My Poor Parents.

Well.

In my last post, I mentioned we were moving into a new complex. What I FAILED to mention was that the new complex wouldn't let us move in until the 3rd of July.

So.

My parents have a 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath house. And yes. We ALL live there.

1. My parents sleep upstairs in the master (obviously). Oh and Scooter sleeps there too, of course.

2. Jordan sleeps in what used to be Sheridan's old room.

3. Sheridan sleeps in what used to be Colin's old room.

4. Colin lives with Miguel.

5. Garrett lives in South Carolina for the moment while completing basic training. (My guess is

he's getting the best sleep besides Scooter)

6. Bentley sleeps with Sheridan. Unless he's being nosy and opens everyone else's doors and

helps himself to THEIR bedroom, which is actually my parents' bedroom, considering they

own the house.

7. When Jordan leaves for college in September, Sheridan will be moving into her old room,

which is currently Jordan's room at the moment, which is actually my parents' room,

remember? (Since they own the house...)

8. Derek and I have been sleeping downstairs. Titan slept there one night. ONE NIGHT ONLY.

He was too loud. So we moved him to the extra room (if you can believe there is one) and

that did not work. He cried at 1. And 1:15. And 3-something. And 4:15. And 4:30. Oof. So

Mom rocked him to sleep. This was after I was up forever trying to get him comfy. Jord was

out of town so Tidy & I slept in his bed for a while. Mom ended up on Jord's couch with Titan

until about 7:00. Titan, please don't ever do that again.

7. As of right now, Titan is in our bedroom. It's a good thing his Pack n Play has wheels because

when we're ready for bed, that kid is getting wheeled out into the family room.


If I'm not dead by tomorrow from the fatigue I've experienced (yes guys, I know. I'm not the only one that's tired) these last couple of days, I just might blog about how tonight went. Otherwise, please pray for us to get through this night. PLEASE!

"Peace & Blessings. Peace & Blessings"

Moving!

Holy Coooooooooooooooooooow. You never realize how much stuff you have until you move! Derek and I have lived in the same apartment since we got married, a year and seven months ago. I even go through the house every now and then and de-junkify. I hate junk! And yet, when you move- there is no way around it. Junk, junk, junk. And little things! Like paper clips, erasers for the tops of pencils...who uses pencils? Why do I even HAVE that? It's almost like you feel like you could be on Hoarders! And how in the world is it possible that such a small person (Titan) has more STUFF than Derek & I combined??? Ok, maybe that was an exaggeration but still...that kid has a lot of stuff. And it's not like you can get rid of anything, either. Sometimes that bulky swing saves your life when there's too much whiny-ness going on. That bouncy chair is what allows me to make lunch at 11:30 every day while he watches Baby Einstein. His Pack n Play is absolutely essential, no explanation needed. His Johnny Jumper keeps me sane while I'm trying to make the bed or put away laundry. If he can see me, he's happy! And I don't have to do anything to keep him that way. So the junk continues. The apartment we are leaving behind is a one bedroom, one bath. We're moving into a two bedroom, one bath. But we're leaving our complex because we found a good deal! We'll be paying the exact same price for a two bedroom as we are now for a one bedroom. Cannot complain. And we are very glad to have family close by so that we had help moving. Thanks Mom & Jord : ) Things go by faster with lots of help. Happy Moving!

P.S. It's way too dang hot. I never thought I'd hear myself say this, considering I love love love Arizona and I was born & raised in the hot southwestern desert but check it out: this is Derek after coming home from work. Since he rides a motorcycle, he wears a backpack. Any guesses on what brand his backpack is? It's sweat-branded into his back! Hot, hot, hot : )



(Answer is : OGIO haha)

Hungry For An Adventure

You know, sometimes you just think..."Life is so monotonous right now. I need an adventure." That's where we are at this point. We're hoping to go on a cruise this upcoming Fall (yessss) but I think maybe a more permanent adventure is what we're looking for. We've decided on the places we'd someday like to live. Sorry, El Paso...you are NOT on that list. : ( Ha!

