Brody * Jen * Hazel Rebekah

Hi

2011-02-11T14:43:00.001-08:00

I should update my blog...

More pictures of Hazel

2010-08-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

So I spent most of my time "blogging" fixing up my blog and making sure I had everyone's blog addresses correct. Some people went to private blogs and I still need to move them to the Private Blog section, but then I decided I should scrapbook Hazel's 13 and 14 month old pages.

Every month since she's been born, I have taken a picture on or around the 19th. If all I do is scrapbook those pictures on one 4x6 page, I feel successful. Lindsay has caught up on her 2009 scrapbook (except for one event). I think I am still in February or March and here it is August 2010. Oops. Anyway, I print the pictures out at home on our printer and put them in a photo album. I think it will be so fun to look through it and see how she changes over the years. I hope to do this with all of my kids.

Well, here they are:

Isn't she freaking adorable?? Well, I think so. And so does her Daddy. Brody is oh, so proud of her for now signing Daddy. She will only sign Mommy on my face. Silly girl.

The other fun thing that happened this last week was my 9th annual piano recital. NINTH!! I didn't do a recital the first year I was teaching and I started teaching again in February of 2000, so I have been teaching for over a decade! Way to make me feel old... Oh, well. They did a fabulous job, as they always do and are so brave to conquer their fears and stage fright and perform for everyone. I haven't scrapbooked a page for them yet, but I will. For now, here are the students who performed, minus one who showed up after everyone left, one who was out of town and one who is an adult and doesn't like to do recitals. She's the ONLY one I let slide on learning a song and performing. :o)

Babies, Babies Everywhere!

2010-08-23T00:33:00.000-07:00

I really want another baby. Heck, I always want babies. Lucky for me (since we are not pregnant and not planning on being anytime soon), other people have had or will soon have a baby for me to hold and cuddle. Much to my husband's dismay, holding other babies does not squelch my baby fever - it just feeds into it. However, I know that now is not the right time. So...

Congratulations to my cousin, Shanna, who had a little boy on July 21st. Jackson is so adorable. There were some scary moments in the delivery, but baby and mom are okay so that is such a blessing. He was only an ounce bigger than my little monkey and holding him makes me miss my tiny newborn. I got to spend a couple of days at Shanna's trying to help her out. She wouldn't go take a nap while I watched the kids, but she did get a few other things done. Most of all, it was nice to visit with her and spend a couple of relaxing days hanging out.

Congratulations to my sister-in-law who finally had her baby boys on August 6th. Jen and Jeff spent a looooooong time (and a lot of money) to get those boys here. We are grateful that Jeff is healthy and Jen made it through her pregnancy. The boys are so tiny and had a couple of problems, but went home at six days old. I am so excited to be their Friday sitter when Jen goes back to work.

I have so many other friends and family who are pregnant. Let's see if I can remember them all: Jess & Austin, JuliAnn & Jumbo, Linda & David, Becky & Mike, Chelsea & Jordan, Janae & Tyler, Kelly (from Bunco) & her husband (sorry, I forgot his name)... Yeah. Hopefully I didn't miss anyone.

I have been trying to get back into scrapbooking. I have a few projects in the works. My most recent finished project was a book Lindsay and I made for our parents for Mother's and Father's Day. It was fun and they loved it. I can't divulge some of my projects right now, but I will when they're finished. Lindsay and I have decided that we will have an SSS (Sister Scrapbooking Session) once a month. Kaeli is our adopted sister if our schedules allow us all to "get together" on our computers and gmail and talk and scrapbook together.

Hazel is just as cute as ever. She is also busy, busy, busy! She has started giving us dirty looks sometimes. We just laugh cuz it's funny. She loves her grandparents and we are so lucky to have all of them here in Vegas. It's always great when my parents stop by and Hazel just wants them. It gives me a chance to do a few things without being interrupted. Usually we just have her help us do whatever we're doing (vacuuming, taking out the trash, picking up toys or shoes, etc), but it takes three times as long. She's still a happy little snot and she's making lots of friends at church.

Brody is excited to be the Priest Advisor in Young Mens. We had dinner with all of the YM leaders and their wives on Friday and it was great getting to know people. Brody wants to take his truck and go camping! He is very anxious to get the campouts started.

As for me, I still haven't started all of the projects I had hoped to finish before school started again. Where the heck did the summer go?? We have had fun. Lots of swimming and tv and hanging out with our families. And lots of work around the house! Somehow I have to continue to get all of these things done while starting up at the middle school accompanying for the choirs. But I have a super cute, helpful husband at my house to help me and put up with me, so I am definitely one lucky girl.

It is a few hours past my bedtime and the fact that I haven't been taking advantage of Hazel not only sleeping through the night, but sleeping in quite late into the morning is really quite puzzling to me. Oh, well. I can now cross the last important thing off my list for the week and get ready to tackle my new list!

Good night.

Pictures!

2010-08-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

I don't have a lot of time and I was supposed to do this yesterday, but I got tired and lazy. So sue me! Just kidding. Don't. Because if you do, you won't get anything. Seriously.

I found the last post where I put a picture up of Hazelbum and it was her 2 month picture! So starting at 3 months, here are the latest pictures I've done of Hazel every month...

I love her. The end.

Did you miss me?

2010-07-25T20:45:00.001-07:00

I know, I know... It's been a while. I've been such a slacker. This summer has been a cross between relaxing and sleeping because I have time and trying to get the house cleaned and organized because I don't have much time till school starts and I'll be working like crazy again! Summer is half over and I finally feel like I'm starting to catch up.

Just to update a little... Our beautiful daughter, Hazelbum, turned one on June 19th and is walking and talking and still as cute and smart as ever. It has been so much fun going through all the different stages in her short life thus far. Brody and I have enjoyed every moment.

Brody has been out of work for 4 months. It has been a difficult transition, but a good one. We have learned to do without a lot, which also helps us spend more time together. Occasionally Brody gets an invite to go golfing with his step-dad or friend and they are generous enough to foot the bill. Brody has been able to spend a lot of time with Hazel and he is just wonderful with her.

Even though she loves doing things with her daddy, Hazel is still a tad clingy to her mother. That's ok because I really, really like her. I am still teaching piano and loving it. My annual recital is coming up next month and that is always exciting for me. It is a reminder that I am actually making a difference and helping my students learn music. I am trying to keep up with being organized as well as catch up on some other things. Once Brody goes back to work, it will still be just as hectic since we'll have to drop Hazel off and pick her. Although I am glad she has been able to spend so much time with her dad, I'd rather have my husband be the main breadwinner of the family. I know he misses working, especially when I find things for him to do around the house.

We recently met some friends on Twitter through a mutual friend we share. Last night we went to see Love Shack at the Suncoast and danced and danced. It was a fun date (thanks Andrew for taking care of your niece!), although we didn't get home until after one. It is always nice to meet new people who are as awesome as we are. Haha. I enjoyed seeing my husband get down on the dance floor. For someone who doesn't like dancing (and has a bad back to boot), he really loves me because he danced until he was dripping sweat.

Speaking of his bad back... Brody is going in for his 5th epidural on Thursday. We are really hoping that this last longer than the last one. He is so amazing and tries to be happy and helpful even though he's in a lot of pain most of the time. I couldn't have married anyone better.

Well, that's all for now. I'm kind of rambling. If there is something you want updated on, let me know. Otherwise you're just going to get what goes through my mind when I sit down to blog. My goal is every Sunday. If I do it, I can cross it off my weekly list. And I LOVE crossing things off my list!

At least once a month

2010-03-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

Is that a good goal? I should at least get on here once a month and give an update so you know we're still hanging in there, especially with a little monkey who is growing so fast and has hit so many milestones. If I was as good as Stacey, I would be updating all the time. I am jealous of her ability to post so much and get so much done and now have books to pass on as a legacy of her family! One day I will be as amazing as she!

Back to my monkey... She will be 9 months old next week! My little Hazelbum. She is still such a joy to be around. Don't yell at me. I'm on the laptop and don't have any pictures on here. We are also "getting" a new computer. By "getting" I mean, "fixing up the old one so it works right and we have more room." It's taking a while, but it will be a sigh of relief when it is done and I can get back to scrapbooking.

So, anyway... Back to Hazelbum. You will just have to imagine how cute she has become until I can get some pictures up. She is getting her 9 month pictures taken next week and as soon as I get them, I will have to post some. Of course, if you are friends with me on facebook, you will see some of them there.

Hazel is crawling all over the place and pulling herself up to a stand. She is still the happiest baby I have ever known and adapts to pretty much any situation. She sleeps anywhere if she's tired. She lets me know when she's hungry or ready for a nap or wants something. She loves loves loves to talk (wonder where she got that from since neither one of her parents is a chatterbox...) and her favorite toy is one of the little monkeys her Nana got her.

She loves to go for rides in her stroller and giggles when we go really fast. She loves her dogs and chases them around the house. Her latest discovery is the doorstops that make a silly noise when she pulls on them. She has her two bottom teeth (which has made nursing interesting again). Her mother is pretty anal about what she eats so she's still on breastmilk and Gerber 2nd foods. She also gets puffs and the occasional (very occasional) taste of soft serve yogurt.

She is excited to go shopping for a fancy dress to wear as Audrey's flower girl in May. It would be great if she could walk around, but we'll see if she hits that milestone by 11 months. Either way, she will be rocking a beautiful flower on her head. She has hair, but not much. I still "glue" a bow on her head, but we are transitioning to the latest fashion - crocheted headbands with big flowers. So cute.

Any other questions? I am tired and can't think of anything else to share. So ask and ye (might) receive.

I should have been in bed at 905, five minutes after Hazel decided she was tired. Sometimes she's up till 10 or 11, but she didn't get to spend a lot of time napping today so she was plum tuckered out. Why I didn't take advantage of the fact that she went to bed early is beyond me. Sigh. I did get the office/piano section of the big room vacuumed today and the dishwasher unloaded. That's a big feat these days seeing as how I don't really get anything done after work. By the time I get home, I get to spend a few minutes with my hubby and baby and then I'm ready for bed. I am really going to pay for this tomorrow.

