birthdays...

I do think that birthdays are a little overrated….but it is nice to know I have so many good friends and family who love me :)

Thanks for all the birthday greetings from all y’all!!

Now if I can only kick this wicked cold. Is it too unprofessional to stuff a Kleenex in each nostril so snot doesn’t run down your face when you’re working?? I have layers and layers of hand sanitizer and a dwindling box of tissues....will I survive the rest of the day?

we painted......again!!

Well, we did it again. The bright green just wasn't working for any of us--and Deborah thanks, you convinced me :)

So........four hours and about fifty more dollars in supplies----we have a new color in our little bathroom. (don't ever skimp on paint rollers--I have something else to add to this list)

It's called Lion. It really looked more tan at the store with a few hints of a mossy green. After it has been on the wall and dried--it's really quite green and I think I love it! It's definately earthy. It matches the tile and granite perfect. Can't wait to get those items in.

Notice the unmade bed in the glow of the

Pepto Bismo walls : (

Why oh why haven't we done anything to this house for 13 years.......

Yes I had lots of help putting primer on while Russell and Kaden were Turkey hunting.

See how green these are -- eewwww!

I'm soooooo glad we changed.

Very soon there will be no hint of pink walls in my house!! Boom Baby!

Congrats to Grandma & Grandpa Strebel!!
Brittany had her baby today around noon. I don't know any details yet--Stay tuned for an update.

She finally did it!!

Yup, Kamryn finally got rid of her binky!!!

She kind of did it on her own---with a little bit of incentive.

First of all Russell told her that only big girls without binky's could go see the princesses at Disneyland. So she (not me or Russ) decided to leave it home. Her decision--(I actually took 2 back ups cuz I honestly didn't htink she could do it)

She only asked for her binky the first night we were there. I really think she was too exhausted to even think about it the other nights.

When we got home---WOW! She pitched a huge fit. I guess she had been looking forward to having it when she got home the entire time we were gone. She really sobbed, screamed, and put up a fight. But--after 7 days without it--I wasn't going to give in.

It took 3 nights of her coming in to our bed in the wee hours--and now TA DA! no binky.

Then she remebered she got a prize at the toy store--which only cost 20$ and was worth every penny!!

Ok--the green walls--are still really green. they didn't fade...not one bit in the last 6 days. I tried to do a white glaze over the top--nope didn't work. I'll either will hope the accesories like towel racks, towells, & shelves will break it up enough so it's not so horrific--or I'll half to paint ---again. Boo!

it's really green.....

So--just in case you all were wondering about the beach photos---did you happen to notice the really cool "digger" Kamryn found to dig in the sand with. She found it on the beach. After I took the photos--I happened to get a closer look at this digger---look again-can you see that it's a pregnancy test strip! EEWWWW! I guess you can find just about anything on the beach. Gross! Yes Sarah, I know that urine is sterile-but it doesn't help the fact that my 3 yr old was playing with someone else's DNA :(

Last night was great--I had a GNO with 2 very good friends of mine. We went to a great resturant--Trio (super yummy--I ate way too much), then shopping, then a chick flick. Wow what a great time. We definately need to get together more often--and yes Tanya, you looked really cute in your new outfit--including your bug-eye'd-bling-bling shades (that she wore to the movie at midnight). and Chirsty--you scored on your 3 pairs of shoes--sweet!

Thanks for a good time ladies :)

Green green green--that's the color of my bathroom. I think I liked it much better a year ago when I picked out the bathroom paint. It's really GREEN! Russell hates it. Thinks it looks like baby poo. Hmmm. Maybe I need to tone it down a bit with some glaze. But Russell insists on white door frames. Any suggestions?

Russell wouldn't let me help, but he let Kamryn....

Oh my, it is really green!

Hey--it matches my new blog colors----sort of...

Back from the land of Enchantment

Do you like my new Spring ensemble?

Yes I'm back....Boy with a vacation like that, I need another vacation to recooperate!! We had a terrific time. Tons of good memories, pictures, and dirty clothes. I'm soooooooo glad we didn't drive!! Thanks again Diane & Suzanne! When I asked everyone what their favorite thing was on our vacation, here's what they said, Kamryn--Princesses (of course), Karson-the hotel swimming pool & hot tub (one hotel showed Pirates of the Carribbean on a big screen TV while we were swimming-way fun!), Kaden--Sea World, Russell-coming home, and me--well the beach of course! I think I just unpacked the last of our bags and think I'm finally caught up on laundry. Here is the website that has all 277 photos on it. view it at your leisure--or not--

http://picasaweb.google.com/mamabakerof3 you can click on each one of the squares and then press the slideshow button and the pictures are bigger.

