“A person's a person, no matter how small.”

And, so it must be...

2006-11-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

So, after much hesitation (on my part) and prodding (from Trent) I must move my blog over to the Miskin family website. Trent set up the site, and added the blog tool just for me. It is a lot better than blogger, plus, you'll have access to more pictures! You also don't have to be signed in or anything to leave comments. The web address is simple www.miskinfamily.com! Hope to see you all there!

The World is a Little Quieter Today

2006-10-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

Early this morning, while we were all asleep, the world became a quieter place. One of my dearest, oldest friends passed away today. Brother Blaine Hill was the loudest, most active elderly man I have known. I think he made a difference in many peoples lives. Those around Tracy may know him as the man who fought for more handicap parking (and he is the reason for all those ridiculous handicap spots at the mall :) My favorite memory of Brother Hill is when he drove to Utah my first summer at BYU. I hardly knew him then, but he called me up, and took me out to breakfast. He took me to the same place he had been eating at all week. He already knew all the waitresses and referred to me as his girlfriend. Since that breakfast, I have considered Brother Hill a dear friend. When I got married, he gave Trent a good talking to, but he still called me his girlfriend. He was so excited to meet Tanner after he was born. Unfortunately, I was looking forward for him to meet Natalya, and I am sad that he won't, for now. Although it is a sad day, I think those of us who knew him can look back and think about all the wonderful memories we had of him, and the wonderful life he lived!

First Snow!

2006-10-26T13:44:00.000-06:00

So, we had our official first snow yesterday! It didn't really ever stick very much, but it was fun to watch! It flurried off and on all day, then, last night it was actually coming down pretty hard! I love the snow, and the winter time so much. It was so exciting to me to see the snow again! Am I crazy??

A Good Experience

2006-10-19T14:43:00.000-06:00

I actually had (have had) a good experience with a car repair shop. Since Trent works, I am the designated car dropper offer to have the car repairs done. I almost always take our cars to the Campus American Car Care Center on the corner of Bulldog and Canyon Dr. here in Provo (right at the entrance to BYU campus) for an oil change and for other random needs. This place in ran by a guy named John. He is ALWAYS there when I go in. He is the nicest guy. He always talks to my kids, and explains things in terms I would understand. After he explains things to me, he even writes down the problems he encounters with the car, so that I can take it home and show it to Trent if I need to. It is one of the only places I can take the car in for an oil change, and not have them tell me a million things I need to have done (transmission flush, air filter, ect).

About a month ago, I took my car in for an oil change, and Tanner left his play sunglasses behind. Well, earlier this week, I took Trent's car in, and lo and behold, there were Tanner's sunglasses sitting right on the front desk. John saved them, because he knew we would be back in sometime, and we would see them. Even better, they fixed something on Trent's car, for free! Something went wrong with Trent's door, and you could only open it form the outside. They went ahead and fixed it for me, free of charge!

It is rare these days, as a woman, to be able to go into a car place and not feel like you’re being scammed or pushed around. I recommend this place to anyone who is in the Provo area. They give a small student discount on oil changes, and they specialize in tires. Anyway, I wanted to leave some kind of comment for them, but they didn't have a comment box, or anything in of the like, so I thought I post on my blog would suffice.

Fun With Friends

2006-10-16T21:43:00.000-06:00

Last Monday (I know, I'm a little late) I had the opportunity to spend some time with my friend Jenn, who moved away a few months ago. Her, her husband, and their two little girls came down for the long weekend from the Boise, ID area. I promised Jenn's husband that if he took pictures for us, I would blog about our fun afternoon.

So, a few of us and our families all got together and decided to go out to lunch! We went to a place here in Provo called Cafe Rio (if you live ANYWHERE in Utah, I am sure you have heard of it). It is Jenn and Jareds favorite place to eat, so whenever they come to visit, they have to eat there. To be honest, Trent and I aren't real huge fans, but that's a whole other blog entry. Of course we would sacrifice to spend some time with friends! After we ordered, we went over to a park to eat! It was fun to sit around and talk. The best part of the lunch was getting pictures of all the cute kids! SO instead of boring everyone with play by play, I will just share the pictures with everyone.

The first picture is Tanner climbing a cross a tree limb. If you look in the bottom/middle part of the picture, you can see the top of someones head. Don't worry, Tanner wasn't up that high, that is the head of a 16 month old little girl! The second picture, to the right, is of all the kids (minus the babies). I think it was pretty darn amazing that we got them all to sit there long enough, and some of them are even looking at the camera and smiling! Notice Tanner is the only boy? He is already macking it up! The third picture on the left is even more amazing than the second. Not only did we get all the kids to sit there, with some lookaing at the camera and smiling, we also got the babies in the picture! We are all pretty patient people I suppose! (err I guess I mean the kids are pretty patient). Tanner still being the only boy... And, obviously all these kids aren't mine and Jenn's, there were two other famlies that came along with us. The fourth pictures to your right is of Jenn and I, and our two babies! Now, these baby girls are pretty special. Natalya and Aliza were best friends in the womb. They were only born 2 days apart. Aliza was actually born on the 4th of July, while Natalya was born on the sixth. If Jenn wouldn't have moved, we would have been in the hospital together! Aren't we cute mom's! The last and final picture on your left, is of our cute baby girls again. Someday, they will be roommates and will have this picture hanging on their wall in their freshman dorm room at BYU!

Stick It

2006-10-08T21:48:00.000-06:00

So I finally watched the recently released gymnastics movie called "Stick It. I was extremely hesitant to rent it. Stick It was produced (?) by the same people who did the cheer leading move Bring It On.

When Bring It On came out, I was a high school cheerleader, so of course I had to see it (I actually OWNED it). There were several things in Bring It On that bothered me. First was the foul language and crude humor. There were more than enough inappropriate jokes. The other things that bothered me were the inaccuracies of high school cheerleading. The cheer squads in this movie were doing moves only allowed in college cheer competitions. These so called high schooler's were doing huge basket tosses with flips (which is grounds for disqualification in high school cheerleading competitions). Also, I don't know that ANY of the actresses were actual cheerleaders, and most of the stunt and tumbling were done by "stunt men". Lastly, the story line was a little lame and uncreative... a girl who
was a gymnast who never had cheered before (hey like me) makes the squad, the struggles to make it to nationals, trying to beat out a "Cinderella" squad who they hate, but then end up being friends with in the end.

So, when Stick It came out, I was a little concerned. I don't care about cheer leading enough to let Bring It On really bother me... BUT to taint my beloved gymnastics.... that would bother me. Finally, last night I decided to rent it at Red Box. When the movie first started, I was a little confused; it started out with this girl doing extreme bike riding, getting in trouble with the law, and getting sent to a school called VGA. So, where's the gymnastics? Ohhh, VGA stands for Voight Gymnastics Academy and is some kind of gymnastics gym/high school. Anyway, you soon learn that the biker babe, Hailey, was a retired elite gymnast who choked at the Worlds gymnastics competition, and walked out before competing her last event, and lost the gold medal for the US team. All the gymnasts HATE her for it, and, in turn, Hailey hated gymnastics. How ever, she is forced to do gymnastics to fulfill her "Sentence". Anyway, the story line is actually pretty interesting. Trent even came in the room a few times to catch a few parts. You just have to watch it.

Okay, so how did it compare to Bring It On? I was surprisingly satisfied. Most of the actresses were gymnasts, and at the competitions, several gymnastics played themselves (Nastia Lukin, Carley Paterson). Therefore, the gymnastics moves were accurate. The routines the gymnasts performed were accurate, as far as I could tell, for the elite level of gymnastics. Also, the gymnastics competition scenes were exactly like all the gymnastic competitions I have ever seen. Even better, the foul language and inappropriate behavior was pretty much non-existent. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie! I enjoyed the story line, and watching all the gymnastics! So, two thumbs up from me, I recommend it to all gymnastics lovers!

One of my favorite quotes from the movie:"Gymnastics tells you no. All day long. It mocks you over and over again. Telling you- you're an idiot. If you like pulling pieces of skin the size of quarters of your hands- bars is for you. Because the only thing more fun then rips, is when your rips get rips. It's super sexy. And floor, are you serious, who doesn't want to parade around in a leotard getting wedgies and doing dorky choreography. If you like falling, then gymnastics is the sport for you! You get to fall on your face, your butt, your back, your knees, and you're pride! It's a good thing I didn't like falling- I LOVED IT!"

Busy Weekend!

2006-10-02T14:39:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was very busy weekend for us, but very fun!

It all started Thursday afternoon. Trent's company had a party to watch the BYU football game. The party was at a clubhouse with a cool TV and a lot of yummy food. Even better, BYU played awesome and kicked TCU's butt! It was a very fun night. Even Tanner and Natalya had fun. Tanner had about 4 other boys to play with, all about his age, and Natalya got passed around, so she was held all night! The food was catered by The Smokehouse Pizza and BBQ. For those of you in the Provo area, you have to try it! Trent and I go a lot, but it is better every time we eat it.

On Friday, (Trent's 26th birthday!!) we went out to celebrate! Around 4 we left Trent's office. We headed over to the Thanksgiving Point Farmers Market. We go there for one thing and one thing only: The Salsa Factory hot salsa. It is so good, and they only sell it at farmers markets. It's fresh salsa so you can't save it, you kind just have to buy and eat. Anyway, it is the best salsa, and only 4 dollars for a pretty decent sized container. They also make tamales... which I haven't had the chance to try yet (This Friday I will!) Anyway, the farmers market runs through Oct. 11th, and is on Fridays from 3pm to 7pm. After the market we headed to Trent's aunt Karen and Uncle Dan's house. Karen watched Tanner and Natalya for us so we could go to the Market Street Grill for dinner. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner! We ordered the crab, spinach, artichoke dip for an appetizer. It was really good. It ha a little spice to it, and this awesome bread crumb crust thing over the top. Next we got clam chowder. Trent and I are clam chowder lovers. This chowder was pretty good. However, half way through we put in some Tabasco or fun, and oh it made it taste incredible! My meal was calamari. It was pretty good, the tri colored green beans were my favorite part of the dish. Trent went all out and got the Monk Fish. We had no idea what it was, but our waitress said it tasted like lobster. OH and it did taste like lobster! It was so good. it was my favorite of the whole meal, and it wasn’t even mine! We then went and picked the kids up, and headed out for the next event of the night.