Oh, well. Kaeli, you better be happy I updated. Finally. One day I won't be so lame at this.

:o)

For. E. Ver.

2009-10-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Soooo much has happened in the last two months since I blogged last. I always have such lofty goals of catching up and letting everyone know about EVERYTHING that's happened. Then I get to the point I am at now - I give up. I'll just do a couple of things. Haha. So here's a couple of the highlights.

Here is Hazel Rebekah's two month picture for her baby calendar. That's not a crotch shot, by the way. If you look closely, you can see her Tweety band-aids from her shots. She was a trooper. That outfit was one her Daddy picked out so I put it on her for her two month birthday.

Here is the latest and greatest - my favorite so far. Her three month pictures. Thanks to our friend and awesome photographer, Louie Traub (louietraub.com) for taking such beautiful pictures of our daughter. I swear she gets more adorable every day. If you look closely at these pictures, you can see we pierced her ears. For all those who think we are oh, so cruel, just know she was more upset at being stabbed in her legs with a needle for her vaccines.

This is a picture of us as a family who would only be together for the time here on earth. San Diego is one of my favorite temples and since we got married civilly, I wanted to go here to get sealed. We got sealed on our monkey's 3 month birthday and she got to wear her blessing dress again. She filled it out much better this time.

This is our first picture as a forever family. We went back to the temple grounds the next day and there was a cute old couple serving their mission. The Elder offered to take some pictures for us. A huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders now that we have made this important step in our lives. It was a long wait which we knew would happen since we chose to get married civilly, but it finally happened and we couldn't be happier.

I'm so blessed to have such an awesome husband who works so hard to provide for his family and is the most amazing father ever. He never complains about spending time with his daughter and was my saving grace many times when he told me he would take Bekki (as he calls her) for the night to let me sleep. He's changed lots of diapers and is introducing her to the world of sports by watching football with her. He has taken her many times on some of his errands and though I feel left out, I just tell myself to get over it and try to get as much accomplished as possible in their absence.

We couldn't have been blessed with a better baby. Our little monkey is so good and hasn't had any real problems. We know we are so lucky to have gotten pregnant so quickly and then continue through the pregnancy, labor and delivery with no serious complications. She has been a perfectly healthy and happy baby. She's a good sleeper and a good eater and has the sweetest disposition. She has her moments when she's overly tired, but I'll take those moments too. She is very active and loves to babble and tell stories. She smiles so much - I love her smile! We are finally getting comments on how she's starting to look like me, but I still think she looks more like her daddy. She's beautiful either way.

Our dogs continue to be amazing. Sometimes they bark too loudly when they shouldn't and wake Hazel up. Most of the time, they make us chuckle as they play together and get excited for a cookie or treat. They are great with the baby and will probably become some of her best friends.

Baby Calendar Update

2009-08-15T14:13:00.001-07:00

I know I've been a slacker about posting on my blog (thanks for the reminder, Tiffany) so I figured that I would continue slacking on my household chores that need to be done oh-so badly and stay on the computer a little longer. This morning I slept in and cuddled with Hazel and then, while she slept some more, I made some pictures to go in her calendar. Yesterday my monkey and I went to Mesquite to hang out with Shanna and get our fill of the Golden Girls and Dairy Queen, so I took her calendar and filled it in with all her exciting activities and "firsts" that are happening to her. The picture spots have been left blank and I figured I needed to also keep up with those so I don't have an empty calendar on her first birthday. I've been known to do things like that...

The first spot for a picture of her Birth Day. This is my absolute favorite. She's so beautiful and looks very content.

Her birth announcement with a picture of her when she was one week old. Can she really be 8 weeks old already!? There wasn't a spot for her baby announcement, but I put it on here anyway. :o)

I have two little frames hanging on the wall with her handprint and footprint on it. There is also spot for them on her calendar. I was lucky enough to get a very good handprint and footprint before she turned one (haha) and couldn't remember how tiny she was. I love how tiny she was. She's now the size of a newborn and I can't imagine having to birth a baby her size out of me! I got lucky.

For her one month picture, I decided to incorporate the family pictures we had taken. She, of course, is the focal point of this one, and definitely the focal point in our lives. She continues to be such a good baby and I love, love, love her smiles! She sticks her tongue out and if you do it back to her, she will smile and try to talk.

I heart her.

Happy One Month Birthday, Hazel!

2009-07-19T21:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my little monkey is one month old! It has gone by so fast. She gets more beautiful every day and I am still in awe that I finally have a baby. Heck, I'm still in awe that I have a husband. He's such a good dad, by the way, and loves his little girl. He helps out a lot, even when I don't ask him to. He's changed lots of diapers and there have been quite a few nights he has taken her and stayed up all night so I can sleep.

Last night was the first night I felt like I didn't get enough sleep. She has been such a good sleeper - she even slept for 6 hours straight on two different nights! But last night it was as if she had an alarm set for every three hours - on the dot! She must be going through a growth spurt. She got so fussy tonight that I went ahead and fed her after only two hours, which I haven't done before. First I gave her a bath and a little massage to calm her down, then she ate like I've never fed her before. Haha. As I type this, she is making little noises in her sleep - but she is sleeping, so that's good. I should be sleeping too!

She loves to be wrapped up like a burrito so she's toasty warm. She does NOT like to be cold, but she'll struggle and struggle to get her hands out so she can put them by her face. Then she wakes up and cries cuz she's cold. When she's ready to be awake and happy, she loves loves loves to stretch and stretch. And stretch. She grunts when she stretches and pulls the funniest faces. Sometimes it takes her at least five minutes before she's done stretching and waking up. One of these days I'm going to get the video camera out and capture those cute faces.

I can't wait for her to give me the smile that will tell me she recognizes me for sure. She smiles a lot, but most of the time it's as she's waking up or falling asleep and they are twitches that are happening at the same time her eyes are rolling in the back of her head. She has a big, beautiful smile.

I love being a mom and I'm having lots of fun. I love my little monkey.

Hazel Rebekah welcomes her new best friend, Izzy!

2009-07-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Hazel is happy to have her best friend here - finally! Miss Elizabeth Jo was born on Monday, July 6 at 6:28 pm, weighing 9 pounds, 14 ounces, and was 22 inches long.

Here are their first photos together. Izzy makes our little monkey look like a midget!

As promised - more pictures!

2009-07-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

I am actually coming back to my blog to update - can you believe it? I just thought I'd put some more pictures on of Miss Hazel Rebekah, seeing as how she's so stinking cute!

Here she is on her birthday - June 19, 2009

One week old - June 26, 2009

Two weeks old - July 3, 2009

Another two week picture

Doctor Visit

2009-07-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today was the two week check up! Little Miss Hazel Rebekah is now a whopping 6 pounds, 8 ounces - guess my boob juice is working! It took a few days, but we stuck together and figured the whole nursing thing out. She has grown to 20 3/4 inches long and her head is 14 inches around. She growing like a week already and getting cuter and cuter every day.

She certainly did not enjoy getting her blood drawn out of her heel and she let us know it! That was the angriest scream she's ever let out so far. I'm sure it won't be the last one, though, with us as her parents...

We've been blessed with a super good baby. She hardly cries, unless she's hungry and then, wow, does she let us know it! I don't have to set an alarm at night to wake her up to eat anymore - she's my alarm now. We enjoy seeing her smile in her sleep and make all sorts of interesting faces. She still looks like her daddy (especially those grumpy faces) and her dad just adores her. She goes with me almost everywhere I go. She's so used to hearing my piano students that she just falls asleep during my lessons.

Last night her daddy stayed up with her (though she did not stay up with him) so I could get some uninterrupted sleep. I'm usually pretty tired so I don't have a problem sleeping, but I love that she has lots of time with her dad. He's very involved and willing to help out. Well, until it comes to diaper duty. Haha. He has changed diapers before, but is more than happy to pass her over to her mom to get changed. I don't mind.

I am having fun playing mom for real and especially love not having to give her back to someone else. We all enjoy our visitors and she gets passed around a lot since everyone wants to hold her. I love sharing her since I get her when no one is around.

We are also excited for her best friend to arrive tonight! Kaeli and Michael are in the hospital right now getting Izzy out into the world. We can't wait to see her and visit with Michael and Kaeli.

Promises, promises

2009-06-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

I promise to put more pictures up and tell the birth story soon. Right now our computer is being dumb and I can't put the pictures on it from the camera. I also need to type up the birth story before I forget all the details. Brody is going to type up his version of events. Both should be good reads. But for now, just know that it's on my list of things to do...

Here is the last picture I got of the little monkey that's on the computer. Grandpa Little was holding her and she was all curled up like usual. When she discovered her knee with her mouth, she had no choice but to have a little taste and started sucking on it. :o)

It's a Girl!

2009-06-22T23:25:00.000-07:00

Hazel Rebekah Broderdorf
June 19, 2009
8:36 am

6 pounds, 2 ounces
19 1/2 inches

Pretty much perfect

First family picture

The definition of trim is NOT shave...

2009-06-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

Brody and I have two beautiful dogs. Well, not anymore. We are not happy with our recent visit to the Petsmart groomers and have no intention of going there again. Below you will see a nice portrait of our dogs taken one day after Emmitt went in to get groomed at the beginning of May. The guy did a pretty good job. Emmitt is a handsome border collie/Australian shepherd mix who is very vain and knows he looks good. We always get compliments on how beautiful he is and how soft is long coat of fur is. He'll prance around with his nose in the air (the little snob) because he thinks he's pretty hot. Bostyn, of course, is cute as a button, but all we have to do is throw her in the bathtub at home and she's in heaven.

This is what Emmitt looks like now...

He is heartbroken and his dad is furious. Brody and I might get into fights now and again, but I know I've never made him this mad. I am certainly glad I am not the one who pissed him off in this situation or I wouldn't have gone home for a few days. They butchered our beautiful dog and made him look like a sick, mangy stray who has gotten in one too many fights. Emmitt's entire demeanor has changed. He hid under the piano the first night he was home and wouldn't even play with his favorite puppet toy he usually goes ballistic for. I miss his beautiful mane most of all.

