The Pettits

wow...when did i get SO old?!?

2009-07-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

you know, i really don't feel old. they say you are only as old as you feel...not too bad. i can handle that. most of the time i feel more tired than old. some may think that tired/worn out makes them feel old...i just say "i'm a mom" better yet, "i'm a mom of young children" being tired goes with the territory.

there is the occasion where my age does feel a little age-ier than others. graduations for instance. when another school year ends and i hear people remark "wow, can you believe it?? it's been two years since we graduated high school! holy cow!" LOL wow, yeah it's been a few years more than that for me! *chuckle* but then i look at where i am at now, pregnant with my 4th child and a foster mom...i sure as heck hope that it's been a few more years than 2 since my high school graduation! weddings are another things that jolts me. especially when it may be someone who's life i was involved in when i was younger, like as a leader, or worse yet, someone i *gasp* babysat!! heh heh heh...to realise someone i babysat is married, with a kid of their own looking for THEIR own babysitters is a little weird, no?

why the topic of this post you may ask?

well, last week we were talking about birthdays. very timely too. our foster son just had his 8th birthday early in june, our youngest had her 2nd a couple months before that...and we are preparing the kids for the next actual birth day, as it can be anytime this little bundle will join us. i'll be 36 weeks in 2 days! (what with the contractions and other "symptoms" i am having, i am doubting i'll make it much further than that)

anyway, so the kids were reminded that my birthday is coming up here soon too. this is a conversation i had with my 4 year old.

Bekah: how old are you gonna be?
Me: i'm going to be turning 30!
Bekah: (horrified)what??! but that's like past 100!!!

no wonder so many people are terrified of reaching that dreaded 30!

kids...doncha just love their thought process?! :)

what a trip!!

2009-06-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

holy cow...the roller coaster ride!

i tell ya what, life is nothing close to boring when you are pregnant and feelings and emotions are amplified! from my whine, pitty fest friday night, elation saturday when my husband returned, worried anxiety sunday, shock and surprise monday, to slightly relieved but mild irritation. LOL

so ya all know about friday...heehee i made it very clear how i was feeling that evening. :) saturday was great, my husband returned and all was well! sunday rolled around and things were slightly different. when i went to bed saturday night, i felt a little off. i was tired, didn't feel quite right and i couldn't get comfortable and that did not provide me with a good night's sleep. i got up in the morning and that "off" feeling continued and worsened. i started to feel worried and horribly guilty. here it is FATHER'S day and i could not dote upon my man! but that wasn't what got me the worst. i started feeling really icky, achy, gassy, contraction-y, dizzy, nauseated...nothing good. (especially for one who has a history of preterm labor) then i got to remembering how i felt the day i went into labor with my first pregnancy. the similarities were too close (except no spotting, thank goodness). the freaking out ensued. i did not go to church. i stayed home and stayed down trying not to think too much on how i felt and read into things too much. i relaxed and wasted some time on facebook via my hubby's 'puter, and relaxed in a bath...where i actually fell asleep. i was given a blessing after my family got home from church...and that really made me feel better. troy took care of me and the kids and made dinner for us. we then got a surprise. one of troy's sisters and her husband who live about 5 hours away was in town and they paid us a visit! it was so nice! by the time they left, kids cleaned up and put to bed and my dinner eaten, i was exhausted. i slept very well that night.

monday really sang a different note! i was still slightly zapped of energy, but feeling SO much better. our foster son's case manager came for a monthly home visit. (she was 1/2 hour late, no surprise, but frustrating because we had swimming lessons) the visit was pretty much same ole, same ole until she started discussing actual progress in the case plan! i knew about SOME of it, but suddenly there was a time frame and a goal for him to be home with his parents!! WOAH!! CPS has been very slow about any progress. we've had our foster son for almost 16 months and there has been little progress allowed by cps. we were expecting very little to change till closer to december. but if all goes according to what was laid out to me, it's quite possible he will not be with us when the upcoming school year starts! i was in shock most of the day!! talk about a turn around!! but let me tell you, this is a GOOD thing!
we are all very happy!

today was interesting too. lance had his first visit with his grandma since restrictions were lessened. while he was with his grandma i had a prenatal appt. i was anxious about this one because of my "excitement" on sunday. i was worried that there might have been a lot of change pregnancy wise...dilation and effacement. hoping not too much, but at the same time...wanting SOME...to know that yeah, i won't be pregnant forever. (i am technically full term in 3 weeks!!) well my dr was concerned when he heard about my symptoms that i had experienced and i was checked. NOTHING! i haven't done ANYTHING!! this does not bode well for me! :P but it's good at the same time. it's looking like i will actually get to that 37 week mark and have my first full term baby...i just hope i will not go to my due date! or else the cute little dress that i picked up at walmart for $3 in hopes that she can wear it home from the hospital would be too small!

LOL!

what a fun range of emotions in such a short range of time huh? :P just thinking about the past few days makes me feel tired!

i think i am gonna take advantage of the fact that the kids are surprisingly still asleep and get some shut eye myself! :)

i hope you all are having days on the happier registers of the emotional scales!

permission to whine pls??

2009-06-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

*sigh*

i'm in a funk tonight. i hate this! i feel a lack of energy, a feeling of unspecified sadness, and just an over all little gloomy cloud following me around. blah!

does anyone else get like this from time to time...possibly randomly?? does it get brought on by any certain thing or event?

tonight my husband is not home. i feel very onery and spoiled at the moment. the past 4 years he has had to take a week off of work to spend at camp geronimo for scout camp because he was the 12-13 year old's scout master. don't get me wrong, i support him fully in his duties and assignments...but those were 4 very hard weeks. this year he is no longer the scoutmaster! (yay!) but he does miss it. one of the perks though, is getting back that extra week of vacation! woohoo! but, alas, tonight finds him yet again, at scout camp. LOL it's not bad at all...he drove up right after work and he will most likely be home before lunch tomorrow. not bad at all....not even one day of work off...although he totally would have, had his boss not already taken those days off so he HAD to be there. so now i feel spoiled because i feel sad and missing my man. even if it's one measly night when normally it's a whole week. i'm really not complaining, just stating that i am missing him.

tonight would be a perfect night to clean the house, but i have no energy. it would also be great for indulging in a decadent pint of ben and jerry's and watch my treasured copy of phantom of the opera, but i'd have to take the kids to the grocery store with me, and their abundant energy and their lack of listening skills makes that trip more than unapealing...and the movie just doesn't hold that same tantalization tonight. a good book and a bubble bath would be in order, but i have no more bubble bath and i don't want to start the twilight series again yet... (once i start, i have to read ALL FOUR...and that takes up a lot of time as a busy mommy) i'll save that for when baby time is closer and i can't do as much or if i get put on bedrest. none of my other books are jumping out at me as something that would absorb my attention this evening.

i wanna chat, but i don't know who to call on a friday night with datenight or other things going on...not to mention i don't know how phone chatty i'd be. facebooking would be nice....especially since i haven't been on it for like 3 weeks except for a second to try to draw my friends back to my blog. (is anyone even still CHECKING it anymore?!) but my computer is not fixed yet and this one cannot access facebook. grrr. i can happily waste at least an hour catching up on everything...and then there are the mind numbing quizes that could occupy me...not to mention possible friends online that i haven't seen in years to chat with. *sigh*

LOL i could even blog about past goings on if my computer was fixed...but since i don't even want to try to figure out where the pics are on this one, i want to leave those posts till pictures are available. i can't even find internet pics to liven up my posts, because our filter blocks most of them anyway! gah! can't win for losing eh? :)

okay, i think i am done whining now. and if there ARE any readers out there anymore...let me know. LOL it had ONLY been 2 months...well and several more before that...but still! :P

heehee! let me know i'm still loved!

we're getting there!

