.

Back to Work

2010-08-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow. That means its time to rejoin the force of full time workers. This school year I am going to work on a few goals......

Like maintaining a positive attitude....

And having my dinner menu planned every week in advance so I am not worrying about what to make every night........

And exercising more regularly.........

And not being snippy with tc over stupid stuff........

Just a few goals to work on. The thing that is always the hardest about going back to work is leaving Miss Macy. She is so mcuh fun and we have had the best summer together. I would rather play with her all day than do anything else. But, ready or not my job is waiting, so here I go! Wish me luck!

Oh what do you do in the summertime?

2010-07-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

Oh what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green????

Do you camp in your trailer?

Or go see cows in the fields of Greer?

Or go spotting for elk?

Or hang out on your cabin porch naked with your bum falling out of your diaper?

Or sign your daughter up for a twelve step program to get rid of plumber's crack?

Or pop out a baby?

Or realize that you can multi-task? Swinging and picking your nose with TWO fingers at the same time?

Or laugh at dad during breakfast?

Or read a ton of books with mamma?

Or play in hail storms?

And then dry off with grandpa.

Or fall down the cabin driveway and almost poke your eye out and spend the day in urgent care in Springerville?

Or just hang out and push your scooter around the porch?

Or ride motorcycles with dad? But always remember your helmet first.

Or walk in the room to discover that your husband has drawn chest hair on your daughter with a sharpie?

Or look like you are on drugs in every picture you take? what is with that?

Or play outside in the forest and get so dirty you love it?

Or camp with all of your cousins?

And get your pictures taken by the family paparazzi?

Or drown in the lake trying to wake board like you did in high school but now it doesn't work as well cuz your older and fatter?

But still so cute...

Or graduate college with a business degree and don't walk in your ceremony because you think walking is stupid and you are a putz and didn't do it even though your wife says you should have? Or get 1,000 dollars that she saved a year and a half for to spend on whatever you want as your graduation present?(He bought a big screen tv with his present for football season, go tc you are the man for graduating college!)

Or drive the power wheels with your cousins?

Or hang out with the ladies?

Or make peanut butter cookies with peanut butter m&ms on top? (So delicious!)

Or get your bottles finally taken away because the pediatrician says you have to? (Her favorite was getting one before bed, this was her favorite way to wind down in her bed, but alas no more, now its sippy cups only)

Or make stupid faces on the sliding glass door?

Or hang out at the beach in Mexico? ( Ok these are the oldest pics I have, they are actually from Easter 2010 but I thought I would throw them in...spring is close enough to summer right?)

IS that what you do in the summer ????

So do I! :-)

Proof that you can win the battle against infertility!!!!

2010-07-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

I am proxy posting for my dear hermana about the arrival of her first daughter. I should have done this last week but it has been kind of crazy around my little corner of the world, so finally here it is:

Announcing

Brooklyn Jae Gaddie

Born Thursday, July 1, 2010

10:43 am

7 lbs. 9 oz. of pure cuteness!

This little girl is an absolute miracle. Truly, I think if you look up miracle in the dictionary her picture will be there! Mike and Kari struggled to get pregnant for 5 years...that is right, 5 years before the were able get this little girl. A lot of people do not even know that my sister has struggled with infertility in the past. It has been a very private battle for her, and she has kept it mostly among the family. I think they wanted to have babies pretty much immediately when they were married almost six years ago. They started trying, and I think that the first year it did not happen, they just chalked it up to bad luck. But then it was 2 years, then 3, and on and on with no baby. My sister loves children, and this absolutely crushed her inside. Along the way she learned she has PCOS, a horrible disease that was affecting her ability to conceive. It has to do mainly with your female reproductive anatomy, mainly growing a TON of cysts on your ovaries- but it is so much more than that. It attacks your whole body ( or at least in an extremely bad case like hers it does) and basically shoots your entire endocrine system to hell. Not only that, PCOS had some hard side effects to contend against, it affected her whole body in painful and awful ways.For example, about every four months the cysts on her ovaries would get so big that they would finally burst. It also mimics diabetes with your ability to process insulin and such.

Basically, it sucks.

On top of that we all could not help but wonder, ok- out of all of the crappy people in the world who have abortions or abuse their children etc., how come they all can have kids and not someone who is actually yearning for a baby????? Sometimes life does not make sense.

One thing I can say is that my sister never stopped trusting in the Lord, and her faith in him has made all the difference.

About 3 years ago now they were able to have the wonderful miracle of adopting their son Remington. And we have all decided that maybe he was the reason they could never get pregnant- if my sister had her own babies immediately, maybe she would have missed the opportunity to adopt this amazing little boy and give him the chance at a better life. She adores Rem, and we all knew he was always destined to be a part of their family, but for whatever reason he just had to be baked in a different oven :-) My sister had her pain of wanting a child eased, but she still wanted to become pregnant and give birth if she could.

Then, one day last November, I got the call- she was pregnant! And seemingly out of nowhere. They had just about given up on the ability to conceive, and then it happened! Needless to say we all dropped to our knees and thanked Heavenly Father for his blessings and love that he had shown us with this gift.

Fast forward nine months, to July 1, 2010. She is here now! The baby we thought would never happen is here! She is a precious miracle of joy and we are so happy to have her!

If she is not Mike's spitting image I don't know what she is!

Ok- so here is a little review of the labor/delivery experience. I have never met anyone so brave and amazing as my sister. She was in labor for 41 hours and then they finally had to take the baby via c section.(I don't know what the heck is wrong with the both of us that we cant freaking spit a baby out but whatever. ) She only had an epidural for about 15 hours of her labor, and when they gave it to her it only took on one side of her body because she has a wicked curve in her spine and it just did not go in correctly. Then, they tried to do a bunch of different things to make it work but it was no dice. So they had to reposition it a second time and that time it took pretty well - but she only got the full pain relief for about 5 hours. She got dilated all the way to an 8 1/2, but then she had been in labor so long her cervix began to get swollen and she went back down to a 6. So finally, they decided her water had been broken for too long and she was not progressing properly so they had to do surgery. But Kari was so brave and did not complain once! She is so amazing. They are both home recovering now and she is doing so good! We love them so much and think they are so amazing.

It is amazing how much joy and love a new baby can make you feel...kinda makes you baby hungry huh! Anyway, that is all for now. Welcome to the world Brooklyn!

I've always liked to kiss you...

2010-06-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

So four years ago today, I became your

eternal make out buddy

Happy Anniversary

This explains EVERYTHING!!!!!

2010-06-11T22:37:00.000-07:00

I just discover that the meaning of the name "Macy" is weapon.....and the meaning of her middle name Ann is "Graceful"

This is her personality to a t!

Macy Ann

Our little Graceful Weapon!

Here is a picture of the destroying muchacha running nude at the splash pad... with her gold shoes still on. See what I mean about the name? The perfect balance between "I do what I want" and grace :-)

Cooking my way

2010-06-10T15:01:00.001-07:00

I love food. If my badonka donk did not already clue you in on that fact then here it is in writing. I love looking at the recipes that people put on their blogs and trying them out with my own spin. So I decided that I would share some of my recipes and the food knowledge I have as well.

Only I have to warn you- I have developed this completely irrational and unfounded fear that we are not going to need to eat in heaven. Do immortal bodies need the fuel? I know that Christ ate after he was resurrected, but it doesn't give me any more peace. What if we do eat, but its just manna, manna for all eternity....{a shudder runs down my spine..} So because of this fear I feel I must get in all of the delicious food there is in the world before its too late. So I do not shy away from fattening or bad for you foods. I really like healthy food, but I really like bad for you food too :-) When cooking try to remember that:

Butter makes it better

There isn't anything a little bacon grease cant fix

Sugar is your friend

So, with that intro here is a recipe from me. I thought for my first recipe I would do something controversial (mwuahahaha). I am tackling a veggie that has been given a bad name when really if you prepare it the right way, it is stinking delicious....