In February, Trent's company was invited to a convention at the Homestead Resort in Midway, Utah. They were again invited to a similar convention, except this time it was at the new Zermatt Resort in Midway, Ut. What the company does is lets different couples stay at the resort on different nights, so we all get a chance to go! Our night was Friday night. We got in pretty late, so we just watched movies and ate snacks. In the morning, we took the kids swimming. The pool was so cool, it was really warm, and it had this little tunnel you could swim to get into the outdoor pool. The hot tub also had a waterfall flowing into it!

Around 10am we headed home, and finished off our weekend listening to/watching LDS general conference. We really enjoyed hearing what the prophets and apostles had to say to us, and struggle to listen the best we could, and still keeping Tanner entertained! Saturday night Trent's brothers came over for tres leches cake (Trent's favorite!). All in all it was a fun weekend! But we are glad to be able to relax and catch up on sleep.

P.S. Trent and I finally got the Miskin Family website back up. The only part that is working right now is the picture gallery. The site is www.miskinfamily.com/gallery. We post all of our pictures on there if you are interested in taking a look!

Just Like Mom

2006-09-28T23:07:00.000-06:00

I thought I would share some cute recent pictures of Natalya. She was dressed really cute today, she is seriously my little barbie doll. Also, this week she has really perfected her thumb sucking. As some of you may know, I was a thumb sucker growing up, so it makes me proud that she inherited that from me! She is so cute, and she actually sucks it all the time now. Natalya also went to her 2 month check up this week ( a little behind, I know, she will actually be three months old next week). She is a whopping 12 lbs, 10 ounces and 23 inches long! She is really healthy and doing great! One other exciting thing, is she started sleeping through the night! Sunday night into Monday morning she slept 11 hours straight without eating, and has done so every night since then! We love our baby girl, and we are so glad we have her!

We can't leave Tanner out of this. He is doing great also. He has become quite the helper. He helps me with the laundry, the dishes, the dusting, and yard work. And he actually does help, not pretend cutsie little kid helping. He also said his longest setence so far tonight. He said " I ate a lot of food, but now I am all done" That was pretty neat. His imagination continues to grow, and it is fun to hear him making up stories while he plays. Today he was playing with his Monters Inc. figurines, and I heard him say, "okay, now it's time for church". The other night, we were let him say bedtime prayers, and all on his own he said, "Thank you for church"... he likes church a lot. We had a fiasco this morning however. We were at play group, and he had the most explosive diaper/ pull up accident ever. It literally went up his back, and came out all sides. I could hardly get his clothes off of him without getting it everywhere. His clothes were completly soiled. Unfortunaty, he had rode his tricycle to play group, which meant he also had to ride it home... in just a pull up, shoes, and his hat (of course), about 8 blocks. We only saw a few people, and no one seemed to think it was strange.

"I will go into the zoo, I want to see it, yes I do!"

2006-09-27T14:30:00.000-06:00

"Put Me in the Zoo" by Robert Lopshire

On Saturday, Tanner, Natalya, and I had a chance to go the Hogle Zoo for a birthday party. Tanner did not like it as much as I thought he would. Tanner is such a curious little boy, I think he was annoyed he couldn't get any closer to the animals. Tanner's favortie part was the wild chickens and turkeys running around. He could get right up to them before they ran way. The highlights for Tanner were the water features, the lion drinking fountain, and the giant catepillar. However, the highlight of the day was riding the zoo train! Tanner has never rode a train before (at least not that he can remember) and he loved it! He was in complete awe!All in all, Tanner had fun running around and playing with his friends. It was a successful trip!

MyHeritage.com

2006-09-22T15:17:00.000-06:00

Trent and I used this site a while back, and had a fun time loading pictures and seeing which celebrities we looked like. Now, they do these neat little collages! I suggest you do it, it is quite entertaining!

Leave a comment if you do! I want to know who YOU look like!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

2006-09-14T14:10:00.000-06:00

I just finished re-reading my favorite book of all time, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. When I was in eight grade, my eight grade English teacher introduced it to me (and unfortunately the copy I have, is her copy, but she probably doesn't mind). I have read this book probably like 10 times, and it affects me differently each time I read it.

The book follows a young girl, Francie Nolan, and her family through their lives in 1912 Brooklyn. Francie and her family are not well off. The children must sell garbage for money, their mother is a janitor, and their father is a drunk bar waiter/singer who is constantly in and out of work. They live in a small flat in the poor part of Brooklyn. Although they are poor, their mother always makes sure they have plenty to eat. Some of my favorite parts of the book are when Francie talks about how they shop in order to eat, and the wonderful meals her mother makes from scraps.

Through the many times I have read this book I realize how appropriately the name of the story is. In the book, Francie talks about the threes in Brooklyn. These trees are so weak and small, but they grow in the toughest environments. The trees are literally growing out of concrete. The harder time the tree has growing, the bigger and sturdier the tree. This tree metaphor is like Francie. She is growing up in the worst environment, pure poverty and starvation. Yet, in her poor circumstance, she grows strong; she goes to work in New York, and even goes to college.

After I had finished the book, I discovered something in common with all of my favorite books. The Little House on the Prairie Series, Anne of Green Gables Series, The Great Brain Series, Chronicles of Narnia, Jane Eyre. These books all focus on the growing up and maturing of characters, like a coming of age. There books all focus on a child, or group of children who go through great trials and wonderful adventures while growing up. All are also considered adolescent literature; I guess I am just a kid at heart!

If any of you have not read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I highly recommend reading it!

Cone Rescue Crew

2006-09-01T14:21:00.001-06:00

I have another confession to make... I find joy in stealing orange road cones. Well not really stealing, more like rescuing. In high school, my best friends and I would "rescue" unneeded or unwanted road cones in streets, on the side of the road, in parking lots, you name it, we took it.

What was our purpose? I have no idea. We would stash the rescued cones in my parents garage (they were the only ones who really understood), and occasionally we would take pictures with them, or give them to each other for presents. These cones did not see their last day however. Whenever we have wedding receptions or large parties at our house, my parents use the cones to direct traffic or block off part of the street. As far as I know, these cones are still in my parents garage.

The Ultimate Challenge. One goal my friends and I had was to steal, umm I mean rescue, one of the giant cones that our high school used to block off the parking lot during lunch. These cones were huge! Almost as tall as me! It was considered the ultimate challenge because the high school only used the cones during lunch time, and there were yard duties everywhere, so it made it difficult. I was a senior that year, with only a few months until graduation, so time was short.

This rescue was no simple task. We couldn't use our usual tactics: pull up next the cone in the dead of night, and quickly pull it into the car (hmm, maybe kidnapping is a better term than rescuing).

Then one night, an informant let us know that there was a lone West High cone sitting in the parking lot. We raced to the car and sped over to the school. There it was, the wondrous cone! All alone, left next to a puddle of water. This was easier than we thought! We cautiously drove up to the cone (it could have been a plot, there were several teachers who knew of our plan, and could have set us up!) But, it was just that easy. We jumped out, snapped some pictures, and pulled it into the car. It was a night of celebration!

What made me think of this? Last night on my way home from water aerobics, I saw one of those cones! A big, huge, orange cone, beckoning me to come take it. The irony? It was sitting next to a puddle in the Provo High parking lot. That joy I had that wondrous night came rushing back. Could I do it again? The temptation was strong, but three things stopped me. One: I don't think I could do it one my own, Two: I didn't have a camera, and Three: what would Trent say when I showed up at home with a giant orange cone ( I don't think he truly understands that part of my life)?

And Dad, if you are reading this, that giant cone better still be in your garage!

What does your name mean?

2006-09-01T14:12:00.000-06:00

BRITTNEY
B	is for	Bonkers
R	is for	Rich
I	is for	Influential
T	is for	Tender
T	is for	Tender
N	is for	Naive
E	is for	Extraordinary
Y	is for	Yummy

What Does Your Name Mean?

Yummy??

Disney 411

2006-08-26T21:45:00.000-06:00

I have a confession to make. We are a Disney channel family. It is the most watched channel in our home, and sadly, it isn't just because of Tanner. Yes, Disney is the channel of choice for Tanner's morning cartoons. We love to watch Higgleytown Heroes, JoJo's Circus, and Little Einstein's, we make fun of Daniel Cook and The Wiggles, and we have banned the Doodlebops.

Tanner's favorite thing is to sing-a-long to the songs. Unfortunately, most are songs from The Wiggles. The funniest part is when Trent and I get the songs stuck in our head, and we go around all day singing "fruit salad, yummy yummy" or "quack, quack, quack, quack, cock-a-doodle doo". Our favorite song is the theme song for Higglytown Heroes, mostly because it is sung by They Might Be Giants.

My favorite is when Tanner hums or sings the songs from Little Einstein's, because they are famous classical songs by composers like Bach or Vivaldi, with made up lyrics to go along with the theme of the show. Tanner makes us sing the Good-Bye Song from Bear in the Big Blue House before he goes to bed every night.

Sadly, it does not end there. In the evening, sometimes we let Tanner watch the more mature Disney shows. His absolute favorite is the Suite Life of Zach and Cody. Today when we were in the car I turned it to radio Disney ( 910 AM) and Tanner was singing a long to the "Disney Singers" songs (Disney singers: the actors turned singer Disney monsters). He knew the words to the Aly and AJ songs, Hannah Montana, and songs from the new Cheetah Girls 2. Trent would die if he knew I said this, but I constantly catch him humming or singing songs from Hannah Montana, or some of the playhouse Disney shows. His favorite are the songs from Choo Choo Soul. Even when Tanner is in bed, I find myself watching episodes of Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire, and the Disney movies, High School Musical and Read and Weep. Last night I started watching the premier of Cheetah Girls 2, but then it was just a little too ridiculous.

