Christmas

Our Christmas was great, I think the biggest highlight was getting to talk to Uncle Bryce.

Christmas Miracle

I got this
and this
in this
for just a little bit of this!
Okay so almost a year ago a fuse blew in my Explorer and when I took it to get it fixed they told me it was going to be 600.00 or more to find the wiring short. So I spent most of the time saving money to get this fixed. About 2 weeks ago I took it to another place and they told me they had a fuse in it and everything was working fine. Well I picked it up and by the time I got it home the fuse had blown again. When I called the guy back, he told me it was going to take several hours to find the short and its 80.00 an hour labor.

I was starting to lose hope, then one day a flyer showed up on my door for WIRED RIGHT AUTO ELECTRIC a new little shop very close to my house. I thought hey it wouldn't hurt to try one more time. So I took it over there this morning after I got off work. He called me and let me know that the wiring harness that is for the blinker, the blower motor and backup lights had be wired wrong and had melted to the exhaust. And all he had to do to find that was put in up in the air to see the underside and it stuck out like a sore thumb. He changed the Oil, topped off my fluids, even cleaned out the garbage in the cab. He gave me a great deal and was very honest. When I tried to give him a little extra cash he wouldn't take it and insisted I spend it on my kids for Christmas. He also referred me to his brother to get my safety and Emissions done. I felt respected and important, and I have never felt that way with a mechanic EVER!

So my friends. Please call my new friend Paul at Wired Right Auto Electric 427-5294
You won't regret it! Tell him Denae sent you.

Snow Forp!

So yesterday morning (since it is the wee hours of Wednesday) after the blizzard stopped and the sun came out the girls and I decided to go shovel the walks and driveway. So we pulled on our snow boots, and coats and headed out to the sunshiny coldness.

Bailey concentrated on the stairs and the broom that was already there from Papa's first shoveling at 6 am. She was a very dedicated stair sweeper.

Laira followed me around and tromped around in the snow listening to the delightful crunch under her pink boots. She then started to squish the snow together with her hands and told me that she decided that she wanted to make a snow fort. I told her that was a great idea but her ride was going to pick her up for school any minute and she would have to wait till she got home.

after Laira left and I had finished the shoveling I told Bailey it was time to go inside. She was not very happy and she pouted as she told me that she wanted to make a snow forp. "A what?" I asked. " A snow forp" she replied with a little more gusto. I snickered to my self and told her the forp was going to have to wait till Laira came home.

Well my Brother Matt had to run some errands and when he came home he asked Bailey if she wanted to help him make a forp. She was so excited so they went out side and made a forp.

Making sure the snow is patted down smooth
more patting.
"it needs to be this tall"
Laira came home from school just about the time the Forp was finished. She was very excited to see it.
The finished Fort.

Matt and I let the girls play and we started making our Spinach cheese ravioli (from scratch) and he said to me "I give it 10 minutes before the fort is no longer standing" I laughed when Laira came in 10 minutes later and said she accidentally knocked the wall down.

What a wonderful brother I have to play with my girls and make them wonderful snow forps.

The Blog Frog

Have you ever wondered who reads your blog.. now with the Blog Frog you can find who 'hops' your way.

www.theblogfrog.com

Monday Monday!

So once upon a time when I was pregnant with Laira. B and I were talking about how we hoped they had his ankles and my teeth. We went on and on about the things we hoped she got. Then we discussed how sad it would be if one kid got all the bad stuff from both of us. Our kids have been pretty much perfect so far. But today genetics reared its sometimes ugly head.

We went to the Dentist, We love our dentist! he is very kind and I love going to a pediatric specialist because everything is kid friendly. The girls both got X-Rays although Bailey did need a little coaxing. Both sets of films showed they both had some minor cavities. After the Dentist came in and looked at Laira's teeth he said she has a few little ones he would like to take care of so she will have hers done in late January. Then when he looked at Bailey he just kept saying the numbers of teeth to the cute little hygienist. He looked at me and said "Hers are severe enough and she has enough of them that I feel like it would be best to take her to the Surgical center and put her under for these" I have decided that the Dentist will always make you feel like the worst Mom ever. He then told me not to feel bad it just looks like she has very weak enamel on her teeth, and we will have to work harder to keep her teeth healthy. They layered on this this molasses looking fluoride and sent us on our way. We will find out tomorrow what time surgery is on Monday.

So long story short, Bai has B's teeth.

SNOW!