Brussels Sprouts - stop booing an hissing at the screen and just read on-

These little veggies have 3 times the vitamin c of an orange, tons of dietary fiber and are loaded with antioxidants and are have proven benefits in the area of cancer prevention. They don't seem so awful after all now do they?

Step 1: Get 20-25 sprouts at the grocery store. Wash them very well

Step 2: Chop them up finely so they resemble shredded lettuce

Step 3: Fry up some thick sliced bacon in your frying pan

Step 4: Remove bacon once its cooked and let it drain on a paper towel

Step Five: Put some Extra Virgin Olive Oil in with about two tablespoons of salted butter into your pan and get it melted. Add your chopped sprouts in. Add salt and pepper to the mixture and start to saute them. They will cook down in about 15 minutes. Make sure you more oil along the way if they seem dry.

Still cooking away...

Step 6: Once your sprouts have cooked down, add in the bacon and continue to cook

Step 7: Once your veggies have sufficiently cooked down, give em a taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Make sure you don't skimp on the seasoning- if you skimp you might as well just throw it in the trash because its going to be bitter and yucky.

Step 8: Eat em up!

(Sorry this end picture is not that great, blame it on low blood sugar and shaky hands)

So there is my first shared recipe! I feel so.....well, hungry now! I will be posting some off and on. I hope that you can enjoy mine like I have enjoyed yours!

So Sweet

2010-06-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos I have been meaning to post of Macy Ann- she looks so sweet and innocent in them you would never imagine that this is the same little girl who screams No No No No Noooooooooo at me whenever I say, " Lets change your diaper" or "Let me do your hair" or "Its naptime." :-) I love my little girl!

P.S. the only thing I dont like about these pictures is that you cannot tell that she is wearing awesome pink rhinestoned leg warmers that match her outfit.

This is what happens when Daddy takes me to my well-visits.....

2010-05-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

tc was in charge of taking macy to her last well visit at the pediatrician's office...i sent him a text to see how

things were going....he sent me this picture

we removed all clothing except the cowgirl boots....

gotta keep the boots

Its testing time

2010-05-03T15:35:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is d-day for me. The time that anyone who has ever taught school dreads....time for testing! We are going to be getting tested tomorrow in Mrs. Hogle's class to see how far our little kiddos have made it academically this year- and as a result time to judge me as a teacher, and see if I am worth keeping around! Time to see if I have gotten anything through those brains in the 10 months that we have shared together - but shared is such a light term. I don't know how to describe the time you have with your class. It is amazing how close you can get to these kids in a short time. All of the experiences we have had together are coming to a head, and not too long from now I will be crying(part joy part sadness) as I send them out the door and on to first grade. It is always a weird feeling to be standing at the end of a another year. Ah, but the testing must happen first. There is no more time to cram last minute info into their heads. It is what it is. But as a teacher I cannot help but worry if I have done enough for them. I hope I have. I have had an awesome class this year. These kids have amazed me with their smarts. They really have come leaps and bounds and I am proud of them.

Allow me to show off some of the work we are doing in class, keep in mind that my kids came in knowing absolutely zero English, so they had a double barrier to overcome:

I would say that 85% of my class can do this reading and math accurately, and the other 15% only need minor assistance.

5 year olds do this.

I think that is pretty brag worthy :-)

I guess you could kind of consider this a free ad for "Burke Basic School" - they have and AMAZING program with a back to basics approach that emphasizes reading(phonics), writing and arithmetic. It is a really good program.

Anyway, as good as I think we have done, the stress of testing still looms over my head. What if all my kids freeze up or something and draw blanks? Ahhhh! I will feel better tomorrow when it is over.

Anyway, wish us luck tomorrow!

Halloween 2005

2010-04-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

left to right:

mo,brock,t,colin,cory

so I was going through some of our old pictures the other day and found this gem hidden in our massive picture archives. it is from halloween 2005 of tc and some of his good buddies. i just had to share it because it may be one of the greatest photos ever....especially cory in his "civil war" outfit...oh I die.......and wonder what macy will think of us when she grows up.....

Parallel Lives

2010-03-31T22:16:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I am leading almost exactly the same life as the character Bella Swan from those Twilight books. Seriously, it is uncanny how similar our lives are, with the exception that:

I have never met, fell in love with, befriended,dated,

married or given birth to a vampire

Same for werewolves.

But, I am just as freakishly pale white as her. So that

pretty much makes us twins right?

But really, I am sitting here getting ready to leave on a wonderful vacation to Mexico with my family tomorrow, knowing full well that I will not be returning with a bronzed summer glow. Probably just some burning and peeling.

Not fair.

Thank you Scotland for your heritage.

Oh Bella, no one understands us do they?

Yeah....

2010-03-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

Full time job + Full time motherhood = me looking like this

Thats right, I have a one year old!!!!

2010-02-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

Lets get straight to pictures! It was Macy's first Birthday Party last night and we had a blast!

Birthday Girl!!!!

Checking things out.......
Im going for it!!!!!

Are they really letting me do this?
Sharing cake with Grandpa Dave

This was the AWESOME birthday cake made for Macy by my mom Rissa Waldie. Direct quote from her, "Anything for my granddaughter." If you ever need a cake check out her blog at rwfancycakes2.blogspot.com She is amazing! If you ever need a cake she is the lady to go to.

Top down view, see the birthday bubbles and 1 on top

Birthday girl flying with aunt Lisa

Here are some other picture of our adventures and daily life from the past couple months:

Hey is anyone gonna bathe me or what?

Love my naps

Kisses!

Seriously?

Bottles make me happy!

Ya, snow is awesome!

Wait, what the h -e -double hockey sticks is this contraption they put on me?

NEVERMIND, I HATE the snow!!!!

mmmmmm.......snacks..........

Mexico with Mom and Dad

Crack kills Macy, crack kills

This picture speaks for itself

Looks whose walking!

We had Macy Ann's first birthday party and boy it was a blast! We are just a few days early, because he birthday is not actually until the 9th, but we decided to have a Friday night party so all of our family could make it. We had a big bbq and ate burgers, potato salad, baked beans, chips, swigs, and of course..... CAKE! My mom (rwfancycakes2.blogspot.com) made the most AMAZING birthday cake for her. Thanks you mom! And thanks grandma for the potato salad and kari for the beans! It was so fun to do it all in celebration of this little one.

It really is crazy to think that a year ago this time I was sitting with a gigantical belly wondering if this thing would ever get out of me, not quite sure what to expect. Then she came and it really did change our lives forever. It has been so awesome to watch her transformations along the way. At first she was just this helpless newborn who I thought was sent here to kill me via sleep deprivation. But along the way she really developed her own little personality, she would actually smile back at us, and laugh at our silliness. She developed her own quirks, like how she LOVES her bath and HATES getting dressed. She started to roll and crawl, then walk and explore. She ate (and still eats) EVERYTHING off the floor, and if I had a dollar for every time I tackled her to dig something yucky out of her mouth I would be pretty wealthy. Now it hurts to get things out of her mouth because she bites me with those little chomper teeth. She investigates everything she finds with what we like to call the "probing finger." She loves to be tickled. I love to give her kisses. Shes a chunker and always has been! She had rolls that would outdo anyone. She is just amazing and so smart. I love to teach her things- I love how she points to me eyes, nose and mouth when I ask her too. I love her night time baths, I get her undressed in her room and then she walks by herself to the bathroom. It is so funny to watch those little frog legs and nude buns cruising down the hall. We just die laughing. She laughs too. She throws a fit when I try to do her hair. She has rosy cheeks, bright blue eyes, and almost 4 teeth. She loves sweet potatoes and hates peas. She has a laugh that I wish I could somehow bottle up and listen to whenever I wanted to. It is seriously golden. She is a really happy girl pretty much all the time. Not the best sleeper ever, but very very happy.

