Christmas Day!

We had a yummy Christmas Eve dinner with friends and stayed home on Christmas with just the fam. Wii had a Great time. Santa even gave us tickets to go see National Treasure, then we ate dinner at IHOP. lol.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

SUPERSTAR!!!!

Okay so I have this little pet peeve about Christmas cards. lol. It's the letters people sometimes write to go with them. Some of them are short and sweet and to the point and give you just the right amount of info about each person. I don't mind those at all. It's the ones that go on and on about how their child excels at everything or how many trips they went on that year.
Well anyways I'd like to brag about how my child, not naming any names who can finally wipe his own butt. lol. jk.
I'm writing this post about our superstar Brayden. Yesterday, he had his second surgery this year and just 3 months or so from the last one. He did great! The nurses bragged about how great he was and how polite he was.
He is such a strong kid, he apparently has a very high tolerance for pain and will not take pain meds. He must get that from his Dad. He had bilateral hernias repaired and is doing a lot better than I anticipated. He had the surgery around 12:30 or so, he insisted on going home as soon as he came to. The nurse made him stay for a little while. We were home by 3:00pm and he was eating everything in site by 5. He even played the Wii, which most of you know takes a lot of gusto. He is an amazing child a SUPERSTAR. lol

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

So it's Christmas Eve and I'm about to lose it. LOL. jk. The boys have already been threatened with no Santa and have had all their presents taken away. In fact they have had more taken away than they are getting. HA!!!
I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, oh and to share this pic I found from a few years ago. Braxton was 18 months and Brayden was 3. It makes me laugh everytime I see it.

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Merry Christmas!!!!

Here's a Christmas TAG!!!


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? BOTH
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial and it SPINS!!!!
3. When do you put up the tree? Whenever
4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever, last year on christmas.lol.
5. Do you like egg nog? BLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT!!!!(that is a barfing noise)
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Cabbage patch dolls(twins)
7. Hardest person to buy for? ME..lol
8. Easiest person to buy for? Brayden and Braxton
9. Do you have a nativity scene?Yes
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail...they are coming I promise.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Um..Jacob used to do this fun thing where he would buy presents for me, but they were really for him, hated it. Let's hope it's different this year. hint hint.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Grinch...reminds of someone I know.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Dec. 17th..jk I don't know.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, the dumb ones.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? EVERYTHING
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear
17. Favorite Christmas song? O HOLY NIGHT
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? HOME
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? YES, can you spell all of them?
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? NEITHER, a big fat bow.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? one present on Christmas Eve, all the rest in the morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? No Parking spots at the MALL
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Oh am I supposed to have a theme...oops
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey and Ham, Yummy potatoes, etc...
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? GOOD ANSWER Rebecca, but I want a treadmill and an ipod nano.



I tag AUDREY!!!!

My New Business

Hey Everyone, I just became a personal shopper for Shade Clothing. Go take a look at the website. I have a personal shopper code that you can use. On your first purchase you will receive 10% off and 5% off each additional order.
PS CODE Bar62797, just use this code when you order online or purchase at a shade store or kiosk in Utah. Happy Shopping!

Haunted Milk Jug!!!!

I had just fixed Brayden his bowl of cereal and sat down at the computer when Brayden starts asking me why the milk jug is moving. I just yelled from the other room I don't know that is crazy. He was like no Mom really, the lid keeps going up and down, so I went into the kitchen to investigate, and this is what I found. lol. We went and got Jacob and Braxton too.
Maximize your page for the best view. lol.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

YAY!!! CHRISTMAS!!!!

My sis Audrey helped me figure out how to design my new layout. woohoo!!
We spent all day Saturday decorating the inside and out and getting our candy ribbon countdown's(my favorite tradition) ready. This year I put the mint truffle and candy cane hershey kisses on mine. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

It's actually starting to feel like Christmas. We woke up this morning to a temp of 30 degrees and everything. lol. It's supposed to be in the 70's the rest of the week though. Oh Well, I kind of enjoy the nice weather.
Okay soooooooooo, a couple of updates, my bil Chris and Jacob fixed our garage door. YAY!!! NO more morning workouts. phew!!!
Brax did do his soulja boy dance for Show and tell. lol. Everyone loved it!!!
Now I'm off to make some christmas cards. I need some of your addresses!!!

