The Hedeen Family Scrog

Christmas Fotos

2011-12-29T20:58:00.001-08:00

Hmmm...that says: I decided that if I am going to host Xmas Eve dinner again we should probably invest in a tad bit nicer tablecloth so we don't have to buy a green napkin tablecloth at the last minute. Thanks to our special guests, Michael & Travis Parsons for driving ALL the way from Wisconsin JUST for my feast.

And that says...
Paige played Santa. Blah blah blah.

Mr Jace is 9 months old

2011-11-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

Little Baby Bunting - Sure wish I had a sweet suit like this!
(That's NOT a request to Santa for adult-footie jammies)

Pretty proud of himself here. Maybe because we praise him so much for climbing up on the couch. The little things in life...

Proof that he doesn't always smile....

But more often than not...can't hide that sweet smile behind anything!
WE LOVE YOU BABY JACE.

2011-11-13T22:19:00.001-08:00

My Digital Studio cont.

2011-11-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Wow - he has changed so much since this photo shoot!

My Digital Studio

2011-10-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

2011-10-19T12:41:00.001-07:00

In case you haven't heard we bought a house and I started a new job...2 very exciting changes for us. Needless to say, we've been a *little* busy. I'll post some pics of the house soon when we have a good set of before-and-afters. For now, here is a few shots of Jace who is now 7 1/2 months and Paige is 4 if you've forgotten ;)Jace can crawl, but usually resorts to scooting on his tummy because it gets him around faster. He eats like a man. He sleeps like a dream. If that makes any sense. You know what I mean. He smiles ALL of the time. (But there is more...come back later and read this!) Paige is doing wonderful in daycare and language development pre-school; she gets to ride the bus from daycare to school 2 times a week. What a big girl! She is a super bossy big sister: "BABY! I told you three times and you not listening to me..." And Jace is fulfilling his annoying-little-brother role very well - crunching up her papers, pulling her hair and grabbing at her books. Paige is also quite the little dancer. Our next project is to set up a Youtube account so we can share some of her dancing videos.

Top Left: Paige's attempt at packing up her books for the move. I know exactly how that happens.I think I do the same thing when I'm packing up photo albums and school yearbooks. All the rest are self-explanatory. Below are some pictures of our day at the Pumpkin Patch with Ava, Tyson and family. Paige zonked in the car on the way home at 4:00 and slept until we woke her up this evening at 9:00!

Ok - so the pout. (Where does she get that from?) :) I think I know. I'm sure some of you could confirm...
Anyway... the top picture is one of many times she went stomping or slouching away from Ava pouting...and sweet Ava comes running after her and tries to figure out what is wrong this time. My favorite one is the bottom left - pretty sure both Ava and Tyson are thinking, "WHAT NOW?" Oh Paige.

Oh what fun it is to ride...

2011-08-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

We didn't make plans for Paige to ride with anyone at the fair and we were feeling sorry for her having to go on the rides by herself...

After her first ride we ran into Steph and cousin Levi!

And then Ava and Tyson!

And another BFF, Casiann!

And then........

PAPA!!!!

Jesse said we weren't leaving the fair until Paige fell asleep in his arms.

(We arrived at appx 1:30). After the rodeo Papa went on a ride with Paige. And then I took Jace to the car to feed him and put him to sleep. At 11:15 p.m. Jesse and Paige (still awake) called me to pick them up at the gate. Paige fell asleep when we got to our driveway. What a long fun filled day.

P.S. I used to spend every-day-all-day at the fair. Oh the energy I must have had!

Summer.FUN

2011-07-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

We are thoroughly enjoying summer - especially the new fun things we get to watch Paige experience.

4th of July parade and fireworks. I'm sure we all know who really had the most fun with the fireworks.

The Circus (riding the elephant!)
Paige's favorite part: The "Frapeeze."

The Woodland Water Park where we jumped out of the pool 4 times to run to the bathroom only to not be able to go. (We not as in including me too, We as in Paige - I actually had success with my first attempt). I think it's adorable when Paige knows she has to go but can't - "Ugh, come out! come out!" It is pretty hard to go pee when you're shivering and have goose pumps. It's almost as bad as stage fright when someone walks into the bathroom and waits outside the stall for their turn. Ok, back to summer fun.

The Big Sky Waterslides - probably the *highlight* of the summer so far.
This was a day when I REALLY realized just how big our little girl is!
She went all by herself on all of the rides, including the River Ride in her own tube.
When Grandma asked if it was scary - "No, it was just fun!"
Here are the 2 little besties - Paige & Ava

It is so entertaining to watch them play, hear them giggle and listen to their conversations. They talk to each other and don't even listen to what the other is saying.

Paige: We made it all the way to the top, now we get to go down the water slide all by ourselves!

Ava: Hey Paige we got a new puppy and she has pointy ears on top and she slides on our floor

Paige: I walked up this all by myself and it's really really hot on the ground. Do you want to hold my hand?

Ava: And we got a bird and she sits on my finger and she pooped in her cage. hahaha

Paige: HAHAHAHA poopy butt! That's a poopy rock. Look at that poopy rock. Hey, Ava, now we get to go down this really really big waterslide, are you excited?

Ava: Hey Paige I'm trying to tell you about our new puppy that we got and she...

Paige: I got this new swimsuit at the store

Ava: I got my swimsuit at Smiths. What store did you get your swimsuit at? (heehee - Smiths is a grocery store, I think she meant Costco)

Paige: and I got my new sunglasses too

Ava: Do you want to what my new puppy's name is?

Paige: I'm a frog. Watch! Ribbit Ribbit

Ok, so my daughter is apparently the one that has conversation issues. Ava has always been ahead of the game on that.

Our little surfer dude.

Yes those are flames on his sleeves...and that is a red long-sleeve swim shirt/suit. Oh yeah! I put his cute little surfer shorts on over the full suit so he was really stylin' - but more importantly protected from those violent UVs

Summer Evenings are beautiful.

Jesse used to wear baseball caps *all* of the time; now he rarely does. When he puts it on Paige decides she needs to wear hers too. A little Daddy's Girl for sure.

Two Things

2011-07-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

1. Dad & Mom bought me My Digital Tudio for my birthday and
2. It's soooo nice outside...

Therefore, you may not see me blogging for a little while.
Of course I could post my creations, but I'm practicing and not quite ready to publicize, I mean, have you seen the amazing work of Alison, JoEllyn and my Aunt Linda? Um, yeah....

Prince Jace

2011-06-27T20:12:00.001-07:00

My daughter is Sleeping Beauty one day, Cinderella the next, and Snow White the next. Jace is always the handsome prince. He'll be glad one day to know that she totally has it figured out and he never had to be a princess.

I've been a little busy and behind on some blog posts.

First an update on Jace. 4 months. He seems to be growing into himself a little, he had only gained 1 and 1/2 lb since 2 months, but Dr. was not concerned and neither am I. You could call him Mr. Smiley. And a flirt. If I may say, he loves his mommy :) He totally doesn't mind when I smother his face with kisses. And at 5 in the a.m. his eyes pop open and he starts smiling immediately, pretty hard to keep up with him if you know what I mean! He's found his voice and screeches alot, which is cute so far.
He's rolled over and loves doing it. He'd really just like to get up and run around I think. But I really hope he takes his time. This is going by WAY too fast - I just had to schedule is 6 month appointment already!

Paige's Dream

2011-06-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

This morning on the way to drop the kids off at my parents house, Paige told me that she had a bad dream last night. I asked her what happened in her dream:

"I said Momma I fell down and you said Oh No you got dirt on your pants! And I said Yeah, I did!....it was like that."

Smile.

Cake of the Year - Part 2

2011-05-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

I decided to first post My Inspiration:

Some cakes are totally amazing, some are mediocre...I totally cannot do Fondant or whatever it is...so you see, I thought I knew my limits but could still make a fabulous castle cake. Couldn't I?

Well, turns out my cake was LESS than medicore, waaaaaaaaaaay less.

WHAT IS THAT??!?!?!?!?

Now to be fair to myself, of course the above picture is missing the most crucial parts of the castle - the towers. Which were the only part of the whole thing that I made that actually worked. We stopped at Costco and got a big flat white cake, I still used the towers and the Princesses and made a Castle Courtyard cake instead. It worked.

Now I laugh at myself - I mean seriously...a fabulous castle cake can only be done by someone with experience. Something I certainly don't have! Now...if I could make a castle cake out of an excel spreadsheet, then we would be in business!

Cake of the Year!

2011-05-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm done with school and have soooo much time on my hands (HA!) I was so excited to make Paige's birthday cake for her bday party this past weekend. My brilliant plan unfolded and I bought the supplies more than a week in advance. I researched, daydreamed and visualized until I had the perfect cake and I really thought it was going to be...a piece of cake. (Ha, I love puns).

Come Wednesday and Thursday I began feeling oddly nauseous, just like I was pregnant. Yikes! I kicked it (the weird little bug) around and toughed it out W, Th and Friday and by Friday night I felt pretty icky. (But never got head-in-the-toilet-bowl-sick, just lay-around-sick). I felt sick enough that I decided I probably shouldn't make the food & cake for the bday party on Saturday though. My knight in shining armour, The-man-who-always-gets-to-say-Itoldyouso, My husband, said, "It's ok, we'll just pick one up in the morning." GASP!

After some pouting (that is, me pouting) he asked, What is with having to make some fancy cake? I always had a square cake with frosting and it was good enough. I'm sure you know how that question and answer session went over. Well, it DID end with him agreeing to make the cake and hopefully I would be better in the morning to put together my masterpiece. Yes, it would be a masterpiece, the cake of the year NO DOUBT!

Hmmm.....what shall I post first - My Inspiration or My Masterpiece?
I haven't decided yet and I've ran out of time for now...check back soon to see a cake that truly puts ALL others to shame.

3. The things she says...(another entire blog post)

2011-05-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

The baby book I got for Paige just doesn't have enough room on the pages anymore, so I bought a nice little journal planning to continue documenting milestones and other things that MUST be remembered. Well...that journal has empty pages, and it's not because there isn't anything to write. I really need to get writing before things slip my mind! Anyway, in honor of her 4th birthday I thought I would expand on #3 from the Top 10 List below.

Paige started a pre-school language development class at the beginning of the year and we have seen some great improvements in her letter articulation and word pronunciation. For example, instead of saying "Moodie" she now says, "Movie" and instead of saying "Tybear" she now says "Teddybear." Although it's necessary and the right thing to do, it's kind of sad to see the 'problems' being fixed. I mean, it was so cute that she called the floor the "Floorground." She still has problems with some words like Snack is Stack and Treat is Cheat and Green is Reen...
It's also fun to do her homework with her - she has gotten good at the letter "s" and makes the "ssss" sound and then pronounces all the words on the list (pictures) such as house, mouse..."ssss mouse"..."ssss house". Oh and then she says, "Ok, I be the teacher and you be Dora." (Apparently Dora the Explorer goes to her school too). And she makes all of the little gestures that the teacher does. And then after you say a word right she says, "goooood," just like I imagine her teacher must say it. Do we have a future teacher on our hands?

Paige has also adopted the typical baby-talk voice we all use when talking to Jace. So she gets right in his face and says, "Oh baby Jace, do you want a bottle? Do you want a bottle? Do you want a bottle?" with little fake-giggles in between. It's totally entertaining.

Speaking of Dora the Explorer (above), the other day a lady asked Paige what her name was and Paige matter-of-factly said, "Dora." I think the lady was a little taken back until I said, her name is Paige, but she likes to pretend that she is Dora the Explorer. (And I'm Boots the Monkey).
She also likes to pretend that we are the Disney Princesses, usually Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. It's amazing how many times I've been able to pull her out of a crying fit/naughty tantrum by saying, "Oh, hey Sleeping Beauty, do you want to....." I can usually get my way with her as long as I address her as Sleeping Beauty or Snow White in my requests or directions. hehe.

I really need to crack open that journal at the end of everyday to jot things down, now here as I try to write about things I can't seem to recall anything else...but I know there are little phrases and statements every day that make us smile...

Top 10 things I Love about...

2011-05-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Aside from the fact that I love my kids because it just comes naturally and I really can't help it, and because they are Mine - pieces of me and the man I love combined into different little packages - it's a fun little exercise to make a list of the top 10 things about my kids right now. This list will change, as they change and grow, (and there will always be more than 10 things)

JACE
1. Smiles and Coos a LOT! :)
2. Kisses me back
3. Loves to snuggle
4. That wonderful baby smell
5. Eye contact with those blue eyes
6. How cute and content he is when he nurses or has his bottle
7. Never screams in his carseat, just snuggles right in
8. Little button nose
9. Strong little bobble head and how he loves to look around and "go exploring" (as Papa calls it)
10. Little noises he makes, grunts, squeals, sweet sad cries, giggles...

PAIGE
1. Imagination...(that's an entire blog post in itself!)
2. Such a sweet big sister
3. The things she says...(another entire blog post)
4. Her dance moves & beautiful singing
5. The pictures she draws/colors for me
6. Soooo excited for her birthday
7. So many "best friends"
8. Still loves to snuggle
9. Paige + Dadda = Fun & Laughter
10. Loves to do her homework from pre-school

Craigslist

2011-04-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

The following ad has been posted on Craigslist:

STOP Waiting for Grandma to Die! 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra

Date: 2010-10-02, 12:12AM EDT

STOP Waiting for your Grandma to die so you can have her car! Buy this one and have a real old-lady car of your own. Let's go over some of the details about this fine auto, which STARTS, RUNS, and DRIVES.

*1987 Cutlass Sierra

* 30,248 Original MILES. I know you've heard it a million times, but this car has really only been driven to church and the grocery store, and the cemetery-- Old people LOVE to go to the cemetery. It is believed that this car traveled as far as West Seneca for a funeral once.

*As an old lady car, this Olds had the privilege of getting ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. Most recently the car got new tires (whitewalls out of course!) and a new battery. The new tires could possibly have 1000 miles on them, which means that they are pretty new. It's also up to date on its inspections, shots and vaccines.

*The body is in DECENT SHAPE for a car that has lived through 23 Buffalo winters. The color is Navy Blue. There is rust at all of the wheel wells; some worse than others. There are some BATTLE SCARS on the body from lost fights with a white vinyl sided home, mostly on the passenger side.

*Grandma is NOT A SMOKER, and had no friends that smoked. Lets be honest here, most of her friends are dead anyways, which brings me to my next point:

*The passenger seat and back bench seat are virtually untouched. I sat in the back seat once or twice, probably for a trip to the cemetery.

*The trunk is large enough for at least two bodies. Dark Body color is good for late night trips to Niagara River.

*This vehicle comes with a 100% working AM RADIO, and a motorized (working) antenna. Don't forget to lower your antenna for Delta Sonic!

