To my Arizona friends!

I am going to be in Arizona (East Valley area) January 21-23. It's going to be a very quick trip, but I would love to see as many people as possible while I'm there. I'm actually coming for my youngest brother's wedding--so I will be doing wedding things for part of the time and I won't have a car. But, I would love to see anyone down there who wants to see me. Please leave me a comment and let me know so we can work out something with scheduling! :)

Announcing...

We are thrilled about the newest forthcoming arrival to our home! We just purchased a new kitchen dining set and can't wait until it gets here in a couple of weeks. We went shopping this morning with the express purpose of buying a table and chairs. We're currently working from a 4x2 plastic folding table and it's just not working so well. I found a local store that was having a huge sale and decided to head on over. They had 2 locations across the street from each other--and at the second store, we found a table and chair set that I LOVED. The only problem was it was cream/oak and my kitchen is red/white/black. So, knowing that the selection at those stores was smaller than the main location 9 minutes away, we took the drive to the main location. I found the exact same set at the main store, but realized there was a black chair among the cream. After talking with an associate, we discovered that the set did indeed come in black and because they're consolidating their locations to the main store, it was an extra 10% off. SCORE! I was (obviously) more than excited. They had all 8 chairs in stock, but had to order the table, so that will be arriving in 2-4 weeks. I can't wait until it gets here! Until then, here's a pic of the set... (We didn't get the bench--just 8 chairs.)

We made it!

We're here! As much as I've missed blogging in the past week or so, I'm really not feeling like doing a huge post tonight. So, here are the essentials...Our trip up was great. The girls were perfect little travelers. They missed naps, didn't get meals on-time, etc., and didn't have any major meltdowns or arguments at any point on the way here.

Kallie did wake up crying inconsolably after an hour of napping. Turns out she just needed to go potty. Unfortunately, we were nowhere near a rest stop, gas station, or other bathroom access area. Fortunately, we were in the middle of nowhere and Kallie didn't mind making yellow snow. (Whew!)

The Seattle area was supposed to have a HUGE snowstorm this afternoon, (the biggest since 2002, if that means anything to anyone), so we left our stopping point early this morning and enjoyed perfect weather and decent roads the entire 2nd half of our trip. It has, however, been snowing for the past few hours, (not normal for this area), and we just found out that church is canceled tomorrow.

We're hoping to have our truck delivered on Monday or Tuesday, but I suppose that will depend on how things end up with this storm. I am more than ready to be in our own place again. I feel like we're within inches of FINALLY having a spacious home...and it's all I can do to keep myself patient in the mean time.

Hmm...I guess I felt like writing more than I thought. Our internet service won't start until about Dec. 30, but we'll be back (or still) at my in-laws over Christmas. So, hopefully, I'll have more blogging to do at some point before then...

P.S. My friend Charissa is hosting her monthly Scentsy giveaway. Head on over and check it out! You can win 3 Scentsy bars--which come in the YUMMIEST flavors!!

Signing Off...Temporarily

I can't believe this weekend has finally arrived. When we came back from our house hunting trip, it seemed that the 4 weeks until we moved would never come. But, there are packed boxes stacked all over our apartment. The walls and refrigerator are completely bare and the second-hand donation pile is growing a bit every day. And, we're finally ready to finish the job. Although we're not packing the truck until Saturday, we're packing our bags and moving ourselves up to my parents' house on Friday to stay for a few days (possibly a week).

This means that the next 2 days are crunch time for us. Ryan's staying home from school so we can get it all done. People in the ward have offered to babysit, so I'm taking them up on the offer so we can be more effective with the short amount of time we have. I'm just really glad I've been packing a box here and a box there for the last 2 weeks. And, although a small apartment means you're living on top of each other, at least it also means there is less stuff to haul away when all is said and done.

With all the packing, my computer will be going down tomorrow morning--I probably won't even turn it on when I get up. And, I will be away from blogging until we get internet service set up at our new place. Which may not be for a while. So, next time I write, it will be from our new place in Seattle!

Do you beleive in MAGIC?

MAGIC Marker is what Whitney climbed onto a stool to grab yesterday while I was in the back of the house. I found it all over my countertop and linoleum kitchen floor when I came out to see what she was doing.

MAGIC is how I would describe my reaction. I put her in timeout without raising my voice.

MAGIC is the type of Eraser I keep around for just such emergencies. It was an old MAGIC Eraser, however. While it took every speck of evidence off the countertop, the floor did not fare so well.

MAGICally, I was able to find some great advice on the internet. I doubted it would work, but was willing to try anything.

