8 Months

Don't you just love the crisp, cool feeling of toilet water splashing in your face.  I guess i will need to work on my scrubbing skills so it doesn't happen again.  At least my bathrooms got clean.  

So jack is 8 months old now, and finally sitting up.  He falls eventually, but i can usually leave the room for a little bit.  Its such a whole new field of view for him and its easier for him to play with his toys.  We also finally put up the airplane swing that the Kellogg's got for jack.  when i first went outside, Alex was pushing him waaaayy too high and he was all shaking and scared.  so we had to slow it down a little.  then he got happy.  All the pictures i took turned out all blurry except a few.  we finally got our water barrels cleaned and filled.  well, all but two of them.  So that makes me feel good.  I still need to go out and plant some seeds.  And we need to redo our drip system on the garden cause its not working properly.  I am also growing starter plants if anyone is interested.  They will be $2.  I've just got herbs going mostly.  Basil, thyme, sage, rosemary, cilantro, chives, parsley.  so let me know if you are interested.  They won't be ready to plant for a little while though.  

school is going good.  my bio teacher said she would be my lab partner any day.  i think that is a good sign!! 

Jack's wispy old man hair flying in the breeze.

Big boy jack!!  What good posture you have.

Anny the Yogi

So tonight i was in my bathroom and all of a sudden i hear my yoga video playing.  i though, hmm that's weird, so i come out and there's Anny doing my yoga video.  it was so funny.  She had my yoga mat out and everything.  so i had to get some pics of that.  at first she was like, "stop taking pictures, its not funny" and "you're messing me up".  She has done it with me a couple times before.  she's actually pretty good, and understands what they are talking about.  she knows the names of some of the poses already.  Alex put a kids yoga video on our netflix list, so we'll see how she likes it.  she said she was good enough to do the grown-up one and she didn't need the kid one.  I'm just excited that she wants to do it.  neither me or Alex are very flexible, so hopefully this will help her.  

Pretty good down dog Anny!  isn't my room so very neat and tidy??

My blueberry baby

I know i just posted, but i just thought this was too good.  i made some pears with blueberries for jack today.   boy did he love it.  of course it got everywhere.  he kept grabbing the spoon so he could feed himself.  

Ellie actually took this picture.  i was in it too, but i cropped myself out for your benefit.  he totally looks like alex here, well i think so.  funny enough, this is also what alex looks like after eating blueberries.

Sorry to keep you all waiting

Geez!  i have been busy with school.  Since i don't have a teacher teaching me anything, i have to read the chapters word for word pretty much.  very time consuming.  but i really like it.  i actually learn a lot more.  i think i would just do the bare minimum before, but now, i have to do it all cause i don't know what i will be tested on.  

The girls' birthdays went pretty well.  Alex is a good dad.  he gets them flowers and a balloon on their actual birthday, so they wake up and see the surprise.  it makes them feel really special.  i used to get mad when he did this, cause i think flowers are a big fat waste of money, but they really do appreciate it.  We had family over for dinner on Sunday the 7th.  They both got the stupid barbie dolls they wanted.  and then Cassie got them the new barbie movie.  why do they like barbies?  i hate barbies.  why can't they take after me??  i wonder if there is a connection between girls who play with barbies and girls who later have eating disorders or lots of plastic surgery.  

We also got a great garden box made.  poor Alex, it was a lot of hard work.  it was exhausting just watching him do it all.  We used like 2x12 inch boards.  they only cost about $32, so not as expensive as i thought it might be.  The whole thing is 22ft x 5ft.  We found a place down the road that sells clean fill dirt for $12 a ton.  and we also got quite a few bags of good garden soil with lots of compost.  I planted a few herb plants to get it going.  and I'm going to put out some garlic in a couple weeks.  and i have a whole list of seeds to get started.  Ellie wanted a tomato plant.  So we put that next to the basil.   i am trying to teach the girls to recognize the difference between the herbs and weeds.  

Last night we went to Shanna's house for dinner.  Alex got to go too since he was off.  earlier in the day he went to jury summons.  they were going to pick him but he said he had a funeral on Friday, so they let him go.  The funeral is for Marcus Bess' dad.  If any of you knew him.  He died last week from a very unexpected heart attack.   

Can't think of much else that has happened.  Jack will be 8 months in a few days!!  he's just about sitting up by himself.  yeah, my kids usually hit those physical milestones pretty late.  Anny didn't even walk till she was about 18 months!

Ellie was a good helper.  She was raking all the dirt.  you can see my grape vine and my grapefruit tree that have yet to produce.

Anny helped out by bringing small loads of dirt with a shovel.  the shovel had holes in it too.  thanks a lot Anny for all your help.

