Newly listed on justourstyle.etsy.com

Yippee! I am now selling interchangeable watchbands on Etsy! Thank you Brandy Jesperson for letting me post with your cute stuff! Here are some examples above. Please tell everyone you know to visit http://www.justourstyle.etsy.com. There is a ton of adorable things on there for yourself and your girls! Very girly!!

On another note, here is an update on us:

We are just packing up today to go on our first camping trip of the season. I wish I was more excited. I always have a hard time being excited to go for the first time of the year. I guess it is just because of all the crap you have to do for the first time. Like, making sure that you have every little thing that you would need in a trailer. Ugh! Oh well the kids will have fun and I am sure once we are pulled into that spot and unpacked I will be able to relax.

Kids are great! Brennan has been constantly on the go this summer. Not much of a difference for him. He can never stay in one spot for more than ten minutes at a time. I love Tuesdays! It gives me a chance to spend time with him when we go to Grandma Diane's and he is stuck with me for the five or so hours we spend there. Good times.

Tysen lost another tooth yesterday, that makes three. No major freak out this time. He was extremely calm as he tried to negotiate a $10 reward for letting me pull it. He really wanted it out and I only had to give him $1 and the "Tooth Fairy" gave him $5. He is such a funny kid!

Last week he and Emma were in the bath and they were being little turkey faces, so I was not in the best of moods. I said something to him rather loudly, but not yelling, and he calmly looked at me and said "Mom, I think you have anger issues." It's hard to be in a bad mood after that. He is such a dork.

Emma is turning out to be a little Brennan. She doesn't like to stick around for long either. She has a BFF across the street, he name is GooGoo. Funny huh? It is really Loraina but she tells me that her name is GooGoo and gets mad when I call her Lori like her family does and the rest of the neighborhood. It is too much fun to watch them together. They are just the cutest things to walk this earth and they are complete polar opposites, in looks and personality, except that they are both little girly girls. Emma is a tall skinny somewhat fair haired princess and GooGoo is a, well, she actually looks just exactly like Dora the Explorer. Don't ever tell her that though. It is very upsetting to her. Very cute and lovey those two are.

Well, I really didn't have time for this, but I just wanted to get an update in. I will post some pictures of our trip to East Canyon when we get back.

Update on Us

Hello all, family and friends. Sorry to have been away for so long. It has been a very crazy month or so since I have last blogged.

We are all well, or well enough I should say. Poor Tysen helped Lee shave the dog a week ago and has been suffering for it ever since. I guess no more dog grooming for him. He has been sneezing and coughing ever since and completely out of it ever since.

Brennan is turning 12 Sunday. Holy crow, I can't even believe that I am old enough to have 12 year old. He is creeping up to my height and his feet are already three whole sizes bigger than mine. He will start junior high in the fall and I am scared to death to send him. He is a good kid and I know that he will choose good friends, but it is a whole new world! Brennan is an extremely intelligent and wise kid, so I know that he will do well if he can settle down and understand the importance of school. A mistake I have since learned. I never did well in high school, and it was because of bad study habits. I had no study habits. We are trying to help him understand that just because the younger grades don't count toward whether or not you get into college, it is good to learn good study habits now. If you don't have them while you are young, you will never have them. It is to hard to catch up. He is such an amazing kid, good looking, likable and generally outgoing.

Tysen has testing next week for first grade! OMG!! He will be in school all day next year. YEAH!! I am so proud of Tiny. When he started kindergarten, I was afraid he would never catch up. This little man struggled so much with even just the simple tasks of identifying his letters of the alphabet and writing his own name. That was due to the fact that he could not decide whether to write with his left or right hand. He does everything with his left hand and writes with his right. He cracks me up. He can now Read write and knows his abc's and 123's backwards and forward, and can sound out and spell words. He can't stand missing school and I love that in him. The two times he has been sick and I have made him stay home was a devastation to him. I believe he will continue to make leaps and bounds.

