Finally a Family Vacation

We were supposed to be beach bums in June. It didn't happen. Todd was so busy with work, getting certified and traveling to training classes, it just didn't work out. I was starting to get restless.

It's hot here. I mean, really hot. Everyone, at some point during the summer deserves a reprieve from the heat. I decided that ours had to be now, because if it wasn't, Todd was going to leave again for who knew how long. It was now or never, and I demanded now. Luckily, Chateau de Bailey was available and the four of us were able to sneak over to San Diego for a quick five-day getaway.

We left Thursday morning right after Dylan's last swim lesson (more on that later), and made it to Pa and Grandma Nancy's house just in time for a wonderful dinner. We spent the evening catching up and letting the kids enjoy the freedom from the car seats. Then the highlight of the night (and each night)....the bathtub. Dylan and Isaac loved to take baths in Grandma Nancy's big tub. It's big enough for Dylan to swim laps, and at times I think she tried. At least five times a day Dylan asked if she could take a bath. And at least four of those times I had to tell her no.

We woke up Friday morning and drove up to San Clemente to see my grandparents. It was great to see them and the kids enjoyed seeing their grandma and grandpa great. We had a nice lunch, spent time visiting and took some pictures. We left to return home in the early afternoon so the kids could get a nap in. I think everyone needed one because I think all of us slept at some point throughout the afternoon. That evening we had another wonderful home-cooked meal and once again offered Nancy a nanny/chef position in our home. I just don't think she's quite ready to give up her job yet. I even tried to convince her by telling her she didn't have to nanny. I'd be completely happy if she just made us her wonderful meals. Mmmmm, to cook like that...

On Saturday we woke up and everyone went to have breakfast. The four of us, plus Grandma Nancy went to the zoo for the morning. We arrive right at nine and spent all morning seeing the animals. We didn't rush any of the exhibits, and didn't see them all either, but we had so much fun with the animals we did see. (Remind me to tell you about our giraffe encounter.) After the zoo we went back to the house to have some lunch, and again more naps. Greg and Nancy had a work celebration to attend that evening so Todd and I took the kids to see Grandma and Grandpa-Great Loss. Todd got to play handyman on something other than a computer and the kids ran around in the wonderful grassy area outside of the condo. It was a beautiful evening to be outside and the kids took every advantage of the great weather.

Sunday was a girls day and Nancy and I took Dylan shopping for school. Unfortunately it was an unsuccessful trip, but I think we all had fun. That afternoon Nancy and I went for mani/pedis and it was nice and relaxing to do something without the kids. Again another great dinner and of course, baths for the kids.

We woke up Monday for our return trip home and dreaded arriving in the 100+ degree heat. I think I'm going to have to put my foot down again real soon and have us make another trip to the wonderful Chateau.

It's Progress Time Again...

Just when I think I'm make progress, something happens to deter me. I've completed some tasks, started others and have to restart some too. I've got 850 days left. I guess I'll just keep plugging away.

personal

1. spend three hours once a week for a month on me and only me COMPLETED (thanks Diana)2. go to bed by 10pm every night for a month
3. make a 101 list COMPLETED (this was a gimmie)
4. return all phone calls within 24 hours for a month
5. return all e-mails within 24 hours for a month
6. get a pedicure as needed for 6 months IN PROGRESS
7. have a meal with friends once a month for 6 months IN PROGRESS

marriage

8. talk without distraction each night for a week
9. say I love you every day for 6 months IN PROGRESS
10. give hugs and kisses every day for 6 months IN PROGRESS
11. celebrate anniversary somewhere other than home overnight
12. find one new thing we both enjoy doing together
13. laugh together each day for a month
14. have date night once a week for a month

spiritual

15. attend all HFPE meetings for a year
16. read scriptures personally every day for a month
17. attend all three meetings on Sunday for two months straight
18. have 100% visiting teaching for a year IN PROGRESS
19. read the book of mormon cover to cover
20. prepare Sunday lessons before the weekend starts
21. no caffeine for a month
22. watch all four conference sessions COMPLETED
23. say personal prayers each night for a month

health, beauty, and fitness

24. lose 15 lbs
25. ride the elliptical 3x’s a week for a month
26. go for a walk 3x’s a week for two months
27. don’t eat fast food for a month
28. make dinner every night for two weeks COMPLETED
29. stop biting my fingernails for at least one month COMPLETED
30. get LASIK
31. take a yoga class
32. drink only water for one week

for the house

33. get Dylan into a twin bed COMPLETED
34. organize the kid’s clothes and closets COMPLETED (although it needs doing again!)
35. keep the car clean for one month
36. organize craft room
37. keep craft room clean for two months
38. get Isaac into a twin bed
39. redo kids’ bedrooms
40. redo master bedroom
41. paint kitchen COMPLETED

