A good book

Ok, so a while ago I wrote an "ode to all moms" inspired by stories and talking amongst many moms who feel overwhelmed with the constant pull of being perfect. My resolution from it all was just to embrace the moments we have and do the best I can, no comparing myself to what I see or thought was perfect in my mind. Since then, I have loved watching my husband now smile at the mess he may come home to, and the wife who may not be done up for him on occasion...and the ruined pile of shirts I have from allowing my son to just LIVE and play in dirt, mud, snow, and food (which I will be buying a steam mop Ive decided), because now that Ive decided to let it all go.. Ive never been happier. I dont HAVE to be perfect, just try my best and complement those who do things I wish I could do. Ive decided I can choose to make any situation the happiest and Best I want it to be. Now when my child takes his drink (after mixing all his dinner in it first) and deliberately turns it upside down on the floor because he thinks its funny... I laugh and take pictures and then have him help me clean it all up because he thinks its awesome to help mommy and daddy. Its amazing that when I dont sweat the small stuff even if its on a brand new clean floor...it helps Jason not to feel that way too. (who knew right ? haha). Ive always loved being a mother...but since deciding not to COMPARE and just enjoy every moment...it has been that much better!
Im in the middle of reading several books but there is one I particularly LOVE... now that I have my kindle on my phone (oh my gosh LOOOOOVVVEEE this option)Im reading every time I get the chance ...THIS BOOK>>>>>>


DONT WORRY...this is not a BASH on husbands book! The title in and of itself is pretty funny...but the book is way funny too! Its been soo amazing to read! Ive felt the desire to be a better wife and just try to be better each day. This book has a pretty cool way of helping you see what you can do to better understand eachother and yourself too. I would totally recommend it to everyone!! Seriously, newlyweds or those married for a while will benefit from this! Jas has wanted me to read some to him cause he wonders why I bust up laughing a lot while reading my book next to him. ITs awesome!

One more thing... my son is a daredevil already.. Im afraid I would be the guilty one of passing this on to him.

Who are you again?

My green smoothie guys!



So you all know how Jason DESPISES anything that is green...or any color other than pizza color for that matter... haha. We have been a part of this makeover show for green smoothie girl at work so we have incorporated green smoothies in our lives! Go to greensmoothiegirl.com and you will see what its all about. First I will attest that it definitely makes a huge difference in my life.. and SECOND its a miracle worker because in each quart you get 15 servings of veggies and fruits and here is the kicker.... JASON likes it?!!! He actually craves it!! WHAT>!! who knew? My husband eating veggies and fruits and craving it every day. Not only has he made a huge health lifestyle change but he has also parted with his beloved truck baby. We sold it for way more than what we got it for 2 years ago and made a lot of money off it... (how does that ever happen??) We paid off a lot of things and I told him as soon as we are out of all debt (except our mortgage) Id get him another truck. We hope in the next few months! ITs been a MAJOR blessing and huge sacrifice for Jason. Its not a possession for him, this was his hobby, what he loved to take care of. He did it without me even knowing he was going to sell it in the first place! I was so impressed and I think I cried more than he did. He is an amazing man and he truly is a HUGE blessing to mine and Hunter's lives. We love him so much.. thanks for sacrificing and working so hard to take care of us. We love you!

FYI....if you dont live here... It snowed today!!! GEESH!!! Will we ever see the sun and be able to leave our humble abodes??

For the Love of My life!

Valentines day kinda collides with our anniversary soooo Ill talk about it inbetween them. On February 1st THREE years ago Jas and I got sealed in the Salt Lake temple. It was kinda snowing that day and cold..but we didnt seem to feel it for the 2 hours we were out getting photos all around haha. I cant believe we have already been married for 3 years and have an 18 month old! Yes I still use months, it makes him less old. (and yes I said less old) Jas once said it made him feel all old and grown up (no way does he relate any of that to the fact that he just turned 30 in December). hahahaha.
Its been a fun ride so far, has it been perfect? No. Has it been hard? Yes. Have we had a lot of happy times? YES! Am I excited for the next forever? OF COURSE!!! Trials and everything included.
One thing about Jason a lot of people dont get to really see is his sensitive side. Hes quite the sweetheart. For example, I got home from work tonight and he had scrubbed the floors, cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, vaccummed the couches and scrubbed the "Hunter stains" out. How sweet is that? He does those things a lot. Another thing he may not be happy about me revealing is that he cries in extreme home makeover with me..he likes to watch the biggest loser with me and american idol. He also is very attentive to me and my emotions. (girls are just needy, whether its for love, attention, things, to be listened to..whatever..thats just how it is in one way or another)He is so sweet and just a tender hearted person. Just like our son.
Ive loved watching Jas get excited for the duck hunts every year. Hes like a little boy going to disneyland, cant sleep, sets out all his things twice and is extra nice cause hes so happy! Its actually quite hilarious. His fishing, his truck(Its a hobby ok... kinda like dancing would be for me ok..back off! haha) the fact that he absolutely cannot eat pancakes without sausage, or eat grilled cheese without ketchup and a tall glass of milk, like literally he will not eat it unless its that way..hes so funny sometimes. I love every thing about him.
Jas I just want you to know that you are my world. I couldnt have dreamed of a better companion, friend, father to our son, and a compatibility match like ours. Thank you for loving me and being there for me every step of every day. Im pretty sure I will never be able to express the love I have for you. To 3 years, and eternity more to come sweetie. Happy Anniversary and Happy Valentines.




