swimsuit rant

My enemy, the monokini: So Brian and I went to the mall today to look for a swimsuit for me when we go to California next month. We went to every store that carried swimsuits in the mall and for one, we don't even come CLOSE to being able to afford anything there and second, there is not much in the way AT ALL to choose from when it comes to one-pieces. The ones that they DID have looked more like they were for a 70 year old woman than for me (at least when I'm older I'll have a much easier time :)). See, the new rage in swimwear seems to be these "monokini's". Its pretty much a bikini with a strip down the front middle. Even Target, the store that I thought couldn't fail me seem to have gotten rid of most their one pieces and have a ton of these monokini's. The REALYY sad thing is that these monokini's are so cute! They are made of cute fabric, why cant they just make one-peices that cute!?! So I have pretty much tried on EVERY one piece that we could afford and have been so disappointed. Not really any cute ones at all. I even went so far as to try on the dreaded monokini, only to be VERY sad. The only way you could get away with wearing one of these is well, if you can get away with wearing a bikini. Which I definitely can't and wouldn't even if I could. It's just so frustrating, I mean swimsuit shopping, for me anyways, isn't my idea of fun shopping, and to add the very depressing variety doesn't help much. I did however find a cute tankini top that is actually long! That is my problem with tankini's, the tops never seem to be very long. But I did find a cute long one. I really just want ONE one-piece though. So I guess I'll still be on the hunt for a while :)

Oh to be 17 again!

This weekend we went to Tucson for Eden's birthday. While we were staying at my parents house they gave me a letter that was from my high school teacher. It was a letter that I wrote to myself my senior year in high school! I don't even remember writing it! I just thought it was pretty cool that my teacher actually mailed them 5 years later. It was pretty funny to read, remembering what my worries were at the time. Anyway's here is the letter:

Dear Me!
Im writing to you on February 25, 2003. I am a senior in high school. This last weekend I went to Tony and Guy's to get highlights. They look terrible! They are like orange with streaks of red. Please say that you still have hair! Im only 17 right now and I have died (I spelt dyed wrong :)) my hair alot! So everyone has been telling me my hair will eventually fall out. I just hope that your not bald or anything right now. I also hope that you have graduated college already. Are you a teacher? And then of course there is my worst fear. That I will never get married. Are you married? If you are, is he handsome? Are you happy? But even if you are married then I hope you are least not living at home, well I will be you soon!
Love,
You!!!

I thought it was hilarious that even in high school I was obsessed with my hair! The first thing I said to my mom when I read it was, HA I still have hair! She would ALWAYS tell me my hair is gonna fall out. I thought it was pretty funny that my worst fear then was not getting married. Now, just 5 short years later I worry about BEING married, a baby, and EVERYTHING else! Anyway's, it was just fun to read and also made me think about my life now. Thanks Mrs. Ottis!

photo's

Today I decided to test out my photography skills and take some pics of Ayden. And it wasn't easy AT ALL! He was just NOT cooperating at all. He was soo happy before we left but as soon as we got outside I couldn't get a smile out of him, I couldn't even get him to look at me! Then of course as soon as we got in he was just as happy as can be. What a little stinker! But I still think I got some pretty cute pics. I have been wanting to take more pics with the camera and try to figure this thing out. But I dont think it's too bad for my first little "photoshoot" :D. By the way, for some reason the quality of the photo's on the slide show isn't the greatest, sorry!

coupon deals and naked bums

I got some great deals with coupons this weekend and I thought I'd boast a little about what I got. I am just so excited! I LOVE getting great deals and saving money. But I don't like to use a million coupons either (I get SO nervous and embarrassed when I check out so the less coupons I have to use the better!). So this trip I didn't have to use too many coupons and I got some amazing deals! I did however have some problems with the coupons since alot of them were printable. They WERE legitimate coupons but for some reason at both walmart and target they wouldn't scan right and it took a while for the cashiers to take them (this, is why I hate checking out! I hate to cause any kind of a delay or scene!) Has anyone else had any problems lately with printable coupons? Anyways I really try to keep my couponing to a minimum because I have found that I can very easily spend unnecessarily by getting things just because they are on sale. It may only cost a few bucks for something, but when it's stuff that you don't need those few extra dollars here and there can really add up fast. If anyone's interested in getting into coupons there is a blog that my sister suggested to me that really helps! It's moneysavingmom.com and it's so fun to go and check out all the good deals! Plus they are way organized and tell you where to go and what coupons to use, you also get other people writing in and telling good deals that they found! So here is what I got and I only spent about $4 for everything!