Soulja boy Brax!

Brax insists he is doing this dance for show n tell on Monday. LOL.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Check it out and you too can learn the soulja boy dance, lol.

Gobble Gobble!!!!

I love my boys!!! Here are some reasons why....(click on letter to read)

We told Brayden he couldn't play football until he made straight A's and ate all his dinner every night, lol, that is where the question came from at the end of the letter.

Braxton was so proud of this Turkey he made at school, I thought it was really cute!

TURKEY DAY!!!!

Wow!!! What a weekend. This year we hosted the The Hyland Family Thanksgiving Dinner/shopping weekend. It was a lot of fun, a lot of food, a lot of football and a lot of people. There were 31 of us here. WE MISSED YOU WENDY AND FAM!!!!

Anger management 101

I thought that maybe writing down the things that make me want to punch people would help me not to. lol.

1. Ver!z*n- IDIOTS!!!! I have recently come to hate their automated voice system, I find myself screaming into the phone at it, calling them every name in the book and telling them how retarded they are. I wonder if they record that. hmmmmmmmmm. Then I love how they say they will send a technician out and give you like a 12 hour window of when they will be there.

2. People that think they are better than you- I'm standing in line waiting to order at a sandwich place, and this dude walks in, clearly sees that I'm first in line, steps ahead of me and orders. Now, if I wasn't doped up on 20 different medications and actually cared about crap right now, I would have kicked his BUTT!!!!(it's not really 20)

3. Telemarketers- you know the ones that call at the same time everyday and you tell them not to call back every SINGLE DAY yet they do day after day. I now just answer the phone like this...WE DON'T WANT ANY!!!! So sorry if you call me and I do this. Although I haven't had many in the last 3 days since ver!z*n can't keep it's freaking service.

WOW!!! I was thinking more things were making me want to punch people, guess I'm not as angry as I thought I was. Well, I'm glad we cleared that up. lol.

Oh...I just thought of one more.
4. Stupid Garage Doors- Okay so if it's below 60 degrees outside our garage door won't automatically open, it will start to, and go like 6 inches and stop, or if I'm lucky, it will go like 2 feet. So I've been getting this workout every morning pushing the garage door opener on the wall next to the back door then run to the garage door cause if you give it a little push it will continue to go up. I do this about um 10 times before I actually catch it. It's actually quite comical, but still annoying.

Anyways, that should be it for now.

Tag-a-licious!

Okay so I've been tagged twice, I guess I will do it. I think I'm supposed to tell 6 things about me. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!

1. I don't like flowers. I'd rather have money, chocolates, food, itunes gift cards etc....
2. I don't have my ears pierced and never will, I have enough holes to worry about.
3. Jacob and I got engaged on our very first date.
4. I don't like to fly, I was on a plane once that lost cabin pressure, we had to wear our oxygen masks and make an emergency landing, and I have never gotten over it.
5. We moved around a lot when I was growing up and I'm the only one out of 6 kids that was able to attend the same high school for all four years.
6. When I was younger I wanted to trade names with my sister Audrey, because nobody had her name and there were Amy's everywhere.

THE END

Halle-freakin-lujah, I've been saved....I think?!?!?!?!

Soooooooo, I'm at W@l-M@rt yesterday minding my own business, when I'm approached by a very large woman of a different race. Here is the conversation.

