Daily Blogging Challenge - Day 8

What are 5 passions you have?

1. My kids are my #1 passion. Mommy-hood isn't always easy but it is the most rewarding and fulfilling aspect of my life
2. Reading. Whether it's a romance novel, a mystery-suspense novel, a scientific thriller...even Facebook updates! I love to read. 
3. Sleep. It sounds ridiculous but really...I love sleep. I'll let you in on a secret I don't generally make public knowledge. I take a nap daily. If Mama and the 2 year-old don't nap daily, we're grumps! If I could make a living by sleeping - let's just say this family would never worry about money again haha!
4. My family. I know, I already said my kids was #1. Now I'm referring to them all. I thoroughly enjoy all of the time I'm able to spend with my parents, siblings and nieces & nephew. Since getting married and starting my own family, I've not spent a lot of time with my friends. My family keeps me happy :)
5. Paparazzi. As I stated in my last post, I  LOVE Paparazzi! No joke, I'm thinking about it during my entire day, even if it's not in the forefront of my mind. It's not some get-rich-quick thing for me. It is truly filling a hole in my life that I hadn't realized was there. It is doing so much for my confidence and boosting me socially. I'm having to get out there and talk to people rather than being confined in my little bubble at home. I truly think it has played a part in helping my depression. Usually about mid-February I have a very difficult time with my depression and am so antsy for Spring! I love Spring and always will, but I wasn't feeling like I had to make myself survive the end of winter. I was having fun with my business so time has just flown by!

Daily Blogging Challenge - Day 7

What is your dream job, and why?

I don't necessarily think there's only one 'dream job' - for myself, at least. I think there's the possibility of the perfect job at the perfect time, however.
From the time I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a mom. If all else failed in my life, I knew I wouldn't be complete without at LEAST 1 child. Admittedly my reasoning for a long time was just because babies are SO cute & sweet. It wasn't until I was older that I realized that being a mother would make me responsible for a child's upbringing. What a huge responsibility, but I knew it was my calling.
Currently, I'm LOVING doing my Paparazzi business with my sister, Kellie. It is by no means a big money-maker right now, especially since we're doing it together therefore sharing profits. But it is something I'm doing for ME. I have always loved jewelry and even dabbled for awhile in making my own. But this is so much more rewarding - it's not 'work' per se, but it feels like I get to 'play' jewelry all the time. Paparazzi has so many fun, trendy things coming out constantly that it is just plain ole fun! The time I'm away from my family allows me a break that I need while I don't feel guilty for being away. I'm out making money, not spending it!! Plus I am allowed to have lots of girl-time with my very best friend without always having our kids underfoot. So for now, Paparazzi is my perfect job at the perfect time.

Daily Blogging Challenge - Day 6

If you could have 3 wishes, what would you wish for?

1. Money. I don't need a lot of it, but some extra would be nice in order to reduce money-related stress at times.
2. Patience. I feel I could be a much better person if I were only granted a lot more patience. I could definitely be a better wife & mother, for starters
3. Health & Happiness for myself and those I love

Daily Blogging Challenge - Day 5

What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?

1. Hadley. 
2. Zoey
3. Rylee
4. Mark
5. Paparazzi

Daily Blogging Challenge - Day 4

List 5 things you would tell your 16 year-old self if you could

1. You're not as grown up as you think you are!! Yes, you may be mature for your age but you still have a lot of learning & growing to do. Having a job, paying for insurance/gas/car maintenance, and doing well in school do not mean you're ready to be an adult. Please quit trying to make adult choices that could alter your future. There's always time for that.
2. Now is not the time to be tied down in a relationship, as real as these feelings may be. Have fun and quit centering your daily decisions on BOYS! Make more girlfriend memories.
3. Take every scholastic opportunity put in front of you. You may be determined that you'll go far with your education now, but in your future you don't. Go to college! You don't have to move hours away to get a good college education. You've got the ability and will be offered opportunities so CARPE DIEM! There will always be time for a job later. Don't waste your scholarships!!
4. Don't smoke. Despite your attempts to cover up the smell - you still smell awful. You may not care what others think of you now, but when you look back you'll regret thinking that. 
5. You're going to have some well-paying jobs. While it's fun to be able to spend that money, SAVE! Your future family could sure use some extra money from time to time ;) 

