Pumpkin Carving!

John and Lindsay invited us over to their house Monday night for chili, cupcakes, caramel apples, and pumpkin carving! We had so much fun!

Sadie loved scooping out our pumpkin, which really surprised me because usually she doesn't like slimy stuff.

She was really getting in there!

Our friends Aimee, Robbie and Taite were also there.

This is John babysitting for a bit :) What a good guy!

Our finished products. Ours is on the right. John and Lindsay's is on the step-stool, and the other two are Aimee's and Robbie's.

Our jack-o-lantern

Me and the girls. We couldn't get one where both of them were looking at the camera at the same time, so here is one where Sadie's looking at it...

...and here is one where Ambrie's looking at it :)

Aimee, Robbie, and Taite

John and Lindsay

Our little mischief makers. Sadie looks ready to chuck that apple, LOL!

Playing with Lindsay's tote

Mommy Daughter Date

Last week Brian agreed to watch Ambrie so Sadie and I could go on a much overdue mommy/daughter date! I don't know who else this happens too, but after I had Ambrie I felt a lot of guilt about not being able to give Sadie as much attention. And while she's doing good and being a GREAT big sister, I felt like it would be awesome if just she and I could spend some fun time together.

I asked her what she wanted to do, and she said "Go to the dinosaur park" which is what she calls one of the elementary school playgrounds here. So we went and had a lot of fun! It was great for me too because I could climb, slide, and run around with her since I wasn't holding Ambrie the whole time. I love Ambrie, but sometimes its nice to have a little break, you know?

It was seriously like pulling teeth to get her to sit with me long enough to get a photo of both of us- she didn't want to stop playing for that long, lol! :)

When it started getting dark, we still had a little time before I told Brian we'd be home, so we went and got ice cream! The perfect end for our mommy daughter date :)

These next two pics aren't of our date, but from the next day. Me, Ambrie, and Sadie went for a walk to a nearby park and Sadie asked if she could bring her "treasure", which was an empty wipes box she had put some things in. I said sure!

When we got to the park, she started taking everything out, and here is what was in it:

a toothbrush, some blocks, a hair brush, nail polish, a pen, a necklace, one of Ambrie's socks, a lid, some of Ambrie's toy rings, an amethyst rock I have, a toy cat, a plug cover that came with one of Brian's computers, a lid, and a little toy bed. I had NO IDEA she had that much stuff in there! It totally made me laugh, so I had to share!

Catching Up

I realize its been forever since I've updated my blog with anything other than "mouse talk". (By the way, we have our superintendent coming over today to fill in all the gaps around our pipes and such, so no more mousies! Yay!) Ok, for real, that is the last I plan to say about mice :)

Part of my reason for not updating with any photos lately is our camera batteries died a few weeks ago, and guess who never remembered to buy new ones at the store? Yeah, thats me. So since I didn't have my camera for some fun things, I'm stealing some pics from friends and family's facebooks/blogs so you can see what we've been up to. What I'm really sad about is we went out to Panaca for a big 100 year celebration highschool homecoming. My WHOLE family came home for it, plus we did a lot of stuff. My class had a float in the parade that the girls and I were on (Brian drove the truck) and my fam took a trip to Cathedral Gorge which is always fun for photos. I also got a totally new haircut, and all I have so far are cell phone pics for that.

Ok, so on to the updates! This first one I actually have pics of because it was so strange and frustrating to us. Sadie got this rash one weekend, and we went to the doctor once a week for three weeks trying to figure out what it was. It kept getting worse no matter what we put on it, and it was only on ONE side of her body (and it went all the way from her knees to her wrists, even though this picture doesn't show it all). It also had this weird lacy pattern you can see in the picture. Weird, huh? So finally we went to a dermatologist and the first thing he asked was "Has she had a MILD cold recently?" We said yeah, all of us had one. He then told us this rash was a reaction to the cold virus, and is called an ULEC rash, which stands for Unilateral Laterothoracic Exanthema in Children (try saying that five times fast). He said they're pretty uncommon, but every once in a while a kid will get one after getting mildly ill and it can last up to two months! No cure, just have to wait for it to go away. So we got some anti-itch lotion to help the poor girl feel better, and FINALLY (its been almost two months) the rash is fading away.