The girls have been permanently glued to the window watching the snow. They are both frustrated that none of the snow is sticking. Bailey called my Dad to tell him and said "what is the problem?" He told her to wish harder so that is what she is currently doing.

Laira is going to go to the Dentist today because she has some sort of infection or abscess in her gums. She is pretty nervous but I am sure she will be alright.

I have finally come to terms with the fact that the way I have been feeling has nothing to do with eating in the Hospital Snack bar but everything to do with the flu.

We are also hoping to get our Christmas shopping finished this week. We have a tradition of taking the girls to the Dollar store and letting them pick out what ever they want for everyone. The girls love it and what they come up with is often a hoot. They are also very excited to put together a package for Uncle Bryce. The girls just love him!

My Daughters Addiction

The 3 Dancing Princesses and Papa

Laira usually at least once a month asks me questions about when Brittain and I were married. Today it was:
"Were Bailey and I alive when you were together?"
I explained that she was born and Bailey was in my belly. She was pleased with that answer and then told me:
"Now its just us, like the 3 Dancing Princesses" (her favorite movie is 12 Dancing Princesses) Then she drew this adorable picture and threw my Dad in there as the King.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving turned out great. I did state that once I entered the building I was no longer in charge. I gave that job to the Patriarch of our family, my Uncle Karl. We had a lot of food, a lot of really great food.


This is Corey, being special

My Favorite picture of Terry singing during Sing Star.

Most of us congregated in the RS room after our meal and bolted out some great rounds of sing star.

Stuff about Laira

So I have become a blog slacker. Partly because I was working more than I usually did and partly because I didn't feel like there was much to blog about. Now over the last month or so there have been some 'blogworthy' events about Laira.

1- Some time ago Laira lost her first tooth. ( I should have taken a picture) After losing it from the confines of her gums she promptly lost it from her hand. She was sad that she couldn't put it under her pillow and I was sad that I wasn't going to be home to put anything under her pillow, so, secretly I was happy when she lost it cause it bought me another night. Lucky for both of us Bailey found it the next day on the floor in their room so we were able to put it under her pillow. The tooth fairy brought her 50 cents and she was delighted.

2- Laira was started 2 days ago on some ADHD Meds. She was really struggling with school and listening at home. She would come home from school and cry because her class didn't get the reward cause she wiggled. And then she just went to not wanting to go to school at all. Somedays she had tried to hard at school to do good that when she came home she had no focus or listening left and made it really hard for me. She started Concerta, some of the side effects are loss of appetite and possibly a hard time going to sleep. So far I haven't noticed much of a difference but its only been 2 days.

AMAZING!

What Your Height Says About You

You are a sensitive, emotional, and even shy person. You are a romantic in the truest sense. You see people as you wish they were. You tend to be a very perceptive person. You are good at getting to the heart of the matter. You tend to be quite pensive and reflective. You think everything out carefully. You are about as tall as the average German woman.

What Does Your Height Say About You?

SUCH HAPPY NEWS!!!

click here

Kung-Fu Panda Craze

I Redboxed a couple of movies on Friday. One of them was Kung-Fu Panda. My kids loved seeing this in the Theater and I was not surprised that they loved it again when they watched it at home.

All three of the kids have been doing a lot of Kung Fu. Always pretending to Hiya each other with extravagant kicks and twirls. Well anyone who knows Laira knows that she is a very energetic spirit. Well she was in the Kitchen doing some Kung Fu moves and she fell right on her tail bone, on the wood floor. She was not a happy camper for a good 2o minutes.

My kids are so fun with their imaginations. I love them so much!

Coming out of hiding.

I have been in reclusive mode lately. Mostly because me and my kids have been sick. I hate being sick, I hate it even more when we are all sick.

Here is a Bailey update. On one of our many previous visits to the Doctor he listened to hear heart for a long time and the Murmur is gone. SO we don't have to go to the Ped's Cardiologist which is great news. She is still running a low grade fever but doing okay.

Laira has started to run a fever also and she hardly ever gets sick. She didn't go to school today and was excited about not going. I am wondering if something is happening there that makes her not want to go or if she is just missing her time at home.

I started my orientation and training shifts with Phlebotomy. its been fascinating and frustrating at the same time. But I worked a 12 with them on Sunday. I was shadowing for a bit then they shadowed me and then when we got to the morning run I was on my own. I am still learning a ton and getting better and better at it as I go. I am very proud of my self and hoping and praying for a regular shift with them soon.

