Merry Christmas!!!

Sorry the picture is so dark, but the girls want to say something:

They're both playing with all their new toys and games. This morning has gone by quickly because we've been having so much fun. (Yes, I play with their toys with them, darn it!)

They got scooters, awesome LeapFrog stuff, money, dolls, games, pjs..they got it all this year. I thought we were gonna have a small Christmas, but it ended up being pretty spectacular. (We also got to participate in some free toy programs for military families, which helped out a lot!)

Here we are in our new pjs from Scott's mom:

Oh and guess what, our pastor (Miles McPherson) was on Good Morning America this morning! It was right after 7am PST. I was so excited- I DVRed it.

Anyway, hope everyone's Christmas has been great! And don't forget what it's really all about- the birth of Jesus. So, Happy Birthday, Jesus!

How long has this been going on?!

I've been telling people for a while now that I'm 28. ....On Thanksgiving, I realized that I'm only 27. ??? Wow. That is just dumb. I don't know why I keep thinking I'm 28. I have nothing witty to say about it. I'm just shocked, really. I'm sure that I've been saying 28 for months. DER.

Oh and get this, we played poker at Kelly's after the kids went to bed after Thanksgiving dinner. Scott won (yay!) and I grabbed the money and shoved it down my shirt so Scott couldn't get it (bwahahaha mine..allll mine!), but of course, when we got in the car, I gave it to him. When we got home, he went to flatten it out and put it in his wallet and he noticed there was $20 missing from it. So we said, "Aww, man! Someone forgot to put their money in! That sucks." So we went about our business, putting the girls in their beds and then started changing our clothes. Lo and behold...the extra $20, just chillin' in my cleavage. Again...DER. (Note: Not my cleavage in the picture!)

Scott's Home!!!!

There we are! I'll write more later!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Fashion shoot!

Just a quick post before we go have a sleepover at Kelly's. (It's the America's Next Top Model finale...woo!)

The other day after I bought new makeup, I decided to give the girls a makeover. They loved it!

Then they wanted to do my makeup...why not?!

Ok, guess which eye Lydia did and which one Maya did!

They are budding makeup artists. Maybe I'll let them do my makeup for the day Scott comes home. He'd love that, I'm sure.

P.S. I think that last picture is the best one I've ever taken of myself. One day I will be a model....one day....

I should be folding clothes...

But here are some cute pictures of the girls. They're such posers!

Also, you must go to http://www.someecards.com/. There are some ridiculous ecards there! Loves it! Here are a couple:

There are too many funny ones to post. Just go look for yourself!

New Hair!

Here is step one of my new hairdo...the hair cut!

Before:

After:

(P.S. I took the picture after I had it in a pony tail for a few hours and after playing with some new eyeshadow.)

Next, I'm gonna dye it and highlight it a little. Gotta pretend that I don't have these silly random grey hairs! I'm only 28, I don't want to have those showing up just yet!

So, lately I've been just getting ready for Scott to come home! Not much longer!!!

Somebody had a rough night!!!

That's how I found the dolls this morning.

(Also, please excuse how dirty they are! They're "well loved" as my sister puts it.)

HALLOWEEEEEEN!

So, I have perfected the art of biting off more than I can chew. Example:

Bazillions of Cupcakes.

I decided not to ice all of them, but the ones I did turned out pretty awesome if I do say so myself. (toot toot on my own horn)

Here are the girls on Halloween! Ready for Trick-or-Treating!!!

This one's my favorite.

It's costume time!!

I finished the girls' costumes last night. Lydia wanted to be Snow White and we had a dress already, but the tulle (the stuff that makes it look all fluffy) had been destroyed from her wearing it every day for probably a month of last year, so I fixed a few things on it, cut the tulle off, then sewed some new tulle on and voila, new costume! For Maya's dress, Kelly had fabric left over from her son's costume (A Hole In The Wall Contestant..a ridiculous game show-see pics here), so I made Maya into a Space Princess.

So, without further ado, here they are!

Watch that exchange rate!

So today, Scott called me and they're in a port on the other side of the earth...which means for a few days, I fear for our bank account. And rightly so. Here are the first few things that were said:

Scott "Hi! How are you? What are you doing?"

