we got cereal?

i guess its about time for some sort of update. i think i've made everyone wait long enough.

 

right now i only have the few pics that i took on Christmas eve.

 

the christmas pics are on my husbands camera which is with him in idaho right now.

yeah.

christmas eve

 

making sugar cookies for santa

 

 

 

most of the cousins were able to get together at my parents house and make some cookies.

the first batch the kids made whatever they wanted.

 

it was pretty funny.

 

my parents give the grandkids either pajamas or slippers every christmas eve.

this year was pajamas!

 

 

"we got cereal??"

i think mia was actually a litte diappointed

because she LOVES that chex cereal.

 

inside were their jammies

 

 

 

angry birds for evelyn

princesses for amelia

 

they love them!

 

as soon as chris gets back from idaho

i'll get the christmas pics on here.

we had a great christmas.

the girls love all the things they recieved this year.

 

 

 



merry christmas to all

"But this... this sound wasn't sad. Why... this sound sounded glad. Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, was singing, without *any* presents at all! He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming, it *came*! Somehow or other... it came just the same."

"He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. Maybe Christmas, he thought... doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps... means a little bit more!"
 

 

A simple reminder of what Christmas is about.

 

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!

 

 

 

 

 

 



santa clause is coming to town

i totally forgot about seeing santa this year.

 

we went last friday.

yeah that was a pretty busy day.

 

the girls were so excited

they couldn't wait to see him

 

until it was our turn.

at least for amelia.

 

its almost our turn! mia was dancing on the floor and evelyn was hugging the nutcracker (slightly inappropriate and hilarious)

 then this happened.

not a big fan this year. hahaha.

 

evelyn asked santa for a reindeer toy for christmas.

any idea where santa might find one of those??

 

mia just cried in his face.

 

I'll be spending these last few days before baking.

cookies and cinnamon rolls.

wish me luck.

a lot of late nights.

 

i hope everyone has a wonderful day and a happy weekend!

Its almost christmas!

 

 

 

Oranament Swap

So it's the 20th yay!

 

First off a Happy Birthday to my nephew Tillman. I can not even believe he is 10! holy smokes! blows my mind!

 

 

Second

 

i participated in an ornament swap this year.

with the ever so lovely Autumn.

Seriously, i love this girl.

my first one in fact, yeah nervous as all get out.

i was given a name and was supposed to make a hand made ornament and send it to them.

i'm not the craftiest person so i was really nervous.

but i got it done and sent off ON TIME and i'm hoping she likes it.

eeek.

 

well now on to what was sent to me.

 

i will be honest here.

i opened it up and a cried.

seriously.

i am so excited about the ornaments that i got.

yes ornaments.

5 in fact.

 

 

one for each of my family.

i thought it was so sweet for her to include little camden.

 

thank you to Alacia!

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!

 

they'll be at the top of the tree so they don't get attacked by the kids and ruined. i would just die if they did!

 

check out Alacia at her blog Hoodwinked!

 

 

after looking at them i realized we didn't stray too far in the Alphabet with our names. haha.

 

Have an amazing day folks!

yay for the weekend

so its wednesday, and i'm talking about last weekend.

 

so friday the lets make a deal thing happened. woot! then that same night was the Annual Crandell dinner/gift exchange. awesome!

 

This years pick was to Pita Jungle. 

I had not been their before.

so i tweeted if anyone had and what i should get and i got a response to try the black bean burger. 

so i did and it was amazing! YUM!!

 

 

it was huge and amazing and i ate the whole thing.

didn't even phase me. i guess i was hungry.

so flipping good.

i could eat another one right now.

i need to stop thinking about it.

 

mmmmmm...black bean burger.

 

 

oops.

 

so after we ate

 we skipped the cheesecake everyone ordered and went next door to the frozen yogurt shop and ate some delicious yogurt!

when i say we, i mean my husband and i.

 

HIS all about the candy

 

HERS all about the fruit.