I thought maybe our family was the only one with this obsession until I realized that Disney Channel is ridiculously popular. If you look up the cable ratings, 3 of the top five most popular shows are on Disney:

1	CLOSER, THE	TNT	MON	4922	4.5	5.4	6632
2	HANNAH MONTANA	DSNY	FRI	4684	4.3	5.3	7045
3	SUITE LIFE OF ZACK & CODY	DSNY	FRI	4630	4.2	5.3	6986
4	THATS SO RAVEN	DSNY	FRI	3932	3.6	4.5	5744
5	MONK	USA	FRI	3668	3.3	4.0	5225

Are they taking over?

So, I have admitted, I am a Disney watcher. I do have some issues however. First of all, it seems that all the older Disney stars like Raven, Hanah Montana, and others are required to sing, whether or not they can. To hide the fact that half of them can't sing, they use fake robotic background voices to cover them up.

And what's with the new Wiggles episodes? In the earlier Wiggles episodes, it was a real show, and the 4 wiggles characters actually had to act and perform. Now the episodes are full of clips from their live concerts, pre taped music videos, cheesy cartoon videos, and clips of the little wiggles. The cheesy cartoons videos look like they were made by some high school student, and the voice track is always off from cartoon. However, the cartoon wiggles faces look frighteningly similar tot he actual character. The poor little wiggles are these four little boys that are supposed to be the wiggles as young boys, and seem to be doing more work then the actual wiggles themselves.

Don't even get me started on the Doodlebops. Are they trying to push their gay lifestyle on us? ("not that there is anything wrong with that...") Tanner knows the TV goes off when the Doodlebops come on.

Anyway, I am sure most of you have no idea what I am talking about anyway, unless you too are a Disney Channel fanatic.

Busy Weekend

2006-08-23T13:39:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was busy for me! My parents and Trent's parents came into town for a short little visit. That afternoon I graduated from BYU with a bachelors in Sociology. The graduation went really well, and luckily, it only lasted a little over an hour. It was a really good ceremony, and one of my favorite former teachers, Dr. Bruce Chadwick, gave an excellent address. A girl from my ward was the valedictorian in Neuroscience, and she played a harp solo. Also, another girl from my ward was also graduating in sociology, so we got to sit together (which made it less boring). As I mentioned before, Trent also graduated, but chose not to walk, and he was able to help both sets of grandma's and grandpas with Natalya and Tanner. Afterward, we ate at Tucanos, yum!

Sunday was Natalya's baby blessing. It was so good to have everyone there. Trent's entire family, siblings and all were able to come, and my parents were there, along with my brother Steven, his wife Erin, and there little boy Evan. Luckily, Natalaya hadn't gotten to big for my old blessing dress, so she was able to wear it for her blessing too! After church we had a big BBQ at the park, which was very yummy. Unfortunately, Tanner got a huge sliver in his toe. It took 5 of us to finally get it out (with Grandpa Miskin as the head surgeon), and it was at least a half an inch long, if not bigger. Tanner was very brave through the entire process.

Although the weekend was busy, and at times, hectic, it was so much fun! I am again reminded how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family. I don't know what I would do without them!

Stupid People

2006-08-17T23:12:00.001-06:00

Time to vent. Lately I feel like I have either ran into, or heard about really stupid people. I can't figure out where these people came from. A great example of how stupid some people can be is in a blog by Seth Godin (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/08/living_under_a_.html). When I read his blog, I could totally relate to what he was talking about.

One thing I am sick of is people blaming others, or making excuses, for their own mistakes. Trent plays a game called World of Warcraft. For all of you non-nerds out there, it's an online computer came where you fight battles with strange creatures. Anyway, the game takes a ton of time to level up, earn gold, and attain weapons. Someone in Trent's guild (group of players that work together to fight evil) recently had his warcraft account hacked into, and the hacker sold all his stuff and used up all his gold. The hacker was able to get in because this guy didn't have his virus program updated and he had no protection on his computer. Instead of sucking it up and taking the blame for being irresponsible, the guy gets mad at Blizzard (the company who makes the game) and demands that they return all his stuff. Since when is it the Blizzards fault that he is dumb and doesn't protect his computer?

Another example, my uncle. He is in his fifties, and has a serious drug problem. Everyday he calls my parents and blames them for his problems. He used to be able to use my grandpa's money for his drugs, but since my parents have been taking care of my grandpa, my uncle can no longer manipulate money away from him. Therefore, he blames my parents for everything. He has blamed them for the fact he has to live in a motor home, he can't buy new clothes, his car breaking down, he can't get a job, and most recently, he blamed them for his athletes foot, and claimed he needed money from my grandpa for some medicine. Doesn't he realize he is responsible for himself, and at this age, he shouldn't rely on anyone, and no one owes him anything. The worst is when people blame the government for everything, or they feel like they are owed something from the government.

And lastly, I am tired of the stupid people who come down Canyon Rd onto University Avenue in Provo, right before the mouth of Provo Canyon, and ignore the yield sign. I cannot even count the number of people who just merge right into the lane, and several times, have just about merged into me. Yield means you may actually have to stop, it does not mean merge and squeeze into the traffic. Grrrrr!

Heck Yeah We've Got Milk!!

2006-08-14T21:33:00.000-06:00

My best friend Ashley sent me this magnet right around the time I had Tanner and it still remains my favorite refrigerator magnet.

Right now the saying has two meanings to me. One, I am a nursing mother, and many days I feel like that cow with the bloated udder, shouting to the world "Heck ya I've got milk!!" Too much information?? Well, for those of you who haven't nursed, most days you do feel like a cow (and it isn't because I haven't lost my baby weight yet!)

The second meaning? Well, last Monday I went to Sam's club and bought our milk for the week, three gallons. However, Friday morning I was back at Sam's club buying two more gallons, and back again this morning (it's Monday) buying three more. I approached Trent about this, and I let him know we went through 5 gallons of milk in less than a week. Needless to say, we were pretty impressed with ourselves. We both knew we drank a lot of milk, but 5 gallons in one week is a new record. I can't take all the credit myself, Trent drinks most of it, but I have to say I do my fair share. Trent and I are still amazed that the two biggest milk drinkers happened to find each other and get married (along with our mutual love for avocados, asparagus and artichokes).

My favorite reaction to our milk obsession has to be my sister in law Erin. She happened to come by one day as I was just getting back from the store. She watched me lug in my three gallons of milk, and said "wow, what are you stocking up for?" I was like, "this is our milk for the week". She was shocked, her and my brother can hardly drink a half gallon before it expires. Let's just say, milk never expires in our house.

Anyway, since we have some odd obsession with milk, I can definitely say, "Heck yeah, we've got milk" (unless we drank it).

The Devil Wears Prada

2006-08-08T22:26:00.000-06:00

Now that I am done with school, I have been able to enjoy my favorite hobby, reading. The first book I read was, The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. I decided to read this book because my mom was reading it while she was here helping me with the new baby, and then she went and saw the movie, so it peaked my interest. I really enjoyed the book, although I wouldn't consider it great literature.The book follows a young college graduate, Andrea, as she begins her career as a writer working out the well-known Runway magazine. Unfortunately, what she thinks is a job as an editor assistant turns into a job as a slave for the magazines editor-in-chief, Miranda. However, Andrea sticks around in the job with the hopes that it will lead to her dream job, a writer for the New Yorker.

This book is filled with great humor, and the things Miranda demands are so ridiculous, it is entertaining. The book is a little over 500 pages, but the author writes in such a way that it is actually a quick read. While I enjoyed the book, I have a few complaints. The main character Andrea has the two most disgusting habits: she smokes constantly (soiling all those beautiful clothes she wears) and uses the f-word a lot. Also, she puts up with all of Miranda's crap. What job is worth going through what she went through while worker their. She had to hang up Miranda's coat everyday. Andrea and the head intern always had to be available (even in the middle of the night) and be around to answer the phone just in case she called. You honestly have to read the book to understand it all. However, because she worked for a magazine, she got a ton of free designer clothes, shoes, handbags, and makeup for free! I guess a year of servitude would be worth it in that case.

Now, for those of you who want to read the book, don't read this next part, because what I say next is a little spoiler. At the end of the book, Andrea only has like 2 weeks left of her year long internship, and she basically has her job at the New Yorker clenched, she ruins it by telling of Miranda and leaving Paris to go be with her friend in the hospital. I do agree that she should have gone to be with her friend, however, she didn't properly tell off Miranda. There were so many things she could have said, but no she just told her to "f-off" and that was it, it wasn't even worth it! If you're going to throw away your career, at least do it properly.

The rumor is, is the author of this book actually worked for Vogue as an editor's assistant, and that this is an actual autobiography of her experiences there…heaven forbid there is really a person like Miranda.

Anyway, the book is great, but from what my Mom said, the movie doesn't not do it justice. She said the movie left out vital information of the story, and she was highly disappointed. She did enjoy all the designer clothes though!

2006-07-28T22:27:00.000-06:00

I Did It!!

After six long years, marriage, and two kids... I finally finished my very last class at BYU. Today I took my statistics 221 final, I passed, and I am done! I have been dreading this day for weeks, I hate finals! I actually took two finals last week, and put this one off until today, which also happens to be the August graduation deadline for independent study. I cannot even describe the way I feel! Trent also finished his last final today. Needless to say, we went out to celebrate after (well as much celebration we could do with the kids). One interesting thing to note, I thought that when I finished, I wouldn't get that feeling that I know a lot of people get when they are done with school, the "okay, what do I do now" feeling, since I have two kids an a husband, plenty of responsibilities to keep me occupied. Well, about one hour after my test, I thought, "okay, what do I do now?" I have no long term responsiblties or deadlines, and I don't know quite what to think about that. However, it is nice to be able to put the kids to bed, and not feel guilty for not doing homework, or not working on my classes. I do have a lot I want to do now... just nothing that can't be put off until tomorrow:)
Graduation is July 18th, Trent and I will both be graduating, and I cannot believe we actually did it!