*FREE SNOWBRUSH WITH PURCHASE. AND if it seals the deal, a vintage Buffalo Bisons sunshade for the windshield.

**Nitty Gritty Stuff** We will accept CASH ONLY. We are accepting other offers for this car.

>DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT OUR AD. BUT WE THINK IT'S HILARIOUS. (IT COULD BE OUR AD!)

KidS

2011-03-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

We think it's fun to talk about our KidS...the plural-ness of it :)

Paige is a very sweet and doting big sister. Jace is an awesome baby. He is a super content little dude and hasn't kept me from getting decent sleep except for one night in the hospital. Oh the hospital...we delivered in Whitefish again - even after our horrible experience there with Paige. My doc assured me that it would be better this time. Long story short, she told the OB Director about our experience and the OB Director and I played phone tag - so we never got to chat. (Which I didn't really care about). Anyway, we found out that she had put a note on our chart and we received excellent treatment. I don't think it was anything above and beyond the normal care given, but I sure would have loved to see what that "note" was! I think all of the nurses were definitely on their best behavior and possibly felt like they were walking on egg shells. Is that the right expression? I don't know. Which is funny because we really aren't high maintenance, we just wanted to have things go a bit more smoothly from the point of admission. Anyway, we did have a great stay up there. And labor and delivery was honestly the best and easiest part of the whole 9 months! Thanks to a VERY good epidural and my doctor/midwife, who I totally love. That epidural let me (and Jesse) take a 2 hour nap while my contractions were doing their work; and at appx. 2:10 my doctor woke me up and said, "Do you want me to check you?" 1/2 hour later Jace was born.
The first words out of Jesse's mouth were, "Hey little buddy!" That's when I knew it was a boy :)

Paige's first response when Papa and Grandma asked her if she wanted to go to the hospital and meet her new baby brother: "No I need my baby sister first."
She is over that thankfully.

Jace was already 10 lbs+ at his 2 week appointment. He has already outgrown the newborn clothes that we received from generous friends and family. He is wearing size 2 diapers and filling them often. He likes his car seat, likes the swing, and sleeps most of the night in his crib. I won't make comparisons to Paige, because I love her just the same and we've moved on, but I now know for a fact that she was kind of a naughty baby ;)

Time to fold the laundry that I washed two days ago. Lots of things get started and...eventually finished.

Nesting?

2011-01-29T08:33:00.000-08:00

2 things I've been super disappointed about with my pregnancies - (1) where is the weird craving? I've never craved a weird food. Like 1 thing that I just had to eat everyday. It would be 'fun' to actually be like, "Oh, man I need to have 4 pickles a day!" (2) That so-called boost of energy they call "nesting." I look around and just get overwhelmed. I make a to-do list and never do it...well maybe I do get around to checking off some to-do boxes but it's 5 weeks after I've written them down.

I get babycenter.com pregnancy updates. For those of you who don't know about it, you can sign up with your e-mail address, give them your due date, and you receive a weekly e-mail counting your week and telling you all about the development of your baby during that week, what size your baby is (in comparison to a certain food, weird), and then all sorts of other intersting memos.

This one caught my attention:
"Four Household Chores to Avoid during Pregnancy"
My first thought - Hmmm....what can I get out of doing and pass along to my husband? heehee.
According to the article, here are the 4 chores to avoid:
Here are four household chores to avoid during pregnancy:

1. Moving Furniture
2. Change your cat's litter box
3. Using Ant or Roach Spray
4. Hold off of Refinishing Furniture

Really? That is the list? Talk about a bunch of no-brainers. And a TOTAL let-down...I already do NONE of the above. What about cleaning toilets, scrubbing floors, doing dishes, and picking up toys? Those things really are NOT easy to do right now but they're not on the list so I guess I have to keep doing them. Booooo.

Speaking of picking up toys - Paige's latest:
Mommy: "Paige, before you get your snack you need to pick up your puzzle that you dumped out all over the floor right there."
Paige: "Ummm, how about Momma do it? I too little."

In the next conversation:
Mommy: "Paige, Mommy needs you to please throw you garbage in the garbage can."
Paige: "No, just Momma do it, my tummy too big."

And in another conversation:
Mommy: "Paige, please put your boots and coat on, it is really cold outside."
Paige: "I too fat."

I swear, I don't use the tummy too big/ fat excuse very often! In fact, only when I tell her that I can't pick her up and carry her anymore. She sure does catch on fast!

Paige's Bedroom

2011-01-22T07:47:00.000-08:00

Paige's room was thrown together when we moved here a year ago...until recently she didn't even have a bedspread, just sheets and piles of blankets. And her room was decorated, kind of, but there was no design whatsoever. I had something in mind, and nothing in the stores or online quite matched up to my vision. So...I decided to make the stuff, only I didn't have time nor talent so....I delegated most of the tasks to the people most skillfully able to complete them. My dad built the dollhouse bookshelf and the white picket fence headboard. My mom made the bedspread with this fabulous array of fabric I ordered and she helped me construct the curtain. Basically ALL that I did was tell them what I wanted it to look like and bought the gerber daisies and glued them on the curtain, and stuck them behind the 'fence.' Oh and then I reorganized the room a little, but of course all of the heavy lifting and moving was done by Jesse. So you see, it was a total group effort. I'm totally happy with how it turned out, which is amazing acutally...and Paige loves it and loves to talk about who made what; and the changing table that had been serving as a bookshelf is now ready for baby #2! The only thing I would change if I could would be to not have the bed so close to the window, the curtain and the headboard are kind of busy next to each other, but this is the best arrangement we have with the space available. Before I post these pictures I have to say that my quick photo snaps do not serve justice to how the room turned out but you'll get a good idea I think.

What is it about a nice crisply made bed that makes a kid just HAVE to jump on it and rumple it all up? Oh well, again, you get the idea.
The big brown body pillow along the wall is kind of wierd, but it covers up a big cord that is plugged into the wall right there for our internet; the cord runs along the bottom of the floor, under the door, and around the corner to where I am sitting right now at my 'desk.' That's the way it is in above-the-shop-apartment living. But we're cozy and it all works just fine for now :)

PG Log

2010-12-29T01:02:00.000-08:00

Time: 2:02 a.m.

Why:
Why am I up? I'm pregnant. If you've ever been pregnant you understand I'm sure.
Why am I pregnant? If you've ever had a baby you understand I'm sure.
Why am I blogging? I don't know.

Condition:
Bad cold. Day 7. Tylenol and Robitussion. I know why I can take them when pregnant - because they aren't strong enough to do anything. Coughing so hard I pulled my very weak stomach muscles while laying in bed OUCH!; which reminds me, even if I didn't have energy and time to work-out all along I should have done some sort of abdominal strength maintenance exercises, now I have zero ab strength.

Burnt toungue. Made some hot tea with honey to help soothe my throat. That's why I'm sitting here blogging (to do something while I drink my tea). Apparently I couldn't wait for the hot tea to cool just a tad before taking a big swig.

SPD. Symphis Pubic Dysfunction. (As if RLS wasn't bad enough. Restless Leg Syndrome. And the two don't complement one another). I have self-diagnosed myself with SPD. I googled it. If you've had it, you know that it's not fun. If you haven't had it this is what it is: http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/ask-heidi/pelvic-pain.aspx
I can't wait to talk to my doctor about it tomorrow at my appointment and to have her tell me that it's a somewhat common thing and that I just need to be careful and limit the activities that cause the pain. Hmmm. Sitting down, getting up, kneeling and getting up, standing, walking, climbing in and out of the car, climbing in and out the shower, rolling over in bed....can I limit those activities?
Along with the fact that every second it feels like I might pee my pants....

HOW can anyone love being pregnant? Yeah yeah yeah, there is a life inside of me and it is a growing miracle, I totally get that and I do think it's totally amazing and wonderful (and now I'm going to cry), and I know that the end result is sooooo worth it (that's why I'm going through this again)...but I'm finding it difficult to find anything enjoyable and wonderful and beautiful about being pregnant. I saw some lady at the mall the other day, about my size, rubbing and rubbing and rubbing and rubbing her belly, like the whole world stopped at that moment for her to just rub and rub her belly. Eyes closed. Head slightly tilted. A moment of zen and euphoria. I don't even know what those words mean. I should google them sometime.

Thank you to my mommy who went through this for me. Thank you to Jesse's mommy who went through this for him. Thank you to our Grandma's who went through this sooo many times to build such big wonderful families. My tea is gone now. We women are amazing creatures. 8 weeks left until I get to meet an even more amazing creature and then I can put all of this misery behind me. Our sweet baby :) Until then I am hoping that some at-home prenatal yoga will help a little: increase circulation (so I don't get cramps at night and so my limbs quit falling asleep and to reduce restlessness), open up my airways so I can breathe more easily and to reduce claustrophobia, strengthen whatever muscles and joints I can possibly strengthen in the next 8 weeks - all while modifying the routine, poses, and exercises because there are certain things I just can't do thanks to ALL of the above mentioned...well except for the burnt toungue, that is kind of irrelevant and minor.

Any other suggestions for how to 'enjoy' the last 8 weeks? Don't suggest a bath. I don't enjoy the beached whale feeling.
Oh great, now I have acid indigestion/heartburn. Guess I'll grab a couple of un-helpful Tums before I hit the pillow. Morning will be here too soon!

The Week's Top 10

2010-12-17T19:01:00.000-08:00

The week's Top 10 sweet, cute, funny, random, stupid, silly, awkward, annoying, scary, whatever they may be, you decide:

#1. I just realized today that I rarely, maybe never, have dreams about Paige. Isn't that weird? But she is with her Papa and Grandma visiting Baby Hannah (and R & A) and I am missing her terribly. I dreamt last night that we were at a huge event(?) and there were tons and tons of kids and people, and Paige won a coloring contest. In my dream I even got to watch her go up on stage and get her prize :)

#2. Found out from my Doctor that the baby is currently breech. I've been wondering as the kicks are super low (where there is no room for kicks!)...as well as the fact that either the head or the bum is really pushing out right at my belly button, creating a watermelon shaped belly; as in the watermelon is sticking straight out, not sideways like you would normally carry a watermelon...if you know what I mean. Flip Baby, flip! (But carefully please).

#3. Entertained the thought of turning around and yelling at an old lady at the post office today. There was a line. I was at the end. She came in and got in line behind me. RIGHT behind me, totally invading my bubble. This would be annoying even when I'm not pregnant, but I happen to have extreme claustrophobia when I'm pregnant (poor Jesse, no hugs and cuddles). Her package was pushing into my back, and she kept bumping my purse (which was hanging on my shoulder), AND I could feel her breathing on my back! Everytime I moved, she moved - she's one of those people that can't wait for the line to move even an inch and she's all over it. She's lucky I had self-control.

#4. Homework due: Wednesday 7:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. my time). Homework completed: Wednesday 7:00:45 p.m. Eastern time (5:00:45 p.m. my time) Homework submitted: Wednesday 7:00:59 p.m. Eastern time (5:00:59 p.m. my time). Whew, barely made it. Oops. I've learned not to procrastinate, but some weeks I forget that I learned that.

#5. What a week at work! I wont' get into details. I'll just play it safe and say, I'm glad I'm busy, and continue to remind myself that wherever you go, and whatever you do, there will always be THOSE people who you just have to work with. Luckily the ones IN the local corporate office, who I see everyday, are wonderful. I also have to remember that accountants have a different mindset and character than sales people and technicians and they probably think I'm really annoying too. haha.

#6. E-mail etiquette. Such a wonderful tool for efficiency and ease of communication, but it comes with a horrible side effect. People forget their professional manners and courtesy's and write with attitude they would never have face-to-face. Whatever happened to greetings such as Hi John, and Thank you or Sincerely, Jane? You wouldn't believe some of the things I have witnessed flying around in e-mails. WOW. Also, I know I don't always write on my blog with proper puncuation, but when you're writing to co-workers, customers, your boss, business partners, etc. you should probably make sure you (a) make sense, (b) don't have an entire e-mail of one looooong run-on sentence with incomplete thoughts, and (c) aren't horribly misspelling or improperly abbreviating words and names. The BEST so far: one of our sales persons wrote an e-mail where she abbreviated "follow up" (numerous times in the same e-mail) as "f/u". Haha! It actually took me awhile to decipher what f/u meant. I mean, I know she wasn't really saying THAT, but it sure looked like it and sounded like it when I was reading it. She sent that e-mail to me, the company President, the company Vice-President and our Operations Manager. I sure hope she isn't too comfortable using abbreviations in her e-mails to customers!

#7. Kitchen + Me = Disaster. This actually happened last week I think. I was steaming broc for dinner. Let it steam too long and it didn't smell too great...awful actually. I heard one time that you should boil Listerine to get rid of bad odor and make the room smell nice. So I boiled Listerine. I boiled it good. I boiled it over because I was multi-tasking. Listerine burning on the stovetop actually doesn't smell good either. Jesse's advice: "You know you don't have to have it on high to boil, you can actually turn it down and it will still boil at 4 or 5 without boiling over." Who knew?

#8. Wednesday morning appetite. Baby growth spurt = Midnight snack and 3 breakfasts. 2 at home should have been good, right? Nope. Had to take a detour and stop at the golden arches for one more breakfast before heading to work. Oink oink.

#9. A little mini christmas tree at daycare. About it, Paige says, "That's a Baby Lawson tree!" Haha...cute! Our friends have a baby boy named Lawson. We got to babysit Baby Lawson one evening; Paige was really into him for about 10 minutes and then got tired of sharing. Good thing it's awhile before she'll have to share her toys with her baby sibling. Although...while on the phone with my mom today I overhead Paige telling Hannah, "That's my Grandma!" Sharing toys is probably not going to be the hardest thing - sharing people might not be very easy either.

#10. "Whew!" We had to make a quick trip to the store Wednesday evening after I picked up Paige from daycare. Paige was tired. She was trying to keep up with me (mind you I'm walking pretty slow these days) and she kept saying, "Whew!" Adorable. She does that alot actually, whenever she thinks that she is really working hard at something. I think she learned it from her Grandpa and Grandma, who do it in a playful way after walking up the stairs with her or something...and probably half the time it's a real "whew" as they probably are exhausted from crawling around and playing puppies with her! HAHA. (How did I end up with a child who loves to play puppy?) I remember Brad ALWAYS wanted to play puppies, and that was the one thing we did as kids that I always thought was so lame. I don't know that I even participated in playing puppy. Sorry Brad. I do now with Paige, and I still don't get it - what's so fun about being a puppy? Paige thinks it's great fun to lick our faces and our hands. She is the ONLY puppy I will ever allow to do this.

For a second...

