Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year. We went to 2 ward parties....our ward CC2 and then CC1 on Sat. 

 Doug of course dressed up as Elvis and Declan was mini Elvis. 

Eileen helped me make Declan's cape to wear and I spray painted his shoes blue! He was sooo cute!

He has been learning how to walk and everyone loved him walking around at the parties....

For actual Halloween night, it was very nice weather. There are lots of Trick or Treaters that come to the neighborhood so it makes it really fun!

We set up a table on the Driveway and handed out the candy. Doug wore his Elvis costume and was a huge hit! So many people said that they loved his costume and one lady even took a picture of him. 

I had Halloween tunes and of course Elvis songs playing which made the atmosphere more fun!

After handing out the candy, we all had dinner together and it was a very nice and fun evening. 

To cut or not to cut?

Alright, I must admit.....Something has happened over  the last few months....

I have turned into a frumpy sloppy looking mom.....

yep, it's true. 

 It is hard for me to muster up the energy to actually get completely ready for the day when I know I am not leaving the house all day and all I will be doing is cleaning and doing laundry. Some days I don't even shower :( Gross! I feel bad for Doug when I look gross when he gets home...At least I made dinner, right?

Anyways, I liked to get dressed up and look nice but most days, I have no make up on and my hair is in  a pony tail EVERYDAY! What's the point of long hair if I never do it??

Well, in pondering what I should do about this problem, I have been considered cutting my hair....Give my self a new cute style. It will force me to do my hair every day since I won't be able to put it in a pony tail. Doug loves my hair short so when I suggested my idea he seemed very excited! So why not? 

I am nervous but excited about the idea.....So I would LOVE to hear what you all think??

Here are some idea's of short cuts I like.....

Ok let me know what you think???

E meals

So the worst part about cooking for me is picking out what to make for dinner. I can never decide and once I decide I change my mind. I was web surfing today and I found this AMAZING website that Dave Ramsey recommended. It is a site where they meal plan for you. 7 meals...then they make a shopping list from the store of your choice....and they even give the amounts of how much everything costs you you know how much you are spending. It costs $5 a month and I am excited to try it and expand my cooking menu!

Yippe......Plus if you sign up and put me down as a referral I get points which can get me money:) So if you sign up put my name down as a referral!

mommmaaaa

I was making dinner yesterday and Declan was at the baby gate wanting me to hold him. Since I was busy cooking Doug keep trying  to keep him distracted but Declan would find his way back to the gate and stand there babbling and crying  till I picked him up.....Well, one time he was standing there and he was babbling...but he was saying mommmmaa, mamma.....I looked at Doug to confirm that he heard it too. it was a very exciting moment because i know he know my name and can kinda say it.  So know Declan can says, Da when he sees daddy. And mommmmaaa, when he see's me!

Little Moments

Today was a busy day for me...I had a few clients, more than I normally take in a day, and on Wednesday I always go and visit with my grandfather's. This Wednesday I decided to make them dinner. They love to eat and have some company as they eat so I knew they would 

love it if I brought over dinner. I should try and make it more of a habit.

Well, as I was rushing around trying to get everything done, Declan keep clammering for my attention. Every time I would put him down he would cry and want me to pick him back up. After a while I became frustrated with this and got annoyed. He would stand at the baby gate and shake it and cry til I picked him up. Then it hit me.....hello, all your child needs is some of your attention. Are you really that busy to just hold him and play with him? 

Well, I picked him right up. After some cuddles, kisses and a few minutes of playing he was happy and content to keep playing by himself.

  I learned a very valuable lesson today....That I should never be to busy to stop and love and play with my kids. They will grow up to fast!

I think it was the Lord's way of teaching me a lesson and it is one I will never forget. 

Doug's Exam

Doug had to take a HUGE Certification test for his work. This test was very intense and through. It covered lots of material that he doesn't even need to know for his current job and terms that he may never use. He had taken the exam before but failed. 

  

This time we both know how important it was that he pass, so we can move up in the career world and get a raise at his current job. Since he had taken the test and had done lots of research, he knew this what to expect. He spent hours upon hours studying. He was lucky enough to have time at work to study and then he would come home and study for  few hours. 

This was a BIG test of our faith. We needed to pass and we needed to show the Lord that he needed to pass. So we went to work....prayed ALOT! Paid our tithing and fast offerings. We went to the Temple, and had a few special fast specifically for this test. I truly felt that we had done all the we could and the rest was up to the Lord. SO the day of the test, we went to the Temple, to feel calm and comforted. And then Doug went off to take his test. It may of been the longest 2 hours of my life weighting for the results. I prayed harder then I have ever done before and left my heart in the Lord's hands. 

and right about 5 pm, doug called me with the news. I felt a huge wave of relief and was soooooo happy. Mostly happy for Doug because he had worked so hard, and I wanted him to feel proud of himself and feel accomplished. I am sure proud of him! He did amazing and I am excited to see what our future holds. 

Arizona

Last week Doug and I made a last minute decision for me to go to Arizona for a week. He has been studying a few hours a day for a big test he has to take for his work, so we figured that if Declan and I were gone for a week that would help with him and his studying. I found a last minute deal and booked the ticket. 

  I was very excited......This is something I had been wanting to do for a while now and this was the perfect chance. I flew there on Monday and stayed till Saturday. Tammy has a very busy life so I didn't expect that we would do that much, we mostly have fun just being together. We did go on a hike one day, but we called it the death hike because we were walking in sand beds, and it was about 100 degrees outside. we went about 6 miles and that was enough cause we both were dying towards the end. 

It was Tammy's daughter, Cassidy's homecoming dance that week so we spend a lot of the week getting ready for that. She had her dress made. We had to get all the accessories, but it was fun to help  get it al ready for her. 

Tammy has been doing great on eating healthy and working out. So we had fun being creative on healthy things we could eat. I wasn't a huge help with the working out part but we did swim one day. 

It was a fun week and I am glad I was able to go. 

Declan had a blast playing with their Doug, and Cammie. And I know Cammie had a blast playing with Declan.