VLBW-Excuse me Ma'am you look like a christian.
ME-Nod head as I look for my green beans
VLBW-Well, I'm a born again Christian and the Lord has sent me here to pray for you.
ME-OKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY????
VLBW-Would it be okay if I prayed for you?
ME- I GUESS????????
VLBW-(grabs my hand)

Okay so those of you who know me, know I don't like to be touched, especially by strangers, so not only was it uncomfortable for her to be praying for me in the middle of W@l-M@rt, but to have her holding my hand too...NIGHTMARE!!!! I wasn't sure if I should cry, laugh, run etc...I did nothing, I just stood there.

VLBW-(begins to pray)Dear Lord, this woman needs your blessings and I can feel your power upon us(then the sound effects start) OH YA!!! MMMMMMHMMMMMMMMM, Praise the LORD, AMEN.....I FEEL YOUR POWER LORD.......BRING SOME MORE....OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH YAAAAAAAAA MMMMMMMMMMM HMMMMMMMMMMMM. OH, JESUS Bless this child.

ME-(thinking) What in the Freak is going on? How did I get here? I just want to get my green beans and get out of here. UM.......CRAP! People are starting to stare. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! If she wasn't holding my hand I could make a run for it.

Just then a very large BM comes upon us and shoves a can of soup in her face and says, "I found it, let's go!!!"

VLBW- (to me) Oh, that is my husband, and he gets annoyed when I do this, but you can't stop the Lord's work, when you gotta pray for someone, it doesn't matter where you are.

ME-UH HUH!!!

Needless to say that will not be my W@l-M@rt of choice anymore. I don't even think I made it home with my green beans either. DANG IT!!!!

Amy's Office

Since I spend half my life in this room I decided to make it look good, and with a lot of help from one of my friends, we did it!!!
This is the entry way.This shot shows the slightly different colors we used for the back and side walls.

Anyways, I love it...couldn't be more pleased and now I have no reason to ever leave this room. lol. jk.

Tooth Tales 2!!!!

Braxton's second tooth has been loose for quite some time and this weekend it was really loose. You know like hanging on by a thread loose. Well, he insisted on keeping attatched until he got to school Monday so he could get one of those super duper tooth necklaces to keep his tooth in. LOL!!! He made it!!

Candy, Couches and More!!!

For my fellow bloggers who claim they didn't get enough candy on Halloween, you are welcome at anytime to come get ours. WAY too much!!!!


So most of you know I had a crazy moment a few weeks ago where I refused delivery of a new couch, because I decided in a matter of an hour after picking it out...I hated it. Well, you will be happy to know I picked one out had it delivered and still love it. YAY!!!!
Jacob also installed another new ceiling fan. WOOHOO!!! He is getting good!!!You like that action shot huh????
We also got some new curtains, this room is coming along....stay tuned for the paint job!!!!

Happy Halloweenie!!!!

Let's see this year we had Superman and a ninja...I let them pick out their own costumes now.

You can just barely see me, I'm right behind Jacob,the ghost rider, I went as invisible girl. HEHEHEHEHEHE!!! Pretty good costume huh?????
Better watch out!!!
IT's a bird, it's a plane it's SUPERBRAXTON!!!!!!

The boys had a great night!!! They got to go trick or treating with Jacob at work for two hours and then they came home and went in the neighborhood with some friends!!!

Brayden as Don Gato, meow...meow...meow!!!!

Brayden was in his third grade music program a few weeks ago, here is the video of it. Sorry I know it sucks but i have a hard time recording my child and watching him live at the same time. I'm a little slow. lol. Anyways, he was a little nervous but really got into by the end.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Catch Phrase

There are two phrases right now that I hate. The first is "You know, things could be worse" and the other "It has to get worse before it gets better". Seriously, I want to throw punches when I hear these things said to me. Anyways...just thought you might want to know. lol.
So, I've started to use these two phrases sarcastically, and a few of my friends have caught on and it's pretty funny.
So here's to my two new catch phrases!!!!!! I wonder if I can get T-shirts made, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

ME WANT COOKIES!!!!!

