We Skied!

Today Ryan and I were finally able to go up to Park City and use our passes. I was so excited and also pretty nervous. As we were driving up there and the snow started pouring down upon us, I can't say that I wasn't more than a little tempted to just pretend we went skiing and instead just go and sit in a movie theater with my husband for the next several hours. :)

When we arrived, Ryan assured me that he would be a fine instructor and that he could patiently teach me all I needed to know. We started off on the bunny hill and he told me I was picking things up really quickly and that I was doing a fabulous job. All his kudos and atta-girls went straight to my head and after only 2 bunny runs, I decided to hit the real thing. (by real thing I mean the run with the green dots) We jumped on a lift and started going up the mountainside. And we went up and up and up and up and up and up. Seriously! We didn't stop until we were on the very top. I scouted out the green dot and off we went. I felt pretty darn confident. I quickly learned how to go from side to side and how to slow down. Nothing was stopping me now! I thought it would be fun to see what it felt like to go straight down instead of wasting my time going back and forth. Bad idea!!! At first I was fine, but the further I went, the more speed I picked up. I swear I must have been going at least 50 mph.

I started to panic and kept saying to myself, "OK think Sarah! What can you do to slow yourself down?" I hadn't learned this in my brief tutorial and was at an absolute loss. I even said a silent prayer, but it was of no use. I was going way too fast. I thought about just falling over, but images of cartoon characters rolling down the mountain, head over heels until they form a giant snowball kept rushing through my head. I tried making my skis into a 'pizza' with no relief at all. I finally realized I was just going to have to crash. So for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to fall straight back. Not a good idea. My skis stayed on the ground, and my knees were bent, but I was laying on my back. I continued to go straight down the hill at 50 mph for a good 200 yards on my back! My coat was filling up with snow, my head was banging up and down, I thought, "Hmm... this must be the end for me. At least I gave it a good effort."

But behold my amazing husband came to my rescue and used his own body to stop me. (hope you're not too battered & bruised)

Needless to say, this little 'adventure' zapped me of all my confidence. I now realize that if I really want to be a skier, I'm going to actually have to learn how to ski. Going straight down the mountain with absolutely no idea of how to stop isn't a good way to go.

Thank goodness I have such a sweet and patient husband who was there to pick me up, and who never left my side.

I'm completely exhausted right now and my body aches all over, but I can't wait to go again!

Woops!

Ok, so I'm thinking I may need to make a slight modification to my no sugar pledge. What do you do when your long-lost friends come up to visit you and they bring with them the most delicious-looking razzleberry pie? It would be rude not to take just one small sliver, wouldn't it? I wouldn't want to hurt their feelings. So as not to appear rude, I've decided that it will be absolutely necessary to allow myself small exceptions to my rule. So from now on, if a friend brings me a treat, I must do the right thing and take a small taste. Afterall, it's the polite thing to do. :)

Says the Girl With No Will-Power

My theory is that if I blog this, it will have to become a reality. I will have little eyes watching my every move and I will have to keep going.

My name is Sarah and I'm a chocoholic. It's true. That sweet chocolately goodness melting in my mouth brings me joy beyond measure. For weeks I've been thinking about starting a sugar fast. A friend's blog post today pushed me over the edge and now I'm ready to commit. I'm going to Hawaii in 104 days and I am officially vowing that I will eat no sugar until I get there. I can do this! A little self deprivation is good for the soul, right? I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!

Oh The Sneakiness of a Mom

Today while the girls were away at school I decided to pull a fast one. I went in and did a WHAMMY on their rooms. When I was a kid I hated WHAMMY Day. I don't know where the term came from, but WHAMMY Day involved mom or dad (usually dad) dumping out all of our hidden treasures from our drawers, raking out under our beds and closets, and a trash bag that we were challenged to fill to the brim.

Lately I noticed that it was taking longer and longer for the girls to make their rooms have the appearance of cleanliness. I say appearance of cleanliness, because they're not actually fooling me when they stash their trash in every nook and cranny. But hey, it does look clean. But from the looks of things lately, all their hiding places must have been full.

