A little Shabby Chic

a few pics here.
First, I finally finished the desk that I've been working on and off again for months now. At first I thought turquoise was going to be brilliant. But then is was like "HELLO TURQUOISE!" It was a bit much. So then it went to a white top with turquoise sides. Didn't like that. Then it went back to all turquoise and that was too much. So I settled with a white accent drawer with a cute little knob to match. I think it turned out cute, and I may distress it a little, but it's going to be the girls study desk and I'm sure they'll distress it plenty.
Before


Meets after

Here is my coffee filter wreath. I painted it grey and everyone thought it was morbid. I thought it was classy. I love it! And i think it looks great hanging on my mirror. If you want to know how to make one of these babies, just let me know. Super easy, and Super time consuming, but worth every minute!
And last but not least...the girls dresser transformation! We bought this ikea dresser in Philly our last year of Dental school, so we've had it for 5 years or so. I think the cross country move to a toll on it because it's never been the same. In fact, for the last 9 months or so, it has completely fallen apart! Owen has pieced it together once, but when it broke again, he said no more. I really didn't want to buy a new dresser then, so I begged him to fix it again. He said once he was done with school, he would fix it. So,it's been a month and a half out of school now and it's still not fixed--go figure. So a couple of days ago I went and bought a new one and it arrived today! Yeah! I put the old one on CL for free and it was gone within an hour. Audrey didn't want us to just put it on the street, she wanted it to go to a good home, and this lady that picked it up was super excited! This cute little shabby chic dresser has beadboard on the sides. This is actually our first big purchase out of school. Now to get that leather sectional I had my eye on.
From pathetic and useless

to functional and adorable!

Maggies Performance

Maggie's dream is to be an actress. She loves to write plays, and then direct them. This summer she wrote this whole script and had all the neighbor kids in my moms neighborhood act it out. They were practicing everyday. This is serious business. She has asked me to get her an agent many times. Are we ready for all of this? Baby steps, baby steps.
My Mom directs a performance for the Provo Freedom festival every year called "Cries of Freedom". It is composed up singing and dancing all along the spirit of Freedom. Maggie has been begging Gammie to be in the show ever since she stared it, but the rule has always been you have to be 14 years old. My mom decided to create a part for Maggie and so we put her on an airplane all be herself shorty after school got out and sent her to Grandmas so she could practice. She had the time of her life and did an awesome job. Next week she starts her acting classes, and today she is trying out for Charlotte's Web.
She's in the green apron

She's the one holding the baby who was in the show too.

Whoa I'm behind! Here we go!

Drew graduated preschool this year! He is reading! All set for kindergarten--am I ready to send him off? Yes! Love the guy, but man, he is ready! He has always been my little buddy. He and I are like peas and carrots. This last year has been a little challenge because he turned 5 in December and ever since then has been a little bored being home with mom. Time for some new adventures, and he will just do half day kindergarten, so I can have him for 1 more year.
Here is his class
Tru, Lydia, Cole, Drew, Preston and Bryson
Here he is with Ms. Rebecca. But for a long time he called her Ms. Ba-Becca
This is he and Bryson --his little buddy that he calls the boy with the shaggy hair.



On Memorial Day we took a little hike up to Mt. Charleston. Being up in the mountains made me realize how much I don't like the anti beauty of Las Vegas. I love green, and mountains. Now if it wasn't for the people who set up camp next to us blasting their mariochi band music and playing soccer. It took away from my "get away from everyday life" moment.




On June 3rd, Mules turned 2! We invited a few friends over for a swim party. It was a nice day even thought a little crazy with a bunch of toddlers running around. Miles was such a good boy. he didn't hit anyone! And when they all sang Happy Birthday to him, he clapped which we were happy about since that morning his family woke him up singing to him and he didn't like all that attention and got really mad!


