8 Item Tag

Thank you Audrey for the break...

8 favorite TV shows:

I really don't watch TV... I can sit on the Internet for hours, but no TV. On a lucky day, I'll catch a few minutes of American Idol but not yet this season.

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Taylor's playgroup at my house... I had 8 girls over here!
2. Piano with Colby
3. Read Harry Potter to Colby
4. Went to a Heritage Makers party
5. Temple Recommend Interview
6. Sent Jared to the grocery store... ha ha!
7. Looked at houses & areas to live in Katy
8. Sleep....

8 Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Spring Break
2. Rachel's Wedding Reception during spring break
3. Jodie & Damon's baby Emma's blessing
4. Selling our house (not really at all... but because I have to, it will be nice to have it over with)
5. Figuring out where we are going to live the next 4 years... and hopefully be happy with it (hard to find a neighborhood and school I'm excited about when we are are going to be so poor!)
6. Not being pregnant anymore (I'm only 17 weeks)
7. Jared starting dental school
8. Living close to my parents

8 Favorite Restaurants: - I'm boring
1. Cheddar's - more bang for your buck!
2. Black Eyed Pea - we never have to wait
3. Spindletop - local restaurant, but has been out of business since Ike
4. Olive Garden - always reliably great breadsticks
5. Jason's Deli
6. Peking
7. Cafe Del Rio
8. I think those are the only places we ever go...

8 Things on my wish list:
1. Peace of mind about moving - it is much HARDER than I expected to start over :(
2. Healthy baby - NO TWINS!
3. No contention at home
4. More time
5. Train for another marathon next year
6. Clean house
7. Dinner made
8. I'm out of ideas!

All About Tay

My beautiful, beautiful Taylor turned five on Sunday! I just can't believe how quickly she has grown. I wrote a few of my favorite things about Tay in her scrapbook page, but I'm going to post it here so you can see it better and then share the pages from the past couple days of birthday celebrations.

"I love that you make crafts for hours every day for OTHER people... I love that you are always willing to help me... I love that you look just like I did when I was your age (seriously, we are twins!)... I love that you are so good at fashion and putting outfits and hair together... I love that you love to cook, especially that you love to cook just to make other people smile... I love that you are the first one in our family to wake up every morning (always in a good mood)... I love that you are so creative, with your artwork and your storytelling... I love to watch you get excited about things; it is magical... I love that you were born with good eating habits and easily say no to junk food... I love to listen to you make up songs... I love that you like to save new things for special occasions... I love that you love books and for me to help you write stories... I love your hair and I tell you every day that it is unfair for one girl to have such great hair... I love that you have a fantastic sense of humor and are incredibly witty for a five year old... I love that you love to be at home and that you love to spend time with me... I love that you are in our family... and I just LOVE YOU!"

Congratulations Jared! I LOVE YOU!

"Dear Jared,

Congratulations! It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected for acceptance to the 2009 entering class of The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston. You have been selected based upon your excellent qualifications, traits, and attributes. It would be our privilege to welcome you to the Dental Branch family and to the dental profession....

...The administration, faculty, students and staff of the Dental Branch look forward to you joining our family and to celebrating your achievements here at the Dental Branch and in the profession of dentistry.

Sincerely,

Catherine M. Flaitz, D.D.S., M.S.
Dean and Professor"

End of 2008

I've been catching up on my scrapbooking the last couple of nights & I am officially done with 2008! I love digital scrapbooking. Seriously, if you like to scrapbook and have not looked into it yet, you really really need to. I had scrapbooked about 10 pages in probably 5 years before I got Memory Mixer and now... I have 2007 and 2008 completely done. Its quick, easy, no mess, practically free unless you want to print your pages, and I think it's a lot of fun. Anyway - there's my little plug. And here are a few catch up pages from Disney World that I had put off and the kids' Christmas programs...

Colby's Christmas Party...
Taylor's Christmas Program...
Disney World Pictures from our trip in July...
Hanging out at the house...

The parades...

The shows...

The characters...
The Rides...
Random shots at DisneyWorld...

25 Random Things About Me

So, I was tagged a bazillion times on Facebook with this thing, so I finally decided to do it. And then, I spent way too much time on it to only post on Facebook... so my little blog followers get to know a little more about me. No tags for others though. This is strictly FYI... because I know you are all dying to know 25 Random Things About Me!


