Potty Trained!

Last week I really tried hard to get Annie to go to the bathroom on the potty. All the time. She wore her panties all week and peed in the potty all week, with the exception of a two accidents and one of them was right in front of the toilet. Whoops!

Annie would pee on the potty all the time and tell me all the time too. However, it was like pulling teeth to get her to go #2. She was very much like Rebecca in this situation. She would not go in the potty. She would wait until she had a diaper on or she would wake up early in the morning and do the deed in her diaper before coming into my room to wake me up with a good old whiff of the stink in her diaper.

Matt's mom got Annie a Snow White costume for Christmas, but I had to dangle something over her head to make her go on the potty all the time. So, Annie would sit on the toilet and I would bring out the dress so she could see it and tell her as soon as she goes on the potty all the time she could wear it whenever she wanted.

So, on Thursday night, about 9:30pm, way past my babies bedtime, she said she had to go #2, so we rush into the bathroom. I get out the Snow White costume and of course she is begging to wear it without doing her business. It took a while to get done but Annie finally went #2 on the potty. I was so, so excited and happy. Annie got to wear her Snow White costume at around 10pm that night. It was cute. She wanted to sleep in it. But it is too poofy to sleep comfortably.

Annie has worn her Snow White costume everyday since she's gone. Annie also has not had an accident since. She tells me and she actually does what she says she needs to do. It is such a weight off my shoulders and bank account. Diapers were getting expensive. Annie does wear a diaper at night, but I will switch her to pull ups when I run out of diapers. She still needs the protection at night.

We went to Hobby Lobby today for a Christmas tree. Annie of course had to go as Snow White. She got so many comments and smiles. It was cute. A lady went up to her and told her she was the prettiest Snow White she had ever seen. I told Annie to tell her why she is dressed up as Snow White. She told the lady she pee peed in the potty. The lady got really excited and told her what a big girl she was. As I type Annie is eating her dinner in her Snow White costume. I think I might have to pry that dress off her. I am sure she will want to wear it all week.

A Wrinkle in Time

No, I am not talking about the book. I am talking about my face. Really.

I discovered several wrinkles on my forehead the other morning. Really. I know I am only 30. When I turned 30, I was not very excited to have crossed this milestone. In fact, I dreaded that birthday. However, people kept telling that 30 is the new 20. Okay, so I convinced myself of this and decided it was true. Now that I think back, on the people who were telling me that lie, were not yet 30. If you ever hear anyone tell you that, it is a lie. By the time that I reached 30, I had a husband, two kids and tons of responsibility and stress that I would not have wanted when I was 20. So, I guess being in your 30's is like being a perfectly ripe fruit. I guess when I turn 40 I will be rotten and spoiled.

Anyway, back to my wrinkles. I can see that I have aged in my face and am a little disappointed in what I see. Like I said I am only 30. That is not that old. I will be looking into some creams that help take away the wrinkles. I need some help around my eyes too. I wouldn't take the step towards plastic surgery because I am not that brave nor do I have the money to do that. So, if any of you out there have some wrinkle issues that have been helped by some over the counter product, let me know. I have heard there is some Mary Kay product that works. I will try that first.

Four in the Bed and the Little One Said, Roll Over, Roll Over.....

Early on Tuesday morning we had a huge thunder storm move through. We were under tornado watch earlier Monday evening but I think it had expired by the time we went to bed. But at 3:30 in the morning we had lightning and thunder and the hardest rain we've had in a long time. I was sure that when I got up in the morning I would find our fence blown down or a tree limb or two laying on the ground. Thankfully there was no damage.

Both girls were scared of the loud crashing thunder and made there way into our bed. At least we have a king size bed, so we weren't too squished. They did go right back to sleep while I stayed up and listened to the rain and the thunder. It lasted for at least 30 minutes. It stopped once but came back a couple of minutes later.

Even though I couldn't go back to sleep right away, I did enjoy the sleeping family moment and thought how wonderful it is. Although, I am not going to say that every time I am awake in the middle of the night.

Something We Should All Think About......

When Did It Change?
By: Jennifer Hansen

When did people start caring more about the world than being God fearing followers of Jesus Christ? I read a blog that had a video on it that basically said they wanted to teach their children how to respect and save the earth and that was their reason for voting for Barack Obama. Really that is what you want to teach your kids? I want to teach my kids to love God and know what being a Christian is.

