For The Sake of Journaling

Ok, ok. I know that was some serious time that I let lapse. I can't even claim things to have been too crazy. I have a really dumb cord on my laptop that is broken and won't charge my computer. I have a new one, and I need to use it.

Anywho, Christmas was great this year. We had a great time at the Bailey Family Christmas Eve gathering. It was a super snowy night, but over all I think it just made it more festive and cozy. It was also so great to see Kevin's sister and her hubby that were here from Louisville, KY. Those visits are few and far between because of dental school, but we had a great time while they were here. The kiddies were crazy, of course, and had a blast. The highlight of the night was the pinata. The boys beat the tar out of this thing only to find pencils. The adults had a great laugh, but were soon quieted when we were told each pencil had a clue on it for a treasure hut to a gift. It was very creative on my mother in laws part, but it was so hysterical to see the faces on all the kids when they saw six pencils drop out! THE BEST! I think I still laugh about it.


Christmas day we woke up WAY to early to open gifts, but I think Spence and Oli thought it was worth it. Santa brought Spencer his coveted golden telescope (thank you Pottery Barn) and Olivia's favorite gift was a last minute $3.99 purchase of tacky princess shoes from Walgreens. Who knew, but I love it!
Later we went to my folks to eat some traditional quiche and some laid back time. The kids got entirely too much, but I am sure they didn't think so. The only thing that didn't go over well with Spencer was the solitary outfit that my parents got him. Which, by the way, he now loves to wear. Christmas was a hit. I think we just spent the rest of the night playing Guitar Hero.
A few days later we hit Vegas. It was so fun to see the family down there. The highlight was seeing AND holding little Miss Claire H. Nelson! Can I just tell you how sweet she was and how good she smelled! Ohhhh!

We had a great time...except for my four hour bout with some cruddy puking. Bleh. Let me reiterate how my body just does not accept drainage. I was perfectly fine later that night except for the sore back from retching.

I was sad to leave and excited to get home all at the same time. I always feel like I never have enough time with our family there. We just have such a great time.

Now, life is back to normal. What ever that is. I need to set some goals for myself for this year. I need to actually write them down so I am a little more accountable. Maybe a post for tomorrow to make up for slacking! I got a few floating around, but need to get going on them. Happy New Year everyone!

This Is More My Style

This has kind of become a little tradition of mine to share this version of "Twas The Night Before Christmas" with my friends. I know some of you have heard it befo', but like I said, tradition. Enjoy, especially all you Chey-Town Alumni. No, this was not written by Snoop. Just seems like an appropriate picture!!! Let me apologize now to my in laws, who sometimes read this! This is hard core gangsta :/

'Twas da night befo' Christmas and all in da hood,

Not a homie stirrin' cuz it was all good.

The tube socks was hung on da window sill,

And we all had smiles up on our grill.

Mookie and Bebe was snug in da crib,

In da back bedroom cuz dat's how we live.

Mom's in her do-rag and me wit my nine,

Had just gotten busy cuz my girlfriend's fine.

All of a sudden a lowrider rolled by,

Bumpin' phat beats cuz da systems fly.

I bounced to da window at a quarter pas'
'Bout ready to pop a cap in somebody's ass!

Well anyway, I yelled to my lady, "Yo peep dis,"
She said, "Stop frontin' and jus' mind yo bidness."
I said, "For real doe, come check dis out,"
We weren't even buggin', no worries, do doubts.

Cuz bumpin' and thumpin' from 'round da way,
Was Santa, some reindeer, and a sleigh.
Da beats was kickin', da ride was phat,
I said, "Yo Red Dawg, you all dat!"

He threw up a sign and yelled to his boyz,
"Ay you give it up, let's make some noise,
To the top of da projects and across da strip mall,
We gots ta go, I got a booty call."

He pulled up his ride on da top of da roof,
And sippin' on a 40, he busted a move.
I yelled up to Santa, "You ain't got no stack?"
He said, "Dayim homie, deeze projects is wack.

But don't worry black, cuz I got da skillz,
I learnt back when I hadda pay da billz."
He slid down da fire escape smoove as a cat,
And busted da window wit a b-ball bat.

I said, "Wassup Santa whyd'ya bust up my place?"
He said, "Nigga you best get up outta my face."
His treads was all leatha, his chains was all gold,
His kicks was Puma, and they was five years old.

He dropped down da duffle, Clippas logo on da side,
Santa broke out da loot and my mouf popped open wide.
A wink of his eye and a shine of his gold toof,
He Cabbage Patched his way back onto da roof.