2006-07-18T21:56:00.000-06:00

My First Two Weeks By Natalya Miskin

So far, life is good. After the initial shock of being ripped from my nice, warm, little space, I say I have adjusted well.

My First day home, I just slept all day, and most of the night too, much to the surpise of my parents. In fact, I love to sleep, I am awake from about 9am-11am then nap until about 1, then I take another nap at 2-5pm, then I am awake until bedtime at about 9pm. I wake up only twice in the night to eat, so that my Mommy can get some sleep, so she can chase after my big brother during the day.

My big brother Tanner takes good care of me. When I cry he gets very upset, especially if my Mom or Dad doesn't come to get me right away. He has even picked me up a few times to bring me to my Mom, but Mom said that only Dad's and Mom's can pick me up. Tanner really doesn't like it when other people hold me, I guess he thinks they might kidnap me... I can't help it that I am so cute!

I have gone on a lot of outings already. When I was just 5 days old, we went to have lunch with my Dad at his work and went shopping. We also have gone to target, sam's club, the library, old navy, the grocery store, and to church! I also have gone to two swimming parties, and even wore my bathing suit! I also was able to attend my cousin Evan's birthday party, though I wasn't completly sure what was going on.

One day, we had a picnic at the park with Grandma and Grandpa Fulkerson. That was a lot of fun, I think, I was actually asleep the whole time. Yesterday I went to the doctor. I gained 12 ounces, so now I wieght 8'9 (the same wight Tanner was when he was born) I also grew one whole inch to 20.5 inches. I am very a very happy and healthy baby! I decided I like this new place. I haven't experienced a whole lot of it, but I like what I see. My family loves me a lot, and I think I am already pretty spolied. I think I will stick around for a while.

2006-07-17T14:56:00.000-06:00

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I am just finishing up an adolescent literature class, and one of the books I read for my term paper was Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I have seen the movie and loved it, and I just finished the book, and loved it even more. I guess it reminds me a lot of my three best friends and I, so it is a little sentimental. Anyway, there is a great quote near the end of the book that I just wanted to share, I don't know why I like it so much. I think it's because I feel like people are constanly talking about trials and hardships and how hard their life is, and I firmly agree with what Tibby is saying here:

"Maybe happiness didn't have to be about the big-sweeping cirumstances, about having everything in your life in place. Maybe it was about stringing together a bunch of small pleasures. Wearing slippers and watching the Miss Universe contest. Eating a brownie with vanilla icecream... Maybe Happiness was just a matter of the little upticks-the traffic signal that said "Walk"the second you got there-and downticks- the itchy tag at the back of your collar-that happend to every person in the couse of a day. Maybe everybody had the same allotted measure of happiness within each day. Maybe it didn't matter if you were a world famous heartthrob or a painful geek. Maybe it didn't matter if your friend was possibly dying. Maybe you just go tthrough it. Maybe that was all you could ask for. "

2006-07-09T14:00:00.000-06:00

Natalya Joyce Miskin

July 6th, 2006 7:25am

7 lbs 12 oz 19 inches

She is healthy and beautiful as you can see. I am doing great as well, finally home! I will post more pictures and info later.

P.S. Congrats to Cassandra! She was the last person to guess Natalya's wieght and she got it right on the button!

2006-07-05T20:57:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow

So tomorrow is the day, little Natalya Joyce will be born, I am excited and ready. As you can see in the picture, I realized I just look tired and HUGE. I know it won't be all peaches and cream, but I know that Natalya will bring as much joy to our life as Tanner has. It is wierd thinking that tonight will be the last night as a famliy of three!

Thanks for all you who participated in the game. I am posting the guesses on here, so you can see what you are up against. I know some of you will find out the info before others, but as soon as I am able, I will send out an e-mail announcing the birth!

Krystal Hill: 8'8 20in

Derrick Fulkerson: 8'6.5 20in

Ben Miskin: 8'6 21 1/2in

Kim Davis: 8'6 19in

Brittney Miskin: 8'5 19 1/2in

Mom Fulkerson: 8'4 21in

Ashley Fulkerson: 8'4 20.8in

Jana Hutchinson: 8'4 19in

Elise Miskin: 8'3 20in

Janell Miskin: 8'2 20in

Diane Garcia: 8'2 19 3/4in

Trent Miskin: 8'2 19 1/2in

Steven Fulkerson: 8'2 19in

Mom Miskin: 8'1 20in

Karen Sandoval: 8'1 19 1/2in

Morgan Thomas: 7'15 19in

Kristana Miskin: 7'15 20 1/4in.

Lisa Brown: 7'14 19 1/2in

Erin Fulkerson: 7'14 19in

Ashley Braun: 7'13 19 1/2in

Cassandra Krein: 7'12

Jenn Pratt: 7'11 19in

Natalie Mathie: 7'9 19in

Bridgette Quinn: 7'8 20in

Laura Goughnour: 7'6 19 1/2in

Dad Fulkerson: 7'6 18in

Dad Miskin: 7'4 19in

2006-06-29T23:02:00.000-06:00

Baby Game

I sent this out as an e-mail, but thought I would cover my bases by posting it here. Okay, I have a fun little game for everyone to play. I want everyone to guess the weight you think our little baby Natalya will be at birth, in pounds and ounces. Whoever gets closest will win, and will receive a 10 dollar gift card to a retail store, or restaurant (we can decide after the winner is announced). Now, this is important, in case of a tie, please also guess the height in inches, but this will only be used in the event of a tie. Anyone can participate, and if you are not near by, I will mail your prize to you.

Now, just to be fair to everyone, I will let you know what the doctor said at my last appointment. When I told him how big Tanner was at birth, 8 pounds, 9 ounces, he said "this baby isn't as big" and then I asked, "how much smaller is it", he said "well, lets just say you wouldn't be able to get his baby out either". Also, I have gained about 30lbs, which is exactly the same amount of weight I gained with Tanner. So there are your hints. Please post your guess in the comments before July 6th, and I will announce the winner as soon as I get out of the hospital. Good luck!

2006-06-27T22:01:00.000-06:00

Defying Gravity

I discovered something about myself a few months ago. I was thinking about all the things I love to do, and I realized they all had something in common. First off, I love gymnastics. I love being able to fly through the air, I love balancing and jumping. My favorite feeling in the world is the feeling I get when I am airborne for those few seconds before my feet hit the floor. I feel free and weightless. My other favorite thing to do is swim. I will go swimming any chance I get, and now that I have someone to drag along with me (Tanner) we go all the time during the summer time. When I was at water aerobics about 6 weeks ago, I realized my favorite thing to do was to just float in the water. I love the feeling of just being under the water, but not touching the ground, and just floating there. I also love flipping and twisting underneath the water. It's the same type of feeling I get when I flip through the air doing gymnastics. As I look back, I have always enjoyed these two things, swimming and gymnastics. Ever since I was old enough to do either, I have loved it. I decided I love it so much because I like to defy gravity. I want to test the laws of gravity, and prove that I don't have to follow that rule. I think if I could have any super hero trait, I would want to be able to fly. My other dream is to try out a zero gravity chamber, just to see what it would be like, I think I would love it. The funny thing about all this? I already see Tanner doing the same things. You should see him jump and climb. He also has learned to do amazing summersaults, and will do them over and over again, with perfect form (what can I say, he learns from the best). Also, the other day at seven peaks, and yesterday at the public pool, I noticed that his favorite thing to do is get about neck deep in the water, and just float around. I think he could honestly do it for hours if I let him. He just sits there looking at his hands at feet floating there in the water. Like mother like son I guess!

2006-06-23T21:21:00.000-06:00

A Bad Morning

So, yesterday I had a bad morning. It started out okay, I woke up with Tanner, we did our usual morning routine. The only difference is that at 11 Tanner and I were going to go to Seven Peaks Water Park with my friend and her kids who are moving this weekend. I was really excited to get ready and go and spend the day in the water and sun, and let Tanner run around and have fun. Plus, I figured the sooner I got there, the more I would get out of the ridiculously priced $19.95 ticket to get it. Tanner and I were ready promptly at 11, and waited for my friend to come pick me up (Trent gets the car on Thursdays). At 11:45 I get a call, "Sorry, we decided to pack this morning, and I have a Mary Kay facial to do at 12:30, so we won't be there until almost 2". My first thought were, we had been planning this since last week, she could have called earlier, and I could have had Trent drop me off there on his way to work, why did you schedule a facial two days before your moving and on the day we had planned to so this, and then, I thought, great I am going to paying 19.95 for 4 hours, which I think isn't worth it. I was really disappointed and angry; Tanner was rearing to go, and wondering why we hadn't left. I had our lunch all packed in a cooler, which I had to take out and eat because Tanner and I were both hungry. Anyway, while I was waiting, I decided to get online and check blogs (my favorite past time) and I came upon a blog entry that not only cheered me up and made me laugh, but made me feel like my day wasn't so bad: It is my old roommate Cassandra's blog entry on June 22nd
( http://live2create.blogspot.com/). I don't know why it affected me that way, but thank you Cassandra! Needless to say, my day was better after that. Tanner and I ate our lunch outside, we walked down the street and bought a snow cone, and my friend called and apologized profusely, plus paid for half of my seven peaks admission (they had season passes). Tanner and I had a blast, and it ended up that 4 hours just was just long enough.

2006-06-19T22:30:00.000-06:00

Pigs In Heaven

Just finished re-reading a great book given to me by a dear friend (thanks Natalie!). Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver. Here is a short synopsis of the book for those of you who have not read it yet:

"Turtle Greer, daughter of Taylor Greer witnesses a freak accident at the Hoover Dam. With a moment of celebrity, Turtle's life changes, and so do the lives of everyone she loves."