Daily Blogging Challenge - Day 3

Daily Blogging Challenge - Day 3

Describe your relationship with your spouse

Mark and I have a different kind of relationship, that's for sure. There is a lot of teasing and 'pretend' fighting that goes on. We like to pick on each other & pester. Tickling, poking, making smart aleck comments, making fun. He knows when I call him a jerk it's usually all in fun ;) Sometimes Haddie and Zoey will join in. They help me gang up on Daddy. He usually wins the tickling wars even with the girls' help on my side. We may not be super lovey-dovey all the time but we do love and enjoy each other. We spend a lot of time together, especially after kids go to bed - just sitting on the couch. Usually one of us is on the computer, the other on the Kindle Fire. We do a fair amount of chatting but we're perfectly happy just BEING together sometimes. We put up with a lot of crap from each other, and I know I wouldn't find somebody as tolerant of my quirks & faults as he is. And I of his, as well. He's a pretty darn good fella, and I think I'll keep him around for a year or two ;)

3. Describe your relationship with your spouse.
4. List 5 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 5 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
11. Describe 5 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. What’s the hardest part of growing up?
14. Describe 5 weaknesses and strengths you have.
15. Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.
16. What are your 2 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What do you think your spouse loves most about you?
19. How did you feel the moment you became a parent?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
21. Describe your relationship with your parents.
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. What’s your favorite holiday and why?
24. What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood?
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What’s your favorite quality in your spouse?
29. What are your hopes and dreams for your posterity?
30. Who were your childhood best friends?
31. List 5 things you would hope to be remembered for.

Daily Blogging Challenge Day 2

Describe 3 legitimate fears and how they became fears.

1. Fish. I am terrified of fish! Dead, alive, it doesn't matter. I'm not exactly sure where my fear came from. I used to love fishing with my dad when I was little. I can't stand to look at them, smell them, walk past them at the grocery store. Touching them is OUT of the question. I've been this way since I was at least 12, perhaps longer. The only kind of fish allowed in my house is tuna or fish sticks. I won't eat it and I won't ever make it for my kids. Drives hubby crazy but he is good about keeping it away from me. 
2. Bugs. Insects. Snakes. Creepy-crawly nasties. Especially roaches! I am super scared of them. I will kill a spider if I absolutely have to, but not if it's bigger than a nickel. I'll go wake the neighbor before I'll kill a big one myself. 
3. Death. It's not a fear in the way some would think. I'm not afraid of what happens after death. I'm just afraid of a horrific, painful death. Suffocation or drowning are the 2 things that frighten me the most. I freak out if I can't breathe effortlessly. I've had the same nightmare over and over since I was young. I don't ever remember what happened in the nightmare except that it's the same one. I can't breathe and it's related to something smooth and oblong cutting off my air supply. (Think of a GIANT medicine capsule...sorta). I wake up feeling like I'm suffocating and have to yank the sheets off of myself. 

Here's the list for the daily blogging challenge:
1. List 10 random facts about yourself.
2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your spouse.
4. List 5 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 5 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
11. Describe 5 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. What’s the hardest part of growing up?
14. Describe 5 weaknesses and strengths you have.
15. Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.
16. What are your 2 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What do you think your spouse loves most about you?
19. How did you feel the moment you became a parent?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
21. Describe your relationship with your parents.
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. What’s your favorite holiday and why?
24. What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood?
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What’s your favorite quality in your spouse?
29. What are your hopes and dreams for your posterity?
30. Who were your childhood best friends?
31. List 5 things you would hope to be remembered for.

Long Time, No Post; Daily Blogging Challenge

I could claim that life just got too busy for me to keep up with my blog. But really, I guess I just got bored. We'll have to play catch-up later because I SHOULD be busy right now rather than blogging. 
A friend of mine just started a blogging challenge for the month of May and encouraged all of her readers who are moms or moms-to-be to join the challenge. The purpose is to have a record of some info about mom for kids to read later. So that's what brings me here after nearly THREE years of my absence. 

