be a small one or a big one do something for someone else that is out of your normal routine.

This starts tomorrow Sept. 27th and ends Nov 21st.

I'm Scared.

For more info go to
http://8weekstoabetteryou.blogspot.com