Saturday, May 30, 2009

NEW New House

FINALLY!!!!
We, well I guess I should say Bryan, finished the outside of our house.
So here is the before

And here is the after!
For some reason the paint color doesn't look that different in the pictures, but it is VERY different in person. No butter cream here, people.
We were so lucky to get such a good deal on the new brick, and LOVE the color - we think it makes such a huge difference! And I'm so blessed to have such a talented husband who can do just about anything.
And the one and only benefit to having a north facing house is that you can paint your front door black and not worry about it fading since it's always in the shade. I've always wanted a black front door!! The only thing missing now is new shutters & address numbers, but I was too excited to wait for a picture of that!
Lo "helping" Dad clean the pump - she just ran around the front yard with a hose & a bucket, basically in 2 year old heaven.
Mya, for once, actually cooperated by playing in the playpen in the garage while we worked. This was a big shocker since she is rarely happy doing anything we want her to do. Unless we want to hold her and walk around, she's always more than happy to do that.
I do have to end with saying that for the first time EVER I was allowed to hold a paint roller. I was allowed to back roll after Bryan sprayed (only because it was so hot and the paint was drying too fast). Very big day - I still can't believe he let me, and he said that I did a pretty good job! He only went over what I rolled twice.
So next time you come over, you might say to yourself "Hey, is this the Kinyons house? No, it can't be, it's too beautiful and different to be theirs!" But it is, it's my house and I love it!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Proud to Report

That today Lo has only had 1 accident, and 4 "successes" in the potty.
I decided last week that with Lauren I just need to be casual and not expect her to want to try and potty train every day. And there would be no forcing to sit on the potty, only asking occasionally, and having her check frequently to make sure she's dry. So I've VERY casually asked her almost every day first thing in the morning if she wants to wear panties. Sometimes it's yes, and sometimes it's no. Today was a yes, and I think she's finally getting it!
But let me tell you, the girl can hold her urine!
She had an accident at 12:45, and she hadn't gone since 8:30 - we had a bath in there, but she swore to me over and over again that she didn't pee in the tub.
Bryan just came down to tell me - the time was 4:35, mind you, and she peed 4, yes folks, 4 times right in a row, and no accidents since she woke up from her nap at 2:30. But apparently it was a lot each of those 4 times. She must have an iron bladder and just hold it in forever until the flood gates break loose!!! This is a good thing, right? So I won't have to run her to the bathroom 5 times during a grocery trip?
So if she in fact did not pee in the tub, that makes up to about 4 hours of holding it in.
Anyway, I know all you moms out there know how exciting this is, so therefore don't care about the pee talk being nasty, and for those of you who don't have kids and think it's gross all I have to say is your time will come.
I am soooooo thinking she will be done by the time preschool starts in August!
Yeah for my little pee-er!
Oh, and I won't post about the first time she poops in the potty, that's just taking it a little too far.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Happy B

Since the purpose of this blog is (partly) our family scrapbook, just wanted to add these pictures of happy B Mya. She has the cutest stinking smile.....when she actually smiles.
So, for those of you who may not have seen it, here it is. She smiles. And drools.

Check out those little teeth - so cute!!

Love you B!!!

Memorial Day

Every summer my Grandma & Grandpa Strong have a BBQ for all of the holidays - starting with Memorial Day. I love this little kick-off to summer, and do everything I can to be there every year.
I love the Strong side of the family - my grandparents have 57 grandchildren (yes, I have 50 first cousins on one side), and my Grandpa said "60 some odd great-grandchildren" - I believe I heard someone say the actual number is something like 67.
Anyway, I've never really taken pictures at these "little" gatherings, so I decided to start.
Here's one of Lauren getting lost behind the huge fitzers.

My grandpa - one of the greatest people I'll ever know. He's the sweetest man, he always lets you know you're loved. Yesterday he said "if everyone loved their wives like I loved mine, you would never have a fight". I'm sure it goes both ways. They are the greatest example of unconditional love I've ever seen, and I love them so much! Oh, and my grandma was MIA for a while - she's always busy taking care of everyone, so I didn't get a chance to get a picture of her. Next time!

I truly believe this tree is sinking, because when I was a kid we had to put a table under this branch to barely be able to touch it, and Lexi here isn't a big kid. Either that, or I was left at far too young of an age unattended to climb a tree :)

Will wanted to climb the tree and is now having second thoughts

Lauren, of course, didn't want to climb the tree. She did, however, want to stand there and give everyone else a play by play of what was going on:

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, he's gonna fall!
He's not gonna fall.
Grandpa's not gonna let him fall.
Oh no, oh no, oh no!!"

Jones - this kid just cracks me up

The tire swing
Ah, the tire swing
I have spent many an hour on this swing in my day
I have also spent many an hour bugging every male tall enough to pahleeeease push us
And laying down with my head resting on my dad's stomach "waiting for his food to digest so he will push us"
Lauren, of course, is terrified of it.
It's not like she's seen a chain break and someone go flying off of it - I've seen that, and I'm still not scared of it!
The boys playing volleyball

I wish I had taken more pictures, but I was only able to get a few while my mom gave me a break by taking the screaming Mya in the house to give me a few moments of sanity.
We still have Independence Day, 24th of July, and Labor Day!
I LOVE SUMMER!!!!