Something fun we've done recently is paint a green accent wall in our living room. I kind of wanted red, but Brian thought it would be too dark, so we went with green (to go with our "nature" motif) Of course, once we painted it green, he said he didn't like it and wanted to go with red, but I think its grown on him :)

Another exciting milestone? Ambrie turned 3 months! So here are some 3 month pics of our baby angel

so happy!

This is her "deer in the headlights" look, lol!

One of the really fun things we did recently was go to Panaca for a special homecoming, a 100-year celebration of when our highschool was founded. I got to see alot of people who I haven't seen in a while, my WHOLE family came home for it, and we just had a good time at the different activities and stuff.

My class (thanks to Camille) put together a float for the homecoming parade. Brian's driving, and I'm the one with my back turned to the camera :) These photos are complimentary of Barbara Rhode's facebook :)

Curtis and Sadie at Cathedral Gorge

This was Sadie's first time to Cathedral Gorge. Isn't that pathetic?! I know, I need to get on the ball and take her there more, she and Curtis LOVED it!

And last, but not least, here's my new 'do. Sorry, its just pics from my cell phone, so they don't look great, but you get the idea.

I Think We Have the Mice Under Control

We haven't seen any signs of mice since last week when we found the last one. Yesterday Brian did a thorough check of ALL our cupboards and drawers and didn't see anything indicating a mouse is still around. He also sealed up TWO holes in the bottom of our pantry where we think they may have gotten in. I've got a thing of poison under our stove (way back where the kids and cat can't get it) since I know the mice had been going under there, and that hasn't been touched since Thursday. Our pantry is pretty much empty now, so there's nothing for them to eat....and since I can't think of where else they might want to go besides the kitchen, I'm hoping we're done with mice forever!

Wish us luck!!!

And Another....

Today while I was at work, Brian killed another mouse in our kitchen. The cat was checking out the pantry, so Brian went over to investigate and a mouse ran out! Our cat grabbed it...then let it go!!! What the heck??? So Brian smashed it with an old air conditioner filter that he hadn't taken to the dumpster yet.

When I got home from work, our neighbor came over and said that she also has a mouse in her house. Stupid mice!

Also, we found mouse poop in our silverware drawer (!?!?!?!) AND the floor of our pantry, next to a little hole in the wall. And the mouse had been apparently eating my whole wheat flour. Brian's been cleaning the pantry (I just can't handle mice, I don't even want to go in the kitchen) So far he's cleaned off the bottom two shelves which have all our cereal and crackers and no mice have been in those yet. No nibbles, no poop. Thank goodness! But he pretty much threw it all away anyway, just in case. I'd hate to be eating cereal in the morning and find a little brown poop floating in my milk...

So pretty much I'm completely grossed out to even be in my house. Brian sealed up the hole in the pantry with a bunch of calk so I really hope that does the trick. I think I'm going to get some better traps too, that mouse hasn't touched any of mine! I found one online that shocks them to death that I can get at the home depot for $20, so I think I'm going to get one of those....or maybe two....I don't know, I just know I don't want to find any more MICE IN MY HOUSE!!!!!!

A Mouse in Our House!!! YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night after we came in from the park, I went in the kitchen to get Sadie some water and saw a MOUSE run from our laundry room to under our fridge. I totally freaked, I hate mice, I think they are so gross! And I have a cat and a brand new house, which I honestly sweep several times a week and mop at least once a week- what was he doing in there?!?!?!

So what did I do? I sent Brian out for mouse traps while I made sure our little beasty didn't leave the kitchen. When he got back I set up ten traps around the kitchen- does that seem a little overboard? Probably, but I was gonna make sure I got him, and any friends he may have too.

When I called my aunt to tell her about the mouse, she told me to make sure I didn't leave any food on my counter and to set a trap up there. I told her there's no way he's getting up on our counter, but I put our bread in the fridge and set a trap up there anyway.