I am still working on getting everything set up for Thanksgiving. So if any of you are my family reading this and don't have your assignment for Thanksgiving yet, shoot me an email or give me a call.

Not much else has changed. I need to get my car fixed, there is no heater or blinkers. I am hoping to do that this week and that is about as exciting as we get.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Bailey Update

So Bailey is sick, she has been for quite a while now with a fever and now she has a cold on top of it all and is losing her voice. They don't exactly know what is causing the Fever to last so long. But the Dr. did discover she's developed a heart murmur. It could be caused by a couple of insignificant things but he wants us to see a pediatric cardiologist just in case. We will be going in this week to have her labs repeated and compared to her hospital stay a month ago and see if anything has changed.

She is suppose to stay home and rest but how do you get a 4 year old to understand that. She is very frustrated and just wants to play out side, go to church and be better.

So please keep her in your prayers.

And lets hope this month long fever and its accompanying symptoms will go away soon.

Eight is Great TAG

My friend Chelle tagged me. So here it goes.

Eight favorite restaurants...

• La Dulce Vida
  
• Los Hermanos
  
• Red Mango
  
• Cafe Rio
  
• Pizza Factory
• Sensuous Sandwich
  
• The Rice King
  
• 5 Buck Pizza
  
• Carls Jr.
  

Eight things that happened yesterday...

• Made a Cafe Rio run
  
• Spent some time with my BFF Katie M.
  
• Sorted all the clothes in my room
  
• Made Shells and White Cheddar with Peas for my kids
  
• Watched Ichabod and Mr Toad.
  
• Drank a RARE Cherry Pepsi
  
• Ate way too much Halloween Candy
  
• Took care of some sickies
  

Eight things I look forward to...

• Bailey's Giggles
  
• starting my job with Phlebotomy.
  
• eventually buying a car that isn't falling apart.
  
• Thanksgiving with my extended family for the first time in a long time.
  
• My brother coming home from his Mission in Orlando.
  
• finding my best friend.
• Nap time.
• watching Laira learn something new and seeing her face light up.
  

Eight favorite television shows...

• Grey's Anatomy
• Pushing Daisies
  
• The Practice
  
• Good Eats
  
• Project Runway
  
• Food Network Challenge
• The Office
  
• Brothers and Sisters
  

Eight things I love about Fall...

• The leaves
• The sweater and hoodie weather
• Football
• a relief from the heat.
  
• The colors
• all of the wonderful Produce
  
• The holidays
• the start of Birthday season in my family.
  

Eight things on my wish list...

• A full time position with Phlebotomy.
  
• A place of my own.
  
• Taking my girls on vacation to Florida after Bryce comes home.
  
• A new car
  
• A greater understanding of the Gospel.
• Less money woes.
  
• A date.
  
• A family trip to Disneyland.

4th folder... 4th picture.

Emily on her wedding day.

Eight people I tag...

• Maureen R
  
• Krista C
  
• Jessica D
  
• Becky C
  
• Alida B
  
• Rachel R
• Sara F
  
• Amber S
  
• Megan H
  

Trick or Treating

We had a great time attending "Safe Halloween" Where downtown Provo stores pass out candy. I think its a great way to support our city. And its nice because its during the day so its easier to take the little ones. It was very busy this year. My uncle has a store on Center Street and he said that he had double the people this year than he did last year. I hope that means good business for him.

Laira was great as Ariel, she would get very frustrated when people would call her the Little Mermaid. She said " My name is Ariel, sheesh" to one guy who laughed. She got really sick of the wig really fast.

Bailey loved being Tinkerbell. After she was already she told me that she needed to just dance for a minute, which is so typical for her. She loved getting to wear makeup and have sparkles in her hair. she is a very prissy girl.

After the girls were in bed Krista and I went to dinner and a Movie. All in all it was a good Halloween, I hope yours was too.

Church

I went to church today, It was the Primary Program. Both of my girls had speaking parts. If you remember last year you can see why I was a little nervous about what was going to happen. But they both did great. Bailey was singing her little heart out on "I am a child of God" and Laira was singing all the songs.. and you could tell she was trying so hard even on the songs she didn't know so well. I was so proud of them both. Even though I had to walk Bailey up there when everyone was going cause she didn't want to go.

My girls are getting so big. They are so great, I often feel inadequate as their Mother but I feel blessed that I was entrusted with them here on this earth. As untraditional our family is we have a lot of love and support. And I am so thankful for that.

