MUSIC mondays: {White Night}

Here's a new band I discovered a few days ago.  The POSTELLES.

I really like their sound because it's upbeat and fun and overall I just get a good positive vibe when I listen to this song.

If I were to ever host a party at my house, this is the type of music we'd all be dancing to.

a change in PRIORITIES: {FAMILY dinner}

Shortly after LL was born, I found a new job.  I was so happy to go back to work after a brief hiatus.  The only downside was there was a three-hour gap between when I had to be at work and when Dustin got home.  So, we hired a baby-sitter.  It was a really good arrangement and was still cost effective for me to work despite having to pay a sitter.

A year later, I had the opportunity to change my hours and completely eliminate the need for a sitter.  Basically, I would leave for work the minute Dustin got home.  It also meant I would be gone during dinner time and not get home until after the girls were in bed.  It was a lot to think about, but ultimately, Dustin and I decided to give the new schedule a go.

A few months ago, it was obvious the schedule wasn't working for our family anymore.  The lack of quality time spent together was proving to be too much, and I knew something needed to change. 

Months prior, I had read a quote by Elder L. Tom Perry.  It read:

"Never let a day go by without holding family prayer and family scripture study.  Put this, the Lord's program to the test; and see if it does not bless your home with greater peace, hope, love, and faith."

This simple piece of advice kept entering my mind, and I knew incorporating family prayer and scripture study into our daily routine would be the key to positive change within our home.

So, even though it meant less income, I rearranged my schedule so that our family could eat dinner together every single night.  I also decided that dinnertime would be the perfect time to read the scriptures together.  It was also the perfect time to have our family prayer.

Our dinner begins at 4:30.  We all sit at the table, say our prayer, and while we eat, Dustin or I read the scriptures.  After dinner, we clean the kitchen together, spend what available time is left talking together, and then exactly one hour from when Dustin got home, I'm heading out the door.  The change was literally that basic.

Now, a few weeks later, I am in awe of the changes I have seen and felt in our home.  It is undeniable.  Truly, I have witnessed greater peace, hope, love, and faith - just as Elder Perry described.

Now, full disclosure, when I say "read the scriptures together" I really mean "read a scripture together."  And, LL is usually only involved in the process long enough to look at her dinner, decide it looks revolting and immediately retreat to her room to play.  Please don't mistake our hour of quality time as perfect.  Because it's not, and it never will be.

But, the point is, we're trying.

How thankful I am for the small and simple things of life.  They really do make all the difference.

 

{#picturedaboveisnotourfamily}

the's NO PLACE like HOME

For my daughter's sixth birthday, Dustin and I took her to Disneyland for the first time.  It was the perfect time to go because we could escape the cold Utah weather and she wouldn't miss a day of school.

The part I was dreading the most, the long drive from SLC to Anaheim ended up being the best part of the entire trip.

My daughter greatly disliked Disneyland with the exception of meeting the princesses and fairies.

In all fairness, the park was extremely busy.  And, with all the many things to see and do, after an hour into our second day, she had reached  her limit.  As we made our way back to the hotel, I thought about all the time and money we invested into this trip, hoping it would be a wonderful birthday weekend, only to be disappointed with her lack of enthusiasm. 

Every year, I take my girls' pictures at the exact moment they were born.  Back in the hotel room, I compared the picture of from this year to the one from the year before.  Exhaustion and stress at Disneyland.  Complete joy at our house.

Luckily, I had a friend in the area that had an annual pass to Disneyland, so while Dustin and Isabelle spent the day in the hotel I went back to the park with her.  It definitely was not how I planned the trip to go, but ultimately that's how things worked out.

Dustin sent me pictures of them hanging at the hotel, and Isabelle was the happiest she'd been all weekend.  I'd always known her to be a home body, but I didn't think she'd pick home over the so-called Happiest Place on Earth.

I suppose you could argue I have an ungrateful child, and to a certain extent you may be right.  However, I took away so much more from this trip than I ever expected.  I learned that my daughter does not need much to be happy.  In fact, less really is more in her eyes.  I also learned that there's no other place Isabelle would rather be than at home.

And, I guess, that's not really bad thing.

In the meantime, we'll save our pennies and keep birthdays here low-key and in the comfort of our own home.

{#homeisthehappiestplaceonearth}

INSTAGRAM wednesdays: dustin's ANNIVERSARY PRESENT

Dustin's favorite musician is Melissa Etheridge.  He's seen her five times in the last four years.  Whenever she tours in SLC or a neighboring state, we get tickets.  She is an amazing performer, and if you're into concerts, you'd love seeing her live.  She puts on a great show.

Anyway, the last time we saw her was earlier this month - just two days after we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  Obviously, the perfect present I could get Dustin was for Melissa to wish him a Happy Anniversary during her concert.

So, I went to Twitter because if you want something done, you tweet about it!

I sent maybe three or four tweets within a two day span.  Nothing major.  I wasn't really expecting anything to become of it, but at the same time I didn't feel like my efforts were all in vain.

