Holy Crap

I have to try these ...

... and then run a half marathon!

Click here for the recipe.

Motherhood Moments

Being a mom brings lots of different emotions to my life. Mostly happy, comical emotions.

Like last night when I put Layla to bed; I laid her in her crib, walked to the door, turned around to look at her, and noticed that she was waving at me. It actually made me laugh out loud. How many one year olds wave goodnight to their mom? Then she rolled over and fell asleep. Didn't make a peep for 12 hours!

Or the other day when I woke up in a hurry and forgot to pray. I remembered about 30 minutes later and knelt in front of the couch to pray.

In the middle of my prayer, I heard a tiny person crawling over to me, then I felt a tiny hand patting me on the back, then a tiny arm resting on my back while I prayed.

When I opened my eyes, there was a tiny, smiling face resting on the couch next to mine. I smiled and then we both started laughing. It was such a sweet moment.

Or recently while vacuuming and I found some of Harvey's cat food in his bed that I'm pretty certain Layla had put there, just wanting to give the kitty some food. She's so thoughtful ...

But then there was today ... my most embarrassing moment as a mother.

I took Layla in her umbrella stroller to Sally Beauty Supply. I was paying for my stuff when I heard a loud crashing sound. Layla had somehow (I still have no idea how) managed to pull down their bucket of mini nail polishes and a display of glass rings.

There was nail polish everywhere. To make it even worse, Layla was crying, the floor was black tile and the nail polish was white. It was such a mess! I helped clean it up and paid for the damages, which was only $7. By the looks of it, it should have cost me a lot more.

I'm glad Layla wasn't hurt and everything considered, she didn't break as much stuff as she could have. But I still cried a little when I got in the car. I was so.so.so.embarrassed.

So while Layla is a very sweet, funny, happy little girl, she still causes me to have a whole gamut of emotions.

Running

We've been busy lately. Running around all over the place.

Mitch and I ran in the Ogden Relay race with Katie and her friend, Michelle. Mitch ran the first leg, which was just over 7 miles. He averaged 7:50 a mile! I ran the last two legs, which was just under 8 miles and I'm not sure what my times are yet because the race result people screwed up the timing for the last leg for every team. I'm sure they're fixing it, but I can't wait to see what my times were! We had a great time and are looking forward to running the Freedom Half Marathon on the 4th of July. I'm also running in the Wasatch Back in June. Lots of running!

Layla is just days away from walking. She's great at standing on her own and she takes a few steps at a time now. But mostly she just dives or belly flops. It's absolutely hilarious. She'll put both arms straight up in the air, let out a loud squeal, and then belly flop onto whatever is beneath her. Luckily, we've been close enough to catch her each time. She's crazy! Totally fearless. She makes us laugh so hard. I'm sure she'll be walking really soon.

Hopefully once she starts walking she won't fly away considering she has these wings on the side of her head ...

I don't do her hair like this, it just naturally goes this way. Oh, and she closes her eyes when you take her picture now because of the flash.

And Layla helped me clean out the fridge recently. She's climbing all over lately. She's learned how to open the DVD drawer in the couch, step up on it, and then get on the couch. I've never seen her look so proud of herself. I am not excited for the amount of climbing she will do once she can walk!

Dr. Mitch

Mitch received a very important letter in the mail yesterday. The letter said:

I am pleased to notify you of your admission to the School of Graduate Studies at The University of Alabama in Hunstville.

He'll be a Doctor of Systems Engineering in 4 to 5 years from now.

The program is done entirely online, which is great since he'll still be working full-time. He starts in the fall.

Life is going to be crazy busy. But anything worth having is worth working for, right?

I am so proud of my husband. He is the smartest person I know and I have no doubt that he will do awesome. I admire him for deciding to earn a Ph.D.

Just one question though: If Mitch becomes a Doctor of Engineering, does that mean his "patients" will be sick rocket motors???

Four

I've been married to the best husband in the world for four years now. It was his turn to plan the celebration. He did great, as always. We spent some time in Park City. We managed to do a lot in a little amount of time: hiking, eating, hot tubing, eating, shopping, oh, and eating. We stayed at the Mountainside Marriott, which was really nice. It was our first time leaving Layla overnight. I missed her terribly and could not wait to see her on Sunday. Although I must say, it was nice to have some time with just the two of us. And Layla had fun with G&G B.

Marrying Mitch has been the best decision I've ever made. I couldn't ask for a better husband. It's been a great 4 years and I look forward to celebrating our 60th!

Mom's Day

I had a very nice Mom's Day this year. Mitch made me breakfast and lunch and took care of Layla all day. (I bet he would have made me dinner too, but we ate at my parents' house.) He also bought me the Miche bag I've had my eye on for months now and some beautiful yellow tulips. I have the best husband in the world. And the sweetest daughter in the world. She makes me feel so blessed to be a mom. I actually thanked her for letting me be her mommy today. I can't think of anything that makes me happier than being a wife and a mother.

I love my family.

We were able to visit with our moms and grandmas this weekend, which is always nice. Mitch and I both have great moms and doting grandmothers. After the Mom's Day festivities today, we bathed Layla. We stuck these letters all over the tub, the wall, and Layla. Then she tried to stick them on her back herself, which was funny to watch. She's always making us laugh ...

And, we finally managed to get Layla's horse whinny on video. I could only get her to do it once for the camera (she's camera shy). She has a rocking horse that whinnies and we turn it on when we change her diaper so she'll hold still. Almost every time we turn it on, she whinnies along with the rocking horse. Now she knows to whinny when you ask her what the horse says, although sometimes she needs a little coaxing, but it's still awesome.

I am thankful to be a mom. I am thankful for my mom's example of motherhood and for the great mom that she is to me. I find myself becoming more and more like her everyday, which is a good thing. I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

May Day 2011

We had quite the eventful May Day this year. We spent the weekend in So Cal for my uncle's wedding. Kent and Laura were married on the beach in Malibu and it was beautiful. I am so happy for my uncle and I'm excited to have Laura in our family.

Layla was an angel the whole weekend. Only one crying episode from keeping her up until 11 p.m. She was pretty much the entertainment for the wedding dinner. She hammed it up the whole night and made everyone laugh. She really enjoyed herself the whole weekend. She loves hanging out with her fan club!

We even had some time to see the Griffith Observatory. It was really neat. I would love to go running there some time.

And we will never forget Kent and Laura's wedding date because it's the same day that Osama bin Laden was killed. We were sitting at the wedding dinner when one of Laura's friends announced that he had been killed (she saw the headline on her phone). Wow, I'm still shocked. I'm glad he's dead, but I'm not convinced that terrorism is over. I just hope it will mess it up enough to avoid anymore terrorist attacks.

This will be one May 1st we will never forget.