2010-12-04T13:22:00.000-08:00

I finished a 2 hour test this morning, and have another that I'm saving for tomorrow. I don't feel like doing the dishes for the second time today, and I don't feel like starting laundry, and I don't feel like cleaning, Paige is preoccupied at the moment - I think I'll take a second for a little blogging. First, let me start by saying that it's hard to type in the reclined position I am in. I think I'm carrying this baby much lower (or I've just forgotten), but it feels so uncomfortable to just sit normal, there is this pinching and tight pressure that I feel if I sit up straight, and obviously I can't lean forward. And I think this is the last day I will wear these pants - sadly. They are my favorites. I wore them until the end last time...hmmm....what does that say about this time? Don't answer, I already know, I'll just have to work extra hard at the gym afterwards. Who doesn't like a challenge? ;) HA!

Ok, I just ran out of energy to even think about what to say on here. I think I'll just go and watch Paige do her puzzle. I love to watch her when she is so focused on something, it really is so sweet.

In closing, I'll just announce that I only have two more classes left until I'll be done with my Masters! In 12 weeks I will be done-done-done (with school)! Can I get a yeeee-haaaww?

IF...

2010-11-29T20:58:00.001-08:00

If I had time to blog this is what I would write about:
1. Office etiquette

2. Winter driving - (I'm not your typical Montana no-fear, invincible, it's only snow, winter driver...and THOSE people drive me crazy!) - er, no pun intended

3. Things that I am thankful for

4. How much I hate being pregnant

5. How much I love babies, especially my own

6. Religion, Politics and Race (haha, not really)

7. Me in the kitchen = super depressing and discouraging

8. Pumpkin Pie rocks my world

9. Christmas Trees and Lights

10. Wow, I don't even have a list of 10 things.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from our little Princess.
She got to go to the pumpkin patch with her daycare (we also took her there one day with our friends, I believe I posted some pictures on Facebook)...I'm not sure if she picked out this pumpkin on her own or if somebody helped her, but it was a pretty green pumpkin when she brought it home. haha. This was her first time hearing the word "pumpkin" (well I'm sure she's 'heard' it before but you know what I mean) and the first time she heard it was with the word "patch." So, in her mind, pumpkin is not a word of itself - her pumpkin is a "pumpkin patch!" I suppose...a 1 pumpkin, pumpkin patch :)

Want Want Want

2010-10-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

I want this!!!

I know it is ALL girl, and we certainly could be having a boy. In which case, I would decorate with b.o.y.
But seriously, this is awesome! Hmmm...wonder if we could get Chad to add on for us?

Oh and I want this too!

The dark one. For my bedroom. It would be wonderful. Actually, it's black, and I would want dark cherry. But, here is the cool part, it's a revolving (full 360) shelf!

I also want this...

...and I get it! I mean, Paige gets it. My super-awesome-wonderful dad, I mean, Paige's super-wonderful grandpa, is going to make the dollhouse bookshelf for her. Because currently our changing table is serving as her book shelf, which obviously will be needed for other purposes when baby comes. (Unless I somehow manage to get that gigantic totally awesome changing station above). Regardless, the dollhouse bookshelf will be fun and cute, and will actually fit in P's room.
I'm really liking the tree cut-out on the wall too. Oh PotteryBarn. And I just realized, that Paige would probably love the house and tree combo too. Everytime she gets to come into my office we have to draw the same picture, three times on three different pieces of paper. It's of five houses in a row. With two trees on top of each house. And then a flower above the trees. We use my work highlighters. So it's a pretty colorful scene. Oh and of course we draw doors and windows all over the houses and then little faces looking out. It's amazing to me that she always has the same order to whose face is whose in the houses. The one looking out the door is Paige. The one looking out the big side window is papas. The one looking out the window on the second floor is me. And the one looking out another bedroom is Jesse. Apparently Grandma's don't get to look out the windows :( Usually the yellow house on the end is Wawa's house (Great-Grandma Linda's) so at least she gets a house!
That's it for today. I should have just spent this entire time reading in my accounting book, but I didn't. Waiting for Jesse to get home so we can go out to my parent's house for dinner and get Paige. She got to hang out with them today. I'm so excited they actually came home for a day so that they could have us over for dinner!! Woo-hoo!!!

Bedtime Snack

2010-09-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

While I eat my bedtime snack...I'll do a quick post. Bedtime snacks are so fun. I remember back in the day when my brother and I had hot chocolate for bedtime snacks. No wonder I peed the bed.
My bedtime snack tonight is Wheaties. I'll probably have some when I first wake up too. And then choke down some scrambled eggs and a piece of sausage for protein. They're normally delicious when I'm not in this condition.
Anyway, I just thought I would post a picture of our new car.... And then off to bed I must go. (After a session of putting Palmer's lotion on my belly). Speaking of belly, here it is as Week 17. Paige thinks she has a baby sister AND a baby brother in there. Yikes!

Here is our new ride. Still have the Olds...Jesse is really excited to take it over for awhile ;) I've always liked Jeep Cherokees for some reason, and we had our pick of many, but we listened to our mechanic's advice and got the one with the best engine, and this one checked out the best with his inspection, and is the Jeep Limited with leather interior, etc. Very nice.

August Highlights

2010-09-08T17:37:00.001-07:00

"Momma! I did it! I rode around and around with Dadda"

Paige polishes her pretty white dress shoes to get ready for a wedding. She has really gotten into wearing "pretty dress" and flowers in her hair - which is fun for mommy too!

The infamous pig wrestling at the fair. Never in a million years did I imagine I would see my husband chasing and trying to catch a pig! haha. Our friend (also the owner of the place we rent, and our prized mechanic, and my boss' husband, and, and and....) basically 'challenged' Jesse into doing it. So Jesse had to do it to prove everyone wrong that he had no problem getting dirty and rolling in the mud and hugging a pig. Jesse even proposed that they wear dress clothes to spice up the event. They got the pig in the barrell after a few face plants in the mud, riding the pig, etc. but they didn't have the fastest time. Honestly, the ones with the faster times weren't near as entertaining so I think these guys win the Best of Show prize!

While waiting for our friends at the carnival we ran into our old neighbor girl and her mom and brothers. They were our neighbors in the townhouse we lived in before we moved to Missoula. We will always remember her as "Ashley-Next-Door" because one time she brought over a Valentine card for Paige and when I answered the door she said, "This is for Paige-Next-Door." She has grown up so much since then. She was so excited to take Paige under her wing and on every ride possible. As you can see in the three pictures below they had a great time and Ashley sure was helpful to Paige, holding her hand on the 'scary' rides, etc.

Later we met up with our friends and their kids Ava and Tyson. Ava and Paige are exactly two months apart and have a really good time together. As do us parents.

And now I present to you, Paige in concert. Once again in pretty dress and flower-in-hair. It seems that combination makes her want to sing and dance for us :)

Look at those eyes, really getting into it. This is typical when she hits the high notes.

At this point she had pulled out her potty chair from the bathroom and used it as a stage AND threw on her rocker sunglasses and REALLY jammed out for us. Oh that reminds me, remember the shoe polishing picture from above? That was before a wedding we were attending - and she REALLY put on a concert for us AND the video camera that time. If my husband will ever get around to it we will post it on here - so stay tuned (or shall I say tooned? Oh I am too cheesey).

We've moved on from our daily routine of dressing care bears in lotion, diapers, dresses, socks, shoes, and hats to building towers as high as we/she can. Look at this! She is just so amazing. Very talented I'd say ;) (Sigh, why is there ALWAYS a laundry basket or two laying around in the background of our pictures?)

Alas, remember I said my maternity shirts looked kinda funny right now? Well here is a me in a black garbage bag aka maternity shirt. Will I really pop the belly out of this? Sooner than I think probably. It actually kind of looks like I have a belly already, but I think that's just the shirt.

Oh wait, I DO have a baby bump already, at least that's what I'm calling it. BabyCenter tells me my baby is only the size of an avocado...pretty sure the size of this belly would fit a few avocados. I can't believe I'm posting this picture (below)of myself. It is not flattering at all. Oh well. Why lie. My eyes look tired, because they are - my face is chubby because that's what happens when I'm pregnant - my arms look white and not-toned because I haven't gotten to enjoy summer or visit the gym - my hair looks dumb because I need to do something different with it - and my smile just isn't big enough to show how excited I really am about having a baby. I'll smile bigger next time. Ok, yeah, now I'm going to delete the picture. You'll never see it! HAHA! (I'll take another and post later).

More letters. (I wasn't going to follow-up the last post with more letters right away but this is very therapeutic)

2010-08-13T08:07:00.001-07:00

Dear Tammia,
Thanks for your comment. It did feel really good to spill all my thoughts across the keyboard! I recommend it to everyone. I'll try not to overkill though. Restless legs are ok, I've kept it at bay with the Cal-Mag supplement. Best advice ever from anyone!

Dear Elissa,
I am definitely hoping for a 2nd trimester boost of energy. Jesse did get me a delicious frozen pizza the next day, after reading my post.
Thanks for your comment! Congrats on your new house.

Dear JoEllyn,
I get rest when I can. Sometimes I fall asleep at my desk. I know my pg journey hasn't been as long and traumatic as your last one was! Thanks for the encouragement and kind words. Can't wait to see all three of your girls and you!...sometime...

Dear Aunt Linda,
Thanks for your comments, always. Your blog is fun to read and I dont' always leave comments. You're right, usually if I have time to leave a comment I probably have time to do my own blogpost. My favorite letter was the one to Paige too...I am so thankful for that little ray of sunshine in my life! (Not that my life is gloomy, it really isn't at all...and there are lots of rays of sunshine...but you know we all have our days)...

Dear Heather,
I miss your blog. But you're fun to be friends with on facebook (oh, and in real life too!). Did you get my silly voice message the other day about the pig? Sorry. After I called and started leaving the message I remembered that you didn't have your pig anymore. I guess it was a different neighbors pig walking down the road. Who knew we lived on such a farm street!

Dear Ellen,
I'm still giggling over Quiana thinking that school is a pain because she can't talk. I totally sympathize. It was really hard to be quiet! (Pretty sure I just wasn't). Tell her that I said the tickets and treasure box aren't really worth it anyway. hehe.

Dear Alison,
I'm so sorry to hear that you're not having fun either...but kinda glad to know that I'm not totally crazy for sitting in my car, in a daze, in the parking lot at the grocery store. I mean, if Alison does it, it can't be that crazy! Nice to know we have each other's TOTAL sympathy... I'm already on to my second bottle of Tums. My favorite kind is Wild Berry. What's yours?
Oh and I found ginger candy at Withey's - it's spicy cinnamon apple pie flavor and really tasty; not sure if Ginger helps your nausea or not? It hasn't really helped me but I pretend....

Dear Dad and Mom,
I like it when you leave comments on my blog. They're sweet. Just like sweet birthday cards and stuff from you. I can't count how many times somebody has asked "How are you doing" and you just say "Good" because you know that they probably really don't need/want an earful. I hope I don't vent too much to you. Am I a complainer? I hope not. Maybe just a typical female blabber mouth. Definitely more of one than you are! How did I learn to complain? It's not like I ever hear you complain. Hmmmm....
__________________________________________
Now for a couple more misc. letters - since it's a-n-o-t-h-e-r Wednesday (yuck).

Dear New Surprise Pregnancy Symptom,
Well we won't say your name outloud but you really came uninvited. You know what I had to do because of you? I had to go to Walgreens and buy something today that was more embarassing than buying tampons was the first time I had to buy them myself (that was a long time ago, wow). I had to buy other random things like nail polish, nail polish remover, bandaids and eye shadow just to distract the cashier and people in line; I mean what if I bought just 'that' - may as well turn the blinking lights and siren on at the checkout stand. You know what, I can't even spell you. I googled you and got a response back from Google that said "Did you mean? _____" with the correct spelling. As if to rub it in my face (thank you, Google) with a smug reminder about what I was really searching for. You know what Dear Symptom? I was just thinking, you would be a great spelling bee word, how many 7th graders would know how to spell you? Besides the fact that it would be really embarassing and awkward to repeat you twice and use you in a sentence. I think you get my drift. You're a complete and total pain in the butt (oops, pardon the pun)...ahem, well anyway you're totally annoying AND you're hard to spell.

Dear Summer,
Go ahead and leave us, I can tell you're trying. I can't wait for winter this year because that's just one step closer to February!!!! Ok, well maybe not winter himself, but the months of winter. Besides today I saw a lady walking down the street in a hooded sweatshirt and I thought it looked really comfy. I really do love you Summer (and hate winter) but this year is just different. I need life to slow down because I would feel better about sitting at home and doing homework if there wasn't so many better things to do. And just think about how wondeful next summer will be - hopefully we'll have Paige's bike fixed so she can ride it and we'll have a baby to play with and I'll have so much more time to be the mommy that I need to be. Maybe Paige will even get to do swimming lessons. Maybe we'll go to the park more than three times. So definitely come back, in fact, if you want to come back earlier than normal, let's say...March!

Well.....I was going to stop there....but I just have to slam something out, because something has officially ruined my day. The whole situation happened last year and I beat myself up over it for days and finally moved on with life, only to see (today) that the case finally closed and now I am brooding over it again.

Dear People who I ran into last year,
You make me sick. Yeah, I was the dumb chic who ran into you, but it was a side-swipe that didn't even make a dent, just a long scratch and it's only because my car is an old hunk of really heavy metalsteel (yes I said metalsteel), if I were driving the nice lightweight Mazda3 I once owned you probably wouldn't have even had a scratch. Regardless, there is NO way that I caused $16,000 of bodily damage to you and your stupid husband. You work for a chiropractor, so OF COURSE you racked up that much chiropractor care. You disgust me. I love it that when your stupid attorney (really, you got an attorney?) called me to get my insurance claim number and left me a message that you were injured and requiring medical attention, so I called you and said in my totally-fake drippingly sweet voice, "I'm sorry I hurt you. Are you ok?" And you responded, "Well, uh, uh, duh, uh, not like broken arms or anything, just woke up with headaches and sore shoulders and stuff." Yeah well you know what? You give me a migraine!!!!!

Oh and the fact that you got some previous hood damage repaired while getting the paint scratches fixed is also insane; how did I cause hood damage when I didn't even come close to the front of your car and again only put a nice long scratch on your passenger side doors? No dent at the point of impact but a nice dent on your hood? Hmmmm.

Again, people like you, especially you, make me sick...and you are what is wrong with our countries insurance problems, medical and vehicle. It's not that the insurance companies are greedy, they exist to make a profit. Duh! No, the reason why insurance is so expensive and why insurance companies are such a pain to deal with, is because of the overwhelming amount of completely outrageous claims that people make. We have insurance because accidents happen. That doesn't mean that you should just go and get some bonus massages and super-fun x-rays just because you don't have to pay for it. I bet if you had to pay for it you would have been just fine. Congratulations on your free lunches. Unfortunately, your free lunches were paid for by everyone else. Aren't you cool.

