a story worth remembering

Aniston locked me out of the house today. I went to dump the vacuum canister, and she followed me up the stairs and locked the dead bolt when I was out. I came back and tried to get in, but couldn't. I am racking my brain as to why I would lock the door, but then realize I didn't. I tried to get her to unlock it, but she kept turning the door handle. Our front door has a long window, so I decided to try and get her to look out the blinds and see me pointing at the dead bolt instead of the door handle. She peaked through the window and we both just laughed. She finally figured out what she had to turn, and I got in.
If it hadn't been for the 30 minute tantrum she threw earlier all because she couldn't get her gardening glove on to touch the worm, I would have laughed harder.
I get it...I was naughty so I have a naughty child. I'm done with it though, and I think it's time that she be nice. I was naughty for a long time though; I'm still naughty. It's not going to end soon I fear, but I'll have good stories to tell and at least I have her around.

shelbi with an "i"

This is my beautiful sister...
She did a post when I had my 25th B-day with 25 things about me, so I'm doing the same for her...
love ya sis...

1- beautiful
2- kind
3- a leader
4- strong...physically and spiritually
5- funny...seriously cracks me up
6- has the best laugh...snorts while she's doing it too!!
7- mad decorating skills... she is so talented
8- mad singing skills, i love to listen to her
9- loves to talk...i can always count on her for a great conversation
10- loyal friend
11- dedicated worker
12- finds good in all things
13- "fun aunt" Aniston LOVES Aunt Shelbi
14- tolerant of stupid people...a quality i don't possess
15- always willing to help others
16- organized
17- clean
18- the perfect wife for her Scotty
19- good cook...as long as she takes the paper out of the pan
20- good example...she makes me want to be better in so many ways
21- addicted to chocolate
22- VERY creative...you should see the projects she does...AMAZING!!!
23- a bit dramatic, but it keeps things lively in our family
24- one of my best friends
25- always has a story, and my favorites are the ones when she does something embarrassing BECAUSE she can laugh at herself
26- a mentor, always wanting to help others better themselves
27- my sister, and the best sister a girl could ever ask for.
thanks sister for always being there to support, love, and take care of me and my family. you are the best, and i can't imagine life without you. i am so sad that you will one day be so far away, but i know you will always be there for me no matter how many miles i have to travel to see you.
xoxo
jen

We celebrated her Birthday by listening to my brother play in the band concert and eating brownies and ice cream. Can't beat that, but I really can't wait to get a pedi with her and my mom next week to celebrate!

This "commandments" poster replaced my tile sign that says "in the strength of the Lord I can do all things". Chris is taking over the place with his new interest and here is proof...





This is what I wake up to every morning...

These bikes are all over the place. I'm tempted to use them as part of my decorations/to support my decorations. I don't think Chris will approve.


He's also in "training" mode... and he is using both weights and Aniston to help. Time with Dad is a favorite of hers, so she could care less what they are doing.

I have to admit, I'm jealous and want a bike of my own. I asked Chris if he would sell one of his so I could get one and then we could ride together. He was so excited that I would even ask so I don't think he caught the part where I said to sell one of his.

her new do

Our 2 1/2 year old looks like she's 5! I decided it was time for a shorter, less demanding hair style after morning after morning of fighting with Aniston. I think she likes it, and Chris approves too(excepts for the fact that it makes her look older)!

a bunch WITH pictures!!

I'm behind, so here is a whole bunch...

Saturday May 8th:
Race for the Cure with Lindsey. It was a blast and humbling. I'm thankful my family is healthy, and that I am healthy. It was great to spend time with one of my BFFs. I love this lady's shirt that read...
To the world you are a mother, but to your family you are the world.
What a great thought the day before Mother's Day!
After the race we walked around the Delta Center. Grandma Shanna this picture is for you!
Sunday May 9th:
Mother's Day makes me feel extremely blessed. I was able to have a baby, I am a Mother, I realize how much our Heavenly Father and my own Mother love me, and I have my Mother here with me and I am here for Aniston. Really how much better can it get? It can't, I'm lucky; blessed really. I feel so lucky to have such a fabulous Mother. I know no other woman in the world that cares and loves me as much as she does. My Mother in-law is sweet too, she sent me the sweetest text just before Mother's Day that made my day. I love my Mothers!!
I worked that night and love my job. Watching women become a Mother for the first time or the tenth time NEVER gets old. Those sweet babies melt my heart, and make me want another so badly.