I'm going to embarrass myself a little with this post, but OH WELL!!! I have to admit I have a never ending supply of cookie dough in my fridge. So anytime I need or more importantly my friends or family need a little pick me up, I have it readily available. The refreshing scent of freshly baked choc. chip cookies can be mine in as little as 14 minutes.
Anyways, we were at a friend's house the other day and the boys started writing notes to everyone telling them how great they were. My friend happened to be baking cookies while we were there, they were from store bought cookie dough too, might I add.
My friend received a note from Braxton, which read, YOU are the BEST COOKER EVER!!!!
A few minutes later he runs in the room again with a note for me. I opened it up and read...YOU are the BEST COOKIE EATER EVER!!!! LOL!!!!
I absolutely love the honesty of my children. I have been laughing at this one for days.

BEST campout ever!!!!!!

Since Brayden was sick this week we had to miss out on the annual family camp out at school. The boys were so disappointed. We decided to have our own camp out in the backyard. We had dinner, made smores and played games, then about 10:30p.m. we all went in the house got in in our own beds and went to sleep. That is what I call a camp out!!!!

JUST A THEORY!!!!

So I've had this theory about my 8 year old son since he was born. Lots of things have told me this theory is true or right, but today just for kicks I tried it out.
First, here it is, whenever he is really sick or in pain he fakes it, says he fine, nothing hurts etc... On the other hand, when he is faking it he acts really sick or really hurt etc... That's my theory.
Clue #1- yesterday he wakes up with no voice and says this is weird mom I feel perfectly fine, but I can't talk.
Clue #2- goes to bed early, just because he wants to.
Clue #3- wakes up with a fever, still can't talk, says he feels fine and wants to go to school.
I put him back in bed, called the Dr., went to the Dr. and his strep test came back positive.
I think that means I'M RIGHT!!!!!!
It's only taken me 8 years to figure this child out, faking = acts sick and really sick= doesn't act sick. It happened a few weeks ago with his appendix too.
Anyways, here is a funny video of his voice, well what you can hear of it. I couldn't get him to say much.
GET WELL SOON BRAYDEN!!!!!

IS IT HERE TO STAY?????

I woke up this morning feeling a little bit different. I was a little chilly and I kind of liked it. It was 61 degrees this morning woohoo!!! Could it be true, is this really happening, are we getting some fall weather???? I was so excited, I got dressed in jeans and a hoodie, still have the flip flops on though...not ready to give those up yet. I even drank Hot Chocolate, I know that is going a bit far but who cares?!?!?!?! Audrey did a post a little over a month ago about the things she loves about fall. I was a little jealous. I couldn't see the fall coming through the gallons of sweat, the scorching heat and the high electricity bills. BUT, today I see the beginnings of what possibly might be fall. YEEHAW!!! Also I'm feeling a little better with some of my good friends back in my life. One thing I'm not looking forward to is little colds, strep throat, the flu etc... and it seems Brayden might be starting one of those right now. Well it's 11am now, we are up to 75 degrees, I am no longer wearing a hoodie, and will probably be back into capris or shorts by 3pm. lol. Oh well, it's a start. HAPPY FALL YALL!!

HAPPY BLUE-IRTHDAY REBECCA!!!!

I've been waiting for Rebecca to post about the blue man group as to not take away the glory from her birthday. hehehe! It was a fun night!! By the end of the night we were all a little BLUE!!!

Brothers against Drunk Driving...B.A.D.D.

So today we were driving along and we see the man next to us smoking!!! Well, Braxton noticed right off, Here is how the coversation went.
Brax-oooooooooooooh that man is bad.
So, I joined in...
MOM-eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww he is bad what is he thinking???
Brayden- what??? what????
MOM-that man next to us is smoking.
Brayden-(yelling)MOM CALL THE POLICE!!!!!
MOM- lol, why????.
Brayden- BECAUSE MOM, HE IS DRUNK DRIVING!!!!
Mom- LOL!!!!!!!
Braxton- NO... DRUNK DRIVING IS WHEN YOU ARE BLIND AND CAN'T SEE, YOU DRINK ALCOHOL,TAKE DRUGS AND DRIVE A CAR AND CAN'T SEE!!!!!

