you know it's a tad concerning when...

              ....   'Donalds (as we call it at our joint) is consumed two meals in a row.

today such a travesty took place.

"really?" you might ask. 

and indeed.

it is the truth.

obviously, i am a very healthy mom,

 and yes 

most days the 2 year old rules the roost.

what can you do?

dust started back to school today (boo) so just me and the little ladies it was. 

feeling rather lonely

 i decided to not stay home,

 and thought a picnic in the park sounded loverly. 

upon entering the kitchen to concoct said picnic i soon realized our grocery situation, 

and after a simple suggestion from Mins, off to 'Donalds it was... again.

when i was little i loved myself a happy meal or two.

 i remember one time pulling through the drive when the cashier looked at my mom with a friendly smile, and while handing over some McNuggs informed her that "She loved her new haircut, and how were things going?"... 

today as my all too familiar cashier and i exchanged friendly smiles and nods i couldn't help ignore that de ja vu moment.

*sigh*......

i just embrace it.

the girls couldn't have been more thrilled to be out,

 and i thoroughly enjoyed swinging them "high-ya" in between squeals.

having two is so very hard sometimes.

but sometimes, 

it's so very perfect.

meet minie's new boyfriend...

Diego.

she loves this boy.

i mean loves him.

dora holds no flame...

today nannie bought her her very own "diego-go", 

and she is smitten.

so far he has;

napped right along side her.. of course with his own blankie, and B,

rode right along side in the car-seat,

had his diaper changed,

coat changed,

has been hand fed french-fries,

swung in the baby swing,

 made an evening stroll through target,

and quite nearly took a soak in the tub.

and this is all since 2 pm this afternoon.

 i'm telling you... it's love

she holds conversations with him, 

and doesn't ever seem to mind that his response is always

"Hola, I'm Diego! What does the baby bear say?"

yes.

Diego.

go figure...

i love you mins.

i hate when our daddy is gone. we miss him like the moon,

but truly.. i couldn't ask for better company.

my baby girls,

i love you.

Memory Walk

Hello All,

First time Blogger, long time viewer. I volunteered to be a team captain for the Utah Memory Walk on Sept. 19th. The Memory Walk is a Fund Raising event sponsored by the Utah Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. The walk will be at 8:30am on Sept.19th at Murray High School. I would love to have any of you join my team and/or donate to the cause. You don't have to necessary walk, however the event will have a Kids Zone, Giveaways and Vendor Booths. Everyone on my team will receive a T-shirt and depending on how much we raise, a hat and a sweat shirt.I will have Booth at the event under my company's name JM Research. The DR I work with and I have a Alzheimer's Research study that we are currently looking for patients to get involved. JM Research consists of Dr. Johnston and myself, so I could really use the support.

Let me know if any of you would like to donate and/or come out and walk with me. You can donate via Website or check or cash. The AZ Assoc. provides each team with a website to raise money. Mine can be found HERE 

 (Go to the TEAM RANK box on the Right Hand Site of the page.

Clink the "more -->>" link
Scroll down and find my Team "JM RESEARCH" Clink on my Team

This will lead you to my TEAM Page and you can register to walk and donate using the Join 

Team link.)

Thanks Everyone- 

Dustin

*{edited note from me... brooke}

 this is dustin's second version of this. he typed a first, and upon finding out about such sneaky behavior of blog hacking, i over-reacted and got really mean and scary at him. he then proceeded to the computer and deleted his initial post. 

30 minutes later i felt really guilty.. this is his blog too after all.

so, yeah.. i have come on here to try and patch up my wrong. he posted this on a family blog about a week ago, so i suppose it's a sloppy second.

what can i say? we are married, and sometimes we fight like cats and dogs.

regardless...

i'm sorry i got so mad babe.

i love you.

and truly... this is a great cause, and my hubster has been working VERY hard to pull this all together. any support would be greatly appreciated.

that's all

:)

how big is poppy???

SOOO big!

miss louise is 9 months old and is every bit amazing as she looks.

she is truly all things wonderful wrapped up into one delicious pop-tart..

and i couldn't love her more.

she woke up with one crazy head of hair yesterday and was happy as one gets.

how could i resist?

plus...

