Things you don't want to hear when waking up....

I was trying to catch a quick nap on the couch while Alex was napping and Samantha was watching something on TV. I was just falling asleep when Samantha taps me and says, "Mom, I have gum in my hair.". NOT something you want to hear while you're trying to catch some Zzzzz's.

This story reminded me of another funny/awful sleepy story......

I went upstairs to nap when I wasn't feeling well one day. Andy was home and downstairs with the kids so I figured all was well. Little did I know that Andy fell asleep on the couch while the two little rascals had some fun a mere 4 feet from sleeping daddy. Samantha some how got a hold of the Vaseline and proceeded to smear it ALL OVER her brother's head. All over her stuffed animal too. Andy woke up and, being the good father he is, took some pictures before bringing them upstairs to wake me up. Nothing like waking up to a HUGE mess. Alex was greasy for days and my carpet still attracts dirt on the "Vaseline spot" as it is now known. This was a couple of years ago but I still cringe when I see Vaseline.

Oh crap! Maybe he'll end up being a salesman!!

The other day I took the kids to Great Clips to get their hair cut. Usually I cut their hair and I think I do a pretty good job but we were right next to Great Clips and I was feeling frisky! I was just planning to cut Alex's but it looked like so much fun to Samantha that she requested her hair be cut as well. It was funny to see the difference in the two kids in the way they interacted with the lady cutting their hair. Samantha just shyly answered her questions and didn't offer any other information. Alex, on the other hand, was asking HER questions and very much interacting with her. He offered information like, "I'm 3!", and "I like orange!", and when she noticed his Diego shoes he asked her, "Do you like Diego?". I thought it was adorable that he was trying to have a conversation with her and wasn't just answering her questions. They both sat very still and were very cute during their haircut. I guess I know where to go next time I'm feeling too lazy to do it myself!

All your fault Andy!

I'm quite certain that my husband wants me to gain some weight. Why else would he buy the best Halloween candy way too early and leave it within my reach?? He knows I can't leave candy alone! He knows I'd eat the whole bag if no one was around to notice! This is why I'm convinced he wants me to get tubby. So fine, your wish is my command baby!!! I'm going to lock myself in the pantry and snarf down Twix, Kit-Kats and Milky Ways.
Sigh.....we shoulda bought Smarties to give out!

My Vignette

www.shabbyapple.com is having a contest to win a dress, shoes, bag and accessories! How could I NOT enter!!!! Thanks to my friend Jenny for finding this.

AROUND THE WORLD IN AN OUTFIT!!!!

Every morning I wake up and check my Blackberry to see my appointments for the day. My energy breakfast shake is ready for me when I get out of the shower. My make-up artist and hair stylist are in the bathroom ready to make me beautiful for my busy day. I have many important clients to see today before I jet off to Milan in First Class for my upcoming fashion show. I have to choose an outfit that will cross international boundries. An outfit that will look good in any setting and say to everyone, "I am in charge." The outfit I choose for this important day is......


This little black dress is anything but ordinary. The lace can easily go from daytime meetings to nights on the red carpet at my fashion show. The shoes are incredible and prove that I belong in this fast paced life. My hair is curly with one side pulled up and secured with this lovely flower. Finally, I put my Blackberry, lip gloss and credit cards into my perfectly matched clutch. It's going to be a hectic day but at least I know I will look lovely!
.............................................................
"Mommy, mommy!!!!!"
I roll over in bed and see the clock read 7:00 am. I grab my teal polka-dot pajamas, pull my hair in a pony-tail and get my kids out of bed. We go downstairs in the dark. I make them chocolate milk to drink while they watch TV and fight over toys. I start a load of laundry. In a little while we will have breakfast. Then bath time. Then more fighting. Then it will be lunch time and nap time. I pray for them to sleep but as I hear them making noise upstairs I know that I will be lucky if I get them to rest for 30 minutes. Then it's time for the park....snack....play-time.....dinner....bath....bed.
It's almost bed time before I even realize that I am still in my teal polka-dot pajamas. And my hair is still in a pony-tail. I haven't even put on a pair of shoes today. Or touched my purse. There is no need for those things taking care of 2 kids and a house full-time.