My fav first

ODE TO ALL MOMS

So I have been talking amongst a lot of women lately between my jobs, coworkers, patients, neighbors etc etc. It all seems like us moms are feeling the same. The constant pull of having to be perfect!!

We had a patient come in the other day saying "is it horrible that Im so excited to be here at the dentist for a little break? And then how do I not feel guilty about just saying that?" She said how her neighbors all look like anthropology, their houses look like anthropology, their kids look like they walked out of a gap magazine... and then she feels like she has to ask everyone if there is anything she can do for them like make a meal or something and when they reply with yes she thinks oh CRAP!!! I cant even get dinner on my own table most the time how am I gonna make dinner for you and your family?! Why did I ask that??

Then there is the stay at home mom guilt. I was talking to a neighbor who said..you know how everyone always asks well what do you do? What is it that you are accomplishing? And as you sit there thinking they go off about how they are sewing, cooking for a magazine, publishing a book, crafting every tuesday, designing other peoples homes, being on tv or the easy stuff like getting an award for cleanest house on the block every day all day long with 3 perfectly behaved children at all times.....and then youre listening to that as you look around your house with dirty clothes on the stairs...dishes that need to be put away...dinner needing to be made..your child with chocolate and pizza all over his face and hands running around in his diaper and a dirty shirt..and you remembering you still havent put deodorant on or makeup for the day (and its 10 minutes before your husband is supposed to come home).....then its off to hurrying to get dinner done and then somehow cant get your child to bathe and get in bed at the same time every night and then sit down as you look over at your sweet husband wanting to talk and vent..and hes sleeping blissfully. Gotta love it.

Now There is nothing against all those accomplishments in fact thats downright inspiring to see moms doing those things so dont get me wrong. We arent pulling you down for doing those things, if anything we are all envious of you and wish we could be doing that ourselves!! We are just saying sometimes it would be nice to just have dinner ready at 5:30 for our family and hubby when he gets home and say thats our accomplishment and not get a look of disapproval. Im sure we have all felt that way whether we are doing all those things mentioned or not.

Then there is the working moms. Wow..talk about guilt on your shoulders every day. And not just for you..but for your husbands as well. Most hubbies dont like the fact that their wives are working..its like a whack at their manhood for not being the SOLE provider for their families. Then there you are...you get up, race to get ready because that extra 15 minutes of sleep was sooo worth it to be just a bit behind...you grab everything you need, make lunch for anyone in the family you need to, grab your baby get him/her in the car, make sure you have everything in the diaper bag race them to the babysitter and find out you only have one shoe and the lid to the sippy is missing, get to work and notice you left your lunch on the counter at home (missing lunch again), go crazy at work with all the demands there and proving yourself as a woman that you are capable of working hard and getting promotions etc etc just as well as anyone else, getting a phone call in the middle of something EXTREMELY important saying your child is sick or has pink eye at school and needs to be picked up right then and no one is able to go get her/him....then you race to the grocery store and dont tell your babysitter so you can actually finish grocery shopping (cause shopping with an almost 2 year old is almost impossible now) and you feel guilty the whole time...you get everything out and realize you left the wallet in the car...run out grab it come back, make everyone wait..finally get it all in the car, go grab your son/daughter from the babysitter race home grab your baby, the diaper bag, your purse and coats and drop them all in the front living room child included hahaha, then run outside and try to grab as many grocery bags of food you can get in your 2 little hands to bring inside to lessen the amount of fighting your child out the door, get most of it in the fridge/freezer/pantry (in between chasing your child who has now carried the bananas, the chips and anything else into different rooms...) and THEN you realize you didnt get the main thing you needed for dinner that night if you had gotten around to planning it. Improv comes in and mac n cheese it is!! WOO HOO!!! Your brain is still swimming so you dont even realize your child has been calling your name for the last 5 minutes and you have barely acknowledged your husband has come home and is there and then if thats not enough..you fight your child or children to get to bed after baths drinks and if your lucky to remember to say your prayers with them and read scriptures (cause we are supposed to and should but arent very good at it consistently) and sometimes its a good night and they are tired out so they go to bed easy yes!! But you walk away feeling guilty you deliberately didnt say prayers with them because you were afraid it would make them wake up more and not go down so easily.... and on top of all that.... youre supposed to find time for yourself. ya right...and your poor husband is trying to help or not help but you just push him out of the way because you have too much to do....