 

it was so good and so needed even though i was stuffed

there is ALWAYS room for frozen yogurt! ALWAYS!

 

it was a great time with my brothers, sisters, and parents.

we all got some great gifts.

lots of loud talking, lots of laughs

its just so much fun to be with family and have a good time.

especially over great food!!

 

 

 

catching up

chris was able to put the camera program on my computer! yay! so i have pictures today!

 

first off amelias birthday.

 

 amelia had a great birthday!

she loved all the presents that she got!

she got candy from her cousins hanna, tillman, easton & brinlee.

unicorn ponies from rylee & rigden

new clothes from papa & grandma crandell

a mini turtle pillow pet from uncle taylor

& a magna doodle from us.

she loves everything that she got!

thank you for the fun gifts!

for your enjoyment a little video of her blowing out the candles.

keep an eye on evelyns face.

we haven't figured out why yet, but she just doesn't seem to like the happy birthday song or candles i guess.

 

unicorn for the win

yesterday was an all around crazy day.

it was supposed to be a much more exciting day for sure.  i woke up feeling excited and totally ready for what this day ment for me! then some jack butt had to be evil and change the lives of so many families. so ubelieveably sad. but i will not live in fear, what kind of life would i be able to have, especially for my children, if i was fearful of the things that happened in the world.


the let's make a deal episode was supposed to air yesterday but i didn't get to see it on tv because of the news coverage happening yesterday. i was worried that it wasn't going to happen at all. if it doesn't air it pretty much didn't happen. so i was pretty bummed about that. found out later that a few stated did have it on so yay it happened, so it was only a matter of time before it was posted online.

i've been waiting for this day for 3 months. 3 months of secrets is pure torture!! TORTURE i tell you.

 

looked at this every day for 3 months!

 

 

well it did end up online! yay!

 

 

it won't let me put the video up on here but i have the LINK!!!!!

 

you can watch the whole thing or you can just go to the time around 15:00 and start from there!!  i hope you enjoy! 

TOMORROW!!

it's only a DAY away!

remember when my mom, sisters, and i took that little trip to cali three months ago. yeah. the episode of lets make a deal we went to the taping of is airing TOMORROW! about time right?

so check when let's make a deal is airing in your neck of the woods and watch it! woot! in Arizona it's at 2pm on channel 5! our family loves to see ourselves on tv. we have issues. haha. i'm hoping you'll be able to spot our group!

we are sitting by the piano man! just look for the unicorn horn sticking up and you've got us! glad i had a horn, it should be easier to point us out! yay! good thinking, erica, good thinking. hahaha.

i'll remind you all again tomorrow! :)

adventures in training

its a christmas miracle!


im not sure what really brought it on, or when she decided to grow up overnight but Amelia has decided that it is time for her to use the big girl potty.

yeah i guess training her i really need the hands off approach cause she just does it on her own.

its kinda nice, but I wasn't the one ready yet. i feel bad but i just don't have the energy to keep up with her and help her like i should. it will probably take as much time as evelyn took (a whole year of training evelyn, nightmare!) so i shouldn't worry too much.


this is pretty much what's been going down at our house as of monday when she decided to start. so i guess we are on day 3.

amelia has requested if she can take her pillow with her so she can lay down on the potty. yeah sorry that is not gonna fly sweetie.

it wouldn't be a potty post with out a potty picture. hahaha.

bearded children...

 

I really wish it would be cool with my kids if i did this too them.

it would be the funniest thing ever.

 

i hope you enjoy this hilarious video.

 

 

and i hope this makes your tuesday slendid!