It's no big secret which life is really mine. And I'm okay with that. I adore my life as it is. However, if I could add a little something (the ensemble) from my story life to my real life it just might be perfect! Just a little outfit to escape from my ordinary life. An outfit my husband can take me out to dinner in and we can pretend there are First Class tickets to Milan in his pocket.

Fall fun

Here are the kids in daddy's old shirts painting their pumpkins. They looked like little ghosts!


On Saturday we went with my family to the Boo at the Zoo and I have never seen so many people in my life!! It was packed! Samantha was a witch and Alex was Batman! Samantha didn't wear her hat much though so I enjoyed being part witch for the day. Probably not much of a difference from my day-to-day self to be honest! Samantha woke up with a bit of a cold and runny nose so she was a little off for the day. They were troopers though and enjoyed seeing the animals and collecting candy! It was a beautiful day....though a little too hot for all the walking around we did.

Book Confusion

I just recently read The Lucky One (said with a sing-song voice) by Nicholas Sparks. Which is about love and romance and lots of squishy stuff like that.

And now I am reading Lords of the Bow (said with a BOOMING voice) by Conn Iggulden which is a book about Genghis Kahn.

I cannot think of two books that contrast each other more. I think Genghis Kahn would be seriously offended that I even included a book about him in the same post as a book about finding true love thousands of miles away!! In any case though I enjoyed the girlie book and am enjoying the manly book as well. I swing both ways!

Still has a lot to learn!

Even at this young age Alex is learning how to deflect women's questions regarding their appearance. He still has a long way to go, but not bad for a 3 year old. Here's how it went down......

Me: "Alex, do you think mommy is pretty?"

Alex: With that confused and sly little grin "No."

Me: Pouty face and sad lip hanging out

Alex: "Um, what's that noise?"

Yeah, there was no noise in the house. It was silent. Good try little buddy! But the correct response would have been an immediate "YES, you are SO pretty mama!". Andy, get to work on teaching this little boy!

Actually enjoying the scriptures

I've never really enjoyed reading the scriptures too much. I do it, but haven't gotten much enjoyment out of it until now. We decided that we wanted to start reading the scriptures with the kids every night before bed. Not the kid version, the REAL version! Daring, I know! We are starting with 1 chapter each night from the Book of Mormon. The rule is that the kids have to sit on their bottoms with their arms folded and surprisingly, they do a great job! After the chapter has been read we explain to them about the chapter using kid friendly terms and try and pull a lesson out of it for them. This is the reason I have been enjoying the scriptures so much........I have to dissect the meaning of the chapter and it has really helped me appreciate and understand the scriptures more. I think sometimes as adults we over analyze everything and if we would just try to think more like kids do we would enjoy not only the scriptures more, but life in general.
That's just my two cents!

Poor Pip

Saturday morning when we left for Park City Pip was just dandy, as usual. When we got home Sunday around 1:00 she didn't look so good. She was all puffed up and quiet all day and got worse and worse throughout the day. I kept her in our bedroom last night to keep an eye on her and around midnight she passed away. Poor little birdie! I saw her eating before bed and thought that was a good sign and I kept hearing her walk around her cage so I figured she might be feeling a bit better. I was wrong. I made Andy check for sure if she was dead and then take the cage to the garage so I didn't have to look at it. Then I laid in bed and cried for 2 hours and when I finally fell back to sleep I had all sorts of odd dreams and Andy said I tossed and turned all night. It was not too fun explaining to the kids why they couldn't see Pip and what happened. Thankfully we've talked about death before and how your spirit leaves your body so that helped the kids understand a little. Samantha cried a lot (I think mostly because I was crying and she really wanted to see Pip) but pretty soon after decided it was time to get another pet!! Kids sure do know how to rebound! I wish I did a better job of that. When Andy gets home from work today we're going to have a little funeral and bury her in our yard. I know we didn't have her for too long, but I sure did love her.

