Streamlining

I had a realization about how cool using labels are for blogs, so I imported my 3 other blogs into this one and now I can put everything here and keep it organized how I like it with my topics. That is a huge Duh! So now all entries will be on my main blog and be categorized on the right here. Much nicer...

It was cool to learn to export blogs and import them. You can also export your blog to your hard drive to have a back up(peace of mind for those who use this as a journal). If your blog ever gets deleted accidentally, you can just import it again from your file.

It is very easy to add labels to older posts. On the edit posts page, you just check the post you want to add a label to and use the drop down to chose the label you want. It saves automatically. You can view up to 300 posts at a time. I found that for going through the bulk it was easier just to hit edit post, add the label, hit save and then hit back twice, then you are still in the same spot on your list of posts page. That may be confusing, but I thought it might be good info for anyone who wants to start labeling retroactively. It only took me about a half hour to go through all 400 entries.

Also, if you haven't yet noticed, this blog is public again so you can add me to your feed readers if you like. It just seems easier that way for people.

And finally, after importing the other blogs, that makes this entry number 400!!!!!! Wahoo, I must celebrate with some chocolate or something. I am either rad or a big nerd(prolly both).

YouTube Gold

I have been feeling so blah about my hair lately. I like having it long, but I am so sick of ponytails and folded over ponytails all the time. I feel like such a frumpy house wife. In fact I have been feeling like I need a makeover all together. But I don't want to cut my hair, I want to grow it another 6 inches. So last night, I spent several hours watching YouTube video tutorials to get some ideas. It was so fun that before I knew it, it was 2 am and I had to make myself stop. These are too good not to share so I am putting a few of my favorites on here. By the way, if you want to learn how to do anything at all, chances are that there is a tutorial on YouTube. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

So my first goal was to find some cute up dos that I can do quickly every day that look a little nicer than my bland ponytail look. This one is my very favorite. I LOVE it, and it is so very easy. It is the first one on this video. I was so excited about it that today I went and found some cute clips and headbands to accessorize my new looks.



This is the other favorite cute quick up do that I will probably do a lot. I think I will start with these 2 styles and gradually find more to add in.



I had heard that you can curl your hair with a flat iron, but this really shows exactly how. I tried it and it is so easy and cute. Because it is so hot, it really stays well too. I watched a lot of different hair curling techniques as well, but I really think this is cool. I will be doing this on Sunday for sure.



This lady has some really amazing eye makeup techniques, this is just one of many. I definitely could try some of these out for a change. I don't know if I could spend that much time on eyeshadow though, so maybe for Sundays and date nights.



This is an idea for getting that bronze glow look. I love a little shine on the cheeks. I already use bronzer, but after watching some of these demos, I got a little more brave. I love the Physicians Formula Bronzer. It is the one with vertical strips with different shades and a white highlight at the top. I used more bronzer and completely omitted blush(and I love blush) and it really looks cool. I also use that stuff for eyeshadow, it is the best all around makeup.



So there are a few fun Beauty ideas. After playing with these ideas a bit, I feel like I got a much needed makeover. I have lost the baby weight and I am ready to feel cute again! I love hair and makeup and all things beauty and fashion so this was a fun new discovery for me on YouTube. So do you have any favorite YouTube tutorials? If you find any good ones, please do share!

Sock Box

Like most people, we keep a shoe basket by our front door. This winter, I found that my little bare foot kids had cold feet a lot. Rather than have them always wear their shoes around the house, I went to the store and bought 2 big packages of ankle socks that would fit all three of my older kids and put them in a little basket next to the shoe basket. Now, if the kids have cold feet they just go grab a pair of socks and wear them like slippers. When it is time to go out and I tell them to put their shoes on, the socks are right there ready for them all in one spot. It really helps us to get them on and out the door faster.

Sacramento Temple

I have been wanting to learn to put pictures on bigger so here's my test run.

Dallin Peter Update

Dallin is growing up so fast. His appetite has recently really picked up and he eats almost any dinner that I make now and asks for seconds often. He wants to grow big and strong like Daddy. Dallin and Peter have a very special relationship. Whenever Peter is working on anything involving tools, Dallin wants to help.