I could just go on and on. She really is a treasure to me. Its almost like having a crush when I was 12 years old- I think about her all the time and she makes me feel giddy and smiley. I can hardly wait to get home and see her. She is a precious girl, really the apple of my eyes. I am so thankful Heavenly Father blessed me to be her mom! Sometimes I don't know why he picked me to be her mom, I feel like I am not worthy to mother someone so special! But he did pick me, and all I can do is just thank him daily for her. Here's to you Macy moo, and your first year!!!!!

If you have ever wondered why you should vaccinate your children.....

2010-01-21T20:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.natalienortonphoto.com/

Saw this while browsing through blogs. Purely Heartbreaking.

Happiest Birthdays

2009-11-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

"The Kiss"

Her try - rejected

His try - rejected

(True Love: It may take us a few tries, but we always get it right in the end )

This may be a few days belated, but it is due to being under the weather, surely not a lack of love or caring. I just have not been able to emerge from my position balled up on the couch under my favorite green fuzzy blanket long enough to type. But today, health restored - Hallelujah.

I always love that when you emerge from illness it truly does remind you to thank your Heavenly Father for daily health, and reminds you that his watchful eye is always upon you.

But the reason I am typing today is to share my warmest feelings about two of the biggest influences on my daily life. My Husband, and my Mom.

They both share the same birthday on the 18th of November.

First off my Husband. TC - I truly believe that you were custom made for me. It cannot possibly be a mere coincidence that you understand me so well, are strong in the areas I am weak, pick up the slack where I fall short.

We were just made for each other, plain and simple. I don't think it was luck - things like this were meant to be.

I love the way my husband shows his love to me. I will admit that I am terribly romantic in my mindset. I love the mushy - its just me. But many of you know that he is not a romantic. Not. At. All.

In fact if there happened to be anatomical evidence of romance - he would not contain one single romantic bone in his body.

I will admit that this used to bother me. Not that I expected flowers and candy waiting for me every day, but I did think some romance was nice. That was before I realized something about TC. He is romantic everyday. He just shows it in his own way. His way of showing love for me is through his daily actions, his willingness to help me and care for me.

For example if my {insert anything that might break and cause a headache to fix here} has ever had a problem, you better believe that he is up at 5 in the morning the next day fixing it. It is done and fixed before I even have time to worry about it. I think I may have erred and taken it for granted at first, because that is just how it went. He took care of it. But I realized that it is truly a loving thing to do.

Or when Macy was born, you better believe that he helped me with her day and night. I was not left to struggle on my own. He helped me with everything, he even would voluntarily take on the night shift all the time so I could rest, despite the fact that he was probably just as if not more tired.

I could go on and on, but I will spare you. Suffice to say I am greatly blessed. He is my own personal hero, even if he does like to call me his little "farfinugen." I love him more than anything.

What did you get him this year for his birthday you might ask? Well, he got to go elk hunting for a whole week with his dad and brothers. He got a spike (cue defeated wah wah waaaaaah...)But it was the time of his life.

Next my mom. What can I say- she is pretty much the lady of the century. She has done so much for me in my life. It almost scares me, because I want to give my children the same wonderful childhood that I had - but she was and is so amazing. I always wonder if I can do as good of a job as she did. Growing up she always struck a fine balance between being my friend and being my parent. She gave me confidence in myself even when I did not have any, she made me feel strong and beautiful. She helped to shape my testimony of the gospel by her example. She helped me to overcome the trials and mistakes of my youth. Helped to always show me the good, better, and best choices. We had a lot of fun together. I still would pick hanging out with her over anyone else.

However, she was not afraid to shut me down and remind me that she was my parent if I did something, not so great. I appreciate her. She served in the Relief Society Presidency for seven years during my younger years, but I never felt like she was too busy with her calling to worry about me. She always put our family first.

She is an excellent cook and has pretty much destroyed my pallet - nothing tastes good to me anymore compared to her food! She also is a master of cake decorating and I hope she will continue to teach me her tricks.I love you mom!

What did she get this year you may ask? A gumball machine :-)

Random things and holiday spirit

2009-11-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

I just stole this picture of Macy off of my sister kari's blog. It was taken about 2 months ago at our cabin in Greer, AZ. I don't know why but I just love it. She just has the most pure and wonderful light in her eyes. She truly is a special little person and I love her!

Anyway, I am SO excited that we have finally entered the Holiday Season. The past two years I have been kind of blah about decorating and getting in the spirit. But now with Macy I am totally energized to kick into high geer and really enjoy the season. I have already had Mulling Spices boiling in my kitchen like every day since October (love that holiday smell). Also this year My mom and sister and I are going to be doing alot of holiday baking together which I am really excited about. We have already made orange rolls and next we are going to make gingerbread men. And every year we make edible Christmas Trains covered in candy that are really cute so we will do those soon. I need to get all the recipes I want to do together and go shopping so I am ready for the baking to begin.

Even better my family is doing family pictures this year and I already bought Macy her Christmas outfit for the pictures. Kari is the one who found it initially (shes got great style!) And I just had to get it. I got her that adorable red ruffly skirt but I am doing a black sweater on top instead of red. It is so girly and cute on her I just want to squeeze her! Here it is:

If you don't love that outfit either you are either blind or you have no soul. Seriously.

You want to know another thing I love around this time of year?......

That is right. I love Advair. I want to find the person who invented this stuff and kiss his/her feet. This time of year I am always coming down with bronchitis or pneumonia or something else nappy that makes my asthma fire up so bad and it is miserable. But not this year! I swear this has helped to keep me healthy. No asthma yet! For a good immune system I also love...

With those two things combined I am like an immune system warrior! ( or at least I hope :-) )

Well, I was doing this random post while Miss Macy was napping and now I hear that the princess is awake! Hope you all have a nice Holiday Season!

Might as well accept it, I'm addicted to carbs.

2009-10-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is dieting schmieting.
On Halloween I will be eating enough high fructose corn syrup to last me a lifetime. :-)

Memo to Melissa's Post Pregnancy Body

2009-10-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Melissa's Post Pregnancy Body:

Melissa would like to acknowledge and thank you for the the excellent work that you, her body, performed during the time period of May '08 to February '09 on the "Growing A Baby" Project. However, it has been over 8 1/2 months since this project was completed and closed out (nearly as long as it took for you to complete said project). While Melissa understands that this was a great accomplishment and you would like people to remember and see the outcome of your great work for a long time to come, it is time to pack up any remaining evidence of such project and return to normal operating procedures immediately. Your boss, Melissa, would like to assign the following tasks to your team members to be completed without any further delay:

Team Member Skin: Please box up and clear out any remaining pregnancy related acne, stretch marks, and other general skin funkiness that was administered during pregnancy. Pizza face already haunted her through her teenage years, it is time to give it a rest and return to you daily duties as normal, healthy adult skin.

Team Member Hair: You have become quite flighty, and have taken to falling out in clumps during not some, but every washing procedure that is administered to you by Melissa. It is time to stand your ground. Melissa needs you around more than ever and would like you to stay put. She would offer you incentives to stay put, such as more trips to the salon, a flashy new cut, or any perk you might suggest. If you keep falling out, you will suffer penalties, such as Melissa shaving you off and replacing you with a wig.