travel

42. leave the country COMPLETED
43. visit a national park COMPLETED
44. see Wicked somewhere in the country IN PROGRESS (we have tickets for next July!)
45. stay at the Hotel Coronado in San Diego
46. visit a state I have never been to COMPLETED
47. visit a friend out of town
48. start an Italy fund

reading

49. read each day for at least 30 minutes for two weeks
50. read a book by a new author COMPLETED
51. go to the library twice a month for three months COMPLETED
52. start and finish a book in one day (at least 175 pages)
53. read the ensign every month for 6 months
54. read the entire book club book for six months

finances

55. put money in a travel fund for NY
56. put all spare change in jar for 3 months
57. make and keep a personal budget for two months
58. don’t use the credit card for a week other than necessities (food, gas, bills)
59. for one month spend money only on necessitieshobbies
60. use the camera everyday for a month COMPLETED
61. finish family cookbook IN PROGRESS
62. blog every day for one month COMPLETED
63. bake something new once a month for six months
64. be comfortable with and "get" my camera IN PROGRESS
65. complete two Daily December Journals and have them printed
66. take a photography class COMPLETED
67. take a German class
68. be proficient in photoshop

crafts

69. complete three mini albums IN PROGRESS
70. complete two different knitting projects IN PROGRESS (one down, one to finish)
71. decorate the master bedroom IN PROGRESS
72. take a knitting class
73. complete a new sewing project once a month for 6 months IN PROGRESS
74. finish Dylan’s scrapbook
75. start Isaac’s scrapbook
76. finish Isaac’s scrapbook

for others

77. be a secret santa
78. donate clothing or other items
79. donate blood
80. do a random act of kindness for someone in the neighborhood

for dylan

81. hug her, kiss her, and tell her I love her everyday for a month COMPLETED
82. say prayers with her every night for a month COMPLETED
83. teach her to ride a bike
84. sign her up for soccer
85. enroll her in swim lessons COMPLETED
86. get her potty trained COMPLETED
87. teach her to do a somersault
88. read or sing to her every night for a month COMPLETED

for Isaac

89. teach him the ABCs and to count to 10
90. take a mommy and me class COMPLETED
91. enroll him in swim lessons COMPLETED
92. get him potty trained
93. read or sing to him every night for a month
94. say prayers with him every night for a month COMPLETED
95. hug him, kiss him and tell him I love him everyday for a month COMPLETED

household chores

96. clean all the bathrooms once a week for a month (I hate this chore!) IN PROGRESS
97. get all the laundry and ironing done on Fridays for 3 months
98. wash and dry pots and pans each night for a month (no air drying!)

odds and ends

99. no tv on in the bedroom for a week
100. no computer for three days (at all) COMPLETED
101. no tv with the kids for a week

I'm not sure how I feel about this list. It seems really daunting every time I go through it to see how I'm stacking up. Good thing I have another couple of years!

Some Bragging Rights

Here is an excerpt from the e-mail we have long been waiting for.

The CFCE Committee, after reviewing the course work and final examination of Todd Bailey, is proud to announce that Todd has successfully completed the CFCE process. Please join us offering sincere congratulations to Todd for his hard work and achievement!

It was a long year to get certified and a long process to go through. Last month was a rough one for all of us, especially you. I am so proud of you for your accomplishment. Being a CFCE when there are only about 700 in the world is something to be proud of.

Congratulations and we love you!

Finally, It's My Turn!

Well I should have known. And if I didn't know, I should have at least guessed.

When Todd told me he was disappointed with my blogging frequency, I should have realized he would take over. And wouldn't you know it, right when he starts to blog (often) I have plenty I want to write about.

That's just how life goes I guess.

And of course, because I had so many things I wanted to post about, and felt that I needed to wait a day or two before doing so, I've now forgotten some of those things.

I guess I'll just have to write about the one thing that is foremost in the front of my mind right now.

ABBA.

Yup, right now, the one thing that is taking up most of my daily thoughts is ABBA. And the reason for thinking, and singing those ABBA thoughts is this:

That's right. Mamma Mia the movie starts this Friday. Holy cow, I can not wait! I've seen the broadway show three times and love it. I just can't believe they're turning it into a movie.

For the last week I've been obsessed with the release of this movie. And poor Todd hasn't stood a chance. One night we were channel surfing and I made him stop on VH1. They were airing a show called 10 Most Excellent Things: Mamma Mia!

Can it get any better than that? A full half hour of television dedicated to this movie. They listed the top 10 things about the movie, and I only caught the last four. Luckily, it's VH1 and it replays often. I found another airing and recorded it. How fantastic!

I highly recommend trying to find it for yourself. If you don't know if you want to see the movie, this will convince you.

But my top three reasons to see the movie...