 

 

 

technical difficulties

oh so you thought you'd be seeing some really fun pictures of Amelia birthday festivities this week. yeah, i thought so too. i had everything ready to go, but it turns out my camera is i guess too cool for the software i already have on my laptop and won't load any pics.

so why don't you just load the new program then!? what are you nuts!?

yeah it ain't that simple folks. see my computer has literally been to h-e-double hockey sticks and back, multiple times. a few water episodes, keys ripped off, spilled soda, dropped. i'm surprised it's still is alive really. so the DVD drive thingy to put CD's in doesn't open, and if i happen to jimmy it open, some how(butter knife), it doesn't even close.  so there are some issues getting a CD in to load a new program. ::facepalm:: DOH!

so i have to get my hubs to either figure out a way to get the program on here or have him load it onto his man cave computer and just have him email me all the pics that i want to use. i'd love to have option A happen, but probably wont. yeah again ::facepalm::

i'm hoping tonight he can work on that and we can get some glorious pictures up for you!

BUT

i do have something for your amusement! my sisters baby shower was last weekend and she had a photo booth and took pictures of most of the peeps that came. my sisters and i while the party was going on were in the other room having some fun taking some goofball pictures of ourselve. My sister made a little site for people to see them.

so have a looksie! you'll know which ones i'm talking about. :)

it was a good time had by all. weeeeeee!

have a super awesome weekend!

golden day

Well today is a special day.

My little Amelia Brooke is THREE!

Her golden birthday. YAY!!

its crazy to think that it has been 3 years since this little nugget came to our family and added a whole new spice to it. she is a total nut case and we love her for it. seriously sometimes i worry about her level of crazy. but really she just has so much love for life! it is so much fun being able to live life with her and her excitement about everything!

awwwwwww my little nugget!

this was the day after she was born.

 

if you are interested to read her being born story you can HERE.

it is told through the eyes of my husband. its pretty funny. :)

 

 

 

Being a mother to Amelia is a new adventure everyday! I love it!

 



they grow up so fast....tear.


HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR AMELIA. MOMMA & DADDY SURE LOVE YOU!

weekly update

Well now this week has flown by too! Which i love cause i seriously needs to be two weeks from today like NOW!!!! i've been waiting for that day for a long time. i'll explain when we get closer, PROMISE! EEEEEEEK!

anywho.


So i'm 27 weeks now. feeling like a whale. typical. so by the time i actually have the kid i'll feel like a.....hmmmm....a beached whale. :) yep.

had my glucose test done on monday. YUM. i gotta be honest, i don't mind the drink at all. It tastes like hawaiian punch (i drink the red kind). Not too shabby.  I'm hoping i dont get a call back but, i wouldn't be shocked if i did. oh well, i guess we'll see.


so i got a early christmas present. eeeeek! you might be seeing some higher quality picture around here soon. i got a sweet new camera.  Nothing fancy, but clearly going to be better than my phone. haha.
thank you husband for the camera!! :)

i mean come on its super pretty too! oooo i love the blue! its even shinier in person. yay! so just in time to take pictures of all of Amelia's birthday fesivities, which really isn't anything but still. So excited!

 

This has been your weekly update! I hope everyone has an amazing weekend. I should have picutres from my sisters baby shower and any birthday happenings for you soon! yay!!  

oh hi there

yeah hi. remember me. the girl that disappeared for a week with no trace of her what so ever.

sorry about that. the week just flew by it was crazy, but crazy fun. :)

so here is a little update for ya.
highlights from our thanksgiving

• yummy food
• laughing
• kick ball (ps. i would not recommend playing while 26weeks pregnant, but i never take my own advice. i was tired and sore but it was so fun!)
• competitive family members
• great deserts
• having fun with family.

i love my family! 

 i was in charge of making potatoes for the feast.

note to self: my range is too tiny for three pots

and 20lbs is too many.

 put of the tree the day after thanksgiving

we have the grown up tree and the kid tree.

they've been having a great time decorating it everyday, over and over and over again.

oh Christmas tree.

 yesterday was my nephew rigden's 3rd birthday!

he invited us to celebrate his big day at bounce u.

the girls had so much fun and they were wiped out when we got home.

they could barely stay awake to eat their dinner.