Well--off to bed, early I know, but I must of caught a cold from one of the 874,982 people I came in contact with during the last week, and I have a humongous headache & sore throat (thus the reason I am not at GNO right now).

Before I go I want to wish Zalia a big huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You are one of the most inspiring people I know. You make me want to be a better person. Thanks for the laughs and good times. And here's to many more to come!! Hope your day is fabulous and you are well taken care of by the boys in your life:) Rock on Sistah!!

Ha ha ha ha

I know I know--that wasn't nice--but I just had to do something like that--it was after all April Fools day. I fed my kids hot dogs, jello, and green beans for breakfast, then eggs & waffles for dinner. They loved that!! I got my co-workers pretty good too.....taping the mouse to their computers to their mouse pads, taping their drawers & cupboards, and keyboard pull-outs shut--he h eh e the bad thing is I wasn't there to witness the chaos. Hmmmm. Yes they did get me back. Have you ever tried to replace the keys on your keyboard without looking? Did you know the keys on your keyboard were removable???--yup they pop right off.

Well a few things have happened in the last couple of days. --Russell did get a job!! Yeah! This time it is for real. He will be working for this company in Ogden. If you really know Russell--you know it is his absolute dream job---designing and modeling snow and water skis. Also may require product testing and some traveling to trade shows. Hmmmmm that doesn't suck--for him. He's really excited about it -- I am too--but I needed more time for him to work on honey-do's at home (he's texturing the bathroom --right this very minute) . He's not looking forward to the commute though. the front runner commuter train (with wi-fi capability) should be up and running the end of April--so that will make it bearable at least.

So that brings me to our next plan ----before Russ starts his new job--we thought we'd take an impromptu family vacation to California!! It was kind of a sudden thing but we're all excited to go. This was the incentive when I worked those extra days last month--but we didn't think we could swing it when Russ lost his job. So----were going to do it!! We've been flip flopping between driving and flying and now it looks like we'll be flying--thanks to generous friends and family who work for Jet Blue. (Thanks again Diane and Suzanne!!) My brother, Troy, his wife Diane and their kids will be going with us for a few days Horray!! It'll be oodles of fun. I'm glad we're going now while Kamryn is sooo into the Princess mode. We'll be hitting most of the major attractions---Disneyland, California Adventure, Sea World & the San Diego Zoo. If that's not enough--we'll try to squeeze in Universal Studios---but I think we'll be exhausted long before that. Hmmmmmm can I go without Guitar Hero for that long?? Maybe we'll be able to find a Best Buy and jam in the store.

If any of you have travel tips for me--let me know--soon. :)

I have some good news...and some bad news.

Well--mostly its good news!! Russell got a job! Horray for him. He starts on Monday! Horray for him!
Now let me tell you the details---not so horray.
Russ got a call Sunday evening from his friend Rob up in Montana. They are desperately in need of a medical device designer for this up and coming company who is doing surprisingly well. Rob flew out yesterday morning to have an impromptu interview and Russ was so excited about it he flew to Montana to see the place. Its a great deal. They even looked at housing for us. Found a great place roughly 50 miles from Yellowstone--kind of out in the boondocks but oh well. They will pay our first 3 months rent. If we like it after that we have the option to buy. :)
His salary is good enough that I won't have to work--of course I won't have anywhere to work & I'll be driving the kids to the bus stop 6 miles away--but it sounds like a fun experience. There's a lake nearby and the closest neighbor is 2 miles away. I think I might be a little lonely--but it will give me some good time to settle in.
They are sending a truck next Wednesday to move--I can't believe it--everything is happening so fast. My parents are in Mexico and we can't get a hold of them until they check in. They don't have routine cell service so they don't even know. Russell's parents left for Europe last Sunday and won't be home until April 17th so we'll be gone before they even know about it. CRAZY!
Well I must go and pack---13 years of crap to box up----so if anyone has any boxes or would like to help me move, I'll take any help I can get. I can't even think about how much I'm going to miss everyone or I'll just fall apart and not be able toget anything done. So we'll chat later. :)