Put Your Strength On

My sweet Hollie says such witty things at times. Her and Shaun were playing yesterday and she wanted him to hold his arm out to his side and let her hang from it and lift her up and down. So she tells him, "Put your strength on, Dad!" I got the biggest kick out of it. Where do they come up with these things?

So, of course I start psychoanalyzing her statement. And I've decided that sometimes I need to put my strength on. I've been feeling a bit down and depressed and I'm not sure how to pull myself out sometimes. Today in particular was a rough day on the marriage front. You know, those days that we all have at various times. But I need to try harder and sometimes that even means convincing myself that it's not giving in to try smoothing things over. And if you wonder why I'm blogging about some not so 'merry sunshiny' things...sometimes I get sick of hearing that everyone's lives are so great and wonderful and that they're blessed and they never mention that life sometimes stinks. Sometimes we have bad days and we are still normal, still have good families and lives. So, apparently the Bess Household is being shown as not so perfect today. :) But tomorrow perhaps....now I'm starting to ramble.

Oh, and on a totally different note. Kambri is 'putting her strength on' (yes I realize I'm a bit odd at times) and has been binky free (even at naptime) since Monday. Yeah! That's quite the accomplishment for both of us.

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

Happy 29th Birthday Sweetheart!

Shaun turned 29 on Friday! We had a family party that night with my family and his. Get togethers with both sides are always a little crazy, but we managed. I think he was pretty happy with what he got. He wanted money for a .22 shotgun, which is mainly what he got. So, he's well on his way to his gun, plus he got a few other goodies! (I must add that part of the reason he wants this gun is to take Taylor hunting with next year.)

Such a flattering picture of everyone.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I love you so much and I'm so grateful to have you in my life. In celebration of you, I've created a list of 29 things I love about you!

1. Your sense of humor
2. Your eyes when you laugh *wink*
3. Your dedication to providing for our family
4. The way you support me in anything I do
5. The handyman you are. No matter what it is, I always know you'll find a way to fix it
6. Your yummy smell :)
7. The wonderful dad that you are
8. Your childlike heart and playfulness with our kids
9. The protective shield you show for your family
10. Your ability to put up with all my shortcomings and insane quirks.
11. Your spontaneity. I wish I could be more like that, which brings me to the next...
12. You are fearless. Again, something I would like to have more of. You always are telling me to live life to the fullest. And often times my fear gets in the way.
13. Our 3 beautiful children that you have given me. You are such a wonderful dad!
14. You love and get along well with my family
15. You always are telling me to go do something for myself
16. You are such a hard worker and very dedicated
17. When you let me have the tv at night, when I know you'd rather be watch something else
18. You accept me for who and what I am
19. Your willingness to give me all decorating powers over our house
20. Your 'button' lint. ;)
21. When you are all clean shaved. Mmmmm!!!
22. Your classic 'smirk' you pull
23. You ? my way of parenting very little. But when you do, I appreciate your honesty and I know I'm out of line when you do.
24. You've become more compromising over the years with hunting.
25. Your ability to humor me and listen to my many daily ramblings.
26. That you do know the Gospel is true.
27. You demand respect from the kids towards me.
28. We are 100% opposite people, but we work! :)
29. That you love ME!! I may not show it enough, but I am so grateful for you and could not imagine my life without you. Thank you for everything you do for me, and for being my one and only!!!

Happy Birthday Shaun!

One of my hobbies...

I realize to most, these are just pictures of clothes. But to a 'penny pincher' it goes much deeper than that.

So I frequent a place called 'Pinching Your Pennies' (PYP) and if you haven't checked it out, you NEED to! I have saved so much money over the last several years since I started doing couponing and watching for deals to be posted. A lot of people don't want to do the whole coupon things, and to each his own. I very much had the mentality before PYP that coupons were only for poor people. But if you have to call yourself poor to justify coupons, call me poor! Cause I LOVE saving money!

My Aunt Brenda initially introduced me to PYP and then I went to a PYP class with my best friend Katie and have been going at it since. Let me know if you have any questions about it. If nothing else, even frequenting the 'Screaming Deals Online' forum is a huge money saver. I got better deals online this year for Christmas presents than the day after Thanksgiving.

So now that I've rambled about one of my hobbies...I gotta tell you of my SAVINGS!!! I found out on PYP that Old Navy was doing their 50% off marked clearance sale. I LOVE this sale!

In this picture I bought some summer clothes for my girls, some winter clothes for next year and some pants for Taylor to grow into.

This shows more of the clothes I got for Taylor and a few presents I picked up for my niece and nephew to put away for Christmas next year. (Ssshhh don't tell.)

I bought 5 pairs of pants and a shirt for me. Retail was $168. I paid $37.

(This doesn't include my 1st trip to Old Navy which I didn't take pictures of, but bought as much stuff then as I did my 3rd time. Yes, I confess. I went to Old Navy 3 times. Twice to Riverdale, once to Logan. But Logan's selection was terrible.

So, total retail on the things in these pictures is $496. Are you ready for this? I spent $119.

