Wordless Wednesday

check . . . check . . . check!

todaynight's check list

work with lunch break - barely but check
dollar store w/o giving in to the kids - check
sun oven dinner - gross but check
sidewalk chalk and needed kid bath - check
small run at Lindsay's - check
teens said I look good for being so old - check grrrrr
pick up Rx - 3 days late but check
dishes - check
shower - check
proof and print orders - check
photo jewelry re-order - check
YW e-newsletter - check
PCDHA e-minutes/assignments - check
Family Blog update - pitiful.
maybe tomorrow,
or the next day, or night, or Friday . . . or not.
 
THANK YOU KAT for doing my 2007 blog book for me for my birthday!  It's a priority, but b/c it's only MY priority, it is waiting in my dreams.  I'm so happy that you're doing it for me!!!!!!!!

"My Next Thirty Years"

(Click here to listen while you read if it didn't start up automatically)

I think I’ll take a moment, celebrate my age


The ending of an era and the turning of a page

Now it’s time to focus in on where I go from here

Lord have mercy on my next thirty years



Hey my next thirty years I’m gonna have some fun

Try to forget remember about all the crazy things I’ve done

Maybe now I’ve conquered all my adolescent fears

And I’ll do it better in my next thirty years



My next thirty years I’m gonna settle all the scores

Cry a little less, laugh a little more

Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear

Figure out just what I’m doing here

In my next thirty years



Oh my next thirty years, I’m gonna watch my weight

Eat a few more salads and not do stay up so too late

Drink a little lemonade and not so just as many beers [none!]

Maybe I’ll remember my next thirty years [with blog books]



My next thirty years will be the best years of my life

Raise a little family and hang out with my be a better wife

Spend precious moments with the ones that I hold dear

Make up for lost time here, In my next thirty years



In my next thirty years

In MY next thirty years, I think I'll keep healthy, happy, helpful, hard working, honorable, and humble. 

My Birthday Party

Sometimes there's not enough time for everything, but I like to cram it all in and we had to make time for my 30th birthday. I decided.  10 of us girls went downtown to Ceviche to have some $4 tapas.  So many of my good friends were there!  We sat, ate deliciousness, talked about kids and the grown-up jobs we have, and how we dream of going to hair school (Jolyn will do it, right?!)

I was the luckiest girl in town.  Some of our friends have gone on vacations with a group of friends to celebrate their 30th birthdays, but that was back when I was young and had less responsibilities (namely Dylan, Isaac, and this mortgage).  I was content with having dinner with girlfriends.   

Then, guess what.  A band was setting up, and they started playing "Happy Birthday."  Some of the girls looked at me, but I said "they don't know it's my birthday" and went to sip on my water.  I was caught off guard as a huge tres leches piece of cake with a lit candle was placed in front of me. 

I still don't know who set that up, but it sure felt like the band was there just for me, even though I was planning on us eating upstairs.  It was perfect!  Then the band next played and sang "Young at Heart."  After the song, they asked "Do you feel young at heart, Tiffany?"  I had mixed feelings about that one.  Does that mean that I really look old and I'm officially in the "I'm 29 again" club?  Like I have to hide my age and pretend I'm young b/c I look and act and dress old?  Granted, my hair cut still had the rat tail, shaggy uneven "layers" and mismatched chunky highlights, but still. 

I'm fine being 30.  No regrets.  I've usually been the youngest of our group of friends and the haven't really changed, or have they?  Maybe I've been acting like an old lady for years already.  Whatever.  I was looking around at my friends to see who wanted to go up and dance or at least put our arms around the band members for a picture.  Maybe if it was just me and one or two of the girls there I would have done it, but it seemed like collectively we were to mature for that.  But I really was feeling young at heart the whole time the band was playing their songs. 

 
It was so windy after!  Jolyn, Jana, and I kind of felt like going dancing.  Another night!

Thank you Jolyn, Jana, Bevin, Sarah, Corrie, Barbie, Malarie, Sarah, and Marcie.  I feel so loved:)

My baby can fly!

Isaac can dive!

This post is an accumulation of the last 3 or so days. 

Darren took the following photos. 

(I have a couple of more videos of his swiming, but they'll have to wait b/c I waited a coule of hours and they didn't load.) 

Ramblings of a Thirty-year-old

Today I turn thirty years old.  That's kinda old.

So what do I have to show for my twenties? 
It's time to ramble reflect. 
I met Steven when I was twenty.  We were lifeguards together.  I had NO clue that I would spend all of my twenties with him when he first saw me in my interview outfit.  He wore weird grass-like sandals, his lifeguard swimsuit, and his tan. He looked familiar, and I thought it was from a church activity or something.  WAY wrong:)  I had played on his ex-girlfriend's high school soccer team.  It was his senior year, and my sophomore year.  Both of our only years at Pinellas Park High School.  Two years later we got married in the tropical Orlando temple and are living happily ever after:) 

Anyway, we have made lots of plans together.  I love that.  I love having somebody else to be accountable to.  And I love doing things with him.  So my accomplishments are all because I have had a supportive and brave husband. 