Oh and your attorney. Grrrr. He has a reputation in Missoula and I know all about it. And my Progressive claims representative groaned when he found out who your attorney was. And he disgusts me even more than you. He is the leader and instigator of all of the stupid people like you who sit around and wait for your chance to milk a system for all it's worth. I know he coached you every step of the way, because that's what he does. I hope his big beautiful attorney's office falls off into the river. No actually I don't, because he'll likely go after the city and blame the city for erosion and then everyone's taxes will pay for his new office building.

I wish I could knock all your heads together.

Dear Progressive,
I'm sorry. You've been good to me.

Dear Brenda,
Pay attention when you're driving honey. I know you were in a daze, you had just made a special quick trip to the mall to get that cute skirt for Paige's holiday pictures. And you were having a chat with yourself about how you probably didn't need to spend that much on a skirt that she probably will wear once or twice. And you obviously just forgot that you had to watch for oncoming traffic when turning right on red. No wait, you actually did look and the lane closest to you was free but where you failed was when you pulled into the far lane in a moment of pure space-case-isity. Just pay attention and think about driving when you're driving, not shopping.
____________________________________________________________________

Ok. Now THAT is closure!!!
Over and out.

Letters

2010-08-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Wednesday,
Why are you always such a loooong day?

Dear Friday Night,
I can't wait for you to come!

Dear Restless Mind,
Please just focus.

Dear Pregnancy Acne,
Go away!

Dear Pregnancy Appetite,
You are really annoying. Please just find something that you like and stick with it; Just don't let it be something too fattening or unhealty, I don't need to look like a hippo quite yet.

Dear Paige,
Please wake up on the other side of the bed tomorrow. You were a little bit too crabby this morning.

Dear Recently purchased fabric from Joannes,
I have great plans for you! Paige's new bedspread is going to be sooo cute.

Dear Paige's room,
Soon you will be decorated very cute-ly. I know it's about time.

Dear Periwinkle Toyota Tacoma,
Thanks for pulling out in front of me today and bringing me a random memory/reminisce today; It made me laugh outloud in my car...and I don't think anyone else would even think it was funny (had to be there) but me and maybe a couple girls that were 'there' - and then I heard their laughter in my head and that was a nice memory too.

Dear Carmen-the-dog,
I hope your real owners don't read my blog. I think you can sense that I'm annoyed with you because now you just annoy me more. You're just attention hungry, and sorry, Dog but I have a husband, a 3 year old and a bun in the oven, as well as me-myself-and-I, and that's how I divide my attention. Don't you have the trees to explore? Run along.

Dear Professor,
Will you please backoff with the reading assignments; Reading 90 pages of tax literature in one-week is out of control. Besides, you are making me really scared to take the CPA exams.

Dear fellow student,
It's ok to procrastinate and leave projects to the very end if they're your own, but NOT when it's a group project!!!

Dear Franklin Covey,
You make amazing planners; I don't know what I would do without you.

Dear Citibank,
Please stop calling every hour. We don't have your credit card and we don't want your credit card. If you're going to call people in the U.S. you'll probably have better luck if you use customer service persons who speak English clearly. Americans don't take kindly to outsourcing...I know I know...it has it's benefits; but your annoying phone calls is not one of them. I don't really care, and I'm not prejudice at all, and I don't think that the whole world should just automatically speak English and forget about their own language. What I'm saying is that company's like yourself shouldn't totally rule out housing call centers in the United States just for the sake of your people. I'm just saying...well, I could handle one phone call but not 12. OK?

Dear Grocery Store,
I'm sorry. I was going to come in. But I pulled into the parking lot and parked my car. And then I just didn't have the energy to get out of my car, get Paige out of her carseat, walk all the way into the store, push around the cart, pick up things, and pay for them, carry them back to the car, load them up, put Paige back in her carseat, drive home, carry groceries up the stairs. Well I was only going to get a frozen pizza anyway...and then I decided that it probably wouldn't be worth the effort. So maybe I'll come in another day. When I absolutely have to.

Dear Video on Facebook (posted by Heather Thompson),
I just watched you three times. Apparently I like to cry. Not just little tears - I'm talking, streaming tears, lump in the throat, catches your breath kind of cry. I have always tried to imagine the overwhelming emotions that soldiers have when they finally get to come home, if even for a visit. And I've tried to imagine the feelings that a young lady would feel when her fiance' or husband is on his way home. I've thought about that before a few different times (1) When I was working at the airport and witnessed homecoming/greetings and (2) When my cousin Ken came home from Iraq to his waiting girlfriend and parents. But I never imagined the Surprise homecomings. Wow. So cool. And the kids hugging their daddies, and the daddies hugging their kids. That just breaks your heart, and warms your heart, makes you cry, and makes you smile...all at once. I guess it's necessary, we need soldiers, and we need to defend our country, but really? I tip my hat.

Dear Frozen Pizza,
I kinda wish I had gone into the grocery store now. But I don't even know what kind of frozen pizza to buy! Where is the Schwan's man when you need him? The Schwan's man probably says that about my mom...Where is my best customer when I need her? Sure could use the sales this week! Oh, back to you, pizza. I don't even know why I think I want you. I'm sure the sauce won't settle well.

Dear Maternity Shirts,
You look really frumpy right now. Not quite ready for you. But I think I'll take a picture just because it will be funny to compare how you fit now, to how you'll fit in the end! For now I'll just look like I'm going to rip the seams of my normal clothes.

Dear Paige (again),
You are so cute with your chocolate milk addiction. At least you're getting calcium and protein. And I love it when you say, "Momma, sit by me" and I love how much you love to cuddle. And you say thank-you for everything which is totally sweet and makes me happy. And I love it when you want me to take something from you and you say, "Here, take, take." You're such a big girl and you do a fabulous job of cleaning your feet and toes with soap in the bath. I can't wait to watch you as a big sister.

Dear Jesse,
Hurry home.

That's my thoughts for the day.

Venting Machine

2010-07-31T10:41:00.000-07:00

It's time for a new post, but I don't even know where to start. Summer is busy and fun and great. School keeps me too busy and I'm trying really hard to not let myself face extreme burn out. I just have to keep February in sight. I will be done with school appx. a week before our due date with baby #2. I know I shouldn't wish time along because it goes fast enough, but I think I have the right to at least hope that February comes faster than like, tomorrow!

I wish so bad that it was easier to be pregnant. I have a friend who is due on Aug 6th and she has been extremely uncomfortable for the last month; I mean even her face just looks like it hurts. Poor thing. She says, "I just can't do it anymore!" I think I remember saying that a few times with Paige.

I've been trying a few remedies to help deal with nausea, but ginger tea in NASTY! And I lost my motion sickness wrist bands, but I don't think they did anything anyway. What else...I've added a B-complex vitamin to my 'diet' - supposedly B6 helps, but it doesn't. The only thing I have praise for is the Calcium-Mag-D vitamin that curbs RLS. Having restless legs is insane. Totally insane.

Ok so enough venting about that...because I know it's worth it. Having a child is the most amazing thing in the world!
Now before I tackle my messy house, here are a couple pictures from our recent Braaten family reunion.

Guess that's it for now!

L stands for LiLacs and....Love :)

2010-06-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

This month is our (Jesse & I) 10 year High School graduation anniversary. WOW!
It is also our 10 year anniversary from when we started dating. We dated for 5 years and now have been married for 5 (next month)! I don't know the date at which we officially started dating, if there even was an official date(?) Honestly, I sometimes can't even remember our wedding anniversary date.
Anyway...I told you that the last picture of the last slideshow was a preview of my next blog post. Now, IF your name happens to be Ellen or Becky or, well I don't remember who else has had to hear this story before, you need not read any further...AND if you don't particularly care for giddy little sweet stories, then also do not read further. BUT if you want to know just WHY lilacs were our wedding flower and why lilacs make me S-M-I-L-E then please enjoy the story. Oh, and Dad and Mom, I don't know if you want to read either - it's not bad, but I don't want to even THINK that someday Paige might be 'old enough' for this stuff!

The Story:
Once upon a time a silly little blonde girl had a BIG HUGE crush on a very attractive classmate with amazing biceps and cool shoes, who also happened to be the best athlete in the land AND was super shy, and oh, his eyes, wow, his eyes...IF he would ever make eye contact! There was just something about him! He wasn't just Jesse, he was Jesse Hedeen. (For some reason I always referred to him as Jesse Hedeen, not just Jesse. haha).
Finally she caught his attention when she spilled her Biggie sized pop in math class ~ that broke the ice, no pun intended. During the track season of their junior year the silly blonde girl (referred to as SBG from here on out) and The Jesse Hedeen (referred to as TJH from here-forward) became friends. The friendship grew through their senior year; Imagine being that poor SBG and dealing with a bad/good case of The Daily Butterflies!
As the track season of their senior year progressed, the lilacs eventually started blooming. One day the SBG and TJH 'happened' to be leaving the field at the same time. The mystical TJH said, "I love it when the lilacs finally start blooming in the spring! They smell soooo good." The SBG thought it was so cute that TJH had just said such a thing.
A month later, when the lilacs were in full bloom, the SBG left track practice and headed toward her car; on her windshield, tucked into the windshield wiper, was a little bundle of freshly picked lilacs. At first she thought they were from her old boyfriend and almost tossed them into the road, as she had previously done with a few dozen annoying red roses, BUT then she remembered, with glee, THAT conversation she had had with TJH. Maybe...just maybe.......
She never found out for sure, but she pretended that they were from TJH and drove around with the lilacs in her car until they were dead and brittle, until....a new, bigger bundle of lilacs were found on her windshield again!!!
Still never knowing, after track season ended and graduation happened, the SBG was telling her cousin Becky about how the lilacs and how she was 'sure' they had to have been from TJH and Becky said, "Well if you marry him someday, you know what your wedding flower will have to be!"
Shortly after that, TJH became MJH (My Jesse Hedeen) and he eventually admitted to being the secret lilac-leaver.
And 10 yeas later, he still has amazing biceps, cool shoes, beautiful eyes and can still run fast and hit homeruns, but he's not so shy anymore. And sadly, I'm still the SBG who spills her food and drink. How crazy is it that this guy, this huge crush of mine, who seemed to Hollywood-Brad-Pittesque-Unobtainable became my husband... and we even have an amazing little girl that we get to enjoy together.

I have never particularly cared for TJH to buy me flowers, it seems like a waste of money, but when he brings me home a hand-picked little handful of lilacs it just makes my day.

Spring Photo Album

2010-05-23T16:34:00.001-07:00

What a fun 'start' to Spring and Summer...very fun times with friends and family. Loving our new home, our jobs, and the end of a long winter. Paige turned 3. Wow. We celebrated by taking a very quick trip to Portland for her bday weekend. Jesse's mom and family were able to join us for a fun sunny at the zoo. And then Jesse and I got to go to a Nickleback concert at the Rose Garden while Grandma CharLee babysat Paige and got in some good snuggling time. The concert was awesome, my favorite band...pretty sad maybe that I knew every single song; The best part about a loud rock concert is that you can sing along really loud and the person right next to you can't even hear you! haha.
We rented a brand new Chevy Malibu for the drive, there was NO way we were going to mess with the high possibility of car problems along the way. Everytime we got in the car Paige would say, "Oooh, nice car!" Poor little girl, even she knows the difference.
We came back and had a sweet little bday party for her with Great-Grandma Linda and Grandpa and Grandma B. I was reminded of the harsh reality on Mother's Day that I wasn't super-mom...considering that I had to ask MY mom to make my very own daughter's birthday cake! But it was delicious and adorable so we're all happy.
The following weekend we had a very fun weekend lots of our relatives in town for Kenny's wedding.
Now I must finish up my homework for the day while Jesse is mowing the lawn and Paige is taking a nap. Oh but check back soon, I have a fun blog topic. The very last picture in this slideshow is a sneak preview ;)

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Paige Road-Rage

2010-04-25T13:34:00.000-07:00

I was driving through town and pulled up to a stoplight; we are sitting behind a car that is obviuosly also stopped at the stop light. From the backseat Paige said, "Moozch (move) Car!" Ha-ha, she was yelling at the car in front of us to get out of our way! Nice. I swear she didn't learn that from me ~
10 seconds go by and she yells louder, "Get outta my way Car!" Again, she didn't learn that from me. Or her dad.
Finally the light turns green and the car starts moving, and she says with great satisfaction, "There, that's better."

Now to share her sweetness: She has FINALLY decided to say "I love you" back to mommy and daddy; we've been trying forever to get this exchange from her. It's my favorite. She hugs me and looks me in the eye and puts her hands on my cheek and says, "I love you, momma."
And then after I say, "Oh I love you too Paige," she says, "I love you toooooooooo."
She was also expressing her love to her fruit snacks the other day, "I love you," "Oh, I love you too," "I love you too foot stack."

Weekend Fun

2010-04-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

I love fun weekends. Who doesn't though right? We had our good friends Aaron and Kim and their super cute kids, Ava and Tyson, over for dinner Saturday evening. Ava and Paige are exactly two months apart and it was fun to see them play together. It was great for Paige to be around Ava because Ava is really outgoing and Paige not so much...Paige eventually warmed up to her and they had a great time. They chased Carmen around, and hung out on the porch together singing songs to each other and giggling and trying to talk about things.

Easter
Once again, Dave and Denay hosted an awesome easter party. Denay's white cake is always my favorite part :)
Here are some pics of some of the kids and the easter egg hunt.

Dear Reader,

2010-04-01T12:29:00.001-07:00

FYI I really enjoy getting your comments everyone! It's fun. Thank you. You all know how I've always liked attention : ) I hope I have grown out of that a little; I can't deny that I still like to tell stories and stuff...but at least I'm not still singing and dancing! I think I still have a little problem with interrupting people and I'm horrible at listening because I'm too busy thinking about what I will say or about my story to match. Ok, maybe not always, but definitely something to work on. Wow this just went from being a brief thank you note for comments to a deep self-reflection. Guess that's what happens when you eat chicken noodle soup for lunch while blogging. haha.

CareBears

2010-03-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Paige's new favorite routine is to dress up her Bears...lotion ("Sotion"), wipes, diapers, and clothes, everyday when we get home. I think she must think about it on her way home because the second we walk in the door she goes straight to her room, finds the bears, grabs the laundry basket and starts pulling out the necessities one-by-one and putting them in the basket. "Pats... Shiwt...Toos...Tocks, At, Sotion, diaper..." "Tay Mama, help me!"
And when we're done they look so cute and she is so pleased!

And then she helps them while they all read books together.