Pinching Your Pennies

Here Comes the Bride(s)

Hollie and Kambri have been playing together a lot more lately. It's so fun to see them getting along and entertaining each other.
This particular day I heard them calling my name so I turn around and they're all ready to get married.

Wow, what beautiful girls I have!!

My mom actually made the wedding dress Hollie is wearing and the veil. A few years ago for Christmas my mom made a whole bunch of Disney Princess dresses for dress-up. They all definitely get their use out of them.

How stinking cute is that?!

With witnessing these beautiful lil' brides it reminds me...I best get saving $$ for their weddings now! By the time they're old enough costs will have probably skyrocketed to an unfathomable sum!

Surgery Update

Well, I just thought I'd do a real quick update on how the surgery went. All in all it was pretty smooth. Honestly, the pain I felt when I first woke up was a bit more intense than I had anticipated and I had a really hard time getting the pain managed at first. But I was in and out of the outpatient center in just over 2 hours.

Seeing as I don't know of anyone who reads my blog that I wouldn't have this conversation with in person...I may as well just speak it here! When I went in it was during my period and actually would've ended up being my heaviest day of it. However, I walk out...and it's VERY minimal. My doctor said it'd take 4-6 months before I'd really get a feel for how my body is going to react to that time of the month. (Whether I have nothing...or light spotting)...I'm hoping for nothing! :)

So mainly I've just had cramping (and the first 6-8 hours was the worst of it). I could've worked the next day, but I ended up having the other girl work. Which worked out good because I have had a really hard time staying awake. (Again today as well...that's some pretty good anesthesia.) Haha!!

All in all it has been pretty easy, I can't complain. So, if you're contemplating it and you're done having kiddos...GO FOR IT!!! I'll update you when I'm down the road a bit with it as well.

Updates from the zoo

Things at the Bess's have been a little wild lately, or so it has felt at least. Nothing major, just life!

Kambri was doing really good with potty training last week, but has done some backsliding over the weekend. We'll get her back though, no worries. She's also been doing rather well with the binky. She still gets it occasionally at nap or bedtime, depending on the struggles we're facing at that moment with her...or my will power.

I've been having some bouts of frustration with Hollie lately. This is not something new that we're experiencing, but something that we thought she had 'outgrown'. She gets in these rages where I truly believe she can't control herself and they're UGLY! Part of it plays into lack of respect to Shaun and I and we're really addressing that and not letting her get away with it anymore, which of course increases these rages. Taylor also struggles with the respect thing at different times. So...I'm going to plan a little Family Home Evening on respecting your parents and family members!! :)

Hollie and Kambri played together so nicely yesterday. They played together so well, that Shaun and I even dosed off asleep for a few minutes...that NEVER gets to happen! I was so excited! We had stake conference, so it was a very relaxing day at home and then we went up to my parents house for dinner.

Shaun has been having ongoing frustrations with his job. I hope eventually something will be resolved so that he can be happier. He works so hard to provide for us and I wish I could make it easier on him at work!

I went to the Ogden Temple on Friday night with my Aunt Brenda. It was nice to go with her and spend time visiting with her afterwards over dinner. My 2nd time was definitely much different than my first. Apparently we picked a busy night as we had to wait for over an hour to get into a session. But I'm glad I went. I was more nervous this time and I hope that each time I go back it gets easier. I received some answers I had went looking for and that was the highlight of my evening.

And...the final confirmation is in! I'm good to go with ending my child bearing years permanently. I go in tomorrow morning to have an endometrial ablation performed. It should be a simple procedure and a quick recovery. It is nice to be in a place that I truly feel done. I love each of my kids and I'm so grateful for them, but to know I'm done is a good place to be. So, hopefully everything goes as smooth as possible and I'm back on my feet quick. I do have 3 little ones to tend to and I'm not one who can be kept down...pain or no pain!! :)

New Year...New US!!!

Well, I've been thinking about some new years resolutions for my whole family. (That's a new one right?! Making them FOR your family?) Actually, the goals will involve me as well.

Kellie's 2009 Goals...
1. I have this one in my head, but she shall not be named on this blog!
2. Make it to the temple at least 10 times. (9 more to go)
3. Find/develop a new hobby
4. Increase piano skills, working towards where they used to be
5. Figure out what I want with my house and DO it!

Kambri's Goals...
1. Be potty trained. I'm going to set the goal for her to be completely trained by spring.
2. Lose the binky completely at nap/bed times within the next month (sooner, hopefully).
3. Continue increasing her vocabulary and attend more of the available speech classes.

Hollie's Goals...
1. Begin piano lessons
2. Get her enrolled in dancing
3. Really focus on positive reinforcement with her to help decrease problems

Taylor's Goals...
1. Continue where we left off with piano lessons
2. Get him more involved with the rest of the family
3. Actively work on Boy Scouting with him

Family Goals...
1. Hold more regular Family Home Evenings- increase quality time spent together
2. Help family to live a more active lifestyle together
3. Create a more loving, peaceful environment in our home
4. Create a more functional chore system

So, I'm going to try to reevaluate in 3 months and see where we're at on our list. :)
Happy New Year to everyone!!