2009-06-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

can you believe it?! i am 33 weeks along in my pregnancy. and for those who don't know, i am having girl #4! :) we couldn't be happier!

some may think 33 weeks isn't anything huge...that i still have a ways to go...

but in my case, not necessarily so! the furthest i have ever gone in a pregnancy is 36 1/2 weeks! 37 weeks is technically considered full term...that is my goal. i want to go to term...early yes, but to technically not have a premature baby would be nice. (even IF the 36 1/2 week-er was 7 lbs 3 oz...) so as long as i make it to july 15th my goal will be met.

wow, july 15th...that's not so very far away! i thought i would be brilliant and get a head start in preparations. today i went and got out all my newborn girl clothes to see what all i still need. (my other girls were other season babies...one fall, one late fall, and one spring. this is our first summer) i realized real quickly that it wasn't the wisest thing to do for at least another 2 weeks. i am now VERY anxious to meet our little girl. *pout* that's ALL i need...getting anxious now, it;s not so conducive to my goal. LOL

i'll keep ya'll updated! :)

dun dun duuuuun! (aka forboding music) ;)

2009-06-14T06:47:00.000-07:00

craaaaazy stuff...

i am sitting here a little bored and a little frustrated. i miss my computer! well...i suppose i AM technically on my computer...

okay, lucy, i'll 'splain..

memorial day weekend we usually go camping with my sister and her family and some friends. we have done this for what? at least 3 years?? that sounds about right. anyway, it's fun and something we look forward to every year. well, this year was sticky...we were asked to dj a wedding reception for some friends of ours and we were beyond happy to do so! then we learned it was the saturday of that holiday weekend. bummer! they told us they could find someone else if we still wanted to go...ahh what to do??! we felt so torn!

well, with the economic down turn, construction is really slow and not so good for people in that field...and thus not so great for my sister's family as that affected them. would they still want (or be ABLE) to go camping this year??! after long, hard deliberations, we decided we were not going to go, but stay and support our friends and "play some funky music". LOL it was fun. preparations were stressful (as always) but it was worth it. i love that dj-ing is one of my husbands talents! he may not be the best one in the world...but i honestly don't know any better! :)

sooo what does this all have to do with my blasted computer??! i'm getting to that part.

with the conveniences with this modern age, come mp3s (and other such music files) so cds are not so much needed. it makes it sooo much easier (cheaper, too, might i add) to acquire certain special songs for occasions. in the past we have had songs that we downloaded on our computer AND brought our plethora of cds too. this time we managed to put ALL our cds on a drive on our computer. it was so nice not having to lug all those around with us!! the reception was great and we all had a blast.

but tragedy struck the next day. sunday morning my husband told me our computer crashed. WHAT?!! it was working just fine all the night before!! he then told me that when he was installing the external drive that all our music was on (it was originally installed on our desktop...and we used the laptops, so needed the drive with the laptops instead) there was some difficulty. there was some errors or it just didn't install properly, i don't know...i'm not the most computer knowledgeable. anyway, so that sunday morning he was trying to UNinstal that drive and that is what did it. bye bye computer. might i mention, my husband is in the computer field...so he knew what he was doing. it did not happen because of lack of knowledge or a dabbler's mistake. but CRAP!! this is nooooo good! not only did i panic at the thought of all our music lost...that is easily attained again, but important files on our computer, and worse yet *gasp* alllllll our digital pics!! we haven't taken many pictures on actual film since our first real digital camera...which we got when bekah was 3 months old! there was like 10 GIGS worth of pic on my computer...and NO BACK UP! oh the horror of horrors! i suddenly felt weak, dizzy, and nauseous. this cannot be happening! there was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

but troy, the awesome superhuman he is, immediately began to work on the computer to see what he can do...could it be saved...at least enough to rescue the pictures! and finally, by the end of the day...voila! the computer was up and running....very sluggishly and it all seemed so very wrong...but the pictures were able to ALL be transferred onto troy's laptop. and important files are safely tucked away. holy cow!! i felt like i could breathe again!

actually, the fact that i am still "on" this very computer is amazing. troy needs to go an reformat it...joy! but in the time being it still works well enough to network our other laptop that usually cannot function on it's own. (about 2 years ago it got an accidental bath by a mug of water spilling on it. the screen was permanently affected. it works sometimes but not others. (troy even tried to replace it...but still, the same issues...so probably something like the video card was messed up. *shrug* but that computer works perfectly fine if it's networked and accessed from another. which is what i am doing now. i am using my poor crashed computer to be able to log on to my bathed computer so i can get on the internet to pay bills and get email and such.

so, until troy get's the time (and motivation) to go and actually fix my computer this is what i have to do. which is not all bad...but i don't have access to certain things...like FACEBOOK and blog features. i can usually read and comment on everyone's but i can't access all MY features. soo until my computer is fixed or troy brings his work one home and i can get on his, i just write a post and it will sit in drafts until that blessed day! LOL

and until that time, i cannot take pictures off my camera, cannot post any pictures or anything. *pout*

but i have a computer....and i DO HAVE ALLLL my pics!! so life is good! semi frustrating...but i'll take that happily! :)

so, what's all your biggest computer fears??

caution!...warning!...danger!...beware!

2009-06-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

one may notice that pregnancy can bring out the...best...yeah, that's it...in a woman. especially in late pregnancy!!

most people are aware of the dr. jekyll and mr. hyde phenomenon among pregnant women. i have to say, at this point in my pregnancy, my alter ego has been frequenting much more often.

i have found myself more and more often in a very feisty and sarcastic mood. i have the urge to do nothing more than to scoff at people's ignorance, vocalize my annoyance, and to make snarky comments. ahhh i just daydream of letting loose all these desires on some poor unsuspecting person who happens to cross me...

but, alas, my nature doesn't allow this without proper provocation...usually... which is actually a good thing. LOL i can't tell you how many friends and acquaintances i would lose had i not have this powerful mute button when it comes to my knee jerk (but sometimes rather witty) responses to people.

as i sit here and delight at this side of me that is not so very often seen by most people, i am also appalled at it, and afraid of it at the same time. that is not a "me" i like to portray...not a side that i am especially proud of on most occasions.

sooo...if anyone sees me and notices this strange mischievous twinkle in my eye, either run the other direction or break out the duct tape and promptly apply to my soon to be running mouth.

ps...has anyone ever seen a maternity shirt that is that bright yellow caution tape color that says "caution...do not cross" if so, let me know. LOL i think that may be a wise purchase on my part! ;)

sigh

2009-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

okay, yeah so it's been a couple of months since my last post. and that post was pathetic at that. but you know what?! oh well! i just have had no love for blogging. i suppose you can say i lost that loving feeling. not to say that i have lost the love for all my friends out there that i kept in contact via blog...i just hated the thought of sitting down and thinking of something interesting, witty, amusing or anything mildly unboring to post. facebook has been my addiction of choice...much more of a instant gratification thing, and much more response. :) hey, who doesn't love instant validation on what you are doing/feeling?!

i know there is little excuse as to my lack of posts...there has been sOOOoooOOO much that has gone on! holidays, birthdays, pregnancy (might i add, i am near ready to pop...only about a month to go!) drama with kids, court thingies for our foster son, a little get away to cali for just troy and i, school getting out, sicknesses... the list goes on and on!

so yeah, as i regain my seat in the blogging world, as slowly as that will be, if there is anything you guys are curious about, just ask. i may or may not eventually indulge your curiosities of my most often mundane life. but in the time being, check me out on facebook! LOL that's the sure fire way to keep good up-to-date tabs on my comings and goings! <3

:)

2009-04-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

hello my dear blog readers! (are there any of you out there anymore?)

