A Little Slow on the Pick Up...

Whew...I posted planning on getting MYSELF back into a routine of at least commenting, if I didn't have time to blog, and now I am the last one to comment on both of your fantastic posts!! Sheesh... (jus to be clear, I read them almost instantly after you posted, but didn't have time to make the detailed comments I wanted, so here I am a few weeks later!!)

I am going to start at the top of your posts and try to answer everything!

First Britt-

YES-you (you too Shan ;)) are welcome to come visit anytime!! I actually had 4 of my friends from Denver come stay with me and all of thier kids for their spring break back in October? We had a total of 5 adults, and 16 kids. All staying in my house!! It was insane and I loved every minute of it! I have not blogged aobut it yet, but one of my friends did so you should peek a her blog and see how much fun we had! http://tagandtracy.blogspot.com/2011/11/somewhere-over-rainbow.html
Shan, I have been so tempted to switch to an Iphone since Verizon finally started carrying them, but I just can't seem to justify spending $200.00 when my phone still works fine and it isn't due for an upgrade for another year! :( As soon as I switch you'll be the first people to know!

Yes, Matt came for not only two weeks, but 16 full days!! He didn't have to set foot at work and I had him to myself for every minute, but I decied to share him with the kids too :) It felt so sureal the entire time he was here, I bawled several times knowing it was a dream I would have to wake up to, and now that he is offically back in Kuwait it almost feels like it really was a dream! I am so lucky to be married to my best friend & hope that the second half of his deployemnt goes by as quickly as the first half has! Shan, the kids have done pretty good. Temper tantrums have been on the rise a long with a few new behavioral issues...but after talking to a few people it is normal for any kids going through a deployment. They were all SO excited to see him and acted the same way I felt when they first saw him, almost like they didn't believe it! Saying goodbye again has been a lot harder on them and since he left Sat morning they have already asked or mentioned missing him at least 2o times :(

Yes, crazy that my parents MOVED...I have still only seen a few pics of the house during the building process & am excited to finally see it when we visit next. (Hopefully in March) This time they decided to go back to having a basement & a few more rooms in-case they want to offer "housing" again in the future LOL!

I can't believe Trin is 7 either! Talking to her you would guess she is more like 17 haha! I threw her a "Rock Star" Party and used a couple of your kits to make an awesome invitation! She had a great turn out of friends from school and church & all the kids had a blast! It was a really fun theme :)

Yea, I really do like singing...I won't be volunteering for any solos, but I have always loved how much power can be felt through music. That is one thing I miss about not playing an insturment anymore either. Do you remember feeling like that when you played the Sax Shan?

So Britt, I am pretty sure I had NO IDEA your sweet little grandma passed away! :( I immediatly went you your blog to read about it and sobbed for your loss. I will never forget spending an afternoon/evening at their house near the fourth of July. She was such a tiny little lady with an gigantic smile! I also hope that you have had time to grieve & deal with all of those feelings and emotions that come along with losing someone so close to you.

Crawling-yay! Milestones are so fun to look forward to! I completely understand what you mean about life changing after the "moving" begins, but its funny because I still find myself rushing certain milestones even with #4! :) I still have Scarlett's birth announcement hanging on my fridge and could not believe how much she has changed compared to your Christmas card! Her squeezable cheeks are adorable & I can't get over all the hair she has!

Ah...organization. I hate to admit it, but I am afraid that in one of our moves my ability to organize got packed away in a box and has yet to be un-packed! My life has become a whirl-wind of piles...holiday decorations that cannot seem to find their way back into the right bins, outgrown kids clothes that I cannot seem to part with, school papers, church handouts, half finished "projects", groceries from the store that no longer have a spot in the cupboard...the list goes on. I have finally come to realize that my biggest problem is that I have TOO MUCH STUFF. I am about to start down a long road of de-cluttering. Numerous trips to Good Will are in my future, and until I get rid of all the "extra" things laying around there is no point in trying to organize it. So, that is my biggest piece of advice. PURGE...Purge...and purge. When you finally have a place for everything then you can put everything in its place :)

I think it is so fantastic that you love to digi-scrap and that you are so fabulous at it! The digi scrap world is a better place thanks to your amazing talent! And HOLY MOLY....94 pages in a year! Dang girl. I don't even know if I got one new LO finished last year! haha And, I have NEVER printed any of my finished pages off...it actually makes me a little sick to realize that. You girls are my scrappin inspiration! ;)

I was glad to read your "review" about your wax melter. I have actually been half looking for one for a while, but wasn't really feelin the scentsy stuff...I am paranoid about hot wax I guess. I always wish that my house was one of those where you walk in and it smells like a craft boutique- haha!