DAILY BLOGGING CHALLENGE - DAY 1 

List 10 Random Facts About You

1. I spend entirely too much time on the computer. It's pretty ridiculous. I'm a Facebook stalker (Ok, not the scary kind. I'm not stealing your pictures or trying to find your house or gross, creepy stuff like that) and I play dumb games. Except Bingo, because Bingo is pretty freakin' awesome mmm-kay?
2. I'm loving my Paparazzi business that I share with my sister. In fact, a good portion of my computer time is spent on Paparazzi-related stuff. New ideas for parties, displays, flyers etc. It's become an addiction but at least I'm making money from it :)
3. I hate shoes, especially shoe shopping. What girl doesn't like shoes, you ask?! That would be me. Hate 'em. Give me flip flops in every color to match my wardrobe and I'm happy. They're cheaper than shoes, anyway. And if you know me, you know I'm frugal. Cheap. A tight wad. 
4. I love PIZZA! I could eat pizza 6 times a week. Oooohhh, and Fettuccine Alfredo! Especially home-made. Switch my meals up between the two, throw in chocolate as an appetizer AND dessert and I'm happy. 
5. My kids have become my life. Hadley (5), Zoey (2.5) and Rylee (7 months) are my world. My life revolves around my 3 girls and I love being a stay-at-home mom. Sure, I complain about them and roll my eyes sometimes when I hear "Mooooooooooooommmmm! Zoey hit me!" 500 times a day. Or find hair that Haddie has cut, be it her own, Zoey's, the dog's or a Barbie's. Yup, that makes me super happy. I adore my girls though
6. As tough as it is to admit this....I am overly-dramatic. I can turn something simple into a huge what-to-do. Don't tell hubby I admitted to this! I won't hear the end of it.
7. I love to craft. I don't really stick with one type of craft for very long - I tend to hop around. Which is why my craft table looks the way it does. I suppose I'll have to clear it off soon to be able to sew a fun project I'm working on. I'll have to blog about that later! My current favorite is wood crafts.
8. I have monkey toes. It amuses my sister. I can take my socks off using only the first 2 toes on each foot and then fold them inside each other as you would when mating clean socks. I pick a lot of things off the floor with my toes as well so I don't have to bend down. 
9. I am LDS. I want to teach my children to love the Gospel but I struggle. I have a potty mouth and I don't take my family to church as I should. I don't practice what I preach but I DO have faith and a Testimony.
10. When telling a story, it takes me F-O-R-E-V-E-R. I have a hard time just summarizing. I seem to drag it out and include every mundane detail. Drives my loved ones nuts, this I know. But they humor me and listen patiently. Sometimes.

So there's today's blogging challenge. Feel free to join if you'd like!
Here's the list:
1. List 10 random facts about yourself.
2. Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.
3. Describe your relationship with your spouse.
4. List 5 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.
5. What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
6. If you could have three wishes, what would you wish for?
7. What is your dream job, and why?
8. What are 5 passions you have?
9. List 5 people who have influenced you and describe how.
10. Describe your most embarrassing moment.
11. Describe 5 pet peeves you have.
12. Describe a typical day in your current life.
13. What’s the hardest part of growing up?
14. Describe 5 weaknesses and strengths you have.
15. Describe when you knew your spouse was the one or how I fell in love.
16. What are your 2 greatest accomplishments?
17. What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
18. What do you think your spouse loves most about you?
19. How did you feel the moment you became a parent?
20. Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood.
21. Describe your relationship with your parents.
22. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
23. What’s your favorite holiday and why?
24. What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about parenthood?
25. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and what would you eat?
26. What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
27. What is your favorite part of your body and why?
28. What’s your favorite quality in your spouse?
29. What are your hopes and dreams for your posterity?
30. Who were your childhood best friends?
31. List 5 things you would hope to be remembered for.

Pierced Ears

My mom wanted to take her 3 granddaughters to get their ears pierced so one day we finally went and did it. We were worried about the 2 younger ones so decided to start with Kambri

And then Haddie

And saved Hollie for last, since she's the oldest and would do the best.

Yep sure looks like she did the best! She put up the biggest fight of them all. We nearly ended up leaving without getting hers done but finally FINALLY got her to go through with it. (We won't mention that she's had them pierced twice previously)

All three girls look so cute with their pretty earrings! Haddie hates to have hers turned & cleaned. She likes to show them off - to the neighbors, her other Grandma, the checker at the grocery store - whoever will give her the reaction she desires! She's very proud to now have pretty ears like Mommy. 

