Let the countdowns begin

Christmas countdowns start tomorrow at our house. Quinn and I made this one together today. I think he turned out pretty cute. Quinn loves to use scissors, so I thought this would be perfect for her. You cut off part of his beard every day until Christmas. And no-- I obviously can't write numbers in a straight line if I start from the bottom. It gives him character. 

My darling girl might be a little excited for Christmas festivities. And some of you may remember the other advent calendar that I made a couple years ago. That also begins tomorrow-- as well as the Christmas book countdown. (We open a christmas book everyday-- they are the same Christmas books that we read every year. I just wrap them and let them open one a day)

And this little apple of my eye couldn't be any cuter either. She's cutting a top tooth plus has a cold-- yet she is still super duper sweet. (Although I easily held her for 4 hours today. You should see my biceps.)

And on a completely random note-- I made Brown sugar and Balsamic Glazed pork loin for dinner. Make it. Super easy-- and quite good.

Moving

As many of you know-- we are moving. But I thought that many of you don't know where we've decided to move. So I thought we would play a fun little game to see if you can guess. And some of you already know... and that's okay too. You're free to guess-- or throw people off :)

(most of my facts are from wikipedia)

It has bright sunshine 60.3% of the year.

Whole Foods was started and it's headquarters are there.

Population of 790,652. Making it the 35th largest city in the US. So nope-- we're not moving back to LA.

Live music capital of the world (this just gave it away for some people)... and no- we're not moving there because Dave's band made it big :)

Has more than 50 public swimming pools! (and yes, this means that it's HOT there)

1600 miles from where we live right now. Yowee... we are in for a long drive.

I NEVER thought I would end up in this state. But have been happily surprised by how awesome it sounds. (I haven't ever been there).


We aren't moving for a few months, but I know the time will fly by. We are very excited. The only downer is that we aren't going to be living by my sister like we thought (since she's movie to Portland). We are moving because Dave's company is merging with another company-- and that company is where we are moving. :) Any guesses???

Mini-van?

Dave and I have held out for as long as we could. But now we are officially the happy owners of a mini-van! We bought our Durango a few years ago because it has a third row-- we knew we could fit a bunch of kids. But little did we realize that Durangos are NOT ideal for a bunch of little kids. It was so hard to get to the back. Plus the trunk was so small that I had to choose-- groceries or a stroller. (super annoying). We finally made the jump to a mini-van. And I'm HAPPY that it's over. The logistics of buying a car with three little kids is awful. It takes HOURS AND HOURS and test driving and moving car seats all over the place and taking turns at car dealerships and coming home to nurse Veda.... ugh. And too bad that my favorite (and only) babysitter was out of town for Thanksgiving. So we did it all on our own. (which will be good practice for after we move and are on our own again, I guess!) And yes-- this is our second white car :)

It's a 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan. And it's beautiful and roomy and has TONS of storage.

Veda's getting big!!

Quinn is the perfect size for Veda to pull herself up on.

 Quinn better watch out--Veda might catch up in size to Quinn pretty quick :)

Veda gets cuter every day-- which is hard to believe since she's already a doll. There's just something about her getting bigger and getting around more that makes her just the cutest little thing.

 She can go up the stairs like a pro now. Which is good-- except she can't go down and has no problem just standing up and letting herself fall backward. (good thing I'm always right behind her) :)

Slow down my sweet baby girl!! I need a baby around here and I'm not about to have another :)

cleaning and car shirt

Quinn has turned into quite the little helper. She is awesome at cleaning up toys- maybe better than me. And the other day she asked if she could clean the sliding door and the table with spray cleaner. Well... sure. I'm starting to taste the sweetness of having a child old enough to actually really help out.

oh but wait-- I forgot that Veda is REALLY good at cleaning my floor. Then eating it. Look at that concentration. And she knows how to find the goods-- she'll look right around the table legs because that's where it's hard for me to sweep up 100% of crumbs.

My friend April asked me to cut her some vinyl-- cute huh? So cute that I decided that Hendrix needed a new car shirt.