I wrote a very detailed letter explaining what had happened and printed out a lot of before and after pictures and took into Petsmart. Long story short: they refunded our money (which we were also overcharged by a lot and without so much as a phone call asking our permission), but the store manager tried to blame my instructions as part of the problem in the same breath that she said her groomers didn't handle the situation right. When I said "general trim," I did not give the idiot groomer permission to shave five inches of long, silky hair off of our dog.

Girls: How would you feel if you went in for a trim of your nice long hair and they cut your hair up above your ears? And left patches of long parts and other patches of shaved sections? NOT HAPPY, I tell you!

The next step is the regional manager of Petsmart. This happened on Tuesday. It's Thursday and we're still upset, especially since the store manager handled it the way she did. The Petsmart grooming salon has lost our business as well as some of our friends' business. They better hope Emmitt's shiny coat grows back. Time will tell. But we want the regional manager to know how poorly the situation was handled and Brody wants nothing more than to have the groomer fired.

On a happier note, at least we're going to have a baby soon! That'll pretty much be awesome.

Updates? What's an update?

2009-06-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Ya... I've been slacking quite a bit on my blog. Oops. Sorry! I know you have all been waiting in anticipation, checking your computers five times a day and wondering what the heck we've been up to... right? Haha. I'll just tell myself that.

A lot has happened since my last post, or even the post before! Last time I posted anything that actually happened with our lives, I was halfway through my pregnancy. Well, I'm getting ready to pop soon. Less than three weeks! I can't believe it. I've made it to full term (37 weeks) and am getting excited for the baby to get here. Not as excited for HOW the baby needs to get here, but it's a little late to back out of that one.

I'm going to make this post very short, just so I can say I've posted something! I'll update more later. Hopefully not much later.

Here's my latest picture that you can compare to my 20 week picture a couple of posts down. 17 weeks makes a big difference!

Seriously...

2009-03-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

...we have a lot of friends. How awesome is that? If I don't check for updates almost every day I have to spend an hour trying to catch up on everyone's awesome lives! I love reading what everyone is up to, especially when I don't get to see everyone.

Blogging is fun.

And I will update mine soon with more fun pictures of my growing belly...

Hitting the Halfway Mark!

2009-02-05T22:16:00.000-08:00

We've made it halfway! Woot woot!

I was 20 weeks today and had the BIG ultrasound appointment. Even though I told Brody I was going to keep it a secret from everyone, including him, I didn't want him to miss out on such a big occasion so I told him when it was so he could come with me. I'm glad he was there; after all, he IS my baby's daddy, no matter how many times he tells people we don't know who the father is.

We have a lot of awesome pictures of our little alien baby, but it is late and I will have to scan and post them another day. We also were able to take video of the first part of the ultrasound, which I will also post later.

My favorite thing was seeing how much the baby was moving and watching him (for all intents and purposes, I will refer to the baby as "he" rather than "it" because Brody is hoping for a boy, but we did NOT find out what it was) yawn and stick his tongue out at us. That was pretty much awesome. I know he's part of my side of the family if he stuck his tongue out at the camera! Haha.

The technician was nice enough to do a gender check (while Brody and I closed our eyes) and took a picture, which she then sealed up in an envelope just so we could have it. I asked Brody if he was secretly mad at me for not wanting to find out and he said yes, so it's really not much of a secret anymore. I know his family is mad at me as well. My family doesn't care. I think my parents are just glad they are still getting more grandkids! I am just excited for more motivation to get this kid out of me when the time comes. I told my sister I would have to think back to this day when I was having contractions and remember how excited I was to see our baby's cute little nose in a profile. You'll get to see it soon enough, but for now, it is time for bed.

I love my baby.

And my baby's daddy.

IT'S A BOY!

2009-01-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Haha. Tricked you. I don't know what's in my belly, but I know what's finally out of my sister's belly! After 60 1/2 hours of labor and finally going in for a c-section, Cooper Joseph Driscoll came into this world! I'm too impatient to wait for my sister to update her blog (oh, and she's kind of still in the hospital and dang tired), so I'm updating mine to tell everyone I'm an aunt for the 5th time. Tyler, Emily, Trey, Ryan, and now baby Cooper. All nephews and one niece.

Fun times.

Cooper Joseph Driscoll
January 23, 2009
9:32 am
8 pounds, 1 ounce
22 inches long

More updates...

2009-01-23T06:18:00.001-08:00

Wow. Two days in a row. Can you believe it? I almost can't.

Today was the first day in a long time that I was going to be able to fall asleep after kissing my husband goodbye at 4:30 in the morning. Lately I have been wide awake after that kiss and lie in bed wishing I could go to sleep. Then, around 6:00 or so, I crash and sleep in until 8:00 and end up not getting much done. I was fading back into my slumber when the bedroom door opened and Brody told me his ipod was stolen out of the truck. SUCKY! He figures he must have scared whoever it was away by starting the truck from inside because they didn't get much more than a few things. There was a lot of time and money put into that ipod, though, so he is not a happy camper...

Speaking of unhappy campers, I'm pretty sure that's what my sister is after being in labor since 9:00 Tuesday night! Poor thing must be exhausted. It's just after six now, so she's been in labor for over 57 hours. My mom got there yesterday and has been with her ever since. She went in to the hospital for the fourth time and finally got an epidural last night. Then I got a text that said, "I love epidurals! :o)" Around five this morning she got another one. Cooper has now missed our dad's birthday and is going to have his own. For everyone's sake, that baby just needs to get here NOW!

The last update is in response to some of the very quick comments that were posted from my post yesterday. I thought I made it clear how stubborn I was going to be on the whole finding out/not finding out the gender issue. I don't want to find out! I just wanted to know what everyone else thought. (Isn't that just what people want to hear? Tell me your opinion, but I'm going to do just what I want to do. Oh well. My family is used to that.)

I think Brody has finally accepted that we will find out if he have a son or a daughter when the baby joins us in this world. I haven't told anyone exactly when my next appointment is. Not even my husband. Not that I want him to miss the ultrasound - that's too exciting and he was there for the other two so it's not like I'm trying to keep him from experiences all the joys of the pregnancy (which is only fair since he's definitely dealth with the joys of pregnancy that are pretty much the complete opposite of joy). But I have some questions I need to ask about my appointment before I tell him.

So the verdict is no. We're not finding out. It's not like we have a lot of space for the baby anyway and he's barely gonna have a spot in the spare bedroom. If he's lucky. He doesn't get his own special baby room yet. Haha. (Saying HE is not a slip of the tongue - I just call the baby a he all the time, but we really don't know if it's got two legs or three yet.) We'll just be glad to finally have a little baby and I pray it doesn't take as long as it's taking my nephew to get here!

Belly Updates...

2009-01-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

Just for fun I decided I would put a picture of my sister and I side by side (that was a pain in the BUTT since I don't understand html codes) to show our baby bumps at the same time. These are our 16 week pictures, mine from January 12, 2009, and hers from August 7, 2008. I am 18 weeks today and need to get another picture soon. Lindsay is obviously much bigger right now and back at the hospital for the THIRD time after being in labor for a day and a half. She is only dilated to 1 cm and she and Chris are pretty darn tired.

We (our family) kept teasing her yesterday and telling her that she should just wait until our Dad's birthday (which is today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!) so Cooper and his Grandpa would have the same birthday, but we weren't actually serious! Now we're hoping she'd just hurry up and have that baby today for her sake and for the fun of them having the same birthday.

My mom is in the car, driving up to help Lindsay this weekend and see her newest grandbaby. I talked to her early this morning and she said she'd rather Lindsay hurry and have the baby and not wait for her to actually get all the way up to Quincy. Mom was the same way with Lindsay - contractions very close together for a long time, but not dilating. Poor Lindsay. And poor Chris. In about 5 months or less I will know how they are feeling.

I am so excited to go see her next month and hold that cute, little baby boy while she takes lots of naps so she can feel more rested. I am also excited to see their new house. My baby bump will definitely be bigger by the time I go in four weeks and Lindsay is excited to rub my Buddha belly.

I swear it just popped out even more the other day! It's so weird. I just stand sideways in front of the mirror and look at my funny shaped body and smile. Some people say I'm not showing at all. They are all crazy! I may be small at this point, but I'm pretty sure that ever since puberty, my boobs have ALWAYS stuck out farther than my belly. Promise. Now, it's the opposite. Even at my fattest, I don't think I've ever been this big around!

Hopefully Cooper will join us in this world today and Lindsay can get some rest. I'm so excited and have to refrain from calling her every five seconds to see how she's doing. That's the last thing she needs right now and I trust Chris to do his job and take care of her.

It's official - I look funny!

2009-01-04T14:21:00.001-08:00

1/4/08 - 15 1/2 weeks
(And I'm standing up as straight as possible
and thinking about trying to suck it in!)

I am no longer trying to suck my stomach in. It's just too hard to do - even just thinking about it makes me tired. For the longest time (well, duh, not too long since I'm only three months along) I just felt like I was getting thicker and, at the same time, also tried to convince myself that it was just wishful thinking. Of course, as my sister is about two weeks from her due and tired of being big and pregnant, I also try to remind myself that I need to be patient in waiting for a cute prego belly. I gave up long ago on the weekly photos like Lindsay did, cuz, quite frankly, I did not start off with as nice a stomach as she did, so this is my first official belly picture and maybe I'll do them more than once every three months.

Productivity

2008-12-27T23:43:00.001-08:00

I miss my hubby. He went to Arizona with Audrey and Jeff for Jumbo's wedding. I stayed home to be productive. And, apparently, to watch an all day marathon of NCIS while I was productive. I managed to sort through two and a half months worth of bills and receipts, put everything in date order and input everything into Quicken. I also balanced the checkbook twice. This is a project that has been looming over my head ever since I started sitting on my lazy, pregnant butt not feeling well and didn't do much besides work. Now that I feel better, I have to play catch up. I still have some major projects, but now that I know exactly how much money we don't have (haha), my stress levels have gone down dramatically.