1. I am a very guilt ridden person... thus I am actually doing this (after being tagged 5 times in one day!). But, I am only going to tag those that tagged me so I don't feel more guilt for making other people feel guilty. I do the same thing with those get to know you emails. I always fill them out and then only send it back to the person who sent it to me.

2. I am a quick learner and I love the academic environment. Went with Jared yesterday to the UT Dental Branch in Houston and was reminded again just how energized being in that kind of setting makes me feel.

3. I am an obsessive editor and I notice every misspelled word in emails I receive. And I wonder why people don't change the spelling when it has that squiggly red line underneath it that lets them know a word is misspelled?? Seems like the obvious thing to do, right?!

4. I prefer to stay up late and sleep in, but realize life is better for me when I do the opposite. It's still a daily struggle though.

5. I love being a mom, but realize that I love it more and more the older my kids get. I'm not the greatest fan of the little baby stage... or toddler stage. I think I was a mom designed for school aged kids. (Guilt... guilt... is that a bad thing to admit on here... see #1?!!)

6. I think anybody can do pretty much anything if they really want to. I can't tell if this annoys Jared or if he likes it. I think he likes it. I contribute this attitude to at least getting him started down the road towards dental school.

7. I think I can learn how to do anything I really want to as well.. ha ha! One day, I want to get a post-graduate education but I can't decide in what because I really think I could do anything I wanted to... but don't have any particular thing I want to do at this point. Whew?!!

8. I am a serious person. Probably too serious. Seriously, it runs in my family. My sister's nickname in high school was Sergeant Serious. And, I'm really not funny at all, although I appreciate funny people - a LOT!

9. Jared and I are very different from each other in so many ways, which is maybe why I am so intrigued by him. His strengths are not my strengths and I want to be more like him.

10. I love C.S. Lewis.

11. I have a terrible memory. I'm terrible about remembering birthdays. I can tell you when they are, but I will always forget to wish you a happy birthday. I forget about the water boiling on the stove until it's completely evaporated and then I have to start over. I don't get offended easily... and if you did offend me, it's OK because I already forgot about it.

12. Actually, I also have a very good memory. I remember phone numbers particularly well... usually after dialing them one time on the phone. Jared thinks it's strange that I have memorized his entire family's (remember there are 11 kids) home & cell phone numbers.

13. I always have to brush my teeth before I go running... ok, that was REALLY random!

14. I ran my first marathon this summer and had a fantastic time! I want to run more after I'm done having babies.

15. I'm a good mix of hard worker and lazy. It keeps me from getting too stressed out.

16. I love to eat. I discovered that I really like to eat a lot of food, but what I'm eating doesn't matter so much. And so, I've really become a more healthy individual because I try to just eat as much as I can of the really healthy stuff.

17. I do love sweets way too much though and have a hard time ever saying no to them. But, one year I made a deal with my Young Women that if they went a year without kissing, I would go a year without sweets. And... they did it (even a 16 year old with a boyfriend) and I did it... an entire year without sweets.

18. I didn't like the Twilight series, especially the first book (DUCK!).

19. I never get nervous speaking in front of large audiences. In fact, I actually think it's kind of fun.

20. I'm a really great and loyal friend. LOL... Mandy told me to write that because I'm running out of things to say.

21. I've really never had one exclusive group of friends. I consider myself to be good friends with a lot of people who aren't really good friends with each other. When weddings and baby showers come along, Jared swears I have TOO many 'best friends'.

22. I can decorate a pretty good looking cake, but I HATE doing it... so don't ask me to! It's too depressing for me when all of my hard work gets sliced with a knife.

23. I love to be outdoors more than anywhere (in good weather) - go hiking, walking, to the beach, etc. But you wouldn't know it because I always distract myself with things that need to get done indoors (very important things... like this tag).

24. I have a very real need for deep conversation. I don't need it all the time and certainly not from everybody (Jared is not a deep thinker), but if I just have one friend or outlet for it... then I'm good.

25. I love to get into the minds of my kids. I love to help them figure out their strengths and to develop what they are good at. I love to watch them learn more than anything else. I once had a conversation with a friend I don't see very much about my kids where I was describing everything I see in my them and she said, "Wow, I don't think I've thought that much about all four of my kids for their entire lives combined!"