6 johnson's buddies soaps, 1 container of finger foods and diced peaches, 2 travel size johnson's shampoo's, 2 glade scented pluge-ins, 1 container of kandoo wipes, and of course some yummi easter candy on sale ;)

getting ready to go swimming, our new favorite thing to do!

big cheesy smile!

naked boy getting ready for his bath, i love naked babies they are so cute!

this is what alot of our pictures look like lately, he doesn't like to hang around for very long :)

Where has the time gone?!

Lately I have been thinking about how fast Ayden is growing up. It seems like FOREVER ago that I was in the hospitol with him as a newborn. I just can't get over how old he seems now. It's like everyday he is doing something new. I know it must sound horrible, but I have only just recently begun to feel like a mom. I mean I have alway's loved Ayden since I first saw him, but he was never really connected to ME. I mean some stranger could hold him and he wouldn't have known the difference. But lately he has been so clingy to me (which can get annoying at times), and it's so exciting that he recognizes me and wants me. It's crazy to think that 9 monthes ago I didn't have this sweet little boy in my world. I am so grateful for him, I dont think I ever knew how much I would love this baby. Anyway's before this gets too mushy I better stop :) BTW I got some amazing coupon deals this week! Ill post a pic of all my loot tomorrow!

trip to the zoo

This weekend Brian went on a trip to Colorodo to go snowboarding, so I decided to go down to Tucson. While I was in Tucson my sister and I really wanted to take the kids to the zoo. So my sister and her husband and little girl, my mom and brother, and Ayden and I all went to the zoo. On the way there Ayden kept rubbing his eyes and one of his eyes was really red. I made sure to put sunscreen on him cause the poor kid has never seen sunlight and would have fryed there. So we get there and all of the sudden he got worse, like WAY worse. He kept rubbing his eyes and they were red and swollen and he could hardly open them. Plus his nose was running like crazy. I was freaking out because I thought it was some kind of allergic reaction. He looked SO sad, like the pictures just dont even come close to showing how sad he looked. I spent the majority of the time there calling doctor's and insurance people to find out if I could take him to an emergency room. After being at the zoo for over an hour Ayden finally passed out. and by the time he woke up he was doing much better. I am thinking that he is allergic to cats plus I think cause he was already rubbing his eyes he probably got sunscreen in them. Anyway's it was kind of scary and I'm SO glad he is alright. Here are some pics of our zoo trip! P.S.- Thanks Mommy and Renee for hanging out this weekend it was fun, and Renee your hair turned out really cute!

Getting ready to leave for the zoo, you can already see his left eye is red.
Rubbing his eyes SO SAD! Finally I got a little smile out of him!

IM the coupon lady!!!

So yesterday I had a pretty interesting day. The morning was great, my friend Tiffany and I went to the mall for a while and hung out. When I got home I decided I'd make a quick run to get something to eat. I just grabbed keys, money and the baby and left. I went to Panda Express, ordered real fast, loaded a sleeping Ayden up and got in the car. It wouldn't start! So there I was stranded at panda express (which, I mean, there could be worse places to be stranded ;)). I called Brian who had just gotten to an auction over in Phoenix about an hour away. He said maybe it was the gas, so I went next door (I had to wake Ayden up and carry him cause I had no stroller) to this gas station to see if they even had a gas can, which they did. I was just trying to figure out how I was gonna carry a 21 pound baby and a gas can back to the car when Brian called Clint and Tiffany. Who came to my rescue. I felt horrible though, cause they were about 20 minutes away and had to come all the way over to get me. In the mean time Ayden was super upset about being woken up and was crying almost the whole time. Clint and Tiffany got there, put some gas in it and that wasn't it and it wasn't the battery. So they just took me home. Brian and Brendan had to tow the car back home (thanks Brendan!) and we haven't checked it out yet, but I'm hoping it's not anything too big because it would REALLY stink to have to share one car.
Okay so later that night Brian and I went to CVS really quick to get some contact solution. I looked around the store forever and couldn't find any so I asked the woman who worked there. She showed me where it was (right in front of me) and was like hey wait, your the coupon lady right? The one who does the extra bucks?! I was like uh yeah I guess, totally embarrased. And she was like I'm pretty sure you can get extra bucks on one of the contact solutions. She ran over to get a booklet showed me. I felt so dumb! I was like oh, Im just gonna get the cheap kind, but thanks :D So now IM the coupon lady! Great!