The Last Week in Pictures

2010-02-25T18:04:00.000-08:00

A little smelly after she pets and hugs the dog but she sure loves her! Oh well I guess it's ok and I'm glad that she doesn't have my psychophobia of animals. She even likes kitties ~ mind you, we won't be taking ownership of any of the above. At least I can always argue that they are too expensive...NO pets until we have enough kids, nice vehicles, a house and we can't think of any other way to spend money, then maaaayyyybeee, but only if its like Carmen, very low maintenance and no messy in the yardy.
You know that reminds me. That whole "Never say never..." Oh it got me bad. "I'll NEVER drink coffee." (Little did I know that someday I would fall in love with Lattes and Iced Coffees). "I'll never live in a place like THIS!" (Little did I know that my newly-wed year would be spent living in the very trailer court that I swore I'd never live in when my parents first bought it...) "I'll never..." Yes, Never say Never for it will become your destiny. So, I just jinxed myself, watch and we'll have a puppy and 2 cats of our own before long.
Anyway, away from that tangent and back to my pictures...

Paige loves her cousin Hannah. Sorry Hannah for this momentary failure to support your head, but I assure you it was supported the rest of the time when I wasn't taking pictures. (And I didn't just let it flop over, it was a gentle settle). Grandma bought them matching dresses which were super cute for the baby shower. Hannah is a little sweetie!
Saturday morning sunrise over the river bend. Can't complain about that. There are usually a whole string of deer crossing the river single-file, it's pretty cool...the other morning there were even some Bambi's - isn't it too early for that? Maybe they were just midget deer. Anyway, bring on spring and summer, the faster the better! Well...we don't that river to rise too fast...although I'm not the least bit worried about flooding. WHAT has happened to me? Am I really talking about this? Next I'll be quoting you stuff from the Farmer's Almanac.
Our little bookworm. I just love that she sits in this little pink chair (below) and reads through her entire collection of books; it is a very nice way to keep her occupied while I work on homework. At bedtime she has five books that she reads before laying down and going to sleep; she makes me lay down and 'sleep' while she reads and most of the time I really do fall asleep and then she hits me on the head to show me something and no sooner do I wake up and look at what she wants to show me does she push my head back down into the pillow and tell me to go back to sleep. This whole process begins at about 8:45ish (more like 9:00) and the other night at 10:15 Jesse came in to the bedroom to find me totally zonked and Paige wide awake, who then pretended to sleep when Jesse walked in. Haha.

Classic

2010-02-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

A lunch-break blog post. What a concept. So I have a story for you. It's titled Classic for two reasons (1) It's about my car, which is, if you don't know, my Grandma's car, a Cutlass Cierra Classic and (2) This is (sadly) a Classic Brenda story, as someone already pointed out. I don't even know why I tell these stories on myself, except that I just find humor in them rather than letting it ruin my self-esteem.

I went out last night to buy a baby gift for my new niece. Hannah, this is your fault! (just kidding, I can't wait to meet you tonight and kiss you on your cute little nose).
I’m driving in a 45 mph zone and definitely not going over 45 (and now you have probably guessed that this involves a cop)...yes...

I drove through an intersection and noticed a cop. My psycho-phobia about cops kicks in. Is psycho-phobia a word? If not, I just made it up to describe myself and my great dislike for cats and dogs and cops. In case you don't know, I have apparently been pulled over so many times that I swear they're all out there to get me and every time I see a cop, even in the distance, my heart starts pounding and I get really nervous. So anyway, I know that I was doing nothing wrong but still am watching in my rear view mirror for him and sure enough he turns and speeds up to catch me and turns his lights on to pull me over. "WHAT?"...instant adrenaline rush and I am not an adrenaline junky so don't think I like this for a second. Verge of tears, actually.
Obviously, I pull over. He sits in his car behind me forevvvvver and I’m just sitting there waiting. He finally comes up and shines his lights all over (like he is looking for drugs or illegal immigrants) and then asks me how I’m doing. I wanted to hate him except that he was attractive and nice. (Sorry Jesse, I promise he was not even close to your caliber). He proceeds to tell me that he was pulling me over because the little light bulb that is supposed to shine on my license plate is burned out. I said, (probably with a goofy look on my face), “What? I didn’t even know that existed. Will you show me?” So we go and look at it, and it’s not burnt out, just dim and covered in dirt. So then he tells me that he actually has to have two reasons to pull me over and the other one was the crack that goes all the way across my windshield. So “he has probable cause to pull me over” – I think he was starting to feel bad because he could sense my distress and tells me not to worry he’s not going to give me a citation, but with two reasons to pull someone over they’re supposed to. (blah blah blah).

Then he asks me if I am ok. And I said, “Well yeah, now that I know why you pulled me over. I KNEW I wasn’t speeding!”
Then I told him that the windshield crack didn’t impair my vision and I didn’t really want to put any money into fixing the windshield because this is a temporary vehicle and not worth the investment. He asks me why it’s a temporary vehicle so I told him a quick summary about how/why we bought the car and he asked for how much and then he says, “sweet deal.” I also casually mentioned that it was my Grandma's car to make sure he knew it had some sort of sentimental value if nothing else. Mind you, now I have sat back down in my seat but the door is open and I’m sure he noticed the duck tape on the inside door panel, (I don’t even know why that is there). He takes a step back and does a once over on my car and says that it’s not THAT bad of a car and I looked at him like he needed to quit lying. (Sorry Grandma, it was a great car for you I know). So then he told me, “It actually fits you pretty well!” I said, “Oh THANKS!” And he goes, “No you look like you need an Escalade.” Nice back-pedaling dude.

Then he asks me if I’ve ever been pulled over before. I said yes. And he asks surprised, Really? What for?....….I told him that I didn’t really want to tell him because it was embarrassing but I told him about my license plate story. I didn’t tell him about the numerous speeding tickets and pull-overs of my past. Nothing on my record, no need to mention them.
And then when I’m leaving I have to do my manual blinker and I’m thinking, Please don’t let him notice my funky blinker.

Seriously, Do I have a bumper-sticker that says, I am suspicious pull me over…?

This confirms it, I really am not sure that this car and I are meant to be together, but I'll keep bombing around in it for awhile just because I don't feel like spending money on buying a car right now. Unfortunately, I was JUST getting over my major freaking out issue whenever I saw a cop (from the last undisclosed incident), and now I'm back to being super jumpy again. This morning a blinking red traffic light caught my eye in my rear-view mirror and my heart skipped a few beats.

Paige

2010-02-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

While packing/unpacking I came across Paige's baby books and realized I needed to write in them as it had been awhile. Here is the latest and all of the sweet, sometimes funny and always wonderful things about Paige.

(1) She now has a baby cousin named Hannah. She is going to LOVE holding her little cousin and loves to look at the pictures. She says "Baby Hannah" perfectly and in her little voice she says, " OOohh, look at Baby Hannah." You know how we all change our voices when we say something like that...she's picked up on that.

(2) We all know my neurotic dislike for animals, especially dogs and cats. As I have already noted, our new place comes with a dog. The owners of the place still come out to their shop and decided to leave Carmen the dog here to run around. Well thankfully Paige did not inherit my dislike and loves the 'puppy.' She loves to go get her treats. This is how it happens: Carmen stands at the door, Paige sees her and goes and opens the door, says, "Hi Puppy!" (with changed voice like she is talking to a baby), closes the door and tries to tell Carmen she'll be right back. Carmen knows and waits. Paige yells, "Tay!" ('ok') runs across the house, opens up the back door, gets a doggy treat and brings it back. Opens the door, throws the treat at Carmen, giggles and then closes the door. Sometimes when we get home she stands there and pats her tummy and says, "Get me Puppy!" Crazy girl, she actually wants the puppy to run around her and lick at her. The best part, it is great bribery - "Paige, do you want to go home and see Puppy?"

(3) When Carmen is off running around at the river or in the trees, Paige becomes devastated that she's not at the door. Jesse taught Paige how to call for the puppy. "Puppy! **Whistle** *Whistle**" Paige obviously doesn't whistle, but like all kids makes a whistle noise in a high-pitched, "woo woo, woo woo"
Well...now she calls her parents like that. "Mama, woo woo, woo woo."

(4) We finally let Paige graduate from her crib to a bed a few months ago. After we go to bed she walks around in the dark and stands outside our door hoping we'll invite her in. We've learned that if we ignore her she'll just go back to her bed. But it is pretty funny to see her standing there in the dark, peeking around the corner at us. One time I followed her back in there and watched her climb up onto her bed, for some reason I just thought it was the cutest thing ever. Little Big Paige climbing into her bed.

(5) Paige, a few months behind most kids her age, has reached the independent stage, "My do it!" She must do everything. It's actually really cute and you know, kids can handle more than we think they can sometimes.

(6) When Paige goes potty on the potty we make a big production and clap and say good job and "Yay, Paige!" She returns the congratulatory behavior when Mama goes potty on the potty. Great to have the encouragement. Now just if I can get her to bring me some M&Ms.

(7) My most favorite thing of all - Paige comes up to me says, "Hi Mama" and then cups my face in her hands and puts her nose to mine and gets this sweet little content smile on her face and then proceeds to run her hands through my hair and caress my face like we do to her because we love her. She gives the best hugs a person could ever want. Being a mommy is most definitely the best thing in the world!

Riverfront Property

2010-01-17T19:36:00.000-08:00

It will be sad to leave Missoula, it was fun to get to know the place that I consider to be a mini-Portland in some ways. At the same time, life's new adventures are exciting. I remember that I didn't want to move to Missoula when we did, but the move down here proved to be very beneficial to my resume and to my list of mentors and my list of friends. (I don't really keep a list of friends in a notebook or journal...just to clear the air on that one). It also was very fun for Paige, she loves her little (big) daycare and has some great teachers that we will miss tremendously. And her little friends, Dylan, Hannah (already moved to Chicago though), Kaylee, and River...plus more.
Now moving back to Kalispell is another boost to both of our careers and of course, brings Paige back closer to her Grandpa & Grandma and her Great-Grandma...so I'm sure she'll be delighted for that change (so are we...date nights!).
We're also excited to get back and reconnect with some friends, and Jesse will enjoy reconnecting with some previous clients. For Jesse, this is perfect. For me, this is perfect. Very exciting opportunities for both of us. Why I always stress out so much over change I don't know. I guess that has been brought out as my weakness. That is why I have Jesse to continually remind me that "everything is going to be OK!"
We were so lucky to have a place made available to us to rent without having to go through the whole rental search routine. Even better, now the title of this post makes sense, we are on riverfront property! The view is beautiful, the place is cozy and roomy, and we have a mechanic's hobby shop below us which has proven beneficial to us as I needed a brake job. Another bonus = Walkin Closet in the Master BR.

Never Mind our Neighbors to the North...I wonder what that will be like this summer! I imagine we'll see some bonfires and hear sparkler bombs and see them shooting clay pigeons out of the sky...good ol' Montucky style.

This is the view from our LR window, which will be easy to focus on:
Riverfront Property
Imagine how pretty it will be when the river rises and the trees are green.

And Paige will enjoy our backyard playground! Good thing because we are sad to leave the ultra-kid-friendly Missoula parks.

This is what breakfast looks like when you haven't moved in yet; complete with table decor. We had a very fun little breakfast :)

Best for last...the place comes complete with a dog named Carmen. I have been very nice to her and Paige loves to give her treats. I even petted the dog named Carmen, but got a whiff of my hand afterwards and gagged for 2 minutes and nearly threw up. This will prove to challenge me. Jesse let the dog named Carmen lick Paige on the face today!!!! Nasty. But she is a nice dog and doesn't sniff around all annoyingly. Her name should be Tom though, she spends quite abit of time looking through our window.

When there is time...

2009-12-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

I am not quite to the mid point of my winter break from school. It helps to give me a glimpse of the good life to come. When there is time what will I do? It's actually been nice to have time to make dinner, even though I hate cooking and am the absolute world's worst. It's sad really. How did I not inherit one good domestic skill from my mom? No good at cooking. Can't clean like she does (she's like that arm and hammer, We can do it! only I think that whole thing had a different message). Don't sew. I can do laundry, but who can't? Maybe when I have time I should challenge myself to becoming a better cook. Do I want my children to grow up dreading their mother's cooking? That's a sad thought. "Mom's making dinner? Oh man! Dad, I really was hoping that you were going to grill the chicken tonight! Can we just order a pizza?" :(

I also think it would be great to develop a (my) green thumb. I know it's silly to be envious of other people's talents when I have so many of my own (HA!) but I really am jealous of people with gardens and beautiful flowers and plants in their yard and on their porch. Our one plant died because I didn't water it enough. Jesse did most of the time and kept it alive through most of the summer, and then I think he just wanted to test me. And I failed. And the plant died. My mother's day plant. Bummer.
So yeah, when I have time maybe I will become a better cook and have pretty flowers and a few homegrown carrots. Not a huge garden. Probably just a planter box. And about the cooking, not sure that I'll ever really WANT to have Christmas dinner responsibilities. But I could continue to bring the Ginger Ale and maybe someday graduate to like, a pie. No...maybe the veggie tray. I already tried cranberries (from the can) one time and that was just frustrating. Pretty sure I could handle a veggie tray though.

I think my iron is hot. Back to the board to iron my shirt for work tomorrow. I hate those shirts that have to be ironed but they also happen to be my favorites to wear. Such a dilemma.

You know...now I'm wondering, am I just using school as an excuse? Should I step it up and make dinner and clean more often anyway? The other day one of Jesse's clients came to our house (19 year old football player) and later he told Jesse that he thought are place was cool but that we could do a better job of decorating! Ok first of all that is really funny coming from him...but second of all, it's true. We moved in and just sort of threw the house together and it's not very well decorated at all. I blame that on school too. But really...in the aggregate time that I spent blogging and facebooking I probably could have had a few dates with Betty Crocker, watered my plant, cleaned up the living room and fixed the decorations. But what brings me more short term satisfaction? Apparently blogging and facebook...once again distracted.
Back to ironing. Nah, I'll just wear a sweater tomorrow instead.

Pink Boots, Cute hats, Colorful Stripes...so fun to have a girl!!!

2009-12-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-29T15:21:00.000-08:00

We took off Wednesday night after I finally got my homework done; got to Brian and Becky's at 2 a.m.
We had a great time staying at Brian and Becky's - they grilled us some steaks for lunch one day! We also ate waaay too much at Keith and Cyndee's for three days.
It was so much fun to have Paige try to keep up with Josh and Ashton. They taught her a few cool things about being a kid :) She started out calling them "kids" - and then switched to calling them "Boys." She thought they were pretty cool except when she had to share any of their toys with them. Wonder how she thought that worked?
I hope that K&C's couch is recovering well.