Derek says:

Florida
California
MAYBE Utah
Arizona
or Central Texas

I say:

Florida will get washed away
California is good
Utah...eh. Maybe. But that's why we're HERE. Because Derek was tired of Utah haha
Arizona. Let me just say I'm not sure what to think of it anymore. 118 degrees is NOT okay.
Texas, yes. But like I said, no El Paso. Maybe somewhere like Austin or San Antonio or Dallas.

So if we up & move one day, you might find us in one of these places!

Tracy!

By the way, this is the funniest video ever.

I couldn't figure out how to add the video to the post so go to YouTube and type in "Push Up Bra Will Help Me Get My Man".

I promise you will laugh.

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day is a super special day for Derek and me! The very first time we met, five years ago, was on Father's Day! And then we reunited in Utah in 2008...also on Father's Day! And now here we are, a little family of three! Looking back on 2005, if someone had told me that in 5 years I'd be married to the only guy I've ever really loved, have a baby and the happiest life in the world- I'd think they were crazy! But I'd be so excited! And here I am, living the life I love.

I'd soooo love it if Derek never had to work ever again and could just play with us all the time! So I told Derek, "Wouldn't it be crazy if Heavenly Father made it so that there was no money? In order to get what we need, we'd just have to be good people. The more we helped others and were kind, the healthier we'd be. And the more we'd be provided for". Isn't that a great idea? It would be entirely up to us to be as He is because otherwise, we'd be sick and poor! I thought it was quite a good idea! : ) Anyways, I ended up telling Derek the words to a country song that runs along those lines. It goes:

If I could make a livin off of lovin you
I'd be a millionaire in a week or two
I'd be doin what I love and lovin what I do
If I could make a livin off of lovin you...

Happy Father's Day, Derek! Maybe someday I'll be able to make a livin off of lovin you! (I'd be really rich really fast). Love you!

Here is Derek and I when I was barely 18 and he was pretty fresh off of his mission at 21


Here we are when I was a junior at BYU and he was completing his senior year at BYU in 2008


And here we are, five years after the love began! One little happy family of three!

Warning: Sex Causes Children

When I was working at Motherhood Maternity, there was a book that had a comic in it with this saying. SURGEON'S GENERAL WARNING: SEX CAUSES CHILDREN. I would have tried to find it on the internet so I could post it, but I might have ended up finding a picture with more detail than I bargained for you know what I'm sayin? Derek and I find baby things so amusing at times. And he cracks me up to death with his hilarious comments, talking about babies in relation to adulthood. For example:

*What if we all cruised around in onesies as adults? Could you just see us with our button-up-at-the-crotch outfits?

*Why on earth do babies cry when they're tired? I don't cry when I'm tired, I go to sleep!

*Wouldn't it be nice if we just sat there while someone bathed us and brushed our hair and fed us every few hours and played with us, making random weird noises in our faces all day long?

*What if every adult you saw walking around, had a huge binky in their mouth?

*You know, I'd probably cry too if I was sitting in a load of poop.

*How nice, babies just sit there in their carseats while we pick them up and tote them around.

*Babies can totally let 'er rip in church and people think it's funny rather than disgusting.

Weird thoughts, weird thoughts. And these are just a few, but life with a baby is pretty comical at times. Don't get me wrong, though, it's by far the most difficult, emotionally-exausting, selfless, thing I've ever done in my life. You mom's know exactly what I'm saying. Do you ever wonder how nice it might be to have some fairy in your house to play with your baby for 2 hours at a time and to put them down for a nap afterwards? It's called a nanny. And as much as it seems nice in my head, I really wouldn't trade all of that not-that-fun stuff for anything. My baby is starting to crawl now! Well, he more like hops like a bunny. He'll rock back and forth on his hands and knees and then jumps his legs to his elbows and moves forward that way. It's so awesome, I love it! Those are the things I wouldn't ever want to miss.