Owen graduated form his Pediatric Dental Residency! Yeah! This has been a long time coming! We are so proud of Owen! He will be very successful because he his such a easy going person, and so good with children. He is currently working here in Vegas at 3 different offices until we figure out where we wnat to live. Here hs is with his diplomma and all the other residents he graduated with. Oh, and he passed he=is boards too! That's an added bonus!

Miles was sporting the mullet so we had to finally cut the curls off. His nursery leader Ashton does hair so she had him come in to do the deed. Here he is before and after. Honestly you can't tell that he had a mullet in this pic, but HE DID!

The Toddler Miracle Diet--This is hilarious!

Miles is so not into eating right now. In fact, he barely eats. We're always tring to get him to eat something and his reply is "I don't want to!" Don't worry we are not starving him. He must not be on a growth spurt right now. Some of he regular eatings are rocks, sand and toothpaste. Not kidding. He even has a fractured front tooth to prove that rocks are his favorite snack. It reminded me of an article that the pediatrician I used to work for handed out to parents when they were worried about their child not eating. I must share. Be prepared, if you have a toddler this will hit home for you.
The Toddler Miracle Diet
Americans are always on the lookout for a new diet. The trouble with
most diets is that you don't get enough to eat (the starvation diet),
or you don't get enough variation (the liquid diet), or you go broke
(the all-meat diet).

Consequently, people tend to cheat on their diets, or quit after 3
days, or go right back to stuffing their faces after it is all over.
Is there nothing you can do but give up and tell your friends you have
a gland problem? Or is there a slim (groan) hope?

Well, now there's the new Toddler Miracle Diet!

Over the years you may have noticed, as I have, that most
two-year-olds are trim. It came to me one day over a cup of black
coffee and a carrot that perhaps their diet is the reason. After
consultation with pediatricians, X-ray technicians, and distraught
moms, I was able to formulate this new diet. It is inexpensive,
offering great variety and sufficient quantity. Before embarking on
this diet, however, be sure to check with your doctor... otherwise you
might have to see him afterward. Good luck!

DAY ONE
-------
Breakfast
One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly.
Eat 2 bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the
floor.
Take 1 bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and
clothes.

Lunch
Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a
glass of milk (3 sips only, then spill the rest).

Dinner
A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel.

Bedtime Snack
Toast piece of bread and toss it on the kitchen floor.

DAY TWO
-------
Breakfast
Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drink half
bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.

Lunch
Half a tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of
Purina Dog Chow (any flavor). One ice cube, if desired.

Afternoon Snack
Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in
dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again.
Then bring inside and drop on the rug.

Dinner
A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left
nostril. Pour iced tea over mashed potatoes; eat with a spoon.

DAY THREE
---------
Breakfast
Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat with fingers, rub in
hair. Glass of milk: drink half, stuff pancakes in glass.
After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug, lick off
fuzz, and put it on the cushion of your best chair.

Lunch
Three matches, peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several
bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.

Dinner
Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips.


FINAL DAY
---------
Breakfast
A quarter-tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an
olive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add a
half-cup of sugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed
cereal to dog.

Lunch
Eat crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that
sucker and finish eating it.

Dinner
A glass of spaghetti and chocolate milk. Leave meatball on
plate. Stick of mascara for dessert.