Stephanie news

Read this amazing article about my Friend Stephanie who was in the plane crash.

click here

This article touched me so deeply. It's also the most open anyone has been about Stephanie and her injuries. She is an amazing woman who is constantly in my thoughts and prayers.

LeeLou's Launch Party

(click above to go to her site)
this is my FAV place to get layouts for blogs..
she is having a big launch party with lots of fun stuff so make sure to visit.

In other news

Look what my cousin did

click here

Updates

Thank you for the many emails and comments letting me know that I am loved . I AM doing much better it was just one of those days.

I got the job with Phlebotomy. I will be working with them PRN or as needed right now but I am hoping to slip into a permanent position soon. The only downside to this is that I had my holiday schedule all figured out the way it would work best for me. And now I may have to work some more holidays. But I am very excited.

I have been working on pulling Thanksgiving together and am very excited to spend some quality time with my extended family members that I don't get to see very often.

Well I have to get in the shower and get ready for work.. I know .. its 3 in the afternoon and I haven't showered.. but hey.. my kids are bathed, fed and happy and that is what matters.

I am having one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days!

Laira's 6th Birthday

This is Laira, its her Birthday
This is one of the presents Laira opened for her Birthday.
This is Xander, Xander cried and cried when none of the presents were for him. So his Mom wrapped up one of his favorite old toys and gave it to him like a new present.
This is Xander when he opens the "new chow" sooooo excited. We all laugh.
This is Xander helping blow out the candles.

Kallie

Those who know me well know that I am not generally an animal person. The cons out weigh the pros by far to me. But today our dog Kallie was put to sleep. Kallie was a great dog. She obeyed really well. She liked the cats. She was a great protector and she was scared of little kids which always make me laugh. She loved to play Frisbee with her boys (my brothers) We had Kallie for a very long time. She was old and hurting and it was time. I am surprised at how emotional I am over this. I don't know what happens to animals after they die but I would hope that she is now free from her pain and suffering and is running somewhere with a Frisbee in her mouth waiting for someone to tell her to 'drop it'.

IF I ever have a dog of my own I hope that it will be as good of a dog as Kallie was.

Lots of little things.

Well I guess I have more to blog about than I thought. SO I will blog about several small things and make it one big post.

1- I have new hair, I decided to go dark and so far I love it. My fabulous friend Emily does my hair and I never leave there not feeling beautiful. She works at Suggestions Salon in Orem. Go see her.

2- I love my job but I want to do something new, learn more. So I took that Phlebotomy class. I applied for a position about a month ago and yesterday I have my interview. She told me she only interviewed 3 people and that I had a good chance. I will find out today hopefully. I am also hoping to take an EMT class and then be able to work in the ER.

3- My Dad was put in as the 2nd counselor in the bishopric Sunday. He will do great.

4- Bailey is starting to show signs that she is still not feeling well. I don't know what to do or how to make her better. The Doc can't find anything wrong with her other than she was dehydrated.

5- I love the fall but I HATE the snow. I am not excited for winter.

6-I love my children.

My blog is seriously lacking, So I am asking you what do you want to hear about? Should I spotlight my friends? should I post recipes? Should I just talk about my kids?

I don't blog because I don't know what to write about.

So please.. help me out.

Dragon

So my Dad always likes to tease me and my siblings about when we were little, found the baby powder, and blew it all over the room. Playing Dragon. Like the smoke out of his nose. He says that every time after he would sit in that chair that there would be a little poof of powder that plumed into the air.

Well today that story came back to bite me in the bootay!

Laira was at school and it was just Bailey and I. I told her I needed to take a nap and asked if she wanted to watch a movie. So I put on some Halloween movie, and fell asleep in the lazy boy next to Bailey. When I woke up I could smell the baby powder. I looked over to the chair that Bailey use to be sitting in. It was all white, except for the small area where a little body had been. I looked over in the corner and there she was spraying away. She looked like a little ghost, Baby Powder all over her head and clothes. No I didn't take any pictures, I was too angry. I sent her to her room and proceeded to clean up the mess. Then I put her in the bath where she apologized profusely.

Later when my Dad got home and I told him what had happened he chuckled and said something about every generation doing the same stuff. I think he got a big kick out of the fact that Bailey was playing Dragon.

5kfornie.blogspot.com

We are home now!