Yesterday I went to this blog that some of my friends mentioned on their Facebook and I was appalled by this girl! I thought, "Who IS this person!? She is RETARDED!!!" And she had ads all over the sides of her blog so I knew it was a popular one. Her grammar was off-the-charts terrible, she was extremely egotistical and just a space cadet all around. But I could NOT stop reading it! It was too ridiculous! Then, after reading some of the comments she received on her posts, I thought- "something is weird about this blog". So I went to her very first post. Well, I realized that it's a blog of made up people. It's a made up girl in a made up marriage with made up twins living in Utah. It's a satirical blog, making fun of all of the self-righteous people in the "Happy Valley". Personally, I loved Utah! But I guess when people aren't from there and have been there too long they get a little...annoyed?...at the Utah-ans. So check it out: it's seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com. And it's funny once you realize it's just for fun. Otherwise, you'd want to go deck that girl in the face and give her a grammar lesson!


I stumbled upon another blog one night (it's addicting, okay?) and this girl mentioned something about how she hopes her blog doesn't make people feel bad about themselves and how she dislikes those types of blogs where the blogger makes other people feel crummy? I thought that was strange. Do people really take things that personally? I mean, I'm pretty sure people aren't out there blogging away about their lives so that their readers can feel like poop. So if my blog offends you...then...hmm...maybe stop reading. Or maybe you were an illegal alien that read my "America, America" post a while back. But I'm not going to apologize for that one. Ha. This is real life. And these are our real feelings! No use in buttering them up- although I don't think you should go offending people on purpose. I think people just blog because they want to stay in touch! Or they want to read about what other people like them (for example: I like to see what other stay-at-home moms do all day) do for fun. Today for fun, I put my nasty cut-off hair piece (no, I still haven't sent it in to Locks of Love. Gross, I know.) on Titan to see how beautiful he would look! (Blackmail pictures for later in life, or when he has a girlfriend I don't particularly enjoy?) This hair piece is now called "Wiggy". I hope you like these as much as I do. The other pictures are of him posing for the camera. Seriously, he posed! I said, "Titan...smiiiiiile!" For an almost 6 month old to know that he needs to flash his pearly gums at me when my face is behind the camera is a sign that his mom takes too many pictures. I love pictures, ok? So sue me.

Close Call!

Derek and both had an interesting day the other day. It was Friday. On Thursday, however, I remember having this strange feeling about Derek being involved in an accident that day (don't worry, I have a sixth sense- this is normal for us). Well nothing happened Thursday. But FRIDAY, Derek calls me to say he had an interesting afternoon. He was driving to the Eastside of El Paso and his mind was elsewhere. When he was about 3/4 of the way through an intersection, he realized he had just blown through the RED LIGHT. How scary?! Well, at almost the same time that was happening, Titan and I were heading down the stairs of our apartment building to go to the car. I was on the second stair from the top when my tennis shoe got stuck in my opposite leg's jeans at the bottom. I totally tripped and SOMEHOW caught myself on the next stair. I stood there like..???... So yeah- Titan and I would have tumbled our way to the bottom and Derek could have gotten T-boned! Those were some close calls! It scares me to think of what would have happened if we hadn't been saved! My life would have been in shambles if something happened to Derek. So I knelt in prayer and made sure Heavenly Father knew I was EXTREMELY grateful for the way that day turned out. Whew!


That night we went out to eat Cici's Pizza, see Iron Man 2 and get my fave...a grape cream slush from Sonic. (For some reason their straws tasted like dust that night). But anyway- Iron Man 2 was so awesome. I love comic book movies. And I really like Gwyneth Paltrow. But why is she not in more movies? And why is her daughter's name Apple? To each his own. My name probably comes up in conversation and people are like, "Ugh- why is her son's name Titan???". Well, it just is. Did you know Julia Robert's son's name is Phinaeus? That is also Derek's nick name my dad gave him. Because mine is Ferb. So, if you've ever seen the cartoon Phineus and Ferb, you'd know why we're named that. I'm not sure how my post got to this point. I guess I'm just rambling now. Very tired. Titan has been teething, I guess. (Although I've yet to see the tooth result of this whiney-ness). So he has been waking up multiple times in the night and I'm just not a big fan. I like to sleep. And not in 10 minute increments. Or even one hour increments! So I guess I better start to sleep now since I'm not sure when this personal alarm clock is next set to go off. Nighty night!