Team Member Hips: While you worked hard to prepare for the passage of said baby, you were unable to complete your intended work on this project because of unforeseen C-Section surgery. While we here at Melissa's body understand that you were ultimately unable to contribute your input to the project for reasons that were out of your control, those of us here at Melissa's Body are getting tired of you walking around boasting that you have perhaps accomplished such task. Since you did not actually succeed in passing a baby, we feel that it is only fair that you shrink back down to pre-birthing hip size until your next baby project.

Team Member Stomach: Your boss Melissa recognizes you for suffering perhaps the most abuse during your work on the baby project, however your behavior after the project has caused your boss Melissa the greatest cause for concern and embarrassment. She feels that you have had ample time to deal with your emotional and physical issues and it is high time you return back to normal. She does not like to look like she is smuggling and inter tube under her shirt wherever she goes. It is time to flatten down, and tighten up.

Team Member C-Section Scar: While you have only been an employee at Melissa's body for a short while, we have now accepted you into our family. You are swiftly leaving your beginner status behind, and we will be quickly dropping the learner's curve from your list of excuses. We expect you to rise to the challenge and function at top notch along with the other team members. The random shooting pains must stop immediately. Also, Melissa would like you to work overtime and grow your nerve connections back as soon as possible. Melissa is tired of having a perma numb feeling in the 1 inch area that surrounds you, and would like to remember what a pelvis feels like.

Team Member Hormones: You hold a position of leadership and authority over all aforementioned team members, and as their supervisor you must take you orders seriously. As of lately, you are what we in the body business like to refer to as a "Hot Mess." It is time to disembark from the exciting roller coaster that you have been able to ride on in the past months and find stable footing on the ground. While your day to day stabilizing work may seem boring, it is imperative to the other team members, who will not be able to achieve their goals without your guidance and support. Sure, everyone loves a crazy person, but only for a little while. Your time of careless fun is up. It is time to get back to the daily grind.

As you, Melissa's Body, works to regain your pre-pregnacny status and routine, you will see an increase in Melissa's happiness and an abundance of joy in her life. Do not worry, just because you will have to leave your memories of this baby making project behind, does not mean that you will never be needed again. She hopes to open new baby cases in the not too distant future, and we will need you refreshed and repaired when that time comes. With all the thanks in my heart I give you a final dismissal from this project, and decalre that it was a huge success!!!

Sincerely,

Melissa

Seriously?

2009-10-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ok- I should really retitle my blog "Melissa Hogle's daily plea for help and advice." But seriously, I needs me some good advice from you mommies out there.
WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH TEETHING?????????
I cannot figure it out. My little sassers has been a bit of a cranky pants lately. I dont know if she is sick of just teething. She is running random fevers, but not very high ones and alsos she has had some serious spit up lately. I thought she was sick at first but then it went away, and then came back, then went away, then came back, you get the point. And it has been like this for about 2 weeks. Then she will seem fine and act like a happy girl, and then an hour later - WHOA, watch out. And quite frankly she has adopted the temperment of acting like a crotchety old man. I keep looking for teeth but nothing???? So what do you say? Sick and she needs to go to the doc? Or teething and it is going to just be a fun ride around here for the next little while? Hizzity Help us please!

Moo-chachita

2009-09-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

First here is the barrage of pictures. I am too lazy to arrange them in their spots so you can read the whole update below. I have a funny video of Macy moo at the bottom so don't forget to watch it!

Latest from RW Fancy Cakes

Cutest Baby.....EVER

Edible Cake Jewelry - Newly acquired skillage

Rose Mini Cakes

Vegas Cake Convention

Macy Looking Awesome

Its been quite a stretch of time since I have been able to update! I have been back at work as a Kindergarten teacher- and lets just say this year has been nuts! Due to a state law that was passed that I don't feel like taking the time to explain, I have a class that is 100% non-english speaking. Yes. You read correctly. So needless to say it has been taking a lot of time to revamp my routine to fit the needs of these kiddos. I have to keep them up on the regular curriculum (reading short vowel books by November) AND teach them english on top of it. It has been interesting. Lots of big gestures and pictures used at all times in my class. But the kids are great. Kindergarten is such a fun age group.

Butch is in his LAST YEAR OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!! So we are back into the swing of never seeing each other. I work all day, he goes to school all night. Lets just say we relish our time together. He is still the biggest stud muffin in the universe. Also, he has been working with TJ Sherwood on I think the coolest granite job he has had to date - they have been repairing the granite in the Mesa, AZ LDS Temple. Sweet-a-Sweet? I should think so. So the next time you do a session- you will probably see their work.

Our little Macy Moo is getting so big. I cant believe that she is on the down hill slide to reaching a year. She is just one huge stinking bubble of joy. My only complaint is that her poopy diapers have become disgusting now that she eats big people food. Ya that one hit me like a ton of bricks. I used to think, why do people fight over who is gonna change the diapers? Its really no big deal? That is because I did not realize that Big people food = Way grosser poopies.

Also, I have a cry for help- how in the world do you get your babies to sleep during church time? Macy is always pretty happy and well behaved. But our church time is right during her morning nap (which for her is the longest/ most important nap of the day). She will not fall asleep at church. I always see moms holding their sleeping babies and she just fights it. And trust me, I have tried everything. It ends up with her getting super grumpy and me being ready to run out of the door as soon as relief society ends. So, any good tips for moi? How can I get her some shut eyes?

Other than that our muchachita is the best, She is so rolly polly and I just love it. She cracks up laughing all the time. Her favorite thing is to dance in front of the mirror. We spend hours in front of the mirror dancing her around and laughing. She also thinks its really funny to spit out her food at feeding time. All over me. I cant help but laugh at it either. Love her.

Last cool thing I have done lately, I went to Vegas with my mom and sister for a cake decorating convention, and learned some pretty cool things. We learned how to make individual rose cupcakes and our own edible cake jewels/molds. So fun. Cake decorating never gets old, in fact it just gets better. It is my mom who is the super talented one though, I am but a lowly apprentice! If you ever need a fancy cake though hit her up! Oh, and I ate at the Bellagio buffet for the first time, it was so cool, I ate for like 2 hours straight. Well, that is all for now! Ill probably wont post for another 2 months, so I thought I would finish with a bang, here is a video of Macy eating here baby food at my mom's house. She is being so funny in it - make sure that you don't pass this one up!

CONGRATULATIONS BRACKEN AND JULIANNE RICKETTS!!!!!

2009-07-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

Two of my dearest friends in the world

Bracken and Julianne Ricketts

have just become

the proud parents of

TRIPLETS

Two Sweet Little Girls and One Handsome Little Boy

CONGRATULATIONS YOU TWO!

Ju, you did awesome!

Click on my blog list under "Ju and Bracken" to read about their amazing journey.

Sassy!

2009-07-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all! This is Miss Macy Ann Hogle (or Sassy, as my mom and aunt Kari like to call me). I am five months old and I like to eat sleep and play. I have some serious crazy hair that sometimes makes me look like I am a mad scientist or like I am wearing a toupee. I like to babble and/or make screeching high pitched noises that sound like a pterodactyl all day. My daddy makes me laugh really hard all the time. I also can sit up well by myself ( If someone puts me in the position) and even can stand while holding onto the couch! More than anything, I hate clothes (they are too constricting and make me angry) and I enjoy being a nudie. Here is what I have been up to lately..........

I have started eating rice cereal. I used to hated it at first and ended up wearing more than I got in my mouth. Sometimes my parents leave my shirt up on my head when they feed me so my clothes don't get all messy, and I end up looking like a flying nun.

I have been looking awesome poolside rocking my yellow polka dot bikini. Note of advice to summer swimmers - you should not wear a two piece unless you have mad abs like I do.

I enjoy my night time baths, they relax me and help me go to sleep. But my parents like to laugh at my cottage cheese buns. They say I look just like mommy.

