No Stinky Boys or Pie Allowed

Another week has passed and yet again its time to confess some of the things that REALLY happened at the Honey House. Of course, in order to maintain my image and self esteem, I am going to have to deny that any of these events actually occurred.

*We did not put up our Christmas tree the Saturday before Thanksgiving. We are not that excited for Christmas, no way!

*I did not get so busy with Thanksgiving preparations that I neglected to bathe my boys for nearly a week... that would be gross!

*I absolutely do not pin down my 8 month old with my leg so I can change his diaper and clothes (even though he must be the wiggliest child ever).

*We did not leave our pillows at my parents house in Wyoming after visiting for Thanksgiving. We are WAY smarter than that!

*When my potty-trained two-year-old had a rare accident in the middle of the night, I did not cover the damp spot on his bed with a towel and blanket and then return him to bed because it was quicker than changing the bed. I'm not that lazy, right?

*I did not accidentally hit the wrong button and publish a post that only had a title.

*I did not eat slices of 4 different kinds of pie within a 24 hour period. Of course I would not justify it by insisting that everyone else had more than that!

There. Don't you feel better? I know I do!

I am participating in Not Me! Monday.

Happy Holidays- Have an Award!

If you frequent my blog, you may notice that over the weekend I changed things up a bit for the winter holiday season. What do you think? Does this redesign make my blog look phat? ;o)

In the last month or so I have also received some lovely pre-Christmas presents from some of my readers. Check out all of my new blog bling!




































Oohh! Aren't they pretty?
I tried to keep track of who awarded me, and here is the list I have. If I left you out I am sorry!

Yaya
Kelli @Gohn Crazy

Trying to Stay Calm
Queenie Jeannie @ Jeannie's Happy World

Patrice @Not a Girl, Not yet a Woman

Shana @Utterances

Since I am such a rebel, I am not going to comply with all the rules and instructions these awards have concerning how to pass them on and what you need to write about. I actually don't have the time! Instead I am offering these beautiful presents to any and all of my followers. Feel free to take a couple... whichever ones you like. Consider it a little Christmas present from me to you, no strings attached!

Happy Holidays!

It's Turkey Time!

Last year at Thanksgiving Jonah was only one year old, and Eli was a bun in the oven. Like all parents, we were trying to teach Jonah the sounds that various animals make, so a turkey was the focus of the day.

We would ask him, "Jonah, what does a turkey say?"
He would reply "aukey, aukey, aukey!"
We'd say, "No! It's Gobble gobble gobble!"

No matter how many times we asked the sound a turkey makes and told him "Gobble, gobble, gobble", Jonah would always tell us "aukey, aukey, aukey!"

It wasn't until months later that Honey Daddy had an epiphany and we figured out what he was actually trying to say "Turkey, turkey, turkey!" Silly parents! What a bunch of turkeys!

This year Jonah really IS a turky! (and he can say gobble, gobble, gobble!)

Apparently he's not the only turkey in our family. It was a fun and festive holiday at my in-laws house as well! (Thanks to my sis-in-law for sending the following photos).

What a bunch of turkeys, huh?

Hope you had a Happy Turkey Day!




(and got to gobble, gobble, gobble up some delicious turkey and all the fixin's!)

Since I am in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming, you don't have to worry about me providing competition for you in your Black-Friday craziness! Have fun!


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Thanks Biggest Loser!

How was your Thanksgiving? I have been having fun with family in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. As far as eating, I was REALLY good yesterday. Usually I load my plate up to overflowing, eat it all, and then have seconds. This year I only put things on my plate that I really wanted to eat. Most of my food wasn't even touching! I ate a lot of veggies and water pre-meal, so I was satisfied after. I didn't even eat too much pie!

So this week I am hoping to maintain my pre-Thanksgiving loss. I weighed myself before we left home and I had lost a pound! Wahoo! Since we are away from home, I am going to wait to weigh myself until I get home tomorrow.

Weight: no change
Goal: lose 1 pound next week

It seems that Thanksgiving put the pound I lost back on. Oh well!
----------------------------------

LOVED the Biggest Loser this week! Maybe it's because I didn't have very high expectations. I didn't think that Michelle and Renee could both avoid being below the yellow line, but they did it! Michelle losing ten pounds was awesome! I am SO glad that it won't be all blue in the final four. Now if only they could get rid of Vicki!

