From Hero to Zero

I'm not ashamed to say I watched The Bachelor this year. The boss and I enjoy a little reality TV from time to time. I wouldn't say we're complete fans... but I was this year... until now.

I think it is so amazing how a guy can go from being viewed as one of the most amazing guys EVER to the biggest JERK (so not to use profanity) in the world... in a matter of minutes. I just think it's hilarious!

We don't usually expect these "Bachelor" things to work out. Trista and Ryan are making it work (and I DID watch that one), but most of the time, they're just crap. I guess our expectations for Jason were just TOO high... or maybe we expect people with children to some how be more responsible and respectful... or maybe we think someone who has been through it themselves, is better capable of making the "right" choice for the proposal... I don't know. Stupid.

I feel horrible for his son. The Boss would comment all the time on how "if he's such a 'great guy', why is he dragging his son through all this". Dully noted.

I of course wanted him to pick Melissa, but whatever. Apparently the "chemistry" wasn't the same. Things were "different". Yah you IDIOTS, it's called "real life". This is why relationships from these kinds of shows very very very very seldom actually work. It ain't always paradise!

I actually think Jason will get a worse wrap for this than he probably deserves. I'm sure he's a decent guy. A really STUPID decent guy. He knows he is seriously going to be hated by every female for the way it played out. I know it's not fair. But seriously, ABC milked this dry. They aren't doing him any favors. Its almost like they're TRYING to make seem more like an a**hole. Wait a go ABC! How decent of you. Such class. But be careful. You may have had a good night tonight, but you may have pissed people off just enough to stop watching the show. Which would make you a Zero. Enjoy!

I can't WAIT to hear what the morning shows have to say about this!

American Idol Blog Trouble

I am alive. This STUPID laptop hates my blog and freezes every time I try to post pictures. That's why I haven't had any posts and the posts I have made, lack photos. Eventually I will get to my desktop and add the photos.

We have been so busy and things are not going to be slowing down. I know many of you are much busier than I am... I guess your just better at managing your time. :)

Right now I am in San Francisco. I am at The Westin, watching American Idol and trying to get Mama's Boy to GO TO BED!! This boy does NOT want to sleep in the crib at this hotel. The Boss had a big presentation to do last night, so when Mama's Boy woke up at 2am and wouldn't fall back to sleep, I took him in the stroller and walked around with him until 6:30am (so the boss, and our hotel room neighbors, could get some sleep). After walking around for 3 1/2 hours, I was confident he was completely out (about time!) so we came back into the hotel room where I left him asleep in his stroller until 9:30am. I was so freaking tired!! Then, (this is how wacky this kid is), he takes a 2 hour nap in the crib at 11am. I took him shopping for 5 HOURS, and he was nearly PERFECT! Now, it's almost 9pm, he's been sitting in the crib for over an hour and refuses to fall asleep. I am going to go CRAZY!!! HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least I have my American Idol. Which is sorta sucking tonight.

PS- The Boss surprised me last Wednesday morning and took me to Pismo Beach for 3 days, as part of my Valentine's Day gift! So sweet! And much needed!! It was so fun... we needed a few more days. I'll do a post next week after we get back from the cabin and I'll put some pictures up. I promise!! No... I don't.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

So, I know I have been so sporadic with my blogs... I'm sorry! I almost NEVER turn on our upstairs computer, I usually wait for The Boss to get home and I use his laptop. For some reason this laptop does NOT like my blog... so sad... I know. It just doesn't want to load. It takes FOREVER to load and then won't let me sign in. Anyway, I've been VERY frustrated! But today, I made it!!

Our Valentine's Day was great! I threatened The Boss with his LIFE that he better NOT spend too much money. We have a budget now (that's an entirely different post) and I have to threaten him into abiding by it. Anyway... to kick off Valentine's Day, we went to dinner and a movie with the Thompson's. We ate at Cheesecake Factory, where I seriously had the BEST orange chicken EVER! It was soooooo worth it!! We were running late in order to catch the movie so The boss was upset he didn't have time for his Cheesecake... (again, another post entirely). We went and saw "He's just not that into you", which was funny, but was very very very PG-13. That's all I'll say about that. Then we went back to the Thompsons and played "Trains" where of course I won!! :)

To continue, my real Valentine's wish was to sleep in on Saturday... of course... impossible. We went to my parents for my mom's "Family Valentine's Day Dinner" with red ice-cubes and everything! It was fun and of course very very YUMMY!! Then The Boss and I had to chaperon the youth dance, which was fun, but not exactly romantic. But that's okay. We had a great one and we hope all of you did too! Man how things change when you have kids... right?

Christmas post!!! Only a month late :)

As promised (even if it is a month later) here are pictures of our Christmas extravaganza. An extravaganza is exactly what it was... (caution -- this may totally bore you!)

