Trick or Treat!

I took the girls out trick-or-treating with a group of neighbors this evening. It was a little bit chilly, so Randy took Jenna from me after a while. Sydney had fun until near the end, but then would refuse to get out at each door. The picture is what she did when I asked if I could get a picture of her. When we returned home, the outside lights were out. I figured we had run out of candy. Nope. Randy was just tired of trick-or-treaters. Oh, well, now we'll have a quiet, warm night at home.

Swings

I took a spur-of-the-moment trip to the park today while running errands, so I don't have pictures, but here are the highlights.

*Jenna: Got to swing for the first time and LOVED it.
*Sydney: Learned how to pump her legs while swinging.
*Keri: Actually swung for the first time in forever and had FUN doing it!

Holiday Garlands & Goodies Swap

My friend, Candace, and one of her blogging friends are doing a holiday garlands & goodies swap. Anyone's invited to participate, but you need to sign up for it by Nov. 1st...only 2 days away. Go check out her post & also some ideas that she has put together. You don't even have to be super crafty to do it. I'm just going to fly by the seat of my pants! To quote her, "Come on, all the cool kids are doing it." And you know I'm doing it because I'm so cool!

Today...

*Everyone at church asked us why we were moving. We had just put the "for sale" sign out this week.
*Randy looked really good wearing his new suit.
*I saw the wise, strong, spiritual man that I married.
*I'm feeling better than yesterday. I also was able to take a really long nap.
*I made Navajo tacos for dinner. Complete with yummy, homemade fry bread.
*Jenna is actually crawling!
*I enjoyed spending quality time with my girls. Love the feeling I get.
*I'm going to bed with a clean house! So much better than last Sunday.

Trunk or Treat

Tonight I took the girls to our ward "Trunk or Treat" activity. I'm not sure Sydney had a clear idea of what we were doing. She didn't really say "trick or treat", but just went from car to car getting her candy. It was decently enjoyable. Randy has been working long hours the past 3 days because of Xango's convention, so I've pretty much been flying solo. I've had a cold for a few days, and I've had a bad headache today. I'm glad all the cleaning and activities are over for the day, because I'm headed to bed!!

O, Canada!

Months after Randy's inital interview, he has finally been offered the position/promotion of Canada Sales Manager (or something like that). He will be a corporate representative at city meetings in Canada. It should be an interesting transition from his finance position to sales, but he's up for the challenge. I'm so happy for him. He's such a motivated, able-bodied person, and I love him for it. Now, I guess I need to get a passport so I can tag along with him when the opportunity comes!

Can you see them?

Jenna has had her 2 bottom teeth for a while, but I've never been able to get a good picture of them. Yesterday afternoon she was laughing a lot, and I tried to get a shot, but I've determined that she's got a bottom lip like mine and her bottom teeth just don't show much. So, if you look very closely, you can see my best attempt of capturing her little teeth.

"...Ready to play, head for the parque--the park--for the day."

The weather is going to be nice for a little longer here, so I decided to take the girls to the park this afternoon. I felt silly taking along my tripod to take pictures, but they always seem to turn out better that way. I just don't have very steady hands. Here is what the girls did. Jenna: scooted around on the blanket & grass, ate leaves, attacked the tripod, watched the kids playing. Sydney: took a few moments to watch the other kids, made friends with some girls from our neighborhood, played on the slides & swings, and took off her shoes while playing "house". Here are a few of my favorite shots of the day...not because they are all great, but because they capture what was really going on.

Ever have a perfect day?

I have felt so fully blessed the past two days. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but the sun seems to be shining brighter, my days are going smoother, my house is staying cleaner, dinner is getting made, I'm playing with my girls, getting things done, and having some "me time" on top of it. I haven't felt this good in a long time. I'm really happy.

Check it out

I've gone through somewhat of a drought in posting lately, but I'm back in the groove this weekend...maybe too much of a groove. So, I just wanted to point out that between Friday and today, I've posted a lot. Be sure to check them all out.

Mimi?

Sydney insisted on putting on shoes, socks, and "mittens" this morning so she could go to Mimi's. Who Mimi is, I haven't a clue. Quite the outfit, I know!

The Monday Morning Assessment

It seems to happen, without fail. My house turns into a disaster zone over the weekend. I don't usually do anything about it until Monday morning. As I walked through my house, here's a sampling of what I'll be cleaning today. I know it may not appear to be too bad, but please keep in mind that nearly my entire house looks like this. Gross.