Here is my overgrown herb garden.  the grass took over as i got more and more pregnant with jack, and then i didn't have the energy to do anything after he was born.  stupid grass.  There is still some sage, mint, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and lavender along the house.  I'm going to have to borrow my dad's tiller to get out all that grass.

Oh, yeah, Alex's family saw those guys from that motorcycle show Orange county choppers, or whatever its called, at the airport and got a picture. 

Here's Anny and Iman's son Ethan.  

Oh what a beautiful barbie, NOT!

Lucky me, they sing too.  so i now have barbie songs stuck in my head all day.

Ethan gave them mouse trap.  good job Ethan.  

Homemade Baby Food, School and Movies

Well thanks to the cool magic bullet my mom got me, i was able to make all of this baby food for only about $2.50.  Cool!!  i did green beans, peas, and some sweet potato.  I did way to much of the beans and peas though and ran out of containers.  Next time i will do smaller portions so i can have a wider variety.  

Me and the girls just got done watching another Hayao Miyazaki film.  I would say he's like the Walt Disney of Japan, but better.  They aren't as fluffy and full of songs like Disney movies can be.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  But Miyazaki's movies are just more relevant.  I'm not really  into anime, but his films are just really good.  they have amazing animation, even the older ones, and they have such good themes in them so they are great for families.  We just watched My Neighbor Totoro.  We've also seen Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, and our personal favorite, Spirited Away.  Anyway, i would highly recommend seeing some of his movies, or all of them for that matter. 

School is going good.  I have an essay due on Monday.  better get started on that.  i also just got my Lab kit in the mail today for micro.  

The girls got their birthday present in the mail yesterday from the Kellogg's.  It is a Karaoke Machine.  It looks like a little boom box.   so Ellie's been singing into the microphone all day.  Luckily she has to plug it in, so i just make her go in her room and shut the door.  I am such a fun mom!

Tonight Clarissa is spending the night for their birthdays.  We are having pizza.  And then we are having birthday cake on Sunday since Alex will be off.  At least i don't have to do a party this year.  i hate doing that.  besides next year Anny will be 8, so I'm sure we will do something for her baptism.  

Shanna, this is how much it made.  Next time you can come over and we will make it together.  Are you going to add cinnamon to your sweet potatoes??

This is our favorite.  Watch it and you'll see why.

Despite that this is voiced by Dakota Fanning, it was still really good.  the images are so emotionally moving, i wish i could be there rolling around in the grass and flowers.

My New Favorite Website

I just put together my own yoga sequence at yogajournal.com  It's a pretty easy tool to use.  Now i just want to figure out how i can put it into a power point or something.  so it's easier to see, at least till i memorize it.  i guess i could just print it too, but I'm out of paper right now.  

i just know my Lil sis Chelsea is going to check out this website, aren't  you Chels?  I'm coming over to mom's so we can do it together.  then I'm going to get my mom to do it.  ready mom??!!

  Alex is really impressed every time i show him something new i learned in my yoga class.  he's actually considering trying it out.  and he should, he is the least flexible person i know, besides myself.  someday i just know i will be a master yogi!

The Big 7

Jack was 7 months on the 20th.  i wonder how many kisses I've given him and how many gallons of milk I've produced in the last 7 months.  i am happy to say that my milk contains no rSBT.  

i kind of feel gypped out of my first day of school.  i mean, nothing really special happens when you take the class online.  no one made me french toast or anything special.  i didn't get to ride the bus, or pack a lunch.  o well.  at least it was rainy day recess!   

both the girls have been doing well in school so far.  the only thing with Anny is that she keeps saying her leg hurts.  her teacher even sent her to the nurse during recess and the nurse put some ice on it.  OK, how come when i tell her to put ice on it she doesn't listen.  there's not even anything wrong with it.  i think she's just trying to get attention,  which is a sign of my superb parenting skills.  I'll be teaching a class this Saturday on "how to get others to think you are abusing your kids".  let me know if you are interested.   my mom told me that when i was little i kept going to the nurse everyday saying i was sick.  maybe my mom needed to give me more attention too.  mom if you are reading this,  good.  

Doesn't every kid love it when their mom does this.

yeah, i know, he wears these pjs a lot.  sorry.

eating a banana in a gross, bacteria laden mesh bag.  Geez mom, what's the difference between this or a pacifier. 

k, i had a ton of cute birthday bath pics, (yes, my kid gets a bath once a month)  but i couldn't use them because grodies out there might do something inappropriate.  so here are the two puzzle pieces with the middle cut out!  next time I'll make sure to have a wash rag handy.

no es que importe...