After hearing that, I am just wondering what happened to the people who are God fearing people and want their children to know that too. We need people who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman and people who believe that killing a life by abortion is more wrong than not “going green”. This world will not be here forever. Anyone who has read the Bible knows this world is not our home. This is not the place we should be living for; heaven is the place we ultimately should care about.

This election should not be based on Democrat or Republican, black or white, male or female, rich or poor, but it is. It should be about what is right and wrong. It should be, how would our Lord vote if he were voting? Do you want to legalize abortion and gay/lesbian marriage? The Bible says, “He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." (Matt. 19:4, 5) Even if you would not get an abortion, but still think that it is okay to have the right to do so, in my opinion, you are just as guilty by voting that “right” into law. The bible says abortion is wrong. “Thou shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) It’s one of the Ten Commandments. Why don’t we want to teach our children those values instead? I am not saying that it is wrong to recycle, eat organic food or “go green” by using different light bulbs or using recycled bags for your groceries, but these issues are not what we will be judged for in the end by God.

What happened to people’s morals and values? I know that the people of this country have nominated two potential presidents, but now we need to vote for the lesser of the two evils. Keep your Christianity and morals of right and wrong when voting. Don’t let the new popular trend blur your view on what we need to teach our children. We will be answering to the Lord for decisions we make on this earth, don’t we want to make a smart decision that our God can be proud of?

This message was not approved by Barack Obama or John McCain, but I know that my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, would approve this message.

Been Busy

Well, my title says it all. I have been busy. Not really with anything in particular, just busy. The girls have been congested and trying to get sick and so have I. I am running around trying to make sure everyone has all the right medicines on hand just in case it gets bad at night, like it tends to do.

I have to admit that I have not been running. With my schedule and my husbands schedule I am not finding a good time to get out and do it. Matt's schedule should cool off a bit and then I will get back into it. I did the first week of running went just fine. The second week started out well, but by the end of the week, I could not find a good time to get out and run. The third week well, it just didn't happen. Especially since the girls have been trying to get sick and the weather has changed and it has been raining too. I am not going to run in the rain on purpose.

Today, I took the girls to get their pictures made. They turned out great. Don't ya think?

Oh, before I end this post, I thought I would share that I made some homemade apple butter. It turned out wonderful. I have never canned anything, but have watched my dad do it several times growing up and helped out a bit too. Anyway, I love it on biscuits. Yum. Sami, you don't have to leave any at my parents house unless you want to. I actually would love to compare how yours came out vs. mine. I actually didn't make as much as I would have liked. I bought a lot of apples, but they really cook down. My first batch only made 3 pints. My second batch made 10 8oz. jars. I am going to give some away as gifts for Christmas.

Published Another Article

Here is another article. If you want to know how to make babyfood, take a look, if not you should take a look anyway. I get paid more if you do.


http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1072042/how_to_make_your_own_baby_food.html

Oh My Gosh!

So, I did my first mile run today. It hurt so bad. Really. I did a little warm up and stretched and got all ready to go. I had my watch set on stop watch mode so I can see how out of shape I was. I told myself that I was not going to look at my time until I finished.

I clicked on my stop watch and headed off for my mile run. Yes, only one mile. I told Matt that I wouldn't be gone long, I was only going to run a mile. Back in the day, it only took me 8-10 minutes to run a mile. Man, have things changed. So, I am running and I just start to hurt. My breathing is out of control and my chest hurt and I stopped to walk. I shouldn't have looked at my watch to see how long it took me to stop and walk, but I did. I ran for 3 minutes and thought I was going to die. Wow, I am so out of shape. What happened?

So, I thought okay, I'm out of shape but do a brisk walk and I'll get better next time. I walked and felt better and then tried to run again. That didn't last long. This is really going to be a tough goal to accomplish.

I got to my street and thought okay, I am going to run all the way home. Not, that did not happen. I finally got back to my house and it took about 13-14 minutes to finish that mile. The reason I don't have the exact time is because I forgot to look at my watch when I got to the house. Man, this is bad. My legs felt like jello and now they just ache.

Tomorrow is my rest day. Yeah, I am totally resting. I am going to accomplish this goal, it just might take me longer. I am going to do this, yes I can!

Thanks for all the encouragement. It really helps to know that people are watching my progress and are encouraging. This just adds to my motivation that keeps me going.

