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.

Regret

I know I'm going to regret saying this in a few months, but I am SO sick of this heat and ready for a nice cool down! Not that cool....not winter....not snow, but a nice LONG fall would be perfect. Knowing my luck, we'll get snow next week and it'll last until April!!!

FINALLY!!!

I don't know how many of you have noticed but on the left side of my blog you can link to my Etsy shop. If you have done this you may have noticed that I haven't sold a thing! Not one thing! I'm okay with it though because I know some of the colors in my duvets may not be many people's cup of tea. If they don't sell I'll just use them myself and I like all of them, so it's all good!
Finally today though I got a custom order for a duvet! I've had a couple people email me inquiring about custom orders but no one has followed through until today. I have ordered the fabric requested and it should be an easy project! I won't make a ton of money off of it, but it will keep me busy and I'm just happy to chalk up 1 sale on my shop!! I have another customer interested in a custom order as well and if she gives me some more information and likes my pricing then I might be able to log 2 sales!! Yeah for me!!

True Love

I could not be more in love with my son than I am tonight!! Samantha had to go to bed earlier because she hasn't napped for days and days and Alex took a monster nap so he got to stay up later. I love it when we get time just with him alone. This is a video of him reading his favorite book. Okay, not really reading, but repeating from memory which, I think, is just as impressive. He got almost every word right (I know most of you won't be able to understand him, so you'll have to trust me) except the last 2 words are supposed to be Beep, Beep, which he changes to Honk, Honk because he likes it better. Isn't he the cutest little boy ever??!! I sure think so. AND he smelled AMAZING tonight so I sat on the couch while he was watching a little show and I just kissed and smelled his head forever. You non-parents out there think I'm crazy, but you parents know just what I'm saying!!

My favorite thing about Fall.

I like television. That's all there is to it! Some people don't, and that's okay, but I really like watching television. And Fall brings new shows for me to enjoy. In particular, Sunday begins a new season of The Amazing Race!! It's an amazing show that takes place in amazing places around the world and is flat out amazing to watch!!! Do you get the feeling it's amazing?? So, if you catch yourself bored on a Sunday night, tune in! It might be the only reason I wake up Sunday mornings!!!
Andy and I would really love to apply to the show and we are quite sure we would CRUSH the competition, but then we remember I'm a cripple with screws in my back and messed up knees. Andy is fantastic with maps and directions and I'll eat just about anything (which sometimes they are forced to do - YUCK) so we make a great team! We travel really well together but the physical aspect of it is what we lack. Plus, I don't know that I could leave my kids for a few weeks. No one is brave enough to take them for that long either!!

Our Summer!

My fantastic brother-in-law Chad took a lot of pictures on all of our adventures this summer and put them together for us. Here is a sampling of the fun we had this summer.

Richele and I with adorable Nicole on the boat.
All the grandkids at the State Fair with the chickens! Doesn't get much better than chicken pictures!
All of us wanted to take home this adorable baby bunny from the Fair.
Andy and I taking the kids down the potato sack slide at the Fair. They really didn't love it.
Samantha and I trying to keep warm together on the beach at Bear Lake. It was chilly!
Greg was throwing Cameron up in the pool and having him smack the ball. It was awesome! Cameron got high!
The original Loveridge family of 5 hanging out in Bear Lake. Aren't we cute??