He jumped in his hooptie wit rims made of chrome.
To tap dat booty waitin' at home.
And all I heard as he cruised outta sight,
Was a loud and hearty...WEEESSSSIIIDDDEEE!!!

The Three Dreidels

Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay. Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, with you I'll always play!

Oh, could life's moments get any more precious than this? Nope. Three of the coolest boys in Mr. Syresons's first grade class in tights. It is even better that they have to wear a box. But the best part of all, that, my friends is when the box is too short. Now I am in the Christmas spirit! Thanks to Mikey Hardin, Mr. Ben Harber, and Tay for your help.

P.S. I will live in daily fear for forthcoming photos of myself that would be worthy of blackmail.

The Stockings Were Hung...

I finally got some of my Christmas decorations up! Hooray! Who knew it would ever happen. I wish I had more, but I have the hardest time paying full price for any holiday decorations. One of these days I will finally give in, and our house will look as festive as I would like. I have really been in the baking mood, but Kevin is trying to get back in shape, and is doing really well. I almost sabotaged it last night when Spencer and I made some yummy peach crisp. It just seemed like a cozy dessert to have on a cold winter night! Anyway, he held tough and didn't have any. Good job dude! More for me! We got the tree up too. I thought it would be a fun Family Home Evening activity. WRONG! My poor, poor children. It started out fine, but Olivia was a little too into all of the decorating. She almost pulled the tree down twice, and I can't believe we didn't end up with any broken ornaments! I ended up sending them down to the basement with Kevin so I could finish! My ribbon was for our old tree, so it's a little short, but I think it turned out OK. I wanted a red, gold, and white tree, and this is what we ended up with. I had to add some of the kiddy ornaments just because that is who the tree is for of course! Now, I just need to figure out how to keep Miss Oli out of it!

Speaking of Olivia, look at her cute hair!!!! I love it! I can't believe she held still for it. It even survived two car seat rides, but by nap time it was thrashed. Oh well, it is nice to have options other that the nappy mullet.

I can't leave Spencer out. He has been really into making crafts and Christmas activities, so he was so pumped when he got to make a ginger bread house at his neighborhood playgroup. He did a great job! I love the disgruntled snow man! He also had a blast in his bath last night. I think we could call this the Abominable Snowman. This is what happens when Dad gives baths. Party!!! Mom, on the other hand, is all business. He thinks he is getting a tub full of bubbles every time now! Olivia was supposed to get in, but I freaked her out too much before Spencer got it, plus the water was to warm for her. Oops.

There you have it folks, a new post. Sorry for the delay, I was struggling with some computer issues. Now, I should probably try and get some shopping done. Yup. I have only gotten ONE gift so far! I am in trouble.

Thanksgiving Update

Thanks to Tay, I finally decided to write a post on Thanksgiving. Not really, I was just being lazy, and I was going to get around to it eventually. We had another successful Thanksgiving. Lots of food, laughter, and Quick Care. Yup. I said it. ANOTHER stop at the quick care for our family. This time, however, it was Kevin and not Spencer. He was having some chest pains (yikes!), so after freaking ourselves out, with the help of Mom, Aunt Kathy and webMD, we decided it was better to be safe than sorry. Saying the word "angina" is funny, but having one...not so much, if you know what I mean. Three hours and a chest x-ray later we got to leave with a clean bill of heath. They told him it might be gas, but both of us thought that he is always gassy, so we would wait it out. All is well, and as far as I am concerned...it was gas! Ha ha, sorry Kevin!

We had a great time visiting with everyone. Our children were about as well behaved as kids can be when 900 things are going on at a time. My parents, less Susan, took all us kids out for our annual Thanksgiving shoe shopping! Gotta love that. Spencer had a great time too. All you need is Uncle E to come along, and you can have your four year old transformed into a Shoebertron. Sweet. Hey Eric, want to come shopping with me every time?

The actual feast was over in no time, of course. All those that slaved away all day in the kitchen watched their efforts be consumed in 30 minutes. Mmmmmm. No worries, the party continued. The family had a great time hanging out, even though we somehow cannot seem to shut our computers off even for an hour or two!

Oh well, it was worth the laughs!

The day after, none of us braved Black Friday. Instead the girls decided to make candy and have a Guitar Hero jam session. I suck, but it was so fun! I need that game. We also stayed at Cal and Jeanette's that night. It was fun to be able to see that side of the family too. It seemed a little off not having two Thanksgiving dinners this year. All the Nelson's were at their cabins except Cal's family. We were happy they decided to stick around. Spence and Oli had a blast "making science" with Alli and Jessica. We don't get to see the Vegas clan nearly enough these days.

