Strider

Well, this one will be a little different this week because I need to pay homage to a little friend who will forever hold a dear place in my heart. You see, about three weeks ago my sweet little puppy was hit by a car in front of my house and died. It has been a very hard thing for me. I am a dog lover and this little guy was the best dog you could ask for. It was really quite weird. I am very vigilant about not letting him out, but sometime between putting my kids to bed and meeting with a client he slipped out unnoticed and being so black and not street savvy I think was a bad combination. Anyway, I wanted to share a few of the things I loved about Strider.

He loved EVERYONE. You called him and he came.
He would always perch up on the back of my couch. I called him my little kitty cat.
We have a laser light and if we shined it on the ground he would chase it all over the house. It amused us for great lengths of time.
He would occasionally do the "Indie 500"...just race figure eights around the house or yard as fast as he could for no apparent reason.
If I ever got out of bed at night, for any length of time, when I returned he would be in my spot keeping it warm. He would then jump down and get on his bed.
He could shake, play dead and roll over. He would get so excited when he saw a treat though that he would do all three. I guess he figured one had to work.
He would have seizures on a fairly regular basis.
In the morning I would let him get on the bed with me and I could scratch under the covers and he would pounce at it...another reason I called him my kitty.

I could go on and on. He has been sorely missed in our home. He was a little friend and sweet little dog. He will be forever missed.

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Jackson's Singing Debut

So, talk about being behind with blogging...this is from last June. Jackson did a little musical theatre group and this was his little solo.

Jackson liked to act shy and embarrassed at times, but don't believe it, it is all an act.

And don't you love kids with microphones?? I think they talk even louder when they have one!

breathe, breathe, breathe...

I am feeling a little, mmm, shall we say stressed these days. I had hoped to be tying up all lose ends with work and start out December free to decorate, bake and enjoy. It isn't going to happen and I think I am mourning that a bit. Here I am, one week before December hits with 5 sessions left to edit, orders to be placed, a newborn session tomorrow, kids, oh yeah they take a little of my time, a house to keep up on (somewhat), errands to run, company for the holiday. I am feeling a little maxed out to say the least.

and to top that off, Jackson is going through one of his spells again...everything is a power struggle. Right now, in fact, he is on Santa's naughty list. Yes, I am that mom that manipulates with something as wonderful as Santa. I am sure much of the problem is my preoccupation with life. He is a boy who needs lots of attention and affection and I think I am falling short right now.

It is just a season, I realize this, but I sure can't wait until it ends.

So please, when I don't return calls, emails or just plain flake out...please cut me some slack and just call or email again. I promise I have every intention of getting back to you, my brain is just on overload.

Off to clean up my studio for my newbie session tomorrow.

Is Jackson too young to take morning duty with Paige??

Since P has been waking before dawn and also many times through the night, D and I are exhausted so we decided to close our door last night and let her put herself back to sleep instead of running in when she starts to cry. So, this morning after a nice night of rest we both awakened at 7:30am. D opened the door to see where the kids were. He heard voices from the bathroom and peeked his head in to find P on the potty with books and J sitting in the chair, waiting for her to finish. Oviously he had helped her out of her crib and onto the potty. D came back to bed and this is the bathroom conversation that followed...

J-"Paige, you're not allowed to wipe."
P screaming as she always does-"but I need to wipe."
J-"then ask me to help"

Then, after he helped her get her hands washed he took her into her room to get dressed and this is what we heard:
J-"Paige, you need to wear long sleeves."
P screaming as always- "I don't want long sleeves."
J-"But you have to."
P-"No."
J calmly-"alright, then I guess you can just freeze."

hmmmm....I think he may be ready to take on some more of my parenting duties. He has learned well from me and is doing a pretty good job!

Dear Santa...

Jackson wrote his Christmas list today...on his own. I am pretty impressed at how he sounded the words out. The only one totally off is the one he asked me about and I didn't listen closely and told him the wrong thing!!
(robot, spy kit, magnetic transformer, bug kit)

just another day in the life...

today was one of those days that ends before you realize it started. It was a whirlwind. I am ready for my family photo sessions to come to a close for the season. The last two weeks I have had three sessions each week and for me, that is killer. It takes me up to 10 hours to completely edit and post a session, so you can do the math. It is a lot. I know it is a short time each year and it allows me to have a little extra for Christmas gifts (I love giving gifts...definitely one of my love languages). I picked up Paige's Santa gift today and things are slowly coming together. It is a good feeling. Douglas told me he wanted to wait until he felt the Christmas spirit to shop which he then proceeded to tell me might not happen until Decemeber 22. Not happening baby. Your anxiety ridden wife can't handle that kind of stress and procrastination.

So back to the day...one full of excitement...carpet cleaners, grocery shopping, doctor appointment, back to the grocer for prescriptions. Exciting. Then the rest of the day. fwut, gone. J is having a slumber party with my dad who is here visiting until tomorrow and Paige is still screaming for me in her crib. Her new "big girl bed" remains in the boxes upstairs with little hope of being assembled anytime soon. She was demoted back to the crib after some peeing incidents and you know what, I like her there...no getting woken up all night long!!

D is a crazy man trying to finish up some applications by Sunday. It has been a long year. I miss my time with my man. We have to sneak it in where we can, but I do miss of evenings together playing games, watching movies etc. Life is always a-changin.

And now, I need to get a few things done. Just want to be better about updating this thing. Life is passing too quickly and I am enjoying motherhood lately, which I can't always say. It feels really good.

we indoctinate them early!!