Me "Not too mu-"

Scott "I'm so sorry, tonight I messed up big time!"

Me "What does that mean?!"

Scott "Well..we were at Bennigan's..haha..yeah..they have a Bennigan's here..haha..isn't that funny? All the way out here and there's a Benn-"

Me "What did you do?"

Scott "..haha...Bennigan's..."

Me "What. did. you. do?"

Scott "Wellllll...I was out with the other guys and when we got the bill, it was like 40-some dollars...well...it was 40-some *blahblah foreign money name*, so I said I'd pay for the tab..."

Me "Ok...but why would you pay for everyone's meal anyway?"

Scott "Well, they paid for the cab and I was trying to be nice..."

Me "Ok.....so what did you screw up?"

Scott "Well 40-some *blahblah foreign money name* is about $130...."

Me "Are you kidding me?"

Scott "haha..I totally forgot about the exchange rate....haha....um..."

Sweet. Did he really think that Bennigan's in another country would charge less than a third of what they charge here? And anyway, if you were travelling all over the earth, why would you go to a place you have eaten at 4 billion times?

"It's All About The Girl!"

Yesterday, my friend, Robyn, and I took the Lydias and Maya (and Maddox, but he didn't participate) to a place called "It's All About The Girl!" It was the coolest place! The girls got princess makeovers complete with fancy hairdos, tiaras, nail polish, glitter and lipgloss. My Lydia jabbered on like a woman at the salon while Robyn's Lydia and Maya just sat and took the whole experience in quietly. But once their makeovers were done, they all were so giddy and bouncy! They all had to stop a few times to look at themselves in the mirrors and they were all so proud. Here are a few pictures:

And one of the Lydias checking out their loot!So, there you have it, I sent the pictures to Scott and he said they look adorable, but he's now even more afraid of how things will be when they're teenagers!

In other news, 8 years ago today, Scott and I got hitched. Hooray for us! We haven't been able to spend very many of our 8 anniversaries together, but it's ok, that's just how it is with this military life.

Ok, this is really dumb, but I'm excited over a candle that I bought today. It smells so yummy. It's a "Vanilla-Lime" Yankee Candle and I want to eat it. If you pass by a Yankee Candle store or display, you must get a whiff of it.

What is this strange wet stuff falling from the sky?

Right before Lydia went to school this morning something amazing happened....for a few minutes, it rained! Amazing, I know. I think this is maybe the 3rd or 4th time it has rained since we moved here. But I'm not completely sure most of those times really count for much because it was only for a minute, then it got super bright out and everything dried up right away. I had a giggle over someone semi-complaining saying sarcastically, "Wow, nice weather we're having!"

Since the ground was completely dry by noon, we went to the park. After about an hour of being there, a ton of older kids (maybe like 9th graders? I am bad with ages.) came and took over the entire playground. They were there with teachers who didn't give a crap what they did, it seemed. At this playground, there are 2 play structures about 30 feet or something away from each other. The big kids took over both structures. The other moms and myself were getting a little annoyed that our kids were starting to be limited in where they played, so we loudly talked to our kids and said, "Did you say you wanted to play in the tubes?" (Lydia had actually mentioned not being able to play in them.) So one girl heard and told the other kids to let Lydia play there. That lasted for a couple minutes, then while I was talking to Lydia, my friend told me that Maya was on the other side crying. So as she stayed by Lydia, I ran to Maya and picked her up. At that point, there were some of the big kids running around not paying any attention to the little ones. So I got REALLY defensive and angry and started yelling for all of them to go to the other play structure and to let the little kids play at this one. One little bratty boy said to me, "You don't have to be so mean!" To which I replied "You know what? Use some common sense, there are little kids here trying to play." GRRRR! I was a beast! And I'm proud of it. What made me even more proud was that they actually all listened and scurried off to the other part. THEN the stupid teachers finally decided to tell them all to stay at the other playground. Uhhh...thanks, teachers.