I would have never bought a house, especially the messed up fixer-upper triplex we bought with Andre.  My mom even forbid me to live in the part that we fixed up so beautifully while we both worked and were in our school full-time.  We had little Dylan and little Isaac in that house, and Chrissy and Lacey, and all of my friends from my baby shower actually,  helped me put the nursery together so beautifully.  That was the hardest room to let go of when we sold and even made money off of that big front porched now beautiful house.  Then we were able to buy my mom's house where we are today, ten years later.  Steven helped me realize that I really could be a home owner. I couldn't have done it on my own.  

There's a lot that we have accomplished together.  So in my twenties, I got married, became a home owner, had 2 baby boys, got the career that I love (and have been there exactly five years now), started my own business, and am so blessed that we are all healthy and happy.  There's also a lot of filler in that decade.  I've had lots of fun, met lots of friends, traveled a bit and have been a little adventurous, but it seems the more significant fillers are that I have been able to be a leader with different organizations, been part of teams and groups, continued to learn, and have some of the best friends and extended family ever. 

Here are some things that I am realizing about myself:
I love to meet and interact with new people one-on-one.  I like to see how we can be symbiotic friends (can happily help each other which will help ourselves, I learned that from Go Diego Go.) 
I love to squish my babies and an kiss them over and over and over and over again. 
I don't like responsibility if I'm only accountable to myself.  Steven takes care of all of the home affairs like bills, groceries, meals, laundry, most of the cleaning etc so I can pursue anything and everything else that I can do. 
I'm forgetful still.  I usually go back in the house at least once to grab my phone, ear rings, or shoes.  And probably all of my friends can tell me when I have left something over at their homes.
I like when Steven initiates things like "time for prayers, who's going to say it?"  I don't like to have to take charge if he's here. 
I have a lot of weaknesses, like sweets.  If it's in sight, I want it, I need it!  I'll brush my teeth later. 
I don't like to read or watch movies b/c it seems like a waste - even if it's not. 
But I like to lounge on the couch and possibly fall asleep in the evenings while watching TV.  And I turn the TV on when I'm up late, mostly for the noise. 
I love accepting responsibility IF nobody else can do it, or if I'm capable. 
I like visiting teaching with my Grandma Rebeck.  She's so dang smart and amazing!
I have more of an opinion the older I get, and more things irritate me.  I wish they didn't. 
I love naps and always have and always will.
I am productive after the 10:00pm news once Jay Leno comes on. 
I will always want/need to be more organized.
I love having so many good options from which to choose. 
I'm good at last minute things, so I feel like I'm doing somebody a favor and he/she/they don't think that I had a lot of time to prepare, so I don't have to worry about being perfect. 
I want everybody to be happy.
I like things to be efficient.
I love good friends.
I hate money.  I wish I could go out and buy all of my friends/family/(self) what they want. 
I make lists.
I love when friends have their own businesses and when friends love their jobs. 
I like to network.
I'm liking staying home more, I used to hate being home and always wanted to go see and do things.  Dylan is like that now.  So I'm happy when Steven takes the boys to a movie or baseball game on the weekends so I can get things done w/o feeling guilty for neglecting my boys.
Part of me wants to go dance and charge plane tickets to see friends or Vegas and drive to South Beach still, but the other part of me is so happy to stay home to plan and get organized for future decades.  That part of me definitely feels thirty. 
So I haven't been skydiving.  I don't want to go. (Plus, zip lining in Costa Rica was amazing enough for me.)
I like my life so far.
I love my family.
I love my jobs.
I love my calling at church.
I love my friends.
I am a happy thirty year old lady.

It's Pajama Time! JAMA jama JAMA jama P. J.

After Steven left for work, and we ate our french toast, we had a pajama dance party this morning!  (don't really click to look inside the book, I just stole the pic from Amazon.com)

And if you're wondering where the pictures of my silly hair cut are, I took some last night.  Not the long piecy layers.  From the back it looks like she took a knife and sawed my hair to cut it, but didn't go all the way through.  The length is deceptive. 

Look what happens when I put it in a pony tial.  I have a couple of strings hanging down.  I basically have a rat tail.  I wear a pony tail a lot, at work, and at soccer always. 

Of course I'll be cutting those off. So I will have lost like 6 inches or more. I should have donated the minimum 6 inches to Locks of Love. It's pretty funny. I know it's insulting to good hair dressers to say that I could do a better job, but really. I will next time. You get what you pay for sometimes, and I didn't pay much. I don't think I'll be going back to the Aveda school.  It's funny to me, and thought I'd share:)

I'll eat my chocolates, and have them too

Thank you Steven! For taking note of me acting like Dylan saying "I want THAT for my birthday" when I saw these in a magazine.  These hand painted beauties are delicious! 