Tin Foil No More

Mya has this stupid little half window that we can't figure out how to cover in a manner pleasing to the eye that blocks out the light. And that kid will NOT sleep if there is a slightest bit of light coming into her room. For now we have tin foil - yes, people, tin foil in her window. My neighbors love me.
So I decided to take on a little craft project, and this is what I came up with.
2 BIG pieces of foam core
batting
pink material
glue
staples
Cut out foam core and badding, wrapped in material, glued & stapled on the back, put another piece of foam core on the back to cover up the material.
And this is what it turned out like:

I rock the hiz-ouse. It's not the prettiest thing ever, had I taken more time it would definitely look better. But it looks better than tin foil and serves its purpose.

For the record, Bryan totally doubted my ability to measure, cut out, and have it fit. How ya like me now!!

Monday, May 18, 2009

I Look Like a Princess

A couple of weeks ago, Mya had her 9 month check-up, and my sister-in-law Heidi was nice enough to offer to watch Lo so I didn't have to wrastle the both of them at the doctor's office. We decided at the last minute to meet at the park and have lunch before, hopefully to wear the kids out.
I keep thinking that Lo will start enjoying something other than the swings......but this is how I spent our first half hour there.
When I put this shirt on her in the morning, she said "I look like a princess!"


Since there was only 1 baby swing and 2 babies, this was our solution. Worked extremely well, but Heidi & I couldn't stop laughing.

Little view of J-Bones (Jones)

View of B-Mya


Heidi was trying to get some cute "candid" shots of Lexi & Will, but I don't think candid means your kids go down the slide posing the entire time.

Will - rockin the mohawk

Lexi cracks me up
I have the cutest nieces & nephews ever - all of them!!!!

Mother's Day and Together Baths

My Mother's Day present that Lauren made in nursery. She said "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy! Can I eat it?" She ate a couple fruit loops and then realized how nasty fruit loops are and gave it back to me. 'Twas my first homemade present from my kids!!

The girls just before bedtime. Sometimes it's hard to put them to bed because they are both so much fun at night. Wait a minute, what am I saying......it's NEVER hard to put them to bed because we're usually watching the clock, counting down until 7:30 when we can start the process. But they really are fun at night, usually.

I finally started putting them in the tub together a couple of weeks ago. I love it, they have so much fun together! Mya would sit in there for hours if I let her, just splashin' away! Lo freaks out if I try and put her in by herself, she refuses to get in without Mya. Such a cute big sister!! I tried to get a "not so revealing naked" picture of them for the blog, think I did pretty good. No front parts to be seen on here, folks!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

The First Playdate Adventure

I'm going to quickly here tell my little adventure of today.
Lo had her very first playdate with her cute little friend Sage at 10:00. I decided "hey, it's a beautiful day, and they only live a minute away. Why don't we all walk?" And so we did. After I dropped the oh so excited child off to play, I took the long way home with B, enjoying the nice day. Then I got home to discover that I had locked myself out. I had closed the garage door, knowing that I had unlocked the deadbolt on the front door. But apparently the handle was still locked. And our garage door code doesn't work. Locked out. No diapers. Hungry baby. Fantastic.
I called Bryan, so incredibly embarrassed, and he said he'd come home and let me in. So I headed off to Kalisa's house where Lauren was playing, and instead decided to take this opportunity to explore a little of what Riverton had to offer in my neck of the woods. And I knew that Mya would be much better in the stroller than out. I walked for almost an hour until Bryan got home, and I have to say, I made good time for where I went.
It was fabulous to be able to enjoy walking for almost an hour in the peace and quiet of just me and Mya, who didn't make a peep the entire time.
Thanks again, Kalisa & Sage! Lauren came home happy & exhausted - just the way I like it!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

If You've Ever Wondered...

What it feels like to be swaddled like a baby, Jess can tell you. This is what happens to J and I after an evening of Chinese takeout, DC, and apple cake.

Our significant others don't find us nearly as entertaining as we think we are. I can't imagine why - we are hilarious.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Child Genius!


I pulled out Lauren's letter puzzle yesterday to start kind of working on letters with her. Since she's so stubborn, I have to be really careful about how I approach teaching her things. Given that she's only 2 1/2 I didn't really expect much. We worked on the letter L for Lauren and left it at that. When Bryan got home yesterday he played with her for about 30 minutes, and showed her all of our initials. Well, she just brought me the K for Kiersti, gave the M to Mya, and told me that B is for Bryan and L is for Lolo. Never would I have thought she would remember the next day!!! That's it, my child is a genius.

Picture Catch-Up

I haven't posted any pictures for a while, so here are some new goodies!
Lolo and Daddy snugglin before bed time - he's trying to not look stoned like he does in most pictures, but he just looks weird.
The comb is good, the jumperoo is good, but combined they are the perfect toy. If we ever want Mya to really be good and play by herself for a while, our best bet is the comb/jumperoo combination. I just wish it always worked...