 

 

see i haven't gone missing. this weeks is going to be another doozy. evelyn is recovering from a mad cold, making ornaments, and getting everything ready for my sisters baby shower this saturday. woot.

 

oh and my little amelia will be THREE next monday! so many fun things happening!

 

I really hope y'all had an amazing thankgiving and make it the best day and week ever!

 



 

 

awarded

 

 

 

well now. i was given a little ol' bloggy award.

THANK YOU TO

Jenni from A Dash of Sunshine
&
Bella from EMR Wife


This award is something like this,
you know when celebrities thanks all the little people (cause they totally do that) well, this is for us little people.

little blogs. :)
yay little blogs!!

i will nominate some peeps in a later post and have your questions then.
this one is a doozy, so i'm gonna split that up.

 

this post is just FILLED with information about me (it's taken me a couple days to get this finished).
 things i know you can not live with out knowing for one more second!


11 facts about me:
even though i was tagged by two peeps i'm still only doing 11.

1. i enjoy a good chick flick. while i'm typing this i'm watching The wedding planner
2. i love to watch the news.
3. my 4 year old has thicker hair than me. i seem to have gotten the balding/thinning hair gene in the family.  
4. i love to bake. i've usually got something yummy baking in the oven daily.
5. i have a terrible memory, and i don't like writing things down. not the best combo
6. i am 4th out of 5 siblings in my family. 2 sisters and 2 brothers
7. i love to throw things away. i'm not much of a saver of things. i don't get attached very easily.
8. i got really lucky and never had to have braces. actually none of my siblings have either. we be cool like that.
9. i will use movie quotes while talking to people. people aren't really catching on. maybe i should stop. nah it's just too fun!
10. my mind will pretty much go straight to the gutter if something is said. i try not to, but i fail. i'm working on it.
11. in honor of Thanksgiving this week, i don't like to put gravy on mashed potatoes.
i prefer to mix in corn or meat and eat them that way. strange but yummy!        

 

 

Questions from Jenni:

1. If you could live off of one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
 EASY, no doubt it would be pizza! you can make it for every meal and if i felt like it i could go healthy. :)

 

2. What is your dream car?
 most people would think this is not cool, but i really REALLY want a Ford Flex! Those things are wicked!

 

3. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

 one that we don't do anymore, but as a kid was my favorite.
our neighbors in our cul-de-sac would do luminaries up our street.
we'd fold the bags, put sand in the bags, put a candle in, then each kid got a really long candle and we'd go around and light each one.
it was something i looked forward to every Christmas.

 

4. What is your favorite candy bar?

i love candy so it's hard to choose just one

but the one i always can eat no matter what is a YORK. those bad boys are delicious!

 

5. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go and why?
i'd really like to travel Europe. all the war zones. i've always been fascinated by history, and would love to see where everything took place.

 

6. What is your favorite book?

 hunger games.
i haven't been able to read anything new since i've read the series(5times, no shame), but even if i did i would probably still love hunger games.

7. What does your blog name mean?

 Its something that evelyn says to me.
i ate my food "good job momma!"
i cleaned up my mess "good job momma!"
and sometimes its me being sarcastic to myself
yeah good job momma, heavy on the sarcasm.

 

8. What is your favorite utensil to use in the kitchen?

 hmmmm....i'm not really sure
my potato masher?
i do like mashing things
 

9. If you could tell your 16 year old self anything, what would it be?
i think i would tell myself to just do what you are doing, keep having fun, laughing, making friends, and you will have a great life. stay positive.

 

10. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
mint chocolate chip

 

11. If your life were going to be made into a movie, who would you choose to play you?

Melissa McCarthy she is so hilarious!

i'd like to think i could be as funny as her...someday.

 

 

Questions from Bella:

 

1. where were you born?

Arizona

born, raised and will probably die here too.

summers are death but winters make up for it.