it has been a while, my dear friends. i hope you do forgive me!! i am back! i cannot promise that i will always post regularly, but i'll do what i can! i love you and miss you!!

the past few months

2008-10-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

what has happened here??

in august: i celebrated the beginning of my last year in my 20's. i am not bothered by my age at all! troy got me all 4 of the twilight books for my bday! he had no wife for a bit...thanks honey!

the kiddos (lance and noemi) started school. it's very convienient that they both are in the same school now...same grade, but different teachers.

troy had HIS birthday too...in which he departed from his twenties and entered a new decade! i considered throwing an "old" party, but i wasn't motivated by the planning and effort it would take, plus it was on a sunday, so he turned 30 quietly and without fanfare.

in september:

we went up to utah for labor day. we got to spend time with some of troy's extended family. it was so nice...i even got to meet some cousins and their families for the first time! we got to have fun at the famous "peach days" and got crazy loaded with more candy than we knew what to do with...

noemi got to be student of the week in her class. she brought in lots of pictures, filled out a poster and got to bring her family in for her presentation. the following week was her birthday. i think it is so fun that she gets to have her birthday fall during school! that is something i never got to experience!

bekah joined the ranks of lance and noemi in education....sorta. :) a couple gals from the area and i got together and formed a preschool. it's pretty much the 'joy-school' curriculum and set up. we each take turns teaching in our homes. it is fun and bekah especially enjoys it! she is such a big girl!

on the 20th troy and i celebrated our 8th anniversary! we spent the day in flagstaff with the youth from our church. we rode the ski lift for a moutian top devotional. it was nice...but windy and cold LOL and we got a sunburn. we went out to eat that evening but we were so tired we didn't do anything else, a movie was contemplated, but sleeping through it didn't seem so appealing! :)

then bekah had her birthday too! it seems so crazy sometimes to have 2 girls with birthdays in the same month...especially before samantha came around...it was 4 birthdays and an aniversary within 2 months! how much crazy fun can you pack into a couple months??! ;)

then sometime this summer...before school started...can't remember exactly, we got to spend time as a family WITH lance's parents. they had a birthday party for lance since they didn't get to spend time with him on his birthday (which was the beginning of june). we got to go BOWLING! this was a first for the girls...and they still remind us that we HAVE to take them again sometime! they had so much fun!

any suggestions??!

2008-10-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

okay, samantha has been our only thumb sucker and blanket toter. i do have to say, it has been very convenient that she was able to self soothe so early, but there are definitely disadvantages. i am NOT looking forward to breaking the thumb habit.

then there is the blanket....she truly loves it! she giggles when you give it to her. but, alas, after being dragged around EVERYWHERE it doesn't exactly stay clean for very long. boy-oh-boy is laundering that blanket a joy!

i usually try to nab the blanket and toss it in the washer when she is unaware, but this time she caught me grabbing it. GREAT! she knew something was up. then i got this fabulous idea that if she was the one to put it in the washer it would go smoother.

so far so good!

there it is...getting clean!

so much for that eh??! such a sad thing!

so, do any of you have any suggestions on how to make this very temporary parting that much less traumatic for her...LOL and the rest of us??!

hello...is it me you're looking for??!

2008-10-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

okay well of COURSE it's me you are looking for!

it is my blog after all!

okay...i just wanted to post and let you all know i'm back baby!!

AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!! edward,....bella, where are you??!

2008-07-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

okay i am dying here! of all nights....

troy is at a scout campout tonight. (he has them usually once a month) i usually use those nights to catch up on cleaning i have been putting off or just deep cleaning. i thought the house looked horrible today...with there having been sickness in the house...and then today my allergies flaired into something much more miserable. so i put the kids to bed and get ready to break out the big guns. to my horror, as i got going, there isn't much to do!! well there IS but most of it has to get done with troy's help. (our what-was-office is in shambles since we gave his dad our computer desk...but i can't do a lot in there until we decide what to do with it!!)

now some may laugh at my "predicament"...but then i am left with:"so what am i gonna do now". as i sat down with my laptop on my lap with my blog page open the flyleaf song comes on (you can scroll through the songs and click on it if you want to hear it...it's twards the bottom of the list) and it's all over!

i am a hopeless twighlight addict! i have only read the first 2 books though...because that's all i had. sooo...what does twilight have to do with that flyleaf song? well ever since i heard it after reading the first book i thought that it fit perfectly with it...i thought it would work well in a soundtrack to it. so imediately i feel like an alcoholic that just walked into a bar...(okay maybe not...but you get the idea) i NEED my twilight fix! tonight would be a perfect night too...the kids in bed, the house presentable, no husband to feel like he's second fiddle to some "silly book"...i has been stormy. all these things add up to some perfect book devouring time. but, alas, no book three....or one or two for that matter...they were borrowed but now returned.

and yet, another dilema...as millions of you are aware the 4th and final book in that series is coming out on august 2nd. and you better believe there will be mass chaos with the lines waiting for midnight to roll around so they can victoriously claim their precious copy of the book. i will be sitting here...very sad. my birthday is august 3rd...so how PERFECT is that...but still i have no book three!! how torturous!

so here i sit blogging so i can keep my brain occupied until i go to bed....

*sigh*

kids...LOL!!!

2008-07-22T20:06:00.000-07:00

okay just picture this:

all of us are in the living room. i'm laying on the couch feeling like crap because of a stomach bug that the kids so generously shared with me. the kids are a little stir crazy, so to keep them a little occupied troy gets them singing some fun songs. (he's a great guy huh...too bad, he's mine!) :)

anyway, the kids are having a ball...singing all sorts of songs dancing around and expending some energy. then we sing "row, row, row your boat". troy and i show them how to sing it in parts (as a round) and had the kids sing with us to see what it's like. we sang it as a round like three times and when we were done troy asks

Troy: "now does anyone know what that was called?"
we were looking for the answer "a round"

Noemi "i know! a sour note!!"

kids....don't you just love them?? :)

what haven't we been up to??!

2008-07-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

this month has really flown by already! wait!! this month??! this whole SUMMER has passed with lightning speed...just a few short weeks till school starts again for us!

noemi and lance had their first session of swimming lessons. they had a BLAST! i would have been slightly more fun for me if i could have been in the pool in the mom and tot class with samantha...but the desk person i talked to on the phone said that bekah was too young for level one and would have to be in mom and tot...i can't be in the class with two kids...so therefore it was none...all three of us got to sit and watch 4 days a week for two weeks. it actually was pretty convenient because right after swimming lessons we were able to go to the school next door for the free lunch program!

then for the fourth of july, we got to do some traveling up north and lance got to meet gaga and papa for the first time. we had so much fun with troy's parents. on the morning of the 4th, we went to a parade and got loaded up with candy. that afternoon we went to the park for the fair. the kids got cooled off by a fireman and a fire hose...boy that was nice!

then we walked around enjoying everything that was there. as we were waiting in line to get some food there was a booth next to us that had a sign that said "free mini manicures". the end results: two very happy little girls! unfortunately for lance, it was not something that he got to benefit too much from. :) but while we waited for the girls to be done we got to watch some native american dancing. lance was mesmerised...i don't think he minded the wait one bit!

that evening we were invited to a barbecue with some friends and family. we got to enjoy good food and scenery with good people while we waited for the fireworks show. it was beautiful!

the next morning was something i had been looking forward to for a long time! we went FISHING!! i'm not sure who was more excited, the kids or me...but, really, does it matter? :) i was a little leery about our chances to catch anything because it was overcast and stormy looking...even as early as 7 am. but we tried our hand.

it took a while, but noemi was the lucky girl who got the first catch of the day! we were very excited!! we named him tom!