And so I taught

I typically try to read the lesson for Relief Society each week before going to church. I began this practice of really making sure I was prepared when I was called as the RS Education Counselor in our last ward. I'm the RS Secretary again, but I still like to be prepared. So, last night, I read the lesson as I went to bed at 10 o'clock. As I was handing out newsletters in RS today, I asked the scheduled teacher if she was ready. She got a panicked look on her face...she was under the impression that she had been released. So...being the prepared gal that I am (okay, just sometimes), I was able to step in and volunteer to teach. I skimmed over the lesson as announcements were read and gave a great lesson. I don't think anyone knew except the presidency and the teacher. I was just glad I was able to step in and help.

All Tired Out

Our girls typically awaken while Randy and I are getting ready for church. Not today. We had to go in and wake them up. They were so cute that I had to take a pcture. Sydney's pj shirt was actually half off. So, this is what I found.

Costume Party

Randy and I hosted the monthly brothers and sisters gathering this month. It consists of us, Randy's brother and sister who live locally, our sister-in-law's brother, and my sister and their families. Grandpa Chipman also attended. We had a costume party, ate Pumpkin Curry Soup (more curry than pumpkin), decorated sugar cookies, and visited. Here are some pictures of the grand event. I didn't get a picture of Mike & Ashlee--They were Scouters--Sorry!

Jenna, Grandpa Chipman, and Sydney (Sydney was using a quarter that Grandpa gave her to be her "eye".)

Keri, Jenna, Randy & Sydney

(I was a prom queen from Randy's high school, complete with redneck teeth.)

Kelsey & Cedric

Ray, Teri & kids

Jenny, David & kids

I wanna see yours.

I know we all have them. Items in our kitchen that should have been thrown out long ago. Randy's mom bought him this strainer a few months before we got married, 5 1/2 year ago. I'm sorry to say that it has had rust on it most of that time. Up close, it's really gross. A few months ago, my sister teased me about it and recommended I get a new one. So I finally did it. I forked over $2 for a new one today. That being said, I want to see what you've got hiding in your kitchen cupboards. Do share.

Swinging Sydney

This afternoon, I was leaving to go grocery shopping. I pushed the button to open the garage door, then stepped back inside to grab my car keys. When I got back to the door, Sydney was hanging from the garage door as it went up!! Her cute little body was just swinging ever so slightly as she hung on for dear life. I immediately pressed the button to send the door back down. After several up and down attempts--I think her legs were triggering it to go back up when she would get close to the ground--I was finally able to lower it enough for her to jump off. She was very scared and crying. It was scary for me, too, but it also made me laugh. I didn't have time to take a picture, but in my mind, I can still see my little girl in purple pants swinging...

Lately I've been:

*canning, canning, canning. I finally finished yesterday, then threw a whole cooler full of apples away that were starting to rot. I ended up with just one leftover quart bottle. Pretty good!

*cleaning my house. We've got our home here in SF for sale. We had a couple come look at it today, so I wanted to make sure it looked good. The wife said my house "shows like a model"...not overly decorated or cluttered.

*taking Sydney to story time at the library. She loves it. There are 5 other families from our ward who go, so we've always got someone we know there. Fun for all of us.

*reading everyone's blogs, but not posting as much. Can I just say, though, that I love the "socializing" that I get from blogging and I'm so inspired by all of you. If I take the time to read your blog & make a comment, please take that as a compliment!

*staying up WAY too late doing family history. I haven't indexed as much in the past week or so, but I'm working on gathering all of the information I can on my first 5 generations & family groups, so that I kinda know which direction I need to head. Not that you care...

*doing very well on my grocery budget. Sometimes it's good to be a little strapped for cash. We all need that from time to time, I think.

*eating way too much sugar again. I've put on some weight back on. I wish I could just kick this addiction to sugar once and for all! It might help that we are completely out of sugar in our house, though. :)

Sweet, Smart Sydney

Sydney requested that I take this picture of her & Jenna in our bed this morning. (This picture makes me think that my girls do look more alike than I thought.) I often complain about the challenges of having a 3-year old, and don't talk about the good that it offers. I also haven't given an update on Sydney in a while, so here's my chance.

*Sydney says the cutest things, like "Mom, you're my best friend" or "Poor, poor Jenna".

*She is very quick to apologize. I like to think she gets that from me.

*She is interested in letters. When she sees a word, she will ask what each letter is. At church on Sunday, she opened the hymnal and was so excited to point out all the words she saw.

*Like any big sister, she seems to find pleasure in taking things away from Jenna...just because.

*Sydney can be very helpful to me. She especially loves to help in the kitchen. We've got brownies just out of the oven waiting downstairs right now that she helped me make.

*She has a great imagination. Imaginary friends, taking care of her babies, making stuff for us to eat in her little kitchen...all sorts of things.

"Bad Mom"? No more.