It's my husband's fault I am now addicted to NCIS. I have even thought about putting the 1st season in my Netflix queue so I can watch it from the very beginning, but I really don't need to add anything to Netflix. It's gonna take me years to finish what's already in there. I also love the fact that we can rewind and pause and record shows. I let myself get a little behind and then spent the rest of the day forwarding through commercials. So spoiled. Though I would probably get more done if I didn't have a gazillion channels to choose from every day. :o)

The day is almost over and Brody is almost home. He only left yesterday but it feels like it's been forever. At least it's not 10 days in a foreign country where we can't use our cell phones...

Google It!

2008-12-21T13:15:00.001-08:00

So I got this cute idea from my fellow blogger, Candy Mandi, and figured since I'm STILL wasting time on the computer, I would do it. For each thing, you look up the answer on google image search and choose your favorite picture from the first page only. This is what I came up with!

MY AGE: 30

Apparently this is a Zonohedron generated from 30 vectors. I thought it looked cool so I chose it as my favorite picture.

MY FAVORITE COLOR: Purple

The heart says it all. I love purple.

MY FAVORITE VACATION: Canada

My awesome friend, Lisa from Canada (as I like to call her), lives up in Calgary. I have been to Canada four times now and I've enjoyed every single trip.

WHERE I LIVE: Las Vegas, NV

It's fun being Mormon and and living in Vegas. Whenever I go other places and tell people where I'm from, they look at me incredulously and say, "You live in Vegas?", "Do you live in a hotel?" or "There's Mormons in Vegas?" Haha.

WHERE I GREW UP: Las Vegas, NV

It'll always be home. I might even be stuck here for the rest of my life. I'm okay with that. Or I'm okay with moving somewhere else, as long as it's a big city. We're city folk.

WHERE I'D LIKE TO TRAVEL: Hawaii We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon and I went there a few years ago with friends. It was gorgeous and very relaxing. Brody and I want to go again one day.

FAVORITE FOOD: Ice cream, of course!

I picked this picture as my favorite because it looks more like the frozen yogurt I get from TCBY. I love that place. Especially white chocolate mousse. It was a great treat that would help settle my stomach in the first trimester of my pregnancy. It's also a tasty treat that I don't need to have a reason to go get!

FAVORITE TREAT: Ice cream, again.
Favorite food, favorite treat - ice cream is the best of both worlds!

FAVORITE ANIMAL: Dog
When I was little, I liked white tigers. But now that I'm married and step-mom to two awesome dogs, I think they are my favorite!

A PAST LOVE: Peanut Butter
I chose peanut butter because I couldn't really think of anything and I remember eating peanut butter sandwiches when I was little. I just don't like it anymore and every time I say that, my husband looks at me like I'm from another planet. I swear I informed him of this BEFORE we got married. As long as he knows how much I love ice cream, we are good. He thought he'd be able to break me of that addiction, but I'm as stubborn as he is and he's had no luck. :o)

MY FIRST NAME: Jennifer

Jennifer Aniston is pretty. It was a choice between her and Jennifer Garner, who is equally pretty.

MY MIDDLE NAME: Lyn

I have no idea where this is from, but it was more appropriate than some of the pictures that came up and a little more exciting than the rest.

MY (OLD) LAST NAME:

I was curious to see what Little would come up with and was happy to see this image. The Little Mermaid was one of my favorite Disney movies as a kid. Sometimes I would cry when King Titan broke the statue of her love. *sniff*

MY LAST NAME: Broderdorf Is this my husband? Cuz under the caption it said "Jason Brody Broderdorf is on facebook." Weird.

WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW:Lots of interesting pictures went along with this one. This is one of many favorites, though it was hard to decide. Lots of cartoons and funny sayings. This one says, "Blogging: Those who have nothing important to say often speak the most."

I TAG EVERYONE!

To Find Out or To Not Find Out - That is the Question

2008-12-08T09:02:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I already know what I want - I want to wait until the baby is born to find out what it is. My husband, on the other hand, says he hates surprises (but he sure likes to surprise other people) and wants to know as soon as possible what we are having. I've always wanted a girl first, but we have a boy name picked out and haven't really been discussing a girl name since we don't agree, so I've kind of been hoping for a boy. Brody, being the man he is, wants a boy first to pass along his family name. It would also be fun to have a boy since my sister is having her boy, Cooper, next month.

So far I have had two dreams about the baby. One dream was at the doctor's office in the ultrasound and we accidentally found out it was a boy; the other was last night and I had twin girls, which was a surprise cuz we thought we were only having one baby. It was funny in the dream because I decided I would name one girl and Brody could name the other one, but he couldn't think of anything. I told Brody about the boy dream and he said we should find out, but I told him that we will just plan on a boy and be very surprised if it turns out to be a girl! Haha.

No one will change my mind and who knows if my husband will even read this post or any comments about this post to use against me in his argument, but I would like to know what everyone else thinks. I was in the room when my Kenzi was born and, after having two boys and trying not to get her heart set on a girl, Paula was so excited for the doctor to tell her it was a girl at last! That anticipation was so great and since I'm going to be doing all the work that day, I want to wait until that part of the hard work is over to find out the gender. Besides, Brody thinks that his place as the husband is in the waiting room, so if he doesn't know what we're having, that will give him a compelling reason to be in the room with me during labor. I think he knows he'll be in the doghouse if he isn't in there. I won' t be very happy with him cuz he's the only one I want in there besides the doctor and nurses.

So... what are your reasons for finding out or not finding out?

Stuck in Denver

2008-11-30T09:02:00.001-08:00

We came up to Denver for Thanksgiving to visit Brody's brother. All of his dad's sons were up here and got to hang out together. Josh, Brody and Charles. I'm sure they've had a good time. Thanksgiving was fun. We had four adults, three teenagers and five dogs in one small house. We played lots of Wii (I went from 68 to 26 on the Wii fitness age in one day - go me) and Guitar Hero and the boys watched a lot of Battlestar Gallactica.

I, of course, am reminded of how I'm pregnant every day. Crying for no reason (hadn't done that in a while, so I thought I was over that prego symptom), and pounding headaches that I can't take anything for (except Tylenol, which does absolutely nothing for me). I just want to go home to my bed, but the weather has stated otherwise. It was supposed to be bad weather on the way up and good weather on the way home. Silly Mother Nature and her lovely way of proving all weathermen wrong. It was the opposite - great weather on the way up and horrible weather the day we are supposed to be packing up and heading home. Blizzards and closed roads are forcing us to stick around a bit longer.

On the bad side, besides not being able to just be home again, neither of us will be working tomorrow or doing the things that we need to and there is a chance I won't get to see my sister and her husband one last time before their baby comes. On a good note, it's fun to visit Brody's family and see the beautiful snow and watch the dogs playing together inside and outside in the snow. I should put up some pictures from our trip, but it's time for breakfast and a heating pad on my hurting head.

Oh, and I love food. It just stinks that I get full after four bites. Haha.

Thankfulness

2008-11-24T16:59:00.000-08:00

As Thanksgiving approaches, I decided my next blog post would be a few things I am thankful for. These are just a few of the things I am thankful for. There are so many other things, but these are the ones that came to mind. Since I will be gone on Thanksgiving, I wanted to do it now. Happy Turkey Day everyone!

*My hubby for being so amazing and working hard to take care of us and for all of his patience during the pregnancy so far. I'm also thankful that he will get me what I'm craving. (He has also learned that pulling the pregnancy card works for him, too! All he has to say is, "I have a pregnant wife in the car!")
*Bostyn and Emmitt for being so cute and having great personalities and keeping me company all day and being so excited to see me when I get home from work.
*Being pregnant, even on the bad days. It happened so fast and I know we are lucky for that.
*Being pregnant with my sister (and four other family members and friends). I'm glad our baby will have a cousin close in age.
*Having a job that I love and Brody having a job in this economy.
*Having a place to live and food to eat.
*Getting to go to Denver for Thanksgiving and take the dogs. Brody is happy for the chance to spend some quality time with his brothers, Josh and Charles.
*Thanksgiving! One of my favorite holidays. Probably because food is involved!
*My mom for cleaning our kitchen for my birthday present.

Life is good.

Happy Birthday and Husbands

2008-11-19T14:15:00.001-08:00

In honor of my 30th birthday, I have decided to fill out this survey I saw a while ago on some other blogs. It's about husbands and I really love mine. He is my best friend and I am pretty much the luckiest person alive to have him in my life.

Love you, Brody!

1. Where did you meet your husband? In Las Vegas at his house. We met through one of my most awesomest home teachers, David Carter. David was moving and I went over to help him and ended up staying to hang out with my new, mysterious friend, Brody. I ended up finding reasons to go to his house a lot. David was nice enough to leave me there and not say anything about me not actually helping him. He's such a good friend.

2. How long did you date before you married? That's a funny story... Here's the short version: We dated for about 2-3 months at the end of '05 before he just completely stopped talking to me (Jan '09) and left me totally and utterly confused for almost two years before I got up the courage to send him a short "hi" message on facebook (where I just happened to stumble upon him in Sept or Oct 07). I didn't actually send him a message until the beginning of December and it took the encouragement (threat) from my upstairs neighbor, Spencer, to do it. Two months and seven days after we saw each other for the second first time (after lots of texting during the days and seeing other in the evenings), I had some huge rocks on my fingers (Feb 9, 2008) and we got married on Slurpee Day this year!

3. How long have you been married? According to my newest little widget, 4 months, 1 week and 1 day!

4. What does he do that surprises you? Sometimes he buys me expensive things he thinks I need to have; they are usually something I have wanted but decided to not get on account of saving money. Like an ipod. Sometimes surprise gifts aren't too expensive, but they are always very thoughtful. And sometimes he surprises me by scaring me - he thinks it's funny. Other than that, most little things he does or says surprises me cuz he usually does the opposite of what I think he's gonna do. That will keep our marriage from getting boring - for sure!

5. What is his favorite feature? His cute smile and his eyes. I just love his skin. It is always so soft. And the fact that he is my personal heater in the winter (summer was hard). He's also tall. I love that. I really love his sense of humor.

6. What is his favorite quality? I really love his sense of humor and the way he was a born provider. He is a hard worker and will always take care of me and our future kids. I will always appreciate that. Plus, he lets me pay the bills.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Toots, pookie, dear, honey. Whatever he's in the mood for. A cute name usually comes around 5 or 6 in the morning in his good morning text. I usually call him dear or honey. (I think he's so cute.) If he is getting after me for something, he calls me Jennifer Lyn...