Wednesday May 12th:
The mold man came and started the process of de-molding the place. We felt like we are on the set of ET with a plastic bubble of a living room. I just hope the post decontamination test comes back clean! Little Aniston got to sleep next to us on blankets for 2 nights and LOVED it! It reminded me of when she was tiny and her crib was right next to our bed. I loved being able to look over at her when I woke up and make sure she was ok.

Here's a little tour of the rest of the house, minus the living room which was in the bubble...
no box springs equals mattress on the floor
Aniston loves her new room and I love the storage on the one wall because most of her toys can be put away.

I love the kitchen because it has a lot of storage AND the counters are the perfect height for tall people!!


Wednesday May 12th:
We had a bug encounter, most likely the scariest EVER!! An enormous bug fell out of the towel I was drying my hands on and onto Aniston's toy. The creepy thing then ran over to the toilet, back up behind it, and finally out from behind it so I could swat him into the garbage can and tie it off before he could climb out. I ran the garbage bag with the ugly thing out to the outside garbage in hope the creep wouldn't find his way back into the house. Aniston and I were both screaming, and at least once a day we hear this from Aniston's mouth...
"That was the scariest bug I never seen!"
Aniston and I played out in the dirt and got rid of some weeds. Never thought I would say that I enjoyed myself while I pulled weeds, but I did and I plan to do more if this weather will figure itself out. Being outside makes Aniston's day, so we can't wait for the weather to stay warm!!

Thursday May 13th:
I finally took Aniston to Taffy Town, and I felt like a great mom for keeping that promise(she sees that place every time we get on the freeway, and I promised her I would take her there if she was really good) AND taking Aniston to a place that made her so happy!! We got some crazy taffy flavors and stopped at Great Harvest for some delicious bread and a cookie on the way home.
Girl's night was long overdue AND I loved every minute of it! I've always had great friends and being able to spend time with them is good for me. Chris is so good to take Aniston and spend Daddy Daughter time so I can have some time away. Thanks Chris and thanks girls!!

Friday May 14th:
Had a bad headache and was so nauseated, but things got better when I pulled myself together for the mold guy and landlord visit. Aniston wasn't happy with me at the beginning of the morning, but she was so good and so sweet the rest of the day! We took Papa a treat and stopped at Costco to pick up a few things and get Aniston her favorite, a hot dog and "bubble drink"! That night Chris and I were planning on going out, but my stomach was still on the fritz so we rented a movie, got shakes from Ice Berg, and went to my parent's and hung out with them.

Sunday May 16th:
I think I gave my mother the headache and nausea, poor lady stayed in bed all day EXCEPT for the time it took her to put together dinner so we all had something to eat. She really is the best, and makes the best food too! Megan came over for dinner and we sat outside with Aniston the whole afternoon! It was so fun, relaxing, and Aniston was in heaven. We blew bubbles til we were blue in the face, ate a few popsicles, did some handstands, headstands, cartwheels, and taught Aniston how to do somersaults. By the end of the day Aniston was so dirty. She has NEVER been that dirty in her life! Chris was upset at me(funny that he was the one upset) for letting her get so dirty, but I told him she was tantrum free and the happiest little girl so I think he was ok with how dirty she had gotten; who wouldn't be?!



Monday May 17th:
We swam for a few hours at Megan's to get away from our unsettled and paint smelling apartment. Aniston is so timid(thank goodness) and was screaming every time we would try and get her in the pool. Finally, after a lot of coaxing, she was in kicking her legs and floating around with "Moo" and her pink floaties. I was sorry I didn't get a picture of her relaxing in the pool. I think she could have fallen asleep!