... she's started doing a little bit of this.

i am so proud of her.

it has been a rough few days as the transition from being stationary to moving has taken place

but she's taken the tumbles like a pro.

she loves me most, and i love that most.

she sleeps on her belly and drools like a bear.

she plays pat-a-cake, how big, and peek-a-boo

she talks like chewbacca,

and thinks no one is sillier than her big sister.

she's hates napping,

she smiles for pictures,

kisses her daddy

and

is so, so, so loved.

poppy louise..

thank you for coming to us.

you are just what we need.

xoxo,

mama

cruisin' for a bruisin'

don't mind her and her bad self.

 princess protection has never looked so good.

minie,

xxooxxoo

i 

love

you.

why we LOVE giveaways

aren't these two cute???

i think so...

i feel lucky to have such darling people spying on my blog.

bottom line....

i will be doing more giveaways.

thanks jake & bryton for being my first winners.

fun was had!

:) :)

new do

scraggles here was in dire need of a new do.

much to popular belief this little one does not naturally rock the shirley temple ringlets i like to lead you all to believe.

no, no..

quite the opposite in fact.

she was sadly burdened with my genes in the hair department,

and her hair is oh so very straight.. and oh so very thin.

poor little lass...

i have spent countless hours curling those strawberry locks,

and as of recent i just couldn't muster the energy to keep it up any longer.

so off with the length it was.

kennan cut her this most amazing bob,

and turns out, 

mins was born to wear it.

who knew??

it some how makes me love her even more..

crazy little gremlin that she is.

and how can this one be forgotten??

she on the other hand has gorgeous, thick hair

that lays nice, 

looks nice,

 and shines nice.

how can these two be sisters,

AND

both mine??

who knows...

but i love them to the moon.

even if she is growing out of having her picture taken.

:)

no rhyme...

or reason.

Bear Lake 09' 

i'm just tired of seeing my last post pop up every time i open the computer.

is anyone else caught in this summer-time rut??

i do actually have things to post about (like a smashing new hair cut of a certain 2 year old. trust me.. it's perfection), 

but have had almost zero desire to 

even stay indoors long enough to get on the computer.

i've even been too lazy to take pictures...

strange??? 

yes.

but,

sometimes i just need to be mom.

and that's it.

no photographer,

no house maid.

just minie and poppy's.

mama posted this poem on her wonderful blog,

and besides it being perfect alone,

it also fit perfect for my post tonight.

i had to steal it and share..

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

-- Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

*sigh*

indian summer... 

don't leave too fast.

xoxo

feeling better

tonight i feel better.

because i slept..

and slept,

and slept!

perhaps it was all the well wishing,

or the tubes,

or the minor (fine, major) detail that the babes weren't in bed till midnight..

but last night sleep was had.

 all. night. long.

clear till 9:00 AM this morning.

hallelujah!

and even more,

 i took a morning nap with the girls.

i feel like a new woman.

i'm not so naive to believe my luck could run two nights in a row,

but a gal can wish,

 right?

i can't thank you all enough for your comments.

you can bet your bottom dollar that i will attempt any and all the advice given.

truly, i would do almost anything to have a repeat of last night.

oh, to feel human!

it is not overrated.

i have the slightest nudge that this drastic change in behavior has something to do with Poppy's new tubes.

i was worried,

why?

the whole procedure from prep to recovery took a matter of 30 minutes.

the staff was wooed by those darn eyes of her, and i'm sure that scored

her some points in the care department :). our little sissy breezed through 10 minutes of surgery, and was back in my arms before i could even finish my blog checking for the day.

although coming off the anesthesia was hard on her, after a good long nap, and some serious mama cuddles she was fit as a fiddle by the afternoon.

she even made a trip to target

:)

some how,

some way,

like a new little gift every day,

i am all over in love with this girl..

can you really blame me??

issues.

i should be in bed.

i'm pretty sure i am a mean mom sometimes, 

and i'm pretty sure 99.9% of the time it's because i am so tired.

but alas.. 

here i am.

on to my thoughts....

we have some mom issues down here on the home front.

as we are all now very aware, Minie is two.

at two, she STILL:

takes a bottle. 

EEK..