Well there ya go!!!! A lesson on drunk driving from a 6 year old!!!!

Tagged again!!!!!!

What I was doing 10 years ago...

1997 huh???? Holy Crap!! I was at temple square in SLC serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. It was coming up on my favorite time of year there.

What I was doing 5 years ago...

I was in Tyler, Texas with a 3 year old and a one year old and a husband still in school, hmmmmmm not much has changed just their ages. good times!!! good times!!!

What I was doing 1 year ago...
I was getting adjusted to having both boys in school and having lots of free time on my hands!!!

What I was doing yesterday...

Volunteering, going to meetings, shopping, eating like a maniac etc...

5 places I'd rather be...

In my bed, i love my bed!!!
Hawaii sounds good, but can they move it closer to Texas!
Sheridans eating a Truffle Shuffle
Tanning bed
My Right Mind


5 snacks/treats I love...

sheridan's custard
Baked bbq lay's
m&m's
any kind of ice cream
cheesecake

What I would do with 100 million dollars...
ummmmmm where do i start........let's see I would build my dream home, get my infiniti QX56, a black f-150 for the weekends, have a maid, a cook, go on some trips
ummmmmm..i will have to think more on that one. The possibilities are endless.
5 Favorite TV shows...

Grey's Anatomy
Office
Prison Break
The Today Show
Heroes

5 people to tag...Rebecca, Beckie, The price's, Nobody, S

Something new!!!!

I recently decided I needed a change...My sister was brave enough to go from blonde to brunette last fall, but it took me a year to be brave enough. lol. Thanks for the inspiration Audrey. Well she went back blonde for the summer, but still an inspiration nonetheless.

OH MY HOLE!!!!!

Did I get your attention??? Great now let me splain, no let me sum up. About a month ago, we had R@T@ R@@TER come out to fix a clog in our shower....Long story short they couldn't fix and said there was a "break" in the pipe, then hurriedly explained there would be no charge and left our house. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Anyways the good news was we could call our homeowners warranty and have them cover it cause it was no longer a clog it was now a break. We had the Plumber(crack) they chose to come out and inspect and he said it would be about $1200-$1500 to fix, and they could probably get to the pipe from the outside of our house and not have to tear up our shower. So, our home warranty cuts us a check for $600 and says good luck.
Well, being the handy, dandy husband he is Jacob took this job on himself, and with me as his wife he had nothing but full support. Support equals me yelling at him everyday telling him he was going to make our house cave in or the pipes blow up etc...
He was determined. He started digging and just kept digging.

Until he found the busted pipe!!!! By the way, we still haven't figured out what was in our pipe, some sort of grout or cement or something...weird!!!
A few trips later to Home Depot and we were in business!!!


Nice work Jacob, sorry I yelled at you all week!!! lol!!!



Even better, it even works. Ha! Now I'm going to go use the shower for the first time in a month!!! LOL!!!

Are you Smarter than a 3rd grader??? I'm not!!!

Okay so this week Brayden brings home something he needs to study for a test on Friday. He had to learn all the continents, oceans, prime meridian and equator and be able to label them on a map. So I start going over all the continents with him, which I know...barely. Then we continue on to the oceans, pacific...heard of that, Atlantic...heard of that, Indian...heard of that, Southern...wait, WHAT????
I was a little confused. HMMMMMMMMMMMMM...the southern ocean, what the??? Did I miss something? So for the past few days I kept thinking about it and couldn't figure out why I had either blocked that ocean out of my mind or just really had never heard of it. So today I decided to do a little research. Here is what I found...


In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization created the fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean completely surrounds Antarctica.

I immediately felt relief, oh I'm only 7 years behind, oh the year 2000, I was pregnant then, no wonder I had no clue.
YOU ARE SO RIGHT NOBODY, the ocean is so over rated!!!! I mean really if you can just create new ones...COME ON.

