I've been tagged!

Being new to the world of blogging, I was not aware there was such a thing as being "tagged" to do a certain thing. But now, being the hip blogger that I am, I have been tagged by my friend Charlyce. Of course I'm not hip enough to know what that actually meant, but after e-mailing her for help she has informed me that this particular tagging means that I am to fill in the blanks below on my own blog. Not too difficult, so here I go...

10 years ago I was...

1. Living in Del Rio, Texas for pilot training

2. Teaching 7th grade math at San Felipe Middle School (such a nightmare!!)

3. Prego with Spencer

4. Was probably in the middle of gaining my 50 pregnancy pounds

5. Probably thinking I looked cute in those hideous maternity clothes of those days

5 things on my to-do list for today

1. Do the laundry - my Monday chore

2. Go to eat lunch with Spencer (out of necessity - I forgot to put his sandwich in his lunch box. So unless I go, he will get a baggie of carrots, a chocolate milk, and a pixie stick)

3. Go shopping for new winter clothes for Ella - she does not own one long sleeved shirt from last year that fits her.

4. I'm currently ignoring Ella who is screaming at me from her time-out in her closet. (It's a big closet - don't feel too bad for her). Not part of my original to-do list for today, but we must be flexible, right?

5. Take the boys to piano lessons after school - their third lesson!

5 snacks that I enjoy

1. Chocolate chip cookies - the all time best!

2. Yummy bars, brownies, and cakes

3. Cheesecake (preferably from the Cheesecake Factory, although I'm trying hard to duplicate them at home)

4. Julio's chips and salsa

5. Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice-cream-shakes, chocolate truffles, and
so on and so on...(and since I'm currently trying to shed some Ruby
weight, all of these things are forbidden!! Boo hoo!)

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire

1. Pay off my house

2. Fix the stereo in my car - for the love of Pete! I can't stand not having music in the car!

3. Buy some Sea Doos

4. Buy a $5000 purse

5. Just kidding about the purse!!!! That is my ultimate pet peeve.
At what point in your life do you find it appropriate to buy a $5000
purse!!

5 places I have lived (I'm sorry but I've had to up this number slightly)

1. Ogden, UT - born and raised

2. Moscow, ID - went to college, met Bryan, and had our first little house (400 sq. feet)

3. Tacoma, WA...the beginning of our Air Force career...

4. Del Rio, TX

5. Phoenix, AZ
6. Mountain Home, ID
7. Osan AB, Korea
8. Las Vegas, NV
9. Orsfeld, Germany
10. San Antonio, TX - love it, love it, love it!

5 jobs I have had

1. Ponderosa - first job! Busing tables in high school

2. Sizzler - salad bar artist and then waitress

3. The Pantry - waitressed my way through college

4. Math teacher in Del Rio

5. Math tutor in Idaho

Fun times! OK...now I tag Stevie!

Ruby is sitting up!

Little Ruby is sitting up! She is the cutest and sweetest little piece of love I've ever seen. We are so beyond smitten by her. This is my first attempt at uploading a video onto my blog, or anything else for that matter. I've trimmed the video down to just under two minutes (from about 7 minutes) but even at that I realize that it may be a little boring to watch for two whole minutes. And I really wish I could get rid of the sound, because you know how listening to your own voice is the most annoying sound? Well, enough said. But, first I don't know how to delete the sound, and second you would miss hearing Ruby's little laughs and bubble blowing. So my apologies for the narrating (I didn't know I would be posting this video for others to hear!), but it is all worth it for the sight of this little lovie.
***OK, after about an HOUR my video is finally uploaded and ready to play. Unfortunately my cropping of the video did not work, and so - you guessed it - there is a full seven minutes of Ruby here. And after watching it myself, I do feel as though it is still so darn cute and worth it, but I'm even more apologetic of my narrating and my sniffing (I had a cold). So just watch what you'd like. I won't be offended if you stop it. But I'm certainly not going to try doing it again! Enjoy!

Tyler finally loses a tooth!