up on my soapbox

On Friday night we went to the girls school carnival. We were waiting for Maggie's turn to sing Karoke on stage with her friends. As we were waiting, a 3rd maybe 4th grade girl gets on stage and sings "I kissed a girl" by Katie Perry. I don't listen to this song, nor will I ever let my kids listen to it, but I have listened to it all the way through, so I'm very aware with what the song is all about. If you don't know, take it from me, it is not appropriate for a elementary child to be singing karoke to at a school function. Now, I was already upset that at the Summerlin easter egg hunt, they had a DJ and he had the nerve to play S & M by Rhianna. Another terrible song that is very inappropriate for children. So I was pretty fed up, and went up to the lady in charge of the karoke.--she was hired out, so she wasn't part of the PTA or anything. I said,"this song is totally inappropriate for a child to be singing or listening to!" She agreed with me, and said "I know, but that's what kids are listening to these days." I said, "not my kids! In fact, if this song ever comes on the radio, it is immediatly shut off!" THen I said, "do you know what this song is about?" I then explained it to her, and she said, "well that's what she wanted to sing and I asked her if her mother said it was ok and she said it was, so we have to let them sing it." I said, No you don't! I don't see any mothers signing wavers saying that it's ok for their children to be singing naughty songs." Then I said, "someone has to stand up for morals here, and you are the adult in charge and you have control over what songs are in your computer, and if you agree with me then this song should be removed or not allowed to be played at an elementary school function. She just kept agreeing with me, but I think I took her off guard. I said I was going to complain to the principle about it, and she said I should. She kept agreeing with me, but I don't think anyone has ever approached her about this before.
Now I don't want to be the mom that spoils all the fun for everyone else because I complained about something. e.g. Whomever complained about "God" being used in Schools and so now half the schools in the US won't to the pledge of Allegience. I'm not saying take the karoke away, I'm saying please play appropriate songs for children. There are plenty of fun hip hop, rock, songs that don't involve sex. So.....Owen says I need to be the PTA pres, I say no way. But I am going to write a letter to the Karoke company, and the Summerlin council regarding to type of music they play at family functions. Maybe a 3 year old wouldn't care, but I have a 10, and 8 year old who understand lyrics, and I don't want that kind of influence on them thank you very much! Now I'll get off my soapbox!

We're still in Vegas!

SO....these days, all I get from most people is "have you guys decided where you are moving to yet?" The answer is NO! Owen will grad in less than 2 months and no we don't have definite plans yet. We do have plan B though, and that is to stay in Vegas working for Absolute Dental--(Owen has been moonlighting for them through his residency)--until we find the fit we're looking for. I'm ok with it. Is it the ideal situation? No. But it works. It's good money, and it gives us a chance to explore a little more, and not settle for something we don't want. Owen on the other hand keeps pushing me to move to Yakima, but I hope he knows that deep down I wouldn't be happy there.
So, for now, we're here, we like it here, we're close to family, and maybe next year we'll take the big plunge and move to NC, or Georgia like we've talked about. By next year, he'll have been out of dental school 5 years and then he can get licensing in those states. Stay in Vegas permanantly? Never say Never right? But...we'll see.
Here are few past months happenings and then an update on each person.
Drew just finished t-ball which he loved! He did awesome too! He is still in tae-kwon-do though and loves his teacher Mr. Pino.





The kids went to this rediculous easter egg hunt that Summerlin hosted. That had a hunt for each age group. They basically dumped a rediculous amount of crap on the baseball field and then it was a free for all. My kids came home with so much crap that I told them I was going to write the Easter Bunny and tell him not to come this year. Thank goodness they had other activities there like a petting zoo, but I don't think we'll be going next year. What ever happened to hunting for hidden easter eggs? They threw stuff like cheese and crackers and fruit roll ups and hula hoops. To me, it was way too much for the kids--they don't need all that and Maggie even had her basket knocked over and some kids came and grabbed all her candy. Heck the older kids came with pillow cases! Greedy if you ask me! Miles petting the goat


Can you believe all this junk food?

WE went to Utah for Spring Break. Owen had to study for boards so it was just me and the gang. It was rainy and cold almost the whole time we were there, but we still had fun hanging out with Gammie and Maria and her kids. It's always fun to go home and go back to all those familiar places we used to go to. My kids enjoy it too since they lived there for a year. Took the kids with Maria to Classic Rollerskating. I hadn't been there since I skated in 5th grade with Adam Dayton to Careless Whisper!

ALways have to go to our favorite resturant Brick Oven!
It was a cold day at the zoo, but that meant the animals were active--can you believe how close this gorilla got to us?
We went to JCW's with Maria and her kids. I still can't believe Training Table was taken over by JCW's. training table will always be a childhood memory.