Steven told me once that the "you can't have your cake and eat it too" is meant to be the other way around, and makes more sense like "you can't eat your cake and have it too." 

Maybe that was before cameras.

I have eaten some already, and will have these pictures to remember how fun their hand painted designs were.

I was so happy that he had me open this present last night before the kids could see:) 

A bite of heaven.

Then Steven got me running clothes, french toast, OJ, eggs, and took a half day of work to bring me Moe's and go swiming with us.  Happy Birthday to me!

bad hair, bad hair, whatcha gunna do?

i'm sure that i could find some tutorials on how to do hair and could do a MUCH better job than what i have going on right now. i'm pretending i love it though. 

but really.  if i had time, i think i'd go to hair school just to do my own. 

i think i'll go to Sally Beauty Supply and will ask the ladies there what to buy.  and i'll do my own hair cuts too.  SUCH a waste of time and money. 

whatever.  i'm pretending i love it, remember.  it's summer.  i painted my baby boy's nails, why not have streaks in my own hair:) 

Where's Isaac?

Peek-A-Boo!

He tries to hide from my camera, although he's the one who taunted "take a picture of me mom!"  as he burrowed in my bed.

Young Women Values

I'm the new Young Women president again, but for Seminole Ward this time.  That's the church youth group leader for girls 12-18. 

The first week, I was thrown into camp. 

I went to the talk by Lori Emery, the faith walk, and testimony meeting.  I wore a skirt and casual sandals (yes with a heel).  I came home at like 11 or 12 smelling like camp.  I love that I got to be there for that though. 

Next is Youth Conference.  There's a lot to organize and plan.  The real thing I am excited about though, is getting to know these girls.  I'm getting lots of good ideas and am so happy to be able to just go out and do them!  For our first activity, we made blankets.  Another idea I had the fist day was this photo.  I found out that there's another value added to the regular seven.  So, I wanted an updated something for our facebook page-to-be. 

I had the girls bring nail polish and borrowed my babysitter's. 

Here's my final product that I kept changing.  It makes me happy:

I wish so badly that all of our girls had been there.  SO badly, but it's still a fun group of girls that came to paint toes, then to set up for the church party. 

I didn't give our babysitter her nail polish back.

Isaac found it and asked if I would paint his thumb (like I do for Dylan's thumb w/ yucky polish so he doesn't suck it at nights).

I said yes to one toe nail.

He asked again.

I said yes.

He asked again, then again. 

I don't know if I should say that "real men wear nail polish" or that I'm ready for a baby girl.  He's so cute:)  I do want a baby girl, but just not any time soon.  It's fun to think about. 
Oh, and yes we did return the nail polish:)

My camera, at the beach, dun dun duuuuun.

I'm paranoid.  I have a photography business.  If anything happened to my camera, like getting sand in it, it would take me a really long time to earn enough money to buy another one.  I'm saving (in theory) for a full frame camera, a new lense, underwater back drops, a set of tutus, knitted newborn props, and clear bags.  This list is never ending actually. 

Anyway, I've turned down beach photos before but I've recently had 4 people ask me to do beach photos for them.  Duh, the beach is BEAUTIFUL, has full sun, and hello, we live in Florida!  Even I have had our family beach photo session when I was pregnant with Isaac (By Lacey of course, Steven flew her here for my birthday and agreed to a non-Christmas-card-family-photo-session!) 

 

I am now thinking that every family NEEDS a beach family photo.  Families may not want a lot of color pop.  They may just want the white shirt and khakis.  Who am I to say what people want? 

So, I pretended I didn't remember what the beach looks like, and went with my boys.  I don't have many evening hours, so we went at high noon.  (Usually a huge no-no for beach lighting.)  I wasn't expecting quality, but was just going to scope out the scene. 

Dylan asked who was going with us and was baffled that we were going just the 3 of us.  I was a little baffled myself, and almost called a couple of people even after I was on my way.  I like to multi-task and hanging out with friends is a priority of mine. 

But I resisted and spent the time to bond with my boys and get over my sand-in-the-camera-phobia. 

I sat right on the sand and watched Dylan run back and forth to me, then to jumping into and over the waves and back.  (after our picnic, see post below)

Isaac and his jelly face was holding out for me to put my camera down so I could go in the water with him.

Before going in with them, we went for a little walk. 

Dylan's jump reminds me of the way one of my brothers would jump.

I love these boys.  I told them how much I love the time when it's just the 3 of us.  Especially when we finally did get in the water and I held both of them as we watched as the waves came at us and splashed us in our ears. 

I told them we could go play in the water now. 

Then I asked them to stand for a photo. 

Isaac didn't have to verbalize his "no thank you."

Success, enough for me, let's play!

(That means no more pictures.)

Maybe one.

K, gotta run, see ya!