Emma will hopefully start preschool in the fall. She is ready and such a little social bug. She enjoys being homework mom with me every Thursday. She pretends that she is correcting homework right along side of me and can already write her name and say the alphabet. She walks around some days spelling the entire family's names. E-M-M-A, T-Y-S-E-N, B-R-E-N-N-A-N, M-I-N-D-I, L-E-E. Crack s me up she does. She even is picking up a little bit of Spanish, since her BFF is Ecuadorian and her parents don't speak much English. So funny. I know that most of it is just gibberish but a lot of it she can understand when the neighbor speaks to her. Amazing!

Well as for Lee and myself, we just celebrated out 14th anniversary. We have the good fortune to have Brennan and his willingness to warn extra cash by babysitting. We went and played nine on Saturday night then went out to dinner, while he watched the kids and took care of the house. What a good boy. Tysen and Emma love it when he babysits. They say it is because he is a nicer babysitter than he is a brother. I think it is because he knows that when mom and dad are gone he has to do what they want to do and not what he wants to do. Thank you Brennan, we do truly appreciate you!

Lee is still traveling one week out of every month to work out of the Texas office. He left yesterday afternoon. We miss him terribly when he is gone, but at least he still has a job and it is only one week out of the month and not more yet.

Good times in the Diaz household.

Oh and by the way, I am still waiting for the school to send me pictures from the sixth grade dance. Brennan looked so incredibly handsome in his gray suit and purple tie. It was awesome! So pictures still to come!

Happy St Patty's Day!

So today, we all dressed in our green duds and went to school. I would have taken a picture but, I am on my own this week.

Emma and I went to pick the boys up from kindergarten and out they all walked with their Leprechaun masks. I remember making one just like it when I was a little one.

After we got home we had just sat down to lunch and Brennan called to come home. Not feeling well (something must be going on this afternoon that he doesn't want to do). On the way home, Tysen and Josh were telling Brennan that they had green eggs at school. Then they started asking me if eggs came in other colors, red, black, blue? Sure, I said, you just add food coloring. Emma's reply was, "Yes any color, it makes them flavorish!"

What a cute little word maker upper!

Snotshoos and Sponsibilities

Oh miss Emma Jean! She is such a funny little girl. I have many opportunities to have one on one chats with her. On a daily basis she makes lists. I ask her what she is doing and her reply is always, "Just my sponsibilities Mom, I just need to get this list done." I think she takes after me, I am forever making lists.

She has had my cold or rather, I have had hers. about two years ago, she got a cold and she kept running to me saying, "Snotshoos, Snotshoos". So what are snotshoos you ask? Boogers. Yes folks they are boogers. She put together snot and tissue. So when she was making her list the other day before we went to the store, I asked her, what was on her list. She said, "Just my sponsibilities and more tissue from the store. I have a lot of snotshoos and we are almost out of tissue."

Holy Fetching Snow Batman!

I awoke this morning to a massive snow storm! I don't know what it was like anywhere else, but oh my gravy was it a doozy! It took me 15 minutes to get the kids to school this morning ( it usually takes 3). Thank heaven for four wheel drive. I had to make two more trips after that back to the school.

The kids spent the day in the dark at school because of power outages. On my way to pick up the Kinnygardeners, I turned left and went up the hill instead of taking the back roads. That was a mistake and I knew it as soon as I turned and a car turned in front of me. Let me splain the hill. If you don't have four wheel drive it is like trying to get up Parleys Canyon in a snow storm. That car made it half way up and then slowly began to slide back down. Lucky for me I went around her. Whew! close call.

Then when I got home, I had the pleasure of watching the Garbage Man dump the cans. Poor guy, he dumped the garbage and the can followed. He had to climb into the truck and throw the stinking thing out. He didn't look none to happy. I wonder if it happened more than once today. I sure got a kick out of it. I laughed so hard I nearly coughed my guts out!

