Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Bryce's parents house with all of his brothers and sisters. It was a great time. The girls enjoyed themselves while eating potatoes, yams, and playing with their Aunts, Uncles, and cousins!

Happy Birthday Gram!

Today is my Gram's birthday. She died 5 years ago, just a couple days shy of her 85th birthday. I miss her a ton and I think about her constantly. I have so many wonderful memories of her, with her, and about her! I give her much of the credit for the person and mother I have become. Happy Birthday Gram, I love you, I miss you, and THANK YOU!

I am ... a daughter, a friend, a wife, and a mother.

I think... about my kids and husband constantly. Wondering what more I can do to make sure they are safe, healthy, and taken care of.
I want... my kids to have a wonderful life, full of love with friends and family.
I have... everything that I need.
I miss... my Gram.
I feel... humble.
I hear... Bryce and the girls talking and playing.
I smell... one of my babies as she sits by my side.
I crave... something sweet!
I cry... when no one listens.
I search... for my cell phone all the time. It never seems to be where think I last left it.
I wonder... what is going through my little girls' minds.
I regret... causing hurt to someone I have loved!
I wish... I could fly.
I love... calm and relaxing piano music (Pachabel).
I care... about me and my families health and well-being.
I always... love finishing my day by climbing into my pillow-top, king-sized bed, sinking into the blankets and pillows, and falling into a deep slumber.
I worry... about what I will have to protect my children against (or try to).
I am not... about to give up the precious time I have to spend with those that I love.
I remember... being at Gram's house and door-bell ditching her. She had a door bell at the back door, so I would ring it and she would go to the front door. After a couple of times, she figured out that it was me at the back door, so then I would run around to the front door and do the same thing. Lots of memories with Gram!
I believe... that people can change if they have the desire and that lessons are best learned when you make a mistake.
I sing... loudest when I am in the car, like no one is watching. Then I usually look over and someone is looking at me with a silly grin!
I don't always... please everyone!!!!!!
I argue... when I think I am right.
I write... grocery lists, kids' names that I have talked to during the day, and other work stuff.
I lose... time thinking about what could have been vs. thinking what I have.
I listen... to the needs of those around me, trying to figure out how I could possibly make them feel better.
I can usually be found... where ever my children are, except when I have to work.
I need... someone to listen to me, but not fix me!
I forget... seems like everything too much, lately!
I am happy... when I walk through the door to make eye contact with my girls and see their big smiles.


Gram, you have taught me a lot about life, expectations, patience, and love. How can I ever repay you for all that you have done and continue to do for me? I know I will get the chance one day! You are my hero, my strength, and confidant. Your legacy will go on!

Milestones and Updates

Ok, so the girls are doing lots of things now. Banna Girl has chosen not to crawl yet. She prefers swimming on her belly for now. She does go from the sitting position to all fours, but then ends up on her belly, swimming and just rolling. She doesn't travel far, nor do I think she wants to. She seems to be content for a little while, but then gets a little tired of the belly thing. She has now mastered growling and will even imitate you when you do it. It is the cutest thing in the world. She also has the worlds most ticklish feet. She will kick, squirm or do whatever she can to make you stop. None the less, she is just a very ticklish girl! BUT, it is sad to say that little Banna Girl is sick, again. Yesterday, the babysitter ended up calling me at work because she had a 102 temperature. Most parents that have done this once or twice already, probably doesn't look at it like a big deal, but I do, since I am so new at this. I just worry because my friend at one of the schools I worked at last year, her nephew ended up with Spiral Meningitis because of a high temperature lasting for a few days. Granted, Bannah's usually subsides within a few hours, but I don't want to take any chances. TODAY, she seems to be doing a lot better. Her voice is a little hoarse and she has a cough, but for the most part, she is in good spirits and tends to make the best out of things. Every now and again she has a few complaints, but who wouldn't if you were feeling that crummy?


Well, my little Bug-A-Boo (Saige) is starting to crawl. At first she would do this little army crawl by leaning on one arm and pull the rest of her body towards what she was after. She does this now and again, but she is using most of her fours to get around. Sometimes, she will do a frog crawl and pop both legs at the same time. She is silly. TONIGHT, she even got up on her toes leaning over her hands and put her head on the floor with her BUTT up in the air, like she was preparing for a summersault. It is amazing to witness her milestones and the things they are learning every day. Also, Saige has mastered holding her own bottle. This is awesome in the morning when I am trying to get ready for work. It saves me a lot of time. However, I miss holding her. I think she thinks she is a big girl now for being able to do all of these things. Its very interesting to see that her personality models maturity.


Here is a video of Saige and Savannah. You can see Saige mastering her bottle holding abilities as well as Savannah enjoying her office area! I get a kick out of watching Savannah do this, because well, just watch its hilarious.....


This is a video of Saige showing off her new talent as an official crawler in the 1st stage! Feel free to check her out. She is quite the show!

This Was Fun!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

That is very funny that I turned out to be like Esme. She is the one character I liked the most throughout the whole series! Jasper was kind of intriguing as well!