Dallin enjoys Kindergarten and is fitting in well there. He is learning early reading, patterns, and handwriting. His teacher is very good to him and keeps her expectations very high as well. We feel very good about his placement and he is growing all the time. Dallin still has 3 hours of home ABA therapy each day and loves his therapists. They expect that they will begin to fade his hours next summer because he is doing well.

Dallin does not have a nick name. I don't know why. His name just doesn't ring with anything else to me. I love his name so I guess I don't worry too much about that.

Dallin is very affectionate with everyone and often tells me that he loves me very much. It is so cute. When a sibling gets hurt he is quick to give hugs and comfort them. When he comes home from school lately Tanner and Eden have been greeting him at the door with big hugs. That just melts my heart. He is almost always a very gentle boy. He does not have a temper at all. He must get that from his dad.

Dallin loves to laugh and sing and rough house. Anything with wheels is his favorite toy. He loves making roads and tracks and if he doesn't have toys he will make them out of whatever is on hand(like toilet paper). He also loves to play board games with Eden. Fun loving and thrill seeking is this one, 100% boy.

I am still amazed with him and so very grateful that he is our little boy. I have learned so much from him and would not be who I am without him. Dallin is a great little leader to his siblings too. They really look up to him and he seems to understand that. He has a strong desire to be a good boy and I think that will stay with him through his life. He really is a good boy.

Reading Time!

Eden Josephine Update

Having a little girl has been such a dream for me as a mother. She is such a mini me and I love every second of it. She wants to help me with whatever I am doing and will ask questions about it. If Eden is not off playing with all her girly toys, she is by my side and we both just soak it in.


Eden loves to clean her room. That is where we keep all of her toys. The games and boy toys are in our downstairs toy room. So when I ask her if she wants to clean up her stuff, she jumps at the chance and helps me put everything where it goes. She loves to organize and loves that word too. All of her toys are organized into categories like dress ups, barbie stuff, doll house stuff, food stuff, and baby stuff. After Christmas and her birthday she sure has a lot of toys! When we are cleaning she will often tell me that I am " a great helper!" She makes me laugh.


I love it when I hear her using my expressions like "That's a great idea!" or "Wow, that's amazing!" She even calls the other kids sweetheart sometimes when she talks to them. She has a very sweet soft voice and she says such darling things.

As a little mommy she has also become a little bossy to the other kids. She makes sure that everyone is taken care of and if she wants things done a certain way she will definitely make it known to them.


Eden loves watching me put on make up and always wants some too so I pretend to put some on her. She loves to have her nails painted and she especially loves to pick out outfits, some times several a day. They are not quite what I would pick, but if we don't have to go out than I am fine with it.


One of my favorite things about Eden is that she is totally girly girl, but can hold her own with all of these boys. She will wrestle around and be a tom boy too.

As you saw in her birthday pictures, Eden loves to cook. Lately every single night we put on our aprons and she helps me make dinner. I wouldn't be surprised if she totally takes over the kitchen some day. That is a dream come true for me, I love the time we spend cooking and teaching her little things about food.

She started primary this month and feels like such a big girl for it. With a January birthday she barely missed the cut off for starting a year ago so she is definitely ready to be there. She is so cute sitting there on the front row all bright eyed and soaking it all in.

Eden has such a passion for life and gets so excited about every little thing, even every day stuff. She gives lots of big hugs and kisses and is just a little ball of love. Eden is no doubt a mommy's girl and I think I am hers as well :)


Happy Birthday!

Tanner Quinn Update

I love this picture, it makes Tanner look so angelic...um but he is 2, and this little angel has another side. I like to call it attitude! So much attitude that I often wonder how it all fits in such a little body. There are many power struggles throughout the day with Tanner but coming from such a little person, I find myself trying not to laugh most of the time. It just comes across as funny because he is so serious and articulate for being a little guy. He has a lot of expression in his eyes and eye brows, it is so cute when he talks. Despite this phase, Tanner loves to be praised for all of the good things he does and is very proud of himself when he does well.

