Tag Catch up...

I was tagged by Steph & Amberlee so here goes....

Two Names I Go By: Holly & Holl

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now: Jeans and a brown and cream Tshirt

Two Of Your Favorite Things To Do: Be with family and clean the house

Two Things You Want Very Badly At This Moment: A new house and new furniture

Two Favorite Pets: Fatty my siamese kitty and Blackie, a cat I had growing up, she finally died last year and was 22 years old (well we actually had to take her in and put her to sleep)

Two People Who Will Fill This Out: ??

Two Things You Did Last Night: Spent some time at my mom's and picked up a prescription

Two Things You Ate Today: an apple and a hershey kiss

Two Last People You Talked To: My mom and Sean (our adoption lawyer)

Two Longest Car Rides: From Idaho to Texas and from Idaho to Nebraska

Two Favorite Holidays: 4th of July and Christmas

Two Favorite Vacations: Mexico and Lake Powell

Two Favorite Drinks: Grapefruit juice and this.

I was also tagged by Annalee

{Picture Me}

1. Go to http://www.flickr.com/

2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box

3. Use your favorite image of the subject.

4. Copy the html and paste for the answer. (Or 'Save Picture as' in file) Birth Place:

Favorite Vacation Destination: Tropical Island Favorite Color: All of them! Dream Career: Professional Shopper Guilty Pleasure: BLogging Favorite Hobby: Creative Creating Favorite Restraunt: Bajio's Favorite Actor/Actress: Henry Cavill Rees Witherspoon Favorite Vehicle: Vapor Blue VW Bug Favorite Place to Shop for myself: Down East Outfitters Favorite Flower: Wild Flowers I Tag: Liz, Cherish, Liza, Morgan, My Recipe Group Gals, Kelie Casie,Calise and anyone else who wants to do it. Leave me a comment if you do, so I can check it out!! :)

Help please...

Hello. It's kind of a dreary day here. It's pouring outside. I don't mind the rain, I like it for the most part. I'm in need of some help though. I LOVE uplifting quotes. I have a few posted on my fridge and some on my magnet board etc. I love those quotes, the only problem is I've had the same ones up for so long, that I barely take the time to read them and enjoy them now. I need to update, find some new inspriring quotes to put up! So if you have a great quote or two or three, leave it in the comments. :) Thank You!! Oh and on a side note: Brooklyn is Potty Trained!!!! Not one single accident so far this week! We even spent a whole day in town, and while using public toilets are not fun, it's better than having an accident! :) Hooray! I'm so proud of my little Brooklyn!!!!

We can do no great things, only small things with great love...

I wasn't planning on posting today, I've just ran into some amazing things that I think each of us could benefit from taking a second to be apart of. First off as I was checking bloglines earlier this morning, I read this. Her post is titled Heart Break and Tragedy. It's about everything that's going on over in China, she really made me think about my life and what I take for granted. Her last words are "Perhaps the best thing I can do is to try to change me and live a more grateful life." Perfectly sums it all up. Then in my bloglines account I click the next updated blog,still thinking about all those families in China, and what I need to do to live a more grateful life and change me. NOT kidding you I read this article., next,all about a 29 day giving challenge! hmmm... do you think someone is trying to tell me something?! So please joining me, you can sign up for the 29 Day Giving Challenge too! Why not make the world a better place and start today! Mother Teresa: "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

Our life today...

So I had so much fun with that little survey over there in the right hand corner of my blog. So fun to see people's opinion's about music on blogs. It was pretty split right straight down the middle, some of you like it and some do not. Me personally, I like it. I like to have it playing if I'm scrapbooking or doing something else on the computer. I admit, sometimes it bugs me too though. So for now, I think I'll leave it on, since autoplay did win by 5 votes. lol. I think I'll start putting random polls up just for fun! Thanks to all who voted! Today has just been one of those stay in my PJ's and no make up days. I don't have many of these, but today has been one. It's been nice. I have had a bit of insomnia this week, so the late nights haven't helped any either, and I wake up so tired. I have made great use of my late nights though, and no I haven't been checking bloglines or surfing the Internet. wink. I've been reading Cane River... have any of you read this book as well? Man, it is really making an impact on me. I wasn't expecting it to make such an impression. I just can't imagine people being so cruel to other human beings. What made them think that slavery was okay? I just can't seem to wrap my brain around it all. I'm only half way through it and I'm hoping it's a happy ending, but I'm not counting on it, since this is real life. I've also been scrap booking. I ordered some more pictures from Snapfish and they should be here the beginning of next week. I'm almost caught up again on the kids albums. My kids are growing up right before my eyes, I love to catch those little moments in their scrapbooks. I hope they enjoy their books as much as I do. haha. :) I have card club tomorrow. SO excited, I'll have to post some of the cards I get. It's a Father's Day theme. We are all getting to busy, and so this is our last one together. Bummer. Oh, we've also been staying home ALL week, even though I need a few groceries etc, it is going to have to wait. Since Brooklyn broke her arm, she stopped wanting to potty train. So... we let it go and are starting from scratch again this week. I called Zach's aunt who has a day care. She is the PRO at potty training and she gave me some very helpful tips. I'm going to post them, in case I need them again when it's Braxton's turn. :) It's sure working for Brooklyn!! Although I'm going a bit stir crazy, it will be worth it when I don't have two little ones in diapers anymore! Aunt Gwynn's Potty Training Tips:

1. No pull ups, EVER! They are too much like diapers and the kids know it.
2. Take child every hour to the potty just to try.
3. You know if a child is physically ready to potty train if they can wake up from a nap dry.
4. For one week leave the child's underwear off, put a dress on them or lrg. T-shirt etc. if you don't want them running around completely naked. This sounds funny, but this is key, since once the child has one or two accidents they figure out that they HATE it trickling down their leg.
5. Reward with a small treat every time the child goes in the toilet or if you don't like candy, use stickers etc.
6. Use lots of praise!
7. If you can watch closely and catch the child, take them straight to the potty to finish.
8. When they do have an accident, show no emotion, just take them straight to the toilet and say Oh, here is where we go potty.
9. It takes most children a longer time to go without wetting the bed at night, so it is okay to still put them in a diaper at night time.
10. If you do have to go out on an errand, keep it short (an hour tops) and no wearing diapers. You may have to use a public bathroom, sometimes this scares the child though. (Just for the first week.)

She said it usually does not take longer than 2 weeks using this method for a child to be potty trained.
I know everyone has their own way of doing it, this has just been working really well for us. I know that each child is different. :)
I saw a couple of fun websites on Tip Junkie ... and thought I'd share Simply Creative
, so fun, especially if you like craftiness!
Baby Steals, they have a new product each day that is marked way down off the original price, who doesn't love a good deal? Okay, I'm off, maybe I can finish Cane River, oh wait, it's time to make dinner. I am wishing I had time to make
This even though I just had it on Saturday... Thanks for the recipe Jessi! It's SOOOO good!

Two different kinds of Mothers...

We had quite the week here. I've sure missed blogging. I wasn't even on a media fast... but I felt like it! So the day after my birthday, Zach went to work hooking my new Maxtor external hard drive up for me. I was so excited, however we had an OLD computer. I think we had bought it in 2002, right after we had gotten married. It didn't have much space to begin with and after I had started my digital scrapbook addiction, I had used up almost ALL of the extra space on our computer, we didn't even have enough space to install the Maxtor! Zach wasn't extremely happy with me. He has his own laptop so he had no idea how much digi-scrapbooking supplies were loaded on up on my computer. lol. So we ended up deciding we should just buy a new computer. So by the time Zach got everything hooked up for me and we could get an appointment for our internet provider to come out and hook us back up, it has been almost a week! I'm LOVING my new computer though. And it made for a great extra birthday/mother's day gift! lol. I'm still getting used to it all and transfering all my old stuff back on to it. It will probably take a while. I hope each of you had a Happy Mother's Day! I had the best Mother's Day yet. I can not get over how super-sweet Zach was to me this week, you see, most of the time Zach is pretty un-romantic. Wait, not that it's a bad thing, I knew this going into our marriage. Wink. And have been fully prepared to buy my own gifts for all special occasions, including but not limited to: Birthdays, Valentines Day, Christmas etc. For some strange reason though, I have a hard time buying myself a Mother's Day present and since it has taken me quite a while to become a mother, I have had visions of Zach doing something extra special for me, even if it was just a card or something small, I know it shouldn't be a big deal, but it was to me. So for the last 2 years, I was a little bummed out when I didn't get anything. Zach always jokes that he has gotten me flowers, you know the ones that they give all the mom's at church?! Plus Mother's Day is so close to my birthday, I think Zach thinks that the two holidays can be counted as one. This year was different though. Zach has had to be out of town alot lately for work. It has been super hard on all of us, but at the same time it has made us appreciate each other and drawn us closer together. He got me a spa package. I'm so incredibly excited. I've never had a facial, massage or even a pedicure! Even if he hadn't taken the time to get me an awesome gift, it was the little things that he did for me this week. Changing extra diapers, watching the kids while I went out with friends, taking a whole day off to go shopping with me, treating me like a queen, and writing the sweetest notes to me. I could not ask for a better husband, and friend. I also wanted to express my deep gratitude and love for Brooklyn & Braxton's incredible Birth Mother's. It is only because of them that I am able to experience motherhood. I will forever be grateful. I had the awesome opportunity, to help put together a Birth Mother appreciation dinner for some of the birth mother's in our area on Saturday. It was incredible. These girls, are amazing. Each of them, brought pictures to share of their sweet children and told a little bit about themselves and the road they've chosen. One sweet girl had only placed one week ago, yet she was upbeat and positive that she had made the right decision. These girls gave me hope and much inspiration. I was so honored to take part in it. When Brooklyn came into our home, one of my sister-in-law's gave me this beautiful quote. I LOVE it. I think it puts everything into perspective for me. Once there were two expectant mothers. One carried and cared for you beneath her beating heart. She became your birthmother. The other carried the hope of you within her. She became your Mom. As the days passed, and you grew bigger and stronger, Your Birthmother knew that she could not give you all you needed after your birth. Meanwhile, your Mom was ready and waiting for you. One day your Birthmom and your Mom found each other.