Last night we went to my mom's for dinner cause Justin was here visiting from Utah.  it was good to see him.  he has some pretty cool hair right now, if you're into the Mohawk/mullet look.

Jack has been sleeping a little better now that he got his second tooth in.  you can just barely see them, but i can sure feel them!   Alex is going to be going to Nebraska to help his dad put up a new roof.  it got all messed up during a bad storm.  Anny was pretty upset that she wasn't going too.  

Anny has been pretending like she is the maid.  this is my favorite game ever!  she walks around with my apron on and i can get her to do pretty much anything.  its mostly kitchen stuff.  cause that's where she says she works.  when she starts complaining about something, Alex tells her that the maid isn't supposed to talk, just clean.  

i am really excited cause i start school on the 25th.   its a humanities class.  then i start microbiology on the 2nd of Sept.  i just ordered my books, so they should be here in a few days.  i still haven't found out how much I'm getting for my grant, that is, if I'm getting anything at all.  I'd better.  i will be sure to take some awesome pics. of myself for my first day of school too.  

Jack drinking some juice.  its so funny how he can hold the cup by himself.  

This is a pic of Anny after we told her she wouldn't be going to Nebraska.  aww, don't you just feel so sorry for her.

this is what happens when Anny gets a hold of the camera. notice how she's wearing my apron.

very artsy, Anny.

Ellie's first day

OK, its your turn Ellie.  Geez, stop buggin.   she wore her new dress that grandma Melissa got her too.  I wasn't too worried, cause her teacher is a friend of mine, and Ellie is pretty familiar with her.  the only problem was when Elie almost lost her sticker because she wanted to go down the slide when it was reading time.  they are supposed to keep their sticker everyday, then after they get so many of them, they get a prize.  she already knows a lot more than Anny did at her age, but i still think preschool will be good for Ellie.  

day 1 Anny: i basically kick her out of the car to fend for herself.

day 2 Anny:  she's about 5 minutes late and her whole class is already inside.  

day 3 Anny:  finally we get there before the class goes inside.  yea!!

yeah, she was posing in like every shot.

yeah, i know what you are all thinking.  my kids ride in the front seat without a seat belt.  so what, you probably do it too. at least the airbag was off.

there she goes

this is Anny's second day

First Day of school = ashley gets rid of a pest

this day couldn't come soon enough.  Anny has been so bored lately, and asks every morning, "what are we going to do today?"  although, wouldn't you know, even after spending the whole day at school, she still came home and said she was bored and wanted to go somewhere.  i cant win.

she decided to wear the new school dress grandma Melissa got her.  she got up and i had her take a shower, which she didn't want to do, cause it would make her late.  then she ate a bowl of cereal.  i said i would make her something else if she wanted it, but she wanted to hurry up, and pancakes or eggs and toast would take too long.  i guess I'm not that fast of a cook or something.  so then we were just about ready to go and i couldn't get jacks new stroller to work.  so i started getting anxious that we would be late, so i threw the stroller into the back of the car and was going to drive down halfway and then walk her up the the school.  so as I'm getting down there there wasn't really anywhere to park so i just went up to the drop off area.  she got out and i took a quick pic of her.  i was thinking we wouldn't be able to take them all the way into the center of the school, but turns out they were letting parents in.  so now i feel bad, cause she had to go in there by herself.  and Cassie said she saw her in there and she was all sad cause she couldn't figure out where to go and forgot her teacher's name.  oh my gosh!  we went over what she was supposed to do like 50 times.  

anyway, we picked her up from school and she was really excited and happy and said she had fun.  she said she can't wait to see her teacher tomorrow.  she didn't eat her carrot sticks or all her grapes, so i hope they give them enough time to eat.  

Ellie starts preschool tomorrow.  so I'll probably post tomorrow with pics of her, and a detailed description of everything that happens.  i know you are all excited.  

See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!

My last sight of Anny, boo hooo hoo.  she's behind (or i guess really in front of)  the guy in the red shirt.  Cassie is taking a picture of her and javi.

Here's the picture she took

New haircuts for school

Well the girls start school next week so i got them their once a year haircut.  i think they turned out pretty good.  Anny has her "meet the teacher night" tonight.  i think i am more excited than she is.  i feel like i am going to school all over again.  it was so fun picking out her backpack and a lunch box.  

the other day Anny made dessert for the family.  it was grapes, bananas, raisins, and string cheese, all smothered in a sauce of strawberry banana yogurt.  boy was it tasty.  actually, i wouldn't know.  i just pretended to eat it.  she ate it though.  

the back of ellie's new do.