Using up the down time

This week my house has been making the rounds with sickness- the only one not hit yet, Paul, but he has been working so much that his tired bones FEEL like they are sick! The only good that comes out of this kind of crappyness is the fact that I can sit and edit photo's from a couple weeks ago (because I'm not carpooling around my afternoon hours!). So, I know I just gave you a slew of pictures of my little darlings- but now you get them AGAIN in all their fall leafing happiness. We made our annual trek up American Fork Canyon with my sister and her kids and as always we had a glorious time jumping in leaves, throwing leaves, and giggling among the leaves. It really is fall's one saving grace- well that and the cute jackets it requires :)

Presenting: Fall- Utah Style
Oh, I am just so lucky to have these three little sillies in my life- I just love them and their smiles brighten up the day!

Halloween 2011

Everyone knows that I LOVE this holiday! I have a great time getting everyone in the holiday spirit- the girls have had their costumes picked out for months. My day was jam packed with all kinds of goodness, including three class parties, the costume parade at Abby's school and my parents joining us for a warm soup and rolls dinner followed up by the much anticipated trick or treating. Might I just add what a LOVELY evening it was! The temperatures were glorious and I (dressed as my usual witch) enjoyed walking around with Paul (dressed as his past letter man wearing high school sports player) watching Olivia and Eva dart from house to house reporting to us after each what they received. What's not to love?!!

Because I am always the one behind the camera I don't have a shot of me, or of camera shy Paul, but enjoy my little princesses- they looked so great!

Rapunzel Eva- although if you asked her she was princess Tangled. The wig was KILLING me all day!!

Native American Princess Abby-We took pictures, and then she added make-up- so here is the "final" look:She also decided that she is far too grown up and mature to be treating with the little girls, so she took off with some great friends at 5:30pm and didn't return until 9:00pm. She had the most fun of her life thus far!!!

Of course, let us not forget Belle- Olivia LOVES Belle- she also likes to perform for an audience, can you tell?Now, we are brimming with candy and there isn't much too bad about that!! I hope you had just as much fun this Halloween as we did!

Overhaul

Lately, I have been feeling in a bit of a rut- style wise. Do you ever get that way? It occurred to me that I have had the same hair cut for a very very long time. In fact the last time I changed it up was before Olivia was born, nearly 7 years ago, when I did a short chin length bob. Since then, it has been the same long layers. In fact it was getting so long that it reached my hip bones in the back and I couldn't reach my arms long enough to give it a proper blow dry. That is not to mention the weight my poor little scalp was luggin around day in and day out!!

So, today, I was impulsive. I booked a salon appointment with Megan the stylist over at Images Salon. Walked in, sat down, showed her these unruly locks and informed her that I wanted bangs/fringe/ swagger. Cut the length to whatever she thought appropriate to lighten the load, freshen and add much needed lift to my heavy mane. You should have seen her grin "Oh, I live for a drastic change! Lets get this transformation going!"

I haven't had "bangs" since Jr. high school- and let me clarify that they were 80's Utah bangs! Curled up and sky high with inappropriate amounts of Aqua Net to keep them in line. Modern bangs (as seen on MANY hip ladies today) are low, soft, blended and chic--

Now, are you ready to see the new and transformed me?



Abby isn't half bad as an impromptu photographer!! I must give her the props!

I have to say I quite like it- I am still getting used to my reflection in the mirror, but I like it!! Even though Olivia keeps telling me that I look funny!! :)

Falling up and down

I am still alive, busy, but alive and well. I think this is just about the longest blogging break that I have taken, well... ever!! We have all been neck deep over here in various things. Happy and joyous things, mixed with some not so pleasant stuff- including a complete front end cooling system overhaul on my van (thank goodness I have a Paul around to temper the sting to the budget!), after finally being taken off her daily meds for her PFS, Olivia decided to relapse last week (back to the doctor we go!), and Paul was served papers- yes he is being sued for a car accident he was in FOUR years ago (we have spoken to the lawyers, they assure us we are covered and will be ok, but you can still cross your fingers for us if you would like to!)

However, they say bad things come in three's, so hopefully we are done with our quarterly life stresses!!

Always one to look on the bright side, last Friday was a bright spot! I was finally able to accompany one of my children on a field trip as a chaperon- the youngest ones do always get the most icing don't they :)

Olivia was out of school that day, so she happily joined Eva's class in some Hee Haw Farm's fun. It was a perfect fall day, a crispness in the air but the bluest skies we have seen all season. Smiles and laughter abounded and I loved seeing Eva interact with her new teacher and classmates.

Days like this one make me appreciate life, even with all it's ups and downs. The bitter truly does make the sweet all that more treasured!