They looked into each other’s eyes and saw a friend. Your Birthmom saw the life your Mom could give you. Your Mom saw how much your Birthmom loved and cared for you.

They decided that what you needed was both kinds of love in your life. So now you have two families,0 One by birth, the other by adoption. And you have a home where you can get: your questions answered, your boo boos bandaged, your heartaches soothed, And much needed hugs. And a place where you can find: answers to your questions, your image in the mirror, a part of yourself, And much needed hugs. Two different kinds of families Two different kinds of love, Both a part of you.

So happy Mother's Day to all the mom's, and those yet to become mom's too! We are all mother's in one way or another, even if we haven't given birth to a child.

Blog Junkie and Birthday fun...

Okay, It may seem like I'm a blog-junkie. lol. I'll admit I do enjoy my blogging, but I don't let it consume my life and many have asked me how I find the time to blog at all. My secrets... one BLOGLINES! It is a total time saver, I've mentioned that a couple of times on here. Check it out in my Favorite LInks on the side bar. Two, I blog and surf the net only if my chores are done, aka house clean, kids bathed and napping (I'm lucky because my kids take really good naps!) and feeding Braxton takes up a big chunk of time in my life right now, so while I feed him, I surf. That is how I find all my fun links. And that is the reason for this post, I've found a few new ones, that I'm loving! Here we go... This first blog is so fun! In honor of Mother's Day coming up... go read it. She has such an honest yet hilarious approach to loving life and being a mom! Her blog is called Pony Tail Challenge. Second Blog is called,Tip Junkie. Her two most recent posts 5-4-08 and also5-5-08, have some GREAT advice and tips for blogging. I LOVED it, as it answered a ton of questions that I myself had wondered about. One question I've been wondering about was what do you all think about having music on your blog? I love it personally, but I know not everyone's music style is the same,plus when I post videos you have to shut it off anyway... so my question is...Is it annoying to you to have it on auto play? I'm going to start a poll... on the side bar, to see what you all think about my own playlist. So be honest. :) #3 If you are into scrapbooking/card making, Kandis's Blog has tons of inspiration. LOVING it. and four...Season's of Change is also giving me lot of inspiration to get going on my scrapbooking and card making. Thanks for all the Birthday wishes! I had the perfect day! Zach spoiled me. We went to lunch with some of my family and then my mom took my kids so we could go shopping. I needed new jeans in a bad way. I hate jean shopping... it is SO hard to find that perfect pair of jeans that fit just right. It must have been my lucky day... because I found 2 pairs at American Eagle. If you are short like me, you might try their jeans. Oh and the best part... great prices! , I also got an external Hard drive for my all my digital scrapbooking, thanks Janeal, for helping me figure out what kind I should get. And I'm still searching for some shoes similar to this... My mom got me a new Temple Dress. Yea! Just in time to get Braxton sealed to us in August!! I want to get some really cool pics of us all in white with the Temple in the back ground. Zach's mom got me these letters that spell HOME,(I wanted to post a pic, but blogger isn't letting me upload pics, I'll try again later. I've been eyeing them FOREVER at Real Deals , EVERYONE spoiled me. And it's my sister-in-law's birthday today! Happy BIRTHDAY AMber! We are SOOO glad they are back home, so we are having cake & icecream again tonight with Zach's fam. It doesn't get much better than that! Hope you all have a great day!

25 years in the making...

It always amazes me how a little bit of sunshine can lift my mood and I seem to accomplish two or three times as much on days like this! It's my BIRTHDAY tomorrow, I'm the big 25. My sister-in-law is turning 25 this year to, and it's a really big deal to her. It's not to me. I don't know why. Should it be? So today I renewed my license. I hate the picture and you know how they give you the choice to renew it for 4 or 8 years? I picked 8, before the pic. was taken, and now I wish I would have said 4. Dang. Zach and Brooklyn spent most of the day outside playing, and doing yard work. Zach is at a dentist appointment both my kids are asleep and my Activity Day girls will be here in just a few minutes. We are making Brownies in a bottle, you can check it out RIGHT HERE. I hope it works, because I didn't do a practice round. lol. Zach's brothers family moved back from TN after graduating from Optometery. We are SO excited to have them close again!! Brooklyn LOVES her cousins. We are planning on helping them move into their new place tonight. Plus it's the first time they'll get to meet Braxton! :) I also found a few new craft projects, as if I need a few more. They are pretty simple ones though. I'll post some pics when I'm done. You can check see where I'm getting my inspiration though... I'm all for sharing my secrets. I rarely come up with an idea on my own, I'm just good at copying. :) HERE, HERE, and Here Oh, and anyone have any good Mother's Day gifts?? I need a few and QUICK!