I've been thinking a lot about motherhood lately. About how difficult it can be, the great rewards that come with it, and of course, evaluating myself every step of the way. Everyone makes mistakes as individuals and as parents. I lose my cool and yell at my girls. I spend too much time doing other things instead of spending time with my girls. Okay, the list could go on and on, as I'm sure every mother's could... However, despite all of my flaws and transgressions, my intentions are still good. I don't abuse my girls. I love them. I want the best for them. I want them to grow up loving the Lord & the gospel, and knowing that the Lord loves them. Part of wanting the best for them is for me to be the best mom I can be and like myself as I do it. With all my thinking, I have come up with one resolution: to eliminate the term "bad mom" from my thoughts and vocabulary. I used to go to bed at night thinking of all the sins I committed as a mother, call myself a bad mom, and be completely overwhelmed. I still recognize the things I need to change and get overwhelmed at times, but I recognize that I'm trying. I truly believe that if I do my best as a mother, the Lord will bless my daughters where I fall short. So, my message to each of you is to give yourself credit where it is due. Don't beat yourself up for mistakes that are made. Instead, take one step in the right direction at a time, and recognize our constant need of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. You are good enough. With that, I want to share one of my favorite pictures as a mother.

I came across this petition.

Oprah is a talented woman who has tackled innumerable topics but nothing like this has crossed her couches before. The show that aired Tuesday, September 25, 2007 was entitled: “237 Reasons to Have Sex” and featured numerous “experts” on intimacy and marriage. I just signed a petition about a show that recently aired on Oprah and thought you would want to take action on this as well: http://www.lightedcandle.org/oprah.asp Check out the website. I think it's important to stand up for what we feel is morally wrong. If we don't, who will?

I pirated the above from someone else's blog, but I did see part of this Oprah show mentioned, and it sickened me. I don't know if signing the petition will do any good, but I thought it was worth a try.

I Love

Seeing Randy hold our girls. I'm not sure there is anything sweeter than a dad with little girls. I also love: Jenna's rosy cheeks when she wakes up from a nap. My slippers...so nice when it's chilly outside. A good bra. (Debated whether or not to put this one on here, but it's the truth. Can't wait to be done nursing just for this reason.) May favorite one so far is from Le Mystere. Well worth it to get fitted for one at Nordstrom's, but be prepared to fork over the cash! I also love that I came into contact with a distant cousin last night & was able to exchange family history information. Incredibly exciting for me!

I'm a little annoyed...

Just need to vent here for a second. Randy's Elder's Quorum had planned to have a get-together here at our house for all the families in their EQ after the priesthood session of general conference. So, we got the house cleaned, made a gallon plus of homemade hot chocloate, and purchased 40 cinnamon rolls. And no one came. I know it was late for those with kids, but I'd like to think we would have gone if it would have been somewhere else. I'm just wondering why those who organized it didn't even show up. So there. Sorry, Randy, I know it's not a big deal to you. I'll get over it, too.

Pampered

A few weeks ago, Randy encouraged me to use some free coupons at a local spa. I made the appointment, and today was my lucky day. First, I had a 30-minute massage. My muscles are always very tense, so I could have used much longer, but it was very relaxing and enjoyable. Then, I got a pedicure. It was so nice to get all the dead skin scraped so my feet don't look so gross. (I never wanted "old lady" feet, but now I have them. Darn!) I picked a nail polish color that stood out...much different than the normal color I paint them. It was an enjoyable couple of hours for me. So nice to get out of the house and be pampered for free!

Pizza & Pie

I've posted recipes for BBQ Chicken Pizza and Quick & Easy Lemon Pie at Recipe Swap. Go check it out.

Sydney's Friends

We are blessed to have great neighbors. There are tons of children in our neighborhood. (4 nurseries at church after our ward split should tell you something.) Two of Sydney's best friends, Ellie and Kamrie, are our backyard neighbors. We've got them both over this afternoon, so here are a few pictures of them.

Enjoying apples & peanut butter...of course!

I've been busy!

This week has been dedicated to canning. I was able to get free apples from my aunt & uncle who live nearby, as well as from Randy's grandpa in AF. Wonderful friends & neighbors loaned me some of their equipment to help get the job done. It has been a lot of hard work. I've canned:

*2 quarts of Salsa (with chile from my own garden)

*4 quarts & 1 pint of Applesauce

*4 quarts of Apple Pie Filling

*10 pints of Apple Butter

I still have TONS of apples to be used. I should be doing more canning today, and I'm tempted to, but I literally exhausted myself the past few days. (I slept in until 10am today...something I never do.) I still want to make Apple Syrup and Apple Jelly. With the looks of my apple supply, I'll be making more of everything else, too.