OK...as if this post wasn't already long enough, now I am going to comment on Shan's stuff :)

I think it is great that you are seeing a nutritionist! I saw on your comments that you have lost 9 pounds already! GO SHAN!! That is awesome! I have made it a goal to become more healthy & had started working out pretty regularly at the local YMCA until I sprained my ankle...lame story I'll tell another time...I had started counting calories too, which was hard, but it works! I had lost about 10 pounds & the real pay off is when other people started to notice and comment on how good I looked! YAY :) You can do it too & being in control and making good choices feels so good!! (Now I have to confess that I completely got off track while Matt was here & there is a good chance I have gained all the weight back :( I can honestly say that I am making a commitment to go back to the Y and make all that hard work worth it!) Britt, I agree that what your family is doing sounds like so much fun! I think its great too that it is your whole family. I know that people complain about being overwieght, but it is a big difference to complain and not do anything about it! Yay for the Rodees! Plus, a little cash incentive doesn't hurt! hehe

Um...you having a craft blog is not crazy!! YOU are one of the crafty-est girls I know! Your dresses and cute little shoes from the boutique were adorable! I don't remember how much of the stuff was yours and what was Jenn's but it was all super cute & I think would do great selling on a blog. There are so many people out there who are willing to pay other people to be crafty for them. I'll bet the odds will be even more in your favor since Robert's Craft is closing all their stores. (I've heard) It will take more effort for people to get the supplies they need, so instead they'll just buy the finished poduct from you! CHa-CHING! :) BTW: I have actually never heard of "House of Smiths" but I am going to check it out now.

I feel like a lame-O cause I have no clue what Tom's glitter shoes are!? :P However, I go nuts even when I lose one of Pasey's ghetto wal-mart shoes. They only fit for like 2 or 3 months anyway. I can't waste precious time haveing one lost, because by the time I find it she may have grown out of them!! I hope that the Baby Shoe Gods can help you find the awesome shoe.

I can totally see you being in the primary presidency AND being awesome at it. My mind is racing with all the cute hand-outs and sharing time ideas you must have! Is your primary pretty big? I got called to teach Valiant 8 in Dec & was sad to only have the 5 students for a few weeks. Then I found out that they wanted me to teach Val 9-11 instead, so now I still teach those 5 kids plus 4-5 more depending on the week! It is pretty crazy having 9 or 10 kids in a class but I love teaching!

I think it is great that you have a job! What is even more great is that it sounds low-key and works so you don't have to find someone to watch your kids. Being a Mom is such a hard role to describe. I love being able to spend time with my kids. Teach them, comfort them, play with them, but there are still times when I wish I could do something to contribute to the finances of our family. I think it is because I was the main bread winner for the first few years of our marriage, but I am grateful that I don't HAVE to work.

PHEW!! I made it...did you? If you read through all of that then you deserve a pat on the back! I wanted to add some pics with this post, but if I try to stick them in now it is going to be such a pain! Maybe I will do a little collage in PSE and post it...we'll see.


OH...I agree with Shan. I don't think making this blog private would be a bad idea. We could always post to let people know we are going private & invite a few of our close friends if they want to have access to it??



What the heck...It has been almost 3 weeks since I posted last here are a few more facts/happenings from my crazy life:


I have BANGS! I had them cut the day before Matt came and I LOVE them. Truly I want my hair short again, like it was after I had Grayden, but I figure I can keep it long for a while so that Matt is actually around to enjoy it before I go "butch" on him. Bahaha

Matt and I built a headboard while he was here and I love it! As soon as I walk in the roon I can't help but smile. It makes me a little embarassed to admit, but its true. DIY projects are always fun, but I love them even more when Matt and I work on them together.

I went and saw Sherlock Holmes 2 with Matt (sorry these are have to do with Matt in one way or another it seems) and loved it as much as I loved the first one! Have you guys seen them? I have always had a little crush on Robert Downy Jr. & absolutely love him in an old movie called, "Heart and Souls" have either of you seen that one?? If not, you must! OH, Did I mention the tasty Jude Law is in the Sherlock Movies also. I'm pretty sure they are going to be added to our library of movies :) My crush on Jude Law began after watching "The Holiday"...love that movie too :)

Trinity is a Daisy Girl Scout and has officially signed up to sell cookies! I know that selling cookies seems easy, but there is a not soliciting rule on base, so she can't go door to door in what seemed the safest place possible. Also, her leader informed me that they helped each of the girls set a "small goal" of selling 100 boxes each! 100 BOXES EACH! Holy crap, what do they expect!? I am hoping to get a good amount of people from church to buy some, but hope I don't have a dissapointed 7 year old if she doesn't meet the goal her leader was kind enough to offer without asking me first! :P