We decided to spend Christmas in Utah with Aaron's family. We planned on leaving the Monday before Christmas, but as some of you may remember, huge storms were all over Utah and California (Tahoe area). We were feeling reluctant about driving right through a storm and were going to cancel the trip. But me, not wanting to flake out on everyone, convinced Aaron that it would be no big deal and if we had to chain up (by the way, we drive a van that is NOT all wheel, so chains are required) I would help him put them on. So we headed up about 1pm.

What do you think was waiting for us in Tahoe? You guessed it! First a crap load of traffic, then a crap load of snow! We were completely behind schedule with the crazy traffic and were forced to chain up at the beginning of Donnor Pass. Traffic was moving about 5-10 miles an hour, which was fine because one of our chains fell off... twice... and we had to pull over and fix it. Notice how I say "WE", really it was Aaron. There was nothing I could do. Well, actually, I lie, I held the flash light, because it was totally dark outside... and freezing.

We finally made it to Reno (hours later) with Aaron totally mad at me for convincing him that this was a good idea. It took hours to get over Donnor and we knew that there were at least 4 or 5 more spots going through Nevada that would require us to put chains on again. And according to the weather reports, the storm was supposed to be getting worse, not better. I really didn't think Aaron could get any angrier at me, but when we pulled up to McDonalds, we found ourselves with a flat tire! We ended up shredding the tire, needing a brand new one. Of course everything was closed and it was official... we were going to have to stay the night in Reno and fix the tire the next day. Aaron had had it! He made up his mind that the trip was cancelled and when we got the tire fixed, we were heading back home. No more Christmas in Utah.

We ended up staying at a pretty decent Hotel for only $50 bucks (The Silver Legacy, check it out if you ever need to stay somewhere nice and cheap right downtown). So while we lucked out on finding a decent Hotel, we got totally ripped off buying our tire. Seriously. They raked us. It was criminal! And by the way, we didn't have any pack-n-plays so Mikko slept in bed with us for the first time and I seriously don't know how you people do it. I hardly slept at all. It was a nightmare. But Aaron felt much better after waking up (if that's what you call it, he barely spelt too) and decided that we would just make the trek to Utah and just vow to NEVER DO IT AGAIN!

So we were prepared to make several stops to put on chains, muddling through the stormy weather and wouldn't you know it? We flew right through Nevada and didn't hit one storm or flurry. It was crystal clear with no snow on the roads.

We spent a wonderful Christmas with the Lehikoinens. It was really fun waking up to a literally white Christmas Day. I mean really... we couldn't believe all the snow! The cars were completely snowed in. It was crazy, but fun. Well, Mikko and AJ didn't like it. They can be such wussies. AJ totally freaked out when I tried to take him out. Oh well, I'm sure one day he'll like it. But we got great gifts, had a great breakfast, a fun snowball fight, a yummy dinner, a girls Christmas movie night of Twilight, and unforgettable memories.

We came home and did a mini post-Christmas celebration with the Schwitters (Barry and Lauren included) and had a fun time hanging out with them. Hopefully next year will be a little more "drama free", but I guarantee this will be one Christmas, we'll NEVER forget.

*PS- The way home was crystal clear also

**PSS- Mikko is FINALLY crawling!!

The Boys & Santa Clause

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Post-Christmas Celebration with the Schwitters

A little of our week

This last week has gone by fast. I know, I still haven't gotten around to those Christmas pictures yet (its because I have to download, edit, resize, etc...) it feels like such a process. For Christmas Aaron and I decided to buy a little snap shot camera that we can just take with us everywhere. Its easier than lugging my big fancy one around. So we did take a few pictures this week, they are nothing special, but here they are nonetheless.

We did do some fun things this week. First, we finally broke out our Settlers game (that we haven't played since Sept. 2007). It was so fun! We played two nights in a row! Of course I lost both times, but I don't mind. Just getting my feet wet again!

Mikko is SOOOOOO close to crawling! He gets on all fours and moves his legs, but he wont move his arms... He will sit there and scream like he is frustrated he hasn't figured it out. I try to help him, but I think I make it worse. Oh well... I'm sure any day now it will "click" in his little brain and he will just take off!

Lately I have been trying to make more of an effort to get AJ out, playing with other kids. I took him to the park last Friday (our ward does a play group at the park each week) and he just stood in like one place the entire time. He just stared at all the other kids playing and having fun. It was sort of creepy at first. It was like he didn't want to touch any of the equipment or kids... so weird! I think I need to get him out more. He is too use to just playing by himself at home. So we're going to work on that! I don't want to have the creepy socially inept kid.