6 years a Higham!

Today is Andy's and my 6 year wedding anniversary! We had a fun weekend away while my dear sweet mom watched the kids for us. The kids had a great time with Grammy and Grampy playing and doing crafts and having a sleepover while Andy and I went to Salt Lake and Park City and Midway.
Saturday morning we dropped the kids off at my parents house and then drove up to Salt Lake. We went to the Farmer's Market first since it was the last weekend it was going on for the year. We only bought a couple headbands for Samantha but we always enjoy walking around and seeing all the people and smelling the yummy food. We've taken the kids there a couple of times and it was so nice not to have to worry about the little ones getting trampled with the mass of people. The weather was pure heaven all weekend which just made everything better! After the market we walked over to The Gateway and did a little browsing and weather enjoying. Our tummies got a little grumbly so we headed downtown for some lunch. Once again, the weather was so great so we walked the 5 or so blocks to this fabulous German deli near the Capitol Theater. I ordered the Weinerschnitzel and Spaetzle and Andy had the Goulash and Spaetzle. It was amazing and filled our bellies just right! They also had a bunch of German candy and especially these Vanilla Milk Wafers that I am addicted to. I was able to find them in New York once and when I saw them yesterday about had a heart attack. My kids were lucky enough to try one.....but I'm sure that's all they'll get!! I'm sure my friend Ashly will remember these wafers and our love for them! After lunch we walked back to the car and drove to find this patisserie that Andy had heard about with this amazing pastry. This place is only 1 of 6 in the US that makes this particular pastry from France. It's called the Kouing Aman and is from the Brittany region of France. It's a little bit of heaven. It's hard to describe but it's flaky like a croissant but has a bunch of sugar in it that carmalizes and makes it chewy and sweet and delicious! I highly recommend it.
After our sweet treats we drove up to Park City and hit the outlets for some shopping. It's sad, but we pretty much bought the kids stuff and only I got 1 pair of boots. Even when you're away from your kids they are never far from your mind, right? We checked into our hotel after shopping and then went to dinner at a place that wasn't even good enough to mention. At least we had a yummy lunch to make up for it.
In the morning we drove to Midway to The Blue Boar Inn for brunch. It's an adorable B&B that we ate dinner at the night we got engaged. We've always wanted to stay there overnight but have never done it. Now that we've had brunch there though.....we're for sure going back! Tasty! After brunch our fun was over and we headed down to Springville to pick up the kids. They were not particularly excited to see us but napped for us when we got home and we had a fun afternoon in the backyard playing football with them. Good times.

Do you know how you can REALLY tell I'm a Higham now????? Most of my post was about food. And I described it in way more detail than you needed. If Andy had written this post, it would be about a page longer with even more description about the food. If the Highams know how to do anything, it's eat and shop!!! Oh, and travel. Which is why I'm proud to be a Higham!!!
I love you Andy! Happy Anniversary and thanks for the fun weekend!!!

Thanks All!

Thank you to everyone who left a comment of encouragement for me going back to school! I really appreciate it and to tell you the truth, it helps ease the pain of going back to school! Thanks again friends! Andy appreciates it too. Love you!

Back to School Blues

I'm going back to school! I never finished my Bachelor's degree because I got stuck deciding what road I wanted to take and then I decided to go on a mission and work full time until I left. Then I got married, moved to New York and had 2 kids!! Life happens fast!!! A few weeks ago I saw an obituary of a man we knew in New Jersey. He died of cancer after 7 months and left behind a wife and 5 kids. This sort of freaked me out. What if Andy died? I could work as a Pharmacy Technician but that really doesn't pay great. I could work in Accounting, but without a degree I think it would be difficult for me to find a good paying job. Of course, my solution was to just get a couple million dollar life insurance policy on Andy!! The kids and I would do well with that! AND, I bet it would be cheaper than me finishing my degree. Andy, however, is into education and wasn't too hip on my idea. Bummer! SOOOOOO, I signed up for an independent study course through BYU that will eventually transfer to UVU. My plan is to take as many independent study classes through BYU as I can (they are cheaper) and then when the kids are both in school full time (assuming we are living in Utah) I will go back to day school at UVU and finish with a Business Management degree. That's the plan but it remains to be seen what exactly will happen!!
I received my first class packet in the mail yesterday and it was enormous and very daunting. I guess Andy and I will be studying together at night!! And at the end, we's gunna be the most edumacated couple who's ever been! Word!!