I have BCBG also known as Book Club Babysitter Guilt. Our Ward has book club every last Tues of the month & it starts at 8pm. It is a well known fact that at book club we talk about the book for about 20-30 minutes, longer if it is a really good book, and when we are finished with that then the fun begins! We talk, share funny stories, vent, relax, snack, laugh...and before I know it its past midnight! So, here is where the guilt comes into play. All of my babysitters need a ride home. I always have them ask their parents how late they can stay & they tell me "as late as you need", but when I walk through the door I feel like a teenager that has broken curfew! So, last month I decided to avoid that feeling by asking the MOM of my babysitter how late she could stay. I got the same response, "as late as you need her". I replied, "even if its past midnight?" She answered, "that's fine". I head out to book club and am having a great time when I get a text at 12:15, "I just wanted to know if you are on your way so I can get ready to pick my daughter up." DUN DUN DUN!! Cue guilty teenager feeling. I raced home and her Mom was waiting out side :( I felt so dumb, but she acted like it wasn't a big deal, came inside and we all laughed and talked for another 5-10 minutes. Her daughter is going to watch my kids for tomorrow's Book Club, so I need some advice...am I being irresponsible? Should I be coming home a lot earlier?? I'm afraid I kind of already know the answer...:(


OK, enough is enough. From me anyway and I can't wait to hear from you two again.

Love Les

5 facts about Shan

I miss both of you...all of the time! I am so grateful for amazing technology like Facebook and Instagram so that I can see what my BFFs are up to :) (ps. Les I really wish you were on Instagram. I feel like it is a great way for me to keep in touch with Britt. Don't you feel that way Britt?)

I was just thinking about you Les and wondering if Matt was home yet. I'm so excited for you and the kids to see him. I bet he can't wait to snuggle all of you and hold you every last second he has to be home. Do you have any fun plans while he is home? Even just everyday life with Matt being home will be fun I'm sure. How are the kids doing?

I would LOVE to see you in March. When is Kelly due? Will you be here in time to see her baby? So crazy that she's having a baby. I feel like Kelly is still so little. How is she feeling about being a mom? Is she living with your parents right now? Weren't they gonna buy some crazy bus and turn it into a camper?

7! What?! I remember when that little princess was born. How can she be 7? We are getting old aren't we.

You know what I love about you Les? You are not afraid to try new things and put yourself out there. Even when Matt is gone and it means you have to have a neighbor or ward member watch your kids. If I was in your situation I don't know if I could do that. I think I'd become a homebody. More then I am now.

So Britt, do they know what happened with your Grammy? Did she pass away in her sleep? I am so sad for your family and have been praying for you. I hope that you are able to find peace soon. Exciting thought will be that your family will be able to do her temple work some day. Won't that be a special day?!

Scarlett is the cutest little munchkin ever! I LOVE checking Instagram and seeing all of the photos you take of her. Makes me want to take more of my kids. I know this will sound a bit crazy but be grateful she isn't crawling yet. Once they can move they don't stop. Ha! I'm sure Les knows what I mean. Although there is something very exciting about when they do learn to move.

I totally understand the whole stay organized and small house thing. I can spend all day cleaning and putting things away and by then end of the night it looks like I did NOTHING! This has to do with that fact that I have two very busy children that I can't keep up with. And they haven't learned how to put things away. I HATE putting toys away! It is long and painful because I'm trying to teach Ethan  how to clean up and he is so slooooow. I just want to do it all for him but realize that that does me no good in the long run.

94 pages! That is awesome! I really want to do more scrapping and printing. I pulled out Ethan's book and the kids loved looking at them. I need to print more too. I have a ton of pages done and not printed. Are you printing your pages at persnickety prints?

I love when my house smells good too. Maybe I'll have to give that wax melter a try. Is it really strong? Sometimes candles will give me a headache if the smell is really strong.

Wow this post is going to be long but oh well :) Here are my five facts:

One: Jared and I are seeing a nutritionist. His name is Dan and I love him. He is so encouraging and so realistic. For a long time (like since I had Ethan) I have not been happy with who I am. Meaning that I hate my body. I hate the shape that it's in. Right after I had Ethan I remember looking into the mirror and just crying because I didn't see myself. I saw this overweight fat person. But I have never had the motivation and dedication to actually do something about it....until now. I'm not sure what has changed and why I'm feeling like I need to do this but I do so I'm going to take this opportunity and run with it. I'm only a week into it but I have high hopes and a realistic view. I know that this is a long journey but one that I MUST make. I want to be here on this earth as long as I can and take care of this body in a way that is pleasing to Lord. I hope that he will bless me with the strength to make changes and become a better me.

Two: I have a dream. It's crazy and totally out there but it's a dream. I really want to have a craft blog that is successful enough to help support our family. Do you follow Shelly at House of Smiths? I think she is wonderful and has such an inspiring store. I'd love to be like her.