This was my very first time eating rice cereal. I was a bit dramatic about the whole situation and did not like it very much. But I am always a happy girl in the end!

I like to play and laugh with my mom. I think it is stinking hillarious to pull her hair.

My Dad is a tard.

On Father's Day my mom was airing my bum out (cuz I was getting a hint of diaper rash) and my dad used my bum cheeks as his personal card holder.

Despite all the fun times I am having, sometimes I still get very sad.....

That is all for now!

Macy

3 Cheers for 3 Years and an Ode to Dad

2009-06-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Longest post ever.

DAD!

Here is me and the Poppa on my wedding day

A wise father once said, "Melissa stop crying or I will give you something to cry about.." :-)

OK - so here is my ode to my dad on Father's Day. (Let me say I am sorry I missed the Mother's Day posting opportunity, she is just as loved!) For those of you who do not know my dad he is A. M. A. Z. I. N. G. What can I say, I think that we have a pretty famous father daughter relationship. Let me just tell you a little about him and my memories of him in random order......

I trust my dad more than anyone in the world. He has never lead me astray.

He is one seriously gospel oriented man, and puts Christ at the center of his life.

When he was 8 years old he played pool against a bunch of bikers at a hotel his family was staying with, and WON! No joke, they asked my grandpa to play against them, and my dad begged my grandpa to let him play instead. My grandpa said yes, and the bikers though it was a joke and were kind of mad because they did not want to waste their time. But then my dad proceeded to kick their tooshies! He sunk every ball. They were fighting over who got to be on his team after that. 8 years old, no joke.

He is a super intelligent self made business man. I pretty much think he knows EVERYTHING. Go ahead, ask him anything...... I dare you!

He is an ex - motocross rider extraordinaire. When he was young he use to burn across the desert in races that lasted all night. He took first place many times. Sometimes the races were held saturday night, but the deal was that he could do them as long as he was not late to church Sunday. So he would come home from a race at 6 am, and be to church by 8 am. Now that is what I call dedication!

He has a great sense of humor. He like to mess with anyone and everyone. He spent much of my life entertaining himself by messing with me! ( For examples of such messing see below bullets)

He loves to make up his own jingles and words to songs-and he is pretty good at it! However, I was often victimized by this when I was young because he thought it was entertaining to teach me the wrong words to my primary songs. I.E. - the song " I want to be a missionary now" - he taught me that the words were - " I want to be a missionary now, I don't want to wait until I'm grown. I want to go out biking with my friends- cuz I have a testimony, ya a stinkin' testimony- testimony macaroni of my own." I still don't know the real words to the song. But there are many more just like that. No wonder everyone was always looking at me funny when I sang.

He served his mission in Central America and still speaks fluent spanish. He is the reason that I worked to minor in Spanish. I practice with him all the time.

His favorite phrase is "as the crow flies."

He used to make me bring him chocolate ice cream like every night in high school.

He loves Metallica.

He is a handy man.

We used to go fishing together when we went to our cabin in Greer. When I would get my line stuck as a little girl he would make me wade out and unhook it myself, but not without saying something like "I hope that the Lockness monster doesn't smell you in the water, it loves to eat little girls."

He has the shortest tongue known to mankind. Because of this he can flick it back and forth really fast and do the most amazing turkey call impression ever.

He fixed up a truck in high school for me and surprised me with it. (Perhaps he spoiled me some). It was the best automobile ever.

He is known to dance "the backwards can-can."

We used to have family prayers every night. We would all kneel down and he would start doing things to make us laugh. It usually took us like 20 minutes to pray sometimes because we would be laughing to hard to do it. We would have to calm down before we prayed.

He has always given me good advice. Many MANY times I did not follow it, and when I didn't I always learned my lesson the he was indeed right!

We have given him many nicknames over the years, to name a few are: Big Dave, the notorious DAV.....little e, and the Fazzzzzzsher.

He loves my mom more than anyone on the face of the planet.

He gave me father's blessings every year before school which I loved.

He is a people person and easy to be friends with.

Lets be honest, I could go on for days. Let me just say I have the most amazing dad ever! I love him to pieces. I would not trade him for anyone. Thanks Dad for all you do!

US!

Now....onto the anniversary post. Last wednesday, June 17th was our anniversary. We have been married for 3 years. It has been awesome. TC is my perfect counterpart. We go together like peanut butter and jelly, motors and oil, bingo and old people. A perfect fit. We also annoy the heck out of each other on occasion. I love T cuz I am my total self around him. He loves me for me. He does not care what I am not. He is so kind to me. Here is a little info about us.....

We met in high school, then again after his mission when I was down from the Y. We were both dating other people, and I even went back to the BYU for a year where we sort of long distance dating. But ultimately (of course) we decided that together was the right place to be, so we got married in 2006.

We love Mesa and will live here forever.

Miss Macy Ann is our sweet daughter and the apple of our eye.

We try to go to the temple once a month. I am not saying it always happens. But its our goal.

Our first house was in down town Mesa right next to the Mesa Ampitheather. It had cockroaches and no bathroom door for like 5 months. However, it was a fun FUN place to live. We could hear all of the shows going on from the ampitheather from our front porch. It was like going to 100 free shows. We also used to sneak into the Marriot Hotel swimming pool because it was just across the street.

He is an old man and likes to go to bed super early, I am a night owl

TC never gets sick. I always get sick.

We love swigs! (soda) And our favorite place to get them is M&M mart on Stapley, home of the Big Guy for 50 cents- what a steal. Mostly we just love food. What a great thing to grow old and fat together!

We love camping, and trips to Greer, and Mexico

Hobbies: I love my piano and He loves dirt bikes and fixing up engines on ANYTHING. We love to ride around the neighborhood on his fixed up vehicles. Its a good time.

We happen to think pet chickens are pretty sweet.

Don't call us Kip cuz we are not good with technology. Our friend Brock has to fix our computer. We should probably work on the technology loving because it is not going away anytime soon. This is the reason why I can never figure out the spacing on my posts.

We often barter for favors with back massages.

I love to cook him breakfast

We hate movies. The last time we went to a movie was like 1 1/2 years ago. We have a DVD player but it is broken and has been forever and we don't care to fix it. We do watch tv at times, but I think we are to A.D.D to sit through entire movies. Its just not our thing.

TC makes impressions of me and sound effects to everything I do. For instance anytime I take a drink he makes a slurping sound. Every time.

We have wrestle mania every Sunday after church. I do not know why. And its not what you think, its not cute. It is full one wrestle mania to the death!

When we eat out its either at Gecko Grill, Joe's BBQ or BJ's Pizza. We can agree on nothing else.

We sleep with two different comforters because we both steal the covers!

We think KSLX is the best radio station ever and George Strait is the best country singer of all time.

Our office is always a mess and its always our resolution to organize it.

Every Halloween we dress up. And every Halloween I mysteriously have a fake bloody hand appear in my fridge without fail.

I love to snuggle him. He is not much of a snuggler, but I make him do it anyways!

We aren't clean freaks, but we like a tidy house. However, we are obsessed with a clean bed. Neither of us will go to bed without showering (It just feels like sleeping in your own filth to me, yuck.) And our sheets get changed every week without fail.

Every Sunday we "make the rounds" and visit our families. We love to spend time with the family damily.

We both speak Spanish. He is way better than I am and sounds quite authentic. I have lost a lot of it. But we speak to each other all the time. We even had a stint translating for a Spanish speaking family in church ever sunday which was way fun to do.

TC is my life coach. He always has a level headed approach to things. He is always there to help me out when I get down. When there are problems, I know in my head that everything will be fine, but I cant drop it until I hear him say everything will be fine. I guess its a weird mental thing like setting your clock 15 minutes late to make yourself move faster in the morning.