WOW!!! CAn you say overload!!! The underlying thing im feeling here is... why is it that we have to live PERFECTLY... why cant we just live each day wanting to do better than we did yesterday or get one thing on our to do list done that day? And why do we feel guilt when we should give ourselves a break? if we did and tried our best that day why cant that be enough?? I dont know if im speaking for everyone but I know a lot of moms just want to slow down and cherish the moments better. How can we help ourselves? Any ideas?

What the?? Can someone explain this?

Sorry... a little blurry
I came back from work and needed a drink. I went to get some ice and this is literally what plopped into my cup. NO LIE!!

What the HECK?? Im sitting there in wonderment when my husband turns and starts laughing hysterically. (It would have been funnier if he had planned it to happen, but he had to move the junior mints box in the freezer so hunter couldnt see them and forgot)kinda funny

We often find Hunter in the pantry like this....

Hunter's First Snow experience

Last night it snowed so we woke up to some light snow stuck to the ground. Hunter was so funny and kept pointing to it outside! He said "ssshhhoooddad" with his toothy grin... but we would like to think he was saying "snow!!!" haha. So we bundled him up and took him outside. He was so funny. He kept walking up and down the sidewalks and then sitting or faceplanting into the snow and playing with it. Here are a few pictures of his cute litle snow man body haha

After a face plant!

Sometimes we dont realize how luxurious our lives are

It seems like life FLIES by with a child! Anyways, sooo much has been happening! I dont even know where to start! Hunter is just cruising through life! He says a myriad of things now, he says "ninny" for mckinli, era for cierra, sandy and kya (the dogs at grandma and grandpa hansens), he says uh oh, no, mommy, daddy, mama, dada, bampa for grandpa, thank you... he makes the sound of a tiger, kitty(sooo hilarious), and now horse, duck and dog. He thinks he is bigger than he is! He also just learned how to give high fives. We cant believe that he is a year and two months already. Sometimes I look at him and just start to cry....he is just my little sweet baby boy and he is growing up so fast. The things he learns, the things he does, he has such a sweet and tender heart. He LOVES to give us loves. He normally gives us open mouth kisses hahaha so slobbery but so cute, and big huge hugs...the kind where he squeezes his arms around our necks, buries his head into our shoulder and scrunches up his body as tight as he can to be as close as possible to us! Its to die for! We live for those moments. He has become Daddy's little buddy. AT night time he is especially his little man. He just loves him so much and I love watching the two of them together. Hunter loves to watch basketball, football, and of course HUNTING SHOWS! He seriously would rather sit in our laps watching those shows than most others. He does really like backyardigans and spongebob. Its fun. He is the light of our lives. The other day we got to go to a sealing of Jason's cousin. He was sealed to a woman from Australia and they brought in her little 3(???) year old daughter and sealed her to them. It was a tear jerker. We are so grateful Hunter is ours forever. As we were walking to our cars, I said to Hunter "Hunter we are soo grateful that you are sealed to us forever and ever!!!" Hunter went "Oh noooo" and put his hands up to his face. It was the funniest thing! Jas and I laughed so hard! It was like he was trying to joke about it with us or something. So cute.

For my work, we did a humanitarian project with a group we are involved in "share a smile", about 130 of us went down to four corners and the indian reservation. A lot of them administered dental treatment, medical treatment, sprinkler systems, all sorts of things. Jas and I went with the people I work with and their families and our project was to build the inside of a house. After insulating the whole thing, dry walling, mudding and taping, electrical work, putting in windows...it was a very hard working weekend...but sooo worth it! It was really fun! We worked really hard, but played really hard too. We are soooo grateful for what we have. We are so grateful we have neighbors so close by and dont have to drive 30 miles to the next one....we are so grateful we have jobs, and non leaking pipes, and that we dont have high locked fences around our churches, or wild dogs at every look...love that we dont have to drive an hour to a hardware store, or send our kids 60 miles away for elementary and have them stay in dorms there...at elementary age!!! We are soooo extremely grateful. Im so grateful We have never been sooo desperate for a roof over our heads that we cant think about anything but trying everything in our power to convince those who come to help build that roof over our head to stay just one more day.... We all live in rich luxury compared to sooo many people. Sometimes we need a reminder of that, im so grateful to have had that opportunity.

I get my tonsils out this coming wednesday, woot woot! Ive needed them out for a very very long time. Im happy for the end result but not looking forward to the recovery.Duck hunting season is on and Jason is one happy man!

Jason's sister Ashli took some pictures for us a little bit ago and they turned out soo cute! Ill end this novel and share some of them! Thank you Ash! You are the best!