Half-Marathon

Okay, so I thought I needed to get into shape. I am going to run a half-marathon. I have done some research on how to start training and feel that if I keep up with my goal, I will be a better person for it. I have not yet signed up for a run yet, but need to start training.

While doing some research I came across several training websites that broke down a weekly schedule. I could only find schedules that were for 12 weeks training. I followed one schedule as a guideline, but added an additional 4 weeks. I am starting out really, really slow. I have not run since high school.

Here is my schedule.

Week-- Monday --Tuesday-- Wednesday-- Thursday-- Friday-- Saturday-- Sunday
1 -------Rest----- --1 mi-------- Rest------- -1 mi------ Rest--- ---1.5 mi ----1 mi

2----- --Rest------- 1 mi-------- Rest------- -1 mi----- CT/Rest-- 1.5 mi -----1 mi

3----- --Rest---- ---1 mi-------- 1 mi--------- 1 mi----- CT/Rest-- 1.5 mi -----1 mi

4----- --Rest---- ---1.5 mi------ Rest--------- 1.5 mi ---CT/Rest-- 2 mi-- ----1.5 mi

5 -------Rest--- ----1.5 mi ------Rest --------1.5 mi ----CT/Rest--- 3 mi -----1.5 mi

6----- --Rest------- 2 mi -------1.5 mi -------2 mi------ CT/Rest--- 3 mi----- 2 mi

7 -------Rest---- ---2 mi------- Rest------ ---2 mi------ CT/Rest--- 4 mi -----2 mi

8 -------Rest -------2.5 mi -----Rest---------2.5 mi ----CT/Rest ----5 mi -----2.5 mi

9---- --Rest-------- 2.5 mi------ 2 mi --------2.5 mi-----CT/Rest ---6 mi -----2.5 mi

10--- --Rest-------- 3 mi -------Rest-------- 3 mi ------CT/Rest ----7 mi -----3 mi

11 -----Rest --------3 mi -------Rest------ ---3 mi ------CT/Rest----8 mi--- --3 mi

12 -----Rest---- ---3.5 mi ------3 mi------ --3.5 mi------CT/Rest ---9 mi -----3.5 mi

13 -----Rest---- ---3.5 mi---- --Rest------ --3.5 mi -----CT/Rest ---10 mi ----3.5 mi

14 -----Rest---- ---4 mi -------Rest ---------4 mi -------CT/Rest ---11 mi ----4 mi

15 -----Rest---- ---4 mi -------3.5 mi------- 4 mi -------CT/Rest ---12 mi ----4 mi
16--- --Rest--- ----5 mi --------Rest-------- 5 mi -------CT/Rest ---13.1 mi--- 5 mi

After this 16 week training I should be ready to run a half marathon, which is 13.1 miles. I am going to work hard and document my progress. I am going to try to stick to this schedule. If I feel like I am not ready to up the miles then I will continue whatever miles I can do and up it when it better suits me. It is good to have a plan though. I can do this, yes I can!

Exciting News!

I am a published writer! Click the link below and read my article. With every view, I get $1.50. Anyway, go take a look.

www.associatedcontent.com/article/1056169/pumpkin_patches_in_the_dfw_area.html

Yay! I've been published!

Pre-School

Rebecca started pre-school at the beginning on September. Here is a picture of her first day. She is excited to be going back. This year she is going two days a week for 3 1/2 hours. It is a great class with only 8 students.

On my last post I mentioned that Rebecca milked a stuffed cow at school. Well, here is a picture of the cow. That is not Rebecca in the picture.

Here is Rebecca attempting to milk the cow. I asked her how she liked milking the cow and she said, "Mommy, the cow didn't pee in the bucket for me." I told her that the cow was not peeing in the bucket it was milk. She missed the concept. Oh well, she still likes milk.

Here is Rebecca playing some games in the classroom. Her teacher is really great and Rebecca really likes her. She had her last year and she will have her again next year. If when Annie turns 3 she can go to pre-school, but it will be in the morning for a hour and 45 minutes.

Obviously, this is Rebecca messing around in her chair. I am sure she has fallen out of it a time or two because that is what she does when she is at home.

Here is Annie sleeping away while Rebecca is at school. It is nice to have some quiet time at the house. When we drop off Rebecca, Annie and I, come home and eat lunch. Annie takes a nap soon after lunch and doesn't wake up until just before we have to leave to pick Rebecca up. It is really nice. Isn't Annie sweet sleeping?