We pretty much have nothing but love. Now for the photo montage from our engagement and wedding:

I made TC wear green in our engagement pics because it is my favorite color. After our announcements went out, we got various texts from people saying things like, " They're after me lucky charms." Ha ha. Its all good, I think green is a glorious color!

I always thought I would have a big poofy princess dress. But then I found this one, and I loved how regal and sleek it felt. The only downer is that it did not do the huge poofy skirt thing in pictures.

Mesa, AZ temple for life!

My side of the family damily

His side of the family damily

My celly be painin......

2009-06-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

To make a long story short, I cracked my cell phone beyond repair by shutting my car door on it like a month ago. It even broke the good ol sim card and everything so all my contact info and numbers got the boot. I ended up switching my provider so I have an all new number. No need to reply to the post, just email me at melissa_ann21@hotmail.com with your number so I can beef up the contact list once more. Thanks!

Happy Baby Girl!!!

2009-04-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

I have not had much time to post lately because I have been way busy. I had to go back to work a while ago which has been quite a challenge. Booooo - It is horrible to have to leave your baby, but I cant afford not to work. Its been pretty hard, because I had to work up until the day before she was born, and then I had to return at six weeks. I feel like I havent gotten a break or the time I want with her because the six weeks I was off, one of them was spent in the hospital and the other five were at home recovering from my c section surgery. But what do you do, life does not allow everyone to be a stay at home mom I guess. Its absolutely heartbreaking to tell you the truth. So count your blessings if you get to be a stay at home mom, because it is so hard to be seperated from your baby from 7:30 to 5:00 Mon-Fri! Anyway, between that and the other thousand things I have going on I dont have much spare time. When I am at home I dont do anything but snuggle my sweetheart! She is getting so big! And she is such a happy sweet baby. She is the biggest blessing in my life. In the end all that matters is that she is happy and healthy. I also am lucky to have the most amazing family and in laws un the world who care for her in the day so that I wouldnt have to put her in a daycare ( I honestly would have freaked out if I had to), I am so blessed to have such a support system. Well, thats the update for now. I hope everone else is doing well!

All dressed up and nowhere to go.........

2009-03-12T15:33:00.001-07:00

My talented sister took some cutie patootie pics of my little lady. She is adorable and she's all mine- could it get any better?

Isn't she lovely?

2009-02-24T12:24:00.000-08:00

We are so pleased to introduce our sweet daughter

Macy Ann Hogle

She was born on the 9th of February, 2009 at 8:32 in the morning. She was 7 lbs. 8oz. and 20 inches long. She is absolutely the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on!!!!!!!!

It has taken me a while to post anything about her because I have been down for the count the last couple of weeks since her birth. Labor and delivery of this little girl did not go as expected! I went in to the hospital on the 8th of February to be induced- I was past due, and sick with bronchitis (yet again) and my OB thought we should just get her here since I was having a hard time staying healthy, and I couldn't start maternity leave from work until I had my baby. So I agreed and we went in to get things rolling. Well, the gave me a medicine called cervadil that isn't supposed to send you into labor, but it gets you ready for the pitocin drip which does start contractions. It ended up that I must have been on the verge of labor anyways, because the cervadil did the trick all by itself, and I went into labor pretty quick. I started to have contractions that were super strong and way close together right away. I had made the decision to use IV pain meds instead of an epidural (not because I am hardcore, but I have a long history of spine issues and I did not want to mess with my spine unless there was no other option). The nurse told me that the pain meds they would give me were the strongest and most effective with the first dose that they give you, and then they get less effective with each dose- so I decided to hold off through my beginning contractions and get the pain meds when I really needed them. Well, even though I had monster contractions, I was not dilating past a 4, but I still wanted to hold off because I wanted to have relief when I needed it most towards the end. I labored naturally for 12 hours straight- from 6 at night till 6 in the morning. It was awful because the cervadil worked almost too well, and my contractions were cresting together one right after the other with no break. I tried everything to get through the pain - I sat on the birthing ball, I got in the shower, I breathed like a maniac to the point that I thought I was going to pass out! It was just all contraction - no dilating- I was getting exhausted and frustrated! I am so glad that I had my husband by my side the whole time to support me and help me breathe and give me encouragement. I do not know what I would have done without him. He was a wonderful birth coach!

Also- there is another layer to the pain of that night. About halfway through the night the nurse discovered that Macy was posterior, and the were trying to get her to flip around and face the right way. This involved my moving around and trying to coax her into a different position during my contractions- which stunk because all I wanted to do was lay there in my agony. Also, she was having a weird thing happen that I am not exactly sure how to explain- but my pelvis was not opening up the way it should, and the baby started to push down, and it pushed my cervix out of the position it should be in. Instead of being out in front of the baby like it should be, it got shoved back up and around her head. So every time they would check to see if I was dilated, they would take their hands, and manually try to drag my cervix out from the back and into the front facing position it should have been in. I will be honest- I screamed every time they did it, it was the most painful thing I have ever experienced!

So at long last, 6 am came, and it had been 12 hours and I was still at a 4. I was exhausted, and could not handle the contractions anymore. So I gave in to the epidural. My what a relief!!!!! I was afraid of the long term effects it would have on my spine, but at the time I did not care enough about that, I just wanted relief. Well, it was not 5 minutes after the epidural that the nurse started going crazy because the baby went into fetal distress and her heart rate tanked. She was running frantic around the room ripping open packages, calling for backup, etc. She ripped open an internal monitoring system and had to put it up inside of me to try and find the baby's heart beat, but was not having any luck. Then she gave me this huge shot of I don't know what type of medicine, but it was supposed to stop my contractions because they were stressing the baby out. Also, the were afraid the baby was not getting oxygen and so I had to hook up to an oxygen mask. My mom had just entered the room to come root me on when all of the chaos started! So of course she was scared out of her mind for me - talk about bad timing. Then my ob walked in, and said I would have to have an emergency c section to save the baby- FAST! Then a swear a team of 20 people ran in my room, pumped a huge syringe of medicine into my epidural tube, and rushed me to surgery in a minute flat - no joke. They raced me into the OR and cut me open so quick it made my head spin! I don't think that they even finished setting up before the doctor cut into me! They were still busy putting up the tarp that blocks your view and stuff- I looked away when I saw the doctor coming at me with the scalpel - because I just could not handle it! TC barely made it in the room because he had to change into scrubs, and they almost didn't let him in! He ran over to me and was hunkered down by trying to comfort me- my head was literally spinning when I heard felt yanking and pressure, then heard our little lady cry out! They came and showed her to me, and then I totally passed out! I woke up in the recovery room with TC a baby by my side! It was so trippy! In the recovery room they were yanking me around trying to clean me up- and that was the weirdest feeling I have ever had! They were touching my legs and shlepping me around, and I could see it, but I couldn't feel a thing! It was nuts! And poor Macy had this big old dent in her head where she had been slamming into my pelvis all night - I felt so bad for her (luckily it went away in just a day).

Anyway, I have been kind of out of it ever since! I am having to bum newborn pics off of my friends and family because obviously TC and I were not able to take any! I was in the hospital for 3 days, and then I had to go back a day after I got home because I got the bronchitis back bad! Then this week I got a UTI from the surgery that has been crazy painful! But I am finally starting to feel better. I cannot believe 2 weeks have gone by. It has been a blur. But I am so thankful for my family and friends who have helped me with meals, rides to the doctor,and moral support while I am trying to get well. I am finally feeling like I am on the road to recovery. My husband has been my rock through this, he has stepped into his role as a father without a pause, and he has done so good! He has helped me in every way, and has done so much to make sure that I am getting well, that I am comfortable, and that the baby is well taken care of! It has been so frustrating because I have not been able to jump into things full force like I want to. It has been a rough thing to recover from. But we are so blessed to have our beautiful daughter. She is a sweet spirit and I just am so in love beyond anything that I could ever imagine! Well, from here on out you should expect to see much more of her pretty face on our blog. Welcome to the world Macy!