I couldn't believe how manipulative she was this week. I don't know how the other blue players couldn't see what she was up too! It almost made me physically sick when she won the challenge because I couldn't think of anyone less deserving. If she told us how much she loved football one more time I thought I was going to throw up.

I was not surprised at all that Amy got voted out this week! I KNEW that she made a bad decision last week. She basically picked up the viper(Vicki) and carried it across the river. Then the viper turned around and bit her. I don't know how she didn't see it coming!

Giving Thanks: a Photographic Tour

I love this time of year! It makes me happy to think about all the wonderful blessings that I have been given.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband. Next month is our six year anniversary! He still tells me that he loves me and that I am beautiful. He works so hard for our family and we love him so much.

What a handsome guy!

This year I am grateful that we were able to bring another beautiful boy into the world. I love my two sweet sons! They bring so much joy and happiness to my life. They fill my heart to overflowing!


















I am thankful that after six years Honey Daddy and I can still learn new things about each other and discover activities we love to do together.

I am thankful for our faith which brings so much joy and hope to our family, even in times of struggle and stress.

Photography has helped me realize how thankful I am for the beautiful world that has been provided for us. I am so thankful for nature and the opportunity to discovering new talents and hobbies.


Our little family will be forever thankful for our extended family. Our parents and siblings give so much love and support to us! We can't imagine where we'd be without them.

Here is my honey's family, Christmas 2007.
(In case you can't tell, I'm the pregnant one.)

Here is my family, Thanksgiving 2006.
We have added 3 more babies since this photo was taken!

Finally, I am happy that I have found so many friends and a sense of community through my blog. Your friendship and encouragement have helped me more than you will ever know!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

I am participating in Wordful Wednesday.

p.s. Happy Birthday to my sister Jeanette!
p.p.s Happy Birthday to my Mom tomorrow!

Dear Tooth Fairy,

Just so you know, I am not writing you this letter because we have teeth for you to collect at our house. On the contrary, I am writing because of teeth that we would like to receive.

Everyone knows that your duties include collecting lost teeth in return for payment. I am assuming that you must also be in charge of making them grow, since you want them badly enough to pay for them once they come out.

As you know, Eli is working on growing his top two teeth right now. He is absolutely miserable! His poor little gums are red and sore and he chews on anything and everything to help them feel better.

Mmm... Mommy's phone is yummy.

He is much more cranky than normal and can you blame him? Instead of sleeping through the night like he has been for months, Eli has been waking up a couple of times each night because his teeth are bugging him. Needless to say, this has not necessarily made me the most rested or cheerful mother these days!

And we haven't even mentioned the diapers yet. I don't want to get into too much detail, but wet and explosive are terms that come to mind. We haven't seen diapers like this since he was a newborn! Plus there is also all the drooling that goes along with teething. So I guess you could say my laundry duties have also increased lately.

I want you to know that we appreciate the great job you did on the bottom two teeth; they are coming along nicely. But we were wondering if there is any way you could speed up the process of growing the top two. It would save us all from prolonged pain and misery (and tons of Tylenol). I would even be willing to foot the bill for you to get these teeth back when they fall out in the future... and I promise to teach my kids to brush so you get back nice, white teeth. If these terms aren't agreeable, then I'm sure we can work something else out!

Can you say No to this face?

If it turns out that I am wrong and you are not the one in charge of growing teeth, perhaps you could pass this letter on to Santa and tell him that All We Want For Christmas is Eli's Two Front Teeth. But we would like this to be a pre-Christmas present, please!

Sincerely,
Honey Mommy

Photographic Inspiration

You may have noticed that I post a lot of photographs on this blog. I love taking pictures because often photos can convey much more than words ever can. One of my dreams is to become an amateur photographer. I would like to be able to take my boys' photographs myself, instead of taking them to a studio. I would love to fill my walls with gorgeous photos that I have taken. I would love to have small business taking photos for my friends and neighbors.

To that end I have been working on earning money to buy my dream camera and take a class on digital photography. I have also been checking out other blogs for photographic inspiration. One of the blogs I frequently check is that of Wayfaring Wanderer. She takes the most gorgeous photos! The next couple of days Wayfaring Wanderer is having a Share the Love Giveaway in which she is giving away one year of Popular Photography magazine. How I would love to win this one.

Following the rules for her giveaway, I get to tell you about a photographer that inspires me. My good friend Cari C. (a.k.a. the Face Behind the Lense) and I were roommates in college. She actually studied photography and has been taking pictures long before I ever knew I would enjoy it too. She has taken family photos for us many times, and even photographed my wedding. You should check out her photography website. She takes wonderful photos! Oh, and please feel free to drop by her blog and tell her I sent you. She's got some nice photos of Salt Lake City and thereabouts right now.