This book brought up a interesting discussion. If a cherokee, navajo, or other Indian child is adopted illegally into a white family, should they be brought back into the nation, or stay with their adoptive family? In the book, the Cherokee nation argued that the child need to be brought back because they are Indian and need to understand and learn their heritage. My opinion on the matter is, if a child is settled into a family, and is comfortable there, they shouldn't be brought back into the Indian nation just because they feel like the child belongs there to learn their culture and heritage. I think it would cause more bad then good to rip a child from their "family" just because of their ethnicity.

Anyway, another issue it talked about children of other ethnicities who are adopted into white families will never have a place in society. The book brought up that the child will act white, dress white, and talk white, and then go and try to mingle with white society, and they won't be excepted because of their skin color. So then, they go and try to mingle with people of their ethinicty, but they aren't excepted their either, because they act white. I thought of Angelina Jolie when I read this. She loves to adopt little foriegn babies (and steal peoples husbands), but did she ever consider the problems that may arise from this. It is a hard issue to balance, because adoption is a wonderful thing, especially if you are taking a child out of a bad situation, but what what kind of social effects will it have on the children?

Anyway, the book is great, and I highley recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fun easy read!

2006-06-09T10:38:00.000-06:00

Media Fast

In the area I live in (namely Provo), there has been a new trend among the stakes. It's called a media fast. A media fast is basically, no TV, no internet, no computer, no newspaper, no radio, with the only exception being, if you need it for work. Now, personally, I think it is stupid. I am one who thinks being a smart citizen is important. In order to do this, one must read a news paper, listen to a radio, get on the internet, or watch TV. How do you know what is going on in our world without doing one of those things? The prophet encourages us to be involved politically, so how can we do that if we don't know and understand the issues? I have ran into several people in the past few years who don't watch or read the news because "I hate seeing all the bad stuff that goes on". Well, if this is an issue, then read a newspaper, or look things up online where you can be specific about what you read. I couldn't imagine wandering through life not knowing if it was going to rain or snow tomorrow, or if there is an illness going around, or who is running for senate, or who won the basketball game last night. There have been families who have scheduled huge events outside, never checked the weather, and it rained all day. I know I am biased because I am a news monger, but I firmly believe it is important to know, and discuss important things that are going on in our world. Now, if that changed the media fast to "unnecessary media" I could understand. We don't need entertainment tv, radio, internet in our homes, but personally, I think it's nice to have sometimes, I do understand it is not needed though.

2006-05-30T21:03:00.000-06:00

Just A Thought...

So I went visiting teaching this month (a church thing) and I chose to use Elder Hales talk from General Conference on free agency (http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,49-1-602-1,00.html). As I was preparing my lesson, a really enlightening thought came into my mind. So, I have made mistakes in my past, some little, some a little bigger. I wish I would have made better decisions, however, I have become a better, stronger person because of my mistakes. So, if my mistakes have made me a better person, then where would I be had I not made those mistakes in the first place? Would I have grown as much as I did? I know that we cannot be perfect beings, so we are bound to make mistakes in life, so our mistakes, if repented of, must serve some good purpose, and help us grow as an individual. Any thoughts?

2006-05-25T08:03:00.000-06:00

You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. ~ Napoleon Dynomite

Tanner has become obsessed with the movie, Napoleon Dynomite. He has watched it almost everyday for the past two weeks. Usually Trent and I can figure out why he likes a movie, like when he was obsessed with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but this one baffles us. We think he might like the dancing scene at the end, but I am not sure. The funny thing is, is that he picked it out himself, we never showed it to him, or enouraged him to watch it, he chose it all on his own.

It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.~ Napoleon Dynomite

I am now just waiting for the day when he starts quoting things from the movie, like "idiot, or "sweet". I really like the movie, but now that I have watched some or all of it about 14 times, its getting annoying. Anyway, I guess next time we are at Trent's parents house we will have to mozy on over the border into Preston, ID and visit the home of Napoleon Dynomite, eat at Big J's, play teather ball, and go off some sweet jumps. We can be cool parents and tell Tanner when he is older that we went to college with John Heder and the director Jared Hess.

Vote for me, and all your wildest dreams will come true. ~Pedro Sanchez

2006-05-15T21:50:00.000-06:00

Things I have learned as a wife of an Entrprenuer

As most of you know, My husband Trent started his own business about a year ago called fundinguniverse.com. Now that a year has gone by, I have learned a lot, and I thought I would just share a few things with you.

1) Regular paychecks become irregular.

When you start a business, it usually takes a lot of money. Luckily, it hasn't been very much of our own money. From day one, Trent had a investor/mentor that actually thought up the business plan, and gave it to Trent to build. However, since the company now has about 10 employees, and isn't earning enough, they decided to get real investors. After two months of no paychecks, and many back and forths with lawyers, paychecks will be regular once again.

2) 9-5 turns into 9 to whenever

Some days, Trent will leave for work around 10, come home at 5, other days leave at 9 and come home at 6. When you are part owner of a company, you are your own boss. However, this also means Trent works a lot from home, so even when he is home from work, he often has many projects he needs to work on. This isn't always a bad thing either. Sometime his assistant comes over and it turns into a all night pizza party.

3) You learn to bite your tongue.

So, of course I am extremely proud of Trent and all he has done with this company. He is considered a founder, he was the one who took the idea and ran with it. He built the website, and came up with a lot of the original ideas. However, Trent is the computer guy. So, as the company has grown, there is now a CEO and Chief Evanaglist, who are considered co-owners with Trent, the CTO (Chief Technology Officer). I often feel like Trent kinda got put in the shadows, and people don't often realize that he is and was the backbone of the company. The CEO gets most the credit, and sometimes I just want to put up a billboard praising Trent. but of course, the two other guys are great, and they also give Trent a lot of respect.

4) You build your vocabulary

So, it is kinda random that Trent's company helps entreprenuer find investors, cause that is basically what they had to do themselves. Anyway, I have learned a whole new vocabulary surrounding business start-up, entreprenuers, investors, and small business. For example, the phrase I used earlier, chief evangelist: sales guy, or angel investor: a person who invests in companies and is in a group with other angel investors. I have also learned about random people like Guy Kowasaki and Seth Godin, who are popular among the entreprenuer circles.

5) Your own business opportunity

Trent as had me give feed back on site layout or busniess ideas several times. It is fun to actually have a say in what goes on. Also, I am an employee of fundinguniverse.com. I work one hour a day, putting together a newsletter to e-mail out to subscribers. It is really fun, I earn some extra spending money, and I really am learning a lot about Trent's company and business in general. I am forced to read articles and blogs concerning business, and I am begining to enjoy it.

While some of you may read this thinking that you would never want to be invovled in a start up, it really is a great experince. I know Trent has learned a lot, and I have too. I have become a better budgeter and saver ( just in case those paychecks stop coming again), and I have become very patient. I hope Trent's company begins to earn it's own revenue and begins to flurish. It was Trent's dream to own his own business, and although its been hard, I am gratful that Trent is happy to go to work, and happy when he comes home.

If any of you are interested, here is the site for Trent's company: www.fundinguniverse.com

2006-05-11T13:43:00.000-06:00

A Busy Life

I have been lagging behind on my blog postings lately, and I really think it's because I haven't even had a second to write for the last week or so. I just finished my second round of independent study classes, and recieved my third (and final) set which includes the dreaded stats 221. I realized that if I want to finish before the baby is born, then I have to do an assignment every other night until July5th, the night before my c-section date. This on top of my other class, adolecent literature, which I just found out has a term paper at the end!! So besides being completely over taken by school, other things have kept me pretty busy.

On Saturday, Trent's family came to visit, minus one sister, and spent the day with us. Three of Trent's siblings are allready here in Provo, so they came over as well. It was a lot of fun. We pigged out (like we always do) and then we went to Thanksgiving Point to the Dinsosaur Museum and one of the huge gardens. Between all the walking and standing, I was completley pooped by the end of the day. Trent's family is awesome, we always have such a good time together. I really feel blessed to be part of two awesome families.

Sunday after church we drove up to Salt Lake to have a family get together with Trent's immediate and extended family. Now, being part of Trent's immediate family is awsome, but then the extended family is just as cool. I grew up never really having cousins or any normal aunts or uncles to hang out with, so I think it's great I have been adopted into Trent's family. There is always tons to talk and laugh about, and we just have a great time together. I love going to Miskin family stuff, and I think how lucky they are to have each other.

Monday my sister-in-law Erin (brothers wife) and their little boy Evan came to stay the night with us. It was pretty fun. We don't have family staying over a lot so it's always a treat. Plus, Tanner is only 4 months older than Evan, so of course they had a blast! On Tuesday morning I had to take Trent to work, and I had a Dr.s appointment, and she totally helped out with Tanner, and even picked up the house! I was very grateful.

Earlier last week, during the failed potty training fiasco, (he still has only gone once in the potty), Tanner also decided to stop napping. I didn't know if it was stress from potty training or what, but I tried everything to get him to sleep. By Friday I had given up and just let him stay awake, and because of my hectic schedual, he didn't even get a quiet time Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. However, on Monday I thought, he is so grumpy and sleepy, if he doesn't nap, he will die! So I had this plan to get him to fall asleep, well, I didn't even have to do it because he fell asleep on the first try, and has napped everyday thereafter. When he wasn't taking naps, I got into the habit of not taking them either, and it is great to be back ont he nap schedual... even if I don't need them, I love to take them:)

A little baby update. Natalya is and I are doing great. The Dr said my blood pressure, weight gain, tummy measurment, Natalyas heart rate and everything is right on target (though I feel like my tummy measurment well exceeds the 8 month mark). Natalya is even allready head down, which really doesn't matter that much since I am having a c-section, but it's good to know.

Although life is busy, it is good. I love this time of year, and all the excitement it brings. I often have to take a moment and remember to be thankful for all my wonderful blessings, and all the great people in my life. I truely feel like the luckiest girl alive.