bekah caught the next fish. i was not able to get a picture with noemi and tom because he was taken off the line so fast, but getting a picture of bekah and her fish was even more exciting. i had a line in the water when bekah caught hers so i propped the fishing pole as i went to get the camera. as i was getting the camera focused i saw that i had a bite!! aah! what was i to do??! it was my first bite! do i take the picture and risk loosing the fish...possibly the pole too, or skip the pic and see what i got. obviously you know my choice. :) and, yes we did lose the fish. (pole was safe and sound) the next excitement was noemi caught a huge fish! although, unfortunately as we were trying to reel it in, we discovered that the line was wrapped around a cable underneath the dock. we were trying to figure out what to do...hoping that maybe the fish (whom we so affectionately named sherry) would help get the line untangled, bekah got a bite too! woohoo! but we soon discovered that she too caught sherry. we caught the same fish twice! what are the chances...catching the same fish while it was still on the line of another hook. but, alas, there was nothing we could do we had to cut the line on both poles. it was a sad moment. lance was the next one with a catch. he managed to catch himself a catfish! those suckers are fighters! when he was reeled in he was bleeding pretty good...he actually swallowed the hook. lance named him bloodhead. ahh yes, definitely named by a boy! ;) i actually never caught a fish...i had a good 6 bites, but with my inexperience i either waited too long or i tried to set the hook too quickly. oh well, next time i suppose. the last fish was caught by troy as i was taking bekah to the bathroom. we didn't get much of even nibbles after that because the wind really picked up and it started raining lightly. between 10 and 10:30 we packed up and headed back. 4 fish...not too bad for our first trip as a family! lance's catfish and the other three were stripers.

we had some delicious fish for dinner!

we just kinda hung around until monday when troy, lance, samantha and i headed out. noemi and bekah got to stay with troy's parents for a week. we missed them tons, but they had a ball! troy's parents brought them back home the following saturday.

while the girls were gone lance started another session of swimming lessons to help keep him occupied. his last day was this last thursday. now we just have 2 weeks left of summer...school starts on august 4th this year! how crazy is that??!

i hope you all are having a fabulous summer!

how big is baby??!

2008-06-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

okay, how cute is she??! i thought this nice big picture is fitting for this big girl. :)

we have been watching samantha as she has hit each milestone. we have been very anxious as she has been nearing walking for sometime. she has been cruising around furniture and anything else that is around. she also has this little push toy that is intended to help walking...she practically drags it with her...as long as she is holding onto something.

yesterday, while at church, samantha must have had a strange burst of confidence. she suddenly decided to stand up...unsupported. she did it over and over and over...until her poor little legs were so tired they were shaking.

this evening she dared to go a step further....

how big is Mantha Baby?? SO BIG!!

picture?? PERFECT!!

2008-06-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

okay, if i were to give a thorough 'journaling' of all that has gone on since the last post of substance...it would take like two pages and therefore would probably never happen!

so, what i am going to do is picture update with captions. if i had the camera with me, it gets mentioned. :)

at the beginning of april, we went up to utah. we were able to visit my brother- seth, his wife- joyelle, and their son- little seth. we also got to stay with troy's uncle matt and aunt laura the entire time we were there. were were also able to make it to the sunday afternoon session of general conference! it was a great little vacation for us!

this is samantha and little seth....cute cousins!!

the seths!! i love, love, love this picture! :)

awww! i had to take advantage of the purdy flowers, and the girls are always up for a photo shoot. :) too bad i couldn't get samantha in there too.

they really do love each other...it's not just for the camera!

on april 19th, our little sammymantha turned 1! doesn't time fly?!

mmmm! the first birthday cake! thank you walmart for your reduced price strawberry parfait cake...really saved us some time after running around all day!

yummy!! the very messy aftermath of that delicious cake!

we have this large lot....but it is a lot of dirt. we have lived in this house for six years this coming september and we have been working towards landscaping. here is our back yard. it looks small with some small piles of rock...but this is misleading. those piles equal 100 tons of rock! we purchased it last year, but there was a lot to do before we could get it put up.

how far does 100 tons of rock go?? it was just enough to rock the banks in our backyard. i don't know the square footage, but they are between 6 and 7 feet high. here is the completed picture.(completed banks anyway) unfortunately there is SOOOOOO much more to go...then there is the front yard.

yeah, a larger lot is nice...until you have to landscape and maintain it! eesh!

this is the famous lance that you have all been curious about! he has been with us since march 1st. he got to celebrate his 7th birthday with us on june 2nd. he got to spend some time with his 10 yr old brother earlier that afternoon too. here he is with a couple of his presents...a john deere set and a red fuzzy blanket.

a blanket in june??! that's what he wanted. he loves snuggling in blankets. :)

the birthday boy and his cake. it's no strawberry parfait cake...but we sure enjoyed it just the same!

heehee here is our sumo looking child! she had her first ponytail...not much there, but i consider it a milestone. she has had the slowest growing hair out of all the girls and i have been dying to be able to put her hair up. it is still a LOT of effort so i don't attempt it very often...but at least i know i can!

noemi and lance both graduated kindergarten this year! unfortunately i don't have any pictures of noemi graduation too, because her teacher opted not to do one...just a private celebration in their classroom for just the kids. (no families invited) but it actually worked out really well because lance and noemi attend different schools and i was wondering how i was going to juggle 2 graduations. phew! that coulda been sticky!

and thus ends my photo update!

I'm not dead yet!

2008-06-22T22:53:00.000-07:00

or...am i back from the dead??!

sorry for the long hiatus!

what has kept me from blogging?

lack of motivation
having gotten too far behind and dreading the long "catch-up" post(s)
getting my hands on the first two books in the Twilight series....i need book three BEFORE august 2nd...
giving into the dreaded facebook "cess pool" (and enjoying every minute of it!)

*sigh* but since i have been so desperately missed, i have decided to grace you all with my blogging presence again!

so in the next few days i'll be in the process of getting things back in order...new postings, blog face lift...possibly some catch up- but don't hold your breath!

so here's to new beginnings!!

i'm it!

2008-04-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

i've been tagged again! thanks andrea! :) no, and that is not sarcastic either...i've been i'm a blog funk. it's nice to have something to post. *sigh* i do have some updating to do...but i don't have the attention span for that at the moment.

on to the tag!

How To Play This Game of Tag:
Post these rules on your blog.
Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog.
List:
3 joys
3 fears
3 goals
3 current obsessions/collections
3 random/surprising facts
-Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names .
-Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

joys:

a great book and time to read it without guilt
my kids! they are so funny and sweet
relaxing/snuggling with troy. i really do have the best hubby in the world!

fears:

heights...this is a very real phobia too...i even get dizzy looking up at really tall things
creepy/crawly things (snakes, scorpions, spiders, cockroaches..the list goes on)
something happening to someone in my family...getting hurt or worse :(

goals:

lose weight!
organize the house...do some downsizing so we can do some rearranging of things
become more self sufficient

obsessions:

Survivor!
ice cream
my hair being clean

random/surprising facts:

i have been known to get sucked into teenage shows...like "instant star". i love the music on it! (which is how it hooked me to begin with) so if you were wondering who alexz johnson is on my play list...she's the main character "jude" on that show.
i don't do well with blood or needles...even though i have to endure weekly shots through out my pregnancies. the anticipation of a shot or a needle poke is enough to make me worried about passing out.
i have never gone to get a manicure or pedicure and have little desire to do so.

my tagging victims:

amy
lisa
heather m.
jess
suzanne

shoulda woulda coulda??