This is Lauren's "sassy face". I see it many, many times a day.

Some friends and I took our kids to Gardner Village a couple of weeks ago to see the animals. All they had open was the pony rides. I thought Lo would freak out, but she loved it!

I didn't get a picture, but she bent down a couple of times to quickly pet the pony, and then hurry and put her hands back up on the saddle horn. It was so cute.


Monday, May 4, 2009

The Best

Had a super long crazy day yesterday - 2 baby blessings that we were lucky enough to be invited to and attend (2 beautiful little girls) but made for a seriously loco day. (It didn't help that we were up all night partying it hard with J & G - pictures will be coming shortly).
I was exhausted, and as I was putting Lo to bed and going through the routine:

prayers
climb into bed (sometimes takes forever when she's being a butt)
read Milly Moo
read Rainbow Rob
sing series of nursery rhymes from stupid little book
turn on frog (humidifier)
turn on music
"love you" - "love you too, Mom"
kiss "on my mouf"
"lay down on your tummy"
"I'll see you in the morning"
"I'll leave the door open"
*Mothers of a 2 year old know this routine is very important

I have to do the routine alone after prayers and climb into bed because she just goes down a lot easier if I do the rest alone. Too attached to Daddy.
I finished the routine (15 minutes later) and came into the kitchen, where Bryan was unloading/reloading the dishwasher. I came over and tried to help, he told me to just go relax, he wanted to do it so that when I woke up in the morning it was one less thing for me to do.
Bryan is the best. On our crazy Sunday, he got both of the girls ready, start to finish, breakfast and bottle, curlies and bows, because I got up a lttle later than I should and was busy getting my own self ready. I never have to ask him to change a diaper or do anything with the kids. He is a better father than I ever imagined, and the best husband I could ask for.
Thanks honey, I know you won't read this because, well, you don't read this.
I love you and appreciate you so much, thank you for making my life so much easier.

Friday, May 1, 2009

My Soapbox

As most of you know, after I had Lauren I lost a lot of weight. For some reason, things have been harder after Mya, but this last couple of weeks I have really been empowered to regain control of my body.
Today I put on a pair of capri pants that I haven't been able to wear since I had Mya (without looking like a stuffed sausage), and I was so proud of myself.
I started thinking about women and weight and body image, and I decided to put a few things out there. This is how I'm reminding myself that I'm in control of my body (for the most part), and these are things that I try to do every single day to help myself be happy.
1. I love my body. I love it because it was given to me by my Heavenly Father - and he wants me to love it and take care of it. Do I love everything about it? Of course not, but it's my body nonetheless, and there's nothing I can do about that. So accept it and move on.
2. I embrace the good parts. I'm built like a woman, not a 12 year old boy. I have curves, and I am proud of them. Some women pay good money to get, ahem, upper body curves like mine.
3. Just because it fits, doesn't mean I should wear it. I'm using the term "fits" very loosely. I've watched What Not to Wear, and I know what's up. If I look like the aforementioned stuffed sausage in a particular item of clothing, it doesn't "fit". I pride myself on dressing pretty well for my figure - I've learned how to hide things I don't want to be seen. This has taken years, and some lucky trends to come about, but I've found what works for my body.
4. I refuse to whine about my weight. In my mind, there are few things more unattractive and annoying than women who whine about their weight. Trying to be with my friends, just enjoying one anothers' company and hearing the constant "I really shouldn't be eating this", "I wish I could eat whatever I wanted", "I'm too fat to wear that", "I wish I had a body like her".....I could go on & on & on. Why draw attention to your faults and imperfections? And I know I used to say this kind of stuff, too, until I realized how unappealing it is. And on a side note, before you start saying things like that, look around. There's no worse feeling to me than when someone significantly smaller than myself starts complaining about her weight. How do you think that makes me feel? If you see your size 6 as being huge, then what do you see when you look at me?
5. Never compare myself to others. Everyone is different, and so what if my friend is a size 2 and can eat whatever she wants. Everyone has their trials and things about themselves they don't like, and my size 2 friend isn't excluded from that. Take the energy that you used focusing on others and use it to change what you dislike about yourself.
6. I live in reality. I will never be a size 2 - that would just be gross for my body type. I will never be happy eating fruits & veggies all the time and working out 2 hours a day every day. That's just not me, and to be honest with you, I don't have time for that. I just want to be healthy. I want to look in the mirror and be proud of what I've worked for - the self control and discipline it takes to moderate what I eat, but also not depriving myself. I wish I LOVED working out, and I LOVED eating salad every meal, but I don't. That's why I'll never look like Jessica Alba - and I'm OK with that. If I wanted to have a rock hard body with no fat, I would. But the road to get there wouldn't make me happy. And that's reality.
7. I do what makes me happy. I work hard as I want and know the consequences of my actions. If it's going to make me happy to eat a Reese's shake tonight, then I know that I need to be OK with what it will do to the number on the scale.

And now I will get off my soapbox. I'm not even sure if any of this made sense to any of you, but it's something I can look back on and read when I'm having a hard time.
Love yourselves, ladies, cuz you know I do!

PEACE OUT, Y'ALL!!!