Silly Samantha

When Samantha is well rested she is fun and hilarious! She napped yesterday (hallelujah) and because of that nap she was fiercely funny. Here are a few of the things she said yesterday (I was actually smart enough to write them down if you can believe it!).

- I can't remember the exact situation but we praised Samantha for something and her response was "That's cuz I'm fabulous!".

- Samantha was asking her daddy how he was going to make the mattress fit upstairs and Andy said "I've got mad skillz". So Samantha asked "Where'd you get those?"

- I had told Samantha I was going to take her to the store with me because she napped and when it came time to leave she asked if I was going with her. Me, being the ever sassy mother responded "No, you're going to drive yourself to the store.". With tears welling up in her eyes she said "I can't, I'm too young to drive!".

Pickin' Pumpkins

Because the only one that can be trusted in our family is Chad, I have no pictures for this post. I'm sure Chad will get them to me when he can, but for now, you'll just have to hear about our evening and not see it for yourself! Sad, I know!

Last night we went to a pumpkin patch for dinner and some good ol' fashioned pumpkin pickin'. The pumpkins belong to my brother-in-law Greg's dad. Every year they have a weenie roast dinner before they head out to pick some pumpkins and they were kind enough to invite us this year. It was quite cold but the kids were bundled pretty well and seemed to be fine. We ate our dinner then headed to the patch. We found some perfect pumpkins and the kids enjoyed finding small ones to carry. We got a ton to decorate and cook and we were so appreciative that they were free!!! The kids had a great time and I think the adults did as well. Thanks to all the Cook's for inviting us!

Big Day!!

Today has been a big day so far!!! Alex and I went to RC Willey and bought him a big boy mattress set for his new big boy bed!! Then we picked up Samantha from preschool and when we got home I discovered that I sold a duvet!!! My favorite one (Plum and Sun) sold. It was also the first one I made and it is so cute. I hope the lady who bought it enjoys it! I have 2 other duvets in mind that I am going to make twin size for kids beds but I was hoping to make a sell before I made them. Now I have! Yippee!!

Seriously????

Really?? Seriously??? It's snowing!!! Just the other day it was warm and beautiful and we noticed a tree flowering and budding like it was Spring! And now.....SNOW! Utah weather is weird. Much like it's people! ;-) Ha ha

New Routine

Samantha has this new routine in the mornings that she is quite fond of. As soon as I open her bedroom door she scrambles out of bed and RUNS into my bedroom and LEAPS on my bed. She proceeds to crawl to my side of the bed and snuggle down in the covers. I then turn on the TV and she watches Sid the Scientist and Super Why. I close the door so she's all by herself (ie. no Alex) and the little munchkin is in heaven!! It's brutal to try and get her out to come downstairs for breakfast. On Tuesdays and Thursdays when she doesn't have school I let her stay in there longer but the other days when she has school it is not easy to get her to come out! Sometimes I think these kids with siblings just need a little time alone. It sure is nice on me as well to only have Alex downstairs to deal with first thing in the morning. It sure is a cute little routine and seeing her all snuggly in my bed makes me want to join her!!

The San Francisco Treat

The weather the past couple of days has been glorious! 70's, sunny, crisp and beautiful. I told Andy that I wished we had a lot more days just like this. He was quick to remind me that about 70% of the time that is the weather in San Francisco. If you can't tell, he's gunning for us to end up living in the Bay Area. He better get working on a higher paying job cuz, damn, it's expensive to live there!!!

Free Advice (unless you feel like paying me!)