2008-03-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

wow! it's so weird to think that we very well could be in california right now! last week we, or i should i say troy, got a surprising and rather unexpected email. apparently last year troy went online to see if he could get tickets to american idol...and that is what the email was all about!

how fun would that be though??

but as it stood, internet tickets are on a first come, first served basis and there is no guarentee of getting in or even sitting with your party, and it's standing room only so we are to wear comfortable shoes too. there is also a dress code that is strictly enforced with internet ticket holders: no shorts of any kind and no t-shirts and no white. dark colors preferred. we are to dress "hip and upscale". LOL yes, and i know i'm the picture of hip and upscale!

it was a nice idea but...realistically with a baby and 3 older kids...a job and the cost of fuel and finding a place to stay, standing in a line without a guarentee of being able to even sit (or stand, as it would be) next to my husband...or even getting in for that matter...*sigh* it just wasn't to be.

and
another i had another rather fun surprise last week. my husband told me that an old friend (gary) from prescott came into work and they were talking. gary asked troy if he has been watching his grand daughter on tv. troy was a little lost and asked who his grand daughter is. come to find out his grand daughter is BROOKE WHITE!

how cool is that??! a few of you had some connection to her...and now so do we! she has always been a favorite of mine.

so everyone, vote and vote often for Brooke white!

blah!!

2008-03-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

okay i thought spring break was supposed to be fun...filled with energy and excitement. what happened??

i'll tell you what:

this is me:

i have been really knocked on my buttoot by this. i was running a fever for like 2 days and with the sinus pressure...i just wanted to chop my head off!! but to make matters worse, samantha has been like this:

poor thing...i know she's not feeling the best either as her nose has started running too...but the screaming and crying...it's just not conducive to my sudden sound sensitivity which amplifies the pressure in my head.

but to make things even better, our sweet dog, bill, just got neutered monday afternoon. FINALLY! but his neutering wasn't an easy one...as he isn't from fine breeding (mutts usually aren't!) they had to do a little extra digging to get the job done. but as he is 4 yrs old he isn't quite as resilient as a puppy. and has been feeling like this:

he is actually feeling better now but still has to stay inside and is kinda going nuts because he longs to go run and play outside the way he's used to...but under dr's orders that is a no go! not till at least next monday...but even then he can't go free. he actually had to get stitches and has to wear one of those obedience cone collar thingies to keep from licking until the stitches are removed next week.

so while i'm trying to rest and recover i have to corral the older kids as they are going crazy bouncing off the walls with energy because i'm too sick to take them anywhere, trying to soothe and pacify a fussy baby and nurse a post surgical dog.

so...yeah, spring break has been fun so far. luckily, we have one more week. lets see if next week will go better!

update on the Pettits

2008-03-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

wow!

it feels like ages since i last posted! we have been through sicknesses of all kinds...from the flu, colds, pink eye to the stomach flu and i think i am starting to hint at allergies...when will it all end??! but on the up side, samantha FINALLY cut her top teeth. so hopefully that will improve her disposition.

but in addition to the sicknesses, we have had some big things happen. first off, we received our licence to foster...about 3 weeks ago today, actually. that excited us and we started making plans for getting the house ready for when the day would arrive in a few months that the state would call with a child to place in our home.

some things that were on our to do list:

get the back room cleaned out (it had become a storage room of mostly baby equipment)
get the bed set up
<>get bedding/mattress pad
paint the room
get a dresser (preferably for the girls' room that is big enough to accommodate all the girls)

well, to our shock and surprise, a week ago today i received a phone call. what??! they had a child they wanted to place in our home!! we said we'd do it and after last whirl wind of a weekend we now have an adorable red-headed 6 yr old boy in our home. he really is a good kid...but is all boy. he is just a bundle of energy...and boy have i been worn out. we are happy that he is here and our girls fell in love with him instantly!

there is going to be a lot going on...so please be patient with me if posts become spaced farther and farther apart.

i need your help!!

2008-02-19T14:13:00.000-08:00

okay, as some as you may know, we are in the process of becoming foster parents. this is something we have been working on for a while and it looks like we may have our licence by the end of the month...maybe. :)

anyway, i am in need of some help from y'all. we are needing to get bedding and such for our foster child or children and i don't know what to do. we are open for either girls or boys but don't want to have to get 2 of each "just in case". and since we have done the girls' room up all cute, we think that any child placed in our home equally deserves a nice looking room. so what i need from all of you creative people with that flair for decorating are ideas that are gender neutral. we don't need anything super detailed, but something that looks nice. we are being licenced for children between the ages of 3 and 10...(girls or boys, as stated previously)

so please, pile on the ideas...from color combos to even themes if you can think of them. (i would just be happy with a good color combo with a cute way to incorporate with paint)

here is what we have done with the girls' room:

so as you can see, we don't mind putting extra effort into it, just as long as we don't have to redo it often :)

so, lay 'em on me!

tag!! i'm it again :)

2008-02-13T11:26:00.000-08:00

10 years ago:
I was going to MCC and learned to love the computer and it’s social aspects. I became completely smitten with a guy from school…my first love, as weird as that relationship was. My life revolved around my friends and my boyfriend. I had little direction and no sense of responsibility…ahhh to be so young and carefree :)

5 things on my to do list:
1. Clean & disinfect the house…I’m sick of sickness
2. Pick up noemi from the bus
3. Start decluttering again
4. Solidify a weekly routine to help keep me semi on top of things
5. Prepare my lesson for Sunday

Things I would do if I were a millionare:
*Help family
*Invest/ put in savings for kids for college, missions, weddings, etc.
*Pay off house and car
*VACATION
*Quietly make donations/help people out around us

3 bad habits I have:
1. Procrastinating
2. Worrying/ over-thinking things
3. Giving in to my sweet tooth

5 places I have lived:
1. Mesa, Az
2. Prescott, Az
3. Chino valley, Az
Sorry, haven’t moved around a lot

5 places I have worked:
1. Innate (tellemarking place where casey worked too)
2. Sequoia charter school
3. Global fufilment Services
4. The writing center at MCC
5. The children’s center at MCC

Some things most people don’t know about me:
*I didn’t get my license till I was practically 25…pathetic much? :)
*I still get really freaked out driving other vehicles and in unfamiliar areas...we are talking elevated heart rate and sweaty, shakey hands and everything!
*I don’t do well in furniture stores while pregnant…unless they are REALLY open (I get dizzy and claustrophobic)
*I occasionally have bad dreams about how i acted and my relationship with my family as a teenager

okay now i tag: andrea, seth, leigh,lisa, melissa, tiffany!

LAAAA AAAH AHHH AAH AHH...CLOSE TO YOOOOU!

2008-01-26T07:09:00.000-08:00

okay, i LOVE valentines day! i HAD to do a little blog work just for the occasion including the appropriate mood music! *sigh*

yeah, when i was younger and unattatched it wasn't so great...and let me think, i think there was actually maybe ONE valentines day that there was someone in the picture (before i was married)...but, okay, so unimportant!

i know there are those who tend to take the attitude of "it's just a holiday manifactured but the card and candy people to bring in buisness" and this is what i say to you: PPPPPBBBBTTT!

what's wrong with having another day that helps you appreciate your sweetie and what they mean to you. yeah i know you should do that everyday but i'm not that perfect.

anyway, this valentines day try to make your valentine feel special. you don't have to go out and buy candy and flowers, or plan an extravagent date...just put some thought in it...think of why they are so special to you and act accordingly. i find it's the small heartfelt things that are much more meaningful!

have fun!

all in the attitude :)

2008-01-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

one of the things i am trying to work on this year is my attitude. i am the type of person who likes things "just so"...i like to know what is going on and therefor not so good about spontaneity. i'm not necessarily a control freak, i just like to know what to expect. and when things don't go the way i have anticipated i stress and worry...and therefore i become grumpy. i really want to see a lot less of "grumpy christina".

today has been one of those days where "grumpy christina" could be found.