Tattoos and Haircuts

Derek decided it would be lovely to give me this tattoo the other night while I was relaxing on the bed, trying to blog. I actually like it! But showers eventually occur and off it came. If anyone needs a good temporary tattoo, though- I know just who you could ask!


Also, I decided to get a haircut. Yes, a haircut. I probably average 1 haircut every 3 years. I go in, thinking probably a few inches off would be good. To my collar bone, please- I tell the lady. Weeeeellll, apparently that was a lot more than a few inches and she convinces me it would be a waste of hair if I didn't cut the entire 10 inches to donate to Locks of Love. It was her lucky day because I happened to feel especially generous that day (and I was sweating from the intense heat outside and less hair sounded like an excellent option at the moment). Alright, do it- I told her. And she cut 11 inches off. Welp?


So, here I am. Apparently I look very young still (I hear when I'm older this will be a very good thing. At the present time, I just look like a teenage mom. At least I blend in here in El Paso) and when I mentioned to the lady that I had just dropped off my baby, she asked how old I was. We began talking and I told her how I had given my hair to Locks of Love once before when I was about 14 and a Sophomore in high school. But what reeeally got me was when I said, "yeah, it was almost 10 years ago..." So I do the math in my head and considering I'm now 23 and if you subtract 14 from that you INDEED get 9 years, that is wild. Speaking of young- when I was 17 and wandering around Costco with my dad, I meandered over to a sample station (why else would a 17 year old go putting around Coscto?) and as I reached for a sample the lady asks, "how old are you?". I then say, "oh fine, thanks! How are YOU?" and continue to reach for the sample. She stops me and says "How OLD are you?". Oh. "I'm seventeen", I say. "Where are your parents?" Uhhhhh. "Dad? Dad!" and I motion him over. He looks at me like "What?". So yes. My dad had to vouch for me to the sample lady at Costco. BTW, hanging from her sample station was a sign that read "Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult due to risk of food allergies". Hmmmm. 12? Bah. Oh yes and after my haircut, Jordan says "She looks like she's 12!". Thanks, Jord.

Now, I've decided there are some definite perks to this new do and it's chopped off counterpart. For example:

You can place the chopped off counterpart on your husband's head, making him look like he has hair. More hair, I mean. It looks like a real wig!


You can wear this hair in so many different 10 year old styles! Style # 1: The Upper (as we called it growing up) In fact, this was the style I sported today, thank you.


Style # 2: Piggy Tails . For the YOUNGEST of the looks.


And lastly, I introduce Style # 3: The Gross Headless Ponytail (For the jokesters)

After I'd gotten my haircut, I had the ponytail in a plastic bag so I could send it in to Locks of Love. I hung it on our key rack that's right by the front door. I pulled my hair back into this itty bitty ponytail so Derek couldn't tell I'd cut my hair. When he came home, he asked, "Did you cut your hair?" (Because my bangs looked shorter) I said, "No. But look inside this bag!" And his face was priceless! When I showed him my hair, he loved it! (Thank goodness.) So, anyway- for the next little while I'll have this nasty looking headless ponytail that I can play jokes on people with. HmmmHmmmHmmm.

Bugged.