1. Meryl Streep singing and dancing.
2. The music.
and
3. The lead actress, Amanda Seyfried was on my all time favorite show...Veronica Mars. She played Veronica's best friend Lily Kane.

It just doesn't get any better than that.

I sure do hope Todd and I are able to see it on Friday night. Time to go find a babysitter.

No good deed...

(Todd here again...apparently taking over)

Well the last thing I ate tonight was worth it so let me tell you how I got here...

I have a bad habit of of never really knowing what to get Nicole for birthdays, Christmas or other gift giving occasions. To my defense, how many husbands do? But that isn't the point.

A few weeks ago Nicole told me how she really wanted something. I knew I would immediately forget by the time I would have a chance to buy it for her so I suggested she put it on her blog. Some of you may have noticed her little Christmas Wish List along the bottom of the left column.

Well yesterday I had the kids on a field trip to Walmart to buy a car head light (if you don't know where to go, they have a crappy version of whatever you need at Walmart). So I'm pushing the kids in the shopping cart when my daughter asks me if the light bulb is for mommy. I think Nicole brainwashes the kids because immediately upon being asked that question I was guilt tripped into getting mommy something. I had no idea what to get when BAM (that was for you JC) it hit me to check her blog.

I pull out the trusty crackberry and surf to Nicole's site to find the wish list of items she wants. Number three on the list...

Ice Cream Maker. And better yet...I found one on sale! Walmart Sale! That means it cost like $10! (don't tell Nicole!)

So we grab it and head home to show mommy her new surprise.

Nicole shows initial signs of excitement but then starts reading the manual. "Oh it takes rock salt." "Oh its not automatic like Jennifer's." "Oh this." "Oh that." These are not the words I want to hear after tearing the box open with excitement.

The debate goes back and forth for a bit with me finally starting to pack the ice cream maker back into the box. I really didn't want to take it back and I think Nicole saw the look of sadness on my face so she said we could keep it.

The first batch was absolutely horrible. I didn't use rock salt like the instructions said and only after looking it up on the Internet did I learn rock salt is required to lower the temperature so the ice cream mix will freeze. That and I didn't let the mixture settle or cool before throwing it in the ice cream maker. I mean can't they make it so you could skip a few steps at the beginning and still come out with something good?

Batch number two actually worked but I used a generic mix vanilla mix (remember they have a crappy version of whatever you need at Walmart) and added some peppermint sticks and flavoring. The initial taste is really good but there is just a weird vanilla after taste that is out of place with peppermint ice cream.

After dinner we went all out. None of this generic mix stuff we bought the ingredients one needs for a good flavored home made ice cream:

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips along with the two cups of milk, 48 some odd ounces of half and half, 2 and 1/2 cups of sugar(!!!), some whipping cream and some more fancy items and we were on our way to home made Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
No one told me how much 4 quarts of ice cream was. We already tried to pawn some of the extra off on my in-laws (not home) and neighbors (on diet - are you kidding me?). We have plenty so if you want some stop on by. And if you didn't figure it out by the first line of the post...it was all worth it.

It's A Big World Out There...

(Todd here again...making Nicole nervous by telling her I'm going to post something on her blog.)

As I was walking up my driveway after work today I noticed the shades in Dylan's room were a little messed up. It actually looked like World War III had gone off inside the room as everything appeared to have been thrown around and mixed up. Of course I only had a small view through the "crack" in the blinds but I could see kitchen hot pads, diapers, a wave (noise) machine and some of Dylan's clothes on the window sill and floor.

Some background info before I get too much further...a few weeks ago Nicole brought out some purple paint and a little wooden stool late one night. I had no idea what she was doing but after all was said and done I am quite impressed with what she made:


This is Dylan's "stool." It is placed on the ground next to the bed to help Dylan get into and out of bed each day. Following common sense the stool is generally found next to the bed:


As I entered Dylan's room to wake her up from her nap I found the stool had been strategically moved...

World War III hadn't happened inside the room. Dylan had just gotten bored during nap time so she moved the stool over to look outside the window (she apparently also made a trip to the kitchen for a hot pad, climbed up on her changing table to unplug and move the wave machine and removed all of her clothes from the dirty clothes basket in her closet.) You can notice the bottom picture shows the blinds pulled back so Dylan could stand up and rest her elbows on the window sill.

It's a big world out there and I think Dylan is starting to get curious. How long until she decides to explore? Should we just weld the windows closed now and put more dead bolts on the door? She already figured out how to open the first one! Thumbs up to Nicole for making me turn on the automatic alarm chime whenever a door is opened.

Eating My Words???

A few months ago my sister Shanen wrote a post about her son and his diapers. Actually she commented in the post that all three of her kids had the same problem, and that with all three she used the same solution. She wrote about Kruz taking his diaper off and in order to deter him and keep him from doing this, she used blue painters tape wrapped around his waist so he couldn't. And to be fair, she didn't use blue painters tape with the girls, she used duct tape. The painter's tape was used in Kruz's case because there was no duct tape to be found.