The Lineup

2009-11-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

Paige is always busy either lining things up or stacking things up...anything...blocks, blankets, shoes, crayons, books, pillows... Tonight she has her stool and chairs and rocking horse lined up, and brought her teddy and her puppy to her self-made reading circle. She is going back and forth and getting a book, bringing it back to her chair, and reading through the book, then bringing the book back and actually putting it away! before getting another one to bring back and read to her little pals.

Does it get any sweeter than that?

Bzzzzz

2009-10-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Pretty scary little bee. Jesse took her daycare in her costume for the Halloween pizza party and then took her trick-or-treating at the mall.

I know it's early - but I won't be here for halloween...so I had to put on her costume early and take some pictures.

Busy Girl

2009-09-29T20:10:00.001-07:00

It must be fun to be Paige -

Very proud of her "blockwork"

Laying out the dusting rags - She loves to get out the dusting rags, dishclothes, placemats and her wipes and carefully lay them out, one on top of the other...sometimes on the stairs, sometimes on the couch, sometimes on the floor, sometimes on the bed...very funny 'hobby'

Wonder how long she'll like to help out with the dishes?

Another month went by...

2009-09-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Picture of the Year

2009-09-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is one little spot in Kevin and Marcia's backyard - they have a BEAUTIFUL backyard!!!

Time for something a little easier on the eyes

2009-08-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

This was a plant given to me for Mother's Day from Dad and Mom; I told Jesse that HIS mother's day present to me was keeping it alive. So thanks to him - we have managed to keep a plant alive and well since May (uh, is that when Mother's Day is?)
Now - this is some type of ivy I am told...So who knows anything about ivy's? Not me!
It's alive and well, but it's like a grown-out hair-dye job, the roots are ugly. About 3 inches up from the dirt every part is brown, crispy and seemingly dead. BUT - flowers are still blooming and the vines(?) are getting longer. What do we do next?
It's almost too long for the planter it's currently in. Hmmmm...If it were roses I'd just hang the roses to dry and decide a few weeks later that I have no use for dried roses and toss them. But this...this is different. Heeeelllppp!

Brendan & Jessica

2009-08-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Playing in the Rain

2009-08-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

Paige gets a huge kick out of standing in the rain and then running to the door under the porch. As you can see in all of her expressions that she really has a lot to say about it; At this point it was just a lot of jibber jabber...My interpretation was that she was having fun so that's what matters!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

To All of my Wonderful Friends

2009-08-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

1. When you are mad -- I will help you plot revenge.

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you are thinking of something that I would probably want to be involved in.

4. When you are scared -- I will rag you about it every chance I get until you're not.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.

6. When you are confused -- I will try to use only little words.

7. When you are sick -- Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I will laugh but I'll help you up.

Friendship is like peeing in your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.

Doing Laundry

2009-07-19T21:13:00.000-07:00

Doing a load of laundry...and this is what I first see when opening the washing machine lid:

Little tiny pieces of newspaper? How did a newspaper page get into our washing machine? We don't even get the newspaper... Wait, WHAT is THAT lining the entire tub of the machine?...Not just a page but an entire newspaper? Strange...

Oh, wait, maybe I can read some of the shavings stuck to this dish towel...
Hey! That one right there in the middle says, "Austen" - Paige was "read-read-read" reading the Baby Names book earlier, maybe she put it in the clothes hamper....but really is that what it is?

And the mystery is solved when I find the spine of the book that once was, "Baby Names"

Apparently I put items in the washing machine without looking at what I am dumping in. I'm just glad it was just a load of dish rags and dish towels and not a load of Jesse's favorite shirts or something!

Disclaimer I: Do not jump to any conclusions about why we had a Baby Names book floating around the house...we have a few other things to clear off the agenda before Paige gets to be a big sister.
Disclaimer II: I don't do silly things like this ALLLL the time...

P.S. Do not tell Paige that her favorite book was destroyed by the washing machine or she'll never let us give Stinky Teddy a bath again!

Coloring?

2009-07-14T17:51:00.000-07:00

When Paige was 18 months I decided she was old enough that she might want to start coloring with me so I invested in a large crayon collection and a care-bear coloring book. I was so excited to start coloring together; She did not share my enthusiasm for coloring. Still at the age of 2 it is apparently more fun to throw the crayons and scatter them across the entire house, step on them, break them and peel the crayon wax with her fingernails? I don't get it. She won't even let me color on my own! She takes the coloring book away from me and takes the crayons out of my hands. WHEN will she start coloring with me?
Moms? Am I totally premature with this?

-Bummed Mommy

Happy Anniversary to us! 4years July 8th

2009-07-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

My beautiful and wonderful bridesmaids - 4 of us have kids now! Might I add that Becky was a worthless bridesmaid because she was on the phone with her new boyfriend the entire time (taking a brief break for the wedding ceremony) - her new boyfriend happens to be her husband now, so I guess it was time well spent!

These kids were SO ADORABLE and were perfect wedding participants! They have changed so much since (still adorable though)!

Sharing my birthday

2009-07-02T12:33:00.001-07:00

Guess what - I just read NieNie today...our birthdays are on the same day! This is way better than sharing a birthday with a celebrity (like Prince William). She is one year older than me and has 4 kids! Wow.
If anyone doesn't know who I am talking about...scroll all the way down to my favorite links and read NieNie - Read back through her archives to learn her story and to get to know a very amazing and interesting person. I would love to meet her.
P.S. Also check out her AWESOME birthday party - balloons, cake and food! I should throw myself a party like that sometime! What fun it would be!

Summer pictures

2009-06-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

2009-06-27T07:28:00.000-07:00

So the other night I'm giving Paige a bath and she starts putting her hands down by her butt and saying ouch - (I know what you're thinking - that's not it...just a slight diaper rash burning in the tub). I ask her, "Does your bum-bum hurt?" She nods her head and turns herself around so she is facing the back wall of the tub and tries to put her bum up in the air for me to kiss her owie!
Paige like many other little kids, knows that kisses make owies better.
If I did kiss her bum-bum to take make it better...I would never tell you!

Grandpa and Paige

2009-06-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day - my dad

2009-06-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

(Should be doing my homework right now). So last night when I left work, a Creedence Clearwater song was on the radio...I turned it up because it made me think of my dad (and mom). One of favorite childhood/teen memories is playing games on Friday night with my family - believe it or not! Yes there were times when I had better things to do on my mind, but it always turned out to be more fun than I expected..and probably more fun than what I thought would have been more fun...especially in hindsight when I'm no longer friends with most of those high school friends, but your parents are always there for you and they are always your friend, forever! Anyway, dad would put in his tapes (yes, tapes not CD's at that time) turn up his favorite songs and mom would cut up some cheese and put some crackers on the table...we'd have some pop, usually Coca-Cola and then mom would pop some popcorn about half way through the game. I can visualize it all - Dad eating his popcorn with his toungue straight out of the bowl to avoid getting greasy hands. I think I need to make myself a compilation CD of all of those songs that he turned up.

Happy Father's Day Dad! - and thanks for all of the wonderful childhood memories you've given me and the security of knowing that you'll always be there for us. I'm glad we're not like animals that grow up into adults and no longer have a special connection with our parents. (It seems like that's how animal families are!)

Grocery List

2009-05-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

(Click on the picture to see an enlarged version - it is worth it to read!)

I found this grocery list in a shopping cart at Safeway; I thought it was cute - it reminded me so much of both my Grandma's handwriting...AND it was carefully written to include the 'deals' that they could get on certain items on the list. See that on the sherbet? I miss my Grandmas.

I wonder if all Grandmas write the same? Between my Grandma Virginia, Grandma Margaret, Jesse's Grandma Linda and this grocery list, it appears that they must have all paid attention to penmanship in school and never had the urge to deviate from it and develop their own funky handwriting like 'kids these days.'

Anyway, here I go with my Grandma memories. I will always keep the last card I ever received from my Grandma Braaten; I was living in Portland when her health really started to go bad and I sent her a card...Aunt Elaine was home staying with her and helped her write a card back to me. Grandma started to write and it definitely was not her usual handwriting, and Aunt Elaine had to finish it for her :(
How did I get so lucky to have 2 of the world's best Grandmas? (Grandpas too!)

Here are my most favorite memories about them:
**Grandma Braaten's snicker doodle cookies
**The oscilating fan at Grandpa and Grandma Braaten's blue trailer
**The pansies at G&G Braatens - I will forever think of Grandma B when I see pansies
**The big huge weeping willow tree and poor Grandpa always worrying about it in a storm
**Grandpa's yellow pick-up parked by the field while he helped us hay in the summer
**The time when G&G Braaten stayed with us while Dad and Mom had to go down to Denver to an asthma hospital; Grandpa laughed while he watched my brother and I wrestle on the floor and then told me that "I really cleaned house!" That same week, Rodney and I were up late "doing homework" and Grandma came down the hall from their bedroom to see if we were going to bed soon - she didn't have her dentures in - it was so cute. That same week, a bad snow storm came through and Grandma was watching it out the window and she said, "I didn't know you had a dog..." - we didn't, but this poor little dog (I can't believe I am saying this) was freezing on our sidewalk so we brought him into our garage and made him a warm cozy bed. Grandpa named him Toby. Toby died months later when he ran into the front tire of mom's car when she was driving up the driveway - stupid dog. (I have to admit, that I did kinda like him).
**Playing Rummy K with Grandpa B - he ALWAYS won and had the best smile and sparkle in his eye everytime he tipped his tray upside down to show us that his tray was empty.
**Grandma Stephens' oven-baked chicken, green salad and the three-bowl salad dressing server, baked potatos and bread with homemade raspberry jam.
**The raspberry patch!
**Grandma S's daycare - when I was 11 I made up a job application to work for her at her daycare. I always wonder how hard she must have laughed at that. I wish I could take Paige to a daycare lady like her! (We do like her current daycare, don't get me wrong).
**Grandpa S playing slug-bug green, no slugs back. Ouch!
**Playing Thump with Grandpa S - his favorite game; only so hard not to cheat because you could always see how many fingers he was going to throw out before we 'thumped'
**The candy dish!
**Peanut Butter and Honey sandwich quarters - never a whole or a half, just a quarter
**Playing Grandpa (tax-accountant even though we didn't know what he did)and typing on his typewriter and using up all the tape on his calculator.
**Grandpa cheering for me in my basketball games - he was my biggest fan; he was also the only one who could get away with yelling as loud as he wanted.
**Grandma telling me that maybe I should pass the ball to the other girls more often.
....

This is getting long. But it's fun to write these things down. I wonder what Paige's memories will be of her grandparents? She's lucky too! I just wish that she could have gotten to know her great-grandparents.

Paige's New Slide

2009-05-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma B got Paige her very own slide for her birthday (she doesn't really like to share the slide when we're at the park).

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

Ever notice that Memorial Day has become somewhat of a kick-off to summer? Everyone gets a three-day weekend and takes off to go camping and boating and have a BBQ. Are we treating this holiday too casually? Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to honor our fallen soldiers who fought for our country, for us. I am ashamed to say that I am one of 'those' people who celebrates this holiday incorrectly. Think about families, even now, and especially back when times were so tough, who lost their loved ones. Imagine the parents, losing their son; the wives losing their husbands, the girlfriends and fiance' losing their man, the children losing their father, the brothers and sisters losing their brother...the soldiers losing their friends and fellow soldiers...we don't even know, and yet we just can't wait to take off for the lake. It is so easy for us to disconnect ourselves from the tragedy of war, just like those of us who weren't immediately affected by 9/11.
Memorial day is certainly a day to spend with family and loved ones and to cherish the time, and may our hearts go out to all of those who have ever lost loved ones to war, remember also those who have fought and returned and must try to stifle horrible memories and move on with life.
I remember when my cousin Ken was returning from Iraq. Wow. What a day for him, for his parents, and his girlfriend (now, wife) Alison. I had anticipation and excitement for his return, but I got goosebumps just thinking about the feelings Ken, Alison, Jack & Jan must have been feeling. Ken has experienced feelings and emotions that I will never experience in my life. I hope that the victorious feeling of return was a little bit of redemption for him. Memorial Day is certainly a day that should honor those who have served and those family members of soldiers who have served. How can our country bring that back?

Here are a few traditions:
**Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day - a day to decorate the graveyard

**Red Poppy - Inspired by a poem entitled, “In Flanders Fields”, the poppy has become the flower symbol for the Memorial Day Holiday. From the poem, written by Canadian physician and soldier John McCrae, we develop a sense that the poppy represents the blood shed by soldiers during times of war. Although the poem was written by McCrae, the poppy was first recognized as the Memorial Day flower in 1915 when a woman by the name of Moina Michael began to sell poppies in an effort to encourage further recognition of the day. Michael helped to begin the National Poppy movement and to commemorate her efforts a 3-cent stamp was created in her honor.

The poppy, by nature, is a wildflower. It’s seed will lie stagnant in the ground until it is disturbed. During times of war, soldiers would, inadvertently, churn ground as they marched though fields. The result was a beautiful and overabundant growth of poppy flowers found to flourish in conditions where most other flowers would die. Also during war, poppies were often used by physicians in administering morphine to soldiers in pain as it produces a by-product opium painreliever.

In honor of our veterans, planting a family of poppies in your own garden is simple. Whether you live in a house, condominium or apartment, the poppy is a flower that grows in abundance and is somewhat resilient in inclement conditions. Poppies grow 12 to 24” in height with annual blooms 65-90 days in length. Poppies prefer full sun to partial shade and will grow in moist soil but prefer well drained and slightly drier climates. Your first blooms will show in early to mid summer. Keep weeds down with mulching and water only during extended dry periods. By adding a general fertilizer once a month, your poppies will provide beautiful blooms for your summer enjoyment. So, begin a new family tradition and plant poppies this Memorial Day in remembrance of the soldiers who committed their lives for our country and for a daily reflection of peace and beauty

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/26794/red_poppies_a_memorial_day_tradition.html?cat=32

M Hill (Mount Sentinel)

2009-05-23T22:27:00.001-07:00

We had the best saturday so far since we've moved to Missoula! Jesse finally had the whole day off, and we finally had perfect weather. We slept in as long as Paige let us, we had some eggs for breakfast and then took off to seize the day. We borrowed a child-carrier backpack from my boss and we headed to M hill. Paige wanted momma to carry her instead of dadda, which wasn't part of the plan, but it worked out just fine. We hiked to the top and enjoyed the view. (See below).
Then we came home for a quick lunch and found out that Splash MT had it's season opening day today...which I have been waiting for all winter! So we decided to bring Paige to the pool. We floated together on a big tube around the 'lazy river' and then let Paige splash around in the kiddie pool for awhile. Afterwards we came home for a quick bite and then went to Bonner Park (very nice play park) and met our friend Kate (Chris had to work) and their dog for some nice summer evening play time. Paige of course, loved the slides and swing.
I just finished up with my daily dose of homework and it wasn't really too bad - I mean, as good as taxation can be...don't get me wrong I'm kind of a nerd and totally into it...at least when the sun isn't shining anymore.

