HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING?

Ok, my favorite time of year because of the music, and in church today we busted out the Christmas songs. YEAH! Except Hailyn started SCREAMING during The First Noel. No biggie, she had a wet diaper, changed her she was fine. I thought nothing of it. Well, during our closing song- Hark the Herald Angels Sing she did the same thing. I chalked it up to she didn't enjoy my love of Christmas music like I did, Ryan chalked it up to perhaps I wasn't one of the herald angels who should be singing- really, is my voice that bad? I truly never knew. I was always one to sing in church situations. I love singing. Karoke, church songs, busting out in the car, but I never knew if I had a good voice or not- perhaps I know now?

I'm such a stage mom...

My sweet angel- or something like that...



As I was posting the awesome pictures of Hailyn below, I realized I left a story untold, one of frustration, and I needed to share it. The story of how I became a stage mom.

In attempts to get the grandparents and great grandparents pictures of my lil' bit, I called JC Penny's because I had a coupon deal. They told me that they were arranging an angel shoot for ONE day only and would I like to bring her in for said shoot. Absolutely, what would be more wonderful than a sweet, sleeping picture of my little sweetie dressed up as an angel and give as gifts to the gparents and such. Oh, Hailyn is not even FOUR WEEKS OLD yet. So, I make the appointment for nine am, first one out the door. I get there a little before nine, they tell me that my appointment has been double booked, (ahh) and would I mind waiting forty minutes- they will throw in some free pictures- ok fine. Well, then the nine-thrity appointment shows up, is frusterated that "I cut in front of them" say what? and so I am rushed through the shoot time. Hailyn wakes up and she is FURIOUS and crying hysterically. So, aside from all this, I decide to keep going with the shoot- it is one day only after all, and I had this coupon and I was getting free pictures and yada yada. Well, the people that also had the nine am appt (double booking jerks) had forty minutes for thier shoot- I had ten. Perhaps if I had forty minutes, I could have fed her, soothed her and maybe got one good shot of a calm serene angel. Well, I only got ten minutes, so I got a screaming, bewildered looking angel.

Here's where the stage mommy in me came out. Determined to use my coupon (oh geez) and the fact that the angel shoot was only one day, I asked if they could re-do her shots because they SUCKED. They said they would squeeze me in next. Well, they kept having appointments, and finally, they got me in at 1:30pm. What was I doing that whole time? Sitting in the cramped little studio of JC Penny's very impatienly with a SCREECHING infant driving them crazy (ha ha- that's what you get for pushing back my appointment jerks and then rushing me!) So we get in there again, Hailyn's ticked as she has been the whole time. She's tired, I'm exhausted, but we proceed with the shoot anyway. The very last picture is the one we ended up with. Was it a sweet serene angel picure? Not my daughter. This picture pretty much sums up the entire day.
HERE'S TO YOU JC PENNY'S!

If you look closely at the future America's next top model (he he ) she pretty much expresses her opinion on the day- that's right, she is flipping the bird- again. I don't know where she learned that! Word, Hailyn.
PS. For the record my 'free shots' included one puny 8x10 and the coupon wasn't applicable to the angel shoot anyhow- thanks JC Penny's thanks. Regardless, after this horrible experience, we got some AMAZING shots from an AWESOME photographer/awesome friend! Oh, wondering what pictures I ended up ordering? The last one- you can't beat the irony of a baby dressed as an angel flipping the bird. She hated the costume, hated the day- as did I and she made it known. Hopefully I got all my stage mommyness out and I'll never put her through that again! I just love this little girl!!!!!
I don't think there is a better way to say merry christmas than to give the gparents a pic of thier granddaughter flipping the bird- ha! Thank goodness for the pictures below!!!

Easy breezy beautiful COVER GIRL!

Due to popular demand, I have posted more pictures of Hailyn. Here is her first photo shoot! We had an awesome friend take some STUNNING pics of her and here are a few (thanks awesome photographer:) We LOVE the pictures!!!!!) I know I'm biased but I just LOVE these pics- they are BEAUTIFUL! (WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD)

To be a size six again...

As many of you know, I am SLAVING away trying to get all skinny and cute (what a better time to start than during the holidays when there are NO temptations- yeah right!) So I read this in my Shape magazine and since I am a person that would rather kill myself for a short time than be moderately uncomfortable for a long time, I'm doing this! It's 20 minutes of working out getting the results of working out for an hour! Us busy people with work, school, kids, whatever can appreciate a forty minutes saved- thought I'd share it!