We also hosted a youth fireside at our house Sunday night. I stayed upstairs with the boys so they wouldn't be a distraction, but they had a great turn out and Aaron gave me all the details (of course I went downstairs to visit as soon as it was over). I just have to brag about my hubby for a second. I am SOOO proud of him. For some reason he feels so "out of his comfort zone" in his (Young Men's President) calling. But I think he is doing so amazing! He loves the youth so much and has so much passion for the gospel, I just love seeing it! The leaders challenged the kids to a few goals as a ward, and when everyone left, Aaron sat down with me and explained that we as a couple needed to strive for these goals individually, just like the youth. He said he thinks it is important to lead by example. The three goals were, read the scriptures for 5 minutes daily, pray day and night, and smile! As a family, we do pretty well with the prayers and scripture reading. But Aaron and I have fallen short on reading our scriptures individually. I think this will be a great thing for me and my testimony... I started yesterday! Of course, I think I can do a little better than 5 minutes a day. We raised the bar to 30 minutes of scripture study a day, instead of just 5. And I can especially work on the whole "smile" thing. But Aaron inspires me to be better. I just love him and am so grateful I have such a wonderful, worthy priesthood holder as my husband. I couldn't ask for more!

Today was a special day as many of you know (and if you don't, you've been living under a rock). To me it was special because I got to witness one of the great things about our country- a peaceful transfer of power. I was a teenager when Clinton left and Bush came in, so I didn't pay any attention to the transformation. I just thought it was very moving. Despite what anyone may think of President Bush, I was a little emotional when I watched him. I can see a good man, that cares about the country as a whole and Americans as individuals. I also loved seeing President Obama with his family. The kids looked a little nervous, but so cute! And seeing Pres Obama with Michelle, speaks volumes of his character. I know it was an exciting mark for history, having the first black President. I think younger generations (I include myself in this) seem to be more colorblind and a little oblivious to the (Farley recent persecutions) that occurred just a few decades ago. I know we shouldn't forget the past, but I think it is a little okay to step forward, and not back. It doesn't make a difference to me what color the president is. When I look at Pres Obama, I don't think "he's a black president". I think "he is our president". I wouldn't think twice if it was a woman, a Hispanic, Asian, Mormon, Catholic, or Muslim. So while we celebrate today, I hope we continue to move forward. It shouldn't really matter WHAT you are, but WHO you are. I think Pres Obama has a tough road ahead of him, but I support him as my President and will pray for him to make the best decisions for our country. I do think we need some change. I hope he can bring the kind that makes us a BETTER, STRONGER nation.

Post-Christmas all-stress disorder

I am so pooped. I just spent all day taking down my Christmas decorations, and man am I worn out!! It makes me wonder if it is worth it to put them all up... (I know it is... I forget all about it by the time Christmas rolls around again).
It took me an hour alone to vacuum up the pine needles (fake ones) from the stairs, and I have little cuts all over my hands from stringing out the pokey greenery from our stair-railings. I also have now found that I do not have enough home decor to fill this obnoxiously large house we now live in. Since we moved in during Halloween, I immediately put up Halloween decorations, then just replaced those with Christmas decorations. Now I have HUGE holes everywhere! My house looks so... empty. Its really sad.
Anyway, I also have a list of things that need to be returned. I am SO BAD at returning things. Usually The Boss just does it for me. But scrap booking supplies.... I'm going to have to take care of that one. I have pictures I still need to download from my camera, wrapping paper and boxes in my bedroom, Christmas candy tempting me, and kids that are still sick from BEFORE Christmas.
I just feel like everything is... well... everywhere. Things are not back to normal yet and I can't wait until they are. Is there a drug one can take for this post-Christmas all-stress disorder? And don't say chocolate... that's another contributor of my disorder.

(Sorry for no pictures. It is so low on my priority list. But I'm sure I'll get to it eventually...)

Shower Powder

So I have been SOOOOO lazy. I still haven't downloaded pictures from Christmas. That's why I haven't posted. Its on my list of things to do this week. But I make no promises. I've missed all you!!! Hope your holidays were well. Our holiday was... interesting. It'll all be in the Christmas post. ... Something to look forward to (I promise no profanity this time).

Today something happened. It was... a little sad. I ran out of baby powder. Silly, I know. But, the thing is, I have not had to buy baby powder yet. At all. Thanks to all my friends and family, I got enough baby powder from my AJ baby shower (AJ will be 2 in March and I didn't have a shower for Mikko) that I have not had to buy any. My shower powder supply has lasted me almost 2 years with AJ and 1 year with Mikko. They both get a bath every night, at which time powder is "puffed" onto the bum. When there are rashes or large poops, I usually powder them fresh also. That is a lot of freaking shower powder. I calculated that I have probably done somewhere around 1,500 "puffs" of powder on a bum with my shower powder. But today... my shower powder ran out. I will now have to go out and actually buy some baby powder. Some non-shower powder. However, my friends and family are so wonderful that I still have NOT run out of baby lotion or baby shampoo. My shower supply is still stalked! While I love my shower powder, shampoo, and lotions, why can't I have this same problem with diapers? We just spent $150 on diapers and formula for the month... ouch! Do you know how much shower powder, lotion, and shampoo I could buy with $150? It would last a heck of a lot longer than one month. A girl can dream... for now... to Target I go for my non-shower powder.