8. What is his favorite food? "It really does vary." That's what he says. But he loves a good steak (yay Capital Grille) and potatoes. And he loves cookie dough. Audrey should come visit and make some (hint hint).

9. What is his favorite sport? College basketball. He LOVES UNLV. I by "loves" I mean "is obsessed with and will always be a die hard fan and supporter." He also enjoys football.

10. When & where was your first kiss? Cuddling on the couch at his house. I've never been forward with guys, but I had to be with him. Guess I just wanted to kiss him way bad! This was the first time we dated. Our next first kiss was the night I went to his house to see him for the first "second" time. Haha. This time he was the one who kissed me and it was as I was leaving. I sure was glad.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Are there any kids reading this? Haha. Moving on... We also like to go shopping and out to eat. We've had to cut back a lot cuz both of us are good at spending too much money. We also like our TV shows and movies. I think I like cuddling more than he does - makes sense, I'm the girl.

12. Do you have any children? It's just a little blob right now inside of me, but come next June, we'll have a baby!

13. Does he have any hidden talents? Pretty much all of his talents are hidden because he doesn't like a lot of attention. He can sing really well and sometimes he'll sing in the shower. He does a great impression of Neil Diamond. :o) He is able to remember little bits of information he read or heard that most people wouldn't even consider trying to remember. It's crazy! He manages to forget lots of things I think he should remember like conversations or promises, but he can remember that a blue whale ejaculates four gallons of semen at one time. (I am looking for an opportunity to share that fact in a conversation - awkward!) He is an amazing cook and can mess up the kitchen in a matter of minutes! But that one really isn't a hidden talent. Thankfully, he shares that one. He also has the innate ability to say things that you wouldn't normally say in a certain situation. Most of the time it's such a crazy thing to say, it's funny. When I went to his house to see him after not seeing him for almost two years, we said our hellos, sat down on the couch and put our arms around each other. We sat there for a minute and being the romantic he is, he said, "Did you miss me?" I immediately said "yes" without thinking about it because I had definitely missed him, but looking back on it, I think it's quite hilarious. What a question.

14. How old is he? He just turned 32, older than me by 2 years. Just perfect, if you ask me.

15. Who said I love you first? He tried to say it first, but those three words didn't come out in a sentence by itself in that order. He had pretty much told me in a couple of text messages that he loved me and had fallen in love with me, but when he finally got up the courage to say it, it happened like this: We were cuddling and probably just talking about whatever. He said, "Have I told you that I love you?" A million things raced through my mind in a matter of seconds. "In text messages he has. Wait, he threw me off by phrasing it as a question. So, do I say yes or do I say no cuz he has, but not out loud. Um..." What finally came out was something in the negative form, like "No" or "Uh-uh" or "I don't think so" or something like that. I think the last one, but I'm not sure. He replied with, "Well, I do." So I said, "I love you too." I told him that he threw me off by phrasing that as a question because I couldn't use the comeback I had planned on using. Some of you might get it and some of you won't, but I decided that the first time he said, "I love you" to me, I would look him right in the eye and say, "DO you?" The next day "I love you" came out of his mouth, just like that. :o) Later that day he reminded me that he had told me he loved me in text messages. I agreed and let him know those remarks didn't slip by me at all, but I answered no cuz he hadn't said it out loud. I think he was a little scared to say it in the first place. I married a man who, just a couple of years ago, would never have believed he was going to get married and have kids. I'm sure glad he changed his mind.

16. What is his favorite music? He loves listening to talk radio, but he loves 80's music, 80's & 90's alternative and rap. Loves rap.

17. What do you admire most about him? Sometimes the things I admire about him are the things that irritate me. Like his innate ability to know how I feel about something or how I feel emotionally or physically. He pretty much has me figured out and almost knows me almost better than I do. He says I can't hide anything from him. So that can be irritating, but can also be to his advantage. I admire his ability to do what he has to do (like work and take care of me and the dogs) even though he has an extremely bad back that will never improve until he has back surgery. He has a good heart and wants to do nice things for people all the time (unless you cross him, then you have to watch out cuz he can be very vindictive).

18. What is his favorite color? I would say red because he is obsessed with UNLV. Also, he knows he looks good in red and has a lot of red clothes. But he says he doesn't have a favorite color. It all depends on what he's doing. Is he dressing for a UNLV game or getting ready for church? He likes bright colors and pastels when it comes to clothes and ties and shoes. He's very colorful.

19. Will he read this? I never give him the chance to find my posts on his own. I end up telling him I updated it and he should read it. If they're too long, it takes him a couple of days. Haha.

20. Who do you tag? Everyone - it's a fun way to get to know people.

Oh, the joys of pregnancy

2008-11-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

Anyone out there want to come clean my house for me? I really want to do it, but there doesn't seem to be an ounce of energy in my entire body. Well, except for that teeny, tiny part of me that is stealing it all. The blob, the lizard, whatever you want to call it. I thought I knew tired, but this is ridiculous!

I am just thankful that my husband is so patient and willing to help out with things. He really is the best. I hope I'm cooking a rough and tumble, manly baseball player for him, but I know he'll still love his cute little dancer if that's what it turns out to be.

Apparently I have a mild urinary tract infection, though I didn't have any symptoms and was surprised to hear that. I need to remind myself to drink more water. Anyway, I got a prescription for some antibiotics (which my dear husband went to fill and pick up - thanks, honey) and started taking them on Wednesday.

I threw up on Thursday. Gross. So far, I have prided myself on not having morning sickness in the form of vomiting. (Mine is more in the form of - I can't get out of bed in the morning and I feel like I've been hit by a truck.) But by yesterday, I just started to feel awful. Wednesday was rough, but Thursday was even worse. I went to my adult student's house for her lesson and she could tell I wasn't feeling too hot and gave me that "I know how you feel" look. I had started getting a little car sick on the drive over, which never happens when I'm the one in the driver's seat. She gave me some ice water and I started drinking it. Then it happened. A quick jaunt to the bathroom. Thankfully I felt much better afterwards.

One more test, though. I took the antibiotic last night with my dinner and thought things were fine. Fast forward to 12:30 in the morning and I am moaning in my sleep and curled up in a ball. It wasn't until I felt Brody's hand rubbing my back that I became fully aware of how horrible my stomach pains were. That little pill was ripping apart my insides. Not fun. Brody was nice enough to get me some crackers and a sprite and that (thankfully) settled my stomach down and helped me go back to sleep.

Side effects of the antibiotics: headaches, stomach pains, nausea. Check, check, and check. I'm calling my doctor today and seeing if there is something else I can take. I can't live on Sprite and saltines!

Baby Blob - Only one!

2008-11-11T19:28:00.001-08:00

Wanna see our baby? It's just a blob, but a baby nonetheless! Here is our baby's first picture...

Brody's reaction to the doctor saying, "Good news. There's only one baby.": Fists in the air and triumphantly saying, "YES!" All the while with a huge smile on his face. What a cute daddy.

We got to see the little heart beating and hear the quick thumps. It's amazing that something this tiny can make me so tired and hormonal! It more real now cuz it seemed I was always telling myself in between mood swings and sore boobs that I am really pregnant. It was almost like I was convincing myself that it was true. Now we have a picture to prove it.

Brody had the day off so he got to come to the appointment with me. I got my official due date, which was exactly when I thought it was. June 25, 2009. So I punched my wonderful husband and told him to stop wishing me pregnant until the end of July. I'm 8 weeks along on Thursday and have my next appointment scheduled for December 10. We even got an estimate on how much our baby will cost for the doctor visits. The little sucker is already costing us money. But that's okay. We'll be glad for the new addition to our family.

Pregnancy Symptoms and Good Books

2008-11-02T10:50:00.001-08:00

One of the best pregnancy symptoms I have experienced so far is sudden mood swings, which includes crying for no reason. Of course, the first sentence of my post was total sarcasm. I don't know who is more annoyed at this - me or Brody. As I was moving the bookshelf (including ALL the books) from our bedroom to the guest bedroom (aka Lindsay's room this coming weekend), I ran across a book I remember reading as a child on sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa Little's house. I think the one I read was my dad's that he read as a child, but now I have my own. The book is entitled "CDB" by William Steig. It is full of letters, numbers and the occasional ampersand, but no actual words spelled out. If you read it out loud, the sentences make perfect sense! I took a break from moving all the books, sat on the floor and read it. The following one made me laugh as this very thing happened to us just last Sunday.
Poor Brody. My friend Kareoke Jen told me this means that some hormone is VERY present in my body, which in turn, means great things for the baby. I am definitely grateful I haven't had any morning sickness yet, so I suppose I'll just have to put up with the unwarranted tears. :o)

Baby Brody

2008-10-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Emmitt and Bostyn are proud to announce an addition to their family. Brody and Jen will be welcoming a baby into their happy home next year at the end of June! Jen is just over 5 weeks along and learning about all the wonderful pregnancy symptoms one by one as they slowly creep into her life, which, in turn, gives Brody the opportunity to experience them as well, bless his heart. We are all very excited and freaked out of our minds! But this new adventure will certainly be fun.

To celebrate our happy news, we went to our favorite restaurant last night and ate the delicious food at Capital Grille. We decided that we'd wait until we found out we were pregnant before we ate there again. We requested the same waiter who made our engagement night so enjoyable and he was nice enough to take our picture.

How I Am I So Behind?

2008-10-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

Brody and I have been married for over 3 months now and it's been fabulous. He made me quit half of my jobs - haha. I'm kind of teasing, but kind of not. He didn't like how stressed out I was working so much. I didn't realize how my stress levels could affect someone else. But I suppose that's what happens when you get married. You care about someone so much that everything they do can affect you. But anyway, I am grateful that I have more time to relax and be at home. I like the company of our "kids," Bostyn and Emmitt. I enjoy my time to get normal things done (laundry, vacuuming, bills...) and also have time for other things.

This being said, I am still flabbergasted that I feel so behind! My To Do List keeps getting bigger, even though I cross things off every day. One thing I still have not gotten to is Thank You cards from my bridal shower (in June!) and the wedding. It's so weird to me that I can constantly be working on something and still be behind on things, even with all the extra time I have away from working! So this will be a short post (amazingly enough) and I must get to work and be productive!