When the big kids got out of school, I drove up to pick them up. I usually pull into Grandma Jean's driveway. Fat chance there! She had a four foot mound in front of her driveway! Even in four high I wasn't chancing that since I was in slippers and toe socks.

I wonder now if perhaps Lee will buy me a snow blower. Doubtful!

Conversations with my Kids

So I decided it might be kind of fun to post some of the various conversations I have had in the past with my kids. I mean the funny ones that you have when they are little. I think I shall do this once every other week. You see, i have a notebook that I keep and I write down the conversations that I have had with them and the funny words that they have made up. So here's the first chapter.

You all know Brennan right? Remember what a cute little three year old he was? Well if you don't recall, he was and is still very adorable. But when he was about three he cracked me up on a daily basis. He had this thing where he called Lee and I by our first names, and when he was going to tell you a "fish tale" he would make his voice really low and cool like. So the conversation went as follows. Be sure to hear in your head a real cool low voice when Brennan speaks:

Scene: Driving up 89 to Grandma Jeans.

Brennan: Hey Mindi?

Mindi: Yes Brenn?

Brennan: Do you see those mountains up there?

Mindi: I sure do. What about them?

Brennan: Well, you see Mindi I made them.

Mindi: You made them? How do you mean?

Brennan: Well, do you see how there is some red up there and green and there is even some brown?

Mindi: Yes.

Brennan: Well I painted em.

Mindi: You painted them? How did you do that?

Brennan: I drove around in my truck and painted them.

Mindi: Did you do that all by your self?

Brennan: Well, no. Christian works for me.

Mindi: Wow! So how much do you make at this job?

Brennan: Like 540.

Mindi:Hmm...

End of conversation for one week. Then it picks back up while driving back up to Grandma Jeans.

Mindi: So Brennan, do you still work in the mountains?

Brennan: Nope!

Mindi: You don't, well how come?

Brennan: The pay sucked!

Tagged by Tessa. Things you might not know about me.

Well like I told Tessa, I am a pretty open book it will be interesting if I can think of some things you might not know about me. Here goes:

1. When I was young, my should dislocated quite often. It hurt like a beggar! My mom says that I have been to the chiropractor on a few occasions. I do not remember one time that I have been. I think that it was such a painful and scary experience that I have blocked it from my mind.
2. I still to this day have an irrational fear of dogs. Even little itty bitty's. This is funny mostly because I have a little dog. To this day I will get the sweats and my heart races anytime I come into contact with a little dog or when a dog barks. This probably due to the fact that I was chased often as a child by nippy little fetchers when I was out running the neighborhood.
3. I LOVE pedicures. Not only because it makes your feet so darn purdy, but because I like to get all of the skin and yuck off. I even like to give pedicures to others.
4. When I grow up, I want to be a hair dresser. I sometimes wonder if I have missed my window on that. Is 35 to old to go to cosmetology school? because that is how old I will be when I can commit the time to it. And will I be any good?
5. I love to have my arms, back and feet tickled. It drives me crazy that I have a husband that hates it!
6. I have lived in 11 different houses in my life. My favorite is the one I live in now. Even though it is old and out of date, it has my best memories. I have wonderful memories of all of my homes, but this is the one I will miss the most.
7. I wish the outside of my house was as nice as the inside. It will take a long time to make it that way because I feel like I can't do anything to the outside unless everything is done with the inside.
8. Someday, I would like to move to another state. I have never lived more than forty miles from my family. I think that it will be a challenge and I will miss them greatly. But I want to know what that is like.
9. I have lived in my neighborhood for 10 years. I still do not know the people next door and they have been there for at least three years and have two little girls that are Tysen and Emma's age. I think that I will go and introduce myself this week.
10. I wish that I was a better homemaker. I love to cook and be with my children. I hate cleaning though and I really do a half assed job unless I have company over. My sister is the ultimate cleaner. I would love to have a house that looks like hers. It is near impossible when you have a human tornado named, Emma.
11. I love to eat potato chips and cheez wiz accompanied by a coke. It goes back as far as 3 years old. My dad always had them. He would pour his coke from the bottle into a cup with ice and give me the last little bit and we would eat Lays potato chips while watching MacGyver or Star Trek.
12. I also love the television show "House". I think that Hugh Lauri is a major hottie and I wish that he was my boyfriend.
13. I have a pet peeve. It is tall women with short men.
14. I have major anxiety when I am in the passenger seat. It is with anyone. Even if they are a good driver. I need to be in control of something that big.
15. I hate watching people when they are doing things from up high. It makes me vomit a little in my mouth.
16. I love to smell little babies when they wake up from naps. They smell so sweet when they are bathed and have Baby Magic lotion on.
17. I hate dirty ears! Just pick up a stinking Q-tip and clean them for heaven sake. Does it really take that much time out of your day.