No skinned knees - yet!

Haddie and Mark bought Haddie her very first bike together. He let her pick out which one she wanted. She's finally getting the pedaling part figured out but is still working on steering it by herself. She is super proud of herself! (So is Mom & Dad!)

Haddie's been a bubble-blowing machine lately! I think we've gone through 6 bottles of bubbles in the last 2 weeks. Good thing they are cheap entertainment for her :)

Haddie's Baby Cousin

Haddie is so proud of her cousin, Lillie Anne Phenes. She was born on April 6, about 2 weeks early. She has her very own picture of Lillie that she carries her around. She always refers to her as 'My baby cousin.' We really had to encourage Haddie at first to have much to do with Lillie.

Haddie's first time meeting Lillie. Uncle Cory helped her hold her for about 1.5 seconds until she lost interest :)

Auntie Lindsay and Haddie had the privilege of being the first to babysit Miss Lillie. This is the first time that Haddie held her for 'real'

She was fussy so Haddie shared one of her favorite baby toys with Lillie...She seemed to like the butterfly's lights and songs.

Haddie's 1st Haircut

At nearly 2.5 years old, I decided it was time for Haddie to finally have a haircut. Well, okay just a trim. Really, just the bangs.
I have a friend (Megan O) who is going to school at Beaux Cheveux School of Cosmetology. So I made an appointment and took Haddie in.

Pardon the terrible pictures - This was just before we bought our new camera :)

Megan and Haddie with her cute new 'do!

And In Other News...

I've been pretty darn boring lately, to be honest. I'm very much reclusive these days and I've narrowed it down to a few reasons

• I am excited for warmer weather. It is improving, thank goodness. But the end of winter is always really hard for me with my depression.
• Haddie is a lot of work lately - constantly into things and generally causing havoc around our house
• I'm poor. It's no fun to go places when you're poor. LOL Okay so we're not destitute but things are becoming tighter in preparation for this second baby.
• Which brings us to my pregnancy. I've been sick until the beginning of my 2nd trimester. I'm 14.5 weeks, so I'm just now feeling better. But I'm still exhausted
• I'm a home-body. Always have been, but hopefully can break out of it eventually
• I'm lazy. I shamefully admit it. Ex: it's 12:30 pm and I've still not gotten dressed. I did work on some housework when I got up so that's today's excuse :) I didn't wanna get today's clothes all nasty with sweat right?! Mmm-hmm.

So there you have it. Nothing exciting. Boring ole me.

My Birthday

Quite belated (Feb 11th) but here are some pictures from my 25th birthday :)

My new sewing machine case (from my sister-in-law) to house my new sewing machine the hubby gave me for Christmas. Hooray!

Reading the candy card my mother-in-law, Ronda, gives each of us on our birthday.

Haddie's a good present-opening-helper!

She tries to help blow out candles too, silly girl.

I haven't quite been able to figure out why I feel younger at 25 than I did at 22. Perhaps I'm already digressing? Who knows :) But I love my life.

Easter Wreath

Last year I came across this blog post right after Easter. I saved it so that I could make it this year. Haddie helped me with half of it - I'd ask her to hand me each color of egg. She lost interest quickly, but she likes to show it off to people who come to our house. It cost just under $4 to make it, and I think it's super duper cute!
Thanks to Stephanie V. from Alpine TRC for making my bow :) I'm quite challenged in that area.
Happy Easter!

Baby Shower

My mother-in-law and I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Angelina. I was so glad that we were able to do that for her to help her little family out. She is having a little girl later this month and she will named Lillie Anne
These are the invitations I made for the shower:

This is the basket we had the favors in, the 'Thanks' flower was made on my Cricut and the favors were a die that my mom has for her Big Shot.