And I love my husband.

All About Me

2008-10-14T04:20:00.000-07:00

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Getting ready to turn 20 in a month
2. Nannying in Kansas City for the Reefers
3. Hanging with my friends in the Singles Branch
4. Getting ready to move to Utah
5. Wondering about which direction my life was going to take

Five things on my to do list today:

1. Deposit all my husband's money in my account
2. Go to Stacey's and make baby shower invites
3. Make some returns... and some purchases
4. Talk to the dogs (not really on my list, but I know it'll happen)
5. Teach 5 lessons

Five snacks I enjoy:

1. Right now little candy corn pumpkins
2. ICE CREAM!
3. Cereal
4. Tortilla with cheese
5. Did I say ice cream?

*Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. Give my husband every little (or big) toy he wants!
2. Get out of debt
3. Build a huge house on some old horse property
4. Buy my dream piano
5. GO SHOPPING!

*Five places I've lived:

1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Liberty, MO
3. Kansas City, MO
4. Delta, UT
5. Las Vegas, NV again

*Five Jobs I've had:

1. TCBY/Baskin Robbins (1st two jobs)
2. Safe Key
3. Nanny
4. Receptionist/Chiropractor's Assistant
5. Piano Teacher

*8 Things I Did Today

1. Wished the alarm wasn't going off - 3:45 comes WAY too early
2. Made 2 sammiches for my hubby's lunch
3. Looked over my list of things to do today
4. Thought about going to the gym later (we'll see...)
5. Checked my e-mail and facebook
6. Gave Brody a kiss goodbye
7. Looked up other blogs
8. Threw leftover food out in the trash

*8 Shows I Love to Watch:

1. Law & Order (mostly the original - I could watch it ALL DAY!)
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (one more season)
3. Angel
4. The Office
5. Heroes (on Season 2 - trying to catch up!)
6. Scrubs
7. Dog Whisperer
8. Burn Notice

*8 Restaurants I Love:

1. CAPITAL GRILLE!
2. Ricardo's/Via Mercado's (kind of the same catagory)
3. Olive Garden
4. Cheese Cake Factory
5. Claim Jumper
6. Red Robin
7. P.F. Chang's
8. BJ's Restaurant

*8 Things I am Looking Forward to:

1. Getting pregnant (we'll see how I feel after it happens) and having a family with Brody
2. Getting out of debt
3. Going camping Halloween weekend
4. Thanksgiving in Denver with the dogs
5. First Christmas with my new, little family (Brody, Bostyn & Emmitt)
6. Getting my new digital scrapbook software
7. My new nephew, Cooper, being born and spending time with him and his parents in Quincy
8. Getting my house cleaned and organized

*My Wish List

1. I wish I was pregnant
2. I wish I was out of debt
3. I wish my husband's back wasn't all screwed up and he could be pain free
4. I wish I didn't procrastinate so much
5. I wish I had a new wardrobe
6. I wish I had straight teeth
7. I wish I had a brand new car
8. I wish I could sleep all day!

*8 people I tag:

1. Lindsay Driscoll
2. Stacey Clement
3. Audrey Kingham
4. Lara Heiselbetz
5. Heidi Menssen
6. Stacie Tittrington
7. Jenn Lanier (time to update your blog!)
8. Brittany Marshall

*I

I am... happy to be married to my hubby.
I think... but not enough sometimes - haha.
I know... I deserve my husband and he deserves me. :o)
I want... to use my husband's money wisely.
I have... a fantastic husband.
I miss... Lindsay and Andrew.
I fear... Brody's impending back surgery.
I hear... the music from Lara's blog (good songs).
I smell... nothing right now.
I crave... cereal.
I cry... when I'm frustrated.
I search... for more time to get things done!
I wonder... if I'll ever get the house clean - really clean. (I think Brody wonders this too.)
I regret... letting myself get taken advantage of for too many years.
I wish... it would ease into cold weather - I love fall!
I love... Brody. He's my favorite.
I care... about what people think too much.
I always... talk or laugh.
I worry... about things I can't control and don't know if Brody will ever break me of that one.
I am not... wanting to be awake right now.
I remember... when I was ten and the biggest worry in my life was whether or not I was sleeping over at Grandma Little's that upcoming Friday night!
I believe... anyone can get through anything, no matter how hard.
I sing... in the car mostly.
I don't always... make the bed.
I argue... a lot, especially when I don't feel I'm being understood.
I write... in my piano students' notebooks during every lesson.
I win... when I get the bills paid on time!
I listen... to my husband tell me all sorts of information I'll never remember, except when I'm wondering how the heck he can remember things that are ultimately unimportant, but not the conversation we had the other day; then I have to focus and concentrate on what he's still going on and on about - I really do care.
I need... to eat more fruits and veggies.
I forget... a lot of things.
I am happy... period. :o)

My Kids

2008-10-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the loves of my life. They just adore their dad and if they had to choose between us, he'd win every time. That's okay with me, though. They are good, loyal dogs, which is what they should be. And I know I'll always be ahead of them (just barely) on Brody's list.

Here is Bostyn showing you one of her tricks.
She likes to do this right before we go inside.

A Tornado Has Hit My House and More About the Dogs

2008-10-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

As you can tell by my background, I have felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I got caught in a tornado and that Wicked Witch just flew around laughing at me! It picked up my house and shook it until everything got taken out of it's proper place and randomly landed throughout each room.

My house is a disaster.

To get ready for my sister's visit/baby shower/birthday party next month, I had to (finally) gut the spare bedroom so she wouldn't have to sleep on the couch. It has been filled with wedding stuff and wedding presents for quite some time. (I haven't even started Thank You cards - aaahh!) So all the presents got hauled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. They stayed there for quite a while until I stacked them in the hall so we could actually use the kitchen. We took the duplicate presents back to Target and bought a few more things from our registry that we didn't get for the wedding.

I started cleaning and rearranging the spare bedroom so I can move Brody's desk out where the kitchen table is holding the computer so the kitchen table can go in the garage. (We don't sit at the dinner table - that's why we have TV trays!) Then I'll move my desk from the laundry room to the spare bedroom, and the bookshelf from the master bedroom to the spare bedroom. I also need to clean both bathrooms (deep clean - they are gross) so I can put away all the new towels and rugs and hang the new shower rod and curtain in the guest bathroom - I'm sure Lindsay would love to be able to have her own bathroom and I would love to have a functioning guest bathroom instead of a dog room. Once the bathrooms get cleaned and my desk is moved, I can move the dog kennel into the laundry room along with both dogs' bowls and water dish. When we bring Brody's fridge over, it will take the place of my fridge in the kitchen and my fridge will get moved into the laundry room to become the "Drink and Storage Fridge" and I don't know where we'll put the dog kennel.

So basically, I have a million projects and most of them require another project being done before I can get to the one I really want to work on. So I'm just trying to keep my head about water and get all the regular things done as well as everything else that gets thrown at me on a daily basis, on top of all the projects I have to do. Thankfully, my hubby got working on his "Honey-Do" list this week and I sure am grateful he is such a handy man. He put a light in the living room, backed up the computer and yesterday he tried to put the new curtains up over the sliding glass door. That has been put on hold until we find curtains that are long enough - the ones we bought are too short.

Since Brody thinks this is more of a Dog Blog (maybe I should start one just for them...), I have to mention my two adorable and energetic kids. I substituted on Wednesday and Thursday of this week and got wonderful "Why did you leave us for so long, Mom?" greetings upon my return. Emmitt usually isn't so needy, but I think he's been spoiled having me home during the day whilst Dad is working and he demanded my attention for quite a while. Bostyn is her usual psychotic self; the giddyness of seeing me again just lasted a little longer than normal.

They are getting better at listening and doing what they are supposed to do. Today Emmitt had an appointment at the groomers so we went for a fun ride in the car to drop him off. They were so excited to go for a ride in the car. They love to put their heads out the window and feel the air go up their noses. Haha. Bostyn wasn't happy about being at PetSmart cuz she didn't want to stay and it was Emmitt's first time at that location so he was a little hesitant. But he went in all right and Bostyn then proceeded to get upset that her friend was leaving and she couldn't go with him. As soon as we got home, she searched the house for Emmitt and when she didn't see him, she decided to just be lazy for a while and went to lay down.

My latest goal is to teach them to hold things in their mouth when we want them to. That way they will learn to bring us things and, ultimately, maybe throw things away for us when we don't want to get up. This might take years. Haha. Emmitt doesn't like holding things in his mouth upon command and Bostyn is a little slow when it comes to learning something new. They are both stubborn, just like their parents.

I have now spent entirely too much time updating the blog, but it needed to be done. I only have a few hours to work on the tornado before my hubby comes home to give me his weekly paycheck. I just love him for that. And I'm pretty sure he just loves me for taking it and getting all his bills paid so he doesn't have to. That's just how we roll when it comes to money.

Wetting the Bed... And Losing Weight

2008-09-24T05:07:00.001-07:00

The two "titles" of this post don't have anything to do with each other, but I didn't want to do two separate posts. That being said, here goes nothing...

We've only been married for a couple of months, so we don't have any kids who are toilet training, so naturally I don't ever worry about waking up in the middle of the night feeling wet and having to change the sheets because someone wet the bed.

I was wrong.

Poor Bostyn. I couldn't be upset at her. Yesterday morning I dropped the kids off at Petsmart so they could get their teeth cleaned (their breath was awful) and Emmitt could get his shots. Brody had to pick them up in the afternoon whilst I was teaching. They were still a little woozy from the anesthetic they were given and, upon arriving home, just lounged on the couch all afternoon with their Dad. Even when I came home from work and Brody was already in bed, the usual hyper Bostyn kind of strolled out of the bedroom to say hello to me and get some loving and then went back in and laid down. Emmitt came out a minute or two after Bostyn.

Once I was ready for bed, we invited the dogs back up on the bed and settled in for the night. I mostly slept in the middle of the bed, probably crowding my husband; but what could I do? The dogs had claimed their space and it's a pain to move them so I enjoyed the warm bodies all around me. I got a little too warm a couple of times in the night, but I wasn't going to complain cuz usually I'm freezing.