If you weigh yourself....which, honestly, I don't recommend.....but if you must, weigh yourself first thing in the morning. NOT late at night after eating a huge dinner.

In case you're interested Ladies!

Here is a link to win a new handbag. Thank you to Corinne for pointing this out to me. There are a few cute bags there to win! Good luck!

www.handbagplanet.com

I'm in love.......

If anyone would like to purchase these for me I wear a 7.5 and would like the red. These would make a fabulous Christmas present for your favorite Kristi!!! Which would be me. I've included the link for ease of shopping. You're welcome.

http://www.shopbop.com/hint-strap-wedge-kors-michael/vp/v=1/845524441822347.htm?folderID=2534374302023800&extid=affprg-2465214-KORSS2007110192

I just have 4 words for you....

CINNAMON BUTTER POUND COFFEECAKE!!!

Costco. Check it out. Be like me. Eat the whole thing by yourself. You will NOT be disappointed!

Pippen (aka, Pip)

Well, yesterday we drove up to West Point, Utah and picked up little Pippen!! She is a fantastic little birdie so far and everyone is enjoying her. Especially me and Samantha. Samantha has already turned into a little bird lady, carrying Pip around on her finger, petting her, kissing her and just chatting with her. Alex is a bit more hesitant and frightened around her. He has pet her and just recently kissed her back, so we're making progress.
My nephew Cameron joined us on our trip to get her because he wants a birdie himself. But his mom is just WAY too mean to let that happen ;-). I thought the kids would enjoy seeing all the birds the breeder had but as soon as I walked in the house I knew I didn't want any kids to step foot in there! Let's just say it wasn't the best environment for my kids and my nephew!! Pip is adjusting very well though and seems very happy. I can tell Samantha is very happy because she just said to me, "Mama, having a bird is so much fun!". Andy has been sweet with her but says he is mostly happy that I am happy. He's a good hubby!
Here are some pictures of the new Higham!

A new addition to the Higham family!

Tomorrow afternoon we are driving up to Ogden to pick up a new little parakeet to add to our family!! Well, to add to me anyways. No one else besides my nephew is very excited for her. As Andy said she is "just another mouth to feed". Good attitude, I know!! ;-) It's not like he's even going to have to do a thing to help with her. Much like when we had our kids.....just kidding babe. I REALLY do not want any more babies but I do feel like I want another little thing to love. So, little Pip is going to be just the thing!!

I'll take pictures when we get her home and settled.

Twins???

Alex had his 3 year doctors appointment yesterday and the kid is HUGE! He weighs 34.4 pounds just barely trailing his sister (she weighs 34.8 pounds!). That weight is in the 75th percentile. He is 40 inches tall which is exactly how tall Samantha was just 2 months ago at her 4 year check-up! Explains why people always think they are twins! That height is in the 90th percentile! We just might have a tall boy on our hands which makes me so happy!! The doctor said he is perfect and the nurse was amazed at how far ahead he is for a 3 year old. For example, they asked if he can ride a tricycle. I told them he already rides a bike with training wheels (apparently they usually don't expect that until age 5). She asked if he could say a 3-4 word sentence at which time he spit out a 9-10 word sentence. Question answered!! She asked if he could count to 3 and I think the highest I've heard him count is 18. Also, he is toilet trained. They were very pleased with his health and progress and he was pleased to get a treat at the end of the appointment! I was lucky enough to be in there the day before they started doing flu shots so I also got flu shots for both kids taken care of! Neither one cried at the shots and were very pleased with the cute band-aids given by the nurse.
I TOTALLY deserve this kind of good behavior considering how AWFUL they were at the doctor's when they were little! They used to start screaming the minute we got in the elevator and wouldn't stop till we got in the car. The doctor always said it was good that they were fearful of strangers and were smart to remember at such a young age (probably before 3 months) what happens at the doctor's. It made me feel a little bit better but the ringing in my ears still continues to this day!
Let me just say though, I am extremely grateful for healthy children!!!!! It is not lost on me how huge of a blessing that is.