If You Are In Need Of A Laugh....Read!

Okay, today, Rebecca milked a cow in her pre-K class. Really! It wasn't a real cow but functioned like it. Anyway, all the kids took turns milking the cow. When it was Rebecca's turn she tried it and told me that "the cow did not pee in the bucket for her." How funny is that? I just hope she doesn't stop drinking milk.

On more of a not so funny note, our refrigerator broke. We are thinking that we want a new one anyway, so we weren't going to call anyone out to fix it. We figured that we would spend a minimum of $300+ for parts and labor and might take a while get it fixed, falling into the weekend. So, we will splurge and break into our savings and get a new one. I will update you on this issue because I know my readers really care about my NEW refrigerator. I just pray that nothing breaks in the meantime like it did last time. Our A/C broke and needed a new part, $5oo later and then our water heater broke so we had to get a new one. Lets just pray that this is an isolated incident.

Pacifier Update

It has been 24 days since I took away Annie's pacifier. It has been a long 24 days, but a successful 24 days. There were many, many times I wanted to give her the pacifier, but knew that if I went down that road I would regret it. I stuck to my guns and held out and we have had success!

I have noticed that Annie has had to learn a different method to sooth herself to get to sleep. So, you can imagine how my nights have been in the last 24 days, not good. I have just gotten Annie to take naps again. Bedtime is still a struggle, but is slowly getting better. I have tried many methods such as rocking her, letting her sleep on the couch, putting her in bed with Rebecca and a few more. Annie has gotten in the habit of not going to bed easily and has taken that ability and ran with it. I am not so sure it is a pacifier issue anymore. I think she is just getting in the norm of not going to bed good. And of course Rebecca picks up on this and does her best not to go to bed easy either. If anyone says that being a mom was easy, they were poorly informed.

24 days ago, I started on this journey that I had no idea how it would turn out, but had hopes that it would not be too unbearable to get the job done. I have accomplished what I set out to do and now am maintaining the work I have done. This is just a little reward of a job well done that mommies need every once in a while to keep going and striving to teach their children well.

My next adventure is potty training. I hate this one. One down, one to go. Annie has shown me that she may be easier than Rebecca, but we still aren't there yet. Once I get potty training completed, I will let you know. It is a gradual process but a really rewarding and a money saver too.

Why I'm Voting Republican

Only the facts.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON ISSUE

Favors new drilling offshore US

McCain-Yes

Obama-No

Will appoint judges who interpret the law, not make it

McCain-Yes

Obama-No

Served in the US Armed Forces
McCain-Yes

Obama-No

Amount of time served in the US Senate
McCain-22 YEARS

Obama-173 DAYS

Will institute a socialized national health care plan
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Would pull troops out of Iraq immediately
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Supports gun ownership rights
McCain-Yes

Obama-No

Supports homosexual marriage
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Voted against making English the official language
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegals
McCain-No

Obama-Yes

CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)

DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN
15% (no change)

OBAMA
39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')

INCOME TAX
MCCAIN
(no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500

Single making 50K - tax $12,500

Single making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 60K- tax $9,000

Married making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 125K - tax $31,250

OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400

Single making 50K - tax $14,000

Single making 75K - tax $23,250

Married making 60K - tax $16,800

Married making 75K - tax $21,000

Married making 125K - tax $38,750

INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN
- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA
Restore the inheritance tax . How does it affect you? 50% taxes on your estate after you die. The family farm will have to be divided in half to pay this tax.
The largest transfer of wealth will be in the next 20-30 years. $40-50 Trillion dollars is expected to change hands.

NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes, New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, New taxes to pay for socialized medicine.

You can verify the above at the following web sites:
http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.htmlhttp://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html%A0http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/

Happy 4th Birthday, Rebecca!

Happy 4th Birthday, baby girl. You are so sweet and growing up so quick. You will always be my first baby girl. I love you very much.

Flashback: Part 2

Continued from yesterday....I know you all were holding on to your seats! HA!

So, the doctor came in and checked one more time for any progression and there was none. I was stuck at a 3. We decided to have the c-section.

They got me prepped for surgery and it all went very quickly. The doctor said they were going to up my epidural, so I would feel nothing from my chest down. That was not the case. I was numb from mid abdomen down. That was not enough. I felt some excruciating pain and then they had to give me something that completely knocked me out. I really have no memory of my first child being born. That is okay, I have tons of pictures that I cannot locate on the computer now to show you all.