Suddenly Bostyn decided she'd head down to the floor and Emmitt followed suit. Happy for the extra room I was given, I rolled over a little to spread out. Huh? It felt wet. More confusion in my mind. I looked at the clock - 12:30 am. Growl. I'm so tired! Can it really be pee? I half sit up in bed, completely awake now, and Brody stirs. "I think Bostyn peed on the bed," I said. "She probably just drooled," a half awake Brody says. "Ya right," I'm thinking. "She doesn't drool THAT much." No wonder she didn't want to be on the bed anymore.

So I stay crammed in the little space I have - between my heater of a husband and an invisible wall that shouldn't be knocked down for fear of soaking up pee/drool/wetness into my pajamas. I don't sleep well. Is it ever going to be time to get up?

Finally the alarm goes off and even thought I've been waiting for this moment, I hit the snooze twice before I stagger out of bed to make Brody's lunch for the day. Into the kitchen comes Bostyn, much more enthusiastic than last night. I'm happy for the change in her demeanor. I bend down and give her some attention and ask her why she would pee in mom and dad's bed. She just looks at me with those eyes like, "I couldn't help it. I was drugged and so out of it. Love me anyway." And I do.

They didn't get anything to eat at all yesterday and I know Bostyn was confused about that and missed her food bowl - she kept going in the bathroom and sniffing around the spot it usually sits in. She especially missed her wonderful water bowl which she frequently visits during the night since we sleep with the door open. So before I finish making food for my husband (who DID eat the day before), I went to fill up their food bowls.

More pee.

This time I stepped in it. Right next to the door leading out to the garage. I sighed, went in the wash my foot off and told Brody she peed in the laundry room. "Really?" he asked. I still can't be mad at her. At least she was kind enough to pee on the linoleum instead of the carpet. But I wondered if there was more. Fingers are still crossed that I don't find any more wet spots.

So now everyone is up. I REALLY don't want to be up and want to crawl back into bed. I go back in the bedroom and Brody states matter-of-factly, "It's pee all right." I'm thinking to myself, "Duh. I knew that last night when I said she peed on the bed." Sigh. Not looking forward to the clean up I had ahead of me, I said, "I know. I slept in it all night." I have to laugh at the face Brody makes when he's totally amused yet feels bad for the situation as he apologizes for something that wasn't his fault. "I'm sorry."

So as of right now I've taken the sheets of the bed and put them in the washer and soaked the spot on the mattress with water and some laundry detergent. Luckily the pee only got on the top part of the mattress and not down into the foam. (We have a sleep number bed.) I just pray that the very potent girl dog pee doesn't cause horrible aromas in our bed or burn a hole in the mattress. Haha. She's killed many patches of grass outside in our "backyard" with that pee. I'm thinking that Bostyn should probably get one of her very desirous baths today. Dad is good at giving her one of those. Anyway...

I still love our dogs.

And I will still love our kids when I have to take care of all the messes they will make when they come along. Heck, I still even love my husband when I pick up dirty socks or empty Pepsi cans cuz he forgets where the laundry basket and the garbage can are. :o) (Hee hee, just kidding dear. Aboout you forgetting where dirty clothes and garbage goes, not about loving you.) I don't mind picking up after my husband if he's going to get up at the buttcrack of dawn and go to work and deal with stupid people all day cuz every Friday he hands over pretty much all of his paycheck so I can pay the bills. He's a good man.

I'm also proud of him (though I mostly act annoyed that he's doing so much better than I am) because he's lost 27 pounds! One good thing about his stubbornness is that when he makes his mind up on something, he sticks to it. He decided to start eating better. So he cut out fast food, some of his Pepsi intake and eating late at night and the pounds have just melted away. I like to think it was that gym membership we got for him, but he hasn't used it yet. That'll be for the toning and to built muscle and such.

Since I see him every day, at first I didn't notice, but one day I was watching him as we were outside walking the dogs and I realized that his clothes are definitely looking looser. He had to go buy new work pants cuz his old ones were practically falling off him! He's still in need of some new belts - you can only make your own holes in your belt so many times before it's just time to fork out the money for a brand new belt that fits right. I look back at our engagement pictures and realize is has made a difference.

Of course I loved him with that extra weight the same as I love him now, but hearing that his blood pressure is down and that his knees and back don't hurt as much, I'm glad he's taking care of himself and wants to be healthier. He's a good man and I probably don't deserve him, but I'm pretty lucky that he puts up with me.

Last, but not least... I found this on dogsonshirts.com as I was looking for Christmas stockings for the dogs. (Yes, I'm really going to get some.)

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A DOG PERSON IF...
1. You and your family haven't had your annual check up in two years, bu the dogs are medically up to date.
2. You start barking at your children to "Sit! Stay!"
3. You snuggle closer to the dog than the person with whom you are sleeping.
4. Your mom calls and asks how the grandogs are.
5. Your first concern when planning a vacation is whether or not the hotel will take pets.
6. First time visitors wonder aloud: "Do you smell something?" and you really don't.
7. You break down and buy another pillow so you have one to sleep on.
8. The instructions to the dog kennel are longer than the instructions to the house sitter.
9. You kiss your dog more than 10 times per greeting.
10. You call long distance and talk with your dog.

#1 is true.
#2 will probably happen.
#3 - Brody got a talking to about that one as he was cuddling with Bostyn on one end of the couch and I was on the other. :o)
#4 doesn't really happen.
#5 - Brody already knows all the hotels that take pets.
#6 doesn't happen cuz our house doesn't smell.
#7 - I think that happened to Brody before we got married.
#8 - Audrey would know. She dogsat for us once and most of the instructions were for them.
#9 - Not actual kisses, but they do get a lot of attention.
#10 - I may have tried to say hi to Bostyn and Emmitt whilst I was in China.
WE'RE DEFINATELY DOG PEOPLE. :o)

Play time & Cookies

2008-09-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the dogs get bored with being indoors. As I was talking on the phone to my sister, the "kids" (as we like to call them) were taunting each other by taking a toy they knew the other one liked out of the toy basket and throwing it around in front of each other. Of course, this led to a little play fighting. I wanted to get some video of them taunting each other, but I was too late for that. So for now, here is a little clip of them playing together. At least they're quiet. Can't say that for any kids we have who will be fighting a few years down the road. We'll probably just sit calmly by and let them fight whilst we videotape them too. Hee hee.

The kids love their cookies - and they know that word when they hear it. They will prance around and sit down quickly and be on their best behavior cuz they just love those things. About a month ago, I taught them how to shake. It took Bostyn a little bit longer to learn than Emmitt, but she got it. One thing she does better than Emmitt, though, is holding still (pretty much the only time she will...) with a cookie in between her eyes until we say "okay" and she can flip it off her face and catch in midair in her mouth. Emmitt HATES that and won't hold still so he has to shake instead. We have to give Emmitt his cookie first and watch Bostyn cuz she scarfs (sp?) her down and tries to get his. Pardon my heavy breathing. I've been way congested and sick since last night. I can't really breathe or talk very well.

Sister...

2008-09-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

So... I talked to my sister. My day is complete.

The end

ICE CREAM!

2008-09-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

I LOVE FOOD! Especially ice cream... So Brody and I went on our date last night. He loves steak. I love ice cream. We had steak for dinner and I had ice cream for dessert. (He had some cheesecake.) The neopolitan brownie sundae looked the most exciting to me, so I ordered it. Much to my surprise, this is how it came, minus the hot fudge. The guy who brought it poured the hot fudge on the top of each flavor right before my eyes! It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I almost shed a tear... Haha. Not really, but it was DEE-licious. Mmm... I told Brody we would go back there next time just for dessert.

I asked our waiter if she would take our picture since we got all dressed up to go to the Las Vegas Philharmonic (which was AMAZING, by the way, cuz they had a piano player and his fingers played so fast, they were blurry!), and to show off my new glasses. I told Brody if I got cute, new glasses (with my new vision insurance - being married has it's benefits), I would wear them and I have worn them - lots. I didn't put my contacts in at all whilst we were lounging at Coral Pink. They are fun, with transition lenses. They don't get very dark, but I'm not in direct sunlight very much so they are just fine. Oh, and they are Oakleys. My husband is so proud. *tear*

Accomplished and Productive

2008-09-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

I am the type of person who, if I can have a list of things to do and cross things off that list, will feel like I accomplished something worthwhile and didn't just waste hours and hours of a perfectly good Saturday. Sometimes I'll even write down things I did in my planner, just so I can cross them off! Not that anyone cares, but I have spent all day (so far) in my pajamas cleaning the house and doing a few other things that needed to get done. Now I feel like I can enjoy the rest of the weekend. Here's my list:

- Make the bed (this doesn't happen every day)
- Take dogs out for their morning bathroom break/play time
- Laundry (whites, colors, towels, hand wash)
- Sweep both bathrooms and the kitchen
- Reorganize things in master bathroom
- Fix toilet paper holders in both bathrooms
- Clean toilets (sort of...)
- Move tools and junk from living room to garage
- Vacuum the whole house (except the guest bedroom which we still can't get into)
- Fix cushions and pillows on couch and chair
- Check e-mail, Fabebook & Myspace (usually a daily occurance)
- Watch an episode of "Angel" while eating breakfast
- Hand wash a few dishes
- Run dishwasher
- Unload dishwaser
- Update my piano policies and contract
- E-mail policies and contract to prospective students
- Put things in D.I. pile out in storage room off patio

Now, you might think this is silly. It probably is. But now I can get out of my pajamas and shower and look forward to the rest of my day. Brody should be home from work soon, we'll take the dogs out and get ready for our date. Dinner and the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Brody doesn't have to work tomorrow so being out so late won't be too bad. We still have to get up early to be to church at 9, but it will be nice for me to spend tomorrow with him in a clean house without worrying about a whole bunch of things to do. If I feel like it, I'll tackle another project (like the spare room with the rest of the wedding presents we need to find a place for, or even get started on thank you cards). If I don't, I'll lounge around with Brody. Or maybe even read...