Its Time!

2009-02-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Hey guys- its Melissa's sister Kari. I just left the hospital and Melissa is probably going to be having Macy sometime tomorrow, so we'll post pics as soon as we get them. Stay tuned!

Baby Shower

2008-12-31T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! My family is throwing a baby shower for Macy and I in the next couple weeks. I don't want to leave anyone out- so if you would like an invitation just email me your address at melissa_ann21@hotmail.com. Hope to see you there!

The Crib, The Name Game, and The Griswold Family Christmas Tree.

2008-12-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

I am so excited because we finally are starting to get together things for the baby's room....and today we bought her a crib! We got it at Crismon's boutique and I aboslutely love it! I only have 2 months left till she gets here, so its crunch time to get her room and things all ready.

Also, as of lately, TC and I had a revelation that we REALLY like the name Macy for a girl. So I regret to say that the poll we did earlier was for nothing, because we have changed our minds and are leaning in that direction. Macy Ann Hogle any one? Sound good? I hope you like it, because I am 99.999% sure that this is the name for us. I can't wait for her to get here!

On a different note, I need to share a story that I think is pretty funny. My cute husband and I went to the mountains last weekend and cut down a Christmas tree. It was a load of fun! We talked and laughed the whole time we were driving, and stopped for lunch at the Knotty Pine Cafe in Payson to eat. It was a great day date! Then we bought a tree tag ( only 15 dollars for that bad boy- what a steal!) and drove around for like 2 hours in the forest trying to pick out the best Christmas tree. Along the way I learned that I have no sense of scale... I wanted a big full tree that would look good in our living room. TC kept pointing out trees, but I kept telling him that they were too puny for us... Turns out the ones that look "small" in the forrest are actually the perfect living room size. I made him chop down one that fulfilled my grandesque visions of tree perfection ( and might I say he looks dang sexy running a chain saw, oh so rugged!) However, when we got it home, it looked like the tree out of the movie "Christmas Vacation" - you know that movie? The Griswolds-Chevy Chase? It was so huge in our living room - it is like crunched against the cieling ann it is so full it invades our couch space! You can't sit down without getting poked by the branches! Ha ha ha. It was pretty awesome. Lesson learned, I promise you. TC has harrassed me about it sufficiently and I will make sure I keep our living room in mind next year. What can I say? I got so excited! It was hard not to get carried away.

On a final note - TC finished his finals and he got REALLY good grades this semester. You go baby boy!

Update!

2008-11-26T19:39:00.000-08:00

Its been quite a while since I have had two spare seconds to update this mamma jamma! It has been quite an eventful month! First of all, I am almost 30 weeks along now! It is crazy to think that I only have ten weeks to go till baby girl gets here. I am getting more and more nervous at the prospect of giving birth.... it does not sound like a fun experience that is for sure! I am just trying not to think about it too much because when I do it makes me so scared! I am trying to remind myself that billions and billions of women have done it before me (many times each) and lived to tell the tale, but somehow it just doesn't make me feel any better! Its all good though. Baby girl is getting bigger everyday and really starting to stretch my tummy out. I feel her kicking and moving 24/7 and its stinkin awesome. I really enjoy feeling her grow and move. It is cool to say the least. Also, I am FINALLY starting to get over the whole morning sickness thing. It is such a relief to not feel like I am going to throw up all the time. In fact, the opposite has started to take affect, and I am one hungry lady. Lets be honest, I have always loved food, but lately I have gained the ability to eat more than I ever thought was humanly possible! So watch if you ever invite me, Mrs. "All you can eat" Hogle over for dinner because I might clean you out!

There were also many big events that happened this month, including a TON of birthdays for my family members, and a wedding. For the birthday list, my mom turned 50 this month ( I love my mom, she is the most amazing lady on the face of the planet), my brother in law mike turned 27 (another year older and still just as ugly :-) ), my nephew Remi (we like to call him "papi or "the don") turned 1, and my sister in law Lacee had a birthday too (She is the hot mamma of the twins). However, most important of all, my stinking cute husband turned the big 2-5! Yay! I wont make you read my personal ode to TC, but just know that I love him with my whole heart and think he is the best husband that anyone could ever ask for. He is the funnest person in the whole world, we have the best time together, he works hard, he is dedicated to the Lord, and he treats me like a princess. I am a lucky lady!

Abby and Jeff's wedding was also an awesome event. Everything turned out just perfectly. Abby and Jeff make an absolutely perfect couple. We love Jeff - he is such a fun person to have in the family. There wedding was so cool because Jeff's grandpa was able to perform the actual sealing ceremony which made it really special. The reception was absolutely beautiful - with good food and lots of friends and family! Abby was a stinkin hot mamma of a bride too - Ow!

Other than that it has just been your normal hectic month! Between my work and beehive calling and TC going to school and working full time, we have 0.00 spare time - but its good because it is making time fly by fast! Love you all and hope all your lives are as blessed as ours! Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Holiday Season!

ITS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-10-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Its official! I went to the doctor yesterday and we found out officially that we are having a girl! I cannot wait! She is already so beautiful! And she is already two pounds! It is so crazy to be able to see this little person up on the computer screen during the ultra sound kicking around and waving her hands. She is absolutely the most AMAZING thing I have ever seen. I only have like two seconds to write this, so of course I cannot convey the full spectrum of feelings that I am having about this. But it is honestly the most wonderful thing to ever happen to me, and I had to put her cute little ultrasound pics up for you to ooooh and aaaaah over! Enjoy!

A trip to the fair

2008-10-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been to the fair 6 years, and neither had my family. So we decided to all go together on opening night. We soon realized why we had stayed away from the fair for so long.....it was interesting to say the least. I think I saw every drug addict and pregnant 14 year old in the greater Phoenix Metro area there that night. It was a little nutty. But what can I say, even though it was a rough crowd we still had fun as a group! I was being a baby because my sides hurt really bad that night, and so we rented me a wheelchair so I could cruise in style! It was embarrassing to say the least, but it was much better than walking! My sweet husband pushed my around all night through a throng of like a million drunk party animals. I think we played every game that there was to play and won a whole slew of 10 cent stuffed animals. However, I think the bright spot of the night is when I got to eat a turkey leg the size of my head. All in all it was a fun night... we were all good sports and we always have fun with each other as a family (despite being surrounded by near gang fights and drug dealers.)

Meanwhile, in normal life we are still just going as usual. The baby is doing great and I love feeling her moving around inside me all of the time! It is so cool when TC puts his hands on my tummy and gets to feel her kick! I am starting to feel huge though...I cannot imagine how I will feel in another 3 months! Its getting harder to move around the way I used to, and I get tired way more easily! But it is so fun to think how close I am getting to meeting this new little baby and holding her in my arms! The miracle of life is so amazing, and I just feel so blessed and privileged to carry a precious little child inside of me! It is pretty awesome to say the least!

Well, that is it till next time! Here are some pictures of our fair adventure!