I tried to get a picture of him with it on this morning, but when I asked, he laid down on his tummy. I don't think he wanted me to take a picture :)

Thanks

I thought I'd do a round-up of things I'm thankful for since it's practically Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for my kids and husband and my parents/family.
I'm thankful for my health and for the church.
I'm thankful for my boots.
I'm thankful for Dave's job and his hard work supporting us.
I'm thankful that we are moving somewhere warm.
I'm thankful for my friends.
I'm thankful that my kids have cousins nearby that they love to play with.
I'm thankful for chocolate Cheerios.
I'm thankful for how cute Hendrix looks in his pi's.
I'm thankful that I live at a time of running water and flushing toilets.
I'm thankful for the $10 Old Navy gift card I have in my purse.
I'm thankful for my iPhone.
I'm thankful for our Christmas tree and the pumpkin pie that I have in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Mini Shoes

It's clearly impossible to get three little kids to all look at the camera-- or at daddy-- at the same time. 

But I'm thankful that if you take a picture of their bottom half-- you can't tell. I'm also thankful for little kid shoes.

Saturdays

I love weekends-- Dave is home to hold this sweet baby and tease and tickle the other kids all day.

Me-- and the kids, are thankful for Saturdays.

Hair

When I was in hair school, there would be lots of girls talking about how they wanted a salon in their house someday. I remember thinking-- "hmm... I don't. That's not for me." And obviously it wasn't for me for a while-- I worked in a salon for years. But while picking out our house, it just happened to work out. We picked a floor plan that had a den in the front-- and since Dave worked for the builder at the time-- we talked them into putting plumbing in the den. 

So then it began-- me having a salon in my house. There have been times of ingratitude for it. Times when people didn't understand that it was my 'job' and not just something that they stop over for. Times when I felt like it was too much to be a mom all day and hairstylist all night. And other times-- it's been a huge blessing. I work after my kids are in bed, so most of the time they don't even know that I am doing hair. How awesome is that- I can work in the salon, while my kids are upstairs sleeping. When Dave got laid off before I had Hendrix and now when we are trying to save for our move, it is so nice that I make a little extra money. I'm thankful that I can do hair. 

Toy Guitars

My mom had sent me this baby guitar toy when I was pregnant with Veda. It has been Hendrix's favorite toy lately. He plays with it all day-- usually while dancing around and pretending to use one of Dave's guitar pics. 

 Today I'm thankful that my kids have toys to keep them busy and happy.

Have a ROCKIN' weekend!

baby tights

In the summer- Veda lived in leggings. I don't like to put jeans on my babies until they get a little older--- so leggings were the next cutest thing! But now that it's winter weather, my favorite thing to put on little Veda is tights. Is there anything cuter than baby tights?! I think not. They keep her little feet covered (since she's good at getting her socks off) and look cute at the same time. I'm thankful for baby tights and the little legs to put in them.

Happy Snappy

Today I am thankful for happy kids.

This morning we were playing in Quinn's closet (She has a large closet). Hendrix was sitting on my lap and I was burying us in tons of stuffed animals. He shouts: "This is so FUN and GREAT!"

Yesterday I went to Costco with Hendrix and Veda. Neither one cried or fussed or did anything embarrassing. Shopping with two or three kids doesn't always go that awesome, but I'm glad that it doesn't usually go that bad either.

Quinn and Hendrix giggle all day long. Quinn has turned into quite the giggler-- and it seems that Hendrix is catching on. I love to hear them playing and laughing together.

Even little things, like picking out which pajamas to wear to bed, make Hendrix so excited.

And Veda.... all you have to do is kinda look at her and she busts out in a smile.

friends

Last night I was doing someone's hair and we were talking about friendships. Making and keeping close friends while we have young kids at home, how important friends are to have a good quality of life, etc. Then after I finished working, Dave was skypeing his best friend Paul. Dave has two best friends ever-- Paul and Clint. It makes me a little jealous-- because I don't have as good of friends as Dave does. They've been friends for years and see each other and talk often and about everything. I have had some great friends in my life too-- but also my fair share of friends who haven't been really good friends or very nice to me. Then-- this morning my mom brought up that she has been having a difficult time with a girl who has been one of her really close friends, but not at all lately. All these things happening in the last 12 hours made me think-- wow. Friends are important. 

These guys-- since they are Dave's best friends, are really like my best friends too. :)

And these ladies-- definitely my best friends. I'm thankful for the other friends in my life who have been a constant support to me. Friends make life so much better! I'm thankful for friends.

ode to Krystal

so. I have this sister-in-law.

whose name is krystal.

who asked for a blog post for her birthday.

So here's some awesome things about Krystal:

she's fun to go to parties with.

 She's fun to do crafts with.

 She's a good sport about being in pictures

 She does all the work when we go for walks.

 My kids love her to pieces.

 She's grossed out by kids eating cupcakes.

 She's a phone model (just on the weekends). 

She's good huh? You all want an iPhone now. 