I laugh at commercials and America's Funniest Home videos a lot. I mean I laugh so hard that it makes me cough uncontrollably and it sometimes makes me pee. TMI. I try not to watch them very often.

Well there are some embarrassing things for you. I hope that it makes your day a little better and not too disturbing.

I tag Kirsten, My mom and Annie.

Just Some Random Things

Just been thinking lately of things that make me happy. I have had so much bad news in the last month, and such a crappy year, that I have just been trying to remember the good old days. So here goes.

1. I remember when we were quite young, I believe I was around four years old, Kristi and Sean used to walk with us down to the 7-11 on 7000 south and Redwood Road. It was so much fun to go and get penny and nickel candy. Then we would run across the street to Godfather's Pizza. On one particular occasion, we were running across the busy road and I fell. Right in the middle of oncoming traffic. Kristi scooped me up and ran with me to the other side, and said, "Don't tell Mom!" I don't think I ever did. If I had I am sure that would have been the end of that.
2. I remember setting up Barbie houses. We would use anything that we could find. We would use a bread pan for a bath tub, a toilet paper roll for a toilet. A shoe box for a bed and we would use books to make walls in our own little Barbie dream house. Boy did we ever have some elaborate houses.
3. We often played church. We would use the gray stool as the pulpit, and the vacuum was the microphone. We would break bread and pass the sacrament. That was a good time.
4. We also use to play dentist. We would make a retainer out of a paper clip or braces out of gum.
5. One time Lance was pushing me in my Fisher Price grocery cart, He would push me from one side of the kitchen to the other. Super fun, that is until I hit the corner of the wall and cracked my head open.
6. I remember having sleep outs in the yard. One time we were setting up in the front yard, I was in my sleeping bag getting on my pj's, when everyone started to scream. I peeked my little head out of the sleeping bag and was met by a gigantic German Shepard! Holy crap that was scary. We were all terribly afraid of dogs!

Good times I must admit. Even if there was a little physical pain involved at times. I remember them as good times.

Oh No! I Lost a Tooth!

This was on October, 28. Tysen said that his tooth was hurting him one day while he was eating his afternoon snack. I looked in his mouth and low and behold, he had two new teeth grown in behind his baby teeth. The baby teeth were not that loose. One was looser than the other. So I said, "Tysen, just let me feel this one, I promise It won't hurt." I grabbed hold of that little sucker and yanked the ever lovin' crap out of it! He cried and bled like a mad dog! I laughed my but off and felt bad that I tricked him. So I gave him five bucks. And the tooth fairy left him a dollar the next morning. That made him happy and he was able to buy a new action figure.

The second one he was very apprehensive about. He would not even let me near his mouth. So... I proceeded to chase him down and hold his tiny little mouth open. I barely touched the thing and it came out. It was definitely ready. He didn't know that it had come out, he begged and pleaded with me not to pull it. I looked at him and said, "What, you mean this thing right here?" He laughed really hard. It was funny. He made me promise to put it on my blog. I am just now getting to it, but a promise is a promise when a tooth is not involved!