Ok, one more thing, yesterday I came upstairs to the computer to take a look at our bills while the girls were having a cereal snack. Lydia called up to me to ask if they could have more and I said no, so she came upstairs. I asked if Maya was still eating and she said yes, so I finished what I was doing and went down to make sure everything was ok. And here's what I found:

It looks like I placed the box there, but this is exactly how things were when I came down. It's like she was setting up her own little commercial. Anyway, Maya helped me clean it up and when Lydia came downstairs, I asked Lydia if she had done any part of that and Maya was like, "I did it!!" As if to say, "No way, she's not getting credit for this!" I had literally just bought the box a half hour before, so this was basically ALL of the cereal. So I scooped it up and put it in a container. It's a good thing I keep the table clean!

Scott wins!

Today I got 2 mixed cds from Scott in the mail! It was so cute! He named them "Hot For Wife" like the Van Halen song, "Hot For Teacher." (Which is one of our favorite songs for whatever reason, it's just a silly and fun song, I suppose.) Anyway, it was just so sweet because there are tons of songs on it that I like that I know I've never told him I liked them because I had never heard them before he left for deployment. Most of the songs are ones he probably wouldn't listen to on his own, which makes it even more special that he took the time to find ones I might like. So Scotty scores big time, yay!

Red Mosquito

Allison tagged me for a meme. I've been in the posting mood (avoiding other things I have to get done in the next 2 months!), so what better time than now?

MEME Rules:
1. Put your iTunes/ music player on shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT
After you’ve answered all of the questions, tag 5 other people and then let them know they’ve been tagged to do the meme themselves!


My disclaimer: All I have to shuffle is our Media Player that Scott put mostly his cds on. I listen to some of it, but some of these songs, I've never even heard before. It would have been more fun with only my cds. Maybe one day I'll do that.

IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Breathe by Disturbed

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
With You by Linkin Park

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Blackbird by The Beatles

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
80 by Green Day

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Burning Flag by Marilyn Manson (Eh...not exactly...)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Everything Zen by Bush

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Parachutes by Pearl Jam

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Dedication by Beastie Boys

WHAT IS 2+2?
Twisted Logic by Coldplay

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Riders On The Storm by The Doors

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Stone Cold Crazy by Metallica (ha, I like this answer!)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Pressure by Staind

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
When I'm Gone by 3 Doors Down

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Learn The Hard Way by ??? It's on the DareDevil soundtrack.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Over My Head by Fleetwood Mac (hmmm...)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Get Over It by The Eagles

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Stress by Godsmack

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Operator by Jim Croce

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Dolly Vita by Smashing Pumpkins (My stage name?)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Place For My Head by Linkin Park

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?
Red Mosquito by Pearl Jam

I'm not tagging.....woo I'm a rebel!

Scissor Happy!

I was only going to trim Maya's bangs, then I started trimming the back, but then I decided nothing was working, so I cut more and more until I got this:

It's obviously nothing professional looking, but I like it. It will take a little getting used to it. At least the parts that Lydia cut are now blended in a bit. I still can't wait for everyone's hair to all grow out, though!

After Maya's hair was all done, Lydia said she wanted her hair like Maya's. I said we'd discuss it later, then I gave her another lecture about NEVER cutting anyone's hair. Never ever, ever, never again. Never. She agreed. Now I hope she remembers that and forgets that she wanted hers cut. It looks so cute long. That's all, g'bye!

P.S. I sent Scott some pictures and he hates Maya's hair! Ok, he didn't say that, but he said, "It doesn’t look horrible, but it’s not that great! LOL!" Crap. Maybe it'll look better with some clippies.

Fashion Valley

I went to the Fashion Valley Mall today and I saw a hilarious sight. A woman was riding a motorcycle with shoes like the ones on the right and wearing her purse over her shoulder (and not the more secure, crossover way, it was just hanging there on her shoulder). I wish I would have taken a picture! Or a video of her trying to slow down and stop for the red light. So silly, but seemingly appropriate for "Fashion Valley"!

Also, here's a really cute song (Scroll down and push play at the bottom of the post from Perez): http://perezhilton.com/2008-09-12-listen-to-this-feisty

The loudest toys ever!

But they're a ton of fun! Here are the girls doing the preschooler version of Dance Dance Revolution:

IT'S CLEAN!