So today I snuck in and did a WHAMMY.

Here's what the girls saw when they got home:

And here's what I heard, "Thanks mom! You're so nice. My room was such a mess. I didn't think I'd ever get it clean. You're the greatest mom ever!"

I took their kudos and accolades. I smiled and said you're welcome. I even used their appreciation to my advantage, "Girls, since I was such a nice mom today and cleaned your rooms for you would you mind helping me straighten up the living room & the kitchen?"

But little do they know... about 10 minutes before the bus dropped them off this afternoon, I smuggled this little gem out the door. I'm hoping they remain in a state of delirious happiness about their clean rooms that they fail to notice all of their missing treasures. What could they possibly have that would fill an entire trash bag? you ask.

Here are just a few of my favorite finds (almost all were in Nicole's room):

27 buttons (I'm really hoping these were found and picked up rather than being picked off of her clothes)

7 safety pins

16 rocks of various size (not including the rock salt that Nicole found and thought were beautiful crystals)

beads, beads, and more beads (thanks mom)

More broken McDonalds' toys than I can even count.

My old eye shadow (I assume this was found in a trash can and then recovered by Nicole)

Every single paper they've ever done at school

And my very favorite...

24 paper doors torn off of a paper advent calendar that Aunt Kristy gave them for Christmas.

Whew! Now I can sit back and relax for a few more months.

Oh My Gosh It's Really Going to Happen!!!

Approximately 8 or 9 years ago I told Ryan that he was going to take me to Hawaii for our 10th anniversary. I told him it was non-negotiable. It was a funny little thing I liked to tease him about. I would say, "You have plenty of time. I'm sure you can make it happen." We always joked, but I was never sure it was really going to happen. That is, until my good friend Tamara got involved. You see... Tamara & her husband are going to celebrate their 10th anniversary this year as well. And she too has given her husband the exact same ultimatum. We made a pact that we were going to make it happen. For the past 3 years we've been talking about, "When we go to Hawaii...". For the past 2 years (since she up & moved to Minnesota) we've been talking about, "When we get to see each other again in Hawaii..." Slowely it became more and more of a reality. Well... today we bought our plane tickets! And now I have butterflies in my stomach. This is really going to happen! I'm going to Hawaii in T- 111 days!!!!!! Not to be braggy, but hooray for me! I haven't traveled that much in my life. Pathetically, this will only be the 3rd flight I've been on. I'm so excited!

Check out the beautiful Ko Olina Resort we'll be staying at!

http://koolinabeachvillas.shutterfly.com/8

Jumping In...or... Impatience is a Virtue

Those of you who know me may have figured out that I'm not the most patient gal. When I want something, I want it now. When I decide to do something, I want to do it NOW. I don't like waiting. I don't like weighing pros and cons. I don't like think time. I figure if I make a decision and I regret it, then I'll regret it (like my current bright red hair color) and I'll move on. I'll live with it, and things will be fine.

My husband is my opposite. He likes to research and think about things. He searches for the best deals, he gives himself time to 'think things over'. He likes to be prepared. We had a gift certificate to Best Buy and I said, "Hey Ryan... since you've been such a swell husband why don't you use that gift card to buy yourself something fun. Why don't you get a new X-Box game?" What I didn't understand was how painfully difficult this decision would be for him. I didn't realize that he would spend 4 1/2 hours (literally) online watching trailers and reading reviews for every single game that they sold at Best Buy. And I surely didn't realize that he would ultimately decide to be practical and buy himself an electric razor instead.