Paige was having a hard time falling asleep tonight and D texted me to tell me that she was up in her crib yelling,

"BYU cougars!"

Halloween

I never really enjoyed Halloween until I had a husband and kids. I love planning costumes out (I usually start about July) and have really enjoyed having a family theme. Of course, it is a good thing I start so early, because I was still frantically sewing hours before the Halloween party to complete the costumes.

I thought J wouldn't go for the tin man idea, but he loved it. When people would ask what he was dressing up as he would enthusiastically tell them, "tin man". I think he confused a few people! Paigie loved that she got to be "Doroffy Ann" (her full name) and had the "no quace like home" line down pat.

Douglas is such a good sport. Have I ever mentioned how much I love this man. He lets me dress him up and laugh at him repeatedly EVERY year. I am one lucky woman.

Can't wait to decide what we will be next year...I am thinking twilight...or Harry Potter...or 50's peoples. The possibilities are endless and you will just have to stay tuned....

**note that her shoes are on the wrong feet**

Jackson's First Day of Preschool

Age four has been very refreshing with Jackson. He has hit such a great stage and we may, someday actually have another child now. He has given me a run for my money, but at the same time is such a loving, caring, social little boy.

This year I put him in the infamous Miss Debbie's preschool. He loves it. I am AMAZED at the knowledge he brings home everyday. He is so excited to come home and show me all the things he worked on. It is fun to see him excited about learning.

He is starting to sound out words which is really fun for both of us. He is such a smart little cookie (mom bragging....I am allowed to since it is my blog :))

The first day of school he had to decorate a visor. I let him go through my stickers and decide what he wanted. He choose a tent and campfire because he likes to camp with his dad. He choose Lightning McQueen, the color red, watermelon, pirates, cake...and a few more things which I forget. He was quite proud of his hat.

I am so excited for him to go to school. (and not just because I get a break.)











Can't wait to see how much more he learns this year!!

I love this little girl.

She makes me crazy nearly every single day and yet I think she is the cutest, sweetest little thing around. She loves to snuggle with her "guankie", and I love that she calls her brother "gwuder bear" and all her "p's" sound like "c's" like "airquane". She has no problem getting dirty. She loves clothes. She loves to brush her teeth. She won't watch 2 minutes of TV. She does not like to be thrown in the air or spin really fast. She always has to give me a million kisses and hugs before bed. She loves oatmeal and isn't motivated by sweets (don't know what that is like). She has the cutest curly hair and often asks to wear it "coorwier". She loves nursery and always, when asked what she had for a snack replies "marshmallows." She is all I could ask for in a little girl and more. I love you Sissy Bear.

Summer Fun

Should I be embarrassed that I am just posting these. I am a little. My dear friend Anne and I felt the need to submit ourselves to heat and misery in order to entertain our children for the morning...okay, actually it was noonish...what the h-e-double hockey sticks were we thinking? Just in case you are unaware, St. George is nuclear hot in the summer and since I choose to wear many layers at all times, we were feeling the heat. Mental note, do not plan outdoor activities, in the summer, at noon.

Anywho, I digress, as usual. We thought this park would be perfect because it has a covered playground, splash pad and swings. What more could our children want in a play area. We loaded the crew in Anne's mini van and off we went. It was a bit of a drive. (I won't comment on Paige in the car...let's just say, not fun. REALLY. Ask Anne.)

The park was a hit, but you know what?? We had to FORCE our children to get in the water. What is wrong with them. I think it was 115* out. Painful hot. They were all red faced, panting, yet we had to threaten them (in a nice, motherly way) to get in the water. Even I was "accidentally" getting wet. Kids are weird sometimes.

It was fun though. I am grateful for a kindred spirit who wants to do all my (and her) hair-brained ideas.


Cute little Miss P. Can I mention that I love this swimsuit. I wish I could still wear a hot pink swimsuit with a tutu on it. It would be great to hide my mid body muffin top.

Mr. Mason


Miss Marissa
.
Jackson and Mason trying to avoid getting wet.

Joe, not a fan of the water either.

J man swinging.

and hanging.

self portrait of yours truly. My glasses are really dirty. I think I am just used to it now. There are always little finger prints on them.

Cutie Pie

My bosom friend Anne.

My Favorite Time of the Day!

Those who know me well know that morning isn't my favorite time of the day. I wish I awoke and could jump right out of bed, but I would rather lay around for 30 minutes and slowly wake up. Every morning we have a traditions that the kids wake and come and climb in bed with me while I wake up. There is nothing as perfect and little Jackson and Paige snuggles first thing in the morning. It makes me sad to think that some day they will be too old for it...I hope that day is FAR FAR away.

Random Picture History

These pictures are old...summer old. I just don't get this thing updated like I wish I could. I spend enough time on my computer that when it comes to "recreational" computer time, it just doesn't happen. So, here you go...some picture documentation of the last six months!

We like pipe cleaners around here. We create all sorts of works of art with the bendy things.


I had a wedding the weekend of father and sons so it became father, son, and daughter for douglas. Good thing the kids have no problem being messy. This was also the infamous trip where D had a run in with the neighbors new surburban. Good times.





Jackson always feels the need to make this face when pictures are being taken of him. Weirdo.

Cookie dough...a favorite past time in our home.






All of my siblings came for the fourth. It was a good time. Nothing like lighting firecrackers at 6pm and totally light outside.

















We all took the kids to the splash pad. We took the wiggle bikes and raced them down the sidewalk and into the water. It was pretty fun!



Douglas in his super suit.

Cute little girl. She would carry a toothbrush around all the time if I allowed it.