i found out yesterday that this week will be a short babysitting week...which means less $$. :( i have been a little congested and it has been causing me to have headaches and have been making me feel a little run down. we got to bed later last night and even though there was no school, i couldn't sleep in because i had samantha's 9 month check up. to make things even better, bekah woke up early and came into our room and we found out she had an accident. :( so i had to get up and get her clean underwear and pajamas. when we got up and started getting around , bekah fell back asleep on the couch. i hoped she would wake up on her own because she does NOT wake up well. after i had fed and got the other girls dressed i woke her up. luckily she was okay. we all piled into the car to leave for the appointment, and turned the key and nothing our battery was dead! we don't have any jumper cables and even if we did i still would be late for our appointment. so i called to reschedule. the girls were disappointed because they were looking forward to seeing our doctor who is also a friend. so back into the house we go and the girls proceeded to tear their room apart...and clean up time has not been pleasant lately.

but this is how things ended up:

yeah i have been tired and headachey, but thanks to ibuprofen, i have been functional. yes, we did get to bed a little later last night, but it was because we had some friends over and we thoroughly enjoyed it and didn't mind one bit getting to bed later because of it. :) bekah did have an accident but because i hadn't put the girls' clothes in their room yet, i just had to go to the foot of our bed to get her clean clothes. and with her coming in our room made sure that i didn't sleep in too late. bekah actually woke up really well and was happy and got ready quickly and we were ready to go when i was wanting to leave by...that usually doesn't happen. the battery being dead was an inconvenience but the office was already open and was able to reschedule for tomorrow and being a short babysitting week, i happen to not be babysitting tomorrow anyway! that made things a lot less complicated! :) i really didn't have anything else i was committed to today, like picking noemi up from school (there was no school today) so of all days for the battery to die, today was a pretty good one! and, yes the girls did make a mess of their room, but they are so gosh darn cute!

i went to go and check on them and to possibly scold them for not cleaning and this is what i saw:

i caught them off guard and sometimes it is so hard to stay upset with them. i love them so much...how did i end up with 3 cute kids??

domestic diva??

2008-01-17T19:32:00.000-08:00

wow! i feel quite satisfyingly domestic right now. :) i have made two batches of homemade baby food. it is really easy and so much cheaper than buying it. i made about 46 oz for right around $3. but that was because the price of the sweet potatoes were $1.79 a pound.

it makes me feel good to know exactly what my daughter is eating and it actually tastes good...some of the jarred stuff are really bland. and i control what goes in it. i don't have to worry about salt, sugars, dyes, or preservatives.

here are the steps that it took:
first i baked the sweet potatoes and scooped out the 'meat'.

then i put the potatoes in the blender with the liquid of choice to thin it...i chose apple juice and water. puree!

next i put the puree into a freezable container with sections. ice cube trays are popular, but i use freezer trays made especially made for baby food...the sections are larger and it comes with a lid so i don't have to use foil or plastic wrap to cover it.

place in the freezer for a day or till completely frozen solid. lastly, i pop 'em out and place the cubes in a freezer ziploc bag for storage in the freezer until i need to thaw and use one. they can last longer in the freezer, but for best results, use with in a month.

for recipes or other information on making baby food (such as what foods are age appropriate...etc) check out: www.wholesomebabyfood.com.

:)

todays quote!

2008-01-17T09:41:00.000-08:00

*noemi was helping bekah wash up after making a sticky mess from candy she just ate. there was some unhappy sounds coming from the bathroom and bekah started her ornery cry*

troy: noemi, what's going on? why is bekah crying?

noemi: i don't know. she's complicated!

hey...she's putting that kindergarten education to use!

disclaimer!

2008-01-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

okay, for those who read through my last post....i just wanted to say that i DO NOT advise or endorse in any way meeting people on the internet or internet relationships. it is VERY dangerous. we were very, VERY lucky. please, please please don't try to do this just because it worked for us!

thank you

our story! our LoooOOOooong story :)

2008-01-10T09:33:00.000-08:00

thanks heather for posting yours...i have had blog block!

i aways LOVE hearing (or reading, as some cases may be)the stories of how people's relationships began. even complete strangers' stories...they are just so fun.

SOOOO why not post our story?? i do LOVE telling it!

okay my story starts out with a couple of other guys...just to clear up some confusion....

the date: DECEMBER 31, 1999. some friends and i were just getting our car which was in the parking lot of the church building where there was a new years eve dance. i was ready to party it up...it WAS the last night before the big 2000 after all! i had noticed this good looking guy who still had that "returned missionary" look and i made a mental note to keep an eye out for him. ;) as i entered the cultural hall (the gym for those who don't know) i heard my name and there was a girl that was in some of my high school classes. she was a friend, but not a close one. i really wasn't in the mood for catching up...i was on the prowl. LOL! but i didn't know how to politely excuse myself so i was stuck. here i was with my back to the room having conversation that i HOPED would die soon so i can move on. out of the corner of my eye i saw someone approach. i turn around and who was is?? the VERY same guy i was to keep a look out for...and he was approaching ME!! we started talking, but it was hard to hear each other so we went out into the hall. we continued talking and enjoying ourselves and then he got a phone call. he was told about another dance somewhere else and was dance hopping. he asked if i wanted to go too. i wasn't sure if he was asking me to come with him or just come along. ahh the stress. but since i had come with my friends i figured i better leave with them ESPECIALLY since i just met the guy...he coulda turned out to be a real creep. well he got my number before he left and i went back and found my friends and told them all about it.

the next morning, he called and asked me on a date! wahoo! we hit it off and continued talking and going on dates...i really started to like him. one night, my dad told me he predicted that i would be married by the time the year was out (this was like in late january or february). i was elated because he has always been right about things like this. but alas, that comment from my dad was the kiss of death! every date after that the guy (ammon was his name) became less and less appealing to me. then one night ammon asked me what i was looking for in a husband. talk about pressure! i really did not feel appropriate to bear my soul, so to keep things light, i joked "i don't know, a guy who is alive and breathing". his reply: "oh because i don't know what i'm looking for in a wife yet either". yikes! i really dodged a bullet there! that coulda been REALLY awkward! shortly after that we began talking less and seeing each other less until not at all. but he really DID get me thinking...i knew basics of what i wanted in a husband but i never thought about it seriously. a few weeks after he had asked me that question i actually wrote down what i was looking for in a husband. nothing superficial like i want him to have blue eyes and be 6'3"...blah blah blah, but things like, is patient, loves and is good with kids, has an appreciation for music, is intelligent but does not make me feel inferior.