Jonah's Toy Story

This morning Eli decided to wake up at 4 a.m... ugh!

I certainly did not want to get up that early, so I gave him his Binky and told him to go back to sleep. At about 5:15 a.m. I got my second wake-up call. Apparently Eli was soaked and wasn't going to put up with it anymore. So by the time I finished changing his diaper and clothes I knew I would have to feed the poor boy.

After he was fed and back in bed, I decided to just go downstairs and get my workout in for the day. I pedaled 20 miles on my bike trainer and by the time I was finished Jonah had joined me and was watching Curious George.

When that was finished we went back upstairs. I could tell that Eli was awake for the day, but he sounded pretty happy in his bed. So I told Jonah I was going to take a quick shower. He is a well-behaved boy and I don't have any problems leaving him unsupervised for a few minutes.

When I got out of the shower Jonah came running into my room and said, "Mommy, I gave Eli a toy to play with!"

"How nice!" I said, "Thanks buddy!"

When I was dressed I walked into Eli's room to get him out of his crib. This is the sight that greeted me:

WOW! Look at all these toys, Mommy!

Apparently Jonah didn't just give Eli a toy... Jonah gave him every toy in the room. What a super-nice brother, huh?! I was laughing SO hard!

I am participating in

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

The Biggest Loser Lost Me!

Thanks for all the encouragement last week! Your kind words kept me going and working hard. It also helped to remind myself how far I've come over the years. Most people don't know that when I was in high school I was NOT thin at all. I used to wear a size 24 pants and now I am almost in a 14. So I CAN make it down to a size 10... it will just take time.

This week I have managed to put in 39 miles on my bike trainer and I still plan to ride today. I did 20 miles EARLY Thursday morning... whew! I was sweating by the time I finished.

I have also been working on drinking more water, which has actually made me feel great. I think I've done pretty well this week, so we'll see what the scale says.

Weight: -1.5 pounds
Goal: Lose one pound Thanksgiving week!

Hooray! I had been hovering at the same weight for a couple of weeks, so this loss is encouraging. Hopefully I can keep it up and try to be good this week. That means I have to avoid eating so much PIE, which is my Thanksgiving weakness!

I have to say that I was SO disappointed with this week's Biggest Loser! *sigh* I don't know if I want to watch anymore! I can't believe that Amy voted out Coleen instead of Vicki! After her great decision last week, I was shocked that she made this mistake. Vicki is NOT her friend. If two of the former blue team members fall under the line and one of them is Amy, then she is going home for sure! I think she would have had a better chance voting with the former black team members.

It's sad because Renee and Michelle are going to have a really tough time making it to the end. I don't know if I really care if any of the others win. What a bummer.

I did think that Jillian said some inspiring/wise things this week. This quote in particular struck a chord with me:

“You can tell me that you choose not to. You can tell me that you choose to quit. That you choose to be less than what you are and less than what God intended. But don’t ever tell me that you can’t do it.”

I think too often we don't try because we tell ourselves that we can't do it. Most of the time that is just not true! So how did you do this week? Who do you think is going to win the Biggest Loser and do you even care anymore?

Rainy-Day Reflections of Fleet Feet

This week the weather has been GORGEOUS and we are loving it! So sunny and mild! Somehow we are back up in to the upper fifty and lower sixty degree weather during the day. It is actually pretty pleasant to spend time outside during the middle part of the day.

Jonah loves being outside. So even when it was wet and drizzly last week, I humored the poor boy and took him out for a walk in the rain. He was getting pretty antsy being cooped up most of the week. Of course I brought my camera with me. I am rarely out in the rain and I thought I would see what there was to capture.

Jonah insisted that he needed an umbrella. It was hilarious to watch this little person try to carry around a huge umbrella. After the first half block he decided he didn't need it anymore.

Here Mommy! You carry it!

I didn't mind carrying the umbrella because unlike Jonah, I didn't have a hat on. Anyway, we walked around the cemetery near our house. Actually, I walked and Jonah ran almost the entire time. Except for when I told him to stop and wait for mommy.

Hurry Mommy! I'm waiting!

You really should click on the above photo and check out the look on his face. I think it's hilarious!