I've Been Tagged: 4th and 4!

Sounds like a football game? NO, I have been tagged. Thanks Vicki! So, I am supposed to dig through my folders of thousands of pictures and pick the 4th folder, post the 4th picture, and explain it. Well, as you can guess, its Saige and Savannah! Hmm, what a surprise.
One morning, I went in to get the girls as they were waking up. Usually Savannah wakes up first, but this time, Saige woke up. So when Savannah wakes up, we both go check to see if her sister is awake. Well this time, Saige finally got the chance to peek at her sister and when we looked over the gate to the crib, Savannah gave her the biggest smile I have ever seen. I couldn't help but to put Saige in with little Savannah and snap a few pics. It's amazing the connection they have with each other. When they are playing, I think it is just second nature for them to feel the other is near. Its weird and I'm not quite sure how to explain it either. But, they sure do enjoy looking at each other and smiling!

I tag: Mindy P., Jamie S., Sherri M., and Michelle M.

Blog Safety

Hello,
A few days ago I saw on KSL a clip about blogging safely. They did a story on a blog that had a picture of a boy with his haircut like a mow-hawk and sides were shaved. Someone that was just searching through blogs got a hold of the picture, posted swasticas on his forehead and drew all sorts of inappropriate things on his face. Also, now-a-days, people can find out any kind of information they wish through computers, so I decided that I should take blogging safety precautions to protect my family. If you would like to view our blog, please email me and I will add you to the list. I will make the block active at the end of November. My email is shihtzucrazy@hotmail.com.

To adults, the kids' issues seem so small. But to the kids, its their life!

Here is my office at School. I have been super busy at work the last few weeks. I teach lessons to 34 classes (1/2 hour each) every week, keeping up with conferences, meetings, trainings, and doing individuals. I feel like I have been holding my breath by day end! Oh, not to mention I am the chair of Student Council and I am on the Local Case Management team, which is a group that is a support staff to help the teachers with interventions for students with behavior and/or academic difficulties. My day is always jam packed, but luckily I do not sit in front of a computer all day long, which would allow my behind to take form of the chair! Nope, I basically take laps around the school all day, running from class to class to teach another life skill lesson to the students. So, lately that has been my form of exercise!


Hmmm. I love my job, but believe it or not, it gets hard....when I let it. I am the type of person that doesn't bring home the work baggage. When I am at home, I leave work at work. When I am at work, I work...I really am pretty good at focusing on work. I consider myself a very dedicated person and want to do well at what I do, this is why it will be difficult for me to explain this without sounding negative. After-all, I am the school counselor and it seems like there is a stigma that says school counselors don't have a negative bone in their body or appear like they have no stress of their own. At least that is the feeling I get from others. I don't think I could express how important it is to have school counselors in the schools. To adults, the kids' issues seem so small. But to the kids, its their life! My job is to help those kids cope with their problems by figuring out the problem out for themselves, but with me as a guide to help them do that. Then there are those students that have more to deal with than I could ever have imagined anyone having to go through.


Student Leadership Conference, November 5th, 2008:

Today, I went with the officers of student council to the Student Leadership Conference. It was pretty darn good! There were lots of speakers, Jason Hewlett, John Bytheway, and Brad Barton. All three were phenomenal at sending a great message to the students and myself. John Bytheway is such a great motivational speaker, you will never forget anything he has to say. He teaches that it is important to watch out for what you put in your backpack. You can make the trail much harder than it really is, if you keep loading it up with negativity. There are a couple of individuals in my life that I really wish they could hear his message....it would really benefit them tremendously!


Student Government Blog:

I also created another blog for student council advisors as a resource for new advisors starting out or experienced advisors without ideas. Check it out at www.studentsservingstudents.blogspot.com. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any ideas of your own, regardless if you are an advisor or not!

BYU vs. UNLV Football Game

We took the girls to the BYU football game last week. It was busy! Bryce and I debated if we should take the girls, but we opted for it! We missed a lot of the game because we were trying to keep the girls content. But, it was still fun! BYU won 42-35.

OUR FIRST HALLOWEEN!

Hi Friends and Family,
This is Saige and Savannah. We just wanted to share our Halloween pictures with you because we had a very fun night. First, Mommy came home from work and got us dressed up. Then of course, Mommy just had to do a photo shoot. Then she put us down for a nap so that we can be happy for our halloween party. When we woke up, we ate some orange, goopy stuff (but fun to get our hands messy in) and then a bottle. When we woke up, Daddy just got home in time to take us over to the Trunk or Treat. There, we got a sucker, but Momma wouldn't let us eat it. :( Then we went back home and only had 2 Trick or Treaters come to our door. But then, we were too busy to notice because our family and friends came to visit. Mom made some really good chicken noodle soup, Grandma Debbie made chili, Grandma Paula made mexican salad, and Grandpa Jim brought soup bowls. Lots of people played with us and loved our costumes! Here are some pictures of the photo shoot and people at the party! Thanks for look'n!