His disposition is so happy and giggly. Tickles are what he lives for. Dallin and Tanner have a hard time getting along because it is hard to share but he admires his big brother and he would follow him anywhere.

He doesn't really like having a messy diaper, but if I ask him if he is poopy, he will always deny it. So I just drop the subject and change him anyway.

Like most 2 year olds, Tanner pronounces a lot of words wrong, but it is so cute that I don't have the heart to correct him. I just love how he said Banoon instead of balloon.

His nickname has been Tanu Nanu for some reason, so that has turned into just Nanu. Funny how these names just evolve.

Tanner is also our little clumsy one. He is not careful and very daring and gets hurt a lot. We had to buy a little tikes picnic table for our kitchen because he could not stop falling off of the bar stools. It is like that for him wherever we go, poor little guy. Maybe it is from trying to keep up with the older ones.

Tanner has become completely obsessed with Thomas the Train. He begs to watch videos and plays with the wooden trains all the time. When he is not playing with tracks, he collects the trains and puts them in his treasured bucket(pumpkin bucket left over from Halloween).

Tanner is a very cuddly little guy. When he needs comfort he loves to sit on my lap and get lots of hugs. Or if he just needs a little break from his busy life he will find my lap so I always try to accommodate as long as he wants to be there and then he is off to play again. He adds so much personality to our family.

The Pace Ship!

Bippidy Boppidy Daboo!

Carter Update

Our Carter boy is growing so fast I can't believe it. It really seems like he just came to our family. Now he is over 8 months old and a busy little guy. He crawls all over the place and lifts himself to standing with ease. He has also learned to climb the stairs.


He loves to put everything in his mouth and grabs everything he sees. Carter is very interested in his older siblings. He watches everything and I know as soon as he is a little bigger he will quickly be running with the big kids. He loves food and it shows, his thighs have rolls for miles. He recently said his first word, dada.

He has the darkest hair of any of our other kids at this age so far. I think it will lighten a little as it grows longer, but he will definitely be brown haired.


Carter is very generous with his smiles and loves to play peek a boo. He pretty much likes as much personal interaction as he can get. He likes to laugh but he doesn't really giggle loudly, he just kind of smiles and tenses up all over. He is just the sweetest little guy and really makes our family fuller.


Carter is a great sleeper and when he wakes up he just kinda chills in his crib until I discover that he is awake. The only way I know is if I can hear him babbling in the baby monitor. In the morning, if I decide to take advantage of this and take a shower, his older siblings oblige him with lots of toys to keep him entertained.


His nick name that seems to stick is Cart Cart, but I still can't get his name straight from Tanner's.


He is every one's baby, adored by all. The kids dote over him and protect him from any dangers and cheer him up when he needs it. Eden is of course a nurturing mini mommy to him and loves to feed him and hold him. Carter really is our little piece of Heaven!

This is a video of Carter just hanging out at Eden's birthday party. Notice that he says "dada".

Eden's 4th Birthday

I can't believe my little girl is 4. There was much anticipation in our house all last week with Eden's birthday. The kids were so excited to have a party on Friday night. The night before, I had forgotten to buy a cake mix and so Peter took Eden to the store to pick one out. Of course she chose Strawberry cake because it is pink. She also picked out pink frosting that of course came with colorful sprinkles. She couldn't wait to make it.

The next morning Dallin got up and immediately woke up Eden and sang happy birthday to her. It was so cute and he was absolutely the first one to remember that it was her day. The house buzzed with excitement all day. Eden made her own cake with a little assistance and did a great job.
Making the cake. Eden loves to wear her little apron that aunt Laurel gave her. We have matching ones and use them all the time.

She even cracked the eggs and didn't get any shell in...that I noticed anyway.

She spent the next half hour carefully watching her cake rise to perfection.

It was almost painful for Eden to wait for the cake to cool and then it was finally time to frost it. I helped her make it smooth and then we put the sprinkles on. This is a lazy mom's cake for sure. We had a Tinker Bell party so I just googled an image and printed it on regular paper and cut it out. It worked great! The only thing I learned though is that you should put the paper on only about an hour before you plan to eat it because it will start to get wet. It was a big hit and the whole cake only cost less than $3. Maybe some day I will learn to make fancy cakes.