It is 10:41 and I'm usually still wide awake at this hour, not trying to go to bed, even though I should. Derek and I don't usually go to bed until 12. (Terrible, I know.) Tonight we went to the Eastside and our last stop was the pet store. Titan loved it! Buuuuuuttttt....he cried the whole way home. I'm talking a good 25 minute drive home. Eeeeee-yeah, that was no good at all. Put me in a funk. I was totally wiped out by the end of the evening and pretty gung-ho about all of us going to bed early! I attempted sleeping about 45 minutes ago and here I am! Hungry, tired- yet can't sleep, and have one of those sick white things in the back of my throat that I can't dig out because it's too far back! (Very disgusting, I am aware of this). Does anyone else get those??? I've attempted to sleep AGAIN about 10 minutes ago and my eyes are wide open! I cannot sleep! So I'm blogging. And everyone in my house is asleep but me. Isn't that life. : )

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Summer

On Memorial Day, the family decided to have a little shin-dig. We had a couple of families from the ward, plus a good family friend over for some BBQ, games and swimming. Titan took a little ride on Bentley- Sheridan and Garrett's Boxer puppy. (Not so little like a puppy, however!)


Bentley, like Scooter, doesn't have much desire to swim in the pool as opposed to the rest of us. When Derek and Garrett coaxed him in, he got a little scared and held on to Derek for dear life! Poor Bentley.


Titan is at an age where EVERYTHING is so interesting to him- so from sun up to sun down, the kid took a couple of cat naps lasting a whopping half hour at MOST. So here he is, enjoying everyone after attempting to put him in the pool water. He didn't like that so much. He probably wondered why it wasn't like his other baths...that water was too cold! He was much happier here, basking in the warm sunshine.


After swimming a few times at my parents' pool, we've been tanned and we've been burned. Derek is shedding his skin like a snake, but his eyebrows and eyelash tips have been almost bleached blonde! I couldn't find a picture of him when he was really tan but I had found one of me from the summer of 2007 when I sold pest control in San Antonio. I was outside from about 12 noon until 9 PM. All day, everyday (except Sundays). By the end of the summer, I looked like a pinto bean. And this picture wasn't even at the end of the summer! It was just before the 4th of July!


Moving on from the topic of summertime, I am in Achievement Days in the ward. Last Wednesday, we took a trip to the fire station, where a member of the ward works. I had been to one before, and even ridden in the truck back when I was in high school and seriously contemplating a future as a firefighter. (I know, I know.) The firefighters at a nearby station in Albuquerque would come in to Dion's Pizza, where I used to work, and always talk with me. They'd tell me how to get my foot in the door, the type of work (and work-out!) that goes in to becoming a firefighter and so forth. I was on Homecoming Court at La Cueva as a Senior and as I walked up the aisle, they read over the mike different things about me, one of which was my dream of becoming a firefighter! (Just to prove how much I really did want to be one!) So anyways, back to Achievement Days. There was a firefighter there named J.J. One of the other fireman started looking around this large group of 8-11 year olds and their leaders, trying to find someone the size of J.J. to demonstrate how to put on all of the fire gear. Well, of course- he picks me. I said, "Sorry J.J.- I hope you're not offended, because I'm only 105 pounds". The fireman said they are required to put on all of their gear in less than 1 minute. How crazy! And all of the attire weighed about 50 pounds, he said. So here I was, strapping on the amount of weight I gained in my pregnancy! Ha! (But I made sure not to mention that aloud) Here is stage one...I put on the pants, jacket and oxygen tank.


Here, I put on the mask- which was wild because once it suctions to your face after you've pulled the straps tightly, your mask does this weird POP that's really strong and all of the sudden you're breathing out of a tube connected to your mask. Your voice is also put on an amplifier so everyone in pretty close range can hear you.


And here is the finished product! Saggy J.J. pants and all. (They'd have had to custom make my pants, for sure.)


Last but most definitely not least...I took these pictures the other day before we took a dip in the pool. Derek and Titan are the 2 sweetest boys in the world. (And so photogenic, too, don't you think?) I'm so grateful for my little family! Although the weekends go by waaaay too fast and the weeks never go by quite fast enough, we really love spending time together as a family. When dad's home, Titan never wants to sleep! He wants to make sure he knows what dad is up to! We both treasure our time when he is here, because we are his biggest fans. I love you guys! : )