On any given day...just for the record

7:00am: Alarm goes off and I PEEL my tired self out of bed and wake up Abby
7:10 am: Abby has finally walked down the stairs for breakfast
7:15 am: Liv hears the noise (if my early bird isn't already awake and downstairs watching TV), promptly wakes up Eva and they come down for breakfast
7:25 am: Abby is upstairs getting dressed, she usually needs me to coordinate a top to a bottom
7:30am: Olivia is up stairs and taking FOREVER to decide on which uniform she is going to wear. THANK GOODNESS she only has 3 options or we would be ALL day deciding.
7:36 am: Abby is in the bathroom and ready for her hair- then she brushes her teeth
7:40 am: Olivia is on the stool for her hair- then she brushes her teeth
7:45am: Abby yells goodbye and is out the door before anyone can embarrass her!
7:50am: Eva is now somehow dressed and on the stool for her hair- then she brushes her teeth
8:00am: Finding Little Einstein's for Eva to watch while I am gone and Paul is snoozing upstairs.
8:02am: Put on my running clothes
8:05am: Out the door driving Olivia to school- she always insists we go the long way around to the back door, I don't know why but we MUST!
8:20 am: Make sure Eva is still OK, stretch, grab some water and my Garmin
8:30am: Out the door for my morning run- usually 4-5 miles
9:20am: Situps and stretches
9:30am: Out the door all sweaty still, (sorry drop off mom's) Eva rides her bike to school while I jog along beside her.
9:40am: In the shower- then I finally brush my teeth (sorry everyone!)
10:10am: Kiss my darling husband goodby and head back to Olivia's school
10:15am: Math and Spelling volunteer helper - I do really enjoy this part of my day!
11:15am: Say goodby as Olivia's class heads to lunch
11:30am: Home
11:40am: Walk up to pick up Eva, then chase her bike riding self home again while she yells back at me all the fun things she did in class.
12:00pm: Lunch- I finally get something to eat. Do the dishes from yesterday and today.
12:30pm: Head to the store- we are out of most things
2:00pm: Home- now I start making the 20 hair bows (2 for each girl in case they want 2 ponies- girls need options right!) for Abby's Soccer team to wear at the game- they are cute if I do say so myself!
2:30pm: Abby is home- homework and Piano practice- still working on bows
3:00pm: Load everyone in the car to pick up Olivia
3:10pm: She is in the car, head back to the store because I need more ribbon
3:25pm: Found the matching ribbon- hooray!
3:50pm: Home- more hair bow making. Olivia does homework and Piano Practice
4:30pm: Abby gets ready for soccer game, Olivia gets ready for dance. Still finishing hair bows!
4:35pm: Paul home from work to take Abby to her game
4:50pm: Paul and Abby leave, completed hair bows with them. I leave with Eva to take Olivia to Dance class
5:00pm: Run Olivia into Dance- we are late, she HATES being late!
5:15pm: Go to my Mom's house to pick her up to watch Abby's game
5:30pm: Make it to Abby's game just as kick off starts- All the girls have their hair bows in and they look fantastic and fun!
5:45pm: Leave to go and get Olivia from Dance
5:55pm: Pick up Olivia and head back to Abby's game
6:05pm: Back to the game- missed them score 2 penalty kicks, but get to see Abby score an awesome goal!
6:30pm: Game over. They win 4-2, they are still undefeated!!
6:15pm: Drop my mom off at her house
6:30pm: Home- make dinner, it has to be our go to quicky- soup and sandwiches
7:00pm: Shower's for all the children-pajamas and teeth brushing
7:30pm: Olivia's 20 minutes of reading in her assigned book
8:00pm: Bed time for all the children- bed time stories read, hugs and kisses
8:30pm: Quick pick up around the house- clean up the huge hair bow mess!
9:00pm: Settle in on the couch with my sweetie for some TV watching alone time- he tells me he has to work tonight.
11:00pm: Pull my tired self up to bed
1:30am: Paul surprises me by making it back to bed so early!
7:00am: My Alarm goes off and I PEEL myself out of bed again!!

I like to always look at the bright side- at least I'm not bored!!!

Let the learning begin

It has finally arrived, that blessed day when all three girls were in school at the same time! It has felt like a long time coming because once again I have three girls in three different schools with three different start times.

It all started a couple weeks ago on Aug. 23rd- Abby was the first to dive back into the school life and it couldn't have come any quicker- she was stir crazy and bored towards the end of our summer, you would have thought we had done NOTHING to entertain her. So, after a good week of shopping every store I could drive to in order to find the PERFECT first day outfit we ended up with five new ones, so she had a first week of school new outfits (so, shame on me if I like to shop!)Third Grade- She is FAR to old now for me to walk with her and take pictures of her at her desk- the total humiliation would be more than she could bare! This is all I was allowed to take:
She has a teacher that she loves, dear friends from last year in her class and even better ones to walk to and from school with each day. She is elated to be back to assignments, tasks and gold stars!

Next up- Olivia on Aug. 29th. She has decided this year that she is not fond of her uniform- I on the other hand LOVE them! The school cracked down on the uniform this year with checks every morning at the door on the way in- an infraction sends them back out to fix it. Sadly they took away the option of her little red shoes- it was her one bit of personality, but she will survive! She was so excited to find out that several dear friends were back in her class and one was even sitting next to her. Shoes now forgotten, she is is delighted to be back in her social circles and having lunch at school (even though she is pretty much only eating her dessert!)

Oh, and she has already been the Student of the Day and took the beloved "Midnight" home with her- yes, she slept with him cradled in her arms!

And FINALLY today, Sept. 7th, Eva made it to her second year of Preschool. This day could not have come soon enough! Each passing day since Abby started she would ask me when it was her turn! Last week she was alone ALL day with just me- she was in a tortured state of mind! She is attending a new preschool this year- her teacher is darling, the children seem fun and they have seven little girls this year to befriend- does it get any better than that?Oh, and of course she road her bike to and from, she HAD to show everyone her new trick!!

So, we are back to the schedule, the routine- and it feels fantastic!!