Don't We all Feel This Way Sometimes...

So Lately we have been very busy with lots of activities going on with our church callings and starting a new neighborhood play group, basketball (soon to be softball), household errands, etc. Tavin and Katie get to come along and be apart of all that Dan and I do. Some days we are just plain exhausted by the end-This particular day, Katie was so tired she couldn't even play in her jumparoo... Hey being a baby is hard work:)

By the way-my Young Women's calling is going very well-most times it is very rewarding and I know our family is being blessed for all we do. I am trying really hard to develop strong relationships with the girls.

I have had plenty of opportunities to develop new talents and share others I already have. In the last two weeks I've made cupcakes that needed to look like bees, decorated a room in all yellow, cooked 2 roasts (including 2 bags of carrots and a bag of potatoes), made 80 invitations in the shapes of fans, cooked a 7 pound ham, prepared 2 lessons, made 9 value bracelets for birthdays this month, and visited inactive girls:) Glad for the extra energy that exercising has given me and for the many opportunities to serve others.

Have No Fear Tavin is here!

So Tavin discovered this Superman cape insisted on wearing it. I am not sure where he heard about Superman because I don't remember ever watching anything about him or telling Tavin about him-but he knows that Superman flies and puts his arms over his head! He runs around the house saying: "Superman!" with the cape floating behind him. He thinks the cape should be worn at all times-including when he is naked with only his diaper on.

PS. He got the bruise on his head right before we found the cape-fell into our bed frame....his new thing is to have mom kiss it to make it feel better-my kisses are magical you know-he stops crying afterward and says: "I OK mommy, thank you":)

A Couple Blurbs

More videos are one their way tonight-I have to wait for Dan to help me edit them when he gets home from work-but in the mean time-I wanted to share a few things.

Most of you that read this know I have been diligently trying to get the weight from my pregnancies off and I am about 2 and a 1/2 months into it. My goal is to be at 125 pounds by May or June (right in time for bathing suit season) I guess according to my height and age-this is a healthy weight to be at. (Just a little side note: I haven't weighed this little since my senior year in high school!) But I have hope and motivation that I can achieve it! At this very moment-I just weighed myself-I am at 134 pounds....nine more to go. After Katie I was 151. And I am living proof that you don't have to starve yourself to do it. I love food too much to do that-but with a little portion control and more fruit and veggies added in-it is possible! I can't even begin to tell you how much better I feel about myself and about life. Get your kids to help! When I run now on the treadmill-Tavin often stands in front of it and yells go! go! go! go! go! Mommy run fast! :)

And-service and helping others is where it's at! We went over to our old lady friend's house last week to help her with some of the things she needed around the house-and she surprised us with some sugar cookie dough (made from Splenda because she is diabetic) to use cookie cutters with and decorate! This was the first time I ever had Tavin help me with making cookies so I was a little nervous about how things would go-but he LOVED it and was able to use the cookie cutters and LOTS of sprinkles to make wonderful and COLORFUL cookies. His favorite part was that Patsy (the old lady) let him eat as much cookie dough and cookies as he wanted:) You can just imagine the nice poop daddy and mommy got to change a day later! But it was all worth it to see the joy it brought this cute little lady-she is still thanking us a week later for coming and helping her and spending time with her. Lesson learned: service makes you and others feel good-all benefit from it-and your children will grow up knowing it is important-take every chance you get to practice it!

Last-I wanted to just quickly say congratulations to my sister Kimberly and her husband Kenny for completing a race in California this weekend. They ran 7.4 miles that included running across the golden gate bridge! Those of you who run know that this is a significant distance to train for and run! I am so proud of them for setting and achieving this goal-they are examples to me that you can do anything that you set your mind to. Maybe one day I will be able to conquer something like this. Hope you had fun! And can't wait to see you this weekend to hear all about it. PS. Kimberly-my eyebrows are ready for another visit to the Chinese lady:)
Chinese Lady: "Wild and natural is better than missing eyebrows!"

Two Peas In A Pod

These two pictures show exactly how attached these two are to one another-I am soooo blessed to have children who adore each other so much. They light up at the sight of each other in the morning-and Tavin is very protective of his "sisser".

The top picture was of last night-we snuggled together for story time on my bed in our jammies before we went to bed-a tradition that my mom started when my sister Kimberly and me were young-snuggling up on her big bed-excited for her to read a story to us in her animated voice. Tavin and Katie love this tradition just as much as I did-and I hope they will remember it just as fondly.

The second picture is of the two of them enjoying afternoon cartoons together after lunch and right before we lay down for our nap-Tavin likes to get down on Katie's level to talk to her about things and explain things to her....she just coos and giggles at him.

Our First Walk Of The Year

Daniel left on a business trip Monday so it was just me and my kiddos-I was grateful for the somewhat warmer weather-you can see we still had to dress warm-but it was Sunny enough that it was bearable...about 45 degrees. We went for our first walk of the year and both Tavin and Katie loved it! Mommy got a good work out pushing this 2 seat stroller:) The snow is finally melting and I am excited to make this a daily activity for us.

Daddy's Stinky Feet

Daniel is very good at finding ways to make Tavin laugh...this particular night he took his stinky old socks off and threw them at Tavin. I was lucky enough to get the result-a laughing attack-on video. The camera shakes a little in one part because I am laughing as well:)

Tummy Milestone

Katie hit another milestone recently-she is now rolling around all over the floor. I put her down in one place-go brush my teeth and when I get back- she is across the room! She didn't like being on her stomach at first but now does it all the time-when I exercise or when Tavin is playing near her, Katie usually assumes this position to watch.

Choco-late Nilk! Please Mom

Just a quicky post before I jump in the shower to get ready for my Dentist appointment (yay). Daniel and I were laughing this morning thinking about how Tavin wakes up EVERY morning...it goes something like this:

Tavin: "Mom-where are you....choco-late Nilk, Choco-late Nilk!"
Tavin: "Mom-where are you....choco-late Nilk, Choco-late Nilk...I am coming Choco-late Nilk!"

Do you think that I ate and drank too much chocolate and chocolate milk while pregnant with Tavin if this is what he wakes up saying in the morning?:) He even has to assure the milk that he is going to go and get it as soon as mommy comes and gets him-as if the milk might feel neglected if he doesn't drink it every morning! He wants it with every meal-of course I try and only give it to him once a day-but-to him-chocolate milk goes good with everything. His favorite cereal is chocolate Cheerios right now just because they make chocolate milk at the end for him to drink:) Let's face it, the kid knows what is good in life!

All This for A Buck...Yep That's Right, A Buck!

So my hobby of couponing has been some what of a joke in my family-they tease me about it-and get a good laugh in here and there-but if couponing helps me get all this for a dollar-let them laugh! And whenever they want me to teach them how to save a ton of money, I will be waiting-with my coupons in hand:)

Sporting A New Hat!

Here is the latest addition to Tavin's hat collection. I have to say that this plane hat has made it to the top of my favorites list. Grandma "fluffy hairs" brought it with her last weekend as just one of the many things in her bag of goodies for the kids. Tavin wakes up every morning wondering where grandma and grandpa went and I have to remind him that they went home-but we will visit them soon. The last weekend in March Tavin and Katie will be able to see both their grandmas at the same time, because grandma Marlene is coming to attend the Scrapbooking Expo in UT with me. I am sooooo excited!