Pick any cardio you like (running, swimming, the elliptical trainer). Warm up for 2 minutes at a moderate pace, then sprint for 30 seconds at the highest intensity you can muster. Slow down and do 90 seconds at a catch-your-breath recovery pace. Repeat eight times. You'll torch more calories in less time, while you burn fat faster. Follow this cardio session with a few of the following fast firmers for a total-body workout in less than 30 minutes.
• Tighten your tummy: Do two sets of 10 to 12 crunches on a stability ball. Research from the University of Auckland, Tamaki Campus, in New Zealand, revealed that using the ball makes crunches 20 percent more effective compared to hitting the floor.
• Firm up legs: Stand on left foot, hands on hips, and bring right knee to hip level in front. Trace a horizontal figure eight in front of you with knee. Then bend left knee and hop to right, landing on right foot. Repeat figure eight with left knee, then hop back to left to complete one rep. Do 10 reps, then hop back and forth 10 times to complete one set.
• Boost your bottom: Stand with feet hip-width apart, hands on waist. Shift weight to left foot and lift heel of right foot so you're resting on toes. Bend left knee and sink hips back, keeping weight off right foot (toes stay on ground). Rise up. Do 12 reps on left leg, then switch legs and repeat.
• Bare amazing arms: Holding a dumbbell in each hand, stand with feet hip-width apart. Raise arms, palms down, out and slightly forward to shoulder height. Slowly lower them behind you so weights almost touch. Do 12 reps.
• Slim all over: Stand with feet hip-width apart. Keeping legs as straight as possible, bend forward and walk hands out until they're under shoulders. Do two push-ups, then walk hands back and stand. Repeat twice, doing four push-ups, then six.

So I'm doing this- I am now accountable so if you see me shoving cookies in my mouth- you have to stop me! If not, you are an accomplise! Happy holiday eating!

Gobble Gobble!

Gobble 'til you Wobble! Yes that is what Hailyn's shirt says.Even strangers commented. She had a great first thanksgiving hanging out with family in flagstaff, going to movies (she didn't make a sound, even during explosions and shooting, playing games, shopping and eating. It was a fun weekend, and I'm glad she got to finally meet her great grandparents and her great-aunt and uncle and cousins (she's already met great-grammy) and have everyone love on her. It was a blast!

Laundry...

This post comes with a huge *sigh*... seriously, I finally get it all caught up, turn around and BAM! There's another mountain! To be fair, Ryan usually has his work out clothes, his work clothes, then regular clothes all in the same day- multiply that by five... anyhow you see my dilema... putting away laundry is the most annoying household chore for me. Give me dishes, cleaning the bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming but do not ask me to fold clothes and put them in drawers. Don't ask me why- it doesn't make sense. What's your worst household chore to do- the one you avoid at all costs?

Another question...
My daughter has the CUTEST clothes EVER- seriously, it's so fun to pick out her outfit every day- is it morally wrong that my daughter has cuter clothes than me? She's going to need a bigger closet than me! why do they make kids clothes so dang cute?! ESPECIALLY girl clothes! Regardless, between her and my husband, our washing machine is getting a LOT of use- I guess I should get used to it- it'll only grow with each member of the family we keep adding-*sigh*

Me encanta Mexico!

HOLA! Today I was reminicing and came across pictures from me and Ryan's anniversary trip to Cancun. I thought I would post and take a trip down memory lane...


This is a crab we saw on the beach- he kept running then burying himself in the sand- it was hilarious!


This is us at Chichen Itza- it was amazing!!! We wanted to hike to the top of the pyramid but a week before some drunk idiot went to the top and fell off- thanks a lot mister, that was the whole purpose we went to Chichen Itza! We still had fun- a lot of ancient Mayan ruins to see in Cancun! Oh, this is the last picture taken of my Christian Dior sunglass Ryan got for me- I loved those sunglasses, they are forever lost at sea in the Carribean ocean...



This is us at sunrise on the beach- the water is warm all the time and we went for an early morning dip while all the partiers were sleeping off their hangovers. Cancun and Cozumel has some of the best reefs in the world! Ahh, I love it there!



On our way to Chichen Itza we stopped at a rainforest park, it was amazing! We hiked down into this wide open hole filled with water, a tree grew above and the roots of the tree came down into this cavity. At the bottom, the roots touch a pool of warm water, and you could go swimming in between the roots. It was awesome!!


So... we stayed at a beautiful resort, and when I booked it, they said there was a mini fridge in the room- awesome! Well, they lied, so Ryan and I improvised!

Needless to say, it was an amazing anniversary trip! As I wonder what we will do for our fifth anniversary (with the economy and me not working, probably Del Taco and a Net flix) I know that whatever we do, it will be the best anniversary ever- because I married the best guy in the world for me. It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, we always have a great time because we are together. I am super lucky!Love you babe! Thanks for taking a walk with me down memory lane...