The day has finally come! Tyler has been waiting YEARS (since Spencer lost his first tooth, to be exact) to lose a tooth and it is finally out. And Tyler had no qualms about having that thing yanked out, either. I was giving it a little wiggle, and then a little tug, and I could see that it was not going to come out easily. So I suggested that we wait another few days. Fat chance! Tyler wanted it out! So I grabbed a piece of tissue and ripped that bad boy right out. It was actually quite disgusting, to tell you the truth. Bryan would never have made it - he'd have been down for the count as soon as the bleeding started! But thankfully I got the job done. So good for Ty! The Tooth Fairy has made the visit, and Tyler is showing everybody his missing tooth. In case some of you were not aware, or have forgotten, Tyler didn't cut his first tooth until very late - 16 1/2 months old! Seriously. So I've included a picture of Tyler right after getting his first tooth just to commemorate this big day. Way to go Tyler!

Ella is not half-bald

Alright, I've been called by a few panic stricken family members in reference to the half-bald picture I have posted of Ella. I do want the record to show that Ella is NOT half-bald, as it actually does appear in the picture, but her hair (or the thin remains on that side) is just tucked behind her ear. And although you can see from the chunk of hair that she is holding that she did lose a lot of hair, it is actually not that noticeable. The hair was ripped out at various lengths, not directly at the scalp, so it just looks very very thin on that side of her head. But you'll notice in later pictures, yet to be posted, that she still looks cute as ever. So, just to clear up the confusion, Ella is not half-bald. But really...thank you all for your concern for poor Ella! She has recovered well and still continues to help me cook on a daily basis. She's just a little further back, now!

Beware of the KitchenAid!!!

You are never going to believe this! On Sunday morning I was making roll dough in the KitchenAid. I walked across the kitchen to the sink, while the dough hook was kneading the dough, and Ella was looking in the bowl. All of a sudden she starts screaming! The end of a chunk of her hair touched the rotating part of the mixer, and within a half a second it was RIPPED RIGHT OUT OF HER HEAD!! A huge chunk of hair! Gone! (Yes, that is what she is holding in this picture.) Can you imagine what would have happened if it would have been a bigger chunk - too big to rip off? Oh it could have been so bad. As it is, she has a large bald patch just to the left of her part. She was so upset - because I'm sure it hurt like crazy! - but after listening to her I realized that she was more upset about the loss of hair: "I'm OK, it's OK. I just had a nice haircut. I still have lots of hair. It's still beautiful." Ohhhhhh...poor peanut!! So those of you with daughters (or long hair) - BEWARE!

Tackle Football

OK, this picture needs some explaining. What you see here is the boys playing football in the backyard. Spencer (yes, the skinniest kid ever) has been wanting to play tackle football. So despite my warnings, he insists on playing it with a few of the neighbors. Not football, just tackling. So, hard to believe, he got hurt. So I explained (again!) about the protective gear that football players wear to keep them from getting hurt. Next thing I know, Spencer and Tyler are out in the backyard wearing their bike helmets and their shirts stuffed with blankets! So here they are...playing tackle football!

Tribute to Brothers

Well, here it is. The promised tribute to brothers! I'll tell it you it was near impossible to find pictures of the boys where they're both looking remotely near the camera, or that there wasn't a little three year old girl (aka Ella) in the middle of them! So yes, Spencer and Tyler are still inseparable buddies, but unlike in their younger years they're quite often just annoying each other (or me!) or forcing me to separate them due to violence. Nothing to be alarmed about...just the usual "He did it first!," "I was only joking!," or the infamous "We were just playing!!"

Sisters

Call it what you want - love, mauling, whatever - but never were there two sisters who loved each other more. Occasionally Ella gets a little carried away, and Ruby protests, but for the most part they are just happy as clams together. I'll need to make a tribute to brothers next, but I must warn you that it will be much less "sweet" and much more wild, crazy, and most likely a wee bit violent. Such are boys, I'm afraid. But for now, ahhhhh...sisters!!!