This next photo is my favorite. Somehow I managed to snap this picture at just the right moment... if you look closely you'll see that Jonah's feet aren't touching the ground at all!


Yep. That's my angel-boy.

I am participating in Wordful Wednesday.

When the Toy Chest Explodes... Stand Up!

On Friday I posted about how my boys are starting to play together. I love it because they actually entertain each other for a while and I can actually get stuff done! Some of you tried to warn me that they were plotting against me in their little "boys club". I brushed it off thinking, "what could they possibly do?".

The other evening I was enjoying some time without the boys at my feet... it sounded like they were having a great time together in Jonah's room. Then I went to tell them that it was time to get in their pajamas. When I looked into the room I couldn't believe my eyes! It seems that every toy storage bin had exploded out into the room. I don't even know how my little guys could MOVE around in there. Here is what it looked like after we had started to clean up, and you can't even see the rest of the mess on the edges of the room!

Some of you may be saying, "Honey Mommy... that's not bad at all! You should see MY child's room!". In my defense, we have been trying to teach Jonah to play with a toy and then put it away. He is actually pretty good about it, so most of the time his room is pretty clean. However, I am sure that the more children we have, the bigger the messes will get.

I guess cleaning up after the boys play together will become a regular occurrence... but I don't mind it in exchange for a little peace and productivity.

In more exciting news for the day, look what Eli did today!

I was sorting laundry and looked over just in time to see Eli pull himself up to a stand. Luckily I had my camera nearby and he didn't quite know what to do from there. Isn't he a cutie? I can't believe he is already standing up at eight months old!

Laundry Faux Pas and the Blue Toilet

It has been a couple of weeks since I participated in "Not Me! Monday". First, I couldn't think of anything particularly funny or embarrassing that had happened at the Honey House. So I just wrote about whatever I wanted (that's what bloggers do, right?). However, as this week progressed there were a couple of things that just begged to be put on my "Not Me!" list, so here it goes:

I did not make our steaks "very well done" because I got busy blogging and forgot about them. Nope, not me!

I did not accidentally wash a pair of my son's white underwear with a red blanket, making them slightly pink. Besides, pink is an o.k. color for boys now, right?

When our water main broke and we had no water, our kind neighbors let me use their downstairs bathroom to shower. I was not sad that I didn't have my camera with me so I could take a picture of their powder blue toilet to show to you. I also did not entertain thoughts of using the spare key they gave us to go over later to get said toilet photo.

I absolutely did not spend all evening at work with mud on my black shoes without noticing until I got home that night. I am too observant to do stuff like that!

I was not momentarily ungrateful for my vocal talent when I was asked to sing Alto instead of Soprano to help out the choir for their Christmas program. (You can probably guess which part I enjoy singing).

I have not been constantly saying "Mama-mama" to my eight month old to try to get him to say "Mama" before "Daddy". I'm not at all competitive like that!

I did not notice one of my hair piks in the washer after the clothes had finished washing. I most certainly did not somehow find the same hair pik in the dryer later with that same load of laundry. I mean, what kind of silly-head would see it and then end up putting it in the dryer anyway?!

After looking at the above list, I have decided that perhaps I am not qualified to do laundry at our house anymore! Too bad I can't just hire someone, huh? What didn't you do this week?

Leafy Brotherly Love

Fall is left behind
Like leaves scattered on the ground
I will miss you so!

The above photo was inspired by one that I saw on Wayfaring Wanderer's site. In her original photo she had a field of leaves, with a grassy heart in the middle. The minute I saw it I knew I wanted to find some red leaves to make a heart. It became something of an obsession art project for me. I actually ended up "borrowing" some leaves from my friend Melinda's yard to use with all the yellow leaves we had scattered around. I love the end result!

I am so sad that most of the leaves around here are gone. The ones that are left are brown and yucky. I guess that all good things must come to an end. I'll have to wait another year to see Fall again.

Inside of my home, however, there are things that I have been overjoyed to see. My two little boys are figuring out how to play together, and it is the most adorable thing EVER!

Jonah will get down on the ground and say "Eli, come here! Come this way!". Then Eli tries to follow and catch up with him, giggling all the while. He thinks it is a great game... if only Jonah wasn't so fast! Eli also wants to play with whatever Jonah is playing with. Here are the two boys this weekend playing with blocks.


Jonah is definitely learning to tolerate Eli more and do a better job of sharing toys with him. It's fun to see them start to play together. (They both got haircuts on Saturday too. I think Eli's hair is so fuzzy and cute!)

