Tagged Again

My cute friend Linsay tagged me. And even though I've done a tag similar to this before, I'm still going to do it as an excuse to ignore my responsibilities around the house and have some me-time! :)

10 years ago...1998. I was 15, having one of the funnest summers of my life. It was the summer between junior high and high school, and I remember hanging out with Lara, Nicole, and Krystal just about every day (and night). We watched a whole lot of TRL with Carson Daley and played way too much Truth and Dare. This was also the notorious summer that Lara and I snuck out of the house (my idea...) and got picked up by the cops at 2:00 a.m. for being out past city curfew. (Hey, it's not as bad as it sounds - we just snuck out to meet my boyfriend. Ha ha!) The look on my parents' face when the cop brought me home that night still makes me shudder... I also got my first kiss that summer - ooh la la!

5 years ago...2003. Greg I were newlyweds that summer - we had been married for about 6 months at that point. I was working at Lowe's as a cashier and Greg had just barely started at T-Mobile as a sales rep. Honestly, I remember it being a really rough summer because I missed my family a ton (since it was my first summer away from home), but Greg was awesome and really helped me through it. We lived in our old, tiny house in Logan at the time and were fixing it up.

5 months ago...January. January was a pretty bad month at our house, as you all probably know by now. Greg had just signed on with A World of Tile and after his first day, we both felt like we had just made the biggest mistake of our lives. It was a pretty sickening feeling since he had left a really good job for something that was so horrible. Fortunately, in retrospect, we now feel like it happened for a reason - to get Greg to the job he's at now, which is going so well! We honestly couldn't have asked for anything better, and I really don't think we would be where we're at now without going through that trial.

5 things on my to do list tomorrow...
1. Drive down to Utah County
2. Go to my last hair appointment with Tara (I am going to miss you!)
3. Go shopping with my mom to celebrate her birthday (a little late, but better late than never!)
4. Finish my Young Women's lesson for Sunday
5. Drive home


5 things I would do if I was suddenly a billionaire...
1. Pay tithing and donate.
2. Sell our current house and build my dream house.
3. Go on a much-needed cruise with the most expensive suite on top.
4. Burn all my cheap clothes that have holes in them and get a whole new wardrobe!
5. Buy a Steinway grand piano, which I would put in a special room built just for it in my new house! :)

5 bad habits...
1. Worrying myself sick about everything.
2. Being way too much of a clean freak.
3. Letting my obsession with a clean house take precedence over playing with my kids.
4. Not being happy with what I have.
5. Complaining about Greg never having time to spend with us.

5 places I've lived...
1. Provo
2. Orem
3. Logan
4. Nibley
5. Where I live now, which creepy people don't need to know. :)

5 things people don't know about me...
1. I have to get ready every single day - meaning my hair has to be done, my makeup on, and I have to be dressed in clothes I'm okay with people seeing me in. I guess it's a family thing - my sisters, my mom and I are all like that!
2. I hate watching movies, but love watching TV. Movies are just way too long and it's hard to get into one unless you see it from the very beginning, but with TV shows you can usually come in anytime and still be entertained.
3. Speaking of TV, I am currently a huge Bachelorette and Design Star fan!
4. I just barely got down to my pre-pregnancy weight (and when I say pre-prenancy, I mean pre-Gavin. How sad is that that it took me 4 years?!).
5. I usually get into bed around 11:00 and don't go to bed until about 1:00. I just love having that quiet time when everybody else is asleep (including Greg) and I get some time to myself.

Okay, so I am going to tag... Heidi Christensen, Kyla Stevens, Lara Izant, Megan Swenson, and Emily Sagendorf.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Potty Training!

As you all know by now, potty training has been quite the struggle at our house. In fact, we went through 8 months of working on it with only one success from Gavin. And of course, that whole time, I was a complete wreck - feeling like the worst mom ever because my 3 1/2-year old son was not potty trained (when it felt like every other kid his age was). Not to mention the pressure of preschool starting in the fall, or the fact that he was the only kid in Primary not potty trained!

But now, after what felt like years, Gavin is 100% potty trained (don't ask me how cuz I can't tell you - I guess he just figured it out), and I have been on cloud nine over it! ...Well, at least until lately. I always thought having my child potty trained would give me a lot more freedom and I would be loving life a whole lot more, but I now know I was a bit naive. Here's a look at my love/hate relationship with potty training!

What I LOVE about Potty Training:

1) Of course, NO more changing diapers! Seriously, when your kid is old enough to basically change himself, it gets a bit ridiculous.

2) No more worrying about taking the diaper bag everywhere! You moms who have kids in diapers know what I'm talking about - if you forget the diaper bag, you are seriously praying throughout the entire outing that by divine intervention, your child will not go to the bathroom.

3) No more utter humiliation when somebody sees my 3-year-old's diaper and gives me a look of complete disgust, like I must be the worst, most incompetent mother ever. While this only happened a couple times and they were usually old, senile people, do they seriously think I keep my kid in a diaper because I LOVE changing him?! Yeah, let me tell you, it's the best part of my day - when my child and I get to sit down together and bond over bodily waste. :)

Now, for what I HATE about Potty Training (who knew I would hate anything about it?!):

1) Gavin pulling his pants down in public to show everyone his "big boy underwear!" The stares I get are almost worse than the ones I got when he was in diapers!