Here's a close-up of a favor. They just had a few pieces of candy inside. Aren't those tiny safety pins adorable?! I found them at the local scrapbook store.
Here's a book I made for the shower so that everyone who attended could give some parenting advice to Cory and Angelina, the parents-to-be. I received something similar at my bridal shower and thought it was cool so I re-vamped it for this baby.
This is a page inside the advice book. I think they received some pretty sound advice to get them started :)
This is the stroller/car-seat system they received as a gift.
The gift table. There's a bunch of smaller gifts hiding behind those big bags.
These aren't the greatest pictures, but here are the centerpieces we came up with. Rather than doing some paper-type thing that would end up being thrown away, we decided to go with something that could be useful.
This is baby wash, hooded towel and washcloths tied together with balloons
Infant Motrin, baby wipes, diaper cream and a health-care kit including nail clippers, thermometer etc.
And the last one, with bottles, a formula holder for the diaper bag, burp rag and a dishwasher caddy to more easily wash all those bottle parts.
I also got a travel wipes container that was plain white and cut vinyl to decorate it with Lillie's name and some flowers. It turned out ca-ute!
The rest of these pictures are of the guests
Ronda, Sondra, Maridean, Lyndsay and Grandma Phenes (all family)
Dena and Angelina
Angelina's grandma and sister Hailey
Ronda's friend Claudia
Sondra, Maridean and Lyndsay
We did all sorts of food for the shower. It was my very least favorite part of the preparation. I hate to cook and I'm terrible at it. We made chicken salad sandwiches, spaghetti salad, jello pretzel salad, cupcakes (I put miniature bottles and pacifiers on top of the cupcakes) and Sprite.

I hope that Angie received a lot of things she needed. I was glad we were able to do it to help her prepare for my new baby niece. :)

Valentine's Crafts

Yes, I realize the holiday has come and gone. I am however excited to show these to you! You know those cute ladders that everyone seems to have on their porches? The ones with the different things on them for holidays/seasons? Yeah my sweet sister & her family gave me one for Christmas. I was elated! Hurray :)
The sets that go with them are too expensive to buy, at least for my budget. Plus I didn't want to have exactly what everyone else has on theirs. So I made my own.
At the thrift store awhile back, I found 6 plain unfinished wood hearts. 2 big ones and 4 little ones. I also found a little cupid-girl thing for a whopping $0.50! I figured I'd use them to make some cute V-Day decoration. Then when I thought about my ladder, the skies opened up and angels sang! I spray-painted the hearts, some red and some pink. Then I broke out my *new* Cricut...Mom & Dad gave met the Expression for Christmas! And I cut out some white and red vinyl.
It's hard to see, but the small hearts on bottom say "Be Mine"
Crappy pictures, I know. But it was cold outside and I didn't have shoes on so these are the best I could get while standing on my porch. Our poor snowman 'Snowy' - named by Haddie - all that was left of him was an oblong bottom because he fell over LOL Oh yes, and his stick arms.
Another thrift store find - I found these blocks for $0.75 that were pretty beat up and had Be Mine hand-painted on them. I knew I could make them so much prettier :) So I again broke out the spray paint and cut brown vinyl. I put these blocks on my piano, with the 'Be' sitting on top of the 'Mine' Super cute, I tell ya ;)
That's about as far as my craftiness has gone. I can't find my creative mojo.

Hadley's Big Girl Room

After Haddie's decision to climb out of her crib on her birthday, we decided it was time for a 'Big Girl' (Toddler) bed. So for Christmas I wanted to give her things to re-do her room. (It's been Care Bear themed from the time she was an infant) Before Christmas I posted these Mod Podge Projects I made for her as gifts. I also wanted to get her a cute bed set so I went with Dora. I have some cute Dora wall decals that I plan to put somewhere in her room but I'm waiting on those until I paint. What do you think of a pale yellow and then a little darker light yellow (like the yellow on the bedding) for an accent wall?
As you will see, Haddie loved that I was taking pictures of her room so she had to be in them :)
You can kinda see in this next picture the shelf that I decoupaged for her.
I have to show off her new kitchen from Grandma Leslie & Grandpa LaMont. She LOVES it, and plays with it daily. What wonderful grandparents she has :)
She also loves her horse from Grandma Ronda, and her table and chairs from Santa.
Her name in this picture is located on the wall above her changing table (you can barely see the changing table on the right side of the above picture). Would you believe that my DAD has his little baby butt changed on that changing table? I love that it's been passed down from him to his kids and now his grandkids! It has endured a few coats of paint and I replaced the knobs for Haddie.

So, there's her room for now. My next house project I think will be painting her room.