2006-05-03T22:21:00.000-06:00

The Woes of Potty Training

So, I decided to make attempt to potty train Tanner. He is a little over two years old, and I felt he is ready. He was showing some of the signs of being ready to make the big step, so I decided today was the day. Yesterday we went out and bought cool underwear (Thomas the Tank Engine, and Madagascar), and I talked a lot about "going potty". So, I was dreading the day, remembering everyone elses potty training horror stories. I was hoping I would have a different experience... I was wrong. Tanner and I stayed home all day, Tanner ran around in an undershirt and his underwear. I would put him on the potty every 20 min or so, and if he sat for a bit, he would get a piece of candy. I told him if he went potty he would get a sticker on his potty chart, and two pieces of candy. Well, Tanner peed three times, all on the floor. One time, it was literaly 2 minutes after I had put him on the potty to go. Tanner was frustrated, I was frustrated, he just didn't understand why I was making him do this all day! I just about gave up hope, then Trent came home, I told Tanner to go show Daddy how he is a big boy and goes pee in the potty, and what do you think he did? Sat on the potty, and somehow missed and peed all over the floor. However, he meant to go in the potty! I hope this is a breakthrough, he got really excited about his sticker and candy, and we cheered and everything. Quite entertaining to watch I am sure. Tomorrow will be another long day... but hope it isn't as bad as today. If anyone has any tips, advice, or words of encouragment, please share! I am almost out of carpet cleaner, and Tanner only has 2 more pairs of unsoiled underwear.

2006-05-01T21:29:00.000-06:00

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

And no, it isn't Christmas. It's Spring! Now that i can officially say it's Spring because we have gone at least two weeks without snow. I really love Spring time. It's not too hot, but warm enough to break out the capris and shorts. One of my most favorite things about Spring was not realized until I moved here to Utah. Tulips! My favorite flower. I love tulips, just the sight of them makes me feel happy.
This is the first year where I had the opporunity to plant my own tulips. Sometime in October, I went out and planted the blubs, having no clue what I was supposed to do, and praying that I was doing it right. As you can see, I must have done something right cause they are wonderful! The best part, I bought some generic package at like the dollar store, so I had no idea what they were going to look like, and I couldn't have been more pleased! They are the prettiest tulips ever. I find excuses to go outside just to look at them. My favorite part is in the morning where they are all closed up, and then as the sun comes over our house, they start opening up, following the sun. If I was a flower, I would be a tulip. Sadly, their days are numbered, and they are starting to wilt, but ahhh, the blessings of annuals, they will return again next year.

2006-04-25T22:51:00.000-06:00

The Blessing of Parents

So, my parents came to visit this past week. Besides the passing on of the stomach flu (from Tanner, to me, to my Mom, to my sister -in- law), we had such a fun time. I am so blessed to have fantastic parents. First of all, they brought us their "old couches" (they look brand new) so we could get rid of our really old couches, and a bog boy bed for Tanner. My poor Dad was sick with what could have been the mumps, but the doctors said it was a bad viral infection, and they drove all the way here in the Jeep pulling a trailer full of furniture. Then, they helped with Tanner by going out and buying all kinds of stomach flu junk (gatorade, crackers, coloring books, etc), they drove us to Smithfield to see Trent's brother who just came home off his mission (yay Kory!!), and have Easter dinner with Trent's family, and helped clean up when Tanner puked in the car on the way home. They bought a complete wardrobe for the new baby, and added to Tanners, they completley spoiled Tanner by giving into his every whim ( I have finally gotten him back to normal), and just had a good time with us ( I hope). The best part is that they seemed to know exactly what we needed, like my Dad filled my car up with gas before they left, and that was something we really needed. It is amazing to me the wonderful things they do for us. I hope they know I love them and appreciate all they do. I know they just enjoy spending time with us too, and love the fact I am giving them grandchildren. I shouldn't leave my in-laws out either. They also do wonderful things for us, and we always feel spoiled when we are around them. Now that I have a child and a half, I can begin to grasp how my parents must feel about me, and the love they have for me. What I don't understand is the neccessity to endlessly spoil grandchildren, but hopefully my time will come.

2006-04-21T21:40:00.000-06:00

A Fun Thing To Do

On myspace.com, people post things called "bulletins" where you can post random things like personality quizes, or info to share with people on your friends list etc. Well, one of the people on my friends list posted a bulletin that I thought was cool, and that I wanted to share with everyone... just not myspace people.

On the bulletin it linked to a site: http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/member/birthdayno1.php

The bulletin explained that the song that was number one on the music charts on your 18th birthday is considered your "theme song". So, when you go to the site, put in the year and date of your 18th birthday and see what it is! Mine theme song is "Maria, Maria" by Santana. I wasn't exactly sure what the lyrics were so I looked them up:

Ho Maria Maria
She reminds me of a west side story
Growing up in Spanish Harlem
She's living the life just like a movie star

Ho Maria Maria
She fell in love in East L.A.
To the sounds of the guitar, yeah, yeah
Played by Carlos Santana

Stop the looting, stop the shooting
Pick pocking on the corner
See as the rich is getting richer
The poor is getting poorer

Se mira Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
In my mailbox there's an eviction letter
Somebody just said see you later

Ahora vengo mama chola mama chola
Ahora vengo mama chola

I said a la favella los colores
The streets are getting hotter
There is no water to put out the fire
Mi canto la esperanza

Maria you know you're my lover
When the wind blows I can feel you
Through the weather and even when we're apart
It feels like we're together

Interesting, I know, I am not sure what it means, but it is fun anyway. Trent's theme song is "Don't want to miss a thing" by Aerosmith, which I think fits him perfect.

The number one song on my day of birth was: "I love Rock and Roll" which I think is more of my theme song, but whatever:) The number one song on Trent's day of birth is classic: "Another one bites the dust" by Queen.

Okay, so here is what I want you all to do. Go to the site, look up the date of your 18th birthday, find your theme song, and leave a comment telling me about it, I think it would be fun. Also, if you have any insight on what my song might mean, I would appreciate that. And if you are really bored, tell me the number one song on your day of birth! Now, go!!

2006-04-14T23:36:00.000-06:00

A Touching Moment

Today I had a wierd but touching moment. I needed to go up to BYU campus (which I don't do very often) in order to register for August graduation. As I was pushing Tanner across campus towards the SWKT I had a flash back to a year ago, when I was pushing Tanner who , just turned one, across campus in order to go to class. I thought to myself, wow, I actually made it, I defeated the odds and I am actually going to graduate.

Honestly, throughout the past two years, I had a lot of doubts. Many times I just wanted to give up! I know I don't ever plan on working, so I didn't always think I needed a degree. Now that I made it, I am glad I did it. Whether or not I ever use my degree doesn't matter, the fact that I got it makes all the difference in the world.

While thinking about all this, I actually teared up! People probably saw me and thought "crazy pregnant woman, those hormones are taking control". I didn't care, I was actually proud of myself! Granted it took me about 6 years to finally finish, but the fact that I will have two kids when I recieve my diploma is an amazing feat. I really don't think I could have done it without Trent's support. He encouraged me the whole way. He helped me get back into school after I had Tanner, he walked me through the pell grant process, he watched Tanner when he could so I could go to class or a study group, he never pushed me too hard, but pushed me enough so I would finish. I am so glad I have a husband that has supported me through all of this.

Trent, who is also graduating in August doesn't want to "walk" in order to recieve his diploma. After today, I decided I want to walk. I deserve it! I put a lot of hard work and sacrifice into all of this, I want to celebrate it properly!

2006-04-13T22:25:00.000-06:00

7 months

Today, I am 7 months along in my pregnancy. What does this mean? Not a whole lot. The baby is about 3 pounds, and if she was born, she would have a 65 percent of survival. It is hard to believe I am this far along already! I do feel huge, and that there is no way I will make to to July, but I don't feel like my life has slowed down that much. When I was seven months a long with Tanner, it was right after Christmas. I remember I got a major sweet tooth and I would eat cake for dinner. I also only gained one pound the whole month (your supposed to gaing a pound a week) even though I was eating like crap and not excercising. I was working, but not very much, kept getting sick with these reall bad colds, so on most days I would just sit and watch TV all day. Those were the days. Now, I do aerobics 2-3 days a week, water aerobics 1-2 days a week. I go on walks almost every day with Tanner. I have been working in our garden. I only have a slight sweet tooth, but I am not really eating a whole lot. I have slight congestion, but nothing like I had when I was pregnant with Tanner. I wonder what makes the difference? Is it because I excercised and ate better? Is it because I don't have the stress of work, or is it because I have a toddler who won't let me be lazy? I don't know, but I hope I can still keep going! My goal is to go to water aerobics the night before I got into the hospital for y c-section... we will see if that happens. I am just excited to be so active, and sooo ready to have this baby!

2006-04-11T15:45:00.000-06:00

A Day in Bed

Well, it isn't actually a day in bed for me, but Tanner is sick, so we all (even Trent) have gone into lockdown in our house. This isn't the sickest Tanner has been, but he definitly has never acted as bad. He cries at the drop of a hat, and then crying makes is nose run even worse and then comes the coughing. It is hard not to get mad at him, cause he is so pitiful. Right now he is watching Harry Potter and coloring, so all is well for the moment. I told Trent I am glad he stayed home, or I may have had a nervous break down. I am in the nesting stage of my pregnancy, and I have been going around organizing and cleaning everything. With Trent home, I have been able to get a lot done! It's a good day to stay home inside too, because it is a little chilly and rainy outside, so I don't mind it too much.

I just wanted to make a side note about one of my previous blogs, the one about immigration. After watching the news and reading the paper, I have has a small change of heart. The protests going on in reguards to the immigration bill have mostly been peaceful. I understand these people do just want to live here in our country and be Americans. They have been waving American flags, and are doing what they feel is right. I think it is a good thing they are doing to get their point across, and it is a perfect example of one of the benefits they have of being in this country. My feelings however have not changed against people living illegally in this country, but I do feel like our leaders need to do something, pass some kind of bill in order to combat this problem and make this country a better place for everyone.