time went by and a guy i worked with had a son who just got off his mission and started working at the charter school we were working at. he was very good looking and i was interested. he would come and talk to me and my friends but he had already known my friends and i never officially introduced myself. just when i vowed to ask him if he wanted to hang out with us and see how it went from there, i found out he had just started another job. NOOOO! i got his email address from his dad because to call him and have him not know who i was would be beyond humiliating. so i wrote him a cute, funny and witty email introducing myself and showing interest. the next day his dad told me he got my email and he giggled and laughed. i figured that was a good sign. but then a couple of days had gone by and i heard NOTHING back. i felt stupid! so on april 4, 2000 after checking my email like THREE times at work i was in need of SOMETHING to lift my spirits after feeling so rejected and i jumped online onto ldschat to flirt. i saw a guy with the screen name of "azboy" and thought well at least he's from arizona and we'd have that to talk about. i messaged him and really the conversation fell flat. i was talking to other guys too by this time. finally in one last attempt to liven up the conversation i asked him where he was from. he told me "page". wow! my older brother's wife was from page too! crazy...it's a small town! what are the chances? come to find out...yes he knew her! well things definitely picked up and we talked for a while until i had to go...i was at work (bad, YES i KNOW!) and he asked if he could call me. um...give my number out to some strange guy off the internet?? i thought, oh well, why not....he lived 2 hours away and it would be a long distance call. it's not like he's gonna call anyway. i got home and i KNEW he wouldn't call. then 2 min after i had fully resigned myself to that the phone rang and it was HIM! AAAAAH! we talked easily...his voiced seemed familiar and it felt like i had known him for a long time. we talked until i had to get ready to go to my institute class. he asked me if he came down if i would meet him...by this point i had no problem with that. he ended up coming down THAT NIGHT...and despite my bad directions, was sitting talking with my family by the time i got back from my class. we went and walked around, talked and flirted. i liked him...and yes we kissed. i know, i know...fast mover, absolutely! LOL we were out till like 3 in the morning...i didn't want him to go. i worried i may never see him again, with him being so far away...and i really felt a connection with him that i had only felt once before. it scared me! the next morning i checked my email and i had an email from the guy that i had written previously! i felt torn...come to find out, the reason why it took me so long to hear back from him was because he was having problems with his email account. now there are 2 guys. but as torn as i felt i couldn't stop thinking about the guy that i had met, whose name was troy. troy called me that night and we talked for over an hour. the next day again, troy was all i could think of. i couldn't believe i was this head over hills for him already. that night we talked till late in the night again. i was doing my laundry when we were getting ready to hang up. i had just started the washer filling up another load when troy said something that i couldn't understand. i asked him to repeat it but he didn't want to. finally i got him to and he said "i love you". HOLY COW! i had just that afternoon realized that i loved him too! (i forgot to mention, when he called me the night after he came down, he told he doesn't say i like you or i love you unless he knows he means it...this after i had originally told him i liked him..duh i KISSED him!)anyway, i told him i loved him too....this is 2 days after we MET! wow!

i was still in contact with the guy i was previously interested in and the following weekend i went on a date with him. as we were walking to his car when he came to pick me up something hit me: this was a wasted date. i had already met the man i wanted to spend the rest of my life with. i felt bad through out the rest of the night because it was clear that this guy really liked me. poor guy! but the weekend after that troy came down again for our first "official" date. we went to the easter pageant. LOL his family met us there....our first date was with his family...it was fun and a little weird on my part since i knew i wanted to marry him...but he didn't know it yet. a few weeks later he felt it too and we began talking about it...and were basically unofficially engaged until june 18, 2000 he officially proposed to me and on september 20,2000 we were married and sealed in the mesa, az temple!

*okay i forgot to mention: that first night he came down...as we were talking i kept remembering that list of husband-ly qualities i was looking for and subconsciously checking them off...i kept trying to stop myself...i JUST met the poor guy. but from the first night i knew he was everything i was looking for*
that's my story! :) now that i have bored you to death....go and post yours!

out of the mouths of babes

2008-01-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

okay here are a couple of quotes that amused me the past couple of days:

(12-31-07)

*we had asked our girls if they wanted to do anything special and they told us they wanted to go to the mall to play in the play area there. i was kinda giving them a hard time.*

me: but it's not fair. there is a play area for kids, but nowhere for grown ups to play!

noemi(my 5 yr old): but that is what all those shopping stores are for!!!

(1-2-08)

*i was sitting on a toolbox next to troy while he was finishing grouting some tile he put in*

bekah (my 3 yr old): mommy, can i sit on yours lap? (i love the way she talks)

me: *seeing there is not enough room because i am wedged between a table and troy* no, sorry sweetie, there's not enough room. mommy's too big and fat.

bekah: no, your just big.

NOOOOoooooOOOOOO!!!

2007-11-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

*gasp* i just got a phone call that just thrilled me to no end. in that phone call i was informed that someone in noemi's primary class on sunday has LICE! i don't know how close contact noemi had with them...but this is something i was hoping to NOT have to deal with. i have NO idea what to do, what to look for, how long it may take to be evident or ANYTHING. last time i had it was when i was in kindergarten or first grade and i had my hair cut boyishly short...people don't still do that do they??

if anyone has had experience or knows anyone who has...PLEASE let me know! i need all the information i can get...what are some preventative measures?? ANYTHING!

grr...my head hasn't stopped itching SINCE that call!

tis the season!

2007-11-27T12:04:00.000-08:00

ok, so this christmas is particularly exciting this year (at least in my opinion)for our family. every year since troy and i have been married we have to pack up everything and head over to family's houses...depending on the year. don't get me wrong- i LOVE spending time with family especially during the holidays! i just have never enjoyed the whole prospect of having to pack kids, clothes, bedding and other travel essentials ALONG with presents especially ones that have to stay hidden...making sure certain things don't get squished or damaged in some way. and then UNpacking once we are at our destination and trying to keep things hidden in small quarters away from a bunch of eager and curious children's eyes. so THIS year we are actually staying home until christmas morning! it is time that we get to start our own traditions and such for our own growing family. i can't wait to have the kids wake up in their own beds and head out to the tree to see what santa had left! ahhhh...memories of childhood!

so...my question to you all is: what are some of your christmas traditions??

i want this time of the year to be enjoyable for our family and i want my kids to be able to look forward to more than just presents, music and decorations!

Gobble Gobble

2007-11-25T19:51:00.000-08:00

we spent thanksgiving down in the valley with my family this year. it was an enjoyable time for us. i really love spending time with my family. while we were down there my sister amy had our brother-in-law, james, take some pictures for her senior pictures...i'll see if i can get some of those to show her off. BUT while she was getting HER pics taken, we took advantage of the fact and got james to take a family pic for us too! THANKS JAMES! you are fabulous! hey, he actually was the one who took our engagemet pictures too!

after that the girls had fun with some of her cousins and the ducks at Freestone Park.

i'm BAAAAACK!

2007-11-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

sorry it has been so long since my last post! we have been quite busy! unfortunately, i cannot remember all that has gone on, but i'll do my best at hitting some of what has....

well, for those who don't know, we are in the process to become certified to be foster parents. we are almost through our training classes and we had our first home visit a few weeks ago. it was basically just a "getting to know you in your own element", but it sure lit a fire under me to get the house clean...except for those few problem, project areas..*cough*backroom*cough*office*cough* but they will be done before we are certified. i have also started babysitting again...just my neighbor, though. what a HUGE answer to prayers! there are gonna be some things we need to get before we get any foster children and i wasn't sure how we were gonna pay for it...like mattresses and bedding...necessities and such, but now we can get things bit by bit.

we have also have been working on potty training! and it is about time! bekah has been SOOOOooooOOOO resistant and it is nice that she is almost there. if it weren't for her fear about going #2...she'd be there EVEN at NIGHT!

other than that we have just been hangin' out, enjoying each other. hmmm...and maybe a book or two...yumm??!

quote of the day...

2007-11-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

(as i was kissing my daughter goodnight)
Noemi: why are you cleaning the kitchen?? did daddy tell you too??

NICE! i DO clean i promise!

...oh cookie cookie cookie starts with C!

2007-10-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

I miss scategories! I wanna play!! My sister sent forwarded this to me so who else want’s to play??

• Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...
• You must use real places, names, things...nothing made up!
Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is Your Name? Christina

4 Letter Word: crap
Vehicle: chevy cavalier
TV Show: CSI
Boy Name: Chad…I just saw an altell commercial
Girl Name: Clairese *spoken in the creepy Anthony Hopkins voice*
Drink: cream soda
Occupation: carpenter
Something You Wear: cardigan
Celebrity: Cesar Millan
Food: Chinese cuisine
Found in a Bathroom: cologne
Reason for Being Late: car collision
Cartoon Character: Charlie Brown
Something You Shout: COME ON…DRIVE YOUR CAR!!...um, yeah I’m a vocal driver :)

inspiration FROM inspiration??!

