Mike's In Heaven

Recent Events

I've been behind in my posting so I'll just post pictures to let everyone know what we've been up to....

We went to a pumpkin patch. Eryn went on a "cow train", horseback riding, through a maze, and to a petting zoo. We didn't actually get around to going in the pumpkin patch....maybe next year.

Eryn was Snow White for Halloween. We got the costume for 50% off! Yea for deals!We also went to Disney on Ice. It was a blast and one more excuse for Eryn to wear her Snow White dress in public. It totally captured her attention the whole time.

MIA

We've been MIA lately because I've started a new job. I work at an assisted living center for people with dementia. I haven't done this kind of work before but I've discovered that I really like it. It reminds me of all those Sundays visiting Ponds in Punaluu and Crawfords in Sunset. It feels like genuine service...I just happen to get paid for it.

Dear Auntie Helen,

I put on this outfit at least once a day but usually with two shoes. Mommy has hidden my salmon colored jacket because the first time I put it on I wanted to wear it every where. Mommy said it was because of my blue shoes, pink printed shorts and purple shirt I insited on wearing with it. Mommy's weird. I had fun when you came for a visit and mommy says you can come anytime.
Love, Eryn
P.S. Where's the pictures you promised?

Eryn's New Trick

Eryn picked up a new skill. I don't know what's more funny...Eryn doing the trick or Eryn watching herself do the trick. Either way we are having a good time watching Eryn.

Glorious Day

Eryn pooped in the potty!

Oh, Sweet Child of Mine

Something has happened to my baby. She used to be so loving and affectionate. She used to listen to me and follow me with her whole heart. Okay so she is still affectionate but a few weeks ago that child disappeared. She is now one of those kids. You know what I mean. The ones that throw themselves on the floor of the store, kick and scream when we tell her no, and gets hysterical at the drop of a hat. I'm pretty used to the reactions by now. There's the "why can't this lady control her child" glare and the "I've been been there and I'm so glad I done" smile and perhaps my least favorite of all the "I'm going to try to make this better but really it's going to make it worse" gesture where some stranger gives her a candy or treat I told her she couldn't have in the first place. For those that have been through the terrible twos please tell me the end is near. Please tell it gets better. Please tell me I'm not the most horrible mom in the world when I lose my patience or not give in to her cries of injustice. And please tell me my sweet baby will come back so I can go out in public again.

Taking a Few Days Off

So for the last few days here are a few things that I have refused to do:
Clean the house
Wash the dishes
Cook
Grocery shopping
Laundry
I am on strike, not because I don't want to do these things, but because I sprained my ankle pretty badly on Saturday night. Once again Mike has been my hero and taken care of the cooking and some of the cleaning. Actually my ankle is feeling much better but looking at the huge piles of laundry and dishes is very scary.

Mommy Time

So lately I've noticed that I've been really short and annoyed with Eryn. I realized that I have been spending 24/7 with her for a while and that I needed a break. Mike was a trooper and took her to the playground while I went to the family history center. Don't laugh but I really love doing the research. I go find names and Mike translates the documents. I came home to a hot fudge sundae that Mike got for me. Mike was my hero last night and now Eryn is my friend again. We might need to do this on a regular basis.

Pony Rides and Goats

We went to the Western Idaho State Fair last month and had a blast. We mostly followed Eryn around as she looked at the chickens, rabbits, goats, and of course the ponies. If you know Eryn, you know she is all about princesses and ponies. For some reason she also really likes goats. Go figure. We were doing pretty good until we took her off the pony after the pony ride.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Kids are so funny. I love how they are so sweet and innocent. Last night Mike started tinkering with his bike. Eryn had to be right in there with daddy, like always. Of course Eryn had to fix her bike too. She is always trying to help.

Memories

I've seen this a lot and decided it would be fun to play.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments

Summertime in Idaho

One thing we like about Idaho in the summer is the county/state fairs. It's mostly cowboy stuff. Eryn loves to see all the animals and is looking forward to the pony ride in a couple of weeks. A few weeks ago we went to our first rodeo! I expected to cringe the whole time but we have a great time. I can't believe how many crazy people are willing to get on a wild bucking horse or bull but most of them actually stayed on for the full 8 seconds. There are actually a lot of different events at the rodeo.

Calling All Potty Trainers!

How exactly am I supposed to do this? We've got the potty. We've got the underwear. Now what? Anybody want to direct me to some really good info on how to actually potty train? I guess I should stop being lazy about figuring this whole thing out but right now Eryn seems too scared to actually go in the potty. I've finally gotten her to sit on the thing without crying (she's kind of a scaredy cat about everything.) I've taken it as a sign that she's just not ready yet. That may be the case but I really just don't know what I'm doing.

Any advice? Direction? Videos? Books? I'll take any suggestions.

Park Fun

We live in the most family friendly place! It is awesome. While Eryn doesn't understand why we cannot go to the beach, she does like to go "play water." They have these water features in a bunch of parks around town. Eryn loves them.

4th of July

Our 4th of July was pretty quiet. We went to the park, had a bbq (with rice), and watched the fireworks. It was kind of cool. We could see two other firework shows in the distance.

Corn on the cob and teriyaki chicken.

Mike and Eryn chilling while waiting for the show.

Old Friends, New Memories

Soon after returning from Hawaii, we went on a mini road trip to Twin Falls to visit Mike's old missionary companion. Not only did they have a miniture donkey and a few horses, but they had the coolest family ever. We felt right at home.

Hawaii, Part 2

Alright, I know I'm a slacker. I'm just going to have to do many short posts to catch up on what we've been doing. I'll start by posting more favorite pictures from Hawaii.

Eryn, in all her pinkness, at the swap meet.