Daddy brought his little sweetheart pink roses when he came home from work like he did last year. I guess that is a tradition now. She got really excited, and it was so sweet.

Eden got a new baby for her birthday and a cradle, stroller and high chair. I couldn't believe how expensive wooden doll furniture was, but thanks to Craigslist we got her some darling pieces for WAY less.

Part of the excitement was that we have a tradition that after the birthday person opens all their presents, the other kids get to open a small gift as well. I think it helps everyone else to feel special too.

She also got some doll house accessories. As I was putting our little princess to bed, I asked her what her favorite part of her birthday was and to my surprise she said, "Making my cake!" Priceless.

Over the next few days she received some great dress up clothes from Grandma Arave and a shopping cart and cash register from Grandma Dickinson. She was very exited about all the great new things and plays in imaginary land all day long!

25 Random Things

My sisters tagged me on Facebook so I just copied it 'cause I blog everything. This is a really fun one that I highly recommend, it is fun to come up with whatever you want to say about yourself.

1. Sometimes I think I am crazy. My husband confirms it for me whenever I ask his oppinion. I can't go to a nut house though because I am too busy taking care of people:)
2. I really like organizing, but HATE cleaning, unless I get on a roll or am really mad about something, then I get a lot of cleaning done.
3. I love watching children grow and develop, especially language. Every word is a precious gift.

4. I love the smell of my children, even if it is spit up or their morning breath. Even if they are dirty birds that need baths, although I prefer clean and smelling like baby lotion. Poopy diapers are the exception though, don't like that.
5. I love my age, I would never want to go back to any point of life that I have already experienced, although I would have probably said the same thing at every age. I just love this journey through mortality.
6. I like having long hair because short hair makes me feel like I have a "mom doo". Plus, ponytails are so much easier on busy days and to keep babies from pulling it. I also just hate paying for haircuts because I know how to cut hair and it drives me crazy that I can't just do it myself.
7. I have a terrible sweet tooth, Chocolate is my way of eating my feelings!
8. My mom and sisters are my bffs! Siblings are just the best thing ever. I guess that's partly why I keep having kids, so they can have that too. My sisters think I am funny for some reason so I become a comedian around them.
9. I love giving birth. I would do it once a year if I didn't have to go through a pregnancy first. I don't love nursing though, not my favorite past time.
10. I love the feeling of skiing full speed down a mountain, there is no way to describe how incredible it is.
11. I love making music. Singing is my major thing but I also love to play guitar, piano and violin. I want to get better at those some day.
12. I have loved my husband since I was 16 and known him since 14. He is the only guy I have ever even kissed! He "completes me".
13. I really like living in California. The weather is awesome, our ward is awesome, our family is flourishing, and blessings have been poored out from heaven, BUT I am so homesick that I can hardly talk about family, my house there or happenings at home in Oregon without becoming misty.
14. I think consistency and follow through are the hardest parts of being a parent.
15. I need a lot of sleep. I usually sleep 8 or 9 hours at night. I think getting enough sleep is really important for good health so I just do it.
16. I rarely use recipes when I cook. I just know what result I want and do what I think will taste good and even when I do use a recipe I never follow it exactly.
17. For the first time in my life I really love to exercise and can't wait to go work out and de-stress.
18. I love to travel and want to see the whole world some day. I have been to Chile, Hawaii twice, Jamaica, and a few places in Mexico so far.
19. I have really been getting into old fashioned movies lately like Becoming Jane, Jane Eyre, and PBS's new version of Wuthering Heights, etc. If it is from that time period, I will watch it. 20. I am addicted to blogging. I think it helps me to look at the bright side of life. I also love comments, it is like opening a present every time I get one.
21. I get "baby hungry" really easily(obviously). I just love having kids. Even though it is hard, I just don't care. Kids are great.
22. I was terrified of scary rides when I was younger, and then when I was like 17, all of the sudden I loved them. Especially roller coasters, the faster the better.
23. I listen to Dr. Laura whenever I am in the car in the afternoon and agree with her most of the time.
24. I am prone to migraine headaches, they are so miserable. Exedrine is the only thing that helps, but then it keeps me up half the night.
25. I really enjoy shopping, even if I don't buy anything, but there are 2 exceptions: Grocery shopping and bra shopping. Sorry, thats probably TMI.