2007-10-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

thank you heather for inspiring casey to clean her stove and post it her blog!! you BOTH have inspired ME!! my husband and stove thank you!! and who says i don't get anything done when i'm on the computer!! LOL!

now i challenge everyone who reads this to CLEAN YOUR STOVE!! :) and then leave a comment on my page so we can all see how many clean stoves we have inspired! VIVA CLEAN STOVES!!

hmm...i wonder what can we do about toilets now??? LOL

pout what if i don't wanna play?!

2007-10-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

OKAY! amy tagged me. so i'll go ahead and do it...

JOBS I'VE HAD
1. daycare provider
2. book keeper
3. pharmacy tech
4. courtesy clerk at safeway...yay
(those are just since i have been married)

LOL and YES amy i do remember our telemarketing venture...I of course endured much longer...i actually liked it! am i sick or what??!

PLACES I'VE LIVED
1. Chino Valley, AZ
2. Prescott, AZ
3. Mesa, AZ

FOOD I LOVE
1. Tony Roma's ribs with the carolina honeys sauce...thank you troy, for that! you have ruined me for other ribs!
2. seafood
3. italian
4. chinese (but no flaming wok please *erp*)
5. ICECREAM!!!!!

WEBSITES I VISIT
hmmm...there really isn't much i really consistently go to...
1. my friends blogs! i LOVE being able to peek in on them...especially of the friends that i haven't seen in ages!
2. blogspot (LOL so i can work on my blog)
3. msn weather
4. ebay (just for funny)
5. lds.org

PLACES I'D RATHER BE
1. on the way to somewhere fun with my husband and girls
2. in a nice hot bubble bath with a fabulous book ...i have to clean my bathtub first *grumble*
3. in a sparkling clean home with a closet full of fabulous clothes all for me that actually FIT!

MOVIES I LOVE
1. Phantom of the Opera
2. Ever After
3. gone in 60 seconds ...what can i say, i apparently DO like pretty cars :)
4. all the "classics" from my childhood YAY charlie brown
hmm...there are SOO many i'll leave the list at that

SHOWS I WATCH
1. heroes (although this season isn't the same...the 1st was much better)
2. law and order svu
3. csi
4. survivor
5. csi miami...i LOVE to watch it to mock it! can we say hero complex??
(the first 4 are the ones that i eagerly await each week)

okay now i am not playing any more! *sits down with arms folded* i refuse to tag anyone! and you can't make me! *grin*

a weekend of firsts!

2007-10-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

we had fun this weekend! on friday, samantha turned 6 months! YAY! i hadn't started her on solids yet and wanted troy to be here when i did, so saturday got to be the big day! ...even if daddy ended up taking a test online for one of his classes when the big first happened. :)

that afternoon we went SHOPPING! we love it when we ALL get to go! since this year is going to be our FIRST christmas at home, we thought it would be a good time to get our first full sized christmas tree...most likely it will be artificial. we took the opportunity to look at the trees that are actually out and on display in some stores to see what we like. *sigh* i don't know if we will EVER agree on what we both like! we also encouraged the girls to think of what they would like for christmas as we walked purposely through the toys, pricing what ideas we already had and getting other ideas. we had one specific purpose for one of the stores we went to: noemi and bekah got their first full sized standard pillows! they are so excited by them! they were using little half sized travel pillows before. they love their little pillows but they were getting old. they will still be perfect for taking on trips,though, so they didn't have to say goodbye to them.

when we got home we cleaned up the house and got ready for our friends darrell and dodie to come over for dinner. we had so much fun and after dinner all of us 'grown ups' played a fun card game that we have had for about 6 months (or has it been over a year?) that we hadn't played yet. it was a riot and darrell and dodie got to see a slightly competitive side that not many have seen. (i really wasn't that competitive...that's only when i play risk!) we ended up calling it good without finishing the game because how long it was going and we all had teaching obligations for church in the morning.

*sigh* i love the weekend when we get to hang out as a family! our girls love their daddy and miss him during the week...between work, school, and church they don't get to see as much of him. it's worth it though, school will be done soon enough and i am glad that troy is going and furthering his education. i love you honey! i know it is hard, but thank you for all your hard work! what a wonderful family i have!!

STILL??!

2007-10-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

*smile* ah! i just read my last post about our septic woes. silly me, i was so sure it would be taken care of the next day! hahahaha!! that was SO not what happened. so, ya, tuesday late afternoon showed the first symptoms of a problem which rendered me stinky and unable to shower. i bet i was SUPER appealing when troy got home! LOL
i called our septic maintenance company of choice, and all was set for wednesday morning. i waited eagerly so i could shower and do more laundry so my husband had clean clothes to wear on thursday. UNFORTUNATELY, troy told me that they won't be able to come because the treatment plant wasn't functioning...what? they didn't want a truck full of sewage in their truck all day?? wimps! :) but they came out to help us locate our septic so we could dig it up and not have to fork out MORE $$ for them to do it. we rented a bobcat to help us do the job...29 inches down is a LOT to dig out by hand in our cement-like clay/dirt. i snickered at the bobcat! it looked SO funny as compared to the backhoes we've used in our yard...like it was a child's version! ANYWAY, back they come first thing thursday morning to get the job done. he opened up the septic and found that the problem was a clogged filter...they have filters in septic systems?? and the septic could probably go for another 1 to 3 years before pumping. well it's already uncovered, so to save us the impending hassle for NEXT time, we told him to go ahead and still pump. so he gets ready to start pumping and what else should go wrong...HIS TRUCK BROKE! AAAARRRGH! ever feel like the forces of the universe are against you?! (or how ever the phrase goes) but the filter was cleaned and the septic was usable...just stinkily uncovered...sorry neighbors! so finally FRIDAY he was back with a DIFFERENT truck and pumped it...THE END! FINALLY!

Water, anyone??

2007-10-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

Aaaaaaaah the joys of life!! It’s AMAZING the everyday things you take for granted. For instance: you all know how hard life is when you don’t have water…but have you really thought about where it goes when it goes down the drain? In our situation, it’s the septic tank. Yep, you guessed it! We get to experience life like we almost don’t have one. I rudely found out yesterday afternoon that our septic was VERY unhappy with it’s current functioning condition. I had been doing some household cleaning and some laundry and it had started getting late in the afternoon and I hadn’t yet showered because I had scrubbed the shower floor and wanted to leave the cleaner on as long as possible to disinfect it. So when I got around to showering I rinsed the floor REALLY well and hopped in. I was JUST about to grab the shampoo when I heard the toilet making a strange glugging noise. And just then the shower started filling up with water THROUGH the drain. NOOOOOO! And I JUST cleaned it. 

It turns out our septic needs pumping. It may just be a partial clog…but it’s time for a pumping anyway…what a way to burn $300! The GOOD thing is, once the water went back down we still have partial usage…we can still use the toilet and wash our hands but much more than that gets scary. So no laundry, showers, or dishes until TOMORROW! Thank goodness for friends nearby with showers and laundry rooms!

Here’s to the little things in life!

TIME...sung as hootie andthe blowfish's song

2007-10-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

wow! does time fly!! i just downloaded a bunch of pictures from my camera that have been WAITING there for some time. i got caught up looking at the other pictures on our computer and it really hit me how much has happened in just this last year! there have been two weddings of my siblings, 4 babies born (counting both troy's and my family) (also including our own addition), noemi started kindergarten and troy started up classes again too, we bought an SUV, sold our little sedan *i miss the gas milage*, siblings moving away from home...and SOOOoooOOO much more!

even the past 6 months have flown by!! i can't believe daughter #3 is gonna be 6 months old THIS WEEK! didn't we just bring her home from the hospital a few weeks ago??

hmmm! i guess not! cute little thang!!

here it is!

2007-10-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

hey! it is HERE!! here is my family blog! now i can keep you all updated on all that is excitingin our little Pettit world! YAAAAAAAY! i hope you enjoy!!