So, the day of the concert, I sent one final tweet.  Once at the venue, we found our seats and had a KILLER view.  We were five rows back and the microphone was directly in front of us.  When Melissa came out onto the stage, she was so close I could see her fingernails.  It was perfect.

Then, during the show, someone yelled "It's my birthday, Melissa."  So, she, of course, said happy birthday.  And then she said, "I'm supposed to wish Dustin a Happy 10 year anniversary."

We were dying.  I couldn't believe she (or one of her "people") saw my tweets and actually followed through with my request. 

We immediately stood  on our feet and screamed, and since we were so close, she totally saw us.   She threw one of her guitar picks in our direction, but it fell short and the person in front of us caught it.

It was the coolest night ever.  I was so happy my crazy idea actually worked.  I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to give Dustin a better gift, so I'm calling it good for the duration of our marriage.

{#neverunderestimatethepoweroftwitter}

THINGS i've said. {LITERALLY}

I've been known to say a lot of stupid things.  I don't have "Foot-In-Mouth" disease {#gottalovejoe}, but on more than one occasion I have said things that make absolutely no sense and defy logic.

And, honestly, I can't think of a single reason why I shouldn't publicly share a few of the idiotic things I've said over the years with all of you!

...

While watching a TV show with my friends, during a commercial break and nearing the end of one of the commercials I said: 

"Next will either be the show or another commercial."

During our "Just Friends" stage, when Dustin asked if I had any tape {meaning packing tape}

my response was:

"Well, I have....tape {meaning, scotch tape}.
He knew exactly what I meant.

When mentioning the last time I ate, I said:

"I haven't eaten since....today."

When telling a story about my two roommates I said:

"Karen and What's-Her-Face were both there."

{Both of my roommates were named Karen}

And, in 2006, I resurrected the term "I don't give a care."
Thankfully, that only lasted a day.

 ...

I'm hoping my randomness eventually makes it way to one of my kids.  I'm guessing it'll strike Isabelle, but, who knows, LL could throw me a curve ball.

Either way, you'll be laughing!

MUSIC mondays: JAMMIN' in the CAR

I really, really hope my daughters learn to love music as much as I do.  Music is something that I feel very passionate about, and so I try to make sure the three of us always listen to music at least one time throughout the day.  Usually, we do this while driving in the car.  And, I like to listen to my music loud, and, thankfully, my girls do too.  Here are a few of our favorites!

Bad Blood by Taylor Swift

I'm not gonna lie:  I hate loving this song, but it's a good song.  It just is.  In fact, the girls and I love a lot of songs from this album.

Give Us a Little Love by Fallulah

This song was one of my Pretty Little Liar finds.  Luckily, I began watching that show otherwise I never would have found this song.  LL loves to clap along to this song, and I'm confident that one day she'll be on beat.

Skipping Stones by Claire De Lune

Another Pretty Little Liar find.  The best part about this song is around 1:52.  Isabelle just starts to belt out the lyrics.  It's awesome.

THINGS that made me SMILE this week

Most mornings, I wake up looking like this

Not only looking, but feeling beautiful and ready to conquer the world

However, completely out of the blue and totally random, one day this week, I awoke from my peaceful slumber looking a bit more like this

So, naturally, I ate a piece of cake for breakfast.

As I was enjoying my healthy breakfast, my two-year old daughter, LL, approached me with a smile.  She gently caressed my hair with her small hand, looked directly into my eyes and said, "You look so pretty, Mama!"

Is there really anything more to life than that?

Another day, my oldest daughter, Isabelle, found her set of toy instruments.  She began walking around the house playing the Triangle.  You know, the Triangle.  There's usually only one Triangle instrument per orchestra because there's no need for more than one.  One is plenty loud. 

Eventually, she made her way into the office where I was taking care of a few things on the computer.

Literally inches from my ear, she asked excitedly, "Can you hear me?!"

I immediately stopped what I was doing and reassured her that, yes, I could hear her playing just fine all while trying so hard not to laugh out loud.

...

And these, my friends, {#johnmccain} are just two examples of things that made me smile this week.

{TEN things} you NEVER KNEW you ALWAYS wanted to KNOW about ME

I love macaroni and cheese.  Be it homemade or from a box, it's all winning.

I loathe small talk.  Seriously, it's the worst.  Let's just jump right into all my personal problems, hopes, dreams and fears.

I'm a total hipster snob when it comes to music.

I love to make people laugh.

My love language is Words of Affirmation.

I really don't understand the point of celery.

The term "clean eating" makes my skin crawl.

I once wrote a book with my friend.  We were both in the 2nd or 3rd grade at the time.  It was about a magical land with a chocolate river.  I'm pretty sure one of the characters was a popsicle.

I wouldn't consider the fact that I have the song "Careless Whisper" stuck in my head at this very moment a weird and/or bad thing.

I dream of having a legit vinyl collection.  One day.

...

I hope whatever you do with this useless information makes your day better!