Here are some pictures from where we stood. It was an easy hike - we're not much of the outdoorsey hikey type people - (not Glacier Lily material), but this hike is about perfect. Anyway, I am really starting to love Missoula. The downtown has a little bit more of the metropolitan downtown city feel, and the bridges going over the river at three locations are fun to drive over every morning and at night the lightposts that I have always loved are all over! I'll do another posting about light posts that I love...for now here is Missoula as we saw it today:

Another Smilebox

2009-05-17T18:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am totally obsessed with making smilebox productions; for those of us who don't have time, money or patience to scrapbook, Smilebox is excellent! I know if anything, her grandparents like them!!! :)
I got some foam curlers recently and I am having some fun putting curls in her hair - they turn out sooooo cute.
We enjoyed wearing summer clothes this weekend and hope this sunshine is here to stay!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Paige's Birthday

2009-05-14T20:14:00.001-07:00

The Birthday Cake

2009-05-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

I tried to make this look like the Care Bears sliding down a rainbow in the clouds - just like in Care-A-Lot! haha. I suppose I won't be getting any cake jobs based on my portfolio...but it turned out ok and Paige was pretty excited. We had a little bit of cake with all that frosting...

May 8 - Paige is 2!

2009-05-07T20:31:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Playing Outside

2009-05-05T20:19:00.001-07:00

Jamaica 2006

2009-04-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

3 years ago at this time we were in Jamaica...eating the best pineapple I have ever tasted, lounging on the beach, swimming and snorkeling, trying to play beach volleyball, watching Jamaican's dance with fire, trying to not buy useless 'treasures' from every 'salesman' that we pass by...turning down the 'pharamacist (aka drug dealer)...petting a dolphin...and surprise! holding this THING!

I won't hold a dog or a cat or a teeny little frog - but I'll hold an extra-large lizard miniature crocodile thing. Yah Mahn (as they say in Jamaica).
And feed a seed to a parrot out of my mouth...

Amazing!

2009-04-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Easter

2009-04-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

I was determined to not miss this party because (1) Paige is old enough to hunt easter eggs, (2) the food (3) the people and (4) the cake! Jesse had to work on Saturday until 5:30 so when he got off work and didn't feel like driving to Kalispell I had to pout to get my way. I got my way and spent the next three hours wishing I didn't! Paige once again screamed in protest against her car seat, so we thought we'd bribe her with a frosty. Bad idea - she threw up 26 miles down the road...and again on the east side of the lake...that second time took half an hour in the dark to clean up. ugh. Anyway, in the end it was all worth it...even though it was sad that my dad had to stay home after his midnight trip to the ER because he must have partied too hard on his California vacation. You know what we hear about those "spring break" trips! haha.
Anyway, dad, here are the pictures we promised - even though I'm pretty sure mom got some too.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Approaching 2, Already THERE

2009-04-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

Pretty sure that our sweet little "sugar baby" has turned into T-Rex. Oh boy. This morning I wrestled with her for five minutes to get her in the car seat...and that was after she already wrestled with me AND Jesse in the house when we were trying to put her coat on. We left without the coat, by the way. She screamed at the top of her lungs out the door, the whole time I was trying to put her in the carseat, and then all the way to daycare. Once we arrived at daycare and I got her out and she snuggled onto my shoulder and did that little sad breathing thing that they do when they get so worked up and then are trying to calm down...know what I'm talking about? Totally breaks my heart.

This was probably the worst morning so far, but it started a few weeks back when she suddenly decided that she doesn't need to make it so easy for mommy to bathe and dress her when there is already only a few minutes to get it done before it's time to head out the door for the day. By the time I leave for work I feel like I have already put in a full days work! All you other 'experienced' moms are probably just laughing at me. :) But the worst part is that I get to work feeling like I need to go back and make up with her! Kind of like how you should never go to bed after a fight without making up you know?...Yeah, I give her hugs and kisses and we snuggle a few minutes before I say goodbye at daycare, but it never feels like enough after we struggle through our morning.

She always makes up for it at the end of the day though- when I walk through the door and she runs over with a big smile and open arms...it is the most amazing feeling ever. We're friends again! (Only to start over again tomorrow morning)

Other than all that - Paige is still so much fun and I really wouldn't trade her in. She is finally starting to say a few things - "lide" (LOVES to tell me about the slide at daycare)..."ree ree ree ree ree ree ree ree ree ree" (that's reading a book) "me!" (she loves to acknowledge herself and she also points at me and says "momma" then at Jesse and says "dadda" then at herself and says "Mmmmeeeee!" or sometimes it's just a quick "me!"......the latest is, "k?" (this is how she asks her dollys if they are ok and pats them on the head a few times)...Tonight her and I took her dolly for a walk outside with the little dolly stroller and Paige was pushing it along, then decided that she wanted to hold my hand. We all know how hard it is to push a stroller with one hand, especially if you don't center your hand. Needless to say she had quite the time trying to manage the stroller with one hand...she accidentally dumped out her baby and then picked the baby up and I think was pretending like the baby was crying and needed consoling! It was sooo cute - already picking up on how baby's need to be taken care of. So then I asked her if Baby Gracie was ok, and she stopped and looked at her dolly and said, "K?" and patted her dolly's head and then looked up at me and said, "Des, k" and we kept going. I think that was the slowest walk I've ever been on - this is good - she is teaching me how to slow down for awhile and enjoy the moment. I think she is also going to require that I get up even earlier to get her up earlier and allow more time to get ready in the morning. ugh.

Perspective

2009-04-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

I love these pictures - how little Paige is compared to Jesse is such a bigger difference than how she compares to the size of me! haha. Of course, these are pictures from last year and she is so much bigger now - I'll post some more when I get them upload - you'll see that she still is soooo much smaller than Jesse.

Pictures

2009-03-28T11:38:00.000-07:00

I am so bummed because I had some other great pictures but they were accidentally deleted from the camera before I was able to save them on my computer :( For example, I had a priceless picture of Coy - priceless because I think he looked JUST like a picture that I remember of Logan at about the same age :) I also remember taking a very cute picture of Kadyn and Jesse building a lego tower. Anyway, Ellen and Elisa have some good pictures on their blog too (if you're interested).
Oh well...here is what I did happen to have and am so glad for the cute pics of Quiana and Paige and a couple from Ava's birthday party.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our little leprechaun

2009-03-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Blatantly ignoring the camera...apparently her mom doesn't care how good Paige doesn't feel...she insists on dressing her up and taking her picture anyway. :) Sorry Paige for the hassle, but you DID have the best outfit on at daycare, and apparently the kids loved to play with your hat as it is completely unwearable now (which I'm sure Paige is glad about!)

Notice how she is once again wearing leg warmers - a style from the 80's - she is now the proud owner of rainbow striped leg warmers and green and white striped leg warmers. This is one style from the 80's that is actually kinda cute! Anyway...

P.S. Note to Paige, you really should hold in your belly when you are standing there and getting your picture taken, whether you like it or not - US Weekly, People and Star magazine would love to get their hands on a picture like this and talk about how fat you are...even though you aren't fat at all!

Something Cute

2009-03-14T22:26:00.001-07:00

My new background doesn't go well with the picture of a blood blister...besides, after all the madness, cats, nausea and blood blisters...it is time for something cute and sweet.

Just kidding! Here they are:

This is one of my favorite pictures from one of our recent weekend visits to Kalispell - one special weekend with Josh and Ellen, Hugh and Carmen, Logan and Elisa, and Kenny; Duane and Janette were nice enough to share them with us! This picture I think is adorable because Trapper was so into the camera and Paige knows all about looking at the pictures on the camera right after they are taken. What a couple of little genious almost-2-year-olds :) Anyway, check back for a smilebox production soon of more pictures from that weekend.

Blood Blister!!!

2009-03-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

I dropped a really heavy weight (haha) on my finger tonight at the gym and instantly grew a gigantic blood blister.OUCH!

I thought it was bad until I saw this one...

I have so much exciting data entry to do tomorrow so we decided to pop it to avoid accidental poppage tomorrow.

Cats on Broadway

2009-03-10T18:14:00.001-07:00

I just need to share this with everyone because it is something I experience everyday...so if you want to know about the details of my life - here is one of them. Everyday I have to sit at a stop light on my way to work and stare straight ahead at a little building on the corner of the street with a yellow awning that says "Cats on Broadway" and there are pictures of cats dancing on the awning. Now...most of you probably are well aware of my dislike for animals, especially cats and dogs - but I am pretty sure that I have some psychotic phobia of cats. Everyday I have to sit there and try to avoid looking at that building but it is impossible to miss it...and it makes me completely nauseous every time! Why I do not know, but it just does. I sit there at the light and try to think about other things but I have visions of sneaky stray cats, dancing cats, and cats eating mice and looking around with darting yellow eyes. ugh. I'm getting nauseous writing about this, but maybe it will be theraputic. Probably not. This is not a new thing for me. When we lived in the trailer court in Kalispell, there was a stray cat who made himself at home in our yard...and I will never know why because I always pretended like I was going to run him over with my car and I would hiss at him and he would just crouch down like he was guarding his prize...which he WAS - guarding his prize mouse. Good thing - catches mice. Bad thing - leftover mouse in the yard and the whole fact that the cat eats the mouse is equally nasty. It goes back even further...to when we had cats at home and one of our cats had some external ear tumor and big huge lumps of fur that just matted up and then fell off in random places and then would blow around the yard like a tumbleweed. yuck.
And then there were the cats that would sneak into the garage and stay there for the night; one night my mom grabbed one to put him out but he got the best of her. Now, does that make you want to pet the cat? no!
Then there was the crazy cat lady, Pat who was always on the prowl through the neighborhood searching for her lost cats and of course the combination of crazy cat lady and stray cats gives me the heevies.
I do not understand at all how people can pet a cat and then let it roll over onto its back to have it's belly scratched....aahhhhh! hurl. A lady I worked with at GBCI used to talk about her cat all the time and how she would let him curl up in bed with her next to her on the pillow and how he always had horrible breath! Hmmm...and you still want to cuddle with him? Barf.
Anyway after making it through the daunting wait at the stop light of Russell and Broadway and I get to work only to see every day that my desk neighbor has a new calendar with pictures of cats! Not cute little kitten pictures (hard to find) but of cats doing things like taking a bath...which we all know how NOT cute those pictures are!
With all my hatred and dislike of cats...do not worry those of you who have your pet cat - I will not hurt the cat, I just won't pet the cat and they will sense that I don't like them so they will pester me and I still won't hurt them. One time Jesse said to me, "Brenda, when we go to their (Lance & Tanja's) house you would never, like, hurt their cats would you?" Give me some credit. I am too nauseous to do anything.
Still like cats?

More Madness

2009-02-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

When does it ever end with me? I SERIOUSLY have a major issue with stairs. You won't believe what happened to me today - well if you know me, you'll totally believe it, but I wish I could trade myself in sometimes! So...
Today at 4:58 I was rushing around (desk to printer to desk to printer) to finish off payroll, and also get a very important check printed off and sent out in FedEx so I was definitely in a rush (what do ya know?) and I headed to the stairs...those daunting stairs...they have my number.
I still don't know what happened but suddenly I was head over heels (literally heels - 3 inch heel black boots) tumbling down the stairs! It must have been very loud because when I looked up 7 co-workers were standing over the top of the stairs laughing hysterically and my boss had heard it all the way in her office and made it over to see me as well. Here is what I remember looking like at that moment: Check in hand, FedEx envelope on second step down, Right hand hanging on for dear life from the hand rail, right leg pointed down the stairs starting at about the fifth step down, left leg straight up in the air, hair covering half of my face (some in my mouth) and I had landed half way off of the third step down...just dangling there. I can only imagine the look on my face. How embarassing. I blamed it on my heel because it had broken, however, I'm pretty sure that the broken heel was a result of my accident, not the reason. (Broken heel not broken too badly, still wearable, but now I can't wear them because I blamed it all on my broken heel!)
Suddenly everyone realized that they were laughing at me and forgot to see if I was ok; of course at the time I was ok, just very hurt pride...but hey laugh it up. I hid my face for awhile and took my shoes off. I still had to meet the FedEx guy! So I headed down to the CFO to have him sign the check and he wondered about my missing shoes. I really wanted to play it off, but Val was heading by his office and casually mentioned that maybe the company should consider a little more liability insurance for me. He continued with the glorious story of me falling down the stairs and the CFO got a very amused look on his face and said, "All the way down?" They'll probably decide to let me go naming me as a work comp risk.
As of tonight, I feel a slight strain in my neck, a sore wrist and a slightly pulled groin...worst part of it all...remember how I bruised and scraped both of my shins the other day...well they of course got in the way again. OUCH!
So after telling my husband this story...guess what he said? Something about "slowing down."
You know, that is probably the 5th time I have tripped and made some noise on those stupid stairs...but just a fraction of my stair incidents in my lifetime. Dad, Mom and Rod - remember the stairs in our house at 190 Batavia Lane? I was always tripping up and down those stairs...I even remember stumbling down the stairs when we had a storage customer in the office and hearing him say something, "whoa, is she alright?" My mom probably just waved it off.
Anyway, here is the real bummer in it all - remember how I decided to take on a new persona when I started working at this job...as the quiet shy girl - yep, pretty much have blown that cover now. After tripping up and down the stairs, and all of my other Brenda moments, I'm no longer the sweet quiet girl. Darn. Oh well, I have more fun this way.
Don't you wish you were me?