 

2. why did you start blogging?

i started blogging cause my sisters told me i needed too because they did.

i ended up loving it and they don't really blog anymore.

haha. funny how that works out.

i've been blogging for almost 5 years.

 

3. what's your best asset?

physically, not much. haha

i'd say my positive attitude toward anything and everything.

i try my very best to always be happy and hopefully it will help other people feel the same way.

4. did you watch all the twilight movies?

YES!! i loved reading the books so i had to watch the movies of course.
 love the bad cheesy lines and bad acting.
wouldn't be a twilight movie without it.

5. magazines or books?

books.

i've tried to get into magazines but its just too much fluff for me.

 

6. how many times a week do you wear makeup?

usually once. on Sunday.

but only blush or bronzer sometimes.

weaksauce i know. meh.

 

7. what would the title of a movie about your life be?

haha i don't even know....uhhhhhh

outnumbered
or maybe
don't wake mommy

 

8. what kind of computer do you have?

an acer laptop

it's been through a lot and it's still kickin

 

9. hot chocolate or coffee?

i don't drink coffee so hot chocolate it is!
but i do really love hot chocolate, and its a plus i've been craving it like crazy right now.

 

10. what's your fav outfit right now?

really anything that fits. haha

but really my pjs. i don't really go anywhere during the day so pjs are it.

 

11. favorite sport to watch or play?

i really like to play dodge ball and frisbee golf/ultimate.

i haven't played in so long and i'm not any good but i love to play and watch.
there is just something about getting hit in the face with a red rubber ball or a fribee that just make is so worth while.:)


thanks for the award ladies!

peeta and i thank you for letting me cram all that knowledge into your brain.

:)

 

family picture

 

 

Sunday was family picture day.

my mom and dad like to do a Christmas card with a picture of each family. so we all went to take a few pictures of each family.

 

this is our shot.

well one of the best, i think.

we didn't attempt anything fancy.

we just stood there and took a few shots and were done.

same pose. hahaha.

i really want lots of family pictures after Camden arrives

so nothing fancy this time around.

and i'll probably send out Easter cards instead of Christmas cards.

 

 

i'm glad Evelyn is half my height now

so she could hide my huge belly.

 

 

i can't wait to see how every ones pictures turned out

all my nieces and nephews looks so cute!

and we all unintentionally coordinated.

i love it when that happens.

 

 

i love how grown up my girls look.

im glad there will be an actual baby in the family soon

i miss having little babies to hold.

totally random

i pretty much die with laughter every time i see this picture!!!

and there is my totally random for this glorious Monday. :)

6 months

i had a feeling yesterday would be an interesting day. it did not disappoint.

evelyn had a field trip to a local farm and we both decided she would have way more fun if mommy and amelia were not there to get in her way. so i dropped her off and was going to go shop at a thrift store just up the street till i needed to go pick her up. well i didn't get too. so sad. :(

my van totally choked and died in the middle of the parking lot, ugh. yeah and the guy that was staring at me to move my van out of the way, it would have gone faster if you would have helped me! thanks but no thanks. it was interesting to try and get the van moving but once i got momentum it wasn't so bad. he asked if i needed help after the fact, yeah good timing. haha. thanks.

i'm thankful that my parents could come and save me, and my mom for picking up evelyn from her field trip. my van is now fixed, it was a gas valve issue, and i'm so glad it was fixed and we didn't blow up. it could have happened. yikes.

i'm grateful that the Lord is mindful of me and my children and i'm grateful i listened to a feeling to turn at a different spot so i would stall in the parking lot instead of the middle of traffic. it was a long day of waiting, but glad things all worked out.

oh and i made it to 6 months of cooking this baby. yay.