Like MAGIC is how the combination of toothpaste and baking soda (and a little elbow grease) worked to clean every stroke of ink off my floor. When Ryan came home, he couldn't even tell where the incident had occurred. I wish I had taken pictures!

GIVEAWAY!

Have you ever wanted one of those really cool pieces of art where someone takes pictures of every day things that look like different letters--and then combines the pics to make your name? (I think I saw something like it on Oprah before I stopped watching her.) Anyway, Unlikely Letters is giving one away! All you have to do is post about them on your blog, let them know in the comments, and you'll be entered into their giveaway. In the event that you don't win, the prices are incredibly reasonable--so they would also make a great Christmas gift! The giveaway closes Dec. 7, so hurry and head on over to check them out!

The Children's Place

I love The Children's Place (TCP)! Not only do I love their clothes, but I LOVE the killer sales they put on throughout the year. And, I love their birthday club--which gives me a discount to use on top of the killer sales. Now--why am I writing about this today? I also discovered that I love their customer service. Here's the story...

This morning, I got Whitney's birthday club e-mail from TCP. Whenever I get these e-mails, I head on over to their website to see what they've got. It usually happens that they're having one of their sales, so I usually decide to buy a few things. Today was no different. Whitney needs some new pants and Kallie needs some new shirts, so I got busy browsing the sale pages. I ordered several things, looked over the order, and then placed it using my birthday coupon code. When I got the confirmation e-mail, I realized I'd ordered the wrong size of one item. (Dang it!)

Phone call #1: TCP cannot change an order once it's been placed, but TCP would be happy to cancel that order for me. I just need to go in and completely re-do the order. Great, thanks, bye. (At least I already knew what I had ordered, right?)

Well, after I placed the second order, I entered my coupon code...only to find it didn't work.

Phone call #2: They gave me a new coupon code without any hassle. Great, thanks, bye.

I didn't realize at the end of the second conversation, but I should have stayed on the phone as I placed the rest of the order. It was just after I hung up that I realized the first coupon I used, which said 15%, in fact gave me a 20% discount. The coupon code I had just been given over the phone only gave me 15%. Now, I hate to seem whiny over 5%--but since the original coupon code they sent gave me 20%, I wanted to know if they would still give me 20%.

Phone call #3: While all of the Customer Service agents were nice, this one was great. I explained the situation about the coupons. The agent explained that the code I had been given was one that had been offered on those websites that list coupons--so it wasn't valid anymore. When I told her that it came straight off the TCP e-mail, she put me on hold while she got a 20% coupon code from her supervisor. GREAT! Thanks! Bye!

It did take a little while to resolve the issue, (I was on the phone for 20 min. the last time), but in the end, they completely honored the original discount. I was very impressed--and came away loving TCP even more!

I had to get these down...

...before I forgot them! Tonight, when we left my parents' house, we were putting the girls in the car and just after I put Whitney in her car seat, Ryan said, "Whitney's sleeping." And, upon hearing this, Whitney tipped her head back, closed her eyes, and made little snoring noises. Ryan and I just laughed--she's never done that before! It was so cute.

Then, as we were driving home, we stopped at a home in my parents' neighborhood. The couple who live there create an elaborate Christmas scene every year in their huge picture window at the front of their house. As we were looking, Ryan said, "Do you see, Kallie?" To which Kallie replied, "No, Dad, I don't see Kallie in there." Once again, we were laughing. As we left the house, Whitney yelled, "Bye, Santa! You're welcome!" Have no idea where the "you're welcome" came from, but it was funny just the same.

A little further down the road, Ryan drove on some road grooves that made a loud noise in the car. Whitney piped up from the back, "Toots!" And, yet again, (the third time within about 15 minutes), we were cracking up at our kids!

Our kids just can't figure out what's so funny--and when we try to explain we're laughing at what they say it's even more confusing for them. They are just so cute and do so many cute things! We can't get enough of them! :)

Our Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day started nice and early for us, with the girls getting up before 6 a.m. I made Kallie go back to bed, in hopes that she would actually go back to sleep. Boy, was I silly! She waited until the clock said 7, (the earliest we wanted her to get up), and popped into our room within seconds. Ryan got up with the girls and turned on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I didn't sleep for too much longer because watching the Parade is one of my favorite traditions! We ended up watching NBC's rebroadcast of the play that lasted until noon--I love watching all of the performances at the beginning!