Rebecca Glenn Hansen was born at 1:45am on August 28, 2004. She weighed in at 8 pounds even. She was 20 inches long. She was so cute.

Flashback

Four years ago today, I was 37 weeks pregnant (3 weeks from my due date) with my first baby girl. It was a Friday and I was all ready for her arrival for the most part. My weekly visit to my doctor was on Monday and all was well. My doctor did however make comments about how big my baby girl was going to be. Which scared me to death.

Like I said earlier, it was Friday. I noticed since Wednesday that I had felt like I peed my pants, not a lot just a little. You know when you are pregnant, very pregnant that you have lack of bladder control. Well, that is what I thought until Friday. My husband went to work that morning and I told him that I think it was my water that had a slow leak and that I would be having the baby today. I made sure to tell him that he would have to find someone to come in for him when I confirmed with my doctor we were going to have the baby today. So, he goes to work and I get ready and get to my doctor's office by around 10am.

I walked in the office and told the lady that I did not have an appointment, but I think my water broke. She got me right back. Anyway, doctor checked and my water had broke, but I was not dilated any. He told me to go to the hospital. I said I would have to go home first and pick up my bag and call my husband. So, I was starving when I got out of the doctor's office and picked up a hamburger and fries on my way home. Knowing they were not going to let me eat while I was in the hospital. I called my husband and told him that he needed to get home soon. He had to wait for someone to come relieve him from work. So, I made my many phone calls to tell everyone that we were going to have a baby today. I was so excited and not too nervous because at that point I was not having any contractions.

Well, I waited and waited for Matt to get home. It was just before 1 pm and I knew that I needed to get to the hospital because my doctor said to meet him over there. So, I could not wait any longer. I drove myself to the hospital and checked in. The nurses were like, you drove yourself? I was not in pain so why not? I signed a bunch of papers and the nurses started me on potosin and an antibiotic since my water had started leaking since Wednesday. Matt arrived about an hour after I got there. It was a relief to know he got here and I would not have to do this by myself.

Some of Matt's cousins and his aunt and uncle arrived and wait for our baby girl. My contractions were getting pretty strong and consistent. It was funny because at one point Matt's uncle, cousin and Matt were all sitting in the room in front of me and watching the monitor telling me I was having a contraction. Like I didn't know. I can laugh about it now. At around this point I asked for an epidural. That helped a lot, however it slowed my contractions way down so they had to up the potosin.

My back was killing me at this point. The doctor came in and checked my status and I was dilated to a 3. The nurses told me I can take a bath and that might help my back pain. So, I did that but then I had to get out and back into bed, so they could hook me back up to the monitors. I forget what time it was at this point, but know it was getting late and I was hungry and so, so very thirsty. They would give me nothing. All but one cousin stayed and kept us company. I was glad to have her there. I got the best pictures from her.

So, I continued my ever so long labor and was mighty uncomfortable. My mom was on her way but would not make until early the next morning. My doctor was not happy with my progression so he said he would give me a hour to decide if I wanted to proceed with a c-section or keep trying. At this point I am still a 3 and have been in labor for 12 hours.

To be continued...........

The Terrible Addiction

This intervention was not planned. However, I could not pass up the opportunity to break-free of this terrible addiction. It is still touch and go at the moment, but going better than I thought it would. We still have ups and downs but we are getting through it.

Addicted to: The Pacifier

User: Annie Elizabeth Hansen

Has used for: Just shy of 2 1/2 years

She is so cute with her pacifier, but it was getting to be a nuisance. We could not go anywhere without it and heaven forbid if we lost it while we were out. In some previous posts I attempted to take it away gradually and it worked real well. Annie was only permitted to have it during naps and bedtime. Then we went on vacation....and we backtracked. While we were on the plane to California I gave her the pacifier to help with any discomfort she may have in her ears since she has had numerous ear infections. Anyway, that is when it started and I was her dealer.

Now back to yesterday. I have been trying to potty train Annie and she has been doing okay. That is a different post altogether. Anyway, while sitting on the toilet after her nap she yawned and her pacifier fell in the toilet. Of course, Annie freaked out and was totally grossed out. I fished out the pacifier. There was nothing in the toilet. I repeat there was nothing in there. Anyway, I told her that since it fell in the toilet, we were going to have to put it in the trash. Yeah, I could have boiled it, but really it was time to get rid of it. And of course I have 4 pacifiers secretly hidden in my bathroom, but she doesn't need to know that.