How far along? 24 Weeks
Maternity clothes?  yes, but not fitting quite right. this guy is sitting low and awkward. meh.
Sleep: if i could sleep all day i would. i am loving sleep. i am so tired all the time.
Best moment this week: waking up and finally feeling pregnant.
Miss Anything? my favorite pair of jeans. we will meet soon jeans, i promise.
Movement: this dude is always on the move.
Food cravings: liquid chocolate. hahaha. chocolate milk, and hot chocolate.
Anything making you queasy or sick: not so much anymore. i'm pretty good.
Have you started to show yet: yeppers
Labor Signs: yeah.flipping.right....next
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: happy just tired
Looking forward to: i don't even know. thankgiving food and christmas treats. hahaha. always about food with me. oh and i'm hoping to get a nesting kick like yesterday. i need to get my house clean and i have no motivation yet. :)

what evelyn thinks

last night as i was falling asleep i thought that today would be a good day to do a small interview with evelyn about her thoughts on thanksgiving.

just a few simple questions.

i need to interview her more often. she is a silly girl and makes me laugh with some of the things that come out of her mouth.


i hope you enjoy this video. maybe next time i'll be more pro and use an actual camera instead of my phone.

 

 

 

most loved post of the year

okay maybe not the most loved but i'm going to say it is. children dressed up in costumes is the best thing ever!! i love it so much.

so first off. Amelia transformed from Dorothy into Cinderella. She was adorable as Dorothy, but she loved being Cinderella the best! She fell asleep in her costume and still wont let me take it off her. haha. what a cutie. Evelyns cat whiskers aren't coming off as easily as i hoped either. oh well, i don't think she'll mind going to school with whiskers on her face today.

Is it totally lame of me as a mother that this was Amelia's first time actually trick or treating? She's been to a trunk or treat but like actually door to door. She's almost 3! i'm kinda glad it was though, she understood and i didn't have to push i stroller she could do it all on her own.


the pictures you've all been waiting for.
we met at my grandparents house with my family and we got some pictures together then we did some trick or treating in their neighborhood. it was awesome.

her kitty cat roar face.

 my adorable little princess

 

 love my little princess and cute kitty

 

 my oldest nephews easton & tillman.

ninja zombies.

they played the part well.

 

 my sweet nephew Rigden

the hulk.

 my cutie pie niece Rylee

cutest minnie mouse around.

 

the Kitty Kat club.

Evelyn, my niece Hanna, & Brinlee

 



the best shot of them all together.

love these kiddos!

the parents that dressed up.

me:purle cow, kim(sister): bird watcher aka:attack of the birds

mal(sister): a witch, jon(bro-in-law):pig man

 

 

this was a great year. the girls got really tired and slept great last night!

 

How was your Halloween??? Did you dress up this year?? :)

 

HAPPY NOVEMBER Y'ALL!!



preschool party

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

yesterday was a fun morning. Evelyn had her preschool halloween party.

the three of us (evelyn, amelia, and myself) dressed up and went to party.

evelyn is so excited to be a cat this year. yeah thats right she totally changed her mind on the whole spongebob thing and wanted to be a cat. i wouldn't be surprised if she ended up being a cat for many halloweens. she's been a little cat crazy as of late.

anywho.

i was one of two moms that dressed up. i'd say there were at least 15 moms there with the kids oh and a few dads there too. hahaha. it was fun. people kept looking at me, i wonder why? hmmm.

 my little Dorthy and my cat

(she wouldn't stop touching amelia with her tail, she had way too much fun with it!)

 sweet mia, she wouldn't wear a brown wig. oh well still cute.

 

 her whiskers and nose were gone by the end of the party.

 

yes i went as a purple cow.

what do you think when someone says purple cow?

 

i think of a yummy grape float.

thats what we call those.



 they did a little parade around the yard.

it was cute.

decorating cookies.



and eating decorated cookies. :)

 

 

they had alot of fun

playing with the other kids

making paper pumpkins

decorating cookies

and they each got a goodie bag with treats.

 

i'll have pics from tick or treating tomorrow.

 

:)

hopefully it goes over well.