So...my house is finally clean. The only thing that was sparkling after that last blog was the floor. I finally got outta my funk and cleaned the rest. I'm in productive mode now. Dishes are done. Laundry is....well....folded at least. I have a lot to put away, but darn it, it's folded and that's good enough for now. Toys and things are mostly picked up. I am content. Now we just have to keep it up. I say "we", but what that really means is me constantly telling the girls to keep their crap picked up and then me keeping my own crap picked up. Ok, enough about that.

Lydia started school last week. She loves it and already has a ton of best friends. My little social butterfly. (She keeps trying to invite friends over, so I better keep the house clean in case someone takes her up on the offer, I don't wanna be like, "er...no...our house is a pig sty...sorry..") It's so great, though. I love that she loves school. I hope that continues forever. Here are the girls on her first day of school:

Oh, big news here. I don't think I've written about this yet, but for a little while the girls have actually been sleeping in their own beds and through the night! I know, I know. They're 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. They should've been doing this a long time ago, but lay off! ;) Seriously, I was lazy and wanted to just sleep, I didn't think they'd go in their own beds and didn't want to put the effort into trying. But since Scott has been gone, I figured I'd be able to just do it, knowing I couldn't try to rely on him to help. That way, I wouldn't have to be mad at him for being a heavier sleeper than I am. That sounds so dumb. Oh well, that's how I work. So anyway, with encouragement, I put a gate in Maya's doorway to keep her in her room and so I wouldn't be tempted to let her crawl into bed with me. So after a little while of her waking up and me having to put her back in bed (some nights I was SO exhausted), finally she has been much easier to put to bed, I can even stand in the hallway and hum to her for a few minutes, then go to my own room before she falls asleep. I never thought that would happen! She used to have to be touching me or I had to be holding her then I had to lay her down after she was asleep. But now she's so proud in the morning when she wakes up and yells for me, she says, "Mommy! I slept in my bed all night!!" It's cute. But, I'm even boring myself with this. Just know that things used to suck and now they don't. Yay! Moving on....

The other day, I did Maya's hair all silly. Here she is:

And a video bonus!

Ok, I'm done, I'm getting a bed sore from sitting in this chair.

"Where's the remote?" "Check under that mountain of clothes.."

So, I've been on strike for the past couple weeks. The housework has been piling up, projects for decorating our house and sewing clothes have been piling up in my head as well as the supplies for those projects piling up on the dining room table, and ideas for blogging, too. I just keep making lists of what I want to do, then I think, "bleh, I'll do it later." I've just been lazy.

Today, I decided to start by getting the house clean. I've got laundry, dishes, sweeping, mopping, and vaccuuming to do. Piece of cake...or maybe not. At least I'm in the mood to do it.

But first, a blog!

Thursday night, the housing office had another free bbq! They even got a giant inflatable slide. Lydia of course, went down all by herself, then the first time, I took Maya on my lap, but then she wanted to try by herself, so I let her go with Lydia by her side and they had a blast! They would slide down, hop off and run to get back in line, it was the cutest thing. Here they are:

Doesn't that look like fun? It was! I want one for my yard. For a mere $599.99, I could have this one (Not that it would even fit in my yard!):

But it's only for ages 3-10, that's bull crap! They need to make stuff for the adults that think they are still kids. I can see myself climbing up that thing thinking, "I'm short, I can do this." Then the whole thing sadly sinks to the ground. Boooo.

Alright, enough stalling, my house is gonna be sparkling by the end of the day. Sparkling, I tell ya!

Scott's trip to Japan!

Scott sent us some pictures from Japan. They ended up being there for a long time, maybe almost a month. I don't feel like counting it up, but they were there for a while. Anyway, without further ado, here are a few of his pictures:

Scott's biggest fan

A temple

This lady gave him a lap dance.

(totally joking!)

Scotty looking a tiny bit inebriated.

Apparently, Scott likes the older Japanese ladies.

At the edge of the world.

(Actually, it's Mt. Fuji.)

Look closely, children are climbing this mountain. Children.

Scott's favorite picture from Japan.

And last, but not least, this is a "steel beach" picnic.

Nothing like grilling in the middle of the ocean!