Other fun things we're doing...
playing in our backyard
doing Daddy's hair

playing with baby dolls(I'm so happy!!)
learning how to trace numbers
weeding flower beds
singing a lot: pop corn popping, i love to see the temple, i love you, Halloween cat, bumble bee, and abcs
She likes to listen to music just as much as she likes to sing.
putting shoes on with no help!
asking for a dog EVERY day
asks Mommy and Daddy to merry her, but has now decided that she is going to
find "somebody nelse"
loves to boss, especially while she looks at herself in the mirror
scared of bugs, and we've had MANY encounters

things are working out and the best part...
"i love this new house, it's perfect for me!"
and, whenever we leave Aniston asks to go back to her new house, because she loves it!

Series of unfortunate events

We started to move Friday. I went to meet the landlord at 2:30pm to pay rent and get the keys. This is when the unfortunate events began. I'm not writing this for sympathy, this post is to remind me in the future that this truly was not unfortunate and that I need to always be grateful for my blessings; I have it good. We will never move again unless it is absolutely necessary.
Friday-
2:30pm- arrive at new place to find the carpet cleaning man just starting to clean the carpets. Why in the world did they not get cleaned until the day beforethe move-in date??!! Called Chris to vent(he is always a great listener and the calming one-but he was a bit miffed himself). Our plan to start moving things Friday wasn't going to happen.
2:45pm- The landlord shows up with the key and I ask the carpet guy when the carpet will be dry- 6 hours. I really do like the landlord, she is extremely nice and very easy to work with. We chat for a bit and then she leaves me to clean.
3:00pm- I begin the task of cleaning, and I can't believe how disgusting people are. I came across a number of vomits things. As I am cleaning the kitchen, I hear a noise that sounds like someone is coming in. I turned to see what is was and a big fat black hairy cat is tromping down the newly shampooed stairs. I make a scene and the cat runs away. I kept the door closed after that, forget that the carpet will dry faster if I have it open.
7:00pm- I met Chris at our old apartment to pack a few things and get some dinner. We both decided that eating out is over rated and that we can't wait to go back to our old ways of eating at home every night. We held hands for the first time in forever. Thanks Grammy for taking Aniston for 2 days so we could move.
8:00pm- Start moving in and the rain is not stopping. It had been raining off and on and I was praying it would stop so all our stuff wouldn't get wet. When we opened the front door of our new place, the same cat bolted out. One window doesn't have a screen and I left all the windows open so the carpet would dry faster.

Saturday:
10:00am- Started loading up the trailer and truck in the pouring rain. First sign that things were not in our favor.
12:30pm- The couch was not going in the door AND it was getting ripped! I'm freaking out, and I'm about to loose my cool because we have been finding things throughout the apartment that are not ok:
it hasn't been painted like we were told it would be
the fix it guy must be an "unhandy man" that needs to be fired
there might be mold, which will really put me over the edge. we moved because of this.
i keep finding spiders, ewww.
(i know this sounds ridiculous, but when you have to live in a place that you are paying money for, you want things to be nice.)
2:30pm- Second load that includes our bed. I wasn't stressed because in conversation with the landlord, a queen bed would fit down the stairs.
WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!! The box springs was getting wedged at the bottom of the stairs, and I was about to come unglued! For the love, what else were we going to have to give up?! Chris, Stefen and I are in disbelief that we would think this apartment would be desirable.
Oh, and we can't have our kitchen table because the kitchen layout is to strange. Why did we think it would work out and be ok?
In all of this Chris and Stefen keep hitting their heads on the low ceilings, but I did ask Chris if he was ok with this when we looked at the place, and he said yes.

So, after we were finished moving our stuff, the disappointment not as fresh, and Aniston coming to see the place and saying " oh I love my new house, it's perfect for me!", we are happy with our decision. We wanted a new couch, a love seat should be in addition to a couch not your only source of seating. I love this bed from Ikea that doesn't have a box springs, and Chris said he would build a look-a-like. A bistro style table is on my want list AND it will fit in the kitchen.
We're fine with things, and now we're excited to get some new furniture.
No pictures, the place is still a disaster.