I have even caught Jonah encouraging Eli to come into his room. Then he closes the door so Eli can't get out. I guess that way he has a captive audience! Either that, or they are already forming a "boys only" club. I think it's pretty funny.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

and Haiku Friday.

Biggest Loser Smackdown

Can I just tell you that I am SO frustrated right now! I have been exercising a ton and watching what I eat and all I get for it is the scale laughing at me saying "neener, neener, neener!" It makes me want to scream.

This week I once again found time to use my bicycle trainer and I have biked a little over 40 miles. Just like last week. Before that I hadn't exercised as much and I swear I was doing better then. Anyway, I am planning on getting back on it today, which would make it nearly 50 miles this week.

I have been eating sensibly. No junk, no Halloween candy, nothing! I was hoping for something good this week and then I stepped on the scale this morning.

Weight loss: 1/2 pound
Goal: 1 pound next week... a WHOLE pound for crying out loud.

Anyway, enough of my whining. I guess it's back to food journal time. I haven't been keeping up with it because I thought I was doing good without it. I guess not. I have hit a major plateau, which is a bummer because I am getting closer to moving down to the next set of 10s in my weight. If only I could get there! I feel healthier, which is great... but I wish the scale would cooperate!

On the bright side, I LOVED the Biggest Loser this week! As you know, one of the kicked off cast members got to come back on the show and I was HORRIFIED when it turned out to be Heba's husband Ed! I was thinking that the black team was doomed because now there were even more players against them.

Oh, and can I just say that Vicki is EVIL? Bob was right when he said she was the biggest game player ever on the show. She is manipulative, arrogant, smug, and downright mean! I couldn't believe all the nasty things she said and did this week. I just wanted to smack her.

When her husband Brady ended up in the bottom two, she didn't seem concerned at all. She acted like she was in control of the game and OF COURSE things would go her way. I was sitting there saying "pride goeth before the fall" over and over... hoping it would be true this time. AND IT WAS!

I was SO happy when Brady got sent home. Amy is now my new hero. She is so smart for seeing how things would turn out if she kept him around. Awesome! It now seems that Heba and Vicki no longer control this game... thank Heavens! I think if either of them won the show then I could never watch it again.

Sunrise in Wyoming

With two young boys at our house, I am usually awake before the sun comes up. Though I often notice it getting lighter outside, very rarely do I actually take a moment to go outside and watch the miracle of the sunrise. After seeing these gorgeous photos that my dad took recently (he is always up before the sun!), I think that I may have to take that opportunity more often.

Here is the early morning view to the east of my parent's house in Wyoming.

This particular sunrise colored the entire sky. Look at how beautiful the sky is above the hills to the west of my parents' house.

Of course my parents don't exactly live in the city, so it might be more difficult for us to find an unobstructed view of the sunrise around here. However, I think I may have to take my older son outside one morning and try to have him watch the sunrise with me (he's an early bird). He loves everything that is up in the sky... the moon, stars, airplanes, helicopters, clouds, sun and rain. I can only imagine what he would think of wonders such as these.

I am participating in Wordful Wednesday.

p.s. My dad just had some minor laparoscopic surgery this week. We love you and hope you feel better soon Dad!

CAUTION: Men at Work

... continuing on with the water saga at the Honey House.

So yesterday by about 3:30 p.m. Honey Daddy and the neighbor declared their work finished. They replaced the faulty pipe, and I was excited we would have running water any minute! So they went ahead and turned the water back on.

Psssshhhhhh! Uh-Oh! The replacement pipe was fine, but now the pipe on the city's side of our water meter was leaking... a lot. Soon the hole they had dug filled up with water. So we got to call the city and let them know that they got to replace their pipe after all.

So they sent a crew right out. You would not believe how many different kinds of equipment it takes to dig up the road, dig up more of our lawn, suck up all the water and dirt, and replace a pipe. I will spare you the all the truck photos, but there were a lot more than this:

Needless to say my boys were completely glued to the front window!

Wow! Check out all those trucks!

I had to leave for work while all the excitement was going on. When I got home last night we had WATER! Can I just tell you how amazing it is to turn on the tap and have water come out? To be able to take a shower, wash our hands, do laundry, turn on the dishwasher, and get a drink is WONDERFUL!

Speaking of which.... I have to go. I have stacks of dishes and laundry in my house that need to get done. Plus I'm feeling thirsty. Maybe I'll go get a drink of water!