Which brings me to where I'm at today. A couple of weeks ago we received an amazing gift - two Adult Fast-Tracks season passes to the Park City Mountain Resort. I have never been skiing. Well... that's not entirely true. I went once with a friend in high school and she spent the whole day getting after me because I didn't feel it was necessary to have her instruct me on the proper technique. :) So I'm totally excited to get up there and learn. It's been gorgeous weather and I just can't wait. I went online and bought all the essential clothes to keep us toasty warm. We don't have skis, but I figure we can rent those easy enough. I have tried my hardest to be responsible and think of everything. But... my sweet over-planner just isn't sure we are completely prepared. I have been married to Ryan for long enough now that I take his cautiousness with a sigh and try and wait patiently for him to be ready. He wants to make sure we go up to Park City and check things out, go to a rental place and price things out, gather our equipment and see what we have, go to his parents and borrow what we don't. This is too much thought. Too much planning. I say, what's the worst that can happen? We get up there and freeze a bit? If that happened we could just come right back home.

So my question for you today is: Do you plan and over plan and then plan some more? If so, do you think you're happier being more prepared. Do you feel more satisfied knowing you've weighed all the options? Or are you one who just jumps in half-cocked? Is it really so bad being unprepared? Isn't it better we make a few bad decisions along the way than spending so much time planning that we don't make any at all? Just wondering. :) Give me your thoughts.

Could It Really Be This Easy?

One of my New Year's resolutions was to potty train Miss Audrey right away. Since this is my 3rd child I've potty-trained, I've learned a little something along the way. 1st) Potty training shouldn't be a race. Just because all of your friends' 2-year-olds are picking it up doesn't mean your child is ready. Waiting for her to be ready is okay. It doesn't make you a bad mommy. It makes you a sane mommy. 2nd) It's just as important that the mom is ready to commit to potty training as it is for the child to be ready. 3.) Douse your poor baby in liquids. Give them as many juice boxes as they can stand. This way they'll need to go frequently enough to understand and recognize the sensations.

On Monday I braced myself for our long journey and put Audrey in panties. Monday morning went terribly. We went through 6 pair of panties in 4 hours, and not once did she go in the potty. I was pulling my hair out in frustration. Was she just not getting it? She wasn't even telling me when she had an accident. Could she not feel the wet warmth running down her leg? I mean, come on!

I put her in a pull-up and put her down for a nap. She woke up with a dry pull-up and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Mommy I need to go potty." As my jaw dropped to the floor, I helped her onto the potty and she went right away. It was if everything suddenly just clicked. I kept her in panties the rest of the day without anymore accidents.

I was feeling pretty good on Tuesday. Again, she woke up ready to go potty. We went the whole day with just one pee-pee accident and one of the other kind (urgh). I even took her to a friend's house while I went to an appointment. I put her in a pull-up for my friend's benefit, but Audrey asked her if she could go potty at her house. Apparently Audrey decided my friend's potty was a little too scary and she told her she would wait to go at home. Which she did! As soon as she got home she went upstairs and went, and her pull-up was still dry as a bone!

Yesterday we went the whole day without a single accident. I put her in a pull-up to go to the grocery store and got very sad and told me she's not a baby anymore. She was right. She's definitely not my baby anymore. She's such a big girl.

I'm feeling hopeful for today. I know there's usually a certain amount of regression once a kid is potty trained, so I'm bracing myself for that possibility. But right now I'm thinking it really could be just that easy! Hooray for potty trained kids. And hooray for me living in a diaper-free home!

Pinching My Pennies (& Loving Every Minute of it!)

Those of you who are also friends with my good friend Audrey are probably thinking this post is a bit of a repeat. It's true. I'm a total copy-cat. But who can blame me? This are some seriously sweet deals! Plus I want all my family & frineds to be welcomed into the world of Pinching Pennies. I may not have done quite as well as Audrey did, but for venturing out all on my own, I'm pretty darn proud.