Bonus: I only have one set of molars instead of two like everyone else. No wisdom teeth either. I still have one baby tooth in the front because that one is missing as well.

Never Grow Up

Tonight, I was laying on the couch with Dallin and talking to him about his day. I just love that boy, so I said "Dallin, I want you to stay a little boy forever and never grow up." He got really quiet and thoughtful and then said "No, I need to grow up". Then he thought some more and said "I don't want to grow little and be a baby like Carter!" in a silly tone.

Moon

As we were going to bed a couple of weeks ago, I noticed how bright and beautiful the moon looked. Even though I was tired I couldn't resist going downstairs, wrapping up in a blanket and braving the cold night to capture nature's beauty. It took a while to figure out how to get a good result but it was well worth having a cold bum from sitting out on the concrete patio!

Woops, Can't Forget Santa

I was looking at my recent photos and realized that I totally didn't put any pictures with Santa on here. I didn't want to skip that one so here we go.

Potty Time

I have heard about this book a lot and with the pending decision to go ahead with Tanner I finally went and got it. I haven't read it yet, but I am hoping that it will get me all exited about this task. Potty party here we come!!! Oh, and I am sure more poop stories for my blog...

Excuses

I know that Dallin likes school. Once he is there he participates and is pretty social with the other kids. I go with him once a week so I see that he does well there. But lately he has started with the excuses. He will do this whenever he is expected to do anything that takes effort like pick up his toys or follow his schedule as well. He usually just says he doesn't feel good. I think it is crazy that he is only in Kindergarten and he already does this.

So this morning he woke up and climbed in my bed with me and he told me he did not feel good to go to school today. I said "Really? Whats wrong?" and he replied, "My belly button doesn't want to." That's a new one.

I Love to See the Temple

(this is not my picture)

Yesterday before church we made the 40 minute drive over to the Sacramento temple. The grounds are really beautiful. Peter talked to the kids all about the temple and why it is so special. They were really excited about it and it was neat to see. We didn't quite get the reverence effect, they acted more like they were at a playground, but they did understand that it was a special place. I took lots of photos that I haven't touched yet. The charger cord for my laptop is broken so I can't use it until the new one arrives so computer time is not very convenient in the mean time. Then at church Eden had her second week of Primary. She is so good and really loves it. They called her up to sing Happy Birthday and for a gift she received a picture of the temple! She couldn't wait to show me(I was in there sitting with Dallin at the moment so I saw the whole thing). Then when we got home we put it on the wall in her room. They are all really proud of the picture in their room and it had extra meaning since they were just there.

Special Moments...

We came home from Oregon with about an hour of video clips so I narrowed it down and this turned out pretty cute.

We don't decide to hurt, we do decide to hate.

Christmas Ski Video

This was Dallin's second time skiing. He could not get enough. Everyone had a great day.

Happy 2009!

Wow, Years are starting to seem more like weeks to me now. We got back from Oregon and didn't really make any plans for New Years Eve and didn't even really think about it until the afternoon of. That is a first for us, we are usually in Oregon and have to pick between family parties and such. But then at the last minute some friends called and invited us and another couple over for pizza and karaoke. It was really fun.

Then we came home to put the kids to bed and busted out our Rummy Cube game and watched VH1's Best Year Ever. The next think i knew it was 1:30 and we woke up to realize we had totally missed the big event! Oh well, we are old.

This year as usual I have my resolution all ready to go. Here are a few of my items to work on:

Get into top shape(I am about 4 months into it, but still have a little way to go)
Take more photography classes(taking 2 more starting this month)
Learn a new song on the piano(My Immortal by Evanescence)
Maintain a regular house cleaning schedule(Currently Reading Flylady's book)
Spend more time just playing with my kids(That's the idea of the house cleaning schedule, get it done and then have more free time with kids)

I am pretty proud to say that my first order of business on Jan 1st was to go to the gym. It was cool to feel like I was starting out on the right foot.