2006-04-08T22:04:00.000-06:00

Birthday Hangover

So I have finally gotten over my birthday hangover. No, I didn't get drunk.. geez I am Mormon and pregnant, who do you think I am? I did have a pretty good birthday though. That morning, Trent made breakfast for me and gave me my presents. He never really asks what I want, but he always gives me the perfect gifts! One gift was a giant barrel of cheese balls from sam's club, it's pretty awesome. After that I actually went to my aerobics class (in my new athletic shoes, also from Trent). Then, my friend Amber came and took Tanner and I to Red Robbin for lunch. Afterward, I took my birthday nap (not to be confused with the other naps I take daily). Then my friend Natalie came to babysit Tanner so Trent and I could go out to dinner and to a movie! I also recieved a lot of e-mails and a few phone calls from well wishers. It was a fun day, and for some reason I haven't felt very well since then, hence the birthday hangover.

I thought I should just do a short Tanner update. He has been so cute lately, I think it is time to brag again. Whenever he wants to watch a movie, he puts the movie in himself, then when its over, he turns off the TV, takes to DVD out and puts it in the box, and turns off the DVD player. He also learned how to ride a razor skooter this weekend. We found the skooter in our shed, and it was broken, but Trent fixed it and we made the handle bars low enough for him, and he can ride it. He does fall often, but it is so cute to watch. Tanner has started singing quite a bit. He loves to sing twinkle twinkle little star, popcorn popping, and two collective soul songs. One of them is "Shine" and he sings the chorus "whoooaaaa, heaven let your light shine down" it's pretty dang cute. One funny thing he has started doing is picking lint out of his toes. For some reason Tanner is kind of a neat freak when it comes to his body, he hates having dirty hands or dirty clothes (Trent blames it on me). Anyway, he will take his shoes and socks off and sit for like 20 min. picking the lint out of his toes. It is pretty funny.

2006-04-04T21:42:00.000-06:00

As some of you may know, tomorrow is my birthday! I will be 24. It's so funny to thing that my least favorite holiday (April Fools) is followed by my favorite! It is so fun to think about what birthday can hold in store, will it be a wonderful day, or will it be a letdown? I realized the other day, that my birthdays have gone in cycles since I turned 18. Before I turned 18, I believe every one of my birthdays were pretty dang good! Then again, everything is when your a kid! My 18th birthday was possibly one of the best birthdays I ever had, I know it was, but sadly I don't remember exactly all that went on, I just know it was great. After that it was about every other bithday was good. My 19th birthday was my least favorite. I was dating a guy that decided to have a nervous break down that night, and I remember being stuck listening to him for hours as I watched my birthday tick away. When I got back to my dorm, my wonderful friends had decorated my entire room, which was my birthday's saving grace, and of course, that was the infamous jog around the dorm halls:) My 20th birthday is tied for my best birthday ever. My roomates threw me the best party, I will always remember it. Now my theory gets a little skewed because my 21st and 22nd birthday were just mediocre. I believe it was my 22nd birthday that nobody called me. No family, no friends. Of course Trent remember, but he was working and going to school, so he was busy most of the day anyway, it was pretty sad. Now, last year, my 23rd birthday was a lot of fun! My Dad was in town, along with my brother Steven. My Dad hung out with Tanner and I all day, and took us to lunch and shopping, then that night we all went out for dinner. The best part, Trent bought me a nintendo DS, totally unexpected, and my best friend Ashley had her little boy Mason! So, according to my cycle this year has the possibility of being a let down:( However, I am all about breaking the cycle, and tomorrow has much potential. Trent is getting up with Tanner, my friend Amber is taking me out to lunch, my best friend Natalie is babysitting for us, and Trent and I are going to dinner and a movie, and Trent bought me a bunch of presents and I have no idea what any of them are. My good friend Cassandra has a birthday coming up too, and this is her "golden birthday", she has been looking forward to it almost her whole life! If anyone has a wonderful birthday this month, I hope it's her! Anyway, needless to say, I am excited for tomorrow, whether its a let down or not, birthdays are always so much fun!

2006-04-03T12:40:00.000-06:00

I almost hate to blog about this because I know it is a touchy subject, but I feel a little fired up about it, so I am going to anyway. I just want to start out by saying that I am very excepting of other cultures and nationalities. I am glad we live in a country where we are all immigrants. It is what makes our country what it is. I also understand why people would want to come here. There are jobs, freedoms, and opportunities they may not have in any other country. Having said that, I feel and believe that unless somebody comes here legally and goes through the proper preceedures, they shouldn't be allowed to stay. There is a huge uproar right now concerning a proposed immigration bill. I don't know all the ins and outs of it, but basically it would make it illegal for someone to come here illegally (duh). I believe this bill could also give the option for a temporary workers permit, and make it a little easier to become a US citizen. Sounds good to me! So, why the big uproar? I am not sure. I see protests from all around the country, including Utah, with people flying Mexican flags, burning American flags. Now, exactly what point are they trying to make? You don't like it here? Okay, then go back. I know people are having a problem with the whole "illegal immigrant" thing. I think, as a country we have to protect ourselves. Just because we share borders doesn't mean you can come dancing over whenever you want. When there is undocumented people in our country, it raises education costs (they are using our schools) and health care costs (they are using our hospitals), and they almost always they work here without paying taxes! Then there is the argument that they do work other Americans won't do. Great, if they want to do it, then get a workers permit. I know some Mexican illegals would want us to make an exception for them, but how is that fair that the US would would let any undocumented Mexican in, but if an Arab tried to do it, oh no, that couldn't happen. The US needs to treat all immigrants the same, if they are illegal from Canada, Mexico, England or Iraq they should have all the same concequences. One last point I find interesting is the way Mexico treats illegals in their country. If you cross their borders without legal documentation, they put you in jail! And often, illegals are not treated very well! I do realize, I am not an immigrant, I don't know what it is like to get a workers permit or citizenship, so I can't exactly criticize because I can't empathize with them. But, I do believe that it is only fair in this country, that if you want to come here and work, or live, you should be documented, be paying taxes, and be doing whatever you can to becomes a legal part of this country, if your not, then you deserved to be shipped out!

P.S. I made it through another Aprils Fools unscathed...whew!

2006-04-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

I hate April Fools day. I think it is the only holiday I dread every year. Granted, I love playing tricks on people, I just hate having them done on me. I don't know when this hatred started, I know when I was little I liked it, or at least I think I did. All I can think is that I have a fear of the unexpected, which is funny, because life is full of unexpectedness and I am not afraid to live. I think my fear has intensified since I got married. Why? Well, I am married to someone who thrives on holidays like these. He thinks of these amazing tricks. The funny thing is, is he seems to always forget to do them to me when the time comes. So, in the three years we've been married, April Fools has been uneventful. That makes me even more frightened. Maybe he is just saving up to play the greatest trick of the century or something. I don't dare ever play a trick on him, I know he would retaliate!! The best thing to do is ignore it, and hope he forgets, (and he usually does:) So, what does this day hold in store? Is Trent plotting some major joke to play on me right at this moment? Probably not, but I don't think I will feel completley comfortable until this day is over! However, I am looking forward to play tricks on Tanner someday, when he is old enough to understand... hopefully he isn't just like his Dad, or I am really in for it!

2006-03-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

I usually don't like to blog about really personal things, you never know who is reading it, but I felt like making an exception. An interesting thing was brought to my attention. I was out visiting the other day (visiting teaching for us mormons:), and my companion and visiting teachee started talking about this "Quest" program that my companion's husband went through, along with my visiting teachee, and her best friend. I had no idea what they were talking about. They explained to me that it's some kinda program that helps you "find yourself". My companion mentioned that this was just part of her husbands journey in "finding himself" Her husband did this quest program just a few years ago, I know he is about 36 years old now, so he was probably in is early 30's when he "found himself". It was a really interesting concept to me. First of all, to acutally go through some kind of structured program to "find myself", and to not even really know or understand my place in life until I was in my 30's! It made me think a lot about one specific turning point I had in my life, and I guess I could say it was when I "found myself". I don't know that I have ever actualluy voiced any of this to anyone, so this may be interesting to some people.

After my freshman year of college, I could say was my wild summer. Now, you have to understand, it is a Mormon definition of wild. Yes, I probably did some things I shouldn't have, but it really wasn't all that bad, and I certainly had fun doing it! My three best friends and I hung out all summer, and had a blast. I mainly look back on that summer with fond memories. I did not have a lot of responsibilty either, I worked a little bit, spent a lot of money, didn't get any sleep, and even took a unexpected month long trip near the end of the summer. Needless to say, it was really hard to go back to BYU and start school again. I knew I was leaving the fun behind, along with people I cared a lot about. When I returned to BYU, I did not want to be there. I got back a few weeks before the semester began, so I had a lot of downtime to miss everything. I honestly hated my apartment I moved into (not the the roommates, just the actual living space), I didn't feel motivated for school, I missed my best friends, my family, and of course, a boy. I really felt like I no longer fit into that atmosphere for some reason. Maybe my wild side was calling me back, I'm not sure. Anyway, about a week before school started I started getting really sick, I couldn't eat, My throat was so swollen I could hardly breath I slept about 20 hours a day. I really do not remember a whole lot that went on. Finally my brother, who was also at BYU at the time, some how found out I was sick and basically rescued me and took me to the doctor. Come to find out, I had mono (now you know what kind of summer I had... haha, just kidding). I called my parents, they panicked and bought me a plane ticket to come home for the semester. I had to defer my semester at BYU, leave most of my stuff behind, and go home. Secretly, I was happy. I didn't want to be there, and for some reason I thought I would be going home to the same place I had left. Boy, was I wrong. First of all, I felt too crappy to even go out and do much for about 2 months, and when I finally did feel good, my parents made me get a job. My friends of course were going on with their lives, school and work, and the boy, well he was also back at school. I had a lot of time to myself, and a lot of time to think. During these months at home, I really started to think about were my life was heading. I started making some changes. I decided to change my major, I started doing more of my spiritual duties (reading scriptures, praying more...), and I knew that I needed to get over, or get out of the realationship I was in because at that point I was the only one trying to hang on. I can't say I returned to BYU a completely changed person, but the process had begun. I slipped back into my old ways for a bit, dating a younger guy, knowing it was going no where. One night, sometime in April of 2002, I was having a problem with this younger guy I was dating, and I did something I don't think I would have normally done. I went up to the apartment of a guy I could say I was mearly an aquaintance with, and unloaded my drama on him. He was so understanding, and actually gave me honest and valuable advice. I thought, whoa, I must have been prompted to go and talk to him because he really helped me feel better. This was probably the climax of my journey. This guy was Trent, who is now my husband. After that night, we started hanging out more, and this was probably the time it became noticable that I had changed. Even Trent mentions that he was amazed how much I changed even within weeks. I became more thoughtful, more calm, more responsible, probably not as much fun. Of course, I went home again for the summer. I actually cried when my plane landed in Oakland, a complete opposite feeling from the begining of the school year. I still a blast with my three best friends, but it was like we all knew something was changing. It wasn't only me either, we were all starting to make important decisions in our life. The boy from the previous summer wasn't around, which didn't matter anyway, because I was missing somebody back in Utah. Summer ended, I went back to BYU and on Aug 31 2002 Trent proposed, and we married that December.