I am truly grateful for our families. They are so wonderful to us. I can't imagine not having that support system. Having parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins that you can share your life with is such a blessing and makes everything so much more colorful. I have the best husband ever and two amazing children. I feel like they help me grow everyday. I am so blessed!

That said, I now will turn into a Debbie Downer. I don't know what my problem is. I am having such a difficult time getting into the Christmas spirit. I have yet to pull out the decorations, which I am sure will help, but I am just not excited to do it. Poor Spencer has been asking for days, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I love listing to Christmas music, but I am not into the jingles and whatnots. I only am moved or filled when it is something beautiful and spiritual. The traditional songs are just songs on the radio and do not even feel festive to me. I find myself actually feeling sad. I am sure part of it is me missing my girlfriends. Life just isn't the same in our new neighborhood, but I know life in our old neighborhood isn't the same either! Everyone has moved, or is thinking about moving, so there is nothing to be done. I know I will get to know people in our new neighborhood, but life is just crazy for everyone this time of year, so I am sure it will take awhile.

I miss not being close to my family. I know they are just an hour away, but it is the everyday buzz that I miss being involved in. I feel like I am missing out on so much, even though they are busy with their day to day stuff too. It isn't realistic to go down there very often especially when there are schedules to keep and when I have a car that requires premium gasoline!

I have even lost the desire to Christmas shop! What you say? Can it be? It is true my friends, it is true. Actually, I don't know that I ever really liked Christmas shopping. I have a hard time with how commercial everything is. It makes me crazy to hear my little guy ask for everything on TV when he doesn't play with his entire toy room full of toys. Now, I know all children do this, but it just makes me sick to think of how much we have and how many more there are that go without. Go without the simple things, at that! Good thing Santa only brings one present to our house, and they only get a few from Mom and Dad! I do, on the other hand, like the idea of spending time with people I love. I love being able to walk the mall with family and friends laughing, people watching, and shoving my face to satisfy a craving of greasy food court offerings. That is what I want. It isn't to spend money and to get more of the unnecessary, but to be around people I love. I feel like I have been removed from all of that, and maybe that is why I am feeling this way.

I recognize the season has just begun, and I am one who does not begin celebrating the Christmas season until Thanksgiving is over. I have time to warm up to all that the season brings. I also recognize that I need to reach beyond myself and think of others. I need to think of our Savior. I must admit that I have been sluggish in my temple attendance. I have been feeling, or more appropriately, yearning to go. Maybe that is where my sadness is coming from. I am disappointed in the lack of service I have been giving to others. I hope that I will take this opportunity to turn it around. I think that is why I am writing this. I think it will make me more accountable for my actions.

After all that venting, I really must say that even though all my friends live away from me now, as well as my parents and siblings, I love nothing more that being able to be with MY family. I love being home. I love when Kevin gets home and the kids are so excited to hear the door. I love the chaos of our nightly routines. I love jammies, stories, crazy night time hair, and most of all quiet time with Kevin. He is my rock. He loves me even when I am not being loving. My family is the best gift ever, and that is all I need.

So if you read this far, thank you! More importantly, Olivia and Nick Nolte wish you a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!!!

Headbangers BRAWL

Well, we got Spencer's stitches out. Our friend John came over to do the deed because he does this on a daily basis. I thought, hey, lets have a friend do it at our house so it is a more comfortable setting for Spencer. Plus, why not save on gas and a co-pay. Yea. Sadly, I have no pictures or video of the incident. When I say incident, I mean it. There was weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth here. Sorry for the vulgarity, but people, this kid near lost his damn mind! I'm telling you, I wasn't sure we weren't going to be taking that kid back in for more stitches last night. He obviously did not understand that someone was holding scissors to his face! In the end, I had to sit on him, Kevin had to hold his head, and John had to do some quick snippin'. When it was all over Spencer was sweaty and sporting a ma-hor fro from all the wrestling. Now that I think about it, it is probably good we didn't get it on video because Kevin and I would have looked like complete idiots trying to get him under control. John, on the other hand, had a blast. He thought it wouldn't have been nearly as fun if he just sat there.
So what did I learn from this? Either I will just slap a butterfly bandage on the next wound that requires 3 stitches or less, OR I will have a roll of duct tape ready for restraint purposes.

This guy is amazing!