My Dad and Remington hanging out at the fair

My sister and I chillin after a delicious turkey leg feast

My winnings

TC pushing my wheelchair and threatening to beat up anyone who gets in the way

Quick Update

2008-10-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well, things have been crazy around here. I have been busy being a kindergarten teacher and taming 30 five year olds ever day and T.C. has been busy installing granite and going to school. We hardly even see each other during the week because right as I am getting home from work he has to leave for school. Busy busy. Well, we are pretty sure that we are having a girl! I say pretty sure because due to some unscheduled events, we ended up getting an ultrasound at the hospital instead of my OBGYN's. The girl that did the ultrasound said that she hadn't done a ton of baby ultrasounds, but from what she could tell there were no *extra parts*. So that's what we're going with right now. I have a doctor's appointment at the end of the month and hopefully we can really find out for sure then. That's about it for our lives right now. I'll try and update soon.

I love these people!

2008-09-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

So, my gets season tickets to the ASU games every year, but last Saturday the women in my family got the boot as the game was declared a "boys only" event. Boo! Its ok though, because my mom, my sister, the grand kids and I had our own fun and we all went out for a big night on the town (and by big I mean a trip to in & out burger and the grocery store :) ) It was so fun though. These two women are my best friends in the whole world! They are so amazing. My sister Kari is the kindest, funnest, and most sincere person I know! I just am so amazed by her and all she has accomplished in life. She has had the absolute worst health problems to deal with at such a young age, things that would stop anyone else dead in their tracks. But my sister has overcome them with a smile and has never complained. As a result of these health issues she has not been able to conceive children yet, but hasn't let that slow her down at all! She just put her trust in the Lord and was blessed because of it! Now she has one adopted son, Remington, and is working on adopting his older sister, Delight, as well. She is the best mommy in the whole world to these kids! I am almost nervous to have my baby because I wont be able to live up to the great things she has done as a mom already!

Then there is my mom, Rissa. She is just amazing, pure and simple. I love her with my whole heart. She has done more for me than anyone else on the face of the planet. She is just the perfect woman, the whole package, and more! She has the biggest testimony of the gospel I have ever seen, and I have learned so much from her. She has sacrificed so much of herself for others, especially me. I cant even hardly write about her because it just makes me cry.....I am so thankful for her it is unreal! She is so fun to be around, and really works to make others happy. I am so happy I married someone from Mesa so that I could stay by her, I don't know what I would do if I ever had to move away. And like I said, she is just the funnest lady! She has so many talents, she is a genius cook, she makes cakes that look like the came out of a magazine, and is just funny as heck. AMAZING I tell ya!

Anyway, I will stop embarrassing them with my gushing, but I cant help it, I just have a wonderful family! I love to hang out with the kiddies, Remington and Delight. They are just the funniest babies in the world! Going out with them is a non stop entertaining experience. Plus they are both just as cute as a button! Anyway, we had the funnest night out with each other, not that we don't hang out all the time anyways, but its nice to be able to take an official "ladies and kiddies" night out together!

As a final note off the subject, I only have 2 weeks till I find out the sex of the baby! I cant wait, its making me go crazy not knowing!I will just have to hold on till then!

Trash Can

2008-09-06T17:34:00.000-07:00

P.S. - I just realized what the background of my preggo pic looks like. I didnt even think about the fact that you can see my trash can, the chickens, muddy clothes on the line and the go-kart in the background....sorry about that one. I promise next time the pic will be better!!! Ha Ha

2 months later.....

2008-09-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

Holy Schmoly I haven't update in quite a while! It has been a crazy 2 (well, almost 2) months though. I have been super busy because I just started my first year as a full fledged teacher! Yay!I am teaching Kindergarten at Burke Basic School in Mesa. It has been CRAZY so far trying to wrangle down 32 kids between the ages of 4 and 5, but a lot of fun. It is killer at the beginning of the year because it is literally a shell shocker for a lot of them to come to school. Its like they went from having fun at home all day to being in place where they are expected to sit in a desk and follow rules. I am doing my best to make it fun for them though so that they enjoy coming to school. It is kind of tough since I did not go to school for a teaching degree ( Poly Sci degree...), so I am kind of learning as I go! I have literally been eating, breathing, and sleeping schoolwork and lesson plans! Its pretty cool though and it just keeps getting better everyday. Also, I have an AWESOME teacher's aid in my class, her name is Tomi Lindblom and she is just about as cool a lady as they come! We have a lot of fun together. Between teaching and being a beehive leader I have pretty full schedule! My beehives are so awesome too- I have the cutest girls in the world, go Southern Estates ward!

Anyway......I am now a little over 17 weeks preggo my eggo!!!! How weird is that! I heard the heartbeat for the first time last month and it about knocked my socks off! I am absolutely dying to find out the sex of the baby though. I have an appointment this wed. afternoon and I will be about 18 weeks, but Dr. Tutt (my O.B.) says he wont do an ultrasound until 19 weeks. So I have to wait another whole month to find out! Like I said, I am dying to know though, and I think that I might go to one of those independent 4-D imaging places and get it done ahead of time! I cant wait! I think its a boy.....but I guess we will find out! I put up a pic of my ever growing belly bump- my whole body is inflating so fast its crazy!

TC has been up to his usual activities lately: granite, dirt biking, and hunting! Lots and Lots of hunting!!! He actually took a river rafting trip in Wyoming with the Hogle men last month which is pretty cool! He isn't very good a taking pics though so I have nothing to show you! I wish he did though because all of the men grew out their mustaches for the trip and it was just a disgusting sight! He recently took a camping trip with his friends to Clint's Well which consisted of eating steaks, drinking Dr. Pepper, and killing any small varmint that crossed his path. I swear I have never met a man that likes to hunt more than he does!!!! Poor animals! Oh, and today is September 1st, which to most people means just Labor Day, but in the Hogle family it is the holy of holies out of the entire year because it is opening day for dove hunting season. All of the men wake up at like 4 am and get out to the fields early so they can be ready to shoot as soon as daylight breaks. I think combined between TC, Jesse, Evan, Lanny, Jeff, and Monty they got 128 doves this morning.... not joking you, 128. I apologize to any animal lovers who may be reading this, but like I said, I have never met more avid hunters in my life! I don't know, my family is pretty into hunting to.....We just don't have the sheer numbers the Hogles have!!!! Anyway, all that aside, he is working full time and going to ASU - I am so proud! Hes such as sweetheart! I am just trying to prepare him for a baby every day! He is going to be such a good daddy! I cant wait to see what our baby looks like! I already feel like I have been pregnant forever, and I still have forever to go! But were having fun and doing good! Hope all is well with everyone else and we love you!!!!!

Aye... hija de la tostada fea.......

2008-07-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

I was just looking through some pics of last years california vacation with the Hogles and I found this little gem. All I have to say is that I hope this is not a glimpse into the future of what our baby will look like if its a girl....man that is not a pretty sight!

Time to try this blogging thing.....

2008-07-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I have caught quite a bit of flack for not having a blog, so here it goes! I am reall bad at maintaining these things, but I sure will give it a try! TC and I have been married for over 2 years now and we are having our first baby!!!!!! I am loving it so much, it is weird to think that it is our turn to be parents! I am way excited. I am officially 9 weeks along, so we don't know what we will be having yet. I personally hope its a boy, just because I wish I would have had an older brother growing up. But lets be honest, I will be thrilled no matter what! I got my first ultrasound the other day, and it was so weird to see how big the baby actually has gotten in such a short time, and to see it moving around its cute little arm/leg nubbins! I cant wait till I get to actually feel it moving around. Even more so, I cant wait to hit 12 weeks so that I can stop throwing up day and night! It is so weird to hardly eat anything but have your belly expanding. I just want to stop feeling sick so that I can really enjoy it.....thank heavens for anti-nausea medicine!!!!! I dont know what I would do with out my mom and my sister to take care of me! And I am so lucky that I was on summer break for the worst of it. I will be starting back teaching i just a few weeks, and hopefully everything will be back to normal by then! Well, I guess that its all for now....I am not quite sure how you end a blog entry, the end?