Sigh

It's getting close to Mother's Day...I know this because at Wal-Mart last night they had a huge display of Mother's Day cards. Cute ones. Pretty ones. Sweet and sentimental ones. Funny ones.

I wanted to read them.

I wanted to BUY them.

I really want to buy a Mother's Day card this year.

Aubrey

She did it!! Aubrey got baptized Sunday, March 7, 2010. It was an awesome night...she shared her baptism with Amber Lorenc! Amber's mom, Jamie, and I have been best friends since we were 12...and we had our first baby girls a day apart! It was really fun and really special for these girls to share their special day, they are great friends and I am so proud of them both!!

Aubrey and her daddy...Dave got a great birthday present in being able to baptize Aubrey on his birthday! I think she's one lucky little girl to have such a great dad!

Aubrey and her proud mom and dad...

Aubrey Vernene...isn't she gorgeous?!

Okay, this picture is just so classic Aubrey! She's a free spirit...just gotta get that cake in, who cares about the mess?! :)

It was a great birthday weekend for all of us...Grandma and Grandpa Brown came out from Utah to be here for the special occasion and we just partied non-stop! Saturday (mine and Aubrey's birthday) we had a big pizza and cupcake party with family and friends...the house was full but what a fun time we had with our dance off!! Even Grandma Brown did it!!! Sunday (Dave's birthday) was more food and the baptism and a fun time with family!

We are so glad to have Aubrey in our family. She is the best birthday present I ever received, we have so much fun together! Aubrey is very kind and tender-hearted, but she can be silly and giggle with the best of them! There's not a mean bone in her body and she believes that everyone is good...she is very often the one that befriends the "bullies" or "outcasts" at school and has a sweet and gentle manner with them. She has no shortage of friends and never had anything bad to say about anyone...she gets that from her namesake. :) She is an excellent reader and speller and has the neatest handwriting, it's so pretty! Although she is not an attention hog at all, she does love to perform and sing...she's Broadway material!

WE LOVE AUBREY!!

8

Veggies. Fruit. I feel really lucky that I like most all of them. But I'm facing a new, although self-imposed, challenge...eating 8 a day!

I cannot diet. Nor do I really want to...I want to make better choices that I can live with my whole life. I want to lose weight in a healthy way and never be where I am now again. So, I have chosen to focus more on what I CAN eat than what I CAN'T eat...it's a mental thing. Instead of telling myself I can't have Dr. Pepper, I tell myself I can have 8 glasses of water a day...and I naturally have very little room for the nectar of the gods. :) I don't tell myself I can't have dessert or chips, but after I have eaten the fresh stuff I need to, I am too full to even think about a chocolate cupcake! I know, it's very weird...

So this is the second week of trying to get in 8 servings every day, and although I have done pretty well, each day seems to be more of a challenge. I think I am bored...so I need suggestions!! Already I add multiple fruits to my smoothies, drink V8, add more veggies to my eggs or casseroles, always eat 2-3 with dinner...but I'm sort of stuck in a rut.

What are some easy and delicious ways you vamp up the fruits and veggies in your diet?

Potty Chair

I just found the most awesome thing!!! As you all know, I'm a die-hard BYU Cougar fan...go Cougars!!! Check this out...eventhough I only have 1 child left to potty-train, I'm really thinking about it...





A potty chair that plays the Cougar fight song!! I need this!!

Heaven in a Cup

Seriously. Have you ever had it? No joke, it's the yummiest...I don't even have a favorite thing, it's all pure divinity!!!
And I've been eating much too much of it lately. Can't decide which I want more...a size 8 or a cup of delectable frozen custard?! A real toss-up...

Just a House

I have no good explanation for why I am on the computer--blogging--at 10:26pm on the eve of my big move. It certainly is NOT because I don't have 4 million and 9 things to do...the refrigerator has not been cleaned, the toys have not been packed (or even picked up), the pantry is still full of food, pictures are still on the wall, clothes are still in dressers and closets. Okay, so if you can count you realize that I didn't just name 4 million and 9 things...but you get my point, right?

I think I am trying to avoid the FINAL de-robing of my home. It still feels like my home with the pictures on the wall and my fun vinyl quotes. It still feels like my closet when I go get a shirt off the hanger. It still feels like my kitchen when I prepare a snack from a full fridge and well-stocked pantry instead of boxes. It most definitely still feels like my home when I trip over trains on the stairs and barbies on the family room floor.

I'm not ready to let go yet.

But it's just a house, right? A home is my family...and, thankfully, each of those precious faces will be joining me in our new abode. And we get to see more of each other since we're giving up 1,000 square feet!

It's just a house.
It's just a house.
It's just a house.

But it's MY house. My home.

I will really miss the gorgeous trees out the back in the fall, all lit-up in red and gold and orange.
I will really miss the gigantic bedrooms for my kids.
I will really miss our wonderful next-door neighbors, the Stowes.
I will sort-of miss the neighbor boy walking into my house (and my bedroom) unannounced.
I will sort-of miss 3 bathrooms and 2 living areas.
I will not miss the sloping backyard.
I will not miss the stairs.

I will miss my home.

But it's just a house.

House Pictures

So this post is just kind of "FYI" for the people who have requested pictures of my house. These photos are from last spring when we had it on the market--I don't dare take current pictures because we are in chaos! :) Packing and tossing stuff out, we are moving next week. The house will go back up for sale, but not until we are out...I can't even stomach the thought of living here and keeping it "show clean" with all my kids and daycare...nightmare! I learned a long time ago that "clean enough to live in" and "clean enough to show" are different things. :)

Family Room (basement)

Downstairs Bathroom
Girls' Bedroom

Boys' Bedroom

Kitchen/Dining

Upstairs Bathroom

Master Bathroom--redecorated since this pic

Master Bedroom--redecorated since this pic

Nursery--now it's the office

Living Room

Front of House