80s Theme Party

2009-02-22T16:38:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Rainbow Brite

2009-02-22T16:34:00.000-08:00

Slow down

2009-02-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you about my last couple of days. I am doing this to hopefully put a stop to the madness; you know like, if you talk about it, it will go away.
So yesterday morning I woke up at 7:05 and I normally leave my house at 7:20; so I had to forego my shower and was trying to get dressed with eyes that were very droopy and glued shut with eye boogers; I woke up Jesse and sent him stumbling in with droopy boogery eyes to wake up Paige who also woke up with droopy boogery eyes and her normal massive mop of amazing bedhead. In an instant she was bright-eyed and and as I have already noted, very bushy-tailed...so Jesse had to snap to it and keep up with her. Anyway - good thing I work at a trucking company and was able to throw on a pair of jeans, my sneakers and a hooded sweatshirt. (I later learned that I had put my undies on inside out, and put on mismatched socks). I looked my best and was grateful for a hair tie that applied nicely to a greased back ponytail. Paige didn't get her bath, which I'm sure she didn't miss, and I put her bushy tail in a ponytail (which did not come close to looking as cute as the ponytail pictured to the right) and left her bangs going everywhere and we ran out the door. I was only 10 minutes late to work. Going up the stairs I tripped on the stair and made all kinds of noise and caught all kinds of embarassing attention. The rest of my day went well at work. But then...we had made plans to go to the Griz basketball game and after getting home we had to quickly turn around and go to the game; in my rush of climbing into the Tahoe I slipped with both feet right down and off of the running board and scraped, bruised, and bumped my shins causing the most excruciating pain that made me cry and whine all the way to the game. Then, the game was soooo disappointing and Paige wet her pants right through her diaper and I had forgotten her diaper bag at home. We left the game at few minutes early and didn't look back.
Well - this morning, once again I woke up late - luckily, it wasn't as late as yesterday and I had time for a shower and the normal morning routine - however, the normal routine had to be in high speed. So while I was throwing my lunch together I spilled the rice all over the counter and dropped the frozen veggie bag on the floor which of course spilled...and then my wonderful husband who is always full of excellent words of wisdom said to me, "Brenda, just slow down!" Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....that's the same thing my teachers told me in first, second, and third grade when I used to fall down on the playground and put holes in my knees and tights...and the same thing my parents and the cops have been telling me for years!
This madness must stop - as slowing down pertains to my mornings, it requires that I go to bed earlier. Oh and I am getting another cold which will be the third one in a matter of three weeks; pretty sure that would be solved too if I got more sleep.
So...moral of the story - slow down and get more sleep. Easier said than done.

Hurry - Don't miss your big opportunity!

2009-02-19T17:11:00.001-08:00

Lucky you! The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

So....who will be the first 5 people?????

Memo

2009-02-14T23:25:00.000-08:00

I should let you know ahead of time that the following smilebox presentation has been loaded with 45 pictures of Paige :)

If you read my previous post, I also should let you know that we didn't get to make a shoebox because I was informed Thursday that the 'infants' don't really need one. So I didn't want to be the over zealous mom who made a shoebox for her to bring in anyway. We also didn't get strawberries for her red treat to share because Costco was out - so we got My Little Pony fruitsnacks instead. Oh and I was also told that there was plenty of ice cream toppings so I didn't need to bring anything. All of my excitement for nothing!

All about Paige

2009-02-14T23:24:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Lunchroom chat

2009-02-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

Thursday is my favorite day at work because (1) tomorrow is Friday, and (2) it is the beginning of a new week of class (school) and I never have homework to work on during my lunchbreak! Although, I could get ahead of schedule, but what is the fun in that? I'd rather save it for the weekend. I should figure that one out. But I'd rather do some important blogwork instead!

Today for lunch I am having brown rice, mixed veggies and chicken all mixed together with a little dab of poppyseed dressing; very good and healthy. I love the bags of frozen mixed veggies you can get for like $1.89 - they are peas, corn and little chopped carrots; I have to wonder if the carrots are real carrots because they are tiny squares! Paige likes em' and the nutrition label says they're good for us.

OK - I have to ask other mommy and daddy's opinions about something controversial: Flouride for children. Our doctor prescribed Paige sodium flouride to take once a day to prevent tooth decay and promote healthy teeth and gums. Well first of all - the better ways to prevent tooth decay and to promote healthy teeth and gums is to (a) consume less sugar, (b) just brush!, (c) get enough calcium and (d) drink enough water. So...I can't help but think that flouride is unnecessary. Furthermore, we have found numerous scholarly articles, publications, and discussions about flouride and that it is POISON! Did you know that flouride has not been approved by the FDA but because it was on the market before the FDA was created (1913 or something) so it was grandfathered in. Why would the FDA and other sources warn parents to be sure to completely avoid water that might have flouride in it because it is harmful and poisonous for chidren, and yet they prescribe straight shots of flouride on a daily basis! Moms and Dads, do you give flouride to your children? Have you ever asked your doctor about it? At Paige's next appointment (for her 2 yr checkup) (wow, 2 years!) I am going be sure to address this concern. Until then...I am curious what other people know about this.

On a more exciting note, tomorrow is a fun Friday for Paige at daycare! She has really cute "Tinkerbell and Pixie-Friends" Valentines to give to her friends, and I get to decorate a shoebox for her to bring and put her valentines in that SHE gets from her friends...and it is wear red day...haven't decided which red stuff she is going to wear yet...I wish I could find a pair of tights like I remember having as a girl: White with little red hearts all over...remember those? - anyway - and it is PizzaParty day - which means she doesn't get to bring her cute CareBear lunchbox, but just $2 for Pizza, and that is fun and greasy - and then she also needs to bring her favorite ice cream topping for ice cream - which I don't know what that will be because we've never had ice cream toppings with ice cream...her favorite thing in the world is peanut butter, maybe I'll just send a couple spoonfuls along...haha...and on top of all of that it is also red snack day...she can bring a red snack to share with her friends...I think we'll get some strawberries from Costco. (Which would also work as a delicious ice cream topping). So yes, exciting day ahead of this little princess.

She actually has had an exciting week. Her G&G Braaten stopped in on Tuesday afternoon and picked her up from daycare and she got to play with them all afternoon and go shopping at the learning tree...and then we all had a nice dinner together at Jakers. G&G brought her a gigantic shopping bag full of the cutest clothes that they bought at Herberger's and they were all 95% off after clearance and coupons! They are 24 months which is something to grow into...so yet another exciting thing. Paige loves to get new clothes already. She was carrying one shirt around and swinging it and singing and then laying it on the ground and sitting down beside it and laying on it. Good times.

Anyway this is getting long enough. I'll post a picture of Paige in her red and all the things she gets to bring to daycare. One more thing about daycare, she gets to start graduating into the toddler room, they said she "does really good in circle time so she is ready for the move" - hwo cute, I would love to spy on circle time...from what I have seen, the bigger girls take very good care of her and she loves them. It reminds me of Kenna and Paige in Chicago. Oh , there is a girl at daycare who is milano, beautiful girl, probably about 4 years old; everyday she wears dress-up shoes - those plastic high heels and she clomps around in them just like we all did! (Don't deny it, you did it too.) It is so funny; she acts very grown up and is always dramatically friendly to Paige. I love this daycare. In fact, I love it so much that when I hear their advertisement on the radio I almost get teary-eyed. Seriously.

Ok I'm done. Thanks for stopping in.

Cute

2009-02-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here on my lunch break and actually don't have homework or discussion boards to work on - well I could be reading about accounting and taxation (actually very interesting class), but I left my book at home. So now I can just enjoy my lunch with blog posting!

Isn't it amazing how we suddenly, after having children in our lives, have new appreciation and excitement for certain things we never did before? This lady I work with came to me and said, "My husband donated to the local police and we got these stickers in the mail; he asked me if I knew of anyone who would have use for them, and I immediately thought of you!" So...she brought me the stickers from the police department. They are purple...there are 8. They kind of look like a mini bumper sticker or something - one of them says, "Keep our kids safe!" Another one says, "Be Brave. Tell your parents or teachers if anything strange happens to you." Another one says, "Be a honey, stick with your parents." Another one says, "Walk home with a friend." Another one says, "Police are your friends" (I'm going to add a line to that one that says, 'until you're driving.'...and the last one says, "Don't ride with strangers."
Ok so the stickers are pretty neat and I imagined right away how cute it will be to put one of them on the back of her little purple four-wheeler...just like a little bumper sticker! Cute huh? I think it'll be the one that says, "Keep our kids safe!" And then we can put another one on her lunchbox...well her lunchbox is so cute and might not have a good spot for a sticker. Her lunchbox is another thing I got totally excited about. Every Friday is sack-lunch day at daycare; for the first month of daycare poor little Paige was the ONLY kid at daycare who's lunch was actually in a sack (brown bag!)...did you know that lunchboxes are impossible to find after the back to school season is over? But, thanks to eBay, I found an adorable classic tin lunchbox with CareBears blowing bubbles with bubble gum. It's soooo cute...and Paige loves to carry it around. Which is really cute to see. So yeah, the stickers and the lunchbox - very exciting little things.
Children teach you how to 'stop and smell the roses' and enjoy the little things in life. Jesse has been trying to teach me that for years - when we were on our honeymoon in Jamaica he kept stopping to look at the little lizards and snails on the sidewalks and I was like, yawn..."c'mon!" ...but now if Paige wants to stop and look at a rock, I get down there with her and look at the cute little rocks. And then it's nostalgic, because I suddenly remember how I used to have a rock collection! So...there was a day when I was excited about rocks too.
I think I used cute alot in this. cute. that's pretty cute.

My best friend

2009-02-03T20:14:00.000-08:00

I would like to take a moment to say more than just Happy Birthday to Ellen - a friend such as her deserves more than just that. Ellen is, of course, my bestest girlfriend in the whole world - pretty much the sister that I never had - and probably our relationship developed just like the friendship of sisters; when we were little, poor Ellen had to put up with me tagging along with her and her 'big' friends, and lucky for me, she was always so nice to me; even when other kids were mean (haha) she never joined in. I don't think she has a mean bone in her body - ahem, ask her brothers to clarify that. But seriously, as we grew older, our friendship grew too and I was just plain lucky to have her closeby. It's not like I ever had hard times that she had to help me through, besides the silly little things that teenagers think are SO important; but I definitely have the most and best memories with her...and the most important thing is that we could giggle and gossip and share our deepest thoughts and concerns...just as best friends do. It is amazing how friendships can remain through time and distance - thanks to cell phones!

It is fun to think about memories from when we were younger. It's actually funny that we did become such good friends, because we had such different personalities..and levels of maturity. haha. I remember going to her house and sitting at the dinner table long after dinner was over, because Ellen always liked to listen to the 'grown-up' conversation, while I'd just be dying to get upstairs and play with her Barbies, but I wanted so bad to NOT annoy her, so I'd sit there and sit there and finally she would read my mind, or maybe I actually asked her enough times, that she'd finally come play with me. She probably always wished that I didn't know about her Barbies so she didn't have to play with me - poor thing. I think she was past the point of being obsessed with playing Barbies and dolls like I was...why she still had them...either because she was too nice to get rid of them or her parents made her keep them. ?

Janette is lucky she had a daughter like Ellen and not a daughter like me - Ellen was always so helpful with dinner and dishes, and working in the meatshop...the best daughter you could ask for probably! I think she could make lasagne when she was 5. Then there was me...where was I? As far away from the kitchen as possible...unless Ellen was there...then I was all about helping out...the only task we were ever allowed to do together was make juice...which shouldn't have been allowed either...and serving punch at our Grandparent's anniversary party was disastrous thanks to me.

And now I think she is 30 (dangerous thing to say if she isn't yet - but I'm pretty sure - nice best friend, I don't even know her age!) and I'm getting close, and we have even more of lifes experiences to share; more in common; I can't even imagine not having my best friend Ellen.

I should have found a poem...instead of blabbing away...

Happy Birthday Ellen!

2009-02-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Possibly the best wedding disaster of all time.

2009-01-30T18:51:00.001-08:00

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=44958725

Grandma's Pictures

2009-01-23T20:07:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we were in Kalispell and my mom took these pictures...since they don't EVER do anything on their own blog, I guess I have to do their picture posting for them. Also the picture below of my dad with Jason, Michael and Gary sittin' on top of the world...looks like they were having a good time. Sounds like they are having fun cruising around in the snow. P.S. Can you believe how big Paige is getting? She has a toddler smile now with those toddler sized teeth!

Fairmont Hot Springs for New Years 2009

2009-01-13T19:56:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Cousin Travis

2009-01-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

I am pretty sure that Paige has a crush on Travis Parsons of Baraboo, WI. It's ok for now, since she doesn't understand that they are related, right? Travis and Elaine, I thought you would like to know that she LOVES to look at your family picture and point you two out. When we ask her where Travis is she points at him with a huge giggly grin, covers her face like she is embarassed and squirms all over like she is just turning inside out!
Travis, as you head into your teenage years, don't become too cool to play with little Paige next time you see her! :)

Paige's first phrase

2009-01-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Paige tried to say her first phrase...at least the first for her mom and dad to hear. I told her she was a stinker...and Jesse said, "Paige say, I'm not a stinker! You guys are stinkers." Paige actually tried to say it (normally she ignores us when we try to get her to say things). She said, "Ah nada ninker, do dah doh deeter!"
She said it three times in a row for us...and that was the end of it.
Apparently she talks all day at daycare, but we can't get much out of here at home. Yeah yeah, no jokes about the problem being that she can't get a word in edgewise with her mom.

I see London...

2009-01-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

Who else can get away with having their skirt caught up in their drarrs? I couldn't resist taking these pictures and sharing them!

How I developed a sweet tooth, By Paige K. Hedeen

2008-12-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-29T20:11:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Winter photos

2008-12-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Blonde Moments

2008-12-18T22:04:00.000-08:00

I was headed out to start my car about 20 minutes before time to go home from work, and I asked a co-worker if she would like me to start her car for her, of course she handed over her keys and told me where she was parked. I started my car and then headed around to the other side of the building, and put the key in the door, it didn't turn, but I opened the door anyway and had a fleeting thought of, "hmmm, guess she forgot to lock her door." So then I am trying and trying...and trying and trying...to get the key in the ignition and finally gave up. I went in and said, "Frances, I can't get your keys in the ignition!" Well...we finally figured out that I had gotten into the wrong car; which explains alot of things. Maybe you had to be there, but it was pretty funny and definitely a time when I felt very blonde!

But as I always say...at least blondes have an excuse!

My next blonde moment story is a little more embarassing. So there is a truck driver who hauls frequently into Kalispell and almost always brings a load to Bitney's furniture; Jesse and I have a good friend named Lance who's dad owns Bitney's and Lance is working there and next in line to take the business over...so this driver apparently heard from Lance that he had a friend who worked at Watkins and Shepard and to keep an eye out for me. This driver also happens to be one of the loudest most obnoxious guys ever - but he is very nice and very funny. He quickly makes friends with everyone in the office and he always has a new Lance story for me...or he calls Lance from his cell phone and makes me get on the phone and say, "This is Barry's new secretary, just wanting to let you know that he's bringing in a load of Stanton this afternoon." Lance fell for it the first time, but of course it's getting kind of old now. Well anyway...one night I had a dream that this driver brought Lance into the office to say hi to me. Wierd, I know. Anyway, the next morning when he comes into the office I was not careful with my choice of words and said to the driver, "Hey! You were in my dream last night!" He hugged me and said, "Woo-hoo, really? That's awesome!" And then proceeded to yell at the top of his lungs, "Hey everyone, did you hear that? Brenda's dreaming about me at night!" He also told the CFO downstairs, one of the guys in the shop, and one of the dispatchers - I fear I will never live this down. So here I go telling everyone else about it on my blog- but why not share a laugh over it...I mean the damage is already done.