Coral Pink

2008-09-03T06:19:00.000-07:00

Brody and I have finally settled in as a married couple and are back to going out of town with his sister's family and all their four wheeling buddies! This time we went to Coral Pink. It was fun and relaxing. We managed to con Travis and Stacey to come up for a night to hang out with us.

They got to go on a little "date" on the four wheelers after Brody suggested that "we" watch the kids. That meant I was with the kids and he was talking to everyone else! Haha.

Brody did help by getting a little bed made for Emma after she fell asleep, still sobbing from the upset of having her mom and dad leave her in the hands of her 2nd mean mother, Jennifer. Alexis and Katie played in the dirt, making all sorts of "drinks" with the plastic cups they found. Stacey and I played along while Brody and Travis just looked at them and said, "That's not lemonade. That's dirt in a cup." Thank you Captian Obvious! :o)

A nice group shot of all us! We were glad Travis brought the shade! It was the warmest on Saturday. After the Clements left, the rain came for many hours that night!

Another fun time was seeing the cows that wandered near our camp. We kind of took over their drinking fountain by parking all the trucks and toy haulers around the water.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. I always get lots of sleep, which I used to need from working so much. I figure I'm still trying to catch up on all the sleep I've missed over the last few years! Haha. It's still nice to get away and not have to worry about anything. Brody was way excited he got to tow something back to Vegas with his truck since Travis left his trailer and four wheelers there.

Proud Parents - Bostyn & Emmitt

2008-08-22T21:03:00.001-07:00

Bostyn and Emmitt showing off their new neckware after their annual check-up with their doggie doctor.
It's amazing how you can get married and instantly become the stepmom. Grandma Little always said I would marry a guy with kids - I just didn't know they would be dogs! I already knew I liked Emmitt when I dated Brody the first time, but Bostyn was a new addition when we got back together so I had to get to know her. Just in the past few weeks, I have come to realize how much I love my kids. They are always happy to see me and even happier when I ask them if they want to go outside. Their ears perk up and Bostyn goes berzerk (more than normal). Emmitt, on the other hand, prances around and get that gleam in his eyes. Of course, their hearts will always belong to their dad - they only have eyes for Brody when he's home, no matter what I do to get their attention. Such devotion.

I realized last night that I was becoming one of those "parents." You know the ones. Always talking about how adorable their kids are and showing pictures of them. Ya, I do that. I have tons of pictures and videos of them on my phone and as soon as anyone asks what kind of dogs we have (which I can remember - finally), I whip out my phone and bore everyone to tears. But that's okay - I just love them! I talk to them all day and boss Bostyn around to do all the things I should be doing. One day I'll come home and she will have cleaned the house for me, right? Ha. Just teaching her how to "shake" took quite some time and lots of cookies, dog cookies, that is.

The weird thing is, Brody added Bostyn to the canine team at a time when he thought he would be a bachelor forever. He also wanted someone Emmitt could hang out with. Both dogs are rescue dogs and have some of the most interesting personalities. The most interesting part of it all is that the saying "owners are like their pets" is VERY relevant here, which is quite amusing. I marvel at the way our little family has come together. Emmitt (or Brody) tries to be the alpha male and is calm, loyal and steadfast. He can also be somewhat of a creep, with his shifty stare or his slow crawl when you're not looking. (Okay, Brody doesn't creep up on you like Emmitt, but he can look at you with those beautiful eyes of his in a creepy kind of way sometimes. It's cute.) Bostyn (or Jen) is always on the move, wanting to know what's going on with everything, extremely curious, yet cautious and fearful, and pretty much psychotic and needy.

We enjoy taking the kids out to the grassy area behind our condo and letting them play with their new friends. I always remember the names of the other dogs, but as much as we talk with the owners, I have no clue what their names are! Bostyn doesn't care how small the puppies are (like 5 month old Abby) or how big Bella and Czar are (they outweigh her by 60 & 95 pounds), she enjoys playing with them all - and we enjoy watching them. It's also great because they sleep through the night and don't stir too much when we're up at 4 in the morning to get Brody off to work. Emmitt will be a great big brother and Bostyn will be a great big sister when the time comes to add a human baby to our family!

Grandparents

2008-08-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

Some of the coolest people on the planet are grandparents. They always spoil you and think you are the best thing since sliced bread (to use a saying from back when they were young - long, long ago)!
We were lucky enough to have some of our grandparents at our wedding. Louie got such a precious picture of my Grandma and Grandpa Little dancing. From the looks of it, I think my grandma still likes my grandpa, even though he can drive her crazy at times. But since she is just as crazy as the rest of us, she does all right.

Another neat lady is Brody's Grandma "Chris" Christensen - Kathy's mom. She is fun to be around and likes to have a good time. Today she is leaving with some of her kids to travel to China, which Brody is excited about because she's going to look for some really nice golf clubs that are cheaper to get there. Brody & Grandma Chris can go on and on about golf while I just sit there looking at them like they are speaking a foreign language. I suppose they are because my golf talk is certainly not up to par! (pun intended)

Ambien

2008-08-18T05:22:00.001-07:00

Isn't my hubby cute? Those droopy eyes and that goofy grin! Aah, the wonders of Ambien CR. Sometimes he is his normal sarcastic self, but some nights (like last night), it hits his system quickly and he just sit there with a crooked smile and makes weird comments. Weirder than normal, I promise. Sigh. The only reason I don't chuck all his Ambien (or roofies, as we like to call them) in the trash is because I realize he needs his beauty sleep so he can put up with the people at work every day in the awake mode. Walking the dogs whilst he is well into his Ambien is also a treat - you don't know who's walking who!

Trip to Phoenix

2008-08-11T10:53:00.000-07:00

Whilst Brody stayed home to bring home the bacon (thanks hun), I went with Kathy, Grandma Chris and Audrey to Arizona for Ryan and Lauren's wedding. (Ryan is Brody's cousin.) There was lots of relaxing and staying up late and sleeping in. We watched some Brian Regan, went swimming and I played just a little bit of Bookworm on my phone. Haha. Okay, a lot. I'm addicted!! One of the highlights was eating at a restaurant with cockroaches skittering nearby. We moved tables and then watched it downpour, creating a small river in the street. The reception was very nice. Since the weather cooperated, Lauren got her outside reception. The backyard at her uncle's was decorated beautifully.

Friday night I stayed at Dan and Betsy's and met their dog Hera. She's really cute and very happy. Dan seems to like her a lot! They were both proud of her graduating from a six week obedience course. I love their new house and how they decorated it. They have a cute, little backyard with a hammock, grill and an orange tree! I will need to head back around December to take advantage of those oranges!

Hera's amazingly long tongue.

Dan & Betsy - We ate at a mongolian grill restaurant - I love those.

Jen & Audrey before hitting the pool.

Family Home Evening

2008-08-04T19:38:00.000-07:00

Going to church yesterday was very good for our social life. We sat with Brody's Aunt Shauna and Uncle John who introduced us to a few of the young married couples in the ward. They were quick to welcome us into the ward and their circle of friends by inviting us to Family Home Evening with them. It was fun to be forced to socialize a little and get to know some of the people in our ward. Okay, so we weren't forced, but we also met some of our neighbors who live in the Sky Pointe community. Our next step is to actually invite some people over to our house for random movie nights or dinner or ice cream or something. Lucky for us, they keep their family home evening lessons short enough that we can get home to bed, or rather, home so Brody can take his ambien and get a good night's sleep!

Happily Ever After - The Beginning

2008-08-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here we are, at our condo, after going to our new ward (for all three hours!), randomly picking things to do around the house. After running around all day yesterday, we just plopped on the couch and watched Spiderman 3 on our new PS3 (thanks Boca, Jr, Brew, AY & Lyndsay) with Brody's fabulous surround sound and barely made it through the whole movie. Okay, so that was me falling asleep although I was the only one who hadn't seen it. Anyway... we got kind of motivated to get a few things done to our new living arrangement today since it didn't happen yesterday.

Hawaii was the pefect honeymoon - beautiful sights, no schedule, an entire week to play. The highlight of our week came on Friday. For our 1 week anniversary of being married (that wasn't our reasoning then, but it sounds good now), Brody played 18 holes of golf in his new golf shoes right along the ocean. After napping in the golf card, I got a fabulous 80-minute hot stone massage. I've never been more relaxed ever. I felt so pampered as I was given two towels, a robe and some disposable flip flops and headed down to sit in the sauna for 20 minutes before Ringo rubbed hot stones all over me and did pressure points that relaxed muscles that haven't been relaxed in years. By Saturday, it felt good to go home and get back to reality. Reality has been fun for us. I've decided that married life is WAY better than engaged life. Single life was really good for the most part, but I'm certainly happy to be home and part of a husband and wife team.

My next goal is to update this more often. It's been almost two months. I'm still learning how to use this and put pictures and other things on here. Audrey (Brody's little sister who was one of my bridesmaids) showed me how to put the list of other people's blogs on here so now keeping up with everyone else's lives is just a click away!

First Blog Ever

2008-06-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog! I swore Brody said I was never allowed to have a blog. Then he turns around and creates one for me to have fun with. I, of course, will have fun... as soon as I figure out what I'm doing.

All I can think of writing right now is that we are getting married in 25 days (but who's counting?) and both of us are pretty much sick of wedding planning and stressing. We are lucky enough to be going to Hawaii on our honeymoon - thanks to his awesome parents who are giving us a week of their time share! :o) Then it'll be back home, back to work, and trying to organize the condo with all of our combined stuff.

I suppose I should mention our awesome kids. My Grandma Little always said I would marry a man with kids. I just didn't know they would be dogs! Emmitt and Bostyn are Brody's pride and joy and we enjoy spending time with them. Brody has a little too much fun teasing them (especially curious Bostyn) and sometimes I worry about what he'll do to our human kids when we have them. Haha.

I am off to China on Saturday for 10 days with the high school I have worked at for the past year and a half. When I get back, I will just focus on teaching piano. Brody is thrilled about that. He just finished work on the Palazzo and is now at the Walgreens next door. After we're all married and settled, he'll start getting his seat time on a crane.

That's all for now. Just counting down the days until we're married and off to Hawaii!