(because of how cool she looks, not because how cool iPhones are)

Love you Krystal. Hope you have a wonderful Birthday. Wish you were here so I would have an excuse to eat some cake.

Hendrix

This little boy is cute.

He makes me laugh every day.

He loves me a lot.

He tells good jokes.

He often tells me I'm cute.

He loves treats. (and cheese).

I'm thankful for Hendrix.

sewing

I just asked Dave what I should be thankful for today. He said: chocolate. He's right-- I'm thankful for chocolate. But I have the flu, so today I'm not really feeling like chocolate. 

I made Veda some more velcro wrap blankets. It's been really hard to find time to sew lately. Veda just doesn't cooperate. So the few minutes I have found lately while she's sleeping, reminds me how therapeutic sewing is for me. I love my sewing machine (until I see someone else's nicer one with tons of stitches and is all electronic). And I love making things. I'm thankful for sewing. 

Please Do Not Feed the Animals

Quinn's favorite thing to do lately:

Netflix

Dave and I love to watch movies together. Even though we don't always have the same taste in what we watch*. We watch a LOT of Netflix. Netflix instant is awesome. My kids don't get to watch a lot of TV (only if Veda is asleep), but when they do watch a show it's usually from Netflix. And Dave and I watch it on a nightly basis. Whether it's a guilty pleasure like Giuliana and Bill, or a documentary-- I'm Thankful for Netflix.

*Have you guys seen The Tree of Life? Dave and I both liked the movie (is it possible to dislike a movie with Brad Pitt in it?)-- but I didn't really care for the 25 minutes of the film without people-- like the space/volcano/dinosaur parts. But Dave loved those parts. Dave still kind of likes me-- even though I can't always appreciate his taste in movies 100%. But I still always watch everything with him and try to not fall asleep.

preschool

Quinn LOVES preschool. She has the best teacher who is super sweet and awesome to my precious little girl. Quinn has always been really shy, and preschool has helped her a ton to come out of her shell. We chose to put her in a preschool that's with her cousin-- which means it's not in the little town that we live in. Which means I have to drive 20 minutes (okay- it takes 15 minutes, but I have to plan on 25 to get there just because of getting kids in the car, shoes on, and my need to not be even one minute late). And honestly-- it's a sacrifice for the other kids. Dave usually drops Quinn off on his way to the office, so I just have to pick her up. But-- if I don't run errands, then I have to WAKE VEDA UP from her nap to go get Quinn- super sad. Plus, I have to try really hard to keep Hendrix awake since he should already be down for his nap, then he has to sit in the car for 40 minutes-- which doesn't always promote wakefulness. Despite the sacrifices made on the other kid's sleep, I am so glad that Quinn has a fun preschool to go to. She learns all sorts of fun and cool things that I've never even thought to teach her. I'm thankful for preschool.

(the other night before Quinn started eating dinner she asked me to take a picture of her and her "healfy" food.) :)

wanna see my haircut?

alright... so you want to see my crappy haircut? here it is. see how thinned the back/bottom is?

 look at that big hole on the bottom line. barf.

 this angle not so bad (and I should also add that this was the first day I even remotely liked the way my hair looked). Give me three months. maybe It'll be grown out enough that I'll like it :)

 "Hey Hendrix, let's quick take a picture before Veda gets us!"

 "Take your finger out of your mouth-- here she comes!"

 "Crap!! She's getting me!"

 "Oh no-- not my teeth!"

Target

I'm having an especially hard time feeling grateful this morning. Which is the exact reason why I decided to do a post anyway. What a great exercise-- to count our blessings. Sometimes it's hard when I'm tired, and kids are grumpy, and life is stressing me out. But I know I have a lot to be thankful for. 

What is it about Target? Maybe it's because it's FAR away from my house? I have to drive 25 minutes to get there... it's a pain. But once I'm there-- they have EVERYTHING. Clothes, diapers, jewelry, cute kids clothes, deodorant, toys, a dollar section, chocolate. Man. I could just live there. And spend $100. On the morning I know I'm going to go to Target-- I literally wake up happy. (too bad I'm not going today-- I might have woken up in a better mood) I'm crazy. I'll admit. But I'm thankful for Target.

Babies

Babies are the best invention ever. They are soft and warm and snuggly and smell good. They are cute and sweet. There is nothing better in the entire world than a sleeping baby. Or a smiling baby. Or a giggling baby. Or a baby smiling at her big brother or sister. I love love love babies. I'm thankful that I've had three.