Three: Madelyn's shoe is lost and it's making me crazy. My friend gave Madelyn a pair of Toms black glitter shoes and I can't find one of the shoes! I have looked everywhere and still can't find it. I even dug through the garbage. I'm hoping it will magically appear some where but I'm really afraid it got thrown away with last weeks garbage. Totally random fact I know but something that consumes my mind ha!

Four: Primary! Did you know that I'm the first counselor in our primary presidency? It often costumes me. Especially on Sundays. I love it but am so sad because my primary president just found out she is pregnant and is actively looking for a new house. She wants to move before she has her baby. That means that either I could become the president or loose my calling. Two options I'm not totally excited about.

Five: I have a job. I'm work at the Sleep Ridge golf course cleaning their clubhouse at night. I only work 3 nights a week for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I enjoy it for the most part. The pay isn't super great but it does help out our family.

And there you have it. Five very random facts about me :)

5 Facts About Britt's Life These Days

Great idea Les to just pop in and give 5 facts. You both come across my mind almost everyday as well. I was just telling someone something about you Les. I can't even remember what it was.

I miss you too Leslie Ann. A lot. I can't wait for you to come visit. Someday, can I cart my family out to Kansas and you can show me around the place you call home now?

YAY for Matt coming home for 2 weeks!! WOW. Does he get to actually have all that time OFF. No working while he's home?

I can't believe your parents built a house and moved. That's nuts! But so cool. Any pics?

I can't believe Trinity is going to be 7!!!! I'm feeling old.

I didn't know you liked to sing! That's awesome.

Ok - 5 facts about us.

* My Grammy Rodee died a week ago yesterday. I know you guys both already knew that, you both commented on my blog. Thank you for your sweet words. Today was just another day the reality that she's really gone hit me hard. My grandpa came to dinner at my mom's house, without Grammy in tow. It was sad. We all really miss her.

* Scarlett is SO CLOSE to crawling. She gets up on her knees and pushes herself forward, but her arms don't really know what to do yet. I keep thinking she's going to figure it out any day now.

* I cannot for the life of me seem to stay organized. Les, I need some of your hyper-organization skills. I HATE my crazy house. It's so small, its like I just don't have a place for everything and it just ends up being a jumbled mess. No matter how hard I try to keep it clean and tidy. I need some tips.

* I still love to digi-scrap. Not only is it my job, I just love creating pages for my personal scrapbooks. There's a trend right now going around to count up the number of pages you did in 2011, and I did 94. That's almost 8 a month. Not too bad!! My goal is to do at least 100 in 2012 AND to print more pages!!!! I'm ashamed to say that while I scrapped 94, I only printed like 20 or so. Doh. And Scarlett loves looking at pictures and scrapbooks so I really need to put money aside to print pages for her to look at.

* I love my Scent-Sational Candle Wax Melter from Wal-Mart. I bought mine for $15 with a few holiday-scented waxes (the waxes are only $2) and oh my gosh I'm HOOKED. There are Better Home & Gardens waxes right there with the Scent-Sational. I like them BOTH. I can't wait for my next trip to Wal-Mart to get more flavors. It fills my house with delicious scents without any smokey build-up. I hate when you buy a candle thinking its going to smell so good, and then you can't even smell it. Anyway - I definitely recommend it.

(how's that for a random fact)

Love you girls!!!! Shan - you're up!

Do you think we should consider changing the name of this blog?

I was SHOCKED when I saw that the last post on here was back in Sept! Maybe we should just change the name of the blog to, "Let's Catch up Girlfriend!" hahaha :)

Why does life have to be so busy? I can't list things specifically that keep me from blogging, but for some reason it doesn't make it on my list of daily priorities. However, thinking of you two wonderful ladies does cross my mind on an almost daily basis. I often think, "I bet Shan's little cutie pie is doing this about now?" After I watch Pasey do something cute. Or I think, "Hmm, I wonder what Disney movie Britt has watched recently?", as I look through our stash of movies to find something for Grayden & Brinley to watch. I look at my toes and cringe thinking what a shame it is that I only get a pedicure when I have my two "besties" by my side. (Its a shame because of how horrible and crusty my feet are!) SO, I guess what I'm trying to say is-I MISS YOU GUYS!!

Here are a few fun facts that you may not know:

-Matt is coming home for a 2 week R&R, oh and it is THIS FRIDAY!
-I want to try and come for a visit in UT for Trin's spring break in March
-My parents sold their house, built a new one in Spanish Fork, and moved in on C-Mas weekend
-Trinity will be 7 on the 19th. Holy cow-I will have a SEVEN year old?!
-I have been going to ward choir and LOVE it! I am wishing I would have taken a few choir classes in high school, just so I could have learned more and improved my singing skills as the alto that I never knew I could be!

Ok, there are 5 little tid-bits about me. Now, what are you ladies up to?