This Weekend Was a Bust...Literally

This weekend I decided to head down to Vegas with the kids to go to Rachel and Miles' wedding. The drive was relatively uneventful, thank heavens, but I can't say that much for the rest of the weekend! On Saturday morning we headed over to Grandma Christensen's to pick her up to go to the temple, and I needed to change into my church clothes as well. I went into the bathroom to change, and when I came out I saw Spencer running and then fall. I heard my dad say "You are OK," so I turned back around into the bathroom to grab my keys. As I turned back towards the kitchen I saw everyone scrambling and Spencer screaming. I kicked off my heals and ran into the family room. Apparently Spencer had pulled a Superman into the coffee table. His face was covered in blood, and so was my dad's shirt. My dad was holding his head, and when he lifted his hand blood just kept pouring out. We got some rags and got the bleeding under control. Once I had a second to get my thoughts under control I started to feel light headed!!! How do people in the medical field do this daily? I am totally not cut out for that crap!


After I changed again, my dad and I took Spence to the Quick Care to get checked out. He was crying the whole way. I tried to prep him for the idea of stitches, but that was a bad idea. He just started freaking out even more. Good thing my dad was there...he told him he could have the biggest size Slurpee when we were done. That totally helped! Thankfully the quick care was empty, and we only had to wait a few minutes before we were taken back. We got a wonderful doctor who Spencer really liked. In the end, Spencer had to get three stitches.


I have to say the whole experience was exhausting. I didn't quite have the energy to last very long at Rachel's reception, which was beautiful, so we headed back early to get everyone in bed. I still haven't quite figured out if the weekend was a bust, but we did have a good time. I am still considering making him wear a helmet for the rest of his childhood. I CANNOT HANDLE ANY MORE HEAD INJURIES!!! Enjoy the pictures. Sit down because they will definitely make you legs hurt!
Eek, my legs hurts us!
Not happy
Blood Brothers
Happy now
Mr. Crazy Eyebrow

Boys & Girls of Every Age???

OK, I will get to this picture in a minute.


















Where do I begin? What a Halloween we had! It all began Monday night when we had our annual Bailey pumpkin carving and chili Family Home Evening. We had a great time eating and demolishing Kevin's parent's home. I think we carved about a dozen pumpkins!!! The kids had a blast running around outside in the AMAZING weather while the adults did all the work. This was the first pumpkin I carved since I was a kid! I had forgotten how fun it can be!




















Tuesday, Olivia came down with a fever, and we were worried that she wouldn't be feeling well enough by Wednesday. Luckily, the fever had gone and we were able to take the kiddies out for a little Trick-or-Treating. I would have been so sad if her cute Dorothy costume went to waste! I swear I was breaking a sweat just trying to get them to take a picture! Spencer didn't mind posing for a cool Ninja shot, but then Oli kept trying to pose like one too. Oh well. I am learning that trying to get a decent picture of my children is like trying to heard cats. Anywho, we went to Kevin's office first and walked around with some other kids getting candy from the employees. We had a quick pizza dinner and were off to the Trunk-or-Treat. Can we say mini van? HELLO! The whole parking lot looked like a mini van dealership! We beat it out of there pretty fast because we ran out of candy, and we had a HUGE bowl of candy!















We went home and Oli and I got our jammies on (Spencer had his under his costume) and were done for the night. Kev took Spencer to a friends house where lots of kids got to hold and pet snakes and spiders! Spencer loved it and now wants a pet python. Thanks John! BTW, John is our friend that hosted this little shin dig and is the one sporting the French maids uniform. Again, thank you John. The word I hear is if you drop a pen, he will pick it up for you!!! Maybe that is not such a good idea.

Oh yea, after Oli went to bed I threw up FIVE times! That is another story, but I am better now. Peace out.

Happy Anniversary

I can't believe it has been 8 years since Kevin and I were married! I remember when I couldn't wait to say we had been married a year, and now I am not sure where the other seven have gone. I am so grateful that I have such a wonderful husband who loves me for who I am. He knows how to love me, encourage me, and also knows when to put me back on track. Kevin is a wonder father. My favorite part of the day is when he gets home and seeing Spencer and Olivia get so excited when they hear the door open. He is always looking for activities to do as a family, but he also knows how important it is to have some time together just as a couple. I truly appreciate his hard work. He has gone above and beyond in trying to provide for our family. He makes me laugh, he makes me smile, and he even makes me mad at times, but all of those things just make me love him even more. I couldn't have asked for a better companion. I am so grateful for who he is, and that we in this for the eternities. Happy Anniversary Dude ;)

Quite the Fiesta

This last weekend our family, sans Kevin, went to Las Vegas for our cousin Chelsea's wedding to Mr. Nestor Ramirez. I drove down with Bree and Eric, bless their hearts, with my two crazy children. Long story short, Olivia never slept. AHHHH! We arrived safe, although we sadly saw a victim of a rollover, which then made us contemplate safe driving and all the horror stories we had ever seen.
ANYWAY, on Thursday, Lydia and I went to Chelsea's naughty shower where the both of us learned a thing or two! We had fun having dinner with the girls, and it was fun to see Chels before the wedding day.
The sealing was beautiful. It was so fun to watch Nestor's face. He has a really cute smile, which he doesn't show off near enough. I was so pleased with the two of them getting sealed in the temple. That is the best way to start of a marriage! The weather was amazing, and it was fun to visit with everyone outside. It was really fun to see my good friend Candace too. She was the photographer. You can see her site here. I never get to see her when I am down because she is always shooting, so that was really fun for me!