Eryn loved going to the beach. She still talks about it.

Hawaii, Part 1

What can I say about our trip to Hawaii? We didn't do anything spectacular or outrageous. All we really did was eat all kinds of food and spend time with family. It was truly like going home. Mike and I are already plotting ways to move back there for good. In the mean time we'll just have to look at pictures.

We stayed right on the beach for the first week.

We got in a lot of fishing.

Eryn loved the beach so much she asks me everyday to go back. When I explain that there's no beach in Idaho she gets pretty mad.

Great News!

I have a little piece of information that makes me happy. I'm talking the best news so far this year!

In 4 days I will be sitting on an airplane headed for Hawaii. Eryn and I will be staying for 3 weeks. I'm so excited.

Brushing of the Teeth

Eryn came into the room and said, "Mama, I'm brushing my teeth." Now, normally this wouldn't make me cringe but that is not her toothbrush, nor does it belong to me or Mike for that matter. She found the new costco pack and decided to open every single one. On the positive side, it looks like she only used two of them. Oh well, it's just one of those days where we aren't accomplishing much. Do you ever have those days? You know when it is noon and no one has their hair done or is dressed in presentable clothes. And yes, that is her Cinderella princess dress she is wearing.

'Caught this 4-lb bass in a "secret" pond in Boise. The weather was gorgeous with temperatures peaking the lower 70's. I LOVE Spring!

Is it April already?

March went by too fast. I'm still getting used to blogging so I left some things out that I probably should have written about. This month was pretty eventful:
1. Happy birthday to me!
2. I quit my job! I knew this would happen after I made that big long post about me working. I really liked the job but I'm glad to be home again.
3. We bought our airline tickets for our trip to Hawaii!!!! 53 more days, baby!
4. This was the first Easter that Eryn actually "got" things. Meaning she got excited to have an easter egg hunt, broke, I mean colored, a bunch of eggs, loved her Easter basket. It was really fun watching her experience all of these things.
I am looking forward to April because the weather should be getting warmer and I'll be able to wear slippers again (well I still do sometimes but my toes get pretty cold.)

I think I might be Crazy...

So I bought 60 boxes of cereal. Yes, 60. Mike has already told me I'm crazy so you don't have to unless you really feel the need. Mike works for Supervalu (the parent company of Albertsons) and sends me emails of all the sales coming up. The Cereal sale was just too good to pass up. I bought 60 boxes of cereal for about $0.40 each. I guess you could say I went a little overboard but I could resist. We now have a years supply of cereal. My favorite so far is the stawberry delight frosted mini-wheats. I'm not a big fan of the chocolate peanut butter pops. (any takers?)

Please excuse the messy house.

Here is princess Eryn dancing to the Cinderella theme song. This is such a funny stage. She makes us laugh all the time.

The Latest Obsession

Today we went to Walmart. We made the mistake of going down one of the toy isles. Eryn found this princess dress, looked up at daddy and said "please Daddy." He is wrapped around her little finger. The dress is about 3 sizes too big and has to be pinned in the back. Mike claims that this will be her Halloween costume for the next 4 years and that it's a long term investment. Now getting her into her pj's is a story for another day!

We have already been treated to the theatrical version of Cinderella performed by Miss Eryn herself. Maybe we'll post a video of it later. I keep wondering how she got so girly. Well however she got that way, it is definitely cute!

The Crazy Life

Just in case anyone was curious, this is our daily schedule:

7:30 am (at the latest) - Mike is out the door for work
5:15 pm - Mike comes home from work.
5:40 pm - Julie leaves for work.
2-3 am - Julie gets home from work

Throw in Mike's Tuesday class from 6-9 pm and running to drop Eryn off at "Tessies" house (Julie's Sister).

I ask Mike on a daily basis if this is worth it. Now why are we doing this? Since moving we have accumulated a lot of consumer debt. (pretty silly if you ask me) I got it into my crazy head that we were going to do Dave Ramseys Total Money Makeover. His plan involves 7 baby steps.

1. $1000 emergency Fund
2. Debt snowball all debt
3. 3 to 6 months expenses in savings
4. 15% of income into retirement
5. College fund for children
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth and give

Of course this all hinges on the concept of no new debt. And since we have decided that I'm only working through baby step 2 (possibly 3) there is light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully by this time next year we won't have this crazy schedule.

I'm a Slacker

I came home around 2:45 this morning to a completely revamped blog. Apparently Mike thought our blog was lacking something. I know, I'm a slacker...Just kidding honey! It looks much better don't you think?

Mike's first post and etc...

A glimpse of the mid-winter doldrums (the field behind our apartment)...



Things I am looking forward to this Spring:
- Completing my classes so I can earn my degree (yipeee)
- Catching a nice hefty bass (my goal is 6 lbs)
- Mountain biking
- Camping and fishing high mountain lakes
- The Wrathall family reunion in May
- Fishing
- Studying for the Auditing section of the CPA exam
- Spending time with my family outdoors - fishing!

Random Insights

Eryn has been slowly trying to eliminate nap time. This would be okay with me but she still needs a nap. So now she falls asleep in random places after I struggle (and fail) for an hour to get her to sleep in her bed. One minute she's playing on the floor...the next minute she's asleep with her butt in the air.

Eryn turned 2 on January 23rd. Happy Birthday, baby! Recently, one thing has been taking over our lives - Disney Princesses! On a daily basis she has to watch Cinderella, play dress up, and only drink out of the miniture princess teacups.

I thought there was nothing Eryn could hurt by playing in my purse. Who knew she would find the hiding place for the stamps. Eryn was so proud. She announced, "Look mommy, stickers!"

Well, I've been informed that we need to watch "princess" now. When this stinking snow melts we might actually be able to spend more time outside.