Showing off the dreaded IV
The sparkled purple bear she got for being brave when she had labs drawn
Her gown showed a lot of skin
Engrossed in painting

I love my little prissy princess, She just needed some help getting some fluids built back up in her body. She is fine now. Thank You for all the love and support!

at the hospital with Bailey

See my moms post here

Happy Ex- Anniversary!

Today would have been my 7 year anniversary.
How fitting that he is spending it with our children.


I count my blessings that I am not married to him anymore. It took me long enough to realize that it was in fact a blessing.


So today I want to thank him. Thank you for giving me 2 of the most beautiful children ever. Thank you for showing me that I deserve more than you could have ever given me.

THANK YOU!

QUESTION

2 hot single women
1 day of rain
0 kids

what do you do?

If you answered :go to lunch and then spend the rest of your time going to 3 movies in a row then you are correct!

Halloweentown

I remember when we were little and had 'basic' cable, every so often they would do a promotional week free of Disney Channel. We loved it. They always had the greatest shows and movies on. Now we have a lot of kid channels but I still love Disney, the cartoons and stuff generally have good morals and teach good lessons.

Well my girls have recently discovered the "Halloweentown" movies. The first one was on yesterday and the sequel was on today. They get a little intense for the kids but they love it. I am glad that there are good 'wholesome' Halloween movies out there that aren't going to scare them so bad they can't sleep.

Apparently there are 2 more Halloweentown movies. We will see if those will be on too. In the mean time.

Happy Haunting.

It could be worse

I have started to have the mentality that when things are hard or I just can't handle it I tell my self, It could always be worse.

I really hope that I can be more of a half full rather than a half empty kind of girl. So in honor of "it could always be worse" I am going to list some things that I am thankful for.

• 2 beautifully Healthy children- this hasn't always been like this and even though neither of my children have any debilitating diseases, or handicaps we have dealt with being sick a lot and right now my little ones are doing so well.

• A place to live- I can't imagine what kind of life we would be living if I didn't have wonderful parents who let us live with them.

• Wonderful parents who take care of my kids while I am at work.

• A car to drive- even with gas prices, no A/C or Heat, driving is still a luxury that I think many take for granted.

• a wonderful Job-there are some people I know and I am sure many others that I don't who can't find work, I am so thankful that I have a job with people that I enjoy spending time with in and out of work.

• An amazing heritage full of great stories and inspirational trials that always remind me that "it could be worse" I always think of my Grandma and have such a great respect for the life she lead. and I hope that I can be a 10th of the woman she was.

• Great friends-I have some of the best friends ever. THANK YOU!

• Great siblings who try to do their best- With a brother on a mission and living with the other 2 I am glad that my siblings are here to be part of my kids lives. My brothers are wonderful male role models for my kids who need them desperately. (My Dad too)

• The opportunity for an education- I have a ravenous thirst to learn right now. I am so glad that I can take advantage of that thirst and better my self, and continue to create a future of independence and stability for my children.

I am sure that I could come up with a large list if I really sat down and thought about every little thing that I am thankful for. I am so greatfull for all of the blessings that I have in my life. Yes I have been through my share of hard times but its just a small smattering of what COULD have happened. I think I will take the trials that I have and be thankful that that is all that I have gone through and pray for those who are going through more.

Planning Thanksgiving

Ever since my Grandma passed away I have had such a desire to pull my family close and keep them there. I have an Aunt and Uncle who live in the same city. Our families have always been close, doing things together as small children. Our families often made a Sunday trek to Oak Hills to visit grandma. Our summers were usually filled with BBQ's and gatherings as other members of the family came into town to visit. The Holidays were always full of family. We always went to Grandmas for the one day of the year grandma would take her teeth out when she dressed up like a witch for Halloween. Thanksgiving was a big production with a Perfect Turkey and all the fixings and lots of good company. Christmas was a festival of music, jokes and hand made gifts from Grandma.

As we grew up and the older cousins started getting married, we started to stop having so many gatherings, celebrations and family events together. Life started to take over and there just got to be to many of us to all fit in one place.

While chatting with my cousin Jill we decided that we wanted to have a big Thanksgiving this year. With as much of the family as we can. So I sent out a mass email to everyone I have emails for. Sadly I have had some no's but there are some yes's and we are planning to have a fabulous time. I am excited to spend time with family. I hope to make a new tradition of trying to keep ties within my family strong. I think my Grandma would be proud.

Now I just have to find a place that will hold us all.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the best friend a girl could have.
I hope your day is filled with happy memories
good food (only a couple more days left)
and anything else your heart desires