The reception that night was a blast! It was beautifully decorated, knowing of course that Jeanette cannot do anything simple! I was worried Olivia would be difficult because she started the night off with a fever from teething.

Luckily she felt better fast after a little Tylenol, and then we couldn't peel her off the dance floor! The kids had a blast gettin' down! I think every time a flash went off Olivia thought it was for her.

It has been said to "dance like no one is watching." Olivia was dancing and hoping everyone was watching! She was so funny. Spencer liked the dance floor, but he LOVED the chocolate fountain and the candy table. I cannot tell you how many people came up to me and said, "Have you seen Spencer's shirt?" Oh well. He came to party, and that he did! He loved playing with Alli and Jessi! They were nothing but T-R-O-U-B-L-E!

I have to say that one of my favorite parts of the night was when the DJ was finished and the Mariachi band started to play. I swear, you had to be there to see it. ALL the white people backed away and ALL the Mexicans ran to the dance floor! Oh, I was dying! After a song or two, the whities weren't so afraid. It was so fun to have the live music there. It was even better to actually see people dancing.

Finally, a highlight of the night was Lydia catching the bouquet! Hooray for Lydia! Now all we have to do is find her a man! Here she is with Nestor's brother (I think). Doesn't she look pretty?!!

Oh, I guess I can't forget the shot of the bride! Chelsea looked so beautiful!!! I didn't get very many shots of them because I have a thing for taking shots the same time as the photographer, I think it is so tacky! So, here is one of my few pics of Chels. Sorry, it isn't very good!

The whole day was beautiful, and the night was quite a fiesta! I know for sure the party continued late into the night because they were moving the party to Nestor's parent's house after it was done at the Nelson's! I wish you could have been there to see it, but maybe some of you will be at Rachel and Miles' reception in a couple weeks. It is at Cal and Jeanette's too!

I just have to put this shot in because I think it is so cute. It is of Olivia Lauren and Lauren (Ryan's 'friend').

THE END.

My Preciousssssss

Here is Oli's new 'baby'! Can you believe it! I pulled out some Halloween stuff, and she attached herself right to this scary rat. She loves it just like all of her other babies, maybe more in fact. He has to sit next to her to eat, she lets him drink out of her sippies, and she carts him around all over. People have very adverse reactions to this rubbery rodent, and it is even more shocking when they see this sweet little girl loving it like a baby doll. Personally I love it! I don't know if it is because she has a slight sense of morbidity (like her mother) or if it is the undiscriminating love of a child. Lets go with the latter.

Elvira or Vixen?

So what do you think? It has been a couple of years since I have gone dark, and I thought with the season change it was a good time. I was in the mood, and I love it! I wish it was about 8" longer, then it would be fabuloso. OK, so do Lydia and I officially look like sisters now?!! I pulled an expression in the mirror after it was done and I was thinking, 'Holy crap, that is Lydia!' Spencer asked me why I turned my hair brown when I picked him up from school today, but he said he liked it. Few! All I need is a 4 year old telling me I am not cute! Hopefully the hubby likes it! He doesn't know I did it!

The Glories of Fall

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This last weekend I drove the kiddies down to good ol' Utah County to go for a ride up the ski lifts in Sundance with Nana, Papa, and Uncle Ryan. I was a little worried that the weather was going to turn on us, but it ended up being a spectacular fall day. It was overcast, a little breezy, but it felt just like fall. The leaves were so beautiful. If you are here and haven't been to see them, you must go soon! It seems they are gone before you know it.
The boys went up on a lift together with Spence, and the girls took Oli. I am sure my dad and Ry had a little easier time with Spencer, but we had nonstop action on our trip. Olivia almost lost a shoe in the first 30 seconds, she tried to throw her hat off at the half way point, and I swear that girl has a death wish. She would have jumped off if we let her (probably because it looked like the mountain bikers below were having so much fun). Even though she was a handful, Mom and I had fun kicking our legs and letting the breeze blow through our hair. It is amazing to look at the what Heavenly Father created for us, and that he did it to bring us joy.