Toward the end of the Parade, I started cooking my additions to our family Thanksgiving meal. I made green bean casserole and butternut squash gratin. As a quick side story here, the night before, I took Kallie over to my mom's and we made pies and rolls for the next day. When everything was almost ready to bake, we turned on the oven. A few minutes later, my mom looked over and saw that there were sparks coming out of the element. It started a little flame that slowly spread up the element toward the wall, like a dynamite fuse. We were relieved when it went out after traveling several inches. So, we loaded everything into my mom's car and brought it all to my house. She shaped the rolls and then there was nothing left to do but bake--so she went home and I started putting things in and taking them out of the oven for the next several hours. Back to Thanksgiving Day, after I finished our food preparations, we left about 2:30 for our 3 p.m. dinner at my Aunt Dru's house.

There were a LOT of people at our dinner--3 separate tables' worth! And, Dru had everything set beautifully, of course, complete with little pilgrim hat candy holders! She certainly knows how to create a special celebration. There was a ton of food and, in the end, a ton of leftovers as well. After dinner, we went downstairs and played Guitar Hero for a while. My girls got bored with that real quick, but Grandpa saved the day by giving them rides on the elliptical machine. Their tiny bums fit perfectly into the foot pedals of the machine--so they sat while Grandpa pumped the arm poles. You couldn't have asked for a better kiddie ride! We also watched a video my Gramma Betty brought about one of our ancestors. Apparently, the guy who made the movie about President Hinckley is a cousin of mine. Who knew? (Well, besides Gramma...)

It was a great Thanksgiving Day for us! Tonight, we're heading over to start Christmas celebrations with a dinner of leftovers and Christmas movies at my parents' house. I'm trying to do everything we can to be Christmasy, since we don't get to decorate our house. So, this should be a fun start to our season this year!

My Silly Beans

My kids are so silly sometimes! They've had quite a few laughable moments recently.

Whitney has just been cracking me up. Since she learned to open doors a few weeks ago, it seems she had a development spurt and started a few new things all at one. Not only did she learn to jump with both feet off the floor, but her vocabulary is increasing daily. A few weeks ago, while playing outside, Whitney got really upset that Kallie had taken something she had been playing with. She firmly placed her little hands on her hips, thrust her chin down, worked up a cute little pout, and said, "Hey, I first!" (She learned this phrase from Kallie. The drama is all her own.) Then, last week, when it was time to leave for our final swimming lesson, I turned off the Little Einsteins video they were watching. Although she was sitting, (actually lounging), on the couch, those little hands flew to her hips, the chin tipped down, and the pout reappeared, and I was repirimanded with, "Hey! I first!" The pout didn't last too long, as she joined me in laughing at her cuteness.

Kallie recently went through a 2-week phase of seeing what she could get away with. For example, she would put her fingers in her juice and then watch me like a hawk. As soon as it looked like I might turn around or look up and realize what she was doing, she would pull her hand out and say, "You didn't see me, Mom!" I now realize how it is possible that moms have eyes in the back of their heads. Because, although in a few of the situations, I couldn't see her, I knew exactly what she was doing. After a week or so of this risky behavior, I went to the back of the apartment while the girls were eating lunch. Kallie called out a request for more milk and it took me a second to finish what I was doing and get back to the kitchen. When I walked in, there was Kallie, standing in the open fridge, sucking chocolate syrup straight from the bottle. I stood there silently for a few minutes waiting for her to notice. It took quite a while, and a purposeful movement from me, for her to finally realize I was standing there. (I guess chocolate syrup is just that good when you're 3.) As she sheepishly stood frozen to the spot, I said, "I see you!" Needless to say, she was denied her chocolate milk request.

One more story...I love the movie Enchanted. This should not come as a shock to anyone who knows me even a little. Although we don't watch it much, (I think Kallie has seen it once...), I play the soundtrack probably 4-5 times a week. The girls put on their princess skirts and we dance and sing to the music. And when I say WE sing, it really is all 3 of us singing. In fact, the girls will burst into Enchanted songs in any random place, (including church). Whitney goes around singing, "How d'I knoooooooow!" and Kallie is starting to memorize the words to the verses. So, this past Sunday, I was chopping up chocolate for a dessert I was making. Kallie desperately wants to help with any possible project, so I gave her the task of unwrapping the one ounce chocolate pieces. As we were standing unwrapping and chopping, Kallie turned to me and said, "Mom, it's not enough to take the one you love for granted." (This is a line from the "How Do I Know?" song.) I started laughing and said, "Yes, Kallie, you're right. It's not enough."

What silly kids I have! They certainly keep us entertained and help us enjoy life!