Kids in their Easter get up

Maggie is squinting in this picture. She had a red teary eyew which was VERY sensitive to light for over a month. We took her to the Dr. and they said it was just allergies. We finally took her to the opthamologist and she had a foreign body. She is better now, but she thought she had some kind of alien in her eye--I guess that's how a 10 year old percieves it when you tell her she has a foreign body in her eye.



A very windy and unusually cold Mothers Day. Woke up to everyone wanting to shower me with gifts, and then it turned into someone got their feeling hurt, kids were fighting about who got to sit where on the bed while I opened presents and then very irreverent children during Sacrament Meeting. And Miles was in the foyer! I'm talking about the 3 older ones! Who expects a perfect Mothers Day anyways?

Update:
Holly--still crazy as ever! I've been trying to lose weight and was doing awesome until Miles got a verbal warning from the gym that if he hits, pulls hair, or bites again, he'll be suspended for 30 days. Mortified, I've decided not to even risk it and try to work with him at home so he doesn't get permanently expelled. Can you believe this? I seriously don't know what to do with this kid. I know everyone tells me it's a phase, but we can't even have playdates, or make new friends at the park because he beats up on everyone who's smaller than him. So.....for now, he doesn't go, which means I don't work out like I used to. Occasionally, Owen will be home and I go, but I'm too tired by the evening, and not an early morning riser. But...I have to be. So that's my goal now--go to bed early, and wake up and go to the gym before Owen goes to work. I used to do it all the time when I live in Philly, so there's no reason I can't get going again. My problem is that I'm a night owl. Always have been . I like to stay up late and have quiet time to myself. I know if I go to bed, then I'll wake up and the madness will start all over again. I have to though. I miss working out so much!!! I miss body pump and running. come back to me please! We all know around this house that when mama doesn't work out, she aint happy!
Owen so professional!
---Trying to finish up grad work.--big paper coming up that's due, and just took boards which he was studying non-stop for. Going to NYC in a couple of weeks for the pedo conference where he'll be presenting his poster at.(you suck!) SO, SO jealous! Got to get me some NYC soon! I was going to go with him, but I want to have fun, not get dragged around to boring conferences all day. Soon, I hope. Last day of residency is June 30!
Maggie--Finishing up 4th grade this year. Loves, loves, loves her teacher Ms. Ponte! Star student, and always aiming to please. Student council this whole year and was selected for a candidate for the National Honor Society next year, but was VERY disappointed that she didn't get it. Only 2 from each 4th grade class were selected.
Audrey--cute as a button and easy going. Loves school and wakes up before anyone in this house! Loves her teacher Mr. Huff and is excited that he's moving to 3rd grade next year and wants him again! Who knew that she would like a man teacher? Owen just recently pinned her down to take out one of her teeth that was starting to look infected. We gave her ample time to get it out on her own, but she didn't comply and so don't mess with the dad that's a pedodontist! She was fuming mad and locked herself in her room for a while--but then got over it. Audrey and her friend Haley
Drew---Getting bored of being home with mom all day. Tempted to put him in full day kindergarten next year. It seems like everyone is, but it's an extra 325 a month, and I'm not sure I'm ready to have him gone all the time. He is my little buddy, and he and Miles are starting to play well together. But he's ready! He is reading a lot already.--books we're talking, not just words.
Miles--well, we all know what he's doing(read above) but I have to say, he's a little sweetheart too. He kisses all the time--I'm thinking I get about 25 kisses a day from this kid. He is starting to talk a lot and I love how he putters around the house making little motor boat sounds. He answers with a "what?" when called by name, and makes a slurping sound when he wants something tasty to eat. But....the last 3 weeks of church, we have been late. Why? he got into something RED 5 minutes before we were to leave for church. I think it was red crystal lite for 2 weeks and then red toothpaste last week. And it is everywhere! especially on him! oh, and last week it was also the whole tube of cream all over his body, in his hair and on the floor. oh, I'm so done with toddlers!
Here he is trying to plant a kiss on me. THis is a normal site at our home. He just gives random kisses. So loveable!