I would have to say that was my journey in finding myself. Now, after rereading this, I realized I made myself sound like I am really boring now. Well, I haven't lost all of my spunk, but I definitly don't have the energy I used to ( I blame it on the mono).

2006-03-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

I decided I need to brag about my husband. I have really noticed that last couple weeks what a wonderful husband and Dad he is. I don't even know where to begin. Today while I was making dinner, he and Tanner went to go play outside, but really they walked to the gorcery store near our house and bought milk, which we were out of, and he bought me two pieces of fried chicken, which I love! On weekends we switch off days sleeping in, and he doesn't even complain on the days he gets up with Tanner, and he even makes breakfast! When he gets home from work, he always spends time with Tanner, even if he is so tired, which gives me a nice needed break. He feels bad when I do too much around the house, and will often wash dishes, empty the dishwasher, or change Tanners diaper without being asked, and when I do ask him to do something, he does it without a thought! After Tanner goes to bed, he knows it's my time to relax, and always brings me a snacks, drinks, or a blanket. He seems to always try and make my life easier, and he does! I don't know how I got so lucky! He even puts up with my endless whims and crazy ideas, and usually follows through with them. We don't have a lot of extra money to spend, but he knows I like to shop, so he often will suprise me with random shopping trips. He always tells me what a wonderful wife and mother I am, and how he apprectiates how much I do. I am especially greatful that he is a good member of our church, and upholds all his duties there, and supports me in all my church duties as well! I just feel exceptionally lucky, and I am so glad to have a wonderful husband!

2006-03-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Just some random thoughts....

Tonight, Trent told me he was going to "sell destiny". It sounded really exciting. Then I found out destiny is a sword on World of Warcraft (online computer game), then it didn't seem so cool.

Some other thoughts...

So, there are some things I have been wondering about. I know a lot of people who are angry with President Bush for the war in Iraq and the wire tapping thing. However, would these same people be mad at Bush if Saddam was still in power and came and did something horrible to our country, or some if terrorist living in the US had attacked us again? My guess is yes. My guess is these same people would wonder why Bush didn't go into Iraq and stop Saddam when we could, or that he should have done something to stop these terrorists living in the US before they did something horrible to us. Just an opinion. I do not agree with the way Bush has handled things recently, but I I do support him as a president, and of some of the choices he has made. I am getting sick of the arguing, and I do not believe it will end when a new president is in power either. It seems like in our world now, people cannot be satisfied.

P.S. My bracket is shot of UCONN doesn't win!!

2006-03-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

The other day, Trent and I were talking about the baby, and Trent made a comment that he will never know what it feels like to feel a baby move or kick inside of him. He seemed honestly dissapointed about it. I then realized what an awsome experience it is to have a child. It is such a miracle that the baby starts out as this tiny little oragnism, and grows into a human! Feeling the baby kick and move inside me is such a wonderful feeling. At the same time, it is a scary event. I don't think a day goes by that I don't worry about her. While a baby is growing inside me, I have no control over what is going on. As some of you know, early in my pregnancy I had a threatened miscarriage, and was put on bed rest for 4 weeks. I had a really bad illness, and my body was trying to get rid of the baby in order to make me get better. It was one of the hardest times I've had. I had no control over it! Either the problem was going to fix itself, or it wouldn't. I just had to wait it out and see what happened. Luckily, the problem did fix itself, and was allowed to go back to normal life, and the baby is strong and healthy! So, while pregnacy is a wonderful miracle, it is a stressful time too! It is amazing what mothers go though for their children! If the nine months weren't bad enough! I've realized while my pregnancy is considered easy ( I don't get sick, I am able to excercise, ect), it still is hard! Recently I watched an episode of Law and Order about abortion. One side was trying to prove that a pregnant mother was threaning the life of her unborn child, so she should be taking into custody until her baby was born. It brought up the debate about when is a baby considered a baby, and whether an unborn child has rights. I believe that most people who have had a child would agree that life begins either at, or pretty close to conception. I had an ultrasound at 7 weeks, and there was quite a strong heartbeat! It blows me away that people would abort as late as 19 weeks! Pro- abortionists may agrue that it's the right 0f the mother, but I believe at 7 weeks my baby had it's own right to live! I know it is just my opinion, but after being pregnant twice now, I could never imagine aborting, unless there was a rape, or I had to in order to save my life. Even then I would considered other options!

2006-03-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Since I am having a girl, I have to make all new crib bedding. I made all of Tanner's bedding except the quilt. My mother-in-law made it for me, and she offered to make another quilt for little Natalya. So, the past two weeks I have been searching for fabric that I like. Some of you know, I used to have this obsession with cows (well, I admit, I'm not completly over it), so I saved a few of my cow things to use in a little girls room. Well, I thought finding a cute farm type fabric for a quilt would be super easy. Nope! I cannot find anything anywhere. So I decided, the cow thing is out. I have this new obsession with polka dots. I think they are so cute! Anyway, I decided doing something with polka dot fabric would be so cute. On Thursday my friend Natalie and I went to a few fabric stores, and I think I found what I want! On the front of the quilt I found this white fabric with bright red, green, blue, teal, and other color polka dots (quite large ones), and then I found a redish fabric for the back, that has a little plaid type design. Anyway, it sounds funny, but it is so cute. And here is the best part... it matches Tanner's room! Trent and I decided not to turn the office into another room, so Tanner and Natalya will be sharing when she is born. It will be nice because I won't have to buy new crib sheets (Tanner's are red), the red bookcase with match, and Tanner's bright colored mobile will go perfect! I will still have to sew a new bumper pad, and bed skirt, and I will probably make a more gender neutral window curtain (it is dinosaurs at the moment, it matches Tanner's bedding). Anyway, I know this is more exciting to me than anyone else, but I thought I would share my exciting news. I think the kids room will be so cute when it's all done. My parents are coming next month, and brining my old bed from highschool for him, and I will be able to get everything set up. I will be sure to get a picture and post it on here for everyone.

2006-03-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Saint Patricks Day! I have realized my holiday obbsession today. I have had at least 5 people ask me why Tanner and I match ( we are both wearing green polo shirts), and then they realize, oh it's St. Patricks Day already?? I brought the guys at Trent's work cupcakes with green marshmellow fluff, and even some of them didn't realize until then! I know I am not the only one who remembered, but I think it's funny that I get all into it, and it's a holiday about drinking! Anyway...
So, I have this love hate relationship with blogger.com. I love the way it looks, and the format, but sometimes it just doesn't work right, and it drives me crazy! Like last night, it wasn't letting me post. Sometimes when I log in it won't take me to my blog. I also lost popularity when I moved here from myspace. That at least tells me most of my readers were from Myspace! I am also trying to figure how to put links on the side. Can someone enlighten me? Trent says I have to go into the code on the template and write in the html. I think there is an easier way. Please help!

2006-03-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

March Maddness is here! This is the only time of the year I really get into college basketball. I always watch the BYU games, and ocasionally watch other games with Trent, but during march maddness, our TV is on basketball 24/7. Why? Well, I love the whole bracket thing. I decided, if every sport did brackets like this, I would watch sports way more often. I think this goes back to my whole love of organizing things. I love looking and seeing who I want to win, and figuring out how bad or good am doing. Unfortunatly, I am a pretty bad guesser. I have done two brackets on ESPN. On our Fulkerson/Miskin bracket I am in fourth beating out my Dad, Trents Dad, and one of my brothers. The other group we have with our nieghbor friends, I am in last! I guess my method of picking isn't very good ("uhh, I have never heard of that school, so they won't win") I hope everyone else is getting into this "maddness" it is actually kinda of fun to get excited about something that doesn't really matter! Right now I am watching the Utah State/ Washington game. I have Utah state going to the sweet 16. Utah is losing by 9 in the second half...woops

2006-03-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

Is the pink too much? Well I have finally made the change over to blogger.com. I was getting sick of the myspace blog layout, and it was just so ugly. Plus, now more people can leave comments! Yay! Speaking of people who read my blog, on myspace, it tells you how many people have viewed your blog. Well, I noticed the other day, it said over 200 people had viewed my blog. I think I know of maybe 10 people who actually read my blog, so there has to be other people reading it that I don't know about... phantom people!! Who are you! Of course, I don't care, cause if I did, I would make my blog private, wouldn't I! So if you are brave phantom people, come out now, and leave a comment:)

P.S. I decided the Pink was too much!