Last night was the big test. I put the girls to bed at 7:30pm, but Annie did not actually go to sleep until 11pm. It was so sad and so hard to keep this up. Annie begged and cried for her pacifier. She kept telling me "I need my pacifier." Really if she can tell me that she needs it, it is totally time. So, I held her and she finally fell asleep whispering pacifier. Sad. I thought I was going to break down and provide one but I stuck it out and helped her through her first night. Annie did sleep throughout the night without waking up. I was shocked. I did not sleep well just thinking that I was going to have to get up and sleep in her room all night long. Matt brought Annie in when he left for work at 6:30am. Annie was crying for her pacifier. So, we got up and got her preoccupied with something else.

We will do it again today. Annie is pretty grumpy, but I think that last night was a real break through for her. I feel bad that I am doing this to her but know in the long run she will be better off.

Tagged!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules to your blog
3. Write 6 random things about myself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

As you can see from the title, I've been tagged. Thanks, Marie-Etta (http://junebride2008.blogspot.com/) I don't know how to do links.

1 - I love chocolate dipped strawberries. I can eat several of them at one sitting. I don't get the chance to do that often at all. Hmmm, maybe I should learn how to make them.

2 - I hate to clean but love how my house looks and smells after I have done it. I also have this feeling of accomplishment, like my life has a purpose. And then two seconds later it doesn't look like I have done anything because of all the toys. I need to work on the girls.

3 - I count the steps that it takes to get to the mailbox. I don't know why I do this but I have done this since I live in Blythe with my parents. I also count the stairs while going up a staircase. Most houses have 14 steps.

4 - I don't think I have a good singing voice but sing to my kids all the time and don't care what it sounds like. I hope they don't mind either.

5 - I put together two day beds, a dresser and a bookshelf. One day bed and the dresser was put together while I was super, super pregnant. I was pretty proud of myself. I thought I was pretty handy.

6 - I don't know how to really work the sewing machine but have made two curtains and need to work on the third panel. My husband says I should read the instructions, but I have done pretty good so far.

Okay, now for tagging six people. Yeah, so it's only going to be four because I only know a handful of people on my links list personally.
1-Lori
2-Meredith
3- Melody
4- Sami

Sweet N' Sassy

The girls went to a birthday party yesterday at Sweet N' Sassy. Sweet N' Sassy is a little girls salon. They do manicures, pedicures, haircuts and up do's. Anyway, their friend Brooke had her 4th birthday party here. It was so cool. The girls loved it. I knew that they were going to look completely different so, I took a before picture and several after pictures. Here are the girls before we left the house.

Rebecca and Annie's before party pictures. (The spot on Annie's shirt is a water spot!)

First, the girls got to pick out a fancy dress. There were about 4-5 young ladies fixing hair, painting nails and applying make-up. There were eight little girls at the party getting pampered. They all looked so cute. Here are some pictures of the girls getting pampered.

These are the dresses that they picked out. Rebecca really loved her dress and so did 2 other girls at the party. They had some for sale, so I thought maybe I would get Rebecca one for playing dress up at home. It was $56. We didn't get it. Annie picked out a little ballerina outfit.

Here is Rebecca getting her hair fixed. It looked so cute. They sprayed this glitter spray all over their hair.

Here is Annie getting her hair and nails done at the same time. For a 2 year old she sat pretty good. They did however put clear glitter nail polish on her because the lady could just see her getting another color all over the place.

Here is Rebecca getting her nails painted. The color was bright pink.

Here is Annie picking out what color eye shadow she wanted. She picked pink. Look how cooperative she is being!

Here is Rebecca getting her make-up done. She is totally loving this.

These two pictures of the girls are as good as I could get them together. They kept bouncing around, they were so excited.

Here are the girls dancing on stage.

Here is Annie and Rebecca playing limbo at the party.

Here is Rebecca working the model stage. She is so pretty!

Here is all the girls at the party. Annie is back there somewhere.

All in all they had a great birthday party. It was just as much fun for the parent that came for this wonderful photo opportunity. This one definitely goes down into one the favorite and most memorable birthday parties.