Here's what today's shopping trip consisted of:



8 Rolls of Bounty Paper Towels
1 Case of Charmin Ultra Toilet Paper
8 Boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios
4 Boxes of Cocoa Puffs
4 Boxes of Fiber One Cereal
8 Boxes of Gushers Fruit Snacks
2 Boxes of Fiber One Chocolate & Oats Granola Bars
2 Packages of Pampers Baby Wipes
2 Yoplait Kids' Yogurt 6-Packs
2 Yopliat Yo+ Yogurt 4-Packs
20 Yoplait Yogurts
2 Boxes of My Little Pony Fruit Snacks
4 Boxes of Toaster Struedel
6 Boxes of Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffin Mix
3 Betty Crocker Brownie Mixes
3 Bottles of Pantene Shampoo / Conditioner
12 Cans of Progresso Soup
1 Bottle of Cheer Laundry Detergent

Do you have any idea how much all of this cost me???? Take a guess.. I'll give you a hint...
Before all the sales & coupons the total cost would have been $382.16
But for me... 43 coupons and 2 transactions later my grand total was...
Drum roll please...




$110.66
For a total savinsg of $171.50

Hooray for me being that lady at the grocery store. You know the type... they carry a stack of coupons and always double-check the prices as they ring up. They're the ones you never want to get in line behind. But who knew such savings could exist?

Yogi Berry

Some friends called us up for some spur-of-the-moment frozen yogurt. My knee-jerk reaction when someone wants me to be spontaneous is just to say no. I fought my instincts and actually said yes. This is major for me!

Anyway... they introduced us to Yogi Berry. It has now gone straight to the top of my list of favorite places. What a fun idea. It's entirely self-serve. You choose your yogurt, and then you top it with mounds of whatever you'd like. They had everything you could possibly want. My girls had tons of fun just dumping whatever they wanted into their cups. (but we learned from experience that chocolate yogurt, hot fudge, strawberries, nerds, and M&M's makes a pretty unappetizing dish when things start to melt) Then you take it to the scale and weight it. Only $0.39 an ounce!

The best part is that they have a big TV playing cartoons for your kids so you grown-ups can just sit & chat. What a fun idea!

How had we not discovered this place before? And my favorite part... you NSL-ers, you don't even have to leave your neighborhood to get there!

Thanks for the fun night!

Where Did Everybody Go?

Where is everyone? Has the blogging community gone dead?

Due to some technical errors, I was forced to reload all of my friends & family blog links on my blog. To my surprise, there were more than half a dozen blogs that no longer existed. What's up!?!? Have you all lost the love? You've got to power through! I'm not a good keep-in-touch friend without blogs. And I'm missing all of your fun comments on mine!

So come on all my blogging friends! Checking your blogs is a big part of my day. What would I do without you? Please don't let me down! :)

Are You Listening?

Can you hear it? My house... it's quiet!!!! My routine has returned! I have loved having my girls out of school and my husband home for winter break, but it has wreaked some serious havoc on my poor house. Suddenly my routine is gone... we are waking up at 9:00 (or maybe 10:00), the dishes are piling up, the laundry is out of control...

But today I sigh a sigh of relief. Things can go back to the way they were... I got up and exercised, I did a load of dishes, a load of laundry, I put Audrey in panties and am working once again on potty training, and I even have time to do a little blogging!

Fun at the Museum

My mother-in-law volunteers at the Church History Museum. It has become kind of a tradition that we go down each winter break and visit her and look around at all the fun things they have for kids. This year we invited some fun friends and headed down.

String Stories: The kids were absolutely enthralled while they listened to Grandma and her friend tell them stories using strings.

Crafts: Then each kid had a chance to make a couple of crafts. They made little mangers with baby Jesus inside and metal star ornaments.

I am a Child of God: In this part of the museum there are tons of things for the kids to do. Audrey & Xavier were the two cutest parents I have ever seen. They had fun dressing their babies, rocking them, changing them, feeding them... But when Xavier found the vaccination shots, he was absolutely horrified and couldn't bring himself to give his baby a shot.

The Tree of Life: We weren't sure exactly what we were supposed to do with the Tree of Life, but the kids had a lot of fun making up their own games and running around like crazies.
I was glad to have some good friends along to hang out with.

After the museum we all went to McDonalds and got the biggest ice cream cones I have ever seen! Hooray for ice cream in the winter!