Wow! What a Week

So this has been the kids first week back to school since the Christmas break. It is also the first week that I have been back in the Babysitting game.
Tysen's best little school friend, Joshua and his sister, Cassy are now my responsibility during the hours of 7AM and 4PM. While I only have Cassy for just an hour in the morning and an hour after school, and Josh for longer because he is in Kindergarten, I have forgotten how hard it is to have children other than my own.
It has gone alright this first week. Hopefully next week we will be able to work out more of the kinks and everyone can be a little more on the same page. Ha Ha!
On another note, yesterday was Emma's 4th birthday. I know, can you believe my tiny little peanut is 4 now? She has grown up so much. Not only in height, but in attitude and maturity. She cracks me up every day. She tells me that I am her best friend forever. She is my little BFF. I love the quality time I get to spend with her while the big kids are in school. Next year should be an adventure since it will be an all day thing instead of just a half day.

For her birthday she told me again that she wanted a flat box that said "Surprise" and lots a tons a clothes, those were her exact words. Also she wanted an American Girl Doll and some more stuff. Well the some more stuff I was a little unsure about. I went to the toy store and just walked around for 30 minutes. I could not think of what she would really want. She is very particular about toys and her birthday being so close to Christmas makes things hard.

So, I asked her if she would rather go shopping with mommy, and she could pick out exactly what she wanted. She really enjoyed that idea, since she had spent Monday spending her birthday money from Aunts, Uncles and Grandma and Grandpa.

She ended up with a set of "Hisicle Musical Barbies" and a "Dora Doll" and a Barbie Beverage Shop and some black shoes. I also got her some more clothes. She is a giant I tell you. I have to buy her shirts in the "Big Girls" section because she has such long everything, although she is still to skinny for the big girl pants. She only ways like 28 maybe 30lbs. She has grown up and not out.

Her American Girl Doll was delivered on her birthday. I was so excited, I didn't tell her that it was here because I did not want Lee to miss out. So we took her out to dinner and let her open it there. I looks just like her, hoopy loops and everything. I shall post a photo later.

All in all it has been a hectic week, but a good one. I am looking forward to things becoming more normal.

Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

Well, the holiday season has come to a end and all the little kiddies are back in school. Yipee!

Christmas this year was amazing. Even the school break was awsome. Normally I count the days for school to start again. This year we had such an amazing and peaceful two weeks. It could be due to the fact that the kids spent the first three days of their vacation with Kristi and Alicia. They are my personal saviors.

Each year on the weekend around the fifteenth, Lee and I dispose of the children for the weekend and we do every single bit of our shopping, wrapping and last minute cleaning before christmas. It was a little worrisome this year because Lee wasn't sure whether or not he was going to get a decent bonus. You never know when they might decide to give the the "Jam of the Month Club" instead of the usual bonus. It was a good bonus. It was exactly what we were expecting. Yeah!

On Christmas morning the kids were pleasently surprised by their gifts from Santa. Brennan asked for a Bike, Tysen wanted a Millenium Falcon, and Emma requested a flat box that says "Surprise". We weren't really sure what she meant by that so she got "Biscuit" the fur real dog. She was very excited and did not seem to miss the flat box.

Lee and I give the kids the rest of their gifts. They got a few other toys and some clothes. When the boys open their clothes they do the "Ralphy and Randy" thing and toss them aside. Emma on the other hand opened her clothes and said, "Oh yeah, clothes, I really needed those!" She really did to. Since the boys got school clothes they did not need much. Emma had four outfits that fit her. The rest looked like hip huggers and belly shirts. She has grown a good six to eight inches since last year.

I am so sad the holidays are over and on the other hand, very glad to have it over. I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for the new year!

Here are a few pictures from christmas morning.