When I went downstairs this morning to check on the traps, which one do you think got him? The one on the counter! Good thing I talked to my aunt :)

I'm still really upset that he got in at all and that he'd even want to come in our house. I'm guessing (hoping) its because they've started digging up a lot next to us to build another set of townhomes and he didn't know where else to go and I hope he got in just sometime when the door was left open and not through some random hole we have somewhere. I'm keeping some traps set in the pantry and behind some furniture just in case any more decide to pay a visit, but hopefully he'll be the first and LAST mouse we see in our home!

Back at Work and Busy with Life!

I started back at work last week after 2 1/2 months off for maternity- an awesome 2 1/2 months since I got to spend so much time with Sadie and Ambrie. When I had Sadie, I had to go back to work when she was just three weeks old! It was horrible, I got really depressed and I know it was hard on her too. This time it was hard, but not nearly as bad as when I went back with Sadie. I'm so grateful to have an in-home daycare that I trust, that Sadie LOVES (she didn't even tell me goodbye the first day I went back- I said "bye Sadie!" and she looked up, then just kept playing with her friends) and Ambrie seems to be doing ok too. She's only had a couple of days where she cried alot for them. Overall they say she's pretty happy and mellow (yep, that's Ambrie), which I'm so glad about. The two women who do the daycare are sisters who've been doing it for 18 years and they are awesome!!!

Although its hard to go back, in other ways its kind of nice. I get to meet so many people with my job from all over the world, and I think its alot of fun. Plus I only work from 8-2:00, so I still have alot of the day when I get home to spend with my family. I know one of these days they're going to make me go to full-time, but I'm so grateful and happy that I've been able to work just 3/4 for this long! I'm also so grateful to have a job right now when so many people who need them don't. I'm so grateful that I can provide my family with income and health insurance and that we're able to pay our bills. Yesterday in a meeting, we were told a full-time job in another department that paid only $20,000/year had 120 applicants- so many people are suffering and I'm so so so grateful that at this moment, I have a job, and especially one that I enjoy. That's the icing on the cake.

So although I miss my girls during the day, I know they're being taken care of and are shown alot of love still even though I'm not with them, and I know that right now this is what I need to be doing for my family. And although this post is probably really boring, since I don't have any cute pics up or anything, I just felt like sharing.

Don't worry, pretty soon I'll have a more fun post with lots of pics and updates!

Oh, and I guess while I'm posting I might as well throw in a mention of Brian's business. Its going pretty well, although we're finding we have to advertise alot and its expensive!!! But we're making enough to get by for now despite the advertising costs, and hopefully it just keeps growing and growing! If you want to check out his site, its www.btmpcservice.com !

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

About a year ago Brian came home from fishing, not with any fish, but with a really nice dragon kite that he found by the lake- fabric, it had the tail, a ton of string and everything! How cool is that? So he cleaned it up and its been our kite since- well, Sadie's kite as she'll tell you :)

One of the problems with Cedar is that its ALWAYS windy. But it does make for some good kite-flying :) And now that the smoke is FINALLY clearing up from that fire by New Harmony, we decided to go walk to a nearby park and take our kite with us for some fresh air. (Ok, not totally fresh- its still pretty smokey- but freshER than it has been)

Sadie and Brian got to do all the fun kite stuff while Ambrie and I hung out and took the pictures.

You can tell it was pretty windy by how Sadie's pigtails are going straight forward! LOL

Our spec of a kite right before.....

...it crash landed in someone's yard- oops!

So while Brian got his kite back, Sadie went and played. Two-year-olds can't just wait around for fun :) They make fun happen!

Two Months Old Already!

Ambrie turned two months old on Sunday! So here are some of her latest photos :)
She smiles alot now, but I tell ya', it's hard to capture on film. We've managed to get a few little ones though :) She just keeps getting cuter and cuter and more and more fun!

Today we took her to the doctor for her 2-month checkup...and shots :(......and she's growing really well. She weighed 11 lbs. even and was 23.5 inches long. They told me she was in the 56 percentile for weight and 86 for length- I think we're going to have a tall one on our hands :)

I don't know why this one keeps loading sideways. Its blurry, but I love Sadie's kissy face :)

This is what she looks like when she's sick of taking pictures :)