TO BED.

double eek.

i know... i know..

but somewhere in the wish-wash of the past 2 years she turned from this darling chubby baby into this demanding, albeit adored toddler.

 and to make things all worse, she is asking for her "baba" in between naps now. NO, i can say i don't give it to her (most of the time), but if she doesn't get the bottle she definitely gets the B..

which brings me to the next issue.

the B..

that thing is an appendage. we live and breath by the pacifier. don't even mention the thought of sleep without it, and a car ride?? 

no. WAY.

we've tried maybe a little half heartedly to rid her of such comforts, but at the end of the day she is winning..  mostly because i am REEEAALLLY tired, and sometimes ( most of the time) they just feel like battles not worth fighting.

 now onto the topic of this exhaustion...

Poppy Louise..

sissy girl, WILL NOT sleep through the night.

she's up anywhere from 2-4 AM, and from there will only sleep if nursed back to sleep, and then only stay asleep if she is in bed, with me, in my arms. this was sweet for about 3-4 days there in the beginning, but now it's just plain tiring and giving me some major cricks in the neck, and only about 2 good hours of REMs a night. 

HOW do I break this?

i know.. shame on me for not Baby Wising, or Baby whispering, or whatever..

it just is what it is, and i am ready for some help.

and another issue..

i want to be done breast feeding.

partly because i feel kind of done,

but mostly because i am ready for dustin to help out in the night..

is this wrong and selfish??

i kind of feel like it is...

but it's the truth.

minie was mostly bottle-fed.. she's healthy, AND sleeps like a dream.

(if anyone points out the small fact that she ALSO still takes a bottle i might cry... so just shh. )

so just as luck would have it,

Poptart won't even look at the bottle without screaming.

she had a brief toleration of it somewhere between 4-6 months,

but these days the mere sight of it anywhere near her body will send her into a fit of wails and gnashing of teeth .

in her mind.. breast IS best.

 period.

*sigh*

i know she's only 8 months.. but.

i'm ready.

and to top it all off, little sissy Louise is scheduled to get tubes on wednesday, 

and tonight i'm feeling extremely guilty about it.

am i jumping the gun?

she has had 4 ear infections in the past 2 1/2 months.

both doctors (our pediatrician and the ENT) were on the fence. both said it was up to me, that she wasn't in dire straights, but the it could be a good idea.

i just told them, "lets do it".

quite frankly i am tired of her being MISERABLE every other week.. and i was sure at the time it was the best decision.

but now i am second guessing myself, and i feel sick to my stomach when i think of her little body being limp while under general anesthesia...

I KNOW it's practically the worlds simplest procedure, and the chances of something going wrong are pretty slim..

but i am still worried.

am i a bad mom because i am jumping the gun with this?

am i a bad mom if i don't go through with this???

i don't know.. 

*sigh*..

i know this is dramatic.

but once again,

i admit,

i am dramatic.

any advice would help..

unless it's mean and rude,

therefore posing in all actuality as very unhelpful

:)

good night

brad, ba, dabi, & bllala

we love this family.

Gabs is one of Minie's most favorite people,

 and for a good time just ask her to say

"Bella"

Brad finally decided to cash in on a very late birthday present,

and boy did we have fun tuesday night.

his girlies are about as cute as they come,

vanessa can't look bad if she tries,

and Brad... well...

he gave us all some good laughs.

love you Williams family!

there is this girl...

named poppy.

and i am so in love with her

it hurts.

truly.

love you my smoosh,

xo,

mommy

Happy 4th

PHEW.

 this weekend.

what a doozy...

48 hours packed full of family, food, parading

fireworks, laughing, and did i mention eating?

well... we are certainly 

TINERD.

oh how i love this summer holiday.

i love dressing in red,white and blue...

even though i can't get a decent shot of them matching together..

*sigh*

my parents neighborhood parade brings it...

especially when THIS transpires.

i love how hot is always is..

and how smooshy this one never ceases to be.

fireworks

i. love. you.

that smell.. 

the smokiness that sort-of settles over the valley.

oh.. i love that.

there is really just nothing NOT to love.

last weekend.. 

i miss you.

hope your 4th found you as happy as it found our little family's.

BUT

let's be truthful here.

 i am officially exhausted.

i am not going to pretend that throwing a 

birthday bash doesn't exhaust me,

nor does staying up with a sick baby.

nope..

i will willingly admit that proofing the 

weekends photos has me worn out, 

as well as all this blogging.

i am looking forward to lazy days at the pool,

afternoon naps with the girls,

 late dinners with my NOW school free hub.

and a long weekend up to Bear Lake.

but i do feel quite pleased with myself...

i am all caught up

:)

HOOray!