I read this post by Shanen and thought it was the oddest thing I had ever read. And then to read that all three of her kids took their diapers off was so strange to me. But the fact that duct tape came to her mind to fix the problem just about put me over the edge. I had to leave a comment for her.

And this is what I wrote:

Okay, that totally cracks me up. Dylan took her diaper off for about a week, then it was over. And not once did I ever think of using any sort of tape to keep them on. Never! That is so funny. (edited to fix my grammar errors)

I later found out that another sister did the same thing. Like I said, I never had this problem with Dylan. I think her diaper came off a total of three times over the course of a week. Then she was fine.

The other day when Todd came home from work, he walked into Isaac's room because he was still sleeping. He came back to our room and told me to take the camera and go look at our son. I had no idea why I needed the camera. I assumed it was just a sweet shot of a sleeping boy.

You know what it means to assume, right?

Here is what I saw:

Note: all other pictures were a little more graphic than I'd like to share :)

The first thing I thought was "Oh no, he's going to be like Kruz and take his diaper off and I'm going to have to eat my words and keep it duct taped on."

Thankfully, this event has been a one time deal thus far, and I'm hoping to keep it that way.

Summer Fun

I'm a disappointment.

That's what Todd told me today. I'm a disappointment.

Gee, thanks honey.

Todd is having issues with me because I'm not updating my blog very often. I tried explaining that it's hard to update the blog when I have nothing to say, and no pictures to post. He didn't care.

So, here is my entry for today. There's not a story or a cute little anecdote. Just some pictures of what we've been doing to try to stay cool in this horrendous heat.

And in case you're wondering, Isaac wasn't really a big fan of our backyard toy, hence there aren't really a lot of pictures of him.

Twice in One Month!

I haven't posted many items here but Nicole has had a long two weeks trying to get Dylan to swim so I thought I'd give her a little break. A funny thing happened on the way home from swim lessons today and I thought it would make a good little story to share.

One of my favorite times of each month coincides with the arrival of a local magazine known as "G" or maybe "Gilbert." Honestly I haven't looked too closely in the past to determine the name of the magazine but it is published locally and details stories about our town.

Now I should step back in the story here for those of you that don't know Nicole very well. When we first met Nicole was working at a company named "Business Wire" where she among other things helped proof read news clippings and press releases. It drives Nicole nuts to see professionally published articles that contain spelling or grammatical errors. While we were dating I used to proof read my emails to Nicole several times but if I would have known how much she hates errors I would have been too scared to ever send them in the first place.

Back to the main story...the "G" magazine shows up each month and without fail Nicole finds 4-5 errors. Sometimes she doesn't even make it past the first few pages. Quite often I've thought of writing down the errors Nicole finds and sending them to the publisher asking if Nicole can get a part time work from home job as a proof reader.

Well today on our way home we stopped to get the mail and found a letter from the "Building Basics Preschool." Nicole signed Dylan up for preschool lessons later this summer and they were sending a welcome letter. Now remember the welcome letter is coming from the people who are supposed to teach our child. It is a little long but I'll copy the message here for you.

July 29th 6:30-7:30 pm come meet your teacher Miss Sarah as well as your classmates. Back to School Night gives your preschooler a wonderful opportunity to feel comfortable with preschool before the fist day of school, as well as make a few new friends and the whole family is welcome to come.

Just a reminder school starts August 4th from 9-11. Just a reminder all children MUST be potty trained (no pull-ups).

Often time's parents ask me what they can be working on prior to school starting; the number one thing is helping your child write his / her name correctly. Capital Letters are so much easier to teach and write, so often times that is how children learn their names. This habi is very difficult to correct that is why I am taking the time to send home the correct way to write your child's name in addition to some practice sheets. If your child is using Capital Letters for his/her name, please help me break the habit now, this will make the first month of preschool so much easier. Thank you for taking the time to work with your child on this, it will help greatly.

I do have two openings in my 4 year old class, please pass my info along if you know of anyone still looking for preschool. Also, if for any reason you have had a change of plans for the fall and are no longer planning on attending preschool with me, please let me know ASAP so I can contact the children on my weighting list.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you at our Back to School Night, if you are unable to make it please give me a call.

Thank you,

Miss Sarah

Not a good start or a good ending. The fist day of school? Contact on my weighting list. Nicole finished the letter and proceeded to walk around the house for the next 5-10 minutes discussing the difference of weighting verses waiting and fist verses first. You may have had to be here to enjoy it as much as I did but it was a good time watching and listening to Nicole rip on the letter.

And to think...I still have the Gilbert magazine to look forward to this month!