Also, just another side note and a funny one at that, every time I pointed to the Prime Meridian and asked him to name it he called it the Prime Minister. lol.

Tag, Your "IT"

MY HUSBAND
What is his name? Jacob
How long have you been together? Married for 9 years
How long did you date? Date???? What is that????
How old is he? 31
Who said I love you first? Definitely him.
Who is taller? Jacob
Who sings better? Depends on the song.
Who is smarter? ummmmm......depends on the subject.
Whose temper is worse? It used to be me, but nine years living with me has rubbed off on him.
Who does the laundry? ME with a little side of him.
Who does the dishes? Me
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? ME
Who pays the bills? I do.
Who mows the lawn? Ruldolfo
Who cooks dinner? Me
Who drives when you are together? Jacob
Who is more stubborn? HE says me and I say Him
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? It used to be him, now it's me.
Whose parents do you see the most? Mine
Who kissed who first? He kissed me first.
Who asked who out? Jacob asked me out
Who proposed? Jacob...on our first date.
Who is more sensitive? Probably me, but sometimes him.
Who has more friends? Oh, definitely ME!!! He always tries to steal mine! hehehehehe
Who has more siblings? I didn't think this question would be that hard, but um I guess him??????
Who wears the pants in the family? ME except on Sunday....lol.

I TAG AUDREY!!!

LAP APPY(Laparoscopic appendectomy- i really like the shortened version, they make it sound fun!!!)

Here's a quick review of our last few days.

Monday, Sept. 10th
3:00p.m.- Brayden comes home from school complaing of abdominal pain
4:00p.m.- Brayden goes to cub scouts and can barely do the fitness test
5:30p.m.- Brayden refuses to eat dinner or do his homework, mom sends him to bed.
6:00p.m.- Brayden goes to bed
7:00p.m.- Mom starts to get worried, Brayden is still in bed.
7:30p.m.- Mom asks Brayden to try and walk...he can't
8:30p.m.- Mom and Brayden go to carenow
9:00p.m.- Dr. sends us to the emergency room.
10:00p.m.- arrive at children's hospital
11:00p.m.- start appendicitis tests
11:30p.m.- morphine administered

Tuesday Sept.11th
1:00a.m.- Jacob takes Braxton to his Aunt Stacy's house
3:30a.m.- Brayden finally falls asleep
4:00a.m.- Tests confirm its appendicitis, surgery will be scheduled
4:30a.m.- Admitted to the Hospital
4:45a.m.- Jacob and amy fall asleep, well...sitting up in chairs, if that counts.
5:30a.m.- Nurse comes in and says we will go to O.R
6:00a.m.- We arrive at the o.r. to wait for surgeon
6:45a.m.- surgery begins
6:45-7:25a.m-

7:30a.m.- Good news...Dr. informs us everything went well...Bad news...they found bilateral hernias that need surgery within the next two months.UGH!!!
8:30a.m.- Back in room for naps, mom goes home and showers and gets clean clothes and food and movies.
12:00p.m.- Brayden insisted on getting dressed and playing video games!!!! Mom goes down for her first nap. YAY!!!
Brayden informed us he didn't like getting surgery but he really liked all the nurses waiting on him 24/7, and playing webkins on Dad's laptop.
3:30p.m.- Brayden eats pizza and french fries, he is well on his way to a speedy recovery. Jacob leaves to get Braxton and gets a flat tire. WHAT LUCK!!!!
5:00p.m- Brayden's buddies and Braxton come for a visit.
8:00p.m.- Mom goes home to get Braxton and get a good nights sleep.
10:00p.m.- Dad and Brayden settle in for the night.


Tuesday, Sept. 12th

6-8a.m.- mom gets braxton to school and heads to the hospital.
1:00- Discharged from the hospital.
2:15p.m.- Mom writing this blog, Brayden all set in the gameroom, feeling a little sore but a lot better. YAY!!!!
HOME SWEET HOME!!! Goodnight...at least for a few days.