2) Gavin telling me in the middle of a grocery trip (with a full cart) that he needs to go potty. Fortunately, this has only happened a couple times and he has held it until we finished, but what's a mom to do when this happens? Again, pray for divine intervention I guess. :)

3) Gavin's obsession with washing his hands. I know you are all thinking I am crazy right now, but don't worry, I am GLAD he washes his hands. I just get irritated with the fact that he washes his hands a whole lot more than just when he goes to the bathroom! It has become his new hobby, I guess... (Just look at that pic.) I find him in the bathroom all the time, just washing his hands. Then, after he washes his hands, he apparently feels the need to wash everything around it since I usually come in to a bathroom covered in soap (i.e. the faucet, the counter, his toys, even the hand towel). Wow, who knew a boy could actually like things clean?!

4) Finding pee all over the bathroom! Sorry if that is a bit too much information for a blog, but it's probably my worst pet peeve with potty training! Ever since Gavin has figured out potty training, he has wanted to stand up like all his friends and daddy do. While I like this method since it doesn't require much help from me, it requires a little more hand-eye coordination than I think my 3-year-old son has! Honestly, I didn't even know he could aim his little thing in the directions I have found pee. So needless to say, I keep Clorox wipes handy in that bathroom. :)

5) Gavin's bizarre obsession with flushing the toilet! When I was reading that potty training book, it said to be careful when introducing your child to flushing the toilet because it might scare him... Seriously? Gavin is obsessed with it! In fact, I told him he could not flush the toilet unless there was something in it, thinking it would keep him from flushing when there was no need to. So what did he do instead? He started putting little pieces of toilet paper in there just for an excuse to flush. And when I told him to stop doing that, he started putting small toys in there! Oh joy...

Needless to say, potty training has been full of surprises I never saw coming. But I have to admit, I will take the things I hate about potty training over changing diapers on a 3 1/2-year-old any day! -Ash

Friends, Family, Food, and Fun...

Yes, I know it's been a while since I've written. Life has just been extremely busy, and I honestly am excited for it to slow down soon! And to make matters worse, when I sat down to start this post yesterday, my tendonitis came back with a vengeance for reasons unknown to me (I haven't had problems with it in years)! Because of that, I am planning on keeping my writing to a minimum for this post since this typing is a bit painful. Anyway, here's a glimpse of what we did this past weekend. We had a blast and I totally wish I could just do it all over again this weekend! :)

On Friday afternoon, my mom picked up Gavin for a sleep-over at "Nana and Poppy's". Gavin's cousins were there too and from what I hear, they had a great time! My parents took the three boys to "Kung Fu Panda" and McDonald's of course, then let them sleep over (which went amazingly well, I hear - just take a look at that picture!). The next day, my mom and Linz took the boys to the Orem Summerfest carnival and they had a great time! (More pics below)

Greg and I went down to Orem on Saturday morning, and that afternoon, I met up with my old high school and college friends for another girls' day! And we had such a blast! We met at Guru's in Provo and just hung out for a couple hours eating and talking. The whole thing just solidified to me what an awesome group of friends I have. So thanks Lara for planning everything. I can't wait for next time!

That night, we all headed out to one of my favorite Summer pastimes ever - the Orem Summerfest parade. Once again, we had such a great time! The little boys loved everything about it. I have seriously never seen Ty so intrigued before. He sat still for almost the entire thing! Afterwards, we staked out a good spot at Cascade Park to watch the fireworks and once again, the boys were enthralled.

On Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day and Kristin's 21st birthday with a yummy dinner, and cake and ice cream. Overall, it was such a fun weekend! I have so much more I could write about it, but out of fear that my wrist will start hurting worse, I better stop! :) So thanks Mom and Dad for having us (and Gavin overnight) - I couldn't ask for a better family! -Ash

The boys on the swings at the carnival.

I guess the boys got to go into a fire truck, and thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Aiden and Gavin having some fun.

Me, Linz, and Baby Cohen (who will be joining us in 2 short months!) at the parade.

My little stud!

Dan and Greg sporting their free ties that employees from the Missionary Mall were throwing out! I have always made fun of that store, but now I kind of like them! Seriously, who doesn't like free ties?!

My gorgeous mom with two busy boys (who can't sit still for a camera worth anything!)

My Dad with his Father's Day gift from us - a Bill O'Reilly "Don't Be a Pinhead" t-shirt! :)

My Baby is Back! (Albeit a Few Pounds Lighter...)

After a week of throwing up, Tyler is finally back to normal and I couldn't be more thrilled! And yes, I said a week. Seriously, who would have thought this stomach bug would last that long?! Everytime we would think he was getting over it, he would throw up again. Not only did it drive me crazy, but I could tell it was really bothering him too. I have never seen that little boy so grouchy before - he wanted to be held at all times, and even after being picked up, he would usually keep whining and crying. It got really grating on both of us and I'm so glad it's over. (The only benefit that came from all of this is that Ty lost a few pounds, which definitely makes holding him a lot easier!) So, since I'm so happy he's finally better, I decided to take some pictures today to remind me that I should never take that little boy's smile for granted. I have seriously missed it over the past week!

Back to what he does best - eating!

Back to the brotherly silliness...

And just back to smiling! It's about time...

(That shirt used to fit him perfectly, and now it hangs on him because of the weight he lost. Poor kid!)

We actually took this picture a while ago before Ty got sick, but I just had to put it in because I think it's so cute. When we went in to wake him up for church one Sunday, this is what we found. What a kid! -Ash